Of mice and men-Discuss the importance of the American dream Essay Example for Free

Of mice and men-Discuss the importance of the American dream Essay Dictionary: the American dream An American ideal of a happy and successful life to which all may aspire: In the deepening gloom of the Depression, the American Dream represented a reaffirmation of traditional American hopes Dictionary: dream a cherished desire The American Dream is a dream of success, fame and wealth achieved in the United States of America. Its thought to be achievable by hard work, courage, and determination, or by getting rich quick. The concept often involves moving upward in the social classes, and may involve icons such as car, house, partner and pet. This definition of the American dream is universal, but it can have a different meaning for different classes of people. People have dreams The novel of mice and men, written by John Steinbeck, is set in 1930s California during the Great Depression. The two main characters called George and Lennie are migrant workers travelling from ranch to ranch just to get by and make a little money so that one day they can live their own American dream. Throughout the book, Lennie always asks George to tell him and re-tell him their dream of someday owning their own land. Someday were gonna get our jack together and were gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an a cow and some pigs. The use of the word someday shows a sense of longing and uncertainty; he doesnt know if it will happen soon or even at all. Because of the time the book is set or George and Lennies lifestyle, their dream is not the exact definition of the American dream. It is more to do with freedom and the amount of land owned which equals a higher status in society the more land you owned. George and Lennies dream is motivated by the fact that they have no stability in where they live or work. Being migrant workers, they have a very unsettled lifestyle because they dont know how long they will be needed to work there. After they arent needed or if they get fired, it could take a long time to find another job. Their dream of owning a rural house on their own in the Salinas valley is a comforting thought of stability and not having to worry about nowhere to live. The Salinas valley is not a typical rural setting of America, but as George and Lennie have not traveled far, it is their idea of perfect. There are no comfortable houses, but vast orchards, vineyards, and ranched thoroughly tended. In the book, the Californian countryside is described in vast detail at the beginning and end of every chapter. Steinbeck uses description of the surroundings as he, like Lennie developed a close bond with nature. In my opinion, this is Steinnbecks dream Other characters living on the ranch also have similar dreams. The migrant worker candy for example is afraid of being alone and dreams of living out the rest of his life with company. When he hears about George and Lennies dream asks them if he can join them so he wont be lonely. Spose I went in with you guys. Howd that be? When they can me I wont have no place else to go an I cant get no more jobs. He is desperate so he pleads with them even though he hasnt known them very long. Another person on the ranch with a dream is Curleys wife. Her dream is of fame and fortune Nother time I met a guy-he was in the pitchers. He said hed put me in the movies. Said I was a natural. Soons he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it. I never got that letter. I always thought my ol lady stole it. She has this dream as an escape from her husband who is very sexist and discriminatory against women. At the time the book is set, women were treated poorly and only thought of as housewives for bringing up children and were used commonly for sex purposes. Curley treats Curleys wife poorly so she dreams about being rich and famous being a movie star. Ironically, this is the dream of many American people nowadays; to be rich and famous as they aspire to be the everyday celebrities we see today. Another dream of hers is also not to be lonely. She explains to Lennie I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely. This shows that she is lonely because she confides in him about her problem and she doesnt know him at all. Crooks is the Negro stable buck. He has a separate room away from the white people living and working on the ranch. This also shows the amount of racism at the time the story is set. It seems his dream is to not be treated differently because of his skin colour. He says I aint wanted cause Im black. They play cards in there, but I cant play because Im black. They say I stink. It is obvious that he doesnt agree with these comments by the way he speaks. He speaks sharply showing he is angry about these comments. He talks about everyone else except for him playing cards implying that he would like to play cards too, along with everyone else. In conclusion, I think that the American dream is important to different characters in different ways and different interpretations.

Sociocultural Theory Individuals Involvement In Social Interactions Education Essay

Sociocultural Theory Individuals Involvement In Social Interactions Education Essay Sociocultural theory (SCT) illustrates how an individuals development is connected to cultural, social and historical framework. The main focus of SCT, in particular, is an individuals connection and involvement in social interactions and culturally controlled activities which shape and construct mental development. Sociocultural perspective centres on the social framework as fundamental to learning. It lays emphasis on the importance of social interactions by communicating and instructing in learning, highlighting that the social environment is not just the place where learning happens, it is integral to it. SCT suggests learning is a cultural action, young children are seen as novices within a cultural setting that learn from elders of that way of life, therefore, learning can be either formal or informal and achieved via parents, siblings, friends, teachers etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This results in children learning about the practices, beliefs and values of the community they grow up in or are placed in, consequently learning to become members of that community/group. SCT also explains and acknowledges individual differences in learning via the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (Vygotsky(1896 -1934)). This is the gap amid what an individual is capable of doing on their own and what they can do with assistance of a knowledgeable other, ensuring that a child can accomplish jointly what s/he could not achieve alone. A major scholar that was vital to the progression of cultural-historical psychology and creator of SCT as we now know it, was Lev S. Vygotsky (1896 -1934). Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist whos work was banned and prohibited under Joseph Starlin in 1936, this ban was later lifted in 1956 three years after Stalins death. Vygotsky first started working as a psychology teacher in 1917 and during this period he was accumulating information simultaneously for his thesis and a book that was to be named Pedagogical Psychology, of which, was published in 1926. Vygotsky inspired a lot of original research and his works were translated into English in the 1960s. He also became influential within education around the 1980s and to this day. (http://vygotsky.afraid.org/#TimelineVygotskysLifeWorks) Vygotskys work was based on Marxist and social constructivist theories. Vygotsky stated that his academic focus was to learn from Marxs whole method how to build a science, how to approach the investigation of the mind (Vygotsky, cited Ratner(1997)) and also build upon an overt Marxist psychology. Vygotsky believed Marxist psychology is not a school amidst schools, but the only genuine psychology as a science. A psychology other than this cannot existà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦everything that was and is genuinely scientific belongs to Marxist psychology (Vygotsky, cited Ratner(1997)). Vygotsky suggested that development took place on two planes, that of the social plane via interaction and through a psychological plane as learners internalise meanings, for example, putting together a jigsaw puzzle or reading a picture book. He also believed that cognitive development occurred through conversations and interactions with more capable members of a group/culture. SCT took into account aspects of creativity and that education should not solely be concerned with learning knowledge and skills but for children to develop the capacity to think clearly, to plan and be able to pass on their understanding via interaction and communication. The key to human intelligence, Vygotsky discovered, was to effectively utilize different types of tools, not the material tools we use to increase our physical capabilities such as cutlery or levers, but psychological tools extending mental probabilities such as language and writing. These tools are described as cultural tools, of which, Vygotsky believed language to be the most important of all; as language facilitates humans to make sense of the world, is the medium of sharing knowledge and is the basis of thought. The interrelationship of language and thought was also a factor Vygotsky held to be of prominence in an individuals development. It is often noticed that young children run a commentary of what they are doing and seeing, a child develops this external speech which later in life becomes internalised as thought, therefore, speech formation that is mastered by children then becomes the basic structures of their thinking. Vygotsky was a prolific writer; he successfully built up a plethora of ideas in his short life as a scholar (he died when he was just 37 years of age of Tuberculoses). As a result, whilst a good deal of the framework for SCT was presented by Lev Vygotsky; growth, expansion and enhancement of SCT is evident in text regarding cultural-historical activity theory (Cole, 1996; Cole Engestrom, 1994) and activity theory (Chaiklin Lave, 1993; Leontiev, 1981) Further to this, in the Soviet Union, the Kharkov School of Psychology was vital for preserving the contribution of Lev Vygotsky. There, the students accomplished new avenues of subsequent development. Jerome Bruner was firstly influenced by Jean Piagets work of cognitive development although later by Vygotsky whos work he broadly developed. Brunner agreed with SCT that a childs social environment, and for the most part, social interaction were particularly imperative in the process of development and learning. Bruners theory of scaffolding is a theory that stemmed from Vygotskys theory of ZPD. Focusing on learning via communication between child and adult. Scaffolding refers to the gradual retraction of adult influence and direction, as the child develops greater mastery of a given task. Another academic that built upon Vygotskys works of SCT include Barbara Rogoff, she writes: Childrens cognitive development is an apprenticeship-it occurs through guided participation in social activity with companions who support and stretch childrens understanding of and skill in using the tools of the culture (1990:7) Its evident that Rogoffs theory of guided participation builds on Bruners theory of scaffolding, highlighting that childrens cognitive development takes place in a social context while expanding SCT beyond language-based dialogue; as the guided learner is also guided by the books that they read, the internet sites they visit and the importance of other such methods of unspoken communication. Rogoff has sourced many books on psychology, one of which The Cultural Nature of Human Development'(2003) examines, amongst many other things, the role of culture in human development and recognizing the arrangement of similarities and differences between cultural communities. For instance, the involvement children have in activities that their elders carry out in the community, which is subsequently the passing on of knowledge and cultural tools. This notion originates and builds upon Vygotskys SCT. Having presented SCT, I will now briefly put forward the theory I will compare it with which is the Piagetian developmental model. Piagetian developmental model was founded by the work of Jean Piaget (1896 1980). He was a SwissHYPERLINK ../../../../../../../wiki/Developmental_psychologist psychologist and philosopher who believed childrens education was extremely important. As a result, his work focused largely on the development of infants in particular, he was so interested in this area that he gained a lot of his empirical evidence from observing and interviewing his own three children. Piagetian developmental model refers to how the individual understands things and gains knowledge in terms of developmental stages and learning styles. It is about the individual acting as the active agent whom interacts with the world that surrounds them. According to Piaget, the child is someone who constructs his own moral world view, who forms ideas about right and wrong, and fair and unfair, that are not the direct product of adult teaching and that are often maintained in the face of adult wishes to the contrary (Gallagher Reid (1979): 26). Piaget was a professor of psychology at the University of Geneva (1929-1975) and restructured the cognitive development theory into stages, which built upon previous work from James Mark Baldwin(1861-1934) an American philosopher and psychologist. These four developmental stages are (1) infancy, (2) pre-school, (3) childhood, and (4) adolescence. Each stage has a cognitive construction which dictates the childs way of thinking and the childs grasp of reality, as the child goes from one stage to the next, except the last, there is always an insufficient understanding of reality, a disequilibrium is caused which in turn results in the reorganisation of thought structures. The four development stages are described in Piagets theory as: Sensorimotor stage: from birth to age 2 years (children experience the world through movement and senses and learn object permanence) Preoperational stage: from ages 2 to 7 (acquisition of motor skills) Concrete operational stage: from ages 7 to 11 (children begin to think logically about concrete events) Formal operational stage: after age 11 (development of abstract reasoning). (Rosenfield Santrock (1998)) Piaget therefore found that this theory is connected by two vital components; one part that prognosticates a childs capabilities dependant of their age/biological maturation and a theory that illustrates the way a learner develops, what steps or stages that an individual must travel through to end up with an outcome, a predetermined objective. Piaget proposes, by his theory of cognitive development, that an individual can not simply be presented with information and for them to make sense of it straight away. Consequently, a construction of an individuals own knowledge that is built by their own experiences is required. This formation of experiences can then permit learners to make schemas, these are an individuals mental structure and personal understanding of the world around them, that is accordingly changed and built upon dependent on the increase of opportunities to explore their world. The original idea of schemas was proposed by philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) as innate structures used to help us perceive the world (Eysenck (2010)). This change or upgrade is accomplished by two collaborating procedures: Assimilation and Accommodation. Assimilation is a mental process of receiving and adapting new information into the pre-existing schema. Its about making sense of something new based on what one already knows and is moderately subjective as an individual adjusts a new concept as to correspond with previous notions and ideas. For example a child knows an animal to have four legs and when that child see a dog he calls it an animal, when the child is informed that this is not only an animal but a dog assimilation takes place and from then on as s/he encounters more different types of four legged creatures the process of assimilation continues each time ending with the state of equilibrium which renders that stage or understanding as complete Accommodation can be described as a mental process one uses to become accustomed to the new information that is set before us, so for instance it is a process that takes place when there is no pre-existing schema and a whole new concept needs to be understood. For example as stated above the child accustomed to the notion of animals having four legs, so when encountering a monkey the child will have to accommodate that not all animals walk on all fours all the time. The process of accommodation can be more distressing for the learner causing a disequilibrium, especially for infants who go through the process of potty training for instance, as the whole concept is different and out of the childs comfort zone therefore this process can take a longer period of time. Piagets theory is used today in the way key stages are set up in the current primary and secondary curriculum and therefore exemplifies the magnitude of his work. There are also theorists that build upon his concept of developmental models who are known as neo-Piagetians such as Hughes, Bower and Wishart who have modified certain experiments such as the object permanence test (Bower and Wishart (1972)) and the policemen doll experiment (Hughs (1975)) which both demonstrate a flaw in Piagets experimental process. Having briefly presented the two theories of cognitive development, I will now discuss some similarities and differences, developing some of the key ideas of each theory. Piagetian developmental model and SCT mutually agree that a childs cognitive development takes place in stages (Jarvis Chandler (2001):149), however, the way in which these stages are portrayed by each theory differ. Whilst Piaget looked at a childs cycle of life from birth to adulthood as being a stage by stage learning pathway such as, preoperational stage taking place from ages 2 to 7, Vygotsky looked at the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) where a child is moved on from one stage of unknowing to the stage of knowing with the help and guidance of a knowledgeable other, which is not based on biological maturation and age but on an individuals personal level of attainment. Vygotskys concept of ZPD illustrates a childs existing and possible capability to do something. (Flanagan 1999 P.72). Vygotsky states that there are three stages that a learner will progress through, the first being tasks that could not be performed even with help, the second which is assisted performance where tasks are being accomplished by means of assistance from a knowledgeable other and finally the third which is independent performance where a learner can complete a task independently and without assistance. For that reason, the concept of ZPD can allow for deeper and enhanced comprehension of the learning process itself (Flanagan 1999 P.73) and also an effective way of evaluating a learners capability as opposed to generalising children into stages or bands of development, as Piaget does with his stage theory. Further to this, in one of Bruners books The Process of Education (1960) he explains his SCT view on the readiness for learning which is unlike Piagets developmental model of stage by stage learning dependant of biological maturation. He suggests that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦any subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development. (ibid.: 33) He goes on to refer to his concept of the Spiral curriculum: A curriculum as it develops should revisit this basic ideas repeatedly, building upon them until the student has grasped the full formal apparatus that goes with them (ibid.: 13). Piaget established a concept that a childs way of thinking differentiates as they grow from infancy to childhood right up until adulthood. This journey of stages that one passes through as one matures is segmented into four stages of cognitive development (as mentioned previously) which is defined as Piagets Stage Theory. (Ginsburg, Opper (1979):26). Piaget put forward that these stages were universal for all children, for example the progression of how a child encountered each stage was set to a fixed pathway from one stage to the next, also, he acknowledged that the speed at which a child went, from beginning to end, would vary and therefore relative to their age/maturation. The transition from one stage to the next, consequently, was only possible when the child was cognitively ready and he believed that a child should not be pushed to learn the next stage of knowledge pending that the child is cognitively complete in the previous stage. Thereforer it can be suggested thast piagets theory of stage development can be far more rigid and set, in contrast, SCT beleives stages can be re-visited and also merge together more continuously to achieve a deeper understanding of knowledge as Bruner states: To instruct someone is not a matter of getting him to commit results to mind. Rather, it is to teach him to participate in the process that makes possible the establishment of knowledge. We teach a subject not to produce little living libraries on that subject, but rather to get a student to think mathematically for himself, to consider matters as an historian does, to take part in the process of knowledge-getting. Knowing is a process not a product. (1966: 72) Therefore it is noticeable that Piagetian developmental model is individualist orientated compared to SCT which is socially and culturally orientated, relying on outside instruction. Piagetian developmental models focal point is the individual and their experiences of their world being the reason of development and in order to learn an individual has to be developed, unlike SCT, which focuses on the social interaction, cultural influence and that development comes after one has learned. As Vygotsky has stated Piagets approach is based on the premise that learning trails behind development, that development always outruns learningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ ((1978):80) and he explains his viewpointà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦properly organised learning results in mental development and sets in motion a variety of developmental processes that would be impossible apart from learning ((1978):90) Both theories acknowledge language as important in an individuals development yet in a totally different degree. Piagetian developmental model suggests that cognitive changes such as thinking and learning where not solely governed by linguistic enhancement or development, whereas SCT deems that language supports the child to excel in freedom of thought and accomplish further cognitive development (Flanagan 1999 P.59). Piagetian developmental model suggests that language is in motion, from the child towards the social environment. (Ginsburg, Opper (1979):84). On the other hand, SCT advocates the opposite, that language moved from the social to the individual, of which is internalised into thought. (Jarvis, Chandler (2001):150). Piaget could be criticised that his experiments and clinical interviews were inadequately designed. The tasks set out could be seen as inappropriate for children of a certain age group, instructions that were given could appear to be somewhat ambiguous and the tasks themselves boring and lacklustre. In later experiments carried out by neo-Piagetians these kind of impediments were rectified and it was evident that the childrens performance had improved a great deal resulting in them to be much more proficient than Piaget confirmed by his research. By simplifying tasks and making them more child friendly, researchers such as Bower and Wishart (1972) with their modification of the object permanence experiment, and Hughes (1975) with the policemen doll experiment, have demonstrated higher cognitive abilities in children who would not be expected to display them according to Piagets theory. Jerome Bruner writes in The Process of Education motives for learning must be kept from going passi ve they must be based as much as possible upon the arousal of interest in what there is be learned, and they must be kept broad and diverse in expression ((1960): 80). As I mentioned earlier Vygotsky suggests that egocentric speech that a child uses to problem solve for example becomes internalised as the child reaches adulthood (Jarvis, Chandler (2001):150) .Vygotsky explains in his posthumous anthology Thought and Language that: 1. In their ontogenetic development, thought and speech have different roots. 2. In the speech development of the child, we can with certainty establish a pre-intellectual stage, and in his thought development, a pre-linguistic stage. 3. Up to a certain point in time, the two follow different lines, independently of each other. 4. At a certain point these lines meet, whereupon thought becomes verbal and speech rational. [Thought and Language, Chapter 4] Yet, Piaget believed that egocentric speech just purely went along with and connected to what ever action the child was carrying out at that specific time(Ginsburg, Opper (1979):84), and once the child matured to adulthood this speech was simply not needed and disappeared. Although the two scholars had opposing views on the function and underlying principle of egocentric speech they both acknowledged and granted that it gave support to cognitive development Bruner, J. S.. The process of education . Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1960. Print. Cole, M. Cultural Psychology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.(1996). Print Cole, M., Engestrom, Y. Introduction. Mind, culture and activity. An International Journal, 1(4), 201. (1994). Print. Chaiklin, S., Lave, J. Understanding practice: Perspectives on activity and context. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. (1993). Print. Eysenck, Michael W. Cognitive psychology; a students handbook . 6th. ed. East Sussex: Psychology Press. (2010). Print. Flannagan, C. Applying Child Psychology to Early Child Development. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Limited (1999). Print. Gallagher, J. M, and D. K Reid. The learning theory of Piaget and Inhelder . Monterey, Calif.: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co., (1979). Print. Ginsbury, H. Opper, S. Piagets Theory of Intellectual Development. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, (1979). Print. Jarvis, M. Chandler, E. Angles on Psychology. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Limited, (2001). Print. Leontiev, A.N. Problems of the development of mind. Moscow: Progress Press.(1981). Print. Munari, Alberto. Jean Piaget (1896-1980). Prospects: the quarterly review of comparative education 24.1/2 (1994): 311-327. Print. Offord, L. The Mozart of Psychology.. N.p., 5 May 2005. Web. 6 Apr. 2011. Ratner, C., Prologue to Vygotskys Collected Works. Volume 5 (1997). Print. Rogoff, Barbara. Apprenticeship in thinking: cognitive development in social context. New York (NY): Oxford University Press, (1990). Print. Rogoff, Barbara. The cultural nature of human development . Oxford (UK): Oxford University Press, (2003). Print. Rosenfield, Anita, and John W. Santrock. Study guide for use with Children, ninth edition [by] John W. Santrock, Allen Keniston, Peden Blair . (1998). Reprint. Boston : McGraw-Hill, (2007). Print. VygotskyÃÅ'† , L. S., and Michael Cole. Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978. Print. Vygotsky, L. S. (1997). The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky, Vol. 4: The history of the development of higher mental functions (R. W. Rieber, Vol. Ed; M. J. Hall, Trans.). New York: Plenum Press. (Original work published 1941)

Human Cloning Should Not be Permitted Essay -- Argumentative Persuasiv

     Ã‚   According to Richard Seed, "cloning is inevitable.   If I don't do it, someone else will.   There's no way you can stop science" (qtd. in Kadrey 2001). Depending on one's personal opinion about cloning, human cloning in particular, a quote such as that will most likely either anger a reader or excite them.   Human cloning is one of the hottest topics for debate in society today-the lines are very strictly drawn between those in favor of continuing cloning research and those who are staunchly opposed to it.   Meanwhile, despite public opinion, science trudges on behind closed doors working to clone the first human.  This paper will first provide a thorough, but brief, introduction into the topic of cloning itself, including its history and its mechanisms; then, through a series of carefully thought out points, it will illustrate why human cloning should not be allowed to continue at this point in time. Part A.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The "origins" of cloning are vague and variant from source to source.   It has been suggested that cloning began in 1952 when a team of geneticists removed a nucleus from an embryonic frog cell and placed it into an egg cell from which the nucleus had been removed.   To the amazement of the scientists, a frog was hatched from the egg cell with the embryonic nucleus.   The research was furthered in 1975 when embryologist John Gurdon of Britain attempted to do the same thing with an adult cell.   While his research was not fruitful, it started the ball rolling for later cloning attempts. Research with embryonic cells continued into the 1980s and led to the creation of cloned cows and sheep (Reilly 2000).   Finally, in 1997, scientists were able to take an older cell, that of an adult sheep, and successfully creat... ...."  Ã‚   CNN Online.  Ã‚   29 August 2000:   n. pag.  Ã‚   Online. http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/08/29/pope.cloning/index.html  Ã‚   12 April 2001. Reed, Susan.  Ã‚   "My Sister, My Clone."  Ã‚   Time Magazine.  Ã‚   19 February 2001:   51. Reilly, Philip R.  Ã‚   Abraham Lincoln's DNA and Other Adventures in Genetics.  Ã‚   Cold Spring Harbor, New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2000. Thomas, Cathy Booth.  Ã‚   "Copydog, Copycat."  Ã‚   Time Magazine.  Ã‚   19 February 2001:   57. "Vatican leads chorus objecting to human cloning."  Ã‚   CNN Online.  Ã‚   18 April 2000:   n. pag.  Ã‚   Online. http://www.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/08/18/vatican.cloning/index.html  Ã‚  Ã‚   12 April 2001. Whitehouse, David, Ph.D.  Ã‚   "Cloning humans: Can it really be done?"  Ã‚   BBC News.  Ã‚   9 March 2001:   n. pag. Online.  Ã‚   http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1211000/1211136.stm  Ã‚   12 April 2001.

Oxidation of Cyclohexanol to Cyclohexanone :: essays research papers fc

Oxidation of Cyclohexanol to Cyclohexanone   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The oxidation of cyclohexanol to cyclohexanone involves the removal of hydrogen from the OH group. After separation and purification, an Infrared Spectrum will be run to determine the composition of the recovered material.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Infrared Spectroscopy is a very powerful technique used in the determination of molecular structure and the identification of unknown organic materials. The infrared spectrum yields direct information about the presence or absence of key functional groups. â€Å"The region of the infrared spectrum which is of greatest interest to organic chemists is the wavelength range 2.5 to 15 micrometers which correspond to approximately 4000 to 600cm-1†(Young). â€Å"When atoms or molecules absorb light, the incoming energy excites a quantized structure to a higher energy level. The type of excitation depends on the wavelength of the light. Electrons are promoted to higher orbirtals by ultraviolet or visible light, vibrations are excited by infrared light, and rotations are excited by microwaves† (Tissue).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  IR spectroscopy is the measurement of the wavelength and intensity of the absorption of infrared light by a sample. The wavelength of IR absorption bands are characteristic of specific types of chemical bonds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An IR spectrophotometer is an instrument which is designed to obtain an infrared spectra of a molecule. An IR spectra is obtained by first irradiating a sample with an IR source of light. The light passes through the sample, which can be in solution or contained within a salt plate, and then onto an IR light detector. The spectrum is analyzed by examining at which frequency the peaks occur. Different peak frequencies indicate different types of vibrational motion and hence, different types of chemical bonds. The peak intensities are usually noted as percent transmittance which compares the amount of light absorbed compared to the amount of IR light that was not absorbed. The frequencies are normally listed in wave numbers (in units of reciprocal centimeters). Experiment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The oxidation of cyclohexanol by dichromate occurred in the presence of sulfuric acid which yielded cyclohexanone according to the balanced redox reaction below: 3 + Cr2O7-2 + 8H+ -- 3 + 2Cr+3 + 7H2O In the presence of excess dichromate, cyclohexanol oxidizes to adipic acid. To maximize yield, the following reaction was prevented: 3 + 4Cr2O7-2 + 32H+ -- 3HOOC(CH2)4COOH + 8Cr+3 + 19H2O The addition of methanol reduced the excess dichromate according to the balanced redox reaction below: CH3OH + Cr2O7-2 + 8H+ -- CO2 + 2Cr+3 + 6H2O Recovery of the ketone was by steam distillation; collecting all

Widespread Adoption Of E-Books

E-books could be referred to as digital media that are similar to print outs. They could also be referred to as books that are in electronic format or version but similar to conventional printed books. As every aspect of life seems to be undergoing a kind of revolution, printing industries are not left behind as they are also moving from analog to digital times by offering books online or in other electronic formats. This essay is going to look and discuss in depth about issues that surround its widespread adoption.In the beginning there were very few books that were available in electronic format as people were reluctant to adopt them. In most cases it is only books that were familiar and in the public domain were published as e-books but of late even new books are available in fact, this mode has given new authors a platform to market their work. E-books requires one to have an electronic device such as a phone or a computer to be able to read them and specific software such as Ded icated e-book reader and Adobe PDF for one to be able to read them. (Viney, 2005).Just like it is the case with other thing, that is having merits and demerits, the same applies to e-books and these factors in one way or the other affects their widespread adoption according to Bergeron and Blander (91). There are those factors that favor its adoption and these are things like; you can carry around a lot of information on a very simple device such as compact discs and phones. It is much easier to search for information in e-books than in other ordinary printouts as you can go to a specific page automatically without having to turn pages one after the other.Many publishers opt to publish their books in electronic form because of various reasons such as; it is cheaper to publish e-book than to print ordinary books which requires a lot of color and labor. Another thing that leads to its adoption world wide is the fact that unlike ordinary printouts, the case is different when it comes t o e-books as you can adjust the font size and backlight to suit your needs. On the other hand, there are those factors that undermine its world wide adoption and these are things like; e-book might require internet connection, requires electronic devices such as phones and computers.Again you have to buy some recommended software such as Adobe PDF reader which costs more than the book itself something that hampers its widespread adoption. Electronic devices are prone to malfunctioning and thus can become faulty anytime when you least expect it and thus it is not reliable. Again this book requires electronic devices that use electrical power thus adding the cost of having it plus it becomes a limitation to areas where there is no electricity. In other circumstances, author’s effort and time spent becomes a waste when their work is hacked by pirates and sold cheaply to readers.There are also reasons such as environmental diversity of end users for example e-books requires parti cular properties for machines for one to read them like specific resolution of the screen, screen size and other things (Viney, 2005). Again this book requires different software for one to access it on another machine making it very costly when you factor in the cost of the software plus the book itself something that impedes on its widespread adoption (Bergeron and Blander, 2002).Indeed departure from analog books to digital e-books is the height of civilization but as it is the case with new products to have no easy flow in the market, e-book has been no exceptional as there are a number of hindrances that hamper its widespread adoption such as the need for specific reading software that are very costly and electronic devices that consume a lot electricity. Despite this, e-book has its advantages such as; it is easily accessible, portable and less costly when it comes to publishing.

Distracted Driving Essay

Recently â€Å"Texas college student Chance Bothe’s last words prior to driving his truck off a cliff were in the form of a text message: â€Å"I need to quit texting, because I could die in a car accident.† He miraculously survived, but Bothe’s story has become an ironic example of the dangers of texting while driving† (Zafar). Distracted driving has become a worldwide problem that is ending/injuring the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people each year. â€Å"A statistic from 2009 declares that in the United States alone 5,474 people were killed on roadways and an additional estimate of 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving† (Aldana). Distracted driving is causing many unnecessary and unintended fatalities and injuries among the drivers and passengers of motor vehicles in the world today; these incidents can be easily avoided if the education of distracted driving is conveyed to all those in possession of a license to operate motor vehicles and the laws being put in place to avoid it are followed and enforced by all. In recent years distracted driving can almost be described as a pandemic outbreak with only negative effects on the lives of many humans. Some may ask what is the exact definition of distracted driving it is as follows: â€Å"distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving. Any type of distraction endangers the drivers, passengers, and bystanders safety† (What is Distracted Driving). Drivers are not only responsible for their own safety when operating a vehicle but also for their passengers and those in other vehicles around them on the road. When driving, the driver must maintain the three aspects of driving focused on the road these are visual, manual and cognitive (Injury Prevention & Control: Motor Vehicle Safety). Visual is the driver’s ability to see everything occurring around him or her on the road. It is known that it is the driver’s responsibility to keep his or her eyes on the road at all times to make sure there is no prevalent danger that  may occur to anyone. Manual is making sure the driver keeps one or both hands on the wheel while it is being operated; which is also common knowledge to all drivers because it is how it is taught during driver’s education and is a major part of passing the license exam. Lastly cognitive is the driver’s awareness of his or her surroundings while on the road so he or she is able to make smart decisions. One should not be thinking of anything other than the road in front of them when operating a motorized vehicle. When the topic of distracted driving comes up in conversation it is usually never a good thing, but the typical first thought of any person is texting while driving. Which is â€Å"by far the most alarming distraction while driving because it requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver,† (What is Distracted Driving) consequently meaning all three aspect which should always be focused on the road are taken away making the driver almost blind and oblivious to the road. Texting while operating a vehicle is positively the worst distraction because it has been calculated by scientists that when a driver is â€Å"sending or receiving a text message he or she takes their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent of this, at fifty-five miles per hour, is driving the length of a football field† (Distracted Driving 2009). Just imagine how many things could go wrong in that amount of road, especially at that speed a great deal of serious damage and possibly even death could result from just that one text message. However, there are also many other devices and actions the driver may partake in to diverge his or her attention away from the road such as â€Å" using cell phone or smart phone, eating and drinking, talking to a passenger, grooming, reading (including maps), using a navigation system, watching a video and adjusting a radio, CD player or MP3 player† (What is Distracted Driving). All these activities are common among every person while driving. Some of these activities being so common for people to do in a car, that some do not even think of them as distracting while operating a motor vehicle, especially the ones where the driver is only eating, drinking or just talking to the passenger. But when we think about it after hearing so many of these statistics we can see how many elements that are crucial to driving can be impaired by some simple multi tasking by the driver to save  some time through their day or just making naà ¯ve conversation. With today’s technology world constantly improving and becoming more popular among the world’s people, both older and younger, it comes with its negative effects of increasing the rates/statistics of distracted driving accidents. This is proven by the statistics taken by the Center of Disease Control Prevention, displayed in their document Injury Prevention & Control: Motor Vehicle Safety, which states the proportion of drivers reported to have been distracted at the time of a fatal crash has increased from seven percent in 2005 to eleven percent in 2009. Although many may not view this as a huge percent in the first place and maybe no a big increase either, but the though of how simple it is to fix this problem but many are not willing to do so. Another statistic from 2010 of a national telephone survey on driver distraction shows results of more than three quarters of drivers reported that they are willing to answer calls on all, most or some trips; yet feel unsafe when riding in vehicles in which the driver is texting (Aldana). These negative increases in statistics are surfacing the dire need to educate the public on the hard facts of distracted driving. The solution being proposed by many organizations today is to educate drivers of the dangers distracted driving poses not only to driver but also to other drivers, passengers and pedestrians. Although, with this solution comes the responsibility of the people to help spread the education they learn and also help enforce others to act on their new knowledge when operating a motor vehicle. In the two cities of Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York multi-market efforts were made in 2011 to decrease the rate of distracted drivers (Aldana). These pilot projects found dramatic declines in distracted driving, with texting dropping seventy-two percent in Hartford and thirty-two percent in Syracuse (Aldana). Since these pilot projects have shown such a great decrease in distracted driving, which also shows a decrease in motor vehicle accidents, proves effectiveness of educating drivers to be aware of the dangers of distracted driving. Now that it has proven to improve distracted drivin g rates many states are taking action against texting while driving. Also well-known figures of today’s world such as President Obama are getting involved; on September 30, 2009 he issued an executive order prohibiting federal employees from texting while driving on government business or with government equipment (Injury Prevention & Control: Motor Vehicle Safety). Also â€Å"on October 27, 2010 the Federal motor carrier Safety Administration enacted a ban that prohibits commercial vehicle drivers from texting while driving† (Injury Prevention & Control: Motor Vehicle Safety). With the help of these well known figures and the laws being put in place the hopes of decreasing distracted driving rates is slowing becoming a reality. It is seen in recent statistics that many people including average people and even ones in high federal government positions and also state governments are partaking in the challenge to help end distracted driving among all those around them. The public is beginning to be immersed in the education of distracted driving. They are being taught about all the dangers and hazards it can cause not only in one life but of all those it may affect. As of right now, nation wide there are thirty-nine states plus the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Guam which have all ban texting behind the wheel; Also ten of the thirty-nine states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Guam have even gone further by prohibiting all hand-held cell phone use while driving (Aldana). These new laws are in fact decreasing distracted driving rates, however, they are not working at their maximum potential. The new laws also need the support of the people to help enforce these laws on all those they have influence on. With the people of the world working with the newly enacted laws being put into place soon the fatality and injury rate due to distracted driving will surely decrease and no longer have to be such a stress on those who are on the road. Everyone in the world can save many lives just by simply waiting to do any one of the distracting actions at a time which it is appropriate and safe so no harm will come to the driver or anyone else on the road. Works Cited Aldana, Karen. â€Å"Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving.† Distraction.gov. NHTSA, 07 2012. Web. 15 Oct 2012. . . â€Å"Distracted Driving 2009.† Traffic Safety Facts. Department of Transportation, n.d. Web. 15 Oct 2012. . . â€Å"Injury Prevention & Control: Motor Vehicle Safety.† CDC. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 09 2012. Web. 15 Oct 2012. . . â€Å"What is Distracted Driving?.† Distraction.gov. NHTSA, 05 2012. Web. 15 Oct 2012. . Zafar, Aylin. â€Å"Man Texts About Needing to Stop Texting, The Drives Off a cliff.† Time. Time, 05 2012. Web. 15 Oct 2012. .

Marriage and Lovers

An Epitaph upon Husband and Wife By : Richard Crashow Richard begins his poem with addressing lovers who are dead and whom death gathered them one more time, or, as it were, wedded them again, and this is a metaphor, in which, he resembles dying together to get married again. The grave that the lovers are in is the second marriage-bed, this is also a metaphor. The lovers will fade away, for separating soul and body is the fate's job which is : obligatory; however, desting can not sever husband and wife because they live once.Now the poet wants readers to calm down because the lovers are not dead, they are sleeping like innocent turtles, this is an image, in which, he resembles the sleeping of the lovers to the turtles, for turtles are innocent and never commit any bad thing. The only reason that lets them sleep together is love knot, lovers cannot run away, for love knot gathers them together. The lovers have to sleep until the end of fate's job which is : taking away people's life, they have to sleep until the dawn shines, and then all life will be daytime only without night as in paradise.When the storm stops, and the shining dawn comes, the lovers will sleep with happiness and enjoys eternity. Commentary This poem is entitled † An Epitaph upon Husband and Wife† by Richard Crashow, a metaphysical poet. The metaphysical poetry is unusual poetry that is behind logic. In this poem, Crashow tries to cure a misconception, in which, lovers fade away after being dead, he declares that they are just asleep, they do not die but live immortality. This poem enjoys rhyme as in : † wed ,bed† , † wife ,life† , â€Å"lie ,tie† and â€Å"light, night†.