Islam in Central Asia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Islam in Central Asia - Essay Example Islam in Central Asia Mansur al-Hallaj was different from other Suffis who followed traditional perceptions that further had its impressions in the literature. For instance, Suffis in the era believed that sharing mysticism with the masses was inappropriate. However, Al-Hallaj followed a rebellious path that further had its impression on the Qrighiz legend of origin. Illustration of such a fact can be obtained from his writing in Kitab-Al-Tawasin, emphasizing dialogues of Satan and God (Lenz-Raymann, 2014). Contextually, the method used by Al-Hallaj in his writing was known as the ‘universal mystical introspection’, which later gave birth to a new dimension of Sufi culture in Qrighiz. He was also rebellious for his belief that practices in contradiction to the traditional religious principles indicate the individual’s thirst for greater truth rather than his challenging or opposing attitude to the beliefs. In his writings, rather than expanding on the traditional religious beliefs, Al-Hallaj emphasized humanity. Mansur al-Hallaj believed in the unity of man with the Divine. He travelled to various places to preach his writings, which majorly included Tostar, Baghdad, Mecca and Turkestan among others that further gave rise to the Qrighiz legend of origin. As argued by Shepard (2009), the writings of Mansur-al-Hallaj were important for Sufi culture, as it defined a new dimension of Islam. His life was measured widely by the French Scholars of Islam.

Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Criminal Law - Essay Example rights of an owner amounts to an appropriation, and this includes, where he has come by the property (innocently or not) without stealing it, any later assumption of a right to it by keeping or dealing with it as owner† shall be deemed as a violation of the law. The actus rios1 of this offense is complete when Edwin assumed the right of the owner or dealt with the property as if he is the owner thereof. On the other hand, the criminality of the act of Edwin can be determined by his motivation or the mens ria2. In this case, the motivation of Edwin is dishonesty. Note that in this case, Edwin wanted to enter into the casino but could not do so because he is still a minor. Since the owner of the identification card is already 21 years and is therefore eligible to enter inside the casino, he assumed the identity of the owner of the card. Furthermore, in he is also violating section 6(1) of the Fraud Act 2006 when he decided to use the identification card for the purpose of committing a fraudulent act. According to Section 6(1) of the Fraud Act 2006 is that â€Å"a person is guilty of an offence if he has in his possession or under his control any article for use in the course of or in connection with any fraud.† Note that according to t his provision, the mere possession of a thing that is used for fraud which is in this case, an identification card of a student from Twospires University. Note that in R v Goodwin [1996]3, the defendant was found guilty of going equipped for theft when he carried Kenya shilling coins to play at an amusement park. The defendant here used the coins to gain access to the gaming machines. In the case of R v Landy (1981)4, the Court noted that when the deciding a case of theft involving deception or dishonesty, the â€Å"jury should be directed to look into the mind of the defendant† to determine whether the defendant is indeed guilty for dishonesty. According to the case of R v Greenstein (1975)5, in judging the state of the mind of the

International Economics paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International Economics paper - Article Example They should also change their message by not reinforcing fears but reassuring citizens that trade is just one of many forces that affect their lives and government's role is to help them adapt to change. WTO should encourage governments address barriers to competition within countries. The victims of restrictive practices are consumers inside each country who must pay higher prices because of a less competitive market. These barriers also harm exporters and foreign consumers. Liberalizing should address investment restrictions too. There are fears insufficient investment restriction encourages companies to relocate to lower wage countries, but people should understand foreign direct investment would go from rich countries to other rich countries rather than poor ones. Nevertheless, there are differences between views people have in the U.S. and the views people have in most developing countries about the WTO and trade liberalization. In developing countries people fear that increase trade liberalization will lead developed countries to take advantage of their resources. In the U.S., the perception is that increased free trade will lead to a loss of sovereignty. Litan, Robert. Moving Towards an Open World Economy: The Next Phase. 6 Dec. 2009.

High Cost of Poverty in the United States Essay Example for Free

High Cost of Poverty in the United States Essay Poverty can be defined in many different ways. In certain attempts, it can be used in numbers, while other definitions can be more vague, and used to define a life style. The defined term of poverty is â€Å"the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions†. (Mirriam Webster, 2011) According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 37 million people live below the poverty line. â€Å"The ranks of Americas poor swelled to almost 1 in 6 people last year, reaching a new high as long-term unemployment left millions of Americans struggling and out of work. The number of uninsured edged up to 49.9 million, the biggest in more than two decades.† (Yen, 2011) Poverty is obviously very common in our country, and all over the world. Even with the United States being the wealthiest country in the world, we still have many Americans who struggle everyday to survive. The topic I chose to focus on is the high cost of poverty, and how it actually costs more to be poor. Although it seems like an oxymoron, it is a very realistic topic. I chose this topic because I have personally been involved in both sides of economic statuses. Although I do not live in extreme poverty, I technically have an income that falls within the line of poverty, but I do not have a family to support and have student loans to live off of. I wanted to know further detail of how those who only experience poverty, have limited choices, and how their disadvantages actually cost them more money. My personal life experience is one from an upper middle class family, and was raised in a wealthy suburb in a predominately white community. My family never had financial struggles, so I had no experience with battling bills. I worked in high school and had my own money, but I had nothing to pay for. I thought I made a decent amount of money making $7 an hour, and only working 15-20 hours a week. For a person with no bills or rents to pay for, $150-200 a week was a lot to me. Recently, I moved out of my parent’s suburban home and into the city to be closer to school and gain some independence as an adult. I make about $250-400 a week, depending on the activity of the restaurant I waitress at. I soon realized that I am very dependent on my two roommates to split bills and rent, because I could never afford to live on my own. Although we live in a low income neighborhood, the cost of food, rent, electric, heat and cable bills stack up, and I struggle to pay them. I also only pay one third of the full cost. I have a car I need to put gas in, a gym membership I pay monthly and credit card bills every month. I now see how people that make just as much, or less than I do, struggle even more to make ends meet when their income is at the head of the household. I wanted to show to people that it is more expensive to be poor, because of the lack of resources, income and credit, and also what their options become for survival due to these circumstances. I also did a quantitative study on renting versus owning an item, to show that it actually costs more to rent something than to purchase it upfront. I chose to sample the same three items from two different stores, and recording the prices to see the differences of renting and owning it. I am aware that most individuals in poverty, usually do not have enough money to purchase items or homes upfront so they often rent them, thinking they can afford weekly or monthly payments to stretch out their income to afford other life necessities. My first concept I chose to focus was access to food. I thought about how much I spend on the food I enjoy for just for me personally, and I think it is expensive. I enjoy fruits and fresh vegetables, brand name cereals and expensive breads. Since I grew up eating the certain brands, I continue to try and afford the things I like. Being an individual with a low income, I cannot imagine supporting not only myself, but a family solely on my income. In this research paper, I will explain the hardships of getting to and from the grocery store, and if you cannot, you need to shop elsewhere, such as corner stores.† Prices in urban corner stores are almost always higher, economists say. And sometimes, prices in supermarkets in poorer neighborhoods are higher. Many of these stores charge more because the cost of doing business in some neighborhoods is higher.† [ (Brown, 2009) ] This can lead to spending extra time, danger, stress, and in the end, costing the individual more money. It also forces those with less money to spend, higher risk for obesity. â€Å"Inequitable access to healthy foods is one mechanism by which socioeconomic factors influence the diet and health of a population†. (Drewnowski, 2009) Since they do not have the money to afford healthy choices, they must choose foods that they can stretch out in order to feed their families, even if it is not healthy. My next concept I chose to study was the price of minimum wage, and how it isn’t really the minimum coverage of standard living. In New York State, the minimum wage is $7.25. â€Å"About 20% of American adults who have jobs are earning less than $10.65 an hour. Even at 40 hours a week, that amounts to less than $22,314, which is the poverty level for a family of four†. [ (Isidore, 2011) ]. This simply states that a monthly income of about $1,000-$2,000 is almost impossible to survive on. This may lead to bad credit, forced into renting, and having people do dangerous or criminal activity to get money or items for their families. The poverty rate for all people disguises substantial variation between racial and ethnic subgroups. Poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics greatly exceed the national average. According to the United States Census Bureau, â€Å"In 2010, 27.4 percent of blacks and 26.6 percent of Hispanics were poor, compared to 9.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 12.1 percent of Asians.† (Bureau of the Census, 2011) Poverty rates are most often the highest for families headed by single women, particularly if they are black or Hispanic. â€Å"In 2010, 31.6 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 15.8 percent of households headed by single men and 6.2 percent of married-couple households lived in poverty.† (Bureau of the Census, 2011). â€Å"The official poverty level is an annual income of $22,314 for a family of four â€Å". (Yen, 2011) On average, depending on the size of a household, a family living in poverty has an average income of less than $20,000. This can include couples with children, single parents with one or more children. Needless to say, this is not a lot of money to support a family on, and thus they have to take extra steps to survive, which results in higher costs, and contributing to the statement of the high cost of poverty. You have to be rich to be poor. This is what some people, who have never lived below the poverty line, dont understand. The poorer you are, the more things cost. Additional steps in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, and danger. This is a fact of life that television, magazines and media, do not often explain. Take for example, food. First, if you do not have a car, getting to the supermarket can take anywhere from one to three hours of public transportation, and costing a price to use the bus or a taxi. To use the method of public transportation, it is necessary to have to loa d all of your groceries into the bus, or taxi. This is limiting to space and capability of carrying all of the groceries. A simpler version of this would be to walk to the corner store, for free, but where the grocery selection is limited and prices are doubled. â€Å"Prices in urban corner stores are almost always higher, economists say. And sometimes, prices in supermarkets in poorer neighborhoods are higher. Many of these stores charge more because the cost of doing business in some neighborhoods is higher.† (Brown, 2009) Also, if you are living in poverty, you will most likely not be making enough money to buy $100 or more worth of groceries for your family. This results in the person or family spending more money, to either get to the grocery store, or paying more for the food to save money traveling to and from. In the end, it is a losing situation, and the poor are paying more in the end than someone who is wealthy and has access to the necessary resources. Spending more money than middle class, or wealthy class to buy groceries is one example of how high the cost of poverty is. If the poor is spending money in the corner stores, they are most likely not getting nutritious foods or healthy choices that most corner stores do not carry. Obesity is a direct result from that, seeing that unhealthy foods cost way less than healthy eating does.† Obesity and type 2 diabetes follow a socioeconomic gradient. Highest rates are observed among groups with the lowest levels of education and income and in the most deprived areas. Inequitable access to healthy foods is one mechanism by which socioeconomic factors influence the diet and health of a population†. (Drewnowski, 2009) Low income levels leave people no choice but to choose foods that are nutrient poor, because it is a price that can afford and something they can stretch out among their whole family to feed them. It is also the best way to provide daily calories at an affordable c ost. Those who are struggling financially are clearly the most disadvantaged when it comes to healthy eating habits. In our grocery stores today we have so many artificial sweeteners, preservatives, fats and sweets that are sure to taste good, but not good for our health. Fats and sweets tend to cost way less, where as healthy foods cost more. It makes no sense to have unhealthy foods cost less than healthy foods, but it is the manufacturing and production that determines the cost of foods. Therefore, those who do not have the money to purchase healthy options have to choose foods that fit in their budget. These are usually unhealthy, packaged, canned or frozen options that have little to no nutritional value. Even those families that have government support, welfare checks and food stamps are still on a restricted budget. The foods they are allowed to get for free or reduced price are items such as fruit juices, canned fruits, cereal, grits, and corn tortillas. These items are all packed with sugar and calories which is not aiding in healthy lifestyles. â€Å"Researchers have shown that low-income neighborhoods attract more fast-food outlets and convenience stores as opposed to full-service supermarkets and grocery stores† (Drewnowski, 2009). This also relates back to travel costs, transportation and affording food. Since it is easier to get to the corner stores, it is a disadvantage to the customers because the corner stores are usually just packed with unhealthy options. It is economic deprivation that is a key factor in obesity, and one key factor of weight gain may be low diet cost. Another example of how the high cost of poverty is, is the price of minimum wage and if it really acceptable to be the minimum wage you can survive on. Most people and experts agree that to get out of an economic slump, we need more jobs. But another problem is that millions of Americans already have jobs that dont pay very much. â€Å"About 20% of American adults who have jobs are earning less than $10.65 an hour. Even at 40 hours a week, that amounts to less than $22,314, which is the poverty level for a family of four†. (Isidore, 2011) In New York State, the federal minimum wage is $7.25. Minimum wage is supposed to be the wage in which it is the bare minimum amount of money that one can survive on. Even at 40 hours a week, that equals to be $290 without taxes taken out. This would be a paycheck of about $250 for one week, and this equals about $1000 a month. Taking into consideration that those who are the working poor, they need to spend more money getting to and from work, which also costs extra time. They also need to pay bills, feed themselves and their families. For an individual making $1,000 a month, this is almost impossible to survive on even in minimal conditions. An average cost of rent in Buffalo NY is fairly inexpensive, and taking into consideration that Buffalo on of the poorest cities in the United States, we have to be aware that there is many people in the city below the poverty line. According to Rentjungle.com, An average one bedroom apartment in Buffalo is $679 a month and two bedroom apartment rents average $750. To see this in comparison to another large city, one bedroom apartments in New York City rent for $2356 a month on average and two bedroom apartment rents average $2767. Minimum wage is clearly not enough to survive on if your average monthly income is $1000. Out of $1000 income, you have to set aside an average of $600 for rent, leaving you $400 for car fees, if you have one, or transportation fees if you depend on them. If your apartment does not include utilities, you need money for electric bill, gas bills, which can skyrocket in our area when it is winter, cable or internet if possible, and food budget. Another example of a disadvantage the poor have is the actual process of cashing their check to get their money. The rich or middle class usually have the option of direct deposit for their paychecks. The poor have check-cashing and payday loan joints, which cost time and money. The poor pay more for financial services, and many people who cannot be capable to have a bank account may have to pay extra money for a money order to pay their bills and cash their checks. â€Å"They may pay a 2 percent check-cashing fee because they dont have bank services. (Brown, 2009) Many people in poverty literally live paycheck to paycheck. If they have a bill that’s due, they do not have a luxury of online payments, because they cannot afford computers or internet, so they have to mail it. If they do not have the money in time for a bill, they have to wait for their next paycheck. This can cost late fees, and in an end result, spending more money than a person with those luxuries. While many people are surviving in this manner, people will look for any way to get by without spending their money. Many people in poverty may depend on credit cards to help them afford things they cannot. Credit cards can help out for temporary reasons, but if not paid off, this can cause more problems. People who are struggling to pay their bills will most likely have bad credit, and have no other option but to rent homes, items, and many other things they cannot afford, due to their credit and income. Bad credit also costs more money than those with good credit. If a person does not have enough money to pay off bills in full, they will get extra interest charges and fees that stack up and end up costing more for them. Since I did not have the option of going into homes of the people in poverty, I decided to do research on items, rather than homes, to compare the costs of rent to own. Poor people do not have the option of owning homes, because of their credit and/or income, so they have no choice but to rent. I wanted to see if the price you pay for being a low income individual actually costs you more, than to own something. This is to show that poverty does in fact cost more to live I chose to look at a refrigerator, a range and a television from two different department stores to compare prices on a rent versus owning the item. My first item, the refrigerator, a 25.3 cubic foot, Side-by-Side with thru-the Door Ice and Water, Black color, was $799.99 to own immediately from Best Buy. At Rent- A-Center, the same exact refrigerator was $37.99 to rent per week, for 91 weeks. At first, it seems like a cheap deal and a realistic price for those who do not have the $799.99 upfront to spend. When you do the math, $37.99 per week for 91 weeks is $3457 total to own after renting at the $37.99 per week. This is over four times the price it would cost to buy at Best Buy and own immediately. I also learned that consumers can get a â€Å"discounted† price by purchasing the item after 90 days, which seemed a little better to me. When I did the math again, it would equal out to be $1728 total to own after renting for 90 days. This is still about double the price of buying it immediately. My next item I compared was the range. A GE-30† Freestanding Electric Range, Black-on-Black Quickset III oven. At Best Buy this was $429.99 to own immediately. Rent-A-Center had the same oven for $24.99 to rent per week for 74 weeks. The total to own after renting for 74 weeks at $24.99 was $ 1849. After 90 days of renting, the total price to own would be $924.63. The prices are clearly different, but yet it seems manageable when you are there. Looking at a price of $25 a week for a nice, brand new stove seems pretty manageable if you have a low income. When you look at the math and how much it will actually cost to rent rather than own, it is actually over four times the original price to own the oven upfront. The last item I compared was a television, an Insignia © Advanced 42† Class/1080p/ 120Hz/ LCD. This item from Best Buy was $749.99 to own immediately. Rent-A-Center had the same television for $39.99 to rent per week, for 74 weeks. It seems like a reasonable, affordable price until you calculate it and realize that it would cost $2959 total to own after 74 weeks of renting. This is about four times the original price. After 90 days of renting, the â€Å"discount† price to own, at Rent-A-Center is $1479, still double the original price. All three of the items I chose to compare are most needed in homes, with the exception of the television. Although it is not a necessity, almost all homes have at least one television. When those who are living in poverty want to own these items, they will have struggles to afford paying them. They turn to the option of renting because they see the low price and it appeals that it is affordable to them. The small payments they think they can afford weekly add up and end up costing them quadruple of original prices. In conclusion, being poor is a struggle. It costs much more money and time to be poor. Working lots of hours and making little money takes a toll on many people here in the United States. I wanted to show readers that this is a very realistic topic to study, and that the cost of poverty is high. The obstacles and disadvantages those in poverty have to deal with are frustrating, stressful ,and in need of change. Poverty is a very difficult thing to understand and take control over because lifestyles cannot be forced upon. People choose their own paths of life, and lack of education, jobs, motivation, children and many other situations are uncontrollable. In our society, I think it is important to know the struggles of those in poverty stricken situations and to understand their hardships. This can be motivation to those in it, or headed towards it in their future. Learning about the costs and disadvantages poverty comes with can be a motivating factor for people to go to college and get an education to receive a well paying job, get a job in general, educate themselves about saving money, and learning that renting is not cheaper than owning. Hopefully my research will be beneficial to those in college, living on low income, to do well in school to gain better jobs, educate those in poverty about the costs they are spending and figuring new alternatives, and to open eyes to those that think it is cheap to be poor. Being in poverty costs time and the cost of poverty is certainly high. In the end, the high cost of poverty will be a never ending cycle of time and money and I hope this research paper opens the eyes of all individuals to help make this problem change. Bibliography Brown, D. L. (2009). The High Cost of Poverty: Why the Poor Pay More. Lexis Nexis Academic , A-4. Bureau of the Census. (2011). Income Alternative Poverty Estimates in the United States. Washington D.C: U.S Census Bureau. Drewnowski, A. (2009). Nutrition Reviews: Obesity, diets, and social inequalities. Seattle: University of Washington. Isidore, C. (2011, September 27). CNN Money. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Not getting by on minimum wage: http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/27/news/economy/minimum_wage_jobs/index.htm Jason M. Sutherland, E. S. (2009). Getting Past Denial — The High Cost of Health Care in the United States. The New England Journal of Medicine , 1227-30. Mirriam Webster. (2011). Mirriam Webster Dictonary. Dictionary . Brittanica Company. Yen, H. (2011, September 13). Yahoo News. (A. Press, Ed.) Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Census: US poverty rate swells to nearly 1 in 6: http://news.yahoo.com/census-us-poverty-rate-swells-nearly-1-6-142639972.html

Smart Systems And Smart Materials

Smart Systems And Smart Materials Science and technology has made amazing developments in the design of electronics and machinery by using standard materials, which did not have particularly special properties (i.e. steel, aluminum, gold etc). Imagine the range of possibilities, which exist for special type of materials that have properties scientists can manipulate. Some such materials has the ability to change shape or size or simply by adding a little bit of heat, or to change from a liquid to a solid almost instantly when it is near a magnet; these materials are called smart materials. Smart materials are the materials that have one or more properties that can be dramatically altered. Most everyday materials have physical properties, which cannot be significantly altered; for example if an oil is heated it shall become little thinner, whereas a smart material with variable viscosity may turn from a fluid which flows easily to a solid. A variety of smart materials already exists, and is being researched extensively. These includes piezoelectric materials, magneto-rheostatic materials, electro-rheostatic materials, and shape memory alloys. Some everyday items are already incorporating smart materials (coffeepots, cars, the International Space Station, eyeglasses) and the number of applications for them is growing rapidly. Each individual type of smart material has a different type of property which can be significantly altered, such as viscosity, volume, and conductivity. The property which can be altered influences what types of applications the smart material can be used for. Smart systems and smart materials Smart structures are the new emerging materials systems which combines contemporary materials science with information science. The smart system is composed of these:- sensing, processing, actuating, feedback, self-diagnosing and self-recovering subsystems. These system uses the functional properties of advanced materials to achieve high performances with the capabilities of recognition, discrimination, and adjustification in response to make change of its environment. Each component of this system must have functionality, and the entire system is integrated to perform a self-controlled smart action, similar to a living creature that can think, make judgment and take actions. A smart system can be considered as a design philosophy that emphasizes predictivity, adaptivity and repetivity. A smart system/structure is defined as a non-biological physical structure having the following attributes: (1) a definite purpose; (ii) means and imperative to achieve that purpose; and (iii) a biological pattern of functioning. Smart materials are the subset of the smart systems, i.e. smart structures at the microscopic or mesoscopic scales. Smart systems are the non-biological structures which means that the system functions as a biological system rather than the pattern of functioning as a Turning machine. These materials will generally include at least one structural element, some for means of sensing the environment and its own state, and some type of processing and adaptive control algorithm. Science and technology in the 21st century will have to rely heavily on the development of new materials that are expected to respond to the environmental changes and manifest their own functions according to the optimum conditions. The development of these materials will undoubtedly be an essential task in many fields of science and technology such as informatics science, micro-electronics, computer science, medical treatment, life science, energy, transportation, safety engineering and military technologies. Materials development in the future, therefore, should be directed toward creation of hyperfunctional materials which will surpass even biological organ in some aspects. The present materials research is to develop various pathways that will lead the modern technology towards the smart sy stems. Types of Smart Materials Piezoelectric materials:- Piezoelectric materials have two unique properties that are interrelated. When a piezoelectric material is deformed, it gives off a small but a measurable electrical discharge. Alternately, when an electrical current is passed through a piezoelectric material it experiences the significant increase in size (approx. up to a 4% change in volume) Piezoelectric materials are widely used as sensors in different type of environments. They are often used to measure fluid composition, fluid density, fluid viscosity, or the force of an impact. An example of a piezoelectric material in everyday life is an airbag sensor in our car. The material senses the force of an impact on the car and thus sends and electric charge deploying the airbag. Example of Piezoelectric materials Electro-rheostatic (ER) and magneto-rheostatic (MR) materials:- Electro-rheostatic (ER) and magneto-rheostatic (MR) materials are fluids, which can experience dramatic change in their viscosity. These type of fluids can change from thick fluids (similar to motor oil) to nearly a solid substance within a span of a millisecond when exposed to a magnetic or an electric field. The effect can completely be reversed just as quickly when the field is removed. MR fluids experience viscosity changes when exposed to a magnetic field, while ER fluids experience similar type changes in an electric field. The composition of each type of smart fluid varies widely. The most common form of MR fluid consists of the tiny iron particles suspended in oil, while ER fluids can be as simple as milk chocolates or corn-starch and oil. MR fluids are mostly being developed for use in the car shocks, damping washing machine vibration, prosthetic limbs, exercise equipment, and surface polishing of machine parts. ER are mainly being developed for use in the clutches and valves, as well as engine mounts designed to reduce noise and vibration in the vehicles. Shape memory alloys:- Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are the metals, which exhibit two intresting unique properties, pseudo-elasticity, and shape memory effect. Arne Olander first observed these unusual properties in 1938 (Oksuta and Wayman 1998), but until the 1960s were no any serious research advances made in the field of shape memory alloys. The most effective and widely used alloys includes-NiTi (Nickel Titanium), CuZnAl, and CuAlNi. The unusual properties mentioned in the above are being applied to a wide variety of applications in the number of different fields. Shape memory alloys use ) pH sensitive polymers:- pH sensitive or pH responsive polymers are the materials which responds to the changes in the pH of the surrounding medium by varying or changing their dimensions. Such materials either swell or collapse depending on the pH of their own environment. These behaviour are exhibited due to the presence of certain type of functional groups in the polymer chains. There are only two kinds of ph sensitive materials:- one that have acidic group (-COOH, -SO3H) and swells in basic pH, and others that have basic groups (-NH2) and swells in acidic pH. Polyacrylic acid is an example of a former and Chitosan is an example of a latter. The mechanism of response is just same for both, just the stimuli varies. Their response is triggered due to the presence of ionisable functional groups (eg -COOH, -NH2) which get ionized and acquires a charge +/- in a certain pH. The polymer chains are now having similarly charged groups which causes repulsion and thus the material expands in dimensions. The opposite of this happens when pH changes and the functional groups loses their charge hence the repulsion is therefore gone and the material collapses back. These materials are being widely used for controlled drug delivery systems and biomimetics Halochromic material:- Halochromic materials are the materials which changes colour when pH changes occurs. The term chromic is defined as the materials that can change their colour reversibly in the presence of a factor. In this case, the factor is pH. The pH indicators have this type of property. Halochromic substances are suited for use in environments where pH changes occur very frequently, or the places where changes in pH are most. Halochromic substances can detect alterations in the acidity of substances, eg- detection of corrosion in metals. These substances can be used as indicators to determine the pH of the solutions of unknown pH. The colour obtained is compared with the colour obtained when the indicator is mixed with solutions of known pH. The pH of the unknown solution can then be estimated. Obvious disadvantages of this type method include its dependency on the colour sensitivity of the human eye, and those of unknown solutions that are already colour can be used. example of halochromoic The colour changes of halochromic substances occur when a chemical binds to existing hydrogen and hydroxide ions in solution. Such bonds result in changes in the conjugate systems of the molecules, or the range of electron to flow. This alters the amount of light absorbed, which in turns results in a visible change of colour. Halochromic substances does not display a full range of colour for a full range of pH because, after certain acidities, the conjugate system does not changes. The various shades resulted from different type of concentrations of halochromic molecules with the different conjugate systems. (6)Dielectric elastomers (DEs):- Dielectric elastomers are the smart material systems which produces large strains (even up to 300%) and belong to the group of electro active polymers (EAP). Based on their simple principle of working dielectric elastomers actuators (DEA) transform electric energy directly into the mechanical work. DE are lightweight, and have a high elastic energy density and are investigated since the late 1990s. Many of its potential applications exist as prototypes. Every year in spring a SPIE conference takes place in San Diego where the newest research results concerning DEA are exchanged between. Self-healing materials:- These materials are the class of smart materials that are having the structurally incorporated ability to repair damage caused by mechanical usage over time. The inspiration comes from the biological systems, which have the ability to heal after being wounded. Initiation of cracks and other types of damage on a microscopic level have been shown to change the thermal, electrical, and acoustical properties, and eventually lead to the whole scale failure of these materials. Usually, cracks are mended by hand, which is difficult because cracks are often hard to detect. A material (polymers, ceramics, etc.) that can intrinsically correct the damage caused by normal usage could lower production costs of the number of different industrial processes through longer part lifetime, reduction of inefficiency over time caused by degradation, as well as prevent costs incurred by material failure. For a material to be called as self-healing, it is necessary that the healing process shall occur with out human intervention. Examples shown below include healing polymers that are not self-healing polymers. Example of self healing Temperature-responsive polymer:- Temperature-responsive polymer is a polymer which undergoes a physical change when an external thermal stimulus is presented. Their ability to undergo such changes under easily controlled conditions makes this class of polymers fall into the category of smart materials. These physical changes can be exploited for many analytical techniques, especially for separation chemistry. After numerous investigations of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (poly-NIPAAm), there was a sparked interest in the applications of this and many other stimuli-responsive polymers. There have been extensive research in the applications of intelligent polymers for use as stationary phases, extraction compounds, surface modifiers, drug delivery, and gene delivery. Temperature responsive polymer Applications of smart materials There are many possibilities for smart materials and structures in this world. Engineering structures can be operated at the very limited of their performance envelopes and to their structural limits without fear of the exceeding either. These structures can also give maintenance engineers a full report on the performance history, as well as the location of the defects, whilst having the ability to counteract the unwanted or potentially dangerous conditions such as excess vibration, and effect self repair. Smart Materials in Aerospace:- Some materials and structures are termed sensual devices. These are structures which can sense their environment and generate data for use in health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS). Today the most well established application of HUMS are in the field of aerospace, in the areas such as aircraft checking. An aircraft constructed from a sensual structure could self-monitor its performance to a level beyond that of current data recording, and provide ground crews with the enhanced health and usage monitoring. This would minimise the overheads associated with HUMS and allow such aircraft to fly for more hours before any human intervention is required. Smart Materials in Civil Engineering They can be used in the monitoring of civil engineering structures to assess durability. Monitoring of the current and long term behaviour of a bridge would lead to enhanced safety during its life since it would provide early warning of structural problems at a stage where minor repairs would enhance durability, and when used in conjunction with structural rehabilitation can be used to safety monitor the structure beyond its original design life. This will influence the life costs of such structures by reducing upfront construction costs and by extending safe life of the structures. Sensual materials and structures also have a wide range of potential domestic applications, as in food packaging for monitoring safe storage and cooking. The above example addresses only sensual structures. However, the smart materials and structures offer the possibility of structures, which not only sense but also adapt with their environment. Such types of adaptive materials and structures benefit from the sensual aspects highlighted earlier, but in addition have the capability to move, vibrate, and exhibit a multitude of other real time responses. Potential applications of such adaptive materials and structures range from the ability to control the aeroelastic form of an aircraft wing, thus minimising drag and improving operational efficiency, to vibration control of lightweight structures such as satellites, and power pick-up pantographs on trains. Ken Materials Mechatronic smart structures have demonstrated the capability of its technology, but raise the important issue of the complexity of the resulting system. This smart type of structures contains a multitude of different materials, and in the case of sensual structures it will generate large amounts of data. This increase in complexity has been described as the spaghetti syndrome, and has led to the proposal for an alternative type of smart structure based on the concept of ken materials (the Chinese characters which means wisdom, structure, monitoring, integration and benignity is being pronounced ken in the Japanese language). Such structures will move functional integration into the constituent engineering materials by themselves. Some of the practical examples of ken materials exist at present, although a structural composite based on this concept had been developed in Japan. This is a carbon and glass fibre reinforced concrete which able to monitor concrete structures by using only the structural reinforcing fibres, thus reducing the complexity of the system. (4) Structural Uses (a) Active control of structures The concepts of the adaptive behaviour have been an underlying theme of active control of structures which are subjected to an earthquake and other environmental types of loads. The structure adapts its dynamic characteristics to meet the performance objectives at any instant. Sun and Sun (vi) used a thermo mechanical approach to develop a constitutive relation for bending of a composite beam with a continuous SMA fibers embedded eccentric to neutral axis. The authors finally concluded that SMAs can be successfully used for the active structural vibration control. Thompson(iii) also conducted an analytical investigation on the use of SMA wires to dampen the dynamic response of the cantilever beam constrained by SMA wires. (b) Passive control of structures Two families of the passive seismic control devices which are exploiting the peculiar properties of SMA kernel components has been implemented and tested within our MANSIDE project (Memory Alloys for New Seismic Isolation and Energy Dissipation Devices). They are the Special braces for the framed structures and isolation devices for the buildings and bridges. (c) Smart Material Tag These smart materials tag can be used for composite structures. These tags can be monitored externally throughout the life of those structures to relate the condition of internal material. Such measurements as stress, moisture, voids, cracks and discontinuities might be interpreted via a remote sensors. (d) Retrofitting SMAs can use as self-stressing fibres and therefore they can be applied for retrofitting. Self-stressing fibres are the ones in which the reinforcement is placed into the compositenon-stressed state. A prestressing force is therefore introduced into the system without the use of large mechanical actuators, by providing SMAs. These materials thus do not need specialized electric equipments nor do they create safety problems in the field. Treatment can be applied at any time after hardening of matrix instead of during its curing and hardening. So the Long or short term prestressing is introduced by triggering the change in SMAs shape using temperature or electricity. The Future The development of true smart materials at the small atomic scale is still progressing a little, although the enabling technologies are under the development. These require the novel aspects of nanotechnology (technologies which are associated with materials and processes at the nanometre scale, 10-9m) and the newly developing science of shape chemistry. Worldwide, a considerable effort is being made to develop these smart materials and structures. The technological benefits of such types of systems have begun to be identified and, demonstrators are therefore under construction for a wide range of applications from space to aerospace, to civil engineering and to domestic products. In many of above, these applications, the cost benefit analyses of such systems are yet to be fully demonstrated. The Office of Science and Technologys Foresight Programme has recognised these types of systems as a strategic technology for the future, having considerable potential for creation of wealth through the development of various unknown products, and performance enhancing the existing products in a broad range of the industrial sectors. The concept of engineering materials and structures which respond to their own environment, including their human owners, is somewhat an alien concept. So it is therefore not only important that the technological and financial implications of these materials and structures are addressed, but also issues associated with public understanding and acceptance.Techno-democracy could only come about only through education and exposure of the general public to these technologies. However, such a general acceptance of smart materials and structures may in fact be more difficult than some of the technological hurdles which are associated with their development. A new smart materials process Multiple Memory Material Technology developed by University of Waterloo engineering researchers promises to revolutionize the manufacture of diverse products such as medical devices, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), printers, hard drives, automotive components, valves and actuators.

A critical review of the major opposing views on arbitration & industri

This paper will critically review the major opposing perspectives on arbitration and industrial relations, with particular attention to how government regulation and intervention relate to the changes made to the system after 1996. The major focus of this brief paper will be to demonstrate that Howard’s industrial relations policies resemble those of the late 1800’s, where the Master and Servant Act’s regulated the relationships between employer and employee. These were replaced with the introduction of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration (1904-1921). The outcome from such dramatic change in industrial relations was the forming of unions and major strikes. Subsequently, the new system of employer and employee relations sought to resolve labour disputes and enhance the quality of life for Australian workers. Moreover it was steeped in social democratic ideals and worked to give every Australian a decent standard of living. These ideals have yet shifted back to the individual contract model where the market predetermines wages and working conditions. During pre-federation when free labour came to dominate the colonies; workers exercised their civil citizenship rights through entry into individual employment contracts. The master and servant laws which empowered these individual contracts were imported from Britain and were quickly implemented and regulated in the Colonies. Isaac argues that ‘the master and servant acts †¦ both in concept and practice reflected the harsh penal code used against the convicts’. However, the latter part of the 1800’s brought with it the rising political influence of the working classes and an increasingly powerful trade union. The modification of the master and servant laws through the collectivisation of union groups resulted in a greater role fir state interventions. The 1890’s saw the emergence of many disputes over working conditions and the power employers had over employees, which was legitimised by law. Australian workers were illustrating this through strikes and the formation of unions. In recognising the duty of government to be the protection and economic welfare of its citizens, a court of Conciliation and Arbitration was established in Australia in the 1890’s. The new systems were based in social democratic ideals and worked to give ever... ...ts to replace the idea of "industrial relations" with that of "employee relations" reflect efforts to draw attention away from institutions like tribunals and unions, towards individuals and their direct relationships. Bibliography Bolton, G., (1990) The Oxford History of Australia, vol.5, '1942-1988: The Middle Way', Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Isaac, J., (1998) Australian Labour Market Issues: An Historical Perspective, Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 690-15 MacIntyre, P.G., (1985) A Fair Wage in Winners and Losers: The Pursuit of Social Justice in Australian History, Allen and Unwin: Sydney McCallum, R., (1996) The New Millennium and The Higgins Heritage: Industrial Relations in the 21st Century, Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 38, no. 2, pp.294-312. Parkin, A., Summers, J., & Woodward, D., (1980) Government, Politics and Power in Australia: an Introductory Reader, Melbourne, Victoria. : Longman Cheshire, pp. 372-74 Schmitthoff, C. (1990) Export Trade: The Law and Practice of International Trade: 9th Edition. London: Sweet & Maxwell Solomon, D., (1999) End of the Era of Arbitration, Courier Mail 27th March.

Adam and Eve in Paradise lost Essay -- essays research papers

Milton was looked on by many feminists, â€Å"of or relating to or advocating equal rights for women,†(comma before quotation mark)[1] as rather chauvinistic in the way he portrayed Eve. In, (delete,) Paradise Lost, there are many examples of Eve being slighted (comma and substitute well with while) well Adam remains unscathed. **** Haven’t Developed introduction completely **** When Eve first enters the world, (comma maybe) she awakes, â€Å"Under a shade on flow’rs†¦,†[2] by a lake. In putting Eve under shade, (comma maybe) Milton shows that she is not one hundred percent in accordance with God. Eve wondered where and who she was and then she proceeded to look at her image in the water. (Revised sentence) â€Å"There I had fixt mine eyes till now, and pin’d with vain desire, had not a voice thus warn’d me†¦,†[3] is Eve’s (‘ might be needed) words to Adam. This action shows how Eve is so vain that she would sit for eternity unknowingly mesmerized by her own image. All it takes though to move Eve from the lakes edge is the voice of God who she trusts without question. Milton makes (made because past tense) Eve out to be dim because if most people were to hear a voice they would inquire (on) who(m) it was. However, in this case, (, might be needed) Eve just trusts (trusted if you want to make it past t ense) the voice right away (immediately, for a better word) foreshadowing her trust in anyone who speaks. This shows how Milton is chauvinistic also (Do you need â€Å"also†) because he is infe...