Essays on Social Networking

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AS IMPORTANT TOOLS TO FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS Main ideas: 1. Social networking sites in schools and universities play an interesting role in order to improve abilities. 2. The advantage of social networking is reconnecting people. 3. Social networking sites offer some useful services to create a good environment among friends and family members. SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES AS IMPORTANT TOOLS TO FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS Nowadays, internet and social networking sites have become in useful tools that allow people around the world to communicate and to spread interesting information.They have been used to support politicians during presidential elections. For this reason I do agree with the fact of considering social networking sites as important tools to foster relationships. In the field of education, these sites are very useful, since students have the opportunity to interact with others by planning and working on school assignments. Teachers on their part also find inter net as an interesting tool, using it in their classes realizing that it will be helpful to improve students’ skills and also to foster their relationships and create new ones.On the other hand, it would be important to mention that one of the advantages of these sites is that they give people the chance of reconnecting with friends and family members that have not been in touch with for a long period of time; allowing them to strengthen and build good relationships. Besides that, the social networking sites, offer some services, such as free messaging, photo storage, games among others; that people can use to spend their free time and also to share memorable events with the family and friends.This aspect is very important when looking for a good environment with family members and friends. As a conclusion, it would be relevant to mention that one of the purposes of the social networking sites is to give spaces of interaction to people and also to let them get informed about i nteresting and updated topics. These two aspects build and foster their relationships with the society through the communication.

Patient Safety in Rural Nursing Because of Nursing Shortage Essay

The United States is in the midst of a nursing shortage that is being increasingly discussed in the context of declining healthcare facilities in the nation. Over 1 in 7 hospitals (15%) report a severe RN nursing shortage with more than 20% of their nursing positions vacant and 80%-85% of hospitals report that they have a nurse shortage This shortage is predicted to intensify over the next decade or two as nurses belonging to the generation of baby boomers retire. The Nursing Management Aging Workforce Survey released in July 2006 by the Bernard Hodes Group reveals that 55% of surveyed nurses and nurse managers reported their intention to retire between 2011 and 2020 (AACN, 2006). In April 2006, officials with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released projections that the nation’s nursing shortage would grow to more than one million nurses by the year 2020 (HRSA, 2003). Nursing colleges and universities are struggling to expand enrollment levels. In the report titled â€Å"What is Behind HRSA’s Projected Supply, Demand, and Shortage of Registered Nurses? † analysts show that all 50 states will experience a shortage of nurses to varying degrees by the year 2015 (AACN, 2006). Factors driving the growth in demand for nurses include: an 18 % increase in the population; a larger proportion of elderly persons requiring proportionally higher levels of medical care; advances in medical technology that heighten the need for nurses; an increase in the number of work settings for nurses and demographic changes in an increasing U.  S. population (HRSA, 2003). Factors that are causing a decrease in the supply of nurses are: the declining number of nursing school enrollees, graduates and faculty; the aging of the registered nurse workforce; work environment issues leading to job burnout and dissatisfaction; high nurse turnover and vacancy rates; and declines in relative earnings (HRSA, 2003). Due to this critical imbalance between the supply and demand of nurses, the United States is today facing a nursing shortage crisis. Nursing shortage in rural settings: Research shows that nursing shortage as defined by the federal government exists mainly in rural areas of the country that are far away from metropolitan areas. These areas suffer more from nursing shortage than urban areas due to lack of economic resources to compete with urban based employers, inadequate training for nurses to practice in rural settings and dependence on non-hospital care settings in the rural areas. According to a paper published by the National Clearinghouse for Frontier Communities, â€Å"Impacts and Innovations in Frontier America† (December 2004), nurse shortages in frontier and rural communities derive not only from the current national shortage of nurses but also a long-standing trend favoring rural-to-urban migration of the educated, skilled workforce. There is also the issue of money. When examined by rurality, LPNs in rural settings ($21,941) report an income 23% lower than that reported by LPNs in urban settings ($28,408) (NCSBN, 2006). A large number of rural communities are losing existing employment and education opportunities and the paper suggests that the community context of a nurse shortage can be addressed only through community-based development approaches as well as the crafting of healthy rural policies. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published a report titled â€Å"The American Nursing Shortage† with the help of its researchers Bobbi Kimball and Edward O’Neil. According to this report, even when some people feel a calling for the professions such as nursing, they are deterred by certain dimensions of the lifestyle, such as low pay, compulsory mobility and the need for service in rural areas. Available data and literature suggest that the impact of the nursing shortage on rural and frontier communities varies greatly from community to community. IN some rural places, there is no difficulty in filling vacancies but there may be just a few good paying jobs. However, in most rural areas, recruiting for openings is estimated to take about 60 percent longer to fill than in urban areas (Long 2000). Nurse employers receive many applications but often find applicants do not meet desired qualifications and then, they often have to accept lower qualifications to fill positions. Differences in education between frontier and non-frontier nurses exist both in their basic nursing education and the highest degree earned (FEC, 2003). Fully half of frontier nurses had qualified as RNs through associate degree (ADN) programs, in comparison with 40% of the non-frontier nurses; in contrast, non-frontier nurses were more likely to have attended diploma or BSN programs. Differences remain when looking at highest degree received; 44% of frontier nurses’ highest degree is the ADN, in contrast with 34% of the non-frontier nurses. And, while the percentage of nurses who have earned a bachelors degree is slightly lower among frontier nurses (30% frontier, 33% non-frontier), the percentage who has earned masters degrees is also lower among frontier (7% frontier compared with 10% non-frontier) (FEC, 2003). At Prairie Vista Nursing Home in Holyoke, Colorado, a town of about 1,900 people about 130 miles northeast of Denver, administrators reportedly had to work double shifts to cover shifts after a nurse retired. Recruiting nurses to work in rural areas is difficult to begin with; and, when urban-trained nurses enter rural practice, they often find they are ill-prepared for the demands of the job, contributing to job dissatisfaction and turnover. Once there, they typically find it difficult to access continuing education opportunities that fit their needs. â€Å"When educators bring their knowledge to us, they often do not realize that we practice differently than urban centers do† (rural nurse, quoted in Molinari 2001). In the rural setting, nurses typically fill multiple roles. There is a need for a broad range of skills and cross training in multiple jobs. â€Å"Rural nursing requires a high level of generalist skills and critical thinking† (Fahs, Findholt et al. 2003). Another issue is that the ethnic composition of the rural nurse workforce does not correspond with the population it serves. The ANA Rural Nursing module identifies five factors that affect rural nursing practice: threats to anonymity and confidentiality; traditional gender roles; geographic isolation; professional isolation; and scarce resources (Bushy 2004). Patient safety for nursing shortage in rural settings: Surveys and studies published recently confirm that the shortage of registered nurses is impacting the delivery of health care in the U. S. and negatively affecting patient outcomes. Research now shows that how well patients are cared for by nurses affects their health, and sometimes can be a matter of life or death. These studies have found that (HRSA, 2003): †¢ A total of 53% of physicians and 65% of the public cited the shortage of nurses as a leading cause of medical errors (Harvard School of Public Health, 2002,); A higher proportion of nursing care and a greater number of hours of care by nurses per day are associated with better outcomes for hospitalized patients (Needleman et al. , 2002); †¢ Nursing actions, such as ongoing monitoring of patient’s health status, are directly related to better health outcomes (Kahn et al. , 1990) ; †¢ 126,000 nurses are needed immediately to fill vacancies at our Nation’s hospitals. Today, 75% of all hospital vacancies are for nurses (American Organization of Nurse Executives, 2002); Low nurse staffing levels have contributed to 24% of unanticipated events in hospitals that resulted in death, injury or permanent loss of function (Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 2002); †¢ Patients who have common surgeries in hospitals with low nurse-to-patient ratios have an up to 31% increased chance of dying. Every additional patient in an average hospital nurse’s workload increased the risk of death in surgical patients by 7% (Aiken et. al. , 2002); Low nursing staff levels were a contributing factor in 24% of hospitals’ reports of patient deaths and injuries since 1996 (Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 2002); †¢ Less nursing time provided to patients is associated with higher rates of infection, gastrointestinal bleeding, pneumonia, cardiac arrest, and death from these and other causes (Needleman et al. , 2002); and †¢ Nurse executives surveyed indicated that staffing shortages are contributing to emergency department overcrowding and the need to close beds (American Organization of Nurse Executives, 2002). The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 2002 has issued a warning that failure to address the problem of nursing shortage in rural areas will result in increased deaths, complications, lengths-of-stay and other undesirable patient outcomes. JCAHO examined 1,609 hospital reports of patient deaths and injuries since 1996 and found that low nursing staff levels were a contributing factor in 24% of the cases (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 2002). New research indicates that a shortage of registered nurses prepared at the baccalaureate and higher degree level is endangering patients. In an article in the September 24, 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Linda Aiken and her colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania found that patients experience significantly lower mortality and failure to rescue rates in hospitals where more baccalaureate-prepared nurses provide direct patient care. At least 1,700 preventable deaths could have been realized in Pennsylvania hospitals alone if baccalaureate-prepared nurses had comprised 60% of the nursing staff and the nurse-to-patient ratios had been set at 1 to 4. Unfortunately, only 11% of PA hospitals have more than 50% of the nursing staff prepared at the baccalaureate level ( Institute of Medicine, 2003). A survey titled â€Å"Views of Practicing Physicians and the Public on Medical Errors†, conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation reported in the December 12, 2002 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that 53% of physicians and 65% of the public cited the shortage of nurses as a leading cause of medical errors. Overall, 42% of the public and more than a third of U. S. octors reported that they or their family members have experienced medical errors in the course of receiving medical care (AACN, 2006). Nurse researchers at the University of Pennsylvania determined that patients who have common surgeries in hospitals with high nurse-to-patient ratios have an up to 31% increased chance of dying. Funded by the National Institute for Nursing Research, the study found that every additional patient in an average hospital nurse’s workload increased the risk of death in surgical patients by 7% (AACN, 2006). According to an extensive study by Dr.  Jack Needleman and Peter Buerhas, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in May 2002, a higher proportion of nursing care provided by RNs and a greater number of hours of care by RNs per day are associated with better outcomes for hospitalized patients (AACN, 2006). Conclusion: Available data and literature suggest that the issue of nurse shortage is a national one. Yet, the impact of nurse shortage is better seen in the rural areas where nurses are not well paid, existing nurses are not well qualified and patients are dependent on local medical facilities. Because most frontier and rural communities are distant from hospitals, residents may rely on non-hospital based care settings for a greater proportion of their care than their urban counterparts. Due to these reasons, nurse shortage in rural areas has endangered patient safety. Nurses are the primary source of care and support in the health care sector and hence, a sufficient supply of nurses is critical in providing the national and especially the rural population with quality health care. Nurses are expected to play an even larger role in the future.

Vitamin C

Research Question: How the amount of vitamin C in fruit juices affects its freshness and till what extent is the information provided on the pack by manufacturers is reliable? Background Information: Hypothesis: -fresh juices have more vitamin C than long-life juice that is ‘not from concentrate’ is best in terms of vitamin content -if heat destroys vitamin C then heat-treated long-life juices will have lower concentrations -if heat destroys vitamin C then boiled fruit juice will have lower concentrations than unboiled -manufacturers generally provide reliable information about their products -the amount of vitamin C content in given fruits is: So the amount of vitamin C and its percentage in fruit juice must go with the given ratio which means that guava and apple juice should have the highest and lowest concentration respectively. Variables: Independent: {text:list-item} Dependent: {text:list-item} Controlled: Materials Required: 6 test tubes, 50 cm3 burette, 10cm3 pipette, 1cm3 pipette, 3 small beakers, DCPIP solution, 0. 1% ascorbic acid, distilled water, 4 varieties of fruit juice, for example mango, grape, apple, guava etc. Preparation Take a properly washed beaker and make 0. 1% solution of vitamin C or ascorbic acid with 0. 1 g of vitamin C in 100 cm3; this is 10 mg cm-3 or one may also use a readily prepared 0. 1%ascorbic acid. Take a 0. 1% solution of DCPIP. Take 6 test tubes and label them as A, B, C, D, E and F. Now slowly pipette out 1cm3 of DCPIP solution into each test tube using a 1 cm3 pipette. Take 5cm3 of the 0. 1%ascorbic acid using a 10cm3 pipette. Using a graduated pipette or a burette, add 0. 1% ascorbic acid drop by drop to the DCPIP solution. Shake the tube gently after adding each drop. Add the acid solution until the blue colour of the final drop does not disappear. Record the exact amount of ascorbic acid that was added. Similarly in test tube B add the same volume of distilled water and gently shake the test tube to observe the change in colour. Investigation Dilute all the juices, that is, mango juice in C, grape juice in D, apple juice in E and guava juice in F before testing because fruit juices have a strong colour that will interfere with determining the end point. Now keep adding mango juice drop by drop with the help of a 50 cm3 burette in test tube C containing DCPIP solution and gently shake the test tube until the DCPIP solution is decolourised. Repeat the same for other 3 fruit juices, that is, grape, apple and guava. Uncertainties and errors Uncertainty or error while preparing ascorbic acid = Uncertainty of solid vitamin C + uncertainty of water = 0. 01+ 0. 1 = 0. 101 Uncertainty while making the mixture of DCPIP and vitamin C = uncertainty of DCPIP(1cm3 pipette) + uncertainty of ascorbic acid (10cm3 pipette) = 0. 01 + 0. 101 = 0. 111 Uncertainty while making the mixture of DCPIP and fruit juices = Uncertainty of DCPIP(pipette) + uncertainty of fruit juices(burette) = 0. 01 + 0. 1 = 0. 11 Data Volume of ascorbic acid added to decolourise DCPIP = 2. 25(+ 0. 1) cm3 Table 1 Calculating concentration of ascorbic acid Data processing Concentration of ascorbic acid in fruit juice (%) = Volume of ascorbic acid added to DCPIP x 0. Volume of fruit juice added to DCPIP Uncertainty = uncertainty in the volume of ascorbic acid + uncertainty in the volume of fruit juice = 0. 111 + 0. 11 = 0. 221 Concentration of ascorbic acid in mango juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 02% 11 Concentration of ascorbic acid in grape juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 01% 16 Concentration of ascorbic acid in apple juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 006% 36 Concentration of ascorbic acid in guava juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 04% 5 Table 2 comparing the experimental value with the given value on the pack Vitamin C An experiment to investigate the enzyme concentration and rate of reaction Background To carry out our experiment we used 3 different types of orange juices, and we also used 0. 1% of vitamin C solution. The aim of our experiment was to see how much DCPIP was needed to be added to make the orange juices turn back to the orange colour and the DCPIP to decolourise once the 0. 1% of vitamin C was added. DCPIP is a blue dye in its non-reduced form; it becomes colourless when it gains electrons.Vitamin C is an anti – oxidant, this is found mainly in fresh fruit and vegetables. The main use of Vitamin C is that it neutralises free radicals, which can cause damage to cells, including cells in the cardiovascular system Planning My aim in this experiment is to investigate how much juice is required to decolourise 1cm3 of 0. 1%of DCPIP solution. Prediction Before I started the investigation I made sure I did a hypothesis so that I would be able to refer back to it in the conclusion at t he end.Below is my hypothesis: My hypothesis is that: ‘there will be less’ Don Simon’ juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP, the other juices will require more juice to decolourise the DCPIP’ Fair Test I will have to make sure that I will be carrying out a fair test. This is to ensure that anything affecting the amount needed to decolourise the DCPIP is due to what I have changed (independent variable) and nothing else. Below I have listed the independent variables as well as those factors which should be kept the same. Independent Variable: * The Juices * Amount of Juice added to the DCPIPDependent Variable: * The amount of DCPIP put in the test tube * 1% of DCPIP * 0. 1% of vitamin C solution Fixed Variables: * The volume of DCPIP poured into the test tube * Keeping a fixed volume of the DCPIP ensures that the decolourisation of the DCPIP is only because of the amount of juice added and not the different amount of DCPIP that is present * Concentration of DCPIP solution * Different concentrations can affect how long it takes to decolourise, therefore it is important that there is nothing else making it less concentrated. * Concentration of Vitamin C solution The concentration of this can affect how much DCPIP is needed to make it colourless The experiment should also be repeated a number of time from which an average will be calculated. This is to ensure that the results are accurate and reliable. The method The method we used to carry out this experiment and the equipment we used is shown below; I also included any faults with the method when we carried out the experiment this is all shown below: Equipment and chemicals needed: * 1% of DCPIP solution * 0. 1% vitamin C solution * A range of fruit juices * Test tubes * Test tube rack Syringe STAGE| PROCEDURE| PURPOSE| ANY FAULTS/LIMITATIONS? | 1| Pipette 1cm3 of 1% DCPIP solution into the test tubes| Provide a clear sight into the experiment at hand. Therefore it makes it easier to e stablish the decolourisation of the DCPIP. | N/A| 2| Using a pipette or burette, add 0. 1% vitamin C solution drop by drop to the DCPIP solution. After adding the drops shake the tube gently | Allows the solution to react with the vitamin C. And therefore resulting in more accurate results| Using a burette would have been more accurate. Also doing the experiment on a bigger cale would also allow any room for accuracy for the results collected| 3| Continue to add drops of the vitamin C solution until the blue colour of the DCPIP has disappeared. | Measure how much vitamin C solution was needed to decolourise the DCPIP| At this point we made sure that the solution was absolutely colourless which was correct, however later we did not do the same thing for the orange juices and therefore we were not able to collect accurate results. | 4| Record the exact amount of the vitamin C solution that was added to decolourise the DCPIP solution.Repeat the procedure and average result| To calculat e how near our value is to the actual value of vitamin C in the other orange juices. | We did not decolourise the DCPIP, when adding the orange juices. As we had done for the vitamin C solution | 5| Repeat this procedure with the fruit juices provided. If only one or two drops of the fruit juices decolourises the DCPIP, dilute the juice and repeat the test. | To obtain an average to measure whether our results match the fact that there is meant to be 100mg of vitamin C in the juices. At this point we would get the result of the vitamin C and one of the juice means and divide them two and times it by a 100 to see how are results are, if it is close to the actual number it will mean it is reliable and accurate, however if it is not near the number it means that it is not very accurate. | Limitation of the apparatus and method Throughout the experiment I felt that there were many things that could have been improved on, so if I were to do the investigation with the modifications, I wou ld get the correct and accurate results.Firstly the syringes that we were using to measure the liquids were not very accurate because, it did not have the lines between the whole numbers, therefore forcing us to guess the amount that was needed. A more precise piece of equipment would be needed instead such as a burette, if this experiment was done on a larger scale this would be more efficient, and accurate. Another limitation with the experiment was that there was not enough DCPIP, thus limiting the amount of repeats being done. If more repeats were done, we would be able to take out the anomalies and be able to acquire a more accurate result.Therefore, decreasing the range of the range bars. From the graph we can see that the range bars are fairly big, therefore to decrease this we would have to do more repeats which would decrease the range of the range bars The most difficult part of the experiment was detecting the change in colour of the DCPIP solution while performing the ti tration. Two of the juices showed clear disappearance of the colour, while the others had the tint of yellow due to some other compounds of colours present. The date of manufacture may be different which may change the nutrient content or concentration in different juices.There were many limitations to the method as well, the main limitation was the fact that the method was not well explained; we added too much vitamin C to the DCPIP, making the DCPIP absolutely colourless. However we should have stopped adding the DCPI when the DCPIP had stopped turning blue. This would have given us a result of around 0. 8 but from the results we can see that the results went up till 2. 4. A modification that could be made to this method, is to include more detail of how to do it, and what it should look like, this would increase the likelihood of the results to be more accurate. ResultsBelow is the results collected by are class. Trends & Patterns From the results table we can see that the values of the 0. 1% vitamin C solution had a large range of results. Therefore this emphasises that the results were not very accurate. For this part of the experiment we had to decolourise the DCPIP in the test tube by adding the vitamin C to it. This in itself was not very accurate, because people’s perception of colourless was different to others. Therefore, it is evident that, from the first step many people’s results were different for the other orange juices, the range of the results were within 0. cm3. The overall mean show us that there was a lot of Asda concentrated orange juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP. This shows that the amount of vitamin C in that volume of the juice was the same amount of what was in the 1. 35mg of the Don Simon orange juice. After collecting all the results and finding the means of all juices, I was able to construct a bar graph. A bar graph was drawn as the variable along the x axis could not expressed in the term of numbers, therefore a line graph was not suitable for this which left us with either drawing a histogram or a bar graph.Personally I chose the bar graph as it was easier to construct and also easier to understand. I also included range bars to show the highest and the lowest values that we had got from the repeats that were done, this also shows that the value that was plotted using the bar, is the average of the range of values for the one liquid. From the graph we can evaluate that the mean concentration of vitamin C/mg cm-3 was ‘Asda from concentrated’ juice, the next juice that was after that was the ‘Asda pure’ juice, lastly leaving the ‘Don Simon’ juice at the end.This means that the Vitamin C present in the 1. 35mg is the same in the other juices for example, it has the same amount of Vitamin C in the Asda Pure juice which has 1. 48mg required to decolourise the DCPIP My hypothesis, ‘there will be less ‘Don Simon’ juice needed to decolou rise the DCPIP, and that the other juices will require more juice to decolourise the DCPIP’ was correct. I predicted this as ‘Don Simon’ juices was seen as a better quality juice than the others, therefore I thought that a better quality juice would have more vitamin C in a small volume.Other juices will have the same amount of vitamin C in a larger volume of juice. Systematic/Random errors In our experiment there were a number of errors caused, for example in the methodology, we had made the colours of juices different to the vitamin C. This was one of the biggest mistakes in the experiment as it affected the whole experiment. If we were to make the juices more clear, when it was being added to the DCPIP, then we may have got more accurate results. As this is what we did, when we were adding the Vitamin C solution to the DCPIP.A systematic error is a problem that you can't overcome because it's a problem with the experiment itself. For instance, if you're measur ing a colour change in a reaction, you have to rely on your eyes, there's a systematic error there because your eyes are not as accurate as a machine. A systematic error that was made was the fact when we were trying to make the DCPIP colourless, people’s perception of colourless was different, and therefore the results that had been acquired by the rest of the class were different. This is one of the reasons there was a big range of results for the decolourisation of the DCPIP.Another possible error in this experiment that could be made is the fact that the person may have read the volume at the wrong place each time. Random errors in experimental measurements are caused by unknown and unpredictable changes in the experiment. These changes may occur in the measuring instruments or in the environmental conditions. A random error made was the fact that the syringes were not the same. In the way that they were measured differently, sometimes they were not big enough to carry th e amount of orange juice we needed to decolourise.An effective and more accurate equipment we could have used is a burette, as it can hold up to 40cm3 of liquid, and therefore we would have more than enough space to read the reading and to use the juice at once. Another random error that could have been made is that the vitamin C may have not been added by less than a drop a time, so sometimes the next drop may be too little or too big, which may change the colour of the solution more quicker therefore the volume will not be very accurate.Lastly the end point may be misjudged, as it is quite tricky to say exactly when the DCPIP has become colourless. In conclusion, there were many small mistakes made during the experiment, if I was to do this experiment again, I would make sure that I was to do all the repeats myself, so the mistake about people’s perception of what was decolourised would not affect the results. Also the fact that there would be enough equipment would mean th at I would also get the results I need, and that there can be a different piece of equipment used for each of the different experiments. Interpretation of resultsOverall the quality of my data is shown to be fairly accurate as most of the results I got were fairly close, in our class for the juices, however for the vitamin C; the results were not so accurate. This emphasises that there were a number of mistakes which could have caused this problem. There are many factors which affect the result such as, the temperature, pressure, and the equipment used etc. in the investigation I think the main mistake that was made was that we did not stop adding the Vitamin C solution to the DCPIP when it stopped going blue, therefore the value should have been at around 0. instead of the class average which was about 1. 7. We overestimated the amount of Vitamin C that should have been added into the solution of DCPIP. However if we had decided to do this we should have added more orange juice to the DCPIP. Therefore to see whether we had accurate results we did a calculation to see the ratio of vitamin C in the actual Juices on the carton to the results of our experiment. The calculation was found by doing the following: Volume of 0. % vitamin C solution required to decolourise 1cm3 of DCPIP cm3Mean volume of juice required to decolourise 1cm3 of DCPIP cm3X 100 Therefore as we know the volume of standard vitamin C solution needed to decolourise a fixed volume of DCPIP, by using simple proportion, we can calculate the amount of vitamin C in the three different types of orange squash. 0. 1% vitamin C solution: In 1. 70cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solution * 1cm3 1mg * 1. 70cm3 1. 70mg Don Simon: In 1. 36cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solution * 1. 70mg 1. 36cm3 * 100ml 125. 0mg Asda from Concentrated: In 1. 85cm3 should be 1. 0mg of 0. 1%vitamin C solution * 1. 70mg 1. 85cm3 * 100ml91. 9mg Asda Pure: In 1. 48cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solut ion * 1. 70mg1. 48cm3 * 100ml 114. 9mg 0. 1% vitamin C solution: In 1. 70cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solution * 1cm3 1mg * 1. 70cm3 1. 70mg Don Simon: In 1. 36cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solution * 1. 70mg 1. 36cm3 * 100ml 125. 0mg Asda from Concentrated: In 1. 85cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1%vitamin C solution * 1. 70mg 1. 85cm3 * 100ml91. 9mg Asda Pure: In 1. 48cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solution * 1. 70mg1. 48cm3 * 100ml 114. mg To find whether our results were accurate, I found out how much vitamin C was present in each of the solutions, this is shown in the box below: From the calculations above, we can see that the results collected from the class were not very accurate. This is shown through the fact that it says that in the Asda Pure juices of 100ml there should be 114. 9mg of vitamin C when there should be 100mg of vitamin C in a 100ml of the juice. Conclusion & Evaluation My prediction, ‘there will be less’ Don Simonâ₠¬â„¢ juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP, the other juices will require more juice to decolourise the DCPIP’ was correct.This is because; the smaller volume of fruit juice needed to decolourise the blue DCPIP solution, the higher is the Vitamin C content in the fruit. It is also shown on the graph, as there is less volume of Don Simon Orange juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP. This means that in 1. 35cm3 of Don Simon, there is the same amount of Vitamin C in 1. 48cm3 of the Asda Pure orange juice, and in 1. 85cm3 of the Asda from concentrated orange juice. The smaller volume of orange juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP solution means that the DCPIP solution is reduced at a faster rate.Within my results, I did find quite a number of anomalies. However there were other numbers within the range of the anomaly such as in the 0. 1% vitamin C solution had the highest value of being 2. 4 cm3, which at first I had thought to be an anomaly, however 2. 1 cm3 was also another re sult that had been collected. However if we took out the 2 repeats, there was also another repeat of 2cm3. Therefore in the end I left the results in the results table. 0. 8cm3 was also another repeat I had though was an anomaly; however there were also other results that were near 0. 8 cm3 such as 1. cm3. Therefore I did not record these results as anomalies. The main reason for the high range was because of the fact that people had different perceptions of when the solution was to go colourless. In the rest of the results there were not any anomalies recorded as they were in the range of each other. If I was to do this investigation again I would make sure that the instructions were read clearly and also do the experiment on a larger scale, so instead of adding 5 cm3 of the DCPIP I would add 20 cm3 and therefore use a burette to add in the different types of orange juices.This would make it more accurate, as the reading would be able to be made more precisely. Another thing I woul d do better next time is to do more repeats, even though there were a lot of repeats for my results, the results were not done by the same person and therefore the perception of the colour would be different to each person, and therefore if I was to do all the repeats myself I would be able not to take the risk of getting a wide range of results. Also I would make sure that there was enough DCPIP for my experiments as I know in my experiment there was not enough DCPIP for some people to do another repeat.The most repeats a group was able to do were 2. Another factor I would change if I were to do the investigation again is that I would use other brands of orange juices as well to widen the results I was going to get. In conclusion, the investigation has stated that there will be less’ Don Simon’ juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP, the other juices will require more juice to decolourise the DCPIP. This is shown on the bar graph with the mean volume of the different t ypes of juices needed to decolourise the DCPIP against the different types of juices.There is also range bars included to inform the highest and lowest values obtained from the repeats. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Edexcel AS Biology Revision Guide for SNAB and concept-led approaches -EDEXCEL, Published: 2008 [ 2 ]. Edexcel AS Biology Revision Guide for SNAB and concept-led approaches – EDEXCEL [ 3 ]. AS-level Biology-Exam Board: Edexcel-complete revision & practice, Published: by CGP in 2008 [ 4 ]. Edexcel AS Biology Revision Guide for SNAB and concept-led approaches -EDEXCEL Vitamin C Research Question: How the amount of vitamin C in fruit juices affects its freshness and till what extent is the information provided on the pack by manufacturers is reliable? Background Information: Hypothesis: -fresh juices have more vitamin C than long-life juice that is ‘not from concentrate’ is best in terms of vitamin content -if heat destroys vitamin C then heat-treated long-life juices will have lower concentrations -if heat destroys vitamin C then boiled fruit juice will have lower concentrations than unboiled -manufacturers generally provide reliable information about their products -the amount of vitamin C content in given fruits is: So the amount of vitamin C and its percentage in fruit juice must go with the given ratio which means that guava and apple juice should have the highest and lowest concentration respectively. Variables: Independent: {text:list-item} Dependent: {text:list-item} Controlled: Materials Required: 6 test tubes, 50 cm3 burette, 10cm3 pipette, 1cm3 pipette, 3 small beakers, DCPIP solution, 0. 1% ascorbic acid, distilled water, 4 varieties of fruit juice, for example mango, grape, apple, guava etc. Preparation Take a properly washed beaker and make 0. 1% solution of vitamin C or ascorbic acid with 0. 1 g of vitamin C in 100 cm3; this is 10 mg cm-3 or one may also use a readily prepared 0. 1%ascorbic acid. Take a 0. 1% solution of DCPIP. Take 6 test tubes and label them as A, B, C, D, E and F. Now slowly pipette out 1cm3 of DCPIP solution into each test tube using a 1 cm3 pipette. Take 5cm3 of the 0. 1%ascorbic acid using a 10cm3 pipette. Using a graduated pipette or a burette, add 0. 1% ascorbic acid drop by drop to the DCPIP solution. Shake the tube gently after adding each drop. Add the acid solution until the blue colour of the final drop does not disappear. Record the exact amount of ascorbic acid that was added. Similarly in test tube B add the same volume of distilled water and gently shake the test tube to observe the change in colour. Investigation Dilute all the juices, that is, mango juice in C, grape juice in D, apple juice in E and guava juice in F before testing because fruit juices have a strong colour that will interfere with determining the end point. Now keep adding mango juice drop by drop with the help of a 50 cm3 burette in test tube C containing DCPIP solution and gently shake the test tube until the DCPIP solution is decolourised. Repeat the same for other 3 fruit juices, that is, grape, apple and guava. Uncertainties and errors Uncertainty or error while preparing ascorbic acid = Uncertainty of solid vitamin C + uncertainty of water = 0. 01+ 0. 1 = 0. 101 Uncertainty while making the mixture of DCPIP and vitamin C = uncertainty of DCPIP(1cm3 pipette) + uncertainty of ascorbic acid (10cm3 pipette) = 0. 01 + 0. 101 = 0. 111 Uncertainty while making the mixture of DCPIP and fruit juices = Uncertainty of DCPIP(pipette) + uncertainty of fruit juices(burette) = 0. 01 + 0. 1 = 0. 11 Data Volume of ascorbic acid added to decolourise DCPIP = 2. 25(+ 0. 1) cm3 Table 1 Calculating concentration of ascorbic acid Data processing Concentration of ascorbic acid in fruit juice (%) = Volume of ascorbic acid added to DCPIP x 0. Volume of fruit juice added to DCPIP Uncertainty = uncertainty in the volume of ascorbic acid + uncertainty in the volume of fruit juice = 0. 111 + 0. 11 = 0. 221 Concentration of ascorbic acid in mango juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 02% 11 Concentration of ascorbic acid in grape juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 01% 16 Concentration of ascorbic acid in apple juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 006% 36 Concentration of ascorbic acid in guava juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 04% 5 Table 2 comparing the experimental value with the given value on the pack

Physical Attractiveness and Long-term Relationships Essay

Physical Attractiveness and Long-term Relationships - Essay Example Women often favor the "macho man" than his less attractive competitor. Accordingly, "Human attraction to aesthetics, good looks advertise good health" (Lecture, 7/18/2007). True enough, physical beauty alone can blind individuals and lure them to dive into an intimate association. In the real world situations, it is notable that the satisfaction of the physical ideals becomes an important basis in people's search for casual, non-committed, short term relationships. However, physical attractiveness alone is insufficient in sustaining that bond let alone ensure the longevity of that relationship. It becomes apparent that both sexes relax their ideals of physical attractiveness when considering a long term partnership. An intimate relationship which is fully founded on the physical attractiveness of each partner is most likely to fail. Beauty is a shallow basis in pursuing a long-lasting relationship. The success or even the mere survival of a relationship depends on more intrinsic factors like the partner's acceptance of each other, sensitivity, commitment to the relationship, and most especially their level of understanding and love to each other. Real life examples provide us more than enough illustration to support this argument. As partners goes through their relationship, they become overwhelmed with concerns which are bigger than what meets the eye. Thus, as they began to face the storms and struggles, they begin to care less about the physical appearance of their partner. In fact, just spending time with the person 24 hours a day each day of the week makes the importance of physical beauty fade into the background. At this stage, the partners become more concerned on their individual diffe rences, emotional struggles, and other problems. The ability of the partners to surpass these critical periods is determined by their love for each other alone and not on their level of physical attractiveness. Love alone, which enables a person to accept his partner for all that she is and instills him with the commitment to make the relationship work, can sustain a long term partnership. Relationships which are founded on immediate physical attraction are more likely to fail when individual differences become apparent. In fact, these partnerships are often disastrous and can be attributed to the high divorce rate and long-term singledom (Feinmann, s. 4). Physical attractiveness can be more detrimental than beneficial in a relationship. Studies stress that beauty often boosts the self-confidence of women, gives them security in the relationship and becomes their ticket in doing dirty tactics: "Data from young U.S. females show that compared to less-attractive females, attractive females report higher frequencies of using attractiveness enhancement tactics (e.g., wearing makeup), flirting with other males to make a date jealous, and acting possessively" (Elia/Chen p.33). All of the aforementioned strategies of more attractive female becomes damaging to the relationship because they can become causes of disagreement between partners. Flirting with other men and becoming overly possessive are two things which are extremely loathed and are unacceptable to guys. In this way, physical attracti

English Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

English - Assignment Example The two presidents talked in length of their commitment to ensuring that there were peace, justice and security for the people of Middle East. The two countries bank on their strong bilateral cooperation to aid in a successful working relation. Another key issue dealt with was on the issue of terrorism. Qatar as emerged as one country in the Middle East that committed to the course of fighting terrorism. They act as mediators and diplomats around the world. The two presidents agreed that military action alone cannot eliminate terrorism. The Qatar president talked about terrorism as being a case of hopelessness and not a problem of Islam. In sum, the presidents looked at ways of dealing with real issues causing terrorism and the establishment of peace in the Middle East. They noted that terrorism requires a strategic approach, courage among leaders and that tyrant leaders should be held accountable. All people including Arabs should be ready to contribute in the fight (Al-Thani,

The psychological contract does not exist in the minds of employers in Essay

The psychological contract does not exist in the minds of employers in mature states and mature organisations. What is key is the legal contract. The psycholog - Essay Example ent the employer may promise to offer something to the employee or at the time of appraising an employee’s performance the employer could declare a reward for his satisfactory performance. Mutual obligations sometimes act as promises and sometimes as expectations. However, the employee is required to have trust in such promises or expectations as part of the relationship with the employer (The psychological contract, 2007). There is a vast difference between a legal contract and a psychological contract with regard to employment. Legal contracts offer a limited set of expectations and imperfect identification of the relationship involved in the employment. With the exception of refusing to accept such terms and conditions, the employee can do anything about the relationship mentioned in legal contracts. The courts and employment tribunals examine the nature and content of the legal contract of employment. These enforcing bodies interpret the nature of employment on the basis of the legal contract (The psychological contract, 2007). A psychological contract examines the practicality and reality of the work place environment as perceived by the employer and the employees. It has greater effect than a legal contract in determining the activities of the employees and the management. Under a psychological contract, the employees have a clear idea of their duties and the necessity to discuss them by adopting the process of collective bargaining. It also explains to them their expectations from the employer (The psychological contract, 2007). A psychological contract does not require to be enforced strictly. The courts examine the underlying relationship between employer and employee while interpreting the common law principles with regard to mutual trust and confidence. Researchers claim that there would be a negative effect on job satisfaction and a deterioration of employee commitment towards their job, if the management fails to fulfill its promises to its

Diels-Alder Reaction Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diels-Alder Reaction - Lab Report Example Characterization of the products is through chemical tests discussed in Mayo pages 266. The experiment cyclopentadiene and maleic anhydride were reacted with the aqueous solution to form an n organic compound in crystal form. The composition of the cyclopentadiene does make it possible for such a reaction to proceed; it has 5 carbon rings that contain 2 carbon- carbon double bonds, which are separated by single alpha bonds. Purification of the crystalline product is typically accomplished by pipetting the solution from the underlying crystal products and consequently drying it. Diels-Alder reaction entails the preparation of the six-membered carbocyclic rings, which are conjugated diene with an alkene. The reaction of the product takes place in the single step to produce carbon-carbon bonds with the four stereocenters. The product is the adequate for the direct characterization. The reaction entails two reactants that are the butadiene and maleic anhydride, which both results to the functional groups to the corresponding product. In addition, the infrared spectrum of t he segregated material depicts the observation. The spectrum of the 3-sulfolene is representative on an alkene sulfone. Thus, the underlying macro group train for an unconjugated five-membered ring alkenes fits the underlying data rationally. The non-polar ought to exhibit a more solubility in petroleum ether in place of the hexane. It is mainly due to stronger van-der-Waals forces in the ether. Due to the presence of larger alkanes in petroleum ether, more intermolecular forces exist than hexane. For this reason, the presence of petroleum ether; the solubility is high for polar molecules yet with the increase in solubility denotes the decreased yield, hence less product. The presence of the two stereocenters coupled with the long range rotating is linked via the pie system of the alkene. The whole H spectrum is

Early years an infant mental health Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Early years an infant mental health - Assignment Example With the points made above, the use of circle of security will be identified as a vivid example of a strategy for gaining attachment that distinguishes love from secure attachment (Breggin & Breggin, 2009). One important aspect of the circle of security intervention that is going to be a immense help to subjects in the case study, especially the caregiver is that the intervention focuses not just on the child or the mother but on both the parent and the child. This is because Szalavitz and Perry (2010) examples that as a secure attachment bonding intervention, circle of security focuses attention on a child’s emotional connection with the primary caregiver, who in this case is Emma. This type of emotional connection takes a very long walk in the life of the child and caregiver, starting from birth and developing at a very rapid rate into the first two years of the child’s life, and thereafter. The core merit of the circle of security therefore has to do with the fact th at the nature attachment and bond that needs to be developed between the mother and child will start right from the onset of the intervention because it does not isolate the emotional needs of the child from the series of tasks that are designed in equipping the caregiver with the skills of offering secure attachment.Another important aspect of the proposed intervention is that it is made up of well identified stages that make it possible for the service provider to clearly identify the needs of the patient and rightly apportion remedies to them. (Daws, 2009). For example the pre-intervention stage is to undertake a child and caregiver classification and rating that seek to rightly measure and quantify the degree of child and caregiver problem. This is however done as a product of the assessment procedures that are carried out. In often times, the child and caregiver classifications and ratings will be undertaken as a codification process for the results that are gathered at the pre -intervention level. For example from a child’s perspective where videotapes and questionnaires are used in the assessment data collection, a clinical psychologists will code the results

Outline Some of the Key Issues in Education Today Essay

Outline Some of the Key Issues in Education Today - Essay Example Currently, measures of ensuring that all children acquire appropriate education relevant to the prevailing conditions has become of more importance than ever before. Consequently, numerous issues have emerged in the education sector. Some of the major issues include provision of universal education to all children through polices such as Every Child Matters and educating students on global citizenship in order to improve their ability to function in a globalised world. The modern education is faced with several challenges that undermine provision of the appropriate skills and knowledge to the learners. Boyer and Hamil (2008) indentified three main challenges affecting the education sector in developed and developing world. These problems include lack of well motivated teachers, which contribute to high attrition rate, lack of adequate parental involvement in learning of their children and poor reading habits among the students in education institutions (Boyer and Hamil, 2008). These shortcomings have elicited various reactions from educational policy makers, resulting to formulation of policies aimed at addressing the problem. Teaching as a profession is demanding and characterised by immense responsibilities which the society places upon the teachers. In spite of the heavy responsibilities, Altshuler, (2003) notes that teachers are not adequately motivated to perform under such demanding environment, leading to high rate of attrition and declining interest in the profession. Various research studies have been conducted to investigate the duration of service of teachers in the profession. A study conducted by Boling and Evans (2008) in United States established that forty six percent of teachers in the country quit the profession after less than five years. This trend is more pronounced in urban areas where about half of the entire professional workforce quit the profession for other careers (Boling, C., and Evans, 2008). Another study by Boyer and Hamil (2008) established that over ninety percent of newly recruited teachers are hired to replace those who quit the profession because of other reasons except retirement. High teacher attrition has various adverse effects on education. Some of the effects include straining the available resources allocated for the education sector. Boyer and Hamil (2008) noted that schools spend considerable amounts of financial resources while searching and recruiting new teachers, a situation that drains their budgetary allocations considerably. Uradan, Solek, and Schoenfelder (2007) estimated that schools in United States spend about $ 7 billion annually in the process of recruiting, hiring and retaining teachers in the country. These financial resources could be invested in other important academic ventures, such as investing in modern technology and purchasing of other necessary teaching resources. High teacher turnover rate undermines the quality of education provided to the children. Bransford, et al ( 2009)argue that the trend denies the profession considerable skills, when well trained and experienced teachers leave the profession for other pursuits. Consequently students receive poor quality education, which ultimately undermines their future progress. Ward and Eden (2009) attributed the high rate of teacher attrition to working in a demoralising but demanding environ

International Management (Questions) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Management (Questions) - Essay Example The importance of the free market system to capitalism is its ability to generate growth and innovation. This is demonstrated in an important consequence of the free market system, which is globalization. The more a state is open to the model, to economic freedom in their respective markets, the more economic prosperity is generated. Free market economies provide the most conducive environment for foreign investment and trade. In addition to this, states with free market tend to be less corrupt than an authoritarian state mainly because they are more politically free, having a democratic system that is characterized by civil and legal ways for resolving conflicts Keagley 332). Indeed, in the analysis of the experiences of state-controlled economies, there is the prominence of political economic repression characterized by the stifling of civil liberties and the violation of individual human rights. The beauty of the free market model is illustrated in the case of China. Through the years, China has implemented economic reforms that saw its economy shift from a heavy-handed control of the central government towards the free market system, greatly contributing to its rapid economic growth. The Chinese economic reform underwent three stages – building an economic system with the planned economy as the main body and a limited introduction of market adjustment in 1980; implementing the planned commercial economy in 1984; and establishing the socialist market economy in 1993 (Monson and Duval 2005, 78). What is apparent here is that for a communist country, the economic reform initiative was leading towards an open and liberal economy. China today is further pursuing the continuing decentralization of management, privatization of ownership and the marketization of resource distribution. There are, however, economic scholars that would

Managing under uncertainty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Managing under uncertainty - Essay Example However, man is governed by some social structure, economic setups or even cultural moral and ethics that dictate the decision making process. Social sciences have developed models and theories through which the decisions made by an individual can be analyzed and understood. Being ethical or better still making ethical decisions is the ability to choose between options that are presented guided by personal respect, trustworthiness, fairness, responsibility good citizenship and caring attitude. Instances come up when in general reasoning, any decision to be taken which in other instances are regarded badly may present the fairest deal ever. Persons are as well presented with the opportunity of testing the appropriateness of any decision made by subjecting them to the models and theories prior to making the decisions. This paper therefore intends to critically analyze through reflection the process of decision making through which a person makes a decision though the outcome is not sat isfying to his. We shall; use a case study of a decision that I made while at classroom. Presented with an option of doing anything under the cover of invisibility different people would act differently. However, the power of decision-making is pegged on more than personal gratification principle. Since time immemorial, human beings have had the capacity to be guided by instincts while making decisions. Human socialization too has taken a great way in shaping human interactions as far as decision-making is concerned. My case study analyzes a decision that I made while at class in my lower grades of learning. It was during the examination period when we were all preparing to have a class examination. I was inadequately prepared for the exam and I knew that I would not perform satisfactorily in the paper. Other people as well felt inadequately prepared to sit for the exam and everybody was busy designing the means through which he/she would pass. Though I understood the repercussions that would allow cheating in an exam, I was persuaded by my fear to take the risk and try cheating for the paper. I made a decision to do a summary of the critical points that I had not understood in class and carry them through small papers into the exam room. This entitled me to passing the paper when presented within those questions. Nevertheless, by following ethical reasoning as well as moral consideration, I overlooked the instincts. However, even after sneaking the papers into the exam room, I never managed to copy successfully as the teacher spotted me. After the confiscation, I was ordered to leave the exam room and I was suspended from school as a punishment for the offense. Moreover, the offense led to my disqualification to proceed to the next grade with the rest of the class through which I regretted most. The decision to carry with me the written papers with a motive to cheat through the exam had initially presented a satisfying solution to my problem of inadequately p repared for the paper. I took the decision as it presented the highest chances of solving my problem and seemed the most appropriate among the other options that were. My fears were overcome by ascribing to the reasoning of passing the exam through cheating. I had the option of preparing for the paper in advance or better still just write whatever I had in mind instead of choosing to cheat in the exam. However, my rational thinking directed my choice to

Sports Aid charity Essay Example for Free

Sports Aid charity Essay Sports Aid charity offers grants to individuals that helps them perfect their training and develop mainly for the individual more than the club.It encourages young and dissabled talent in sports nation wide.  It is funded by the Department of culture, media and sports through England.Its main target is focusing on development in the ethnic minority as this tends to attract less funding than the other groups. Its aim is to invest in ethnic minority such as-Asian woman participating in more sport. Community Chest grants are offered to projects that encourage greater involvement in local community activities.Grants are generally between à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5,000, and applications are welcome at any time. There are no deadlines or dates to worry about. Sports England supports buildings equppment and gives advice and guidelines.  currently 5 million of government funding is received per year and to date à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½70 million has been invested into grass roots sport thanks to the Sportsmatch Scheme. Most grants awarded are for amounts up to 1,000 and are available to fund groups working with:  Older people (over 65)  Taxas help fund for sports because we get our money off the goverment if we didnt pay these taxas then sport would go down.The number of voluntary sports clubs are decreasing i know this because its quotes it on the CCPR website.  Only 22 perecent of clubs income greater than their expenditure and 34 percent described their financial position a precarious. Things will get worse without tax exemtions from the goverment.  Legal responsibilities:  A coach is required to obay by the National Governing Bodys code of ethics and conduct and as a coach they should have legal responsibilities. they should recognise the importance of Helath and Saftey and treating the public with care.  This means having access to first aid and ermergancy service. A coach can be liable if there is any evidence that shows the standards have not been followed. Checking equppment is safe. Chilldren need to be protected from any violence or abuse. To ensure this is carried out in the the strictest way coaches need to be checked of any crimminal convictions and show evidence of a clean record.  Coaches should have appropriate insurance which covers both public liability and personal accidents. Many governing bodies include insurance as part of their affiliation fee. Be aware of the Licensing laws such as the code of conduct follow it with great care and accept others too aswel.  Protect the young people you work with maintain a parental relationship with them aswel as a coach. Advice them on healthy eating such as nutrition tell that whats good for them, inform them on the importance of food and hygine,how important it is to eat the right foods and keep clean ect.

J.K.Tyres Analysis

J.K.Tyres Analysis Executive summary A small, sincere and dedicated step towards the fulfillment of my responsibilities and duties ensured me a giant leap to accumulate knowledge and real life exposure to business during my summer training period. My first experience of corporate world started with big frame company J.K.Tyres, a division of J.K.Industries. The projects given to me deals with fitment trend, market share along with consumers perception for J.K.Tyres in truck tyres segment. The area allocated to me was Ghaziabad and Meerut and the time duration in which we completed our project was from 10th May to 24th June. The research, which was carried, was more of descriptive research thus had a planned way to proceed. For appropriate results data collection method is absolutely necessary, in this project I have to depend upon primary data, so keeping this in my mind I collected the data through a set of questionnaire and with the help of observation method to get the accurate data and time to time I made the summery of collected data so that all the datas are gathered at a single place. Personal interviews (with questionnaire) of the customer are taken in order to get their own independent views. I have taken a sample of 230 trucks for knowing the fitment trend and I have tried to cover the entire customer, in the process I met with 90 transporters. In data analysis part various statistical tools like pie bar charts are used for comparative study and convenience in understanding the data to make the data livelier COMPANY PROFILE â€Å"Excellence comes not from mere words or procedures. It comes from an urge to strive and deliver the best. Mindset that says, when it is good enough, improve it. It is a way of thinking that comes only from a power within.† H.S. SINGHANIA J.K.Tyres a division of JK industries is a flagship company under the umbrella of JK organization. The advent of JK organization on the industrial landscape of India almost synchronizes, with the beginning of an era of industrial awareness an endeavor for self-reliance and the setting of a dynamic Indian Industry. This was way back in the middle of the 19th century. And the rest that followed is history. VISION OF THE COMPANY To become the most admired company in India committed to excellence CORE VALUE JK organization has been a forerunner in the economic and social advancement of India. It always aimed at creating job opportunities for a multitude of countrymen and to provide high quality product. It has striven to make India self reliant by pioneering the production of a number of industrial and consumer products, by adopting the latest technology as well as developing its own know-how. It has also under taken industrial venture in several other countries. JK organization is an association of industrial and commercial companies and charitable trusts. Its member companies, employing nearly 50,000 persons are engaged in the manufacture of a variety of products and in diverse fields of commerce. Trusts are devoted to promoting industrial technical and medical research education religious values and providing better living and recreation facilities with the spirit of social consciousness uppermost in the minds of J.K. organization and thus it is committed to the cause of human development. Today J.K. organization, and association of industrial and commercial companies and charitable trusts, continues to grow to greater heights under the stewardship of its president, Shri Hari Shankar Singhania The principal business of JK organization includes tyre, paper, cement, drugs and pharmaceuticals, agri. Genetics, dairy and food products audio magnetic tapes, sugar, cosmetics, woolen textiles, steel, engineering, material handling system, etc. The group besides having a consistent record of growth and diversification has created a reputation for quality for all its products and most of its products enjoy a leadership status in their respective market segments. To cope up with the demand in the market most of the companies in JK organization are certified for international quality systems like ISO 9001,ISO 1401 and QS 9000. JK INDUSTRIES LTD. J.K. Industries is a merge corporate entity that is emblematic of excellence, diversification and pioneering new technologies. A part of J.K. Organization, which ranks among the top private groups in India. J.K. Industries is committed to self-reliance and follows an ethic that views customers satisfaction as an index of achievements. Over the years the company has expanded and diversified its business portfolio. It has developed into a multi product, multi-location corporate entity comprising of following business division. BACKGROUND Group companies Straw and JK Synthetic promoted JK Industries, which belong to Shri Laxmipaty Singhania faction of the J.K. GROUP, in 1951. It was initially engaged in managing agency business. Manufacturing activities began with commissioning of a 0.4mn tyres and tubes plant, in 1977 at Jaykaygarm, Rajasthan, in technical tie up with general tyre international Co., U.S.A, for manufacturer of nylon bias and radial tyres. JKI was the 1st domestic manufacturer of radial tyres. The capacity later increased to 0.625mn tyres. The Rajasthan plant labour problems in the past capacity utilization levels have been low. In 1981, a new factory was set up at Banmore, near Gwalior, M.P for the manufacturer of 0.6mn tyres, capacity has been gradually increased in both the plants and currently JKI has a combined capacity of 2.13mn tyres. In FY90, it set up JKI agri-genetics, to procedure, process and distributes hybrid and high yielding seeds of cereals, Oilseeds and pulses under the brand name of J.K. Seeds. In FY91, it set up J K Pharmachem, a JV with TIDCO for the manufacture of Penciling. It has also set up a trading arm by the name of J K International, which deals in a range of goods including agro products, leather product, textiles and marine product. In FY12/96, the companys pharmaceutical business was restructured and hived off to JK Pharmaceuticals Ltd INTRODUCTION ABOUT TYRES Tyre is an indispensable part of our vehicle and need to be chosen and looked after with care. The wheel was invented over 20,000 years ago. Early wheels were usually made from wood and as these were not flexible, the ride was extremely hard. In 1939, CHARLES GOODYEAR discovered the culcatisation process, which gave rubber its elastic properties. In 1845, R.W. THOMPSON filed a patent for elastic; air filled belt of rubber rises fabric and leather. He had great hopes of his invention becoming successful, but nobody was convinced that one could ride on air; Thompson was sadly forced to abandon his ideas. In 1888, JHON BOYD DUNLOP reinvented the pneumatic tyre and filed a patent claiming easy operation over rough roads, immunity from vibration and increased speed of vehicle. Over the year, several methods were tried to keep the inflated pneumatic tyre fixed to the wheel. By the 1920s most tyre had steel wire beading, which allowed a tyre to remain firmly fitted to the wheel rim. Development was slow and the early tyre led a troubled life, some of the common problems were punctures tread separation, cracking, tearing and even blowouts. Since tyre lasted for only a couple of thousand kilometers, the cost of replacement also account for a large part of expenses. Early tyres were mainly white because they took their colour from the reinforcing agent zinc oxide. It was not until carbon black was found to be the best reinforcing agent that tyre become black. In 1948, MICHELIN made a most significant contribution by introducing the radial tyre, which was to influence tyre design all over the world. Radials offered much superior grip but, the rede was harsh and they also had a tendency to lose grip suddenly once the limits of adhesion were crossed. In contrast, the cross-ply tyre lost its grip, in a gradual manner enabling the driver to take corrective action. Then a new generation of radial tyre evolved, in which the belts were made of rayon, which being more flexible, prevented sudden loss of grip. The evolution of the radial tyre brought about a lot of changes. For the first 60 years, the tyre industry had not been able to produce a tyre that fulfilled its long list of requirement. Good quality was achieved only at the cost of steering response; similarly extra grip resulted in faster wear and a shorter life. The radial tyre changed all this; its structure was such that each part of it could be designed independently. The tread, sidewalls, etc could have a separate construction and they could be made from different materials. New materials, rubbers compound, synthetic polymers, manufacturing methods, all have resulted in present day tyre becoming more reliable, durable, safer and almost maintenance free. In fact, modern day tyre are so good that most of us take these for granted and do not even bother giving them the 2nd look. However it is very important that we do know them better. THE ORIGIN OF WHEEL Wealthy gentlemen pushing himself through 1820s London on a hobbyhorse would have used his muscles just as efficiently as a courier dodging todays traffic on a mountain bike. The story of bicycle technology has been one of going faster for the same effort, researchers have found. Alberto Minetti, of Manchester Metropolitan University, and colleagues have been looking at the work needed to propel different bicycles of different speeds. The bicycles ranged from the hobby horse an expensive toy from the 1820s which riders kicked along with their legs, velocipedes with pedals fixed to the front wheel, through to chain- driven cycle of the 1880s that look much like todays. The main benefit of cycling as opposed to running or walking, the researchers found, is that the riders limbs no longer bear his or her weight, and so their efforts can be devoted to propulsion. Even the hobbyhorse takes two-thirds of the weight off the legs, and allows the rider to go twice as fast as a walker for the same amount of energy. All the bicycles tested were equally efficient at turning their riders muscle power in motion. This came as a shock -â€Å" we were convinced that the efficiency would have increased † as bicycle design improved, says Minetti. â€Å" But muscles were always used at there maximum efficiency.† What ha changed is the speed at which efficiency peaks. The problem with early bicycles, says Robert McNeill Alexander, a biomechanics researcher at the university of Leeds, was that â€Å" to go to reasonable speeds you had to move the pedals very fast â€Å"; leg muscles do not perform well at such high speeds. One solution was the high-wheeler, or penny-farthing, whose all-metal frame, gigantic front wheel; rubber tyres and long springy spokes give a fast and comfortable ride. Safety problems made this bicycle an evolutionary dead end. â€Å" My father used to tell me alarming stories about falling off them † says McNeill Alexander Minettis team found that the ‘safety bikes that superseded the penny-farthing actually needed more work to drive them forward. Their smaller wheels generated a higher resistance with the ground and their primitive chains demanded a lot of legwork. The subsequent invention of pneumatic tyres dramatically reduced the resistance against the road; modern cyclists expand most of their energy battling the wind. One consequence of this study could be come back for the hobbyhorse, says cycle historian John Pinkerton, one of the studys co-authors. â€Å" The hobby horse would be ideal for getting people who would have knee or hip operations back on their feet,† says Pinkerton. The researchers are currently negotiating with hospitals about this possibility. TASKS OF A TYRE A tyre has several roles to play. Its job is to absorb shocks and provide sufficient grip, respond quickly to steering inputs, and work in tandem with the brakes to bring the vehicle to a safe stop in the shortest possible distance. A tyre should have minimum rolling resistance to prevent any strain on the engine, so as to affect either speed or fuel economy. It must also run silently and keep road noise to the minimum. It must have a slow and even rate of wear and be resistance to the effects of sunlight, fuel, debris and other hazards it encounters on the roads. A tyre should be able to perform in all conditions and on all kinds of terrain. A tyre to be good looking and surveys shows that this is one must be string and capable of withstanding heavy loads and a variety of abuse such as hitting kerbed, drivers, etc. Tyres are also expected to influencing factors in the final choice made by the customers. WHAT ARE ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY TYRES? The JK Tyre, being the pioneers of radial technology in India, have taken the lead on all technological aspects to give you the very best. The eco-friendly range of green tyres is one such step in that direction. The manufacturing of these tyres requires state- of- the- art compound development and research facility. These environment friendly tyres are obtained by using special rubber compounding technology. The silica is used instead of carbon black -one of the key ingredients a normal tyre, which is not eco-friendly. The eco-friendly range of tyre help to improve tyre performance, provide better fuel efficiency than normal radial tyres even offer the benefit of low rolling resistance. In fact the JK Tyre range of eco-friendly tyres do not require any special treatment for their maintenance. All one has to do is to wash tyre periodically with mild soap solution to remove dust and mud that might subdue the colour. Advantage of eco-friendly tyres:  · Superior handling and cornering at high speeds  · Optimized tyre life  · Better dry and wet traction  · Silica-based compound for better fuel efficiency  · Reduced rolling resistance  · Less carbon black MAIN COMPETITORS IN THE MARKET SR. NO. COMPANY NAME 1. M.R.F. 2. APOLLO 3. CEAT 4. BIRLA 5. CHINESE (VIVA) JK TYRE Ever since its inception it has been JK Tyres belief in the value of technological superiority that has made it grow by leaps and bounds. This division produces and sells Light Commercial vehicles, Multi Utility Vehicles and Tractors. The company pioneered Steel Radial Technology in India in 1977 and continues be the industry leader in the industry leader in the Radial segment in India. KJ Tyre is the only Tyre Manufacturer in the country to produce high performance â€Å"T† â€Å"H† -rated steel radial tyres. JK Tyre has consciously followed a policy of continuously modernizing and expanding its tyre manufacturing facilities to retain its edge in the market place. Our customer base covers virtually the entire original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in India together with Replacement market for four wheeler vehicles, Defence and State Transport Units. Besides India, we have a worldwide base in over 45 countries across all 6 continents. To keep pace with the market demand as well as technological leadership in Indian market, J.K. Industries acquired Vikrant Tyres Limited, Mysore in 1997.J.K.Industries and Vikrant Tyre limited are the only tyre companies in India to have received all three ISO 9001, QS 9000 and ISO 14001 certificates. This indeed is a true reflection of our commitments to system-oriented approach. Technical collaboration with M/S Continental AG, Germany, which is among the top five technical tyre manufacturers in the world to keep pace with latest technological developments. To stay at the forefront of technological advancements a state of art Research Industries Development center, Hari Shankar Singhania Elastomer and Tyre Research Institute (HASETRI) was set up, which remains the nerve center for providing cutting edge technology. In a short span of time it has emerged as the 17th largest tyre manufacturer in the world an achievement in itself. BEYOND BUSINESS Identifying with social issues and contribution to the society has been a philosophy, which has been carried on from the founding fathers. Various institutions set up by the group throughout India in diverse fields of social welfare stand testimony to this philosophy. Involved with the diverse array of medical and health services, the organization has set up a number of pioneering institutes all over country including super specialty Pushpawati research institutes, New Delhi for liver, renal and digestive diseases, the first of its kind in India. JK Tyre attaches tremendous value to RD in its efforts to maintain the high quality of its products and lead the field in innovation. HASETRI, a world-class research and development center is a symbol of this. The Hari Shankar Singhania Elastomer Tyre Research Institute (HASETRI) is the very 1st of its kind in India. Established in October 1991, HASETRI has already been recognized under SIRO (scientific and industrial research organization) by the department of scientific and industrial research (SDIR), Govt. of India. And has been acknowledged by the Indian institute of technology (IIT) and other universities for registration leading to higher studies. HASETRI fulfills the research requirements for services related to elastomer and tyre industry. PLANT LOCATION: With three plants located in Rajasthan, Madhyapradesh and Karnataka, JK tyre is the largest manufacturer of truck and bus tyre in India. The truck and bus producer accounts for nearly 74% of total tyre business in India, thus giving JK Tyre an undisputed position. Additionally, JK Tyre is the only manufacturer of truck/bus steel radial tyre, and the second largest manufacturer of 4-wheeler tyre in the country. Also JK Tyre is the largest exported tyre brand form India. It enjoys preferred premium brand status in truck bias market in USA and across many markets in Africa, Middle East and East Asia. NEW TYRE LAUNCH: During the year, the company introduced â€Å" tanker lug † and â€Å" jet haul † in the truck and bus tyre segment. In the truck tyre category â€Å"WL-407† has been launched and developed for a specific target for new car models. JKI also became the 1st tyre company to introduce jeep radial tyres. The company has a 3,500 strong dealer network nation wide. In order to increase its retail push, the company has introduced an innovative â€Å"dial a tyre† scheme. Under this scheme mobile vans are at hand to set right problems arising wheels. STEEL WHEELS: The ever-growing steel wheelers chain continues to provide cutting edge service to the customer and is a vital last mile interface problem. Several milestones have been crossed during the past year as a part of the network expansion programmes. Some of them are 1st installation of the 3D Alignment equipment at a company franchised in India to service the vehicles. INTRODUCTION JK Tyre is one of the leading domestic tyre producers and pioneer in radial tyres in India. JK Tyre has a presence in truck bus passengers cars and tractor tyre segments. My project, which was given to me, is concerned with consumers behavior, market share and fitment trend of JK Tyre in truck segment at Meerut and Ghaziabad. To understand the project it is necessary to know about trucks and tyre specifications, which are filled in their vehicle. Basically here are two types of truck: 1) 6 Wheeler 2) 10 Wheeler The examples of trucks are: TATA 1210 TATA 1613 TATA 1612 Companies like Apollo, Birla, Ceat, MRF some local players among with JK Tyre have their presence in the market in the corresponding segment. The range of JK companies of super JK, Track King, Jet miles, Jet Rib, Jet King, Jet Track 39,Jet track 39 DLX, JK DX (Rear) The tyre sizes, which are filled in these vehicles, are 90.0-20 PR16 OR PR18 for both front and rear tyres. PRODUCT PROFILE Jet Rib (front Tyre): Features Benefits  · Aggressive 5-Rib pattern for easy steering  · Computer designed to ensure uniform tread wearing.  · Sides designed to ensure uniform tread wearing.  · Strong casing for dimensional stability, longer life and better casing value.  · Dual compound tread to ensure structural stability and high mileage potential.  · The ultimate Rib tyre for maximum mileage  · Offers best value for money.  · Higher retread ability JET TRACK (REAR TYRE) FEATURE AND BENEFITS:  · For load carrying light commercial vehicle.  · Time proven patterns-Reduces lug chips  · Use of specially compounded thread rubber for cooler running and more mileage  · Special bead construction to carry heavy loads  · Special tread design for better handling  · Wider center Rib for higher initial mileage and read life Renders excellent service and clean casing fetches far better casing Value. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Methodology is a systematized effort to gain new fact and knowledge. The peculiarity of a research lies in its design. First the aim and purpose of research has to be explored. The determination of research methodology is a most important part of it as one has to decide what technique should be adopted. The choice of technique depends upon the scope and the nature of market research. The determination of technique facilities the research program. Question arise which analysis is relevant information and consequently identifying and solving problems in the field of marketing. While dealing with project I have tried integrate all possible way to find out customer perception and fitment trend of our brand with the help of customer feedback and observation. RESEARCH PROCESS The market research process involves the number of interrelated activities that does not follow particular sequence and often requires few steps ahead. In the project I have carried out an independent survey for the comprehensive study of JK Tyres position in Truck Tyres segment by looking in different brands of tyres used by different customers with the help of fitment survey. I also carried out a survey by making a set questionnaire for consumers to know their perception about the tyre they are using and why do they prefer that brand. Through the questionnaire I came to know what consumer wants from our brand and what are the main reasons for using or not using out brand. RESEARCH DESIGN The research carried out is a descriptive research where the purpose is to ho through an intensive study of the perception of consumers about JK Truck Tyres. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds, to portray accurately the characteristics of particular individual, situation or a group. DESIGNING OF DATA COLLECTION In order to get the information I have to depend on the primary data, for that I have done 1) Finding market share 2) Fitment Survey 3) Consumer survey 4) The methods used for collecting data are; 1) Observation Method 2) Survey Method 3) Questionnaire 4) All the above stated methods were in order to get the data. To find the market share we have visited many transport companies, met with the transport owner and then observed more than 1600 fitments. In fitment survey observation method was used a set of questionnaire which has to be answered by observing the Truck Tyres itself. On the other hand method (With Questionnaire) was used for consumer contact Survey method was based on personal interview to collect detailed information from the customer. A suitable questionnaire was designed through people were comfortable in answering questionnaire was designed through were comfortable in answering questions orally rather than going through people were comfortable in answering questions orally rather than going through a questionnaire. SAMPLING DESIGN After deciding to carry out a field survey, its time for sample design .The survey was the mixture for both 1) Census Survey 2) Sample Survey For consumers contacts census techniques was used. I tried to cover almost all consumers. I have met with 90 customers who have truck vehicles. For the fitment survey it was not practically possible to cover the entire vehicle, hence sample of 230 trucks has been taken. SWOT ANALYSIS 1) Strength 2) Weakness 3) Opportunity 4) Threats STRENGTH 1) JK Tyre has a renowned name. 2) JK Tyre has one its own R D center â€Å"HASETRI† 3) A lot of quality awards are their associated with JK Tyre ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 9002 4) JK Tyre is Indias only tyre super brand. WEAKNESS 1) After sale service is good enough. 2) Schemes are not attractive. 3) Consumers perception is not strong regarding its performance. 4) Relation of dealers with customers is not good. OPPORTUNITY 1) Lot of potential in the Truck Tyre segment. 2) JK Tyre should try to concentrate on a single aspect of low cost tyre with good quality 3) More consumers awareness should be needed, as JK is one of the oldest tyre manufacturing companies, as new companies are more focused on advertising. 4) JK Tyre should try to capture its lost position by giving more advantages to its customer. THREATS 1) A good numbers of competitors are there in the tyre industry. 2) Tyre companies like Apollo and MRF are stressing on a single agenda, improving quality of tyres. 3) Apollo is totally concentrating on after sales service, while Ceat is concentrating on low price. 4) JK Tyres major competitors in the market like Apollo, MRF, Ceat and Birla are doing aggressive advertising and promoting their products FITMENT TREND OF TRUCK TYRES Fitment survey is conducted with the objective of knowing the position of different companies and their brands along with JK that are get fitted in the Truck tyres. The trend of the tyres are get fitted, company wise as well as Brand wise according to the Fitment Survey for both Front Rear are as follows: I have taken data of 230 trucks, these include 160 six wheelers and 70 ten wheelers. It means 460 front and 1200 Rear Fitment. COMPANY WISE FITMENT (IN FRONT TYRES) MEERUT Apollo: 29.12% JK: 14.10% Birla: 20.16% Ceat: 18.14% MRF: 10.08% OTHERS: 08.40% MEERUT Company wise front fitment: COMPANY WISE FITMENT (FRONT) MEERUT Apollo: 19.12% JK: 14.10% Birla: 20.16% Ceat: 18.14% MRF: 10.08% OTHERS: 08.40% MEERUT COMPANY WISE FITMENT (FRONT) COMPANY WISE FITMENT (IN FRONT TYRES) GHAZIABAD Apollo : 29.42 % JK : 20.16 % Birla : 10.44 % Ceat: 17.18 % MRF : 14.36 % OTHERS : 08.64 % Company wise front fitment Ghaziabad FRONT TYRES COMPANY WISE FITMENT (IN FRONT TYRES) GHAZIABAD Apollo : 29.42 % JK : 20.16 % Birla : 10.44 % Ceat : 17.18 % MRF : 14.36 % OTHERS : 08.64 % COMPANY WISE FITMENT (IN FRONT TYRES) BRAND WISE FITMENT (IN FRONT TYRES) MEERUT BRAND WISE FITMENT (IN FRONT TYRES) MEERUT BRAND WISE FITMENT (IN FRONT TYRES) MEERUT BRAND WISE FITMENT (IN FRONT TYRES) GHAZIABAD KZ-77R 12 AMAR 64 AT-RIB 1 XT-7 8 JET TRAK 5 JET RIB 1 TRAK KING 22 FLEET KING 14 SUPER TRAK KING 1 BT-339 10 BT-369 4 ROAD MILER 4 SUPER MILER XB 15

Sibling rivalry and birth order

Sibling rivalry and birth order SIBLING RIVALRY AND BIRTH ORDER INTRODUCTION Sibling rivalry and the power of birth order are as alive today as it was in the Old Testament, even though there have been many centuries between the time of the Old Testament and today. While birth order doesnt cause sibling rivalry by itself, the fact of the matter is that it can definitely affect sibling rivalry (Parenting Magazine). What follows is a comparison between siblings in the age of the Old Testament with siblings of the world today. This study will demonstrate that the centuries have done little to produce substantial change or progress. Todays siblings continue to struggle in their efforts to get past jealousy, resolve conflict and fulfill their desire for power. Sibling Rivalry and the power of birth order are as alive today as it was in the Old Testament. Although there have been years between the Old Testament and todays families episodes of rivalry, there are similar reasons for its prevalence today. While birth order doesnt cause sibling rivalry by itself, the fa ct of the matter is that it can definitely affect sibling rivalry (Parenting Magazine). I want to compare Old Testament siblings with siblings of the world today. I will unfortunately compare there has not been much change or progress through the decades. We still encounter not only sibling rivalry, but also adult, friend, and co-worker rivalry. There seems to have been no improvement in our abilities to get past jealousy, conflict or the need for power in our society. The biggest cause of sibling rivalry in children and in adults is jealousy. It may be that one sibling is moresuccessful in an area, such as their career, than another sibling. Or, it could be that one sibling has more positive experiences in relationships than the other. While competition is not always a bad thing, if one sibling constantly feels as though they are behind their sibling in one way or another it will lead to sibling rivalry. (Parenting magazine) I. BIRTH ORDER A. Firstborn society also places favoritism towards oldest siblings, natural born leaders, rule-conscious, exacting, conservative, organized, responsible, jealous, fearful, high achieving, competitive, high in self-esteem and anxious often pressured to succeed on the other hand, youngest siblings often idolize the first born, putting the first born in a position of leader of the children of the family B. Middle born tends to be forgotten never truly in the spotlight so can be natural mediators they avoid conflict, often have many friends and highly loyal to peer groups they may become a fighter of injustice or they may have trouble finding their place C. Youngest baby of the family, outgoing, entertainer out of all the siblings the youngest has the least aversion to risk often an endearing and delightful friend The study confirmed older siblings had distinct advantages, and that birth order was more important than gender in shaping sibling relations. (Horin) Although the advantages of the older siblings seem to have a proportional advantage to other siblings in todays society, we find that God had favor over the younger siblings. Gods choice of the second born is a recurring theme in the Hebrew Scriptures. The eldest is passed over for the fathers blessing and inheritance, leaving his or her descendants filled with resentment and hatred. We have to wonder though if the birth order of the Old Testament brothers was a factor in their relationships as well. Not much has changed in regards to peoples personalities of greed, vanity, sin and power. Then I would tend to believe that birth order did play a factor in relationships in the Old Testament. II. Cain and Abel In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain was the first son of Adam and Eve. He was a farmer while his brother, Abel, was a shepherd. The two brothers had each brought a sacrifice to God (Genesis 4:3-4). God rejects Cains field offering but has regard for Abels offering of an animal sacrifice (Genesis 4:5). Although both offerings were considered appropriate sacrifices, God was more pleased with Abels. Perhaps he believed Abel had a better heart in his giving than Cain (Genesis 4:7). Cain became angry with Gods favoritism and he killed Abel (Genesis 4:8). God confronted Cain about his brother, judged him, and pronounced a curse upon him, driving him out to the land of Nod, which was east of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 4:9-16). It doesnt state how the two brothers relationships were to each other before this event or the family dynamics with their parents. Genesis does not mention if they were always at odds from earlier days or if it came later after they became adults. But it does show th at even from the onset of time we have had the desire to succeed and be better than the others. It shows how we often displace our anger towards the wrong people too. Because of Cains anger toward God he killed Abel. III. Ishmael and Isaac In the story of Ishmael and Isaac, Ishmael was Abrahams first son. His mother was Hagar, Sarahs Egyptian handmaid. Isaac was the son of Abraham and Sarah his wife. Abraham and Sarah did not have a son to make a great nation of the childless Abraham (Genesis 17:4). Even though God had promised them an heir, Sarah felt that God had restrained her from bearing a child (Genesis 16:1-2) and took matters into her own hands. In unbelief, Sarah offered to Abraham her maid Hagar (Geisler). Hagar was promised a son named Ishmael, meaning God hears, because of her affliction (Genesis 16:9-11). Abraham and Sarah received him as the son of Gods promise. They both laughed in disbelief when the birth of Isaac was announced (Genesis 17:17). God promised to make Ishmael the father of twelve princes, from which would become a great nation. But the covenant would be established with Isaac (Genesis 17:20-21). Believing Ishmael was mocking Isaac she wanted Hagar and Ishmael to be cast out. At the insiste nce of his wife, Abraham expels his Ishmael and his mother Hagar, from his camp after Ishmael behaves inappropriately with his half-brother, Isaac (Genesis 21:9-21). Ishmael married an Egyptian and fathered 12 sons and a daughter. He was the half brother of Isaac and wasEsaus father-in-law.He is also considered the prophet of the Muslims, inheritors of Ishmaels legacy. Once again God favors the second born, Isaac, not Ishmael, inheriting the blessings of the covenant. I do speculate on how things would have possibly been different if Sarah had just trusted God instead of taking matters into her own hands. Even now we try to do the same thing; we forget or fail to keep our trust and faith in God. In regards to Ishmael and Isaac they were born to two different mothers. This undoubtedly made a hedge between them from the onset. Having two different mothers, from two different backgrounds surely made the difference. Even though Abraham loved both of his sons, the mothers of the boys were of two different statuses and backgrounds. The conflict between the mothers had to appear to the sons somewhere during their upbringings. From the very beginning, it would have been hard for harmony to be achieved due to Sarahs jealousy and Hagars different background and the rivalry between the two. I think it is important here to see that the sibling rivalry between the two focused more on the mothers rivalry between each other, than the actual relationship between the sons. It appears that not just personalities between siblings can cause rivalry. But, perhaps rivalry within the family causes rivalry to be imminent between children. We must realize the impact of our actions to our children an d those around us. IV. Esau and Jacob Just as the blessings and promises of God pass from Abraham to Isaac, they must also pass from Isaac to his son. But Isaac had twin sons, Esau and Jacob (Geisler 46). When Abrahams son Isaac was grown he married Rebekah. He pleaded with God that his wife might bear children (Genesis 25:21). The children struggled together within her, when she inquired of God he said that there were two nations in her womb. They shall be separated from your bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger (Genesis 25:22, 23). As a result, she bore twin sons, Esau the hairy one and Jacob supplanter. Jacob was described as grabbing Esaus heels upon birth, as if trying to come out first and become firstborn. Esau became a hunter, and Isaac favored him. Jacob was more of a settler and farmer and was favored by his mother (Genesis 25:24-28). Jacob was also crafty and took advantage of Esaus extreme hunger one day. He bargained with his older brother to exchange his birthright for some lentil stew. Possession of the birthright secured for Jacob a double portion of the inheritance (Genesis 25:28-33). Although Esau was Isaacs favorite son, he displeased his father by marrying two Hittite women who were not descendants of Abraham. This made life extremely difficult for his parents (Genesis 26:34-35). Near the end of his life, when it came time for Isaac to give his blessing on Esau, he is deceived into blessing Jacob instead (Geisler). Rebekah overheard his instructions to Esau. She encouraged Jacob to deceive the blind old man by disguising himself as Esau and taking his brothers blessing. The deception succeeded, and Isaac gave Jacob the blessing of the firstborn. When Esau appeared to receive his blessing he was too late. He was very bitter against Jacob because of what had happened. After this, Esau was so angry that Jacob left for Haran. Twenty years later Esau generously forgave his brother and the brothers were reunited (33:4-16). Two decades later a rich and prosperous Jacob returned with his family. Esau and Jacob finally made peace before Isaac died. Even before they were born Jacob and Esau were in a battle for supremacy. But unlike Ishmael and Isaac they were twins from the same mother. Twins we tend to believe are closer because of similar genes. They are known to act alike and know what each other are feeling or thinking at times it is said. In Jacob and Esaus case this was not true. They seemed to try to battle it out even before birth. During their upbringing we see that their relationships with their parents may have played a role also. Jacob was more favored by this mother and Esau was favored more by his father. I find it interesting to see how the family dynamics of children may be influenced by the favoritism of their parents. Along with their personalities and how children are molded by which parent they are favored by in regards to male or female. V. Joseph and his Brothers Joseph was one of twelve sons of Jacob. He was the first born son of Rachel (Genesis 30:22-24). Jacob also had four sons by Rachaels sister, Leah (Genesis 29:31-35) Leah then bore sons five and six, Issachar and Zebulun, followed by a daughter, Dinah (Genesis 30:14-21). She gave her maid Bilhah to Jacob and Bilhah bore him Dan and Naphtali (Genesis 30:1-8). At this point Leah gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. Zilpah brought forth Gad and Asher (Genesis 30:9-13). Joseph was the favorite of his father, since he was the son of Jacobs old age (Genesis 37:3) and the firstborn son of his favorite wife. Because he showed his favoritism so openly that the other sons became jealous of Joseph. Josephs brothers hated him. Plus, Joseph was a bit of a show off and a tattletale, acting as his fathers spy in their eyes. Their jealousy and envy towards Joseph only got worse when Jacob gave Joseph a ground-length, long-sleeved, multicolored robe (Genesis 37:3-4). The animosity of his brothers increased even more when Joseph revealed to them he was having dreams where his brothers would one day bow down before him (Genesis 37:5-11). Because of this, when Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers and the flocks near Shechem, his brothers tricked him and sold him to a caravan of traders going down to Egypt (Genesis 37:25-28). Josephs brothers then took his robe, dipped it in goats blood, and brought it back to Jacob, who was overwhelmed with grief (Genesis 37:31-35). Joseph went on to live out his visions from God and attained a high position in Egypt. He eventually faced his brothers again during the famine, and reveals his identity to them (Genesis 42-44). Joseph forgives his brothers after realizing that they will no longer sacrifice a brother for their own means or gains (Genesis 44:18-34). This sho wed Joseph that his brothers were changed men from their past dealings with Joseph. Josephs relationship with his brothers was one of resentment by his brothers a story of tragedy and deception. It shows a group of brothers having sibling rivalry over one brother. The dynamics of the family shows the partiality of Jacob over Joseph in comparison to the other brothers. This favoritism was not hidden by their father and shows the dangers of favoritism and the extent of how dangerous rivalry can become. VI. Amnon and Absalom Amnon was the son of King David and Ahinoam (2 Samuel 3:2). Absalom was the son of King David and his wife Maacah (2 Samuel 3:3). Thus Amnon and Absalom were half-brothers, likeAbrahams sonsIshmaelandIsaac. Absalom was a handsome young prince known for his long, thick hair (2 Samuel 14:25-26). He had a beautiful sister Tamar; Amnon brought shame upon Tamar by forcing himself on her and then refusing to marry her (13:1-20). Absalom allowed his dejected sister to live with him in his house, believing that his father King David would punish Amnon for what he had done. After two years of waiting, Absalom plotted his own revenge after his father did nothing to Amnon for his behavior towards Tamar. Absalom gave a feast for King David and his princes at his estate in the country. King David did not attend, but Amnon did; Absalom got him drunk and then had his servants kill Amnon (2 Samuel 13:26-28). Afraid of King Davids anger, Absalom fled across the Jordan River to King Talmai of Geshur, the father of Absaloms mother (2 Samuel 13:29-39). After three years hiding far away from home, Absalom was called back to Jerusalem by Davids general, Joab. After two years he was back in full favor with the king (2 Samuel 14) and began plotting ways to gain the throne for himself. He worked to make the people think well of him, while also lowering peoples opinion of his father, the king (2 Samuel 15:1-6). Eventually, Absalom planned a rebellion against King David, gathering the people who wanted him to be king together in Hebron. After Ahithophel, one of King Davids wisest counselors, joined Absalom, the prince announced that he was now king. By the time news of Absaloms conspiracy reached him, King David was unable to do anything but flee from Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15). When it finally came down to the battle between King Davids men and Absaloms men, Joab slew Absalom. He found Absalom hanging from an oak tree by his hair and slain him, even though King David had asked that Absalom not be harmed (2 Samuel 18). The story of Amnon and Absalom shows that rivalries often drive people to destroy one another. Amnon and Absalom were like Ishmael and Isaac being of two different mothers also. From early on they were against each other due to Amnons crime against Tamar. In addition, King David showed a pattern of defending his sons even though he knew they had done wrong. He seemed to turn his head at all the wrong times. This may be due to King Davids sins of his past. King David had unwittingly pronounced a fourfold judgment on himself in his responses to Prophet Nathans parable (Geisler 119). I wonder if he had been more of a role model in the sense of not sinning with Bathsheba that it would have changed any outcomes of his sons. The consequences of King Davids sins brought greater sorrow on him than had he died himself (Geisler 119). No matter what his sons had done, as all parents do, he continued to love them in spite of their troubles. How many times have we as parents never realized at the time the influences we have over our children. It is the perfect lesson of the do as I say and not as I do. King David did not act out in hypocrisy, but he did live in a sinful lifestyle at times. Allowing our sinful nature to be so prominent sends a message to our children that its okay. We must be a role model and teacher for all. Summary In summary I believe birth order played a part in each of the sons personalities. Although, Gods plans are more significant than the birth order process, sibling rivalry, family dynamics, or personalities and his plans follow through. . Throughout the Old Testament we see the same characteristics of rivalry, power; desire and resentment come to a head in each of these families. We see anger being taken out on the wrong people, as in Cain and Abel, where the anger was directed toward Abel, instead of God. We read of many forms of deception in several of the Old Testament families. Whether you could say that the oldest had more power than the other siblings, in terms of the personalities and birth order, it did not seem to matter in the end. God had a plan that would be implemented no matter what the circumstances were. Some people trace the hostility between Israeli and Arab to the rivalry between Isaac and Ishmael. Todays bloody disputes over territory spring from Gods promise of a land for his people (Knowles). The tragedy of strained relations between Islamic and Judeo-Christian countries is a part of everyday life. One need only pick up a newspaper or check the news story of the day via television, radio, or internet to learn of the latest violent attack. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, three of the worlds great religions, have their roots in the Middle East. All three religions revere Abraham as a common ancestor. Yet all three have had bloody interchanges throughout history. How and why did Abrahams children become such a dysfunctional family? Where is God in these family feuds? Even if there was a way to get past human characteristics of jealousy, power, conflict and self-centeredness, we would not be able to get past the differences in religious beliefs. When there is no ability for us as a society to come together as a whole then there is no way to rise above the problems.