The Rhymes in Christina Rossetti’s Echo

In the three-stanza lyric poem â€Å"Echo,† Christina Rossetti uses rhyme as a way of saying that one might regain in dreams a love that is lost in realit. As the dream of love is to the real love, so is an echo to an original sound. From the comparison comes the title of the poem and also Rossetti’s unique use of rhyme. Aspects of her rhyme are the lyric pattern, the forms and qualities of the rhymng words, and the special use of repetition. The rhyme pattern is simple, and, like rhyme generally, it may be thought of as a pattern of echoes. Each stanza contains four lines of alternating rhymes concluded by a couplet: a b a b c c. There are nine separate rhymes throughout the poem, three in each stanza. Only two words are used for each rhyme; no rhyme is used twice. Of the eighteen rhyming words, sixteen — almost all — are of one syllable. The remaining two words consist of two and three syllables. With such a great number of single-syllable words, the rhymes are all rising ones, on the accented halves of iambic feet, and the end-of-line emphasis is on simple words. The grammatical forms and positions of the rhyming words lend support to the inward, introspective subject matter. Although there is variety, more than half the rhyming words are nouns. There are ten in all, and eight are placed as the objects of prepositions. Such enclosure helps the speaker emphasize her yearning to relive her love within dreams. Also, the repeated verb â€Å"come† in stanzas 1 and 3 is in the form of commands to the absent lover. A careful study shows that most of the verbal energy in the stanzas is in the first parts of the lines, leaving the rhymes to occur in elements modifying the verbs, as in these lines: Come to me in the silence of the niqht (1) Yet come to me in dreams, that I may live (13) My very life again though cold in death; (14) Most of the other rhymes are also in such internalized positions. The free rhyming verbs occur in subordinate clauses, and the nouns that are not the objects of prepositions are the subject (10) and object (11) of the same subordinate clause. The qualities of the rhyming words are also consistent with the poem’ emphasis on the speaker’s internal life. Most of the words are impressionistic. Even the concrete words — stream, tears, eyes, door, and breath — reflect the speaker’s mental condition rather than describe reality. In this regard, the rhyming words of 1 and 3 are effective. These are night and bright which contrast the bleakness of the speaker’s condition, on the one hand, with the vitality of her inner life, on the other. Another effective contrast is in 14 and 16, where death and breath are rhymed. This rhyme may be taken to illustrate the sad fact that even though the speaker’s love is past, it can yet live in present memory just as an echo continues to sound. It is in emphasizing how memory echoes experience that Rossetti creates the special use of rhyming words. There is an ingenious but not obtrusive repetition of a number of words — echoes. The major echoing word is of course the verb come, which appears six times at the beginnings of lines in stanzas 1 and 3. But rhyming words, stressing as they do the ends of lines, are also repeated systematically. The most notable is dream, the rhyming word in 2. Rossetti repeats the word in 7 and uses the plural in 13 and 15. In 7 the rhyming word sweet is the third use of the word, a climax of â€Å"how sweet, too sweet, too bitter sweet.† Concluding the poem, Rossetti repeats breath (16), low (17), and the phrase long ago (18). This special use of repetition justifies the title â€Å"Echo,† and it also stresses the major idea that it is only in one’s memory that past experience has reality, even if dreams are no more than echoes. Thus rhyme is not just ornamental in â€Å"Echo,† but integral. The skill of Rossetti here is the same as in her half-serious, half-mocking poem â€Å"Eve,† even though the two poems are totally different. In â€Å"Eve,† she uses very plain rhyming words together with comically intended double rhymes. In â€Å"Echo,† her subject might be called fanciful and maybe even morbid, but the easiness of the rhyming words, like the diction of the poem generally, keeps the focus on regret and yearning rather than self-indulgence. As in all rhyming poems, Rossetti’s rhymes emphasize the conclusions of her lines. The rhymes go beyond this effect, however, because of the internal repetition — echoes — of the rhyming words, â€Å"Echo† is a poem in which rhyme is inseparable from meaning.

Of Mice and Men †Life in America in the 1930’s Essay

â€Å"Of mice and men† by John Steinbeck tells the story of life in 1930’s America during the great depression, about the dreams, lifestyle, racism and sexism, which had become a way of life for the characters in Steinbeck’s book. I will be discussing these points to determine exactly what life in 1930’s American was like. Life in 1930’s America was very lonely, George tells us that â€Å"†¦guys like us†¦are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Many of the other ranch hands share the same feeling. This is also made apparent by the fact that most people think that there has to be something wrong if two men travel together because nobody takes that much care of somebody else, Slim’s comment to this is â€Å"†¦ I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  George and Lennie’s new boss is also suspicious, he asks George, referring to Lennie, â€Å"†¦what stake you got in this guy?†¦Ã¢â‚¬  George feels he has to lie and tells the boss that Lennie is † †¦my†¦Cousin†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The other ranch hands don’t interact with each other this is shown when Candy says to George â€Å"†¦a guy on the ranch don’t never listen nor he don’ t ask no questions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  this quote emphasises how private the menn keep their lives. Slim is an exception to this as he is always willing to talk if others wish to. However many of the others, despite their urge to talk, seem to be less inviting or trustworthy. George and Lennie seem to be an exception to this general life. They â€Å"†¦got somebody to talk to that gives a damn†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Slim describes what living on a ranch does to a man and really how lonely it is that â€Å"†¦they get mean†¦ they get so they don’t want to talk to anybody†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The average ranch hand gets â€Å"†¦ fifty bucks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  they â€Å"..go in old susy’s place†¦ you can get a shot for two bits†¦Ã¢â‚¬  they describe this as â€Å"†¦ jus’ the usual thing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and George describes how most ranch hands are constantly moving from ranch to ranch â€Å"†¦they come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go into town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The conditions in which the migrant workers lived were primitive. Bunkhouse walls were whitewashed, the floor unpainted. There were eight bunks in the bunkhouse, which showed that there was a lack of privacy for the men. Even their few personal belongings were on public display â€Å"†¦over each bunk there was nailed an apple-box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The only places for the men to sit were boxes. George saw that the conditions were also unhygienic when he found a can in his apple-box which said â€Å"†¦positively kills lice, roaches and other scourges†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The life style in 1930’s America was not one of luxury, it was full of hard times, low wages and little opportunity. Crooks the Stable buck dreams about going back to a world much like his childhood, without prejudice. Many of the men on the ranch are very racist, including the boss, even though the boss is described as a â€Å"pretty nice guy† he â€Å"give the stable buck hell†. An example of racial prejudice is when Carlson casually refers to the stable buck as a â€Å"†¦nigger†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . George does not react to this reference, which shows that it is a commonly used word. Also the prejudice against coloured people is again shown as the stable buck, who is a coloured man, is not permitted to sleep in the bunkhouse along with the other migrant workers. The stable buck is also not usually allowed to join in with any activities and we are shown this when Carlson explains how, at Christmas, â€Å"†¦they let the nigger come in that night†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The conditions in Crooks room are just as bad as the rest of the ranch, Crooks bed is â€Å"a long box filled with straw, on which his blankets were flung†. Even though Crooks has his own room his life is extremely lonely, being the only coloured man on the ranch the only contact he has with others is when he is asked to do something. Crooks teases Lennie referring to George â€Å"well, s’pose, just s’pose he don’t come back. What’l you do then?† the point crooks was trying to make by teasing Lennie was how its like on your own with no one, and that Lennie is very lucky to have George because, Crooks has no one and isn’t allowed in the bunk house. Again disrespect for the ranch workers is shown when Curley’s Wife refer’s to them as â€Å"†¦a bunch of bindle stifts – a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep†¦Ã¢â‚¬  the ranch workers world seems to contain quite a lot of prejudice, both racial and sexual. Curley’s Wife lashes out at Crooks when he tells her â€Å"you got no rights comin’ in a coloured man’s room† Crooks is forced to draw into himself and add covers of mental protection, because Curley’s Wife show’s how racism is very much a part of life in the 1930’s, her next words to Crooks are some of the harshest â€Å"well keep your place, then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny†. The Sexual prejudice in 1930’s America is very obvious, the men at the ranch make this point clear because, they assume that Curley’s Wife is â€Å"†¦a tart†¦Ã¢â‚¬  because she comes into the bunk house and supposedly gives Slim and Carlson â€Å"†¦the eye†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . It later becomes clearer that what she actually wishes to gain from her visits to the bunk house is company. This shows that the ranch is a very lonely place for her too. Curley’s Wife has a dream, although her dream is different from the men on the ranch. Instead of something to call her own, she wants fame. She is unhappy with her husband , and his constant stories of who is going to beat up next: â€Å"sure I gotta husban’. You allseen him. Swell guy, ain’t he?†. When she is talking to Lennie, alone in the barn, she recounts her obviously well told stories of her offers of fame. She seems to have a deep regret that she didn’t take up either men on their offers â€Å"if I’d went, I wouldn’t be livin’ like this, you bet†. The scene in Crooks room revealed that Curley’s Wife isn’t really â€Å"†¦a tart†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , she is just extremely lonely, and all she really wants is company and someone to talk to. I think the reason she lashes out at Crooks is because she has just had enough of people not wanting to talk to her, or asking her to go away Crooks tells Curley’s Wife â€Å"now you jus’ get out, an’ get out quick. If you don’t, I’m gonna ast the boss not to let you come in the barn no more†. Tragically Lennie and Curley’s Wife die, I feel very sorry for the both of them, Curley’s Wife, because she always wished for fame and a comfortable life. Curley’s Wife did not seem likely to achieve her dreams. Even if she wasn’t murdered, she was stuck in a rut with Curley, a rut that she would have gone round and round in until he left her for a new woman, or she finally built up the courage to leave him. Also someone who is referred to throughout an entire story as someone’s possession does not make a likely major character. Their marriage did not seem to be one that was destined to last until they died of natural causes. But Curley’s Wife did die, and her death seemed to be a release â€Å"†¦ discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face†. I also feel very sorry for Lennie, he was also described in the story as some kind of possession, he was George’s companion. Lennie’s child-like-mind and behaviour don’t make the ideal major character, I think all Lennie really thought about during the whole story was â€Å"Livin’ off the fatta the lan'† and â€Å"tending the rabbit’s†. I think Lennie knew what the dream was but for him it was tending rabbits. George and Lennie’s dream is a simple one – they want land to call their own. Candy sums the feeling up well: â€Å"Every body wants a bit of land, not much. Jus’ som’thin’ that was his†. Crooks has also seen it all before: â€Å"I seen guys nearly crazy with loneliness for land, but ever’ time a whorehouse or a blackjack game took what it takes†. This shows that the dream of owning land is very common among all ranch workers. George’s dream, although extremely similar to Lennie’s , is probably more detailed and complicated. Lennie thinks as far as â€Å"tendin’ the rabbits†, but George has to worry about whether it would be possible to really â€Å"live offa fatta of the lan'†, or would they starve? I think Candy grasped so readily on George and Lennie’s dream because, Candy knew that â€Å"Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk-houses they’ll put me on the county†, I think he also knows that if he doesn’t get a place soon he is just going to die on the ranch, sad and alone because the men on the ranch wont care. Maybe Lennie did get his dream, in one way or the other. As George is preparing to kill Lennie, he tells him one last time about â€Å"how ità ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s gonna be.† This last bedtime story for Lennie seems to describe not a little farm that they might buy, but the heaven someone might go to in their afterlife. As Lennie begs George â€Å"Leà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s do it now. Leà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s go to that place now†, and George replies â€Å"Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta†, and then pulls the trigger, the pair seem at peace with themselves, and each other. George knows what he is doing is right, and he knows that Lennie would agree if he had the time to explain his reasoning to him. If Lennie could comprehend the reasoning behind Georgeà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s actions, he would realise that George was taking Candyà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s unknowingly offered advice: â€Å"I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldnà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½t ought to have let no stranger shoot my dog.† The American dream is very common in 1930’s America, it seems that every character in Steinbecks novel has a dream which all of them are unlikely to achieve. The world of the migrant workers in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, was monotonous and lonely. Generally speaking there was a lack of realistic ambition for the workers. The conditions in which they lived were cramped and unhygienic and encouraged prejudice and a lack of respect towards everyone. I think that Steinbeck’s novel paints an accurate picture of life and culture in 1930’s America.   

Development Human Potential

The evaluation procedure in today’s times requires a lot of attention from the organizations as people usually have neglected this area. The companies are seen spending huge amounts on the training interventions but do not pay attention towards their evaluations and usually an informal committee is set up in order to take the feedback on the random basis. The organizations cannot ignore the evaluation phase as it is the most integral factor in assessing the resources that have been spent in the training and development of the human resources.A lot of organizations refrain from going through a proper evaluation because they feel that the process is faced with a lot of challenges and is relatively difficult to incorporate in the routine training procedures (Huque & Vyas, 2004). Answer # 3: Evaluating the training and development interventions have become equally important as the procedure itself as the evaluations provide the organization with a better understanding of the train ers and the trainees.The organization cannot assess the success or failure of the training interventions until there has been an evaluation for that (Pont, 2003). The evaluation itself is a complete procedure for the organization to follow and has to go through a lot of challenges in order to get the procedure done. The organizations today are spending a lot of their resources in evaluating the intervention procedures in order to make sure that their training and intervention procedures are effective and result oriented (Phillips & Phillips, 2004).The foremost challenge that is in front of the management is the criteria for measurement. The evaluation is basically a way to measure the success of the training and development interventions. Thus it has become a huge challenge for the organizations as it is very difficult to set the criteria for the measurement. The organization has to be very prudent when identifying the variables that would be required in gauging the efficiency of th e training interventions.The importance for this factor can be assessed from the fact that if these measurement criteria have been set incorrect the organization would have to pay in the short run and even in the long run. The organizations base their future training programs and the future training objectives on the results of the evaluation which is considered a valuable asset by various organizations (Gatewood, Feild, & Murray, 2007). Thus if the criteria selected is incorrect the organization may come up with the future program which may contain factors which are incorrect and based on erroneous results.The organization therefore has to pay a lot of attention while identifying the measurement criteria for the evaluation of the training and development interventions to make sure that they are on the right path and the resources are not wasted but channelized in the right direction (Ivancevich, n. d. ). Measurement remains the first issue but one of the other most integral issue w hich the organizations are facing today is in regard with the proper resources and trained staff that could do an in depth evaluation of the program (Brostek, 2000).In the days of recession the organizations have to face a lot of criticism by the stake holders in spending huge amount on the employee development. A lot of critiques consider it to be a waste of resources to invest labor and capital in the training of the employees. Today companies have become pretty weak in terms of their financial position due to which they are not in the position right now to spend ample amount in the training of the employees.Thus, there is a huge challenge in front of the management to get an approval for spending resources in training their human capital by the other stakeholders of the organization (Brostek, 2000). Companies today are faced with a major challenge in terms of their spending patterns with respect to the employee training. Companies do realize the importance of the training of the employees and want to spend more for it but are restricted immensely by their financial conditions and the slowing economy. Organizations have a set budget for the development of their human resources beyond which they are not allowed to spend.Thus this has become a huge challenge as they have to channelize the limited resources that they have very efficiently in order to get the maximum out of the evaluation (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006). Other than that the organizations today are facing problems in acquiring highly skilled employees who would be able to do an in depth evaluation of the training interventions. As already mentioned above the evaluation itself is a complete procedure, thus organizations need to hire highly skilled employees who should be well trained in the evaluation procedures and may get accurate and correct results for the organization (Bramley & an, 2003).The evaluation phase does not only end once the data has been gathered properly by the skilled professi onals but a thorough understanding is also required in order to assess and evaluate the data properly. The correct result depends upon the correct understanding of the data that has been gathered. It is a huge challenge for the managers to make sure that the data that has been gathered is not misunderstood or misinterpreted in any way because this may make the whole evaluation procedure a failure (Armstrong, 2003).Evaluation refers to the feedback from the trainers and the trainees. Getting a feedback at times is not easy and the organization has to go through a lot of difficulties in order to get the correct feedback. A lot of participation and co operation is required form all levels of employees in the organization. Any sort of rigidness form any one in the organization may make it difficult for the firm to get the feedback (Training and development evaluation in Jordanian banking organisations, 2009).The managers face a huge challenge in terms of getting co operation form the tr ainers and the trainees as the people may not be very comfortable sharing their response or may not want to tell others due to any reason. At times people may even manipulate the results of the evaluation by providing biased data to the managers which may pollute the whole study. The managers have to make sure that the purpose of the evaluation has been communicated properly within the whole organization and every one in the company understands how important the evaluation is for the training procedures.This would help the managers in getting the support from all over the organization without which the managers may not be able to accomplish their mission (Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains – Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor Domains – design and evaluation toolkit for training and learning, n. d. ). Proper evaluation is only possible in the case when both the trainer and the trainees are ready to co operate and give the correct feedback. At times either of t hem may be biased in their response due to any personal factor which may contaminate the complete evaluation and mislead the management.The management before going for the evaluation has to make sure that the evaluation is unbiased and no personal factors are included in the results. This is practically impossible thus the organization has to make sure that it minimizes the biasness to the maximum level (Rae, 2002). The managers have to make sure that the data they gather from the evaluation is sufficient to provide correct finding and is able to achieve the objective of the evaluation. Otherwise the whole process may become nullified and would be a waste of resources and time.The managers have to ensure that whatever tools are required to gather the evaluation data have provided enough data which to validate the study (Donovan & Townsend, 2004). Selecting the right tools to gather the data is another challenge in front of the managers. Today managers have various different tools to gather data for the evaluation of the training programs. It is very difficult for the organization to decide on which tools are the best in the given conditions for the organizations to gather data.The managers have to be very prudent while deciding on how to get the data for the evaluation (Evaluation Tools, n. d. ). The organizations have various tools like focus groups, questionnaires and one on one interview and observations. All these tools have their specific characteristics which may be advantageous for the organization at various times. The criteria for choosing the tool may differ from organization to organization and may even depend on the personalities of the respondents for the evaluation.Where the managers may feel that their respondents would not be able to communicate their ideas properly they would go for observation and try to gather data via either their own observations or the expert’s observation (Knox, 2002). The tool itself has a lot of impact on the re sult of the study as the level of biasness may vary in each tool. For example observation may be very biased as the observer may be paying selective attention and ignoring things that he may not want to. Focus group may also be biased as it has a moderator who may play a major role in manipulating the discussions in the focus groups (Clarkson, 2001).Thus the managers today have a lot of pressures in terms of selecting the right tools for gathering the data as the tool has to be the most appropriate one and has to match the conditions and the type of respondents. Evaluation is a complete procedure which the company has to follow. It is not easy for the managers to formulate the evaluation process and a complete and thorough insight is required by the managers to formulate the evaluation procedures for the training and development interventions.The managers today are facing a lot of difficulties in deciding on the various steps that are required to initialize the procedure at the begi nning and then come up with a step by step procedure. Other than that the managers also have to ensure that the steps that they follow are in the right order so that the evaluation procedure is correct. The formulation of the procedure also requires the managers to have a thorough insight of the training and development interventions so that they may make sure that the process is not leaving any loop holes during the evaluation phase. (Training Evaluation, n. d. )Answer # 4: Training and development interventions have become very important for any organization. Training allows the employees to be at pace with the changing employing conditions in the world. The training though remains incomplete without the evaluation phase where the organization can benefit by taking feedback from the trainers and the trainees. The evaluation completes the training and development intervention procedure as it enables the organization to get an insight on the objectives, the loop holes and other aspe cts of the training and development intervention procedure (George & Snell, 2007).By evaluating the training and development interventions the company is able to exactly know hoe successful it has been in implementing the interventions. Since all these interventions requires a lot of time and money to be spent by the company, thus it is of very importance to the company to analyze how beneficial the strategies have been for the company and what are the points where there were certain loop holes that can be taken care of (Evaluating Training, n. d. ). The training and development interventions are required to modify the ongoing training within an organization.Though the implementation alone is not enough, the organization may not want to only spend their resources without any sort of evaluations. The evaluation is a tool that does not only provide ample data to assess the company’s training interventions on the short term basis but is also a tool that can be used to formulate the strategies or the roadmap for the long term (Cummings & Worley, 2008). Evaluation not only identifies the results obtained by the current techniques applied but at the same time gets a feedback from the internal and external audiences.The feedback can serve as the most important opportunity for the organization as it can use it for the further trainings. The feedback itself would prove to be the biggest opportunity for the organization as because of the feedback the organization would be able to identify all sorts of loop holes that may exist in the current intervention systems of the organization. The company may be able to spot what are the places where the company is lagging behind and needs to cover up (Nilson, 2003).This would bring the company in a better position to formulate the future learning and development interventions for the employees. Thus the company would then be able to make better strategies that would be the improved version of the intervention strategies ad opted by the organization. Evaluation is the best way to measure the success of the organization. By evaluating the development and training intervention strategies the organization may be in the best position to see any mistakes that have been done in the current training sessions.The human development is a very integral part of the organization where a lot of organizations spend huge amounts just to make sure that their employees are trained in the best manner. Companies can set their goals before the training and development interventions which would then be used in formulating the training program. Later the evaluation would be the best way by which the organization can assess the extent to which the goals have been achieved. This would help the organizations in setting its future objectives and missions based on the past results of the evaluation (Trainee's Feedback, n.d. ). Evaluation would give the organization an insight for reviewing, adjusting and revising goals. By evalua tion, the organization is in a better state to review its goals and incorporate any required changes. The organization would be able to come up with a revised and an improved training and development interventions which would benefit the organizations and the employees individually. The training process is required to be with minimal errors and maximum results.The upper management of the organization is very keen regarding the whole training process and any interventions that are done in the organization. Thus evaluation proves to be the best way by which the organization can reduce the amount of mistakes that can be done in the training and development interventions. By evaluation the organization may be able to get the response from the trainers and the trainees and then avoid any mistakes that have been done in the previous sessions (Why Training Evaluation? , 2006 ).This would help in reducing the organization cost as it would not then waste its resources on committing mistakes but instead would be able to properly channelize the resource without committing any fallacies. The organization by doing constant evaluations can avoid any mistakes and can come up with the training and development interventions with zero error, that is, that would get maximum results which would justify the huge amount that is spend on training the human resources in the organization (Evaluation of Recruitment and Training, n.d. ). Avoiding mistakes in the training procedure does not only reduce cost but at the same time gets maximum results for the organization. Evaluation identifies the loop holes in the current procedures which can then be rectified in the future. This would help the organization in making the trainings more effective and result oriented. The employees of the organization may be able to increase their productivity which would be very beneficial for the organization. Evaluation is a way of taking response from the trainees.This is a way of decentralizing the org anization by which the employee’s response would be incorporated in the training and development procedures of the organization. This would act as the motivator for the employees as they would know that their response would be considered as very important for the training interventions. The employees would be able to increase their productivity and the whole organization would work together to come up with a better intervention procedures (Employee Satisfaction Survey, n. d. ).Evaluations provide an organization to prepare a relevant and appropriate training program for the organization which can prove to be the success factor for the organization. Human resource is considered as one of the most important factors in any organization that can become the competitive advantage for the firm. The evaluation might lead to enhance the competitive advantage by providing a correct framework for the training and development interventions. The evaluation may enable to firm to come up wi th the best training methods for the employees by which the company can train their employees in the best manner.Evaluation is thus the only way by which the organizations in the modern world can train their employees and make themselves differentiated via that. The evaluation can help in making the work environment better as the employees may feel respected and consider themselves as the most important asset of the organization. Thus a proper evaluation system can lead to a better working environment, improved training interventions which would all lead to an increase in the productivity of the employees and ultimately affect the earnings of the organization which is the key objective of any firm (Becker, 2009).Conclusion: Evaluating the training and development interventions is not an easy task as it requires a very prudent approach by the managers who are facing a lot of challenges today. The organizations have to be more serious while evaluating the interventions and have to uti lize the maximum from the evaluation procedures as they have a lot of opportunities for the organization.

Privacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Privacy - Essay Example Numerous information of a person can exist in an infinite period leading to unfavorable actions on the side of agencies that enforce law, potential employers together with agencies that offer credit facilities (Becker & Becker, 2008). She puts across that some companies and institution can gain access to individual information and uses it against them basing on religion, ethnicity or race. People who discover that their personal information may be accessed, have a lot of pressure to conform. When most people feel afraid that their personal information can be accessed, they reduce their capability to induce change in the society (Tucker, 2006). This indicates that privacy matters affect more than the wrong doers do. Debora also argues that people have a right to reject giving their personal information. Those that give their information indeed forfeit this right (Werhane & Freeman, 2011). She says that in the current society it is almost impossible to live without providing your personal information. For instance, one cannot use a computer if he cannot provide personal information, use credit card, get health insurance or even get a driver’s license or benefit from any government program (Gabelman, 2005). This is because the information is stored in the databases. She observes that there are many reasons why people should reject giving their personal information though it can cause serious inconveniences (Canto-Sperber, 2004). People can embrace the new developments of computers without fear of dangers that arise by using passwords and keywords to protect their personal information. Croissant, J. & Restivo, S. (2007). Albany Conflicts of Interest and Industry-Funded Research: Chasing Norms for Professional Practicein the Academy.† In Degrees of Compromise: Institutional Interests and AcademicValues. NY: SUNY

The Truth about the U.S. Involvement in the Vietnam War Research Paper

The Truth about the U.S. Involvement in the Vietnam War - Research Paper Example The ideologies of Marxism-Leninism provided Mao Zedong, Brezhnev, Khrushchev, Stalin, Ho a shared goal in pursuing revolutionary changes all over the world. Hence, the Cold War was â€Å"a world war†¦ in which the future governance of the international system was at stake, and in which the great powers opposing the United States and its allies were the moral equivalent of Nazi Germany† (Moore & Turner 2002, 440). The war in Vietnam actually started because the USSR did not attempt to provoke the United States. Yet, in the less developed countries (LDCs), Moscow could hide its operations and still carry out its plans. The fame of Ho as a fervent supporter of independence, alongside Mao’s eagerness to support him, established Vietnam as an especially advantageous chance (Moore & Turner 2002). Therefore, this was a conflict that the Americans could barely have prevented, that is, to have stayed detached would have created a major pro-USSR repositioning in global polit ics. It is the argument of this paper that the Vietnam War is justified, yet it was dealt with in wrongly. Lyndon Johnson relied greatly on military commanders whose tactic of finding out and annihilating adversaries, rather than guaranteeing the safety of civilians, generated more fatalities than outcomes. As an obvious result, support from the Congress and the general public has weakened. Broadening the disagreement would simply have made everything more unpleasant, as, current Chinese documents reveal, Mao planned to get involved (Capps 1991). The sole possible option was for the Americans to give up the war, as stated by Jennings (2010), so as to sustain the American national political agreement in support of the Cold War. Triumph was not the issue. What was required was an attempt to prove that the Americans would protect and support its allies in the developing world, to guarantee prospective targets of the expansionist mission of Moscow that the U.S. would not leave them. However by persisting with the conflict until a total disintegration of national determination and a mortifying departure, the governments of Nixon and Ford promoted Soviet antagonism throughout the latter part of the 1970s (Neu 2005), a development repealed when Reagan reinstated the nation to a policy of rendering its dedications trustworthy once more. It is a well-known fact today that Ho, Mao, and Stalin rendezvous in 1950 in Moscow to formulate the line of attack for an ultimate occupation of Indochina (Jennings 2010). It is known that North Vietnam has better or larger support from China and USSR than assumed beforehand: the anti-aircraft squads of Russia in fact attacked American soldiers in Vietnam, and it was documented that there were roughly 170,000 combatants of China on its area (Moore & Turner 2002). It is known that the North Vietnamese were not at all actually solemn about an agreed resolution, and that their allegedly independent Viet Cong friends were actually their dummie s. It has been recounted that South Vietnamese and Americans had no control over the exercise of bloodshed (Jennings 2010): The North Vietnamese were simply as awful, and the Khmer Rouge were obviously much more dreadful. Nevertheless, some historians failed to explain why the integrity of the United States

Fallacy Spotting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fallacy Spotting - Essay Example An appeal to pity or fear also known as the Galileo argument, means a professional has been suffering that he/she might lose loss his/her house due to some dysfunction. Under different situations human being evoke to the appeal to pity or fear emotion. Fear of God and fear of terrorism generates appeal to pity or fear in the human mind. At the time of appeal to pity or fear, different kinds of reasoning come to the mind of the arguer along with opposing party. Emotions have been affecting human behavior in a very inappropriate manner, which is also harmful for the future (Rainbolt and Dwyer 1-446). Therefore, appealing to the emotions like pity or fear is unidentified force created by the arguer, it negatively affect the opponents without knowing the actual reason, whether he/she will surrender to the arguer (Walton 1-55). Pity or fear is a very strong as well as forceful emotion, which made the opponent helpless and at a point of time opponent is forced to give up the

Sport and media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Sport and media - Essay Example article, the features associated with athletes and the tone used in sports coverage and reports varies according to the ethnicity and race of an athlete. The researchers were guided by four hypotheses that were developed using previous knowledge on ethnicity and racial minorities in the news. Media exposure using race-related messages can provide advantages in terms of identity to whites or majority consumers. They are offered intergroup messages, which support White positive distinctiveness and self-concept. The first hypothesis is that minority athletes are usually overrepresented as criminals when compared to Whites. The second hypothesis is that minority athletes are usually characterized unfavorably than White athletes in the coverage of crime related sports news. The third hypothesis is that crimes associated with minority athletes will be characterized with negative consequences. The fourth hypothesis is that the presentation of crime related sports news varies according to the race of an athlete (Mastro, Bleacha & Seate, 2011). These researchers show that the manner in which athletes are portrayed in crime related news varies according to race. In this case, minority athletes, particularly Black athletes were overly represented as criminals. The researchers used a social identify framework in order to analyze the content in the newspapers systematically. Mastro, D., Bleacha, E., & Seate, A. (2011). Characterization of Criminal Athletes: A Systematic Examination of Sports News Depictions of Race and Crime. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 55, (4)

Issue of gun control Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Issue of gun control - Essay Example This essay discusses the issue of gun control in the United States of America. Here gun related violence is one of the leading causes of bodily harm and fatalities in which many of the guns used in these crimes do not belong to the shooters. Ideally, the acquisition of these guns tends to be legal, but they end up falling in the hands of ill-motive individuals that avenge attacks on innocent civilians. On the other hand, proponents of gun control restrictions argue that citizens should not own guns either legally or illegally because owning a gun is one of the contributors to gun related violence. In Parma, major calls are on the ban on the licensing of handguns and assault weapons while the obtaining of the other types of guns should be within law requirements. As a way of ensuring that the Ohio state’s curbs the gun violence menace, advocates for the debate have decried the need to have an arms registry that would help in accounting for the weapons used in committing crime. Additionally, gun shows are also potential areas that aid in flooding the population with unlicensed firearms. Ideally, gun acquisitions at gun stores tend to have intense requirements, but firearm shows do not have the same because their intention is making sales and not in safeguarding the population.Also the problem also lies in the accessibility of firearm clips. This is because gun handlers that have high capacity clips tend to spray more bullets without having to stop to reload their weapons, which causes more damage. 3. Data that supports the debate A majority of those that commit gun related violence tend to be individuals that have had priors in crime that has led advocates on the restriction on gun ownership to influence the Ohio state to adopt the background check to be law. When passed, an individual that has a prior history of crime becomes non-illegible to obtaining a firearm because of the information obtained through the national registry. In the past, this measure w as strict, but gradually became non-applied by firearm sellers because it attracted minimal profits within this trade. Ideally, many argue that conducting of background checks on a purchaser of a gun contravenes ones privacy and that it is also discriminating because of the stereotyping associated with past offenders. 3.1 National data According to the Survey by the National crime victimization, almost five hundred people became victim to gun related violence in 2011. On the same year, data by the FBI showed that sixty eight percent of American murders drew influence from firearms (Carter, 351). Additionally, forty-one percent of robbery crimes and twenty one percent of

Macroeconomics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Macroeconomics - Essay Example There is a widespread misunderstanding that banks or governments create money. In fact it is the people who create money through their hard work. Banks handle and reallocate money and assets. Governments only borrow money into the way of life from the banks. People work hard and earn assets which can be bought or sold, directly by exchange or through the use of legal tender, or through the making of capital. Everyone who buys or sells, producers or consumers, are traders. Trading, especially purchases, usually happens in credit. The promise to pay creates money and after production when the goods or services get into the market for sales, the debt is repaid. When a debt is repaid, money which was in trade is neutralized or made null. Borrowing creates money and repaying it extinguishes the money. The successful lender or sponsor of a loan is all the dealers who trade with the borrower which is the society or the market. This is how money is actually created, and extinguished. Banks a ct as clearinghouses, clerks who keep track of the dealings between merchants. In the LET system (Local Exchange and Trading system), which was developed 20 years ago as the basic banking system, each dealer opened an account with zero balance in it. The bank charged a small fee for each transaction which became the sole income for the bank. This is the basic banking which later developed into giving loans to its customers who were in need of excess money which they did not have at a given point of time. The interest on loan became another income for the bank and now it is this income that creates more money in the market. So as to put more money into the market, banks started encouraging customers to put more money into the bank as various types of deposits which earned them interests and which in turn would be lent out to others as loans by the bank. Thus money made by one person keeps rotating in the market through another person by way of bank

Buddhism - A Spiritual Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Buddhism - A Spiritual Religion - Essay Example There is no single text of Buddhism that is followed all over the world as a number of different Buddhist texts are followed by its practitioners. The Buddhists are divided into different traditions and beliefs according to which, they follow different texts such as Theravada Buddhists use Pali Canon as trustworthy and reliable for their religious practices and Mahayana Buddhists use Mahayana Sutras for their scriptural teachings (Fierser and Powers 2007). Pali Tipitaka is also a Buddhist scripture that is regarded as a reliable scriptural work for many Buddhist practices and traditions by Theravadas (Fierser and Powers 2007). Therefore, there are many Buddhist scriptural works followed by different Buddhists all over the world. Buddha preached his enlightenments consisting of all the principles of right action, right speech, right thinking, right livelihood, right intention, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Buddha teaches that by learning to live a morally perfect life of a person, after the succession of births and rebirths, ceases to be reborn and enters what he called Nirvana, a spiritual condition free of all desires, passions and sufferings (Ellwood and McGraw 2004). Meditation is the basic practice of Buddhist followers. It is said that the founder of this religion himself achieved spirituality and enlightenment on the basis of meditation. There are two kinds of meditative practices, which are Shamatha and Vipassana. These meditative practices are considered essential for acquiring spirituality. In Buddhism, The meditative approaches of mindfulness and concentration are utilized. (Bowker, 1997: 176). â€Å"The gift of learning to meditate is the greatest gift you can give yourself in this life. For it is only through meditation that you can undertake the journey to discover your true nature, and so find the stability and confidence you will need to live and die, well. Meditation is the road to enlightenment†.

Methodology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Methodology - Essay Example In the training step, the characteristics will be derived from a recognized speaker sound then stored in a database that has a model or an outline like Password or Name. The stored information is then extracted by means of the model given by an unidentified speaker. The recovered data is then compared with characteristics extracted from the unidentified speaker sound. If the evaluation result is positive, then the unidentified speaker will be validated. The figure above 3.2.2 demonstrates two things: how the word will be accepted from the speakers voice as well as how to distinguish the personality of the speaker. The speech identification will need from the speaker to record the word. The classifier will be employed so as to extract the characteristics of the voice of the speaker and then the representation will be made and saved in the catalog. Just for the speaker identification the speakers voice will be recorded then features will be taken out and will be evaluated against the other speakers models so as to accept or reject the personality of a speaker. The figure above 3.2.3 demonstrates the enrollment along with verification phases, in the previous stage the speakers voice will be recorded so as to extract the attribute from his/her voice. After that, the replica will be created for every speaker word and will be stored it in the database. During the verification stage, the speaker’s voice will be recorded, and then the traits will be extorted from the speakers voice. After that, the choice will be made so as to accept or reject the speaker depending on the assessment of the extracted characteristic from a speaker along with the other recognized speaker models that were stored in the database. For this project, I employed Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for recognition of speech. 3.1 Hardware depiction: The software will be executed by means of some devices such as Microphone in addition to the computer, the microphone should

Ict Unit 30 Essay Example for Free

Ict Unit 30 Essay Section B Hardware: Graphics Card Graphics cards processes all your graphics in your computer. All Graphics Cards have memory, these come in 128MB, 256MB and 512MB. The more memory your computer has, the faster it will run and combine it with a good processor. Internal Memory Cache memory is a added memory system that temporarily stores frequently used instructions and data for quicker processing by the central processor of a computer. RAM Random Access Memory is the working memory in a computer. Processor – The chip inside the computer that performs all of the calculations and operations necessary to make your computer run. Software: Vector based – CorelDraw is a vector graphic design software package. Other examples include: Adobe Illustrator, Computer Graphics Metafile and Shockwave Flash. Raster based Photo Raster is an advanced online photo editor software. Bitmap based Paintshop Pro is an image manipulation software, it allows you to work with Vectors and Rasters. Photo Manipulation Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program. Other software Image viewers and photo galleries. File formats: TIFF file A TIFF file stands for Tagged Image File Format. TIFF files are a common format for images, especially those used on graphic design. GIF file – GIF files are a format commonly used for graphics presented on websites. GIFs can contain a maximum of 256 colours, and are therefore best for images that contain simple shapes. JPG file JPG files, also known as JPEG files, are a common file format for digital photos and other digital graphics. When JPG files are saved, they use lossy compression, meaning image quality is lost as file size decreases. M1: A raster graphic or image is made up of pixels. Pixels are small squares of information. Raster graphics are wonderful for rich, full-colour images such as photographs. Raster graphics are rendered images on a pixel-by-pixel basis and they are fantastic when handling shading and gradients. Raster graphics are great when creating rich and detailed images. Every pixel in a  raster image can be a different colour therefore you can create a complex image with any kind of colour changes and variations. Also almost any program can work with a simple raster file. The most recognized application that handles raster graphics is Adobe Photoshop however there are also several other image editing software options out there for you to choose from. However raster images cannot be scaled up in size very well. If you do try to enlarge a raster image, it will look grainy and distorted. This is because raster images are created with a finite number of pixels. When you increase the size of a raster image, the image increases in size however, because there are no longer enough pixels to fill in this larger space, gaps are created between the pixels in the image. The photo editing software that you are using will try to fill these gaps the best they can however, the resulting image is often blurry. Another disadvantage is raster graphics are not great for embroidery. Because raster images are based on square pixels, your embroidery may look like it has jagged edges. If you want to embroider an image with smoother edges, it is best to use vector graphics instead of raster graphics. A vector graphic is made up of a series of small points that combine together to make lines and images. The most recognized applications which handle vector based graphics are Adobe illustrator, Macromedia freehand and Corel draw. Vector graphics are generally used for line art, illustrations and embroidery. Vector files are small because they contain a lot less data than raster files. Also vector graphics are more flexible than raster graphics because they can be easily scaled up and down without any loss to the quality of the image. As well as vector graphics having smoother lines when compared to square, pixel-based raster graphics therefore, they are better with straight lines and sweeping curves than raster graphics. However Vector graphics are generally filled with a solid colour or a gradient. They can’t display the lush colour depth of a raster graphic. Comparisons: A CD-ROM is a CD that can be read by a computer with an optical drive. The ROM part of the term means the data on the disc is read-only, or cannot be altered or erased; they can hold up to 700 MB. A hard drive however is the computers main storage media device that permanently stores all data on the computer. A flash card is a small data storage device that uses a flash  memory chip to store data. Flash cards can be quite small in size, with a capacity of many gigabytes of storage. And a USB storage device is a portable device that holds users data and files. USB storage devices include external hard drives and flash drives. A graphics tablet is an input device which allows you to draw a picture onto a computer screen without having to use a mouse or keyboard. It consists of a flat, touch-sensitive pad and some sort of drawing device, usually either a pen or stylus. However a computer mouse is an input device that is most often used with a personal computer. Moving a mouse along a flat surface can move the on-screen cursor to different items on the screen. A digital camera on the other hand is a camera that stores images digitally rather than recording them on film. Once a picture has been taken, it can be downloaded to a computer system, and then manipulated with a graphics program and then printed. Finally a computer scanner is used to convert a hard copy, that is a document you can hold in your hand, into data that your computer can read. Output media: The output medium involves a printer, monitor, mobile phone, PDA and a plotter. The way in which the development of output medium has had an impact on the design and the creation of the graphic images is by having vector images that look real life so it is clearer and appealing for people to look at. The reason for this is that before there used to be older monitor cases that were not as thin, because it is around 30cm deep and are Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors. Whereas now there are modern monitors that are thinner which means that the case isn’t more than a few centimetres deep and are generally LCD which is also known as the Liquid Crystal Display or thin Film Transistors (TST). The way in which the development of printers has had an impact on the design and the creation of the graphics is, because if people wanted to receive good quality printing then they would have to buy a printer that is more expensive. Whereas now people don’t have to buy an expensive printer to receive good quality graphics. Another way in which the development of the printers has had an impact on the design and the creation of the graphics is, because there are new features available on one machine so the specific needs of the customers are being met as they are able to do everything themselves. Mobile phones have also had an impact on the design and the creation of graphics is, because people are able to take a picture  from their phones and edit it onto the computer. Whereas now people are able to edit it on their phones and Bluetooth it to the computer or printer which is not time-consuming and more efficient. Section C D2: The file format is basically the way in which the layout of the image is known as, in order for it to be stored on the computer. Therefore this shows us that due to there being different types of file formats they can be reduced, so that they are easily recognised and accessed by the file. JPEG/ JPG also known as the Joint Photographic Experts Group and it is used for photos and the continuous tone images. This specific format is mainly for the web applications and it is quite similar to the GIF file, however the only difference is that the JPEG files store all of its colour data and doesn’t need transparency whereas the GIF files don’t store the colour information. In addition the reason as to why I would not use this file format for my images that I have got from Google is, because when I try to print the image or change its size for example increase it e.g. stretch it, then the image can become degraded or pixelated. This means that the image quality is lost, does no t look as efficient and it is not clear to see. There are two different types of compression techniques and these are Lossless compression and Lossy compression. Therefore the compression techniques are used to reduce the disk size of the file. So if the file size is reduced then there is more storage space. However it could also be that the file needs to be moved to a different location. For example a small file size arrives more quickly that a file with more capacity and information. Lossless compression is when the images can be rebuilt from the compressed image. Whereas lossy compression is the opposite so this means that the original image cannot be rebuilt from the compressed image. Image resolution is when the amount of detail the image includes. Therefore it could be for digital images, such as vector or bitmap images, film images and other types of images etc. However if an image has a higher resolution then there is more detail within it and it can be measured in many different ways. This means that the resolution of images just shows how close the lines are to each other and be visibly resolved. In addition the resolution units can be  viewed as the physical sizes, such as the lines per image the inch or to the overall size of a picture for example lines per picture height. The reason why colour depth is important is, because it controls the file size and the overall quality of the image. To conclude looking at the different factors of the images, such as file formats, compression techniques, image resolution and colour depth they each have their own role in maintaining a good quality image and different methods to do so. Section C P6: Copyright is when people create the different types of media which is in a form of information for example images, software and books. Therefore the owners have the right on how they would like the work to be used or copied. However when people want to reuse the image they need to get permission first, because the images could have copyright. This stops someone from copying an idea therefore the business will have enough time to develop and manufacture the idea. This can then be sold at a high price to begin, in order to recover some of the development costs. Copyright free is when the images can be used by anyone so these images can be found on web pages for example Google. This is because they are easily recognised as copyright free which could be included from the graphics software. Whereas there are some images that are not easily identified as copyright free so this means that the person needs to gain permission from the owner in order for it to be used, as it could result in th e image having copyright. Generally when someone asks permission from the owner it could result in paying a sum of money for the image to be reused. As well as when someone takes photos of other people then he or she will need to ask them to sign a model release form which gives the photographer permission to use the image. This is because there are some people who don’t find using someone’s photos appropriate without their permission. Whereas for non-commercial use for example education schools then it is suitable for them to copy the image and use it for their education as they might need it for their project and there is no other purpose for using the information. However if the students require a lot of information then they might need to get permission for using the information and stating the name of the copyright image and the owner of the piece of information.

Isolation Purification and Characterisation of Rubisco

Isolation Purification and Characterisation of Rubisco Carbon is essential for life. Unfortunately, carbon in the earth and atmosphere is locked in highly oxidized forms, such as carbon dioxide. In order to be useful, this oxidized carbon must be fixed into organic forms. Plants perform this taks by carbon-fixation through photosynthesis. There is an enzyme inside plant cells, called Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco). It takes carbon dioxide and attaches it to ribulose bisphosphate. In spite of its central role, rubisco is a very slow catalyst, when compared to other enzymes. Typical enzymes can process a thousand molecules per second, but rubisco fixes only about three carbon dioxide molecules per second. This slow rate is compensated by its increased production. Rubisco comprises of half of the protein in the chloroplasts making it the most plentiful single enzyme on the Earth. Rubisco also shows lack of specificity. in rubisco, an oxygen molecule can bind comfortably in the site designed to bind to carbon dioxide. Rubisco then attaches the oxygen to the sugar chain, forming a faulty oxygenated product. The plant cell then performs a costly series of salvage reactions to correct this. Studies on the enzyme by Manuel  J et al, in higher plants, revealed the presence of 8 small (S) chains with a MW of 13 kDa each and 8 large (L) chains with a MW of 55 kDa each. Assembly of all these chains occurs in the chloroplast stroma, building the whole holoenzyme L8S8 also called Form I. [Assessment of D-Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase / Oxygenase (Rubisco) Enzymatic Activity Handbook of Plant Ecophysiology Techniques, chapter 23, Springer Netherlands]. J. E. Musgrove et al found that the newly synthesized Rubisco large subunits made from isolated intact chloroplasts from Pisum sativum are bound non-covalently to large subunit binding protein. They found that the binding protein purified from Pisum sativum was in the form of an oligomer of relative molecular mass (Mr) about 720000. Analysis on polyacrylamide gels containing sodium dodecyl sulphate revealed equal amounts of two different types of subunit, termed alpha (Mr about 61000) and beta (Mr about 60000); thus th e oligomer has the composition ÃŽÂ ±6ÃŽÂ ²6 [The Rubisco Large Subunit Binding Protein, by  © 1986 The Royal Society]. The post-translational modification the Rubisco was studied extensively by Mulligan R. M., et al and Houtz R. L., et al. Their study revealed that it undergoes at least three differnet types of post-translational modifications inside the cell. The larger subunit of the enzyme is coded by a plastid gene and is translated into Rubisco holoenzyme. Mass spectral and amino acid sequence analysis of peptides prepared from Rubisco had demonstrated that this subunit is processed to the mature form by removal of the N-terminal Met-1 and Ser-2 residues and acetylation of Pro-3 [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 85:1513-1517, (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 86:1855-1859 respectively]. In 1989, Houtz R. L., et al found that the LS from many species contained a trimethyllysyl residue at Lys-14 [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 86:1855-1859,  Houtz R. L., et al (1991) Plant Physiol. 97:913-920,  Houtz R. L., et al (1992) Plant Physiol. 98:1170-1174]. The small subunit (SS) of Rubisco is al so post-translationally modified. This polypeptide is post-translationally imported into chloroplasts and processed by a stromal processing peptidase that removes the targeting presequence. The resultant N-terminal methionine residue of the processed SS is subjected toN-methylation (Grimm R., et al (1997) FEBS Lett. 408:350-354) prior to assembly with the LS into the holoenzyme. The reactions of Calvin cycle is as shown below: 1. Rubisco is the enzyme catalyzing the following reaction: Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate + CO2 + H2O 2 3-Phosphoglycerate + 2 H+ The enzyme also has an unusual oxygenase actvity, shown below: 2. Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate + O2 3-Phosphoglycerate + Phosphoglycolate + H2O + 2H+ At high concentrations CO2 the reaction with O2 is suppressed. Phosphoglycolate is then dephosphorylated and passed into peroxisomes where it is further oxidized, glyoxylate is amidated, and glycine is produced. This process is referred to as photorespiration and it occurs under conditions where the oxygen concentration is high. Aim: The principal objective of the experiment was to isolate, characterise the Rubisco from fresh pea leaves and estimate its specific activity. The isolation and extraction was done using ammonium sulphate precipitation at different concentrations. The enzyme fraction was separated using column chromatography with Sephacryl S-300 and confirmed with SDS-PAGE and native gel bands. The presence of the enzyme band was confirmed by comparison with that of a standard purified enzyme from spinach. The total protein and enzyme assay was done using standardised protocols. Methods: All procedures were performed at/or close to 10 ÃÅ'Ã…   C. Extraction: Fresh pea leaves, with veins removed, were taken from light-adapted actively-photosynthesised plants, which were previously put in sunlight for 1 hr prior to harvest. About 12g of leaf laminas were blended with cold extraction buffer [0.1M Kphospate, 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.2] and squeezed through wet Miracloth. BSA was quickly added to a concentration of 1 mg/ml and centrifuged at 20,000g for 15 min. An aliquot of 100 ÃŽÂ ¼L was stored for enzyme analysis and the rest was used for fractionation with ammonium sulphate. Ammonium sulphate precipitation: Solid [NH4]2SO4 at 30% saturation at pH 7.8 ( adjusted with ammonia solution) was added and after 10 min, it was centrifuged at 10,000g for 10 min. The pellet was stored and to the supernatant again solid [NH4]2SO4 at 45 % saturation at pH 7.8, was added and centrifuged as before. The supernatant was poured off, and the precipitate was suspended in 15 ml of fresh 55% ammonium sulphate solution [2 mM EDTA, pH 7.5] and was stored. The supernatant was brought to 90% ammonium sulphate and adjusted to pH 7.8 as before. It was again centrifuged as before. The precipitates from 30% and 90% ammonium sulphate procedures were redissolved in 10mL of extraction buffer [0.1M Kphospate, 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.2] and stirred gently with glass rod. Both fractions were assayed for protein (Bradford method) and Rubisco activity. The stored precipitate from 55% AS was centrifuged for 10 min at 10,000g and dissolved gently in 4 ml of extraction buffer. This was again centrifuged at 26,000 g for 10 min and the supernatant which was clear, pale yellow in color was kept. Gel filtration: 3 ml of a sub sample from above was desalted by passing through Biorad Econopac-10 column with phosphate buffer [Accessed 28-Apr-2010] [50mM Kphosphate, 1 mM EDTA, pH 7.5]. The colored compounds were absorbed and were separated from proteins. 3 ml of salt-free sample solution was loaded into the Sephacryl S-300 column, which was equilibrated with Hepes buffer [25mM Hepes, 0.1 M NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 1mM DTT, 25mM MgCl2, 25mM NaHCO3, pH 7.8] at RT. The sample was allowed to run at 25 ml/sq.cm cross section per hour with Hepes buffer with a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. The first 10 mL was collected in a measuring cylinder and then fractions of 1.5 mL were collected in microfuge tubes. The protein was measured at 280 nm. The carboxylase was eluted as the first major peak of the protein in the elution profile. The protein samples were stored till the enzyme was identified. Then all the fractions containing the enzyme were pooled and its protein content was measured using Bradford assay. The specific activity of the purified enzyme preparation from above was compared with that of purified RUBISCO from spinach. The enzyme preparation was diluted suitably for the assay. PAGE gel: The protein content of the fractions collected from the column was determined and a suitable concentration of it was loaded in the SDS-PAGE and native gels as described by the method of Laemelli [Nature 227 (5259): 680-685]. They were then fixed, stained and destained for visualising the bands. The molecular weight of Rubisco was determined by the method of Shapiro et al [Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 28 (5): 815-820] Enzyme assay: enzyme assay was done spectrophotometrically using coupled enzyme system. The 2,3PG formed by the enzyme was phosphorylated using ATP and the resulting 2,3 bisPG was coupled with G-3-PDH and NADH. ADP generated reacts with Creatine-phosphate to yield ATP and Creatine. The carboxylase activity was followed by the oxidation of NADH at 340 nm and 25 ÃÅ'Ã…   C. The substrate/buffer solution [82mM Na Hepes, 20mM MgCl2, 1 mM ATP, 0.1 mg/ml BSA, 0.22 mM NADH, 10 mM Creatine-phosphate, 50 mM NaHCO3 ] the coupling enzymes were phophoglycerate kinase (380 U/ml), G-3-PDH (270 U/ml) and creatine kinase (200 U/ml). Pure carboxylase from spinach was added at 0.5 mg/ml concentration in phosphate buffer with 21 mM Ribulose bisphosphate in sterile, filtered water. Protein estimation: This was done by the method of Bradford M.M. [Anal. Biochem. 72:248-254.] Results: Crude extract contained the maximum total protein and the enzyme concentration as usual. While the total enzyme units was high in the crude extract the specific activity of the enzyme was high in the 0-30% AS step. Also, the total protein protein extracted with AS was less with 30-45% stage but increased with 0-30% 45-90% step significantly. The enzyme concentration, specific activity and total enzyme units was maximum at 0-30% fraction, indicating the relative purity to be the best at this fraction. A calibration graph was constructed. From the graph, the O.D of 0.152 gave the concentration of the protein in the unknown sample as 180 ÃŽÂ ¼g / mL. The above gel of 2008 shows the presence of at three bands in most lanes except in lane 6 8. Accordingly, the thicker band corresponds to that of the larger subunit and the last band to that of smaller subunit of the enzyme with their respective molecular weights as calculated from the graph. The lane 3 is my lane and does not show a thick band for LS of the enzyme. Still the SS is seen as a faint band when compared to that of lane10- pure enzyme from spinach. The native gel pattern also shows a faint band for the LS with SS subunit band almost absent. The gel pattern doesnt appear to be good with distorted bands in lanes 4,5 6, inspite of the conspicuous presence of the LS in them. (iv) Calculation of MW of Rubisco from standard molecular weight markers: Protein The band on the gel for the small subunit pea Rubiscos MW (MW 49.6 kDa) was found to between that of BSA and ovalbumin. For large subunit of the enzyme (MW 15.16 kDa) it was between lysozyme and soybean trypsin inhibitor. Discussion: The principal objective is to extract, isolate and characterise the Rubisco from fresh pea leaves. As per the conventional methods of extraction and isolation, ammonium Sulfate at different concentrations was used to isolate all proteins from the fresh pea leaves. Each fraction showed different protein content, total enzyme activity and specific activity. Column (Sephacryl S-300) chromatography was employed to separate out all proteins with an isoelectric point of pH 8 or lower. The fraction with maximum concentration of the enzyme, which was from 0-30% AS step was pooled and assayed for total and specific activity as described in the methods. Bradford protein assay was used to determine the concentration of the protein in each sample in order to determine the specific activity of each fraction of the enzyme from the column. The specific activity was also found to be maximum at 0-30 % AS step. The sample extract was run through column with positively charged matrix. Knowing that Rubiscos Isoelectric point is pH 4.2, a buffer with a pH of 8 is run through the column ensuring that Rubisco will stick to the matrix. Protein that remains in matrix is eluted using different salt concentrations in buffer and collected in fractions of 1.5 ml. Because Rubisco is known to be the most abundant protein in fresh pea leaves, the fractions containing the highest protein concentration are kept for each different salt concentration. The proteins were separated using SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. The sample in my lane 3 contained 2 bands (with a faint LS) with a molecular weight of 49.6 kDa and 15.16 kDa. According to Creighton, et al [Encycolpedia of Molecular Biology, 4th ed. (New York:John Wiley and Sons, Inc.), 1999.] Rubisco is made of 2 subuints, viz., large subunit: 50-55 kDa and a small subunit: 12-18 kDa. The specific activity was maximum with 0-30% AS step and decreased with increasing AS%, indicating that it was getting extracted at the earlier stage of the AS precipitation itself. There was a loss of activity as well as the relative purity of the enzyme with increasing AS% . Though the PAGE electrophoretic patterns doesnt conspicously confirm the presence of the enzyme, the assy from the fraction proved so. The probable reason of the faint band may be due to insufficient protein being loaded in the gel or may be due to over destaining of the band or less staining. On the whole Rubisco was successfully isolated.

Social Stratification And Inequality Sociology Essay

Social Stratification And Inequality Sociology Essay Social stratification is a sociological phenomenon in which people in the society are placed in different ranks with reference to same economic conditions. Normally, there are those of a high standard and others of a low standard. Social stratification borrows classification from earth sciences and thus it refers to its classes as strata. The difference in economic characteristics of persons leads to domination of power by one group to another. Social Stratification is characterized by four core principles namely; Social stratification has been said to be transferable from generation to another. Every generation adopts the classifications that had been set by a generation that proceeded. Social stratification is a societal characteristic and not an individual view. The society forms a uniform way of grading persons which is not a sole persons objective. Social stratification is said to be universal and also variable. Though this statement seems contradictory, it means that classification is uniform in a certain society but will vary when compared with other societies. Lastly, social stratification is not all about equality of persons, but also the beliefs that they hold. This means that social classes in the society are also based on common beliefs. The classification of the society into various ranks brings about inequality. In the western communities, social stratification adopts three key; the upper, middle and lower class. It is due to these classes that inequality is developed. Those of upper class view themselves as superior and having more prestige compared to their counterparts in lower ranks. Therefore, sharing of common resources in the society is based on the stratification ranks. Inequality is a social evil that emanates from social stratification (Bottero 3-8). Origins of the Social Stratification Theory The above theory is said to have emanated from the Judaeo-Christian Bible which presents the social idea of the Greeks. Though the idea was not extremely straightforward at the beginning, it has gone through various transformations to the present day where it presents itself clearly. The Sociological View of Social Stratification and Inequality Various sociologists have had different views and interpretations on social stratification. For instance, Talcott Parsons who was an American sociologist emphasized that stability of social stratus is partly influenced by universal values. On a different note, Marxism identifies unequal distribution of resources and limited mobility to be factors of stratified societies. However, numerous sociologists have had a uniform view with reference to the fact that the wealthy in the society control the political power. In such a case, the poor ought to submit to orders from the rich. Several sociologists had diverse views on the origin and form of the social stratification theory. Below are some of these sociologists and various discussions regarding each one of them. Karl Marx In his theory of Marxism, Karl asserted that social stratification in the society is based on the way people are related to the factors of production. In such, there exist two different categories of persons; those that own the factors of production and those who labor for the owner of the factors of production. The classification by Karl Marx seems to be inadequate especially in the current view of economics. This is because there exist various aspects of the present economy that have been left unsolved by the Marxism theory. For instance; it does not provide accurate categorization as to productive, occupational and economic aspects of society. Modern scholars of economics have said that the issue of social stratifications requires in depth classifications other than the generalized one provided for by the Marxism theory. In fact, theories behind social stratification need to draw a clear cut between the economic aspects of skilled and unskilled labor, owning and managing a business and also between business and professional occupational roles. Secondly, the Marxism theory appears to be so generalized to the extent that it overlooks various vital social-structural phenomena that are of a great influence in the society. These include ethnic affiliations, kinship and lineage affiliations. Modern sociologists have however not ignored these crucial aspects the way Marx did. Thirdly, the theory of Marx on social stratification seems to be so limited in defining the role of cultural factors in social classification. Cultural factors include legal practices, religious norms and scientific ideas among others. It is crucial to note that science has played a key role in maintaining social classes. In summary, Marx defined the relationship between people and property as the key aspect behind social stratification (Jackson chapter 2). Max Weber Weber was thrilled by the propositions of his predecessor, Marx, and hence he thought of making corrections to Marxs theory. Weber designed a model based on status, class and a more explicit and systematic differentiation with reference to social stratification. Unlike Marx who identified property to be the sole determining factor in social stratification, Weber identified status and class as additional factors. Weber built an interconnected model that would define the relationship between these three factors. Any one of factors can affect the other two, and in any case any of these factors can be replaced with another. In his model, Weber also did not cover several key influencing factors like education, ethnic and kinship factors. Below are the definitions that Weber gave to his three factors of influence; He defined class as an individuals economic position in the society with reference to birth and their personal achievement. Secondly, he defined status as the position occupied by an individual in the society as a result of their social honor, popularity and prestige. Weber also defined power as the ability of an individual to progress despite various factors offering resistance in the society (Rossides, 186). Wright Mills Wright sought to advance Webers thoughts on social stratification with no discrimination whatsoever. Similar to Weber, he identified power to be economic oriented but in addition to be influenced by political and military domains. Through his famous book titled The Power Elite, Mills brings out a clear connection between political power and social status in the society. He asserted that the very power embodied persons occupy a certain class in the society. In order to keep themselves relevant in the society, the power elite tend to develop close ties in ideas, work and marital issues. To him, the power elite are clearly defined in education institutions whereby the persons of the high status group attend prominent schools thus preparing them for high class tertiary schools. Conceptual Model to Social Stratification A conceptual model for the current nature of social stratification ought to be multidimensional. It should have considerable measurement techniques and be flexible to accommodate various ideological biases. There appears to be two factors that have led to the resistance of such a conceptual model. These are ideological and methodological oriented. Looking at ideological issues, we find sociologists who still hold on to the traditional ways of classifying people. They want to maintain definitions that are straightforward, clear and self explanatory. However, straightforward definitions have proved to be incompetent in the current nature of society that presents changing and complex situations. With reference to methodology aspects, scientists have had fear of exploring a multidimensional concept because they fear the complex resources and methods that could be involved. The more differentiated a model is the more involving it will be in terms of equipments needed to analyze and the processes that will be involved. Researchers have committed themselves in exploring models that are multidimensional however significant success has not been realized. Studies by the Hindu caste society show that a multidimensional model is necessary. Various dimensions of stratification are closely related to one another, but this does not mean that they are not exclusively autonomous. For instance, such dimensions as power, prestige, income and education are in a way related to one another. However, in some cases, it can be noted that power is independent of the other factors. In fact, in certain circumstances, power may be attained irrespective of occupational prestige. Again, a certain level of education grounds may not be strong enough if not accompanied by money. The key role of a multidimensional model is to address issues of interdependence and independence of social stratification factors. Key Dimensions of Social Stratification Power As defined earlier in this paper and with reference to Karl Marx, power refers to the ability to pursue goals despite resisting factors. Power will be addressed with reference to size and various natures of societies. The degree of division of labor in the society is related to the way typical social classes will be formed. Power exists in two diverse forms; legitimate and illegitimate and hence there cannot be established a direct relation between power and social stratification. Occupational Prestige The various productive roles in the society are accorded different level of prestige. It has been evident that though societies may be different, there will always exist a similarity in the way they accord prestige to various occupations. For instance; some professions like law, medicine and pilot, are given a high level of prestige because they are associated with good amounts of money. The variability of the way occupations are valued is dependent on the way the society values those occupations. Therefore, it is vital to note that prestige accorded to various occupations will differ with reference to the values of the societal setting. Income/Wealth Wealth plays an extremely significant role in social stratification. Whether earned or inherited, wealth will impact the class that a person will occupy in the society. Various profession and business roles in the society offer diverse opportunities in accumulating wealth. Sometimes, the so high ranked roles have proven to accumulate low wealth when compared to low prestige roles. Looking at the example of a professional doctor who uses intellect and professionalism to accumulate his wealth yet he may not gather a lot like a bandit. The latter can accumulate in one night, money equal to that a professional doctor earns in an entire month. When money is used as the determining factor in social stratification, business and professional roles lack relevance. Social stratification on the basis of income influences to a significant extent other dimensions of societal classification. For instance; the level of education gained by a person may be determined by the relative amount of income they have. Disposable income has also not been left out in studying how it influences social stratification. Family and Ethnicity The status of kinship groups and family lineage plays a vital role in determining the social classes in the society. Not once and not twice have persons being seen as wealthy and hence prestigious because their fore fathers were wealthy. The role played by a family in the society in terms of monetary contribution and influence holds a significant support as to why it holds a certain class in the society. The class occupied by a certain family in the society determines the social class it occupies and hence the treatment they will be accorded by the entire society. Family and ethnic position do not however hold a one to one relationship in far as social stratification is concerned. Local Community Status Individuals and families do not live in isolations or islands in the society. Their day to day activities are influenced by norms set by the nature of the community. Families and individuals by extension are given placed under certain social classes due to the way the society operates. The position of the local community in the society is determined by the nature of influence it has on the entire community (Andersen 216-220). Modern Stratification Systems In the contemporary world, there exists three key systems of stratification which are; slavery, the caste system and the class system. Despite various laws disregarding slavery, many people in the world today live in conditions that can be classified as slavery. Slavery Slavery is still eminent in nations such as Ghana, Benin and Mauritania among others. Also, Asia has been mentioned numerously for prevalent cases in sex slavery. Caste System The above is a social system that is based on characteristics and traits those persons posses by virtue of their birth. These traits include body type, race, gender and age among others. The caste system is said to be a rigid one. This means that it assigns various unchangeable castes to persons which cannot be varied. However, persons have in various situations tried to change their ascribed statuses by lying about their age, changing nationality or performing plastic surgery, but not at all times do these attempts yield positive results. Class System Class system classifies individuals in reference to statuses earned and not those individuals were born with. Persons born in a certain social class can choose their careers, education level and spouses. The class system is characterized by social mobility nature. Social mobility refers to the act of moving either up or down the various social strata (Levine) Conclusion Every society has various classes that are assumed by members of the society based on various factors. Common held belief in the society model the way a society sets up these classes. Most common factors that determine classification are education and knowledge, power, prestige, and religion among other factors. Sociologists have formed various theories to address the determining factors of social stratification though no one theory seems to have provided comprehensive coverage. Every society exhibits unique factors and believes, but there exists a close relationship between the way these diverse factors influence social stratification.

Feminism in Braided Lives :: Feminism Feminist Women Criticism

Feminism in Braided Lives Marge Piercy is well known for her feminist views and attitudes throughout her novels. Braided Lives is no exception. The novel follows Piercy's pattern of feminist writing. The characters in the novel are victims of society's crimes towards women. The protagonist, Jill, deals with many issues including rape and abortion. Due to her own experiences with these issues, it becomes her passion to help others in the same situation. Jill constantly strives to be in control of her own life; this struggle is another facet of the feminist movement. The goal of the novel is to "make its readers pay more attention to the current attack on legal abortion, and make them more eager to defend the imperiled gains of the women's movement" (Pollitt 378). Jill and her female companions encounter many difficult situations involving rape. At age 14, Jill is attacked by her boyfriend Freddie. This occurs at a time when Jill is first discovering her own sexuality and who she is. This experience has an effect on Jill into adulthood. In the novel, she speaks of this experience four years later, when she is preparing to leave for college. Jill recalls this event in vivid detail. I see his face hard and angry and I remember the terror that gripped me on the kitchen floor when I realized he wasn't going to listen to my firm loud nos that time. Terror twitched me violently... (30). Jill's cousin and roommate, Donna, is violently raped by a townie. Donna comes to Jill after the rape has taken place. She has been beaten both physically and emotionally. Piercy describes the rape and the aftermath of the rape in great detail. dedicating several pages to describing the horrific acts. Jill won't leave Donna's side and nurses her back to health. Jill takes it upon herself to defend and protect Donna against the man who raped her. This is just one of many times in which Jill defends and protects her female friends against society throughout Braided Lives. Fighting for a woman's right for an abortion becomes Jill's passion in life. This is a result of her own experiences and those of her friends. When Jill is a freshman in college she becomes pregnant by her boyfriend. Neither is ready for the responsibility of marriage or a child.

Future of VoIP Technology Essay -- essays research papers

Future of VoIP Technology VoIP is a relatively new technology and so the benefits are just beginning to be realized. VoIP technology has the ability to completely change the telephone industry as we know it. Big changes are in store for the way we use telephones and this section will address some of the changes to expect. Obstacles still stand in the way of progression and there are problems that need to be addressed before this technology can take over. Individuals have some great things to look forward to. Many already communicate over the internet for free (not including ISP cost) in a simple fashion by chat rooms, instant messaging, and email. Some are already using VoIP to replace their current telephone provider due to the lower costs available. Almost everyone in the United States has a cell phone that connects wirelessly to cellular networks located in nearly every city. Wireless internet is becoming rapidly mainstream now and this offers new opportunity for VoIP technology. New pocket PC phones are being developed to incorporate support for Wi-Fi as well as cellular networks. These phones will be able to switch from the users Wi-Fi connection to cellular networks and visa versa on the fly. Currently phone calls are directed to a location, but in the future phone calls will be directed to a person. Phone service will switch totally to VoIP once Wi-Fi networks are available to the extent of current cellular networks. Businesses are already currently reaping the bene...

To what extent do you regard The Shield Of Achilles as characteristic E

To what extent do you regard The Shield Of Achilles as characteristic of Auden’s work as whole? At first glance Auden’s poem the ‘Shield of Achilles’ appears to be focused on the classical world. The poem’s classical nature is first indicated by the title- Achilles was of course a famous Greek hero, and throughout the poem there are further classical references, many of which Auden has taken from Book XVIII of Homer’s Iliad- ‘Marble well-governed cities’ (l.3), ‘†¦athletes at their games’ (l.46), ‘Hephaestos, hobbled away’ (l.61). However, the poem also combines these classical details with the modern world- ‘Proved by statistics’ (l.17), ‘Barbed wire enclosed an arbitrary spot’ (l.31). Although there is this unusual combination of classical and modern, the poem can be seen as timeless: Column by column in a cloud of dust =================================== They marched away enduring a belief Whose logic brought them, somewhere else, to grief. (‘The Shield of Achilles’ ll.21-23) Here the army who are ‘enduring a belief’ (l.21) that they are doing good can be as easily applicable to the modern day (i.e. the situation in Iraq) as to classical times. The timeless nature of the poem can be said to be a characteristic feature as it appears in other poems such as ‘Gare du Midi’: ====================================================================== †¦clutching a little case He walks out briskly to infect a city Whose terrible future may have just arrived. (‘Gare Du Midi’, ll.6-8) Here we are led to believe that a man is about to unleash a terrible weapon on a city and although the poem was written in December 1938, its proleptic nature allows the poem to be much more in tune with the w... ...atures, it is perhaps impossible to outline a characteristic Auden poem. ‘The Shield of Achilles’ lacks many features that would make it characteristic. For example, poems such as ‘Moon Landing’ and a ‘Walk After Dark’ are rife with colloquial (‘Mneh’- ‘Moon Landing’, ll.22) and recherchà © (‘Lacrimae rerum’- ‘A Walk After Dark’, l.30) language, whereas ‘ The Shield of Achilles has none, instead the language in the poem obeys the poem’s principle of contrast- it alternates between classical and modern language. Therefore it’s reasonable to say that there are many re-occurring themes throughout Auden’s poems, but not that there are entire poems which are ‘characteristic’. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] It is notable that ‘Ist September 1939’ appeared on many websites after the September 11th attacks in 2001.

A Review of Laser Processes Used in Solar Cell Fabrication

A Review of Laser Processes Used in Solar Cell Fabrication Abstract There are many different laser techniques that can be used in the production of solar cells. By examining the research which the various solar cells were fabricated with laser technique, it is possible to understand the pros and cons of using laser for produce the cells. The following paragraphs will list which process the laser technique have been used in this review. Introduction The buried contact solar cell was invented at University of New South Wales by Green et al. in 1983. These solar cells have a relatively high efficiency approximately 25% and present a possibility of cost-reduction with applying this technology to the manufacturers’ production lines. The following are the general main steps of forming the buried contact solar cell: 1. Texturing of surfaces 2. Top surface diffusion 3. Oxide growth 4. Groove cutting and diffusion 5. Aluminum deposition and sinter 6. Metal plating 7. Edge isolation The key parts of this process, which result in the cells become more efficiency than the standard screen printing solar cells are the laser grooving and groove diffusion to reduce the cell shading and contact resistance and the texturing which reduce the surface reflection. A schematic of a buried contact solar cell is shown in the figure below (Green 1995). [pic]Figure 1: Cross-section of buried contact solar cell Research continues working on the ways which could further improve the efficiency of the buried contact solar cell. With the statistics obtained from the experiment, they can try to figure out the effects which using different methods and materials in solar cells would cause. These parts include different diffusion profiles to form the p-n junction, surface passivation using different materials, and the different methods of grooving of the silicon, rear surface treatment, metallization and so on. Laser texturing In order to reduce the reflection effect of the solar cells, front surface texturing is one solution. There have many methods to increase the light trapping, such as mechanical scribing and reactive ion etching. However, laser texturing could effectively texture the multicrystalline surface, providing isotropic etching that other techniques cannot do. Abbott and Cotter (2006) revealed that with deeper laser texturing, the less the front surface reflection is. More detailed results are shown in figure 2 (adapted from Abbott and Cotter 2006). Note that with very shallow texturing (10mm), they cannot trapping very well, as a result behaving like the planar one. Figure 2: Front surface reflection of laser textured samples with different ablation pit depths (0) 10mm, (? 20mm, (? ) 30 mm, (*) 40 mm, (x) 50mm with residual slag, (+) planar silicon and (line) random pyramid textured silicon. It is straightforward that we should texturing deeper pit, however, this will increase the surface recombination rate, which is detrimental to solar cells. Even though the pit depths 50mm have the lowest reflection, it will leave some slag in the pits that acting like defects. These residual slags will enhance t he surface recombination rate, reducing the open-circuit voltage as well as the efficiency of the solar cells. Finding better parameters of operation to texture the wafer properly without the appearance of slag is therefore becomes the main issue for the manufacturers. Top Surface diffusion The conventional method for doping materials is the thermal diffusion which performed at high temperature (over 800? ). The process is so-called solid state diffusion and has various methods, for instance physical vapour deposition, to control the doping profiles. Also there is a considerable alternative method of forming doping areas in silicon solar cells by using laser-doping. With the Nd:YAG pulsed laser, the doping profiles can be controlled with the desirable doping area. Ogane et al. (2009) asserted that by using the laser doping technique with 0. 5W output, it can fabricate the solar cells with comparable efficiency to those fabricated by thermal diffusion methods. Some statistics of the result from their research are shown in figure 3 (adapted from Ogane et al. 2009). Note that a large number of the oxygen atoms are induced to the solar cells owing to the operation is in air. This increase the sheet resistance and as a result, reducing the efficiency of the solar cells. The advantages of the laser doping process are that it can be operated at room temperature, in the atmosphere, as well as the easier process forming a selective doping area without any lithography pre-set processes. With these advantages, even though the properties of these solar cells are slightly worse than the cells handled by thermal diffusion, it is acceptable to some manufacturers and worthy to work on it. [pic] Figure 3: The average of six solar cells properties of cells with emitters fabricated by laser doping as a function of laser output power, compared with the case of thermal diffusion (TD). Laser groove The most common device which is used to form the laser grooved front surface contacts is the Nd:YAG pulsed laser, operating at a high frequency. The depth of the laser groove after lasing is typically 30 microns deep and approximately 20 microns wide. During the process, laser will vaporises silicon through the oxidation layer, and this will induced the thermally damaged to silicon. Such this damage will acts as recombination sites of carriers when operating the solar cells, minimised this defect is therefore necessary in order to improve the efficiency of the solar cells. Studies on this part (Schoonderbeek et al. 2007) have revealed that using the shorter wavelength of the laser, i. e. the higher power output can reduce the thermal damage induce by the laser. [pic] Figure 4: Increased lifetime ratios (decreased laser damage) are obtained when scribing lines using short-wavelength lasers. Figure 4 (adapted from Schoonderbeek et al. 2007) above shows that by using lasers with short-wavelength at either 532nm (green) or 355nm (UV) will have better properties in comparison to 1064nm (IR) laser. Nevertheless, the lower cost of the IR laser is more favourable to the manufacturer. Thus the solar cell research of this part is undertaken at institutions and companies in order to find out the better trade-off point. Back surface field and laser-fired contacts The technology which usually used for rear contact passivation in solar cells is that highly doped region near the back contact. This is called back surface field. Normally aluminium is applied to it by evaporation, following by sintering to make aluminium atoms diffuse into the silicon. For reducing the cost per watts generated by solar cell, some different methods were tested for the feasibility analysis. One of the ways for reducing the cost is doping aluminium locally (Meemongkolkiat et al. 2006). It is obviously that doping less metal could reduce the cost, however the efficiency should not be diminish too much. In this process the oxide on the back surface is partially etched prior to aluminium were screen-printed on it. In their research, with choosing the aluminium screen-printing pastes properly (the composition is not provided in their paper), the efficiency of the solar cells are adequately (16%) compared to the normally full back surface field (16. %). Alternatively, aluminium deposition can be applied to the solar cell with the passivated emitter and rear contact, followed by fast scanning laser firing to reduce the rear surface recombination rate as well as improve light trapping. With this so-called laser-fired contact technique, Schneiderlochner et al. (2002, p. 32) demonstrated that the efficiency of the laser-fired contact solar cell can reach up to 21. 3%. Some result s from their research can be seen in figure 5, which are adapted from Schneiderlochner et al. 002. Note that the silicon nitride passivated layer has a lower efficiency maybe due to degradation in passivation quality during laser firing. [pic] Figure 5: The solar cell results with the laser-fired contact technique compared with conventionally processed passivated emitter and rear cells The main advantage of the laser-fired contact is that after possessed a passivating layer and depositing the aluminium, there is only one step needed (laser firing) instead of several processes of photolithography. Hence by using Nd:YAG pulsed laser system for laser-fired contact processing, the cost per watts can be reduced due to less handling steps, as well as the expensive chemicals. Summary There are some different techniques with respect to laser that applied to the fabrication of the solar cells are discussed above. With the laser system applied to the back surface field and laser-fired contacts, the cost can be reduced by using less costly chemicals, whereas shrinking the cost of instruments and operation for the case that laser system induced to the top surface diffusion. The aims of both grooving and texturing using laser technique are improving the properties of the solar cells. The laser system provides the possibilities of reducing the cost per watts without decreasing too many characteristics of the solar cells, which is the most important issue for manufacturers. Therefore, studies focus on these techniques will continue while some of them are already used in fabricating solar cells with other techniques. The ultimate aim of these is make the solar cells as cheap as possible so that public are willing to having it, thus minimizing the environment impact. Reference Abbott, M. and Cotter, J. 006, ‘Optical and electrical properties of laser texturing for high-efficiency solar cells’, Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Volume 14, Issue 3, pp. 225-235. Honsberg, C. and Bowden, S. 2009, Buried Contact Solar Cells, Photovoltaics CDROM, accessed 12 September 2009, . Meemongkolkiat, V. ; Nakayashiki, K. ; Dong Seop, K. ; K im, S. ; Shaikh A. ; Kuebelbeck, A. ; Stockum, W. and Rohatgi, A. 2006, ‘Investigation of modified screen-printing Al pastes for local back surface field formation’, Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on, Volume 2, pp. 1338-1341. Nd:YAG laser’, wiki article, 3 July 2009, accessed 14 September 2009, < http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nd:YAG_laser>. Ogane, A. ; Hirata, K. ; Horiuchi, K. ; Nishihara, Y. ; Takahashi, Y. ; Kitiyanan, A. and Fuyuki, T. 2009, ‘Laser-doping technique using ultraviolet laser for shallow doping in crystalline silicon solar cell fabrication’, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Volume 48, Issue 7, pp. 071201. Schneiderlochner, E. ; Preu, R. ; Ludemann, R. and Glunz, S. W. 2002, ‘Laser-fired rear contacts for crystalline silicon solar cells’, Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Volume 10, Issue 1, pp. 9-34. Schneiderlochner, E. ; Grohe, A. ; Glunz , S. W. ; Preu, R. & Willeke, W. 2003, ‘Scanning Nd:YAG laser system for industrially applicable processing in silicon solar cell manufacturing’, Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 2003. Proceedings of 3rd World Conference on, Volume 2, pp 1364-1367. Schoonderbeek, A. ; Stute, U. ; Ostendorf, A. ; Grischke, R. ; Engelhart, P. ; Meyer, R. and Brendel, R. 2007, ‘Laser technology in silicon solar cell production’, Proceedings of the 4th International WLT-Conference on Lasers in Manufacturing, pp 693–698. [pic]