Important News Stories

Important News Stories ATA SmartBrief is a United State Company associated with airing noteworthy news concerning the U.S airlines and Aviation companies. The following is the prime news highlighted by the company in the second week of October (9th 14th). The news is grouped into three main categories; Company Watch, Inside Aviation and Energy Bulletin (ATA SmartBrief, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Important News Stories specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The vital news highlighted on 10/9 was about how American Airlines taps TIMCO Aviation services for 757 works. It stated that there would be provisioning of extreme repairs for American Airlines on four Boeing 757 aircraft by the TIMCO Aviation Services. Andrea Huguely, who is the spokesperson for the airline, stated that the Airlines have to acquire a powerful strategic advancement into its upkeep planning requirements. This was reported in Tulsa world, Okla. On the same day, th ere was a report from Bloomberg on the contract talks between American Eagles and the pilot union stall. On 10/10, AMR proclaimed capacity reduction and plane retirements for American Airlines (ATA SmartBrief, 2011). AMR is planning to reduce the capacity of these airlines to 3 percent for the rest of the year 2011. This is due to the doubtfulness of the companys economic environment caused by high fuel costs. Moreover, AMR is also planning to issue extra pilot retirements all through the fourth quarter. Still, on the same day, Canada was preparing for planned strike by Air Canada flight entourages, since the government of Canada was dissatisfied with the unions decisions (ATA SmartBrief, 2011). Bloomberg repeated this report on 10/11. Another report on the same day was about concerns raised by Southwest Airlines due to the changes in policy. The vice president of marketing and strategy at the frog firm, Adam Richardson stated that his favorite carrier was the Southwest Airlines, bu t he did not concur with some current changes in the Company’s policies. One of the policies that he did not agree with was the new check-in-procedure and recurrent-flier-encode. Harvard Business Review printed this report.Advertising Looking for report on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On 10/12, the ATA SmartBrief had news concerning the regulators’ approval for slot swap between the U.S. Airways and Delta. The Delta Airlines will achieve management of half of the flights at the LaGuardia Airport in New York through operational landing slots and takeoffs with the U.S. Airways at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (RRWNA). The federal Controller approved that slot swap was implemented. In other words, Delta Airlines are targeting to own the New York market, and that is why they are doing everything possible to reach it. Helane Becker who is a Dahman Rose Co. analyst issue d this statement (ATA SmartBrief, 2011). Moreover, a report by Nasqad.com asserted that the United Continental Holdings’s CEO, Jeffrey Smisek is concentrating on changing the disputes of joint cultural amid carrier with its pilot coalition. He added that it is extremely easy to talk about culture, but it is very difficult to take action on it. Smisek also uttered that the coalition airline was not ready to decline any moment soon in its journey bookings, in spite of the delicate economy revival. On 10/13, AMR reports advancement of earnings had to be done on Monday that followed. AMR Corporation, which is the third-largest airline machinist in the U.S., showed a positive gain viewpoint for the third quarter. Psychoanalyst personnel foresee that this could direct the stock of AMR to rise about $5.65 for every portion (ATA SmartBrief, 2011). However, another quarter of defeat may occur as a result of fuel costs and other cost issues despite the expected growth in revenue. On 10 /14, SmartBrief highlighted the news concerning Retirements where the union meeting could denote American nears the labor deal. A huge number of pilot withdrawals directed the American Airlines to secure a crew base in San Francisco and minimize fourth-quarter seating by about 3 percent. The Allied Pilots Association proposed that America might be in the process of signing another agreement with the pilots after five years of compromise (ATA SmartBrief, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Important News Stories specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Another report by the Dow Jones Newswire and the Wall Street Journal was about the attendants of the Air Canada who were stroke with undue labor grievance. The Air Canada, together with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), blamed the Canadian Coalition on the bad-faith negotiating public workers. Note that the Coalition stands for 6,800 airplane employees, and the grievance was reported few hours after Lisa Raitt, the Labor Minister, had chucked the airline’s employees from striking. The Airline stated that the coalition had reached a deal in bad faith, since its membership had refused two hesitant contracts supported by coalition leaders. There was some news concerning the Aviation department and these was as highlighted here. On 10/9, there was news about how the Airlines were reducing their paper use, where they are putting most of their postings, using digital boarding passes and flight electronic version manuals. However, since the system has not fully adapted to digital versions, the paper use is still on, although at a reduced manipulation. Victoria Day, who is the Air Transport spokesperson, gave the statement (ATA SmartBrief, 2011). This was a report by Pittsburg Tribune. On 10/10, UPS Airlines public relations manager stated that the Brookley Aeroplex employees have been offered a movable sorting facility, where they are now able to work anywhere else in the company because it has plans to close down the Brookley operations. She added that the modification would enable the company to identify vital operational reserves (ATA SmartBrief). This was a report by the press-Register. On 10/11, which was on Wednesday of that week, there was reporting that the California aerospace team was targeting to modify its commercial aircraft departures. The team situated at the Polytechnic State University in California was striving to minimize the noise, and speed up takeoffs of commercial airplanes.Advertising Looking for report on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More NASA gave out a token of $4.5 million grant to establish an aircraft that would improve commercial air voyage. The following day which was on 10/12, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), rewarded Boeing $3.1 million for its Green Skies Inventor 2 (ATA SmartBrief, 2011). Neil Planzer, Boeing personnel, stated that Green Skies 2 design signified another vital achievement while Boeing helped reinforce the implementation of NextGen. This was a report from Air Transport World. Moreover, the Association Press, as well as CNN, reported on Thursday 10/13 that there was a likelihood that American Airlines encounter increased in MRO prices. The Original item producers, who were becoming more influential with minimal competition in the maintenance field, could affect the bottom line airplanes, a statement given by the Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul Europe in the 2011 meeting. On Friday 10/14, the company highlighted that the present report by the Government Accountability Office discov ered a jagged rise in air traffic Controller faults and occurrences encompassing illegal planes, people and vehicles on runways (ATA SmartBrief, 2011). The regulators errors that permitted planes to take off too close to each other simultaneously have almost doubled in the past three years, although the FAA stated that the rise was the outcome of enhanced reporting. Nevertheless, the report by GAO denoted that the most significant occurrences, which nearly resulted in a crash, went down to 6 in 2010 from 53 that was reported in 2001 (ATA SmartBrief). Still on the same day, City Business Journals reported that, on Thursday, the United Airlines proclaimed that Boeing had completed construction of the first 787 Dreamliner carriers, and the firm anticipated it would be the country’s first carrier acquiring a jet well referred to as the state-of-the-art jet. The aircraft was developed using light complex materials and that it had been handed over to the All Nippon Airways of Japan during the last month. Continental Airlines, as well as United Airlines, have each requested 25 of the 787 jets. Note that the two Air companies are planning to merge. The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) published news concerning the Energy Bulletin. The first bulletin on this was produced on 10/9 where Airline industry sloped up efforts to establish biofuels. Airlines on the globe have anticipated to create around 220 million tons of fuel this year producing up to 650 million tons of carbon discharge (ATA SmartBrief, 2011). Therefore, the industry is struggling to come up with biofuels because the price of fuels has continued to rise and coold compel firms to minimize emissions. On 10/10, the ATA SmartBrief reported that Bilal Borman, who is a NASA researcher, together with his workmates were rising plants rich in oil hoping that they would enhance production of aviation biofuels. Such first-generations have been in use in motor vehicle industry for a long time, but these fuels have not been an alternative fuels for airplanes (ATA SmartBrief). Besides, The New York Post reported on the same day that Columinist Patrick Michaels, who is a superior individual in environmental learning at the institute of Cato, illustrated how Europe prepared to impose a tax on planes flying into and outside its airports. The reason given by Europe concerning the issue is that global warming is extreme, and in order to take full responsibility, they have to tax the planes. The Aviation and Space Technology personnel reported on 10/11 that the worldwide airline industry and the governments’ exterior to the European Union have presently been increasing their exertion to prevent enclosure in the emissions-business systems of the European Union. The association of air transport conveyed a contest against the system that a European Union judge advocate presently authorized that the emissions-business system had a legal legislation. On 10/11, the company reported that LanzaTech and Vi rgin Atlantic have joined hands to establish a low-carbon airliner fuel that can be helpful in the carrier aircraft of the passengers. The two firms are planning to develop a skill that will capture the waste gases from the steel industry. The gases are to be captured, uproar and chemically transformed through the technology of biofuels obtained from Sweden and to be used as jet fuel. ATA SmartBrief reported on Wednesday 12th that United Airline and Boeing associated to emphasize modifications in passenger air travel that were minimizing the jet discharge. For instance, the organization is effectively developing biofuels to reduce fuel expenditure (ATA SmartBrief, 2011). This was a report by Chicago Tribune. Moreover, there was news concerning the Virent Energy Systems which is said to be generating 100 percent of renewable jet fuel. The system developed a plant-centered jet fuel which is 100 percent renewable and has successfully gone through a range of examination by the Air Force Research Laboratory. â€Å"These AFRL outcomes are amusing since they illustrate the potential of Virent Energy catalytic procedure to develop renewable plant-centered jet fuel that can be excellent in comparison to the petroleum-based jet fuel requirements at 100 percent concentration† (ATA SmartBrief, 2011) Aaron Imrie who is the manager of commercial fuels at Virent said. On 10/13, the company highlighted news that the production was evaluating the significance of biofuels to aviation. A collection of insiders from aviation was congregated in Copenhagen Denmark to talk about the role of the industry in advancing clean energy. All these steps are taken towards production of biofuels. This is because several individuals believe that aviation could gain from it since it has minimized fueling points in comparison to other transportation modes. This was a publication by the BioFuelsDigest.com. Reference ATA SmartBrief 2011, American Airlines, Air Transport Association. New Yor k. Available from:  https://www.smartbrief.com/ [ 15 October 2011].

That Dark Type is Called Boldface

That Dark Type is Called Boldface That Dark Type is Called Boldface That Dark Type is Called Boldface By Maeve Maddox In comparing style manuals, I came across these instructions: Never underline text. If you need to call attention to certain words, use body copy that is bolded or italic. St Anselm style guide Bolded? We talk about italic type, serif type, and sanserif type. Whats wrong with boldface? Its not as if bolded saves any syllables. Use body copy that is boldface or italic. Apparently bolded is creeping into use: This is a discussion on Compressing bolded type within the Adobe Acrobat forums in Adobe Tools category; Notice the bolded type sandwiched between lighter weight typefaces. a lighter blue that will only be legible if you combine it with a larger font size or at least as in this example a bolded type On the other hand, not everyone has opted for that ugly johnny-come-lately: A single syllable or letter in boldface type in the stems marks the position of the accent throughout this grammar. Use the word â€Å"Abstract† as the title, in 12-point Times, boldface type, centered relative to the column, Authors names in boldface type, subjects or titles in lightface type. Bolded indeed. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Fly, Flew, (has) FlownFlied?35 Genres and Other Varieties of FictionWriting Styles (with Examples)

Financial analysis in healthcare Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Financial analysis in healthcare - Coursework Example The performance of an organization comprises of the measured actual output of an organization against the set target output. A positive correlation exists between organizational performance and financial effectiveness. The real organizational output increases with financial stability and effective investment decisions. Economic effectiveness is particularly important for organizational performance based on its influence on the profits, return on investments and the return on the assets of an organization. For the initially invested funds to generate returns, subsequent investments that aim at building the capacity for production are made (Turner, 2011). These investments depend on the stability of a firm’s financial framework. When more profits are generated, the amount of resources reinvested and the reserves increase. The expansion of the investment of an organization holding other factors constant results to increased profitability and returns. An effective investment requires an effective financial strategy in order to generate real returns and produce the maximum yield. Every investment opportunity is faced with uncertainty and risk. Organizations with a sound investment and financial base are bound to survive bad times in the business cycle such as depressions and recessions. Organiza tions with unstable financial strategies are most likely to close down operations during these bad times. How well an organization performs in terms of competitiveness and market share are a function of its investment and financial strategies. An organization with an effective investment and economic base competes effectively in the market through proper investment of adequate resources to support its brand and hence excellent organizational performance. Organizations with an adequate financial history can attract a wide range of stakeholders that matter to the organizational

Cash Flows Analysis and Financial Statements Assignment

Cash Flows Analysis and Financial Statements - Assignment Example Since the employees require stability of tenure, they would not want a situation whereby the company doesn’t guarantee their jobs. The management is interested in this information since it would want to know its performance and review the weak points which need to be improved. The information is important to the management since it needs to provide periodic reports on the company’s performance. The potential investors need to evaluate whether the company is a good investment opportunity. Without proper information, the company could not be an attractive investment opportunity since it would lack transparency. Eventually creditors and suppliers need to evaluate the financial information in order to find out whether this company is credit worth. They would want to find out whether they could extend credit facilities in terms of money or goods. Question 2: Most of the financial information is usually published in journals, magazines and annual reports. Some of these report s are usually given during the annual general meeting to the shareholders and potential investors. Other sources which can be utilized could include online sources such as the company websites or online journals and magazines such as www.businessweekly.com. This information evaluates in a snapshot the riskiness of the company and whether it is advisable to invest in it. other analysts normally obtain this information in order to try and predict the future performance of the company either in the short or in the long term. Question 7: Ratio analysis was formulated to basically try and provide a synopsis of the company’s performance. Ratio analysis is obtained through dividing very important to the organization since it basically evaluates the company’s financial statements and provides recommendations. Ratio analysis also tries to judge a company’s efficiency while locating the weaknesses and coming up with action plans. Ratios form a very important tool in terms of comparing different companies and their performance in the industry. Question 15: Managers tend to utilize the market value ratios in different manners such as in instances of potential mergers and acquisitions. These market value ratios such as price earnings ratio and book value ratio normally impact on the performance of management. When these ratios are high, it indicates that the management is doing a good job while if they are low then the converse is true. The managers could affect these ratios in an indirect manner since these ratios depend on the perception of investors. Much of the impact on these ratios is usually from the outside world hence the impact of managers could be curtailed and limited. Question 16: This is not usually possible since the management usually have the ability to manipulate financial information to portray the company’s image in good light. The seriousness of this practice usually ranges from interpreting accounting rules favorably to a s ituation of fraud. The function of auditors is to try as much as possible to prevent this practice leading to mis stated financial information. In some circumstances, the auditors are the ones who perpetrate this practice by deceiving the public in order to gain fame with the management of the client firm. QUESTION 25 (A) PROTEK COMPANY LIMITED COMMON SIZE INCOME

The Transition From Disease Prevention To Health Promotion Essay Example for Free

The Transition From Disease Prevention To Health Promotion Essay Living a healthy lifestyle is the current trend in the United States.   Eating healthy, exercising regularly, and abstaining from behaviors that can be detrimental to our health is promoted everywhere we go.   Still, the statistics for the leading causes of death in the U.S. are shocking.   Especially when we realize that there are steps we can take to lesson our risk of becoming just another statistic. According to â€Å"The National Center for Health Statistics,† the top five, leading causes of death in the United States are:   1. Heart Disease kills 651,696 each year.   2.   Malignant Neoplasms or Cancer kills 559,228 each year.   3.   Cerebrovascular Disease or strokes kills 143,449 each year.   4.   Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and asthma kills 130,896 each year.   5.   Unintentional injury kills 116,669 each year. (WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Report, 2008) Gender, family history and race are contributing factors that will help determine whether or not we acquire any of these diseases.   A lifetime of unhealthy living is also a contributor. In comparison to the five leading causes of death in the United States, the five leading causes of death in New York State are 1.   Heart Disease kills 51,963 each year.   2. Malignant Neoplasms kills 35,552 each year.   3.   Chronic Low Respiratory Disease kills 6,818 each year.   4.   Cerebrovascular or strokes kill 6,617 each year.   5.   Influenza and Pneumonia kills 5,509 each year.   (WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Report, 2008) Some of the preventive measures that we can take against disease are: abstain from the use of tobacco products, eat a healthy well balanced diet (eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, limited amounts of cholesterol, red meats, sugars and saturated fats), regular exercise (thirty minutes at least three times a week), maintain a healthy weight, limited alcohol consumption, regular cancer screenings, vaccines if applicable and drug therapy if necessary. There are also some less conventional methods of disease prevention.   Many people take vitamin supplements regularly to insure that they are getting enough of the vitamins that they need.   Meditation and other spiritual activities are practiced in order to control the stress in ones life.   Education is also an important prevention measure and it’s never too young to start.  Ã‚   Healthy children are more likely to maintain a healthy lifestyle in adulthood.   Prevention is not a guarantee against diseases, but it can certainly make a difference in our quality of life as well as the length of our life. Works Cited Cancer Trends Progress Report-2007 Update. (2007, December 6). Retrieved September 24, 2008, from National Cancer Institute: http://progressreport.cancer.gov/doc.asp?pid=1did=2007mid=vcolchid=71 Research, M. F. (1998-2008). Heart disease prevention: 5 strategies to keep your heart healthy. Retrieved September 25, 2008, from Revolution Health: http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/heart/coronary-artery-disease/prevention/prevent-heart-disease Stroke. (2003, September 2). Retrieved September 24, 2008, from All Refer: http://health.allrefer.com/health/stroke-info.html Thoenen, E. (2003, September). Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease. Retrieved September 25, 2008, from http://www.wvdhhr.org/bph/oehp/hsc/pubs/Clrd/CLRD2003.pdf WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Report. (2008, January 23). Retrieved September 24, 2008, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://webapp.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10.html

Great Grey Owls Essay -- essays research papers fc

Great Gray Owls   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I learned many interesting things by reading this article on great grey owls. I really had no knowledge of this species before I began, but I now have a certain respect for them because of the familiarity I have gained. One interesting aspect of these owls is their hunting methods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The great gray owl is a very aggressive hunter when it finds its prey. â€Å"These owls don’t just pounce, the plunge† (Warren, p.78). First, they locate their prey with the help of their large facial disk that funnels sound to their ears. Then, they tuck their extremely sharp hooked-shaped claws under their chin and torpedo headfirst towards the ground to snatch their next meal. In winter, when there is snow on the ground, the owl plunges into the snow. After a successful dive, it wiggles out from below the surface of the snow and takes its food to a safe spot to eat. These owls are so powerful when they hunt, they can shatter snow crust thick enough to hold a 180 pound person. I don’t think they will be losing too many meals with that kind of force. This hunting technique these owls use gives them a great advantage over other birds in the winter, because others must go to a place where the snow is not so thick. Great gray owls eat a variety of rodents in the lower 48 states, but stick to mostly voles in Canada and Alaska. These small rodents make up 80-90% of their diet. In the winter, adult gray owls can assume up to one-th...

McGregor -Theory X and Theory Y Essay

McGregor, an American psychologist, built upon earlier studies into the psychology of the workplace. From these studies he constructed a model of management attitudes, and from this model demonstrated that managers, wittingly or unwittingly, strongly dictated the type and attitude of workers in their employ. McGregor firstly examined the work of Taylor. In the early 1900’s the Classical and Scientific (Taylorian) schools of management, suggested that workers were to be given tasks in their simplest forms. Within such Taylorian businesses, the role of management was to ensure that the simplest, most efficient, and productive working methods were used. Employees would have nothing to contribute but their labour. It can be argued that the early success of Ford Motors was to a large part due to the implementation of this structure. The second element McGregor used was the more recently developed Human Relations School. Studies performed by students of the Human Relations School, such as Mayo, found that many employees would produce higher levels of output, and be more aware of quality issues, if they are brought into the decision making that affected their jobs, rather than being just told what to do, and how to do it . There was a recognition by the Human Relations School that employees would have needs over and above those of financial needs. And if these needs were at least partially satisfied workers would become able to contribute to the more efficient operation of the business organisation. McGregor then put forward the idea that in the main, it was managers that created the two types of worker, and if this were so, managers had the ability to, over time, change the psychology of their employees. He called the two types of managers -Theory X and Theory Y ? The Theory X Manager The first of these management styles, is founded upon the â€Å"assumption of the mediocrity of the masses†. The Theory X type of manager makes several assumptions about his employees, (none of them good): ? Workers must be supervised, or quality and quantity of output will fall ? Workers only respect the type of boss that tells them what to do, and does so with complete authority ? Money is the only motivator ? Workers do not want to be involved in the decision making process ? Workers wish to remain faceless and unknown to management ? Workers have little ambition, they wish to remain ‘one of the boys’ ? The Theory Y Manager The Theory Y manager of course believes that the reverse is true. He starts with several positive assumptions about his employees. ? Workers cannot be motivated by money alone, they seek more than financial satisfaction from their jobs. ? Workers are ambitious, willing to train, and contribute to improve their chances of promotion. ? Workers will be more efficient if they are left to their own devices. Trust breeds responsibility. ? Workers want to contribute to improving efficiency. They want to be seen, noticed, rewarded and appreciated when they work well. ? The impact of Theory X and Theory Y managers on Businesses. If managers behave in the ways indicated above, there must be many company wide implications for all hierarchically structured businesses (i.e. all medium to large businesses). The main areas of impact will be in: ? The use of job enrichment and enlargement ? Empowerment ? Delegation and methods of communication ? Hierarchical structure To use a quote from McGregor â€Å"The theoretical assumptions management hold about controlling its human resources, determine the whole character of the enterprise.† ? Consequences of Theory Y Managers The above quote indicates that Theory Y managers are likely to create an open structure, with both formal and informal paths of communication, and delegated powers. Workers will be given responsibilities, and a wider range of tasks. In the case of Theory Y managers, managers are facilitators. It is likely that managers will adopt a Democratic Style – this is based on encouraging participation in decision making. In the case of Theory Y managers the consequences for the firm will be: ? Requirement for training ? Use of cell working – restructuring of production and service methods ? Setting up of formal communication channels, with both vertical and lateral communication. ? Promotion structures ? Flexible working practices ? Consequences of Theory X Managers But on the other hand, if managers are employed who believe that workers have little or no ambition, wish to be left alone, must not be involved in the wider business environment and must be supervised if they are to maintain quality and quantity of work, then a reverse set of consequences arise. In this case these Theory X managers are likely to be Autocratic managers who are objective and task setters, controlling and dictating operations. The consequences to the firm include: ? Strict control of formal methods of communication ? Tasks must be designed so they are broken down into their simplest units ? Responsibilities must be clear and unambiguous ? Supervisors must maintain quality. ? High level of dependence on decision making of senior management ? Conclusions The essence of this theory is that the managers will, over a period of time, dictate how workers behave. So if we have a Theory Y manager positioned in a business where workers have previously behaved within the Theory X pattern, it is quite possible for the existing workers to be transformed from being uncooperative, de-motivated, and unconcerned with the success of the business to become contributors, motivated to improve quality, output and ambitious for personal and company success. It also follows from this, that lack of motivation amongst workers and poor quality of output, is a management created problem. It is the role of management to create methods of production and management of Human Resources that will allow these resources to realise their full potential. It is of course quite possible that some organisations might benefit from the Theory X manager, after all it is sometimes necessary to gain control, especially when previous management have let organisations become unwieldy or uncoordinated. It can therefore be seen that for most businesses especially those wishing to use the latest production and motivational methods, the Theory Y manager is appropriate. But there can be cases where a dose of Theory X is exactly what a business needs.

A Critique of the Crito and an Argument for Philosophical Anarchism

A Critique of the Crito and an Argument for Philosophical Anarchism by Forrest Cameranesi In this essay I will present a summary and critique of Plato’s dialogue Crito, focusing especially on Socrates’ arguments in favor of his obligatory obedience to the Athenian state’s death sentence.In response I will argue the position that no one naturally holds any obligation to obey the arbitrary commands of another (or any body of others such as a state), and further that no one can come to hold such obligations even by contract; although people may still be obligated to obey commands issued to them, when what is commanded is obligatory independent of it being commanded by anyone.Thus I will argue that that if, as both Socrates and Crito presume, the command that Socrates be executed is contrary to true justice (that is, contrary to any natural moral obligations, independent of its legality), then Socrates has no obligation to obey it; and in fact those tasked to carry o ut the order are morally obligated to disobey it, and by their obedience become conspirators to a moral crime. The dialogue begins with Socrates in prison, awakening to Crito’s presence in his cell, Crito having bribed the guards to gain entry.After brief pleasantries and some talk of when the day of Socrates’ execution will fall, Crito admits to Socrates that his purpose there is to free him from prison and take him abroad to Thessaly, which he assures him can be successfully done thanks to the aid of a number of foreign benefactors. But Socrates is hesitant to leave, believing himself obliged to remain and allow his punishment to be completed, even though his sentence, they both concede, is unjust.Still, Socrates is eager to be convinced otherwise, if Crito can do so by means of reason, and so Crito plies Socrates with many arguments in favor of his escape, arguing not only that it is possible and desirable to escape, and that Socrates could live well outside of Athe ns, but that it is the just thing to do: for the sake of the welfare of his children, who will suffer without his care; for the sake of standing fast against his enemies in the state of Athens, who are attempting to wrong him by this sentence; and for the sake of his friends’ reputations, which will be besmirched by those who know either Socrates nor his friends, and will think that Socrates died only because his friends could not or would not buy his freedom. But Socrates dismisses these arguments, especially the last, arguing at length that the opinions of the many are not a relevant consideration in any such decision; a very important argument, to which I will return later in this essay. For now the relevant point is that Socrates' only concern, in the question of whether or not to escape, is whether or not escaping is just; not what people at large may think of their decision or what other consequences may follow from it.On the topic of justice, and counter to Critoâ€⠄¢s argument that Socrates is obliged to fight back against wrongs committed against him, Socrates suggests (and Crito accepts) the principle that to return harm for harm is harmful, to return evil for evil is evil, to return injustice for injustice is unjust, etc. ; and thus that such vengeance ought not be perpetrated, for it is just as harmful, evil and unjust as the act being avenged, and one must never do such wrongs.Socrates considers it harmful and unjust to the state to disobey its laws, and feels thus obligated to obey them instead, for to do otherwise would be harmful, unjust, and wrong; and here I disagree with Socrates. Though I accept his principle of justice, that one must not return wrongs in kind for to do so is merely to do more wrong, I do not believe that merely resisting attempted harm to oneself necessarily harms the attacker; and even if the attacker does suffer harm from the resistance it is as a result of his own wrongdoing, not any wrongdoing on the part of the defendant.If someone attempts to strike at me, I step out of his way, and he falls on his face as a consequence, I have not harmed him, although he has come to harm. If he attempts to strike at me, I hold up a shield, and he injures his fist upon it, I have not harmed him, although he has come to harm. Somewhat more analogously to the case at hand, â€Å"harm† may come to a street gang initiate whose initiation task is to mug me, inasmuch as he loses his status within the gang (and perhaps the gang itself loses status in the community), should I evade him and escape; but certainly I did not do that harm, though it was a consequence of my actions.Likewise, â€Å"harm† may come to the state as a consequence of successful disobedience against it, inasmuch as its power and thus its authority will be less respected, but this is not the same as the disobedient one directly harming the state, say in the way a foreign conqueror would. None of these situations involve doing anything directly to harm the aggressor, but rather only the consequences of the aggressor’s own actions failing. Thus, such resistance is not prohibited by the principle that one ought never do harm, for one is not doing harm merely by evading harm, even if harm indirectly results as a consequence of such evasion.Certainly we would not say that it is obligatory to allow oneself to be assaulted or robbed, even if we say that to retaliate in kind is forbidden. In all these circumstances, the aggressors are being harmed as a consequence of their own actions; and in the latter two cases, of the mugger and the unjust state, they suffer only in their reputation, losing the respect or fear and subsequent power they might have otherwise enjoyed, yet which, for their failure, they do not deserve.In my third example, as in the case before Socrates and Crito, the only loss suffered is a loss of reputation and the power that reputation often entails. This connection between reputation and power is an important facet of my argument, for it is self-evident to me that the only significant power the state itself has is its reputation, the respect and obedience that people give to it; with no obedient subjects to enforce its laws over those who are not so obedient, or with insufficient portions of the populace willing to tolerate such enforcement, the state would have no power.In fact I argue that in such a case the state would not exist; and really, that no states ever truly exist, in any strict sense. There are merely masses of people, with an assortment of opinions on what is good, bad, morally neutral, permissible, impermissible, and obligatory; all of whom exert whatever influence they can manage, by whatever means they find best, to see that their opinions on such matters are enforced — that justice, as they understand it, prevails. And when some person or block of people manages to secure sufficiently unchallenged influence ver the behavior of the other people in an area (that is, when sufficient people act to enforce one code of behavior and a sufficient portion of the remainder tolerate them), we falsely attribute the existence of some sort of social entity above and beyond the collection of individual people, and call that entity the â€Å"state†. But even a monarch only has his power because enough people believe in and support the monarchy, and enough of the remainder tolerate it; as has been demonstrated wherever a monarchy was overthrown from within by a democratic revolution.It is important to note, however, that this does not mean that democracy entails legitimacy; it only means that all states are on some deep level democratic, differing only in the degree that the people delegate their power to other people, in effect casting their vote as â€Å"whatever he says. † The prevailing opinions may still be entirely wrong; I merely claim that it will nearly always be the majority opinion which prevails. I say â⠂¬Å"nearly† because this phenomenon is dependent upon the relatively small differences in true personal power between most individuals, which are quickly diluted in larger groups, but still present in sufficiently small groups. A knight may be stronger and more skilled than any peasant, but it does not take many fed-up peasants working together to counter the power of that knight, so as the size of the group the knight is a part of grows, his relative power over the whole group decreases rapidly, unless it is bolstered by the support or at least tolerance of other members of the group.Thus for groups of any significant size, the differences in personal power between individuals can be safely ignored, and so the determining factor is not who supports a position but how many support it). The opinions of the people who encompass the legislature of this â€Å"state† — be it one person as in an absolute monarchy, some minority in an oligarchy, or the majority in a dir ect democracy — then become â€Å"the law†.Those things judged by such people as obligatory become required by law; those things judged as forbidden become prohibited by law; and those things judged as permissible are allowed by the law. But in any form of government, especially in a direct democracy such as ancient Athens, the laws of men are nothing but the opinions of men backed by power, that power resting ultimately in the will of the majority; the only differences between government thus being the degree and structure of power delegation, and what the opinions of those delegates are.With it thus established that states are no more than masses of people and their laws no more than the opinions of said people backed by power, not only do I object to Socrates’ insistence that he must be obedient to the state’s death sentence, but it is plainly obvious to me that Socrates himself ought to conclude this, if he was to be consistent with his own earlier po sition that the opinions of men, as such, are irrelevant, no matter what power they may be backed by. But why, my dear Crito, should we care about the opinion of the many? † says Socrates. â€Å"Good men †¦ are the only persons who are worth considering†. Crito eventually concedes this point, agreeing that the opinions of the many are irrelevant; only the opinions of good men matter. But what is it that makes a man good? Is that not part of what is at question here: which sorts of acts are right and which are wrong, which are just or unjust? (A good man, I take it, being one who acts rightly or justly).Certainly being good cannot be merely being seen as good in the eyes of the many, or supporting the commands of the many, for then the opinions of the many and the opinions of good men could never conflict, as good men by definition would always be of the opinion that the majority is right; and Socrates' statements differentiating their opinions would make no sense. So Socrates must agree that goodness is something objective, independent of the opinions of the many.Yet in the dialogue, after Socrates and Crito discuss at some length their agreement to disregard the opinions of the many in considering what ought or ought not be done, and to consider only what is or is not just, Socrates proclaims â€Å"From these premises I proceed to argue the question whether I ought or ought not to try to escape without the consent of the Athenians†. But from where does this concern for the consent of the Athenians come, when we have just disregarded the opinions of the many (in this case the many of Athens); for what is consent if not simply the opinion that something ought to be permitted?Socrates answers, in the voice of the Laws of Athens (speaking to him): â€Å"You, Socrates, are breaking the covenants and agreements which you made with us at your leisure, not in any haste or under any compulsion or deception, but having had seventy years to thi nk of them, during which time you were at liberty to leave the city, if we were not to your mind, or if our covenants appeared to you to be unfair. In short, Socrates is concerned with his obedience to the people of Athens (or at least the government collectively representing them) because he feels he has implicitly agreed to be bound by the decisions of the Athenian government by remaining in the city. But in response I argue that no one can, by any contract implicit or explicit, alter the natural moral obligations which are binding on all men at all times.The most exemplary and broadly agreeable instantiation of this principle is that one cannot sell oneself into slavery, for all men have natural rights (which is to say, obligations naturally owed to them by others) which they cannot give up even if they so choose.For instance, if we grant that all are naturally obliged to refrain from striking me except in such instances as I consent to them doing so, then while I may vary whethe r or not I consent to be struck, and thus vary whether or not it is morally permissible to strike me at that moment, I cannot vary whether or not it is morally permissible to strike me contrary to my consent, for it is naturally obligatory that none do so. That is, I cannot, in a morally binding way, agree that â€Å"henceforth so-and-so may strike me as he pleases regardless of my consent at that moment†.Any such contract offering terms contrary to natural obligations is invalid; and thus contracts of slavery, whereby one waives all of ones natural rights (which is to say, all obligations naturally owed to oneself by others), are the epitome of invalid contracts. This relates to the situation at hand with Socrates and Crito in that a contract to obey the arbitrary commands of some entity (e. g. the state of Athens), provided only that they are issued forth in prescribed proper manner (e. . by the formal proceedings of the Athenian court) and otherwise irrespective of the con tents of those commands, seems to me no different than a contract to slavery, with the entity in question (the state) as the slave master; for what is slavery but complete subjugation to the arbitrary will of another? Socrates himself admits this similarity, saying (once again in the voice of the Laws, speaking to himself) â€Å"can you deny in the first place that you are our child and slave? Yet Socrates has a reply here as well, already quoted above: he has had many years in which he was free to leave the city if he did not wish to be bound by its laws, and by remaining he has implicitly agreed to be bound by them. Certainly a man cannot be a slave if he is free to leave his bonds at any time. But I respond that even such â€Å"voluntary† bonds are contractually invalid, for remaining on the lands of another still does not make one subject to the arbitrary will of the landowner. The only obligation owed to the owner of some property, as such, is to refrain from acting upo n his property contrary to his consent.Likewise the only punishment the property owner may apply simply for disobeying his commands (but not violating any natural obligations, e. g. harming someone or their property, which may warrant further punishment) is to refuse him the use of his property; in the case of land, ejecting him from the premises. By voluntarily entering and remaining in my home, my guests do not become subject to my arbitrary authority, to be enforced as I see fit; at most I have the authority to eject them from my home, if I grow tired of their presence there.Nor by voluntarily entering a corporate office do I become subject to the authority of the corporation, beyond the revocability of my permission to remain therein. Likewise, even if we grant that the city of Athens is the property of the state of Athens (i. e. of its people collectively, rather than parcelled out into individually owned plots), the greatest punishment morally justified simply for behaving in ways the state dislikes (but not in any way which is truly unjust) is banishment from the city.Thus, while the state may have the moral authority to forbid and punish legitimate injustices (which I agree it does, though no more so than any individual), it does not have the moral authority to enforce its arbitrary will upon those who reside within its borders; it merely has the authority to eject them from its lands if it chooses to do so, for which it needs no cause at all, if it is indeed the legitimate owner of those lands.Thus if Socrates truly believes that he has done nothing unjust, then he should not (if accepts my principle regarding contracts and natural obligations) feel subject to the punishment decreed for him, though he may concede the state’s authority to banish him, if he holds the state to be the legitimate owner of the city.I would further question whether it is right to presume that a state is the legitimate owner of its territory (rather than each citizen o wning their own portion in private, as well as some public portions in common), and thus whether it even has the authority to banish the disobedient; but that is another lengthy topic, for which I do not have room in this essay. In conclusion, I see no reason for Socrates to consider the will of the people of Athens (as channeled via their government) binding pon him; and I believe he should seek an answer to the question at hand, whether or not to escape from his punishment, solely by asking whether he has done anything to warrant that punishment — and it appears that he believes he has not. There is no guarantee that his opinion on this matter is correct; the state of Athens may in fact be correct, and thus Socrtes’ punishment just. But to defer to the public opinion over one’s best judgment is never epistemologically sound.Men of reason do not turn to authority, even democratic authority, to answer questions of biology or chemistry or physics, but instead we appeal to evidence and sound logical arguments to determine the answers; and I see no reason why questions of ethics should be subject to any less rigorous and independent methodologies. By denying that any person, text, or institution has any special epistemic or alethic authority (the ability to magically divine or reveal the truth, or to create it by fiat), we do not deny the existence of objective truth.Nor by denying that any king, law book, or legislature has any special deontic authority (the ability to magically divine or reveal our obligations, or to create them by fiat) do we deny that there are objective standards of justice. In both cases we merely concede that we are all in the same standing regarding truth or justice, respectively; and we leave it to each individual to seek it for themselves, to sway others with arguments where they can, and to act upon it as they deem necessary or appropriate, regardless of decrees or prior agreements to the contrary.

The eNotes Blog The Great American Teach-Off for2013!

The Great American Teach-Off for2013! Know a teacher who could use and deserves $10,000? Well, hurry, as it is almost last call for nominating an educator who shows innovation and dedication to their craft.   The $10,000 classroom grant will be awarded by GOOD Partnerships and the University of Phoenix. There will be twenty finalists selected from teachers of grades Kindergarten through Twelfth this  February 15, 2013 at noon PT.    Voting for the finalists begins March 4 and in a course of five weeks, the GOOD community will vote for their favorite teacher. At the end of the five weeks, the top voted K through 6 teacher and top voted 7 through 12 teacher will each receive a $10,000 classroom grant. What are the judge looking for? [T]eachers that are not only changing the lives of their students, but also their community. We want to hear all about the teachers that are integrating technology into the classroom, doing community outreach with their students, or pushing their students to learn and think in different ways so that they can graduate successfully and achieve beyond the classroom. For ideas and inspiration, you can watch videos of last years winners,  Terry Dougherty  and  Ã‚  Daryl Bilandzija.   Good luck to all the great candidates out there and dont forget: the deadline for applications is this Friday!

Difference Between Atomic Radius and Ionic Radius

Difference Between Atomic Radius and Ionic Radius You cant simply whip out a yardstick or ruler to measure the size of an  atom. These  building blocks  of all matter  are much too small, and, since  electrons  are always in motion, the diameter of an atom is a bit fuzzy. Two measures used to describe atomic size are  atomic radius and  ionic radius. The two are very similar- and in some cases, even the same- but there are minor and important differences between them. Read on to learn more about these two ways to measure an atom. Key Takeaways: Atomic vs Ionic Radius There are different ways to measure the size of the atom, including atomic radius, ionic radius, covalent radius, and van der Waals radius.The atomic radius is half the diameter of a neutral atom. In other words, it is half the diameter of an atom, measuring across the outer stable electrons.The ionic radius is half the distance between two gas atoms that are just touching each other. This value may be the same as the atomic radius, or it may be larger for anions and the same size of smaller for cations.Both atomic and ionic radius follow the same trend on the periodic table. Generally, radius decreases moving across a period (row) and increases moving down a group (column). Atomic Radius The atomic radius is the distance from the atomic nucleus to the outermost stable electron of a neutral atom. In practice, the value is obtained by measuring the diameter of an atom and dividing it in half. The radii of neutral atoms ranges from 30 to 300 pm or trillionths of a meter. The atomic radius is a term used to describe the size of the  atom, however, there is no standard definition for this value. Atomic radius may actually refer to the  ionic radius,  as well as the  covalent radius, metallic radius, or  van der Waals radius. Ionic Radius The ionic radius is half the distance between two gas atoms that are just touching each other. Values range from 30 pm to over 200 pm. In a neutral atom, the atomic and ionic radius are the same, but many elements exist as anions or cations. If the atom loses its outermost electron (positively charged or cation), the ionic radius is smaller than the atomic radius because the atom loses an electron energy shell. If the atom gains an electron (negatively charged or anion), usually the electron falls into an existing energy shell so the size of the ionic radius and atomic radius are comparable. The concept of ionic radius is further complicated by the shape of atoms and ions. While particles of matter are often depicted as spheres, they arent always round. Researchers have discovered chalcogen ions are actually ellipsoid in shape. Trends in the  Periodic Table Whichever method you use to describe atomic size, it displays a trend or periodicity in the periodic table. Periodicity refers to the recurring trends that are seen in the element properties.  These trends became apparent to  Demitri Mendeleev  when he arranged the elements in order of increasing mass. Based on the properties that were displayed  by the known elements, Mendeleev was able to predict where there were holes in his table, or elements yet to be discovered. The  modern periodic table  is very similar to Mendeleevs table but today, elements are ordered by increasing  atomic number, which reflects  the number of protons  in an atom. There arent any undiscovered elements,  although new elements  can be created that have even higher numbers of protons. Atomic and ionic radius increase as you move down a column (group) of the periodic table because an electron shell is added to the atoms. Atomic size decreases as you move across a row- or period- of the table because the increased number of protons exerts a stronger pull on the electrons. Noble gasses are the exception. Although the size of a noble gas atom does increase as you move down the column, these atoms are larger than the preceding atoms in a row. Sources Basdevant, J.-L.; Rich, J.; Spiro, M. Fundamentals in Nuclear Physics. Springer. 2005. ISBN 978-0-387-01672-6. Cotton, F. A.; Wilkinson, G. Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (5th ed., p.1385). Wiley. 1988. ISBN 978-0-471-84997-1.Pauling, L. The Nature of the Chemical Bond (3rd ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. 1960Wasastjerna, J. A. On the Radii of Ions.  Comm. Phys.-Math., Soc. Sci. Fenn.  1  (38): 1–25. 1923

Uses of Electron Microscope Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Uses of Electron Microscope - Essay Example The light microscope was invented in the 17th century from the Galilean telescope. Antony van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutchman developed one of the early microscopes which consisted of a powerful convex lens and an adjustable holder for the object being studied. This instrument had a magnifying power of 400x and protozoa, spermatozoa, bacteria and shape of the red blood cells were discovered by Leeuwenhoek (FEI company, 2008). This microscope had only one lens and was called a single microscope. An improvement on this was compound microscope wherein another convex lens was added to magnify the image produced by the first lens. A modern light microscope has a magnification of as high as 1000x and thus enables resolution of objects separated by 0.0002mm (FEI Company, 2008). The resolving power of light microscope had 3 limiting factors: lenses, quality of lenses and the wavelength of light used for illumination. Some improvements in the light microscope were made using these aspects. Blue or ul traviolet light with shorter wavelength gave a small improvement. Further improvement in the resolution was noticed when the specimen and the front of the objective lens were immersed in a medium like oil with high refractive index (FEI Company, 2008). As early as the middle of 19th century, microscopists realized that structures less than half a micrometer could not be resolved with a light microscope. At the same time, researchers had hinted at the possibility of improvement in the resolution of the microscope using electrons rather than light. This is because accelerated electrons behave in a vacuum just like light, they travel in straight lines and have a wavelength which is about 100,000 times smaller than that of light.