Assembly Format

SCHOOL ATTENTION, STAND AT EASE, ATTENTION. Good Morning to one and all present here. I am Shivangi Goswami of Class 8 A standing before you to conduct today’s assembly. One man with courage is a majority. This famous quote was said by Thomas Jeffery, meaning one man who has courage can do anything and is capable enough to do any task at hand. So friends today the theme of our assembly is courage. The one who has the made the world, the one who has made us and the one who has blessed us with all our abilities is none other than our Almighty Father.So to acknowledge him for his deeds and blessings, I would like to call some of the boys of our class. Thank you for your acknowledging world. The love, affection, respect and devotion for god cannot be expressed only through words. To thank god in a wonderful way I present my class with the choir. That was indeed melodious. A class without a teacher, a flower without petals and a day without a thought is incomplete. So Nabin and Nih arika are here with a charming and delightful thought on courage. Thank you Nabin and Niharika.N for north, E for east, W for west and s for south. All these letters together makes the news. So to update us with the latest happenings around the globe, I call upon our young reporters Harpal, __________and____________ with the news. Thank you Harpal, ___________ and __________. Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something else is important than fear. To through some more light on the assembly’s theme Courage, may I call upon Swaraj for the special assembly speech.Thank you Swaraj. Birthdays come once in a year. So we should celebrate it enthusiastically. May I call upon all the birthday students at the center stage as it is time to wish them a very happy birthday. On behalf of Class 8 A, I wish all the birthday students a very happy birthday. May I call upon our class teacher for making some announcements. Thank you madam. SCHOOL ATTENTION, STAND AT EASE, ATTENTION Now it’s time for the national anthem and the national anthem begins.

International Business Culture and Global Business

For an international business person, business traveller or expatriate, doing business in a foreign country poses some interesting cross cultural challenges. Getting to grips with a country's business culture, protocol and etiquette is important in maximising your potential and getting the best out of your visit. Greece is a High contect culture. In order to categorize it, we must first know what the difference between low and high context culture means.High vs. Low Context Cultures suggests the categorisation of cultures into high context versus low context cultures in order to understand their basic differences in communicationstyle and cultural issues. Communication style refers to ways of expressing oneself, to communication patterns that are understood to be ‘typical’. Cultural issues mean certain societal factors, such as the country’s status, history, religion and traditions. Cultural issues also include Hofstede’s individualism vs. collectivism dime nsion. Social nuances are important parts to consider when doing business in greece.To say ‘no' in Greece use an upward nod of the head. For ‘yes' tilt the head to either side. However, note that many Greeks now also use the European/North American gestures too so it can be confusing! The â€Å"OK† sign (circled thumb and forefinger) may be considered obscene. Never raise an open palm at face level as this is an insult. If you see a Greek make a puff of breath through the lips, they are warding off the ‘evil eye'. This is usually done after receiving a compliment. Try and avoid discussions involving sensitive issues such as with Turkey, the Cyprus issue, or the politics of the former-Yugoslavia.They are task-oriented, highly organised and prefer doing one thing at a time. They stick to facts and fi gures that they have obtained from reliable sources. They prefer straightforward, direct discussion, and they talk and listen in equal proportions. So it is impor tant to stand by your product with pride and transparancy in order to gain the trust of the consumers their, and also their business. The Greeks can be fairly laidback and as such meetings can be arranged at short notice. It is best to do so over the phone and to confirm in writing (fax or email).The handshake is the most common form of greeting in the business environment. Among friends or close acquaintances you may also see an embrace or kiss. Wait for the other party to initiate the move to this level if it ever comes. One other country I would relate to Greece is Iceland because there are rural lands, and busy cities as well. Iceland is also facing financial challenges as Greece is due to the EURO currency and has been severly hit by the european recession as well. The corrupt politics and regulations of the country's assets has led to some hard times inboth countries.However, there are still many opportunities to in doing business abroad to such countries, considereing the min imum wages are increasingly lower than that of America and there is a large percentage of educated individuals seeking employment in these hard times. Another factor is untapped resounrces, such as oil and precious metals of the earth. Lastly, I would say whenever doing business in any country we must remember to that we are guest, and work with ethics in mind and proper investment so that there may be a positive effect on the country's citizens view of international business ventures.

Final environmental ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Final environmental ethics - Research Paper Example In regards to this, ecology plays an important role in helping to understand the responsibility of human beings towards one another and the environment. In addition, it helps understand why these responsibilities are existent. There are a number of ecological disciplines that assist in achieving the goal of understanding the moral obligations of human beings. This paper will discuss the debate raised by Leopold’s suggestion: that the role and view of man should change from an anthropocentric one to – to one that allows hem to accord the natural world intrinsic ethical value. The paper will discuss the nature that man should play like a warden of the natural-world community, but not the conqueror, who can exploit the natural world for the selfish interests (Leopold, 1960, p. 220). Discussion Many scholars argue that human beings have a moral standing – which is superior to that of the natural world, including animals and the natural phenomena. However, the minimal extension of the moral nature of humans to cover the natural world causes real and difficult problems. These scholars, including Aldo Leopold hold that such an anthropocentric ethics base fails to go a long way, in offering the regard and the protection to be offered by the different natural community members. Therefore, they have offered and carried out studies, geared at the expansion of moral standing, to reach beyond the human community. Under this perspective, they claim that the selfish benefits of human beings can be addressed or eliminated through advocating, thus realization of better regard and treatment for the natural environment. In this regard, Radical ecology views moral standing as insufficient to resolve the environmental threats facing the natural balance to be attained. Radical ecologists argue that contrary to the shallow approach by moral standing, a wider philosophical perspective should be adapted, where human beings will shift their attitude towards the envi ronment as well as their understanding of reality of the balance between the different community members. In a bid to achieve this, it is necessary that human beings re- examine their place, so as to be able to comprehend the place they take and how they identify with the rest of the natural world, which is often abused, through uncontrolled abuse of the natural world. The utilitarian tradition of environmental ethics, on the other hand, holds that the maximum good and for the greatest number should be the goal, in defining the value and the importance to be given to the parts of the natural environment. The model, particularly points out two types of good to be considered, including the good which is held to be good for its own sake and the good which is good, because; it promotes other areas of good. Towards attaining this, preferences under watch are compared, where the preferences of different people or groups are conflicting. One of the major strengths of this model is that it is embedded in ordinary ways of reasoning and thinking (Des Jardins, 2001, p. 30-32; Abbey, 2002). These views are relatively divergent to those of deep ecology, which works on the basis of the basic principle that the living environment as a whole has similar rights to live and flourish. The endowment of rights to live and flourish, according to the model, is grounded upon the reality of man’s relationship with the natural environment and that between these different parts of the natu

Coaching and Performance Improvement Analysis Essay

Coaching and Performance Improvement Analysis - Essay Example In this paper, I am going to talk about the coaching and performance improvement I have undertaken with the Production Supervisor of our organization. He had been hired three months ago after our previous supervisor left very abruptly for a competing organization with just a month’s notice. However, since he had served for five years with the organization he was allowed to leave without too much fuss. Since he had left in the middle of the year the Human Resources Department did not have much time or choice but to hire a candidate with experience from a related but different industry. It was thought that owing to the candidate’s experience, he would soon pick up the skills and knowledge about the production function but sadly he has not been able to come up to the mark after even three months on the job. Productivity is suffering and as the Training and Development Manager I had been asked to step in and give the supervisor the required coaching so as to improve his und erstanding of the skills needed in the textile business (he has come in from the engineering sector and had been overseeing the production of motorcycle parts) as the situation is a little different here. Although he does have the required level of interest and understanding, he is a little apprehensive about taking charge of the workers who are aware of his inexperience in the textile sector and sometimes exploit this situation to their advantage. To cover his lack of skills he has developed an authoritative attitude which does not settle well with the older and more experienced staff. Analysis of the Root Causes of His Production Deficiency After a close observation and personality analysis of the Production Supervisor I have come to the conclusion that he just needs a little coaching to come up to the expectations of management regarding the task assigned to him. Although it seems that he is in the wrong industry, I am confident from what I have observed about him that he can soo n come up to the requirements of the job even though the industry he represented in the past is far removed from this present one. The basic requirements of managing the production process are to schedule the production process in terms of orders placed and deliveries to be made or shipments to be affected as per schedule is already known in advance. Although his lack of skills and knowledge is evident for the time being in this industry, the real issue is that he is trying to compensate by being authoritative and a perfectionist, afraid of taking a wrong step and not knowing fully about the alternatives available to him. He is frustrated because his efforts to take charge are not being appreciated by the older and more experienced employees under his control, as they were used to managing the function with a minimum of interference. However in his zest to contribute, he likes to be seen as doing something most of the time. There is no lack of motivation, but one can see that his me thods to take charge are not working with some staff. I could have intervened directly with the staff on his behalf, but would rather he do it himself.

Public relations thrives on public opinion Research Paper

Public relations thrives on public opinion - Research Paper Example Soon after, a large number of companies and organizations started employing publicity tactics to attract large audiences. The Excellence Project Vercic, L.A. Grunig (1996) states that nine generic principles govern the basis of setting up global public relations. Edward Louise Barneys is considered an America pioneer in the development of techniques relating to public relations and propaganda. Edward Barneys is considered as the ‘father of public relations’. Edward Barneys developed many influential PR techniques including press release and third party advocacy. Barneys helped remove the taboos surrounding the idea of women smoking in public, thorough his famous campaign of 1920 known as the Women’s Smoking Campaign. Barneys educated the industries regarding the importance of news and stated that it was the most effective method of conveying message to the public. Edward Barneys summarized the importance of PR techniques in his famous quotation given below: This quotation fully explains the importance of public relations and public opinions in setting up a democratic system. In modern world, setting up a democratic system encompasses various aspects. One of the major aspects in establishing democracy is public relations. The research following the development of Excellence theory shows that public relations serve as a pivotal condition for the establishment of a liberal democracy. During the 20th century, public relations gained the status of becoming a powerful and influential industry, not only in the United States of America but across the whole world. In modern society, public relation operations are not just limited to the in-house activity of public corporations and public institutions, but are also being increasingly established as independent consultation firms. Thus, public relation operations have become a prominent constituent in

Security questions regarding U.S. military support to Turkey Essay

Security questions regarding U.S. military support to Turkey - Essay Example In the recent crisis between Syria and Turkey the following problem has appeared: does NATO approve the initiatives of Turkey, so far, in regard to the military conflicts within Syria? The answer seems to be positive. This view is based on the statement of the Secretary-General Rasmussen that ‘obviously Turkey can rely on NATO solidarity’, a statement made on the 9th of October (NATO 2012). Of course, as a member of NATO, Turkey has right to ask for such support. Still, the intervention of NATO in the conflict between Turkey and Syria would have certain implications that can be reflected in a series of security questions. 2. U.S. military support to Turkey – Security questions In order to refer to an issue as being related to security it is necessary for certain terms to be met. The common form of security questions is described in the study of Everts (2001). According to the above researcher, a security question can be related to different issues. Reference can b e made, for example, to the ‘democratic government’ (Everts 2001, p.44), as a security question. It should be noted that through the decades, the form of security questions has been changed. Energy, environment and allies’ security are common security questions in countries worldwide (Everts 2001, p.44). ... een Turkey and Kurds – Democratic question as a security question The claim of Kurds for the creation of their own state within Turkey is quite old (Brauch et al. 2003). However, since the beginning of the crisis between Syria and Turkey, the efforts of Kurds to promote their geopolitical interests have become quite strong (Dannreuther 2012). On the 3rd of October a Syrian attack on a Turkish town resulted to the death of five civilians (BBC News 2012). Turkey responded with attacks on targets near the borders (Guzel & Frazer 2012); the UN Council supported the specific initiative of Turkey (Guzel & Frazer 2012). The provision of military support by NATO to Turkey would allow the latter to develop extensive military operations against Syria. However, in case that the conflict between Turkey and Syria would be further expanded, then Kurds would possibly take the chance to develop more dynamic operations against the Turkish militants. In such case, the political stability of Tur key would be set in risk, a fact that would negatively affect the popularity of Turkish government. The stability of the country’s polity, as this stability would be threatened by the expansion of armed conflicts within Turkish territory, can be characterized as one of the most important security questions related to NATO’s intervention in the conflict between Turkey and Syria. 2.2 The geopolitical stability of European Union – Supporting the allies’ safety as a security question The political and social stability in Turkey can highly affect the geopolitical stability of European Union. The potential involvement of Turkey in a war would threaten the security of EU, even if Turkey is not a member state. Moreover, the cooperation between Turkey and the EU is close, especially in terms of

Deep Green Underwater Kite Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Deep Green Underwater Kite - Essay Example The use of renewable energies is one of the steps taken to reduce the negative impact on environment by reducing the potentials of pollution and its extent. There are other reasons for the rapid advancements in the technological world. The major reason for making these rapid advancements possible and available to the people is the increasing population and its demand. The overwhelming increase in the population leads to demands which are impossible to be met using the old technologies. New ways of production and manufacturing are being utilized to meet the demands of the growing population. Limited energy supply is one of the reasons we need latest technologies. Deep Green Underwater Kite is of the technologies which have recently been launched and are of great help to meet the energy demands of people without risking the environment and natural life. The innovation of Deep Green underwater Kite is associated with a Swedish company Minesto. This unique toy-like device leaps and dives in the ocean water. This toy-like device works with more power and generates as much as 800 times more energy in the water currents than it may generate in the sky. The reason for such power generation process lays in the fact that seawater 800 times denser than the air. The turbine that is attached to the kite, hence, achieves to generate more energy than it can in the air. Minesto names this device as Deep Green and claims that it is capable of generating approximately 500 kilowatts of power also in the smooth and calm sea. This new technology is supposed to boost up the business for tidal power by as much as eighty percent (Harrell 2010). The Deep green underwater Kite is a simply designed 7 ton kite turbine which catches and regenerates power taken from the ocean just like a kite works in the air. The kite-like turbine is aimed at generating approximately 18 terawatt hours of power every year. This amount of energy is ample to meet the energy demands of more or less four millio n UK houses. This technology is more appreciated for its effectively green process and provision of green electricity. The Swedish military and aircraft designing company Saab was originally aiming at producing a wind turbine but the concept changed with the idea of using seawater as it is more powerful and productive for the thought of generating energy. The kite twists to escalate the velocity in the ocean ten-fold. The most important and precious factor to consider here is the cost-effectiveness of the device. The amount of energy it generates compared to the amount spent on each Kilowatt unit it generates gives an idea of its low cost technique. It costs as low as $0.09 cents to $0.20 cents per KWh. Using this technology in today’s financially weak society may help the overly populated societies in gaining access to the demanded quantities of energy. This cost effective device is useful in order to meet the demands and satisfying the energy requirements keeping an environ mentally sound system of generating energy. These kites are, hence, cost effective in terms of design, structure and use. Once installed, they require lesser investment in maintenance of these devices (Kraemer 2009). The Deep Green Underwater Kite is an invention which is equally helpful for those who use it and for those who do not. The

Film Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Film Evaluation - Essay Example What is Nixon guilty of? The film uses multiple perspectives to question his military strategies in Vietnam and Cambodia and, of course, the break-in to the Watergate hotel office of the Democratic Party and the subsequent cover up. Audiences see Frost and Reston, a researcher representing liberal criticism of Nixon’s foreign and domestic policy, using these interviews as a mock trial for Nixon. Nixon’s camp views the interviews as a re-election campaign, a fence mending expedition, and a path back to the East and the Capital beltway, which I didn’t realize before watching this film. During the interview process, Frost and Nixon’s interview-prep teams act like campaign advisors and spin doctors. The film reveals a Nixon whose political ambition soothed an ego, who stretched past the judicial limits of executive privilege. Nixon, who was granted a full pardon by President Ford, discusses his conflicts with the bipartisan Congress and Media and his frustrati on with the American checks and balances system. The film becomes as much about exploring Nixon’s feeling that what he did was â€Å"wrong,† but paradoxically not â€Å"wrong† because he did it as president as about the influence of American media as a fourth branch, a watchdog of American democracy and political transparency. II: Analysis of Political Ideas Conveyed within Frost/Nixon As the film opens, Director Howard and Writer Morgan expose viewers to a plethora of media clippings from nightly news programs, presidential interviews and public events, the formal Watergate hearings, and the voice of the average citizen. While these clippings provide background information and certainly provide urgency and interest in this cinematic event, they oversimplify the complex, elongated task of these revelations and impeachment process. One of the main criticisms of this film deal with the compression of time and boiled down simplification of the steps and factors cul minating in Nixon’s resignation. In a 2009 article, Reston himself commented: â€Å"For that televised interview in 1977, four hours of interrogation had been boiled down to 90 minutes. For the stage and screen, this history has been compressed a great deal more, into something resembling a comedic tragedy† (para. 5). The issues of the historical veracity of almost every step of this screenwriting process and cinematic manipulation has become an ongoing, contentious issue among political journalists and pundits. The ethics of the original interview put David Frost, his camp, and media itself on trial within this film and questions the unbiased nature of Frost’s interviews. The first segment of Frost/Nixon focuses on Frost and Nixon dancing around each other as Frost attempts to raise funds to secure an interview with Nixon as well as find a reputable network to air the interviews. Yet, as I previously did not know, all the established networks scoff at Frostâ₠¬â„¢s party image and lack of political expertise and refuse to be involved or lend their credibility to support Frost’s initiative. Specifically, the networks refer to their policy not to pay for interviews while Nixon’s Hollywood agent is requiring a staggering 600,000 dollars, 200, 000 of which must be up front for an afternoon exploratory meeting. The angle on the Frost’s first scribbled check to Nixon sheds light upon both Frost and Nixon’

How Ecotricity has obtained considerable business achievements within Essay

How Ecotricity has obtained considerable business achievements within a short period of time - Essay Example The paper tells that globalisation and the associated changes in the business environment greatly encouraged both cross border trade and small business enterprises. A small business represents a privately owned and operated business venture having small number of employees and comparatively low sales volume. Small business is fondly termed as ‘mom and pop store’ in the United States. In the view of Fay, generation definition of an SME can be stated as â€Å"a small firm is one that has only a small share of its market, is managed in a personalised way by its owner or part-owner and not through the medium of an elaborate management structure†. Hence, a small firm does not have access to capital market for the issuance of public securities because of its insufficiency in size. As Macgregor and Vrazalic point out that the UK Companies Act 1989 does not allow a small business enterprise to be the subsidiary of any other company. The legal definition of a small busines s enterprise varies from country to country mainly in terms of annual turnover and number of people employed. The emergence of the concept ‘small business’ greatly stimulated entrepreneurs to commence their venture with minimum investment and labour. Low and MacMillan have defined entrepreneurship simply as the formation of new enterprises. Ecotricity was founded by Dale Vince in 1995 using a single wind turbine. Within 15 years, the venture grew into notable heights. As Loveless (2011) reports, Ecotricity was selected as one of the twenty five British small business firms in the first phase of the European Business Awards in 2011. Dale Vince is an innovative entrepreneur who is very different from other contemporary entrepreneurs including James Caan and Steve Jobs. The Telegraph reports that Dale Vince â€Å"is a professional hippy of the kind the establishment used to deride† (Telegraph). He was a former new age traveller and had protested against cruise missi les before he arrived at Gloucester. He always had his own interests and views but never paid attention to external suggestions. Although this trait irritated the credit lending institutions and other concerned parties, his strong decisions were evidently the keys to his success. Vince was never willing to accept failure and this attitude assisted him to overcome threatening troubles with equanimity. Start-ups The push and pull theory clearly describes the concept of entrepreneurship. This theory claims that people are motivated to create innovative ventures by external factors. However, the external factors can be either positive or negative. As Dana (2004, p.134) opines, newly arising opportunities and potential elements of the industry are some of the positive factors that would inspire individuals to create new ventures. In contrast, an individual may also be motivated by negative factors to start a new business (ibid). For instance, unemployment is a negative motivational facto r. The push-pull theory also contends that an individual’s family background can be a strong motive for starting a new business. Experiences show that poor and troubled family relations persuade people to be independent and this need leads them to innovations. The first wind farm established in Cornwall was the major inspiration for Dale Vince, the founder of the Ecotricity to create his own venture. Referring to the push-pull theory, Vince was attracted to

State of Personal Computers Market in the UK Assignment

State of Personal Computers Market in the UK - Assignment Example In other words, the portable PC must not necessarily have big memory or storage space since it can retrieve data from the centric server within the company (Gillam, 2010). Several companies adopted this technology, hence increased sale of the portable PC but reduced sales of desktops. A good VDI network may comprise of at least one desktop with over 70 portable PC depending on the size of the company. Other clouding technology also followed and led to a further increase in sales of portable PCs. The graph below shows a non-uniform decrease in PCs’ prices as time (in years) advances. Increase in PCs producing firms There have been increases in the number of mobile PC companies venturing into the market. These include Samsung which manufactured laptops, net books, notebooks, tablets and mini laptops among other portable PCs. Apple manufactures iMacs and iPhones among other portable PCs. These products had advanced and efficient applications and specifications that later attracte d more customers. Majority shipped their desktops to developing nations while some were treated as electronic wastes. The younger generations were compelled to purchase the portable the portable gadgets since they have social media applications like twitter, Facebook and Skype among other applications. The products also came in smaller sizes but attractive shapes and colors to attract more customers (Bradley, 2005). The aspect of compatibility also enhanced increased demand for the products. One can easily connect his/her portable computer with the sound system or flat screen televisions for entertainment purpose. The companies have stiff competition with regular advancement of the portable computers which has kept the demand on a steady growing trend, since majority dump or ship their... This paper offers a comprehensive theoretic economic analysis of high price elasticity of the demand for personal computers in the UK market. In the 2007, the market of personal computers in the UK recorded an estimated net worth of 12.27 billion USD. This increased to 12.81 billion USD in the year 2008 (4.4 % increase). The market PC market continued to depreciate to about 11.77 billion USD by the end of the year 2009. However, the same report indicates the market worth was on a growing trend from 2005 until 2008, from which the PC market worth started depreciating.There are several factors that boosted the increase in the PC market worth between 2005 and 2008. Several companies register an increase in sales of portable or mobile personal computers. The introduction of the portable PC in the markets attracted more customers The law of demand and supply states the demand will increase as the price decreases and other factors held constant. However, this economic principle does not apply in the personal computer business. Since 2005, the price for the personal computers has been on a falling trend despite continuous growth in demand. Different markets have different demand, price and supply relations depending on the prevailing economic status as well as the countries demographic characteristics among some factors. Different nations also have different policies or legislations to control its business. The aspect of a global description of the elastic curve with respect to the personal computers is a challenge.

Organizational Impact Essay Example for Free

Organizational Impact Essay Innovation, design, and creativity are important parts of any organization that strives to be a market leader within a given industry. Organizations typically belong to one sector of industry, either service or manufacturer. A company from each sector, Nissan Motors for manufacturing and Verizon Wireless for service are the organizations chosen for evaluation. Nissan Nissan Motors has proven to be a leader in the automobile industry in innovation. When the price of gas increased significantly in 2006, Nissan changed their strategy to include the electric car. With the Toyota Prius already available, Nissan wanted to be the first with a 100% electric car. Recognizing a new market never comes easy for any organization and the impact to the organization can be significant, Nissan took a big risk. Although Nissan began developing an electric car in 1997, the uses for this type of car were not for the public. Initially government agencies and businesses used these cars as fleet cars. With need for alternative fuel sources and public interest, Nissan refocused energy back into the electric car it had originally developed, the Nissan Versa in 2009, renaming the car Nissan Leaf in 2010 (Nissan Motor Company,† n. d. ). Nissan showed its innovation and creativity with the introduction of the first environmentally friendly car that requires no gasoline. The designers for Nissan gave the vehicle a look that is attractive to the buyer and will set the stage for how electric cars will look in coming years as these types of vehicles continue to be the new trend (Nissan Motor Company,† n. d. ). For the first two years after launching the first affordable, mass market electric car, the Nissan Leaf struggled in sales. Nissan began an aggressive marketing strategy and creating strategic partnerships the Nissan Leaf finally reached growth stage. With the organization’s aggressive marketing push, advertisements gave consumers clear messages on how environmentally friendly this new type of vehicle is, how it saves money on the purchase of gas, and that the price tag makes it affordable to most car buyers. In the end, the impact on the strategy of Nissan was minimal other than overcoming the American car buyers’ love for the gas powered engine. Nissan believes in turning what ifs into what is, and with the Nissan Leaf they have brought the innovation of the electric car to reality. Verizon Wireless Verizon wireless formed in 2000 with the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE (Verizon Corporate History,† 2013). Once complete, the merger created the nation’s largest wireless cell phone service company. In 1992 there was the introduction of the first smart phone. This phone called Simon was capable of much more than making phone calls but there was no network available that was capable of handling the data it could send. This innovation laid the ground work for Verizon’s 4G LTE network. Over the next two decades, mobile network technology grew and in 2010 Verizon Wireless revolutionized lives throughout the United States with LTE technology. Today, Verizon is the largest, most reliable 4G LTE network (Verizon Corporate History,† 2013). The organization delivers the most advanced wireless technology available. Through innovation, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE can provide services in the fields of transportation, health care, small businesses, and education. With the advanced technology Verizon Wireless provides its customers, street vendors can make payment transactions and EMS personnel can improve on response times and patient care. Verizon Wireless is no longer just a cell phone provider. However, the innovation of this technology over the years has forced Verizon to change its strategy several times to remain the best in the industry. The impact on Verizon’s strategy was a $66 billion dollar investment in their technology and infrastructure (Verizon Corporate History,† 2013). Although the policies of Verizon did not change, the marketing of what services they could provide had to. Conclusion Innovation, design, and creativity impact organizations in different ways. For the Nissan Company the impact was minimal because the organization already had a design, prototype, and the infrastructure to make the product. This product affected the marketing strategy the most because the vehicle needed aggressive measures to get the car selling. As technology continues to evolve rapidly there will still be some changes made to the electric car in the years to come. The impact on Verizon was more significant because the organization’s technology needed further development to accommodate manufacturers of cell phones such as the Apple I-phone and the Android. Verizon needed innovation, design, and creativity to develop not only the technology but also the service plans as well. In today’s business environment, organizations, whether they are manufacturers or service-based must be ready to change strategies and evaluate the impact on the organization’s business constantly.

Exploring the role of empathy in psychotherapy

Exploring the role of empathy in psychotherapy In psychotherapy three aspects are identified as imperative to ensure a therapeutic climate that facilitates growth and change. These aspects include genuineness or congruence, an attitude of unconditional positive regard and empathy or empathic understanding. Each aspect plays a complementary role to one another and once integrated provides a mechanism through which self-actualisation can be reached. Empathy is a key indicator of a therapists ability as a facilitator in a therapeutic relationship and if genuinely and accurately displayed can result in a powerful means of assisting the client (Meyer, Moore, Viljoen, 2003; Tolan, 2007). This discussion explores the role of empathy in psychotherapy through identifying the components intrinsic to empathy, their role in creating a truly empathic environment, the use of empathy in psychotherapy and the possible effects empathy can have when displayed in an effective manner. The basis from which empathy will be explored is a Rogerian person-centred psychotherapeutic context as empathy is regarded as necessary for the process of psychotherapy in this context. Although empathy is recognised in majority of psychotherapeutic theories, client-centred therapy or Rogerian psychotherapy provides the most holistic and thorough view of the role of empathy in psychotherapy. Definition of concepts In understanding the role of empathy in psychotherapy it is of utmost importance to identify the concepts that manifest in the discussion. Identifying and defining these concepts allows for an exploration of each within the context of psychotherapy. In so doing, the role that empathy plays in this context can be explored and comprehensively analysed. Psychotherapy Psychotherapy is a complex subject with no definitive description. The lack of precise definition could be due to this concept being regarded as adaptive and dynamic in that each definition would illustrate the underlying perspective utilised by the author of that definition. A generic definition of psychotherapy would entail a therapeutic relationship where two or more persons are involved in a formal relationship with a therapist. The relationship is defined on the basis of one or more parties seeking psychological assistance from the therapist in an attempt to overcome emotional discomfort (Corsini, 1984). Psychotherapy, from a Rogerian perspective, views the client as the central proponent of the therapeutic process. The client is regarded as their own change agent and the therapist, the facilitator of the change process. The process of change in Rogerian psychotherapy is deemed necessary in an attempt to resolve emotional discomfort the goal of psychotherapy. The therapist achieves and maintains their facilitative role through being a participant observer whom adopts a non-directive and empathic stance whilst providing unconditional positive regard to the client and mediating a process of self-actualisation within the client (Meyer et al., 2003; Vorster, 2003). An operational definition of psychotherapy, for this discussion, entails a therapeutic process which is focused on the interactions between persons involved in the therapy situation. The non-directive manner in which the therapy is conducted enables the client to reach a level of self-actualisation and empowers the client in managing their own life stressors. Empathy According to Tolan (2007) empathy is a means of demonstrating, through communication, that someone is heard and understood. It is the capacity to think and feel oneself into the inner life of another person (Kahn, 1991, p. 93). In the context of psychotherapy, empathy involves perception of a clients experience from their internal frame of reference and the communication of this perception to the client in order for the client to feel as though the therapist understands them from their perspective (Kahn, 1991; Rogers, 1980; Tolan, 2007). Empathy does not involve a sympathetic stance on which to understand the client but rather delves into the clients inner experiences in an attempt to create a vicarious experience of the clients world through the clients eyes. In addition, empathy does not entail experiencing the identical emotions and feelings as the client, but rather experiencing the emotions and feelings with the client. In colloquail language, empathy is often regarded as steppi ng into someone elses shoes (Parrott, 1997). Operationally defined, empathy or empathic understanding, in a psychotherapeutic context, refers to a therapist perceiving a clients experience, understanding the corresponding emotions of that experience and conveying this understanding to the client in a manner that will enable the client to feel entirely understood and heard. In can therefore be said that empathy entails experiencing with, rather than for or about the client (Brammer, Abrego Shostrom, 1993, p. 98). Empathy versus sympathy The concepts empathy and sympathy are often used interchangeably and synonymously, however this is an incorrect evaluation of these concepts. Sympathy is a superficial attempt at grasping what a person is feeling whilst empathy is a deep understanding of a persons experiences, cognitions and feelings in certain situations. A good analogy as illustrated by Parrot (1997) is that sympathy is standing on the shore, seeing a person struggling in the water and throwing out a life-ring, [whilst] [e]mpathy is jumping into the water and risking ones own safety to help the struggling person (p. 29). Sympathy is not sufficient in assisting a client through facilitative change and should be avoided in a psychotherapeutic context. Empathy, on the other hand, is highly beneficial in psychotherapy and should be developed and maintained in this context (Parrott, 1997). Empathy and psychotherapeutic approaches Research findings from a study conducted by Ranskin (in Rogers, 1980) suggests that majority of therapists, from a wide range of psychotherapeutic perspectives, acknowledge empathy as one of the most important facets of psychotherapy. However, in practice these therapists opt rather for cognitive or behavioural approaches in their therapy sessions and do not develop their empathic abilities optimally (Rogers, 1980). This is reiterated in an article by Feller and Cottone (2003) who state that empathy, as a construct, has received a great deal of support across a wide range of theoretical approaches, including but not limited to the psychoanalytic, self-psychology, client-centred, existential, cognitive and behaviour approaches. The differences emerge in the view of prominence or sufficiency of empathy in psychotherapy. Some approaches view empathy as a mere aspect which is used as a tool in psychotherapy, whilst other view empathy as a powerful means of facilitating change in a person or system (Feller Cottone, 2003). Thus, although empathy is acknowledged in the majority of psychotherapeutic approaches it does not occupy the same role in each approach. The role of empathy in psychotherapy Carl Rogers identifies the importance of psychotherapy in the acknowledgement of the persons involved and the relationship between those participating in the therapeutic relationship rather than the method or technique used to conduct the therapy. In order to acknowledge the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship empathy must be conveyed to the client(s) (Meyer et al., 2003). Empathy is based on the phenomenological approach to reality, where human beings, as a species, perceive and make sense of the world around them through their own lenses. Reality is not regarded as fixed and clear cut for all to experience identically, but rather as an individual subjective experience. This subjective experience is understood and shared through communication and interaction (Tudor, Keemar, Tudor, Valentine Worrall, 2004; Vorster, 2003). Empathy provides a mechanism from which to tap into another persons subjective experience or perception, which for that person is reality. It is due to this belief that empathy is regarded vital in understanding a client from their worldview (Clark, 2004; Tudor et al., 2004). Empathy is a cognitive, emotional and experiential skill, where the therapist uses a variety of means in an attempt to constantly remain with the client and vicariously experience the clients world in order to genuinely understand reality as the client perceives it. In dissecting this statement to create a better understanding of empathy one could acknowledge that empathy can be enhanced through training, especially if the trainers are genuinely empathic or provide a sensitive understanding during the training sessions. In addition, training sessions often encourage student therapists to practice the skill of empathy. The underlying notion is that the more practice one gets at developing their proficiency in empathy, the more capable the person becomes at providing empathy and integrating this skill into their way of being. Training implies that empathy is a skill that can be cognitively developed and experientially enhanced. The emotional component of empathy, on the other hand, rel ates to the aptitude of the therapist to identify, with relative accuracy, the inner feelings of a client (Rogers, 1980; Tolan, 2007). A critical analysis of empathy and its role in psychotherapy reveals the multidimensional nature of empathy, the various facets that form part of empathy and the diverse roles that empathy can play in a psychotherapeutic relationship. The following discussion demonstrates the various facets of empathy and the role that empathy plays in the context of psychotherapy. The role of listening and communication in empathy Empathy is a vital element which forms an integral part of psychotherapy as it provides a mechanism in which to grasp an understanding of the clients frame of reference in a meaningful way. Empathic understanding allows the therapist to sense the clients private world as if it were [their] own, but without ever losing the as if quality (Kirschenbaum Henderson, 1989, p. 226). Sensing the clients world in an empathic way is achieved through active and highly attentive listening in which the therapist enters the clients internal frame of reference by acknowledging the clients experience and sharing the emotions of the client vicariously. In so doing, the therapist is able to fully comprehend their clients experience, perceptions, values and feelings (Kirschenbaum Henderson, 1989; Rogers, 1980). However, merely listening actively and attentively to the client is not sufficient in displaying empathy. The understanding must be conveyed to the client in a meaningful way. This suggests that the manner in which an understanding is communicated is an essential feature of empathy. The empathic communication should be conveyed in line with the clients abilities to comprehend the message precisely and internalise the empathic response as accurate. Similarly, communication without attentive listening or perception does not demonstrate an understanding of the client. Mere communication with a client may indicate to the client that the therapist is not hearing them accurately and may create distance between the client and the therapist (Kirschenbaum Henderson, 1989; Rautalinko, Lisper, Ekehammar, 2007; Rogers, 1980; Tolan, 2007). The role of listening and communication in empathy contributes to the role of empathy in psychotherapy in that once a client perceives and accepts empathic reflections from a therapist, the client feels understood. This understanding enables the client to grasp the meanings of their own experiences more concretely, tune into their own feelings more acutely and provide themselves with a greater degree of empathy (Rogers, 1980). The role of non-verbal information in empathy It is imperative that empathic reflections are not merely restatements of what the client has said, as this form of reflection will not enable the therapist to move forward and deeper into the clients frame of reference. Parroting the clients expressions will keep the therapist at a surface level of understanding. It can therefore be said that although parroting the clients content may assist in some instances (Brodley, 1998), restatements are not entirely effective in displaying empathy and may demonstrate that the therapist does not truly understand the clients worldview (Mackay, Hughes Carver, 1990; Parrott, 1997; Tolan, 2007). Empathy involves more than listening to the content the client is expressing and regurgitating this information back to the client, it reaches beyond the meaning and recognises the nuances in the persons speech and encourages the therapist to appreciate the amount of significance the client attaches to the subject being discussed (Tudor et al., 2004). Empathy involves a comprehensive and holistic analysis of a variety of sources of information available to the therapist. The information can include, but is not limited to the clients tone of voice, tempo of speech, degree of hesitation, words used, facial expressions, posture, eye contact, attitude towards you as the therapist, emotions, previous information given by the client and sensed meanings beneath the expressed content. Considering all the information available to the therapist during a psychotherapeutic session may enable the therapist to delve deeper into the clients world and create a more meaningful picture of what the client is genuinely experiencing. When a therapist uses the additional information to create understanding and combines this awareness with the content description given by the client a much more meaningful level of understanding is reached (Mackay et al., 1990; Parrott, 1997; Tolan, 2007). The manner in which the empathy is reflected is of great importance. The content of the reflection is an important factor however the additional information mentioned above can also be actively demonstrated by the therapist toward the client. Therefore, it is of vital importance that the therapist conveys their empathic reflection congruently and meaningfully. The therapist should be aware of their pace of voice, rhythm of speech and consistency in language deliverance as well as their non-verbal indicators (Tolan, 2007). Should the therapist be aware and in control of all of these facets within themselves, the client is more likely to register the empathy displayed as a genuine understanding of the client. This implies that even if the empathic reflection is completely accurate, if it is delivered in an incorrect manner it will lose its meaningfulness and may even be interpreted, by the client, as inaccurate. Furthermore, the manner in which the therapist manoeuvres throughout the therapy session is of utmost importance as the continual signalling of non-verbal information in the relationship between the client and the therapist determines the dynamics of the session. As the therapist is continually attempting to remain in the clients frame of reference and sought through the information available in the interaction, the client is experiencing the therapist and responding to the therapist at all times. Vorster (2003) refers to this constant interaction or responding between the client and therapist as an input-output relationship, which demonstrates the constant attempt of the therapist to understand the client. Should the therapist display any level of incongruence in the relationship, this may jolt the client and the client may respond in a specific way, usually by withdrawing from the therapist. The therapist should be constantly and consistently aware of the nature of responses or eff ects that they have on the client and that the client has on them. If the client is continually being jolted and distance is being created it is an indication that the therapist is not staying in the clients frame of reference and is thus not displaying empathy effectively (Tolan, 2007). The components of empathy demonstrate that empathy comprises more than a skill in listening and communicating, but is an attitude or way of being that should be developed and internalised by the therapist. In order to be truly empathic, the therapist must have developed beyond thinking of themselves, so they are capable of understanding anothers point of view (Mackay et al., 1990, p. 66). In addition to an attitude, empathy stems from the ability to acknowledge an assortment of observable behaviour (as previously mentioned) and integrate the information in a meaningful way to ensure the person is truly heard and accepted (Brodley, 1998). This hearing is often deeper than the words the person is expressing and can display a personal meaning that may even be beyond the conscious intent of the client. This integrative understanding deepens the meaning of the empathy and encourages the client to fine-tune their empathic understanding of themselves. If all the facets of empathy are combin ed, the psychotherapeutic goal of facilitative change is highly probably (Mackay et al., 1990; Rogers, 1980). The role of empathy, when viewed as an integrated whole, extends beyond psychotherapy and denotes a means for the client to attend to themselves in their everyday lives (Rogers, 1980). The role of congruence and unconditional positive regard in empathy In order for empathy to be of optimal effectiveness in psychotherapy it is of vital importance that the therapist demonstrates the empathy with a high level of congruence or genuineness. Congruence can only be achieved if the therapist accepts the client completely and punctuates from a non-judgemental stance. To accept entirely, the therapist should ensure that they provide the client with unconditional positive regard which is often displayed through continual displays of empathy (Meador Rogers, 1984; Parrott, 1997). The concepts congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy should be considered along a continuum and not as right or wrong. In addition, these concepts are to be viewed as mutually exclusive and are not regarded as sufficient components for successful psychotherapy if viewed individually. Each of these concepts should be developed in a manner which allows for integration of the concepts as each is ineffective on its own but highly complementary and effective as a holistic approach (Kahn, 1991; Tudor et al., 2004). In order for a therapist to reach a skill level that provides optimal empathic understanding and inscribes affectivity, it is of vital importance that the therapist explores his or her own inner experiencing and [allows] the quality of his [or her] inner experiencing to be apparent in the therapeutic relationship (Meador Rogers, 1984, p. 143). Once this inner experiencing is reached, the therapist provides a high level of congruence in the therapeutic situation. Once the therapist has achieved and developed the skills of unconditional positive regard and congruence at an optimal level, the therapist is able to immerse themselves in the clients frame of reference more effectively and truly experience the clients world through the clients worldview (Meador Rogers, 1984). The therapist makes a conscious decision to dissociate from their own frame of reference and to punctuate from that of their clients. It is at this point that empathy may be regarded as a powerful therapeutic tool in psychotherapy (Rogers, 1980). Congruent empathy will enable the client to move forward with the therapy and explore their situation, enabling the client to resolve emotional discomfort through the acknowledgement of feelings. Furthermore, congruent empathy will prevent a repetitive cycle where the therapy remains at a superficial level (Brodley, 1998). Regarding unconditional positive regard in relation to empathy, the rationale for effectiveness, as demonstrated by Traux and Carcuff (1964, cited in Brammer et al., 1993) the greeater the degree of the therapists accurate empathic understading of the client, the greater the degree to which the therapist shows unconditional or nonpossesive warmth (p. 97). Congruence and non-possesive warmth, as characteristics of an environment which displays empathy, enables clients to view themeselves as accepted. Acceptance of oneself promotes caring for oneself and enables the client to bring about a positive change in their atttudes towards themselves. The combination of the three elements ensures solidarity in the client-therapist relationship allowing a client to actualise their potential constructively (Rogers, 1980). The role of client acceptance of empathic reflections Acceptance of the empathic reflection is a key indicator of the therapists ability to grasp the clients internal frame of reference. Once empathy is perceived by the client as being genuinely accurate, the client accepts the therapist more freely and acknowledges the facets of their experience more concretely (Kahn, 1991). Accuracy, in this context, refers to the therapists ability to view the clients experiences as the client views them (Tudor et al., 2004). Acknowledgement of the empathic understanding allows the client to move forward with the therapy as a sense of being understood is perceived and the client is able to deal with their experiences more effectively (Kahn, 1991). Acceptance of empathic reflection may elicit a range of responses from the client. The responses include verbal acknowledgement of the empathy as well as an assortment of non-verbal behaviour. Should the therapist be perceptive to these responses, they may be aware of empathy being genuinely present and that the client is being completely understood. Empathic reflections, however, do not imply empathy, rather the empathic reflection is the communication variable of the empathic understanding and should be seen as an aspect of empathy (Feller Cottone, 2003). It is important to note that if a reflection is not entirely accurate, the client is able to clarify the reflection or to contemplate and disregard the reflected feeling. This does not ascribe ineffectiveness as it may enable the client to discover their true feelings and explore their emotions. In addition, clarity allows the therapist to demonstrate their attempts at understanding and allows the therapist an opportunity to alter their responses (Kahn, 1991; Rogers, 1980; Tolan, 2007). It can therefore be said that compassionate and congruent empathy is open to correction and should not be regarded as a definitive but rather as a tentative exploration of a clients world (Tolan, 2007). Empathy as a mechanism for catharsis According to Rogers (1980) a high degree of empathy in a relationship is possibly the most potent factor in bringing about change and learning (p. 139). Demonstrating a comprehensive understanding and sincerely conveying this understanding to the client is the process through which to reinforce behaviour that may bring about change. Empathy is often acknowledged for its cathartic effect in a helping relationship in which relief or expression of distressing emotions is regarded as a method of healing and not that of breakdown. Catharsis is recognised as an overt expression of emotion by the client, for instance crying, which allows a release on built up tension within the client. This release is considered cathartic since the client tends to overcome the tension and in its turn reduce the distressing emotion. Once the client has released the tension, a degree of healing is experienced by the client (Heron, 2001; Parrott, 1997). Catharsis can be considered an important role of empathy in psychotherapy as it demonstrates healing and release within the client. In addition, catharsis may indicate a relationship between the client and therapist that displays unconditional positive regard and congruence. If the relationship encourages free expression, the client is often more willing to share experiences and the therapist is able to enter the clients deeper emotional realm more effectively (Kirschenbaum Henderson, 1989; Parrott, 1997). In addition, empathy gives the client the impression that they are worth understanding [and] that their inner hopes and private fears have value (Parrott, 1997; p. 196). Demonstrating worth to the client makes the client feel comfortable and increases the likelihood of them reflecting on and taking responsibility for their emotional distress (Kirschenbaum Henderson, 1989; Parrott, 1997). Another important facet of empathy relates to the clients ability to explore their experiences beyond the context. Accurate displays of empathy in the therapy session can lead to continual reflection on the emotional experience as well as providing additional insight into the clients experiences by the client between therapy sessions. Thus, empathy has the ability to extend the process of healing beyond the therapeutic context (Tolan, 2007). Empathy as a means of challenging a client An empathic environment can challenge a client in various ways. These challenges come as subtle manoeuvres by the therapist who uses empathy as a means of enabling the client to explore their experiences, confront their struggles and acknowledge distorted perceptions freely (Rogers, 1980; Tolan, 2007). The following example illustrates the way in which challenging a client, through empathy, could occur: if a client who has experienced an immense trauma (the death of a partner) indicates that the negative emotion (crying) that is often associated with the trauma is a flaw, defect or sign of weakness, an empathic understanding and acknowledgement of this struggle and a demonstration of the persons sadness can be communicated. Acknowledgement of the struggle may indicate, to the client, that they are genuinely accepted and understood in this environment. The empathy displayed in this context would challenge the clients view of the negative emotion, in turn the client may become more aware of the distorted view and may begin to alter their perception (Tolan, 2007). It is of utmost importance to note that the challenges should be minor in nature, if they are too great or obviously communicated, the client may reject the challenge and view the reflection as a misunderstanding or even as threatening. The therapist should always remember that the client is the central proponent and is the final judge in their inner world (Brodley, 1998; Tolan, 2007). The role of empathy as a means of challenging a client is regarded, by the author, as being of significant value in psychotherapy. The challenge is a means to demonstrate to the client that they can accept certain views and adapt certain ideals that they hold intrinsic to them. This is not to say that challenging a client through the use of empathy forces change, but rather provides an alternative way of viewing attitudes or perceptions. The main aspects related to challenging a client are regarding negative perceptions of certain emotional responses and facilitating a change in these perceptions. This may be very powerful in progressing through the process of psychotherapy. Empathy as a component of reaching optimal functioning A high level of empathy creates an environment where the client feels freedom to articulate themselves completely without having inhibitions or restraints on their expressions. An environment that is comfortable for the client to explore areas of their inner selves openly, creating an atmosphere of trust and openness within the relationship. Once the client explores aspects of themselves in this manner, discoveries are made to which the client may respond, usually through cathartic behaviour, in a constructive fashion that promotes positive change within him- or herself. Through the psychotherapeutic process, the client may realise his or her potential and strive towards it (Kahn, 1991). Rogers regarded empathy as having a curative effect on the client in a therapeutic process. The underlying assumption regarding the cathartic effect of empathy is that is that once a client truly feels heard and understood they are better able to reach a potential of self-actualisation where the clients view of the ideal self is brought closer to the clients view of the real self. The actualising potential is reached when the clients self concept is at a level of optimal functioning (Brammer et al., 1993). When a client feels entirely understood and heard they may begin to accept a change in themselves and the way they view their world, thereby encouraging self-direction. Recognising a feeling or experience and bringing this to conscious awareness through empathic understanding allows the client to deal more efficiently with the emotions and the dilemma they are faced with and in so doing become more competent and adept in understanding themselves (Tolan, 2007; Tudor et al., 2004). Critical discussion of empathy in psychotherapy Empathy is related to the positive outcome of psychotherapy for a client, this can range from a person with severe psychosis to one with no clinical manifestations (Rogers, 1980). However, in the authors opinion it should reiterated that the therapist must be constantly aware of the meaning the client is attaching to the empathic understanding and should adapt the process of psychotherapy accordingly. The positive outcome of empathy in psychotherapy is due to a number of factors including empathy as a mechanism for reducing feelings of alienation, encouraging feelings of value and acceptance within the client, eliciting feelings of being heard and understood and facilitating change whereby a client can direct the flow of their own experiences. These consequences demonstrate that empathy is of great value and use in all helping relationships and should not be confined to the boundaries of psychotherapy (Rogers, 1980). Conclusion The role of empathy in psychotherapy is multidimensional and highly complex in nature. A comprehensive understanding based on the exploration of empathy includes a process of the inner experiencing of another individuals world from that persons perspective with a feeling of comfort in this world, which enables the therapist to move discretely through this world, vicariously experiencing what the client is experiencing with no elements of judgement. It is an attempt to comprehend the inner workings of the person in order to sense the facets of that persons world that may be below conscious interpretation, without attempting to uncover unconscious feelings. It includes a way of being that seeps into aspects of the therapists everyday life, which cannot simply be shut off. However, in order to be truly effective, especially in a psychotherapeutic environment, this way of being and sensing must be communicated in order to create surety for the client that you are a companion in their jou rney of self-discovery and that you, as a therapist, is constantly attempting to grasp an understanding of their world in its entirety (Rogers, 1980).

Polysiloxanes Synthesis and Structure

Polysiloxanes Synthesis and Structure Abstract Silicones (polysiloxanes) are widely used inorganic polymers containing silicon atoms. This category includes many other kinds of polymers such as: polysilanes, polysilazanes, polycarbosilanes and polysiphenylenes [1]. In this project we will focus on polysiloxanes: synthesis and structure properties relationships. First, a brief reference on the history of these materials will be made. Organosilicon compounds were synthesized for the first time in the 1860s, while the first polysiloxanes were made on the 20th century by F.S.Kipping [2]. Then, the ways to synthesize and produce them will be analyzed. This is not a simple synthetic route, while many different procedures take place. These procedures include the reduction of SiO2 into an active reduced form of silicon, hydrolysis/methanolysis and polycondensation or cyclization and polymerization [3]. A more comprehensive study will be made regarding the structure properties relationships. Different cross linking densities create silicones with different properties. Silicones can be categorized by their cross linking density into: silicone oils, elastomers and silicone resins. Silicone oils are linear polymers synthesized by ring opening polymerization. They are thermally stable and thus they can be used as heat transfer fluids. Elastomer silicones are cross linked polysiloxanes via vulcanization and can find application in cars and food containers. On the other hand, silicone resins have high cross linking density and as a result they have high thermal stability. For this reason they are used in colors applied in outdoor surfaces while they are also largely used as water repellants [3], [4]. Introduction Many different silicon containing polymers had been synthesized in the past (figure 1). The most important category of these polymers is the one of polysiloxanes or else silicones. Figure 1: Silicon containing polymers. The synthesis of organo silicon materials started in the 1860s. After 1900s the Grignard reagents became available and as a result major progress occurred. The first polysiloxanes were synthesized by F. S. Kipping in the beginning of the twentieth century. Kipping synthesized diorgano dichloro silanes, R2SiCl2, that could be hydrolyzed into R2Si(OH)2. He was expecting that if these compounds got dehydrated they would produce compounds similar to ketones, R2Si = O. For that reason they were named silic-ones. Soon he realized that, the products were actually polymers that contained Si-O-Si and not Si=O [2]. Polysiloxanes are considered as inorganic organic hybrid materials. The main chain is comprised of atoms of Si and O, whereas the side groups are comprised of alkyl groups (figure 2). Figure 2: Structure of a polysiloxane. This structure is enough to grant them with excessive properties, thus they can be used in many different applications in our everyday life. These polymers can be found as silicone oils, elastomers and resins. Silicone oils are linear polymers synthesized by ring opening polymerization. They are thermally stable and as a result they can be used as heat transfer fluids. Elastomer silicones are cross linked polysiloxanes via vulcanization and can be used in cars and food containers. On the other hand, silicone resins have high cross linking density and as a result they have high thermal stability. For this reason they are used in colors applied in outdoor surfaces while they are also largely used as water repellants [3], [4]. Synthesis The first step of the synthesis of silicones is the reduction of SiO2 into Si. Usually the reduction is done electro thermally with carbon (1) and then silicon is converted into SiCl4 with chlorination (2). Otherwise hydro chloro silanes can be produced by its reaction with HCl (3). Really important for the industry is the direct reaction of methyl chloride with silicon, something that was discovered E. G. Rochow and R. Mà ¼ller in 1940. Copper is used as a catalyst in the form of CuO, as shown in the reactions (4), (5), (6) and (7). The main and most important product from this direct reaction is the dimethyl dichloro silane, (CH3)2SiCl2. The rest products of these reactions are shown above in table 1. Table 1: Main products of the direct reaction MeCl with Si. Hydrolysis The next step is the hydrolysis of the dimethyl dichloro silane, which results into the formation of HCl and a mix of cyclic and linear oligomers of polysiloxanes. The hydrolysis is contacted in the liquid phase with 22 % HCl. The industrial process of the hydrolysis is shown in figure 3. Figure 3: Flow chart of hydrolysis, where a) Cooler; b) Exhaust; c) Phase  separation; d) Settling vessel; e) Water separator; f ) Neutralization and g) Pump Whereas, in diagram 4 there is a synopsis of the whole procedure including the step of hydrolysis. Figure 4: Hydrolysis Methanolysis During this process a direct recovery of Cl with the form of chloro methane from the methyl chloro silanes takes place. Silanes react with methanol in order to produce oligomers of dimethyl siloxanes and chloro methane. Methanolysis occurs according to the reactions: The process of methanolysis is shown above with a flow chart: ΄ Figure 5: Synthesis with methanolysis. And the reactions that take place are: 3. Cyclization Cyclization needs to take place in order for cyclic siloxanes to be produced. This process is done with the heating of the mixture that was produced during the previous steps with KOH. Figure 6:Flow chart of the synthesis of polysiloxanes. 4. Polymerization The usual method of producing linear polysiloxanes is the ring opening polymerization of cyclic polysiloxanes. A polymerization like that can occur under acidic or basic conditions. In general basic conditions are preferable. Anionic Consists a really important procedure for the industry and alkali metal hydroxide catalysts are used. The usual catalyst is potassium hydroxide, whereas other catalysts can be used according to their catalytic activity: Cs > Rb > K > Na > Li. The polymerization occurs rapidly with the addition of only a few ppm of potassium hydroxide at a temperature above 140 ÃŽÂ ¿C. The mechanism is: This reaction leads to the formation of mixture of linear silicones with approximately 15 to 18 per cent of cyclic silicones. In the end, the catalyst needs to get deactivated, usually with the addition of phosphoric acids. Cationic: Cationic polymerization can occur with the use of strong protic acids or Lewis. The mechanism of this reaction is yet unknown. Polycondensation: Another way to synthesize polysiloxanes is by polycondensation reactions of siloxanediols. Hydroxy oligomers of siloxanes can be condensated into polymers with higher molecular weight with the loss of water: Structure Properties Relationships Polysiloxanes can be categorized according to their cross linking density into: silicone fluids, elastomers and resins. Silicone fluids Silicon oils are linear polymers that can be produced by ring -opening polymerization, as described earlier. The flow chart of their industrial production is shown in figure 7. Figure 7: Flow chart of silicone fluids production. Silicon fluids posses a variety of useful properties, such as: Thermal stability ( Temperatures: 150 250 ÃŽÂ ¿C ) High hydrophobicity Dielectric properties Good damping behavior Resistance to radiation These exceptional properties is the reason why silicones oils are used so widely. For example because of their high thermal stability they can be used as a heat transfer media in the industry and not only. Moreover, their strong hydrophobicity enables their use as coatings. Figure 8: Silicone oil used as a heat transfer media. Silicone elastomers Silicones can easily be converted into rubbers through vulcanization. The initial material is a polysiloxane of high molecular weight produced by ring opening polymerization. Cross linking is essential. This can happen with radicals from the decomposition of organic hyper oxides. The hydrogen atoms are removed from the methyl functional groups and the silixane chains connect with each other with Si CH2 CH2 Si bonds. In an alternative version of the vulcanization polysiloxanes that contain a small quantity of methyl vinyl siloxane groups constitute the raw materials. In order for the vulcanization to begin alkyl-hyper oxides are being used but this time the mechanism is different as shown above: The ultimate tensile strength of these elastomers is low, but it can be improved with the addition of fillers. Except from the above, there are also silicone elastomers that the vulcanization occurs at room temperature. There are two types of different systems for this, with one component and with two components. For the systems of one component air exposure is necessary. A typical example of this type is being composed by di -hydroxy siloxane oligomers. The product of this reaction can be placed into a mold in order to attain the appropriate shape. Silicone elastomers attain a really high strength at high temperatures. This makes them one of the elastomers that are used in application that require strength into extreme environmental conditions. Moreover, they are and as a result they do not react with many chemicals. For this reason they are being used in biomedical applications, including medical implants. Figure 9: Silicone elastomers used in catheters. Products made from silicone rubbers can be found in our everyday life. They are being used into cars, food containers, clothes, electronics and in many other applications. Figure 10: Different applications of silicone elastomers in our everyday life. Silicone Resins They are cross linked compounds containing tri functional (T) and tetra functional (Q) silicon units (Q). The simplest silicone resins are produced from methyl chloro silanes with hydrolysis, either directly or indirectly (after the intermediate conversion into methyl trialkoxy silanes). Figure 11: Characteristic structures of silicone resins. Silicone resins can be used as additives paints especially for use in high temperatures. They can also be used as coatings on pharmaceutical pills and as encapsulants for electronic components. Figure 12: Silicone resins used in paints and electronic components. References [1] H.-H. Morreto, M. Schultze and G. Wagner, Silicones, Ullmanns Encyclopedia Of Industrial Chemistry, John Wiley Sons, 2012 [2] A. Mitra and D. A. Atwood, Polysiloxanes and Polylanes Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry, John Wiley Sons, 2006 [3] R. G. Jones, W. Ando, and J. Chojnowski, Silicon Containing Polymers, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 2000 [4] F. S. Kipping, Proc. R. Soc. London, A159, 139, 1937 [5] J. Heiner, B. Stenberg, M. Persson, Material Behaviour: Crosslinking of siloxane elastomers, Polymer Testing 22, 253-257, 2003 [6] R. drake, I. MacKinnon and R. Taylor, Recent advances in the chemistry of siloxane polymers and copolymers,Chemistry of Functional Groups, John Wiley Sons, 2009 [7] W. D. Callister, Materials Science and Engineering, An Introduction,John Wiley Sons Inc., USA, 2007 [8] A. Colas and L. Aguadisch, Silicones in Pharmaceutical Applications, Chimie Nouvelle, 15 (58), 1779, 1997 [9] P.C. Hiemenz and T. P. Lodge, ÃŽÂ §ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ·ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¯ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ± ÃŽÂ  ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ »Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒ Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã… ½ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½, ÃŽÂ  ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒ Ã¢â€š ¬ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ Ã†â€™Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ·ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¼ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ºÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ­Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ Ά¢ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ºÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ´Ãƒ Ã…’à Ã†â€™ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ ÃŽÅ ¡Ãƒ Ã‚ ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ®Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ·Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, 2014 [10] S. R. Sandler, Polymer Syntheses, Academic Press, 1997

Fight Club - When Does Life Have No Purpose? :: essays research papers

David Fincher’s Fight Club is a narrated movie that explains the journey of the narrator’s mid-life crisis; the movie begins with the ending scene, a microscopic view of a gun inside of the narrator’s mouth. All of the particles and germs are very visible to give the viewer an idea of what to expect. This scene suggests a dirty, winding, and emotional journey that the narrator will take. The narrator at first finds himself with insomnia. At the same time he is obsessed with consumer goods–he buys complete sets of everything. He works for a major automobile company as an agent who decides whether the cost of a recall is cheap enough to make profit. His job significantly sets up his depressed life. Day after day he travels to examine cars in accidents with remains of human dead burned to the seats. It is his job by which he feels so burdened, and he seems to try to get away from it by buying furniture. The story revolves around these three examples. The gun is full of bacteria; furniture is bought by money, a dirty obsession, and his job deals with car accidents. The Narrator has surrounded himself with consumer goods to occupy and satisfy himself, but when they can no longer satisfy him he breaks down emotionally. Although David Fincher put significance on soap as being a major part of the movie, it doesn’t relate to every instance that it should. In this movie, soap is used to cleanse the body of luxury goods. Fight Club is all about eliminating things that aren’t necessary. Soap cleanses, and several times soap is not used. When they are fighting in the fight club, blood is a dominant image. It is a sign of being able to let go of all your material goods, if you can let go of your physical health. Here soap has no significance; The Narrator, however, uses soap in what could be his possible financial future. By selling this highly profitable soap he can make an easy living, but it would change nothing in his life. The significance of soap with fighting, therefore, is not easily visible. This is what makes visible the fact that fighting releases anger. If blood is noteworthy and is not to be cleaned off, then it is accepted. The narrator soon finds himself with a severe case of insomnia. He describes it: â€Å"with insomnia, nothing is real.

Health Essay -- essays research papers fc

Health 101   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Right now, cancer is one of the most feared diseases in the world. In the early 1990s almost 6 million new cancer cases developed and more than 4 million deaths from cancers occurred. Also more than one-fifth of all deaths were caused by cancer and it has been predicted, by the American Cancer Society, that about 33% of Americans will eventually develop this disease. This is a huge disease that is killing people all over the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many different cancers, which form on just about all parts of the body. In the US, skin cancer is the most common cancer, then prostate cancers in males, and then breast cancer in women. Leukemia is clearly the dominant cancer in children. The number one killing cancer in the world today is lung cancer, mostly caused by the smoking of cigarettes. Some researchers have stated that if Americans stopped smoking, lung-cancer deaths could disintegrate within two decades. Stomach cancer is the second most fatal cancer in males and in women, breast cancer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After taking a cancer profile test online, http://www.yourcancerrisk.harvard.edu, I was able to predict what my cancer risk would be at the age of 40 for prostate and kidney cancer. According to the information obtained, I was reluctant to see that I would have a below average risk for kidney cancer and have a much below average risk for prostate cancer. Even though it is unknown why cancer ... Health Essay -- essays research papers fc Health 101   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Right now, cancer is one of the most feared diseases in the world. In the early 1990s almost 6 million new cancer cases developed and more than 4 million deaths from cancers occurred. Also more than one-fifth of all deaths were caused by cancer and it has been predicted, by the American Cancer Society, that about 33% of Americans will eventually develop this disease. This is a huge disease that is killing people all over the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many different cancers, which form on just about all parts of the body. In the US, skin cancer is the most common cancer, then prostate cancers in males, and then breast cancer in women. Leukemia is clearly the dominant cancer in children. The number one killing cancer in the world today is lung cancer, mostly caused by the smoking of cigarettes. Some researchers have stated that if Americans stopped smoking, lung-cancer deaths could disintegrate within two decades. Stomach cancer is the second most fatal cancer in males and in women, breast cancer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After taking a cancer profile test online, http://www.yourcancerrisk.harvard.edu, I was able to predict what my cancer risk would be at the age of 40 for prostate and kidney cancer. According to the information obtained, I was reluctant to see that I would have a below average risk for kidney cancer and have a much below average risk for prostate cancer. Even though it is unknown why cancer ...

Why Do People Migrate :: Migration Moving Immigation Globalization Essays

Looking up in the sky from Tempe Town Lake, there is a steady stream of airplanes on their final approach into Sky Harbor Airport. Nothing stops the forward progression of these metal birds and just as the sun disintegrates over the horizon, the crafts disappear turning into a string of lights. The same effect happens to the valley roads, painted with a multicolor of automobiles, constantly on the move and turning into red and white blurred dots after sunset. People on the move, coming and going to unknown destinations, prompting the question what kind of migrations are involved with one person to the next? Are they transmigrating, immigrating or emigrating, the ever twisting tie of migrating bows, so what is the driving force behind daily migration? Another questioned raised by such activities would be why exactly are so many people continuously moving from one area to another? To answer some of these inquiries it would be important to understand the need for T.I.E.†™s in cultures and the money hungry corporations and countries, representing the tuxedo, that inflicted colonialism and assimilation towards many peoples ways of living. For an economy built on reciprocity or gift society, before the influence of western ideas there really is no monumental value of the all mighty dollar. The key word, however, comes with the introduction of western influences. Money begins to take over the simple idea of having a precious commodity to be traded with a neighbor who has something that can complete a basic need. Within the Tongan society there was the breakdown in reciprocity when it came to land issues and other shared items within the community. This eventually forced some people to transmigrate and immigrate to other countries to find ways to secure peaceful retirements. These seekers of another way of life may have started a minor assimilation of the Tongan culture when salaries were generated from their travels and sent back to their economy. The situation presented by the Tongan’s was developed more by their own current problems with population growth. However, this is not as drastic as the underdevel opment of third world countries, such as, Mexico forcing migration or the influences of the Colonial Mind in Africa. Unlike the Tongans, who freely chose to live in a different country, there are other civilizations that are forced to migrate for their own survival.

The Berlin Blockade

For many historians, the Berlin Blockade effectively started the Cold War era. This is because it happened to be the first major issue which took place between the United States and her allies, on one hand, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), on the other hand, after which years of tension between the two camps ensued (Byrnes). Essentially, The Berlin Blockade took place when the USSR cut off all access to Berlin in an attempt to force the United States, Britain, and France to the negotiating table for the purpose of discussing the future as well as the division of Germany (Wilde).Historical Background When the Second World War ended in 1945, the victorious allied forces which consisted of the United States, Great Britain, France, and the USSR occupied Germany and divided the country into four zones and its capital (Berlin) into four sectors. Berlin, however, was located well inside the zone which was occupied by the Soviets. In other words, before the three other occ upiers could gain access to their Berlin sectors, they had to pass through the Soviet-occupied zone.Under their arrangement, although the country was already divided into four zones, it would still be considered as one economic entity to be controlled by the â€Å"Allied Control Council (ACC)† (Russian History Encyclopedia). Based in Berlin, the ACC was also known as the Allied Control Authority or the Alliierter Kontrollrat in German. It was essentially a â€Å"military occupation governing body of Germany† composed of the representatives of the United States, Great Britain, and the USSR. A later addition was France whose representative was granted with the power to vote but did not have any duties.The ACC was formally constituted on August 30, 1945. Its initial members were General Dwight Eisenhower of the United States, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery of Great Britain, Marshal Georgy Zhukov of the USSR, and General Jean Joseph-Marie Gabriel Lattre de Tassigny of Fr ance (Spiritus-Temporis. com). Unfortunately, the relations between the USSR and the three other occupiers of Germany did not last that long because their self-appointed task of administering the occupied Germany under the provisions of the ACC agreement did not go as envisioned.For one, the Soviets insisted on collecting huge reparations from its controlled eastern zone while the United States, Great Britain, and France, instead of demanding for reparations, wanted to revitalize the economy of their occupied zones in order to improve the living conditions of the residents (BBC Bitesize). Their disagreement was sparked by the January 1, 1947 decision of the British and the Americans to merge their zones and form the Bizone. Then the two countries spent the rest of 1947 and the early part of 1948 in the preparation of a currency reform that would ultimately introduce the Deutschmark.This currency reform was only the first step towards the establishment of a separate West German state . This move was opposed by the Russians because, according to them, it showed that the Americans and the British were no longer interested in taking part in the â€Å"four-power control of Germany. † The Russians further argued that the American and the British move would ultimately result to the death of the ACC (Spiritus-Temporis. com). By January 1948, the Soviets were already starting to severely criticize the intents and methods which the Americans and the British were employing in dealing with the economic problems of West Germany.Their disagreements remained unresolved until finally, in March of the same year, the Soviet delegation to the ACC staged a walkout. That Soviet act effectively dissolved the council because no further meetings had been conducted after their walkout (Russian History Encyclopedia). In spite of their disagreements, all four victorious countries were wary of the rebirth of a unified Germany. They all agreed that allowing Germany to regain its eco nomic and military strength would be a very risky proposition because the country might again represent a threat to world peace.However, they differed in their methods and intentions regarding the future of the country. First, the USSR wanted to convert the eastern territory into a communist state. Then it feared that if the zones controlled by the United States, Great Britain, and France would be totally integrated into the capitalist West, its control over its own Russian zone would be threatened, considering that the three Berlin sectors controlled by the three occupiers were located deep inside the Soviet-occupied zone.Stalin, in particular, who was known to have been consumed by paranoia, suspected that the western occupied sector in Berlin would first attempt to alienate the eastern sector from Russian influence and later serve as a staging point of a destabilization campaign against the Soviet Union itself, including the entire Eastern European communist bloc. For this reason alone, Stalin could not allow the emergence of a unified and rejuvenated West Germany inside the Russian zone. The other three occupiers, on the other hand, were bent on working together towards their common objective of rejuvenating their occupied territories.Their intention was to unify their three zones into a capitalist West Germany and integrate the same into their economic and defense organizations. Their purpose was to exercise complete control over West Germany while providing all the necessary assistance it needed in order to become a self supporting state (Wilde). In all indications, the disagreement over the Berlin question was already the start of the Cold War era. Both the western bloc and the Soviet Union were already considering their positions in the new world political order.So that when the Soviet delegation walked out of the ACC meeting, the United States and Great Britain became really convinced of the urgency of the establishment of a West German state. It coul d not be denied that they, themselves, did not want to give the Soviet Union the opportunity to consolidate its hold over all of Europe. For this purpose, a â€Å"Six Power Conference† was convened. Delegates from the United States, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium sat down and discussed the issue.

Hobson’s Choice Essay

Maggie. Yes, Maggie†¦ You’re growing on me lass. ‘ In act three we see that the wedding reception is a small and simple one. This tells the audience that Maggie is not one for wasting money and does not mind having the party in the cellars. As the play moves on, the audience starts to see a change in Willie, You’re making a great mistake, Mr. Hobson. ‘ Willie also starts to take the upper hand with Hobson, ‘Sit down, Mr. Hobson. ‘ The change in him is all down to Maggie; she has pride in Willie and believes in him. Their marriage is originally more of a business arrangement but it starts to ecome more of marriage of equal partners. When Hobson comes over to seek help, Maggie is sure to talk to Will first, Will it’s my father. Is he to come in? Maggie and Will work together to make Hobson feel ashamed of his drinking and lead him into giving marriage settlements to her younger sisters. The audience will warm to Maggie over the way he skilfully gets her own back on her father. When Maggie deals with her father’s â€Å"problem†, she is in control and the audience, clearly see that she and Will are working together as a team, ‘Do you think it will get in the paper Maggie?†¦ Yes, for sure. ‘ Will has come a long way as he was previously described as ‘stunted mentally by a brutalised childhood. ‘ Even though Maggie’s plan has gone well in getting Hobson to give the settlement money over as a fine for trespassing, she shows that she cares for her sisters. Maggie does not let Albert Prosser take the thousand pounds he originally asks for, You needn’t be greedy. ‘ She also threatens to counter-sue and confirms the original settlement of five hundred pounds. We see a softer more sentimental side of Maggie when she throws away the hot ouse flowers but keeps one to press in her bible. To finish the act, Brighouse returns to the comedy of when Will has to be led to bed ‘by the ear. ‘ Although Maggie is clearly in charge in this respect, it contains an element of affection and humour plus this would also make her character a likeable one. At the start of Act Four, we see that Hobson is ill. Tubby tries to help by suggesting for Maggie to come over. ‘Shall I go for Miss Maggie sir? The opinion is agreed by the doctor, ‘l don’t know who this Maggie is, but I prescribe her. ‘ When Maggie and her sisters find that Hobson needs looking after, Vickey and Alice try to get Maggie to do it. Alice says, ‘I don’t think I can be expected to come back to this after what IVe been used to. ‘ Hobson tries to offer an unfair, mean deal to Maggie and Will to take care of him but Maggie quickly says, ‘If he goes, I go with him father,’ as the bribe is poor. The audience notice how Will has become a true gentleman with the help from Maggie, You’re the man IVe made you and I’m proud. When Will tries to replace Maggie’s brass ring for a gold one, Maggie does not ish to give it up. That brass ring stays where you put it. ‘ This shows the audience a sense of sentimentality. The play ends with Hobson as a sleeping partner, in Will’s business. Will, amazed, closes the act and the play with the words, W ell by gum! ‘ At the end of the play, the audience sees that Maggie as more of a likeable character. She is portrayed, by Brighouse, as a successful businesswoman – strange for a lady in her point in time. Brighouse shows Maggie can be fair and compassionate with other characters.

Explorations of Astrology

One of astrology's first graces on human minds was with the Babylonians and Ancient Egyptians, and then spread throughout the Arab world. Since, there has been explorations of astrology through manuscripts and celestial objects made by Arab craftsmen. Many islamic ornamental motifs and architecture references astrological findings. The Islamic calendar says that the day begins at sunset and the five prayers start from that time. Adjusting times for prayer grew out of observing the heavens, a practice known since the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians. The Arabs, for centuries, studied the sky and examined the groups of stars and phases of the moon on their long desert travels. This education of space was adapted and developed to conform to the practice of Islam. During the medieval period of the Islamic world, the science of astrology as a branch from astronomy was translated by the Greeks into Arabic, along with Sasanian, Indian and ancient Egyptian influences, allowing more scientific and mathematical development by mathematicians and scientists of the Arab world. The subject came to be a very popular one, as it was taken interest in by scholars such as Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi, al-Biruni, and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi. There is evidence of this topic being widespread throughout the Islamic world, such as manuscripts and astrological records found in al-Fustat in Egypt. Since there has proven to be much scientific evidence and involvement in the study of the stars and planets, how did this outbreak of information in the Islamic world affect Islamic Art? And why was it so significant?There is much architecture, objects and textiles from the Islamic World that express the significance of this topic, such as Qusayr ‘Amra (figure 1) in Jordan, built by Umayyad caliph Walid II in the early 8th century, which features a frescoed caldarium ceiling depicting the twelve Zodiac constellations. The exterior of the construction is very minimal; the only ornamentation being small domes and triple arches. Otherwise, the ornamentation becomes servant to the architecture. The techniques that were contributed into constructing Qusayr ‘Amra references the Roman and Byzantine techniques: predominately limestone and terracotta brick, along with other types of stones. The frescoed ceilings in the caldarium, or the hot plunge bath, is said to be the earliest depiction of the stars painted on a domed surface. It features 35 recognizable constellations along with, as mentioned previously, twelve zodiacs. There has been reported to be one mistake: the order of the stars in the counterclockwise direction, which tells that it is possible that the fresco was copied from a flat surface. This fresco, however, is not the only one in Qusayr ‘Amra: there were many brilliant murals in several of the other chambers that suggest that the caliphs of this â€Å"pleasure palace† lived a luxurious lifestyle. This luxury tells of an involvement in The use of imagery in relation to astrology began in the twelfth century, and eventually taken in for its visual decorative quality, by the Ghaznavids and the Seljuqs among others, and they adopted it with their own meanings and influences. The gilded and over glazed bowl (figure 2) depicts figures very close to those of the Kashan. There is Kufic inscriptions around the rim of the bowl, and the focal point is the sun-shaped face in the center, with a classical depiction of the six planets surrounding it. There are images of figures sitting on thrones, riding on horseback, and playing instruments composed in a radial composition, following the form of the object. The only two seated figures on thrones sit across from each other on the band, with the other figures surrounding it. This motif combines two different motifs that are common in Islamic art together: the image of figures performing activities or in a scene depicted centrally to the object, as can be seen in the Stain- and overglaze-painted bowl (Ettinghausen, Grabar, Jenkins-Madina, 175), for example, and images of a single figure repeated to create a visual pattern, as demonstrated in the outer rim of Glazed and lustre-painted composite-bodied bowl (Ettinghausen, Grabar, Jenkins-Madina, 174). This royal bowl is very similar to the Stain- and overglaze-painted beaker (Ettinghausen, Grabar, Jenkins-Madina, 176) in the way that it has different tiers showing different figures in action repeated across the band of the beaker. The copper-alloy mirror (figure 3) is another royal artifact that utilizes the zodiacs as symbols of power made for Artuqid ruler Artuq Shah. The heavy-relief bird in the center of the mirror