Joels Dream :: Dialogue Conversation Essays

Joel's Dream Joel was sitting in the airport lounge, sipping his mineral water, when the tanoy came on," BA flight two-six-one to Milan is now boarding. Please make your way to departure gate three, Thank you." " That's me! See you later Shaz, I'll phone you when I get there !" " See you Joel, hope everything goes okay!" After exchanging kisses, Joel picked up his bags and heads off through the Departures corridor and to the plane. Joel was possibly the best talent to come out of Scotland for years. He could play football with such style and skill, this was why he had been offered the most lucrative deal for a Scottish player ever. AC Milan, arguably the greatest team in the world had offered him a deal which would see him earn more than £40000 a week. This would make him the highest paid player in Europe and accelerate him to the top of world football. He was due to meet the manager on Monday to discuss the terms of his contract and if all went well he would sign for Milan and fulfill his dream of being a star footballer and also make his wife Sharon very very happy. Sharon was a gold digger and was after Joel for his money, but she did stick by him, they had been married for two years and if Joel got the contract Sharon would be able to move to Milan and have everything and have everything she desired. So obviously she was very determined to see this deal go through. After arriving at the hotel Joel settles in and unpacks before going to the Milan training camp to meet the players and his (hopefully) new manager, Roberto Ravelli. " Hello! I'm Erigo I will be your guide while you are in Italy. I'm sorry if my English is no good but I am still getting lessons. Anyway welcome to Italy!! Anywhere you want to go I will take you." " Oh thanks but I just want to meet the players then go back to the hotel and get some rest." " I understand it has been a long flight and you need to rest." " Yeah maybe we can go somewhere tomorrow or something!" said Joel who was getting a bit bored of talking and just wanted to get home and sleep. " OK then it's a date," replied Erigo." But I've been instructed to take you on a tour of the stadium before you go!"

Super Elevations :: physics science

Have you ever been driving down the road and approach a turn too fast? What happens? You and the car undergo centrifugal force and you as well as the car are pushed away from the turn, or up the grade also know as a superelevation. An engineer must balance this force raising the grade on one side of the road. It should be noted that under theoretical observations steering would be effortless but in order to provide these ideal conditions the friction factor would be zero and the vehicle weight would balance the centrifugal force ¹. In the real world we have friction and cannot afford to build the extremely steep slope of ËÅ"30 º every time we need an off ramp or horizontal curve. In order for the operator to comfortably maneuver a curve there are several variables that must be accounted for, the radius of the curve, friction and velocity. Radius length may depend on sight distance and right of way, or property lines as well as sight distance. Friction depends on the surface properties of various materials and climate. The slope and velocity are usually dependent on the variables just described. While building and designing these roads, it is industry standard to put 1/3 of the change in grade within the horizontal curve and 2/3 of the transition length on the tangent. In Layman’s terms, by the time the car approaches the first part of the curve, 2/3 of the grade has already been built. This assures smooth transition for the driver to maneuver the curve ³. In order to get a better idea of what kind of friction coefficients are used in Alaska, we can look at the Badger Road Interchange construction project on the Richardson Highway ². The nortbound on ramp (from Badger Road) will have a speed limit of 35 mph a radius of 135 meters and a superelevation of 5.5%. From this data one may find the friction coefficient, ( µ) to be equal to 0.10. Another example taken from the same project, observed from the off ramp in the south bound lane will have a radius of 253 meters, a super of 6% and a speed limit of 45 mph  µ was observed to be 0.09, which is just enough traction to make these corners at the posted limit. A friction coefficient that small leads the author to assume the engineers designed these turns to be taken under extremely slick conditions.

Democracy & Aristotle Essay

Democracy is widely recognized to have originated from ancient Greece, where much of its political philosophy was developed, particularly by Aristotle. However, Ancient Rome is also credited with significant contributions to the development of democracy. Etymologically speaking, the word ‘democracy’ equates to rule and strength from the people. This is an important notion to consider, as far too often the notion of democracy today has eroded into a belief that this rule and strength lies solely within the electoral process. While there is no denying the importance of elections, Lawrence Lessig (2004) contends that democracy also means rule by the people and opines that in the American tradition that means â€Å"control through reasoned discourse and debate. As such, democracy is exercised most by the people when they are actively engaged in civic affairs. Alexis de Tocqueville (2003), the 19th century French political thinker best known for his sociological travel writings on the United States, observed that this is best exemplified by the jury system. Unlike the elections, jurors did not just vote over the outcome to be imposed at the conclusion of a trial, but rather, they went through intense deliberation, attempting to persuade each other of the outcome. Results were obtained through argument, such that no juror could simply detach himself from the implications of his vote. Democratic theory, when applied to political governance, operates along two princioples. First, that the members of the democratic society in question have equal access to power, and second, that they enjoy freedoms and liberties which are universally recognized. (Dahl, Shapiro & Cheibub, 2003) In practice, this varies wildly, and as such, various strains of democracy exist, some which are less representative of the democratic essence than others. Democracy is better understood by contrasting it with other forms of governance. Aristotle observed that in an oligarchy or aristocracy, rulership is granted to a select few while in a monarchy, it is a single individual who holds the power of rulership. For Aristotle, the foundations of democracy lie in civic freedoms, and it is the only political system which permits the private citizen to have freedom. (No author, 2006) Furthermore, this freedom is a double-edged sword, a privilege and a responsibility. Not only is a government denied unquestioned hegemony over the citizen, but it is the responsibility of the citizen to ensure that the government fulfills its obligations. Additionally, this sense of equality is not contingent on the merits of the individual – class, occupation, etc. are not the basis for measuring rights, but rather distributed regardless of their station in life. In that sense, a democracy maintains an egalitarian appraisal of the individual’s political worth. The successful construction of a democratic political system requires the separation of powers. This is because in order for any political system to distribute power in the egalitarian fashion which defines the democratic ideal, it must be able to ensure that no one faction of the political system can attain enough power as to influence or control the others, for that would effectively dilute and perhaps destroy the democracy itself. (Williamson, 2004) As such, this means that any nation governed under the democratic principle operates under the presumption that its constituents are equal – not just its citizens (though it is crucial that they do) but the various institutions as well. Furthermore, the citizens possess various freedoms that cannot be overridden by the government, regardless of how contrary it may be to the government’s interests, such as the freedom of political expression through speech and press for the purposes of staying informed and declaring their personal interests. (Barak, 2008) REFERENCES Lessig, L. (2004) Free Culture: How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity. New York: Penguin Press. De Tocqueville, Alexis. (2003) Democracy in America. New York: Penguin Classics. Dahl, R. A., Shapiro, I. & Cheibub, J.A. (2003) The Democracy Sourcebook. Massachusetts: MIT Press. Williamson, T. R. (2004) Problems in American Democracy. Montana: Kessinger Publishing. Barak, A. (2008) The Judge in a Democracy. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. No author. (2006) â€Å"Aristotle (384-322 BCE): Overview.† The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved September 30, 2008 from: http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/aristotl.htm

Comparison between Lennie Smalls and Isaac Statchard Essay

These two texts, â€Å"Of Mice and Men† and â€Å"The Ostler†, seem extremely different when you read them through. Once you have thought about them though, they do have many similarities. The two texts are set in very different times with many social, historical and cultural differences. â€Å"Of Mice and Men† is about two friends who are looking for work during the Great Depression. â€Å"The Ostler† is about a stable buck who has a dream, which becomes reality but ends in a tragic way. Both texts are set in different times and both the characters come from very different backgrounds. Lennie, for instance, has some form of disorder, which affects his speech and memory, and he had been looked after for all of his life. Isaac has lead a very conservative but unlucky life. There are many similarities despite their obvious and not so obvious differences. After the excitements of the 1830s and ’40s, mid-Victorian England was relatively quiet, with the family being regarded by most mid-Victorians as the central institution in society. This is extremely likely to have something to do with Isaac wanting to settle down. The differences in the rights people had were quite shocking. For instance women didn’t have the vote and men were judged whether they were allowed to vote on the size of their estate. The U.S. economy had gone into depression six months earlier; the Great Depression may be said to have begun with a catastrophic collapse of stock-market prices on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929. The result was a large decrease in output and large increase in unemployment. There are similarities linking the backgrounds of the two texts. The employment situation is similar as in â€Å"The Ostler† it is hard to get casual work and in America where â€Å"Of Mice and Men† is set work, is almost non-existent. Women are considered the lower sex and they both have pretty much the same position in, living at home and tending to children etc. We are introduced to Isaac in a dream, in which it tells his story we think but really, it is foreseeing what is going to happen to him. It is a bit confusing for the reader because we get no information about setting or what has happened, we are launched into it knowing nothing. It changes narrators in the third column, â€Å"after a little hesitation, he compiles with my request. Some years ago†. This is where the text leaves his dream and starts the whole story over again but in greater detail. We know that Isaac lacks intelligence by his mother saying that he has a poor memory. I think Collins has chosen a protagonist such as Isaac because he is a very normal person. I think he wanted to create a character that people could almost relate to and look into their personality. Collins creates a seemingly real character by creating a life and a lifestyle that he follows. Every aspect of a person’s life seems to be covered. He takes the reader into the mind of Isaac and you could almost control him after you have read the text because it is so detailed. We are introduced to Lennie Smalls after he and George are on the run from their native Californian town, Weed after Lennie is involved in an incident with a women. We learn in section one that Lennie is travelling with a friend, George Milton who is like a Father to Lennie. We find out that he is a very large and slow man and he has a very pleasant temperament from what we read. Lennie’s description is significant. He is a â€Å"huge man† and â€Å"dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws† and also the way he speaks: â€Å"where we goin’, George†. The descriptions from other characters, â€Å"a child’s mind locked inside a mans body†, also when George is talking to the head of the ranch he describes Lennie as not being very intelligent. Steinbeck comes across very truthful in the way he describes Lennie he uses words, which make us build up images in our minds. Steinbeck has used words such as ‘gentle giant’, ‘huge’ and ‘nice fella’. The way he is described is a complete contrast to his personality. I think he uses these words to show that Lennie does have strengths but he also has quite a considerable number of weaknesses such as his speech. Lennie has been compared to several animals throughout the first section of the book. I think Lennie’s characteristics are either similar to these animals, or he is copying them.It is obvious that he has a liking for animals, especially rabbits. Third person narrative has been used effectively, it gives the reader the story from different points of view which brings out different things in characters which you may not have got otherwise. Lennie and Isaac are surprisingly similar; they are both people anyone I believe can relate to in some way or another. Neither of them are particularly bright especially Lennie who suffers from an unspecified illness. They both want different lifestyles. Lennie wants to tend the rabbits and Isaac wants to get married. They are in very different circumstances at the start and the whole way throughout the books, Isaac living with his mother and having her support and Lennie having no family. George is not really the same kind of support. Lennie looks upon George as a friend not a parent figure. Steinbeck’s way of developing characters is similar to Collins. He tries to make the characters seem as realistic as possible. He gives them each their own way of doing things. The way Steinbeck has done it makes you want to read on because you feel closer to the characters and you almost feel a part of them and you experience there emotions and thoughts. Lennie has a disability, which affects his speech, and this I think is the reason for such short sentences from him. I do not think he has the intelligence to put together a large sentence. A few examples of his dialogue, â€Å"I am not takin’ it away jus’ for meanness† and â€Å"I ain’t gonna say nothin'†. Using slang, colloquialisms are effective because it makes it a bit more realistic. It is using terminology, which the characters would have done. Some examples of this are â€Å"I think Curley’s married a †tart† said by Candy or â€Å"an live of the fat of the land† said by Lennie. It is all part of developing a character you have to get every characteristic right. Collins describes Mrs Scatchard with words that describe the mother. He uses positive descriptions with words like happy. She is a typical mother person who looks out for her son and tries to do the best for him. We know she is quick and witty unlike her son because when Isaac comes to her with his problem she takes down a description of the girl and puts it away. It is almost like she knows that Rebecca is going to turn up. We have learnt that she is very happy being a mother and loves her sons very much, she has fallen on hard times but still marches on she is determined to do her best for herself and her son. She is always there if he has a problem he has; we have a problem in the story of Rebecca being part of her son’s life. George in Chapter one is described as an exact opposite to Lennie. George has all the qualities that Lennie does not have. George has a hard time looking after Lennie. He finds all the food, work and shelter. He keeps Lennie in order taking things like dead mice away from him. George and Lennie are equally as close as Isaac and Mrs Scatchard. They both depend on the more intelligent one of each pair; they seem to be able to overcome a lot when they both work together. Collins makes us feel sympathetic with Rebecca, the first time you actually meet her he describes her as â€Å"a poorly dressed woman†. I think he is trying to mislead us he is making Rebecca look harmless when she is really a murderer. Our suspicions are aroused when Mrs Scatchard meets Rebecca and she wants to see the paper with the description on. Physiognomy has been used when Mrs Scatchard reacts to Rebecca. She treats Isaac with respect at first so that she can get close to him and lead him up to marriage. When she got close to him her attitude changes completely, she becomes violent towards Isaac it is like she wants to marry him for money then kill him off. Isaac’s mother stays the same the whole way throughout she continues to be supportive, she plays the mother figure. Rebecca is a very deceptive character she plays the nice she plays the innocent responsible adult to get really close to Isaac. When Mrs Scatchard meets Rebecca, she realises before Isaac that this person is really the person out to the dreams. Then Rebecca seems to use that as a turning point in her attitude towards Isaac. She becomes emotionally unstable and goes on the rampage with violence and hatred. We are introduced to Curley’s wife when she wonders into the bunk house. They are both considered as no go zones. George gives her a negative picture where as Lennie when he is in the stable playing with the pup thinks she is a nice person. Lennie is just too dumb to take on people’s real personality but he seems to charm people with him manor and people are nice back to him. Our reactions to Rebecca and Curley’s wife are very different. Rebecca we start to not like because we see her turn from good to evil or from loving Isaac to wanting to kill him. Curley’s wife on the other hand we do feel sorry for because she has no one to talk to nor anyone to socialise with, she is expected to just amuse herself and live in her own little word. Rebecca does deceive Isaac, she puts on a false character, which is the ideal person for Isaac to love and to hold, but then she changes her character completely, everything about her seems to change her behaviour, her attitude towards Isaac and they way she does everyday chores. Victorian writing was all about mystery or melodrama. This is certainly present in â€Å"†The Ostler†Ã¢â‚¬ . The mystery in this text revolves around the arrival of Rebecca. Melodrama I do not think is present that much in this text. Melodrama is all out over exaggerating movements and there is not much of this. When you try doing some background research into â€Å"The Ostler†, it is almost impossible. If you do some research into Collins, it always refers to his more famous pieces of writing. He does create tension very well by having Rebecca on the loose and having Isaac on the run. Collins is like Steinbeck he gives you an amazing wealth of knowledge about each character. He gives them a very life like personality. Steinbeck set his book in the 30’s, so it is obviously a lot more modern and up to date. He has set his book just outside Weed and as the author is American, he can relate to their way of life. He sets it just after he Great Depression and it was probably set on two real characters at the time. I think that the level of suspense is equally as high in Steinbeck’s novel because you do get signs on what is going to happen but you don’t know when they are going to happen. This is because they have their dream and it comes so close. It is very successful because it makes the reader want to read on. It gives small hints about what is going to happen â€Å"If you get into any trouble come and hide by river and wait for me† but it doesn’t make it clear what is going to happen. This makes the book more interesting and it makes you want to read on. The aim in â€Å"Of Mice and Men† was I think to show readers the lives of two normal everyday people after the depression and the recovery. I think Steinbeck would have written this to tell people what going through the depression was like and how much of a struggle it really was. â€Å"The Ostler† is really a mystery and I do not think there is really an aim to this book. Collins may have written this to show the readers an example of life in the 19th Century and wrapped a story into it to make it interesting. I preferred â€Å"Of Mice and Men† only because I felt I could relate more to it. I have seen these ranches in work just outside Weed which also made the story more interesting whilst reading it. It seemed to be a more normal text with things which definitely could have taken place, where as in â€Å"The Ostler† we don’t know where it is set or any other key details. The stories both portray two less than bright individuals who survive in life. I believe Lennie Smalls is les cleaver than Isaac Scatchard due to Lennie requiring George to live. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Ostler by Collins Dreams play a crucial role. Lennie used dreams as a way of inspiration where as Isaac Scatchard’s life was dictated by a dream he had, had in a hotel.

Coke vs PepsiPepsi and Coke’s Uncivil Wars Essay

Chapter 9 in Competition Demystified: Uncivil Cola Wars: Coke and Pepsi Confront the Prisoner’s Dilemma What are the sources of competitive advantages in the soda industry? First we should look at industry structure. The cola companies buy raw materials of sugar, sweeteners and flavorings from many suppliers then they turn the commodities into a branded product which consists of syrup/concentrated combined with water and bottles. The companies are joined at the hip with their bottlers/distributors who then sell to many retail outlets. Selling bulky and heavy beverages lends itself to regional economies of scale advantages. The soda companies cannot operate successfully unless their bottlers and distributors are profitable and content whether company-owned or franchised. The existence of barriers to entry indicates that the incumbents enjoy competitive advantages that potential entrants cannot match. In the soft drink world, the sources of these advantages are easy to identify. First, on the demand side, there is the kind of customer loyalty that network executives, beer brewers and car manufacturers only dream about. People who drink sodas drink them frequently (habit formation), and they relish a constancy of experience that keeps them ordering the same brand, no matter the circumstances. Both Coke and Pepsi exhibit the presence of barriers to entry and competitive advantage—stable *ROE can be influenced by whether bottlers’ assets are off or on the balance sheet Second, there are large economies of scale in the soda business both at the concentrate maker and bottler levels. Developing new products and advertising existing ones are fixed costs, unrelated to the number of cases sold. Equally important, the distribution of soda to the consumer benefits from regional scale economies. The more customers there are in a given region, the more economical the distribution. A bottler of Coke, selling the product to 40% to 50% of the soda drinkers in the market area, is going to have lower costs than someone peddling Dr. Pepper to 5% to 56% of the drinkers. During the â€Å"statesmen† era of Pepsi and Coke, what actions did each of the companies take? Why did they help raise profitability? Note the stability of market share and ROE. ROE dipped in 1980 and 1982 as Pepsi and Coke waged a price war. Yet, market shares did not change as a result of the price war—both companies were worse off. Pepsi gained market share in the late 1970s versus Coke. Coke was slow and clumsy to respond. Price wars between two elephants in an industry with barriers to entry tend to flatten a lot of grass and make customers happy. They hardly ever result in a dead elephant. Still, there are better and worse ways of initiating a price contest. Coke chose the worst. Coke chose to lower concentrate prices on those regions where its share of the cola market was high (80%) and Pepsi’s low (20 percent). This tactic ensured that for every dollar of revenue Pepsi gave up, Coke would surrender four dollars. Coke luckily developed New Coke which allowed it to attack Pepsi in its dominant markets in a precise way—minimizing damage to Coke’s profits–and force a truce in the price wars. They made visible moves to signal the other side that they intended to cooperate. Coca-Cola initiated the new era with a major corporate reorganization. After buying up many of the bottlers and reorganizing the bottler network, it spun off 51% of the company owned bottlers to shareholders in a new entity, Coca-Cola Enterprises, and it loaded up on debt for this corporation. With so much debt to service, Coca-Cola Enterprises had to concentrate on the tangible requirements of cash flow rather than the chimera of gaining great hunks of market share from Pepsi. PepsiCo responded by dropping the Pepsi Challenge, toning down its aggressive advertising and thus signaling that it accepted the truce. Profit margins improved. Operating profit margins went from 10% to 20% for Coca-Cola. Pepsi gain was less dramatic but also substantial. Both companies focused on ROE rather than market share and sales growth. The urge to grow, to hammer competitors and drive them out of business, or at least reduce their market share by a meaningful amount, had been a continual source of poor performance for companies that do have competitive advantages and a franchise, but are not content with it.

Application of Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Application of Fluorescence Spectroscopy in Chemical Oceanography: Tracing Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) Erika Mae A. Espejo 3rd year, BS Chemistry, University of the Philippines, Diliman Abstract Dissolved organic matter (DOM), the fraction passing through a 0. 45 Â µm membrane filter, is considered poorly understood mixture of organic polymers because of its complexity. Although it largely influences a lot of biogeochemical processes in aquatic environments, its characterization is not that simple.However, due to the fact that it comprises optically active fraction called colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) together with the help of its colloidal components, tracing of DOM can be possible. Through different methods and instruments such as fluorescence excitation-emission spectroscopy, parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), isolation-fractionation technique (pairing of fluorescence and absorbance spectroscopy), and satellite remote sensors, analysis of DOM can be done wh ich can help elucidate its dynamics in aquatic environments.Introduction When a molecule absorbs light (energy), an electron is excited and promoted to an unoccupied orbital. Figure 1 shows a Jablonski diagram which describes what happens when an electron is excited: Fig. 1 Jablonski diagram The energy difference between the ground (S 0) and excited singlet states (S1, S2 or higher) determines the wavelengths at which light is absorbed. Absorption (excitation) can result in a range of transitions to various vibrational sublevels of excited singlet states, which is then followed by nonradiative relaxation to the lowest sublevel of the S 1 state, via vibrational relaxation and internal conversion.Internal conversion, singlet–triplet intersystem crossing and fluorescence then compete for relaxation to the ground state (S 0). The wavelength of the fluorescence emission is determined by the difference in energy between S1 and S0 states. The greater the conjugation in the molecule, the lesser the difference in energy resulting in a longer wavelength of fluorescence. Discussion The fraction passing through a 0. 45 Â µm filter includes material in true solution, together with some colloidal components, and is termed dissolved organic matter (DOM).It could be autochthonous/external (from degradation of terrestrial plant matter which is dissolved and transported through river systems and estuaries to the marine environment), or allochthonous/internal (from exudation by phytoplankton, excretion by zooplankton, and post-death organism decay process). DOM influences different aspects of aquatic environments like microbial and plankton (aquatic) ecology, trace metal speciation and transport, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) toxicity, trace water masses, mobilization of organic and inorganic pollutants, photo degradation, drinking water treatment, and carbon budgeting.This implies that tracing and characterization of DOM is essential to understand its dynamics ; however, since DOM is a complex and poorly understood heterogeneous mixture of aliphatic and aromatic polymers, and its composition varies in time and space depending on proximity to sources and exposure to degradation process, characterization is arduous (involves large sample volumes and many stages) [4]. The optically active fraction of DOM (passing through a 0. 2 Â µm filter) is called the colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). It absorbs ultraviolet and blue light radiation in 350-500 nm range and also fluoresces when excited by light .Its presence gives water a yellow/brown color (and often described as yellow substance or gelbstoff) and its light absorption is highest in the ultraviolet (UV) region and declines to near-zero levels in the red region of the spectrum [2]. It plays an important role in determining the underwater light fields, represents a significant component of ocean optical signals for satellite-based measurements of ocean color and can interfere in globa l and regional estimates of primary production; affects the ocean color, underwater light fields and aquatic chemistry through a suite of sunlight-initiated photochemical processes [3].Thus, using spectroscopy, it can be used as a tracer for the characterization of the DOM pool. This review discusses four approaches in fluorescence spectroscopy for tracing CDOM. The first one is the Fluorescence Emission-Excitation Spectroscopy. Fluorescence excitationemission matrices (EEMs) are emission scans from excitations over a range of wavelengths (? ) which provide information on number, types and abundance of fluorophores present in CDOM [4] . It can also ifferentiate between CDOM of terrestrial and marine origin (marine CDOM has a fluorescence maximum at shorter wavelengths than terrestrial). For multivariate analysis of EEMs, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a two-way data analysis method is used (for example 45 excitation ? times 150 emission ? equals 6750 variables). However, Stedmo n et. al said that Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) is better suited to EEMs since it is a three-way version of the PCA where the data are composed into tri-linear components. Equation 1 describes the PARAFAC model (the second approach): xijk = ? ifbifckf + ? ijk (1) where xijk is the intensity of the fluorescence for the ith sample at emission wavelength j and excitation wavelength k, aif is directly proportional to the concentration (moles) of the fth analyte in sample I, b jf is linearly related to the fluorescence quantum efficiency (fraction of absorbed energy emitted as fluorescence), ckf is linearly proportional to the specific absorption coefficient (molar absorbtivity) at excitation wavelength k, F defines the number of components in the model, and a residual matrix ? jk represents the variability not accounted for by the model. Figure 2 and figure 3 show that the model reproduces the main features of the measured EEMs when they sampled in the east coast of Jutland, Denma rk: This implies that PARAFAC modeling is an effective method of characterizing CDOM with EEMs. This approach was able to trace CDOM to help elucidate its dynamics: Stedmon et. al said that the model was successful in grouping the fluorophores present into groups with similar structure. They have found out that excitation at longer ? uggests that the fluorophores responsible for this fluorescence are more aromatic in nature or contain several functional groups, the ratio of fluorescence in this region (~500 nm) relative to the fluorescence at 450 nm, varies depending on the number of aromatic groups and, hence, the source of the material, and ratios twice as large in the estuary than in the terrestrial samples, suggests that the fluorescence is not only due to terrestrially derived matter but also CDOM produced/transformed in estuarine processes.As with the behavior of CDOM, results show that this approach distinguishing is capable between of CDOM derived from different sources sinc e there are considerable differences in the composition of CDOM from sources of DOM. Table 1 shows the behavior of CDOM from different sources: Table 1. Behavior of CDOM from different sources High fluorescence intensity Low fluorescence intensity Lakes: there is a net production of ? Transported out of the forest and again autochthonous DOM during estuarine mixing (where the freshwater input from the stream mixes with the saline waters of the inner estuary) ?In freshwater: due to mixing (dilution), and degradation/transformation ? In forest stream: photochemical degradation due to exposure to sunlight (photochemical degradation bleaches the DOM fluorescence and causes the specific fluorescence to decrease) ? Results show that this approach enables us to establish relationships between general characteristics of the DOM pool and its fluorescent properties. The third approach is the isolation-fractionation based techniques ((ion-exchange resins, reverse osmosis, rotary evaporation, a nd tangential flow ultrafiltration).However this approach uses isolates which may not completely reflect the actual structure, behaviour, interactions and reactivity of DOM in the natural environment due to alterations in the structure of the DOM during extraction and concentration and due to their removal from the original environment in which they were situated. Nevertheless, the paired fluorescence and absorbance measurements can still distinguish CDOM from different sources. Figure 4 shows that DOC against a340 for all sample sites and demonstrates a strong correlation (r=0. 9, n=30); a340 was found to be the best proxy for DOC from all the optical measurements taken, where a340 is absorption coefficient at 340 nm (provide a check for inner-filtering effects when highly absorbent DOM quenches fluorescence, resulting in a decrease in intensity): Fig. 4 Relationship of DOC and a340 measured in River Tyne, northern England The last approach is through satellite remote sensing, a me thod that could estimate the amount of CDOM in surface waters over large geographic areas would be highly desirable.Satellite remote sensing has the potential to CDOM observation with high spatial and temporal resolution and enables scaling up to the level of large ecosystems and biomes which implies that match-ups have really high correlation (hence approach is [3] . Figure 5 below shows satellite measurements of CDOM successful and verified): Satellite-derived CDOM products will allow us to estimate processed such as ecosystem production of DOM and sunlight decomposition of CDOM [7] . The new odel will also allow us to validate the remote sensing estimates of phytoplankton (chlorophyll concentration) and productivity, and may open up new possibilities for using ocean color remote sensing with studies in areas such as photochemistry, the photobiology of ultraviolet radiation and even ocean circulation [3]. Conclusion The importance of CDOM in tracing and characterizing DOM has been showed through the use of its optical properties; thus enabling us to explain the dynamics of its pool.The use of fluorescence spectroscopy makes it possible to distinguish the properties of CDOM which can enlighten us on how it influences the biogeochemical processes in the aquatic environments (for example the absorbance measurements can tell us what components of CDOM are present, its molecular weight, it sources, etc), and how it behaves in different environments. References: [1] Andy Bakera, Robert G. M. Spencer. Characterization of dissolved organic matter from source to ea using fluorescence and absorbance spectroscopy [2] C. A. Stedmon*, S. Markager . Behaviour of the optical properties of coloured dissolved organic matter under conservative mixing [3] S. P. Tiwari, P. Shanmugam. An optical model for the remote sensing of coloured dissolved organic matter in coastal/ocean waters [4] Colin A. Stedmona, Stiig Markagera, Rasmus Bro. Tracing dissolved organic matter in aquatic environments using a new approach to fluorescence spectroscopy [5] Claude Belzile, Laodong Guo.Optical properties of low molecular weight and colloidal organic matter: Application of the ultrafiltration permeation model to DOM absorption and fluorescence [6] C. Romera-Castillo, M. Nieto-Cid, C. G. Castro , C. Marrase, J. Largier, E. D. Barton, X. A. Alvarez-Salgado. Fluorescence: Absorption coefficient ratio — Tracing photochemical and microbial degradation processes affecting coloured dissolved organic matter in a coastal system [7] http://neptune. gsfc. nasa. gov/science/slides. php? sciid=73

Child Marriage in India Essay

Child marriage means that two children are forced to marry each other with the consent of the two families. The children are forced into the institution of marriage without knowing about its significance in the long run. Though parents are of the opinion that they involve their children in such rituals because it is an age old custom and it will also secure the future of their children but the reality is not so. Though in some cases parents believe in such superstitions and dogmas in other cases greed is the most significant factor. How can a girl’s future become secured if she gets married to a man who is 60 years of age while the girl herself is barely 14 or 15? Only their parent’s future will be secured with the amount of money the man and his family pay in return of the girl. This heinous crime cannot be termed as marriage it is simply selling of the girl child. The man will molest her at a tender age and at the same time he will kiss death pretty soon. The girl will end up being so horrified with the custom of marriage that she will dare not enter the institution again. A whole future filled with frustration and anger will result thereby. The sad news is that the institution of child marriage is still present in India in a number of villages and districts. Though the government has taken strict actions and child marriage has been declared as a big crime, still this practise is prevalent till today. The question that arises is that what can be done to stop this hidden crime? Apart from the measures taken by the government it is essential for colleges and other institutions like non- government organizations to make certain moves. It is advisable to approach such villages and districts and educate the parents about the ill- effects of child marriage. Though it is not easy to make them understand easily but you never know that which activity or step of yours can change their minds at any point of time. Short films, live plays can be shown to them and the moral behind these plays should obviously show the pathetic future of the kids who are forced to get married. More and more schools should be set up in such villages as a result of which people will sooner or later get their children admitted in schools. Such people should also be informed about the punishment given by the law and order of the country in an exaggerated way so that they get immensely scared even before thinking about such a crime. It is also advisable on the part of the government to take as strict actions as possible in order to abolish this institution completely. The path is tough but victory can be achieved if strict actions are taken. College students as a part of their college campaign can visit such villages and personally talk to the mothers of children explaining the ill- effects of child marriage in the lives of their children. It is easier to make a mother explain the problems her child would face because women are soft by nature. India is a developing nation and aims to become a developed nation in the near future, but can a developed nation have brides and grooms who have not yet attained adulthood. It is impossible for India to become a developed nation if child marriage is not abolished. Government should start an inquiry in such districts and villages and the homes where married couples under the age of 18 and 21 for a girl and a boy respectively are found, strict actions should be taken. The girl should be sent to her parent’s home and both the parents of the couple should be punished. There are places where mere words cannot change an individual’s heart. It is only strict action in the form of punishment that can alter their minds. The sooner this institution of child marriage is abolished the better for the whole nation. It is true that the percentage of child marriage has dropped over the years but still this institution exists. All the citizens should join hands to abolish this practice to make India a better place to live in.