Fall Precaution in Hospitals Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fall Precaution in Hospitals - Assignment Example The prevention of hospital falls has been identified as a crucial patient outcome among several organizations because falls hospital falls have been the most frequently reported adverse patients events among inpatient hospitals. Regards the fall type, an injury may occur in any fall type, and fall programs have been designed in hospitals in an effort of preventing hospital falls and associated injuries (Raeder, Siegmund, Grittner, Dassen, & Heinze, 2010). One of the challenges and barriers that face most of the fall intervention models and programs is educational barriers and inadequate funds for program implementation. It is important for the staff to receive training and education on the stipulated program. Patients and the family also need to be educated as needed on the fall reduction program, and any fall reduction individualized strategies to reduce associated risks (Koh, Manias, Hutchinson, Donath, & Johnston, 2008). Inadequate funds is also a major challenge that hinders programs implementation. As a precaution of fall prevention, hospitals have a responsibility of evaluating each individual’s patients risk and act appropriately in reducing the probability of a fall occurrence and any other subsequent injuries that are bound to result. Organizations need to act in accordance with the National Patients Safety goals of performance standards to decrease the risks of falls in the hospitals by establishing a fall reduction program (Oliver et al., 2010). Moreover, they should act in accordance to the patient’s ethical principles to protect the patients from harm and act in the best interest of the patients to promote health. Over the past fall, prevention models have been utilized as strategies for improving patient’s safety in health care settings. There are two types of fall prevention models that is a ‘multisystem fall prevention model’ and ‘a single fall

Business Essay Example for Free

Business Essay Convenience Internet marketing enables you to be open for business around the clock without worrying about store opening hours or overtime payments for staff. Offering your products on the Internet is also convenient for customers. They can browse your online store at any time and place orders when it is convenient for them. Reach By marketing on the Internet, you can overcome barriers of distance. You can sell goods in any part of the country without setting up local outlets, widening your target market. You can also build an export business without opening a network of distributors in different countries. However, if you want to sell internationally, you should use localization services to ensure that your products are suitable for local markets and comply with local business regulations. Localization services include translation and product modification to reflect local market differences. Cost Marketing products on the Internet costs less than marketing them through a physical retail outlet. You do not have the recurring costs of property rental and maintenance. You do not have to purchase stock for display in a store. You can order stock in line with demand, keeping your inventory costs low. Personalization Internet marketing enables you to personalize offers to customers by building a profile of their purchasing history and preferences. By tracking the web pages and product information that prospects visit, you can make targeted offers that reflect their interests. The information available from tracking website visits also provides data for planning cross-selling campaigns so that you can increase the value of sales by customer. Relationships The Internet provides an important platform for building relationships with customers and increasing customer retention levels. When a customer has purchased a product from your online store, you can begin the relationship by sending a follow-up email to confirm the transaction and thank the customer. Emailing customers regularly with special, personalized offers helps to maintain the relationship. You can also invite customers to submit product reviews on your website, helping to build a sense of community. Social Internet marketing enables you to take advantage of the growing importance of social media. An article on the Harvard Business School Executive Education website highlighted the link between social networking and online revenue growth. According to the article, a group of consumers that responded most strongly to the influence of social networks generated increased sales of around 5 percent. You can take advantage of this type of influence by incorporating social networking tools in your Internet marketing campaigns.

Euthanasia Essay - The Need for Physician Assisted Suicide :: Free Euthanasia Essay

The Need for Physician Assisted Suicide Man is born with death in his hand. We all will die. We may be able to postpone death but we cannot avoid it. We all die of something, somewhere, somehow. Although we cannot avoid death, we can control the death caused by a terminal illness. We can determine how, when, where, and with whom we die. Right now at this time, there are over 10,000 patients in the United States that are in a permanent vegetative state. Also there are thousands of handicapped infants born each year. With the technology we have today, we are able to help people survive for long periods. About two million Americans die every year. About 85% of them are in an institution. 80% involve a decision by someone to try to prolong life or to let it go. It is estimated that around four of every five Americans will die of lingering, chronic illness, which cannot be cured but can be artificially prolonged. Odds are not in your favor to die naturally at home. The following are some thing to clear up any confusion about assisted suicide and euthanasia. Euthanasia is act of mercifully ending the life of a hopelessly suffering patient; taken from a similar Greek word meaning "easy or good death" Physician-Assisted Suicide - assisted by a qualified medical practitioner in fulfilling the wishes of a competent, terminally-ill patient to end his/her own life, usually by means of lethal injections. The difference between the two is during euthanasia is when death itself occurs, it's carried out by the doctor but in doctor-assisted suicides, the patient fulfills the final step of terminating his/her own life. "Passive" Euthanasia is ending a patient's life by withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatments, and "Active" Euthanasia is causing a virtually painless death by means without which life would continue naturally, usually referring to lethal injections and lastly, suicide is the act of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally. A very well talked about doctor who assists in suicide is Dr. Jack Kevorkian. He has pointed out the benefits of assisted suicide. Some of those are that it reduces patient's suffering family and friends of patient. Dr. Kevorkian also asks his own patients to donate vital organs or undergo a critical medical experiment, which helps science, medicine, society, and the lives of others.

Jean Watson Essay

The purpose of this paper is to explain the association of nurse/ patient interaction in the concept of Watson’s theory. I will explore the transpersonal caring in relation to caring factors. Analyzing major theory assumptions related to person, health nursing and environment in the context of the caring moment. Caring theory will be displayed in the professional aspects of my nursing practice. Caring nurse, health education, healing environment and application of caring affect to person is applied throughout this paper. History Jean Watson has brought to nursing her theory of caring and 10 caring factors. Watson defines caring as the ethical and moral ideal of nursing that has interpersonal and humanistic qualities. It is a complex concept involving development of a range of knowledge, skills, and expertise encompassing holism, empathy, communication clinical competence, technical proficiency and interpersonal skills (Watson, Jackson, & Borbasi, 2005). Watson’s theory traces back through 30 years, the earliest was put in textbook nursing curriculum at the University of Colorado. The theory contains Watson (1999) describes nursing as transpersonal that â€Å"conveys a human to- human connection in which both persons are influenced through the relationship and being-together in the moment. This human connection†¦ has a spiritual dimension . . . that can tap into healing† (p. 290). Transpersonal Caring and Caring Factors Transpersonal caring has four components, self, phenomenal field, actual caring occasion of the patient and the nurse, and intersubjectivity (Davis, 2005). Self is defined in Davis, (2005) as, â€Å"I and me perception of relationship of I and me to others and to various aspects of life together with the values attached to those perceptions.† I am a surgical nurse caring for a four –year- old boy. After receiving, report before going to pediatrics to obtain the patient for surgery. Fortunately, I know much more about him, the child because I cared for him in August 2011. As a nurse, Watson’s theory is displayed my caring healing practice (Alligood, 2005). â€Å"As I enter the room, I remember the first three â€Å"caritas†: (1) practice loving-kindness and Equanimity within a context of caring consciousness (2) be authentically present and enable and sustain my belief system and subjective life world of self and the person being cared for: and (3) cultiva te ones own spiritual practice and transpersonal self, going beyond self.†(p. 127) I bring the three of them together, in conversation with the client, parents, and coworkers, I speak in a professional, caring, confident manner. I have learned from nursing practice and experience to sit in a well light room at eye level with open body language, to be friendly, caring and always use a kind touch. This helps prevent any barriers that may have occurred to transpersonal caring. Transpersonal caring in the nurse, environment and person are expressed. Developing continuity is an aspect to caring for him and is not always possible, it just happened to be my late shift. I was grateful to be there for his care. Intersubjectivity Davis (2005), states â€Å"Intersubjectivity is human to human relationship in which the person of the nurse affects and is affected by the person of the other, a feeling of union.†(p. 2716) I apply intersubjectivity in the following way. It seems we bond quickly right after I initial see him, because we have initially had an encounter. I found that focusing on the patient’s pain is a priority and aids in healthy participation with his care. I use is time together to ask about his health, fears, and pain, to prioritize his care. This helps me to know him more as a person, not just another client .†Upholding Watsons caring theory provides the framework for me to practice the art of caring, to provide compassion to patients and families fears, and to promote their healing and dignity; it also contributes to my own actualization client â€Å"(Alligood, 2005). Phenomenal Field Davis, (2005) states phenomenal field is the person’s subjective reality (p.2617) In speaking with Jojo, the Phenomenal field is reviewed when,† He shares in his statement,† my belly hurts really badly.† His mother is at his bedside, she tells me that he has not been eating, he has had a fever, and abdominal pain. From report, I see his lab work show an increase in his white blood count and his CT scan shows appendicitis. This is the nurse in the caring theory, who has gathered the information pertaining to the patients health condition. I listen attentively and notice that he is holding a bear in his left arm. I comment on the bear that is seems to be a security item for the child. His mother agrees. He continues to hold his bear to make his environment externally and internally sound. This is critical in the caring theory to make his environment healing. Developing a human trusting human care relationship While the anestheologist is speaking to JoJo’ s mother, I use this time to speak with him. I ask him about school, family, friends and pets. I ask open- ended questions to explore his feeling and fears. He tells me of his dog, two brothers and preschool. He tells me that,† he is afraid and does not want anyone to touch his belly.† When he is lying in bed, I make eye contact as I gently touch his abdomen. After examining his abdomen. Discussing his departure from the holding area, he starts to cry. Jojo,† let me tell you what we will do when we go in the back to fix your belly.† He asks, â€Å"What?† †Do you know how to blow up a balloon?† I ask. â€Å"Yes, he explains.† Well we are going in the back I will put a muscle tester on you, a space mask, and you can blow up my balloon. I use my awareness, presence, touch, kindness, and hope to make him feel strong and confident of the situation Alligood (2005) stated.† In this holistic Perspective, each dimension is a reflection of the whole yet the whole is greater than the sum of parts†(p. 132). Finally, I let his mother know that we will be talking more about her concerns after his examination. Assisting with gratification of human needs Alligood (2005) stated, â€Å"Being-in-the –world† entails that I cannot consider Jojo without her context or environment of which I am a part (family, culture, community, nurses, health care team, society) (p. 132). I speak to Jojo’s mother about his support system, culture, and resources. These are important factors to assist her in obtaining the proper resources need while her son is hospitalized, and she will be displaced from her home during his recover. She states, â€Å"We have no means of transportation, my husband is unemployed at this time due to his back injury and I have two young boys at home. †We discuss means of transportation available to her family from the hospital as well as financial assistance. She states,† my husband has no way to arrive here and has no idea that Jojo is to have surgery.† I try to ease her mind. I can tell she is becoming overwhelmed. Knowing she has fears it is my moral obligation to enhance and preserve her, â€Å"human dignity, wholeness and integrity† (Watson, 2005). (p. 131) Alligood (2005) stated †Watson’s theory, which recognizes the whole in the parts, supports a focus on the wholeness of a community, aggregate, or population, while still attending to the individuals and families within it. Watson emphasizes seeking to strengthen the client’s resources and capacities as well as mutually planning and evaluating health actions† (p. 134). Jojo returns from his surgical procedure, his mother is crying at his bedside. I sit down beside her and to show her his bandage. We discuss the proper way to handle dressing changes along with actives and diet. Implication of Watson’s transpersonal teaching and learning caritive factor. His father has arrived giving her some emotional support. We sit in the recovery room at his bedside, while Jojo rest. I take time to listen to their fears, comfort them and educate them on his care. Jojo’s mother wipes her tears away and looks up at me. She, â€Å"states I am so grateful you were her to help with Jojo he have helped my family, listened to be, and treated him as if he was your own child. Thank you.† I tell her, â€Å"I would not have it any other way. This is an example of Watson’s care theory, Davis states† human- to –human relationship in which the person of the nurse affects and is affected by the person of the other† (p.2618 ) Nursing Perspective I have applied Jean Watson’s theory in my practice, examining an interaction between nurse/patient encounter. Transpersonal relationship with caring factors was used in the care of my patient. Applying caring moments related to person, health, nursing, and environment. I practice Watson’s theory in my daily practice of nursing. Learning theorist in school and refreshing them periodically may seem unnecessary. Who would not be kind to another, considerate of their needs, offer a conducive environment, listen attentively, or apply a caring factor. These seem like common sense to a nurse. Theories are practice as early with new theories add throughout career paths. It is the application of these theories and portrayal of them that causes the affect. This has brought to my view of nursing the values taught to me not only at home but also during my nursing education. Educating other on the values of caring factors, environmental adaptation, and the true art of caring for a p atient/person with total regard to the values of the patient without passing judgment, Through this continuing education paper, we were able to learn the essential elements of Watson’s caring theory and explore an example of a clinical application of her work through a clinical story. Aiming to preserve our human caring heritage, this paper offered some suggestions and ideas in order to help nurses grasp and utilize Watson’s caring theory in their work environment. â€Å"Nursing can expand its existing role, continuing to make contributions to health care within the modern model by developing its foundational caring-healing and health strengths that have always been present on the margin† (Watson, 1999, p. 45). References Alligood, M. R. (2005). Nursing theory: Utilization & application (4th ed.), St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier Davis, F.A. (2005).Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. (20th ed.), Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company Watson, J . (1999). Postmodern nursing and beyond. Edinburgh : Churchill Livingstone/Saunders Watson, J . (2005). Caring science as sacred science. Philadelphia : F.A. Davis Watson, J., Jackson, D., & Borbasi, S . (2005). Tracing nursing caring: Issues, concerns, debates . In J. Daley, S. Speedy, D. Jackson, V. Lambert, & C. Lambert (Eds.), Professional nursing: Concepts, issues, and challenges. New York : Springer .

Outline for a mass communication written task Essay

In 2008 an attack ad, titled ‘Vote Different’ appeared on YouTube, persuading voters to vote for Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton in the primary elections. Without a doubt this ad influenced the way many voters voted. By making use of allusion and by borrowing from other texts, it successfully made voters vote differently. As a result Hillary Clinton lost in the primary elections to Barack Obama. The attack ad ‘vote different’ depicts a large group of prisoners, sitting in neat rows, watching a large screen. On the screen one sees Hillary Clinton talking about how she would like to listen to her audience and engage in a dialogue with them. Her words are very ironic, since the audience is not able to participate in the discussion. This is the first indication that we are meant to be critical of her words. Secondly, the camera switches to another woman, an athlete who has broken past the prison guards to enter the theatre where the prisoners sit. She is running with a sledgehammer. While all of the images are dark and grey, she seems to bear the only sign of color with her red shorts. On her shirt is the campaign logo of Barack Obama. She hurls the hammer towards the screen, resulting in a burst of light that seems to awaken the prisoners. Then a text reads, â€Å"On January 14th the Democratic primary will begin. And you’ll see why 2008 won’t be like ‘1984’.† Then the letter ‘O’ appears in the colors of Apple Macintosh’s old logo, along with the web address, BarackObama.com. What does this text mean, and how does it rely on  other texts to construct meaning? There are three layers to this text. The first layer can be understood in the context of 2008 and the primary elections. The text traveled as a viral, meaning it was a commercial that spread like a virus through social networks on the Internet. People who posted this video to their Facebook wall or sent it as a link in an e-mail to friends, all knew who Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were. Her face and his logo needed no introduction. The irony of her words, the dark images of the prisoners and the symbol of the sledgehammer all indicated a sharp criticism of Clinton. One did not have to understand the final text to sense that this was a strong attack ad. It accused Clinton of not listening to her audience, and it praised Obama for helping them see ‘the light’. The second layer of this text can best be understood in the context of the Apple Macintosh ad that ran only once during the Super Bowl in 1984. The attack ad is in fact a ‘mash-up’ of the Macintosh ad, meaning that it is almost identical to the original ad, frame for frame, with a the exception of several manipulated images. Where the Apple logo once appeared on the shirt of the athletic woman, there is the logo of Organizing for America, Obama’s grassroots campaign team. Where a man’s face once appeared on the large screen, there is Hilary’s face. The text at the end of the Macintosh ad originally read, â€Å"On January 24th Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t seem like ‘1984’.† Even if viewers of the Obama ad do not know about the significance of ‘1984’, they might know these references to the Macintosh ad. Since the ad only ran once, it created a great hype and sense of mystery. It promised to change the face of personal computing by literally and figuratively enlightening the masses. Comparing Obama’s campaign to the Apple brand, has an interesting effect on the reader in 2008. It is almost as if Obama is the new iPod: slick, stylish, personal and unique. He breaks with the establishment, Hillary Clinton, who could be compared to Microsoft or IBM, in the context of 1984. The third layer of context is perhaps the most important one to understanding the ads. Both ads allude to a scene from Nineteen Eighty-four, a novel by George Orwell. His novel is commonly understood as a criticism of autocratic government. The autocratic government in Orwell’s novel, Oceana, is ruled by a man whose face appears regularly on a large ‘telescreen’. His name is Big Brother. The Obama ad replaces Big Brother’s image from the Apple ad with Hillary  Clinton’s face, making a comparison and strong suggestion that she stands for autocratic rule, establishment and war. The effects of this on the audience in 2008 are quite persuasive and bold, influencing the way they vote in the primary election. At the time the attack ad ran in January of 2008, Hillary Clinton was ahead in the polls. Almost a week later, thanks to this ad and other influences, she began to lose points to Barack Obama (Pollster.com, 2008). While it is impossible to measure the exact effects of this ad in weakening her position, the ad’s implications are strong and persuasive. This viral video shows the power of mash ups and how the persuasive power of borrowing from other texts. Works cited Apple Computers. â€Å"YouTube – 1984 Apple’s Macintosh Commercial.† YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. ParkRidge47. â€Å"YouTube – Vote Different.† YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. . â€Å"Pollster.com – Political Surveys and Election Polls, Trends, Charts and Analysis.† Pollster. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.

Describe And Explain Christian Teachings About Human Rights Essays

Describe And Explain Christian Teachings About Human Rights Essays Describe And Explain Christian Teachings About Human Rights Essay Describe And Explain Christian Teachings About Human Rights Essay Essay Topic: Maus Human rights prevent any discrimination against minority groups in communities. They make sure people can speak and meet openly, ensure that people are not tortured or imprisoned without trial. Human rights allow anybody and everybody to live life without discrimination against who and what they are. Some say human rights are the right to: Basic guarantees of life To self-determination and cultural identity Participate in decision-making within the community Dissent Personal dignity Religious freedomThe term Human Rights is not mentioned in the Bible because it is a modern term. However, there are many teachings in the Bible that are related to human rights because they are about treating each other equally. Christians refer to sources of authority for further understanding of the term Human Rights. There tends to be an order of authority, which means that the teachings of some are more important than others.The order of importance, from most important to leas t, is God(through prayer), the Bible, the Church, the Pope and various other religious leaders. Christians believe that teachings from the Bible are important because they are Jesus words. The teachings of Jesus tell Christians to treat each other equally. This is because life is sacred and in the eyes of God everyone is equal. Christians should always remember the sanctity of life. The teaching that life is God given. (Genesis 1:27). As a result of this All life deserves respect. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Not respecting a life would be similar to not respecting God.As God went to so much trouble to create life it would be wrong to destroy it, so Life should not be destroyed. (Exodus 20.13). It should also not be destroyed because Human life is precious. (Luke 12:6-7). As human life is so sacred, Jesus teaches to Love your neighbour as you love yourself. (Mathew 22:39). This means that Christians should treat others the way that they would want to be treated themselves. Christians sh ould try to love the unlovable, which is agape. Agape is Christian love and is when people should love one another and treat each other equally, no matter who they are. Help others to ensure that they are not being denied of their human rights so that one day if they themselves are put in a similar situation people will try to help them.This teaching is similar to Love your enemies. (Mathew 5:44). This again is teaching agape. Fromthis Christians should learn not to treat people differently because they do not like them. If people disobey this commandment then they are not treating people equally and are discriminating against them, therefore denying them of their human rights.Jesus says Do not judge and you will not be judged, because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get. (Mathew 7:1). This is related to the idea that it is important to help people in need. Do not show hatred towards certain people because of something they have done wrong. Do your best to help t hem and not judge because then if you yourself are put in the same situation others might help you.A well-known teaching in the Bible is I give you a new commandment. Love one another, as I have loved you. (John 13:34). This is an addition to the 10 commandments. Jesus loves everyone, treats them equally and does his best to show this love and help them. This quote teaches that Christians should love people in the same way, showing agape. This way people are not denied of their human rights.Jesus said I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of the brothers of mine, you did for me. (Mathew 25:31-46). By making them happy, showing them love and respect, Christians believe they are doing the same to God. In everyday life Christians try to help those less fortunate than themselves. They remember what Jesus said. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13).This shows genuine action for those in need. When someone is in need, Christians should help him or her without thinking about the costs to himself. Just like Jesus who lay down his life to forgive us of our sins. Jesus is a great example to everyone of how a Christians life should be lead. Jesus was a selfless person. On the walk to Emmaus he walked beside people to encourage them to keep going. They did not know who he was and he did not tell them.He did not feel that it would make any difference because he believed he was no more important than the person he was walking alongside. Christians learn from this to help those in need without selfish reasons. When Jesus fed the five thousand he only had five loaves of bread and two fish. When provided with this food he did not give it to those who he felt deserved it more than the others because to him everyone deserved it equally. He did his best to ensure that everyone was treated equally. It is clear that Christians cannot perform miracles like Jesus but should try their very best to not treat some people better than others. Christians follow Jesus example and help everyone.The parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37). No matter who and what people are, learn to forgive them and help those in need. Help them in whatever way is possible because Faith without action is dead. (James 2:17). This means that it is good to be concerned with human rights and to believe it is wrong to deny people of them, but if nothing is done then that belief is not worth so much. Action needs to be taken to ensure people are given the right to dignity, freedom and respect. This does not mean acting in violent ways but simply telling people about what you think and what should be done to change what is happening.The Church gives teachings about Human rights, which should be followed. Pope John XXIII taught Each individual is truly a person with a nature that is endowed with intelligence and free will, and rights and dutiesthese rights and duties are universal and inviolable. Another teachi ng is that No rights are possible without the basis guarantees for life, including the right to adequate food, guaranteed healthcare, to decent housing.'(World Council of Churches). This was probably based upon the Bible teaching If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.Some Christians feel that it is necessary to go to extreme lengths to fight for human rights. May Christs sacrifice give us the courage to offer our own bodies for justice and peace. Oscar Romeo. As Jesus sacrificed his life for us, Christians should do the same. Not necessarily die but take action without selfish reasons. Mother Teresa agrees and says Make us worthy Lord, to serve those throughout the world who live and die poor and hungry.Christians are taught to not judge people and look down upon them. If they have what is needed to make a difference, then they should try their best to help. Camilo Torres adds his own views. Only by revolution, by changing the conc rete conditions of our country, can we enable men to practise love for each other. He teaches that action should be taken to ensure that people are not denied of their human rights. J. Robert Nelson follows on from that, saying that Christians should secure, extend and enhance human freedoms. He teaches that Christians should ensure that people have the right to freedom in everyway.All of these teachings mean that Christians are taught to be concerned with human rights. They can learn from Jesus, the Bible and many other people that by acting in the right ways they can give people the freedom of speech, the right to basic guarantees of life, to self-determination and cultural identity, to participate in decision-making within the community, to dissent, to personal dignity and to religious freedom.

Free Essays on Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism is a commonly used word in circles where ethnicity, inter-ethnic relations, and similar social issues are of concern. The usual definition of the term is â€Å"thinking one’s own group’s ways are superior to others† or â€Å"judging other groups as inferior to one’s own.† Ethnocentrism can be more specifically defined as, â€Å"making false assumptions about others’ ways based on our own limited experiences.† The key word is assumptions; because we are not even aware that we are being ethnocentric, we don’t understand that we don’t understand. The definition given above emphasizes that we make false assumptions based on our own limited experience. If our own experience is the only â€Å"reality† we have, then it is normal to assume it is the â€Å"natural† basis of reality. And our own ways work for us. Our perceptions of colors, values, our social roles, our beliefs about life and the universe, and all our other ways help us organize life experience and provide important meanings and functions as we move through daily and life span activities. It is normal to assume these provide a meaningful and functional basis for life in general. One example of ethnocentrism that I experienced during the week was the other day I pulled my car up to my apartment to drop off some groceries. As I was unloading the car the resident advisor had opened his door to see if his Chinese food had arrived. Usually food delivery people pull right up to your door. The R.A. told me he thought I was the person delivering his food because he heard the car and thought his food had arrived. As I was driving away someone pulled up to the door, at that moment my roommate said, â€Å"that must be his Chinese food,† he said this, and I though it to myself because the driver was Chinese. It turned out that it was the Chinese delivery person. This type of remark would be considered ethnocentric because it assumes that because, in this... Free Essays on Ethnocentrism Free Essays on Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism and values are like the spine of cultures. It separates culture from culture and how we look at each other. Ethnocentrism and values can bring good and bad, it may manifest itself in attitudes of superiority or hostility toward members of other groups and is sometimes expressed in discrimination or violence. Values are those ideas and things considered important by a given group of people, values are no written laws, it’s what we as a culture find important. For example in the U.S it’s an important value to give or help the poor. This values change from culture to culture; other American values are personal achievement and success, hard work, faith in progress, efficiency, and practically since Americans comes from so many different cultural backgrounds, many people have values that are different from those of the majority. Ethnocentrism is the attitude and/or ideology concerning the relationship between an individual’s own group and other groups. E thnocentrism occurs when negative value judgments are made about others based on the differences between one’s own culture and a foreign culture. Ethnocentrism occurs when an individual considers his culture/nation to be absolutely superior to other nations or cultures. An AFS book that all AFS students get before they arrive to a their host country explains values and ethnocentrism with an interesting twist. They have a picture of an iceberg where 10% is over the water and 90% that you cant see is under the water. This illustrates the â€Å"hidden laws† or values of a culture. Since 90% of the â€Å"laws† are under the water it’s basically impossible to learn everything on a year, but it helps a great deal. There are thousands and thousands of unwritten laws, and they change from culture to culture. For example in Norway there is an unwritten law that says you should come home and eat dinner with your family, or as we saw in a movie clip about Saudi Arabia wher... Free Essays on Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism is the feeling that one’s group has a mode of living, values and patterns of adaptation that are superior to those of other groups. It is coupled with a generalized contempt for members of other groups. Ethnocentrism may manifest itself in attitudes of superiority or hostility. Violence, discrimination, proselytizing, and a verbal aggressiveness are other means whereby ethnocentrism may be expressed. Ethnocentrism can also be explained, as an attitude that one's own culture, society, or group is inherently superior to all others. Judging other cultures by your own cultural standards, and since of course other cultures are different, they are therefore inferior. Ethnocentrism means an inability to appreciate others whose culture may include a different racial group, ethnic group, religion, morality, language, political system, economic system, etc. It also means an inability to see a common humanity and human condition facing all women and men in all cultures and societies beneath the surface variations in social and cultural traditions.... Free Essays on Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism is a commonly used word in circles where ethnicity, inter-ethnic relations, and similar social issues are of concern. The usual definition of the term is â€Å"thinking one’s own group’s ways are superior to others† or â€Å"judging other groups as inferior to one’s own.† Ethnocentrism can be more specifically defined as, â€Å"making false assumptions about others’ ways based on our own limited experiences.† The key word is assumptions; because we are not even aware that we are being ethnocentric, we don’t understand that we don’t understand. The definition given above emphasizes that we make false assumptions based on our own limited experience. If our own experience is the only â€Å"reality† we have, then it is normal to assume it is the â€Å"natural† basis of reality. And our own ways work for us. Our perceptions of colors, values, our social roles, our beliefs about life and the universe, and all our other ways help us organize life experience and provide important meanings and functions as we move through daily and life span activities. It is normal to assume these provide a meaningful and functional basis for life in general. One example of ethnocentrism that I experienced during the week was the other day I pulled my car up to my apartment to drop off some groceries. As I was unloading the car the resident advisor had opened his door to see if his Chinese food had arrived. Usually food delivery people pull right up to your door. The R.A. told me he thought I was the person delivering his food because he heard the car and thought his food had arrived. As I was driving away someone pulled up to the door, at that moment my roommate said, â€Å"that must be his Chinese food,† he said this, and I though it to myself because the driver was Chinese. It turned out that it was the Chinese delivery person. This type of remark would be considered ethnocentric because it assumes that because, in this... Free Essays on Ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism â€Å"How can they eat rats? Those people are crazy!† Ethnocentrism is the belief that one race, religion, or belief system is better than another is. It can also be defined as judging another culture by our own standard instead of forming new standards. Though we are beginning to understand more and more cultures: we are judging these cultures by the standard we live by. Ethnocentrism keeps us from learning more about other cultures as well as learning more about ourselves. We as humans are ethnocentric. We make false assumptions based on our limited experience. If our own experience is the only â€Å"reality† we have, then it is normal to assume it is the â€Å"natural† basis or reality as we believe our own ways work for us. Our perceptions of colors, our time frames, our social roles, our beliefs about life and the Universe all help us to organize life experience and provide important meanings and functions as we move through daily activities. It is normal to assume that these provide a meaningful and functional basis for life in general. It is impossible to rid ourselves entirely of our values that make us ethnocentric. We use our own culture as the basis for the comparison to compare other cultures’ customs and behaviors based on our own. For example, while traveling in a foreign country, one might look at customary traditions as â€Å"wrong† or â€Å"unethical†. This is only because we look at this custom as different from what we are used to. Being ethnocentric in a foreign setting leads you to make false assumptions about the other people. Ethnocentrism leads us to misunderstand others. We distort what is meaningful and functional to other peoples through our own tinted glasses. We see their ways in terms of our life experience, not theirs. We do not understand that their ways have their own meanings and functions in life, just as our ways have for us. At the best, we can continue in our unawareness. Yet...

HL

The Best IB Chemistry Study Guide and Notes for SL/HL SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips IB Chemistry may not be quite as easy as this penguin makes it seems. So to help you out, I have compiled the best FREE online IB Chemistry Study Guides and Notes into one helpful article. I've organized this IB Chemistry Study Guide using the order laid out in the IB Chemistry Syllabus. How to Use This IB Chemistry Study Guide If there is one specific topic that you need more help with, use the Command + F function on your computer to search this guide for that subject. So, if you hope to read about The Mole Concept, use Command + F to bring up the search function. Type in â€Å"Mole Concept† and it will bring up all of the study materials for The Mole Concept. If you are looking for summary material to help you study for the IB Chemistry papers, check out the Overall Reviews section for great overall study resources. I've listed the notes and guides by topic. You should glance at this article during the school year to help you study for in-class tests and quizzes if you need more assistance or if you struggled to understand certain lectures in your IB Chemistry course. If you want additional help, read our article on the best IB Chemistry books to find additional study resources. You should be learning the material over the course of the school year and not cramming right before the IB Chemistry papers. Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. Common Errors IB Chemistry Students Make When Studying Many students struggle with IB Chemistry SL/HL. There are so many subjects to learn, and you cannot fall behind. You need to be learning during the school year in order to ace the IB Chemistry papers. Common errors students make when studying are: #1: Avoiding the topics you didn't fully comprehend in class. If you did not learn it in the classroom, you need to seek additional assistance whether through this IB Chemistry study guide, IB Chemistry books, or through tutoring. #2: Only studying a week or two before the IB Chemistry Exam. There are way too many topics to master in only a week or two (which is why the course is taught over one to two years). So, master the subjects as you learn them in class. Use this study guide if you need more help comprehending the topics you cover in class. Otherwise, you will be as nervous as this kid during the test. Core- 95 hours for SL and HL Both IB Chemistry SL and HL have the same core requirements. They consist of 95 hours and cover the topics listed below. Topic 1: Stoichiometric Relationships- 13.5 hours for SL and HL Notes on Mole Concept and Avogadro’s Constant Notes on all of Stoichiometry Stoichiometry Videos and Notes 1.1: Introduction to the particulate nature of matter and chemical change notes 1.2: Mole concept notes 1.3: Reacting masses and volumes notes Topic 2: Atomic Structure- 6 hours for SL and HL Notes on Atomic Theory Atomic Structure Videos and Notes 2.1: Nuclear atom notes 2.2: Electron configuration notes Topic 3: Periodicity- 6 hours for SL and HL Notes on Periodicity Periodicity Videos and Notes 3.1: Periodic table notes 3.2: Periodic trends notes Topic 4: Chemical bonding and structure- 13.5 hours for SL and HL Notes on Bonding Bonding Videos and Notes 4.1: Ionic bonding and structure notes 4.2: Covalent bonding notes 4.3: Covalent structures notes 4.4: Intermolecular forces notes 4.5: Metallic bonding notes Topic 5: Energetics/Thermochemistry- 9 hours for SL and HL Notes on Energetics Energetics Videos and Notes 5.1: Measuring energy changes notes 5.2: Hess's Law notes 5.3: Bond enthalpies Topic 6: Chemical Kinetics- 7 hours for SL and HL Notes on Kinetics Kinetics Videos and Notes 6.1: Collision theory and rates of reaction Topic 7: Equilibrium- 4.5 hours for SL and HL Notes on Equilibrium Equilibrium Study Guide Equilibrium Videos and Notes 7.1: Equilibrium notes Topic 8: Acids and Bases- 6.5 hours for SL and HL Notes on Acids and Bases Acids and Bases Study Guide Acids and Bases Videos and Notes 8.1: Theory of acids and bases notes 8.2: Properties of acids and bases notes 8.3: The pH scale notes 8.4: Strong and weak acids and bases notes 8.5: Acid deposition notes Topic 9: Redox Processes- 8 hours for SL and HL Oxidation and Reduction Study Guide Redox Processes Videos and Notes 9.1: Oxidation and reduction notes 9.2: Electrochemical cells notes Topic 10: Organic Chemistry- hours for SL and HL Organic Chemistry Study Guide Organic Chemistry Videos and Notes 10.1: Fundamentals of organic chemistry notes 10.2: Functional group chemistry notes Topic : Measurement and Data Processing- 10 hours for SL and HL Spectroscopic Identification of Organic Compounds Study Guide Measurement Videos and Notes .1: Uncertainties and errors in measurements and results notes .2: Graphical techniques notes .3: Spectroscopic identification of organic compounds notes Additional Higher Level (AHL)- 60 hours for HL You will only study the ten topics listed below if you're in IB Chemistry HL; the standard level doesn't cover these topics. Topic 12: Atomic Structure- 2 hours Atomic Structure Study Guide 12.1: Electrons in atoms notes Topic 13: The Periodic Table: Transition Metals- 4 hours Periodic Table Study Guide 13.1: First row d-block elements notes 13.2: Coloured complexes notes Topic 14: Chemical Bonding and Structure- 7 hours Chemical Bonding and Structure Notes 14.1: Covalent bonding and electron domain and molecular geometrics notes 14.2: Hybridization notes Topic 15: Energetics/Thermochemistry- 7 hours Notes on Energetics 15.1: Energy cycles notes 15.2: Entropy and spontaneity notes Topic 16: Chemical Kinetics- 6 hours Videos on Chemical Kinetics 16.1: Rate expression and reaction mechanism notes 16.2: Activation energy notes Okay, you may not get to do this. Topic 17: Equilibrium- 4 hours Notes on Equilibrium 17.1: Equilibrium law notes Topic 18: Acids and Bases- 10 hours Notes on Acids and Bases 18.1: Lewis acids and bases notes 18.2: Calculations involving acids and bases notes 18.3: pH curves notes Topic 19: Redox Processes- 6 hours Notes on Oxidation and Reduction 19.1: Electrochemical cells notes Topic 20: Organic Chemistry- 12 hours Notes on Stereoisomerism 20.1: Types of organic reactions notes 20.2: Synthetic routes notes 20.3: Stereoisomerism Topic 21: Measurement and Analysis- 2 hours Videos on Measurement and Data Processing 21.1: Spectroscopic identification of organic compounds notes Option- 15 hours for SL and 25 hours for HL Unfortunately, there are no free online study guides for the options, but look at our article on IB Chemistry books to find books that review the options topics. Overall IB Chemistry Reviews IB Chemistry HL 31 Common Mistakes: Richard Thornley, the author of this video, has several other helpful videos on IB Chemistry SL and HL available for free on YouTube IB Chemistry Web: This site goes over the syllabus in-depth and explains key definitions and facts you need to know. What’s Next? Want more of a review of what you'll learn in IB Chemistry? Then check out our in-depth guide to the IB Chemistry syllabus: SL and HL and our tips on balancing chemical equations. A prep book can be an extremely useful study tool. Learn which are the best IB Chemistry textbooks by reading our guide. How much do you know about the chemical properties of everyday things? Discover how to use muriatic acid to remove rust from your pots and pans and the effect of adding and removing certain ingredients to create the ultimate slime. Are you hoping to squeeze in some extra IB classes? Learn about the IB courses offered online. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Cross-Organizational Systems Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cross-Organizational Systems - Case Study Example I will recommend the Clambake Company to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for the integration of different systems. Basically, an ERP is a cross-functional system that is particularly designed to automate and join together a number of internal processes of a business organization. In fact, it is a best for solution for business functions such as logistics, distribution, manufacturing, accounting, human resource, and finance functions. Hence, this cross-functional system works as a central information system of the firm. In this scenario, it will allow the Clambake Company to attain the maximum efficiency, awareness, and agility required to be successful in an ever-increasing competitive business environment. One of the most important advantages of an ERP system is that it encompasses a set of integrated components that will provide the Clambake Company with an instantaneous cross-functional overview of its major business functions like that order processing, sal es, accounting and its resources, for instance information regarding raw materials, production capacity, cash and people (TRIPOD, 2013; Daneva & Wieringa, 2006). In addition, in the cross-functional environments, data and information move between functions and services without communicating with hierarchical channels. In this scenario, SAP’s ERP system is an excellent choice for this scenario. It is believed that enterprise resource planning systems come very close to delivering the cross-functional communication and collaboration so preferred by the majority of business organizations (Amrani, Rowe, Bidan, Geffroy-Maronnat, & Marciniak, 2003; Markus, 2000; TRIPOD, 2013). Amrani, R. E., Rowe, F., Bidan, M., Geffroy-Maronnat, B., & Marciniak, R. (2003). ERP Implementation and change: towards a cross-functional view. Retrieved February 03, 2013, from

Importance of Share Holder Value in any Company Research Paper

Importance of Share Holder Value in any Company - Research Paper Example The shareholder value approaches favorable strategies, by compelling managers to review business strategies based on prospective cash flows. The more company ability to generate cash, the more it can distribute to its shareholders. In short maximizing shareholders, wealth is equivalent to maximizing company’s price In order to attract capital equity easily, many companies focus more on establishing shareholder value. Capital equity is especially sensitive in those companies which are seeking to grow and operates in a risky environment. The profit margin varies from business to business as the nature and size of the business requires different kinds of resources. The business needs resources for its development and each of this development has a cost to bear. No matter what type of business is your need human and financial resources needed to establish it. It is utmost responsibility for the management of any company to provide quality resources at reasonable costs because they play a vital role in the business. Basically, the reduction in costs or expenses leads to the increase in the current income. Increase in current income means high-profit margins. High profits margins bring high yield for the Shareholders in the form of dividends and capital restructuring. It not only strengthens the company’s position but also boost up investor’s confidence. However, it should be considered that the reduction of costs or expenses cannot be incurred over a night. It’s a long and steady process and can be done with continuous management interest and efforts. Another important thing which needs to be considered is that the development of any company needs devotion of higher management. And that’s how it brings fruits to the Shareholders. And Shareholders ripe the benefits of their share in a long way. Many companies try to enhance their shareholders' return or value by risking  the equity base. This results in the loss of the value of its shares.

PWC job opportunities Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PWC job opportunities - Assignment Example However, there is no limit to the professional skills that are considered in this respect. The organization is interested in establishing how one’s talents, leadership abilities and skills are best fit for its needs. PWC offers a range of services to its customers which means that it needs a relatively wide variety of skilled personnel to accomplish its functions effectively as a service provider. Generally, the organization offers internship and full time jobs for university students who are interested in working under any of the following lines of service: Advisory, Tax or Assurance. Since the organization is dedicated to training its own staff beyond what they have learnt at school, the organization accepts students taking almost any course. A high GPA and consistency in academic performance is one of the organization’s focus when recruiting its staff. The company generally employs students pursuing degree courses at the least. In order to be considered for internship, a student needs to submit his/her application stating their personal and academic background, accomplishments, personal interests, professional interests and leadership roles if any. The student may apply for positions advertised by the organization as posted in the school’s career centre. Alternatively, the student may apply by creating a talent profile on the company’s website. Generally, students who have worked with the organization as interns have a higher chance of getting full time jobs withy the company as common practice with other organizations. The student may apply for positions advertised by the organization as posted in the school’s career centre. Alternatively, the student may apply by creating a talent profile on the company’s website. In the application process, the student will have to submit his/her professional resume which will be vital in their evaluation.

Knowledge Management organizational practice Essay

Knowledge Management organizational practice - Essay Example One popular characterization of KM defines it as "the explicit and systematic management of vital knowledge and its associated processes of creating, gathering, organizing, diffusion, use and exploitation, in pursuit of organizational objectives" (Skyrme, 2002, p. 4). Traditionally, two major views have been presented in the scholarly literature on KM, namely: the informational resources management (or management of explicit knowledge) and management, which creates the environment in which people could easily develop and share the knowledge. The key distinction between these two views is that they adopt different views on the importance of the two basic forms of knowledge that exist within any organizational setting. Knowledge is an abstract multilateral concept which encompasses a wide range of facts, specific skills, procedural knowledge etc. Although the elements of knowledge seem to be equally important there have been many attempts to arrange the internal structure of knowledge in a sort of order. One of the most popular classifications of knowledge widely applied in the organisational research is based on the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge Tacit knowledge as a specific form of knowledge in organizational setting was identified by Polanyi (1962). (Polanyi, 1966). Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) define tacit knowledge as "... highly personal and hard to formalize. Subjective insights, intuitions and hunches fall into this category of knowledge" (p. 40). In other words, tacit knowledge is knowledge which exists 'within' or inside individuals and, therefore, it is extremely difficult to express, transfer or share with others (Newell et al. 2002, p. 3). By contrast, the explicit knowledge is the form of knowledge that allegedly can be explained by individuals. This implies that the useful knowledge possessed by each individual can be articulated and made explicit (accessible to other members of the organization). Explicit knowledge can then be transferred across the whole organization in codified form (e.g. documents, drawings, procedures, manuals, databases, etc.) with information systems playing the key role in the transfer (Sanchez). Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) define explicit knowledge as follows: "can be expressed in words and numbers and can be easily communicated and shared in the form of hard data, scientific formulae, codified procedures or universal principles" (p. 40). Explicit knowledge in organizations is commonly stored in databases and other documents; the place of tacit knowledge is in the brains of people. Several knowledge management programmes implemented in the organisational practice paid specific attention to converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge believing such approach would result in substantial benefits. However, such attempts mostly proved useless and ineffective because no document, database or other source of explicit knowledge has the potential to adequately replicate the experience accumulated by human being over long years of work. The cognitive

THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

THE LAST OF THE MOHICAN - Essay Example _____minimum of one carefully selected outside source on the film, an actor, the historical context (cited using footnotes).  Ã‚  Make sure you integrate a summary of this article or book; do not simply insert a quote. ____ Cover sheet (name, date due, indicate Paper #1, 2, etc. and the film/s you are addressing.  Ã‚  Remember that you will select two out of three papers.  Ã‚  If you elect to submit Paper #2 and Paper #3, you will not have a paper titled â€Å"Paper #1.† The film adaptation of The Last of the Mohicans (1992), is a rich work that discusses at length intercultural relationships through the use of events that were based on the environment of the historical period represented mixed with the overlapping exposure between different social and ethnic groups. The central relationship within the piece is developed between the character Hawkeye, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, and the character Cora Munro, played by Madeleine Stowe. In addition to that relationship, an unexplored attraction develops between Cora’s sister, Alice, and Hawkeye’s brother from within the Mohican family who raised him. However, one of the most interesting relationships within the film is within the comparison of the Mohican father who raised Hawkeye, the villain of the story from another Native American tribe, and Cora and Alice’s father, Colonel Edmund Munro. These three men are all fathers of families dealing with losses and eventual losses that c hange the fabric of the future of their families. The film is set in 1757 as the French and the British are at war in the American colonies. The French have made alliances with the Native Americans, giving them an advantage from the knowledge that they are bringing to the war efforts1. The central relationship within the film is developed between Hawkeye and Cora. Hawkeye is the adopted white son of a Mohican father, Chingachgook and has adopted the Native American culture as his own. Cora is

Knowledge Management organizational practice Essay

Knowledge Management organizational practice - Essay Example One popular characterization of KM defines it as "the explicit and systematic management of vital knowledge and its associated processes of creating, gathering, organizing, diffusion, use and exploitation, in pursuit of organizational objectives" (Skyrme, 2002, p. 4). Traditionally, two major views have been presented in the scholarly literature on KM, namely: the informational resources management (or management of explicit knowledge) and management, which creates the environment in which people could easily develop and share the knowledge. The key distinction between these two views is that they adopt different views on the importance of the two basic forms of knowledge that exist within any organizational setting. Knowledge is an abstract multilateral concept which encompasses a wide range of facts, specific skills, procedural knowledge etc. Although the elements of knowledge seem to be equally important there have been many attempts to arrange the internal structure of knowledge in a sort of order. One of the most popular classifications of knowledge widely applied in the organisational research is based on the distinction between tacit and explicit knowledge Tacit knowledge as a specific form of knowledge in organizational setting was identified by Polanyi (1962). (Polanyi, 1966). Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) define tacit knowledge as "... highly personal and hard to formalize. Subjective insights, intuitions and hunches fall into this category of knowledge" (p. 40). In other words, tacit knowledge is knowledge which exists 'within' or inside individuals and, therefore, it is extremely difficult to express, transfer or share with others (Newell et al. 2002, p. 3). By contrast, the explicit knowledge is the form of knowledge that allegedly can be explained by individuals. This implies that the useful knowledge possessed by each individual can be articulated and made explicit (accessible to other members of the organization). Explicit knowledge can then be transferred across the whole organization in codified form (e.g. documents, drawings, procedures, manuals, databases, etc.) with information systems playing the key role in the transfer (Sanchez). Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) define explicit knowledge as follows: "can be expressed in words and numbers and can be easily communicated and shared in the form of hard data, scientific formulae, codified procedures or universal principles" (p. 40). Explicit knowledge in organizations is commonly stored in databases and other documents; the place of tacit knowledge is in the brains of people. Several knowledge management programmes implemented in the organisational practice paid specific attention to converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge believing such approach would result in substantial benefits. However, such attempts mostly proved useless and ineffective because no document, database or other source of explicit knowledge has the potential to adequately replicate the experience accumulated by human being over long years of work. The cognitive

Virtue Ethics and Mattel's Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Virtue Ethics and Mattel's Case - Essay Example Truthfulness also means reporting regularly to the board of directors and top management, who at the beginning of GMP, were dedicated to realizing the virtues of their program. They wanted business ethics that had clear standards and measures, and Sethi et al. (2011) helped provide those necessities. The main concern with GMP is the clash between the truthfulness principle and actual reporting practices. After finding problems with one of Mexico’s Mattel plants, operational level managers greatly pressured MIMCO to change its draft report, and suggested that the council overreacted to â€Å"isolated instances† (Sethi et al., 2011, p. 497). MIMCO received a â€Å"list of changes in language† and were asked to include them in the draft report (Sethi et al., 2011, p. 497). This challenge shows the difference between operational managers’ and top management’s commitment to GMP. Apparently, commitment discrepancy exists between the top and operational ma nagers, which undermine the truthfulness of GMP. Courage is another virtue that does not depend sacrificing people’s lives, but on moral courage, where people are not afraid to know and to accept the truth, as well as to use the truth to do what is right (Harper, 2008, p. 197). Solomon (1993) argued that moral courage concerns a process of understanding the big picture, the mission and goals of the organization, and how the organization can attain the best intentions (p. 48). It refers to sticking to the best intentions, however difficult it might be. Being courageous can then be related to truthfulness, because the brave does not fear the truth. When Mattel asked Sethi to lead the...Justice is fundamental to Mattel because it affects GMP’s policies, procedures, and outcomes. Justice concerns being fair to others and responding to unjust policies, procedures, and outcomes. In business, justice refers to the rules and procedures that people use to attain justice, when m aking decisions . Justice concentrates on giving people what is due to them, by respecting their rights and fairly rewarding perceived performance in the workplace. To evaluate the fairness of ethical decisions, three kinds of justice are often used. Distributive justice is the first form of justice, and it pertains to evaluating the outcomes of business decisions and transactions. For Mattel, it seeks to promote distributive justice because it is concerned about the equity of its decision outcomes. The company promotes fair hiring and workplace conditions, for instance, that served workers’ interests. On the contrary, Mattel cannot attain distributive justice, when its licensees are concerned. GMP applied only to companies owned and/or managed by Mattel, which does not include licensees. Justice for all employees cannot be attained through selective auditing policies.

Chris Brown and Michael Jackson Essay Example for Free

Chris Brown and Michael Jackson Essay Chris Brown and Usher are two contemporary hit music performers. Both men display a remarkable similarity in their lives. Each artist came from poor families. Each artist has made it to the top of the Top 40 music charts, more than once. Each artist has had the opportunity to work closely with Michael Jackson and has been tagged as potentially being the next â€Å"King of Pop. † Chris Brown and Usher, through their music have entertained hundreds of thousands of faithful fans. Though Chris Brown and Usher share similar music backgrounds, each has a unique music style which gives to us, the fans, the gift of their exquisite talent, with all of its strengths and joys. Tragedy struck both of their lives on June 28, 2009, upon learning of the death of Michael Jackson. Each of them described Jackson’s death as tragic and untimely. Chris Brown related this experience during the BET Music Awards on June 29, 2009. Usher expressed himself in his last CD released entitled â€Å"Raymond V. Raymond. † Although both expressed the great loss of Michael Jackson, the way that each depicted the incident was distinct. Chris Brown emotionally let loose on the stage at the 2009 BET Awards. He was very emotional and expressed his mourning with long comments, always keeping his tense present. Chris also chose words that were sure to get an emotional response from the fans that he and Michael Jackson have shared for the last several years. For example, when talking about how Michael Jackson invited him to the Neverland Ranch when he was just getting started in the industry, Chris Brown said, â€Å"I was just beginning to get materials together for my 2006 self-titled debut release, when I got a call from Michael Jackson expressing interest in my work. He invited me to the Neverland Ranch and helped me organize what became my first certified platinum album. † An illustration of more words from Chris Brown in reference to Michael Jackson can be found in the August, 2009 edition of Rolling Stones Magazine. He speaks of losing one of the mentors of his music career and speculation from the media that he could be the next â€Å"King of Pop. † The style and choice of words Chris Brown used made the reader aware that he was in mourning, but was indeed ready to step up to the plate to replace Michael Jackson as the â€Å"King of Pop. † Usher expressed his emotion in a more â€Å"unemotional† tone via â€Å"Raymond V. Raymond,† his latest CD release and on a limited edition DVD that was included in the first 100,00 copies of the CD sold. Usher used past tense, which told his fans that while he was mourning Michael Jackson and that Jackson was the King of Pop, that reign was gone, but not forgotten. His words were free of the severity of the loss. The words came off as harsh to his many fans. Instead of trying to elicit a particular emotional response, Usher was mourning in his own way, somewhat cold and detached. He didn’t even show up for the Michael Jackson Tribute at the 2009 BET Music Awards, claiming that he was too torn up over the loss. For instance, having given an account of his history with Michael Jackson on the DVD, he said, â€Å"I felt like I had lost my own life for just a moment in time. † The viewer felt his pain for a moment in time, however, the brevity of the emotion made his fans wonder about the sincerity of the emotion. Chris Brown, on the other hand, openly expressed himself over the loss of Michael Jackson with true sincerity, Usher explains, â€Å"he felt like he lost his life for a moment of time,† moving on like it was a sad moment, but eager to claim the title of â€Å"King of Pop,† as speculated by media. Chris Brown wanted the fans to feel with him. Usher wanted the fans to grieve for just a moment and move on to the next chapter. They achieved their objectives by directing the fan’s attention to a specific style of expressing their emotions, one more open, and the other, more cold. The emotional focus of Chris Brown’s response to the death of Michael Jackson was sincere. As I watched him mourn on national television and then read his story in the Rolling Stones Magazine, I felt like I lost one of my best friends, too. I looked back at my first concert experience, which was Michael Jackson’s Thriller Tour, and got teary-eyed. Chris Brown never let go of his love for the King of Pop and was never really concerned about replacing Michael Jackson as the new King of Pop. On the other hand, Usher’s mourning is short-lived. It was clear that Usher was going to step up to take the thrown of King of Pop the day after Michael Jackson died. He concentrated less on the mourning of Michael Jackson and more on the idea of being the next King. It would be impossible not to address the ways in which both men studied under Michael Jackson at one time or another. Chris Brown got some good training from Michael Jackson prior to the release of his very first CD. Usher was semi-discovered by Michael Jackson’s people and spent a lot of time at the Neverland Ranch with Michael Jackson. My most powerful emotional response throughout watching both of these celebrities mourn their mentor was one of incredible sorrow. When I look at both Chris and Usher’s overall reaction to the death of Michael Jackson, I felt the tremendous weight that sadness and despair can fold around a heart. I wanted to offer comfort to them both, however, by the end of the mourning period, I only wanted to comfort Chris Brown. It was obvious that Chris Brown’s wound was still cut open and bleeding. Chris Brown and Usher are extremely good recording artists. From each we receive a rare gift. As Chris Brown showed on the stage at the 2009 BET Music Awards, he was really torn over the loss of Michael Jackson. Usher showed us that he had ulterior motive.

Physics of Road Safety

Physics of Road Safety In our modern world of today we slowly innovate more and more. However as we innovate we forget to advance and improve on our current inventions. One of these inventions is the automobile. One of the current problems facing the automobile is its safety on the road. With more people using automobiles, we should focus on solving these problems before looking towards the future of transportation. I will be discussing the factors which influence the road safety of automobiles. Road safety is preventing the death or injury of people using the road. [1] Most deaths and injuries happen in road accidents, and to prevent these from happening, we must change the friction and texture of the road and adjust the tires so it’s compatible with the road. But for there to be a change to the roads construction will need to be done and some parts will not be new so setting up clear hazard signs may help prevent traffic accidents while improving road safety. The Road The Roads today around the world consist of asphalt, concrete, gravel and chip seal. All these types have factors that influence the friction with the car and it’s ability to slow down or speed up. We’ll be looking first at gravel roads which are mostly set up in rural areas where not much traffic occurs. Because of the type of texture gravel contains. That being a form of stones. Cars will end up creating the road more bumpy and will shift and move the small rocks around due to there being minimal friction between the surface and the road. When the wheels of the car rotate around they shift the gravel as well creating potholes in the road. These make it unsafe to drive at fairly high speeds since the car can be thrown off balance if it encounters these potholes. In addition since most gravel roads are not connected and the road is made of loose gravel, the gravel can fly around and potentially damage parts of the car or even the tyres. [2] During rainy days these gravel roads become muddy and problematic to drive through. Strong control over the steering wheel will be be required as one would need to be watch out for eroded areas on the road and drainage ditches for lar ger cars, as they face the problem of potentially overturning due to their high centre of gravity. [2] To prevent the likelihood of these accidents happening Hazard signs telling one to look out at the road will have to be set up to alert drivers that they could encounter such problems if they pass through here, if improvement of the road is not possible. The asphalt roads are much better than the gravel roads. They are not crushed rocks laid out on a road but a chemical mixture that has a smooth surface. Asphalt is mostly laid out on gravel roads to improve its durability. The bitumen allows the asphalt to endure significant plastic deformation. [12] Because of the asphalt being so compact it is unable to erode as easily as gravel and will suffer minimal fatigue from heavy cars passing on it. This will make driving more comfortable and safer than driving on a gravel road. Another type of Asphalt is Chip seal. This is used for pavements and streets in rural and minor traffic areas. Chip seal is made from combining layers of asphalt with aggregate. [4] Chip seal roads aren’t particularly safe to drive on at fast speeds. Because of the crushed stone that may be sometimes left behind while applying the chipseal on the road they can chip of the paint on some cars and cause loss of control for smaller vehicles. [4] Concrete is considerably popular in most countries around the world and is what most are made of nowadays. Concrete is made from mixing cement, sand and water. Concrete can sometimes have a smooth surface depending with what it’s mixed with. Compared to asphalt, concrete is resistant to weather conditions, lasts longer but doesn’t provide better traction. The Tyre There are different types of tyres but they all require traction to be able to move, stop and turn on the road. There is Dry Traction and Wet Traction. Tyres have different tread patterns that suit for better traction on dry or wet surfaces. [5] Adjusting tread patterns to increase the traction to the surface of a road may also increase in reducing the braking distance and increase road safety. By using only one type of road it will be easier to produce more tyres that have a strong traction to that specific road and the only worry would be whether the traction is suitable for dry or wet surfaces. This can easily be determined by the climate and condition of some parts of a road (floodable or not) and when the time comes the tyres can be changed to provide traction on wet surfaces. Braking Distance The most popular and common roads are concrete so we’ll use that as the road for our solution. Concrete roads don’t provide much traction due to their smooth surface however they are resistant to weather conditions and last longer so we won’t have to worry much apart from the tyres. Since the road isn’t affected by the weather we can expect that there won’t be completely wet surface unless flooded. So we can focus on having our tyres maintain a dry traction to the surface although this may vary for different countries which have different climates. Most common tyres are ones with symmetrical tread patterns but we’ll be using asymmetrical tread patterns as these benefit us more since it offers greater contact area giving us more stability on a dry surface which is want we want on a concrete road. [7] [8] Since we know what tyre and road we will be using we can now calculate the braking distance this will give us. The formula we have for Kinetic Energy is . [11] m being the mass of the car and v being the velocity at the start of breaking. The average mass of a car is 1500 kg and in this case our velocity is going to 5ms/s. [5] Our equation should then look something like this Then leaving us with and finally . But to find the braking distance we need to find the Work done by the force of the break to give us an equation for the distance. The formulae for Work done is . [11] being the coefficient of friction while m is the mass of the car, g is the gravity of the earth and d is the stopping distance. But to solve this equation we need to figure out the stopping distance. The formula for the stopping distance is . [11] If we substitute our numbers then we end up with . For this equation is the coefficient of friction for concrete. [10] If we substitute this in for our second formulae then we will end up with which will be but the answer we get is not equal because So this means that the car will not come to a complete halt after braking for 1.59 metres. However the car will come to a complete stop after 1.6 metres because the since which would mean that the car will come to a halt between 10 cm after the car has passed 1.59 metres while braking. The Impacts Impacts of Implementing this solution into society will be a huge change and may need to involve a large amount of investment in the construction project. This may benefit the local economy by providing more jobs to people but the cost of the project may be to overwhelming for a single country to pay on it’s own and will have to borrow money from other countries. This may cause the country to go into debt despite partially benefitting the local economy. Even though tyre manufacturers can now start producing 1 type of tyre (depending on where they are manufacturing to( can easily be invested in and demands of their product will cause a rise in the economy. For the locals creating a huge construction project that will make roads unusable until they are finished constructing may be a bother and people will not be willing to have their roads unusable if they are a car user and want use their car to travel around. This may spark protests and can escalate into violent riots since the reactions of people may vary from country to country depending on their situations. Politicians may use this solution to convince and win the favour of the people by granting them safer roads and cars. This may influence peoples votes but creation requires destruction and our environment could be damaged by the large scale construction project and cause animals to lose their habitat since they need to first gather the resources to make concrete, use the energy required to make concrete, and finally lay out the concrete all of these may be done by non environmentally friendly machines which cause damage to it’s surroundings through different means (eg. pollution). Conclusion To be able to reduce all the negative impacts of the solution we came up with we can limit the use to only when a country decides to construct / repair a road and when manufacturers create new cars. To make the impact even smaller and more environmentally friendly we can only allow the use of our solution in major cities of a country and not on every road although this will limit our general goal of our solution. But it will increase your safety on the road. Bibliography [1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_traffic_safety). [2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravel_road [3]http://www.innovateus.net/innopedia/what-are-roads-made-out [4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipseal [5]http://www.gcse.com/fm/braking.htm [6]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tread [7]http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=180 [8]http://www.ctyres.co.uk/tyre_info/tyretreaddesign.html [9]http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_mass_of_an_average_car [10]http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2006/MatthewMichaels.shtml [11]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braking_distance [12]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_surface

Wake Me Up When My Gold Lord Returns Essay -- Literary Analysis, The W

Most people turn their misery into depression, while a few creative minds transform their feelings into writings, many times as poetry or songs. Additionally, most pieces of literature express theme in one way or another to make the piece hold a deeper message for the audience to grasp. Themes prove universal by withstanding time and exemplifying similar meanings throughout the years. Varying elements in the literature help develop a theme and produce it to become a meaningful notion. Regardless of the different seasons used to portray the message of both the poem and the song, â€Å"The Wanderer,† a poem written by an anonymous writer in the Anglo-Saxon era, and â€Å"Wake Me Up When September Ends,† a song written by Green Day in the twenty-first century, compare the common theme that lingering in the past causes isolation and despair through the literary elements of symbolism of seasons that reveals the desolate mood and the narrator’s reluctance to chang e, imagery to further accentuate the similar theme between the two pieces, and flashback to contrast the narrator’s present depressed emotions to his past happiness. Despite the fact that the narrators use different seasons to portray the theme, both â€Å"The Wanderer† and â€Å"Wake Me Up When September Ends† develop upon season’s symbolism which depicts the desolate mood and the narrators’ reluctance to change due to their inability to let go of their past and present despair. In â€Å"The Wanderer† the narrator â€Å"woefully toil[s] on wintry seas† (l. 3) by himself because of â€Å"grievous disasters, and death of kin† (l. 7). The author uses winter to symbolize a time of little opportunity and death for the narrator because winter already examples a bleak time period with little life, and since th... ...e in his memories now. In both pieces, the flashbacks contrast the emotions of the present-day gloomy narrator to the happier emotions of the narrator before the change while the narrators’ lingering in the past causes their own seclusion and misery. In conclusion, through the elements of symbolism, imagery, and flashback â€Å"The Wanderer† and â€Å"Wake Me Up When September Ends† produce the common theme that lingering in the past creates isolation and misery. Though written in a different time period, â€Å"The Wanderer† proves relevant to today’s time through its notable comparison with a song from thousands of years later. Themes withstand time and apply to many different types of people in different ways depending on a person’s understanding of the message implied. Through literary elements, writers depict a message that the audience interprets with their own wisdom.

Anxiety Culture

Theme Society must give up the belief of hard work that we acquired from the Puritan era to live a true, happy, and fulfilling life. Attitude concern, informational, reflective (Tone) A Audience The working class R Rhetorical Rhetorical question- â€Å"How can you despise ease and laziness then Strategy not feel guilty when you take a rest? † (Anxiety Culture: The puritan Work Ethic)Commentary In the magazine article, â€Å"Anxiety Culture: The Puritan Work Ethic. † by Brian Dean, he uses the rhetorical question â€Å"How can you despise ease and laziness then not feel guilty when you take a rest? ‘ to allow the readers to answer the question in their mind and get them thinking about the topic. The reader gets the point of the article clearly by answering the question in their heads without the author having to state it directly.Brian Dean leads the reader, with this rhetorical question, to realize that we all have something inside of us that keeps us from slowin g down and relaxing. Then, Dean goes on to explain why we do have these beliefs and what is programmed inside of us to believe it is right. I tried the challenge given by the author and failed very quickly! I only could do it for approximately 1 hour and 48 minutes. When I was Just laying there doing nothing, I felt this flood of remorse, and I could not stop thinking about all the things I should e doing instead of this.It was also really hard for my mom, because I help her around the house and by each minute she became increasingly annoyed. I agree with the article that we are programmed not to relax, and to constantly be occupying ourselves with work. It was one of the hardest things to do. STARS By Triennial Puritan Work Ethic) Commentary In the magazine article, â€Å"Anxiety Culture: The Puritan Work Ethic,† by then not feel guilty when you take a rest? † to allow the readers to answer the

Meteors Case Study Essay

Meteorites are rocks from space, which land on Earth, attracted by her gravity. The shooting stars that you see at night, are actually burning meteors that fall on Earth from outer space! This is the first of many interesting facts that are going to follow. Why do meteorites fall? For the same reason why anything falls on Earth – ‘Gravity’. Very few can escape it! Meteorites have their origin in outer space. They are relatively small pieces of dust and debris, usually left behind in the wake of a comet. Meteorites, that are huge in size, have their origin in space, as asteroids. They are left over pieces of matter from formation of the solar system, which could not clump together to form a planet like our Earth. There is a dense belt of such asteroids outside the orbit of the planet Mars, called the ‘Asteroid Belt’. Asteroids are huge in size and their lengths can number to kilometers! Once in a while, small pieces of rock or dust, come into range of Earth’s gravitational pull and fall on Earth as shooting stars. An asteroid dislodged from its trajectory and falling on Earth is also called a meteorite. However, an asteroid being huge in size, causes a cataclysmic explosion on Earth on impact. Origin ‘Meteor’ and ‘Meteorite’ facts are interchangeable terms and we shall see why they are so. When these rocks and pieces of dust are floating in space, they are called ‘Meteoroids’. When they make a blazing entry into Earth’s atmosphere, they are called ‘Meteors’. Finally, if they survive the burning entry into Earth’s atmosphere and fall on Earth, they are called ‘Meteorites’. So a meteorite could originate from comet debris called meteoroids or larger objects called asteroids! Here are some basic facts about meteorites, meteors and meteoroids. Comets leave tons of dust and debris in their trail as they travel along long orbits round the Sun. When Earth, while revolving around the Sun, passes through some patches of this comet debris, it enters the Earth’s atmosphere causing meteor showers. Meteor showers are periodic events. One can see thousands of meteors or shooting stars, as they are called, dur ing such a shower. The most popular meteor showers are ‘Perseids’ (which peak around August 12) and Leonids (which peak around 17 November). During these showers, you can observe a shooting star at the rate of 1 meteor per minute on an average. A falling meteor can travel at speed of as much as 44 miles per second ! One of the facts is that they have some of the oldest rocks in the solar system among them. They could be older than the Earth and date from the period when Sun was forming! Every day, about 4 billion meteoroids fall on Earth! Majority of them are very tiny and therefore do not cause much harm. If a meteorite is observed while falling and recovered from the place of fall, it’s called a ‘fall’ meteorite. If a meteorite is not observed while falling, but found from any location, it’s called a ‘find.’ Till 2006, there have been roughly 1,050 witnessed falls while there are about 30,000 documented ‘Finds’. Falling meteors which are large in size, can create an intense electromagnetic pulse, which temporarily disrupt radio communication in the region of fall! With a properly designed radio antenna, you can actually ‘hear’ meteorites falling as radio noise. Types and Composition Here are some facts about their types and composition, that you should know about. Recovered meteorites are classified into three main categories which are ‘Chondrites’ (Make about 86% of all recovered meteorites), ‘Achondrites’ (8%) and ‘Iron’ meteorites (6 %). The name ‘Chondrites’ comes from features called ‘Chrondules’, which are melted silicate materials from their past. Chondrites are about 4.55 billion years old and are the types of rocks from which our own planet formed! Certain chondrite meteorites fallen from outer space contain traces of amino acids and organic matter, bolstering the theory that life may have been planted on Earth! This is one of the most astounding facts. Achronidtes are relatively younger meteorites of the igneous rock type and are pieces of asteroids, the Moon and Mars! Iron meteorites are composed of iron-nickel alloys and silicate materials. They are also thought to be pieces of asteroid s! Every one of these meteor facts are intriguing. Earth has been pounded by the impact of many meteorites, ranging from the very tiny to gigantic meteorites. The meteorites impact craters that are found on earth are testimony to this. It is time for the last of our facts. One gigantic meteorite impact occurred millions of years ago on Earth which brought on the extinction of dinosaurs! One question that may come to your mind is, ‘Where do meteorites fall?’. They could fall anywhere on Earth. Meteors have been found all over the world. The recent findings have been mostly in Africa and accessible parts of Antarctica. If you could find one, you are bound to be rich as private collectors and museums pay millions of dollars for them! The reason is that they are very rare and are made up of minerals, which are never found on Earth! So keep looking! You may never know, when one might pop out of the sky, making you rich. So it’s actually profitable to know some meteor facts. Originating in the outer space, an object reaches Earth and gets a place in the list of meteorites. There have been many instances of extraterrestrial bo dies impacting the Earth’s surface while some have only passed through the Earth’s atmosphere before they were destroyed. Meteorites have been arousing interest of the masses as there is an element of mystery that surrounds them. Where do they originate? What makes some of them enter the Earth’s atmosphere? How dangerous can they get? Space research and astronomy have revealed some interesting information about some of these questions and researched thoroughly on the different types of meteorites. Most of the meteorites disintegrate before reaching Earth while some reach the planet’s surface. Huge meteorites form craters on Earth while the smaller ones involve less danger. Meteorites containing small round particles are known as chondrites and form about 86% of those falling on Earth. Those similar in appearance to small igneous rocks are called achondrites and believed as being the crustal material of asteroids. Meteorites originating from the core of asteroids are known as iron meteorites and form about 5% of the meteorites, which fall. History has recorded a number of instances of meteorites impacting the Earth. ALH 84001: It was found in the Allan Hills, Antarctica in December 1984. Meteorite hunters of the United States working on ASMNET project discovered this meteorite. When discovered, its mass was 1.93 kilograms and its rock was reportedly one of the oldest forms. This meteorite was supposed to have come from Mars. Later it was believed to consist of some traces of the life on Mars and this made ALH 84001 more famous than ever. Hoba: This meteorite lies on the farm Hoba West in Namibia and has never been moved elsewhere because of its exceptionally greater mass. With a mass of about 60 tons, it is the largest meteorite known to mankind. It is tabloid in shape and composed of metal. It is believed to have landed on Earth about 80,000 years ago. In 1955, it was declared as a national monument and has since then been attracting visitors from different parts of the world. Tunguska Event: The Tunguska explosion took place in June 1908 near Tunguska River, now a part of Russia. Most probably, the air burst of a large meteorite caused this explosion. The energy emitted from this explosion was about 1000 times greater than that of the bomb blast of Hiroshima. According to the eyewitnesses of this explosion, the event started with a flash of bright blue light and a sound originating from east and moving northward. Later the sound was accompanied by shock waves that broke windows miles away. This was one of the famous disintegrating meteorites that remain in the list of world’s most famous meteorites. Willamette Meteorite: This is an iron-nickel meteorite that was discovered in the United States near Oregon. It is the largest of the meteorites found in the United Sates as also the sixth largest in the world. Probably the meteorite had landed in the region, which is now known as Canada. This meteorite weighing about 15.5 tons is one of the very large meteorites of the world. Orgueil: This meteorite fell in France in 1864 and is a relatively older meteorite. The fall of this meteorite consisted of small stones that covered a massive area. This is one of those eight meteorites that belong to the CL chondrite group. A striking feature of this type of meteorite it that its composition is similar to that of the Sun. This meteorite is one of the most researched ones. For purposes of deeper study of the composition of this meteorite, it was split into pieces. Currently, it exists in the form of pieces kept in different museums in Europe and the United States. These were some of the famous meteorites of the world. They have always been a subject of interest for researchers around the world. Meteor showers A meteor shower is a celestial event wherein it is observed that a group of meteors radiate from anyone point in the sky. This phenomenon is also known as ‘Meteor Storm’ or ‘Meteor Outburst’. The meteors that are present in the showers are actually cosmic debris that enter the Earth atmosphere at very high speed and vaporize very quickly due to friction leaving behind a streak of light which is known as the meteor shower. An identified meteor shower is usually an annual affair as the Earth will encounter the same meteors at approximately the same time and same speed every year. Causes Meteor showers are a result of interaction that takes place between the planet Earth and a comet. Comets consist of ice and rocks (often termed dirty ice balls) that orbit around the sun like planets. Every time the comet gets close to the sun, some of the ice present in the comet melts which produces a large amount of debris. This debris moves away from the comet and becomes a part of its tail which is visible part of the comet. The solid parts of the tail are the meteoroids and they spread along the entire orbit of the comet which is termed as a meteoroid stream. As the Earth orbits around the sun, its path may cross the meteoroid stream and a meteor shower follows. When the meteoroid stream is particularly dense, then we get to witness the meteor storm and having witnessed one myself, I can guarantee that the sight is truly spectacular. People Behind the Concept It is believed that Irish astronomer George Johnstone Clooney collaborating with the British astronomer Arthur Matthew Weld Downing and Adolf Berberich belonging to the Royal Astronomical Computation Institute in Berlin, Germany offered the very first idea of the meteoroid stream in the 1890. They were able to calculate as to how the meteoroids once freed from the comet would travel at low speeds when compared to the comet itself would start drifting after completing one orbit. This effect was attributed to simple orbital wherein the materials drift laterally away from the comet as some particles make a wider orbit when compared to other particles. The gravitational pull of the Earth’s atmosphere would decide where the dust trails would pass the Earth’s atmosphere. It is a fair possibility that some years, the dust particles can completely miss the Earth’s orbit. Major Meteor Showers If you want to watch meteor showers then the best time of the year is the night of January 3. The shower has been named Quadrantids and this particular shower can produce over a close to 140 meteors per hour. The source of this shower is not a comet but a minor planet, 2003 EH1 which suffered a catastrophic breakup in 1490. However, the showers are very faint and the peak hours last only for a few hours. Hence, you will have to be in a good spot and at an ideal point to watch the shower in all its glory and the best place to watch this particular shower is from the Northern Hemisphere. But people in Southern Hemisphere need not be disappointed. As a matter of fact, they get to witness a meteor shower termed Eta Aquarids which consists of debris from the famous Halley’s Comet. This shower peaks on the night of May 5 and the rate of meteors is about 30 per hour. The meteor shower ‘Geminids’ is considered to be the best annual shower. It peaks around the night of December 13 and the rate of meteor is around 70 per hour. The source of this shower is also a minor planet, 3200 Phaethon. It is best visible from the Northern Hemisphere and it is believed that due to the extreme cold conditions, the air tends to be more transparent and this is the reason as to why this particular shower is spectacular. Sporadic Meteor Showers When the meteoroids collide with each other and can become a part of the sporadic meteors background. They form isolated meteors and are not a part of any shower. Asteroids Asteroids are considered to be remnants of an early broken planet of the solar system. Asteroids have no fixed shape and are too small to be spherical in shape. They are ellipsoids (two dimensional figure), dumbbell or irregularly shaped. As they have different shapes, they also vary in their size. The first asteroid Ceres, discovered in January 1801 by Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi, is the largest known asteroid and is 940 km in diameter. Some of the smallest asteroids are just 6 meters in diameter. The mass of all the asteroids added together, is believed to lesser than the mass of the Moon. Only 200,000 asteroids have been discovered so far, but billion more undiscovered asteroids still exit in our solar system. Asteroid Belt Most asteroids lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, however there are more belts in the solar system, namely the ones beyond Neptune’s orbit. The belt itself has interesting origination theories. Most astronomers believe that the belt is a broken planet, while some say that the belt is primordial material that never coalesced into a planet because of Jupiter’s gravitational pull. The asteroid belt lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and contains more than 200 asteroids larger than 100 km in diameter, and more than 750,000 asteroids with diameters larger than 1 km. Most asteroids are found in this belt because of the gravitational interaction between the solar system and the celestial bodies in it. As opposed to the fiction made popular by various depictions of the asteroid belt, it is not at all dense. The region is so vast that asteroids are hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from their closest neighbor. The asteroids are so small and far away from each other that they appear as faint stars, and except for Ceres, are not bright enough to be seen without some telescopic aid. Only the asteroid Vesta, on rare occasions of an extremely clear dark sky can become visible to the naked eye. What are Asteroids Composed Of? Asteroids are made of different minerals and substances. This depends on the planet they broke away from in a collision, as well as the chemical reactions they might have experienced while orbiting in the solar system. The asteroids closest to the Sun are mostly carbonaceous and the ones further away are composed of silicate rock. The metallic asteroids are made of 70-80% iron and the remaining is nickel with many other metals such as iridium mixed in. Some are also made of half silicate and half metallic. The asteroid Ceres is composed of a rocky core covered by an icy mantle, whereas Vesta has a nickel-iron core, basaltic crust and a covering of magnesium iron silicate (olivine mantle). Asteroids composition has been classified as the following: C class asteroids: They are found in the Earth’s outer belt and are darker and more carbonaceous than the ones found in the S class. D class asteroids: They are also known as Trojan asteroids of Jupiter and are dark and carbonaceous in composition. S class asteroids: They are found in the Earth’s inner belt, closer to Mars and are composed of mostly stone and iron. V class asteroids: They are a far-out group of asteroids that follow a path between the orbits of Jupiter and Uranus, and are made of igneous, eruptive materials. A near-Earth asteroid collided with the Earth about 65 million years ago, which triggered environmental changes, leading to the extinction of the dinosaurs. This asteroid created a huge circular depression called the Chicxulub Basin and is centered in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, a major tourist attraction. Though the chances of asteroid collision with the Earth is very rare, they do come very close to our planet due to collisions and gravitational tugs on the highly elliptical Sun’s orbit. Most asteroids burn up in the atmosphere and never reach the Earth. NASA projects, such as the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) and the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) main objectives are to detect and intercept asteroids or other celestial bodies coming close to the Earth before they cause untold damage to our planet. Asteroids are small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal, that revolve around the Sun. Their size can vary: some asteroids are large and roughly spherical in shape, due to which they appear like miniature planets; while the others are small and irregularly shaped. The matter of these celestial bodies also differs. The asteroid ‘Vesta’, is believed to have a nickel-iron core, olivine mantle and basaltic crust, while the asteroid ’10 Hygiea’ is composed of carbonaceous chondrite. Most of the small asteroids are piles of rubble held together by gravity. Some asteroids supposedly have traces of amino-acids and other organic compounds, and it is assumed that the impact of asteroids on the Earth could have initiated life on the planet by seeding it with the necessary chemical substances. Although, it is believed that the asteroids may have planted life on the Earth, they are capable of having catastrophic effect on the planet as well. Asteroids with a diameter of 5 to 10 meters, and energy equal to 15 kilotons of TNT, enter into the Earth’s atmosphere approximately once every year; while, those with a diameter of over 50 meters enter the Earth’s atmosphere approximately once in a thousand years. Their impact can be devastating if they hit the Earth, but they disintegrate in the upper atmosphere and most of the particles are vaporized, thus rendering them harmless. In the distant past, our planet has experienced a massive climate change and large-scale extinction of animal and plant species, ascribed to the impact of some large asteroids on the planet. The exogenesis theory suggests that origin of life on the Earth must have been triggered by the impact of some asteroid, carrying organic chemicals needed to initiate life form. The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event, which led to the end of dinosaurs and the Permian-Triassic extinction event that led to the end of the Permian period finishing off 90% of the species on the planet, are believed to be the result of an asteroid impact on the Earth. The craters on the solid bodies in the solar system, which were attributed to volcanic activities till 1960s, were actually formed due to the impact of celestial bodies. Researchers have determined that in the last 600 million years, 60 objects with a diameter of five km or more, have struck the Earth. Even the smallest of these object possessed energy of ten million megatons of TNT, and would have formed a crater, approximately 95 km in diameter, on the surface of our planet. The Rio Cuarto craters in Argentina are believed to have formed due to the impact of asteroids that struck this area around 10,000 years ago. In 1490, ten thousand people reportedly lost their lives due to a hail of stones from the sky. This hail of stones is assumed to be result of the disintegration of a large asteroid, after it entered the Earth’s atmosphere. In 1908, a mid-air explosion of an asteroid destroyed 80 million trees, within an area of 830 miles, near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River, in Si beria. In many cases, the sighting of a foreign body, such as an asteroid or a meteoroids is reported as a fireball in the sky. Millions of asteroids will pass by the Earth in the years to come. Though, they are unknown now, they are detectable as they come closer to the planet. The Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) and the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) are projects initiated by NASA to detect asteroids or other such foreign bodies coming close to the Earth. The need of the hour is to develop an intercept system in space, to destroy or deflect foreign objects heading towards our planet, before they prove catastrophic. Asteroids are celestial bodies consisting of rocks and metals. They are mainly concentrated in the region known as the asteroid belt which lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids can be as big as Ceres, which is close to 1000 kilometers in diameter, or can be just a few feet in diameter. Whatever the size, asteroids are neither big enough to be called planets nor are they as small as comets. They are classified as minor planets that include the Kuiper Belt Objects. Discovery On January 1, 1801, Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the first asteroid which he initially thought to be a comet. He named this asteroid Ceres, after the Sicilian Goddess of grain. Ceres is also the largest asteroid to have been discovered so far. Soon, other large asteroids like Pallas, Juno and Vista were discovered. By the end of the 19th century, several hundred asteroids were discovered. Formation of Asteroids It was once believed that asteroids were formed by the explosion of a planet orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. However, according to present day astronomers, asteroids are debris left behind by the Big Bang that could not come together to form a tenth planet because of the effect of Jupiter’s gravitational pull. Asteroid Hits Asteroids have been hitting the Earth since millions of years. However, due to the friction with Earth’s atmosphere most of the asteroids get burnt. The asteroids that enter the Earth’ s atmosphere are called meteors while the ones that get burnt and appear as shooting stars are called meteorites. According to the Giant Impact Theory, the Moon was created when Theia, an asteroid of the size of Mars, collided with the Earth in the early days of the solar system. However, some consider Theia to be more of a planetoid than an asteroid. The largest crater caused by an asteroid hit is the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico that is 180 km in diameter. The asteroid that formed the crater had a diameter of 10 km. This collision is supposed to be responsible for the extinction of a large number of flora and fauna including the dinosaur. However, the evidence of the largest asteroid hit is in the Vredefort crater in South Africa that is 300 km in diameter. Impacts of Asteroid Hits The damage that an asteroid’s impact can cause depends mainly upon its mass and velocity, as these are the two factors that determine the energy that is released when an asteroid hits the Earth. While some asteroids are capable of sending thermal waves that can incinerate most flora and fauna within a few hundred kilometers, some larger asteroids can create huge impacts causing magma to cover areas as big as continents. The worst effect of an asteroid hit is the blocking out of sunlight for months together due to formation of dust clouds and soot in the upper atmosphere. This would hamper the green plants’ ability to prepare food through the process of photosynthesis and the food chain would be disrupted. Near-Earth Asteroids Near-Earth asteroids are those that have moved closer to the Earth’s orbit as they have been knocked out of the asteroid belt due to collision with other asteroids or comets, or due to the gravitational forces of Jupiter. They are classified into the following three groups: The Amors: These are near-Earth asteroids that cross the orbit of Mars but do not go out of the Earth’s orbit. The Apollos: The orbits of these near-Earth asteroids cross the Earth’s orbit but have an orbital period of greater than one year. The Atens: These near-Earth asteroids have orbits that cross the Earth’s orbit but have an orbital period of less than one year. Asteroids are currently being monitored for their probability of colliding with the Earth. Such studies have predicted that asteroids may hit the Earth on February 1, 2019 and March 16, 2880. The probability of the 2880 collision is as high as 1 in 300. A number of projects in the field of astronomy, like Spacewatch, Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking and Catalina Sky Survey are being carried out to detect any threat of such catastrophes. Comets A comet is a small body in space. It was matter of great interest to astronomers like Sir Edmond Halley. Many decades later, comets still remain a challenging mystery for the field of astronomy. Space research institutes around the world have reported the existence of 3628 comets that are known and studied. Annually, an average of one comet is sighted by the naked eye from the surface of the Earth. According to the definitions given by the various space research organizations, a comet can be defined as a space body that travels in an elliptical orbit around the sun. Most of the comets travel in elliptical orbits. When the comet comes in the vicinity of the star it is orbiting around, its comma-like tail gets illuminated. A majority of comets are visible only through telescopes and other aids. There are however, some comets which are also visible to the naked eye. What is a Comet Made Up of? A comet is principally made up of ice, dust and different forms of gases. The nature of the components differs from comet to comet. The central part of a comet that looks like a ball is termed as the nucleus. The nucleus is principally made up of ice and frozen gases. The frozen components also include many other compounds like ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide. Rocks are another component of the nucleus. Due to such composition, the nucleus of the comet often resembles a huge ball of dirt and snow. It is also believed by some astronomers, that the nucleus of a comet is rather fragile because several comets have split into parts without any explainable reason except immense velocity. The huge elliptical orbit takes the comet in the range of heat of the star around which it is orbiting. When the comet enters the inner parts of the solar system, the frozen content of the nucleus starts melting. The gases and water within the nucleus vaporize as a result of radiation from the star and the solar wind. The immense velocity of the comet and the solar wind, push the vaporized matter away from the nucleus. This gives the comet it’s distinct tail and the comma-like appearance. The high amount of heat and the ions (charged particles that are formed due to the heat of the sun) cause the tail of the comet to glow. How are Comets Formed? According to their formation or birth, the comets can be classified into two types. The first type is short-term comets which originate in the Kuiper belt as space bodies beyond the orbit of Pluto. The gravitational pull of the planets in the solar system, causes the origin of short term comets. These comets enter the solar system and take the form of active and glowing comets. Long term comets originate as traveling bodies in the Oort cloud (located around 50,000 light years away from the sun). The gravitational attraction of the planets in the solar system and other gravitational forces cause these comets to form elliptical orbits. Death of a Comet The study of comets has revealed that they have a fragile structure. Sometimes, comets split into parts due to sheer velocity. The entry and exit of comets in the solar system in course of its orbit, reduces the amount of matter (ice and frozen gases) in it. Due to this reduction in matter, the comets break-up and disperse into clouds. A dead comet is nothing but an asteroid or a similar form of a space body. Sometimes the comets also crash in other planets when their orbits cross each other. The most famous example of such a comet is the Shoemaker Levy 9, that crashed into Jupiter. For astronomers who have spent their lives studying comets, it a very heart-breaking moment to gaze at a dying comet. The Halley’s Comet is said to be one of the most beautiful comets. Another very beautiful comet is the Hale-Bopp, that was discovered in the year 1995, on 23rd July. It was predicted by astronomers that the Halley’s Comet would be sighted in the November of 1835. Mark Twain, the famous writer, was born just two weeks after the sighting. He developed a very special liking towards the Halley’s Comet. In his biography he comments,†I came in with the Halley’s Comet, and expect to go with it. The Almighty has said no doubt, Now here are two unaccountable freaks; they came in together; they must go out together.† Halley’s Comet was next sighted on 20th April, 1910. Twain ended the journey of his life the very next day. The journey of any comet is indeed like that of Mark Twain. It is remarkably long, fast, adventurous as it streaks across the dark sky. Haley’s comet Historical Spottings British scientist, Edmond Halley who observed the comet in 1682, was the first person to establish its periodic reappearance after every 75-76 years. He studied the comet and quite accurately predicted that it had earlier appeared in 1531 and in 1607. It was named ‘Halley’ in his honor and was observed again in 1758 as stated by him. It was last seen in February 1986. However, this was not the first time the comet was in focus. The first sighting recorded, was way back in 240 BC, by the Chinese and was mentioned in a chronicle, ‘Records of the Great Historian’. The comet also finds a mention in a Babylonian clay inscription of 164 BC. It has always been a subject of great interest, since it was believed to have an influence on the contemporary events. Armenian king Tigranes II, had its image printed on the coins issued in his regime after it was sighted in 87 BC. Therefore, even though the recurrence of the comet was an unknown fact, people were fascinated b y its appearance. The bright star that appeared in the night sky in 12 BC, coinciding with the birth of Jesus, is widely believed to be the Halley’s comet. Giotto Di Bondone, the famous Italian painter, who lived before the renaissance era, painted it in his work ‘The Star of Bethlehem’ in the Nativity, in 1305. He had seen the comet appear in 1301 and was impressed by the spectacle. In the middle ages, the appearance of a comet was considered to be a warning sign of a forthcoming danger. The most famous incident of spotting a comet during this period, was in 1066, before the Battle of Hastings. King Harold who had lost the battle, was believed to have seen the comet due to which he was cursed. In fact, the Bayeux Tapestry in Normandy, France, signifies the Norman victory in this battle with an image of King Harold looking at the comet in the sky. In 1456, Pope Calixtus III had condemned its appearance considering it to be an evil omen. Three years prior to this, Europe was defeated by the Ottoman Empire. Human beings have always blamed celestial phenomena, whenever they have not been able to explain the causes of certain unfavorable events. Historically, the presence of a comet in the night sky was commonly cited as the reason behind difficult situations that were beyond the reasoning of common man. A French physician, Ambroise, had described the pitiful conditions of middle ages, when a comet was seen just before the spread of a big epidemic. According to him, some people were scared to death while others fell sick on seeing the comet. It was believed to be some ‘evil form’ leaving behind a trail of blood, believed to be a sign of misery. Recent Spottings In the 16th and the 17th century, scientists learned to calculate the speed and distance at which comets travel around the Sun. Once, Edmond Halley had established the year of its reappearance, Halley’s comet became a matter of great interest. Although, he didn’t live to see his prediction coming true, his observation had a significant impact on the way society perceived comets. The sighting of a comet, especially Halley’s comet became less of a concern and more of a curiosity among people. Once people realized that comets are orbiting bodies just like planets, they became less apprehensive on the arrival of a comet in the Earth’s visibility zone. The change in the attitude of the people was seen in the depiction of the comet in the contemporary pictures. Halley’s comet was a subject of scientific study and was depicted as a beautiful heavenly body in the sky. Famous American writer Mark Twain was born in 1835, the year when Halley’s comet ha d appeared. He predicted in 1909 that since he had ‘come’ with the comet he will ‘go out’ with it. Sure enough, he passed away a year after the comet reappeared in 1910. In the 1900s, it had appeared twice; once in 1910 and then in 1986. Further studies gave us a deep insight into the structure, composition and orbital journey of many different comets. Halley’s comet has one of the shortest orbital paths. It is classified as a short period comet, i.e. comets having an orbit period of 200 years or less. Once upon a time, it belonged to the long period class, but due to the gravitational force of planets, its orbit shortened over a period of time. Today, it is known that comets like ‘Hale Bopp’ which appeared in 1997, will reappear after 4200 years! Thus, Halley’s comet is the most frequently spotted one. Recently, it was seen in February 1986. During this visit, it was subjected to its biggest scrutiny ever. Five spacecrafts from The European Space Agency, Japan and the USSR were launched to study its surface. Structure and Composition of Halley’s Comet Halley’s comet is a big mass of ice and dust, having an elliptical orbit and shaped like a peanut. It has a highly elongated orbit, taking it very close to the Sun. It flings off far in the outer solar system, similar to a slingshot motion. The composition is mainly of water, sodium monoxide, methane, ammonia, hydrocarbons, iron and sodium. Its closest distance from the Sun was found to be just 0.6 AU (astronomical unit) and the farthest distance was calculated to be 35 AU, roughly the same distance as that of Pluto. It orbits the Sun in a retrograde or in the direction opposite to that of the planets’ revolution. The speed with respect to the Earth is quite high, since it is highly eccentric and inclined. The day time is relatively more on its surface and its maximum temperature rises up to 77 degrees celsius. Due to its large size and a well-defined and regular orbit, it was easy for the probe missions photograph it closely and study its surface. The mass of the comet is 1.7Ãâ€"1015 kilograms and the size of the nucleus has been estimated to be 15 km Ãâ€" 7 km Ãâ€" 7 km. Winds blowing near its surface are so strong that 1 gram particle of dust which hit the Giotto space probe, briefly destabilized it. Halley’s comet will next appear in 2062. Comets have always been a fascination for human beings and will continue to mesmerize generations to come, as we discover more interesting facts about these spectacular fireballs, the comets. Comet lullin Comet Lulin was discovered on July 11, 2007, by the duo of Ye Quanzhi and Lin Chi-Sheng. A non-periodic comet, Lulin appears to be greenish in color. This green color is attributed to the presence of gases such as cyanogen and diatomic carbon, which produce a green glow when illuminated by sunlight in the vacuum of the space. Officially designated as C/2007 N3 (Lulin), it is also known as the ‘Comet of Cooperation’ in China and Taiwan, as the two individuals involved in its discovery, were from these two countries. This comet was first photographed by Taiwanese astronomer Lin Chi-Sheng on July 11, 2007, while he was working on the Lulin Sky Survey Project (LUSS) at the Lulin observatory in Nantou, Taiwan. The Lulin Sky Survey Project aims to identify the numerous small objects in the solar system, particularly those that pose possible hazards to our planet. Lin used a 16-inch telescope to photograph this comet, which was initially assumed to be an asteroid. A few days later, Ye Quanzhi, a 19-year old student of meteorology from Sun Yat-Sen University, China, recognized this comet while going through Lin’s photographs. Its status of being a comet was confirmed after the presence of coma, the nebulous envelope around the nucleus of the comet, was noticed. Both, Lin and Quanzhi were accredited with the discovery of this new comet. As it was first noticed from the Lulin Observatory, it was named as Comet Lulin. Comet Lulin was seen in the Libra constellation from January to March 2009. In January, it was getting brighter and could be seen just before dawn; while in February, the brightness reached its peak. Eventually, in March, it started to fade as it went farther away from the Earth. While it was approaching the Earth, it had a typical tail pointing away from the Sun, as well as an ‘anti-tail’ which was directly pointing towards the sun. Although, it was assumed that this anti-tail was observed only in photographs, so me observers reported that it was visible even from a telescope in February 2009. According to Brian Marsden, an astronomer at Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Massachusetts, this comet’s closest approach to the sun was on January 10, 2009 when it reached a distance of 113 million miles from the sun. He noticed that the comet was moving in a retrograde orbit that is near-parabolic. On February 24, Comet Lulin came the closest to the Earth, at a distance of 0.41 AU or 38 million miles to be precise. On February 4, 2009, a team of Italian astronomers, under the leadership of Ernesto Guido, witnessed a strange phenomenon taking place in comet Lulin. While photographing the comet with a remotely controlled telescope in New Mexico, they saw that its tail suddenly disconnected. Ernesto attributed this odd phenomenon to magnetic disturbance of the solar wind hitting the comet. Earlier, this had been observed with Comet Encke too, when coronal mass ejection occurred, due to such magnetic storms. Photographs taken by NASA’s Swift Gamma-ray Explorer satellite in ultra-violet and X-rays show that Lulin is shedding 800 gallons of water every second. Observations by NASA also revealed that the surface material of the comet was burning away due to sun’s heat. This sighting of Comet Lulin was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the whole world, as there is no possibility of this comet returning to the inner solar system, at least not for the next thousand years. Human kind has always looked to the heavens in awe and wonder, and sometimes in fear. Perhaps no other astronomical phenomenon except a total solar eclipse has historically evoked as much fear as comets. When the specter of fear is removed, however, they emerge as strikingly beautiful objects in the sky. It was once believed that if earth passed through a tail of a comet, its inhabitants would die; this theory has been discredited. Comets are messengers from a time long past. Most are chunks of dirty ice, locked away in the Oort cloud for billions of years. (Oort cloud: – It is the source for long period comets, with orbital periods of greater than two hundred years.) Comets are familiar to nearly everyone as striking star like objects with long tails stretching across a wide band of the sky. The most famous comet, Halley’s comet makes its return to the skies every seventy-five years. The word â€Å"comet† is derived from a Greek word meaning â€Å"long haired† Comets were greatly feared before the twentieth century as bad omens. Since then, they have been identified and cataloged as objects that come from deep space. Most of them occupy orbits that carry them far outside the solar system. Many of them make only a single approach to the sun and never return again, while others exist in stable, but highly elliptical orbits that allow them to return after an extended period of time, su ch as the Halley’s comet. In 1986, the European space probe Giotto passed about 600 kilometers from the Comet Halley as it made its close approach to the sun. The probe verified existing theories that comets are made up of ices covered by black dust or soil. The spacecraft confirmed a theory that had been advanced prior to the reconnaissance that described comets as â€Å"dirty snowballs.† Using data taken by the spacecraft, scientists determined that the dust is composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Other metals have also been discovered in comets, such as iron, calcium, nickel, potassium, copper and silicon. Halley’s comet was one of the darkest objects ever seen in the solar system; it was basically flat black. Comets are composed of a mixture of ices and dust. As a comet approaches the sun, it absorbs the suns energy and warms up. The main body of the comet is called the nucleus. As the nucleus warms, the ice beneath the comets soil evaporates. Because the comet has no atmosphere, the evaporated substance (also called a volatile) escapes into the vacuum of space as a gaseous envelope that surrounds the comet called â€Å"coma.† As the coma grows, it forms a plume of vapor that carries away some of the comets surface as well. This mixture of evaporated volatile particles and dust is carried away from the comet by solar wind, is ionized by high-energy particles, and creates the spectacular tail of the comet. The comet’s tail, glowing in the solar wind, can stream behind the comet for millions of kilometers. The nucleus of the comet consists of mostly volatile ices and dust. The ice is nearly all water ice, but there is also evidence of ices composed of carbon dioxide and methane. More elementary compounds of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon monoxide may exist as volatile ices. Comets are typically small bodies (comparatively!!). Halley’s comet is a potato shaped object, 14 by 17 kilometers. The largest known comet is Chiron, which is estimated to be approximately 200 kilometers in diameter. Comets are thought to have formed as the solar system evolved. The material of which comets are composed was constructed by accretion at the outer edge of the disk of material that ultimately became the sun and planets. Because the comet material was fashioned at the outer edge of the solar system, the sun did not evaporate the volatiles in the cometary material. At the same time, the giant planets of the solar system formed at what would become the outer orbits of the solar system. These massive planets encountered the newly formed comets, and the ones that were not engulfed by the giant planets were, over the first billion years, catapulted into interstellar space by the planets massive gravitational fields. Not all comets met that fate, however. Some were gently nudged into stable orbits closer to the sun. Others were flung into the inner solar system and impacted the inner planets. Relevance: – The study of comets involves detailed knowledge of its composition of the outer regions of the solar system and the space between the last planet and 100,000 astronomical units onwards. Cometary study also seeks to understand complex gravitational interactions between bodies separated by wide distances and even gravitational interactions between tiny comets, their behavior when approaching the sun, and something of the makeup and evolution of the early solar system. New comets approaching the sun for the first time have been held in deep freeze in the Oort cloud and are thought to be composed of primordial material of the newly forming solar system. They have been tied up in the Oort cloud for billions of years at temperatures slightly above absolute zero. As they approach the sun, their internal gases begin to steam away. A detailed study of an approaching comet may tell cosmologists about the composition of the early solar systems. Comets and their approach have also hinted at the existence of the elusive brown dwarf, thought to be one of the most common bodies of interstellar space. Because they are so dim, they are all but invisible from Earth. On the other hand, because brown dwarfs are thought to be so plentiful, the study of comets and their orbits may give the first real clues to the former’s reality and abundance. In the early 1980s the existence of the galactic tidal action was merely speculation. Since then, careful study of cometary orbits and approaches has favorable supported the theory of galactic tides. In the close approach of Halley’s comet by an unmanned spacecraft in 1986, a wealth of information was recovered on the shape, behavior, and composition of comets. The existence of the Oort cloud and the concept gravitational interactions by passing objects in space have led to the theory of periodic comet showers. Such comet showers, separated by periods of tens of millions of years, may be responsible for the mass extinction on Earth. There is a wide speculation that Earth was struck by one or more comets 70 million years ago, which wiped out the dinosaurs. Some scientists have speculated that this extinction was the result of a shower of comets from the Oort cloud, sent on their close approach to the sun by a passing star or brown dwarf through the Oort cloud. Comets have been used to judge vast distances, evaluate the composition of the solar system as it was being born, and even test the idea that the gravity of the entire galaxy can make a difference to the smallest objects in space. Comets have been used as yardsticks to evaluate what may be the most type of star in the galaxy-the brown dwarf-which ironically is one that may never be seen. They have also been called dirty snowballs. Halley’s comet was so black that it was the darkest object ever seen in space. Yet, from these dirty specks of ice, cosmologists have witnessed some of the most spectacular light shows. Ultimately comets may also generate clues to some of the most fundamental secrets about the solar system and planets. From these tiny messengers, cosmologists may unlock and examine pristine elements from creation itself.