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Monday, September 30, 2019

Beer’s Law Problem Set Essay

Beer’s Law Problem Set Spring 2013 1. Calculate the absorbances corresponding to the following values of the percentage of transmitted light: (Provide your final answer with three decimal places) a. 95% b. 88% c. 71% d. 50% e. 17.5% f. 1% 2. A solution of a compound (1.0mM) was placed in a spectrophotometer cuvette of light path 1.05cm. The light transmission was 18.4% at 470nm. Determine the molar extinction coefficient. Include units in your answer. 3. The molar extinction coefficient of reduced NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphophate) at 340nm is 6220 L/mole ·cm. 3ml of solution containing 0.2 micromoles of NADH were placed in a cuvette of 1.05cm light path. Calculate the percentage light transmission of this sample at 340nm. 4. 3ml of a solution containing both the oxidized and reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD and NADH, respectively) was placed in a 1.0cm spectrophotometer cuvette. The absorbance at 340nm (at which only the reduced form is measured) was 0.207. The absorbance at 260nm (which measures both the oxidized and reduced forms together) was 0.900. The molar extinction coefficient of NADH is 6220 L/mole ·cm, and the molar extinction coefficient at 260nm is 18,000 L/mole ·cm. Calculate the molar concentrations of oxidized and reduced forms of the nucleotide in the mixed solution. 5. A mixture of ortho, meta, and para cresoles dissolved in cyclohexane may be analyzed spectrophotometrically because each exhibits an absorption in a region where absorption due to the other cresols is negligible. The absorption maxima occur at 752nm, 776nm, and 815nm for ortho, meta, and para cresols, respectively. To test the validity of Beer’s Law for solutions of cresols, each is made up in cyclohexane at a series of concentrations and the absorbances measured. Data obtained are recorded below: Ortho Meta Para Concentration (g/100ml) 0.25 0.50 1 2 Absorbance (at 752nm) 0.120 0.235 0.465 0.820 Concentration (g/100ml) 0.60 1.15 2.35 Absorbance (at 776nm) 0.115 0.220 0.460 Concentration (g/100ml) 0.50 1 2.1 3.15 Absorbance (at 815nm) 0.09 0.2 0.415 0.60 An unknown mixture of the three cresols in cyclohexane was analyzed and the percentage of light absorbed at 752, 776, and 815nm was 27.5, 50, and 41 respectively. Determine the concentration of each cresol and the percentage of the final mixture. (Calculate your answer using 3 decimal places) (Hint: if 20% of the light is absorbed by the sample, then 80% is transmitted. Percent absorbed does not equal Absorbance. Also, the table of data above should be used to generate a graph. How would this help you?) Answers: 1) a. 0.022 b. 0.056 c. 0.149 d. 0.301 2) ~700 L/mole ·cm 3) 36.7% 4) NAD= 16.7uM , NADH= 33.3uM 5) ortho 0.259g/100ml 8.697% meta 1.549g/100ml 52.014% para 1.170g/100ml 39.288% e. 0.757 f. 2.00

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Poverty Case Essay

Question: Choose an issue of importance to you—the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope—and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation. My parents had a life where there were no three meals a day, no electricity and so many other things. They used to tell â€Å"you never know how bad poverty is until you experience it†. Poverty is the leading cause of death in every developing county. We all know about poverty but we do nothing to stop it. According to UNICF more than 22000 kids die every day because of poverty. The food that we waste everyday will be enough to remove world poverty. My parents and grandparents came from world of utter poverty. When I talk about poverty I know how bad it is and I want the new generation to everything they can to remove poverty. Have anyone gone hungry for a day or two? We all eat at least three meals a day but there are people in the world who don’t even have a single piece of bread to eat. Mahatma Gandhi once said â€Å"there are people in the world, so hungry that god cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.† We all are living in a country where we have everything but there are people in the world who have to drink dirty water to slake their thirst. In Africa more than 5000 kids die each day because of drinking dirty water. We all know about this but we do nothing to stop world poverty. Remember that today’s kids are tomorrow’s future. If we put the all the billionaires in the world together they may be able to remove world poverty from this world. According to human nature if we want to do something we have the ability to do it but no one is there to take the lead. As a 17 year old teenager I care about my fellow citizens and the coming generation. I don’t want them to see a world of poverty and death. I want them to see a world of evergreen sunshine. Poverty is not something that we can remove in two or three days. It takes time to remove world poverty. As a member of the new generation let’s all make sure that we show our kids that we are living in a country with no poverty.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Finanical Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Finanical Management - Essay Example (Investing, 2005) For instance, the US government is the seller of the bonds. When you buy bonds, you become an investor, and they are practically lending money to the US government. The bond bears a promise of the seller to repay the principal amount of the loan at a specified time. When the US Treasury issues a bond, the government guarantees to pay back your principal known as the face value plus interest on maturity. When the investor buys a bond and waits until it matures, he will know exactly how much he is going to receive at the maturity period of the bond. It also called a fixed-income investment as a steady payout is given annually, or semi-annually. For example, you purchase a bond at $1,000 with a fixed rate of 6%, with 4 years of maturity, your income ($60/1000) is $60 which is payable to you every year for 4 years, then you receive the face value of the bond. The coupon rate in bond is fixed and is carried until the maturity of the bond, but the quoted price of the bonds varies because of the interest rates fluctuation. Fluctuations in interest rates values bonds higher or lower than its original value. So when an investor buys a bond and the interest falls, the value of the bond rises, and when the interest rises, the price of the bond falls. Price changes in bonds occur in choices of bonds. Longer term bond prices are more changeable than short term bond prices and more risky. Longer term bonds are more exposed to interest rate risks because the long stream of interest payments to investors does not match the current market interest rates. (AAII) Coupon interest rates vary and changes because it is caused by the fluctuation of rates of interests. Interests in bonds may be fixed, floating or payable at maturity. Interest rates vary because some sellers and buyers of bond want to have an adjustable interest rate which is related to the prevailing market rates. This is called a

Contract management and contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Contract management and contract law - Essay Example In a capitalist world, the law of contract essentially forms a major portion of the society we live in. It is the realm of deliberate agreement and collaboration, to be more specific, contract deals with the activities like exchange and bargain. The purpose of the act of Contracts is to create possibilities, or to assist this action. It helps two or more parties in the function of arranging for the future plans by shielding the anticipations that take place from the process of bargaining. In the process of forming a contract the parties require a lawfulstructure which will provide them with a conventional, consistent, steadyfoundation for theconcealedcategorization of their affairs. Agreements between two or more parties turn into a contract with the intervention of law. A legal contract comprises of five essential elements without which the contract is referred to as invalid. In the following sections we will discuss the various scenarios related to the benefit of the procuring part y as well as we will discuss about the Sale of Goods Act, INCOTERMS and the transfer of risk to the supplier from the viewpoint of the UK Contract Act. Answer 1 The procurement process in my organization must make sure that the five vital tenets of contract are met while entering into a contract with other parties. The five tenets of contract are- 1. Offer- Offer and acceptance are the essential elements of a contract. Before going in depth of the definition of offer and acceptance, let us first recognize the parties involved in the framework of offer and acceptance. ... The five tenets of contract are- 1. Offer- Offer and acceptance are the essential elements of a contract. Before going in depth of the definition of offer and acceptance, let us first recognize the parties involved in the framework of offer and acceptance. The structure of offer and acceptance involves an offeror who puts forth the offer and an offeree, to whom the offer has been made by the offeror. Thus now we can look at the definition of the offer and acceptance framework, which states that an offer is a statement or proposal by an offeror to an offeree with an intention to make lawful relations. An offer cannot be considered simply as an incitement to negotiate or bargain. To make the communication effectual and complete, the offer must be received and accepted by the offeree. In a buying and selling contract, to make an offer legitimate, the following aspects must be clearly defined: Who is the offeror? Who is the offeree? What is the consideration? What is the area under discu ssion of the offer? How many central themes does the offer entail (quantity)? Any communication would be considered as an offer if it signifies the expression on which the person making the offer is ready to create a contract (like setting the price of a product intended to be sold), and provides a clear hint that the offeror wishes to abide by the terms if those are acknowledged by the offeree. Offer can also be made to the general public, for example a marketer offering discount to the people visiting his shop. This kind of offer is generally known as unilateral offer where the offer is addressed to a large number of people and their actions indicate their acceptance of the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Museum Visit Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Museum Visit - Assignment Example The Egyptian history was written by priest Manetho, in the 1st Century. He classified the Pharaohs into 30 Dynasties. The Pharaonic Period is divided into five periods, which include Early, Middle, New, Late kingdom, the three intermediate Periods and the Persian Period (Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium 1). These periods are significant in the Egyptian history because they represent a break in the Pharaonic History via the decay or invasion of intermediate periods (the central power). The mentioning of Dynasties gives readers a bigger picture of the events that occurred, during specific periods, in the Pharaonic History, which is believed to be more than 3000 years old (Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium 1). One of the most common features of the Egyptian religious belief is the idea of life after death. They believed that their dead bodies had to be preserved, in the tombs, to provide a place for their spirits to reside in after life. Preservation of bodies is known as mummification. According to the Ancient Egyptians, cremating bodies was a sign of destroying an individual’s soul. They believed that souls had to interact with bodies, even after death. Preservation of bodies was enhanced by the Egypt’s geographical location and climate (Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium 1). Dry air and sand preserved bodies that were laid in shallow pits. In the Pharonic History, over 70 million mummies have been prepared in the past 3000 years (Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium 1). Pharaohs, who were both political leaders and gods, were buried in large pyramids, in the Old Kingdom. The Ancient Egyptians used the Rosetta stone to enhance the development of modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing (Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium 1). This stone is believed to have been created during the Ptolemaic era stele, in the 196BC. Its surface is covered with in scribbled texts, which is

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Case #5 AP Courses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case #5 AP Courses - Essay Example The scale of marking is quite simple. Each exam would be marked out of 5 with 3 being the lowest to crawl into some universities and a score of 4 or 5 being acceptable to the majority. With me being the leader and school counselor, and the one to make or break their 'dreams', the whole responsibility rests on my shoulders. To start off, the first question which would pop into my head would be: 'exactly how much did these students score' Since the most common score of acceptance is 4 out of 5, it's a necessary question to know how that by how much they are lagging behind. It is also the reason that I will assume here that my institution accepts a 4 out of 5 score for passing. Now, the most important fact to take into consideration is this; these students have consistently been on the honor roll throughout their academic careers. This proves that they are hard working and dedicated students keen upon learning. This also makes the case tilt towards their side of the argument because I should not make a decision which will seem unfair to them, in which case there might be serious consequences like they might get highly de-motivated and stop studying altogether.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Erin Brockovich Movie Project Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Erin Brockovich Project - Movie Review Example Erin is a single mom, who is unemployed with three (3) kids to support. The lawyer of the defendant committed grave ethical misconduct by criticizing Erin for her current status in life. She was accused by lawyer of extorting money from his client who is a rich doctor because she was desperate to find a way to earn money to support her kids. According to the doctor, from the moment Erin saw the doctor’s expensive car, a Jaguar, she saw it as a â€Å"meal ticket† or an opportunity to earn money by ramming her car against his car in order to get compensated. This act of the doctor is conduct unbecoming because she misjudged the Erin based on her status in life because she was penniless and underprivileged, thus not giving her a fair trial. She was prejudged because of her profile, an unemployed mother with 3 kids to support, broke and $17,000 in debt. She was disfavored because of her status in life and not by the facts of the case, making the jury render a decision not i n her favor. Therefore, the lawyer of the doctor committed a violation of his duty as a lawyer by not giving Erin a fair trial which is prejudicial in the administration of justice. 2. ... The water was contaminated by a substance was known as hexavalent chromium or chromium 6, which is in a high level, which can be toxic and harmful to human beings. This toxic substance can cause serious bodily harm and diseases like chronic headaches and nosebleed, respiratory and liver disease, chronic heart failure/disease, reproductive organ failure, bone deterioration, and even the fatal cancer disease. It was evident that cheating was present when the people were made to believe that the water was good for consumption and the water where their kids swam was safe. It was later discovered by Erin and her companions that this problem has been present all along way back 1996. The doctors who treated the patients also committed violation of the Code of Medical Ethics when they committed dishonesty by cheating on their patients by making them believe that they were healthy and well and on their way to recovery, when in truth and in fact, they were not getting well. The doctors were pa id a hefty sum of money by PG&E to tell lies to their patients to convince the patients that they are safe and being taken care of. The employees of PG&E also committed bribery on the people by offering money to drop the charges against PG&E and for them to testify in court that their health problems were not in any way related to PG&E. PG&E corporation also committed violations on their duty to uphold the corporate social responsibility by violation of environmental laws and bringing danger and harm to the community. The corporation, through desperate measure also resorted to the use of threat and harassment on Erin to stop her from investigating the case. This manifests unethical behavior on the part of PG&E by employing force

Monday, September 23, 2019

The beginning of the social media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The beginning of the social media - Essay Example The early social media explorers made gadgets that were called â€Å"boxes† which were homemade devices that were capable of generating tones hence allowing people to make calls as well as get an experimental back end of telephone systems (Peacock, 2011). Social media has various impacts to our lives especially the people who spend most of their times in social networks. Today, social media has enslaved 72% of men and 79% of women (Trusov, Bucklin, & Pauwels 2009). It has become part of our culture and almost everyone has been affected either directly or indirectly. One of the most profound effects of social media is its impact on our interaction with other people in offline situations. Social competency is a very vital ideal, which majorities of the people strive towards; however, it is very evident that social media affects people’s ability competently interacts in an offline setting. Recent studies based on social competency of teenagers and youths who spend most of their time on social media networks are very conflicting. For instance, a research conducted by the national institute of health showed that youths with stronger and positive offline relationships are probably those that frequently use social media networks in a dditional to interacting face-to –face with the peers (Ryan, 2011). Conversely, other studies show that social media is the excellent avenue for most introverted people to interact with others. Most of the people who are not comfortable in face-to-face interactions prefer interacting with other people in the online environment. The growth and popularity of social media is growing at very fast rates due the advancement in technology. The internet plays a very important role in the growth of social media networks. Today, the internet offers us with various social networking sites that enable us to interact with our friends online. Current

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Human Resource Function Essay Example for Free

The Human Resource Function Essay Heathfield (2007) defines Human Resource Management (HRM) as an organizational function; focusing on recruitment, management, and directing the people who work in the organization. HRM can hence be viewed as an organizational function that deals with the human resource â€Å"people who start and operate an organization, (Ramlall, 2003). Owing to the continuous political, economic, social and psychological changes within our societies, there is an increasing need for organizations to constantly evaluate their internal and external environment in response to the challenges and opportunities in the society; so as to remain competitive and to sustain organizational growth. This article examines the strategic role of Human Resource (HR) and its main practices, describes the outcomes of the respective category of (HR) practices and explains the critical reasons for measuring HRs efforts. The fundamental role of the HR to an organization is to â€Å"create value† (Ramlall, 2003) to the organization. It can hence be inferred that the critical HR’s role is to maximize profitability. Every organization, in pursuit of its strategic goals, must determine how particular HR practices correlate with improved business results and be more accountable for each major HR activity. This entails determination of the value of each HR activity in creating a competitive advantage for the organization. Without this, achievement of the organization’s goals and corporate missions may remain a dream that is never attained. There are many factors influencing change in organizational structure today. These factors include technological advancement, globalization, changes in workforce demographics, the elimination of bureaucracies in organizational structures, and the need to strike a balance between work and family issues. Understanding the potential of an organizations resources and optimizing the output of such resources, given the changes, provides an impetus for HR to become the key source of creating the competitive advantage for the organization. It is the role of the HR to build a competitive organization though strategic management of human resources, management of firm infrastructure, management of employee contributions and management of transformation and change. This can be summarized as â€Å"defining the deliverables of work† (Ulrich, 1997). This entails going beyond the strategic business partner role to becoming a player in the business. Ulrich, (1997) identifies six roles of a player in an organization. The player coach, designs, construct, creates followers, plays the rules and changes the organization. This ensures that the functioning of the organization is directed towards its goals. An effective HR personnel acts as a â€Å"facilitator and a collaborator† (Brewster, 2000). As a facilitator, the HR will function as an agent of change- providing rationale, support, and readiness for planned changes designed to support the business strategies. As a collaborator, the HR provides a link between the senior leaders and all employees to implement business strategies forming the strategic link throughout the organization. This is essential to the organization as it helps to maximize its profits. A research by Brewster, (2000) postulates that less than 10 percent of the 968 firms that participated in the study had a formal estimation procedure to measure HRM. This implies that most companies have little or no assessment of their HR department’s efforts and therefore they cannot give any quantitative measures of HRs value to the organization. Hailey, (1999) stated that the best way for HR to gain credibility in order to make meaningful changes is for practitioners to measure the cost and effectiveness of what they do. As such, the HR should be credible enough to lead the rest of the workers towards giving value to the organization. To achieve a competitive advantage, it is necessary to identify the skills that need to be developed internally for current employees and the fundamental areas of effectively managing an organization. The HR function has the most experience and knowledge in addressing these critical issues. It is therefore necessary for an organization to have an effective human resource that can efficiently achieve these vital objectives. The integration of human resources into the organizational strategy provides the basis for enabling the HR function to support and implement the strategic plan to achieve a competitive advantage, (Wofford, 2002). This strategy provides for the maximization of human capital, reduction of wasted and inefficient labor, and other financial investment, eventually to maximize profitability. An efficient HR increases the likelihood of more efficiently achieving the business outcomes and avoiding chaos, massive layoffs, crises resulting from not having skilled employees to carry out particular tasks and not having the right fit among employees, corporate strategies, and business environments, (Hailey, 1999). HR function plays a pivotal role in determining the business strategy through the assessment of the organizations capabilities to compete successfully through a particular strategy, determining the appropriate rewards system, determining appropriate organizational structures, and developing strategies to increase employee performance. All these work in achieving firm’s objectives and assessing the effectiveness of its strategic plan. Given the definition of strategic planning as how an organization will compete, the question arises as to how an organization would be able to assess the effectiveness of its strategic plan. Indicators of a successfully crafted strategic plan include creating advantages that are sustainable over a long period, (Ramlall, 2003). These include attainment of the organizations goals and objectives, the financial profitability of the organization, organizational positioning to create advantages for the short-term and long-term, and creation of a stronger sense of social responsibility. In essence, this process determines the decisions and actions an organization will undertake to create and sustain competitive advantage. It is evident that any organization that endevours to achieve a competitive advantage over its rivals and move towards its strategic goals is left with no choice but to have an effective human resource. The constant evaluation of the effectiveness of the organization results in the need for the HR professional to frequently champion change. Both knowledge about and the ability to execute successful change strategies make the HR professional exceptionally valued. Knowing how to link change to the strategic needs of the organization will minimize employee dissatisfaction and resistance to change. Only an effective HR can champion these important changes.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Population of Bird in Acacia Mangium Proposal

Population of Bird in Acacia Mangium Proposal BIRD POPULATION IN EIGHT YEARS OLD OF Acacia Mangium PLANTATION IN SABAH LEE WOONJAH 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background of Study Bird is a class of animals that live in a wide range of environments, from the tropical regions to the polar region. Them consists over 10,000 species (Betz Parr, n.d.). Each species of bird has a restricted range of size from small to large because the wing size of birds is vary. In tropical region, birds play roles as pest controller or pollinator to plants and animals. In Borneo, there are 643 species of birds recorded. (Wong, 2012). However, bird species found in natural forest and plantation are different. Many tropical forests have been converted into plantation or agriculture due to the demand of raw materials. According to FAO (XX), many private sectors are involve in forest plantation plan such as Sabah Forest Industries (SFI), Sabah Softwoods (SS), Sabah Forest Department Authority (SAFODA) and other companies. Those companies are established fast growing tree species in forest plantation area. Tree species planted are generally exotic such as Acacia mangium, Paraserianthes falcataria and Tectona grandis. The reason for plant exotic species is provide sustainable supply of wood materials for its industrial uses in short periods. To ensure the sustainable wood material supply, fast growing species of trees are recommended to the industrial plantation. Acacia mangium is a species that contribute for the wood production in Malaysia. A. mangium has been planted widely in East Malaysia for the wood based industry. (Adam et al, n.d.) This species of tree is well develops in Sabah because of its desirable properties which is rapid growth, good wood quality and tolerance to poor soil condition. (Krisnawati et al., 2011) Acacia mangium is originates from the humid tropical forest of north-eastern Australia. The tree species was successful introduced to Sabah in the mid of 1960’s. (Krisnawati et al., 2011) This fast growing species can produce more raw materials for the industrial uses in a shorter period. However, conversion of natural forest to plantation or agricultural will influence the habitat of bird. In forest plantation, the food resources may decrease or confine and also influence the place for nesting. As such, the relationship between species of bird and its population is important to be investigated. 1.2 Problem Statement Birds consist of different composition base on its attribute and adaptation to forest plantation. Bird can be biological controller and pollinator. For example, biological pest control is more suitable for control of pest compare to chemical in order to ensure the quality of trees. However, bird population is different in many types of forest. The reason is mostly the development of land under the plantation planning. The land-use planning confines the vegetation such as monoculture. Vegetation in primary forest is dense and richer then forest plantation. Therefore, bird species is more diverse and the population of bird is higher. Birds are migrates from one place to another place due to vary reason. The most common reason is environment change. Food resources are not diverse as primary forest. Mostly forest plantation is undergoes monoculture planting method. Tree species for plantation in Sabah are generally fast growing species such as Acacia mangium, Eucalyptus deglupta, Tectona grandis and others species. Clear felling before establish plantation can cause bird population decline dramatically. The reason is no suitable place for nesting and feeding. On the other hand, this type of research is seldom done in forest plantation. However, there are some researches done in Sabah Softwoods (SS) but not yet done in SFI. The previous study is not focus on bird population in forest plantation. The study of bird population requires to updates constantly due to the global changing. Therefore, this comparison is important to obtain more precise data with the previous study. 1.3 Justification Bird species in forest plantation remains lack of publishable information for investigate bird population in Sabah. Limitation of data will influence it credibility for future plantation planning and management. Through this research, general bird species will be investigated and evaluate the bird population in Acacia mangium plantation at the age of five year old. This finding of study can act as the future references for the occurrence and assemblage of bird species in forest plantation. 1.4 Objectives To investigate the population of bird in Acacia mangium of eight years old. To compare the bird diversity in forest plantation with the previous study. 1.5 Limitation There are some limitations in this research. First limitation is weather. Bird observation is usually conducts under sunny or cloudy day. Observation normally does not conduct during raining day because birds are hard to identify and the safety factors. Secondly, Timing for bird observation is critical. Bird observation is conduct start from seven o’clock at morning until noon. The reason is observer require to know the bird habitats such the duration time for searching food sources. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Definition of Bird Bird is an animal that consists of more than 8600 species worldwide. (McDade, 2005) Birds are grouped into the Animalia Kingdom, Phylum of Chordata and under the class of Aves. (â€Å"Bird Calssifications/ Families†, 2009). All types of birds consist of backbone and hence are grouped into the Chordata Phylum. In the Class Aves, birds can be classify into 23-40 orders.(â€Å"Bird classification†, 2015) The size of birds are vary due to its habitat and also influenced by the environments. Birds have few characteristics such pair of wings, bill, tails, and feathers to distinguish them with others. Wings are the important part for birds to fly. Birds, unlike the others animals, are walk on the ground but mostly they have evolved the capability for flight. Birds have moveable wings but not alike to the fixed wings of aircraft. Their wings are powered by muscles and can soar to the sky rapidly. Some soaring birds like albatross, can fly using their wings and using air currents as a source of power. (Betz Parr, n.d.). Bird forelimbs have evolved into wings and their bones are hollow and can decrease their weight. Weight is also an issue that influence their flying capability. For example, goose and domestic chicken. Feather is one of the unique characteristic of birds and make them difference among living animals. Feathers are made of keratin and adapt to flight. Wings made of feathers are adjustable, which mean the soft down feathers is thermally insulating a bird body. Birds can fly to escape their enemies or nesting at higher place that they enable to walk to. (McDade, 2005) Feathers are crucial for bird to fly. The contour feathers on the body establish the smooth, streamlined contour of bird body and enlarged the flight feathers. However, feathers also provide a windproof and waterproof covering for birds to prevent them from get cold and maintain their body temperature. In bird behaviour, feathers are an important factor to attract the female birds during the courtship and mating. In many species of birds, male birds are generally has brighter color of feathers while female birds have drab feathers. (â€Å"Aves: More on Morphology†, n.d.) Bills of bird are different in shapes and colors. Different shaped of bills serve different ecological purposes and adapt to the bird’s feeding habits. For instance, Bird’s with short thin bills is for insect eater, long thin bills can for probing flowers or soft mud for worms. The bill is allows the birds to pick fruit or food sources from the end of branches. A bird bill is composed of a number of rhamphotheca that is made of keratin. 2.2 Definition of Acacia mangium Acacia mangium also known as Acacia mangium Wild, or called as akasia mangium in Malay, is a type of fast–growing tree species in plantation programs throughout the Asia and Pacific. This species of tree is origin from the north-eastern Australia, eastern Indonesia and western Papua New Guinea. (http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/134648/2/PR035.pdf#page=157). Krisnawati, Kallio and Kanninen (2011) reported that A. mangium has been widely introduced to many Asia countries and successful introduced to Malaysia in the mid of 1960. A.mangium become one of the major tropical plantation forestry species because of its fast growing capability and cam adapt well in the poor soil condition. (Dhamodaran Chacko, 1999) This tree species can grow rapidly in the acidic soils and degraded sites but it is intolerant to the shade condition, and grows to be stunted. (Krisnawati, Kallio and Kanninen ,2011). Acacia mangium is a species of tropical lowland climatic zone characteristic and required high total annual rainfall (about 1000- 4500 mm). Tree growth will be slow down if the dry period is prolonged. Acacia mangium generally can grow up to a height of 25-35 meter with a straight bole and the diameter at breast height (dbh) of over 60cm. (Dhamodaran Chacko, 1999). However, it is rare for Acacia mangium tree grow until 60cm of dbh because it is time consuming and growth of tree will declines rapidly after seven or eight years and except under very ideal conditions over a long periods. (Dhamodaran Chacko, 1999). A. mangium tree height can increase up to 10-15m in the first two to three years and increases dramatically up to 25 m at about 5 years. Acacia mangium wood has potential be the raw material for pulp and paper, furniture, woodchips and others wood products. Its leaves can serve as the forage for livestock or decomposes be the soil fertilizer. Besides that, Acacia mangium sawdust can provide the substrate for the edible mushroom. (Lemmens etal, 1995) However, this tree species also useful for improve soil fertility. They can maintain the percentage of nitrogen and increase the soil biological activity. This tree is suitable to plant at the areas that heavily infested by weeds and it have the ability to overcome the competition from weeds such as Immperata grass. (Dhamodaran Chacko, 1999) 2.3 Biodiversity in Forest Plantation Forest plantation is covered more than 80 percent globally and Asia region is covered around 116 hectares (62 percent) in 2000. Forest plantation defined as forest stands established by planting in the afforestation or reforestation process. However, forest plantation area is establishes rapidly worldwide due to the demand of wood material. This trend has become loss of biodiversity especially for developing countries. Vegetation in primary forest is dense than In Sabah, forest plantation is mostly developed by state government during 1970an. Biodiversity in Malaysia is vary among the world. For example, there are more than 220 species of birds in the primary jungle of Malaysia. (Phillipps Phillipps, 2014) The index of biodiversity is changing based on the land use planning. Biodiversity is different between different types of forest as such as primary forest, secondary forest and plantation estate. Birds are migrates from one place to another place due to vary reason. The most common reason is environment change. Food resources are not diverse as primary forest. Mostly forest plantation is undergoes monoculture planting method. Tree species for plantation in Sabah are generally fast growing species such as Acacia mangium, Eucalyptus deglupta, Tectona grandis and others species. Clear felling before establish plantation can cause bird population decline dramatically. The reason is no suitable place for nesting and food searching. 3.0 Methodology 3.1 Location of Study The study site for this research is the eight years old Acacia mangium plantation in Sabah Forest Industries (SFI). Sabah Forest Industries (SFI) is located Sepitang, Sabah (Coordinates: 5 °144N 115 °3123E) and at the southwestern of Sabah state. This company is manages about 288138 hectares of forest estates that consist of natural forest management (NFM) area and industrial tree plantation. The total area for NFM area is 104822 hectares and industrial tree plantation area are consist by titled land (11845 hectares) and non-titled land (171471 hectares). This company was operated since 1987. Currently, SFI is own by Ballarpur Industries Limited which is a part of Avantha Group of companies. Geographical location Map Topography at sfi Historical of sfi and size of plantation SFI is the only one integrated pulp and paper manufacturer and is one of timber growers and wood processors in Malaysia. In SFI, consist of saw mill, veneer and plywood factory and pulp and paper manufacturing facilities. Market for SFI includes the domestic and international market of writing paper and market pulp. Wood material of SFI is harvest from forest estate that included NFM area and plantation. 3.2 Methods I will use transect survey to conduct this research. Transect is situated in Acacia mangium plantation. Each transect is 500m long and consist of 10 points. Each point is 50m apart. Observer obtains the incident data by bird sighting. I use incident observation as the method to observe bird in plantation. Observations are made using 3060 binocular. (Mohammad et al. 2011). Binocular is equipment that used to observe the bird species and its characteristics. After observation, the bird characteristic is sketched and recorded in sketch book. The incident data is recorded including the date, time, location and morphology of bird species. The bird species are then identified using Wong (2012). 3.3 Data Analysis After all data is collect, I identify each species of bird according to their morphology. The data is then analysis by using Shannon Index. 4.0 Expected result The species of bird is expected to have babbler, fantail, flowerpecker and spiderhunter at five years old A. mangium plantation. The reason is they are mainly insectivores species. Acacia mangium trees will produces seed pods once a year and this can attract some bird to foraging in the plantation. 5.0 Budget Binocular is the essential item for bird observing and it cost RM 30 which brought through website. There are two references books needed in this research. â€Å"Birds of Borneo† is a references book for identify bird follow the data that recorded in the sketch book. This book is written by Wong Tsu Shi and published by John Beaufoy Publishing Limited. This book cost RM 49.40. Another references book is â€Å"Phillipps’ field guide to the Birds of Borneo† written by Quentin Phillipps and Karen Philipps. This book is cost RM 79.20 and its function is same as the book â€Å"Bird of Borneo†. Besides that, budget for the documentation is around RM 200.00 including five copies laser jet printing, photocopy, binding and expenses for stationary. I also budget about RM 150.00 for transportation fees that include the fees for field trip to collect data. Furthermore, budget for food sources requires to considerate during fieldtrip. So, food sources budget is given a round RM 350.00 for 30 days fieldwork. The total up of all expenses in this research is about RM 808.60. 6.0 Work Schedule References â€Å"Aves: More on Morphology†. (n.d.) Retrieve from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/birds/birdmm.html. 11Jan 1996 â€Å"Bird Classification†. (2015). NewMedia Holdings,Inc. Retrieve from http://www.birds.com/species/classifications/. 22 feb 2015 â€Å"Bird Classifications/ Families†. (2009) Nutty Birdwatcher. Retrieve from http://www.birdnature.com/borderintro.html 1 Dec 2009 Wooff, W.G. 2012. Sabah Forest Industries. http://www.avanthagroup.com/downloads/Sabah-Forest-Industries-Sdn-Bhd.pdf. 1 Nov 2011 Adam, N. S., Jusoh, I., Ishak, N. D. 2012. Growth Characteristics of Acacia mangium Plantation in Sarawak. International Plantation Industry Conference Exhibition. September 4-9, 2012. Kota Kinabalu Sabah. Betz,J. Parr, C. (n.d.) Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieve from http://education.eol.org/resources/topics/birds.pdf Dhamodaran. T.K. Chacko, K.C. 1999. Growth and wood characteristics of Acacia mangium growth in Kerala. Kerala Forest Research Institute. Retrieve from http://docs.kfri.res.in/KFRI-RR/KFRI-RR174.pdf Krisnawati, H., Kallio, M., Kanninen, M. 2011. Acacia mangium Wild.:ecology, silviculture and productivity. Indonesia: Center for International Forestry Research. Lemmens, R. H. M. J., Soerianegara, I., Wong, W. C. 1995. Plant resources of South-East Asia No. 5 (2). Timber trees: minor commercial timbers. London: Backhuys Publishers. Mead, D. J., Miller, R. R. (1991, February). The establishment and tending of Acacia mangium. InACIAR Proc vol. 35, pp. 116-122. Styring, A.R., Ragai, R.,Unggang, J., Stuebing, R., Hosner, P.A., Sheldon, F.H. 2011. Bird community assembly in Bornean industrial tree plantations: Effect of forest age and structure. Forest Ecology and Management, 261, 531-544. Wong, T.S. 2011. Birds of Borneo. United Kingdom: John Beaufoy Publishing Limited. McDade, M.C. 2005. Grzimek’s student animal life resource, Birds. Canada: Thomson Gale. Phillipps, Q. Phillipps, K. 2014. Phillipps’ field guide to the birds of Borneo. United Kingdoms: John Beaufoy Publishing. Krishnapillay, D.K. 1998. Edited by Varmola. M. Case study of the tropical forest plantations in Malaysia. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/134648/2/PR035.pdf#page=157 1

Friday, September 20, 2019

Understanding Plant Sub-cellular (Organellar) Metabolome

Understanding Plant Sub-cellular (Organellar) Metabolome Abstract Dissection of organismal metabolomes into smaller subunits of life holds the potential to unravel the minuscule details of operative metabolic pathways and metabolic compartmentation at the sub-cellular level. Although metabolomes have been characterized at tissue, cellular, and cell-population types, little efforts have been put forth in sub-cellular metabolomes. In the post-genomic era, significant advances have been made in predicting plant protein and transcriptomic localization to subcellular organelles through computational approaches. For obvious challenges such as, difficulty in pure preparations of organelles, shared metabolites among them, and associated complicated regulations in them delimits the growth in this area. We summarize the recent efforts and progresses made in directions of understanding the plant sub-cellular (organellar) metabolomes. Keywords: organelle, plastid, mitochondria, vacuole, proteomics, nonaqueous fractionation, The metabolic compartmentation adds a complex dimension to subcellular metabolomes Systems biology approaches, including bioinformatics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics have begun to contribute to our growing knowledge of cellular signaling and metabolism. However, the extensive and unique metabolic compartmentation is characteristic of eukaryotic cells, such as plant cells, thus rendering the analysis of compartmented metabolic networks complicated by virtue of separation and parallelization of pathways and intracellular transport (Wahrheit et al., 2011). Consequently, the study of plant cellular metabolomic networks becomes even more challenging (Toubian et al., 2013). Although the single cell and single-cell type metabolomics studies (Misra et al., 2014) bring in homogeneity in preparations to reflect on cellular (micro-metabolome) as the basic unit of life, the subcellular (nano-metabolome) pose a great deal of challenges for their investigation. Major plant subcellular structures include but are not limited to apoplast, cell plate, cell wall, endoplasmic reticulum and related structures, endosome, Golgi apparatus, microfilament, microtubule, mitochondrion, oil bodies, nucleus, peroxisome, plasma membrane, plastid and related structures, and vacuole. Metabolic pathways are highly segregated in different subcellular organelles (Browsher and Tobin, 2011). Undoubtedly, the compartmentalization of plant metabolites, add another complex dimension to principal regulatory aspects in plants, apart from the temporal dimensions. In addition, the diffusion of metabolites, the role of active transport by membrane-based transporters, and limitations in labeling and visualization of metabolites in cells render the localization even more difficult. Moreover, the genetic variation within these organelles have a widespread effect on the stochastic variation in primary metabolism with discrete impacts that differed from the organelle effect on the average metabolome (Joseph et al., 2015). As such, pathways of communication between v arious organelles of a plant cell are quite complex and interdependent, for example the rampant signaling between organelles such as chloroplasts and nuclei (Jung and Chory, 2009). Thus efforts to understand their individual metabolites would aid in understanding of these complex regulatory exchanges, in addition to what is established at the levels of transcripts and proteins. Omics-based approaches in identifying subcellular functionalities are powerful resources There have been considerable efforts to catalog the information content in organelles starting from imaging based approaches to omics-based systems biology perspectives. For instance, the aim of the plant organelles database (http://podb.nibb.ac.jp/Organellome) is to promote the understanding of organelle dynamics such as organelle function, biogenesis, differentiation, movement and interactions with other organelles (Mano et al. 2013). Although, genomics-based efforts are much more prevalent. Such as a unique database of RNA-editing sites found in plant organelle genes with the results mapped onto amino acid sequences and 3D structures (Yura et al. 2009) are available. In addition, to catalog fluorescent protein expression, public repositories such as the Maize Cell Genomics (MCG) database, (http://maize.jcvi.org/cellgenomics) have bene developed that represents major subcellular structures and also developmentally important progenitor cell populations (Krishnakumar et al., 2014). A nother noteworthy approach was the use of subcellular organelle expression microarray to study the organic acid changes in post-harvest Citrus fruit (Sun et al., 2013) and organelle membrane proteome during germination and tube growth of lily pollen (Pertl et al., 2009). In addition, proteomics efforts have revealed secretome, extracellular matrix, cell wall (14), vacuoles, plastids, and peroxisomes-specific changes in plants are catalogued (Liley and Dupree, 2007; Dai and Chen, 2012). Similarly, proteomics-based approaches for characterization of seed proteomes have been reviewed recently (Repetto and Gallardo, 2012). Rapid subcellularfractionationin combination with targeted proteomics allowed for measuring subcellularproteinconcentrations in attomole per 1000cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Weinkeeop et al., 2010). The importance of the spatial resolution of plant cellular metabolomes have been realized (Sumner et al., 2011). However, such efforts and databases are missing for plant subcellular metabolomes. Recently, the need for understanding the challenges in cellular compartmentalization for successful plant metabolic engineering was identified (Heining et al., 2013). The enrichment of other omics-based subcellular localization tools would allow understanding of the metabolic pathways operative in them for tinkering them for commercial success. Some widely used computational approaches for proteome level assignment of localization include, Some widely used prediction programs are: TargetP, http://www.cbs.dtu.dk/services/TargetP/, Predotar,http://www.inra.fr/predotar/, iPSORT, http://hc.ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp/iPSORT/, and SubLoc, http://www.bioinfo. tsinghua.edu.cn/SubLoc/, etc. For example, LocDB is a manually curated database with experimental annotations for the subcellular localizations of proteins inA. thaliana (Rastogi and Rost, 2011). Recently, the Peroxisome database (http://www.peroxisomeDB.org) was released which serves as a huge resource for cross-lineage comparison of functiona l genomic and metabolomic information on organisms such as fungi, yeasts, plants, human and lower eukaryotes, with an ensemble of 139 peroxisomal protein families and ~2706 putative peroxisomal protein homologs (Schlà ¼ter et al., 2010). On the other hand, databases such as SUBA (Heazlewood et al.,2007) are excellent inventories of subcellular compartmentation supported by experimental evidence mainly drawn from organellar proteome studies, which enable the integration of experimentation and prediction (Tanz et al., 2012). In the AraGEM genome-scale model ofArabidopsismetabolism the vast majority of reactions are assigned to the cytosol (1265 reactions in the cytosol, with 60, 159, and 98 reactions assigned to mitochondria, plastid, and peroxisome, respectively) (de Oliveira DalMolin et al.,2010). However, there are no available collage of information on subcellular metabolomes of plants to our knowledge, and hence this effort. Plant subcellular metabolome studies revisited: non-aqueous fractionation (NAF) methods There has bene several successful attempts at obtaining the qualitative and quantitative snap shots of sub-cellular metabolomes in plants. These efforts relied on fractionation of the or isolation of pure organelles followed by characterization of the metabolomes by gas chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography- mass spectrometry (LC-MS) among other approaches. Cell fractionation and immunohistochemical studies in the last 40 years have revealed the extensive compartmentation of plant metabolism from protein-based information (Lunn, 2007). Majority of the classical studies in compartmentation of plant metabolism focused on plastids, mitochondria, and vacuole and reflected on their structural and functional heterogeneity operative primary metabolic (photosynthesis, respiratory etc.) pathways (Lunn, 2007, Bowsher and Tobin, 2011). Plastids are involved in carbon and nitrogen metabolism, in particular nitrate and ammonium assimilation, the Calvin cycle, oxidative p entose-phosphate pathway, glycolysis, and terpenoid biosynthesis, and these have been reviewed from a metabolic perspective (Tobin and Bowsher, 2005). Thus plastidial proteomics have interested researchers for a long time (van Wijk and Baginsky, 2011). Analysis of the chloroplast proteome confirmed indicated biosynthesis of fatty acids, lipids, amino acids, nucleotides, hormones, alkaloids, and isoprenoids, Calvin cycle enzymes and proteins belonging to the light-harvesting apparatus and photosynthetic electron transport chain (van Wijk, 2004). Protoplast fractionation in combination with enzymatic determination of metabolites has been widely used to quantify a subset of metabolites like adenylates, phosphorylated sugars and Calvin cycle intermediates in different compartments(Kueger et al., 2012). The metabolomes of highly purified barley vacuoles isolated from mesophyll cell protoplasts by silicon oil centrifugation revealed the presence of 59 primary metabolites and ~200 secondar y metabolites by GC-MS and FT-MS (Fourier transform-mass spectrometry) such as amino acids, organic acids, sugars, sugar alcohols, shikimate pathway intermediates, vitamins, phenylpropanoids, and flavonoids, of which 12 were found exclusively in the vacuole (Tohge et al., 2011). Similarly, a single vacuole of single cell of the alga Chara australis revealed the localization and dynamics of 125 known metabolites(Oikawa et al., 2011). In plants, vacuoles are known for detoxification of xenobiotics (Coleman et al., 1997). In addition, the analysis of subcellular metabolite levels of potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum) indicated that either the cytosol or apoplast leads to a decrease in total sucrose content and to an increase in glucose and hexoses accumulate in the vacuole independently of their site of production (Farre et al., 2008). Furthermore, in the medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus, LC-MS analysis of the phenols from isolated leaf vacuoles detected the presence of three caffeoy lquinic acids and four flavonoids(Ferreres et al., 2010). Another example of the use of vibrational (Raman) spectroscopy in metabolomics was exemplified in the localization of ÃŽ ²-carotene by its 1150 and 1515 cm−1 Raman bands with subcellular resolution (~550 nm per pixel) in the cells of alga Euglena gracilis. Complementary single-cell MS data were also recorded which indicated the colocalization of ÃŽ ²-carotene and the plastids containing internal antennae of photosystem II (Urban et al., 2011). Non-aqueous fractionation (NAF) is the most widely used method for studying metabolite pool sizes at a subcellular level in plants(Kueger et al., 2012), where NAF method is based on the enrichment of compartments within a continuous non-aqueous density gradient instead of purifying individual intact organelles. This method is associated with true metabolomics studies allowing the subcellular localization of a large number of metabolites to be analyzed in parallel (Farre et al., 2001, Krueger et al., 2011). Assessment of metabolome compartmentation of soybean leaves using non-aqueous fractionation by GC-MS of about 100 compounds indicated a greater number of compounds identified in vacuole when compared to cytosol or stroma (Benkeblia et al., 2007). Furthermore, the NAF method allowed the identification and quantification of the subcellular distributions of metabolites in developing potato (Solanum tuberosumL. cv Desiree) tubers which revealed that ~60% of most sugars, sugar alcohols, organic acids, and amino acids were found in the vacuole, the substrates for starch biosynthesis, hexose phosphates, and ATP were found in the plastid, while pyrophosphate was located almost exclusively in the cytosol (Farrà © et al., 2011). Similarly, in A. thaliana leaves, using NAF methods about 1,000 proteins and 70 metabolites, including 22 phosphorylated intermediates were separated into plastidial, cytosolic, and vacuolar metabolites and proteins which indicated that cytosolic, mitochondrial, and peroxisomal proteins clustered together. Metabolites from the Calvin–Benson cycle, photorespiration, starch and sucrose synthesis, glycolysis, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle grouped with their associated proteins of the respective compartment, indicating NAF as a powerful tool for the study of the organellar, and in some cases sub-organellar, distribution of proteins and their association with metabolites. Unfortunately, organelles extracted from whole tissue homogenates are generally originated from a range of cell types (Bowsher and Tobin, 2001), but from specific organs such as leaves. However, the single largest study depicting the compartmentalized A. thaliana metabolome (Krueger et al., 2011), revealed the subcellular distribution of 1,117 polar and 2,804 lipophilic mass spectrometric features associated to known and unknown compounds. In conjunction with GC-MS and LC-MS-based metabolite profiling, 81.5% of the metabolic data could be associated to one of three subcellular compartments: the cytosol (including mitochondria), vacuole, or plastids. Nonetheless, the authors conceded that localizations of several known metabolites and structurally undetermined compounds (unknowns) were difficult to unambiguously explain on the basis of three compartments due to either unresolved compartments, or the interconnections of subcellular metabolic networks. Advances in mass spectrometry based lipidomics have enabled the simultaneous identification and quantification of lipid species from complex structures at the tissue, cellular and organelle resolution levels (Horn and Chapman, 2012). The authors showed that at the nano scale, ‘direct organelle MS’ (DOMS) holds immense potential to profile lipids at the organelle level by extracting lipids from organelles in isolation, or from intact cells, within a capillary tip, followed by their identification and quantification using direct-infusion nanospray MS. Furthermore, it was underscored that fluorescent protein technology can be used to image subcellular dynamics of plant cell organelles at a spatial and temporal resolution, and to manipulate the distribution of fluorescent markers to identify the genes responsible for the inner activities of plant cells by means of light microscopy alongside genomics (Sparkes and Brandizzi, 2012). Conclusion and future prospects Although used in most instances, NAF is static, invasive, has no cellular resolution, and is sensitive to artifacts. (Looger et al., 2005), validation of NAF technique is understood to hold the key for successful implementation (Klie et al., 2011). Spectroscopic methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging and positron emission tomography (PET) provide dynamic data, but poor spatial resolution. Thus, genetically encoded fluorescence resonance energy transfer(FRET) sensors (i.e., green florescence protein (GFP)-based, enzyme based etc.) have been proposed for visualizing metabolites with subcellular resolution (Looger et al., 2005). Flux-balance modeling of plant metabolic networks provides an important complement to13C-based metabolic flux analysis. Recently, several flux-balance models of plant metabolism have been published including genome-scale models ofA. thaliana metabolism (Sweetlove and Ratcliffe, 2011). Approaches for flux balance analysis have been reviewed else where (Lee et al., 2011; Lakshmanan et al., 2012). To achieve greater insights into metabolic fluxes across subcellular metabolomes several flux analyses tools are available, such as FiatFlux (Zamboni et al., 2005), OpenFLUX (Quek et al., 2009) that are based on 13C-based analysis, OptFlux (Rocha et al., 2010), FluxAnalyzer (Klamt et al., 2013), YANA (Schwarz et al., 2005). Model SEED, FAME, and MetaFlux have included several routines to facilitate the reconstruction of genome-scale metabolic models (Lakshmanan et al., 2012). NAF methods for obtaining subcellular fractions allows direct quenching of metabolism by snap-freezing in liquid nitrogen, thus, the combination of NAF with metabolic flux analysis using13C labeled CO2is a very attractive approach for the future (Keuger et al., 2012). On the other hand, MALDI associated secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) imaging, on research-grade MALDI-MS instruments, MSI is possible with a spatial resolution of

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Cuban Missile Crisis Analysis Essay -- History Historical Cuba Essays

Cuban Missile Crisis Analysis Works Cited Missing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the most important events in United States history; it’s even easy to say world history because of what some possible outcomes could have been from it. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 was a major Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. After the Bay of Pigs Invasion the USSR increased its support of Fidel Castro's Cuban regime, and in the summer of 1962, Nikita Khrushchev secretly decided to install ballistic missiles in Cuba. President Kennedy and the other leaders of our country were faced with a horrible dilemma where a decision had to be made. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara outlined three possible courses of action for the president: "The political course of action" of openly approaching Castro, Khrushchev, and U.S. allies in a gambit to resolve the crisis diplomatically, an option that McNamara and others considered unlikely to succeed; "a course of action that would involve declaration of open surveillance" coupled with "a blockade against offensive weapons entering Cuba"; and "military action directed against Cuba, starting with an air attack against the missiles" (Chang, 2). When U.S. reconnaissance flights revealed the clandestine construction of missile launching sites, President Kennedy publicly denounced (Oct. 22, 1962) the Soviet actions. The options of taking military action against Cuba and Russia luckily never took place and President Kennedy chose to impose a naval blockade on Cuba and declared that any missile launched from Cuba would warrant a full-scale retaliatory attack by the United States against the Soviet Union. On Oct. 24, Russian ships carrying missiles to Cuba turned back, and when Khrushchev agreed (Oct. 28) to withdraw the missiles and dismantle the missile sites, the crisis ended as suddenly as it had begun. The United States ended its blockade on Nov. 20, and by the end of the year the missiles and bombers were removed from Cuba. The chosen level of analysis and international relation theory to explain this event are the individual-level of analysis and realism. This level of analysis focuses on the individuals that make decisions, the impact of human nature, the behavior of individuals acting in an organization, and how personality and individual experiences impact foreign policy... ...g by President Kennedy and his staff the world would have went to World War III and possibly would never have been the same again. This analysis explained the Cuban rebels in the Bay of Pigs invasion, the importance of the great leaders of the United States, the important decision making by the U.S. leaders, and the crazy leaders of the Soviet Union and Cuba. The Cuban missile crisis was a very dangerous episode, bringing the world’s major military powers to the brink of nuclear war. This event was important to world history and to all the main leaders involved. President Kennedy was assassinated shortly after that, but is still regarded as one of the best Presidents in U.S. history mainly because of how he dealt with that event. Fidel Castro and the country of Cuba are not recognized by the U.S. to this day and are still banned from trade. The Soviet Union has collapsed since the Cuban Missile Crisis and is now known as Russia. The Soviet Union is no longer a communist government and now gets along well with the United States. The bottom line is that this one event prevented a possibly world wide tragic nuclear war and has greatly affected the way the world is shaped today.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Steam Engines :: essays research papers

The Steam Engine The steam engine provided a landmark in the industrial development of Europe. The first modern steam engine was built by an engineer, Thomas Newcomen, in 1705 to improve the pumping equipment used to eliminate seepage in tin and copper mines. Newcomen's idea was to put a vertical piston and cylinder at the end of a pump handle. He put steam in the cylinder and then condensed it with a spray of cold water; the vacuum created allowed atmospheric pressure to push the piston down. In 1763 James watt, an instrument-maker for Glasgow University, began to make improvements on Newcomen's engine. He made it a reciprocating engine, thus changing it from an atmospheric to a true "steam engine." He also added a crank and flywheel to provide rotary motion. In 1774 the industrialist Michael Boulton took Watt into partnership, and their firm produced nearly five hundred engines before Watt's patent expired in 1800. Water power continued in use, but the factory was now liberated from the streamside. A Watt engine drove Robert Fulton's experimental steam vessel Clermont up the Hudson in 1807. Railroads The coming of the railroads greatly facilitated the industrialization of Europe. At mid.eighteenth century the plate or rail track had been in common use for moving coal from the pithead to the colliery or furnace. After 1800 flat tracks were in use outside London, Sheffield, and Munich. With the expansion of commerce, facilities for the movement of goods from the factory to the ports or cities came into pressing demand. In 1801 Richard Trevithick had an engine pulling trucks around the mine where he worked in Cornwall. By 1830 a railway was opened from Liverpool to Manchester; and on this line George Stephenson's ''Rocket'' pulled a train of cars at fourteen miles an hour. The big railway boom in Britain came in the years 1844 to 1847. The railway builders had to fight vested interests-for example, canal stockholders, turnpike trusts, and horse breeders-but by 1850, aided by cheap iron and better machine tools, a network of railways had been built. By midcentury railroad trains travelling at thirty to fifty miles an hour were not uncommon, and freight steadily became more important than passengers. After 1850 in England the state had to intervene to regulate what amounted to a monopoly of inland transport. But as time went on the British railways developed problems. The First World War (1914-1918) found them suffering from overcapitalization, rising costs, and state regulation.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

A Dirty Job Chapter 4

4 THE BETA MALE IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT Jane,† said Charlie, â€Å"I am convinced by the events of the last few weeks that nefarious forces or people – unidentified but no less real – are threatening life as we know it, and in fact, may be bent on unraveling the very fabric of our existence.† â€Å"And that's why I have to eat yellow mustard?† Jane was sitting at Charlie's breakfast counter eating Little Smokies cocktail sausages out of the package, dipping them in a ramekin of French's yellow. Baby Sophie was sitting on the counter in her car-seat/bassinet/imperial-storm-trooper-helmet thingy. Charlie paced the kitchen, marking off his evidentiary points in the air with a sausage as he went. â€Å"First, there was the guy in Rachel's room that mysteriously disappeared from the security tapes.† â€Å"Because he was never there. Look, Sophie likes yellow mustard like you.† â€Å"Second,† Charlie continued, despite his sister's persistent indifference, â€Å"all the stuff in the shop was glowing like it was radioactive. Don't put that in her mouth.† â€Å"Oh my God, Charlie, Sophie's straight. Look at her go after that Lil' Smokie.† â€Å"And third, that Creek guy, got hit by a bus up on Columbus yesterday, I knew his name and he had an umbrella that was glowing red.† â€Å"I'm so disappointed,† said Jane. â€Å"I was looking forward to raising her on the all-girls team – giving her the advantages I never had, but look at her work that sausage. This kid is a natural.† â€Å"Get that out of her mouth!† â€Å"Relax, she can't eat it. She doesn't even have teeth. And it's not like there's a moaning Teletubby on the other end of it. Oh, jeez, it's going to take major tequila to get that picture out of my head.† â€Å"She can't have pork, Jane. She's Jewish! Are you trying to turn my daughter into a shiksa?† Jane snatched the cocktail sausage out of Sophie's mouth, and examined it, even as the fiber-optic strand of drool stayed connected to the tiny kid. â€Å"I don't think I can eat these things ever again,† Jane said. â€Å"They'll always conjure visions of my niece blowing a terry-cloth puppet person.† â€Å"Jane!† Charlie grabbed the sausage from her and flung it into the sink. â€Å"What?!† â€Å"Are you listening at all?† â€Å"Yes, yes, you saw some guy get hit by a bus so your fabric is unraveling. So?† â€Å"So, someone is fucking with me?† â€Å"And why is that news, Charlie? You've thought someone was fucking with you since you were eight.† â€Å"They have been. Probably. But this time it's real. It could be real.† â€Å"Hey, these are all-beef Lil' Smokies. Sophie's not a shikster after all.† â€Å"Shiksa!† â€Å"Whatever.† â€Å"Jane, you're not helping with my problem.† â€Å"What problem? You have a problem?† Charlie's problem was that the trailing edge of his Beta Male imagination was digging at him like bamboo splinters under the fingernails. While Alpha Males are often gifted with superior physical attributes – size, strength, speed, good looks – selected by evolution over the eons by the strongest surviving and, essentially, getting all the girls, the Beta Male gene has survived not by meeting and overcoming adversity, but by anticipating and avoiding it. That is, when the Alpha Males were out charging after mastodons, the Beta Males could imagine in advance that attacking what was essentially an angry, woolly bulldozer with a pointy stick might be a losing proposition, so they hung back at camp to console the grieving widows. When Alpha Males set out to conquer neighboring tribes, to count coups and take heads, Beta Males could see in advance that in the event of a victory, the influx of female slaves was going to leave a surplus of mateless women cast out for younger t rophy models, with nothing to do but salt down the heads and file the uncounted coups, and some would find solace in the arms of any Beta Male smart enough to survive. In the case of defeat, well, there was that widows thing again. The Beta Male is seldom the strongest or the fastest, but because he can anticipate danger, he far outnumbers his Alpha Male competition. The world is led by Alpha Males, but the machinery of the world turns on the bearings of the Beta Male. The problem (Charlie's problem) is that the Beta Male imagination has become superfluous in the face of modern society. Like the saber-toothed tiger's fangs, or the Alpha Male's testosterone, there's just more Beta Male imagination than can really be put to good use. Consequently, a lot of Beta Males become hypochondriacs, neurotics, paranoids, or develop an addiction to porn or video games. Because, while the Beta Male imagination evolved to help him avoid danger, as a side effect it also allows him fantasy-only access to power, money, and leggy, model-type females who, in reality, wouldn't kick him in the kidneys to get a bug off their shoe. The rich fantasy life of the Beta Male may often spill over into reality, manifesting in near-genius levels of self-delusion. In fact, many Beta Males, contrary to any empirical evidence, actually believe that they are Alpha Males, and have been endowed by their creator with advanced stealth charisma, which, although awesome in concept, is totally undetectable by women not constructed from carbon fiber. Every time a supermodel divorces her rock-star husband, the Beta Male secretly rejoices (or more accurately, feels great waves of unjustified hope), and every time a beautiful movie star marries, the Beta Male experiences a sense of lost opportunity. The entire city of Las Vegas – plastic opulence, treasure for the taking, vu lgar towers, and cocktail waitresses with improbable breasts – is built on the self-delusion of the Beta Male. And Beta Male self-delusion played no small part in Charlie first approaching Rachel, that rainy day in February, five years before, when he had ducked into A Clean, Well-Lighted Place for Books to get out of the storm, and Rachel granted him a shy smile over a stack of Carson McCullers she was shelving. He quickly convinced himself that it was because he was dripping with boyish charm, when it was, in fact, simply because he was dripping. â€Å"You're dripping,† she said. She had blue eyes, fair skin, and dark loose curls that fell around her face. She gave him a sideways glance – just enough consideration to spur his Beta Male ego. â€Å"Yeah, thanks,† Charlie said, taking a step closer. â€Å"Can I get you a towel or something?† â€Å"Nah, I'm used to it.† â€Å"You're dripping on Cormac McCarthy.† â€Å"Sorry.† Charlie wiped All the Pretty Horses with his sleeve while he tried to see if she had a nice figure under the floppy sweater and cargo pants. â€Å"Do you come here often?† Rachel took a second before responding. She was wearing a name tag, working inventory from a metal cart, and she was pretty sure she'd seen this guy in the store before. So he wasn't being stupid, he was being clever. Sort of. She couldn't help it, she laughed. Charlie shrugged damply and smiled. â€Å"I'm Charlie Asher.† â€Å"Rachel,† Rachel said. They shook hands. â€Å"Rachel, would you like to get a cup of coffee or something sometime?† â€Å"That sort of depends, Charlie. I'd need you to answer a few questions first.† â€Å"Of course,† Charlie said. â€Å"If you don't mind, I have some questions, too.† He was thinking, What do you look like naked? and How long before I can check? â€Å"Fine, then.† Rachel put down The Ballad of the Sad Caf and counted on her fingers. â€Å"Do you have a job, a car, and a place to live? And are the last two things the same thing?† She was twenty-five and had been single for a while. She'd learned to screen her applicants. â€Å"Uh, yes, yes, yes, and no.† â€Å"Excellent. Are you gay?† She'd been single for a while in San Francisco. â€Å"I asked you out.† â€Å"That means nothing. I've had guys not realize they were gay until we'd gone out a few times. Turns out that's my specialty.† â€Å"Wow, you're kidding.† He looked her up and down and decided that she probably had a great figure under the baggy clothes. â€Å"I could see it going the other way, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Right answer. Okay, I'll have coffee with you.† â€Å"Not so fast, what about my questions?† Rachel threw out a hip and rolled her eyes, sighed. â€Å"Okay, shoot.† â€Å"I don't really have any, I just didn't want you to think I was easy.† â€Å"You asked me out thirty seconds after we met.† â€Å"Can you blame me? There you were, eyes and teeth – hair, dry, holding good books – â€Å" â€Å"Ask me!† â€Å"Do you think that there's any chance, you know, after we get to know each other, that you'll like me? I mean, can you see it happening?† It didn't matter that he was pushing it – whether he was sly or just awkward, she was defenseless against his Beta Male charm sans charisma, and she had her answer. â€Å"Not a chance,† she lied. â€Å"I miss her,† Charlie said, and he looked away from his sister as if there was something in the sink that really, really needed studying. His shoulders shook with a sob and Jane went to him and held him as he slumped to his knees. â€Å"I really miss her.† â€Å"I know you do.† â€Å"I hate this kitchen.† â€Å"Right there with you, kid.† The good sister, she was. â€Å"I see this kitchen and I see her face and I can't handle it.† â€Å"Yes, you can. You will. It will get better.† â€Å"Maybe I should move or something.† â€Å"You do what you think you need to, but pain travels pretty well.† Jane rubbed his shoulders and his neck, as if his grief was a knot in a muscle that could be worked out under direct pressure. After a few minutes he was back, functioning, sitting at the counter between Sophie and Jane, drinking a cup of coffee. â€Å"You think I'm just imagining all this, then?† Jane sighed. â€Å"Charlie, Rachel was the center of your universe. Anyone who saw you guys together knew that. Your life revolved around her. With Rachel gone, it's like you have no center, nothing to ground you, you're all wobbly and unstable, so things seem unreal. But you do have a center.† â€Å"I do?† â€Å"It's you. I don't have a Rachel, or anyone like her on the horizon, but I'm not spinning out of control.† â€Å"So you're saying I need to be self-centered, like you?† â€Å"I guess I am. Do you think that makes me a bad person?† â€Å"Do you care?† â€Å"Good point. Are you going to be okay? I need to go buy some yoga DVDs. I'm starting a class tomorrow.† â€Å"If you're going to take a class, then why do you need DVDs?† â€Å"I have to look like I know what I'm doing or no one will go out with me. You going to be okay?† â€Å"I'll be okay. I just can't go in the kitchen, or look at anything in the apartment, or listen to music, or watch TV.† â€Å"Okay then, have fun,† Jane said, tweaking the baby's nose on the way out the door. When she was gone, Charlie sat at the counter for a while looking at baby Sophie. Strangely enough, she was the only thing in the apartment that didn't remind him of Rachel. She was a stranger. She looked at him – those wide blue eyes – with sort of an odd, glazed look. Not with the adoration or wonder that you might expect, more like she'd been drinking and would be leaving as soon as she found her car keys. â€Å"Sorry,† Charlie said, averting his gaze to a stack of unpaid bills by the phone. He could feel the kid watching him, wondering, he thought, how many terry-cloth puppet people she'd have to blow to get a decent father over here. Still, he checked that she was securely strapped in her chair, then went off to grab the undone laundry, because he was, in fact, going to be a very good father. Beta Males almost always make good fathers. They tend to be steady and responsible, the kind of guys a girl (if she was resolved to do without the seven-figure salary or the thirty-six-inch vertical leap) would want as a father for her children. Of course, she'd rather not have to sleep with him for that to happen, but after you've been kicked to the curb by a few Alpha Males, the idea of waking up in the arms of a guy who will adore you, if for no other reason than gratitude for sex, and will always be there, even past the point where you can stand to have him around, is a comfortable compromise. For the Beta Male, if nothing else, is loyal. He makes a great husband as well as a great best friend. He will help you move and bring you soup when you are sick. Always considerate, the Beta Male thanks a woman after sex, and is often quick with an apology as well. He makes a great house sitter, especially if you aren't especially attached to your house pets. A Beta Male is trustworthy: your girlfriend is generally in safe hands with a Beta Male friend, unless, of course, she is a complete slut. (In fact, the complete slut through history may be exclusively responsible for the survival of the Beta Male gene, for loyal as he may be, the Beta Male is helpless in the face of charging, unimaginary bosoms.) And while the Beta Male has the potential to be a great husband and father, the skills still need to be learned. So, for the next few weeks, Charlie did little but care for the tiny stranger in his house. She was an alien, really – a sort of eating, pooping, tantrum machine – and he didn't understand anything about her species. But as he tended to her, talked to her, lost a lot of sleep over her, bathed her, watched her nap, and admonished her for the disgusting substances that oozed and urped out of her, he started to fall in love. One morning, after a particularly active night of the feed-and-change parade, he awoke to find her staring goofily at the mobile over her crib, and when she saw him, she smiled. That did it. Like her mother before her, she set the course of his life with a smile. And as it had with Rachel, that wet morning in the bookstore, his soul lit up. The weirdness, the bizarre circumstances of Rachel's death, the red glowing items in the shop, the dar k, winged thing above the street, all of it took a backseat to the new light of his life. He didn't understand that she loved him unconditionally – so when he got up in the middle of the night to feed her, he put on a shirt and combed his hair and tested to see that his breath was free of funk. Within minutes of getting poleaxed with affection for his daughter, he started to develop a deep fear for her safety, which, over the course of a few days, blossomed into a whole new garden of paranoia. â€Å"It looks like Nerf world in here,† Jane said, one afternoon when she brought in the bills from the store and the checks for Charlie to sign. Charlie had padded every sharp corner or edge in the apartment with foam rubber and duct tape, put plastic covers on all of the electrical outlets, childproofed locks on all cabinets, installed new smoke, carbon monoxide, and radon detectors, and activated the V?CChip on the TV so that now he was incapable of watching anything that didn't feature baby animals or learning the alphabet. â€Å"Accidents are the number one cause of death among children in America,† Charlie said. â€Å"But she can't even roll over on her stomach yet.† â€Å"I want to be ready. Everything I read says that one day you're breast-feeding them and the next day you wake up and they're dropping out of college.† He was changing the baby on the coffee table and had used ten baby wipes so far, if Jane had the count right. â€Å"I think that might be a metaphor. You know, for how fast they grow up.† â€Å"Well, it's done when she's ready to crawl.† â€Å"Why don't you just make a big foam-rubber suit for her, it's easier than padding the world. Charlie, it's scary-looking in here. You can't bring a woman here, she'd think you're nuts.† Charlie looked at his sister for a long second without saying anything, just frozen there, holding a disposable diaper in one hand and his daughter's ankles scissored between the fingers of the other. â€Å"When you're ready,† Jane stumbled on. â€Å"I mean, I'm not saying that you'd bring a woman here.† â€Å"Okay, because I'm not.† â€Å"Of course not. I'm not saying that. But you have to leave the apartment. For one thing, you need to go downstairs to the store. Ray has turned the point-of-sale computer into some kind of dating service and the truant officer has stopped by three times looking for Lily. And I can't keep doing the accounts and trying to run things and do my job, too, Charlie. Dad left you the business for a reason.† â€Å"But there's no one to watch Sophie.† â€Å"You have Mrs. Korjev and Mrs. Ling right here in the building, let one of them watch her. Hell, I'll watch her for a few hours in the evening, if that will help.† â€Å"I'm not going down there in the evening. That's when things are radioactive.† Jane set the stack of papers on the coffee table next to Sophie's head and backed away with her arms crossed. â€Å"Play what you just said back in your head, would you.† Charlie did, then shrugged. â€Å"Okay, that sounds a little crazy.† â€Å"Go make an appearance at the shop, Charlie. Just a few minutes to get your feet wet and put the fear of God in Ray and Lily, okay? I'll finish changing her.† Jane slid in between the couch and the coffee table, nudging her brother out of the way. In the process she knocked the dirty diaper to the floor, where it fell open. â€Å"Oh my God!† She gagged and turned her head. â€Å"Another reason not to eat brown mustard, huh?† Charlie said. â€Å"You bastard!† He backed away. â€Å"Okay, I'm going downstairs. You're sure you got this?† â€Å"Go!† Jane said, waving him out of the room with one hand while holding her nose with the other.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Classroom Participation

Classroom participation is a condition in which all students take part in discussions that go on in the classroom, learning, and listening to others' ideas, comments, and questions (Wade, 1994).Lack of participation remains one of the challenges teachers face in Mathematics lessons in Namibia (Mbalu, 2004). According to Ministry of education (1994) since independence teaching mathematic has been a challenge, while lack of participation being an aspect of this challenge leading to the poor performance in the subject of Mathematics particularly at Upper Primary. Mathematics' Numeracy and literacy are core features of primary education, thus Mathematics and the languages are the most important subjects in the curriculum in this phase and participation is one of the fundamental requirements. Millar (2004) states that abstract ideas cannot simply be transferred from teacher to learner, the learner must play an active role in appropriating these ideas and making personal sense of them. Learners should learn mathematics by doing Mathematics and thus should experience inquiry in the Mathematics classrooms. According to NIED (2015) Learners learn best when they are actively involved in the learning process through a high degree of participation, contribution and production. According to Mwetulundila (2000) reports that leaners in Namibia especially girls do not fully participate in mathematics because of the following reason: The South African colonial education was inferior particularly With regard to Mathematics; the low participation of females is carried-over from secondary schools or high schools to tertiary level; the â€Å"hidden curriculum,† which not only lacks gender equality regarding what is taught, but also regarding how it is taught; socio-economic factors .This study focused more on higher grades not primary and also have left unanswered question on factors in the classroom that can lead to lack of participation in a mathematics lesson. The rationale for studying Mathematics involves observing, representing and investigating patterns and quantitative relationships in social and physical phenomena. These cannot be achieved if learners are not motivated to participate in Mathematics lessons (NIED, 2015). Wade (1994, p. 12) considered the â€Å"ideal class participation† as one in which all students take part in the discussions that go on in the classroom, learning, and listening to others' ideas, comments, and questions. Participating in classroom activities provides a critical occasion for learning new skills. Participation helps pupils make deep, meaningful connections in the mind that are important in learning (Bean and Peterson, 2003). Furthermore, the importance of learners' participation is also stressed by Jackson (2002) who maintain that participation provides the setting in which learners can construct and shape identities as members of the classroom. Moreover, research has shown that participation in classroom activities is important in learner centered curriculum for effective learning to take place, especially in Mathematics (Jeffrey & Adam, 2010). They further noted that participation increases the likelihood learners will study and have a sense of responsibility for their learning when they actively voice their opinions and thoughts in the classroom. Despite the benefits of participation in the classroom, lack of participation is a common phenomenon in grade4 mathematic lessons at the primary School. This problem (lack of participation) was identified by the researcher during School Based Studies Phase 3 at the primary School in Mathematic lessons, as one of the major problem contributing to high failure in Mathematics, when he was conducting his teaching practice. As observed, the majority of learners in this grades were not participating in the classroom during the Mathematics lesson presentations. Therefore, teachers are encouraged to derive strategies on how to motivate learners to participate in Mathematic lessons. This prompted the researcher to carry out a case study in order to find out more about factors contributing to lack of participation and find out strategies that could be used by Mathematic teachers to enhance learners' participation.Statement of the ProblemMore of literature have been written regarding the value and importance of learners' participation in classroom discussion but few, if any, teachers (particularly at school level in Namibian Mathematic classrooms) would dispute the position that learners who participate in class learn more(Petress, 2006) . However, actual evidence to support this hypothesis seems somewhat lacking. Despite the shift from teacher centered to the learner centered approach of teaching and learning there still seems to be very little freedom and autonomy amongst learners (Rocca, 2001).Vygotsky (1978) is of the opinion that to be autonomous, learners need to be able to have some choices as to why and how of the curriculum and, at the same time, they should feel responsible for their own learning and for the learning of those with whom they interact. In addition, it still gives educators question marks on why most of our learners refuse to participate in classrooms apart from the fact that we have a learner centered notion that in one way promotes learners freedom on the curriculum (Rocca, 2001). It really brings frustrations when teachers ask their learners whether they understood a topic or not, what is commonly observed is that learners in grade 4 at this primary School always tell their teachers that they understand the topic yet when it comes to the home works, tests, oral question or class works, they underperform. Deducing from observations, one of the reasons they say we do understand a topic even if they do not is probably fear and lack of freedom of expression, since the whole lesson they are passive. There is an absence of literature available that deals with factors contributing to lack of participation in Mathematic in Namibian schools previous work has only focused on gender, social culture and social economy as key factor contributing to lack of participation in mathematics. It is against this background that a case study will be conducted to seek a deeper understanding on the factors contributing to lack of participation and find out strategies that could be used to enhance learners' participation in Mathematic lessons for grade 4 at a primary school.Research aims and objectivesThe primary purpose of this study was to examine the factors contributing to lack of participation in grade 4 Mathematic classroom. Secondly, it was to suggest strategies that could be used to enhance participation by teachers in Mathematic lessons at the primary School.Significance of the studyPeople who will benefit from this study will be educators, teachers and learners in Zambezi region as well a s all over country. The results of this study are important as they would inform the policy makers of the factors that inhibit teachers from engaging their learners in a meaningfully manner in Mathematics lessons Thus, they can come up with possible strategies to enhance learners' participation. Teachers will benefit as they would be aware of the different strategies to enhance their leaners participation in Mathematics lessons which will enrich the teaching and learning process.Limitations of studyThere are not many studies done in Namibia on participation of learners in Mathematics. This is a big limitation especially to get secondary data for the literature review. Second, the size, convenience, and homogeneity of the sample will limit the generalizability of this study. Limited time needed to carry out the study will be a limitation too.DelimitationsResearch participants was restricted to Mathematics teachers and learners at this School, in the Zambezi region. Other people were not directly involved in Mathematics classroom, for example; the principal and other teachers who do not teach Mathematics.Definition of TermsClassroom participation: Wade (1994) considered the â€Å"ideal class participation† as one in which all students take part: in discussions that go on in the classroom, learning, and listening to others' ideas, comments, and questions.Teaching strategies: Teaching strategies comprise the principles and methods used for instruction (Effective Teaching Strategies, 1994).Motivation: Donyei (1998) defines motivation in Second Language Learning as the dynamically changing cumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates and evaluates the cognitive and motor processes.Phenomenon: refers to something which is observed to happen or exist, in this case learners' lack of participation in Mathematics lessons (Cambridge Online Dictionaries. 2016).Learner centered: â€Å"teaching means the student is at the center of learning. The student assumes the responsibility for learning while the instructor is responsible for facilitating the learning. Thus, the power in the classroom shifts to the student† (Jeffrey & Adam, 2010, p.135). Autonomy: is defined as the ability to make your decisions about what to do rather than being influenced by teachers (Cambridge Online Dictionaries, 2016).CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEWFACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO CONTRIBUTING TO LACK OF CLASSROOM PARTICIPATION No teacher will ever deny that active classroom participation plays an important role in the success of language learning (Tatar, 2005). As involvement and participation are essential for language acquisition, the more utterances the learners offer, the better their spoken language is and vice versa. This phenomenon is termed Matthew Effect that is â€Å"rich get richer, poor get poorer† (Chau, Fung-ming, 1996. P. 67).This context the rich get richer while the poor get poorer simply means that those that participate frequently in the Mathematic lessons improve their skills and while those that are always passive remain behind in terms of language development and subject content.LANGUAGE ANXIETYJones (2004) defines this phenomenon in language learning situation as a fear provoked when the learner is asked to speak in the second or the foreign language in public, with the risk of social embarrassment. Oxford (1990), Jones (2004), Von Worde (2003) concludes that anxiety has a negative effect in language learning. Fears, nervousness, timidity and lack of self-confidence are related to language anxiety. The experience of participating in Mathematics Lesson is both mentally and emotionally demanding for most learners (Timothy, 2007). Larkin and Pines (2003) emphasize that most second or foreign languages are learned in classrooms, where there is constant performance evaluation by the teachers and peers. This situation can be frightening for most learners, especially those who are shy, due to their desire for approval from others and fear of negative evaluation. In Mathematics class for instance, where English as a foreign language, especially a class that emphasizes speaking and listening, shy students seem to be at a great disadvantage since they do not draw attention to themselves, either by not volunteering to answer questions in class, or by avoiding opportunities for oral communication.LACK OF PREPARATIONAlso another cause of students ‘silence to participate in Mathematic class. The findings of a study conducted by Macro thinker Institute (2008) revealed that some learners felt nervous when speaking English without any preparation. Second language learners in most cases have to think in their mother tongue when asked a question in English so when they are caught offside it becomes difficult for them to participate (Miller, 1995; 1996; Larkin and Pines, 2003).FEAR OF VOLUN TEERING TO ASK OR ANSWER A QUESTION IN CLASSBeing afraid to speak in class for fear of making mistakes was of concern for learners. Liu and Littlewood, (1997) discovered that when learners were asked in a research on how they felt concerning asking and answering questions during class, most of them reported that they often felt afraid of asking a question to teachers during class.  SHYNESSShyness was another influencing factor which could affect students' participation. However, shyness, according to Anthony (2004), is a behavior that could be the result of any one oral combination of the following factors: social introversion, lacking confidence in subject matter, and/or communication apprehension.FEAR OF MAKING MISTAKES AND BEING LAUGHED ATFassinger, 1995; Krupnick, 1985; and Crombie, (2003) mentioned that fear of making errors is often cited as another cause of the perceived silence and passivity. This anxiety factor is also allegedly related to certain aspects of Eastern cultu re, such as the desire to be right and perfect and fear of losing face (Cheng, 2000). Melvin and Lord (2006) noted that anxiety of making mistakes reduce participation because they think their mistakes make them feel incompetent. Learners think making a mistake in Mathematics classroom will distort their image in front of their classmates.CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGYIn this chapter the study describes the methodology and different procedures used during data collection and analysis. In the first part research design is discussed. The second part will be on the instrument and procedures of data collection which consist of observation and interview. The third part relates to the data processing and analysis. The last part will be the ethical issues considerationRESEARCH DESIGNResearch design may be referred to as the plan of the study that will answer the research objectives. Research designs are the specific procedures involved in the research process which are; data collection, d ata analysis and report writing (Creswell, 2012: 20). In addition to that Yin (1994) explains a different way of thinking about research design that it is a â€Å"blueprint† of research, looking at four problems: what questions to study, what data are relevant, what data to collect and how to analyze the results. The purpose of research design is to help the researcher to organize his or her ideas in a way that the researcher will be in a good flow. The researcher chose case study design to work with in the research. Case study In this study the researcher employed a case study design to be able to answer the research questions. Stake (2004) gives the definition of a case study that is both a process of inquiry about the case and the product of that inquiry. Yin (2003: 18) argues that â€Å"case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real life context especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident†. Qualitative approach In order to find out the factors contributing to lack of participation amongst grade 4C-E learners in the Mathematics classroom at the school, qualitative approach was used. Qualitative approach allows researchers to get at the inner experiences of participants, to determine how meanings are formed through culture and to discover rather than test variables (Corbin & Straws, 2008: 5). Creswell (2012) stresses that, qualitative research is suitable in addressing a research problem which you do not know the variables and need to discover. The natural setting of this study was in a Mathematics classroom where teaching process occur. Teachers and learners were observed and interviewed on the factors contributing to lack of participation and strategies that they use in teaching to enhance participation in their classes POPULATION Population may be defined as certain group of people in which a researcher is interested in. Cresswell (2012) defines population as a group of individuals with some common defining characteristic that a researcher can identify and study. In this study the population was formed by two teachers and ten learners which involve four learners from 4C and three from 4D and 4E respectively. All the teachers and learners were purposeful selected from the Mathematics classes. SAMPLING AND SAMPLING PROCEDURE Susan (2012), Sampling says is a method of studying from a few selected items, instead of the entire big number of units. The small selection is called sample. Purposive sampling method will be used as the sampling procedure (Cohen &Manion, 1995). From the population 3 teachers will be selected and 10 learners from grade 4A-4D SAMPLING PROCEDURE Purposive sampling is when a researcher chooses specific people within the population to use for a particular study or research project unlike random studies, which deliberately include a diverse cross section of ages, backgrounds and cultures, the idea behind purposive sampling is to concentrate on people with particular characteristics who will better be able to assist with the relevant research (Cohen &Manion, 1995). In this study teachers to be interviewed will be purposively selected based on the subject they teach Mathematics in this case. Two Mathematic teachers will be interviewed in this study. Four learners from grade will be interviewed. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT During the examination on the factors contributing to lack of participation in Mathematics classroom interview and observation were used. Observation The observation was my main instrument of collecting data. Since the study was about the factors contributing to lack of participation amongst grade 5C–E learners in the Social studies classroom, therefore it was important to see what teachers do in the classroom. Maxwell (2005) argues that it is known that observation often provides a direct and influential way of learning about people's behavior and context in which this occurs. In line with this Gall et al (2007) says observation provide rich data sources that offer an in-depth explanation of the case. In this study the researcher observed factors contributing to lack of participation and teaching strategies which were used by the teachers during classroom instructions in Mathematics lessons grade The researcher also observed strategies that teachers use to enhance participation Mathematics classroom. The observation method may supplement what the oral interview may not suffice. I used non-participant observation. I believe that non-participant observation gave me a great chance to observe what the teachers are doing in an inclusive class. Advantages of observation Observation is very important among the data collection instruments. According to Marshal and Rossman (1995) the following are the advantages of observation. It is used to find out complex interactions in natural social settings. They also believe that even in depth interview studies, observation plays a significant role as the investigator notes body language and affects in addition to the person's worlds. Limitations of observation Limitations which are likely to occur during observation are closely related to the role of inquirer in observation. This may be because the researcher assumes the participant, nonparticipant, or middle-grounded position. Taking the field notes, recording quotes perfectly for inclusion and determining the good timing for moving from a nonparticipant to participant. Researchers sometime tend to disclose themselves to the participants, sharing relationships with other individuals and attempting to disengage from the site (Cresswell, 2007 p.139). Interview This study involved semi-structured interviews which are attached in appendix A and B. The interview involved open-ended questions that were asked to the interviewees. The questions were constructed from my knowledge gained from literature on classroom participation, my experience on Namibia's educational system, my educational background, and my personal interest.