The Psychodynamics of Depression

Depression – Psychodynamic Theory I have been interested in the mechanics of depression since childhood, when my mother ‘suffered with her nerves’ – her explanation of what I now recognise as a very severe melancholia defined by Burton in 1621 as â€Å"a kind of dotage without a fever, having for his ordinary companions fear and sadness, without any apparent occasion† (p739). My interest was further compounded by my clients, Valerie and Jo, when it become apparent to me that depression is one of the most common and debilitating phenomenon that I will probably have to encounter in my role as a Counsellor. Before beginning, it may be useful to briefly consider Freud’s warning that depression is not a homogenous group of conditions and that it probably involves more than one aetiology (Freud 1917). It can reflect underlying cultural and environmental trends in addition to physiological factors. (Desjerlais et al. 1995) A review of the literature reveals that research relating to the nature and origins of the psychodynamic theory of depression is rich in contributions to the theme, thus this essay of necessity represents a high-altitude skim over a massive topic. I will concentrate on authors who have made some of the most seminal contributions to the development of the theory, namely Abraham, Freud, Jacobson, Klein and Mahler. (There are, in actuality, numerous other pioneers in the cultivation of this theory, such as Malan, Sandler, Spiz, Bibring, Rado, Blatt, Benedek, Lindemann, Kohut, some of which, due to word limit, I have not included). Bowlby‘s theory of attachment, although not psychodynamic per se, is also considered, because the way in which people relate to loss of attachment appears relevant to our understanding of depression. Schore, who describes the neuroscience of attachment and how the brain of the parent and infant interact, has also been included The first thing we need to do is to be clear about four quite different ways that we may talk about depression. Jacobson referred to them as normal, neurotic, psychotic and grief reactions (1971 p19). What Jacobson (1971) referred to as normal depression, appears to be akin to what Klein referred to as the depressive position (Segal 1973). She, who it appears from my literature search (Klein 1940, Meltzer 1989, Spillius 1983, Money Kyle 1964), more than any other psychoanalytic pioneer viewed the infant as a miniature adult, found evidence of a â€Å"depressive position† from birth (Klein 1932 in Meltzer 1989 p37). This is essentially a state of health, a capacity to bear guilt, stay in touch with mental pain and emotional problems and bring thinking to bear on situations (Meltzer 1998). According to Klein we oscillate between our ability to stay with painful situations or seek temporary relief through splitting and projection (defence mechanisms), returning to the paranoid-schizoid position – the state of mind existing in babies ; one that is constantly returned to throughout life to greater or lesser degrees (Klein 1932 in Money Kyle 1964). Defence mechanisms are defined as tactics which the Ego develops to help deal with the ID and the Super Ego (Freud 1923). Freud introduced the term ‘ego' in â€Å"The Ego and The Id† (1923). He holds that only a portion of the mind is conscious and the rest lies hidden deep within the subconscious, ruled by conflicting forces of a super-strong libido (id) and super-controlling morality (superego) all translated through the ego, which attempts to balance the two through rationality (1923). Libido is described as the ‘energy of the sexual instincts‘ (Frued 1925). Neurotic depression or reactive depression can be understood as an exaggerated response to stress due to a weak state of ego strength combined with a failure of the external support system. Neurotic depression consists of a fall in self esteem after the ego has been abandoned by its ideal (Sandler 1965)). In modern day terminology, Jacobson's psychotic depression could be termed a severe depressive episode with psychotic symptoms (WHO 1992). Brown and Harris’ studies state that early loss appears tied to the emergence of psychotic versus neurotic symptom patterns (1986). Bowlby thought a mother-child attachment could not be broken in the first years of life without permanent and serious damage to the child’s future development (Bowlby 1973). Jacobson said there is fusion of the self and the object[1] epresentation within the ego and superego, â€Å"calling forth attack from an extremely pathological sadistic and idealised superego on a fused and highly devalued selfâ€Å" (Lund 1991, p533). The capacity for sadness is absent because the object and its representation are â€Å"devalued and united with the devalued representation of selfâ€Å" (p534). Th is appears to be evidenced by Jo who was referred for treatment of â€Å"severe anxiety and panic attacks,† and whose symptoms include extreme suspiciousness and intolerance of her peers, and delusional ideas relative to her mother. These psychotic-like symptoms could be related to the treatment she received from her mother who maltreated her and ultimately abandoned her when she was a toddler. Freud contrasted the mental processes involved in mourning with those of depression which he termed melancholia (1917); the latter could now be referred to as a severe depressive episode (WHO 1992). He regarded both mourning and depression as grief reactions to the loss of someone or something loved (1917). The distinction between the two conditions he described with the statement that in contrast to the mourner, the melancholic suffers â€Å"an extraordinary diminution in his self regard, and impoverishment of his ego on a grand scale† (1917 p 153). The explanation of this key difference appears to rest on the psychological concept of identification. Freud argued that part of the self had undergone a change in depression through its becoming identified with the lost object (1917). Object loss refers to traumatic separation from significant objects of attachment, usually mother (Bowlby 1973). In relation to the regressive identification Freud said â€Å"Thus the shadow of the object fell upon the ego†¦. † implying that the low self esteem of the melancholic is directly related to the condition of the introjected[2] object (Freud 1917 p243 ). Abraham also stressed the importance of introjection in melancholia (1911). Whereas mourning recognises the loss of an object that was â€Å"good† and â€Å"loved,† the melancholic’s relationship to the lost object is necessarily more ambivalent, i. e. a dense complex of love and hate (Klein 1940 in Money-Kyle 1998 p 142). Freud stressed the importance of heightened ambivalence in melancholia. He suggests that melancholia involves a regression to the oral narcissism phase of the libido, when an identification with the lost object occurs (1917). At the very early oral stage, described by Freud as primary narcissism ( 1914) and by Fairbairn as â€Å"mouth ego with a breast,† (1952 p87 ), the mouth feeds on the breast and is temporarily content. However, disturbances in feeding and other related irritations generate the agony of want and pains of anxiety. Consequently, fixation at the early oral phase results in the registration of a painful (bad) internal wanting and a nourishing (good) something somewhere in the vague uncharted outside of the child. Narcissism is described as an orientation towards internal objects, characterised by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem (Kernburg 1969). Jo’s refusal to eat when in a severely depressed state could be viewed as her regression to oral narcissism. Freud also believed too many positive experiences during the first year of life could set an individual up for developing depression later on in life (Comer, 1992). He posited that if an individual is nurtured too much as an infant, she will not develop beyond the oral stage of development because there was never a need to. Although his theories emphasised the importance of early experience on later development, I understand from the literature it was Abraham (1911) who first made this distinction. He defined melancholia as an ambivalent feeling of love and hate toward the self that arises from an early infantile disappointment in love (1911). He too connected loss at the oral stage to maladaptive coping during subsequent losses later in life (1924). Abraham tells us that melancholic clients are inaccessible to any criticism of their mode of thinking (1924). In them can be seen the narcissistic character of thought and disregard for people who confront them with reality as in the case of Jo who missed a session following my interpretation about her eating habits. Expanding on this theme, Abraham summarised the dynamic factors underlying depression, as follows (1924): 1. A constitutional factor of an over accentuation of oral eroticism. 2. A special fixation of the libido at the oral stage. 3. A severe injury to infantile narcissism. 4. Occurrence of the primary disappointment pre-oedipal. [3] 5. Repetition of the primary disappointment in later life. These points appear to be evidenced by Valerie, my client in her late forties. Her husband died four years ago and she was referred by her GP because of â€Å"troublesome feelings of depression, isolation and lack of identityâ€Å". Her developmental history revealed that her mother had always been a source of tension, and had been severely depressed while Valerie was growing up. Valerie felt neglected and abandoned by her. She had been left with a negligent nanny after she was born and was ill with jaundice and gastro-enteritis. It took three months for the neglect to be discovered and for her to be returned home. Throughout her childhood, her mother remained predominantly in a withdrawn state in bed. However, she remained very dominating and ridiculing in manner of her daughter. In response to Valerie’s traumatic bereavement, her mother again seemed preoccupied and self-absorbed. Valerie’s opening remark to me was striking, â€Å"I want to be a calm sensible person with no feelingsâ€Å". Since her mother spent her time criticising Valerie and ridiculing her separate thinking (her mother resented Valerie’s creativity having thrown the contents of the rubbish bin on one of her prize paintings), this comment appears to represent her wish to conform to her mother's requirements. However, this statement appears to underline the central dynamic to understanding depression, for with the desire for identification with an ideal object, there appears no room for separate thinking or expression of needy feelings (Jacobson 1964). All tensions related to one’s own needs and how the idealised object is ignoring them gets projected and then experienced somatically (Abraham 1924). The lack of availability of a containing mother[4] was graphically illustrated in a dream, where Valerie went to get food from a supermarket. There was no basket and she came out, arms full of tin cans. Suddenly, her mother's sister shouted from a house window: â€Å"Where is your mother? † Valerie dropped the cans and opened her mouth to speak. It was full of blood and bits of glass. Valerie also reported to me another dream where she swallowed two â€Å"tablets of stones† that lay heavy on her stomach. This could be symbolic of the unresponsive stone breasts of her mother. Also it reminds me of the Ten Commandments, two tablets of stone not to be disobeyed (her mother). The oral origins seem apparent, with the brittleness of the breast and the aggressiveness to it. This history seems to confirm all Abraham's points. The constitutionally inherited family history of depression, her mother having a breakdown when Valerie was born; The fixation of the libido at the oral level, with the sensation of having swallowed the tablets of stone breasts when depressed and also the oral aggressiveness, with the cut glass in the mouth. The severe injury to infantile narcissism was evidenced by her mother's unresponsiveness. The first disappointment pre-oedipally, starting at birth with being left with the neglectful nanny; with the repetition of the primary disappointment in later life and with her mother's lack of support at the time of her husband’s bereavement. Valerie told me she felt ‘guilt and shame’ about ‘being depressed‘. To explain the peculiar intensity of the sense of guilt in melancholia, Freud suggested that the destructive component of the instincts had entered the superego and turned against it (1917). He also noted in some depressed people a high proneness to guilt; ‘that tendency toward self-reproach which death invariably leaves among the survivors. ’ (Freud 1925 in Stengel 1969 p 237). He pointed out the increased severity of moral judgement that occurs in depression, and described the setting up of a ‘critical agency’ as part of child development, which ‘henceforth will judge the ego’ (Freud 1923 in O'Shaughnessy 1999 p861). This is the superego and Freud suggested that â€Å"the relationship between the ego and the superego (see definition page 1) becomes completely intelligible if they are carried back to the child’s attitude towards his parentsâ€Å" (p861). The superego is coloured by the child’s own hostile and rivalrous feelings, so that ‘the more a child controls his aggression towards another, the more tyrannical does his superego subsequently become’ (p862). The self-recriminations seen clinically are recriminations made of a loved object that has been displaced (Freud 1923) as the following exchange between Valerie and myself appears to illustrate: V. Life sucks T. It sucks? V. Yeah, but then why should it be any different? I’m so ghastly and useless – I don’t deserve to be happy. When Valerie announces ‘I’m so ghastly and useless – I don’t deserve to be happy,’ she is perhaps not really criticising herself, but a purported ideal that has let her down. The self-tormenting is then a tormenting of the ideal object (mother) that had abandoned her at a time of need. The sadomasochistic process of self-criticism, that so dominates depression, goes on in a relentless fashion. No true mourning, with relinquishment of the object, can occur because of the unresolved ambivalent dependence on an ideal object (Freud 1923). Valerie’s grief at her husband’s death could be seen as an extension of her more hidden yearning for her mother’s love. Her unrealistic hopes based on compensatory exaggerations of unsatisfied wishes and needs, may have laid down a vulnerability to depressive illness because these are unsustainable in adulthood. Klein described an early ore-oedipal stage to the formation of the superego, with a very harsh superego in evidence at the oral stage, which becomes modified over time, with experiences, to becoming more benign, less demanding and more tolerant towards human frailities (Money-Kyle 1964). She comments on clinging to the pathological early severe superego as: â€Å"the idea of perfection is so compelling as it disproves the idea of disintegration† (Klein 1932 in Meltzer 1989 p270). In healthy development the superego may take on, over time, a benign guiding role, but in those with a predisposition to depression, the superego can be â€Å"a pure culture of the death instinct which often succeeds in driving the ego into death† (Freud 1917, p332). This may have been the case with Valerie’s deceased husband who was also diagnosed as depressed; she feels his death may have been suicide. It is interesting that he told her his body was â€Å"tired of livingâ€Å", perhaps suggesting that the ego was located in the body awaiting to be attacked by the superego. The ego can only kill itself if, as a result of a return to the object-cathexis, it can treat itself as an object (1917). Object cathexis occurs in the Id and is the investment of energy in the image of an object. Suicide also harbours murderous feelings towards others (Campbell & Hale 1991). Kohut viewed depression as coming from a lack of good experiences with what he termed the mirroring self-object[5], such as having interested and involved parents (1971); this results in problems with self-esteem regulation. Parkin considers that a fall in self esteem is the hallmark of ‘all simple depression’ (by this, I imagine, he means what Jacobson referred to as neurotic depression), and a heightening of self criticism to be the hallmark of melancholia (I imagine, he is referring to Freud’s theory. ) (Parkin 1976). It is the loss of self-esteem, many psychodynamic theorists claim, that starts a person down the path of depression (Comer, 1992). Jacobson stresses the crucial importance in depression of the loss of self esteem and the feelings of impoverishment, helplessness, weakness and inferiority (1971). Freud believed feelings of anger and self-hatred develop from thoughts about unresolved conflicts. As a result of feelings of self-hatred, the individual feels shameful and worthless and loses her self-esteem (Comer, 1992). Jo suffers shameful feelings about herself including taking anxiolytic medication to ‘dampen down my distress‘. She commented that her self esteem is ‘as low as my socks. ’ She lost her job as a result of her panic attacks. Gaylin (1968) reasons, if a person is depressed over the loss of a job it is not because the job symbolizes a loved object but, like a loved object, â€Å"it can symbolize one's self-esteem† (p. 7). Klein said that whether an individual loses her self-esteem depends on the quality of her relationship as an infant with her caregiver during the first year of life (Wetzel 1984). She claimed the Oedipus Complex to be a part of the depressive position, occurring at the oral stage of development (Segal, 1984). Her work was criticized, especially by Anna Freud, but the significance of her theory appears to be that, if individuals have not had the early experiences that enable them to internalise a good object, then mourning as adults will be complicated by significant depression (Wetzel 1984). Klein's interpretation to the origin of depression closely resembles that of Abraham and Freud's theories that an individual can develop a predisposition for the illness, but her contributions appear to have been criticised on the grounds of seeking to establish an exact parallel between the child’s developmental stages and adult depressive illness (Spillius 1983). I understand from the literature that most psychoanalysts accept infantile precursors to depressive illness but stop short of Klein’s view. Mahler acknowledged that the mother-child relationship is crucial in the development of basic moods, including depression (1966). However, in contrast to Klein, she believed the depressive position does not occur at the oral stage, but later in toddler-hood, during the separation-individuation period[6] (1966). More recently other authors have been trying to differentiate two types of depression basing themselves in part on the writings of Freud on the processes of oral incorporation and superego formation, and considering that it would not be fruitful to integrate these two mechanisms from such distinct phases of psychic development (Spitz 1947 p 723). Blatt subsequently conceptualised depression in accordance with the child’s level of object representations and made the distinction between anaclitic depression and introjective depression. Anaclitic is oral where there is relatively low evidence of guilt. Introjective depression is more oedipal based where the sufferer may harbour intense feelings of guilt because the superego is overly harsh (Blatt 1974). Bowlby thought depression resulted from a failure of secure attachment early in life (1973). He described a series of attachment and protest behaviours which, if not responded to, would proceed to a state of despair in infants and finally to states of detachment. This work has burgeoned into the field now known as attachment research. To summarize this extensive body of research very briefly, we now know the attachment that the child establishes with the caregiver during development may be the prototype for all subsequent bonds with other objects (1973). The capacity to develop close and loving relationships in adulthood protects against depression and this is influenced by the attachment patterns developed in childhood. Anxiously attached individuals seek interpersonal contact and are excessively dependant on others. Compulsively self-reliant individuals are excessively autonomous and avoid close intimate interpersonal relationships (1973). Both of these preoccupations can create a vulnerability to depression. In agreement with Klein, Bowlby suggests that anger and guilt are part of mourning reactions. It is not the presence of anger or guilt that is pathological in mourning but their appropriateness that is the crucial issue (1969). Schore describes the neuroscience of attachment and how the brain of the parent and infant interact (2003 ). He speaks in depth about the neurobiology of the developing mind during the first three years of life and how the right brain processes are integrally involved in attachments and the development of the self. He spells out very clearly how insensitive parenting leads to emotion dysregulation patterns in childhood and later in adulthood. He understands insecure attachment as emotion dysregulation and that psychotherapy is the process of changing neural patterns in the brain, the right brain in particular. There are clear points of contact between the attachment perspective and some psychodynamic ideas. As mentioned, one of Klein’s hypotheses was that the reaction to loss occurring later in the life cycle will be influenced by revived aspects of losses experienced at the earliest stages in development (Segal 1973). The early loss of the maternal object may result in depression later in life if the infant has not yet been able to establish a representation of a loved object securely within herself (Segal 1973). There appear to be clear parallels between this formulation and the idea of maladaptive internal working models of attachment in Bowlby’s thinking about early loss and depression. Evaluation Each of the theories probably has a contribution to make to the overall picture especially when we recollect that depression is a complex rather than a unitary phenomenon (Freud 1917). Common to all these theories is their invoking of the crucial role of the infantile phase of development. Each of them asserts that problems in the trajectory to eventual adulthood commence in early childhood and can constitute a vulnerability to depression. Following my research, I am hopefully better placed to help my clients. For instance during our sessions Valerie is able to reflect how her deceased husband had provided her with an experience of being loved and cared for that she had longed for from her mother. Working through unresolved feelings of loss arising from initial losses and disentangling them from feelings related to present losses may be invaluable in the resolution of her depression As for Jo, we have spent considerable time exploring her panic attacks and her fear of expressing her depressive feelings. She fears that ‘If I start crying, I may never stop’ and that nobody will be able to bear her pain. This links with Bion’s concept of containment (Bion 1962) as defined on page 5. If I can contain her pain and grief then this may help Jo internalise a sense that her pain can be borne and thought about. Finally, I am reminded that my own experiences of depression can either interfere with or enhance my capacity to help. Self reflection and supervision are crucial if I am to make the best use of my humanity. REFERENCES ICD-10. Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders: Clinical Descriptions and Diagnostic Guidelines: World Health Organization, 1992. Abraham K. 1911-1968)Selected papers of Karl Abraham. New York: Basic Books Inc. Bion WR. (1962)Learning from Experience. London: Karnac. 97. Blatt S. (1974). Levels of object representation in anaclitic and introjective depression. The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 29, 107-157. Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss, Vol. 1: Attachment. New York: Basic Books. Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss, Vol. 2: Separation -anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Books Brown & Harris (1986). Life events and illness. New York: The Guilford Press. Burton R. (1920)Anatomy of Melancholy. New York: Tudor Campbell & Hale (1991). Suicidal acts. In J. Holmes (Ed. ), Textbook of psychotherapy in psychiatric practice (pp. 287-306). Comer R. (1992). Abnormal psychology. New York: W. H. Freeman & Company Desjerlais et al (1995) World Mental Health: Problems and Priorities in Low-Income Countries. London: Oxford University Press. Fairbairn W. (1952)Psychoanalytic Studies of the Personality. London: Routledge Freud S. (1917). Mourning and melancholia. In J. Strachey (Ed. ), The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud London: Hogarth Press Freud S. (1914). On Narcisism. The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud V. 14. London: Hogarth Press Freud S. (1923/1960). The ego and the id. J. Riviere (Trans. ), J. Strachey (Ed. ). New York: W. W. Norton. Freud S. (1914). Beyond the Pleasure Principle. The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud V. 14. London: Hogarth Press Freud S. (1925)(trans. J. Riviere) Collected Papers. Vol. I. , London: Hogarth. Jacobson, E. (1964) The Self and the Object World. New York, International Universities Press Jacobson E. 1971)Depression: Comparative Studies of Normal, Neurotic & Psychotic Conditions. New York: International Universities Press Kernberg O, (1969)A contribution to the Ego-psychological critique of the Kleinian school. Int J Psychoanal 50: 317 – 33 Klein M. (1940). Writings of Melanie Klein. London: Hogarth. Vol. 1. p344-369. Klein M. (1932). The psycho-analysis of children. London: Hogarth Press. Roger Money-Kyl e The Writings of Melanie Klein. (Ed. ). 4 Vols. New York, Free (1964-75)Press. Kohut H. (1971)The Analysis of the Self. New York, International Universities Press Lund C (1991)Psychotic depression: psychoanalytic psychopathology in relation to treatment and management, B J Psychiatry 158: 523 – 8 Mahler M. (1966). Some preliminary notes on the development of basic moods, including depression. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 250-258. Meltzer, D. (1998)The Kleinian Development (New Edition). London: Karnac Books O'Shaughnessy E. (1999)Relating to the Superego. Int. J. Psychoanal; 80, p861-870. Parkin A (1976)Melancholia: A reconsideration, J Am Psychoanalytical Assoc. 24: 123 – 39 Parkes C. 1972) Bereavement: Studies of grief in adult life. New York: International Universities Press. Rubin R 1989Neuroendocrine aspects of primary endogenous depressiion VIII. Psychoneuroendocrinology; 14(3):217–29. Sandler J (1965)Notes on childhood depression. Int J Psychoanal 46: 88 – 96 Schore A (2003)Affect Regulation and The Repair of the Self New York: WW Norton & Co, Inc. Segal H. (1973)Introduction to the work of Melan ie Klein. London: Hogarth Press. Spitz R. (1946) Anaclitic depression: An inquiry into the genesis of psychiatric conditions in early childhood II. Psychoanalytical Study of the Child, 2, 53. Spillius, E. (1983). Some developments from the work of Melanie Klein. , Int. J. Psychoanal. , 64:321-332. Stengel E (1969). Suicide and Attempted Suicide. Harmondsworth: Pelican Books. Wetzel, J. W. (1984). Clinical handbook of depression. New York: Gardner Press. ———————– [1]Objects are primarily formed from early interactions with (usually) parents. (Klein 1940) [2] introjection means to incorporate (characteristics of a person or object) into one’s own psychic unconsciously (Klein 1940). 3] Oedipal can be described as unconscious sexual desire in a child, especially a male child, for the parent of the opposite sex, usually occurring around the age of 3 – 5 years and accompanied by hostility to the parent of the same sex. Pre-oedipal means prior to the oedipal phase in development (Freud 1923). [4] containing mother refers to the process whereby the infant’s emo tions can be held in mind and ‘digested’ by the mother, who can then return them in a more manageable form. Infants need repeated experiences of containment (Bion 1962), in order to develop ways of dealing with their own distress, i. . before they can introject the containing ‘good enough mother’ (Winnicott 1960a) and feel the mother as a definite internalized presence (Bion 1962). [5] â€Å"mirroring self object† is loosely translated as â€Å"mother,† for in the external world it is most often the mother who performs the function. The gleam in her eye mirrors the infant’s self. (Bion 1962). [6] Mahler described separation-individuation as the steps through which the infant passes in developing a more stable awareness of separateness from the mother (1966).

Cultural Assimilation and American Music Artists

good afternoon everyone, today i am going talk about the impact of americanization, First of all i will talk abiut some background of americanization and then i will talk about the positive and negative impact of it. what does americanisation mean? The word, of couse has many meanings,definitions and descriptions. the impact and influence of the US on the culture, politics,business practices and technology of other countries. Nowadays, people view America in the form of a role model and a leader in influencing other countries and have their culture blended in. deals, traditions, and ways of life. Do you notice that American culture has gradually assimilated into our society? Have you ever thought of how Americanization affects our daily life? However, it can be argued that the American culture domination poses a threat to culture diversity. Ranging from Hollywood, popular music, fast food to Disney cartoons, the world in which we live in would be imbued with less local colour. Unique festivals and rites celebrated by people of different culture round the world which filled the world with vibrancy are on the verge of extinction.In addition, americanisation can also have other downsides,American culture has affected the mentality of Asians; such as increase in the number of abortion rates, illegitimate children and the surge in the number of single parents in there. Traditionally, were very conservative and the abovementioned problems were uncommon and condemned. This shows that the American culture has indirectly affected the mentality of Asians; although people generally disapprove of single parenting and abortion, the statistics prove otherwise.The spread of American media including TV, film and American music artists, has been the main component of Americanization of other countries. American TV shows are broadcast around the world. Many of the shows are broadcast through American broadcasters and their subsidiaries such as HBO Asia, CNBC Europe, Fox Channel and CNN International. All of what is known as the â€Å"big four† American broadcasters have international distributors, for example HBO broadcasts to over 20 countries. Many of these distributors broadcast mainly American programming on their TV channels.

Anna Pavlova – Ballerina Biography

Anna Pavlova Ballerina Biography Anna Pavlova, a famous Russian ballet dancer best known for changing the ideals for ballet dancers, was the first to make ballet popular in America and the rest of the world. Her love for classical ballet, determination to perform her love for the arts, influences and zest can still be evidently felt. Born on 31 January 1881, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Anna Pavlova was awestruck by the first ballet performance she watched and was intent on becoming a ballerina. Petite Pavlova entered the Imperial Ballet School in 1891 despite not having the preferred body type of a ballerina which was a strong, muscular and compact body. However, she gave the examiners enough confidence that she would work hard and excel. In the later years, Pavlova became one of the most astounding ballerinas. Young Pavlova was a talented and hardworking student. Training years were difficult due to her special physique. She was considered physically weak as she was small and thin coupled with highly arched feet un like the preferred body of a ballerina at that time. Pavlova was fed with cod-liver oil which tasted awful to her in the hope of getting the ideal body. Even so she remained slender. In order to improve faster, Pavlova tried imitating other ballet dancers. However her teacher, Pavel Gerdt taught her to  understand her unique dancing of daintiness and fragility and the importance to dance out those rare qualities. Her zeal for ballet was remarkable; she worked hard to strengthen her weakness and also with what she had instead of trying to be someone else. Her willingness to overcome these obstacles at such a young age is commendable. Soon, Pavlova grew in gracefulness and could stand in a way that her body formed a beautiful line where she was able to bend and twist her torso with ease and grace. Instead of mastering multiple fouettes turns and other technical steps that the muscular Italian style had induced at that time, Pavlova danced poetically and expressively. She stood out.. Finally upon graduation, Pavlova’s hard work paid off – she graduated as a first class dancer. After Pavlova’s school years, she continued training hard to improve her technique and even took extra lessons with different teachers such as Christian Johansson, Madame Sokolova and Nikolai Legat. Pavlova graduated at a time where virtuoso Italian ballerinas and a muscular ballet stylewas popular. Although Pavlova had mastered difficult steps and ballet technique, her highly arched feet were still too weak for the flamboyant pointe work. She experimented with ways to wear her pointe shoes with the hope of maximizing her potential. Through experiments, she discovered that by adding a piece of hard leather to the soles, the shoes provided better support. Many people thought this as cheating because ideally, ballerinas should be able to hold their own weight on their toes. However, her idea enabled her to perform better and allowed her to balance in her arabesque with poised and elegance inflicting less pain and  hence easier to sustain on pointe. In doing so, Pavlova created what is known as our pointe shoes today. Being able to go on pointe with ease and having a beautiful extension, flexible torso and tremendous feminine expressive dancing, Pavlova set a higher aesthetic of beauty in ballet where ballet dancers were able to perform with poise and elegance like a princess. With the recreation of the pointe shoes, there was a demand for brilliant and fancy footwork like jumps, multiple turns and balances and that of ballerinas performing on pointe.

Other Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Other - Essay Example Moreover, debt is the cheapest source of financing for long-term since it provides deductibility of interest proportion to tax and during inflation, the rate of debt repayment is cheaper. Moreover, the capital access will help to keep this facilities updated with information, technology and improve the quality initiates. However, once considered in higher levels, it will pose financial risks in the attempt to meet interest repayments and the principal. Accordingly, it becomes difficult in raising funds leading to elevated capital cost (Anwer.com, 2013). According to Fitch Rating CEO, John Well (2013), hospitals are becoming sophisticated by the use of complex debts to achieve lowered cost of debt but with certain risk of not all hospitals can afford to take the debts. As a result, Health Care Financial Management Association CEO (2013) suggests that their issue will not be different to personal investment and to avoid the succumbing to various risks, the management is being advised o n scrutinizing debt structures and the current trends in the capital market. As result, they should always be considered as long as the returns it gives are much higher than its cost. Additionally, for the usage of debt to be effective, the management in health care organizations needs to know the current changes in capital market and the currently available types of finances (Lee, 2013). Case Scenario Market, Strategic, and Financial factors Improve a Hospitals Credit Rating Moody Investor Service, (2009, as cited in William, Michael, & Noah, 2009). According to William, Michael, & Noah, (as cited in Moody Investor Service, 2008), Moody Investor Services improved the credit rating of tax-exempted bonds of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare from Aa3 to Aa2. According to them, they cited improvements to have been achieved from improved factors such as market, strategic and financial aspects. As a result, Evanston has expanded in various sectors such as the patient base since it has bee n able to align with several specialists’ medical groups. Moreover, it financial earnings has improved to a cash flow of 4.2 times payment at the debt service. As a result, in 2007, the hospital had managed to raise it cash flows to 10% compared to 2006, which stood at 9.4%. in fact, the accrued raised gaining were observed to have risen from the expanded medical group, more revenue from outpatient, and establishment of current, advanced technologies in information sector. Additionally, the hospital is cited to be maintaining strong positions of liquidity whereby the unrestricted and restricted capital sums up to $1.6 billion, which can be explained as cash on hand for 509 days. As William, Michael, & Noah, (2009, as cited in Moody Investor Service, 2008) suggests, Over the next few years, the hospital is expected to increase its capital outlay to be more than $100 each year. As a result, the capital will be used for expansions or replacement needed in care unit, operation ro oms, and centers for treating cancer. However, William, Michael, & Noah, (2009, as cited in Moody Investor Service, 2008) concludes that Moody has a concern over the competition in hospitals that are increasing their service areas and Evanston depend only on commercial that have seen its patient revenue rising to 25%. Pros

Group characteristics and development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Group characteristics and development - Essay Example Role of branch coordinator was to manage the branch, reporting to top management, looking after inventories, admissions, daily expenses account and fulfilling of targets. Role of faculty was providing customized service to every student, looking after academic related services and other staff for managing other activities like front and back end work, marketing etc. Rules come out with the positions. The group focused in delighting customers, fulfilling targets and working efficiently and effectively by being fully responsible for one’s work and maintaining good work culture. If any member violates this rules he/she would be warned once and if repeated, rewarded shown a pink slip. We also follow negative punishment method and appraisal method related to quality of work done in a month period. If we look at personality, then everyone have different personality and attitude because of different reasons, may be status, age, position, experience, education, intelligent quotient, etc. Anyone can approach the top management for any issues or confusions and way of interaction was formal. Some of them are very quiet and others are very aggressive as everyone has their own view of looking at the matter. Sometimes, unmanageable situations arise and it’s difficult to delight every member in a group. But we come out with a solution through brainstorming and feedback process involving each member in an organization that can at least satisfy each and every member in a group. A group in which I worked was different because, in my group there was high satisfaction level among each member, efficient and effective coordination among group members, mutual understanding, transparency, and a work culture that one will love to work with. Only problem faced by employee was that the management was unable to manage the branch properly and less decision making authorities were allocated to the ground level

Television Interview with Bill Mckibben Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Television Interview with Bill Mckibben - Essay Example Human being shave not left the earth alone. They are carrying out activities that may significantly change not only the earth but also its climate. In this regard, carbon dioxide has been recognized as the main culprit. In fact, the single activity that would be most likely to have a significant impact on climatic conditions is burning of gas, oil, coal and other fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are made up of carbon and therefore burning them would produce carbon dioxide. Since the early 19th century, when the burning of fossil fuels in large quantities began, the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have increased by more than thirty percent. This has led to an increase in global temperatures from 1 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit. While this may appear to be a minor and even inconsequential increase in temperatures, it has had devastating effects. Numerous books, journals, essays and magazines have been written to this effect and an equally large number of propositions made on how to salv age the situations to save planet earth or even mitigate the effects. No other book captures more graphically the grim picture pertaining to climate change as Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, by Bill McKibben. The following is an excerpt of a television interview in which Bill McKibben talks about the book in particular and climate change in general. With him is a panel of media pundits (Stanley who is hosting the show, Joyce and Craig) and Richard (from Africa), all bound to express their views on the issue as well. Stanley: Bill, thank you for honoring our invitation and welcome to this show. Quite a lot has been said about climate change and your book has extensively touched on the issue. Please enlighten us on the views expressed in the book. Bill: Thank you Stanley. As you have said, climatic changes have been a major concern more so in the recent times. While most of our governments are flirting with the issue, it is important to acknowledge that the implications o f climate change and global warming are quite severe. Look at the changes that have been experienced in many parts of the world. The environmental news has actually deteriorated. Have we not seen ice caps vanishing, oceans acidifying and crops failing more than we have ever seen in the past? Can our forefathers recognize this earth if they were to rise from their graves? I doubt that. We are no longer living in planet earth as they knew it but rather Eaarth. Unfortunately all this has been caused by insensitive human activity. Craig: With all due respect Bill, don’t you think we are overlooking quite a number of things in this respect. I definitely agree that there has been a significant rise in the temperatures as to cause all those things that you have talked of. However, it is important to acknowledge that we know very little about the environment, pertaining to its history, its current state or even how we can protect and conserve it. The debate that we hold actually over states the level of existing knowledge as well as its certainty. Of course I agree that carbon dioxide levels are increasing in the atmosphere and human activity is actually the main culprit. However, how can you be sure that this is the cause of increase in temperature and the consequent changes while we are in the middle of a natural trend of global warming that kicked of around mid 19th century just when we were emerging from the â€Å"Little Ice Age†

Public Nudity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public Nudity - Essay Example This paper’s focal point is to lay the assertion that although it has limited positivity, for the most part nudity bears negativity and therefore, should be illegalized. Public nudity bears more negativity than positivity. Firstly, it inhibits healthy child development. It is entirely unhealthy for children to be exposed to images of nude adults. This is because they are not at a point in their lives where this information should be relayed to them. In every stage of human life, there are certain bits of information that one is meant to acquire: during childhood one comes to terms with language, gestures and interactive techniques. If information is passed at the wrong stage of an individual’s development, it causes misconception and elicits a harmful reaction. Children have very little cognitive development to bear positive results. They cannot assimilate nudity to bear positivity. Rather, the exhibition of this information to them could cause them to have a perverted line of thought. Scholars assert that human beings analyze issues as being either positive or negative. Children, being mentally underdeveloped, cannot fathom the positivity th at comes from the nude human body. This is because they are unaware of concepts such as childbirth. The young human mind, owing to exploration and adventure, assimilates negativity faster than it does positivity (Lunceford, 2012, p.46). As a result of this, their minds ultimately divert to the negative - sexual perversion. Public nudity contributes to pornographic addiction: a factor that inhibits healthy mental progress. It causes one to develop lustful thoughts and to follow this up with indulgence in pornographic material. Public nudity undermines culture and religion. Most sustainable cultures in the world condemn public nudity. The African culture, for instance, one of the most celebrated in the

International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Relations - Essay Example In Constructivism, human values, ideas, and shared beliefs are important because the world’s practices are constantly affected by how people speak about them (Tickner & Blaney, 2012). This theory heightens the ordinary citizen’s personal sensitivity to their socially constructed interests and identities. When considered against the backdrop of international relations, constructivism stresses on how nations perceive themselves as well as their national identity (Tickner & Blaney, 2012). Â  For instance the identification with words like ‘middle power’ or ‘superpower’ and the implied meaning that comes with these expressions determines the subject’s conduct; and so the theory’s ideas influence how states and their rulers conduct themselves on the international stage. Classical Realism and Neorealism The realism focuses on the world as it really is instead of reflecting on how it ought to be. Basically, this is an empirical and not a normative model (Tickner & Blaney, 2012). Freudian observation appear to support the realist’s beliefs in the examination of personal behaviour within groups. This seeks to define how primary human instincts lead people to engage in the avoidance of all kinds of pain, the never-ending pursuit of personal objectives, and the importance of employing foreceful tactics when dealing with other people, organizations, or nations. Realism is essentially a pessimistic theory that stresses on the intermittent patterns of power politics as evidenced by repeated rivalries, conflicts, and wars (Tickner & Blaney, 2012). In this theory, the factors that are predominant include the security dilemma and the balance of power. Realists also view the state as the main factor of importance in international affairs. The world’s superpowers or richest nations are given the most attention as they have the greatest leverage on the global stage. Additionally, it is the national interest that influences state behavior, according to this theory. Realists also maintain that the allocation of power is responsible for deciding international outcomes. Neo realism adds to realism in that it deems that international conflict is the result of the chaotic international system (Tickner & Blaney, 2012). Conversely, in neo realism, the state is not viewed as being superior to the system; which is the case in

Strategic marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic marketing - Essay Example Another crucial thing which needs to be ensured is the coordination in the work of volunteers to establish organizational effectiveness (Hockey Australia, The Clubhouse Team Kit, 2005). Another important area of concern for the volunteer management is the volunteer turnover. Volunteer turnover is often said to be the result of the lack of recognition by the organization of their employees’ value to the organization, to the policies of growth and lack of advancement opportunities. Thus reducing volunteer turnover will be a prime concern and I think it can be achieved through effective monitoring and increase in organizational commitment (Cronin, 2011, 60). Exit interview Having discussed the significance of the volunteer management I will like to conduct exit interview question to the volunteers leaving the club. Exit interview is an important tool as information can be gathered from the volunteers regarding their experience in the organization no matter how long or short their stay may be and accordingly help us to formulate new strategies in the Human Resource Management practices. It may be the case that under emotional stress some of them will not be willing to take the interviews (Volunteer Management Program Retaining Volunteers, Australian Sports Commission, 2000, 22). The questions I would to like to make in the interview sessions are as follows: 1. What is your prime reason for leaving? This is the most obvious and important question I would like to ask because it will give an overview of the reasons of leaving the organization 2. Are you looking for a better opportunity? (Yes/No)-Give reasons I will ask this question as it will provide the platform to analyze the loopholes and accordingly help to make strategy intervention 3. What was the most enjoyable and what were the least enjoyable aspects of your volunteering role? This question will be asked to intervene the dimension of the motivational aspect of the organization 4. Do you feel you recei ved adequate support in your role? (Yes/No) A random question to judge the spontaneous answer of the volunteer 5. Do you feel you received adequate training in your role? (Yes/No)-Give reasons Training is an integral part in the sporting organization. So analyzing this special area will be a necessity 6. How do you really feel about this organization? This should be a general question to know the understanding of the organization by the volunteers 7. Would you recommend others to volunteer for this organization? This would be asked for the feelings of the leaving volunteers towards the fellow volunteers towards the organization (Volunteer Exit Interview, n.d.). ‘Volunteer retain’ policies This is a fact that the expectation of volunteer turnover is high and often demands for an organizational change in large sporting clubs. But within the constraints of the limited resources optimal policies should be adapted in recruiting, orientating, and training new volunteers and i nfuse within them a value creation. Various motivational policies can be adapted for retaining volunteers. Offering education and training programs which include leadership courses, mentor training and various guidelines for explaining the roles and the responsibilities of the volunteers. Clear pathway should be created for the people so that they can feel the thrust to achieve higher levels of targets (Burd, 2009). Communication with the volunteers is a vital point. Among the

New World vs. Old Essay Example for Free

New World vs. Old Essay Global Wine War 2009: New World versus Old 1. How were the French able to dominate the worldwide wine trade for centuries? What sources of competitive advantage did they develop to support their exports? The wine production of France goes all the way back to being part of the first niche market for premium wine. Factor conditions of France, such as land and climate, were well suited for wine-production compared to other European countries. Since the early 19th century cross-border shipping was very expensive, France was able to cluster the related and supporting industries of wine production within their domestic borders. As a result, France increased its competitive advantage throughout other sources without much impact from other countries. As the industry became France’s second largest export, side by side with a culture of rich food, the demand conditions got affected, as consumers were expecting a certain quality. The French government provided the classification systems, which increased the rivalry and domestic competitiveness and raised the entry barriers so that entry of foreign competition was kept at a minimum. 2. Given the longstanding dominance of Old World wine producers, how were the New World producers, such as the Australians, able to expand their market share so rapidly in the 1990s? As postwar increased demand for wine rapidly, factor conditions of the New World producers, such as widely available suitable land and it being less expensive, made it possible to meet the new demand and boosted the New World industry. The new demand conditions demanded higher quality wines and as new generations were born, the consumers got more price-conscious and convenient oriented. New World producers met these changes in demands by introducing a completely new firm strategy, structure, and rivalry compared to the Old World producers, who were constrained by tradition. Innovation was the key word in the New World strategy; suddenly, mechanical technology reduced labor cost and pushed down prices, packaging innovations made distribution easier and provided convenience to the consumers, and technology ensured vintage-to-vintage consistency etc. As well, branding and marketing skills were performed on the basis of vintage-to-vintage consistency, which gave the consumers further preferences and strengthened the position of the New World producers globally. This made them capable at expanding even more rapidly. The New World producers changed the traditional patterns of related and supporting industries, which used to being long value-chains, as the big producers now controlled the full value chain, able to extract margins and control quality at every level. The size now gave them bargaining power – a power, which made them have a strong grip on the importing countries. The New World producers had created a strong innovative company culture; a culture that could easily adapt to the changes of consumer culture and government regulations. New generations were born and so was the rise of fashion in a completely different culture of lighter consumption. The New World producers responded to the swings of fashion by taking advantage of the factor conditions: much capacity and regulatory freedom. This was the complete opposite to what the Old World producers were able to do – still constrained by the long history of wine-making tradition and lack of innovation. By that, the New World producers were always a few steps ahead of the Old World producers when the global patterns changed.

The Main Sources Of Carbon Dioxide Emissions Environmental Sciences Essay

The Main Sources Of Carbon Dioxide Emissions Environmental Sciences Essay Since the Industrial Revolution, human activities such as the burning of oil, coal and gas, as well as deforestation have greatly increased CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. Almost all CO2 emissions (about 96.5%) come from fossil fuels use. The 3 types of fossil fuels that are used the most are coal, natural gas and petroleum. When fossil fuels are combusted, the carbon stored in them is emitted almost entirely as CO2. The three main sectors that use fossil fuels are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Transportation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Utilities (power, gas, oil etc) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Industrial production Transportation: The first new projections of future aircraft emissions in 10 years predict that carbon dioxide and other gases from air traffic will become a significant source of global warming as they double or triple by 2050. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The most important source of CO2 emissions worldwide is caused by the transportation of goods and people. The emissions caused by people traveling (by car, plane, train, etc) are examples of direct emissions since people can chose where they are going and by what method. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The emissions caused by the transportation of goods are examples of indirect emissions since the consumer has no direct control of the distance between the factory and the store. Since the distance between the manufacturer and the consumer is constantly growing, more pressure is put on the transportation industry to bridge this gap and this ends up creating more indirect emissions. Whats worse is that 99% of the energy used to transport people and goods all over the world comes from the combustion of fossil fuels. Industrial production: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Manufacturing and industrial processes all combine to produce large amounts of each type of greenhouse gas but specifically large amounts of CO2 because of two reasons. First, many manufacturing facilities directly use fossil fuels to create heat and steam needed at various stages of production. Second, their energy intensive activities use more electricity than any other sector so unless they are using renewable sources the energy that they use is responsible for vast amounts of emissions. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ By industrial production we are mainly talking about manufacturing, construction, mining, and agriculture. Manufacturing is the largest of the 4 and can be broken down into 5 main categories: paper, food, petroleum refineries, chemicals, and metal/mineral products. These categories account for the vast majority of the energy use and CO2 emissions by the sector.3, 4 Land-use Change It is estimated that man-made changes in land-use have, until now, produced a cumulative global loss of carbon from the land. Widespread deforestation has been the main source of this loss, estimated to be responsible for nearly 90 percent of losses since the mid-nineteenth century. Losses primarily occur due to the relatively long-term carbon sinks of forests being replaced by agricultural land. The conversion of land from forested to agricultural land can have a wide range of negative effects as far as greenhouse gas emission is concerned. Soil disturbance and increased rates of decomposition in converted soils can both lead to emission of carbon to the atmosphere, with increased soil erosion and leaching of soil nutrients further reducing the potential for the area to act as a sink for carbon. Respiration Respiration, both on land and in the sea, is a key component of the global carbon cycle. On land, an estimated 60 Pg C (60 billion tones) is emitted to the atmosphere each year by autotrophic respiration. In the sea, autotrophic respiration is thought to account for about 58 Pg of the dissolved inorganic carbon in surface waters each year, with the contribution of heterotrophic respiration being 34 Pg C. Effects of increasing temperatures on pollution can be observed which : 1. Higher temperatures due to carbon dioxide increased the chemical rate of ozone production in urban areas 2. Increased water vapor due to carbon dioxide-induced higher temperatures boosted chemical ozone production even more in urban areas. Engineers have designed a simple, sustainable and natural carbon sequestration solution using algae. A team at Ohio University created a photo bioreactor that uses photosynthesis to grow algae, passing carbon dioxide over large membranes, placed vertically to save space. The carbon dioxide produced by the algae is harvested by dissolving into the surrounding water. The algae can be harvested and made into biodiesel fuel and feed for animals. A reactor with 1.25 million square meters of algae screens could be up and running by 2010. America is by far the largest contributor to global warming than any other country releasing a quarter of the worlds carbon dioxide the primary cause of global warming. Bayless, with a team at Ohio University, created a photo bioreactor that uses photosynthesis to grow algae just like a plant would take carbon dioxide up and, through the energy of the sun, convert that into oxygen. That passes the carbon dioxide over these membranes, Ben Stuart, an Ohio University environmental engineer, tells DBIS. These membranes are fabric just like your shirt. Its a woven material, and as the carbon dioxide pass by them, that carbon dioxide dissolves into the water. That carbon dioxide is broken down by the algae. Nitrogen and clean oxygen are released back into the atmosphere. But to capture the CO2 created from a power plant, algae would have to fill a building the size of Wal-Mart. The size of these things would be enormous, about an acre worth of land space. And so the flu gases would run through this huge building and the algae would be growing on the suspended vertical surfaces. Stuart says. But what makes it cost effective? The algae can be harvested and made into biodiesel fuel and feed for animals. # Sea level rise densely settled coastal plains would become uninhabitable with just a small rise in sea level, which would result from melting of the ice caps # Impacts on agriculture Global warming could have major effects on agricultural productivity # Reduction of the ozone layer Warming would result in increase high cloud cover in winter, giving chemical reactions a platform in the atmosphere, which could result in depletion of the ozone layer # Increased extreme weather A warmer climate could change the weather systems of the earth, meaning there would be more droughts and floods, and more frequent and stronger storms # Spread of diseases Diseases would be able to spread to areas which were previously too cold for them to survive in # Ecosystem change As with the diseases, the range of plants and animals would change, with the net effect of most organisms moving towards the North and South Poles

Essay examples --

WHAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIA? Schizophrenia is a long-term mental disorder involving a breakdown in thought, emotion, and behavior. This brain disorder affects a person’s overall mental health state. Those suffering from schizophrenia experience one or more of the following symptoms: o Delusions, such as feeling that people are trying to hurt them o Hallucinations, such as hearing or seeing things that are not actually there o Bizarre behavior, such as talking to themselves or acting inappropriately o Disorganized speech, such as using disorderly speech patterns and sentence arrangements o â€Å"Negative† symptoms, such as lacking interest in personal hygiene, disinterest in social interactions, and lack of motivation Schizophrenia affects about 1 percent of the American population. Schizophrenia, although being common, does not affect one particular population over another. Cases of schizophrenia occur equally in both men and women, yet are more common in older teens and younger adults ranging from the ages of about 16-30. Schizophrenia will generally not be initially diagnosed in persons over the age of 45. The disorder is not more prevalent in any certain ethnicity. Schizophrenia usually does not affect children, except in rare cases. There is not an overwhelming amount of information about the etiology of schizophrenia, such as its specific biological/cellular causes. Mental health is a relatively young research field and much is still being learned concerning how the brain operates. Scientists do know, however, that schizophrenia is caused by certain chemical imbalances in the brain. Also, this specific brain disorder affects every inflicted person in a different manner, making it extremely difficult for scientists to fully und... ...he illness stop taking their medications. In this case, the individual is feeling more like normal and thus thinks they no longer need to take their prescribed medications. When this happens, symptoms will return, and will often lead to elevated suicide risks for the schizophrenic person. FOR MORE INFORMATION and HELP: o NAMI, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (www.nami.org) o NAMI in the state of Ohio, 1-800-686-2646 o National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255 o Schizophrenics Anonymous Support Group in Cincinnati, Ohio o Wednesday, 2:45-3:45 at 2340 Auburn Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 o Contact Chris Pedoto, 513-241-1411, for more information o Cincinnati psychiatric doctors specializing in treatment for schizophrenia o David L Fedders (MD), 513-723-0390 o Michael A Gureasko (MD), 513-281-8840 o Khan & Seth (MDs), 513-585-3690 or 513-585-3690

Grand Coulee Dam :: Architecture Construction Dams Essays

Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam on the Columbia River in Washington State, built by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser It is among the most famous dams in the United States. The reservoir it created is called the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Lake. The reservoir is named after the United States President who seemed to love dams and hydroelectric power and who was involved with the project through to the final completion of the dam. The dam was built as part of the Columbia Basin Project as a way to irrigate the desert areas of the Northwest United States. The dam started during the 1930s as a public works project and finished toward the beginning of World War Two. The initial construction plan was reconfigured during construction for more height. Its height was determined by the point at which the water from the reservoir began backing up into Canada. The scope and size of the dam is hard to comprehend. It is over a mile long and taller than the Great Pyramid of Giza, in fact , all the pyramids at Giza can fit within the base of the Grand Coulee Dam. The dam is so large that a truck at the base looks like a toy, this creates some perspective into the dam's true size. When the dam was completed in the early 1940s it was the largest dam in the world. The primary goal of the dam, irrigation, was forgotten as the war time need for electricity increased. Aluminum smelting was vital to the war effort. Aluminum smelting requires substantial amounts of electricity and hydroelectric power plants are often built to provide electricity for these smelts. The electricity was also used to produce uranium for the Manhattan Project. After the war ended the original goal of irrigation resumed. Additional dams, siphons and canals were constructed that turned the coulee into a vast supply network that allowed the desert to bloom. Today it is still the largest concrete dam in North America, as well as being the largest concrete structure in the United States with 11,975,521 cubic yards of concrete. The Dam is built on a massive granite foundation and stands at 550 ft tall which is about twice as tall as the statue of liberty, The reservoir has a capacity of 421 billion cubic feet of water, the dam releases about 110,000 cubic feet

What is Means to be Successful :: essays research papers

Success The American heritage dictionary defines success as, â€Å"An event that accomplishes its intended purpose.† The definition certainly looks precise and is theoretically a strong statement. The definition of success varies drastically due to the individual perception in accordance with the situation. Success can be defined in various forms. There might be numerous ways in which an individual gratify them self as being successful. How can one achieve success? To be successful one must achieve all four levels of success i.e. personal, financial, academic and social. Individual ability to maintain strong family and martial relationships would be considered as a success on personal level. Jonathan A. Harris, a senator from Connecticut describes success as, â€Å"Going home at night with a smile and being able to sleep. And talking out someone’s recycling.† Personal relationships play an important part in people’s lives. A sound relationship with family members generates support. The amount of care and affection engendered from being married develops a solid relationship. Friends are another aspect in this category, which play a major role. Friends are there whenever or wherever they are required. Having a lot of friends expresses a message that an individual has self confidence. Personal success comes with a long lasting relationship. Financial success comes with proper money management, reliable income and savings. Being financially successful does not necessarily mean to have a six figure income. Financial success comes with a better understanding of the value of money and utilizing it wisely. â€Å"You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity.† quotes Thomas Wolfe, a great twentieth century writer. People might be generating a very high or low income but if they can utilize their income in proper way they would obtain a solid financial stability. Saving is another key aspect to expedite financial success. People who have tendency to save would attain a rigid financial strength. Generally being successful on an academic level would be to attain at least a bachelor degree and to be professional utilizing education in a practical manner. Felix E. Schelling, an American educator articulates that, â€Å"True education makes for inequality, the inequality of individuality, the inequality of success, the glorious inequality of talent, of genius.† Definitely educational success is associated with the level of education attained. The journey of education begins at a tender childhood age and lasts untills the end. It’s a life long learning experience.

America missouri

The Missouri compromise was a certain kind of agreement that was signed back in 1820, between the anti – slavery and pro-slavery factions in the United States congress . This agreement basically involved the primary regulations of slavery in the western territories. The agreement prohibited slavery in the former northern Louisiana territory exempting the upper boundaries of the proposed Missouri state. Prior before the agreement was met, the House of Representatives had refused to accept this kind of compromise and a conference committee was to be appointed to tackle the issues arising from this compromise.Justices would not have been achieved in lieu of such a case where struggle had erupted between the whites and the blacks, owing to the discrepancy that had existed between these to sets of human beings and Africans being considered minorities. The United States Senate rejected this move and it refused to concur with the amendment and the entire measure was all lost. Was the re are any possible and fair move that would have resolved this conflict? Equity/ fairness were not the tools to play in this context for they would have achieved minimal if not insignificant difference.During the following secession that is between 1819- 1820, a similar bill was passed with an amendment, which was introduced on 26 January 1820, by sir John W. Taylor of New York, which permitted Missouri into a union as a slave state. This quest was completed with the admission of Alabama as a slave state in December rendering the number of slave and Free states equal. Consequently, a bill was passed in the house on January 3rd 1820, admitting Maine as a Free State .However, the Senate thought and decided to merge the two measures together, whereby a bill for admission of Maine accompanied by an amendment enabling the people of Missouri to establish a state constitution was amended (http://www. infoplease. com/ce6/history/A0833427. html). Just before the bill was send back to the ho use, a second amendment was adopted stirred by Jesse B. Thomas of Illinois which excluded slavery from the Missouri territory to the north and southern boundaries of Missouri, further exempting the proposed regions within the limits of the proposed state of Missouri.Disputes emerged between the two ends that is the southern and the northern states struggling for power in congress and control over the future territories. This discourse emerged as the different factions and the democratic – Republican Party began losing its coherence. In April 21st Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter stating that such kind of a division created by the comprehensive compromise line would however, lead to the destruction of the union.Congress considerations over the admission of Missouri raised issues of sectional balance, for the country had become equally divided between slave and free slave states each having a composition of eleven regions (http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h511. html). The ad mission of Missouri as a slave state was to tip up the balance in the senate which was composed of two senators from each state in due favor of the slave states. As a result of this discourse states along the northern hemisphere wanted Maine to be admitted as a free state.By the beginning of the year 1818, Missouri had expanded in terms of population and it gained sufficient population enough to warrant its admission into a union state. Its occupants largely originated from the south and it was expected that this would be a slave state. A state house bill was passed in the house of representatives by James Tallmadge of New York the same year proposing an amendment that would ban the importation of slave trade and bring an ultimate emancipation of the slaves born in Missouri .A close analysis following this proceedings ranging from the two ends showed that justice was sort through legal procedures and fairness was not the tool to attack the whole issue. In reference to this effect an other amendment was passed to the house in February 1819 where the senate was not involved . Bitterness among candidates from both ends during the debate sharply placed emphasis towards the sectional division of Unite States (http://www. americaslibrary. gov/cgibin/page. cgi/aa/presidents/monroe/compromise_1). In 1820, a bill admitting Maine as a state was also passed through the house.This was precisely a legal proceeding that was meant to ensure justice was observed to settle the conflict. The successful admission of Alabama as a slave state by the year 1819 converged the Free states and slave states to equal representations in the senate. This was achieved through pairing Maine and Missouri to be Free states. This equality was to be maintained. The two bills were later merged together as one senate, both having a clause forbidding slavery in Missouri and further prohibiting slavery in the remaining parts of Louisiana the Upper north 36 30’N lat and the southern boundary la titude of Missouri.This compromise bill was rejected by the house. The rejection called for another conference meeting made up of members from both houses to ponder the issue not based on legal procedure but this time to consider equity and fairness was done on both sides. These bills were however, treated as separate entities and by March, 1820, Maine achieved its goals and it was made a state of its own while Missouri was authorized to establish a constitution of its own having no restrictions on slavery.Stern legal procedures were to be observed in order to ensure the senate proceedings were not driven by personal or individual opinions, but whatever move taken was to be a consolidation of thoughts through various forums and consultations. The provisions to the Missouri constitution permiting the immigration of the free blacks to the states was highly objected by the many northern congressmen, a situation which called for another congressional compromise. This discourse would hav e stirred more conflicts once more. Stern legal procedures were to be observed this time round to settle this dispute (http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h511.html). The Missouri legislature stood up vividly this time round to defend his constitution and held its power high that nothing in his constitution would be interpreted to abridge the rights of the citizens of United States a move that saw the charter ratified and Missouri was admitted to the Union In August 1821. Henry Clay, the speaker of the senate did not either match to secure passage of the entire compromise. The application of Missouri to be offered consideration for statehood sparked a bitter debate in the congress concerning the issue of territories which had been created as a result of the purchase of Louisiana of 1803.With the concern that the southern end would have representational advantage, Ney York Congressman James Tallmadge introduced another amendment that was to prohibit any further expansion of slavery within the area. This action was however, to set the children of Missouri free. Despites the many dangers and challenges for having free blacks intermingling with slaves, Tallmadge come out rightly to defend his people, and he declared that he was aware of the will of his constituents and as their representatives he avowed to proclaim their hatred to slavery occurring in any shape.Once more, legal procedures had to take toes to resolve this conflict and a consensus was reached when the two parts compromised the situation. At last the northern part of Massachusetts finally become Maine and it was later admitted to the union as a free state the same time when Missouri was being admitted as a slave state. The two ends thereby, maintained an equal balance of regions where Missouri had 12, and Maine got 12 respectively. By and large, an imaginary line, 36 digress 30 minutes north latitude was drawn while the portions of Louisiana territory lying along the north of the compromise line wer e to be set as Free states(http://civilwar. bluegrass. net/secessioncrisis/200303. html). Work Cited Secession Crisis: The Missouri Compromise â€Å"A Balance of Power† March 3, 1820. Retrieved on 24th July 2009 from, http://civilwar. bluegrass. net/secessioncrisis/200303. html Missouri Compromise. Retrieved on 24th July 2009 from, http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h511. html The Missouri Compromise. Retrieved on 24th July 2009 from, http://www. americaslibrary. gov/cgibin/page. cgi/aa/presidents/monroe/compromise_1 Missouri Compromise. Retrieved on 24th July 3009 from, http://www. infoplease. com/ce6/history/A0833427. html

Epoxy Resin

Epoxy resin is a type of thermosetting polymer, commercially available in different forms, has a wide range of application in aerospace, coating, electric insulation and marine application due to its outstanding performances, easy handling and low cost [1-5]. Epoxy high inner stress, brittle texture, inferior impact resistance, weak creep resistance and poor moisture resistance, limited its application in other industrial areas [6]. So, the epoxy was mixed with polymers[7], clays, metal [8], carbon nanotube [9], graphene[10], and graphene oxide[11] to overcome its limitations. Graphene oxide (GO) is a graphite derivative that produced through oxidation of graphite using various methods. Graphene oxide is a 2D sheet with oxygen functional at the surface (hydroxyl, carbonyl, and epoxide) and (carboxyl) at its edge [12,13]. Graphene oxide is a promising material as polymer reinforcement, due to its high mechanical properties[14], excellent thermal stability[15], and good insulation properties [16]. Moreover, graphene oxide high surface area, high aspect ratio, excellent sheet flexibility, reactivity sites, and good dispersion in most common solvent favored its use a composites material for polymeric material. The Graphene oxide tends to improve the mechanical properties, thermal stability, insulator, and dielectric properties of the various commercial epoxy resin. However, Graphene oxide sheets tend to aggregate either by Van der Waals force or ?-? stacking interaction, which would decrease the improvement effects of graphene sheets in epoxy matrix [17]. Therefore, graphene oxide was modified either through covalent bonds or by ?-? interaction to reduce these aggregation phenomena and enhanced epoxy properties. For instance, Wan et al improved epoxy tensile strength and modulus by 75% and 15% through mixing epoxy with graphene oxide modified with DGEBA (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A) [18].Also, Liu et al enhanced epoxy glass temperature and tensile strength by 26oC and 31% using grafted graphene oxide [5]. Sharmila et al prepared Graphene oxide modified with iron oxide nanoparticles, they epoxy composites shown improvements in the tensile, impact, and fracture strength [19]. Fluorinated polymer is polymer contain carbon-fluorine bonds and they has been applied in many domestic and industrial application due there excellent thermal stability, anti-chemical corrosion, weathering resistance, high dielectric conductivity, and low surface energy [20-22]. However, the high market price of the fluoropolymers and poor miscibility in epoxy resin restricted their applications [23]. Thermal stability, roughness, and corrosion resistance were improved for epoxy resin modified with a fluorinated polymer [24-27]. The fluorine atoms reduced the crosslinking density of the epoxy resin and fluoropolymer, reducing the mechanical properties of the epoxy [28]. The grafting of the fluorinated polymer into carbon base material such as carbon nanotube, fluorinated graphene, and fluorinated graphite may combine the excellent properties of carbon base material and fluorine group's properties. The miscibility was improved with enhancement of the mechanical properties, thermal stability, surface properties, and electric properties. Yang and coworkers grafted fluorinated polymer on reduced graphene oxide coated with dopamine. The modified graphene showed excellent dispersion in the ferroelectric polymer matrix with good high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss [29].Que et al modified epoxy resin (DGEBA) with trifluoromethyl containing polyimide structures. Compared with neat epoxy, they found that the modified epoxy shown better thermal stability with 18 to 55 % char yield at 800 0C, water contact angle (94.9–105.0 °), higher toughness, and lower water absorption (0.47–0.95 %). The tensile shear of modified epoxy was lower than the neat epoxy, the fluorine groups decreased epoxy surface energy which further reduced the adhesion strength compared with unmodified epoxy [7]. In this work, graphene oxide was modified with Hexadecafluoro (1, 10) decanediol through one-step reaction. Modified graphene oxide was mixed with epoxy resin in various loading. Then, the mechanical properties, thermal stability, water contact angle water uptake, and alkaline corrosion resistance were examined for epoxy composites. Results and Discussion:   The surface functionalization of GO was confirmed by FTIR, XRD, XPS, Raman spectroscopy, and TGA. Fig. (1) shows the FTIR spectrum of GO and GOFO. For GO typical peaks were observed at 3390 cm-1 (stretching vibration of C-OH), 1041 cm-1 (stretching vibration of C-O), 1374 cm-1 (deformation vibration of C-OH), 1261 cm-1 and 877 cm-1 (stretching vibration of C-O-C), and 1734cm-1 (stretching vibration of C=O). The peak at 1619 cm-1 is attributed to the skeletal vibration of the graphitic of GO [30]. After reaction with FO new peaks appeared. The peaks at 1178 cm-1 (stretching vibration of C-F) [31], at 2966 cm-1 (bending stretching of C-H), and at 1441 cm-1 (stretching vibration of C-H) from the perfluoro compound. The peak at 1080 cm-1 was related to stretching vibration of ester bond C-O-C. These results indicated that FO was successfully grafted onto GO surface.The XRD patterns of Graphite, GO, and GOFO was shown in Fig. (2) and the interlayer distance was calculated using Bragg equation. Pristine graphite is shown a typical peak at 26.410 with an interlayer spacing of 0.337 nm [32]. This peak shifted to 11.020 (corresponding to an interlayer space of 0.802 nm) after graphite was oxidized to GO, that was due to the formation of oxygen-containing functional groups on a graphite oxide surface and water molecules trapped between the layers [33]. The functionalization of GO with FO shifted the peak from 11.020 to 10.080 (corresponding to an interlayer space of 0.676nm), suggested that GO was modified with FO. Another broad diffraction peak was observed at 22.760, which suggests the formation of few layers of reduced graphite oxide. To further study the structural differences between graphite, GO, and GOFO, the graphitic crystal size was calculated using Sheerer equation and the number of layers was calculated based on crystal size. Graphite had a large crystal size of 21.28nm with 63-64 graphene layers. After oxidation to GO, the crystal size decreased to 10.92nm and the number of layers decreased to 10-11 graphene layers. The crystal size of GOFO was 3.78nm with 5 -6 layers of the modified graphene sheet. In order to study the exfoliation of GOFO into the epoxy matrix, the XRD patterns of EGOFO composites and neat epoxy were investigated as shown in Fig. (3). For neat epoxy, two broads peaks centered at ?70 and ?180 were observed due to the amorphous nature of neat epoxy. All Epoxy composites show the same characteristic diffraction peak as neat epoxy and no diffraction peaks of GOFO at 10.080 and 22.760 were observed [34]. That's confirmed that GOFO was highly exfoliated into the epoxy matrix. Although, the highly exfoliated level of GOFO sheets in the epoxy matrix cannot represent a good dispersion was obtained in the epoxy composites [35]. The thermographic analysis in Fig. (4) represents the thermal stability of GO and GOFO under a nitrogen atmosphere. Graphene oxide shows 8.404% weight loss between 50 0C -100 0C, due to evaporation of residual water trapped between the layers. A significant weight loss of 29.53% was observed between 100 0C – 250 0C, that's due to decomposition of labile oxygen functional groups to H2O, CO, and CO2 [22,10].Compared to GO, GOFO was more stable with 3.48% weight loss was observed between 50 0C -100 0C can be assigned to evaporate of residual water trapped between the layers, which was lower than GO. Between 100 0C – 250 0C, 8.18% weight loss was found due to decomposition of the reaming oxygen functional groups. Then, 12.44% weight loss was observed between 250 0C – 550 0C, that can be assigned to the decomposition of the bond between GO and perfluoro compound. In addition, compared with 48.59% weight loss at 700 0C for GO, GOFO undergoes 20.83% weight loss. The above data can be due to GO, bosses high amount of oxygenated functional groups, while GOFO possesses low oxygenated functional groups due to functionalization by FO. The above results confirmed that GOFO was more stable than GO.Raman spectroscopy was applied to explore the structural variations between GO and GOFO. Generally, the graphitic material shows two characteristic peaks, the G peak (~1575 cm?1) arises from first-order scattering of the E2g photon of sp2 C atoms and the D peak (~1350 cm?1) from a breathing mode of ?-point photons of A1g symmetry. Also, the intensity ratio ID/IG can be used to evaluate the graphitization degree of the graphitic material, the lower value represented a high degree of graphitization [30]. Fig. (5) shows Raman spectrum results of GO and GOFO. The G and D bands of GO were located at 1599.9 and 1357 cm-1 receptivity, as reported in previous reports [30,36,37]. After functionalization with FO, the G band was shifted to a lower wavelength at 1589 cm-1, no obvious changes were observed for the D band. In addition, the ID/IG intensity ratio of GO increases from 0.96 to 1.062 for GOFO. The changes in the intensity ratio imply that GOFO of graphene structure was restored, which can be due to the removal of oxygen functional groups. The GO and GOFO were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the results are shown in Fig. (5) and the elemental analysis is tabulated in Table (1). The GO broad spectrum shows two peaks at binding energies around 286.1 eV and 532.4 eV, which were assigned to C1s and O1s, respectively. The atomic composition of graphene oxide was obtained from XPS broad spectrum and revealed the presence of carbon (71.88%) and oxygen (28.12%). In contrast, the GOFO broad spectrum displayed three peaks at binding energies around 286.1 eV, 532.4 eV, and 686 eV, they can be assigned to C1s, O1s, and F1s respectively. The atomic composition of GOFO obtained from the broad spectrum shown the existence of carbon (71.66%), oxygen (27.34%), and fluorine (1%). The carbon-to-oxygen ratio increased from 1.6 for GO to 2.6 for GOFO, due to functionalization with FO. The C1s XPS spectrum of GO and GOFO are shown in Fig. (6). The C1s spectra can be decomposed into four characteristic peaks: C=C/C-C (non-oxygenated carbon, 284.5 eV), C-OH/C-O-C (hydroxyl, epoxy, and 286eV), C=O (carbonyl, 286.8 eV), and COOH (carboxyl, 288.9 eV) [38]. In comparison, the decomposed C1s spectrum of GOFO shows additional peaks at 287.02eV, 290 eV, and 292 eV, assigned to -C-O- (ether bond), C-F (fluorine), and C-F2 (fluorine) respectively[39]. As shown in Fig. (5), compared with XPS C1s spectrum of GO (Fig. (6)), the peak intestines of C-O and C-O-C were significantly decreased, new peaks appeared. The above results indicated the attachment of FO to graphene oxide surfaces via the reaction with hydroxyl groups of FO with C-O groups on the GO surfaces [40]. As shown in the SEM images of EGOFO composites, the GOFO sheets were well dispersed in the epoxy matrix. GOFO nano-sheets were surrounded tightly by epoxy resin, which indicates a good interfacial interaction between GOFO and the epoxy matrix. Such good interfacial bonding improves the stress transfer from the epoxy matrix to the GOFO nano-sheet and thus enhanced the mechanical properties of epoxy composites. However, due to the presence of incompatible fluorine groups on the GOFO, micro-voids can be observed and such voids could enhance crack initiation which leads to decrease the mechanical properties of epoxy composites[41]. SEM analysis of epoxy composites: The SEM images of epoxy and epoxy composites at fracture site after the tensile test are shown in Fig. (7). The images were used to examine the dispersion and the compatibility of GOFO in the epoxy matrix. Fig. (7a,b) shows neat epoxy exhibited relatively smooth surface with a river-like pattern in the fracture direction, confirmed the brittle nature of epoxy [42]. In contrast epoxy composites displayed rougher, fluctuant surfaces with GOFO nano-sheet pulled out of the epoxy matrix Fig. (7 c,e). Also, epoxy composites SEM images shown that GOFO nano-sheets were well dispersed in the epoxy matrix, a well interfacial interaction between the nano-sheets and epoxy composites Fig. (7 d,f). The good interfacial bonds can effectively transfer the stresses from the epoxy matrix to the GOFO nano-sheets and thus enhanced the mechanical properties of epoxy composites [41]. However, several micro-voids can be observed in all epoxy composites that can be due to the presence of fluorine groups. The low compatibility between the epoxy resin and fluorine groups caused the appearances of micro-voids. Cracks can initiate easily in the micro-voids, then spread through epoxy composites reducing epoxy composites strength. Mechanical properties of epoxy composites: Tensile test:The tensile test was conducted to investigate the effects of GOFO on the epoxy resin performance. Fig. (8) shows the stress-strain curves of neat and epoxy composites, and the results were summarized in table (2). The tensile modulus of pure epoxy was 471 MPa and its changes to 486 MPa (increased by 3.2 % with 0.1 wt. %), 507 MPa (increased by 7.6 % with 0.3wt. %), and 530 MPa (increased by 12.52 % with 0.5 wt. %). The highest tensile modulus was 12.52% compared to neat epoxy corresponding to 0.5% GOFO loading. The increase in the tensile modulus was due to the good dispersion and interfacial interaction between the GOFO and epoxy matrix. That's led to the good transfer of stress from the matrix to GOFO sheets. However, the tensile strength decreased by 18.35%, 22.15%, and 20.25% with 0.1 wt. %, 0.3 wt. %, and 0.5 wt. %. GOFO loading. The formation of micro-voids between the GOFO sheets in the epoxy matrix due to incompatibility between GOFO sheet and epoxy system due to the presence of fluorine groups. Fracture test:  Ã‚  The effects of GOFO loading on the fracture properties are shown in Table (2) and the stress-strain curves of fracture analysis were shown in Fig. (9). EGOFO composites shown a battened in the fracture modulus and strength to those of neat epoxy upon different loading. The fracture modulus was 1510MPa for neat epoxy. With 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 wt. % loading of FO, the fracture modulus increased to 2340 ±17.61 MPa, 2324 ±73.5 MPa, and 2450 ±45 MPa respectively, these were 54.97, 53.84, and 62.85% respectively. However, for fracture strength, it's behaved differently with increasing GOFO concentration. The fracture strength decreased by 13.12% with the addition of 0.1 wt.% GOFO loading and then increased to 13.61% and 16.98% with 0.3 wt.% and 0.5 wt.% GOFO loading respectively. The increase in the fracture modulus and strength can be attributed to improvement in the interfacial interaction between the GOFO and epoxy matrix. That's allowed better load transfer from the epoxy matrix to the GOFO sheets, which increased both fracture modulus and strength. Thermal stability of epoxy composites:The Thermal stability of the GOFO nanocomposites was investigated by TGA as shown in Fig. (10) and Table (3).T10% and T50% are the temperature of sample weight loss reached 10% and 50 % respectively. Tdec is the sample decomposition temperature. All the specimens showed similar thermal degradation behavior with main weight loss between 3500C to 4500C. They exhibited different weight loss during the onset decomposition stages as shown in the enlarged window. The incorporation of GOFO significantly enhanced the thermal stability of epoxy composites in different trends. Epoxy composite 0.3 wt. % GOFO loading has a higher T5%, T50%, and Tdec compared with other epoxy composites. The T5% and T50% increased by ?13 and ?150C respectively based on pure epoxy. The Tdec increased by ?13 with the same loading compared to pure epoxy. According to the literate, there are two factors effects on the thermal stability of polymer composites: the formation of networks via covalent linkages between them and the crosslinking density [43,44]. The existence of the oxygen functional groups at the edge and the surface of the GOFO, can react with the epoxy resin and increased the crosslinking of the composites. The XRD data showed that GOFO doesn't have a uniform crystal shape compared to graphite, that makes the GOFO has a poor thermal conductivity. Therefore, with good dispersion of GOFO, it will act as a barrier and reduce the thermal conductivity of the epoxy composites [44]. Water uptake epoxy composites:The influences of water absorbed by the polymeric material can be significantly reduced by incorporating nano-size fillers into polymers [45,46].The water uptake of neat epoxy and its composites filled with GOFO were shown in Fig. (11). The addition of GOFO nano-fillers significantly decreased the amount of water absorbed by epoxy composites. The water uptake by neat epoxy was 0.432%, which decreased to 0.317% , 0.304% , and 0.308% for epoxy composites with 0.1wt.% , 0.3wt.% , and 0.5 wt.% GOFO loading respectively. this phenomenon implied that the addition of nano-size sheet with high aspect ratio provided tortuous pathways for water molecules to enter the epoxy composites and acted as a barrier water transportation through epoxy composites [47]. Another reason can be due to the hydrophobic nature of fluorine groups on GOFO, which can immobilized water molecules and prevented it from diffusion in epoxy matrix[47]. The hydrophobic behavior of GOFO composites:Fig. (12). Shown the air/water contact angle of pure epoxy and its composites. The measurement was performed at room temperature with three repetitions for each sample. From Fig. (12), the incorporation of GOFO increased the contact angle of all epoxy composites. The contact angle increased from 68.70 o  ± 1.73 for the pure epoxy to 83.53 o  ± 1.13 for 0.1 wt. % GOFO, 98.65 o  ± 2.49 for 0.3 wt. % GOFO, and 89.22 o ± 0.70 for 0.5 wt. % GOFO. The changes in the contact angle indicate that epoxy composites show more hydrophobic effects compared to pure epoxy [48]. The GOFO tends to immigrate to the surface of epoxy, due to the low surface energy of the fluorine atoms. They altered the surface energy and increased the hydrophobicity of the epoxy surface. But, with 0.5 wt. % GOFO loading, the contact angle decreased to 89.22 o ± 0.70, the aggregated GOFO nano-sheet at the surface can slightly reduce the polarity of the surface and increased the effects of the reaming oxygenated function groups of the graphene sheet.

GIS – Harrow

For my report I've chosen 4 GIS maps from the Harrow council's official website (to make the results more reliable) that show the differentiation between the standards of living across the London borough of Harrow. The GIS maps that I chose (and copied as evidence) include: population density, life expectancy, street crime, and income levels; I have analysed them and described what the variations in each map are and what they show us. To conclude my report I have compared the variations in all the maps, and described what they show us. This map shows the main wards in the borough of Harrow. Pop. Density This map (see above) shows the population density levels in wards across Harrow. The map shows us that there is a mix of both high and low population density levels across the borough. The north east and west of the borough is the most sparsest, as it's got the lowest amount of people per hectare- 5-less than 40 people and 40-less than 55 High per hectare. Population density levels are more concentrated in the centre of the borough, where wards like Wealdstone, headstone north, Kenton west, and Marlborough are located, with equally high density levels spreading towards the south of the borough-towards the south east, where high pop. density levels are also highly concentrated, Kenton east is situated there. The south west of the borough has more of a mix of pop. density levels, as they're between mostly 40-less than 50 people per hectare, and 83-less than 107 people per hectare. (Wards like Roxbourne, and West Harrow which are situated in the south west of the borough have higher population density levels). Life expectancy This map (see above) shows the life expectancy levels in wards, across Harrow. The map shows us that the life expectancy levels across the borough are generally low- they're mostly around 78.5 years to less than 80 years, and 80 years to less than 81 years. The map shows us that generally the centre of the borough has got the lowest life expectancy levels in the borough, with a life expectancy of 76-less than 78.5 years and 78.5-less than 80 years. The areas with the highest life expectancies in the borough are the far north east where Cannons is located, with a high life expectancy of 81.5-less than 83 years, and the far south east, where Edgware is located, with a life expectancy of 81-less than 81.5 years. In general, I think that the graph shows us that the west-north /west of the borough has got the highest life expectancy, with mostly a life expectancy of 81.5-less than 83 years; the north-west has got a high life expectancy of 81-less than 81.5 years. Street crime-darker area=more street crime This map (see above) shows the levels of street crime in wards, across Harrow. The map shows us that generally, fairly high levels of street crime are quite widely dispersed across the borough, the fact that there is no legend available for this map makes it less reliable. The centre of the borough seems to have the most amount of street crime, as generally, there're darker areas are more concentrated, with Greenhill in the south having the highest level of crime as it is the darkest area. The whole of the eastern section of the borough also seems to have a high indicator for crime levels- where wards like Cannons and Edgware are located, as there're lots of dark areas and they're highly concentrated. The north/ west have got the lowest indicator levels for street crime, as there're a lot of light areas that are fairly highly concentrated, wards like Pinner, Hatch End, Headstone north, and Pinner south are located. Income-darker=less income, lighter=more income. This map (see above) shows us the levels of income in wards, across Harrow. The map shows us that generally fairly low income levels are widely dispersed across the borough, the fact that there is no legend available for this map makes it less reliable. The south of the borough seems to have a lower indicator level for income, as these areas are darker and highly concentrated, where wards like Greenhill, Marlborough, and Kenton are situated. Generally the east of the borough seems to have the low levels of income too (second after the centre). The north west section of the borough seems to have fairly low levels of crime as there are lighter areas, wards like Pinner, Hatch End, Rayners Lane, and Headstone north are located. Conclusion By comparing the 4 variations between the standards of living in Harrow for all 4 of the GIS maps, I have found that in general, the north west of the borough has got the lowest indicators for street crime, and population density, while having the highest indicators for life expectancy, and income. I think this is due to the fact that the categories may be interdependent. I think that because people in the north west generally have a higher income compared to the rest of the borough, so this could've had an impact on the other results from the other categories, e.g. the reason why there is a low indicator for population density in the area could be because the house prices are higher in this area, so people can't really afford to live in this area (as the majority of the rest of the borough seem to generally have a lower income level). Also, the results suggest that street crime levels are generally low in this area because of the low indicator of population density in this area. I have also found that in general, the south/west of the borough has got the highest indicator for population density levels, street crime levels, low income levels, and a low indicator for life expectancy levels. I think that this is due to the fact that the categories may have a correlation. I think that because people in the north west generally have a high indicator for population density levels, as they may have a low income compared to the north west of the borough (which has a high indicator for income), so they can't really afford to live in the north west, this could also be the reason why generally street crime levels are higher in the south east, because of the high indicator for population density. Also, the reason that the area in general has a low indicator for life expectancy may be because of the larger amount of people who live there.