Current Events in Business Research

Current Events in Business Research Lisa Andrews RES/351 September 10, 2012 Julie Bonner Current Events in Business Research The business research process is about learning everything there is to know about an organization, the consumers, competitors and the trade. The main points are trying to figure what products or services to offer, what consumers are likely to buy them, the region as to where to sell or buy them, and lastly the pricing. By following the important steps of business research a company is able to achieve these objectives. Business research was used in the military but in different ways. Is this a header?Or the Introduction to the paragraph? In any event, avoid having one sentence paragraphs Identifying Competitors – The mission of the military when it comes to new soldiers is to attract and retain quality soldiers. For instance the Army (the branch I was enlisted in) is facing tough competition when trying to maintain or attracting recruits and enlisted pers onal of all components and ranks. This is due to the low momentum of the recruiting efforts and potential recruits and that is why they are offering enlist or re-enlistment bonuses which is a financial incentive that is not given in the civilian hiring world.Since, the real world is their true competitors. Good problem to dissect! Studying Customers – The needs and wants of the new recruits and re- enlistment are very essential. So before initiating these incentive programs, I believe that the military would have to establish what the needs and wants are of enlist and re-enlistments. An essential point, just like a product is to make sure that when taking on this challenge that the solders needs are met in this process. That is why primary research is essential before making a decision on what works and what don’t work.The other Business Research Process includes: SWOT analysis, Studying the main audience, and lastly the application. Briefly what these state is that on ce the detailed information is collected then an analysis is used to study the opportunities, weakness and strengths of the incentive, and the possible threats that might arise. The threat to the military is number, the retention of soldiers. Then, once this process is done, and then time devoted to studying the research should fall into place.The recruiters then will need to seek out of the recruits and re-reenlistment that will respond positive to the incentives. This research can entail male versus female or ages (age) groups. This takes time and a lot of research. Finally, if the steps are taking properly, they can be very effective if the military uses them properly. This is a process that is a constant hard work. WAR, time, people, lifestyles, finances, etc†¦change constantly that is why it is imperative that the military conduct business research throughout the year. Nice work! Just a few grammatical items to watch out for next time! Grade = 95% Current Events in Business Research Current Events in Business Research Lisa Andrews RES/351 September 10, 2012 Julie Bonner Current Events in Business Research The business research process is about learning everything there is to know about an organization, the consumers, competitors and the trade. The main points are trying to figure what products or services to offer, what consumers are likely to buy them, the region as to where to sell or buy them, and lastly the pricing. By following the important steps of business research a company is able to achieve these objectives. Business research was used in the military but in different ways. Is this a header?Or the Introduction to the paragraph? In any event, avoid having one sentence paragraphs Identifying Competitors – The mission of the military when it comes to new soldiers is to attract and retain quality soldiers. For instance the Army (the branch I was enlisted in) is facing tough competition when trying to maintain or attracting recruits and enlisted pers onal of all components and ranks. This is due to the low momentum of the recruiting efforts and potential recruits and that is why they are offering enlist or re-enlistment bonuses which is a financial incentive that is not given in the civilian hiring world.Since, the real world is their true competitors. Good problem to dissect! Studying Customers – The needs and wants of the new recruits and re- enlistment are very essential. So before initiating these incentive programs, I believe that the military would have to establish what the needs and wants are of enlist and re-enlistments. An essential point, just like a product is to make sure that when taking on this challenge that the solders needs are met in this process. That is why primary research is essential before making a decision on what works and what don’t work.The other Business Research Process includes: SWOT analysis, Studying the main audience, and lastly the application. Briefly what these state is that on ce the detailed information is collected then an analysis is used to study the opportunities, weakness and strengths of the incentive, and the possible threats that might arise. The threat to the military is number, the retention of soldiers. Then, once this process is done, and then time devoted to studying the research should fall into place.The recruiters then will need to seek out of the recruits and re-reenlistment that will respond positive to the incentives. This research can entail male versus female or ages (age) groups. This takes time and a lot of research. Finally, if the steps are taking properly, they can be very effective if the military uses them properly. This is a process that is a constant hard work. WAR, time, people, lifestyles, finances, etc†¦change constantly that is why it is imperative that the military conduct business research throughout the year. Nice work! Just a few grammatical items to watch out for next time! Grade = 95%

Movie Review: Journey to Justice

Movie Review: Journey to Justice â€Å"Journey to Justice† is a documentary about the issue of civil rights in Canada during the twentieth century. It focuses on the role of central people who took vital actions to end the issue of racial discrimination. The movie clearly portrays the experiences of black Canadians thorough interviews of key persons including Ray Lewis, Fred Christy, Stanley Grizzle, and Viola Desmond. Throughout the twentieth century, key players in the black community continued to fight for their rights despite serious discrimination. Firstly, Ray Lewis was denied the job as a coach after he won a bronze medal in 1932 Olympics because he was Black, and had to satisfy himself with the job of a porter. Secondly, Fred Christy, who was refused to be served in a bar, took the matter to Supreme Court. However, the court ruled the matter against him and rhetorically, made racial discrimination legal. Thirdly, Stanley Grizzle was forced be a batman and a washroom cleaner when he joined the army during the second world war, until he fought for his rights with his commanding officer. This time however, he won and served as one of the best officers in the Canadian army. Moreover, when Hugh Brunette came to Dresden with his two American friends, he was not served in a restaurant, while his friends were. After this incident he created an organization called National Unity Organization to fight discrimination. In 1947, he challenged the local government to pass an equality law, which was passed on to the provincial government for voting, where the restaurant owner-a white, won the case once again. This created a controversy and the premier and a group of other minorities took this case to a higher level until the equality law was passed in 1950s. Lastly, Donald Willard, an immigrant fought with the government for three decades along with Negro Citizenship association and the Labour congress of Canada to change the way in which they accept immigrants. He argued that using racial origin in accepting immigrants to Canada is unlawful and stated that they should be viewed according to their education, skills and work experience and won the case. This case played an important role in making it one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. The point that the movie is trying to make is that issues cannot be solved if they are simply accepted. If no one stands up to fight for it as it the issue will continue to become more tense leading to even more serious effects. As in the movie, the issue of racism continued to worsen until some key people stood up to fight against racial discrimination of the Blacks. Finally, in the end they got the desired results. Not only were they able to pass a law stating discrimination is illegal, but they were also able to change the way in which immigrants were accepted to Canada. The contribution of Blacks, particularly Donald Willard, changed the way in which Canada is viewed – â€Å"The land of opportunities. † The movie is related to world issues in many ways. Firstly, it provides useful information in understanding the foundation of the issue of discrimination. Racism is an issue that is making headlines these days. For example, the rising resettlement against immigrants in Quebec and the war on terrorism, which is taking hundreds of lives today had it basis in racism. Many individuals from Islamic countries are questioned heavily by officials at American Airports after the terrorist attacks. Secondly, it openly reveals the hidden truths of the Canadian government and its political system including the Supreme Court which itself promoted racism by favouring the whites regardless of the issue or the case. These days political corruption is a major issue in developing nation particularly in south Asia and many part of Africa. Thirdly, this movie portrays the issue of Canadian Civil Rights movement, which is a movement that only a few Canadian are aware of. This movement is directly related to human rights – a growing issue in Asian countries today. Low-caste children all over Asia, more particularly India are forced to do child labour, similar to how blacks were forced to work on the rail road a century ago. Blacks were not given any other jobs because of their race and these children are deprived from education and proper jobs because of their caste. It is amazing, to see these countries making the same mistake that Canada made a few decades ago. Lastly, this movie touches on the issue of stereotyping. Even though it is not a big issue, individuals throughout the world use stereotyping to judge others, often in a negative way. This creates larger gaps between races. Even though the movie shows us that the issue of racial discrimination has ended, it still exists. It is true that the magnitude and seriousness of racism has declined but many groups of people suffer from bullying because of their race and ethnicity. For example, many â€Å"Brown† and â€Å"Asian† people are regarded as immigrants and are the victims of bullying in both schools only because they cannot quickly assimilate into the western society. ( Weakness of argument

The Microwave Plasma Enhanced Engineering Essay

When diamond is mentioned, people will automatically believe about the cost that valued by the society. Why diamond, a type of gemstones, will be so much more than others? Diamond is non merely a shinny rock. It has a batch of great and alone belongingss such as highest hardness and thermic conduction of any bulk stuff. These belongingss determine the major industrial application of diamond in cutting and polishing tools. Besides, the optical feature is something that must be discuss in diamond. With highly stiff lattice, the optical features become important. However, diamond still can pollute by few types of drosss, such as B and N, which consequences in some colour for diamond. In this paper, a reappraisal of diamond will be presented.How diamond is madeNaturally, diamonds are formed at high force per unit area and high temperature conditions bing at deepnesss of 140-190 kilometer in the Earth mantle. They are bought near to Earth surface through volcanic eruptions by a magma, whi ch cools into pyrogenic stone known as kimberlites and lamproites. Figure 1shows a stage diagram of C. From Figure 1, diamond is stable at high force per unit areas and temperatures. Graphite, nevertheless, is the stable signifier of C under ordinary temperature and force per unit area conditions. One method of synthesising diamond is to subject graphite to conditions of about 55,000 ambiances and temperatures of about 2000 & A ; deg ; -C. However, even though C is non at the minimal energy province, it does non spontaneously convert from diamond to graphite. Since we know that diamonds are form at high force per unit area and high temperature. Research originally synthesis diamonds under same conditions, high force per unit area high temperature ( HPHT ) . Figure 1 Phase diagram for C. At sufficiently high temperatures and force per unit areas diamond is the stable. At lower temperatures and force per unit areas, black lead is the stable signifier. Under ordinary conditions for temperature and force per unit area, near 1 standard pressures and room temperature, diamond may be considered a metastable signifier of C. ( Reinhard ) The everyday belongingss of diamond such as hardness and high thermic conduction make it an of import new stuff in a broad scope of applications. However, the high cost of stuff production has limited the commercial used of diamond thin movies to a few applications. Today the engineering is able create artefactual diamond by chemical vapour deposition ( CVD ) . CVD is a method of bring forthing man-made diamond by making the fortunes necessary for C atoms in a gas to settle on a substrate in crystalline signifier. It is common to happen grammatical crystals with about equal development of ( 111 ) and ( 100 ) faces ( Figure 2 ) . ( DeVries ) Diamond grows by CVD frequently involves feeding changing sums of gases into a chamber, stimulating them and supplying conditions for diamond growing on the substrate. The gases include a C beginning and typically include H every bit good. However the sums used depends on the type of diamond being grown. In CVD of diamond, the factors driving cost include low reagent use, low deposition rates, high-energy ingestion, big thermic direction tonss at the substrate, and capital equipment costs. For successful consequence, diamond deposition depends on different chemical and conveyance procedures happening in the gas stage and on the surface. ( See Figure 4 for the ascertained forms of as-grown natural diamonds, high temperature high force per unit area ( HPHT ) grown synthetics and chemical vapor deposition ( CVD ) grown diamonds, including the measure patterns on the different faces ) Figure 2 Diamond crystals from CVD deposition. The largest dimension is about 20 jlm. ( DeVries ) All diamond CVD processes under a extremely energetic activation phase in the gas stage. It lead to two intents which are to disassociate the hydrocarbon precursor molecule into fragments that react more readily at the deposition surface and to disassociate molecular H to make a superequilibrium concentration of gas-phase H atoms. ( See Figure 3 for different technique of C dissolved in H vs. temperature ) Hot-filament reactors, microwave plasma reactors, DC arcjet reactors, and burning are most commonly energy used as diamond CVD reactors. These reactors have a few common characteristics and that ‘s why they are able to bring forth high quality diamond movies. They all have a big sum of energy, in the signifier of electrical or chemical free energy, is input to accomplish dissociation of molecular H and the hydrocarbon feedstock. Reasonably low force per unit areas are used to forestall three-body recombination of H to organize molecular H. High gas-phase temperature is produc ed in the activation zone, and inactive or active chilling is employed to keep a substrate temperature in the vicinity. However, they are different from the conveyance processes. Hot-filament and microwave plasma are dominated by diffusion which mean there is no thermic, speed, or concentration boundary bed. Linear gradients in temperature, speed, or species concentration between the excitement part ( hot fibril or plasma ball ) and the deposition surface in both reactors are frequently found. However, the disadvantage is growing rate is slow. DC arcjet CVD and burning is characterized by high speeds ; thin boundary beds in temperature, speed, and concentration are formed near the growing surface. In the followers, the item of each technique will be introduced. Figure 3 Differential solubility of C in H for different CVD diamond methods. Figure 4 Idealized morphologies of natural, HPHT-grown and CVD-grown diamonds. For the { 111 } and { 100 } faces characteristic orientations o f growing stairss are besides indicated. ( Nazare and Neves )High force per unit area and high temperature ( HPHT )Artificial Diamond is original made by high force per unit area and high temperature ( HPHT ) It is still widely used because of it ‘s comparatively low cost. It is typically processed under a force per unit area of 5GPa at 1500 & A ; deg ; C. There are two common systems ; Belt system and Bars system. In belt system, a immense hydraulic imperativeness with anvils and a ring molded construction are used. The upper and lower anvils supply the force per unit area burden to a cylindrical inner cell and a belt of pre-stressed steel sets confines the internal. Anvils serve as electrodes and supply electrical current to the compressed cell. A fluctuation of the belt imperativeness uses hydraulic force per unit area to restrict the internal force per unit area. Figure 5 is a conventional illustration of a belt system where diamond seeds are placed at the underside of the imperativeness. While the internal portion of imperativeness is heated, the liquefied metal dissolves the high pureness C beginning. The liquefied metal so transports to the diamond seeds and precipitates. Colorless diamond can be synthesized if the N is removed by blending little sum of Ti with the metal. ( International Diamond Lab ) Figure 5 aˆ?This is a conventional illustration of a Belt type HPHT imperativeness. ( International Diamond Lab ) BARS system is developed at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk. It is really similar to the belt type system. It is made up by eight outer anvils with a spherical outer form to which force per unit area is applied and six inner anvils to multiply the force per unit area to the sample. BARS system is the most compact, efficient, and economical of all the diamond-producing imperativenesss. ( International Diamond Lab )Hot-filament CVDHot-filament CVD is besides called thermally activated CVD. It is one of the earliest developed attacks to low force per unit area synthesis of diamond. A furnace lining metal, normally tungsten, is used as a fibril, is heated to high temperature around 2300 & A ; deg ; C. The temperature can be reach by opposition warming and the high temperature aid to trip the hydrocarbon-hydrogen gas mixture. The fibril is located a few millimetres above the substrate besides provides warming for the substrate. The hydrocarbon-hydrogen gas mixture is allowe d to flux across the hot fibril, where it is activated. Hot-filament CVD reactors are cheap and easy to build. The filament temperature, the place of the substrate with regard to the fibril, and the gas flow kineticss play of import factors in the procedure. However, there are several disadvantages of this technique such as taint of the diamond movie by the fibril, eroding and sagging of the fibril, and a comparatively slow growing rate. It is besides necessary to provide changeless power throughout a deposition utilizing a proper power accountant but the uniformity of the substrate temperature is hard to keep when utilizing multiple fibrils. ( Reinhard ) Figure 6 Conventional diagram of the hot fibril CVD procedure demoing the basic elements.Microwave plasma-enhanced CVD ( MPECVD )Microwave plasma enhanced CVD is widely used for diamond deposition. A magnetron is normally used to bring forth micro-cook energy at 2.45 GHz and a wave-guide assembly is used to match the energy to a resonating pit. MPECVD is an electrodless procedure, which is an advantage over other techniques, and there is no taint from the electrode stuff. The microwave plasma excitement of H generates superequilibrium concentrations of atomic H. The hits of negatrons with gas atoms and molecules generate high ionisation fractions. ( Reinhard ) Figure 7 Conventional apparatus of the CVD synthesis of diamond. ( Markus )Direct current ( DC ) arcjet discharge techniqueDC arcjet discharge is a really high growing rate procedure. Normally, this technique will be usage to synthesis midst and freestanding diamond substrates. A DC arcjet discharge reactor for diamond deposition consists of a gas injection nose, composed of a rod cathode, which is normally made of wolframs, concentric with a tubing anode. Gass are allowed to flux between the cathode and anode. Gass will be spray out from an opening in the anode so a high temperature discharge jet is created and sustained by a DC electromotive force across the electrode. The substrate is located downstream from the jet watercourse on a water-cooled substrate phase. Carbon precursor and graphite etchant gases would be introduced at different locations depending on the coveted activation temperature. Although this technique is frequently used because of the high growing rate, there is several disadvantages of it such as the movie can undergo from high compressive emphasiss, microvoids, and high surface raggedness. ( Reinhard )CombustionCombustion is good cognize for its scalable nature, minimum public-service corporation demands, and significantly cut down capital costs relative to plasma assisted procedures. The most of import parametric quantity in burning synthesis is the oxygen-to-acetylene ratio, defined as R = O2: C2H. At values of R near 1.0, a impersonal fire is achieved, which is defined as the status where the feather part merely disappears because all the ethyne is consumed in the primary fire. The diamond growing regimes as a map of composing are showed in Figure 9. The highest quality diamond is obtained in somewhat rich fires, when oxygen-to-acetylene ratio is about 0.85-1.0. The value of R at which a impersonal fire occurs is dependent on both burner design and entire flow rate. Substrate temperature is control in a scope from 950-1650K during burning CVD. With high temperatures, substrates has been limited to stuffs such as Si, aluminum oxide, and diamond. However, it is non easy to mensurate the substrate temperature in burning CVD due to the utmost heat fluxes present. Substrate temperature controls growing rate and morphology. As the substrate temperature additions, the growing rate is relative. ( See Figure 9 ) However, after the growing rate reaches its upper limit, an look of a rapi d diminution in both the quality and the growing rate is observed. ( Reinhard ) Figure 8 Two designs of atmospheric level fire burners: ( a ) a coflow design and ( B ) a cornet bell design ( Reinhard ) Figure 9 The consequence of substrate temperature on growing rate observed in burning CVD of diamond. In atmospheric torches the maximal growing rate occurs at substrate temperatures between 1450 and 1650 K ( Reinhard )MetastableDiamond is uncommon because of two grounds. First, the dynamicss of graphite formation are much faster than the dynamicss of diamond formation in normal status. Second, a big activation energy barrier between black lead and diamond prevents thermic activation of diamond into black lead. ( See Figure 10 ) When diamond is synthesized under conditions where black lead is the stable stage of C, the consequence of synthesising diamond is normally failed. It is because the denseness of diamond is greater than the denseness of black lead. ( Anthony ) At ordinary temperatures and force per unit areas, although diamond is non the minimal energy province of C, it is besides non an unstable phase of C. ( see Figure 1 ) Therefore, if C atoms are in the diamond lattice spacial agreement, the solid does non spontaneously change over to graphite under low temperature, low force per unit area conditions. Formation of diamond from nascent C incorporating species under metastable conditions is both thermodynamically allowed and readily achieved under proper deposition conditions. It is the lower temperatures and force per unit areas associated with this method of diamond synthesis that have offered the capableness of direct deposition of diamond on a assortment of substrates and have opened the possibility of new applications of diamond. For many such applications, the diamond thickness demand be merely on the order of microns ; hence the constructions are referred to as diamond movies. ( Reinhard ) Figure 10 Energy diagram of C ( Anthony )StructurePure diamond is composed merely by C and arranged in the diamond lattice. ( See Figure 11 In theory, pure diamonds are crystalline and colorless. ) In diamond lattice, each C atom has four nearest neighbours in the tetrahedral agreement associated with sp3 chemical bonds. The nearest neighbour distance is 1.54 & A ; Aring ; and the unit cell dimension is 3.567 & A ; Aring ; . The denseness of diamond is 3.515g/cm3. The measure of diamond is normally referred to carats, where one carat is equal to 200mg. ( Reinhard ) However, quality of diamond is considerable because both natural and man-made diamond may incorporate drosss and defects. Diamonds occur in assorted colour and these are caused by defects, including replaced drosss and structural defect. These defects will impact the light soaking up. Therefore, diamonds are characterized into type I, type II and some subtypes, with the former containing N as an dross and the latter being basically nitrogen free. ( John, Polwart and Troupe ) ( a ) ( B ) Figure 11 a ) Conventional diagram of carbon-carbon bonding in diamond and black lead ( Anthony ) B ) 3D diamond latticeType IType I diamonds in which impurity-related optical and paramagnetic soaking up are dominated by N defects. Normally, type I diamonds are crystalline to 300 nanometers. ( Robertson R. ) In general, the dross content of natural type I diamonds is more varied compared to that of type II diamonds. The most apparent difference between type I and II diamonds comes from IR soaking up spectra, which are considered to be the chief standard for this distinction. ( See Figure 12 for Refraction index of type I and type II ) About 98 % of natural diamonds contain nitrogen with concentrations noticeable in optical soaking up. 74 % of them have a N content high plenty to be decidedly classified as type I. Nitrogen is regularly nowadays in natural diamonds at degrees every bit high as 200 to 4000 ppm. ( Zaitsev ) In type I, there are three subtypes, type Ia, type Ib, and type Ic. Type Ia contains N in farily significant sums of the order of o.1 % which most natural diamonds belong to this type. Type Ib besides contains N but in spread substitutional signifier which most of man-made diamonds are this type. ( Markus ) Type Ic include diamonds that contain high concentration of disruptions. Even type Ic does n't truly related to contaimination of N but the feature of type Ic is categorized in type I. Type Ic has the absoption continuum at wavelength below 900nm and a extremum at 560nm. ( Zaitsev ) Figure 12 Refraction index of type IIa and type I natural diamonds in the UV spectral part ( Zaitsev )Type IIType II includes diamonds demoing no optical and paramagnetic soaking up due to nitrogen-related defects. The measure of N found in type II is really small. ( Below 1017cm-3 ) Type II diamonds are exhibited optical transparence up to 230 nanometers ( Robertson R. ) . However, it is rare to happen natural diamonds without nitrogen-related defects in soaking up. Merely 1 to 2 % of type II diamonds are found in nature. ( Zaitsev ) There are two subtypes are in type II, type IIa and type IIb. Type IIa is non effectual by N and this type of diamonds has enhanced optical and thermic belongingss. However, they are rare to happen in natural. Type IIb is a really pure type which has semiconducting belongingss and this type of diamond is normally find in bluish and highly rare in nature. ( Markus )Influence of defects and drossNitrogen does non strongly act upon the refractile index of diamond in the seeable spectral part. Therefore the refractile index for types I and II natural diamonds may non differ by more than 1 % . ( Robertson R. ) Since there is no definite inclination for discriminatory double refraction of diamonds of any type, it indicated that nitrogen dross does non straight act upon the double refraction of diamond. However there is a tendency such that natural diamonds of mean size, with an enhanced double refraction, are ultraviolet conveying. Diamonds with a low double refraction are normally ultraviolet-opaque and N is the caused for this consequence. Diamond with low N, type II, have a really distorted stressed crystal lattice. ( Zaitsev ) The double refraction of diamond is caused by fictile distortion, elastic distortion near inclusion, growing striations, growing sector boundaries, disruptions, grain boundaries, and diamond-substrate boundaries. The phenomena occur in both types of diamonds. The highest double refraction is found in fragments of natural diamonds where dodecahedral diamonds shows the least double refraction. Defects arises from sheets of stacking mistakes are expected to ensuing the double refraction contrast weaker than from partial disruptions. However, partial disruptions or stacking fault sheets will be seen merely the background double refraction is really low. ( Zaitsev )PropertiesDiamonds have some great belongingss that other stuff still can non be compared and that is the ground why people would wish to understand how diamond is formed and synthesis diamond to cut down the cost of the stuff. Diamond is good known for high thermic conduction, high electrical electric resistance, low coefficie nt of clash, high grade of chemical inertness, high optical scattering, big energy spread, low infrared soaking up, and high dislocation electromotive force. See Table 1 for outstanding belongingss of diamond. Table 1 Some belongingss of diamond ( Markus )Thermal PropertiesAs mentioned, diamond has high thermic conduction. For high quality individual crystals, normally type IIa, the thermic conduction, ? , is about 22W/cm & A ; deg ; C at room temperature. This belongings is due to the stiffness of diamond bond and the diamond construction, which rise to a high acoustic speed and a really high characteristic temperature. Recently, research worker has reported the best thermic conduction of the movie is about 11W/cm & A ; deg ; C. For midst movie, the conduction is about17W/cm & A ; deg ; C at room temperature. ( J.E. Graebner ) Figure 13 indicates the relation between thermic conduction and movie thickness, where thermic conduction additions with movie thickness. Thermal conducitivy besides depends on grain boundary. Diamond ‘s thermic conduction additions with decreasing temperature, making a upper limit of 42 W/cm-K near 80 K, after making the upper limit the thermic conduction les senings. Impurities, such as N, cut down the thermic conduction. Type I diamonds with 0.1 % N merely have 50 % thermic conduction values of type II diamonds in room temperature. Isotropic pureness increases the thermic conduction. Man-made diamond crystals grows with pure carbon-12 have thermic conductions 50 % higher than those of natural diamond for which the atomic weight is 12.01 because the stuff contains 1.1 % carbon-13. ( Zaitsev ) Figure 13Measured thermic conduction at 25 & A ; deg ; C for five samples ( squares ) . Solid circles show the derived conduction. The horizontal dotted line indicates the typical conduction reported for individual crystal high quality ( Type IIa ) diamond. ( J.E. Graebner )Optical PropertiesDiamond movies are normally crystalline in the infrared, with the exclusion of the carbon-hydrogen absorbing sets centered at about 2900cm-1, weak absorbing in the seeable spectrum, and increasing absorbing with diminishing wavelength in the UV visible radiation. The optical spread value is range from 0.38 to 2.72 for diamond movies. ( A. ) The index of refraction, both the existent portion N and fanciful portion K, and its spectroscopic fluctuation has been found to be dependent on the readying conditions and H content of the movies. Its value at 632.8 nanometers can be adjusted from 1.7 to 2.4 by seting the deposition conditions. ( A. ) This refractile index is big comparison to other crystalline stuff. With big refractile index, it is besides found big contemplation coefficient and a little angle for entire internal contemplation. ( Zaitsev ) The index of refraction is besides affected by the H content in the diamond movies and by and large additions with diminishing concentration of edge H. It is, nevertheless, dependant on the concentration of edge H and non entire H content in the movie. A higher index of refraction normally indicates diamond with stronger crosslinking, higher hardness, and better wear opposition. ( A. ) Diamond is besides photoconductive. There is a strong photoconductive extremum at 225 nanometers due to excitement of negatrons across the set spread in pure diamond, and in B doped diamond there are besides peaks from 1.4 to 3.5 ?m due to excitement of the deep-lying acceptor degrees. ( Reinhard )Electrical belongingssThe electrical belongings of diamond movie is good known for big set spread. Diamond have a modest bandgap. The energy set construction of diamond exhibits an indirect energy spread with a value of 5.47 electron volt at 300 K. This is sufficiently big that at near room temperature the intrinsic bearer concentration is negligible and the stuff is an dielectric with a dielectric invariable of about 5.7. ( Zaitsev ) ( See Figure 14 for set construction ) In an dielectric the valency negatrons form strong bonds between neighbouring atoms and accordingly these bonds are hard to interrupt. Thus, the bandgap is big and there are no free negatrons to take part in current condu ctivity at or near room temperature. ( Markus ) Figure 14 Activation energies for some drosss in diamond. B is boron for P type, P is phosphorus for n-type, and N is nitrogen. ( Markus ) The set construction of diamond movie is assumed to dwell merely a mobility spread, where bearers shacking in spread provinces are localized. The mobility spread produces semiconducting material behaviour, nevertheless, the high denseness of localised spread provinces leads to low apparent bearer mobilities and significantly degrades the semiconducting belongingss of stuff. Diamond movies normally have high electrical electric resistances from 102-1016? , depending on the deposition status ( A. ) The electrical conduction of diamond is more sensitive to drosss than the thermic conduction. The electrical electric resistance can be reduced by several orders of magnitude through incorporation of metals or N in the movies. The lessening of electric resistance by incorporation of dopants possibly related to a dopant induced graphitization. However, more groundss are needed to turn out. Boron doped p-type diamond exists in nature. The growing of B doped diamond movies by CVD techniques has been achieved by adding B incorporating molecules to the gas mixture in either a microwave or in a hot fibril reactor ensuing in the growing of B incorporating p-type diamond movies. ( A. ) ( R. ) N-type doping is much more complicated. It is still questionable about the possible giver atom that will give a shallow plenty energy degree in the spread to be sufficiently ionized at room temperature. Most late clear giver activity is phosphorus doped for n-type diamond. In Figure 15, the dependance of the electric resistance on measurement temperature. Similar inclines are obtained for all samples proves that in this temperature run the conductivity mechanism is thermally activated, with an activation energy of 0.46 electron volt, instead independent of growing conditions. ( R. ) Figure 15 Temperature dependance of the electric resistance of n-type diamond, doped with different sums ( ppm ) of P ( 300,800 K ) . ( R. )B. Mechanical PropertiesDiamond is the hardest known substance. Diamond besides has the lowest squeezability, the highest elastic modulus, and the highest isotropous velocity of sound ( 18,000 m/sec ) of any known materia ( Nazare and Neves ) . The grade of hardness is quantified in footings of both opposition to indenture and scratch ( or abrasion ) opposition. In footings of squeezability, the ratio of tensile emphasis to linear strain, or Young ‘s modulus, is 1050 GPa, a value about five times higher than that of steel. However under different methods of proving, the Young ‘s modulus is different and C11, C12, C44. Table 2 provides the Young ‘s moduli of diamond with different trial methods. Because of its brickle nature, diamond is non peculiarly strong. ( Markus ) Table 2 Elastic moduli of diamond ( GPa ) ( Nazare and Neves ) Method C11 C12 C44 Ultrasonics 950 390 430 X raies 1100 330 440 Brillouin 949 151 521 The mechanical strength of diamond is influenced by a figure of important factors, including the applied emphasis system, the ambient temperature and the grade of both internal ( drosss ) and external ( surface coating ) flawlessness. Fracture occurs when a certain degree of emphasis is applied and the manner of failure will be that which requires the smallest emphasis. Materials, where the bonding is preponderantly covalent or where there is a significant grade of covalent bonding, have a big built-in lattice opposition to dislocation gesture and failure occurs at low emphasiss, below the theoretical break emphasis. Diamond, as with any other crystalline stuff, can neglect by either brickle break, cleavage, or in a ductile manner, flow by a shear procedure. Although thermic belongingss and electrical conduction are both extremely affected by N, there is no clear grounds found that mechanical belongingss are clear related to N. ( Nazare and Neves )Highly inert chemicallyDiamond is ex tremely inert chemically, except for two state of affairss. It is susceptible to oxidising agents at high temperatures. For illustration, if diamond is heated in the presence of O, oxidization Begins at around 900 K. Besides, diamond is capable to chemical onslaught by certain metals at high temperatures. These include carbide formers such as wolframs, Ta, Ti, and Zr every bit good as dissolvers for C such as Fe, Co, manganese, nickel, Cr, and Pt. ( Zaitsev )ApplicationsDiamond is a really utile stuff because of the outstanding belongingss including high thermic conduction, high electrical electric resistance, low coefficient of clash, high grade of chemical inertness, high optical scattering, big energy spread, low infrared soaking up, and high dislocation electromotive force. With these belongingss, diamond is used for diverse application besides jewellery. They are normally used in mechanical application, optical applications, thermic applications, and sensor applications. Diamon d can be used for scratchy and wear opposition coating for cutting tools, lenses, Windowss for power optical masers, diffractive optical elements, heat sinks for power transistors, semiconducting material optical maser arrays, solar blind photodetector, and radiation hard and chemically inert sensors. Table 3 Future application countries for diamond electronics. ( Markus )Film editing ToolsSingle crystal diamond is used for coating of modulated or layered composing of two or more passage metal compounds. It is common to utilize diamond coating for certain types of crunching wheels or cutting of extremely scratchy metals and metals. There are two ways to use diamond on to the film editing tools. First, turning comparatively thick beds of CVD diamond from which separate freestanding pieces are obtained. These pieces are so brazed onto a cutting tool. Second, straight deposited diamond onto the film editing tools. ( Markus ) Often, high-quality diamonds are selected for usage in dressing tools for non-ferrous metals, aluminium, brass bronze, ceramics, black lead, and glass fiber-reinforced construction. ( Markus ) ( Hammond and Evans ) Single-point diamond is mounted in a metal matrix. They are normally used to dress and leave or reconstruct the needed geometric form to certain scrat chy wheels. Two typically signifiers of such film editing tools are single-point and multi-point. Today, individual or multi-point cutters include milling, turning, drilling, cutting-off and slitting. ( Hammond and Evans )Demonstrated surfacing diamond onto hardmetalsHardmetals are the most valuable and of import substrates for coated tools, due to their intrinsic belongingss and their broad scope of mechanical belongingss. They consist of WC and Co with add-ons of TiC, ( Ta5Nb ) C, and VC, which chiefly change their hardness and wear opposition. The sum of Co binder is mostly responsible for ductileness or crispness. Hardmetals have been used as wear parts and film editing tools for decennaries, with and without surfacing applications. Normally, successful diamond coatings on WC-Co substrates have no or a really low sum of three-dimensional carbides ( TiC ) and besides a comparatively low Co content. Both Co and TiC add-ons increase the thermic enlargement coefficient of the hardmetal and cut down the adhesion of the diamond coating. A high Co vapour force per unit area and its high mobility on the substrate surface influence diamond deposition. In the gas stage environing the substrate surface, Co catalyses the formation of nondiamond C stages, which can be deposited at the interface prior to the diamond formation. How and why the Co drops reach the diamond coating surface is non yet to the full understood. Surface forces might play an of import function ( See Figure 16 ) . Figure 16 Co as portion of the hardmetal binder stage and its influences on the diamond depositionElectrochemical ApplicationsElectrochemical behaviour of boron-doped CVD diamond is one of the most promising applications of conductive diamond. Boron doped diamond fits the demand for an electrode operates inertly and without impairment in rough chemical environments. Compare to platinum electrodes, diamond electrodes provide a much wider potency scope over which no important H2O decomposition occurs. ( Reinhard ) Diamond electrodes are suited substrates for reactions crossing a broad possible scope in aqueous solutions. They besides have the advantage of chemical stableness, even in extremely aggressive environments. In Figure 17 the I-V curves obtained with a B doped CVD diamond electrodes in assorted ( KI, KBr, and HCl ) solutions are shown. The behaviour of the doped diamond electrode is much superior to that of the commonly used baronial metal electrodes. Diamond bears as a stuff for the fiction of cold cathode or other negatron breathing devices requires the diamond to be electrically conductive, with no demand for an accurately known doping degree. ( R. ) Figure 17 Current V. Potential of a extremely B doped CVD diamond electrode in ( a ) 1 M KI ; ( B ) 1 M KBr and ( degree Celsius ) 1 M HCl. Scan rate 150 mV/s. The alone negatron emanation belongingss of diamond are the most promising applications of semiconducting diamond. Although, no clear apprehension of the natural philosophies that determined the negatron emanation from diamond emerges. There are still many applications such as field emanation from diamond surfaces utilizing diamond to conductive.Thermal ManagementThe high thermic conduction of diamond, combined in some instances with its chemical inertness and high electrical electric resistance, makes it of involvement for a assortment of thermic direction applications. Laser diamond heat sinks and other thermic direction substrates formed from CVD polycrystalline diamond are illustrations of available merchandises. Because diamond combines exceptionally high thermic conduction with exceptionally low electrical conduction, it is of considerable involvement in electrical packaging applications. It provides efficient waies for heat flow without compromising the electrical isolation of single constituents. ( Reinhard )Transmission ApplicationsDiamond provides a window with high transmission for assorted parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is an ideal radiation window stuff in peculiar for applications affecting high power degrees and mechanical, thermic or chemical burden. Due to its big bandgap ( 5.5 electron volt ) and the deficiency of infrared active cardinal vibrational manners, diamond is optically crystalline over a big wavelength scope. Even at elevated temperatures, diamond remains crystalline, since the big bandgap does non let the formation of free bearers. In the x-ray part of the spectrum, diamond is of involvement for x-ray lithography masks. The low atomic figure of diamond consequences in low x-ray soaking up. Another illustration is in high-octane gyrotrons such as are used in merger research. This application requires the transmittal of really big powers ( megawatts ) at microwave frequences ( 170 GHz ) every bit good as the ability to dis perse heat quickly. The ability to convey high powers in the optical part of the spectrum is of involvement to laser interior decorators because the design of high-power optical masers is power limited by harm bounds to laser optics instead than restrictions of the optical maser medium or pumping mechanisms. The abrasion opposition and chemical inertness make diamond of involvement as an optical coating stuff every bit good. ( Reinhard ) Diamond is known for its broadband optical transparence covering the UV, seeable, close and far IR. In this scope the optical transmittal exhibits merely minor intrinsic soaking up sets originating from two- phonon ( 1332-2664 cm-1 ) and three-phonon ( 2665-3994 cm-1 ) passages. The maximal soaking up coefficient sums to 14 cm-1 at 2158 cm-1. This holds true for optical class CVD-diamond as shown in Figure 18. The soaking up around 10 ^m is of peculiar involvement for CO2-laser constituents and because many IR detectors operate within the 8-12 ?m atmospheric window. ( Nazare and Neves ) Figure 18Transmission spectrum of a high-quality CVD-diamond window ( thickness: 150 ?m ) ( Nazare and Neves ) CVD-diamond is besides used as vacuity Windowss for high-power microwave ( Gyrotron ) tubing. These Gyrotron tubings are used for the negatron cyclotron warming of merger plasmas. Power degrees transcending 1 MW at frequences of around 100 GHz have been demonstrated. Until late the end product window of these devices has been the most critical constituent restricting the maximal end product power or the pulse continuance. In this context CVD-diamond window with H2O edgecooling is found to be really promising. The highly high power degree requires really low insulator losingss. CVD-diamond exhibits loss tangent values every bit low as 10-5 ( at 140 GHz ) . Below 350-400 & A ; deg ; C there is practically no temperature dependance. In the 10- 145 GHz range the loss tangent decreases with frequence as 1/f [ 27 ] or as 1/f05. ( Nazare and Neves )X-ray lithography masksThe declaration bound of optical lithography is defined by diffraction and sprinkling as the characteristic size approach es the exposing wavelength. X ray lithography, which uses significantly shorter radiation ( 0.8-1.5 nm versus 300-400 nanometer ) , offers a proficient way to accomplishing the higher declaration. However, several factors have delayed the execution of X-ray lithography on the production line for IC fiction. The major non-technical factor is related to the immense constitutional optical technological substructure which has continued to do important betterments by utilizing measure and repetition exposure tools, integrating multilevel resist, using contrast foils, utilizing shorter wavelength radiation, planing higher numerical aperture optics, which has efficaciously delayed the execution of X-ray lithography. The proficient barriers to X-ray lithography execution include the absence of a dependable, high volume, low defect denseness X-ray mask engineering, a high velocity X-ray resist, a high velocity, low cost exposure/alignment tool. The best mask stuff has low atomic figure since the X-ray transparence improves with diminishing atomic figure. TABLE 1 reveals the failing of polymers as membrane stuff campaigners. They are non merely hygroscopic but are automatically soft and hence easy distorted. The metals Ti and Be are reasonably stiff ; nevertheless, their opacity is troublesome, but non pathological, since alliance Windowss can be etched in the membrane after overcoating with polyimide to back up the alliance form. Beryllium would be first-class were it crystalline, dismissing its toxicity. Si and its nitride and oxide are good from an X-ray and optical transparence point of view but lack the mechanical stiffness of the furnace linings like SiC, BN and diamond. Si has the important advantage of a big installed engineering base and capital equipment handiness. As can be seen, diamond has the highest stiffness factor S of any stuff. There are other factors to see in choosing a stuff such as: scale-up of fiction procedure, X-ray-induced debasement, surface smoothness, two-dimensionality, secondary negatron emanation induced by the X raies, adhesion of metallization. Diamond ‘s low mass soaking up coefficient and low denseness make it compatible with a assortment of X-ray beginnings. ( Nazare and Neves ) Table 4 Comparison of stuffs based on X-ray transparence Texas, optical transparence to, and mechanical stiffness S. ( Nazare and Neves ) Material Texas ( ?m ) t0 S = Et0Z ( I-V ) ( GPa Polyimide 8.7 & A ; gt ; 5 43 Mylar 8.5 & A ; gt ; 5 42 Titanium 1.09 Opaque–Be 42.0 Opaque–Silicon 9.6 2 362 Al2O3 0.8 1 448 SiO2 4.99 5 444 Si3N4 7.71 6 728 BN 7.94 4 420 SiC 6.81 3 1590 Diamond 5.9 2 2336Detectors and DetectorsDiamond-based devices are besides of involvement for observing a assortment of radiation types every bit good as feeling assorted physical parametric quantities such as temperature and force per unit area. For illustration, diamond thermal resistors have been proposed for temperature measuring in hostile environments such as chemical processing, gearbox oil, and cryogenies. The piezoresistive consequence of diamond has been used to feel force per unit area, and p-type CVD polycrystalline diamond is reported to hold a big piezoresistive gage factor [ 12 ] . Diamond is highly radiation hard, with a 55-eV supplanting energy for a C atom in the diamond lattice. It besides acts as an ionizing radiation sensor and is hence of involvement for radiation measurings where exposure to big doses is required. The big set spread of diamond make it of involvement as a UV sensor, based on photoconduction, which is blind to seeable visible radiation. ( Reinhard )Decision

Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations Essay - 4

Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations - Essay Example wn that different objective of for-profit and nonprofit organizations are the major factor which requires the change in financial management processes. It has also found that financial management techniques may vary across for-profit and nonprofit organizations because of different governance mechanisms, tax treatment, stakeholders and accounting requirements. Therefore, for the financial health of nonprofit organizations and to facilitate them in achieving their aims, such changes have become necessary. A nonprofit organization offers public services without any intention of achieving any personal gain or self interest and these organizations are exempt from paying federal taxes (Zietlow, Hankin, & Seidner, 2007). Under the selection 501(c) (3) of the Code, the described organizations are charitable organizations and they are eligible to get tax-deductible contributions and earnings of organization may not inure to private shareholders or individuals (Credit Infocentre, 2006). Actually the number of nonprofit organizations is increasing vary rapidly and it is becoming important to control and monitor the financial practices of these organizations. Although these organizations can earn money however, the money earned has to be used for public service purpose only. Therefore, the differences in financial management techniques appear right from the difference in financial objectives of the two kinds of organizations. The primary financial objectives of nonprofit organizations found th rough a survey in 2002 highlight that most nonprofit organizations aims to achieve breakeven point, followed by those which aim to maintain a significant level of cash reserves and financial flexibility. Moreover, the other primary objectives identified include maximizing cash flow, net revenues, net donations and surplus and reducing costs (Zietlow, Hankin, & Seidner, 2007). Because of these financial objectives the financial management techniques of not-for-profit and for-profit

Adaptation of English Academic Purposes Writing Materials for a Group Research Paper

Adaptation of English Academic Purposes Writing Materials for a Group of Chinese Learners - Research Paper Example The major challenge this group of students encounters during their first year of study relates to the high-level expectations in the universities. According to candling and Hyland (2006, 11) the learning processes for these students is the site of struggle in their process of embracing change. Accommodating and fitting into an entirely different system makes the process entirely difficult for the students (Andrade, & Evans, 2009, 29). The expression of academic work in an entirely non- familiar language demands a lot of cognitive and social ability from the students. Problems that may interfere with the student’s ability to adapt to the new language may involve the student’s attitude, social experiences, and cognitive adaption. According to Cheng (2000, 46) the process of learning English, is a process of new identity creation and balancing the new identity with a student’s initial identity. The process of academic writing entails transition towards a given a giv en culture for Chinese students (Andrade, & Evans, 2009, 34). It encompasses an acquaintance to the writing conventions in the universities culture (Xing, Wang, & Spencer, 2008, 71). According to Su and Norton (2008, 57), the most challenging hurdle for Chinese students involved writing strategies and linguistics. ...    Challenges facing Chinese students Academic challenges The main challenge to the academic performance of Chinese students’ significantly involved cultural diversity as a result of Confucian ideology (Cummins, & Davison, 2007). They could not explain precisely the expectations of British academics and culture. Teacher-student relationship The relationship between teacher-student in western universities is significantly different from the Confucian perspective (Cummins, & Davison, 2007). This leads to a great misunderstanding between the teacher and the student. According to the views of most of my Chinese students, the UK lectures are less caring and too busy to develop time for their students. To the lectures point of view, the extensive attention beyond learning hours was a bit too demanding. Chinese students express a lot of difficulty in understanding the conduct of Western teachers: they perceive the teachers’ autonomous learning technique as uncaring and unfri endly (Cummins, & Davison, 2007).  Ã‚  

Family Issue Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Family Issue Report - Essay Example Using Erickon's Psychological Stages of Development, we will compare negative effects pageants have on girls from ages zero to five; and briefly take into account the damage it does to the development of the other children of the family. Young girls are taught from birth that it is more important to be dressed like a Barbie dolls with perfect artificial blond hair and glitzy clothes and show off their bodies and childlike voices than be children and good students. Parents, screaming in the audience, show that they have devoted their lives to their children. Many are overweight and demand utter perfection from their children. In the HBO documentary (1999), the little girl says "But Mommy, all I need is a hug. Her mother says, Not until you get it right." Does the child feel inferior? She is only 5 years old. Parents seem to want to fulfill their own fantasy that they did not fulfill as children. They want their children to be perfect beauty queens, perfect performers, and perfectly dr essed. They spend thousands of dollars on each designer dress. They hire coaches and makeup artists. When a child is interviewed, she never speaks of her education. Her one goal in life is to become a model or an actress. With over three million participants a year, how many actually make it? (Maliakal, 2010) 1. 1rst Stage of Development: 0 - 1 The Building of Trust and Confidence A baby from zero to 12 months only depends on the people in her own circle. If the people with her are stressed, she will realize that her world is not that safe place. it used to be. She doesn't want to have to be changing into complicated dresses and having funny creams put on her face. She doesn't want to be handled by strange people. Her most important trait is confidence in her mother. She does not to be in competition with her mother. A pageant at any age is stressful for the parent. The first year of life is the most important in developing a sense of trust that life does work out. There is no compe tition or stress beyond feeding and getting diapers changed. The mother who creates a different environment does it because of her own needs. If the baby does not have the comfort of this confident building, she will caring a sense of mistrust with her for her whole life. 2. Second Stage of Development: 2-3 The Building of Autonomy and Pride In Living Dolls Part 1- Part 6 HBO "1998" (HB0 1999), the viewer sees the progression of one young girl who started at 3 years old. The mother, who was an army brat, spent 4 years as a sergeant in the army. She had four children with her two marriages. Her life was devoted to her 'beauty baby'. She expected her other children to follow and not doubt any of her choices. At three, Shaw took the initiative to do everything right at each pageant. Her perfectionism became obsessive because her mother ran her like a boot camp. She would cry when she forgot her songs on stage or a dance step. She would search for her mother's approval after each perfor mance. When she didn't perform properly, she was shamed by her mother and avoided looking into her mother's eyes or would hide.. Her performances were to get her mother's approval. Her obsessive desire to win forced her to work harder and harder, she only practiced so she would become an actress or a model. In the update program, she turned into a normal adolescent. 3. Third Stage of Development: 4-5 The desire to have a real purpose in life She took

Prove the The Great Flood in the Holy Bible is the truth using science Research Paper

Prove the The Great Flood in the Holy Bible is the truth using science - Research Paper Example According to the Bible, Noah and his three sons survived the flood in a wooden ark, along with hundreds of animals representing every species on earth. All other living beings perished, and the ones surviving today are all descendants of the survivors of the Great flood. Described in great detail in the Book of Genesis (6-9), this event has witnessed ample speculation from all quarters of the world, and scientists and explorers have set out to unveil its mysteries. Through this paper, I intend to prove in light of sound scientific evidence, that the Great flood cited in the Bible is a real event that occurred thousands of years ago, and that Noah and his ark really existed. Keywords: Great flood, Noah's Ark, fossil graveyards, coal beds, Polystrate Fossils, Coconino Sandstones , Genetic pool, Mt Ararat The "Great Flood"- In Light of Scientific Evidence The Holy Bible states that God wished to wipe out all sin from the surface of the earth and that all humans were subjected to Godâ₠¬â„¢s wrath except a few who were righteous. A great flood destroyed every living being on earth, while Noah and his family survived in a huge wooden ark, which he built with God's guidance. A pair of every animal, male and female, was taken to safety in the Ark, while rain lashed on earth for a period of forty days and forty nights. â€Å"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights† (Gen. 7:11-12, New International Version). Noah's three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth, along with a few others, survived the flood, and mankind was repopulated from them. The Bible further cites that Noah's ark rested on Mount Ararat after the flood waters subsided. In view of this revelation, innumerable scientific expeditions have explored the Ararat mountain range in Asia Minor, in s earch of Noah's Ark. An object resembling a ship's bow has already been found, jutting out of mud and lava atop the mountains. The Turkish Air Force was the first to notice this object. Porcher Taylor, a professor at the University of Richmond confirmed its presence, after a long period of study through satellite imagery. Surprisingly, the dimensions of this object perfectly correlate to the dimensions of Noah's Ark described in the Bible. Following this discovery, many other expeditions have investigated the area, unearthing wood, anchors made from stone, and other remains of what might have been an ark. No matter how spell bounding such a discovery may seem, it is imperative to decipher the events of the great deluge in light of scientific evidence and data from recent expeditions. In order to prove that the great flood was an actual reality and not just a mythological event inscribed in ancient literature, I wish to put forth the following conditions, which if true, refute all po ssible arguments against the possibility of the great flood: 1. Fossil evidence suggesting fossilization under rapid conditions 2. Geological evidence of a global flood 3. Evidence of abundant water, enough to cover the surface of the Earth 4. Genetic dead-end due to lack of genetic

Marketing Plan for an International Company Assignment

Marketing Plan for an International Company - Assignment Example It is a yardstick to measure the effectiveness of the marketing conducted for a product in an organisation. In this report, we take the case of Walmart to illustrate a marketing plan. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is a US multinational  giant. It owns department stores and warehouse stores and goes by the brand name ‘Walmart’. According to the  Fortune Global 500  list of 2013, it is the  worlds second largest public company. It employs over two million employees, more than any other private employer  in the world. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer is controlled by the  Walton family, who own a 48 percent share in it (Troy April 21, 2011). Started in 1962, it has around 8,500 stores spread out in 15 countries. Any aspect of management in general, and marketing in particular, would be vast and exhaustive. Hence, we restrict ourselves to four focus areas viz. current marketing techniques, brand reputation, global networking and future expansion opportunities. These four areas are explained briefly and followed by four marketing tools. The areas are then explained with reference to Walmart, using each of the marketing tools. A critical evaluation from the report writer’s perspective is given at every stage. To conclude, an assessment of areas other than those related to marketing is provided followed by a general marketing evaluation and the road ahead for Walmart. Walmart’s uniqueness stems from the fact that it is the retailer that offers products at discounted rates. The purpose was to sell products at low prices for higher volume at lower profit margin. Lower cost suppliers were the primary reason for passing the savings in the prices. Walmart employed various strategies for marketing itself. It took over existing companies within the US and abroad. Simultaneously, it opened several stores all over the US and the rest of the world to enhance its presence; and of late it has ventured into the premium retail segment to

Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis - Assignment Example Recession affected various industries. Beer, being a luxury product, saw a record breaking drop in sales as the marginal propensity to consume alcohol reduced. This was due to the reduced purchasing power. High cost and low income reduced the amount that people spent on beer consumption. However, after the recession, the customers had more income to spend on luxuries and beer, thus, demand pushed sales up (WSJ; October 2, 2012). Top beer producers gained value after the recession, but their brands could not hold on their share prices, they fell. The biggest players in the industry, Anheuser-Busch Inc. saw record sales of 39.9% in 2011 and 39.7 in 2012. The firm was closely followed by Molson Coors brewing n miller brewing. The chart (iii) in the appendix shows the top beer brands in the industry Despite the competitive conditions in the United States alcoholic beverages and tobacco industry, craft beer has gained value and their brands have higher demand. The craft brewing sub-industry improved and recorded a 15% growth in 2011 and 17% in 2012. In 20122, the craft beer sector had a market share of 10.2%. The craft beer sub-industry is expected to continue with the growth trend if all economic conditions remain constant or improve. Boston beer is the biggest producer of craft beer with over 15.7% market share in the brewing industry. The company competes in both high quality and premium beers and also on low priced beer. The company has a business unit that produces premium beer under the label Sam Adams to compete with established brewing giants. Boston Beer boasts being the largest craft beer brewer in the United States. It is also ranked sixth in the brewing industry in terms of sales. The share price of the SAM as of 11th April 2014 is $234.4 per share that represented small- cap growth. The earnings per share (EPS) stood at $6.80; this implies that every share issued by the company had a return of $6.80 as of April 2014(Yahoo! Finance). This is a

Why did the Soviet Union collapse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Why did the Soviet Union collapse - Essay Example The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was founded in the year of 1922 after the Bolshevik Revolution. The USSR had a great impact on the political affairs of the world ever since but could not maintain this impact after its downfall. The Soviet Union underwent a rapid collapse in the late twentieth century which was inevitable due to the policies and conditions that Russia was undergoing in these times. After the World War II the Soviet Union turned out to be a super power which was becoming a threat for the United States and for this reason many blame the United States to be the main cause of Russian collapse. The Soviet power was never able to expand much under the influence of the U.S agenda. It was under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev that Russia began to undergo a political change which could not be handled and thus led to a political turmoil. The United States itself did not play a direct role in the collapse of Soviet Union but it did play an indirect role in the collap se. This essay would further revolve around the factors which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union (Watson 1998; Weiss 2009). To understand the massive collapse of the Soviet Union one has to understand the basic principles on which the country was made. From a historical point of view it can be seen that the Soviet Union consisted of people belonging to different ethnicities and races. The political ideology of the country was based on the principles of communism in accordance to the theories laid down by Karl Marx. The Communist party was leading the government offices in Soviet Union and the leaders in the party were following a level known as ‘nomenklatura’ which helped them to access the resources of the state as they wished to (McCauley 2001 p. 86). A variety of factors led to the fall of the Communist State which have formed a debate amongst the historians. Many believe the sole factor of Afghanistan was enough to collapse the Soviet Union whereas opponents ar gue that a lot of other factors came into play along with the Afghanistan war which led to the collapse of the state. The major reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union are cited as the Afghan intervention, the role of Poland, the varying prices of oil in the world and the reaction of the minorities to the government (Usitalo & Whisenhunt 2008). It has been found that the Soviet Union always had a conflict of interest with the West and this is the reason because of which the leaders had always aimed to excel from the west. The domestic problems along with the structural problems were the internal problems that the Union was facing because of which it underwent a political unrest. Tilly defines the collapse of the Soviet Union in the following words [O]ne of Europe’s more peculiar revolutions: the shattering of an empire and the dismantling of its central structure without the direct impact of a war . . . the costly stalemate in Afghanistan, itself a product of a hugely ex pensive Cold War with the United States, provided the closest equivalent to those earlier empire-ending wars† (Tilly 1993 p 231). In December 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed into fifteen independent countries. The West was victorious in disintegrating the nation and considered the collapse as a victory of capitalism over socialism. After the creation of Soviet Union it was seen that the leaders were implementing a plan through which they could unite all the nations of the Soviet Republic. To carry out such a plan the assimilation process began and Russian was taught to everyone. However more than fifty percent of the population living in the Soviet Union belonged to non Russian back grounds and it became difficult for them to assimilate with the newly laid principles. The economic policies of the state also failed which can be witnessed in the arms race that they had with the United States. The arms race with United States led to an economic turmoil for the country itself beca use of which they finally collapsed. The last leader of the country

Drug Use Amongst Police Officers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Drug Use Amongst Police Officers - Essay Example It also shows that key causes of the drug use that does exist include job-related stress, unique opportunity, and features of police culture. The effects of such drug use have negative impacts not just on the using officer, but also on colleagues and family. Durkheim's paradigm of functionalism is useful in analyzing this phenomenon. It helps explain how a poorly-functioning system can lead to increased police drug use, and a well-functioning system can reduce police drug use. Brunet (2003) surveyed a wealth of drug literature published from 1984 to 2002. Most found that low numbers of officers used illegal drugs. Several studies showed that anywhere from .31% to 20% of tested police officers in departments across the US and Australia used drugs. By comparison, a U.S. Department of Justice survey (2008) found that, while 8.2 % of full-time workers across America are regular drug users, those in protective service occupations, such as police were least likely to be users, with a rate of 3.4%. While the number of officers who use drugs may actually be quite small, the cases the public finds out about often cause terrific backlash. Effects of such use are felt by the individual officer, the police department as a whole, and the officer's family. The consequences impact public safety, public trust, and the ability of police to assist in the prosecution of criminals. Other consequences include the potential for greater corruption, reduced job productivity, and more civil liability for departments. Police officers who use drugs also place their families at greater risk for dysfunction and put their jobs at risk. Durkheim's paradigm of functionalism is beneficial in understanding drug use amongst police. It also provides insights into why some who are sworn to uphold the law break it in the very worst ways. Durkheim focused on the interactions and interdependence of society. He proposed that a smoothly functioning society had roles for individuals and norms to guide behaviors. When there is equilibrium in the system, individual needs are met and society works. When there is disequilibrium, society and individuals in society can suffer greatly. It is just this situation with drug use amongst police. Causes of Police Officer Drug Use As with the rest of the population, the causes of drug use amongst police officers are wide and varied. Stress, opportunity, and police culture are cited in many studies as central causes of drug abuse by police. According to Gorta (2008), police in Australia indicated that stress in their work and personal lives sometimes led to drug use. Many officers cited stressful situations such as killing someone in the line of duty or chasing someone in a high-speed pursuit as causing inordinate amounts of stress (Brunet, 2003). Many note that organizational rules, regulations, and procedures are stressors. Shift work and working irregular hours, as well as

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Essay Example for Free

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Essay Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a form of anxiety disorder which is characterized by both compulsions and obsessions. The obsessions are experienced in form of recurrent, unwanted and disturbing images, thoughts, or impulses which usually pop into the minds of individuals causing them a lot of distress and anxiety (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). This results in compulsions which are repetitive intentional behaviors that are done in a bid to reduce the anxiety brought about by the obsessions. The onset of the disorder is earlier among men than among women (Jakes, 1996). In addition, the condition is more common in whites than in blacks and social class does not influence development of the condition (Jakes, 1996). In children, Strep throat is known to trigger onset of the condition or worsen the condition (Jakes, 1996). This is a case of autoimmunity where the antibodies produced to fight streptococci attacks basal ganglia. There are several ways in which the disease is manifested and an individual could have either a single manifestation or multiple manifestations. One grouping of OCD is referred to as checkers and individuals who fall under this category have compulsions to keep on checking things which could be locks, doors, and appliances in order to prevent potential disasters. They do this because they are afraid of disasters befalling themselves and others due to something they do or they do not do (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). Another manifestation is in form of washers and cleaners. Individuals who fall under this category have the tendency to repeatedly keep on showering, washing their hands, and cleaning the surroundings. This is because they are afraid and worried about contamination by germs and dirt (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). Orderers form another manifestation of OCD where individuals under this category feel compelled to do things in a given, exact way. For example an individual would be obsessed with arranging clothes in a given way. The other group is known as pure obsessionals and individuals in this group keep on having repetitive thoughts which could be in form of counting, praying, or repetition of certain words (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). These compulsions result from troubling intrusive thoughts and images where they think and see themselves harming or endangering others and this leaves them horrified (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). Another grouping of individuals with OCD comprises of individuals with scrupulosity. People under this category are obsessed with moral and religious issues and will compulsively pray or engage in religious services. The last manifestation is in form of hoarders where individuals in this category will collect things which others consider as trash or junk. In most cases, these individuals cannot explain why exactly they collect the items and they usually tend to develop an attachment to these items such that they cannot throw them away (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). The cause of the condition is thought to be genetic but environmental factors do modify its manifestation. Researchers believe that multiple genes are involved in its transmission from generation to generation and these genes are responsible for modifying brain function (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). When these genes are inherited, they cause variations in brain structure, circuitry, and neurochemistry and this inclines one to develop OCD. According to research statistics, the rate of OCD among family members where one individual has the condition is higher than among members of families where no relative has the condition (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). In addition, for majority of the people where the condition appears in childhood, there is usually a blood relative with the condition leading to confirmation that genetic factors are involved. Apart from genetics, environmental factors also play a role in the development of the condition. If individuals who are genetically predisposed to development of the condition are subjected to factors in the environment that stress them, then they are more likely to develop the condition. These stressing factors include childhood neglect, family stress, death, physical trauma, psychological trauma, illness, and divorce (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). In addition, people who are genetically predisposed to development of the condition can develop the disease as they go through major transitions in life which could be adolescence, marriage, retirement or parenthood. Studies have shown that serotonin is involved in the development of OCD (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which enables communication between brain cells. In people with OCD, brain imaging reveals abnormalities in some areas of the brain and these are usually the basal ganglia, the cingulate gyrus, the thalamus, and orbital cortex (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). These are the brain areas that are involved in the following: processing of information received from the world, sorting of this information based on importance, they enable one to concentrate on tasks being undertaken, and they also alert one to danger. For people who have this condition, these brain areas work overtime, and they focus on ideas and thoughts that are intrusive which under normal circumstances would be filtered out (Hyman Pedrick, 2009). There are several signs and symptoms that characterize OCD. Though the objects of obsession vary slightly from individual to individual, the manifestations of the disorder are usually the same. One of these is obsession and compulsions which usually take more than an hour each day and which interferes with the individuals’ normal lives (Domino, 2007). The obsessions are usually recurrent and the patients usually try to ignore the thoughts or they neutralize these thoughts with compulsions. The individuals with these compulsions and obsessions usually have no other mental disorders (Domino, 2007). The compulsions are also repetitive and deliberate and they are aimed at neutralizing the obsessive thoughts. There are usually no specific tests for this condition and diagnosis is usually based on presence of the above signs and symptoms after which differential diagnosis is made (Lippincott Williams Wilkins, 2008). After OCD is confirmed, several tests are done to determine severity and nature of the compulsions and obsessions. They include the Maudley obsessional compulsive inventory, the Yale brown Obsessive compulsive scale, and Leyton obsessional inventory (Domino, 2007). There is need for differential diagnosis in people suspected to have this condition. Distinguishing this condition from other disorders such as mood disorders, other anxiety disorders, impulsive spectrum disorders, Padua inventory, obsessive compulsive personality disorders (OCPD), impulsive spectrum disorders, and delusional disorders can be challenging. Accurate diagnosis requires a careful evaluation of an individual’s history. There is need to differentiate depression caused by OCD from that caused by others factors. It is also important to differentiate between OCD and trichotillomania where in trichotillomania just like in OCD individuals get relief out of pulling their hair but have no obsessive thoughts (Hollander Stein, 1997). Another condition requiring differential diagnosis is schizophrenia which is also characterized by obsession and rituals though the rituals in schizophrenic individuals are usually purposeless (Hollander Stein, 1997). In addition, other symptoms of schizophrenia are absent. Since some OCD patients also experience panic attacks, this can make OCD to be confused with panic disorder. However, OCD panic attacks are secondary to obsessional fears (Hollander Stein, 1997). Differential diagnosis between OCD and OCPD is also required since OCPD patients exhibit symptoms that are similar to those of OCD such as preoccupation with orderliness and perfectionism (Hollander Stein, 1997). However, in OCPD there is no obsession and compulsions. Borderline personality disorder may also be confused with OCD as patients also experience strong feelings and thoughts about certain issues. There are several approaches that are employed in the care of OCD patients. The treatments used include behavioral therapies, medications and cognitive behavioral therapy. Medications used are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and they include sertraline, paroxetine, cilatopram, and fluvoxamine (Domino, 2007). Medications are usually combined with cognitive behavioral therapy. The behavioral therapies usually include exposure therapy and ritual prevention therapy. For ritual prevention, the patients are helped to resist urges to engage in compulsive behavior for long while in exposure therapy individuals are subjected to the factors that compel them to behave compulsively and then helped to resist the urges (Hollander Stein, 1997). Cognitive behavioral therapy involves helping the patients to change their negative thoughts and behaviors. At other times, cognitive behavioral therapy is administered to a group. Response to treatment varies with age where medications are less effective in children and adolescents while adults respond well to treatment with a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and medications (Hollander Stein, 1997). References Domino, F. J. (2007). The 5-minute clinical consult. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Hollander, E. Stein, D. J. (1997). Obsessive compulsive disorders: diagnosis, etiology treatment. London: Informa health care Hyman, B. C. Pedrick, C. (2009). Obsessive compulsive disorder. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publishing Group, Inc. Jakes, I. (1996). Theoretical approaches to obsessive compulsive disorder. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press Lippincott Williams Wilkins. (2008). Nurse’s 3-minute clinical reference. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams Wilkins.

What Are The Motivations Of Dark Tourists?

What Are The Motivations Of Dark Tourists? On the 27th of April 2008, Josef Fritzl was arrested in Amstetten, a small town in Austria. It has shown that Fritzl sexually abused his daughter, Elisabeth, since she was eleven years old. When she was eighteen years old he locked her up in the basement underneath his house. Fritzl forced his daughter Elisabeth to write a letter to her mother where she stated that she had run away from home and joined a sect. The sexual abuse led to the birth of seven children. Three of these children were raised by Elisabeth in the basement and the other three were raised by Fritzl and his wife. One of the children died a few days after it was born. Furthermore, Fritzl convinced his wife that the three children they raised were exposed by Elisabeth. When one of the children that lived in the basement, the at that time nineteen-year-old Kersten, got ill Elisabeth convinced her father that she needed to be hospitalized. Because Kersten was not registered anywhere, one of the doctors informed the auth orities. After this, Elisabeth saw a program on the television in her basement that made a call up for the mother of Kersten. Then she convinced her father to bring her to the hospital, which led to the hearings of Fritzl and Elisabeth and the confessions of the cruelties that took place. After twenty-four years Elisabeth was freed from the basement and reunited with all her children (Wikipedia, 2010). This affair has received tremendous attention in the media and therefore the case is known all over the world. The affaire encompasses a painful and shameful episode on a national and local basis. Furthermore, the house of Fritzl has become a touristic attraction. Amstetten is dealing with an increasing amount of tourists that come to visit the house. When tourists visit the house, they often take photos of the house and of themselves in front of it. The articles on the internet show that the local authorities find this shocking (HLN, 2010). The phenomenon that people visit places that are associated with death, suffering and violence can be described as dark tourism. Thanatourism is a similar concept and also involves the visiting of locations associated with death and suffering, but an emphasis is placed upon symbolically experiencing a painful death. Another related concept is black spots, which can be described as commercial cemeteries of famous people or locations where death an d suffering took place. The house of Fritzl belongs to such places and visiting this location fits the description of dark tourism and thanatourism. The house of Fritzl, where the abuse and cruelties took place, can be seen as a symbolic reflection of this affaire and its tragic events. Furthermore, the house serves as a tangible object that invokes the memory of the Fritzl-affaire (Yull, 2003: 10-13; Logan en Reeves, 2009: 1-3; Rojek, 1993: 136). The phenomenon that people visit the house of Fritzl inspired me to formulate the following research question: What are the motivations of dark tourists? The case of the house of J. Fritzl in Amstetten. It is interesting to find out why tourists visit the house, if the media attention has played a role in the decision of people to visit the house and if certain characteristics, such as age and gender, affect the motivation of these visitors. The case of Fritzl offers a fascinating and recent case to go more in-depth into the motivations of dark tourists. Scientific and Social Relevance The scientific relevance of this research question lies in the fact that the subject of dark tourism is relatively new within the academic field. Several articles have been published on this topic, but as Stone (2006) argues: despite this increasing attention the dark tourism literature remains both eclectic and theoretical fragile (Stone, 2006: 145). Some researchers have already focused on visitor motivations of dark tourist sites. For example, Yull (2003) investigated why people visit the Holocaust Museum in Houston. However, according to Stone (2006) and Sharpley (2009) research first and foremost has focused on describing the different dark tourist sites, rather than on the consumption and experiences of visitors. This research will contribute to the understanding of visitor participation in dark tourism by taking the visitors of the house of Fritzl as the focal point of this research. Furthermore, the existing research has not focused on the motivations of visitors to dark tour ist sites, comparable to the house of Fritzl and therefore this research will add to and fill the gap in the existing literature. The social relevance of this research is harder to determine. However, finding out what the motivations of visitors are, might provide useful and relevant information for directly involved parties, other than the scientific community. For example, this information could offer the local community of Amstetten and (in)direct victims of this case a better understanding of what is going on and with what reasons people visit this site of horror. For example visitors might be motivated to visit this place to pay respect to the victims or remember the cruelties that took place, instead of entertainment purposes. Furthermore, the results of this research could even be relevant to society as a whole, since dark sites similar to the house of Fritzl seem to increasingly pop up and attract visitors world-wide. This research seeks to provide insights into why people a re motivated to visit these morbid locations. Theoretical Concepts and Hypothesized Relations As mentioned previously, several theoretical concepts are related to the phenomenon where people visit places associated with pain, death and suffering. Academic attention to this phenomenon increased in the twentieth century and several theoretical concepts were introduced. These concepts are black spots (Rojek, 1993), dark tourism (Lennon and Foley, 1996: in Yull, 2003) and thanatourism (Seaton, 1996: in Sharpley, 2009). These dark concepts will be briefly discussed in a more or less chronicle order, based on introduction in the literature. Another concept of importance for this research is visitor motivations (Sharpley, 2009: 12-15). Dark Concepts Black Spots Rojek (1993) coined the term black spots and argues that these locations involve commercial cemeteries of famous people or sites where death and suffering took place. In his research, Rojek (1993) also mentions that people increasingly visit these dark sites and that entrepreneurs initiate tours around these black spots. Examples of black spots are the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim-Brzezinka, Ground Zero in New York and the location where Princess Diana got killed in a car crash (Rojek, 1993: 136-145). Dark Tourism and Thanatourism Visiting places associated with death, pain and suffering is becoming increasingly popular. However, Sharpley (2009) argues that this is not a new phenomenon. In the Roman Empire, it was a common form of entertainment to attend a gladiators match. Another example are the public executions in the Middle Ages. Traveling to places where death and suffering are central elements can be defined as dark tourism. Furthermore, it involves consuming real or simulated places of death and horror. Visiting these places where actual cruelties took place by relatives or friends of the victims cannot be seen as a form of dark tourism. Thanatourism is a concept which strongly relates to dark tourism and was introduced in the literature in the same year as dark tourism. Thanatourism entails the visiting of locations associated with death and suffering, where visitors want to symbolically experience a painful death. This description points more to the motivations of visitors of dark sites. However, the term dark tourism is usually used in the academic field and no distinction is made between the concepts dark tourism and thanatourism. Therefore, I will use the term dark tourism in this research and make no difference between dark tourism and thanatourism (Lennon en Foley, 2000: 3-5; Yull, 2003: 10, 11; Sharpley, 2009: 3-19). Dark tourism involves the actual visiting of black spots. There are different black spots which are visited daily by tourists and therefore belong to sites of dark tourism. Furthermore, several tours are initiated around dark sites. Commercial motives, in terms of entrance fees, are often involved. Examples are the Jack the Ripper tour in London or the tour in Charleroi which shows you, among other dark sites, the house of the famous kidnapper and child molester Marc Dutroux. Visiting morbid museums, old prisons or battle field fall also under the category dark tourism. As discussed previously, the house of Fritzl fits the description of a black spots and inc reasingly attracts visitors. This research seeks to understand the motivations of these visitors (Stone, 2006: 145, 146, 152; HLN, 2010). Visitor Motivations For this research it is necessary to include visitor motivations as a theoretical concept. Motivations of individuals to visit regular tourist places include getting acquainted with other cultures and increase ones knowledge about these locations. Furthermore, motivations often involve entertainment purposes, such as having fun or seeking adventure. Relaxation, revitalization, being active and get close to nature are also common incentives to visit a certain location (Kozak, 2002: 225). However, these motivations of regular touristic locations might differ from motivations of tourists that visit black spots. Unfortunately, few literature is available that focus on visitor motivations of dark tourists. The literature that is accessible, uses similar research questions to the one is used in this research. Yull (2003) studied the motivations of dark tourists and focused more specifically on the motivations of visitors of the Holocaust Museum in Houston. Niemelà ¤ (2010) focused on visi tor motivations of the House of Terror museum in Budapest. This museum is built to remember the tortured and killed people during World War II. In addition, Poria, Reichel and Biran (2006) chose to investigate the motivations of the visitors of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Although the dark tourist locations used in these researches are museums associated with death and suffering and therefore differ from the dark site that is used in this research, similar motivations may be found. If different motivations are found, it could be argued that this difference is dependent on the specific dark tourist site. According to Yull (2003), motivations of dark tourist could involve entertainment purposes, such as providing a thrill, a novel experience or adventure. Furthermore, remembering the victims and the cruelties that took place or curiosity can also be motivations of tourist that visit the house of Fritzl. Although education might be more suitable as a motivation to visit a museum associated with death and suffering, individuals can also visit the house of Fritzl to learn something. For example, visitors might want to enrich their knowledge about the Fritzl-affaire. In addition, Niemelà ¤ (2010) argues that emotional involvement might also play a role in the motivations of dark tourists. Visitors might identify or have a personal connection with the cruelties that took place. Moreover, Poria, Reichel and Biran (2006) include two more motivations; tourists might visit a dark site, because it is famous or because they feel that the site is historically important (Yull, 2003: 146-159, 191-199; Niemelà ¤, 2010: 37; Poria, Reichel and Biran, 2006: 322). The media play an important role within the field of dark tourism. The media can report tragic events that take place all over the world. The attention that the media pay to tragic and horrible events serve as a stimulation for flows of tourism. Furthermore, media has the capacity to bring dark tourism sites to public consciousness (Yull, 2003: 125). Additionally, Lennon and Foley (2000) argue that the attention of the media to specific dark sites, might motivate individuals to visit the location in order to experience the reality behind the media representations. Since, the Fritzl-affaire received tremendous attention in the media, it will be likely that this attention has an influence on the motivation of visitors (Stone, 2009: 57; Seaton, 2009: 90; 95, 106; Lennon and Foley, 2000: 152). Operationalization of Theoretical Concepts In this section, the operationalization of the theoretical concepts will be discussed. To answer the question What are the motivations of dark tourists? The case of the house of J. Fritzl in Amstetten, I will conduct qualitative semi-structured interviews  [1]  with visitors of the house of Fritzl in Amstetten. This implies that a topic list will be made, consisting of topics that will be addressed in the interview. However, the order in which the topics will be discussed is not fixed and if necessary, the interviewer will probe for more information and adapt to new themes that are brought up by the interviewees. Furthermore, the interviewer can adapt to the level of comprehension of the respondents. The questions will be open, which means that no answer categories will be made (t Hart, Boeije and Hox, 2007: 274, 275; Gilbert, 2001: 123, 124). Several topics that will be addressed in the interview are outlined. First of all, it is important to include demographic factors of the v isitors, such as age, the country the interviewee lives in and the highest obtained level of education (primary school or less, secondary school, intermediate vocational training, higher vocational training, college or post graduate). Furthermore, the gender of the respondent will be noted during the interview. These demographic factors are included, because they are important background variables and might affect the motivations people have to visit the house of Fritzl. Other topics that will be included will focus upon the motivations of visitors of the house of Fritzl in Amstetten. It will be asked what attracted the visitors to visit Amstetten and what their primary reason is for visiting this town. I will seek to explore whether visitors come specifically for the house or if they have other motives or more than one reason to visit this town. Then, I will focus on the topic of why people visit the house of Fritzl. Although, similar answers to the research on dark tourist motivations described above maybe found, such as entertainment, curiosity, remembrance of the victims and cruelties that took place, emotional involvement, historical importance of the site or its fame, unexpected answers also need to be taken into account. Furthermore, it is essential to go in-depth into the answers and ask for further elaboration if necessary. Additionally, it needs to be explored whether visitors have multiple motivations to visit the house of Fritzl. Seeking to understand motivations of visitors of the house of Fritzl, demands for adapting to possible unexpected answers and the skills to react to this situation adequately. Furthermore, the role of the media will be addressed. Central themes will be, whether visitors are familiar with and interested in the Fritzl-affaire, if they have followed the case in the news, documentaries or on the internet. This will seek to explore whether media attention to the Fritzl-affaire affects the tourists in their motivation to visit the house. Next, I will focus upon if the visitors have previously visited other dark locations, where cruelties have taken place. It will be interesting to find out if there is a relationship between visiting the house of Fritzl and other dark locations and if we are dealing with tourists that have an interest in visiting dark sites in general. Plan for Data Collection For this research, the visitors of the house of Fritzl in Amstetten are the objects of study. Hence, it is necessary to come into contact with these visitors. For this research I choose to use qualitative semi-standardized interviews to answer the research question. Qualitative methods are used when a certain research topic is relatively new and unexplored. Furthermore, qualitative methods offer the possibility to go more in-depth into specific aspects of a certain phenomenon. Baarda, de Goede and van der Meer-Middelburg (1996) argue that qualitative interviews are a suitable method when ideas, motivations, opinions and experiences need to be investigated. Since this research seeks to explore the motivations of visitors of the house of Fritzl in Amstetten, it fits this description (t Hart et al. 2007: 253; Baarda et al. 1996: 18-20). I choose to use semi-structured, one-to-one interviews. This implies that topics will be formulated and addressed in the interview. Besides demographic questions, specific questions, answer categories or the order of the questions will not be fixed in advance. This gives the interviewer the opportunity to probe for more information if necessary or reflexively respond to new themes that might be brought up. This reflexive approach is essential, since motivations of dark tourists is relatively unexplored, especially in regard to locations comparable to the house of Fritzl. This may result in unexpected answers to be brought up. When standardized methods are used, this will not be possible. One-to-one interviews are used, because the interviewees will not be influenced by the opinions of others and may give them the feeling to speak more openly about their motivation(s). Furthermore, confidentiality and anonymity of the data will be guaranteed (Baarda et al., 1996: 18-24, 26-28; t Hart et al. 2007: 254, 261, 262, 267; Gilbert, 2001: 123-129). To interview the research participants of this research it is necessary to go to Amstetten, w hich is roughly a nine hour drive from Rotterdam. I will spend three days around the house of Fritzl and I will approach the visitors that come by. I will ask them if they are willing to participate in this research. This research requires purposive sampling, because I assume that only a small group of visitors of the house of Fritzl is accessible in these three days and this group will be likely to represent the visitors as a whole. Furthermore, using a probability sample is often unrealistic for small-scale or qualitative research (Gilbert, 2001: 62). The duration of the interview will be approximately twenty minutes and the amount of interviewees will depend on the willingness to participate. The aim will be to conduct ten to twenty interviews. Furthermore, the interviews will be recorded. Gilbert (2001) argues that recording is recommendable, especially when conducting non-standardized or semi-structured interviews. This, because this type of carrying out interviews requires an active participation of the interviewer within the conversation. By recording the interview, the data wont be lost and in contrast to making notes it wont obstruct or slow down the dialogue. It also signals that the responses of the respondents are taking seriously. Of course, the use of recording will be explained to the interviewees and their approval will be asked. Directly after the interview, notes will be made about the setting, the interview and the interviewee which can be used to recall the context of the particular interview (t Hart et al. 2007: 268-270; Gilbert, 2001: 61-63, 135-137). Plan for Data Analysis When the data is collected, the analysis of the data will begin. First of all, the recorded interviews will be verbatim transcribed. I choose to write down everything that is said, because then data wont get lost that might be of significance when the research progresses. Although, transcribing everything is time-consuming and labor-intensive, the low quantity of interviews makes it possible to do so. Furthermore, transcribing the data allows you to get familiar with the data and it helps facilitating thoughts and ideas about possible connections and underlying themes. Before analyzing, the transcripts will be checked by listening to the recordings once more and by carefully reading the written text. The demographic characteristics of the respondents will be shown on the first page of the transcripts. After this, I will offer the transcript to the respondents, so that accuracy can be checked and comments can be made. This improves reliability and validity of the answers (Gilbert, 200 1: 134-137). The transcripts will be read repeatedly with the aim to identify underlying themes and connections. By comparing and contrasting fragments within interviews and between interviews, fragments with an underlying connection will be categorized and labeled. Furthermore, it will show whether the earlier described motivations are found in the transcripts, or if new themes will be discovered. Similarities and dissimilarities between different respondents may emerge and might relate to their demographic characteristics. Eventually, the codified themes will be linked and compared to draw a full picture of the motivations of visitors of the house of Fritzl in Amstetten and answer the research question (Gilbert, 2001: 137, 138; t Hart et al. 2007: 176, 277). Discussion Gilbert (2008) describes six properties that a research question should have. The research question should be interesting, relevant, concise, answerable, feasible and ethical. For this research it is necessary to address two of these properties more in-depth, which are the feasibility of this research and its ethical dimensions. The research question, What are the motivations of dark tourists? The case of the house of J. Fritzl in Amstetten, is feasible to the extent that it can be answered within a relatively short period of time and with relatively low costs. Furthermore, the research participants are accessible. However, the search for visitors of the house of Fritzl might show difficulties. For this research I will spend three days around the house of Fritzl and approach the tourists that will visit the house. However, it is possible that on these particular days there will be no visitors at all. Consequently, finding research participants might be time-consuming and unpleasant ( Gilbert, 2008: 48). According to Gilbert (2008), it is of importance to take into account the ethical dimensions of a research question. While no specific approval is needed from institutions to conduct this research, this research involves a certain sensitivity. The reason for this, is that this study focuses upon an affair where people suffered and were mistreated. Therefore, this affair is sensitive to victims or relatives of these victims. Furthermore, this case might be sensitive to the neighboring residents or the whole community of Amstetten. Spending three days in front of the house of Fritzl to gather the research participants might be offensive to the residents. For example, they might be upset or feel that their privacy is violated. Consequently, it is necessary to work with discretion. Eventual publication of this research also involves ethical implications. Publication might cause harm to the different parties involved (Gilbert, 2008: 48, 49; Gilbert, 2001: 49-53). A la st brief comment I would like to make is about the weaknesses of Literature Baarda, D.B., de Goede, M.P.M. van der Meer-Middelburg, A.G.E. 1996. Basisboek Open Interviewen. Groningen: Stenfert Kroese. Gilbert, N. 2001. Researching Social Life (2nd edition). London: Sage Publications. Gilbert, N. 2008. Researching Social Life (3d edition). London: Sage Publications. t Hart, H., Boeije, H. Hox, J. 2007. Onderzoeksmethoden. Amsterdam: Boom onderwijs. Kozak, M. 2003. Comparative analysis of tourist motivations by nationality and destinations. Tourism Management 23, 221-232. Lennon, J.J. Foley, M. 2000. Dark Tourism: The Attraction of Death and Disaster. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning. Logan, W. Reeves, K. 2009. Places of Pain and Shame: Dealing with Difficult Heritage. USA/Canada: Routledge. Niemelà ¤, T. 2010. Motivation Factors in Dark Tourism: Case: House of Terror. https://publications.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/14984/Niemela_Titta.pdf?sequence=3 6 October 2010 Poria, Y., Reichel, A. Biran, A. 2006. Heritage Site Perceptions and Motivations to Visit. Journal of Travel Research 44, 318-326. Rojek, C. 1993. Ways of Escape: Modern Transformations in Leisure and Travel. London: The MacMillian Press. Sharpley, R. 2009. Shedding Light on Dark Tourism: An Introduction. In: R. Sharpley P.R. Stone. The Darker Side of Travel: The Theory and Practice of Dark Tourism. Bristol: Channel View Publications, 3-22. Stone, P.R. 2006. A dark tourism spectrum: Towards a typology of death and macabre related tourist sites, attractions and exhibitions. Tourism 54 (2), 145-160. Stone, P.R. 2009. Dark Tourism: Morality and New Moral Spaces. In: R. Sharpley P.R. Stone. The Darker Side of Travel: The Theory and Practice of Dark Tourism. Bristol: Channel View Publications, 56-74. Yull, S.M. 2003. Dark Tourism: Understanding Visitor Motivation at Sites of Death and Disaster. http://etd.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/89/YUILL-THESIS.pdf?sequence=1. 7 October 2010 Websites HLN, 2010 http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/960/Buitenland/article/detail/314386/2008/06/16/Toeristen-op-de-foto-voor-horrorkelder.dhtml 6 October 2010 HLN, 2010 http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/1901/reisnieuws/article/detail/269697/2008/05/08/Ramptoerisme-bij-Oostenrijks-gruwelhuis.dhtml 6 October 2010 Wikipedia, 2010 http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritzl-incestzaak 6 October 2010