The effect of terrorism on the global economy Essay

The effect of terrorism on the global economy - Essay Example and all of the countries it trades with. The federal government, in what some might term a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to the attack, spent unprecedented amounts of money on questionable programs and ventures in an effort to ‘provide security’ to its citizens. â€Å"The President has requested a significant increase in security-related programs in the context of the budget for 2003. Additional spending of $48 billion was proposed for national defense (an increase of 14 percent from the previous year). In addition, the President asked Congress for an appropriation of $38 billion for homeland security, compared to $20 billion spent in 2001† (Looney, 2002). The combination of a stunned economy, a flat-line growth in the job market and dwindling government resources made its affects known worldwide. This paper will examine how the events of 9/11 influenced many aspects of the U.S. economy and examples of its global consequences. The U.S. was enjoying a period of vigorous economic expansion during the second Clinton administration, a period that saw the nation’s first budget surpluses in 40 years. This growth was fueled largely because of a general confidence in the nation’s economic health and an increase in worker’s productivity. This time of prosperity was over by the latter part of the year 2000 as the trend in business appeared to reflect a lessening confidence in the direction of the national economy. Corporations, especially those in the technical industries, began systematically downsizing, outsourcing and employing other means of economizing because of steady revenue losses. The economy had shown signs of weakening the entire year of 1999, and by the end of 2000, the manufacturing segment was also steadily shrinking as was evidenced by the lack of equipment orders, profits and number of employees. This trend was experienced many other industries

Technological Advances in the Last Century Essay Example for Free

Technological Advances in the Last Century Essay In the last century, technology has changed mass media immensely. A hundred years ago, people would use the post office, a rare telephone or word of mouth to communicate across large distances. These were not the most efficient methods of communication. However since then we have developed ways of communicating in faster, more effective ways. In the 1920s, radios started becoming more and more popular. Not only did they produce music for entertainment, they also produced news stories and many advertisements. In the late 1920s, the Great Depression started. It was due to the radio that many people likely heard the news and offers of employment with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. As people were listening to the radio more often they also began to mistrust â€Å"big business†, because people started to feel exploited in all aspects of life by the large businesses. Since a lot of lower class people did not know how to read in those times, newspapers and written advertisements were not the most effective means of communication. This made the radio even more popular, because not only educated people, but also uneducated people could gain knowledge that was previously restricted to those who could read. When the 1930s came around, radio was still just as popular as in the 1920’s, and they also used motion pictures for entertainment and advertising. In the 1940’s the television began to make its appearance on the scene allowing the public to view daily fiction shows, as well as news broadcasts and advertisements. Families began moving from big cities to the suburbs, where being in close vicinity is no longer needed because of the television. Defense technology and satellites began the beginning of the internet as a result of the Vietnam War in 1959. During the 1960s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) controlled radio and television airwaves, ruling what was appropriate or not for viewers to see or hear. Social issues such as race, class, politics, and prejudice are huge topics for television shows. In the 1970s a great new invention called the Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) was introduced and the public could watch pre-recorded movies, documentaries, or biographies of their choice. They could watch something other than a program they did not choose to watch, but were forced to watch, because of the lack of networks and programming. Computer corporations also came out with the microprocessor, which was, and still is, essentially the â€Å"brain† for a computer. When the microprocessor was revealed, computers were about as big as a small room. Computer engineers did not think, at the time, that a computer would ever be smaller than a small living room, because they did not believe it would be possible to create such a huge amount of information in such a small device. As we moved into the 1980s, cable television exploded into a nationwide phenomenon. Cable networks varied from all day long heartfelt movies to 24/7 news broadcasts to any music video you could think of to reality television. The digital era became fully fledged in the 1990s. There were computers in virtually every home, and consumers were able to use dial-up internet to E-Mail individuals, or to use it for business communication around the world. With the computers in the home and advancement of technology came the advent of the laptop. This was essentially a home computer that could fit on the lap of the individual. Individuals weren’t only confined to their own state or country anymore, the movement had become global. Compact Discs (CD) and Digital Video Discs (DVD) were expanding, having movies, music and video games as content. Soon, the population would learn how to use the internet to broadcast news videos and personal videos. As the world passes the turn of the century, movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, and newspapers all converge on the internet. Within 10 years, inventors and major cell phone and computer companies develop â€Å"Smartphones†, or cell phones on steroids. Everything basic that anyone can do from a desktop computer, they can do from the palm of their hand. Soon, those boom into touch screen tablets, where anyone can watch podcasts, play games, write documents, search the web, and communicate more efficiently and instantaneously. As Bill Gates once said â€Å"640KB [of memory] ought to be enough for anybody. † (Adams McCrindle, 2008) This just shows how much our technology has advanced. Some portable devices have up to 64MB for memory, plus extra internal memory as well. That’s 65,536KB, about ten times more than what Bill Gates originally thought would be enough. In conclusion, media literacy is hugely important for consumers in this day in age. People are often on the run, working, exercising, taking kids to school or practice, that they rarely have time to actually sit down and read the paper, or watch the news. If consumers have all that information clipped to their waists, or in their briefcase, when people have a few minutes to relax, they can sit down and take time to do what they enjoy, whether it be watching the news, watching sports highlights, reading, social networking or playing games. Anything they want is at the touch of a finger.

Nursing, ethics and sociology

Nursing, ethics and sociology Introduction: In this essay, I will discuss several issues that seem to bind nursing practice with questions of ethics, sociology and management. Reflective practice is an important aspect of nursing management and in this essay we discuss implications of discrimination in nursing care and examine the importance of anti-discriminatory perspectives in nursing. In this paper, the case study I will elaborate is of an elderly woman who was of a non-British ethnic origin and spoke little English. A junior nurse visited her home to provide care but her attitude towards the patient has been discriminatory and abrupt, a situation that calls for serious reflection on the issues of racial discrimination at the clinical setting. The patient was apparently treated with leg ulcer. The questions that have to be considered here are: Where in the observation did discrimination occur and how this could have affected the delivery of care given? And how has discrimination influenced the lady’s care? The concept of anti-discriminatory practice as a contemporary issue within adult nursing is discussed here considering observational evidence and similar case studies. Reflection in Nursing: Reflective practice in nursing is guided by models of reflection. Reflective practice model serves as a framework within which nursing or other management professions can work. Reflective practice model is also a structural framework or learning model that serves the purposes of a profession and is particularly applicable to health related professions. Any portfolio of practice includes a model of reflection as reflection helps in determining what was positive or negative or a learning experience within the profession. Reflective practice highlights the importance of learning from experiences after thinking about it and relates the practical experiences to the theoretical learning approaches. The four important reflective models that form part of the clinical and nursing portfolio are: Gibbs Model of Reflection 1988 Kolb’s Learning Cycle – 1984 John’s Model of Reflection – 1994 Atkin and Murphy’s Model of Reflection 1994 Theoretical Framework: Gibbs Model of reflection is shown in a cyclical manner and is represented a follows: Gibbs model of reflection (1988) Given by Gibbs, 1988. Source: CPSU, 2005 Unlike Gibbs’ model that has five stages, Kolb’s Learning cycle with four stages is shown as follows: Source; CPSU, 2005 In the Gibbs’ model, the event is reflected upon and includes a description of what happened followed by feelings about the situation, and reflection on what the thoughts and feelings were at that time upon being into the situation. The nursing professional then personally evaluates whether the experience has been good or bad for her and analyses whether she can make any sense to the situation. The conclusions are drawn depending on alternative and what else could have been done with the situation and what were the other options available to tackle the situation better or more appropriately. Proposed and future action plan is thought of and how the situation will be acted upon in the future is also determined. Kolb’s model however stresses on the importance of generalizations of concrete experiences testing the implications in similar situations. Whereas John’s model of reflection emphasizes on the stages of description of the event, reflection on what was aimed at, the factors influencing strategies, alternative strategies to what have been used, and learning from the experience, Atkin’s and Murphy’s model of reflection is on analysis and identification of the learning experience and action planned based on awareness and evaluation of this relevance of knowledge. Considering these models of reflection, we will use only the more popular Gibbs model to evaluate the case study discussed here and the situation of discrimination against the elderly lady Mrs. B as observed. Background and Literature Survey: The importance of reflection as part of the learning experience and using reflection as a means of improving one’s professional skills and future performance by evaluating the situation and the mistakes has been emphasized in many professions including teaching and nursing. In the Kolb cycle, reflective observation is the second phase. Reflection in action or while doing something in the job and reflection on action or some form of evaluation after the job is done, are included within reflective practice. Reflection includes several phases from simple problem solving of individual cases, to analysis of the situation considering relevant literature as well as broader social and political factors. Gustaffsson and Fagerberg (2004) emphasizes on the advantages that could be gained from reflection mainly among registered nurses or RNs. They examine the questions on the implications of nurses’ reflections, the subject matter of their reflection and how they are able to deal with their reflection and how they improve their professional approach through reflection. The authors describe the experiences of the nurses and their reflection in relation to the nursing situations to understand how the nurses use reflection in their daily work. The study included interviewing four registered trained nurses and the qualitative differences of the nurses reflective experiences were categorized. One of these is the category of reflection itself; but the ethical considerations within the nursing care situation and consequence of facing the situation or meeting the requirements of empathy or professional development are also important. The nurse attitudes and opinions on their reflective p ractice, what they thought about the situation and how they feel they will control similar future situations serves a model of future professional development. Gustaffson and Fagerberg point out that reflective practice has relevance for clinical practice as by understanding the contents of nurses’ reflections, it is also possible to understand the advantages of reflective practice and how and when such measures should be used by the nurses for further professional development. Fairley (2005) gives a consultant nurse’ perspective of a clinical role in critical care unit that has evolved as a central feature of all surgical high dependency units (SDHU) in large teaching hospital trusts. Advanced nursing practice is perceived not as the acquisition and application of technical procedures which are usually undertaken by doctors, but also an integration of medicine and nursing where holistic nursing assessment and symptom focused physical examination go hand in hand. Fairley presents a reflective account of practical problems encountered relating to role integration, professional autonomy, legal and consent issues, non-medical prescribing, and role evaluation (Fairley, 2005). The paper successfully describes a model of nursing applied to high dependency units integrating the role of the advanced nurse practitioner within the medical and clinical team an reflective practice plays an important role by being the main method of evaluation of a consultant nur se’ perspective. In a study on the importance of reflective practice in family care, Peden-McAlpine (2005) discusses the design, evaluation and outcomes of a reflective practice intervention (RPI) that was used to train critical care nurses on how to incorporate family intervention into their nursing practice. The benefits and problems of reflective practice are many and most beneficial aspects include improvement of professionalism and better ability to tackle similar situations leading to professional development through experience in nursing. Reflective practice is of experiential nature, it relates to a nurse’s experience and learning from the experience. In the study discussed by Peden-McAlpine, interviews were conducted with eight staff nurse participants after the training of RPI to determine changes in family practice when reflective practice was used. Three essential themes were identified on analysis of the interview texts and the authors have given the three themes relating to exper iences in nursing after participating in the RPI program as follows: (1) acknowledging, re-framing preconceived ideas about families, (2) recognizing meaning of family stress, and (3) incorporating family into nursing care (Peden-McAlpine et al, 2005). The reflective practice intervention program practices by nurses helped them to change their attitudes towards critical care especially in family and enhanced their communication and ability to build proper relationships with families bringing in a new way of understanding family stress or appreciating family values. The nurses thus had a new perspective of family system after their training of reflective practice on family critical care. Considering the benefits of changing nursing attitudes and developing professionalism through reflective practice, many authors have emphasized the need to use reflective practice as a training method within nursing education. Chabeli and Muller (2004) use a qualitative contextual and exploratory descriptive design for theory generation that was used to develop model facilitating reflective thing in clinical nursing education. The authors cited Wilson (1963 and Gift (1997) who provided a theoretical framework for a concept analysis of reflective thinking in nursing education. The paper also gives the case o 12 nurse educators who participated in a focus group interview on how reflective practice can be facilitated in clinical nursing education and the consensus was for a classification of reflective practice recognizing the main elements of practice and a deductive analysis and synthesis after conceptualization of each main concept. The importance of a conceptual meaning has been hig hlighted as theories with well-defined concepts and elements could facilitate reflective practice and can form an important part of clinical nursing education. Guidelines could be developed according to the theoretical framework of reflective practice and can give a new direction nursing education. In a later study, Chabeli and Muller also provided a model of reflective practice that could be used as a theoretical framework in nursing education. However, the authors suggest that ‘ Reflective thinking has become a popular word in nursing education world wide, but its meaning and effective use remains debatable because of lack of clarity in its meaning’ (Mackintosh, 1998:553 cited in Chabeli and Muller, 2004). Case study: The case of our elderly patient Mrs. B suggest that the nurse’s discrimination and ill behavior against the woman, relates to discriminatory practice, something that could be and should be stopped using reflective practice (also see Sheffield et al, 1999). The junior nurse in charge who was responsible for such an incident was given reflective practice as a framework for professional development. She was recommended to go through the Gibbs model of reflection in which she analyzed how and why she behaved the way she did, what she will do in future situations and how she learnt from the experience to not repeat her discriminatory behavior in the future. The implications are that the behavior of the nurse has led to poor quality of care delivery to the patient. The junior nurse who treated Mrs. B badly was recommended to go through reflective practice intervention to change her attitudes towards other races and ethnic minorities. According she participated in reflective practice sessions when she verbally as well as in writing had to describe the events in which she engaged in discriminatory practice and also evaluated her responses and indicated her future course of action and other alternatives for similar situations. Conclusion: In this essay I discussed the implications of reflective practice in nursing considering the theoretical frameworks of reflective practice. All the main models of reflective practice have been discussed and the models were used to consider a discriminatory case of an elderly patient who was wronged by a junior nurse. The patient was being treated for leg ulcer and was reportedly badly and disrespectfully treated by the nurse. The nurse was asked to go through reflective practice and mainly using Gibbs model of reflection, had to complete an exercise in which she described the event, indicated her feelings of the event, evaluated whether it was a good or bad experience, analyzed her own response to the situation, concluded what else she could have done for the situation and finally drew up an action plan for future similar circumstances. Bibliography: Atkins, S. and Murphy, K. (1994) Reflective Practice. Nursing Standard 8(39) 49-56 Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by Doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford Johns, C. and Graham, J. (1996) Using a Reflective Model of Nursing and Guided Reflection. Nursing Standard 11 (2) 34-38 Haddock, J. and Bassett, C. (1997) Nurses Perceptions of Reflective Practice Nursing Standard 11(32) 39-41 Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall, New Jersey Schon, D.A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. Temple Smith: London Sheffield J, Hussain A, Coleshill P. Organizational barriers and ethnicity in the Scottish NHS. J Manag Med. 1999;13(4-5):263-4. Smith A, Jack K. Reflective practice: a meaningful task for students. Nurs Stand. 2005 Mar 9-15;19(26):33-7. Moeti MR, van Niekerk SE, van Velden CE. Perceptions of the clinical competence of newly registered nurses in the North West province. Curationis. 2004 Aug;27(3):72-84. Chabeli M, Muller M. A model to facilitate reflective thinking in clinical nursing education. Curationis. 2004 Nov;27(4):49-62. Peden-McAlpine C, Tomlinson PS, Forneris SG, Genck G, Meiers SJ. Evaluation of a reflective practice intervention to enhance family care. J Adv Nurs. 2005 Mar;49(5):494-501. Chabeli M, Muller M. Reflective thinking in clinical nursing education: a concept analysis. Curationis. 2004 Nov;27(4):37-48. Fairley D. Discovering the nature of advanced nursing practice in high dependency care: a critical care nurse consultants experience. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2005 Jun;21(3):140-8. Epub 2004 Dec 8. Somerville D, Keeling J. A practical approach to promote reflective practice within nursing. Nurs Times. 2004 Mar 23-29;100(12):42-5. Clouder L, Sellars J. Reflective practice and clinical supervision: an interprofessional perspective. J Adv Nurs. 2004 May;46(3):262-9. Gustafsson C, Fagerberg I. Reflection, the way to professional development? J Clin Nurs. 2004 Mar;13(3):271-80. For diagrams, see Clinical Placements Support Unit – UCE Birmingham http://www.hcc.uce.ac.uk/cpsu/

Approaches to the Study of Religion Essay -- Theology Religion Sociolo

The sociological approach looks at religious belief and practice in relation to the society. Sociologists are interested in two themes, the centrality of religion in society and the diversity of forms it inhabits (Hamilton 1995/2001:1). It regards religion as a social fact subject to empirical observation, which produces empirical evidence (Dillon 2003:7). The sociology of religion is a product of the enlightenment, from which it inherited a tendency to dismiss religion as incompatible with rationality (Dillon 2003:6). This dismissal has had significant impact on the attitude towards religion and it is the basis for the most influential paradigm in the history of the field; secularisation. The secularisation theory claims that religion is or will be on the decrease in society. So profound was its impact that modern sociology often aims to account for the continued presence of religion in society and has generally held a rather negative view of religion as being an unworthy subject o f study(Davies 2007:2). The reason for the secuarlisation can be seen in the fact that sociology is a theory both guided by and aims to build theories (Wuthnow/Dillon 2003:21). Theories require analysis and generalisation. It is impossible to analyse a subject without first defining the subject (Robertson 1970:34). Definition is a contentious issue because different definitions entail different criteria which lead to different patterns being indentified in data. Theories are created by the identification of patterns in data which are then generalised.(Davies 2007:5). Thus a definition will vastly affect the content and concept of a theory. Definitions of religion in sociology fall into two categories, functional and substantive. This essay will assess... ...in the answers but in the question. Works Cited Davie, Grace (2007) The Sociology of Religion. London. Sage Publications Dillon, Michele (2003) Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. Cambridge. Cambridge university press Hamilton, Malcom (1995/2001) The Sociology of Religion: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives. 2nd edition. Routledge. London Hunt, Stephen J (2002) Religion in Western Society. London. Palgrave McGuire, Meredith B. (1997) Religion: The Social Context 4th edition. Wadsworth Pickering, W.S.F. (1984) Durkheim’s Sociology of Religion: Themes and Theories. Routledge. London Robertson, Ronald (1970) The Sociological Interpretation of Religion. Blackwell Sociology Series. London Steinsaltz, Adin (2000) A Guide to Jewish Prayer . New York Wuthnow, Robert (2003) ‘Studying Religion, Making it Sociological’ in Dillon (2003) pp.16-30

Hr Planning Assignment

Introduction to Planning Function. Human resource planning is the process whereby organizations determine the staffing support they will need to meet business needs and customer demands. There are a variety of considerations that impact this planning, including impending retirements and transitions, the availability of employees with certain skills sets and changes in the environment that may require training for existing employees. Human resource planning is important and ongoing because of both internal and external environmental changes.Internally, businesses are impacted by turnover and retirements. Externally, they are impacted by changes in technology, changes in the economy, and changes in the industry and consumer demand that may require skills that do not currently exist within the company. All of these impacts have an effect on the type and numbers of employees that are needed for the business to remain successful. MM Distributing Agencies. Company Profile MM Distributing A gencies is engaged in product distributing business for five years in a considerably successful manner.The business was started by Mr. Manjula Madurapperuma. Since the companies’ commencement Mr. Manjula Madurapperuma and Mr. Ajith Jayathunga has contributed in a major aspect to the company to be reached the zenith. Their Vision To have distributing agencies in each district. Their Mission We will be the most successful distributing company in the country. MM Distributing Agencies has three distributing agencies, distributing Unilever and Asian Paints products in several geographical areas.And they have about 65 employees under their distributing agencies running out their working capacity. Each and every agency is consistent with a Branch manager, Sales Manager, Stock Keeper and an IT manager. These managers have authority to plan, and recruit and select candidates to their branches or to the particular section. Primarily what happens in these distributing agencies is storin g and distributing the products of Unilever and Asian Paints Companies to shops in those particular areas. Storage and DistributionEach distributing agency has inventories; Unilever and Asian Paints products are directly sent to these inventories and these inventories are controlled and handled under the supervision of Stock keepers and supervisors. And the information about the products stored in these inventories is entered to the main database by computer operators under the supervision of IT managers and Stock keepers. These agencies use Vans and Lorries to distribute products. On all these vehicles there is an outstanding staff whereas a driver, cash collector and 1 or 3 assistants are supposed to work together.And all the day to day activities, information about distributed products are entered to the main database by computer operators under the supervision of IT managers and Stock keepers. And finally the Top Management retrieves required information from the certain databas e. Competitors Competitors of these agencies are other agencies that distribute products of companies like Hemas, CIC, Multilack, Nipolack, and COSWAY etc. Locations of MM Distributing Agencies. Organizational Structure Mr. Manjula Madurapperuma. Mr. Manjula Madurapperuma. Mr. Ajith Jayathunga Mr. Ajith JayathungaAnuradhapura Branch Manager Anuradhapura Branch Manager Avissawella Branch Manager Avissawella Branch Manager Nuwara Eliya Branch Manager Nuwara Eliya Branch Manager Each and every branch is consistent with a Branch manager, Sales Manager, Stock Keeper and an IT manager. Sales Managers, Stock Keepers and IT managers work under the supervision of their particular branch manager. All these managers have authority to plan, and recruit and select candidates to their branches or to the particular section. Only the management positions are filled under the supervision of Mr.Manjula Madurapperuma and Mr. Ajith Jayathunga Current HR Planning Process at MM Distributing Agencies. Eve n though MM Distributing Agencies is engaged in business in a considerably successful manner, the organization does not have a proper planning process. And also it does not have a HR department. HR managers’ duties are done by the each branch manager. Currently the Sales Managers, Stock Keepers and IT managers at each branch have the authority to plan, and recruit and select candidates to their branches or to the particular section under the supervision of their particular branch manager.When there is a position to be filled these managers ask their current employees for help or they go for recruitment at gate option. According to Avissawella branch manager this organization does not have a HR database and a successful planning process, when they have a vacant position they temporarily hire employees for the particular vacant position until they find a suitable person to hire permanently. And the managers admit that it is a costly process. And also they admit that temporarily hired employees cannot be trusted.Both Avissawella and Nuwara Eliya branch managers have faced problems with temporarily hired workers stealing products from the organization and with their bad behavior. These problems are results of not having HR department, a HR database and a proper planning process in the organization. According to Mr. Manjula Madurapperuma, they have tried to establish two distributing agencies at Kurunegala and Kegalle, but both times they have failed to keep those agencies running. It is clear all those failures were occurred because the organization did not have a proper planning process.These weaknesses can affect the organizations’ success. Current Problems of The HR Planning Process at MM Distributing Agencies. * This organization does not have a HR Department. * Organization does not maintain a HR database. * Does not have a proper planning process. * Managers quickly plan solutions for problems like employee turnover, retirements and market losi ng and they fail at implementing those plans. * Branch managers have to work as HR managers too. * Some managerial solutions like temporarily hiring workers cost a huge amount of money and resources to the organization.Recommendations for improvement * Owners of this organization should hire a HR Manager and required other employees and have a HR Department in this organization. * HR Department should maintain a HR database about available employees to inform them and to hire them when there are vacant positions to be filled. * Owners of MM Distributing agencies should meet their managers time to time and make plans for the future of the organization and should implement them carefully. Otherwise the remaining three branches of MM Distributing agencies will eventually fail.

Acrylic polymer is derived from the monomer methyl metharcrylate or MMA Essay

When modern man discovered plastic and its myriad of uses, there was no turning back. Today, plastics figured prominently in the lives of 21st century people. It is almost impossible to live comfortably without this substance. And among the many kinds of polymer there is perhaps nothing more versatile and very much in demand than acrylic polymers. This paper will look into the chemical properties and the myriad of uses for the compound normally designated as PMMA or Polymethyl methacrylate. Chemistry Acrylic acid (H2C – CHCOOH) was synthesized in 1843 according to Charles Carraher (2003, p. 160). Then he goes to add that ethyl methacrylate (H2C – C(CH3)COOC2H5) was synthesized and polymerized in 1865 and 1877, respectively (2003). With regards to polymerization e.g. acrylic or methacrylic acid, it must be done in an aqueous solution at less than 20-30% concentration (Feldman & Barbalata, 1996). â€Å"Besides water, a conventional recipe involves an initiating system (potassium persulfate and sodium thiosulfate) and chain transfer agent† (Feldman & Barbalata, 1996). Acrylic polymer is derived from the monomer methyl metharcrylate or MMA. Polymers can be divided into two groups: thermoplastics and thermosets. And that majority of them are thermoplastics meaning once the polymer is formed it can be heated and reformed over and over again (see American Chemistry Council, 2007). This major attribute alone is enough to make scientists and businessmen to be very interested in the application of the product. But interestingly there are many more surprises up the sleeves of the thermoplastic polymer. Properties The following attributes can be seen in most polymers and especially so to acrylic polymers: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Has a light transmittancy of about 92% – with particular clarity at lower wavelength of 270 to 350 nm (Whitaker, 1996) 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Has good resistance to weathering 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Good mechanical strength 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dimensional stability along with high tensile and flexural strength (Whitaker, 1996) 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Chemical resistance – including salts, bases, aliphatic hydrocarbons, fats and oils, most common gases, and inorganic chemicals as well as dilute and concentrated solutions of most alkali Applications According to Feldman and Barbalatat, the most important usage of acrylic polymer is in the manufacture of adhesives, thickeners, coatings, flocculants, dispersants, fluidizers, in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, ion exchange processes and textile processing (1996). Now, a few years after acrylic polymer was first introduced by the scientific community, the said substance was first used as interlining for automobile windshields (Carraher, 2003). Since acrylic polymers exhibit good resistance to weathering it is widely used in thermoformed signs, aircraft windshields, and bathtubs. Acrylic polymers have long been used in the manufacturing of cuvettes, tubing connectors, speculums,and many other medical devices requiring impact strength, chemical resistance, biocompatibility, and clarity. In fact it occupies a, â€Å"†¦prominent place in the market for clear, disposable plastic – only glass transmits light as well† (Whitaker, 1996). In the medical field, acrylic polymers have shown its versatility and all around usefulness. From the start medical professionals were already well acquainted with the substance because it was used in the manufacture of incubators. In 1955 its range of usage was expanded when the first acrylic prosthesis was implanted. This probably came after its success as a primary material for aircraft canopies during World War II – pilots suffered fewer infections from shards of acrylic than they had from glass (Whitaker, 1996). Aside as an important component of cuvettes and tubing connectors, it is also used to produce test kits, luers, drainage wands, syringes, blood filters, blood pump housings, fluid silos, surgical blade dispensers, surgical trays etc. Finally, acrylic polymers is not only superior in terms of chemical resistance, clarity as a thermoplastic, and durability which is highly prized in the medical field. This substance is also easily recyclable, â€Å"Acrylic burns extremely clean [†¦] with end products of carbon dioxide and water. In addition, the material offers superior recyclability: acrylic can be reground and reused, which results in less material waste during molding† (Whitaker, 1996). But there is more. The said material can be depolymerized back to its monomer, thoroughly purged of its impurities, and then can go full circle back into PMMA. This is a true recycling process, whereas most other recycling processes involve crushing the material and using it in applications with lower specifications (Whitaker, 1996). In the world of plastic, acrylic polymers belong to the top shelf. The range of its applications is a great help in the development of many industries especially in the medical field. Among other things it has provided cost-efficiency and safety concerning the medical practice and other industrial purposes. References American Chemistry Council. (2007). The Basics – Polymer Definition and Properties. PlasticResource.com [online] Accessed 08 May 2007 from http: www.plasticresource.com/s_plasticresource/sec.asp? TRACKID=&CID=124&DID=226 Carraher, C. (2003). Giant Molecules: Essential Materials for Everyday Living and Problem Solving. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Feldman, D. & Barbalata, A. (1996). Synthetic Polymers: Technology, Properties, Applications.    New York: Chapman and Hall. Whitaker, W. (1996). Acrylic Polymers: A Clear Focus. Medical Device Industry [online] Accessed 08 May 2007 from http: www.devicelink.com/mpb/archive/06/01/001.html.

2 Easy Ways to Get Zinc Metal

2 Easy Ways to Get Zinc Metal Zinc is a common metallic element, used to galvanize nails and found in many alloys and foods. However, its not easy to get zinc from most of these sources and you may have trouble finding a store that sells it. Fortunately, its easy to obtain zinc metal from common products. All it takes is a bit of chemistry know-how. Here are two simple methods to try. Where to Find Zinc in a Penny Although pennies look like copper, they are really made with a thin copper shell that is filled with zinc. Its easy to separate the two metals because they have different melting points. Zinc melts at a lower temperature than copper. When you heat a penny, the zinc runs out and can be collected, leaving you with a hollow penny. To get zinc from a penny, you need: United States pennies (minted in 1982 for the right chemical composition)pliersa gas stove or torcha heat-proof container to collect the zinc Extraction Turn on the stove or torch so it will be hot enough to melt the zinc.Hold a penny with pliers and place it in the tip of the flame. This is the hottest part of a flame. If the metal is not melting, make sure its in the right part of the flame.Youll feel the penny start to soften. Hold it over the container and gently squeeze the penny to release the zinc. Be careful with this process, as the molten metal is very hot! Youll end up with zinc in your container and a hollow copper penny in your pliers.Repeat the process with more pennies until you have as much zinc as you need. Allow the metal to cool before handling it. An alternative to using pennies is to heat galvanized nails. To do this, heat the nails until the zinc runs off of them into your container. Use a Zinc-Carbon Lantern Battery Batteries are useful sources of several chemicals, but some types contain acids or hazardous chemicals, so you shouldnt cut into a battery unless you know exactly what kind it is. To get zinc from a battery, you need: a zinc-carbon batterygloves to protect your hands from sharp edgeswire cutterspliers Extraction Basically, youre going to break open the battery and dismantle it. Start by prying the rim or top off the battery.Once the top is removed, youll see four smaller batteries inside the container that are connected to each other by wires. Cut the wires to disconnect the batteries from each other.Next, youll disassemble each battery. Inside each battery is a rod, which is made of carbon. If you want carbon, you can save this part for other projects.After the rod is removed, youll see a black powder. This is a mixture of manganese dioxide and carbon. You can discard it or place it in a labeled plastic bag to use for other science experiments. The powder will not dissolve in water, so it wont do you any good to rinse the battery. Wipe out the powder to reveal the zinc metal. You may need to cut open the battery to completely remove the powder. Zinc is stable in air, so once you have it, you can put it in any container to store it. Safety Information The chemicals in this project are not particularly hazardous, but either method of obtaining zinc should be performed by an adult. Melting pennies presents a burn hazard if youre not careful. Getting zinc from batteries involves sharp tools and edges. Otherwise, this metal is one of the safest chemicals to obtain. Pure zinc metal does not present a health hazard. If all else fails, you could always buy zinc metal online. Its available as a metal ingot or as a metal powder from sellers.