Ngo And International Development Essay

We live in an imperfect world where citizens are continuously plagued with problems caused by lack of opportunities or through bad leadership of states that immerses these people into problems not of their own making. These problems are many and diverse ranging form wars, human rights abuse, famine and natural calamities. Many governments are not equipped to respond adequately to those adversities and it becomes necessary for Ngo’s to intervene. However some countries have continued to frustrate the work of such institutions for different reasons and North Korea becomes a classic example of such a totalitarian government limiting the operations of such organizations. Ngo’s operations in North Korea Ngo’s are viewed with great skepticism by the government of South Korea as they go about their work. This is because the government is greatly paranoid of foreign presence in the country and aid workers are usually treated with the same disdain accorded foreign delegations from the west (Gordon, l. & Snyder, S. 2003). However the degree of freedom and responsibility given to ngo’s depends mainly on the political relation of South Korea and the nationality of the ngo in question. For instance ngo’s from America and South Korea are the worst affected while their counter parts form Europe enjoy more privileges. Therefore organizations from countries perceived with hostility are not even granted permanent stay hampering their efforts to help the needy. All ngo’s however encounter a similar problem since they are not usually allowed access to the people in their problem evaluations and expected to rely on government guidelines in pursuit of their goals. Furthermore hey have to contend with constant monitoring by state agencies hat limit their response abilities. However there are hopes that the situation is improving since 1995 when the government of North Korea asked for assistance from the international community in response to food shortage (Smith, 2002). It is perceived that the problem that ngo’s faced is due to the country’s failure to comprehend the underlying principles that from the basis for humanitarian assistance by ngo’s. However recent acts by the government to eject food assistance by the U S government and the threat to evict all organizations from the U S might erode all the steps gained in diplomacy and relation ad discourage aid organizations from the country (Radia, 2009). Conclusion It is quite clear that organizations have found it hard to work in North Korea but it is unacceptable for some organizations to quite since such help is vital for those in suffering. Furthermore the gates opened by these organizations allow for an improvement in relations with foreign country and this might in the long run improve the conditions both for these institutions and for the people of North Korea. References Gordon, l. & Snyder, S. (2003). Paved With Good Intentions: The NGO Experience in North Korea. West port: Praeger Publishers. Radia, k. (2009). Abc news: North Korea Rejects US Food Aid, Kicks Out US NGOs. Retreved March 19, 2009, from http://blogs. abcnews. com/politicalradar/2009/03/north-korea-can. html. Smith, H. (2002). Unied States Institute of Peace: Overcoming Humanitarian Dilemmas in the DPRK (North Korea). Retreved March 19, 2009, from http://www. usip. org/pubs/specialreports/sr90. html.

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and Merry Shelley’s “Frankenstein” Essay

For this piece of coursework I will be writing and comparing the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with that of Merry Shelley’s Frankenstein. I will be comparing how each monster came about and the relation between thenIntroduction:Victor Frankenstein is a scientist obsessed with trying to create life and stop death, to do this he collects parts of the body from corpses and charnel houses. When he has finally completed his human jigsaw he animates the creature using a powerful lightning storm. Shortly after the creature is animated and Frankenstein has completed his goal, he is shocked to find that his creature isn’t what he planned. Instead of creating eternal life, he created a monster which kills his family, and closet friends. The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is about a well-respected scientist of London who believes that separating the two men can become liberated. He succeeds in his experiments with chemicals to accomplish this and transforms into Hyde to commit horrendous crimes. Jekyll tries to relinquish the potion but cant so he takes his own life. Comparison:Both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein tell tales of scientists abusing their creative powers to exist in another sphere where they cannot be directly blamed for their actions .Though Frankenstein’s creation is a creature distinct from his creator while Dr. Jekyll transforms into Mr. Hyde ,the double of each protagonist progressively growsThe stories are very similar in the fact that both create a monster, though Jekyll releases the monster inside him, whilst Frankenstein on the other hand, creates a monster. Both monsters create havoc and there first target is a child. The difference though between the two monsters is that Jekyll created his being to commit such offences, but Frankenstein created his monster just to push the boundaries of death. Both creators react different to there monster, Jekyll intended for his  monster to be evil, as he wanted to release his inner evil, without the guild of his criminal activity,Frankenstein on the other hand, was disgusted by the hideous site of his monster, at first glance; he called his creation a beast. ConclusionIn my opinion both stories are extremely similar in the fact that it involves two scientists isolating themselves to create a monster, which causes mayhem and disaster. Both evil monsters target a child for there first murder casualty. Though the stories are very similar they are also very different. Both contain monsters that cause disaster but, Frankenstein didn’t intend his monster to be evil, as Jekyll did. Frankenstein just wanted to create a being that could surpass death, so he wouldn’t suffer death again. Whilst Jekyll wanted to release his inner evil. Sources used:Internet ~ GoogleBooks ~ Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll & Mr HydeFrankenstein

Vitamin C

Research Question: How the amount of vitamin C in fruit juices affects its freshness and till what extent is the information provided on the pack by manufacturers is reliable? Background Information: Hypothesis: -fresh juices have more vitamin C than long-life juice that is ‘not from concentrate’ is best in terms of vitamin content -if heat destroys vitamin C then heat-treated long-life juices will have lower concentrations -if heat destroys vitamin C then boiled fruit juice will have lower concentrations than unboiled -manufacturers generally provide reliable information about their products -the amount of vitamin C content in given fruits is: So the amount of vitamin C and its percentage in fruit juice must go with the given ratio which means that guava and apple juice should have the highest and lowest concentration respectively. Variables: Independent: {text:list-item} Dependent: {text:list-item} Controlled: Materials Required: 6 test tubes, 50 cm3 burette, 10cm3 pipette, 1cm3 pipette, 3 small beakers, DCPIP solution, 0. 1% ascorbic acid, distilled water, 4 varieties of fruit juice, for example mango, grape, apple, guava etc. Preparation Take a properly washed beaker and make 0. 1% solution of vitamin C or ascorbic acid with 0. 1 g of vitamin C in 100 cm3; this is 10 mg cm-3 or one may also use a readily prepared 0. 1%ascorbic acid. Take a 0. 1% solution of DCPIP. Take 6 test tubes and label them as A, B, C, D, E and F. Now slowly pipette out 1cm3 of DCPIP solution into each test tube using a 1 cm3 pipette. Take 5cm3 of the 0. 1%ascorbic acid using a 10cm3 pipette. Using a graduated pipette or a burette, add 0. 1% ascorbic acid drop by drop to the DCPIP solution. Shake the tube gently after adding each drop. Add the acid solution until the blue colour of the final drop does not disappear. Record the exact amount of ascorbic acid that was added. Similarly in test tube B add the same volume of distilled water and gently shake the test tube to observe the change in colour. Investigation Dilute all the juices, that is, mango juice in C, grape juice in D, apple juice in E and guava juice in F before testing because fruit juices have a strong colour that will interfere with determining the end point. Now keep adding mango juice drop by drop with the help of a 50 cm3 burette in test tube C containing DCPIP solution and gently shake the test tube until the DCPIP solution is decolourised. Repeat the same for other 3 fruit juices, that is, grape, apple and guava. Uncertainties and errors Uncertainty or error while preparing ascorbic acid = Uncertainty of solid vitamin C + uncertainty of water = 0. 01+ 0. 1 = 0. 101 Uncertainty while making the mixture of DCPIP and vitamin C = uncertainty of DCPIP(1cm3 pipette) + uncertainty of ascorbic acid (10cm3 pipette) = 0. 01 + 0. 101 = 0. 111 Uncertainty while making the mixture of DCPIP and fruit juices = Uncertainty of DCPIP(pipette) + uncertainty of fruit juices(burette) = 0. 01 + 0. 1 = 0. 11 Data Volume of ascorbic acid added to decolourise DCPIP = 2. 25(+ 0. 1) cm3 Table 1 Calculating concentration of ascorbic acid Data processing Concentration of ascorbic acid in fruit juice (%) = Volume of ascorbic acid added to DCPIP x 0. Volume of fruit juice added to DCPIP Uncertainty = uncertainty in the volume of ascorbic acid + uncertainty in the volume of fruit juice = 0. 111 + 0. 11 = 0. 221 Concentration of ascorbic acid in mango juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 02% 11 Concentration of ascorbic acid in grape juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 01% 16 Concentration of ascorbic acid in apple juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 006% 36 Concentration of ascorbic acid in guava juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 04% 5 Table 2 comparing the experimental value with the given value on the pack Vitamin C An experiment to investigate the enzyme concentration and rate of reaction Background To carry out our experiment we used 3 different types of orange juices, and we also used 0. 1% of vitamin C solution. The aim of our experiment was to see how much DCPIP was needed to be added to make the orange juices turn back to the orange colour and the DCPIP to decolourise once the 0. 1% of vitamin C was added. DCPIP is a blue dye in its non-reduced form; it becomes colourless when it gains electrons.Vitamin C is an anti – oxidant, this is found mainly in fresh fruit and vegetables. The main use of Vitamin C is that it neutralises free radicals, which can cause damage to cells, including cells in the cardiovascular system Planning My aim in this experiment is to investigate how much juice is required to decolourise 1cm3 of 0. 1%of DCPIP solution. Prediction Before I started the investigation I made sure I did a hypothesis so that I would be able to refer back to it in the conclusion at t he end.Below is my hypothesis: My hypothesis is that: ‘there will be less’ Don Simon’ juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP, the other juices will require more juice to decolourise the DCPIP’ Fair Test I will have to make sure that I will be carrying out a fair test. This is to ensure that anything affecting the amount needed to decolourise the DCPIP is due to what I have changed (independent variable) and nothing else. Below I have listed the independent variables as well as those factors which should be kept the same. Independent Variable: * The Juices * Amount of Juice added to the DCPIPDependent Variable: * The amount of DCPIP put in the test tube * 1% of DCPIP * 0. 1% of vitamin C solution Fixed Variables: * The volume of DCPIP poured into the test tube * Keeping a fixed volume of the DCPIP ensures that the decolourisation of the DCPIP is only because of the amount of juice added and not the different amount of DCPIP that is present * Concentration of DCPIP solution * Different concentrations can affect how long it takes to decolourise, therefore it is important that there is nothing else making it less concentrated. * Concentration of Vitamin C solution The concentration of this can affect how much DCPIP is needed to make it colourless The experiment should also be repeated a number of time from which an average will be calculated. This is to ensure that the results are accurate and reliable. The method The method we used to carry out this experiment and the equipment we used is shown below; I also included any faults with the method when we carried out the experiment this is all shown below: Equipment and chemicals needed: * 1% of DCPIP solution * 0. 1% vitamin C solution * A range of fruit juices * Test tubes * Test tube rack Syringe STAGE| PROCEDURE| PURPOSE| ANY FAULTS/LIMITATIONS? | 1| Pipette 1cm3 of 1% DCPIP solution into the test tubes| Provide a clear sight into the experiment at hand. Therefore it makes it easier to e stablish the decolourisation of the DCPIP. | N/A| 2| Using a pipette or burette, add 0. 1% vitamin C solution drop by drop to the DCPIP solution. After adding the drops shake the tube gently | Allows the solution to react with the vitamin C. And therefore resulting in more accurate results| Using a burette would have been more accurate. Also doing the experiment on a bigger cale would also allow any room for accuracy for the results collected| 3| Continue to add drops of the vitamin C solution until the blue colour of the DCPIP has disappeared. | Measure how much vitamin C solution was needed to decolourise the DCPIP| At this point we made sure that the solution was absolutely colourless which was correct, however later we did not do the same thing for the orange juices and therefore we were not able to collect accurate results. | 4| Record the exact amount of the vitamin C solution that was added to decolourise the DCPIP solution.Repeat the procedure and average result| To calculat e how near our value is to the actual value of vitamin C in the other orange juices. | We did not decolourise the DCPIP, when adding the orange juices. As we had done for the vitamin C solution | 5| Repeat this procedure with the fruit juices provided. If only one or two drops of the fruit juices decolourises the DCPIP, dilute the juice and repeat the test. | To obtain an average to measure whether our results match the fact that there is meant to be 100mg of vitamin C in the juices. At this point we would get the result of the vitamin C and one of the juice means and divide them two and times it by a 100 to see how are results are, if it is close to the actual number it will mean it is reliable and accurate, however if it is not near the number it means that it is not very accurate. | Limitation of the apparatus and method Throughout the experiment I felt that there were many things that could have been improved on, so if I were to do the investigation with the modifications, I wou ld get the correct and accurate results.Firstly the syringes that we were using to measure the liquids were not very accurate because, it did not have the lines between the whole numbers, therefore forcing us to guess the amount that was needed. A more precise piece of equipment would be needed instead such as a burette, if this experiment was done on a larger scale this would be more efficient, and accurate. Another limitation with the experiment was that there was not enough DCPIP, thus limiting the amount of repeats being done. If more repeats were done, we would be able to take out the anomalies and be able to acquire a more accurate result.Therefore, decreasing the range of the range bars. From the graph we can see that the range bars are fairly big, therefore to decrease this we would have to do more repeats which would decrease the range of the range bars The most difficult part of the experiment was detecting the change in colour of the DCPIP solution while performing the ti tration. Two of the juices showed clear disappearance of the colour, while the others had the tint of yellow due to some other compounds of colours present. The date of manufacture may be different which may change the nutrient content or concentration in different juices.There were many limitations to the method as well, the main limitation was the fact that the method was not well explained; we added too much vitamin C to the DCPIP, making the DCPIP absolutely colourless. However we should have stopped adding the DCPI when the DCPIP had stopped turning blue. This would have given us a result of around 0. 8 but from the results we can see that the results went up till 2. 4. A modification that could be made to this method, is to include more detail of how to do it, and what it should look like, this would increase the likelihood of the results to be more accurate. ResultsBelow is the results collected by are class. Trends & Patterns From the results table we can see that the values of the 0. 1% vitamin C solution had a large range of results. Therefore this emphasises that the results were not very accurate. For this part of the experiment we had to decolourise the DCPIP in the test tube by adding the vitamin C to it. This in itself was not very accurate, because people’s perception of colourless was different to others. Therefore, it is evident that, from the first step many people’s results were different for the other orange juices, the range of the results were within 0. cm3. The overall mean show us that there was a lot of Asda concentrated orange juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP. This shows that the amount of vitamin C in that volume of the juice was the same amount of what was in the 1. 35mg of the Don Simon orange juice. After collecting all the results and finding the means of all juices, I was able to construct a bar graph. A bar graph was drawn as the variable along the x axis could not expressed in the term of numbers, therefore a line graph was not suitable for this which left us with either drawing a histogram or a bar graph.Personally I chose the bar graph as it was easier to construct and also easier to understand. I also included range bars to show the highest and the lowest values that we had got from the repeats that were done, this also shows that the value that was plotted using the bar, is the average of the range of values for the one liquid. From the graph we can evaluate that the mean concentration of vitamin C/mg cm-3 was ‘Asda from concentrated’ juice, the next juice that was after that was the ‘Asda pure’ juice, lastly leaving the ‘Don Simon’ juice at the end.This means that the Vitamin C present in the 1. 35mg is the same in the other juices for example, it has the same amount of Vitamin C in the Asda Pure juice which has 1. 48mg required to decolourise the DCPIP My hypothesis, ‘there will be less ‘Don Simon’ juice needed to decolou rise the DCPIP, and that the other juices will require more juice to decolourise the DCPIP’ was correct. I predicted this as ‘Don Simon’ juices was seen as a better quality juice than the others, therefore I thought that a better quality juice would have more vitamin C in a small volume.Other juices will have the same amount of vitamin C in a larger volume of juice. Systematic/Random errors In our experiment there were a number of errors caused, for example in the methodology, we had made the colours of juices different to the vitamin C. This was one of the biggest mistakes in the experiment as it affected the whole experiment. If we were to make the juices more clear, when it was being added to the DCPIP, then we may have got more accurate results. As this is what we did, when we were adding the Vitamin C solution to the DCPIP.A systematic error is a problem that you can't overcome because it's a problem with the experiment itself. For instance, if you're measur ing a colour change in a reaction, you have to rely on your eyes, there's a systematic error there because your eyes are not as accurate as a machine. A systematic error that was made was the fact when we were trying to make the DCPIP colourless, people’s perception of colourless was different, and therefore the results that had been acquired by the rest of the class were different. This is one of the reasons there was a big range of results for the decolourisation of the DCPIP.Another possible error in this experiment that could be made is the fact that the person may have read the volume at the wrong place each time. Random errors in experimental measurements are caused by unknown and unpredictable changes in the experiment. These changes may occur in the measuring instruments or in the environmental conditions. A random error made was the fact that the syringes were not the same. In the way that they were measured differently, sometimes they were not big enough to carry th e amount of orange juice we needed to decolourise.An effective and more accurate equipment we could have used is a burette, as it can hold up to 40cm3 of liquid, and therefore we would have more than enough space to read the reading and to use the juice at once. Another random error that could have been made is that the vitamin C may have not been added by less than a drop a time, so sometimes the next drop may be too little or too big, which may change the colour of the solution more quicker therefore the volume will not be very accurate.Lastly the end point may be misjudged, as it is quite tricky to say exactly when the DCPIP has become colourless. In conclusion, there were many small mistakes made during the experiment, if I was to do this experiment again, I would make sure that I was to do all the repeats myself, so the mistake about people’s perception of what was decolourised would not affect the results. Also the fact that there would be enough equipment would mean th at I would also get the results I need, and that there can be a different piece of equipment used for each of the different experiments. Interpretation of resultsOverall the quality of my data is shown to be fairly accurate as most of the results I got were fairly close, in our class for the juices, however for the vitamin C; the results were not so accurate. This emphasises that there were a number of mistakes which could have caused this problem. There are many factors which affect the result such as, the temperature, pressure, and the equipment used etc. in the investigation I think the main mistake that was made was that we did not stop adding the Vitamin C solution to the DCPIP when it stopped going blue, therefore the value should have been at around 0. instead of the class average which was about 1. 7. We overestimated the amount of Vitamin C that should have been added into the solution of DCPIP. However if we had decided to do this we should have added more orange juice to the DCPIP. Therefore to see whether we had accurate results we did a calculation to see the ratio of vitamin C in the actual Juices on the carton to the results of our experiment. The calculation was found by doing the following: Volume of 0. % vitamin C solution required to decolourise 1cm3 of DCPIP cm3Mean volume of juice required to decolourise 1cm3 of DCPIP cm3X 100 Therefore as we know the volume of standard vitamin C solution needed to decolourise a fixed volume of DCPIP, by using simple proportion, we can calculate the amount of vitamin C in the three different types of orange squash. 0. 1% vitamin C solution: In 1. 70cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solution * 1cm3 1mg * 1. 70cm3 1. 70mg Don Simon: In 1. 36cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solution * 1. 70mg 1. 36cm3 * 100ml 125. 0mg Asda from Concentrated: In 1. 85cm3 should be 1. 0mg of 0. 1%vitamin C solution * 1. 70mg 1. 85cm3 * 100ml91. 9mg Asda Pure: In 1. 48cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solut ion * 1. 70mg1. 48cm3 * 100ml 114. 9mg 0. 1% vitamin C solution: In 1. 70cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solution * 1cm3 1mg * 1. 70cm3 1. 70mg Don Simon: In 1. 36cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solution * 1. 70mg 1. 36cm3 * 100ml 125. 0mg Asda from Concentrated: In 1. 85cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1%vitamin C solution * 1. 70mg 1. 85cm3 * 100ml91. 9mg Asda Pure: In 1. 48cm3 should be 1. 70mg of 0. 1% vitamin C solution * 1. 70mg1. 48cm3 * 100ml 114. mg To find whether our results were accurate, I found out how much vitamin C was present in each of the solutions, this is shown in the box below: From the calculations above, we can see that the results collected from the class were not very accurate. This is shown through the fact that it says that in the Asda Pure juices of 100ml there should be 114. 9mg of vitamin C when there should be 100mg of vitamin C in a 100ml of the juice. Conclusion & Evaluation My prediction, ‘there will be less’ Don Simonâ₠¬â„¢ juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP, the other juices will require more juice to decolourise the DCPIP’ was correct.This is because; the smaller volume of fruit juice needed to decolourise the blue DCPIP solution, the higher is the Vitamin C content in the fruit. It is also shown on the graph, as there is less volume of Don Simon Orange juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP. This means that in 1. 35cm3 of Don Simon, there is the same amount of Vitamin C in 1. 48cm3 of the Asda Pure orange juice, and in 1. 85cm3 of the Asda from concentrated orange juice. The smaller volume of orange juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP solution means that the DCPIP solution is reduced at a faster rate.Within my results, I did find quite a number of anomalies. However there were other numbers within the range of the anomaly such as in the 0. 1% vitamin C solution had the highest value of being 2. 4 cm3, which at first I had thought to be an anomaly, however 2. 1 cm3 was also another re sult that had been collected. However if we took out the 2 repeats, there was also another repeat of 2cm3. Therefore in the end I left the results in the results table. 0. 8cm3 was also another repeat I had though was an anomaly; however there were also other results that were near 0. 8 cm3 such as 1. cm3. Therefore I did not record these results as anomalies. The main reason for the high range was because of the fact that people had different perceptions of when the solution was to go colourless. In the rest of the results there were not any anomalies recorded as they were in the range of each other. If I was to do this investigation again I would make sure that the instructions were read clearly and also do the experiment on a larger scale, so instead of adding 5 cm3 of the DCPIP I would add 20 cm3 and therefore use a burette to add in the different types of orange juices.This would make it more accurate, as the reading would be able to be made more precisely. Another thing I woul d do better next time is to do more repeats, even though there were a lot of repeats for my results, the results were not done by the same person and therefore the perception of the colour would be different to each person, and therefore if I was to do all the repeats myself I would be able not to take the risk of getting a wide range of results. Also I would make sure that there was enough DCPIP for my experiments as I know in my experiment there was not enough DCPIP for some people to do another repeat.The most repeats a group was able to do were 2. Another factor I would change if I were to do the investigation again is that I would use other brands of orange juices as well to widen the results I was going to get. In conclusion, the investigation has stated that there will be less’ Don Simon’ juice needed to decolourise the DCPIP, the other juices will require more juice to decolourise the DCPIP. This is shown on the bar graph with the mean volume of the different t ypes of juices needed to decolourise the DCPIP against the different types of juices.There is also range bars included to inform the highest and lowest values obtained from the repeats. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Edexcel AS Biology Revision Guide for SNAB and concept-led approaches -EDEXCEL, Published: 2008 [ 2 ]. Edexcel AS Biology Revision Guide for SNAB and concept-led approaches – EDEXCEL [ 3 ]. AS-level Biology-Exam Board: Edexcel-complete revision & practice, Published: by CGP in 2008 [ 4 ]. Edexcel AS Biology Revision Guide for SNAB and concept-led approaches -EDEXCEL Vitamin C Research Question: How the amount of vitamin C in fruit juices affects its freshness and till what extent is the information provided on the pack by manufacturers is reliable? Background Information: Hypothesis: -fresh juices have more vitamin C than long-life juice that is ‘not from concentrate’ is best in terms of vitamin content -if heat destroys vitamin C then heat-treated long-life juices will have lower concentrations -if heat destroys vitamin C then boiled fruit juice will have lower concentrations than unboiled -manufacturers generally provide reliable information about their products -the amount of vitamin C content in given fruits is: So the amount of vitamin C and its percentage in fruit juice must go with the given ratio which means that guava and apple juice should have the highest and lowest concentration respectively. Variables: Independent: {text:list-item} Dependent: {text:list-item} Controlled: Materials Required: 6 test tubes, 50 cm3 burette, 10cm3 pipette, 1cm3 pipette, 3 small beakers, DCPIP solution, 0. 1% ascorbic acid, distilled water, 4 varieties of fruit juice, for example mango, grape, apple, guava etc. Preparation Take a properly washed beaker and make 0. 1% solution of vitamin C or ascorbic acid with 0. 1 g of vitamin C in 100 cm3; this is 10 mg cm-3 or one may also use a readily prepared 0. 1%ascorbic acid. Take a 0. 1% solution of DCPIP. Take 6 test tubes and label them as A, B, C, D, E and F. Now slowly pipette out 1cm3 of DCPIP solution into each test tube using a 1 cm3 pipette. Take 5cm3 of the 0. 1%ascorbic acid using a 10cm3 pipette. Using a graduated pipette or a burette, add 0. 1% ascorbic acid drop by drop to the DCPIP solution. Shake the tube gently after adding each drop. Add the acid solution until the blue colour of the final drop does not disappear. Record the exact amount of ascorbic acid that was added. Similarly in test tube B add the same volume of distilled water and gently shake the test tube to observe the change in colour. Investigation Dilute all the juices, that is, mango juice in C, grape juice in D, apple juice in E and guava juice in F before testing because fruit juices have a strong colour that will interfere with determining the end point. Now keep adding mango juice drop by drop with the help of a 50 cm3 burette in test tube C containing DCPIP solution and gently shake the test tube until the DCPIP solution is decolourised. Repeat the same for other 3 fruit juices, that is, grape, apple and guava. Uncertainties and errors Uncertainty or error while preparing ascorbic acid = Uncertainty of solid vitamin C + uncertainty of water = 0. 01+ 0. 1 = 0. 101 Uncertainty while making the mixture of DCPIP and vitamin C = uncertainty of DCPIP(1cm3 pipette) + uncertainty of ascorbic acid (10cm3 pipette) = 0. 01 + 0. 101 = 0. 111 Uncertainty while making the mixture of DCPIP and fruit juices = Uncertainty of DCPIP(pipette) + uncertainty of fruit juices(burette) = 0. 01 + 0. 1 = 0. 11 Data Volume of ascorbic acid added to decolourise DCPIP = 2. 25(+ 0. 1) cm3 Table 1 Calculating concentration of ascorbic acid Data processing Concentration of ascorbic acid in fruit juice (%) = Volume of ascorbic acid added to DCPIP x 0. Volume of fruit juice added to DCPIP Uncertainty = uncertainty in the volume of ascorbic acid + uncertainty in the volume of fruit juice = 0. 111 + 0. 11 = 0. 221 Concentration of ascorbic acid in mango juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 02% 11 Concentration of ascorbic acid in grape juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 01% 16 Concentration of ascorbic acid in apple juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 006% 36 Concentration of ascorbic acid in guava juice = 2. 25 x 0. 1 = 0. 04% 5 Table 2 comparing the experimental value with the given value on the pack

Take a theme of the poet Cathy Song and explain, prove it thru support Essay

Take a theme of the poet Cathy Song and explain, prove it thru support and analysis of at least 3 poems, using point by point me - Essay Example This realization seems to have become an impetus for her creative sensibility. The recurrence of this theme of filial connections forms the pervasive subject and the thematic content of her poetry. Song has credited her early interest in writing to her family’s travels: â€Å"Our family travels started my writing. I guess I was around nine years old when I decided I wanted to be the family chronicler† ( â€Å" Poetry Foundation†). From this quote we can infer that incessant traveling with her family does have an impact on her creative genius and may also have made her admit the importance of these family relationships in a person’s life. â€Å"Song’s poetic oeuvre is united by her abiding focus on family. The moral ties that bind women to children and parents, to their community, to tradition, and to the land are continuously interwoven throughout her verse† ( â€Å" Poetry Foundation† ). We also find a mention of some broader themes l ike impact of immigration on the lives of the people. But whatever she sees these things, she sees them through the kaleidoscope of her family. In her poetry, Cathy Song usually examines the everyday world that touches and affects her. Cucinella observes: As such, possible topics for Song’s poetry include the lives of her grandparents in Hawaii following their immigration from China and Korea, the resistance of third generation Asian Americans to the traditional Asian Ways and their paradoxical needs to embrace their Asian ancestry, and the more mundane aspect of her life as a daughter, mother , and wife (353). In her third collection of poem, School Figure, â€Å"Song explores further than before relationships between husband and wife, mother and son, and mother and daughter. â€Å" The Grammar Silk† explores how a mother wishes a better life and escape for her daughter†( Cucinella 353). In the following lines we will explore the extent and scope of this recurr ent theme of family ties in Cathy’s poetry. Our probe will further be delimited to mother-daughter relationship in her poetry. All the nuances of this relationship will be explored to strengthen our thesis that Cathy’s close association with her family became the cause of her creative genius and made her imprint different facets of her connection with her parents and especially of her mother. Our analysis will be based on three of Song’s representative poems:† The Grammar of Silk†, â€Å"The Youngest Daughter† and â€Å"The White Wash†. The Grammar of Silk The grammar of silk shows a mother’ concern for her daughter and desire to see her past and future in her. The mother is trying to accomplish what was missing in her. â€Å"She was determined that I should sew/ as if she knew what she herself was missing† ( Song Lines 49-50).That’s why she has sent her to a sewing school. She wants to ensure that her daughter shou ld be an accomplished seamstress and should learn this art to the perfection. The mother’s choice seems to be pleasing for her daughter. On Saturdays in the morning my mother sent me to Mrs. Umemoto’s sewing school. It was cool and airy in her basement, pleasant—a word I choose (Song Lins 1-4). The place is not just a sewing school. It assumes a higher existence and transforms into a safe haven for women. Song reflects: This evidently was a sanctuary, a place where women confined with children conferred, consulted the oracle, the stone tablets of the latest pattern books( Song Lines 27-30). The Youngest Daugh

The Good Earth by Pearl S Bucks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Good Earth by Pearl S Bucks - Essay Example As with the ox, Wang Lung is reduced to a passive role, burying the infant and contemplating, in so far as hes able, his wifes striking drive to live (Baw 16). This is actually one of the more tragic events that occur in this book. After the birth of her latest child in this chapter, when Wang Lung goes into his wifes room to see how she is and how the baby is, O-Lan tells him that the girl child has died, with the simple word "dead"(Baw 24) However, Wang Lung heard the baby cry after it was born, and so he is somewhat suspicious. When he takes the babys body and sees two â€Å"dark, bruised spots" (Baw 24) on the neck of his daughter, he understands that his wife, driven by desperation of the poverty and want that his family were facing, actually killed her own daughter to spare her a life of starvation and slow, grinding death. Wang Lungs response to this is a sign of the depth of his despair (Baw 23). During the period of the devastating drought and famine, the family has to flee to the south in a large city to find work for them to survive. Wang Lung’s uncle, for significantly lesser value, offers to buy his possessions and land. Expect for the house and land, everything else is sold by the family (Baw 17). Wang Lung later found out that O-lan had a bundle that contained many jewels that were very precious. She had come by the jewels when she, together with her husband, happened to be in a house of a rich man. Wang Lung used the jewels to buy more land (Baw 16). Then there came successive prosperity years and Wang Lung became very rich landowner and farmer. He then decided to educate his sons, ware of the disadvantages of his illiteracy. He now had a boy and girl- twins, apart from the daughter and two sons they had before they went south (Baw 18). Much of Wang Lung changed after he got rich- his attitude, his personality as well as his family life. He started having affairs. He was

History essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

History - Essay Example that historical reality by addressing the modern-held belief that an individual ought to have the right to choose his or her religion and practice it freely. His method is to analyze the nature of religion and the freedom to worship (or lack thereof) in seventeenth century New England to see if said freedom then existed or not. His thesis is such that early colonial America, particularly New England, was a predominantly intolerant and rigid place wherein religious autonomy was often suppressed and the division of church and state did not exist. According to Miller, the modern separation of church and state and the freedom to worship only developed later and over time and in no way represented a pre-determined or guaranteed historical development. Miller points out that religion was but one of many reasons people came to the New World from the Old. He wants to dispel the idea that people cam for religion alone and that religious toleration existed from the start. Other motives which brought settlers included economic reasons, social promise, and the general desire to start anew. He wants to show that religious motives often masked other social and economic ones. An early declaration by members of the Virginia Plantation stated â€Å"†¦we are first to preach and baptize into Christian Religion, and by propagation of the Gospell, to recover out of the armes of the Divell, a number of poore and miserable soules, wrapt up into death, in almost invincible ignorance.† Miller then continues by citing the Charter of New England which declared â€Å"We trust to his Glory. Avee may with Boldness goe on to the settling of soe hopeful a Work, which tendeth to the reducing and Conversion of such Savages as remaine wandering in Desolation and Distress, to Civil Socitie and Christian Religion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2008, p. 2). Thus religion served as a sort of template to justify other motives. The main drive of Miller’s article is to demonstrate that early America was a far from

Case Comment on agaren v Hans erberg Fransson Assignment

Case Comment on agaren v Hans erberg Fransson - Assignment Example The Aklagaren v Hans Akerberg Fransson case is one of the cases that have been tried in line with the principle and jurisdiction of the ne bis indem Union law. The main principle of ne bis indem that is usually applied in the application of these laws is the preservation of equal rights of the accused as well as to those of the defendant (Pillai 204). The initial step in applying the ne bis indem law is the determination whether the charge before the court had been filed in other cases. Therefore, if it is revealed that is the case, then the case before the court will be violating fundamental rights of the accused as provided for in article (51) of the European Union law. Thus, it in effect, it would mean that the rights of accused under ne bis indem have been infringed thereby jeopardizing the credibility of the case before the court (Thomas 98). ... It is apparent that case never qualified for ne bis indem trail since the same case had been filed earlier; however, according to the judgement statement herein above, the court in Sweden was given the power to decide whether to uphold the right for the cased in the Aklagaren v Hans Akerberg Fransson case to be tried twice (Van Bael & Bellis 102). If this was the case, then the ne bis indem’s credibility could be  questionable, and it  should be considered  bias. The Aklagaren v Hans Akerberg Fransson case was primarily pegged on violation of the tax laws. In most cases, Tax laws and regulations are usually enacted to provide guidelines to governments or institutions towards effective and transparent revenue collection (Sigler 144). Therefore, considering Sweden as an independent institution or state, just like any other state in the European Union, it is expected to have its laws and regulations for taxation. The Swedish taxation laws state that; â€Å"Individuals who are liable to Swedish tax have to pay tax on their income and capital gains.† The taxable income for this state includes all remuneration received from employers, whether in cash or in kind, such as free food, free accommodation, and company cars, among others. Pensions, unemployment benefits are also included in the taxable income. However, it is permissible to deduct certain costs from income; for example, travelling costs between work and home† (TaxRates.cc, Para 5). Apparent Sweden only taxes the Swedish residents and to be considered a resident with the obligation to pay taxes, one must have stayed in Sweden for more than six months. According to  Grant Thornton International Ltd (para 3) asserts, an individual will be considered a Swedish

Digitizing the Physical World - Hoe organizations can benefit from Thesis

Digitizing the Physical World - Hoe organizations can benefit from digitization - Thesis Example This is happening because â€Å"individual UC (ubiquitous computing) technologies have today reached a level of maturity which allows for the development of productive business applications† (Fleisch and Thiesse, n.d., p.1930). A sea change brought in by this new advent of technologies has been that the slogan, ‘content is the king’ can now be replaced by- â€Å"user intent and context† are the determinant factors in a changed scenario (Ernst, 2008, p.3). It is from this realization that any researcher of information systems and digitization needs to start moving towards the knowledge of how organizations can benefit from digitization. The full picture of digitization in organizations can only be viewed from the perspectives of â€Å"experiential computing† (Yoo, 2010, p.215), â€Å"pervasive computing,† (De Roure, 2003) and â€Å"ubiquitous computing† (Weiser, 1993, p.2). While the utmost concern of any organization that goes for digit ization still remaining to be â€Å"permanent accessibility† of whatever is preserved or processed by the organization, a huge transformation is taking place, taking this very concern towards new heights (Morris, 2005, p.2). There is an angle shift from preservation to processing, as far as digitized data is concerned, more so in an organizational ambience. It is in relation to these changes that the question, how digitization benefits organizations, needs to be pursued. Organizations have been always using technologies â€Å"to make operations run better, faster, and cheaper† (Blair, 2004, p.64). And in an information age, the success of any organization depends on managing information in a better way (Blair, 2004, p.64). The extent of information flow via digitized media has grown to titanic proportions. For example, â€Å"estimates say the volume of business e-mail is growing at a rate of 300 percent each year, and 800 megabytes (MB) of new information is created for every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth†

Literature Review ''stress on international students''

''stress on international students'' - Literature review Example A mentally affected individual may become confused, indecisive or negative thinker while an emotionally stressed person can appear frustrated, irritated, panic-stricken, impatient, sadist or depressed (Stress Management, n.d.). It has become a common practise in the UK to take time off from work and apply for stress leave by the acute sufferers of stress (Cunningham, 2000:19). In the Terri Landon case, Terri who was a training in a government office, felt unwanted in her workplace and claimed for stress leave and remained on reduced time at work for more than a year without compromising her full remuneration (Cunningham, 2000:19). The effect of stress is not only faced by an individual but by the entire nation too (Stress: The Effects, 2001). As per the BBC report on 25th June, 2001, almost 270,000 people take time off from their regular work due to illness driven by stress giving way to absenteeism which cost the UK an amount not less than ?10.2bn in the year 2000 (Stress: The Effec ts, 2001). Effects of Stress: A Costly Affair The long term consequences of stress can be overtly expensive. From giving birth to stomach ulcers and rise in high blood pressure to encouraging heart diseases and strokes, the results of stress can be costly (Stress: The Effects, 2001). It has a high potential of developing over-indulgencing habits such as overeating, limitless drinking and smoking, all of which are well known for their evil effects on the body (Stress: The Effects, 2001). Moreover, illness like insomnia or depression, nervous breakdown and reduced work performance are mostly driven by stress (Stress: The Effects, 2001). Further, stress is also considered to be responsible for a woman’s complete stoppage or severe irregularity of stress or even her capacity to conceive (Stress: The Effects, 2001). As per the BBC reports, â€Å"In the NHS, the government has had to introduce a â€Å"zero tolerance† campaign to try to reduce the number of attacks, and amou nt of verbal abuse heaped on staff† (Stress: The Effects, 2001). In the ISMA Conference 2009, Dame Carole Black revealed that workplace stress is as expensive as ?100bn (ISMA). Moreover, as per the Labour Force Survey, â€Å"Estimates indicate that self-reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounted for an estimated 13.5 million lost working days in Britain in 2007/08 (ISMA). The three best ways of fighting out stress as suggested by Cunningham include the lessening of stress forces, the increasing of one’s capacity to resist damage and the understanding of the early signs of stress thereby being alert in advance to combat it (Cunningham, 2000:8). Role of Stress on International Students Both local and international students face a lot of complex situations such as examinations, deadlines, poor time management, uncontrollable debts and other cases which lead to undue stress (Stress Management, n.d.). International stude

BIO 345 - Topic Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BIO 345 - Topic Paper - Essay Example n of human breast cancer cells by upregulating ZNF703 expression†, Yongguo et al (2015) target an lncRNA SPRY-4-IT1 which has a close association with cancer. SPRY-4-IT1 or SPRY-4 intronic transcript 1 is almost 708 basepair long non-coding RNA which is present on a locus in chromosome 5. The lncRNA SPRY-4-IT1 was studied thoroughly and it was seen that this particular product was highly expressed in melanoma cells. To understand the role of this gene and the association of the gen with breast cancer, Yongguo et al conducted a clinical study. The tissue to be studies was collected from 48 patients who had undergone surgical breast cancer resection Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical,  China between 2012- 2013. The 48 different breast cancer cell lines were taken, RNA was extracted from them and quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR was performed on each of samples collected. Gain and loss of functions methodology was adopted to understand the role of the gene in-vitro. Using microarray bioinformatics analysis of the potential targets was computed. These results were further verified using other methods such as rescue experiments, western blotting and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction methods. The results show that up regulation of the SPRY4-IT1 occurs which was far above that in the normal breast tissues. The researchers also found a close association between the expression of the gene and the size of the tumor. Pathologically, it was seen that the gene was also expressed in advance cases of breast cancer. The researchers noticed that when this particular gene was knocked down, the proliferation of the malignant breast cells was drastically reduced and apoptosis in the cancerous cells was also induced. Using computational methods and other wet laboratory methods the target of the gene was recognized to be ZNF703 gene. ZNF703 is a breast cancer oncogene which helps in the regulation of normal cell division in the cells and

Analysis of Retail Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Analysis of Retail Management - Assignment Example Thus the company is dedicated to providing high-quality footwear and value for money for the professionals, young and fashionable women who follow the trends according to their lifestyle needs. b) Examine how each of the four (4) components contributes to its retail atmosphere to attract the target market identified with Question 1(a). Retailing is a visible industry and the interface which exists in between the customers and the business provides the retailer with many advantages. Many of the retailers across the globe have become essential to people in day to day living and the retailers are very keen to strengthen the relationship between individuals and stores and gain customer loyalty. A retailer’s most important task is to keep their image favorable in the minds of the target customers. Therefore in the formation of image many components are to be taken into consideration, the environment and the store plays a big role in the formation of the image in the retail outlets (Varley, 2006, p. 169). In other words, the atmosphere plays an important role to attract the customers and develop an image in the customer's mind. The atmosphere is termed as the summation of the physical attributes both in-store and out of the store of the retailer which helps to draw customers and helps in the development of the brand image. Atmosphere affects the customer’s mood, target market, time spent in the store, induces impulse purchase and positioning of the retailer and relates with the strategy chosen by the retail outlet (Evans & Berman, 2003, p. 490). The basic four component of retail atmosphere includes the following, Exterior: The element which comprises of exterior includes the storefronts, entrances, the marquee, visibility of the store, display windows, the design of the stores, the surrounding areas. The exteriors are as important as the interiors which help to define space and the exterior of the space provides with the public interface. The outside s hould reflect the inside as retail stores exterior are a tent to the new and potential customer who tends to judge the sore through its appearance and might not enter if they do not like it or find it attractive enough. The exterior of Charles & Keith, Singapore contains all the elements to attract the target customers. One of the stores of Charles & Keith is located at Anchor point Shopping Mall based on Alexandra Road and provides ample parking areas for visitors (Frasers, 2008). The open entrance is accessible and inviting and helps to break down the barriers in between the stores and exteriors. The lobby increases the proportion of window display and invites the shoppers to enter the retail outlet. Figure 1 shows the mall of Charles & Keith as a part of the exteriors Figure 1: Anchor point Mall General interior: general interiors comprises of elements like flooring, scents, lighting, colors, and others. It should be able to provide the customers with a comfortable and a safe env ironment by applying the perfect color schemes along with the materials, lighting, and others. The interiors of Charles & Keith are well designed with the soothing environment, proper lighting, light color and well display of shoes, accessories, and bags.  

The Nature of Nursing Practice Essay Example for Free

The Nature of Nursing Practice Essay Nursing practice, like medicine, is also governed with ethical principles by which they are expected to perform their duties. Indeed, the moral sense of their duty lies with in this context of ethical considerations which according to Anne Bishop and John Scudder is â€Å"to lift out the moral significance of their practice and to develop facility in understanding how to fulfill the moral imperatives in their practice† (2001, p. 13) Bishop and Scudder contends that the moral issue in nursing ethics â€Å"concern with relationship of good in the sense of attentive, efficient, and effective with good in the personal sense† (2001, p. 19). It means of understanding the ways of the practice of nursing and employing them to foster welfare of the patient. Graham Rumbold in his book, Ethics in Nursing, pointed out that nursing evolves as a distinct profession from a medicine. He said, â€Å"Nurses no longer see themselves as handmaidens to the doctor but, at the very least, partners in care and at best practitioners in their own right† (Rumbold 1999, p. 9) Patricia Cronin and Karen Rawlings-Anderson citing Pierson (1999) pointed out that nursing practice, education and research has been significantly influenced by Cartesian philosophy. They state, â€Å"Nursing using the conventions of Cartesian philosophy would be able to describe, explain, predict, and control the phenomena of concern in nursing practice† (Cronin Anderson 2004, p. 10). Regarding the practice of nursing, William Cody pointed out that the nurse â€Å"is obligated to practice in such a way that seeks to avoid harm and to benefit the patient† (2006, p. 139). Cody said good nursing is more than a cluster of technique in that it involves a commitment to a moral end and is directed and judge by the end. George Khushf emphasized that nursing practice must be governed by ethical behavior and described the good nurse as â€Å"an individual who was virtuous and who followed certain rules in caring for the sick† (Khushf 2004, p. 490). Khushf pointed out that the ethical behaviors that were expected of the nurse, included loyalty, modesty, trustworthiness, obedience, promptness, quietness, cheerfulness, and deference to authority figure (2004, p. 490). Louise Rebraca Shives that the ANA or the American Nurses Association identified four primary principles to guide ethical decisions; â€Å"The client’s right to autonomy, the client’s right to beneficence, (doing good by the nurse), the client’s right to veracity (honesty and truth by the nurse), and the ethical principle4s of fidelity or the nurse faithful duties, obligations, and promises when providing care† (Shives 2006, p. 52) But nurses’ responsibility extends beyond their hospital duties. Sarah T. Fry argued, â€Å"Practicing nurses are also responsible for working within the professional organization to establish and maintain equitable social and economic working conditions in cursing† (Fry 2002, p. 136). Fry stressed that nurse collaborates with co-workers in bringing social and economic concerns to the awareness of employers and the members of the community, even if this means to participate in organized labor demonstration. Despite of the importance of the nursing practice in hospitals, nurses may also be at great risk of being sued if one appears oblivious or unresponsive to the needs of the patient, the family, or both.   Charles Sharpe pointed out, â€Å"The practitioner who attempt to care too much† (1999, p. 42). He emphasized that the conscientious, dedicated nurse who oversteps the limits of his clinical skills, training, and professional knowledge in providing what may well be meticulous care, places him or her self and the patient in jeopardy (Sharpe 1999, p. 42). Susan Westrick Killion and Katherine Dempski stressed that â€Å"when a nurse’s professional negligence rises to the level of reckless disregard for human life the nurse may face criminal charges of negligent homicide or manslaughter† (2006, p. 9). Work cited Bishop, AH Scudder, JR 2001, Nursing Ethics: Holistic Caring Practice, Jones Bartlett Publisher, Massachusetts, USA. Cody, W 2006, Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives for Advanced Practice, Jones and Bartlett Publisher, Massachuserrs, USA. Cronin, P Anderson KR 2004, Knowledge for Contemporary Nursing Practice, Elsevier Limited, London, UK. Fry, St 2002, Ethics in Nursing Practice: A Guide To Ethical Decision Making, Blackwell Publishing Company, Oxford, UK. Khusf, G 2004, Handbook Of Bioethics: Taking Stock of the Field From a Philosophical Perspective, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Massachusetts, USA. Killion, SW Dempski K 2006, Quick Look Nursing: Legal and Ethical Issues, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Massachusetts, USA. Rumbold, G 1999, Ethics in Nursing Practice, Elsevier Limited, Philadelphia, USA.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sharpe, C 1999, Nursing Malpractice: Liability and Risk Management, Green Wood Publishing Group, USA. Shives, LR 2006, Basic Concepts of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, Lippincott Williams Wilkins, Philadelphia, USA.

Essay on Silence and its Importance

Essay on Silence and its Importance The key aim of this research paper is to draw attention to the importance of silence in general, for students in particular. Thus, the introductory part of this research is devoted to the definition of silence and its important in our noisy world. The second section focus on the key powers of silence as located by the Irish writer Tony Cuckson, the importance of silence for students, how could we improve our relationship with silence? And examples of when can we use silence. Finally the third part consists of the analysis of the questionnaire data and summarizing the key ideas of the research. What does silence mean? Literally speaking, the word silence comes from the Latin word silens meaning to be still, quiet, or at rest. In English, it still maintains some of these meaning as most modern dictionaries define silence as the condition or quality of being or keeping still and silent, the absence of sounds, stillness or as a period of time without speech or noise. However depending only on these definitions we just learn silences first fundamental sense. Hence the silence is more than the state of being silent; entire absence of sound or absolute stillness. The silence, this research paper is concerned about, is the silence that enhances concentration, promotes meditation and allows us to be in touch with our inner. In other words, the silence that has the power to get people to think and to act. The word silence has become associated in our minds with passivity boring and inactivity. Moreover, we see silence as intrinsically dangerous, anti-social or abnormal. We fear and hate silence and we do everything possible to avoid it. In her book A Book of Silence , Sara Maitland stated*: instant and constant verbal communication is experienced not so much as a pleasure, but as a necessity. Background music, even in shopping malls where there is already a great deal of noise, so that no one can actually hear the music, is ubiquitous. The length of an acceptable silent pause on the radio has been reduced steadily over the last decade. Silence in public places, like libraries or churches, is increasingly considered oppressive rather than valuable. The silence of mourning is being replaced by cheering. In this statement, Sara Maitland has tried to draw our attention to our strange fear-hate relationship with silence. She gives us some habits that we unconsciously used to do in the everyday life to avoid silence. Sara Maitland has also noticed that people try to fill the void of silence with needless chatter, with TV, with Music, with noise of some kind. She noticed that Silence has become disconcerting and make people feel uncomfortable and alone, thats why -according to Sara Maitland- the world is filled with TVs that have been left on when nobody is watching it, for just a background noise. Yet people forget that the great forces, by which we live, are silent. The vast immensity of space is silent, because sound waves, unlike light or radio waves, cannot travel through a vacuum. Gravity electricity, the warmth of sunlight, the turning of the tides are all silent. Organic growth, life itself, the division of cells is silent. Society just forgets about these facts, Sara added. To sum up we could say that we hate or fear silence because we do not perceive its true meaning. Silence is not a mere absence of sounds or noises, it is more than that. Silence is a natural phenomenon that could be a source of creative energy that we should all use and benefit from it rather than simply avoiding it. *Sara Maitland is an English writer. Born in 1950, she grew up in Galloway, studied at Oxford University and currently tutors on the Distance Learning MA in creative writing for Lancaster University and is the Mentor Co-ordinator for Crossing Borders. She has undertaken writer residencies at HMP Ashwell and at Lincoln Cathedral The importance of silence in a restless world (noise pollution) It is obviously clear that we are living in noisy word. Unwanted sounds and noises pursue us everywhere we go. In the street, restaurants, supermarkets and even in the places where silence is considered as a necessity like schools and hospitals are not exceptions. From the early morning we step out home till we come back, we encounter variety of terribly noises. Our lives nowadays tend to be so busy that we have become accustomed to a constant barrage of tasks, inputs, and general noise. How often do we come home only to turn on the T.V. just so we can have something going on in the background? We used to not esteem the value of silence in our lives. Mike Moore* has described this phenomenon in his book Living Life Fully by saying When you add lawnmowers, snow blowers, leaf blowers, jack hammers, jet engines, transport trucks, and horns and buzzers of all types and descriptions, you have a wall of constant noise and irritation. Even when watching a television program at a reasonable volume level you are blown out of your chair when a commercial comes on at the decibel level of a jet. A recent study conducted by the Cornell University** about the impact of noise on employees in an open area office space where people are constantly exposed to fax machines, telephones, office chatter, shredding machines, etc revealed that workers in an open area had high level of adrenalin*** in their urine. When these employees were compared to those in quiet offices the results were startling. Workers in quiet offices did not have the same high levels of adrenalin in their urine. Besides, they were much more relaxed and less stressed. Moreover, a puzzle demanding attention and concentration was given to both groups of employees. The results revealed that the open area workers were found to be less diligent in the solution of the puzzle. They easily frustrated and gave up much earlier than the employees from the quiet offices. Another striking results found by the study are about sleeping, digestion and the psychological state of the employees under study. The study has revealed that workers from the quiet office slept better at night, had better digestion, were much less irritable at home and felt better at the end of their workday than employees from the open area offices. It seems clear from the results of such studies that noise does not only affect our focus and productivity but also impact our physical and psychological balance. Noise pollution tends to increase stress levels which in turn can result in increased frustration and anger. There is no doubt that the results of this study should push us to revise and re-establish our relationship with silence. In other words, we must begin to establish a friendship with silence. *Mike Moore is an international speaker and writer on human potential, motivation and humour. You can check out his website at www.motivationalplus.com **It is an American university ***Is released by the body when under stress. It prepares us for fight or flight. The key 4 powers of silence Till now, we have seen and known -from the introduction- the type of silence this research is concerned about and its true meaning. We have also recognized the importance of silence in a terribly noisy world showing some startling facts and striking recent studies. In this chapter, I have managed to devote it to the key four powers of silence as located by the Irish writer Tony Cuckson*. In fact, Tony has located seven powers but I have chosen the most important ones that everyone could experience regardless of his/ here possibilities or where s/he lives. In his valuable article Enjoy the Silence Tony has summarized the benefits of silence by saying that: silence is creative, silence promotes the inner and builds trust, silence gives rest, and silence allows listening. In this chapter I will try to explain these powers of silence respectively. 1 Silence is creative: In his article, Tony has defined creativity as creating unprecedented and unexampled things into being. He expressed that Creativity is not found within the known. Creativity means to bring the new into being. * Tony Cuckson is a writer on learning to be enough in the 21st Century. He is author of the ezine -an electronic magazine- Irish Blessings Subscribe to Irish Blessings Matter ezine a FREE weekly input of inspiration to lift the heart and heal the soul. With this sense creativity is a required quality in all fields. We need creative employees, creative writers, creative teachersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and more importantly creative students. Man is creative by nature; however, we often destroy this quality by some unhealthy habits. For instance, doing a task, homework or writing an assay while listening to music or television, surely will affect our concentration and consequently will affect the quality of the work that we try to accomplish. Yet creativity needs silence and quiet environment. A quiet environment allows the creative person to develop his talent and to think deeper. Inspiration always comes in silent environment. For instance, intellectuals, thinkers, poetry writers, inventors and creators in all fields always seek absolute silence and quiet environment so that they could work comfortably and get inspiration. Imagination also springs from silence. Silence and quiet are to an artist, an author or inventor etc, what fertilizer is to crops. In conclusion, it can be said that Silence and creativity are one Tony asserted. By relating silence to creativity, he has insisted on the idea that silence is the wellspring of creativity. 2 Silence promotes the inner and builds trust: When we silence we turn our thoughts and focus inwards and gain the power we need to refuel our minds Steven Aitchison* has stated. Our ego** is temporarily switched off or at least made to be quiet for a bit, and we start to see the real world as it should be (he continued). Our thoughts get in the way of our reality sometimes and we dont see the beauty of the world around us. When there is silence there is time for introspection and to allow your true-self to speak, not the ego, not the conscious mind but the true-self connected to the flow of energy around us (Steven added in his online Blog). Tony Cuckson agrees with Steven Aitchison by saying that through silence we could trust our selves. Silence enables us to listen to our inner voice and to detect our unique methods of thinking. It gives us a chance to understand our selves better. Consequently, we improve and re-establish our relationships with our selves. We simply used to think that others know better than we do. We have been taught this for most of our lives. Listening silently to the promptings of our hearts we begin got know our own voices. We become our own masters. To put it more simply, we could say that silence helps us to find our values, understand our strengths, identify our tendencies, acknowledge our limitations, set our goals and then establish our direction. * Steven Aitchison currently lives in Scotland working as an Addiction Worker, helping clients with alcohol and drug issues. He has a degree in psychology, a sense of humour, and a down to earth approach to self help. ** The self of an individual person; the conscious subject 3 Silence gives rest: The lack of silence in our modern life results in lack of comfort. Anuradha Vashisht* has expressed this idea by saying: The fidgetiness, the restlessness we see in the majority of people these days indicates how far removed they are from the silence of the body Anuradha wants to say that people nowadays cannot be still or calm in one place for a considerable period of time mainly because of the hyperactivity phenomenon. The problem of hyperactivity is increasing as most people constantly need a prop for their bodies like shuffling feet, shaking a leg while sitting in a chair, swaying their bodies, inane scratching, constantly doing something with their hands, asking for tea or coffee to get over boredom, and so on. Most of the physical activities that have been described above often reflect the clatter and the noise one has in his mind which would prevent him from enjoying his rest. To overcome this hyperactivity we should devote a considerable period of time for silence in order to give ourselves a deep rest. In silence the *Anuradha Vashisht, Delhi-based journalist, researcher, writer and media professional, has over 15 years experience in the media. Having trained as a journalist with the Times of India Group, some of her major assignments were with Financial Express, Indian Express and The Pioneer. body slows. The rate of breathing slows. Our heart rate drops. We just forget about the past and future to live the present moment. We enter our essential self. There is no need to go anywhere. There is no place to go. This is our time for relaxation. This is our time for simply catching a breath and recharging our batteries. 4 Silence allows listening: Silence gives us the opportunity to listen to others and more importantly to ourselves. When others speak or during a conversation, silence could be used as sort of politeness and respect that would make the communication successful (we will tackle this idea in depth in the next chapter (Examples of When to Use Silence)). Yet the inner-silence also is very important. Since, it gives us a chance to listen to our inner voices. It helps us to turn our thoughts and focus inwards and live the present moment now not the past not the future. The inner-silence enables us to save our minds from the inane thoughts and eliminate all mental noises. Thus we make our minds calmer. Consequently, we can work and study more efficiently and our productivity will increase. The mental silence should be the prime goal in our daily life. If we can be mentally calm we can solve many problems of life and find ways to do difficult tasks. Finally, we could say that by listening to others we will gain respect and by listening to ourselves, we will not be afraid of the battles of life, because internally we will be very strong. By developing the virtue of inner silence, we should be broad like sky (tolerate others thoughts) and deep like ocean (where all life problems will be sunk). The importance of silence for students Besides all the silences powers that we have mentioned earlier which all are so important for all people, students can get much more from silence. As we know, our education system encourages students to get ahead of their competition and to get excellent marks so that they could conserve their chance to get a respectable job. Naturally when we are competing each other we can never be at ease. We become bound to be stressed and this pressure will keep on increasing with every passing day. Silence and meditation are the perfect tools to release this pressure and feel at ease with ourselves. In fact today every student- whether from engineering, management, business or arts- needs meditation more than ever. Connecting with ones deeper self leaves him refreshed and regenerated so that he can move forward in life without being exhausted or stressed. As any other part of our bodies; our minds need rest too. We must just think what would happen to our bodies if we keep on working for example for 16 hours or more per day and never get a chance to take repose? Automatically we will be tired, exhausted and unable to master any kind of work. Same is the case with our minds, they need break likewise. Thence, we could say that silence and meditation are more essential to students in particular as all their tasks demands great mental efforts. It can be concluded from what we have seen till now that silence is not mere an absence of sounds or noises but also a technique and a therapy that all people and students in particular are in-need of. After recognizing the key powers and benefits of silence, the question now is how could we reconcile and re-establish our relationship with it? This is what we will see in the next chapter. How could we improve our relationship with silence? Before starting this chapter we have to remember that people do not have an absolute control over all the noises they hear daily in the street or in places where they work, study etc; however, they do have control over their own private environment. In this private environment we can reorganize ourselves, reconsider our habits and attitudes towards silence. In our private environment we could cultivate a good friendship with silence following several steps. In this chapter, I have selected from Mike Moores advices the most important, simplest and applicable ones that we could -as students living in Meknes- easily follow. Firstly, we should change the negative image that we have in our minds about silence. In other words, we have to learn about and extend our knowledge about the value of silence. We can do that either through reading psychological books, asking the psychologists or searching in the internet about the benefits of silence. To put it more simply, we should prepare ourselves morally and mentally for practicing Mike Moore steps. After changing your attitudes towards silence, you should try to change some of your habits. For instance, when walking to school avoid using your MP3 player or any other such devices and try to walk in silence. When you read a book or prepare for an exam, do it in silence. If you used to read, write and prepare for exams while listening to music or watching television you should try silence. You will find it much helpful. When you are alone in your residence, try to turn off all noise sources for a specific period of time. Begin with fifteen minutes of silence a day and gradually increase the duration. If you succeeded to change your habits and attitude towards silence then you should enlarge your experience with silence by learning how to meditate. Attempt to schedule a ten minute for meditation and contemplation period once or twice a day. Then extend your meditation time gradually. Mike Moore concluded by saying: Soon you will begin to cherish the periods of silence you have built into your day and long for more. You will quickly discover that you are becoming more relaxed and less tense even in the midst of our noisy world. You will have made an invaluable new friend of silence, a friend which can comfort, heal and soothe your spirit. What a gift you will have given yourself. In conclusion, it can be said that if we followed Mike advices we would reconcile our relationship with silence and certainly would discover the restorative power of silence that students are in need of it. Examples of when to use silence Silence is often mis-characterized as unimportant or awkward. As a result the modern conversations become chaos in which two or more people racing to see who can speak more without paying any attention to the other. Yet, people forget that silence can be used as a technique of communication, kind of respect and as an anti-gossiping. I- Silence as a technique of communication As a technique of communication silence could be used in daily conversation, during arguments and job interviews. To get a better conversation, one must use brief pauses to give the other person a chance to think, get better understanding of the topic and then react effectively. Just as he needs in return a chance to absorb and process all that information the other person has just said. Another best time to use the power of silence is during an argument. For instance, when someone is shouting at you, looking for an argument you can literally take all the power away from him and save all your energy by simply looking back at them saying absolutely nothing. Yet it is extremely difficult to do but very powerful. Students also can use silence to their advantage in job interviews. Students often do not consider silence as one of the most valuable interview techniques that can be used both by the job candidates and the interviewers. For many interviewees, the silence of the interviewer is seen awkward because it tends to imply that they have been found lacking and do not satisfy or fit the interviewers standards. However, good interviewers use silence when listening attentively to what the interviewee is saying; so a job candidate should not be frightened if the interviewer does so. Also, a job candidate can use the same silence to demonstrate critical thinking skills and an ability to remain poised in difficult situations. Here are a few tips* to help you use silence in a job interview to your advantage. A Use brief pauses (no more than 15 seconds) when you need to collect your thoughts, recall the information the interviewer requested B Introduce a silent pause when several questions are asked in rapid succession before you have had a chance to answer the first one. Repeat the first question and answer it; then request the interviewer to ask subsequent questions. C Avoid any urge to fill the silence with unsolicited information about your background or experience. Many interviewees have lost the job by impulsively blurting out details that led the interviewer to ask questions for which the interviewees were unprepared to answer. D Finally, do not forget to remain mentally alert during the silence. *To get more information about how to use silence in a job interview follow this link: http://www.ehow.com/how_5093570_use-silence-advantage-job-interview.html 2 Silence as kind of respect Silence could also be used to show respect in many occasions. It has long been recognized by many religious groups as a key component of an ascetic path to spirituality. For example, we as Muslims we silence when we hear someone reading the Quran. We also recommend silence in the funerals. Moreover, silence has become a universal practice used in all over the world. As we used to held one minute of silence as a remembrance of the people died in a natural disaster or an important person died recently. During conversations silence also may be used to express admiration and esteem. Just let people talk and listen to them and use your facial expressions and movements to acknowledge that you are listening. Thus, you will imply that you are respecting them and you will gain their respect in return. In contrast, when you do not listen to or interrupt people before they have finished, you are essentially indicating that the other persons thoughts are not that important. What could be considered as a kind of impoliteness and discourage him/her to continue talking. 3 Silence as an anti-gossiping When there is a crowd of people in the workplace while the boss is absent or in classroom before the coming of teacher there are always gossipers who speak about other people. What makes gossiping dangerous is that it is contagious. When we dont like someone and someone else starts speaking about him we naturally tend to voice our opinion, Ive done it lots of times and have to stop myself. Try and stop yourself from catching the virus of gossiping and use the power of silent whenever it occurs. If you are a gossiper yourself and people around start to notice that you are not your usual self, do not give an explanation just ignore them or say that silence is golden. Be still and know the restorative power of silence. (Ideas we should keep in mind) Besides, isnt it nice to say nothing when you have nothing to say? We need to rediscover the power of attention and we do that through silence the concentration that we use in prayer can be used in everyday life, THE QUESTIONNAIRE 1-In few words, what comes to your mind when you hear the word silence? 2-Silence is golden Agree? Silence is boring Agree? Golden Boring 3-Do you find sometimes that you are talking just to break the silence? Answer options Never Sometimes Always 4-Do you think that silence is important for your health balance? Absolutely not To some extent yes Of course, yes Could you justify your answer? 5-Have you ever thought to get regular periods or moments of silence? Never I have 6-Do you actually allocate regular periods from your time for silence? Absolutely no from time to time weekly daily If you do not answer by no, could you explain why or for what purpose? 7-Do you prefer silence while preparing for exams or soft music? I prefer silence Soft music It depends on the subject being prepared

The International Style in Architecture

The International Style in Architecture From the 1920s until 1930s, the international style has gained its popularity globally, and it is expressed in all kinds of expressions, including the expression of volume rather than mass, where the spaces have more priority than the solidity of the building. There is also a stress on balance rather than symmetry, where the function of different parts of the building is arranged in balance, and the shape and form of the building is unlikely to be in symmetry. The international style also presents itself by regular and basic geometric forms, open interiors and the choice of materials such as glass, steel, and reinforced concretes. It is read as the style that broke free from the conventional style of architecture, where the buildings are of simplicity and without decorations and ornaments without specific function. The style is most adopted in the design of skyscrapers, where the faà §ade is made up of structural steel and glass as the envelope. The floor plans are always logical, functional and balanced in the sense that the whole building has the same usage rate all over. Few of the most pioneering architects in international style are Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe himself. One thing that relates closely to the international style is the modern architecture, or known as the modern movement. Modern architecture uses materials similar to the international style, which is mostly of steel, glass and concrete. It is also a style that explores more abstract forms of a building, and always played with space and light to enhance the quality of space. Buildings of this kind of architecture also favor the use of only grey, black, white and off-white in their facades. Form follows function is one of the famous maxims that follow the modern movement, which stressed the utility of the building rather than just on the exterior aesthetic. It was said that, the aesthetic from the simplicity in design is more significant than those with unnecessary ornamentations. Ludwig Mies van der Rohes biography Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born the youngest of five children in Aachen, Germany on March 27, 1886. He did an apprenticeship as a bricklayer and worked in his fathers stone-cutting shop, gaining valuable experience that later on helped him much in doing architecture. Before leaving his family and hometown, Mies worked for several local design firms and gained some experience. At the age of nineteen (1905), he moved to Berlin and worked under Bruno Pauls interior design office. It was then he was exposed to and worked on furniture designs. Miess architectural career started at the age of 22 when he enroll himself as Peter Behrens apprentice (1908-1912), learning together with Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. An architect specialized in designing factories and houses, Peter Behrens taught Mies through exploring modern design theories and exploiting his own talent in doing architecture. It was during this time Mies received his first commission, a private residence for a professor at the university in Berlin. After his apprenticeship was finished, Mies worked for the German Embassy in Saint Petersburg, Russia as one of the construction manager. Soon, his talent was recognized and steadily embarked on his own professional career in architecture. To celebrate his rapid transformation from a craftsman to an established architect, he adopted his mothers surname van der Rohe which is what people known of him now. 1912-1914, Mies worked as an independent architect until he was called to serve the army. Mies was enrolled into the military service during the World War One (1915), only to participate in construction companies and exempted from all the battles. The war changed how Mies perceive architecture, and how he conveys it in his designs. Previously designing more towards neoclassical approach, Mies then has the intention to express his ideas of the modern era and revolution through architecture. Still designing conventional residential units in Germany, Mies started to explore futuristic and modern design approach, producing several proposals that made him recognized as one of the most potential progressive architect, although the proposals were not built at all. Examples of the proposal are the competition proposal for the FriedrichstraÃŽÂ ²e skyscraper in 1921 and the Glass Skyscraper in 1922, both with ornaments totally ripped off from the faà §ade. Soon, he also adds in futuristic furniture into his designed spaces to create a modern environment as a whole. In August 1930 Mies became the director of Bauhaus in Dessau upon the request from Walter Gropius. The Nazis then forced him to end the government-financed institute. Felt restricted from furthering his intention in architecture, Mies moved to United States in 1937. Living in Chicago, Mies was offered and served as the head of department for the Illinois Institute of Technology. There, he had the chance to further develop his own steel and glass structure style by designing the new buildings and master plan for the department building. Mies became an official American citizen at 1944. His architectural ideas and projects soon gave impact to the locals and with the20th century new style of expressing architecture, Miess idea eventually merged into the local Americans culture, and soon the global culture. His style was imitated extravagantly but none of it is compatible with his original creation. Some of Miess crowing works during his lifetime are the Barcelona Pavilion the Tugendhat House, the Crown Hall (home of the architecture department, IIT), the Farnsworth House, 860-880 Lake Shore Drive, the Seagram Building, the New National Gallery, the Toronto-Dominion Centre and etc. Miess pioneering intention and project works were also been recognized officially by several awards, namely the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1959, the AIA Gold Medal in 1960, and the J. Lloyd Kimbrough Medal in 196. The American Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 was awarded to Mies, and he was the first architect to receive that award in history. Mies lead some other awards too, they are the prizes from the city of Munich and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and from the Bund Deutscher Architekten in 1966. Mies was the first recipient of the prizes. Mies passed away at the age of 83 in Chicago, on August 17, 1969. After cremation, his ashes were buried in the Chicagos Graceland Cemetery. Ludwig Mies van der Rohes philosophy I felt that it must be possible to harmonize the old and the new in our civilization. Each of my buildings was a statement of this idea and a further step in my search for clarity. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe For over the first half of the 20th century, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was famous for his philosophy less is more, and his skin and bone style of building design. Mies favors the use of simple rectilinear and planar form in his building designs. He is not interested in inventing new forms, rather, preferred to present buildings as clear and simple structures in terms of construction and the current technology. He expressed these ideas in these words: It is absurd to invent arbitrary forms, historical and modernistic forms, which are not determined by construction, the true guardian of the spirit of the times. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe To him, attention should be put on the construction of structure itself, and that structure is composed of elements that relates to each other, or a form constructed with all details perfectly planned. Mies is very concern about the properties of building materials, and favors the use of luxurious and expensive materials in expressing his simplicity and elegancy in building design and despised ornamentation that are functionless and deceiving. These intentions can be further traced from his words: The unswerving determination to dispense with all accessories and to make only what is essential the object of the creative work, the determination to confine oneself to clear structure alone is not a limitation but a great help. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwid Mies van der Rohes lifelong effort had developed a new era in architecture world. Along with le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, the international style became an identity of the times. Besides that, Mies also experiments with new materials and their potentials. He favors the use of materials which can be industrially manufactured, light weight, weatherproof, soundproof and insulating. Mies also opt to produce all parts of building material in factory so that he can save construction cost. Less manpower is needed on site as compared to the traditional construction method because only the assembly of precast parts takes place on site. As one of the pioneer in developing and introducing the Modern Movement, or so called the International Style, Mies did not discover this piece of theory or principle over night. Through experience and his own perception or point of view towards the conventional design styles, along with some inspiration from other architects ideas and opinions about the traditional architecture, Mies soon developed his own style in expressing his favorite quote, less is more. Several expressive art and design thinking that broke out at the time also influenced how Mies sees and conveys his own style in architecture. One of the most prominent is Adolf Loos, who declared that ornament is a crime, similar to what Mies had in mind. Adolf Loos too, despised the unnecessary and meaningless ornaments that hide the true beauty of a building. Adolf Loos also has the idea that, out of the most simple and humble forms of modern building, we can find the elegancy and nobility that are most outstanding of all. This particular piece of idea was what Mies admired and impressed of. Some other conceptual influence such as the Russian Constructivism and the Dutch De Stijl group with their principle in using industrialized modern materials in constructing a structure and using simple rectilinear, straight forward combination of planes and openings, and simple use of pure colour in design too, impressed and affected how Mies do in architecture. The Seagram Building The Seagram Building Less is more. It is Mies van der Rohes functional architecture philosophy, potrayed in the Seagram Building. Many people, including Mies himself, assume the Seagram Building as one of his crowning masterpiece. The Seagram Building is a more complete and refined piece of work as compare to the in Chicago finished in 1951. Mies van der Rohe adopted most of the latters design element and reassemble them, creating a better planned and more detailed building out of the Seagram Building. Both buildings have glass enclosed lobby, raised tower, slab marquee, and continuous pavement, only that they are more refined in the Seagram Building. The Seagram Building was designed in collaboration with Phillip Johnson, a well known American architect. Phillip took care of most of the interior designs in the building and even their material choice. The Severud Associated was the structural engineering consultants while Kahn Jacobs were the associate architects, in charged of the technical drawings. The building is designed for office use, with the design concept of minimalism, simplicity and honesty based on the technology of the time. Being the most expensive building at the time, the Seagram Building cost a total of 4.1 million pound plus a 5 million for the building parcel. The fact that Mies dislikes unnecessary ornaments to the building, he put a lot of attention material wise, which cost a 3.2 million pound. Upon completion, the building used up some 1500 tons of bronze and other expensive materials of high quality such as marble and travertine. The interior was extravagantly decorated too, designed to have glass and bronze finishing and decoration scheme to express the building as a unified whole. Located at 375 Park Avenue, New York City, the 516-foot (517m) tall, 38-storey Seagram Building was design as the new headquarter for the Seagrams Company Ltd, replacing the old one at Montreal, Canada. Samuel Bronfman, the owner of the building, was persuaded by his daughter, the architect Phyllis Lambert to commission Mies for the project. Phyllis said, Mies draws you in. You have to go deeper. You might think this is austere strength, this ugly beauty, is terribly severe. It is, and yet all the more beauty in it. Architecture And true enough, the Seagram Building, upon its completion of construction in 1958, immediately gained its fame globally, for the outstanding international style, and how Mies express his idea of modern architecture so detailed and sophisticatedly. Built out of the International Style, the characteristic of the building is to express the structure of the building externally. This style then influenced the American architecture style greatly, leading to mass production of similar skyscrapers in the area. The strength of the style is that the functional utility of the buildings structure elements, when made visible as the facade, are able to express greater aesthetic value than any additional building embellishments. A buildings structural elements should be visible, Mies thought. The Seagram Building was built put of steel frame structure and non-structural glass walls hung in between. Mies preferred the stee l frame to be visible, but the American building codes required all structural steel to be covered in fireproof materials, usually concrete, because improperly protected steel columns or beams may soften and fail in confined fires. To add in the concrete part totally opposes Miess design intention, thus he came out with the idea of using non-structural bronze-toned I-beams to create a sense of structure from the facade. Thus, the facade shows the mullion-like beams running vertically surrounding the large glass windows. People from the street will see the unreal tinted-bronze structure, which covers the real one. Since then, the method of construction using an interior reinforced concrete shell to support a larger non-structural covering has been widely used in other buildings. Corner detail of the Seagram building Mies wanted the facade to look organized and to have a uniform appearance, thus the interesting window blinds he installed. He designed the window blinds in a way that they can only be adjusted into three positions, that are either fully closed or opened, and half way opened. This design overcame the problem of the irregularity seen from outside the building, which Mies dislikes. The Seagram Building combines a steel moment frame and a steel and reinforced concrete core for lateral stiffness. The concrete core shear walls extended up to the 17th floor, and diagonal core bracing extending up to the 29th floor. According to Severud Associates, the structural engineering consultants, the Seagram Building is the first tall building using high strength bolted connections, the first to combine a braced frame with a moment frame, one of the pioneers to use a vertical truss bracing system and the first skyscraper adopting a composite steel and concrete lateral frame. The Seagram Building is set back from the street by ninety feet and thirty on the side, the setting back of the building from the street creates a granite forecourt which eventually became an urban open space in town, achieving Miess initial intention of doing so. The forecourt is decorated by reflecting pools and low boundary in green marbles, which are designs taken from Miess previous Pavilion of Barcelona (1929). The low polished granite north and south walls made of dark green marbles that slopes gently towards Lexington Avenue are one of the favorite seating place in that area. The two rectangular reflecting pools are located at the north and south ends of the plaza. Previously, a huge Henry Moore sculpture was placed off-center, and then replaced by several sculptures one after another. View to the west from the lobby of the seagram building, showing the Racquet and Tennis Club across Park Avenue The Seagram Buildings plaza is believed to prompt the enacting of the 1916 Zoning Resolution of New York City. Seeing the success of the plaza as a popular gathering place for the public, the government encourages the installation of privately owned public spaces by offering incentives to the developers involved. However, the resolution did not show much success. William H. Whyte, an American sociologist, took the Seagram Buildings plaza as his site for a landmark planning study. Produced in conjunction with the Municipal Art Society of New York, the film Social Life of Small New York plots the daily routine of the public socializing and using the plaza area. The objective is to compare how the public use the space and the intention of the architect that designs the space. Designed by Philip Johnson, the Four Seasons Restaurant was one of the most elegant design and one of the citys most expensive restaurants, competent enough to locate itself in the Seagram Building. All of its retail frontage was designed to face the avenue and suggests discretion. Thus, the building appears more personalized yet institutional, disagreeing speculations and commercialism. The restaurant has a large entrance. Upon entering, a staircase then leads to a dining room at the south, and a bar in the south base wing of the building. A corridor stretches the restaurant to the north base wing. There, a huge work of Pablo Picasso is hung, namely The Three-Cornered Hat. The walls and floor are made up of travertine. The upper part of the wall of the dining room is decorated with expensive French walnut panels with high quality. A Richard Lippold brass sculpture found in the room appears floating in the space. A dining balcony and a private dining room can be found in the east end of the restaurant. The north dining room has a different approach as compared to the south dining room. It has more landscaping elements and a large square pool at the centre. Similarity is that both rooms have large windows, along with long chain curtains that highlights the glistening of the water pool and the Lippold sculpture. However, the south dining room is comparatively more popular among visitors than the north dining room, which is relatively more nicely decorated. Some said that it is simply because; visitors have to pass through the south wing to reach the north dining room. Thus most people prefer the south dining room so that they can see everyone entering the restaurant, provided they stayed long enough. The restaurant has gained its fame as the citys most expensive and high class dining place. It is also its highlight that the restaurant changes its menu seasonally. An Abstract Expressionist painter, Mark Rothko was initially commissioned to draw murals for the restaurant, but he decided to give up on the project because he felt that his art is not suitable for the space. Another restaurant is found in the basement, namely the Brasserie Restaurant. The entrance is on the 53rd street. This restaurant claimed its name that it is opened for 24 hours a day. This restaurant is relatively more affordable than the Four Seasons Restaurant, and it offers a nice experience at its entrance. Going down a flight of stairs, the visitors can enjoy the whole brightly lit space with many Picasso art pieces. Seagram Building Commentary The inescapable drama of the Seagram Building in a city already dramatic with crowded skyscrapers lies in its unbroken height of bronze and dark glass juxtaposed to a granite-paved plaza below. The siting of the building on Park Avenue, an indulgence in open space unprecedented in midtown Manhattan real estate, has given that building an aura of special domain. The commercial office building in this instance has been endowed with a monumentality without equal in the civic and religious architecture of our time.The use of extruded bronze mullions and bronze spandrels together with a dark amber-tinted glass has unified the surface with color.The positioning of the Seagram Building on the site and its additive forms at the rear, which visually tie the building to adjacent structures, make for a frontal-oriented composition. The tower is no longer an isolated form. It addresses itself to the context of the city. -A. James Speyer. Mies van der Rohe. p30. The Creators Words Skyscrapers reveal their bold structural pattern during construction. Only then does the gigantic steel web seem impressive. When the outer walls are put in place, the structural system, which is the basis of all artistic design, is hidden by a chaos of meaningless and trivial formsInstead of trying to solve old problems with these old forms we should develop new forms from the very nature of the new problems. We can see the new structural principles most clearly when we use glass in place of the outer walls, which is feasible today since in a skeleton building these outer walls do not carry weight. The use of glass imposes new solutions. -Mies van der Rohe. from Martin Pawley, introduction and notes. Library of Contemporary Architects: Mies van der Rohe. p12. Conclusion It is no doubt that the Seagram Building is one of the most iconic indications of the success of the international style and its architect, Mies van der Rohe. Thoughtout his life, Mies explored and introduced his construction method in skyscrapers and successfully gained the fame for his courage and innovation. Following this is the imitation of his skin and bone construction all over America, and then globally and the construction of glass and steel structures. Yet, none of the latter creations are compatible with his work in terms of detailing and functional planning of the space. This can be traced form one of his famous quotes, God is in the details. To him, design simplicity and structural detail is the perfect combination to convey his style in architecture. Mies also favor the use of expensive and top grade materials such as bronze, travertine, marble, plate glass, steel and etc. Thus his buildings are all elegant and classy although the design might be as simple.