Eurocentric patterns of perception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Eurocentric patterns of perception - Essay Example It looks into the impact the media has on the nation, highlighting good practice as well as bad along the way. It aims to enlighten everyone with an interest in the media about how it all works, how quickly things are changing. It's also intended to be essential listening for those who work in the industry itself, those who study the media - and, of course, those who simply enjoy well-produced and lively radio. Williams, Tannis MacBeth (1986) The purpose of this study was to examine how the media has shaped student perception about class and privilege. In particular, this study looked at how classroom instruction might help students more critically examine the relationships between print media and television media hereafter and student notions of privilege. One reason this study may be significant is because it begins to examine the role of the social studies teacher in making the unintended consequences employed by mass media to define culture visible to students. It is also important because it attempts to measure student awareness of the media. It may begin to provide insights for future research on how the media affects student's perception of not only privilege but of other aspects of social studies education like race, gender, and conditions of freedom. Thompson, Robert J. (1996) The purpose of this study is not to condemn the media; rather this study is focused on empowering the modern society with reflective skills enabling them to be more critical consumers of modern media, by raising issues of race and class as it relates to media. 1.2 Media and Embodying Difference; Divided percepception Mass communications is crucial in today's world - yet people allow it to govern their minds, perceptions, and world views completely unchallenged. I respect the entertaining and educational aspects of media - and its overall power - yet I find all too often, the mass media does not serve the well-being of people, society, or this planet, in general. Greenberg, Bradley S. (1980) People of colour well understand how disempowering media can be. While we may be increasingly included in media representations, we still remain two-dimensional, 'either-or' stereotypes or caricatures of who we are and have the potential to be. Such stereotypes are often subtly negative. There's also what I call 'The Stickiness Factor;' I'll explain more about this, later. All activists, fringe types, and marginalized folks experience being 'othered,' in one way or another - especially by the media. Be you a person of colour, queer, low-income, female, differently-abled, or whatever, there are many ways to get stigmatized. Being viewed as less credible by those around you, or in the public's mind, is a constant struggle. 1.3 Literature Review 1.3.1 Social and Historical Background of Media in Society Several writers think that reality, the material and psychological aspects of culture, one's identity, is defined and shaped by the media. Hart (2000) believes the media forges many attitudes, raises barriers and can play a role in limiting freedom in a democratic society. His position contends the media helps to reproduce the privileges of whiteness, thereby playing a passive role in supporting, and in some cases,

Human Resource Information System Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Information System Essay The function of human resources (HR) departments is generally administrative and common to all organizations. Organizations may have formalized selection, evaluation, and payroll processes. Efficient and effective management of Human Capital progressed to an increasingly imperative and complex process. The HR function consists of tracking existing employee data which traditionally includes personal histories, skills, capabilities, accomplishments and salary. To reduce the manual workload of these administrative activities, organizations began to electronically automate many of these processes by introducing specialized human resource management systems. HR executives rely on internal or external IT professionals to develop and maintain an integrated HRMS. Before the client–server architecture evolved in the late 1980s, many HR automation processes were relegated to mainframe computers that could handle large amounts of data transactions. In consequence of the high capital investment necessary to buy or program proprietary software, these internally developed HRMS were limited to organizations that possessed a large amount of capital. Raija and Hlonen (2009) described the role of information systems in the process of combining district organizations which use information system in financial administration, HRM and social welfare. They explored the role of IS in decision-making in public sector. The lack of inter-opera ability between legacy systems and new information systems was perceived as a huge problem. In the present situation of our economy, most of the companies used manual system in their company, also some are using computerized system which lessen the expenses and saves time. An effective and well-designed Human Resource Information System shall make it easier to manage record, update files and retrieve records in Employee records. Confidentially, accuracy and integrity are maintained. The use of computer enables user to minimize efforts to do a certain job or action nowadays. When the Information Technology emerged, it gave a great impact when it comes to business problems especially when it comes to data entry accuracy, managing data’s and retrievals. Dr. Karishna Meena (2010) identified the various functional areas to which ICT is deployed for information administration in Higher Education institutions. Current level of usage indicates a clear integration of ICT for managerial or information based administration in higher education institutes. Matthew Douglas (2009) analyzed that nature of developing IS in any organization is characterized by multi dimensional and often messy problems, involving technical organizations and personal dimensions. David et al(2010) analyzed the main traits of efficient firms and the main sources of firm’s efficiency through samples of catalan firms. Firms efficiency shows a significant improvement when advanced ICT uses are combined with human resource practices, Dileep (2010) indicate that HRIS is an integration of HRM and information systems. HRIs helps HR managers perform HR functions in a more effective and systematic way using technology. HRIs system usually a part of the organization’s larger management information system which would include accounting, production and marketing functions. Ikhlas Zaid (2010) indicate that the quick response and access to information were the main benefits of HRIS implementation. They also identified the cultural and financial barriers to the implementation of HRIS. Kristine David (2010) identified the implementations or upgradation of HRIS has been undertaken with the aim of utilizing HRM functions.. Barriers also associated with the acceptance of new or upgraded HRIS.HRIS play an important role in shaping user perception and behavior. The addition of information technology to the human resource industry has revolutionized the contemporary workplace. HR professionals now have an increased capacity not only to gather information, but also to store and retrieve it in a timely and effective manner. This has not only increased the efficiency of the organization but also the effectiveness of management functions. New technology has also created opportunities for higher levels of stress for younger and older workers alike (Mujtaba, Afza, and Habib, N. (2011), unethical temptations and behaviors (Mujtaba, 2011), and opportunities for better leadership practices (Mujtaba and Afza, 2011). After delivering our suggestions for the Customer Appreciation Program, Kudler has asked us to evaluate the Human Resource Department, to see what changes need to made, to make the process better and smoother. Before making suggestions, we have to analyze their current setup. The Human Resources Department is a valuable department, so we want to assure that Kudler’s is running smoothly and efficiently. Kudler’s current HR Department is setup in the following manner: they use Quick Books and outsourced their payroll to Intuit. Intuit tracks all the following information for each employee. They track the employee’s personal information, pay rate, tax exemptions, hire date, seniority date, and organizational information. Changes to any of this information, can only be change by submitting a special form in writing by the employee’s supervisor and entered by the accounting clerk. The accounting clerk also keeps a file with the appropriate tax forms for each employee and all changes to employee data. The employees turn in manual time sheets weekly, which are approved by the store manager. The time sheets are then faxed to accounting, where they are entered for payroll. All changes have to be approved by the direct supervisor and store manager. Each store manager is responsible for keeping the files of their employees. They are kept in a locked file and include the following information: job application or resume, performance reviews, I-9 forms, and any disciplinary memos or performance management issues. The managers are also responsible for tracking any time off, which includes vacations.

The functional conflicts in an Organisation

The functional conflicts in an Organisation The term conflict has grown to become a very imperative word in Organisations and in everyday human life. Thomas (1976) proclaimed that conflict has become a popular management topic. This statement is further strengthened with the amount of research carried out on the subject matter as well as books, articles and journals published on conflict. Conflict refers to events ranging from inner turmoil produced by competing needs or desires to open violence between entire societies (Greenberg Baron 1995). Conflict is that process that begins when one party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect something the first party cares about (Buchanan Huczynski 2007). Conflict in the organisation is defined as the overt struggle between 2 or more people or groups in an organisation. It is usually centered on a state or condition that favours an individual over the other or a group over the other (Hatch 1997). Oceanic Bank Intl (OBI) stands out amongst our banks in Nigeria because of its excellent service delivery culture and that, has earned the bank a top 5 overall ranking in the Nigerian Banking industry. Conflict between Marketing and Operations Service departments is a common phenomenon in the Nigerian banking industry. This analysis will look at the view of various theorists on conflict and relate the Functional Theory to the OBI experience. In describing the OBI experience, we will analyse the HAND of management and demonstrate how functional conflict in OBI resulted in creative problem solving following proper management and increased innovation to seek solution to problems. Furthermore, the analysis actually will show that conflict in the organisation is positive and can be used to improve on service delivery, relationship management and ultimately organisational goals (Feldman Arnold 1983). Conclusively, emphasis on implementation and monitoring of Functional conflict will be suggested. CONFLICT Views and Theories Theorists all over, have different views on conflict. There is a school of thought that views it as Dysfunctional; saying that it is negative in the Organisation and a sign of incomplete social structure. They propose that taskforces, committees and liaison roles are ways to manage and respond to conflict in the organization (Hatch 1997). Another group of theorist view conflict as neutral, saying that it is negative to organizational goals but it is however inevitable and that it is a part of the organization. Pondy (1967), says that conflict as neutral may be regarded as negative and dysfunctional but as a neutral condition, its unavoidable and should be accepted. A more recent set of theorists view conflict as Functional and that it supports organisational goals and objectives. This view was promoted by the realisation that conflict can stimulate innovation and adaptability in the Organization. This view of conflict challenged the assumption that organisations are or should be co-operative systems (Hatch 1997). This theory of Functional conflict can be traced to Chester Barnard. Merits and Demerit Conflict in the Organization could degenerate and affect how the conflicting groups or individuals relate, perceive and behave towards each other. It can induce a win-lose orientation (Filley 1997; Mac Callun et all 1985). This Win-Lose orientation can de-motivate employees and of course affect performance. Rifts between employees or departments within an organisation if not promptly or properly managed could also lead to loss of quality employees. The negative effects may translate to poor performance of the organization. Though conflict has several demerits including de-motivation and employee turnover, if properly managed, can help create arousal among employees, energize and mobilize them to become more aware of their job functions and expectations from management. It can also help increase and develop innovative solution. Hall (1971) suggests that when properly managed, conflict may not only increase the innovation to seek solution to problems, it can often result in more creative solutions to problem solving. It is in such situations that conflict will be viewed as Functional. The growing complexity in Organisations has provided increased empirical support for a positive relationship between conflict and group performance (Bourgeois 1980), organisational learning (Fiol 1994) and high quality decision making in the Organization (Schwenk and Valacich 1994). The competitive orientation that comes with Functional conflict can institute an employee audit system, increase in productivity and quality of output and customer satisfaction as can be seen in my experience working with OBI in Lagos, Nigeria. THE OCEANIC BANK INTL (OBI) EXPERIENCE. Service Quality Gaps OBI is one of top 5 banks in Nigeria with a strong brand name that is based on its excellent service delivery culture and prompt response to customer request. Over the years, the very factors that built the strong brand name were on the decline. Service and Operations department with the back-end responsibility of delivering prompt service and delighting the customer and Marketing department with the responsibility of managing the relationship between customers and the bank as well as responding to customer requests promptly, both lost focus and developing a nonchalant attitude towards their job functions. They believed that the strong brand name of the Organisation would continually attract the customers irrespective of the quality of service and the sort of relationship that existed between the organisation and the customers. There were numerous complaints from customers bordering on basic service issues and relationship gaps; the prompt cheque confirmation process had been ignored, and relationship officers had become too lazy to upload customers confirmation online for cash officers to view bank-wide, a requisite for cheque payment. This resulted in customers having to waiting up to 30 minutes or more to get their third party cheques paid, even when the account holder had called in advance to confirm such cheques to the relationship officers. There were also cases in which the relationship officers had uploaded the customers cheque confirmation online as is required but rather than the service officer check the online mandate, but decided to call the relationship officer who could not be reached because he was in a meeting; this again resulted in delayed payment to the customer. A third scenario also experienced were customers inability to operate their accounts because they had not been issued cheque b ooks 4 weeks after account opening and fulfillment of all requirements. The service and relationship issues were countless and the result, dissatisfied customers. Resultant Conflict While relationship officers took the flak for the lapses of the operations department for failure to provide back-end support, the cash officers also took the flak for the laxity of relationship officers. This resulted in rifts between both departments; an illustration of (Buchanan Huczynski 2007) definition of conflict in (1) above. Effect on Corporate Performance Organizational goals were not being met, the profit had significantly declined following a decline in business volume as frustrated customers had moved to competition. The HAND of Management Following the stimulation of conflict and its resultant dwindling financial results, management came up with several policies to realign the focus of employees toward excellent customer service and dependable relationship management. The polices included improving the service time allocated to a transaction; completion of service excellence forms by customers after each transaction in the banking hall; daily relationship reports used to track marketing staff and their relationship with customers. The most significant and most effective strategy was the use of employees to appraise employees in their various units as well as outside their units. Employees were made to escalate to the highest level, service and relationship gaps noticed in the course of service to the customer. If an employee had to deliver quality service to a customer, and encountered challenges due to the negligence or irresponsibility of another employee, irrespective of the department of the employee involved, the erring employee was instantly reported to the task force and immediate action was taken against that employee. This policy was very effectively managed, monitored and the integrity of this reports and escalations were very well verified. The policy was priority to management and this was emphasised when an executive director was drafted to head the task force. He got a day-by-day heads up on the activities of the taskforce and he reported directly and made recommendations as regards disciplinary measures to the CEO. The effect and indeed benefits of this stimulated Functional conflict led to an astronomical increase in the volume of business; the feedback from customers on relationship management was indeed very satisfying and the profit margin grew immensely. The organization began to achieve its general goals once again, and management was happy with the positive results CONCLUSION. This review tried to capture how existing conflict can become Functional forcing organisations to innovatively seek solutions to problems leading to a boost in performance through improved customer service, profit and achievement of organizational goals using Oceanic Bank Intl Plc as reference. It also showed that Functional conflict required proper and effective implementation and monitoring to achieve desired result. The use of a taskforce, intra and inter-departmental appraisals and customer feedback mechanism worked well for OBI. Though conflict may exist with negative effects as opined by Hatch (1997) and Pondy (1967), management can make it favourable by initiating competition. Service level agreements should be agreed between departments with KPIs to which rewards and penalties are attached. SLAs should also cover escalations and to what levels. Beyond reports from customers, intra and inter-departmental appraisals and mystery shoppers can also be introduced as part of the feedback mechanism.

English Macbeth :: essays research papers

To What Extent is Macbeth pushed into killing king Duncan? Numerous people and factors push Macbeth into killing the king. The main factors are:  Lady Macbeth  The Witches and Fate  King Duncan  Banquo  Himself (Macbeth) I start with probably the most influential character upon Macbeth, his wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth believes what the witches have said and therefore believes that she will become the queen. ‘Have I thought good to deliver thee’ She obviously has a great ambition and will do almost anything to fulfil her ambition. This shows a great evilness in her ‘And dashed the brains out’ She is also reluctant to accept Macbeths original thought of leaving the idea alone ‘What beast was’t then that made you break this enterprise to me’ She appears supremely confident about murdering Duncan even though Macbeth is not which also shows of her great ambition to succeed and become queen of Scotland. ‘We Fail? … But screw your courage… and we’ll not fail’ Lady Macbeth plans the murder from a very early stage even when Macbeth is unsure of what he is to do ‘When Duncan is asleep… his spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell? Overall Lady Macbeths ambition, confidence and naivete is perhaps the major factor in pushing Macbeth into the murder of Duncan. She does not think of the consequences of the murder so she is 100% behind Macbeth killing Macbeth, which makes it difficult for Macbeth to go against her. Another factor is Banquo. The fact that Banquo knows of what the ‘imperfect speakers’ said is a major factor pushing Macbeth away from killing the King. If the King were to be murdered Banquo would be suspicious and would most likely suspect Macbeth of doing the evil deed of killing the king. This would obviously put Macbeth off. Another factor is that of the Witches. Without them Macbeth would most likely not think twice about killing the king. ‘All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king thereafter’ If someone were to just tell him this he would most likely not believe it but it was the fact that the witches had forecasted that he would be Thane of Cawdor and Thane of Glamis correctly. The witches forced him to think about being king but at first he expected to be made king without doing anything for it but he then realises there is only one way, to kill the king. This encounter with the witches has put him in two minds.

How To Write A Good Book Critique: Steps And Suggestions Essay

A book critique is a description, critical analysis, and an evaluation on the quality, meaning, and significance of a book, not a book report, retelling, or a summary, It should (1) focus on the book’s purpose, content, and authority, (2) include the reviewer’s reaction on the strengths and weaknesses of the theories, concepts, and content presented, (3) evaluate how well (in the opinion of the reviewer) the author has succeeded, and (4) present evidence to support this evaluation. Step 1: The first, and most important, – Read the book. Suggestion 1: When you read a book (for its educational value), take notes about it and formulate your thoughts as you go along. (You should be able to write most of your critique without looking back at the book. If you continually are paging through the book as you write, the result is likely to be a string of paraphrases taken from the book, rather than your own evaluation.) Suggestion 2: While reading the book don’t be afraid to consult outside resources (dictionary, the book’s cited references, etc.) for confirmation and/or clarification. Include these findings in your notes. Suggestion 3: Keep in mind that your assignment is to write a 4-page (max) BOOK CRITIQUE, a summary and analysis (not a review) of a particular book’s (author or authors) perspective on a selected topic, not a 20-page paper on the topic. Step 2: To begin writing your critique, start with a centered title in 14 pt New Times Roman Bold, followed by your name in 12 pt New Times Roman standard (not Bold). As an example: Summary and Critique of (main title of the book you read) Submitted by (your name) Step 3: Using the following format, identify the book you read. Author & Author. (year of publication). Complete title of book in italics. City of publication: Publisher’s name. Number of pages. As an example: Marvin E. Lusts. (1997). How to Be Great: Getting Ahead in a Humble Way. New York: Deficient Press, 1997. xvii, 234 pp. Step 4: Write the introductory paragraph (or two). Without using a heading, provide a contextual background (such as for whom the book is intended; what we know about the author; the â€Å"school of thought† represented by this author or work), a statement of the purpose of the book (what the author or editor is trying to accomplish), and the scope of the book (how much ground the author is trying to cover) – you must judge what background information will be helpful and/or necessary for understanding the nature/uniqueness of the book. Step 5: Following a left-aligned, 12 pt Bold New Times Roman heading Overview, write your summary of the book. Your summary should consist of a short, succinct â€Å"overview† of the contents (as opposed to a play-by-play summary of the book), identification of the main thesis or theses, a recap of the supporting argument/logic/rationale, description of the author’s assumptions, and note-worthy statements/wordings/quotations from the book. Suggestion 4: Don’t plagiarize from the publisher’s, reviewer’s, or book seller’s reviews/summaries. They are trying to promote the book, you want to objectively describe the content. Suggestion 5: When you quote from the book that you are discussing, put the page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. As an example: The author concludes that â€Å"size does matter, as all the truly great leaders were exceptionally short people† (p. 79). Step 6: Following a left-aligned, 12 pt Bold New Times Roman heading Analysis and Reaction, write your analysis and reaction. For your analysis, objectively evaluate the book for relevance and importance to the selected topic; accuracy, thoroughness, and usefulness, and the author’s objectivity (is the book based on research or personal opinion?) Show whether the author’s main arguments are logically rational (based on testable, factual evidence), logically irrational (based on un-testable espoused theory and rhetoric), or illogical (based on emotional opinion). Comment on parts of particular interest, and point out anything that seems to give the book literary merit. Additionally, relate the book to larger issues. Identify specific issues the book raises and the possibilities the book suggests to you? Suggestion 6: Be careful not to criticize an author just because he/she did not write the book that you would have wanted, or because their position is based on a belief that is diametrically opposed to your personal beliefs (for example, the author belongs to one political party and you belong to another). Only judge a book according to the author’s stated (or blatantly implied) intentions. For your reaction to the book, respond to the author’s arguments/opinions. What do you agree or disagree with, and why. What specific points are not convincing, and what has the author omitted or what problems were left unsolved. Support your argument for or against the author’s opinions with evidence (research findings or by bringing in other authors you agree with). Suggestion 7: When you quote or introduce supporting evidence from other books/authors identify the source by putting the author’s last name, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. As an example: However, the research has clearly shown that there is no correlation between genetics and leadership effectiveness (Sommebodi, 2001, p. 79). Step 7: Following a left-aligned, 12 pt Bold New Times Roman heading Summary write a summary paragraph (or two). Close with a comment on the overall significance of this work (is it a valuable piece, a useful piece with some minor problems, or a waste of the trees), briefly restate your main points, and comment on whether or not you would recommend this book to others, and why.

Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mills Opinion of the Iraq War †Humanities Essay

Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mills Opinion of the Iraq War – Humanities Essay Free Online Research Papers Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mills Opinion of the Iraq War Humanities Essay The Iraq war is began in 2002 and still continues today. The editorial from The Economist, 26 November 2005, explains why American soldiers should stay in Iraq. The author explains how Americans are helping and people do not see or share Pres. Bush’s vision. His vision is for one day to have democracy and freedom throughout the Middle East. The article states, â€Å"The cost to America of staying in Iraq may be high, but the cost of retreat would be higher† (11). What does the author mean in this statement? He means that the money cost may be high now, but if America retreats, the moral cost and reputation will be higher. America will be seen as weak. America has been in it for too long to quit. What do philosophers such as Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mill have to say about these issues? Although these philosophers have been dead for a long time, what their philosophy on life and government still holds true today. Aristotle believes that the act of the state isn’t the state, but its government. Citizens are what make up the state. They select people to run it, whether it is a council of elders, or a larger democratic government, or even a monarchy. Citizens are people of the state, not resident aliens, or slaves. They have more rights than people who are not citizens. Do you have to hold an office in the government to be a citizen? The answer is no. Aristotle says if they are not resident aliens or foreigners, they are citizens. Citizens do not have to hold an office. They can contribute to the state is other ways. It is a symbiotic relationship. In Iraq’s case, they had a tyrannical form of government. Saddam Hussein basically ruled the country, although he had a cabinet who would advise him what to do and how to handle situations. The relationship between the citizens and the state is that the citizens live in fear of the state. The citizens have no rights and the result of outspoken comments against the government is punishable by death. It does not follow what Aristotle says. The purpose for American forces in Iraq is to make things better for the people. Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote the social contract. He believes that man is good and is free from tyrannical government. He states that the citizens of the state have a non-verbal agreement. They have to obey the laws of the country. In turn, the state must protect the people. The citizens agree to pay their taxes, abide by the laws, and support the government. Rousseau discusses the will. What is â€Å"the will†? It is an opinion or feeling someone gets and does something to change it. The general will of the people is the overall feeling of the government from the people. He explains that if the people are unhappy with a decision the government made, they can try to reverse, change, or make a friendly amendment to the decision. Looking at the will at a smaller scale, individual wills are different from one another and differs from the general will. The individual person has different interests to fit his needs. Looking at Iraq before the war, the citizens could not speak. The government does not tolerate difference of opinion. The citizens could not have a general will. It is difficult to decipher what the actual will is. The citizens had to be forced into having a positive outlook on the government. They would be killed if their opinion was different. They may have individual wills because the government or anybody else can not put a stop to individual thinking. What the government can do is program or brainwash the people into thinking what they are doing is right. It hinders free thinking but it may not stop it. While the war is being fought, the general will is different in Iraq. There are groups of people that are happy with the Americans being in Iraq. In contracts, there are militants who don’t want Americans in Iraq and they go and do suicide bombings or attacks. How about the will of the people at home in America? Many people believe the war is justified and support the gove rnment in any action. Other people believe that the government is wrong and protest the war. That is the beauty about free thinking. In America, two general wills are at work. The government does not put a stop to it because this country is founded on freedom ideals. Our country’s constitution is a social contract. They are the laws of the land. Citizens must obey these laws or the police, or law enforcers, must take action. Social contracts are designed to have a good relationship with the government, while it protects them. It makes the government and its citizens to work together. John Stuart Mill explains his philosophy on liberty. He believed in utilitarianism. Mill often felt that everything’s worth is base on the usefulness. He wanted man to work for the happiness for the greatest amount of people. He believes that achieving the greatest happiness causes a moral end. Mill believes that having freedom of opinion and expression is essential for any society to flourish and to have happiness. It is important because the people can discuss their own thoughts and feeling to an issue. It provokes human thought process and independent thinking. People need to have independent thoughts. How must one learn from another if all of their thoughts and feelings were the same? Having the freedom of expression and expressing them, either by publishing them or acting them out, will have a snowball effect. Once one person does it, and then others will do it, and then a mass amount of people will begin to do it. Mill says it would be immoral to suppress the truth. The only reason they would do that would be if the suppressor wants to hide the truth. Mill believes in the liberty of people’s thoughts and expression, and press. These philosophers have their own ideas on a working society. Is it perfect? Maybe not, but they want to have a society not ruled by a tyrannical government. Different countries have different societies. Their nations were built on different ideas. We can apply Mill’s standard to other nations. It is important to have a good relationship between the citizen and the state. Opinions play a big role in the actions of the state. For example, President Bush’s opinion in the Iraq war was that America should be there fighting Saddam and the terrorists. Opinions are made to be debated upon. Although Bush needed approval, it was still his opinion and decision to go fight in Iraq. I would say that Aristotle would disagree because there is no symbiotic relationship with this decision about the war. Ideas, such as health care, social security, etc, Aristotle would agree with because the citizens benefit from the state. The decision of the war is not. Rousseau would agree because if it is the general will of the people to go to war, then the state will go to war. If I were the president, and if I wanted to fight in Iraq that was justified, then I would make that decision. The people will support the decision, unless it is entirely wrong. If the general will is much greater than my personal will, I would have to set aside my personal goals to make the citizens happy. Mill will agree with the people. He believed in freedom of speech and press. The citizens should not be silenced. Mill encourages people to stand up for what they believe in. Mill would agree with me if I set aside what I wanted and did what was for the good of the people. Mill believes in achieving a greater will to have a moral end. Everything that these philosophers base their ideas on is morality. If everyone followed their morals, we would have a better society. Research Papers on Aristotle, Rousseau, and Mill's Opinion of the Iraq War - Humanities EssayThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceQuebec and CanadaComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoHip-Hop is Art19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraPETSTEL analysis of IndiaAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeBringing Democracy to AfricaRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Attributes Of Leaders in Government essays

Attributes Of Leaders in Government essays To hold office in any branch of the federal government, you must be someone special. However, there are differences between the types of people that are right for each different branch of the government. For example, someone who is passionate about their political party and about bettering it, might be successful in Congress, but would not be a good fit for the U.S. Supreme Court. The Executive Branch is arguably the most prestigious branch of the Federal government. The main member of this branch of government is the president. A president must have the strongest leadership skills out of any member in the government. I believe that he must be the strongest member because he makes decisions on his own. Even though he has a cabinet to advise him, when it comes down to it making the decision is all his. He also has to be rational in the decisions he makes. If he is not rational in his decisions, it is easy to make many people angry quickly. I believe that the president also has to be very confident in his work. If he does not show confidence in everything that he does, I believe he will appear weak. The president does not have to be a great compromiser, but the Legislative members do. The Legislative branch consists of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. This branch of government is very different from the other two, in the fact that 435 members in the U.S. House of Representatives and the 100 members of the U.S. Senate all have to be able to compromise to get things done. Therefore, one significant attribute of a U.S. Congressman is the ability to compromise. If a Congressman is known as one willing to compromise, then other Congressmen will be willing to work with him. I believe that morality is also an important attribute of Congressmen. Because there are so many Congressmen, it is much easier to persuade them with things such as cash benefits. Therefore, I believe a Congressman that had morals...

Argos Was an Important Greek Polis

Argos Was an Important Greek Polis Located by the Gulf of Argolis, Argos is an important polis of Greece in the southern section, the Peloponnese, specifically, in the area called the Argolid. It has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The inhabitants were known as á ¼Ë†Ã ÃŽ ³ÃŽ µÃ¡ ¿â€"ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ¹ (Argives), a term that is sometimes used for all the Greeks. Argos competed with Sparta for prominence in the Peloponnese but lost. The Gods and Heros of Argos Argos was named for an eponymous hero. The more familiar Greek heroes Perseus and Bellerophon are also connected with the city. In the Dorian invasion, when the descendants of Heracles, known as the Heraclidae, invaded the Peloponnese, Temenus received Argos for his lot. Temenos is one of the ancestors of the Macedonian royal house from which came Alexander the Great. Argives worshiped the goddess Hera in particular. They honored her with an Heraion and annual festival. There were also sanctuaries of Apollo Pythaeus, Athena Oxyderces, Athena Polias, and Zeus Larissaeus (located on the Argive acropolis known as Larissa). The Nemean Games were held in Argos from the end of the fifth century to the late fourth because the sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea had been destroyed; then, in 271, Argos became their permanent home. Telesilla of Argos was a female Greek poet who wrote around the turn of the fifth century B.C.  She is best known for rallying the women of Argos against the attacking Spartans under Cleomenes I, in about 494. Alternate Spellings: á ¼Å'Ï ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š Argos in Literature In the period of the Trojan War, Diomedes ruled Argos, but Agamemnon was his overlord, and so the whole Peloponnese is sometimes referred to as Argos. The Iliad Book VI mentions Argos in connection with mythological figures Sisyphus and Bellerophon: There is a city in the heart of Argos, pasture land of horses, called Ephyra, where Sisyphus lived, who was the craftiest of all mankind. He was the son of Aeolus, and had a son named Glaucus, who was father to Bellerophon, whom heaven endowed with the most surpassing comeliness and beauty. But Proetus devised his ruin, and being stronger than he, drove him from the land of the Argives, over which Jove had made him ruler. Some Apollodorus references to Argos: 2.1 Ocean and Tethys had a son Inachus, after whom a river in Argos is called Inachus....But Argus received the kingdom and called the Peloponnese after himself Argos; and having married Evadne, daughter of Strymon and Neaera, he begat Ecbasus, Piras, Epidaurus, and Criasus, who also succeeded to the kingdom. Ecbasus had a son Agenor, and Agenor had a son Argus, the one who is called the All-seeing. He had eyes in the whole of his body, and being exceedingly strong he killed the bull that ravaged Arcadia and clad himself in its hide; and when a satyr wronged the Arcadians and robbed them of their cattle, Argus withstood and killed him.Thence [Danaus] came to Argos and the reigning king Gelanor surrendered the kingdom to him; and having made himself master of the country he named the inhabitants Danai after himself. 2.2 Lynceus reigned over Argos after Danaus and begat a son Abas by Hypermnestra; and Abas had twin sons Acrisius and Proetus by Aglaia, daughter of Mantineus.... They divided the whole of the Argive territory between them and settled in it, Acrisius reigning over Argos and Proetus over Tiryns. Sources Argos The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature. Ed. M.C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers. Oxford University Press, 1996. Albert Schachter Argos, Cults The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Ed. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth. Oxford University Press 2009. The Traditional Enmity Between Sparta and Argos: The Birth and Development of a MythThomas KellyThe American Historical Review, Vol. 75, No. 4 (Apr., 1970), pp. 971-1003 Reviving Nemeas Games

The role of immune therapy in breast cancer Essay

The role of immune therapy in breast cancer - Essay Example s of breast cancers that can affect women, with some forms being rare, and also some where two or three forms of cancers occur within the same form (Types of Breast Cancer 2014). The different forms of breast cancers include: Ductal carcinoma in situ, Lobular carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma which are more common. The less common types include inflammatory breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer, paget disease of the nipple, phyllodes tumor, and angiosarcoma (Types of Breast Cancer 2014). The above figure reflects on the statistics of cases of breast cancer in the UK, as recorded for the year 2011. It can be observed that the number of cases is significant and hence immunotherapy seems to be highly essential, particularly for women are the most affected ones. Although the concept of immunotherapy has developed as a revolution over the recent times; however its roots can be found dated back to 1778 when the first vaccine was administered against smallpox by Edward Jenner who was an English physician (Cancer and the Immune System: The Vital Connection n.d.). The immune system involves collection of cells that protect the body from microbes and bacteria and hence tries to protect the body from diseases. Innate immunity and adaptive immunity are the two divisions in which the defense of the body against microbes works (Mooi 2010; The innate and adaptive immune systems n.d.). The innate immune system is such where cells and proteins are ready to fight the microbes always and hence protect the body at the site where the infection takes place. The major constituents of this system include physical epithelial barriers, phagocytic leucocytes, dendritic cells, natural killer cell which is a special type of lymphocyte, and circulating plasma proteins (Mooi 2010; The innate and adaptive immune systems n.d.). The adaptive system is different from the innate immune system in the sense that it is initiated to overcome or avoid the

Speluncean Explorer Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Speluncean Explorer Case - Essay Example The jury will hear the arguments from both the parties and then he will decide the truth or punishment. Normally in adversarial system the trial will be followed by an inquiry of the issue. In my opinion, the judge Natural who upheld the judgment, but reduced the punishment to 20 years life in prison, is more likely to be the best judge who acted as per the criminal justice system in Ukraine. In criminal procedures, the humanity or morality will only at the second place. At first place the as per the criminal justice system the judges need to analyze that whether the crime has been committed by the accused or not. They should confirm that enough evidences are there to sentence the culprits. So the first duty of the judges is to ensure that enough evidences are there against the culprit. The circumstances under which the crime has been conducted, comes only after the crime is established. The circumstances of the crime only used to determine how much punishment needs to be enforced. If the judge feels that the culprit has no other way other than the crime to escape, the judge can consider a liberal approach towards the culprit. Or in other words if the crime was conducted under no forceful conditions then the culprit needs maximum punishment. Here in this Speluncean Explorer Case, the crime was conducted only when there was no other way for the culprits to escape. So the judge can think of a liberal approach towards the culprits. But at the same time, under no circumstances, a person can take the life of another person because of its immense value. Since nobody can create a life in the laboratory, nobody can take the life of another person also. So in this case judge Natural is absolutely right in his judgment in my opinion. He has analyzed all the aspects of the crime both legally and morally. Though the culprits may be right legally, morally they were not. Capital punishment has to be reduced considering all the

The Importance of Branding in Google and Lego Case Study

The Importance of Branding in Google and Lego - Case Study Example Branding is so important in every industry and computer and communications industries are also not an exception. â€Å"Brands need to find a voice that resonates, that surprises and that entices. This means understanding better your client, which clearly means listening more to your client base† (Social Search: Getting Personal is Getting Evermore Important for Brand Marketers). In the case of search engine business, Google has a voice that resonates, but in the case of social networking, Facebook enjoys that voice. Google is facing stiff competition from many others such as Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon, Apple, Facebook etc. In order to counter the threats from such huge companies, effective branding strategies are necessary for Google. Even though Google is the number one player in the search engine business, they are not so in social networking industry. Facebook holds the number one spot in social networking. Lego on the other hand is one of the prominent toy makers in the worl d. Even though they were the fifth largest toy maker in the world, they suffered lot of setbacks in the recent past because of the increased competition. â€Å"The Lego Group’s vision was to inspire the children to explore and challenge their own creative potential† (Lego Group: An Outsourcing Journey, p.2). However they failed to do so in a consistent basis and suffered severe setbacks recently. In order to regain its lost brand image, Lego is currently implementing many strategies. â€Å"The framework for LEGO’s branding effort expanded from its initial marketing focus into a company-wide reorganization that involved several change management programs and an ongoing initiative to create and manage global brand coherence†(Schultz & Hatch, p.6). Role of branding in the Business strategies of Google and Lego Branding holds an important place in the business strategies of both Google and LEGO. Globalization has brought immense challenges in the global marke t and it is difficult for even huge companies to survive in the market with the help of traditional brand building strategies. Diversification of business is inevitable at present and better brand image in one market segment may not help a company in other segments. For example, Google failed to become the number one in social networking or ecommerce even though they are so in search engine business. Same way Lego also failed drastically to hold their top spot in toy market because of their inability to diversify in to other areas. â€Å"The name LEGO is a combination of Danish words â€Å"leg† and â€Å"godt,† meaning â€Å"play well†Ã¢â‚¬  (Lego Group: An Outsourcing Journey, p.7). Lego was committed to deliver quality products to its children based clients. They concentrated too much on toy market alone which caused problems to them. Both Google and Lego should concentrate more on product diversification and brand development strategies in each segment. The y should realize that better image in one business segment may not help them in other segments. For each business segments, they need separate brand building strategies. Threats to the brand equities of Google and Lego When started Google plus, Google thought that they can utilize their brand equity in search engine business in social networking also. They failed to realize that both search engine and social networking businesses are entirely different businesses and it is difficult to convince the customers using the brand image alone. At present the

Strategic Analysis (Individual) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Analysis (Individual) - Essay Example n, it is important that the firm must be able to look into the commercial aspects of the technology and focus on what market requires and what it can deliver. Firm’s core competencies were based upon its ability to produce high quality technology however it clearly lacked the ability to transform its core competencies into the commercially viable products. It is important to understand that the organizations have made a transition towards focusing on the mass customization where firms focus on delivering highly customizable products through a mass market. The firm though has a large and diversified market to serve however due to sheer size of the applications and potential market niches; it may not be possible for the firm to focus on developing commercially feasible products and services. This paper will discuss the internal and external analysis of Soundfacts firm and will provide strategic analysis and alternatives for the management to reposition the company and become commercially more successfully and viable. Firm operates in Denmark which is one of the advance countries in the world with favorable political system. There is little or no interference from the bureaucracy and the overall political structure of the firm favors the free markets and private enterprises. The transfer of private property laws are in favor of the organization and as such firms can easily move their assets in and out of the country with low level of political interference. Apart from this, the overall tax environment is relatively favorable for the firms with government acting as a welfare state. The higher ratio of taxes imposed on the individuals is off-set by the State being a welfare State. Further, Denmark is also part of European Union thus it enjoys the relative political support at the regional level. (Dimireva, 2009) Denmark is one of the highest ranked economies in the world with good per capita income thus suggesting that the consumers have the required purchasing

POL 102 POLICY PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

POL 102 POLICY PAPER - Essay Example The policy on Africa and all African related matters is a policy that has been indoctrinated in the modus operandi of many developed nations. This is because Africa is a strategically significant country to the western world. The well-endowed governments all over the world having realized this and have been actively engaged in Africa’s affairs (Bender 15). This includes the social, political, economic and to some extent the cultural affairs. Many African countries have been assisted by the developed nations to revive their leadership, boost their economies, and solve internal wrangles. This policy was created with honorable intentions. However, its misuse is particularly evident in many African states all over the world. The policy has been manipulated to act as a bargaining chip for the western nations (Bender 47). It is necessary for the government to intervene in African states without expecting them to give something back. This aid has plunged many African countries into more darkness. The policy should be used to assist the African continent and the many problems it encounters. It should not be used as a bargaining block. Many historical injustices in Africa would have been avoided had the national policy on African related matters been applied to those countries. It is likely that the government is bound to accept the strengthening of this policy. This is because nations are demanding accountability and transparency from the government when exercising the policy in African states (Bender 51). Bender, G. J., Coleman, J. S., and Sklar, R. L. African Crisis and the US Foreign Policy. California: University of California Press, 2008. Web.

Social Judgments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Judgments - Essay Example Does this mean that if we want people to stop acting a certain way toward us that we should amplify the behaviors that confirm their beliefs about us Researchers investigated the demarcation of automatic and controlled processes in such prejudice (Devine 1998). They suggested the stereotype is automatically activated in the presence of the stereotyped group and that low-prejudice people deliberately inhibited the activation of the stereotype and only low-prejudice people inhibited automatic stereotype-congruent thinking. These studies suggest that in order to rectify stereotypical thinking, a person must be proactive in combating culturally biased thoughts internally. Does this mean that if we want people to not believe that stereotypes about our social group apply to us that we should avoid associated stereotypical behaviors Stapel and Blanten thought that such social comparisons influence one's perception of self (2004). They tested to determine whether subliminal exposure to comparative information influences either implicit or explicit self-evaluation. This study showed that automatic comparisons only occur when people are uncertain about themselves and need reassurance. When we are feeling grave self-doubt, socially comparative information automatically effects how we see ourselves. Does this mean to be confident in who we are we must maintain a positive attitude How we

Strategic Analysis (Individual) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Analysis (Individual) - Essay Example n, it is important that the firm must be able to look into the commercial aspects of the technology and focus on what market requires and what it can deliver. Firm’s core competencies were based upon its ability to produce high quality technology however it clearly lacked the ability to transform its core competencies into the commercially viable products. It is important to understand that the organizations have made a transition towards focusing on the mass customization where firms focus on delivering highly customizable products through a mass market. The firm though has a large and diversified market to serve however due to sheer size of the applications and potential market niches; it may not be possible for the firm to focus on developing commercially feasible products and services. This paper will discuss the internal and external analysis of Soundfacts firm and will provide strategic analysis and alternatives for the management to reposition the company and become commercially more successfully and viable. Firm operates in Denmark which is one of the advance countries in the world with favorable political system. There is little or no interference from the bureaucracy and the overall political structure of the firm favors the free markets and private enterprises. The transfer of private property laws are in favor of the organization and as such firms can easily move their assets in and out of the country with low level of political interference. Apart from this, the overall tax environment is relatively favorable for the firms with government acting as a welfare state. The higher ratio of taxes imposed on the individuals is off-set by the State being a welfare State. Further, Denmark is also part of European Union thus it enjoys the relative political support at the regional level. (Dimireva, 2009) Denmark is one of the highest ranked economies in the world with good per capita income thus suggesting that the consumers have the required purchasing

Social Judgments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Judgments - Essay Example Does this mean that if we want people to stop acting a certain way toward us that we should amplify the behaviors that confirm their beliefs about us Researchers investigated the demarcation of automatic and controlled processes in such prejudice (Devine 1998). They suggested the stereotype is automatically activated in the presence of the stereotyped group and that low-prejudice people deliberately inhibited the activation of the stereotype and only low-prejudice people inhibited automatic stereotype-congruent thinking. These studies suggest that in order to rectify stereotypical thinking, a person must be proactive in combating culturally biased thoughts internally. Does this mean that if we want people to not believe that stereotypes about our social group apply to us that we should avoid associated stereotypical behaviors Stapel and Blanten thought that such social comparisons influence one's perception of self (2004). They tested to determine whether subliminal exposure to comparative information influences either implicit or explicit self-evaluation. This study showed that automatic comparisons only occur when people are uncertain about themselves and need reassurance. When we are feeling grave self-doubt, socially comparative information automatically effects how we see ourselves. Does this mean to be confident in who we are we must maintain a positive attitude How we

I.T and Hauhaus Essay Example for Free

I.T and Hauhaus Essay As they are the competitor within the market, the retailing strategies to be used are similar. Therefore, it is easier to collect and compare the financial data and draw out the conclusion to see which company would be worthier to invest. The report covers the company and industry background, ratio analysis, future forecast of two companies’ performance. 2)Company Background Bauhaus (0483, HK) Bauhaus was found in 1991. It has been listed on HKEX stock market since 2005. There are more than 200 retails store and over corners and point of sales in Hong Kong, Macau ,mainland China and Taiwan,. Apart from selling different foreign brand, liked Cheap Monday, G-Star, EVISU etc, Bauhaus also building the local brand liked Salad, T Tough Jeansmith and 80/20. It is a leading retail store in selling casual wear, especially for jeans item. There are 234 Bauhaus shops in Asia. Using the wholesale strategy, Bauhaus can expand the business from Asia to Western country. In the future, it may diversify its product line like launch more foreign brand to increase its competiveness. I. T (0999, HK) I. T was found in November of 1988. It has been listed on HKEX stock market since 2005. The Group has an extensive self managed retail network extending to nearly 450 stores across Greater China with staff around 4,800. The brands are well accepted in Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Australia, the Philippines and France. More stores will be opened in these places in the future. The feature of I. T retail store is group several brands in a sizable retail location. It owns a number of in-house brands liked 5CM, fingercroxx and X-large, as well as distributing European and Japanese designer’s brands such as French Connection and A Bathing Ape Comme des Garcons, DG, etc. 3)Industry Outlook Hong Kong is one of the fashion hubs in Asia. There are a wind variety of local and international fashion brand locate there flagship store in Hong Kong. The competitive is dynamic and incentive. Hong Kong consumers are willing to spend money on fashion and clothing. As the purchasing power of is high, so the demand of fashion product is huge. According to CIA THE WORLD FACTBOOK, this entry gives the gross domestic product (GDP) or value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. From this result, Hong Kong is ranking to 37 after compared to 227 countries in the year of 2010. According to the information from Asia Case Research Centre (ACRC), it shows that retail is the 2nd largest sector in the service industry that accounted for 85. 7% of Hong Kongs GDP. Also, The Census and Statistics Department (C;SD) indicate that the value of total retail sales in October 2011, provisionally estimated at $34. 2 billion, increased by 23. 1% over a year earlier. Analyzed by broad type of retail outlet and comparing October 2011 with October 2010, wearing apparel increase 14. 6%; footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories increase 11. 3%. This data proofs that the demand of fashion items is huge and purchasing power in this region is relatively high. Besides, tourists come to Hong Kong are increasing each year; they bring with high purchase power in fashion items, especially those Chinese tourists. According to the statistics released by the Immigration Department, about 800,000 to 900,000 Mainland visitors travel to Hong Kong monthly. It shows that Hong Kong’s market has a huge potential development chance. According the data of Hong Kong government, the sales revenue of retailing business has a growth during April of 20010 to Feb of 2011. It is because the economic environment is better than past year. Hong Kongs GDP fell in 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis, but a recovery began in third quarter 2009, and the economy grew nearly 6. 8% in 2010. In addition, China’s economy growth fast, the performance of its economy growth is greater than the other country. And Hong Kong’s economy is influenced by China very much. In the future, we can see that Hong Kong’s retailing business will growth rapidly. It seems a great chance to develop the retail business; however, there are some risks on the growth of fashion retail business in Hong Kong. Nowadays, Globalization is a hot topic of the world, more and more foreign brands enter in Hong Kong market, such as GAP, Forever 21, Zara, HM and Monki, etc which provide good price and trendy design merchandises. They regarded Hong Kong as the stepping stones to go into the China market. With more branding in Hong Kong, the competition between them is becoming more intensive and serious. Therefore, the local fashion retailers have to build up their competitive advantages to withstand the impact from those foreign brands. Also, because of the inflation of Hong Kong and China, the cost of the materials, labor and transportation is getting higher. Garment manufacturing is a labor intensive activity. The cost of garment is mainly from the increasing labor cost and transportation cost. In order to deal with, the retailer probably need to order more amount of quantity each time to achieve the economy of scale, so the cost will be lower. Furthermore, as we know that Hong Kong’s rental price of shop is the first three expensive in the world. The rental price has been increasing rapidly in the recent years. From 2010 to 2011, the rental price was increased more than ten percent. So, rental price of the store is a core cost of any business, especially fashion retailer as it needs a large space for displaying and storing the products. The rental cost affects the profit of the fashion retailers. To conclude, Hong Kong fashion retail market is still positive. There are many great opportunity for Hong Kong fashion retail to expand its business. However, there are some uncertainty need to be pay attention, such as the entrance of foreign brands and the unstable rental cost. So, the local fashion industry needs to create a competitive strategy to deal with. For example, local fashion retailers can use the attractive marketing strategy, liked collaboration with other brands, provide excellent customer services and building great brand image. 4)Ratio analysis i) Test for profitability I. T (in HKD 000)Bauhaus (in HKD 000)* a)Return on Equity (Net income / Average stockholders’ equity)416945/[(1843212+1477723)/2] =25. 1%25. 1% b)Profit margins (Net income/ Net Sales)416945/3834422 =10. 9%11. 4% ii)Test for liquidity I. TBauhaus c)Current Ratio Current Asset/ Current liabilities1873282/1012495 1. 85%3. 3 d)Quick Ratio (Current Assets- Inventory)/ Current liabilities(1873282-736717)/1012495 =1. 1%1. 7 e)Inventory Turnover Cost of goods sold/ Average Inventory1405482/[(736717+394520)/2] 2. 52. 0 iii)Test for Solvency and equity position I. TBauhaus f)Debt/Equity Ratio Total liabilities/ Total stockholders’ equity(1012495+429852)/1843282 0. 78(149 7+126461)/494938 0. 26 iv) Market test I. TBauhaus g)Price/Earnings ratio Current Market Price per Share/ Earning per Share4. 88/0. 33 =14. 82. 98/0. 32 =9. 3 h)Dividend Yield Ratio Dividends per share/ Market price per share0. 146/4. 8 =3. 0%0. 177/2. 98 =5. 9% *Quote from annual report* Two financial reports announced in different date- Bauhaus- For the year ended 31 March 2011 I. T—for the year ended 28 February 2011 i )Test for Profitability Profitability is a primary measure of the overall success of the company. This is a class of ratios that are used to assess a business’s ability that generate earnings compared to its expenses and other relevant costs incurred. To determine rather the company is valuable for investing or not which need to get high profitability when compared with competitor’s company. However, in fashion industry, the sales revenue is seasonal. For example, the sales revenue is much higher during Christmas and Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. So, we should not compare the retailers fourth-quarter profit margin with the profit margin from the same period a year before because it would be far more informative. a)Returns on Equity This ratio indicating how much income was earned for every dollar invested by the stockholders. ROE can reflect if they have used the money that invested in the company to generate much more income. If the ROE is low, it shows that the returns of the investors will not be high. And the company doesn’t utilize the resources that they have invested. Two companies have a similar result of this ratio. Both two companies can generate about 20% of income using stockholders’ equity. It is because retail store is not very high investment to enter the market; it has higher ROE when compare to other industry liked Construction Company. In order to measure the company is worth to investing on; ROE ratio should not be lower than 15%. So, two companies are worth to invest on. b)Profit margin Profit margin is an indicator of a companys pricing strategies and how well it controls costs. It is calculated by finding the net profit as a percentage of the revenue. A low profit margin indicates a low margin of safety: higher risk that a decline in sales will erase profits and result in a net loss, or a negative margin. The higher profit margin means that the company has a higher ability to generate profit. I. T’s result is 10. 9%, it is lower than Bauhaus 11. 4%. I. T should minimize the expense. Bauhaus has a higher profit margin in 2010/2011. It shows that they have put effort to maximize the profit. Since compared with last year (10. 5%), it has been increased. i) Test for liquidly It is a class of financial metrics that is used to determine a companys ability to pay off its short-terms debts obligations. A companys ability to turn short-term assets into cash to cover debts is of the utmost importance when creditors are seeking payment. Bankruptcy analysts frequently use the liquidity ratios to determine whether a company will be able to continue as a going con cern. c) Current ratio This ratio measures the ability of the company to pay current debts as they become due. It is the important ratio that we can identify if the company has a good cash flow. If the debts recalled but the company does not have enough money to pay it, the company may be asked to bankrupt. On the other hand, current ratio should be in appropriate level. Ratio is too high means the company did not fully utilize the current assets to generate the profit. Bauhaus have a higher current ratio than I. T, it means Bauhaus’ ability of returning the debts is greater than I. T. It can more utilize current assets to generate more income. It shows that they have $3. 3current assets for returning $1 of current liabilities. Investor need to concern the ability of a company that utilizes the current asset. I. T has a lower Current ratio than Bauhaus. However, it is enough ability for them to returning the current liabilities when they are recalled. And it shows that I. T has better utilization of the assets to generate profit. It shows that they have $1. 85 current assets for returning $1 of current liabilities. d) Quick Ratio Quick Ratio is similar with the current ratio with no consideration on the inventory factor. It is more representatives to measuring rather the company can return the current liabilities immediately. The quick assets included Cash, Accounts receivable etc. These assets can return into cash in short time. Inventory will not be counted in this ratio as it may need longer time to return into cash and a risk of cannot be sold. It is a very important ratio for fashion industry, since the trends cycle of clothing is fast, the product may be in today, but out day tomorrow. So, fashion retailer should not keep too many inventories. Bauhaus have a higher in Quick ratio, however, compared with the current ratio, it is a great variation on two ratios. It means that the inventory tied up its current assets. It is not a good issue on a fashion company. They need to bare the risk on high discount of the product when the product is outdated. It will be high losses on the revenue. They can minimize the inventory through different method, liked big sale, buy one get one free and so on. Although the quick ratio f I. T is lower than Bauhaus, it is enough to returning the debts when all the current debts are recalled. e) Inventory Turnover This ratio measure how quick of a company sells their inventory. Higher inventory turnover lead to shorter cycle on inventory. Since inventory is not easily being sold out and transform into cash in a short period, fashion retailer should not hold too much inventory. Since fashion items are easily faded out. If the company store too much stock, the risk of the inventory cannot be sold out will be increase. Also, the expenses of storing will be occurred. Once the inventory is outdated, the company needs to sell it in a large mark down price. The profit of the company will be affected Since Bauhaus have a lower level on inventory, its inventory turnover will much slower than I. T. It may tie up the capital if the inventory cannot be sold. So, company should reduce the level of inventory. I. T has a greater performance on inventory turnover. It shows that they have shorter cycle on inventory. So that it is much easier transforming inventory into cash. iii) Test for Solvency and equity position It’s a set of ratio that to test the company can be able to meet it long-term repayment responsibility. It provides a measurement of company can continue to meet its debt obligations. f) Debt/ equity Ratio This ratio measure a companys financial leverage calculated by dividing its total liabilities by stockholders equity. It indicates what proportion of equity and debt the company is using to finance its assets. I. T’s result is 0. 33, shows that $0. 33 liabilities that exists for each $1 invested by the owners. It is a very low value. Bauhaus’s result is 0. 21, which is lower than I. T. In the Balance Sheet, we can find out that Bauhaus did not ask for the long term debts from the third party. It shows that they don’t have the interest burden. The result shows that two companies is not using the debt financing to acquire the financial resources, liked selling bonds, bills or notes to the investors. Debt financing is much higher risk than equity financing. As these two companies is listed company, they would like use the equity financing to raise money. And the equity financing method is more safety and no regular interest burden. v) Market Test Market test relate the current market price of share of stock to an indicator of the return that might accrue to the investor. It based on the share markets perception of the company. It can let the investor to know if the company is worth to invest. g) PE Ratio Current Market Price per Share/ Earning per Share This ratio measure the re lationship between the current market price of the stock and its earnings per share. The higher the ratio, the higher the perceived quality of the earnings by the share market. It also shows the future growth of company. If the P/E ratio is too high, it means that the value of the company is overstated. And it is not a good choice to investing on that company. I. T have a higher PE ratio than Bauhaus it means that the quality of the earnings by the share market is higher. It is more worth to invest h) Dividends Yield ratio This ratio measures the dividend-paying performance of different investment alternatives. The higher of result, the better performance. Bauhaus have a higher result, it shows that they have higher dividend-paying performance. If the investor wants to put the money into low risk and long term investment. They can choose this company. 5)Limitation on analyses of ratio Since two financial reports is announce in different ended date. The result may not be accurate. The fashion retail industry turnover is seasonal, like The Chinese New Year of 2011 was in February so the sales turnover must be high in that moment. After that, the turnover will be drop. So, these two companies will in different sales turnover rate. 6)Forecast of the company’s future prospects This part can be divided in to two parts, the 5 years income statement analysis and potential risk of the company. a)I. T The diagram shows that turnover have been increased gradually during 2007 to 2011. Although 2008-2009’s local economy is in down turn, the company still can strive to increase of turnover. It is predict that the company will probably maintain the increment since the economy situation is recovering and the local residents will spend more money on clothing items. The diagram shows that I. T had undergone a decrease on profit in year 2009 due the poor economy situation. And they suffered decrease of financial income. And the operating expense was higher than 2008. After 2009, there was a great improvement on profit. It has six times more profit comparing during 2010and nine times during 2011. It is predict that the company will probably maintain the increment of the profit if it can keep the level of expenses. However, there are some risks have been raised. The operating cost is increasing during these 5 years. Since the rental price is much higher in the recent years. They should adapt different strategy in order to keep the cost in the low level. Another risk is that I. T needs to pay attention that is the exchange issue. Since I. T sources many merchandises from different countries and the foreign exchange is unstable. For example, Japan YEN is much higher exchange rate. However, I. T’s buying office purchase many Japanese fashion brand products. So the cost and price of the merchandises will be impacted by the exchange rate. To deal with risk management, I. T embed a risk alert culture throughout the Group, the Internal Audit Department has implemented an annual internal control risk self-assessment to allow major business units to identify and analyze the risks underlying the achievement of business objectives and to determine a basis for how such identified risks to be managed and mitigated. In the coming future, I. T should pay more attention on risk management in order to prevent suffering from the economy situation and to have a greater growth. Bauhaus Bauhaus also have a gradual increase of turnover during 2007-2011. The increment from 2009 to 2010 was slowly. It may because of the economy situation was still not recovered yet. However, there was a sharply increment from 2010 to 2011. It is predict that, the turnover will be increased faster. Bauhaus also suffered a decrease of financial income in 2009. After 2009, there was an improvement on profit growth. However, the improvement is less than I. T. The diagram shows that the profit properly tends to be increased. Bauhaus also face the foreign currency risk and operation cost increment risk. The Group continuously monitors its foreign exchange position and, when necessary, will hedge foreign exchange exposure arising from contractual commitments in sourcing apparel from overseas suppliers. Generally, the Group introduces conservative strategies on its financial risk management. In the future, Bauhaus will have a great growth. However, in the fashion business market, the information is run fast, the risk is always happen. The company should build up a risk management system to minimize the risk of company operation. 7)Conclusion The financial performance of both Bauhaus and I. T compared in this report is great. And the prediction of their future growth is positive. Thereby, two companies are worth to be invested. The above ratios show that Bauhaus have a better performance than I. T. For the investor that can undergo low risk, so the investment on Bauhaus is more preferable. It is because the company growth and financial debt position is better, and it has a higher dividend yield, and they keep on paying the dividends in last 5 years. For the investor who wants to have higher return, I. T will be a good choice. It is because the PE ratio is lower, so the company still has a great improvement and the share price probably being increased. It’s good for the investor that purchasing the stock in low price and then sold them in higher price.

Carbon Membranes from Polyamideimide and Polyetherimide

Carbon Membranes from Polyamideimide and Polyetherimide CARBON MEMBRANES FROM POLYAMIDEIMIDE AND POLYETHERIMIDE FOR NITROGEN AND METHANE SEPARATION AND ITS PARAMETER STUDY ABSTRACT Carbon membranes prepared from polyamideimide and polyetherimide were studied to find out the effects of different parameters on membrane characteristics. Their properties were analyzed to understand its scope in methane purification. Different compositions were tried to find out the optimum polymer composition as well as the optimum blend composition. They were pyrolyzed at various temperatures to study the effect of pyrolysis temperature on the morphology of the membrane. Efforts have been made for obtaining a narrow pore distribution as nitrogen and methane have comparable sizes. Analysis of the microstructure of membranes using XRD confirms the variations in chain packing density and d-spacing of polymer chains as a result of a change in pyrolysis temperature. CHN analysis revealed the percentage composition of different elements in the membrane as it was important to control amount of oxygen in the membrane. Glass transition temperature is found using DSC to confirm perfect blen ding of polymers. TGA has been done to find out how the polymer composition affects degradation temperature and to study the chemical changes occurring during pyrolysis. SEM images, both cross section, and surface have been taken to analyze pore structure of the membrane. Keywords: Polyetherimide, Polyamideimide, Pyrolysis, XRD, SEM, CHN. INTRODUCTION Membranes have been widely received as a promising technology in gas separation processes. This is due to its high reliability, low capital investment and low energy usage which overshadow conventional gas separation techniques such as cryogenic distillation, liquid absorption, pressure swing adsorption etc. These established conventional techniques are known for their complexity in processes and high energy intensity. For this reason, researchers are making efforts for an alternative way that promises to give high-cost effectiveness and easy handling (1). Polymer membranes have been widely studied for their application in gas separating units, but they always faced drawbacks like low thermal and chemical stability. Henceforth studies have been focused on carbon membranes, which are the novel and advanced type of membranes. They have been giving promising results ever since and marked a new benchmark for the selectivity of gasses. Excellent ability to withstand high temperature and chemicals made carbon membranes a new branch of study for the researchers to follow. (2) Carbon membranes are prepared by pyrolysing polymer membranes. Pyrolysis is the most significant step in the preparation of carbon membrane. There are different pyrolysis factors that affect membrane properties. During pyrolysis the parameters like pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, atmospheric condition, soaking time etc. can influence the transport properties of the membrane. These factors are chosen wisely based on the application of the membrane. (3) Material selection is the prime factor concerning in preparation of carbon membrane. There are wide varieties of precursor polymers available for preparation of carbon membrane (4). Selection of polymer is the important factor as pyrolysis of different polymer gives carbon membrane with entirely different properties. The precursor polymer should satisfy minimum criteria such as it should not soften nor liquefies during pyrolysis. It should be able to withstand high temperature (5). Polyamidimides and polyetherimides are being recently studied and are found to be giving satisfactory results due to its high melting point and thermal stability (6). Fuertes and Centeno used polyetherimide to prepare supported carbon membrane for gas separation (7). They conducted gas permeability studies for individual gasses as well as for many mixtures of gasses. They also used phenolic resins for their studies (8). Different polymers are always blended to effectively combine the desirable properties of the blending polymers. Gas separation properties of carbon membranes are enhanced while combining different materials. New studies are going on investigating the blending techniques for an optimized result (9). Pore size control is one of the most challenging factors in carbon membrane preparation. Nitrogen and methane is having a kinetic diameter of 3.6 °A and 3.8 °A respectively (10). So in order to separate them by molecular sieving very narrow pore distribution has to be obtained. To get very specific pore size, pyrolysis temperature was changed accordingly. Two types of polymers were chosen so as to understand the effect of individual polymer on membrane properties. Membrane parameters such as polymer concentration, pyrolysis temperature were varied to understand the morphological as well as chemical changes taking place in the membrane. Comparison of carbon membrane with polymer membrane was carried out, which showed interesting results that can be further used to study gas permeation properties of the membranes. Results revealed that these membranes can be used for the separation process of nitrogen from methane. EXPERIMENTAL Material Polyamideimide (PAI) polymer and Polyetherimide (PEI) polymer which are required for the preparation of polymer membrane were purchased from UTM, Malaysia. N-methyl 2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was the solvent used and it was purchased from Merck Life Science Private Limited, Mumbai, India. Methanol used for washing was bought from Titan Biotech Limited, Rajasthan, India.   Acetone was purchased from Merck Specialities Private Limited, Mumbai, India. All reagents were used without any further purification. Polymer Membrane Preparation Polymers that were chosen for preparation were polyamideimide and polyetherimide. The solvent used was N-Methyl-2- pyrolidone. The polymer concentration in NMP was varied from 2- 20 wt.% as shown in the Table 1. Different batches of polymer solution were prepared by dissolving the corresponding amount of polymer in 25ml NMP. Polyamideimide-polyetherimide ratio in the solution was varied as 25/75%, 50/50%, 75/25%, 0/100% and prepared different batches accordingly. For complete dissolution, the solution was kept for magnetic stirring for 3 hrs. The temperature was increased up to 80oC occasionally for 10 minutes, to avoid undissolved particles in the solution. Later the solution was sonicated in a sonication bath. The solution was then casted on a glass plate using a casting rod. The casting rode that was used has a dimension of 450ÃŽ ¼m. The glass plate was kept in the atmosphere for two days for evaporation of the solvent. Later it was kept inside a vacuum oven at 60oC for complete r emoval of NMP. Table 1: Polymer Batches Sample Code Total Polymer (%) PAI/PEI wt percentage (%) PM-01 2 25/75 PM-02 9 25/75 PM-03 12 25/75 PM-04 15 25/75 PM-05 18 25/75 PM-06 20 25/75 Carbon Membrane Preparation Polymer membrane was cut into a rectangular piece and transferred into an alumina crucible. It was then kept inside a tubular furnace by VBCC   for pyrolysis. It was a horizontal furnace with alumina tube. Nitrogen environment was chosen for pyrolysis. The flow rate of nitrogen was kept at 25ml/min. Polymer membranes with PAI/PEI composition of 25/75% was only further used for making carbon membrane as they showed good structural stability compared to other batches. For pyrolysis different protocols were followed. The protocols are as shown below, 1) 50 to 250 oC at a ramp rate of 13.3 Co/min.(2) 250 oC to (Tmax-15) oC at a ramp rate of 3.85 Co/min.(3) (Tmax-15) oC to Tmax oC at a ramp rate of 0.25 Co/min.(4) Soak at Tmax for 2 h. (11)   After pyrolysis, it was kept for natural cooling before taking out. The different batches of carbon membranes based on different pyrolysis protocol were prepared as given in the Table 2. Polymer membrane with 9% polymer concentration was the membrane used for studying different pyrolysis protocols. Table 2: Carbon Membrane Batches Sample Code Total Polymer (%) Pyrolysis Temperature(oC) CM-01 2 600 CM-600 9 600 CM-450 9 450 CM-800 9 800 CM-03 12 600 CM-04 15 600 CM-05 18 600 CM-06 20 600 Characterization of Synthesized Membranes Various techniques were employed for the characterization of polymer as well as their derivative carbon membranes. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was used to find out glass transition temperature of polymer membranes and to study the blending of polymers. Under nitrogen atmosphere, scans from 50 to 450oC at the heating rate of 10oC/min were performed on a DSC Perkin Elmer model 6000. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to study the thermal degradation of the polymer membranes. Degradation temperature of the membrane, as well as the weight loss during the process, is analyzed. It was carried out on a TGA Perkin Elmer 4000 model, in nitrogen atmosphere at a flow rate of 30 mL min-1. The temperature range was from 50 up to 750 oC. X-ray Diffractometer (XRD) was used to study the structural changes in membrane due to variation in pyrolysis temperature. Perkin Elmer 1621 wide-angle X-ray diffractometer was the instrument used to study the microstructural changes in membrane. Using Braggs law the average d-spacing of the membrane was evaluated. It is as shown below, nÃŽ » = 2d sin ÃŽ ¸, where n is an integral number, ÃŽ » is the X-ray wavelength, d is for the inter-layer spacing between the polymer chains and ÃŽ ¸ is   the diffraction angle. CHN analysis was conducted to study the variation in the elemental composition with pyrolysis temperature. Elementar Vario EL was the equipment used here for analysis. Compostion of oxygen was found using separate apparatus. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to get pore size of the membrane as well as get a closer image of the membrane. JEOL Model JSM 6390LV is the model used for the analysis. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Physical properties Both PAI and PEI met the requirements for preparing carbon membrane with promising results. While contents of PAI in membrane made the membrane more brittle, which is due to its aromatic rings, (10) PEI gave structural support to the membrane. So PAI/PEI content was fixed at 25/75% for all the batches later on. As two polymers are used, the miscibility of the precursors has to be tested and glass transition temperature of the membrane was taken as the criteria for the evaluation. For the polymer blends, Tg was found to be in between of that of individual polymers. Tg of PEI and PAI are 217 °C and 280 °C respectively. And from the Table 3 it is clear that both the polymers are completely miscible and was perfectly blended together. Table 3: Glass Transition Temperature Sample Code PAI/PEI wt Percentage (%) Glass Transition Temperature (oC) PM-25 25/75 233 PM-50 50/50 249 PM-75 75/25 265 PM-100 0/100 219 Effect of polymer concentration on thermal characteristics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unlike polymer membrane, carbon membrane was thermally and chemically stable. Thermal stability is analyzed by TGA. TGA analysis of all polymer membranes is shown in Figure 1. It shows that concentration does not have much effect on degradation temperature of membranes. But it gives an insight into chose the pyrolysis protocol that has to be followed. There are different pyrolysis protocols for preparation of carbon membranes, based on type of precursors used, one protocol is fixed. Figure 1: Thermal analysis of Polymer Membranes Figure 1 illustrates the weight variation of polymer membranes during the heating process up to 800 °C. According to the TGA thermo-diagram, the degradation temperature (Td) is 550 °C and was defined as the temperature corresponding to 15% weight loss. This indicates the high thermal resistance of the membrane. The total weight loss at 800 °C, with 10 °/min heating rate, was approximately 60%. The enhanced thermal stability of the membrane highlights its quality as a precursor for the preparation of carbon molecular sieve membranes. Effect of polymer concentration on structure of membrane Figure 2: XRD of Carbon Membrane of different concentrations Effect of polymer concentration on structure of carbon membrane is shown in Figure 2. As the concentration of polymer was increased from 2% to 20%, peak intensification took place, resulting in a more compact structure. Pore size was reduced and membrane with higher packing density is formed. Effect of pyrolysis temperature on microstructure of membrane Structural analysis on carbon membranes was done by obtaining XRD spectra as a function of pyrolysis temperature. As shown in Figure 3, the XRD spectrum for membrane prepared at 450oC is a merger of two peaks at 22.7o and 18.8o. With increase in pyrolysis temperature, the peaks joined into a single but intensified peak with a shift toward the smaller pore sizes; indicating a decrement in average d-spacing. Figure 3: XRD of Carbon Membrane prepared at different temperatures d-spacing in carbon membrane refers to interlayer distances, with increase in temperature more compact structures are formed. 800  °C was found to be the optimum pyrolysis temperature as membrane having high density and packing efficiency are formed at this temperature. (1) Effect of pyrolysis temperature on membrane composition In order to study how pyrolysis temperature changed the chemical composition of the membrane, elemental analysis has been conducted for both polymers as well as carbon membrane. In Figure 4, the point zero in x-axis corresponds to precursor membrane and it has the lowest carbon content and they started to increase with increase in pyrolysis temperature. However other elemental contents like oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen was reduced with increase in temperature. Presence of oxygen compounds in the carbon membrane surface can make the membrane more hydrophilic and can cause swelling of membranes (11). For the better performance of carbon membrane oxygen content has to be less than 4% (12).When pyrolysis temperature in increased, oxygen content is reduced. Membrane prepared at 800oC has oxygen content less than 4%. So the effect of pyrolysis temperature on hydrophilictiy of the carbon membrane was tested to study the influence of oxygen in the membrane. From the Table 4 it is clear that as pyrolysis temperature is increased, amount of water absorbed is decreased, thus increasing the hydrophobic nature of carbon membranes. This can be explained by the reduction in oxygen containing group in membrane with pyrolysis temperature. Figure 4: Elemental analysis of membranes Table 4: Hydrophilicity of carbon membranes Sample-Code Pyrolysis Temperature ( °C) Wet weight of the membrane (g) Dry weight of the membrane (g) Amount of water absorbed (g) CM-450 450 0.0588 0.0553 0.0035 CM-600 600 0.0523 0.0503 0.0020 CM-800 800 0.0687 0.0607 0.0008 Morphology of Membranes The surface and cross-section morphologies of carbon membranes as well as polymer membranes were investigated by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) techniques. Surface image of polymer membrane is shown in Figure 6. It shows a smooth and defect free surface without any deformation. Cross section of the polymer membrane is also shown below. Compared to carbon membrane it does not have uniform pore distribution. All the pores are elongated pores and the membrane formed is very dense. Thickness of polymer membrane was found to be 250ÃŽ ¼m. The honey-comb structure of carbon membrane shows the pore structure in the membrane (Figure 5). It is clear from the image that the membrane is rich in pores and has quite a uniform pore distribution. The membrane was having a sponge-like matrix unlike polymer membrane. This uniform pore distribution allows carbon membrane to have high selectivity over polymer membrane.   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‚  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‚   (b) Figure 5: SEM images: (a) Top surface and (b) Cross section of Carbon Membrane   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‚  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‚   (b) Figure 6: SEM images: (a) Top surface and (b) Cross section of PolymerMembrane CONCLUSION Different polymer blends were tried for the preparation of polymer membrane and membranes derived from Polyamideimde/Polyetherimide (25/75wt.%) exhibited more attractive performance than the other blends. Polymer concentration was varied from 2-20% and at 9%   it was found to be exhibiting best results. Polymer membranes prepared from PAI/PEI were transparent hydrophilic membranes. Polymer membranes were thermally unstable compared to carbon membrane and were found to have degradation temperature around 450oC. Complete miscibility of both the polymers was confirmed and the glass transition temperature of the polymer membrane was also found. For the preparation of carbon membrane different protocols were followed for pyrolysis, and 800oC was found to be the optimum temperature for pyrolysis. Thermal analysis of membrane had conducted, which proved the higher thermal stability of the carbon membrane. Morphological studies shows that carbon membrane prepared at 800oC have desirable pore size compared to other membranes prepared at lower temperatures. XRD studies of the carbon membrane showed that as temperature increases, more compact membranes are obtained, which decreases the permeability of the membrane. All the membranes have shown promising results that can be further investigated for gas separation studies. References 1. Carbon membranes from blends of PBI and polyimides for N2/CH4 and CO2/CH4. Seyed Saeid Hosseini, Tai Shung Chung. s.l. : Journal of Membrane Science, 2009, Vol. 328. 174-185. 2. A review on the latest development of carbon membranes for gas separation. A.F. Ismail, L.I.B. David. s.l. : J. Membr. Sci., 2001, Vol. 193. 1. 3. Fabrication of carbon membranes for gas separationa review. S.M. Saufi, A.F. Ismail. s.l. : Carbon, 2004, Vol. 42. 241-259. 4. Gas permeation through micropores of carbon molecular sieve membranes derived from kapton polyimide. Suda H, Haraya K. s.l. : Chem B, 1997, Vol. 101. 3988-94. 5. DH, Morthon-Jones. Polymer processing. London : Chapman and Hal, 1984. Chapter 2. 6. Relationship between chemical structure of aromatic polyimides and gas permeation properties of their carbon molecular sieve membranes. H.B. Park, Y.K. Kim, J.M. Lee, S.Y. Lee, Y.M. Lee. s.l. : J. Membr. Sci., 2004, Vol. 229. 117. 7. Carbon molecular sieve membranes from polyetherimide. Fuertes AB, Centeno TA. s.l. : Microporous Mesoporous Mater, 1998, Vol. 26. 23-6. 8. Supported carbon molecular sieve membranes based on phenolic resin. Centeno TA, Fuertes AB. s.l. : J Membr Sci, 1999, Vol. 160. 201-211. 9. Gas separation properties of carbon molecular sieve membranes derived from polyimide/polyvinylpyrrolidone blends: effect of the molecular weight of polyvinylpyrrolidone. Y.K. Kim, H.B. Park, Y.M. Lee. s.l. : of the molecular weight of polyvinylpyrrolidone, 2005, Vol. 251. 159. 10. Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, Dipak Rana, Takeshi Matsuura ,Henry C. Foley. Carbon-based Membranes for Separation Processes. London : Springer, 2011. 11. Carbon molecular sieve membranes derived from Matrimid polyimide for nitrogen/methane separation. Xue Ning, William J. Koros. s.l. : Carbon, 2014, Vol. 66. 5 1 1 5 2 2. 12. Interaction, miscibility and phase. E. Fà ¶ldes, E. Fekete, F.E. Karasz, B. Pukà ¡nszky. s.l. : Polymer, 2000, Vol. 41. 975. 13. Gas permeation and micropore structure of carbon molecular sieving membranes modified by oxidation. Kusakabe K, Yamamoto M, Morooka S. s.l. : J Membr Sci , 1998, Vol. 149. 59-67. 14. Characterization of ultramicroporous carbon membranes with. Jones CW, Koros WJ. s.l. : Ind Eng Chem Res, 1995, Vol. 34. 158-163.