PH Lab Report Essays

PH Lab Report Essays PH Lab Report Paper PH Lab Report Paper Soapy water Material Required To facilitate this laboratory exercise, the experimenter needs the following: pH strips Sample reservoirs of solutions with varying pH Laboratory Notebook pH paper Background H stands for potential hydrogen. This is a measure of the acidity or basilica of a solution. Acidic and basic are two extremes that describe a chemical property chemicals. Mixing acids and bases can cancel out or neutralize their extreme effects. The pH scale is a set of standard solutions whose pH is established by international agreement. A substance that is neither acidic nor basic is neutral. Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. Pure water has a pH very close to 7. The pH scale is logarithmic and as a result, each whole pH value below 7 is ten mimes more acidic than the next higher value. For example, pH 4 is ten times more acidic than pH 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than pH 6. The same holds true for pH values above 7, each of which is ten times more alkaline than the next lower whole value. For example, pH 10 is ten times more alkaline than pH 9 and 100 times (10 times 10) more alkaline than pH 8. Primary pH standard values are determined using a concentration cell with transference. This measures the potential difference between a hydrogen electrode and a standard electrode. Measurement of pH for solutions can be done with a glass electrode and a pH meter, or using indicators. PH measurements are important in medicine, biology, chemistry, environmental science, oceanography, etc. Procedure For each of the samples you selected, execute the following steps to acquire the PH. . Cut a strip of pH testing paper utilizing the serrated edge of the dispenser (1-2 in. Length minimum). 2. Submerge the pH testing strip and immerse in solution for approximately 10 seconds. 3. Remove the strip and promptly compare the results to the specimen colors indicated on the dispenser. 4. Record data for the tested solution. 5. Repeat the steps until you have tested all solutions. Data Solut ion Name Personal pH Recordings Group 2 pH Recordings Group 3 Recordings average H Recordings . Soda Orange Juice 3. Iced Tea 6 4. Lime Juice 3 4 5. Water 7 6. Milk 7. Soapy Water 8 Conclusion In concluding this lab I found that, in general most groups had similar recordings in their lab. Although, when testing the pH of soda the recording of pH between groups ranged from 1 to 3. A 3 on the pH scale is 100 times more acidic than a 1. The recording did not change much from my earlier predictions. In the beginning of the lab I anticipated that the order of the solutions tested old be in the following on a pH scale: lime juice, orange juice, soda, iced tea, milk, water, soapy water. This was correct aside from the fact that soda is before orange juice on the pH scale. This is less surprising when reviewing the amount of acid in soda. Acid is listed on average in three forms on a nutrition label for soda. If I were to conduct another lab on pH would test if the level of pH differs from soda brand to soda brand. Overall, the lab familiarized me with the concept and meaning of pH and gave me experience in measuring it, therefore accomplishing the purpose.

Juvennille Death Penalty essays

Juvennille Death Penalty essays I still remember the day clearly. It wasnt what he had done that changed my mind at first. It wasnt even the verdict. It was the moment of his actual death.. seeing t a juvenile .. but his death made me understand why juvenile murderers should be equally subject to capital punishment. I realized at that time that the people parading outside were not sadists. They were merely displaying their agreement with the verdict and the sentence. They opened champagne bottles and set off fire crackers not because they were simple minded but because they wanted it to be over. Families waited for justice and it was within arms reach. I understood how someone could want a minor an older child dead.. The people demonstrating believed as I had come to that Dodd was a sadistic psychopathic pedophile incapable of empathy, that his greatest fear was being a nobody, and that he had successfully manipulated us into making him a somebody via the sensational media coverage of his hanging. The familie s and the people of Washington did get justice that night. But Dodd was not a juvenile. Yet, had he been executed years earlier, perhaps others would not have had to suffer. Lives would have been saved. In the end, Dodds life was lost anyway. It was at that moment that I realized perhaps executing murderers at younger ages would serve not only as a deterrent and a form of retribution but also effective in creating a safer society. I was always well-aware that there is extreme opposition to the use of the death penalty for minors, even among capital punishment supporters. The United State...

Dimensions of national culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dimensions of national culture - Essay Example Music, theatre, fine arts, language and literature are developed in order to add some color and entertainment in everyday living, as well as improve on communication. Sports and educational syllabuses are also developed for entertainment and improvement of skills. All these facets of life among others keep on changing from one form the other thus enriching culture (Marcus, 1995). All of these developments are recorded for future references in different symbols including writing, drawings, cave paintings or passed from one person to another orally. As this culture is passed on it is modified through innovation, borrowing from others. Elements like language therefore constantly improve and diversify as time goes by (Cohen, 1985). This paper sets out to analyze the development of national culture and to explain why people within a certain nationality or region typically develop traits that are unique to themselves. The paper looks at how different cultural backgrounds affect persons wor king within an organization. It also explains the effects impede or support the realizations of the objectives of the said organization. Elements of Organizational Culture Every nation is renowned for certain things. For instance the vast majority of people of Britain enjoy association football [also known as soccer] whose rules were founded in that country in 1863; very much. This is different when compared to Americans who prefer their own version of football which is closer to the Rugby that is also loved a lot in Britain (Maccambridge, 2004). This same case applies to organizations. According to Hofstede(1980), national culture directly influences organizational culture. Organizations exist within countries and are therefore influenced by the prevailing culture within them. In his study of national cultural influences he identified four dimensions of culture. These he classified as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, collectivism vs individualism and masculinity vs femininity (Hofstede, 1980). The first dimension, power distance, refers to the difference of power allowed by the society between the highest and lowest echelons of power. A high power difference score means that there is a great difference between the power wielded and the privileges enjoyed by people high ranking individuals and their lower ranking counterparts within the organization (Schein, 2005). A low score on the other hand means that everybody in the organization enjoys almost equal rights to anybody else (Schein, 2005). The measure of power distance in different nationalities revealed that countries such as Australia, Austria, Denmark and Israel had some of the lowest power distance levels while sub-Saharan African and Malaysia among others had the highest (Hofstede, 1980). The second one uncertainty avoidance refers to extent of anxiety about the unknown in a society. In cultures where there is strong uncertainty avoidance, people prefer operating with explicit rules and laws that govern labor and social relations. Employees in this system tend to keep the same job for long since they feel less uncertain about the future and feel strongly that the rules guarantee their rights. The societies with weak

Talk about genre and style, and dramatic action of the play Vanya and Essay

Talk about genre and style, and dramatic action of the play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike - Essay Example As the story progresses through Vanya and Sonia first start out all fine with each other, but immediately afterwards Sonia got angry at Vanya and started to argue with him because of the coffee which he made. From this conflict of two old people fighting over something so minor, we can see that this is the start of the dramatic action. We see more of this as the Play progresses through, when their sister comes and visits them in their farmhouse we can see how much is tries to rub her success, as an actress, in Sonia’s face. Here we can see that jealousy is present in Sonia. Her character seems to feel that her life has been considerably boring and she doesn’t seem to happy about it, While her sister Masha has traveled all around the world and ended up with fame and success. Also to add on to Masha’s rubbing her success of Sonia, she brought a young man named spike to the join her visit to the farmhouse (Durang, 50). The fact that an old lady would date someone younger and intentional bring him home to her family members seems like an intentional showing off, implying that Masha maybe old but she is still wanted by young men. The arrival of Nina, a young and beautiful aspiring actress who is a neighbor to the siblings stirs up another dramatic action in the play. Nina is everything that both sisters want but do not have. Masha is more envious of her because she wants to be like her again. Spike also has some lustful feelings for Nina. Another dramatic action is evident when spike, a handsome, young man with a well built toned body shows off to Vanya. Vanya is an old gay man who has not lived his life to the fullest and is being teased by spike who seizes every opportunity to strip down and show off his muscles (Durang, 70). This is very bad for Vanya who has not even travelled anywhere but has lived all his life is the same house he was brought up in. Although Masha may think that she has herself a young man who

Technological advancements for identification Essay Example for Free

Technological advancements for identification Essay The Platypus was first described in 1799 in Shaws naturalists Miscellany along with the koala, Kangaroo, wombat and emu. The most curious was the platypus. Since its first discovery there has been much debate as to whether it is a mammal and how it should be classified. The platypus is a primitive mammal that has many features that separate it from other mammals-it lays eggs, there is an absence of true teeth and an absence of mammary glands, although it has special glands that secrete milk. It has fur like other animals, but it has a beak like the bill of a duck, webbed feet and a tail like a beaver. A dried platypus skin has been sent to England in 1798 and was considered to be fake. Up until 1884 there was uncertainty about how the platypus reproduced. In 1884 Caldwell solved the problem by capturing a female with eggs. About 1904 the scientific American reported that there are many mammals that do not possess teeth when adults. Up until 1973 there was uncertainty about the platypus being able to regulate its body temperature like other mammals. Recent research shows that it can regulate body temperature but the mechanism is underdeveloped. There are two living groups: The platypuses and the echidnas. The only Cretaceous mammal known for Australia is also a monotreme, Steropodon galmani, a platypus-like animal that might be more appropriately placed in a family of its own. Until 1971, an understanding of the history of Australias platypus was non-existent. Apart from the fact that it was a monotreme and only known from Australia, all else was mystery. Then three major discoveries were made: two molar teeth of Obdurodon insignis, a 25 million-year-old platypus from the Tirari desert; a jaw fragment with three teeth of sterepodan galmani a 110 million year old monotreme from opal deposits at Lightning  Ridge, New South Wales; and, from 15-20-million-year-old Riversleigh deposits, a complete skull as well as a nearly complete dentition of a second species of Obdurdon. In 1971, while one puzzled group of Palaeontologists stared in confusion at a strange tooth found in the late Oligocene deposits of Lake Frome Embayment. These were the first teeth of a fossil platypus to be found and were named Obdurodon insights. Naturally, these central Australian discoveries caused a great deal of delight as well as anticipation but despite many tonnes of processed matrix later, central Australia has failed to produce more than a few isolated teeth, a fragment of a lower jaw and a portion of a pelvis. Discovery of the opalised jaw of Steropodon galmani in the dinosaur rich early Cretaceous deposits of Lightning ridge was one of the most exciting moments in the history of Australian palaeontology. It was the first and so far only known Mesozoic mammal from Australia. It may also have been the largest Cretaceous mammal anywhere in the world, overlapping in size some of the smallest dinosaurs, although less than twice the size of the living platypus. It had well developed teeth whose shape indicates that even by this early date monotremes has achieved many of the distinctive dental features that distinguish them from other groups of mammals. When we first discovered Ringtail Site at Riversleigh ,one of the system C localities in Rays Amphitheatre, apart from the ringtail possum jaw and some bats, we saw little in the way of mammals. But in the lab we were delighted to find isolated molars of the first fossil platypus from riversleigh. In the 1985 expedition a whole, perfect skull, the first and only ornithorynchid skull known apart from that of the modern Platypus. It was spotted as a braincast, complete with fosslilsed blood vessels when pieces of the skull were broken away in the course of fracturing blocks of limestone. After recovery and restoration of the broken pieces and dissolution of the surrounding limestone in dilute acetic acid,  the skull that emerged took their breath away. The Riversleigh material has provided a great deal of new information about the structure, relationships and paleobiogeography of platypuses in general. At this point besides the complete skull there is a complete dentition and partial lower jaw. So far, specimens of the riversleigh Obdurodon have come from the so called aquatic sites. Discovery in 1991 and 1992 of Obdurodon like monotreme teeth in 61-63 million year old sediments in Patagonia, Southern Argentina, has shocked everyone who thought platypuses were uniquely Australian. Clearly they were once part of a Gondwanan fauna that must also have been present on Antarctica, but survives today only in Australia. Because the living platypus, the only surviving descendant of Obdurodon, has become highly specialised with loss of its functional teeth, overall reduction in body size simplification of most of its cranial anatomy, we are concerned that all the lineage is in decline. When a group looses its generalised body form and edges to far out on its evolutionary limb in terms of specialisation, that limb is in increasing danger of falling off. The fossil record of rapid decline over just the last 15% of its known history suggests a less optimistic view. This is an animal just surviving in the twilight of a long and remarkable history. To add to these concerns, todays platypuses persist only in the permanent river systems of eastern Australia, sometimes in remnant rainforests but more often in the rivers that drain the open forests of the great divide. With humans abusing their the chemistry of the waterways with fertilisers and other noxious substances and deforestation and pollution of the rivers watersheds its candle may be in imminent danger of going out.

Marriage in Christina Rossettis Promises Like Pie-Crust and Edgar Alla

Marriage in Rossetti's Promises Like Pie-Crust and Poe's Bridal Ballad  Ã‚      In Christina Rossetti's "Promises Like Pie-Crust" and Edgar Allan Poe's "Bridal Ballad" female speakers encounter the milestone of marriage. Facing strong pressures from society, Rossetti's speaker refuses marriage in three well-reasoned arguments which are veiled in a guise of superciality. Conversely, Poe's speaker accepts marriage, but by the end of the poem realizes the dire consequences of her decision. Rossetti knows what she wants and does not want out of life; subsequently, Rossetti realizes that personal satisfaction and even joy may exist without a man and thus makes the tough decision not to marry. Poe's naive bride trusts in society and marries not out of love but in an attempt to attain happiness. Failing to either examine her inner thoughts or accept her misgivings, Poe's bride remains emotionally unready to marry. A paragon of the nineteenth century woman, Poe's bride, despite her doubts, succumbs to marriage whereas Rossetti's strong-willed speaker vehemently rejects the institution.    Poe's ostensible conformity opposes Rossetti's independent spirit; however, society's pressures affect both women. Poe writes "Bridal Ballad" in 1837 in America while Rossetti writes "Promises Like Pie-Crust" during the Victorian era in England; during both periods society demands that women marry (Mayberry 11).   Referring to the unwedded woman as an "old maid" or "spinster", society reinforces the notion that matrimony alone leads to a contented, blissful state. Born and bred to marry, a woman's disruption of the wed-and-then- procreate cycle engenders not only society's disrespect but also frightening uncertainty for the woman (Mayberry 11). ... ...ed bliss." Emotionally attached to her dead lover, Poe's bride proves her incapability of loving anyone else besides the dead D'Elormie. Citing several valid reasons, Rossetti eschews the decadent dessert while Poe's bride, deafened to reason by society's expectations, ignores Rossetti's arguments, seeks marriage as a panacea, and chokes on her medicine. Works Cited Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. â€Å"Christina Rossetti.† The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 2012. 1489-512. Print.   Sova, Dawn B. â€Å"Bridal Ballad†. Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCEAP1298&SingleRecord=True>.

Pricing policies Essay

1. In making promises that are not guaranteed by third parties and in imposing penalties that are not enforced by third parties, all of the following are credibility-enhancing mechanisms except 2. Essential components of a game include all of the following except: 3. A key to analyzing subgame perfect equilibrium strategy in sequential games is 4. When airlines post prices on an electronic bulletin board at 8:00 a.m. each morning, the decision-makers are engaged in 5. Credible promises and hostage mechanisms can support a continuous stream of cooperative exchanges except when 6. Firms that have a cover charge for their customers and charge for each item they purchase as well are exhibiting 7. The segmenting of customers into several small groups such as household, institutional, commercial, and industrial users, and establishing a different rate schedule for each group is known as: 8. Vacation tours to Europe invariably package visits to disparate regions: cities, mountains, and the seaside. Bundling, a type of second degree price discrimination, is most profitable when: 9. Which of the following pricing policies best identifies when a product should be expanded, maintained, or discontinued? 10. ____ is a new product pricing strategy which results in a high initial product price. This price is reduced over time as demand at the higher price is satisfied. 11. Which of the following is not among the functions of contract? 12. Mac trucks and their dealers would likely have an organizational form of 13. Contracts are distinguished from tactical alliances by which of the following characteristics: 14. Which of the following are not approaches to resolving the principal-agent problem? 15. When retail bicycle dealers advertise and perform warranty repairs but do not deliver the personal selling message that Schwinn has designed as part of the marketing plan but cannot observe at less than prohibitive cost, the manufacturer has encountered a problem of ____. 16. ____ occurs whenever a third party receives or bears costs arising from an economic transaction in which the individual (or group) is not a direct participant. 17. The antitrust laws regulate all of the following business decisions except ____. 18. The sentiment for increased deregulation in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s has been felt most significantly in the price regulation of 19. The Herfindahl-Hirschman index (also shortened to just the Herfindahl index) is a measure of 20. The lower the barriers to entry and exit, the more nearly a market structure fits the ____ market model. 21. If the acceptance of Project A makes it impossible to accept Project B, these projects are: 22. Cost-benefit analysis is the public sector counterpart to ____ used in private, profit-oriented firms. 23. The weights used in calculating the firm’s weighted-average cost of capital are equal to the proportion of debt and equity ____. 24. In order to help assure that all relevant factors will be considered, the capital-expenditure selection process should include the following steps except: 25. The social rate of discount is best approximated by: 1. Theoretically, in a long-run cost function: 2. The degree of operating leverage is equal to the ____ change in ____ divided by the ____ change in ____. 3. Which of the following is not an assumption of the linear breakeven model: 4. In the linear breakeven model, the breakeven sales volume (in dollars) can be found by multiplying the breakeven sales volume (in units) by: 5. In the linear breakeven model, the difference between selling price per unit and variable cost per unit is referred to as: 6. The short-run cost function is: 7. The problems of asymmetric information exchange arise ultimately because 8. A firm in pure competition would shut down when: 9. An â€Å"experience good† is one that: 10. In the purely competitive case, marginal revenue (MR) is equal to: 11. If price exceeds average costs under pure competition, ____ firms will enter the industry, supply will ____, and price will be driven ____. 12. Buyers anticipate that the temporary warehouse seller of unbranded computer equipment will 13. What is the profit maximization point for a firm in a purely competitive environment? 14. The practice by telephone companies of charging lower long-distance rates at night than during the day is an example of: 15. The demand curve facing the firm in ____ is the same as the industry demand curve. 16. Declining cost industries 17. Of the following, which is not an economic rationale for public utility regulation? 18. When the cross elasticity of demand between one product and all other products is low, one is generally referring to a(n) ____ situation. 19. Regulatory agencies engage in all of the following activities except _______. 20. Barometric price leadership exists when 21. A cartel is a situation where firms in the industry 22. The existence of a kinked demand curve under oligopoly conditions may result in 23. Some industries that have rigid prices. In those industries, we tend to 24. If a cartel seeks to maximize profits, the market share (or quota) for each firm should be set at a level such that the ____ of all firms is identical. 25. A(n) ____ is characterized by a relatively small number of firms producing a product.

Hasty Decisions in Romeo and Juliet Essay

The tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet hosts a plethora of hastily made decisions. As ill-fated as the two star-crossed lovers may have been, the root of all their problems can be traced back to their rash decisions. The reason Romeo and Juliet meet in the first place is because Romeo and Benvolio decide on a whim that they are going to go to the Capulet party to show Romeo that there are other beauties besides Rosaline. After this all of the decisions of the characters are made on the spot, with little to no forethought going into them. Had the characters thought their choices through a bit more thoroughly then perhaps they wouldn’t have had to deal with the resulting tragedy. These are but a few of the flawed choices that ultimately lead to Romeo and Juliet’s untimely demise. As mentioned the decision that caused the ignition of this ill-fated romance was when Romeo and Benvolio made the choice to go to the Capulet party. They hear about it when reading the Capulet messenger’s letter and rashly decide to go to the party so as to help Romeo get over Rosaline. The fact that they willingly decide to go to their enemy’s party to find women is abhorrent since they know the troubles that could ensue if they got caught. If they had put a little more thought into the consequences of such actions then maybe Romeo and Juliet would not have ended up in such a turbulent romance. Another poorly made decision was when after knowing each other for a single day Romeo and Juliet decide to get married. The amount of flaws in their logic whilst deciding upon this course of action is numerous. First, after such a short amount of time they hardly know each other, second, before making such a huge step for their futures it would’ve been wise to first see if they could do anything to help end their families feuding so that they wouldn’t have to keep their love a secret. Their secret marriage inescapably leads to many problems including that Juliet’s dad wants her to marry Paris. Since she is already married this idea throws her into a fit of rage and despair. This leads to another whirlwind of events that in the end forges the way to one of Romeo and Juliet’s final and greatest mistake. The last and quite possibly the biggest mistake that the lovers make is when they decide to take their own lives to be with each other. The reason this happens is due to even more hastily made decisions. The first event that leads to this tragic ending is when Friar Lawrence decides to give Juliet a potion to make her sleep for a day despite not having mentioned any f their plans to Romeo. The friar does send a letter but it gets delayed so Romeo has no idea that Juliet’s death is a hoax. Instead of doing something rational Romeo then decides to purchase a vial of poison and kill himself at Juliet’s grave. At the grave Romeo ends up killing Paris and a few minutes before Juliet is suppose to wake up takes the poison and dies. If Romeo had waited a little longer or tried to go to Friar Lawrence to see about what had happened this catast rophe could have been avoided. Shortly after Romeo dies Juliet wakes up and is stricken with insurmountable despair at his death. When the friar tries to get her to leave the tomb she finds a dagger and kills herself. Juliet’s decision to kill herself because she is unable to be with her lover in life is quite a brash and thoughtless decision. After she woke up she could have left with the friar and tried to sort out her feelings first before making such a permanent decision, but instead her forthright nature gets the best of her and she ends up dead because of it. Romeo and Juliet perfectly depict that rash decisions lead to defective conclusions. In conclusion Romeo and Juliet can be more accurately described as a tale of hastily made decisions leading to unfortunate conclusions rather than the story of two star-crossed lovers who were destined to be kept apart. The key events that lead to their deaths are all caused by someone caught in the heat of the moment and not thinking clearly. From the decision to go to the Capulet party to all the events that contributed to their fast paced romance, perfunctory decisions have overshadowed them all. Through these choices the tragic flaws of Romeo and Juliet are revealed. It becomes apparent early on that Romeo’s tragic flaw is his impulsiveness and inability to control his love for Juliet. Juliet’s tragic flaw is her loyalty towards Romeo which leads to her death when she is separated from him. Romeo and Juliet were the victimized by themselves, and ultimately it ends up leading to their untimely deaths.

Overview of the 27th Amendment

Overview of the 27th Amendment Taking nearly 203 years and the efforts of a college student to finally win ratification, the 27th Amendment has one of the strangest histories of any amendment ever made to the U.S. Constitution. The 27th Amendment requires that any increases or decreases in the base salary paid to members of Congress may not take effect until the next term of office for the U.S. representatives begins. This means that another congressional general election must have been held before the pay raise or cut can take effect. The intent of the Amendment is to prevent Congress from granting itself immediate pay raises. The complete text of the 27th Amendment states: â€Å"No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.† Note that members of Congress are also legally eligible to receive the same annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) raise given to other federal employees. The 27th Amendment does not apply to these adjustments. The COLA raises take effect automatically on January 1 of each year unless Congress, through the passage of a joint resolution, votes to decline them - as it has done since 2009. While the 27th Amendment is the Constitution’s most recently adopted amendment, it is also one of the first ones proposed. History of the 27th Amendment As it is today, congressional pay was a hotly debated topic in 1787 during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin opposed paying congress members any salary at all. Doing so, Franklin argued, would result in representatives seeking office only to further their â€Å"selfish pursuits.† However, a majority of delegates disagreed; pointing out that Franklin’s payless plan would result in a Congress made up only of wealthy people who could afford holding federal offices. Still, Franklin’s comments moved the delegates to look for a way to make sure people did not seek public office simply as a way to fatten their wallets.   The delegates recalled their hatred for a feature of the English government called â€Å"placemen.† Placemen were seated members of Parliament who were appointed by the King to simultaneously serve in highly-paid administrative offices similar to presidential cabinet secretaries simply to buy their favorable votes in Parliament. To prevent placemen in America, the Framers included the Incompatibility Clause of Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution. Called the â€Å"Cornerstone of the Constitution† by the Framers, the Incompatibility Clause states that â€Å"no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.† Fine, but to the question of how much members of Congress would be paid, the Constitution states only that their salaries should be as â€Å"ascertained by Law† - meaning Congress would set its own pay. To most of the American people and especially to James Madison, that sounded like a bad idea. Enter the Bill of Rights In 1789, Madison, largely to address the concerns of the Anti-Federalists, proposed the 12 - rather than 10 - amendments that would become the Bill of Rights when ratified in 1791. One of the two amendments not successfully ratified at the time would eventually become the 27th Amendment. While Madison did not want Congress to have the power to give itself raises, he also felt that giving the president a unilateral power to set congressional salaries would give the executive branch too much control over the legislative branch to be in the spirit of the system of â€Å"separation of powers† embodied throughout the Constitution.   Instead, Madison suggested that the proposed amendment require that a congressional election had to take place before any pay increase could take effect. That way, he argued, if the people felt the raise was too large, they could vote â€Å"the rascals† out of office when they ran for re-election. The Epic Ratification of the 27th Amendment On September 25, 1789, what would much later become the 27th Amendment was listed as the second of 12 amendments sent to the states for ratification. Fifteen months later, when 10 of the 12 amendments had been ratified to become the Bill of Rights, the future 27th Amendment was not among them. By the time the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, only six states had ratified the congressional pay amendment. However, when the First Congress passed the Amendment in 1789, lawmakers had not specified a time limit within which the Amendment had to be ratified by the states. By 1979 - 188 years later - only 10 of the 38 states required had ratified the 27th Amendment. Student to the Rescue Just as the 27th Amendment appeared destined to become little more than a footnote in history books, along came Gregory Watson, a sophomore student at the University of Texas in Austin. In 1982, Watson was assigned to write an essay on government processes. Taking an interest in constitutional amendments that had not been ratified; he wrote his essay on the congressional pay amendment. Watson argued that since Congress had not set a time limit in 1789, it not only could but should be ratified now. Unfortunately for Watson, but fortunately for the 27th Amendment, he was given a C on his paper. After his appeals to get the grade raised were rejected, Watson decided to take his appeal to the American people in a big way. Interviewed by NPR in 2017 Watson stated, â€Å"I thought right then and there, ‘I’m going to get that thing ratified.’† Watson started by sending letters to state and federal legislators, most of who just filed away. The one exception was U.S. Senator William Cohen who convinced his home state of Maine to ratify the amendment in 1983. Driven largely by the public’s dissatisfaction with the performance of Congress compared to its rapidly-rising salaries and benefits during the 1980s, the 27th Amendment ratification movement grew from a trickle to a flood. During 1985 alone, five more states ratified it, and when Michigan approved it on May 7, 1992, the required 38 states had followed suit. The 27th Amendment was officially certified as an article of the U.S. Constitution on May 20, 1992 - a staggering 202 years, 7 months, and 10 days after the First Congress had proposed it. Effects and Legacy of the 27th Amendment The long-belated ratification of an amendment preventing Congress from voting itself an immediate pay raise shocked members of Congress and baffled legal scholars who questioned whether a proposal written by James Madison could still become part of the Constitution nearly 203 years later. Over the years since its final ratification, the practical effect of the 27th Amendment has been minimal. Congress has voted to reject its annual automatic cost-of-living raise since 2009 and members know that proposing a general pay raise would be politically damaging.   In that sense alone, the 27th Amendment represents an important gauge of the people’s report card on Congress through the centuries. And what of our hero, college student Gregory Watson? In 2017, the University of Texas recognized his place in history by at last raising the grade on his 35-year-old essay from a C to an A.

The best ways on how to influence people over the phone

The best ways on how to influence people over the phone Being an employee in sales takes a lot of convincing to the person you are trying to sell to. The person on the other line will most likely listen to you more if you are confident and prepared. Usually, within 30 seconds of the  call, the client will decide if he or she is  interested and whether or not they want to hear more or end the conversation. As a sales  person, how do you influence your potential  client over the phone? With these simple tips, you can make the most out of any sales call and land the sale!  Source [The Gap Partnership]

Amazon.com in the stock market Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Amazon.com in the stock market - Research Paper Example Additionally, it generates more revenue through promotional and marketing services such as cobranded credit agreements and online advertising. Amazon.com, Inc. operates in two market segments, which include North America and International (Miller et al. 8). This company achieved the publication rights, from Avalon Books, to over 3,000 books titles particularly in Mystery, Romance, and western categories, in June 2012. Amazon.com serves its customers through its retail websites. Its websites are designed in a way that enable the company itself and third parties to sell their products across a wide range of product categories. In addition to selling a number of products, this company also manufactures and sells kindle devices (Miller et al. 8). This company focuses on everyday shipping and pricing offers through its membership, in Amazon Prime. Its products are distributed to customers through several channels, which include digital delivery, co-sourced and outsourced programs in some countries, and through the United States and International fulfillment warehouses and centers (Miller et al. 22). The company is supported by its customer care centers that are distributed throughout the globe, which are backed up by co-sourced programs. Amazon.com offers arrangements that enable its sellers to sell their own branded websites and products through its websites (Miller et al. 23). The company does not benefit directly from the sells made by its sellers, but it earns revenue through revenue share fees, fixed fees, and per-unity activity fee. Independent publishers and authors are served through the company’s Kindle Direct publishing. This is a platform that enables publishers and independent authors to choose a 70 percent royalty option to make academic materials available in the Kindle Store (Miller et al. 17). The company also has its own publishing arm, Amazon Publishing, which offers independent authors another channel to publish their books. CreateSpace is another channel through which filmmakers, musicians, and authors sell their products. It offers manufacturing and on-demand publishing for independent publishers, music labels, content creators, and film studio. The North America segment consists of revenue earned from retail sales of consumer subscriptions and products through North America-focused Websites like www.amazon.ca and www.amazon.com. The North America segment also includes export sales from www.amazon.ca and www.amazon.com (Miller et al. 47). The international segment, on the other hand, consists of revenue from retail sales of consumer subscriptions and products through internationally targeted locations (Miller et al. 47). It also includes export sales from these internationally targeted regions, including export sales from the United States’ and Canada’s customers through these sites, but it excludes export sales from its Canadian and United States regions (Miller et al. 48). There has been a general do wntrend movement of amazon.com Inc’s share prices since September 15, 2012. For example, the share prices were at $252.01 on October 1, 2012. The stock prices increased significantly in the next four days and reached a high of $260.47, on October 04, 2012 (Teweles & Bradley 123). The share prices then assumed a down trend, in the next 24 hours, and closed at a low of $258.51, on October 05, 2012. The share prices then assumed an upward trend and reached a hig

Darkness at noon by Arthur Koestler Research Paper

Darkness at noon by Arthur Koestler - Research Paper Example Darkness at Noon stands second in series of a trilogy of novels that revolves about the fundamental theme of political ethics and revolutionary ethics in general. The other two dystopian novels written at the same time were Brave New World by Huxley and Nineteen Eighty Four by Orwell. These novels are unique in themselves as they reveal ugly truths and disturb us. The title of the novel is aptly named as Darkness at Noon. Noon time is the brightest time of the day and it is only during extraordinary situations (such as a storm or solar eclipse) that noon is engulfed in darkness. The same darkness is felt in the heavy oppressive theme of the 2 novel that starts with a prison scene and ends with acceptance of guilt. The darkness reflected in the book was actually a reflection of the political scene prevalent in the political history of Soviet Union. Just at a time when Communism was rising at its peak like a glowing sun, there came a solar eclipse in the lives of the leaders and took a way many of their lives. What was more surprising that most of these leaders willingly accepted their so called crimes just for the sake of their party. The book looks into the interior monologue and the dire circumstances that make the men take up such extreme steps and sacrifice their names along with their lives. The story set in 1930s is compelling, didactic and angry. It revolves around Nicolas Salmanovitch Rubashov, who is imprisoned for counter revolutionary activities. Rubashov is an aging Communist Party member, now locked inside a cell as an indictment against a series of crimes that he could not have possibly committed. He has been ordered to be shot as soon as he publicly accepts the charges. But, he refutes the state’s offer to confess his guilt in public. Rubashov is not a saboteur, just a good communist. Though Rubashov possessed some degrees of independent thoughts and had arrogance of manner, he could not have committed such a serious crime such as conspiracy against his country. The country of his confinement is not confirm though from the various descriptions people can make out that he belonged to the Soviet Union and is confined in one of its cells. 3 Rubashov is arrested for crimes against the State and repeatedly interrogated and psychologically tortured till he give up and accepts those charges. As a former communist Koestler closely examines the high level of dedication filled in these Communists so that they readily confessed to quite ridiculous crimes at the Stalin’s Show Trials of the 1930s. By making the protagonist accept the guilt of the crimes, he projects that once you convince yourself that the ends justify the means, you should not be surprised when those means are turned against you. Soviet Union was experimenting to construct a new society. But, to make that society individuals were required to sacrifice some things. These ‘some things’ were life and a lifelong created reputation. Any sort of poli tical deviation would weaken the roots of that society Thus, by sacrificing himself, Rubashov have a feeble hope that people would take it as a lesson and never deviate from the paths of moral standings. Darkness at Noon is one of the first literatures to be found on Soviet Union in the English language. According to George Orwell there was â€Å"in England almost no literature of disillusionment about the Soviet