Quantitative asset managment laboratory Coursework

Quantitative asset managment laboratory - Coursework Example The QAM obtains its name from its two components of out of phase which are 90 degrees. Aim of the experiment The primary concern of the experiment is to design and implement a Quadrature Amplitude Modulation transmitter. The experiment aims at the student being able to understand the representation of baseband signals in constellations and to have a better knowledge of differential encoding. The experiment also aims at reviewing the Quadrature Amplitude Modulation in digital communication, as this will help in generation of signals and demodulation. Because of the close relationship between AM and QAM, the experiment should also demonstrate modulation and demodulation in AM signals and examine the sensitivity of QAM phase errors (Ho, 2005). Equipment required The plugs in modules that will be needed for a complete run of the experiment include: An audio oscillator An adder and an multiplier Quadrature utilities Phase shifter and the associated utilities Dual analog switch Quadrature phase shifter Sequence generator Two tunable low pass filters Procedure The first step is to set up a QAM modulator using the equipments provided. Basically, a QAM modulator uses an analog circuit arrangement with emphasis on avoiding overload. Overload on the modulator must be eliminated as a way of avoiding crosstalk between channels when a common path is being shared between the adder and the multiplier. Make sure a filter is put between the paths as a way of ensuring that unwanted components are kept away from the multiplier (Hsueh-Ming, 1995). By using the Quadrature utilities which basically consist of two multipliers and one adder, several steps are taken into account. The upper multiplier is used to generate the first message while the lower multiplier is used to generate the second message by feeding message 1 to the channel 1 of the speech module, feeding message 2 to the channel 2 of the speech module, and preparation of a carrier of 9 kHz sinusoid by using the audio osci llator. The in-phase component of the oscillator and the cos are then used as the carrier to message 1 while the quad phase and the sin components are used as the carriers to message 2 (William, 1994). The two data control signals are also set to two thirds of the full scale while the IQ modulator is controlled to half scale. The noise amplitude that is associated with the transmission block should be set to the minimum level. The phase scope is then opened and by using the variable phase shift control, the IQ carrier phase is set to 90 degrees. The phasescope signal probe is then moved to the noise channel output and set to costelaltion mode with the persistence and hi persist on. At this point, the phase scope should indicate 16 constellations and by using the phi offset control on the phase scope, the pattern is rotated to line up with the square phase scope gratitude. The data signal level control is then adjusted with the aim of achieving perfect and an equal sided square. The pattern can be centralizing through further adjustment of the lower balance control on each side of the IQ modulator (Lajos, 2000). Several adjustments are made on the QAM. The button on the block diagram is used to adjust to 64 QAM demonstrated by 64 symbols. Again, by using the button, adjustment is made to 256 QAM. The Oscilloscope is opened and the button adjusted to 16 QAM with observations noted. Since the QAM works through a combination of

Econ 4020 reaction paper 10-11 Term Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Econ 4020 reaction 10-11 - Term Paper Example It means that the economy flourishes at first and then it falls suddenly. Therefore, boom and bust cycle is realized (Koo, 2003). The only way to get out of a recession is through a sustained public sector spending. It can be attained through the use of monetary policy, fiscal policies, government increasing spending and reduction of taxes. Monetary policies such as increasing interest rates of borrowing will deter private investors from borrowing. They will rather use their savings to finance investment. In the process, the more money will be released into the economy, thus, more money will circulate in the market. Therefore, this will bring down the rate of inflation and spark economic growth. Government spending should be increased for the economy to grow again. The government should service Treasury bond and initial public offers so that its citizens can gain capital to reinvest. By doing this, borrowings by citizens will reduce. As a result, private sector debt will reduce drastically, mainly because the investors will be able to repay their debt. Reduction of taxes will help a great deal in tackling a re cession. In doing this, the capital of the investors will increase. Therefore, the economy will grow since the spending power of the citizens has been

True and something believed to be true

True and something believed to be true In the gospel of John in the New Testament (18:28-40), Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, a Roman governor. Pilate, who is a sensible and experienced man, is perplexed as to what Jesus has done to warrant a meeting with him. After a short exchange between the two men, we begin to see truth in two different ways. On the one hand, Jesus has a very firm idea (18:37): You are right in saying I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. To which Pilate merely replies: What is truth? as if to say, You think truth exists independently of everyone as a standard by which we can judge our beliefs?[1] The question, what is truth, is central to everyday life and the ways of knowing help us begin to answer it. When you know something, you are certain about it and have no doubts regarding the matter; when you believe something, you merely think it is true and are not completely certain about it. There are many things that people assume are true but a quick look at specific ways of knowing might prove otherwise. The ways of knowing-language, perception, reason and emotion-serve to distinguish the truth and remind people that some claims arent meant to be taken at face value. There are many types of perception. Nave realism is a view of perception that asserts that we directly perceive the world as it is. Objects are simplified; the way that things smell, look, taste, sound and feel is how they smell, look, taste, sound and feel. We hear a sound when a tree falls because the tree made a sound when it fell. Though, reasonably, there is a lot more to perception. For example, Though thing s may appear to be colored to us, our experiences of color are merely representative of the surface properties of objects[2]; the physical property of reflecting certain wavelengths of light and the actual color as we experience it are two different things.[3] This eventually leads to the idea of representative realism, which suggests that perception is not as simple and passive of a process that the naive realism is. Representative realism follows the idea that we simply are not able to obtain enough information about our surroundings with our senses. Instead, it involves the person; we supply most of the content of our experience.[4] For example, to most people touching a table means that contact had been made. But this perception is a mistaken one; science refutes that claim and states that when someone touches a table, no physical contact had taken place. According to physics, the table is made up of millions and millions of atoms and it is in their nature that when coming into contact with another atom, they repel each other. So when a hand, also made up of millions of atoms, comes into contact with a table, the atoms repel each other and scientifically, the hand touched nothing. Our sense of perception allows us to take the claim of touching the table to be a true claim and there is little or no doubt regarding it. But after studying the ways of knowing that involves perception, it has been ascertained that it has several weaknesses and learning about them helps us re-evaluate what we considered to be true. Language is a matter of syntax, in this case, representation of meaning. When communicating, the first step is to encode meaning in syntax and then convert it back into something significant. Thus language is the medium of communication. But not everything can be expressed in language, though it is a dynamic part of peoples lives language changes. Words go out of fashion, they start to mean different things and people invent words and different ways of stringing them together. So things that might have been one thing during a certain period of time might not be the same now, and since knowledge also differs with every language, something that is considered to be the truth in one language may not be in another. The quest for knowledge and truth is limited by our language and its ability to control what we can and cannot know.[5] Language is ubiquitous and something that surrounds us so completely that we rarely are consciously aware of it. Language is relevant to the theory of knowledge because it is the primary way we acquire knowledge about our surroundings. But truth sometimes becomes ambiguous due to the variety of interpretations of language. For example, the U.S government has been accused of approving the usage torture such as water-boarding on extrajudicial prisoners by the CIA. The government denied it as torture and instead claimed that it is an enhanced interrogation technique. The truth remains ambiguous in this case , is it really a severe technique of interrogation or is it torture? Water-boarding is classified as torture but the government manipulated the words used to describe the action to blur the truth of the matter. Language can be misinterpreted because what one person means when they have said something may not be what another person understands. If a person sometimes does not understand the implied meanings of certain words, they can be misled to believe that it is something else, leading to misunderstandings. Meaning is an integral part of language; to discover the truth, one must first try to understand what is meant by this sentence before the decision of whether this sentence is true or not can be made. Emotion sometimes makes it harder for us to differentiate between what it true and what is believed true. Strong emotion distorts the other ways of knowledge.[6] Emotion influences the way we think and many of our intuitions are based on gut feelings, so when it is linked with find ing the truth, it can be described as a sixth sense, or having a feeling, we do not know that there is truth in what we believe, we just feel it.[7] Feelings cannot be trusted all of the time because we do not know whether or not they are indicating the truth. Because emotions affect the way we perceive, perhaps finding the truth based on emotions isnt the best way to start, it does one thing. It allows belief to bloom. Peoples strong beliefs considering some matter is able to power their notions that what they believe is in fact the truth, and even though it may not be, it is the truth to them. A definition of knowing could be the awareness of the truth of something; for instance a belief or faith in something; which is regarded as truth beyond any doubt.[8] To reason means to let logic take the reins of trying to find the truth. People are able to use past experiences to work out what has happened in situations. Rationalists believe that reason is the most important way to find kn owledge. The central principle of rationalism is that we can discover important truths about reality through the use of reason alone.[9] Cogito ergo sum, a famous saying by a famous rationalist Renà © Descartes, was used as the foundation to build a rational system of philosophy. The two ways of reasoning are deductive and inductive. Deductive reasoning allows a person to work from a general case to a more specific instance whereas inductive reasoning is reasoning from a specific case or cases to a general rule. Deductive reasoning uses a general claim to classify something. So it can sometimes be unreasonable to come to a conclusion and simply claim it as the truth without being more thorough about the matter. For instance, the premise all humans are mortal is true, and we know that Socrates is human, so we are able to come to the conclusion that Socrates is, indeed, mortal. Another example uses another premise, everyone who drives at 90 mph is breaking the law, and we know that P aul is breaking the law, so do we come to the conclusion that Paul is driving at 90 mph?[10] No, it is important to remember that when coming to such a conclusion, that it can be a conclusion of an invalid argument. Inductive reasoning goes beyond the immediate evidence of our sense, so we cannot always trust it to be truth.[11] People have a tendency to generalize too fast and jump to wrong conclusions, a result of faulty and unjustified reasoning. Confirmation bias makes these generalizations even worse as people tend to only remember the facts that support what they believe and leave out anything that goes against what they have believe to be the truth. Truth is hard to find when reason and logic are clouded with prejudice. There is a huge difference between knowing something is true and believing that it is true. The various ways of knowing have many drawbacks and may lead one to believe something is true when it isnt. Understanding these shortcomings can only help us recognize that claims of knowledge cannot be taken at face value. Bibliography Goleman, Daniel. Know Thyself, Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books, 2005. Print. Holt , Tim. Theories of Perception. Theory of Knowledge. 2006. theoryof knowledge.info, Web. 10 Jan 2010. . Orwell, George. Politics and the English Language, Norton Reader. New York: W.W. Norton Co., 6th ed., 1984. Print. Sacks, Oliver, The Case of the Colorblind Painter, An Anthropologist on Mars. New York: Knopf, 1995. Print. Southwell, Gareth. Knowledge. Theory of Knowledge. 2006. Philosophy Online, Web. 09 Jan 2010. . Trochim, William. Deduction and Induction. Research Methods: Knowledge Base. 20 Oct 2006. Social Research Methods, Web. 10 Jan 2010. . Van de Lagemaat, Richard. Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print. Van Dyke, Frances. Venn Diagrams and Logic. Illumination; Resources. 2010. thinkinfinity.org, Web. 09 Jan 2010. . Whiteley, C.H.. Physical Objects as Not Reducible to Perceptions, in Klemke, E.D., A. David Kline, Robert Hollinger, eds. Philosophy: The Basic Issues. New York: St. Martins Press, 1982. Print. [1] Southwell, Gareth. Knowledge. Theory of Knowledge. 2006. Philosophy Online, Web. 09 Jan 2010. . [2] Whiteley, C.H.. Physical Objects as Not Reducible to Perceptions, in Klemke, E.D., A. David Kline, Robert Hollinger, eds. Philosophy: The Basic Issues. New York: St. Martins Press, 1982. 90. Print. [3] Holt , Tim. Theories of Perception. Theory of Knowledge. 2006. theoryof knowledge.info, Web. 10 Jan 2010. . [4] Sacks, Oliver, The Case of the Colorblind Painter, An Anthropologist on Mars. New York: Knopf, 1995. 32. Print. [5] Orwell, George. Politics and the English Language, Norton Reader. New York: W.W. Norton Co., 6th ed., 1984. 392. Print. [6] Van de Lagemaat, Richard. Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 146. Print. [7] Goleman, Daniel. Know Thyself, Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books, 2005. 50. Print. [8] Van de Lagemaat, Richard. Theory of Knowledge for the IB Diploma. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 160. Print. [9] Ibid, 143. [10] Van Dyke, Frances. Venn Diagrams and Logic. Illumination; Resources. 2010. thinkinfinity.org, Web. 09 Jan 2010. . [11] Trochim, William. Deduction and Induction. Research Methods: Knowledge Base. 20 Oct 2006. Social Research Methods, Web. 10 Jan 2010. .

The Comedy of Tradgedy Essay -- Literary Analysis, Charlie Chaplin

Watched by grandparents, known by parents, but quickly fleeting in the minds of young ones, Charlie Chaplin is the original â€Å"tramp.† From films such as The Kid or The Circus, Chaplin is the face of silent films. His unique combination of comedy and tragedy is a modern reformation of Shakespeare’s style. Many would agree that Charlie Chaplin is the Shakespeare of silent films. From rags to riches to exile, Chaplin is a timeless comedian and will always be remembered as the â€Å"tramp.† People look at a famous figure like Chaplin and imagine a glamorous life with everything at their disposal, but the last thing people would imagine is a childhood full of suffering and poverty. According to Alan Schroeder, noted biographer, Chaplin was born to a drunkard father and a mentally insane mother (22-24). April 16, 1889, the day one of the greatest actors of the film age was born. Charlie Sr. and Hannah Chaplin named him after his vaudevillian father (Schroeder 21). Charlie Sr. was one of the greatest vaudevillians in England at the time, until his lips touched alcohol (Schroeder 22). Charlie's father became an unbearable drunk that ended up leaving Hannah and their two kids, Charlie and Sidney, to fend for themselves (Schroeder 22). The stress this left on Hannah was toxic. Hannah tried to provide for the children by working as a seamstress for the church (Schroeder 22). Before she had Charlie she too was a vaudevillian, but after Charlie's birth she had given it up (Schroeder 22). Well, until she could barely afford food. She attempted to get back to a stage career, but work was scarce and time-consuming (Schroeder 22). Sidney and Charlie were living a life no child should have to endure. Within a few years, Hannah had given birth to two chil... ...lways be someone out there that idolizes him.Van Gogh, Picasso, and Chaplin will always have two things in common: their artistic abilities, and their lack of appreciation until they were gone. For Picasso and Van Gogh "gone" meant death, but for Chaplin "gone" meant exile. After Chaplin's long-term exile for his "communism" ideals, he once again returned to the U.S. after the Second Red Scare had died down (Encyclopedia of World Biography 439). Upon his return, Chaplin was contacted about receiving academy awards (Authors and Artists for Young Adults Par.2) 4 Academy Awards and 4 Academy Award nominations were only part of the many recognitions he received (Authors and Artists for Young Adults Par.2). Finally Chaplin had received the awards he deserved. Chaplin was a man who contributed so much to the film industry as well as thousands of laughs his films provoked.

Ecommerce in Bangladesh Essay

1. Introduction When Electronic commerce, commonly known as ‘ecommerce’, is the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. Electronic commerce draws on such technologies as electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the at least at one point in the transaction’s life-cycle, although it may encompass a wider range of technologies such as email, mobile devices and telephones as well. Electronic commerce is generally considered to be the sales aspect of ebusiness [1]. It also consists of the exchange of data to facilitate the financing and payment aspects of business transactions. E-commerce can be divided into: i. E-tailing or â€Å"virtual storefronts† on Web sites with online catalogs, sometimes ga thered into a â€Å"virtual mall† ii. The gathering and use of demographic data through Web contacts iii. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the business-tobusiness exchange of data iv. E-mail and fax and their use as media for reaching prospects and established customers (for example, with newsletters) v. Business-to-business buying and selling vi. The security of business transactions The main areas of e-commerce are following: i. Business to Business (B2B) ii. Business to Consumer (B2C) iii. Business to Government (B2G) iv. Government to Business (G2B) 2. Objectives Our objectives are following: i. To define e-commerce and describe how it differs from ebusiness. ii. To identify and describe the unique features of ecommerce technology and discuss their business significance. iii. To describe the major types of e-commerce. iv. To discuss the origins and growth of e-commerce. v. To explain the evolution of e-commerce from its early years to today. vi. To identify the factors that will define the future of ecommerce. vii. To describe the major themes underlying the study of ecommerce. viii. To identify the major academic disciplines contributing to e-commerce and understand design of an e-commerce engine ix. To identify the opportunity and problem of e-commerce implementation in Bangladesh. x. To identify the future of e-commerce. Volume 2 Issue 2, February 2013 www.ijsr.net 150 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 3. E-Commerce in Bangladesh In Bangladesh there is a limited application and use of B2C e-commerce .This field is not yet much developed in Bangladesh. There are many reasons behind it one simple reason this country is not so developed and most of its citizens are poor and uneducated. It is quit natural that there are few customers who is willing and can shop in internet. It will take years to be developed this sector in bd. The telecommunication infrastructure any country affect the Internet services directly, cause it is largely depended on it. In this chapter Define Need for e-commerce in Bangladesh, different sector in Bangladesh, overview of implementation stage of e-commerce in Bangladesh. And there is some problem such as: low internet speed, no payment gateway and internet range, and recommendation. 3.1 Need for E-commerce in Bangladesh With the increasing diffusion of ICTs, more specifically t he Internet, the global business community is rapidly moving towards Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce. The buyers/ importers gain a clear advantage when the Internet gives them access to the global market, by which they can compare prices across regions, find out whether prices vary by order fragmentation, get awareness about substitute/ alternative products. Consequently, the sellers/ exporters make sure that they are well portrayed in the cyber world through websites and portals. Like buyers, sellers also benefit from increased and more efficient access to the global market through the Internet. Bangladesh is pursuing an economic policy of export-led growth. With the rising forces of globalization, it is becoming increasingly important that the private sector, particularly the export sectors are well prepared to meet the requirements and expectations of the importers and also stand out in the competition against exporters in other countries. In such a scenario, two issues are becoming particularly important for Bangladeshi export sectors –one, whether businesses are automating their internal processes with these of ICTs to become increasingly efficient and competitive in a global context, and two, whether businesses have effective presence and participation in the cyber world. International organizations such as UNCTAD (United Nations Center for Trade and Development) and WTO (World Trade Organization) [2] have, over the last several years, put much emphasis on the importance of e-commerce for developing countries. UNCTAD has special programs to facilitate developing countries to transition into e-commerce. The WTO has also develo ped rules and guidelines for global e-commerce transactions. 3.2 E-commerce in Different Sector in Bangladesh Despite being a under developed country, selected segments of the Bangladeshi business community has embraced technology with reasonable success. Personal computers and the Internet are also emerging as day-to-day business tools. These positive indicators are favoring the prospects of e-commerce in Bangladesh. i. RMG Sector ii. Banking on the Web (Online Banking) iii. Online Shopping iv. Web Hosting, Domain v. Online cards, gifts vi. Pay Bill 3.3 The Existing Situation and Potential of E-commerce in Bangladesh Internet services are presently available in Bangladesh. Its usage for e-commerce by the Bangladeshi producers to export as well as to access inputs will be dependent on their willingness and ability to use this medium as well as that of the buyers of final products and the sellers of intermediate goods and services. Figure 1 depicts the three dimensions of e-commerce. Business to-Consumers (B2C) e-commerce is practically non-existent within Bangladesh, while a very limited level of Business-to-Business (B2B) and Businessto-Government (B2G) transactions exists [3]. The potential for use of e-commerce by Bangladeshi consumers and businesses with foreign firms is much brighter, and can play an important role in boosting the country’s exports. A significant volume of B2G is also possible, as the government remains the biggest spender. Figure 1. The Three Dimensions of E-commerce 3.4 E-commerce growth in Bangladesh E-commerce growth in Bangladesh shown in figure 3.2 in the year of 2000 e-commerce business is 11440 million taka. In the years of 2001 business of e-commerce is 15840 million taka and increase year by year 2002 business is 18980 million taka 2002 to 2004 businesses is not very fast but in the year of 2005 business of e-commerce is 22480 and end the year of 2006 business of e-commerce growth is 252000 million taka. Figure 2. E-commerce growth in Bangladesh 4. Methodologies The methodologies of our survey are given below: 4.1 Identification of scope of study 151 Volume 2 Issue 2, February 2013 www.ijsr.net International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 To accomplish the project objectives, a systematic process is followed. The project process begins with the identification of the project topic where studies was carried out to obtain enough information on the topic. 4.2 Group discussions to collect suggestions on the survey of e-commerce system Discuss with group member about the topic and collect their suggestions on this topic. Also discuss impacts of ecommerce in our society and business and barriers ecommerce in different sectors in Bangladesh and the future of e-commerce system. 4.3 E-commerce site visits as clients Some e-commerce websites visits were made as clients. We visited websites like www.ebay.com, browsed many products, added product to shopping cart, created user account and observed the check out process. We also examined their user interface, front end design and various category of product. We searched products by different types, t he product names and the company name. 4.4 Internet search to collect data on e-commerce growth world wide We searched the internet to collect data on e-commerce business growth based on time, data on e-commerce revenue based on geographic locations. We also collected data about e-commerce business growth and present situation of ecommerce in Bangladesh. 4.5 Architecture and code review of e-commerce site We reviewed the main technologies involved in ecommerce site, which include php sessions, catalog technology, server technology (hardware and software). We also reviewed credit card transaction and shopping cart checkout process. 4.6 Interviews to find what people think about ecommerce We interviewed people from various sections of the society to find out what they think about e-commerce and what changes they needed. We also discussed with them what the advantages and disadvantages of e-commerce systems are. 4.7 Introducing intentional change to understand ecommerce engine We downloaded e-commerce site code and changed the catalog of product, banner, product detail, product image, and increase and decrease number of product show in the main page also changed the theme of e-commerce site. We entered new products and removed selling product and updated the products. 5.1 Architecture This is the design of front-end design shown in Figure 3. There is a one home page, wish list, acco unt, shopping cart, and product list and checkout option. Figure 3. E-commerce site front end design 5.2 Database Structure 5.2.1 E-R Diagram A sample entity–relationship diagram using Chen’s notation is shown in Figure 4. 5. Technical Design of E-Commerce Site The technical design of e-commerce site include database structure, database schema, table structure, php session, shopping cart, e-r diagram, and credit card transaction. Figure 4. A sample entity–relationship diagram using Chen’s notation In software engineering, an entity–relationship model (ER model for short) is an abstract [4] and conceptual representation of data. Entity–relationship modeling is a database modeling method, used to produce a type of conceptual schema or semantic data model of a system, often 152 Volume 2 Issue 2, February 2013 www.ijsr.net International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 a relational database, and its requirements in a top-down fashion. Diagrams created by this process are called entity– relationship diagrams or ER diagrams. Using the three schema approach to software engineering, there are three levels of ER models that may be developed. The conceptual data model is the highest level ER model in that it contains the least granular detail but establishes the overall scope of what is to be included within the model set. The conceptual ER model normally defines master reference data entities that are commonly used by the organization. Developing an enterprise-wide conceptual ER model is useful to support documenting the data architecture for an organization. A conceptual ER model may be used as the foundation for one or more logical data models. The purpose of the conceptual ER model is then to establish structural metadata commonality for the master data entities between the set of logical ER models. The conceptual data model may be used to form commonality relationships between ER models as a basis for data m odel integration. A logical ER model does not require a conceptual ER model especially if the scope of the logical ER model is to develop a single disparate information system. The logical ER model contains more detail than the conceptual ER model. In addition to master data entities, operational and transactional data entities are now defined [5]. The details of each data entity are developed and the entity relationships between these data entities are established. The logical ER model is however developed independent of technology into which it will be implemented. One or more physical ER models may be developed from each logical ER model. The physical ER model is normally developed be instantiated as a database. Therefore, each physical ER model must contain enough detail to produce a database and each physical ER model is technology dependent since each database management system is somewhat different. The physical model is normally forward engineered to instantiate the structur al metadata into a database management system as relational database objects such as database tables, database indexes such as unique key indexes, and database constraints such as a foreign key constraint or a commonality constraint. The ER model is also normally used to design modifications to the relational database objects and to maintain the structural metadata of the database. The first stage of information system design uses these models during the requirements analysis to describe information needs or the type of information that is to be stored in a database. The data modeling technique can be used to describe any ontology (i.e. an overview and classifications of used terms and their relationships) for a certain area of interest. In the case of the design of an information system that is based on a database, the conceptual data model is, at a later stage (usually called logical design), mapped to a logical data model, such as the relational model; this in turn is mapped to a physical model during physical design. 5.2.2 The Building Blocks: Entities, Relationships, and Attributes The building blocks: entities, relationships, and attributes as shown in Figure 5, first here two related entities then an entity with an attribute next in this figure a relationship with and attribute and finally see primary key. Figure 5. The building blocks: entities, relationships, and attributes An entity may be defined as a thing which is recognized as being capable of an independent existence and which can be uniquely identified. An entity is an abstraction from the complexities of some domain. When we speak of an entity we normally speak of some aspect of the real world which can be distinguished from other aspects of the real world. An entity may be a physical object such as a house or a car, an event such as a house sale or a car service, or a concept such as a customer transaction or order. Although the term entity is the one most commonly used, following Chen we should really distinguish between an entity and an entity-type. An entity-type is a category. An entity, strictly speaking, is an instance of a given entity-type. There are usually many instances of an entity-type. Because the term entity-type is somewhat cumbersome, most people tend to use the term entity as a synonym for this term. Entiti es can be thought of as nouns. Examples: a computer, an employee, a song, a mathematical theorem. A relationship captures how entities are related to one another. Relationships can be thought of as verbs, linking two or more nouns. Examples: owns relationship between a company and a computer, supervises relationship between an employee and a department [6], performs relationship between an artist and a song, a proved relationship between a mathematician and a theorem. The model’s linguistic aspect described above is utilized in Volume 2 Issue 2, February 2013 www.ijsr.net 153 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 the declarative database query language ERROL, which mimics natural language, constructs. ERROL’s semantics and implementation are based on Reshaped relational algebra (RRA), a relational algebra which is adapted to the entity–relationship model and captures its linguistic aspect. Entities and relationships can both have attributes. Examples: an employee entity might have a Social Security Number (SSN) attribute; the proved relationship may have a date attribute. Every entity (unless it is a weak entity) must have a minimal set of uniquely identifying attributes, which is called the entity’s primary key. Entity–relationship diagrams don’t show single entities or single instances of relations. Rather, they show entity sets and relationship sets. Example: a particular song is an entity. The collection of all songs in a database is an entity set. The eaten relationship b etween a child and her lunch is a single relationship. The set of all such child-lunch relationships in a database is a relationship set. In other words, a relationship set corresponds to a relation in mathematics, while a relationship corresponds to a member of the relation. 5.2.3Relationships, Roles and Cardinalities In Chen’s original paper he gives an example of a relationship and its roles. He describes a relationship â€Å"marriage† and its two roles â€Å"husband† and â€Å"wife†. A person plays the role of husband in a marriage (relationship) and another person plays the role of wife in the (same) marriage. These words are nouns. That is no surprise; naming things requires a noun. However as is quite usual with new ideas, many eagerly appropriated the new terminology but then applied it to their own old ideas. Thus the lines, arrows and crows-feet of their diagrams owed more to the earlier Bachman diagrams than to Chen’s relationship diamon ds. And they similarly misunderstood other important concepts. In particular, it became fashionable (now almost to the point of exclusivity) to â€Å"name† relationships and roles as verbs or phrases. 5.2.4 Limitations ER models assume information content that can readily be represented in a relational database. They describe only a relational structure for this information. Hence, they are inadequate for systems in which the information cannot readily be represented in relational form, such as with semistructured data. Furthermore, for many systems, the possible changes to the information contained are nontrivial and important enough to warrant explicit specification. Some authors have extended ER modeling with constructs to represent change, an approach supported by the original author; an example is Anchor Modeling. An alternative is to model change separately, using a process modeling technique. Additional techniques can be used for other aspects of systems. For instance, ER models roughly Figure 6. E-R modeling 5.3 Table Structure In relational databases and flat file databases, a table is a set of data elements (values) that is organized using a model of vertical columns (which are identified by their name) and horizontal rows, the cell being the unit where a row and column intersect. A table has a specified number of columns, but can have any number of rows each row is identified by the values appearing in a particular column subset which has been identified as a unique key index. Table is another term for relations; although there is the difference in that a table is usually a multi-set (bag) of rows whereas a relation is a set and does not allow duplicates. Besides the actual data rows, tables generally have associated with them some meta-information, such as constraints on the table or on the values within particular columns. The data in a table does not have to be physically stored in the database. Views are also relational tables, but 154 correspond to just 1 of the 14 different modeling techniques offered by UML. Another limitation: ER modeling is aimed at specifying information from scratch. This suits the design of new, standalone information systems, but is of less help in integrating pre-existing information sources that already define their own data representations in detail. Even where it is suitable in principle, ER modeling is rarely used as a separate activity. One reason for this is today’s abundance of tools to support diagramming and other design support directly on relational database management systems. These tools can readily extract database diagrams that are very close to ER diagrams from existing databases, and they provide alternative views on the information contained in such diagrams. In a survey, Brodie [7] and Liu could not find a single instance of entity–relationship modeling inside a sample of ten Fortune 100 companies. Badia and Lemire blame this lack of use on the lack of guidance but also on the lack of benefits, such as lack of support for data integration. Also, the enhanced entity–relationship model (EER modeling) introduces several concepts which are not present in ER modeling. ER modeling as shown in Figure 6. Volume 2 Issue 2, February 2013 www.ijsr.net International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 their data are calculated at query time. Another example is nicknames, which represent a pointer to a table in another database. 5.4 Database Schema A database schema of a database system is its structure described in a formal language supported by the database management system (DBMS) and refers to the organization of data to create a blueprint of how a database will be constructed (divided into database tables). The formal definition of database schema is a set of formulas (sentences) called integrity constraints imposed on a database. These integrity constraints ensure compatibility between parts of the schema. All constraints are expressible in the same language. A database can be considered a structure in realization of the database language. The states of a created conceptual schema are transformed into an explicit mapping, the database schema. This describes how real world entities are modeled i n the database. â€Å"A database schema specifies, based on the database administrator’s knowledge of possible applications, the facts that can enter the database, or those of interest to the possible end-users.† The notion of a database schema plays the same role as the notion of theory in predicate calculus. A model of this â€Å"theory† closely corresponds to a database, which can be seen at any instant of time as a mathematical object. Thus a schema can contain formulas representing integrity constraints specifically for an application and the constraints specifically for a type of database, all expressed in the same database language. In a relational database [8], the schema defines the tables, fields, relationships, views, indexes, packages, procedures, functions, queues, triggers, types, sequences, materialized views, synonyms, database links, directories, Java, XML schemas, and other elements. Schemas are generally stored in a data dictionary. Although a schema is defined in text database language, the term is often used to refer to a graphical depiction of the database structure. In other words, schema is the structure of the database that defines the objects in the database. In an Oracle Database system, the term â€Å"schema† has a slightly different connotation. For the interpretation used in an Oracle Database, see schema object. 5.5 Levels of Database Schema A conceptual schema or conceptual data model is a map of concepts and their relationships. This describes the semantics of an organization and represents a series of assertions about its nature. Specifically, it describes the things of significance to an organization (entity classes), about which it is inclined to collect information, and characteristics of (attributes) and associations between pairs of those things of significance (relationships). Figure 7. Conceptual schema or conceptual data model A logical schema is an alias that allows a unique name to be given to all the physical schemas containing the same data store structures. The aim of the logical schema is to ensure the portability of the procedures and models on the different physical schemas. In this way, all developments in Designer are carried out exclusively on logical schemas. A logical schema can have one or more physical implementations on separate physical schemas, but they must be based on data servers of the same technology. A logical schema is always directly linked to a technology. To be usable, a logical schema must be declared in a context. Declaring a logical schema in a context consists of indicating which physical schema corresponds to the alias – logical schema – for this context. For example: The logical schema LEDGER is the set of Sybase tables required for the functioning of the accounting application. These tables are stored in a physical schema for each installation of the accounting application. Work in Designer or Operator is always done on the logical schema LEDGER. Only the context allows the physical schema on which the operations are actually done to be determined. Thus, the user can switch from one physical environment to another in a single action. A logical schema’s example is shown in figure 8. Table 1: Name of the logical schema Name of the logical schema LEDGER LEDGER LEDGER Context Boston Seattle Production Seattle Test Physical Schema Sybase Boston LDG Sybase SEATTLE PROD LDG Sybase SEATTLE TEST LDG Volume 2 Issue 2, February 2013 www.ijsr.net 155 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 This article discusses the Oracle use of the term. For other uses of â€Å"schema† in a database context, such as a graphical representation of tables and other objects in a database, see database schema. In an Oracle database, associated with each database user is a schema. A schema comprises a collection of schema objects. Examples of schema objects include: tables, views, sequences, synonyms, indexes, clusters, database links, snapshots, procedures, functions and packages. Figure 8. Logical schemas Physical schema is a term used in data management to describe how data is to be represented and stored (files, indices, et al.) in secondary storage using a particular database management system (DBMS) (e.g., Oracle RDBMS, Sybase SQL Server, etc.). The logical schema was the way data were represented to conform to the constraints of a particular approach to database management. At that time the choices were hierarchical and network. Describing the logical schema, however, still did not describe how physically data would be stored on disk drives. That is the domain of the physical schema. Now logical schemas describe data in terms of relational tables and columns, object-oriented classes, and XML tags. A single set of tables, for example, can be implemented in numerous ways, up to and including an architecture where table rows are maintained on computers in different countries. Figure 10. Schema objects 5.6 Php Sessions A PHP session variable is used to store information about, or change settings for a user session. Session variables hold information about one single user, and are available to all pages in one application [9]. When you are working with an application, you open it, do some changes and then you close it. This is much like a Session. The computer knows who you are. It knows when you start the application and when you end. But on the internet there is one problem: the web server does not know who you are and what you do because the HTTP address doesn’t maintain state. A PHP session solves this problem by allowing you to store user information on the server for later use (i.e. username, shopping items, etc). However, session information is temporary and will be deleted after the user has left the website. If you need a permanent storage you may want to store the data in a database. Sessions work by creating a unique id (UID) for each visitor and store variables based on this UID. The UID is either stored in a cookie or is propagated in the URL. In PHP, sessions can keep track of authenticated in users. They are an essential building block in today’s websites with big communities and a lot of user activity. Without sessions, everyone would be an anonymous visitor. In system terms, PHP sessions are little files, stored on the server’s disk. But on high traffic sites, the disk I/O involved, and not being able to share sessions between multiple web servers make this default system far from ideal. This is how to enhance PHP session management in terms of performance and share ability. If you have multiple web servers all serving the same site, sessions should be shared among those servers, and not 156 Figure 9. Physical schema In Database lore, a schema object is a logical data storage structure. This possibly originates from the use of the term in the context of Oracle databases. The term â€Å"schema† can have other meanings when talking about non-Oracle databases. Volume 2 Issue 2, February 2013 www.ijsr.net International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 reside on each server’s individual disk. Because once a user gets load-balanced to a different server, the session cannot be found, effectively logging the user out. A common way around this is to use custom session handlers. 5.7 Shopping Card A shopping cart is a software application that typically runs on the computer where your Web site is located (the Web server), and allows your customers to do things such as searching for a product in your store catalog, adding a selected product to a basket, and placing an order for it. The shopping cart â€Å"integrates† with the rest of your Web site. In other words, there are typically links on your Web pages that customers can click on, and which allow them to perform some of the functions described above. For example, many e-commerce Web sites have a â€Å"search† link appearing on every Web page, as part of the navigation area Shopping carts are written in a variety of different programming languages. Some of them provide full access to the â€Å"source code†, thus allowing experienced programmers to make modifications to the system features, some others don’t. Some shopping carts run on Windows Web servers, some on Unix, others on both. In most cases, you can place the shopping cart on your Web server simply by transferring its files there using any FTP [10] software, where FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. For example, our shopping cart software – called Product Card is a collection of files written in a programming language called Classic ASP, and that you host on a Windows server. Experienced programmers can customize the system as they wish as the source code is included. iii. Merchant runs credit card through th e point of sale unit. The amount of the sale is either hand-entered or transmitted by the cash register. iv. Merchant transmits the credit card data and sales amount with a request for authorization of the sale to their acquiring bank. . v. The acquiring bank that processes the transaction, routes the authorization request to the card-issuing bank. The credit card number identifies type of card, issuing bank, and the cardholder’s account. vi. If the cardholder has enough credit in their account to cover the sale, the issuing bank authorizes the transaction and generates an authorization code. This code is sent back to the acquiring bank. vii. The acquiring bank processing the transaction, and then sends the approval or denial code to the merchant’s point of sale unit. Each point of sale device has a separate terminal ID for credit card processors to be able to route data back to that particular unit. viii. A sale draft, or slip, is printed out by the point of sale unit or cash register. The merchant asks the buyer to sign the sale draft, which obligates them to reimburse the cardissuing bank for the amount of the sale. ix. At a later time, probably that night when the store is closing up, the merchant revi ews all the authorizations stored in the point of sale unit against the signed sales drafts. When all the credit card authorizations have been verified to match the actual sales drafts, the merchant will capture, or transmit, the data on each authorized credit card transaction to the acquiring bank for deposit. This is in lieu of depositing the actual signed paper drafts with the bank. x. The acquiring bank performs what is called an interchange for each sales draft, with the appropriate card-issuing bank. The card-issuing bank transfers the amount of the sales draft, minus an interchange fee to the acquiring bank. xi. The acquiring bank then deposits the amount of the all the sales drafts submitted by the merchant, less a discount fee, into the merchant’s bank account. Credit card transaction is shown in Figure 12. Figure 11. Google Checkout shopping cart 5.8 Credit Card Transaction From the information presented in the preceding sections, we can start to piece together what is occurring during a credit card transaction. We know that merchants have a relationship with either an acquiring bank or independent sales organization, through which they have their credit card transactions processed. The section on industry terminology shows us some of the fees involved in this process. Merchants must pay the acquiring bank or ISO a discount fee based on the total amount of the sale. Likewise, the acquiring bank or ISO must pay the card issuer an interchange fee when they process the sales draft from the merchant. Steps involved in a normal credit card transaction: i. Merchant calculates the amount of purchase and asks buyer for payment ii. Buyer presents merchant with a credit card. Figure 12. Credit card transaction 6. Conclusion Electronic commerce or e-commerce is a term for any type of business, or commercial transaction that involves the transfer of information across the Internet. It is currently one of the most important aspects of the Internet to emerge. E157 Volume 2 Issue 2, February 2013 www.ijsr.net International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online ISSN: 2319-7064 commerce has grown tremendously worldwide. In the future e-commerce may become totally mobile based. In Bangladesh E-commerce also become a very powerful business mechanism but Bangladesh will have to overcome the problems with poor network connectivity and electronic payment issues. The problems identified in this Project are: Security problem, Confusing checkout process, Customers can’t find products, Customers can’t touch and fell a product, No sales staff means any chance of up-selling, Language barrier. Regarding the identified problems the following solutions have been proposed: Merchant needs to ensure the platform employs strong encryption for payment processing and customer data retention. E-commerce platform should always have a visible running total of purchases prominently displayed during the customer experience. E-commerce platform must support the ability to present the customer with nested categories as well as a search box. An e-commerce platform should also support the ability to attach multiple pictures to a product catalog page, allowing the consumer to view the product from multiple angles. E-commerce platform needs to be able to associate products with related and complimentary products. The system should allow all tran slation to be done centrally. My M.Sc Engg. in CSE is running at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh. My research interest areas are the image processing, Computer Networks, Computer Networks and Data Security, Compiler, Theory of Computations, etc. My several papers Published in International Journals. Muhammad Golam Kibria, Assistant Professor and Head, Department of CSE, University of Information Technology & Sciences, Dhaka, Bangladesh. I completed Masters in Mobile Computing and Communication from the University of Greenwich, London, UK. My research interests are Computer Network Security and image processing, Sensor, Robotics and Wireless Sensor Network. Mohammad Nuruzzaman Bhuiyan is working as a Lecturer at the Department of CSE & IT, University of Information Technology & Sciences (UITS), Baridhara, Dhaka-1212.Bangladesh. I have completed my B.Sc Engg. and M.Sc Engg. in CS from The University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffie ld S10 2TN, UK. My research interest areas are Fundamental of Computer, Web technology, Computer Networks, Computer Networks and Data Security, Theory of Computations, etc. My several papers accepted in International Journals. References [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_commerce [2] Tkacz, Ewaryst; Kapczynski, Adrian (2009), Springer, P. 255 [3] Online Today, The Electronic Mall†. CIS/compuserve nostalgia. Http://www.gsbrown.org/compuserve/electronic-mall1984-04/. [4] http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-buysdiaperscom-parent-in-545-mln-deal-2010-11-08/. [5] http://techcrunch.com/2011/03/28/ebay-to-acquire-gsicommerce-for-2-4-billion [6] Miller, Holmes E. And Engemann, Kurt J. (1996); A methodology for managing information-based risk; Information Resources Management Journal; 9:2; 17-24 [7] http://www.e-consultancy.com/news blog/363726/whydo-customers-abandon-the-Checkoutprocess.htmlcopyright 2008 Voloper Creations Inc. 7 [8] http://www.articlesbase.com/e-commercearticles/impacts-of-e-commerce-on-business1882952.html [9] http://www.startupsmart.com.au/mentor/michaelfox/2011-02-03 Authors Profile Md. Akbor Hossain received the B.Sc degrees in CSE University of Information Technology and Sciences (UITS), Baridhara, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh. I am working as a Lab Demonstrator at the Department of CSE & IT, University of Information Technology & Sciences (UITS), Baridhara, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh. *Md. Akkas Ali is working as a Lecturer at the Department of CSE & IT, University of Information Technology & Sciences (UITS), Baridhara, Dhaka1212, Bangladesh. I completed my B.Sc Engg. in CSE from Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), Chittagong-4349, Bangladesh. Volume 2 Issue 2, February 2013 www.ijsr.net

Book summary of “Montana 1948” Essay

Race, social status and gender are three factors, in which society uses to judge people. Although many people do not agree with this aspect, our society embraces it by categorizing all people under theses three factors. Those who consider themselves to be better then others, attempt to belittle those whom they consider to be weaker. These people are often known, as the Fringe of society. Montana 1948 is an excellent example of this struggle between the weak and the strong. Montana 1948 is a very good example of what it was like to be part of the fringe of society. The author does an extraordinary job at depicting certain struggles of power between the characters in the book. The reason these struggles are so easy to pick up on is because the narrator describes the characters to full detail. This allows for a further enhancement of the book to which you can become more acquainted with the characters. There for you can predict the struggles between characters. One of the main struggles in this story is between the Fringes of society and those who have power. By power I mean those who are able to speak for themselves and defend themselves. Good examples of power, in the society of Montana 1948, are the white men. Those who would be considered a fringe would be the Native Americans, women, and children. It is obvious, in the story, that men had the power. The male characters in the book prove this; such as Wes, his father, and Frank. Each character has a certain overpowering attitude over the other. Wes being the character, which most frequently shows up in all the scenes, is able to take over the scene with his overpowering attitude. This is true because several occasions in the book demonstrate the wife’s reluctant ness to make decisions on her own there for always seeking Wes’s approval; † If my mother said it, it was so, yet my father’s confirmation was still necessary† page 43. This demonstrates the superiority that Wes had over the family, hence putting the wife on the fringe of the household. Frank on the other hand is more of an easy going character, but since he was a doctor and was his fathers favorite, he is given more liability and credit over Wes. â€Å"Frank was witty, charming, at smiling ease with his life and every thing in it. Along side his brother my father soon seemed somewhat prosaic. Oh, stolid, surely, and  steady and dependable. But inevitably, inescapably dull. Nothing glittered in my father’s wake the way it did in Uncle Frank’s†, page36. In this case Wes has always had to struggle with Frank over favoritism over their father. This favoritism is apparent when their father gets up in front of a large crowd to address his son Frank as a war hero, † Now I’d like to bring my son up here.† Page 37. The favoritism is also imminent in the way the father addressed the speech, † He simply said â€Å"my son.† And why wouldn’t the county sheriff be called on to make a small speech?† page37. The last character, which is considered to be the most powerful in the book, and a scene-stealer, is Grandpa. Obviously as the head of the family he has power over his sons, but his high social status and wealth also puts him above and beyond most people. This power to which he attains allows him to do most anything he pleases, without having any confrontations from the towns people. â€Å"He didn’t call for silence. That wasn’t his way. He simply stood there; his feet planted wide, his hands on his hips†page37. â€Å"He assumed that once people saw him, they would give him their attention. And they did† page37. This example clearly demonstrates the Grandpas superiority over all the people. These where the main characters, in the story, and they demonstrated what it was like to be above the Fringe. Being part of a fringe, means that you do not have much say around others. Native Americans are a common example of what a fringe is like. They isolate themselves from the town, because white people put down Native Americans due to their race. Native Americans are not the only people part of the Fringe. At times women may be considered that also. For they are not described by the narrator as much as men, hence showing favoritism of men over women by the author. It is true that Native Americans and women are not as socially high as men.

Facts About Phrasal Verbs

Facts About Phrasal Verbs Facts About Phrasal Verbs Facts About Phrasal Verbs By Mark Nichol A phrasal verb consists of a verb and a preposition, a verb and an adverb, or a verb, an adverb, and a preposition the verb’s partners are collectively known as particles that combine to produce a figure of speech. (Phrasal verbs are common in idiomatic expressions, such as â€Å"add insult to injury† or â€Å"scared them out of their wits.†) Examples include â€Å"call back,† â€Å"check up,† and â€Å"give in.† Note that phrasal verbs can be converted to adverbs or nouns, and when they are, they are either hyphenated or closed up: â€Å"Call back in a few minutes,† but â€Å"Dial the callback number.† â€Å"She’s going to check up on it,† but â€Å"I’m going for a checkup.† Not every phrasal verb has a converted form: â€Å"Give in† never appears as give-in, though it’s plausible: â€Å"He has a give-in attitude† and â€Å"I’ve been guilty of a give-in now and then† make grammatical sense, but those idioms have not been adopted into English. (If the noun form were part of the language, although such forms are generally closed up, give-in would be an exception because the first element of the phrase ends with a vowel.) Phrasal verbs are easily split by pronouns, nouns, and noun phrases, as in â€Å"I’m making it up,† â€Å"Put your toys away,† and â€Å"I poured the soup mix in.† Note that a phrasal verb can be split or kept together when used with a noun (â€Å"Put down your pencils† or â€Å"Put your pencils down†) but no such choice is possible with a pronoun: You can write, â€Å"Put them down,† but â€Å"Put down them† isn’t considered grammatically correct. Often, though both options may be correct, a phrasal verb may read better with an intervening word or phrase than left intact, and may even more clearly indicate the correct meaning in the former format: The headline â€Å"Mom Scares Off Attacker† seems awkward somehow, but move the particle to the end, and it flows more smoothly: â€Å"Mom Scares Attacker Off.† Likewise, â€Å"He passed around a fruit-and-cheese hors d’oeuvre plate† suggests that the subject veered to avoid the plate, whereas â€Å"He passed a fruit-and-cheese hors d’oeuvre plate around† clearly conveys that he participated in the movement of the plate. Also, not every phrasal verb lends itself to splitting: â€Å"Gave off,† as in â€Å"It gave off a foul odor,† could conceivably be split (â€Å"It gave a foul odor off†), but such syntax looks awkward. In other cases, the elements never appear together, as in â€Å"I can’t tell them apart,† in which tell and apart must be separated by, not followed by, them. When an additional adverb is included with a phrasal verb, whether the adverb can be inserted within it depends on whether a pronoun or noun has already been inserted. All these variations are correct, including the third one, in which picked and at are separated by gingerly: â€Å"Gingerly, she picked at the food.† â€Å"She gingerly picked at the food.† â€Å"She picked gingerly at the food.† â€Å"She picked at the food gingerly.† (Only â€Å"She picked at gingerly the food† and â€Å"She picked at the gingerly food† are ungrammatical.) But in the variations of the following sentence, because a pronoun, not a noun, is involved, the third option is invalid: â€Å"Carefully, he looked it over.† â€Å"He carefully looked it over.† â€Å"He looked carefully it over.† â€Å"He looked it over carefully.† Because of the rich variety of forms possible for phrasal verbs, you are advised, when in doubt, to consult a dictionary’s usage note for the root verb of the phrasal verb, or another usage resource. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names3 Cases of Complicated Hyphenation50 Musical Terms Used in Nonmusical Senses

Atomic Number Definition - Chemistry Glossary

Atomic Number Definition - Chemistry Glossary The atomic number of a chemical element is the number of  protons in the nucleus of an atom of the  element. It is the charge number of the nucleus since neutrons carry no net electrical charge. The atomic number determines the identity of an element and many of its chemical properties. The modern periodic table is ordered by increasing atomic number. Atomic Number Examples The atomic number of hydrogen is 1; the atomic number of carbon is 6, and the atomic number of silver is 47, Any atom with 47 protons is an atom  of silver. Varying its number of neutrons changes its isotopes while changing the numbers of electrons makes it an ion. Also Known As: The atomic number is also known as the proton number. It may be represented by the capital letter Z. The use of capital letter Z comes from the German word Atomzahl, which means atomic number. Before the year 1915, the word Zahl (number) was used to describe an elements position on the periodic table. Relationship Between Atomic Number and Chemical Properties The reason the atomic number determines the chemical properties of an element is that the number of protons also determines the number of electrons in an electrically neutral atom. This, in turn, defines the electron configuration of the atom and the nature of its outermost or valence shell. The behavior of the valence shell determines how readily an atom will form chemical bonds and participate in chemical reactions. New Elements and Atomic Numbers At the time of this writing, elements with atomic numbers 1 through 118 have been identified. Scientists typically talk about discovering new elements with higher atomic numbers. Some researchers believe there may be an island of stability, where the configuration of protons and neutrons of superheavy atoms will be less susceptible to the quick radioactive decay seen in known heavy elements.

A Worn Path By Eudora Welty Essay Eudora Welty, A Worn Path, Symbol,

Phoenix Jackson’s name which symbolizes the legend of the mythological phoenix bird is the first type of symbol seen in the story. A phoenix is mythological bird that turns to ashes upon dying and is born again from the ashes. It represents our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment and the events unfolding within it. Phoenix Jackson uses her sensory information to get across the log in the pinewoods. The author notes, â€Å"Putting her right foot out, she mounted the log and shut her eyes. Lifting her skirt, lev... ... finds herself back to reality. The third type of symbol seen in the story is an object. Phoenix completes her journey and obtains medicine for her grandson. Earlier in the story, she risks stealing the hunter’s nickel that falls on the ground to buy her grandson something. With the money, Phoenix stops on the way home to buy her grandson a windmill. The windmill symbolizes the love she has for her grandson. Welty writes: This is what comes to me to do, she said, I’ll go to the store and buy my child a little windmill they sells, made out of paper. He going to find it hard to believe there such thing in the world. I’ll march myself back where he waiting, holding it straight up in this hand (240).Even though, Phoenix has had a long and hard journey she still stops and buys her grandson a windmill on the way home showing the unconditional love she has for him.

Managing Interest rate and exchange rate volatility Essay

Managing Interest rate and exchange rate volatility - Essay Example (Buckley, 1996) Assume for example that Junor Plc issues a fixed rate bond to fund its financing needs and at the same time gives out a loan to another party at a floating interest rate. Her interest payments will therefore be fixed while interest receipts will be variable and will depend on prevailing rates. She will therefore be facing basis risk since her interest expenses and revenues will be determined on different basis. A company faces gap risk when it has both fixed rate liabilities and assets. When fixed rate liabilities exceed fixed rate assets then there is positive Gap, with a positive gap a rise in short term rates increases margins while declining rates decrease margins. On the contrary if fixed rate liabilities are less than fixed rate assets, then there is negative gap. In this case a rise in short-term rates decreases margins while a decrease increases margins.(Buckley, 1996). Changes in interest rates will therefore affect both the cash flows and expected cash flows of Junor Plc in that an increase in interest rates will mean higher cash outflows for the company. Changes in interest rates have also been the major determinants of business cycles or trade cycles in emerging markets such as Thailand in recent times. (Elekdag and Tchakarov, 2006). The figure above is an indication of how interest rates and business cycles are related in Thailand. High interest rates lead to low output whereas low interest rates lead to high output. Therefore Junor Plc is likely to face decreases in demand for its products during a period of the high interest rates and increases in demand during lower interest rates. The degree to which a company is affected by currency fluctuations is referred to as foreign exchange exposure. (Shapiro, 2003). Foreign Exchange exposure can be divided into two main types-Accounting exposure and Economic exposure. Transaction reflects the firm’s risk to exchange rate movements regarding

Psychosocial interventions and cognitive behavioural therapy. A Case Essay

Psychosocial interventions and cognitive behavioural therapy. A Case Study - Essay Example The death occurred several months ago and Rita has been unable to get past her grief. Rita was personable to all staff and she took the assessments easily. She was assessed to have complicated grief, depression and anxiety. There are several challenges for Rita that as clinicians we will attempt to sort out so that she can receive the medical assistance that she needs. Rita was diagnosed with complicated grief as one of the first "symptoms" of her health needs. There are several issues that come about because of complicated grief. Wagner, Knaevelsrud and Maercker found that when a significant person dies it can leave a spouse with a variety of emotions from a post-traumatic stress situation to increased passion and optimism. They also cite that there is a larger body of evidence that shows complicated grief as a disorder that should be seen as different than depression (Wagner, Knaevelsrud and Maercker 2007: 157). Langner and Maerker argue that complicated grief is a disorder that shows "as a combination of sustained intrusion, avoidance and maladjustment symptoms" (Langner and Maerker 2005 cited in Wagner et. al. 2007: 157). They also suggest that this disorder can be related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because it usually is a reaction to having exposure to an event that was stressful. For Rita, the complicated grief is a result of her husbands death which was her traumatic event. His death was not expected when it happened and she was not prepared for it. She may have some responses that are similar to the PTSD symptoms but they do not seem to be the most prevalent in her diagnosis. As the psychiatric nurse part of the mental health team, it is important o notice that grief is always something that happens in life. Most people will have a healthy relationship with grief because they will go through anger ad other emotions naturally. Some may feel that the people who are attempting to help them have ulterior motives. The bereaved may also

Leadership Styles and Traits Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership Styles and Traits - Term Paper Example This term paper discusses the various leadership qualities and styles of leaders that not only enhance the organizational performance but also create a motivated workforce. The four major styles of leadership were discussed in the term paper: situational leadership; transformational leadership; participative leadership; and charismatic leadership. The researcher states that these leadership styles not only judiciously exploit the competencies of the followers but also ensure that they are equipped with necessary knowledge to meet the challenges of time. Kouzes and Posner have asserted that four major traits of leaders vis-Ã  -vis honesty; forward looking; inspiring; and competency are critical paradigms of leaders that cut across gender, race, culture and nationality. These qualities hugely help the leaders to gain the trust of the followers who willingly follow them. The researcher concludes that effective leadership is highly stimulating and encourages an ongoing learning process within and outside the precincts of organization goals and objectives. Good leaders use self example to promote trust and mutual respect which has become a crucial issue today. The leaders promote cross cultural understanding and are able to exploit their competencies for the welfare of the organization. The leadership that learns through experience becomes the enabling factor of organization and provides it with competitive advantage. Hence, leadership initiatives have become extremely relevant part of organizational success.

How Inflation Affected Ford Motor During the 2007-2009 Recession Essay

How Inflation Affected Ford Motor During the 2007-2009 Recession - Essay Example The damans of the machinery from FORD MOTOR decreases and hence the company cannot sustain a large number of workers. The table below shows how the recession affected the employment in FORD MOTOR and other companies in America. As a result of inflation and reduced purchasing power, the entire income raised by households is spent on necessities. As such, there is little disposable income to invest in shares. This is seen when the number of outstanding shares of the FORD MOTOR gradually increased as a result of decreased demand during the recession as shown in the table below: When real income falls below potential income due to a recession, FORD MOTOR laid-off workers, so the unemployment rate goes up and hence households earn less income. The cyclical unemployment rate increases during recessions as FORD MOTOR could not raise sufficient revenue to sustain a large number of workers.  

Evolution of Global Consumer Trends by Datamonitor Essay

Evolution of Global Consumer Trends by Datamonitor - Essay Example As a consequence of the remarkable expansion of luxury markets over the recent decade, the literature in marketing has currently witnessed considerable enthusiasm in the investigation of prestige brands, particularly in the fashion industry. However, scarce is known about the effective process of marketing and observing prestige brands. Research carried out in the UK by Applied Futures, a market research company predicted significant social changes at the advent of the 21st century. Their investigation determined that individual’s needs for appearances and materialism were escalating. Specifically, they identified an elevating demand for flamboyant and status fashion products (M2 Presswire, 2008). For instance, current market reports in Australia appear to provide evidence to this assertion. The Sunday Telegraph revealed an exceptional increase in Australia’s luxury products, such as amplified demand for mink furs, and very expensive jewelleries such as diamonds. This i s, which is important to note, occurred prior to the economic slowdown which started in 1997 (ibid). The perspective for Europe’s textile and fashion industry in 1996 is, primarily, not good. Recent reports on market conditions in Italy, Germany, France and the UK are revealed. Germany’s primary suppliers and retailers of clothes for women predict no or zero growth. Several analysts predict sales of apparel in Italy to remain slow-moving, yet others anticipate significant growth (Weisman et al., 1996). Regardless of a number of encouraging reports everywhere, the UK luxury fashion at the advent of the 21st century is far from pretty. Women in UK remain the primary users and buyers of products within the cosmetics and toiletries department, with roughly eight in ten women admitting that they purchase the bulk or cosmetic and toiletry products in their homes.

Career as a Registered Practical Nurse (Canada) Research Paper

Career as a Registered Practical Nurse (Canada) - Research Paper Example As Pandit (2011) states, â€Å"being a registered nurse is beneficial for a long-term career.† Working as a registered practical nurse is a challenging and rewarding task in Canada. People like to choose the profession of registered practical nursing because it injects the sense of social responsibility in their minds, as well as helps them serve humanity in an appropriate manner. The profession of registered practical nursing requires a person to have a deep interest and effective nursing skills in order to be successful in this field. An interest in the field of medical science and 20 years experience in healthcare as a Personal Support Worker in long-term care, home care and Hospice Palliative care best match the profession of registered practical nursing. Skills in long-term care and hospice palliative care reflect actual nursing role of a registered practical nurse. A registered practical nurse also needs to have a caring and sympathetic personality along with other nursing and clinical skills. According to VandeCreek (2000), love and healing are such intangibles, which are imperative for a patient’s recovery (p. 48). Moreover, he/she should also have a deep knowledge of nursing and direct clinical practices. Such qualities and skills are the perfect match for a person who wants to establish his/her career as a registered practical nurse. There are two main ways for a person to become a registered nurse. First way is a Bachelor’s degree in nursing. A Bachelor’s degree (BSN) is the most common way that people use to earn the status of a registered nurse. A person has to spend full four years as a nursing student to earn this degree and become a registered practical nurse. This degree helps a person get additional clinical experience, as well as career flexibility. Another positive aspect of a BSN degree is that it prepares nurses for clinical practices and for teaching and

Evolution of Global Consumer Trends by Datamonitor Essay

Evolution of Global Consumer Trends by Datamonitor - Essay Example As a consequence of the remarkable expansion of luxury markets over the recent decade, the literature in marketing has currently witnessed considerable enthusiasm in the investigation of prestige brands, particularly in the fashion industry. However, scarce is known about the effective process of marketing and observing prestige brands. Research carried out in the UK by Applied Futures, a market research company predicted significant social changes at the advent of the 21st century. Their investigation determined that individual’s needs for appearances and materialism were escalating. Specifically, they identified an elevating demand for flamboyant and status fashion products (M2 Presswire, 2008). For instance, current market reports in Australia appear to provide evidence to this assertion. The Sunday Telegraph revealed an exceptional increase in Australia’s luxury products, such as amplified demand for mink furs, and very expensive jewelleries such as diamonds. This i s, which is important to note, occurred prior to the economic slowdown which started in 1997 (ibid). The perspective for Europe’s textile and fashion industry in 1996 is, primarily, not good. Recent reports on market conditions in Italy, Germany, France and the UK are revealed. Germany’s primary suppliers and retailers of clothes for women predict no or zero growth. Several analysts predict sales of apparel in Italy to remain slow-moving, yet others anticipate significant growth (Weisman et al., 1996). Regardless of a number of encouraging reports everywhere, the UK luxury fashion at the advent of the 21st century is far from pretty. Women in UK remain the primary users and buyers of products within the cosmetics and toiletries department, with roughly eight in ten women admitting that they purchase the bulk or cosmetic and toiletry products in their homes.

Is the Criminal Justice System Bias Essay Example for Free

Is the Criminal Justice System Bias Essay Abstract This paper will ask several questions and hopefully answer most of those questions. Questions like is the criminal justice system bias against the poor and is the criminal justice system bias against minorities. We then explore some of the possible solutions to the problems that could cause biases. We then look at a study done on several communities where relations between police and the public had repaired their relationship. Body It’s easy to understand why people see the criminal justice system as biased. Our of all of our states prisoners forty percent can not even read; and sixty-seven percent did not have full-time employment when they were arrested. So there are more uneducated people in prison then there are educated people. This seems like then that our system of criminal justice is operated on an unequal system against poor or uneducated people. However, one of the problems we run into when we try to compare the wealthy lawbreakers to poor lawbreakers is the wide difference between the amount of wealthy people and poor people we have in our population. â€Å"In 1989, the wealthiest one percent of United States households owned nearly forty percent of the nation’s wealth. The wealthiest twenty percent owned more than eighty percent of the nation’s wealth. That leaves precious little for the rest† (Cole, 2000). This isn’t just true with adults, but with children and teenagers too. The number of poor/under-funded schools in America far outweighs the number of wealthy schools in America. That’s probably the main reason our system appears to be unfair against the poor. The reason that any pole or nation wide research will be bias against the poor or lower class is because there is a much larger poor/lower class population than a wealthy/high class population. Most American’s will probably not want to believe that our criminal justice system is not operated on equality. After  all our nations Supreme Court even has the saying â€Å"Equal Justice Under Law† written above the entranceway. There are several very famous Supreme Court’s decisions that uphold equality for the poor. In Gideon v. Wainwright they made it a law that the state must provide a lawyer to all defendants who have been charged with a serious crime and cannot afford a lawyer. In Miranda v. Arizona the Supreme Court decided that police must provide all suspects with an attorney. These court decisions might be a little misleading since both were decided during the time of Chief Justice Earl Warren, who was strongly liberal and very supportive of economic equality. Since then the principles of equality from both decisions for Gideon v. Wainwright and Miranda v. Arizona have been cheated and twisted so that neither decisions are upheld to the full extent that they were intended (Cole, 2000). That’s enough bashing our court system. There are actually many things that police officers do witch can be biased. For example the Fourth Amendment says that we have a right against unlawful searches and seizures. However, police officers all the time and request their consent to search them or their belongings (without ever having any basis for suspicion) without ever informing them of their right to refuse the search. This isn’t necessarily a bias against the poor but it makes sense to me that an officer would judge somebody on appearance. There is also the means of transportation we have to consider if law enforcement is bias to the poor. Say hypothetically some wealthy person is traveling across the country to a birthday party. How are they going to travel? Most wealthy people would probably travel across country like that by means of flying. While flying, people do not come in contact with that many police officers nor are they in many positions where they would normally break the law. However, say there is a poor person who is traveling the same distance to the same party but does not have the money to fly. The cheapest mode of transportation is definitely by way of buss. While traveling by buss there is definitely a larger chance of contact with the police than when traveling by air. There are also many more opportunities for crime to be committed while traveling on a buss. Again we have the situation where it’s not necessarily that the poor are treated differently but are maybe just in environments where c rime is committed more often, which would explain why it seems that the system is biased against them (Rothwax, 1996) So I feel like we could come to an  agreement now that the criminal justice system is not necessarily biased against the poor at the law enforcement side of the criminal justice system. However, the courtroom side of the criminal justice system seems indirectly biased against the poor, simply because each trial can be different depending on how much money they defense and the prosecution have available to them. Now lets talk about other ways that the criminal justice system could be bias. What about race? Are people treated differently depending on their ethnicity? Most people probably agree that there are some ethnic groups who are treated differently than other ethnic groups in the criminal justice system. Statistically minorities are disproportionately victimized by crime. â€Å"African Americans are victimized at a rate of 150 percent higher than whites† (Cole, 2000). Blacks are typically more involved in almost every kind of crime more so than whites. These crimes can include rape, aggravated assault, and armed robbery. Homicide is actually the number one leading cause of death among young black men. Most crime is interracial and so it could be argued, just as it can with the topic of biases against the poor that the reason for higher crime rates for black is because most poverty stricken areas, or the inner city, have majority black populations. Therefore the criminals would be black, the victims would be black, and all the statistics that came from that area would rate blacks more prone to commit crime than whites. Now lets look at some cases. For instance the videotaped beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles Police Department officers was a huge eye-opener for most of America. It was said of that beating that for many blacks saw that as trea tment they expected from the police. They were not surprised by that beating what so ever. Curtis Tucker, a California Assemblyman, was quoted saying at a subsequent hearing on Los Angeles Police Department practices, â€Å"When black people in Los Angeles see a police car approaching, they don’t know whether justice will be meted out or whether judge, jury, and executioner is pulling up behind them.† There was even this one officer who earned the nickname â€Å"the Mechanic† because he would â€Å"tune people up† which apparently is police slang for beating up people. This â€Å"Mechanic† once testified that the beatings were widespread. When asked the question of weather he beat up people whom he arrested he replied, â€Å"No. We just beat people up in general. If they’re on the street, hanging around drug locations. Just—It was a show of force† (Rothwax,  1996). The officer even admitted that the majority of the beating victims were either black or Hispanic; although he claimed that the attacks were not motivated by racial tension. There have been very disturbing patterns of corruption and brutality in the police force of almost every high-crime area studied. These corrupt acts include stealing from drug dealers, engaging in unlawful searches, seizures, and car stops, even dealing and using drugs. If instances like this is what our police force has come down to then our country is far worse off then I ever realized. I do however believe that this is probably a much smaller percentage than what some statistics would lead us to believe but it is not a problem that I believe can be overlooked. So what can be done? Can something be done? Are we as a country so far gone that we can come back? I believe we can. I believe that we have become to far separate from the community. We have to bridge the gap that has grown between law enforcement/the criminal justice system and the public lower class people. How do we do that? â€Å"The thing we need most is perspective† (Walker, 1980). One thing that could be the answer to our problem is community based policing. In Canada they passed the Police Services Act of 1990 that might be a good refere nce for our current agencies to look back on. What the Police Services Act did was make the Chief of Police responsible for community-oriented policing (Kuck, 2004). â€Å"Community based policing is both a philosophy and an organizational strategy that allows the police and community to work together in new ways to solve problems of crime, disorder and safety. It really only has two elements: changing the methods and practice of the police and taking steps to establish a relationship between the police and the public† (Groenewald, 2004). The Philosophy of community based policing is based off of the idea that the public has a right to give their input on policing. It also relies on the idea that to find a solution for community problems both the police and the public must look past individual crimes and incidents, and instead try to find ways of confronting the more important community problems. What does community based policing look like though? Community based police officers need to be much more than mere crime fighters and must be public servants in many ways. Reforming the police alone, however, is not enough. Community support and assistance are also necessary. Community based policing therefore encompasses strategies to reorient the public who, for  good reasons, have been leery and distrustful of the police. Building partnerships between the police and communities is a major challenge that not many people or organizations have every really attempted. The philosophy of community based policing asks both the police and the public to take a leap of faith and a commitment to change. It would be a long process that would require drastic action to be taken at multiple levels meaning that there would be detailed planning necessary to turn philosophy into reality within the police and among the public. There was a study where Kuotsia Tom Liou from the University of Central Florida and Eugene G. Savage from Florida State University looked at the impact of community policing by looking at three neighborhoods in West Palm Beach, Florida before and after the implementation of a community oriented policing program. Lets take a look at what they found. They had 3 communities with the first consisting of mainly white residents, mainly single-family homes, apartments, and small businesses. The second community was primarily black consisting of a concentrated public housing project, single family homes, apartments, small businesses, several churches, and a public middle school. The last community consisted of whites, Hispanics, blacks, and Haitians. The community was made up of single family homes, apartments, small businesses, and several churches. It was their goal to find out how community policing affects difference types of communities. The results of their study showed that after the community based policing had been going on sixty-eight percent of surveyed citizens felt that crime had decreased. All age groups, race groups, and all three neighborhoods shared the belief that crime had decreased. Even if the crime rates had not gone down in reality it would still really help relations with police officers just that the citizens believe it had. In addition to the feeling like crime had gone down they also asked in their survey how they felt about the relationship after six months of the community policing. Among the respondents to the survey eighty-eight percent felt that the relationship between the police and their communities as getting better. We started this paper with the question of is the criminal justice system bias. We talked about the relationship between law enforcement and the public. We talked about one of the possibilities of how we could rebuild that relationship. We then looked at some research where a relationship was made better by use of community policing.  Hopefully we can use research like this to help make this world a more perfect world. Reference Page: Cole, D. (2000). No equal justice, race and class in the american criminal justice system. New York: New Press, The. Rothwax, H. (1996). Guilty: The collapse of criminal justice. New York: Random House. Walker, S. (1980). Popular justice. New York: Oxford University Press. Kuck, H. (2004). Racial pride and consciousness trilogy: Addressing hate crime and racial discord through community policing. Canadian Journal of Police and Security Services. Dec. 2004: 243. Criminal Justice Collection. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. Groenewald, H. and Peake, G. (2004). Police Reform through Community-Based Policing. New York. Liou, Kuotsai. and Savage, Eugene. (1996). Citizen perception of community policing impact.

Effects of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB)

Effects of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) is a persistent organochlorine that has 209 congeners and can be divided into two categories, dioxin-like and non-dioxin-like. Although these two categories have different structures and toxicological profiles, both have an adverse impact on the human health [1]. Since PCB is a stable chemical and can withstand extreme temperature and pressure, it was heavily used back in 1929 for electrical equipment [2]. While the production of PCB was ceased in 1977, traces of PCB can still be observed on the Great Lakes for it was once used as a disposal site along with the possibility of accidental leaks. From lakes, it can move into different waterways and later be passed on by organisms. Long-range-transport of PCB vapours through air currents also functions as a dispersion mechanism in the ambient air [3] [4] [5]. Anyone can be susceptible depending on the rate of the exposure and the amount of stressor a person had been exposed to. PCB can enter the system thro ugh ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact, all of which can essentially bioaccumulate and inhibit the bodys natural processes in the event that the receptor had exceeded the threshold. PCB has been linked to endocrine dysfunction, reproduction deficiencies, chloracne, liver damage and kidney cancer [6]. Recognizing credible sources is a key factor in toxicity assessment. This allows the reader to acquire more information about the chemical of concern and make an informed decision. Some credible sources are listed below: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry European Chemicals Agency Health Canada United States Environmental Protection Agency World Health Organization     Ã‚   3.1. What happens when PCB enters the body? Humans absorb PCB through inhalation, ingestion and dermal contact. On bioassays conducted, it was observed that animals absorbed PCB well when administered orally and less absorbed when exposed through dermal contact. While inhalation is an accounted pathway for PCB, there is inadequate data to identify the absorption rates. Upon absorption, PCB is dispersed into the lipophilic cell membranes in the gastrointestinal tract. It then circulates into the blood vessels and enters the lymphatic system. Due to the lipophilic nature of PCB molecules, it is readily absorbed by the fatty tissue. In autopsies conducted, the liver, adipose tissue, brain and skin usually contains higher concentrations of PCB. Elimination of PCB can be through excretion of feces, urine and breast milk [7]. When exposed to PCB, symptoms include severe acne, swelling of the upper eyelids, discolouring of the nails and skin, numbness in arms and/or legs, weakness, muscle spasms, chronic bronchitis, and neurological complications [6]. 3.2. Acute and Chronic Effects PCB exhibits both acute and chronic effects. Although it demonstrates low potential in producing acute effects, however, due to the risk it poses in human health in the long-term, it is still deemed to be a public health concern. Skin lesions particularly chloracne has been observed during occupational exposures. Nausea and headaches were also reported yet this could be primarily due to the solvents in the PCB mixtures. Subsequently, long-term exposure to PCB has been linked to reproductive deficiencies, liver damage and kidney cancer [8]. 3.3. Threshold vs Non-threshold PCB has shown evident carcinogenicity in animals and therefore is considered to be non-threshold substance by USEPA. The data for human carcinogenicity for PCB mixture is deemed to be inadequate but suggestive. Essentially, PCB can also be classified as threshold substance because of its non-cancer potential in lower concentrations and short-term exposure [9].   3.4. What effects does it have? Carcinogenic US EPA labeled PCB as Group B2, a probable human carcinogen. This was based on the experiment of exposure of rats to several mixtures of PCB that are often found in the environment [10]. On a study published in 1976, occupational exposure to PCB increased the mortality from cancer. However, the outcomes were mixed since the study only found limited deaths and incomplete exposure assessments [7]. Mutagenicity There were insufficient data involving the mutagenicity of PCB [7]. A bacterial test which distinguishes chemical mutation effects was conducted on PCB. Although PCB demonstrated negative results, this was not uncommon since PCB has complex compounds and pathways [11]. Reproductive Toxicity Oral administration of PCB on animals has displayed toxicity effects but dermal and inhalation exposure were not available. Exposure of rats and mice to high doses of PCB had produced several effects. The effects documented were decreased conception rate, pro-longed menstruation, decreased litter size and reduced sperm count. Rats and mice that were exposed to PCB while lactation suggested long-lasting adverse effect on the offspring. On another study, PCB is also associated to estrogen-related effects [7]. 4.1. Bioassay Overview The slope factor of PCB was based upon the studies conducted by Brunner et al. (1996) and Norback and Weltman (1985). A group of male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to different Aroclor. Groups of 50 female or male rats were orally administered with 25, 50 or 100 ppm Aroclor 1260 or 1254; 50 or 100 ppm Arcolor 1242; or 50, 100, or 200 ppm Aroclor 1016. At 104 weeks, the rats were killed. Liver adenomas or carcinomas were discovered in all female rats for all Aroclors and male rats for Aroclor 1260. While thyroid gland follicular cell carcinoma was evident on male rats, female rats also exhibited mammary tumors at a later age. On another study, male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 0 or 100ppm of Aroclor 1260 for 16 months and subsequently reduced to 50 ppm for another 8 months. Tests were executed in different months to understand the changes in the structure of the rats. The intensity of the damage on the liver increases as you progress through the months. On the 29th month, most of the female rats displayed carcinoma and neoplastic nodules whereas male rats had lesser incidence [10] . 4.2. Published Benchmark A tiered approach was used by USEPA to determine the cancer potency of PCB. Upper-bounds provide precision while central-estimates are appropriate for estimating risks. Potency values are dependent on the exposure pathway. For exposure pathways with increased risks, we use High Risk and Persistence. Exposure pathways that decrease risk are appropriate on Low Risk and Persistence. Lowest Risk and Persistence is developed from Aroclor 2016, therefore it is appropriate for congeners with more than for chlorine. The slope factor can be generated by dividing 0.10 by ED10 (Estimated dose associated with 10% increased incidence, in mg/kg-d) [12]. High Risk and Persistence Low Risk and Persistence Lowest Risk and Persistence Upper-Bound Slope Factor 2.0 per (mg/kg)/day 0.4 per (mg/kg)/day 0.07 per (mg/kg)/day Central-Estimate Slope Factor 1.0 per (mg/kg)/day 0.3 per (mg/kg)/day 0.04 per (mg/kg)/day Criteria for use Food chain exposure Sediment or soil ingestion Dust or aerosol inhalation Dermal exposure, if an absorption factor has been applied Presence of dioxin-like, tumor-promoting, or persistent congeners Early-life exposure (all pathways and mixtures) Ingestion of water-soluble congeners Inhalation of evaporated congeners Dermal exposure, if no absorption factor has been applied Congener or isomer analyses verify that congeners with more than 4 chlorines comprise less than 1/2% of total PCBs. Figure 1 Tiers of Human Slope Factors For Environmental PCB [13]. Uncertainty Factors It is important to know that not everyone responds equally to a given chemical. Populations with higher sensitivity may be associated with increased risks. Also, the genetics and lifestyle of a person must be accounted as this pose potential change on the dose-response trend. Furthermore, it is essential to recognize that the mixtures of PCB tested in animals are Aroclor mixtures which have been pre-determined and not environmental mixtures that had bioaccumulated which are generally more potent [10]. Figure 1 shows that the slope factor is dependent upon the exposure pathway. Although these are just estimates, scientists have dedicated their time to conduct bioassays where we can extrapolate the data to potentially understand the dose that can harm humans. However, it is also crucial to know that environmental processes can alter the PCB concentrations, therefore it is best to be educated on how you can be exposed to PCB and how you can avoid this. To improve the assessment, studies concerning sensitive population should be further considered and assessed. Since PCB concentrations are altered in the environment, animals or humans that are already exposed could be used to investigate and compare the differences with the experiments done in the laboratory. In addition, it was not mentioned why rats were chosen as experiment parameters, analyzing parameters used could help readers discern why rats are relevant for the study. [1] P. Heikkinen, . L. T. M. van der Ven,, F. Rendel, R. Roos, J. Esteban, M. Korkalainen, S. Lensu, H. Miettinen, K. Savolainen, S. Sankari, H. Lilienthal, A. Adamsson, J. Toppari, M. Herlin, M. Finnila, J. Tukkanen, H. Leslie, T. Hammmers and G. Hamscher, Toxicological Profile of Ultrapure 2,2à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²,3,4,4à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²,5,5à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ²-Heptachlorbiphenyl (PCB 180) in Adult Rats., PLoS ONE, vol. 9, no. 8, pp. 1-26, 2014. [2] PCBs: Polychlorinated Biphenyls, [Online]. Available: http://www.greenfacts.org/en/pcbs. [Accessed 2 February 2017]. [3] S. Fields, Great Lakes Resources at Risk, Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 113, no. 3, pp. 164-173, 2005. [4] PCBs in Great Lakes Sediments, [Online]. Available: http://www.greatlakesmapping.org/great_lake_stressors/1/pcbs-great-lakes-sediments. [Accessed 1 February 2017]. [5] Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Toxicity, 14 May 2014. [Online]. Available: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/pcb/docs/pcb.pdf. [Accessed 02 February 2017]. [6] H. Canada, Health Canada, [Online]. Available: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/pcb-bpc-eng.php#ba. [Accessed 20 February 2017]. [7] M. L. S. K. M. C. S. D. C. T. D. R. Dr Obaid M. Faroon, World Health Organization, 2003. [Online]. Available: http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/cicad/en/cicad55.pdf. [Accessed 13 February 2017]. [8] G. Letz, The Toxicology of PCBs-An Overview for Clinicians, West Journal of Medicine, pp. 536-538, 1983. [9] United States Environmental Protection Agency, [Online]. Available: https://www3.epa.gov/region02/superfund/hudson/hhra-app-c.pdf. [Accessed 20 February 2017]. [10] United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1 October 1996. [Online]. Available: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris2/chemicalLanding.cfm?substance_nmbr=294. [Accessed 21 February 2017]. [11] Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Polybrominated Biphenyls., in IARC Monographs, IARC, 2016. [12] U. S. E. P. Agency, PCBs: Cancer Dose-Response Assessment and Application to Environmental Mixtures, September 1996. [Online]. Available: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris_drafts/recordisplay.cfm?deid=12486. [Accessed 21 February 2017]. [13] United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1 June 1994. [Online]. Available: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris2/chemicalLanding.cfm?substance_nmbr=294. [Accessed 21 February 2017].