Effects of Violent TV Programming on Adolescent Behavior Essay Example for Free

Effects of Violent TV Programming on Adolescent Behavior Essay Violent behavior is a central theme in many kinds of media. Television and movies depict violent behaviors as acceptable ways of communicating and resolving problematic social situations (Strasburger Donnerstein, 1999). During the twentieth century, Americans were introduced to a wide variety of media technology, including televisions, digital computers, video cassette players and handheld electronic machines (Anderson Bushman, 2001). Although television is but one of the many media venues, it represents the predominant medium to which very young children are exposed. The 1972 report to the Surgeon General found that 96% of American homes have one or more television sets and the average home set is on more than six hours a day and frequent viewing usually begins at about age 3 and remains relatively high until about age 12 (1972, pp. 1-2). Kaisers study (1999) found that children spend up to 40 hours per week in front of the television. For children under the age of 7, Wright et al. (1994) found that media exposure averaged just over four hours per day. Other studies have concurred that the television has become a predominant medium of experience for the child. In a 1990 position paper, the NAEYC stated that the trend toward increased depiction of violence in the media jeopardizes the healthy development of significant numbers of our nations children (1990, p. 18). The viewing experience is highly complex, subjective, and dependent upon the childs level of cognitive and emotional understanding (Wright et al. , 1994). Social scientists and policy makers have expressed concern about the potential negative impact of exposure of violence on children (Bushman Geen, 1990). They have explored the negative impact longitudinally, both experimentally and observationally, and found that children as young as 2 and into adolescence are adversely affected by televised violence. Studies demonstrated that after viewing violent programs, the child behaved aggressively and imitated the scenes of the violent behavior in his play (Anderson Bushman 2001). This paper explores the current state of research in this area and seeks for the relationship between television watching and childhood violence. Television and Violence The most recent large-scale longitudinal study was initiated in 1994 by researchers at the Universities of California, Texas, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. The National Television Violence Study (NTVS) was deemed the largest scientific study of television violence ever undertaken (Federman, 1998). NTVS involved a three-year effort (1994-1997) to review violence in televised programming. It examined three areas of concern: televised programming context, factors that either positively or negatively alter the risk of viewing violence, and the interactions between programming and the viewers. In this study, nearly 10,000 hours of televised cross-channel programming were examined using five major groupings: broadcast networks, independent broadcast, public broadcast, basic cable, and premium cable. The authors found that 61% of programs contain violence. By the third year of the study, there was more violent interaction observed across the programs analyzed. Specific to the younger child, the study found that childrens programs, as a genre, contained the greatest share (50%) of all high-risk violent interactions, as well as the highest ratio of interactions per hour (. 75) (Federman, Vol. 3, 1998, p. 175). Child-oriented cable programs such as those on Cartoon Network, Disney, or Nickelodeon contained the most high risk violent interactions (27%), compared to general-entertainment basic cable (24%), independent broadcast (19%), and premium cable (17%) (Federman, 1998). Early morning viewing, which is primarily child-focused cartoon programming, has at least one high-risk violent presentation every hour. In one week, a child is exposed to at least 20 violent behavior depictions, and in one year over 1,000, if he watches three hours of early morning television a day (Federman, 1997-1998). The authors also found that over the course of three years there was little change in the overall number of violent programs. However, there was a significant increase (8%) in the portrayals of violent incidents per program and childrens programs continued to depict violence in animated stories (Federman, Vol. 2, 1998). In many of these violent interactions, the main character did not experience any appropriate consequences for aggressive behavior. One of the goals of the NTVS was to encourage more responsible television programming and viewing. The study emphasized the message that understanding the impact of viewed televised violence offers an opportunity to significantly reduce the risks to society that are posed by exposure to televised violence. Young Childs Experience of Violence The American media is rife with portrayals of justified violence (Federman, 1997-1998). The good guy beats up the bad guy, and laughter or expressions of glee follow hurtful acts. This conveys the message that aggression is an acceptable way to solve problems and express frustration. Children of all ages watch television and videos on a daily basis and are exposed to acts of violence that potentially shape their way of thinking and behaving (Minow Lamay, 1995, p. 36) Cartoons feature patterns that are more likely to encourage aggression in children, especially if they are under the age of seven (Boyatzis et al. , 1987). Aggressive behaviors, often portrayed in the genre of animation aimed at children, are confusing for the young child. The stories presented as humorous, with laughter accompanying actions that are hostile and aggressive. This may lead to a decrease in his potential fear of danger and may also foster desensitization to harmful situations (Federman, 1997-1998). Significant results revealed that televised violence is changing the behavior of children (Federman, 1997-1998). Individuals of all ages learn through observation. Three important factors affect the impact of learning through modeling. First, the more engaging and attractive the model is, the more the viewer will stay attentive; the less appealing the character is, the more likely the viewer will be distracted or ignore the experience. The second compelling factor is the repeated exposure of the modeling stimuli. As a result of repeated exposure, modeling stimuli eventually produces enduring, retrievable images (Bandura, 1977, p. 25). The third factor, the complexity of the observed experience, affects the rate of observational learning. It is based on the observers capacity to process information. However, the young child may imitate without knowing what his behavior means. Bandura suggests that immediate imitation does not require much in the way of cognitive functioning because the behavioral reproduction is externally guided by the models action (Bandura, 1977, p. 27). Banduras research throughout the 1960s and 1970s with the inflatable Bobo doll demonstrated a relationship between viewing aggressive acts of behavior and performing them. He found that children would more often choose the Bobo doll to punch after viewing a televised violent program than reading a book or choosing a quiet game. Although Banduras work on modeling has been challenged over the years, there has been strong support. Later researchers have expanded Banduras initial studies, finding that the younger the child is, the more likely he will use imitation rather than rational thinking to choose an appropriate, non-violent way of relating. Eron et al. (1972) reported a strong relationship between viewed violence at age 8 and aggressive behavior. Canton and Sparks (1984) found that preschool children have a greater fear response than older children and react accordingly to what they see. Singer et al. (1999) concluded that there was a significant association linking violent exposure with childrens self-reported violent behaviors. Boyatzis et al. s 1995 study of 52 elementary school children with a mean age 7 years, 9 months, showed how children reacted to watching an episode of The Power Rangers. They found that the childs aggressive tendency and lack of fear was immediate and markedly greater following an exposure to but a single episode of The Power Rangers. (Boyatzis et al. , 1995, p. 53). Animated programming such as The Power Rangers, Ninja Turtles characterizes the hero as attractive, strong, and powerful. These characters use violence to solve problematic situations and rescue the helpless victim. The NTVS found that a preschooler who watches an average of 2 hours a day of such content will 43 be exposed to at least 10 hazardous portrayals a week, and over 500 in a year (Federman, Vol. 3, 1998, p. 163). Other studies have documented the relationship between exposure to violence and aggressive thought and action. For example, Josephson (1987) presented two television excerpts, one violent and one non-violent, to 396 third-grade boys from 13 schools. She hypothesized that there was a relationship between viewed violence and aggressive play behavior. Significance was found in increased aggressive behavior in boys who played a game of hockey after watching a violent program. Boys who scored high on characteristic levels of aggressiveness used more aggressive behaviors in their hockey game if they were in the groups that viewed violence. Furthermore, she found that the boys who watched the violent tape and were not given verbal cues about appropriateness of the behavior played more aggressively after the tape than either the boys who watched a non-violent tape, or boys who watched a violent tape but were given verbal cues that commented on appropriateness of behavior(Josephson, 1987). Children are being presented with messages that invite aggressive ways of relating to resolve situations and handle life events (Groves 2002). Current televised shows use cartoons, as well as live actors, to display forms of aggression as a means of relating to others and solving problems. A significant shift in televised programming, though, has occurred with the portrayal of aggressive behavior through more real life characterization, as illustrated in shows like The Power Rangers. The visual experience of aggressive behavior has become more like real life to the child because instead of viewing animated characters using aggressive behavior, the child can now watch individuals similar to himself transmogrify into violent machines (Boyatzis et al. , 1995). In this mechanical state, the portrayed behavior is violent and aggressive with the childs intention of solving a problem. Witnessing these aggressive acts of behavior gives the child a script to construct his social interactions. Since young children create and store behavior that they see, viewing violence becomes a potential way of relating to an experience. Whether the televised programming is in the form of cartoons or real life, social scripts are constructed by the child and are then employed in day-to-day experiences (Groves 2002). Mitigating the Influence of Violent Television Even though there have been numerous studies documenting the impact of televised violence on the behavior of children, the television industry has been reluctant to change violent programming (Singer et al. , 1999). As a result, recent research has focused on how to mitigate the experience of what the child sees rather than waiting for the industry to change what is presented to the public. The child uses internal processes, relying on cognitive and emotional capacities, to actively understand what has been experienced. In his efforts to understand these experiences, the child will find a way to concretize the experience into either emotional or behavioral responses. Younger children need the assistance of another to understand what they experience because they are unable to adjust their viewing and comprehension activities in response to learning instructions (Field Anderson, 1985, p. 91). Collins, Sobol, and Westby (1981) studied 47 children with a mean age of 7. 8 years. Children who watched a program in the presence of an adult who provided ongoing commentary showed improved comprehension of the plot and the witnessed experiences. Without adult participation, the younger children remembered only the aggressive behaviors without remembering the link to either the motive or the consequence. Huesmann et al. (1983) sampled 169 first- and third-grade children over a two-year period. The focus of the study was to mitigate the relation between aggression and television violence viewing in children through an intervention that altered the childrens attitudes about aggression and violent shows (Huesmann et al. , 1983, p. 899). They found a significant change in how the child responded to violence when the experimenter commented on the violent behavior. More children responded with appropriate answers when they were directly asked, what are the bad things that could happen when a child imitates the aggressive behavior of a character? St. Peters et al. (1991) found that the role of co-viewing by the parent with the child is beneficial. This study was conducted over a two-year period and involved the participation of 271 children, ages 3 to 5 years, and their parents. Parental comments about the televised material helped the children understand what they saw. The parents comments differentiated acceptable and non-acceptable behavior for the child. Young children need this clarification and guidance because they have relatively few internal structures to guide them in their behavior (St. Peters et al. , 1991). Kubey (1996) noted that network and cable programming are unsuitable for some children, especially the young child. No amount of adult commenting will completely mitigate what a child experiences. Monitoring and limiting a childs choice of television shows to reduce the exposure to violent behaviors is similar to monitoring a childs choice of foods to ensure health and nutrition. Children are victims to the effects of exposure to violence. Parents are critically important as a resource for the child in his attempt to understand the world. Grover (2002) noted that the child who has been exposed to violence responds more favorably to a nurturing, sensitive and caring adult relationship. The more parents know about their childs changing capacities to understand the world, the better able they are to respond empathically and appropriately to the child (Garbarino, 1992). However, it is essential, as a parent is a primary resource to buffer, explain and clarify life experiences for the child that are beyond the childs capacity to understand ((Minow Lamay, 1995). The study by Singer et al. (1980) found that parents influenced their childrens perceptions of the importance of television by the type and amount of television viewing they had. Collins et al. (1981) found that parental commentary helped children understand the implicit program content. The longitudinal study by St. Peters et al. (1991) of 3- and 5-year-olds and their families viewing patterns found that parents viewing choices play a role in determining a childs exposure to television programs. Conclusion Young children often copy the violent actions that they have witnessed. Banduras work on modeling in the field of social learning has been significant in conceptualizing the relationship between viewing violence and subsequent behaviors. The solution for ameliorating the impact of televised violence focuses on change in parental attitudes as well as profound changes in the entertainment industry. Changing parental attitudes and behavior toward media violence is more feasible than changing the way the entertainment industry portrays violence. Educating parents about the childs cognitive and emotional developmental capacities has been recommended widely as one solution to lessen the potential impact of media violence. References Anderson, C, Bushman, B. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature. American Psychological Society, 12, pp. 353-359. Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Boyatzis, C. J. , Matillo, G. M. , Nesbitt, K. M. (1995). Effects of The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on childrens aggression with peers. Child Study Journal, 25(1), pp. 45-55.

Starbucks Leadership Styles

Starbucks Leadership Styles Introduction: Starbucks started in 1971 when three friends started coffee business, and their main objective was to sell coffee beans and equipment. Howard Schultz joined the company in 1982 and turned it into becoming an international brand. Schultz’s main goal and vision as CEO was to make people realize that buying a cup of coffee in Starbucks is lifetime experience. Under Schultz leadership Starbucks has achieved number of milestones. Schultz received an International Humanitarian Award in 1996 from Care for his vision and leadership developing in an innovative partnership between Starbucks and Care to support people in coffee originating countries. Schultz view of leadership: Howard Schultz’s statement â€Å"If they had faith in me and my motives they wouldn’t need a union† reflects his powerful communication skills as a leader. He knows how to build emotional connection with the staff. The heart of leadership is trust. Without trust you cannot lead. Exemplary leaders are devoted to building relationships based on mutual respect and caring. Watson (1983). The mark of a successful leader is his ability to forecast the business trends and stay ahead of his competitors (Luthans 1998). That means leadership involves skills and abilities that are useful whether one is in the executive position or frontline. However union signifies group of a workforce in certain businesses who form a link between an employer and unionized employees in which terms and condition of employment are determined. It also helps to improve the conditions at workplace and negotiate with employers on issues of wages, medical reimbursement or sickness. When employees and employers are not able to come to one decision then trade union negotiate with employer to reach to an agreement and the union members must follow that (Booth, 1995). In February 2007 Schultz says in one of letter to Starbucks employees â€Å"My focus is on you ‘the partners who have made Starbucks such a trusted presence around the world. And my focus is on preserving the trust that we have built with our customers and each other over the years. I want you to know that you can be proud of the company we all work for and that you can continue to trust the foundation it’s built upon† Schultz had trust in his employees as he had build up strong relationship with them in Starbucks by understand their desires. Schultz leadership has developed a good teamwork and integration of the individual and groups and goal. Schultzs leadership approach makes staff feel like partners. That is why frontline staff in the stores are so welcoming and passionate. He gave his employees protection, dignity, empowerment and a good working environment. That is why Schultz says that Starbucks doesn’t need a union because he is doing everything for the employees what usually a union does. Approaches to Leadership: There are many ways of looking at leadership and many interpretations of its meaning. Leadership might be based on function of personality or, it can be seen as a behavioura3 category (Vecchio, 2000) . It may also be viewed in terms of the role of the leaders and their ability to achieve effective performance from others. The relationship between leaders and management is that management is more usually viewed as getting work done though other people to achieve organizational objectives (Worsfold, 1989), where as leaders are more concerned with the attention to communicating with motivating, encouraging and involving people (Hunt, 1986). There are so many theories and models of leadership like Traits approach, the functional approach, Leadership as behavioral category, Style approach, Contingency models, and Transformational Leadership. Here I would like to discuss Transformational leadership with regard to leadership approach and style in Starbucks. In recent years increasing business competitiveness and the need for the most effective use of human resources are needed. The transformational leadership’s view focuses on idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration (Bass, 1985). According to Bass transformational leaders motivates followers to do more than what they are expected and the extent of transformation is measured in terms of leader’s effects on followers. It emphasizes on generating a vision for the organization, creating a feeling of justice, loyalty and trust. Idealized Influence: symbolizes the capability of building confidence in the leader and values the leader by his followers. As Starbucks is an employee-focused company, Schultz has taken a great care in recruiting partners and promotes the existing partners. Schultz made himself as example for the employees to follow him. Inspirational Motivation: is the behaviour of the leader, respect and admiration of followers. Leadership in Starbucks has ensured that high wages, benefits, stock plans and positive working environment are one of the reasons to maintain motivation among the staff. Intellectual Stimulation: leaders who solicit new and novel approaches for performance to work, creative problem solutions. Schultz invested in training and development of the employees. Starbucks appreciated feedback from the employees and they felt empowered and encouraged. Starbucks’ one of the most thriving innovations came from the employees â€Å"Frappuccino† a popular cold coffee. Individual Consideration: true leaders are those who listen to their followers and give special consideration to their needs and wants. Starbucks leadership provided parent group day care for their children, health insurance and work life balance. Leadership Styles: In order to get the best results from the employees, leaders need to encourage and be co-operative to the employees (Bonnington,1988) .According to Adair (2003) Leadership style is the way in which the functions of leadership are carried out . Three main classification of leadership style are autocratic style, democratic style and laissez-faire (genuine )style (Belbin,1993). Here I would like to discuss democratic style of leadership with regard to leadership style in Starbucks. In democratic style, the functions of leadership are shared with the members of the group. The group members have a greater say in decision making (Useem, 2001). Starbucks leadership team is among the best when it comes to global market. Schultz looked for employees who are team player and have passion to work for Starbucks. Schultz took care of employees and treated them with respect. He has created a unique culture in Starbucks in which entrepreneurship and empowerment, quality and service define values of leadership. Schultz gave more power to employees in decision making and also flexibility to choose their own working hours. He honoured the feedback from the employees in Starbucks therefore I can say that Schultz had democratic style of leadership in Starbucks Conclusion: I would summarize by saying that Starbucks is the most flourishing coffee shop in the world and with Schultz leadership and vision Starbucks still continue expand. Starbucks take great care in recruitment and selection and trains them intensively. Schultz believes that it is important for Starbucks respect all the employees and motives them. Starbucks enjoys the democratic style of leadership. References: Adair, J (2003). The Inspirational Leader : How to Motivate, Encourage and Achieve Success, Kogan Bass, B.M. (1985) , B.M. Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations, Free Press . Belbin, R.M (1993). Team Roles at Work, Butterworth Heinemann. Bonnington C, (1988) ‘Leading to the Top: The Successful Management of People’, Office and Information Management International, pp8-9. Booth, A.L (1995). The Economics of The Trade Union, Cambridge University Press. Druker, P.F (1998) .The Practice of Management, Heinemann Professional Fullan,M (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change, Jossey-Bass Hunt J W, Managing People at Work, Second edition, McGraw-Hill. Luthans.F. (1998) Organizational Behavior, Boston, MA. McGraw-Hill Useem, M. ‘How to Groom Leaders of the Future’ in Pickford, J.(ed) Financial Times Mastering Management, p.297 Vecchio, R. P. Organizational Behavior: Core Concepts, Fourth edition, Dryden Press. Watson C M, ‘ Leadership (1983), Management and the Seven Keys’, Business. Whitehead, M (2002). ‘ Everyone’s a Leader Now’, Supply Mnangement Worsfold, P. (1989). Leadership in the Hospitality Industry’ in Cassee E and Reuland (eds), International Journal of Hospitality Zaleznik, A (1977). Managers and leaders: Are they Different? Harvard Business Review Horizons. http://www.docstoc.com http://www.businessweek.com Q4. ‘Motivated and committed human resources were the key to successes. What strategies has Starbucks used in order to gain the motivation and commitment of its employees? With reference to appropriate theories and models, provide a reasoned discussion of how the company can ensure the levels of motivation and commitment that it needs to succeed in the future? Starbucks has more than 3,300 locations all over the world and serves coffee to its coffee lovers every day. It has the history of tremendous growth and success. In addition to the sales of coffee and coffee beans, the company enjoys the remarkable repute as a progressive employer. Starbucks is known for its friendly policies and motivational programs. The employees who are constantly in contact with the customers are the frontline staff. Hence Starbucks motivates, trains and rewards employees turning them into a committed and motivated workforce. The foundation of the company’s mission statement are five guiding principals and one of these principal is to provide great work and treat each other with respect and dignity. Strategies of motivation: According to the case study, motivated and committed human resources are the key to success in Starbucks. Howard Shultz believes that success of Starbucks is not coffee but employees and feels honoured about the value about the Starbucks employees. That is why it is essential to have intensive training policy for the better performance in the company (Michelli,2006). Starbucks offers an interactive structure that encourages employees to commit themselves into their job so they can motivate partners to satisfy themselves and also achieve a new level of performance. Starbucks use strategies to motivate employees and in order to gain the commitment. Starbuck’s motivational strategies programs for its employees are: Selecting the right people Investment in training and development Work life balance Employee ownership Feedback system Non capitalization job tittles Flexibility Mission review program Parameters of success in Starbucks: Due to Starbucks motivational strategies Starbucks continues to expand geographically. Starbucks has more than 15,000 stores all over the world (www.starbucks.com). Starbucks employees are highly trained and have good customer service skills. Starbucks is ranked as the 16th â€Å"Best company to work for† in America by Fortune magazine. Starbucks has low turnover of employees as their need were taken care of and they are motive and committed towards work. Starbucks has changed a concept of coffee into ‘Starbucks Experience’ It has resulted the customers to come back approximately 18 times a month. Theoretical Framework: There are several motivation theories that have helped organizations to figure out how employees can be motivated. Motivation is â€Å"the internal process that activates, guide and maintain behaviour† (Baron, 1991). Robertson and Smith (1985) agree that ‘motivation is psychological concept related to the strength and direction of human behaviour. According to research, motivations theories can offer guidance to anyone with an interest in motivational issues. These do not give a definite answer to all the motivation questions but it provides a framework. There are many variables such as moods, financial circumstances etc that work together to create a situation and a person concerned to fully understand why variables result in particular behaviours Gorman (2003). Vroom expectancy theory: The expectancy theory of Victor Vroom deals with motivation and management. Vroom’s theory is based on idea that employee effort will lead to performance and performance will lead to rewards. Rewards may be either positive or negative. Employees will be highly motivated if the reward is positive and negative rewards lead to less motivated employees (Vroom, 1964). According to research motivation develops commitment among employees. Developing a stronger commitment and the motivation allows you to be well recognizing in the market and gain market share. According to Starbucks case study Starbucks hire right people by having right people. Starbucks implement intensive training program for each employee before starting their job. Starbucks recognizes the efforts made by the employees in order to get high performance. To gain high performance rewards are offered by Starbucks to their employees in open forum such as Warm Regards, the Mug Award and the â€Å"Spirit of Starbucks Award†. Other benefits like training and development, flexible timings partner connection, equality etc are offered in order to motivate and gain commitment. Rewards develop motivation and Starbucks offers rewards and benefits to motivate their employees. Sustaining motivation and commitment: To sustain the level of motivation and commitment in future, Starbucks treats its employees well. Starbucks offers opportunity to all full and part time employees to receive stock option, healthcare benefits, sick pay and bean stock etc. Starbucks continues with building programmes that address to personal life and needs of its partner. Starbucks carries out regular surveys of its partners to measure their needs and take action with suitable work life solution. Starbucks transforms the behaviours and opinion of overall coffee consumer. Starbucks is not only of the fastest growing company but it is also an excellent business model with high profit performance and low turnover. According to the case study, it is obvious that motivation is the key factor of Starbucks’ strategy. A good relationship between Starbucks’ employees maintains a high quality performance. Starbucks have great responsibility towards their staff. Their decisions affects directly or indirectly on employees desire and interests and overall ability to love what they do for living. Employees would have many reasons to stay with Starbucks if the staff are motivated. To ensure the levels of motivation and commitment that Starbucks needs to succeed in the future, the company should introduce more benefits and training programs to motivate employees. Long term service recognition awards should be offered which would increase performance and commitment. Variations i n benefits to employees can give opportunity to Starbucks employees to stay motivated and committed such as giving them an opportunity to win a holiday if one has been employee of the month for 3 months. References: Baron R.A. (1991) ‘Motivation in work settings: reflections on the core of organizational research ‘. Motivation and Emotion. Vol.15, No.1.pp1-8 Gorman P. (2003). Motivation and Emotion, Rutledge, New York. Kanfer R. (1998) ‘Motivation’. In Nicholson N. (ed.) Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Organizational Behaviour. Oxford, Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Kanfer R. (1990) ‘Motivation theory and industrial and organizational psychology’. In Dunnette M.D. AND Hough L.M. (EDS) Handbook of Industrial and Organisational Psychology. Palo Alto, Ca, Consulting Psychologists. Michelli, J (2006) the Starbucks experience McGraw-Hill Smith, K.L (1990). The future of leaders in Extension. Journal of Extension. Vroom, V.H. (1964). Work and motivation. New York: Wiley. Weiner B. (1992) Human Motivation. Metaphors, theories and research. California, Sage Publications. http://brandautopsy.typepad.com

Determination of Diastereoselectivity Experiment

Determination of Diastereoselectivity Experiment Jackson Nguyen Determination of Diastereoselectivity using Thermodynamic vs. Kinetic Controlled Reduction Procedures: A Reduction of 4-tert-butylcyclohexanone Introduction: The goal in this experiment was to oxidize 4-t-butylcyclohexanol to 4-t-butylcyclohexanone and reduce back to the original compound. Additionally, the goal was to analyze the ratio of the diastereomers and dictate the reasoning behind the ratios. Theory: In this experiment, three reactions total were performed. One of which was oxidation, and the other two were reduction. The overall result in this experiment was that 4-t-butylcyclohexanol was oxidized and reduced back to an alcohol through two different reactions that gave the same products. In order to oxidize 4-t-butylcyclohexanol, sodium hypochlorite was used, along with acetic acid. Acetic acid was used to protonate the hypochlorite which would then protonate the alcohol group of the reactant. As a result, the hydroxyl group with the extra hydrogen became a great leaving group, allowing hypochlorite, a nucleophile, to attack. This allowed a base, such as water, to deprotonate a hydrogen and create a double bond with the oxygen bond, which allowed the chlorine to leave. Overall, this reaction produced 4-t-butylcyclohexanone as the product. After the oxidized product was created, two different types of reduction were used to reduce the product created from oxidation. Two reagents used in each reduction reaction were sodium borohydride and aluminum isopropoxide. Both reagents would create similar products; however, the ratios of diastereomers were different. For sodium borohydride, the hydrogen would attack the carbonyl of 4-t-butylcyclohexonone and create a negative oxygen. Ethanol would act as a proton source in the solution and protonate the oxygen, which created a hydroxyl group. On the other hand, the reduction reaction that involved aluminum isopropoxide had a different mechanism. The carbonyl group of the 4-t-butylcyclohexonone would attack the partial positive aluminum due to the electronegativity of the oxygen. A hydrogen would attack the double bond of the carbonyl group and carry electrons over and allow the oxygen to have two pairs of electrons. As a result, the bulky group of the reactant would leave by an addition of hydrogen to the molecule, which created 4-t-butylcyclohexanol. Overall, both different reagents provided the same results. However, the ratio of diastereomers was determined by the structure of the reagents. In order convert the carbonyl group into an alcohol, a bond must be formed at 107Â ° angle. By looking at the structure of the hexane ring, the molecule can be attacked at two different sides. On one side, there were hydrogen that can provide steric hindrance; whereas, the other side would be free. Aluminum isopropoxide was a bulky group that will not likely to attack the 4-t-butylcyclohexanone at the side that has hydrogen. Hence, it would attack the side that had greater room. As a result, there was a higher ratio of an axial attack, compared to an equatorial attack of hydrogen. On the other hand, sodium borohydride was not a bulky group; thus, the ratio of axial and equatorial attacks would be more equal. Mechanism: Results: Part A: Part B: Part C: Discussion: The three reactions completed during the experiment were successful. By doing a TLC test every several minutes helped indicate the completion of the reactions and ensured that no reactant were present. The first two parts that required TLC testing showed the comparison between the starting material and the reaction mixture. Since TLC was based on polarity and the distance traveled, the completion of the reaction were focused on the distance of the spots and whether the initial spot disappeared after the reaction took place. The two main compounds were 4-t-butylcyclohexanol and 4-t-butylcyclohexanone. In order to analyze these two compounds, the polarity between them was different. The former compound had an alcohol group that was able to form hydrogen bonds; whereas, the latter compound cannot. Therefore, the former compound was more polar than the latter. In the case of the TLC testing, 4-t-butylcyclohexanone that was created from oxidation in part A, would travel farthe r on the TLC plate. Indicated in the data obtained, no reactant was left after the reaction, which indicated the completion of oxidation. On the other hand, the TLC test in Part B showed the same result. The product, 4-t-butylcyclohexanol was expected to travel less due to its polarity. Also, the final result showed that no reactant was present, indicated by the absence of the spot compared to the spot of the starting material. On another note, isopropyl alcohol was used to eliminate the excess of hypochlorite in Part A. By reacting hypochlorite and isopropyl alcohol, acetone and water were produced. Hence, hypochlorite was used to oxidize isopropyl alcohol in order to create acetone, which was a solvent that would interfere with the reaction; thus, it provided no harm and affect the results. The percent yield was decent for part A and was low for Part B and C. Possible reasoning for this could be that the products were lost during the extraction. It was not likely that the issue resided in the reaction itself because TLC testing indicated that all the reactants were used up. Hence, it was more likely that the extraction process may account for the loss of products. On another note, the ratio of trans/cis of the commercially obtained alcohol mixture seemed to be 1:3. Additionally, the standard ratios of the stereoisomers were almost the same compared to the HNMR spectrums obtained from the experiment. Since the ratio was 1:3, the method most likely used to synthesize the 4-t-butylcyclohexanol was the Meerwein-Pondorff-Verley Reduction. Sources of Errors: No major errors occurred during the experiment. One possible error that may account for the low recover of product would be the extraction. The extraction process went too fast, which may cause some products to be lost in the aqueous layer. However, the aqueous layer was extracted once more, which can minimize the loss of products. This was a possibility. Conclusion and Future Experiments: The results from the experiment concluded that Meerwein-Pondorff-Verley Reduction was the method used to synthesize the commercially obtained 4-t-butylcyclohexanol. Additionally, the products from reactions were successfully obtained from the completed reactions. Future experiments would include multiple attempts of the reactions in order to obtain a higher yield. Although, the results concluded the exact method used, more HNMR spectrums from additional experiments would provide credibility.

Luis Gutierrez :: essays research papers

Luis Gutierrez The Fourth District of Chicago is rather new to the Chicago land made up largely of Hispanics and Latinos. This District like many others face major problems of crime, health care and education. Democratic representative Luis V. Gutierrez represents the answer to these and other problems. Who is Luis Gutierrez? Is this man making a difference? What are his issues? Is Luis doing his job? What is his impact on the system? These are question that need answering. These problems need solving is Luis Gutierrez really the answer? Gutierrez was born December 10 1954, in Chicago Illinois. He received a Bachelors degree from Northeastern Illinois University, in 1975. His professional experience is as follows: teacher in Puerto Rico from, 1977 to 1978; social worker for Chicago's Department of children and family Services, from 1979 to 1983; An advisor to Chicago mayor Harold Washington, from 1984 to 1987; Chicago city Alderman from 1986 to 1992; President of the Pro. Tem, from 1989 to 1992. Luis V. Gutierrez was elected to represent Illinois district four in 1992. The congressional committees he serves on include Banking and Financial Services; General Overnight and Investigations; Housing and Community opportunity; Veteran Affairs and Hospital and Health Care. Mr. Gutierrez's addresses in Washington and in Chicago are: 408 Longworth House office Building, Washington Dc 20515; 3181 North Elston Avenue, Chicago 60618; 1715 west 47th street, Chicago 60609; 3659 Halsted Chicago 60609; and 2132 West 21st street Chicago 60608. Luis Gutierrez start the road to politics by being a strong supporter on our former late mayor Harold Washington. With the backing of Washington, Gutierrez won the race for Alderman in 1986. After the death of Washington, Gutierrez soon supported Richard Daley for mayor and was appointed to chairman of the housing committee. Gutierrez was now able to instate his "New Homes for Chicago plan". This plan called for the city to sell empty spaces of land to housing contractors to construct homes for as little as one dollar. In 1992, Gutierrez ran for representative of the fourth district election, Gutierrez opponent was Juan Soliz. During the campaign Gutierrez focused more on crime, while Soliz focused on many issues such as: trade and health care. Gutierrez soon showed to be the candidate for his people of all ethnic groups. He became known in the area for the following passage, "If you work hard, sweat and toil and play by the rules, you will be rewarded...with clean street, safer and better schools, the opportunity to send your kids to college." He won sixty percent to forty percent and sixty-four percent to thirty-four percent in the primary.

The Impact of Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, and Local Color on The

     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Four major literary movements can claim some aspect of The Awakening, for in this "small compass . . . [is illustrated] virtually all the major American intellectual and literary trends of the nineteenth century" (Skaggs, 80).  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Romantic movement marked a profound shift in sensibilities away from the Enlightenment. It was inspired by reaction to that period's concepts of clarity, order, and balance, and by the revolutions in America, France, Poland, and Greece. It expressed the assertion of the self, the power of the individual, a sense of the infinite, and transcendental nature of the universe. Major themes included the sublime, terror, and passion. The writing extolled the primal power of nature and the spiritual link between nature and man, and was often emotional, marked by a sense of liberty, filled with dreamy inner contemplations, exotic settings, memories of childhood, scenes of unrequited love, and exiled heroes.    In America, Romanticism coalesced into a distinctly "American" ideal: making success from failure, the immensity of the American landscape, the power of man to conquer the land, and "Yankee" individualism. The writing was also marked by a type of xenophobia. Protestant America was faced with an influx of Catholic refugees from the Napoleonic Wars, of Asian workers who constructed the railroads, and the lingering issue of Native Americans. An insular attitude developed, the "us and them" in Whitman. The major writers of the period were Irving, Cooper, Emerson, Poe, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Whitman, Dickinson, and Melville.    There are various romantic elements in The Awakening. Perhaps the most obvious and elemental are the exotic locale, use of color, and heavy emphasis on nature (cl... ...cause Robert to leave.    Works Cited and Consulted Chopin, Kate, The Awakening; A Solitary Soul. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1992 Delbanco, Andrew. "The Half-Life of Edna Pontellier." New Essays on The Awakening. Ed. Wendy Martin. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1988. 89-106. Koloski, Bernard, ed. Preface. Approaches to Teaching Chopin's The Awakening. By Koloski. New York: MLA, 1988. Martin, Wendy, ed. New Essays on the Awakening. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1988. May, John R. "Local Color in The Awakening." Culley, 189-95. Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1969.   - - -. "Kate Chopin and the American Realists." Culley 180-6. Skaggs, Peggy. "Three Tragic Figures in Kate Chopin's The Awakening." Louisiana Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of the South 4 (1974): 345-64.  Ã‚     

Character Analyses Table

Characters – The Story of Tom Brennan Using the information about the other characters given to you by the other groups fill in the boxes below, include: * Adjectives to describe their personal (how they act, what they’re like) and physical characteristics (what they look like) * How they deal with the crash & do they blame themselves for the crash? How? (Include a quote from the novel to illustrate this and explain why this quote is appropriate) * Outline how they have grown or changed throughout the novel (Include a second quote from the novel to illustrate this and explain why this quote is appropriate)Tom BrennanBefore: determined, strong, horny, talented, and athletic. How he dealt with it: Tom blames himself at the start but learns to accept that it was not his fault. He soon sees that he could never have stopped Daniel from getting in the car. â€Å"Tomorrow? I felt my heart slip to the ground†¦ there would be a tomorrow†¦ the world went on, regardless of how I felt†. It shows how Tom is struggling to get through the days and just when it gets better he remembers how crap his life is. Tom changes hugely throughout the book, he works hard to improve his life and become happy again even when he wants to give up. I just wish I was starting to feel a bit better† â€Å"You will, I know you will†. â€Å"Really? † â€Å"Yeah†. â€Å"Do you? † â€Å"Yeah† I answered. â€Å"It’s slow but I can see ahead now, if you know what I mean? † â€Å"Like? † â€Å"Like life being okay again. † I squeezed her hand. Shows how Tom starts to live again. | Daniel BrennanBefore accident: arrogant, Sentenced to 3 years in jail. Blames himself, ashamed of what he has done. He has plenty of time to think about what his done. Daniel improves at the end. Reckless at times. Doesn’t deal with the crash that well because he blames himself for what happened at the beginning.He has a mentor that helps him deal with the accident and then Daniel begins to help someone else. â€Å"Daniel was an accident waiting to happen, just shame that it happened to other people†. From Nicole’s parents. He became sorry and a mentor. This is how he changed throughout the novel. | Kylie BrennanSmoker, stubborn, argumentative. After accident: aggressive, angry, guilty, frightened, secretive and bitchy. Builds a strong relationship with Tom and Daniel. Expresses her feelings through her speech about domestic terrorism.Kylie becomes caring about Fin and made sure he was ok. â€Å"Kyle’s we’ll never be the same, but that doesn’t mean it has to be bad just different†. This show that things can change but doesn’t have to be negative. How she dealt with it: She moved on quickly, but she blamed herself secretly because she encouraged Fin and Claire to get together. She hated herself, and cut her hair off. â€Å"Tell someone who cares Tomà ¢â‚¬ . As she got up and walked out. This shows she is angry. She started being rebellious as a form of coping. She started smoking and even swearing.Unlike Tom though, she can’t talk about the accident. As she told her new friend Brianna and her old friend Becky. | FinBefore accident: mature, relaxed. After accident: confused, depressed, quadriplegic. â€Å"Hey Tom† and here he was 6 months later, his had grown back and he could breathe for himself. But he’d never be the real Fin, the Fin I knew. â€Å"Who’s Bennies 5/8th†, â€Å"A bloke called Rory†, â€Å"Is he any good†. I answered carefully â€Å"He’s not bad†He became quadriplegic, becomes depressedBecause he can’t move, he had more time to think.When becoming angry, the only way to feel better is to take it out on his family. About the crash: angry, lost confused, depressed. Blames Daniel for the crash and how he ruined his life. | Uncle Brendan| ClaireReg retful, forgiving, scared, caring and thoughtful. Claire broke up with Daniel and he went crazy which resulted in the accident. | Gran| Aunty Kath| Jo Brennan and Tess Brennan (Tom’s Parents)Sympathetic, dull, depressed, neglectful. He does not blame himself for the accident as he felt they all had the reason to celebrate.They got in to the final end they wanted a premature party. Joe did not know the full relationship between Fin and Claire had the secret relationship. Joe just saw it as a night of fun not tragedy. She nodded. â€Å"you’ve always been one step ahead of her†. â€Å"You and Kylie both have. † â€Å"So what did I do wrong my first born? † â€Å"Tess blames her parenting skills referring to Kylie and Tom being good but looked at the Daniel turned out. Tess used to be very neglectful to the rest of family and has come to deep depression.She didn’t show much interest other than Daniel this has extended not only to her own childr en but Fin as well. She changed throughout the novel by taking care of her health and making effort with her children. â€Å"Mum made dinner. † Kylie and I helped. They were only omelettes but that was the most she’s cooked in ages. She kept going on about how delicious they were and how you had to eat the eggs in a particular way to make them fluffy. Kylie gave me a bit of an eye roll but she didn’t say anything. We knew these were big steps for mum. We didn’t want to do nything to ruin it in case she went back to bed and never got out. â€Å"Not only has god given you a gift, I mean sincerely. Now, it was good, but it was never going to be as good as you† But I think deep down he meant that. Joe comes to senses and realises that Daniel, is not so much the golden child. Joe realises that Tom has so much, he has a chance at a better life, a great rugby career and a chance to become a great someone, special. This relates to Joe in changing because h e realises that Tom can be someone and he can lift his brother and family from the disaster. Tess blames herself.She felt saddened, depressed as if she never wanted to wake up from her bed. Tess often slept, and slept in the dark clutches of doona. It was though she would never wake from under the bed ever again, but Tess after all that sleeping she was just thinking that she should of stopped Daniel. But there was no way. Tess did not know what was going to happen. Daniels actions affected Tess in a way where she would never able to look at her sister in the eye again. The damaged that ripped Tess’s family apart that to her was unbearable to forget, and to beg for forgiveness. |

Conformity in Fahrenheit 451 Essay

Mindless and Obeying Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 features a fictional and futuristic firefighter named Guy Montag. As a firefighter, Montag does not put out fires. Instead, he starts them in order to burn books and, basically, knowledge to the human race. He does not have any second thoughts about his responsibility until he meets seventeen-year-old Clarisse McClellan. She reveals many wonders of the world to Montag and causes him to rethink what he is doing in burning books. After his talks with her, the society’s obedience to the law that bans knowledge, thinking, and creativity also increasingly distresses him. In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury shows conformity in the futuristic America through schooling, leisure, and fright. The children in the society are never actually taught during school hours. Captain Beatty, another firefighter, tells Montag that the schools † Cram them full of non-combustible data, chock them so damned full of â€Å"facts† they feel stuffed, but absolutely â€Å"brilliant† with information† (61). The â€Å"teachers† (actually film) stuff the students with â€Å"knowledge†, making them feel smart, but they are never taught to question any of the information or form their own opinion on matters. Clarisse says, â€Å"Do you know, we never ask questions, or at least most don’t; they just run the answers at you, bing, bing, bing, and us sitting there for four more hours of film-teacher† (29). In being taught not to question anything, including the law, education supports conformity. In a similar way, entertainment encourages obedience as well. In the culture that Montag lives in, it is expected in everyone to participate in the civilization’s entertainment sources: mindless television, the â€Å"shell†, and violent games. Television (a.k.a. parlor walls) are made up of a flat screen on a wall; sometimes it fills all of the walls instead of just one, and is made up of fast-moving, mindless flashing images of people known as the â€Å"family†. Every second they are on, they are screaming nonsense. Faber, Montag’s mentor, says, â€Å"The televisor is â€Å"real†. It is immediate, it as dimension. It tells you what to think and blasts it in. It must be right, it seems to be right. It rushes you on so quickly to its own conclusions your mind hasn’t time to protest† (109).The residents  are provided with too much â€Å"excitement† at one time and do not have enough time or space in their minds to think. The walls are addicting. Therefore, more people take more time to sit down and watch the â€Å"family† rather than focusing on developing their own creativity and thinking. Whenever citizens are off the parlor walls, they listen to the â€Å"shell† which is based on the same concept of the parlor walls: to limit thoughts. The only difference between the two is that the shell is far more compact. Otherwise, the two are similar. In limiting access to time for feelings, television and the â€Å"shell† promotes conformity to the law. Games in the society work in a comparable way as the parlor walls and the â€Å"shell†. They show aggression and gore in every single one of them; whether or not it is a real life game or a video game. Seeing so much violence numbs their minds to all of the happenings around them. Clarisse mentions, â€Å"I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always used to be that way? My uncle says no. Six of my friends have been shot in the last year alone. Ten of them died in car wrecks† (30). Even if mass genocide were happening around them, they would brush it away like shooing away fly. Being apathetic, they would not question anything happening around them, which encourages conformity to the government. Reinforcing entertainment and education, fear produces a foolproof obedience in the society. Even though most citizens are brainwashed by their schooling and leisure, some, like Montag, Faber, and Clarisse still rebel against the law. Therefore, the government creates severe punishments to be dealt out to generate fear in the rebels so that rebellions would not be staged. One of these punishments is to burn down the rebel’s house and put the resident in a crazy asylum. Another, the one Montag fears most, is the mechanical hound. It is made to force support from the citizens using the fear that the mechanical hound produces. Conformity is depicted in Fahrenheit 451 through tutelage, entertainment, and terror. The people should have access to knowledge and should think with their own minds. The book shows that having creativity and opinions, like Clarisse, is better than just being, quite literally, a robot. Fahrenheit  451 shows the citizens in the fictional society being controlled by foolish teachings, mind-jumbling amusement, and forced fear. Being mindless and obeying is not a choice. Everybody has to have a viewpoint of his or her own in life.