James Spencer Essay Example for Free

James Spencer Essay Introduction The conditions for the poor were terrible at the time when Charles dickens wrote the novel a Christmas carol to express his concern about the conditions for these people. At first Charles was going to show his concern by writing a serious pamphlet explaining the conditions people were living in but after much thought he decided a book would be better because he was a famous author. Charles believed this would help by alerting people of the lives the people were living so they would donate to charity at Christmas a time of giving. Paragraph 1 In stave one of the book we are introduced to Scrooge and Jacob Marley. In the first stave scrooge is described as and evil man and also you can tell this from the things he says Every idiot who goes around with Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding and buried with a stake of holy through his heart. He replied to his nephew after he invited him to Christmas dinner this shows he dose not like Christmas and also he is very rude and is not afraid of sharing his point of view with others. Scrooge is rude to all the people who try to be nice to him in this first chapter from the men who asked for a donation for charity to his employee who asked for Christmas day off to whom he only just excepted say he needs to be in the earlier the next day. When scrooge goes home he sees the ghost of his ex-partner Jacob Marley who tells him he will have to mend his ways or he may end up with a similar fate. Paragraph 2 In stave two Scrooge is visited by the first of the three ghosts of Christmas the ghost of Christmas past. This chapter gives us a lot of important information on scrooge such as his time at school his work for Mr. Feziwig and his relationship that ended when he became obsessed with money I have seen you nobler aspirations fall off one by one until the master-passion, gain, engrosses you. Scrooges fianci e told him when she didnt want to see him anymore because he had changed at the begging of this chapter he is show as a hard working boy in school that didnt really have any friends but had a grate love for his sister. The chapter also tells us about the time he worked for Mr. Feziwig and how he used to have a good time and how he was bad employer because he didnt treat his staff to a good time. Paragraph 3 In stave three Scrooge meets the second of the ghosts the ghost of Christmas present who shows him what over peoples Christmas are like this shows the appalling conditions the Cratchits lived in and how his nephew disrespects him and what he says about him his offences carry their own punishment, and I have nothing to say against his. Fred said after he called a toast to his uncle later on at the meal they all insult scrooge. In this chapter we learn of the great poverty of the Cratchits were they have to share glasses and of tiny Tims illness and how he will die if scrooge doesnt help him. Paragraph 4 In stave for scrooge meets the last of the ghosts the ghost of Christmas future. In this chapter of the book scrooge finds out he has died and he realizes that no one liked him and that his money was not any use to him when he was dead he frightened everyone away from him when he was alive to profit us when he was dead! Ha, ha ha! The pawn broker says as we realizes all of scrooges possessions have been sold when they can no longer be any use to him as he is dead. In this chapter he realizes that being a bad person isnt any good to him and thats its better to be remembered as a good person than a bad one because thats all you have when you die. Scrooge has now changed and wants to be a better person and we see what he dose in the last chapter Paragraph 5. In the last chapter in the book scrooge seems to be happier person he dose this by trying to be nice to other people and by doing good deeds he also apologizes to bob and says a merrier Christmas, bob, my good fellow, than I have given for many a year! Ill raise your salary; endeavor to assist your struggling family. Scrooge said to bob on Christmas day he also gives the Cratchits a turkey anonymously and goes to dinner with his nephew and family this shows that scrooge has changed a lot and also want to be a better person. Conclusion I believe that by the end of the story scrooge is a better person and the only reason he became a bad person was because of his own ignorance to what was going on around him. Charles Dickens is try to tell his rich audience of readers that money isnt every thing and you can have a good time without it but if you do have it you should be generous and try to help over people have a good time and by doing that you will have a good time your self.

Effects Of The One Child Policy In China Sociology Essay

Effects Of The One Child Policy In China Sociology Essay As the most populous country in the world, the Peoples Republic of China has been adopting the One-Child Policy since 1979 in order to improve the problem of overpopulation which is seen as an obstacle of the growth and development of the country. While the Chinese Government emphasizes its achievements of population control in China, the controversial policy has been widely criticized for its negative influences. This paper presents the One-Child Policys effects on the position of women. Womens position in this paper is basically defined by womens rights, freedom, respectability and social status .I will first briefly introduce the policy, then analyze both the positive and negative impacts with relevant data and statistics, and lastly come to a conclusion. The Policy and Population Growth Introduced in 1978 and implemented since 1979, the One-Child Policy is a family planning policy adopted by the Chinese Government in order to improve Chinas over-rapid population as to prevent its unfavourable effects on economic and social development of the country.(Information Office of the State Council Of the Peoples Republic of China 1995) The policy restricts married urban Chinese couples from having more than one child by imposing monetary penalties on families with extra children yet exemptions are allowed for couples who belong to ethnic minorities, live in rural area or do not have any siblings.(BBC News 2000) The One-Child Policy is considered successful in terms of its control on Chinas population growth as the birth rate in the county has been greatly decreasing since the introduction of the policy. (see Figure 1) Compared with 1970, in 1994 the birth rate dropped from 33.43 per thousand to 17.7 per thousand; the natural growth rate, from 25.83 per thousand to 11.21 per thousand; and the total fertility rate of women, from 5.81 to around 2à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦According to statistics supplied by the United Nations, Chinas population growth rate has already been markedly lower than the average level of other developing countries. (Information Office of the State Council Of the Peoples Republic of China 1995) Figure 1. Changes in the total fertility rate in China Source: National Population and Family Planning Commission of China (2006) Violation of Womens Reproductive Rights Despite its success in population control, the One-Child Policy gives rise to criticisms among which one lies in its violation of womens reproductive rights. Reproductive rights are a subset of human rights first recognized at the United Nations International Conference on Human Rights in Teheran on 13th May 1986. According to the 16th article of the Proclamation of Teheran, Parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their children. Dixon-Mueller (1993: 12) suggests that reproductive rights can be defined as three types: 1. the freedom to decide how many children to have and when (or whether) to have them; 2. the right to have the information and means to regulate ones fertility; 3. the right to control ones own body. Reproductive freedom is the core of individual self-determination. The One-Child Policy does not only violate womens rights by limiting the number of their children but also leads to forced abortions in the country. Under the enforced policy, every 2.4 seconds there is a woman undergoing a forced abortion in China and this makes a total of about 35,000 abortions per day. (Phillips 2010: 1) Abortion is legal in China and as reported in China Daily in 2009, 13 millions of abortions are performed in China every year, which largely exceeds those performed in other countries such as the United States and Canada. (see Figure 2). There is a direct relationship between the One-Child Policy and Chines abortion rate. PostenYaukey (1992: 290) point out that the abortion rate in China increased by nearly 50% between 1978 and 1979 when the policy started being implemented. It is widely known that abortions can cause women health problems, not to mention its negative impacts on emotional and mental health. Ms. Reggie Littlejohn, president of Womens Rights Without Frontiers, criticized that The one child policy causes more violence toward women and girls than any other policy on the face of the earth. (Jiang 2009) Figure2. Abortion statistics in China, U.S.A., U.K., Canada and Australia Source: Jiang (2009) Unwanted Daughters and Sex-Selective Abortions A saying among peasants in China goes like this:The birth of a boy is welcomed with shouts of joy and firecrackers, but when a girl is born, the neighbours say nothing(WestleyChoe 2007: 2) In spite of Chinas modernization over the past decades, it is still common for Chinese parents to prefer sons to daughters. (Wang 1999: 197) Such a preference indirectly leads to sex-selective abortions as female fetuses are usually considered less precious than male ones, especially if the couples are allowed to have only one child. With fetal screening technologies such as ultrasound, amniocentesis and chorionic villi sampling, the sex of unborn fetuses can be recognized before their birth. Such technologies and available abortions result in the possibility that couples selectively abort female fetuses in the hope of having a son instead.(WestleyChoe 2007: 3) Beside sex-selective abortions, Chinas infant mortality rate is another thing to look into. Generally the mortality of male infants is expected to be greater than that of female ones as male infants are biologically weaker than female infants.(Li, 2007: 2) This assumption is also proved by the worlds infant mortality rate by sex.(See Table 1) However, as shown in Table 2, China goes in the reverse direction. It is believed that this unusual tendency is caused by female infanticides and daughter abandonments resulting from the son preference. Table 1. Worlds infant mortality rate by sex 1980-2010 Source: United Nations Population Division (2010) Table 2. Chinas infant mortality rate by sex 1980-2010 Source: United Nations Population Division (2010) Gender Imbalance Blessing or Curse? Together with the increasing female infant mortality, there is a rising trend of the sex ratio in China since the implement of the One-Child Policy.(See Figure 3) It is estimated by the State Population and Family Planning Commission that there will be 30 million more Chinese man than Chinese women in 2020. (BBC News 2007) Because of the supply-and-demand law that supply decreases t and demand remains unchanged then the value of supply increase, some people assume that if there are less women in China their values and social status should naturally rise. However, this law would make sense only if the demand of women was high. Poon(2008) points out that when women become the minority in a male-preponderant society like China, China may face a period of unprecedented male aggression, which would likely render women as victims and womens status even more precarious and vulnerable to subjugation. Figure 3. Rising sex ratio and excess female infant mortality in China Source: Sun (2005) Womens Empowerment The Mistaken Focus It is always emphasized by the Chinese Government that the One-Child Policy helps promoting womens empowerment and improving womens position as they are freed from heavy burdens brought about by having many children(National Population and Family Planning Commission of China 2006). This claim contains two causal relations: 1) Because of the One-Child Policy women have fewer children. 2) Women have fewer children so they can spend more time on their career. Both of them make sense in a large extent, but is the One-Child Policy a must to control the number of womens children? Probably no. Despite that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the PRC, the One-Child Policy is never implemented in the city, where the social position of women is relatively high. As shown in Figure 4, the fertility rate of Hong Kong kept dropping even and was even lower than that of China. Of course one can argue that there are various factors contributing to Hong Kongs low fertility rate, yet one can also question whether the One-Child Policy is the only factor causing the decline in fertility rate and the rise of womens position. Figure 4. Fertility rates from 1960-2005 in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and East Asia Pacific Source: The United Families International (2010) The Single Child Generation The One-Child Policy does not only aim to decrease the birthrate but also to improve the quality of the new generation, the future pillars of China. It is commonly believed that having single daughters will raise the position of women as their parents provide them with better and more concentrated resources such as education and materials. It may be true in some ways, but Greenhalgh(2007.) points out that the One-Child Policy has produced the most materially and educationally privileged generation of young people in Chinese history who are spoiled and egocentric. Having been the focus of attention from the family throughout their growing-up years, these children are more dependent on others and easily hurt psychologically.(China Daily 2005) The new single-child generation in China has already concerning Chinese from the older generation. Do better resources necessarily create a better generation? If it does not, how can we expect a decline in qualities of children (both male and fema le) will result in better positions of women? Conclusion The One-Child Policy was claimed to be a short-term measure when it was first introduced in China.(Hesketh, Li Zhu 2005) Now that the policy has already been implemented for three decades, its negative consequences eventually appear and have aroused worries from the society. The policy negatively affects womens position as it violate womens rights and enhances the existing favoritism towards male children and it is not coming to an end yet. According to Zhao Baige, deputy director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission of China, although it is said that the policy has been slowly being relaxed ,Chinas family-planning policy will remain unchanged until at least 2015. (Kumar 2010) (1631 words)

Physicochemical Study of Palm Ester for Cosmetic Application

Physicochemical Study of Palm Ester for Cosmetic Application 2.0 Introduction Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of oil palm, Elaeis guineensis. Besides, Malaysia is one of the leading exporters and producers of palm oil in the world (Keng et al., 2005 Palm oil has been widely applied in various industrial sectors due to the uniqueness of its composition (Keng et al., 2009). It consists of triglycerides; the combination of glycerol and different fatty acids. Furthermore, other palm oil fractions can be extracted as palm oil is rich in Palmitic acid and Oleic acid (OBrien, 2004). Specifically, in this study, Palm Olein will be used to produce palm ester instead of the other fractions. Wax esters are one of the most important ingredients in cosmetic formulations (Hallberg et al., 1999). The emollient behavior of wax esters makes it applicable for numerous personal care products (Peter Robert, 2001). Besides, synthetic ways to produced ester has been introduced since naturally occurring wax esters are limited and expensive (Keng et al., 2009). Thus, in this study lipase-catalyzed reaction of Palm Olein and Oleyl alcohol by using immobilized lipase will be carried out in order to synthesize wax esters (palm ester). Physicochemical study as well as thermal stability will also be conducted since the characterization of esters is important in order to examine their effectiveness in industrial applications. 3.0 Literature Review 3.1 Waxes In general, the mixture of long-chain of lipid forming a protective coating on plant leaves and animals is waxes (Keng et al., 2005). Besides, it has been used commercially in many areas. Lubricants, polishes, coating materials are some of its applications (Hamilton, 1995; Hallberg et al., 1999). Carnuba wax, beeswax, wool wax and spermaceti wax are some examples of waxes that exist naturally. Animals, plants and minerals are the source of natural waxes (Gunawan et al., 2005). Thus, waxes can be classified into two types which are natural waxes and synthetic waxes. 3.1.1 Natural Waxes Sperm whale oil is one of the natural waxes and it can be found in the open ocean. Years ago, the whale species of P. macrocephalaus was a prime source of wax. This is because of the liquid wax called spermaceti that contained in the head of the whale (Rice, 2009). The liquid wax is present abundantly in the spermaceti organ of the whales. Moreover, manufacturers found that spermaceti is very useful (Whale facts, 10 November 2014). It is a great substance that can be used in many sectors. However, due to the extinction of this species, the government has banned all the whale hunting. Thus, jojoba oil has become the main natural sources of wax since the cessation of whale hunting (Keng et al., 2009). Other than that, Jojoba is a shrub which can be found in Arizona, Mexico and some other areas (Allawzi et al., 1997). The seed of the Simmondsia chinesia (jojoba) plant contain a unique oil which known as jojoba oil. Besides, jojoba oil makes up approximately 50% of the seed’s weight. It is composed of the straight chain monoesters of the monounsaturated C20and C22 alcohols and acids (Wisniak, 1994). Furthermore, the uniqueness of jojoba oil is due to its chemical composition. It contains a little or no glycerin. As the glycerin is almost completely absence, it indicates that jojoba differs from the other seed oil. It is proved that it is a liquid wax not fat. 3.2.2 Synthetic Waxes Day by day, the demands of waxes keep growing. Unfortunately, it is too expensive for large-scale use of natural waxes like jojoba oil. Moreover, it requires up to 5 years for commercial jojoba plantations to start produce seeds (Keng et al., 2009). Thus, ways to synthesize wax with cheaper materials and in shorter time become very crutial (Radzi et al., 2005). In order to synthesize synthetic wax, chemical and enzymatic methods can be used (Keng et al., 2005). However, chemical-catalyzed method may leads to high energy consumption and degradation of esters whereas the enzymatic synthesis offers mild reactions and environmental-friendly process (Yadav Lathi, 2003). Normally, synthetic waxes are used in cosmetics formulations as replacement of natural waxes. Synthetic waxes from natural raw materials have not much different from the natural ones. Synthetic beeswax, synthetic spermaceti, polyethylene waxes and polawax are the examples of synthetic waxes (SpecialChem, 8 November 2014) 3.2.3 Wax Ester The long chain of esters that derived from fatty acids and alcohols are referred as wax esters (Chen Wang, 1997). The chemical structure of wax ester is shown in Figure 1 below. Typically, it is composed of n-alkanoic acids and n-alkan-1-ols with carbon atoms ranging from C12-C32 (Misra Ghosh, 1991). Wax esters are very important in various industries, especially in cosmetic formulations. This is due to its characteristics which are non-irritating and non-greasy feeling when in contact with skin (Peter Robert, 2001). Figure 1: The Chemical Structure of Wax Ester (AOCS lipid library, 10 November) Wax ester can be extracted from animals and plants. Besides, it is a major component of beeswax and jojoba plants. Hence, it’s can’t be deny that the extraction of wax ester from natural sources are expensive for commercial use and it is limited (Keng et al., 2005) 3.2 Palm Oil In early 1870, the oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis) has been introduced in Malaysia as an ornamental plant by British (Malaysian palm oil council, 11 November 2014). The oil palm tree originates from West Africa (Hartley, 1988). Typically, it has been used as cooking oil. As this plant can be commercialized, it has also been introduced to many other countries. From wild plant, it was developed into an agricultural crop. Moreover, the expansion of its plantation was due to the high demands from the consumers. Figure 2 below shows the oil palm tree as an agricultural crop. Figure 2: The Oil Palm Tree (Wikipedia Palm Oil, 12 November 2014) The first commercial of oil palm in Malaysia was founded on 1917 (Malaysian Palm Oil Council, 11 November 2014). From that onwards, the huge palm oil industry in Malaysia had started. Recently, palm oil, the extraction from the fruit of oil palm is the leading agricultural crop of Malaysia (MPOB, 2004). Besides, Malaysia has been announced as one of the largest producers and exporters of palm oil in the world (Malaysian Palm Oil Council, 11 November 2014). The uniqueness of palm oil composition makes it easy to be commercialized. In addition, it has been applied in many industrial sectors such as pharmaceutical, cosmetic formulations and food manufacturing (Keng et al, 2005). In Malaysia, the oil palm trees planted are the crossbred of dura and pisifera, known as tenera variety (Latiff, 2000). The mature trees will grow up to 20m tall. The size of the palm fruits is approximately the same with the size of the small plum and it’s grow in bunches. The weight of each bunch is between 10-50 kilograms and containing around 2000 individual fruits. Usually, the oil palm tree will start to produce fruits after 30 months. Its productivity will keep growing for the next 3 decades (Palm oil world, 11 November 2014). Normally, the fruits are dark purple and almost black (Malaysian Palm Oil Council, 11 November 2014). The colour will turns to reddish orange when ripe. The fruits consist of an outer pulp and kernels (Gunstone, 2001). The fruit of palm tree is the source of two different oils. Palm oil and palm kernel oil are the types of oil that can be obtained from the fruit of oil palm tree (Malaysian Palm Oil Council, 11 November 2014). The outer pulp contains palm oil while palm kernel oil is obtained from the kernel of the fruit. Even though these two types of oil are derived from the same plant, they are completely different by comparing their characteristics and properties (Keng et al, 2009). Figure 3 below shows the fruit bunches of oil palm tree and its cross section. Figure 3: The Fruit Bunches of Oil Palm Tree and Its Cross Section. (Malaysian Palm Oil Board, 12 November 2014) Furthermore, palm oil consists of triglycerides. Triglycerides are a combination of glycerol and different fatty acids. Palm oil is rich in palmitic acid and oleic acid, while palm kernel oil is rich lauric acid (O’Brien, 2004). Besides, these fats can be fractionated into solid and liquid fractions to produce stearins and oleins, respectively (Keng et al, 2009). Even though Lipase-catalyzed reaction of palm oil and palm kernel oil by using lipase are quite simple, the characterization of long chain esters is significant in order to examine their ability and efficiency in industrial sector. Palm Olein, the liquid fraction of palm oil will be used in the synthesis of palm ester instead of the other fractions (Malaysian Palm Oil Council, 12 November 2014). Thus, the synthesis, physicochemical properties and thermal stability of palm ester will be carried out specifically focusing on alm Olein. 3.3 Enzymes Human body is characterized by complex system of related chemical reaction. Besides, the reaction must be fully controlled in order to maintain life. Thus, enzymes are necessary for many reactions to confirm that it occur at suitable rates (Brown et al., 2012). Enzyme is a substance that speeds up reactions without any permanent changes and also known as catalyst. The building blocks of enzymes are amino acids and they are proteins. Enzyme catalyzes reaction takes place at specific location known as active site. Usually, enzymes are specific according to the reaction they catalyzed and the substrate that involves in the reaction. However, unwelcoming inhibitors are naturally occurring and disturb the enzyme reaction. Since enzymes are flexible, the active site is continuously reshaped. Besides, the combination of enzyme and substrate is called the enzyme-substrate complex. As the enzymes react with many substrates, the rigid lock and key model is not valid. In 1958, the modification of lock and key model has been proposed. Figure 4 below shows the modification of lock and key model (Koshland, 1958). Figure 4: The Lock and Key Model (Wikipedia, 11 November 2014) 3.3.1 Lipases Lipases are water-soluble enzyme and it’s able to catalyze both hydrolytic and synthetic reaction. Lipases are widely used in many sectors. They play an important role in the production of leather, detergent industries and in production of surfactants (Knezevic et al., 2004). Naturally, lipases are used in hydrolysis of acylglycerides. However, they are useful in many other reactions. In fact, lipases are qualified of catalyzing the reverse reaction synthesis Due to its ability to combine with broad range of substrate specificity (Gandhi, 1997). Besides, some lipases are more suited for synthesis than hydrolysis reactions. 3.3.2 Immobilized Lipases Lipases used in detergents and many other applications are not immobilized. However, due to an increasing specialty application of lipases demand an immobilized biocatalyst for efficient use (Sharma et al., 2001). Besides, immobilized lipase can reduce the cost and poor stability of free lipase. Adsorption, covalent binding and entrapping are some of the immobilization techniques (Knezeic et al., 2004). Since the immobilization method is typically accompanied by changes in enzymatic activity, pH, temperature and stability, each of the methods has its advantages and disadvantages. Besides, the used of immobilized lipases are very useful in the pharmaceutical, oleochemical and food industry (Knezevic et al., 2004). 3.4 Lipase-Catalyzed Reaction Lipase-catalyzed reaction can be classified into two main categories which are hydrolysis and synthesis. Synthesis category can be further separated into esterification, interesterification, alcoholysis and acidolysis. Table 1 below shows the classification of lipase-catalyzed reaction. Table 1: The Classification of Lipase-Catalyzed Reaction (Gandhi, 1997) In this experiment, alcoholysis of lipase-catalyzed reaction will be conducted. It is also called enzymatic transesterification as the last three reactions (interesterifiction, alcohoysis and acidolysis) are grouped together into single term which is transesterification (Gandhi, 1997). 3.5 Oleyl Alcohol Oleyl alcohol is long chain fatty acids. Fatty acids can be derived from natural fats and oils. Besides, it can be found I beef fat as well as fish oils. Cis-9-Octadecen-1-ol and Oleo alcohol are the synonyms name of oleyl alcohol. The chemical formula of oleyl alcohol is CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)7CH2OH. Moreover, oleyl alcohol is a clear oily liquid and insoluble in water (chemicalland21, 10 November 2014). Furthermore, fatty alcohols are emulsifiers and emollients to make skin smoother and prevent moisture loss (chemicalland21, 10 November 2014). Hence, it has been used widely as raw materials in industrial sectors such as cosmetics, pharmaceutical, metal processing and lube additive. In this study, Oleyl alcohol will be used as internal standard of gas chromatography analyses. The chemical structure of oleyl alcohol is shown in Figure 5; Figure 5: The Chemical Structure Of Oleyl Alcohol (chemicalland21, 10 November 2014) 3.6 The Application of Physicochemical Study in Cosmetic Formulations Nowadays, industrial cosmetic has immerged along with the advancement of global technology. The development of new cosmetic formulations is due to the discovery of active component in herbs and other natural sources. Thus, study has been done in order to investigate the chemical composition and characteristics of the active components. 3.6.1 Physicochemical Study According to Brasil (2004), physicochemical study is the determinant step in the development of cosmetic formulations. Physicochemical study is the study of the relations between composition and physical properties of the elements. Besides, this study is significant in order to know the intrinsic properties of elements and their ability to react with specific reagent (High Technology Detection Systems, 12 November 2014). Slip melting point, refractive index, saponification value, iodine value and acid value are the physicochemical measurement that will be analyzed in this study. Slip melting point is one of the physical properties which is useful in identification purposes and assessment of purity. It’s proportional to the increase in chain length and degree of saturation. In addition, slip melting points fats usually contain 5% solid fat; thus slip melting point generally happens at lower temperature than the melting point of the fat itself (Akoh et al., 2004). The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed in the medium is known as the refractive index. Besides, refractive index is easily determined characteristics of fats, oils and their derivatives. It is important to obtain an accurate refractive index for the purposes of identification and for the progress of reaction like catalytic and isomerization. Generally, for the liquid oils, the density increases with increase in unsaturation and decreases with the increase in molecular weight at constant temperature. On the other hand, the refractive index will increases with the length of hydrocarbon chain and when the number of double bonds in molecules increase (Formo, 1999). Saponification is hydrolysis of ester under alkaline solution. Saponification value is the measure of chain length of all fatty acids present. The saponification value of an oil or fat is defined as the number of mg of potassium hydroxide required to neutralize the fatty acids resulting from the complete hydrolysis of 1 g of the sample. Besides, low saponification value is found from the long chain fatty acids due to the fewer number of carboxylic functional groups (Virtual Amrita Laboratories Universalizing Education, 13 November 2014). For the Iodine value, it measures the content of unsaturation or double bonds of fats and oils. Besides, it is one of the parameters used to measure the quality of olein (Buana et al., 1998). The iodine value also denotes the percentage by weight halogen, calculated as iodine and absorbed under the condition of the test. It is expressed as the number of iodine (grams) absorbed by the fat (100 grams) under test condition. According to O’Brien (1988), iodine value is a valuable constant that can be easily determined for fats and oils. One of the common parameter used in specification of fats and oils is acid value. It is defined as the number of milligrams potassium hydroxide needed to neutralize the free acid in one gram of sample. Besides, it is a measure of free fatty acids present in the fat or oil (chemprime, 13 November 2014). 3.6.2 Applications in Cosmetic Since ancient times, natural extracts from animals, plants and minerals have been used as special ingredients in cosmetics (Elsner Maibach, 2000). Wax esters are formulated in numerous personal care products due to its emollient behavior. Due to that, proper study on its characteristics is as important as the synthesis reaction (Keng et al., 2009). Besides, one of the most essential phases in development of new cosmetic formulations is the adequate physicochemical characterization to guarantee the identification of new patentable compound (Crystal Engineering, 12 November 2014). Physicochemical study is not a visible nor directly applied in cosmetic. However, the determination of each properties of physicochemical study is important in order to verify the compatibility of the extraction of palm oil for cosmetic application. Besides, it is important to verify whether the cosmetics are safe to be used. Hence, in this study the physicochemical properties of palm oil fraction focusing on palm olein will be carried out. 4.0 Problem Statement Currently, most of the chemical product derived from synthetic origin. However, product produced from chemical synthesis is not pure and involved hazardous chemicals. Thus, enzymatic reaction is preferable due to green synthesis process, environmental friendly and the product is pure. Physicochemical study is important in cosmetic formulations. However, rarely study on physicochemical had been reported in journal and any research paper. Due to that, in this research, a physicochemical study will be carried out such as slip melting point, refractive index, saponification value, iodine value, and acid stability. Besides, thermal stability will also be carried out in this research. Nowadays, a lot of synthesized products had been produce. However, the verification of those products was rarely reported. Hence, in this study, the synthesized product will be verified using spectroscopy methods such as thin layer chromatography (TLC) and gas chromatography (GC). 5.0 Objectives In this study, the synthesis of palm ester will be carried out. Enzymatic synthesis will be applied in order to produce palm ester. Besides, the physicochemical study will be conducted in order to apply palm ester in cosmetics. Therefore, this particular work will be carried out with the following objectives: To synthesize palm ester through enzymatic transesterification. To investigate the physicochemical properties and thermal stability of palm ester. To verify the synthesized palm ester using spectroscopy methods.

The African Country of Mozambique :: Geography

The African Country of Mozambique Mozambique is a country located on the southeast coast of Africa. It covers 308,642 square miles and has a population of about sixteen million. Maputo is the capitol, largest city, and chief port. Mozambique was governed by Portugal from the early 1500's until 1975 when it became independent after a ten year struggle against Portuguese rule. Mozambique is now controlled by Frelimo (the front for the liberation of Mozambique) the nations only political party. The president of Frelimo is also the nations president. Mozambiques highest governmental power lies with the parties central committee which is made up of fifteen members appointed by Frelimo. This party appoints the two hundred and ten members of the peoples assembly,(Mozambiques legislative body).This group meets twice a year. It's permanent committee handles legislative matters between sessions. Most Mozambicans are black Africans. Other groups such as Arabs, Europeans, and Pakistanis make up less than one percent of the population. Most blacks belong to groups that speak one of the Bantu languages. The largest of these groups, the Makua-Lomwe, accounts for forty percent of the population. The countries official language is Portuguese but few blacks can speak it. Some Mozambicans speak English when conducting business activities. Most Mozambicans are farmers with extremely simple techniques although farmers in some areas of the country use modern techniques. Fifty five percent of the people of Mozambique practice traditional African religions. Of this large group, many are animists who believe that everything in nature has a soul. Others worship spirits of their ancestors. About thirty percent of the population is Christian, mostly Roman Catholic. Many of the remaining are Muslim. Only about twenty five percent of Mozambiques people fifteen or older can read or write but the government has begun programs to help improve education. Almost one half of Mozambique is covered by a flat plain that extends inland from the coast. Land rises steadily beyond the plain and high plateaus and mountains run along much of the western border. Sand dunes and swamps line the coast. Grasslands and tropical rain forests cover much of the country. Many sizable rivers flow east through Mozambique into the Indian Ocean, there basins have extremely fertile soil. Cashew trees and coconut palms grow throughout the country. Animal life in Mozambique includes crocodiles, The African Country of Mozambique :: Geography The African Country of Mozambique Mozambique is a country located on the southeast coast of Africa. It covers 308,642 square miles and has a population of about sixteen million. Maputo is the capitol, largest city, and chief port. Mozambique was governed by Portugal from the early 1500's until 1975 when it became independent after a ten year struggle against Portuguese rule. Mozambique is now controlled by Frelimo (the front for the liberation of Mozambique) the nations only political party. The president of Frelimo is also the nations president. Mozambiques highest governmental power lies with the parties central committee which is made up of fifteen members appointed by Frelimo. This party appoints the two hundred and ten members of the peoples assembly,(Mozambiques legislative body).This group meets twice a year. It's permanent committee handles legislative matters between sessions. Most Mozambicans are black Africans. Other groups such as Arabs, Europeans, and Pakistanis make up less than one percent of the population. Most blacks belong to groups that speak one of the Bantu languages. The largest of these groups, the Makua-Lomwe, accounts for forty percent of the population. The countries official language is Portuguese but few blacks can speak it. Some Mozambicans speak English when conducting business activities. Most Mozambicans are farmers with extremely simple techniques although farmers in some areas of the country use modern techniques. Fifty five percent of the people of Mozambique practice traditional African religions. Of this large group, many are animists who believe that everything in nature has a soul. Others worship spirits of their ancestors. About thirty percent of the population is Christian, mostly Roman Catholic. Many of the remaining are Muslim. Only about twenty five percent of Mozambiques people fifteen or older can read or write but the government has begun programs to help improve education. Almost one half of Mozambique is covered by a flat plain that extends inland from the coast. Land rises steadily beyond the plain and high plateaus and mountains run along much of the western border. Sand dunes and swamps line the coast. Grasslands and tropical rain forests cover much of the country. Many sizable rivers flow east through Mozambique into the Indian Ocean, there basins have extremely fertile soil. Cashew trees and coconut palms grow throughout the country. Animal life in Mozambique includes crocodiles,

Was there really a revolution in Germany in 1918? Discuss :: essays research papers fc

A revolution is a complete overthrow of an established government or political system, which means that the events occurring in Germany in 1918 didn’t constitute a revolution. Groups changed in and out of power, but in the end it was always one group ruling over the people, just as the Kaiser had. The Social Democrats, a right-wing political group, eventually took his place, using the Freikorps to control people. The Spartacists wanted a revolution exactly like that in Russia in the previous year, but they were never allowed the chance to come into great power. And so the governmental and social system remained fairly similar to that of the Kaiser’s rule. The general public of Germany had never had any say in political matters; they allowed the Kaiser to make all the decisions regarding themselves and their once-prosperous country. The groups controlling Germany began to change during October and November 1918. More power began to fall into the hands of the people as they realised the blame for their involvement in the war was the Kaiser’s. People such as the armed soldiers, sailors and workers started protesting and going on strike. This was a far cry from before the war, when Germany was wealthy, proud and ambitious. So for a brief period, it seemed that a revolution would take place, with the people of Germany wanting a social and political revolution. The Social Democrats were the leading party during and after the fight to remove the Kaiser from his powerful position. They were greatly influenced by the Elite, the rich Germans they thought essential to the prosperity of Germany. They recruited armed forces, the Freikorps, to aid them in controlling those opposing their ideas and policies. The Social Democrats often associated themselves with the Bolsheviks, one half of the Social Democrats that leaded the Russian Revolution the year before. But when it came down to it, the Social Democrats weren’t in favour of a change in government, and they believed â€Å"getting rid of the Kaiser was the end of the revolution† (Lacey and Shephard, 2002, p.13). The fact that there was a revolution wasn’t true, because no groups had actually wielded great power over the rest of Germany, and they hadn’t established any kind of government system. The Kaiser’s abdication, initiated by the Social Democrats, should have started a change, but instead it just made way for their party to gain control.

Speaker for the Dead

Prime Directive Response When dealing with foreign sentient species, it is crucial to maintain what is know as a prime directive. This is the notion that a species may explore distant planets, but must take certain precautions when dealing with other sentient species to prevent any change in their progression. In the novel Speaker for the Dead, the citizens of Lusitania go to great lengths to preserve their prime directive, but the indigenous species appear to benefit from their encounters with these humans, and begin to realize it themselves.The natives of the planet Lusitania, known to the humans as â€Å"piggies†, have learned much from the humans in the brief time that they have lived together. The human languages, Stark and Portuguese, were necessary in order to be able to communicate with the piggies, but the piggies seem to be using it for more than just communication. Pages 142-143 show that the piggies can transition between Stark and portuguese as a sort of language game that they play with the humans.The piggies already know four different languages, and the addition of two more can help their society express themselves in more ways. Besides language, the mere fact of making contact with another sentient species shows the natives that they are not alone in the universe and that they may not be the strongest or the smartest. If they realize this, it may help them to unite as a planet-wide species faster than they normally would have without outside contact. By seeing that the humans are more technologically advanced, the piggies may also focus more on striving to create new technologies themselves.History has shown us that most inventions happen because they are necessary, and the addition of humans on Lusitania may increase the necessity of technological progression. At this point, the piggies are far from being capable of first contact and therefore cannot be contaminated by human society due to the Prime Directive. Their culture seems backwa rds to the humans, but that does not justify any interference, even if it would potentially benefit the piggies. The two species are simply too far apart in progression to be able to successfully interact with each other.The fact that two humans have already been killed, and brutally so (at least in human standards), reinforces this idea. The piggies' culture is still hindered by radical traditions that the humans do not understand and most likely never will. By even being around the piggies, the humans are inserting themselves into the piggies' rituals and culture. The piggies may eventually realize that their culture is backwards and may abandon such rituals earlier than they would have. Or perhaps, they may even adapt their culture to human standards.With this being said, it seems apparent that even minimal contact between the two species is having a subtle but profound effect on both societies. The cultural difference of the piggies is too vast to allow interactions with the hum ans if the Prime Directive is to be maintained. Already, as is seen on pages 144-145, one of the natives realized that the humans are using metals as a resource to accomplish greater tasks, such as flight. It may have taken decades for the piggies to have discovered metal as a useful resource on their own. The humans should have gone to far greater lengths to preserve the prime directive.No resource that is not ready available or attainable should even be encountered by the natives until they discover it for themselves. The notion of a prime directive may seem considerate towards other species, but in the case of the piggies it appears to be almost impossible. The attempts to learn more about the natives of Lusitania without contaminating their culture has resulted in failure after failure. Even if the humans were to leave immediately, the piggies have still learned permanent information that they would not have even theorized for years.Although it seems as though the prime directiv e has been compromised between the humans and piggies, the latter seems to still benefit greatly from the knowledge. They've learned new languages, discovered that traveling to distant planets is possible, and are now even considering searching for new materials to create better technology. Perhaps the humans should have taken more care to prevent technological contamination, but the colonization of Lusitania by humans has led to an inevitable progression of the native culture.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Cats Cradle Analysis

Ben Fisher Mr. Anderson AP Writing and Composition 1 14th November 2012 Cat's Cradle American Author Analysis by Ben Fisher Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is a science fiction book that was published in 1963. The book is (falsely thought to be)centered around the narrator, John, and his quest to write a book about what was happeneing with the creators of the atomic bomb the day the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. His adventure follows his travels as he meets with researchers, the children of a fictional Dr. Felix Hoenikker, and ventures to an island nation to talk to the good doctors final son.Along this course, he explains a religion he does not yet have, as this is from a post-experience diary perspective, called Bokononism, and its practices. He gains knowledge of this religion and its creation on the island of San Lorenzo, which resolves in him becoming president. But this is a side plot of the book. The main plot, hidden in the background, is centered around a ficticious sub stance called Ice-Nine, with the power to freeze all the worlds oceans in the blink of an eye if it were to touch a single water source, an expression of mans' ability to destroy the things that surround him.Cat's Cradle is set in an unknown year more than 20 years after August 6th, 1945. At the beginning, John visits Ilium, New York to talk to Dr. Asa Breed at General Forge and Foundry, the place in which Felix Hoenikker â€Å"worked†, which leads to his discovery of several key locations in the area. The later half is focused on the fictional Carribean island of San Lorenzo, an island nation started by Earl McCabe, a marine deserter, and Bokonon, born Lionel Boyd Johnson, who created Bokononism.These settings leave a sense of a tight dichotomy between modern America and the Caribbean nation of San Lorenzo. Though the concept of the book within, about the bombing of Hiroshima, and a freeze frame of the events of that day, reveals a young nation holding infinite power in a va st expanse of nothingness. The concept of San Lorenzo as a country in location is central to the happenings of the book. To contrast this idea of self destruction is the concept of Bokononism, a religion outlawed on the island after being created by one of its founders.Christianity is the official religion, but both Protestantism and Catholicism are illegal, and every single citizen of the island celebrates Bokononism even with the threat of the â€Å"hy-u-o-ook-kuh†, representing how San Lorenzan natives pronounce the Hook, a giant fish hook that a Bokononist is threatened to be speared upon if they are caught practicing Bokononism. Though this concept is really an illusory ploy created by Bokonon and McCabe, and perpetrated by the island's leader, â€Å"Papa† Monzano, to give hope in pure foma, or harmless untruths, that form a religion that gives hope and reason instead of defining how you should live.You exist to serve the wampeter of you karass whilst avoiding gra nfalloons and trying to find kan-kans that leads the creation of more sinookas that lead to a procces of vin-dits. All the while you may be bothered by stuppas and pool-pah, but when you are busy, busy, busy, you will truly understand your situation, and in your zah-mah-ki-bo, you may lead yourself to think, â€Å"Now I will destroy the whole world†. All this while, you may connect to another, boko-maru will most likely lead to you finding your path. * *Translated: In short, the book is lies.Your life is based around serving the central theme of you group (wampeter of your karass) and avoiding intermingling into false groups (granfalloons), and finding items that help your cause (kan-kans) To create tendrils to intertwine others into your life (sinookas) causing shoves towards Bokononism (vin-dits). A fogbound child (a stuppa) or a shitstorm/the wrath of God (pool-pah) may try to mislead yourself, but eventually tou will think about the complicated and unpredictable machinery of life (busy, busy, busy) and will find your inevitable destiny (zah-mah-ki-bo) leading you to your task unknowingly.This may end in suicide (Now I will destroy the whole world) due to the duffle placed upon a stuppa (a fate of many placed on one who knows, nor can find, nothing). The idea of boko-maru is supposed to be a very sensual experience that connects two people deeply. Though at any time, your spirit is orbiting an object of great importance, your karass around a wampeter. The person who secondhandedly introduces us to these concepts is not our protagonist. It is our narrator, a minor character in his own aspects, but the only one that is left later, though he never truly matters.He is simply around to be an expositor of the actions of others, a minor characters sharing the traits of a protagonist. The true protagonist of the story, or which the story revolves around, is Felix Hoenikker, a fictitious addition to the Manhattan project team. He is portrayed as an odd man in capable of conventional thought or process, but able to think up and create brilliant objects in moments when presented with a problem. His mind otherwise wandered his whole life, and he was emotionless and apathetic towards anything but his work.His children, Newton, Franklin, and Anglea, play major rolls constructing the story for the narrator, exposing themselves as as weird as their father. Their mother, Emily, plays a minor roll in the story, but a major roll in a shift in the good doctors attitude that would barely be noticed by most, including his own children. Bokonon and Earl McCabe are presented as opposing forces, one being the founder and continual contributor of Bokononism, the other of a government willing to convict those practicing to keep the concept practical.This provides the whole concept of possibility for the ending of the book. One Julian Castle once owned the island and used it as a sugar plantation, and by all means is one of the most complex and thoughtful (see: evil/diabolical) characters in the book, running a humanitarian aid hospital in the jungle of San Lorenzo. He works alongside one Schlicter von Koenigswald, a former S. S. member that had worked in Auschwitz doing various unnamed evil tasks, now working at the Hospital of Hope and Mercy to atone for his sins.The main characters progress in that they gain a concept of both brotherhood and false family through their karass. By the end, the narrator has gone through rage, happiness, depression, excitement, and finally, he tells himself the truth. He becomes what he once feared, but does not fear what he becomes. The revelations that bring about this change are rather odd. At the beginning, John introduces that this is a book written about the events that brought about the end of the world.John is writing a book about the day of the dropping of the Little Boy on Hiroshima. This leads to a discussion with Dr. Asa Breed, the man who supervised Felix Hoenikker, the fictional forefath er of the atomic bomb. They discuss that the good doctor was very flittery minded, and worked on whatever he felt like. Once, they asked him if he could create something to turn mud to solid ground in seconds. He said it was impossible, and Dr. Breed believed it was never created. The truth is the good Doctor created the substance, named Ice-9, in small portions.John follows the trail to the son of Doctor Hoenikker, Newt, and his sister, Angela, a painting and a clarinetist, respectively. They all end up meeting on a flight to San Lorenzo, where John heads after learning Frank Hoenikker, the middle son of Doctor Hoenikker, had become the Major General of San Lorenzo. It is later revealed that this was achieved by using a sample of Ice-9 as a bargaining chip, trading it for the position after washing up on the shore after a shipwreck.The separate chunks, carried by Franklin, Newton, and Angela, were created when the good Doctor, whilst on vacation at his summer home, was playing arou nd with his original sample in his spare time. Whilst on the island, â€Å"Papa† Monzano becomes sick, and declares that Franklin will become the next president, and requests Bokononist burial rights. Franklin passes the buck on to John, asking him if he would take the position if he could marry Mona. He accepts, and plans to change the law so Bokononism may be practiced, but sees it has been outlawed such as to carry a flame of hope for all residents of the island.As he prepares to assume the position, â€Å"Papa† Monzano kills himself declaring that he â€Å"will destroy the whole world†, and freezing himself with his sample of Ice-9. Angela, Newton, John, and Franklin attempt to destroy any samples of Ice-9 and the corpse, but during a staged bombing run, one of the planes crash into the cliffside mansion and knock his body into the water, freezing the whole world solid. John and Mona takes refuge in a chamber built by â€Å"Papa† Monzano for the same reason, and they survive to see it in wreck, tornadoes reigning supreme, the sky a blanket of everlasting storms.Mona, upon finding most of the population frozen, tastes a small sample of the snow created by Ice-9, and dies instantly. John then happens upon the others who survived in the remains of the castle, and shortly thereafter meets Bokonon. The possible final words of the Books of Bokonon, driving the narrator subconsciously and consciously throughout the book, are well thought out, but only in the moment. â€Å"If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human tupidity; and I would climb to the top of Mount McCabe and lie down on my back with my history for a pillow; and I would take form the ground some of the blue-white poison that makes statues of men; and I would make a statue of myself, lying on my back, grinning horribly, and thumbing my nose at You Know Who. † Throughout the book, constant references are made to the book within the book about the creati on of the atomic bomb. Along these lines, Cats Cradle itself is an allegory about the destructive power of man when faced with an object of great potential that can be so easily mishandled.Ice-9 represents the arms race, and is a literalization of the phrase â€Å"Cold War†. Taking the context of the stringent political atmosphere between America and Cuba/Soviet Russia at the time, Vonnegut creates the theoretical isle of San Lorenzo for the bringers of doom, much as the Americans perceived Cuba could bring about the same end in an alternative fashion. Nuclear winter makes a strong connection, along with the toxicity of the snow that is brought about, along with the changes in weather and atmosphere. I opened my eyes—and all the sea was ice-nine. The moist green earth was a blue-white pearl. The sky darkened. Borasisi, the sun, became a sickly yellow ball, tiny and cruel. The sky was filled with worms. The worms were tornadoes† (P. 151). The true severity of the arms race is also parodied by the easy manner in which â€Å"Papa† Monzano brings about the end, with just a touch of the material to his tongue, similar to how with just the touch of a button over a faulty Early Detection System, the world could be brought to Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).Kurt Vonnegut, as he has done in many of his pieces, inserted his own consciousness to portray John, allowing him to insert his own perspective on any scene in which he is included. Though John only represents parts of his personality, and is not wholly the same. Through a combination of conversation, observation, and presentation of the conceptual ideas of this parallel reality, the exploration of practical destruction. Relevant to this information is his personal experiences in the happenings of war and the propensity of our people to complete these actions.Today, this book is a paradoxical, if not accurate, mirror to the climate at the time. Cold and drastic, not an inch to budge or you'd get bombed to smithereens. In this way, Kurt Vonnegut challenged a major part of what was considered standard for a novel, and instead wrote what he felt would move correctly, and for that he is remembered. â€Å"In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in his cosmic loneliness.And God said, â€Å"Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done. † And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man. Mud as man alone could speak. God leaned close to mud as man sat, looked around, and spoke. â€Å"What is the purpose of all this? † he asked politely. â€Å"Everything must have a purpose? † asked God. â€Å"Certainly,† said man. â€Å"Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this,† said God. And He went away. † I thought this was trash. (Pg. 153)