Functional Family Therapy (FFT) Essay

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a family-based prevention and intervention program that deals with such juvenile problems as child abuse and neglect, early sexual involvement, alcohol and drug abuse, youth conflict and aggression. Since these problems originate within the family structure in many cases, FFT program refers to every member of the family in order to achieve the highest treatment results. It is important to emphasize that FFT recognizes that both positive and negative behaviors influence and are influenced by multiple relational systems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The main positive influence of FFT is that it develops inner strengths and sense of being of each member of the family. In such a way, family members are united under the common viewpoints on life, activities and goals. As a result, the situation within the family might be improved due to different intervention and assessment phases. Functional Family Therapy consists of three specific intervention phases: engagement and motivation, behavior change, and generalization. Each of these phases has certain goals, risk and protective factors, assessment focus and therapist/interventional skills that might be related to each of the phases. The first phase – engagement and motivation – helps to increase family’s hope and expectation of change, improve trust between therapist and family, and reduce negativity within families and toward the community as well as build respect to individual values and differences. During the second phase – behavior change – therapists develop long-term plans of behavior change that can fit to certain culture, family situation and understand the unique characteristics of each family member. Cognitive, interactive and emotional components are included into behavior change phase. The main focus of this phase is to improve the quality of relations skills because of the risks dealing with poor parenting and communication skills, negativity and blaming. Thus, FFT program gives an opportunity to model the change plan, train each member and control the whole process. Finally, generalization phase helps to unite the families with available community resources in order to prevent relapses in the behavior change. It is directed to improve the ability of the family to affect the multiple systems like school, juvenile justice system, community, etc.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since FFT program addresses each member of the family where there are problems with juveniles, it helps to identify the core reasons of juvenile behavior change which in most cases happen within the family. Parents learn to understand their children, but most important to listen to their thoughts, opinions, problems, and many other issues which are important for juveniles, but might be neglected by the adults. At the same time children learn to understand the behavior of their parents, to respect and listen to the adults as well as improve their relations with the families, school and community as a whole. Due to FFT program recidivism rates greatly decreased in the recent time. Certainly, there is no single treatment which is commonly accepted and can help all juveniles and heir families to solve the problems or prevent them. However, FFT I is considered on of the best way to prevent juvenile delinquency since it does not only solve the problem itself, but addresses the core reason for this problem to occur – the juvenile family and community he/she lives in.

An Analysis of Othello by William Shakespeare Essay

In the play â€Å"Othello† by William Shakespeare Iago plays the master manipulator and manages to deceive many of the other characters especially Othello and Cassio. It can be said that his motives are based solely on his insecurities due to the fact his goal in the play was to ruin Othello’s life. He does this by using psychological manipulation on Othello’s thoughts and makes him believe that Cassio and Desdemona are fond of each other. Which basically means that he targets anyone that brings out his insecurities, which gives him a reason to lash out and  kill or harm these people, to make himself feel better. In the beginning of the play Iago makes it seem as if his hatred towards Othello is because he has made Cassio his lieutenant. As the play goes on you later realize that Iago’s hatred extends even more. â€Å"I hate the Moor, and it is thought abroad that ‘twixt my sheets, he has done my office: I know not if’t be true, but I, for mere suspicion in that kind, will do as if for surety. †. There seems to be some rumors about Othello and Iago’s wife Emilia, the rumors are that Othello and Emilia have slept together. In the quote above he states that he doesn’t care if the rumors are true and that he is going to proceed with his plan as if they are true. Throughout the play Iago constantly reminds himself of why he’s targeting Othello. â€Å"I do suspect the lusty Moor, Hath leap’d into my seat: the thought whereof, Doth, like a poisonous mineral, gnaw my inwards; And nothing can or shall content my soul, till I am even’d with him, wife for wife. † His hatred towards Cassio is more directed. Iago hates Cassio because he has gotten the position of  lieutenant even with his lack of experience in the field as he is a more tactical creating strategies person. â€Å"More than a spinster, unless the bookish theoric†. Iago basically states that Cassio’s lack of manliness add to his hatred towards him. Each person in the play get manipulated in a way that only suits them. For example Roderigo is â€Å"blinded by his love for Desdemona, and is prepared to do anything to win her heat† this give Iago the advantage to take his weakness and use it against him. As innocent as Iago’s words seem Othello lets Iago’s manipulative words counteract with his thinking and this is where  you could say he has officially planted the seed making sure he has Othello’s ear. As Othello asks for proof Iago is once again able to manipulate Othello by making him hide and hear a conversation Iago has with Cassio. â€Å"Now will I question Cassio of Bianca, A housewife that by selling her desires, Buys herself bread and clothes. It is a creature, that dotes on Cassio, as ’tis the strumpet’s plague, To beguile many and be beguiled by one. He, when he hears of her, cannot refrain, From the excess of laughter. Here he comes. † Iago says this once Othello withdraws and  once Cassio corners him starts discussing Bianca but allows Othello to believe they are discussing Desdemona. He whispers so Othello would not hear him and by doing that he agitates Othello and that causes him to be delusional. As mentioned before Cassio is also manipulated by Iago. The first way in which Cassio is deceived is when he get pressured into drinking and then starting a fight which consequently ruins Cassio’s reputation. † If I can fasten but one cup upon him, with that which he hath drunk tonight already, He’ll be as full of quarrel and offense, as my  young mistress’ dog. Now my sick fool Roderigo, Whom love hath turned almost the wrong side 1 out, To Desdemona hath tonight caroused, Potations pottle-deep, and he’s to watch. Three lads of Cyprus, noble swelling spirits, That hold their honors in a wary distance, The very elements of this warlike isle, Have I tonight flustered with flowing cups, And they watch too. Now ’mongst this flock of drunkards, Am I to put our Cassio in some action, That may offend the isle. † This is Iago’s soliloquy where he actually reveals his manipulative side. At first, Iago told Cassio he  should drink on behalf of Othello although he knew that he did not want to and was not capable of it. Iago has manipulated Cassio to do something unethical. Othello and Cassio both get exploited by Iago because they both find honest, good friend and have a hard time judging character. Iago acts like he truly cares about Othello by giving him warning signs about Cassio. Iago also fools Cassio into thinking he cares whether he has a good time or not. Another way Iago manipulates Cassio is when he plants the handkerchief in Cassio’s chambers. â€Å"I know not  neither, I found it in my chamber. I like the work well. Ere it be demanded, As like enough it will, I would have it copied. Take it and do ’t, and leave me for this time. †. Cassio says this when he gives it to Bianca. Cassio has no idea as to how the handkerchief got into his room. Iago left it there to set him up and make it seem as if he is having an affair with Desdemona. Iago exploits Cassio’s limited knowledge since Cassio did not know that the handkerchief belong to Desdemona. In both scenarios Iago manipulates Othello and Iago by sugar coating the truth from  them. Iago does feel better after manipulating the characters in the story this is shown throughout the story as Iago manipulates and controls every other character so well that they seem like puppets that he controls. At the end of the play, Iago’s manipulation has left a trail of destruction that has killed Othello and Cassio, as well others and has destroyed the lives of many who remain. The motivations and ideas Iago has are very deceptive and cunning, and his ability to influence is very amazing. Iago’s actions define of a man who will stop at nothing until he  exacts revenge on everyone who he feels has threaten him in one way or another. Shakespeare has presented Iago as a kind and noble soldier he has also been known as honest Iago, this showing that everyone is not as what they seem on the outside. Already knowing that Iago has a hatred for his superior Othello and now Cassio â€Å"Thou told’st me thou didst hold him in thy hate,† Said Roderigo. â€Å"Despise me if I do not,† Iago replies. This during the opening scenes in the play. Iago fools Othello by providing â€Å"ocular† proof but didn’t allow him to listen or understand properly. As for Cassio, he used his friendship to plant the handkerchief. Both Othello and Cassio are naive have a hard time judging character, are too proud to believe that someone is fooling them and their limited knowledge as to what was going on around them allows Iago to Successfully in the end manipulate the mind of Othello and sent him insane and 2 left Cassio in a situation that he didn’t belong in. Othello and Cassio were both victims of Iago’s manipulation due to the fact that they had something Iago did not. 3 Bibliography William, S. (01. 22. 14). Othello. Great Britain. Oxford University. JONATHAN, L. (28. 01. 2010). HOW DOES IAGO MANIPULATE DIFFERENT CHARACTERS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE HIS AIMS? OTHELLO. RETRIEVED (02. 27. 2014), FROM HTTP://WWW. MARKEDBYTEACHERS. COM/AS-AND-A-LEVEL/ENGLISH/HOW-DOES-IAGO-MA NIPULATE-DIFFERENT-CHARACTERS-IN-ORDER-TO-ACHIEVE-HIS-AIMS. HTML The Theme of Deception in William Shakespeare’s Othello. Retrieved (02. 27. 2014), from https://sites. google. com/site/thethemeofdeception/home Joshua, A. (2013). Protestant epistemology and Othello’s consciousness. Retrieved (03. 01. 14), from Gale Academic One File.

In the films you have studied to what extent do you find Lady Macbeth to be a fourth witch? Essay

Roman Polanski’s version of Macbeth was staged in 1971, Macbeth was played by Jon Finch and Lady Macbeth was played by Francesca Annis. The BBC production was staged in 1982, Macbeth was played by Nicol Williamson and Lady Macbeth was played by Jane Lapotaire. The Royal Shakespeare Production was staged in 1978, Macbeth played by Ian McKellen and Lady Macbeth played by Judy Dench. In Polanski’s production Lady Macbeth was first introduced at the start of Act one Scene five, when she receives a letter from Macbeth unveiling the prophesies from the witches. Her costume is Shakespearean in period, in keeping with the time the play was written and it is bright and colourful. Polanski interprets Lady Macbeth to be a young and beautiful lady and also she is shown frail and innocent; for example, at the last speech of act one scene five, Lady Macbeth calls evil spirits to possess her body. This is a very dramatic and powerful speech but yet she talks faintly. Apart from Francesca Annis in my opinion acting out this speech poorly, Polanski leaves out a vital part of this speech: â€Å"Nor keep peace between Th’effect and it. Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murth’ ring ministers, Whatever, in your sightless substances, You wait on Nature’s mischief.† I feel this was a great mistake by Polanski. This scene was shown as if it had no importance; it was rushed through, not giving a true affect on the audience. Lady Macbeth through this speech is running down the stairs to meet Duncan, this doesn’t show that she is serious in calling evil spirits which I think Shakespeare intended it to be. Lady Macbeth’s witch like character is first shown in this speech as she blocks out the good and calls up the spirits of evil. In the BBC production Lady Macbeth’s appearance is different to Polanski’s version, as she has dark hair and seems more powerful and thick skinned, and although their costumes are from the same period Jane Lapotaires are much duller and less decorative. At the end of this scene when Lady Macbeth calls on evil, Jane Lapotiare plays her with passion and shows that Lady Macbeth beyond doubt wants what she is praying and truly shows Lady Macbeth as a fourth witch. The point made in Lady Macbeth’s speech about her ‘unsex’-ing and her ‘woman’s breasts no longer being used for milk but for murder shows us to what extent she has to suppress the feminine side of her nature. In this production they did not in my view ruin this speech by omitting half of it like Polanski; the speech was given great importance to the play. Also the BBC production staged a middle aged woman of 38 for Lady Macbeth rather than a younger woman of 27 like Polanski. I believe this was a very good idea as it makes Lady Macbeth more eager for her husband’s ambitions as it suggests through the play that Lady Macbeth had a child but lost it and now was unable to have children. It was imperative in Shakespeare’s time that you had at least one child to carry on the family name, I think this would drive Lady Macbeth more to want her husbands happiness as she was unable to give it to him through children. In the Royal Shakespeare production Lady Macbeth’s appearance is very different from the two other films I have studied. Lady Macbeth looks a lot older. Also Judy Dench’s costume is very distinct compared to the other two costumes, she wears a black dress and black head scarf and her speeches are made more prominent by a spot light focused on her face. I believe this has the best effect of the three plays as you can truly focus on the words of Shakespeare, In Polanski’s version I could not keep Shakespeare’s words the centre of my attention as there was so much going on in the background. In Act one scene seven Lady Macbeth tries to persuade Macbeth to murder Duncan. In Polanski’s version this scene is set very near the Banquet for Duncan, I think this was a wrong decision as there was no focus on the scene itself, Polanski has a habit of doing this though out the play. When Lady Macbeth is debating with Macbeth to do this deed she starts to weep. I feel this was a good input to the play as it shows a human side to Lady Macbeth. A great weakness of this scene was the cutting of the speech: â€Å"I have given suck, and know How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn As you have done to this.† This part of Lady Macbeth’s speech I believe changed Macbeth’s decision form a definite no to an uncertain yes, and was of absolute importance to the persuasion scene. This scene played by the BBC production had a totally different feel. The start of Lady Macbeth’s speech shows more anger and makes Macbeth look like more of a fool. Lady Macbeth is very controlling and powerful in this production compared to Polanski’s version. Her outlook in this scene shows a fourth witch character as she smirks when Macbeth gives in to her persuasion saying: â€Å"If we should fail?† Also in the Royal Shakespeare production, Judy Dench is the dominant partner in the relationship but in this scene their loving relationship still remains whereas in the BBC production it dies down the end of Act one scene five. In Act two Scene two Lady Macbeth is played well by Francesca Annis, she put on a brave front but also shows a little fear through her eyes whilst saying: â€Å"A little water clears us from this deed† In this scene we get a glimpse of Lady Macbeth’s humanity as she says: â€Å"Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t .† This sentence might show that Lady Macbeth is not a fourth witch, she is just misunderstood, and she might have wanted this murder of Duncan to happen purely for the ambition of her husband. Lady Macbeth in the BBC production gave a taste to the audience of how scared she was when waiting for her husbands return and I feel she played this scene exceptionally well. In Act five Scene one of Pulaski’s version, Lady Macbeth losing her sanity is shown very well, she is walking around naked rubbing her hands to get imaginary spots out of her hand: â€Å"Out damned spot: out I say† This I feel, is a very good interpretation of the sleepwalking scene. This nude scene of Lady Macbeth also parallels the nude witches in the film. This might suggest that Lady Macbeth is in fact a fourth witch. From the Films and the text of Macbeth I have studied, I have found that Lady Macbeth has many characters: the fourth witch, the ambitious wife, determined, dependant, haunted, misunderstood etc. I think from all the films I have viewed they have had different main characters, Polanski’s Lady Macbeth was misunderstood, The BBC production’s Lady Macbeth was a fourth witch and the Royal Shakespeare Company showed Lady Macbeth to be an ambitious wife. I believe Lady Macbeth was a fourth witch in some ways and also played many other characters. Shakespeare’s intention was to let the audience decide.

Experience with Paramahansa Yogananda's Self Realization Fellowship Essay

Experience with Paramahansa Yogananda's Self Realization Fellowship The Lake Shrine - Essay Example On the other side were plaques with inspirational and moving scriptures on them. Statues of Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus, and Lord Buddha were some of the statues in the beautiful garden. The writings on them were uplifting and people gathered around in meditation and repentance. On joining them, I could see love among the people around courtesy of the passed on legends and what came to my mind is the philosophical saying that if you care about others you are doing good to yourself. There was a temple in the garden where individuals were taught about religion and way of living. Looking at the portraits, I came to understand that Yogananda believed that one comes to know God through intuition. All religions were in the temple who called their Gods in different names which made me meditate on the philosophical saying that there exist different Gods in different situations. The site does not only give spiritual teachings and comfort but also gives the opportunity to learn about other

The Role of Modern Media in Crisis Communication Essay

The Role of Modern Media in Crisis Communication - Essay Example Crisis management is a very crucial aspect. Effective communication crisis management can greatly reduce extensive damage that may take place in an organization, as a result, of communication crisis. The document analyzes the role played by modern media in triggering as well as managing the effects of crisis communication in organizations (Carroll, 2013). It is evident that the communication crisis is typically unpredictable aspect that possesses a great potential of damaging the affected organization as well various stakeholders. The main difference between crafting messages for traditional communication methods and crafting messages for modern communication methods such as social media is the speed at which each mode communicates information as well as misinformation. The application of internet together with social Media  has the potential of accelerating and amplifying the public opinion. The aspect hence plays a vital role in impacting adverse effects in organizations, as a result, of crisis communication (Coombs, 2007). It has become to the consent of most organization’s stakeholders the modern media or simply social media is a double edged sword that create both opportunities and threats for the organizations. Social media as well as other web based Medias, have the potential of creating a crisis in an organization. Among the main factors as to why the social media causes crises in an organization is that it provides various means for stakeholder’s expression. It also lets the stakeholders move from a passive role to an active role. Being unfiltered channel, it provides employees, consumers and activists with an opportunity of voicing their concerns. The aspect easily finds people with similar mind and mobilizes them against the organization hence causing great crises in that organization (Coombs & Holladay, 2010). Currently, social media and other web-based Medias have also

European Works Council Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

European Works Council - Essay Example However its main function is to consult and inform the employees about the organizational change. Also it has high resemblance with the way multinational companies manages their ethical standards. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Discussion 4 Conclusion 6 References 7 Introduction A work council is also a form of organization that represents the employees of several organizations. The principal function of a work council is to look after the welfare of the employees. A work council exists in several forms and names. Especially in European countries like Austria, Britain, German, Netherlands, Luxemburg, and Spain work councils have strong presence. However the most commonly used implementations of such bodies took place in Germany. In this German model, labour agreements were made by the union and employer association at the national level, local firms and plants. The councils mainly meet with the employees for the purpose of adjusting local agreements and local circumstances. There i s a representation from the member countries to the works councils. In general the members of work councils get elected for a period of four years. There are a number of works councils are present in Europe. Some of them are ABN-Amro European Staff Council, ACNielsen European Works Council, Abbott European Employee Forum, Cadbury Schweppes Confectionery Stream Eur.Empl.Inf.& Cons.Forum, Aer Lingus European Central Representative Council, Arkema European Works Council - negotiations ongoing, Bord na Mona European Forum for Information and Consultation, Agco Corporation European Works Council and Alcatel-Lucent European Committee for Information and Dialogue among many others (Ewcdb, n.d.). However European Works Councils (EWS) is one of the more noteworthy works councils of the European Union. Towards the unprecedented growth of European Works Councils information technology played a crucial role (Whittall, Knudsen and Huijgen, 2009, pp.167-185). The implementation of the dictate on the formation of European Works Councils in order to notify the employees about the organizational decisions can be portrayed as one of the significant decision of European Union in the field of social policy. It has also opened the pathway towards the materialization of EU level and transnational industrial relations. There were political barriers for more than twenty years on the workers participation in MNCs. However it changed with the inception of European Workers Council directive. With its inception the idea of harmonization departed, and it moved towards the Dutch model of employee participation (Muller and Platzer, 2003, p.58). Discussion What are European Works Councils? European Works Councils are the bodies that represent the European employees of an organization. With the help of European Works Council employees are consulted and informed by the management of an organization. The communications and consultations are basically for the purpose of important business decisi ons that can impact the working conditions of the employees. European Works Councils play a very important role regarding the industrial relations in Europe. It represented the first legitimately European institution at the enterprise level. During the mid half of 1994 a directive regarding the formation of European Works Councils (EWC) was passed by the Council of the European Union. European works councils also plays an important role in

Effective teaching methodologies that reflect the need of the Dissertation

Effective teaching methodologies that reflect the need of the learner,what are the particular constraints in the classroom,is th - Dissertation Example Educators and linguistics professionals identify that the current teaching methodologies provide enough support and motivation to enrich English as a second language. Different teaching methods like direct, grammar-translation, audio-lingual and interactive methods satisfy the needs of the learner to an extent. Learners get opportunity to develop critical thinking, effective learner feedback, and interactive session. Analysing the current status of ESL program, we can easily comprehend the fact that some developments are needed in the field of curriculum preparation, overcrowded class rooms, and active learner involvement for satisfying learner requirements. Emergence of modern technology paved the way for the formation of digitalization and other well equipped classrooms and it helps tea teachers and language instructors to prepare curriculum and the design of instructional materials. Implementation of various methods in ESL classrooms creates problems in creating active learner par ticipation. This dissertation is an attempt to find out different methods and strategies for teaching English effectively in ESL settings. The research is based on effect of various methods and approaches already implemented in ESL classrooms. ... The researcher expects that the study helps to understand various problems and areas that need changes or developments for getting structured outcome in the field of second language learning. †¢ Background of the Problem The study seeks mainly the effectiveness of various teaching methods and approaches among the ESL classrooms. As a part of general education, teaching English as second language is subjected to frequent changes. Learner requirements in the field of ESL classrooms show some noteworthy signs of changes. So the study has its significance in current status of learning English as second language. Changing of teaching methods and approaches sometimes act as barriers in the way acquiring English as L2. Investigate the effectiveness of methods and approaches in ESL class room offers new insight in establishing structured developments and improvisation in second language acquisition. Even though emergence of modern technologies and developments provide maximum exposure f or learners, some areas like, structured curriculum and fulfilment of learner requirements needs further researches. †¢ Statement of the Problem The study explores current status of teaching methods and approaches practiced in ESL classrooms. The research investigates the effectiveness of various methods and approaches and how these methods satisfy the learner requirements. It also discusses various problems that affect ESL classrooms. So the study entitled Effective teaching methodologies that reflect the need of the learner, is the current teaching approaches equipped to effectively teach English as an L2? †¢ 2. Literature Review (1) Methods of teaching /learning Methods of teaching/learning

Created or intended identity Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 12500 words

Created or intended identity - Coursework Example The aim of this research was to determine how women form their identities in today's modern atmosphere, to understand how these identities shift and change over time and with age and finally to discover the positive or negative effects of changes on a woman's perception of herself as a result of the world's perception of her. Sociological imagination is the way in which we stratify ourselves within our society and plays a large role in how we create our own identity. By linking our own personal experience with the collective understanding of what that represents, we classify not only ourselves but others within specific social groups. Three aspects of the sociological imagination include class, race and gender. Class is based upon a variety of factors including profession, income levels and educational attainment. People with a high level of education are typically seen as holding higher level professional positions which typically pay at higher rates than more commonly educated individuals. This is, of course, not always the case, but remains one of the ways in which we determine our rank in association with those around us. While class is, to some extent, quite flexible, race and gender remain relatively constant and difficult to change. Race is determined based primarily upon physical characteristics, but can also be influenced by ethnic concerns. Generally, ethnicity is considered to refer to your national origin, language, religion, dietary practices or common historical heritage. While race is inherited through a person's genes, ethnicity is inherited through the process of socialization from one generation to the next. Similarly, gender is a learned identification with a particular biological sex - male or female - while sexuality refers to the way in which people organize their world based on sexual identity. Using the sociological imagination, it can be seen that before identity can be fully determined, one must have an understanding of where they stand in the world, which typically depends upon an understanding of some element of society as the lowest or inferior. Throughout recent history, white males have held most of the power in society, first because the more technologically advanced countries were predominantly peopled by white people and controlled by white men and later, because of their subjugation of other nations thanks to their advanced tools and weapons. By withholding education and opportunity from people with color and from women, white men were able to retain their power and establish a system in which women and people of color were seen to be socially inferior. By setting those with color socially below white people, even the lower class was able to feel superior to someone. Through the same channels, men managed to dominate over women. Women were socially constrained within homes, legally oppressed and deprived of an education throughout a great deal of history, thus keeping them at low levels of the social scale. These social stratifications help the individual to place themselves within the greater world just as the various behaviours the individual participates in help to define

Developing new online e-commerce or e-business company Essay

Developing new online e-commerce or e-business company - Essay Example The business model will explain the basic business strategy and the mode of operation for the new E business plan. The business model will not be focusing on the potential revenues and the costs involved; however the methods of generating revenue through the business will be dealt with in detail. In the UK, there are a number of insurance service providers and hence many options are available to the customers. In the search for the perfect insurance, the customers collect information from various websites, visit the insurance providers or make numerous calls to enquire about the policies. This business will aim to provide a one stop service with all the details, features and prices of the various policies available in the market. PriceComparison.com, as the name indicates will focus on providing a price comparison service to the customers in the UK. The main product that will be focused will be the General Motor Insurance, along with other products such as, breakdown insurance, pet insurance, home & contents insurance as well as life insurance. Financial products such as credit cards, personal loans will also be included in the service. Utilities comparison service will also be provided as part of the service. The customer will enter the PriceComparison.com website and select the product he is interested in. The customer will then enter some of his personal details, or login, if he is an existing customer. Once the required details are entered, the customer will be prompted with questions related to the product he is interested in. Based on the details entered, PriceComparison.com will connect to the quote engines of the partners and will provide a consolidated list of all the quotes to the customer. Provision will be given to sort the details based on a number of criterion. The customer can then select the preferred provider and complete the transaction by paying the required amount in the partner’s website. This flow is illustrated in the

Weekly Commentary on the Trading in Kuwaiti Stock Exchange Essay Example for Free

Weekly Commentary on the Trading in Kuwaiti Stock Exchange Essay Commentary on Trading for the Week ending – 27.09.2007 In general the Kuwaiti market showed a marginal declining trend at the end of the week, though the first trading day of the week started with new high levels of the share price index. Although no major events affected the share price movements, the Real Estate sector was the largest loser with a reduction in the index up to 3.63 percent. The reduction was caused by the drop in the share price of Jeezan Holding Company losing 28. 09 percent – a major drop. There was a drop in the price of two other real estate companies – International Investment Projects losing 22.06 percent and International Resorts Company shares dropping by 12.00 percent. Industrial sector with 3.82 percent, Insurance sector with 1.24 percent, and Services sector with 0.33 percent were the three sectors which showed an increase. The share price of Gulf Petroleum Investment rose by 10.11 percent and closed at KD 0.490. Commentary on Trading for the Week ending 04.10.2007 The Stock market witnessed an active trading during the trading sessions of the whole week, with the market index reaching a new high level of 399.28 points on 03.10. 2007.   Share prices in all the sectors showed an increasing trend. While the insurance sector recorded the highest increase of 2.73 percent in the index, Banking sector followed with 1.46 percent increase. The real estate index went up by 0.91 percent during the week. This week recorded the highest increase in the total index with the largest gain for October with 1.87 percent increase. Shares of International Investment Project, was the highest traded during this week with 163.21 million shares changing hands which is equivalent to 9.28 percent of the total traded volume. The price of the share went up by 5.66 percent and closed ad KD 0.280 On the macroeconomic side, the Kuwaiti Dinar was allowed to depreciate against US Dollar with the biggest one day fall of the year. Another important event is the signing of a protocol stipulating the amendments to the accord for evading double taxation and tax payment evasion between Kuwait and South Korea. Commentary on Trading for the Week ending 11.10.2007 The market mood was upswing and reached new levels during this week, though there was a drop in the volume of sales as the investors were waiting for the companies to announce their third quarter results. The volume of shares traded showed a decline of 12.87 percent. The sector-wise performance showed a mixed trend. Industrial sector recorded an increase of 2.39 percent, followed by Non-Kuwaiti index increasing by 2.03 percent. Banking sector added 1.95 percent and the Insurance sector performed very poorly with a decline in the index of 1.35 percent. Services sector also lost 0.82 percent. The news on the macroeconomic side was that the inflation rates as of July was announced which stood at 5 percent – an all time high in 12 years period with increase in the housing and transport costs. Commentary on Trading for the Week ending 18.10.2007 The Kuwaiti stock market after two weeks of upswing showed a marginal decline this week. The Eid holidays affected trading sessions for three days and this has affected the volume traded. Another reason for the decline in the volume of trading by 22.38 percent is that the companies are still to announce the results of third quarter and the investors were cautious. In the performance of the sectors, Industrial sector lost 1.14 percent with the investment sector standing as second loser with a loss of 0.38 percent. The other sectors showed positive performance with Insurance sector adding 1.07 percent and Food sector index rose by 0.82 percent. SHUAA Capital was the top gainer for the week with an increase in the share price of 17.95 percent and the scrip closed at KD 0.460. On the other hand Gulf Horizon Holding Company was the biggest loser with a 13.40 percent loss in the share value. Commentary on Trading for the Week ending 25.10.2007   Ã‚  Ã‚   The stock market recorded a lower note during the week, despite of the fact that the volume of the shares traded went up by 71.43 percent and the value increased by 93.52 percent. With 570.15 million shares changing hands services sector accounted for 27.96 percent of the total volume traded. However on the value of shares traded, investment sector accounted for 25.03 percent with service sector closely following at 24.42 percent. On the sector-wise performance there was decline in the index of five sectors and Industrial sector showed the highest gain with 2.37 percent. The scrip of National Industries Group in the industries sector rose by 5.49 percent at KD 1.920. The insurance sector showed a huge decline with the index losing 1.60 percent. The share price of Gulf Insurance Company went down by 3.57 percent and the price of Kuwait Recommendation-insurance company shares was reduced by 3.64 percent. The price of Gulf Petroleum Investment, one of the companies taken by the project for logging the share price movements increased by 17.78 and closed at KD 0.530. On the macroeconomic side, â€Å"Standard Poors Ratings Services raised its Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) on the State of Kuwait (AA-/Stable/A-1+) to Group 4 from Group 5. This action primarily reflects the improvement in economic risk, factoring in the improved governments financial strength over the past few years, amid a very supportive economic environment, and its beneficial impact on the creditworthiness of Kuwaiti banks. The improvement in banking industry country risk is a positive element that underpins all credit ratings on banks in Kuwait† (Global Weekly Market Report – Kuwait).    Commentary on Trading for the Week ending 01.11.2007   The market continued to react in a bearish trend with a significant retreat showing the symptoms of correction since February 2007. The trading in the market showed a declining trend with the investors reacting cautiously sensing a correction in the market. This had resulted in a reduction in the volume of shares traded by 7.84 percent and the value by 6.51 percent. The investment sector accounted for 34.33 percent of the volume. The analysis of sector wise performance showed the insurance sector as the only sector with a gain of 0.19 percent, while all the other sectors’ performance showed a negative trend. The services sector is the largest loser with 5.46 percent drop in the index as compared to last week. Industrial index showed a drop of 2.08 percent. Commentary on Trading for the Week ending 08.11.2007 The downward trend in the stock trading continued during this week also with the index reaching the lowest level since July 23 2007. The volume of shares traded went down by 33.99 percent and the value also dropped by 33.99 percent due to the cautious approach of the investors. All the sectors showed negative trend in the index while Non-Kuwaiti index managed to increase marginally by 0.26 percent. Service sector is the biggest loser with a decline of 4.81 percent. While the Industrial index shed 3.94 percent, the index of real estate sector went down by 3.31 percent. The Central Bank of Kuwait announced that the money supply in Kuwait grew by 19 percent in September 2007 which is one of the factors for causing inflation in the country. Performance of Companies in Different Sectors of Kuwait – Case Study Introduction As a part of the finance project, this paper presents an analytical report on the performance of the following companies functioning in different sectors of Kuwaiti economy: Kuwait Finance House One of the largest Islamic Banks in the World, headquartered in Kuwait Activity: Banking services according to Islamic economic principles, including retail banking, consumer financing, leasing and mortgages, project finance, and corporate finance; real estate, contracting and trading Sector: Banking – Financial Services – Commercial Banking Year of Establishment 1977 Publicly Listed Joint Stock Company Total Revenue KD 578,987,000 (As on 31st December 2006) Net Profit  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   KD 162,004,000 (As on 31st December 2006) Number of Employees: 1809 Boubyan Petrochem Activity: Investment in industrial and petrochemical projects Sector: Industrial Year of Establishment 1995 Publicly Listed Joint Stock Company Total Revenue: KD 9,714,000 (As on 31st December 2006) Net Profit  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   KD 8,280,000 (As on 31st December 2006) Number of Employees: 180 Gulf Petroleum Investment Activity: Offshore and onshore oil field services including drilling, supply of parts, equipment, engineering, and consulting for upstream and downstream related projects Sector: Services Year of Establishment: 1998 Publicly Listed Joint Stock Company Total Revenue KD 8,287,000 (As on 31st December 2006) Net Profit  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   KD 7.016,000 (As on 31st December 2006) Number of Employees: 259 Performance of Shares of the Companies The financial performance with respect to the shares of the company can be summarized based on the following table: Particulars Kuwait Finance House Boubyan Petrochem Gulf Petroleum Earnings Per Share   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fils 135.96 137.28    30.72 Price Earnings  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Times    21.48   Ã‚  Ã‚   8.01    16.27 Book Value   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fils 612.12 499.93 165.23 Price to Book Value   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Times   Ã‚  Ã‚   4.77   Ã‚  Ã‚   2.20   Ã‚  Ã‚   3.03 Net Profit June 2007  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   KD 116,610,000 15,856,000 2,249,000 Dividend Yield  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   % 1.95   4.55 1.60 Calculation of Portfolio Beta The market volatility of the share values is denoted by Beta. Beta is the best measure of a security in a large portfolio. Normally shares with a beta value of around 1are considered to be shares with average volatility. Price of shares with higher beta values will fluctuate more and hence the investors have to consider the beta value of the particular shares before they invest. The beta values of the companies under study are tabulated below: Company Beta Value Market Beta Relationship Kuwait Finance House 1.00 1 Equal to Market – No abnormal risk is associated with this stock Boubyan Petrochem 0.70 1 Almost near the market beta – Less Volatile than market – No huge risks involved in investing in this stock Gulf Petroleum 0.659 1 The beta value is less than one the stock is not highly volatile – No abnormal risk is associated with this stock Company-wise Analysis of Financial Performance The following section of the paper provides a report on the financial performance of the individual companies: Kuwait Finance House Executive Summary The Company established with strong Islamic values offers unique and competitive financial products and services to the depositors and shareholders. As at the end of the year 2006 with a market share of one third of consumer finance market in Kuwait the company has reported an increase 17 percent in the depositors’ account and an equal amount of growth in shareholders’ funds. The company’s capital has grown by 12 percent during the year with an increase in the reserves of 32.3 percent. The Company has embarked upon new products using innovative technological developments. The financial performance of the company is presented below:       Profitability For the year 2006, the company has realized a total income of KD 579 million which accounts for an increase of 48.4 percent over 2005 and a net profit before distribution of KD 344 million which is an increase of 40 percent over the figures for the previous year. The factors that contributed to a better financial performance by the company are: A buoyant Kuwaiti economy with an optimistic business environment that had a positive impact on the consumer and corporate sectors has helped the bank to a large extent in furthering its economic achievements. The positive development of oil prices in the global economy has also contributed for the profitability of the company. Innovative products from the company like operating lease of motor cars and other commercial vehicles have proved helpful to the company for the improvement in the financial performance. Improvement in the corporate and consumer customer base is a major factor for the outstanding financial performance of the company. Dividends and Dividend Policy The company being an Islamic banking institution follows a policy of paying dividends to the investor depositors. The company has improved the dividend payment from the last year rates. The table below shows the movement in the dividend payouts by the company. Type of Account 2006 2005 2004 Unconditional Deposit Account 8.458% 6.807% 4.800% Al-Sedra Investment Deposit 6.578% 5.294% 3.733% Investment Savings Account 5.639% 4.538% 3.200% A comparison of the dividend payouts show that the company has been progressive in paying dividends to the investor-depositors. Stock Performance The price of the shares of the company in the last trading stood at KD 2.18 with a year to date reduction of 11.048 percent. The 52 week high of the share price was KD 2.62 and the 52 week low was at KD 1.71.The company’s market cap is KD. 2,671,031,702 and is ranked 3rd in Kuwait based on the value of market cap. Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/financial_markets/Kuwait/Company_KW0042/    Analysis of Working Capital As of the end of the year 2006 the company had total assets of KD 6,313 million and a total liability of KD 5,099 million. Out of the total assets current assets amount to KD 4,059 million and current liabilities KD 1,080 million. The amount due on depositors is KD 3,729 million. The company has leased assets, investments and trading assets to the extent of KD 2,254 million. On the analysis of the assets and liabilities it can be observed that the bank has employed the depositors’ funds in short term international investments and other lending portfolios. Boubyan Petrochem Executive Summary The company was just a holding company from the incorporation in the year 1995 till the year 2000 for its investments in Equate Petrochemical Co. Now the company is manufacturing all kinds of petrochemical products and any derivatives of petrochemicals. The company is engaged in the sale, supply, distribution, and export of all of its production. The company also participates in all other related activities including construction and leasing of the required facilities and services. Profitability The profitability and turnover of the company is provided in the following table: Particulars 2004 (KD ‘000) 2005 (KD ‘000) 2006 (KD ‘000) Net Sales 1,118 1,573 9,714 Earnings Before Interest Depreciation and Tax 15,983 29,052 1,710 Earnings Before and Tax 12,447 36,081 8,280 Net Profit 12,447 38,967 8,280 Net Profit Margin 1113.33% 2477.24% 85.24% Source: http://www.shibuimarkets.com/perl/company.pl?cid=376234 The company has been progressing well during the year 2005. However the performance of the company is showing a distorted picture due to some regrouping of the revenues. Stock Performance The share price of the company at last traded position was KD 0.750 with a year to date reduction of -3.523 percent. The 52 week high is KD 1.050 and the 52 week low is at KD 0.65. The company has a market capital of KD 315,000,000 which is ranked at 24 based on market cap position. Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/financial_markets/Kuwait/Company_KW0018/    Analysis of Working Capital In the absence of detailed published annual report the available information on the assets position of the company is appended below: Particulars 2004 (KD ‘000) 2005 (KD ‘000) 2006 (KD ‘000) Fixed Assets 5,405 5,212 6.202 Current Liabilities 1,856 4,294 5.538 Long Term Debt 11,676 8.946 52,285 Shareholders’ Equity 104,790 182,046 190,924 Current Ratio 60.84 44.27 43.98 Debt/Capital 0.10 0.05 0.21 Source: http://www.shibuimarkets.com/perl/company.pl?cid=376234 From the analysis of the available information there is an increase in the long term liabilities during the year 2006. There appears to be an increase in the current liabilities which has affected the current ratio in the year 2006. Gulf Petroleum Investment Executive Summary Gulf Petroleum Investment Company was established in the year 1988. The company was formed as a Kuwaiti shareholding company. The company’s main focus is on providing services in oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors. The major activities of the company include oil field services, drilling offshore and onshore, and supply of parts and equipments. The company also undertakes consultation services for upstream and downstream related products. The principal shareholders of the company include International Investment Group Kuwait, Grand Real Estate, Kuwait and Investors Bank, Bahrain. The company currently operates in Kuwait, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, and plans to expand in Syria. An analysis of the financial performance of the company is produced below: Profitability On the basis of available financial information about the company, the company has made total revenue of KD 8,287,000 during the year 2006 (KD 7764,000 – for 2005). The net profit reported for the year 2006 is KD 7,016,000 (KD 2,937,000 – for 2005) The company’s assets have enhanced in value to KD 52,352,000 in the year 2006 as compared KD 20,350,000 in 2005. There has been a corresponding increase in the shareholders’ equity to KD 23,241,000 for the year 2006 against KD 16,445 for the year 2005. The company has reported a net profit of KD 3.6 million for the first nine months of the year 2007.The earnings per share rose from 5.3 fills a year ago to 24.9 fils in 2007. The factors that contributed for the higher net earnings of the company were: The general buoyancy in the Kuwaiti economy coupled with the increase in oil prices mainly contributed to higher earnings of the company. Since the company’s major shareholders have a good business connection not only in Kuwait but in the whole of Gulf the company was able to attract new contracts The technical excellence of the company in varying fields related to petroleum industry has helped the company to realize more business (GUPICO) Stock Performance The share of the company closed at KD 0.690 with a year to date variation of -28.962 percent. The 52 week high sale price was KD 0.800 and the 52 week low was KD 0.240, The Company has a market cap of KD 69,000,000 which is ranked at 83 on the basis of the market capital. The movements in the share price during the last 12 months are depicted in the following graph. Source: http://www.ameinfo.com/financial_markets/Kuwait/Company_KW0178/    Dividends and Dividend Policy   In the absence of a published annual report and detailed information on the financial position of the company it was not possible to make a comprehensive report on the dividend policy of the company.    References    GUPICO http://www.gupico.com/activities.html Kuwait Finance House Annual Report 2005 http://www.kfh.com/english/AboutUs/Annual-Report/AR2005/KFH-AR2005.pdf Kuwait Finance House Annual Report 2006 http://www.kfh.com/english/AboutUs/Annual-Report/AR2006/KFH-AR2006.pdf    Zawya.com ‘Kuwait Finance House’ http://www.zawya.com/cm/profile.cfm/cid5083

The advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing

The advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing Nowadays most companies tend to let third party companies to handle the operation of their services. This initiative is considered to be a risky action, because it is primary made for deducting the costs as well as the particularization these companies has to offer. Besides of the advantages that many companies have faced during outsourcing there are some disadvantages also. Below I will describe further advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing in organizations such as Tesco. Advantages of outsourcing Reducing Costs As I mentioned before reducing the costs is the main aspect that companies choose to use outsourcing. These costs are usually referring to employee fees, office space expenses as well as some other costs such as outsourced workforce as it is proved to be way cheaper than workforce coming from developed countries. Time Utilization A widely known benefit that outsourcing has to offer, is the high speeding time that outsourced work is done. A great example of time utilization in a company would be the employee hiring procedure for the creation of a new team. Using outsourcing this time can be reduced to a maximal level. Skills Acquisition Another capability that outsourcing has to offer in a company is the adeptness that employees does not have. A characteristic example in a company such as Tesco is when the personnel needs have to deal with a new technology in order to perform best in their divisions. This way type of outsourcing helps the company to accomplish the pre mentioned benefits which are reducing both time and cost. Operational Efficiency Due to the fact that workforce is handled by outsourcing, individuals inside a company can have the opportunity concentrate more on their initial charges and perform better in their departments. This is an important reason for a company to use outsourcing as it allows the employees to emphasize on their proficiency but mostly on core business. Customers Satisfaction It has significant use when a company has a contract with a seller and so it is bound to offer a high service level as well as quality. That is why, when a company has an outsourced IT function and one of the employees calls in sick, they are obligated to find a surrogate that can accomplish the job and satisfy the customer. Disadvantages of outsourcing Quality Risk Using outsourcing has drawbacks sometimes which can compromise the name and the reputation of a company. For example if a customer has a purchase and later on discovers that part of the product he paid for is damaged, then the company has the obligation to substitute that part by contacting their outsource supplier but the company will always carry the burden of a damaged product. Constant Management It is widely known that most companies nowadays, fail to outsource their projects due to the fact that they dont have a proper management system. To elaborate, every company needs to possess a high intelligence manager, which will exclusively deal with the management of the outsourced projects. In such a big company as Tesco is, this person should fully qualified to determine the outsourced workforce demands, and ensure that all the providers are constantly updated to meet these demands. Frustrating Conditions These conditions are usually referring to employees knowledge. When we are dealing with big companies such as Tesco sometimes problems like language barriers occur. For example when a customer call center is outsourced to a different language company, there may be some annoyed customers that will deal with unhandy communication condition. Another strong frustration is the lack of organization knowledge, where outsourced employees are not surrounded by the same passion or obligation for an organization, making them usually look fool and unknowledgeable in the eyes of a customer. On the other hand, there are some frustrations detected from the companys own personnel to the outsourced providers. This happens when the knowledge of the personnel is not in high levels, leading them to accuse for the bad service the outsourced supplier. Security It important for a customer to know that is respected and those they can trust the company by giving them personal information. That is why the management of the customers confidential information should be always processed by companys employees and not the outsourced one. Layoffs Fears Outsourcing often fears the employees because their job may be in risk due other outsourced employees. This condition reflects negatively on the employees psychology, as well as their own job. To avoid this uncomfortable situation companies such as Tesco must protect their personnel from losing their temper by informing every single employee that they shouldnt or in some cases should worry about losing their job. Question 2 Hyperlinks http://www.outsourcing.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsourcing http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Outsourcing-Help:-Pros-and-Cons-of-Outsourcing/ http://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-outsourcing/

Citric Acid to Remove Stains | Experiment

Citric Acid to Remove Stains | Experiment BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Knowledge about natural bleaches to remove stain may be useful in our daily life. Natural bleaches can be found in various types of fruits juice and many more. This green bleaches are more friendly to environment and cheaper than commercial product. Citric acid is one of bleaching agent that can be found in the citrus fruits such as lemon. This paper will discuss on the process of removing stains by citric acid in different type of fruit juices. The investigation was focused on How does the type of citrus fruits used affect the rate of reaction of stain removable? Since stains have different types, the effectiveness of citric acid on two types of stains (synthetic and vegetable based stain) had been discussed more in this investigation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The experiment was conducted with different type of fruits; lemon, lime, navel orange and pineapple. The time taken for the different type of stain to be removed by different type of fruits had been recorded and be analyzed to identify the most best used as natural bleaches. RESULTS: Even though the lemon juice is more popularly known as natural bleach but based on the experiment, the best used citrus fruit as bleaching agent is lime and the citric acid is most effective used to remove vegetable based stain. Table of Contents (Jump to) Introduction 1.0: Bleaches 1.1: Chemistry in Bleach 1.2: Mechanism of Bleaching 1.3: Rationale of Study 1.4: Significance of Study 1.5: Limitation of Study 1.6: Research Question Hypothesis Variables 3.0: Apparatus and Materials 4.0 Procedure and Analysis 4.1: Extraction of juices from citrus fruits 4.2: Citric acid determination 4.3: Procedure for stain removable Conclusion Evaluation INTRODUCTION Bleaches Bleaches used worldwide in household to remove or decolorize stains which whiten or lighten the color of clothes. Chemically, bleaches will breaks the stain molecules into smaller molecule that easily be removed. D.Noemia Souza (2008) stated that bleaches are chemical that capable to whitening the fabrics and removing stains by destroying colouring matter. There are two types of reaction that involve in bleaching. Commonly bleaching process involves in oxidation processes such as hydrogen peroxide and some involve the reduction processes such as sodium chlorite. However in bleaching processes, the oxidation and reduction also can occur simultaneously. Bleaching process for stains most effective when both an oxidative and a reductive bleaching steps worked together and this referred as full bleaching (J.M. Cardamone W.N. Marker, 1995) There are various types of bleaches, and each type of bleach is specifically used for certain type of fabrics. The fabrics are very specific and if use d with wrong bleach, the fabric will wear out. Concentration, pH, time and temperature are the various conditions which are affect the action of bleach on fabrics. Chemistry of Bleach Hydrogen peroxide is the most prominent bleach and usually used in commercial bleaches. However, according to D.Noemia Souza (2008), the strongest bleach is sodium hypochlorite while the weakest is sodium chlorate and the hydrogen peroxide is milder. Sodium hypochlorite(Chlorine-containing oxidants) Usually, the sodium hypochlorite will contain 15-18% of chlorine (D.Noemia Souza, 2008). Under certain condition, the solution will decompose into sodium chlorite (eq1) which then reacts with hypochlorite and produce the sodium chlorate (eq2). The sodium hypochlorite will undergoes further reaction to release oxygen (eq3). Thus it is classified as chlorine bleach 2NaOCl NaCl + NaClO2 (1) NaOCl +NaClO2 NaCl+NaClO3. (2) Overall equation: 3 NaOCl 2NaCl+NaClO3 (3) 2NaOCl 2NaCl+O2 (4) Hydrogen peroxide(preoxygen bleach) Hydrogen peroxide bleaching will dissociates into H+ and per hydroxyl ions HOO-(eq1).The per hydroxyl ions is the active bleaching agent. Under alkaline conditions it will release oxygen (eq2).Cotton would damage under this conditions as the bleaching effect is slow and the bleaching rate is fast. The activator and stabilizers are added to control this condition (J.M. Cardamone W.N. Marker, 1995). H2O2 HO2- + H+.. (1) 2H2O2 2H2O +O2 (2) Hydrogen peroxide is a universal bleaching and D.Noemia Souza (2008) said it is the only oxidizing bleach that can be safely used on protein. Mechanism of Bleaching Based on ProcterGamble (2005) the process of bleaching is divided into two, which are; Breaking up the stain The stain consist of molecule chains covering the fabrics The bleach molecule will break the stains into smaller pieces After that process, bleach molecule will disappear The stain is now broken into smaller pieces which can be easily removed by the surfactant Decolorizing the stains The stains color has its origin in the double-bond connections Then, the bleach will break up the bond and convert it into single bond, eliminating its ability to absorb visible light. After that, the bleach molecules will disappear. Once the double-bond connections are broken up, the stains isnt visible anymore. Citric Acid as Natural Bleach Citric acid is weak organic acid and one of the acids found in citrus fruits such as lime and lemon. It popularly used in food industrial as perservative. It also can act as natural bleaching agent and an antioxidant. So it is useful in our daily life to remove stain or dirt from fabric and bleach the spot. Citric acid exist in many type of vegetables and fruits but more concentrated in lime and juice where the dry weight of citric acid in fruit comprimise as much as 8 percent (sciencedaily.com).The concentration of cotric acid in fruits range from 0.005 mol/L for oranges to 0.30 mol/L in lemons and limes (Wiki.Org) Rationale of the Study Nowadays, most of people prefer to use biodegradable product or green product. Especially in current downturn economy, many people change to less expensive products. Using citrus fruits as an alternative ways to remove stain is the good choice. The question that arises here is what the significance of knowing which of the citrus fruits is best used in removing stains? Significance of the Study Sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) and hydrogen peroxide (oxygen bleach) are extremely popular in the market to whiten the fabrics and in stain removable. However, there are some disadvantages using oxygen and chlorine bleaches. Most of them are hazardous if ingested or inhaled and should be used with care. Lindsay Evans (2009) also explained the chlorine can cause negative health effects. Besides, they are costly and give a bad impact to our environment especially rivers and lakes ecosystem. Chlorine that flowing into rivers or lakes will combine with other chemical to form a stable compound where it will remain unchanged in groundwater for many years (Wisconsin, 2010). On the other hand, citric acid best uses as natural bleaches because it does less harm to ecology of rivers and lake. Limitation of the study All of the experiment will conduct in the Mara College Serembans laboratory. Most of the material such as citrus fruits; lemon, lime, navel oranges and pineapple and table salt are obtained from Carrefour Cheras in Cheras, Selangor, Malaysia. So, all of the fruits are not in the same level of freshness due to different condition during storage that may affect the freshness of the fruits. Besides that, the fruits might not come from same tree and this will affect the concentration of acid in the fruits. Research Question The focus of study is to investigate the ability of citrus fruits as natural bleach to remove stain from fabric. The main objective of this study is to identify which of the citrus fruits; lime, lemon, pineapple, and navel oranges is best used as bleaching agent. So the research question of the study is How does the different type of citrus fruit used; lime, lemon, pineapple, and navel oranges affect the rate of reaction of stain removable? The study uses 4 different types of citrus fruits which are lime, lemon, pineapple, and navel oranges that will extract into juice and add with table salt (sodium chloride). Hypothesis The research question of the study is How does the type of citrus fruits used affect the rate of reaction of stain removable? The rate of reaction of stain removable is the highest at the most acidic solution. So the hypothesis is the most acidic fruit in this case is lime or lemon as both contains high concentration of citric acid. Variables Independent Variable There are two independent variables in this experiment as the experiment is divided into several parts. The first independent variable is the different types of citrus fruit juices; lemon, navel orange, lime and pineapple. While the second independent variable is the different type of stains where synthetic stain (syrup) and vegetable stain(tomatoes) are used throughout the experiment. Dependent Variable Rate of reaction to remove the stain from fabric will be the dependent variable. The time taken will be record by stopwatch for the stain to decolorize. Then by using the graph the gradient is determine which represent the rate of reaction. Fixed Variable The fixed variables are type of cloth (cotton), volume of juice (5oml), temperature (100ËÅ ¡c) and volume (100ml) of water bath and quantity of sodium hydroxide (3 teaspoon). All of this material will be use in same quantity throughout of the experiment. Apparatus and Materials Material Quantity Fruit juices (lemon, lime, navel oranges, and pineapples) 50 cm3 100 ËÅ ¡c of water bath 100 cm3 Phenolphthalein Distilled water 40 ml Table salt 1.0M of NaOH solution Dried KHP 3 teaspoon 10 cm3 1.0 g 4.0 Procedure and Analysis Preparation of an approximately 0.1 M Sodium Hydroxide Solution followed by the Standardization of the Sodium Hydroxide Before testing the concentration of citric acid, the standard sodium hydroxide solution needs to be prepared. In order to prepare 0.1 M of NaOH, 9.0 cm3 of 1.0M sodium hydroxide solution was diluted with 100.00cm3 of distilled water. Then the sodium hydroxide solution was standardizing to determine its concentration by titrated it with KHP. This acid base reaction is shown in Equation 1(M.L.Gillette, 1999); KHP(aq) + NaOH (aq) NaKP(aq) + H2O(l)(eq1) Two portion of 0.5g of dried potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHP) was weighed and dissolved with 50ml distilled water in conical flask. The Phenolphthalein solution was added for 2-3 drops into KHP solution to indicate the end point of titration. Phenolphthalein was used because the pH range of product is 8-10 .The sodium hydroxide was titrated with KHP solution until pale pink color was produced. The volume of NaOH solution added was recorded. Data Collection for Standardization of NaOH Number of trials 1sttrial 2ndtrial Initial Burette reading/cm3 ( ±0.05cm3) 0.00 0.00 Final Burette reading/cm3 ( ±0.05cm3) 23.50 25.40 Volume NaOH solution added/cm3 ( ±0.05cm3) 23.50 25.40 Observation After few minutes, the clear solution turned into pale pink before disappeared. After few minutes, the clear solution turned into pale pink before disappeared. Table 4.0 Data Analysis The purpose to standardize sodium hydroxide solution against potassium hydrogen phthalate is to determine the exact value of sodium hydroxide concentration. By titrate the 0.1M of sodium hydroxide solution against KHP solution the results collected are more accurate. The concentration of sodium hydroxide was found to be 0.1002M Calculation for determining the concentration of the sodium hydroxide; KHP (aq) + NaOH (aq) NaKP(aq) + H2O To calculate the number of mole of KHP Number of mole= mass/molar mass = 0.5g KHP/ 204.2 = 2.449ÃÆ'-10-3mol KHP To calculate the number of mole of NaOH required to neutralized KHP solution No. of moles of NaOH = No. of moles of KHP = 2.449ÃÆ'-10-3mol NaOH To calculate molarity of NaOH solution Concentration of NaOH = (number of moles/ volume of NaOH)ÃÆ'-1000 = (2.449ÃÆ'-10-3/ 24.45) ÃÆ'-1000 = 0.1002M Percentage uncertainty of the concentration of the 0.1M of sodium hydroxide % Uncertainty of Concentration of 0.1M NaOH = Volume(H2O) + Volume(NaOH)+ Concentration of NaOH(1.0M) % Uncertainty of VH2o = 0.04/100.00 ÃÆ'- 100 = 0.040% % Uncertainty of VNaOH = 0.05/9 ÃÆ'- 100 = 0.600% % Uncertainty of CNaOH = 0.040+ 0.600 =0.64% Extraction of juices from citrus fruits. The lemon was cut into small pieces and blend with blender. The juice released was putted into the beaker and labeled with A. First step was repeated again until half of the beaker filled. Then, the extracted juice was filtered through muslin cloth. The whole procedure were used again with another type of fruits, lime, navel orange and pineapple and labeled with; Beaker Type of juice A Lemon B Lime C Navel orange D Pineapple Citric Acid Determination The reason of citric acid determination is because to know the exact value of citric acid in juices for data analysis. This process is carried out by adding NaOH into the fruit juices. The approximately 10 mL of lime juice was prepared by using pipette and transferred into a conical flask. Then, the lime juice was diluted with 20ml of distilled water and three drops of phenolphthalein was added into solution. The solution with 0.1M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was added from burette to the juice sample while swirling the mixture until the reaction mixture turned into faint pink color. The end point was reached when the pink color persists for thirty seconds. The volume of NaOH added was recorded. The processes were repeated again to increase the accuracy. Then, the procedure was repeated with different type of juice; lemon, orange and pineapple. By using the formula, the molarity of citric acid in the fruit juice was calculated. Data Collection for citric acid Determination Type of juice Lemon Number of trials 1sttrial 2ndtrial 3rdtrial Volume of juice pipette/( ±0.5)ml 10 10 10 Final burette 27.6 49.6 76.1 Initial burette 0 27.6 49.6 Volume of NaOH ( ±0.1)mL 27.6 22.0 26.5 Average Volume of NaOH 23.98 Qualitative Data The colour of solution in conical flask change from white colour to faint pink colour. Data Analysis- calculation for determining the citric acid concentration through sodium hydroxide added. The citric fruits consist of citric acid. Citric acid contains carboxyl acid group and reacts with hydroxide ion as indicate in equation 2 (Dr. Ewa Thomas, 2007). The sodium hydroxide will ionize to form sodium ions and hydroxide ions (eq 1). NaOH (s) Na+ (aq) + OH (aq) (eq 1) C3H5O (COOH)3 (aq) + 3 OH- (aq) C3H5O(COO)33- (aq) + 3 H2O (l) (eq 2) The purpose of this experiment is to determine the concentration of citric acid on the citrus fruit by titrating the citrus juice with standard sodium hydroxide solution. The concentration of citric acid can be calculated by measuring the volume of sodium hydroxide used (eq 3). Molarity,M= (eq 3) M1V1 = M2V2 (eq 4) Based on the equation, the molarity of the OH- ions equal with sodium hydroxide as the molecular ratio is 1:1. So, the molarity of hydroxide ions can be known. By using equation 4, the concentration of citric acid can be determined. Calculating the concentration of citric acid By using the data given above, I had calculated the concentration of citric acid in citrus juices. The citric acid C6H8O7 is a triple basic acid that consists of three carboxylic acids and react with one hydroxide ion ,eq 1(Ewa Peter Thomas M Moffet, 2007). In this experiment, I assumed that the citric acid is sole acid found in the citrus fruits. C3H5O(COOH)3 (aq) + 3 OH- (aq) C3H5O(COO)3 (aq) + 3 H2O (l).(eq 1) However, according to experiment conducted by Law.C Solak.E(2009) the citric acid does not always have the 3 carboxylic acid. So, in this experiment I will assume that the citric acids only have 1 carboxylic acids but its less accurate. The following reaction takes place in the titration; C6H8O7 + OH- à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ H2O + C6H7O7- (eq 2) Based on the equation(eq 2), the molarity of the OH- ions equal with C6H8O7 as the molecular ratio is 1:1. By using equation below, the concentration of citric acid can be determined. M1V1 = M2V2 where : m1 = molarity of Sodium hydroxide, NaOH v1 = volume of Sodium hydroxide Solution, NaOH m2 = molarity of dilute citric acids, C6H8O7 v2 = volume of dilute citric acids Solution, C6H8O7 Example of calculation: By Using the volume of NaOH use to titrate lemon juice 0.1M NaOH ÃÆ'- 23.98 ml = M2 ÃÆ'- 10 ml 0f C6H8O7 2.298 mmol OH- = M2 ÃÆ'- 10 ml C6H8O7 M2 = = 0.2398 mole/L C6H8O7 (The calculations showed above are applied to all other experiment, table 5.5) Calculating Uncertainties Percentage uncertainty of Concentration = [(Άn / n) + (ΆVolume / Volume)] x 100% Example; Percentage uncertainty of concentration for Lemon = = 6% Absolute uncertainty of concentration = Percentage uncertainty x Concentration / 100% Example for Lemon = 6% ÃÆ'-0.24/100% = 0.014 moldm-3 0.01 moldm- Data Presentation Type of juice Average NaOH used( ±0.1)mL Concentration of citric acid (mol/L) Lemon 23.98 0.2398 Lime 10.78 0.1078 Navel Oranges 5.35 0.0535 Pineapples 2.95 0.0295 Table 4.6 Procedure for process of stain removable The white cloth cotton was cut into3cmÃÆ'-3cm size for 20 pieces and each pieces of cloth were stained with syrup solution. Then the stained clothes were dried for about 1 hour. 20 cm3 of lime juice was prepared and the initial pH of juice was recorded by using pH meter. For the first trial, a stained cloth was held under the running water and was soaked in the lime solution for more than 30 minutes. After that, the stained cloth was put into100ËÅ ¡c hot water bath and the time taken for the stained decolorize was recorded. However, the stained took longer time to decolorize where the average of time taken cannot be recorded. So I used another method by adding 3 teaspoon of table salt (sodium chloride) into lime juice. The pH value of juice was recorded. The stained cloth was rubbed with salt before soaked into the solution for an hour. Then, the stained cloth was putted into 100 °C hot water bath and the time taken for the stained decolorized was recorded. In order to identi fy the best fruit best use to remove the stain, the whole step was repeated again with another type of fruits; lemon, navel orange, and pineapple. The results from different type of fruits were compared. Besides that, I also used the different type of stain to test which one is more effective been bleached by citric acid. In this experiment I used vegetable based stain which is tomato stain. The first method is used; without adding the table salt (sodium chloride) and the result was recorded and be compared with synthetic stain (syrup). Data Collection for Removable of stain Qualitative data For synthetic stain: The pinks colour of stain turns into colourless. Fabrics become white Fabric cloths smell fruity. The juices become more slippery when added with sodium chloride. For organic stain The red colour of tomatoes decolorize The fabric colour turn into redish The fabric turns white after held under running water. Data Analysis According to the data collected, the different type of fruits and different type of stain will affect the time taken for the stain to decolorize. For the syrup stain, there must be influenced by sodium chloride (cooking salt) as it is hard to remove by citric acid alone. Adding the cooking salt involved the osmosis concept where the solution will become more saturated, the water will moving from the cloth to the salt and taking the stain together (T. Lister J. Renshaw, 2000). When the cooking salt is added into the juice, the pH of juices drop and become more acidic. However, chemically the cooking salt does not affect the acidity of citric acid. The drop in pH value may be due the presence of water in the juices which react with the salt and release the hydrogen ions which might cause this to be happened. The reason putting stained cloth into the hot water is to increase the reaction by increase the movement of particle and reduce the time taken to remove the stain (Kenneth M.S, 194 2). The highest rate of reaction (Table 4.9) calculated is lime juice and the lowest rate of reaction is pineapple juice. The reaction for both juices can be related with its pH and concentration. In term of concentration of citric acid, the higher the concentration of citric acid will increase the acidity of juice and the time taken for stain removable will become faster. However, this might not be true for lemon juices. Even though, it has highest citric acid concentration but the time taken for stain removable is not the fastest. This probably because of error and limitation occurred and will be discussed more in other section. Meanwhile, graph 4.4 shows the rate of reaction of stain removable for both type of stain by using Microsoft Excel. It is show that the rate of reaction for removable stain in tomatoes stain is 0.154, higher than syrup stain. This is might be because the syrup stain is more thick and viscous. While the vegetable based stained (tomatoes) is easier to remove because it is organic in nature and more soluble in lemon juice. 8.0: Conclusion and Evaluation Conclusion The experiments showed that the type of citrus fruits used does affect the average time taken to remove the stain. The hypothesis that rate of reaction would be highest in the most acidic fruit (lime) which consist high concentration of citric acid, is also supported based on the data collected. The pH of lime is 2.2; most acidic among the others citrus fruits. The main objective of this essay is to identify which of the type of citrus fruits; lime, lemon, pineapple, and navel oranges are best used as bleaching agent. As mention above, the type of citrus fruit does affect the rate of reaction to remove the stain. However, it also depends on the type of stain. Test on fabric with synthetic stain without adding sodium chloride (salt) required a long time where the average time taken cannot be collected. Meanwhile, citrus fruits are best used on fabric with vegetable based stain as there in no influence with sodium chloride. It can be said that the sodium chloride act as catalyst and ma king the removable of stain easier. In addition, the time taken to remove the stain for vegetable based stain is fastest compare than synthetic stain. The hot temperature was used in the experiment to speed up the reaction. Thus it can be concluded that, the lime is the best used as bleaching agent but with certain condition; type of stain and temperature. Evaluation Some error and limitation occurring during the experiment which causes the result collected imprecise. The limitation and errors in these experiments can be divided into several parts. For the first part is problem in procedure A. Initially, the sodium hydroxide prepared had been assumed exactly 1.00M. However, to test the accuracy of the concentration, the sodium hydroxide had been standardized using KHP solution. After calculating the concentration of the sodium hydroxide, the concentration of sodium hydroxide is approximately 0.1M with 0.2% of percentage error. There is a limitation occur when calculating the concentration of citric acid by titrate it with sodium hydroxide solution. One problem is the citrus fruits contain several type of acid. So, in the experiment the citric acid had been assumed as sole acid in citrus fruits and be supported by Dr. Ewa Thomas. As a result, the amounts of citric acid concentrations calculated are inaccurate and larger than theoretical value. The citric acid should been standardized to know the exact concentration, where it reduce the uncertainties. Besides that, some common mistake occurred in the experiment such as improper position of burette and parallax error in taking the measurement. To overcome this, there is no other solution except reduce the parallax error by positioning the eyes straight to the scale reading needed and position the apparatus used at the smooth surface. Moreover, it was hard to determine that the colour of the solution turned to faint pink colour because if the titration of NaOH was titrated without care the solution will become too red. So the result of the first faint pink colour come out should be observed and detected properly so it needs a particular partner in doing that job. Based on data collected, there is error between the concentration of citric acid and pH value for lemon juices where supposedly the pH of lemon juice should be most acidic as it has highest citric acid concentration. The problem may arise in determining the citric acid concentration where the value of citric acid calculated in lemon juice was incorrect. Because of the lemon used are in different freshness (as mention earlier in limitation of study), it might affect the result. So, the same lemon must be use throughout the experiment. In the last part (procedure D), one of the error occurs is during taking the average time taken to remove the stain from fabric. When the stained fabric is place into hot water, it is difficult to identify whether the cloth decolorize or not because it is possible for fabric to turn into white without be rub. To improve this, the experiment must be repeated for several times to increase the accuracy. There is also a limitation where the removable of stain cannot be seen clearly when test conducted with coffee at first. So, to overcome this problem, the stain was changed into syrup which the red colour can be seen clearly. However the problem had comes when there is change in pH value of fruit juice after adding with NaCl due to presence f water. This might be because limitation that occurred during extraction of juice. So, it is necessary to ensure all the equipment to rinse and dry first before conducting any experiment. Recommendation for further research More work could be done on the use of sodium chloride (cooking salt) in removing stain; is it effective used and how it will increase the effectiveness of citric acid in removing stain? The other use of citric acid beside remove stain should be investigated as if citric has potential in other cleaning process. Besides that, while the experiment was done by using citrus fruits as natural bleaching agent other natural bleaching agent should be considered. Investigation on the effectiveness of citric acid by comparing it with the commercial bleaches and color safer bleaches has applications in our daily life. CdS Quantum dots: Synthesis and Optical Properties CdS Quantum dots: Synthesis and Optical Properties CdS Quantum dots: Synthesis and Optical Properties Characterization for Solar Cell Raimy Roy Abstract— In this work CdS quantum dots were synthesized using Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method. Then a study of the morphology and optical property were made for the application of solar cell. The structural characterization were made by XRD while the optical characterization where done by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy techniques. Index Terms—Quantum dots, SILAR I. INTRODUCTION Quantum dot sensitized solar cell is an emerging field of photovoltaic in which the absorbing material is a quantum dot. The advantage of using such solar cell is size tunability and increased surface to volume ratio. In a quantum dot based solar cell the active layer consist of the quantum dot and the scattering layer is formed by the TiO2 layer. The mesoscopic TiO2 when deposited with CdS quantum dot act as an energy harvester and convert the incident photon to electricity. In this work, a model of the photoanode for the solar cell was made with mesoscopic TiO2 layer as scattering layer and quantum dots as absorbing layer. Here instead of ITO a glass slide was used. [1] To synthesize a quantum dot various techniques are used. Among them Successive Ionic Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method is a cost effective and is used to prepare quantum dot. In a SILAR method the time of reaction or the number of cycles can be controlled. Depending on which the size of the quantum dot varies. Another advantage of this technique is that it can be prepared at room temperature. Also this method provides a close contact between the quantum dots and the oxide layer, so it is an attractive method for the preparation of electrodes in a solar cell. [1] Cadmium sulfide (CdS) quantum dot is a direct band gap semiconductor. It is a II-VI compound semiconductor that is used for many optoelectronic devices such as solar cell, laser diodes and photoconductors. It is an inorganic semiconductor which has several advantages over conventional dyes. These advantages are band gap tunability, large extinction coefficient (this means that the dark current can be reduced and the overall efficiency can be improved) and multiple electron generation by utilizing hot electrons. [2] II. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP Chemicals Required Titanium dioxide powder (SD Fine-Chem Limited, purity 60%), 2M nitric acid, 0.05M cadmium nitrate, ethanol, 0.05M sodium sulfide hydrate (Sigma Aldrich, assay=60%), methanol. Preparation of TiO2 layer on glass slide A paste of titania (TiO2) was prepared from TiO2 powder and nitric acid. The chemicals were added in 2:1 proportion. A thin layer of titania paste was coated on the glass slide using a technique called doctor blade method [3]. In this method, either a glass rod or a microscope slide is used. We have used a microscope slide of thickness 1.45mm to coat the paste. A glass slide of dimension 2cm X 1cm was cut and cleaned. With the help of an adhesive tape, the glass slide is positioned firmly on the work bench. Another advantage of using such tape is that we could define an area to coat the paste and to deposit the quantum dot. Now place the paste on one side of the glass slide, positioning the microscope slide in 45à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ° spread the paste across the glass slide. Repeat the operation till a reasonably homogeneous layer is formed. After coating heat the paste to 80à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ °C followed by annealing at 450à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ °C for 30 min. After sintering the paste is white in color . This provides a better surface for adsorption of the CdS quantum dots since sintering makes the mesoporous films to a continuous network. Deposition of CdS Quantum Dots Successive Ionic-Adsorption and Reaction method is commonly used to deposit metal sulphide onto a nanostructured film. CdS quantum dot was deposited onto titania using this method as described in [4]. The first precursor solution used is 0.05M cadmium nitrate (Cd(NO3)2) and the second precursor solution is 0.05M sodium sulphide (Na2S). The bare TiO2 paste is dipped onto the first precursor solution for one minute. The Cd2+ ions have been deposited onto the TiO2 surface. This is then rinsed in an ethanolic solution for one minute and dried under room temperature. It is then dipped in the anionic precursor for one minute and then rinsed in methanolic solution for one minute and allowed to dry at room temperature. This completes one deposition cycle of SILAR. In this work we have performed four deposition cycles of SILAR. III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION The CdS quantum dot was deposited on to the surface of TiO2. An obvious color change was observed during the deposition cycle which is shown in Fig.1. The color change was pale yellow to golden yellow. The characterization was done using XRD and UV-vis spectroscopy techniques. Fig 1: Photograph of glass slides with CdS coating with increasing SILAR cycles XRD Characterization Fig 2. shows the obtained XRD pattern for TiO2 (Fig.2a), TiO2/ CdS (Fig 2b.) . From the peak obtained, we confirm that CdS quantum dot was deposited onto the film. Since the peaks at 44.1à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ °, 51.9à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ °, 64.3à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ °, 70.4à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ° and 72.9à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ° coincides with the intensity pattern as defined by the JCPDS 10-0454 for the CdS QD. The corresponding miller indices are (220), (311), (400), (331) and (420). From this we conclude that CdS QD was deposited. It belongs to the cubic crystal system and the mineral name is hawleyite. For TiO2 the XRD pattern exactly matches with JCPDS 21-1272. It belongs to tetragonal crystal system and its mineral name is anatase. Fig.2 : XRD pattern (a) TiO2 (b) TiO2/CdS Size Characterization The size characterization was done by non-contact mode AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy). The size of the CdS quantum dot was found to be 25.83nm. the thickness of the deposited layer was calculated to be 29.65nm. Fig 3. Fig 3 : AFM non-contact mode characterization of CdS quantum dot UV-vis Characterization The optical property was characterized using Jasco Spectrophotometer V670. The absorption spectrum is shown in Fig 4. The absorption spectrum for the TiO2 and CdS/TiO2 is shown in Fig 4a. and TiO2/CdS alone is shown in Fig.4b. The absorption peak for CdS is as reported by Antonio et.al [4]. From the absorption spectrum we could observe a shift in the peak indicating CdS QD is being deposited. The absorption peak was observed in the range of 386nm-484nm. For TiO2 the absorption peak was observed at 341nm. In Fig 4b. the inset is the absorption spectrum that was reported in [5] Fig 4: Absorption spectrum of (a) TiO2 and TiO2/CdS (b) TiO2/CdS Fig 5: UV-Vis absorption spectra showing increase (~49 %) in absorption due to CdS Figure 5. depicts the percentage increase in the absorption peak of CdS with respect to TiO2. It was calculated to be a 49.08% increase in the absorption peak. Determination of Optical Band gap The DRS (Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy) characterization was done to obtain the optical band gap. The optical band gap was calculated by plotting the Tauc plot . It is the plot between energy and absorbance. The optical band gap can be determined by Tauc relation Where à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡ is the absorption coefficient in cm-1, hà ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ® is the photon energy in eV and A is a constant. The value of n is given as follows n =  ½ for direct allowed transition n = 2 for indirect allowed transition The Tauc plot for TiO2 and TiO2/CdS is shown in Fig 6. TiO2 is an indirect band gap material whereas CdS is a direct band gap semiconductor. The bandgap value of CdS in bulk is given as 2.42eV [5]. From the experiment we calculated the optical band gap to be 2.38eV. Also the absorbance value of the CdS QD is blue shifted. Using the equation The value of the peak was calculated to be 519.16nm which is within the absorption region. Fig 6. Tauc plot of (a) TiO2 (b)TiO2/CdS IV. CONCLUSION In this work CdS quantum dot have been synthesized using SILAR method. Its structural characterization was done that confirmed the deposition of the CdS quantum dot on to TiO2 paste. The optical property was characterized and analysed using UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. The optical band gap was calculated to be 2.38 eV. The size of the quantum dot deposited was calculated to be in nanometer. REFERENCES [1] Prashant V Kamat , â€Å"Quantum dot Solar cells.The next Big Thing in Photovoltaics† J.Phys.Chem.Lett. 2013, 4, 908-918. [2] Chang Liu,Yitan Li,Lin Wei,Cuncun Wu,Yanxue Chen,Liangmo MeiandJun Jiao, â€Å"CdS quantum dot-sensitized solar cells based on nano-branched TiO2arrays† Nanoscale Research Letters 2014,9. [3] A. Berni, M. Mennig, H. Schmidt, â€Å"Doctor blade method†, Springer. [4] Antonio Braga,SixtoGimenez, Isabella Concina, Alberto Vomiero and Ivan Mora-Ser, â€Å"Panchromatic Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Metal Sulfide Quantum Dots Grown Directly on Nanostructured TiO2 Electrodes†, J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2011, 2, 454–460. [5] B. T. Huy, Min-Ho Seo, Jae-Min Lim, Dong-Soo Shin and Yong-Ill Lee, â€Å"A Systematic Study on Preparing CdS Quantum Dots† Journal of the Korean Physical Society, Vol. 59, No. 5, November 2011, 3293-3299

Shakespeares Macbeth - The Character of Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Macbeth Character Shakespeare The character of Macbeth is not an easy one to understand. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is praised by many people as being a hero when he has defeated the Norwegians. The captain says: "Brave Macbeth "When Duncan hears the news he adds: "o valient cousin "and "Noble Macbeth ". However Macbeth is becoming tied up with things that are not good. The three weird sisters said they would meet with him. When the three weird sisters do meet with Macbeth and Banquo: "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Glamis! ", " All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Cawdor! ", "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee that shalt be king here after. "Macbeth knows he is the Thane of Glamis but how can he be the Thane of Cawdor, the Thane of Cawdor lives a prosperous life and becoming king is just unthinkable. This gets Macbeth thinking about what they mean. At the start of the play the audience hail Macbeth as a hero but as he begins to think about murdering the king the audience feels he isn't so heroic after all, and they begin to dislike him. We learn from Lady Macbeth, the person who knows him best that he is too nice to be able to kill anyone especially the present king: "is too full o' th' milk of human kindness, "says Lady Macbeth. She then devises a plan to kill Duncan while he is staying with them. Duncan has arrived and is having dinner. Macbeth leaves and decides not to murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth accuses him of being less than a man for not killing him. Macbeth is not a natural born killer, Lady Macbeth has to persuade him to murder the king; he is initially reluctant to do such a deed: "We will proceed no further in this business: "Macbeth says this because he thinks he might become king without killing the present king, it might just be fate. But Lady Macbeth then begins to persuade him and soon a chink forms in Macbeth's armour. Macbeth says: "If we should fail "which shows us that Macbeth has once more changed his mind this shows us that he is very unwilling to murder Duncan. Once Duncan is asleep and Macbeth is on his own he sees a dagger before him. Shakespeare's Macbeth - The Character of Macbeth :: GCSE English Literature Coursework Macbeth Character Shakespeare The character of Macbeth is not an easy one to understand. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is praised by many people as being a hero when he has defeated the Norwegians. The captain says: "Brave Macbeth "When Duncan hears the news he adds: "o valient cousin "and "Noble Macbeth ". However Macbeth is becoming tied up with things that are not good. The three weird sisters said they would meet with him. When the three weird sisters do meet with Macbeth and Banquo: "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Glamis! ", " All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Cawdor! ", "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee that shalt be king here after. "Macbeth knows he is the Thane of Glamis but how can he be the Thane of Cawdor, the Thane of Cawdor lives a prosperous life and becoming king is just unthinkable. This gets Macbeth thinking about what they mean. At the start of the play the audience hail Macbeth as a hero but as he begins to think about murdering the king the audience feels he isn't so heroic after all, and they begin to dislike him. We learn from Lady Macbeth, the person who knows him best that he is too nice to be able to kill anyone especially the present king: "is too full o' th' milk of human kindness, "says Lady Macbeth. She then devises a plan to kill Duncan while he is staying with them. Duncan has arrived and is having dinner. Macbeth leaves and decides not to murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth accuses him of being less than a man for not killing him. Macbeth is not a natural born killer, Lady Macbeth has to persuade him to murder the king; he is initially reluctant to do such a deed: "We will proceed no further in this business: "Macbeth says this because he thinks he might become king without killing the present king, it might just be fate. But Lady Macbeth then begins to persuade him and soon a chink forms in Macbeth's armour. Macbeth says: "If we should fail "which shows us that Macbeth has once more changed his mind this shows us that he is very unwilling to murder Duncan. Once Duncan is asleep and Macbeth is on his own he sees a dagger before him.