Mineral Pictures Index

Mineral Pictures Index If youre interested in rock collecting, you know that rocks you find in the real world rarely look like the polished specimens you see you rock shops or museums. In this index, youll find pictures of minerals like those youll most likely encounter in your expeditions. This list starts with the handful of common minerals called the rock-forming minerals, followed by the most common accessory minerals- youll find them scattered in many different rocks but seldom in large amounts. Next, youll see a set of rare or notable minerals, some of which are common in commercial rock shops. Finally, you can check out some special galleries designed to help you to identify your specimens. Rock-Forming Minerals Rock-forming minerals are among the most common (and least valuable) minerals in the world. They form the basis of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, and are used to classify and name rocks. Some examples include: Biotite- Black mica, common in igneous rocks. Calcite- The most common carbonate mineral, making up limestone. Dolomite- Magnesium-rich cousin to calcite. Feldspar- A group making up the most common mineral in the crust. (Feldspar Gallery) Hornblende- The most common mineral of the amphibole group. Muscovite- White mica, found in all kinds of rocks. Olivine- A green mineral found strictly in igneous rocks. Pyroxene- A group of dark minerals of igneous and metamorphic rocks. Quartz- Familiar as crystals and as noncrystalline chalcedony. (Quartz/Silica Gallery) Accessory Minerals   Accessory minerals may be included in any rock you pick up, but unlike rock-forming minerals, they are not a basic part of the rock. In other words, a rock must contain quartz, feldspar, and mica  in order to be classified as granite. If the rock also happens to contain the mineral titanite, the rock is still granite and the titanite is classified as an accessory mineral.  Accessory minerals are also not  particularly abundant, and so they may be more valuable than rock-forming minerals. Some examples include: Andalusite- Makes collectible crossed crystals. Anhydrite- What gypsum becomes deep underground. Apatite- The phosphate mineral making up teeth and bones. Aragonite- Calcites close carbonate cousin. Barite- A heavy sulfate sometimes found in roses. Bornite- Peacock ore copper mineral tarnishes a crazy blue-green. Cassiterite- Ancient and principal ore of tin. Chalcopyrite- Foremost ore of copper. Chlorite- The green mineral of many metamorphic rocks. Corundum- Natural alumina, sometimes known as sapphire and ruby. Epidote- Metamorphic mineral of a pistachio/avocado green color. Fluorite- Every rockhound has a piece of this soft, colorful mineral. Galena- A heavy, glittering mineral, principal ore of lead metal. Garnet Almandine- The true garnet-red garnet mineral. Andradite- Green crystals from central California. Grossular- A greenish garnet illustrated by a well-formed crystal. Pyrope- Wine-colored grains in a California eclogite. Spessartine- A honey-colored set of crystals from China. Uvarovite- Emerald-green crystals from Russia. Goethite- The brown oxide mineral of soils and iron ore. Graphite- The stuff of pencils has more rugged uses too. Gypsum- Shown in its prettiest form, desert roses. Halite- Also known as rock salt, this evaporite mineral sits at your table. Hematite- Iron oxide mineral of many forms including this kidney ore. Ilmenite- Black titanium ore lurks in heavy sands. Kyanite- A sky-blue mineral formed by high-pressure metamorphism. Lepidolite- Lithium mica mineral with a fine lilac color. Leucite- Feldspathoid mineral also called white garnet. Magnetite- Magnetic iron oxide also known as lodestone. Marcasite- Close crystal cousin of pyrite. Nepheline- Feldspathoid mineral well known to potters. Phlogopite- Brown mica mineral closely related to biotite. Prehnite- Bottle-green mineral of low-grade metamorphic rocks. Psilomelane- Manganese oxides make up this black crusty mineral. Pyrite- Fools gold and the most important sulfide mineral. Pyrolusite- The black manganese mineral of dendrites. Rutile- Needles of this oxide mineral occur in many rocks. Serpentine- The group of green minerals that yields asbestos. Sillimanite- Indicator mineral for high grades of metamorphism. Sphalerite- The major zinc ore and an interesting mineral. Spinel- Rugged oxide mineral of metamorphosed limestones. Staurolite- A typical crossed pair of crystals in a mica schist matrix. Talc- The softest mineral of them all. Tourmaline- The common black variety called schorl. Zeolites- Group of low-temperature minerals with many industrial uses. Zircon- Both a gemstone and a precious source of geologic information. Uncommon Minerals and Varieties This collection of minerals includes metals, ores, and gems. Some of these gold, diamond, and beryl for example are among the most valuable and coveted minerals in the world. If you find these in your rock hunting excursions, be sure to keep them safe. Some examples include: Amethyst- The purple form of crystalline quartz. Axinite- Minor silicate of striking crystal form and color. Benitoite- Very blue, very rare and weird ring silicate mineral. Beryl- Gemstone of many names, including emerald. Borax- This household commonplace is mined in desert lakebeds. Celestine- Pale, sky-blue strontium carbonate. Cerussite- Spiky gray lead carbonate. Chrysocolla- Bright green-blue mineral found near copper ore. Cinnabar- Lipstick-red mineral and major ore of mercury. Copper- Native metal shown in its natural wiry form. Cuprite- Red copper ore and sometimes spectacular specimen stone. Diamond- Natural diamond crystal from the Congo. Dioptase- Bright-green crystalline sign of copper deposits. Dumortierite- Blue boron mineral of gneisses and schists. Eudialyte- Striking red vein-maker in nepheline syenites. Fuchsite- Chromium colors this mica mineral a flashy green. Gold- The native metal shown in an Alaskan nugget. Hemimorphite- Handsome pale crusts of hydrous zinc silicate. Herkimer Diamond Quartz- Doubly terminated crystals from New York. Labradorite- The butterfly of the feldspars has dazzling blue schiller. Lazurite- Ancient mineral source of ultramarine pigment. Magnesite- Magnesium carbonate ore mineral. Malachite- Ultra-green copper carbonate, a favorite mineral of carvers. Molybdenite- Soft metallic mineral and ore of molybdenum. Opal- Precious silica mineraloid may display a rainbow of colors. Platinum- Rare crystalline nuggets of the native metal. Pyromorphite- Flashy green lead phosphate mineral. Pyrophyllite- Soft mineral closely resembling talc. Rhodochrosite- Calcites manganese cousin with distinctive rosy color. Ruby- Deep-red gemmy variety of corundum. Scapolite- Streaked clear crystals of metamorphosed limestones. Siderite- Brown iron carbonate mineral. Silver- Wiry specimen of the rare native metal. Smithsonite- Carbonate of zinc appears in many forms. Sodalite- Deep blue feldspathoid and a rock carvers staple. Sulfur- Delicate crystals accumulate around a volcanic vent. Sylvite- Red potassium mineral distinguished by its bitter taste. Titanite- Collectible brown crystalline mineral once known as sphene. Topaz- Hardness and good crystals make it a popular mineral. Turquoise- The most precious phosphate mineral. Ulexite- One of many borate minerals, ulexite forms the unique TV rock. Variscite- This phosphate comes in veins like slabs of green candy. Willemite- Prized by collectors for its bright fluorescence. Witherite- Scarce barium carbonate mineral. Tools for Identifying Minerals It isnt always easy to identify minerals, even if theyre fairly common. Fortunately, there are tools used by geologists to aid in identification. Special tests for luster and streak can help; so too can these galleries of relatively common minerals of different colors. Black Minerals Blue and Purple Minerals Brown Minerals Green Minerals Red and Pink Minerals Yellow Minerals Mineral Habits Mineral Lusters Mineral Streak Mineraloids

The Scarlet Letter Plot Summary

'The Scarlet Letter' Plot Summary The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne set in Boston, then the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in the mid-17th century (about fifty years before the nearby Salem Witch Trials). It tells the story of the relationship between the Puritan community and Hester Prynne, the protagonist, after it is discovered that she bore a child out of wedlock- an act that cuts against society’s religious values. As punishment for her actions, Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet â€Å"A,† which, as it is never said outright, presumably stands for â€Å"adultery† or â€Å"adulterer.† The narrative, which is framed by an introductory piece entitled â€Å"The Custom-House,† depicts the seven years following Prynne’s crime. The Custom-House This introduction, written by a nameless first-person narrator who shares many biographical details with the book’s author, serves as the main narrative’s framework. In this section, the narrator, who has an interest in writing, tells of how he works as a surveyor at the Salem Custom House- a moment he takes as an opportunity mainly to disparage and mock his colleagues, many of whom are older and have secured lifetime appointments through family connections. This section takes place in the mid-19th century, and, as such, the Custom House has much less activity than it did during its heyday two centuries earlier. As a result, the narrator spends a good deal of his time snooping about in the attic of the building, whereupon he finds an old piece of red cloth in the shape of the letter â€Å"A,† as well as a century-old manuscript by a previous surveyor named Jonathan Pue, about a series of local events from a century even before his time. The narrator reads this manuscript, and then reflects on how his Puritan ancestors, whom he holds in high esteem, would have looked down on him writing a work of fiction, but, after he loses his job as a result of a shift in local politics, he does so anyway. His text, loosely based on the Pue manuscript, becomes the basis of the novel. The Scarlet Letter In mid-17th century Puritan Boston, then the Massachusetts Bay Colony, a local woman, Hester Prynne, is discovered to have had a child out of wedlock. This is a major offense in the extremely religious community. As punishment she is made to stand for several hours with her child, Pearl, in  a stocks on a scaffold in the town square, and then to wear a scarlet A embroidered on her clothing for the remainder of her days. While standing on the scaffold, exposed to the public, Prynne is hectored by both the mob and the prominent members of the town, including the adored minister Arthur Dimmesdale, to name the child’s father- but she stalwartly refuses. Also while she is standing there, she sees a white man, guided in by a Native American man, enter the scene at the back of the mob. Prynne and this man make eye contact, but he puts a finger in front of his lips. After the spectacle, Prynne is brought to her prison cell, where she is visited by a doctor; this is the man she had seen at the back of the crowd, who is also, it turns out, her husband, Roger Chillingworth, recently arrived from England after having been thought dead. They have an open and amiable conversation about each of their shortcomings in their marriage, but when Chillingworth demands to know the identity of the child’s father, Prynne continues to refuse to reveal it. Upon her release from prison, Prynne and her daughter move to a small cottage on the edge of the town, where she devotes herself to needlework (producing work of notable quality), and helping others in need as best she can. Their isolation eventually starts to affect Pearl’s behavior, as lacking playmates other than her mother, she grows into a rambunctious and unruly little girl. Her behavior starts to attract the townspeople’s attention, so much so that members of the church recommend that Pearl be taken away from Prynne in order to receive better supervision. This, obviously, greatly upsets Prynne, who goes to speak with Governor Bellingham. With the governor are the town’s two ministers, and Prynne appeals to Dimmesdale directly as part of her argument against the townspeople’s motions. Her plea wins him over, and he tells the governor that Pearl should remain with her mother. They return to their cottage as before, and, over the course of several year s, Prynne begins to earn herself back into the town’s good graces through her helpful deeds. Around this time, the minister’s health begins to worsen, and it is suggested that Chillingworth, the new physician in town, take up residence with Dimmesdale to watch over him. The two get along at first, but as Dimmesdale’s health deteriorates, Chillingworth begins to suspect that his condition is in some way the manifestation of psychological distress. He begins to ask Dimmesdale about his mental state, which the minister resents; this pushes them apart. One night, shortly thereafter, Chillingworth sees on Dimmesdale’s chest, while the latter is sleeping, a symbol that represents the minister’s guilt. Dimmesdale then, tormented by his guilty conscience, wanders one night into the town square and stands upon the scaffold where, several years before, he had looked upon Prynne as the town antagonized her. He acknowledges his guilt within himself, but cannot bring himself to do so publicly. While there, he runs into Prynne and Pearl, and he and Prynne finally discuss the fact that he is Pearl’s father. Prynne also determines that she will reveal this fact to her husband.  Pearl, meanwhile, is wandering around beside her parents throughout this conversation, and repeatedly asks Prynne what the Scarlet A stands for, but her mother never responds with a serious answer. Shortly thereafter, they meet again in the forest, and Prynne informs Dimmesdale of Chillingworth’s desire for revenge on the man who usurped him. As such, they make a plan to return together to England, which gives the minister a new bout of health and enables him to give one of his most rousing sermons at Election Day a few days later. As the procession leaves the church, though, Dimmesdale climbs up onto the scaffold to confess his relationship with Prynne, at which point he promptly dies in her arms. Later, there is much discussion amongst the townspeople over a mark seen upon the minister’s chest, which many claim was in the shape of an â€Å"A.† With this affair now effectively settled, Chillingworth soon dies, leaving Pearl a large inheritance, and Prynne voyages to Europe, though she returns several years later and resumes wearing the scarlet letter. At some point thereafter she dies, and is buried in the same plot as Dimmesdale.

Persuasive Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Persuasive - Research Paper Example This initiation process that aims at propagating the achievement of the set goals describes motivation (Nelson & Quick, 2013). There exist various ways in which employees could be motivated, including fair compensation, provision of conducive working environment and use of rewards and incentives. Taking the context of a convenience store where I work as cashier together with other three, I earn a monthly salary that equals that of the other cashiers despite always serving the highest number of customers monthly. In as much as we appreciate the effort that our supervisor has put forth in taking care of our welfare including provision of medical insurance and free lunch on working days, I feel that more needs to be done to optimally motivate us to serve customers faster, especially during peak times, so as to avoid longer queues which discourage customers. Appreciating the argument by Nelson and Quick (2013) that motivation would take place through a combination of approaches in any gi ven context, it would thus be important for our supervisor to adopt additional strategies in order to make us more motivated to work faster. In this case, I propose the inclusion of rewards to top performers, monthly, quarterly or semi-annually depending on the availability of resources. Danish and Usman (2010) acknowledge rewarding employee performance as a significant stimulus in sustaining high performance. The law of effects indicates that people would tend to repeat actions that cause them to attain positive rewards. As a cashiers therefore, if the supervisor rewards my all-time high transactions, I would be motivated to maintain the high performance. This has been referred to as a complement or an external reward. However, this would call for effective appraisal of employees’ performance so as to ensure accurate evaluation of performance. This argument has not only attracted research studies but has also caused scholars to come up with theories that could explain it. In deed, Victor H. Vroom attributed this phenomenon to the expectancy theory which postulates that people would desire outcomes of performance and behavior that could be considered as rewards of behavior (Nelson & Quick, 2013). This implies that with employees being aware that their effort would be rewarded by performance and further rewards, they would put greater effort which increases productivity. Of all the motivation approaches, the study of the Pakistani context by Danish and Usman (2010) indicates that rewards have been the most preferred by employees as opposed to other approaches like operating procedures, recognition and the work. As such, it means that this would be the most effective motivation strategy for our cashiers. Similar observation has been made by Brooks (2012) who acknowledges rewards as the most preferred and thus effective strategy to motivation of employees. The reason for its preference would be the value that employees attach on such rewards which would all ow for pursuance. Successful global organizations respect this postulate and as such have adopted reward plans that match their organizational needs (Nelson & Quick, 2013). The limitation of the supervisor adopting this employee motivation strategy in the convenience store, just like in any other organization would be the argument that rewards would increase the organizational expenses. Acquisition

Climate Change Displacing People and Animals Research Paper

Climate Change Displacing People and Animals - Research Paper Example Studies that were previously conducted posit to the effect that the phenomenon of climate change can be mainly attributed to the activities of a human kind which immensely contribute to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. There remains confusion with regards to universal policies that can be implemented in order to check that the activities of men are under control such that they do not wantonly continue damaging the climate (Makombe 1993). It can thus be noted that the issues of climate change have become topical in many societies during the contemporary period, but there is need to generate more knowledge about the major effects and causes of climate changes such as global warming. A holistic approach has to be taken in an attempt to combat this threat to the climate. In essence, there is a need to recognize that conservation of the environment and development are both necessary to human life and are also interdependent. It can be seen from this argument that conservation of the environment cannot ignore the needs of the human beings while development projects by human beings that ignore the limits of the environment will be doomed (Gore 2006). There is a need to create a fine balance between the activities of human beings and the need to maintain a safe environment. Such a holistic approach may be difficult to attain but it is necessary as far as minimizing the negative impacts of human activities on climate are concerned. This paper, therefore, seeks to critically analyze the concept of climate change and its impact on the welfare of the people. The paper will begin by reviewing the published literature that is related to the topic area. The bulk of the reviewed literature will be centered on the concept of global warming which is central to the phenomenon of climate change.  

Personal dichotomy Essay Example for Free

Personal dichotomy Essay Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide touches on many important themes, including identity and the role of reputation within society. On top of those themes, the author also uses his work to speak to an idea of â€Å"home† within the novel. Though this work does not include a typical literary representation of home as a developmental ground for young, aspiring successes, he does illustrate how home can be a highly safe and dangerous place all at the same time. Just as Jekyll and Hyde represent a personal dichotomy, home is shown as a place that can be multi-faceted. Because of the intimate nature of the relationships developed between a person and his or her home, that person can be manipulated by the safety of home. While it might seem like a place to barricade one’s self from the rest of the world, home can actually be the single force stripping individuals of their ability to function. In this particular work, home is a place where madness persists and it is essentially ground zero for all that is wrong with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this way, the author is accepting some of the views on the role of home, asserting that even in a sea of positives, home can play a negative role, as well. In this book, home is most certainly a place of comfort and violence. The author challenges the assertion that home could be a place where people go just to get their own measure of comfort. While it is true that Dr. Jekyll retreats to his home to get away from much of the scrutiny surrounding him, the author is quick to point out that this experience takes away from Jekyll in a big way. During one portion of the book, suspicions are at an all-time high and people continue to visit Jekyll to figure out his situation. Both the police and concerned citizens have made their way into his home, and in the early part of the book, it is not a place of comfort. In this way, it can be said that the traditional idea of home is lost for the doctor during those moments. He has police officers going through his personal effects and turning his home upside down. He has individuals peering through his windows, providing him with little privacy or comfort of any kind. During this portion of the book, the traditional idea of home is absolutely smashed. Instead of being a refuge, it is a fish bowl where immense and intense pressure is put on the doctor over a period of months. The author does use this opportunity to show the importance of a traditional safe haven, though. As Jekyll is essentially ambushed in his home, he begins to long for the comfort and the privacy traditionally expected in that kind of setting. When Jekyll stops receiving visitors, he is reaching out for the comfort of his home. He grows very tired of constantly being harassed for various reasons, even if those reasons are legitimate. He locks the doors and makes home his refuge. He takes comfort in his work in the lab, but home is also a place of violence. He lives through a kind of unchangeable madness while in his home, constantly working on concoctions and hiding from the truth about who he is. This violence is finally culminated in his suicide, which not surprisingly happens right in the middle of his comfort zone. This use of violence within the home by the author is meant to show that the comfort provided by home is a slipper slope. As the traditional views hold, the ideal of home is one that is delicate. In one moment, home can provide a place for a person to get away from criticisms and attention. In another moment, it can be a place where madness and violence consumer a person’s life. Additionally, the author presents a picture of home as the breeding ground for many of the crazed acts of Mr. Hyde. In short, every minute that Jekyll spends in his home or lab is just another moment where the reader anticipates some terrible event. Through creative sequencing and skilled foreshadowing, the author makes it very clear that the home is an ominous place for Dr. Jekyll. Though he does use it as a refuge, the author makes it seem as if he is only picking the time of his next crazed act. The traditional views hold that home is a place where one develops his or her skills to move forward in the future. Most would say that this is a positive critique of what home is all about. That is not the picture of home that Stevenson paints, though. He does use the ideas of preparation and planning, but it is always for something negative. Much like Dr. Jekyll experiments with various things in his lab, home is a place where there is decisive scheming. In this way, it is much more planning than it is preparation. There is no real personal growth taking place for the doctor; he is only hiding from his identity and attempting to conceal his acts. The author’s decidedly negative view on the role of home in terms of preparation is an interesting point. Stevenson challenges the idea that a person can receive some sort of nurturing from home that would make he or she a better person overall. Instead, he paints home as something of an independent force. For people who have the innate ability to develop and grow, home can be a good place to do that. It does provide the type of repetitive environment where individuals can focus on continued good habits. The author, at least in this work, offers the opinion that home in itself is not enough to develop those who would otherwise not get development. Additionally, he paints this repetition as a bad thing in the case of Dr. Jekyll. The doctor gets into a terrible cycle where he continues to self destruct, time and again. Because home is a place where individuals are protected and where there is very little to balance out such acts, it creates an environment where people can fall into traps. Home is not nearly corrective enough in this story. With this view, Stevenson may be offering an argument that home is only a positive when the people inside the home are providing the correct amount of support. Because it can be so many things and go so many ways, home itself is truly not to blame. It is only a framework from which people are expected to work. The real blame must go on the individuals who use the home and on the people who should be providing the customary support that goes along with being at home. For Dr. Jekyll, home is his refuge, and it acts as a place that he cannot wait to return to. As the reader clearly sees in this book, the first thing that Dr. Jekyll always does after one of Mr. Hyde’s acts is that he comes back home. There are dangerous out on the streets and he could potentially get himself into trouble, but when the doctor comes back home, he has the ability to cover things up, clean behind his tracks, and turn his life into something â€Å"normal† yet again. While many things change for Jekyll over the course of the book, including his professional reputation, his personal relationships, and his ability to manage his personalities, home is something that remains constant. It is a strong place for him to come and truly dedicate his time to his craft. Despite this somewhat positive view of what home is supposed to mean, the book indicates that Jekyll feels incredibly trapped by this situation. He is actually forced to feel like a stranger within his own home, and he comes to resent it after a short while. For the longest time, Jekyll looks forward to coming home because it provides him with safety after some of the acts of Mr. Hyde. This changes as the book moves along, though. No longer is there real excitement about coming home. Instead, he comes because that is the only place that he can go. Home becomes a restrictive force, and all that is positive about it is thrown out of the window. This is the author’s critique on the place of home. In one instance, it can be a place that people need, and it can provide the framework for success. It does not take much for home to take on a negative connotation, though. Just as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be switched on and off in a split second, a positive view of home and a negative one can come about very quickly. The traditional view of home as a dichotomy offers the opinion that different pictures of home can be experienced by different people. For some people, home is a good thing, while it is resented by other people. Stevenson complicates this by adding an element of personal indecision on the role of home. Dr. Jekyll experiences all of these emotions within himself. His entire life is dedicated to his work in the lab and the things he has going on at home. That is truly a place of great joy and utter accomplishment for him. Later, it completely switches for him and becomes a place of death, quite literally. Not only does he kill himself right in the middle of the floor at his home, but he also sees his professional life die right in that home. People are constantly peering in, wanting to take a look at the strange and complicated Dr. Jekyll. His reputation dies and any respect that he worked so hard for in that lab goes away along with it. It is no coincidence that the author chooses the doctor’s home as the place where all of this would take place. This speaks loudly about the importance of home to a person’s development. Whether positive or negative, home does play a substantial role in shaping what a person will become. In the case of Dr. Jekyll, home is a roller coaster and home has seen the full range of experiences that he has gone through. Home, in the traditional sense, is a mostly positive place with some negative possibilities. Most authors take the view that home provides something for a person until a time comes when home is a limiting force. In this work, home is something a little bit different. Both a refuge and a place of imprisonment for Dr. Jekyll, home goes through quite a transition as the work goes along. In the end, home is a place of horrible tragedy and death, and it serves as the fitting setting of a man’s twisted, double life.

The Biochip and Advancements in Medical Treatment Essay -- Exploratory

The Biochip and Advancements in Medical Treatment Advances in microchips occur daily, but a recent advance in the area can only be called revolutionary. No, these are not a more advanced breed of thin silicon wafers, better known as computer chips. They are called biochips. A blending of silicon technology with biology has produced a groundbreaking new technology. It can be used to tell how actively a gene works, whether it carries any mutations, and even aid in the human genome project, a long term project to map the entire human genome. The biochip is a square of glass about the area of a dime. It is carpeted with DNA probes. The probes are oligonucleotides, strands of DNA six to nine bases long. A long strand of DNA of an unknown sequence is to be tested to determine its sequence. First, it is fragmented and then washed over the chip. The fragments only attach to their complementary oligonucleotides on the chip. This is because bases only pair with complementary bases. Adenine bonds with thymine, and cytosine bonds with guanine. The next step is to analyze the reactions between the bases and determine the sequence of base pairs. This will give a clear picture of the formerly unknown DNA. The biochip uses fluorescent tags to determin e where unknown fragments attach to their complementary strands on the chip. A microscope attached to a computer "reads" the patterns of fluorescence and gives the sequences of the unknown strand. Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, consists of various sequences of four organic compounds called bases, and some proteins. Abbreviated, the initials of the bases are A, C, G, and T. The building blocks of all life, they encode thousands of genes. The... ...d over this chip, and the places where there are weak hybridizations, or base pair bonding, a less bright tag would indicate a genetic mutation. One would be able to determine the exact place on that person's gene where the person has a genetic abnormality. An obvious use of the new technology will be as the earliest possible screening method for cancer. All genetic disorders could be tested for within a matter of minutes. With more advanced technology, such as what is happening with computer chips today, all genetic disorders could be checked for using but a single chip. Other chips could be used to determine how tall a person is to grow, whether they will bald earlier, or any number of applications. Obviously the technology will also be used in animal studies. The only limitation to the advancement of this innovative new chip is the imagination.

Ethics †Morality Essay

5. FAIRNESS. Ethical executives strive to be fair and just in all dealings. They do not exercise power arbitrarily nor do they use overreaching or indecent means to gain or maintain any advantage nor take undue advantage of another’s mistakes or difficulties. Ethical executives manifest a commitment to justice, the equal treatment of individuals, tolerance for and acceptance of diversity. They are open-minded; willing to admit they are wrong and, where appropriate, change their positions and beliefs. A person who is caring exhibits the following behaviors: * Expresses gratitude to others * Forgives others * Helps people in need * Is compassionate A person who is fair exhibits the following behaviors: * Is open-minded and listens to others * Takes turns and shares * Does not lay the blame on others needlessly * Is equitable and impartia A person who is trustworthy exhibits the following behaviors: * Acts with integrity * Is honest and does not deceive * Keeps his/ her promises * Is consistent * Is loyal to those that are not present * Is reliable * Is credible * Has a good reputation . FAIRNESS Fairness is a tricky concept. Disagreeing parties tend to maintain that there is only one fair position – their own. But while some situations and decisions are clearly unfair, fairness usually refers to a range of morally justifiable outcomes rather than discovery of one fair answer. Process A fair person uses open and unbiased processes for gathering and evaluating information necessary to make decisions. Fair people do not wait for the truth to come to them; they seek out relevant information and conflicting perspectives before making important decisions. Impartiality Decisions should be unbiased without favouritism or prejudice. Equity It is important not to take advantage of the weakness, disadvantage or ignorance of others. Fairness requires that an individual, company, or society correct mistakes, promptly and voluntarily. 5. CARING Caring is the heart of ethics. It is scarcely possible to be truly ethical and not genuinely concerned with the welfare others. That is because ethics is ultimately about our responsibilities toward other people. Sometimes we must hurt those we care for and some decisions, while quite ethical, do cause pain. But one should consciously cause no more harm than is reasonably necessary. Charity Generosity toward others or toward humani heerfulness The quality of being cheerful and dispelling gloom Generosity Liberality in giving or willingness to give Helpfulness The property of providing useful assistance or friendliness evidence by a kindly and helpful disposition PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY Another basic customer right involves our taking personal honesty and responsibility for the products and services that we offer. There’s probably no issue that will more seriously affect our reputation than a failure of responsibility. Many ethical disasters have started out as small problems that mushroomed. Especially in service businesses, where the ‘‘products’’ are delivered by individuals to other individuals, personal responsibility is a critical issue.

Assessing the Quality of the Financial Statements Essay

†¢Reading the Financial Statements and Creating a Data File Our experience, and that of our students, is that careful and thorough reading of the financial statements yields a great deal of information about the firm. The financial statements, the notes, and management’s discussion and analysis provide valuable insights into the business strategies, profitability, and risk of the firm. Many firms explicitly disclose elements of the business that are performing well or poorly, also providing explanations about the performance. Many firms explicitly disclose projections of future business activities, such as expected future sales growth rates or capital expenditures, which are helpful information for projecting future financial statements. Analysts who do not carefully read the financial statements stand to miss this valuable information. After careful reading, the analyst should enter the financial statement data into a data file. One initial choice in creating a data file is whether to use the accounts and amounts that the firm provides in its Form 10-K or annual report to shareholders or to download and use amounts from various online sources or databases that format the amounts into a standardized template. One advantage of following the first approach is that you rely on the primary source of the financial statements, not on a secondary source about which you may not know all of the reclassifications and adjustments made to confirm the reported amounts to the standardized template. Another advantage of following the first approach is that the financial statement data will be classified into accounts consistent with the notes to the financial statements, the main source of information for assessing the quality of the reported amounts. The principal advantages of using amounts in a standardized template are that use of the template can save time and the financial statement amounts are reasonably comparable across firms. The next decision to be made is whether to input the financial statement data into FSAP, a financial statement analysis package that accompanies this text, or to create a new spreadsheet file. The principal advantages of FSAP are that it provides spreadsheets that have embedded formulas for the various profitability and risk ratios, it provides a template for preparing forecasted financial statements using the previously reported actual amounts as a base, and it inputs the forecasted amounts into several valuation models to arrive at equity values. †¢Assessing the Quality of the Reported Amounts One of the most important steps in financial statement analysis is to assess the quality of the reported amounts and make appropriate adjustments before proceeding to the analysis of profitability and risk. The saying â€Å"garbage in, garbage out† applies with particular importance to financial statements. To assess quality, you must read the financial statements and notes. Material nonrecurring or unusual income items are candidates for adjustment. Significant off-balance-sheet assets or liabilities also are candidates. Some adjustments may be needed to increase the comparability of the financial statement amounts for each of the firms analyzed in the term project.

Free Essays on Valley Of Dreams

Valley of Dreams Silicon Valley or The Valley of Dreams represents many things to different people. It’s the place were the integrated circuit, the first commercial radio broadcast, minicomputers, miniprocessors, gene-splicing, 3-D computing, and Internet commerce were all invented or created. It’s also believed that if it stood alone as an independent country, it would hold the world’s 12th largest economy. This valley could also just represent the place where a lot of the nerds we use to make fun of ran off too. Those nerds however, have become some of the wealthiest men not only in California and the United States, but some are right up there with other world economic leaders. The driving force for the creation of the Valley of Dreams has got to be: â€Å"Get it today, because it may be gone tomorrow† (Kaplan, 27). It is the slogan that most of its residents go by. There’s a hunger that fuels the valley’s residents and pushes them to go forward. Ma ny hope to gain more wealth and others want the wealth but have aspirations of changing the future as well. It’s definitely the valley of the dollar where most people have hit it big or believe they are about to. It’s that attitude that helped the Silicon Valley get where it is today, as an â€Å"American icon† (Kaplan, 13). However, Silicon Valley doesn’t guarantee immediate or promised success. Kaplan explains the rise of venture capitalism in and around the Valley. The story tells of the traditional missed opportunities committed by William Shockley and Fairchild Semiconductor. Shockley was a technical genius with little business sense and his rise and fall marked the beginnings of Silicon Valley as we know it today. Shockley represents only a minority of those who have lived there because he certainly did fail but there aren’t many that can relate to him. John Doerr, Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, Jim Clarke, Marc Andreesen, and Jerry Yang are some of the... Free Essays on Valley Of Dreams Free Essays on Valley Of Dreams Valley of Dreams Silicon Valley or The Valley of Dreams represents many things to different people. It’s the place were the integrated circuit, the first commercial radio broadcast, minicomputers, miniprocessors, gene-splicing, 3-D computing, and Internet commerce were all invented or created. It’s also believed that if it stood alone as an independent country, it would hold the world’s 12th largest economy. This valley could also just represent the place where a lot of the nerds we use to make fun of ran off too. Those nerds however, have become some of the wealthiest men not only in California and the United States, but some are right up there with other world economic leaders. The driving force for the creation of the Valley of Dreams has got to be: â€Å"Get it today, because it may be gone tomorrow† (Kaplan, 27). It is the slogan that most of its residents go by. There’s a hunger that fuels the valley’s residents and pushes them to go forward. Ma ny hope to gain more wealth and others want the wealth but have aspirations of changing the future as well. It’s definitely the valley of the dollar where most people have hit it big or believe they are about to. It’s that attitude that helped the Silicon Valley get where it is today, as an â€Å"American icon† (Kaplan, 13). However, Silicon Valley doesn’t guarantee immediate or promised success. Kaplan explains the rise of venture capitalism in and around the Valley. The story tells of the traditional missed opportunities committed by William Shockley and Fairchild Semiconductor. Shockley was a technical genius with little business sense and his rise and fall marked the beginnings of Silicon Valley as we know it today. Shockley represents only a minority of those who have lived there because he certainly did fail but there aren’t many that can relate to him. John Doerr, Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, Jim Clarke, Marc Andreesen, and Jerry Yang are some of the...

When So Becomes Annoying

When So Becomes Annoying When â€Å"So† Becomes Annoying When â€Å"So† Becomes Annoying By Maeve Maddox The tiny English word so has numerous uses. Merriam-Webster gives it separate entries as adverb, conjunction, adjective, and pronoun. Most of the time, little so goes about its business unnoticed, but one of its functions has been provoking heated discussion on the Web: the use of so as â€Å"a discourse marker.† The term â€Å"discourse marker† was coined in the 1960s to describe â€Å"a word or phrase whose function is to organize discourse into segments and situate a clause, sentence, etc., within a larger context.† Here are some words and phrases commonly used as discourse markers in speech: well you know like now I think you see oh I mean OK actually These are words we all interject into speech for reasons that have nothing to do with grammar. For example: Well, I was a little worried. Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet. You know, not everyone shares your opinion on that. OK, let’s take a vote. I think I’ll go now. These markers serve no grammatical function, but they do advance discourse in various ways. As a discourse marker at the beginning of a sentence, so may do any of the following: initiate discourse So, how was the interview? mark a shift in topic or activity So, what should we do now? begin an explanation So, disconnect the power cord and remove the back panel. preface the response to any question Interviewer: What is the focus of your research? Interview subject: So, I study samples of creek water to track pollution. avoid giving a direct answer Interviewer: Why did you lay off so many workers? Interview subject: So, our sales have been stagnant for some time. The use of so as a sentence-starter has provoked numerous discussions on the Web. Business consultant Hunter Thurman gives three reasons for avoiding the practice of beginning a sentence with so: 1. â€Å"So† insults your audience. 2. â€Å"So undermines your credibility. 3. â€Å"So† demonstrates that you’re not 100% comfortable with what you’re saying. PR consultant Cherry Chapell, on the other hand, sees this use of so as â€Å"a good way of giving yourself time to think.† Linguistics professor Penelope Gardner-Chloros suggests that a speaker who starts an answer with so â€Å"is saying what he wants to say, like a politician- but trying to make it sound like it’s an answer to the question.† Like many linguistic targets of criticism, so as a sentence-starter draws extreme reactions from the general public. I’ve seen comments that question the intelligence of speakers who begin sentences with so and accuse them of defiling the language. I’ve seen other comments that cite the fact that Seamus Heaney translated the opening â€Å"Hwaet† of Beowulf as â€Å"So!† as proof that so must be all right in any context. The reality is that sometimes so is an appropriate sentence-starter, and sometimes it is an irritant. When a speaker habitually begins sentences with so, listeners may react in one of two ways. Some are able to filter out the so’s and concentrate on content. Others, however, are distracted by them and may tune out the content as they count the so’s. When beginning a sentence with so becomes a verbal tic, it has lost its usefulness as a discourse marker. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Mostly Small But Expressive Interjections"Gratitude" or "Gratefulness"?10 Varieties of Syntax to Improve Your Writing

Problem Solving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Problem Solving - Essay Example One that is tightly optimised for an initial set of conditions might be more efficient whilst those conditions prevail but fail totally should conditions change. And in today's business world, conditions change daily." The original meaning of Ashby's Law dealt with people attempting to keep a system stable. The controller of the system is better able to control it the more options he has. Variety of action controls variety of input (Wyrdology). According to Bellinger, Castro, and Mills (2009, pg. 1), "According to Russell Ackoff, a systems theorist and professor of organizational change, the content of the human mind can be classified into five categories: Data: symbols; Information: data that are processed to be useful; provides answers to "who", "what", "where", and "when" questions; Knowledge: application of data and information; answers "how" questions; Understanding: appreciation of "why"; Wisdom: evaluated understanding." Ackoff indicates that the first four categories relate to the past; they deal with what has been or what is known. Only the fifth category, wisdom, deals with the future because it incorporates vision and design. With wisdom, people can create the future rather than just grasp the present and past. But achieving wisdom isn't easy; people must move successively through the other categories." "There are many approaches to problem solving, depending on the nature of the problem and the people involved in the problem. The more traditional, rational approach is typically used and involves, eg, clarifying description of the problem, analyzing causes, identifying alternatives, assessing each alternative, choosing one, implementing it, and evaluating whether the problem was solved or not" (Free Management Library, 2009, pg. 1). The Work of Wiig and the KRI Kristen Wiig is an actress. She has appeared in the following: Despicable Me, Late Night, WhipIt!, Extract, All Good Things, Saturday Night Live, The Flight of the Conchords, Love is a Weapon of Choice, Adventureland, Ghost Town, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Semi-Pro, Pretty Bird, Walk Hard, 30 Rock, Bill, The Brothers Solomon, Knocked Up, Unaccompanied Minors, Home Purchasing Club, The Enigma with a Stigma, The Drew Carey Show, Untitled Aisha Tyler Project, I'm with Her, June, Life Death and Mini Golf, The Joe Schmo Show, and Melvin Goes to Dinner (IMDB, 2009). "The KRI Library addresses the need for a structured mechanism for key risk indicators and sets the stage for peer-group benchmarking. KRIs are widely viewed as having great potential-as a practical tool for tracking risk and losses, for measuring performance, for conducting process improvement exercises, for calculating capital (especially qualitative adjustments to capital estimates), and particularly for sounding an early warning of changes to an organization's risk profile" (RMAHQ, 2009, pg. 1). KRI services fall into a broad range of services, including the following services:

Personal ethics action plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Personal ethics action plan - Assignment Example Professionally, I am a committed Operations Manager. I believe in team work and enjoy multi-tasking. I participate actively in group discussions. I possess leadership skills and do my best to motivate my team to achieve organizational goals. I am a keen negotiator and make every effort to maintain a high standard of quality and timeliness in my work. I believe in taking responsibility for the work I take up and give my very best to the work on hand. I would like to develop a strong work – life balance, in order to stably manage my personal and professional aspirations. I believe I would need to develop my observational and problem – solving skills in order to become a more complete professional. I would like to see myself in a decision – making role in a few years from now. My aim is to be the Director of a Multi-national company. I hope to be a well – balanced individual, with a successful personal and professional life! 2. Definitions: Ethics are a set o f values and principles that help one distinguish right from wrong. Ethics are the rules of one’s personal behavior that are often based upon laws, organizational policies, social norms, family, religion, and/or personal needs, and may be subject to differing interpretations. There is an old saying: â€Å"What is popular is not always right; what is right is not always popular.† Ethics govern the way people behave and influence their decisions on the 'right thing' to do. Our personal values contribute to the strength of our ethics. I believe that personal ethics influence our general ‘code of conduct’ in society and follow a process of continuous development. Leadership is a virtue that determines one’s ability to organize, guide and socially influence a group of people, in the accomplishment of a common  goal. Innate leadership qualities often emerge at a time of necessity, but these skills are not possessed in equal measures by all. Leadership i s influenced by one’s traits, intelligence, behavior, charisma, sense of authority, power and general temperament. Within an institution, each leader adopts a unique approach and style of leadership, for example: Transformational leadership or Situational leadership and gathers followers gradually. An effective leader plays the role of a mentor who encourages his team to think independently and guides the team towards achieving the outlined objectives. ‘Service’ may be defined as one’s personal willingness and voluntary contribution to any activity that does not have any direct financial or material compensation. One who is engaged in ‘service’ possesses a giving attitude, is dependable and is readily available to perform the task. In service, one must have the ability to work well ‘with others’, ‘for others’ and sometimes, ‘on behalf of others’. ‘Service’ to any organization requires active participation and a willingness to take on difficult responsibilities. Above all, the individual must represent his institution and perform committee work without a complaint, in the best interest of the organization and community. ‘Character’ refers to the innate traits, qualities and tendencies of an individual to think and act in different situations (known or unknown) with honesty, integrity, authenticity and responsibility. The pillars of character include trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring attitude and a sense of citizenship. Character is developed