Writing Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Writing Skills - Essay Example When in doubt, take a look at models written by experts† (Hacker, 1996, p. 23). Although some areas of the course were difficult for me, I value these the most, because I learned the most from them. Some areas of the course were easy for me, too, which gave me some amount of confidence. The most difficult part of the course for me was learning to arrange my ideas in a way that showed structure. When I wrote before this course, I tended to go from one random idea to another. I would start a school paper on tax policy, and wind up talking about the Iraq War, so that by the end of the paper, no one could tell what it was about. I learned that it is possible, with the help of the course, to organize my ideas better, and get a strong idea about my writing before I start it. This way, I am not just going off on tangents: now I keep outlines and follow them. This was also the most difficult part of the course for me, as mentioned, because even now, I am tempted to launch into a new idea, without organizing it first. However, I think that this area of the course was one of great progress for me. One of the easiest parts of the course for me was the actual mechanics of writing. I know that I am no grammar expert, and my punctuation can sometimes use a lot of work. I am also prone to writing run-on sentences. However, when I started to compare my writing and talk to some of the other students, I found that I was having a lot less trouble with grammar and spelling than they were. I never really had a problem with this area in school, and in fact, some of my earliest teachers were very keen on students diagramming sentences in a seemingly endless manner. Even though I did not enjoy this as it was happening, I think it gave me a solid foundation of grammar, and the ability to string a sentence together. Overall,

Advertising Victorias Secret Essay Example for Free

Advertising Victorias Secret Essay Victorias Secret is a retail seller of womens clothing and beauty goods, but is most familiar as a dealer of lingerie. Victorias Secret had retailing of more than US$ 2.6 billion through their over 900 retail stores in the U.S. in 2005. In Joseph Jaffes Life After the 30-Second Spot,† he looks at how the mode that most companies and organizations believe is the best way to get their point crosswise to customers and projection television advertisements. It is significant to note that its not that the ads arent imaginative, inventive, or are not talking the verbal communication of the spectator no less than for the most part that has sourced the need for a life after this type of marketing, its the empowerment of all of us in the marketplace, letting the people call the shots for maybe the first time in a long, long while. Victorias Secret was six money losing lingerie stores and a successful catalog when Wexner bought the company in 1982. It was a business aimed at making men comfortable buying lingerie. But what Wexner saw was an essential appeal to women. From its inception, Victorias Secrets telephone operators were trained to be soothingly supportive when embarrassed males called. You dont know your ladys bra size? No problem. Do you know where she keeps them? Okay, look on the edge of the strap and it will tell you the size. Today almost exclusively women for women who are mainly buying to please themselves run Victoria’s Secret. Doing only $7 million when Wexner bought it, the business grossed nearly $1.8 billion in 2003, two-thirds from the stores. Wexner was at his best, grasping the potential of Victorias Secret and then realizing that potential. He created stores that enhanced a mood: pretty but not overtly sexy, with satin nightgowns hung on the walls, a color-coordinated spread of undergarments on tables and plenty of room to mill about on thick carpeting. Thus coddled, the Victorias Secret customer buys eight to ten bras a year; the typical American woman buys two. Weve made women consider the bra and panty part of their fashion wardrobe, says Grace Nichols, 48, chief executive of Victorias Secret stores. A woman buys an aqua satin bra from Victorias Secret in the same way she buys a new lipstick color, to cheer up, to feel better or to indulge herself. Narcissism is real, says Wexner. Its the key to the business. The stores and catalog arc now run separately and carry mostly different goods, with only about 5% overlap. But they reinforce each other. FORBES estimates between 200 million and 240 million catalogs are mailed to 10 million peoplewith some getting as many as 45 catalogs a year. As much as generating mail-order and 800-number business, the catalogs stimulate women to visit the stores. Were in the customers face on a regular basis, Nichols says. She has plans to go from 600 Victorias Secret stores to as many as 1,000 stores, adding 50 a year, even without expanding abroad. Six years ago Victorias Secret introduced a line of scented bath gels, soaps and lotions. These products are indulgence-oriented, so we saw a great emotional marriage between the two products, says Nichols. The line now constitutes $180 million in revenues and 15% of sales, with better than 50% gross margins. Not rock music but Vivaldi and Beethoven pour softly from the loud-speakers in Victorias Secret stores. Customers started requesting tapes and CDs. Why not? Since 1989 the stores have sold more than 10 million tapes and CDs, recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra for the Victorias Secret label. Cynthia Fedus, chief executive of the catalog operation since 1988, also made major changes. Out went the steamy shots of scantily dad males and females grappling, ogling or embracing each other that were common under her male predecessor. In came a mannered, aristocratic look with British affectations. Though headquartered in New York, the catalog first listed a London address on the cover. But when people started showing up at that address, an administrative office, it was dropped. The catalog still states a price in pounds. It became aspirational, with older models posing in rich-looking, lovely settings, she says. Sales doubled her first year, to more than $100 million. Fedus also added to the lingerie a line of sportswear and evening wear, which has become 60% of sales. A supplemental swimwear issue debuted, bringing in $12 million in sales. There followed a country issue with rustic clothing and Timberland shoes. Leslie Wexner has always understood that retailing and show business are first cousins. Victorias Secret has become a powerful mainstream retailing brand image. Why. Those with a taste for pop psychology speculate that professional women, denied highly feminine clothes at the office, want to wear ultra-feminine garments underneath. Such talk bores pragmatic Nichols. I could tell you any bullshit you want to hear, she snaps, but youll find the [lingerie] category hasnt grown; weve just grabbed market share. Victorias Secret has aided; perchance more than any other product attract notice to the lingerie industry. Their advertising operations, together with the Victorias Secret Lingerie Catalog and Victorias Secret Fashion Show are visually attractive and contentious. The notice received by Victorias Secret for their violent advertising campaigns has produced invaluable rumor and media bytes to further augment the Victorias Secret brand. References Joseph Jaffe, 2005, Life After the 30-Second Spot: Energize Your Brand With a Bold Mix of Alternatives to Traditional, Publisher: John Wiley ; Sons Inc

Introduction To Polyurethane Foam Engineering Essay

Introduction To Polyurethane Foam Engineering Essay Polyurethanes are broad class of materials used widely in many applications. Polyurethanes are also written as PUR. Polyurethanes also called as urethanes are characterized by urethane linkage -NH- C (=O) O . This linkage is formed due to the reaction of isocyanate group with hydroxyl group as shown in the following equation. [2] Equation 1.1 Equation showing the reaction of urethane linkage in polyurethanes. [2] Polyurethanes are discovered by Otto Von Bayer co workers in 1937. [3] The characteristic structure of urethanes is given as: And they can be considered as esters or amide esters of carbonic acid. [3] The polyurethanes are also sometimes called as urethanes only and they are also called as isocyanate polymers. They are synthesized by the reaction of polyfunctional hydroxyl compounds with polyfunctional isocyanates. [3] The structure of polyurethane formed from di hydroxyl compound and di isocyanate is given as: Polyurethane is widely used in various fields such as making of plastics, cushions, foams, rubber goods, synthetic leathers and fibres. The total annual production of urethanes in the world is estimated to be 8 million tons per year and is increasing 4-5 % yearly. [4] Polyurethane is a versatile polymer having unique chemistry with excellent mechanical and optical properties and have good solvent resistance. [5] Polyurethanes are materials with many applications but major applications are in furniture industry, foam industry, building construction and shoe industry and also polyurethanes can be used in medicinal and agricultural applications. [6] Polyurethanes have large number of applications and uses in different areas due to their versatility but most important application of polyurethane which has covered almost 29% of the total market of polyurethane is polyurethane foam. [7] 1.2 Polyurethane Foam The major application of polyurethane is polyurethane foams which are extensively used in many applications. They are referred as PUR foams and they are prepared by the reaction of addition, condensation or cyclotrimerization. [2] Following table shows the type of reaction in the foaming system and the resulting foam property present in the foam produced by that respective reaction. Foam Reaction Foam Property Polyurethane Poly addition Flexible and rigid Polyisocyanurate Poly cyclo trimerization Rigid Polyamide Poly condensation Flexible and rigid Polyimide Poly condensation Semi rigid and rigid Polyurea Poly addition Flexible and rigid Poly Carbodiimide Poly condensation Semi rigid Poly Oxazolidone Ring opening Poly addition Rigid and semi rigid Table 1.1 Table showing different types of foam based on their synthesis reaction [2] Mainly PUR foams are classified into two types which is flexible and rigid foam and then flexible and rigid foam are classified into various sub types depending upon the different type of applications in which they are used. Polyurethane structure consist of a polyol and polyisocyanate component we can say that polyols are the building blocks and isocyanates are jointing agents. So polyurethane foam chemistry is called as building block chemistry. All kinds of polyurethane foams are prepared with the proper choice of polyol and isocyanate component with respect to chemical structure, equivalent weight and functionality. [2] Following table shows the classification of PU foam with respect to polyol component and functionality. Polyol Rigid foam Semi rigid foam Flexible foam OH No. 350-560 100-200 5.6-7.0 OH Equivalent No. 160-100 560-280 10,000-80 Functionality 3.0-8.0 3.0-3.5 2.0-3.1 Table 1.2 Classification of polyurethane foam w.r.t polyol and functionality [2] 1.3 Foam Preparation Technology Polyurethane foams are prepared by mixing isocynate component in polyol having catalyst, fillers, additives, surfactants and other chemicals in it. No heating is required at room temperature. [2] 1.3.1 Foaming Systems Foaming systems are classified into three types based on the type of chemicals used in the synthesis process. These types are: One step One shot system Quasi Pre polymer system Full Pre Polymer system One step system and Quasi system are mostly used in foaming industries now in which one step process is used majorly while pre polymer system was used only in the early times of urethane industry. [2] 1.3.1.1 One step one shot System In one step system Component A and Component B are taken separately. Component A contains only polyisocyanate component while component B contains polyol, surfactant, blowing agent and catalyst. Both components are mixed which led to the formation of foam. 1.3.1.2 Quasi Pre polymer System In this system in component A polyisocyanate component is taken with polyol and in component B rest of the ingredients are taken with polyol which includes catalyst, blowing agent etc. Mixing forms a foaming product. 1.3.1.3 Full Pre polymer System In full prepolymer system in component A poly isocyantae component is taken and polyol is also added in it while in component B polyol is not added while the rest of chemicals like blowing agents, surfactants and catalyst are taken. Components A B are mixed and foam is formed. These foaming systems show only two component system however in industrial processes there are modifications. For example in slabstock process three or four streams are employed carrying different reactants. [2] 1.3.2 Foaming Processes Mainly three types of foaming processes are used, which are cup foaming, box foaming and machine foaming. Machine foaming is further classified into various foaming processes. [2] 1.3.2.1 Cup Foaming This foaming process is also known as hand mixing. This method is mostly used for lab scale synthesis of foaming products. In this process mixing is done in paper or plastic cups thats why called as cup foaming. In cup foaming poly isocyanate component is taken in a cup and rest of the reactants are also taken in a separate cup which includes polyols, catalysts etc. Then both the components are mixed using electric balance or by hand mixing and a foaming material is formed in the shape of a cup. This is the simple and cheap foaming process thats why used widely on lab scale. 1.3.2.2 Box Foaming Box foaming is better than cup foaming to obtain sufficient amount of samples for evaluating foam properties for machine foaming. The sizes of the box range from 15x15x15 cm and 30x30x30 cm. The inside of the box is lined with craft paper. The procedure is almost similar to that of cup foaming and mixing is done through electric drill equipped with mixer. Immediately after mixing system is poured into the box and allowed to rise to obtain foam. Foam is cured at room temperature after some time. [2] This method is also used largely on lab scale to produce foam. 1.3.2.3 Machine Foaming In machine foaming variety of machine processes are available which are one by one described as under. [2] 1.3.2.3.1 Large Box Foaming It is a discontinuous process used to produce small foam blocks with smaller volumes. The size can be 1x1x2 meters. Due to exothermic conditions small modification is required in the process as compared to the box foaming process. 1.3.2.3.2 Slabstock Foaming Slabstock foam is made by the continuous pouring of foamable liquids on a moving conveyer. A cut-off segment of the continuously produced foam loaf is called a block or bun [2]. In the case of polyether-based flexible urethane foam, a slabstock foam size can be about 1 meter high and 2 meters wide, with a foam density of 1.6 to 2.0 pound/ft3. The cross section is rectangular with a crown-shaped top surface. The higher the crown, the less the yield of available foam. Two techniques canto used to reduce the crown. One method is to pull vertical sides of rising foam. Another technique is to compress the top of crown surface. Equipment for doing this is commercially available. [2] 1.3.2.3.3 Pour-in-Place Foaming This process includes pouring of foaming ingredients into a void space to form an integral part of the foam and substrates. Products which use this process are household refrigerators and deep freezers. 1.3.2.3.4 Sandwich Foaming and Molding Sandwich foaming is used to produce sandwich panels from foam cores. It can be produced continuously using conveyers or discontinuously using jigs. Surfaces material can be craft paper in it. Molding is used to produce shaped foam products such as car seats and furniture. Reactants are placed in mold cavity and cured in the mold. After curing molded foam is removed. [2] 1.3.2.3.5 Spraying and frothing Spraying is a unique process used for urethane and iso cyanurate foams .It creates insulation layers not only on flat surfaces like roofs but also on non flat surfaces such as spherical tanks and pipes and building structures such as frames. Frothing process in urethane systems is similar to that of shaving cream. There are different types of frothing processes which are conventional frothing processes, chemical frothing and thermal frothing etc. Frothing process usage depends upon the reactants and conditions and which type of foaming product is required. [2] 1.4 Types of Polyurethane foams Major classes of polyurethane foams are flexible and rigid foam further these two types are more classified according to their extensive applications. 1.4.1 Flexible Polyurethane foam Flexible polyurethane foams are synthesized by slabstock process or by molding process and they are also classified further on the basis of technique used for their synthesis. They are also classified on the basis of polyol in polyether and polyester foams. Slabstock foams include conventional polyether foam, high-resilience (HR) foam, visco-elastic foam, super-soft foam, energy-absorbing (EA) foam, semi flexible foam, and flexible polyester foam. Molded foams are classified in two classes: hot molded foam and cold molded foam. [2] All classes of flexible foams are explained one by one as follows . 1.4.1.1 Slab stock foam The contionous piece of foam by the continuous pouring of foaming ingredients on a continuously moving conveyer is called slab stock foam. A cut off segment of slab stock foam is called as bun foam. Slab stock process is widely used in industry in production of flexible polyurethane foam. [2] In slab stock foam process inclined conveyer is used from the beginning of urethane industry. Following figure shows the production line of contionuous slab stock machine. Figure1.1 Continuous slabstock machine [2] The cross section of slabstock foams produced by the inclined conveyer process is not exactly rectangular and has crown shape. A crown-shaped cross section of foam bun results in a lower yield of fabricated foams. Accordingly, some improved processes to obtain rectangular cross sections have been proposed. One step process is widely used in these foaming systems. All ingredients are pumped into the mixing head through several streams and are poured from the mixing head onto the moving conveyer. From the standpoint of viscosity and metering accuracy, some ingredients are preblended. These blends include a blend of water and amine catalyst, a blend of tin catalyst and polyol, and a blend of physical blowing agent and polyol. The reaction temperatures in core foam usually reach about 160 to 170Â °C. The exothermic heat is mainly a function of the water-isocyanate reaction. The reaction temperatures are affected by the isocyanate index, water level, and catalyst concentration.[2] Poly ether slab-stock foam is important in slab-stock flexible PU foams and it is produced by this slab-stock process widely in industries. 1.4.1.2 Molded Flexible foams Molded flexible foams are used for making shaped products such as automotive seats, child seats, head restraints, vibration damping for automobiles, arm rests, furniture cushions and mattresses. The density distribution of molded foams is composed of high density skin foam and low density core foam. In the molding process mixed foaming ingredients are poured through a mixing head into a preheated mold made of aluminum, steel, or epoxy resin. The mixed ingredients flow and expand in the mold, and then the molded foams are kept at the required curing temperature for a limited time, which is followed by de-molding.[2] Molded flexible foams are further classified into hot molded and cold molded flexible polyurethane foams. 1.4.1.2.1 Hot Molded flexible foams Hot molded foam is produced using conventional polyether polyol with TDI 80/20. In 1961 hot-molded urethane foam mattresses was commercialized that provided better sleeping comfort than slabstock foam mattresses and greater durability. Because of the relatively higher cost, however, the molded mattress was not competitive with slabstock foam mattresses, and production was discontinued. [2] 1.4.1.2.2 Cold Molded flexible foams Cold molded flexible foam is prepared at very low mold temperatures of 60 to 70 Â °C with mold retention time of 10 minutes and then cured in a separate oven or at room temperature. In this type mostly isocyante components used are blends of TDI MDI and polyol used is polymer or graft polyol. Dual hardness automotive seats are made by this process using graft polyols. [2] 1.4.1.2.3 High Resilience HR foams HR foams have higher resiliency than conventional flexible foams. These foams are prepared by cold molded process. The formulation principle is to reduce intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding of urethane linkages, irregular structures of polymeric molecule, and so on. High Molecular weight polyether polyols are used in the formulation of these foams. Polyisocyante components used are blends of TDI MDI with the weight ratio of 80/20. Also polymeric MDI alone can be used. HR foms are widely used in furniture and automotive applications. [2] 1.4.1.2.4 Visco-elastic foam Visco-elastic VE foams are characterized by slow recovery after compression. The foam is also called low-resiliency foam, slow-recovery foam, ergonomic foam, better-riding comfort foam, and temperature-sensitive foam. VE foams are used by NASA in early 1960 but they are highlighted commercially only in the recent years. VE foams are synthesized using polyol blend of high and low molecule weight polyols with TDI or MDI, and they can also be produced using blend of MDI TDI with polyether polyol. TDI-based VE foams are soft to the touch and have very low resilience and slow recovery. MDI-based foams are easier to process and can be produced in a wider range of isocyanate indexes. However, physical strengths of MDI-based foams are lower, resilience is higher, and compression set is better than TDI-based foams. The VE foam market includes seat cushions for people who spend a long time sitting such as truck drivers, office workers, and airline pilots, as well as for NASAs space shuttle seats, wheelchair seats, and so on; sporting goods that require energy absorption such as gym mats, helmet linings, leg guards for ice hockey, ski boots, and ice skates. [2] Our main product is VE foam and it is further explained in the later chapters. 1.4.1.2.5 Super soft slab-stock foam This foam can be prepared by using a high molecular weight polyether triol with TDI 80/20. Blowing agent can be water alone or some physical blowing agent can be used with water. It is a low density foam. Major market of super soft foam is high quality back cushions for sofas. This foam also have low cross linking density. [2] 1.4.1.2.6 Semi flexible slab-stock foam These foams have high open cells, high load bearing and high energy absorbing characteristics. These foams are used in large number of automotive applications such as bumper cores, interior knee bolsters, side impact absorbing door panels, and headliners under the automotive roof. Due to energy absorbing characteristics this foam may be called as Energy absorbing EA foam. [2] 1.4.1.2.7 Reticulated foam It is 100% open cell structure foam with no cell membranes. Removal of cell membranes for polyether foam is possible when membranes are dissolved with an alkaline solution. Reticulated foam find its applications in various mats, filters and pads.[2] Mostly the foam used in floor mats is this type of foam and it is mostly used in making mats and filters because it is completely open celled foam. 1.4.1.2.8 Integral skin flexible foam Integral skin foam is also called self skin foam. It consists of high density skin foam and low density core foam that is sandwich structure. The mold temperature for integral skin foam is carefully controlled at 40 to 70 Â °C. Water can be used as a blowing agent but it produces thin skins. Integral skin foam is prepared by open mold process or by reaction injection molding. [2] 1.4.1.2.9 Micro-cellular Elastomers These are also called foamed urethane elastomers. The density is in the range of about 320 to 960 kg/m3. Micro-cellular foams are prepared by using aliphatic polyester diols with poly tetra methylene ether glycol (PTMEG). The poly isocyanate component used is TDI pre-polymer and liquid MDI. Also chain extenders and cross linkers are used. Water is used as a blowing agent. These elastomeric foams are used for various shock absorbing elements in vehicle suspensions, precision machines, shoe soles and sports shoes etc. [2] 1.4.1.2.10 Shoe Sole foam The advantages of polyurethane foam in shoe soles include high abrasion resistance, high flexibility, low density, high cushioning, and solvent resistance. In addition, the direct molding of the sole with the upper part of shoe makes it possible to increase production efficiency and lower production costs. Casual shoes are produced using polyether-based foam systems. Some sports shoes such as tennis shoes are produced by polyester foam systems, because polyester-based foam has higher abrasion resistance, tensile strength, and elongation at break in comparison with polyether-based foams. [2]

Drug Testing in the Workplace Essay -- Pre-Employment Drug Testing

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Drug testing has become a very big issue for many companies. Approximately eighty-one percent of companies in the United States administer drug testing to their employees. Of these, seventy-seven percent of companies test employees prior to employment. Even with the commonality of drug testing, it is still a practice that is generally limited to larger corporations which have the financial stability, as well as the human resources to effectively carry out a drug testing program. In the United States, it is suggested that as many as 70 percent of drug users are employed. Now this is a huge chunk, but as a result of drug testing, these big corporations have a significantly lower percentage of the employed drug users on their workforce. Inversely, medium to smaller companies tend to have more. United States companies, who employ more than five hundred workers, employ only 1.3 percent of the employed drug users, while medium size companies, employing only twenty-five to five hundred employees, have 43 percent of the employed drug users on their payroll, and smaller companies, with fewer than twenty-five employees, provide jobs for the remaining 44 percent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now, why is it important for companies to perform drug tests? First, drug users are a third less productive than the average employee, and tend to take more sick days. They are almost four times more likely to cause an on the job accident and injure themselves as well as someone else. They are also five times more likely to injure themselves outside of the workplace, which in turn affects both performance and attendance. Now I?m sure almost everyone can attest to the fact that drugs, including alcohol can cause some serious injuries. A study by the United States Postal Service found that substance abusers, when compared to their non-substance abusing co-workers, are involved in 55 percent more accidents, and sustain 85 percent more on-the-job injuries? (Why Drug Test). Another study conducted by the National Council reports that ?80 percent of those injured in ?serious? drug-related accidents at work are not the drug abusing employees but non-using co-workers and others? (Why Drug Test). All of these facts relate back to the general duty of the employers to provide a safe work environment for all of their employees. Companies also want to create a safe, productive work environment in order ... ...Spring 2002.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   8.) Bryan Jr., Leslie A. ?Drug Testing in the Workplace.? Professional Safety. Oct.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2010.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   9.) Pryweller, Joseph. ?Insurers, States, Offer Incentives for Testing.? Plastics News.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  18 June 2001.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   10.) Professional Services of America. Drug Free Workplace Policy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   11.) Bixby, Michael; Dudley-Beck, Caryn; Cihon, Patrick. The Legal Environment of Business. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2001.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   12.) Supreme Court Reporter October Term 2009 Volume 109 A. West Publishing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Company: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2009.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   13.) ?Drug Testing in the Workplace.? The American Civil Liberties Union.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.aclu.org/library/pbp5.html. 21 May 2002.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   14.) Daniels, Susan. ?Drug-testing Cuts Accident Costs: Study.? National   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Underwriter (Property and Casualty/Risk and Benefits Management   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Edition v. 101). 23 June 2007.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   15.) Elkin, Sam. ?How to Establish a Drug-free Workplace.? Occupational Hazards v. 61. March 2011.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   16.) Thatcher, Mike. ?Chemical Warfare.? People Management. 24 Oct. 2010. 17.) ?Why Drug Test Laboratory Corporation of America 2003

Essay example --

Modern Slavery I. Introduction A. How would you feel like living in a world where all your freedom is taken away? B. In history class, we learned that approximately 150 years ago Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves, but we forget that modern forma of slavery still exist in our world today. C. At this moment, there are 27 million slaves in the world suffering from modern forms of servitude. D. First, I will explain this thesis statement in more detail, then I’ll describe how this changed the world and what government are doing to combat this international crisis. E. Now, let me start by giving some background information on modern slavery. II. Human trafficking is the modern form of slavery that occurs in many countries throughout the world affecting men, women, and children. A. Two basic forms of human trafficking are labor trafficking and sex trafficking. 1. Labor Trafficking: Using force, fraud or coercion to recruit, harbor, transport, obtain or employ a person for labor or services in involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery. Victims can be found in domestic situations as nannies or maids, sweatshop factories, janitorial jobs, construction sites, farm work, restaurants, and panhandling. (Williams, 2013) 2. Sex Trafficking: Involving commercial acts induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person performing the act is under age 18. Victims can be found working in massage parlors, on the streets, in brothels, strip clubs, and escort services. (Williams, 2013) B. Slavery exist in nearly every country, whether the countries are origin countries, transit countries, or destination countries and effects all men, women, and children. 1. Human trafficking is widespread – data taken from th... ...Council, China's Cabinet The mechanism will be conducive to curbing the rise of human trafficking cases and ensuring that victims of trafficking are rehabilitated and relocated in a timely manner, the plan noted. C. As you can see the United States, as well as many other countries, have made efforts to crack down on trafficking, educate vulnerable people, and rehabilitate the victims of these horrific crimes. V. Conclusion A. Modern slavery affects men, women, and children in every country throughout the world through one way or another, but finally government agencies or organizations are taking action to put an end to this international crisis. B. There are 27 million human beings that are bound to servitude through out the world today. C. The next time you enjoy sipping on you morning coffee, take a moment to think about the slave who made it all possible.

Womens Roles :: essays papers

Womens Roles Depending on a woman^Ã’s role or class in society, she could be restricted or praised by her words and actions. As in almost any civilization, money brings certain advantages, the greatest one of the Renaissance times being education. The upper class women were taught that silence towards and obligation to their husbands was considered proper. Eloquence was equivalent to silence in the male frame of mind. Keeping with the theme of male dominance, it has been said that "Woman^Ã’s attempt to rule is an act of treason." (2) Any act of liberation was seen as a violation against God, otherwise the people they called "men" (2). The speech of a woman has been compared to "the naked of her limbs" (4) inferring the spoken thought of a woman with any basis in intellect would be shameful, embarrassing or something even to look down upon. Therefore, because any outward act of intelligence was a "violation," this could be seen as a distinct limitation. But it has also been said that a woman could "speak very elegantly and she was able in all those languages to answer ambassadors on the sudden." (1) Although, it was only being applied to Queen Elizabeth I, the statement can also be applied to other such greats in the past like Queen Isabella of Spain, Anne of Brittany-Queen of Charles VIII, and of the mid 1440^Ã’s- Isotta Nogarola (5). The idea of a woman^Ã’s intelligence was not completely denounced in Renaissance times; everyone knew that it did exist, but the people went out about repressing it in such a way that it was viewed by the majority of people as something disgraceful and disreputable. Within the homes, for upper class women, some of the problems as mentioned above remained, but where not as severe always. Moving on, the upper class did have some leverage when it came to their inner family circle. For example, the wealthier families paid nurses to breast feed their children. But, then again, because of this, the wealthier women bore more children, each time risking their lives; for the morality rate of childbirth was 10% in all women. The age range for the wealthy women to have children fell somewhere in adolescence while the range for the poorer and merchant classes was their mid-twenties. One of the most important thing when it came to raising a child was to make sure that he or she had all his or her needs fulfilled, most importantly, once again, being necessity of knowledge in social skills and humanitarian studies. The poorer and merchant classes could not afford a formal education but men

Sez- Challenges Before Indian Economy

Mundhe. Dept. of Business Economics, Siddharth College of Comm. & Eco. Mumbai. SEZ – Challenges Before Indian Economy Introduction : Over the years it has been seen that the growth rate of the Indian economy, employment generation, improvement in the standard of living of the people has not been as expected.It was realized that foreign (and even domestic) investments in India were much lesser as compared to the much smaller South East Asian countries mainly due to multiplicity of controls and clearances, absence of world class financial infrastructure, etc. With a view to overcome the shortcomings experienced in attracting investments, increasing exports and accelerating economic growth the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) policy was introduced by the then NDA government in April 2000.This policy intended to make SEZs a tool for economic growth supported by quality infrastructure complemented by an attractive fiscal package, both at the Centre and the State level, with the minimu m possible regulations Further, to instill confidence in investors and signal the Government’s commitment to a stable SEZ policy regime and with a view to impart stability to the SEZ regime thereby generating greater economic activity and employment through the establishment of SEZs, a comprehensive draft of SEZ Bill was prepared after extensive discussions with the stakeholders.The over enthusiasm to push the SEZ policy as an instrument of rapid industrialization has met with a series of roadblocks especially after the Nandigram incident. The SEZ policy is a part of the policy of â€Å"Growth at any Cost†, with the cost falling on the marginalized section of the rural population. Thus, those who gain and those who lose will be different sections of the population. This simply means that the SEZs are not Pareto-optimal over a situation where SEZs are absent. Therefore, this policy can lead to various socio-economic and political challenges.Meaning of SEZs? The Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are well developed enclaves of industrial infrastructure with plots, built up space, power, water supply, transport, housing etc. Besides industrial facilities, the SEZs provides social infrastructure including schools, hospitals, roads, hotels and the like. The SEZs are specifically delineated areas wherein units may be set up for specified purpose of manufacturing or trading or rendering services or providing warehousing facility for exports.In terms of the Section 2(i) of the said SEZ Act 2005, the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) is defined to mean the whole of India (including its territorial waters and continental shelf) but not including the areas of SEZs. Furthermore, section 53 of the said SEZ Act provides that the SEZ shall be deemed to be a territory outside the Customs territory of India. The legal implication is that the SEZs are treated as the foreign territory for the purpose of trade operations, duties and tariffs.In other words, goods and services go ing into the SEZ (from the DTA) are treated as exports and goods and services coming from SEZ into the DTA are treated as imports. Therefore, domestic laws do not generally apply to the SEZs and the units therein. In short, SEZs will be considered sovereign territories of MNCs setting up shops there and ordinary Indians will require passports to enter these enclaves. Historical Background & SEZ Act: The SEZ Act was enacted only recently, in 2005, but the origin of the SEZ scheme can be traced to as far back as 1965 when the Kandla Free Trade Zone (FTZ) was started.Thus there were Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in the country well before the new legislation was enacted, but these were few in number (only eight, operated by Central Government) and did not have a major impact on exports or investment. This led to a comprehensive review of the policy framework for existing EPZs/FTZs In 1999, which included a study of many SEZs world-over. The finding of the study was that there was scop e for significant improvement in export performance through policy changes relating to DTA access, export obligation, etc. The concept of SEZ was given to India by late Shri.Murasoli Maran, former Union Commerce Minister. During his China visit he had a occasion to visit some of the SEZs in coastal regions of China. He observed the contribution that these SEZs have made to the Chinese exports and was deeply impressed by the progress achieved by SEZs and their overall impact on the economy. Back at home, he introduced the concept of SEZs in the EXIM policy-2000. He was very much interested in creating some SEZs in India and develop them on the lines of SEZs in China. He wanted to use the concept of SEZs to achieve a speedy economic growth in India.As a result, the Special Economic Zones Act was passed by Parliament in May, 2005 which received Presidential assent on the 23rd of June, 2005. After extensive consultations, the SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect on 10 th February,2006, providing for drastic simplification of procedure and for single window clearance on matters relating to Central as well as State governments. Objectives of SEZs: The SEZs are primarily viewed as elements of the Government’s export promotion strategy but that is not entirely correct. They are expected to benefit the economy in multiple ways, as spelt out in Section 5 of the said SEZ Act.Herein it is provided that the following factors should be considered by the Board of Approvals in Approving proposals to establish SEZs: (1) Generation of additional activity (2) Promotion of exports of goods and services; (3) Promotion of investments from domestic and foreign sources; (4) Creation of employment opportunities; (5) Development of infrastructure facilities; It is expected that this will trigger a large flow of foreign and domestic investment in SEZs in infrastructure and productive capacity, leading to generation of additional economic activity and creation of employment opportunities.Here it is important to mention that in case of India, the key element for the success of SEZs are political will and commitment, removal of bureaucratic hassles, labor reforms, better fiscal incentives and continual review and monitoring of the functioning of SEZs and adoption and application of correctives. Criteria for Approvals: 1) SEZ size not to be less than 1000 hectares, recently it is scaled down to 5000 hectares & further to 1000 hectares (2) Sector specific SEZ can be set up in lesser area 3) Local Laws, Rules / Regulations applicable to SEZ & Units there in (4) Units to be approved under the SEZ scheme, by the Unit Approval Committee headed By the Development Commissioner. (5) The minimum processing area limit has been fixed at a Uniform level, at 50% of the total land acquired, for multi product and sector-specific SEZs Scheme to Develop / Operate / Maintain SEZ: The SEZs can be developed and managed either jointly or separately by the Central Government, State Government, or Any Person (including a Private orPublic Limited Company, Partnership or Proprietorship), for manufacture of goods; or for rendering services; or for both; or as a free trade and warehousing Zone. Incentives for Developers of SEZs : Developers and SEZ units shall be entitled to the following exemptions and concessions: 1) Exemption from customs duty on goods imported into the SEZ by the Developers or SEZ Unit to carry on the authorized operations; 2) Exemption from customs duty on goods exported from the SEZ by the Developer or SEZ Unit to any place outside India; ) Exemption from excise duty on goods brought from Domestic Tariff Area (â€Å"DTA†) to the SEZ by the Developers or SEZ unit to carry on the authorized operations, 4) 100% Income Tax exemption on export income for SEZ units in the first 5 years and 50% for the next 5 years. 5) Exemption from service tax on taxable service provided to a Developer or unit to carry on the authorized op erations in a SEZ 6) 100% of the profits of the developer arising from the business of developing an SEZ, shall be deducted from taxable income ) The developers of SEZ are not required to pay Minimum Alternate Tax. Challenges before Developing Economies, A Case Study of China: The SEZs policy is a part of the policy of â€Å"Growth at any Cost†, with the cost falling on the marginalized section of the rural population. Thus, those who gain and those who lose will be different sections of the population. This simply means that the SEZs are not Pareto-optimal over a situation where SEZs are absent. Therefore, this policy can lead to various socio-economic and political challenges.China is a shining example of a country which has developed through its SEZs. But this image of success of Chinese SEZs is both incomplete and incorrect. They have by no means been an unqualified success, and they have brought about severe economic and social problems. We have taken the case of SEZs in China and analyzed the effects on arable land, water, environment, health, income equality, poverty, etc. Some of the most striking effects of SEZs in China are as following: 1) during the period of 1996-2005, SEZs in China, have caused diversion of more than 21% of arable land to non-agricultural usage.Per capita land holding now stands at a meager 0. 094 hectares. This is when China has to feed 22% of the world’s population on only 7% of land, and every year, an additional 10 million people have to be fed. As more arable land is taken over for urbanization and industrialisation, issues related to changes in land use have become a major source of dispute between the public and the government. 2) In just thirteen years, between 1992 and 2005,about 20 million farmers were laid off agriculture due to land acquisition for SEZs.Protests against land acquisition and deprivation have become a common feature of rural life in China. Social instability in China has become an issue of concern. In 2004, the government has admitted to 74,000 riots in the countryside. 3) Whereas a few years ago, excessive and arbitrary taxation was the peasants’ foremost complaint, resentment over the loss of farmland, corruption, worsening pollution and arbitrary eviction by property developers are the main reasons for farmers’ unrest now. 4) China set up its first SEZ, Shenzhen in 1979.After growing at a rate of around 28% for the last 25 years, Shenzhen is now paying a huge cost in terms of environmental destruction, soaring crime rate and exploitation of its working class, mainly migrants 5) In 2006, the United Nations Environment Programme designated Shenzhen as a â€Å"Global Environment Hotspot†, meaning a region that had suffered rapid environmental destruction. 6) According to Howard French, the New York Times Bureau chief, most of the year, the Shenzhen sky is thick with choking smoke, while the crime rate is almost nine- fold higher than Shanghai.The working class earns US$ 80 every month in the sweatshops and the turnover rate is 10% – many turn to prostitution after being laid off. Further, real-estate dealers have stockpiled houses which have caused prices to spiral and have created a new generation of people, French calls them as, â€Å"Mortgage Slaves† in an article in the International Herald Tribune on 17th December,2006. 7) The mindless pursuit of growth following the model of high input, high consumption and low output has seriously impacted the environment.In 2004, China consumed 4. 3 times as much coal and electricity as the United States and 11. 5 times as much as Japan to generate each US$1 worth of GNP, according to the The Taipei Times, some 20% of the population lives in severely polluted areas and 70% of the rivers and lakes are in a grim shape. 8) Around 60% of companies that have set up units in the country violate emission rules. According to the World Bank, environmental problems are the cause of some 3,00,000 people dying each year.The Chinese government has admitted that pollution costs the country a staggering $200 billion a year – about 10 % of its GDP. 9) While export-driven policy for economic growth has helped China touch record growth figures, the income gap is widening and rapidly approaching the levels of some Latin American countries. Going by a recent report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China Gini coefficient – a measure of income distribution where zero means perfect equality and one is maximum inequality – touched 0. 96 in the year 2006. In comparison, income inequality figures are 0. 33 in India, 0. 41 in the US and 0. 54 in Brazil. Further, the rural-urban income divide is staggering – annual income of city dwellers in China is around US$1,000 which is more than three times that of their rural counterparts. 10) In certain areas such as asset distribution or years of schooling China’s levels of inequality ar e lower (i. e. , more favourable ) than India. However, when one looks at it at the aggregate level, the picture is different.The levels of inequality in China have been rising through the last three decades, whether between rural and urban, within them, or on an aggregate basis. According to Zhu Ling, between 1978 and 1995, the Gini coefficient of rural income increased from 0. 21 to 0. 34 and that of the urban from 0. 16 to 0. 28. 11) With the Chinese economy opening up rapidly post – 1995 and also due to the massive concessions that China was forced to make in order to join the WTO, the trend continues and the aggregate Gini coefficient in 2006 was around 0. . Lessons India should learn from China: There are far reaching negative impacts of SEZ policy in India. It is normally advocated that India should learn from China. It is big failure there in China on the grounds of food shortages that may arise in future due to land acquisition, environmental problems etc. , therefor e India should consider the following while implementing the policy of Special Economic Zones – 1) Following China, India is replicating a similar model where vast tracts of a agricultural land are being acquired for creating SEZs and other industries.Therefore it will have the similar impact on the environment as in the case of China, as the dirty industries may enter in these zones. Further with drastic changes in labour laws favouring industry being considered, the plight of workers in these SEZs will be similar to those in China. Hence, such a model of development is environmentally unsustainable and socially undesirable. 2) It is now widely acknowledged that Chinese exports have also been boosted by its undervalued currency something which is turmed as an â€Å" effective subsidy†. This is a luxury that Indian exporters do not enjoy.Therefore, the argument for setting up SEZs to emulate China’s export-led growth is questionable. 3) Is export-driven growth t hrough SEZs desirable for India? There is no doubt export play a significant role in boosting GDP. However in the case of a country with a sizable domestic market, the choice lies with the producer to either export or supply to the domestic market. 4) According to Ila Patnaik of the National Institute for Public Finance and Policy, household consumption in India at 68% of the GDP is much higher than that of China at 38%, Europe at 58% and Japan at 55%.Given the high level of consumption of Indian households, it is quite possible that this rush to set up SEZs in India is fuelled not by the desire to export out of the country but by the possibility of exporting from SEZs into the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA). The SEZs act is also designed to facilitate this. Any unit within the SEZ can export to the DTA, after paying the prevailing duty, as long as it is a net foreign exchange earner for three years. It is therefore a win-win situation for these units. ) The soaps in a SEZ will reduce t he cost of capital while labour reforms will ensure trouble-free operations. Further, given the considerable international pressure to reduce industrial tariffs, SEZs will be able to export to the DTA at highly competitive prices. This does not augur well for units outside the SEZs who will now face unfair competition. As cheaper imports have already played havoc with the livelihoods of artisan sector of the economy, cheaper imports into DTA from SEZs will also adversely affect the domestic.No wonder many of them now want to migrate into SEZs. 6) In a country with 65% of the population depending on agriculture as a means of livelihood, industry ought to be complementary to agriculture. Though SEZs however, industry is being promoted at the cost of agriculture. This is the reason why Indian farmers all over the country are not willing to depart from their farm lands. It is witnessed on 21st Sept,2008, where 85% of the farmers from Raighad District have voted against the SEZs. ) Valua ble resources spent to create SEZs will be at the cost of building better infrastructure for the rest of the country, something that will affect both the domestic industry as well as agriculture. Challenges before Indian Economy: Given that India’s socio-cultural and economic scenario is altogether different from that of China’s, it is debatable whether SEZs prove to be a success here. In the words of, Sunil Rallan, MD of Matadee Eco Parks,† The Indian government’s SEZ policy is superior to China’s in terms of legislation but has failed in the implementation process. Thus while SEZs may be loudable idea it is doubtful whether it is the right policy for the basic problems of heterogenous country like India. Replicating the Chinese model, India may end up not only with insufficient SEZs but also with reintroduction of the era of famines, water crisis, riots, pollution, etc. , and many more socio economic and political problems. We have taken the case of existing SEZ units (and the units which are slated to be set up in days to come) and analyzed their socio-economic effects on the Indian economy. 1) Threat to Food Security:According to the website of the Commerce Ministry, totally about 41,700 hectares of land is to be taken for the formally approved and notified SEZs. Land acquired on such massive scale has posed a threat to the food security of the country. Already, India’s food security is in a precarious state and the country has to import food grains including wheat, pulses and oilseeds. In this scenario if our arable land is diverted to establishment of SEZs, it will create a major food security problem in the country.Studies in West Bengal have shown that loss of food grains production due to SEZs would be of the order of 1. 5 million tones. This can create a serious shortage of food grains in the coming years. 2) Threat to Water Security: The SEZs are going to be set up by acquiring huge tracts of land. When the l and is acquired on such massive scale, the water requirement for such SEZs would be huge and would have very large impact on water access for the surrounding area. The SEZs at such locations will also have impact on irrigation and agricultural development.Available information about the water needs and sources of water for various SEZs should ring alarm bell. For example, the massive water demand, at least 8 million liters per day, for The Mahamumbai SEZ is to be met by the Hetwane and Morba dams in Pen and Khalapur tehsils in Raigarh districts. In a situation where, farmers had to struggle to get irrigation water due to them from these dams, the huge water requirement for Mahamumbai SEZ would definitely lead to the water crisis. Forum of Manglore has quoted that the Manglore SEZ’s water requirement is at a hoping 136 million liters a day.When Manglore city is facing the water crisis without the SEZ, one can imagine what will be the case when SEZ comes up. 3) Displacement and loss of livelihoods in SEZs: Estimate show that close to 114,000 farming households (each house hold on an average comprising five members) and an additional 82,000 farm worker families are dependent upon these farms for their livelihoods will be displaced. In other Words, at least one million people who primarily depend upon agriculture for their survival will face eviction.Experts calculate that the total loss of income to the Farming and farm workers family will be at least Rs. 212 crore a year. This does not include other income (for instance artisans) due to the demise of local rural economies. The government promise humane displacement followed by relief and rehabilitation. However historical records does not offer any room for hope on this count an estimated 40 million people(of which nearly 40% area Adivasis and 25% Dalits) have lost their land since 1950 on account of displacement due to large development projects.At least 75% of them still await rehabilitation. Almost 80% of the agricultural population owns only about 17% of the total agricultural land, making them near landless farmers. Farmer’s families and communities depend on a piece of land (for work, grazing) than those who simply own it. 4) SEZ are actually land grab by the real estate mafia and the corporate sector: What are SEZ likely to become in few years time? According to a clause in the SEZ Act (section 5(2) as much as 75% of the area under large SEZs above 1000 hectares) can be used for non-industrial purpose.What will the remainder of the land used for? This lacuna in the law is likely to become a loophole for massive accumulation of Land by private players including the real estate mafia, developers and property dealers for the purpose of real estate speculation. This explains why so many of them have been buying land for SEZs. In fact it may well be the case that the rationale for the above clause in the SEZ Act is the uncertainty surrounding the Economic attractiveness of SEZs. If adequate productive investment is not forthcoming, the SEZ developer can at least cash in on the land value.Conglomerates like Reliance already own upwards of 100,00acre of land in the countrywide. 5) Loss of natural habitat, flora and fauna Massive land acquisition for the establishment of SEZs has led to the destruction Of natural habitat, flora and fauna due to deforestation. For example due to the Mundra SEZ in Kutch in Gujrat about 3000 hectares of area covered by Mangroves is being destroyed. . 6) More suicides, More crimes†¦ It is again no. coincidence that all most all the SEZs are being built only on the fringes of cities – like satellites all over again.A rough study based upon the â€Å"in principle† approved SEZs in Maharashtra shows that around 67% of the land for SEZs is within 100 km. of Mumbai. If the cities pf Pune and Nagpur are also considered, then a figure of 85% of land for SEZs is arrived at, and if Nashik and Aurangabad are also th rown then about 98% of the land for SEZs in within 100 km of these five cities. Thus there will be no real development. the rural areas will be further devastated. Farmers will commit more suicides larger slums with even more squalor will be created.There will be more crime, more communual riots, more atrocities against Dalits and more attacks and exploitation of women as always happens in the condition of squalor. 7) Ruthless Depeasantisation : However the SEZs are not the only instruments for grabbing the lands of the peasantry, millions of acres of land are taken by national and international big business for construction of Greenfield projects, private airports, tourist resorts, health tourism, smart cities, entertainment parks, building of private township for the super rich including vast areas for golf courses and luxury hotels.To provide infrastructure for super profits of local and multinational big business the state is acquiring millions of acres of fertile land to build industrial zones, golden corridors express ways including the much flaunted golden quadrangle express highways systems. This is the glaring phenomenon of contemporary global enclosures of forcible depeasantisation ruthlessly divesting the producers from their means of production, cultural moorings and commons.Adding salt to the injury the neo-liberal state is resorting to the most predatory inhuman primitive accumulation of forcing the farmers and adivasi’s out of their land when the entire peasantry is reeling under acute agrarian crisis where more than 2 lakh farmers have committed suicide in the past decade under the neo-liberal economic regime. Conclusion:There is much more to learn as well as unlearn from the Chinese experience. Until this is done, millions of poor across the country will be made to pay an even higher price than the Chinese did for following this flowed approach. India should thus work towards reforming its domestic economic rather than supplementing it with an SEZ model. It should not blindly follow China in this regard.