Hybrid Cars Essay Example for Free

Hybrid Cars Essay Americans today do not realize that hybrid cars are not cost efficient to buy. This is caused by many factors, many having to do with price of production and gas prices. The cost of production for many hybrid cars is too high causing the car to be to expensive for consumers to buy. They end up paying so much more for a car that promises to save them money. These cars turn end up not fulfilling that promise and leaving people short on cash. It is true that a hybrid car will save money at the pump, but not enough to cover the cost of buying and maintaining the car itself. Gas prices are another reason why these cars arent worth it. The prices of gas today are around 3 dollars which is nearing a record high. Even with prices this high, people will not save enough money with less gas consumption to cover the extra costs of owning such a high maintenance and highly complex car. The math works out that spending more on a hybrid car over a similar small car will end up costing the owner more money. The only way to make the car cost efficient would be to own it for an abnormally long period of time, which most people do not do. Many people are not willing to pay this extra money on a car that is supposed to be good for the environment, but some people do. Hybrid cars are better for the environment because they produce less greenhouse gasses. These are the emissions that specifically hurt the layers of the atmosphere and are among other emissions that are bad for our earth. Hybrid cars burn less fuel and they burn it cleaner, so they produce less exhaust that can potentially cause smog in cities like Chicago, or that can hurt the atmospheric layers such as the ozone layer that so many people talk about being in danger. To some people, the extra cost of owning one of these vehicles is worth helping the environment, but to most it is not. People want fast cars that are fun to drive and that get decent gas mileage. Or a mom might want a van that can haul a lot of people and weight and still get decent gas mileage. A dad would want a truck that can pull a heavy load and do the heavy duty work and wouldnt care about gas mileage. All of these are reasons why people dont want a small, meek, gas sipping hybrid. The first thing that makes most people shy away from buying a hybrid car is the price tag. They see that extra five or six thousand dollars and they say, NO! People want a durable car that gets good gas mileage and has room for a family and that is safe. All of these features can be purchased on a regular car that costs much less than a hybrid. The perfect example for this is the Honda Civic. This car comes in many trim levels, one for each type of consumer, minus the person looking for the truck. The Civic Sedan, a four door car with room for five people, starts at 15k and is the perfect car for a small family. This car gets 30mpg city and 40mpg highway which is very good by todays standards. The Civic Hybrid, the same size as the Civic Sedan, costs 22k, thats 7 thousand more, and gets an increase of only 19mpg city and 11mpg highway. This means that they would not save enough money on gas to cover the 7k increase in price in under 10 years. Since the car gets better gas mileage, one would go to the pump less, but not enough to save that much money. The third is the Civic Si, this is the sporty version of the Civic that only comes with a manual transmission and is very quick. This car costs 21k, one thousand less than the hybrid. It is much faster is only has two doors. This car gets 23mpg city and 32mpg highway, not much worse than the Civic Sedan or hybrid, and is much faster and more fun. Why would a student pay one thousand dollars more for a car that is slower and more boring when the mileage increase isnt that much, they wouldnt. People want fun cars that get the job done and the Civic does that with great gas mileage and a low price, without having to be a hybrid car. Another example of this concept is the Toyota Camry. This is the best selling family sized sedan in the United States. This car comes in many trim levels but the ones we will look at are the base Camry and the base Camry Hybrid. For 2007 this car got a gorgeous remodel as well as a new engine in the base Camry and they added the Hybrid model. The base Toyota Camry costs 18k and has many features needed for a small family to fit in the car along with a lot of luggage. Do not be confused though, this car can be seen driving down the road pimped out with 20 (thats really big) rims and banging sound systems by college guys. It can also be seen with pick stickers and fuzzy dice in the window being driven by a couple college girls on the way to the beach. This is a very pretty, versatile car. The base Camry gets 24mpg city and 34 mpg highway. This is very good for a full sized car and will get the owner a long distance before having to refill the tank. The Camry Hybrid costs a pretty penny, but some say its worth it. This car gets 16mpg more city and 4mpg more highway than the base Camry. The huge gain in city mileage is due to the way Toyota makes their hybrid cars. They have the ability to switch fully from electric to gas power whereas the Honda Hybrid drive train can only go from minimal usage of each, but never fully switches. Toyotas is called Hybrid Synergy Drive and uses the electric engine most when accelerating and charges the batter when braking. The braking actually charges the battery more than the gas engine, so the car is able to shine when driving around the city because of the constant starting and stopping, the car uses almost fully the electric engine. This is why the Toyota Camry Hybrid gets such good gas mileage in the city. Lets face it though, a car that big wont be found driving around the city, most people will be office executives taking long drives from offices to home or to customers and they will not benefit as much. The Camry Hybrid only gains 4mpg over the base Camry on the highway so many people do not agree with spending eight thousand dollars more for the hybrid. This is definitely not cost efficient for the owner. People will like the 18k price of the base Camry because it comes with so many standard options and is ready to fulfill any soccer moms fantasy. When talking about Hybrid cars, there is one that stands above the rest in durability, functionality, style, price, and ability to save gas. That car is the Toyota Prius. This car could be the only argument one could make against this paper. It costs 22k and it does not come with a non hybrid counterpart. This car does cost more than say, a Corolla, but it has more room than a Corolla, and slightly less room than a Camry. It is in a class of its own and its only close competitor is the Honda Insight. The Prius is able to get 60mpg city and 51mpg highway. This is the best mpg rating of any production car and it actually is selling. You can see a Toyota Prius on just about any trip that you take and it does have unique styling that always turns heads. Although it costs more, the mpg rating of this car are almost double that of the nearest non hybrid competitor making it almost worth the extra price tag. However, the cost of maintaining such a highly complex car is greater than that of the base Civic or Corolla and will end up costing more. The Honda Insight, the other close competitor, costs 21k and gets 60mpg city and 66mpg highway. Those numbers were only the estimated numbers and consumers found them to be too high and actually got less mileage than that. Also, Honda doesnt make this car anymore so a customer would only be able to buy it used. These cars all shown, people will not save money on buying a hybrid car. The gas prices right now are not high enough to allow people to save money at the pump if they own a hybrid car. They will get better gas mileage and they will go to the pump less but they are only saving a small amount of money each year. If somebody spends 30 dollars every two weeks on gas in a regular car, that would cost them about 780 dollars a year. A hybrid car could probably go an extra week without needing gas so that would cost them 520 dollars a year on gas. They would be saving a mere 260 dollars a year on gas. If the hybrid car costs 7k more, then they would need to have the car for about 26 years to cover the extra cost of the car. No way would somebody own a car for that long this day and age. That is only covering the cost of the actually sticker price and not the extra costs of owning the vehicle, like fixing it and stuff, which would have to be done since the car would need to get fixed in the 26 year period. Many websites do a calculation of the cars which would be the lowest true cost to own. One website listed the Prius and the Camry Hybrid under their list of cars costing around 25k that would be the lowest true cost to own. This is excluding how long one would own the car for and how high the gas prices are. Also they did not list any hybrid under the coupes which are lowest cost to own and they dont say customer reviews on how fun these cars are to drive. The fact is that most people do no see it necessary to buy a car that costs so much more when they could get a car for less money that will cost them less money in the long run. People also want fun cars that will cost the same, but be much more fun to drive, even though they arent amazing at gas mileage, they still succeed in getting decent gas mileage, so people buy them. Also the hybrid drive train is not good for hauling heavy loads that is why there arent many pickup truck hybrids out there if any. Hybrid cars may cost more causing people to shy away from buying them, but they are better for the environment. People dont realize that driving a car can be the largest form of pollution. We drive by a paper mill and see all the smoke coming out of the stacks and say to ourselves how bad that must be for the air. Meanwhile we are sitting in a car, that when grouped up with many cars, is much worse than the thing we are complaining about. Pollution from cars causes smog, which deteriorates the ozone layers closest to us. This can cause for major extremes of hot and cold in the seasons. The atmosphere helps moderate the temperatures on earth by holding in heat during the winter and shielding out heat during the summer. Big cities have problems with smog which is a constant haze in the air caused by so many cars in one place emitting gasses bad for the environment. Cars also have toxins in their exhaust that can cause acid rain or global warming, and even cause cancer in some people. The water supply on earth is never growing or shrinking, the water we have is all that we get. When there is acid rain, that water has to go somewhere and may sometimes end up in drinking water or people who have wells might take showers in it. This is how it can cause cancer in as many as 1,500 people a year. There are many bad gasses that come from motor vehicles, but the three main ones are hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. Hydrocarbons react with nitrogen. The best times for this to happen are in the summer when there is lots of sunlight and really high temperatures. This reaction causes something called ground level ozone. This is a type of gas that is supposed to be in the atmosphere but is in our breathing air. This can cause many things such as eye irritation, wheezing, and even permanent lung damage. Nitrogen Oxides also cause the formation of ground level ozone and are major factors in causing acid rain and water pollution. Finally, carbon monoxide, which is an odorless and invisible gas, causes a slowing of oxygen in the bloodstream which can impair ones senses and cause permanent mental damage. Cars are responsible for around 90 percent of the carbon monoxide in the air in most urban areas. All of these gasses can be reduced by driving a hybrid car, but the best way to reduce them is public transportation. Studies show that a person who uses mass transit, such as buses or subways, for a year, instead of driving to work, can keep about 9.1 lbs of hydrocarbons, 62.5 lbs or carbon monoxides, and 4.9 lbs of nitrogen oxides from being put into the air (Emissions). Other ways of reducing pollution from cars in the air are things such as driving at steady speeds, buying newer cars that have fewer bad emissions, keeping your car in good running condition, or even not topping off at the pump. People can help the environment by buying a hybrid car, but that isnt the best way. Using public transportation or even riding a bike if possible, would do a lot more good, and save somebody a lot of money. By using public transportation and by carpooling, people can save an estimated three thousand dollars a year (Emissions). Other numbers show that idling and stop and go traffic alone use 753 millions of gallons of gasoline per year (Emissions). People dont realize how much better it would be to just use public transportation. Instead, we want to go on our own schedules and have the freedom to go where we want when we want, and that costs money and causes pollution. The cost of a hybrid car over a regular car is too much. People will not buy a hybrid car when they can get a vehicle with very good gas mileage for much less money. They can get all the bells and whistles of a hybrid but spend around seven thousand less. Teenagers dont want a slow gas sipping car, they want a fast car with a loud exhaust. They cant get this from a hybrid car so they wouldnt spend the money to buy a slow hybrid when they could have a fast sports car. A dad needs his truck to haul stuff around and hybrid cars dont offer that. The mom needs the van to have a safe car for her family that can fit them and their luggage. The cost of gas prices right now is not nearly high enough to benefit the consumer who owns a hybrid car. There is some small benefit, about 300 dollars a year, but that would take 20 years to equal just the increased price of owning a hybrid, not to mention the added costs of the upkeep of such a complex car. People want the lowest price with the best package, and hybrid cars dont offer that. While they do offer benefits to the environment, people dont realize how important the environment is and they wont spend the extra money for benefits they wont see in their lifetime. Overall the hybrid car is not worth buying because the cost is just too great. Not only is it not worth it, but people are not buying them enough to make a difference to the environment anyways, further diminishing their value. Hybrid cars are not worth buying right now and will not be for many years to come.

Acquisition and Participation Metaphors of Learning

Acquisition and Participation Metaphors of Learning Introduction A wealth of research has been devoted to the goal of understanding an array of different theories of learning which have emerged within the last 50 years. The focus of this paper is to address two specific paradigms, within which learning is now understood. These consist of the acquisition metaphor and the participatory metaphor of learning. The relative merits of each paradigm, has been evinced through a coalescence of scientific research, appropriating findings from an array of emerging fields of inquiry. Greeno (1997:14) notes that progression in the field of cognitive science has illuminated our understanding of the â€Å"processes of problem-solving, reasoning, understanding and memory†, whilst advancements in understanding social interaction are derived from â€Å"ethnography, ethnomethodology, symbolic interactionism, discourse analysis, and sociocultural psychology.† In broad terms, these two distinct lines of inquiry have fuelled the alternate metaphors of acqu isition and participation, as ways of thinking about the nature of learning. When paradigms such as these develop, they bring with them the distinctive array of terminology characteristic of the intellectual currents, which spawn them. Griffin (2003: 68) helpfully acknowledges that the reason in part why the lines of inquiry about learning have been divergent is that â€Å"different authors have used different terminology to describe the types of learning that they have studied.† Greeno (1997: 14) rightly concedes that the â€Å"prospects for theoretical advancement† are improved if the scientific agenda prizes synthesis. The proverbial maxim that ‘iron sharpens iron’ is relevant here, where the two metaphors of learning have lived through an intellectual period in binary opposition, illustrated by aspects of Brown, Collins and Duguid (1988); Andersen, Reder and Simon (1996) and Greeno (1997). Indeed, as Greeno (1997: 15) notes in his concluding remarks, à ¢â‚¬Å"the cognitive and situative perspectives are both valuable for informing discussions of educational practice, but in rather different ways.† The prismatic-like dimensions of learning have allowed it to be categorised variously, reflective of a variety of operating paradigms. Binary categorisations including â€Å"single or double loop† (Argyris and Schà ¶n, 1978); â€Å"maintenance or innovative† (Botkin et al 1979); â€Å"banking or problem-posing† (Freire 1972); â€Å"reflective or non-reflective† (Jarvis 1992); â€Å"formative or transformative† (Mezirow 1991); or â€Å"surface or deep† (Marton 1982); are all noted by Griffin (2003: 68-72). These theoretical constructions of learning, can be in part at least, subsumed within the ambit of the two metaphors in question, namely learning as ‘acquisition’ or learning as ‘participation.’ Jonassen and Land (2000: 28), note that â€Å"Resnick (1987), in her presidential address to the American Educational Research Association, examined the practices in schools, which are predicated most strongly on the acquisition metaphor, comparing them to how individuals learn and use knowledge outside of schools. Her analysis focused attention on the collaborative, contextualised, and concrete character of learning outside of school, as opposed to the individual and abstract character of learning that occurs inside of school. Arguably, it was this analysis that served as one of the principal stimuli for the development of the participatory perspective with its emphasis on situated activity.† The Participatory Metaphor While the field of cognitive psychology is well established, the fields of social psychology and cultural studies are emergent fields. The participatory metaphor of learning has grown out of these more recently emerging psychological and sociological disciplines. Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) observed that methods of learning that try to teach abstract concepts independent of authentic situations overlook the way understanding is acquired and developed through continued, situated use. These researchers also assert that â€Å"understanding is reliant upon complex social interactions and negotiations†. Brown, Collins and Duguid’s (1989) assertion that the nature of language acquisition is analogous to the nature of all knowledge acquisition is a useful interpretive device. Language vocabulary acquisition is a relatively rapid and efficient process when learners are participants in ‘authentic situations’, in this case explained as situations where a genuine functional need for language acquisition exists in order for individuals to participate in the flow of real life conversations. Herein, learners are active participants with ‘practitioners’, indeed ‘cognitive apprentices’ as Brown, Collins and Duguid (1988) postulate. An authentic language acquisition environment, encourages the awareness of nuance and the practice of negotiation to promptly deal with uncertainty, an option, arguably not as available to students in conventional classroom settings. By way of contrast, Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) describe typical language acquisition approaches in schools as extremely inefficient, due to the level of contrivance, belying the value of formal definition and memorisation without regular practice. According to Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989:1), knowing †¦is inextricably situated in the physical and social context of its acquisition and use.† This representation of knowing resonates with Jonassen and Land’s (2000: 28) comments that, â€Å"knowing about refers to an activity not a thing. Knowing about is always contextualised not abstract; knowing about is reciprocally constructed within the individual-environment interaction not objectively defined or subjectively created; and knowing about is a functional stance on the interactionnot a ‘truth’.† Participatory advocates underline the â€Å"inseparability of knowing and doing†, an assertion, which, if widely true, raises enormous challenges for schools and other formalised educational institutions. Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989), explore the enticing notion of ‘cognitive apprenticeship,’ positioning teachers as masters of apprentices, who utilise authentic domain activity. They make the astute observations that, â€Å"social interaction, social construction of knowledge is significant, therefore conversation, narrative and anecdote, should not be dismissed as noise.† Furthermore, they assert ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ is significant for it often involves apprentices, attempting to enter the culture. This articulation of genuine learning imbibes the sociological significance of the learning framework. The participatory metaphor of learning empowers the individual and the social group within the learning context. Other common terms noted amidst situated cognition adherents, terms such as participatory, brokering and negotiating, elevate the status and significance of the learner within the learning environment, implying an active, eng aged and enculturated role on behalf of the learner, in relation to the learning process. These concepts indicate the premise that learning is an active process, and certainly not an inert, static product, such as an intact body of rarefied knowledge, permanently beyond dispute or modification. This framework for understanding learning has real currency at a time when geo-political shifts in an increasingly globalised world and village, exposes the tentative nature of knowledge, which may have been perceived as immutably fixated in previous centuries. The elevation of the learner’s status in relation to the act and process of knowing, is an appealing way to view the nature of learning. A logical extension of this interpretation of learning, is its predilection according to Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989), for â€Å"collective problem solving, enacting multiple roles, confronting ineffective strategies, and utilising collaborative work skills.† The corresponding conviction, that learning is a transaction, also pinpoints a false assumption. In this light, it is deemed to be false, â€Å"that knowledge is individual and self-structured, that schools are neutral in terms of what is learned in them, that concepts are abstract and immutable, and are independent of the context in which they are acquired, that (JPF) behaviour should be discouraged.† Johansen and Land (2000: 84) notes ‘situated cognition’, (or SitCog to its pundits), while holding some advantages over previous foundations, does not presently offer a comprehensive account of cognition. â€Å"For SitCog to fully serve as an integrating framework, a means of accommodating multiple perspectives needs to be developed, to allow inclusion of selected ideas and practices from behaviourism, symbolic cognition, and other theories, both psychological and non-psychological.† Johansen and Land (2000) note that SitCog also presents an opportunity to define the designers role in new ways. The design task is seen in interactional, or participatory (rather than rational-planning), terms. They assert that (2000:84) â€Å"design and control become situated within the political and social context of actual learning environments. Rather than applying the best learning theory, designers and participants of learning environments honour the constraints and affordances of the local situation. A situated view of design, then, is one that supports the worthy practices of participants and stakeholders, using whatever theories, tools, or technologies at their disposal.† New situations continually recast concepts in a more densely textured form- concepts are ever evolving. Concepts are always under construction and defy categorical description Brown et al (1988) provide a clear account of situated cognition, a term noted frequently in the literature review which draws attention to the critical role of situation or context in the process of learning. The concept of situativity, is a key component of the participatory metaphor of learning. It asserts that knowledge is a product of a specific learning situation, embodying a set of cultural assumptions, which facilitate the cultural construction of knowledge The researchers advocate the â€Å"inseparability of knowing and doing†, which has enormous implications for education and learning, if their further assertion is correct, than conventional educational settings and theories of mind, disassociate knowing and doing as two distinct practices. This conceptualisation of learning acknowledges the significance of the activity, whereby authentic activities are defined as ordinary activities of the practitioners of a culture. Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989), indicate school activities are hybrid- framed within the values of one culture- school, (while attributed to the culture of another domain, such as that of the historian or the mathematician). Proponents of the need for authentic learning activities, applaud the participatory metaphor of learning. These researchers desire learning activities congruent with what practitioners do, a noble aspiration embracing the insights of the apprentice model of admission and enculturation, into the beliefs and practices of particular learning communities. The corollary, amongst some situative theorists, most notably Lave, is regrettably a fairly strident expose of the limitations of schooling, since knowing becomes transmuted within school contexts, so school culture replaces, rather tha n allows access to the authentic domain of knowledge. Assert that growing body of research into cognition undermines the notion that abstract knowledge can readily be transferred from the minds of teachers to the minds of students. â€Å"Knowing †¦is inextricably situated in the physical and social context of its acquisition and use† p1 If extracted from these, it is irretrievably transformed. Anderson, Reder and Simon (1996) attempt to distil four key claims posed by the situative learning proponents, then to systematically dismantle each one, from a viewpoint more akin to the acquisition metaphor of learning. To complicate this debate, Greeno’s (1997) rejoinder, asserts that Anderson et al (1996), misreads the paradigm of situative cognition, providing an overly simplistic distillation of the case for the ‘SitCogs’. Andersen et al (1996), state that ‘sitcogs’ claim all knowledge is context specific or context bound, yet this is going too far. Their rebuttal suggests research yet to be conducted may show that knowledge is made more transferable, when initial explicit instructions that transferability of knowledge concepts is articulated and value. They also found some research failed to find evidence of context specificity in relation to learning; that how tightly knowledge is bound to context depends upon the nature of the knowledge. Furthermore, they concluded that knowledge is more context-bound when taught in a single context, moreover links between school based competencies and workplace competencies show some correlation, diffusing a degree of the potency of some situated learning advocates. The Acquisition Metaphor The consolidated field of cognitive psychology, shaping theories of learning over several decades, has espoused the view that knowledge is a product that is capable of consumption and acquisition. This more long-standing understanding of learning has not surprisingly felt threatened by the situative cognition view. It is seen by many as a conservative or conventional conceptualisation of learning, attuned to the enculturation process of traditional schooling. A belief from within this camp, is the notion of the existence and value of abstract knowledge; deemed to be valuable in its supposed dexterity, to be able to reappear for reapplication in relation to additional contexts in meaningful ways for learners. Greeno (1997:15) admits that while more drawn to the situative learning paradigm, nonetheless, â€Å"the cognitive perspective clarifies aspects of intellectual performance and learning, with its emphasis on and clarification of informational structures of skill, knowledge, strategies and understanding.† While the situative camp has to some extent charged knowledge with an inability to be transferred, once stripped of the original context in which it is learnt, Greeno (1997), defends the participatory model. He suggests its recognition that the notion of transferability of knowledge must be examined with greater subtlety and detection of nuance. Andersen et al (1996), cites evidence of studies to show the full gamut of opinion about degrees to which knowledge transfers or not, which superficially appears to undermine the situative, participatory view, that knowledge removed from its context is diminished. The further claim attributed by Andersen et al (1996), to the situative view of knowledge and seeming attack upon the acquisition pundits, is the assertion that training by abstraction is of little use. The writers support the use of abstract instruction combined with concrete examples as a powerful approach to knowledge acquisition, citing studies which purport to demonstrate the e fficacy of abstract knowledge. Finally, they pose the claim by situative proponents, that instruction needs to be done in complex social environments. To counter this, Andersen et al notes that part training is often more effective than holistic training, exemplified through tax code being better learnt whilst removed from the social context of interaction with a tax client – thereby removed from the social environment. Furthermore, cooperative, group learning studies which are deemed to be inclusive, yet studies do not categorically show group learning to be necessarily superior. Recommendations and Conclusions Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) recommend that since situated learning postulates that activity and perception precede conceptualisation, they therefore need to be better understood. In line with this, key terms used to bolster both the participatory and the acquisitional metaphors of learning need more precise definition. It seems that both conceptualisations of learning recognise much of the merit in the opposing camp, as well as (at least in an intuitive manner) the artificiality of binary opposition in fields of academic research and inquiry. The dialectical approach to research within the relevant scientific disciplines, appear to recognise the value and goal of synthesis, in order that robust progress in understanding of the nature of learning occurs. Bibliography Books Griffin, C et al (2003) The Theory Practice of Learning, London. Kogan Press Jonassen, D.H., and Land, S.M., (2000) Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments.. Mahwah, NJ. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Journal Articles Anderson, J. R., Reder, L. M., Simon H. A. (1996). Situated Learning and Education, Educational Researcher, Vol 25, No. 4, pp 5-11, American Educational Research Association Brown, J.S., Collins, A. Duguid, S. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher,Vol 18, No. 1, pages 32-42. American Educational Research Association Greeno, J,G. (Jan. to Feb. 1997) Response: On Claims That Answer the Wrong Questions, Educational Researcher, Vol 26, No. 1, pages 5-17, American Educational Research Association

Enhancement of Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting

Enhancement of Photocatalytic Overall Water Splitting Enhancement of photocatalytic overall water splitting on H1.9K0.3La0.5Bi0.1Ta2O7 by loading Pt, Rh(oxide) as co-catalysts Wei Chen, Hui Wang, Liqun Mao, Xiaoping Chen, Wenfeng Shangguan Abstract: Pt and Rh were loaded on protonated layered pervoskite H1.9K0.3La0.5Bi0.1Ta2O7 by an in suit photodeposition method. The Rh loading facilitates the O2 evolution and the H2/O2 is close to stoichiometric ratio (≈ 2). Yet the Pt loading is unable to improve the O2 evolution, although the photocatalytic activity for H2 evolution was enhanced apparently. The different effect of Pt and Rh on phtocatalytic activity for H2 or O2 evolution is due to the chemical states of Pt and Rh on HKLBT. The Pt particles loaded on HKLBT by photodepositon are Pt0, functioning as activity sites for H2 evolution. However, the Rh particles loaded on HKLBT are not only Rh0, but also RhO2, which provide the activity sites for O2 evolution by means of reducing the overpotential of O2 evolution. 1 Introduction Photocatalytic water splitting has attracted much attention in the past decades for producing clean and renewable hydrogen energy[1-3]. The photocatalytic water splitting contains both water reduction process(for H2) and water oxidation(for O2) process. Currently, the water oxidation process is consider as a key bottleneck in photocatalytic reaction[4]. The difficulty of water oxidation is due to the high overpotential of O2 evolution, which is attributed to charge trapping by surface states and slow oxygen evolution kinetics[5-7]. This is also explaining why some photocatalytic reactions in pure water only produce H2 without O2 (or H2/O2>2). Therefore, providing the activity sites for oxygen evolution to reduce the overprotential is a key task on overall water splitting. It has reported that co-catalysts such as NiO[8], RuO2[9], Mn2O3[10] loading on photocatalysts play an very important role on achieving overall water splitting by mean of providing the activity sites or inhibiting t he occurrence of backward reaction. However, almost all of metal oxides loading on photocatalytic materials need heat-treatment, which is harmful to some materials with less heat-resistant, such as protonated layered materials[11], metal (oxy)sulfide[12] and metal (oxy)nitride[13], etc. Recently, Kudo et al[14] loaded PbO2 from Pb2+ by a photodeposition method without heat-treatment, indicating that oxides also are loaded by oxidation of photogenerated holes, which will provide us with a feasible way to load metal oxides on photocataytic materials by a photodeposition method. In our previous study, we found that, although protonated layered perovskite H1.9K0.3La0.5Bi0.1Ta2O7 showed high activity for overall water splitting, the ratio of H2/O2 was stoichiometric[15,16]. In addition, H1.9K0.3La0.5Bi0.1Ta2O7 (HKLBT) possesses weak heat endurance and the heat-treatment would result the collapse of layer structure. Herein, we report Rh oxide loading on HKLBT by in suit photodepositon to provide the activity sites for Oxygen evolution and enhance photocatalytic water splitting. The chemical sates of Pt, Rh loading on HKLBT are investigated. The effects of co-catalysts on water splitting, especially for oxygen evolution, are also discussed. 2 Experimental 2.1 Preparation of materials The protonated layered perovskite oxides H1.9K0.3La0.5Bi0.1Ta2O7was prepared according to the method presented in our previous papers[15]. The detail processes are as follows: (1)The layered compound K0.5La0.5Bi2Ta2O9 were prepared by the polymerized complex method as follows. 60 mL methanol was used as a solvent to dissolve 0.006 mol of TaCl5. A large excess of citric acid (CA, 0.09 mol) was added into the methanol solution with continuous stirring. After achieving complete dissolution, 0.006 mol Bi(NO3)3 ·5H2O, 0.0015 mol La(NO3)3 ·nH2O, and 0.00825 mol K2CO3 were added to the solution. The mixture was then magnetically stirred for 1 h to afford a transparent solution and 0.36 mol of ethylene glycol (EG) was added to this solution. Then, the solution was heated at 130  ºC to promote esterification between EG and CA, yielding brown resin. The resin was then calcined at 350 oC for 1 h to form black solid mass. The resulting black powder was calcined on an Al2O3 plate at 650  ºC for 2 h in air, then calcined at 900  ºC for 6 h to obtain K0.5La0.5Bi2Ta2O9 (denoted as KLBT). (2) Proton exchange reaction: KLBT (0.8g) was performed in 250 mL of 3 M HCl solution for 72 h at room temperature with replacement of the acid every 24 h, and then the product was washed with deionized water and dried at 60  ºC for 3 h to remove the water on the surface of potocatalysts to obtain HKLBT. 2.2 Characterizations The UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra (DRS) were determined by a UV-vis spectrophotometer UV-2450 (Shimadzu, Japan) and were converted to absorbance by the Kulbelka-Munk method. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements were conducted using a JEM-2100F (Japan). The surface electronic state was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, Shimadzu-Kratos, Axis Ultra DLD, Japan). All the binding energy (BE) values were calibrated by using the standard BE value of contaminant carbon (C1s =284.6 eV) as a reference. 2.3 In suit photodeposition and photocataltyic reaction The in suit photodeposition and photocatalytic reactions were carried out in a 350 ml top irradiation reaction Quartz cell at room temperature and a 250 W high-press Hg lamp was used as the light source. The catalyst powder (50 mg) was suspended in 60 ml aqueous solution containing a certain amount of (NH3)4PtCl2 and Rh(NO3)2 solution by magnetic stirring. At initial stage (about 2 h), Pt or Rh species were gradually deposited on the surface of HKLBT. After 2 h, generated gases were analyzed by an on-line GC with TCD detector (Huaai, GC9160, China, MS-5A, argon Argon as carrier gas). 3 Results and discussion 3.1 UV-vis DRS The UV-vis diffuse reflection spectra (DRS) of naked HKLBT and Pt (Rh)/HKLBT photocatalyts are shown in Fig 1. The absorption edges of HKLBT loading Pt or Rh have no notable change. However, after in suit photodeposition, the spectrum longer than 320nm exhibit new weak absorptions, which are ascribe to the adsorption of Pt or Rh(oxides) on the surface of HKLBT. The result indicates co-catalysts loaded on photocatalyst successfully as well. 3.2 TEM and XPS analysis The representative HRTEM images of Rh/HKLBT and Pt/HKLBT are shown in Fig 2. Fig 2a shows that the size of the Rh on HKLBT is about 5-10 nm. The lattice fringes of Rh and HKLBT can be observed clearly, suggesting the well-defined crystal structure. The lattice fringes with d spacing of ca. 0.251 nm and 0.184 nm can be assigned to the (101) lattice plane of RhO2 and (002) lattice plane of Rh0, respectively. The result is indicatinged that Rh particles photodeposited on HKLBT contain two different Rh species. The fig 2b shows the lattice fringe with d value of ca. 0.197 nm corresponds to the (200) lattice plane of Pt0, suggesting that Pt2+ was photo-reduced to Pt metal by photogenerated electrons instead of being oxideted by holes. The chemical states of Rh and Pt species on HKLBT photocatalysts were investigated by the XPS. Fig 3 shows the Rh 3d (a) and Pt 4f (b) binding energy spectra of Pt/HKLBT and Rh/HKLBT. As shown in Fig 3a, the Rh 3d5/2 XPS spectrum displays broad peaks and has been fitted to two overlapped peaks at ca 307.2 eV and 309.2 eV. The low binding energy at 307.2 eV is attributed to the Rh0[17], and the high binding energy at 309.2 eV is ascribed to RhO2[18], demonstrating further Rh photodeposited on HKLBT possesses two chemical states. The result is good agreement with the HRTEM result. The spectrum for the Pt7/2 (Fig 3b) exhibits two major peaks with binding energies of ca. 70.8 and 72.3 eV, which are assigned to Pt0 and Pt0 with adsorbed oxygen(Pt0-Oads) based on the previous report by kimi et al[19]. Photocatalytic water splitting activities of Pt/HKLB and Rh/HKLBT(à ¥Ã‚ ¤Ã‚ §Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ®) Table 1 lists the rates of H2 and O2 on HKLBT loaded with different amounts of Pt-cocatalyst and Rh-catalyst by photodepositon method. As shown in table1, the photocataytic activity of HKLBT was improved by Pt or Rh loading. The highest hydrogen evolution rate was obtained when the amount of cocatalytsts was 0.3wt%, which reached the 2.0 times (Pt) and 1.2 times(Rh) of naked photocatalyst, indicating cocatalysts provide catalytic active sites for water splitting. Excess loading of cocatalysts caused a decrease of photocatalytic activityà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’because the excessive Pt or Rh loaded on HKLBT would not only block the absorption to light photon but become the recombination centers of carriers as well[20]. Moreover, it is noteworthy that Pt loading enhanced remarkably the photocatalytic activity of H2 evolution instead of O2 evolution, and the H2/O2 is also deviating from the stoichiometric ratio. Instead, the photocataytic O2 production is considerably promoted by Rh loading and the ratio of H2 to O2 is close to 2, when the amount of Rh loading is 0.3 wt%. If photocatalytic reaction occurred, the photocatalytic materials not only need to meet requirement of energy, but also have enough activity sites for H2 and O2 evolution. Generally, during an overall water splitting reaction, active sites of O2 evolution are more important than that of hydrogen evolution, due to high overpotential of O2 evolution of photocatalyst[4]. It has been reported, some metal oxides cocatalysts, such as RuO2, IrO2, are good candidates as cocatalysts for enhancing O2 evolution by reducing the overpotential of O2 evolution[9,21]. Valdà ©s er al[22]also reported that the overpotentials of O2 evolution on RuO2, IrO2 and RhO2 were relative low (2 evolution from the surface of the photocatalysts. In our study, Pt0 particles photocdeposited on HKLBT only function as activity sites for H2 evolution, while the activity sites for O2 evolution are insufficiency as well. In contrast, Rh species loaded on HKLBT was not only reduced by electrons to Rh0, but oxidated by ho les to RhO2, which is benefit to O2 evolution. To further demonstrate the effect of RhO2 on O2 evolution, the photocatalytic O2 evolution of HKLBT, Pt/HKLBT and Rh/HKLBT in FeCl3 aqueous solution was carried out(Fig 4). As shown in Fig4, It can be clearly observed that the photocatalytic O2 evolution of Rh/HKLBT is higher than that of both Pt/HKLBT and naked HKLBT, indicting that RhO2 functions as an O2 evolution promoter indeed[23]. Conclusion The Rh oxide (RhO2) was loaded on HKBT by in suit photodeposition method without heat-treatment. Compared to Pt, the Rh oxide on the surface of the HKLBT is able to enhance the photocatalytic O2 evolution, and the ratio of H2 to O2 is stoichiometric ratio (H2/O2=2). The enhancement of O2 is due to the decrease of overpotential of O2 evolution by means of RhO2. The present work is also providing a possibility without heat-treatment to load metal oxides on photocatalyst with low heat stability for overall water splitting. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (2012AA051501), the National Key Basic Research and Development Program (2009CB220000)à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51072116) and the International Cooperation Project of Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission (12160705700). Reference [1] A Kudo , Y Miseki. Chemical Society Reviews 38 (2009) 253-278 [2] X Chen, S Shen, L Guo, S Mao, Chemical review 110 (2010) 6503-6570 [3] K Maeda, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews 12 (2011) 237-268 [4] M Kanan, D Nocera, Science 321 (2008) 1072-1075 [5] Z Fang, D Dixon, Journal of Physical Chemistry C 117( 2013) 3539-3555 [6] A Vojvodic, J Nà ¸rskov, Science 334 (2011) 1355-1356 [7] Y Li, Z Liu, L Liu, W Gao, Journal of American Chemical Society 132 (2010) 13008-13015 [8] T Townsend, N Browning, F Osterloh. ACS NANO 6 (2012) 7420-7426 [9] LM Martà ­nez, R Gà ³mez, V Cuchillo, J Ramà ­rez, A Cruz-Là ³pez, FJ Alejandre-Sandoval, Catalysis Communications 12 (2010) 268-272 [10] K Maeda, A Xiong, T Yoshinaga, T Ikeda, N Sakamoto, T Hisatomi, M Takashima, D Lu, M Kanehara, T Setoyama, T Teranishi, K Domen, Angewandte International Edition Chemie 49 (2010) 4096-4099 [11] Y Tsunoda, M Shirata, W Sugimoto, Z Liu, O Terasaki, K Kuroda, Y Sugahara, Inorganic Chemistry 40 (2001) 5768-5771 [12] X Chen, W Chen, P Lin, Y Yang, H Gao, J Yuan, W Shangguan. Catalysis Communications 36 (2013) 104-108 [13] A Kasahara, K Nukumizu, G Hitoki, T Takata, J Kondo, M Hara, H Kobayshi, K Domen, Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 106 (2002) 6750-6753 [14] Y Miseki, H Kato, A Kudo, Energy Environmental Science 2 (2009) 306-314 [15] W Chen, C Li, H Gao, J Yuan, W Shangguan, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 37 (2012) 12846-12851 [16] W Chen, H Gao, Y Yang, P Lin, J Yuan, W Shangguan, J Su, S Zhou, Acta Physico-Chimica Sinica 28 (2012) 2911-2916 [17] C Yu, K Yang, W Zhou, Q Fan, L Wei, J Yu, Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 74 (2013) 1714-1720 [18] Z Weng-Sieh, R Gronsky, A Bell, Journal of Catalysis 170 (1997) 62-74 [19] K Kim, N Winograd, R Davis, Journal of the American Chemical society 17 (1971) 6278-6279 [20] X Zong, J Han, G Ma, H Yan, G Wu, C Li, Journal of Physical Chemistry C 115 (2011) 12202-12208 [21] E Sabio, R Chamousis, N Browning, F Osterloh. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 116 (2012) 3161-3170 [22] à  Valdà ©s, J Brillet, M Grà ¤tzel, H Gudmundsdà ³ttir, H Hansen, H Jà ³nsson, P Klà ¼pfel, G Kroes, F Formal, I Man, R Martins, J Nà ¸rskov, J Rossmeisl, K Sivula, A Vojvodic, M Zà ¤ch, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 14 (2012) 49-70 [23] A Iwase, H Kato, A Kudo, Applied Catalyisi B: Environmental 136-137 (2013) 89-93 Fig 1 UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra of naked HKLBT, Pt/HKLBT and Rh/HKLBT Fig 2 TEM images of Rh/HKLBT (a) and Pt/HKLBT (b) Fig 3 XPS spectra for Rh 3d and Pt 4f of 0.3wt%Rh/HKLBT and 0.2wt%Pt/HKLBT Table 1 Photocatalytic overall water splitting on Pt/HKLBT and Rh/HKLBT Co-catalyst Loading content(wt%) Gas evolution (ÃŽ ¼mol ·h-1)a H2 O2 H2/O2 ratio none 122.8 33.7 3.6 Pt 0.1 163.40 51.9 3.2 Pt 0.3 242.7 72.5 3.3 Pt 0.5 210.8 72.9 2.9 Rh 0.1 133.5 39.0 3.4 Rh 0.3 146.1 67.9 2.1 Rh 0.5 65.3 31.2 2.1 Photocatlaytic reaction conditions: 50 mg catalyst, 250 W high pressure Hg lamp (ÃŽ »>200 nm), 60 ml pure water a Average rate of H2 and O2 in 4 h Fig 5 Photocatalytic O2 evolution from FeCl3 aqueous solution over naked HKLBT, Pt/HKLBT and Rh/HKLBT (30 mg catalytst, 250 W high pressure Hg lamp, 60 ml 0.05 mol/L FeCl3 )

Throat cancer :: essays research papers fc

Do you know anyone with cancer more specifically throat cancer? I do and so I wanted to learn more about it. Throat cancer also known as cancer of the pharynx can be included in the group of head and neck cancers. 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with cancer from this group annually. There are more than 500,000 survivors living in the United States today. The tumors are often found on the tonsils and at the base of the tongue. Throat cancer; though, can also be found in three regions of the pharynx.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The three regions include the nasopharynx, which is the area behind the back of the throat and nose, the oropharynx, which is the base of the tongue and the tonsil region, and the hyopharynx, which is the bottom part of the throat. Alcohol use, smoking (tobacco or marijuana), and chewing tobacco can cause throat cancer. Leukoplakia, which is white spots or patches in the mouth, can be considered a risk factor. There are symptoms to throat cancer like any other disease.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A persistent feeling of something in the pharynx is a symptom of throat cancer. If you are having pains or having difficulty swallowing, a change of voice, or hoarseness then there is a possibility you could have throat cancer. Also throat cancer may cause an earache or it might feel like sometimes there is obstruction in your airway passage. There are many ways to treat cancer if it is needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Several tests may be performed to diagnose the presence of cancer. An endoscopy uses a thin-lighted flexible instrument to evaluate the extent of the tumor. A suspected throat cancer must be confirmed by removing a small piece of tissue (biopsy). This tissue is sent to the laboratory for evaluation and diagnosis† (www.uihealthcare.com). Treatments for cancer include surgery, radiation therapy (intensity modulated radiation therapy or high dose radiation brachytherapy), and chemotherapy. There are alternate therapies such as naturopathic medicine, nutritional therapy, mind-body medicine, image enhancement, and spiritual support.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The best way to see if you have cancer is to consult a doctor.

Poetic Techniques in John Donnes The Dream Essay -- essays research p

The Dream, by John Donne, is a poem that is filled with passionate diction, syntax, and figurative language along with a tender tone meant to convey the almost celestial feelings Donne has for his lover. The first stanza shows a wide range of fantastical language with the intention of drawing the reader slowly and steadily into the hazy, dreamlike setting. Along with the words like ?fantasy?, ?fables? and ?dreams? come affectionate phrases that effectively show us that the poem is meant to be addressed to a lover, ?Dear love? being the most obvious example. Later on in the poem, the language shifts from drowsy and steady to more intense and complicated, yet less passionate and more doubtful. Donne?s choice in the last stanza to utilize fiery words like ?torches? and phrases ?light and put out? and ?thou cam?st to kindle? depict a sense of overwhelming passion, as uncontrollable as fire. Donne doubts that he can control his lover to continue loving him as fervently as in his dream, which is why his dream lover is ?an angel? while his lover in reality is compared to fire. Don...

On Culture and Socialization

I chose these articles and chose to use it in an example of culture and socialization between males and females (gender) and discuss more in the following paragraph. The research I used, strongly suggests that there are still and will always be gender-specific communication traits. In my experience, a major requisite for effective intercommunication is making sure the receiver understands the message sent. Effective communication is not so much that I send a message -verbal or nonverbal -but that the person I am communicating with gets the message and responds. If not, miscommunication and misunderstandings may result. An example is when my husband and I have a disagreement over something. It surprises me how this can come from out of nowhere. Another prime example of an underlying cause of miscommunication is obviously due to the many different communication styles, content and method of interpretation of males and females. The interest in and importance of this topic solely, can be found not only in scholarly journals and books, but also in bestsellers. I have the book by Deborah Tannen, You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, which is one of the main reasons I chose the two articles, especially the self- maintenance in conversation (including not just the control category, but achievement, opposition, attribution, anger, denial, withdrawal, and prevarication). I do believe I have experienced all of these topics in my marriage, let alone other interpersonal communications. For example, if my husband and I are in an argument, I know I’m right, no, really, because I’ve done the research; yet he still insists on telling me I’m wrong. My blood boils, maybe he knows this. Regardless, I need to work on my fight vs. flight methodology. He is not right, period. I belittle him in my mind for not knowing what I believe everyone would know. My behavior is almost incomprehensible at times concerning my desire to control, my level of anger in a belligerent way, and my actual denial in questioning myself about marrying an idiot. I don’t know how many times I have said something to the tune of, look, this is just not going to work out, blah, blah, blah, you should think about looking for somewhere else to live (knowing this will never happen in my level of commitment). Relationship therapist John Gray's 1992 bestselling book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus explains the difference in communication styles of men and women by humorously suggesting that they are from different planets, and that these differences contribute to communication conflicts. Gray puts forward that men and women often appear to be speaking entirely different languages, even when the vocabulary, syntax, and grammar they use are the same. Deborah Tannen, whose book, You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, was on the New York Times Best Seller list for nearly four years and brought gender differences in communication style to the general public. Tannen contends that differences between the communication styles of women and men are the result of more than culture and socialization, but are inherent in the basic make up of each gender. Tannen, 1990) Taking a more scholarly perspective, Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz contends that among other things, the field of communication includes â€Å"the study of meaning, the study of how people convey ideas for themselves and to one another† (Leeds-Hurwitz, p. xv). Saying the same thing may have different meanings for men and for women. (Tannen, 1990) argues that men and women have different styles of con versing, of listening, of talking, and even have different purposes at stake in most conversations. She concludes that these different styles produce different meanings of the same words, and lead to miscommunication. In the three preceding paragraphs, I learned something I never knew. Wood stated â€Å"Researching communications between men and women reveals that the rules taught through childhood play are evident in adult interaction† (Wood, J. , 2004, p. 117). She makes the point, however, that â€Å"not all women follow rules of feminine communication communities and not all men follow rules of masculine ones† (Wood, J. 2004). Tannen contends, differences between the communication styles of women and men are the result of more than culture and socialization, but are inherent in the basic make up of each gender (Tannen, 1990). I never knew that, but I personally don’t think there is enough evidence, nor do I agree. I think just because a child might see his parents arguing the majority of the time and eventually divorcing after staying together for the sake of the children; it’s not always true about rules being taught in childhood play being evident in adult interaction. I think this statement might just need more research on the age of the child, if by rules she is referring to interpersonal communication, etc. I know many now adults who have been through a lot of negative interactions between their parents (arguing, fighting, and yelling at each other) while growing up to include general observation of adult conversation(s). These individuals have become excellent communicators, and have even mastered an ability to successfully teach interpersonal communications. The majority have also been in long-term what appears to be a successful marriage or relationship. I researched further in my book (next paragraph) to find out Tannen has some of the same thoughts as Wood on children being socially molded and trained to speak separate languages based on their gender. Because I used a published book and a scholarly article, and because of the information I learned, I have gained a motive to dig deeper into researching their theories and/or ideologies. Both Wood and Tannen agree â€Å"socialization in different gender communities’ accounts for some common misunderstandings between women and men† (Wood, 2004, p. 118). Tannen contends that men and women speak differently in face-to-face conversation because children are socially molded and trained to speak separate languages based on their gender. They both offer examples regarding how males and females discuss problems. When a woman tells a man about something that is troubling her, he responds by offering advice or a solution. On the other hand, women view communication as a way to build connections and are looking for empathy and discussion of feelings prior to advice. According to Wood â€Å"the most common complication in gender communication occurs when a woman says â€Å"Let's talk about us. To many men this often means trouble because they interpret the request as implying there is a problem in a relationship† (Wood, 2004, p. 118) and men are socialized to regard talking about a relationship useful only if there is a problem to be solved. Wood contends, however, that women feel problems are not the only reason to talk about a relationship. Women use talking to build intimacy. Tannen (1990, 1993) points out that both men and women need to understand the basic differences in their communication styles to find common ground and understanding. In spite of any genetic, biological or socialization factors that lead to ineffective communication between men and women (specifically my husband and I), effective interpersonal communication can be learned. I think once an understanding is reached, through patience and time, we (my husband and I) tend to accept; and as inept as it sounds, positively tolerate the opposite genders communications, and have more meaningful exchange of information, ideas and feelings in our personal communication. I’ve found different meanings in his actions whether verbal or non-verbal. We now agree to disagree and long ago came to understand what we once misunderstood in our interpersonal communication. At one point, when Tannen concluded that the different styles (genetic, biological or socialization factors) produce different meanings of the same words, and lead to miscommunication; I immediately thought of how these different meanings of the same words, etc. , in an interpersonal conversation could lead to a conversation of misunderstanding without the participants even knowing. As stated in Bridges not Walls, Editor John Stewart, the statement â€Å"I want to be me, but I need you† (confirmed by Stewart J. 2009, p. 95), made me seriously think about my true need to be both intrapersonal and interpersonal. So, from here, I feel I need to maintain a sort of parallel twist in working on culture and socialization, but not only verbally. I think when people think of interpersonal communication, they don’t consider nonverbal communication; which can als o lead to misunderstandings, or different interpretations of the same set of facts, causing breakdowns in communication. Television and magazine advertisements, as well as media portrayals of men and women, often perpetuate stereotypes. Men are macho and women are happy housewives or submissive playthings. It is important for effective communication not to make assumptions. On culture and socialization; I cringe at the fact that physical appearance is the most obvious nonverbal cue we present; it prompts others to perceive us with certain expected personality traits. It is a huge part of culture and socialization. In previous sociology experiments I’ve done, i. e. , I went into a grocery store and purchased a few items. I had just gotten out of bed a couple of hours earlier; no matter whom I had said anything to; one out of five people would respond. Even the cashier and bagboy were kind of stand offish. One day later, I returned, dressed in my work apparel which consisted of a suit, short heels, minimal make-up and hair fixed. It was like a one-hundred eighty degree flip. Random people were friendly, a smile here and there, and even a conversation with the same cashier. They might not have even recognized me from the day before, but I learned a lot about nonverbal communication and how it too, plays a tremendous role in culture and any type of socialization. In an experiment conducted by Schellenberg (1993) reports that good looking subjects were rated more highly than less attractive ones on non-physical traits as well. More attractive persons were also perceived as being more socially sensitive, sexually warm, kind, poised, and interesting than less attractive persons. In sum, they were perceived as having all the more desirable traits. Not only were they rated higher on the personality dimensions, but they were seen as happier and more successful in their lives (p. 129). Old School-Research on nonverbal communication must be approached cautiously. Some studies mark masculinity and femininity as stable, individual traits, when current research has placed us in a better position from which to view masculine and feminine display â€Å"as operating in the service of impression management and social maintenance† (Epstein, 1988, p. 220). I say â€Å"old school† for the research conducted by Epstein in 1988, yet it amazingly still applies research done today on nonverbal communication and gender. Generally, the sexes are attracted to one another on the basis of what Walster and her colleagues called the â€Å"matching hypothesis† ( Knapp, 1989, p. 59). The matching hypothesis argues that we may be attracted to only the best looking partners, but we will accept someone at least as good looking as we are. In other words, we are realistic in our approach to matching ourselves with prospective partners. I know it is true, but it still makes me cringe. It is judgment and judgment is up to God, not us. Conclusion On Cu lture and Socialization and Self-Maintenance in Communication; bettering verbal and nonverbal performance may not change any societal hierarchies, social orders, interpersonal communications, but it may be a first step. Studies have shown that the ability to correctly interpret verbal and nonverbal communications leads to more successful personal relationships. Greater awareness of verbal and nonverbal communication skills may lead to enhanced assertiveness. Being aware of the relationships between power and verbal/nonverbal communications changes the way people view seemingly neutral interactions. The relationship among power, sex, and verbal/nonverbal communications is one that has not been studied sufficiently. Further study of this controversial subject can only help to improve interpersonal communications.

Is the glass half empty or half full? Essay

An optimist will view a half filled cup as half-full, while a pessimist sees it as half empty. Happiness is water, while humans are the cups. Humans tend to either strive get a full cup for themselves, or they help others filling their cups while disregarding their own happiness. This is where a compromise comes in, where both cup and water must balance. Since it is very unlikely to get what is preferred most of the time, it is essential to balance the whole time. In The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby finds himself in a predicament. The only motive he has in life is to marry his true love. He must choose money or love. People will lose their happiness to others, or try to take it all for themselves. Until an individual can make compromises, they will struggle with life. The main character Jay Gatsby has only been pursuing only his happiness. Gatsby looks at the ground and â€Å"sees the blocks of the sidewalk really formed a ladder, and mounted in a secret place above the trees – he could climb to his if he climbed alone and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder.† This shows Gatsby’s character, as he can imprint his fantasies in the real world, on such a mundane object of life, the sidewalk. Only Gatsby can see it because only he can climb the ladder into the upper class, he cannot take Daisy with him. Once he is up there, he can maintain his ignorance of life and maintains his god-like complex in his mindless dream. This is a good example of a metaphor for life as pap means lacking substance or real value. He has to choose between his happiness or status. Jay’s friend Meyer Wolfsheim played with the faith of fifty million people, like a burglar blowing a safe. One single p erson affected fifty million people. The narrator Nick Carraway is the only poor main character who lives on the pair of Eggs. Nick rents, Gatsby buys, and the Buchannan’s inherent. When Nick is offered a small job by Gatsby, he chooses to refuse. This could have bolstered his income and his happiness. Nick disapproved of Gatsby from the beginning to the end. Yet he aided and provided support to Gatsby with his wild plans. The only way Nick could escape his life was to get drunk. He gets drunk in Myrtle’s apartment and has lots of fun. During one of Gatsby’s parties, Nick took two fingerbowls of champagne, and â€Å"the scene had changed before my eyes into something significant elemental and profound.† Alcohol is his way out of this world, and this is one of the things he does not admit to. At one of the parties the woman under the white plum tree, symbolizing purity is accompanied by a famous director. The director works his way up and kisses her. She does not pull back from the early signs of sexual misconduct, which shows us that the rich are not pure and want to keep ascending, even by resorting to sexual acts. Nick was going to berate Tom for such irresponsible behavior, then realized he was talking to a spoiled child. Nick reflects on the situation and comments, â€Å"I couldn’t forgive him or like [Tom], but I saw what he had done was to him, highly justified.† Nick sees that the rich are very irresponsible and careless and leave the poor to suffer. This cycle continues on and on, it will never stop unless everyone is equal, which will never happen due to human nature. The only way for everyone to have equal amounts of happiness is if it is shared. Some of the thing that prevents this is when people either take away all of their happiness to give to someone else, causing an imbalance which may shape a person for the worst, which is known as spoiling them. If the opposite occurs, where one person takes all of the joy and leaves the consequences to someone else, everyone suffers, and nothing good ever comes out of it. As Nick Carraway once said, â€Å"Laughter is easier, minute by minute, spilled with prodigality tipped by a cheerful world.†