Grandma Essay -- Personal Narrative Profile

She's sitting there, a blown-out shell as hulking and vacant and lifeless as the enchanted castles of my beloved fairy-tale stories. The television cries for attention, but her eyes refuse to acknowledge even its blatant wail. Behind tinted glass-is that smudged dirt or a protective coating?-eyes finally flutter open, the first sign of life. Are they blank? Do they beg for help or scream of past and present pain? I can't say-I haven't the courage to look. The world rotates around its axis three times an hour and I run with it. "Soccer cleats, water bottle, there you go." "Fine-I'll be there in an hour." "Okay, groceries, post office, soccer practice . . . hmm . . . what do you want for dinner?" Family members dance around the kitchen in the ultimate test of agility to avoid tromping on another's toes. "There's nothing to eat!" "Love you-bye!" "Come back here! Pick that up right now!" A slap of the cupboard door, dashed kisses, and a sprint for keys-trip! crash! yell! A mad cacophony-entirely normal, unsettling, and dear Grandma sits there. She has not moved. The eye of the storm? Or merely forgotten by time? Dad and I walk away from it all sometimes, releasing frustration in fruitless lament. Sometimes we laugh bitterly. Sometimes his words are a painful reminder of a happier and more carefree time. "I just had to get out of the house. Usually I can take it-but tonight!" His stride slows in failure. "I never wanted you to realize how different she is. I tried-I hoped you'd never recognize her illness. And pretending used to work. I'm-I'm sorry you have to see it now. She used to love to visit, you know, and you loved her back." I strain to remember lost time and attitude. "Grandma's here!" A rus... ...er a fairy godmother in a white and poofy dress waving a crystalline magic wand and saying the magic words as I am instantaneously granted love and patience and relief from guilt and dread. But there is no magic wand or sudden connection of love and understanding. There is no resolution of perfect peace. I stare at these words and am instead startled, not by supreme happiness or tranquility, but by a resilient hope. The world does not end with this page. I will push print and the world will go on, and I will continue to create my world. "Happily ever after" is unnecessary. Instead, maybe I will sit down next to her and simply speak. Tonight maybe I will kiss her cheek as she goes up to bed. Maybe I will hold her hand as she struggles up the stairs or joke with her, whether she understands or not. This is no end, and there doesn't yet need to be-I'm still trying.

Seperating the Components of Panacetin

Alex Wilson 9/11/12 Experiment #2 Separating the Components of Panacetin: Introduction: Of the three components likely to be present in your sample of Panacetin (aspirin, acetanilide, and starch), only starch is insoluble in the organic solvent dichloromethane (or methylene chloride), CH2 Cl2. If a sample of Panacetin is dissolved as completely as possible in dichloromethane, the insoluble starch can be filtered out, leaving acetanilide and aspirin in solution. The purpose of this experiment is to extract the components of Panacetin.Although the acetanilide and aspirin are both quite insoluble in water at room temperature, the sodium salt of aspirin is very soluble in water but insoluble in dichloromethane. Because aspirin is a reasonably strong acid, it can be converted to the salt, sodium acetylsalicylate, by reaction with the basic sodium hydroxide. While the two layers are thoroughly mixed, the aspirin will react with the sodium hydroxide in the bottom layer, which then migrates to the aqueous layer and can be easily separated in a separatory funnel.Adding some dilute hydrochloric acid to the aqueous solution restores free aspirin as an insoluble white solid; evaporating the solvent from the bottom layer leaves the acetanilide behind. Experimental: For the separation of sucrose, we weighed out 3. 048g of Panacetin onto a filter, and 50 mL of dichloromethane in a graduated cylinder. Then we transferred both the panacetin and dichloromethane into an Erlenmeyer flask and stirred it until the panacetin was dissolved. We let it dry by gravity and set it aside to dry. The filter paper weighed about 1. 320g and sucrose weighed out at 1. 028g.Sucrose also ended up on the outside rim of the filter paper. We then proceed to separate the aspirin. We measured 30mL of NaHCO3 and mixed it with 7mL of 6M HCl. We drained the organic layer into a pre-weighed Erlenmeyer flask and save it for recovery of acetanilide. We took the combined aqueous extracts in an Erlenmeyer flas k, and acidify the aqueous solution by slow addition, with stirring, of 20 mL of 6M HCl. We made sure the solution is strongly acidic by testing it with litmus paper getting a pH of 2. We then cooled the mixture to room temperature swirling the flask occasionally in an ice bath.We collected the aspirin by vacuum filtration and washed the aspirin on the filter with cold distilled water. We let it air dry for 30-35 minutes and then weighed the aspirin. It weighed out at 0. 513g. The unknown component was calculated and weighed at 0. 738g. Results: When we were mixing the filtration and letting it vent periodically, we lost some of it. So our percent recovery is as follows: The unknown component weighed 0. 738g. And our percent composition is as follows: Discussion: Sucrose is insoluble in the organic solvent dichloromethane (CH2 Cl2).Aspirin, acetanilide, and phenacetin are soluble in dichloromethane but relatively soluble in water. Aspirin reacts with bases such as sodium bicarbonate to form a salt, sodium acetylsalicylate, which is insoluble in water. Acetanilide and phenacetin are not converted into salts by sodium bicarbonate. The Reciprocal (Interconversion) of Aspirin and it’s Sodium Salt Conclusion: The breakdown of Panacetin: Mix panacetin with CH2 Cl2 and you will get a solid which is sucrose and you’ll get a filtrate of aspirin and an unknown substance. Then you will extract the aspirin with NaHCO3 to get an organic layer and a water layer.The bottom layer for us was the organic layer, while the top layer was the water layer. After figuring out the organic layer you mix the unknown with CH2 Cl2, and then you will evaporate to leave just the unknown substance. When you figure out which layer was the water layer, you’ll mix sodium salicylate and H2O. You will then add HCl until the pH level of the solution reaches 2. After the pH reaces2, you have aspirin; which proves that as long as you follow the directions in this lab, you will h ave indeed separated the aspirin from the panacetin.

Hawthorne, Brown and Poe Essay

The gothic component of the American Romantic Period of 1800-1860 produced several eerie and gothic works by talented literary minds. Three such pieces, â€Å"The tell-tale heart,† â€Å"The Birthmark,† and Wieland were written by Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles Brockden Brown. These works of fiction delve into the minds of seemingly unstable protagonists, and in so doing participated in the general Romantic theme of reacting against reason. These authors also adhered further to the Romantic notion of elevating the human spirit as persons in need not of salvation but of being aroused to a truer relationship with the self. Thesis: The main characters of each story defy the conventions of the time through gothic settings, anti-religious demonstrations and revolutionary psychological insights that lead to a better understanding of the dark side of human capabilities. A. Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown 1. Wrote extensively on an array of topics 2. Ushered in the ideas of the American Romantic Period 3. Strong psychological state of female character 4. Weak psychological state of male characters 5. External force having the power to awaken his true character B. â€Å"The tell-tale heart† by Edgar Allan Poe 1. Psychologically challenged character 2. More insight into the inner workings of the unsound mind 3. Takes the reader into uncharted territory 4. Narrator an exercise in self-knowledge 5. Death of a beautiful woman C. â€Å"The Birthmark† by Nathaniel Hawthorne 1. Death of a beautiful woman 2. Gothic tradition of darkness and mystery 3. Puritanical hypocrisy 4. Salvation through self knowledge Conclusion: The three authors Brown, Poe, and Hawthorne, along with their works Wieland, â€Å"The tell-tale heart,† and â€Å"The Birthmark,† demonstrate several aspects of the American Romantic Period in which they were written. They display the gothic preoccupation with the ghostly and/or mysterious qualities of the unknown. They also delve into the psychological mysteries of the mind and demonstrate the moral weaknesses of humans. Finally, they seek to bring humans into such contact with the self so that elevation and improvement of the mind and spirit can come about through a thorough knowledge of the self and its functions.

Businesses and organizations Essay

â€Å"Businesses and organizations use various types of information systems to support the many processes needed to carry out their business functions. Each of these information systems has a particular purpose or focus, and each has a life of its own. This â€Å"life of its own† concept is called the systems development life cycle or SDLC, and it includes the entire process of planning, building, deploying, using, updating, and maintaining an information system. The development of a new information system involves several different, but related activities. These activities, or phases, usually include planning, analysis, design, implementation, and maintenance/support. In other words, SDLC is a conceptual model that guides project management in information system development.†(Wikibooks) The life cycle starts with preliminary investigation which all the available information needed for the system elements and allocation of the requirements to the software are gathered. Next is the analysis of the requirements. This involves the analyst understanding the functions of the software which is required for the system based off the gathered information. Then is the system design in which the analyst designs and finalizes the best suited design for the system. The difficult step of system coding or development comes next which is where the analyst translates the design and programs into code for the computer. After the previous steps next are the testing phase where the system is testing to see if it works as intended or not. Then is implementation where the system is given to the customer and feedback is returned to insure the program works as intended. And finally system maintenance is the last step, here the analyst insures the system remains working within the proper bounds and functions appropriately and fixes any problems. I think this relates to database development in a number of ways. One is how it starts, gathering information and finding the intent of the system. Next you must plan out how to set up the database, by determining the vital information. Then comes the minor details. You set up your database fill in some test information insure it works properly and make needed adjustments. Finally you implement your database design where in it works properly you merely maintain and fix any errors. 2. Look up â€Å"Requirement Analysis† on the web. What kinds of topic headin g do you find? I found headlines like â€Å"Business Requirement Analysis†,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Software Requirement Analysis† and â€Å"Five common errors in requirements analysis (and how to avoid them)† References Wikibooks – Systems Analysis and Design/Introduction- Open book for an open world http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Systems_Analysis_and_Design/Introduction

Book Summary “The Goal” Processes and Operations

Book Summary â€Å"The Goal† Processes and Operations Key Idea The main message of the book is that the proper way to manage any operation, whether it’s a manufacturing plant or a web design shop or a clothing store, is to: 1) Identify what needs to be changed. 2) Identify what it should be changed to. 3) Identify how to execute the change. Summary This story is based around the life of Alex Rogo, Plant Manager for Uniware, which is a division of Unico. After some very upsetting customer approaches Alex’s boss, Bill Peach, is given a challenge to turn the plant around in three months. More Summary of Devil at My HeelsDue to the limited amount of time available, there are not many outside tools available such as consultants, surveys, and so on. With very few hopes, Alex foresees the inevitable until he remembers his conversation with Jonah, a physicist who Alex knew from a previous job. It is not until Alex’s job is in at risk that he decides to devour into his conversation with Jonah. During the conversation, Jonah asks him several questions to analyze his company’s situation. The conversation leads ultimately to the question, â€Å"What is the goal of any business? After rethinking his conversation, Alex realizes that the goal of any business is to make money. Furthermore, if the goal is to make money any action toward this goal is considered productive and any action not moving towards the goal is nonproductive. Alex was unsure of such a simple answer and decided to contact Jonah to continue the search for more answers. Once Alex contacts Jonah th ey define the following measurements to define the success of any plant’s production: 1) Throughout = rate that the system is used to generate money through sales.This measurement would consist of what a product would be worth when sold at market value after deducting operational expense and inventory. 2) Inventory = all the money invested in purchasing items that will be sold. This could include the remains of their machines after being used toward the investment. 3) Operational expense = all the money used to turn inventory into output. This would include such items as depreciation of a machine, lubricating oil, scraps, etc. Jonah explains to Alex that a plant that is continuously productive is considered inefficient.He further explains that continuous production will result in high absenteeism, poor quality and employee turnover. Based on this, he would need to reduce operational expense and inventory to improve throughput to demonstrate a balanced line of production. Jona h leaves him to think about the understanding of two things: what are the dependent events and statistical fluctuations in his plant. During a hiking trip with Alex’s son, he produces a game for a few of the kids to demonstrate an ideal balance line of production.He does this by setting up dependents and uses a die to measure the statistical fluctuations. At the end of the game, he concluded that the bottleneck’s speed of production is what determines the speed of the other dependents. Therefore, inventory moves very slowly because of statistical fluctuations. In the end, this is where Alex began his search inside the plant. After arriving back at work, he and the crew began their search for the bottlenecks. They identify one of the robots, NCX-10, and the heat treatment area as the source of the bottlenecks.Once identified, they began their search for solving them. After following some simple steps they significantly increased production by 12% during the first two mo nths and 20% in the third month. Based on these increases, Alex saves the plant and his got promoted to Bill Peach’s position. Besides the ongoing theme of saving the plant, there is an underlying story about Alex’s personal life. In the beginning Alex’s wife, Julie, and him are constantly arguing about Alex working late in attempts of saving the plant which flows over into not spending any time with his family.Within the first 100 pages of the book, his wife leaves him, after being exhausted of all attempts to save their marriage. However, during his search for reclaiming the plant he does the same with his marriage. I think that the author is telling the audience that there must be a balance between these two lives. It is important for both to be in harmony because eventually they will flow in and out of each environment. Lessons Learned What I enjoyed the most about this book was the layout. It consisted of telling a story about Alex in a novel form, which in cluded dialog, plot, etc.By making the book in this way it broke the specifics down for a layperson, Alex. After all, Alex represents the average person – job going down the tube and marriage shortly following it. The source of the problem the whole time was following the rules that were and are continuously engraved into us each day. What I learned about this book is that you should not let your business and processes control you and lead you. Instead, you should be constantly criticizing and reviewing your processes and not settling for any bottlenecks or sticking points.Another major theme in the novel is that the point of a business is to make money, and more specifically, to make a profit. The way to do this is not to create as much as possible, but instead to run as efficiently as possible. That might require making drastic changes to common practices, things that on paper seem like they will hurt the bottom line. For example, in the book, they discover they’re r unning their manufacturing plant at 80% capacity. That means 20% of the time, they have machines and people just sitting there doing nothing. So they tell their sales manager to get them 20% more work.He says that they can only get it from a client who wants it at below cost, so they would lose money. But Alex convinces him that they only have materials as costs, as they have people doing nothing currently who are getting paid, so their time is not an additional expense. I thought this was very interesting. Application This book would be ideal for anyone interested in simplifying ways to improving any process – whether it is manufacturing or service oriented. These back to basics principles, help break down what has become â€Å"common practice†.

Creating Climates for Learning for Diverse Learners Essay

In the case of Pon, it makes sense that his behavior and learning problems do stem from the fact that he is different from his peers. In his age group, it is usually the case that being different results to being discriminated against (Rogers, 2004). Rather than forcing the child to â€Å"fit in† with his classmates, it would be more appropriate to channel his differences to positive learning experiences. Activities that promote the showcasing of individual differences such as â€Å"show and tell†, or â€Å"talent shows† may be incorporated to allow the class to express their ideas and make each other see how different they are from one another. In discovering their differences, each member of the class would realize that being different is not such a bad thing. These activities would make Pon feel more confident about his unique identity and make his classmates appreciate him more. Once his classmates are able to see that Pon also has talents that he can share with the class, there will be a greater possibility that his peers would interact with him. In the case of Araceli, her limited English speaking skills can truly be a source of personal frustration and depression. In order to combat these dangers, her teachers should provide opportunities for her to appreciate her speaking abilities in Spanish. This can be done by asking her to join speech competitions in Spanish. While her language teachers should remind her about the importance of learning English, they should also applaud her for her fluency in Spanish and inform her that Spanish itself is a major language. In both cases, it is important that teachers do not make the mistake of affirming student differences as negative traits. Teachers should help students celebrate their individual differences in order to build their self-esteem and make them more comfortable with the learning environment. Reference Rogers, J. (2004). Pedagogy: A Multicultural approach 3rd Edition. NY:

Toyota Company Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Toyota Company Analysis - Research Paper Example Quite a global body, Toyota Motors has dealt with the automotive market not just within its ‘home base’ of Japan and US, but in several other nations. Additionally, Toyota Motors has taken the initiative to stay up to date with modern topics of concern, concentrating on the additional corporate tasks of world as well as ecological concerns (Edsall, p. 43, 2006). Toyota Motor Corporation exists in several geographical locations, working to not just support vehicle manufacturing, but to endorse progressing development in the experience of mobility, determined to develop a society where there is consensus among individuals, the world and the surroundings. This paper examines the strategic abilities of Toyota Motors in front of the ever-hardening competition within the vehicle manufacturing industry. Financial Analysis Profits from sales of vehicles are usually documented on delivery. Toyota’s sales inducement plans mainly involve cash payments to traders calculated based on vehicle size or a model sold by a trader in a specific time period (Edsall, p. 34, 2006). Marketable securities contain debt and equity securities, and are allocated as offered-for-sale is accepted on fair value with unrealized profits or losses included as a factor of accumulated other broad returns in shareholders’ equity, net of relevant excise. ... The stipulation for income taxes is calculated based on the ‘pretax income’. The asset and liability method is applied to identify deferred tax assets as well as liabilities for the projected tax effects of provisional variations among the carrying totals and the tax bases of assets and liabilities. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 5 Background and History 5 Industry Analysis 6 Macro Environment Analysis 7 Porter’s Five Forces Model 8 Threat of New Entrants 8 Bargaining Power of Buyers 9 Threat of Substitute Products 9 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 9 Industry Life-Cycle Model 10 Analysis of Competitive Advantage 13 SWOT Analysis 14 Strengths 14 Weaknesses 14 Opportunities 15 Threats 15 Corporate Strategy Alignment Analysis 15 Financials (All values are in USD million) 16 Credit Rating 20 Conclusion and Recommendations 21 References 22 Introduction In this intensely hostile business world, the objective of the majority of firms is to establish unique or exclusive potential to achieve a ‘competitive advantage’ within the market by using the majority of their core capabilities. Capabilities mean the basic understanding owned by the business, and to be unique they are not limited to functional fields but â€Å"cut across the firm and its organisational boundaries† (Iyer et al, p. 34, 2009). At the moment, business enterprises within developed nations work in an extra complex, and more synchronized setting. The strategic mission, in that case, is to generate a unique approach ahead, â€Å"by whatever core capabilities and capital at its disposal, against the background and influence of the environment† (Liker, p. 73, 2003). As a result of these