A declaration of war justify behaviour Essay

Whether or not the declaration of Just War justifies behaviour that is morally or legally unacceptable in peacetime depends firstly on the sort of behaviour we are talking about. There are a number of behaviours that are legally permitted in peacetime that many people would and do reject as morally unacceptable. This includes abortion, euthanasia and animal rights. The legal acceptability of these issues depends on the government, and varies from state to state. In this country, during peacetime it is acceptable to kill in self defence – for instance, if one’s house is being robbed and the burglar threatens the owner, the owner would not be penalized for shooting and killing the burglar. Pacifists object to all kinds of killing in both war and peacetime, whereas just war supporters try to draw parallels between civil justice and international justice in the attempt to justify certain behaviour. There are also behaviors such as propaganda, espionage and deliberate infringement of human rights that are more doubtful and are usually seen as unacceptable in peacetime. Certain examples of violent behaviour in peacetime in hindsight appear unacceptable, yet at the time those guilty were not prosecuted. There have been a number of incidents when armed Police officers have shot dead suspects who were not carrying a weapon. None of the police officers who killed those people were convicted. This is because killing in defence of innocent life is acceptable in peacetime, and the boundaries and conditions can be bended to suit the individual. Pacifists believe that therefore no killing can be acceptable on deontological grounds. Some religious people argue for the absolute sanctity of human life; they would say that ideally no incidental killings would take place if all killing was prohibited. Thus, this position would assume that a declaration of war does not justify any kind of killing either. Christian absolutists believe they are following the example of Jesus Christ by refusing to resort to violence, even if they have been treated cruelly. Therefore a declaration of just war would not be able to justify any unacceptable behaviour such as murder and violence – this would only further divide men, who are already divided by sin. Nevertheless, those who support the Just War theory believe that killing in the name of resisting an unjust oppressor is justifiable. The declaration of just war must be a proportionate response, and must discriminate between the guilty and the innocent. Oliver O’Donovan suggests war is an act of armed judgment and must be carried out by an unbiased judge to ensure its fairness. This judge must have a clear perspective on the gains and losses this act would entail and the final aim must be to bring about peace. In theory, military aggression is not defined by killing and violence. For instance, British troops that entered Iraq do not kill unless attack. Therefore killing is still self defence and this is no different to peacetime. Walzer thinks killing in self defence is justifiable and supports the theory of ‘legalist paradigm’. This means interstate justice basically reinforces the civil legal system, but on a larger scale – it is analogous. The right of a given state to defend itself must be accepted, just as an individual has the right to do the same. Walzer believed whichever side begins aggression to be automatically in the wrong. There is also the question of propaganda and whether it becomes appropriate to mislead people into thinking in a certain way in order for them to support the supposedly just war movement. In a healthy and functioning democracy during peacetime it is prohibited to lie to citizens or conceal the truth of political work. Some would argue that in wartime morale need to be boosted However, when a nation is at war, its citizens are often indoctrinated via mass media with the sort of messages that would disorientate their judgment and evoke hatred for ‘the enemy’. Propoganda can lead to disproportionate warfare and killings, therefore it cannot be justified. Human rights have always been an issue, for it is no certain whether it is morally right to deny someone the right to life in favour of another objective. From a utilitarian perspective, it would depend on whether the war was successful. If more people than soldiers killed are able to lead happy and fulfilled lives after the war ends, then it is acceptable to justify military confrontation in wartime. However, The High Court has recently decided that it soldiers human rights should not be overlooked either. This means the Ministry of Defence has to ensure the soldiers are not subjected to combat in intolerable heat or cold, and have functioning equipment. Certain equipment would be forbidden entirely, such as Nimrod planes. Of course, this would affect the damage potential of British troops, and possibly extend the war and subsequently take more lives. A utilitarian critic would ask whether in the long term this court order is going to cause more death and pain.

Dangerous Minds and Diversity Essay

In writing a review of a narrative in pop culture that includes a significant illustration of diversity in a school community, I chose Dangerous Minds by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer (Bruckheimer, 1995). The film Dangerous Minds is based on the autobiography My Posse Don’t Do Homework by former U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson, who took a teaching position at Carlmont High School in Belmont, California, where most of the students were Hispanic and African-American. This film exhibits cultural diversity in school community in several ways from lower-class and under-privileged backgrounds to being involved in gang and drug warfare activities to simply refusing to engage in any type of learning. Determined to reach the students, LouAnne devises classroom exercises that teach similar principles to the prearranged work, but using themes and language that fascinate the streetwise students. She also tries to motivate them by giving them all an A grade from the beginning of the year, and arguing that the only thing required of them is that they maintain it. Through poetry and other reading methods, she attempts to teach symbolism and metaphor. Once that was achieved, she progresses on to other poems and rewarded the students with a trip to a theme park, candy bar incentives, and a dinner at a nice restaurant. She also tried to teach the students how to use a verb correctly in a sentence. Her initial sentence on the board was, â€Å"We ____ meat for dinner.† The students were not interested in learning through the curriculum based instruction that was pushed onto LouAnne through the principal and assistant principal of the school. Since the students would not respond to that way of learning, she quickly revised and reiterated her way of teaching by asking them, â€Å"What is the verb in the following sentence, â€Å"We want to die.† Since this was a relative way of thinking about things for the students, they responded quickly (Bruckheimer, 1995). The most interesting thing about the way she taught through diversity was that she related the information to their real-life circumstances. Taking the transdisciplinary approach, she was able to teach across the curriculum by integrating poetry and the history of where it originated (Bruckheimer, 1995). LouAnne also reaches out to individual students that draw attention through their personal problems. Renoly is a Hispanic boy who is regularly involved in gang and street crime. LouAnne tries to encourage him to focus by paying a special visit to his family to congratulate him on his work, and going to dinner with him as a way of instilling confidence and self-respect. Callie is an African-American girl who is unusually bright girl in English, but is removed from the school halfway through the semester when she becomes pregnant. LouAnne visits her outside of school hours to try to persuade her to continue with further education. Finally, Emilio is the most troubled of them all. He believes strongly in the sense of personal respect and doesn’t want to ask her for help. She finds that his life is in danger and reaches out to help him. She directs him to talk to the principal and because of a bad attitude from the principal, Emilio is killed (Bruckheimer, 1995). Toward the end of the movie, LouAnne gets overwhelmed with trying to help all the students and wants to quit. The main reason I think that LouAnne was successful in meeting the needs of the diverse school community is because at the end of the movie the students take a stand for her and insist that stays and finishes helping them so they can graduate. They refer to her as their â€Å"light† in learning which was derived from a poem that she had taught them. That in itself shows how she was able to get through to a group of culturally diverse students in the school community (Bruckheimer, 1995). Bibliography Bruckheimer, D. S. (Director). (1995). Dangerous Minds [Motion Picture].

Thomas Green and His Dynamic Display Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Thomas Green and His Dynamic Display - Essay Example According to the discussion, Thomas had reached his position based on a recommendation from Frank’s boss. The case describes the work performance of Thomas based on different incidents based on the perspective of Frank who is building up a case to fire newly appointed marketing executive. Dynamic Display Corporation is dedicated to providing self service options to banks via Automated Teller Machines. The company has been in business since 1990. In 1994 the managerial staff of the firm noticed an opportunity for growth in the travel and hospitality industry. A new division was founded to serve this market by offering self-service check-in kiosks. By 2007 the travel and hospitality division had become the market leader with 60% market share and over 1500 kiosks across a network of 75 airports. The attractiveness of the company products was that it reduced the costs of checking in a passenger to about $0.30 per passenger which represents a 90% cost reduction in comparison with a gent check-in. A new trend in the industry was the utilization of web-check in. Web checks were taking business away from the company. Dynamic Display was looking for new managerial talent with fresh ideas to keep its travel and hospitality industry competitive. Thomas Green was young professional with an outgoing personality that started working at Dynamic Display in March 2007 as an account executive. Ever since he was recruited by this company Thomas had high hopes for his chances to succeed at his new job. A common key success factor of successful business people is the ability to set and achieve goals1. Thomas showed initiative and voluntarily attended training at corporate headquarters. His communication skills, energy, and insight into the ATM market caught the attention of a key executive, Shannon McDonald. McDonald took Green under his wings and mentored the kid and in a short period of time McDonalds promoted Thomas to senior market specialist.

US Department of lebor Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

US Department of lebor - Research Paper Example â€Å"Public Law 426-62: An Act to create a Department of Labor† was the organic act which created a sole DOL with a Secretary of Labor removed from the Department of Commerce. The law was signed reluctantly by President Taft within hours from the time Woodrow Wilson took over as president. The Progressive Movement has been credited for the call for its enforcement. Earlier, the DOL consisted mainly of the United States Conciliation Service (USCS), which was responsible for overseeing and mediating labor disputes in the country. Together with this branch are four other which already existed prior to the DOL. The first Labor Secretary was Congressman William Wilson appointed by President Wilson. The appointee had been a known labor campaigner as founder of United Mine Workers of America where he also once served as its Secretary-Treasurer. The mission statement of the Department of Labor is â€Å"To foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.† This is not much of a stretch from the purpose contained in its organic act as it has remained forcefully relevant. Currently, the department is tasked with the difficult task on the matter which has become the main topic in the presidential debate: unemployment. The current and future goals can be found in the Secretary’

The Scramble and Acquisition of African Colonies Essay

The Scramble and Acquisition of African Colonies - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the European countries that colonized Africa were Italy, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, and Spain. Their colonization of Africa was because of power struggles and competition for supremacy in Europe. The scramble was a rapid colonization of the African continent after the European powers acquired colonies in 1880-1900. The scramble was pushed by the economic, social, and political evolution that Europe was going through. It developed in the nineteenth century due to the collapse of the slave profitability, abolition,  and the European expansion. During the late nineteenth century, European countries like Britain were suffering growth deficit in its balance of trade. The imperatives of capitalist development spurred the European scramble. Thus, the goal of European intrusion was economically driven. Their objective was to find assured sources of raw materials, guaranteed markets, and profitable investment outlets. Their countries had limited resources and also highly populated. They dispersed themselves to the African continent to scramble and acquire colonies. During their trade with Africans, they realized that the continent was endowed with various minerals. Imperialism was also induced by the demand for raw materials unavailable in Europe. Africa had cotton, tea, rubber, diamonds, palm oil, copper,  and cocoa. The European consumers had grown accustomed to the products of the raw materials. The European industry as well had grown to depend on the raw materials from the continent of Africa. The European powers’ was another major factor for scrambling to acquire the African colonies. The population in Europe had grown so much, and it could no longer support the population. To manage a struggle for power amongst its people, they had to acquire new territories. As a result, some of its citizens were shipped to Africa to start an empire of their own. They also scrambled to acquire the African colonies, so that they could be able to achieve the aspect of â€Å"balance of power.† The colonies were viewed as tools of negotiation, useful as items of exchange at periods of international bargains. They also regarded colonies with the large native population as a source of military power during the colonial wars.

Juvenile Justice Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Juvenile Justice - Coursework Example Finally, these transfers benefit the system, as it is intricate to handle some cases committed by juveniles, while in juvenile courts. In case of a transfer, youths become adults legally and face similar treatment to that for adults. After a careful examination of the reasons behind such transfers, I strongly support this practice (Elrod and Ryder 217). Currently, three main mechanisms are applicable for transfer of a juvenile to an adult court. As depicted in this source, the first mechanism is the judicial waiver, which has been in application since ancient epochs. A number of elements distinguish it from other mechanisms. For instance, the examination of the likely reasons for the juvenile to have committed the crime is among the basic elements. Secondly, it becomes necessary to consider the threats of such a youth to the society (Elrod and Ryder 218). Moreover, it considers the system to which the juvenile court system can effectively handle such a case. In a scenario, whereby th e case is so serious, a careful evaluation of how the adult court can handle such a case becomes a point of focus. The other mechanism known as the legislative waiver has been in use, in various states of America. This mechanism forms its decision on the age, along with the offense criterion of the juvenile. The third and final mechanism is the prosecutorial waiver. This is different from the other two mechanisms as it permits a concurrent jurisdiction in the two dissimilar court systems. Similarly, both the age together with the offense criterion demand cautious considerations. Kent vs. US and Breed vs. Jones impacts the waivers transfer in a negative way as it prohibits the double trial that the waiver transfer supports. In the determination of the suitability of any of the transfer mechanism, it is suitable to examine the two different court systems. After establishing which one is appropriate, the transfer process starts (Elrod and Ryder 224). A number of problems arise in case of transferring juveniles to an adult court for trial. The decision to transfer these youths can bring adverse consequences to the youths. Prosecution of these youths in open criminal courts exposes them to criminals known to have committed serious offenses than them. Eventually, they may resort into learning how to commit similar crimes. Additionally, erosion of their civil rights is a problem allied to such a transfer. In various scenarios, such a transfer fails to curb the increasing rate of recidivism, therefore, the deterioration of the security of community’s security. It would be crucial to transfer only those cases that the juvenile court cannot address with efficacy. If I were a judge, the state would have to prove to me that the juvenile court would find it intricate to handle such a case, together with the effectiveness of the needed superior court (Elrod and Ryder 220). Sources have revealed that a number of states have adopted separate programs within the adult c orrectional centers. Florida and South Carolina are the two states that have established different facilities for housing juvenile inmates. The age range is the key determinant of which youth ought to be housed in such facilities. In the above-mentioned states, the two age ranges are between 18 and 21, or 18 and 25. I also support the idea of housing them in different

International Tax Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Tax - Case Study Example Major art work galleries are increasingly maintaining an international presence such as New York based Gagosian Gallery which has branches in Rome, Paris, Hong Kong and many other cities around the world2. On the other hand, there are recognised auction houses that have had an international presence for some time but globalisation seems to have ramped up considerably in this segment of the art world in the recent decade as well. News media including television, newspapers, magazines and internet sites have been offering regular coverage for this market where the most evident feature is the regular skyrocketing of the prices of art work pieces3. The are other academic interests that involve the collection behaviour where the market for fine and decorative arts is slowly but steadily on the rise due to the favourable amounts of revenue generated from them. Art historians tend to focus on the history of collecting, while scholars in this field as diverse anthropology, sociology and economics who are interested in the multi-billion dollar international market for art4. The fine arts experience has gone even to undergraduate schools where it is common for students to pursue double majors in history and majors in art history and economics in preparation for a career in this field5. This shows that Eyemax Group has potential for numerous labour market employment opportunities for the necessary expertise to generate enough skills; this burgeoning field of art business had engendered specialised graduate-level programs, whose graduates seek opportunity in the rapidly expanding market for art. For an excellent experience in this industry, Eyemax Group will need to not only adhere to tax and other regulations of the law but also to generate potential useful alliances with the artists, dealers, auctioneers and others whose interests have a significant monetary component in the larger arts world6. These are the

Philosophy of Karl Marx Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Philosophy of Karl Marx - Essay Example Requisite for Marx's conclusions is first an explanation of human nature itself. The nature of a living being is first broken down into two understandings. The first understanding is of the individual being itself, on its own. This focuses on what kind of species the being actually is, whether it is a tree, ant, bird, or a human being, and what physical attributes and needs that being needs to fulfill its own existence. This need to fulfill physical and material needs and advance existence is what Marx ultimately means when he discusses production, whether on the microcosm level of a man or animal preparing food for its survival or on the macrocosm of the political economy of a society. Therefore, the mode of production is what Marx means by what needs are to be taken care of, predicated on conditional material circumstances, and how such needs are achieved through the distribution of labors and what is exchanged for such labor. The other elemental understanding of the nature of a living being is how it advances its existence and species, or essentially how it procreates future generations. In the plant and animal kingdoms, this could merely be the sexual reproduction and procreation of offspring, or ants providing a colony for future generations of ants. In the macrocosm, this means the evolution of economic production within a society. The physical needs and attributes are the modes of production for the individual itself, and reproduction is the mode of production in whichever community or society the individual belongs. Man is a social animal in Marxist theory, which is an extension or interpretation of Aristotle's infamous axiom that man is a political animal. Whether man is a "political" or a "social" animals depends on how broadly or narrowly the two terms are interpreted, defined and overlap. But politics is in itself a social function: therefore, man is at least a social being. This part of human nature necessitates further understanding of humanity's existence. To understand man requires understanding of human societies and communities. How a society, or aggregation or community, is maintained and advanced through the production of the individuals that constitute it, and how the individuals are maintained and advanced depend on the general production of the society as a whole. Essentially, the individuals in a society contribute to it through their production or work, while simultaneously the individual's own substance is determined by the conditions of the society as an aggregate whole. The s ocial nature of man is the framework to the construction of a society. Also essential in human nature is its ability to not to be constrained by nature, that is the creation and innovation of technology. Man can thus employ nature and "add stature to themselves" in its mode of production. The advances in technology ultimately influence the course of human history and its mode of social production. Social production is essentially the aggregate total production of the entire society, and how the individuals in that society produce and how society itself influences such individual productions. Prior to civilization and defined civil societies in recorded history, man was primarily a hunter-gatherer society where

Conoco Report Essay Example for Free

Conoco Report Essay Last week I attended Forresters Content Collaboration Forum 2011. Forrester notes that in five years, almost half of US workers — about 63 million people — will work virtually. I am already one of them. This will change everything in workplace IT support from designing workplace information strategies for collaboration, to delivering content experiences tothe firm. For this international, integrated energy company with thousands of job sites (often quite remote) spread across 30 countries, the challenge of sharing knowledge was very real — and the potential payoff was large. Facing fierce competition on all fronts, ConocoPhillips knew that to continue on its success trajectory, it needed to rapidly and effectively harness the knowledge of its highly skilled but geographically distributed workforce. Instead of assuming that technology either was the solution or was irrelevant when creating online communities, senior managers understood that effective global communities required new processes, roles, cultures, and technologies. Moreover, they recognized that each had to be focused on solving difficult business challenges. Seven years later, the ConocoPhillips knowledge-sharing program is ranked as best-in-class across industries.† Dan mentioned that Conoco Phillips is fourth largest traded company in US with 30,000 employees around the world and many contractors who also participate in their knowledge sharing. They have been many changes in the last 12 years as a number of companies were acquired, along with the merger of Conoco and Phillips. This activity has triggered a big need for knowledge sharing. He likes the term knowledge sharing rather than knowledge management. I completely agree. Dan said it is about getting people to talk to each other. Trust is important for this. They are now going to reorganize and the solid state of their knowledge assets will help with this effort. Dan said that more than 70% of their good ideas have come from their employees. Good things happen when employees talk to each other. Dan said that his boss is the SVP of Planning and Strategy and he reports to the CEO so people listen to him as where you sit in the org chart matters within his firm. I think this is true for most firms. The most successful KM efforts I have seen all have a senior sponsor of rank and respect in the organization. Most KM groups are placed too far down the hierarchy to be effective. Their KM effort started when a senior executive felt they were re-inventing things too much. The focus was always connecting people more than collecting  documents. They grew by sharing success stories. Sharing these success stories was connected to their variable compensation plan and this really triggered response. They started the Archimedes Awards to knowledge sharing. Categories are: Give, Grab, Gather, and Guts. Dan gave some examples about safety improvements that also led to big financial returns. They have documented over 9 billion dollars in gains through the program. Dan said that they have functional excellence models that give specifics for improvements. They promote purposeful collaboration. Dan said serendipity can be useful at times but being purposeful works best in their firm. He said that knowledge accumulates in networks and their firm has a matrix organization. Leadership behavior is important for knowledge to flow and manager support for knowledge sharing is critical. They now have 150 networks of excellence. The first few were launched in 2005. They had 20 by the end of the year. These networks were built on trust and relationships, not technology. Prior efforts failed because they were technology focused. He showed an example covering upstream rotating equipment. A big problem is lost production opportunity. There is a group that addresses this issue to keep equipment running safely. Networks are open to all employees, not just group members. Related networks are connected because issues are related across networks. Their Ask and Discuss component has led to 100,000 exchanges. He does not believe in formal lessons learned. It takes too much time. Informal connections work better. I would agree and add the formal lessons learned become out of date very quickly and talking with people gives the most current ideas. People want to help each other but they also want answers quickly. Dan showed a diagram of all the cross-connections. They are massive. Knowledge silos do not seem to an issue for them. They have three main tools: Ask and Discuss, Knowledge Library, and One Wiki. The wiki is the first place to look for content. Ask and Discuss was covered above. All of their success stories have an economic impact. One had 87 million dollars of benefits. Sharing this is important. Giving credit to the employees is critical. Getting middle managers on board was done through conveying business value of knowledge sharing. It was fun for me to hear about a successful knowledge management effort as I used to be involved with many in the 90s and early 2000s.

United States Armed Forces Essay Example for Free

United States Armed Forces Essay The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States of America. They are composed of the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, and the Marine Corps. Each branch plays a unique role in the security of America. Whether the country is participating in a conflict or developing the weapons of tomorrow, the freedom of America is protected by these branches. The Army, Navy, and Air Force represent the largest of the five branches, each having their own department in the Department of Defense. While they all work together to some extent, their purposes can be very different. The United States Army is the oldest branch of the military. It was established 14 June 1775. The Army is the largest branch of all the branches with over 550,000 active duty personnel. The Army serves as the land-based branch of the U. S. military. The Army does however operate aviation units of both fixed-wing and rotary wing aircraft, the majority of service members are land forces. The primary mission of the Army is to fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders. (1). The land forces of the Army are led by members of the infantry. Infantry is more physically demanding than other jobs in the Army, and places a greater emphasis on discipline, fitness, physical strength and aggression. The infantry is a weapon system in its self. It is the backbone of the Army. Infantry experience the highest number of casualties during any conflict because of the constant requirement of being face to face with the enemy. The United States Air Force is the most recent branch of the military. It was officially established on 18 September 1947. Before this the USAF was known as the U. S. Army Air Forces. It was operated and maintained by the Army during World War II until the National Security Act of 1947 which formed the modern day air force. The USAF is the most technologically sophisticated air force in the world. The main purpose of the USAF is to support the security of the United States through air and space exploration. The USAF supports national policies and objectives; and overcomes any nation esponsible for aggressive acts that endangers the peace and security of the United States. It is the main supporter of ground forces by providing air support during missions. The USAF does this by maintaining and operating over 5,500 staffed aircraft. The USAF is responsible for servicing and maintaining over 2,000 of the nations cruise missiles and the 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles also known as ICBM. The United States Navy was established on 13 October 1775. The Navy maintains, equips, and trains combat-ready Naval forces. These forces are capable of winning wars, discouraging aggression, and maintaining America’s freedom at the seas. The Navy has the world’s largest carrier fleet, with 11 active aircraft carriers. The USN is the largest fleet in the world; operating over 280 ships and some 3,600 aircraft. The USN maintains not only ships and submarines, but also naval aviation, including land-based naval aviation, air transport essential for naval operations and all air weapons. While those serving in the Navy do operate on land, their main mission is on the seas. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, and techniques have allowed the Navy to conquer multiple conflicts including World War II and the Cold War. The Navy is a main supporter of the Air Force, providing them with carriers for transporting and landing aircraft at sea. This extends the Air Force’s reach well beyond land bases. With Earth being over 70 percent water, the Navy is one of the most important branches of the modern day military. While the branches differ from each other, they come together to accomplish extraordinary goals. Whether it is fighting for freedom in the Revolutionary War, or fighting an unknown enemy in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, the United States Armed Forces are there to answer the call of duty. Through an entire volunteer force and superior technology they triumph any enemy that stands in their way. The United States of America was forged by the bravery from the men and women who have served in the U. S. Armed Forces. The Army, Air Force, and Navy provide a blanket of freedom for all Americans to enjoy.

Ir Spectral Analysis Of Oxovanadium Acetylacetone Biology Essay

Ir Spectral Analysis Of Oxovanadium Acetylacetone Biology Essay Complex will have ligand that will form coordination bond to the metal center by donating lone pairs of electrons to the empty d-orbital of the metal which is similar to the Lewis acid-base reaction. In this experiment, Acetylacetone and pyridine is the ligand will act as Lewis base and will be coordinated to the metal center of Vanadium, V, which is the Lewis acid. Acetylacetone is a ÃŽ ²-diketone that contains two alpha hydrogen atoms adjacent to the two carbonyl groups. As carbonyl-group is electron withdrawing group, these two carbonyl functional group will create an inductive effect which cause the alpha hydrogen to be more acidic and be easily deprotonated. Resonance stability of delocalising the anion formed from the deprotonation under basic condition also increases the probability of the deprotonation as shown in Figure 1: Figure 1: Mechanism of the deprotonation and delocalization of the alpha hydrogen Acetylacetone exist in both keto and enol isomer form as shown in Figure 2: Figure 2: Keto-enol tautomerisation of the Acetylacetone The enolate anion is able to act as a bidentate ligand as it can chelate onto the oxovanadium metal ion with the two oxygen atoms as the binding sites to form the VO(acac)2 complexes. Two acetylacetonate ligands are able to bind to the oxovanadium metal and form a square pyramidal complex. Addition of the pyridine compound will form an octahedral geometry complex. These can be further proven using IR spectroscopy where the different strengths, lengths and nature as according to Hookes law, IR absorption spectra is able to be unique for each complex. Experimental Procedure Preparation of VO(acac)2 The preparation of VO(acac)2 started with 5ml of concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4) slowly added to 5 ml of deionized water in a 50 ml round-bottomed flask. Then, 18 ml of ethanol and followed by 2 g of vanadium pentaoxide (V2O5) was added into the round bottom flask. The solution was refluxed in an oil bath for an hour. The mixture was then cooled and filtered using cotton wool. Subsequently, 6 ml of Acetylacetone was added drop wise to the filtrate. The reaction mixture was carefully added portion by portion to the solution that contained 7.4g of Na2CO3 in 120 ml of deionsed water in a 500 ml conical flask. The mixture was then cooled in ice water and filtered to obtain the dark green product. Product was dried under IR lamp. The product was weighted and percentage yield was calculated. Preparation of VO (acac)2py The VO(acac)2py was prepared first by dissolving 0.5 g of the VO(acac)2 products obtained in 20 ml of ethanol in a 50ml of round bottom flask. Then, the mixture was refluxed vigorously with 2 ml of pyridine for one hour which was then concentrated using rotary evaporator. Crystal of crude VO(acac)2py formed upon cooling in ice water which was then filtered and wash with 5 ml of ether. Product was dried under IR lamp. The crude dry product was weighted and percentage yield was calculated. The IR spectrum of product was then determined. Data Treatment and Analysis Calculation of Percentage Yield of VO(acac)2 The percentage yield was calculated using the following equation: V2O5 + 4H+ Æ’Â   2(VO)2+ + 2H2O + O2 -Reaction 1 2(VO)2+ + 2 acacH Æ’Â   2H+ + VO(acac)2 Reaction 2 Mole of H2SO4 used = Amount of H+ present = 0.0938 mol x 2 = 0.1876 mol Mole of acac used = Mole of V2O5 used = (limiting agent) The ratio of V2O5 and VO2+ is 1:2, Mole of VO2+ used = 0.0111 mols x 2 = 0.0222 mols As ratio of VO2+ and VO(acac)2 is 1:1, then theoretical mole of VO(acac)2 = 0.0222 mols Theoretical mass of VO(acac)2 = mole of VO(acac)2 x molar mass of VO(acac)2 = 0.0222 mols X 265.16 g/mol = 5.890 g Percentage yield of VO(acac)2 = Calculation of Percentage Yield of VO(acac)2py Mole of pyridine used = Mole of VO(acac)2 used = (limiting agent) VO(acac)2 is the limiting agent. The ratio of VO(acac)2 and VO(acac)2py is 1:1. Mole of VO(acac)2py = 0.00194 mols Hence, theoretical mass of VO(acac)2py = mole of VO(acac)2py X molar mass of VO(acac)2py = 0.00194 mols x 344.26 g/mol = 0.667 g Percentage of VO(acac)2py yield = Infra-red Spectroscopy Table 1: Summarized Data from IR spectrum of VO(acac)2py Important peaks observed in the spectrum of VO(acac)2 /cm-1 Important peaks observed in the spectrum of VO(acac)2py /cm-1 997.7 998.04 966.04 3449.72 Discussion Geometry of VO(acac)2 and VO(acac)2py Vanadium [IV] metal exists as vanadyl, VO2+ in aqueous solution. Before the reaction of the VO2+ with the acetylacetonate, VO2+ is coordinated to five water molecules and existed as octahedral geometry. However, acetylacetonate is a stronger ligand that displaces the water molecules. Since Vanadium is bonded to oxygen with a V=O bond, only 2 acetylacetonate will only be able to form coordinate bond with the vanadium central metal ion to form the VO(acac)2 complex with a square pyramidal geometry as shown in Figure 3. Figure 3: Reaction diagram of the coordination geometry of VO(acac)2 and VO(acac)2py The geometry of this complex is in the square pyramidal geometry instead of the trigonal pyramidal geometry is due to the steric effect caused by the acetylacetonate ligands. The geometry of the square pyramidal is to reduce the steric repulsion to the minimum with the optimal distance apart of the two ligands. Also, from Figure 3, it can be seen that there is a vacant coordination site on the principle z-axis available which allow another more coordination site if there is the presence of strong ligand such as pyridine in this experiment. Therefore, complexation occurred between the pyridine molecules and the VO(acac)2 where nitrogen lone pair in the pyridine molecules act as a Ï€- donor-ligand and strong Lewis base that donate the lone pair of electron to the VO(acac)2 complexes at the vacant coordination site. With the new VO(acac)2py complex formed having a distorted octahedral geometry due to the unequal bond length between the V=O bond and the V=N bond at the axial position of the vanadium metal centre which lead to asymmetry. Also, the octahedral geometry of the VO(acac)2py is a 6-coordinate complex that is of high thermodynamic stability. Shifting of the V=O stretching band The complex of the VO(acac)2 has an oxidation complex of +4 which the vanadium(IV) ion exists as a d1. Using the Crystal Field Theory, there is electronic repulsion between the electrons of the acac ligands and the electron on the vanadium metal ion which causes the initially degenerate 5 d-orbitals of vanadium metal ion to split into two different levels. The level with the lower energy has a t2g symmetry and consists of the dxy, dxz, and dyz atomic orbitals. The level with the higher energy has eg symmetry and consists of the dx2-y2 and dx2 orbitals. The difference between the energy levels is the ligand field splitting parameter, à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  o. In the octahedral geometry, eg orbitals are on the axial direction and are the most affected by the electrostatic repulsion which destabilize the orbitals and excite them to higher energy level. The t2g orbital is not on the axial position and thus, not much affected by repulsion and thus, stabilized and move to lower energy as shown in Figure 4: eg orbital à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  0 Energy dx2-y2 dx2 dxy dxz dyz t2g orbital Figure 4: Molecular diagram illustration of Crystal Field Theory As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the pyridine is a Ï€ donor ligand that binds to the VO(acac)2 complex at the vacant site at the axial position of the vanadium(IV) ion. The addition of the pyridine to the complex reduces à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  0 which this reduction of the splitting parameter was observed using the comparison of the IR spectrum of the VO(acac)2 and VO(acac)2py. From the spectrum found in Appendix 2, the spectrum of the VO(acac)2py complex can be seen that the V=O stretching frequency of VO(acac)2py complex is 32 cm-1 lower than the VO(acac)2 complex when the V=O stretching frequency decrease from 998.04 cm-1 to 966.04 cm-1. These reduces of the stretching frequency is proportional to the stretching energy of the V=O bond of the complex. The addition of the pyridine will result in the reduction of the stretching energy of the V=O bond. This shows that the V=O bond of the VO(acac)2py is destabilized upon the addition of pyridine to VO(acac)2. This can be shown using Hookes Law as shown: where v is the stretching frequency in cm-1, k is the force constant, ÃŽ ¼ is the reduced mass. The binding of the pyridine has decrease the force constant and the lone pair of the pyridine ligand is electron-donating which increases the mass of vanadium ion that result in larger reduced mass, ÃŽ ¼, which according to the Hookes law, result in lower stretching frequency wavenumber. The wave number is proportional to the amount of energy that is needed for transition where it highly depends on the ligand field splitting parameter. The shifting of the stretching frequency indicate that the ligand field splitting parameter has decreased in magnitude which the addition of the pyridine ligand has caused destabilization of VO(acac)2py complex. Similarly, the lone pair of electrons of the nitrogen in pyridine is added onto the anti-bonding of the molecular orbitals of VO(acac)2 complex. This causes the pyridine to be trans to the V=O bond. Also, this bonding of the electrons donated will increase the electron density of the vanadiums d orbitals which will decrease the p Ï€ → d Ï€ donation from oxygen atom to the vanadium atom in the V=O bond. This result in the falls of the bond order of the complex and the lowering of the bond strength which also lengthen the V=O bond length. Overall, there is decrease of energy need to stretch the V=O bond and thus lead to the shifting of the V=O stretching vibration to lower frequency in the spectrum. This also further proven that the VO(acac)2py has an octahedral structure. Also, there is the delocalization of the Ï€ electrons from the aromatic ring of the pyridine which able to stabilize the complex more and decrease the p Ï€ → d Ï€ donation from oxygen to vanadium in the V=O bond. This make the vanadium-pyridine complexation more feasible and stable that result in the stronger V-N stretching bond which gain partial double bond character. As a result of the inter-electron repulsion, the electron density of the V=O bond is then shifted towards the oxygen atom and cause the weakening of the V=O double bond that cause the bond to loses the characteristic of the double bond nature. Thus, lesser energy is needed to stretch the weakened and lengthened V=O bond and lead to the shifting of the frequency of the spectrum. There is also the reason of the trans influence where the trans influence is the effect of pyridine ligand that weakens the bond that is trans to itself in the complex. The electrons of the oxo-ligand in the axial position of the complex occupies the dz2 orbital that will cause new binding ligand to form coordinate bond with the vanadium ion to be trans position to the oxo ligand. Pyridine ligand have donate electrons to the VO(acac)2 complex metal center and reside in the 3dz2 orbital from the site trans to the oxygen atom which causes repulsion. Therefore, the pyridine ligand and the oxo-ligand are in the trans position to each other which uses the same orbitals on the metal vanadium ion for bonding. However, the oxygen atom cannot donate the electrons to the metal as well as the pyridine ligand which causes the V=O bond to be weaker. Therefore, both axial bonds to the vanadium are weakened and lengthened which decrease the force constant (k) and decrease the stretching frequency. The shift also helps to confirm the presence of VO(acac)2py. On the other hand, the VO(acac)2py spectrum found in Appendix 2 have showed peak of 998.04 cm-1 which has a small different to the 997.7cm-1 peak found in the VO(acac)2 spectrum. This shows that there is still presence of VO(acac)2 in the product. Also the literature value of the V=O stretching bond of the VO(acac)2 is found out to be 995 cm-1 which is close to the 997.7 cm-1 in the product spectrum. These further prove that the VO(acac)2 is present. This can explain for the relatively low yield of 58.5% of the VO(acac)2py synthesis as the reaction has not gone into completion. However, comparing the intensity of the peak of 997.7 cm-1 and 966.04 cm-1 which indicate V=O bond in VO(acac)2 and VO(acac)2py complex respectively, there is higher intensity of the 966.04cm-1 which show that more pyridine adduct is formed in product. This also shows that the reaction may be an equilibrium reaction where both product and reactant can be present. This result can also be interpreted as the reac tion is not complete and more reflux time or higher temperature for reflux is needed to carry out to ensure more products formed. Lastly, there is a broad low intensity peak at 3449.72 at the VO(acac)2py spectrum found in Appendix 2 which was due to the presence of water that may be caused by insufficient drying of the VO(acac)2py product. Observation of Color changes During the synthesis of the complex, there is a series of observation of color changing of the compound in the solution. The color changes observed during the synthesis of the VO(acac)2 is due to the change of the oxidation state of V2O5 (oxidation state of V = +5). The orange powder of V2O2 is being reacted with the H2O and H2SO4 to reduce to a dark green solution of [V(H2O)5]3+ (oxidation state of V= +3) complex during middle of the vigorous reflux. When the reflux is complete, the solution was in dark blue color which is due to the reduction of the remaining V2O5 to dark blue [VO(SO4)(H2O)5] complex (oxidation state of V = +4). During the forming of the pyridine adduct, the dark blue VO(acac)2 is changed to dark green VO(acac)2py complex. This color changing phenomenon can also be explained using the Crystal Field Theory mentioned. Electrons of the two different energy level orbitals can be excited with à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  o energy. The higher the oxidation state, there will be more different between the two splitting energy levels which therefore lead to higher à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  0. For V2O5 (oxidation state of V = +5) will have a higher à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  0 and hence will absorbs light of the electromagnetic spectrum of higher energy with higher frequency and reflect low energy light. Therefore, V2O5 will absorb the blue-green light of higher energy and reflect orange of lower energy light which is shown off as orange with naked eyes. When there is a reduction of the compound to VO(acac)2 or VO(acac)2py compound, the light absorbed was at lower frequency and light reflected was of higher frequency such as blue-green and thus, there is the change of orange powder to blue-green product. Therefore, VO(acac)2 and VO(acac)2py appe ared as blue-green compounds. Possible Limitations and Sources of Errors in Experiment There are several limitations of the experiment that result in not having 100% yield of the product of both VO(acac)2 and VO(acac)2py complexes. Firstly, there may be loss of product due to the cotton wool filtration that causes some of the filtrate to be trapped in the cotton wool and unable to pass through. Secondly, according to the Le-Chateliers principle, for the Reaction 2, if there is an increase in the H+ concentration, reaction will shift the concentration of the reaction to the left which result in lesser product produce. When the reaction mixture is added slowly to the alkaline sodium carbonate solution, incomplete neutralization may occur where not all H+ are removed, and hence lesser product is produced. Therefore, longer cooling time will be needed for re-crystallization so as to allow more crystallization of VO(acac)2 and push the reaction to the right. Another limitation is of using of the sulphuric acid, H2SO4 may result in the reduction of the VO2+ ions to V3+ ions which decrease VO2+ ions available for product of VO(acac)2 formations. The lower percentage yield of the VO(acac)2py may be due to incomplete refluxing and thus lead to low yield obtained. Also, impurities may be present in the VO(acac)2 product produced that observed at the bottom of the flaks which lead to false weight measured and inaccurate percentage calculated. The round bottom flask should be swirled every fifteen minutes during the reflux which can prevent the settling of the V2O5 solid at the bottom of the flask and identifying impurities. The yield of the VO(acac)2py can be improved with addition of excess pyridine and increase the reflux time. Possible Precaution in Experiment For the synthesis of the VO(acac)2 complexes, there is a step of the adding of ethanol into the mixture of solution for reflux. Ethanol was used as solvent. The metal vanadium atom is surrounded by non-polar ligands of acetylacetonate or pyridine in second part of the experiment. Ethanol is more non-polar than water and will form solvent-solute interactions with the complexes and dissolve those ligands for better interaction in the solution. The use of the ethanol also helps to separate the VO(acac)2 from the insoluble V2O5 residue that will be filtered and remain in the cotton wool during filtration. Also, ethanol was used to prevent side reaction that will arise so as to increase the yield of the product. From reaction 1, there is the reaction of the V2O5 and the H2SO4 to produce the intermediate VO2+ ion that besides reacting with the acetylacetonate in reaction 2, VO2+ can react with the water and oxygen molecules by-product formed from reaction 1. It is as shown in Reaction 3. The side reaction will decrease the amount of VO2+ available for reaction with the acetylacetonate in reaction 3 to form product of VO(acac)2. This will decrease the amount of yield of the product produced. 4VO2+ + 2H2O + O2  ® 4VO2+ + 4H+ Reaction 3 However, this side reaction can be reduced with the addition of ethanol where ethanol will react with oxygen and produce acetaldehyde as shown: C2H5OH +  ½O2  ® CH3CHO + H2O Reaction 4 Also, using vacuum to remove the oxygen and water formed can be a good way to reduce problem of side reaction with VO2+. Another precaution taken was adding drop wise of the acetylacetonate to ensure sufficient reaction time and prevent influx of the H+ concentration and shift the equilibrium to the left and decrease the yield of the product formed. Anhydrous sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, was dissolved in water so as to form alkaline solution to neutralise H+ ions so as to shift the acetylacetonate toward the enol form. This will increase the formation of the VO(acac)2 products. Also, the mixture solution was added slowly to the sodium carbonate solution so as to prevent the rapid foaming caused by the product of CO2 and lose of product due to overflowing. Also, slowly adjusting the pH with more alkaline environment and less mixture solution allows the reaction to react at steady pace and reduce any side reaction to occur. Conclusion The percentage yield of the product of VO(acac)2 and VO(acac)2py complex were 77.8% and 58.5% respectively. From the IR spectrum of VO(acac)2py, it is shown that the V=O bond have shifted from 9998.04 cm-1 to 966.04 cm-1. This shifting of the peak indicate the formation of the pyridine adduct, VO(acac)2py, with the decrease in the wavenumber of the V=O stretching band.

Essay --

Enrique’s Journey is a novel that recreates the amazing true story of a boy named Enrique’s adventure to reunite with his mother. The story begins with describing the families living conditions in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The characters introduced in the story are Lourdes, Enrique’s mom and his little sister Belky, who is seven years old. The family starts out living in one of the poorest neighborhood in the outskirts of Tegucigalpa. Lourdes can barley affords to provide food on the table for her children, let alone herself. The young twenty four year old mother works constantly doing other peoples laundry, making and selling tortillas, selling used clothes and plantain fruits around the neighborhood. The long hours of work she puts in daily, does not do any justice to her family she is raising alone. From the start, Lourdes is confident that she will be unable to send her kids to school for much longer, she won’t be able to keep food on the table, and won’t be able to give her children the life they deserve; so she makes the decision that many young mother’s in foreign countries do; she decides to move to the United States. In the United States she plans to find a good job, make a decent amount of money, and send money and gifts back to her children so they can live a happier life. Lourdes leaves without saying goodbye to her children, because she is too weak to do so. She leaves Belky, her daughter, with her sister to live with. And she leaves Enrique with Enrique’s dad who left them two years prior for another family. Enrique is left with extreme confusion and sorrow. The book includes actual research that has been doing about immigrants journeys to the United States, and how brutally harsh they can be. â€Å"They must make an ill... ... of ‘la migra’, which are the Mexican immigrant authorities. Finally, on his eighth attempt Enrique makes it to the Rio Grande in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, near the border of the United States. He eventually makes enough money to pay for a phone call to his mother. By this time he had memorized her number. Thankfully, he mother finds a way to hire a smuggler to help him get across the Rio Grande. Successfully, stripping down to his johns, and the help of a blow up inner tube, Enrique finds swimming across the freezing Rio Grande Water where his smuggler helps him to a fresh pair of clothes, and a ride to take him to his mother. He finds himself taken to someplace in Orlando, Florida where he eventually is reunited with his mother after Lourdes’s boyfriend goes to pick him up. Enrique’s dream has finally come true. Soon, Enrique’s his dream is shattered with reality.

Basics of Ghost Stories :: Ghost Story Stories Ghosts Essays

Basics of Ghost Stories INTRODUCTION The ghost story writer has to attract the reader's attention straight away. The way story begins is important and often links with the rest of the narrative. The opening of a short story must try to engage the reader quickly. I think all ghost stories should always have a lot of suspense in it, to create anticipation and excitement. Some symbolic object/place for example a knife, a key must play a major part in the narrative. The story should also have lots of detail to get the feeling as if the reader is there to create different types of atmospheres, such as horror, terror, and excitement. They should also have a mysterious end, to make the reader go away thinking about it. Most people are interested in ghost stories because of the thrill and horror that is in it. Ghost story's challenges us to see how much of the paranormal we can take onboard and because it is a story they can always back away from it if it gets too unnerving. I have read "Wish Master", in which a demon awakes from an ancient pot that is destroyed in a robbery in a museum. Then the demon goes around asking people for their wishes and he always does something opposite to fulfil the wish. Ghost stories always seem to be set in lonely or isolated places. The language writers use to describe settings in ghost stories are usually quite unpredictable because there is a lot of descriptive use of imagery to paint a specific kind of picture for the reader. Ghost stories gained prominence in the Victorian period and a lot of classic stories were written during this period. They were written to entertain and feed the imagination of the populace who were intrigued by stories of the supernatural. Atmosphere is mood the writer is trying to create in a story. It is important because it builds a good impression on the reader. It is created through the use of language tools: such as similes, metaphors and onomatopoeia. The atmosphere of the story is developed right from the beginning. It largely depends on the writers purpose/intentions. So you do expect different kind of atmosphere to be created in both of these stories because in the "The Signalman" Charles Dickens is trying to scare the reader and in "The Deadfall" Ted Hughes is trying to get a message across. Atmosphere is important in building tension in the story, which I believe is vital for a ghost story. In 'The Signalman' by Charles Dickens the narrator meets a lonely signalman. At first he seems to be scared of him.