Influence of Boron on the Hot Ductility of TWIP steels The WritePass Journal

Influence of Boron on the Hot Ductility of TWIP steels 1.0 Introduction Influence of Boron on the Hot Ductility of TWIP steels 1.0 Introduction2.0 Literature Review3.0 Aim Method of Contribution3.1 Gannt Chart Project4.0 ReferencesRelated 1.0 Introduction The demand for crude steel has increased worldwide according to World Steel Association the steel production in 2010 was 1414 million tones.   This shows an increase 15% when compared to the total in 2009 where production was 1229 tonnes. What is interesting is that China accounted for 44% of this total, if China was excluded the annual total increased by 20% when we compare this to 2009.   The steel production in December for 66 countries increased by 7.8% to 116 million tonnes [1]. To meet these production demands, casting is engaged as the chosen fabrication process as it is more economically viable for high production rates than forming operations.   In particular, the technique of continuous casting is favored as a primary hot-rolling operation that produces slabs or thin sheets of steel.   These are a convenient entity that can then undergo secondary metal-forming operations. The conventional way to improve the strength and impact behavior of steel is to add small amounts of micro-alloying elements such as Al or in our case B to benefit grain.  Ã‚   Micro-alloying additions enable tensile strengths of over 500 MPa to be achieved [2] as the micro-alloys formed fine precipitates that would attach the austenite grain boundaries from moving as well as to provide strengthening via precipitation hardening.   It is important to note that these beneficial mechanical properties engineered into steels are only applicable to the finished product, where the steel is employed at room temperature as automobiles.   This point is applicable before the finished steel is even utilized, as at the high temperatures of the continuous casting operation, the steel has undesirable properties. Over the past forty years, the difficulty in casting some steels has led to great efforts in understanding the science behind the cracking processes.   The continuous casting process can to some degree be simulated using a simple laboratory hot tensile test.   Investigating the hot ductility of the steel under these laboratory conditions does give great insight into the viability of producing continuous cast steel free from transverse cracking.   It has been quantified that after straining a steel sample to failure, a ductility displayed as a reduction of area (R of A) value of greater than 40 % will allow for successful casting in industry [3].   These findings are further enforced with visual probing techniques such as microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).   These allow insights into the influence of grain size, precipitation hardening, cooling rates, strain rate and composition on crack propagation which are all import ant in explaining failure modes and preventing failure.   New steel types need to be tested under laboratory conditions before steel companies have the confidence for mass production in industry. 2.0 Literature Review 3.0 Aim Method of Contribution The major problem with TWIP steels is the difficult in casting it; this is because during the continuous casting operation, the cast has to be straightened as it is being cast in a curved mould.   The straightening process puts the surface and the edges of the slabs into tension and this causes cracks and this can be propagated easily into fragile steel grades this is what TWIP falls into. The aim of the project is to do a hot ductility test in which a tensile specimen is melted and then cooled to the straightening temperature which ranges from 1000-700 °C as used in the commercial casting operation.   Following this the specimen is strained to failure by using the strain rate used in the unbending operation as this is a good indicator of a steels likely hood to crack. There have been indications that that by adding a small amount of boron in our case (0.001%) that this will improve the hot ductility of the new TWIP steels and this would make them easier to cast [3] As mentioned the experiment involves the ductility test in which a tensile specimen is melted and then cooled to the straightening temperature which ranges from 1000-700 °C from this we will get a hot ductility curve.   Following this I will perform microscopically and scanning electron microscope examination of the fractured surfaces to find out the mechanism of this improvement. I have 12 specimens which have been provided by POSCO. The machine used for the tensile test is the Hounsfield Tensometer which is situated at City University. 3.1 Gannt Chart Project 4.0 References [1] ISSB: World Steel Review (Iron Steel Bureau, February 2011) [2] Abu Shousha, R., I: Hot Ductility of Steels (PhD thesis, City University) [3] – Discussions with   Prof B.Mintz

1984 Nineteen Eighty

1984 Nineteen Eighty 1984: Nineteen Eighty-four and Varying Different Forms Essay The novel 1984 by George Orwell is a dystopian text written in 1948 to serve as warning against the dangers of a totalitarian society. Prominent events in the 1940s such as the fear of Communist powers rising and the development of new technologies has driven Orwell create a society that reflects upon the abuse of technology in a world which absolute political authority is present. Conflict in its varying different forms has been thoroughly explored throughout the text through the author’s use of powerful literary techniques. Immediately, we are drawn into the world of 1984, where conflict is reflected through the government’s totalitarian regime and the conformed society which the citizens live in. This bleak and dismal society is conveyed through the author’s use of a dull and depressing tone in the opening paragraphs. The ending of the first paragraph ‘†¦the clocks were striking thirteen.’ gives us the first insight that there is something abnormal about this society, as the word ‘thirteen’ is not generally used in everyday society. The repetition of government propaganda is present within this society as we come across numerous posters each depicting the face of a man, with the caption ‘BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU’ emblazoned underneath. The character, Big Brother is depicted as the figurehead of a government which has absolute power within the state. Further evidence of the government’s overwhelming power is given through the descri ption of the Ministry of Truth, ‘†¦an enormous pyramidal structure of glittering white concrete, soaring up, terrace after terrace, three hundred metres into the air.’ Orwell uses the technique of imagery symbolism to convey the oppressive might of the government, with the Ministry of Truth easily standing out from the rest of the dilapidated landscape. Orwell’s earlier warning on the dangers of technological advancement is shown through the government’s abuse of technology as a means to constantly monitor its subjects. ‘Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper would be picked up by it....he could be seen as well as heard’. Conflict is portrayed through circumstances which relate back to context and through the totalitarian regime and its oppression of all those who live in it. Through means of propaganda and control of information, the Party is able to manipulate its subjects by creating tension that will inevitably lead to conflict within that society. War is a recurring theme within the novel, as a means of oppression to keep its subjects in a state of constant fear. ’ â€Å"Our forces in South India have won a glorious victory. I am authorised to say that the action we are reporting may well bring the war within measurable distance of its end.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The author uses dialogue to broadcast a constant stream of war propaganda that is specifically designed to make the Party appear successful while also serving as a distraction from any possible simmering resentment within the state. The true nature of the war, is kept hidden from citizens as to even whom the enemy is, is left unclear. Winston’s thoughts reflect this; ‘The Party said that Oceania had never been in alliance with Eurasia. He, Winston Smith, knew that Oceania had be en in alliance with Eurasia as short time as four years ago. But where did that knowledge exist?’ Orwell’s use of a rhetoric question allows us to grasp this state of utter confusion to show an individual’s inability to rely on their own memory making them perfectly willing believe whatever the Party says. The Party slogan ‘Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.’ depicts how by controlling the present, the Party is able to manipulate the past and by controlling the past the Party is able justify its actions in the present and therefore maintain control within that society. Conflict is evident through the government’s arrogant exercise of power as shown in their psychological

Orange is the New Black Analysis Response Paper Essay

Orange is the New Black Analysis Response Paper - Essay Example en comparing this to John Ann’s book on Discourse Communities and Communities of Practice: Membership, Conflict, and Diversity, discourse communities have unique ways in which they operate and one needed not to join the community in order to participate in it. He talked about how conflict can arise from such a community and how authority can be used to solve such conflicts. Just like in jail people who join particular discourse communities are brought together by the fact that they have things in common such as language, basis of sharing things in common such as sharing participation, and sharing expectations. As people who come to prisons are people from diverse culture, races and origin, these people belong to a discourse society which they find themselves in, hence, with time, adopts to the particular cultures, religion and behaviors of the new discourse society. In these discourse communities formed, just like a formed social website, there are new things that go viral ver y fast. News that gathered from one part of the community does not take long before it spreads to the whole community. As John puts it, discourse communities have ways of controlling their numbers around the globe. First, they have the same language and way of communication. They have a way of obtaining membership, hence can easily control their numbers in the world. They therefore communicate very efficiently to one another. There are times that we find ourselves in certain communities without our influence. For instance, when I find myself born amidst people who are not my tribe mates, different races, different cultures and religion. I will have to cope up to the situation as I adapt to the new changes in life. I will therefore consider that community as my discourse community. However, some discourse communities are by choice, such as that going to jail, joining a social website,

NOT SPECIFIED Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NOT SPECIFIED - Research Proposal Example More effective learning material is needed due to a lack of information, misunderstanding and communication difficulties with other pilgrims and organizers (Hameed, 2010). The proposed study will investigate the need for, potential and establish the importance and effectiveness of multimedia technology for preparing Muslims for performing hajj or Umrah in the form of education and guidance. The primary aim will be to satisfy essential requirements first, such as knowing the procedure with respect to religious and historical knowledge as well as the whereabouts of important places such as the black stone, the commemoration spot of Prophet Ibrahim (AS), and Safa and Marwa. In addition, performers would need to know about the transportation and health care facilities, toilets, and emergency and fatwa stations. The study will involve a field survey of Malaysians, and may also lead to the development of an application software for evaluating its potential and effectiveness, and for providing additional services, such as real-time guidance during the hajj or Umrah. According to Yusoff et al. (2011), most learning materials which are meant to prepare Muslims for hajj exist only in written and also audio and video form; however, they are normally based on the practice of passive learning. It is believed that multimedia technologies and, in particular, virtual surroundings can offer a much better way of preparing Muslims for hajj through offer interactive chances and immersive experiences, and; therefore, easing understanding. To attain these objectives, the research will incorporate a mixed methodology. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques will be employed that will strengthen data obtained from Hameed (2010) and Yusoff et al. (2011). The reason for employing both quantitative and qualitative method is that this design is that it better validates the findings. Participants of

Teacher as Managers Essay Example for Free

Teacher as Managers Essay There are five behavioral steps in the differentiation of the effective delegator and the ineffective delegator. In this case, the manager of a contracts group, Ricky Lee, who is part of a large regional office supply distributor realized his limitations in terms of capacity when he received a new assignment. Ricky lee knew he needed to delegate this assignment in order to meet his current project deadline and also meet the needs of his boss. The first step Ricky needs to do is assess his employees and determine who has demonstrated a clear understanding of negotiating contracts, and also who has proven excellent results in negotiating with manufacturers. When Ricky identifies an employee who has knowledge, and demonstrated success contract negotiation like his employee, Bill Harmon, Ricky needs to evaluate if Bills workload would allow him to take on a new project. The next step Ricky needs to do is have a private conversation with Bill and clearly outline the parameters and scope of this project. Ricky needs to make sure that Bill understands what is expected by clarifying and asking open-ended questions. Ricky needs to make sure Bill does not have any unanswered questions regarding the development of the department’s new procedures manual for negotiating contracts with office product’s manufacturers. Therefore, Ricky will allow Bill to participate in the decisions since he will be held accountable for this task. Ricky needs to clearly explain that this needs to be completed by the end of the month, and make sure that Bill feels comfortable and accepting of the time commitment. Ricky needs to make sure that Bill has the ability to work this project as he see fit, however his authority is limited to only the parameters of the project. Bills needs to understand this his authority to all other aspects of his job or the job of other works has not changed. Ricky needs to ensure that Bill understands and accepts that his range and discretion are limited to the scope of the project only. In allowing the employee to participate, Ricky must understand that Bill may have his personal self-interests and biases that may cause a potential problem in not committing fully or deterring him from taking on the delegation of the new assignment. Ricky will need to listen to learn and use open-ended questions to redirect the personal biases and self-interests. Some employees find themselves facing challenges because they immediately think about themselves and have a tendency to exhibit impartial judgment, which is not always fair in a workplace environment. Employees have to do what’s right for them, but also remember that this is a business. When presenting open-ended questions, this provides Ricky the opportunity to answer all of Bill’s questions or concerns in a positive manner. Ricky is able to provide Bill with all of the answers and support and even resources that Bill needs. For instance, if Bill says â€Å"I do not have the the first written copy of the resource manual and I am not sure who has it. † Ricky may respond, â€Å"Well Bill, I have it in my office and I will commit to have it to you by 12pm. † This provides Bill with the resource he needs and Ricky may ask some more open-ended questions using who, what, where, when, and why to get Bill to open up about any questions or concerns. Personal biases influence the way another person may think about a particular object, place, or person. The employees who are judgmental may focus on ways to degrade their peers or have difficulty in taking on a new task. This creates a negative culture and does not motivate a team to perform to its fullest. Many employees can see being bias in a workplace both negatively and positively. They are normally personal biases which are formed through a person that may have been predisposed during childhood, environment, through another person’s own biases without researching, and/or experiences. The Assignment that Bill Harmon has agreed to take on will outline the steps followed in negotiating contracts with office products’ manufacturers who supply the organization’s products. It is important to inform everyone involved of the delegation. Anne Zumwalt and any other managers that may be involved with this project or directly affected by the outcome will be informed of Bill’s commitment to take on this new task. It is important that Ricky informs all employees affected by this delegation of Bill taking on this project and to inform employees on how much authority Bill has committed to. This provides a sense of pride and ownership over the project for Bill and he is fully aware that he will be held accountable for the end-product. When setting the parameters of this project with Bill it will be important to determine how Bill and Ricky will establish feedback channels. Bill must know how to communicate with Ricky about the project. It is important to know the stages that Bill may provide feedback to Ricky. Ricky should also inform Bill on how he intends on monitoring the project and how often he will be checking in. Bill should provide commitment and understanding on exact deadlines (end of the month on a specific date) and expectations. It is crucial that Bill knows if any problems should arise then Ricky should be contacted as soon as possible so they are able to work through it in the most proactive and efficient way.

Cathedral Essay -- essays papers

Cathedral â€Å"I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And his being blind bothered me† (99) the narrator tells us in Raymond Carver’s Cathedral. An old friend of the narrator’s wife, Robert, is coming to visit them at their home. The narrator is not at all pleased with this situation and lets us know it from the beginning. Throughout the story, the narrator begins to see the blind man in a different light and his mind-set begins to change to admiration. The narrator seems to be somewhat jealous at first of the relationship between his wife and their visitor. He says, â€Å"She told him everything, or it seemed to me† (100). His wife had worked for the blind man for one summer ten years ago, yet she continued to communicate with him via tapes. The narrator must have felt some sort of envy towards the man who knew more about his wife’s life than he, her husband did. Not ever having â€Å"met or personally known anyone who was blind† (102) left the narrator at a loss as to how this man was going to behave or what they could do or talk about. He had read and heard things about the blind but Robert turned out to be none of these. The narrator thought â€Å"dark glasses were a must for the blind† (102) but Robert wore none. He had also heard blind men could not smoke because they could not see the smoke they exhaled â€Å"but this blind man smoked his cigarette down to the nubbin and then lit another one† (103). Slowly, the narrator becomes interested by how the blind man carries himself and his abilities despite his handicap. During the meal the three were having, the narrator remarks, â€Å"I watched with admiration as he used his knife and fork on the meat† (103). After dinner, when they sit down to talk and hav... ...and had nothing in common except for the wife. A lot changes though and they come to share a lot more. When we begin the story, the narrator is shown as ignorant towards blind people. He does not know what to expect or how to react to this strange man who does not act much like the narrator’s one-sided ideas of how a blind man should be. Robert is unique and the narrator soon starts to realize this. He begins admiring the capabilities that are more or less like his own. When they finish the picture of the cathedral, the narrator keeps his eyes closed. The blind man had given him a piece of himself and what it meant to be blind. In the end, they both give each other a special gift. The narrator gives the blind man a mental picture he can take with him about the way a cathedral looks to him. The blind man gives the narrator the gift of understanding and enlightenment.

Linguistic Changes of an Individual in Migration Essay

Introduction and Overview of Topic: As the world becomes increasingly globalised, we observe a rising trend where individuals migrate for educational and economic opportunities. The prestige of being educated in a highly ranked university and the prospects of higher paying jobs are definitely important pull factors for both internal and international migration (Welch, 1970). When people move, they also transfer the use of their existing linguistic repertoire to their host country. However, what might have been effective at home might be interpreted differently when placed in different socioeconomic contexts. Hence, the relative value of linguistic repertoire one possesses and how mobile are one’s language skills in the world determines how a migrant interacts with a new community. Consequently, this paper seeks to provide insight on how the relative value of linguistic resources affects one’s mobility and decisions in community interactions. Drawing on Blommaert’s study on the sociolinguistics of globalisation, this discussion will focus on how an individual’s linguistic repertoire is being used to one’s advantage within the community. It also highlights the changes which occur when one attempts to transfer the same linguistic repertoire as the shift to a place of varying cultural and linguistic ability. As Blommaert suggests, â€Å"placed resources are resources that are functional in one particular place but can become dysfunctional as soon as they are moved to other places† (Blommaert, 2003). Essentially, this essay seeks to expound on the changes of one’s linguistic repertoire and how it affects one’s interactions with new communities resulting from migration. Linguistic repertoire refers to linguistic varieties acquired by an individual to different degrees of proficiency and for different uses (Crystal, 1990). The acquisition of linguistic repertoire thus extends not only to the procurement of different types of language codes like English and Hindi, but also the speech styles and genres within each language. In light of this definition, this paper chooses to trace how one’s use of language repertoire might change in the context of internal migration and  international migration. With this in mind, a migrant from India who experienced both types of migration was chosen. India boasts twenty-two official languages as per the Constitution of India, where English is determined as the secondary official language and is used as lingua franca throughout India. Within the context of this paper, the experiences of the migrant serve to provide personal insight on language mobility within the transmigrational arena. Research methodology and background of interviewee  With this in mind, a fifty minute interview was carried out on 16th October 2012 to gather substantial data in order to provide a comparison between internal and international migration. The sole participant is Joshua Cherian, aged 24 who is currently pursuing a postgraduate education in Singapore. He was born and raised in Kerala, Southern India, after which he moved to Jamshedpur, Northern India to pursue a tertiary education before working in New Delhi. He was taught English at a young age and learnt Hindi during university, while his mother tongue is Malayalam. During the interview, questions were asked ranging from the interviewee’s experiences of language acquisition and his experiences in India and Singapore to language policies in India. Utilising his personal insights on adapting to different communities and observing it through the concepts provided in Blommaert’s study, the relative value of linguistic repertoire consequently becomes more obvious not only from country to country but also within different areas of the community. Language repertoire in internal migration. Within India, it is said to have a de-facto three plus minus one language policy. Those who neither speak the language of the state nor the two official languages, English and Hindi, now have to grapple with learning four languages in order to pass the school systems and secure jobs within the modern sector (Laitin. D, 1989). Consequently, many people who migrate in the pursuit of education or jobs find it necessary to expand their language repertoire in order to compete for the chance of upward socioeconomic mobility within India. Joshua notes that: â€Å"There is a divide between the corporate world and industrial world, where managers and people in multinational companies speak in english, but those in manufacturing speak Hindi in work. In the north of India everyone speaks Hindi, so I had to learn Hindi. When I worked in Delhi, I spoke mostly Hindi in my workplace, because I am a manager of labourers and those who just passed tenth standard, they just need to make something so they don’t need English. People who do software need to interact with clients overseas, so it is important for them to speak English. † Due the demands of his job, Joshua was required to expand his language repertoire to include fluent Hindi in order to communicate with his subordinates effectively. Although English could have sufficed in interacting with white-collar professionals, learning Hindi would have enabled Joshua to ensure a smooth running of operations that he was in charge with. As such, it is observed that migrants tend to expand their language repertoire within internal migration according to which languages are most functional within their community. Furthermore, an expansion of linguistic repertoire also affects one’s interaction the community. As immigrants acquire proficiency in more languages, there is a tendency to broaden their participation in various communities within the area that they have settled in. This is especially evident in Joshua’s recount: â€Å"In India you would have to know many languages in order to fit into different communities. University students will use English because it is prestigious. It shows you are well educated. Outside of the education system, everyone speaks their own dialect or their own state language. I used to hang out with many friends when I was studying in Jamshedpur who came from all over India. I also managed to become my student governing body’s president, so speaking the many languages helped me reach out to a lot of people. † Even though migrants who migrate within their home country experience a new environment, there are common cultural familiarities that they can relate to by being in the same country. Naturally, this allows them to assimilate into the communities easily since they already share similar cultural and national identities. Rather, this pre-existing factor enables immigrants like Joshua to interact with different groups of people. Such a preference is also extremely beneficial to an individual within a new community as they are able to called upon a large network of acquaintances should they need help in the future. Hence, the broadening of one’s interaction with many communities would be positively correlated to the acquisition of language repertoire because both serve the same purpose of helping the migrant assimilate well into the new environment they are in. Language Repertoire in International Migration In contrast to internal migration, one’s use of language repertoire might decrease across different geographical spaces. It is noted that international migration denotes a shift to a foreign culture in which the values placed upon certain languages is different from one’s original country. As such, many migrants would utilise a language within their repertoire that is widely used in the world. Joshua relates his experience moving from India to Singapore: â€Å"When I first arrived in Singapore, everything was easy for me to get used to because I was already proficient in English. Even if I needed help, I could just approach anyone and they would reply me in English. I don’t even Hindi anymore because the friends and people I meet with speak only in English. Perhaps it is because there are so many races here so communication needs to be in a common language. Although I have friends from India here, they never speak in their mother tongue! Everyone would rather speak in English than Hindi! Despite Joshua’s extensive language repertoire, he only speaks in English in Singapore, thereby showing a decrease in language repertoire employed in daily life. In most cases of international migration, migrants often move from the ‘periphery’ to the ‘core’ of the world system. As one attempts to transfer one’s language repertoire from one country to another, the languages employed more frequently within the core global system would be more mobile compared to other languages. In particular, because Singapore is a multi-racial community, it requires English as a lingua franca in order to achieve cohesiveness and efficiency. Consequently, rather than expanding one’s linguistic repertoire to gain access to every community, a migrant in Singapore need only focus on speaking proficient English, which subsequently narrows his language repertoire within the host country. Parallel to one’s decrease in language repertoire, it is observed that migrants narrow their participation to a few communities that they are comfortable with. While migrants who migrate internally tend to broaden their participation in a wide array of communities, people who migrate internationally prefer to focus their efforts in interacting with a particular community where they feel most comfortable with. Joshua, expresses that: â€Å" I like to be in a place where I can interact with people well. When I came to Singapore, everybody spoke â€Å"Singlish†. It was especially hard for me to understand the jokes of my Singaporean friends. Thats why I wanted to be in a Christian group, so I went around to look for churches and even joined the varsity christian fellowship. Then I found a church cell group to be in and we could talk about common things, at least everyone there understands what I am going through when I talk about my struggles and life. I don’t meet with the Indian community much because everyone here speaks English anyway and I am more comfortable speaking in English, so when I talk about God and faith, I don’t get any puzzled looks when I am with church people†. For most immigrants, being in a foreign community could be unsettling because there exists stark differences in culture that they might not understand. In Joshua’s case, not being able to understand Singlish hindered his active participation in various communities, especially in understanding humour within the sociocultural context of Singaporean society. As such, by participating in communities with specific shared beliefs that the migrant can identify with, it could be easier for him to assimilate into a new environment. Communities with shared beliefs also tend to share a similar use of register in their daily speech. Drawing on Joshua’s case of finding a christian community, a christian setting could be more comfortable for him because he understands the semantics of words such as â€Å"communion† and â€Å"faith† used frequently in that community. Additionally, by narrowing one’s participation to few communities, individuals would have more time to spend more effort on forging closer relationships within a particular communities. This in turn could be more beneficial to the migrant as this niche area of society provides a source of emotional support for the migrant in order to cope with the anxiety of being away from home. Conclusion What Joshua has experienced demonstrates the constant change of the value of language resources as he shifts between places in migration. This relative value of one’s linguistic resources is largely due to cultural and socioeconomic factors that have shaped the community to place emphasis on certain languages and speech styles. As such, an immigrant’s increase or decrease language repertoire is largely affected by the placed importance of certain languages within their host communities. In conclusion, this paper has asserts that language mobility is profoundly affected by the changing values of linguistic resources which vary from place to place, especially when there is a shift of resources from the periphery to the core of the world system. Whether one participates in a wide number of communities or chooses to focus their efforts in a single community depends on a change in one’s use of his language repertoire. References 0. Blommaert, J. (2003). Commentary: A Sociolinguistics of Globalization. Journal of Sociolinguistics 7/4, 2003: 607-623 0. Crystal, D. (1990). A Liturgical Language in a Sociolinguistic Perspective. In D. & R. C. D. Jasper (eds),Language and the worship of the church (Basingstoke: Macmillan), 120-46 0. Laitin D. D. (1989). Language Policy and Political Strategy in India. Policy Sciences, Vol. 22, No. 3/4, Policymaking in Developing Countries (1989), pp. 415-436 0. Welch F. (1970). ‘’Education in Production’, Journal of Political Economy, 78 (1), January/February, 35-59.

Me Against the Media

I stroll into my Critical Media Studies classroom, drinking an icy bottle of Pepsi and wearing a Nike baseball cap. A few of my students glance up from their cell phones and iPods long enough to notice me. â€Å"Um, nice hat,† someone comments. â€Å"Thank you,† I say. â€Å"Today’s class is proudly sponsored by Nike, a strong advocate of education. When it comes to education, Nike says, ‘Just do it! ’. † I take a swig of my Pepsi. â€Å"Can you guess who else is sponsoring our class today? The few students who have actually done the reading chuckle because they know that today’s class is about the pervasiveness of consumerism in popular culture and in the schools. Over the years, I’ve resorted to lots of gimmicks like these in my quest to teach students about consumerism. I try to make my students more aware of how the media naturalize consumerism through advertisements, product placement, and especially through advertiser-frie ndly programming. You might be surprised to hear that I find this to be the single most difficult topic to teach.I teach about many controversial media issues — ownership, violence, race and gender representation — and students contemplate these topics enthusiastically. But when it comes to consumerism, it’s a brick wall. Five minutes into any such discussion, I brace myself for the inevitable chorus of, â€Å"Oh, come on. It’s just a bunch of ads. † Corporations and advertising executives should rejoice, as this reticence of young people to think critically about the role of consumerism is money in their pockets.Advertisers have always coveted the 18-34 year old group—the legions of the so-called â€Å"Age of Acquisition† who have few established brand loyalties and lots of pocket change. Today’s Generation Y youth, born roughly between 1977 and 1997, are especially desirable because they are the children of Baby Boomers, and therefore represent a population explosion. Run the term â€Å"Generation Y† through a search engine, and you’ll find dozens of sites with information about how companies can take advantage of this marketing gold mine.Multinational corporations are deeply invested in the collective consumer choices of my students. When my students fail to show concern, these corporations become all the more powerful. So why is it that Generation Y is so uncritical of consumerism? I offer you this report from the trenches, from my college classroom in Fort Collins, Colorado, with my insight into how students view consumerism and why lack concern. I also discuss how I have addressed these attitudes. My hope is that media activists of all stripes can draw upon my experience.To demonstrate to my students how media content itself naturalizes consumerism, I used to show my students a clip from the movie Father of the Bride. In this clip, the father is horrified that his daughter wants him to spend about $130,000 on her wedding. He would prefer to have a simple wedding reception at the local Steak Pit, but the whole family rejects this idea. Even the adolescent son understands this is â€Å"unacceptable†; he comments, â€Å"I don’t think you want the word ‘pit’ on a wedding invitation. When he complains that his first car cost less than the wedding cake, the wedding coordinators bursts into laughter and says, â€Å"Welcome to the ‘90s. † After the daughter agrees to downsize the wedding, her father discovers her, asleep, reading a magazine article with tips on how to throw a budget wedding. Suddenly ashamed of himself, he agrees to fund the extravagant wedding. Dad learns his lesson, so to speak. Consumerism-fueled expectations may be outrageous, but they are necessary, and failure to adhere to these expectations is silly, miserly, and downright unloving.I quit showing this clip. It didn’t work. Oh, they got the point, tha t media content often promotes the agenda of advertisers. Unfortunately, the clip would inevitably lead to a version of the following discussion. A female student raises her hand shyly and says, â€Å"I understand why this is bad, but I want a big wedding. † A dozen ponytailed heads nod in harmony. â€Å"I mean, not as big as the one in the movie,† someone responds, â€Å"but you know, the flowers, the cake, the dress, the ring, all that stuff. I’ve daydreamed about my wedding since I was a little girl. † Me too,† the first student says, and frowns. â€Å"Does that make me a bad person? † Therein lies the trouble. The dreams, the memories, the rites of passage of Generation Y — all of these are intertwined intricately with consumerism. By placing wedding consumption under scrutiny, this student feels like she is being attacked personally, because her sentimental dream of a wedding is linked so closely to products. To this Generation Y student, the suggestion there is something wrong with consumerism is akin to the suggestion that there is something wrong with her.While all of us in the post-war Western world have grown up with the association between happiness and consumption, this association is all the more powerful with Generation Y. They have grown up with unlimited advertising and limited models of social consciousness or activism. Let’s look at the experiences of my students, a fairly typical U. S. American sample of Generation Y. Their happiest childhood memories are thoroughly linked to consumption. They were born in the 1980s under the Reagan administration, when two important trends in children’s television occurred.Reagan, ever the media deregulator, relaxed requirements for educational programming at the same time as he relaxed restrictions on adverting to children. This helped bring forth a new marketing strategy—which Tom Engelhardt has called the â€Å"Shortcake Strategy† — in which children’s television shows were created for the exclusive purpose of marketing large collections of children’s toys. The prized childhood memories of Generation Y are filled with these shows and toys: Strawberry Shortcake, He-Man, the Care Bears.Discussing the politics of this kind of marketing with students is even harder than discussing wedding excess. A student once wrote in my teacher evaluation, â€Å"Great class, but please don’t go hating on Strawberry Shortcake. † And then there was high school. This is the first generation that came of age in the era of rampant advertising in the schools, as well as Channel One, the news program piped into schools complete with advertisements. As a Generation Xer who graduated from high school in 1988, I recall very few ads in school. A relatively short time later, the hallways, lunchrooms, and sports facilities f cash-strapped schools frequently are sponsored by corporations. When I ask stud ents if this happened in their schools, they supply never-ending examples: stadiums dotted by Nike swooshes, lunchrooms filled with Pizza Hut and Chic Fil-A, a back-to-school party sponsored by Outback Steakhouse, even book covers sponsored by corporations. Then, of course, there’s the prom. Eschewed by some of my Gen X counterparts, the prom is back and bigger than ever, teaching future brides and grooms important lessons about gowns, limos, and flowers.Oh, and ask a Generation Y member which mall he or she grew up in, and you may well get an answer. In addition, many young people don’t take consumerism seriously because they feel that as individuals, it does not affect them. As media activists like Jean Kilbourne have argued, this illusion that advertising affects â€Å"everybody else but me† is nothing new, but I think this is even more the case with Generation Y. I find that young people have a hard time understanding media effects in any way other than thei r own experience.Students claim violence in the media doesn’t matter because they grew up playing Doom and they didn’t turn out violent. Or they claim that unrealistic images of women in the media do matter because they know a lot of girls with eating disorders. Young people don’t seem to have a language for understanding that the media doesn’t just affect us on an individual level — the media impact society politically, economically, and ideologically. A student might dismiss ads in his high school by saying they did not affect him.But nonetheless, the proliferation of ads in high schools have affected U. S. American culture as a whole — and that’s what young people do not seem to understand. Again, this individualistic way of looking at media effects isn’t entirely new, especially in an individualistic culture like the United States, where social scientists for years have been obsessed with trying to draw links between indivi dual behavior and the media. But Generation Y is a particularly individualistic cohort. The Me Generation is back.Just like in the 1970s, young people are frightened and disgusted with current events and have retreated away from politics, with their iPods, Playstations, and all the other isolating technology the consumer market can offer. But the 1970s were different because the 1960s didn’t die overnight. Me Generation or not, the language of activism was still spoken in the 1970s, and in fact many young people were involved in movements such as Women’s Liberation. To what activist language has Generation Y been exposed? It’s three years into their own Vietnam, and Generation Y isn’t exactly flooding the streets with protestors.Often students tell me that they find politics to be boring and irrelevant to their own experiences. In other words, it’s pretty hard to engage a group of young people in a discussion of the political implications of consum erism when they are not engaged in politics much at all. Consumerism is a personal choice, and most of my students cannot see beyond that. They shop at Wal-Mart because it’s cheap, and buy coffee at Starbucks because they like the mochas. Sweatshops? Globalization? It’s not so much that young people don’t care about these things (though many don’t).Rather, they haven’t been taught to think of consumerism as something that extends beyond their own enjoyable trip to the mall, or that their personal consumer decisions are political. To me, perhaps the most frustrating argument students make about consumerism is that it shouldn’t be a societal concern because â€Å"it’s the parents’ responsibility. † Parents are responsible for refusing to buy their kids $200 basketball shoes, for making sure they eat a healthy lunch in the cafeteria, and for instilling values that, according to my students, will somehow make their children immune to the effects of advertisements.This argument disturbs me in part because very few of my students are parents, and in part because they seem to show no compassion for kids who have parents unwilling or unable to be this active in their kids’ development. But most of all, this disturbs me because it places corporations off the hook for the effects they have on society. It doesn’t matter how or to whom a company markets their products; it only matters how parents raise their children. Once again, consumerism becomes the business of individual families, not society. So, what can media activists do?I think the first step is to find ways to appeal to members of this generation on the level of the individual. Young people might not care about plight of a Nike worker in Vietnam or a Wal-Mart worker in Houston. They may, however, be concerned with how credit card companies lure in college students, or how college bookstores jack up prices needlessly, or how car insuran ce companies charge young people exorbitant amounts. When I ask students to give examples of how corporations have screwed them over personally, the room fills up with raised hands.This is a good way to show young people that although consumerism has brought them happiness in their lives, it has also brought them problems. A second activist strategy of reaching Generation Y is to find examples of popular culture that promote consumption. Generation Y is all about popular culture. I’ve found that my students are amenable to discussions about how advertisers and media producers consciously create media content that â€Å"trains† young people to be consumers. Young people need to know that corporations see them as a market to manipulate, and often will respond to this argument, because who wants to be manipulated?The trick is to find popular culture texts they relate to that have a strong pro-consumerism bent. No, don’t show them Father of the Bride, but one thing I have shown with more success to my students is the â€Å"Pottery Barn† episode of Friends. In this episode, Rachel lies to her roommate Phoebe and tells her their new furniture is antique. Actually, it came from Pottery Barn, but Phoebe hates commercial furniture. Rachel is caught in her lie at when the two walk by Pottery Barn and see most of the furniture in the display window.But then Phoebe sees a lamp in the window and decides she must buy it. Phoebe learns her lesson. Commercial furniture is good. Another good source of pro-consumerism media is reality television, a favorite of students and chock filled with product placement. A third strategy is simply to get young people to talk to their parents about their experiences growing up and how people â€Å"back in the day† felt about corporate power and consumerism. These are the children of Baby Boomers, after all, so even if they haven’t been around activism, their parents have.One of my favorite assignmen ts is one in which I have students interview older family members about popular culture and their past experiences. Students love this assignment. So, there’s hope. When I wear my Nike hat to class, some of the students get it, and inevitably, a student stops by my office at the end of the semester and announces she has stopped going to Starbucks. But this is no easy task, and activists would be well advised to work on the issue of Generation Y and consumerism. The advertisers are certainly paying attention to Generation Y, and so should we.

English controlled assessment Essay

English controlled assessment Essay English controlled assessment Essay The Other Guys Movie Review While billed as a comedy, there are curiously few laughs in Will Ferrell’s latest big screen outing in which he teams up with Mark Wahlberg to play a nerdy police detective. It certainly delivers a few chortles; it’s just that there aren’t nearly enough of them. Still, after a string of largely mirth-free months at the multiplex, this might well be a late entry as one of the comedies of the summer. The guys of the title are desk-bound detectives Allen (Ferrell) and Terry (Wahlberg), who spend their days pushing paper while the NYPDs star cops (played by Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne Johnson) collar the criminals and grab the glory. But when the dream team come a cropper, the two backroom boys think it’s their time to shine as they go after corrupt billionaire Ershon (Steve Coogan).There haven’t been many decent cop comedies lately see Rush Hour 3 and Cop Out and The Other Guys is better than expected, although it’s still as uneven as the Manhattan skyline. With Ferrell playing the well-meaning but clueless yin to Wahlbergs near-sociopathic yang, they bother under My eyes awake, after a gruesome night of bombshells and gunshots. Rushed onto look out, I reflect upon my short time in this horrific war. Tracing every movement that I saw my tedious eyes started to ache. After 7 bland minutes, a distinct object arose from the sky. As the object glided towards me, I distinguished the feared logo onside of a small aircraft, the immaculate aircraft had a silver lining around the cross sign. Running throughout my body adrenaline soared throughout my body, I bellowed throughout the flanks ‘Gas attack, Ring the bells’. The adrenaline was seeking through my nerves and my hands trembled as I placed the mask upon my face......... The sudden noise of the hissing ran through my skull....... repelling off my cranium and spreading through my spine the thick yellow substance lurked throughout my body. As I stare into my brothers eyes I feel the thick gas cling onto my lungs. Lying not knowing my fate, my life cycle ran throughout my mind. Sprinting through muddy puddles ....Laying in the

Teaching the Compare and Contrast Essay

Teaching the Compare and Contrast Essay The compare/contrast essay is easy and rewarding to teach for several reasons: Its easy to convince students there is a reason for learning it.You can teach it effectively in a few steps.You can see students critical thinking skills improve as they learn to write the essay.Once mastered, students feel proud of their ability to systematically compare and contrast two subjects. Below are the steps you can use to teach the compare/contrast essay. They have been used in regular high school classes where reading levels ranged from fourth to twelfth grade. Step 1 Discuss practical reasons for comparing and contrasting.Discuss reasons for learning to write about similarities and differences. Selecting subjects that matter to students is critical for this step. For example, one might be to compare two models of cars and then write a letter to a benefactor who might buy them one. Another would be a store manager writing to a buyer about two products. Academic topics such as comparing two organisms, two wars, two approaches to solving a math problem may also be useful. Step 2 Show a model compare/contrast essay. Explain that there are two ways to write the essay but dont go into any detail on how to do it just yet. Step 3 Explain compare/contrast cue words. Explain that when comparing, students should mention differences but focus on similarities. Conversely, when contrasting they should mention similarities but focus on differences. Step 4 Teach students how to use  compare/contrast charts. You should plan to spend a few classes on this. Although it seems simple, students doing it for the first time perform better if they arent rushed through this step. Working in teams, with a partner, or in a group is helpful. Step 5 List and model the Writing Dens  cue words  to show similarities and differences. Many tenth graders have difficulty thinking of these words if this step is skipped. Provide model sentences with these words which they can use until they become comfortable with them. Step 6 Explain charts showing how to organize compare/contrast  paragraphs  and  essays. Have students write the block style first since it is easier. Students should be told that the block is better to show similarities and the feature-by-feature is better to show differences. Step 7 Provide guided practice in writing the  first draft. Guide students through their first essay providing help with an introduction and transition sentences. It is helpful to allow students to use a chart they have completed as a class or one that they have done independently and  that you have checked. Do not assume they understand the chart until they have done one correctly. Step 8 Provide in-class writing time. By giving in-class writing time, many more students will work on the assignment. Without it, students with little motivation may not write the essay. Walk around asking who needs a little help to get more participation from reluctant learners. Step 9 Review the steps in the  writing process.Review editing suggestions and give time for  revision. Explain that after writing their essay, students should edit and revise. They should continue the cycle of editing and revising until they are satisfied with the quality of their essay. Explain the advantages of revising on the computer. For  editing  tips, check  these suggestions for revising drafts  from the University of North Carolina Writing Center. Step 10 Review the  SWAPS Proofreading Guide  and give students time to proofread their essays. Step 11 Have students evaluate their peers essays using a  Compare/Contrast Rubric. Staple a rubric to each essay and have students evaluate them. Be sure to check off on a roster the names of students who turn in essays because they could be stolen during the peer evaluation activity. Consider requiring students who have not finished to submit their essay for peer evaluation after writing  Not Finished  at the top of their papers. This helps peers recognize that the essay is incomplete. More importantly, taking their paper forces them to participate in the evaluation activity rather than trying to finish the essay in class. Consider giving 25 points each for evaluating three essays and another 25 points for quiet participation. Step 12 Review the proofreading guide briefly and then devote half a period to proofread one anothers essays. Tell students to read their essay aloud or to have someone else read it to them to catch any errors. Have students proofread several essays and sign their names at the top of the paper: Proofread by ________.

Drugs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Drugs - Essay Example An example would be, if a person gets addicted to heroine, it is almost impossible to quit. Even though there are other soft drugs like marijuana, and others still they are addictive. And, in this light drugs should be made illegal as they are harmful to people. I strongly, propose that drugs should be made illegal. Another side of the problem is Why should drugs be legal Drugs are used for lot of other useful remedies, and keeping it illegal causes some problems. Government should do something to control the drug problem. It should make people aware that abuse of drugs is illegal. Illegal use of drugs causes several problems of social and criminal nature. This leads to many drug violators and serious offenders behind the bars. The money and expense used in managing the drug related problem is very big. It makes government spend too much money to buildings which are needed to accommodate these criminals. This is also a burden on the taxpayers, and nobody likes this situation. "it is possible to stop most drug addiction in the United States within a very short time. Simply make all drugs available and sell them at cost" (Vidal 384). I think this part is important to support the legalizations. The drugs are now spread out to the black market such as mafia. It relates with money, they make lots of money from drug businesses. However if government make that legal and sell it at cost, then black market could not sell the drugs illegally. The active part to control and legalize the drugs will help solve the problem. The second part of the problem is when it is illegal? Drugs have deep impact on the minds of the people, which make them get involved in crime.

Introduction to international law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Introduction to international law - Essay Example s, military geography and intelligence and success in the various positions he held in the Chilean military, he rose up to the position of General Chief of Staff of the Army at the beginning of 1972. With rising domestic strife in Chile, Pinochet was appointed Army Commander in Chief on August 23, 1973 by President Salvador Allende just the day after the Chamber of Deputies of Chile approved the August 22, 1973 Resolution asserting that Allende was not respecting the Constitution.1 On September 11, 1973, the Armed Forces overthrew Allendes government in a coup, during which the presidential palace, La Moneda, was shelled, while Allende committed suicide. The coup put an end to the Presidential Republic of Chile which had lasted from 1924 to 1973. A military junta was established immediately following the coup, made up of General Pinochet representing the Army, Admiral Josà © Toribio Merino representing the Navy, General Gustavo Leigh representing the Air Force, and General Cà ©sar Mendoza representing the Carabineros (national police). The junta ussurped the powers of the executive and legislative branches of the government, suspended the Constitution and the Congress, imposed strict censorship and curfew, proscribed the left-wing parties and halted all political activities. This military junta governed until December 17, 1974, after which it functioned strictly as a legislative body. The junta members originally planned for the presidency to rotate among th e commanders-in-chief of the four military branches. However, Pinochet soon consolidated his control, first retaining sole chairmanship of the military junta, and then proclaiming himself "Supreme Chief of the Nation" (de facto provisional president) on June 27, 1974. He officially changed his title to â€Å"President† on December 17, 1974.2 In October 1973, at least 70 people were killed by the Caravan of Death, to which Manuel Contreras, later head of the DINA intelligence service, participated. Charles