Microplastic Pollution

Microplastic pollution is an increasing problem in the marine environment. This study had five research objectives: establish if seagrass habitats are accumulating microplastics compared to sandy habits in the Florida Keys, identify if there are any microplastics present in field collected sea cucumbers in the Florida Keys, determine the number of microplastics in Pensacola Beach sediment, determine the number of microplastics in St. Joseph Bay sediment, analyze field collected sand dollars in the Panhandle of Florida for microplastics, and conduct a laboratory experiment on the sand dollar, Mellita tenuis, to determine if they are selecting for microplastics. Microplastics were extracted from samples using a saturated CaCl2 solution, and visual examination. Both seagrass beds and sandy areas in the Florida Keys contained microplastics. Sediment in Pensacola and St. Joseph Bay both contained microplastics. Sea cucumbers collected in the Florida Keys, and sand dollars collected in the Panhandle of Florida, had microplastics as part of their gut content, suggesting they may make useful animals for monitoring nearshore environments for microplastic pollution. In the laboratory, M. tenuis ingested microplastics in slightly lower proportions compared to surrounding sediment. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Microplastics Plastic production has been increasing worldwide for the last sixty years, with manufacturing increasing about 9% each year. In 2007, 260 million tons of plastic were produced (PlasticsEurope 2008). The high durability, low cost, and light weight have made plastic the material of choice in creating many products (Andrady and Neal 2009; Thompson et al. 2009). The incredible success of the plastic industry was unexpected, thus when plastics were first introduced, dangers to the environment were ignored (Stefatos et al. 1999; Derraik 2002). In 2010, between 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic entered the marine environment, and the amount is increasing each year (Jambeck et al. 2015). The consequences of plastic entering the marine environment has only been recently recognized, and is still not well understood. The combination of the long time it takes for plastic to degrade, its ability to concentrate contaminants, and the ingestion by marine organisms are collectively raising concerns for the health of the marine environment. Microplastics are defined as plastic pieces less than 5 mm in size (Arthur et al. 2009; Van Cauwenberghe et al. 2015), although different studies have contrasting definitions of microplastics making comparisons difficult (Van Cauwenberghe et al. 2015). Primary microplastics are intentionally made 5 mm or less for use in cosmetics, cleaners, and industrial scrubbers. Microplastic pellets are the raw plastic material from which larger plastic items are made (Wilber 1987; Costa et al. 2010). Secondary microplastics are derived from larger plastic sources by mechanical, photolytic, or chemical degradation (Mathalon and Hill 2014; Alomar et al. 2016). Examples of secondary microplastics include irregular fragments from macroplastics, and fibers from clothes and nets. Plastics enter the ocean from sources on land and on the sea. About 75% – 90% of plastic debris is land-based coming from littering, and improperly maintained landfills. Areas with higher river input have a higher concentration of microplastics (Vianello et al. 2013; Van Cauwenberghe et al. 2015). The other 10% – 25% come from direct inputs to the ocean, such as shipping, dumping garbage, and fishing (Wessel et al. 2016). Human population density is a large contributing factor in the distribution of microplastics in the ocean and on shorelines and, not surprisingly, heavily populated areas have higher concentrations of debris compared to areas of low population density (Van Cauwenberghe et al. 2015). Beaches near urbanized areas may have 3.3% of the sediment composed of microplastics by weight compared to 0.12% in more isolated areas (Carson et al. 2011; Van Cauwenberghe et al. 2015). With human population growth, more waste is entering the oceans via sewage outfalls, rivers, littering, and industrial discharge (Claessens et al. 2011; Derraik 2002). Over 90% of the variation in the abundance of microplastics on shorelines can be explained by the population density near the area being sampled (Barnes 2005; Browne et al. 2010). Population size and waste management systems largely determine which countries contribute the greatest amount of plastic marine debris into the ocean. If waste management does not improve, there will be an order of magnitude increase in the amount of plastic entering the ocean by 2025 (Jambeck et al. 2015). Documentation of microplastics in the marine environment began in the 1970's when they were first described in the water column (Carpenter and Smith 1972; Carpenter et al. 1972), and on shorelines (Gregory 1977; Gregory 1978; Shiber 1979; Shiber 1982). Thirty years later occurrence of microplastics in the sediment was first described (Thompson et al. 2004). Types of microplastics in the environment include: fibers, fragments, films, and microbeads found in the water column, along shorelines, and in sediment in every marine environment (Wright et al. 2013b; Alomar et al. 2016). Fibers are the most abundant type of microplastic found by many studies, and may be composed of nylon, polyvinyl alcohol, and polypropylene (Browne et al. 2010; Claessens et al. 2011; Alomar et al. 2016; Taylor et al. 2016). Nylon fibers come from clothes, carpets, ropes, and nets. Polyvinyl alcohol fibers are from fishing gear such as fishing lines. Polypropylene fibers are derived from ropes and carpets (Claessens et al. 2011). Washing a single piece of clothing produces around 1,900 fibers that may be released into the environment, thus fiber pollution is often greatest in areas near sewage outfalls (Browne et al. 2011; Alomar et al. 2016). More than four microplastic fibers per gram of sediment have been found in samples taken from areas where sewage is discharged into the ocean (Browne et al. 2010). The ability to determine if a fiber is plastic, or some other type of material, is crucial for accurate estimates of the amount of plastic in the environment. A study in the English Channel found that over half of the fibers ingested by fish were made of cellulose compounds (Lusher et al. 2013)Fragments are usually broken down from larger materials that may be made out of a variety of polymers including polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinylchloride, polyester, nylon and polyamide (Browne et al. 2010). Polyethylene and polypropylene are found in plastics like bottle caps, fishing line, wrappers, cigarette butts, and straws (Wessel et al. 2016). Polyethylene and polypropylene production uses half of the oil consumed for plastic production (Browne et al. 2010). Plastic films are used in products such as balloons, frozen food packaging, and medical supplies (Claessens et al. 2011). These one-use plastics degrade over time becoming microplastics. Microbeads function as scrubbing agents in face washes and cleansers, and are made from polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene (Claessens et al. 2011). Presence of microbeads in Nieuwpoort Harbor, Belgium, the largest yacht harbor in Northern Europe, was ascribed to transport by several rivers flowing into the harbor (Claessens et al. 2011). Castaà ±eda et al. (2014) found a high concentration of microbeads in the Saint Lawrence River coming from industrial sewage. Microbeads have a higher density than many plastics, so it is hypothesized that microbeads settle to the bottom before being transported further offshore. While this type of microplastic is not normally the most abundant in the environment, microbeads have been used in many laboratory experiments, and marine organisms are known to ingest them (Setà ¤là ¤ et al. 2016).

Marriage in Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour”

In Kate Chopping â€Å"The Story of an Hour, the author uses irony and symbolism in order to emphasize her argument: even the kindest and most loving of marriages can be oppressive. In this short story, Mrs.. Mallard, who Is the main character, is a middle-class woman who has just lost her husband In a terrible accident. Her sister and one of her late husband's friends are there, and It Is they who break the news to her, being careful about It since she has heart problems. â€Å"Knowing that Mrs.. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death. (p. L). Knowing about her husband's death, she (Mrs.. Mallard) locks herself in her room to apparently mourn and instead realizes that she has escaped from the grasps of marriage and is â€Å"free, free, free! † at last. She embraces her newly found freedom and triumphantly gazes at the life ahead. Near the end, she comes out of her room and walks arm In arm with her sister down the stairs to find her late husband at the door, which causes her heart to give way, in what the doctors proclaimed â€Å"of heart disease?of joy that kills. When she is first told of her husband's death, she retreats into her room and locks the door behind her, biding to be left alone. Once on her chair, she starts to let her feelings flow through her, at first, there is sadness and mourning, but later on she realizes that she doesn't feel all that bad about her husband passing away, Instead, she feels happy and rejoiced, and starts to look forwards to those days she had dreaded the day before. â€Å"She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long.It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. † She looks out of the open window in her room and sees the permitting in its bloom, with birds flying about, sparrows singing softly, patches of clear blue sky showing here and there. All of these are symbols for hope and freedom. Birds are creatures without boundaries, without limits and unbound to the ground, which we could take to mean marriage. She now feels Like a bird, able to fly off into the sky, leaving her grounding marriage behind.It is basically a symbol of freedom and hope for the future. This also tells us that her marriage, even though it wasn't a violent and unloving marriage was an oppressive one. † She knew that she loud weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. † And â€Å"And yet she had loved him?sometimes. Often she had not. What did It matter! † These unable to do as her heart desires, bound to an unloving marriage forever.Now, she has been given the chance to be free, to choose herself what she truly wants and the open window is the symbol for that. Outside of it lie all of her possible futures. Finally, she finishes by accepting her freedom and whispe rs the words she dreaded o much to say â€Å"free, free, free! † Finally, the cause of her death is her failing heart. She dies when she realizes that all of her dreams of freedom and independence have been shattered by the appearance of her undead husband. There is a kind of sick irony in this.First off, we thought it was he who had died, but at the end their roles are reversed and it is she who ends up dying. Next, the doctors assume that she died of â€Å"Joy that kills†, in other words, she was too happy of seeing her husband well and alive that is was too much of her heart. The reader, who has had access to ere thoughts and desires, knows that she dies of sadness of not being able to carry on living freely and independently without him. She dies because he shatters her dreams, not because he fulfills them.This takes us to Chopping second argument, that death is the only way out of the confinements of marriage. For all we know, Mrs.. Mallard stays at home quite a w hile, since her chair is â€Å"sunken in† which leads us to believe that it is frequently used and therefore she spends most of her time at home. This confinement is what she can't stand of marriage, unable of doing the thing she wants when she wants to do them. The only way she is able to escape this imprisonment is by the death of her husband, which sets her free.Chopin is basically arguing the old saying â€Å"The truth shall set you free†. Knowing that her husband has died, she lets the truth take hold of her, realizing that she's finally going to be happy. But when Mr.. Mallard strides unknowingly through the door, she collapses on the floor and dies. The truth, that he wasn't actually dead has set her free, has parted her from her oppressive marriage. At the very beginning of the story, in fact, the very first thing we know about Mrs.. Mallard is that she has heart problems â€Å"Knowing that Mrs.. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble†¦ In this short story, Mrs.. Mallard's heart disease is a symbol for her marriage and marriage in general in the technetium, in which marriage lies at the heart of society. Marriage is the beating heart of society, what binds it together, and is therefore an unbreakable bond, if you were to go against it you would go against society itself. This, from Chopping (Kate) point of view is unacceptable; marriage should be kept only if there is love, unlike Mrs.. Mallard and her husband. â€Å"And yet he had loved him?sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! The author makes the heart represent marriage, and to show that it is a broken institution she gives Mrs.. Mallard heart problems. This is a clear statement against marriage, telling us that it has lost its meaning and has become a sickly form of binding people together. In the story, it also foreshadows the events that happen later on, namely, her death due to a corrupt and broken marriage. In her short story, Kate Chopin tells us that wome n feel oppressed by marriage whether it is a loving marriage or not, and hey crave for freedom and independence.She does this with the help of symbols such as the open window, representing spring, freedom, hope, independence, and the possibilities of her new life and breaking the bonds of an oppressive marriage, the heart problem that afflicts Mrs.. Mallard which represents how marriage is â€Å"sick† only way a woman can escape marriage by having her die instead of him who supposedly died at the beginning of the story. All in all, she tells us that all marriages confine women and deprive them of their freedom and independence, that oppression is in the very nature of every marriage.

American Literature Essay

When the English preacher and writer Sidney Smith asked in 1820, â€Å"In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book? † little did he suspect that less than two hundred years later the answer in literate quarters would be â€Å"just about everyone. † Indeed, just a few years after Smith posed his inflammatory question, the American writer Samuel Knapp would begin to assemble one of the first histories of American literature as part of a lecture series that he was giving. The course materials offered by American Passages continue in the tradition begun by Knapp in 1829. One goal of this Study Guide is to help you learn to be a literary historian: that is, to introduce you to American literature as it has evolved over time and to stimulate you to make connections between and among texts. Like a literary historian, when you make these connections you are telling a story: the story of how American literature came into being. This Overview outlines four paths (there are many others) by which you can narrate the story of American literature: one based on literary movements and historical change, one based on the American Passages Overview Questions, one based on Contexts, and one based on multiculturalism. TELLING THE STORY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE Literary Movements and Historical Change American Passages is organized around sixteen literary movements or â€Å"units. † A literary movement centers around a group of authors that share certain stylistic and thematic concerns. Each unit includes ten authors that are represented either in The Norton Anthology of American Literature or in the Online Archive. Two to four of these authors are discussed in the video, which calls attention to important historical and cultural influences on these authors, defines a genre that they share, and proposes some key thematic parallels. Tracking literary movements can help you see how American literature has changed and evolved over time. In general, people think about literary movements as reacting against earlier modes of writing and earlier movements. For T E L L I N G T H E S T O R Y O F A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E 3 example, just as modernism (Units 10–13) is often seen as a response to realism and the Gilded Age (Unit 9), so Romanticism is seen as a response to the Enlightenment (Unit 4). Most of the units focus on one era (see the chart below), but they will often include relevant authors from other eras to help draw out the connections and differences. (Note: The movements in parentheses are not limited to authors/works from the era in question, but they do cover some material from it. ) Century Fifteenth– Seventeenth Eighteenth Era Renaissance American Passages Literary Movements. (1: Native Voices) 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise (3: Utopian Promise) 4: Spirit of Nationalism (7: Slavery and Freedom) 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 6: Gothic Undercurrents 7: Slavery and Freedom (1: Native Voices) 6: Gothic Undercurrents 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism (1: Native Voices) 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 12: Migrant Struggle 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Enlightenment Nineteenth Romanticist Nineteenth Realist Twentieth Modernist Twentieth Postmodernist Each unit contains a timeline of historical events along with the dates of key literary texts by the movement’s authors. These timelines are designed to help you make connections between and among the movements, eras, and authors covered in each unit. 4 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Overview Questions The Overview Questions at the start of each unit are tailored from the five American Passages Overview Questions that follow. They are meant to help you focus your viewing and reading and participate in discussion afterward. 1. What is an American? How does literature create conceptions of the American experience and American identity? This two-part question should trigger discussion about issues such as, Who belongs to America? When and how does one become an American? How has the search for identity among American writers changed over time? It can also encourage discussion about the ways in which immigration, colonization, conquest, youth, race, class, and gender affect national identity. 2. What is American literature? What are the distinctive voices and styles in American literature? How do social and political issues influence the American canon? This multi-part question should instigate discussion about the aesthetics and reception of American literature. What is a masterpiece? When is something considered literature, and how is this category culturally and historically dependent? How has the canon of American literature changed and why? How have American writers used language to create art and meaning? What does literature do? This question can also raise the issue of American exceptionalism: Is American literature different from the literature of other nations? 3. How do place and time shape the authors’ works and our understanding of them? This question addresses America as a location and the many ways in which place impacts American literature’s form and content. It can provoke discussion about how regionalism, geography, immigration, the frontier, and borders impact American literature, as well as the role of the vernacular in indicating place. 4. What characteristics of a literary work have made it influential over time? This question can be used to spark discussion about the evolving impact of various pieces of American literature and about how American writers used language both to create art and respond to and call for change. What is the individual’s responsibility to uphold the community’s traditions, and when are individuals compelled to resist them? What is the relationship between the individual and the community? 5. How are American myths created, challenged, and re-imagined through this literature? This question returns to â€Å"What is an American? † But it poses the question at a cultural rather than individual level. What are the myths that make up American culture? What is the American Dream? What are American myths, dreams, and nightmares? How have these changed over time? T E L L I N G T H E S T O R Y O F A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E 5 Contexts Another way that connections can be made across and between authors is through the five Contexts in each unit: three longer Core Contexts and two shorter Extended Contexts. The goal of the Contexts is both to help you read American literature in its cultural background and to teach you close-reading skills. Each Context consists of a brief narrative about an event, trend, or idea that had particular resonance for the writers in the unit as well as Americans of their era; questions that connect the Context to the authors in the unit; and a list of related texts and images in the Online Archive. Examples of Contexts include discussions of the concept of the Apocalypse (3: â€Å"Utopian Visions†), the sublime (4: â€Å"Spirit of Nationalism†), and baseball (14: â€Å"Becoming Visible†). The Contexts can be used in conjunction with an author or as stand-alone activities. The Slide Show Tool on the Web site is ideal for doing assignments that draw connections between archive items from a Context and a text you have read. And you can create your own contexts and activities using the Slide Show Tool: these materials can then be e-mailed, viewed online, projected, or printed out on overhead transparencies. Multiculturalism In the past twenty years, the field of American literature has undergone a radical transformation. Just as the mainstream public has begun to understand America as more diverse, so, too, have scholars moved to integrate more texts by women and ethnic minorities into the standard canon of literature taught and studied. These changes can be both exhilarating and disconcerting, as the breadth of American literature appears to be almost limitless. Each of the videos and units has been carefully balanced to pair canonical and noncanonical voices. You may find it helpful, however, to trace the development of American literature according to the rise of different ethnic and minority literatures. The following chart is designed to highlight which literatures are represented in the videos and the units. As the chart indicates, we have set different multicultural literatures in dialogue with one another. Literature African American literature Video Representation. 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation Study Guide Representation 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 6 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Native American literature 1: Native Voices 5: Masculine Heroes 14: Becoming Visible. 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 2: Exploring Borderlands 5: Masculine Heroes 10: Rhythms in Poetry 12: Migrant Struggle 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 9: Social Realism 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity 9: Social Realism 11: Modernist Portraits 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 6: Gothic Undercurrents 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity 2: Exploring Borderlands 5: Masculine Heroes 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Latino literature 2: Exploring Borderlands 10: Rhythms in Poetry 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity Asian American literature 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity Jewish American 9: Social Realism literature 11: Modernist Portraits 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Women’s literature 1: Native Voices 2: Exploring Borderlands 3: Utopian Promise 6: Gothic Undercurrents 7: Slavery and Freedom 8: Regional Realism 9: Social Realism 11: Modernist Portraits 12: Migrant Struggle 13: Southern Renaissance 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity Gay and lesbian literature 2: Exploring Borderlands 5: Masculine Heroes 10: Rhythms in Poetry 11: Modernist Portraits 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity T E L L I N G T H E S T O R Y O F A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E 7 Literature cont’d Working-class literature Video Representation 2: Exploring Borderlands 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 9: Social Realism 12: Migrant Struggle 16: Search for Identity Study Guide Representation 2: Exploring Borderlands 4: Spirit of Nationalism 5: Masculine Heroes 7: Slavery and Freedom 9: Social Realism 10: Rhythms in Poetry 12: Migrant Struggle 14: Becoming Visible 15: Poetry of Liberation 16: Search for Identity LITERATURE IN ITS CULTURAL CONTEXT When you study American literature in its cultural context, you enter a multidisciplined and multi-voiced conversation where scholars and critics in different fields examine the same topic but ask very different questions about it. For example, how might a literary critic’s understanding of nineteenthcentury American culture compare to that of a historian of the same era? How can an art historian’s understanding of popular visual metaphors enrich our readings of literature? The materials presented in this section of the Study Guide aim to help you enter that conversation. Below are some suggestions on how to begin. Deep in the heart of the Vatican Museum is an exquisite marble statue from first- or second-century Rome. Over seven feet high, the statue depicts a scene from Virgil’s Aeneid in which Laocoon and his sons are punished for warning the Trojans about the Trojan horse. Their bodies are entwined with large, devouring serpents, and Laocoon’s face is turned upward in a dizzying portrait of anguish, his muscles rippling and bending beneath the snake’s strong coils. The emotion in the statue captured the heart and eye of critic Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, who used the work as the starting point for his seminal essay on the relationship between literature and art, â€Å"Laocoon: An Essay on the Limits of Painting and Poetry. † For Lessing, one of the most common errors that students of culture can make is to assume that all aspects of culture develop in tandem with one another. As Lessing points out, each art has its own strengths. For example, literature works well with notions of time and story, and thus is more flexible than visual art in terms of imaginative freedom, whereas painting is a visual medium that can reach greater beauty, although it is static. For Lessing, the mixing of these two modes (temporal and spatial) carries great risk along with rewards. As you study literature in conjunction with any of the fine arts, you may find it helpful to ask whether you agree with Lessing that literature is primarily a temporal art. Consider too the particular 8 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? strengths of the media discussed below. What do they offer that may not be available to writers? What modes do they use that complement our understanding of the literary arts? Fine Arts Albrecht Durer created some of the most disturbing drawings known to humans: they are rife with images of death, the end of the world, and dark creatures that inhabit hell. Images such as The Last Judgement (below) can be found in the Online Archive. In Knight, Death, and the Devil (1513), a devout Christian knight is taunted by the Devil and Death, who gleefully shakes a quickly depleting hourglass, mocking the soldier with the passing of time. Perhaps the tension and anxiety in Durer’s print resonated with the American poet Randall Jarrell in his struggle with mental illness. In â€Å"The Knight, Death, and the Devil,† Jarrell opens with a description of the scene: Cowhorn-crowned, shockheaded, cornshucked-bearded, Death is a scarecrow—his death’s-head a teetotum . . . Jarrell’s description is filled with adjectives in much the same way that the print is crowded with detail. The poem is an instance of what critics call ekphrasis: the verbal description of a work of visual art, usually of a painting, photograph, or sculpture but sometimes of an urn, tapestry, or quilt. Ekphrasis attempts to bridge the gap between the verbal and the visual arts. Artists and writers have always influenced one another: sometimes directly as in the case of Durer’s drawing and Jarrell’s poem, and other times indirectly. The Study Guide will help you navigate through these webs of influence. For example, Unit 5 will introduce you to the Hudson River [7995] Albrecht Durer, The Last School, the great American landscape painters Judgement (1510), courtesy of the of the nineteenth century. In the Context focusprint collection of Connecticut ing on these artists, you will learn of the interCollege, New London. connectedness of their visual motifs. In Unit 11, William Carlos Williams, whose poems â€Å"The Dance† and â€Å"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus† were inspired by two paintings by Breughel, will draw your attention to the use of ekphrasis. Williams’s work is a significant example of how multiple traditions in art can influence a writer: in addition to his interest in European art, Williams imitated Chinese landscapes and poetic forms. When you encounter works of fine art, such as paintings, photographs, or sculpture, in the Online Archive or the Study Guide, you may find two tools used by art historians helpful: formal analysis and iconography. Formal L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 9 [3694] Thomas Cole, The Falls of Kaaterskill (1826), courtesy of the Warner Collection of the Gulf States Paper Corporation, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. analysis, like close readings of poems, seeks to describe the nature of the object without reference to the context in which it was created. A formal analysis addresses such questions as Where does the central interest in the work lie? How is the work composed and with what materials? How is lighting or shading used? What does the scene depict? What allusions (mythological, religious, artistic) are found in the work? Once you have described the work of art using formal analysis, you may want to extend your reading by calling attention to the cultural climate in which the work was produced. This is called an iconographic reading. Here the Context sections of the Study Guide will be useful. You may notice, for example, a number of nineteenth-century paintings of ships in the Online Archive. One of the Contexts for Unit 6 argues that these ships can be read as symbols for nineteenth-century America, where it was common to refer to the nation as a â€Å"ship of state. † The glowing light or wrecked hulls in the paintings reflect the artists’ alternating optimism and pessimism about where the young country was headed. Below are two possible readings of Thomas Cole’s painting The Falls of Kaaterskill that employ the tools of formal analysis and iconography. W R I T E R A : F O R M A L A N A L Y S I S In this painting by Hudson River School artist Thomas Cole, the falls that give the painting its name grab our attention. The shock of the white falls against the concentrated brightness of the rocks ensures that the waterfall will be the focus of the work. Even amidst this brightness, however, there is darkness and mystery in the painting, where the falls emerge out of a dark quarry and crash down onto broken tree limbs and staggered rocks. The descent is neither peaceful nor pastoral, unlike the presentation of nature in Cole’s other works, such as the Oxbow. The enormity of the falls compared to the lone human figure that perches above them also adds to the sense of power the falls embody. Barely recognizable as human because it is so minute, the figure still pushes forward as if to embrace the cascade of the water in a painting that explores the tension between the individual and the power of nature. W R I T E R B : I C O N O G R A P H Y I agree with Writer A that this painting is all about the power of nature, but I would argue that it is about a particular kind of power: one that nineteenthcentury thinkers called the â€Å"sublime. † Cole’s portrait of the falls is particularly indebted to the aesthetic ideas formulated by Edmund Burke in the eighteenth century. Burke was interested in categorizing aesthetic responses, and he distinguished the â€Å"sublime† from the â€Å"beautiful. † While the beautiful is calm and harmonious, the sublime is majestic, wild, and even savage. While viewers are soothed by the beautiful, they are overwhelmed, awestruck, and sometimes terrified by the sublime. Often associated with huge, overpowering natural 10 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? phenomena like mountains, waterfalls, or thunderstorms, the â€Å"delightful terror† inspired by sublime visions was supposed to both remind viewers of their own insignificance in the face of nature and divinity and inspire them with a sense of transcendence. Here the miniature figure is the object of our gaze even as he is obliterated by the grandeur of the water. During the nineteenth century, tourists often visited locales such as the Kaaterskill Falls in order to experience the â€Å"delightful terror† that they brought. This experience is also echoed in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay â€Å"Nature,† in which he writes of his desire to become a â€Å"transparent eyeball† that will be able to absorb the oversoul that surrounds him. The power that nature holds here is that of the divine: nature is one way we can experience higher realms. How do these readings differ? Which do you find more compelling and why? What uses can you see for formal analysis or iconographic readings? When might you choose one of these strategies over the other? History As historian Ray Kierstead has pointed out, history is not just â€Å"one damn thing after another†: rather, history is a way of telling stories about time or, some might say, making an argument about time. The Greek historian Herodotus is often called the father of history in the western world, as he was one of the first historians to notice patterns in world events. Herodotus saw that the course of empires followed a cyclical pattern of rise and fall: as one empire reaches its peak and self-destructs out of hubris (excessive pride), a new empire or new nations will be born to take its place. Thomas Cole’s five-part series The Course of Empire (1833) mirrors this Herodotean notion of time as his scene moves from savage, to pastoral, to consummation, to devastation, to desolation. This vision of time has been tremendously influential in literature: whenever you read a work written in the pastoral mode (literature that looks back with nostalgia to an era of rural life, lost simplicity, and a time when nature and culture were one), ask yourself whether there is an implicit optimism or pessimism about what follows this lost rural ideal. For example, in Herman Melville’s South Sea novel Typee, we find the narrator in a Tahitian village. He seeks to determine if he has entered a pastoral or savage setting: is he surrounded by savages, or is he plunged in a pastoral bliss? Implicit in both is a suggestion that there are earlier forms of civilization than the United States that the narrator has left behind. Any structural analysis of a work of literature (an analysis that pays attention to how a work is ordered) would do well to consider what notions of history are embedded within. In addition to the structural significance of history, a dialogue between history and literature is crucial because much of the early literature of the United States can also be categorized as historical documents. It is helpful, therefore, to understand the genres of history. Like literature, history is comprised of different genres, or modes. Historian Elizabeth Boone defines the main traditional genres of history as res gestae, geographical, and annals. Res gestae, or â€Å"deeds done,† organizes history through a list of accomplishments. This was a popu- L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 11 lar form of history for the ancient Greeks and Romans; for example, the autobiography of Julius Caesar chronicles his deeds, narrated in the third person. When Hernan Cortes and other explorers wrote accounts of their travels (often in the form of letters to the emperor), Caesar’s autobiography served as their model. Geographical histories use travel through space to shape the narrative: Mary Rowlandson’s captivity narrative is an example of a geographical history in that it follows her through a sequence of twenty geographic â€Å"removes† into Indian country and back. Annals, by contrast, use time as the organizing principle. Information is catalogued by year or month. Diaries and journals are a good example of this genre. These three genres can also be found in the histories of the Aztecs and Mayans of Mesoamerica and in those of the native communities of the United States and Canada. For example, the migration legend, a popular indigenous form of history, is a geographical history, whereas trickster tales often tell the early history of the world through a series of deeds. Memoirists also mix genres; for example, the first section of William Bradford’s Of Plimouth Plantation is a geographical history, whereas the second half is annals. Today the most common historical genres are intellectual history (the history of ideas), political history (the story of leaders), and diplomatic history (the history of foreign relations). To these categories we might add the newer categories of â€Å"social history† (a history of everyday life) and â€Å"gender history† (which focuses on the construction of gender roles). Finally, history is a crucial tool for understanding literature because literature is written in—and arguably often reflects—a specific historical context. Readers of literary works can deepen their understanding by drawing on the tools of history, that is, the records people leave behind: political (or literary) documents, town records, census data, newspaper stories, captivity narratives, letters, journals, diaries, and the like. Even such objects as tools, graveyards, or trading goods can tell us important information about the nature of everyday life for a community, how it worshipped or what it thought of the relationship between life and death. 12 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Material Culture [6332] Archibald Gunn and Richard Felton Outcault, New York Journal’s Colored Comic Supplement (1896), courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USZC4-25531]. When you look at an object, it may call up associations from the past. For example, for the first-time viewer the clown figure in the image above may seem innocuous, yet at the end of the nineteenth century his popularity was so intense that it started a newspaper war fierce enough to spawn a whole new term for sensationalist, irresponsible journalism—â€Å"yellow journalism. † Objects such as this comic supplement constitute â€Å"material culture,† the objects of everyday life. In Material Culture Studies in America, Thomas Schlereth provides the following useful definition of material culture: Material culture can be considered to be the totality of artifacts in a culture, the vast universe of objects used by humankind to cope with the physical world, to facilitate social intercourse, to delight our fancy, and to create symbols of meaning. . . . Leland Ferguson argues that material culture includes all â€Å"the things that people leave behind . . . all of the things people make from the physical world—farm tools, ceramics, houses, furniture, toys, buttons, roads, cities. † (2) When we study material culture in conjunction with literature, we wed two notions of â€Å"culture† and explore how they relate. As critic John Storey notes, the first notion of culture is what is often called â€Å"high culture†Ã¢â‚¬â€the â€Å"general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic factors†; and the second is â€Å"lived culture†Ã¢â‚¬â€the â€Å"particular way of life, whether of a people, a period or a group† (2). In a sense, material culture (as the objects of a lived culture) allows us to see how the prevailing intellectual ideas were played out in the daily lives of people in a particular era. Thus, as Schlereth explains, through studying material culture we can learn about the â€Å"belief systems—the values, ideas, attitudes, and assumptions—of a particular community or society, usually across time† (3). In reading objects as embedded with meaning, we follow Schlereth’s premise that â€Å"objects made or L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 13 modified by humans, consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, reflect the belief patterns of individuals who made, commissioned, purchased, or used them, and, by extension, the belief patterns of the larger society of which they are a part† (3). The study of material culture, then, can help us better understand the cultures that produced and consumed the literature we read today. Thomas Schlereth suggests a number of useful models for studying material culture; his â€Å"Art History Paradigm† is particularly noteworthy in that it will help you approach works of â€Å"high art,† such as paintings and sculptures, as well. The â€Å"Art History Paradigm† argues that the interpretive objective of examining the artifact is to â€Å"depict the historical development and intrinsic merit† of it. If you are interested in writing an â€Å"Art History Paradigm† reading of material culture, you might look at an object and ask yourself the following questions, taken from Sylvan Barnet’s Short Guide to Writing about Art. These questions apply to any art object: First, we need to know information about the artifact so we can place it in a historical context. You might ask yourself: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What is my first response to the work? When and where was the work made? Where would the work originally have been seen? What purpose did the work serve? In what condition has the work survived? (Barnet 21–22) In addition, if the artifact is a drawing, painting, or advertisement, you might want to ask yourself questions such as these: 1. What is the subject matter? What (if anything) is happening? 2. If the picture is a portrait, how do the furnishings and the background and the angle of the head or the posture of the head and body (as well as the facial expression) contribute to our sense of the subject’s character? 3. If the picture is a still life, does it suggest opulence or want? 4. In a landscape, what is the relation between human beings and nature? Are the figures at ease in nature, or are they dwarfed by it? Are they one with the horizon, or (because the viewpoint is low) do they stand out against the horizon and perhaps seem in touch with the heavens, or at least with open air? If there are woods, are these woods threatening, or are they an inviting place of refuge? If there is a clearing, is the clearing a vulnerable place or is it a place of refuge from ominous woods? Do the natural objects in the landscape somehow reflect the emotions of the figures? (Barnet 22–23; for more questions, see pp. 23–24) Material culture is a rich and varied resource that ranges from kitchen utensils, to advertisements, to farming tools, to clothing. Unpacking the significance of objects that appear in the stories and poems you read may help you better understand characters and their motives. 14 W H AT I S A M E R I C A N L I T E R AT U R E ? Architecture Most of the time we read the hidden meanings of buildings without even thinking twice. Consider the buildings below: Above: [9089] Anonymous, Capitol Building at Washington, D. C. (1906), courtesy of Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress [LC-USZ62-121528]. Right: [6889] Anonymous, Facade of the Sam Wah’s Chinese Laundry (c. 1890 –1900), courtesy of the Denver Public Library. Even if we had never seen either of these buildings before, it would not take us long to determine which was a government building and which was a smalltown retail establishment. Our having seen thousands of buildings enables us to understand the purpose of a building from architectural clues. When first seeing a work of architecture, it is helpful to unpack cultural assumptions. You might ask: 1. What is the purpose of this building? Is it public or private? What activities take place within it? 2. What features of the building reflect this purpose? Which of these features are necessary and which are merely conventional? 3. What buildings or building styles does this building allude to? What values are inherent in that allusion? 4. What parts of this building are principally decorative rather than functional? What does the ornament or lack of it say about the status of the owners or the people who work there? 5. What buildings surround this building? How do they affect the way the building is entered? 6. What types of people live or work in this building? How do they interact within the space? What do these findings say about the relative social status of the occupants? How does the building design restrict or encourage that status? 7. How are people supposed to enter and move through the building? What clues does the building give as to how this movement should take place? L I T E R AT U R E I N I T S C U LT U R A L C O N T E X T 15 These questions imply two basic assumptions about architecture: (1) architecture reflects and helps establish social status and social relations; and (2) architecture i

Michigan Liquor Control Commission Research Paper

Michigan Liquor Control Commission - Research Paper Example This paper will discuss the issues associated with the Michigan liquor distribution system. It will also explore the best possible solutions to the problems from managers’ perspectives. If the government had properly redesigned Michigan liquor distribution system, current issues in the distribution process would have been resolved to some extent. The state of Michigan maintains a three-tier liquor distribution system that builds strong legal walls between state-approved wholesalers, suppliers, and retailers (legal issues†¦, 2010). This traditional liquor distribution system imposes more costs on consumers as it limits the chances of market competition which may end up on price cuts. It is advisable for the state of Michigan to ensure the private sector involvement in liquor distribution process as this practice would be beneficial for ultimate consumers. At the same time, authorities must ensure that the private sector operations fully comply with the state liquor distribution policies. From the case study, it seems that the number of state stores has remained fairly constant over the last years and this situation raises difficulties for both the state of Michi gan and the consumers. In order to resolve such issues, opening more stores in different cities of the state would be reasonable. Similarly, the existing three state-owned and operated warehouses may not be adequate to effectively and timely meet the needs of 12,000 retail licensees that serve the consuming public throughout the state. Hence, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission might conduct a detailed market study to identify the proper distribution channels that would improve the operational efficiency of the state liquor distribution system. It is also recommendable to close the existing 75 smaller second-tier state warehouses and allow the retailers to directly get liquor products from the state-owned warehouses. The elimination of second-tier state warehouses from the liquor distribution system would be helpful for the MLCC to trim down the current distributional cost of $20 million per year.

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Coca cola company report - Essay Example During this long time of its business Coca Cola has done many mergers and acquisitions with various companies. The company has also diversified its business in health drinks, bottled water, fruit juice etc. Coca Cola has created a huge customer base and maintains a strong connection with its targeted customers. Coca Cola is one of the recognizable brands in the world. It is a 16 billion dollar brand. Coca Cola produces the top five soft drinks like Diet coke, Fanta, Coca cola, and Sprite etc. It is also involved in manufacturing other products like vitamin water, Minute maid, powerade etc. The company has the license to market more than 500 beverage brands including water, sparkling drinks, juice, sports & energy drinks, ready to drink coffee or tea etc. Coca Cola has the world’s largest distribution system (Isdell and Beasley, 2011). It has many bottling partners throughout the world for selling its beverage. Its present employee strength is 130,600. In 2013 the company has earned revenue of US$ 46.854 billion. In 2013 Coca Cola has its total assets of US$ 90.055 billion. The company has many subsidiary companies. In 1920 Coca Cola became a publicly trading company. Coca Cola was innovated in 1886. From that time it has become the catalyst for inspired innovation and social interaction. This non alcoholic beverage created a global brand which provides refreshment to its customers throughout the world. This product was invented by John Stith Pemberton in 1886. In this year the first newspaper ad of Coca Cola appeared describing it as refreshing and delicious beverage. The Coca Cola syrup and extract was labeled as copyright under John Pemberton. In 1889 the formula of Coca Cola and the brand was bought by Asa Griggs Candler. He started the company Coca Cola in 1892. The company’s Spencerian script and its trademark were registered in 1892 with the Patent office of U.S. In the company’s second annual meeting the

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Colonization of african americans - Essay Example I used to have an older brother, but we got separated when he got sold off to a different family. I hope he is well, wherever he is. I haven't seen him in 10 years. When we first came here to Georgia, we were scared because we didn't know what kind of family we'll serve, or if we will yet again be separated. As my Ma and Pa anticipated our expulsion from the South Carolina rice plantation we called home since before I was born (they were just too many of us slaves than they can handle), I can hear them praying for a better owner—people who will not whip us when we make mistakes or if they think we're being lazy. I remember playing inside the trunk of a big old tree far from the rice plantation, but being careful so that no white people can see me. The clay house we share with another family is hot in the summer, and being a young boy, I want to go out and play. But if they see me, there'd be big trouble for sure. So I found myself a hiding place in a tree. Ma always told me ac tions have consequences, and if I'm not careful, then she couldn't shield me from the eyes of our owner. Consequences means whipping and no food rations—especially if we caught our master's attention when he was drunk. That's asking for big trouble. The fusion of bad disposition alcohol would mean at least 10 whips. So, Ma and Pa were both happy and scared we were about to be resold or "imported" as they call it—happy to be leaving our cruel master, but scared to be sold to a more cruel owner. While we were being auctioned off in cuffs, after my brother was bought by a different man, the three of us gave an inaudible sigh of relief when we were purchased by one man. He looks stern but fair, although we dared not look into his eyes, afraid he might think we're insolent and get off on a bad start. It turns out he was a general who just invested in a small cotton plantation and only needs more than a dozen hands to work the fields for starters. Our new home in Georgia was more livable. We were given our own hut and it even had a small fireplace! Although we miss our fellow slaves we left behind or were sold to others—especially my brother—life was starting to look good. Our assimilation into the Georgia life was smooth. The general bought two other families—parents who can still work hard who had sons who were young, but ready to work. Unlike in our old life, we were given enough food to eat and allowed us not to work on Sundays, except during harvest season when we had to work 16 to 18 hours a day. Missus and master treated us like people, where before we were treated almost like animals. As long as we work hard and are honest, we didn't go hungry. They gave us a fair share for our daily cotton weight. Although we were used to having to work with a lot of slaves, here, we became like a close-knit family because slave owners in Georgia are not as many. Most of the people disapproved slavery, and maybe this is why our masters wer e good to us. Because there were so few of us in our community, segregation—although not a law—was apparent. It was like a hidden code. When you see whites on the road, you automatically give way. It's my birthday today, and we celebrate it by making a bonfire and roasting the extra meat given to me for this special day. Before we came here, we never got to celebrate birthdays. Anyway, because it's my birthday, I wonder where I really came from and

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English - World Literature Oedipus Rex, Sophocles - Essay Example In the case of Oedipus Rex it will be that of â€Å"pity† and â€Å"fear†, the classic components of tragedy as explicated in Aristotle’s Poetics. The task for the modern actor is to take an ancient story dealing with a society that has long since vanished and to make his character real to the audience. The tragedy of a man who unknowingly kills his own father, marries his mother and his children with her creates the kind of nightmarish situation that any audience member should be able to relate to. The task of the actor, and of the director who guides him, is to portray this tragic situation in a manner that makes it real to a modern audience. It is this type of guidance that will be explored in the imaginary letter immediately following. First of all John I would like to thank you for agreeing to take on one of the greatest, and also most challenging roles in all of drama. I am sure that the two of us, together with the rest of the cast and crew, will be able to bring this timeless story to our contemporary audience in a new and exciting manner. One of the challenges of this play, and of your role as Oedipus in particular, is that everyone knows the story in the audience. The audience all know that Oedipus has killed his father, not knowing what he has done, and everyone knows that he has subsequently married his own mother and had children with her. There is nothing â€Å"new† within this story. Our task will be to make the story new and as shocking as if the audience were seeing it for the first time without knowing what is about to occur. As an experienced actor you know that this â€Å"making new† is one of the central tasks in all of drama, especially in a play with as well-known a story as this one. I would like to take you few a few points in the play in which the â€Å"newness† of the situation is vital. The first point is at the very beginning of the play when you, as a young king, are faced with a dying city

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Total Quality Management xxxxx Company - Essay Example oblems the company faced having atrophied somewhat due to its own success, a victim of its own success in a way, and also by the onset of competition chiefly from Apple with the iPhone and the Android army led by Samsung. Indeed, by the time the sale had been completed, Apple and Samsung had completely taken over the market for smart phones, generating the bulk of all profits for the entire industry, even as Nokia continued to tank in terms of both sales and profits. While the top top performers prospered, Nokia continued to bleed money from its unsuccessful attempts to hawk Microsoft Windows Phones and to revive its fortunes after the collapse of its Symbian handset business. What remains of the company afterwards, on the other hand, remains formidable, with the networks infrastructure business providing the bulk of all revenues. The two other groups, essentially patents and research and development on the one hand and the mapping business on the other, are deemed as forming the int ellectual heart of the Nokia business, and is expected to generate new businesses in terms of new product innovations, new mapping products, and new ways to monetize the large cachet of patents that Nokia owns. The idea is that having sold its handset business to Microsoft, which had been bleeding money and causing Nokia’s finances to collapse, Nokia can reboot itself and change course, with a new strategy that is able to leverage its intellectual property assets, its good name, and its very vital relationships within the industry (Cheng, 2014; Rockman, 2014; Thomas, 2014; Scott, 2014). The partnership with Microsoft began as a software deal, with Microsoft providing incentives for Nokia’s using Windows Phone software that amounted to some on-going cash infusions to support the use of the software for Nokia’s phones. The problem with that partnership is that Windows Phone was not ready to compete with iOS and with Android at the time of the sealing of the deal, and so even as

Cellular Network and Smartphone Application Security Research Paper

Cellular Network and Smartphone Application Security - Research Paper Example Numerous applications present in smart phones have raised new security questions. Security is a prime requirement for users today and therefore users should be knowledgeable about their vulnerability to attacks. Types of Cellular Networks 2G Stands for second generation wireless telephone technology it’s known as Personal Communications Service, or PCS, in the United States. 2G technologies can be broadly divided into  TDMA-based, FDMA-based and  CDMA-based standards. Compared to previous 1G networks that were analogue, 2G offered digital encryption and started the data service for cell phones including text messages. Digital signals allowed effective data compression and multiplexing while reducing the emission of radio power. Enhanced security decreased the incidences of frauds. 2G is also a cell phone network protocol .Their features included voice mail, caller ID, Conference calling and simple web applications like web browsing and email. Some modifications in 2G led t o the evolution of 2.5G and 2.75G that account for the transition to 3G. 2.5G has a circuit switch domain and included MMS technology along with GPRS. 2.75G technology enables improved data transmission rates by virtue of being an extension on top of standard GSM hence performed better than its predecessors 2G and 2.5G. 3G Third generation succeeded the GSM standards. It provided great speed to browse through WebPages, play 3D games, download or stream full motion music videos. Verizon Wireless was the first to introduce 3G services in 2005.3G was accompanied by increase bandwidth, and greater support for diverse applications by the inclusion of packet-switched data with spectral efficiency at greater speeds. There are two 3G families 3GPP and 3GPP2. 3GPP was formed to foster deployment of 3G networks that came from GSM. Deployment GPRS and EDGE began in 2000 and 2003 respectively. These technologies are defined by IMT-2000.IMT2000 stands for International mobile telecommunications while 2000 means it was launched in 2000 had data rates of 2000 Kbp and frequency range of 2000 MHz. 3GPP2 was introduced to help operators using CDMA2000 to move to 3G. 3.5G was introduced with cable speeds and its added features include faster browsing of graphic intensive site and on demand videos.    4G Fourth generation refers to fourth-generation wireless that overtakes the 3G technology. What really constitutes 4G is not yet defined but 4G networks are distinguished by their use of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) rather than (TDMA) or (CDMA) even though carriers are divided on whether to use (LTE) or WiMAX. ITU standards claim that 4G network should allow exchange of data at 100 Mbit/sec whereas 3G’s speeds can be as low as 3.84 Mbit/sec. As expected 4G is faster than all previous generations. Technologies that enhance coverage like Femtocell  and  Picocell  are being developed to support 4G technology. LTE (Long-term-evolution) –It use s additional spectrum and multiplexing enhancing speeds which are10 times faster than 3G.The lag time has also reduced delay increasing the responsiveness of buffering. It is known for its high quality Voice-over-IP (VoIP).It is believed that songs can be downloaded within 4 seconds and photos uploaded in 6 seconds. Most of the smart phones support 4G LTE and it is available in more than 175 cities. WiFi WiFi provides wireless connectivity. It uses 802.11 radio technologies providing a fast and secure

The impact of the internet on plagiarism in student papers Annotated Bibliography

The impact of the internet on plagiarism in student papers - Annotated Bibliography Example In the above report, the authors identify the online research behaviors of teenagers in the modern digital world. Among other things, the authors identify the types of information easily obtained by students online. Among the examples given include online encyclopedia, e-books, and news sites among others. This is an extensive research that helps to fully uncover the types of materials available on the internet today used by students. The research is based on an online survey of more than 2400 teachers in the US. The major limitation is that the authors do not focus on how students use these materials to plagiarize. Carpenter, J et al (2012). Researchers of Tomorrow: the research behavior of Generation Y doctoral students. Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE). Pp. 1-83. Retrieved on 12 April 2014 from http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/reports/2012/researchers-of-tomorrow.aspx#finding This report attempted to evaluate the research behavior of doctoral students born between 1982 and 1994 in the United Kingdom. This is a through and detailed research in which 17000 students took part in the three year study. The results help understand some of the online sources of information used by students, and these include video recording, news articles, e-books and e-journals among others. The limitation of the study is that the authors did not evaluate how these doctoral students use these online sources to committee plagiarism. In addition, the research was only based in UK, and therefore the results obtained may not be a fair reflection of this trend in other institutions. Conradson, S & Pedro H (2004). Computers, the internet, and cheating among secondary school students: some implications for educators.  Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 9(9). Retrieved April 12, 2014 from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=9&n=9 This article evaluates how computers and the internet have contributed to cheating

Putting Up a Restaurant Essay Example for Free

Putting Up a Restaurant Essay The business will be located along national road at Mabini Home Site Cabanatuan City where as all the necessary amenities are easy to access like water from NAWASA, Electricity from CELCOR and the location has a good drainage system whereas , flooding is not a problem. 3. Brief Description of the project The project is about putting up a Golden bakeshop. The proponent of this study was able to identify the needs for a good quality of products particularly the needs of bakeshop with bar. The site where the propose project will be strategically located and is accessible to all target customers and it is situated at Barangay Mabini Home Site. The proposed business is accessible to all types of transportation and approximately 50 meters from Residents, Cabanatuan City 300 meters from Wesleyan University Philippines. The nearest indirect competitors are 1 km away from the place of proposed project. Consequently averages of 1,500 customers are expected to be the clients per month, this will include teachers and students from the school . The business will give him/her an average of 26% net income annually. Initial capital requirement is estimated at P 990,086.00. It will be managed by the owner he/she will perform as manager and cashier. She/he will be assisted by 4 staff, and one baker Since the researchers focus on developing and extending services to people who loves to dine and assist them this business is perfect for them to established golden bakeshop and the business establishment will bear the trade name â€Å"Golden Bakeshop† 4. Project Summary 1. Market Feasibility This proposed project would be established to provide the needs of the people for good quality pastry services. The owner sees Barangay Mabini HomeSite, Cabanatuan City as a good site to put up a bakeshop because its accessibility to target customers. This project would be profitable because the bakeshop will be located at a place where there are lots of target customers. residents will favor in this kind of business,. The Golden Bakeshop is perfect for the students and residents who love pastries The proposed business supplies will be getting from Cabanatuan City Public market and Sangitan Market whereas it is known to offer raw materials and foods that are fresh and its low prices 2. Technical Feasibility Bakeshop will be established to provide the quality bakeshop needs of the people of Cabanatuan. The proposed business would be equipped with the needed structures and facilities to provide a better place for the convenience of the target customers. It is expected that with plan problems being encountered by consumers like low quality of bakeshop services will be solved. 3. Management Feasibility Partnership is a kind of organization the business will adopt. By this kind of organization, it is easy for the owner to control the business. Employees shall be receive enough and decent salaries. During holidays, each employee shall be granted a double pay work. Employees shall work in a 6 days basis so that they will enjoy one day of their day off. Likewise employees shall be received a Christmas bonus. The type of business organization will be a line type organization. The policies of the organizational indicated based on the salary given to the employee, the benefits they will received, there working hours and the hours of break for regular meal and the proper uniform during work. 4. Financial Feasibility Source of fund will come from the owner of the business. He or she will provide the total amount of fund needed to start the business. The total project cost is estimated P 990,086.00 who will be provided by the owner the amount include the pre-operating expenses working capital requirement and operating expenses for the said project. Based on the 5-year financial projection made by the owner ROI payback period is 3years. 5. Socio Economic Impact The proposed business will benefit the government, consumes, and the owner. The government will benefit from the taxes the business will pay, consumers will now be free to choose which a bakeshop will provide best service and finally the owner will profit through to income it will generate from the business. The proposed business will pay the taxes that may be due to the government. And provide income for those who will get employed II. Introduction/ Background of the Study 2.1 Introduction The proposed business on this study is too engaged on the operations of the restaurant with bar. The business is to intent to elevate the quality of the food services in terms of restaurants industry. The potential investor will provide the proper capital budget for the smooth operations of the business and the continuous operations. The investor chooses the location of Mabini Home Site Cabanatuan City on the grounds that the area was accessible in all kinds of vehicles and it is easy to transport or rather there lots of commuters with in the area of the projects. In reality the propose business is not new on the market impact the food services industry can considered as among the major or rather one of the leading industry in the economy. The dictate of the environments such as ready to eat on the grounds most of the people were lack on the preparations of their food because of the everyday work and lack of time to spend on that matters. Aside from the above reason the different occasion and other business meeting can easy to manage in one place were fo od were available and some recreations for the smooth closings of the transactions. On these common reasons the needs and the demand on this business have an opportunity on the market. As the students of the Hotel and Restaurants Managements the present study serve as an information and additional knowledge for the improvements and progress of the professions that become useful not only as an academic purposes but most of all as the guidance or rather information for the future performance for better and rendering quality business in the connections of the chosen professions. B.Objectives The central problem of this study is the evaluation of the viability of establishing Golden Bakeshop , a bakeshop in Mabini Homesite in Cabanatuan City. B.Objectives General: The main objective of this study is to determine the viability and feasibility of the proposed venture. Specifically, objectives from the point of view of the four functional areas of management are as follows. 1. Marketing: a. To identify the demand and supply in establishing Bakeshop in order to determine the market share. b. To obtain sufficient understanding of Bakeshop industry in order to strategically position the company in the market. c. To get hold of an understanding about the target clients in order to efficiently and satisfactorily satisfy their needs of, wants and expectations on bakeshop Business. 2. Technical/Production: a. To determine and expound the optimum processing method appropriate to the magnitude of the market. b. To know the technical requirements in the establishment of bakeshop Business c. To obtain sufficient knowledge of regulations and standards governing bakeshop Business. 3. Organizational and Management: a. To design organizational set-up that is best suited for the proposed project. b. To determine the number and qualifications of people required to manage the project effectively. 4. Financial: a. To make an estimate of the amount of initial investment required to execute the project. b. To present projected financial statements of the proposed venture for the next five years. c. To asses the profitability, liquidity and stability of the proposed business enterprise. C. Significance of the Study This research work is deemed significant to the following person: This study will be valuable to those aspiring businessman who are looking for a good venture which does not require huge capital to start a business. To the readers of this research it will serve as a guide and basis to seek information about this venture. For the researchers this study served as an experience and evaluation of what they learned in four years of studying. 2.2 Operational Definitions of Terms: Bakeshop. It is a place where a pastries is made and served . Baker. He or she is expert in making pastries Food. A simple defined as any matter eaten by man to sustain safe and nourish the body. Kitchen Staff. Helps cooks, chefs to prepare foods. Menu. Lists of dishes or to be readily served Mixed drinks. Drinks or beverages mixed into other ingredients to make it one ready to drinks like tequila sunrise, where the ingredients are vodka juice, tanduay rhum. Restaurant. Is a place where refreshments or foods are ready to serve, a public room for people who wants ready to meals. Sale. Exchange of property or services for a determined amount of money of its equivalent, the act of selling. Waiter/waitress. The one who take the customers order. Serve foods and e drinks, and prepared itemize checks. They also often accept payments; they must be quick and efficient but must be also patient with customers.

Disadvantage of democracy Essay Example for Free

Disadvantage of democracy Essay The primary disadvantages of democracy are a general lack of accountability, the prospect of personal interest becoming the predominant factor in decisions, and negative financial implications. A democracy lays the power to make decisions in the hands of the majority. This, ironically, places an emphasis on both individual and group power. A group controls the decision-making process, but an influential individual can control the group. The issue with democracy, in spite of the power of the people to control the decision-making process, is that there is no sense of accountability when the group makes a decision that turns out to be a bad one. Even particularly influential individuals in the group who may have persuaded the majority to vote for what led to the bad decision is free from blame because, ultimately, everyone in the group is responsible for his or her choice. In this way democracy, although a group-oriented approach, can become very much about what individuals believe is best for themselves and not for the majority. This type of decision-making also can be very expensive and have negative financial implications. First, a considerable amount of money can be spent in persuading voters to support an idea or cause. Second, voters may embrace an idea or cause, such as lowering taxes, because it sounds ideal when, in practice, it could lead to financial disaster. Disadvantages of Democracy Making the wrong choice In a democratic country, it is the common man who has the supreme right to choose their legislature and their prevailing authorities. As per a general study, not all the people are completely conscious of the political circumstances in their nation. The common masses may not be acquainted of the political matters in their society. This may lead to common man taking an erroneous selection during election. Authorities May Lose focus As the government is bound to changes and modification after each election tenure, the authorities may function with a interim objective. Since they have to go through an election procedure after the conclusion of each tenure, they may lose focus on functioning effectively for the citizens and  instead might concentrate on winning elections. Hordes Have Influence A further disadvantage of democracy is that hordes can manipulate citizens. People may vote in support of a party under the pressure of the bulk. Constrained or influenced by the ideas of those around, an individual may not put across his/her accurate judgment. Democracy averts radicalism and encourages teamwork and synchronization. It also slows things down, stops those in authority doing what they wish regardless of the majority’s desires. Since the military incursion into the Nigerian political scene on January 15, 1966, all the woes of this country are placed on the military. Most Nigerians do not want to hear the word â€Å"military†. They see the military as synonymous with evil. But does the military symbolize evil? Colonel Muamma Gaddafi is a military officer who seized power from the Libyan Monarch in 1969. Colonel Muamma Gaddafi as a military leader, was able to transform Libya to the envy of the world so much that other nationals including Nigerians are queuing at the Libyan embassy for her visa. Under a military leadership in Libya, Nigerians are rushing to the country on a daily basis because the country has a lower inflation of 1% than that of Nigeria which is 20% and a per capita of $8,400 while Nigeria’s per capital is $50. If military regime is synonymous with evil, why are Nigerians running from a country that is under civil rule to a country which is under a military leader? Ghana, our neighbouring West African country was also transformed from a corrupt and poverty stricken nation it was, to a transparent and an accountable nation by a military officer, Flight lieutenant, John Jerry Rawlings. At the moment, Nigerians are running to live in Ghana because the country has improved tremendously in terms of economy and infrastructural development. Ghana has also attained democratic growth and stability having transited from one democratically elected government to another two times. However, let us now compare and contrast the difference between military and civil rules in Nigeria. Nigeria gained independence from Britain on October 1, 1960. Out of the 50 years of Nigeria’s existence as an independent  nation, the military has ruled the country for 29 years. Within the 29 years the military ruled the country, 3 years were used to prosecute the Nigerian civil war, between 1967 to 1970, this means the military actually spent 26 years to rule the country. Out of the 50 years of the nation’s existence, civilians have ruled for 21 years. So, the difference between the years the military have ruled the country and those of civilians nine years. The questions one is asking are, if the military has destroyed the country within the space of 29 years as claimed by the civil leaders, can’t the civil leaders repair it within a space of 21 years? How long does it take to repair what is damaged? What has the civilian leaders be able to remedy since they have been ruling the country? Since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, we are still hearing the same old song by politicians, â€Å"You know the military have destroyed the country and you know that it is not easy to repair what has been destroyed†. I find this excuse unacceptable to the Nigerian people because something that was destroyed can be repaired. For instance, Germany, France, Austria etc were devastated during the first and second World War but today they have rebuilt to enviable status. Of all the things the military destroyed, which of them has the civilian leaders been able to put right? Some politicians who are out to deceive the poor masses will say that â€Å"the worst civilian regime is better than military regime.† But is it always true that the worst civilian regime is better than military regime? Politicians are also quick to say that â€Å"at least we can talk now that we are in a civilian regime and that we could not talk during the military administrations.† I found this argument very amusing because our mouths were not muzzled by the military during their administrations. I make bold to say that we spoke more during the military administrations than we do today because then we all saw the military as our common enemy and were united to fight against them. There were so many civil society organizations such as National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) which was headed by late Pa Adekunle Ajasin, Campaign for Democracy headed by late Dr. Beko Ransom Kuti, Civil Liberties Organization headed by former President of Nigerian Bar Association ( NBA ), Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Afenifere, the Yoruba socio- cultural group headed by late Pa Abraham Adesanya, Association of Senior Staff Union of Uni versities, headed by the INEC Chairman, Professor Atahiru Jega, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN ), headed by Chief Frank Ovie Kokori etc. These civil society groups spoke openly against the ills of the military and sent them back to the barracks. At that time too, journalists engaged in revolutionary journalism which made the press very vibrant and added impetus to the voice of the masses. During the military era, television and radio stations were mostly owned by both states and the federal governments. DAAR communications, owner of African Independent Television and Ray power Radio station and Minaj television and FM radio station which started in 1994 were the only privately owned broadcast organizations in the country, the rest belonged to both the states and federal governments. Would the governments have allowed the masses to use their media to criticize them? There is no government that allows such a thing in any part of the world. Let us assume that we did not talk during military administrations, what have we achieved since 1999 that we have been talking? Have those who claimed to be representing us both in th e State Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly ever taken our advise? We said the National Assembly should pass the Freedom of Information Bill into law, have they done it since it was introduced into the house? We said the Justice Mohammed Uwais recommendations on Electoral Reform be adopted by the National Assembly, have they adopted them? The Federal Government has earmarked #6.6 billion towards the celebration of Nigeria’s 50th anniversary, which the masses condemned in totality, yet the Federal Government is bent on wasting such amount of money on the celebration of failure. Will the States and Federal Governments ever listen to the masses? We said the huge allowances our so call representatives are receiving should be reduced, did they agree to reduce their allowances? A senator receives #45 million allowance quarterly, while each member of the House of Representatives receives #27.2 million allowance quarterly. Each senator receives #500 million constituency development allowance yearly which is not accounted for. Their salaries and other benefits are not included these allowances. Is there justification for such huge allowances considering the fact that they sit for 180 days in a year? Can we say with a sense of pride that the lives of Nigerians have improved positively since we returned to democracy in 1999? Let me make it clear that democracy is not just about having freedom to talk, it goes beyond mere talking. Democracy is about quality leadership that translates  into accelerated development and growth in all areas of human aspirations. Democracy goes beyond just having civilians in government. Any administration, be it military or civil government that cannot better or improve the lives of the people is a monumental failure. The main purpose of governance is to coordinate and harness the wealth of the people for an effective development that will enhance the standard of living of the people. Have we seen such achievements and development since 1999? Let us compare and contrast civil administrations since 1999 till date and military administrations from 1985 till 1999 when the military handed over the reins of power to civilians. We shall start this comparison with the economy. Before the civilians took over government in 1999, a 50 kg bag of rice was sold for N2,500, today it is selling for N8,000. A small bag of beans that was sold for N1,800, now sells for as much as N7,000. Is this not outrageous. Before the commencement of the Obasanjo’s regime in 1999, Nigerians were able to eat twice daily. Morning and night, which was popularly called one –zero-one. At present, most Nigerians eat once daily, which is popularly called zero one- zero. Is this not regression? If the agricultural sector is well funded and productive, why are prices of foodstuffs on the increase? The unemployment rate has gone up drastically because many industries are closing down while some are relocating to our neighbouring countries due to lack of regular supply of electricity. The Obasanjo’s regime in 1999, inherited 3,500 megawatts of electricity from the military, today it has reduced to a mere 2,500 megawatts for a population of 150 million people. The problems of industries and other organizations that consume large quantity of electricity are compounded as a result of the high cost of petroleum products such as petrol and diesel. These products are used to power generators which provide alternative power for industries. As at the time Nigeria return to democracy in 1999, the prices of petroleum product were cheap. But before ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, who also doubled as petroleum minister, left office in 2007, he had increased the prices of these products eleven times. A litre of kerosene that cost N9.00 in 1999, now sells for N125.00. Petrol that cost N11.00 at that time, now goes for N65.00 while diesel that cost N10.00 then now sells for N120 per litre.

Potassium Sorbate as a Biocide | Evaluation

Potassium Sorbate as a Biocide | Evaluation Evaluation of Potassium Sorbate as a Biocide to Reduce Viability of Total Airborne Fungi in a Higher Educational Building of Computer Studies Chin Ming Er1,a *, N. M. Sunar 2,b, Abdul Mutalib Leman2,c, Othman Norzila1,d, Quin Emparan1,e, Umi Kalthsom1,f, Paran Gani1,g, Nurul Azreen Jamal1,h 1Department of Water And Environmental Engineering (DWEE), Faculty of Civil And Environmental Engineering (FKAAS), University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia 2Department of Chemical Engineering Technology, Faculty of Engineering Technology (FTK), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400, Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia Keywords: Indoor Air Quality, mold remediation, bioactive compounds. Abstract In countries which are humid throughout the year, mold is a common problem that can occur even on a computer keyboard. It is smelly and may damage the computer keyboards. It is caused by fungal spores in the air. It can also affect occupants’ healthiness. This study is aimed to evaluate the efficiency of potassium sorbate to reduce viability of indoor airborne fungi in a higher educational building of computer studies of a university located at Southern Peninsular Malaysia. Malt extract agar (MEA) was incorporated with the biocide and was used for air sampling of fungi at 3 different sites of the building including outdoors. The effectiveness of the biocide was evaluated by comparing the treated agar against the untreated agar. It was clearly shown that the biocide can effectively reduce the numbers of colony forming units of the airborne fungi at all 3 tested sites (>70% averagely) on the treated culture media, while the untreated media at all three sites was colonized by fun gi with different concentration. Introduction Indoor airborne fungal contamination is a very common issue nowadays. Its presence brings a lot of problems to indoor occupants, building owners or managers as it affects the indoor air quality (IAQ) of those infected buildings and it has been associated with unhealthy symptoms including headache, asthma, allergy and irritant effects, respiratory problems, mycoses (fungal diseases) and several other non-specific health problems [1]. IAQ is defined as the air quality within an enclosed building that leads to the comfort and healthiness of its occupiers [2]. It is a major concern as most people in the developed and developing countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and others, spent most of their time indoor in either offices, factories, homes or educational buildings. It has been estimated that approximate 10% of people worldwide and 5% of the population in industrial countries have fungal allergies [3,4]. Some fungi such as Aspergillus versicolor and Stachybotrys chartarum are able to produce mycotoxins and have been associated with sick building syndrome [1] Many animal studies have confirmed that mycotoxins are associated with carcinogenic, immune-suppressive, and other properties [5]. Fungi release tiny spores that float through the air and land on other locations to reproduce. When they settle on moist surfaces, the spores can form new mold colonies. If these airborne fungal spores or mycotoxins are inhaled into bronchia and alveoli, they will be lysed and the human body thereby exposed to the primary and secondary metabolites [6]. Inhalation exposure has been suggested to cause acute kidney failure, damage of the upper respiratory tract, and central nervous system damage [7]. Thus, the existence of these fungi is intolerable in indoor enviro nment. Fungi can grow anywhere over a wide-ranging temperature with sufficient nutrients and moisture [8]. Therefore, indoor mold problem has long existed in yearlong warm and humid countries like Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries. In previous research, airborne fungi growth was found in a high humid room (relative humidity ~87%) in a higher educational building of computer studies after conventional remediation such as detergent-cleaning and changing of the affected ceiling boards [9]. It is dangerous since researchers suggested that the chances of transmitting the contaminating microbes through using of computers in a university setting is potentially great due to the enormous usage of computer keyboards that are not routinely sanitized by numerous users daily [10]. The study also shows that the conventional remediation is not a long term solution to circumvent the indoor airborne fungal contamination. However, green solutions are needed to reduce the viability of the airborne fungi and thereby the existence of secondary metabolites of fungi in indoor setting in order to secure the quality of teaching and learning among educators and students in a university building. Lately, a bioactive compound from food industry, potassium sorbate had been shown to be able to control the growth of two fungus species (Chaetomium globosum and Alternaria alternate) isolated from an indoor waterborne coating [11]. It is suggested to be effective against airborne fungi too. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the ability of potassium sorbate as a biocide to render the viability of indoor airborne fungi in a higher educational building of computer studies of a university located at Southern Peninsular Malaysia. Materials and Methods Selection of Testing Sites. The indoor airborne fungal samples were taken from a new commissioning higher educational building of computer studies of a university in Johor, Malaysia that had been identified of having microbial growth in indoor environment from previous research [9]. Three sites were selected by walk through inspection. They were each to represent a microbial-contaminated site (A), relatively mildly-contaminated site (B) and outdoors (O) of the building. The location for outdoor sampling was as close as possible to the outdoor air intake for the primary air handling system for the building [12]. Biocide Antifungal Activity. The antifungal activity of the potassium sorbate as a biocide was evaluated by air sampling with biocide-treated and untreated culture media which takes into account that the concentration of the viable fungi can be represented by colony forming unit (CFU) analysis as the calculation below: CFU/m3 = [Number of colonies x 1000] à · [Sampling time (min) x Flow rate (L/min)]. (1) The airborne fungi samples were collected using a BioStage single-stage viable cascade impactor (SKC, USA) attached to a SKC QuickTake 30 Sample Pump (SKC, USA) onto Malt Extract Agar (MEA) plates with 0.03% (w/v) biocide at a flow rate of 28.3 L/min as per requirement of National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) stated in method NIOSH Manual Analytical Standard Method (NMAM 0800). The impactor was located at the centre of the sampling location at a height of 1.0 to 1.5 meter above the floor. Every sample was obtained over 5 minute periods. The same procedure was carried out with control MEA without biocides. Both kinds of sampling with treated and untreated MEA were done in triplicate at each site on the same day during office hours and in the presence of indoor occupants. The air samplings at different sites were carried out on different week. The samples were analysed for total airborne fungi count by incubating them at 37 °C for 5 days and counting of the col ony formed was done thereafter. Results and Discussions The viability of total airborne fungi on the biocide-treated MEA was successfully reduced by 76.2% averagely if compared to their viability on control MEA without biocide (Fig. 1). Notably, potassium sorbate showed the best performance at the mildly-contaminated site, which had the lowest total airborne fungi on control MEA, by successfully reducing the viability of total indoor airborne fungi by 84.2% on biocide-treated MEA. Meanwhile, its performance dropped when the mean concentrations of total airborne fungi on control MEA increase. The percentage of reduction of viability of total airborne fungi at the contaminated site and outdoors of the building are 63.9% and 80.4% respectively. The results indicate that potassium sorbate can show the best performance to control total indoor airborne fungi concentrations if it is applied in a clean environment. This is in accordance with the function of potassium sorbate in wine-making industry to prevent a second fermentation through renderi ng any surviving yeast incapable of metabolizing and multiplying [13]. Hence, it is suggested that this biocide is very suitable to be applied together with and after conventional remediation of indoor fungal contamination periodically. Fig. 1: Comparison of viability of total airborne fungi on biocide-treated and untreated MEA. According to Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality (ICOP-IAQ 2010) set by Department of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia, the maximum exposure limit of total indoor airborne fungi concentrations is 1000 CFU/m3. Any value of the concentrations of indoor airborne fungi that approaches or over 500 CFU/m3 can be also considered as a possible health hazard. In this study, this number was successfully reduced to below 100 CFU/m3 at two of the three testing sites and below 200 CFU/m3 at the contaminated site. These reductions might be due to high solubility of this biocide in water of growth media to convert to sorbic acid that exhibits potent antifungal properties with various mode of action such as genetic changes, alteration of morphological structure of cell, inhibition of enzymes and cell transport processes [14]. All of these after-treatment’s numbers suggests that potassium sorbate is a proper biocide to maintain the concentrations of total indoor airborne fun gi at an acceptable healthy level for human beings. In a higher educational building of computer studies, computers are always shared. Touches of computer parts especially computer keyboards by students always occur without practicing of hand hygiene. The sweats or dirt on the hands and fingers of students left on the computer parts after they using them. This in turn provides nutrients and breeding sites for airborne fungi that settle on these computer parts. The reduction of the viability of indoor airborne fungi on the biocide-treated media indicates that the airborne fungi are unable to grow on the substrate that are treated with potassium sorbate and thus suggesting that this biocide can be applied on various wall coatings, surfaces of furniture and electrical appliances including these computer parts. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that potassium sorbate is fit to be applied as a biocide in a higher educational building of computer studies to reduce the viability of indoor airborne fungi. This in turn reduces the amounts of secondary metabolites of fungi such as mycotoxin and fungal spores that can induce sick building syndrome and other unpleasant and uncomfortable feeling of indoor occupants. Acknowledgement The authors greatly appreciate Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and the supporting Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) 1479 for facilitating the work and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia (NIOSH) for providing technical assistance. References Kuhn, D. M., Ghannoum, M. A. (2003). Indoor mold, toxigenic fungi, and Stachybotrys chartarum: infectious disease perspective. Clinical microbiology reviews, 16(1), 144-172. Yau, Y.H.; Chew, B.T.; and Saifullah, A.Z.A. (2012) Studies on the indoor air quality of Pharmaceutical Laboratories in Malaysia. International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment 1, 110–124. Pasanen, A. L., Lappalainen, S., Pasanen, P. (1996). Volatile organic metabolites associated with some toxic fungi and their mycotoxins.Analyst, 121(12), 1949-1953. Hardin, B.D., Kelman, B.J. and Saxon, A. (2003) Adverse human health effects associated with molds in the indoor environment. J Occup Environ Med 45, 470–478. Robbins, C. A., Swenson, L. J., Nealley, M. L., Kelman, B. J., Gots, R. E. (2000). Health effects of mycotoxins in indoor air: a critical review.Applied occupational and environmental hygiene,15(10), 773-784. Fischer, G., Dott, W. (2003). Relevance of airborne fungi and their secondary metabolites for environmental, occupational and indoor hygiene.Archives of Microbiology,179(2), 75-82. Miller, J. D. (1992). Fungi as contaminants in indoor air.Atmospheric Environment. Part A. General Topics,26(12), 2163-2172. Dangman, K. H., Schenck, P., DeBernardo, R. L., Yang, C. S., Bracker, A., Hodgson, M. J. (2004).Guidance for clinicians on the recognition and management of health effects related to mold exposure and moisture indoors. Farmington, CT: University of Connecticut Health Center, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Center for Indoor Environments and Health. Er, C. M., Sunar, N. M., Mutalib, A., Norzila, O., Emparan, Q., Kalthsom, U., Gani, P., Jamal, N. A., Ideris, N. A. (2014). The Evaluation of Indoor Microbial Air Quality in a Southern Malaysia University’s New Commissioning Buildings. Applied Mechanics and Materials (in press). Anderson, G., Palombo, E. A. (2009). Microbial contamination of computer keyboards in a university setting.American journal of infection control,37(6), 507-509. Bellotti, N., Salvatore, L., Deyà ¡, C., Del Panno, M. T., del Amo, B., Romagnoli, R. (2013). The application of bioactive compounds from the food industry to control mold growth in indoor waterborne coatings. Colloids and Surfaces. B, Biointerfaces, 104, 140–4. Reynolds, S. J., Black, D. W., Borin, S. S., Breuer, G., Burmeister, L. F., Fuortes, L. J., Whitten, P. (2001). Indoor environmental quality in six commercial office buildings in the midwest United States.Applied occupational and environmental hygiene,16(11), 1065-1077. Cojocaru, G. A., Antoce, A. O. (2012). Chemical And Biochemical Mechanisms of Preservatives Used in Wine: A Review.dio,1, 100. Smilanick, J. L., Mansour, M. F., Gabler, F. M., Sorenson, D. (2008). Control of citrus postharvest green mold and sour rot by potassium sorbate combined with heat and fungicides.Postharvest Biology and Technology,47(2), 226-238.