Methods of Teaching

Teachers are the main disseminators of knowledge in the schools and society. They occupy the enviable position of being the main interpreters of knowledge for the next generation and future leaders. In order to make this knowledge viable, it requires pedagogical skills that are capable to serve the minorities and all other populations equitably.Most people are locked out during the dissemination of knowledge not because they are not in the teaching venue at the right time, but because their way of knowing is not incorporated into the teaching styles and strategies (Karl, 1997).According to Lev Vygotskyas Social development theory we find that he states the cognitive development of a child is influenced by social interaction he says that while biological factors highly influence development, they just don’t occur in isolation. He says that the social environment in child’s life matters a lot in his development. He reasons that adult guidance and child’s problem so lving early in life are things that affect cognitive growth. He calls it proximal development zone.He says that this is the zone where learning takes place. This is also where the child learns from the peers. Children learn speech and writing from their immediate social environment. These are tools that develop from culture and they help children to communicate their needs (Gardner and Jerome, 2001). He reasoned that language and thought are co exist, none can happen without the other. The Neo –Vygotsian approach to child development is more effective than the radical approach.Which was used in the past didn’t provide students with an environment that encouraged learning where they play an active role in their learning and education. Through this they also influence their peers’ education. Both the teacher and students play untraditional roles together to enhance learning. Collaboration between the teacher and students in learning is better than where the teache r dictates to the students what to do. The students then just do the recitation, which is not good learning.Education or learning where the students and teachers share ideas to enhance learning is the best. According to Vygotsky classroom arrangement should enhance small groups of the students to discuss. This can be done by creating more workspace by having tables and tables clustered. This is where the students can easily interact. In such a case communal learning is encouraged in the class. Teachers develop an instruction set up that is above the students’ development level to help them develop to the next levelFrom the above theory I can therefore say that Teaching strategies can be defined as the means whereby teachers and instructors use diverse teaching methods or techniques in conveying information to a class of students or those people who are required to gain new knowledge. There are various forms of techniques that can be utilized which include expository teaching, interactive teaching, Small group teaching or discussion, inquiry teaching or problem solving, Individualization method of teaching and models of reality.This paper will focus on small group discussions and interactive methods of teaching (Gardner and Jerome, 2001). In my position I do not support the constructivism since it is a way of teaching that involve the students to get information through observation and experimentation in this case we find that constructivism method can be described as presentation by the teacher or lecturer to a big group of learners whereby the presence of active learning in the class is limited and only the teacher or lecturer takes the whole time designated for the lesson outlining whatever to be learned.This method can only be efficient and the best method if strategies that are active should be incorporated. Usually teachers are characterized by longer hours with a lot of topics to be covered which have led to the approach being inefficient, I find it to be a complex method of teaching and that it should be discouraged by any teacher (Bruner, 1996).since I believe that the constructivism is a complex method of teaching, In order to yield good teaching results in my profession I therefore choose the following types of teaching methods which are the small group discussions and the interactive teaching methods as the appropriate strategies for teaching Small Group Discuss Discussion is found to be the most important strategies applied in many learning institutions which usually involve the division of the students in class into a number of groups that are meant to represent certain points of view on the identified topic that is regarded as the most compromising subject.Under group discussions we find that there are those who support the argument, that is the proponents or those for, and those who oppose the issue referred to as those against or the critics, this actually indicates the benefits of the team work in many learning in stitutions whereby we find that students involve themselves in a number of debates through character or even assuming different roles (Print, 1993).These discussions are also believed to be leading to the achieving of new knowledge because by arguing it out a point, there is an opportunity of integrating ideas and hence conclusions arrived at being useful in the learning process. Since it is a discussing process which can generate more new knowledge it should be encouraged in learning institutions, therefore the strategies that can be applied to encourage team work in schools is that the management should ensure that courses should be introduced that only requires discussions as a method of learning where participants will be required to compile the outcome of their discussions.Teachers should constantly utilize the discussion approach especially on contemporary issues which require further research (Gardner and Jerome, 2001). The use of this approach should be encouraged in trainin g, primary, secondary, adult, and in the higher learning of institutions such as the universities because it provides an opportunity to argue or oppose certain subject which is an issue which can lead to generation of new ideas.However, it should strongly be recommended to adult, training and in the university institutions because with such knowledge the learners can utilize in the working environment when they are employed. In the primary level those who are in upper classes can be introduced to debates so that they are familiar with the approach and also get to know that constructive debate about an issue is not bad but can lead to gaining of new knowledge (Bruner, 1960).The only limitation exist in this strategy is that, there is a tendency of laziness and time wastage since students are left to choose on what topics to discuss on at their own time and may request their instructor to present their findings at their own convenient time, that is, when they feel that they have fully exhausted the topic to discuss on. Small group discussions are regarded as the best strategy to learning and it is said to be democratic since it gives freedom to the learners and the teachers.Through which they are given an opportunity to organize themselves in groups that everyone that allow individuals to raise different opinions relating to the particular issue under discussion without any restrictions. Under this strategy everyone is entitled to give contributions is given an opportunity to air his/her opinions without victimization or favors. Further the aspect of freedom of scheduling the activities by the students and the presence of good environment makes discussions more democratic and interesting (Print, 1993).Interactive Method of Teaching Interactive teaching is one whereby learners are provided with an interactive environment where they can express their views, opinions, suggestions and have an opportunity to support their arguments. It involves both the teacher and t he learner where the teacher comes up with the topic to be discussed which is open to any form of criticisms or additions to the main point. This interactive teaching method can be utilized whereby there is a big number of audience or learners expected to gain from the knowledge being passed.This method is found to be effective only if active methods of learning are introduced. The aspect of interactive learning should be incorporated in order to avoid boredom and tiredness among the participants. It should not only be done through talking by the speaker but also the use of boards and lecturers being open discussions should be considered (Print, 1993). The time of interacting should be revised as often as it is allocated a lengthy time frame which has been the main reason behind boredom and tiredness among the partners.Good communication skills by the teachers should be encouraged in order to pass clearly the intended messages to the learners which lead to solving the most common pr oblem of ambiguity, that is, to enhance passage of clear messages to the listeners or the participants. It is also advisable that lecturing should be encouraged if the topics to be covered are easy and to understand and also interesting to the learners and thus making them more attentive because there will be no boredom and tiredness during the session or lesson and hence gaining knowledge (Karl, 1997).The interactive teaching method is found to be prescriptive because it does not give the learner an opportunity to air their views or make suggestions. Usually it gives the teacher or the instructor an opportunity to decide for the students thus being prone to being an effective approach. It is a rigid way since it does not provide an opportunity to participants to make any suggestions concerning the subject matter thus there limited generation of new ideas.The students normally have to follow the set course outline and they are not open to criticize anything even if they are unsatisf ied thus rendering this approach to be narrow in terms of the output expected. The lecturer has to come up with what is required and to be covered in the cause and this depends mostly on his professionalism in relation to his duties. For example the topics to be covered during the lecture might be formulated in such a way that some important topics are left out may be because the lecturer may not be conversant with the topics (Gardner and Jerome, 2001).The use of interactive whiteboards should be encouraged. Recent studies have looked at how interactive whiteboards influences learning and teaching processes in schools. It suggests that whiteboards offer visual display that go in line with the explanations offered by the teacher thus helps students to understand better. It further outlines that the use of technologies in methods like debate and lectures can act as a motivational effect especially when used at the primary school level.For this interactive teaching method to prosper, w e find that many schools are found to be using the Information and Communication Technology which refers to technologies used to collect, store, edit and pass on information in various forms these ICT technologies that are utilized include; Interactive whiteboard, Videoconferencing, PowerPoint research presentation, and Internet use. For example during class lessons, the teacher can use the laptops in presentation when explaining an issue to the students (Bruner, 1960).Another technique that can be utilized in the interactive method of teaching is the radio broadcasts which are regarded as day to day learning procedures in many learning institutions most radio programs are said to be like lectures because they usually educate the public and the students. Sometimes the conversions are open to callers who make their suggestions thus coming up with different opinions. Recent studies have looked at how interactive whiteboards influences learning and teaching processes in schools.It sugg ests that whiteboards offer visual display that go in line with the explanations offered by the teacher thus helps students to understand better. It further outlines that the use of technologies in methods like debate and lectures can act as a motivational effect especially when used at the primary school level. (Print, 1993) Creative Thinking Creative thinking is defined as the process of thinking that enables the mind of an individual to improve its ability of being creative, this in simple terms means that it is a process bringing in new and different ideas from the existing ones.Research indicates that there are different types of creative thinking examples of the creative thinking are; the expressive creativity this type of thinking is believed to be occurring most often in children which is presented by children through their drawing and playing, the productive creativity this is the type of thinking which is practiced by many scientists since it involves the process of a cont inuous production that is characterized by the urge of creating but not expressing, the other type of a creative thinking is that of an inventive creativity thinking which is always geared towards solving and improving the technology in question. Research indicates that this creative thinking is always characterized by its ability to be nurtured and changed by an individual (Ennis, 1991). Research indicates that those individuals using the creative way of thinking actually indulge in the making of instinctive approaches to the existing solutions depending on the insights and perception surrounding the situation.Here we find that in the process of taking information through individuals’ senses, the brain therefore functions in the following process that is after the information is gathered the brain is enabled to reach a decision through the process of thinking or even feeling, and in normal cases these decisions are therefore allowed to through the judgment process under whic h is found to be relating to the brains approaches towards the global externally thus the brain is found to be dealing with the judgment on how individuals handle their daily activities, therefore an individual using the right side of the brain are said to be preferring situations to be put in an orderly and an organized manner including the factor of neatness and a good establishment before reaching a conclusion (Tama,1989). The people using the creative thinking are therefore divided in two that is the perceivers and the judgers. Under this grouping the judgers are said to first of all come up with a plan which will enable a number of things to be done before getting a solution thus the brain allows them to get ready by making sure that their work is done in advance, thus bringing in the idea of them preferring their solutions to be prepared, worked upon and brought to a solution with a particular plan to move on at a later time (Bruner, 1996).The other types of individuals using the creative thinking are the perceivers who are believed to be having an affinity of postponing decisions with the progress of seeking for different options by actually dealing with socializing with other people, listening to others, farming among other activities, this indicates that they usually proceed unexpectedly, the brain makes them not to plan for their solutions in advance and they usually do their obligations at the last minute (Gardner and Jerome,2001). Therefore in this case we find that when many people are found to be more concentrated with either the creative or the critical thinking of the brain in the process of dealing with facts and logic when solving a situation. The majority of the individuals do not understand the problems that always go hand in hand with the elements of social knowledge. Under their expectations and achievements, those applying the use of both types of thinking, usually plan more as compared to what they would actually achieve in actual terms . Future possibilities in them are easily connected with the feelings of the persons affected.Compared to the individuals using a single type of thinking, who are less genuine in interest and exceptional awareness in their day to day activities; they are special in giving in to the interest their personal experiences, thus they fail to have a strong need for intimate relationships which are usually needed for close interrelations in the society, thus failing in the solving of particular problems (Beyer, 1987). The best example of a creative thinking is the personal experience is the relationship I had between me and my students in a classroom, whereby as a teacher I had a role to motivate a creative thinking to my student, in this case we find that I used a method referred to as a Comprehensive Assessment Test which is an average assessment for students whose outcome represents the position of a particular student in relation to their capability of achieving a learning standard that is always expected by others.Being a teacher I was given the opportunity of enabling my student to undertake the assessment in a number of activities which features the knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation practiced on her by me, I utilized the following procedures to make her exercise successful (Tama,1989). Benchmarks- under this research indicates that it always involve the setting up of the students ability of creative thinking and solving problems, here I provided the student with a reading test, whereby I ensured that the student was served with the mandate of analyzing, understanding and assessing the information provided to her and then follow the measures required to carry out the exercise. In this test the students’ creative thinking surpasses the essential comprehension of many test questions I gave the student (Bruner, 1960).In this case the student was also put in the practice of reading passages which allowed her to be able to create meaning from the number of texts she read, the passages were always provided in two forms, one consisting of two to three literary passages such as short stories, poems, historical fiction among others, while the second one carries four to five informational passages such as texts derived from magazines, diaries and newspaper articles Among others (Anderson, 1990) Multiple Choices- this is another method that I the teacher applied in the students’ learning to motivate a creative thinking to her; in this case, I gave her a question and four choices of answers, where she was recommended to choose the most excellent answer for the available question.Short Response Task- here, I provided the student with a number of questions with a space of eight lines below the question requiring her to write their answers in a duration of five minutes, this particular response carries two points scoring rubric, whereby, the I ensured that the student applies the read, think and expla in concept in answering the questions thus the student was needed to be creative in answering the questions provided to her (Karl, 1997). Extended Response Task- This involved a question with a symbol carrying fourteen lines just next to the question which allowed the student to give a longer written answer; here I gave the student more time, at least ten minutes to answer the provided questions, these responses always carry four point scores. This method is usually designed with an objective of improving the students understanding abilities (Anderson, 1990). To apply all these methods of creative thinking in my students’ learning I actually needed her to use her critical thinking in order to succeed in answering the questions I provided to her. ConclusionIn order to yield good teaching results in my profession I therefore choose the above techniques of teaching methods which is the small group discussions, the interactive and creative thinking teaching methods as the appropr iate strategies for teaching as compared to the other teaching methods which are stated to be the complex methods of teaching, like the constructivism teaching should be discouraged since it is stated to be one of the most complex method of teaching by any teacher, in this case we find that it is actually passive and involves the teacher take the major part of participation such as organizing the information that is to be conveyed to the students in a manner that will enhance their understanding on the particular topic, we also find that in this method there is no room for the students to offer their views on the subject being discussed, it is regarded as the most inefficient mode of teaching and has contributed mostly to deterioration of education standards around the world (Print, 1993). Reference: Anderson, G. (1990) Teaching Creativity for Professional Growth and Personal Reward. NACTA Journal; 34 (4) pp 53-56. Beyer, B (1987) Practical Strategies for the Teaching of Thinking, B oston MA, Allyn &Bacon Inc Bruner, J. (1996) the Culture of Education- Cambridge, Mass- Harvard University PressBruner, J (1960) the Process of Education- Cambridge, Mass- Harvard University Press Ennis, R. (1991). Critical Thinking; a Streamlined Conception, Teaching Philosophy 14 (1), 6-20 Gardner, H. , Jerome B (2001) Modern Thinkers on Education from Piaget to the present, in J, Palmer 50 edition London: Routledge Karl, A. (1997): Children-Schools & Inequality- Boulder, Co Westview Tama, C (1989) Critical Thinking has a Place in Every Classroom. Journal of Reading, 30, 63-66. Parkerson, D (2001): Transitions in American Education, a Social History of Teaching Routledge; Vol. 242 pp. 14-19 Print, M. (1993) Curriculum development & design second edition St Leonards Allen & Unwin Publishing

How to Drive a Stick Shift

How to drive a stick shift vehicle Driving a vehicle with manual transmission, also known as â€Å"driving stick†, can be confusing and or very difficult for people of all ages. Many drivers go through life without even owning a vehicle with a manual transmission. Learning to drive stick is a skill that can come in handy as this style of vehicle is very popular. Written instructions are no substitute for hands on activity. Driving standard is a skill acquired by time and cannot be achieved by just reading up on it.One of the most useful ways to start learning the art of driving a manual transmission or stick shift is to familiarize yourself with the car's clutch. You should already know what the gas and brake pedals do. Get in the car and make sure the emergency brake is engaged. Get a feel for the clutch by putting pressure on it and releasing it for several minutes. This is also a good time to look at the gear shifter, which is usually located on the center console to the ri ght of the driver.There is usually a map of the gear patterns on the head of the stick shifter, studying this before you are ready to go is a must. If the guide is worn away and unreadable, you should use the car’s manual to find out the mapping of the gears. Another strategy to use would be to pull in the clutch and get a feel for where the gears engage. Once you understand where the gears are, without actually pressing the gas pedal, pretend you are driving and practice speeding up. (Making the sounds is optional and can be humorous. Put the clutch to the floor and put the car in first gear. Pretend you are driving and while speeding up push in the clutch to shift into another gear. Do this for the rest of the gears until you feel comfortable shifting. When coming to a stop, you can do two things. You can push the clutch in and keep the car in gear, or you can put the shifter in the neutral position and let the clutch back up. It is sometimes good to put a stick shift in ne utral while stopped, to ease the strain on your leg and foot, and also to lessen wear and tear on your clutch.When you are ready to go again, simply press the clutch to the floor and put the shifter into first gear, and give the vehicle a little gas. If you pull the clutch out too fast and give it little gas the car may stall, but to not be discouraged if you do so. Stalling a car with a manual transmission happens to the best of drivers. Once you learn how to do it, and after a little practice, driving a stick shift is fairly easy. It becomes a habit and you’ll find yourself driving a standard vehicle like it’s no big deal. For many, this is a more exciting and fun way to drive a vehicle or truck.

PRESSURE GROUPS & THEIR EFFECTS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

PRESSURE GROUPS & THEIR EFFECTS - Essay Example In all cases, pressure groups use a wide variety of tactics to try to bring about change in governments and corporations. Some of the groups insist on staying within the laws of the nations in which they operate. They raise funds, educate and lobby members of government to enact laws that support their views. In non-democratic countries, this is often not possible because the very existence of the pressure group may be illegal. Other pressure groups seek to bring attention to their cause by creating legal public displays such as marches and rallies. By doing this, they hope to generate interest in their group and their cause that will result in greater public awareness and increased membership (Utting). Sometimes these marches and rallies are legal and sometimes they break laws such a permit violations or obstructing public places. If they turn violent, inciting riotous behavior laws can be brought to bear against these groups. Other pressure groups flagrantly break the law as a mean s of drawing attention to their cause. They will trespass, vandalize and defame as a means of swaying public opinion. While many various tactics can be used by pressure groups, one thing these groups cannot do is force any corporation or government to change. They must influence the population in free and oppressed states around the world to achieve their goals. This paper will examine the goals and tactics of three pressure groups that are currently active in the United Kingdom and in some cases, around the world. One public pressure group is the Open Spaces Society. This group works to protect common land, pathways, right of ways and village greens from encroachment and blockage. This group is a very good example of a decentralized pressure group that acts locally and entirely within the law. A brief history of the group is essential to understanding how they operate and why they use the tactics they do. The

Placement application form Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Placement application form - Essay Example t ways you meet the College of Social Work’s Professional Capability Framework (PCF) standards and what additional development you will need to undertake to meet the threshold level required by the completion of your placement (i.e. either at the level of End of First Placement or End of Last Placement) – [Please see below) http://www.tcsw.org.uk/pcf.aspx By the end of the first placement students should demonstrate effective use of knowledge, skills and commitment to core values in social work in a given setting in predominantly less complex situations, with supervision and support. They will have demonstrated capacity to work with people and situations where there may not be simple clear-cut solutions. By the end of last placement/ the completion of qualifying programmes newly qualified social workers should have demonstrated the knowledge, skills and values to work with a range of user groups, and the ability to undertake a range of tasks at a foundation level, the capacity to work with more complex situations; they should be able to work more autonomously, whilst recognising that the final decision will still rest with their supervisor; they will seek appropriate support and supervision. Working with children who have special needs is no easy task. It requires a lot of tolerance. But, I always manage to stay calm in situations of extreme stress or tension. I stay professional by not letting myself go berserk with stressful emotions. I would like to be given the opportunity to work on my communication skills. I believe these skills matter the most in effectively dealing with people who are interested in using our services. I would like to work more on these skills to be able to deal with a diverse line of customers. I always respect the importance of patient consent and confidentiality. I have never breached secrecy of patient’s information. I try to act like a confidant to the patient’s family because it is an ethically essential thing to do. I

Talking Styles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Talking Styles - Essay Example Besides, two people in a relationship may evince different compatibility between their talking styles at different times, depending on the phase their relationship is going through, the politics involved in the relationships, the levels of stress one or both of them are facing. Relationships to a great extent are about give and take. It is practically not possible that the two people involved in a relationship, whether it is family or friendship happen to be emotionally and mentally on the same plane at any particular time. Mature people do understand that sometimes the people with whom they relate to get so stressed up and negative that they do resort to incompatible and disparate talking styles. Yet, it does not mean that they do not share a strong relationship. Rather it is at such times that the saner partners are required to show tact and presence of mind that sometimes go a long way in distressing and relieving the other partner in that relationship. This is something that is well corroborated by commonsense and general experience. Personally speaking, I believe that the results facilitated by the language style matching website to me (0.8) were not quite accurate (Online Research Consortium from Universities around the World, 2012). I was communicating with a close friend the desire to have dinner with her on a weekday. Considering the fact that she is quiet stressed up on her career side right now and that she had a busy night that day, it was quiet natural to expect a slightly passive response from her. In fact her act of conveying to me her stressed state evinced a closer level of intimacy between us, than predicted by the language style matching scores. In fact I tried to ascertain the veracity of these scores by talking to my friend about this issue after a couple of hours. Whereas the language style matching website indicated that we did not share a strong bond, actually speaking, my friend told me that she was really

Although a contemporary situation and not an aspect of western Essay

Although a contemporary situation and not an aspect of western history, apply Neil Postman's theoretical Five Points to the rece - Essay Example Postman describes the high cost that society pays by becoming modernists. In his first theory he mentions that for every good aspect that comes out of a recent invention there will always be a corresponding difficulty. His second theory explains how innovation is never evenly distributed amongst the general population. What might be an advantage to some becomes a serious disadvantage for others. Portman’s third theory is based on the fact that technology, computer systems in particular, value information rather than knowledge. As such by becoming a society focused on the latest of digital devices in turn looses its personal value system. The fourth theory is defined as technology being an additive rather than ecological. A computerized system does not compliment society, but rather changes it into something else. Postman concludes the lecture with his fifth theory, stating that inventions were originally created in order to facilitate people’s lives, have somehow become looked upon as though they was created by God rather than manmade inventions. Although Postman formulated his theories before the 21st century, his theories still very much apply in today’s society. The case in point is the recent devastation seen in Japan. On March 10, 2011 a devastating earthquake followed by a Tsunami rippled through Japan, leaving behind mass destruction. This natural disaster caused severe damage to the population, the surrounding cities and the large energy plant causing a nuclear crisis. The earthquake that struck the northern region of Tokyo was the fifth largest since the 1900’s measuring a 9 on the â€Å"Richter Scale†. The quake was followed by 600 aftershocks. In less than ten minutes after the quake hit, a Tsunami struck and destroyed most of the Northern coast of Japan. A Tsunami is the Japanese word for â€Å"harbor waves† and is caused by disturbances in the earth. Formation and cycle of completion of a Tsunami only takes about twenty minutes to complete. Due to its high speeds and velocity it does not give much time for the general population to save themselves from this level of destruction. Despite the measures put into place by Japan, the recent natural destruction left behind many casualties, injured and lost property. The damage caused by the Tsunami continued even after the stormed cleared. The Fukushima Daichi plant is used to produce the country’s electricity. The plant uses a mechanism of chain reactions of splitting atoms in order to produce heat. This heat boils water and eventually generates electricity. The danger behind this type of technology is that it’s incredibly unstable. The recent hit by the Tsunami created a break in the plant’s cooling system, causing it to overheat risking radiation leak into the environment. Although natural disasters are unavoidable the nuclear crisis that Japan is facing most certainly was. This is keeping in line with Postman’ s theory of the disadvantages faced with the advancements of technology. If Japan were to utilize a different way to generate electricity, it would not have to deal with the potential of hazardous waste leaking into the

Designs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Designs - Essay Example Giles Colborne uses the design of small and commonly used gadgets to explain how simplicity can be used in the design. The example of the bicycle design seemed exciting to me. At first, I thought that any new design of a bicycle, whether simple or complex, should include the gearing system; Giles challenged me when he said that a design of a bicycle can be made simple by removing the gearing system and the front wheel. My excitement was lowered when he said that the design might be simple to the one designing bicycle but complex and difficult to the one using it (Colborne, 2010). His example of design made me learn that I should consider the user anytime I choose to use simplicity in any design. In his explanation on how to use the simplicity he employs four designs of a remote control; these four designs make use of organizing, removing, hiding or displacing strategy. Looking at the four designs, I was fascinated by designs which used organizing, removing and displacing strategies. The organizing strategy is a strategy everyone employs at least once a day; we use it every day to make what we have usable, therefore, this strategy is familiar to everyone. The strategy of organizing does not need extra costs because it uses what is already available (Colborne, 2010); therefore, it is low on costs. In addition, since the components of the gadget have only been rearranged, the user will not have difficulties adjusting to the new design; he or she will only need to master the new positions of the components which are placed in positions that are convenient to the user. The design that uses the strategy of removing is also interesting, there are some things which might not be useful to the user and just as we get rid of things we do not need from our houses, we can also get rid of the components that are no longer useful in a gadget. This design is challenging because of its counterintuitive nature (Colborne, 2010). However, it is quite effective in terms of cost as it does not require extra materials. This design works with different applications; it has been used in designing of products, websites, as well as mobile applications. This design is also user-friendly; the user is not going to have too many components on the gadget, which are not important for the use of the gadget. The design that uses displacing is intriguing; the user does not need to operate all the components using the remote control, some components can be displaced from the remote control to the television screen (Colborne, 2010). With this design, the user has a remote control that is more easy to use because most times the user will be scrolling down the menu and stop worrying of what each button on the remote control means. I realized that this design has been applied in designing the radio changer; the button for selecting whether to play music using CD, FM radio, AUX or USB is only one, and the user scrolls down the menu on the screen to find his or her choice at the m oment. This design makes the user feel as part of the system, and this helps him or her to know the operation of the system, and gives the user satisfaction while operating the gadget. Question 2 Isaacson in his book titled as â€Å"Steve Jobs† presents the biography of a computer revolutionist Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs’ life history is like a summary of good designs in the digital world; it describes the designs pioneered by Steve Jobs and their success, which led to the change of people’s lives and the way they do things. Through Apple, a company he headed, he was able to come up with designs such as Macintosh operating software, ipad, iPod, and iphone; with these designs the world was able to do things in a different way (Isaackson, 2011). Among his designs, iPad, iPod

The Issue of Masculinity in Short Stories Literature review

The Issue of Masculinity in Short Stories - Literature review Example As the paper outlines,  the issue of masculinity is a major subject in the three short stories. John Berger’s story ways of seeing tries to explain how women and men are viewed and perceived differently by society. During Berger’s time, the way women and men were represented culturally had extensive influence on their mutual perception, self, and conduct. In my view, the way Berger portrays the men and women is a true reflection of how they are viewed in the contemporary society where there is widespread gender discrimination, oppression of women by dominant men and objectification of women. As Berger aptly puts it, "men act – women appear"(72), men are judged by what they do or their action while women are always judged by their appearance. However, in contrast to the common notion that women are mere objects, they can be a source of inspiration as portrayed in â€Å"The Life You Save May Be Your Own† by Flannery O’Connor’s. Lucynell Crate r Offers Tom Shiftlet a chance to attain Grace. He had no friends, had been wandering but in the long run, Lucynell assists him to get a chance to work hard, get a household, live a quiet life and have an opportunity of watching the beautiful sunset. Although O’Connor’s story shows that women can influence men’s life, it is evident that sometimes men do not appreciate the assistance offered as proven by Shiftlet’s opinion on his marriage as he states, "that was just something a woman in an office did, nothing but paperwork and blood tests†(28). Although he had negative views of the marriage presided by a woman, it can be concluded that he was ultimately married legally to Lucynell’s daughter. My analysis of Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta by Kate Braverman show that society views women as people who can be influenced easily by men to engage in immorality. Braverman states, â€Å"The thrill of motorcycle rides and diamonds offered by Lenny h ad a great influence on her substance abuse†.

Native American Heritage Essay Example for Free

Native American Heritage Essay I have re-read this book in a relatively new edition. It is a mixture of Kiowa myths, family stories, history sketches, and personal experiences. For me it evokes a sense of community unknown in modern U. S. society. It also conveys, however dimly to the modern scientific mind, a deep sense of a peoples experience of the sacred where that term is entirely outside of modern theology and is steeped in the land and the memory of a people. It one opens ones mind and emotions the book can connect in a powerful way. However, a modern can never penetrate to the full depth of Kiowa sensibility. This was harshly expressed in an art object in the IAIA in Santa Fe, New Mexico some years ago. The object included the words: Just because you stick a feather in your hat doent make you a Indian. of another edition It seems enough to alert the reader this book exists, in case anybody is tired of consumer infatuation. These 90 page wonders full of meditation and forethought. It has to be his best, meaning simplest, clearest, but it is probably anthropology too. It ought to be read before or after viewing his http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=rbqzm6 but to take it on its own it is about the alien and the unknown as feet in old age and death, that is to say that even though he calls himself Rock Tree Boy he i moreIt seems enough to alert the reader this book exists, in case anybody is tired of consumer infatuation. These 90 page wonders full of meditation and forethought. It has to be his best, meaning simplest, clearest, but it is probably anthropology too. It ought to be read before or after viewing his http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=rbqzm6 but to take it on its own it is about the alien and the unknown as feet in old age and death, that is to say that even though he calls himself Rock Tree Boy he is A Man Without Fantasy. Thats the difference between being a bear and wearing a Jordan t-shirt with Hanes underwear. Nobody is Jordaned or Meadow Lark Lemoned from a laying on of their hands, but bear will move you. Dress in any of these masks or be naked as yourself as He Who Wears Only His Name. Either you stand naked in The Name or you hide in a mask. Groups function as masks to prevent nakedness, as if there were something other than The Name to stand in, but for the human there isnt. It might be the landscape and the racial memory of landscape that my parents and grandparents knew (Schubnell, Conversations, 46). I feel deeply about the landscape and I mean that literally. I think it is important for a person to come to terms with landscape. I think thats important; it is a means to knowing oneself (45). So it comes down to the meaning of landscape too, but this is intellectualized. The real question is, what is the meaning of wilderness? Superficial Existence in the Modern World Much of this is foreign today, Bear, landscape, even ancestry have been substituted with identities of no purpose to examine. The annihilation of the traditional in tribal societies and every assimilated subgroup is a negative. Assimilation is never good, although to say it that bald is offensive. This is also the point in that First Convocation of Indian Scholars (Ed.by Rupert Costo, 1970). In answering Hopi Charles Loloma about how to assume the traditional identity Momaday says, I think that each of us who realizes that the native traditional values are important has a great obligation to convince the young of that, who may be wavering with alternatives [of] the dominant society which is destroying the world in which it lives (9). Its really up to the older people(10) to identify the danger of superficial existence in the modern world (10). To counter superficial existence he says they have a primary obligation to tell their children and grandchildren about the traditional world, and try to show them by example and tell them explicitly that there is an option available to them, and that theyre damn fools if they dont avail themselves of it (10). Acculturation Thus acculturation is a kind of one-way process in which the Indian ceases to be an Indian and becomes white man (10). It is broader than that too, the PA German ceased to be himself and became an English-American. Acculturation to the modern translated means to steal the birth rite identity of the traditional, its language and customs and make the native a mascot of the modern. There is a continual excavation of the Caucasoid in every subgroup that assimilates, whether Pennsylvania German, Hispanic, black, Indian. The anthropologists should excavate themselves to give them something to do, since they otherwise are the inventors and stalking horse for the modern against the traditional, looking for power by stealing it. Modern here is not the pejorative it seems if the native takes his tradition into it to return what is stolen, or as Momaday says, that it is good to go into the enemys camp (12). Steal his horses! But he has stolen the children! Pull Out the Light Poles That said, it remains to learn tradition from the elder. In the face of radical destruction this takes more than effort, it takes surrender. Without surrender the traditional dies. Take your pick, you can think like Katie Couric and all the like spokespersons for the modern on Charlie Rose, or like grandfather. Momaday says it is a duty to teach the young. He addresses the elders reluctance: I wonder if you have any idea of why they shut up at a certain point like that, why they wont talk to you (15)? Charles Loloma, the Hopi, had said that when the power company installed electric poles by force the people came out and pulled the poles all back out. These people didnt want the electricity'(15). This is symbolic of the whole transmission of culture of the modern against the traditional. When the enemy enters the native camp it is called deliverance, but is really theft of the child. It is destruction of the tradition, which is obvious when white missionaries go to New Guinea but apparently not when the Internet sells social network. You have to live it, not be curious of it. Fight Against Electricity! Ben Barney, a Navajo, says he had a grandfather who taught him until the age of eight, but when he died he couldnt find a replacement. Another says, my grandfather died, and he was one of the last men in the village who knew the whole ritual cycle of songs. He died without letting me or my father, or any of us record any of it. I think he felt that this thing that he had was too precious to just give out, and have it exposed to someone whom he never knew well. And hed rather die with it than have that happen to it. It seems to me he was saying, youre not going to to live it. Youre one of these people thats fighting for the electricity. (I am not, in fact) (17). So the ticket to the traditional, the universal (! ) is that you have to live it, not be curious of it. Surrender to the traditional! If you will not surrender, and the elders have any pride, they take it to the grave in sorrow. But it is not to be studied by post docs. It is to be lived. How many young think their elders outweigh the modern? Lifeway That you have to live it goes a long way toward knowing both wilderness and identity. Living is not an intellectual function. But he was saying, youre one of these people who are fighting for this. My people never had electricity. We never lived that way. And if I give you my lifeway, if I tell you my lifeway, youre going to sit and laugh at me, because youre laughing anyhow just by your behavior (17). Only among the remnants of American tribes does anyone dare thus to challenge the modern. Other subgroups embrace it like a drug. The life way is an iPhone. The elders wont speak to this, naturally they are not going to tell you. I mean, they cant. I can see why he felt there is no way to communicate experience; the essence of it, the reality of it. I believe he was saying: I could give you words, and you could put them down, but that wouldnt mean the same thing (17). Is this reality versus the virtual? The track of a bear versus a video game? These things are important if you want to have anything left on the earth that isnt homogeneous and interchangeable. Like babies. Everything said here of the American tribes transfers to every family and subculture. 2. Momaday avoids the satiric in his work, but it is a satiric haunt like a ghost river in every meadow, grove and stream the summer nights after the predators came. Then a foam appeared at the exit pipes of plants along the upper Allegheny. It is hard enough to name Bear and Wilderness when those subsequent masks upon masks cover up naked being. Surrender. Stand up and strip, confess, then kneel! Wilderness trees, canyons, streams and things under and in them, screeches in the night, wheat, bear, porcupine are symbols to show what they are standing for, something else, life mirrors that open doors and close the way we live. Only the sun has escaped our dominion. The sun escaped the nano tales that seine the atmosphere in a net, to take earth away. How To Know and Recognize the Alien These image masks are the ultimate reality that deny we are predators or aliens. If you want to know the alien go and be one. Sit in the Mogollon. Do you belong? Find a bear. Is he your friend? People wander out all the time, light fires to be found, but the ones that arent found bone up. Coyote Wound Dresser had a talk with Walt Whitman, Wound Dresser, but things did not turn out well for Whitman. The alien cannot be modeled, but it is knowable if Unknown. Im going to tell you what it is. Talking to the Unknown we try to understand synergies of it in the anthropology of Edward Dorn http://osnapper. typepad. com/snappersj He says the alien is a crucifying self-consciousness of doubt at the root of his own being when he sees the Shoshone. Does he, Dorn, belong? His doubts serve against the Unknown. They are a mirror of loss and lack. The filth on the chair that gets on his pants is an image of it I had a great desire to be off, to not take any more, or give any morefor I will say it, at the risk of blunder: It is impossible for myself and my people to offer themselves in any but the standard senses (14). At least he knows of the surrender, that you have to live it. In some freak of Methodism he wants to wash this old mans feet to tame him, this 102 year old who stands for all of Idaho, Utah, Nevada and the Great Basin before electricity, a volume of Yaa-Aaa-Aaa (14). I was aware of the presumption of my thinking he would be relieved or made happy by having his feet washed (13). Now Here is the Alien: If you want to confront the Unknown you must to do it in the feet of your old age and death. If we want to confront the Unknown we must to do it in the feet of our old age and death. The place was intensely neglected, I gradually saw, and not just filthy as it looked to be at first glance. It was simply the remains of a life (12). The comfort of the Unknown in Dorns account is that there are two that serve each other in it, but we dont know why. One Unknown is the wife, ust like all our mothers and wives, who should have died, by the rules of our biology, thirty years ago. But it was evident that she would stay on, the weaker of the two, until he smelled the summary message in his nostrils, then she would be free (12). Is death that freedom? The alien doesnt think in known terms, but makes Dorn harbor such thoughts as, this man and woman were the most profoundly beautiful ancestors Ive witnessed go before me (12,13). He is the spirit that lies at the bottom, where we have our feet. The feet which step between the domains, the visible sign, the real evidence of the coming event where this mans low, incantatory verbs spill down across the plateau and basin (13)not more Indian than man, still as much the flower as the fruit. Wash his feet! Wash his hands, heart and head! Lay in the dust like a penitent Barry Lopez, close to the flagellate, and weep for the human lost. This Shoshones name is Willie Dorsey. We dont get his real name, Alien. I saw, the heat, the vociferous mosquitoes in the buildings shade, the slightly moist filth at the back door. Alien old age and death look like very old animals [that] have such coats over the eyes, a privacy impenetrable from the outside (11). Cataracts, the blind, the lame, the sick, the living I know treated by some Doctor of the Alien. She operates her office practically as a charity, complete with science, intuition and healing to the grim weight of bad condition, not especially outlined, more heavy with despair than one could possibly arrange with rubble (11). This is not Ed Dorn. He is a spectator. This Doctor holds the hand, cuts the hair, absorbs the breast, the tear, weeping and praying within, but praising and thanking for the chance that comes out of the wooden clapboard structures (10) of lives that they could be so treated and revived. So thats the alien, its human and knowable even if Unknown. Poetry Analysis Sherman Alexie is Spokane/Coeur dAlene Indian. Alexie wrote a poem called â€Å"The Reservation Cab Driver†. The title contributes to understand the poem and understand who the cab driver was. In this poem, Alexie uses a symbolism he also uses some metaphor, irony and imagery. By examining the life portrayal in the reservation, the poem’s casual diction, the magic appearance of Crazy Horse, I will show how Alexie’s critique of the status of Indians on the reservation. The life in the reservation was hard. When anyone wanted to get out of the reservation the only choice the reservation had was hiring the cab driver who drives a ’65 Malibu with no windshield. The description of this cab driver car is an example of Imagery taking place you can see the car all beat up with no windshield. This particular cab driver waits outside the breakaway bar. He charges his costumers a beer a mile with no exception. This cab driver is not looking for money. The other people have to get this cab to take them places especially during the powwow. Also in stanza 8 during powwow, some imagery takes place. The imagery you see is people paying him with quilts, beads and fry bread and firewood. Imagery in this section is important because you can see what’s going on. In this stanza the imagery is very clear that it seems as if you are there in person watching everything. Also in stanza 7 you see use of metaphor also irony but the cab driver did not understand Seymour because the cab driver answers â€Å"Ain’t no pony, it’s a car†. Alexie shows us how hard it is for the reservation to have to take the cab and pay in a form that you do not see in other places of America. Alexie shows us an example of two different economies. Within the same country but how life in the reservation is completely different to the rest of the life outside the reservation. The reservation has many problems like having only one cab driver who charges a beer and a cigarette a mile. Another problem â€Å"The Man to Send Rain Clouds† The theme of Leslie Marmon Silko’s The Man to Send Rain Clouds revolves around the idea of maintaining your culture in the opposition of the â€Å"religious right. † Leon is faced with strong opposition about his tribe’s rituals in regard to the burying of one of their dead. That opposition comes from the Christian priest and his ideas of what is sacred. Cultures around the world embrace death in different ways. Some mourn and fear death; others accept it and find hope when the time comes. Unfortunately not all of those cultures are able to be open to the idea that they could be wrong, or that different methods could lead to the same ends. The Christian church of coarse has a history of killing, burning, and condemning things that disagree with their ideologies. Even today we see extremists in many religions that fight wars over their beliefs. In this story a man had to fight with himself regarding the decision. He has to wrestle with the pleas of the priest and the idea that his culture taught him regarding death. He believed as his tribe did that the ritual would bring rain and new life to the crops. The battle between cultures moves on when the priest is actually asked to be a part of the ritual and bless the body. At this point the priest enters his own battle with the things that he was taught and the opposition that he faces. He had to decide what would be the Christian thing to do. When all these battle are over both men learn a little about each other’s world as the wind starts to come in, it is a wind of change. They wait to see if the storm will come to begin the circle of life anew. The Man to Send Rain Clouds Readers Reaction This was quite an interesting story. There were three sections to the story which broke the story in three different times in one day. The characters were all very nonchalant except for the priest who showed some emotion when he found out that old Teofilo died. The story kept our interest, however, it did not lead a very clear trail to the end, and there was no real climax where we felt there was a good peak. The story needs to be read more than once to really be appreciated. Plot Summary One ? Teofilo is at the sheep camp in the arroyo when he rests in the shade under a cotton tree and dies. ? After Teofilo missing for a few days, Leon and Ken come looking for him and find that he had been dead for a day or more, and the sheep had wandered and scattered up and down the arroyo. ? They gather the sheep and then come back to wrap Teofilo up in a red blanket. ? They paint his face with different colors and ask him to send them rain. ? On Leon and Kens way back into pueblow (town) they see Father Paul, who asked if they found their missing grandfather yet, and they tell him where they found him, but not that hes dead. Good Morning, father. We were just out to the sheep camp. Everything is o. k. now. Two ? Louise and Teresa are waiting for them to get back with any news about Teofilo. ? Leon tells the girls that they found Teofilo died near a cottonwood tree in the big arroyo near sheep camp. ? Leon and Ken carry in red blanket with teofilos body, dress him in new clothes to be buried in. ? After a quiet lunch, Ken went to see when the gravediggers could have the grave ready, I think it can be ready before dark. ? Neighbors and clans people come by their house to console Teofilos family and leave food for the gravediggers. Three ? After the funeral, Louise tells her brother Leon that she wants the priest to sprinkle holy water for grandpa. So he wont be thirsty. ? Leon gets in the truck Burial Rituals of Native American Culture At some point in our lives, we all come to realize that death is a part of life. Cultural diversity provides a wide variety of lifestyles and traditions for each of the unique groups of people in our world. Within these different cultures, the rituals associated with death and burial can also be uniquely diverse. Many consider ritualistic traditions that differ from their own to be somewhat strange and often perceive them as unnatural. A prime example would be the burial rituals of the Native American people. Leslie Marmon Silko’s story entitled The Man to Send Rain Clouds describes a funeral service carried out by a Native American Pueblo family. Though many perceive the funeral service narrated in this story to be lacking in emotion and also lacking respect for the passing of their loved one, it portrays a ceremony that is quite common for the Native American communities. There is also a hint of conflict occurring between the characters in the story that are carrying out their traditions while including an outside religious figure in the ceremony. The death of an old man sets the stage for this story and tells of the way his family goes about preparing him for his journey into the afterlife. A feather is tied into the old man’s hair, his face was painted with blue, yellow, green and white paint, pinches of corn meal and pollen were tossed into the wind and finally his body was wrapped in a red blanket prior to being transported. According to Releasing the Spirit: A Lesson in Native American Funeral Rituals by Gary F. Santillanes, â€Å"Pueblo Indians care for their own dead with no funeral director involved. The family will take the deceased, usually in their truck, back to the home of the deceased and place him or her on the floor facing east to west, on a native blanket. Depending on the deceaseds stature in the tribe, his face may be painted in the traditional nature. A powdery substance is placed AK English 217 – Reading Journal (The Way To Rainy Mountain) Scott Momaday uses nature to dictate the passage of life. He personifies the landscape as a person, he says the there is ‘perfect in the mountains but it belongs to the eagle and the elk, the badger and the bear. ’ To me, this tells me the mountains have a feeling of openness, but it is the home of many – not just humans. The mountain holds importance to the Kiowa’s because it is pure wilderness. The landscape that is described helps the reader recognize what the Kiowa’s were thinking upon reaching rainy mountain. The beautiful sights of the land made the Kiowa’s recognize a new passage of life. Their curiosity of the land’s landscape created legends in their tribe. The legends helped them escape through the wilderness by becoming part of it – through kinsmen in the sky and a boy turned into a bear at Devil’s Tower. Momaday describes the curiosity of the wilderness throughout the landscape. In order to build the larger idea of the tribe, the curiosity makes the landscape act as a character. The writer, Scott Momaday, describes the grandmother through details of her life. My favorite line was at the end when he wrote, â€Å"There, we it ought to be at the end of a long and legendary way, was my grandmother’sgrave. † This line sums up her entire life in a single sentence. She lived a long life and saw many things, her life was filled of legends that the tribe created. She had a reverence for the sun because she saw the Sun Dances when she was younger. In 1887, the grandmother was at the last sun dance; she bore a vision of deicide without any bitterness. At an old age, she began praying frequently. Momaday could not understand what she was saying but describes the tone of her voice as ‘sad in sound, some merest hesitation upon the syllables of sorrow. ’ No matter what the language, people inherently understand the sounds of sadness. It really brought the grandmother to life. Then finally, at the end, he Many Americans today believe that all students –no matter what race or ethnicity- have an easy path with our education and that all students are able to get a higher education without any problems. Yet this belief is not true for all students. However it’s a whole different story for the working class students. The working class student that goes for a higher education in life, in search for a better life and, a brighter future are faced with many obstacles and challenges on their path to achieve their goals and dreams. The working class students are put with many different challenges. As they the working class students goes forward with their education, there maybe people that will try to put them down in many forms. But you should know that you will survive and at the end you be a stronger, prepare student with the tools to overcome any obstacles in life. In the article â€Å"Indian Education† by Sherman Alexie, we read how being working class students we have obstacles to overcome. Some of this obstacles come from the people we less expected just like the example in Alexie Sherman Article â€Å"Indian Education†, how his own second grade teacher Miss Betty Towle try to put him down as many times as possible. She the teacher tries to put him down for being Indian, and for having working class parents. The Teacher Miss. Betty seems to not care for Alexie at all. The teacher ask Alexie to give a letter to his parents in which she ask for his parents to come to school so that they could have a conversation on what she calls his bad behavior in class. The teacher seems to not want to talk about his bad behavior. Instead, she wanted to insult Alexie in front of his parents by calling him Indian without any compassion or respect. â€Å"Indians, indians, indians, she said it without capitalization, she called me Indian, indian, Indian† (p. 1). Base on this citation we see that the teacher was trying to put him down for being Indian and for having parents that weren’t educated. By

Gender and sexuality Essay Example for Free

Gender and sexuality Essay Gender and sexuality has permeated the character of Latin American nations throughout history. Latin America has demonstrated examples of the manipulation of gender as a means of a nations government asserting its political and social control, and the history of the Cuban Revolution shows that Cuba is among such nations. Since its infancy in 1959 and through the 1990s, the Cuban revolutionary government has managed to achieve a well-documented history of oppressive practices that has made the Cuban government the subject of much worldwide criticism and scrutiny over the years. Among the root of this oppression is a commitment to political and social control along gender lines for a greater nationalistic cause. Not unlike other Latin American nations, gender roles as they are recognized in Cuba have been constructed and forcefully prescribed by the government. The citizens of the nation have been socialized to discern between masculine and feminine traits, as well understand why certain traits are desirable while others are not. These determinations have had far-reaching consequences in the cultural realm of Cuban society. Social circles are designed partly upon a person’s recognition of and adherence to specific gender roles. A part of the Cuban revolutionary government’s use of gender for political and social control is its attitude toward and relationship with male homosexuality. The systematic persecution of homosexuals in Cuba has been used by the state in an insular fashion against its citizens for the purpose of controlling them, but also as an outward political maneuver of serves to uphold national dignity and honor as part of a Cuban national identity that is to be recognized and respected throughout the rest of the world. In addition to this paper’s thesis being based on the Cuban revolutionary government’s use of gender and sexuality as a tool of political and social control, the notion of patriarchy is a theory that is central to this thesis. Part of Cuba’s national identity is the patriarchal nature of its government, which not only applies to the relationship between the state and its citizens, but also applies to the relationship between Cuba and other nations. Dominance and strength, two factors upon which patriarchy is based, are what Cuba stands to project to larger, more powerful nations as a symbol of an exalted position in the world. As discussed in the paper, Cuba’s patriarchal government uses its rejection of homosexuality outwardly as a tactic of resisting and rejecting the systems and ideals of nations that the Cuban Revolution finds itself to be fundamentally at odds with. Evidence of this can be found in works such as Ian Lumsden’s Machos, Maricones, and Gays: Cuba and Homosexuality. The arguments made in this paper are written around various primary documents that not only support the central thesis, but also serve as a base for extended discussion of certain elements that have contributed to a greater part of a nation’s history. One such element is the notion of gender roles and norms being defined and prescribed by the state, which in turn affects its society’s views. This includes the legal and penal mechanisms through which the prescriptions are upheld. Legal enforcement leads to a second element, which is nationalism as the motive for the state’s manipulation of gender and sexuality. This control of the Cuban people is part of a greater political agenda: ensuring the success of the Cuban Revolution. A part of this political maneuver is maintaining the honor of the nation and defending its worldwide image. A third and final element is the concept of cultures and governments undergoing change over a period of time. Such changes include the state’s gender-based ideas and prescriptions, as well as the catalysts for such change. These changes are ultimtately reflected in the attitudes of a nation’s people. The film â€Å"Fresa y Chocolate† is one of the primary sources that this paper is written around. Set in Cuba circa 1979, â€Å"Fresa y Chocolate† reflects the attitudes toward homosexuality that were the norm in Cuba during the first couple of decades of the Cuban revolution, and also depicts the government’s use of gender and sexuality to advance its own political agenda. What qualities make or do not make the revolutionary? What place does a homosexual have in the Cuban revolution? What is homosexuality supposed to mean to the communist youth? These are questions that â€Å"Fresa y Chocolate† raises and helps answer. The other primary documents that this paper is written around are the writings of controversial gay Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas. This paper discusses some examples of the persecution that Arenas endured as a homosexual coming up during the Cuban Revolution. From physical attacks and censorship to arrests and imprisonment, Arenas symbolized to the Cuban revolutionary government the classic threat to the patriarchal state that the government feared and aimed to neutralize. Although writings from a persecuted homosexual in Cuba stand to possibly reflect certain biases, it is important to look at alternate points of view with the purpose of still supporting the basic arguments conveyed herein. For that reason, this paper will also discuss the works of writers such as Rafael L. Ramirez and Rafael Ocasio, who did not emerge from a situation similar to that of Arenas’s. Ocasio explains that Reinaldo Arenas initially expressed interest in the Cuban Revolution, having left home at the age of fifteen to become a guerilla fighter for Fidel Castro. (14) Arenas was rejected due to his young age and the fact that he had no firearms. His enthusiasm for supporting Castro eventually waned, however, and it was the sexual repression that Arenas encountered at his boarding school that began his discontent with the Castro regime. (17) Ocasio cites the reprisal that students faced if caught committing homosexual acts. In addition to expulsion, school officials also went as far as detailing the nature of student’s transgression in school records, thereby barring these homosexual students from other state-run schools. According to Ocasio, Arenas stated that arrest and incarceration could also result from certain instances of such activity. (17) This made Arenas aware of politically-related persecution of homosexuals as an adolescent. Systematic, state-sanctioned persecution of homosexuals is further exemplified by the nighttime roundups of homosexuals organized by Cuban police, a practice that traces back to 1961. The earliest documented case of this is known as the Night of the Three Ps (prostitutes, pimps, y pederasts). Gay playwright Virgilio Pinera was among those who were arrested. (Ocasio 24) These raids were purely politically-motivated, for as Salas explains, police targeted anything they found in these raids that appeared to be antisocial or non-conformist, including clothing or hairstyles deemed inappropriate. In support of this, Salas cites an instance in which a Young Communist League leader was arrested in one of the raids despite not being involved in any homosexual activity. Police targeted him because of his long hair, which was cut by authorities. The man was released once he confirmed his identity. (155) Homosexuals targeted in these raids were considered part of a greater antisocial element that the government sought to eliminate. Ocasio explains that while officials assigned prostitutes to schools where they could supposedly be rehabilitated, Castro stated that homosexuals would be barred from the possibility of having any influence in cultural life, schools, or the arts. (24) The aforementioned roundups of homosexuals organized by Cuban police had an affect on Cuba’s intellectual community, and was only one example of the Castro regime’s politically-inspired oppression. Various official statements were made by the Cuban government against homosexuals as part of a nationwide campaign promoting proper ethical policies that fostered acceptable revolutionary behavior. It was clear that writers such as Arenas and artists such as Pinera were not seen by the new regime as conducive to the political achievement to which the Cuban revolutionary government aspired. This is supported by Castro’s famous â€Å"Words to Intellectuals† speech, which Ocasio cites as the first official statement made by the Cuban revolutionary government that determined the boundaries within which revolutionary writers and artists were to operate: â€Å"What are the rights of writers and artists, revolutionary or not? In support of the Revolution, every right; against the Revolution, no rights. Homosexual persecution rooted in the Cuban revolutionary cause is indicative of the revolutionary government’s concept of what it referred to as the New Man. In Social Control and Deviance in Cuba, author Luis Salas discusses the state’s concept of the New Man as Cuba’s ideal revolutionary, which allows no place for a homosexual in the revolution. (166) According to Salas, such a question was clearly answered by Fidel Castro with the following statement: â€Å"Nothing prevents a homosexual from professing revolutionary ideology and consequently, exhibiting a correct political position. In this case he should not be considered politically negative. And yet we would never come to believe that a homosexual could embody the conditions and requirements of conduct that would enable us to consider him a true revolutionary, a true Communist militant. A deviation of that nature clashes with the concept we have of what a militant Communist must be. † Salas contends that to the Cuban revolutionary, the New Man represents strength, honor, and â€Å"connotes maleness and virility. †(166) Conversely, homosexuality is considered to represent weakness, a classically feminine trait. The strength needed to be a true revolutionary is something that the Cuban revolutionary government saw in the uncorrupted youth of Cuba. The youth of the nation was regarded by the state as â€Å"one of the most treasured possessions of the nation† that was expected contribute to the success of the revolution, and as such, was to be protected from â€Å"a group viewed as seducers of small children. †(167) This aforementioned political attitude with regards to homosexuals in relation to the communist youth of Cuba was reflected in the film â€Å"Fresa y Chocolate. † In the film, David is a young communist university student who initially views an older homosexual artist named Diego as someone who is to be avoided and not to be trusted. David’s roommate Miguel is even more militant in his revolutionary, homophobic stance, and resorts to using David to spy on Diego due to his belief that Diego is a danger to the revolutionary cause and thus cannot be trusted. Although Diego eventually befriends David, there is a mutual understanding between both characters of the dangers that such a friendship can pose to a young communist like David, and David makes it clear to Diego that they are not to be seen together in public. This depiction is indicative of the state’s effort to socialize its youth towards anti-homosexual sentiment by portraying homosexuals as political obstacles and enemies of the state in order to influence public opinion and sway political action in the government’s favor. As Leiner explains, homosexuality played a role in Cubas prerevolutionary tourism economy, for the widespread solicitation of male prostitutes by gay tourists contributed to the economy. Furthermore, the stratification of prerevolutionary Cuba also lured many heterosexual working-class men into the underworld of homosexual prostitution in order to earn a living. According to Leiner, the homosexual bourgeoisie largely controlled this underworld as did American organized crime, which managed the lucrative, but seedy occupational sector based on prostitution, drugs, and gambling. Such an aspect of prerevolutionary Cuban history is indicative of fears present among state officials in revolutionary Cuba, who perceived homosexuality as fertile ground for the re-emergence of American imperialism, the bourgeoisie, and classism in Cuban society. This is consistent with Lumsdens contention of revolutionary Cubas regulation of gender and sexuality in Cuba being a part of the state’s willingness to overcome underdevelopment and resist American efforts to prevent the revolution from succeeding. (xxi) According to Salas, gays were a remnant of capitalism in the eyes of the militant Cuban revolutionary. According to the Cuban government, the New Man was not motivated by the decadence and wanton lusts that characterize homosexuality, which the government believe was associated with the selfishness that marked capitalist societies. In a speech given on July 26, 1968, Fidel Castro characterized the revolution’s ideal New Man as possessing an altruistic and humanistic nature: â€Å"In a communist society, man will have succeeded in achieving just as much understanding, closeness, and brotherhood as he has on occasion achieved within the narrow circle of his own family. To live in a communist society is to live without selfishness, to live among the people, as if every one of our fellow citizens were really our dearest brother. † In addition to the idealism of Castro’s statement, there is also the character of the language behind his statement that is undoubtedly male as well as overwhelmingly exclusionary. The ideals promoted by Castro in the above excerpt can just as easily be prescribed to women for them to live by such ideals, but the â€Å"macho/socialist amalgam questioned whether male homosexuals could. †(Leiner 27) Leiner explains a study conducted by esteemed commentator Lourdes Casal, who analyzed the influence that the Cuban revolution had on Cuban literature. According to Leiner, Casal discovered a general disdain for homosexuals reflected in over 100 novels. Casal contended that the rejection of homosexuality was the rejection of femininity. Accusing a man of being a homosexual was to be considered an assault on that mans masculinity, and was considered synonymous with deeming that man a female who is devoid of strength and unworthy of holding power. (23) Such a meaning prescribed to the title â€Å"homosexual† underscores the nature of the Cuban governments patriarchal structure, in which power is directly associated with being a man both physically and sexually. Leiner also explains that in revolutionary Cuban society, the perception of homosexuality – and therefore, femininity – went beyond mere sexual preference. Physical weakness and lack of muscularity, a lack of interest in physical competition, the display of a quiet demeanor, or a gentle, nurturing or sensitive nature were enough to raise suspicion of homosexuality. According to Leiner, such qualities were perceived as weak and inferior, and therefore effeminate. The strong, abrasive, and competitive male was above suspicion of homosexuality. (22) The question of why homosexuals were perceived by the state as counter to the revolution remains partly unanswered. In addition to the Cuban government’s belief that homosexuals possessed undesirable qualities such as weakness, cowardice, and perversion, the state’s view of homosexuals as a danger to the institution that is the traditional family further compelled the state and the society it influenced to write homosexuals off as â€Å"antithetical to a socialist society. †(Leiner 25) Lesbian playwright Ana Maria Simo was jailed for four-and-a-half months in 1965 and also suffered shock treatment to correct her simply due to her associating with people who were suspected of being homosexual. She was not a lesbian at the time. She states that she and her friends were political individualists and anarchistic, and that is what bothered the government, not their being gay. (Ocasio 30) According to Leiner, lesbians were no cause of concern for the revolutionary government. Leiner states that Lourdes Casal found no mention, or even the vaguest hint of evidence of concern over lesbianism in either the pre- or post-revolutionary literary works that she analyzed. This is a manifestation of the Cuban government’s patriarchal structure in that the government’s complete absence of concern over the lesbianism in Cuba is indicative of the government’s â€Å"relegation of women as secondary, lesser others. (Leiner 23) Unlike homosexuals, lesbians posed no threat to the Cuban revolutionary cause, for the revolution never looked to women for signs of strength or power upon which the government could rely in order to ensure the success of the revolution. However, lesbians, even those who displayed overly masculine qualities, were still considered women just as homosexual males were, and both were deemed unqualified for revolutionary status by the state. Standards of gender and sexuality were prescribed and legitimized by the revolutionary state, thus criminalizing homosexuality. The government’s enforcement of its prescriptions has been carried out via formal as well as informal means. A prime example of a formal method of this enforcement is penal legislation. Such legislation involving homosexuality can be found in two sections of the Cuban statutes. In one section of the statutes, legislation involves the relation between homosexuality and the state’s concept of social dangerousness. Article 73 of the Cuban Penal Code regulates social dangerousness, and cites behavior deemed antisocial as its target. In Cuba, homosexuality has been legally deemed antisocial. (Salas 151) Lumsden cites the use of the word antisocial as a code to describe displays of homosexuality deemed ostentatious. (83) According to Salas, anti-homosexual legislation was considered a preventive measure, for the display of so much as even an attitude that authorities perceived as antisocial justified police intervention. (Salas 153) These laws stem from government fears, such as the fear of the threat that homosexuality poses to the traditional family structure. There is also the government’s fear of homosexuality hindering the success of the revolution, of which the fear of homosexuals corrupting the nation’s youth is a part. (Salas 154) The latter fear can explain homosexual males receiving much harsher punishments for having sex with underage boys compared to the punishments that males faced for having sex with underage females. (Lumsden 82) The fact that laws pertaining to homosexuality are in a section of the Penal Code that pertains to violations against sexual development and sexual relations that are considered normal is indicative of the state’s perception of homosexuality as a condition that is contagious and leads to pedophilia. For this reason, Article 317 also includes the act of propositioning an adult for homosexual sex in its permanent barring of convicted sex offenders from the teaching profession and any other field in which such an adult stands to have authority or potential influence over children. (Lumsden 84) Aside from the Cuban revolutionary government’s fears related to the issue of homosexuality, the eagerness of some government officials to enforce anti-homosexual law is also indicative of their determination to remain above suspicion of being homosexual for their own fear of legal and social reprisal at the hands of the government. Examples of this are provided by Reinaldo Arenas in his highly acclaimed autobiography Before Night Falls, in which he discusses various sexual encounters he had with homosexual government officials in Cuba. Arenas cited an incident in which a police officer with whom he had just had sexual intercourse actually arrested Arenas â€Å"for being queer. † â€Å"Perhaps he thought that by being the active partner he had not done anything wrong,† Arenas stated. This statement by Arenas is a clear reference to the commonly held perception of the active, penetrating partner in a sexual act between two men not being a homosexual because his dominant position is considered a product of masculinity and power. This perception is diametrically opposed to the perception of the penetrated partner, for this partner assumes a role that is subordinate to the dominant penetrator, thus representing the role of a woman. In Arenas’s aforementioned discussion of his arrest, he stated that at the police station, the arresting officer attempted to explain his arresting Arenas by falsely accusing Arenas of groping him. However, Arenas managed to prove the officer’s involvement in the homosexual act by quickly admitting to the other officers that he still had the officer’s semen on his body, thus making the officer the subject of much surprise and scorn from his colleagues and work superiors. As part of his account of this incident, Arenas alluded to the revolutionary government’s belief that it is not possible for a homosexual male to possess the qualities that makes a true revolutionary. At the same time, Arenas also made a reference to the belief of a homosexual male being equivalent to a woman: â€Å"They ended up saying it was a shame that a member of the police force would engage in such acts, because I, after all, had my weakness, but for him, being a man, there was no excuse for getting involved with a queer. † Because he managed to achieve a position as a police officer in the Cuban revolutionary government, which included a convincing display of the masculine traits that the Cuban government believed were instrumental to the composition of a true revolutionary, the police officer was undoubtedly a â€Å"man† in the eyes of the state, whereas Arenas was not. The engendering of the passive and active partner in homosexual intercourse is not exclusive to Cuban revolutionary society, however. In What It Means to Be a Man, Casper and Ramirez cite the bugarron, a term used in Puerto Rican society to describe a male who is always the one to penetrate the male partner, yet always considers himself heterosexual. The bugarron blatantly dismisses the notion of his partner’s masculinity, and confirms his partner as the â€Å"woman† of the situation by calling his partner names such as mujer, mami, mamita, or loca. (96) Furthermore, the bugarron’s â€Å"usage of sexuality is highly ritualized to conserve his manhood and avoid being questioned about it. †(Casper, Ramirez 97) The desire to only be a penetrator and never a recipient of penetration serves as a political metaphor. The perception of a penetrator as heterosexual and undeniably male is underscored by masculine traits such as strength and dominance. Pingueros, a name given to male prostitutes in Cuba who only penetrate and refuse to be penetrated, represent the conquering of foreign bodies when solicited by gay tourists. (Chant, Kraske 139) This representation mirrors the notion of Cuba not just fending off but successfully invading and â€Å"screwing back† the imperialist, capitalist nation that has – or might wish to – exploit Cuba for its own self-interests. Just like the concept of prescribing gender to an active and passive partner in sexual intercourse between two men was reached over time by way of changing attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions, attitudes and behaviors toward homosexuality in general changing over time is also to be considered. Cultures are not static; they change over time, as do the notions of gender and sexuality in a culture. (Casper, Ramirez 27) Over the past decades, Cuba has witnessed a certain degree of change in attitudes and actions toward homosexuality on behalf of Cuban society at large as well as on behalf of the state.

Cloud Point Extraction Experiment

Cloud Point Extraction Experiment Bromothymol blue (also known as bromothymol sulfone phthalein, BTB) (Figure 2.1.1) is a pH indicator (yellow at pH 6.0 and blue at pH 7.6). Its chemical name is: 4,40-(1,1-dioxido-3H-2,1-benzoxathiole-3,3-diyl)bis(2-bromo-6-isopropyl-3-methylphenol (The Merck Index, 13th edition, 2007)[1]. pKa of BTB is 7.1. This dye is the most appropriate pH indicator dye in physiological tissue and also used in the investigation of the interaction of lipid with protein (Puschett and Rao 1991; Gorbenko 1998; Sotomayor et al. 1998)[2,3,4]. It is widely applied in biomedical, biological, and chemical engineering applications (Schegg and Baldini 1986; Ibarra and Olivares-Perez 2002)[5,6]. BTB in protonated or deprotonated form is yellow or blue in color, respectively, while its solution is bluish green in neutral solution. It is sometimes used to define cell walls or nuclei under the microscope. BTB is mostly used for the evaluation and estimation of the pH of pools and fish tanks and the determinatio n of the presence of carbonic acid in liquid. There are several treatment procedures for dyes from waste materials, including adsorption (Nandi, Goswami, and Purkait 2009)[8], coagulation–flocculation, oxidation–ozonation, reverse osmosis, membrane filtration, biological degradation, and electrochemical processes (Shen et al. 2001; Kim et al. 2004; Chatterjee, Lee, and Woo 2010)[9,10,11]. 2.1.2 EXPERIMENTAL 2.1.2.1 Materials: All the solutions were prepared with double-distilled water. 2.1.2.1.1 Triton X – 100 (0.1M): Triton X-100 was purchased from Qualigens Analytical grade. The TX-100 was cleared of any low-boiling impurities by exposure to vaccum for 3h at 700C following the procedure given by Kumar and Balasubrahmanium[19]. 31.4 g of TX-100 liquid is dissolved 500 ml volumetric flask and made up to the mark to obtain 0.1 mol/dm3 solution. The critical micellar concentration and Cloud point of TX-100 are 2.8Ãâ€"10−4 [20] 65à ¢- ¦C [21] respectively. 2.1.2.1.2 Bromothymol Blue (BTB) : 1.0 g of BTB dye Merck India was dissolved in 5.0 ml of ethanol (99.8%) for dissolution then dilution are made with double distilled water into a 1000 ml volumetric flask up to the mark to obtain an concentration of 1000 mg/dm3(Babak Samiey, Kamal Alizadeh et.al 2004)[22]. In order to avoid fading stock solution was wrapped black color paper. The working solutions of BTB were prepared by appropriate dilutions of the stock solution immediately prior to their use. 2.1.2.1.3 Acetic acid (0.5M). 28.5 ml glacial acetic acid (A.R.grade) Qualigens was diluted with distilled water in a 1000 ml volumetric flask to give 0.5M Acetic acid solution. The solution obtained was diluted to required concentration and standardized as per the procedure (Vogel et. al. 1989)[23] with standard NaOH solution. 2.1.2.1.4 Sodium acetate (0.5M): 13.6 g sodiumacetate.trihydrate, (CH3COONa.3H2O) of Analytical grade Qualigens is dissolved in 100 ml volumetric flask and made up to the mark (Vogel et. al. 1978)[24]. 2.1.2.1.5 NaCl (0.1M): 2.922 g pure dry salt of sodiumchloride of analytical grade Qualigens is weighing out and dissolved in 500 ml volumetric flask to give 0.1M NaCl solution(Vogel et. al. 1989)[25]. 2.1.2.1.6 Na2SO4 (0.5M): 16.1 g of sodiumsulphate decahydrate,(Na2SO4.10H2O) A.R.grade from Merck (India), is dissolved in 100 ml volumetric flask and made up to the mark to give 0.5M Na2SO4 solution(Vogel et. al. 1989)[26]. 2.1.2.1.7 KH2PO4(1.0M): 34.02 g of KH2PO4 of Analytical grade Qualigens is dissolved in 250 ml volumetric flask and made up to the mark (Vogel et. al. 1978)[27]. 2.1.2.1.8 Na2HPO4 (1.0M): A.R. grade disodium hydrogen phosphate, Na2HPO4.2H2O, is taken in porcelain crucible and heated until no more water is liberated. Then 17.8 g of this cold residue is taken in 100 ml volumetric flask and made up to the make to give 1.0 M of Na2HPO4 solution (Vogel et. al. 1978)[28]. The reagent is prepared freshly each time. 2.1.2.1.9 Buffer solution of pH4.0( ±0.05): 5 ml of 4M sodium acetate (A.R. grade) Qualigens and 20 ml of 4M acetic acid (A.R. grade) Qualigens are mixed in an 100ml volumetric flask and made up to the mark which has resultant pH of 4.0( ±0.05) (Vogel et. al. 1989)[29] . 2.1.2.1.10 Buffer solution of pH5.0( ±0.05):: 17.5 ml of 4M sodium acetate (A.R. grade) Qualigens and 10 ml of 4M acetic acid (A.R. grade) Qualigens are mixed in an 100ml volumetric flask and made up to the mark which has resultant pH of 5.0( ±0.05) (Vogel et. al. 1989)[30] . 2.1.2.1.11 Buffer solution of pH6.0( ±0.05): 13.2 ml of1M KH2PO4 (A.R.grade) Qualigens and 86.8 ml of 1M Na2HPO4 (A.R.grade) Qualigens are mixed in 100ml volumetric flask which has resultant pH of 6.0( ±0.05) (Vogel et. al. 1989)[31]. 2.1.2.1.12 Buffer solution of pH7.0( ±0.05): 61.5 ml of 1M KH2PO4 (A.R.grade) Qualigens and 38.5 ml of 1M Na2HPO4 (A.R.grade) Qualigens are mixed in 100ml volumetric flask which has resultant pH of 7.0( ±0.05) (Vogel et. al. 1989)[31]. 2.1.2.1.13 Buffer solution of pH8.0( ±0.05): 94.0 ml of 1M KH2PO4 (A.R.grade) Qualigens and 6.0 ml of 1M Na2HPO4 (A.R.grade) Qualigens are mixed in 100ml volumetric flask which has resultant pH of 8.0( ±0.05) (Vogel et. al. 1989)[31]. 2.1.2.1.14 Buffer solution of pH9.2( ±0.05): 1.905g of Na2B4O7.10.H2O of (A.R.grade) Qualigens is dissolved in 100ml volumetric flask and made up to the mark to obtain 0.05 M of borax solution.The resultant pH of the solution is 9.2( ±0.05) (Vogel et. al. 1989)[32]. 2.1.2.2 Methodology for cloud point extraction: 2.1.2.2.1 Procedure: The cloud point temperature was determined by literature method reported by Carvalho et al. [33]. This is based on the ‘visual observation of the separation of phases’ in the micellar solution. The solution was heated gradually in the water bath until turbidity appeared. To verify the results, the opposite process was carried out by cooling gradually with constant stirring and the cloud point was considered as the temperature at which the solution became clear. The reported value was the average of these two determinations; in most cases, these two temperatures were identical, within + 0.5oC. Cloud point extraction experiment was conducted by using a 10 ml centrifuge tube with a screw cap containing different concentrations of Triton X-100 and BTB and sonicated for 2 minutes for proper mixing. The solution is heated up to 80ËÅ ¡C in a thermostatic temperature bath for 20 min. The turbid solution was then centrifuged at 3500 rpm for 5 min and cooled in an ice bath for 2 minutes in order to separate the phases. Both the phases are separated and the volumes of surfactant rich phase (coacervate phase) and dilute phases were measured. Average of three determinations is reported in all cases. The concentration of dye in both the phases has been measured by using PerkinElmer lamda-25 UV-Visible spectrophotometer. In order to determine the influence of the reagents added to the surfactant phase, cloud point determinations were performed with the additions of buffer, dye and inorganic salts. The procedure for the determination of critical temperature was the same as above, bu t using only a fixed surfactant concentration. The phase diagram for Triton X-100 was obtained by measuring the cloud point temperature of aqueous surfactant solutions at different concentrations. 2.1.2.2.2 Spectra and calibrated graph The concentration of the dye was determined by U.V-visible spectrophotometer (PerkinElmer lamda-25). Pure BTB was initially calibrated separately for different concentrations in terms of absorbance units, which were recorded at wavelength 430 nm, at which maximum absorption takes place (Figure 2.1.2, 2.1.3). No significant change in the absorbance has been observed even in the presence of TX-100. Therefore all the absorbance measurements were performed at this wave length. Figure 2.1.2 Spectra of BTB dye Figure 2.1.3 Calibration curve of BTB dye 2.1.2.2.3 Determination of Phase volume Ratio, Fractional coacervate phase volume and pre-concentration factor The volumes of the respective surfactant-rich and aqueous phases obtained after the separation of phases were determined using calibrated centrifuge tubes for calculating the pre concentration factor. Surfactant solutions containing typical amounts of the BTB were extracted using the CPE procedure, followed by the measurement of the respective phase volumes. The results reported are the average of three determinations. The phase volume ratio is defined as the ratio of the volume of the surfactant-rich phase to that of the aqueous phase. It is calculated using the following formula. (2.1.1) Where RV is the phase volume ratio, VS and VW are volumes of surfactant-rich phase and aqueous phase respectively. The pre-concentration factor, (fC) is defined as the ratio of the volume of bulk solution before phase separation (Vt) to that of the surfactant-rich phase after phase separation (Vs). (2.1.2) Where Vt and VS are the volumes of the bulk solution before phase separation and the surfactant-rich phase respectively. The fractional coacervate phase volume with the feed surfactant concentration is calculated by using the relationship: (2.1.3) Where FC is the fractional coacervate volume and Cs is the molar concentration of the feed surfactant solution, for fixed feed dye concentration, the parameters a and b vary linearly with temperature. The value of Fc lies in between 0.04-0.23 for various operating conditions. Surfactant partition coefficient (m) is defined as the ratio of concentration of surfactant in coacervate and dilute phase. - (2.1.4) The efficiency of extraction is defined as - (2.1.5) 2.1.4 Discussion: This section is divided into four parts. In first part, factors influencing the extraction efficiency (e.g., concentrations of non-ionic surfactants, dye and salt, temperature and pH of the solution), fractional coacervate phase volume have been discussed. The nature of solubilization isotherm at different temperature has been presented in the second part. In the third and fourth parts, thermodynamic parameters and a calculation procedure for the determination of surfactant requirement for the dye removal to a desired level is briefly discussed. 2.1.4.1 Factors influencing efficiency: For ionizable solutes, the charge of the solute can greatly influence its extent of binding to a micellar assembly [34]. The ionic form of a molecule normally does not interact with and bind the micellar aggregate as strongly as does its neutral form. Thus adjustment of the solution pH for maximum extractability is of special importance when controlling experimental variables in CPE. With increasing pH, the efficiency of extraction increases up to pH 8.0 and then decreases. This is in accordance with the decrease in cloud point till pH 8.0 and a sudden increase at pH 9.2. Further, the pK value of BTB is 7.1. In the absence of any buffer solution, pH of the dye solution is 7.0 and there is no change in pH event after the extraction process is completed. Hence, all the parameters were optimized at this fixed pH of the medium. No significant increase in efficiency is observed with increasing [Dye] since the cloud point is not altered much with increasing the concentration of dye. The extraction efficiency of dye increases with the increase of surfactant concentration. The concentration of the micelle increases with the surfactant concentration, resulting in more solubilisation of dye in micelles. The surfactant concentration in the dilute phase remains constant (and equal to around CMC); the surfactant concentration along with the solubilised dye in the coacervate phase (micellar phase) increases to maintain the material balance[42-46]. The extraction of dye with TX-100 solution is due to hydrophobic interaction between BTB and hydrophobic micelles in the solution. However, with the increase of TX-100 concentration, the analytical signal becomes weak due to the increase in the final volume of the surfactant rich phase that causes pre concentration factor (phase volume ratio) to decrease [35]. In view of these observations, a 0.04 mol/dm3 triton X- 100 is used throughout. It has been shown that the presence of electrolyte can change the CP in different ways[36]. Salting out electrolyte such as NaCl, decreases the cloud point temperature. They can promote the dehydration of ethoxy groups on the outer surface of the micelles, enhancing the miceller concentration leading to solubilisation of more dye and resulting in a more efficient extraction [37] and reduce the time required for phase separation. A lower salt concentration gives a smaller pre concentration factor, due to the larger volume in the surfactant-rich phase at lower salt concentrations [38]. As shown in the fig the ability of salts to enhance extraction efficiency of the dye was in the order of Na2SO4>NaCl. Temperature has pronounced effect on the extraction of solute. (i) At high temperature, CMC of non-ionic surfactant decreases. (ii) the non-ionic surfactant becomes more hydrophobic due to dehydration of ether oxygen [39] and increase in micellar concentration and solubilization. A general preconcentration factor of 20-60 was obtained with this CPE method and similar pre concentration has been reported for other analytes (40). Typical preconcentration factors reported in the literature[41] varà ¯ed fiom 10 to 100. The CPE method gives a better preconcentration factor compared to conventional solvent extraction methods. In general, high pre concentration factors in CPE can be achieved using small amounts of surfactants which have large capacity to accommodate dye molecules. The hydrated nature and relative polarity of micelles, on the other hand, limit the extraction of dye into the surfactant-rich phase. From the viewpoint of concentrating the analytes present in aqueous solutions, the larger pre concentration factor, e.g., the smaller phase volume in the surfactant-rich phase is desired. A lower surfactant concentration gives a higher pre concentration factor. However, it becomes very difficult for sampling and accurate analysis with a very small volume of the surfactant-rich phase. On the contrary, excessive amount of added salt of â€Å"salting-out† effect can give the higher pre concentration factor, but it is likely forming the very viscous liquid crystalline phase, instead of the fluidic Liquid phase, in the system, making it difficult to separate the surfactant-rich phase. Therefore, optimization of the pre concentration factor is very critical in a feasible CPE technique. Hence, surfactant concentration of 0.04 mol/dm3 was chosen to conduct CPE experiments in this research. 2.1.4.2 Solubilization isotherm: The adsorption isotherm relating moles of solute solubilized per mole of surfactant[50] are presented in Figure2.1.8. The isotherm can be expressed according to Langmuir type expression: (2.1.6) Where, both m and n are functions of temperature. Figure 2.1.8 Solubilisation curve of BTB dye Assuming a homogeneous monolayer adsorption, the linearized Langmuir sorption model of equation (2.1.6) can be written as: (2.1.7) Plot of 1/qe vs. 1/Ce over the entire dye concentrations was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.983 as shown in Figure 2.1.9. Thus, the solubilization of dye obeys the Langmuir adsorption model. The calculated values of Langmuir parameters m and n from the slope and intercept of the linear plot of 1/qe vs. 1/Ce were found equal to 4.29X 10-3 (mol/mol) and 2.04X104 dm3 /mol, respectively. Figure 2.1.9 Langmuir isotherm of BTB dye 2.1.4.3 Thermodynamic parameters: The overall thermodynamic parameters ΔG0, ΔS0 and ΔH0 were calculated using equations (2.1.8, 2.1.9) [48,49]as follows. (2.1.8) - (2.1.9) Where T is the temperature in (K), qe/Ce is called the solubilization affinity. ΔS0 and ΔH0 are obtained from a linear plot of log (qe/Ce) versus (1/T), from Eq. (2.1.8) and. Once these two parameters are obtained, ΔG0 is determined from Eq. (2.1.9) and presented in Table 2.1.6. Plot of log (qe/Ce) versus (1/T) is shown in Figure 2.1.10. Table 2.1.6 : Thermodynamic parameters Temp = 80 ±0.1ËÅ ¡c; [BTB]initial =12.8010-5 mol/dm3 ; [TX-100] =4.010-2 mol/dm3 pH (  ±0.05) -à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  G ( KJ/mole ) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  S ( KJ/mole/K ) à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  H ( KJ/mole ) 353 343 333 6.0 19.57 16.93 14.28 0.27 73.92 7.0 22.11 18.75 15.38 0.34 96.76 8.0 21.10 18.63 16.16 0.25 66.06 Figure 2.1.10 log (qe/Ce) versus (1/T) 2.1.4.4 Design of experiment: The amount of surfactant required can be evaluated from the residual dye present in the dilute phase of the solution after conducting cloud point extraction can be determined [45]. qe is the mole of dye solubilized per mole of non-ionic surfactant. (2.1.10) Moles of dye solubilized can be obtained from mass balance equation, (2.1.11) (2.1.12) Where, A is the moles of dye solubilized in the micelles, V0 and Vd are the volume of the feed solution and that of the dilute phase after CPE, C0 and Ce are concentration of the BTB dye after CPE respectively; Cs is the concentration of surfactant in feed. From the equation 2.1.10, 2.1.11 and 2.1.12 we can write, (2.1.13) Moles of dye solubilized can be obtained from mass balance equation, Where, qe is the mole of dye solubilized per mole of non-ionic surfactant, x is moles TX-100 used, A is the moles of dye solubilized in the micelles, V0 and Vd are the volume of the feed solution and that of the dilute phase after CPE, C0 and respectively; Cs is the concentration of surfactant in feed. (2.1.14) Now, by involving the definition of fractional coavervate volume in the above equation we get, (2.1.15) - (2.1.16) Where a,b are the parameters a and b which are functions of temperature. Substituting the above equation in equation (8) we get, - (2.1.17) Substituting the above equation in equation (1) and rearranging we get, (2.1.18) From the above equation the desired surfactant required (Cs) can be obtained knowing the value of m and n the Langmuir constants, a and b the operating temperature constants, Ce the amount of dye in dilute phase after cloud point extraction. By using the above equation experiments which are conducted were compared for surfactant used and required are shown in Table 2.1.8. Table 2.1.8: Comparison data of required and used TX-100 at 80ËÅ ¡C 105 [BTB]initial mol/dm3 105[ BTB]dilute mol/dm3 102[ TX-100 ]used mol/dm3 102[ TX-100 ]Required mol/dm3 3.20 1.11 4.00 2.64 6.40 1.87 4.00 3.82 8.00 2.22 4.00 4.32 9.60 3.19 4.00 3.79 12.80 4.09 4.00 4.46 16.00 6.72 4.00 3.74 8.00 3.60 3.00 2.42 8.00 1.73 4.50 4.32 8.00 1.18 5.00 5.60