Buzz Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Buzz Marketing - Essay Example Yes, it will seem unfamiliar. Yes, you will be criticized. And yes, it will work†. (Hughes 2005, Chapter 2) Using word of mouth for promoting goods and services is an old tool, yet traditional marketing has only started using it since the audience became sceptical towards â€Å"traditional† advertising. As Knermouch and Green (2001, np) have it: â€Å"†¦the art of generating word-of-mouth has grown far more sophisticated since the early days of simple publicity stunts. Marketers are learning to turn their brands into carefully guarded secrets that are revealed to a knowing few in each community, who in turn tell a few more, who tell a few more, and so on. Rather than blitzing the airways with 30-second TV commercials for its new Focus subcompact, Ford Motor Co. recruited just a handful of trendsetters in a few markets and gave them each a Focus to drive for six months. Their duties? Simply to be seen with the car and to hand out Focus-themed trinkets to anyone who expressed interest in it†. Traditional advertising has ceased to be a reliable source of information for many people, and therefore the good old world of mouth is becoming one of the most powerful tools for the modern marketing specialists for building and promoting brands. People tend to believe the recommendations of their close ones- their relatives and friends- when choosing a product, and therefore the word of mouth is an important marketing tool. On the other hand, word of mouth is the communication that is quite difficult to manage. It is only possible for the company to influence the launch of informational campaign and supplying additional information using the channels that are accessible by the target audience. It is next to impossible to forecast how people will interpret and change this information. (Hughes 2005) Because the choice of the initial information to be spread is an important and not an easy step, it should be paid considerable attention: the target audience, source

Sexual Harassment in Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sexual Harassment in Organization - Essay Example In today's world, organisations and workplaces have become extremely diversified and have adopted varied stance s in terms of job processes and the general outlook. What is striking in such a scenario, is the prevalence of organizational or work ethics. In today's workplaces, harassment has become a very repetitive occurrence, with cases being reported every now and then. The various forms of harassment range that come under the purview have increased by the day, with sexual harassment topping the list. The issue came to the fore-front, in the 1970s and ever since, a number of committees, benches and organisations have come into the picture, to outline the relationship between work ethics and harassment. Sexual harassment as an abuse of power has become front-page news in the U.S. business press. Recently, BusinessWeek detailed the sexual harassment endured by salespeople at the U.S. subsidiary of Astra AB, a major Swedish pharmaceutical firm (Maremont 1996). This harassment was perpetrated by people at the highest levels of the organization and salespeople who did not comply found life at the firm extremely difficult. The attention to workplace sexual harassment generally focuses on harassment of employees by others within the same firm. [Insights into Sexual Harassment of Salespeople by Customers: The Role of Gender and Customer Power Leslie M, Fine, C. David Shepherd and Susan L. Josephs] When workplaces become diversified and new parameters of work assessment emerge, it is important to maintain workplace ethics. However, when cases of favourtism and sexual harassment emerge, it certainly goes against what is legally permissive in the ethical nature of actions in workplaces. It becomes difficult when talented individuals are put down, on account of the sexual favours received from other quarters. Besides this, when bosses do harass their subordinates and the like, it goes against moral codes of conduct. Organisational Behaviour is often considered at four different levels. Individual Behaviour, which deals with the single fundamental unit of the organisation, talks about the individualistic perspective. It revolves around an individual's perceptions, actions, notions, temperament and contribution to the organisation. At a higher plane, we have the Group Dynamics, that involves interactions of a group. It is inclusive of team work and team-bonding, while also delving into the nature of interactions, inter-group interactions, departmentalization and the like. An organisation can also be demarcated in terms of the diverse processes and the clubbing of groups under processes that are more or less the same. This is precisely the reason why we have various groups coming under one process, say, Marketing or HR, and working in synchronization within the department, and with the other departments as well. The organizational structure is another concrete player, which is characterised by the hierarchal set-up of the

Sexual Harrasment Essay Example for Free

Sexual Harrasment Essay He is trying to make her feel if she doesn’t continue the relationship with him it will cause a big problem and will spoil her name in society. He is forcing her to continue the relationship only with him. Linda offers sexual favors to her professor in order to get a passing grade. The professor agrees, and Linda receives a passing grade. Even though Linda offers sexual favors without professor compulsion, this is also a Sexual Harassment. Because, the professor is making use of Linda’s need to get passing grade. It clearly shows that Linda will get only passing grade if she does the sexual favor. A demand or request for sexual favor to do anything is clearly a sexual harassment. Mary, a supervisor, asks her male employee, Stan, to join her for dinner so they have will some quiet time away from the office to go over his performance evaluation. We are not clear about the intention of Mary here. If Mary really asks Stan to join her for dinner to discuss his performance evaluation it is good. Even if she discuss about performance, if she force Stan to join her for dinner it is harassment. It seems like, if Stan joins her for dinner, then only she is willing to go over his performance evaluation. Bob, a supervisor, makes comments about on a regular basis to his secretary, Susan, about how she is dressed for the day. Comments about clothing, personal behavior, or a person’s body are also one form of Sexual harassment. Bob’s comments on Susan’s dress for the day are Verbal Sexual Harassment. A customer in a restaurant grabs the rear end of a waitress. She complains about the customer to the manager, who says, â€Å"Ignore it, you’ll probably get bigger tip. Manager asking his waitress to ignore it for bigger tip is clearly the sexual harassment. Because, Manager is not willing to lose his customer on behalf of this and he is also encouraging these things to happen. Don posts pictures of scantily clothed women on his office walls. This is a more pervasive form of sexual harassment involving work conditions or behavior that make the work enviro nment hostile for the woman to be in. Display of pornography or sexist/obscene graffiti is an example of a hostile work environment. This is also one of the forms of Sexual Harassment.

Decision Focus Of Mis Information Technology Essay

Decision Focus Of Mis Information Technology Essay The report was intended to comprehend the theoretical and speculative aspects about the management information system, and its practical applications as well. The next thing to be done is providing recommendations to Amazon.com for a profitable information system to coordinate the operations and workforce activities, and incorporating novel processes while expanding business in the times of economic crisis. Management Information System Information system is comprised of integrated components used to gather, store, analyze and transfer the information. The technology used to manage and coordinate the information in a way that it can be retrieved when required is known as information technology. (Clarke, 2007) The information system is the one which collects the data both internally and externally, process it into information, pass this information to people working at varied levels of organizations, assist them in decision making in a timely and effective manner (Lucey, 2004). The management information system is the system which gives needed timely information to management for decision making, planning, and controlling of business operations effectively and efficiently. In this highly competitive world of technology, the management information systems are combination of man and hardware, which aids and provide support to the management to perform business operation with excellence. It is the man and computer based technology which collects the raw form of data, converts it into useful information, store it, and retrieve it when needed. This information is conducive for all managerial levels or hierarchies. The well built and structured information system is helpful to both business and its employees in acquiring their objectives and formulates decision making process easier at all organizational levels. (Laudon, 2006) Decision Focus of MIS Figure1 (Sourced: Lucey,7th Edi) Roles of MIS The organizations of the modern world have comprehended it well that information systems are essential for the growth of their businesses. They play a critical role in managing operations; perform routine tasks and future decision making. As a result, organizations will enhance their processes, improves customer service, and earn more market share and profits eventually. Thus it will be appropriate to say that a well structured and utilized management information system can act as a source of giving competitive advantage to organization, which is demand of the corporate sector globally (Clarke, 2007). Some critical roles played by the management information system are discussed here: Firstly, it supports business processes; the best illustration is inventory tracking or management, order delivery management, supply chain management. These systems are helpful in performing daily routine tasks or business operations in a more efficient manner, thus empowering employees to perform well and satisfy their customers (Luftman and Kempaiah, 2008). The next is that it supports in making decisions for normal day to day operations. This is the most important role played by the system helping employees at various levels in organization. The middle level used this information for making decisions regarding the service and product, while senior management used this information to make strategic decisions for future of business. Thus, it is the well structured and well designed management information system that assists in decision making at every management level because they are providing appropriate information to the management. (McAfee and Brynjolfsson, 2008). Another important role played by the information system is giving a competitive advantage. In industry settings, it acts as source of competitive edge in two ways. One way is to record and then present the information of customers, their behaviours, preferences, demographic influences and also in enhancing product quality, exposing the right product to right customers, and focussing on customer relationships. In another way, management can utilize this information to make changes and take decisions regarding businesses and product development to gain competitive edge (McAfee and Brynjolfsson, 2008). Types of Management Information system There exist four major types of the management information system. The Executive Support System resides at the top level management. It has a role in providing the corporate strategic information to senior management. Then is the Decision Support System, which serves to the middle management by providing information they require and helps them in decision making. Another system on same level is Management Information System, which provides internal and external information of customers and employees to the management. The most basic is the Transaction Support System, which provides information about daily business operations and helps employees to provide enhance services to their customers. These Transaction Support Systems are used to track inventory, record daily sales etc (Luftman and Kempaiah, 2008). Figure 2 (Sourced: Laudon Laudon 9th Edi) Strategic Weapon In past, the presence of management information system was not as vital as it is today, because it was employed for the purpose of assistance in transactions and daily operations only. But recently, these systems have gained importance due to the new picture of corporate landscape and culture. Now the time factor is present, the right information must be delivered in time to its respondents to take decisions on this basis. To take strategic decisions, it is essential to have accurate and timely information with the management. That is why the graph of importance of MIS is rapidly increasing. This makes it clear that information systems if implemented correctly and used efficiently can act as a strategic weapon of the company (Clarke, 2007). These information systems can be utilized in multiple ways. From the customersà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ perspective, these systems facilitate their interaction with the company, motivating them to do further transactions, and it can be used effectively on B2B business model. With the implementation of intelligent business information system, company can get the feedback from customers, perform analysis on it and use this for improvements in business operations and procedures. Thus it helps in building a strong business relationship with customers, and consequently organization can achieve competitive advantage (Preston and Karahanna, 2009). Some other advantage which organization can get from this MIS are enhanced efficiency of organization, improved inventories, just in time delivery of raw material and learning process from the data collected by this information system. This helps in increasing the business processes of the company and reduces cost of processes. This is how information systems can strategically used as business weapon (Preston and Karahanna, 2009). Information System Technology: Information communication system technologies are involved in almost every aspect of life. The whole process of acquiring, processing, storing and distributing verbal, theoretical and numerical information via computation is collectively known as Information communication technologies .(Lucey,2004). ICT is not only comprised of the hardware and software, but also structure of network and communication, structure of data and information with its access to different levels, user friendly, and also deals in operations and organizational strategies. To make long story short, these information communication systems are socio-technical as they integrates information, equipment, organization and people altogether .(Lucey,2004) Some main uses of information communication technologies are discussed in the figure below. Figure 3( Sourced Lucey, 7th Edi) It has been found that, information communication technologies (ICT) are not essential in every management information system, yet it is noted that if these ICTs are deployed in MIS then they can provide support to multiple managerial posts in organization. The figure below depicts the likelihood of applying this application at various levels in organization. Computer Application Feasible Area Figure 4(Sourced Lucey, 7th Edi) The information communication technologies can be deployed in organizational settings for varied reasons, some of which are: Corporate Data Information To communicate Creating Networks Internet Electronic Data Interchange World Wide Web Hardware and Software Management The information systems are complex systems, created from multiple components. These include people, resources, software, hardware, data and networks, each one having its own importance and management style. Some considerations need to be taken for managing any information system in organizations (Clarke, 2007). While talking about the hardware portion, it has to be kept in mind that hardware component of information system must be designed and created by forecasting the future requirements of the information. Same is done in case of software parts, yet in this case mostly current needs of the company are considered, which is problematic when business expands and information requirements are changed. Similar types of regulations are applicable on data and network of the information system. In case of the networks, future needs are kept in mind while designing and creating networks, while in data case, the needs of all management levels are considered before making data management system as every tier has its own particular specific need that is to be satisfied. This is why it is required to develop a highly flexible data management system in order to cater all types of information related needs (Luftman and Kempaiah, 2008). Example of MIS Here is a case study of management information system of Amazon.com is a US-based electronic commerce company. Amazon is one of the largest online business retailers in the United States with its Headquarter in Seattle, Washington. The case discussed below is a an example of using a profitable MIS setup in an organization, which helps in sustaining the business (Web1,2010) Management Information System at Amazon.com Users at Amazon The people using MIS at Amazon.com includes sales staff, collection team, marketing personnel, accountants, finance officers, inventories and procuring managers and teams. The usage rights varied from person to person in an organization on the basis of difference in designations they have. The ones who are executives and leaders of the team possess rights regarding business processes, managers are entitled to right for checking the information collectively and individually. This right is also given to the senior executives and head of departments, who can view all information, and get reports in different formats to check the performance of individual employee and whole organization as well. This is how the management of Amazon measures the performance of its employees (Web1, 2010) . Hardware Components The hardware components that are deployed in management information systems of Amazon are: Fax Machines Inbox Intel Core2Due Processing Systems Keyboard Modems Mouse Printers Dedicated servers Ups Software Components The software components incorporated in the MIS of the Amazon.com are of various kinds. one the kind is which are used as machine running software these include Microsoft Windows Office, Antivirus system and other are application that are designed for needs of different departments depending upon the nature of business they are handling. These applications include Tracer system, Econnect system, CRM system, Infinity Analysis portal and Octopus. One primary kind is used for running machines and known as system software such as Microsoft Windows Office, Antivirus, other software applications designed to cater the needs of the different departments which is dependent on the type of business they are dealing in. Some examples of these applications include: Tracer system Econnect system CRM system Infinity Analysis portal Octopus Sales Order Processing System Figure 5 Networks for Remote Locations Amazon.com acquires it network system and utilizes LAN (use Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network), and VPN (Virtual Private Network), to perform operations in remote areas without presence in the office. Example of WAN Figure 6(Source Web2) Data Component The data component of Amazonà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s MIS is comprised of the database management system, which gathers, stores, analyze, and retrieves data through servers and software applications. Recommendations Here, we have to provide some major recommendations to the Amazon who is expanding their business and focus is on optimizing the performance of their workforce by managing and controlling them. As we know Amazon is a US based organization who is intended to expand its business in South Asian region of the World such as Pakistan and India. That is why we have to recommend main points about the management information system for Amazon which will help it strategically. Some main aspects of MIS regarding management strategy and decision making are as under. Strategic Management through MIS In most cases, strategy making is not a well organized and structured process, and the role of new management information system is limited in information processing. Though MIS is required to collect information according to the environment and perform scanning and processing methods to identify the possible threats and opportunities. Some main characteristics of the strategic information utilized in decision making are as under: Outside Information: It is known that internal information is required continuously for business, yet a real fact is that organizations are working in any environment and not alone, so in this case they need extensive outside information for making decisions on strategic issues. This information can be the performance report of competitor in a market, financial patterns, technological advancements, political situations, market scenarios and trends etc. Long term Concerns: The strategic plans are made for the medium and long terms. That is why strategic information systems must be designed to cater the information like trends, forecasts, appraisals, previous performance records. Quality and Quantity: The element of the quality and quantity is required in the information gathered for the information system. The qualitative information is needed to formulate strategic plans and take decisions. The quantitative information is needed for daily operations like sales. Informal Processes: Formal procedures are important in strategic planning, but it is the fact that informal procedures to analyse the information is highly effective way. Studies indicate that an extra formal system in strategic levels makes the organization less adaptive and responding. Boundary less: The information at lower management level is boundary less in the organizations, but it has been noted that it is limited to a specific action. In case of strategic information, it should be broad and not restricted by any boundaries. Multi-Proportion Management: While building strategy or taking decisions, management must consider all the solutions to issue and look problem with all aspects. For instance, taking decision on one issue, management has to consider all factors such as financial, customers, marketing. Environmental Influences on Scanning The primary difference between, management information system made for strategic level and other MISs is that in case of strategic MIS, impact of environment is considered. In creating strategies or making decisions, it is essential to comprehend the involvement of environment and forecast potential changes that will occur in future, and also predict the future trends and influence factors of business. This whole process of collecting information whether formal or informal is known as scanning. The four main types of scanning includes: Undirected scanning: The scanning in which the information is searched out by the manager generally and not for any specific purpose. Conditioned scanning: In this type managerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s influence is involved. The influence come through any previous event or experience, and several portions of information are collected by it, instead of exploring specifically for the problem. Informal Directed Scanning: Here the information is searched particularly for any purpose or topic but in an informal or non structured format, rather manager following a formal setup. Formal Scanning: In this type, the information is collected for the specific purpose through formal and structured process Enterprise wide information systems An appropriate ERP system is recommended to the Amazon.com for optimizing its business. The advancements in networking and information technology have enabled the usage of shared data bases or ware houses by many information systems. This is done to provide support to the business operations and processes, linking them together to form enterprise wide information systems. One known or famous example of enterprise wide information system is Enterprise Resource Planning system. The retailers of known ERP systems include SAP, Baan, Oracle, and People-soft. The main task of ERP system is that it performs the integration, warehousing, application, and creates user friendly interfaces of the data and facilitate with data analyzing tools. It is a collection of multiple software modules which helps in bringing major business processes together. Each module performs its own task in analyzing the data. Some main modules of ERP system are: Inventory Management Logistics Bill of materials Sales and Marketing Human resource Management Accounts payable/receivable Role of ICT Applications in Managing Remote Workforce Trying to manage the operations and performance of its workforce in remote locations, (ICT) information communication technologies are used at all management levels so that information can be accessible whenever required, which enables the multinationals (MNCs) to operate globally even in remote areas. Thus, a well coordinated and designed MIS is vital for the business success and sustainability in this world of competition. Some examples of ICT applications which can be utilized for a useful management information system are discussed here. Automated Offices In order to carry out the information processing tasks in the company, technology of automating the offices is employed and in fashion these days. With help of such technologies, it is easier for the information to travel among different departments. For instance writing a memo, or report and email it to all departments. Office automation involves collection of software such as MS Office, Accounting software, Adobe etc. E Commerce E commerce is a specifically electronic or digital process, which includes activities both internally and externally businesses by information communication technology network such as internet, intranet and extranet. The whole business activities including sale, purchasing of services and goods, funds transfer all done electronically. E commerce involves e-marketing, B2B, B2C, C2B and etc. Another novel concept of this age is m-business, which has been evolved from the e-business. WAP (wireless application protocol) has made it possible to get connected on mobile phones. Some other latest applications includes tele- business, video conferencing, enabling the managers to connect with their team or subordinates from anywhere in the world. Location of Database It has been discussed in the case that major database of Amazon.com is located at its headquarters in Seattle, but with expansion of its business in South Asian countries and rest world, there might be some hurdles in having single database for all. The effect of having database in the headquarters is that, the operational efficiency in remote areas will decrease, due to failure of application to respond. Secondly, the holiday and time zone format in USA is different from that of country in South Asia. And this will be problematic for the staff of the remote operational area to handle queries when database employees will on leave. So having a single database is not recommended when Amazon is expanding business. In order to get in time support of operations, it is preferred to have a database in operational area. Same is required in the case of application development and support system. As these two tools are designed in the head office and used there, so the operations will be delayed because of this. This will results decline in the customer satisfaction and commitment. To cope up with such problems, databases and corresponding applications should be designed and developed in the operational country. Security of MIS It is highly important to consider the security of the information system. While dealing with ICT system which is networked via internet and intranet, its security be designed. The security procedures must ensure that only authorised people have access to the strategic information. The secrecy of the MIS should be on the top priority as this will make the business successful and if mishandled then cause losses. Conclusions The author has done the detailed study of the theoretical concepts of management information system in this assignment. Additionally, the sources of information, its storage, and processing are also discussed in the assignment. The importance of MIS in strategic decision making is the key issue discussed here, and keeping in view this, suggestions are provided by author for Amazon.com to expand its business with appropriate MIS to improve its effectiveness of business.

Andy Warhol Essay -- Pop Art Andy Warhol Artist Essays

Andy Warhol Works Cited Missing "I just paint things I always thought were beautiful, things you use every day and never think about†¦ I just do it because I like it. (Beckris 110) I just do it because I like it is Andy’s philosophy on life. Andy might just be the most interesting and at the same time the most confusing individual you will ever read about. Andy’s work is like none others. His art brought common day people together and showed the impact of contemporary society and the idea of mass media on values. Andy’s father Ondrej Wharhola is best described as a bald, burly man with a bulging belly and massive upper arms, pudgy nose and bristling sideburns. Ondrej was born in 1889 in Minkova. (Bekris, 6) He was married and living with Julia Warhola, mother of Andy, for three years in Mikova. In order to avoid being drafted into the Balkan conflict in 1912 he immigrated to Pittsburgh without her at the age of seventeen to work in a coal field in the industrial district of Philadelphia. ( Bekris, 7) Julia Warhola was born in a small village in the Capathian mountains outside of Czechoslovakia. Julia was the oldest and prettiest of her fifteen other siblings. She was also said to be the artistic one of the bunch. (Bekris, 7) In 1914 Julia gave birth to a baby girl. Because of the conditions due to the war the infant contracted influenza six months later and died. Julia’s mother was so depressed about the news of the infants death that she died one month later. (Bekris, 8-9) Julia was now reliable for her only two surviving sisters of ages six and nine. For the next four years Julia fled from the soldiers, hiding in woods and barns. She was supposed to be receiving money from Ondrej but because she was always on the run she never saw the money. From 1918-1921 she raised 160 dollars to go to the united states to find Ondrej. (Bekris, 9) Andy Warhol was born on September 28, 1930 in Forest City, Pennsylvania. Or so we think. This is what the original birth certificate read but Andy wanted people to believe he was born in Mc Keesport, or even Hawaii. He also stays true to believe the certificate is a forgery. Most books and other reportable sources confirm that he was indeed born in 1930 but the dates do range from 1925-1931 (Bekris, 10). Andy was raised in a coal mining town in Philadelphia. It was a dark musty town were the sky stayed black. The to... ... 10pm and at 4am on Sunday February 22, Min Chou, the private nurse who had been selected by the hospital from a registry, took Andy’s blood pressure and found it stable. She gave a progress report to the chief surgical resident by telephone at 11pm; presumably while the patient slept. At 5:45am Ms. Chou noticed that Warhol had turned blue and his pulse had weakened. Unable to waken him she summoned the floor nurse who in the words of a colleague, "almost had a stroke" A cardiac arrest team began resuscitation efforts but according to hospital sources, had difficulty putting a tube in Warhol’s windpipe because rigor mortis had started to set in. At 6:31am the artist was pronounced dead. The art world suffered a great lose with the death of Andy Warhol. His personal style will always move forward touching and changing people’s lives every day. Andy was a one of a kind and will never be recreated. To understand his art is a feeling many people over look. It is an every day reminder that we don’t take the time to look at what goes on around us. Now when I walk I wont just look down but all around me. At the trees, clouds, bricks under my feet, and the entire world moving around me.

Essay on Mother as Villain and Victim in Amy Tans The Joy Luck Club

Mother as Villain and Victim in Joy Luck Club      Ã‚  Ã‚   In The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan focuses on several mother-daughter relationships. One of the relationships explored is that between an immigrant Chinese mother and her American born daughter Jing-mei.   The mother expects Jing-mei to be a prodigy child - while pursuing this dream she unintentionally creates a serious conflict between her and her daughter.    To fulfill her unrealistic expectations, the mother pushes Jing-mei to be the best in anything and everything. At first, the reader may perceive the mother as the villain in the story; however, the mother just wants her daughter to have the life that she never had. Jing-mei does not understand her intentions.    Jing-mei's mother thought opportunity was everywhere in America, "America was where all my mother's hopes lay" (Tan 1208). The mother lost everything when she moved from China to San Francisco in 1949. In China she lost her family, her spouse, and she had to abandon her twin baby girls (Tan 1208). This implies that her mother had a difficult life and wanted to start a new life in America.    Unfamiliar with the customs of America, she had been brought up in a strict Chinese culture. Her mother probably raised her the same way, and therefore, that is where she learned her parenting skills. The Chinese life is strict, more so than the American life, and that was the only way the mother knew how to raise her daughter. The mother seemed to be the villain in the story, but she was only trying to be the caring parent the best way she knew how. She only wanted her daughter to be the best, but a conflict started when the daughter failed to meet her expectations.    In the beginning Jing-mei, th... ...he wanted to see her daughter become something better than what she had become. Instead of encouraging her daughter to become someone who she wanted to be, she ends up pushing her in the wrong direction. I think that Jing-mei finally realized why her mother did what she did. I agree with Ghymn when she states that "Jing-mei does care deeply what her mother thinks of her" (84). It is obvious that even though they were two kinds from two different cultures they still found forgiveness in the end.    Work Cited Souris, Stephen. "'Only Two Kinds of Daughters:'" Inter-Monologue Dialogicity in The Joy Luck Club." Melus 19.2 (Summer 1994):99-123. Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Vintage Contemporaries. New York: A Division of Random House, Inc. 1993. Willard, Nancy. Asian American Women Writers. Ed. Harold Bloom. Chelsea House Publishers, Philadelphia 1997.

Latest Innovations in Field of Chemistry Essay

One of the latest inventions developed by researchers from Stellenbosch University in South Africa is a one of a kind â€Å"tea bag† that makes use of nanotechnology to clean drinking water, making it free from contaminants and bacteria. It would be interesting to note that the â€Å"tea bag† is made of the same material that is used to make the actual tea bags. The only difference is that in the Stellenbosch researchers’ invention the ingredients are nanoscale fibers and grains of carbon, reports io9. Both fibers and grains of carbon filter water from all hazardous contaminants. In order to purify the water, the user needs to place the tea bag in the neck of a water bottle. The tea bag filters the water when the person drinks from the bottle. One bag can be used to filter up to 1 liter of water and it costs less than a half of an American cent. Loopwing Korea Unveils Solar-Powered Streetlights, Wind Power Generators Having the goal of reducing the demand for grid electricity, a South Korean company decided to create a new type of streetlights and renewable energy generators. Looping Korea presented its latest inventions at the Renewable Energy World 2010. Its loopwing-type wind power generators boast a one-of-a-kind loop-shaped wing structure that allows generating electricity from winds that have speed as low as 2m/s. In addition, the design also makes it possible for the device to produce power without much noise. One of the models of loopwing type wind power generator is called the TRONC. It features a hybrid solar and wind energy generator and it doesn’t need extra source of energy. Besides, the streetlight can be even connected to such external devices as LED display systems, informs Aving. TRONC represents a complex that includes a small windmill and sunlight panel mounted on top. It also features a loop wing style blade of that is 1. 5 meters in diameter. Latest Invention: LED Light Bulbs that Makes Use of Salmon DNA Researchers from the University of Connecticut recently unveiled their latest invention, which is a long-lasting LED light bulb that makes use of salmon DNA. Scientists added two different fluorescent colors to the DNA molecules, the dyes being spaced from each other at a distance ranging from 2 to 10 nanometers. After the colors were added, the DNA molecules are spun into nanofibers. The UV light that produces LED is then covered with DNA nanofibers. David Walt, a chemistry professor at Tufts University, explained: â€Å"When UV light is shined on the material, one dye absorbs the energy and produces blue light. If the other dye molecule is at the right distance, it will absorb part of that blue-light energy and emit orange light. † By changing the ratios of dyes, one can adjust the quality of light, for example turning cool white into warm white. But just like all latest inventions, this one still requires more studying. Besides there is currently no information regarding how many lumens per watt the salmon DNA LEDs generate, which is why it is too early to say anything about longer life or improved light quality. New research shows that exposing polymer molecular sieve membranes to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation in the presence of oxygen produces highly permeable and selective membranes for more efficient molecular-level separation, an essential process in everything from water purification to controlling gas emissions. Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study finds that short-wavelength UV exposure of the sponge-like polymer membranes in the presence of oxygen allows the formation of ozone within the polymer matrix. The ozone induces oxidation of the polymer and chops longer polymer chains into much shorter segments, increasing the density of its surface. By controlling this ‘densification’, resulting in smaller cavities on the membrane surface, scientists have found they are able to create a greatly enhanced ‘sieve’ for molecular-level separation – as these ‘micro-cavities’ improve the ability of the membrane to selectively separate, to a significant degree, molecules with various sizes , remaining highly permeable for small molecules while effectively blocking larger ones. The research from the University of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory partly mirrors nature, as our planet’s ozone layer is created from oxygen hit by ultraviolet light irradiated from the sun. Researchers have now demonstrated that the ‘selectivity’ of these newly modified membranes could be enhanced to a remarkable level for practical applications, with the permeability potentially increasing between anywhere from a hundred to a thousand times greater than the current commercially-used polymer membranes. Scientists believe such research is an important step towards more energy efficient and environmentally friendly gas-separation applications in major global energy processes – ranging from purification of natural gases and hydrogen for sustainable energy production, the production of enriched oxygen from air for cleaner combustion of fossil fuels and more-efficient power generation, and the capture of carbon dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gases. Chemists at Indiana University Bloomington have created a symmetrical, five-sided macrocycle that is easy to synthesize and has characteristics that may help expand the molecular tool box available to researchers in biology, chemistry and materials sciences. The molecule, which the researchers call cyanostar, was developed in the lab of Amar Flood, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences. It is described in an article in the journal Nature Chemistry, scheduled for publication in August and available online. Doctoral student Semin Lee is the lead author of the article, â€Å"A pentagonal cyanostar macrocycle with cyanostilbene CH donors binds anions and forms dialkylphosphate (3)rotaxanes. † Flood and Chun-Hsing Chen, research crystallographer in the IU Molecular Structure Center, are co-authors. â€Å"Macrocycles have been at the heart of molecular recognition experiments in recent years,† Flood said. â€Å"But they’re a dime a dozen. To make a contribution, you have to raise the bar. Cyanostar raises the bar not only because it is easy to make, but for its unprecedented ability to bind with large, negatively charged ions, suggesting potential applications ranging from environmental remediation of perchlorate and molecular sensing of biological phosphates, to processes related to the life cycle of lithium ion batteries. The creation follows from earlier work in Flood’s lab showing that organic molecules could be designed to remove negatively charged ions fro m solutions. While the molecules have a neutral charge overall, their structure causes them to exhibit electro-positive properties and bind with weakly coordinating anions that were once thought to be incapable of being captured by molecular receptors. breakthrough in fuel cell technology. Scientists from Julich and Berlin have developed a material for converting hydrogen and oxygen to water using a tenth of the typical amount of platinum that was previously required. With the aid of state-of-the-art electron microscopy, the researchers discovered that the function of the nanometre-scale catalyst particles is decisively determined by their geometric shape and atomic structure. This discovery opens up new paths for further improving catalysts for energy conversion and storage. The results have been published in the current issue of the respected journal Nature Materials (DOI: 10. 1038/nmat3668). Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are regarded as a clean alternative to conventional combustion engines, as, aside from electric energy, the only substance produced during operation is water. At present, the implementation of hydrogen fuel cells is being hindered by the high material costs of platinum. Large quantities of the expensive noble metal are still required for the electrodes in the fuel cells at which the chemical conversion processes take place. Without the catalytic effect of the platinum, it is not currently possible to achieve the necessary conversion rates. As catalysis takes place at the surface of the platinum only, material can be saved and, simultaneously, the efficiency of the electrodes improved by using platinum nanoparticles, thus increasing the ratio of platinum surface to material required. Although the tiny particles are around ten thousand times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, the surface area of a kilogram of such particles is equivalent to that of several football fields. Still more platinum can be saved by mixing it with other, less valuable metals, such as nickel or copper. Scientists from Forschungszentrum Julich and Technische Universitat Berlin have succeeded in developing efficient metallic catalyst particles for converting hydrogen and oxygen to water using only a tenth of the typical amount of platinum that was previously required. Researchers from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), S. Korea, developed a novel, simple method to synthesize hierarchically nanoporous frameworks of nanocrystalline metal oxides such as magnesia and ceria by the thermal conversion of well-designed metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The novel material developed by the UNIST research team has exceptionally high CO2 adsorption capacity which could pave the way to save the Earth from CO2 pollution. Nanoporous materials consist of organic or inorganic frameworks with a regular, porous structure. Because of their uniform pore sizes they have the property of letting only certain substances pass through, while blocking others. Nanoporous metal oxide materials are ubiquitous in materials science because of their numerous potential applications in various areas, including adsorption, catalysis, energy conversion and storage, optoelectronics, and drug delivery. While synthetic strategies for the preparation of siliceous nanoporous materials are well-established, non-siliceous metal oxide-based nanoporous materials still present challenges. A description of the new research was published (Web) on May 7 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. (Title: Nanoporous Metal Oxides with Tunable and Nanocrystalline Frameworks via Conversion of Metal-Organic Frameworks) This article will be also highlighted in the Editor’s Choice of the journal Science. Ionic liquid formulation improves herbicide Scientists in Poland and the US have reformulated the herbicide dicamba to reduce its environmental impact. The use of chemicals in agriculture is widespread, however, there are increasing concerns about their other environmental effects. Dicamba, used to control broadleaf weeds in grain fields and grasslands, is known to enter the environment via water runoff and evaporation following its application. In an attempt to reduce its volatility, a team led by Robin Rogers, from the University of Alabama, and Juliusz Pernak, from Poznan University of Technology, has formulated dicamba as an ionic liquid. Ionic liquids are liquid salts, consisting of a cation and an anion. Deprotonated dicamba assumed the role of anion and the team tested different cations to see which combination was most effective. The team formulated 28 new dicamba ionic liquids using hydrophobic cations that had surfactant or antimicrobial activities. ‘We have always thought of ionic liquids as dual-acting; that is, one can combine an active ingredient in both ions into a single salt,’ exaplins Rogers. By forming a hydrophobic ionic liquid, the water solubility of the herbicide was reduced. The new ionic liquids showed lower volatility, increased thermal stability and improved efficacy in field tests over the parent dicamba. Not only are the ionic liquid forms desirable because of the potential for lower environmental impact, they actually work better, leading to lower application rates of the chemicals,’ Rogers adds. Bill Johnson from Purdue University, Indiana, US, an expert in the development of weed management systems, comments that ‘if a less volatile form of the herbicide can still provide the same level of weed control, the concerns about off-site movement will be greatly reduced. ’ He also says that this approach could be taken with other weak acid herbicides, such as 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). The next step for Rogers and co-workers is to investigate other cations with the dicamba anion to create a herbicide with other useful properties. Sustainable iron catalyst for clean hydrogenation 27 June 2013Emma Eley An international team of chemists has reported a clean and green way to perform one of the most important industrial reactions for pharmaceutical and petrochemical synthesis. Platinum group metals are currently the catalysts of choice for hydrogenations due to their high activity. However, they are also expensive, toxic and very rare. Now, in a joint project between McGill University, Canada, and the RIKEN Institute, Japan, a polymer supported iron catalyst has demonstrated excellent performance as a hydrogenation catalyst in the most environmentally-friendly of reaction mediums – water. Iron is abundant and far less toxic than the precious metal catalysts currently used, but its use in industry is limited by it rusting in the presence of oxygen and water. ‘When rusted, iron nanoparticles stop acting as hydrogenation catalysts,’ explains project leader Audrey Moores from McGill University. The system we report solves this limitation and makes iron active in water. ’ Amphiphilic polymers, developed by Yasuhiro Uozumi at the RIKEN Institute, are used to protect the iron catalyst from being deactivated by water while still allowing reactants to reach the catalyst’s active site. After overcoming some synthetic difficulties involving the use of toxic iron pentacarbonyl, the team showed that their robust catalyst was tolerant to water and could be viewed as a realistic competitor to the platinum series metals. The authors demonstrate that the catalyst can be used in a flow system with little leaching, allowing for continuous hydrogenation at the multi-gram scale,’ says Jianliang Xiao, a catalysis expert at the University of Liverpool, UK. ‘As it stands now, the catalytic activity is still low; that said, the study presents an excellent example of green chemistry in practice – total atom-economic reduction in flow with an inexpensive and safe iron catalyst. ’Future work from the team will focus on developing and understanding the protective power of the polymer. We are also interested in developing this catalyst for other industrially relevant reactions,’ says Moores. Titanium takes on Haber–Bosch process The synthesis of ammonia under milder condition, using less energy and fewer resources, has moved a step closer. Scientists in Japan have created a trinuclear titanium polyhydride complex that can cleave the dinitrogen bond and form nitrogen–hydrogen bonds at ambient temperature and pressure without additional reducing agents or proton sources. 1 Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in our atmosphere, essential to life, yet largely inert. Some microbes generate bioavailable nitrogen by reducing nitrogen to ammonia. Industrially, ammonia is produced via the Haber–Bosch process, which is so energy intensive that it consumes 1% of the energy generated globally. The process combines nitrogen and hydrogen over activated iron surfaces to generate ammonia for use as a fertiliser or as a chemical feedstock. This titanium complex could be part of the answer to producing cheaper fertiliser  © Science/AAAS The intrinsic inertness of nitrogen has made it challenging to discover metal complexes that can both bind and activate it. By experimental and computational studies, we determined that the dinitrogen reduction by a trinuclear titanium hydride complex proceeds sequentially through scission of a nitrogen molecule bonded to three titanium atoms in an end-on-side-on fashion, followed by N–H bond formation,’ says study author Zhaomin Hou, of the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Japan. ‘The hydride ligands serve as the source of both electron and proton. ’ Cleaving the N–N bond and forming N–H bonds directly from a hydride complex has been seen only rarely, with some f the most influential work coming from Michael Fryzuk at the University of British Columbia, Canada, who has championed the ‘hydride route’ to dinitrogen complexes. 2 ‘The active sites of both major N2 reduction catalysts – nitrogenases and the Haber–Bosch process – have hydride species as their resting states, but in neither case is the detailed mechan ism of hydrogen loss and nitrogen cleavage known,’ says Patrick Holland of the University of Rochester, US. The authors, he adds, ‘conclusively determined the structures of many of the intermediates along the pathway, giving insight into possible structures and pathways of intermediates on the catalysts’. Fryzuk, who wrote an accompanying perspective,3 says the paper adds important fundamental knowledge about potential elementary reactions such as cleaving N–N triple bonds and forming N–H bonds, which are relevant to the Haber–Bosch process. He predicts it ‘will change the way people think about N2 activation so that in the future perhaps a soluble, suitably designed multi-metallic hydride complex will be able to both activate and functionalise molecular nitrogen productively to form ammonia or some other higher-value nitrogen containing material’. However, there still challenges to overcome to make this process practically useful, Hou says. But if successful the low temperature, low pressure synthesis of ammonia in smaller reactors is on the cards. Latest Invention: World’s First Battery Powered by Paper Sony has recently announced it managed to come up with a battery powered by paper. However, the whole process is more complex than simply using a standard paper. The batteries developed by the Japanese tech giant make use of enzymes in order to break down the glucose found in the cellulose of the paper (which by the way is made of wood pulp fibers). It would be interesting to note that Sony was able to demonstrate its bio-battery. The demo took place at the Eco-Products exhibition in Tokyo. During the presentation the paper was placed into a mix of water and enzymes. After a couple of minutes the liquid started generating enough power to activate a small fan. After enzymes broke down the paper, they were left with sugar that was produced from cellulose. Then they were able to process the sugar to produce hydrogen ions and electrons. The latter then went through an outer circuit to produce power. Mixed with oxygen in the air, the hydrogen ions were then able to create H2O. â€Å"This is the same mechanism with which termites eat wood to get energy. Bio batteries are environmentally friendly and have great potential as they use no metals or harmful chemicals,† explained Chisato Kitsukawa, a PR manager at Sony. Scientists use electron ‘ink’ to write on graphene ‘paper’ Nanoscale writing offers a reliable way to record information at extremely high densities, making it a promising tool for patterning nanostructures for a variety of electronic applications. In a recent study, scientists have demonstrated a simple yet effective way to write and draw on the nanoscale by using an electron beam to selectively break the carbon atoms in single-layer graphene. The researchers, Wei Zhang and Luise Theil Kuhn at the Technical University of Denmark in Roskilde, Denmark; and Qiang Zhang and Meng-Qiang Zhao at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, have published their study on using electron ink to write on graphene paper in a recent issue of Nanotechnology. â€Å"The ability to record information has been directly correlated with the process of human civilization since ancient times,† Wei Zhang told Phys. org. â€Å"Paper and ink are the two essential factors to record history. Currently, information communication has proceeded onto an unprecedented scale. † Nanoscale writing, which is essentially the manipulation of matter on the nanoscale, has already been widely explored. The current methods can be classified into two groups: lithography (top down), which imprints a pre-made pattern on a substrate, but has restricted resolution; and self-assembly (bottom up), which manipulates atoms or molecules individually, but faces challenges with controllability. Herein, the researchers proposed a combination method based on both types of methods to overcome the difficulties of each, which they demonstrated on â€Å"the thinnest paper in the world†: graphene. â€Å"The rise of graphene calls for broad attention,† Qiang Zhang said. â€Å"One distinct characteristic is its flatness, which provides the perfect opportunity to be regarded as the thinnest paper. In order to directly write on this ultimate thin paper, the suitable ink must be found. At the small scale, typically nanoscale, the ink candidate ust meet the qualification as both high-resolution writing and visualization function. Therefore, high-energy electrons in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) are the best choice. The electron beam can be manipulated as ink for direct writing, but is by itself invisible. † When an electron beam (green) writes on graphene paper, some of the carbon atoms in the graphene are kicked off, and external carbon atoms are deposit ed onto the dangling bonds to form an irregular structure that appears as â€Å"ink. † Credit: Wei Zhang, et al.  ©2013 IOP Publishing Ltd. As the researchers explain, the carbon atoms in graphene are sensitive to a variety of irradiation effects. Here, a 300 keV electron beam was used to break local carbon-carbon bonds in single-layer graphene. When the bonds break, carbon atoms are kicked off, resulting in dangling bonds that are free to attract new carbon species from the vacuum and on the graphene surface. These new amorphous carbon species become absorbed onto the dangling bonds to stabilize the edge, forming only along the scanning direction of the electron beam.