Kabaddi: South Asian Games and Bonus Line

Kabaddi is aptly known as the â€Å"GAME OF THE MASSES â€Å"due to its popularity, simplicity, easy to comprehend rules, and public appeal. The game calls for no sophisticated equipment what so ever, which makes it a very popular sport in the developing countries. It is basically an out door sport played on clay court, of late the game is being played on synthetic surface indoors with great success. The duration of the game is 45 minutes for MEN & Junior BOYS with a 5 minutes break in between for the teams to change sides.The duration of the game is 35 minutes with a 5 miniutes break in between for WOMEN, GIRLS, Sub-Junior BOYS and Sub-Junior GIRLS. Kabaddi is a combative team game, played on a rectangular court, either out-doors or indoors with seven players on the ground for each side. Each side takes alternate chances of offence and defense. The basic idea of the game is to score points by raiding into the opponents court and touching as many defense players as possible without getting caught on a single breath. During play, the players on the defensive side are called â€Å"Antis† while the player of the offense is called the â€Å"Raider†.Kabaddi is perhaps the only combative sport in which attack is an individual attempt while defense is a group effort. The attack in Kabaddi is known as a ‘Raid'. The antis touched by the raider during the attack are declared ‘out' if they do not succeed in catching, the raider before he returns to home court. These players can resume play only when their side scores points against the opposite side during their raiding turn or if the remaining players succeed in catching the opponent's raider. Yoga, the Indian science to control body and mind through meditation and self-control . lays an integral part of Kabaddi. The raider has to enter the opponent's court chanting the word â€Å"Kabaddi† while holding his breath and has to continue to do so until he returns to his home court. This is known as ‘Cant', which is closely related to â€Å"Pranayama† of yoga. While Pranayama is about with holding breath in order to exercise internal organs, cant is the means to with hold breath with vigorous physical activity. This is perhaps one of the few sports to combine yoga with hectic physical activity.The game calls for agility, good lung capacity, muscular co-ordination, presence of mind and quick responses. For a single player to take on seven opponents is no mean task, requires dare as well as an ability to concentrate and anticipate the opponent's moves. TECHNIQUES OF KABADDI TOP ORIGIN The sport has a long history dating back to pre-historic times. It was probably invented to ward off croup attacks by individuals and vice-versa. The game was very popular in the southern part of Asia played in its different forms under different names.A dramatized version of the great Indian epic, the â€Å"Mahabharata†. has made an analogy of the game to a tight situat ion faced by Abhimaneu, the heir of ‘ the Pandava kings when he is surrounded on all sides by the enemy. Buddhist literature speaks of the Gautam Buddha playing Kabaddi for recreation. History also reveals that princes of yore played Kabaddi to display their strength and win their brides! The game, known as Hu-Tu-Tu in Western India, Ha-Do-Do in Eastern India & Bangladesh, Chedugudu in Southern India and Kaunbada in Northern India, has undergone a sea chance through the ages.Modem Kabaddi is a synthesis of the game played in its various forms under different names. TOP FORMS OF KABADDI AMAR Amar literally means invincible. This is a form of Kabaddi, which is played based -on points scored by both sides. The play field has no specific measurements and nine to eleven players constitute each of the teams. In this form of Kabaddi, there is no ‘out' and . revival' system or ‘Iona' but time is the deciding factor. The main advantage of this form of the game is that tile players remain in the court through out the match and are able to give their best performanceGEMINI This form of Kabaddi is played with nine players on either side, in a play-field of no specific measurements. The principle characteristic of this form of Kabaddi is that a player who is put out has to remain out until all his team members are put out. The team that is successful in putting out all the players of the opponent's side secures a point. This is akin to the present system of ‘Iona'. After all the players are put out, the team is revived and the game continues. The game continues until five or seven ‘Iona' are secured. The game has no fixed time.The main disadvantage of this form of Kabaddi is that the player Is not in position to give his best performance since he is likely to remain out for the better part of the match until a Iona is scored. SANJEEVANI This form of Kabaddi is the closest to the present game. In this form of Kabaddi, players are put out and re vived and the game lasts for 40 minutes with a 5-minute break in between. The team consists of nine players on each side. The team that puts out all the players on the opponent's side scores four extra points for a ‘Iona'.The winning team is the one that scores the maximum number of points at the end of 40 minutes. The play field is bigger in this form of Kabaddi and the ‘cant' was different in various regions. Modem Kabaddi resembles this form of Kabaddi a great deal especially with regard to ‘out & revival system' and ‘Iona'. The present form of Kabaddi is a synthesis of all these forms of Kabaddi with a good number of changes in the rules and regulations. TOP THE GAME'S HISTORY Kabaddi attained National status in the year 1918. Maharashtra was the pioneer state to bring the game to the National platform and give it further popularity.Standard rules and regulations were formulated in 1918 but were brought out in print in the year 1923 and in this very year, an All India Tournament was organized at Baroda with these rules. Kabaddi has not looked back since then and numerous tournaments are organized all over the country through out the year. Kabaddi received its first Inter-National exposure during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, demonstrated by Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal, Amaravati, Maharashtra. The game was introduced in the Indian Olympic Games at Calcutta, in the year 1938.It was in 1950, that the All India Kabaddi Federation came into existence. Regular conduct of National level championships as per laid down rules and regulations began with effect from the year 1952. After the formation of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, the first men's Nationals were held in Madras (now re-named Chennai), while the women's Nationals were held in Calcutta in the year 1955. The rules were modified and some changes were introduced to the game during the National Championships held at New Delhi in the year 1954.Efforts were made to demonstrat e the game in the World Youth Festival held at Moscow in the year 1957, but due to various unforeseen reasons, this could not be accomplished. The game was included in the curriculum of the Indian University Sports Control Board as a main sports discipline in the year 1961. The game got further recognition when the School Games Federation of India included it in the school games in the year 1962. This body has taken up the responsibility of organizing state and national level competitions for school going children all over the country in various sports on a regular basis, every year.The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, the new body, came into existence in the year 1972. This body was formed with a view to popularize the game in the neighboring countries and organize regular National level Men and Women tournaments. After the formation of this body, sub-junior and junior sections were included in Kabaddi national level tournaments, as a regular feature. Kabaddi was included in th e curriculum of Regular Diploma courses in coaching conducted by the National Institute of Sports, the premier institute to develop sports in the country with effect from the year 1971.There after, qualified coaches in Kabaddi are being produced every ear. The neighboring countries, Nepal & Bangladesh also send I their coaches for the diploma course in various disciplines including Kabaddi, regularly. These qualified coaches are equipped to train players at different levels in a systematic manner with sports science back up. In the year 1974, the Indian men's team toured Bangladesh as part of the cultural exchange program to play five test matches in different parts of the country.The Bangladesh returned the visit in the year 1979 and played five test matches in India. The Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation was formed in the year 1978, during the silver jubilee celebrations of National Kabaddi Championships in India, organized at Bhilai, Madhya Pradesh. The first Asian Championship in Kabaddi was organized in Calcutta, in the year 1980. A goodwill tour was organized in the year 1981 in which, the Indian men & women teams visited Thailand, Japan and Malaysia to play exhibition Kabaddi matches.Federation Cup Kabaddi matches also commenced in the year 1981. Kabaddi was included as a demonstration game in the IX Asian Games hosted by India in the year 1982. In the year 1984, an open Inter- National tournament was organized at Bombay (now renamed as Mumbai), in India. During the Tri-Centenary celebrations of the city of Calcutta, an Inter-National Invitation Kabaddi Tournament was organized in the city. The South Asian Federation included Kabaddi as a regular sports discipline from the year 1984. Kabaddi was played for first time in the SAF games at Dacca, Bangladesh.Since then Kabaddi is being included in every SAF Games, which is played every once in two years. For the first time in the Inter-National Kabaddi scenario, India faced defeat at the hands of Pakistan an d had to be satisfied with second place, winning the silver medal, in the VI SAF Games at Dacca, Bangladesh, in the year 1993. The second Asian Championship was hosted by India and was organized at Jaipur, Rajasthan. Malaysia and Japan participated for the first time in this Championship. In the XI Asian Games held in the year 1990 at Beijing, China, Kabaddi was included in the main disciplines.This was a major landmark in the history of Kabaddi. India won the Gold Medal, which was a proud and unforgettable moment for Kabaddi lovers who had strived to bring Kabaddi to the Asian platform. India has been the reigning champion in the succeeding Asian Games held in 1994 at Hiroshima, Japan and in the Asian Games held in 1998 at Bangkok in Thailand. An International Women Kabaddi tournament commenced in the year 1995, called the Nike Gold Cup, sponsored by NIKE, Japan. The III Asian Championship was hosted by Sri-Lanka in the year 2000.For the first time, Sri-Lanka secured a silver medal , defeating Kabaddi stalwarts Pakistan, in this Championship. Kabaddi will be introduced to the African countries as a demonstration sport in the Afro-Asian Games, which is to be hosted by India in the year 2002. This is a feather in the cap for Kabaddi lovers and has been made possible thanks to the efforts of Mr. J. S. Gehlot, President, Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India and the Indian Olympic Association. TOP DEVELOPMENT OF THE GAME There is a gradual but marked change in the style of the game during the past fifty years.What was once considered a game of brawn is not so now. The introduction of more techniques to the came has made it relatively easier for a player with more skill than weight to score points against better-built opponents. Over the years, the game's pattern changed along with the rules and the size of the playfield. The concept of Kabaddi as an Indigenous Game of India first came up during the year 1921 in Maharashtra, when a certain framework of rules was prep ared and the game was played on the pattern of Sanjeevani & Gemini in a combined form.A special committee was constituted in 1923 which amended the rules. These rules were applied in an All India Kabaddi Tournament organized during the same year. It was the Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal, Amaravati, Maharashtra, which took up the task of organizing and developing Kabaddi in a more systematic & scientific manner. This Institution believes in the maxim † A healthy mind in a healthy body†, and has been doing yeoman's service to sports in general and indigenous games in particular, over the years.During the years 1927 to 1952, Kabaddi was played in different parts of the country based on rules framed by the various clubs and organizing committees, which mushroomed and gained in prominence. There were frequent disputes over the rules during tournaments owing to lack of uniformity in the rules and regulations followed in various parts of the country. In Maharashtra, the pionee ring state to regularize the game and bring it to the National platform, Kabaddi, which was known as â€Å"Hu-Tu-Tu†, was played according to the rules framed by the Deccan Gymkhana from 1928 to I 938.The introduction of the game to the Inter-national arena as a demonstration game in the 1936 Berlin Olympics led to the inclusion of Kabaddi in the list of priority games of the Indian Olympic Committee, in the year 1940. Thereafter, Inter-provincial Kabaddi tournaments were organized biannually. The matches at the district and provincial level were played as per the rules framed by the Akhil Maharashtra Sharirik Shikshan Mandal, while the Inter-Provincial Championships were based on Buck's Rules of Games and Sports, published by Mr. H. C Buck, Founder principal of YMCA College of Physical Education, Madras.The Indian Olympic Games were re-named as National Games in the year 1952 and are since being organized once in a year instead of biannually. The All India Kabaddi Federation , which was formed in the year 1952 appointed a ‘Rules Sub-Committee' with the express purpose of laying down standard rules and regulations to be followed by affiliated provincial units all over the country. A new set of rules were framed by the Rules Sub-Committee based on Buck's Rules and the game rules followed till then by the Akhil Maharashtra Sharirik Shikshan Mandal.The game's pattern also changed over the years, along with the standardization of rules and regulations. Some of the major changes in the game's pattern include the introduction of the Unproductive Raid Rule, Time Out system, Bonus Line Game, etc that did not change the basic structure of the game but all the same had a lot of impact. Some of the major changes that had an impact on the game are being elaborated in this chapter for the benefit of the readers. UNPRODUCTIVE RAID RULEThe Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation at the behest of certain member countries introduced the Unproductive Raid Rule. The ‘ rule reads as follows. â€Å"If in three consecutive raids by a side no point is scored by either side, the opponent's will get a point. The referee shall immediately declare such point which is to be recorded in the running score sheet by cutting the number with a cross mark â€Å"X†. The counts of such unproductive raids shall not be carried over to the game after ‘Lona', recess at half time and to extra time. â€Å"[Rules of Kabaddi Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation 1980]As per the rule, in case no point is scored in three consecutive raids, the opponent's side automatically gains a point. The referee is to immediately declare the point which shall be recorded in the running score sheet with the mark ‘X'. Though the score sheets records the scoring of a point, there is to be no revival of teammates as in the normal points scored. The idea behind the introduction of this rule was to make sure that the raider went all out to struggle and gain points in order to avoid the risk of giving away points to the opponent's side through three consecutive unproductive raids.However, it did not work out the way in which it was visualized, since the game lost some of its thrill and the scores did not reflect the true picture of the team's performance. After practicing the rule for three years in the National as well as Inter-National level, it was unanimously decided by the Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation and the Amateur Kabaddi federation of India to cancel the rule. Now the rule is not in force at either the National or the inter- National level anymore. TIME OUT SYSTEM The time out system has recently been introduced in the Asian and Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India rules.Hither to, â€Å"Time Out† was allowed when called by the captain of the team, with the permission of the referee, only in the event of injury of a player, not exceeding two minutes. Even in such an instance, no player on either side was allowed to leave the court witho ut the permission of the referee. The Time Out Rule reads: † Each team shall be allowed to take two ‘time out' of 30 seconds in each half. Such time out may be called by the captain/coach of the team with the permission of the referee. † †¢During the time out, team shall not leave the ground.Any violation is committed by the player/s/coach; a technical point shall be awarded to the opponent team. †¢Official time out: In the event of any injury to a player only, the referee shall call such time out. Such time out should not exceed two minutes. † BONUS LINE GAME The bonus line rule came into existence in the year 1978 as an out-come of some experiments conducted during a workshop organized by the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India in the year 1976, to make the game more interesting. The Bonus Line is a line drawn parallel to the baulk line at a distance of one meter from the baulk line towards the end line.The rule reads: †¢Bon-us Line should be drawn at a distance of one meter from the baulk line towards the end lines. †¢One point shall be awarded to the raider when he completely crosses the Bonus Line. If the raider is caught, he shall be declared out and the opponent shall be awarded one point. One point shall also be awarded to the raider for having crossed the bonus line first. In this situation, the raider shall be awarded first point. †¢The bonus line will be applicable when there are minimum six players in the court.The bonus point shall be awarded by the Referee/Umpire after the completion of the raid, by showing thumb upwards towards the side which scores. †¢There shall be no revival for bonus point. †¢The bonus point shall be marked in the shape of a triangle in the running score. †¢If the raider after crossing the bonus line reaches home court safely touching one or more antis he will be awarded one bonus point in addition to the numbers. † It is further clarified that crossing th e Bonus Line is not compulsory and this rule applies only when the raider crosses the bonus line before the struggle.This rule makes the game more interesting since agile raiders can score points for their side without the risk of a struggle. A good defense is required to counter the raider's move to cross the Bonus Line and as such, the defense will concentrate on the Bonus Line, which will make the playing area smaller and increase the game's tempo. Without the Bonus Line, it is possible that both sides begin very cautiously and end up with zero or single digit points, which makes the match very dull and slow.It is also possible that neither the raider nor the defense will take any risk, which will make the result of the match very predictable. This rule is being followed in the Kabaddi tournaments at all levels in India and efforts are being made to include the rule at the Asian Level. In the meeting of the Asian Amateur Kabaddi Federation held during the SAF Games at Katmandu, N epal 1999, it was decided that the Bonus Line Rule be adopted by all member countries on an experimental basis for competitions at National level so as to consider the inclusion of the rule in the next Asian Games 2002.

Jones-Blair Case Anaylsis Essay

Strategic Issues and Problems: The Jones Blair Company competes in a 50-county area throughout Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Their major business and financial center is located in eleven county Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan areas. Jones Blair Company is a privately held corporation that produces and markets paint under the Jones-Blair brand name. A large portion of the maturing paint industry, $10 billion, is established from architectural coatings and the annual growth rate is expected to equal that of general inflation in the coming years. Dollar sales have increased at an average annual rate of 4 percent per year over the past decade. The company has been very successful in maintaining their margins even with increased research and development material and labor costs. A small number of regional paint manufacturers have competed successfully against paint manufacturer that distribute their products national. Major producers of paint for the architectural coatings segments account for 60 percent of sales in the architectural coating segments. The competition is pretty stiff when it comes to private store brands or specialty stores. Even with the growing success of Jones Blair it is not enough and in order to reach their business goals at a time when growth is nonexistent, Jones Blair must take immediate action and surge their sales team and change their sales energies. Mass merchandisers pose a serious threat to the future achieved sales levels of Jones Blair Company. Jones Blair Company is currently looking for solutions for gaining more consumers through marketing their architectural coatings and sundries in the southwestern United States. Market Segmentation The market of Jones Blair can be divided to two groups: Dallas-Fort Worth area and Non Dallas-Fort Worth. Among these two areas, there are the contractors, the DIY households and the professional painters. From reading case, I gathered that the estimated dollar volume of architectural paint and allied products sold in Jones Blair’s 50 countries service area in 2004 was $80 million (excluding contractor sales). The DFW are accounted for 60 percent or $48 million, while the remaining 40 percent or $32 million is sold in the other areas outside the DFW area. 70 percent of the DFW sales are accounted for by do-it-yourselfers while the other 30 percent is sold to professional painters. In the other areas outside of the DFW area 90 percent of sales are accounted for by do-it-yourselfers while the other 10 percent is sold to professional papers. (See Exhibit 2). This would means the percentage of the market segment is as following: DFW ($48 millions) Non-DFW ($32 millions) Professional Painters 70% ($33.6 millions) 30% ($9.6 millions) DIY households 30% ($14.4 millions1) 70% ($22.4 millions) Plan of Action The senior management team has examined the paint industry, especially the architectural paint markets, and they have yet to come to a conclusion. The president of Jones Blair, Mr. Alexander Barrett, is planning to have another meeting with his executive team where they will each present their suggestions and he has exclaimed a decision must be made. Recommendations Jones Blair executives have developed four alternatives to relieve the company’s marketing problem (which are outlined as follows): a) Cut price by 20% b) Spend additional $350,000 on corporate advertising; c) Hire one additional sales representative d) Do Nothing (Status Quo) a) Cut price by 20% Compared to other leading national brands, Jones Blair is priced relatively high. This is based on the extremely high quality and performance of the products. By cutting price, Jones Blair will be able to stay competitive in price with other the other products on the market. b) Spend an additional $350,000 on corporate advertising This money will be used to increase awareness. Most of it will be spent on television ads targeted mainly in the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) area at the do-it-yourself market. Brand image is important to consumers and television ads are a great way to get their name out. Most of this population is aware of this product and only some of this population would purchase it. c) Hire an additional sales representative Hiring an additional sales representative will allow Jones Blair to focus on new markets. These markets should be outside of the DFW area and allow for new cities and states to recognize Jones Blair. d) Do Nothing (Status Quo) Since Jones Blair has continually seen profits each year; they should maintain their current marketing objectives and do nothing. Jones Blair has done an excellent job of this in the past by watching the margins and controlling costs. By doing nothing, the company will not need to spend any additional money. e) Alternative Recommendations a.) Cut price by 20% In 2004 architectural product sales volume was $12,000,000. Jones Blair has a current net profit of $1.14 million, and to stay profitable it must maintain this amount. $12,000,000*.35= $4,200,000 If Jones Blair reduced its price by 20% the contribution margin will drop to 15%. ($12,000,000)*.15 = ($1,800,000) If the company drops the price by 20% the company will see a 33% increase in sales. ($1,800,000 * .33) =$4,200,000 ($594,000) STRENGTHS: Jones Blair will sell more products, because it will be able to compete with its competitors in price. WEAKNESSES: May not be able to sell enough in volume to cover cost of goods sold. If the price is more competitive with other companies it may not be looked at as superior quality. b.) Spend additional $350,000 on corporate advertising. The marketing department proposes a television campaign targeted at the DFW do-it-yourself market. This will cost an additional $350,000, but will significantly increase the awareness of Jones Blair products. Research has proven that brand awareness is a major factor in purchasing decisions. If Jones Blair does agree to use this method the company will need to make at least $122,500 to break even and cover the cost of this new promotion ($350,000/.35= $122,500). Most of the DFW consumers are do-it-yourselfers, so a television ad will be beneficial in this market. STRENGTHS: Consumers will become aware of Jones Blair. Do-it-yourselfer’s account for 70% of volume in the DFW area. Advertising is proven to increase awareness, and awareness is a critical factor in consumer purchasing decisions. WEAKNESSES: Almost doubling current advertising costs ($360,000+$350,000). This recommendation requires a large budget and has little guarantee of results because about 75% of the viewing au dience does not buy paint. Consumer buying process shows household buyers choose a store first, not a brand; therefore, cooperative ad is required, not brand advertising. c.) Hire an additional sales representative. Sales outside of our home territory DFW are crucial for maintaining competition in the market. A sales rep would cost the company $60,000 a year. So the company would need ($60,000/.35) about $171,428.58 of additional profits to cover this. 120 retailers are located outside of DFW. If we look at our current dollar amount needed to stay profitable $4,200,000 and divide that by stores…$4,200,000/120= $35,000 So… $171,428.58/$35,000 = about 5. So the company would require a new sales rep to acquire at least 5 new accounts a year to breakeven. STRENGTHS: New clients may bring more opportunity to the table through word of mouth. Doesn’t cost the company a significant amount of money to do. WEAKNESSES: Does not promise new clients. It’s only concentrating on most profitable market, DFW. d.) Do nothing (Status Quo) Jones Blair will not change any of their marketing strategies. STRENGTHS: Does not cost the company any extra money to maintain current objectives. Jones Blair is currently making money, why change? WEAKNESSES • Jones Blair will not always be profitable in the future; the cost of research and development will only increase. Needs to stay competitive in the market and not looking into long term vision of the company. Final recommendation Jones Blair needs to look into the future and envision the company competing with competitors. Its best bet is to focus on the consumers in its main home market, DFW. If they can gain awareness of the home market, sooner or later word will spread throughout all of their markets and business will boom. Making a $1,000,000 minimum income looks like pocket change. Right now Jones Blair can afford this and still have a $400,000 profit. Target Market The target market for Jones Blair is consumers in its main home market, DFW. Specifically the consumers in their architectural coatings and sundries arena. Marketing Mix Promotion: Jones Blair Company advertising can potentially boost their clientele bringing more awareness to the DIY segment in the southwestern area of the United States. This was essentially the objective of the executive meeting and advertising is proven to increase awareness, and awareness is a critical factor in most consumer purchasing decisions. Place: The Company distributes its product through 200 independent paint stores, lumber yards and hardware outlets. With the expanded advertisements Jones Blair can expand to their marketing scope connecting with more consumers, especially in the southwestern area of the US. Price: Almost doubling current advertising costs ($360,000+$350,000), advertising would be the best way to reach the masses in the regions that are going unnoticed. Product: Architectural coatings and sundries supplied throughout the southwestern United States.

Economic Development

The accelerated economic growth has compelled the employers and firms to hire a set of highly skilled and well educated workforce to keep up the pace with the dynamic developments. Employees worldwide have several reasons for their inability to take up a job like unsuitable geographic conditions, not being up to the mark with certain qualifications etc. but on the other hand, India is one such country where workforce is available in abundance but there are only limited candidates suitable to fill up the jobs and thus employer finds it difficult to find a perfect candidate. Shortage of relevant skills including hard and soft skills, being uneducated or unqualified results in less or no employability. Moreover, unlike other countries which are facing a burden of ageing population, India has a benefitting edge with a unique 20-30 years window of majority of the population and thus has a supporting demographic dividend. The main focus for the paper has turned to skill gap in the economy. A study by Rupam Jyoti Deka and Bhavika Batra (2016) has focused on the skill gap prevailing in the country. Indian workforce needs to acquire skills and knowledge in order to gain employability. As per the Planning Commission Reports of 2008, India has a huge skill gap compared to other countries. Percentage of workforce receiving skill training (2008) With the rising influence of globalization, India has immense opportunities to establish its distinctive position in the world economy. The rural workforce still lacks in skill development and good quality education for them to qualify and secure a job {Radhika Kapur, (2014)}. They need to develop skills for the purpose of obtaining skill sufficiency in resource utilization, governance, leadership, technology, management and so on. A study by A. Mahendra (2015) suggests that education alone does not suffice. For proper execution, skills are necessary. The importance of skill is an unattended area except in few areas like Medicine, Engineering etc. that too in very few institutes. The graduates are still struggling in free and confident communication, lack of boldness to present the presentations and projects. India is composed by demographic dividend with multiple languages, cultures, religion etc. So teaching in common language is not possible, if we continue doing this, other issues are cropped up. In 2014, the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Damodar Das Modi announced and requested the global economies to ‘produce in India' by launching a campaign ‘Make in India'. About 63% of Indian youth indicated a dire need to create employment in manufacturing sector, a study by Ankul Pandey and Prof. D.K. Nema (2017) indicated. Another paper by Ankul Pandey, Prof. D.K. Nema (2017) and AnnaLee Saxenian (2002) raised the concerns about an issue of Brain Drain or Brain Circulation. Brains of Indian people are immeasurably intellectual and has proved the worth and stand of India at various Global Levels including NASA, or holding a well reputed and respected positions in global firms including Google, Microsoft, Pepsi co. to name a few. But due to lack of job opportunities, the Indian talent is draining out to other countries which are willing to offer better positions with higher opportunities and perks. The emigration of highly skilled personnel to other countries represents a huge economic loss and brain drain. The main causes for this drain to happen be obviously lack of growing opportunities and availability of very few seats for huge number of job applicants. Also, higher salaries and perks attract huge number of job seekers improving their standards of living. AnnaLee Saxenian (2002) introduced a new concept of ‘Brain Circulation'. Brain circulation widely means returning of a personnel back to his own country after learning and experiencing the advancements in education, skill or work and contributing his part in the growth and development of the domestic economy instead of permanently settling down in the foreign country. Brain circulations would definitely prove a game changer if it is honestly practiced and this would be possible only if India would improve its skill development and increase the job opportunities and offer more perks and employee benefits. As per the study by Aya Okada (2012), the difficulties faced by youth for seeking jobs are:Intense globalization has led to intense competition among firms which is leading to improvement in their efficiency forcing them to hire few but highly skilled personnel.Global economy has led firms to engage in massive restructuring resulting in fewer job openings.Rapid technological advancements require workers to have moral complex and cognitive skills than ever. The economy now is more of ‘knowledge based'.Due to increase in migration of labour, the youth is exposed to increased intense competition even from workers globally who offer more knowledge, skills and competencies.To improve the conditions of employability and to produce more efficient labour, the government has launched several campaigns and movements. There is a measurable skill gap between what industries demand and the acquired skills of the youth. Youth's access to vocational training is limited because the vocational education and training systems across the nation is not large enough to be able to accommodate many schools and graduates. However, the government has formulated National Skills Development Policy, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, and Skill India; set up a new institutional framework to coordinate the skill development efforts and National Vocational Education Qualification Framework.

The Agony of Vietnam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Agony of Vietnam - Essay Example Most persons prefer narrating their ordeals from an optimistic perspective. Typically, knowledge from testimonies was obtained from some exceptional persons who represented a bulk of those who participated in the war, either directly as combatants or indirectly as supporters and protestors. As a thesis statement, it appears Vietnam War caused significant physical and psychological sufferings to Americans both at home and away in the battlefield. In order to understand events and experiences from Vietnam War, historians have preferred the use of oral interviewing techniques. Responses from such techniques are contained in chapter 10 of the book â€Å"Discovering the American Past.† The first interviewee in the book is a college student named John. When the Vietnam War commenced, the responded had just joined college. During that time, American armed forces needed more soldiers for the war. Consequently, there was a pending legislative draft in congress recommending for mandatory incorporation of college aged youth into the army. In case of poor college performance, one had higher chances of being incorporated into the military. Therefore, eligible college students had to keep their grades high or risk college deferments, which would inevitably land them into the military (Becker and Glover, 317). As the Vietnam War intensified, college students started engaging in deliberate debates. Some of them hailed from conservative families while others were from liberal backgrounds. Despite the difference in their family backgrounds, all the youth were forced into an era of awakening as they encountered realities from the real world away from the shelters of their paren tal homes. The second interviewee was also a college student named Johnson together with his college sweetheart Hanna. Both respondents are from an African- American community. During the war, blacks and the poor citizens in America were forced

Methodology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Methodology - Essay Example Holsti (1968, p. 608) defines content analysis as â€Å"any technique for making inferences by systematically and objectively identifying special characteristics of messages†. The later definition is broad and does not restricted content analysis to the domain of textual analysis. However, to allow for replication, content analysis technique can only be used on data that are durable in nature. Content analysis technique allows a researcher to test theoretical issues in order to enhance understanding of the data (Elo & Kynga 2008). It is possible to sieve words into fewer content related categories using content analysis. Cavanagh (1997) notes that when classified into the same categories, words, and phrases share the same meaning. According to GAO (1996), content analysis is important because it enables researchers to sift easily through large amounts of data. Weber (1990) noted that this technique can be used to allow for the description and discovery of the focus of individual, group, institutional, or social attention. The technique further allows inferences that can be later corroborated through other methods of data collection be made. As Krippendorff (2004) notes that "content analysis research is motivated by the search for techniques to infer from symbolic data what would be either too costly, no longer possible, or too obtrusive by the use of other techniques" (p . 51). Content analysis is a method that can be used in a number of disciples to study a number of issues. For instance in marketing, the method can be a very powerful tool in studying brand personalities of companies. A number of authors in marketing have used this method. These include Douglas & Mills (2006) who did a web content analysis of logging brand personality online using Aarker’s (1997) brand personality framework. Stemler (2001) noted that content analysis can be used to determine authorship. For example, he noted that Mosteller

Wine of Barolo of the Nebiolo Grape Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Wine of Barolo of the Nebiolo Grape - Essay Example This means that it has an astringent taste. As such, when tasting the grape, one could experience the strong nature of the grape’s juice. Different people could actually have different interpretation of their tasting experience. Some utter that the grape’s juice is too strong. Others say it is soft and rich. In such case, the people’s reactions depend on their preference with regard to wine grape varieties. The grape’s name has actually two possible origins. The first thought is based on the grape’s appearance when it is fully ripe. When fully ripe, the grape gives a frosted or foggy look (â€Å"Nebbiolo†). The Italian term for fog is nebbia (â€Å"Nebbiolo†), thus, the name Nebbiolo. Nonetheless, it is also possible that the grape’s name is simply taken from the Italian word nobile which means noble (â€Å"Nebbiolo†). Irregardless of the two probable origins of the grape’s name, what is sure is that Nebbiolo is fa mous to be a good wine grape variety. It is even one of the grape varieties that is most treasured by wine growers not just in Italy but also in the different parts of the world. The Nebbiolo grape is actually hard to grow and cultivate according to vineyardists (â€Å"Nebbiolo†).... It is made from one hundred percent Nebbiolo grape. The label DOCG means that is a wine of highest category. It also indicates that is both controlled and guaranteed by the Italian government (Nowak and Wichman 87). In buying such kind of wine, the buyer could be assured of the wine’s quality. In Italian, DOCG refers to Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. In English, it means Controlled and Guaranteed Denomination of Origin (Nowak and Wichman 87). Wines in Italy are actually subjected to DOC appellation system (Katsigris and Thomas 262). In this system, wine products are labeled according to its level (DOCG being the highest grant). The labeling depends upon the result of the official taste test which is conducted by the Italian government before the wine is permitted to be sold in the market (Katsigris and Thomas 262). The system builds risks and incentives which encourage wine producers to make wines of good quality (Katsigris and Thomas 262). In this sense, th e Italian government is strict with regard to their wine production process. This is to say that the wine-making process is a big issue in Italy. In another aspect, the Barolo DOCG is actually called as the â€Å"Wine of Kings and Kings of Wines† (Gibson 181). This implies that the Barolo wine is the best wine in Italy. The wine of such kind is known to have been barrelled for several years. To note, extended bottle aging actually affects that taste of the wine. Most often, wines which are barrelled for a minimum of two to three years offer a very good taste. Laws in Italy actually require Barolo wines to be aged in wood for at least two years (Bespaloff 58). Longer barrel gives the wine a woodier and mature taste (Bespaloff 58). Stated otherwise, the

Hamlet by Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hamlet by Shakespeare - Essay Example In his first soliloquy, he explains that he is unhappy about his mother marrying King Claudius, just with in a month after the death of his father .More over he does not trust King Claudius. At the same time Ophelia who is in love with young Hamlet is advised against this love affair by her father Lord Chamberlain Polonius as well as her brother Laertes, which makes Hamlet more unhappy. Young Hamlet meets his father’s ghost who tells him that he was killed by Claudius by poisoning. The ghost wants young Hamlet to take revenge for his death. The ghost asks him not to punish his mother for marrying King Claudius, for she will get judged and prosecuted by her own consciousness and in the heaven. Hamlet wants to take revenge on the king, but is fed up with the vanities and deceits of life. â€Å" To be, or not to be , that is the question : /Whether ‘ts nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune/ Or to take arms against a sea of troubles/And b y opposing end them.† (Act 111, Scene1, 56-60) Meanwhile different theories arise regarding the strange behavior of young Hamlet. Hamlet had met Ophelia, badly dressed and left with out uttering much to her. Knowing this incident Polonius theorizes that Hamlet’s strange behavior is due to the rejection of him by Ophelia. Queen Gertrude believes that, it is the death of his father and her hurried marriage that is disturbing Hamlet.

Critique of Mrs. Jones (Pseudonym) Assessment Criteria Essay

Critique of Mrs. Jones (Pseudonym) Assessment Criteria - Essay Example Preoperative Assessment VI. Clinical Nursing and Management VII. Intra-operative Assessment and Care VIII. Planning and Preparation for Safe Administration of Anesthesia IX. Intra-operative Monitoring Techniques Applied X. Anesthesia Techniques Used XI. Hemodynamic Management of Patient XII. Additional Precautionary Equipment Used XIII. Anesthesia Agents and Analgesia Used XIV. Post-operative Assessment and Care XV. References Case Analysis: Critique of Mrs. Jones (Pseudonym) Assessment Criteria Introduction Mrs. Jones is an 82 year old female patient who has been admitted for colonoscopy +/- polypectomy for PR bleeding. This condition has been persistent in her system, given the fact that she had been diagnosed of the same problem earlier in 2010, together with other complications. Arrangements had been made for her to attend a twenty days pre-admission clinic before surgery. Prior to her admission for surgery, she was taken through a preoperative nursing assessment. This paper is a critique of this assessment and Mrs. Jones management at large from the pre and intra operative care through, to the handover stage with the post-anesthetic care nursing. It majorly singles out the factors that may impact the patient’s care throughout the pre and the intra operative anesthesia experience. Litwack (2009:1) suggest that, it is important that all health care team should be aware of the patient’s medical history, and previous surgeries. Additionally, they should be aware of the patient’s family history of diseases. This information is important for planning and instituting pre and post anaesthesia care. Taylor and Welleford (2009:707) have suggested that cardiovascular systems have the most influence on anaesthesia and general outcome. This means that preoperative interview and pre assessment can decrease the risk and improve immediate peri procedure outcomes and the long term clinical outcome. Preoperative Assessment and Care Preoperative stage pr ovides a chance for the beginning of a thorough assessment of surgical patients. This section includes activities like patient-centered interviews that are aimed at gathering critical information that will contribute to a patient’s successful experience and an outlined and goal directed care plan. Mrs. Jones went through a preoperative interview and reassessment stage for twenty days before the surgery. This stage included a pre-anesthesia consultation conducted by an anesthetic registrar. The consultation by the anesthetic registrar prior to the day of surgery revealed vital information about Mrs. Jones which may impact the care she receives in the pre and intra operative stages of the whole surgical procedure. ANZCA (2008:1) recommended that the pre-anesthesia consultation should include the patient’s health status and medical history and a plan of the anesthesia. Furthermore it should include an interview and a discussion with the patient and their family regarding to anesthetic management. The discussion should be of factors which are of significance to the patient. At the end of it, a confirmation about the patient’s identity and consent to the procedure after an explanation of the anesthesia with its related the procedures should be obtained (ANZCA, 2008:1). Clinical Presentation The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification system is very useful for assessing the statistical analysis of a patient’s health status (Sherief, 2011:1). Mrs. Jones is eighty two years old, female, graded 3 by ASA, and has a history of multiple health problems. Mrs. Jones currently is admitted for colonoscopy +/- polypectomy for PR bleeding. This grading of three by the American Society of anesthesiologists was because her condition was coupled with a multiple medical history a

Extra Credit Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Extra Credit Assignment - Essay Example That means I have to work with an understaffed team. Also half of the staff does not have relevant job experience. Finally the remaining half of the employees has done the work in a given style for as long as 15 years; adapting to new changes may be a problem. The steps I would take during the first 90 days as manager to address these challenges First I will get the employees to agree that there is need for change. I will gather the employees to evaluate their situation, identify what the problem is and set up procedures to correct the situation. Suggested changes will be announced then implemented through my close supervision. I will make sure I don’t impose the change but rather let the employees to manage the process themselves. To do this I will organize a workshop to help gain common understanding, to chart the way forward by coming up with plans, aims, commitments and actions. I will seek through this event to inspire the staff to make relevant and real objectives. I wil l guide them to make objectives that are easy to attain. Long term objectives shall be divided and be accomplished in stages. I will come up with a guiding team which will comprise of carefully selected supervisors for departments based on their track records.   The team shall compose enough key players such that those who are left do not block any suggested plan of action. They shall be people who command respect because pronouncements of such people are taken seriously. They shall be people with proven leadership capability. These people shall need to have high level of commitment and competence. One of their immediate work shall be to build teams within the areas of their supervision. They shall take advantage of the fact that every human being has a nature of joining a group. The teams they create will have to beware that they are teams that are born to compliment the efforts of each other and not competitors. If they try to compete then we shall have a â€Å"win lose† situation whereby one group can try to outdo the other using methods that make your opponent to go down so that you appear on top. It shall be the work of these team leaders to encourage informal relation among the team members in order to create a good working atmosphere and raise their morale. Each team shall handle related activities hence one plan of action shall be developed for them. This will ensure unity, focused efforts and coordinated strength. The changes to be effected must take into consideration that the time in which to realize the change is short, hence actions that will impact on short term performance will be much welcome. In our discussions, all staff shall need to identify priorities so that each one majors on the major and minors on the minor. This will eliminate incidences where an employee is fully preoccupied by a task that is less important leaving undone the most important. There is all possibility that this can happen because this centre suffers from under staffing.   Ã‚  Ã‚   To ensure smooth operations, I will make sure there is proper discipline by among other things ensuring that those who are appointed to any position of authority are properly disciplined. The juniors shall need to observe rules and regulations that they help develop. Incentives will be used to promote discipline. While identified obstacles shall be removed, achievements as well as progress shall be rewarded. I will work at avoiding constant criticisms because this way they won’

Report on Religious Field Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Report on Religious Field Research - Essay Example Om Peace, Peace, Peace†. (Om asato†¦) Prayer over, the Preacher lost no time in beginning the day’s lecture: â€Å"The Perfect Masters of all religions mention about the same transcendental truth. What they wish to explain is beyond the realm and boundaries of words, thoughts, feelings and the capacity of body-mind-intellect. My submission is also an outline, and not the reality of spirituality. That has to be practically experienced by you. There is much more in this cosmos than what the senses can detect or the mind can comprehend. The totality can be comprehended with the help of the â€Å"Third Eye†, which Lord Jesus proclaims, â€Å"When thine Eye be Single†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"The problems arise when the Transcendental Reality is explained by the mind-level philosophers, intellectuals, preachers, mullahs and pundits. Arguments and counter-arguments follow. Misunderstandings generate and conflicts arise. This is the genesis of religious conflicts. If t he founders of all the religions are to sit together and engage in a discussion, actually there would be no discussion as there would be no differences of opinions amongst them. Though they use different languages and tender different examples, they are speaking about the same truth, the Ultimate Reality! For example, the source of energy for all the electrical appliances is electricity†. â€Å"The followers of different religions must stop quarrelling and grasp the underlying essence of the revelations by their Masters. World Peace becomes an attainable reality if they follow the revelations of the Masters in true letter and spirit. What difference does it make if you call electricity by some other name, it is the same entity and its power remains the same? Similarly hail the Consciousness that governs cosmos, the All-pervading Reality by any name, Jesus, Allah, Rama, Krishna, God or whatever you like. That Power is the same†. â€Å"God, who exists even before the cre ation and from whom the entire universe originates and gets manifested, in whom the entire universe exists and in whom the entire universe will be withdrawn, eventually; and that Light of your Consciousness, which is the Illuminator, the Witness, the Self within, which is aware of the presence or absence of thoughts in the mind, is one and the same! That Thou Art! You are not the body-mind-equipment, which you have assumed yourself to be, till now. Know the technique to stabilize your mind, transcend it and you will know that you and God are the same entity! The eternal search ends and no further running around are needed. All ambiguity stands vanished†. â€Å"The mind is an instrument in the hands of the Self just as the body is an instrument controlled by the mind. Matter is motion outside, the mind is motion inside. Theoretical arguments only lead to arguments and counter-arguments. It is impossible to realize the Truth through arguments. This is the reason that the name o f God, which out to bring peace and happiness to humankind, has been the cause of bloodshed in the world. The pages of human history are daubed in bloodshed due to bitter quarrels in the name of religion and race. Reach out for the direct

Managing Diversity and Executive Motivation Incentives Essay

Managing Diversity and Executive Motivation Incentives - Essay Example Though external forces, such as the political or economic environments in which a company thrives, serve as the catalysts for business decision-making, it is often internal issues which require the intervention of human resources professionals to make the business more efficient and productive. HR managers must understand the importance of managing workplace diversity while also addressing the broader needs of executives in terms of providing them with the motivation needed to perform to strategic expectations. Ignoring diversity tends to reduce overall firm productivity, undermining strategic objectives, and further serves to create internal conflict between diverse staff members (Women in Management Review, 2005). This project highlights the efforts of contemporary HR managers in managing diversity and building executive-level motivations to perform. Practically every textbook referencing management theory describes the managerial process as a series of planning, organizing, leading and controlling as a viable model for management behavior (Nickels, McHugh & McHugh, 2005; Mathis & Jackson, 2005). Planning represents the preliminary steps necessary to reach a specific management goal, organizing involves the tangible coordination of activities and staff to reach said goals, while leading represents a more psychological element of management which involves creating a positive climate as both a mentor and mediator. Further, controlling involves establishing clear and concise business standards to determine whether the firm is reaching its goal targets and offering rewards or punishments if the identified staff is not being productive or performing to expectations. Having offered the definitions of traditional management in modern business, it is important to understand how human resources professionals take these characteristics and utilize them to boost efforts toward managing diversity and building executive-level motivations. The definition of management tends to illustrate that even HR professionals, in order to carry out their roles as guiding forces for staff members, must utilize the four elements of management to create a more rewarding business environment. Diversity management is quickly becoming a paramount objective for business leaders in most developed countries as diversity has been known to enrich group work and lessen the impact of potential internal disputes or conflicts between different staff members (Aoun, 2007: 67). Under the value model of diversity, each individual aspect of the organization is valued for what is specifically brings to the organization (Griffin & Moorhead, 2006), thus

Historical and cultural context Essay Example for Free

Historical and cultural context Essay All three of these stories create strange but similar atmospheres. Three similarities that these stories have is that they all took place around the 1880s/1890s,all three stories in the beginning always take place at 221B Baker Street, and all three stories seem to take place in and out of Victorian London. The mystery of The Red-Headed League takes place mainly around Victorian London and is described as very busy, crowded and swarming full of pedestrians. There are references to carriages, cellars and lanterns throughout the story so this will give you an image of the kind of atmosphere to expect. The way London is described it will probably strike people as it being old fashioned if you compare it from then and now when read. The value of money was different from then and now. In The Red-Headed League i 4 a week is seemed to be an awful lot, because most people in those days would maybe make that in a month or two. The story shows conflict between rich and poor people. The Blue Carbuncle is set in a few places around London, and has references to old buildings and carriages when Holmes and Watson are in the search of the goose. The background for all these stories reflects London of a hundred years ago. This was when forty percent of the population were servants. The police as you would notice belonged to lower social class and were poorly thought of at the time because of the inefficiency and corruption. Another feature in contrast to today is that the trains always seem to run on time, carriages are always there when needed and Holmes and Watson are never delayed by the traffic. The structures between all three stories do not seem to be all that different. All three stories have unusual and strange titles (The Speckled Band, The Red-Headed League, and The Blue Carbuncle) that intrigue the reader. The title gives you an idea to what the story will be about. They all have exciting openings, because they all start at 221B Baker Street with Holmes sitting down talking to a strange and mysterious person with Watson interrupting for the case to be retold and explained to us readers. When a new a new character is introduced it grabs the readers attention wanting to find out more so they keep on reading. In the beginnings of all three stories whenever Holmes is interrupted by Watson the new character will explain the case again so that Holmes will start to observe the person and make mental notes about him/her. Holmes is able to find clues just from the person and the clues are used to build up tension so that Holmes can make deductions. There are often flashbacks from the new character to give a history of them that will obviously be linked to the mystery. The dramatic ending for The Speckled Band was danger but justice was done as the villain had got what was coming to him. In The Red-Headed League the dramatic ending was that justice was done as the criminals were arrested and the dramatic ending for The Blue Carbuncle was not danger and nor was it justice done because the character had owned up to his mistake and said he had punishment enough. The points in short story structure (how the writer puts the text together) are as follows: Paragraph structure which is how the meaning is revealed from sentence, book structure which might affect the reader if the book is split into chapters, with language of implications and what is left unsaid, through the narrator which is how the story is told and with imagery which is how the emotions and scenes are built up. The language which is used for all three stories is quite old fashioned. The words and sentences seem confusing as they are not what we use today. For example instead of Holmes said like we would say now it is said he. The language is very different but understandable. The stories use old fashion words like: dog cart, would fain, forceps, whimsical, commissionaire, billycock, labyrinth, unimpeachable, deduce, inferences, foresight etc. The stories all give detailed descriptions for unusual objects, new strange characters and peculiar places by using similes and metaphors. Holmes and Watson both in the three stories use many similes and metaphors to give us descriptions of things. The dialogue is shown by Watson as he asks all the questions the reader wants to ask, and when Holmes impatiently explains what to him is obvious, Watson is acting on our behalf. The story gets retold just for us with more detailed language and more explanations.

Monoclonal Antibody Production using Animal Cell Culture

Monoclonal Antibody Production using Animal Cell Culture Introduction Monoclonal antibodies, in biomedical research, are used as reagents in diagnosis and treatment of diseases like cancer and infections [1]. It has been almost century their introduction, mAbs are still produced from splenocytes fused to myeloma cells [2]. The antibodies are produced by obtaining cell lines from animals immunized with substance to be studied. To produce the cell lines, B cells obtained from immunized mice are fused with myeloma (immortalized) cells [1][3]. For production of desired monoclonal antibodies, the cells should grow in one of the two ways: injecting the peritoneal cavity of mouse (known as in vivo method or mice ascites method) or by in vitro method (Tissue culture method). Further mouse ascites fluid or supernatant of tissue culture is processed and monoclonal antibody of desired concentration and purity is obtained (figure1) [1]. Mice ascites method is preferred as it is familiar, properly understood and extensively used in laboratories in comparison to tis sue culture method which is time consuming, expensive and laborious and ails to give required amount of antibodies[1][3]. Presently, twenty two monoclonal antibodies for transplantation, oncology, infectious, cardiovascular and chronic inflammatory disease have been approved by FDA [3]. Strict guidelines has been setup by IACUC for use of animal for mAb production which includes (i) use of animal is scientifically justified (ii) methods to be used which gives minimum pain to the animal[1]. Monoclonal antibody production (Past to Present) Mouse mAbs This technology was introduced in 1975, which works on generation of mouse hybridomas by fusion of B cells, obtained from immunized mice, and myeloma cells. But mAbs produced by this method have many limitations and is not preferred due to high immunogenicity in humans and due to production of human anti-mouse antibody which leads to their rapid clearance from patient’s body [3]. Chimeric mAbs These are produced by gene manipulation method in which constant regions of mouse Abs are replaced by human Abs. Like mouse mAbs, chimeric mAbs also leads to formation of human anti-mouse antibodies and leads to various immunogenicity in patients thus to make it potent in therapeutics further better understanding is required in their structure and function [3]. Humanized mAbs In this method, complementary determining regions (CDRs) are transferred to human IgG from mouse mAb. There is only 5-10% non-human content in humanized mAbs in comparison to 30% in chimeric mAbs [3]. Generation of mAbs Immunization of mice Screening of sera Spleen cell isolation Myeloma cells prep. Cell fusion (Tissue culture) Hybridoma screening Selecting cultures for cloning Mouse Feeder cells Cloning (limiting dilution) Clone isolation and expansion Cell freezing and recovery Supernatant production (from tissue culture media) mAbs purification and testing Figure1. Flowchart showing steps for production of monoclonal antibodies by tissue culture method [1]. Monoclonal Antibody Production Against various Diseases 5C3 mAb against Tumor Growth and Angiogenesis In this method, S100A4 was used for immunizing female Balb/cAnNHscl mice and mAbs were obtained from fused myeloma and spleen cells using PEG-1500. Hybridomas were selected on HAT medium and further screened for it reaction with S100A4 by ELISA. Clones were selected which were corresponding to 5C3 mAb. Cell culture was scaled up in humid conditions (air 94% and 6% CO2) at 37 °C temperature [4]. Supernatant (serum free) from hybidomas was obtained and purified on column containing protein A with the help of AKTA purifier FPLC system and elutions containing 5C3 mAbs were concentrated and filtered in PBS centrifuge Amicon Ultra-15 which has low binding Ultracel membrane and then quantifying mAbs at 280nm [5][6]. 2-4F mAb against Oxytetracycline in shrimps Oxytetracycline is used as medication feed in aquaculture [7], its overuse can lead to its accumulation in aquaculture food and its consumption then leads to serious health problems in sea food lovers. To prevent consumers from its harmful effects mAb 2-4F, highly sensitive and specific, were produced for detection of OTC in aquaculture food animals by ELISA. Hybridomas were obtained by standard protocol, by immunizing the female BABL/c mice with OTC-BSA, hybridomas were cultured and supernatants from culture were screened for antibodies using iELISA and antibodies were cloned by limiting dilution method to obtain monoclones then in serum free media these moloclones were cultured in 500 ml spinner flask [6][7]. Further mAbs were purified from this culture using protein G by affinity chromatography. The elute fractions were collected and its protein concentration was determined at 280nm spectometrically and mAb was filtered using cellulose acetate membrane (0.2  µm) and kept at -20à ‚ °C until used [8]. Human anti-human IL-21 monoclonal antibody. Interleukin-21 is a type I cytokine with four helical bundles that exerts effect on hematopoietic cells like NK cells, T and B lymphocytes. CD4+ T and NK T cells produce interleukin-2 cytokine, over expression of IL-2 lead to variety of autoimmune disorders. Genetically modified Kirin-Medarex mice were immunized with rhIL-21, immunogens were emulsified with P-adjuvant and CpG and recombinant mouse GM-CSF. Hybridomas obtained were cultured in IMDM containing 1x GlutMax, 1x Penicillin, 10% fetal clone serum and 10% Hybridoma Cloning Factor. Hybridomas were selected with IMDM in conjugation with HAT medium and cloning was carried out with 1x HT and distributed in 96 well Elisa plate and wells were examined microscopically for monoclonality and screened with phosphorylated-STAT3. Wells with positive results were distributed in 24 well cultures to obtained density 6105 cells/ml and then supernatant was collected and cells cryopreserved. Further media with human IgG was obtained and filter ed through 0.2 µm membrane and from this filtered media antibody protein was purified by combing Protein G Sepharose Affinity Chromatography Size Exclusion Chromatography and absorbance was taken at 280nm and further its quality was accessed by size exclusion HPLC [9]. mAbs L317, L363, L386 ÃŽ ±-galactosylceramide:CD1d complex The ÃŽ ±-galactosylceramide also known as KRN7000 is best studied ligand that binds to protein CD1d. KRN7000:mCD1d complex is easily recognized by iNKT cells and leads to number of proinflammatory and immunoregulatory functions. To understand the mechanism of antigen presentation to CD1d by iNKT cell three monoclonal antibodies L317, L3363, and L386 were produced. Primary immunogen was prepared with protein obtained from strain H37Ra of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (PPD) and it was conjugated with the complex KRN7000:CD1d. The complex KRN7000:mCD1d:PPD was studied by SDS-PAGE. Mice were first vaccinated with Mycobacterium bovis (BCG) then after 23 days mice were immunized with 5 µg KRN7000:CD1d:PPD complex in 1:1 PBS and Imject alum. At day 61 booster dose was given to mice, of the complex, with 7106 cells. Mice were then sacrificed and spleens dispersed PBS, cells were obtained and further washed with PBS and erythrocytes were lysed and cells were suspended in FBS/HEPES free DMEM [10][11]. The preparation was then mixed with myeloma cells and centrifuged and tubes with pellet were placed in water bath set at 40 °C and into this heated PEG was added followed by FBS/HEPES- free DMEM and then cells again centrifuged and re-suspended in DMEM. Hybridomas along with MRC-5 fibroblast feeder blast cells were plated in 96 well tissue culture plates. Supernatant from culture was screened and cloning of hybridomas carried out by limit dilution. Then 108 cells were inoculated in 2 liters roller bottles containing 500ml medium and OptiMAb supplement was added. MAbs were obtained by filtering of supernatant through protein G column chromatography [12]. Stx2f-1, Stx2f-3, Stx2f-4 mAb against Shiga toxin, a gastrointestinal disease Shiga Toxin 2 also designated as Stx2 is virulence causes gastrointestinal disease in humans’ world by food poisoning. It subtype Stx2f cannot be easily detected by immunological methods and thus three monoclonal antibodies specific to it were produced. Complete hybridoma media contains Iscove’s modified DMM with NaHCO3 and 1 Glutamax, containing fetal calf serum (heat inactivated) [13]. Female Balb/cJ mice were immunized with His-tagged Stx2f and hybridomas were obtained and screened for antibodies against Stx2f by ELISA and were further transferred to MPCM/HT/cHM media and diluted 500cells/ml and then the cells were grown in cHM media. Media containing antibody (400ml) was filtered through protein G column and elution were obtained in 0.1M glycine giving 5mg of purified antibody Stx2f [14][15]. Monoclonal antibody from EB66 Cell lines with enhanced ADCC activity EB66 cell lines are derived from embryonic stem cells of duck which can be genetically engineered and production of mAbs can be increased above 1g/L when grown in serum free media. EB66 have various other characteristic features like short doubling time, high cell density and unique metabolic profile with low accumulation of ammonium and lactate and low consumption of glutamine [16]. Further, EB66 cell lines used for production of mAbs has reduced fucose content with enhanced ADCC activity. EB66 cell lines produce chimeric IgG1 anti-cancer mAb against antigen anti-X by nucleofection. EB66 clones when grown in Erlenmeyer flask with standard fed batch culture produces 1.28g/L of IgG1 of cell density with 36 millions cells/ml. Further by accumulation of monoclonal antibodies in supernatant culture no degradation was observed in antibody production assessed by HPLC, SDS-PAGE and western blot. When the supernatant was purified with Protein-A HPLC showed 98% mAbs as monomers. Glycosylation profile of monoclonal antibodies was analyzed by MALDI-TOF-MS, enhanced activation of the monoclonal antibodies obtained from EB66 cell lines was analyzed by flow cytometry[16][17]. FDA Approved mAbs in market [18][19] Infliximab Remicade ® TNF Rituximab Rituxan ®, MabThera ® CD20 Trastazumab Herceptin ® HER2 Bevacizumab Avastin ® VEGF Adalimumab Humira ® TNF Cetuximab Erbitux ® EGFR Ranibizumab Lucentis ® VEGF Palivizumab Synagis ® RSV Tositumomab Bexxar ® CD20 Alemtuzumab Campath ® CD52 Certolizumab pegol Cimiza ® TNF Gemtuzumab ozogamicin Mylotarg ® CD33 Muromonab-CD3 Orthoclone Okt3 ® CD3 Efalizumab Raptciva ® CD11a Abciximab ReoPro ® GP IIb/IIIa Basiliximab Simulect ® CD25 Eculizumab Soliris ® C5 Natalizumab Tysabri ® a-4 integrin Panitumumab Vectibix ® EGFR Omalizumab Xolair ® IgE Daclizumab Zenapax ® CD25 Ibritumomab tiuxetan Zevalin ® CD20 Recent advances in mAbs production Engineered Monoclonal antibodies Advancement in mAb engenrreing has lead to transformation in this field which has lead to production of new drugs which as many useful characteristics like decreased immunogenicity, improved specifity along with stability and potency [18]. The replacements of murine as well as chimeric mAbs with full human mAbs are boon of this novel technology for example adalimumab, ranibizumab and cetrolizumab pegol. Adalimumab, the human mAb, is created by using phage display technology and now it is the top selling drug in the market. Cetrolizumab pegol has been engineered to increase its half-life by making changes in its Fab fragments [19]. Ranibizumab which is derived from bevacizumab wet AMD (age-related macular degeneration) and is considered as care indication standard. These new engineered mAbs have potential to compete with the drugs already in market and have bright future ahead [19][20]. Biosimalar Monoclonal antibodies Biosimilars are the copies of drugs whose patient has expired and now these drugs can be produ- -ced and manufactured by any company. But due to complex molecule used and then its approval from U.S makes it a complex process therefore most of the biotechnology companies are not in favor of production of biosimilars. Dr. Reddy in India has launched Reditux ® which is anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody and it is claimed, as the first biosimilar monoclonal antibody, by the company. In spite of approval of Reditux ® in India, it is thought that it would not have sufficient data that can fulfill the set standards of developed countries in terms of strict safety, efficacy and manufacturing standards[18][19][20]. Conclusion Monoclonal antibodies are expanding rapidly in pharmaceutical industries with already hundreds of candidates are under development and trials. Both cytotoxic and radiology methods are emerging to increase efficacy of the present therapeutic molecules. Moreover, advances have also been made to use mAbs in treatment of bacterial and viral infection. Biosimilars and bio-superiors are the next generation drugs which can be produced as most of the blockbuster monoclonal antibody are at verge to their patent expiry. The future of the monoclonal antibodies in therapeutics is bright and continued discovery, research and development in this field can take it to the heights that have not been achieved before. Abstract Monoclonal antibodies today have gained a breakthrough and are used in treatment of numbers of disease. Over 30% of the Engineered Monoclonal antibodies are under clinical trials. Moreover, different methods to generate human monoclonal antibodies are present today like generation of humanized and chimeric antibodies from genetic engineering of mouse antibodies, phage display method and transgenic mice development. Monoclonal antibodies are in great demand today and FDA has approved almost 22 mAbs till date and all these are commercially available in market. Biosilimars are also taking up the pace as most of the blockbuster mAbs are at verge of their patient expiry and Reditux ® developed by Dr. Reddy claimed as first biosimilar in India and is half the cost of Rituximab ®.

Trends in Legal Gambling: Literature Review

Trends in Legal Gambling: Literature Review Albers and Hubl (1997) analyze how the individuals in Germany spend their money in legal gambling and what are their consumption patterns towards it by using a probit technique. They conducted a survey in Germany, using a sample of 1,586 adults to estimate for all types of commercial gambling, the separate functions of participation, and in order to provide explanatory variables about the socioeconomic characteristics like education, gender, age, income, employment and family status, occupation, home ownership, and the relevance of the highest prizes in explaining the gambler’s participation or not in the various types of gambling including Draw lotteries, lotto, soccer toto pools, TV-lotteries, casinos, gaming machines and horse-race betting. Their results show that income has positive impact and major effect on the consumption pattern of commercial games. People with a higher income will tend to spend more on gambling. However, it has been found out that income has no effect on Lotto and that the demand for Soccer Toto falls as income rises. Worthington, et al. (2003) estimate the patterns of gambling in Australia by using a regression model. So they have collected data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Expenditure that has conducted a survey on 6892 households. They examine eight kinds of gambling spending ranging from casino games to lottery tickets and analyze causal factors like family composition, gender, income, age, geographic location, ethnicity and race. They reach the conclusion that lottery pattern in Australia is highly determined by household composition, ethnicity and age. Kearney (2005) finds that domestic lottery spending is funded exclusively by a fall in non-gambling costs when analyzing multiple sources of micro-level data. The analysis considered data from the 1982 to 1998 Interview Survey files of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX). 21 states applied a national lottery during this time. The empirical analysis compares the change household expenditures among the households in states that implemented a lottery to those in states that do not. Introducing national lottery leads to an average fall of $46 (2.4%) per month in household’s non-gambling expenditures. This amount indicates that there is a fall in household expenses of $24 for each adult each month as compared to an average of the sale of lottery per month which is $18 for each lottery-state adult From the CEX Interview sample, the non-gambling expenses for the households of low income group are fell by 2.5% on average and 3.1% while the national l ottery offered instant games. Furthermore, the data prove that the level of expenses decreases considerably in households. The consumption of food eaten at home decreases by almost 2.8% and 5.8% for bills like rent and home mortgage. However, The information do not specify which lottery tickets has been purchased by which households, thus these average effects are not considered since a subsequent proportion of households are not involve in lottery gambling. Households that are engaged in lottery gambling and buy tickets of lottery will therefore experience a greater downfall in their non-gambling expenses. Lottery gambling can be considered as investment and entertainment at the same time. It is an investment as consumers are making choices over risky assets. Assuming that the entertainment and pecuniary components of the lottery gamble are separable, maximizing behavior predicts that consumer demand for lottery products should depend positively on its expected return, holding constant game characteristics. To evaluate whether this prediction holds Kearney (2005) investigates from 91 lotto games the weekly sales and characteristics data from 1992 and 1998. The study concludes that the estimated value of a gamble affects positively the level of sale, controlling for higher-order moments of the gamble and non-wealth creating characteristics. This finding is strong to alternative specifications, including controlling for unobserved product fixed effects. The data also revealed that buyers of lotto games react to creation of non-wealth creating and â€Å"entertaining† game features. These two outcomes together find out that gamblers are considered as being partially and possibly entirely rational and informed consumers. In accordance with the results, she states that gamblers derive an amusement equivalent to the cost of gambling (1-expected value) and that they are informed assessors of bets as long as they are making investments. These two outcomes together observe that gamblers are considered as being partially and possibly entirely rational and informed consumers. In accordance with the results, she states that gamblers derive an amusement equivalent to the cost of gambling (1-expected value) and that they are informed assessors of bets as long as they are making investments. Kearney (2005) analyses micro level proof on who plays the lottery from the National survey carried out in 1998 by the National Opinion Research Council (NORC) on gambling. The data disclose the following overall trends. First of all, lottery gambling extends through races, sexes, and income and education groups. Second, black respondents spend nearly twice as much on lottery tickets as do white or Hispanic respondents. The average reported expenditure among blacks is $200 per year, $476 among those who played the lottery last year. Those who have the highest average gambling expenses are the Black men. Thirdly The average dollar amount of money spend on lottery per annum is almost the same among the low, medium and high income groups which can be concluded that on average as compared to other households, the low-income ones’ spend a higher proportion of their total capital on lottery tickets. Clotfelter and Cook (1993) and Terrell (1994) make available the evidence which exist about the â€Å"gambler’s fallacy† between lottery players. â€Å"Gambler’s fallacy† means that people wrongly ascertain on the expectations of prize and their chance of winning. They believe that the first draw will adversely impact on the second draw. For example, if game has been won last year, the probability that the same game win for two consecutive years is low as the prize cannot be won twice for a short period of time. Thus, people would prefer to wait some times before playing. They collect information from the Maryland and New Jersey numbers games respectively and conclude that the sum of cash bet on a certain number clearly falls after the number is drawn and that after various months, it increasingly returns to its previous level. Grinols and Mustard (2004) analyze the link between casinos and the rate of crime by obtaining information about the level of crime in each country examined using the 7 FBI Index 1 offenses from 1977 to 1996 such as murder, robbery, burglary, larceny and aggravated assault. They analyze all the 3165 countries find in the United States and observe the opening of casinos and their impact in all these countries except Nevada. The types of casinos that they examine are tribal-owned, riverboat and land-based casinos. After analysis, they notice that after casinos have been set up in these countries, the rate of crimes has increased considerably. Their result show that after a casino has opened, the rate of crime is low and then increases considerably overtime. They estimate that where countries have opened casinos in 1996, 8% of crime rate is associated to casinos and in average adults spend at around $75 in casinos per annum. They also support the fact that boundary countries are also af fected by the level of crime rate which keeps increasing throughout the year, and propose that as compared to just relocating crime from one state to another, casinos increase aggregate crime.

The Search for Self in Tirra Lirra by the River Essay -- Tirra Lirra b

The Search for Self in Tirra Lirra by the River  Ã‚   It has been suggested that Tirra Lirra by the River can be regarded as a novel which aims eventually at a better understanding"2. In my opinion understanding is achieved at two levels in the novel. The first type of understanding is personal and introspective, and is discovered by the central character. The other is societal, achieved through allegory and symbolism, and aimed at the reader. Jessica Anderson aims to develop this dual understanding through the exploration of two main themes: the quest for self-knowledge, and the consequences of gendered societal repression. In this essay I will explore these themes, and how much Nora and the audience respectively finally understand in relation to them. The Quest for Self-Knowledge Nora Porteous, the main character of Tirra Lirra by the River, embarks on a voyage of self discovery as an elderly lady - mostly while in bed recovering from pneumonia. As physical exertion, which the reader later discovers has been her usual response to periods of 'waiting', is denied her, she begins to explore her inner world of imagination and memory. Her most important discovery is that she has lived under the curse of an imbalance between imagination and reality all her life. This imbalance is signified by Nora's many correlations to Tennyson's "Lady of Shallot", and by the chasm between her physical appearance and actions and her inner character. One of the most obvious traits shared by the Lady and Nora, is their desire for the perfect social world of Camelot. Nora's 'Camelot' is a "region of [her] mind, where infinite expansion was possible" and is more real than "the discomfort of knees imprinted by the cane of a chair" (... ... from p. 61. Willbanks, p. 62. Pam Gilbert, Coming Out From Under: Contemporary Australian Women Writers (London: Pandora, 1988) p. 140. Elaine Barry, "The Expatriate Vision of Jessica Anderson," Meridian 1 (3) (1984), 3-11. This from p. 8. Alfred Tennyson, "The Lady of Shallot," In Elaine Barry, Fabricating the Self: The Fictions of Jessica Anderson (Queensland: UQP, 1992), Appendix 2. Elaine Barry, Fabricating the Self: The Fictions of Jessica Anderson (Queensland: UQP, 1992), p. 89. Barry, Meridian, p. 9. Barry, Fabricating, p. 83. Roslynn Haynes, "Art as Reflection in Jessica Anderson's Tirra Lirra by the River," Australian Literary Studies 3 (12) (1986), 316-323. This from p. 318. Willbanks, p. 60. Barry, Fabricating, p. 73. Barry, Meridian, p. 7. Barry, Fabricating, p. 74. Willbanks, p. 60. Barry, Fabricating, p. 71. Willbanks, p. 62.      

We Need More Animal Research, Testing, and Experimentation Essay

We Need More Animal Research, Testing, and Experimentation    A life can be taken or created in a matter of seconds and with that has come the miracles of modern medicine. People have come to expect science to save lives, prevent illness, relieve suffering and improve the quality of life. The means of curing, treating and preventing diseases are not achieved by magic or accident. Medical advances are gained through years of intensive research -- research in which laboratory animals have played, and continue to play, a critical role. Opponents of animal testing are wrongfully determined that this process is completely unethical. Animals have been used for experimentation for around 2,000 years. In the third century BC in Alexandria, Egypt, the philosopher and scientist Erisistratus used animals to study the human body. Five centuries later, the Roman scientist Galen used apes and pigs to prove a theory about veins being full of blood and not air ("Animal Experimentation . . ." 74). Since then several experiments have educated man in many ways that wouldn't have been possible without the use of animals. The debate about animal testing started well over 130 years ago ("The Ethical . . ."). There is no doubt that the animal experimentation performed 100 years ago was cruel and unjust, but since then many changes have taken place. A century ago animals were experimented on without the benefit of modern anesthetics and painkillers, and since then several laws have been passed to prohibit inhumane treatment of animals. Virtually every major medical advance of the last century has depended upon research with animals. Since the early 1900's, 90 Nobel Prizes for medicine have been awarded. At least 60 of these were for disc... ...ts: Animal Rights. California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1996. pp. 73-81. "Animal Research Helping Kids." Foundation for Biomedical Research. [online], Available: http://www.fbresearch.org/helpingkids.html, December 11,2000. "Animal Rights Myths FAQ." Animal Rights Myths FAQ. [online], Available: http://www.cix.co.uk/~embra/armyths.html, December 7,2000. Murrary, Joseph. "Animals Hold the Key to Saving Human Lives." Americans for Medical Progress Educational Foundation. [online], Available: http://www.ampef.org/research.htm, December 8,2000. "The Humane Care and Treatment of Laboratory Animals." National Associationfor Biomedical Research. [online], Available: http://www.nabr.org/pdfs/orange.pdf, December 6, 2000. "The Ethical Debate." Research Defense Society. [online], Available: http://www.rds-online.org.uk/ethics/index.html, December 11, 2000.

Crude oil and its value to society

Although crude oil may look like earths natural pollution, behind that thick black exterior lies one of the most important raw materials on earth. Crude oil is formed when dying plants and animals become immediately covered by sediments in seas and swamps. This prevents them from decaying and as further sediments build up the plant and animals become buried deeper and deeper. Now this takes place over millions of years and immense pressure and heat (120oc) build up and eventually these organisms turn to oil. Now this raw material is given the name as a fossil fuel because of the fact that it is the fossils remains that are turning into the oil. It can be said that when we are burning the fossil fuel we are in fact using the sun's energy which has been stored as chemical energy in the fossils for millions of years. The relative high carbon content is due to small microscopic plankton organisms.Coke and Pepsi On average, crude oils are made of the following elements or compounds: * Carbon – 84% * Hydrogen – 14% * Sulfur – 1 to 3% (hydrogen sulfide, sulfides, disulfides, elemental sulfur) * Nitrogen – less than 1% (basic compounds with amine groups) * Oxygen – less than 1% (found in organic compounds such as carbon dioxide, phenols, ketones, carboxylic acids) * Metals – less than 1% (nickel, iron, vanadium, copper, arsenic) * Salts – less than 1% (sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride) Crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons which are basically molecules which contain hydrogen and carbon. The hydrocarbons may vary in length and structure, from straight to branching chains and rings. Now hydrocarbons are the reason why crude oil is so important because it can do two things. 1. Hydrocarbons contain a lot of energy which can be used by man to do numerous tasks e.g. electricity generation, transport, heat etc 2. Hydrocarbons can take many different forms. The smallest formation of hydrocarbons is methane which is a gas that is lighter than air. Longer chains with 5 or more carbons are liquids whilst very long formations may be solid like wax. This is the reason why hydrocarbons are so important is because it is so versatile. By chemically cross linking hydrocarbon chains you can produce almost anything from synthetic rubber to Kerosene. In fact 70% of Britain's organic chemicals are produced due to the hydrocarbons present in crude oil. The major classes of hydrocarbons in crude oils include: * Paraffins * general formula: CnH2n+2 (n is a whole number, usually from 1 to 20) * straight- or branched-chain molecules * can be gasses or liquids at room temperature depending upon the molecule * examples: methane, ethane, propane, butane, isobutane, pentane, hexane * Aromatics * general formula: C6H5 – Y (Y is a longer, straight molecule that connects to the benzene ring) * ringed structures with one or more rings * rings contain six carbon atoms, with alternating double and single bonds between the carbons * typically liquids * examples: benzene * Napthenes or Cycloalkanes * general formula: CnH2n (n is a whole number usually from 1 to 20) * ringed structures with one or more rings * rings contain only single bonds between the carbon atoms * typically liquids at room temperature * examples: cyclohexane, methyl cyclopentane * Other hydrocarbons * Alkenes * general formula: CnH2n (n is a whole number, usually from 1 to 20) * linear or branched chain molecules containing one carbon-carbon double-bond * can be liquid or gas * examples: ethylene, butene, isobutene * Dienes and Alkynes * general formula: CnH2n-2 (n is a whole number, usually from 1 to 20) * linear or branched chain molecules containing two carbon-carbon double-bonds * can be liquid or gas * examples: acetylene, butadienes However, before we get products such as synthetic rubber the crude oil must be extracted from its reserves and then processed. Today the leading producers of crude oil include, Texas, California, Alaska, Iran, Kuwait, the middle-east etc. As you can see oil can be found all over the world and therefore different extraction methods are put into progress. Before an oil-rig/well is dug, scientific methods are put into place to determine where to find the oil. Gravimeters and magnetometers and seismographs are used to identify the subsurface rock formations which could hold crude oil. Drilling for the crude oil can be extremely difficult due to these conditions and is often a risky process e.g. some wells must be dug 7 miles deep before some oil stores are found. Today much of the oil extraction is located off shore on platforms standing on the ocean bed. In order for the oil to come up to the oil rig it has to be pumped up by using water, gas or air to force it out. Once the oil has been collected it is often transported by tanker or pipeline to the refinery. Crude oil in its raw form is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons where the hydrocarbons are of varied mass, have differing boiling temperatures and differing lengths. Now as I have mentioned previously these hydrocarbons can be very useful but before we can use them they must be made into smaller more useful hydrocarbons. This state can be achieved through a process called fractional distillation. The technique for this process uses the differing boiling temperatures of the molecules in the crude oil so that all differing molecules can be separated. The long chained hydrocarbons are broken down into narrower fractions where the boiling point amongst that fraction does not vary immensely. This process takes place in a specially designed fractional distillation column. Process 1. Crude oil is vaporized by passing through pipes in a furnace where the oil is heated to 600 degrees Celsius. 2. The oil will then boil forming vapor (gas) 3. The oil is then fed into the distillation chamber towards the bottom. 4. The distillation chamber may be 100m high and consist of vertically stacking rows of steel trays. The trays have many holes (bubble caps) in them to allow the vapor and the liquids to pass through them. The trays will help to collect the liquids that form at various heights in the column. The liquids will flow down the tray over a wier. 5. The reason why the oil is separated into narrower fractions can be explained by looking at the temperature gradient in the column. At the bottom of the tank it is extremely hot due to the freshly fed oil vapor and at the top it is cool. As the vapor passes through the tray it will come into contact with a slightly cooler liquid. This causes some of the hydrogen molecules to condense in that tray causing more violate hydrocarbons in the liquid to evaporate. This process will take place at each tray and in each tray a unique narrow range of hydrocarbons with similar properties will form. After approx 45 condensations and evaporations have taken place the crude oil has been separated into fractions. 6. The collected liquid fractions may either pass to condensers, which cool them further, and then go to storage tanks. Or go to other areas for further chemical processing. The more volatile hydrocarbons with the low boiling point form at the top of the tank and the least volatile hydrocarbons with high boiling point at the bottom. Once operating the column may be kept in an equilibrium state by maintaining the input of the crude oil at a flow rate which balances the total of the flow rate at which the fractions are removed. When a steady state exists the compositions of the liquid and vapor at any one tray do not vary. This enables the fractions at each tray to be drawn individually when required. Each tray will contain a narrow range of fractions with a narrow range of boiling points. The fractional distillation column will separate the crude oil into the following fractions: Refinery gasses, gasoline and naphtha, Kerosene, gas (diesel), oil and residue. Refinery gasses – Consist of simple alkanes containing up to four carbon atoms. They are used as fuels or as a source for building other molecules. Gasoline – Contains Alkanes with 5 – 10 carbons in the chain and is used in petrol. Naphtha – Most important source of chemicals for the chemical process industry. Kerosene – is used for jet fuel and domestic heating. Gas oil – is used as diesel fuel and as a feedstock for catalyst cracking. Residue – used as a source of lubricating oils and wax and bitumen. Bitumen – when mixed with crushed stone is the tarmac compound used for road surfaces. Although the crude oil has been separated into useful fraction, some of the separated ‘trays' can be further processed to form products that are even more useful. Cracking – To obtain more useful alkanes and alkenes Heating the oil fractions with a catalyst. Under these conditions it can brake-down high molecular mass alkanes into low molecular mass alkanes as well as alkenes. The cracking is a random process by which both C-H and C-C bonds can be broken. Therefore it is possible for by products to be produced like: Hydrogen and branched chain alkane isomers. For example Decane can be broken into: CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3 (Decane) H | à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½CH3CH2CH=CH2 + H3C- C-CH3CH2CH3 (But-1-ene) | CH3 (2-methylpentane) Decane is broken into these two isomers because there is a larger requirement for small chain isomers than larger ones. After the cracking the hot vaporized oil fraction and the catalyst behave as a fluid. This is called the fluidized bed. Some of the hydrocarbon fraction can be broke down into carbon which can block the pores of the catalyst. We can recycle the catalyst by pumping it into the regeneration chamber where the carbon coke is burnt off in air at high temperatures. Isomerisation Is the process which we use to obtain branched alkanes. The process involves heating the straight chain alkanes with platinum catalyst to form Branched chain alkanes: CH3 | CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ H3C-C-CH2CH3 | CH3 (Hexane) (2,2-dimethylbutane) However these newly formed branched chain alkanes have to be separated from the straight chain alkanes and this is done by a molecular sieve. The sieve is a type of zeolite that has pores through which the straight chain alkanes can pass through but the branched chain alkanes cannot due to there bulky shape and thus they are separated off. The straight chain alkanes may then be recycled to the reactor. Reforming This involves the conversion of alkanes to cycloalkanes or cycloalkanes to arenes using a bimetallic catalyst. For example a cluster of platinum and rhenium atoms is very effective in removing hydrogen atoms from methylcyclohexane to form methylbenzene. (Methylcyclohexane) (Methylbenzene) A catalyst containing Clusters of iridium atoms and platinum enables conversions of straight chain alkanes to arenes: CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3 + 4H2 (Hexane) The metal clusters have to be between 1 and 5nm thick and are deposited on an inert support such as aluminum oxide. The Rhenium and the iridium help prevent the build up of carbon deposits which reduce the activity of the catalyst. Why are Alkanes fuels? The reason for this is because of their reaction with oxygen. Alkane (fuel) + Oxygen (or other oxidizer) à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Oxidation products + Energy transfer This basically means that a fuel must react with oxygen to release large amounts of energy and Oxidation products that aren't extremely harmful to mankind. Although different chains of alkanes can produce different energy amounts and byproducts and are used for different purposes, they all comply with this equation. Below I will list the ideal characteristics which all fuels must have. * A fuel must react with an oxidizer to release large amounts of energy. * A Fuel must be oxidized fairly easily, ignite quickly and sustain burning without further intervention. * A fuel should be readily available, in large quantities and at a reasonable price. * A fuel should not burn to give products that are difficult to dispose of, or are unpleasant and harmful. * A fuel should be convenient to store and transport safely without loss. So obviously different fuels are used in different environments. In Industry For example larger fuels that produce a lot of energy that may give off lots of harmful gasses can be used. This is because in industry it will have the relevant equipment to extract the dangerous fumes and dispose of them safely. In homes however where there won't be the relevant equipment to handle toxic fuels, more environmental friendly fuels can be used like gas. And for transport we have to consider the transporting of fuel issue so petrol which is a liquid can be used rather than more environmental friendly hydrogen as there is a possibility of leakage as it is a gas. However the world is subject to change so in 10 years time other fuels maybe used in place of these. Problems with these fuels There are various problems with these fuels. One of the major ones is that we as a nation rely on them too much (Coal, oil and gas). As they are fossil fuels they are in effect none renewable resources. At our rate of consumption it is predicted that these resource will be depleted within 100 years. Also the fossil fuels are the raw materials which supply the feed stock for our chemical industry. They can be processed to produce useful products such as; Polymers, medicines, solvents, adhesives etc. So how long can we afford to burn our chemical feedstock? There is also the issue of carbon dioxide emissions of these fuels. This is the major contributor to the greenhouse effect which causes the temperature of our environment to increase dramatically. Due to this, precautions are being made to reduce these emissions. Britain has been set a target to reduce its emissions by 35%. This could be achieved by the outright ban of coal and oil but nations are reluctant to do this as they have become so reliant on these resources. There is also the possibility of a spillage which can pollute rivers and streams and the environment. This can cause death to animals and plant life and there is also the enormous cost of cleaning it up after the disaster. If the carbon based fuel does not completely combust in the furnaces, carbon monoxide is produced and this can cause death by interfering with the blood stream. 2C + O2 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ 2CO (impartial oxidation to give carbon monoxide) Also sulphur and nitrogen dioxide can be produced which contribute to harmful acid rain. Development of renewable resources As our reserves of fossil fuels are limited we must find alternative sources of energy. In the search for the alternatives, chemists and other scientists are now working to develop renewable resources such as: Biofuels This is when plants are grown to be used directly as fuels e.g. wood, animal waste and plant waste to produce alcohol and using waste products to produce biogas. Advantages – Renewable, help to reduce waste, used with simple technology. Disadvantages – Not large enough supply to replace fossil fuels at present rate of use. Nuclear Fuels Chain reaction involving the nuclei of isotopes of uranium 235 splitting to produce vast amounts of energy. Advantages – No carbon, nitrogen or sulphur as polluting byproducts. Disadvantages – Radioactive waste products are difficult to store and treat; which is a very expensive process Moving air: wind Energy of moving air is transferred into the motion of windmills and wind turbines Advantages – Renewable pollution and waste free; can be used in locality where energy is needed Disadvantages – Expensive, not reliable, noisy and ugly to the environment Hydroelectricity Water stored behind dams and waterfalls can be released and generate electricity by turning a generator. Advantages – Renewable, predictable, waste free and can be used on large scale. Disadvantages – Expensive to install, environmental impact of dams etc. Solar panels Panels of solar heat collectors, used to heat water in parts of world were sun is plentiful. Advantages – Renewable, no pollution Disadvantages – Require a lot of sunshine, Expensive initial cost, Very large scale to be suitable. Hydrogen Hydrogen is extracted quite cheaply from water by electrolysis and is used as a fuel. Advantages – No pollution as water is the only waste product. Disadvantages – Too dangerous and explosive, difficult to store and to use for transport or in domestic situations. Bibliography I would like to thank the following books, websites and teachers which I have used information from: Mrs. Chapman (teacher) www.Howstuffworks.com (website) Microsoft Encarta 2002 (CD ROM) Cambridge chemistry 1 by Brian Ratcliff (Book) Chemists in context Second edition by GC Hill and JS Holman (Book) Please note that I have used the information in no particular order however the information taken exactly from the resources has been written in italic. Matthew Stothers Chemistry