Temperature and its measurement answers Essay Example

Temperature and its measurement answers Essay Example Temperature and its measurement answers Essay Temperature and its measurement answers Essay In the process of measurement of temperature, there is a lot to understand and one of them is the understanding of the working mechanisms of thermometers. In thermometers, there is either a mercury or alcohol thermometer which helps in the measurement of the hotness or coldness of a place or a body. In both the mercury and alcohol thermometers, the alcohol or the mercury used become bigger when heated and smaller when cooled. The glass tube of a thermometer ensures that the liquid is confined and that the liquid has no other space but to go up when the liquid is heated and goes down when the liquid is cooled. The calibration helps in the measurement of the extent to which the liquid is heated or cooled. There is the need to ensure that the thermometers record the right readings which help in the acquisition of the right temperatures for the benefits of the public. Question 1 Question a In the graph, the blue line represents the thermo, the red one represents thermistor while the green one represents the PRT. It is apparent that the graphs of thermo and thermistor relate directly meaning that any change in heat leads to direct effects in the all the two components of measurement. On the contrary, the graph of PRT relate in a different manner, and this is because it starts by showing a non-uniform graph the proceeds to relate directly with the other two. In this manner, the temperature has the same effects on both the thermos and the thermistor but has a different effect on the PRT. Question b The devices that are most accurate are themo and the thermistor because they show a uniform change with the change in the temperature, on the contrary, PRT is the least accurate because application of heat at the initial stages have a different effect on the substance leading to non-uniform reaction upon application of heat. Question c Another observation is that steady increase in temperature makes the devices to have a steady and uniform measurement of heat. However, thermos is the best device used in the measurement of heat because of the steady readings that it gives in the process of measurement. Question 2 From the graph, it is apparent that the increase in time does not cause any changes in the measurement devices, PRT shows no change with increase in time, however, both the thermistor and thermos show a slight change as they drop from a higher value to a smaller value but finally maintain a constant with increase in time. The second observation is that both thermistor and thermo approach zero with increase in time. Conclusion In the experiment, there are a lot that needs to be examined in the process and one of them is the measurement and the recording process. Such is because the process of recording must be carried out in a way that represents the situation on the ground and proves helpful in the experiment. Different devices used in the measurement of temperatures work differently because of the mechanism used in the process of measuring results. There is a need for students to ensure that they understand the working mechanisms of the same and that they appreciate they employ the use of thermometers in the right manner, and that they make use of the same in the right manner to ensure that they benefit the population. To help in understanding the way thermometers are used in the representation of results, there is need to compare readings from different thermometers which is of great importance to the population. In this regard, the different readings help in showing the precision of instruments to aid in making the right choices of the measuring instruments.

The Discovery of King Tuts Tomb

The Discovery of King Tuts Tomb British archaeologist and Egyptologist Howard Carter along with his sponsor, Lord Carnarvon, spent many years and a lot of money searching for a tomb in Egypts Valley of the Kings that they werent sure still existed. But on November 4, 1922, they found it. Carter had discovered not just an unknown ancient Egyptian tomb, but one that had lain nearly undisturbed for over 3,000 years. What lay within King Tuts tomb astounded the world. Carter and Carnarvon Carter had worked in Egypt for 31 years before he found King Tuts tomb. He had begun his career in Egypt at age 17, using his artistic talents to copy wall scenes and inscriptions. Eight years later (in 1899), Carter was appointed the Inspector-General of Monuments in Upper Egypt. In 1905, Carter resigned from this job and in 1907, went to work for Lord Carnarvon. George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, loved to race around in the newly invented automobile. But an auto accident in 1901 left him in ill health. Vulnerable to the damp English winter, Lord Carnarvon began spending winters in Egypt in 1903. To pass the time, he took up archaeology as a hobby. Turning up nothing but a mummified cat (still in its coffin) his first season, Lord Carnarvon decided to hire someone knowledgeable for the succeeding seasons. For this, he hired Howard Carter. The Long Search After several relatively successful seasons working together, World War I brought a near halt to their work in Egypt. Yet, by the fall of 1917, Carter and Lord Carnarvon began excavating in earnest in the Valley of the Kings. Carter stated that there were several pieces of evidence already found- a faience cup, a piece of gold foil, and a cache of funerary items which all bore the name of Tutankhamun- that convinced him that the tomb of King Tut was still to be found. Carter also believed that the locations of these items pointed to a specific area where they might find King Tutankhamuns tomb. Carter was determined to systematically search this area by excavating down to the bedrock. Besides some ancient workmens huts at the foot of the tomb of Rameses VI and 13 calcite jars at the entrance to the tomb of Merenptah, Carter did not have much to show after five years of excavating in the Valley of the Kings. Thus, Lord Carnarvon decided to stop the search. After a discussion with Carter, Carnarvon relented and agreed to one last season. One Final Season By November 1, 1922, Carter began his final season working in the Valley of the Kings by having his workers expose the ancient workmens huts at the base of the tomb of Rameses VI. After exposing and documenting the huts, Carter and his workmen began to excavate the ground beneath them. By the fourth day of work, they had found something- a step that had been cut into the rock. Steps Work feverishly continued on the afternoon of November 4 through the following morning. By late afternoon on November 5, 12 stairs leading down were revealed; and in front of them, stood the upper portion of a blocked entrance. Carter searched the plastered door for a name. But of the seals that could be read, he found only the impressions of the royal necropolis. Carter was extremely excited, writing: The design was certainly of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Could it be the tomb of a noble buried here by royal consent? Was it a royal cache, a hiding-place to which a mummy and its equipment had been removed for safety? Or was it actually the tomb of the king for whom I had spent so many years in search? Telling Carnarvon To protect the find, Carter had his workmen fill in the stairs, covering them so that none were showing. While several of Carters most trusted workmen stood guard, Carter left to make preparations. The first of which was contacting Lord Carnarvon in England to share the news of the find. On November 6, two days after finding the first step, Carter sent a cable: At last have made wonderful discovery in Valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact; re-covered same for your arrival; congratulations. The Sealed Door It was nearly three weeks after finding the first step that Carter was able to proceed. On November 23, Lord Carnarvon and his daughter, Lady Evelyn Herbert, arrived in Luxor. The following day, the workers had again cleared the staircase, now exposing all 16 of its steps and the full face of the sealed doorway. Now Carter found what he could not see before since the bottom of the doorway had still been covered with rubble: There were several seals on the bottom of the door with Tutankhamuns name on them. Now that the door was fully exposed, they noticed that the upper left of the doorway had been broken through, presumably by tomb robbers, and resealed. The tomb was not intact, yet the fact that the tomb had been resealed showed that the tomb had not been emptied. The Passageway On the morning of November 25, the sealed doorway was photographed and the seals noted. Then the door was removed. A passageway emerged from the darkness, filled to the top with limestone chips. Upon closer examination, Carter could tell that tomb robbers had dug a hole through the upper left section of the passageway. (The hole had been refilled in antiquity with larger, darker rocks than used for the rest of the fill.) This meant that the tomb had probably been raided twice in antiquity. The first time was within a few years of the kings burial and before there was a sealed door and fill in the passageway. (Scattered objects were found under the fill.) The second time, the robbers had to dig through the fill and could escape only with smaller items. By the following afternoon, the fill along the 26-foot-long passageway had been cleared away to expose another sealed door, almost identical to the first. Again, there were signs that a hole had been made in the doorway and resealed. Everywhere the Glint of Gold Tension mounted. If anything was left inside, it would be a discovery of a lifetime for Carter. If the tomb was relatively intact, it would be something the world had never seen. Carter wrote: With trembling hands I made a tiny breach in the upper left-hand corner. Darkness and blank space, as far as an iron testing-rod could reach, showed that whatever lay beyond was empty, and not filled like the passage we had just cleared. Candle tests were applied as a precaution against possible foul gases, and then, widening the hold a little, I inserted the candle and peered in, Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn and Callender standing anxiously beside me to hear the verdict. At first I could see nothing, the hot air escaping from the chamber causing the candle flame to flicker, but presently, as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold- everywhere the glint of gold. For the moment- an eternity it must have seemed to the others standing by- I was struck dumb with amazement, and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense any longer, inquired anxiously, Can you see anything? it was all I could do to get out the words, Yes, wonderful things. The next morning, the plastered door was photographed and the seals documented. Then the door came down, revealing the Antechamber. The wall opposite the entrance wall was piled nearly to the ceiling with boxes, chairs, couches, and so much more- most of them gold- in organized chaos. On the right wall stood two life-size statues of the king, facing each other as if to protect the sealed entrance that was between them. This sealed door also showed signs of being broken into and resealed, but this time the robbers had entered in the bottom middle of the door. To the left of the door from the passageway lay a tangle of parts from several dismantled chariots. As Carter and the others spent time looking at the room and its contents, they noticed another sealed door behind the couches on the far wall. This sealed door also had a hole in it, but unlike the others, the hole had not been resealed. Carefully, they crawled under the couch and shone their light. The Annexe In this room (later called the Annexe), everything was in disarray. Carter theorized that officials had attempted to straighten up the Antechamber after the robbers had plundered, but they had made no attempt to straighten the Annexe. He wrote: I think the discovery of this second chamber, with its crowded contents, had a somewhat sobering effect on us. Excitement had gripped us hitherto, and given us no pause for thought, but now for the first time we began to realize what a prodigious task we had in front of us, and what a responsibility it entailed. This was no ordinary find, to be disposed of in a normal seasons work; nor was there any precedent to show us how to handle it. The thing was outside all experience, bewildering, and for the moment it seemed as though there were more to be done than any human agency could accomplish. Documenting and Preserving the Artifacts Before the entrance between the two statues in the Antechamber could be opened, the items in the Antechamber needed to be removed or risk damage to them from flying debris, dust, and movement. Documentation and preservation of each item was a monumental task. Carter realized that this project was larger than he could handle alone, thus he asked for and received help from a large number of specialists. To begin the clearing process, each item was photographed in situ, both with an assigned number and without. Then, a sketch and description of each item were made on correspondingly numbered record cards. Next, the item was noted on a ground plan of the tomb (only for the Antechamber). Carter and his team had to be extremely careful when attempting to remove any of the objects. Since many of the items were in extremely delicate states (such as beaded sandals in which the threading had disintegrated, leaving only beads held together by 3,000 years of habit), many items needed immediate treatment, such as a celluloid spray, to keep the items intact for removal. Moving the items also proved a challenge. Carter wrote of it, Clearing the objects from the Antechamber was like playing a gigantic game of spillikins. So crowded were they that it was a matter of extreme difficulty to move one without running serious risk of damaging others, and in some cases they were so inextricably tangled that an elaborate system of props and supports had to be devised to hold one object or group of objects in place while another was being removed. At such times life was a nightmare. When an item was successfully removed, it was placed upon a stretcher and gauze and other bandages were wrapped around the item to protect it for removal. Once a number of stretchers were filled, a team of people would carefully pick them up and move them out of the tomb. As soon as they exited the tomb with the stretchers, they were greeted by hundreds of tourists and reporters who waited for them at the top. Since word had spread quickly around the world about the tomb, the popularity of the site was excessive. Every time someone came out of the tomb, cameras would go off. The trail of stretchers was taken to the conservation laboratory, located at some distance away in the tomb of Seti II. Carter had appropriated this tomb to serve as a conservation laboratory, photographic studio, carpenters shop (to make the boxes needed to ship the objects), and a storeroom. Carter allotted tomb No. 55 as a darkroom. The items, after conservation and documentation, were very carefully packed into crates and sent by rail to Cairo. It took Carter and his team seven weeks to clear the Antechamber. On Feb. 17, 1923, they began dismantling the sealed door between the statues. The Burial Chamber The inside of the Burial Chamber was almost completely filled with a large shrine over 16 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 9 feet tall. The walls of the shrine were made of gilded wood inlaid with brilliant blue porcelain. Unlike the rest of the tomb, upon which the walls had been left as rough-cut rock (unsmoothed and unplastered), the walls of the Burial Chamber (excluding the ceiling) were covered with gypsum plaster and painted yellow. Funeral scenes were painted on these yellow walls. On the ground around the shrine were a number of items, including portions of two broken necklaces, which looked as if they had been dropped by robbers, and magic oars to ferry the kings barque [boat] across the waters of the Nether World. To take apart and examine the shrine, Carter had to first demolish the partition wall between the Antechamber and the Burial Chamber. Still, there was not much room between the three remaining walls and the shrine. As Carter and his team worked to disassemble the shrine they found that this was merely the outer shrine, with four shrines in total. Each section of the shrines weighed up to half a ton. In the small confines of the Burial Chamber, work was difficult and uncomfortable. When the fourth shrine was disassembled, the kings sarcophagus was revealed. The sarcophagus was yellow and made out of a single block of quartzite. The lid did not match the rest of the sarcophagus and had been cracked in the middle during antiquity (an attempt had been made to cover the crack by filling it with gypsum).   When the heavy lid was lifted, a gilded wooden coffin was revealed. The coffin was in a distinctly human shape and was 7 feet 4 inches long. Opening the Coffin A year and a half later, they were ready to lift the lid of the coffin. Conservation work of other objects already removed from the tomb had taken precedence. Thus, the anticipation of what lay beneath was extreme. Inside, they found another, smaller coffin. The lifting of the lid of the second coffin revealed a third one, made entirely of gold. On top of this third, and final, coffin was a dark material that had once been liquid and poured over the coffin from the hands to the ankles. The liquid had hardened over the years and firmly stuck the third coffin to the bottom of the second. The thick residue had to be removed with heat and hammering. Then the lid of the third coffin was raised. At last, the royal mummy of Tutankhamun was revealed. It had been over 3,300 years since a human being had seen the kings remains. This was the first royal Egyptian mummy that had been found untouched since his burial. Carter and the others hoped King Tutankhamuns mummy would reveal a large amount of knowledge about ancient Egyptian burial customs. Though it was still an unprecedented find, Carter and his team were dismayed to learn that the liquid poured on the mummy had done a great deal of damage. The linen wrappings of the mummy could not be unwrapped as hoped, but instead had to be removed in large chunks.   Many of the items found within the wrappings had also been damaged, and some were almost completely disintegrated. Carter and his team found over 150 items on the mummy- almost all of them gold- including amulets, bracelets, collars, rings, and daggers. The autopsy on the mummy found that Tutankhamun had been about 5 feet 5 1/8 inches tall and had died around age 18. Certain evidence also attributed Tutankhamuns death to murder. The Treasury On the right wall of the Burial Chamber was an entrance into a storeroom, now known as the Treasury. The Treasury, like the Antechamber, was filled with items including many boxes and model boats. Most notable in this room was the large gilded canopic shrine. Inside the gilded shrine was the canopic chest made out of a single block of calcite. Inside the canopic chest were the four  canopic jars, each in the shape of an Egyptian coffin and elaborately decorated, holding the pharaohs embalmed organs: liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines. Also discovered in the Treasury were two small coffins found in a simple, undecorated wooden box. Inside these two coffins were the  mummies  of two premature fetuses. It is hypothesized that these were Tutankhamuns children. (Tutankhamun is not known to have had any surviving children.) World Famous Discovery The discovery of King Tuts tomb in November 1922 created an obsession around the world. Daily updates of the find were demanded. Masses of mail and telegrams deluged Carter and his associates. Hundreds of tourists waited outside the tomb for a peek. Hundreds more people tried to use their influential friends and acquaintances to get a tour of the tomb, which caused a great hindrance to work in the tomb and endangered the artifacts.  Ancient Egyptian  style clothes quickly hit the markets and appeared in fashion magazines. Even architecture was affected when Egyptian designs were copied into modern buildings. The Curse The rumors and excitement over the discovery became especially acute when Lord Carnarvon became suddenly ill from an infected mosquito bite on his cheek (he had accidentally aggravated it while shaving). On April 5, 1923, just a week after the bite, Lord Carnarvon died. Carnarvons death gave fuel to the idea that there was a curse associated with King Tuts tomb.   Immortality Through Fame In all, it took Carter and his colleagues 10 years to document and clear out Tutankhamuns tomb. After Carter completed his work at the tomb in 1932, he began to write a six-volume definitive work, A Report Upon the Tomb of Tut ankh Amun. Carter died before he was able to finish, passing away at his home Kensington, London, on March 2, 1939. The mysteries of the young pharaohs tomb live on:  As recently as  March 2016,  radar scans  indicated that there may yet be hidden chambers not yet opened within King Tuts tomb. Ironically,  Tutankhamun, whose obscurity during his own time allowed his tomb to be forgotten, has now become one of the most well-known pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Having traveled around the world as part of an exhibit, King Tuts body once again rests in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Sources Carter, Howard.  The Tomb of Tutankhamen. E.P. Dutton, 1972.Frayling, Christopher.  The Face of Tutankhamun. Boston: Faber and Faber, 1992.Reeves, Nicholas. The Complete Tutankhamun: The King, the Tomb, the Royal Treasure. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1990.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Keurig Coffee Case Study

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Keurig Coffee - Case Study Example This research aims to evaluate and present Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Keurig that are operating in processed and packaged foods industry and their sector is coffee makers. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) was founded in year 1981 as a small cafà © and combined its operations with Keurig in 2006; it has its head office in Waterbury, Vermont. As the case says, currently it is considered as the market leader in specialty coffee industry because it is offering top quality coffees, implementing innovative technology for brewing and fulfilling various socially responsible business practices. GMCR and Keurig had to master various skills to acquire top position in the market. GMCR is operating in coffee maker business and specialty coffee sector; it obtains, manufactures and then sells various kinds of coffee, teas, cocoa and other form of beverages in K-cup portion packs and coffee in conventional packaging style. It is believed that it is offering more than two hundred v arieties of hot beverages. In addition to aforementioned products, GMCR is providing wide selection of whole beans, ground coffee in fractional packs and ground coffee selections in bags that can be easily used by customers of At-home (AH) and Away-from-Home (AFH) markets; AH and AFH has much more potential of growth as no coffee brand has been targeting these attractive markets. The main issues and challenges faced by GMCR presented in the research.... Blanford is Chief Executive officer of GMCR. The financial highlights of the company are shown in the following figure (ttm stands for trailing twelve months, yoy stands for year over year and mrq stands for most recent quarter). (â€Å"Key Ratios of GMCR†, 2012) SWOT Analysis Strengths Valuable strategic partnership with Keurig – As mentioned in the case, it is GMCR’s biggest strength as incorporation of Keurig that is the leading manufacturer of single-cup brewing systems allowed it to enter specialty coffee market conveniently. It acquired Keurig License and all its licensees in 2006. It elevated its position from small coffee company to pioneer in specialty coffee market with K-Cup single serve brewing system of Keurig. Focus on coffee consumers – GMCR focuses on its valuable customers by offering them high quality coffee that is easy to make and can select from wide range of choices. It provides specialty coffee in simplified brewing machine that allo ws customers to choose from twenty-seven brands and about two hundred beverage varieties. Collaborations with well-known brands in market – GMCR has entered into collaborative agreements with various multi-channel distributors so that sales and awareness of GMCR and Keurig products could be increased as mentioned in the case. It is trying to reach as many consumers as possible by using various marketing avenues especially partnerships with leading brands such as Starbucks, Aramark, JC Penny’s, Cusinrt, Starbucks and Costco. Well-organized expansion plan – It has expanded its operations in Southern California and Canada by acquisitions and is opening new manufacturing plants in Virginia and California to support its fast growing expansion plan. Weaknesses K-Cup pack patent expiration – In September

The Birth Stories Of Christ And Buddha Research Paper

The Birth Stories Of Christ And Buddha - Research Paper Example The young Gautama was engaged in an excessive consumption and indulgence of sensual pleasures and he gave all these up only in his thirties as he must have gotten tired of temporary and fleeting pleasures. Jesus Christ lived a poor life as a young child and adolescent because his father Joseph was just an ordinary carpenter while the prince Gautama Buddha lived in a palace with all its luxuries and extravagance such that he himself got exhausted with all these pleasures. In the story of Jesus Christ, he forswore all material things in life and made the conscious or deliberate decision to live a life of poverty and humility because he knew early in his life he was destined for a work of proselytizing the unbelievers and pagans at the time. In contrast, Buddha realized his mission in life only much later when he saw an extremely old man and became worried about his own fate when he himself will grow old someday. Jesus Christ preached a gospel of love and brotherhood in order to gain en try to the Heavens through a life of sacrifice, denial, and re-connection with God the Father while the Gautama Buddha preached his teachings based on the so-called "Four Signs" to attain a level of enlightenment that is free from material or bodily desires. Both preached the twin virtues of humility and renunciation of all material things in order to attain eternal bliss in the next life. Christ promised redemption through atonement while Buddha pledged release from material torment through a series of rituals to suppress karma.

Key Worker Living Scheme Analysis

Key Worker Living Scheme Analysis Key Workers Conference Abstract Affordable housing in London is an issue which affects many individuals and the problem of affordable housing is particularly of concern to poorer sectors within London and those in low paid employment (Greater London Authority (2005) 1) (Pacione, M. (1997) 8) and (Greater London Authority (2006) 1). This is a situation which remains unchanged by the fact that there are schemes in place which purport to ameliorate the problems relating to affordable housing experienced by many people living and working in London (Rugg, R. (1999) 19-20). Schemes such as the Key Worker Living scheme which is administered through the offices of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Teachers Housing Association Scheme and London Strategic Housing have been targeted specifically at key workers who experience housing needs in London. However, although the government have made many housing provisions for London based key workers, the problem remains that these provisions arguably do not extend far enough. Specifically, it may be argued that the definition of what a key worker is is perhaps too narrow. It may also be argued that those who fall outside the definition of key worker, but nevertheless experience housing problems are being let down by the government, principally because many of them simply do not qualify for the schemes which have been mentioned above. The fact that house prices in London are increasing quite rapidly, and that the average salary within London has not increased in the same proportions sharpens the hardships experienced by those in low paid employment in London, who don’t qualify for key worker schemes. These arguments will be put forward and evaluated in this paper and there will be a wider discussion of whether there is any real need to continue to have a ‘key worker requirement’ to trigger the assistance which is available to those in need of housing support within London. The paper will also consider wider economic, socio logical and political factors and will employ a qualitative, evaluative methodology in doing so. Who is included within the definition of a Key Worker? The people to whom the status of key worker is attributed to must firstly be employed in the public sector dispensing essential services in a sector where there are problems with recruiting staff and retaining their services. Categorises of people who fulfil this criteria are: clinical staff employed by the NHS, for example nurses (doctors and dentists are excluded); teachers working in maintained primary and secondary educational institutions; police officers, community support officers and prison staff; uniformed staff in the fire and rescue services; probation officers and local authority employed staff (for example educational psychologists) (Department of Communities and Local Housing (2006) 1). Perhaps it is also wise to comment on which workers may not fall within the definition. These sectors may include cleaning staff and support staff within teaching institutions, many categories of unskilled labourers, support staff wi thin hospitals and universities and those who provide support services within other professions. Why assistance is particularly tied to the Key Worker Sector; and What is being done to assist those who are not Key Workers? The rationale behind tying housing assistance to key workers is built upon much common sense. It is sensible to ensure that workers who provide key services are encouraged to stay within key occupations that provide useful services to the general public. Perhaps the need for such a rationale can be brought more sharply into focus by considering what may occur if essential workers were ‘priced out of the market’. A scenario like this will deplete the services which are available to the entire population within a given area and would perhaps impact hospitals and schools in particular. It is plain to see therefore why housing assistance in terms of affordable housing is targeted at these sectors which may be described as containing key workers. However, there is also an argument to be made that these provisions are not enough, and that they fail to a cknowledge the wider issue which is that affordable housing affects many individuals who fall outside the definition of a key worker. The reality is that the problem of affordable housing is a pervasive one, and, as we have seen explained above, the definition of key worker is quite a narrow construction. Therefore many non key workers have very low incomes but do not meet the criteria which are prescribed to give them key worker housing assistance. The services which these groups provide are indeed essential; they help to support the day to day running of essential services and are therefore crucial to the lives of all of those living in London. It seems logical therefore that these individuals should be given the same levels of support that key workers are given when it comes to the issue of affordable housing. As we have seen explained above, the reality is very different, and critics of the fact that just key workers qualify for many schemes to provide housing support point to the actual need experienced by the individuals involved; not just to the wider usefulness that housing support schemes may afford the ge neral public (which is the justification for the linkage between some housing support and just key workers). However, is it the case whereby the government simply ignore the needs of those who do not qualify for housing assistance as they are not key workers? Clearly this is not the case. The government operate housing associations and special needs facilities for those individuals who have needs due to disability or poverty. Those who are on low incomes may qualify for the new tax credits schemes and indeed for rates relief or housing benefit to help lessen the effects of the affordable housing problem. In terms of specific housing provision, non key workers may take advantage of some Social Registered Landlord Schemes  which include Home Exchange and Right to Acquire Schemes. The Home Exchange scheme is open to secure, or assured tenants and involves exchanging homes between tenants with the permission of landlords; other schemes include the Seaside and Country Homes initiative which involves the allocation of homes to those considered deserving (not necessarily key workers); the Homefi nder Direct scheme which is similar to the Seaside and Country Homes scheme and the LAWN project which makes homes available to ethnic minorities (www.cityoflondon.gov.uk). These schemes are intended to assist all those in need of housing assistance and not always just key workers. However, how much help do these schemes really deliver? The reality of poverty in London means that many tenants on low incomes are not those who would qualify for the Home Exchange scheme or other schemes, since they may not have assured tenancies. People who receive housing assistance in the form of housing benefit lose their entitlement to benefit if their savings are over a certain threshold, and therefore it appears that poor people in London, who experience housing need and who are not covered by the key worker schemes are in a state of perpetual poverty. It also appears that the government’s main solution to the housing problem in London is to suggest that people within London should make an effort to relocate in other areas where housing and living is cheaper. This is tantamount to indirectly saying that low paid workers do not deserve to live within London; indeed the government’s failure to acknowledge the problem or to deal with it in any other way reinforces this point and effectively classes poorer people as second class citizens. This attitude taken by government also takes no consideration of the fact that many people who cannot afford to live in London, as they are not covered by key worker schemes, and who the government expects to simply relocate to other parts of the country, may have relations who live in London, and may have spent their entire lives there. To expect these people to abandon their roots is not a realistic solution to the problem of affordable housing in London. Also, given that the government’s main approach to the problem of affordable housing for poor people who are not covered by key worker schemes is to relocate, no assistance is offered to those who actually have jobs in London and who are faced with a choice between unemployment forced through relocation, and continuing to experience housing need while being employed in London. None of these problems have easy answers, but clearly a good approach to the problem is to more explicitly acknowledge that there is a problem to start off with, and it is also clear that to only offer assistance in the form of housing support to key workers is to assist one category of people in housing need by making another groups’ housing need more acute. Conversely however, on a macro and political level the government have attempted to make better use of the space which is available to build affordable housing within London. This has involved the conversions of abandoned commercial sites for use as housing sites (Greater London Authority (2005) Section 5.4). This is intended to ensure that available space within London is used sensibly to help lessen the effects of shortages in housing building sites. Clearly this will be of long term assistance to both key workers and non key workers. On a macro level another example of the government’s efforts in this area is their current emphasis on building ‘sustainable urban environments’, an emphasis which is of benefit to all of those affected by the affordable housing problem, not just those considered to be key workers. The government has also conducted many research initiatives into identifying the root causes of affordable housing problems and aiming to eliminate them. Although these initiatives only address the needs of those affected by the affordable housing problem in an indirect sense, it is clear that the government’s efforts on a macro scale (Karn, V. and Wolman, H. (1992) Ch 1) are intended to help those key workers and those non key workers who are all affected by the affordable housing problem. The problem remains however, that non key workers simply do not get the levels of support that key workers may qualify for, in spite of the fact that perhaps both sectors arguably equally deserve this. Therefore, would the problem of affordable housing be more fairly approached by simply abolishing the requirement for workers to qualify as key workers in order to qualify for housing support within London? Another approach would be to make it easier to fall within the definition of what a key worker is. The answer to these two suggestions is that perhaps there is an argument for this to be the case, but it must be counterbalanced against the fact that resources within this area are limited. It is inevitable that there will be a deserving case to be made for many third parties who do not fall within the current definition of what   a key worker is and of course, it is the case that it is desirable for all of those who are in need to receive housing support. As we have seen explained above however, there is a cogent rationale for why support is targeted at the key worker sector in particular. Key workers provide valuable services to the entire community and to neglect them would be detrimental to the levels of available services which all those resident in London often depend upon. The reality is that limited resources have to be dissipated in ways that are prescriptive and designed to exclude some categories of people. This exclusion does not point to an idea that the excluded person is undeserving; instead it points to the fact that there are limited resources which have to be expended in a frugal manner. However, this is not to say that more lateral thinking on the part of the government and a more open acknowledgement on the part of the government that non key workers experience acute housing need in London would not go a long way to lessening the housing hardship which they experience.

Nicomachean Ethics on Moral Virtue Essay

Aristotle believes that virtue, or excellence, can be distinguished into two different types. One being intellectual virtue, and the other being moral virtue. Aristotle encompasses intellectual virtue as being philosophical wisdom, understanding and practical wisdom. He considers moral virtue to be of liberality and temperance. Aristotle distinguishes between the two types using his previous argument about the irrational element. Aristotle shows that the irrational element is comprised of a vegetative element as well as a desiring element, while the rational is separate from the vegetative. The point that Aristotle makes is that the irrational can be composed of subdivisions and each could have an impact on the other. The same idea is carried into his argument about virtue being distinguished into two types. Intellectual virtue comes from a sense, logical reasoning, or rational thought. The ability to understand and act in accordance with that which is held to be virtuous. Aristotle defines the split between intellectual and moral virtue in its perception of how it is obtained. Intellectual virtue is obtained through teaching requiring time and experience. This goes hand in hand with his definition for logical reasoning and rational thought. How can one distinguish between that which is considered virtuous? Since it is the person who must decide what is virtuous and that which is not, they must rely on life teachings to understand the difference. Aristotle claims moral virtue becomes a result of habit. Aristotle relates moral virtue with nature. Nature has a certain course of action, which must be followed. Anything contradicting the course of nature would be classified as non-uniform. Using the examples of throwing a ball. Its natural state is to come down and no matter how much you throw the ball up, it will never go against its nature to come down. Moral virtue arises in us from nature, it does not need to be taught externally, it is born with us, and it is through habit that we are able to perfect our moral virtue. Moral virtue becomes a trait that is acquired through activity. In practice it becomes perfect, and by nature we are all accessible to it. Aristotle uses the analogy of builders having to build to become good builders. The same concept applies to the development of moral virtue. Moral virtue can then be stated to apply through action. It is action, which will then define how well we display levels of moral virtue. Aristotle uses this point to lead way into his next argument about the development of states of character. As stated earlier, moral virtue is a way of nature. Nature implies that actions must be of a certain kind or characteristic. In application to the states of character, Aristotle claims that it is the differences, which define the states of character. Therefore measurement of a person’s state of character lies on the ability to see the differences between a person’s action and how far that action is from a natural course of action. The natural course of action becomes the next argument, for how does one measure the natural state of character or the norm? Aristotle begins by tackling this argument by defining what is considered not the normal. With this Aristotle gives rise to moral vices. Moral vices become defined as the extremes of moral action. In order to re-enforce this Aristotle uses examples of health and eating. If a person is hungry, they can choose how much to eat, but what is considered a healthy amount to eat? There are now two extremes present, to eat nothing, or to overeat. In the case of eating nothing this would constitute as bad for the health, for there are no nutrients to fuel the body. Conversely in the argument, if one were to eat too much, this may lead to obesity which then gives high rise to a greater number of cardiovascular issues leading to a downfall in health. The point of this argument is to define that there are extremes and that these extremes can have adverse affects toward the goal in question. Vices therefore have adverse affects towards goals. In order to build up moral virtue they must not follow vices. Aristotle points out that it becomes the mean, which becomes that which one should follow. Relating back to moral virtues being that of habit, it can be said that as actions are carried out, character is being built based on these actions. As character builds, they become more and more likely to do the same actions over and over, because it is defined in that characteristic state. For example if I were to run 2 miles every single day, for the first few days I would feel sore and unacquainted with running, but as time goes on, my muscles will naturally become adapt to the running environment, and will not cause me much pain. However if I were to stop running all in all after months of habitually running then I would begin to find myself feeling out of shape and un-fit and my muscles would once again to begin to adapt to my laziness. In order to build character, one must stay away from vices, and stick to preservation of the mean, and during this process, they must stay with the mean, and not deviate, for its these deviations away from the mean, in which a character would begin to follow a building of unmoral virtue. Therefore it is the mean action that will define what constitutes as a moral virtuous action. Aristotle begins to further his argument over moral virtue by explaining virtue in terms of actions. Though there has to be some underlying constitution, which states that these actions are of valid in terms of building moral virtue. Aristotle claims that a person who lacks virtue may perform a virtuous action. Their actions will hold no sustenance if they do not comply with the three things which Aristotle points out must be held true in order to perform a virtuous action. A virtuous action consists of three things: they must have knowledge, choice of the action, and must do so from an unchangeable character. Actions, which will arise from a person who follows these, are indicative of a person who is in character and have developed a state of character. In order to differentiate between a person who is virtuous and a person is non-virtuous, they must meet the criteria above. For an action is simply an action, and it may be a good action, however if the person does not know what they are doing, and it does not follow in a state of accordance with their character then that person is not doing the virtuous action for the sake of being virtuous. A person who does a virtuous action will perform actions that they view as being virtuous and having knowledge of the actions themselves as being virtuous and it is because that person is doing this action in character that they are virtuous. They have habitually grown into a virtuous character because their state of character had already been previously built from previous virtuous actions. Aristotle’s arguments over the debate of virtue is that it becomes a slight paradox. For a character to become virtuous they must first perform virtuous actions. The paradox comes in that if a character were to become virtuous, that means that they are starting from a state of un-virtue. If this is the case, then it would contradict Aristotle’s third point of performing a virtuous action. Virtuous action being built upon a character that is un-virtuous would therefore contradict the third requirement for an action to virtuous. The third requirement being that it must come from a firm and unchangeable character. If a character is unchangeable then the question remains, how does a person become virtuous? For now it can be agreed upon that it is over the course of time and nature that a person is virtuous, they must perfect it through habit, and doing what is virtuous. In other words, if a person so desires to be virtuous they must habitually work towards performing virtuous actions. Therefore a state of character can be changed as time progresses based on actions that are performed.

Essay about Desecration of the American Dream in Glengarry...

Desecration of the American Dream in Glengarry Glen Ross Glengarry Glen Ross portrays a harsh view of American business that not only contradicts, but also befouls the values of the quot;American Dream.quot; The idealistic importance of fairness, equality, and the idea that hard work brings success included in this quot;dreamquot; of American society is clearly not reality in this play. The values of work ethic, and equal opportunity are betrayed, and there is a notable presence of racism, sexism, and an savage system of quot;dog-eat-dogquot; competition. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A main focus of the play is the never-ending hunt for leads. quot;Leadsquot; are cards containing information on prospective customers with†¦show more content†¦21). Dave Moss, another salesman later refers to Polish clients as quot;deadbeat Polacksquot; (p 29). He then goes on to degrade Indian clients. Richard Roma, a recently successful salesman also refers to Indians as quot;deadbeat wogs,quot; and says, quot;[if] Fuckin Shiva handed him a million dollars and told him sign the deal, he wouldnt sign.quot; (p. 63). America is proud of its reputation as a quot;melting potquot; for many races from all over the world all coming together. However, this type of racial hatred makes the description of American society as a quot;salad bowlquot; seem much more accurate. These statements clearly show the contempt for minorities, as generally hard-working immigrants are criticized for their conservation in spending money. The presence of sexism is more subtle, but nonetheless notable. There seems to be an assumed connection between masculinity and selling ability. Shelly Levine attributes manager John Williamsons inability to run an office and poor business ability to his lack of masculinity, saying, quot;you dont have the ballsquot; (p. 76). Richard Roma also attacks Williamson, calling him a quot;cunt,quot; and asking, quot;Whoever told you you could work with men?quot; (p. 96). Levine also insults Williamson for his incompetence, saying that he quot;isnt man enoughquot; to know what to do, after informing a client that hisShow MoreRelatedGlengarry Glen Ross, Desecration of the American Dream in765 Words   |  4 PagesDesecration of the American Dream in Glengarry Glen Ross Glengarry Glen Ross portrays a harsh view of American business that not only contradicts, but also befouls the values of the American Dream. The idealistic importance of fairness, equality, and the idea that hard work brings success included in this dream of American society is clearly not reality in this play. The values of work ethic, and equal opportunity are betrayed, and there is a notable presence of racism, sexism, and an savage