Saturday, November 30, 2019

Kekoa Krautkramer Essays - Philosophy, Epistemologists,

Kekoa Krautkramer Ms. Cavanaugh World History 26, April 2017 Philosophers Revolutionary Ideas During the Enlightenment In the 1600's radical thinkers were executed for their secular ideas. The Enlightenment era began when philosophers questioned authority. They had different ideas about government and human nature. The most popular thinkers at the time were Kant, Hobbes, Locke, Voltaire, and Mary Wollstonecraft. The ideas of philosophers were revolutionary due to their secular outlook on things and how they questioned authority. Nicolaus Copernicus changed the idea of how the Universe was set up. Before, everyone believed that everything revolved around them and their planet but with further research Copernicus founded the new idea that the Sun is at the center of the Solar System which was the heliocentric model. Almost everyone had followed the old ideas for so long it was hard for them to believe or even grasp this new idea. Copernicus idea was more apart of the scientific revolution but it was still changed old beliefs . Philosophers such as Immanuel Kant had ideas of people's behavior instead of science. Immanuel Kant expressed his new ideas through writing. In one of his writings he states, "Immaturity is the incapacity to use one's intelligence without the guidance of another". He stated that anyone that follows the leaders command and doesn't think for themselves is immature and that they should break this style and think for themselves. Back then people were killed for not listening to their king or queen and the thought of a revolt against him or her brought fear to everyone. This idea can be connected to freedom in choice for the representatives of their country, or a democracy which Thomas Hobbes considers. Thomas Hobbes brought up the idea of a government where all voices can be heard and put into one voice, which can be also know as a democracy. Hobbes writes, "To conferre all their power and strength upon one man or upon one assembly of men." By this, Hobbes meant that everyone's thoughts should be passed by one person or one group of people. His way of thinking was revolutionary because it changed the way people thought about the government and who their representatives should really be. People then believed that they should have an opinion in their government. The idea of philosophers were revolutionary, secular , and they questioned authority. Today, people speak freely about their opinion and ideas and if it were not for these philosophers breaking the normal concepts, people might still be afraid to voice our opinions. Although our world seems pretty well pieced together, should people of today be questioning authority ? 45/50 nice job, keep writing

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

How the Ethiopian health care system and the implementation of an increased user fee for health services in governmental health institutions The WritePass Journal

How the Ethiopian health care system and the implementation of an increased user fee for health services in governmental health institutions Introduction How the Ethiopian health care system and the implementation of an increased user fee for health services in governmental health institutions Introduction1. Dinition of User Fee2. Aim of the Essay  3.  Ethiopia backgroundEthiopiaUser fee in Ethiopia  Positive ArgumentCounter ArgumentRecommendationsRelated Introduction 1. Dinition of User Fee User fee health care defined as the mandatory and voluntary levies imposed on   a person for consumption of goods or services in governmental or private health institution .In other words it is the amount of money levied on individuals for the use of goods and services from which they receive special benefits (Duff, 2004). 2. Aim of the Essay The aim of the essay is to show briefly the Ethiopian health care system and the implementation of an increased user fee for health services in governmental health institutions. The secondly, I will mention some points in the importance negative and positive effect of user for Ethiopian health care. Finally, I will mention some recommendation that the Ethiopian government should incorporate in the national health care plan of the country. Back ground Information   Global History The Private or voluntary health insurance first started in Europe in the early eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century, private insurance had expanded throughout Europe and spread to North and South America. The social or compulsory insurance was introduced in Germany for industrial workers in 1883, building on the existing voluntary procedures coverage was later extended to family members, their employees and pensioners. Payroll –based social insurance system developed steadily in Europe, and later in Latin America and Asia. The current health finance system in African countries highly related to the health care finance system of colonizing country in the past. Epidemiological health transition from communicable disease to non-communicable disease, 56% of all deaths in the world was from non-communicable disease. These are unevenly distributed among different social classes. None communicable disease was account for 34% of the deaths in the poorest 20% of the world population as compared to 85% among the richest. This indicates that inexpensive effective interventions against communicable diseases still have a high priority in improving the health of the poor. Recessions: the negative effect of structural adjustment program , rising international debts resulted in severe resource shortage for health care systems in many low-income countries in late 1989(Yates 2009), public budget cut , decline in quality and quantity of health   care ,   underpayment of staff and patient dissatisfaction. Prevalence of malnutrition increased in most developing countries and infant mortality rise despite steady improvement during the previous decade (Stewart 1989). In 1987 UNICEF and WHO launched the Bamako initiative , a strategy aimed to improve maternal health and reduce infant   mortality in low income countries through a re-organization of primary health care system and drug distribution (Kanji 1989). World Bank in 1987 financing health service in developing countries: Agenda for reform which is based on introduction of user fee to cover 20% of health expenditure. The revenue will be used to improve health service, as a means of additional revenue generation, to reduce unnecessary demand , to increase peoples responsibility for   their health and to increase rural health care for marginalized population by the revenue.   3.  Ethiopia background Ethiopia Ethiopia is one of the least developed countries in the world with low developmental indicators even the least from in sub-Saharan countries. Ethiopia is 171th out of 182 countries in the world with a value of 0.414 human development indexes which is a composite measure of three dimensions of human developmental indicators:   life expectancy, education and GDP per capita.   According to 2009 UNDP estimate, 44.2 percent of the population lives below the poverty line of under $1.25 per capita per day (UNDP 2009). The number of people living under poverty is expected to rise due the progressive global economic crisis and the country`s increasing population growth. Ethiopia has the worst health outcomes in the world with high under 5-mortality with a value of 166 per 1.000 and maternal mortality rates with a value of 850 per 100,000 (WHO 2009). User fee in Ethiopia Ethiopia health care has been predominantly public until recently with the change in the political policy of the country as democratic and free market. Currently almost half of the health care institutions are privately owned hospital and clinics. Until recently the cost of health care user fee in governmental institutions from out pocket was only 15% but now the cost is increased to 85% of total cost an individual health care consumption .The democratic government has under taken important steps to improve the population`s health status and to make health care more efficient and accessible for everybody. Some improvement in population health indicator such as immunization coverage and slight decline in malnutrition rates since 2006 the protection of basic services program. Nevertheless per capital public spending for health remain far below the average from sub-Saharan Africa. Insufficient equipment and a shortage of health a workers plus strong biases towards curative services and little involvement from the private sector and NGO. The condition further exacerbated by high population growth with an annual growth rate of 2.7 %( 2005-2010 , UNDP 2009). User fee at health care facility thus remain an important feature to generate resource from heavily underfunded health sector. The minister of health is currently considering   national health care scheme.   Positive Argument Ethiopia has been using user fee for health care service many decades to share the cost health care at least 15% of an individual total cost of health care. Since the last decade due to global economic inflation and lack of resources to cover the cost of public health care cost , the government increased the health care cost to 75%. This is very important to increase economic efficiency where by scarce resources are allocated to their most valuable uses both within the public sector and between the private and public sectors. The levied charge enhance the accountability of public sector , making it more responsive to differing preferences and changes in the demand for publicly provided goods and services as well as cost recovery and increased equity . The idea of benefit taxation is applied based on the principle of fairness as every payer pays only for the goods and services that they use. A case of efficiency can be made if the revenue from user fee are channelled into provision of good quality care, increased availability of drugs , and prompt services which should mitigate the negative effects created by lack of access to quality care . Implementation of user fee has a minimal undesirable effect but these could themselves reinforce the adverse effect of user fees which is suffered by the poor. In Africa specifically, the bulk of the problem is financing health care for the poor and predominately rural dwelling. The poor are more sensitive to price changes but not to say health care should be free. In competitive market every economic agent should face their marginal cost of their action. In case health care, health care is a right, a necessity and has externality. The use of community health insurance or prepayment schemes have been found to be viable even from experience in parts of Africa , further viable into the broader perspective of national health insurance schemes or microfinance institutions . The idea of universal coverage likely to increase access of the poor to health care most especially when cross subsidization is possible. Internal private bargain such that achievable the Coase theorem such that demand for heath care does not depend of the distribution of income. This is more related to social solidarity which is very likely to produce valuable results in the African setting. Non-monetary access costs such as travel time are important determinants of health care choices. The geographical distribution of services may make access more difficult for some groups. The revenue can be re-invested to reduce non-monetary access costs and consequently minimize consumer’s welfare loss. The elimination of user fee in some African countries was driven by political motivation for vote maximization (William Nordus submission). Counter Argument Experience in some African countries such as Uganda, user fee abruptly removed in 2001, South Africa in 1994 during the period of transition to democracy has led others similar countries such as Rwanda , Zambia , Brundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger to implement similar reforms though on selected facilities or services showed increased utilization of public services and women are also likely to benefit from reduction in user fees. The implementation of user fee may impose heavier burden on the poor who are most likely to face a higher burden of disease (Nyanator 2009 and Kutzin). It contradicts the very purpose for which public provision was intended and budgetary flexibility will be limited where revenues are ear marked to health expenditure on the publicly provided health services from which the revenue are derived . The presence of user fee can cause sustained decrease in health care service utilization by the poor and middle income family. The attitude individuals towards user fees can adversely impact on government revenue as well as their political viability. The economic theory based on efficiency, marginal value of user fee in public must exceed private(Duff,2009). In early 1980 studies showed that price may not important determinant of demand late studies showed prices may have a significant negative impact of demand for health care especially in developing counties and on the poor. The poor are very sensitive to small changes to price even for health care . Strong link between health and poverty which could lead to medical poverty trap phenomena. The poor who already cannot afford to use private health care services due to high cost can no longer afford to use public . This leads to untreated morbidity, reduced access to health care, longer-term impoverishment and irrational drug use. Evidence further showed increased inequalities associated with user fees. The actors of Ethiopian health care system are the World bank , WHO, UNICEF , the people, government , NGOs, , community leaders, politician and others. Ethiopian government health care has been using very low cost sharing 15% user fee for long period of time but recently due to the structural adjustment program most of the government health care units increased their user fee to 70% from the total cost. The government only covers 30% of the cost of health by covering only the salary of the health worker. All governmental health institutions charge 70% of the total individual health care cost which used as revenue to improve the quality of care and buying medical equipment and other running cost of the health institutions. The user fee in governmental health care units as expensive as the private health care cost which has maginillized the poor and rural dwelling people. The effect of user in poor society has been worse specially for mother and children as they are frequent user of t he health care. Recommendations Health care financing remain a challenge in most low and middle income countries where disease burdens are high due to HIV/AIDS and rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases, scarce resources and constantly competing priority on the public budget (Gottret and Schieber 2006). Out of pocket payments for health care continue to be an important source for revenue for underfunded health system in many developing countries like Ethiopia. Ethiopia has a long history and tradition for user fee for health services and it is in this aspect very different from most of the developing countries that introduced fees in the 1980s.Most of Ethiopian have never experienced free health care in their adult life. . User fees are seen as a financial barrier to healthcare usage, especially by poor households. Delayed or no medical care-seeking behaviours or inability to undergo the recommended hospital care due to high cost in government or private hospitals. The government should try to encourage already existing social sickness fund system which traditional called â€Å"Eders†. In traditional Eder , the members will pay monthly fee which will used if someone lose his family by death for grief and financial stability. Sickness fund(Eder) is another type of social insurance system which is accepted and sustainable method if it is given special focus by the government in controlling how it works and expanding nationwide to protect household from impoverishment in case of major health events. Another alternative is Ethiopia should develop national health insurance system by means health tax from individual household.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Five Misleading Names

Five Misleading Names Five Misleading Names Five Misleading Names By Maeve Maddox For most people, the word greyhound probably triggers the idea of a skinny gray dog, while the word nightmare conjures up the image of a horse galloping through the night. Here are five words whose names suggest meanings that arent there. catgut: The dried and twisted intestines of sheep, also of the horse and ass; used for the strings of musical instruments; also as bands in lathes, clocks, etc. The word in English probably originated as kitgut, from kit, small fiddle used by dancing teachers. This kit probably derives from OE cythere, from Latin cithara, from Greek kithara. The OED notes that the Dutch word kattedarm does mean guts or intestines of the cat, but adds that theres no evidence that catgut was ever used for the purpose of stringing a musical instrument. greyhound: A variety of dog used in the chase, characterized by its long slender body, and long legs, by the keenness of its sight, and by its great speed in running. Old English had the word grighund. Hund, of course, meant dog. The grig part comes from an Old Norse word for bitch. nightmare: Now usually: a bad dream producing feelings of distress. Originally (usu. with the): a feeling of suffocation or great distress experienced during sleep. A nightmare was a female spirit or monster supposed to settle on and produce a feeling of suffocation in a sleeping person or animal. This kind of mare has cognates in several languages. Its the mar in French cauchemar (nightmare), and is related to Irish morrigain, queen of the elves. It is not related to the mare that means female horse. mustard gas: A colorless oily liquid whose vapor is a powerful irritant and vesicant acting directly on the skin, used in chemical warfare, originally at Ypres during the First World War (1914-18). Mustard gas isnt made from mustard, and its not a gas. It was yellow and those unfortunate enough to get a whiff of it thought it resembled the smell of mustard, garlic, or horseradish. Its an atomized liquid. heartburn: An uneasy burning sensation in the lower part of the chest, due to putrefactive fermentation of the food in the stomach Greek kardia could mean both heart and stomach. Greek kardiakos meant pertaining to the heart. Latin cardiacus could mean pertaining to the stomach. The term heartburn arose from confusion between the areas of heart and stomach. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Idioms About NumbersUse a Dash for Number RangesDealing With A Character's Internal Thoughts

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Case Analysis Paper Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis Paper - Case Study Example Apparently, foreign investments have immensely contributed to growth of India’s economy. The government of India is more likely to adopt or implement a more robust policy regime to lure more foreign investors into the country (Enz, 2010). Led by Narendra Modi (Prime Minister), the government has ultimately approved various economic reforms in the recent past in an effort to attract more investors into the country, especially those in the service industry. For instance, the government is likely to open doors to international hotel chains to join local establishments in the vastly competitive hospitality industry. The deeper pockets, such as cash and many other resources of international hotel chains are likely to give India competitive advantage over domestic chains (Dayal-Gulati & Jain, 2010).. The economy of India will particularly record a major growth as international hotel add a great deal to the revenues collected from the hospitality industry. The government of India has allowed foreign investors to invest directly in its economy, giving the country a competitive edge over its domestic chains (Dayal-Gulati & Jain, 2010). However, the advantage of the deeper pockets might not be sustainable in the long-run. Apparently, Indian government must protect its local established and infant chains. Although international chains significantly contribute to the growth in the country’s revenue, they (foreign/international chains) may eventually trigger collapse of local competitors. Growth in popularity of Indian market is likely to increase the aggressiveness of other global and domestic chains, posing enhanced or heightened competitive threats (Dayal-Gulati & Jain, 2010). However, domestic chains also play an integral role to stabilize India’s economic growth, as well as to give the economy a fairly systematic resilience. The Indian government, on the other hand, has to play its part not to let foreign corporations take

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Retailing story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Retailing story - Essay Example Often, he could split the food and the couple became so discontent with his living conditions (Keding 33). This made the couple to buy a wooden bowl, which they used to serve the old man food. One day when the couple was just sitting, their little son began to gather some wood in the ground. When his father asked what he was doing, the son responded that he was creating a wooden bowl for his parents to use in the future. Immediately, the couple began to cry and were ashamed that they were treating their father so cruelly, and from that day they decided to treat their father right. The plot details The main characters of the story are the old man, his son and wife, and grandson. At the beginning of the story, the author uses these characters to communicate his intended message to his audience. Basically, the elderly character portrays the qualities of the disability and lack of power to perform his daily duties and responsibilities. The son and his wife are arrogant and disrespect the ir father. However, their grandson honour the experience of the older generation and this explains why he is making a wooden bucket for their parents to use when he grows up. The mentioned characters create a strong ground for readers to understand the things that elderly people go through. They are often discriminated and disrespected by the younger generation. This story is important to our culture in that, it teaches parents on how to bring up their children in an upright way. This is because children are likely to imitate their parents’ conducts. This story is significant since it helps parents to understand that if they disrespect their elderly parents, their children are more likely to treat them meanly when they become old. The story continues to be told because it addresses a major concern in the society. The story is a wake up call for parents to correct their actions so that children begin to emulate true role models. This story is often narrated to create insights on why parents should cherish being role models to their children. This story means a lot to me in that it helps me articulate the importance of respecting the elderly. It reminds me of how the elderly are subject to discrimination from the younger generation. Further, this story shows the benefits of respecting the elderly as, preserving respect for personal and future generations. Various theories have been advanced by different theorists such as Maria Montessori, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky (Calvert and Barbara, 22). Although their theories differ greatly, these theorists have a similar concept of learning and children development. They believe that learning and development occur when children interact with the people around them and the environment (Pinter 28). The theorists affirm that young children are active learners and they tend to imitate those around them. SECTION TWO Retelling the story Once upon time, they lived a very old man in a small who lived in disability, His eyes had become dim, his knees trembled, and his ears were dull of hearing. His life was difficult in that he could hardly hold a spoon when eating and often he could split the food on the table. His son and his wife were disgusted at his father’s conduct and they served him food in the earthenware bowl. The poor man underwent a lot because of his age and his inability to perform chore duties. One day, his trembling hands could not hold

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Importance of English Essay Example for Free

Importance of English Essay Learning one of the most used language ‘’English†, is very important. There are alot of advantages of English as it helps to find a good job, we can communicate with foreigners on holidays and it makes possible to read original books which is better then translated ones. First of all, English is very important to find a good job. Sometimes the university which you graduate or the jobs you have been can not be enough to find a good job. Almost in every country, all companies’ first rule is to know English. It is a great advantage against other rivals. English is one of the most common languages in the world thats why global companies such as Coca-cola and Milka or other companies that are on other business sectors want their employees to know perfect English. Even some companies make the job interviews in English. That is why if someone wants a good job, the person should learn English. Read more: Importance of English essay Another point is that communicating on holidays or even with tourists is almost impossible with body language however English makes it possible. Imagine that you are on holiday in another country and you do not know any other languages than your mother language. It would be very hard to communicate with local people or to learn the historical places and traditions of the region. English not only helps people to have a good trip but also helps people to make new foreign friends and let them keep in touch. Thirdly, reading original books is more effective then translated ones. Even on scientific researchs or even reading novels, original ones are better to use and to understand. Sometimes it is possible that the translater of the book can use his personal ideas or to change some pages and this might cause some problems. However, on the original books there is no such a chance and it is more effective then the translated ones. Finally, on finding a good job or even reading a book or on trips, English has a high importance in all stages of life especially on social life.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Franklin Roosevelt: Man of the Year :: History

Franklin Roosevelt: Man of the Year Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." When the nation was at it’s worst, Roosevelt was at his best. In his first 100 days in office, Roosevelt pushed through many new programs in order to help fix the problems of the depression. One of these programs being the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority), which was established to create dams on the Tennessee River providing desperately needed jobs and hydroelectric power to the surrounding area. Roosevelt established many more programs with many different intentions. Some of these programs like the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act), which was created to raise farm produce prices. This particular program paid farmers to leave land unseeded and to slaughter livestock, which in turn raised the prices by decreasing the supply and increasing the demand. There were more of these programs like the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), which helped establish work. This particular program employed many young Americans by providing jobs such as planting trees, creating parks, and making roads. These programs were often considered as â€Å"make work programs† by the public. The public often did not think that jobs such as the planting of trees were significantly important. Roosevelt on the other hand knew that by planting trees he’d help bring the dust bowl to an end and ensure that it would never happen again. Roosevelt also helped reinstate the nation’s faith in our banking system as well. He created a banking holiday to shut down all of the banks and only re-open those that were stable enough to conduct business. He also created the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), to insure bank accounts up to $5,000 and to ensure that a great depression would never again be a concern for Americans. After Hitler took power in Germany. Roosevelt asked to increase the amount of money spent on national defense. This created the only peacetime draft that was known to this point. Many Americans went to train with the U.S. army. The United States under Roosevelt was quickly preparing for a new war, which seemed close at hand. After the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan, Roosevelt asked congress for a declaration of war.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Historical Report on Race Essay

A life that we thought was best for us and our kids to grow up in. We produced our own food, shelter and weapons and provided for ourselves in the most natural way possible. It wasn’t always easy though, and others seen more value out of our land and resources than us. I was forced off my land and had to adapt to the new peoples way of life. That in which they called a white society; this society created many acts in my life time in order to weaken our society such as those of the Allotment Act and the Reorganization Act (Schaefer, p. 47, 2012). People of my cultural lived on reservations, we had learned to separate ourselves and adopt our own way of life and government. Native Americans had created their own nation and it caused and has caused a lot of tension between us and the U. S. culture. As a Native American, we were all about live the traditional way of life. There was value to our land and the resources that we used and the white people wanted and did take it from us. It seemed as if we were constantly at war with the white people so that we could protect what we thought was rightfully ours. They had created an act known as the Indian Removal Act, which was passed in 1830 (Schaefer, p. 150, 2012). This opened more land for settlement and allowed people to come in and take over our reservations (Schaefer, p. 150, 2012). In 1946, Congress had created the Indian Claims Commission (Schaefer, p. 150, 2012). This was a good thing for us, or so we thought. It meant that finally our voice was going to be heard. There were three members apart of the commission, and they were given a five year deadline, but there kept getting extension after extension, until; in 1978 the whole thing was abolished (Schaefer p. 155, 2012). At times, it seemed as if maybe the government was trying to help us, that or they were trying to use us. In 1952, the BIA began programs, so that they could relocate young Native Americans to Urban areas and by 1962 they had created what was called the Employment Assistance program; also known as the EAP (Schaefer, p 157, 2012). Basically there primary goal was to relocate us by offering us better jobs opportunities that, that of the reservation could not offer. But this plan had soon backfired on them. By 1965, one-fourth to one third of the people in the EAP had returned home to their reservations (Schaefer p. 157, 2012). Today, most of our land has been taken from us and no longer exist. Native Americans themselves are not being treated as badly as we were back then, but it’s the culture and our name that continues to be insulted. Schools have such a thing as mascots, and they create names for them. They use those such as the â€Å"Braves† or â€Å"Redskins. † Those names have a meaning to the Native American culture, it tends to bring up the past for us, and though there intentions may not be that of insulting us, some of us don’t like it too much. It hasn’t always been easy for us, and at times I wanted to give up. But everything seems to turn out for the better. I’ve learned that every culture and person has their own way of living and when someone sees a greater value of that person’s living then they have to have it. Things don’t always have to be that way; people can come up with their own greater value of living. Remember, you don’t always have to have someone else’s greater value to have a greater value of your own. Make an even better living for yourself than trying to take someone else’s. I hope you learned well from this letter and I wish you the best. Your Friend! Resources: Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and Ethnic Groups (13th ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Dehydration of Methylcyclohexanol Essay

A common Sophomore Organic Chemistry laboratory experiment that has great potential for further research is the acid catalyzed dehydration of simple alcohols. The classic dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol experiment that was introduced in Journal of Chemical Education in 1967 Taber(1967)JCE:44,p620. The rather simple procedure of distilling an alcohol with an aqueous acid has spawned several investigations that have resulted in formal journal articles. At the same time, the experiment has retained its popularity in the Sophomore Organic Chemistry laboratory curriculum. In one line of inquiry it has been observed that a mixture of 2-methylcyclohexanol diastereomers gives rise to a mixture of three isomeric alkenes Todd(1994)JCE:71,p440; Feigenbaum(1987) JCE:64, p273; Cawley (1997) JCE:74l, p102. Explaining the presence of the three alkene products requires an intense synthesis of information communicated in a typical SOC textbook. The continued popularity of this experiment is corroborated by the observation that Googling the phrase â€Å"Dehydration of 2-Methylcyclohexanol† on January 13th, 2008 returned no less than 20 hits for online student handouts and/or guides for this SOC laboratory experiment. Moreover, this experiment provides fertile ground for experimentation and innovation that has not yet been fully explored. At Dominican University, the SOC students performed this experiment during the Fall 2007 semester with not only the dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 153087) but also the 4-methyl (Aldrich 153095) and 3-methyl (Aldrich 139734) positional isomers. The reaction products were submitted to GC-FID analysis. As predicted from the Journal of Chemical Education articles, three methylcyclohexene products were observed. Their relative abundance measured by peak height was 80, 16, and 4%. The alkene products represented by these peaks apparently correspond to 1-methycyclehexene, 3-methycyclehexene, and methylenecyclohexane respectively. [pic] The dehydration of 4-methylcyclohexanol produce two products, that can be distinguished by our current GC column, at 90 and 10% with retention times that match 3-methycyclehexene and 1-methycyclehexene respectively. My current theory is that the retention times 3 and 4-methycyclohexene could not be distinguished with GC column and temperature program. However, there is still the issue of how 1-methycyclehexene is produced from 4-methylcyclohexanol. [pic] The dehydration of 3-methylcyclohexanol yields two products, that can be distinguished by our current GC column, at 80 and 20% with retention times that match 3-methylcyclohexene and 1-methycyclehexene respectively. [pic] Samples of 1-methyl and 3-methyl cyclohexenes purchased from Aldrich chemical confirmed two of compound assignments for the dehydration of 2-methylcyclohexanol. Obviously, it remains to separate the 3 and 4-methylcyclohexene by GC. There are several advantages of studying the dehydration of methylcyclohexanols in the first semester of Organic Chemistry: 1) The experiment involves reactions that are typically studied during first semester: E1, E2, and the 1,2-hydride shift. It is a time-tested protocol that has been run in hundreds of labs by thousands of students. 2) Analysis of the experiment involves the understanding of all three mechanisms mentioned previously and how they may compete with each other. In other words, it is a simple experiment that demands a rather involved interpretation of results. 3) It shows that textbooks â€Å"rules† such as the Zaitzev’s rule in this case, are not necessarily rules as such, but rather astute observations of general trends that can vary experimentally depending on the reactant and the reaction conditions. 4) Analytically, we are observing/measuring the presence of 3 known methylcyclohexene and methylenecyclohexane products that can be separated and detected by Gas Chromatography. I believe that the product mixtures can also be analyzed by NMR. 5) The reaction lends itself to an inquiry format that involves the study different reactants and reaction conditions on the ratio of products. In fact, this experiment, in my opinion, is an ideal candidate for a multi-institution collaborative study that combines and interprets student data. want to pursue point #5 further by first grappling with the current literature concerning the â€Å"Evelyn Effect.† The JCE article by David Todd, â€Å"The Dehydration of 2-Methylcyclohexanol Revisited: The Evelyn Effect† observes a kinetic effect that can be explained by proposing that in a mixture of cis/trans 2-Methylcyclohexanol the cis isomer reacts much faster than the trans isomer to give predominately 1-methylcyclohexene. The formation of 1-methylcyclohexene from cis-2-methylcyclohexanol would involve an â€Å"E2-like† anti-elimination of proton and the protonated alcohol. The dehydration of the trans isomer would go through a E1 mechanism that requires the formation of a carbocation before elimination of a proton. A follow-up study by Cawley and Linder: â€Å"The Acid Catalyzed Dehydration of an Isomeric 2-Methylcyclohexanol Mixture† involves a detailed kinetic study. Students began with a 36.6/63.4 cis/trans mixture of 2-methylcyclohexanol with a cyclohexanol impurity (% impurity was not reported). They performed thy typical reaction+distillation and collected fractions at 4, 8, 16, 24, and 28 minutes. They also collected a 0.1 mL volume of the sample of the reaction mixture at each of these time intervals. These fractions were analyzed by 1H NMR and GC for composition. The cis/trans rate constants for the dehydration of reaction were determined to be 8.4/1.0 – much less than 30/1 ratio reported in 1931 by Vavon and Barbier. An intriguing study! It would be very interesting to have the raw (student) data on this one. Very little is said about the product ratios in the distillate fractions, they just report that they obtained 2.1% methylenecyclohexane and not the 4% previously reported. The dehydration of methylcyclohexanols provides a fecund problem to explore. The key is to develop methods to determine the distribution of alkene products in terms of % total alkenes. There are four possible positional isomers: I. methylenecyclohexane (Aldrich, Acros, 1192-37-6); II. racemic 3-methyl-1-cyclohexene (Acros, 591-48-0); III. 1-methyl-1-cyclohexene (Aldrich, Acros 591-49-1) IV. racemic 4-methyl-1-cyclohexene (Aldrich, Acros 591-47-9). Two of the alkene positional isomers contain an asymmetric carbon. The obvious place to start is by studying how the alcohol structure affects the product distribution of alkenes. There are 5 positional isomers of methylcyclohexanol: I. cyclohexanemethanol (Aldrich 100-49-2); II. 1-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 590-67-0); III. racemic cis&trans 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 583-59-5) IV. racemic cis&trans 3-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 591-23-1) V. cis&trans 4-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 589-91-3). Three of the alcohols are present in cis and trans diastereomer pairs: cis 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7445-70-1) trans 2-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7445-52-9) cis 3-methylcyclohexanol (5454-79-5) trans 3-methylcyclohexanol (7443-55-2) cis 4-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7731-28-4) trans 4-methylcyclohexanol (Aldrich 7731-28-4). In addition there are 4 entaniomer pairs among the alcohol starting materials. Most of them are commercially available, for a price. [pic] Besides the structure of the alcohol, what other variables may be explored? 1) One variable for this reaction that could be investigated is the nature of the catalytic acid. Aqueous acids, such as the 85% H3PO4 typically used for this experiment, contain some water which is also product of the reaction. I may also add that, the amount of acid is not always in catalytic proportion to the substrate. In my current protocol 0.075 moles of acid is used to dehydrate 0.2 moles of alcohol. Non-aqueous acids may give different results. Acidic resins are an interesting substitute for aqueous acids. For example, John Ludeman and Kurt Field of Bradley University presented a poster at the 2006 ACS Great Lakes Regional Meeting on the use of Dowex 50WX2-100, Amberlite IRC-50S, and Amberlyst 15, for the dehydration of alcohols. 2) Another variable would be the reaction conditions. In the current paradigm, the alkene is distilled away from the reaction mixture. Presumably, it is being distilled away as it is formed. An ad-hoc observation is that students seem to get somewhat different product ratios if they distill is carefully or if they â€Å"crank up the heat† and distill it quicker. What if the reaction mixture was refluxed to equilibrium before distillation? Would we see more thermodynamic products? 3) Reaction conditions could be changed in other ways too. Microwave irradiation is currently being explored as an alternative to heating reactions. Possibly, sonication could also be performed on the alcohol. 4) Another avenue to explore may be different strategies to push the reaction towards the products other than distilling off the alkene. For example, removing water with molecular sieves may be tried. The last installment of this series will explore the logistics of â€Å"dehydration of methylcycohexanols† as a collaborative experiments. The most straightforward collaboration would be to perform the â€Å"dehydration of methylcycohexanols† experiment in the same way and compare the relative yield of alkenes as measured by GC from different starting alcohols. Comparisons could be made with past data or concurrently collected data from different institutions. This may be seem fairly straightforward, but there will most likely be discrepancies that could will need to be explored. One aspect to make note of would be the source and composition of the methylcyclohexanols used a starting materials. Sigma-Aldrich has †¢ 1-methylcyclohexanol #M38214; †¢ 2-methylcyclohexanol #66320, #215295, #178829, #24113, & #153087, †¢ 3-methylcyclohexanol #139734; †¢ 4-methylcyclohexanol #66360, #104183, #104191, & #153095; †¢ as well as just plain methylcyclohexanol #66370. An experimental variable that is hard to control is rate of heating. Students who crank up the hot plate to get done quickly (even though they were told not to) may get different results than those students who go slowly and maintain an even temperature. Different GC columns and methods may also give results that need to be corroborated.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Health and Mental Effects of Cannabis essays

The Health and Mental Effects of Cannabis essays Controversy has been revolving around cannabis for decades, but the plant itself has been in existence for centuries. The plant as a whole has many different uses from medicinal, to recreational, to industrial. Cannabis uses stretch from treating glaucoma patients all the way to making durable clothing. Marijuana, as it is also known, has been in use as far back as ancient times for its psychoactive effects as well as for its great healing properties, and continues to be used to the present day. Many myths and unknowns still exist around this plant despite many years of extensive testing, especially regarding the health and mental aspects of the plants usage. According to research, smoking cannabis is healthier than smoking tobacco, and the mental affects are relatively harmless and temporary. On the health side of the spectrum, marijuana has constantly been compared against tobacco. Approximately twenty years ago the United States Government did extensive research on the two plants in comparison to one another. However, those studies blatantly favored tobacco in the way that they were conducted in order to dampen the consumption of cannabis. Due to the efforts of various federal agencies to discourage the use of marijuana in the 1970s the government, in a fit of reefer madness, conducted several biased studies designed to return results that would equate marijuana smoking with tobacco smoking, or worse (Dudley 1999). For example, the Berkeley carcinogenic tar studies of the late 1970s concluded that marijuana is one-and-a-half times as carcinogenic as tobacco (Dudley 1999). This finding was based solely on the tar content of the leaves of cannabis plants compared to that of tobacco plants, and also didnt take into consideration the fact that tobacco is grown with carcinogenic radioactive fertilizers to hasten its harvest. In addition, it was ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

A Study Of The Use Of Microelectromechanical Systems

A Study Of The Use Of Microelectromechanical Systems In this paper, microelectromechanical system (MEMS) has been utilized to make miniaturized ion optics required for making the portable all-in-one mass spectrometer. Four different ion optics components were fabricated using deep-reactive ion etching (DRIE) of n-doped silicon-on-insulator. These components are 1 mm Bradbury-Nielsen gate, 500 Â µm coaxial ring ion trap (CRITter), reflectron optics and 500 Â µm Einzel lens. The Bradbury-Nielsen gate was made using a pattern of alternating electrode wires which either allows ions to pass or stop through the gate. The CRITter was made using five trapping rings and two end caps to make mass selection ion optics and it was also used in testing the alignment capability of fabrication process. The reflectron optics was made using a assembly of fifteen rectangular elements arranged in series. The fourth ion optics component was assembled MEMS Einzel lens which consisted of three lenses. It was used to focus the ions beam to increase the ion current and detectability. All the components were tested using ion produced with 70 eV EI ionization. These assemblies were characterized in terms of breakdown voltage, durability, and alignment. For current devices, the breakdown voltage was reported 750 V. The CRITter was tested with 1% toluene at pressure of 1 x 10-4 Torr. The resolution was limited due to the alignment errors and also aberration in etched designs got more impactful as the size of the ion trap was reduced. Current reflectron optics was not capable of resolving the peaks of toluene. Therefore, in the future analyzer path length will be increased by using multiple reflectrons. These miniaturized components were assembled using an encoded piezo-manipulator with pick and place capability. Resolution and ion attenuation was found to be the greatest concern of the current design at present. Fox, J.; Saini, R.; Tsui, K.; Verbeck, G., Microelectromechanical system assembled ion optics: An advance to miniaturization and assembly of electron and ion optics. Review of Scientific Instruments 2009, 80 (9), 093302. In this paper, a soft landing (SL) instrument has been developed with capability of depositing the ions onto the substrate for preparative analysis. The two important components of this instrument are custom made drift tube and two split rings. The drift tube is consist of 18 concentric rings along with two split rings at the end. The drift tube was filled with an inert buffer gas like He and operated from 1 to 100 Torr of pressure. High pressure gas thermalized the cluster ions on collision to 0.01 to 1.0 eV kinetic energy and separate the clusters formed by laser ablation. This helped in further analysis of deposited clusters on mica surface. Two functions of split-ring are to direct the cluster ions towards either detector or a landing surface. This instrument works on the principle of narrowing the kinetic energy of ions going through drift tube to prevent the fragmentation on landing. The gating function of split ring was performed using a homemade pulsing circuit that changes t he voltage across the split ring. The SL instruments was built with a quick door CF flange which reduced the number of gaskets required and helped in holding, adjusting and removing the detector and landing surface from the instrument without disassembling the instrument. A simple Faraday plate was used in SL instrument as detector. A 15 mm mica disk used for atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used as landing surface. Split ring pulsing helped in selecting and isolating the specific ion clusters. For initial experiments copper was used as analyte and it was ionized using laser ablation using ND-YAG laser. Mass spectrum of Copper was reported to have multiple peaks due to Cun+, CunOm+ ions formation in the presence of O2 as contaminant. After the cluster deposition on mica surface, surface was analyzed using AFM and was compared with the physical vapor deposition (PVD). In the future, other landing surfaces like gold, silicon, and highly ordered pyrolytic graphite can be used to bette r understand the deposition mechanism.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Analysis Essay - Legalizing Marijuana Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis - Legalizing Marijuana - Essay Example legalizing cannabis for medicinal in addition to general purposes would prove a benefit to society, evidence which is well-known throughout the scientific, political and public arena but this collective knowledge has yet to be acted upon. Illegal substances most frequently linked with drug-related fatalities include opiates such as heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and barbiturates. Alcohol, particularly when used in combination with harder drugs, is also linked with drug-related deaths. Marijuana has been widely known to be a gateway drug for harder substances. Heroin and other drugs that are injected into the bloodstream are often associated with the deadly disease HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. HIV causes AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Besides being spread from the use of shared, contaminated syringes, AIDS is also contracted by sexual contact, from transfusions by contaminated blood and in the prenatal stages from mother to baby. Procedures involved in the preparation and injection of drugs present various opportunities for the transmission of HIV and hepatitis. (Normand, Vlahov & Moses, 1995). Supporters of legalization invoke the theories of John Stuart Mill, who espoused that adult citizens should have the right to make their own choices regarding whether or not to participate in harmful activity as long as it does no harm to others, a theory that has been largely ignored in the decisions regarding alcohol and tobacco, but not cannabis. (â€Å"How to Stop The Drug Wars,† 2005) Eleven states allow the use of marijuana for medicinal use, Rhode Island the most recent joining California, Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Washington and, Vermont and Maine. The prohibition of marijuana makes little sense and disallowing the medicinal use to cancer patients living every day with agonizing pain and glaucoma patients who depend on marijuana to see better, for example, should be unthinkable in a civilized society. The