Thursday, November 28, 2019

Nadia Diaz Essays (317 words) - Attitude Change, Belief, Persuasion

Nadia Diaz Professor Harris 16 Sept 2017 Chapter 3 Questions "The mass media exerts a powerful and pervasive impact on our attitudes and behavioreven if direct attempts at persuasion are not involved." This statement means even though the mass media isn't making attempts to persuade us its "powerful and persuasive" impact on us can indeed change our behavior or our way of thinking. R esearch that support s this are in," ... 1974 CBS aired a film called Cry Rap e , " ...the story made it clear that a rape victim who chooses to press charges against her attacker runs the risk of undergoing an ordeal that may be as harrowing as the rape itself." (pg. 60) After this movie aired not that many people reported rapes because they were afraid that the police would not believe them. Central route to persuasion is when something is advertised to persuade you based off the argument or content of the message. Let's say you run track and see a commercial on tv that advertises sports shoes that claim to provide comfort and support for your heel while running. Peripheral route to persuasion is when someone is persuaded by something other than the argument or content of the message. A great example of this would be the track shoes again except this time your favorite athlete is wearing them and that's why you buy them. It is very effective when something is communicated to you in way that it arouses fear in you. For example, fear is more effective when your parents threaten to take away something of value to you if you don't bring your grades up. Its less effective when your siblings try threatening you if you don't do something for them. Persuading my parents to get me and my sisters a dog when I was 12-yrs old was very successful.

Monday, November 25, 2019

How does Chandler characterise Joe Brody Essays

How does Chandler characterise Joe Brody Essays How does Chandler characterise Joe Brody Essay How does Chandler characterise Joe Brody Essay * The characterisation of Joe Brody is initiated very early on in the novel. Inevitably, since Joe does not actually appear until page 78, this characterisation begins with what is said about Brody by other characters in the novel and the narrator. It should be noted however that characters testimonies are to be recognised as being of varying levels of reliability. On page 16 of the novel, Marlowe is being briefed by General Sternwood with regards to his assignment as a private detective investigating an alleged blackmailer. As he is giving some background information, Sternwood refers to an earlier incident in which he paid Joe Brody $5,000 to let my daughter alone. This immediately creates the impression that Brody is a rather unscrupulous person, accepting money to end his own involvement with a young woman.It also suggests that he possibly inhabits a lurid world and is himself an unsavoury character, after all it is doubtful that the General would pay him a large sum to leave his daughter alone if he was of a pleasant nature. However, the question of reliability is applicable here as there is the possibility at this stage that the General is simply overprotective and restrictive (although it soon becomes evident that this is not the case). On page 69, Carmen bluntly states that she Hates Brody. This again gives the impression that he is not a pleasant person, in that he inspires such strong negative emotions among those he has been involved with. However Carmen has been established as being anything but a reliable character and therefore this may cast doubt over the reliability of her impressions of Joe.* In terms of what the narrator says about Brody before the actual meeting, there is a similar kind of implication as to what kind of character he might be. He is described as having played around with Carmen, and having been paid $5,000 to find some other little girl to play with. It is possible to infer from this that he is a seedy kind of person, the phra se play with hints at an ability to influence young women, in particular to achieve his own ends, in this case ultimately for financial gain. Marlowe also identifies Brody as the prime suspect with regards to both the missing nude photos of Carmen, and the transportation of Geigers obscene books, as well as linking him with the murder of Geiger himself. The picture being built up through the comments made both by other characters and the narrator is one of a character involved in the seedier side of Los Angeles life, someone who is certainly no stranger to criminal activities (albeit on a small scale).* The initial description of Joe Brodys physical appearance seems to suggest that he is not a particularly threatening character. He is described as being long legged, long-waisted and high shouldered and this implies that he is in fact rather slender and not physically imposing or intimidating. He has a face which had learned to control its expressions long ago, which suggests that he has had involvement with the kind of people who make this kind of ability a useful thing to possess, and Marlowes comment that his domed forehead might at a careless glance seemed like a dwelling place for brains leads the reader to believe that he is the kind of person who might exude the aura of having brains, or being street-smart, despite this not actually being the case.* Later on in the book, on page 126, Brody is described by Marlowe as being a two-bit chiseller. In addition, up until the point of the meeting between Marlowe and Brody, he has generally been characterised as a small-time crook. When Brodys apartment is initially described, it seems to be rather different to what one might expect of a two-bit chiseller. The room that greets Marlowe is a cheerful one, with good furniture and not too much of it and a plush curtain draped across one of the doors. This is in contrast to the extravagant and ostentatious display of wealth encountered at locations such as Geigers pla ce and the Sternwoods, and the general impression is one of good taste. The kind of lifestyle that this hints at is one which requires money, and when this is set against what we have learned of Joe Brody so far in the novel, it seems that he might be living beyond his means in his yearning to be seen as a big-shot, further adding to the idea that he is a small-time crook with the (unfulfilled) ambition of going on to bigger and better things.* In terms of his relationships with other characters, the idea of his being able to impress and influence young women is added to through his relationship with Blonde Agnes. It is inferred that she has initially been impressed with Joes ambitions and ideas, and has obviously been informing him with regards to the situation with Geiger, as she works at his store. However it is also apparent that she has become disillusioned with Brody, as is evident from the uncomplimentary speculation with which she regards him and her declaration that he is o nly a half-smart guy. This allows the reader to infer that despite his talk and his ideas, Joe is frequently unable to deliver upon such promises and realise his ambitions. This seems to have encouraged a lack of respect for him among those he has had dealings with, notably from Agnes as discussed and also from Carmen, who threatens him with a gun (although this might be more out of anger at the way he has treated her in the past rather than contempt due to his ineptitude).* Brodys initial behaviour and manner projects a sense of hardness, which seems forced, and he seems to be unnecessarily confrontational-you got a funny sense of humourtake it away and play on it somewhere else-presumably to try and emphasise this supposed hardness. The implication here, when viewed alongside the idea of him being a petty crook unable to command real respect, is that he feels that he needs to project this image in order to assert himself as he has no genuine toughness with which to command the res pect he seems to crave. He also seems to be deliberately laconic and uncooperative, giving Marlowe the reply You said what? upon hearing a name he is clearly familiar with-Geiger. This idea is reinforced through his tone when he talks to Marlowe, with no more inflection than the voice of a faro dealer. Furthermore, Brody goes on to pull a gun on Marlowe while offering him a cigar, a trick Marlowe is singularly unimpressed with, despite Brodys conviction that it is neat. Brodys voice mirrors that of the tough guy in pictures, and all of these factors strengthen the central idea of him trying desperately to cultivate an impression of toughness and awareness, which is recognised instantly by Marlowe, whom we already know to be acquainted with far tougher characters.* All of this is undermined by Brodys evident paranoia and fear, as he gestures at blonde Agnes to hide behind the curtain while speaking to Marlowe, and his lack of self control when he finds out that Carmen is prepared to testify that it was Joe that killed Geiger-That godamned little hotpants!-as well as his somewhat desperate asking of Marlowe for money in return for the pictures, and the fact that he turns green when confronted with Carmen threatening him with saying that she saw him kill Geiger. In the same way, Brody is shown to have nervous mannerisms, such as the licking of his lips. All of this seems to go against the image of streetwise cool that Brody seems eager to convey. He is also later described as being visibly scared, and begs of Marlowe dont let her kill me! His actions, when under pressure, contradict the hardness he tires to project. An example that demonstrates this to great effect is his reaction to the pistol-wielding Carmen. He tries to placate her in a small, flat voice which is nothing like the one with which he speaks to Marlowe in order to try and present himself as being cool. Similarly, he says quite casually to Agnes that it might be necessary to pop Marlowe, despite th e fact that Marlowe later states that he was no killer type, and that this is the general consensus of the rest of the characters in the book who mention Brody.* When speaking to Marlowe, Brody uses a wide variety of non-standard grammar. Even when Marlowe is attempting to speak at a similar level to Brody in order to accentuate his hardness, Brody still uses much more non-standard constructions than Marlowe despite the attempt at convergence on behalf of the former. For example, when giving an account of his activities on the night of the murder of Geiger, Brody does so using the present tense-Theres a car in front of Geigers and another one up the hill-which hints at a lack of education on the part of Brody. Similarly, Brody omits unaccented auxiliary verbs-You think Id go back there? Although Marlowe does do the same thing at several points-What you do for a living? he does not use non standard grammar with anywhere near the same frequency as Brody and when he does, it is clear t hat he is doing so in order to provoke a certain kind of response from Brody, especially when his language begins to diverge away from Brodys as he attempts to distance himself from him in order to re-assert his superiority, his lexis and grammar of now a higher register.This point can be illustrated effectively when we look at the way Marlowe talks when considering Brodys story of his whereabouts in the night of the murder. That seems reasonable. Although there is nothing here that could be described as sophisticated vocabulary or grammar, the overall tone seems to be the authoritative one of a high ranking policeman interrogating a suspect, with no grammatical inaccuracies whatsoever, and it is far removed from the manner in which we presume Brody would utter a similar statement. With Brody, it is clear that non standard grammar is a regular feature of his speech rather than a device he uses, as with Marlowe. Again we are given the impression of a lack of formal education, and per haps a style of speech that has again been cultivated to exude defiance and hardness.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Case studies Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Studies - Case Study Example Thus because the public college professors and staff members dismissed from an office held under tenure have a property interest in their jobs, the property interest is safeguarded by due process. Thus, the Court made it clear that due process is required when depriving an individual of his property right, including a public employee's earned tenure. Additionally, the court has also made it clear that the property interest must be a present one and not one perceived or one that a person might have in the future. Here, the court is not saying that Roth was not injured. Indeed the question is not actually answered because the court's examination ends once they conclude that that Roth's position is not one that is a vested property right and therefore not subject to constitution protection. As the court noted: "In these circumstances, the respondent surely had an abstract concern in being rehired, but he did not have a property interest sufficient to require the University authorities to give him a hearing when they declined to renew his contract of employment." Accordingly, the Court does not have jurisdiction to decide what if an injury was suffered by Roth, because his constitutional rights have not been affected. Once the federal court concludes that there is no jurisdiction, that is the end of the inquiry. As to" implications of non-renewal for a faculty member's career path" I think that the implications are rather clear. If one in applying for a position at a public school or university , they are best advised to learn first what the tenured track is, and further to understand that without tenure, there is not a property right thus no protectionsat least on a constitutional level. Question 2 - What institutional practices or policies may create a constitutionally -protected property interest in one's job May faculty members in private institutions have such a property interest in their jobs Board of Regents v Roth demonstrates the Federal Courts' definition of property for constitutional purposes and due process protection examination. Against that backdrop, I would say that a public facility such as a state hospital, public school or library that has the offering of a position which can be substantially likened to the tenure track of a public university is one that could create a constitutionally protected property right. A crucial point to remember though is that the Court concluded that Roth had no "liberty" interest in any specific teaching job, and that he had no "property" interest in his job because he lacked "a legitimate claim of entitlement" under state law to his job. Property interests, the Court stress, must be found in the statutory or common law of the jurisdiction. Thus if there is no statutory or common law authority regarding the position, there is no constitutional protection to be afforded. Without a legitimate claim of entitlement to his job, the C ourt reasoned, there is nothing to have a hearing about. Faculty members in the private sector do not have any constitutional protections in a privately held university. The United States Constitution does not apply to every form of employment in the United States. The first issue with any federal claim is that it had to have been committed by a state actor and under color of state

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Shopping Bags Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Shopping Bags - Case Study Example The company has traditionally held the view that new acquisitions are as close to Barcelona as possible because logistics costs can be kept down. Opening new stores so far away from Mercadona’s central location is a huge risk and has the potential to backfire. The reason why Mercadona chose to expand to these coastal towns is that competition is fierce in Barcelona and there is not much room for growth. Mercadona sees Cartegena, Albacete, etc. as open for competition between market competitors was small. Mercadona’s main rivals in these areas are independent grocers, traditional stores, and only a few hypermarkets. Many of the large chains have stayed away from these low population areas because the target market is much smaller than it is in Barcelona. Mercadona used to primarily operate as a warehouse and distributor. The company’s efficiency of its logistic system allowed it to offer lower prices than many of its competitors. However, this strategy has been re fined over the past few years and the company is now officially a retailer. Instead of targeting consumers on the low end, Mercadona now focuses on high quality products and has also diversified its range from standard food and beverages. A company going through this kind of change would expect to take a few years to readjust to a new marketing strategy, and the company’s income statement shows that this is the case. Although sales were healthy at 300,000,000 Euros, the cost of goods sold is 246,000,000. This figure makes up more than 80 percent of sales, which does not leave a high gross margin and leaves even less for profit. After operating costs and amortization is accounted for, the company is left with a net profit of 480,000 Euros, discounting interest and taxes. While the company is not in the worst financial shape possible, the sharp focus of its marketing strategies and objectives has taken its toll on the company. Mercadona’s main rivals such as Dia, Caprabo , and Valvi all made before-tax profit of 4 percent on sales, yet Mercadona made less than one-third of a percent. If Mercadona wants to compete better within the hypermarket industry, then it needs to find some way to reduce its cost of goods sold. It would not be logical to try and increase sales because the company is already selling at the high end of the market and so prices are already relatively high. The only thing that the company can do is to find a way to reduce production costs so that its gross profit margin and net profit are higher than the present figures. In order to achieve this, Mercadona needs to concentrate on the stores that it has now, particularly in Barcelona, and try and consolidate the gains that it has already made. The one positive thing about the company’s current position is that at least it has stores further down the coast, whereas many of its main rivals are yet to expand to those areas. Still, Barcelona offers the largest market and a signif icant number of sales, so this is where Mercadona needs to focus all of its energies on for the time being. 2. In this case I can see three main segments that are interlinked: those within walking distance of the company’s stores, housewives who cook every day, and the working class. Because parking is limited in the city of Barcelona, there are very few car spaces available for shopper to park their cars. As a result, many of the company’

Monday, November 18, 2019

Individuals who suffer from depression are more likely to use drugs Essay

Individuals who suffer from depression are more likely to use drugs - Essay Example Even though there is nothing that could prevent un-depressed people trying to hit a high with the use of drugs, according to the research work available and psychological treatment records on drug abuses and depression, it is the depressed lot who turn frequently towards drugs, although the drug-induced depression too could be equally true. Drug depression could be worse in people who are genetically susceptible to depression and hence, there is a strong connection between them. Curtis (2001) says that depression should be treated without even psychotropic drugs like Prozac and the depressed people should be able to 'pull the plug' on depression with 'directed thinking'. David Healey (2004) called the relationship between pharmaceutical antidepressants and depressed individuals, extremely unhealthy. When medicinal drugs are advised to be abhorred, it stands to reason that hallucinating drugs cannot make positive contributions. Still the fact remains that according to existing research and statistics available in the field of psychology, depressed people reach for drugs as the most hopeful means of controlling depression and feeling ecstatic driven by anxiety, loneliness and depression. Drug addiction can store metabolite in the body with further side effects. Depression and drugs can encourage one another and work together towards a horrible mental and physical end. This does not mean that non-depressed do not take drugs. Their number is negligible compared to the depressed, their percentage is negligible. An astonishing majority justifies my hypothesis and hence, I would like to conduct my study on this hypothesis with the support of researched evidence, articles, journals, books, reports, statistical data etc.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Synthesis and Characterization of a New Aromatic Diamine

Synthesis and Characterization of a New Aromatic Diamine The synthesis and characterization of a new aromatic diamine, 2,5-bis-(aminopyridine-2-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (BAPO), containing pyridine and 1,3,4-oxadiazole moieties has been reported. An organophilic clay has been obtained via cation exchange reaction between the hydrochloride salt of BAPO and sodium montmorillonite (Na+-Mt‎). Basal space and thermal stability of this new modified organoclay were studied by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. High thermal stability of BAPO-Mt in compared with conventional montmorillonite modified with aliphatic long chain surfactants is shown. A series of organoclay/polyimide nanocomposites (CPN) consisting of BAPO and benzophenone-3,3,4,4-tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) were also obtained by an in situ polymerization reaction followed by thermal imidization. Structural properties and thermal stability of the obtained CPNs were studied by XRD, TGA, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The glass transition temperature (Tg) is increased with respect to pristine PI for CPNs 1-3 wt.%. At high clay concentrations, the coagulation of organoclay particles results in a decrease in Tg. Based on the obtained results, CPN 1 wt.% showed the most improved thermal properties. 1. Introduction Polyimides (PI) have gained interests in both academia and industries due to their excellent thermal stability, good resistance toward organic solvents, and improved mechanical properties [1]. They have been have been applied widely in the areas of modern industries [2]. These super engineering plastics have found their way into aerospace, electrical/electronic applications [3], gas separation [4], cell processing, biochip design [5], coating, and composites [6-7]. However, some difficulties come from rigidity and poor solubility in processing of most PIs. Introduction of flexible ether and ester linkages between the aromatic rings of the main chain is an effective way to make these polymers more pliable [8]. In this regard, preparation of poly(ester-amide-imide)s [9], poly(ether amide imide)s [10], poly(amine–amide–imide)s [11] and poly(amide-imide)s [12] have been reported. It was shown that, the incorporation of rigid heterocyclic rings in the main chain of a synthetic polymer could provide excellent thermal and thermo-oxidative stability, which should be useful to decrease negative effects resulting from the introduction of flexible linkages mentioned above. Pyridine nucleolus, as a rigid symmetric aromatic ring, would contribute to the thermal stability, chemical stability, and retention of mechanical property of the resulting polymer at elevated temperature. Furthermore, the polarizability, resulting from the nitrogen atom i n the pyridine ring, could be suitable to improve their solubility in organic solvents [13]. Fujigaya et al. reported among the variety of polybenzimidazole derivatives, the pyridine-containing polymer is known to possess a better mechanical properties and significantly higher proton conductivity due to its higher acid doping ability [14]. On the other hand, it was known that, the thermal stability of polymers can be raised by the incorporation of 1,3,4-oxadiazole moieties into the polymer structure [15]. The outstanding thermal stability is ascribed to the electronic equivalency of the oxadiazole ring to the phenylene ring structure, which has high thermal-resistance [16]. Combination of inorganic materials with organic polymers is one the exciting topics that has been receiving increasing research attention during recent decades. Nanostructured hybrid materials showed wide potential applications in various areas such as in coatings [17], catalysis [18] and biotechnology [19], shape memory polymers [20], and fuel cells [21]. Organically modified sodium clay (Na+-Mt) has improved compatibility, hence higher efficiency of reinforcement, with the polymer matrix. It has been known that, the dispersion of small amounts reinforcing organoclay mineral with high-aspect ratios, such as layered silicate clays, can significantly enhance the properties of PI and its precursor poly(amic acid) (PAA). These improvements can include solvent resistance [22], ionic conductivity [23], enhanced fire retardance [24], increased corrosion protection [25], increased strength and heat resistance [26], decreased gas permeability [27], high moduli [28], and dielectric properties [29]. The enhancements in thermal and mechanical properties of polymer/clay nanocomposites (CPNs) are due to the lamellar structure of montmorillonite those results in high in-plane strength and stiffness, and a high aspect ratio [30-31]. The chemical structure of Na+-Mt consists of two fused silica tetrahedral sheets sandwich an edge-shared octahedral sheet of either aluminum or magnesium hydroxide [32]. The Ca2+ and Na+ ions adsorbed in the interlayer region are exchangeable with organic cations such as long chain alkyl ammonium [33-34]. These organoclays as compatibilizer may be suitable for polymer blends prepared with a low processing temperature. They have low thermal stability and start to decompose around 200 °C, whereas the melt-processing temperatures of most polymers are typically above 200 °C [35]. Furthermore, the preparation and processing of PI/organoclaynanocomposites is carried out at high temperatures, and the thermal decomposition of the long carbon chain of quaternary ammonium salts is inevitable. Thermal decomposition during processing can initiate/catalyze polymer degradation, in addition to a variety of undesirable effects during processing and in the final product [36-37]. To avoid the detrimental effects, modification of clay minerals with imidazolium [38] and phosphonium [39] salts have been noted. As another approach, using of aromatic amines and/or diamines, as swelling agents, has also been considered in the preparation of polyamide and polyimide (PI) nanocomposites [31, 36, 40-41]. Recently, we reported the synthesis of a new aromatic diamine, 2-(5-(3,5-diaminophenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-yl)pyridine (POBD). Thermally stable poly(amide-imide)s [12], polyamides [42], polyimides [43], and PI/Clay nanocomposites [44] have been prepared using POBD. We noticed to the metal coordination ability of the 1,3,4-oxadiazole ring adjacent to 2-pyridyl group in designing POBD, Scheme 1. The ability of prepared hybrid materials for removal of the Co(II) ion have also been investigated [41, 45]. Thus, as part of our continuing efforts on the synthesis of polyimides with high thermal stability and metal ions coordination ability, in this work, we wish to report the synthesis and characterization of another designed aromatic monomer containing pyridine and 1,3,4-oxadiazole moieties. In this work, BAPO has been synthesized in four steps starting from 2-amino-6-methyl pyridine (1). The dihydrochloride salt of BAPO was used as a swelling agent for the modification of Na+-Mt. The novel modified organoclay (BAPO-Mt) was used in the preparation of PI/organoclay hybrids of BAPO/BTDA. Thermal stability of BAPO is higher than those for commonly used quaternary alkyl ammonium salts. Therefore, thermal degradation will be prevented during heat treatment needed for curing of poly(amic acid)s. The obtained films were studied by FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD, and SEM. The thermal properties were examined by TGA-DTA and DSC. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Preparation of BAPO-modified organoclay The new diamine, BAPO 5, was synthesized in four steps. 2-Amino-6-methtypyridine 1 was acetylated with acetic anhydride, oxidized with potassium permanganate, and then alkaline hydrolyzed to give 6-amino-picolinic acid 4 [47]. Cyclo-dehydration to 4 with hydrazine sulfate in the presence of P2O5 in the mixture of POCl3 and concentrated phosphoric acid gave BAPO 5 in overall 20.0% yield (Scheme 2). The chemical structure of BAPO 5 was confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and mass spectrometry techniques. In the FT-IR spectrum, amino stretching vibrations observed at 3332 and 3202 cm-1. Vibration of C=N bonds of pyridine and oxadiazole rings appeared at 1575 and 1653 cm-1, respectively. The absorption band with medium intensity observed at 1273 cm-1 is related to vibration of C-N bond on the pyridine nucleolus. The amino protons also merged to appear as a broad singlet centered at 6.32 ppm in the 1H NMR spectrum. This peak was disappeared upon addition of D2O and a new peak related to HOD was appeared at 3.90 ppm. In the 13C NMR spectrum of BAPO (5) totally 6 signals observe that it is compatible with the desired structure, Figure 1. Molecular ion peak was observed as base peak in the mass spectra of BAPO, Figure 2. The ‎fragmentation pattern is shown in Scheme 3.‎ To prepare the organophilic clay (BAPO-Mt) via a cation exchange reaction, the Na+-Mt was initially mixed with a hydrochloride solution of the intercalating agent, BAPO 5. Scheme 4 presents a schematic drawing of the modification step. 3.2. Characterization of BAPO-Mt organoclay Figure 3 shows FT-IR spectra of BAPO, sodium montmorillonite, and BAPO-Mt. The spectrum of organoclay exhibits the characteristic bands of Mt and BAPO: N–H stretching at 3330 and 3206 cm-1, –C=N– stretching of the pyridine nucleolus at 1652 cm-1, –C=N– stretching of the oxadiazole ring at 1546 cm-1, stretching vibrations of the double bonds of the aromatic rings in BAPO at 1627 cm-1, and typical bands of montmorillonite at 1033 and 525 cm-1. Figure 4 presents wide XRD of BAPO-Mt and pristine clay. A strong peak is observed at 2à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ±Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  = 8.95 ° for Na+-Mt, corresponding to the (001) plane, indicating that the interlayer spacing (d001-spacing) of Na+-Mt is about 1.0 nm. The interlayer  ­d001spacing can be calculated from peak positions using Bragg’s law: nÃŽ » = 2d sin ÃŽ ¸, where ÃŽ » is the X-ray wavelength (1.5418 Ã…). The reà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ection peak of (001) in BAPO-Mt shifted to a lower diffraction angle at 6.90 °, corresponding to the larger d001-spacing (1.28 nm) than Na+-Mt. The replacement of sodium ions with the ammonium ions of BAPO seems to increase the d001-spacing of layered silicate. In general, a larger d001-spacing should assist the intercalation of the polymer chains and should also lead to better clay dispersion within the polymer matrix. Table 1 summarizes the diffraction peaks and the calculated d001-spacings of Na+-Mt and organophilic clays. The thermal treatment of pristine clay under nitrogen consists of two main stages. The first stage occurs from ambient temperature to 200 °C. In this step, free water molecules physically adsorbed on the external surfaces of crystals along with the hydrating water molecules around the exchangeable cation located inside the interlayer space are removed. The second stage is attributed to the dehydroxylation of the structural silanol units of the montmorillonite in the range of 200-700 °C. The temperature intervals of dehydration corresponding to these processes as well as the amount of water released depends on the nature of adsorbed cations and the hydration of the surface [50]. On the other hand, organically modified montmorillonite shows a four-step decomposition process. The vaporization of free water takes place at temperatures below 200 °C, while the surfactant’s decomposition occurs in the temperature range of 200–500 °C. Dehydroxylation of the structural s ilanol groups related to aluminosilicates occurs between 500–800 °C. The last step is the decomposition associated with the combustion reaction between organic carbon and inorganic oxygen [51]. The amount of loaded diamine can be estimated by TGA measurement. Figure 5 shows the TGA curves of the Na+-Mt, the BAPO-Mt, and BAOP. Pristine Na+-Mt contains a large quantity of water due to the intercalation of hydrated sodium (Na+) and hydrated calcium (Ca2+) cations inside the clay layers. These physically adsorbed water molecules are removed in the range from ambient temperature to 230 °C (ca. 3.81% weight loss). The virgin clay also undergoes a 6.36% weight loss within 230-598 °C related to dehydroxylation of the structural silanol units. Whereas, under the same condition BAPO-Mt shows a weight loss of about 10.6% within 230-598 °C related to surface dehydroxylation and thermal decomposition of the surfactant molecules within the organoclay galleries. The difference betwe en weight losses of Na+-Mt and BAOP-Mt within 230-598 °C (Δm = 4.24%) can be attributed to the weight of the loaded diamine. Therefore, the amount of loaded diamines (42.4 mg/g of clay) can be calculated from Eq. (1). Surface energy of Na+-Mt is lowered by the presence of the aromatic ammonium ions within the interlayer spacing. Therefore, the hydrophilic silicate surface transforms to an organophilic one. As seen in Figure 5, the thermal decomposition of the surfactant molecules occurs in two stags at 260 °C and 370 °C. These temperatures are higher than those of decomposition temperature of aliphatic long chain surfactants commonly used for modification of Na+-Mt, which occurs below 200 °C [52]. This study suggests that the BAPO-Mt can be used in the preparation of PI nanocomposites that need to be cured at elevated temperatures. The images obtained by SEM demonstrate significant changes on the surface of the BAPO-Mt. The Na+-Mt particles seem to be stuck together due to moisture (Figure 6a-b), but the organoclay particles are clearly separated in organically modified clay (Figure 6c,d). It seems that the hydrophilicity of the clay is reduced after modification reaction. This study is in accordance with TGA results. 3.4. Polymer Synthesis The present work reports the preparation and characterization of new polyimide CPNs. BAPO-Mt is used as the surfactant at different concentrations. Scheme 5 depicts the synthesis of the PI from the reaction of BAPO and BTDA through thermal dehydration of the poly(amic acid) intermediate. The FT-IR absorptions appearing at approximately 1786, 1727, 1366, 1094 and 722 cm-1 (Figure 7) indicate the presence of imide functional groups in the polyimide film [53]. The polyimide is also characterized by elemental analysis. The observed and calculated values for CHN analyses are in good agreement. Solubility test results (Table 2) show that the obtained PI is soluble in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature and in other polar aprotic solvents such as, dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) at boiling temperature of the solvents. For this experiment, about 0.01 g of the polymer sample was examined in 1 ml of solvent at room and at boiling temperature of the solvents. The inherent viscosity of the 0.125 and 0.25 g/dL solutions of the polyimide were 0.36 and 0.39 dL/g, respectively (measured at 25 ± 0.5 °C in DMSO). 3.5. Preparation and characterization of PI/BAPO-Mt CPNs The preparation and characterization of polyimide CPNs with different concentrations of organoclay are also investigated. Scheme 6 shows a procedure for the preparation of PI/BAPO-Mt CPNs by thermal imidization according to method described earlier [44-45]. Figure 8 presents XRD curves of BAPO-Mt, and PI films with various organoclay contents. The lack of any diffraction peak in the XRD patterns of CPNs 1 and 3 wt.%, at 2à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ± = 2-10 °, can be attributed to the possible formation of nanocomposites of exfoliated structure. A wide and week diffraction peak at 2à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ± = 6.62 ° was displayed by CPN 5%, equaling a d00-spacing of 1.33 nm for the layered silicates in the CPN. The shift to higher interlayer d00spacing with respect to BAPO-Mt (2à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ±Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  = 6.90 °, d001 = 1.28 nm) is due to the intercalation of the polymer within the organoclay galleries and the formation of an intercalated nanocomposite. Pure polyimide does not show any diffraction peak at 2à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ± = 2-10 °. The XRD data are summarized in Table 3. The glass transition temperature of the pure PI is observed at about 271.3 °C (measured by DSC), and the polymer does not show any melting endotherm. The decomposition of the polymer begins at 435.5 °C, and no thermal decomposition occurs below this temperature. To remove any adsorbed water, the polymer samples were heated to 150 °C and then cooled to room temperature prior DSC measurements. Figure 9 shows DSC curves of the PI and CPNs. The results are summarized in Table 4. As seen, the glass transition temperature increases dramatically from 271.3 °C for pure PI to 297.0 °C for CPN 1%. The restriction of the intercalated polymer chains within the clay galleries can be responsible for preventing segmental motions of the polymer chains [46]. However, further addition of organoclay up to 5 wt.% leads to a decrease in Tg. This decrease might be due to the aggregation of BAPO-Mt particles that reduces the interfacial interaction between organoclay and the PI matrix [47]. Both DSC and DTA methods show similar trends of changing in the Tg values upon increasing the organoclay content. Figure 10 shows TGA curves of the pure PI and CPNs. The results are given in Table 4. As seen thermo-gravimetery parameters such as temperature for %10 mass loss and initial thermal decomposition (TD) are increased for CPN 1%, remained almost unchanged in CPN 3%, and then decreased. Char yields are less influenced by the BAPO-Mt content. The drop in the thermal properties at high organoclay loading may be attributed to the better miscibility of polymer and organoclay phases at low organoclay concentrations. Like a superior insulator, the obtained multilayered carbonaceous silicate structure increase the total path of evaporation for small molecules produced during pyrolysis [24]. Based on DSC, DTA and TGA studies, it can conclude that CPN 1% has the most improved thermal properties. The morphology of the PI and CPN film surfaces was also studied be SEM. Some significant and interesting changes have been observed in the surface of CPN 1% with respect to virgin PI film, Figures 11a-d. As seen in the pictures, too many micro-cracks are observed in the background of both films, however, homogeneity of the film surface is increased in the CPN 1wt.%. Conclusion A new thermally stable organoclay has been prepared through the modification of Na+-Mt with BAPO. An X-ray diffraction study confirmed the intercalation of organic surfactant within the silicate layers. SEM images showed that some significant changes occurred on the surface of BAPO-Mt with respect to Na+-Mt, including a decrease in hydrophilicity. Furthermore, the high thermal stability of BAPO avoids pyrolysis during thermal imidization of poly(amic acid) intermediate. The preparation and characterization of new PI/BAPO-Mt CPNs with different contents of organoclay have also been investigated. CPNs 1-5% were prepared from the thermal imidization of a BAPO-Mt dispersion in a poly(amic acid) solution obtained from BAPO and BTDA. XRD patterns showed that exfoliated CPNs may be obtained with the organoclay content of 1-3 wt.%, but at higher clay loadings intercalated structure is significant. TGA-DTA and DSC measurements showed that Tg increases with increasing organoclay content loadin g to 1 wt.%, and then decrease thereafter. SEM images showed that CPNs 1% produces smoother film than that of the virgin polyimide.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Clockwork Orange :: essays research papers

The movie A Clockwork Orange takes place in the future of London. Anthony Burgess originally wrote it. Later on made into a movie, and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The movie is to represent ultra-violence and how there is no scientific cure yet. The social context is very violent in the beginning showing scenes of rape and assault. The movie shows a violent killer and rapist, and an attempt to cure him that fails. The author of A Clockwork Orange is Anthony Burgess, also went by the name Joseph Kell. He was born on February 25, 1917, in Manchester. His family was middle class, and their religious background was Catholic. His family life was not easy. His father was a cashier and piano player. His mother died of the flu in 1919, two years after he was born. So with his mother gone and his father not doing to great financially, his maternal aunt then raised him. His stepmother then raised him. Despite the many changes in where he was living, he always was good in school. He continued his studies at Xaverian College and Manchester University. When in college he studied the English language, and literature. He finished school in 1940, which was right around World War II. So he now had to serve at the Royal Army Medical corps. He fell in love and got married in 1942, to an alcoholic named llwela Isherwood, who passed away in 1968 due to alcohol. Burgess was released from the medical corp. around 1945, and then started teaching. He held down to jobs from 1946 to 1950. The jobs were a college professor at Birmingham University and a teacher at Banbury Grammar School. He was not writing that much at this point, only studying music. Anthony Burgess completed his first novel in 1949, although it was finished, it was not published until 1965. In 1954 he was an education officer, he then wrote a trilogy. This trilogy included Time for a Tiger, The Enemy in the Blanket, and Beds in the East.