Japanese Traditional Building Techniques Assignment

Japanese Traditional Building Techniques - Assignment Example Timber and clay are abundantly available in Japan; hence these are the main building materials used in Japanese house construction since the last several hundred years (Figure 1). The framework is constructed with timber, which is walled with the help of clay. By the late 1970s, this traditional method of building Japanese houses gradually decreased. This was mainly because the timber framework was replaced by the North American style panel construction, and the clay wall by timber or steel paneling. However, in some places in Japan such as Toyohashi, the traditional building technique is continued in the present day; though the number of clay-walled houses constructed is declining (Hideo 2003). Carpenters put sills on the concrete foundation, erect posts then using various joints they join the various posts with beams. The contemporary method is to use nails, reinforcing metals and brasses to give more earthquake resistance to the houses according to the Building Regulations. Accord ing to Hideo (2003), after the roof structure has been assembled, a ceremony of ridge raising termed Muneageshiki is performed, in collaboration with the client and the community. Carpenters prepare the frame sections at their workshop from cut timber, and assemble them at the building site. Plasterers set bamboo lath in frame spaces and apply clay to the lath. This Arakabe is generally applied before the onset of winter; and it takes one to two months to dry completely. This is followed by two more applications of clay.

Project Manager to develop a project plan for 4. A fund raising event Assignment

Project Manager to develop a project plan for 4. A fund raising event in Singapore for a charity organization - Assignment Example The scope of this project is to raise funds to these charity organizations. So far we have raised a total of five hundred thousand US dollars ant the estimated cost of constructing the accommodation house is one million US dollar. The money comes from grants from the governments and organizations small business and individuals (Murthy & Mohle, 2001, pp. 123-189). Moreover, public members contributes funds via reaching out to the individual members of the public either through house to house visits; soliciting in streets; an appeal made through the telephone or the media such as the Internet and newspapers; appeal letters by post; or approaching potential donors with a formal proposal. Fundraising have organized within community places. The technical requirements for this project includes expertise in building and construction , quantity surveyors, financial professional accountants who will give how these funds are going to be used. Fundraising will entail putting up a complete accommodation house with associated furniture, beddings but excluding provision of services by the mother organization. For fund-raising appeal to door-to-door assortment or lobbying within the public homes, and Street Gathering Permit ought to be attained from corresponding Police (Murthy & Mohle, 2001, pp. 123-189). A license is never required if it is a private collection that is confined to friends or relatives, appeals made through the telephone or the media such as the Internet and newspapers, appeal letters by post or approaching individual donors. There exist particular permits an individual ought to apply for the pertinent organizations in case an individual is undertaking a fund collection event within the public premises. For any assembly comprising five individuals or more within any public premise to broadcast a basis and campaign, a manager require to apply for the permit from the Singapore

Human Morality Essay Example for Free

Human Morality Essay A common question throughout history has always been about human morality. Because of our higher thinking capacity, we are hardwired to adapt and refine our basic instincts to survive; therefore, it is obvious this question would be disputed throughout time. Are humans innately good, bad, or plainly neutral? The position that any one person takes may be derived from any number of ideas, be them philosophical thoughts or scientific inquiries. This essay asserts that morality is innate, and uses both scientific studies and ideas from philosophers to support this argument. Man is essentially good, and the different ways people are nurtured—from societal influences to parental influences—creates the large spectrum and variety of behavior that may not be deemed â€Å"good† or â€Å"moral. † The magazine Smithsonian published an article named â€Å"Born to Be Mild† in January of 2013 on morality in young children. This article wrote about a few different studies done on children by three different experimenters. In one of the studies titled â€Å"Spontaneous Altruism by Chimpanzees and Young Children,† Felix Warneken tested the morality of humans through young babies (because they have had little to no socialization) and also tested morality of chimpanzees, the closest relative to humans. In this study, 18-month-old toddlers were tested to see if they would help others in need by retrieving a dropped item that an adult struggled for. In almost all instances, the child returned the item. Warneken stated, â€Å"[Helping at that age] is not something that’s been trained, and [the children] come to help without prompting or without being rewarded† (Tucker 39). Not only did the toddlers help people in need, they also helped without social cues (such as the distress someone in need has). Many toddlers in the experiment Warneken created helped retrieve a can that had fallen off a table next to an adult and the adult failed to realize something was amiss. When Warneken tested the chimpanzees to see if they would return the same answers, he tested chimpanzees that were nursery-raised and semi-wild chimps. Both tests displayed the same results as the tests on the toddlers—chimpanzees were willing to help both humans and other chimps in need with no reward for themselves (Tucker 39-41). The fact that most of the toddlers and human relatives, the chimpanzees, helped others in need both with and without social cues strongly points to the idea that human morality is innate. A second study highlighted in the Smithsonian article was a reproduction of a previous study from the mid-2000s. The original study was an animated presentation shown to six to ten month old babies in one group and three month old babies in a second. The animated presentation consisted of a red circle attempted to climb a hill. In one instance, a triangle helped the circle climb, and in another, a square knocked the circle down. When the square and triangle were presented to the older group of babies, almost all babies chose the helping triangle over the hindering square. For the younger group, the researchers tracked the eye movement of the babies to either the triangle or square, because the babies could not physically grab the object. In the reproduction, done by another experimenter, the results were the same. Once again, evidence suggests that because babies seem so morally good, humans are innately good, and it is the nurture we receive as we are socialized into this culture that may cause some people to seem morally corrupt (Tucker 38-39). It should be noted that because the reproduction provided the same results as the original study, an even stronger case was created for the idea of innate human morality. The messages that Machiavelli gives in â€Å"The Qualities of the Prince† may cause one to believe that humans are innately evil because through â€Å"The Qualities of the Prince,† Machiavelli details how to be cunning, take control, and maintain control as a ruler of a province. His teachings seem to create humans as greedy people, hungry for more. This is actually very incorrect. Machiavelli clearly states, â€Å"it is necessary for a prince†¦to learn how to not be good† (42). I emphasize that Machiavelli wrote a man must learn to not be good. One can assume from this that Machiavelli is saying man is at least in some degree, wholesome and moral. After all, humans were never meant to civilize and evolve. We are, in true form, animals that have an instinct to survive. Ruling and gaining power is a man-made idea. Opponents to the idea that humans are moral might suggest that if ruling is man-made, evil is already within us because we created the concept of ruling others; however, if man were truly evil, he would not take murder as a heavy offense, and would kill others in his way to get what he wants instead of just gaining control. The examples of rulers that Machiavelli writes help to reiterate this point. These men were not born thinking of war and control. They were raised and socialized to lead and gain power. Steinbeck and the messages he delivers in The Grapes of Wrath also point to the idea that human morality is innate. The author often writes of the distinct line of those with, and those without—in other words, the owners and the migrants or farmers. Steinbeck makes a point to write about how close-knit the migrants are in many instances. Steinbeck writes â€Å"‘I lost my land’ is changed†¦[to] ‘We lost our land. ’,† ‘I have a little food’ plus ‘I have none’†¦. is ‘We have a little food’† (151); â€Å"the twenty families became one family† (193); and â€Å"when a baby dies a pile of silver coins grew at the door flap† (195). All of these quotes show the goodness in others, to do something for someone in need. This is all in contrast to the owners, which on multiple different pages Steinbeck writes how disconnected they are from the land, and â€Å"the quality of owning freezes you forever into ‘I’† (Steinbeck 152). These owners are so encompassed by the material culture around them, by the greed and the blanketed reality that they cannot see with a moral compass anymore. Of course they have one, for at one point they might have been like the farmers, caring for others and instituted into the â€Å"we† group. Proponents for human neutrality might argue that the owners were never at any point good, that they were neutral and socialized into the owning culture, unlike the farming culture. This is not the case, however, through a passage that Steinbeck wrote very early in The Grapes of Wrath, which said, â€Å"Some of the owner men were kind because they hated what they had to do, and some of them were angry because they hated to be cruel, and some of them were cold because they had long ago found that one could not be an owner unless one were cold† (31). This insinuates that in all types of owners, there is a moral compass. Even in the coldest owners, deep within them, they acknowledge the idea that the work they do is wrong. Because the owners know what is wrong, they know the opposite as well—what is right. If the owners were not innately good, their views on what is right or wrong would be skewed by their societal influences. While people will never give up the argument of human morality, it is a safe bet to argue that humans are innately good. We possess the ability to help spontaneously and without reward, as shown in the scientific studies, and we understand what is right and wrong. Our societal influences and the way we were raised affects if we will channel our morality or go against it, as shown by Machiavelli in â€Å"The Qualities of the Prince† and by Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath. Works Cited Machiavelli, Niccolo. â€Å"The Qualities of the Prince. † A World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacobus. 8th e. Boston: Bedford, 2010. Print. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 1939. Print. Tucker, Abigail. â€Å"Born to Be Mild. † Smithsonian Jan. 2013: 35-41, 76-77. Print.

Glass-ceramics: Types, Technology and Application

Glass-ceramics: Types, Technology and Application CHAPTER 1 1. Introduction 1.1 Glass-ceramics Glass-ceramics are fine-grained polycrystalline materials formed when glasses of suitable compositions are heat treated and thus undergo controlled crystallisation to the lower energy, crystalline state. It must be emphasised here that only specific glass compositions are suitable precursors for glass-ceramics due to the fact that some glasses are too stable and difficult to crystallise whereas others result in undesirable microstructures by crystallising too readily in an uncontrollable manner. In addition, it must also be accentuated that in order for a suitable product to be attained, the heat-treatment is critical for the process and a range of generic heat treatment procedures are used which are meticulously developed and modified for a specific glass composition. A glass-ceramic is formed by the heat treatment of glass which results in crystallisation. Crystallisation of glasses is attributed to thermodynamic drives for reducing the Gibbs free energy, and the Amorphous Phase Separation (APS) which favours the crystallisation process by forming a nucleated phase easier than it would in the original glass. When a glass is melted, the liquid formed from the melting might spontaneously separate into two very viscous liquids or phases. By cooling the melt to a temperature below the glass transformation region it will result in the glass being phase separated and this is called liquid-liquid immiscibility. This occurs when both the phases are liquid. Hence a glass can simply be considered as a liquid which undergoes a demixing process when it cools. The immiscibility is either stable or metastable depending on whether the phase seperation occurs above or below the liquidus temperature respectively. The metastable immiscibility is much more inmporta nt and has two processes which then cause phase seperation and hence crystallisation; nucleation and crystal growth and spinodal decomposition. The first APS process has two distinguished stages; Nucleation (whereby the crystals will grow to a detectable size on the nucleus) and Crystal growth. Nucleation can either be homogeneous; where the crystals form spontaneously within the melt or heterogeneous; crystals form at a pre-existing surface such as that due to an impurity, crucible wall etc. Many a time the parent glass composition is specifically chosen to contain species which enhance internal nucleation which in the majority of cases is required. Such species also called nucleating agents can include metallic agents such as Ag, Pt and Pd or non-metallic agents such as TiO ­2, P2O5 and fluorides. The second process is spinodal decomposition which involves a gradual change in composition of the two phases until they reach the immiscibility boundary. As both the processes for APS are different, the glass formed will clearly result in having different morphology to each other. A glass-ceramic is usually not fully crystalline; with the microstructure being 50-95 volume % crystalline with the remainder being residual glass. When the glass undergoes heat treatment, one or more crystalline phases may form. Both the compositions of the crystalline and residual glass are different to the parent glass. In order for glass-ceramics having desirable properties to be developed, it is crucial to control the crystallisation process so that an even distribution of crystals can be formed. This is done by controlling the nucleation and crystal growth rate. The nucleation rate and crystal growth rate is a function of temperature and are accurately measured experimentally (Stookey 1959; McMillan 1979, Holand Beall 2002) The aim of the crystallisation process is to convert the glass into glass-ceramic which have properties superior to the parent glass. The glass-ceramic formed depends on efficient internal nucleation from controlled crystallisation which allows the development of fine, randomly oriented grains without voids, microcracks, or other porosity. This results in the glass-ceramic being much stronger, harder and more chemically stable than the parent glass. Glass-ceramics are characterised in terms of composition and microstructure as their properties depend on both of these. The ability of a glass to be formed as well as its degree of workability depends on the bulk composition which also determines the grouping of crystalline phases which consecutively govern the general physical and chemical characteristics, e.g. hardness, density, acid resistance, etc. As mentioned earlier, nucleating agents are used in order for internal nucleation to occur so that the glass-ceramic produced has desirable properties. Microstructure is the key to most mechanical and optical properties; it can promote or diminish the role of the key crystals in the glass-ceramic. The desirable properties obtained from glass-ceramics are crucial in order for them to have applications in the field of biomaterials. Glass-ceramics are used as biomaterials in two different fields: First, they are used as highly durable materials in restorative dentistry and second, they are applied as bioactive materials for the replacement of hard tissue. Dental restorative materials are materials which restore the natural tooth structure (both in shape and function), exhibit durability in the oral environment, exhibit high strength and are wear resistance. In order for dental restorative materials to restore the natural tooth structure, it is crucial to maintain the vitality of the tooth. . However non-vital teeth may also be treated with restorative materials to reconstruct or preserve the aesthetic and functional properties of the tooth. In order for glass-ceramics to be used for dental applications, they must possess high chemical durability, mechanical strength and toughness and should exhibit properties which mimic the natural tooth microstructure in order for it to be successful as an aesthetic. Glass-ceramics allow all these properties to be united within one material. As mentioned previously, for a glass-ceramic to have the desired properties, the glass is converted into a glass-ceramic via controlled crystallisation to achieve the crystal phase wanted and hence the desired properties it could possibly have. Hence, the glass-ceramic developed allows it to have properties such as low porosity, increased strength, durability, toughness etc which are crucial in the field of dental restorations as it prevents restorative failures which are mainly due to stress and porosity which causes cracks and hence failures. It took many years of research in order to get a material strong enough to be initially used as a dental reconstructive material. However over the past 10-15 years, research has progressed vastly and now glass-ceramics demonstrate good strength, high durability and good aesthetics. The development and processing of glass-ceramics has been focused on particular clinical applications, such as dental inlays, crowns, veneers, bridges and dental posts with abutments. Glass-ceramics are divided into seven types of materials: Mica glass-ceramics Mica apatite glass-ceramics Leucite glass-ceramics Leucite apatite glass-ceramics Lithium Disilicate glass-ceramics Apatite containing glass-ceramics ZrO2-containing glass-ceramics The first commercially usable glass ceramic products for restorative dentistry were composites of mica glass ceramics. Dicor ® and Dicor ® MGC were products based on these. According to the mechanism of controlled volume crystallisation of glasses, tetrasilicic micas, Mg2.5Si4O10F2, showing crystal sizes of 1 to 2 ÃŽ ¼m in the glass ceramic were produced. Dicor ® being amongst them was shaped by means of centrifugal casting methods to produce dental restorations such as dental crowns and inlays. Depending on the different crystal sizes and the corresponding microstructure of the glass ceramic, it was also possible to manufacture glass ceramics for machining applications. [53], Dicor ® MGC being amongst them. This resulted in the characteristic of good machinability in this type of glass-ceramic to be exploited and results concluded that crystals upto only 2 ÃŽ ¼m in length in the material improved mechanical strength over other materials. Mica-apatite glass-ceramics have been produced in the SiO2-Al2O3-Na2O-K2O-MgO-CaO-P2O5-F system. The main crystal phases are phlogopite, (K,Na)Mg3(AlSi3O10)F2  and fluorapatite, Ca5(PO4)3F. The base glass consists of three glass phases: a large droplet-shaped phosphate-rich phase, a small droplet-shaped silicate and a silicate glass matrix. Mica is formed during heat treatment, as in apatite-free glass-ceramics, by in-situ crystallization via the mechanism of volume crystallization. Apatite is formed within the phosphate-rich droplet phase. Astonishingly, every single apatite crystal possesses its own nucleation site in the form of a single phosphate drop. The glass-ceramic is biocompatible and suitable for applications in head and neck surgery as well as in the field of orthopaedics. Leucite glass-ceramics can be formed by applying the advantage of the viscous flow mechanism. IPS Empress ® is of this type of glass-ceramic. The material is processed by using the lost wax technique, whereby a wax pattern of the dental restoration such as an inlay, onlay, veneer or crown is produced and then put in a refractory die material. Then the wax is burnt out to create space to be filled by the glass-ceramic. As the glass-ceramic has a certain volume of glass phase, the principle of viscous flow can be applied and hence the material can be pressed into a mould. Surface crystallisation and surface nucleation mechanisms were controlled in order for this type of glass-ceramic to be formed. [42, 54] Consequently, the manufacturing of inlays and crowns developed due to the application of viscous flow mechanism of glass-ceramics in different shapes. The resulting leucite glass-ceramic restorations transluceny, colour and wear resistance behaviour can then be adjusted to those of natural tooth.[55] Additionally, the leucite glass-ceramic restorations can be produced by machining with CAD/CAM. IPS ProCAD ® and IPS Empress ® CAD are glass ceramics produced via this method. All leucite glass-ceramic restorations are bonded to the tooth structure with a luting material, preferably an adhesive bonding system. The retentive pattern produced on the glass-ceramic surface is particularly advantageous in this respect. It was possible to develop a leucite apatite glass-ceramic derived from the SiO2-Al2O3-Na2O-K2O-CaO-P2O5-F system by combining two different mechanisms, i.e. controlled surface nucleation and controlled bulk nucleation. IPS d.SIGN ® is amongst these. The glass-ceramic was prepared according to the classic method of glass-ceramic formation: melting, casting to prepare a glass frit, controlled nucleation and crystallization. A two-fold reaction mechanism leads to the precipitation of fluoroapatite, Ca5(PO4)3F and leucite, KAlSi2O6 [42]. SEM pictures show the two-phase crystal content of apatite and leucite in this type of glass-ceramic. Fluoroapatite phase takes the form of needle-shaped crystals whereas the oval areas are the leucite crystals. The clinical application of this glass-ceramic has been proven to be suitable for clinical application as veneering material on metal frameworks for single units as well as for large dental bridges involving more than three units. The first glass-ceramic to be developed was by Stookey et al (1959) which contained Lithium disilicate. [37]. Further research into this field allowed for IPS Empress ®2 to be developed. This glass-ceramic was developed in order to extend the range of indications of glass-ceramics from inlay and crowns to three-unit bridges, by offering high strength, high fracture toughness and at the same time, a high degree of translucency. Both the flexural strength and fracture toughness of lithium disilicate glass-ceramics are almost three times of those of leucite glass-ceramics. Lithium disilicate glass-ceramic ingot are utilizied to produce the crown or bridge framework in combination with the viscous flow process. To further improve the aesthetic properties, i.e. translucency and shade match, and to optimally adjust the wear behaviour to that of the natural tooth, the lithium disilicate glass ceramic is veneered with an apatite-containing glass-ceramic using a sintering process. In order to meet the demanding requirements of CAD/CAM applications, a lithium metasilicate glassceramic, IPS e.max ®was developed. This material, which is supplied in a typically blue colour, is adjusted by thermal treatment in order to demonstrate a characteristic tooth colour. The range of IPS e.max ®products also encompasses various apatite-containing glass ceramics that are suitable for both layering material on lithium disilicate glass-ceramic and veneering material on ZrO2 sintered ceramic. The apatite crystal phase of the Ca5(PO4)3F type acts as a component that adjusts the optical properties of the restoration to natural tooth. For this reason, the crystallites are of nanoscale dimension. ZrO2 containing glass-ceramics was the first glass-ceramic developed to be fused to high strength ZrO2 ceramic dental posts. The glass-ceramic contains Li12ZrSi6O15 crystals as the main phase; however different types of crystals are also precipitated in the glassy matrix. ZrO2 has become very interesting not only in the field of medicine but also in dental applications. High-strength and high toughness dental posts, crowns and bridges can be prepared from this material. In order for a dental restorative material to be of clinical success, their most important properties include; high strength, high toughness, abrasion behaviour comparable to natural teeth, translucency, colour, durability) and the processing technologies (moulding, machining, sintering). [56] Furthermore, the material should have good marginal fit with the tooth, biocompatibility, good mechanical properties and low porosity. In addition to the aforementioned properties, the recent requirement for dental restorative materials is for its appearance to be similar to that of a natural tooth. Glass-ceramics have been researched immensely in order to fulfil high standards of function and aesthetics from an early stage. The trend for metal free dental restorations began from the 1970s whereby metal free feldspathic ceramics were reinforced with additional components. Since then, increasing the strength of these materials progressed rapidly by controlling the nucleation and crystallisation of glasses, as discussed earlier. These developments have now led to the introduction of a trend which is focused on achieving exceptional aesthetic results with glass ceramics as metal free dental restorations. Although glass-ceramics exhibit the desired properties for dental restoration, their main drawback is that they are brittle which the main cause of failure is. This is due to either fabrication defects; which are created during production of the glass-ceramic or secondly, surface cracks; which are due to machining or grinding. Therefore when processing the glass-ceramic, care needs to be taken in addition to choosing the suitable method for production for specific compositions of the glass-ceramic in order to improve their mechanical properties. Apart from the use of glass-ceramics for dental restorations, they can also be applied as bioactive materials for the replacement of hard tissue. Bone is a complex living tissue which has an elegant structure at a range of different hierarchical scales. It is basically a composite comprising collagen, calcium phosphate (being in the form of crystallised hydroxyapatite, HA or amorphous calcium phosphate, ACP) and water. Additionally, other organic materials, such as proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids are also present in small quantities. Because bone is susceptible to fracture; there has always been a need, since the earliest time, for the repair of damaged hard tissue. Many years of research has attempted to use biomaterials to replace hard tissue, ranging from using bioinert materials, to bioactive materials such as ‘Bioglass (Hench et al) to ‘Apatite-wollastonite (A-W) glass-ceramics (Kokubo et al) and to calcium phosphate materials. Calcium phosphate based materials have received a great deal of attention in this field due to their similarity with the mineral phase of bone. 1.2 Calcium Phosphate Glasses The application of calcium phosphate material as a bone substitute began by Albee (1920), who reported that a tricalcium phosphate compound used in a bony defect promoted osteogenesis. Many years later, Levitt et al (1969) [65] and Monroe et al (1971) were the first to suggest the use of calcium phosphate ceramics for dental and medical implant materials. Subsequently in 1971, Hench et al developed a calcium phosphate containing glass-ceramic, called Bioglass ® and demonstrated that it chemically bonded with the host bone through a calcium phosphate rich layer. Furthermore the advantageous properties of calcium phosphate ceramics arose when Nery et al (1975) used a calcium phosphate ceramic for implants in surgically produced infrabony defects in dogs. This demonstrated that the calcium phosphate ceramic was nontoxic, biocompatible, and caused no significant haematological changes in the calcium and phosphorus levels. Since then, a great deal of research into calcium phosphate glas s-ceramics has been conducted as potentially bone substitutes in dentistry. Calcium phosphate based ceramics can be characterised accordingly; Hydroxyapatite (HA, Ca5(PO4)3OH) ÃŽ ²-tricalcium phosphate (ÃŽ ²-TCP, ÃŽ ²-Ca3(PO4)2) Biphasic calcium phosphates, BCP; mixture of HA and ÃŽ ²-TCP ÃŽ ²-calcium pyrophosphate (ÃŽ ²-CPP, ÃŽ ²-Ca2P2O7) Fluorapatite (FAP, Ca5(PO4)3F) Calcium phosphate based ceramics and their properties have been characterised according to the proportion of calcium to phosphorus ions in the structure. One of the most widely used synthetic calcium phosphate ceramics is hydroxyapatite, Ca5(PO4)3OH, HA and this is due to its chemical similarities to the inorganic component of hard tissues. HA, has a Ca:P molar ratio of 1.67. It has higher stability in aqueous media than other calcium phosphate ceramics. Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) is a biodegradable bioceramic with the chemical formula, Ca3(PO4)2. TCP dissolves in physiological media and can be replaced by bone during implantation. TCP has four polymorphs, the most common ones being ÃŽ ± and ÃŽ ²-forms, of which ÃŽ ²-TCP has received a lot of attention in the field of bone substitutes. Slight imbalances in the ratio of Ca:P can lead to the appearance of extraneous phases. If the Ca:P ratio is lower than 1.67, then alpha- or beta tricalcium phosphate may be present after processing. If the Ca:P is higher than 1.67, calcium oxide (CaO) may be present along with the HA phase. These extraneous phases may adversely affect the biological response to the implant in-vivo. A TCP with a Ca:P ratio of 1.5 is more rapidly resorbed than HA. Hence, ÃŽ ²-TCP has been involved in recent developments aimed to improving its biological efficiency and its mechanical properties in order for it to be successful as bone substitutes. Mixtures of HA and TCP, known as biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP), have also been investigated as bone substitutes and the higher the TCP content in BCP, the higher the dissolution rate. The crystal structure of HA can accommodate substitutions by various other ions for the Ca2+, PO43− and OH− groups. The ionic substitutions can affect the lattice parameters, crystal morphology, crystallinity, solubility and thermal stability of HA. Anionic substitutions can either occur in the phosphate- or hydroxyl positions. Fluorapatite and chlorapatite are common examples of anionically substituted HA. They display a similar structure to HA, but the F− and Cl− ions substitute for OH−. A lot of research has gone into carbonate substituted HA and it has shown to have increased bioactivity compared to pure HA, which is attributed to the greater solubility of the carbonated substituted HA. Thus, recent work has been in progress in order to optimise the production and sintering behaviour of carbonated substituted HA in order for use in biomedical applications. Materials which are bioactive i.e. the ability to bond to living tissue and enhance bone formation, have the following characteristic compositional features: (i) SiO2 contents smaller than 60 mol%, (ii) high Na2O and CaO content, and (iii) high CaO:P2O5 ratio [80]. Although silica based bioactive materials have shown great clinical success in many dental and orthopaedic applications, its insoluble properties has resulted in it as a potential for a long term device and the long term reaction to silica, both locally and systematically is still unknown. [81] Therefore, silica free, calcium phosphate glasses have attracted much interest due to their chemical and physical properties. They offer a more controlled rate of dissolution compared to silica containing glasses, they are simple, easy to produce, biodegradable, biocompatible, bioresorbable due to their ability to completely dissolve in an aqueous environment and have excellent bioactivity, osteoconductivity as well as not causing a n inflammatory response. Due to their properties, especially due to it being bioresorbable, calcium phosphate glasses have been under investigation for several applications in the dental field, particular as implants. However only certain calcium phosphate compounds are suitable for implantation in the body, compounds with a Ca:P ratio less than 1 are not suitable for biological implantation due to their high solubility. The structural unit of phosphate glasses is a PO4 ­ tetrahedron. The basic phosphate tetrahedra form long chains and rings that create the three-dimensional vitreous network. All oxygens in the glass structure are bridging oxygens (BO), and the non-bridging oxygens (NBO) can be formed by including other species such as CaO and Na2O or MgO. Do to the effects of Ca2+, Na2+ ­ and Mg2+ in the glass structure; they are defined as glass network modifiers, which form the glassy state and are called ‘invert glasses. Hence the structure of phosphate glasses can be described using the Qn terminology, where n represents the number of bridging oxygens that a PO4 tetrahedron has in a P2O5 glass, every tetrahedron can bond at three corners producing layers of oxygen polyhedra which are connected together with Van der Waals bonds. When the PO4 tetrahedron bonds with three bridging oxygens, giving the Q3 species, it is referred to as an ultraphosphate glass, which usually consists of a 2D network. When it bonds to two bridging oxygens, usually in a 3D-network it gives the Q2 species, it is referred to as metaphosphate glass. Further addition gives Q1 species, also called pyrophosphate glass, which bonds only to one bridging oxygen. Finally, the Q0 species do not bond to any bridging oxygen and hence is known as an orthophosphate glass. [14] A large number of calcium phosphate glass compositions have been studied in order to exhibit suitable properties for use in biomedical applications until now, and they can be categorised into four groups: Calcium phosphate glasses containing Potassium Calcium phosphate glasses containing Magnesium Calcium phosphate glasses containing Sodium and Titania Calcium phosphate glasses containing Fluorine and Titania 1) Calcium phosphate glasses containing Potassium: Dias et al (2003) [12] conducted a study and prepared bioresorbable calcium phosphate glass-ceramics between the metaphosphate and pyrophosphate region based on the composition 45CaO-45P2O5-5K ­2 ­O-5MgO (Ca:P = 0.5). XRD results showed that addition of nucleating agents, K2O and MgO forms bioactive: ÃŽ ²-CPP and biodegradable phases: KCa(PO3)3, Ca4P6O19 as well as ÃŽ ²-Ca(PO3)2 which is considered to be non-toxic.[21] DTA results showed two crystallisation peaks, Tp at 627 °C and 739 °C and two melting temperatures, Tm at 773 °C and 896 °C which was thought to be due to the partial melting of the crystalline phases or residual glass matrix. The glass transition temperature, Tg was observed at 534 °C. FTIR results showed functional groups corresponding to metaphosphate and pyrophosphate, (PO3)- and (P2O7)4-. These results are in accordance with functional groups of the crystalline phases identified by XRD: ÃŽ ²-CPP, KCa(PO3)3, Ca4P6O19 and ÃŽ ²-Ca(PO3)2. Results from de gradation studies of these glass-ceramics confirmed that by controlling the overall composition of the O:P in the glass, glass ceramics with high degree of degradability can be obtained. The level of chemical degradation observed for these materials is well-above that reported in literature for bioactive ceramics that are clinically used, namely HA and TCP. It was therefore concluded that the incorporation of K2O in glass ceramics increases the solubility and also these calcium phosphate glass ceramics makes them potentially clinically helpful for promoting the regeneration of soft as well as hard connective tissue by allowing the degradability to be controlled. A study by Knowles et al (2001) [92] investigated the solubility and the effect of K2O in the glass-system based on the general composition: K ­2 ­O-Na2O-CaO-P2O5. The exchange of a mono or divalent ion with another of a similar charge was therefore investigated. The P2O5 and CaO content were fixed, at 45 mol% and the CaO content at 20, 24 or 28 mol% and the ratio of K2O to Na2O was varied from 0 to 25mol %. Results showed, firstly an increase in CaO content caused the solubility to decrease, as expected and confirmed from previous studies. [81,94] Secondly, for all CaO contents there was an increase in solubility, when K2O content was increased. [92] In a recent study by Marikani et al (2008), based on the same general composition, they demonstrated that the addition of K2O caused a decrease in both density (from 2.635 g cm-3 to 2.715 g cm -3 and microhardness measurements (from 257 to 335 HV) and hence weakens the structure. These findings are attributed to the replacement of l ighter cation (Na2O) by a heavier one (K2O). The ionic radius of potassium is larger than the ionic radius of sodium so, the addition of K2O has a larger disrupting effect on the structure and hence weakens the glass-network. The decrease of melting point with the addition of K2O content indicates that K2O increases network disruption by producing non-bridging oxygens. And the low value of Tg indicates that the glass samples are thermally unstable. Additionally, the elastic modulus, decreases when the concentration of K2O is increased, which implies the weakening of the overall bonding strength, as more cross linking is degraded. The increase of the internal friction and the decrease of the thermal expansion coefficient with the addition of the K2O content are due to the formation of non-bridging oxygen ions. The SEM micrographs of the glass samples recorded before immersion in SBF indicates the amorphous nature of the materials and when glasses were immersed in SBF solutions for 10 days, the glass-samples showed bioactivity. Although the addition of K2O to the ternary Na2O-CaO-P2O5 based system offers greater flexibility in terms of tailoring the solubility to suit potential biomedical applications, only little research has been conducted in using K2O in calcium phosphate glasses, probably because it has shown to increase network disruption which was confirmed by decrease in Tm, addition of K2O causes a decrease in density and microhardness measurements, it weakens overall bonding strength confirmed by a decrease in the elastic modulus, causing it to be less rigid as well as producing thermally unstable glasses which was confirmed by the low values of Tg. These mechanical properties are not desirable in the long run and due to it being less rigid, it would not withstand stress in biomedical applications and consequently result in failure. 2) Calcium phosphate glasses containing Magnesium: Research into calcium phosphate glasses which produce biocompatible and bioactive phases has generated a lot of interest. An attempt to induce ÃŽ ²-TCP was undertaken by Zhang et al (2000) on calcium phosphate glass-ceramics in the pyrophosphate region based on the composition 50CaO-40P2O5-7TiO2-1.5MgO-1.5Na2O (Ca:P molar ratio = 0.625). XRD results showed that the ÃŽ ²-TCP phase was not detected and the main crystalline phase precipitated was ÃŽ ²-CPP with smaller amounts of soluble Calcium titanophosphate, CaTi4(PO4)6 CTP, and Sodium titanophosphate, NaTi2(PO4)3. Kasuga et al (1998) reported a similar occurrence in the structure of glass-ceramics which contained TiO2 (wt 3 %). . SEM observations demonstrated light areas which were confirmed by EDS analysis to be ÃŽ ²-CPP, grey areas was thought to correspond to Na- containing phases and dark areas were composed of lower CaO contents compared to the other two areas and contained MgO and Na2O. These results were identical to Kasuga et als study (1999). The undetectable ÃŽ ²-TCP phase was possibly due to the low content of MgO and TiO2 added and the low Ca:P ratio of the glass. Although bioactive and biosoluble phases were precipitated in the glass-ceramic, no continuous apatite layer was formed even after 8 weeks of immersion in SBF solution. A study by Brauer et al (2007) observed the solubility of several phosphate glasses in the system P2O5-CaO-MgO-Na2O-TiO2. The glass compositions ranged from ultraphosphate glasses (with phosphate contents over 50 mol %) to polyphosphate glasses (containing 50 mol% P2O5 or less which are formed by phosphate chains or rings possessing different chain lengths) to invert glasses (pyrophosphate glasses- P2O5 concentrations of around 34 mol %.). Results showed that the phosphate glasses showed a uniform dissolution. No selective alkali leaching, which is known from silica based glasses, was observed. Also that the solubility of the glasses strongly depend on the glass-composition. The higher the phosphate content resulted in an increase in solubility; According to Vogel et al [104], this is due to the polymerisation of the phosphate chains and the Q1 end units being more susceptible to hydration and subsequent hydrolysis than Q2 middle groups. Also it was observed that the higher the conce ntration of Na2O resulted in an increase in solubility too due to the effect Na+ has on the glass structure. Addition of titanium oxide resulted in a decrease in both the solubility and the tendency of the glasses to crystallise by forming cross links between phosphate groups and titanium ions. Invert glasses showed a considerably smaller solubility than polyphosphate glasses and offer an alternative to polyphosphate glasses, since they are more stable to moisture attack. However, decreasing the P2O5 content makes glasses not only more stable to hydrolysis but also restricts the glass forming area. Hence, glasses in the pyrophosphate region show a larger tendency to crystallize than polyphosphate glasses [96]. However invert glasses in the system P2O5-CaO-MgO-Na2O showed that properties such as solubility and crystallization tendency can be controlled by adding small amounts of metal oxides [95]. Results of solubility experiments showed that the glass system investigated enabled adj ustment of solubility with only minor chemical changes. This ability to control the solubility is very promising for medical application where the coordination of implant degradation and bone formation are a key issue. A study by Dias et al (2005) studied the crystallisation of the glass-system: 37P2O5-45CaO-5MgO-13TiO2 (Ca:P=0.6)in the pyrophosphate and orthophosphate region, by using TiO2 as a nucleating agent and MgO as a network modifier. Results showed that they contained four different crystalline phases; two of them, ÃŽ ²-CPP and CTP are reported to be biocompatible and bioactive, respectively [88,97,98]. T

Gendered Ideals of Body Form Essay -- Gender Studies

Gendered bodies in the West are bodies of contrasts. A masculine, sharp, inverted triangular body is contrasted to the feminine, soft, hourglass shape. Humans, throughout history, have resorted to drastic measures to meet and exemplify gendered ideals of body form. One such measure that has been in place since the Victoria era is the wearing of corsets. In attempting this research, I thought that wearing a corset would provide an insight into the ways feminine bodily ideals are appropriated by women in a Western context. Putting on the corset proved to be a challenge; only with the assistance of my roommate could I put it on. She laced the back up to as tight as it went and I wore it underneath my normal daily clothes. My first thought when wearing it was that it felt like a hug, when your body is encapsulated within something; it was quite pleasant and had an almost motherly feeling about it. As soon as I wore it, I immediately realized that I had to learn to control my breathing be cause the corset would feel extremely tight every time I exhaled. Travelling in the car and on the train proved to be a challenge because the corset forced my body to arch my back and sit up straight, which is not the way I normally sit. When I slouched or moved in a way that the corset did not allow, it would dig into my stomach and ribs in a painful way. While walking, I realized that I was pushing my chest out and standing very straight. This made me feel like I was embodying the typical ‘empowered woman’ image that shows a woman as sexy, confidently striding along an urban landscape, independent and beautiful. However, as the day went on, the uncomfortable sweatiness that it brought me made me loath wearing it. Coming home, I took it off and wonder... ...er and Power at a Treatment Center. London: Duke University Press. Riordan, G. (2007). The Corset Douglas, M. (1966). External Boundaries. In Purity and Danger. (pp. 140-159). New York City: Routledge Classics . Savacool, J. (2009). The World Has Curves: The Global Quest for the Perfect Body. New York City: Rodale Books. Steele, V. (1985). Fashion and Eroticism. New York City: Oxford University Press. Turner, B. S. (1996). The Body and Society. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. Controversy: Author(is)ing the Subject in/ of Tight-lacing.Social Semiotics, 17(3). Urla, J., & Swedlund, A. C. (1995). The Anthropometry of Barbie: unsettling ideals of the feminine body in popular culture. In J. Terry & J. Urla (Eds.). Deviant Bodies. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Wolf, N. (1991). The Beauty Myth. New York City: William Morrow and Company Inc..

Comprehensive Plan Part II: Implementing Chnage Essay

The hard work is done, the decision has been made which software vendor that is going to be used, now you’re ready to take the plunge in the world of electronic medical record. Most electronic medical record implementation will proceed on time with involvement of their participants and able to achieve their goals, others will find it a struggle, only obtaining partial success or in extreme cases no success at all. Many implementations issues are common in small and large organizations alike. With larger organizations due to their complexity, are more likely to have team issues and small organizations due to their limited resources and experience, will falter especially with technology issues. Everyone within the organization will play a part in the success and failure of the electronic medical record implementation, some will play a bigger part than others, but they will need to ne acknowledged and clearly understood from the beginning. Electronic medical record project will definitely need good management, but will need a vast involvement of stakeholders, a motivated team and having excellent communication plan in place. EMR’s are very complex and you will need to understand the capabilities and determine how it can be used to improve current paper based office processes. Expectations and Goals Setting measurable and specific goals that you want to accomplish will help assist in what constitutes failure or success. â€Å"Establishing goals that are ambitious, but achievable, can be motivating. Yet it’s important to understand your user’s needs and to make sure they understand and share the stated goals. Otherwise they might not play along, destroying your implementation plans†. Kenneth G. Adler, (2007). It is  always best to monitor and communicate progress or terms of achieving those goals. Having an implementation team composed of key stakeholders that can design and monitor the implementation process, a project manager should be able to direct the actual implementation and should be able to collaborate, rather than being a dictator. Tactics It can’t be said enough how important it is to plan for the eventual outcome of your EMR implementation. Write the plan down, use all resources that are available to ensure the success of the plan, a key factor of planning is to have a workflow redesign. The electronic medical record implementation will allow the opportunity to improve some of the less efficient processes through automation and with fewer steps. This will also allow to determine if the process can be improved by comparing it to a workflow diagram that was created of the EMR process that will accomplish the same thing. Roles in Change The ultimate goal in change management will be to engage employees and encourage them to adopt the new way of doing their jobs. Whether it be job role, organizational structure change, systems or all of the above, successful change will be greatly depended upon its employees are willing to change their daily workflow and behavior. This is the essence of change necessary for an initiative to be successful and deliver value to the organization. The deployment of electronic medical record really doesn’t concern technology but more about equipping the organization in order to attain its goal and objectives through providing employees, and patients with the technical capabilities that will promote the use of new inventions. Implementing the electronic medical record involves engaging everyone to the change process. Implementing electronic medical record into the organization will mean making Relationship Between the System, Process, Professional, and Personal Roles, and the Effect to the Project Change The main goal in change management is to involve employees, encourage, and to support them as they adjust to the new way of doing their job. The  change will only be successful when the organizational systems, processes, organizational structure, and job roles and other essential aspects has been considered. This simply means that all employees must change their workflow and behavior. This is very crucial of change management to be able to initiate and mobilize the needed changes for the success if the organization in obtaining their objectives and goals. Management will be responsible for enabling and managing change for everyone so that they can move together and in unison in order to obtain the goals of the project. Management should the process of change within the organization which will be affected by various forces such as technical and scientific knowledge, the roles of the professionals, changing technology, and changing demographic trends in the organization. â€Å"Organizational changes requires change in the status quo and the need to implement new paradigms. Every element in the organization has to be redesign and examined to ensure that they fit the intended purpose and to deliver results. The elements which compromise an organization are the tools, people, work processes and the structure. Structure is the traditional boundaries of decision making and authority and it identifies the vital personnel who are responsible in driving the business forward†. Organization Change Plan, (2012). Employees are the ones who will need a set of skills within the organization. The work processes will determine how the work is done at every level and department. The tools needed to determine the resources needed in supporting the change process will be the necessary equipment and physical facilities ranging from managing and reporting stem. Written documents of policies, hardware and software tools, manuals, procedures and tools of compensation. Communication Techniques Communication is a very important factor in the change process. Having frequent verbal and written messages will help the organization to describe the desired goals. It is up to the senior management team to inform employees why the introduction of the electronic medical record has to be achieved and what could happen if this change is not made. Management must also convey to employees a clear and concise expectation from the beginning and to explain how they will support and prepare them for the success to  come. Effective communication will require the use of new methods and efforts to improve performance in the organization. Management should be able to plan, motivate, solve conflicts, negotiate and to apply a style of leadership which is participative, and be able to create and provide an agreeable work climate through integrating and coordinating the internal communication. Every stage of the electronic medical record implementation require the need of effective communication techniques. Communication face to face with every employee of the organization would be very electronic medical record. This will help clear up any misconceptions and myths which employees would have concerning the change process. This will also help employees in the organization to have confidence in the process and to clear any doubts such as losing their job among many other misconceptions they may have. The primary goal of communication techniques is essential to reinforcing the process of change. The goal of electronic medical record is to gain and fulfil enthusiasm throughout the entire organization which will involve each employee and the setting up realistic approach of managing the project. Conclusion The strength and opportunities should be a positive influence that should exploit to efficiently implement the project. Threats and weaknesses can hinder, harm or destroy the electronic medical record implementation. Monitoring is a key factor at the implementation phase this is to ensure that the project implemented is on schedule. â€Å"Monitoring is also important to ensure that activities are implemented as planned. This  helps the implementers to measure how well they are achieving their targets. This is   based on the understanding that the process through which a project implemented has  a lot of effect on its use, operations and maintenance†. Phil Bartle, PhD,  (2014). When a project implementation is not on point, there will be a need for project managers to ask themselves this question, what is the best way to get there? There is however a very close and mutually supportive relationship between monitoring, implementation, and planning. None of these can be isolated from the other two, upon doing any of three the implementation and planning have to cater to the other two. It is essential that you remember all the tools needed in order to get to the goals and objectives of the organization References Adler, K.A., MD, MMM, (2007). How to Successfully Navigate Your EMR ImplementationRetrieved from www.aafp.org Bartle, P., PhD, (2014). Monitoring, Planning and Implementation. Retrieved from www.cec.bc.ca/cmp/module/mm-imp.htm Organization Change Plan, (2012). Retrieved from www.customwritingtips.com

Argument Against Video Games

English 102 12 March, 2013 Argue in support of or against the statement that video games have â€Å"a redeeming social value. † Do violent video games have â€Å"a redeeming social value? † You could get many different answers to this question depending on who you ask. Is there any good that can come from video games? What harm can come to people and society from video games? Is modern culture being affected either negatively or positively by today’s video games and those that play them?Are young, impressionable, people affected by playing video games for hours and hours during their impressionable, developmental years? These are a few of the questions I will attempt to answer as I argue that video games are playing a big role in the downfall of modern society. It is now the law of the United States that video games are art. †It is now the law of the United States that video games are a creative, intellectual, emotional form of expression and engagement, as fundamentally human as any other† (Schiesel, NY Times, 2011, p. 1). Like the protected books, plays and movies that preceded them, video games communicate ideas – and even social messages – through many familiar literary devices (such as characters, dialogue, plot, and music) and through features distinctive to the medium (such as the player’s interaction with the virtual world),† Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the Supreme Court, in a case that arose from a California effort to ban the sale of violent video games to minors. â€Å"That suffices to confer First Amendment protection† (Schiesel, NY Times, 2011, p. 2). And now video games – as vulgar, crude, disgusting and thoroughly unredeeming as they often may be – have finally been fully recognized as a worthy element of our culture† (Schiesel, NY Times, 2011, p. 1). â€Å"There is statistically significant evidence from the studies within the fields of psychology and so ciology to indicate that violent video games have a negative impact on a child’s behavioral development as he or she matures into adulthood. These studies approach the issue from a variety of perspectives, some analyzing the effects of video game usage on academic achievement and others that focus on usage’s effects on violent tendencies.Regardless of how these effects are measured, evidence is accumulating in favor of the position that they are not good for childhood development. Short of recommending alternatives or ways of preventing the kind of excessive video game use targeted in these studies as adverse, what is conclusively known is the prevalence and results of violent video games. Nevertheless, there are valid objections and concerns about these conclusions that shall be addressed in turn; none of these counterarguments or critiques of the research literature hold much weight.The arguments from scientific findings can be supplemented with academic philosophy, specifically in the area of ethical philosophy where some argue a non-distinction in moral terms between killing an imaginary character and killing an actual person. From this broad base of studies and research into the effects of violent video games on maturing children, it is conclusive that the negative effects of violent video game usage far outweigh any alleged positive effects† (Meyer, Yahoo! Voices, 2011, p. 1).Modern culture is being affected negatively by today’s violent video games and those that play them. The people that have played these games and then gone out to commit violent acts have affected society in a very negative way. The impressionable, mentally disturbed, people that cannot distinguish between killing an imaginary character and killing an actual person have committed terrible acts of violence more often in recent years. When these young people are in their maturing years their minds are conditioned in a very negative way by playing violent vide o games.One cannot help but think that these people may not have done these violent things if they had never played the violent video games. â€Å"Whether you play video games on a portable unit, a television or the internet, excessive gaming can affect your personal and profession life. Video game addiction can be as problematic as gambling and affects players as young as eight years old, notes Kevin Baker, director of Smith and Jones Addiction Consultants, in an article for Brigham Young University’s NewsNet. Be aware of the effects of a video game compulsion to keep the hobby in check† (Drea, Livestrong. com, 2013. p. 1).If you spend all of your free time playing video games and skip meals or lose sleep because of your excessive game play, a video game addiction can negatively impact your health. â€Å"The Mayo Clinic notes that children who spend more than two hours a day in front of a television or video games in lieu of participating in physical activity may suf fer from childhood obesity. In addition, the University of Texas at Dallas notes that the addiction can lead to such medical issues as backaches, headaches, eyestrain and carpal tunnel syndrome – pain and numbness that you may feel in your wrist, hands, shoulders and elbows† (Drea, Livestrong. om, 2013. p. 1). Relationships with friends and family members may suffer if you’re spending more time gaming than you are talking to or going out with loved ones. â€Å"The On-Line Gamers Anonymous website notes that gaming may be negatively affecting your life if you only want to talk about video games, lie to cover up the amount of time you spend playing, forgo intimacy with your spouse in lieu of gaming or argue with loved ones over your excessive gaming† (Drea, Livestrong. com, 2013. p. 1).Video games that feature violent actions and scenarios may lead addicted players to be desensitized to the violence. â€Å"Richard Gallagher, director of the NYU Child Study Center’s Parenting Institute, states that players who become engrossed in first-person shooter-style video games, for example, may adopt a detached view of society or develop aggressive thoughts and tendencies† (Drea, Livestrong. com, 2013. p. 1). There are a few positive video games. Educational video games and video games that help to keep the mind or memory sharp are certainly excellent tools.Using video games as flight simulators for our pilots and soldiers are also very helpful and educational. The people that use educational video games are not the people that are going out and shooting up schools full of little children. There is no way that a young person, whose brain is still developing, can become a better member of society by playing violent video games for hours and hours every day. The negatives far outweigh the positives when these violent video games are played. The impressionable young people are fooled into thinking that these video games are, in some w ay, real life.The weak minded, young, impressionable, people that play these games can be very easily conditioned to become more violent members of society. No one ever played an educational video game and then went out and shot up a school. There have been people that played violent video games in excess and went out and did just that afterward. Nothing good can come from playing violent video games for hours and hours every day. Violent video games are a big part of the downfall of modern society. Violent video games have no redeeming social value.