I Died for Beauty Essay

In this poem the spirits of beauty and truth communicates until they are forgotten. The dialogue initiated between the two representatives demonstrates their recognition of each other, but that they are also subject to the constraints of time, when their ‘lips’ are stopped by ‘moss’ Enjambment- first verse uses enjambment giving the lines a flow, gives a subtle effect Allegory- death and truth are personified Personification- truth and death are given charactristics, beauty Similie- ‘and so, as kinsmen met a night’ Metaphor- ‘we brethren are’ he said’ Imagery- description of moss covering lips and names Summary- The poem â€Å"I died for Beauty—but was scarce†, is about two dead people having a conversation about their previous lives. One of them died for truth, one of them died for beauty. They talk and at the end of the poem, moss comes and covers up the names on the tombs. â€Å"I died for Beauty—but was scarce†, by Emily Dickinson is a poem about death and man’s insignificance over the course of time. Set in a tomb, the first stanza opens up the poem introducing two different characters, both of whom are dead. The first person introduced is the narrator who has died a recluse, and did not conform to society when she was alive. This is seen in the first line, the word â€Å"scarce† which means to be absent or elusive. Clearly the narrator was scarce in her life and when she died, all her non-conformity was ignored, and in line two, she was â€Å"Adjusted in the Tomb†. Adjusted can mean: to adapt or conform. Simply being buried in a tomb is an epitome of societal conformation. This is just part of the death theme, and man’s insignificance because after a lifetime of recluse, it only takes her death for her to conform; or, perhaps, made to be conformed. The second half of the first stanza introduces and quickly describes a new character, immediately naming him â€Å"One who died for Truth†. The narrator introduces the new character with a more honorable tone, using less harsh and more eloquent vocabulary. The tone seems slightly softer as if the narrator feels that this person died for a good cause, unlike themselves. Yet, the insignificance shows through when the two dead characters, seemingly unequal in the narrator’s view, are placed in adjoining rooms, separated, and yet still on the same level. Clearly the theme of death is still apparent in this second half of the stanza, and the insignificance of man is more apparent as well. In the second stanza, the two characters speak together and tell their story of how they died. The first line shows a bit of good tone to the One who died for Truth, as he softly asks the narrator a curious question. The question, â€Å"Why I failed? is very important because of the word choice. The fact that both of them did not succeed in their lives at the goals that they were trying to finish. Towards the end of the conversation, the One who died for Truth tells the narrator that both their causes are the same after death, and that they have that in common. This is an interesting point that the One who died for Truth makes, and it once again furthers the id ea that after death, what was done on Earth was insignificant and that all causes one dies for in the end are the same. The third stanza is really overall, the most clear and apparent to the theme of man’s insignificance. Starting from the top, the two characters have established that they are equals; brethren and kinsmen. The word choice in the first line is also very important in the final stanza. In the quote, â€Å"†¦met at Night† night is used as a metaphor and represents death, furthering the theme. The second line also houses a metaphor; the Rooms. Discussed in the beginning of the poem, the rooms are a metaphor for social classes and acceptance. The narrator is placed in one room, and the One who died for Truth is placed in another. From the slight change in tone to the very character name, the new person seems to almost have died a hero. The new character is extremely socially acceptable, yet the narrator, who died an outcast, is not. The talking between rooms shows that after death, societal boundaries are no longer as eminent as in life. Finally, the third and fourth lines are probably the most vivid and easily-imagined pictures in the poem, and really set in stone the theme. The moss comes, and with its growth, the passing of large amounts of time is inferred. On the final line, the insignificance of man really hits a high note, and clearly the narrator is saying that over time, memories of people lost are slowly overgrown and forgotten. It doesn’t matter whether or not you are a great person or just a recluse; in death everyone is equal and equally forgotten. Overall, this is a good poem. I thought that it really hit home some valid points, about death and how people can be forgotten after they are gone. Aside from that Dickinson may also be trying to say that she didn’t like how people are forgotten, and though she may like the equality of it all, she doesn’t want people to be forgotten.

English Language Coursework †Task One and Introduction Essay

Task One Robin Lakoff devised a theory of language and gender differences. She believed that women had a greater lexis when describing subjects such as colours where men would have a greater lexis in subjects such as sports. Lakoff also believed that women use more prestige grammar and clear pronunciation with more intensifiers than men. Therefore I have chosen to see whether these patterns occur within boys and girls aged 7-8 to see if they have developed these attributes even at an early age. The audience I feel that would be appropriate to my research are people who work with or study children, A level or university students and people with a general interest of this topic. This is because by working with children you will be keen to pick up new information to help you with your work so you may find some here and an A level student taking English language may look at this for an example. By observing the speech of children’s language I will be able to decide whether there is a difference in gender. People are influenced throughout their lives; they are influenced by things such as their environment, media and social groups. At an early age children are looking towards their families and peers to see how they should act. This shows children are aware upon how to communicate with others, therefore leading the possibility that even at a young age they have the same traits as an adult. The research question I have concluded with is, are language and gender differences apparent within children ages 7-8 as there are in adults? Robin Lakoff stated that there are differences in spoken language between men and women so I have decided to see if children still have these differences. The reason for this is because at such an early age every child is thought of the same and it is hard to see a dominate gender; this was a key issue with early studies of men and women. Robin Lakoff also said ‘women use hypercorrect grammar and pronunciation’ but since the children are only 7-8 years old they are still learning basic English skills. This means that this point will not apply here since the children are young. I have chosen this topic area because I was not aware that there was a gender difference in language until I was taught it. I have taken a interest in this because men and women are both educated in the same way and thought to be brought up the same so I believed that they would have the same attitude in language. Another reason I have chosen this is because women are seen as the less dominate gender but when I was a child I was not aware of this so I am interested to see if there are signs of this even at such a young age. I expect to find that even at an early age the boys will interrupt more as they tend to be very energetic whereas the girls will be more descriptive in describing an object. Introduction When studying English language I found out that there was gender differences within speech, this took my interest as I believe that women now are equal to men. I felt that some of these differences maybe because of the language men and women use. When researching this topic I found out that Robin Lakoff devised a theory that there are differences between the language of men and women and how males are more dominant speakers than females. This is because females are believed to be less assertive and tend not to interrupt during conversation like men do. This could branch onto discrimination as this a topic seen throughout life and it may give reasons to why females are discriminated more than males since they are not seen as the dominate gender. Another reason why I am doing this because I am interested how we develop our skills when we are young, why we develop them and who influences us on the language we use. I think the way we brought up and the language we are taught to use plays a big role in our society because I feel that each person uses their own distinctive language from each one and another, this is because I could tell a friend from another purely because of the vocabulary and dialect the person uses. Therefore I wanted to look to see if this still applies to boys and girls at a young age where they are seen to be innocent and they would not pick up on these differences. I will do this by talking to children ages 7-8 the same questions and taking down their response. The problem that may arise with this is that some children are more confident than others; this means they will not be as shy with their response as another child would.

Service Quality Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Service Quality Management - Essay Example It has got a shareholder determination from well-known centers named as Interfaith Center in responsibility of its corporation as well as the Alliance for environmentally responsible economics. Ford has agreed in publishing the first industry report, which is dedicated to the matters of environment change and the effects in their business also the automotive industry as a whole. Ford Company has also worked with Ceres, ICCR and other stakeholders (Media.ford.com, 2005). While focusing on the issues, which are not abstract at Ford that they are the third biggest automobile producer around the globe. They have produced and distributed automobiles in more than 200 markets around the globe. They have many employees’ no less than four hundred thousand people worldwide, they manufacture trucks, transmissions, forgings, castings, cars, metal stamping, engines and all types of equity preserved and combined project plants in the world. They use the energy to manufacturing their vehicle s and control, power Ford services caused approximately 10 million metric loads of carbon dioxide CO2 (Media.ford.com, 2005). ... FORD also participates in trading and dealing mechanisms in all Europe as well as in North America of carbon dioxide CO2. The percentage of energy obtain from the renewable resources have been increased. It has also declared the first large scale which is known as fumes to fuels a cell project that would change captured volatile organic compounds VOCs from paint plant emissions to electrical power operations and would decrease all the emissions. They will also offset carbon dioxide CO2 emitted in the manufacture of their FORD as well as for Mercury Hybrid Technology Vehicles (Dolan and Stoll, 2009). It seems to be proud that FORD’s accomplishment in decreasing carbon dioxide CO2 from their procedures and have got advantage from energies expense savings that usually go with it. It has been recognized that about 10 percent of the period green-house gases GHG from any vehicle befall throughout its manufacture. And the rest of the 90 percent ascribed to the entire vehicle is emitt ed while the consumer is using it, when burning the gasoline, diesel from the fossil fuel causes (Brettell, 2008). FORD take wide range of activities that assist decrease the green-house gases emissions of their vehicle fleet in enhancing their hybrid listing to inspiring much use of Ethanol fuel, to shifting their mixture of the products to much fuel well organized cars, to refining and improving the proficiency of unoriginal diesel and gasoline engines, to levitating the consciousness of the customers (greencarcongress.com, 2005). As we know that many of them stakeholders imagine spelling out exact targets and milestones for better improvements into the fleet fuel proficiency of their products. It is highly competitive industry that there consecutive to be too extensive a

The Liberation Day of Kuwait Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Liberation Day of Kuwait - Essay Example Iraq, under the command of Saddam Hussein, invaded Kuwait with the aim of annexing Kuwait and taking over her oilfields. Saddam’s argument was that even before independence from Great Britain in1961; Kuwait should have been Iraqis territory; in addition, he claimed Kuwait did not adhere to agreed oil quota (Khadduri and Ghareeb164). Under the instructions of Saddam Hussein, Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait and occupied some areas. The United Nations (UN) called for the withdrawal of these troops, but this failed to take place. UN forces anchored by American forces began an air bombardment on Iraqis capital Baghdad. Later, they followed this up with the ground incursions; this had the effect of forcing the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from neighboring Kuwait. Looting, plundering and damage of Kuwaitis oil infrastructure by the fleeing Iraqi troops took place (Khadduri and Ghareeb 171). This paper looks into the various ways Kuwaitis commemorate this day in 2011. With the above facts i n mind, it becomes necessary to look into the activities of the day held in pomp and color by the citizens and government. The celebrations in Kuwait city on the 20th eve of this day in 2011 were visible everywhere one went. In an interview, with a man in his 40’s, he recounts how as a youth, he helped to load and unload food and other supplies for the soldiers with former friends. As the patriarch of the house, he helped decorate the house in red, green, and white; the colors of the Kuwait flag. Equally, the hoisting of flags was visible across the streets in his neighborhood. As a national holiday, most people are at home the youth also experienced these celebrations in the neighborhoods through organized football tournaments. Surprisingly, the Imam of the local mosque also gathered some youths in the mosque. The attendance was satisfactory despite being a Saturday, he recounted and emphasized the importance of the day and led in praying for peace. The idea that a Sunni pre sident would attack a neighboring Sunni state seemed incomprehensible to the youth. Nevertheless, this remains a historical reminder of the atrocities that can be committed by power hungry leaders. Significance placed on the day by even religious clerics highlights this. The media fraternity equally celebrated; Kuwait national television and the national broadcaster carried stories of triumphs over the invasion. Qatar based Al jazerra TV equally featured the celebration of this day as one of its main stories. The social networking sites were abuzz with best wishes for state of Kuwait, remembrance of the martyrs of this day and the Kuwaitis held captives in Iraqi jails. The military parade was an impressive sight. The invitation included various leaders from countries that helped liberate Kuwait. This parade also included the 50th anniversary of the independence of Kuwait from being a British protectorate. Various armies of Arab states including Saudi Arabia also marched. Fighter jet s provided a beautiful spectacle of white, green and red smoke symbolizing the national flag. The president of Iraq Jalal Talabani a Kurdish leader was also in attendance, showing there was no animosity between the two neighboring countries. As is customary in celebrations, in Kuwait, ‘Machboos’, (commonly being chicken, fish and beef with rice) serving was carried out in large trays. All family members gathered together at lunch time with coffee mainly served to

Read 3 readings and answer 15 guiding questions about them Essay

Read 3 readings and answer 15 guiding questions about them - Essay Example Smith (547) argues that underwriting of the built environment is a crucial vessel for the accumulation of capital. Owing to the cyclical nature of the process and the durability and fixity of such underwritings new cycles of subsidies are usually linked to crises and shifts of the capital location. This is congruent with Smith’s definition of gentrification – the flow of capital from the cities. Smith (545) defines the rent gap as the difference between the probable ground rent rate and the real ground rent exploited under the current land use. The rent gap is directly proportional to the theory of gentrification. Smith (545) claims that gentrification happens when the rent gap is so wide that developers can buy shells at affordable rates, can pay the builder’s charge and gains for renovation, can service interest on residential and construction loans, and can then trade the end product at a price that guarantees a good profit for the developer. I agree that gentrification is the movement, back to the city, of capital, not people. This is because the circulation of capital is crucial in the settlement and resettlement of people, as well as gentrification. People follow capital, not the opposite. As Smith (547) argues, as per now, the people exploiting this returning capital still come from the city. According to Mitchell (923) calling homelessness in the US a crisis is to abuse language because homelessness is a fixed and justified aspect of the country’s political economy, regardless of the fact that its particular mould, its intensity, and the strategies of managing it have been both geographically and historically relevant. According to Mitchell (945), the deserving poor were those who were ready to acknowledge liability for their situations, accept donations or other gifts with the right measure of humility, start the difficult task of

Literature review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literature review - Research Paper Example Based on various reports, it is suggested that in any kind of treatment for sleep apnea, a strict adherence to treatment methods is the key for prolonged AHI reduction among patients. Literature Review: Sleep Apnea Treatment Trials Sleep apnea is defined as the cessation of airflow through the nose or mouth for at least 10 seconds every sleeping hour, which decreases at least 3% oxyhemoglobin in the blood and a reduction of 50% in oxygen intake among patients (Noseda, et al., 2004). The total of apnea (due to obstruction) and hypopnea (airflow reduction) events during sleep is measured as the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), and the number is positively correlated to the severity of sleep apnea. Possible causes are multifactorial, ranging from abnormal cranial structures, relaxed airway muscles or problems with respiratory control during sleep (Barnes, et al., 2009). Effects can range from excessive daytime sleepiness, dysfunction in the patient’s metabolism and neurocognition, car diovascular disorders, and mood swings with a decreased quality of life (Ackel-D’Elia, et al., 2012; Kline, et al., 2012; Quan, et al., 2007). The most widely accepted methods to alleviate the symptoms of apnea are either surgery or the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask, to increase the oxygen intake during sleep (Quan, et al., 2007; Sengul, et al., 2011). However, several researches have emerged that have significant or comparable results by using less-invasive procedures such as increasing physical activity levels or combining it with other methods, and while the issue of the low number of participants in some studies can be a hindrance to the acceptability of exercise as a way to reduce apnea effects, the number of trials that affirm positive effects must be looked upon to consider it as an effective and non-invasive alternative treatment for sleep apnea. Physical Activity Trials The increasing numbers of overweight and obesity triggered an increase in the number of patients suffering from sleep apnea, and one of the main reasons is that there is less physical activity that strengthens the muscles of the air passages and lungs, making the respiratory muscles weak and relaxed, preventing sufficient breathing of air (Barnes, et al., 2009; Giebelhaus, et al., 2000). In a study that compared a group of sleep apnea sufferers against a control-group, a simple six-minute walk test was used to assess breathing patterns, heart rate, blood pressure, and dyspnea (Alameri, Al-Kabab, & BaHammam, 2010). The study found out that while the physical activity did not cause drastic effects to the sleep apnea group, their hemodynamic responses were abnormal compared to the control group, concluding that a simple test can assess significant effects of mild physical activity otherwise unnoticeable by the patients. The study had limitations such as selection of low-risk participants for the control group, not investigating other contributing factors in exercise limitation, and conducting the study on a single ethnic group. However, further studies that are comprised by various ethnic groups may be studied and physical activity programs may be used in combination with their methods to establish the possibility of using the procedure for sleep apnea prognosis. The effects of exercise in sleep apnea on any kind of body-mass index (BMI),

Death penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Death penalty - Essay Example And if it can, under what circumstances should it be used? Does the punishment acts as a deterrent? What are the alternatives? Does it contribute to a safe and secure environment? This debate is unlikely to end soon (Stearman, 2007). This debate is clearly one that is bound to go on for a long time with passionate debaters and defenders of stands on both sides of the argument. In this essay I take a stand on this debate by supporting the death penalty. I offer several reasons for this stand and provide references on the same. Some advocates of the death penalty offer support to the practice arguing that the death penalty justifies itself because it saves taxpayers the greater costs of supporting an inmate for a lifetime, or many decades, in prison. This economic assumption rests in part on the belief that executions happen more quickly and efficiently than serving a life sentence (Gerber & Johnson, 2007). Another related belief among supporters of capital punishment lies in the notio n that the system of justice, like the legal system generally, is nearly infallible. While the system may commit an occasional mistake, such mistakes readily appear and can be made to disappear in the magic of the appellate process. This view normally also maintains that our capital machinery accurately separates the guilty from the innocent and punishes accordingly, without regard to race or social status or finances. Some people nursing this cluster of beliefs like to say that the wheels of justice move slowly but â€Å"exceedingly fine.† The legal process always succeeds, eventually, in separating the wheat from the chaff and does so impartially. Given their career investment in this system, judges have been known to entertain this belief (Gerber & Johnson, 2007). Some supporters of the death penalty also take a moralistic approach. To these kinds of people the main justification for the death penalty lies in giving every offender his â€Å"due.† In this philosophic al position capital punishment finds its support in the notion of moral â€Å"desert†, where desert implies a punishment required to be proportionate in kind, severity, or amount of pain matching the original crime. Advocates of this view maintain that the most convincing justification for the death penalty lies in the assertion that punishment should mirror the gravity of the initial crime, as in the phrase, â€Å"an eye for an eye, and a life for a life† (Gerber & Johnson, 2007). A particularly recent justification for the death penalty considers the plight of suffering victims. Some victim advocates maintain that the death penalty finds its primary justification in its ability to nurture victims in either or both of two ways – by providing a kind of â€Å"closure† to their painful victimization and/or by providing an outlet for their emotional need for vengeance. The ascendancy of these victim rationales for punishment plays a major role today in suppo rt for capital punishment. Some segments of the victim rights movement assert that the wishes of hurting victims alone require capital punishment of those who had caused their unfortunate plight (Gerber & Johnson, 2007). Another more legalistic belief, espoused by some constitutional scholars, including some Supreme Court justices, asserts that fidelity to the constitution requires adherence to the beliefs and practices of our Founders. When a constitutional text about capital

Retail Sales and Personal Income Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Retail Sales and Personal Income - Essay Example Personal income does not usually rise fast enough to absorb increases in interest rates. This is more likely to be an issue for people whose budgets are already stretched, since people with lower credit scores or worse ratios of income to expense are more likely to have to resort to variable rate loans in order to qualify for the credit they want, and these are the very loan payments which will rise with interest rates, forcing these consumers to make compensatory budget adjustments.  The U.S. retail sales forecast from the National Retail Federation for calendar 2006 is 4.7% (NRF Forecasts 4.7% Growth for 2006 Retail Sales, 2006), more bullish than the Bloomsberg survey forecast of 3.4% for the same period (Leading U.S. Indicators Index Points to Slower Growth, 2006). Both forecasts exclude automobile sales, which has contributed to much of the recent volatility of the consumer spending and retail sales figures on a quarterly basis. The NRF press release acknowledges that pressure s facing consumers include rising interest rates and diminishing sources of â€Å"spending power,† by which they mean that as the housing market cools, home equity will not be able to sustain as much spending as it did in the past.For 2005, the NRF forecast for retail sales was 5.6%, while the actual retail sales growth for 2005 was 6.1% (NRF Forecasts 4.7% Growth for 2006 Retail Sales, 2006).   Bloomberg’s consensus forecast for the second half of 2005 was 6.9% (U.S. Economy Expanded at a 4.1% Annual Pace in Third Quarter.

Retailing and Direct Marketing Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Retailing and Direct Marketing - Article Example It means sending a message regarding a product directly to the customer through various means like direct email, telemarketing, broadcast, integrated campaigns, direct selling and door to door leaflet marketing. Direct marketing depends on measurable and track-able consumer responses concerning the product. Ethics and social responsibility is a key component of any business enterprise, which ensures that the customers’ needs are addressed in a business’ policies. This paper aims at addressing the impact of ethics and social responsibility in retail and direct marketing. Observation of sound ethics in business practices has been shown to boost consumer confidence in a retail outlet’s products and services. This is because customers recognise these efforts and they in turn reciprocate by being loyal to that retail outlet. A business should always strive to do what is right and good for its clients by upholding their ethical principles of operating business (Pride & Ferrell, 30). ‘Beyond Scarcity’ is an article by Doug Wallace that he wrote for the The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility. In the article, he highlights the ethical dilemma faced by a company of whether to accept a take over bid or refuse the bid. Accepting the bid means making a handsome profit because the take over bid offered to buy the company’s shares at the double their value. By doing this, the company will be abandoning their shareholder’s and customer’s welfare. The company offering the bid only interest is in the company’s substantial reserve fund which they aim to use in boosting their diminishing financial position (Wallace, 14). This is interesting because the prospecting company is likely not to care about Kemper Products’ customer satisfaction. There is also the issue of the fate of junior employees because the prospective company does not offer welfare packages for them as it did for the senior management. This an ethical question because

Hypothetical Role-play Web Base Discussion Personal Statement

Hypothetical Role-play Web Base Discussion - Personal Statement Example Also, the level and volume of content of these subjects is quite high necessitating more time. Therefore, students in the first year of the secondary school are not expected to spend more time than required in creative writing. Rather, they are instructed to formalize their writing habits by learning the art of writing essays by the use of the standard format of the introductory opening paragraph, followed by three to four paragraphs which constitute the body of the essay and close it with the concluding paragraph. They are also trained in the ways of answering objective questions, grammar, letter and report writing, dialogues, interviews. The main intention behind training in the English language and literature in the secondary school is to develop the student's grasping power and communication skills. Coming back to Ryan, I was initially impressed by the high level of interest your son exhibited in the English subject. He was very keen to get the list of the books to read so that he could get started. However, I could see his expression change when he was told that the syllabus in the secondary school was different from the one followed by the primary school. From then on, I had begun to note with growing concern that your son's performance in the English subject... But the issue does not end with change of attitude towards English. Obviously, your son has experienced some disappointment, maybe even disillusionment, with the English subject in his current year. This is the time when he must be dealt with care and concern. This is also the period to educate the child in the words of St. Francis of Assissi, to, "learn to change what he can, accept what he cannot change, and have the wisdom to know the difference." Important guidelines Besides entering the first year of the secondary school, your son is at the stage in life when children begin to exhibit signs of growing up. He wants to do his best but does not know how. He wants to spend more time reading but is unable to do so as the amount of homework he now has does not allow him more time. He wants to concentrate on his studies but finds the disruption caused by a small number of students affects the whole class. He wants to stop them but feels scared of being ostracized. He looks forward to challenging assignments but finds the content and process new and he has to learn these contents and processes before getting to the position of facing the challenges. In the circumstances, there is little you and I can do to stop your son. After all, boys will be boys. Up to this point of time, they have been good and obedient. In the times to come they must learn to face challenges. They must learn to make their choices and make them wisely. The only way to help them make the right choice is to spend time with them, understand them and show you are there for them. I am Ryan's English teacher. I am experienced in dealing with my students. I will steer

A Dolls house Language Essay Example for Free

A Dolls house Language Essay Ever since reading the text in my own time I have, in many of my past lessons been discussing, acting and re-reading parts of the play as well as researching many other aspects to the play. By doing this I discovered things like the play was firstly written in Norwegian and then translated into many languages along with many more complex things. Back in lessons I was doing tasks that specifically looked at the language in the play. For example before rein acting a scene from the play the whole class gathered in a circle to do a warm up exercise which evolved around the line; What did you do to die today at a minute or two to two, a thing distinctly hard to say but a harder thing to do. I had to say this line in many different accents and characters including a posh upper class character like Nora and Torvold Helmer from the play. The language used in the play not only creates the feel of the 19th century but it also reflects the way the characters are. It does this as the 19th century old English is very formal showing there middle to higher class and well educated. The language also shows the society that the characters live in and is significant as it reveals their inner thoughts, feelings relationships and situations. In one particular part of the play Torvold says: You cant deny it, little Nora now can you? Its a sweet little songbird but it gets through a terrible amount of money you wouldnt believe how much it costs a man when hes got a little songbird like you This rather poetic and metaphoric line compares Nora to a songbird which is petit and shows she can be sweet, innocent and chirpy. It also echos how Torvold belittles Nora and treats her like a child, which in them days was the done thing; men overpowering women and controlling the relationship in addition to this it perhaps shows how he has a fatherly figure and likes to take control over situations. Although in saying that Nora is or should I say acts rather childlike and naive herself but at the same time is manipulative, flirtatious and cunning as it proves on the opening line of the play; Hide that Christmas tree away, Helen. The children mustnt see it before Ive decorated it this evening As well as giving the audience a rough date and establishing shot it shows how Nora seems just as excited about Christmas as the children do. In most houses the children would be helping to set up the Christmas tree but not in the Helmer household Nora is setting up the tree and rather excited about it too. There is some reference to poetry in the text although it is not the rhyming type, its more a usage of poetic words being exchanged. Like in the first quote I made there are countless uses of words like songbird and squirrel being used to describe Nora as well as Torvold (in some parts of the play). There is another quote in Act 1 on page 25 where Nora has just gone out and bought some new things for the family, which Torvold is unhappy about as she has spent so much money which makes Nora unhappy too, it says; Now, now! My little songbird mustnt droop her wings. Whats this? Is little squirrel sulking? (takes out his purse) Nora; guess what Ive got here! This quote to me shows how he just keeps Nora sweet but does not go out of his reach to keep her happy. Also the use of poetic words is very creative and wise it is saying to Nora do not loose hope or become sad. But it says this in a metaphoric way as Nora does not really have wings but a songbird does and this is what Nora is often compared to by Torvold. The majority of the speech used throughout the play is natural from all of the characters as the play itself is done rather realistically and flows well. There are very rare if any uses of Brectian techniques to break any language or any part of the play up for example; there are no placards to make a particular line stand out, this is probably as each line is just as important as the one before. Even though there is reference to use of poetic language I think it gives the play even more of a realistic effect as people do have little pet names for there husband and wife. In addition to this Henrik Ibsen goes that step further and creates for each character there own realm of speech as a quote from the Methuen Student notes verifies: Ibsen creates for each character a habit of speech appropriate to his or her own class and personality With Torvold he is spoken with a rather fatherly/paternal type of speech, Krogstad he always reflects to his training as a lawyer, Mrs Linde speaks direct and could appear a bit bitter and cold, Nora is excitable but finds resolve at the end of the play and Dr Rank speaks in riddles and fondness of using figures of speech. Over all this coursework has made me realise how important the lines actually are in a play and how important it is to deliver them correctly. As well as consistency when delivering the lines in a certain way the character must keep delivering them in that way. I personally believe that this may enhance my skills as a yr 12 drama student.

How Lady Macbeth(TM)s language reveals changes in her role and mental condition Essay Example for Free

How Lady Macbeth(TM)s language reveals changes in her role and mental condition Essay Q: By close reference to the text, show how Lady Macbeths language reveals changes in her role and mental condition. In William Shakespeares Macbeth, the language of Lady Macbeth clearly reflects changes in her role and mental condition throughout the play. At the beginning, Lady Macbeths language is confident and controlled. However, by Act 5 Scene 1, she has undergone a complete transformation of character and is in a pitiful, pathetic condition. Shakespeare uses a variety of literary techniques such as iambic pentameter (or the lack of it), rhetorical devices, powerful imagery and varied sentence lengths to reveal Lady Macbeths disposition at different stages in the play. During Act 1, Lady Macbeths character is imposing and authoritative. This can clearly be seen by analysing her language and speech patterns. Shakespeare highlights the determination and control of her speech through the use of iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is a poetic device, wherein each line has 10 syllables with the emphasis on each even syllable. It is used to create a rhythmic quality and to reflect ordinary speech patterns. In addition, iambic pentameter is also a technique of indicating the control and dignity of a character. In the early part of the play, nearly all of Lady Macbeths lines are written in strict iambic pentameter. The lines: (He thats coming) Must be provided for, and you shall put This nights great business into my dispatch, Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.1 illustrate the fact that Lady Macbeth is a cunning, shrewd woman, who is in complete control of her mind. The iambic pentameter, coupled with what she actually says, establishes the fact that she is strong and capable character. Shakespeare leads the readers to come to the conclusion that she has the dominant role in the relationship, as she gracefully takes charge of all the decision-making. This is borne out by the content of the lines as well as the sophisticated vocabulary used. These distinctive character traits of Lady Macbeth may well have been inspired by Shakespeares contemporary Queen Elizabeth I, who was also a very commanding and influential entity. Shakespeare also makes use of rhetorical devices to establish Lady Macbeths domineering personality. Rhetorical questions, in particular, are heavily used. These are a speech technique used to persuade someone and sway their mentality. In Act 1 Scene 7, Lady Macbeth uses a ton of rhetorical questions to convince Macbeth to commit the regicide of Duncan. Questions such as: Was the hope drunk/ Wherein you dressed yourself?2, Art thou afeard / To be the same in act and valour / As thou art in desire?3, and What cannot you and I perform upon / Thunguarded Duncan?4 are used to incite Macbeth and make him feel guilty. She is overly vituperative and malicious; accusing him of cowardice by saying things like hes not a man, or that he doesnt truly love her because he isnt keeping his promise to her. The result is that she successfully manipulates Macbeth into doing something that she wants. This confirms the fact that she is an intelligent, influential woman. Another literary device that shows Lady Macbeths evil persona is the strong imagery used in her speech. Imagery is a technique used in literature to make the reader visualise a picture in their minds. The lines: look like thinnocent flower/ But be the serpent undert5 creates a distinct image of trickery and deceit, and gives a clear reflection of Lady Macbeths character. Another piece of effective imagery is the lines: I have given suck and know How tender tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn.6 The above lines form a rather disturbing image in our minds, and give us a terrifying indication of Lady Macbeths mental strength. It highlights the malevolence that is inherent in her personality, in addition to her determination and her willingness to make sacrifices. However, the nature of such a statement does provoke one to think seriously about Lady Macbeths sanity. No person in their right mind would kill a child with the brutality that was described, especially not the childs own mother. The lines shown above are one of many subtle hints of flaws in Lady Macbeths character which Shakespeare intelligently incorporates. These serve as inklings towards the total collapse in her character and mental state that is about to follow. In Act 3 Scene 4, the rapid decline of Lady Macbeth begins to take shape. In contrast to the early scenes of the play, her sentences become very short and she seems emotionally exhausted. Earlier, she would make long, influential speeches, which boasted of control and supremacy. This is not the case any more, although she does regain some composure by continuing to speak in iambic pentameter. She is now content to let Macbeth do the bulk of the talking. This indicates a reversal of roles where Lady Macbeth is no longer the dominant partner in the relationship. She is excluded from decision-making, as shown by Macbeths killing of Banquo without even bothering to consult his dearest partner of greatness.7 This scene is quite a significant one, as it marks the turning point of the deterioration in Lady Macbeths role and mental state. By Act 5 Scene 1, the language of Lady Macbeth has completely disintegrated. She is ridden with guilt and remorse, and this clearly affects her conscience immensely. Her psychological weakness at this point is illustrated by the use of prose, as opposed to iambic pentameter. This implies that Lady Macbeth has thoroughly lost all control and power which was typical of her in the first few scenes of the play. Her speech, which now mainly consists of incoherent phrases like: Out, damned spot! Out I say! One, two. Why then tis time to dot. Hell is murky8, lacks the equanimity that she possessed in Act 1. She also uses a lot of imperatives and exclamations like O, O, O,9 which show that she is uneasy and deeply distressed. She dwells over the murders committed by herself and Macbeth, making it obvious that these incidents have been haunting her and causing her much disquiet. All the stress that had been bottled up in her mind is released while she is sleepwalking, and by the end of the scene, she is in a dismal condition, muttering a whole lot of useless drivel. It is no surprise that she later decides to do away with herself, as her body and mind have both crumbled to bits. Lady Macbeths language visibly reflects her role and mental state at different parts of the play. At the start, she is shown to be powerful and domineering which is demonstrated by uses of iambic pentameter, rhetorical devices and strong imagery. She undergoes a steady deterioration and by the end, she is weak and depleted, as reflected by the breakdown of her language. The stark contrast between her mental state at the start and end of the play is clearly demonstrated by comparing two sentences spoken by her at these times: A little water clears us of this deed10 when her hands are covered in blood after the killing of King Duncan, and Here is the smell of blood still, all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this hand11 while she is sleepwalking. The remarkable fall from grace of Lady Macbeth is wonderfully presented by Shakespeare, and plays a big part in the play as whole. Since it was Lady Macbeths ideas and persuasive techniques which led Macbeth to the throne, and set the foundations of his reign; her weakening, and subsequent death, is one of many indicators of Macbeths imminent downfall. Shakespeares use of various literary devices was excellent, and he is able to successfully draw attention to the decline of Lady Macbeth, and its overall significance. 1 Act 1 Scene 5 lines 64-68 2 Act 1 Scene 7 lines 35-36 3 Act 1 Scene 7 lines 39-41 4 Act 1 Scene 7 lines 69-70 5 Act 1 Scene 5 lines 63-64 6 Act 1 Scene 7 lines 54-59 7 Act 1 Scene 5 lines 9-10 8 Act 5 Scene 1 lines 30-31 9 Act 5 Scene 1 line 43 10 Act 2 Scene 2 line 70 11 Act 5 Scene 1 lines 42-43

A Synthesis of Sildenafil

A Synthesis of Sildenafil For many reasons, this route was assumed suboptimal as a commercial manufacturing for example; it is linear with nine steps, sulphonyl chloride, which is one of the toxic substances produced from this route is in the final bond-forming reaction. Final material required a lot of recrystallizations to reduce the toxic impurities to appropriately low levels in order to produce the high quality of drug required by pharmaceutical company. Due to competing hydrolysis through the increased quenched times on scale-up chlorosulphonation in chemical development; the difficulties of scaling-up reactions are well-known. In this route, 2-pentanone and diethyl oxalate are condensed to give the diketoester 1. Then, cyclizating the diketoester by hydrazine produces pyrazole 2 which methylated with selective to give pyrazole3. Hydrolysing the reaction generated the acid 4, then convert acid to the amide by nitration to give nitropyrazole 5, which is common intermediate in all synthetic routes. Reduction of 5 with tin (II) chloride dehydrate to give the amine 6 which is by 2-ethoxybenzoyl chloride was acylated to produce diamide 7. The later was cyclized using aqueous sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide to result in 8 pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidin-7-one. Sildenafil was produced by selective chlorosulfonation and reaction with N-methylpiperazine.(6) Optimization of the cyclization reaction to make the pyrimidinone was the key finding during the development of the medicinal chemistry route, which impacted on the programme as a whole. Cyclization of compound 4 was done by sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide, which are an aqueous alcoholic solution and lead to moderate yield (30-70%). The hydrolysis of the carboxamide to give the acid either in the presence or absence of the hydrogen peroxide was the main side product from the medicinal reaction. To avoid the hydrolysis side product, cyclization was conducted under anhydrous conditions, KOtBu/ButOH and the reaction continued in 100% product without detected impurities. By considering reordering the steps, the clean cyclization was the final bond-forming reaction. (1) Modification of the medicinal route: A lot of modifications were applied into medicinal chemistry route, which was used at the beginning of the project to prepare fifty kilograms and support supply for the four years. (6) For early scale-up, the tin (II) chloride reduction was removed. Tin is major environmental polluter and a heavy metal. It was replaced with a catalytic hydrogenation. At the early age of the sildenafil production, a tin chloride reduction was employed because the hydrogenation reduction was not in operation. The reason for inefficient of the hydrogenation was a presence of trace levels of sulfur impurities which poison the hydrogenation reaction. Switching to stoichiometric thionyl chloride is one example that controlled sulfur impurities and allows the reliability of the catalytic hydrogenation reaction. Using a hydrogenation, there are options for solvent and catalyst recovery and water is the only by-product. (5) Hydrogen peroxide was used in cyclization method to convert 7 to 8, but it causes skin burns. Furthermore, in contact with organic materials, it is a fire and transportation hazardous. Then, it was replaced with KOtBu/ButOH. Rather than using oxalyl chloride, thionyl chloride is used to prepare 2-ethoxybenzoyl chloride which eliminates exposure to carbon monoxide emissions by workers. (5) Through formation of pyrazole 3 which is an exothermic reaction, a solvent was introduced. Moreover, for 5 preparations, toluene was introduced as a solvent which reduces the level of thionyl chloride from 1.6 to 1.8 equivalents. (6) Sildenafil Citrate Sildenafil Commercial Route: Selection: The target from Sildenafil citrate was for treatment of angina when entered development. But the clinical results were failed. Pfizer made a trial with 12 patients tolerate from male erectile dysfunction in 1994. The results showed improvements in the problems of 10 patients. As a consequence, sildenafil citrate development became one of the highest priorities in the Pfizer portfolio (6). There are many advantages of commercial route over the optimized medicinal one, for example; The synthesis was redesigned to make convergence. The final bond forming step is the clean cyclisation reaction and at the start of the synthesis, the potentially toxic materials occur. Large volumes of aqueous acidic waste require an increased level of hydrolysis and neutralization through a larger scale is an example of environmental and scale-up issues associated with chlorosulphonation reaction. In order to reduce these issues, they are placed at the start of the synthesis. Hence, low molecular weight and cheaper materials are used. (5). DEVELOPMENT: Sulfonamide preparation: Through pyrazole 5, many routes of synthesis proceeded. Using chlorosulfonic acid, 2-ethoxybenzoic acid is Chlorosulfonated by using 1 mol of thionyl chloride to convert the intermediate sulfonic acid to the sulfonyl chloride. Due to low melting point of 2-ethoxybenzoic acid (19-20 C) mp, low molecular volumes of chlorosulfonic acid and thionyl chloride are used and hence no solubilisation. Initially, the sulfonamide 9 was isolated as unusual double salt 10 which is insoluble and difficult to use. Moreover, in order to obtain the double salt to crystallize, the sulphonyl chloride should be dry which lead to a lot of acidic, corrosive fumes in a pilot plant scale. Then, it was discovered that 9 can be isolated as its highly crystalline zwitterions by treatment the double salt with water to dissociate and produce a new form of free crystalline amino acids 8. For efficiency, the sulfonyl chloride was converted to sulfonamide 9 by resuspended in water and reaction with N-methylpiperazine. At the end of the reaction, by the addition of aqueous sodium hydroxide, the pH was adjusted to the isoelectric point and the precipitated compound 8 collected by filtration. As a result, during sulfonamide preparation, no organic solvents are used. Hydrogenation and coupling reaction: In medicinal chemistry, the tin (II) chloride reduction was replaced by a palladium catalyzed hydrogenation reaction to convert pyrazole 1 into the amide2. Toluene was introduced as a heat solvent which increased the safety of the process and reduced the levels of thionyl chloride to 1.2-1.6 equivalents. To convert the nytropyrazole (2) to the amine (3) heterogeneous hydrogenation in ethyl acetate was used. A number of reagents, including thionyl chloride, oxalyl chloride and N,N-cabonyldiimidazole (CDI) are used to examine the activation of the carboxylic acid. CDI costs around 8$/mol and provide such advantages for instances; high quality product, robust and clean chemistry. Furthermore, it provided a combination of the three reactions (hydrogenation, acid activation and acylation) into a single step, employed the ethyl acetate solvent with a simple recovery process and used low energy. In addition, VOC emissions were avoided such as (EtCl) that generated from the interaction of ethyl chloride with thionyl chloride or oxalyl chloride. Moreover, 90% chemical yield over three chemical reactions is produced and optimized to 96%. Cyclisation Reaction: The resulting product is heated for several hours and cyclised with 1.2 equivalents of potassium t-BuOH and t-BuOK. In order to minimize the environmental wastes, this process is run at high concentration (2.5-3.75L Kg-1). Water is added to dilute the reaction and the pH was adjusted with 4M HCl to the isoelectric point (7.5). Clinical very high quality yield of 95% sildenafil was obtained by filtration. Using 2-butanone citric acid, sildenafil was converted to sildenafil citrate to give a yield of 99 to 100%. Sildenafil History of Sildenafil: Initially Viagra was developed to treat angina (heart disease). In Morriston hospital, the drug was tried on men in 1991-1992. The clinical observation showed that the drug enhance penile erection more than treating angina. Pharmaceutical company, Pfizer commercialized the drug as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. In 1996, the drug was patented and approved on 27 March 1998 by FDA. It was the first approved drug for penile erection in the United States and the sales exceed 1$ billion in 1999-2001. The Pfizers patents on this drug will expire in 2011-2013. Dosage of Viagra: Viagra could be taken once per day as a dose between 25mg to 100mg between 30 min to 4 hours before sexual intercourse. Three dosages are available in market for this drug (25-50-100) mg with a cost of 10$ per pill for all dosages. http://www.chemistrydaily.com/chemistry/Sildenafil Mode of action: Pharmacodynamics: Effects on Penile Erection: Sildenafil citrate is a selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) and was used for the treatment of the male erectile dysfunction (known as impotence). It is a wide spread condition that effects around 30 million patients in United States. Nitric oxide is released during sexual stimulation and permeates through corpus cavernosum membranes. Then, the enzyme guanylate cyclase is stimulated to enhance levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in the corpus cavernosum. cGMP has an effects on smooth muscle relaxation and increases blood flow lead to an erection of the penis. Level of PDE5 is high in the corpus cavernosum which hydrolyzes cGMP and leads to inactive GMP. Levels of cGMP in men with impotence are low and as a consequence PDE5 quickly hydrolyses these levels of cGMP. Now, the sildenafil acts by inhibiting the actions of PDE5 and increases the levels of cGMP which cause the erection. (6) figure involved Erection Nitric Oxide Guanylate Cyclase Sildenafil binds to PDE5 and blocks action GMP cGMP Effects on Visual Function: In patients taking sildenafil, it has been reported such visual abnormalities for example; increased blurred vision and perception of light. These effects usually happened with dose more that 100mg which is correlated to the weaker inhibition effects of sildenafil on PDE6 that regulates signal transduction pathways in the retinal receptors. (2) Cardiovascular Effects: Sidenafil has effects on blood pressures by producing transient reduction in systolic and diastolic at 1 hour after the dose. The clinical tests showed no observed effects on heart rate. Sildenafil effects are not age or dose dependent. (2) Clinical trials: The sildenafil was tested in vitro to study the inhibition of PDE5 in human blood platelets. The results showed the potency of sildenafil and it is a selective inhibitor of both c GMP PDEs. Also, a number of trials were carried on rabbit corpus cavernosum to examine the effect on the muscle. From the results, appear that sildenafil was potent in relaxing the corpus cavernosum. Furthermore, to evaluate smooth muscle relaxation, set of experiments were carried in rabbit isolated aortic rings. Sildenafil showed similar values in both denuded and endothelial intact aortic rings. (28) Side Effects from Clinical studies: Patients receiving Viagra showed similar adverse effects in all trials. Some studies showed more effects with increased dose. There were some adverse events reported when Viagra is taken in flexible dose for example; headache, rash, dizziness, diarrhea, urinary tract infection, flushing, dyspepsia and nasal congestion. http://www.rxlist.com/viagra-drug.htm Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism: The cytochrome P450 3A4 metabolizes sildenafil which changes to an active N-desmethyl metabolite that has the 50% activity of the drug for inhibiting PDE5. This metabolite has 40% plasma concentrations of sildenafil, therefore it possess 20% of the pharmacological effects of sildenafil. Terminal half-lives of sildenafil and its metabolite are 4 hours each. Sildenafil distributed into the tissues with a volume of 105 L and excreted in the feces as metabolites. In patients aged >65 years, plasma levels increased as well in patients suffered from hepatic impairment and renal impairment. (2) Viagra Plant: Pfizer Synthesis Facility, Ringaskiddy, Ireland Sildenafil citrate which is the active pharmaceutical ingredients for Viagra was manufactured by Pfizer at Ringaskiddy and the total output from Viagra sales was account for 15%. The facility covers 200 acres and composed of four production units with 500 people working there. OSP4 is the main plant at Ringaskiddy that increase production by 40% and started in 2001. Construction of the new synthetic plant (OSP4), a finished good building (FGB) and all other services were under responsibility of Project Management and Foster Wheeler. Plant started manufacturing in March 2001. Designing facility enable the OSP4 plant to produce primary bulk, batch pharmaceutical products at a reactor of 150,000 liters and six lines are at full scale. To increase service of OSP4, Pfizer was planning to build a third liquid waste incinerator. At the plant, the manufactured products are either bulk active or drug substances. For the bulk materials, they are sent in order to complete formulation and package for shipping. Production and plant facility: http://resources.schoolscience.co.uk/pfizer/viagra/viagch4pg2.html For all drugs, initially they are produced in small a mounts for the investigation and in vitro analysis. Then, quantities are increased if the carried tests are successful to meet the needs for clinical trials and patients. For the first time, production of one kg of Viagra requires a series of eleven reactions with 23 kg of reagents and 139 liters of organic wastes. All preparations are carried in a microwave designed especially for organic chemistry. For scaling up the process, it has to be more efficient and result in fewer wastes. Currently, in Viagra production only 1.5 kg of reagents are used and release just 10 liters of wastes. The company aim to minimize the waste to 6 L per kilogram produced. Now, every year the demand is 45 tones for good quality Viagra in compared to 1998 where the l kg production was enough for people demands in 10 minutes. To scale up reaction, all starting materials were available commercially and used without purification. Using a microwave oven ETHOS 1600, synthesis was performed. In standard Pyrex glassware, all reactions were carried out with a reflux condenser. The reactions were performed by a program which made up of temperature monitoring and holding steps. Purity of the final product was measured using thin-layer chromatography and molecular weight was recorded by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. sealed vessels are used which controlled and monitored by computers to make the requir ed quantities of pure drug. Pipes are used to add the reagents into the vessel and the products are harvesting later on. Control panels are applied that allow the operator to make any required adjustments and monitoring the process. A microwave-transparent fluoroptic probe that inserted into the solutions was used to monitor the temperature of the stirred reactions mixture. To produce any pharmaceuticals, highest standards of hygiene are necessary and Laboratory should be clean and tidy. Misuse of Viagra in Asia: http://www.ergogenics.org/138.html (faked drug) According to World Health Organization (WHO), one of the most counterfeited drugs in Asia is Viagra which make a big business. Tourists in Thailand use fake Viagra which is bought over numerous pharmacies. Therefore serious health risks affected those tourists. Counterfeited medicines can impose the correct ingredients but fake package, or without active ingredients, wrong ingredients or with insufficient active ingredients. Fake Viagra made up of ingredients that enhance the bodys insulin production which can cause a danger drop in the concentrations of blood glucose. As a result lead to starving the energy of brain which in known as insulin shock syndrome. There is a widespread smuggling of fake and genuine Viagra in Thailand according to A Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Unsurprisingly, Thailand is a centre for fake Viagra. Among young night-clubbers, Viagra is mixing with other party drug to increase the sexual desire. Viagra competitors: There were alternative medications prescribed for erectile dysfunction prior to the introduction of Viagra. Most of them are non-oral treatments. For example; the primary alternatives in the United States were vacuum constriction devices, penile injection therapy, penile prostheses, professional counseling and transurethral. Traditional remedies were used in other countries such as yohimbine. (4) Viagra Sales around the world: Firstly, after FDA granted approval of Viagra, it was sold in the United States. Nowadays more than fifty countries are selling Viagra in their pharmacies. On the U.S. market, one month after launch, the worth of sales was 400$ million which result from 300,000 Viagra prescriptions. Since then, 7$ per tablet was maintained by Pfizer. The average wholesale price is 8.75$ per pill in compare with other treatments such as; Caverject and Muse which priced at 20-30$ per pill. Furthermore, sales in most European countries began shortly in September 1998 after European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) granted European countries the registration for Viagra uses. In the United Kingdom, Sweden and republic of Ireland, the government Health System covers the purchases of Viagra for limited uses. Public awareness have been increased and focused on the safety issues in men taking Viagra and lead to limit the use of Viagra after reports over deaths and adverse effects that were sent to the FDA. U.S. and most other countries experienced prescription leveling off after information gained by people used the drug. Most of them were not actually suffer from erectile dysfunction. After drugs approval in the United States, Latin America launched the drug. Then, Viagra was available in a number of Asian countries, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. In 1999, Japan approved drugs uses after it accepted from other countries the clinical trials data for the first time. (4) Environmental Performance: In the medicinal route, there are a number of organic solvents included in the production of 1000 kg of drug substance and the volume of these solvents equal to 125,000 liters. These solvents are reduced to 13,500 liters in the commercial route. The solvents required in both routes are illustrated in figure 1. Organic wastes from medicinal route Organic wastes from commercial route For environmental assessment, the reduction of some solvents for example; chlorinated solvents and highly volatile solvents such as; methyl chloride, methanol, acetone and diethyl ether. Elimination of these solvents results in elimination of atmospheric emissions. T-butanol that has been used in the commercial route is completely water soluble and is difficult for reuse. In order to improve environmental performance, t-buanol is replaced by another solvent to facilitate recovery. The optimized process was developed in Ringaskiddy and will be used in the production plant which will give 4 l kg-1 of the final optimized solvent usage. (5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_economy Atom economy is the efficiency of conversion all reactants in a chemical process in a way of all atoms involved and no atoms are wasted. All starting materials equal to generated process, this represent an important concept in green chemistry. Reaction mass efficiency is a measure for the effect of yield and an increase of used reagents. Between 1994 and 1997 where the new commercial route was introduced, there was an improvement in the reaction mass efficiency and chemical yields. In contrast, the atom economy remained constants over time. Comparisons of these parameters between 1994 and 1997 is shown in figure Fig. Atom economy, chemical yield and RME at 1994, 1997 and the future target in the sildenafil citrate process. The aqueous and organic wastes are actually measured and from modeling process the atmospheric emissions are estimated. There was a large reduction in the aqueous waste when the commercial route was introduced into the production. Moreover, upon introduction of the commercial route, again there was a noticeable reduction in the organic wastes between 1994 and 1997. Due to the impact of introducing solvent recovery operations and reuse in the manufacturing process, a further large reduction occurred after 1997. These decreasing reflect the importance of eliminating wastes and controlling route selection. For the vapor emissions, there have been smaller diminish in the released amount. In addition, it was found there was 35% decrease in the estimated energy used between 1994 and 1997. There are two reasons behind smaller reduction in the vapor emissions and the used energy; firstly, in order to maximize the yield, there is a significant level of solvents stripping performed in the comm ercial process. Secondary, the chemistry team actively managed and followed such parameters for instance; organic, aqueous wastes and yield. On the other hand, they calculated retrospectively the emissions and energy. (5) Figure shows the comparisons between these wastes at various times. The E-factor is the total kilos of wastes per kilogram of product. In commercial route of Viagra production, the E-factor is 6 kg kg-1 which is less than the industry standard of (25-100) (6) Low volumes of the complicated chemical products and the E-factor of the commercial route for Viagra production generate fewer wastes per year. For all of the environmental awareness taken by Pfizer for the sildenafil citrate process, UK Award was granted to this company in 2003. (2) Patents: According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, patent for Viagra by Pfizer will expire on March 27, 2012. Then, a cheap generic version of the blockbuster erectile dysfunction drug will be sold by any drug company. This will allow more competition between Pfizers Viagra and the new generic versions and more options with cheaper prices for patients. Pfizer has three options to stay in the Viagras market. Firstly, it can market itself as the main company for selling Viagra, taking into account there are over 25 million men used its version and they donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t like to change. Secondary, it can apply for Viagra with FDA for OTC (over-the-counter). Finally, while producing an upgraded version of Viagra which will continue holding value of the patented product, it can license the original recipe to Viagra to other companies. http://www.accessrx.com/research/viagra-patent-expires.htm Alternative Routes to Sildenafil: There are more than 15 different routes have been reported in the chemical and patent literature to sildenafil. Pfizer examined two main alternatives during the development process either by synthesis sildenafil through the aldehyde 11 to produce dihydrosildenafil 12 then oxidize the product or by the halo derivatives for example 13 or 14. 52 % of sildenafil yielded from condensation between aldehyde and aminopyrazole to give dihydrosildenafil by adding an azeotropic distillation to remove the water by product. The yield can be increased to 95% as shown by some workers. (PATENT 22918) Aldehyde Amine Dihydrosildenafil Sildenafil Oxidation of dihydrosildenafil either by using sodium hydrogen sulphite (NaHSO3) or using small quantity of trifluoroacetic acid and Pd/C at high temperature generated a good yield of drug (patent WO 01-98303). Dihydrosildenafil Sildenafil Combination between a nucleophilic displacement reaction that uses ethanol as a solvent and a hindered alkoxide (KOBU) or ethoxide (EtOH) as a base and the cyclization reaction which uses a compound like halo derivatives is another potential synthesis for sildenafil. The combination reaction works for both cyclisation compounds, but by using a compound where (x= F) the yield from combination is 100%. The use of the chloro-series compound (x=cl) in the cyclisation reaction is better because of 2-chlorobenzoic acid is cheaper than 2-ethoxybenzoic acid. (Patent number EP 0994 115) Figure (13, 14, synthesis) Halo Derivatives X= Cl X= Fe, yield= 100% In the end, all of these alternative routes were put on hold due to the high efficiency of the commercial route and the time pressures of the development program. (6) (3) In the WO Patent (98284), amidine 10 or iminoether 11 can be used in order to build pyrimidine ring (sildenafil). By a Pinner reaction, the iminoether is made from the nitrile. Amidine is made by reaction of the nitrile with chloromethylaluminium amide which is synthesized from trimethyl aluminium (Me3Al) and ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) Nitrile Amidine Iminoether Sildenafil Intermediate 14 was prepared from reaction of the acid intermediate 13 with thionyl chloride (SOCl2) to give the lactone which then can be reacted with ammonia (NH3) and (EtOH) to produce the pyrazolopyrimidinone which is away to make sildenafil. Acid intermediate Lactone Sildenafil (Patent EP 1 002 798) sildenafil synthesis from intermediate (6), can be done by chlorosulphonate the intermediate 16 and before cyclisation the intermediate convert to the sulphonamide6. Sildenafil There are many patents activities in producing nonconvergent synthesis of sildinafil. Workers at the Torcan Company reduced Carbamate by (LiALH4) to sildenafil in ayield of 61%. ( Patent 2 235 642). Carbamate Sildenafil Also, sildenafil was synthesized from pyrazolopyrimidinone and the sulphamoyl chlorid (which is prepared by SO2Cl2 and N-methylpiperazine reaction) using Friedel-Craft reaction which requires ALCl3 by workers at the India Orchid company. (Patent EP 1 077 214) Pyrazolopyrimidine and sulphamoyl chloride Sildenafil Furthermore, workers in Cipla Company have synthesized sildenafil by double methylation of this intermediate by using formic acid and formaldehyde (CH2O) and (HCO2H) as the final step. (Patent WO Patent 01/ 19827) Sildenafil

The Soliloquies of Shakespeares Hamlet - To be or not to be Soliloquy :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Hamlet --   â€Å"To be or not to be† Soliloquy      Ã‚   When the Bard of Avon created Hamlet, he simultaneously created the famous soliloquy ever uttered by English-speaking men. Thus it is that literary critics rank Hamlet’s fourth soliloquy as the most notable ever penned. Let’s examine in this essay how such a high ranking is deserved, and what the soliloquy means.    In his essay â€Å"An Explication of the Player’s Speech,† Harry Levin refers to the fourth soliloquy as the most famous of them all:    Dwelling on gross details and imperfections of the flesh (â€Å"Eyes without feeling, feeling without sight†), Hamlet will admonish his mother that sense-perception is dulled by sensual indulgence. Here insensibility is communicated by a rhetorical assault upon the senses: primarily â€Å"the very faculties of eyes and ears,† but incidentally touch and even taste. Leaving the senseless Priam to the insensate Pyrrhus, after another hiatus of half a line (37), the speech addresses violent objurgations to the bitch-goddess Fortune, about whom Hamlet   has lately cracked ribald jokes with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; whose buffets and rewards he prizes Horatio for suffering with equanimity; against whom he will, in the most famous of all soliloquies [my italics], be tempted to take arms. (36)    Marchette Chute in â€Å"The Story Told in Hamlet† describes just how close the hero is to suicide while reciting his most famous soliloquy:      Hamlet enters, desperate enough by this time to be thinking of suicide. It seems to him that it would be such a sure way of escape from torment, just to cease existing, and he gives the famous speech on suicide that has never been worn thin by repetition. â€Å"To be, or not to be . . .† It would be easy to stop living.    To die, to sleep; No more. And by a sleep to say we end The heartache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to . . .    But Hamlet has never succeeded in deceiving himself, and he cannot do so now. . . . [He] will not . . . be able to kill himself. He has thought too much about it to be able to take any action. (39)    Considering the context of this most notable soliloquy, the speech appears to be a reaction from the determination which ended the â€Å"rogue and peasant slave† soliloquy. In fact, in the Quarto of 1603 the â€Å"To be† speech comes BEFORE the players’ scene and the nunnery scene – and is thus more logically positioned to show its emotional connection to the previous soliloquy (Nevo 46).

Symbolism in the Grapes of Wrath :: essays research papers

During the depression of the 1930's, the combined evils of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl drought left many southern farming families landless and weak. Little hope was left for them but to pack up and moved to California, which was widely advertised in circulated handbills that promised work and inspired hope. John Steinbeck’s epic novel, The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of the migrant farmers’ travels and what they met at their destination. Intertwined within the plot and the intercalary chapters of the story is a profound use of symbolism in various forms and with many meanings. John Steinbeck deeply incorporates symbolism into the characters and plot of The Grapes Of Wrath to convey the adversity and the attitudes of the migrant farmers as well as other people involved in and effected by the dust bowl migration of the 1930's. The journey of the land turtle in the opening of the novel is a near direct representation of the travels of the dust bowl migrants. The turtle, just like the migrants, embarks on a slow, yet steady journey in a clear direction with an unclear destination. Both meet several obstacles on the way, the turtle meets a hard to climb embankment, the migrants meet troubles with their cars and terrain. There are those who make the migrants’ journeys much more impossible such as deputies and salesmen, the turtle meets the truck that nearly causes its death. And when the turtle is on its back, just as the migrants lives are void of all hope, slowly, but surely they get themselves upright and back on track. Jim Casey, the retired preacher introduced early in the plot is a symbol of transcendentalism, the idea of the Emersonian over soul, that all people are part of one great spirit, and serves as a Christ figure in the novel. He frequently refers to this single, great soul of the world, â€Å"maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of†(33). Casy’s role as a Christ figure in the novel fits very well into the journey of Christ portrayed in the bible. He takes a trek into the woods to sort things out, he followed the Joads on their journey west to help people along the way, â€Å"I got to go where the folks are goin’,† and sacrifices himself to the deputy in California to save Floyd and Tom for their aggression against the deputy(127). Symbolism in the Grapes of Wrath :: essays research papers During the depression of the 1930's, the combined evils of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl drought left many southern farming families landless and weak. Little hope was left for them but to pack up and moved to California, which was widely advertised in circulated handbills that promised work and inspired hope. John Steinbeck’s epic novel, The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of the migrant farmers’ travels and what they met at their destination. Intertwined within the plot and the intercalary chapters of the story is a profound use of symbolism in various forms and with many meanings. John Steinbeck deeply incorporates symbolism into the characters and plot of The Grapes Of Wrath to convey the adversity and the attitudes of the migrant farmers as well as other people involved in and effected by the dust bowl migration of the 1930's. The journey of the land turtle in the opening of the novel is a near direct representation of the travels of the dust bowl migrants. The turtle, just like the migrants, embarks on a slow, yet steady journey in a clear direction with an unclear destination. Both meet several obstacles on the way, the turtle meets a hard to climb embankment, the migrants meet troubles with their cars and terrain. There are those who make the migrants’ journeys much more impossible such as deputies and salesmen, the turtle meets the truck that nearly causes its death. And when the turtle is on its back, just as the migrants lives are void of all hope, slowly, but surely they get themselves upright and back on track. Jim Casey, the retired preacher introduced early in the plot is a symbol of transcendentalism, the idea of the Emersonian over soul, that all people are part of one great spirit, and serves as a Christ figure in the novel. He frequently refers to this single, great soul of the world, â€Å"maybe all men got one big soul ever’body’s a part of†(33). Casy’s role as a Christ figure in the novel fits very well into the journey of Christ portrayed in the bible. He takes a trek into the woods to sort things out, he followed the Joads on their journey west to help people along the way, â€Å"I got to go where the folks are goin’,† and sacrifices himself to the deputy in California to save Floyd and Tom for their aggression against the deputy(127).

John Dewey Essay example -- American Philosopher Philosophy

John Dewey was one of the greatest minds in history. A philosopher, his concern was democracy and its ideals. A thinker about the problems in education. A prominent voice in America, commanding the admiration of those who agreed with his views, and respect for his mind even from those who did not. The man: John Dewey, an American philosopher. Dewey’s pedagogy was one with three distinctive traits: it was democratic in that it called for pluralism. It was a follower of the scientific method in that it was a systemic approach at solving problems and forming judgments, both practical and moral. It prized directed experience as an ongoing process of means as ends and ends as means. These three traits of Dewey’s philosophy are tied to all that he wrote and thought. Dewey felt that democracy was the ideal social structure, the one best suited to the needs and aims of all people; under no other political scheme was it possible for general citizens to have allowance and responsibility to grow individually and culturally. All other systems hindered personal and social growth in Dewey’s scheme. Any form of despotic state used fear to such an extent that it became one of the only factors that kept the state in union, and the other factors that would naturally cause people to work together in their social environments were perverted and wasted. â€Å"Instead of operating on their own account they are reduced to mere servants of attaining pleasure and avoiding pain† (DE, 84). The cultural paralysis was seen in the fact that â€Å"there is no free play back and forth among the members of the social group. Stimulation and response are exceedingly one-sided.† Both the rich and poor suffer: the poor in that they have little involvement in the courses taken in their lives; the rich in that their â€Å"culture becomes sterile† (DE, 84). Dewey asserted that â€Å"democracy has always been allied with humanism, with faith in the potentials of human nature† and that â€Å"democracy means the belief that humanistic culture should prevail.† He advised that democracy is not something that will necessarily happen if â€Å"human nature is left to itself, when freed from external arbitrary restriction† (FC, 97). Democracy, for Dewey, was a moral issue that required efforts born in democratic vision. Democracy was Dewey’s tool of progress. But Dewey also saw that democracy did not guarantee progress. The imper... ...nt. Otherwise facts gained only have the potential to gain meaning, and many facts will turn out to be disconnected, never finding their place in a person’s experience. Facts grow naturally out of meaningful experience, but meaningful experience which leads to more facts do not necessarily flow from facts. Dewey wrote that â€Å"the tragic weakness of the present school is that it endeavors to prepare future members of the social order in a medium in which the conditions of the social spirit are eminently wanting† (SSCC, 15). The conditions wanting were democracy, rational judgment conducive of the scientific method, and a conception of experience that recognizes the continuous nature of ends as means of further action. What Dewey wanted was ideal, but it was not utopian. He knew that we should do better, that we could do better. The question was more whether there was a will to do better. References Dewey, John. 1944. Democracy and Education (DE). New York: The Free Press. Dewey, John. 1989. Freedom and Culture (FC). Buffalo: Prometheus Books. Dewey, John. 1964. The School and Society and The Child and the Curriculum (SSCC). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Pschological assessment Essay

Section A Write an essay on the process you would follow in developing a psychological assessment measure. Discuss the steps that you would take in this process, including how you would choose items for your test, how you would evaluate the reliability and validity of your test, and the issue of establishing norms. Discuss the theory comprehensively and illustrate your understanding with an example or examples. Introduction The process of developing a psychological test is a complex and lengthy one. ( Foxcroft & Roodt, 2001) but aspects related to the planning of a psychological test are not always sufficiently emphasised and sometimes not mentioned at all ( Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 1997). When the test is to be used in a multicultural context, attention needs to be paid to the cultural relevance (and potential bias) of the test right from the planning and design phase instead of only being sensitive to cultural aspects from the item writing phase onwards. Also given that we do not have a long history of developing culturally appropriate tests applicable to diverse groups in South Africa, test developers need to grapple with basic issues such as what methods of test administration might be appropriate or inappropriate for certain cultural groups and what language to develop the test in, for example. More time needs to be spent in the planning phase exploring and critically considering test design issues. Planning phase The first and most important step in developing psychological measures is the planning phase. Planning involves writing out the skeleton of what one aims to achieve. Careful though needs to go into deciding on the aim of the measure, defining the content of the measure and key elements of the test plan. a test plan consists of the following aspects: (a) specifying the purpose and rationale for the test as well as the intended target population, (b) defining the construct (content domain) and creating a set of test specifications to guide item writing, (c) choosing the test format, (d) choosing the item format, and (e) specifying the administration and scoring methods (Robertson, 1990). Specifying the aim of the measure The first step is to state the aim of the measure, the construct I will use and how the outcome will be used. If I am conducting this study in South Africa I will also need to mention that the measure will be used in a multicultural society. I would need to elaborate on what I mean by multicultural by highlighting the context. I would state the age of the test takers and their educational status. The information concluded above is important because it may have an impact on the test specifications and design. I would need to state whether the test would be paper-based or computer-based. When that decision is made I would need to consider whether the test-takers are familiar with such tests. The test takers may underperform on the evaluation because they are not proficient in the instrument of measure. This may impact the validity of the study to be conducted. I would also need to ascertain whether the test will be administered individually or in a group setting. Because psychological constructs are brewed in western societies, the emphasis is on individualism. When working in a multicultural society, however, it is important to consider the norms of the society I would be working in. In some cultures, for example, the group identity is valued over the individual identity. This could have an effect on the content of the measure. Defining the content of the measure Here I need to figure out what I want to measure and why. This will show me what to focus on during the other steps. A working definition of the construct is needed. This includes identifying exactly what I aim to get out of this research study. To do this I need to embark on a comprehensive literature review. I will see how my topic has been investigated in the past and spot the gaps. I can now make the decision on whether I am conducting a new study or adapting an existing study into the South African context. Later I will need to make the same decision on the instrument I will use for data gathering. Since I would be working in South Africa, I need to decide on whether separate norms should be developed for test takers from advantaged and disadvantaged schooling backgrounds and/or for urban and rural areas. I would assemble a team of content, language and cultural experts to scrutinise the content being developed. Nell (1994) states that  language is a critical moderator variable of test performance. If the test taker is not proficient in that language, it is difficult to ascertain whether poor performance is due to language or communication difficulty or that the test-taker has a low level of the construct being measured. I would produce the test in a bilingual format and specify the source language. Work would need to be done to ensure that the construct is meaningful for each group. Developing the test plan (specifications) Once the construct to be assessed has been defined and operationalised, a decision needs to be reached regarding what approach will be employed to guide the development of the test content and specifications. Decisions will be made regarding the format to be used (open-ended items, forced-choice items etc.), how they will be scored (objective or subjective tests), and whether time limits will be imposed. The language and cultural experts are once again needed during this step. Sometimes psychological constructs, conceptualised in western society, do not have a known equivalent in African discourse. For such constructs the translated version would need to explain the construct in a way that is closest to the English meaning. This will require more time for the African language test taker. The test specification should eliminate the possibility of construct bias. The format therefore needs to be standardised for a variety of cultural groups or it should at least include items that will be considered easy, moderate and difficult by all groups. Although these steps follow after each other, I will need to go backwards and forwards to ensure content and construct validity. Item writing The second step is item writing. Once the test specifications have been finalised, the team of experts writes or develops the items. The trend in South Africa has been to simply adapt an already made test to accommodate South African test takers. This is not necessarily the easier option. Firstly, concepts are not always understood in the same way in different societies. For example, the term depression is sometimes taken to mean with  very sad in some societies. It is therefore important to ensure construct validity even for an English test given to English mother tongue speakers of a different society to that of the tests’ origin. If the assessment measure will be administered to children, face validity will be ensured through the use of big writing, use of colour and drawings. The length of the items should also be considered. With every step of items writing reliability is ensured. Reviewing the items An item bank is then developed and items reviewed in terms of whether they meet the content specification and whether they are well written. Items which do not meet the specifications are removed from the bank before it can be used to generate criteria-referenced tests. The team of experts should focus on both content validity and indicate whether the items are from stereotyping and potential bias. The experts will then return the item list with recommendations. They will need to be re-written or revised. Assembling and pre-testing the experimental version of the measure Items need to be arranged in a logical way. Since we are dealing with a multicultural society, we need to ensure that the items are balanced and on appropriate pages. The length of the items in each category needs to be finalised. For long problems based items, time adjustments need to be made. A decision would have been made with regards to whether the test is paper-based or computer-based. The appropriate apparatus needs to be made available. The  Pre-testing the experimental version of the measure The test items have to be administered to a large group of examinees. This sample should be representative of the population for which the eventual test is intended. This will be the norm group. Items analysis phase During this phase items are checked for relevance. Again we see if each item is reliable and valid to the study. The characteristics of the items can be evaluated using the classical test theory or the item response theory. At the item level, the CTT model is relatively simple. CTT does not invoke a complex theoretical model to relate an examinee’s ability to success on a particular item. Instead, CTT collectively considers a pool of examinees and empirically examines their success rate on an item (assuming it is dichotomously scored). This success rate of a particular pool of examinees on an item, well known as the p value of the item, is used as the index for the item difficulty (actually, it is an inverse indicator of item difficulty, with higher value indicating an easier item). The ability of an item to discriminate between higher ability examinees and lower ability examinees is known as item discrimination, which is often expressed statistically as the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between the scores on the item (e.g., 0 and 1 on an item scored right-wrong) and the scores on the total test. When an item is dichotomously scored, this estimate is often computed as a point-biserial correlation coefficient. IRT, on the other hand, is more theory grounded and models the probabilistic distribution of examinees’ success at the item level. As its name indicates, IRT primarily focuses on the item-level information in contrast to the CTT’s primary focus on test-level information. The IRT framework encompasses a group of models, and the applicability of each model in a particular situation depends on the nature of the test items and the viability of different theoretical assumptions about the test items. Revising and standardizing the final version of the measure Once the qualitative and quantitative information has been gathered, the test is administered to the large sample for standardization. All the items that were found to be unclear are simplified. Vocabulary and grammar is corrected. Split-half reliability is assessed. The translated version is checked through back translation (into the source language). The items are finalised for the test. The final database is used to check on reliability  and validity. The administration and scoring instruction may need to be modified. Then the final version is administered. Technical evaluation and establishing norms The items can be analysed using the item response theory. The characteristics of each item may be represented graphically be means of a graph which relates an individuals’ ability score with their probability of passing the items. Items with large variances are selected. The scores obtained by the norm group in the final test form are referred to as the norms of the test. To compare an individual’s score with the norms, their raw score will be converted to the same kind of derived score as that in which the test norms are reported (e.g. percentile ranks, McCall’s T scores etc). Publishing and ongoing refinements A test manual is compiled before a measure published. The manual should make information on the psychometric properties of the test easily understandable. It will be updated from time to time as more information becomes available. Section B List the steps that should be followed in the adaption of an assessment measure for cross-cultural application and briefly explain what each step means. 1. Reasons for adapting measures  Cross-cultural assessment has become a sensitive issue due to specific concerns regarding the use of standardized tests across cultures. By adapting an instrument, the researcher is able to compare the already-existing data with newly acquired data, thus allowing for cross-cultural studies both on the national and international level. Adaptations also can conserve time and expenses (Hambleton, 1993). Test adaptation can lead to increased fairness in assessment by allowing individuals to be assessed in the language of their choice (Hambleton & Kanjee, 1995). 2. Important considerations when adapting measures The test can be compromised if there are problems between the test takers and the administrator. The administrator should therefore familiar with the culture of the test-taker. They cannot take it for granted that the test taker will be exposed to the format of the test. This could lead to the score representing a lack of skill with regards to the format of the test instead of measuring the construct being assessed. Some languages, like isiZulu, require more time to be spent reading therefore would require more time to complete. 3. Designs for adapting measures Before selecting an assessment instrument for use in counseling or research, counselors and researchers are trained to verify that the test is appropriate for use with their population. This includes investigation of validity, reliability, and appropriate norm groups to which the population is to be compared. Validity and reliability take on additional dimensions in cross-cultural testing as does the question of the appropriate norm group. The instrument must be validly adapted, the test items must have conceptual and linguistic equivalence, and the test and the test items must be bias free (Fouad, 1993; Geisinger, 1994). Two basic methods for test adaptation have been identified: forward translation and back-translation. In forward translation, the original test in the source language is translated into the target language and then bilinguals are asked to compare the original version with the adapted version (Hambleton, 1993; 1994). In back-translation, the test is translated into the target language and then it is re-translated back to the source language. This process can be repeated several times. Once the process is complete, the final back-translated version is compared to the original version (Hambleton, 1994). Each of these adaptation processes has their strengths and limitations. 4. Bias analysis and differential item functioning Another issue that must be considered in cross-cultural assessment is test bias. The test user must ascertain that the test and the test items do not systematically discriminate against one cultural group or another. Test bias  may occur when the contents of the test are more familiar to one group than to another or when the tests have differential predictive validity across groups (Fouad, 1994). Culture plays a significant role in cross-cultural assessment. Whenever tests developed in one culture are used with another culture there is the potential for misinterpretation and stagnation unless cultural issues are considered. Issues of test adaptation, test equivalence and test bias must be considered in order to fully utilize the benefit of cross-cultural assessment. 5. Steps for maximizing success in test adaption Hembleton (2004) summarised nine key steps that should be addressed when adapting or translating assessment instruments. 6. Challenges related to test adaption in south Africa A disadvantage of adaptation includes the risk of imposing conclusions based on concepts that exist in one culture but may not exist in the other. There are no guarantees that the concept in the source culture exists in the target culture (Lonner & Berry, 1986). Another disadvantage of adapting existing tests for use in another culture is that if certain constructs measured in the original version are not found in the target population, or if the construct is manifested in a different manner, the resulting scores can prove to be misleading (Hambleton, 1994). Despite the difficulties associated with using adapted instruments, this practice is important because it allows for greater generalizability and allows for investigation of differences among a growing diverse population. Once the test has been adapted, test equivalence must be determined. Reference Foxcroft, C.D. & Roodt, G. (2009). An introduction to psychological assessment in South Africa. Johannesburg: Oxford University Press Hambleton, R. K. (2001). The next generation of the ITC Test Translation and Adaptation Guidelines. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 17, 164-172. Hambleton, R. K. (2004). Issues, designs, and technical guidelines for adapting tests into multiple languages and cultures. In R. K. Hambleton, P. F. Merenda, & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Adapting educational and psychological tests for cross-cultural assessment (pp. 3-38). Mahwah,NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Van Ede, D.M. (1996). How to adapt a measuring instrument for use with various cultural groups: a practical step-by-step introduction. South African Journal of Higher Education, 10, 153-160.