Packaging Material Analysis for Food Preservation

Packaging Material Analysis for Food Preservation Troullinos Yannis Packaging Report In this practical class, different films for food packaging were examined as far as their physical properties and their ability to preserve grapes, cheese, meat and potatoes. Appropriate measurements and tests we done on specific time intervals. Results Table 1. Results for the rapid tests for the identification of packaging materials * Materials were identified using the â€Å"packaging materials identification chart for films† in the practical booklet. Table 2. Results of the mechanical and physical properties of the packaging material Discussion Calculations and Questions: 1. Calculate the tensile strength of the three packaging materials tested. Table 3. Physical properties of different packaging materials * More than 25% difference from the mean By using N =  ±100 g, Force mean values for each of the materials can be found. Also, Area = Width (m) x Gauge (m) = X m2. Tensile strength = Force (N) / Area (m2) so for the above materials we have: Cellulose 340 DMS Tensile strength = 25.6 / 2.125 x 10-6 = 12.0 x 106 N/m2 = 12.0 x 106 Pa = 12.0 MPa, as 1 N/m2 = 1 Pa, while 1 MPa = 1,000,000 Pa Polypropylene Tensile strength = 108.7 / 2.5 x 10-6 = 43.5 MPa Polyethylene Tensile strength = 12.5 / 0.75 x 10-6 = 16.7 MPa 2.Define tensile strength and discuss what factors will affect the tensile strength of the packaging material Tensile strength is the maximum load that a material can support without fracture when being stretched, divided by the original cross-sectional area of the material. Generally, as tensile strength increases, the tougher the material is considered (Hui, 2008). Factors affecting the tensile strength are (Yam, 2010; Fellows, 2009): Plasticiser levels (increased values give less tensile strength and more elasticity Degree of crystallinity (crystal structure) Density of the material (increasing density gives more tensile strength) Manufacturing process (orientation, treatment, coatings) Temperature Physical properties of the material (branching, side groups, chain length, molecular weight) Duration of the time that the force is applied 3.Compare your tensile strength results to those found in literature. According to Goodfellow Cambridge Ltd. tensile strength for regenerated cellulose is 50 MPa, which, as mentioned, is affected by a lot of different factors. In our experiment, tensile strength of the cellulose used is a lot lower (12MPa). Paine (1990) gives values of 30 MPa for polypropylene, while in this experiment a value of 43.5 MPa was calculated. Finally, polyethylene gave an experimental value of 16.7 MPa, while Goodfellow Cambridge Ltd. reports 5-25 MPa for low density polyethylene (LDPE) and 15-40 MPa for high density polyethylene (HDPE). In this experiment it is unknown which exactly was the type of PE used, as there are many different types in market. As explained, duration of the force applied affects the tensile strength, so different testing machines give different results. There are numerous more factors as noted in question 2, which greatly affect the measurements and results. Thus, comparing values to literature cannot give objective judgement of the experiment. 4.Calculate the moisture vapour transmission rate (g m-2 day-1) for each of the films tested Table 4. Results of the water vapour permeability test Circle area = Ï€ r2 = 0.005 m2 (r = 40mm = 0.04m) Number of Days = 4, as Day 1 is the day we started the storage Cellulose 340 DMS 1st measurements: Total moisture gained = Weight of Day 5 – Weight of Day 1 = 84.8 – 83.9 = 0.9 g Moisture gained per day = Total moisture gained (g) / Nr Days = 0.9/4 = 0.225 g day-1 Water vapour permeability per 24h = Moisture gained per day / Circle Area = 0.225 / 0.005 = 45 g/m2 24h (1) 2nd measurements: Total moisture gained = 87.6 – 87.1 = 0.5 g Moisture gained per day = 0.5 / 4 = 0.125 g day-1 Water vapour permeability per 24h = 0.125 / 0.005 = 25 g/m2 24h (2) Mean value of water vapour permeability per 24h = [(1) + (2)] / 2 = 35 g/m2 24h Polypropylene 1st measurements: Total moisture gained = 86.0 – 85.9 = 0.1 g Moisture gained per day = 0.1/4 = 0.025 g day-1 Water vapour permeability per 24h = 0.025 / 0.005 = 5 g/m2 24h 2nd measurements: Total moisture gained = 87.1 – 87.1 = 0.0 g Moisture gained per day = 0.0 / 4 = 0 g day-1 Water vapour permeability per 24h = 0 g/m2 24h Mean value of water vapour permeability per 24h = 2.5 g/m2 24h Polyethylene 1st measurements: Total moisture gained = 84.6 – 84.5 = 0.1 g Moisture gained per day = 0.1/4 = 0.025 g day-1 Water vapour permeability per 24h = 0.025 / 0.005 = 5 g/m2 24h 2nd measurements: Total moisture gained = 84.6 – 84.5 = 0.1 g Moisture gained per day = 0.1/4 = 0.025 g day-1 Water vapour permeability per 24h = 0.025 / 0.005 = 5 g/m2 24h Mean value of water vapour permeability per 24h = 5 g/m2 24h 5.Discuss the results of the water vapour permeability test. Water vapour permeability is a measure for breathability or for a textiles ability to transfer moisture. The results show that PP and PE have relatively low water permeability, while cellulose has a lot more. These values agree with literature (Brennan and Grandison, 2012), which states that PP has lower permeability than PE. Cellulose is also stated as a low barrier of water vapour permeability. These results show that using cellulose to pack food sensitive to humidity such as powders is not considered wise. 6.Discuss the results of the packaging and storage of fresh fruit experiment. Explain what is causing the observed changes in the fruit and how the different packaging/storage conditions influence the shelf life of the fruit. Table 5. Fresh fruit (grapes) 3 days interval observations Firstly, the tissues of fruits are alive after harvest and they only die through natural senescence, rotting or when they are consumed, cooked or similarly processed. All these tissues â€Å"breath†, a phenomenon called respiration with obvious relations to maintenance of the quality and prolonging the shelf life of the product. Specifically, grapes do not respire very intensively and this is the reason they get harvested when they are ripe. Reducing respiration can extend the shelf life but stalling it will make tissues senesce and die. Cooling temperatures can also lower undesirable effects on fruits (Jongen, 2002). As far as grapes concerned, mould is primarly because of the fungus Botrytis cinerea. Browning spotted is a chemical process caused by specific enzymes changing the tissues colour to brown, while shrinkage is caused by increased respiration (tissues eventually lose water as shown in the weight measurements causing them to lose volume). Sweating is caused once again because of the respiration in packages where gas permeability is low or very low. In the above experiments, it is shown that when using MS and heat seal, grapes got sweaty in day 2 and 3, while in the same packaging with 2 holes, sweating was only slight. This makes sense as the 2 holes allowed the air transfer between package and the environment, lowering the humidity because of the respiration in the package. In PE and heat seal, sweating was even more obvious as PE has lower gas permeability than MS. Finally, in the open tray, sweating was absent but mould started to show at day 3, as it partially did in the package with 2 holes. This was caused by a microorganism, probably fungus since grapes have low pH. Another change which was spotted in the open tray was the soft, dried and oxidised appearance of the grapes because of the large amounts of respiration. Room temperatures and total contact with the environment allowed this level of respiration, lowering shelf life dramatically. 7.What changes would you make to the packaging/storage conditions to extend the shelf life of the grapes? The most important change to the storage conditions would be to lower the storage temperature, as it would significantly reduce respiration. The package should not have holes, as they allow environmental air to get in allowing microorganisms to grow faster. 8.Discuss the results of the packaging and storage of cheese experiment. Explain what is causing the observed changes in the cheese and how the different packaging/storage conditions influence the shelf life of the cheese. Table 6. Cheese 3 days interval observations Browning of cheese is significant in high storage temperatures (37 °C), less in medium (20 °C) and absent in low temperatures of 5 °C. Light causes the formation of lipid peroxides in medium temperatures, while compounds such as riboflavin are affected by light unrelated to storage temperature (Kristensen et al., 2001). Cheese tend to produce free oil when they melt and sweats during storage in relatively high temperatures because of the high humidity of it. When in open air sweating is more and drying out occurs (Wang and Sun, 2004). From the above, it becomes more obvious in ours experiments why cheese dried out during storage in open tray and why this drying out is more than in aluminium foil (which was not folded enough to keep air from contacting cheese). Another way to see the above is the greater loss of weight in open tray rather in aluminium foil. On the other hand, in both MS and cryovac packages no drying out was noted, as can be seen from the differences in initial and final weight (≠¤0.1g). Relatively high storage temperatures (about 25 °C) caused the oiling and sweating of the cheese. 9.What changes would you make to the packaging/storage conditions to extend the shelf life of the cheese? The storage temperature should be as low as about 5 °C (refrigerator) in dark and should be kept either in MS or cryovac packaging. Ideally, a modified atmosphere packaging should be used (Khoshgozaran et al., 2012), extending shelf life even more than the usual packages. 10.Discuss the results of the packaging and storage of fresh meat experiment. Explain what is causing the observed changes in the meat and how the different packaging/storage conditions influence the shelf life of the meat. Table 7. Fresh meat 4 days intervals observations Film Day Weight (g) Changes In colour Clouding over Moistening Internal and external appearance of package Storage temp. Type of spoilage General appearance of product Storage humidity Other change and/or notes PP And Heat seal 1 21.0 4 °C 75% 2 21.0 slight green Ñ ´ slight 4 °C colour changes 75% 3 21.0 slight green Ñ ´ slight 4 °C colour changes 75% 4 21.0 slight green and browning

Late Anglo-saxon Period Kings :: essays research papers fc

Late Anglo-Saxon Period Kings of Wessex By the time Edward the Martyr took the throne in 975, Christianity was widespread throughout England and the rest of Britain. Edward was born in 963, and was just entering his teenage years when his father, Edgar, died. He made a claim to the throne, as the first son of the king. His half-brother Aethelred, son of the third wife, made another claim (qtd in Britannia 1). Edward was murdered when he rode to visit Aethelred at Corfe is Dorset. Aethelred’s vassals pretended to welcome Edward, and in doing so, stabbed him. It is safe to assume that Aethelred would not have instigated this incident, being a mere seven years of age at the time. Edward was later canonized by his brother and was known as King Edward the Martyr.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Following the assassination of his brother, Edward, Aethelred was forced upon the English throne at the age of ten. Aethelred was married twice. His first wife, Elfigfu of Mercia, bore him no less than eleven children. His second marriage to Emma of Normandy produced three children. Throughout his reign as King, he was hindered by the fact that he could not fully trust the support of his generals at a time when the Danish invaders were a constant threat to the English. In an act of futile appeasement, Aethelred attempted to stop Danish cravings by paying what was known as Danegeld. Danegeld was an annual tax believed to have been imposed originally to buy off Danish invaders in England (m-w 1). In 1009, however, the King of the Danes, Sweyn, decided that as well as keeping the territory, and monies he had taken from the English, that he would now take the whole country. Four years later, in 1013, Sweyn had control of England and Aethelred had fled to Normandy to s eek protection from Emma’s brother, Robert the Good. Sweyn died in 1014 and Aethelred reclaimed the English crown for another 2 years before his death at the age of 48 in 1016.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Following the death of Aethelred, there was a bloody war of succession expected to take place between Sweyn’s son, Cnut, and Edmund II, Aethelred’s son. This war, didn’t take place, however, simply because Cnut figured he could made do with Denmark and Norway.

Humes Wide Construal of the Virtues Essay -- Hume Virtues Virtue Phil

Hume's Wide Construal of the Virtues ABSTRACT: The term "virtue" has traditionally been used to designate morally good character traits such as benevolence, charity, honesty, wisdom, and honor. Although ethicists do not commonly offer a definitive list of virtues, the number of virtues discussed is often short and their moral significance is clear. Hume's analysis of the virtues departs from this tradition both in terms of the quantity of virtues discussed and their obvious moral significance. A conservative estimate of the various virtues Hume refers to in his moral writings would put the number at around seventy, with the more untraditional ones including wit, good manners, and dialog. Unsurprisingly, Hume's critics have attacked him for making nonsense of the concept of virtue by construing it so widely. Hume was aware that his broad understanding of virtue was controversial and he offered several defenses for it. After presenting the neglected attacks of his contemporaries along with Hume's response, I argue that a problem remains: by failing to distinguish between degrees of virtue, Hume also fails to distinguish between degrees of vice. But, some vices (e.g., malevolence) clearly deserve punishment whereas other alleged vices (e.g., uncleanliness) clearly do not. Thus, for adequate retribution, a distinction is needed between important and less important virtues and vices. I conclude that Hume could have used his own account of instinctive vengeance as a natural indicator for distinguishing between important and unimportant vices. The term "virtue" has traditionally been used to designate morally good character traits such as benevolence, charity, honesty, wisdom, and honor. Although ethicists, past and present, do ... ...f John Leland's A view of the principal deistical writers..., in the Monthly Review, 1757, Vol. 14, pp. 465-477, and in the Critical Review, 1756, Vol. 1, pp. 193-208. (12) James Beattie, Essay on the nature and immutability of truth in opposition to sophistry and scepticism. 1770, Edinburgh, A. Kincaid and J. Bell, pp. 421-448. (13) "Character of the Works of David Hume Esq," in The Weekly Magazine or Edinburgh Amusement, 1773, Vol. 22, pp. 233-234. (14) "Tobias Simple," "Strictures on the account of the life and writings of David Hume," in Weekly Magazine, or Edinburgh Review, 1777, Vol. 38, pp. 289-292. (15) C. L. Stevenson, Ethics and Language, (New Haven: 1944), pp. 34-35. (16) Pall S. Ardal, Passion and Value, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1966), pp. 160-161. (17) J. L. Mackie, Hume's Moral Theory, (London: Routledge, 1980), p. 129.

Recruitment and Employment Essay

1. Reflect on key messages you learnt about recruitment and employment for university students in the session. After listening to the sharing session by CAIO, I found that there are two main key points in recruitment for university graduates. The first key point is that students can always apply or work in the field that is not their professions, though the career path will be more challenging. Vanessa shared a few examples of the past students’ experience in finding jobs, for instance, students majoring in engineering during the 3-years university life turned out to be an accountant; and a student who was in language study finally became a flight attendant. Listening to these sharing was very inspiring and encouraging as they gave me insight into my career path. Although I am majoring in language study, I do not aim at working as a translator or an educator. Instead, I want to work in the threatre-related industry. Therefore, after listening to the talk, I realized that it is possible for me to work in the non-language related field, only that I have to work harder, or have to face a lot of obstacles and need to make adjustment. Besides, another key message I got is that attitude and being active are the essential keys when attending interviews. After listening to Vanessa, I apprehend that showing a positive attitude during the job interview will give a better impression to the employer. When a person has a positive attitude in him/herself and is able to show that he or she is eager in getting the job, the person will probably be more active and out spoken in responding to the interviewer and is able to handle challenging questions better. Thus, it gives more confidence to the employer that the candidate is suitable for the job which thus, leading to the success in job application. Therefore, in general, I have also learnt from the session by CAIO that having a positive attitude and being outspoken and active in job interviews increase the chances of being employed.

Focus on Siemens AG Company

There is a state of ambivalence over bribery in organizations. Some people regard bribery as a type of pecuniary corruption since it involves the transfer of money or any form of gift aimed at altering the behaviour of the recipient (Dowling 2008). In deed the Black’s law Dictionary defines bribery as a form of crime that involves giving, offering, soliciting for or receiving any item that has value in order to manipulate the actions of a person or official performing a certain duty (Dowling 2008).In this case, what makes bribery bad is the fact that the person receiving the bribe may act in a manner that would be detrimental to other operations in an organizations or related organizations. Such operations may include substandard services in which the bribery is used to protect the parties involved (Dowling 2008). On the other hand, some people view bribery as an act that is part of development ambitions in organizations. For instance, Lemieux (2005) argues that many countries whose underground economies have grown could not be where they are today were it not for bribery.And this seems to be the secret behind many organizations such as Siemens AG, which have to deal with authorities in terms of taxation and other legal requirements. Along this line, Lemieux (2005) opines that it is often not possible, or it is very costly, for a company or an individual to escape the restrictions and other prohibitions that are prerequisites to operation of business. Lemieux (2005) also notes that bribery in organizations is a phenomenon that cannot be easily gotten rid of because it is perfectly impossible to enforce the measures required to maintain a bribery-free business environment.Instead, the stricter measures to stop bribery in many organizations only serve to amplify the phenomenon (Lemieux 2005). Cash bribes are often used as donations to many political parties, and non-cash bribes may also be used to seek support in certain business ventures. Thus, according to Lemieux (2005), there is a common dictum among organizations: bribe them (the authorities) if you want to do peaceful business. Siemens AG was a company of high repute as the largest engineering firm in Europe, but its image was clouded when it ventured into bribery in order to expand its operations (OECD 2005).As discussed in this paper, Siemens AG was involved in massive bribery deals both locally and internationally in a bid to maintain a good image of the corporation as a global leader in engineering (Economist. com). But as further discussed, bribery is not only expensive but also a phenomenon that can tarnish the name of a company given the fines that Siemens AG had to pay and the numerous apologies it had to make ( Economist. com). The company also had to suspend many of its staff who were allegedly involve in the bribery claims, thus slowing down its vigour in the market (Economist.com). This makes bribery a topic that is amenable to further discussion as to whether it is a mechanism to advance the operations of a business or it is a vice that should be abhorred by organizations if they want to be successful. The Siemens AG Bribery Scandals Siemens AG’s slogan â€Å"Be Inspired† of the mid-1990s was perhaps of the most inspiring slogans to have been used by leading organizations in the world (Economist. com). However, the inspiration later turned out to involve murky deals aimed at promoting the company globally.So did the managers of the company lack the inspiration to build the company or they were just inspired to build it using alternative means? Siemens AG’s managers were involved in mischievous ways of funnelling huge sums of money to corrupt leaders of many authorities and politician the world over (OECD 2005). The methods used in the bribery cases were just astounding. According to Economist. com, the company bribed its subjects with a lot of trust and candour that no one could figure out the vice in many business transa ctions.To facilitate the bribery operations, the company set up three â€Å"cash desks† in its offices from which the bribery operations were performed (OECD 2005). Company employees would bring empty suitcases to the desks, which would be filled with cash in a manner that could raise no suspicion. As a result of such deals, as much as â‚ ¬1 million or $1. 4 million was withdrawn at different times to facilitate securing of contracts for Siemens AG’s telecoms equipment division (OECD 2005).The cash desks for bribery deals operated on honour mechanisms and not many questions were asked about the operations, nor was proof documentation required (Economist. com). In addition, managers who made application for money from the company were allowed to approve their requests without following due procedures (Economist. com). In fact, by the year 1999 Siemens AG was openly claiming tax deductions to cater for bribes, and the dealings were recorded in accounts books as useful expenditure (Economist. com).In the context of the bribery deals, it is worthwhile to note that Siemens AG considered bribery as a business venture aimed at widening its scope of operations. As a matter of fact, Siemens AG spent about $67 million in â€Å"suitcases† between 2001 and 2004 (OECD 2005). Nevertheless, according to OECD (2005), the people involved in the bribery transactions felt confident about what they were doing and knew that there was nothing wrong. The point here is that bribery was considered as a normal activity that required no questioning.The seemingly conducive culture of bribery continued with illicit payments even after Germany had banned bribing of foreign officials in the year 1999 (Balzli, Deckstein & Schmitt 2007). Thus, when Siemens AG listed its shares on United States’ New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2001 and it was subjected to stringent American anti-bribery measures, the managers desisted from counting cash in office (Balzli, Decks tein & Schmitt 2007). Instead, they turned to the use of cash cheques to perform the same operations.The cheques were deposited in various accounts but the company did not keep records in its own books so that it could make more nefarious payments (Balzli, Deckstein & Schmitt 2007). In order to disguise the underhand operations, Siemens AG managers outsourced most of its accounts works to â€Å"business consultants† so that no it would not be culpable in any secret operation would be unearthed (Economist. com). In bid to cover their operations further, the managers of the company used more eccentric mean to avoid being found (Balzli, Deckstein & Schmitt 2007).When they authorised the bribery payments, they used removable sticky notes, which would be easily destroyed to conceal all evidence of any transaction (Fernando & Bellamkonda 2007). The sums of money transferred by the managers of Siemens AG were staggering. According to Balzli, Deckstein and Schmitt (2007), a total of $805 million was handed over by the company to foreign officials in bribes. The money handed out was aimed at ensuring that Siemens won as many contracts as it could in many foreign markets (Economist. com).In other instances, the bribes were meant to woo labour representatives in supervisory areas to support Siemens AG policies when they would obviously need to rejected (Fernando & Bellamkonda 2007). Along this line, Fernando and Bellamkonda (2007) note that the German government’s stance on bribery was perhaps a contributing factor in Siemens AG’s underhand operations. This is because many companies understood that the German law and even the law in many other OECD countries permitted bribery and even offered subsidies to companies in order to enhance their operations in spite of the huge sums of money given out in form of bribes.Implications of the bribery cases When the Siemens AG bribe scandals were unearthed between 2006 and 2007, it was dubbed the â€Å"$2 bill ion bribes-for-business scandal† (Bushan 2008). When the details of scandal spilled out, German authorities raised siemens AG’ s offices in Germany an further investigations were initiated in countries such as the United States, Italy, Greece, and Switzerland where the company hand major investments (Bushan 2008). What followed were court suits, apologies, and a general decline in the company’s performance.The first reaction by the company managers was a fallout in which the CEO, Heinrich von Pierer and head of the company’s supervisory board, known as Klaus Kleinfeld, resigned in spite of the fact that they were not directly implicated (Bushan 2008). On December 15 2008, Siemens AG agreed with its host country Germany and the United States to pay them $1. 34 billion in response to bribe charges (Dowling et al 2008). This ended a two-year inquiry that had been made by the German Government to Siemens AG officials all over the world.In the agreement, Siemen s AG paid â‚ ¬395 million to settle to the German Government’s inquiry expenses and a further $800 million as the charges raised by the United States Security Exchange Commission (Dowling et al 2008). In addition, Siemens AG pleaded guilty to flouting the United States anti-bribery laws, which resulted into a penalty of a further $1. 36 billion (Dowling et al 2008). In an attempt to recover the massive losses, Siemens AG sued eleven of its former board executives led by Heinrich von Pierer and Klaus Kleinfeld (Dowling et al 2008).The new management of Siemens said that the action was meant to seek compensation from the former managers for damages that the company incurred as a result of their wanton actions (Dowling et al 2008). Some of the damages that were inflicted on Siemens and which the company would take time to recover from included a fall in the company’s share price by 23 cent to â‚ ¬47. 15 on the Frankfurt stock market. In addition, Siemens’s st ock in the market plummeted by 56 per cent in 2008 (Dowling et al 2008). What the Bribery Scandal in Siemens AG means about Bribery in OrganizationsGiven that the law in Germany and other OECD countries was somehow supportive of bribery, the efforts by the German Government to investigate the bribery claims can be considered to have been aimed at dignifying international laws on trade and laws against bribery (Dowling et al 2008). This is particularly true since other countries such as the United States, Greece, Italy and Switzerland were involved. According to Lemieux (2005), countries usually support corporations that have significant influence on the magnitude of their gross national product, as was the case of Siemens in Germany.Here, the fact that the German government provided subsidies to Siemens AG to facilitate its bribery payments cannot be gainsaid and is a clear pointer that even the though the government reacted, its officials had been well aware of the underhand operat ions. The Siemens AG bribery case also points out the weaknesses in governments when it comes to dealing with giant corporations. It is particularly worthy noting that Europe is still miles behind the United States when dealing with corruption cases particularly bribery (Georgiev 2008).According to a further analysis in Economist. com, Siemens invited group of lawyers from a United States firm called Debevoise & Plimpton to represent it with the hope that doing so would make it win sympathisers and have its name cleared from the bribery scandal. Nevertheless, this move made things even worse as the lawyers carried out a private investigation that cost the company a further â‚ ¬204 million. Thus, according to Economist. com, an investigation by German investigators would not have unravelled as much.Although Siemens AG paid many fines, the amount of money cannot equal the damage it did to markets both locally and at the international level. Considering the fact that Siemens AG was used to paying bribes, the fines were just meant to polish the name of the company. Nevertheless, other companies lost several contracts due to Siemens AG’s bribery (Balzli, Deckstein & Schmitt 2007). This perhaps is the worst effect of the bribery claims as companies that seemingly would have been more competent than Siemens AG were denied the chance to compete for tenders due to the bribe mask.This shows how unpopular companies are treated unfairly at the expense of pleasing giant companies, which have the ability to finance illegal operations. Siemens AG was able to influence market policies through bribery and this therefore leaves a question of whether the giant organizations of the world actually reach the top through excellent performance or through underhand deals as portrayed by firm. According to Economist. com, the confession by Siemens AG of involvement in bribery was triggered not by the fact that bribery is a vice in the organizational environment.Rather, it was due to the realization that the company was bound to lose a major market in the United States- which was firmly against the deals, as well as other markets in Greece, Italy, and Switzerland. A question that arises therefore is what would have happened had the bribery scandal not been raised in the public limelight. Would Siemens AG have been praised as a company that has roots all over the world and experiencing rapid growth to necessitate government subsidies, or would it have been criticised to have grown based on underhand operations?Probably the answer lies in viewing bribery a vice and not an incentive within organizations, and realizing that fair competition should not involve bribery. Conclusion Bribery in organizations is viewed with different standpoints depending on the effect it has on the respective organizations. For large organizations such as Siemens AG, bribery is seen as a mechanism to augment expansion since restrictions such as laws are avoided. Nevertheless, the adverse effects of bribery include massive fines against the organizations involved and a significant corporate damage as was realized in the case of Siemens AG. ReferencesBalzli, B, Deckstein, D & Schmitt J 2007, New Report Details Far-Reaching Corruption, Spiegel Online International, Available from http://www. spiegel. de/international/0,1518,462954,00. html (16 March 2009) Bhushan, A 2008, Bribes-for-Business: Siemens AG Sues 11 former management board executives, CEOWORLD Magazine, Available from http://ceoworld. biz/ceo/2008/07/31/bribes-for-business-siemens-ag-sues-11-former-management-board-executives/ (16 March 2009) Dowling, P; Welch, D E ; Festing, M & Engle A D 2008, International human resource management: managing people in a multinational context, Cengage Learning EMEA, New YorkEconomist. com, 17 Dec 2008, The stench of bribery at Siemens signals a wider rot in Europe, Available from http://www. economist. com/business/displaystory. cfm? story_id=12800474 (16 March 2 009) Fernando, R & Bellamkonda, B 2007, The Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG, Available from http://www. caseplace. org/d. asp? d=375 (16 March 2009) Georgiev, P K 2008, Corruptive patterns of patronage in SE Europe, VS Verlag, London Lemieux, P 2006, In defense of bribery, Available from http://mises. org/story/1884 (16 March 2009) OECD 2005, Fighting corruption and promoting integrity in public procurement, OECD Publishing, London

Fine Art Critique Paper

Germaine Armstrong Professor Hale MU2313 Critique Paper When I went home last weekend I attempted to go to the Arlington Museum of Art. Unfortunately the museum was closed due to the fact that they where changing exhibits and would not reopen until the following week. I returned back to San Marcos and decided I would go to The Wittliff Collections here on campus. To my surprise it was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. Being on just one floor of a building I thought it would be a pretty limited museum but it is way bigger than expected. There are four exhibits on display in the museum.One is a permanent display in the museum. There are also a couple of smaller displays in an area in the museum. I couldn’t take any pictures in the museum due to the many signs up saying not to. The exhibit that is on permanent display is The Lonesome Dove Collection. Arguably the greatest western made is based on the Larry McMurtry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. On display there ar e many things from scripts from the TV show to trail maps used to show the geography of the land on the show. The collection is pretty amazing to me and I am not really a fan of lonesome dove.There are so many small details of the show that you get to see. It really catches your attention. You get to see so many of the props from guns to the saddles they used on horses. Though this is the only permanent exhibit the other exhibits are equally as great. Another Exhibit on display is called Face to Face Portraits. This exhibit shows the work of over 30 photographers. From photos that included Willie Nelson and Texas State alumni George Strait to homeless men, women, and children from across the world. Two pieces from this exhibit really caught my attention.One of the pictures I found very interesting being that of an older gentlemen sitting in a chair that I thought to be pretty unique. The chair he is sitting in caught my eye as soon as I looked at the photo. The arms of the chair hav e been carved to look like the head of a cougar, with the legs the chair being cougar legs. The wood of the chair has many different shades of color. The man sitting in the chair is actually dressed cleanly but you can clearly see that he is a man of lower class. He has on old sneakers and looks like he is out in the sun for a good majority of his time.This one photograph made me ask myself many questions such as â€Å"is he wealthy or poor? † and â€Å"is that his chair or just used for the picture? † or maybe â€Å"did he make the chair and wants to sell it? † The photo really made me think more than any other in exhibit. The other photo or photos in the exhibit that caught my eye were those of Willie Nelson. He had several photos as well as other notable things such as one of his songbooks on display. Nelson had his very on little display case of many notable pictures and accomplishments of his. The reason I really like this is because I am a fan of Willieâ⠂¬â„¢s music.Not only am I a fan but also Willie actually owned a gas station and a house not even ten miles away from where I grew up. So I have gone and seen many notable things that have happened in his career as he put many things on display in his gas station. The most unique thing in the display was a songbook that Willie Nelson wrote when he was ten years old. Seeing more of his accomplishments was awesome. A third exhibit was Global Odyssey: From Texas to the world and back. It showcased many stories of Texas writers as they traveled the world. There are stories form men who severed in Vietnam.This was my least favorite exhibit of any not to say it was a bad one but it just did not catch my attention like the other exhibits. The final exhibit was Las Sombras The Shadows. This exhibit I thought was the coolest of them all. The Photograms by Kate Breakey are amazing. This was my most favorite because I am an animal lover. Many of the photos captured wild animals in their natur al environment. There are several rooms with pictures from this exhibit. One room had most of my attention. The room was all pictures taken from a video that was filmed by a camera left in the woods.Other photos where actually like the outline of many animals. The most intriguing photo to me was a picture of a wolf. The Wolf is actually walking right toward the camera and looking directly in to the lens with its head tilted a little to one side. I like this photo because it shows the wolf checking out its surroundings and actually examining something odd. It looks as if the wolf knows that the camera is not suppose to be there. In all the other photos the animals are either running or walking right by the camera. I am actually glad I went to the museum on campus and it’s the museum I choose to write about.If I did not have to do this critique and the museum in Arlington was not closed I probably would have never visited the museum on campus. Having went I really enjoyed mysel f. I thought it was worth every minute of my time and I could see myself visiting it many more times before I am don at Texas State. I went to the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth Texas to watch the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. I was sitting pretty high up but still had a great seat and could hear perfectly. Before going to watch the performance I read a couple of reviews online.Most of the reviews praised the orchestra for there performance in concerts earlier this year. The concert I attended would include pieces from three composers John B Hedges, Schumann, and Rimsky-Korsakov. I arrived to the concert pretty early and after I walked around for a little bit I found my seat, which turned out to be way better than, I expected when I first got there. When I first got to my seat I could see the stage fine but thought I might not be able to hear very well being so high up. Boy was I wrong when the members of the orchestra began to warm up I could hear everything crystal clear.Hav ing never being at one of these big concerts before I found it weird how everyone warmed up separately. With them warming up like that it sounded like a bunch of senseless noise. As it got closer to show time the senseless noise became certain people warming up together to whole sections warming up together and was pretty cool. The concert started out with a piece by John B Hedges called Slapdance. This piece of music was filled with a lot of life and energy. One of the reasons I really enjoyed this piece was because of the many percussion instruments used.I was in my high school band and my favorite pieces would always be the fast paced exciting music filled with percussion. This piece had me on the edge of my seat and really excited for the rest of the concert. The piece following Slapdance was a piece by Schumann by the name of Cello Concerto in A Minor, Op. 129. This piece though not as exciting as the first piece was pretty good. It started out slow but it picked up as the song continued. This piece had a solo for a cello. The solo was played by a guest cellist Alban Gerhardt which I learned later is considered one of the great cellist of our time.Though this was my least favorite piece it was not because I did not like it but because I really liked the other two more. After the first two pieces there was an intermission. Most people got up and left the performance room but I stayed just to observe and see what the orchestra would be doing. To my surprise many of them got up and went backstage but a few of them stayed on the stage and seemed to practice he up coming piece. Seeing professional musicians stay on stage and continue to practice up to right before they played was pretty cool to see. After the 15 minute intermission every on returned to their seats.The entire orchestra came back to the stage for the final piece Scheherazade, Op. 35 written by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov. Being the final piece it was the longest of the three selections. I really enj oyed this piece because it had many parts some parts where very slow but it had plenty of exciting parts. This piece actually tells many Indian-Arabian tales called A Thousand and One Nights. This piece even though written hundreds of years later is as well known as the stories. The performance hall where the concert was held was an amazing place to see. When I first arrived and saw the building I thought â€Å"this is the building. Not knowing that I actually wasn’t at the front of the building but the side. Once I got inside everything was extremely incredible. The building didn’t look nearly as large from the outside. When I walked into where the performance would be held I was in awe. The stage was set down at the bottom from where I was with four different levels of seats. Having never been to a place like it I thought it would be awesome to play music in a place like that. The Bass Performance is an amazing place. By attending this classical music concert I lear ned that I could actually enjoy this type of music.The cost for the concert was actually pretty cheap and the seat I had I think was pretty good. I feel like the concert was worth my money and my time. My high school football coach use to always tell me that going outside your comfort zone makes you broaden your mind on what you think is good and bad. Before going to the concert I would have never thought that I would enjoy the music as much as I did. Even though I enjoyed it I probably will not go to another one just to go. After going and my brother and I being the only two younger people there it felt a little uncomfortable.It is something I could see myself going to when I get older. For right now though I would rather go to something with more excitement and people my age. Picking a movie to critique for this paper was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I could not decide if I wanted to pick a movie I had never seen or one I have seen many times. Did I want to pick a movi e that I liked or one that I hated? I decide that I would pick a movie I did not like to see if me critiquing the movie would change how I viewed it or would my opinion stay the same.The movie I choose to critique was the movie Clueless written and directed by Amy Heckerling. The movie is based on a very popular girl in high school who along with her best friend helps the new nerdy kid that arrives at their school to fit in. By changing how the new kid dresses, talks, and trying to get her a boyfriend. Cher Horowitz the main character of the movie is at the top of her schools social scene. Her father is a rich lawyer so she has everything she has ever wanted. Going to high school in Beverly Hills she is obsessed with her fashion.She likes to think she is just as normal as a regular girl but has a closet that puts her outfits together. She is the typical example of â€Å"daddy’s little girl†. Even when given rules to follow she somehow always manages to find a loophole and does what she wants. She is your typical â€Å"brat†. The one thing she cannot seem to get is a boy. The movie is told from Cher’s point of view as she tries to help friends and ultimately help herself before the movie ends. Cher’s best friend is Dionne. Dionne understands Cher because she faces all the same popular girl problems.Dionne helps Cher with her fashion and trying to give the new kid a makeover. At first Cher is against Dionne and her boyfriend’s relationship but after a near accident Cher realizes that the two are in love and ends up envying their relationship. Tai Frasier is the ugly unpopular nerd that transfers to Cher and Dionne’s school. As soon as she arrives Cher makes it a point of hers to transfer the goofy nerd into one of the popular girls. Dionne is uneasy with the idea at first but Cher uses her charming ways to convince her to do it. Tai immediately falls behind Cher and Dionne and listens to everything the two says.Sh e is attracted to an unpopular boy but ignores him because Cher and Dionne says she should be dating one of the most popular boys at school. Mel Horowitz is the father of Cher. He is a very successful litigator who pays more attention to his work than to his daughter. He tries to discipline Cher throughout the movie but she manages to always find a way to get off easy. Josh Lucas is Cher’s ex-stepbrother. Her father used to be married to Josh’s mother. Josh has ambitions to be a lawyer and tries to learn many things from Mel. Josh and Cher flirt throughout the movie but when she sees josh and Tai flirting she becomes jealous.However Josh and Cher ends up falling for each other at the very end of the movie. When Cher realizes she cannot connect with any other boy because she loves him. Christian Stovitz is one of Cher’s main love interests in the movie until she finds out that he is gay. Christian arrives at midway trough the school year and immediately gets Cher ’s attention. She goes out with him several times and even tries to seduce him. When it does not work she thinks it as something to with herself. After complaining about it to Dionne and her boyfriend Cher is told he is gay and she now understands him more.Throughout the film Cher refers to herself as clueless many times. Even though she had many answers for others problems she often found herself clueless to her own. She helps many of her friends with fashion and boys. She is not able to get any boy she wants. She becomes aware of this and becomes depressed. Shopping helps her depression for a little while but she still finds herself down. She finally overcomes her depression when admits to herself that she loves Josh. After reading reviews on this movie it was actually a pretty big hit in 1995. The movie was much more popular than most expected.It is still a very popular movie because many girls can relate to the things that happen in it. This movie is not based on a true s tory but the events that happen I am sure are possible. Even though I went to a small high school I have seen many girls freak out over many silly things. All of the things Cher goes through sounds like typical girl problems. After seeing this movie several times and now critiquing it I still think that it is overly hyped and I do not think it is a movie I would watch just to watch. There would have to be a reason I would watch it. I think my opinion is like this because I cannot relate to the movie.

Mother's day Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mother's day - Essay Example â€Å"I cannot think of a more thankless job. I hate to even call it a job, but it is work, with long hours, no vacations and no pay. In the end if things don’t go the way they are suppose to then it is mom’s fault† (The importance of mother’s day, 2010). Even grown up people is taking shelter in their mother’s company when they face severe challenges in their life. Mother’s soothing words often act as a medicine to the children in getting rid of their problems. This paper briefly analyses importance of mother’s day to me and why my mother is so special to me. I was not much aware of the importance of mother’s day during my childhood. However, when I was 15 years old, one of my friends told me that she is going to present her mother with a gift in order to mark her respect and love towards her mother. She also told me that the mother’s day is celebrating all over the world and in UAE it is celebrating in every March 21 st . I loved my mother very much and my friend’s comments stimulated thoughts about giving a gift to my mother. I had not enough money with me during that time and I decided to save some money to purchase a gift for my mother. Being a child of 15 years, it was difficult for me to collect more money from father. Even then, I started to save the pocket money I received from my father for two years. I succeeded in saving around 650 dollars in two years time and decided to purchase a gift worth $ 650 for my mother. Parris Gallery one of the popular gift shops in Dubai. It is located in City Centre, Deira, Dubai. Expensive perfumes, flowers, fashionable items etc are available in Paris Gallery. UAE is an extremely hot country and I was staying around 100 kilometers away from Dubai. If I use a taxi, I could have reached there within 35 minutes. However, my parents were not ready to allow me to go out alone. My elder brothers and sisters were too busy and they also did not hear my requ est. It was impossible for me to walk 100 kilometers alone in extreme hot climatic conditions. I was very much worried since my dreams of giving a gift to my beloved mother were not fulfilled. The mother’s day was approaching rapidly. I shared my sorrows and feeling s with my friends and one of my friends asked me to check whether any home delivery option is available with Paris Gallery. I have gone through the telephone directory and succeeded in collecting their telephone number. To my utmost surprise, they informed me that they can deliver the items anywhere in UAE and that also in a day’s time. I have ordered a costly perfume and asked them to pack it in good manner to present it as a gift. They asked me my name and my mother’s name and contact details. They also asked me about the credit card details and I told them that I do not have a credit card and I can pay cash on delivery. They agreed that and delivered the perfume in the evening itself. My mother wa s not aware of my efforts. When I presented the gift to her on mother’s day, she was surprised. She never received such a gift in her life. None of my brothers and sisters so far gave her any gifts. So when she received my gift her eyes were filled with tears and she embraced me with lot of love and care. My mom is a special person to me and I do believe that honoring her in proper manner is the duty of me. My mother helped me a lot during my childhood and even now I am approaching her whenever I confused with something. My mother has a loving character and she never punished me or used any rash