Enron scandal Essay Example for Free

Enron scandal Essay A brief on Enron’s history ï‚ § Enron was formed in 1985 by Kenneth Lay after merging Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth. ï‚ § In the early 1990s, he helped to initiate the selling of electricity at market prices, The resulting markets made it possible for traders such as Enron to sell energy at higher prices, thereby significantly increasing its revenue. ï‚ § As Enron became the largest seller of natural gas in North America by 1992, Enron pursued a diversification strategy owning and operating a variety of assets including gas pipelines, electricity plants, pulp and paper plants, water plants, and broadband services across the globe. (cont.) brief ï‚ § Enrons stock increased from the start of the 1990s until year-end 1998 by 311% percent, only modestly higher than the average rate of growth in the Standard Poor 500 index. ï‚ § However, the stock increased by 56% in 1999 and a further 87%compared to a 20%  increase and a 10% decrease for the index  during the same years. By December 31,  2000, Enron’s stock was priced at $83.13  and its market capitalization exceeded $60  billion, 70 times earnings and six times  book value, an indication of the stock  market’s high expectations about its future  prospects. In addition, Enron was rated the  most innovative large company in America  in Fortunes Most Admired Companies  survey. Causes of downfall †¢ Enrons complex financial statements were confusing to shareholders and  analysts by using accounting limitations to misrepresent earnings and modify the balance sheet to indicate favorable performance, According to McLean and Elkind in their book The Smartest Guys in the Room, The Enron scandal grew out of a steady accumulation of habits and values and actions that began years before and finally spiraled out of control. the combination of these issues later resulted in the bankruptcy of the company. †¢ the majority of them were perpetuated by the indirect knowledge or direct actions of Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, Andrew Fastow, and other executives, Skilling constantly focused on meeting Wall Street expectations, advocated the use of mark-to-market accounting and pressured Enron executives to find new ways to hide its debt. (Cont.) causes of downfall Mark-To-Market accounting: †¢ when Skilling joined the company, he demanded that the  trading business adopt mark-to-market accounting, citing that it would represent true economic value. †¢ This method requires that once a long-term contract was signed, income is estimated as the present value of net future cash flow. Often, the viability of these contracts and their related costs were difficult to estimate, investors were typically given false or misleading reports. †¢ While using the method, income from projects could be recorded, although they might not have ever received the money, and in turn increasing financial earnings on the books. However, in future years, the profits could not be included, so new and additional income had to be included from more projects to develop additional growth to appease investors. (Cont.) causes of downfall †¢ For one contract, in July 2000, Enron and Blockbuster Video signed a 20-year agreement to introduce on-demand entertainment to various U.S. cities by year-end. After several pilot projects, Enron recognized estimated profits of more than $110 million from the deal, even though analysts questioned the technical viability and market demand of the service. When the network failed to work, Blockbuster withdrew from the contract. Enron continued to recognize future profits, even though the deal resulted in a loss . †¢ Between 1996 and 2000, Enrons revenues increased by more than 750%, rising from $13.3 billion in 1996 to $100.8 billion in 2000. This extensive expansion of 65% per year was unprecedented in any industry, including the energy industry which typically considered growth of 2–3% per year to be respectable. For just the first nine months of 2001, Enron reported $138.7 billion in revenues, which placed the company at the sixth position on the Fortune Global 500. (Cont.) causes of downfall Special purpose entities: †¢ Enron used special purpose entities—limited partnerships or companies created to fulfill a temporary or specific purpose . †¢ These shell firms were created by a sponsor, but funded by independent equity investors and debt financing. †¢ By 2001, Enron had used hundreds of special purpose entities to hide its debt . †¢ The special purpose entities were used for more than just circumventing accounting conventions. Enrons balance sheet understated its liabilities and overstated its equity, and its earnings were overstated (cont.) causes of downfall Executive compensation: †¢ Although Enrons compensation and performance management system was designed to retain and reward its most valuable employees, the system contributed to a dysfunctional corporate culture that became obsessed with short-term earnings to maximize bonuses. †¢ Employees constantly tried to start deals, disregarding the quality of  cash flow or profits, in order to get a better rating for their performance review. (cont.) causes of downfall †¢ The company was constantly emphasizing its stock price. Management was compensated extensively using stock options. †¢ Skilling would develop target earnings by asking What earnings do you need to keep our stock price up? and that number would be used, even if it was not feasible. †¢ Employees had large expense accounts and many executives were paid sometimes twice as much as competitors. †¢ In 1998, the top 200 highest-paid employees received $193 million from salaries, bonuses, and stock. Two years later, the figure jumped to $1.4 billion. (cont.) causes of downfall  Financial audit: †¢ Enrons auditor firm, Arthur Andersen, was accused of applying reckless standards in its audits because of a conflict of interest over the significant consulting fees generated by Enron. †¢ Andersens auditors were pressured by Enrons management to defer recognizing the charges from the special purpose entities as its credit risks became known. †¢ To pressure Andersen into meeting Enrons earnings expectations, Enron would occasionally allow accounting companies Ernst Young or PricewaterhouseCoopers to complete accounting tasks to create the illusion of hiring a new company to replace Andersen. †¢ In addition, after news of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations of Enron were made public, Andersen would later shred several tons of relevant documents and delete nearly 30,000 e-mails and computer files, causing accusations of a cover-up. (cont.) causes of downfall Other accounting issues: †¢ Enron made a habit of booking costs of cancelled projects as assets, with the rationale that no official letter had stated that the project was cancelled. This method was known as the snowball, and although it was initially dictated that such practices be used only for projects worth less than $90 million, it was later increased to $200 million. †¢ In 1998, when analysts were given a tour of the Enron Energy Services office, they were impressed with how the employees were working so vigorously. In reality, Skilling had moved other employees to the office from other departments (instructing them to pretend to work hard) to create the appearance that the division was larger than it was. This ruse was used several times to fool analysts about the progress of different areas of Enron to help improve the stock price. Bankruptcy †¢ On November 28, 2001, The company had very little cash with which to operate, let alone satisfy enormous debts. Its stock price fell to $0.61 at the end of the days trading. †¢ Enron was estimated to have about $23 billion in liabilities from both debt outstanding and guaranteed loans. Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase in particular appeared to have significant amounts to lose with Enrons bankruptcy. †¢ Enrons European operations filed for bankruptcy on November 30, 2001, and it sought Chapter 11 protection two days later on December 2. It was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history (before being surpassed by WorldComs bankruptcy the next year), and resulted in 4,000 lost jobs. Sarbanes-Oxley Act †¢ The bill was enacted as a reaction to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals including those affecting Enron, Tyco International, Adelphia, Peregrine Systems and WorldCom. These scandals, which cost investors billions of dollars when the share prices of affected companies collapsed, shook public confidence in the nations securities markets. †¢ The main provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act included the establishment of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to develop standards for the preparation of audit reports; the restriction of public accounting companies from providing any non-auditing services when auditing; provisions for the independence of audit committee members, executives being required to sign off on financial reports. Major elements: (Cont.)SOX 1.Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB): Title I consists of nine sections and establishes the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, to provide independent oversight of public accounting firms providing audit services (auditors). It also creates a central oversight board tasked with registering auditors, defining the specific processes and procedures for compliance audits 2. Auditor Independence: Title II consists of nine sections and establishes standards for external auditor independence, to limit conflicts of interest. It also addresses new auditor approval requirements, audit partner rotation, and auditor reporting requirements. It restricts auditing companies from providing non-audit services (e.g., consulting) for the same clients. (Cont.)SOX 3. Corporate Responsibility: Title III consists of eight sections and mandates that senior executives take individual responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of corporate financial reports. It defines the interaction of external auditors and corporate audit committees, and specifies the responsibility of corporate officers for the accuracy and validity of corporate financial reports. It enumerates specific limits on the behaviors of corporate officers and describes specific forfeitures of benefits and civil penalties for non-compliance. For example, Section 302 requires that the companys  principal officers (typically the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer) certify and approve the integrity of their company financial reports quarterly. (Cont.)SOX 4. Enhanced Financial Disclosures: Title IV consists of nine sections. It describes enhanced reporting requirements for financial transactions, including off-balance-sheet transactions, pro-forma figures and stock transactions of corporate officers. 5. Analyst Conflicts of Interest : Title V consists of only one section, which includes measures designed to help restore investor confidence in the reporting of securities analysts. It defines the codes of conduct for securities analysts and requires disclosure of knowable conflicts of interest. 6. Commission Resources and Authority: Title VI consists of four sections and defines practices to restore investor confidence in securities analysts. It also defines the SECs authority to censure or bar securities professionals from practice and defines conditions under which a person can be barred from practicing as a broker, advisor, or dealer. (Cont.)SOX 7.Studies and Reports: Title VII consists of five sections and requires the Comptroller General and the SEC to perform various studies and report their findings. Studies and reports include the effects of consolidation of public accounting firms, the role of credit rating agencies in the operation of securities markets, securities violations and enforcement actions, and whether investment banks assisted Enron, Global Crossing and others to manipulate earnings and obfuscate true financial conditions. (Cont.)SOX 8. Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability: It describes specific criminal penalties for manipulation, destruction or alteration of financial records or other interference with investigations, while providing certain protections for whistle-blowers. 9. White Collar Crime Penalty Enhancement: This section increases the criminal penalties associated with white-collar crimes and conspiracies. It recommends stronger sentencing guidelines and specifically adds failure to certify corporate financial reports as a criminal offense. (Cont.)SOX 10. Corporate Tax Returns : Title X consists of one section. Section 1001 states that the Chief Executive Officer should sign the company tax return. 11. Corporate Fraud Accountability : It identifies corporate fraud and records tampering as criminal offenses and joins those offenses to specific penalties. It also revises sentencing guidelines and strengthens their penalties. This enables the SEC to resort to temporarily freezing transactions or payments that have been deemed large or unusual.

Animal Cruelty Essay Example for Free

Animal Cruelty Essay Coexist is one of the most important concepts in this world. However, we often forget that animals are part of our moral community as well. Animals must be treated as we like to be treated, and there is no reason to intentionally hurt them. Many people are unaware of how many animals are being abused and killed on a daily basis. There are people who raise roosters to fight each other to the death. Dogs are forced to fight other dogs and are rewarded for their victories but beaten brutally. Matadors taunt bulls and slowly kill them by stabbing. People watch as dogs attack and murder wild pigs. These are just some of the issues that we are currently not taking care of. There are currently laws in place to protect animals and prevent such blood sports, but they are not enforced as they should be, and this needs to change. The animals who are victims in these blood sports are treated far worse than many people realize. For example, in bullfighting bulls are weakened prior to fights by many things, such as being drugged, having their horns shaved down and made dull, getting sandbags thrown on their backs, or petroleum jelly rubbed in their eyes to blur their vision. Then, during the fight, a matador is able to stab them repeatedly, slowly killing the defenseless bull. Another inhumane sport is cockfighting. Breeders raise roosters training them on â€Å"game farms.† If a bird shows that they are not willing to fight, then their lives would not be spared. In cockfighting, two roosters are sent to beat and claw each other until the opponent is dead, or nearly dead. When a match is over and the losing bird is only close to death, he is often disposed of in a garbage can. There is also dogfighting, in which dogs, usually pit bulls, fights each other with the objective of killing the other. Usually the losing dog is fatally wounded. Preceding a match, they are starved in order to trigger extreme survival instincts and encourage aggression. They are physically trained by hanging on with their jaws while dangling from a chain baited with meat, being motivated to run on treadmills by the terrified cat dangling in front of them, being forced to tread pools  of water, or having their teeth sharpened. Some people are cruel enough to inject the dog with steroids, thinking nothing of it. Breeders will strap a female pit bull to a â€Å"rape stand† to prevent her from defending herself as a male dog impregnates her. All of these events are held solely for entertainment and gambling. There are many things that people can do to become proactive in preventing animal cruelty. A good place to start is becoming familiar with the various websites set up for this purpose and with their resources. A simple google search brings up many such sites, such as PETA’s (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) site, www.peta.org/, ASPCA’s (American Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) site, www.aspca.org/, and The Anti-Cruelty Society’s site, www.anticruelty.org. The website makingadifferencerescue.com will tell you that if dogfighting, hog-dog rodeos, cockfighting, or anything of this nature are suspected in your residential area, then you can write your state legislators urging them to make these things a felony. There are many other ways that a person can get involved, including the very important aspect of raising public awareness about this issue. Often local charity events are held to get more people in the community involved and to raise money as well as help legislative efforts. Many websites and organizations are full of information about ways to get involved in their charity events. Another way to help directly as well as to raise public awareness is to foster animals in need, or to take care of them on a temporary basis while helping to secure a home for them. This automatically involves talking with lots of people, either directly or via social media, informing them about the animals, their previous situation, and what their needs are – all great ways to raise public awareness. Some people may even choose to become involved and take action by purchasing posters and print ads that publicize the animals’ needs. Many people say that there are already laws in place to prevent these things from happening. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have laws making a few forms of animal cruelty a felony. (Each state does make its  own laws on these subjects, so it is important to check on the laws in your state.) Also The Animal Welfare Act is in place, which is a federal law that has to do with animal research, how shelters and pounds are run, stolen animals, and how animals are transported. The problem with the argument about these laws preventing animal cruelty, is that in many cases the laws are not being enforced. Websites agree that local authorities are often alarmingly tolerant of these heartless events. Now that we are aware of how horrifically animals are often treated, it is our responsibility to coexist and cohabit this earth with them by taking action. Everyone who knows about these things should feel a desire to do more research on their own and to write to state legislators demanding change. Foster an animal, get involved in charity events and things happening within your community. Raising public awareness is very crucial. We all need to do our part to ensure that this does not continue.

Simulated Moving Bed Technology

Simulated Moving Bed Technology 1. Introduction 1.1. Continuous counter current chromatography Continuous industrial-scale adsorption processes are well known for their efficiency. Very often, the Height Equivalent of a Theoretical Plate (HETP) in a batch operation is roughly three times higher than one find for the continuous mode (Gembicki et al., 2002). The operation of continuous chromatographic counter current apparatus (here-by referred as True Moving Bed, TMB) in particular, maximizes the mass transfer driving force providing a better utilization of the adsorbent, and thus, allowing the use of lower selectivity materials (Ruthven and Ching, 1989) as to operate with an increased productivity (i.e., higher processed throughput using less packing material). A scheme of a TMB unit is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 A four section True Moving Bed (TMB) unit for the separation of A and B with D as eluent or desorbent (Fructose/Glucose separation). If we define section as the part of the TMB unit where the fluid flow rate is approximately constant (section limited by inlet/outlet streams), then, it is possible to find four different sections with different roles: Section I: Regeneration of the adsorbent (desorption of A from the solid); Section II: Desorption of B (so that, the extract is not contaminated by the less retained component); Section III: Adsorption of A (raffinate clean from the more adsorbed species); Section IV: Regeneration of the eluent/desorbent (adsorption of B from the fluid phase). From Figure 1, one can observed that the counter-current movement of the solid, with respect to the fluid phase, allows continuous regeneration of both the adsorbent in section I as the eluent/desorbent in section IV. Also, the moving bed arrangement allows the achievement of high purity even if the resolution of the two peaks is not excellent, since only the purity at the two tails of the concentration profiles, where the withdrawal ports are located, is of interest. This is contrary to batch chromatography where high resolution is vital in order to achieve high purity. Nevertheless, with this counter current mode of operation is necessary to circulate not only the fluid phase but also the solid. The solid motion inside of the column and the consequent recycle presents some technical problems, namely: equipment abrasion, mechanical erosion of adsorbent and difficulties in maintaining plug flow for the solid (especially in beds with large diameter). From a technical point of view, this clearly limits the implementation of such technology. 1.2. The Simulated Moving Bed (SMB) concept In order to avoid this issue, a sequence of fixed bed columns was conceived (Broughton and Gerhold, 1961) in which the solid phase is at rest in relation to a fixed referential, but where a relative movement between both phases is experienced by switching the inlet and outlet fluid streams to and from the columns from time to time (in the direction of the fluid flow). In the simplest operating mode, the period that a certain operating configuration prevails is called the switching time, . Since the solid flow is avoided, although a kind of counter-current movement is created relatively to the fluid, this technology is called Simulated Moving Bed (SMB). Consider that at certain moment in the operation of an SMB, the positions for the inlet of feed and desorbent and outlet of products is represented by Figure 2a. Assume also the simplest operating mode (synchronous advance of all streams) and one column per section. After a period of time equal to the switching time, the injection and withdrawn points all move one column in the direction of the fluid flow (Figure 2b). When the initial location of injection/collection of all the streams is reencountered, we have completed one cycle (in a four equally zoned SMB, it takes to complete one cycle, where is the number of columns in each one of the four sections). As it is possible to see in Figure 2, during one cycle the same column is in different sections, assuming therefore different roles in the separation process. Figure 2 Schematic representation of a 4 columns SMB unit operating over a complete cycle, from 0to (with representing the ports switching time); (a) period of the first switch; (b) period of the second switch and (c) a TMB unit. As mentioned before, the continuous movement of inlet and outlet lines into and from the column is almost impractical, therefore discreet jumps (with the length of one bed, during ) have to be applied. The analogy between SMB and the TMB is then possible by the introduction of the relative velocity concept, where , with the fluid interstitial velocity in each section in the TMB, the interstitial velocity in the SMB unit and the solid interstitial velocity in the TMB. The solid velocity is evaluated from the switching time interval value in the SMB as , being the column length. As consequence, The internal flow rates in both apparatus are not the same, but related by where and represent the internal liquid flow-rates in the SMB and TMB, respectively, is the bulk porosity and the column volume. 1.3. SMB Applications Industrially, SMB applications can be regarded as â€Å"Old† and â€Å"New†, associated with petrochemical and pharmaceutical/fine chemistry fields, respectively (Sà ¡ Gomes et al., 2006d). Among the first applications of SMB technology (back to 1960s) are the ones implemented by the UOP Inc. (Des Plaines, IL-USA) with the Sorbex ® processes, such as: the Parex ® unit for separation of p-xylene from mixtures with its C8-isomers (Broughton et al., 1970), separation also performed by the Aromax ® process from Toray Industries (Tokyo, Japan) (Otani et al., 1973) and the Eluxyl ® process by Axens/IFP (Institut Franà §ais du Pà ©trole, France) (Ash et al., 1994); the Ebex ® for the separation of EthylBenzene (EB) from a mixed of C8-aromatic isomers (Broughton, 1981); the Molex ® for the separation of n-paraffins from branched and cyclic hydrocarbons; and the Olex ® process to separate olefins from parafins; the Cresex ® and Cymex ® for the separation of p-cresol and p-cymene from its isomers, respectively. The application of SMBs in the sugar industry is also substantial, with the Sarex ® process, for the separation of fructose from the corn syrup with dextrose and polysaccharides on polystyrene-divinylbenzene resins in calcium form (Broughton, 1983); or as patented by Japan Organo Co. (Japan), (Heikkilà ¤ et al., 1989); by Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC, also known as the Snake River Sugar Company (Boise, ID-USA), (Kearney and Mumm, 1990, , 1991). In the last decade, particularly in the area of drug development, the advent of SMB has provided a high throughput, high yield, solvent efficient, safe and cost effective process option. Although it had long been established as a viable, practical, and cost-effective liquid-phase adsorptive separation technique, the pharmaceutical and biomolecule separations community did not show considerable interest in SMB technology until the mid-1990s. The application of the SMB concept to the fine chemical separations in the earlier 90s, led to the second â€Å"boom† on the number of applications of SMB technology (Negawa and Shoji, 1992; Nicoud et al., 1993; Kusters et al., 1995; Rodrigues et al., 1995; Cavoy et al., 1997; Francotte and Richert, 1997; Guest, 1997; Pais et al., 1997a; Pais et al., 1997b; Francotte et al., 1998; Grill and Miller, 1998; Lehoucq et al., 1998; Pais et al., 1998; Dapremont et al., 1999; Miller et al., 1999; Nagamatsu et al., 1999; Nicoud, 1999a, 1999b; Pedefe rri et al., 1999; Strube et al., 1999; Juza et al., 2000; Kniep et al., 2000; Wang et al., 2001), among other â€Å"pioneers†. Daicel Chemical Industries, Ltd (Japan) first published the resolution of optical isomers through SMB (Negawa and Shoji, 1992). Since then, several are the SMB based processes already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and others regulatory agencies. Examples includes renowned products such as: Biltricide (Praziquantel) Cipralex/Lexapro (Escitalopram), Keppra (Levetiracetam), Modafinil/Provigil, Taxol (Paclitaxel), Xyzal (Levocetirizine), Zoloft (Sertraline), Zyrtec (Cetirizine), Celexa/Citrol/Cipram (Citalopram), Prozac (Fluoxetine hydrochloride), (Abel and Juza, 2007) o paper de real SMB e rajendran, among others biological separation, with a particular emphasis in protein separations meteer referencias a biologias e proteinas. Given the importance of such technique, this work reviews different operating SMB modes; design, modeling and optimization techniques; and addresses an example of the design, construction and operation of an SMB unit. 2. SMB modes of operation So far, only the so-called conventional SMB mode of operation has been considered, which indeed means that each section has a fixed number of columns and there is no variation on the pre-established inlet/outlet flow rates or the switching time value. However, over the last decades some non-conventional SMB operating modes were proposed, developing the range of the applications of SMB technology and extending further its potential. Some of these operating modes, worthy of note, are listened in the following Sections. 2.1. Asynchronous shifting SMB (the Varicol ® process) The asynchronous shifting SMB or Varicol ® process (Adam et al., 2000; Bailly et al., 2000; Ludemann-Hombourger et al., 2000; Ludemann-Hombourger et al., 2002) commercialized by Novasep (Pompey, France), became one of the more studied and used processes of the so-called non-conventional SMB modes of operation. Instead of a fixed unit configuration with constant section length, the Varicol ® operating mode is performed by the implementation of an asynchronous inlet/outlet ports shift, providing a flexible use of each section length, Figure 3. Figure 3 [11.51.51] Asynchronous SMB for a complete cycle; section II has 1 column during the first half of the switching time and 2 columns in the remaining time (within a switching time period), thus 1.5 columns; the opposite happens to section III. By means of Varicol ® mode of operation it is possible to increase the productivity value up to 30% more than the classical SMB apparatus, principally when operating under a reduced number of columns (Toumi et al., 2002; Zhang et al., 2002b; Pais and Rodrigues, 2003; Subramani et al., 2003b, 2003a; Toumi et al., 2003; Yu et al., 2003b; Sà ¡ Gomes et al., 2006d; Mota et al., 2007b; Rodrigues et al., 2007a; Sà ¡ Gomes et al., 2007b; Zhang et al., 2007). 2.2. Partial-Feed, Partial-Discard With the Partial-Feed mode of operation two additional degrees of freedom are introduced: the feed length and the feed time (Zang and Wankat, 2002a; Zang and Wankat, 2002b). Feed during a given feed length period will consequently influence the raffinate and extract flow rates are along the time. Also referred in the literature is the Partial-Discard (or partial withdraw) operating mode, where just a part of the outlet products is used in order to improve the overall purity (Zang and Wankat, 2002b; Bae and Lee, 2006), or with the partial recirculation of the outlet products back to the feed (Kessler and Seidel-Morgenstern, 2008a; Kessler and Seidel-Morgenstern, 2008b; Seidel-Morgenstern et al., 2008). The ISMB (Improved SMB) mode of operating, commercialized by the Nippon Rensui Co. (Tokyo, Japan) and FAST â€Å"Finnsugar Applexion Separation Technology†, now Novasep-France, is also well known (Tanimura et al., 1989). In this process, during a first step the unit is operated as a conventional SMB but without any flow in section IV; in the second step the inlet and outlet ports are closed and the internal flow through the four sections allowing the concentration profiles to move to adjust their relative position with respect to the outlet ports (Rajendran et al., 2009). Meter referencias do mazzotti e nova de sa gomes Another novel non-conventional mode of operation, the Outlet Swing Stream-SMB (OSS) (Sà ¡ Gomes and Rodrigues, 2007), was developed under the framework of this thesis and is latter detailed in Chapter 3. 2.3. PowerFeed and ModiCon The modulation of the section flow rates (PowerFeed) was originally proposed by Kearney and Hieb (1992) and later studied in detail by other authors (Kloppenburg and Gilles, 1999b; Zhang et al., 2003b; Zhang et al., 2004b; Kawajiri and Biegler, 2006b). Another SMB operating concept, based on the feed concentration variation within one switching interval, was suggested by Schramm et al., (2002; 2003b) known as the ModiCon. The use of auxiliary feed tanks, where section flow rate flows into a tank to dissolve solid raw materials and fed into section III, has also been studied (Wei and Zhao, 2008). The cross combination of PowerFeed, Modicon and Varicol modes of operation is also a recurrent research matter, principally of optimization studies (Zhang et al., 2004a; Arau?jo et al., 2006a; Rodrigues et al., 2007b), providing more degrees of freedom and allowing better performance values. 2.4. Two Feed or MultiFeed SMB and Side Stream SMB Recently, the introduction of multi feed streams in the SMB area, by analogy with distillation columns, led to the formulation of the Two Feed SMB, or MultiFeed, operating mode presented by Kim (2005) and later studied by Sà ¡ Gomes and Rodrigues (Sà ¡ Gomes et al., 2007b; Sà ¡ Gomes and Rodrigues, 2007). Also multi extract/raffinate are referred in the literature (Mun, 2006), known as side stream SMB (Beste and Arlt, 2002). These techniques, combined with the distillation know-how for the optimum location of multiple feeds, can allow the development of more efficient SMB processes. 2.5. Semi Continuous, Two and Three zones SMB There are several semi continuous SMB apparatus that operate with two-zone, two or one-column chromatograph, with/or recycle, analogous to a four-zone SMB(Abunasser et al., 2003; Abunasser and Wankat, 2004; Arau?jo et al., 2005a; Arau?jo et al., 2005b; Jin and Wankat, 2005b; Mota and Arau?jo, 2005; Arau?jo et al., 2006b; Arau?jo et al., 2007; Rodrigues et al., 2008b), that allow a reasonable separation, some allowing centre cut for ternary or quaternary separations (Hur and Wankat, 2005b, 2005a, , 2006a, 2006b; Hur et al., 2007), under reduced equipment usage. The discontinuous injection in a system with 2 or more columns, based on the concept of simulated adsorbent movement, as been applied by Novasep under the denomination of Cyclojet ®, Hipersep ®, Supersepâ„ ¢ (Supersep MAXâ„ ¢ with Super Critical CO2) and Hipersep ®, (Grill, 1998; Valery and Ludemann-Hombourger, 2007). 2.6. Gradient SMB As a further possibility for increasing the productivity, the introduction of gradients in the different separation sections of the SMB process is also described in literature. The gradient mode was suggested firstly for the SMB-SFC (SMB-supercritical fluid chromatography) process, where the elution strength can be influenced by a pressure gradient (Clavier and Nicoud, 1995; Clavier et al., 1996). Nowadays, there are more gradient-variants that allows the variation solvent elution strength by changing the temperature, the pH-value, the content of salt or the modifier concentration (Jensen et al., 2000; Antos and Seidel-Morgenstern, 2001; Migliorini et al., 2001; Abel et al., 2002; Antos and Seidel-Morgenstern, 2002; Abel et al., 2004; Ziomek and Antos, 2005; Mun and Wang, 2008a), or as in Rodriguess group with the purification of proteins by Ion Exchange-SMB (IE-SMB) (Li et al., 2007; Li et al., 2008). Also worth of note is the MCSGP (Multicolumn Counter-current Solvent Gradient Puri fication) process (Aumann and Morbidelli, 2006; Strohlein et al., 2006; Aumann and Morbidelli, 2007; Aumann et al., 2007; Aumann and Morbidelli, 2008; Mà ¼ller-Spà ¤th et al., 2008), commercialized by ChromaCon AG (Zà ¼rich, Switzerland), which combines two chromatographic separation techniques, the solvent gradient batch and continuous counter-current SMB for the separation of multicomponent mixtures of biomolecules. 2.7. Hybrid-SMB: SMB combined with other processes It is possible to improve the performance of SMB units by integrating it with other different separation techniques. The more simple application of this approach is to combine in series the two different processes and then recycle back the outlets between (or within) the different units (Lorenz et al., 2001; Amanullah et al., 2005; Kaspereit et al., 2005; Amanullah and Mazzotti, 2006; Gedicke et al., 2007). Among these, an interesting hybrid SMB was presented by M. Bailly et al., (2005; Abdelmoumen et al., 2006), the M3C process; or the similar process: Enriched Extract operation (EE-SMB) (Paredes et al., 2006), in which a portion of the extract product is concentrated and then re-injected into the SMB at the same, or near to, the collection point. The use of SMB-PSA apparatus is also referred in the literature for gas phase separations, (Rao et al., 2005; Sivakumar, 2007; Kostroski and Wankat, 2008). The use of two SMB units with concentration steps between, for the separation of bi nary mixtures, was also developed under the denomination of hybrid SMB-SMB process (Jin and Wankat, 2007a). 2.8. The SMBR multifunctional reactor The integration of reaction and separation steps in one single unit has the obvious economical advantage of reducing the cost of unit operations for downstream purification steps. Besides reactive distillation, reactive extraction or membrane reactors, the combination of (bio)chemical reaction with SMB chromatographic separator has been subject of considerable attention in the last 15 years. This integrated reaction-separation technology adopts the name Simulated Moving Bed Reactor (SMBR). Several applications have been published considering the SMBR: the enzymatic reaction for higher-fructose syrup production (Hashimoto et al., 1983; Azevedo and Rodrigues, 2001; Borges da Silva et al., 2006; Sà ¡ Gomes et al., 2007a); meter a dos FOS the esterification from acetic acid and -phenethyl alcohol and subsequent separation of the product -phenetyl acetate (Kawase et al., 1996), or methyl acetate ester (Lode et al., 2001; Yu et al., 2003a); the synthesis and separation of the methanol fro m syngas (Kruglov, 1994); the esterification of acetic acid with ethanol (Mazzotti et al., 1996b); the lactosucrose production (Kawase et al., 2001); the MTBE synthesis (Zhang et al., 2001); the diethylacetal (or dimethylacetal) synthesis (Silva, 2003; Rodrigues and Silva, 2005; Silva and Rodrigues, 2005a; Pereira et al., 2008); the ethyl lactate synthesis from lactic acid and ethanol (Pereira et al., 2009a; Pereira et al., 2009b); the biodiesel synthesis (Geier and Soper, 2007) falta uma; or the isomerization and separation of p-xylene (Minceva et al., 2008) faltam os franceses, are examples that prove the promising potential of this technique. Depending on the reactive system some interesting arrangements of the general SMBR setup can be found in the literature, a more detailed review of several SMBR applications can be found elsewhere (Minceva et al., 2008). 2.9. Multicomponent separations The application of SMB technology to multicomponent separations has also been an important research topic in the last years. The common wisdom for such multicomponent process is the simple application of SMB cascades (Nicolaos et al., 2001a, 2001b; Wankatt, 2001; Kim et al., 2003; Kim and Wankat, 2004); nevertheless, there are some non-conventional operation modes that proved to have interesting performance, as the one introduced by the Japan Organo Co. (www.organo.co.jp), called JO process (or Pseudo-SMB); this process was discussed in detail (Mata and Rodrigues, 2001; Borges da Silva and Rodrigues, 2006, , 2008) and (Kurup et al., 2006a). The process is characterized by a 2-steps operation: (a) in the first step the feed is introduced while the intermediary product is recovered with the whole unit working as a fixed bed; (b) during the second step the feed stopped, the unit works as a standard SMB and the less and more retained products are collected, see Annex I for details. The u se of two different adsorbents (Hashimoto et al., 1993), two different solvents (Ballanec and Hotier, 1992), or a variation of the working flow rates during the switching period (Kearney and Hieb, 1992), were also proposed. 2.10. SMB Gas and Super Critical phases Most of the industrial applications of SMB technology operate in the liquid phase; nevertheless, SMBs can also be operated under supercritical conditions; where a supercritical fluid, typically CO2, is used as eluent offering a number of advantages namely reduction of eluent consumption, favourable physicochemical properties and lower pressure drop and higher column efficiency (Clavier and Nicoud, 1995; Clavier et al., 1996; Denet and Nicoud, 1999; Depta et al., 1999; Denet et al., 2001; Johannsen et al., 2002; Peper et al., 2002; Peper et al., 2007). Also in the gas phase the recent developments have been remarkable (Storti et al., 1992; Mazzotti et al., 1996a; Juza et al., 1998; Biressi et al., 2000; Cheng and Wilson, 2001; Biressi et al., 2002; Rao et al., 2005; Lamia et al., 2007; Mota et al., 2007b; Sivakumar, 2007; Kostroski and Wankat, 2008). Meter a do propano propylene 3. SMB design, modeling, simulation and optimization Over the last 50 years, design, modeling, and optimization of chromatographic separation processes have been frequent research subjects. As consequence, several modeling methods, strategies and approaches have been developed, the more relevant are reviewed in this section. 3.1. Design strategies The design of an SMB based separation involves taking decisions at many levels, from the configuration of the unit (number of columns per section, column and particle size) to operating conditions (feed concentration, switching time, internal flow rates). Although simulation can be exhaustively done until the right combination of parameters is found for the expected performance, it is useful to have a design method that will provide a preliminary estimation of the optimum operating point, followed by simulation and/or optimization, (Sà ¡ Gomes et al., 2009a). The equivalence between TMB and SMB can be quite useful in the SMB design procedure. Recalling the role of each SMB section (Figure 2c), one can state a set of constraints that will limit the feasible region and allow a complete separation (recover of the more retained species (A) in the extract stream, the less retained one (B) in the raffinate port, and regeneration of the solid in section I as fluid in section IV). Where represents the solid flow rate, the average solid concentration of species in section and the bulk fluid concentration of species in section . The flow rates constraints in Eq. 1b and 1.c will identify the separation region (section II and III), while Eq. (1 a) and Eq. (1 d) the regeneration one (section I and IV). Usually, the fluid and solid velocities in each section are combined into one only operating parameter, such as the from Morbidellis group or the , as used by Ruthven (1989). The identification of constrains, Eq. (1 a) to Eq. (1 d), led to the appearance of several design methodologies, which are usually approximated and/or graphical, providing a better insight to the possible operating regions. From the plates theory and McCabe-Thiele diagrams (Ruthven and Ching, 1989); passing by the analytical solutions for a linear adsorption isotherms system in presence of mass transfer resistances (Silva et al., 2004); to the determination of waves velocities as in the Standing Wave Design (SWD) methodology (Ma and Wang, 1997; Mallmann et al., 1998; Xie et al., 2000; Xie et al., 2002; Lee et al., 2005). A particular emphasis should be given to the strategy developed for binary and multicomponent separations modeled by linear and non-linear isotherms as in (Storti et al., 1989b; Storti et al., 1 993; Mazzotti et al., 1994; Storti et al., 1995; Mazzotti et al., 1996c; Mazzotti et al., 1997b; Chiang, 1998; Migliorini et al., 2000; Mazzotti, 2006b), the so-called â€Å"Triangle Theory†, where the term is treated by assuming that the adsorption equilibrium is established everywhere at every time (Equilibrium Theory, (Helfferich, 1967; Klein et al., 1967; Tondeur and Klein, 1967; Helfferich and Klein, 1970), resulting in a feasible separation region formed by the above constraints Eq. (1 b) and Eq. (1 c), which in the case of linear isotherms takes the shape of a right triangle in the plane, Figure 4, (or a triangle shaped form with rounded lines in non-linear isotherms case), and a rectangular shape in the plane. Recently, this methodology was also extended for the design of SMB units under reduced purity requirements, in which the separation triangle boundaries are â€Å"stretched† to account for different extract and/or raffinate purities (Kaspereit et al., 2007; Rajendran, 2008). Figure 4 â€Å"Triangle Theory†, separation and regeneration regions for linear isotherms, where represents the Henry constant for linear adsorptions isotherms (A: the more retained and B: the less retained species), is the intraparticle porosity; case of (S,R)Tetralol enantiomers, see Section 4.3.2. Nevertheless, the inclusion of mass transfer resistances can deeply affect the result of the design. By taking into account all mass transfer resistances, and running successive simulations, it is possible obtain more detailed separation/regeneration regions, as well as the separation study carried out for three different sections (II, III and I) or (II, III and IV) allowing the analysis of solvent consumption or solid recycling, as proposed in the â€Å"Separation Volume† methodology, (Azevedo and Rodrigues, 1999; Rodrigues and Pais, 2004a), or the influence of the solid flow rate in the separation region (Zabka et al., 2008a). 3.2. Modeling and simulation Generally, one can model a chromatographic separation process, and consequently an SMB unit, by means of two major approaches: by a cascade of mixing cells; or a continuous flow model (plug flow or axial dispersed plug flow, making use of partial differential equations derived from mass, energy and momentum balances to a differential volume element ), (Rodrigues and Beira, 1979; Ruthven and Ching, 1989; Tondeur, 1995; Pais et al., 1998). Each of these approaches can include mass transfer resistances, thermal, and/or pressure drop effects. Nevertheless, most of the recent literature concerning SMB processes just makes use of the continuous approach, detailing the particle diffusion and/or film mass transfer (the Detailed Particle Model), or using approximations to the intraparticle mass transfer rate in a similar way as the Linear Driving Force (LDF) approach presented by Glueckauf (1955a), (Guiochon, 2002). One can argue that an SMB unit is no more than the practical implementation of the continuous counter current TMB process, Figure 2. Consequently, the equivalence between the TMB and a hypothetical SMB with an infinite number of columns can be used in the modeling and design of SMB units. However TMB model approach will just give reasonable results if a considerable number of columns per section is present. The SMB model approach represents an SMB unit as a sequence of columns described by the usual system equations for an adsorptive fixed bed (each column ), thus represented by a PDE system. Nevertheless, the nodes equations can be stated to each section, making use of the equivalence between the interstitial velocity in the TMB and SMB, and thus: The issue here is that, due to the switch of inlet and outlet lines, the boundary conditions to a certain column are not constant during a whole cycle but change after a period equal to the switching time. Since the model equations are set to each column , one will obtain the concentration of species in the begin of each section , , from the following node mass balances: Considering now . This set of equations continues to progress in a similar way (shifting one column per ), until , repeating then from the first switch. As for the TMB model approach, both the Detailed Particle Model and LDF approach can be used with the SMB model approach; nevertheless, and for the sake of simplicity, just the last is detailed in this work. The LDF approximation can now be obtained from , and thus obtaining for the bulk fluid mass balance: and for the mass balance in the particle, with the respective initial: and boundary conditions: where the adsorption equilibrium isotherm is: As a consequence one obtains discontinuous solutions, reaching not a continuous Steady State but a Cyclic Steady State (CSS). By applying the SMB model approach, both the Detailed Particle as LDF strategies, to the case study mentioned before, one obtains the CSS concentration profiles over a complete switching time, Figure 6. 3.3. Performance parameters The performance of the SMB unit for a given separation is usually characterized by the following parameters: purity, recovery, productivity per the amount adsorbent volume and eluent/desorbent consumption per mass of treated product. The definitions of all these performance parameters, for the case of a binary mixture, are given bellow: Purity (%) of the more retained (A) species in extract and the less retained one (B) in the raffinate stream, over a complete cycle (from to ): Recovery (%) of more retained (A) species in extract and the less retained one (B) in raffinate stream, again over a complete cycle: the productivity per total volume of adsorbent : the eluent/desorbent consumption : These parameters hold for both SMB and TMB model approaches; nevertheless, one can simplify: in the SMB model strategy the same equations can be stated for a switching time period (from to ) if the unit is symmetrical, i.e., there are no differences between each switching time period (either due to the implementation of non-conventional modes of operation, or to the use of more detailed models accounting for dead volumes or switching time asymmetries); in the TMB model approach there is no need of the integral calculation, since the solutions from this model strategy are continuous and thus, the performance parameters constant over the time (at the steady state). 3.4. Optimization Usually one can classify the optimization of SMB units according to the type of objective functions: (i) optimization of performance parameters (productivity, adsorbent requirements or desorbent/eluent consumption for given purities and/or recovery requirements); (ii) optimization based on the separation cost. In case (i) each objective function, based on a different set of performance parameters, can lead to a different optimum solution; therefore multi-objective functions procedure should be considered; in the second case (ii) all those different performance parameters can be homogenized/normalized by the separation cost, where separation dependent costs (adsorbent, plant, desorbent/eluent recovery cost, desorbent/eluent recycling, feed losses) and separation independent costs (wages, labour, maintenance, among others) are taken into account and weighted by cost factors, which sometimes are difficult to characterize (Jupke et al., 2002; Chan et al., 2008). To solve these problems, the use of powerful optimization algorithms, such as: IPOPT (Interior Point OPTimizer, (Wa?chter and Biegler, 2006), employed for liquid as gas phase SMB separations (Kawajiri and Biegler, 2006b, 2006a; Mota et al., 2007a; Mota and Esteves, 2007; Rodrigues et al., 2007b; Kawajiri and Biegler, 2008a, 2008b); the commercial package gOPT from gPROMS with a Single (or Multiple) Shooting-Control Vector Parameterization, used in the two level optimization of an existing Parex ® unit (Minceva and Rodrigues, 2005), for ageing analysi

Gay Rights Essays -- Homosexual Rights, Homophobia, Gays

Do you think homosexuals deserve the same rights we (straight people) do? People having homophobia, and people who discriminate against gays, make it very hard for homosexuals to live in peace. People all over the world have their different views on whether or not homosexuals should have rights, and with that many people who are mean, judgmental, and discriminate against homosexuals. Most homosexuals cannot be themselves and cannot â€Å"come out of the closet,† because of the mean actions that come from other people and communities around them. Homosexuals should have the same rights as â€Å"straight† people do, because they are human beings just like everyone else. Everyday, more and more homosexuals get discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation. In 1993, 11,000 service members were discharged under the â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell† policy that’s bans gays and lesbians the right to serve openly. There were nearly 11,000 specialists with extremely important skills like; Arabic linguists for example, have been forced out of the military, meaning millions of tax payer dollars spent on military training have gone to waste. The armed forces have spent about 22,000 dollars to about 43,000 dollars to replace each individual discharged under the â€Å" Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell† policy, and the discharges still continue today even with all the money that is being wasted on training the people (Conant 1). Homosexuals that are or were serving in the armed forces are in there to protect our country and everyone in it, including their families. They are fighting to keep our country sa fe and so we can keep our independence, and all the military leaders care about it their personal life, something as silly as to telling them who t... ...ving mother, and can be thrown into the foster-care system (Alvear and Cameron 2). These are all examples that will hurt the emotional status of a child that is in the situation of having homosexual parents that are not married. There are more than half a million children growing up in a home with same-sex parents, that mostly were not able to married, also meaning a half a million children growing up with serious disadvantages than other children with (married) heterosexual parents, caused by prohibition of same-sex marriages and discrimination towards homosexual relationships (Alvear and Cameron 2). There is only one solution to solve this problem that homosexuals have is to give them the same rights everyone else has. I believe that if we give homosexuals the same rights that everyone else has, then our world would be a much safer and happier place. Gay Rights Essays -- Homosexual Rights, Homophobia, Gays Do you think homosexuals deserve the same rights we (straight people) do? People having homophobia, and people who discriminate against gays, make it very hard for homosexuals to live in peace. People all over the world have their different views on whether or not homosexuals should have rights, and with that many people who are mean, judgmental, and discriminate against homosexuals. Most homosexuals cannot be themselves and cannot â€Å"come out of the closet,† because of the mean actions that come from other people and communities around them. Homosexuals should have the same rights as â€Å"straight† people do, because they are human beings just like everyone else. Everyday, more and more homosexuals get discharged from the military because of their sexual orientation. In 1993, 11,000 service members were discharged under the â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell† policy that’s bans gays and lesbians the right to serve openly. There were nearly 11,000 specialists with extremely important skills like; Arabic linguists for example, have been forced out of the military, meaning millions of tax payer dollars spent on military training have gone to waste. The armed forces have spent about 22,000 dollars to about 43,000 dollars to replace each individual discharged under the â€Å" Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell† policy, and the discharges still continue today even with all the money that is being wasted on training the people (Conant 1). Homosexuals that are or were serving in the armed forces are in there to protect our country and everyone in it, including their families. They are fighting to keep our country sa fe and so we can keep our independence, and all the military leaders care about it their personal life, something as silly as to telling them who t... ...ving mother, and can be thrown into the foster-care system (Alvear and Cameron 2). These are all examples that will hurt the emotional status of a child that is in the situation of having homosexual parents that are not married. There are more than half a million children growing up in a home with same-sex parents, that mostly were not able to married, also meaning a half a million children growing up with serious disadvantages than other children with (married) heterosexual parents, caused by prohibition of same-sex marriages and discrimination towards homosexual relationships (Alvear and Cameron 2). There is only one solution to solve this problem that homosexuals have is to give them the same rights everyone else has. I believe that if we give homosexuals the same rights that everyone else has, then our world would be a much safer and happier place.

Core Elements of Health Education and Risk Reduction Activities Essay

Core Elements of Health Education and Risk Reduction Activities A number of core elements should be considered in health education and risk reduction program and evaluation activities. Effective Health Education and Risk Reduction program activities: †¢ State realistic, specific, measurable, and attainable program goals and objectives. †¢ Identify methods and activities to achieve specific goals and objectives. †¢ Define staff roles, duties, and responsibilities. †¢ Define the populations to be served by geographic locale, risk behavior(s), gender, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity. †¢ Assure that educational materials and messages are relevant, culturally competent, and language- and age-appropriate. †¢ Include professional development for all program staff. †¢ Include a written policy and personnel procedures that address stress and burnout. †¢ Include written procedures for the referral and tracking of clients to appropriate services outside of the agency. †¢ Provide for collaboration with other local service providers to assure access to services for clients. †¢ Assure confidentiality of persons served. Effective Health Education and Risk Reduction evaluation activities: †¢ Include process evaluation. †¢ Require consistent and accurate data collection procedures, including number of persons served, quantity and type of literature or materials distributed, and demographics of persons served. A description of the tools to be used and definitions of various measurements (e.g., "unit of service" and "contact") should be outlined. †¢ Include staff supervision, observation, evaluation, and feedback on a regular basis. †¢ Include feedback from persons served. †¢ Designate staff who are responsible for evaluation and quality assurance activities, for compiling and analyzing data, and for documenting and reviewing findings. †¢ Define methods for assessing progress toward stated proc... ...apters to read Aug. 21 - Course outline 26 - The Meaning of Health and Wellness 1 28 - The Meaning of Health and Wellness 1 Sept. 2 – Health Promotion 2 4 - Health Promotion 2 9 - Health Education 3 11 - No class 16 - History of Health Education and Health Promotion 4 18 - History of Health Education and Health Promotion 4 23 - Health Education and Promotion as a Profession 5 25 - Health Education and Promotion as a Profession 5 30 - Settings for Health Education and Promotion 6 Oct. 2 - Settings for Health Education and Promotion 6 7 - Mid-term exam 9 – Fall break 14 - Coordinated School Health Programs 7 16 - Government Initiatives 8 21 - Programs that work 9 23 - Programs that work 9 28 - Learning and Behavior Change: Theories and Models 10 30 - Learning and Behavior Change: Theories and Models 10 Nov. 4 - Needs Assessment, Planning, and Program Implementation 11 6 - Needs Assessment, Planning, and Program Implementation 11 11 - Evaluation 12 13 - Evaluation 12 18 - Current and Future Issues in Health Education and Health Promotion 13 20 - PPD 25 – Interview presentations 27 - Thanksgiving Dec. 2 - Interview presentations 4 - Interview presentations FINAL TBA

Shakespeares The Tempest - Is Prospero Good or Evil? :: Shakespeare Tempest

Tempest:   Is Prospero Good or Evil?  Ã‚      To be able to answer this question we must first understand why Prospero can be seen as good or evil. It is fair to say that Prospero is a main protagonist to the plot of Shakespeare’s Tempest. It is due to Prospero's role as a key figure in the play that has put him under so much scrutiny. Many different Shakespearean critics have their own view of Prospero and those that read or see the play also have their own opinion of the way in which Prospero may be seen. To be able to support either argument there must be evidence that backs-up each of the analysis of Prospero's character and why he is seen in such a way. Having been usurped and wrecked on an Island Prospero and his young daughter Miranda have to settle. It is here in Prospero's past that it first clear to see where any confusion about his character may appear. As a learned and powerful man Prospero is able to take direct control of the island, he frees a trapped and tortured spirit (Ariel) and befriends the inhabitants (Caliban). Prospero 'helps' Caliban, he tries to educate him and teaches him to communicate, in exchange Caliban helps Prospero to survive on the Island. But in taking power of the Island Prospero is committing the same act that happened to him as Duke of Milan, now Prospero himself has become the usurper. In this act of goodness Prospero has unknowingly shown his evil side. Prospero having been trapped on the Island with his daughter has bring her up alone. He tries to do this in as fair a way as he sees possible teaching her right from wrong and educating her in the ways of the world, however Prospero does not inform Miranda of their past until Miranda, he feels is old enough to understand. 'Thy father was Duke of Milan and a Prince of power' (A1 Sc2 Ln57) But with Prospero informing Miranda of this at such a late stage in her life is this Prospero as a control freak only allowing his daughter Miranda to know the truth when he feels it is time or is it Prospero being caring keeping this information from Miranda until she is of an age when she can fully understand who she is and where she came from?, again it is not clear to see if Prospero's intentions are for his own good or the good of his daughter.

Swimming: Summer Olympic Games and Swimmers

The sport of swimming has been recorded since prehistoric times; the earliest recording of swimming dates back to Stone Age paintings from around 7,000 years ago. Written references date from 2000 BC. Some of the earliest references to swimming include the Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Bible, Beowulf, Quran and other sagas. In 1778, Nikolaus Wynmann, a German professor of languages, wrote the first swimming book, The Swimmer or A Dialogue on the Art of Swimming (Der Schwimmer oder ein Zweigesprà ¤ch à ¼ber die Schwimmkunst).Competitive swimming as we know it today started in the United States started around 1800, mostly using breaststroke. Many Americans often used swimming competitions to settle differences in the frontier, such as property rights. In 1873, John Arthur Trudgen introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native Americans. Due to a British dislike of splashing, Trudgen employed a scissor kick instead of the front crawl's flutter kick. Swimming was part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens.In 1902 Richmond Cavill introduced the front crawl to the Western world. In 1908, the world swimming association, Fà ©dà ©ration Internationale de Natation (FINA), was formed. Butterfly was developed in the 1930s and was at first a variant of breaststroke, until it was accepted as a separate style in 1952. [edit]Competition Competitive swimming became popular in the nineteenth century. The goal of competitive swimming is to constantly improve upon one's time(s), or to beat the competitors in any given event.However, some professional swimmers who do not hold a national or world ranking are considered the best in regard to their technical skills. Typically, an athlete goes through a cycle of training in which the body is overloaded with work in the beginning and middle segments of the cycle, and then the workload is decreased in the final stage as the swimmer approaches the competitio n in which he or she is to compete in. This final stage is often referred to as â€Å"shave and taper†; the swimmer tapering down his or her workload to be able to perform at their optimal level.At the very end of this stage, before competition, the swimmer shaves off all exposed hair for the sake of reducing drag and having a sleeker and more hydrodynamic feel in the water. [1] World record holder and Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps in the 400 IM. Swimming is an event at the Summer Olympic Games, where male and female athletes compete in 16 of the recognized events each. Olympic events are held in a 50-meter pool, called a long course pool. There are forty officially recognized individual swimming events in the pool; however the International Olympic Committee only recognizes 32 of them.The international governing body for competitive swimming is the Fà ©dà ©ration Internationale de Natation (â€Å"International Swimming Federation†), better known as FINA. [edi t]Open water In open water swimming, where the events are swum in a body of open water (lake or sea), there are also 5 km, 10 km and 25 km events for men and women. However, only the 10 km event is included in the Olympic schedule, again for both men and women. Open-water competitions are typically separate to other swimming competitions with the exception of the World Championships and the Olympics. [edit]Swim stylesIn competitive swimming, four major styles have been established. These have been relatively stable over the last 30–40 years with minor improvements. The four main strokes in swimming are: Freestyle(free) Breaststroke(breast) Backstroke(back) Butterfly(fly) Events in competition could have only one of these styles or they could contain all four. The individual medley is an event that where swimmers start the race with butterfly, then move to backstroke, breastroke, and then freestyle. [2] There are two possible distances of this event, both swum in each of the t wo competition pools.In the short course pool, there are 200-yard and 400-yard individual medleys and in the long course pool, there are 200-meter and 400-meter individual medleys. For younger swimmers involved in club swimming, there is also a 100-yard individual medley option in the short course pool, but this event is not often competed by swimmers over the age of 14. [edit]Dolphin kick In the past two decades, the most drastic change in swimming has been the addition of the underwater dolphin kick. This is used to maximize the speed at the start and after the turns.The first successful use of it was by David Berkoff at the 1988 Olympics, where he swam most of the 100 m backstroke race underwater and broke the world record on the distance during the preliminaries. Another swimmer to use the technique was Denis Pankratov at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, where he completed almost half of the 100 m butterfly underwater to win the gold medal. In the past few years,[when? ] American c ompetitive swimmers have shown the most use of the underwater dolphin kick to gain advantage, most notably Olympic and World medal winners Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.While the dolphin kick is mostly seen in middle-distance freestyle events and in all distances of backstroke and butterfly, it is not usually used to the same effect in freestyle sprinting. That changed with the addition of the so-called sharkskin suits around the European Short Course Championships in Rijeka, Croatia in December 2008. There, Amaury Leveaux set new world records of 44. 94 seconds in the 100 m freestyle, 20. 48 seconds in the 50 m freestyle and 22. 18 in the 50 m butterfly. Unlike the rest of the competitors in these events, he spent at least half of each race submerged using the dolphin kick. 3] While underwater dolphin kicking is allowed in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly, its use is not permitted in the same way in the breaststroke. In 2005, a new rule was formed stating that an optional downw ard dolphin kick may be used off the start and each turn, and it must occur during the breaststroke pullout. Any other dolphin kick will result in disqualification. New rules were established to curtail excessive use of underwater dolphin kicks in freestyle, backstroke and butterfly.Currently, performing the dolphin kick past 15 meters results in a disqualification. [edit]Competition pools Most swimming sport events are held in special competition swimming pools, which are either long course pools such as those used in the Olympic Games (50 m) or short course pools such as those used in the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 yards or 25 m but generally 25m). Competition pools have starting blocks from which the competitor can dive in, and possibly also touch-sensitive pads to electronically record the swimming time of each competitor. edit]Seasons Club swimming in the US has two major seasons. During the short-course season, swimmers swim in 25-yard pools. This season lasts from September to the end of March. The long-course season takes place in 50-meter pools and lasts from April to the end of August. The longer freestyle events vary in lengths in each season. In the short course season, the 500 yard, 1000 yard, and 1650-yard freestyle events are swum, while during the long course season the 400 meter, 800 meter, and 1500-meter freestyle events are swum instead.However, this difference in distance holds true for all meter pools, i. e. short course meter pools also swim the 400 meter, 800 meter, and 1500 meter freestyle events instead of their yard counterparts. Training in both short course and long course has become more of an American Standard. Internationally, long course meters is the standard, as seen in the Olympics. This standard of two separate seasons in America may be because it is so much easier for new swimmers to learn to compete in a smaller pool during the short course season.Smaller pools allow for shorter distance races, so for example in short course season if a younger swimmer wanted to compete in a stroke they had just learned, a 25 yard 8 years old and under race is available to them, opposed to the long course season when they would need to be able to swim at least 50 meters of that new stroke in order to compete. [edit]Officials There are several types of officials,[4] which are needed to manage the competition. [5] Referee: The referee has full control and authority over all officials.The referee will enforce all rules and decisions of FINA and shall decide all questions relating to the actual conduct of the meet, and event or the competition, the final settlement of which is not otherwise covered by the rules. The referee takes overall responsibility for running the race and makes the final decisions as to who wins the competition. Referees call swimmers to the blocks with short blasts of his or her whistle. This is the signal for the swimmers to stand next to their blocks. Starters call missing swimmers if necessary.Then the referee will blow a long whistle that will tell the swimmers to step on the block. For backstroke otherwise known as backcrawl events, the long whistle is the signal for the swimmers to step in the water. The referee will then blow another long whistle, signaling the swimmers to grab the gutter or the provided block handle (for backstoke/backcrawl events only). The referee will then hand over control to the starter. Starter: The starter has full control of the swimmers from the time the referee turns the swimmers over to him/her until the race commences.A starter sends the swimmers off the blocks and may call a false start if a swimmer leaves the block before the starter sends them. Clerk of course: The clerk of course assembles swimmers prior to each event, and is responsible for organizing (â€Å"seeding†) swimmers into heats based on their times. Heats are generally seeded from slowest to fastest, where swimmers with no previous time for an event are ass umed to be the slowest. Timekeepers: There are three timekeepers for each lane. Each timekeeper takes the time of the swimmers in the lane assigned to him/her.Unless a video backup system is used, it may be necessary to use the full complement of timekeepers even when automatic officiating equipment is used. A chief timekeeper assigns the seating positions for all timekeepers and the lanes for which they are responsible. The chief timekeeper collects from the timekeepers in each lane a card showing the times recorded and, if necessary, inspect their watches. One timer will be timing with a stopwatch, another recording it down, and one making sure everything is valid.Inspectors of turns: One inspector of turns is assigned to each lane at each end of the pool. Each inspector of turns ensures that swimmers comply with the relevant rules for turning as well as the relevant rules for start and finish of the race. Inspectors of turns shall report any violation on disqualification reports detailing the event, lane number, and the infringement delivered to the chief inspector of turns who will immediately convey the report to the referee. Judges of Stroke: Judges of stroke are located on each side of the pool.They ensure that the rules related to the style of swimming designated for the event are being observed, and observe the turns and the finishes to assist the inspectors of turns. Finish judges Finish judges determine the order of finish and make sure the swimmers finish in accordance with the rules (two hands simultaneously for breaststroke and butterfly, on the back for backstroke, etc. ) If an official catches a swimmer breaking a rule concerning the stroke he or she is swimming, that swimmer is said to be disqualified (commonly referred to as a â€Å"DQ†) and the swim is not considered valid.The referee can disqualify any swimmer for any violation of the rules that he personally observes. The referee may also disqualify any swimmer for any violation rep orted to him by other authorised officials. All disqualifications are subject to the decision of the referee. [edit]Swimwear Main articles: Competitive swimwear and Swimsuit Giovanni Franceschi in Rome, 1983 Swimsuit The suit covers the skin for modesty. Competitive swimwear seeks to improve upon bare human skin for a speed advantage.For extra speed, a swimmer wears a body suit, which has rubber or plastic bumps that break up the water close to the body and provides a small amount of thrust—just barely enough to help a swimmer swim faster. However, competitive swimming rules may limit the type of suit a swimmer can wear. Swim cap A swim cap (a. k. a. cap) keeps the swimmer's hair out of the way to reduce drag. Caps may be made of latex, silicone, spandex or lycra. Goggles Goggles keep water and chlorine out of swimmers' eyes. Goggles may be tinted to counteract glare at outdoor pools.Prescription goggles may be used by swimmers who wear corrective lenses. Swim Fins Rubber fin s are used to help kick faster. They also improve technique by keeping the feet in the proper position while kicking. Drag suit Swimmers use drag suits to make weight to pull them back, to increase resistance. Paddles Swimmers use these plastic devices to build arm and shoulder strength and refine pulling technique. Hand paddles attach to the hand with rubber tubing or elastic material. They come in many different shapes and sizes.Kickboard A kickboard is a foam board that swimmers use to support the weight of the pper body while they focus on kicking; helps build leg muscles. Pull buoy Often used at the same time as hand paddles, pull buoys support swimmers' legs (and prevents them from kicking) while they focus on pulling. Pull buoys are made of foam so they float in the water. Swimmers hold them in between the thighs. Ankle bands Improving balance will minimize the need for this kick to provide an upward, instead of a forward vector, and in some cases completely corrects the kick . Using an ankle band will have the immediate effect of turning off your kick, which then forces you to make efforts to correct your balance.If you are successful in discovering these, then the ankle band has done part of its job. [6] Snorkel A snorkel is a plastic device that helps swimmers breathe while swimming. This piece of equipment helps the swimmer practice keeping his or her head in one position. [edit]Regular practice and competition swimwear [edit]Men Men's most used practice swimwear include briefs and jammers. Males generally swim barechested. There has been much controversy after the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, when many Olympic swimmers broke records an unprecedented number of times using revolutionary swimsuits.To highlight the issue, note that it is rare to break world records, but in 2008, 70 world records were broken in one year, and 66 Olympic records were broken in one Olympic Games (there were races in Beijing where the first five finishers were swimming fas ter than the old world record). Despite many of his records having been won in these suits, Michael Phelps stated that he might boycott the competition after his record was beaten by another swimmer with a more advanced suit. As of New Year's Day 2010, men are only allowed to wear suits from the waist to above the knees. 7]They are also only permitted to wear one piece of swimwear; they cannot wear speedos underneath jammers. This rule was enacted after the controversy in the Beijing Olympics and Rome World Championships. [edit]Women Paralympic swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics. Women wear one-piece suits with different backs for competition, though there are two-piece suits that can be worn to compete as well. Backs vary mainly in strap thickness and geometric design. Most common styles include: racerback, axel back, corset, diamondback, and butterfly-back/Fly-Back.There are also different style lengths: three-quarter length (reaches the knees), regular length (shoulders to h ips), and bikini style (two-piece). Also as of New Year's 2010, in competition, women are only allowed to wear suits that do not go past the knees or shoulders. [edit]Use of drag Drag suits, used by women, are used for increasing the resistance against the swimmer in order to help adjust the swimmer to drag. This way, when swimmers switch back to normal practice suits they swim faster as a result of feeling less resistance.They are not worn during competitions. Drag shorts, mainly used by men, like drag suits are worn in training and are also used to increase drag so that when taken off in racing it feels easier and the swimmer feels less resistance. Other forms of drag wear include nylons, old suits, and T-shirts; the point is to increase friction in the water to build strength during training, and increase speed once drag items are removed for competition. Swimmers also shave areas of exposed skin before end-of-season competitions to reduce friction in the water.It is especially c ommon for women to stop the traditional removal of leg hair at least a month before end-of-season competitions. This can be viewed as an additional form of drag because drag is most importantly about mental training and how one feels in the water. Freshly shaven skin feels much smoother and less resistant in comparison when in the water. The presence of leg and arm hair will make very little difference physically in a swimmer’s overall performance, but mentally it has been known to have a very large effect.The mental aspect of wearing drag is critical because the goal is to feel your best in the water on race day. Drag makes a swimmer feel slower and more resistant during training with the added friction. Then on the day of the competition, a shaven swimmer wearing only a fast competition suit will feel a drastic and noticeable improvement in how fast and smooth they feel in the water. As in every other sport, mental training is just as important as physical training. [edit]C ollegiate Swimming Young swimmers compete on club teams and may wish to continue their careers through college.Recruiting for collegiate swimming often starts on July 1 following the athlete's junior year of high school. That date marks the day that college coaches can contact athletes via phone to discuss possibly swimming for their team. College swimmers compete starting in the fall until their conference meet in the early spring. From there, the swimmers with the fastest times in each event will be invited to compete in the NCAA championships after the regular season is over. All college meets are competed in short course pools. [edit]Open-water swimming Main article: Open water swimmingOpen water swimming is swimming outside of a regular pool, usually in a lake, or sometimes ocean. Popularity of the sport has grown in recent years, particularly since the 10 km open water event was added as an Olympic event in 2005, contested for the first time in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijin g. New recent technology has developed much faster swimsuits. Full body suits have been banned, but swimmers at the very top levels still wear suits that have been lasered together because stitching creates drag. The downfall of these suits: they are sometimes uncomfortable and tight. [edit]Changes to the sportSwimming times have dropped over the years due to better training techniques and to new developments. The first four Olympics competitions were not held in pools, but in open water (1896 – The Mediterranean, 1900 – The Seine River, 1904 – an artificial lake, 1906 – The Mediterranean). The 1904 Olympics' freestyle race was the only one ever measured at 100 yards, instead of the usual 100 meters. A 100-meter pool was built for the 1908 Olympics and sat in the center of the main stadium's track and field oval. The 1912 Olympics, held in the Stockholm harbor, marked the beginning of electronic timing. clarification needed] Male swimmers wore full-body s uits until the 1940s, which caused more drag in the water than their modern swimwear counterparts did.Competition suits now include engineered fabric and designs to reduce swimmers' drag in the water and prevent athlete fatigue. In addition, over the years, pool designs have lessened the drag. Some design considerations allow for the reduction of swimming resistance, making the pool faster. Namely, proper pool depth, elimination of currents, increased lane width, energy absorbing racing lane lines and gutters, and the use of other innovative hydraulic, acoustic, and illumination designs.