Gharar in Islamic Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Gharar in Islamic Law - Assignment Example Finally, even if the relevant agreements amounted to agreements to pay Riba, the principal sums advanced could validly be claimed (Usmani, 2001). Hence, Murabaha Agreements should be in accordance with Islamic law, all that is required is certification by Islamic Bank’s Religious Supervisory Board and the principal amounts are dispensed in accordance with the terms of Murabaha Agreements (Usmani, 2001). The Gharar contains uncertainty in a contract or sale where the goods may or may not be available (the bird in the air or the fish in the water). It shows ambiguity in the consideration or terms of a contract. As such the contract would not be void. An example tainted with Gharar is an agreement to sell goods which have already been sold (Vogel and Samuel, 1998). This paper finds Gharar in depth in three contracts. The three contracts that I have analyzed in this paper are about car, property and stocks. The Bank has followed the methods of Islamic banking while still Gharar ca n be found in them. Elements of Riba and Gharar are present in the contractual documents. The transactions if carried out under the mentioned products (cars, stocks and property) require Murabaha Financing. The important ingredients of the Murabaha Financing Agreement are The Preamble: it is an integral part of the agreement; Definitions: incorporation of the terms: a) Account b) Agency Agreement c) Agreement d) Client Financials e) Declaration f) Due dates g) Goods h) Murabaha Account i) Purchase Price j) Security k) Security Deposits; Purchase and Sale Agreement; Mode of Payment; Representation of the Client; Representation of the Institution; General Covenants of the Client; General Covenants of the Institution; Warranties of the Institution; Security; Risk of Loss; Takafol; Damages; Governing Law and Jurisdiction; Set off; Acceleration; General; Execution of document by the Counterparts ( The Institution and The Client); Dated; Witnesses; Schedule of Documents: a) Agency Agreeme nt b) Declaration c) Promissory Note d) Description of Security (Ghafoor, 1995). Murabaha Finance Agreement for Car The first contract is about Murabaha Finance Agreement for car. The contract is about a client bank agreement on buying a car in instalments but there are several conditions for the client, which he has to adhere in order to get the car. A down payment is given after which, monthly instalments are fixed for the customer. As this is a Murabaha contract, therefore it is essential to know about Murabaha. Murabaha is a term in Islamic Fiqh and it refers to a particular kind of sale having nothing to do with financing in its original sense. If a seller agrees with his purchaser to provide him specific commodity on a certain profit added to his cost it is considered Murabaha transaction. The basic ingredient of Murabaha is that the seller discloses the actual cost he or she has incurred in acquiring the commodity and then adds some profit thereon. This profit may be lump sum or may be in fraction (Al-Qardawi, 2001). In conventional financing, the financier lends money to the client on interest. After giving the interest bearing loan, the financier has nothing to do with its usage. In the case of Murabahah no money is advanced by the financier. Instead the

The Future Pedagogy Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The Future Pedagogy - Article Example Thus we see an explosion in the education system which had come out of its traditional boundaries. The world was earlier divided into nations and communities. The globalization of trade and commerce had a twin effect on education. As the world converted into a global village so did the communities by melting into each other and communication on a common scale became a necessity. English had already become the language of commerce, more by default than by design, and it was but natural that it also became the most used language of communication in social, technological, scientific and other fields. The pedagogy of the language became a foremost concern and many ways and means were developed and tried to teach English as a second language (ESL). The pedagogy, where the students or learners had to be trained through the use of computers and software, is already in place. It had been in common use for dissemination of knowledge of subjects other than the language. Yet knowledge of English as a language was required as the subjects were well covered in this language. There is, however, a gap in the pedagogy of language. It was still being taught in the traditional way. By far the biggest barrier in the way of Language Acquisition especially English as Second Language (ESL) is the cultural difference between those who use English as First Language and those who have other Language as their first Language. It will be demonstrated later in the paper that as culture and language are intertwined, the study of one without the knowledge of the other becomes fructuous. This is another problem that needs addressing and is presently being handled through mixed culture classes and interaction between sets of students with distinctive cultures. But is this enough? Is this the final solution? Is there a more superior yet easier method? Words and their meanings are often misleading.  

Ideologies of the ANC and DA

Ideologies of the ANC and DA Ideologies of the ANC and DA that serves as intellectual foundation Introduction Ideologies can be defined as a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy. Political Ideologies are the pillars and the foundation of any political party. It is important to have noble political ideologies in order to recruit members with the same beliefs in the party’s ideologies. In this essay, I will identify a few of the ideologies of the ANC and the DA by looking into their manifestos and also give a history of relationship ideologies has with election and a democratic country and also give my opinion on the best ideology as intellectual foundation that will make a change in the country. Ideologies In the book, Politics by Andrew Heywood, we see an Ideology can be defined as Heywood (2013:27) â€Å"A social-scientific viewpoint.† It is a â€Å"coherent set of ideas that provides a basis for organized political action.† When looking at this definition one could deduce various information on the political ideologies of the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance. It is a group a people that forms a political party having a goal to make a difference in the lives of all citizens within the political arena. They also follows certain procedures to govern a country. We need to take into consideration that political ideologies has many facets such as Liberalism, conservatism, socialism, fascism and feminism as a few. Liberalism is the ideology of the Heywood (2013:31) â€Å"’industrialized West’ and portrayed as a meta-ideology. It is capable of embracing a broad range of rival value and beliefs.† In my opinion it would be a broad range of diversity that we find political ideologies. It is giving everyone an equal chance .It is a sense of equality. For example, Education for all. Heywood (2013:34) Conservatism has its key ideas based on â€Å"tradition-accumulated wisdom from the past† Conservative people are people who are prone to change. They expect society to stay the same, not taking into consideration that people change and make mistakes. Conservative people struggle to accept that â€Å"nothing stays the same.† Conservatism is found a lot in political structure. It poses many challenges and being conservative as an individual in a group setting in politics can sometimes be difficult. Heywood (2013:38) Socialism is to† abolish a capitalist economy based on a market exchange.†[1] Its key ideas are: â€Å"Community, Fraternity, Social Equality, Need, social class, common ownership.† Socialism relates to a society or an organisation. Socialism within politics strive to economic and political equality within the country and that all citizens are equal which is difficult because we all our diverse and celebrate diversity within our country. We all have our different religions and cultures and we are a different. A socialist is someone who wants to cultivate equality and wants to include every â€Å"creed and colour†. Other ideologies include Heywood (2013:47) â€Å"fascism: ‘new man’ a hero motivated by duty and honour and self-sacrifice prepared to dedicate his/her life to the glory of their nation or race and to give unquestioning obedience to a supreme leader.† Fascists are needed for people to believe that there is a leader that can lead the party in the right direction. Heywood (2013:49)Feminism-â€Å"it is more concerned with the reform of the public sphere that is with enhancing the legal and political status of women and improving their educational and career prospects than reordering private or domestic life.†[2]The political sector is dominated by men. In today’s society we see many females who are leaders. The rise of women played an important role in the upliftment of women. They play a very significant role in the country. We need feminist to bring equality of genders. We have a Minister for Women and children. Political ideologies-an introduction Eccleshall (1984:79) The ideology of conservatism: â€Å"If a society is to prosper, it’s political. Social and economic arrangements must be such as to stimulate and satisfy those with most to contribute to the common good.† [3]Politicians are needed to keep balance between all the facets of a country (the citizens, the environment, infrastructure etc.) the so-called business-man, the farmer and the man on the street is at a centre of equality. Geoghegan (1984:115) The ideology of socialism â€Å"is that all forms of socialism comprise three basic components: a critique, an alternative and a theory of transition.†[4] Socialists have a social responsibility to the country. Everyone to have basic rights and access their basic rights. It is that the political party can see the need and then assess the need and find possible solutions. For example: Taking the man from the street and giving him shelter. Jay (1984:153) The ideology of Democracy â€Å"is in agreement with ideology that states democracy denotes a rather different kind of entity, Democracy simply mean rule byof the people. Within this we have aristocracy, monarchy and oligarchy. Democracies shared many political practices in common.† A democracy simply means everybody. A democracy is a government that is governed â€Å"for the people, by the people†. Democracy can be seen as freedom to a certain extent. Democracy is what our leaders fought for, so that we can have equality. Democracy is a form of Ideology where people choose a political party to look after their interest in all aspects of life. Jay (1984:185) The ideology of Nationalism. â€Å"Nationalism is described as a doctrine invented in Europe which holds that humanity is naturally divided into nations, that nations are known by certain characteristics which can be ascertained, and that the only legitimate type of government is national self-government. Nationalism is a political doctrine and not a state of mind.†[5] Nationalists are South African citizens who have strong and firm beliefs in their country. Nationalism is a set of values and beliefs pertaining to the country. Nationalists can also oppress people as they only think of what is nationally possible for its citizens. They are loyal and firm believers in the country. Political ideologies of the 20th century Kohn (1966:133) Racialism: â€Å"the word ‘race’ is primarily a biological term and denotes groups of men differentiated by anatomical characteristics.† Many barriers exist because of racism. Racism exists everywhere, locally and even globally. In my opinion, racism can be oppression through colour, gender and religion. People are seen as â€Å"different† just because they do not have the same skin colour or do not believe in the same religious ideologies. Racism in politics is still very rife since Apartheid and beyond. Racism is the cause of inequality between citizens within a specific country. The biggest example of racism in our country is between the leading party (ANC) and the opposition party (DA).The ANC being â€Å"black† dominated party and the DA being diverse but mostly white. The DA maintains a good BEE balance. BEE is a racist attack in order to â€Å"rectify† the inequalities of the past Apartheid era. Kohn(1966:146) Fascism: †is one of the two great authoritarian mass movements which started in the 20th century in conscious opposition to the middle-class capitalistic civilization of the 19th century. The origins of the fascist movement in Italy are to be found in both the wave of disillusionment and the exacerbated nationalism that swept Italy after 1918.† [6]Fascism is when one leader can not fight socio-economic issues on his/her own and where inequality still exists. Fascism is seen as a mass movement. Political Science in Africa Science vs. philosophy: The Need for a relevant political science. Barongo (1983:17) When we define political science â€Å"the different branches of inquiry may divide into two group the empirical and non-empirical .Empirical seek to explore, to describe to explain to predict occurrences in the world we live in. Non-empirical had disciplines of logic and pure mathematics whose propositions are proved without necessary reference to empirical findings.†[7] In my opinion, political science is a study. And like any study, thorough research has to be done to obtain more information about the specific topic/idea. Every continent/country has their own political ideologies and beliefs because each country is different. Africa being the poorest continent has a tremendous job in order to compete/compare with first world countries. Although our continent is â€Å"poor†, we are rich in resources, especially in research. SA Politics: An Introduction The function of political parties in a democracy De Jager (2015:150-151) We see political parties for â€Å"representing the interest† of their members. In SA â€Å"there is a broad diversity of ideologies, cultures and history and thus interest.† The role of the parties is to ensure that all the interest of their members are taken into consideration. If members put a political party into governance (by voting), the members of that political party expect the party to look after their interests with in the party. The political party must look after the cultural, religious and social beliefs of the members. For example: upliftment within communities and extra-mural activities in wards where the political is in power â€Å"Socialisation and mobilisation: Parties can ensure increased participation of the public by integrating voters into a system and teaching them how and why to play the political game. Doing this they also inadvertently stimulate a sense of political legitimacy for democracy.† Mobilisation is getting a community to be self-sufficient. When political parties creates projects for the community to be self-sufficient. For example: Starting vegetable gardens, informing them about their rights. â€Å"Formation and Recruitment of political leaders: recruit and training political leaders. Not just the ANC has to recruit leaders but the opposition parties.† This consist of encouraging the youth to get involved in politics. It starts at school (debates, trips to Parliament) to inform the youth and make them politically aware of possibilities of a career in politics. In order for them to be successful, they need to have a passion for doing the right thing politics for people. Formation is important to form a youth league to train the youth from an early age. â€Å"Winning Elections and governing: key role of political parties in a democracy is to put forward their philosophies goals and election manifestos to compete for votes. The ANC has won all of the national elections since 1994 because it is very skilled at electioneering and has the largest base of social support.† Canvassing in the area for elections is a form of competition. Politicians say the right things to prospective members even if it is not true just to win votes. If enough people vote, the political party might be successful and win the elections. Many people believe that the ANC brought freedom, but ironically many politicians within the party have been found guilty by the public protector. The ruling party will be in control and hold most seats in government which works to their advantage. â€Å"Maintaining government accountability and influencing decision-making: there are two types of accountability: 1-vertical: emanates through the electorate sine the electorate knows which party is responsible for controlling the government. 2-Horizrontal: channelled through opposition parties which are responsible for systems (e.g.: winning the right to govern).† Jacob Zuma is our president and the leader of the ANC. We need to hold the correct person accountable for his actions. We need to know who will be responsible for the actions of government. Government acts on behalf of the country. The opposition plays an important role to keep the leading party on their toes as competition. The leading party has a lot of influence of decisions with government. They influence decision making as a party. The Ruling Party ANC. De Jager (2015:154) â€Å"The liberation movement celebrated it centenary in 2012. It is a movement that is born out of Christian values of equality and mutual respect led by an African middle class of lawyers, teachers, church ministers and doctors. The early ANC’s call for inclusion in the South African body of politic was as citizens of a common, non-racial society, informed by Christian and liberal conceptions of justice and humanity. The ANC has also been influenced by the ideologies of communism and Africanism, the different approaches of those who were in exile; trade union movements; and those incarcerated during Apartheid. The influence of these different ideologies and traditions continues to have considerable significance for the organisation, leading it to be called a ‘broad church ‘It also helps to explain why the policies and practices emanating from the ANC cover the spectrum from moderate to radical and from liberal to socialist. The ANC still does not recognise itself as a political party; it insists on being a liberation movement. Currently the party is torn between the values of its founders and those who seek political power for personal interest.† Nelson Mandela played an extremely important role in the ANC and the country. He was the forefather of the â€Å"liberation movement.† The ANC strives to keep his legacy alive. Although there was many controversy within the party, they still have some form of success. Julius Malema leaving the ANC led to a decrease in the party, although he left, the ANC is still the most popular political party. They member’s believe that the ANC can not do anything wrong in the political spectrum. The official opposition The DA De Jager (2015:155) The DA is the â€Å"culmination of a long time of political parties splitting and coalescing but its origins go back to the breakaway by a number of liberals form the United Party in 1959 and the formation of the Progressive Party. Helen Suzman played a major role in the history of the DA. The DA supports a ‘programme of non-racial democracy, a limited state, constitutional supremacy and market economy.’ The party is labelled as the ‘white party’. The primary challenge for the party is its growth as non-white members could not become public representatives pre 1994. The key resource for the DA has been access to government and the use of coalitions†[8]. The DA can be seen as the biggest threat to the leading party. The official opposition party. It is a strong opposition. They are the biggest threat to the ANC. The coalition between the DA and the so called â€Å"coloured party† the Independent Democrats lead by Patricia de Lille was one of the biggest political developments we have ever seen post 1994. The history of the party still classifies them as a â€Å"white party†. The DA is quite diverse. The Western Cape is governed by the DA and they are doing quite well here. Although they provide competition for the ANC, they do a lot for the province. The Ideologies of the Democratic Alliance â€Å"What type of society does the DA want to build? 1) The core concept of Zille’s DA is one of an ‘open opportunity society for all,’ which it counter poses to the ANC’s ‘closed crony society for some’ where a clique rules to accumulate wealth. For the DA, a competitive job-creating economy, supported by an efficient education system, are the main drivers of this society. 2) The DA’s education policy subscribes to human capital theory, which considers the purpose of education to be the production of skills for the market, and the raising of productivity and hence economic growth. 3) The DA aims to provide what it refers to as a framework for choice of goods and services, such as schools. The party bases their conception of choice on trickle-down economics; so, as global competitiveness drives economic growth and society becomes richer, its members will be able to exercise the rights and choices for services.† [9] The Ideologies of the African National Congress. â€Å"For more than a century, has led our people in their aspiration for a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society as the strategic goal of the National democratic revolution. To ensure all South Africans have access to adequate human settlements and quality living conditions through programmes that provide one million housing opportunities for qualifying households over the next five years, and providing basic services and infrastructure in all existing informal settlements. Improve and expand education and training by making grade R compulsory, eradicating adult illiteracy, and further improving the quality of basic education up to senior grade. The FET college sector will be expanded, with greater support for the needs of students, and compulsory community service for all graduates will be introduced.†[10] Conclusion As we can see from the above information, political ideologies are very important when researching political parties it is also important that the ideologies are in line with the needs of the country (that of the leading party and the opposition party) I agree with the ideologies of the DA as intellectual foundation because their ideologies are more universal and more realistic. All over the world and in all of history, political ideologies were used and accepted by potential members and loyal support of the political party. Various political ideologies should be used as far as possible within the party. Bibliography/Referencing list Heywood, A. 2013. Politics. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Eccleshal, R., Geoghegan, V., Jay, R. Wilford, R. 1984. Political Ideologies:An introduction. Essex: Anchor Brendon Ltd. Kohn, H. 1966. Political Ideologies of the Twentieth Century. New York: The Macmillan Company. Baronga, Y. 1983. Political Science in Africa. London: Zed Press Plc. De Jager, N., Graham, V., Gumede, V., Mangcu, X., Neethling, T., Kotze, J., Welsh, D. 2015. South African Politics: An Itroduction. South Africa: Oxford University Press Southern Africa (Pty) Limited. http://africasacountry.com/the-politics-and-ideology-of-helen-zille/ (9 April 2015) http://www.anc.org.za/docs/manifesto/2014/anc-manifesto.pd (9 April 2015) [1] A. Heywood Politics (2013) 27,31,34,38. [2] A. Heywood Politics (2013) 47,49. [3] R. Eccleshall Political Ideologies:an introduction (1984) 79. [4] V. Geoghegan Political Ideologies:an introduction (1984) 115. [5] R. Jay Political Ideologies:an introduction (1984)159,185. [6] H. Kohn Political Ideologies of the Twentieth Century (1966) 133,146. [7] Y. Barongo Political Science in Africa (1983) 17. [8] N. De Jager South African Politics:An Introduction (2015) 150,151,154,155. [9] http://africasacountry.com/the-politics-and-ideology-of-helen-zille/ [10] http://www.anc.org.za/docs/manifesto/2014/anc-manifesto.pd

Verbal Reaction Times Experiment Essay -- Stroop 1935 experiment

This report aimed to replicate Stroop's (1935) experiment. Using the repeated measures design and a sample of 20 students, differences in verbal reaction times on two tests were observed. The one-tailed hypothesis predicted that it would take longer to say words in the Cc, this is the conflicting condition where the colour of the word differs from the colour that the word describes. It was found that, using the t-test for related data, this hypothesis could be accepted as the obtained value was much greater then the critical value. It can therefore be concluded that visual interference does affect people's verbal reactions. Introduction In 1935 John Ridley Stroop published his Ph.D. thesis entitled 'Studies of Interference in Serial Verbal Reactions' - the findings of which became known as 'the Stroop Effect'. Stroop mentioned many studies in his work but the two that are most relevant for this report are Brown (1915) and Telford (1930), they conducted very similar investigations into colour associations and colour recognition patterns respectively. This area of research is known as controlled and automatic processing, it involves studies into how humans cope with divided attention such as multi-tasking. This could be anything from the simple dishwashing and listening to music simultaneously, to complex shadowing of continuous prose presented in one ear, whilst also typing up a separate prose presented to the other ear via headphones (Shaffer 1975). With their two-process theory, Shiffrin and Schneider (1977) make useful distinctions between controlled and automatic processing. They are as follows: controlled processing... ...1930) 'Differences in responses to colours and their names.' J. Genet. Psychol. An Experiment on the Stroop effect and hearing, http://www.ul.ie/~cscw/mikael/stroop.html British Psychological Society Code of Conduct for Psychologists, http://trapdoor.glos.ac.uk/ess/soss/ethics/appendix4.htm Cognitive Psychology, Wadsworth CogLab online laboratory, http://coglab.wadsworth.com/experiments/Stroop/ Neuropsychological Model of the Stroop Effect, http://www.uwm.edu/~neuropsy/Strpmast.html Neuroscience for Kids - The Stroop Effect, http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/words.html Parametric Assumptions, http://www.sgcorp.com/normality_tests.htm The Stroop Effect - Attention and Memory, http://www.cgl.uwaterloo.ca/~bgbauer/chapters/stroop.html The t-test, http://trochim.human.edu/kb/stat_t.htm

Environmental Sociology Essay

Since ancient times, human beings have been persistent in modifying their environment through changes in various natural resources. However, the commencement of Industrial Revolution paved way for much of human activity that has had a strong impact on the global landscape. It is without question that the activities of human affect the composition of the environmental balance. Nevertheless, the unprecedented move of humanity toward industrialization over the past several thousands of years has resulted in serious concerns on the energy balance of the entire planet. The dramatic changes in the environmental makeup are clearly within humans today, attested by various environmental pollutants and their impact throughout much of the globe (Mayewski). In New England, the environmental pollution influenced by man has brought about extreme conditions recorded in history. Thus, this paper seeks to understand and identify three of the environmental issues in the New England area that existed within the past 10 years and still exist today that negatively affected the environment and the society. Extreme Climatic Event Due to Human Induced Causes The weather and climate in New England is considered to be the most varied in the globe because they include extremes of temperatures as well as heavy rainfalls, hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, blizzards, and the likes. The said weather and climate variations in the state are influenced by many factors such as its geographical setting. Hence, the region’s weather is identified as notorious, characterized by its capability to change in a matter of minutes. However, the said climate changes are not only a result of the region’s geographical location; human-induced causes were also accounted for the dramatic changes in the state’s weather and climate. The continuous emission of airborne pollutants coming from industrial landscapes, metropolitan areas, transportation corridors, and other polluting human activities affect weather patterns on a regional landscape (Zielinski). As the people of New England incessantly engage in pollution-inducing activities, the past decade in New England history witnessed episodic ozone events, one of which is the recent tornado that struck New Hampshire on July 24, 2008. The tornado traveled through 11 towns from 11:30am to 12:50pm, killing one person, damaging more than 200 homes and structures, and destructing thousands of trees. However, what is puzzling about the occurrence of the said calamity is the fact that tornadoes do not usually happen in New England, since 1950 only 9 tornadoes occurred in the said state. The cool temperature in the state stabilizes the atmosphere, suppressing the opportunity for the development of tornadoes (Forbes). However, with this recent activity and the increasing number of individuals contributing to the induction of pollution, it can be assumed that the reason behind such catastrophe is associated with the climate and weather altering capabilities of the human-induced pollutions. Although there are interventions in order to avoid human-induced pollutions that contribute to the series of climatic events in New England, the continuous support of individuals in the use of potentially hazardous environmental materials is still widespread. Air Pollution Air pollution is also another environmental issue in New England. The major metropolitan centers and transportation areas in the region are pointed as the primary contributors for the release of hazardous chemicals in the air. The issue of air quality in New England is notable during the season of summer in the said state. In a 2002 study, it was noted that every summer, the high temperature in New England raises ozone alerts and poor air quality. To quote Jim Meagher of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s): â€Å"A review of air pollution episodes in New England suggests that blobs of polluted air often lurk in the Gulf of Maine during the summer months, causing high pollution levels in coastal areas† (qtd. in McGehan and Seif). Such claim was backed up by the American Lung Association of New England (ALANE) saying that the public is at risk for ozone poisoning every summer in the New England region. Just last year, it was recorded that New England had 54 days of high levels of ground level-ozone caused by pollutants emitted by cars and the burning of fossil fuels from power plants, refineries, industrial boilers, and other sources that chemically react with sunlight. According to the EPA, if the ozone level lasted for 98 days, the air quality in the said area could have been qualified as unhealthy. It was also found that due to such high levels of ozone in the region, New England was reported the highest asthma rates among the states in the USA. Studies also show that if such pattern of high ozone levels will remain, not only will it be a danger to the individuals suffering from respiratory diseases, but it can also lead to premature death for children and destruction of nature’s balance through the depletion of ozone layer and the degradation of soil and water. While the people from New England blame the states from the west because of such pollution, ALANE stated that typical New England states like Connecticut creates 40% of air pollution through automobiles and other local sources (qtd in â€Å"ALANE says Stronger Air†). As a response to the ongoing issue of air pollution in New England, the region has adhered to the Clean Air Act, a federal law regulating air emission from both stationary and mobile sources. As a result, the sulfur oxide emissions in the region have reduced. Likewise, most of the companies in the region are permitting air emissions in order to reduce excess smoke and pollution and multi-organization efforts are done in order to continuously test the air quality in New England. Water Pollution In the recent New England study, it was found that the water quality in the said region has already improved right after the adoption of advanced treatment of municipal and industrial wastes. However, there are still areas in the state experiencing low quality ground and surface water (Foster). Just in 2008, a complaint was filed against Kaler Oil Company Inc. in North Bath, Maine and other oil storage and distribution company when they failed to prepare and fully implement the â€Å"Spill and, Control, and Countermeasure† (SPCC) which is required by the federal Clean Water Act. Without the instant response, the possibility of drinking contaminated water could have lead to poisoning. Kaler Company and the others that failed to comply faced a maximum penalty of $157, 500 (MTBE Staff). Another case was that of the lawsuit filed against the New Hampshire’s regional fuel suppliers who were responsible for contaminating surrounding areas ground water with the use of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). MTBE is a substance added to the gasoline supplies of the nation in order to cut down pollution emissions. However, despite the advantages posited by such substance, MTBE chemically binds with ground water. Unlike other form of pollutants that can be filtered, MTBE is resistant and can develop into a much harmful chemical overtime. Hence, aside from its risk for the human health, it is feared by the officials that high concentrations of MTBE can go undetected for many years and can be the reason for the deterioration of the region’s bedrock aquifers. The filed lawsuit is said to be still away from the trial, but the citizens and local officials of New Hampshire are lobbying for the case to go on trial (Wacker). Based on the cases aforementioned, it is evident that water pollution is not only a human concern, but also a burden to the environment. Based on the above perspectives, what New England is experiencing and have experienced during the past years may not be in the same wavelength as that of the impact of Chernobyl incident in Ukraine, an incident that rooted from the desire of humans to amass nuclear power and further urbanization and industrialization, which ended in a tragic way and is continuously affecting the lives of many citizens. However, just like the Chernobyl incident, there is a possibility that the present environmental issues impacting present generation can be carried out in the near future. Just like what Maryann De Leo’s Chernobyl Heart Documentary presented, the long term impact of present day activities could affect innocent children. Though it can be assumed that the local government in New England is seeking solutions for the ongoing environmental issues being experienced by the state, the continuous support of the citizens to activities that induce environmental pollution should not be disregarded, as it may result in the total degradation of the environment and human health. The long-term effect of environmental balance destruction should also be safeguarded, as the broad range of nature’s destructive capabilities is still unpredictable to date. Works Cited â€Å"American Lung Association of New England (ALANE) says stronger air quality standards urgently needed. † Medical News Today. 26 May 2008. 5 March 2009 . Chernobyl Heart Documentary. 2003. Dir. De Leo, Maryann. Downtown TV Documentaries Production. Foster, Debra. â€Å"New England water is improving but problems remain, says new USGS report. † Bio-Medicine. 30 April 1999. 5 March 2009 . Forbes, Greg. â€Å"Record New England tornado. † The weather channel. 1 August 2008. 5 March 2009 . Mayewski, Paul A. â€Å"New England’s Changing Climate, Weather, and Air Quality: Chapter 1- Global Climate Change Sets the Stage for Viewing Climate Change in New England. † New England Climate Initiative (NECI). 1998. 5 March 2009 . McGehan, Barbara and Seif, Amy. â€Å"Air quality study focuses on New England. † U. S. Department of Energy. 9 July 2002. 5 March 2009 .

Chemistry Experiment

Experiment 1: TLC Analysis of Analgesic Drugs 1/23/2011 Purpose: The goal of this experiment is to test our knowledge and understanding of TLC analysis by having us do a TLC analysis of analgesics to figure out their main chemical components. Calculations: 1. ) Rf = Distance spot traveled/ distance solvent traveled Results: Table 1: TLC Analysis Analgesic Drugs| Rf Value| Acetaminophen| 0. 323| Aspirin| 0. 597| Caffeine| 0. 081| Unknown 154 (Plate 1)| 0. 081, 0. 306, 0. 597| Ibuprofen| 0. 698|Salicyclamide| 0. 587| Unknown 154 (plate 2)| 0. 079, 0. 397, 0. 587| Discussion: The goal of this experiment was to use TLC Analysis to determine the analgesic drug present in the unknown solution 154. One observation of the unknown spotting solution was that it was cloudy. After forming the unknown spotting solution it was then heated to make it a more saturated solution thus enabling the spots on the TLC plate to contain more of the drug making it easier to compare it with the other drugs.Aft er the TLC plates were developed and visualized first through UV light and then through an Iodine chamber ( though no more spots were visualized with iodine chamber) , Rf values were then taken of each spot on the plate. The Acetaminophen had a value of 0. 323, Aspirin had a value of 0. 597, Caffeine had a value of 0. 081, Unknown 154 on the first plate had 3 different values; 0. 081, 0. 306, 0. 597, Ibuprofen had a value of 0. 698, Salicylamide had a value of 0. 587, and Unknown 154 on the second plate had three different values as well; 0. 079, 0. 97, and 0. 587. Through analysis it was determined that unknown 154 was Aspirin. This was found by comparing the Rf values of all the analgesic drugs to unknown 154. After comparing them it was seen that the Rf value for Aspirin matched one of the Rf values for unknown 154 exactly. The determination of the unknown was further supported by looking at the samples in solution. Both the unknown 154 and Aspirin were cloudy in solution thus fu rther supporting the identification of unknown 154. In this experiment there were not too many sources of error.One source could have been that the glassware being used may not have been cleaned thoroughly before using it thus possibly contaminating the unknown or the other analgesic drugs. This Experiment definitely was an efficient way to help determine what type of drug the unknown 154 was but there are a few improvements that could have been done to help better determine the unknown. One improvement could be to examine the solvent used because different solvents create different separations between spots.Another improvement could be to also run an Infrared Spectroscopy on the unknown and known compounds. Answers to Questions: 1. ) When running TLC plates three common mistakes that can be made are using a pen instead of a pencil to mark on the plate, using the wrong solvent, and touching the plates thus getting grease on them. 2. ) The Starting line and the spotting line are mark ed with pencil rather than pen because the ink from the pen would move with the solvent front thus interfering with the results. 3. ) Acetaminophen Aspirin CaffeineIbuprofen Salicylamide Pretty much all of the functional groups can determine the polarity of a compound. This includes Amides, Acids, Alcohols, Ketones, Aldehydes, Amines, Esters, Ethers, and Alkanes. Even though they all can determine the polarity of the compound Amides, Acids, Alcohols, Ketones, and Aldehydes are the most polar and therefore are the best at determining polarity in compounds. 4. ) In order of increasing polarity Ibuprofen is the least , then it is Aspirin, then Salicylamide, then acetaminophen, and Caffeine is the most polar. 5. The Acetic Acid in the TLC solvent is used to increase the polarity of the developing solvent thus reducing the amount of attraction the polar compound has for the stationary phase. 6. ) TLC is a good way to determine an unknown, but not to determine composition of an unknown. O ne good way to determine the composition of an unknown is to run an Infrared Spectroscopy which when analyzed functional groups can be identified. Another way to determine the composition of an analgesic drug could be to run a Mass Spectroscopy which when analyzed could determine the elemental composition of the drug. Chemistry Experiment Experiment 1: TLC Analysis of Analgesic Drugs 1/23/2011 Purpose: The goal of this experiment is to test our knowledge and understanding of TLC analysis by having us do a TLC analysis of analgesics to figure out their main chemical components. Calculations: 1. ) Rf = Distance spot traveled/ distance solvent traveled Results: Table 1: TLC Analysis Analgesic Drugs| Rf Value| Acetaminophen| 0. 323| Aspirin| 0. 597| Caffeine| 0. 081| Unknown 154 (Plate 1)| 0. 081, 0. 306, 0. 597| Ibuprofen| 0. 698|Salicyclamide| 0. 587| Unknown 154 (plate 2)| 0. 079, 0. 397, 0. 587| Discussion: The goal of this experiment was to use TLC Analysis to determine the analgesic drug present in the unknown solution 154. One observation of the unknown spotting solution was that it was cloudy. After forming the unknown spotting solution it was then heated to make it a more saturated solution thus enabling the spots on the TLC plate to contain more of the drug making it easier to compare it with the other drugs.Aft er the TLC plates were developed and visualized first through UV light and then through an Iodine chamber ( though no more spots were visualized with iodine chamber) , Rf values were then taken of each spot on the plate. The Acetaminophen had a value of 0. 323, Aspirin had a value of 0. 597, Caffeine had a value of 0. 081, Unknown 154 on the first plate had 3 different values; 0. 081, 0. 306, 0. 597, Ibuprofen had a value of 0. 698, Salicylamide had a value of 0. 587, and Unknown 154 on the second plate had three different values as well; 0. 079, 0. 97, and 0. 587. Through analysis it was determined that unknown 154 was Aspirin. This was found by comparing the Rf values of all the analgesic drugs to unknown 154. After comparing them it was seen that the Rf value for Aspirin matched one of the Rf values for unknown 154 exactly. The determination of the unknown was further supported by looking at the samples in solution. Both the unknown 154 and Aspirin were cloudy in solution thus fu rther supporting the identification of unknown 154. In this experiment there were not too many sources of error.One source could have been that the glassware being used may not have been cleaned thoroughly before using it thus possibly contaminating the unknown or the other analgesic drugs. This Experiment definitely was an efficient way to help determine what type of drug the unknown 154 was but there are a few improvements that could have been done to help better determine the unknown. One improvement could be to examine the solvent used because different solvents create different separations between spots.Another improvement could be to also run an Infrared Spectroscopy on the unknown and known compounds. Answers to Questions: 1. ) When running TLC plates three common mistakes that can be made are using a pen instead of a pencil to mark on the plate, using the wrong solvent, and touching the plates thus getting grease on them. 2. ) The Starting line and the spotting line are mark ed with pencil rather than pen because the ink from the pen would move with the solvent front thus interfering with the results. 3. ) Acetaminophen Aspirin CaffeineIbuprofen Salicylamide Pretty much all of the functional groups can determine the polarity of a compound. This includes Amides, Acids, Alcohols, Ketones, Aldehydes, Amines, Esters, Ethers, and Alkanes. Even though they all can determine the polarity of the compound Amides, Acids, Alcohols, Ketones, and Aldehydes are the most polar and therefore are the best at determining polarity in compounds. 4. ) In order of increasing polarity Ibuprofen is the least , then it is Aspirin, then Salicylamide, then acetaminophen, and Caffeine is the most polar. 5. The Acetic Acid in the TLC solvent is used to increase the polarity of the developing solvent thus reducing the amount of attraction the polar compound has for the stationary phase. 6. ) TLC is a good way to determine an unknown, but not to determine composition of an unknown. O ne good way to determine the composition of an unknown is to run an Infrared Spectroscopy which when analyzed functional groups can be identified. Another way to determine the composition of an analgesic drug could be to run a Mass Spectroscopy which when analyzed could determine the elemental composition of the drug.