The Asch Phenomenon and Consumer Behavior Essay Example for Free

The Asch Phenomenon and Consumer Behavior Essay Imagine yourself sitting in a room with seven of your peers. You are asked a question and given a choice of three different answers: A, B, or C. You know the answer is C, yet every single person before you confidently states that the answer is B. Do you stick with your answer, or eliminate the fear of being wrong and embarrassed in front of your peers and go along with the group? This is the exact dilemma faced by subjects in the famous Asch experiment. The Asch phenomenon can be defined as the effect of a reference group on individual decision making that occurs because of a perceived pressure to conform to the stated opinions of the group members. As consumers, we should recognize the great impact this phenomenon can have on our buying behaviors. While interacting in a group setting, we may make choices that are different from what we would do when alone. Marketers and salespeople may use this idea to their advantage when presenting a product to potential customers. If they can get a few people to voice a positive opinion toward their products, it is likely that others will follow. As consumers, we should be aware of when this idea may be used unethically in order to protect our individual interests. For example, a salesperson may try to sell a product to an audience of potential consumers. However, some people working for the salesperson may be planted in the audience posing as naive consumers in order to influence the purchase behaviors of the other members of the audience. Also, marketers may use individuals’ insecurities to pressure them to go along with the group, even when it is not in a person’s best interest. An ad showing a man being ridiculed for buying a less expensive television set may unethically lead a consumer to think he needs to buy something unaffordable to fit in with his friends. Explanation of the Topic The Asch phenomenon is a concept derived from the findings of a study conducted in 1951. Solomon Asch (1907 1996) originally conducted this experiment to explain conformity to majority-established norms (Moghaddam, 1998). The subjects involved in the study were brought into a room with seven other students (who were all working for Asch and were instructed on what to do) and seated second-to-last around a table. The subjects were told that the experiment was concerned with accuracy and visual perception, and that their task was to choose which of the three bars on the right matched the length of the bar on the left and to give their answers aloud. The confederates in the study were instructed to give incorrect answers 12 out of 18 times in order to see whether or not the subject would go along with the crowd after hearing their incorrect responses (â€Å"Conformity Experiments Asch: Social Pressure†). A Test of Perception [pic] Which line in Exhibit 2 is the same length as the line in Exhibit 1? A series of experiments by Solomon Asch, testing the effects of social pressure on individual perceptions, showed that some people in some situations will go against the evidence of their own senses if the people around them seem to perceive something different. Thirty-seven of the fifty subjects conformed to the majority at least once, and fourteen of them conformed on more than half of the significant trials (â€Å"Conformity†). Overall, 35 percent of the subjects’ responses conformed to the group’s incorrect judgments. This is surprising because the control group achieved near perfect accuracy, showing that the task was not inherently difficult. In addition, when the experiment was duplicated allowing the subjects to write down their own judgments privately after hearing the incorrect responses of the group, conformity was drastically reduced (Baxter). The reasons why subjects gave in to group influence hold important ideas for salespeople and marketers. People conform for two main reasons: because they want to be liked by the group and because they believe the group is better informed than they are (â€Å"Conformity†). In this study, Asch reported that most of the participants yielded to group pressure because they assumed the majority was right and they were wrong, rather than because they wanted to be accepted by the majority (Levine, 1999). This difference is what separates the Asch phenomenon from the concept of peer pressure. Peer pressure tends to operate more in primary groups in which normative and identification group influences are at work, rather than informational group influences. A brief example may explain the differences between these three types of influences. Informational influence is at work when a person thinks, â€Å"I should buy that brand of cereal because my health-conscious friends recommend it as part of a nutritious diet. † Normative influence is at work when a person thinks, â€Å"I should buy that brand of cereal so that my friends think that I am also health-conscious, or so they won’t make fun of me for eating badly. † Finally, a person reacting to identification influence would think, â€Å"I should buy that brand of cereal because I am a member of Weight Watchers, and all of us value that brand. Asch’s findings support more of an informational influence, particularly because the conforming subjects did not even know the other members of the group. They just assumed that the group must know something that they did not know, or decided it was easier and safer to go along with the group. The Asch phenomenon occurs even when there is only a perceived pressure to conform. That is, if members go against the group they will not experience any negative consequences. However, when dealing with peer pressure, often individuals who do not conform are ridiculed, humiliated, or excluded by his/her peers. Looking at the Asch study, you can see that while a significant proportion of people conformed, the majority did not. This suggests that some people may be more susceptible to the phenomenon than others, and that certain situations may create this pressure to conform more than others. There are five determinants of reference group influence. If there is visible usage, high relevance of a product to the group, low individual purchase confidence, strong individual commitment to the group, and it is a non-necessary item, people are much more likely to be influenced by the opinions of the group members (Hawkins, 2004). Imagine shopping by yourself as opposed to shopping with a group of your fashion-conscious friends. You notice a red shirt on the rack, but don’t really care for it. One of your friends later picks up the shirt and says, â€Å"This shirt is absolutely fabulous. † The other members of the group agree, and soon you find yourself agreeing that you also love the shirt. You do this not only because you want to be accepted by the group, but because you assume the others know more about fashion than you do. In addition, if the shirt is a reasonable price and you are looking for something to wear to a party where everyone will be dressed fashionably, the opinions of the group members will affect your purchase decision even more. The Asch phenomenon has been demonstrated in a variety of settings. In one study, 58 percent of college students were persuaded to agree to the statement that â€Å"the right of freedom of speech should be suspended when the Government feels threatened,† even though not one of these subjects held this view privately (Baxter). In another study, students’ perceptions of the nutritional value of a new diet food were influenced by the opinions of other members of a group. When the other students of the group were seen as â€Å"experts,† meaning they claimed to be majoring in and had work experience with nutrition, members changed their initial responses to conform to the group even more (Lascu, 1995). Clearly, this phenomenon should not be ignored when advertising a new product or designing a sales campaign, when potential consumers’ opinions are more likely to be swayed. The technique would be useful when potential consumers see others as having greater expertise about the product than they do. However, a great deal of risk in purchasing may cause a consumer to seek out information himself rather than go off of what others say. Therefore, the Asch phenomenon may work ideally in low-expertise and low-involvement situations. Examples Examples of the Asch phenomenon can be found throughout the media. When members of a group voice their positive opinions about a product, people are more willing to go along with this stated opinion. For example, Ford Motor Company uses the Asch phenomenon to build greater brand loyalty by providing a section on their website dedicated to personal stories with Ford vehicles. By reading all of the positive stories about Ford cars and trucks, consumers may also feel pressure to think the same way about Fords. Another example of the influence group members may have on individual purchasing decisions comes from the use of infomercials in which a product is displayed to a group of potential customers. At first, the consumers are skeptical that a product could be so easy to use, so convenient, or so inexpensive. However, a consumer is instructed to use a product, is impressed by the product, and says, â€Å"Wow, I really can feel my legs and abs getting stronger† or â€Å"Wow, this vegetable chopper really does make it easy. † Soon after, other members of the group are going along with the stated opinions of the original users, and people at home begin to agree with the group too, possibly to the point of purchasing the product. Specific companies using this technique include Ronco, Body by Jake, and Tae-bo. Pampered Chef kitchen shows work in a similar way, and depend on stated opinions of kitchen experts and groups of friends. As the host displays and uses a variety of kitchen products, showing how helpful, easy, and fun to use they are, other members of the group may try them out and voice similar opinions. A person who may not have otherwise been excited by a cooking stone or apple corer/peeler/slicer soon finds these products as amazing as the other members of the group, and has ordered them without giving a second thought as to when she will actually use them. People often find it very difficult to go against the positive opinions of movie critics and reviewers. When showing commercials for films, the previews include such statements as â€Å"The funniest movie of the year,† â€Å"Absolutely phenomenal† or â€Å"The best drama since (fill in the blank). † Claims such as these, especially from credible critics and publications, are difficult to disagree with and tend to sway people to go see the movie. For example, a person sees a movie on opening day before it is heavily advertised. This person thinks the movie is ok, but does not recommend it to any friends or family to see. However, after watching several ads on television in which positive claims are made about the movie, the person may change his/her opinion to go along with these claims. Suddenly, the movie seems better, and the individual finds him/herself agreeing with the critics and recommending the movie to others. This may be because he/she does not want to be the only one who thinks differently, or because the critics have greater expertise on movies.

Programming Paradigms Essay Example for Free

Programming Paradigms Essay This style of programming was brought as a result of lines of code being too long, thousands of lines of code were needed for one program. The procedural approach of programming was introduced that would break down these lines of code into block of around 10 lines of code, these blocks were used to carry out specific functions for the overall program. These functions are procedures hence the name of this style of programming was called Procedural Programming. In procedural programming a program would be built by writing these functions/procedures and calling upon them when you need them to perform a function in the program. An example of procedural programming is a scoreboard for a football tournament where the winning team would receive 3 points, and the losing team 0, if the teams draw 1 point is allocated to each team. The program for this would be broken down into blocks: The program is controlled by one control procedure, that calls each of the other procedures in the order that they’ll be executed, in this example the procedures called from the input, then to calculate and finally to display results. Procedural programming has many limitations; firstly, there is a lack of reusability, this is because by using procedural programming, thousands of lines of code are used which are for one specific purpose. If the program was to be used in the same organisation, amending the lines of code can be a lengthy procedure as there are many lines of code to sort through, also if some lines of code are edited, bugs can occur in other parts of the while program, therefore it would be best to create a completely new program. Another limitation is the fact that using procedural programming is not productive, as is it a lengthy process, and programmers who can code in the procedural style are very expensive, therefore employing them can be very expensive. Team working while using the procedural programming can be very difficult, even though large organisations require a group of programmers rather than one. Object orientated programming became more popular due to the fact that team working was not easy, it allowed teams to be split up so that they could each create objects and then bring them together to create one whole program. FORTRAN is a typical application that uses procedural programming; this was one of the first high-level languages and was created by IBM in 1954. FORTRAN is still used today for scientific, engineering and mathematical problems.

The Airasia Marketing Concept Management Essay

The Airasia Marketing Concept Management Essay In the world of growing business competition, strategic management is where a process of certain level of management set goals and tactics in a firm. Strategic management provides overall direction of the functional areas of business firm department such as accounting, finance, production and marketing that allows the management to understand the concept of each operation level of management in the entire organization. Managers should also make the most from each organization level to achieve a best strengths and weakness in the environment. When this method is being applied, management seek answer to question regards to how, why and what will happened Airlines industry has help the industry in economic growth hence changing the life of people live and experience the world today Airlines operations interact among various officially permitted, community life, technology thus influencing management to make decision and actions This involved in relating the goals of the organization with the environment to a way of conscious and a planned method. AirAsia is one of the companies with a good strategic management and has becoming a low cost carrier airline which received several awards and recognition in the best low cost airlines in the world in year 2009. As of December 31, 2011, AirAsia Berhad (AsiaAsia) has engaged in providing transportation services which operates at a fleet of 90 aircraft. AirAsia operation flies over domestic and international destination with 108 routes and operates over 400 different daily flights which are located from different hubs. Those hubs are located in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. AirAsia concept applies in no-frills, hassle-free, low fare business concept and their corporate values are Now Everyone Can Fly. Low Cost Airlines Simple Product Low Operating Cost Positioning Figure 1.0 AirAsia marketing concept. According to Daniel Chan market for airlines in Asia has been glomming to seek ways to compete each and another in the industry. Each of them has their own strategic management which allows them to achieve long terms objective and making them the best among their competitors. This has encourage AirAsia to consider strategic management program due to the current competition of Asia travel market and the need to have the urge to compete with their competitor which makes them only one of its kind in the industry. Four major functions of process which are planning, organizing, leading and controlling were no longer sufficient to support the current complex environment. This is because this process only managed the company internally but do not concentrate on the current environment which affecting the organization. Companies that adopt the four major functions were found that they were not successful in the current competitive market forces. On top of that, the organization only performs well in operation effective but not in strategy. Operation effectiveness and strategy are both similar but they only perform in a very different ways. Strategy is about the competitive market which the company performs different task in different ways of environment. Those tools are PESTEL, SWOT and Porter Five Forces. All of these tools analyses the macro and micro environment. Below diagram will further explain those tools. PESTEL DIAGRAM Political To fly outside Malaysia is not easy. Government political is one of the problem that low cost airlines faces. Landing charge and parking charges are very expensive and destination to Bangkok, Beijing, and Singapore is no cheaper than a backup airport. People are afraid to fly where threat of terrorism attack has happened before in the month of Sept 11 2001. Political stable where Asia country has no strikes, no wars and customer is free to plan their own traveling time. Economic Due to the stiff competition from MAS, AirAsia tend to offer lower pricing in tickets and a few flight routes to compete with the current economic. The rising of Asia middle class population growth has encourage customer to enjoy flying with a cheaper rate of tickets Malaysia Tourism and hospitality has boost AirAsia economic by advertising the brand name Social Has created a huge people awareness and exposure on traveling within a limited budget in Asia countries. This motivation was created with the AirAsia slogan Now everyone can fly AirAsia has created different living environment and culture by promoting different countries AirAsia commit to Safety First has outcome the fear of customer flying abroad due to the Outbreak of Several Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Technology AirAsia has the state of the art in IT technology which offers E-commerce. In Aug 2003, AirAsia become the first to offer SMS booking where the online service allows consumer to book ticket online, offer seat choosing and luggage check in. The website also offers viewing in six different languages. GO holiday was also launch to introduce customer to book holiday packages online via real time. AirAsia has bought in A320 to replace Boeing 737; which the new airbus has improved fuel efficiency, bigger overhead bin, lower maintenance and extra seat which proven to better performance and reliability. Environment The new purchase of A32 planes has an engine which burn less fuel technology which included lighter weight body. The new planes engine maintenance and wash program which proven to gain 1% to 2% efficiency. More improved pilot training which are being train to take-off and landing more efficiently AirAsia green methods is by adapt the paper containers and cups when they server food during the flight route. Legal Government policy has been set up to ensure that all government business trip to engage with MAS airlines. The budget airlines in south-east Asia is under-develop due to the market of aviation is control by the government right agreement. Customer has taken legal action towards AirAsia for failing to disclose the full price for some route location. Figure 1.0 Self created Pestel analysis Below diagram shows the SWOT analysis. The internal factor can be look into the strength and weakness of the company where else the external factors would be the opportunities and threats in the external environment. SWOT DIAGRAM STENGTHS WEAKNESS AirAsia has a very strong relationship with the government and airlines industry leaders The current management team is good in strategy formulation and implementation. The branding of AirAsia was well established in Asia Pacific. One of Asia cheapest Airlines which are low cost operations. The advance technology of the IT team such in emails alert and desktop alerts for a new promotion Multi-skilled staffed which are well equip and efficient in workforce. A single type of fleet which is easy to maintain and easy for pilot dispatch. AirAsia does not have own repair system, maintenance or overhaul (MRO) facility. Received a lot of complain from end user due to overwhelming of ticket purchases on festive season. Flights always delay due to improper time management. A fix-cost in perishable product which are the airlines seat. This will encourages the airlines to cut down price to attempt to fill empty seats at a lower price than rather flying at a half empty plane. No central location or backup airport. Branding is always an issue in placing in market position. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS There increasing of oil price creates an opportunities for AsiaAsia to capture new or existing customer which are on budget travelers. The ASEAN Open Skies program allows competition among regional airlines which creates partner with other low cost airlines for example Virgin has join in to create a brand name for AsiaAsia. Increase of population of Asian middle class will increase 700 million by 2013 which creates a huge opportunities for AsiaAsia to cater the need of user. Ongoing business prospect will open up new routes and new airport deals Rates such as airport departure, security charges and landing charges are elastic price which beyond the control of the airlines AirAsia profit margin is about 30% and this creates a new competitor to arise such as Tiger Airways. User safety point of view is neglected due to cheaper cost of ticket. User need to purchase a separated insurance for the ticket. Oil price fluctuations which affect the Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and other operational cost. This will add cost to AirAsia since the total cost fuel is higher than 26% for low cost airlines compared to 20% for a full service airlines Lack of secondary backup airport infrastructure. Other countries like Europe have a secondary airport to avoid flying into mainland airports hence they can skip to pay high cost of landing fees. System always down due to high volume of online sales. Figure 2.0 Self created SWOT diagram. Porter five forces have been used to determine the competitive and the magnetism of the market value and to understand the AirAsia competitive advantage. Table below shows the porter five forces: PORTER FIVE FORCES Competitive rivalry within an industry. This would be the matrix segment of geographical and demography market. AirAsia competitor would be Tiger Airlines and Firefly which both of them also provides cheap flight and several same routes. AirAsia also claim that they dont have any additional fees which are not true. They have several hidden fees which are booking seats and luggage fees which could create a problem in price issue. Population of middle class income is increasing hence creates a huge opportunities for the airlines therefore airlines have to slash price among each another due to customer are not loyal and they tend to switch easy from different company to another Threat of new entry Branding is one of the major factors for new entry. Entry within this industry not only required high cost but also a branding image. New entry is required to impress the investors so that they can make a huge investment in the industry. Government legislation is also an issue where new airlines cant get a new permit flight route from the government. For example if AirAsia want to add more flight route to other county, this would be a barrier for them due to government permit and it will affect their profit. Different service product being offered by competitors where AirAsia provided travel packages around Asia besides only selling air ticket. AirAsia also have great connection with tourism companies around the Asia country thus making this harder for new competitor to compete. Bargaining power of supplier Bargaining power of buyers is strong and cost of switching airlines is low. AirAsia is not the only the airlines which offer low cost operation in Asia. Other competitor prices are not so much different than AirAsia. This will create customer to choose their most suitable schedule of airlines that fits them the best. Two major planes supplier which is Airbus and Boeing. Both of them are having the same standard aircraft which mostly AirAsia ordered in a large amounts from Airbus in order to expand their flight routes. This creates a strong relationship and big discount. Bargaining power of buyer Buyers nowadays are more informed and IT savvy. They are more sensitive to price change making they have more choices to compare with other airlines which its easy for customer to change to other airlines that offer the same service. Customer of Airasia is mostly individual /group travelers which their air tickets purchase is being purchase individual. This makes the bargaining power buyer is strong. AirAsia also have bad image when it comes to flight delays issue. Customer tends to choose other airlines to make sure they reach their destination on time. Threat of substitute product When the price of airlines is expensive, customer will look for a substitute. Price also depends on the booking time and flights date. The longer booking dates are cheaper compare to shorter booking dates. If the ticket is purchase last minute, which cost higher price, customer tends to switch to other airlines such as MAS or Singapore Airlines which offers premium services Some of the traveling purpose would be a business meeting which is now being taken over by the Internet industry. These meeting can be replaced with calls such as video conferencing which can take place within the office premises to save company traveling cost. Figure 3.0 Self created Porter Five Forces diagram. AirAsia adapted the theory of market segment where penetrate into the low cost carrier and the ability to compete among other competitor in the field business. Those methods are: The use of E-commerce in the AirAsia system. They have implement a E-commerce business tool making it one of the kind that allows a AirAsia to sell product, advertise, purchase supplies, bypass and track inventory, cutting down the paperwork and sharing information over the e-portal. This system has improved productivity and higher profitability and yet minimizing the cost of expenses in the company According to Pultorak (2004), when a business strategy mix with IT, the IT platform can be modify to meet business needs and respond to certain user requirement. Example would be the IT platform online system that AirAsia implemented. Customer reservation system (CRS) is a user friendly web-based system which allows user to make reservation, choosing their own seat at various prices, printing out their own e-ticketing and self check-in online which saves ample times. This also helps to cut down the middleman or travel agents cost. All this was being implemented to archive the lowest cost of an airline can possible achieved The use of ERP system in the AirAsia system. Its a use of software that develops a support decisions with planning and controlling the business Its integrated software to make the IT system more effective and efficiently which has been successfully maintain the process of integrity data, reduced month end closing processing time, increase in speed up of data reporting and data retrieval process The system also helps AirAsia to capture their daily operation transaction as well as the operational cost. As the result from both of this system, AirAsia has move from the traditional business method and transform it into an E-commerce system which allows them to achieved their goals and objective to be one of the lowest carrier airplanes in the world This essay describes the strategic management use of implementation of certain tools such as PESTEL, SWOT and Porter Five Forces analysis. Those tools make AirAsia achieve their capability, scope and goals Making use of the IT system and E-commerce has also lead AirAsia to be one of the low cost carriers in the airplane industry. AirAsia chooses strategic management method based on the competition in airlines industry is tough. Other airlines companies are trying to figure out strategic ways to compete among their industry which strategic management has become one of the tools factor to survive in their business industry. None the less airlines need to consider on how to integrate the system as well as the main factors such as external and internal process

Essay --

When imagining the Cold War, it is safe to assume that most people envision a picture that of its namesake; a game of spy versus spy, secret black operations and nuclear threats, with no major physical conflict. However, contrary to the aforementioned portrait, and the given label, the Cold War was anything but â€Å"cold.† Not only was there physical conflict, but full-scale wars, fought out on the battlefield rather than the podium. Engulfed at the start was the Korean War, a bloody wake-up call for America on how far the Communists will fight for their government. A fact to be once again reinforced with the Vietnam War, both of which shook America up to the point of questioning their own â€Å"invincibility.† The â€Å"revelation† in the United States was due to the outcome of both wars, which points to the inarguable fact that our quest to stop Communism in Asia was an overall failure. The fact that the United States was not the global dominant power thought to be after WWII was a tough truth to swallow for the American populace at the time (and perhaps today). After WWII, the US was exhausted, battered, and relieved. Years of fighting finally ended how it began: with the bombing of an unsuspecting populace. A hypocritical, albeit â€Å"necessary† evil. With the newly established United Nations, the world could finally rest in peace. However, the US and its allies now how had a bigger problem to contend with. Many people saw it coming, even before the end of the war. General George S. Patton saw threat in the Soviet Union's power, even while US troops were fighting and dying alongside them. However, despite the warnings, the United States failed to act, and thus, found themselves reacting to Russia's every move. The lines were set, the alliances... ... topic on the minds of even the truest patriots: Did we win? Some might argue yes, since South Korea remains a democratic state today, a fact that cannot be stated if North Korea had won. However, some might argue the opposite; the fact that North Korea is still a thorough-bred communist threat proves that we failed our goal of uniting Korea under a democratic government. The line between winning and losing was, and is, too blurry to accurately decide a conclusion. This was in sharp contrast to WWII, or WWI, or even as far back as the Spanish-American war, where America won. America always wins, right? For the first time in almost 200 years, the answer to that question is no longer clear. And that scared the American people. And with that scare, the cracks of doubt formed in the window of invincibility. A window about to be shattered, by the Iron Hammer of Communism.

Industrial Revolution :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Industrial Revolution started in the 1700’s and was a great time period in the history of earth. It paved the way for more efficient industries and was the first step towards urbanization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Great Britain, a large rural society, had many farms. Farming took a lot of time out of the day of the people; they needed to invent something more efficient to work on their farms. Jethro Tull invented the seed drill and the plough. The seed drill increased the percent of seeds that germinated, it spaced them out equally instead of the old method of taking a handful of seeds and throwing them all over the field. The plough turned the dirt over to be able to use the nutrients under the old crop. Another agricultural inventor was Charles Townshend. He thought up the idea of the four crop rotation instead of the one in use at that time, the three crop rotation. In this way, they had two crops to feed their livestock, which increased the nutrients in the soil, and they had two basic crops to feed themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Industrial Revolution took place in Britain because of the large rural societies. After those main agricultural inventions, the plough and seed drill, the farmers wanted more land. They were only given a small square on which they could farm. The farmers that wanted more land received it, and therefore made a prosperous living. But the workers who were still on the small pieces of land couldn’t make as good as a living like the farmers with the big fields. This put them out of a job, which was ironically another big step in the Industrial Revolution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The out of work farmers, needing a job to survive, found work at factories being built by wealthy land owners. These factories were placed in very significant spots, by rivers.

Conventionality vs Instinct in Daisy Miller and The Awakening Essay

Henry James's Daisy Miller and Kate Chopin's The Awakening were first published twenty-one years apart, the former in 1878 and the latter in 1899. Despite the gap of more than two decades, however, the two works evince a similarity of thought and intent that is immediately evident in their main themes. Both works display characters whose lives have been governed almost solely by the conventions of their respective societies. Furthermore, both works also attempt to demonstrate to the reader what happens when these conventions are challenged by individual instincts, which more often than not are in direct contradiction to the dictates of convention. The theme of conventionality versus instinct predominates both works. In Daisy Miller the theme is embodied in the character of Frederick Winterbourne, an ex-patriot American living in Europe. The Awakening's Edna Pontellier serves as the means through which Kate Chopin examines her version of this theme. Both Winterbourne and Edna are trapped in conventional worlds, and both are affected by a deep, instinctive need to break free of the bonds that restrain them so absolutely. The portrayal of this theme, however, is accomplished in different ways by Henry James and Kate Chopin. The main reason for this is that although the theme is common to both works, the protagonists' experience of it are not. Conventionality has entrapped them in different ways, and their instinctive reactions arise out of differing circumstances. Frederick Winterbourne, for example, comes to a realization of his internal struggle between conventionality and instinct not in and of himself, but because of Miss Daisy Miller. Winterbourne meets the young Miss Miller in Vevay, Switzerland, while v... ...life, a life where her instincts hold ultimate sway. Yet the theme in both works is similar in one way. For, while the weight of judgement does fall against the ex-patriots in Daisy Miller, we realize that they are not wholly in the wrong, for they do recognize Giovanelli for what he is. And although we praise Daisy for her refusal to submit to their conventions, we realize that she was not necessarily perfectly correct in ignoring all of the conventions. Similarly, we praise Edna for breaking free from the conventions that a patriarchal society forced upon her. In the end, however, she is forced to leave that world, since she cannot accept any of its conventions. The true theme in both Daisy Miller and The Awakening, then, is not that it is better to flout convention and live by instinct, but that life must necessarily be a synthesis of convention and instinct.

Hardness Removal

Lab X3: Hardness Removal The objective of the experiment was to remove water hardness through the use of different methods such as: chemical addition, flocculation, and settling. Equipment Used: Buret 150 mL beaker 1-2L jar Filter paper, funnel Stir bar, magnetic stirrer Rapid mix reactor Stop watch Fisherbrand 100-1000? L digital pipet – serial number: DH94800 pH indicator paper Experimental conditions – 74. 6 ? F Data and Analysis Table 1: Parameters of untreated water| pH| ALK total (mg/L as CaCO3)| TH (mg/L as CaCO3)| Calcium hardness (mg/L as CaCO3)| Magnesium hardness (mg/L as CaCO3)| 6. 9| 188| 328| 296| 32| Table 2: Data for hardness and other parameters of softened water| pH| Starting position (mL)| Ending position (mL)| Volume of 0. 0100M EDTA for total hardness titration (mL)| Starting position (mL)| Ending position (mL)| Volume of 0. 0100M EDTA for calcium hardness titration (mL)| 7| 0. 00| 4. 20| 4. 20| 6. 90| 9. 85| 2. 95| Calculations for softened water: Total Hardness = 4. 20 mL 0. 0100 M EDTA50 mL (sample)*1000 mL1 L*1 mg CaCO31 mL 0. 0100 M EDTA=84 mgLCaCO3 Calcium Hardness = 2. 95 mL 0. 0100 M EDTA50 mL (sample)*1000 mL1 L*1 mg CaCO31 mL 0. 100 M EDTA=59 mgLCaCO3 Magnesium Hardness = 84 mgLCaCO3-59 mgLCaCO3= 25 mgLCaCO3 Questions: 1) Based on this experiment what additional step is needed to make the water suitable for human consumption? 2) What was the percentage removal of total hardness, calcium, and magnesium? The percentage removal for total hardness was 74. 39%, for Calcium 80. 06%, and for Magnesium 21. 88%. Total Hardness Percentage Removal = 100-84328*100=74. 39 % Calcium Percentage Removal = 100-59296*100=80. 06% Magnesium Percentage Removal = 100-2532*100=21. 88% ) How close did the treatment process come to reaching the practical limits of hardness reduction? Hardness removal limits were not achieved. Calcium was reduced to a concentration of 59 mg/L versus the limit of 30 mg/L. And in the case of Magnesium the conce ntration was reduced to 25mg/L versus the limit of 10mg/L. Calcium percent difference: 30-5930=96. 66% (Absolute value) Magnesium percent difference: 10-2510=150% (Absolute value) 4) How many metric tons of Ca(OH)2 and NaCO3 are necessary to process 59 million gallons of water per day based on the calculations of 1. a. and 1. b.?To run this water softening technique in a water plant processing 59 million gallons per day it would require 51 tons of Ca(OH)2 and 33 tons of NaCO3 2. 27*10-4kgL*223. 02*106L*(ton1000 kg)=51 tons of CaOH2 per day 1. 48*10-4kgL*223. 02*106L*(ton1000 kg)=33 tons of NaCO3 per day Discussion Hard water is an issue for industries that rely on large amounts of water to operate. Hardness generated by elements such as calcium and magnesium cat ions produce scum in pipes and with many industrial chemicals reduces their overall effectiveness. That is why it is important to have economic and reliable ways of reducing water hardness in large scales.The particular meth od used in this experiment was lime soda softening. It has to be noted that this particular procedure only works for water that has an initial pH level lower than 8. Based on stoichiometry and the addition rules according to Nazaroff and Alvarez-Cohen we are able to find what concentration of Ca(OH)2 and NaCO3 are needed to remove hardness from the water. Based on our results the softening of the water was a success. Initial total hardness was recorded at 328 mg/L, after softening the concentration was found to be 84 mg/L.Looking individually at the reduction of calcium and magnesium the concentration was reduced from 296 mg/L to 59 mg/L and 32 mg/L to 25 mg/L respectively. Even though a large amount of the hardness was removed from the water it was nowhere near the practical limit levels. This can be attributed to the fact that the reactions that dictate hardness removal suffer from diminishing returns. Sources of error in this lab can be attributed to the fact that the sample wate r was only allowed to precipitate for 15 minutes instead of the 20 that was required as stated by the procedure.