Refraction of Light Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Refraction of Light - Research Paper Example Refraction refers to the property by which light bends when it travels from rarer to a denser or from a denser to a rarer medium. If a ray of light is travelling from a denser to a rarer medium, say from glass to air it bends away from the normal. If the ray of light travels from a rarer to a denser medium, it bends towards the normal. The phenomenon of refraction of light is governed by laws known as Laws of Refraction. When a ray of light traverses from one medium to another, the direction and the angle by which it bends is determined by these laws. The first law of refraction states that the incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal all lie in the same plane (Walker et al, 2010) The second law is prime factor for determining the direction of the refracted ray. This law is popularly known as Snell’s law. According the this law the direction of the refracted ray depends on the ratio of speed of light in the two mediums. Light travels with different speeds in different mediums. Most materials have refractive indices of their own which primarily depends on the wavelength of light. The refractive index of any material is given by the ratio of the speed of light travelling of light in that medium by the speed of light travelling in vacuum. Optically dense medium are those that have a high refractive index while those materials whose refractive indices are almost near to 1 are known as optically rare media (Haynes, 2014) When light travels from a medium of higher refractive index to a medium of lower refractive index, the path taken by the light rays is dependent on the angle of incidence. If the angle of incidence exceeds beyond a certain value the refracted ray does not travel to another medium but in fact returns back into the same medium. This phenomenon is known as total internal reflection and the angle of incidence is known as the critical angle. Critical angle is also known as the limit angle and is defined as the angle

Witness essay Essay Example for Free

Witness essay Essay HENRY LAWSON:- Many composers have been successful in using distinctly visual elements to create a particular image to reveal their own vision of the world. Henry Lawson is able to portray his image that life in the bush is not romantic. One can see this message portrayed through the short stories ‘the drovers wife’ and ‘in a dry season’. However Douglas Stewart portrays his perception of the destructive nature of mankind visually through his poems ‘wombat’ and ‘nesting time’ Firstly in Lawson’s â€Å"The drovers wife† we see how he personally views his perspective as being part of a group of people. He represents this through various language techniques and direct quotes to show the perception of belonging he has developed. Through the use of rhetorical questions â€Å"who are these shadows† through this quote he shows us that in the beginning he has no sense of belonging with that particular group of people. We see the use of peaceful imagery â€Å"moonlight plain† to show us that the shadows he may belong to are not necessarily dark and evil. In this poem we see how there’s a sense of mystery as to whether he belongs or not through the quote â€Å"The bearded faceless men† hence showing he does not belong. But later on in the poem he also quotes they â€Å"stood shoulder to shoulder† showing that he may belong and or be part of their circle. Hence, we can see his point of view. Furthermore we can see how a point of view is shown in Lawson’s story in a dry season. We see this through various language techniques and quotes. The quote â€Å"our lady watched† shows us that even though he never grew up in a certain group he still had something far stronger than a group of peers monitoring his every step and guarding him through he’s schooling days this shows the strong sense of belonging he developed with the school. The Quote â€Å"like a foreign tourist† shows us that peter never had a sense of belonging with that particular group even though he had been part of them for years but he still failed to integrate himself with them. The quote for â€Å"eight years† shows us that peter never felt as though he belonged to the school although he abided by the rules and dressed in the correct uniform, Hence, showing us both his point of view. Finally in the poem â€Å"Wombat† we can see how different people view belonging through many different emotive quotes. We see how the wombat goes down a long road from not belonging to belonging, we see this through the quote â€Å"from f lag burner to patriot† this shows us that he felt through he never belonged but  with time came his sense of identity which played a major role in helping him belong. We also see his journey from not belonging to belonging because he burnt the Australian flag but later on in his life had it put up as an ironic symbol in his room hence, we see how it views the word belonging. This is evident that a person can go from belonging to not belonging and that belonging is viewed differently by different people. This can be linked back to the poem ancestors as in the poem peter feels as though he does not belong at all just when he burn down the Australian flag but later on goes to discover his identity and realizes the flag is a part of him while Lawson knows that he does not belong to his ancestor at the moment but may belong to them in the final destination reached in the peaceful nature in comparison it can also be linked back to wombat as in the poem we can see how he has no sense of belonging just as first but later on found out and established his own notion of belonging. Hence, we can see both notions of belonging. In conclusion many composers have been successful in using distinctly visual elements to create a particular image to reveal their own vision of the world. Henry Lawson is able to portray his image that life in the bush is not romantic. One can see this message portrayed through the short stories â€Å"The drovers wife† and â€Å"In a dry season†. However Douglas Stewart portrays his perception of the destructive nature of mankind visually through his poems ‘wombat’ and ‘nesting time†.

Autonomy versus Responsibility: A critique of Nuremberg Essay examples

Autonomy versus Responsibility: A critique of Nuremberg "This case is unusual in that the defendants are charged with crimes committed in the name of the law†¦." ( United States 31) So began Brigadier General Taylor in his opening statement against a selection of German jurists after the Second World War. This trial, United States of America against Josef Altstoetter et al., commonly referred to as the "Justice Case" because all of the defendants were somehow attached to the Nazi judicial system, was unusual, for as Taylor continued: These men, together with their deceased or fugitive colleagues, were the embodiment of justice in the Third Reich. Most of the defendants have served, at various times, as judges, as state prosecutors, and as officials and as officials in the Reich Ministry of Justice. All but one are professional jurists; they are all well accustomed to courts and courtrooms., though their present role may be new to them. But a court is far more than a courtroom; it is a process and a spirit. It is a house of law. This the defendants know, or must have known in times past. I doubt that they ever forgot it. Indeed the root of the accusation here is that those men, leaders of the German judicial consciously and deliberately surpressed the lawengaged in a brutish tyranny disguised as justice, and conveted the German judicial system to an engine of despotism, conquest, pillage and slaughter. The methods by which these crimes were committed may be novel in some respects, but the crimes themselves are not. They are as old as mankind, and their names are murder, torture, plunder and others equally familiar. The victims of these crimes are countless, and they include nationals of practically eve... ... is analyzed: that judges are responsible for the laws they enforce, and therefore must act with complete autonomy while they sit on the bench, recognizing not only written law, but also the unwritten moral law of man. Secondly, no nation is autonomous, they are all bound to accept responsibility before mankind as a whole. Finally, even the law itself is responsible to a higher, moral law that is universal. With this one case, America forever stepped away from the philosophical tenets of autonomous isolationism. Works Cited: - Bosh, William J. Judgment on Nuremberg. Chapel Hill NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1970 - United States. Nuernberg Military Tribunals. Trial of War Criminals Before the Nuerenberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10 Nuerenberg October 1946-April 1949 Volume III. Washington: GPO, 1951

Managing Diversity in South Africa Essay

Introduction In the workplace, diversity in terms of ethnicity, locality, education and skills, age, and gender exist. Managers or employers therefore require innovative ideas to successfully manage employees in the workplace. Diversity management is a relatively new field in the South African business environment. Managing employees and the work environment involves different aspects and is influenced by the internal environment such as in the mission, vision and goals of the organisation as well as the external environment. These aspects include areas where diversity management is important. Managers have various roles to carry out in an organisation in order to provide effective management and deal with the ethical issues. Factors such as changing structures and polices, providing diversity skills training, creating cross functional teams and employee network groups, building relationships, and providing complete managerial support are all factors that contribute towards effective diversity management. A successful diversity management approach must be more accommodating and more capable of promoting the diversity within an organization to bring everyone together and generate effective participation. This means that employees should be regarded as an organized whole that brings meaningful contributions from their social, political, economic, and geographical experiences. 2. Diversity Diversity can be defined as all the ways people differ, that is the different influences to approaching the workplace, communication between employees, satisfaction achieved from performance and identification in the workplace (Daft, Kendrick, & Vershinina, 2010). It is a commitment to distinguishing and appreciating the range of characteristics that make individuals unique in an atmosphere that supports and celebrates individual and collective achievement (Tennessee, 2003). Diversity â€Å"represents the multitude of individual differences and similarities that exist among people (Kreitner, 2001). According to Erasmus, diversity applies to all employees and does not only encompass certain differences but rather the entire spectrum of individual differences that make people unique. Therefore diversity cannot be viewed as only racial or religious differentiation but s all differences combined. The notion of diversity describes differences among people as well as similarities. The discipline of managing diversity requires that these two aspects are managed simultaneously. He further suggests that managers are expected to integrate the collective mixture of similarities and differences between workers into the organisation (Erasmus, 2007). Diver sity is more than being politically correct; it is about nurturing a culture that values individuals and their wide assortment of needs and contributions Diversity management is a moderately new field in the South African business environment. Diversity management is ensuring that the necessary factors are in place to provide for and to encourage the continuous development of diversity in the workplace, by incorporating actual and perceived differences to achieve the utmost efficiency (Bandyopadhyay, Hazra, & Goswami, 2007). Diversity management can also be defined as the commitment on the part of the organisations to recruit, retain, reward and promote a heterogeneous mix of productive, motivated and committed workers, including people of colour, whites, females and the disabled (Inancevich & Gilbert, 2000). The two areas where diversity management are particularly important include: * Workplace diversity. * Global diversity. Workplace diversity refers to the array of distinctions between people in an organisation. Some of the benefits of implementing workplace diversity are; increased adaptability which supplies a variety of solutions to problems in service, sourcing, and allocation of resources, various opinions which include ideas and experiences, and effectiveness in terms of employee performance to attain goals (Greenberg, 2005). Furthermore, enhanced use of employee capacity is encouraged. This involves competitive advantage over other organisations along with prospects and development of employees for retention purposes. Diversity initiatives retain a competitive advantage by improving employee confidence, decreasing interpersonal conflict, facilitating development in new markets and increasing creativity. It also includes the understanding of the marketplace in terms of the changing needs of consumers. Building workplace diversity will also result in the improved extent of understanding in leadership positions that encompasses a variety of skills. Better quality of team problem solving to bring in different perspectives resulting in creativity of ideas and solutions and lastly reduction of costs induce lower turnover, absenteeism and lawsuits (Daft, Kendrick, & Vershinina, 2010). Global diversity is more than just demographical factors (such as age, race, gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation), it is about thinking, leadership, skills and style which integrates peoples differences to achieve all the goals planned and is acceptable universally, that is by breaking though barriers through globalisation (Dell, 2011). Globalisation refers to standardisation of products plan and marketing strategy throughout the world by assuming a homogeneous global market of consumers and industrial products (Daft, Kendrick, & Vershinina, 2010). A benefit of global diversity is broader services through customer satisfaction and product availability. By managing diversity, managers access a range of skills which the organisation has never had before and thus a broader array of individual strengths, experiences and perspectives. There is also a wider legitimacy and organisational image across a wider audience. Managers however should realise that managing diversity is fairly tough and cannot be implemented immediately. It is instead a long-term strategy in order to correct the imbalances in the workplace. 3. Mission, Vision and Goals A mission is defined as the organisations’ reason for existence. A mission statement is a broadly stated definition of the purpose of the company. Well designed mission statements can enhance employee motivation and organisational performance.

The Lottery Comparison of Tradition

Margaret Urquhart Professor Daniels ENC1102 15 March 2013 An Outrageous Tale Standing in line for hours, impatiently waiting for the front doors of our favorite stores to open, to be nearly trampled upon for discounted items, is a tradition we, as Americans, like to call Black Friday. Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, often regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. To get people in the spirit, most major retailers open before the sun comes up and offers promotional sales to kick off the holiday shopping season.Americans consider â€Å"getting in the spirit,† by waking at the crack of dawn to pry items out of other people’s hands while at the same time getting pushed and shoved by crazy amounts of people on the same hunt. We call a tradition; a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance that has origin from the past. Black Friday is the one tradition that I thought was the worst until reading â€Å"The Lottery,† by Shirley Jackson. Jackson uses irony to suggest an underlying evil, hypocrisy, and weakness of human kind.Jackson shows many important lessons about human nature in this short story including barbaric traditions in a supposedly civilized village, the community’s hypocrisy, and how violence and cruelty take place. â€Å"The Lottery† tells the story of an annual tradition in a small village, where the people are close and tradition is paramount. The Lottery is a yearly event in which one person in the town is randomly chosen, by a drawing, to be violently stoned by friends and family.The villagers don’t really know much about the lottery’s origin but try to preserve the tradition nevertheless; they believed that someone had to be sacrificed to insure a good crop. â€Å"Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,† said Old Man Warner. The villagers allow an outdated tradition to run their liv es and control whether they live or die. The black box symbolizes death; the name of the â€Å"winner† to be stoned is drawn from the box at every lottery, it represents tradition in the fact that it is old and worn.It has been in existence seemingly forever and though there is talk of replacing it, the reader can infer that there will be no such change. The villagers are aware that the sacrifice is inhumane but none want to stand and voice their opinion because they are afraid of how it may affect their lives. â€Å"The lottery† has been practiced in this town for such a long time that it makes tradition so powerful, it’s like a force of nature, and the people of the village can’t imagine rebelling against it.The black box represents tradition in aspects to it being old; the characters mention that they did not want to get rid of the old box because it was made of splinters of the original box. The town is so focused on how things were and how things hav e always been that they cannot see any new or improved ways of living. Nevertheless, the lottery continues simply because there has always been a lottery. In â€Å"The Lottery,† the idea of hypocrisy is seen throughout the story. This theme is evident by the tradition of the lottery itself as well as the characters’ actions.The theme of hypocrisy is often attached to the idea of religion. Mr. Adams questions the traditions of the lottery and Mr. Summers says, â€Å"There’s always been a lottery,† and that it would be â€Å"nothing but trouble. † With these statements I feel that this tradition has been around for such a long time that if they were to get rid of it, in return it would turn the town upside down and the villagers wouldn’t know how to react to not having it. They keep the tradition alive yet they create nothing but trouble in determining who dies. The character Mrs. Hutchinson’s best friend, Mrs.Delacroix, is one of the f irst to casually discuss the lottery and in contrast she is the first to pick up a rock to stone her so called friend. Jackson’s use of such a tradition and these everyday characters demonstrates how hypocritical we are in society and is cautioning readers to questions those ideas set in stone. Shirley Jackson shows us that violence is a part of human nature, and that it can be disguised in many ways. The setting of the story is seemingly civilized and peaceful, while the stoning is a cruel and brutal act. This shows us that horrifying acts of violence can take place anywhere at any time, by ordinary citizens.Violence and cruelty are a major theme because we do not live in a â€Å"perfect† world where nothing bad ever goes wrong; there is violence and cruelty all around us. We see human cruelty in its worst form because there is no excuse for it. Jackson's example illustrates how mankind can become a victim to its own mindless traditions. For example, one child in the story was depicted this way: â€Å"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example. †(Jackson 194) This quote shows how people are mindless followers just because everyone else is doing it.This strange tale is twisted in ways that show us so much about human nature and the way we are in society. The themes that are unraveled throughout the story are shocking, teaching us about human nature on a different level. People live by the term, â€Å"If everyone else is doing it, then I should too. † This shows how even though the tradition has been going on for so long, no one actually knows when it originated; they only continue it because it’s the tradition of the town. The violence and cruelty that comes into play is brutal in the sense that Mrs.Hutchinson’s friends were the first to stone her and not have any problem with it, which shows the hypocrisy of human beings. The people of the town disguise th e evil tradition of the lottery by following orders without asking any questions. Getting pushed and shoved in line for long hours for an item is a tradition that we should not have in America anymore, but still do because everyone does it. In the same sense, dying is drastically worse than getting pushed and shoved; they can’t stop the tradition of â€Å"The Lottery† because it’s what everyone in town does.

Contract law Essay Example

Contract law Essay Example Contract law Essay Contract law Essay CONTRACT is a valid contract which lacks legal sufficiency due, for example, to incorrect or incomplete following of a required or statutory procedure, and may not be enforceable by the courts. Four Classifications of Defective Contract : 1. Rescission Contract Declaration or clearly communicated intention by a party to a avoidable contract that it is exercising its right to terminate (rescind) the contract. It is an irrevocable step that frees the other party as well from its contractual obligations, as if the contract never existed. Rescission may be on mutual consent, by an act of law, or by either party for reasonable cause such as a material misrepresentation. 2. Avoidable Contract Unlike a void contract, is a valid contract. At most, one party to the contract is bound. The unbound party may repudiate the contract, at which time the contract is void. 3. Unenforceable Contract Valid contract that cannot be fully enforced due to some technical defect. It has some legal consequences which may not be enforced in an action for images or specific performance in the face of certain defenses including the statute of frauds. . Void Contract Void contract cannot be enforced by law. Void contracts are different from avoidable contracts, which are contracts that may be (but not necessarily will be) nullified. However, when a contract is being written and signed, there is no automatic mechanism available in every situation that can be utilized to detect the validity or enforceability of that contract. Practically, a contr act can be declared to be void by a court of law.

About The Deadly Tangshan Earthquake

About The Deadly Tangshan Earthquake At 3:42 a.m. on July 28, 1976, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit the sleeping city of Tangshan, in northeastern China. The very large earthquake, striking an area where it was totally unexpected, obliterated the city of Tangshan and killed over 240,000 people - making it the deadliest earthquake of the twentieth century. Fireballs and Animals Give Warning Though scientific earthquake prediction is in its nascent stages, nature often gives some advance warning of an impending earthquake. In a village outside of Tangshan, well water reportedly rose and fell three times the day before the earthquake. In another village, gas began to spout out the water well on July 12 and then increased on July 25th and 26th. Other wells throughout the area showed signs of cracking. Animals also gave a warning that something was about to happen. One thousand chickens in Baiguantuan refused to eat and ran around excitedly chirping. Mice and yellow weasels were seen running around looking for a place to hide. In one household in the city of Tangshan, a goldfish began jumping wildly in its bowl. At 2 a.m. on July 28, shortly before the earthquake struck, the goldfish jumped out of its bowl. Once its owner had returned him to his bowl, the goldfish continued to jump out of its bowl until the earthquake hit.1 Strange? Indeed. These were isolated incidents, spread across a city of a million people and a countryside scattered with villages. But nature gave additional warnings. The night preceding the earthquake, July 27-28, many people reported seeing strange lights as well as loud sounds. The lights were seen in a multitude of hues. Some people saw flashes of light; others witnessed fireballs flying across the sky. Loud, roaring noises followed the lights and fireballs. Workers at the Tangshan airport described the noises as louder than that of an airplane.2 The Earthquake Strikes When the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Tangshan at 3:42 a.m. on July 28, over a million people lay sleeping, unaware of the disaster that was to befall them. As the earth began to shake, a few people who were awake had the forethought to dive under a table or other heavy piece of furniture, but most were asleep and did not have time. The entire earthquake lasted approximately 14 to 16 seconds. Once the quake was over, the people who could, scrambled out into the open, only to see the entire city levelled. After an initial period of shock, the survivors began to dig through debris to answer the muffled calls for help as well as find loved ones still under rubble. As injured people were saved from under the rubble, they were lain on the side of the road. Many of the medical personnel were also trapped under debris or killed by the earthquake. The medical centers were destroyed as well as the roads to get there. Survivors were faced with no water, no food, and no electricity. All but one of the roads into Tangshan was undrivable. Unfortunately, relief workers accidentally clogged the one remaining road, leaving them and their supplies stuck for hours in the traffic jam. People needed help immediately; survivors could not wait for help to arrive. Survivors formed groups to dig for others. They set up medical areas where emergency procedures were conducted with the minimum of supplies. They searched for food and set up temporary shelters. Though 80 percent of the people trapped under rubble were saved, a 7.1 magnitude aftershock that hit in the afternoon of July 28 sealed the fate for many who had been waiting under the rubble for help. After the earthquake hit, 242,419 people lay dead or dying, along with another 164,581 people who were severely injured. In 7,218 households, all members of the family were killed by the earthquake. Corpses were buried quickly, usually close to the residences in which they perished. This later caused health problems, especially after it rained and the bodies were again exposed. Workers had to find these impromptu graves, dig up the bodies, and then move and rebury the corpses outside of the city.3 Damage and Recovery Before the 1976 earthquake, scientists didnt think Tangshan was susceptible to a large earthquake; thus, the area was zoned an intensity level of VI on the Chinese intensity scale (similar to the Mercalli scale). The 7.8 earthquake that hit Tangshan was given an intensity level of XI (out of XII). The buildings in Tangshan were not built to withstand such a large earthquake. Ninety-three percent of residential buildings and 78 percent of industrial buildings were completely destroyed. Eighty percent of the water pumping stations were seriously damaged and the water pipes were damaged throughout the city. Fourteen percent of the sewage pipes were severely damaged. The foundations of bridges gave way, causing the bridges to collapse. Railroad lines bent. Roads were covered with debris as well as riddled with fissures. With so much damage, recovery was not easy. Food was a high priority. Some food was parachuted in, but the distribution was uneven. Water, even just for drinking, was extremely scarce. Many people drank out of pools or other locations that had become contaminated during the earthquake. Relief workers eventually got water trucks and others to transport clean drinking water into the affected areas. After the emergency care was given, the rebuilding of Tangshan began almost immediately. Though it took time, the entire city was rebuilt and is again home to over a million people, earning Tangshan the name Brave City of China. Notes 1. Chen Yong, et al, The Great Tangshan Earthquake of 1976: An Anatomy of Disaster (New York: Pergamon Press, 1988) 53.2. Yong, Great Tangshan 53.3. Yong, Great Tangshan 70. Bibliography Ash, Russell. The Top 10 of Everything, 1999. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 1998. Yong, Chen, et al. The Great Tangshan Earthquake of 1976: An Anatomy of Disaster. New York: Pergamon Press, 1988.