Water and Quality Contamination Essay Example for Free

Water and Quality Contamination Essay Introduction. Background: According to the Millennium Development Goals Report 2012, 783 million people, or 11 per cent of the global population, remain without access to an improved source of drinking water. Also the United Nations has long been addressing the global crisis caused by insufficient water supply to satisfy basic human needs and growing demands on the world’s water resources to meet human, commercial and agricultural needs (un.org). In this experiment water quality and contamination of groundwater was investigated. First, I observed the effects that many pollutants have on groundwater. I predict that in this experiment the oil and vinegar will create the large amount of contamination in the water, while the laundry detergent will just create an aroma smell to it. Considering the smells and color to these ingredients I think that it will cause the water quality to have a bad smell and cause the water to be very cloudy. Once filtering the contaminated water, the water will be clear and purified. Second, I will experiment water treatment and filtering. I predict that once the contaminated water is treated and filtered that it will leave me with less contamination or none at all. Then for the last experiment, I will determine the difference between bottled water and tap water to discover any contamination. I predict that the tap water will be the most contaminated and with the most chemicals in it, while the bottled waters; Dasani and Fiji will be completely filtered and free of any chemicals. Objective: The objective of groundwater sampling is to determine whether or  not the quality of the water is poor or valuable enough to drink, and then it leads to decontamination and filtering. Contaminants can move from food, soil, air and water. It is important to note that groundwater and surface water may act both as pathways. Evaluation of surface and ground waters as part of contaminated site investigation studies is, therefore, a major concern. Hypothesis: There were three different steps to this investigation to determine the final hypothesis. The first experiment was the effects of groundwater contamination, second was water treatment and third was drinking water quality. There are a variety of portable sampling devices available for the collection of groundwater, however, each application has different standards and is dependent on the contaminants. A number of different sampling devices and their being able to be used are used to determine the contamination. Techniques for the preservation and analysis of samples and quality assurance and quality control are also presented. Materials and Methods: Experiment #1: In order to determine my final hypothesis I had to experiment many different methods. The first method was to experiment the effects of groundwater contamination. My first step to this method was to gather all the proper materials, which included water, vegetable oil, vinegar, laundry detergent, and 240 mL of soil, cheesecloth and beakers. I started by labeling all the beakers 1-8, so that I can do comparisons and so forth. Then, I carried on to filling the beakers with water. Once adding water I then put oil, vinegar and laundry detergent into three different beakers, then mixed them and recorded my observations. After this objective was complete I drained the contaminated water into cheesecloth and recorded my observations from that as well. Experiment #2: In the second experiment, I filtered the water as to how water is properly filtered in order to purify it to drink it. The materials used in this experiment were 100 mL potting soil, beakers, 40 mL sand, 20 mL acti vated charcoal, 60 mL Gravel, alum, bleach, cheesecloth, funnel and graduated cylinder. The first step I took was adding 100 mL of soil to a beaker and adding 200 mL of water to it. Then, with two beakers I went back and forth between the two with the soil  and the sand. Once the solution was created I placed the newly contaminated water into another beaker. Once I completed that I added 10 grams of alum to the contaminated water, stirred it slowly for 2 minutes and waited 15 minutes for results, then recorded them. Meanwhile, I continued to experiment by putting a piece of cheesecloth into a funnel and the funnel into a beaker. On top of the cheesecloth 20 mL of sand, then 20 mL of activated charcoal, then 40 mL of gravel was added. Tap water was then ran through the mixture and waited five minutes to filter and see results. A few drops of bleach were then added to the water to create the filtered water. Then the two results were compared. Experiment #3: In the third experiment, tap water and bottled water were tested and compared to determine if there are health benefits in drinking bottled water. The materials used for this experiment were Dasani and Fiji bottled water, ammonia test strips, chloride test strips, 4-in-1 test strips, phosphate test strips, iron test strips, beakers, Para film, pipettes, and foil packets of reducing powder. First, all three types of water were placed into three separate beakers for further testing. The first test ammonia test strips were used, and then I recorded my results, this process continued with all the other testing strips for my final hypothesis. Hypothesis: My hypothesis was confirmed. At first I did not get much of a good response from the treatment because it was still filled with dirt. The tap water had higher levels of everything during the experiment while the treated water had none. The smell of tap was the smell of city public water while the treated water smelt like bleach. It is better the go through the filtration process. What are the steps to this process are as filtration and disinfection. In this lab I used all these steps to perform water treatment. After this experiment my hypothesis was denied. I thought that the tap water would be the only contaminated water when it was just the most contaminated while the bottled water was indeed clear and filtered, but it was not 100% clear of all contaminants. The major differences are that tap water definitely with holds much more contaminants than bottled or filtered water. My tap water seems as if it isn’t to badly contaminated and is drinkable. I definitely believe that bottled water is a better drinking water and you cant be to safe to consume tap water. Context: Bottled water can come from wells, springs, artesian wells, or the municipal water supply. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate it as a food product. It is important to note that the FDAs standards are essentially the same as those set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which regulates public water supplies. In some states, however, bottled water requirements are stricter than those for tap water are (people.chem.duke). Overall, the experiments went really well and it was good to learn about the water that we intake. Discovering the effects of groundwater contamination and the quality of water was a huge success. In these processes I discovered the importance to having filtrated water. The  process in this involves many different steps, but after taking all the required steps it leads to have clean and purified water, which is benefits society health. Variables and Futures Experiments: The point of experiment one is for us to get an understanding of the difference substances that are affected on ground water. Conclusions The threat of harmful contaminants in drinking water can no longer be reasonably ignored. The correlation between contaminated drinking water and many significant diseases and health problems is far too strong to discount ( historyofwaterfilters). At the end of the day we as people need water to survive. Millions of Americans receive high quality drinking water every day from their public water systems, (which may be publicly or privately owned). Nonetheless, drinking water safety cannot be taken for granted. SDWA applies to every public water system in the United States. There are currently more than 160,000 public water systems providing water to almost all Americans at some time in their lives(water.epa.gov). It is important to know that the water you are drinking in safe and it is healthy it doesn’t matter if the water is from the bottle or the tap. References http://www.historyofwaterfilters.com/conclusion.html http://people.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/water/wattap.html http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/water/ http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/index.cfm

Implementing A Successful E Commerce Proposal Information Technology Essay

Implementing A Successful E Commerce Proposal Information Technology Essay The purpose of the assignment is to implement a successful ecommerce proposal for an upcoming fashion designer in United Kingdom. The fashion designer graduated from a well known fashion university and received two awards for her collection. She has been working since 5 years for other designers and plus working on independent designing of designer wear for women. The fashion designer would now like to setup her own business to promote her talent globally. The proposal suggests taking an e-commerce approach. Starting your own fashion e-business in the country is quite promising as fashion is a growing and an important industry in the United Kingdom. It was always known for its trends and creativeness. It has evolved from a domestic manufacturing industry into a design led industry. The fashion designing industry benefits from high turnover of new and exciting designers, innovation, competitive looks and styles(Nathan,2009) As per (Marketing Week, 2009) suggests that the online retail industry can be perceived as a rather complicated means of establishing a business. However in comparison with traditional ways of setting up retail business, electronic medium provide instant access to considerably larger geographical span of target market at a very low setup and operational cost. The proposal will highlight the opportunities of using e-commerce as a solution for the growth of the fashion designers business. 2.1 E-Commerce E-commerce has made it possible to communicate with people and carry out transactions any time of the day at the customers ease. It is beneficial for the companies to acquire access to the global markets and compete easily with larger similar markets. Shopping online creates a virtual store for the customers to purchase the products and services therefore use of online retail in fashion is growing all over the world. United Kingdoms fashion industry is participating with optimism in e-commerce. According to (National Statistics,2009) businesses in the online retail sector showed the largest rise in sales by 106.6bn pounds in 2008 compared to other sectors (travelling, wholesale and real-estate) When evaluating the importance of online business in an organization, it is useful to identify the different types of e-commerce transactions. One of them is sell-side e-commerce. As per (Napier et al,2005), sell-side e-commerce involves transactions with selling products to an organizations customers. Sell-side ecommerce provides many different types of websites. A typical transactional e-commerce website is a site which enables purchase of products online and also to give them an option of purchasing in standalone stores (Chaffey, 2007) .Most of the fashion businesses use transactional e-commerce websites so that the customers have the preference of either buying their items online or offline. 2.2 Opportunities for Using Sell-side E-commerce There has been a revolution in the way fashion companies are using different tactics and offering their products and services to the online consumers. Paul Smith a designer based in London launched his first online shopping website in 2009, based on B2C model. European customers are able to access the website, soon it will be extended to international market (Lepper,2009). New fashion designers have started opening their online shops in ebay following the C2C model. They are selling their products without any middleman. This is a good way to start up their initial business at less cost and exposure to the international markets (Bora,2010) and (Chaffey, 2007) suggests that using sell-side e-commerce consists of many other advantages which will be discussed below Sell-Side E-commerce can reach the customers globally. It enables the companies or individual to reach their customers worldwide. Small companies can also reach their target audience and maintain global relationships without the restriction of finance. Time is not a constraint in e-commerce business. Many companies benefit from the fact that one can do business online 24/7. It has been cost effective for many online stores. Opening and maintaining stand alone stores can be very costly. The online store cuts down the sales force, utility bills and other operating cost that is present in offline stores. Customers database can be easily stored and maintained online. Tracking the regular customers is easy. One can send regular newsletters, emails, vouchers about the products and services to customers who want the information. Their information can be stored when they register and automatic updates can be sent to them via email. This helps in retaining customers. Payments online makes transaction easier and quick. Sales are processed more quickly and effectively The highlighted benefits show that e-commerce has changed the way consumers shop. Consumers and sellers both have the benefit of selling and purchasing online at their own time and leisure. The technology has changed the behaviour of shopping for customers where they can save time and the options of choosing from variety of products. It goes on to show that e-commerce will be here for a long time and continuously grow as well. 3.1 Implementation of E-Commerce Proposal Online fashion retail business in UK is a demand driven growing industry. There are more than 50 websites set up by entrepreneur fashion designers in the country to promote their small businesses worldwide. (Pendle,2008). Building a flourishing site on the internet is every bit as hard as creating a challenging store environment. Like stand alone stores, online stores have to be created to display successful shopping experience for the customers. Yet online retailers have to address the complications arising from the unpredictable behaviour of customers and development of competitors websites. According to (Chaffey,2007) Many companies have dealt with these problems and moved in the online world by applying blogging and choosing solution providers that best suits their company, overcoming the limitations of e-commerce and following the laws in a proper manner. The fashion designer could start the e-commerce business slowly with the help of blogging. Not only established designers but the small or individual companies have adopted this approach to start their own business online. Starting a blog could also start the awareness to audience. Online fashion media is growing and blogging is a big part of it. Fashion bloggers are becoming more famous than the press itself. The thing with bloggers is that the companies have no control over it. Anyone can write about anything on the internet. (Copping, 2009) suggests the most of the bloggers are young and not consumers of designer brands. Yet they are uncontrollable and designers are learning to deal with it. Also many famous designer companies such as Gucci paid a group of fashion bloggers to create the extra hype and awareness of a fashion show held in Paris. Louis Vuitton was the first to use facebook to broadcast a catwalk show live. Meanwhile Dolce Gabana streamlined its fashion event directl y on youtube. Thus it can be said that blogging is becoming interesting and insightful in the fashion world. Even few customers visiting and discovering the identity through the blogs could recommend their friends and families and promote the business. After she gets recognised in the market, she can start her own small website and build on it when the company starts growing. Launching the website can be done through a limited budget and when the company picks up on sales, hiring proper marketing agents and solution providers to ensure that the designer gets all her potential clients shopping on the website. Community websites can be very effective to promote such young and talented designers. They dont really have to open their own web site to sell products which would require large amount of investment, but the designer can use community websites like facebook and wordpress. (Cave,2009) suggests that broadband of UK plays a big role in easy and reliable access for customers online. Although there are companies available who are working hard to facilitate fast internet connections such as BT in UK but they should focus more on making internet safe for the consumers by using security checks in websites and with the help of banks make sure that the payment cards used online are made by the authenticated user such as 3D secure. The designer should capitalize on the commercial opportunities and choose the right solution provider to provide its customers with optimum security via internet shopping The designer could incorporate m-commerce software in the website so the consumers of UK can shop easily anytime of the day. As per (Napier et al,2005) increasing popularity of wireless communication and handheld devices, have led to mobile-commerce. It is the process of buying and selling goods through wireless technology. Customers are increasingly using mobile communication as an option to browse the internet. Making the website accessed from mobile phones can be useful for fashion companies targeting worldwide customers. The above points highlights that the designer should start her business slowly by using free community websites and blogging to establish her identity and then move forward in launching an online business with adding in m-commerce to increase more customers. This could be an opportunity for her to become a successful online fashion designer. 3.2 Issues to be Addressed Sell-Side E-commerce like any other business consists of some issues that are important to identify. These drawbacks can bring hesitation among people to use the internet freely. Many developing countries still restrict themselves to shop online and prefer going to the stores for the products. Trust is the main issue in online shopping. Customers are sensitive and reluctant in giving their financial information online if it is not a secure website. Many people dont feel secure in doing transactions online as e-commerce can be prone to security fraud. Credit card fraud has been increasing these days, discouraging the consumers from shopping online. (Bora,2010) Another limitation that e-commerce consist of is updating the product information from time to time. Maintaining the customer orders and website is also very crucial in online business. This can be time consuming and tiring for companies. Privilege of feeling and touching the product is not available in e-commerce websites. Some customers feel less satisfied in ordering the product before examining it properly. Setting up an e-business is purely dependant on technology. Knowledge of IT is important in running a business especially for individuals and small companies. If technology fails, company has to be very vigilant of the backup as there will be no other substitute. Also delivery of the products can take a longer time and it may result in a wrong order. This discourages the customer in buying product from the same company again or in the worst case shopping online altogether. Due to the some of the limitations of technology identified above of trust issues over security on internet, e-commerce is still not accepted and used in many countries but no doubt that when it comes to UK customers are more confident in shopping online by secure means and having trust over online companies. 4.1 Conclusion The technical aspects of ecommerce and its importance in establishing online businesses in the UK provided interesting findings concerning e-commerce and their organizations. UK e-commerce is common and consumers prefer it due to convenience, secure payment systems, different variety of choices available and it fits their demands and requirements. The given proposal will be beneficial for the fashion designer in many ways such as: The profit margin will increase immensely. One good thing about e-commerce in fashion industry is that it is a good opportunity for companies to invest in online websites in this recession period. This will help the designer in cutting down the high budgets spent in stores and as it is becoming common that every company is going online, the future of e-commerce would be bright for the designer. One of the benefits would be able to compete in the market. To be competitive in the market, sales and different promotions have to be set not only in stores but online as well to get more customers to browse the website. An advantage to companies who have online websites as they offer flexibility to its shoppers to shop 24/7 a day from work or home, this would generate more revenue for the business As there are many protection plans for e-commerce websites in the UK, these laws and secure mediums provide safety to the consumers and are it offers the small organizations to compete with global industries easily. Due to these legal protections for newly established e-commerce sites, care is taken for the businesses to protect the customers who in turn shop with confidence online. Indication of the time period Market research will take approximately 6 weeks Marketing will take 2 weeks Design and website development will take one month Maintenance will be ongoing Therefore the whole project plan will take approximately 3 months to complete while its maintenance and fixes will be in progress taken care by solution provider chosen.

H.S. Level - SOund And Light Waves :: essays research papers

Sounds are produced by the vibrations of material objects, and travel as a result of momentum transfer when air molecules collide. Our ‘subjective impression’ about the frequency of a sound is called pitch. High pitch has high vibration frequency, while low pitch has a low vibration frequency. A pure musical tone consists of a single pitch or frequency. However, most musical tones are â€Å"complex summations† of various pure frequencies - one characteristic frequency, called the fundamental, and a series of overtones or harmonics Younger people can usually hear pitches with frequencies from about 20 hertz (infrasonic) to 20,000 (ultrasonic) hertz. We can’t hear above 20,000 hertz or below 20 hertz (ultra and infrasonic waves). Light is both part particle and part wave. Light is â€Å"the electromagnetic radiation that may be perceived by the human eye†. It consists of photons, which are massless bundles of concentrated electromagnetic energy. Light’s lower frequency is red, and the higher frequency is blue. Like sound, light has frequencies humans can’t detect. Ultraviolet light is at a frequency higher than violet, and infrared is at the frequency lower than the red of visible light. We get UV (ultraviolet) rays from the sun, and infrared is used in night vision to see better. Sound travels at about 1,200 k/hr while light travels at about 300,000 km/s. It’s easy to notice how slowly sound travels. Take, for instance, a soccer field. If you were standing at one end and you see somebody kick the ball, it will probably take a second for you to hear the person kick it. You hear the sound a few seconds after you see the ball moving. The farther you are away, the longer the space is between you seeing the ball being kicked and you actually hearing it. Light can travel around the earth 7 and a half times in one second. Light and sound are similar in some ways too, though. They both have frequencies that humans cannot detect (ultraviolet, infrasonic, etc.). Since both of them are also waves, they can be made to interfere. They can also be made to reflect and refract. As said above, both light and sound waves have to do with interference. In sound, interference affects both the loudness and amplitude. When two waves’ crests overlap, the amplitude increases. The same is true with the troughs of the waves, which decrease the amplitude.

Dominos Pizza Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Dominos Pizza Overview Company: Domino's Pizza Founded: In 1960 by Thomas S. Monaghan in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ownership: In December 1998, investors, including funds managed by Bain Capital Inc., a leading private equity investment firm, together with management and others, acquired a 93% stake in the Company, which was formerly owned by founder, Thomas Monaghan and his family. Description: Domino's Pizza has been dedicated and committed to quality service, product and delivery excellence for more than 40 years, making it the world leader in pizza delivery. Domino's is the largest privately held restaurant chain, and the eighth largest of all restaurant chains in the world. Products: Domino's Pizza offers Crunchy Thin Crust, Ultimate Deep Dish and Classic Hand Tossed pizzas with a number of regional toppings. Side items include Domino's Bread Sticks, Double Cheesy Bread, CinnaStix and Buffalo Wings. Beverages consist of icy cold Coca-Cola products. Stores: Domino's Pizza operates a network of 6,977 owned and franchised stores in the United States and 64 international markets. Employees: Over 120,000 associates are employed by Domino's around the globe, 15,000 of those are corporate employees, of which 550 work at the worldwide headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Each Domino's store employs 15-30 part-time and full-time individuals Officer’s: David Brandon, chairman and chief executive officer Jim Stansik, special assistant to the CEO Harry Silverman, chief financial officer and executive vice president, finance/administration Tim Monteith, chief information officer Hoyt Jones, executive vice president, flawless execution-franchise stores Patrick Knotts, executive vice president, flawless execution-corporate stores Patrick Doyle, executive vice president, Domino's Pizza International and acting executive vice president, build the brand Mike Soignet, executive vice president, maintain high standards Tim McIntyre, vice president, corporate communications Elisa D. Garcia C., executive vice president and general counsel Patti Wilmot, executive vice president, people first National Charity: In August 1998, Domino's Pizza began a long-term relationship with Easter Seals, which has become the corporation's first national charity of choice. Through this alliance, Domino's is dedicated to helping children and adults wi... ... items have also allowed them to stay head of the game making them a top competitor in there market. The efficiency with which Dominos run is remarkable in the aspect of time but if you look at there turnover rate it is something that might need some work, however dealing with people of that age group it is hard to get anyone to commit to delivering pizzas for life. In conclusion Dominos is a company that started in 1960 with a single store and went public and now has stores all over the world. This once little pizza shop is now global and has met up to all the challenges that face a company when it’s growing stages. The culture is one that stood the test of time so far and has a great look for the future. With all of this in mind Domino’s Pizza is a company that we will see for along time into the future. Work Cited Domino’s Company History. http://www.dominos.com/About/CompanyHistory.cfm Domino’s Company Profile. http://www.dominos.com/About/CompanyProfile.cfm Domino’s Corporate Giving. http://www.dominos.com/About/corp_giving.cfm Domino’s Vision. http://www.dominos.com/Franchise/Index.cfm Domino’s Mission. http://www.dominos.com/About/quality.cfm

Reproduction :: essays research papers

For some time she had watched his movements, appearing coyly in his haunts. And now, had it paid off? Doubtless, he was in love. His muscles were taut; he swooped through the air more like an eagle than a Greylag gander. The only problem was, it was not for her that he then landed in a flurry of quacks and wingbeats, or for her that he dashed off surprise attacks on his fellows. It was, rather, for another - for her preening rival across the Bavarian lake. Poor goose. Will she mate with the gander of her dreams? Or will she trail him for years, laying infertile egg clutches as proof of her faithfulness? Either outcome is possible in an animal world marked daily by scenes of courtship, spurning and love triumphant. And take note: these are not the imaginings of some Disney screen-16 writer. Decades ago Konrad Lorenz, a famed Austrian naturalist, made detailed studies of Greylags and afterwards showed no hesitation in using words like love, grief and even embarrassment to describe the behavior of these large, social birds. At the same time he did not forget that all romance - animal and human - is tied intimately to natural selection. Natural selection brought on the evolution of males and females during prehistoric epochs when environmental change was making life difficult for single-sex species such as bacteria and algae. Generally, these reproduced by splitting into identical copies of themselves. New generations were thus no better than old ones at surviving in an altered world. With the emergence of the sexes, however, youngsters acquired the qualities of two parents. This meant that they were different from both - different and perhaps better at coping with tough problems of survival. At the same time, nature had to furnish a new set of instincts which would make "parents" out of such unreflective entities as mollusks and jellyfish.. The peacock's splendid feathers, the firefly's flash, the humpback whale's resounding bellow - all are means these animals have evolved to obey nature's command: "Find a mate. Transmit your characteristics through time!" But while most males would accept indiscriminate mating, females generally have more on their minds. In most species, after all, they take on reproduction's hardest chores such as carrying young, incubating eggs and tending newborns. Often they can produce only a few young in a lifetime. (Given half a chance, most males would spawn thousands.) So it's no surprising that the ladies are choosy. They want to match their characteristics with those of a successful mate. He may flap his wings or join a hockey team, but somehow he must show that his offspring will not likely be last to eat or first in predatory jaws.

Foot Binding In China Essay

Although seemingly incomprehensible for the average Western person today, foot binding was a custom which lasted for more than 1,000 years in China. In fact, foot binding was a particular practice reserved for the elite and was reputedly a sign of social status, hierarchy and wealth. Extreme deformity, by way of bound feet, was practiced for its aesthetic appeal and as a symbol of social status. Starting in about the 10th century A. D. , foot binding gained currency in China and was practiced exclusively among women with an eye to aesthetic beauty. Seeking to address the mysteries behind the foot binding phenomenon and make sense of a custom which seems appears so foreign to the average Western eye, this essay will conduct a thorough analysis of foot binding in China through an exploration of Fred C. Blake’s â€Å"Foot-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriation of Female Labor†, published in the scholarly journal Signs in 2009. We will begin with an analysis of the history of foot binding in China, explore the practice of foot binding and explain how it is accomplished, as explained in the article. We will delve into the reasons why foot binding became such a prominent feature in China, conclude with a summary of Blake’s research and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the article. Accordingly, we will analyze the contribution to the field of anthropology. History Foot binding is a practice which is culturally specific and unique to the Asian context. Foot binding gained currency in the 10th century A. D. as an aesthetic characteristic sought after by women in China and is an excellent example of the evolution of conceptions of beauty. In China, the â€Å"lotus foot† was prized among members of all classes as being a standard of beauty to which many women worked hard to obtain. Accordingly, the foot binding custom was an incredibly painful process which required years to obtain and was additionally a painful process as well. Some oral historians relate the tradition of bound feet to the Chinese Prince Li Yu from the Sung dynasty and the gracefulness of his concubine Yao Niang. In fact, according to legend, Yao Niang, although not a woman with bound feet herself, had such small feet and walked so gracefully that her gait was one in which people all across China stove to emulate. Another legend discusses the life of the last Empress of the Shang dynasty, beautiful women who were born with a clubbed foot. Due to the stigma associated with such a disability in the era, this Empress bound her foot to conceal her deformity and instructed her husband to make the bound foot mandatory for all girls. By making a bound foot the norm in the kingdom, she thus made her bound foot beautiful and established an important standard of beauty in China. With Mongol invasions in the thirteenth century, they supported the practice of foot binding, allegedly because it demonstrated the inferiority of women to men and fully entrenched sex segregation and gender hierarchies. Establishing the Yuan dynasty, foot binding became more and more prominent in China and continued for more than 800 years thereafter (Blake 681). Although it may certainly seem usual for the average Westerner today to understand the beauty and desire associated with bound feet in ancient China, this practice is not so dissimilar to corseting, a practice common among the aristocracy of the Western world from the 15th century to the late 19th century. A corset is a garment which is worn to mold the stomach and torso into an incredibly thin shape, with the desired result being an incredibly thin waste. The corset, much like the bound foot, can be incredibly uncomfortable for the wearer and has the potential to result in permanent torso damage and disfigurement. Corset wearing has an important aesthetic in the West – particularly prominent in Victorian era England – and was a sign of refinement, privilege and beauty. The bound foot is similar and we will discuss the process of foot binding below. How was Foot Binding Accomplished? Now that we have established that there are important historical precedents for the practice of foot binding and that while we are unsure of how it came about, we do now know that it was common in China for nearly a millennia. How was the unique practice of foot binding accomplished? An article in the American Journal of Public Health which looked at the physical consequences of bound feet on elderly women succinctly described the process. Beginning at the age of five, â€Å"all but the first toe on each foot were broken and the feet bound with cloth strips that were tightened over the course of 2 years to keep the feet shorter than 10 cm and to bend the sole into extreme concavity. † The process was usually undertaken during the fall or winter so that the foot would be numb to the pain when the toes were broken. Feet were initially soaked – by the mother, an important actor in the process – in warm water and animal blood and herbs and a special potion was applied to the foot. After the toes were broken, bandages were applied around the smallest toes and were affixed tightly to the heel. For the first two years, the binding was removed and reapplied, a painful process, every two days. To ensure that the feet remained deformed and small, this process sometimes continued for ten years (Blake 663). Foot binding was a practice undertaken exclusively by women in Neo-Confucian China and was a tradition passed down from mother to daughter. It represented female submission and dependence on the husband and was an essential attribute of womanhood. The particular enforcement of this practice by women, on younger women and girls is particularly interesting from a sociological perspective. Accordingly: Mothers constantly informed their daughters that binding was necessary in order to find a good family into which to marry. Mothers impressed upon their daughters that the mark of a woman’s attraction resided more in her character as revealed in the bind of her feet than in the face or physique with which nature had endowed her. Her selection in marriage was the task of her prospective mother-in-law, whose criterion for a good daughter-in-law was the discipline that the bound foot represented (Blake 683). When it came to binding, there were certain attributes which were essential to the process. First and foremost, youth was important because foot binding required the physical breaking of the bones of the fee and for the purpose of binding, the optimum age to begin the process was between the ages of five to seven years old. From the standpoint of the female caregiver who was responsible for initiating the binding process of a young girl, the ages of five to seven were ideal for a variety of reasons. From a physical standpoint, a girl between the ages of five to seven had prepubescent bones which were still flexible and optimal for reconfiguration and breaking. From a mental and social maturation standpoint, a girl between the ages of five to seven was able to understand the meaning associated with foot binding, the prestige associated with a bound foot and the desire to one day marry. Accordingly, a girl between the ages of five to seven could appreciate the need and have the discipline to pursue the sometimes incredibly painful process of foot-binding. Disease and infection generally followed a foot bound girl into womanhood and oftentimes toenails curled into the toe and the foot physically died all together (Blake 684-86). Although voluntary and a process undertaken by women themselves, foot binding was an inherent attribute of a patriarchic society and was a custom undertaken in light of the social circumstances of Chinese society. Article Analysis Blake provides an excellent overview of the foot binding phenomenon. His article adequately provides substantive background to foot binding and includes an insightful historical analysis to the trend. An effective case is built utilizing both primary and secondary sources and the author provides meticulous – and sometimes hard to swallow – detail on the foot binding phenomenon. According to Blake, there are many reasons put forth for an incredibly painful and deforming practice, and foot binding is attributed to aesthetic appeal in a society in which tiny feet were conceived of as something erotic. Social status concerns are important and as mentioned above, bound feet were often necessary for a girl to marry. This is largely a result of the patriarchic social structure of China. Bound feet thus signified the dependency of women on men in Chinese society. By disabling her feet, the bound foot was perhaps the most ardent example of entrenched patriarchy in Chinese society. Accordingly, A woman’s dependency on her family was made manifest in her disabled feet. A popular saying was that in her lifetime, a woman leaned on three men, her father, her husband, and her son. But if a woman’s bound feet made her appear weak and vulnerable and thus dependent on men, it also veiled her inner sense of managing those appearances and thus being able to exercise considerable control over herself and those to whom she was attached (Blake 683). Concluding Remarks As a cultural practice which lasted for hundreds of years, foot binding was not all that dissimilar to the use of corsets in order to shrink the torso and waists of women in the Western world. Fred C. Blake’s â€Å"Foot-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriation of Female Labor† explains that what sets foot binding apart from other measures was the incredible pain associated with the practice and the permanent deformities caused by this practice. While explanations for foot binding often point towards the beauty and the aesthetics of the practice, foot binding was inherently about female submission and subjugation in Chinese society. Foot binding was about patriarchy and the consequences of foot binding on the health of millions of Chinese women are incredibly grave. Thus, deformities due to foot binding are prevalent among women in China and they include being more prone to falling, less able to rise from a chair and a loss of the ability to squat. Additionally, â€Å"women with bound feet also had somewhat lower femoral neck bone density, perhaps because of limited weight bearing activity. The combination of lower hip bone density and greater risk of falling is likely to increase the risk of hip fractures† (Blake 684). For centuries, foot binding thus resulted in severe lifelong disability for millions of women. Works Cited Blake, C. Fred. â€Å"Foot-Binding in Neo-Confucian China and the Appropriation of Female Labor† Signs 19. 3 (2009): 676-712.

Marriage in Pride and Prejudice

Marriage: The Foundation of Happiness or Misery In today’s world, 50 percent of marriages end in divorce. Although the other 50 percent of marriages don’t end in divorce, not all those marriages are considered an ideal marriage. The concept of an ideal marriage has changed as time has progressed. An ideal marriage in our time is a marriage based on love and family. Most societies have always had the same perspective of an ideal marriage during their time periods. However, in Jane Austen’ Pride and Prejudice, the author defies the view of the ideal marriage of her society by giving her own perspective on an ideal marriage.In the time period of Pride and Prejudice, society viewed ideal marriage as one based on financial stability and social equality. Although Jane Austen’s view of an ideal marriage includes financial and social stability, love was a major factor as well. In the novel, Jane Austen writes about suitable marriages and unsuitable marriages. Alth ough the marriages based on wealth and social class seems suitable through society’s eyes, Jane Austen suggests those marriages to be unsuitable because of their lack of love and happiness.In the novel, many of the marriages reflect society’s view of marriage as a business affair and these marriages are quite unsuitable. Although Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have been married for 23 years, there is no mutual affection between them. Mr. Bennet married Mrs. Bennet because he was â€Å"captivated by [her] youth and beauty†¦ he married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her† (202). Mr. Bennet practically never communicates with his wife and when he does, he teases her for his own enjoyment.Their marriage was solely based on physical attraction which has now faded away. Both of these characters were mismatched in personality and in social class. However, this couple isn’t the on ly unsuitable marriage through Austen’s eyes. Mr. Collins and Charlotte are a couple that exhibits everything Jane Austen is against, which is a marriage solely based on financial and social security. Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas married each other just for their own personal gain. When Mr. Collins proposed, â€Å"Miss Lucas, accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment† (106).Charlotte was 27 and single, her future didn’t look great so marrying Mr. Collins was the best thing that could have happened. She is now set â€Å"considering Mr. Collins’ character, connection and situation in life, [she was] convinced that [her] chance of happiness with him [was] as fair as most can boast on entering the marriage state† (109). Mr. and Mrs. Collins aren’t really a couple based on love and happiness which is what Jane Austen considered suitable. She marries a man who is richer and socially higher than her. Although Mr. and Mrs.Collins’ marriage was considered ideal by society, Jane Austen thought it to be unsuitable. Jane Austen’s ideal marriage is a marriage based on love and happiness but also the aspects of society’s ideal marriage which includes financial and social stability. Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennet and Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy all exhibit the qualities of marriage that are considered suitable by Jane Austen. Mr. Bingley is an extremely wealthy modest man who never judges anyone and Jane is a quiet gentle woman who never thinks badly of anyone.Both these characters are matched perfectly and are one of the rare couples in the novel who genuinely love each other though their love seems very superficial. Although Jane and Mr. Bingley exhibit an ideal marriage, their love has no depth. Mr. Bingley doesn’t seem to care about marrying a woman based on her social class or wealth. He believes love is more important than the match of social class in a marriag e. This is seen when Mr. Darcy convinces Mr. Bingley that Jane doesn’t actually love him and Bingley abandons Jane.Since love matters he doesn’t want to be with someone who doesn’t love him back. However, they had an instant connection: â€Å"it was generally evident whenever they met he did admire her; and to her it was equally evident that Jane was yielding to the preference which she had begun to entertain for him from the first, and was in a way to be very much in love†(16). They are both in love, both happy, and are both financially secure, exhibiting an ideal marriage for Jane Austen. However there was a couple that was more ideal through Jane Austen’s eyes.Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet epitomize the ideal marriage for Jane Austen. At first, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth disliked each other and had no initial attraction towards one another. However, as the novel progresses, their attraction for each other grows and soon they fall in love. Elizabet h isn’t a woman who doesn’t want to marry just for financial security or to be higher within the social class. Her view of marriage is different than her friends; Elizabeth â€Å"had always felt that Charlotte’s opinion of matrimony was not exactly like er own, but she could not have supposed it possible that when called into action, she would have sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage† (110). Charlotte represents society’s view of marriage in her time period which regarded marriage as a business affair. However, Elizabeth is one of the few characters to believe that marriage is based on love. Mr. Darcy is the wealthiest man in the novel and with that kind of wealth, he could marry anyone.However, he chooses Elizabeth who is part of a lower class than him proving that he wants to marry Elizabeth because he is in love with her. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are both physically attractive, intelligent, and they both love each other dearly. T hey are the ideal couple in Jane Austen’s eyes. Jane Austen suggests the marriages that are based on social class and wealth to be unsuitable although they seem ideal through society’s eyes. Austen believed that a suitable marriage had to include love and happiness on top of financial security and social class.However, through society’s eyes â€Å"happiness in marriage [was] entirely a matter of chance† (18). Although in today’s world there are arranged marriages based on social class and wealth, most people in today’s society believe marriage to be based on a foundation of love which links back to Austen’s belief of marriage. Although Jane believed that a suitable marriage had to include love, financial security and physical attraction, today’s society believes a suitable marriage can be solely based on love for one another.