Chemometric Technique to Determine Rice Types

Chemometric Technique to Determine Rice Types CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1Â  Background of Study Rice (Oryza Sativa) is a type of cereal food in which most people consumes. As acereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the worlds human population, especially in Asia [1]. Rice is perhaps the most remarkable of cultivated crops, for although possessing the roots of a dry land plant, it flourishes in swamps or under irrigation, and in Asia has produced one or more crop annually for centuries (Grist, 1965). Commercially available rice is distributed in different varieties in the market. Classification of product brands and type of products is a very active area for the application of chemometric classification procedures [2]. The use of specific sensors for characterizing foodstuffs or in this case rice is being replaced by a trend to draw on the wealth of information available from the data provided by current analytical instrumentation. The extraction of useful information from an amount of data and the optimum use of this analytical information are important objectives of chemometrics [3]. Since the infrared spectra contain significant information about all the components of a complex mixture, FTIR is a very powerful and general technique for investigating the structure of rice components. In association with chemometric treatments such as principal component analysis (PCA), vibrational spectroscopy allows classification of foods (rice) to be undertaken without any chemical analysis [2]. The main advantage is that no prior information on the sample is needed since the significant information is extracted during statistical treatment. The spectral information will constitute the experimental data which are analysed by PCA and HCA. 1.2Â  Problem Statement Research on rice till this date mostly focused on its genome in order to increase the nutritional values. An example of product that has made it through this kind of research is Golden Rice. There is very little research on focusing in determination of types of rice using combination of spectroscopy and chemometrics technique let alone combination of Infrared Spectroscopy and chemometrics. Due to this, little is known about which or what variables is responsible in the types of rice grouping when pattern recognition is applied. Hence, this research is important in identifying what variable is responsible for the grouping of samples. 1.3Â  Research Objective The aim of this study is to apply chemometric technique to determine the types of rice that will be analyze through Infrared Spectroscopy in order to assess the potential relationship between the element content and types of rice. 1.4Â  Significance of Study This study is important to determine the variables that responsible in differentiation and variety types of rice. With the combination of Infrared Spectroscopy spectra of the samples prior to grouping of samples using pattern recognition, this is a quick method to classify rice compared to the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy with pattern recognition or other instruments. 1.5Â  Scope of the Research In this research, type of rice to be samples is based on definition of rice’s type in Malaysia by Padi Beras Nasional Berhad [4]. There are 7 samples to be test which all of them are to acquire at local stores. Analysis of the sample will be done through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and pattern recognition which include Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster analysis. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1Â  Rice in History Humankind progression in term of social and cultural was partly due to the discovery of agriculture. This development gave a massive impact on the way human been living their life by choosing to settle down in one place instead of constantly moving around looking for places with new food sources. Archeological evidence founds all over Asia proposed that rice must be at least eight thousand years old, thus eliminating theory that rice was among the first cereal to be cultivated due to general believed that agriculture first started around the Mesopotamian region in the valley between Euphrates and Tigris [5]. One of these is related to the extraordinary concentration of rice production in a small part of the world. Approximately 90% or more of the world’s rice is produced in the relatively tiny area in south, southeast and northeast Asia which often be refer to as ‘rice country’ [6]. Rice is produced in a wide range of locations and under a variety of climatic conditions, from the wettest areas in the world to the driest deserts. It is produced along Myanmar’s Arakan Coast, where the growing season records an average of more than 5100mm of rainfall, and at Al Hasa Oasis in Saudi Arabia [5]. Rice plays a major role economically, especially in countries where rice is considered as the main food. This is more accurate in most countries in Asia, because not only they consume rice daily, but also Asia is the main producer of rice [1]. Country like China, India and Thailand have long played major role in the development of rice, economically. The success of the crops not only important to the grower, but also affect the community either directly or indirectly [1]. 2.2Â  Types of Rice There are dozens of different ways to classify the scores of types of rice from all over the world, but rice is generally described as being long-, medium- or short-grained [5]. These are some of the most common types youll find in supermarkets andgourmet stores, as well as a few specialty rices that were seeing more and more often. In the world market as well as in Malaysia, much emphasis is placed on grain length and whiteness as a criterion of grade and quality. Other factors such as palatability characteristics (appearance, cohesiveness, tenderness and flavor) also constitute as important considerations in quality grading [4]. In Malaysia, the main varieties of rice found in retail outlets are ordinary local and imported white rice, brown unpolished rice and specialty rice such as fragrant rice, Basmati, parboiled and glutinous rice. The main criteria in the classification are length of grain, content of head rice, content of broken rice and milling degree [7]. 2.3Â  Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) provides specific information about chemical bonding and molecular structure, making it useful for analyzing organic materials and certain inorganic material. It can be utilized to quantitative some components of an unknown mixture. It can be applied to the analysis of solids, liquid and gasses. The term FTIR spectroscopy refers to a fairly recent development in the manner in which the data is collected and converted from an interference pattern to a spectrum [8].When the material under investigation is put into an FTIR spectrometer, it will absorb the radiation emitted and the successful absorption will display the uniqueness or fingerprint of the material under investigation [9]. Samples for FTIR can be prepared in multiple ways depending on its physical state. For solid samples, it will be ground into a fine powder with an agate mortar and pestle with an amount of the suspending salt, which usually be KBr due to it being transparent to infrared radiation. This powder is then compressed through a bench top hydraulic press into becoming a thin pellet which can be analyzed [10]. Another method to prepare solid samples is by dissolving it in a suitable solvent such as methylene chloride and the solution is dropped onto a salt plate. After the solvent evaporates, a thin-solid film of the compound remains on the plate [11]. Meanwhile, liquid samples can be examined directly as a thin film between two sodium chloride plates. 2.4Â  Chemometrics The term chemometrics was coined in the 1970s and is defined as the chemical discipline that uses statistical and mathematical methods for selecting and optimizing analytical and preparative methods, as well as procedures for the analysis and interpretation of data [12]. 2.4.1Â  Pattern Recognition The overall goal of pattern recognition is classification. Developing a classifier from spectral, chromatographic, or compositional data may be desirable for any number of purposes including source identification, presence or absence of disease in a patient or animal from which the sample has been taken, and food quality testing to name just a few [13]. The classification step is often accomplished using one of several techniques that are now fairly well established including PCA, HCA, KNN, statistical and regularized discriminant analysis. Techniques of pattern recognition are applicable to data drawn from virtually any physical process. The data may be qualitative, quantitative, or both which is they may be numerical, pictorial, textural, linguistic, or any combination thereof. Meanwhile, one of the most important and oft-used data analysis methods is the eyeball technique, Subjective assessment of data patterns has long been a method accepted by many traditional data analyzers. Statistical analysis proceeds slowly by hand, more rapidly with hand calculators and can be quite fast with modern computers [14]. CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1Â  Samples A total of 7 different samples of rice will be use for this study. All of the samples will be obtain from various supermarkets and grocery stores in Johor Bahru and Seremban area. Various brands and types of rice are selected in order to get as much variation as possible. 3.2Â  Analysis of Sample Spectra of the rice samples will be acquired using (model number) instrument with KBr disc. The wavelength is set up to range from 4000cm-1 to 400cm-1. 3.3Â  Software Chemometrics analysis is the main part in this research as the data obtained from spectroscopic analysis will be analyses so that the important data can be identified and useable information can be deduced from the data. The key to chemometrics is to understand how to perform meaningful calculations on data. In most cases these calculations are too complex to do by hand or using a calculator, so it is necessary to use some software. Three softwares will be use for the data analysis as listed in table below. 3.4Â  Procedures CHAPTER 4 RESULT 4.1Â  Expected Result It is expected that Principal Component Analysis (PCA) will reveal multiple grouping due to different types of rice being used as samples. Furthermore, by comparing the score plot with the loading plot, the unknown variable that causing the samples to be group as it is will be identify. REFERENCES Calpe, C. (2006). Rice: International commodity profile.Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Brereton, R. (2009). Introduction. InChemometrics for pattern recognition(pp. 1-24). Chichester, U.K.: Wiley. Brereton, R. (2002). Intro. InAn introduction to chemometrics: Data analysis for the laboratory and chemical plant(pp. 1-12). New York: Wiley. RICE TYPES IN MALAYSIA. (2011). Retrieved October 16, 2014, from http://www.bernas.com.my/index.php/rice-types-in-malaysia Bhattacharya, K. (2011). An Introduction to rice: Its Qualities and Mysteries. InRice Quality a Guide To Rice Properties And Analysis.(pp. 1-18). Burlington: Elsevier Science. Wong, L. C., Emrus, S. A., Bashir, B. M., Tey, J. Y. (2010, June). Malaysian Padi Rice Industry: Applications of Supply Chain Management Approach. In National Rice Conference Swiss Garden Golf Resort Lumut(pp. 28-30). Grist D. H. (1986). Tropical Agricultural Series. Rice, 6, 3-12, Longman Group Limited. Introduction to Infrared Spectroscopy. (2011) Fundamentals of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Second Edition (pp. 1-17): CRC Press. King, PL, Ramsey, MS, McMillan, PF, Swayze, G. (2004). Laboratory Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy methods for geologic samples. Infrared Spectroscopy in Geochemistry, Exploration Geochemistry and Remote Sensing, Mineralogical Association of Canada, Short Course, 57-91. Hauser, Martin, Oelichmann, Joachim. (1988). A critical comparison of solid sample preparation techniques in infrared spectroscopy. Microchimica Acta, 94(1-6), 39-43. Stuart, Barbara. (2000). Infrared Spectroscopy Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology: John Wiley Sons, Inc. Beebe, k.R, Pell, R.J., Seasholtz, M.B. (1998). Chemometrics: A Practical Guide. New York. John Wiley Sons, Inc. 61-65. Lavine, B., Workman, J. (2010). Chemometrics.Analytical chemistry,82(12), 4699-4711. Theodiridis, S., Koutroumbas, K. (2006). Pattern Recognition, Third Edition. Amsterdam, Boston. Academic Press. 1.

The Application Of Wind Environmental Sciences Essay

The Application Of Wind Environmental Sciences Essay Wind comes from the suns uneven heating onto the earth surfaces, as hot air raises cold air sinks; there is a change in pressure, from high to low. Hence the change in pressure generated the movement of the air, as such wind is produced. Wind can be identifying as air in motion. Application of wind came a long way back to the past; during ancient time, sea explorers use wind with the help of the sails to sail through the seven seas. As for agriculture, farmers built simple windmills to grind the grains and also to pump water from the flowing rivers. And as technology advances, companies and researchers are coming up with designs and solutions to harness wind as a source of power in a greater scale. The Growth of Wind Power As technologies increases within time, human beings tends to create new things to ease works in life. Hence technology took a great part in the growth of wind power. In the earlier days, wind power was first used as mechanical power; this mechanical power was generated through the help of wind mill. The four blades wind mill generates mechanical power which helps to basically do all sorts of task: pumping of water, grinding of grains or even sawing of woods. But things changed in the 19th century, where electrical generators are introduced; people tried to fit in electrical generator into the wind mills in order to harness electricity. But results were not that ideal and slowly this electricity harnessing wind mills are forgotten. Even though such technology did die down or went missing for a century or so, it came back with a larger version of the olden days wind mill, it is called the wind turbine. Wind turbines first started off from rural areas where there are hills and mountains, which are known as onshore wind turbines or wind farms. But slowly it emerged with the help of new technology into shallow waters; shallow waters are places near the seas or oceans where they are nearer to the shore and easy to access. Then again technology took wind turbines studies to another level, which is what all companies had an eye on: deep water wind turbines. The evolution of wind mills to wind turbines till the recent offshore wind power, the next section we will be looking at the new wind power. What is Wind Power? A single wind turbine consists of a tower acting as a base and a fan-like propeller attached to the top of the base; energy is harnessed through the wind and the propeller. A series of wind turbines made up to a wind farm, a one stop of electrical energy power station. Advantages of Wind Power in General. Firstly, there is an abundant of wind everywhere; anywhere there is a high velocity of wind could be the location of a wind turbine. Secondly, during the operation of wind turbines and wind farms there are no air or land pollutions reported. It reduces global carbon foot prints. Thirdly, wind turbines come in a range of sizes and designs to cater to different needs. Lastly, with the increment of wind farms the cost of electricity may decrease. Disadvantages of Wind Power in General. Firstly, even though wind is abundant; wind is more or less predictable through seasons. There are possibilities of unsteady wind flow which might lead to wind farms not being able to produce enough electricity or power as per its peak. Secondly, wind farms produce silent pollution. As wind farms are greatly known as the non-polluting energy, little that many knows that it still do it parts in pollution; not to the environment but to the surrounding people. Pollutions like noise and vibration produced by operating the turbines. Types of wind power In Chapter 1 section 1.2 The Growth of Wind Power, it states that wind power have been brunched out into three different groups, namely: Onshore, Shallow Water and Deep Water, which is also known as offshore. In the later chapters of this literature review, we will look at the different types of wind power in depth. WindmillOnshore wind farm wind farm california The Worlds Most Amazing Wind Farms Onshore wind farm lynn and inner dowsing wind farm1 The Worlds Most Amazing Wind Farms Offshore wind farm floating wind turbine The Worlds Most Amazing Wind Farms Floating deep water wind turbine : Onshore Wind Farm 2.1 Introduction on Onshore Wind Farm Onshore wind farms are modules of wind turbines which are formed in a certain pattern or layout; and they are largely situated in area which is open freely to wind flow of supply between 5-15 m/s. Mostly over at the sub-urban areas: agriculture, country-side and mountain or hill tops. It is located mostly in U.S.A. and a few are in the United Kingdom, China and Australia. And as of 2012, the worlds largest onshore wind farm in terms of Current Capacity is Alta Wind Energy Centre in the USA; with 1020 MW on the record. 2.2 Two Types of Onshore Wind Turbines For Onshore wind turbines it is commonly categorized under two groups, namely: Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) and Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). As per what the name HAWT says, its blades are designed to be parallel to the ground where as for VAWT; its blades are designed perpendicularly to the ground. horizontal axis wind turbineVertical Axis Wind Turbine HAWT VAWT http://www.freewebs.com/snatalie/turbine-types.gif For Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT), there are three different designs under its belt: Design(s): Designs brief: Up wind turbines This design usually comes with a tail-like rudder that controls the hub and the blades so as to make sure the turbine will counter the wind direction at all times, even when there is a change of direction of the wind. Down wind turbines This design is of such that the wind will come in contact with the tower before it reaches the blades. Shrouded wind turbines This design has an additional of a structure which resembles a funnel that will capture the maximum flow of the wind to the blades. As for Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT), there are two different designs, namely: Savonius wind turbine and Darrieus wind turbine. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPnoPOS-OG6PY82EQtEGyWqqiSZLVNUPKB3fs2xu6wj_waO211APv36KD2YoVzruV7szQ81ZzXPqoqRxrtXtxSULWxyZS-zNHDdH6u6xhB2Wj2iWcB4oZjOEVopOFtWz4ZI9PIAX0wlo4/s320/savonius.jpg Fig. 2.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Both Types Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Advantages Disadvantages Self-start system Single direction wind intake Stand-alone design 2. Installation is tedious Able to harness high speed wind Relevant to electricity Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Advantages Disadvantages Wind intake from all direction Needs a mechanism to start Installation is easy, as lesser materials are use Require mooring in order to support the structure Design only caters to slow wind speeds 2.4 Issues and Problems Affects Avian During the late 1980s it has been reported that birds are found death or injured by the wind turbines. Birds in the United States namely the Golden Eagles and the Red-tailed Hawks were being killed by the wind turbines or by electrocution. As both types of avian spices are under the federals protection scheme, it draws wildlife and avian activists attentions. And slowly as the increase of wind farms being built in the different parts of the world, it started to harm the birds living around the farms. Birds being killed by collisions with the turbines; airplanes has their own flight zone, so does the birds, having a wind farms situated right in the flight zone will eventually cause more damages to the birds living in that area. As more wind turbines and electrical cables are built and planted, birds being electrocuted are common; as birds will tend to build the nest on the hub or on top of the tower, electrocutions are inevitable. Migration of bird spices; having foreign objects or obstacles in the birds daily life does increase the tendency of it shifting to somewhere else. But then again the problem lies with how many in total percentage of the birds managed to survive through migration. With issues surfaced, engineers and activists came up ways to resolve it; by reducing the turbines to be built in flight zones, clearing of birds nests and not to expose electrical cables. Noise Pollutions For wind turbines, there are two types of contribution to the noise pollution, namely: aerodynamic noise and mechanical noise. Aerodynamic noise is produced by the turbines blades, which creates sounds with rotating blades. Whereas for mechanical noise, it is produced by the fiction and the gears in the hubs. Some noises are inaudible and some are not which are produced by the wind turbines that is built in the sub-urban areas are harming the people that lives there. Drives Holiday-makers Away

America Needs Bilingual Programs Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Top

America Needs Bilingual Programs      Ã‚  Ã‚   As a lighthouse stands against the storm, its tireless beacon showing the way to safe harbor, so too does America stand in an increasingly dark and turbulent world. The bricks and mortar would have long ago succumbed to the pounding of the waves but for one reason, the lighthouse is built upon a foundation of bedrock as old and as strong as the earth itself. Likewise, the tower that is our nation would have long ago toppled if its foundation were not rooted in equally strong materials.    Unlike the lighthouse, this grand experiment we call America is not built upon rock and dirt; our nation is built upon the strength of its people. Of these people, only a small minority would call this place home if not for the great immigrations of the last half-millennium. These countless individuals, who left their homelands for many different reasons, all chose America because of the presence of limitless opportunity. Yet, after each new group begins to find its American identity, that group turns and attempts to bar those waiting in the queue from realizing their own American dream. Limiting educational opportunity is one method used by previous arrivals to limit the successful integration of newcomers. Immigrants are quickly being prevented from realizing their full potential as citizens by the nationwide movement to outlaw bilingual education. In order for America to maintain its position as the world's only remaining superpower, we must continue to offer our new a rrivals full access to bilingual education.    The classroom use of a language other than English is not a new or revolutionary concept in the American educational practice. The first law allowing th... ....educationworld.com. 21 Apr. 2001. Gentry, Curt. J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and The Secrets. New York: Penguin Books, 1992. "History of Bilingual Education." Rethinking Schools Spring 1998. http://www.rethinkingschools.org/Archives/12_03/langhst.htm. 21 Apr. 2001. Krashen, Stephen. "Bilingual Education: Arguments For and (Bogus) Arguments Against." Georgetown University Roundtable on Languages and Linguistics. 6 May 1999. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFORD/biling.htm. 21 Apr. 2001. Porter, Rosalie Pedalino. "The Case Against Bilingual Education." The Atlantic Monthly May 1998. http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/98may/biling.htm. 21 Apr. 2001. Sund, Carole. "Bilingual Education: An Overview." National Education Association. 4 October 1999. http://www.nea.org/issues/bilingual/. 21 Apr. 2001.   

Due Diligence is Necessary When You Buy a Website :: Sell Websites Buy Websites

Due Diligence is Necessary When You Buy a Website Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com According to industry statistics, nine out of ten people who begin the search to buy a website never complete a transaction. While there are many reasons for this dismal figure, a lot has to do with the inability of people to "pull the trigger". This gun-shy reaction is due to uncertainty: if you have not gathered the right information or failed to investigate the website thoroughly you will not be 100% certain of what to do. Due diligence is probably the most critical stage in the website buying process. Many prospective buyers incorrectly identify this period as strictly a financial review. However, an effective due diligence goes far beyond the numbers. Due diligence is the complete investigation and review of a website. One of the keys to buying a good website comes from your ability to learn the intimate details of it. It is imperative that you identify the strengths, weaknesses, growth opportunities and areas of concern with each website. If you don't do a flawless job of gathering information, you will not be able to pull the trigger and complete the transaction since you'll be uncertain about too many components of the website. The investigation process must begin the moment a website becomes of interest. Your goal is to be certain that you uncover everything about any website before you buy it. You don't have to communicate with the seller for your research to begin. The Internet is an incredible tool that will allow you to investigate the website, the industry, the competition, the marketing, the suppliers, and on and on. The importance of beginning your investigation early cannot be emphasized strongly enough. This way, you'll position yourself to ask the seller the right questions. Once you progress to the stage of an accepted offer, you will commence the financial due diligence. This period usually lasts 10-30 days. This is the time when you'll have access to all of the website’s books and records. Once you begin looking at a particular website, you'll find a thousand things crossing your mind regarding the acquisition. Keep a notepad handy at all times and log your thoughts. Don't trust your memory; these little things are the ones that can and will come back to haunt you down the road. Begin to put together your checklist of what you need to investigate and how you're going to do it along with the materials you require from the seller to accomplish it. Due Diligence is Necessary When You Buy a Website :: Sell Websites Buy Websites Due Diligence is Necessary When You Buy a Website Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com According to industry statistics, nine out of ten people who begin the search to buy a website never complete a transaction. While there are many reasons for this dismal figure, a lot has to do with the inability of people to "pull the trigger". This gun-shy reaction is due to uncertainty: if you have not gathered the right information or failed to investigate the website thoroughly you will not be 100% certain of what to do. Due diligence is probably the most critical stage in the website buying process. Many prospective buyers incorrectly identify this period as strictly a financial review. However, an effective due diligence goes far beyond the numbers. Due diligence is the complete investigation and review of a website. One of the keys to buying a good website comes from your ability to learn the intimate details of it. It is imperative that you identify the strengths, weaknesses, growth opportunities and areas of concern with each website. If you don't do a flawless job of gathering information, you will not be able to pull the trigger and complete the transaction since you'll be uncertain about too many components of the website. The investigation process must begin the moment a website becomes of interest. Your goal is to be certain that you uncover everything about any website before you buy it. You don't have to communicate with the seller for your research to begin. The Internet is an incredible tool that will allow you to investigate the website, the industry, the competition, the marketing, the suppliers, and on and on. The importance of beginning your investigation early cannot be emphasized strongly enough. This way, you'll position yourself to ask the seller the right questions. Once you progress to the stage of an accepted offer, you will commence the financial due diligence. This period usually lasts 10-30 days. This is the time when you'll have access to all of the website’s books and records. Once you begin looking at a particular website, you'll find a thousand things crossing your mind regarding the acquisition. Keep a notepad handy at all times and log your thoughts. Don't trust your memory; these little things are the ones that can and will come back to haunt you down the road. Begin to put together your checklist of what you need to investigate and how you're going to do it along with the materials you require from the seller to accomplish it.

Military Drinking Age

What would happen If the drinking age were lowered for those In the military? Xx xx English 123 Mrs.. Xix 20 Par XX Military Drinking Age 1 What would happen If the drinking age were lowered for those In the military? When I started this paper, I didn't want my own views to sway my opinion on this question. The more I researched, the more I had even my own views expanded. I wanted to know what military people thought about this topic, what civilians thought and even President Obama. I wanted to explore why age 21 was chosen and when the age was lowered and then raised again and why.For many people In the military I am sure have a different stance on this than clansman or maybe not, but this Is why I researched the information that I did. The first thing that I typed in my Google search engine box was, â€Å"Should the drinking age be lowered for the military? ‘ I found that President elect Obama in 2008, sympathized with Army veteran Ernest Johnson about serving his country at age 18, but not being able to come home and have a beer, but that setting the legal drinking age at 21, helped reduce the amount of drunken driving Incidents and that it should remain. Military_com. 008). This peeked my curiosity and I wondered If most law makers felt the same. New Hampshire State representative, James Explains, D-Portsmouth said that it would be hypocritical to have people make life and death decisions in Iraq, but not be able to have a drink in New Hampshire. (Shank, 2005). Both men appreciate the fact that these people help in guarding and serving our country, but both had very deferent opinions on whether it should be lowered. So I wanted to get more points of view on this matter.I found that Jason Gibbs, the spokesperson for the Governor of Vermont, Jim Douglas had the same stance as D-Portsmouth. Gibbs said, â€Å"Philosophically, it's difficult to reconcile the notion that you can enlist in the military, serve your country, go to war, but not go into your l ocal pub and get a draft beer. † Gibbs went on to say, â€Å"Even Gob. Jim Douglas, a republican, might see some logic in the proposal if the federal highway money was not Involved. † (Bullock, 2005). Why would federal highway money be Involved? It didn't make sense to me, so I wanted to explore that further.When I searched for federal highway money, I came upon the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (AMANDA). This Act required all states to raise their minimum purchase and public possession of alcohol to age 21 . States that did not comply faced a reduction in highway funds, under the Federal Highway Act. (Hanson, n. D). So this brings me back to one of my original questions, why was the age 21 chosen? I found that becoming a full adult at age 21 dates back to English common law. (Rice, 2 IT Military Drinking Age the age was set at 21 in 1984, when before was it 18 and why was it 18?President Franklin Roosevelt lowered the draft age from 21 to 18 during World Wa r II, eventually during the Vietnam era, people were upset that they were old enough to enlist in the forces, but now old enough to vote, so in 1971 they applied that same logic to drinking and lowered the age to 18. (Tree, 2008). Why would they want to change the age back to 21, I wonder? Apparently, certain states had stricter rules and teens would drive to other states that had less off strict drinking rule, drink and drive back and depending where they lived, the further out they were, the more probable it was for an alcohol related incident. (Tree, 2008).So Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MAD) fought to have the drinking age back to 21 and that's when the AMANDA was set forth in 1984. (Tree, 2008). Now that I had all the dates figured out and who prompted the changes, I wanted to see if changing the drinking age actually had an effect on decreasing alcohol related incidents. I found that statistically in 1984, that alcohol related fatalities made up for 54% of all fatalities and 23 years later, in 2007, only 37% of alcohol related fatalities made up for all fatalities. (Alert. Com, 2006). So again, back to one of my original thoughts, I wanted to see opinions from a litany stand point.I came upon some writings from Air Force Colonel Celebrities, who wrote that Junior enlisted, ages 18-24 made up 1/3 of the Air Force and accounted for 81% of the alcohol related incidents. He said that on average, the Air Force has about 5,300 alcohol related incidents annually, so that means 4,293 of those incidents basically belonged to the Junior enlisted. Cool. Celebrities said that the military message, â€Å"Work hard, Play hard,† was sending the wrong message. (Slouchier, 2007). After a long day of work, you go out and play hard, what better of way, than to drink and relax, but there are other ways of relaxing than drinking.As I was concluding my research, still not yet satisfied with my results, I found a website that was written by Jim Hall, from the National Transportation Board, who had all these statistics that stated how alcohol related fatalities had gone down, alcohol related suicides reduced and the number of DEW Military Drinking Age 3 arrests had decreased since raising the age of drinking to 21 . He later stated that the younger a person starts drinking, the greater the chance of that person develops alcohol dependency and or abuses alcohol. Hall, n. D).

The Kiss: Brancusi and Rodin

Auguste Rodin was a French artist most famous for his sculpting. He was born in 1840 and survived into the Twentieth century, dying in November of 1917.   He possessed and innate ability to sculpt in clay, creating dynamic movement in roughly pock marked human figures with a high degree of realism. His work was not well received initially though he came into vogue rather quickly.He was schooled in a traditional manner on the Ecole de Beaux Arte in Paris but in his work he was in the vanguard of the movement toward modern sculpture (Wikipedia.org Rodin).   Constantin Brancusi was born in Romania in 1876 and died in 1957. His sculptures were simple, reflecting his background as a stonemason in his native land. Having run away from home at an early age to escape the abuse of his father and brothers, he impressed an employer with his carving ability and the man financed his secondary education at a crafts school where he graduated with honors. He then attended the Bucharest School of Fine Arts (Wikipedia.org Brancusi).Brancusi made his way to Paris, the center of the world of art at that time, and made the acquaintance of fellow artists and intellectuals (Franck & Liebow). For two years he labored in the workshop of   Antonin Mercie of the Paris Ecole des Beaux Arte. At that point he was invited to work with the master, Auguste Rodin. Brancusi recognized the genius of Rodin but apparently felt smothered by the essence of the great sculptor and left after a few months. He was quoted as saying that, â€Å"Nothing can grow under big trees,† (Wikipedia.org Brancusi) Rodin was, at his core, a naturalist, and as consumed with the emotion and character he found in the model as he was in faithfully rendering an exact likeness.He also, it was said, believed, more so than other sculptors, that a human’s character is revealed in his physical features. His theory was that every portion of the sculpted work had a part to play in communicating the feeling, po wer and inner strength of the work. The grip of the toes, for instance, in his Thinker, is depicted to show the intensity with which the subject is going about his task. â€Å"What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes† (quoted in Wikipedia.org Rodin)   he said.While most of Paris’ sculptors were working in clay and having their work cast in bronze, Brancusi most often labored as a carver and utilized the direct method of creating his sculpture. He removed the superfluous material and was left with his creation. In the case of his original The Kiss, (there are several versions), as the old saw goes, he simple cut off everything that did not look like a pair of kissers. Carved in limestone, it measures 23† x 13  ¾ â€Å" x 10  ¾Ã¢â‚¬ . It is a highly stylized depiction of a man and woman face to face, their arms entwined, their lips pressed together and their bodies touching.The work gives the impression that the two are so engrossed and joined in love and sensuality that they have become one. Rodin’s   version of the same subject is likewise carved directly into stone, in this case, marble, though there exist many replicas of the work in bronze, cast from Rodin’s original carving. The original title was Francesca da Rimini and depicted a scene from Dante’s Inferno. It represents an Italian noblewoman who falls in love with her husband’s younger brother. The couple are nude and embracing, with their lips close, each to the other, but not actually touching, so the kiss is not consummated.Both works by these two contemporary masters, working in the same city, are of the same subject and both are carved directly into stone. Here the similarity between the two ends. Rodin’s powerful style is seen in the work and   t here is no question as to what he means to say. The sensuality of the Rodin work is manifest in the texture of the piece and the rendition of muscle and bone. There is a tension in the work that is palpable. Brancusi’s Kiss is simple and direct. It is highly stylized and cubistic in its conception.There is more than a hint of the primitive in the statue. The two artists chose to handle form in a drastically different manner while addressing the same theme. Rodin’s work and even its original title suggest sensuality, passion and perhaps even outright sin. Brancusi’s Kiss is more suggestive of love than of passion (Art 101). It is static and has no movement to it.   The two humans depicted in Brancusi’s work are bonded as if they are one unit, suggesting a stability and deeper emotional unity than that conveyed by RodinThe two artists have, as would have likely pleased Robert Frost, taken different roads. It is not certain which of the two men chose the o ne less traveled but there are differences that make it obvious that they diverge. As to which is the better work, that is not possible to determine, for art, like much of life, is subjective and largely up to individual taste.But Rodin’s work is more academic and conventional where Brancusi’s work is more primal and addresses a basic emotion in the heart and soul of humanity in perhaps a more direct manner. It is possible to dismiss Brancusi’s work at first glance, saying that a child could have done it, while Rodin’s piece has a realism that would belie such a thought.There are those critics who suggest that the Emperor is indeed nude and the Brancusi work is a joke foisted on the art public much like the attitude many take toward the works of Picasso. Rodin’s work became acceptable after a period of adjustment and the public began to understand what he meant to convey. Brancusi’s work is similar in that aspect, and more acceptable as the public gets past their original assessment. Still, both pieces are from the hand of a master who has chosen his own method of bringing his vision to the world.Works Cited.Franck, D. and Liebow, C. Bohemian Paris: Picasso, Modigliani, MatisseAnd the Birth of Modern Art   New York: Grove Press 2001Wikipedia.org   Auguste Rodin 2007 Retrieved 6-7-07 from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Rodin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantin_Brancusi#_note-brainjuice               

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