Chemistry Project Essay Example for Free

Chemistry Project Essay Caffeine is a naturally-occurring stimulant, found in several plants. Caffeine is water soluble, and is extracted into the brewed cup when preparing tea, coffee, or other caffeinated drinks. The most well-known plants containing caffeine are the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, coffee, yerba matà ©, and guayusa. Although tea is known to have a number of health benefits, heavy caffeine use is known to have unpleasant effects and negative impacts on health, including anxiety and insomnia, and for this reason many tea drinkers seek to moderate their caffeine intake. The amount of caffeine in tea tends to be low, but is high enough to be a matter of concern for people drinking large quantities of tea, as well as people sensitive to caffeine for medical reasons. The Caffeine Molecule How much caffeine is in tea? The caffeine content of tea varies widely from one tea to the next, and depends on how the tea is brewed, but tends to be within the range of 15-70mg per 8 ounce cup. Caffeine can also be measured in terms of milligrams of caffeine per grams of dry tea. A teaspoon of dry tea leaves tends to weigh around 2.5 grams, the amount usually used to make a single cup, although this varies greatly by the type of tea. One study of the caffeine content of teas (after steeping) found that the caffeine content of tea varied from about 3 mg/g to 30mg/g, which would result in a cup of tea containing between 7.5 mg and 75 mg of tea. In most cases, tea has much less caffeine than coffee; a typical cup of coffee contains 80-135 mg of caffeine. However, it is important to note that these figures are per cup, not per serving, and in the case of large serving sizes, and also with espresso and other heavily-caffeinated drinks, the caffeine per serving can be considerably higher. In the U.S. the standard small serving size is 12 ounces. A recent study of commercial coffee vendors in Australia found that roughly a quarter of espresso samples contained over 120 mg of caffeine per serving, about 1/8th contained 167 mg or more per serving, and the highest contained 214 mg per serving. The authors of this study concluded that the most often-cited figures on caffeine content of coffee tend to underestimate the actual caffeine content. How much caffeine is safe to consume? To place these figures in perspective, the current consensus of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is that it is safe for pregnant women to consume up to 200 mg of caffeine daily. For the general public, the Mayo clinic recommends that 200-300 mg of caffeine daily is safe, but that 500-600 mg daily can cause a number of health problems. If drinking a relatively stronger tea containing 60mg / cup, 8 cups a day would be a safe amount, or 3 for pregnant women. For a weaker tea, with 30mg / cup, twice this amount would still be a safe amount of caffeine. Keep in mind that different people react differently to caffeine, so an amount that is safe or unpleasant for one person may not be healthy for everyone. L-theanine in tea interacts with caffeine In addition to caffeine, tea also contains L-theanine; theanine can interact with caffeine, allowing a smaller dose of caffeine to have a stronger effect in terms of boosting concentration and alertness. This may explain why tea seems to provide a stronger boost in alertness for some people than one would expect from its caffeine content alone. Do black, green, or white teas contain more or less caffeine? Many tea companies, and even some reputable entities such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have made misleading generalizations about the caffeine content of broad classes of tea. It is a widespread myth that black tea contains more caffeine than green tea, and another myth that white tea contains the least caffeine of all teas. Studies that have actually examined the caffeine content of a large number of different teas have consistently found that caffeine levels vary more among individual teas than across broad categories of tea such as black, white, green, oolong, or pu-erh. A study published in 2005 in the Journal of Food Science listed, among other things, the caffeine content of 77 different teas, and found a broad range of caffeine content among both green and black teas. Surprisingly, the tea in this study that was found to contain the most caffeine was a white tea, solidly dispelling the myth about white teas caffeine content. A more recent study in the 2008 Journal of Analytical Toxicology examined the caffeine contents of a number of teas, and found that they ranged from 14 to 61 mg per 6 or 8 oz serving, with no observable trend in caffeine concentration due to the variety of tea. Very few tea companies have examined the caffeine content of a large number of samples of their teas; one that has, Camellia Sinensis Tea House, found similar results, that the caffeine level varies widely from one tea to the next, and does not show clear trends of caffeine levels across different varieties of teas. One possible exception to this observation is that matcha is known to contain very high levels of caffeine, consistently much higher than other teas. This is due in part to higher caffeine levels in the leaf used to produced matcha, but it is also due to the fact that, because matcha is a powdered tea, the entire tea leaf is consumed when brewing, so a cup of prepared matcha contains 100% of the caffeine in the leaf. What determines the amount of caffeine in a particular tea? Caffeine protects the tender young leaf buds of the tea plant from being eaten by insects. There are so many different factors influencing the caffeine content of tea, that it is very hard to make generalizations predicting the caffeine content of tea. Caffeine levels vary widely from one particular tea to the next. The only certain way to know the caffeine level of a particular tea is to actually test it in a laboratory. Tea can be made from different parts of the tea plant, and these parts contain different quantities of caffeine. Leaf buds (tips) and younger leaves are higher in caffeine than older, mature leaves. This pattern can be explained by the fact that, for the tea plant, caffeine acts a natural insecticide, serving to protect the plant against being eaten by insects. Since the tips and tender young leaves are most vulnerable to insects, these parts of the plant are highest in caffeine; the older leaves are tougher and thus lower in caffeine. Tippy teas such as Yunnan Gold or Silver Needle White Tea (Bai Hao Yinzhen) are thus higher in caffeine than large-leaf teas such as Lapsang Souchong, a black tea (Souchongs are made of mature leaves) or Shou Mei, a white tea. The varietal (cultivar or specific horticultural variety) of tea plant used to produced tea can profoundly affect caffeine levels in tea. Varietal is independent of type of tea (green, white, black, oolong, etc.), and different types of tea can be produced from the same varietal. Variation in caffeine content among different varietals can lead to teas grown under similar conditions, with similar appearance and other qualities, having different caffeine levels. Roasting can also reduce the caffeine levels in tea. In the 2005 study mentioned above, one particular sample of Hojicha, a Japanese roasted green tea, was found to have less caffeine even than some decaffeinated teas. Oolong teas are usually roasted to varying degrees, and can be lower in caffeine, although like all types of tea, oolong teas vary greatly in caffeine content. It should be noted that the roasting processes both for hojicha and oolongs vary greatly, and the caffeine content of most of these teas has not been extensively studied, so it is not safe to conclude that hojicha or roasted oolong is necessarily low in caffeine. The blending of tea with caffeine-free ingredients to produce flavored teas can result in a lower total caffeine content so long as less total tea leaf is used in the blend. Scenting tea with flowers or flavoring tea with essential oils of plants does not add as much weight as blending with loose herbs, and thus does not lower the caffeine content (by weight) of the blend as much. How you brew tea affects caffeine content The quantity of leaf used and the length of time the leaves are steeped both directly influence the caffeine content of the final cup of tea. Using more leaves and steeping for a longer time both increase the caffeine in the resulting cup. Our page on brewing tea has more discussion of how to brew tea. Can you decaffeinate your own tea by steeping it briefly in water? Short answer: no. A number of sources make the claim that you can decaffeinate your own tea by making a brief infusion in hot water, and then discarding this infusion. Unfortunately, this process does not work; if it did, tea companies would not have to resort to expensive and involved decaffeination processes to produce decaf tea. Caffeine tends to diffuse in hot water at the same rate as many of the chemicals responsible for the flavor and aroma of tea, so if the tea still tastes flavorful, it probably still contains caffeine. Most (but not all) herbal teas contain no caffeine Although caffeine does occur in a number of plants, the overwhelming majority of herbal teas are caffeine free. The most notable exception is Yerba mate. Other plants containing caffeine are very rare as ingredients in herbal tea. In addition to exploring other herbal teas, people desiring caffeine-free tea-like drinks might want to try South African rooibos and honeybush, two plants which are often described as being similar to tea in flavor, health benefits, and manner of production.

Nanocrystalline Diamond Coating around Sphere Analysis

Nanocrystalline Diamond Coating around Sphere Analysis Mechanical Properties and Uniformity of Nanocrystalline Diamond coating around Sphere Hongyun Chen Nanocrystalline diamond coatings were deposited on spheres used for ball bearing. The nanocrystalline coatings with a grain size of 50nm were confirmed by the surface morphology and composition analysis. The hardness of the coating is 20-40GPa tested by nanoindentation, which is higher than that of tungsten carbide and silicon nitride substrates. The coating around the sphere observed from the Micro CT images is uniform with a thickness of 12ÃŽ ¼m. keywords: solid lubricating coating, nanocrystalline diamond, mechanical properties Introduction Mechanical parts are often used under extreme environment such as high temperature, large load, radioactive and high vacuum, and so on. A wear-resistant, lubricating coating can protect the mechanical parts and ensure their reliability under these extreme conditions1, 2. The advantages of diamond coating with high hardness, high elastic modulus, outstanding wear resistance, low friction coefficient and good chemical stability make it to be an expected solid lubricating coating3, 4. The protective coating, e.g. diamond like carbon (DLC) coating deposited on metals and some other materials can protect the interface of the metals from crack, but also reduce the frictional wear of the opposing surface due to the excellent tribological properties such as extremely low friction and wear resistance. Costa et al5. deposited (DLC) coating with a thickness of 2ÃŽ ¼m on silicon and carbonitride using pulsed-DC discharge and studied the tribological behavior of DLC coating. Their results showed that the increase in surface roughness reduced the friction coefficient, and wear rate of the carbonitride as the interlayer decreased three orders compared to that of silicon. Xie et al6. grew DLC coating with 600nm thickness on silicon wafer using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD). It seemed that surface roughness, adhesion and debris accumulation collectively affected the frictional behavior while the tribological behavior of DLC coating mainly depended on the co ating and its adhesion to the substrate. Gruen et al7. successfully deposited the nanocrystalline diamond coating with average grain size of 5-13nm on silicon at 750à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ by MPCVD. After that, there were much investigation of the nanocrystalline diamond coating, but the nanocrystalline diamond coating grown on the spheres are very few. B Lunn et al8. from Hull University deposited micro diamond coating with thickness of 3ÃŽ ¼m on a sintered carbide (6%Co) ball of 15mm in diameter with a special support system in a hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) chamber. The present work focused on that nanocrystalline diamond coatings were deposited on the sintered carbide spheres and silicon nitride spheres used for ball bearing to improve the wear-resistance. The mechanical properties and uniformity of the coating were evaluated by Micro CT and nano indenter. Experimental By rotating the substrate holder, uniform diamond coatings around spherical substrates with 1-3mm diameter were deposited by a lab-made MPCVD reactor. Tungsten carbide (WC-6 wt.% Co) spheres and silicon nitride spheres were pitched up as the substrates. The cobalt as the adhesive of tungsten carbide would convert the diamond into graphite, resulting in decrease in adhesion between coating and substrate. So firstly diluted nitric acid was used for processing the tungsten carbide spheres in order to selectively remove the cobalt of the surface9. Then, the spheres were scratched using 1-10ÃŽ ¼m diamond powders by ultrasonic method, and rinsed in alcohol and dried prior to deposition. The nanocrystalline diamond coating was deposited for 20-60h at following parameters: total gas pressure was 4KPa, microwave power was 1400W, the substrate temperature was 870à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™, 2.2% methane diluted in hydrogen. The Raman spectroscopy (LabRAM HR, HORIBA Jobin Yvon S.A.S, France) with a laser as light sources (wavelength 532nm) was used to analyze the quality of diamond coating on different substrates. The surface morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM, JSM-7500F, Hitachi, Japan) to measure the crystalline grain size. An atomic force microscopy (AFM, MFP-3D, Asylum Research, USA) was applied for quantitative the surface roughness determination on a 20Ãâ€"20ÃŽ ¼m scanned area. The mechanical properties were measured by MTS nano indenter (G200, MTS, USA) at an approach velocity of 5nm/s. The thickness and the uniformity of the diamond coating were investigated by Micro CT (ÃŽ ¼CT100, SCANCO, Switzerland). Results and discussion 3.1. surface morphology The surface morphologies of coatings deposited on different substrates can be seen in Fig.1a and c respectively, and b and d are the high magnification of images. Both the samples were treated under the same conditions. It is evident that there is no big difference between coating deposited on tungsten carbide sphere and silicon nitride sphere. The obtained coatings on both substrates have cauliflower structure with a grain size of about 50 nm. The surface roughness is very important for solid lubricating application where a smooth coating surface can decrease the frictional wear. Table 1 shows the change in roughness due to the thickness change of coating on tungsten carbide using AFM method. The roughness of the coating followed the trend in thickness, which was increasing with the rise of the thickness of coating. The roughness of the coating with 5ÃŽ ¼m thickness was under 150nm. Both RMS roughness and the average (Ra) roughness were between 100nm and 210nm lower than the peak-valley (P-V) roughness. The latter had higher roughness values in the order of one micron, which accounted for the cauliflower structure on the surface of the coating as shown in Fig.1. The rough surface does harm to the solid lubricating application. So the roughness will be decreased through post treatment e.g. chemical mechanical polishing. 3.2. Uniformity and thickness The small sphere makes it hard to measure the thickness and the uniformity of the diamond coating. SEM image of the cross section is usually used to show the thickness and uniformity of the coating. However, only one intersecting surface is observed, which can’t represent the whole sphere. Micron CT can get a 3D image of the coating and directly give the whole feature of the coating. Because the metal absorbs the X-ray, the coating on silicon nitride which is inorganic material was measured. Fig.2 is the CT image of the diamond coating around sphere. Fig.2a and b are the 2D and 3D images of the sphere and c is the 3D CT image of the shell whose silicon nitride substrate is removed through analysis software simulation. As the images shown, the coating is uniform and no obvious protuberance on the surface can be observed. The cross section of coating in Fig.4a indicated that the concentricity between substrate and coating was maintained to assure uniform coating thickness. No separation between the silicon nitride substrate and coating was observed, suggesting that the diamond coating attached the sphere tightly. Fig.3 shows the thickness distribution of the coating. The thickness of coating is between 10 to 14ÃŽ ¼m among which 12ÃŽ ¼m is dominant. 3.3. Composition CVD diamond coatings with different thickness were characterized by Raman spectroscopy as shown in Fig.4, a and b were the coating with 5ÃŽ ¼m thickness, and c and d were the coating with 12ÃŽ ¼m thickness. The peak at 1332cm-1 is the characteristic of the diamond lattice which can be used to identify diamond. Two sharp peaks at 1337.87cm-1 and 1333.64cm-1 in Fig.4a and b proved that the composition of coating was in relation to diamond. Both of the two peaks have frequency shift caused by the compressive stress10. This accounted for the mismatch of the thermal expansion coefficient between diamond and substrate. Especially, the value of the tungsten carbide(4.36Ãâ€"10−6/ °C, 20 °C) is larger than 1.18Ãâ€"10-6/ °C (20 °C) of diamondà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’resulting in the far more upshift of the tungsten carbide shown in Fig.4a. The value of silicon nitride (2.8Ãâ€"10−6/ °C, 20 °C), which is close to that of diamond, produced less residual compressive stress. With the thickness of coating increasing, there was almost same frequency shift shown in Fig.4c and d. Compared with Fig.4a and b, the diamond peak of the thicker coating has a large upward shift that attributed to the increase in compressive stress with thickness increasing. The compressive stress is also related to other factors such as defects, composition of coating. The stress from defects and composition appeared to be dominant in thick coating. The features at 1145cm-1 and 1490cm-1 are possibly related to acetylene C–H chains proposed by R. Pfeiffer11 and his colleague. Their study considered this acetylene C–H chains existed in the boundaries of nanocrystal diamond. Those bands around 1140cm−1 and 1490cm−1 were usually observed in nanocrystalline diamond coating. So Fig.4a and b confirmed the deposited coatings were nanocrystalline diamond, which is consistent with the result of the SEM. In addition, the coating got flexibility to fit curved surface of sphere because of the acetylene C–H chains in coating. In Fig.4c and d, the peaks at 1580cm-1 is labeled as G peaks which are due to the sp2 sites. Compared with Fig.4a and b, the G peak of the graphite is obviously observed on Fig.4c and d. Although G peak at 1560cm-1 possibly overlapped the peak at 1490cm-1, it was obvious that the composition of the thicker coating was different from that of the thinner coating which affected by substrate to some extent. The band at 1146cm-1 is related to nanocrystalline diamond as discussed above. 3.4. Mechanical properties The modulus and the hardness of diamond coatings were characterized by the nano indenter designed by the MTS Company. The sphere was too small to find an applicable flat surface to get an accurate result. The diamond coating deposited on silicon wafer was prepared with the same conditions as the control. As known to all, the hardness and the modulus of the diamond coating prepared by CVD are normally lower than that of the natural diamond. The Fig.5a and c show the modulus and the hardness of the diamond coating deposited on sphere, while the Fig.5b and d exhibit the modulus and the hardness of the diamond coating on silicon wafer deposited in same conditions. The hardness of the coating on sphere was about 20GPa, only a half of that on silicon wafer, and the modulus was only one third of that on silicon wafer. The curved surface and cauliflower structure of the coating on sphere led to lower hardness and modulus measured. The true hardness and modulus of the coating should be higher than that of the measured. In terms of the measured value on silicon wafer, the hardness of coating on sphere was estimated to be 20-40GPa and the modulus was 200-600GPa. Therefore, the diamond coating was expected to improve the wear-resistance of tungsten carbide and silicon nitride substrates whose ha rdness are about 17GPa and 15.6-9.8GPa respectively11, 12. The modulus of coating also increased in comparison with that of silicon nitride substrate. It suggests that the mechanical properties of both the tungsten carbide and silicon nitride are improved for its ball bearing application. Conclusion For the purpose of protecting the spheres used for ball bearing, the diamond coatings were successfully deposited on the spheres. The coating is about 5-12ÃŽ ¼m in thickness depending on the deposition time and is uniform as the result of the Micro CT shown. The surface of coating is not smooth enough due to its cauliflower structure and needs further polish. The hardness tested by the nano indenter was 20-40GPa larger than that of tungsten carbide and silicon nitride. The Raman spectra reveal that the coating deposited on sphere is composed of diamond, acetylene C–H chains and graphite, which are responsible for the improvement of mechanical properties and fitness around sphere.

A Comparison of Schools in the U.S. and Japan Essay -- Essays Papers J

A Comparison of Schools in the U.S. and Japan In Japanese schools, from elementary schools to universities, teachers direct what students should do or how they should be. Students follow the school rules and the directions of teachers. In American schools, on the other hand, students have to be more independent than Japanese students in many ways. Because of differences between Japanese and American schools, Japanese students who begin to study in an American school are shocked, and they take a pretty long time to adjust themselves to the way of American schools. Differences between schools in the two countries are seen in classrooms and during classes: the style of lectures, the relationship between student and teachers, and the style of examinations. First, many Japanese students are surprised by American schools because American students pay much attention to teachers, and also they interrupt teachers to ask questions or to express their opinions. The style of teaching in the U.S. is completely different from Japan, especially in two points. One difference is that teachers in Japan expect students to be quiet in classes. In general, teachers explain the content of textbooks, hand-outs, and other materials. But in American schools, teachers think class participation is very important, and they require students to give their opinions or ask questions in classes. Another difference is that teachers in Japan write down important things on a blackboard, but teachers in the U.S. seldom write everything; they just explain orally. Japanese students are very quiet during classes, and all they do is listen to teachers and copy what teachers write on blackboards. They seldom ask questions during classes but ask friends or teac... ... classes. School systems, including grading systems and examination styles, in Japan and the U.S. are quite different. Also, the relationship between students and teachers is completely different. Most Japanese students who transfer from Japanese schools to American schools, or who go to an American school after they graduate from a Japanese school, may be shocked by the new and different systems and the relationship to their teachers. For Japanese students, the way of American schools seems very difficult--to attend classes, to study, and to understand the system itself--but they also notice that they can study and live to the fullest as a student, as they talk or argue for or against other students or teachers in the classes. Also, they can get satisfaction from learning and understanding every class through the relationship between teachers and other students.

Peer Pressure Speech -- Peer Pressure Speech

The first point I want to make in this speech is that peer pressure is NOT a bad thing. We all are influenced by our peers, both negatively and positively. It helps define who we are and how we feel about subjects in our lives. It is how we chose to react to peer pressure that defines who we are as an individual. Are we a leader or a follower? Both types of people are needed to make the world go round. Basically, the difference between negative and positive peer pressure is the outcome. The reverse of the situation above is negative peer pressure. The situation itself is positive peer pressure. Or is it? What if a teen really doesn't like sports, but pushes himself to do it to please his friends or to be accepted? Therefore, he probably doesn't do to well at it, and gets only jabs at hi...

Anatomy of Criticism by Northrop Frye Essay -- Anatomy Criticism North

Anatomy of Criticism by Northrop Frye In Anatomy of Criticism, author Northrop Frye writes of the low mimetic tragic hero and the society in which this hero is a victim. He introduces the concept of pathos saying it â€Å"is the study of the isolated mind, the story of how someone recognizably like ourselves is broken by a conflict between the inner and outer world, between imaginative reality and the sort of reality that is established by a social consensus† (Frye 39). The hero of Hannah W. Foster’s novel, The Coquette undoubtedly suffers the fate of these afore mentioned opposing ideals. In her inability to confine her imagination to the acceptable definitions of early American female social behavior, Eliza Wharton falls victim to the ambiguity of her society’s sentiments of women’s roles. Because she attempts to claim the freedom her society superficially advocates, she is condemned as a coquette and suffers the consequences of exercising an independent mind. Yet, Eliza does not stand a lone in her position as a pathetic figure. Her lover, Major Sanford -- who is often considered the villain of the novel -- also is constrained by societal expectations and definitions of American men and their ambition. Though Sanford conveys an honest desire to make Eliza his wife, society encourages marriage as a connection in order to advance socially and to secure a fortune. Sanford, in contrast to Eliza, suffers as a result of adhering to social expectations of a male’s role. While Eliza suffers because she lives her life outside of her social categorization and Sanford falls because he attempts to maneuver and manipulate the system in which he lives, both are victims of an imperfect, developing, American society. Though Eliza’s ... ... comic hero. This flaw seems to be a result of the greater defect of the society in which he functions. Certainly not an innocent and having his own characterization of the same fatal flaw as Eliza – a decisive determination for independence -- Sanford shares in the traditional tragic conclusion of isolation and loss. Despite an attractive interpretation that Eliza Wharton deserves her tragic fate because she is too scandalous of a seductress, her fall is actually a result of her desire for autonomy in a society that denies women that right. Also, to view Sanford as a heartless villain would be reductionary. He too, like Eliza, is subject to the judgements, constraints, and values of a flawed society in which he is separated from his true love. Both characters fall as a result of their desire for relational freedoms that early American society denies them.

Macroeconomics: Should the Minimum Wage Increase? Essay

Minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement that can be applied for an employee or put simply, the lowest amount of pay that an employee can make. Governments set a minimum wage on businesses in hope for reduced poverty and increases in the standard of living. Minimum wages are beneficial up to a line, when minimum wage is too high, it makes businesses make crucial decisions and must save money by firing workers, reducing output, and increasing prices on products. Over the years, the federal minimum wage has increased and has been beneficial up to the minimum wage increase in July 24, 2009 from $6.55 to $7.25. After the increase, the unemployment rate has soared and businesses fired worker and increased their prices. For this reason, it would be beneficial to the economy if the minimum wage is reduced back to $6.55 because it will decrease the unemployment rate, increase GDP, and help youth and unskilled workers in the job industry. The Great Depression was a devastating time for the United States with families having no income, there was no economic growth, and the poverty rate was at an all time high. To aid with the matter, President Roosevelt attempted to impose a federal minimum wage but was struck down by the Supreme Court. The Court continued to refuse to have a federal minimum wage over and over again. It was until chose a presidential nominee, and made a platform that supported minimum wages by the party’s presidential nominee, Alf Landon. After this, the Court decided to allow a minimum wage. Over the years, the government has increased the minimum wage from 25 cents in 1938 to $7.25 in 2009. The current debate in Congress now is that President Obama wants to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 which is going to be a bad idea for the economy, decreasing the minimum wage will benefit the economy for reasons that will be stated now. Human labor is very important to businesses even though technology is rapidly improving but if the minimum wage increases, the cost of human labor increases, so to deal with this, businesses must decrease output, increases prices, and ultimately fire employees. So if the minimum wage increases, the unemployment will also ultimately increase. Evidence of this occurring is seen through a recent minimum wage increase from $6.55 to $7.25. When the minimum wage increased from 2008 to 2009, the unemployment rate almost doubled. In 2008, the unemployment rate was 5.5% and in 2009, it increased to 11.2%. Decreasing the minimum wage will reverse this because human labor is cheaper, therefore businesses can increase output, lower prices, and hire more employees. This rapid increase unemployment rate is undesirable because of the huge economic cost for GDP. The economic cost is determined using Okun’s Law which is to double the unemployment rate to find the GDP gap, so the GDP gap for the year 2009 is 22.4%. Multiplying the GDP gap with the potential GDP gives the economic cost. The potential GDP in 2009 was about $13750 billion and multiplying this with the GDP gap 22.4% gives the economic cost of $3080 billion (McConnell, 2012, p. 175). The cost of this was way too high and the cost will increase much more if the minimum wage is increased, but if the m inimum wage was decreased, maybe the economic cost can be reversed. If the minimum wage can be decreased, the unemployment rate will also decrease, and GDP can increase. GDP is a monetary measure of the health of the economy. This is calculated by adding up all the expenditures made on final goods and services in the U.S or adding all the income mad in the U.S. If minimum wage is decreased, businesses and firms can increase output with more employees and lower prices. Since there are lower prices, there will be a higher demand so more goods and services can be sold thus increasing GDP making a bigger and healthier economy. For example, a man sells burgers and hires 10 people at $7.25 and minimum wage goes up to $9.50, the cost of ingredients goes up. The labor that is used in bringing the beef to market is paid with minimum wage. If those wages go up the cost of producing the beef will go up, ultimately driving up the price of beef. The man now can’t afford the price rise on raw ingredients because it will cause him to run at a deficit. Instea d he will have to raise prices and sell less burgers or make less output. Since there is less output to be made, fewer employees are needed so employees are fired. Since there is less burgers to be sold and it is at higher prices, not a lot of consumers will purchase the burgers and thus GDP will decrease. Decreasing the minimum wage will not just decrease unemployment and increase GDP; it will also benefit the working youth and unskilled workers as well. If the minimum wage decreases, businesses and firms can afford to hire more employees, including youth workers and unskilled workers and can train them. This gives youth and unskilled workers valuable experience which can help them with future job opportunities. If the youth and unskilled workers can at least get a job, they can work their way up the ladder and use the experience they get from the minimum wage job and use it as they rank up or pursue higher income jobs. There are many reasons for why decreasing the minimum wage would benefit the economy but there are those who oppose this view. Those who oppose this view say that decreasing the minimum wage will hurt the economy because lowering the minimum wage decreases the income of families so that they can purchase fewer goods and therefore decrease the GDP growth rate. There is another argument saying that is only fair to give an employee a â€Å"living wage† and can support at least a family of two for 40 hours a week. This is untrue because most employees that work minimum wage don’t work 40 hours a week anyway so it is already not a living wage but they don’t take the job for the short run, they do it to gain experience and can in the future work with other businesses that require past experience and will pay the employee a higher wage. As stated before, employees can work their way up the income ladder. Decreasing minimum wage is beneficial to the economy because of many reasons. It is beneficial because it reduces the unemployment rate, increases the GDP, and helps youth and unskilled workers with future job opportunities. This can be done by first refusing Obama’s plan of increasing minimum wage, and then starting a bill to reduce minimum wage. Minimum wage is needed to prevent employees getting an unfair pay but there is a limit on it, don’t raise the minimum wage too much Mr. President. References 2050., & 2000, u. f. (n.d.). Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Retrieved July 24, 2013, from http://www.cbo.gov/ Brownstein, R. (n.d.). A Short History of the Minimum Wage Fight – NationalJournal.com. NationalJournal.com. Retrieved July 24, 2013, from http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/a-short-history-of-the-minimum-wage-fight-20130214 Macroeconomics, global edition (19 ed., p. 175). (2012). 9. S.l.: Mcgraw Hill Higher Educat. Shemkus, S. (n.d.). Increasing the Minimum Wage: Pros & Cons – Salary.com. Welcome to Salary.com – Salary.com. Retrieved July 24, 2013, from http://www.salary.com/increasing-the-minimum-wage-pros-cons/ U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). (n.d.). U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Retrieved July 24, 2013, from http://www.bea.gov/index.htm U.S. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division (WHD) – Minimum Wage. (n.d.). United States Department of Labor. Retrieved July 24, 2013, from http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/coverage.htm

Plain View Doctrine Essay

Plain View Doctrine is in essence a weapon for the law enforcement officers to prove the legality of their search and seizure. (â€Å"Plain View Doctrine†) As a rule, law enforcement officers are bound by the 4th Amendment which requires that before they could conduct a search or arrest they must first secure a valid search warrant or arrest warrant. Any object seized in the absence of a search warrant will be inadmissible in evidence. One of the exceptions however to the search warrant requirement is the Plain View Doctrine. The plain view doctrine gives validity to any search and seizure made by law enforcement officers even in the absence of search warrant. Although this doctrine is widely recognized as an exception to the search warrant requirement under the 4th Amendment, in reality, the law enforcement officer who discovers an illegal contraband in plain view does not really conduct a search. Rather, the law enforcement officer merely seizes what was already in his plain view. In applying the plain view doctrine in this fact pattern, I give a qualified answer. There are two issues in this case whether the marijuana cigarettes which the police officer found near the stolen purse is admissible in evidence under the plain view doctrine and whether the powdery substance the police officer found in the baggies on a patio table is admissible in evidence under the plain view doctrine. In the first scenario, I argue that the marijuana cigarettes found on the ground together with the other contents of the stolen purse is admissible in evidence against its owner. The three requirements of the plain view doctrine are present in this case. Firstly, the police officer discovered the marijuana cigarettes using his sense of sight. Secondly, the officer had the right to be in the place where the item was seen. It must be stressed that the police officer who discovered the marijuana conducted a hot pursuit operation of a fleeing suspect. In the course of the chase, the suspect dropped the stolen purse spilling its contents. Thirdly, the marijuana cigarette was found outside the purse and its discovery was not a result of prying or examination of the police officer. Clearly, the marijuana cigarette is admissible against its owner. On the other hand, I argue that the powdery substance or the illegal drugs found in the baggies on top of the patio table is inadmissible in evidence for violation of the 4th Amendment. In this case, the first and third requirements of the plain view doctrine were complied with. The police officer discovered the illegal contraband using his sense of sight and that the discovery of the illegal drugs was not the result of prying or examination. The illegal drugs were merely inadvertently discovered by the police officer when he entered the yard of the owner. However, the second requirement was not complied with. In this case, the police officer had no right to be in the place where he saw the illegal drugs. It must be stressed that the plain view doctrine applies only when a lawful search is in progress or the officer was otherwise legally present at the place of the seizure. Following a long line of jurisprudence, among the possible reasons why a police officer may be considered to be legally present in a particular place is if a) he is serving a search warrant, b) he was in hot pursuit of a suspect; c) he made the entry through valid consent; d) he made a valid arrest with or without a warrant. The officer was not serving a search warrant since he had none. The officer was not also in hot pursuit of a suspect because when he entered the woman’s house the pursuit operation had ceased. At the time, the suspect was able to escape from him. There was no lawful consent coming from the owner when he entered the premises. At the time of the discovery, the police officer was not making a valid arrest with or without a warrant since there was no person to be arrested in the first place. Thus, I believe that this evidence is inadmissible in court. This is consistent with the ruling of the court in the case of Washington v. Chrisman (455 US 1), where the court ruled that the â€Å"The plain view doctrine, however, does not authorize an officer to enter a dwelling without a warrant to seize contraband merely because the contraband is visible from outside the dwelling†¦ the plain view doctrine applies only after a lawful search is in progress or the officer was otherwise legally present at the place of the seizure. The initial intrusion must be justified by a warrant, by an exception to the warrant requirement, or by other circumstances authorizing his presence. †(455 US 1)