Drug Legalization in the United States Essay Example for Free

Drug Legalization in the United States Essay Abstract This paper will explore four websites and one online newspaper addressing the subject of drug trafficking in the United States and why legalization is a profitable alternative. The various ways drugs are bought into the country, information on how and why drug trafficking has increased in the United States, statistics on the number of people that are addicts, and the problems related to foreign countries on this issue. The reasons why illicit drugs should be legalized and what the income from the taxation from them could do to better our health care reform and our economy. Keywords: drug trafficking, economy, legalization Drug Legalization in the United States Illegal drugs are exports and deported out if our country everyday by different groups such as high profile criminal gangs or groups such as the cartel. Law enforcement has yet found a suitable way in controlling the war on drugs and have in past years, up until now, have made and passed bills and policies within the government that has made it worse. The legalization of illicit drugs, such as marijuana, would dramatically save, if not make our country more money.The Department of Justice reports the trafficking of drugs has increased in the United States (2012). Criminal groups from other countries, such as Mexican, Cuban, and Asian, including the groups in our country, grow, manufacturer, and distribute marijuana and other illicit drugs. Meth being in such high demand, leads to the growing number of addicts. Domestic cannabis growers and producers provide marijuana as easy completion for such drugs such as cocaine, LSD, and heroine. Since the price of the final product increases to abnormally high values, because of the black market status, this together with the powerful effects of drug addiction causes users to commit crimes in order to fund their addiction. The ways that illicit drugs are brought in to the country are by passenger ships at United States ports and shipping containers, criminal groups operating from South America smuggling cocaine and heroin in the United States. Self-propelled semisubmersible vessels are maritime vessels used by traffickers to transport illicit drugs. These vessels typically protrude only a few inches above the surface of the water, making them very difficult to detect visually. SPSS’s typically have a four-man crew and are capable of carrying multiton quantities of cocaine. The primary threat from drug smuggling via private vessels is from Caribbean-based traffickers exploiting the Puerto Rico and Florida coastlines. Traffickers transported mostly cocaine from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico, although they smuggled lesser amounts of heroin, sometimes combined with cocaine loads. Caribbean traffickers also smuggled cocaine, heroin, and marijuana from the Bahamas to areas of South Florida bet ween Miami and Palm Beach. Seizure totals and routes remained relatively constant compared with those of previous years. These routes have been opened and used frequently since the 1970’s. Traffickers used private maritime vessels to smuggle drugs into the United States during 2009 through Puerto Rico, South Florida, South Texas, and southern California, and Mexican DTOs sometimes smuggle drugs by maritime means to avoid law enforcement scrutiny along the Southwest Border. According to Drug Addiction Facts and Statistics, the statistics on the number of addicts that we have in the United States are also growing rapidly. These numbers are solely based on the harsher illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine. â€Å"2010 estimated 22.6 million Americans over the age of 12 that were currently or formally illicit drug users are equivalent to about 8.9% of the population† Over 6 million children in the United States live with at least one parent with a drug problem. Since the 1980’s the numbers of people that used illicit drugs that ended death either by overdose or some other type of reaction has risen to over 540%. A 1996 U.S. government study claims that heavy marijuana use may impair learning ability. The key words are heavy use and may. This claim is based on studying people who use marijuana daily–a sample that represents less than 1 percent of all marijuana users. This study concluded: 1) Learning impairments cited were subtle, minimal, and may be temporary. In other words, there is little evidence that such learning impairments even exist. 2) Long-term memory was not affected by heavy marijuana use. 3) Casual marijuana users showed no signs of impaired learning. 4) Heavy alcohol use was cited as being more detrimental to the thought and learning process than heavy marijuana use. (2012). Drug raids in the United States happen on the average of hundreds of times a day. The policies are a lot more dangerous and dramatic then public use of drugs. These policies harm not just families of the users and dealers, but the neighbors and general public that surround them. It has been known that law enforcement has gotten wrong addresses, and bad leads to help them follow through enforcement. Drug task force units have their equipment such as big guns and bullet proof amour, for their defense, but to a child of the suspect, it can seem very intimidating and scary. This also has been known as traumatizing to the youth and families involved. It has also been classified as terrorizing. This is not what these policies were set out to do. Prohibition on illicit drugs brings more gang violence, murder, and violence from dealers, users, children, families, and law enforcement made to enforce policies. There are approximately 17.4 million users of marijuana between 2007 through to 2010 . The numbers increased to 6.9% up from 5.8% or 14.4 million to 17.4 million users. â€Å"To allow policy experimentation, the federal government should permit states to legalize the production, sales, taxation, and consumption of marijuana. While testing this policy shift, authorities should redirect scarce law enforcement resources to focus on the more damaging and socially unacceptable drugs such as heroin, cocaine and meth. From which Mexican drug trafficking organizations derive more than 70% of their proceeds (Moffat, 2012). Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation similar to that used for alcoholic beverages would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year. The revenue from marijuana sales after legalizing for the government could be lucrative. If the tax of marijuana cigarettes was substituted for equal to the difference between the local production cost and the street price currently paid, transfer the revenue from the crime groups to the government, we would have revenue of abo ut $7 per unit. This adds up to over $2 billion on the Canadian sales and even more on an export tax then we can forgo the cost of enforcement and deploy our policy assets elsewhere. By providing legal supplies of currently illegal drugs the price will fall, leading to a collapse in the illegal drug industry, and a reduction in crimes committed by both drug suppliers and users. Some could also argue that the reduction in the price will lead to little, if any, growth in drug addiction, due to the inelasticity of demand. In a strictly regulated market, drug use may fall overall, by removing the marketing activities of the illegal drug industry. There are a growing number of law enforcement professionals speaking out for legalization. LEAP (Law Enforcement against Prohibition) is an international organization founded in 2002 made up of current and former members of the law enforcement and criminal justice communities who are speaking out about the failures of our existing drug policies. According to Betty Taylor, former Chief of Police of Winfield, MO and a speaker for LEAP (Law Enforcement against Prohibition) â€Å"If you can’t control the problem then regulate it. Regardless of law enforcement expenditures, the negative effects of prohibition include violence and other criminal activity† (Bozarth, 2012). The prohibition of marijuana is taking away from our economy in many different ways, such as financially. It is also taking our law enforcement officials away from being able to enforce the more dangerous crimes such as murder and enforce the policies of the more dangerous drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Taxes from the product can bring in more revenue and create another cash crop for farmers to contribute to the economy and also help with drug care reform in making a prescription drug that is affordable and easily acquired. These things are beneficiary to our country as long as it is monitored and maintained by its own policies put in place by ou r government. References DEA Briefs Background, Drugs and Drug Abuse, Drug Descriptions, Drug Trafficking in the United States. (n.d.). Welcome to the United States Department of Justice. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from http://www.justice.gov/dea/concern/drug_trafficking.html Drug Addiction Facts and Statistics. (n.d.). http://www.michaelshouse.com. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from http://www.michaelshouse.com/drug-addiction/drug-addiction-statistics/ Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2012, from www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com Moffatt, M. (n.d.). Should Governments Legalize and Tax Marijuana?. About.com. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from http://economics.about.com/od/incometaxestaxcuts/a/marijuana.htm Bozarth, M. (2012, 02 23). LEAP Helps Launch Marijuana Initiative. http://stjtelegraph.org/. Retrieved March 5, 2012, from stjtelegraph.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/stjtelegraph-23-08_all.pdf

Trends of Economic Thinking

Trends of Economic Thinking The position of the economist in the intellectual life of our time is unlike that of the practitioners of any other branch of knowledge. Questions for whose solution his special knowledge is relevant are probably more frequently encountered than questions related to another science. Yet, in large measure, this knowledge is disregarded and in many respects public opinion even seems to move in a contrary direction. Thus the economist appears to be hopelessly out of tune with his time, giving unpractical advice to which his public is not disposed to listen and having no influence upon contemporary events. Why is this? The situation is not without precedent in the history of economic thought; but it cannot be considered as normal, and there is strong reason to believe that it must be the result of a particular historical situation. For the views at present held by the public can clearly be traced to the economists of a generation or so ago. So that the fact is, not that the teaching of the economist has no influence at all; on the contrary, it may be very powerful. But it takes a long time to make its influence felt, so that, if there is change, the new ideas tend to be swamped by the domination of ideas which, in fact, have become obsolete. Hence the recurring intellectual isolation of the economist. The problem of the relation between the economist and public opinion today resolves itself, therefore, into a question of the causes of the intellectual changes which have conspired to bring about this cleavage. It is this subject which I have chosen as the main theme of this lectureThe subject is a vast one, but the aspect which I wish chiefly to emphasise is that which the economist must, naturally, be most anxious to make clear to the public for example the role played by purely scientific Progress the growth of our insight into the interdependence of economic phenomena in bringing about these changes in his attitude to practical problems. At first sight there seem to be only two reasons why economistsshould change their attitude towards questions of economic policy either they may find that their knowledge has been inadequate, or their views on the fundamental ethical postulates (upon which, of course, every practical conclusion is based) may undergo a change. In either case the role played by science would be clear. But, in fact, the cause of the great historical changes which I am discussing seems to me to be of a more subtle kind. It consists neither of a change in the underlying ethical valuations nor of a refutation of the validity of certain analytical propositions, but rather in a change of view regarding the relevance of that knowledge for practical problems. It was not a change of ideals nor a change of reasoning but a change of view with regard to the applicability of such reasoning which was responsible for the characteristic features of the popular economics of today. How did this come about? It is a common belief that, about the middle of last century, perhaps under the influence of socialistic ideas, the social conscience was aroused by the existence of human misery which had previously escaped recognition, and it was decided no longer to tolerate it. Hence the decline of ‘the old political economy’ which had been blind to these considerations. But, in fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. No serious attempt has ever been made to show that the great liberal economists were any less concerned with the welfare of the poorerclasses of society than were their successors. And I do not think that any such attempt could possibly be successful. The causes of the change must be sought elsewhere. It is probably true that economic analysis has never been the product of detached intellectual curiosity about the why of social phenomena, but of an intense urge to reconstruct a world which gives rise to profound dissatisfaction. This is as true of the phylogenesis of economics as of the ontogenesis of probably every economist. As Professor Pigou2 has aptly remarked: â€Å"It is not wonder, but the social enthusiasm which revolts from the sordidness of mean streets and the joylessness of withered lives, that is the beginning of economic science.† The mere existence of an extremely complicated mechanism which led to some kind of coordination of the independent action of individuals was not sufficient to arouse the scientific curiosity of men. While the movement of the heavenly bodies or the changes in our material surroundings excited our wonder because they were evidently directed by forces which we did not know, mankind remained—and the majority of men still remain—under the erroneous impression that, since all social phenomena are the product of our own actions, all that depends upon them is their deliberate object. It was only when, because the economic system did not accomplish all we wanted, we prevented it from doing what it had been accomplishing, in an attempt to make it obey us in an arbitrary way, that we realized that there was anything to be understood. It was only incidentally, as a by product of the study of such isolated phenomena, that it was gradually realized that many things which had been tak en for granted were, in fact, the product of a highly complicated organism which we could only hope to understand by the intense mental effort of systematic inquiry. Indeed, it is probably no exaggeration to say that economics developed mainly as the outcome of the investigation and refutation of successive Utopian proposals if by utopian we mean proposals for the improvement of undesirable effects of the existing system, based upon a complete disregard of those forces which actually enabled it to work. Now, since economic analysis originated in this way, it was only natural that economists should immediately proceed from the investigation of causal interrelationships to the drawing of practical conclusions. In criticising proposals for improvement, they accepted the ethical postulates on which such proposals were based and tried to demonstrate that these were not conducive to the desired end and that, very often, policies of a radically different nature would bring about the desired result. Such a procedure does not in any way violate the rule, which Professor Robbins4 has so effectively impressed upon us, that science by itself can never prove what ought to be done. But if there is agreement on ultimate aims, it is clearly scientific knowledge which decides the best policy for bringing them about. No doubt the economist should always be conscious of this distinction; but it would certainly have been nothing but intolerable pedantry if, in discussing practical problems, the economist had always insisted that science by itself proves nothing, when in fact it was only the newly gained knowledge which was decisive in bringing about the change in their attitude towards practical affairs. The attitude of the classical economists to questions of economic policy was the outcome of their scientific conclusions. The presumption against government interference sprang from a wide range of demonstrations that isolated acts of interference definitely frustrated the attainment of those ends which all accepted as desirable. But the position of the young science which led to conclusions so much in conflict with the result of more primitive reflections was bound to become difficult as soon as—following its first triumphant success it became more conscious of its remaining defects. And those who disliked its conclusions were not slow in making the most of all the defects they could find. It was not the practical preoccupations of the economist which were responsible for this result. It is by no means certain that economics would have been less disliked if economists had been more careful to distinguish the pure theory from the more applied parts of their conclusions. It is true that economics was contemptuously dubbed’ a mere utilitarian science because it did not pursue knowledge for i ts own sake. But nothing would have aroused more resentment than if economists had tried to do so. Even today it is regarded almost as assign of moral depravity if the economist finds anything to marvel at in his science; i.e., if he finds an unsuspected order in things which arouses his wonder. And he is bitterly reproached if he does not emphasise, at every stage of his analysis, how much he regrets that his insight into the order of things makes it less easy to change them whenever we please. The attack on economics sprang rather from a dislike of the application of scientific methods to the investigation of social problems. The existence of a body of reasoning which prevented people from following their first impulsive reactions, and which compelled them to balance indirect effects, which could be seen only by exercising the intellect, against intense feeling caused by the direct observation of concrete suffering, then as now, occasioned intense resentment. It was against the validity of such reasoning in general that the emotional revolt was directed. Thus, temporarily, social enthusiasm succeeded in destroying an instrument created to serve it because it had been made impatient by the frequent disappointments which it had occasioned. It is not to be denied that, at this early stage, economists had not yet become quite conscious of the precise nature of their generalisations. Nor can it be questioned that on some points, such as the theory of value, they proceeded on very unsatisfactory general assumptions. To what extent the actual foundations of the classical system were influenced by the fashionable philosophy of the day has been made clear by the distinguished author of Philosophy and Politi cal Economy. It is clear that anything which justified the treatment of practical problems as something unique, determined only by their own historical development, was bound to be greeted as a welcome relief from the necessity of controlling e motions by difficult reasoning. It was just this advantage which the historical method afforded. Refusing to believe in general laws, the Historical School had the special attraction that its method was constitutionally unable to refute even the wildest of utopias, and was, therefore, not likely to bring the disappointment associated with theoretical analysis. Its emphasis on the unsatisfactory aspects of economic life, rather than upon what was owed to the working of the existing system, and what would be the consequences if we tried directly to control some of the recognised evils, strongly recommended it to all those who had become impatient. For a considerable time, mainly during the last third of the nineteenth century, the two schools which now existed not only employed different methods, but also turned their attention to different problems. The more theoretically minded had to concentrate rather on the revision of the fundamental principles which had been damaged by decades of attack, and had to leave the more applied parts to others who were coming more and more under the influ ence of the historical method. So long, however, as this part of the task was left to men who had previously become acquainted with the general principles of analysis—and who were, therefore, immune from the more popular fallacies the fulleffect of this change did not become apparent. The distinguished economist to whose memory this chair8 is dedicated, and with whose long and fruitful career Professor Gregory has made us familiar,9 offers a conspicuous example of the nature of this change. Thomas Tooke could never have become one of t he leaders of the free-trade movement in his early years, and remained its lifelong advocate, if he had applied to the problems of international trade the same purely inductive methods which, in his later years, he considered as exclusively decisive in the discussion of monetary problems. As so frequently happens, it was only in the second generation of the new school that the lack of the tools necessary for the interpretation of the intricate phenomena they were busy describing made itself felt. And so it came about that, just at the time when the theorists were most successful in constructing a sounder analytical basis for their science, the superstructure of more concrete applications which had been left in the hands of the more practical-minded men fell gradually, more discredited than disproved, into oblivion. And, in consequence, many of the palliatives and quack remedies which, in the past, had been rejected because, even judged by the analysis of the classical system, their indirect effects were seen to be obviously more objectionable than their immediate benefits, were introduced by the new generation of historical economists, until the reaction was carried to a point at which the futile attempts to redress special grievances by short-sighted State action cou ld hardly have been more numerous if an analytical science of economics had never existed. It is no accident that the return of protectionism which followed the free-trade era of the nineteenth century was the work of men under the influence of this school. It takes a long time to rebuild the structure of a science if one starts by revising the fundamental concepts. And the modern revision of theoretical economics has occupied sufficient time to allow what was at first the heretical view of a number of radical economists. who had tofight what was then the conservatism of the practical men who were still under the influence of economic liberalism—to pervade the thought of the public and to establish itself as the dominating doctrine, not only among advanced social reformers, but even among the most conservative businessmen.

Carbon Mesoporous Material Hybrid Catalyst

Carbon Mesoporous Material Hybrid Catalyst Facile and clean transformation for synthesizing secondary arylamines through one-pot reductive amination of aniline, using aldehyde catalyzed by the supported nickel and poly(vinyl sulfonic acid) on mesoporous carbon CMK-3 (Ni/PVSA/CMK-3) as a novel acid-metal bi-functional heterogeneous catalyst. Sodium borohydride was used as the source of hydrogen for the reduction of imine. The reaction was performed at room temperature, in a short reaction time, without any by-products. Various characterization techniques including FT-IR, XRD, TG, BET, SEM, TEM, DRS-UV and AAS were employed to reveal the relationship between catalyst nature and catalytic performance. Reaction results demonstrate that the optimized Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 catalyst shows comparable catalytic performance thanks to the nickel metals and the acidic nature of polymer in mesopore channels of CMK-3. This method has several advantages such as, eco-friendly (used water as solvent), moderate to high yields, simple work-up procedure and catalyst filtered easily and reused without obvious loss of activity. 1. Introduction Nowadays, amines are privileged in industry that have found prevalent applications as intermediates for pharmaceuticals, biologically active compounds, rubber, solvents, fine chemicals, dyes, herbicides, and in the manufacture of detergents and plastics. Reductive amination demonstrate one of the most versatile and convenient methods of amine synthesis. This reaction has two steps including formation of an imine during reaction between primary amine and a carbonyl substrate, and reduction of the imine with adequate hydride source. There are two detached approaches for the reductive amination: the direct approach, which uses the in situ-generated imine, and the indirect approach, which uses the prior isolated imine. The former approach has several advantages such as one-pot procedure, increasing yields, having simple setup, easily separated from the product, being stable and compatible reagents, and the mild reaction conditions. To this end, over the past decades, researchers have been reported several studies on reductive amination reaction with several different catalysts, which among them, heterogeneous catalysis are prominent than homogenous catalysis owing to separate and recover capabilities. Moreover, it has been proven that accomplish this reaction needs two character including metallic and acidic; consequently, bi-functional heterogeneous catalysts are useful in this reaction. Recently, several metal nanoparticles acted as a hydride transfer such as Pt, Ni, Cu, and Pd. Despite of the fact that an effective control of particle size and a uniform distribution of nanoparticles in catalytic applications are generally predicted, nanoparticles typically accumulate together in bulk-like materials that hardly reduce selectivity and the activity of catalysts. To overcome with this problem, mesoporous silica, zeolites, polymers or macromolecular organic ligands have been used in order to immobilize metal nanoparticles in their pores. Mesoporous silica materials and zeolites have excellent order and surface area than other materials like polymer and etc.; subsequently, they are sufficient for catalysis approaches. Lately, mesoporous silica used for producing mesoporous carbon (CMK-n) as hard template. These materials contain several benefits compared to mesoporous silica and zeolites for instance, high mechanical stability, high thermal stability in nitrogen atmosphere, superb stability in strong acids and bases, and other engrossing properties such as narrow pore size distributions, high surface areas, and ordered frameworks. In addition, mesoporous carbon materials have hydrophobic nature on their surfaces and it helps to embed nanopolymers in their pores. In our previous studies, it asserts that when polymer embedded into mesoporous materials, they have perfect function. Owing to the fact that they have small particles and subsequently having high surface areas. Moreover, polymer nanoparticles fix in porous and they could not leach from their supporters. Accordingly, in this work, we will introduce a novel heterogeneous organic hybrid catalyst based on a carbon mesoporous material. In this circumstance, mesoporous carbon CMK-3 replicating from mesoporous silica SBA-15 was prepared and used as suitable support for Nickel nanoparticle/poly vinyl sulfonic acid/CMK-3 (Ni/PVSA/CMK-3). Furthermore, the catalyst was used effectively for the one-pot reductive amination of amine compounds using aldehyde in the presence of a small amount of NaBH4 as a mild reducing agent and two sort of solvent containing water and acetonitrile at room temperature without any by-products. 2. Experimental method 2.1. Catalyst characterization The samples have been analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy (using a PerkinElmer 65 in KBr matrix in the range of 4000-400 cm-1). The thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) data were obtained by a Setaram Labsys TG (STA) in a temperature range of 30-650 -C and heating rate 10 -C min-1 in nitrogen atmosphere. The X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) of the catalyst was carried out on a Bruker D8Advance X-ray diffractometer using nickel filtered Cu KÃŽ ± radiation at 40 kV and 20 mA. The BET specific surface areas and BJH pore size distribution of the samples were determined by adsorption-desorption of nitrogen at liquid nitrogen temperature, using a Series BEL SORP 18. For the measurement of nickel, a Perkin Elmer AAnalyst 300 atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used. The slit width, linear range and wave length for Ni were 0.2 nm, 2 and ppm232 nm, respectively. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies were performed on Philips, XL30, SE detector. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observati ons were performed on a JEOL JEM.2011 electron microscope at an accelerating voltage of 200.00 kV using EX24093JGT detector in order to obtain information on the size of nickel nanoparticles and the DRS UV-vis spectra were recorded with JASCO spectrometer, V-670 from 190 to 2700 nm. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) was recorded on ESCA SSX-100 (Shimadzu) using a non-monochromatized Mg KÃŽ ± X-ray as the excitation source. The products were characterized by 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra (Bruker DRX-500 Avance spectrometer at 500.13 and 125.47 MHz, respectively). Melting points were measured on an Electrothermal 9100 apparatus and they were uncorrected. All the products were known compounds and they were characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. All melting points are compared satisfactorily with those reported in the literature. 2.2. Catalyst preparation The employed mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) was synthesized following the method reported by Ryoo using SBA-15 as template. 2.2.1. Preparation of SBA-15 Mesoporous silica SBA-15 was prepared using block copolymer Pluronic P123 (EO20PO70EO20) template as a structure directing agent and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as the silica precursor through the addition of H3PO4 by novel method as described in the literature. In a general synthesis, Pluronic P123 (2 g) was dissolved at room temperature in deionized water (75.4 mL) and H3PO4 (4.2 mL, 85%), after that TEOS (4.6 mL) was added to the solution and synthesis was fulfilled by stirring at 35 -C for 24 h in sealed Teflon breakers, and it was consequently placed at 100 -C for 24 h. Afterwards, the solution was filtered, washed with deionized water, and lastly dried at 95 -C for 12 h in air. Template removal was accomplished by calcination in air using two successive steps; first heating at 250 -C for 3 h and then at 550 -C for 4 h. 2.2.2. Preparation of CMK-3 Mesoporous carbon CMK-3 was prepared using mesoporous silica SBA-15 as template and sucrose as the carbon precursor. 1.0 g SBA-15 was added to 5 mL aqueous solution containing 1.25 g (3.65 mmol) sucrose and 0.14 g (1.42 mmol) of H2SO4 (98%). The resulting mixture was heated in an oven at 100 -C for 6 h and next 160 -C for another 6 h. In order to obtain entirely polymerized sucrose inside the pores of the SBA-15 template, 5 mL aqueous solution containing 0.8 g (2.33 mmol) sucrose and 0.09 g (0.917 mmol) of H2SO4 were added again, and the mixture was subjected to the thermal treatment described above one more time. Then, it was carbonized under nitrogen gas flow at 900 -C for 6 h with a heating rate of 5 -C min-1. Finally, the resulting solid was washed with 1 M NaOH solution (50 vol. % ethanol-50 vol. % H2O) twice to remove the silica template, filtered, washed with ethanol until pH = 7, and dried at 100 -C for 4 h. 2.2.3. Preparation of Poly(vinyl sulfonic acid)/CMK-3 2.2.4. Preparation of Ni nanoparticle-poly(vinyl sulfonic acid)/CMK-3 At first, Vinylsulfonic acid sodium was converted into its acidic form using the ion exchange resin (Amberjet 1200 H, 2 equiv. L-1, Aldrich). Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 was synthesized as follows: in the first place, 1 mL aqueous solution of NiCl2.6H2O (0.5 M) was added to the obtained PVSA/CMK-3 (0.1 g) together with 3 mL of H2O. The mixture was heated for 5 h at 353 K. Next, the solution of NaBH4 [0.057 g (1.5 mmol)] dissolved in 5 mL methanol was added to the mixture drop by drop in 20-30 min. Then, the solution was stirred for 3 h. After that, adding the same amount of NaBH4 was repeated and again the mixture was stirred for 3 h. Consequently, the solution was filtered and washed sequentially with deionized water and methanol to remove excess NaBH4 and NiCl2, and was dried in room temperature to yield Ni/PVSA/CMK-3. The Ni content of the catalyst was estimated by decomposing. Known amount of the catalyst by perchloric acid, nitric acid, fluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, and the Ni content was estimated by atomic absorption spectrometer. The Ni content of Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 estimated by atomic absorption spectrometer was 2.1 mmol g−1. 2.3. General procedure for one-pot reductive amination of aldehydes. A mixture of Aniline (2 mmol) and benzaldehyde (2 mmol) in water or acetonitrile (3 mL) was placed in a round bottom flask and stirred for 1 min at room temperature. Afterward, to the resulting mixture, Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 (0.04 g) and NaBH4 (6 mmol) were added and the mixture was stirred at room temperature until TLC showed the complete disappearance of the benzaldehyde. Then, the reaction mixture was quenched with water (10 mL) and the product was extracted with diethylether (2 10 mL). After they finished, the organic phase was dried over anhydrous Na2SO4, filtered and concentrated. In the end, the products were obtained very pure just by extract with diethylether in the majority of the reactions. The product was identified with a melting point, FT-IR spectroscopy techniques, 1HNMR and 13CNMR. 3. Results and discussion 3.1. Catalyst characterization Figure 1 shows the FTIR spectra of CMK-3 (a), PVSA/CMK-3 (b) and Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 (c). A broad band at around 3380-3470 cm−1 was observed in all samples. The O-H stretching vibration of the adsorbed water molecules mainly caused it. Moreover, in the CMK-3 spectrum, there are not any signals belong to organic bonds, resulting from the complete carbonization of sucrose (Fig. 1a). The presence of a new absorption bands at 1041 and 1186 cm-1 attributed to the S=O group of PVS, affirming the existence of the grafted PVSA chains on the CMk-3. In addition, the band at about 1650 cm-1 is attributed to adsorbed water, which is similar to related reports[]. The presence of peaks at around 2940 cm−1 and 1450 cm−1 correspond to the aliphatic C-H stretching and bending in PVSA/CMK-3, respectively (Fig. 2b). The appearance of the above bands shows that PVSA has been attached into mesoporous of CMK-3 and the synthesis of PVSA/CMK-3 has been successful. The profiles of thermogravimetric analysis of PVSA/CMK-3 and Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 under nitrogen atmosphere are shown in Fig. 2. The degradation of Poly(vinyl-sulfonic acid) commences at 150C and this stage continues to a little less than 300C. The next stage involves only a little degradation and occurs over the temperature range of 300 to 500C. These evidence are shown Poly(vinyl-sulfonic acid) cannot tolerant the temperature due to polymers are not protect by any supporter. The TGA curves of PVSA/CMK-3 shows a small mass loss (around 5%, w/w) in the temperature range of 100-330 -C, which is apparently associated with degradation of SO2 and ethylene from PVSA (Fig. 2). At temperatures above 330 -C, PVSA shows one main stage of degradation. The mass loss for PVSA in the second step is equal to 11.5% (w/w) which correspond to the degradation of the methane. In light of the difference between the PVSA and PVSA/CMK-3 curves, it is clear that PVSA/CMK-3 has higher thermal stability and slower degradation rate than PVSAP. Hence, after hybridization, the thermal stability is enhanced significantly that is beneficial for the catalyst application. In addition, Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 shows two separate weight loss steps that are almost similar to the PVSA/CMK-3. The only difference is temperature between 330 and 445 C, which Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 shows slower degradation rate than PVSA/CMK-3 in these range. It asserts that the hybrid Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 had higher thermal stability than PVSA/CMK-3. It may be related to the presence of Nickel nanoparticles in the composite structure. Consequently, it is proper thermal stability is boosted after hybridization because of intense the catalyst application. Figure 1 shows the powder XRD patterns of SBA-15, CMK-3, PVSA/CMK-3 and Ni/PVSA/CMK-3. The low angle diffraction pattern of SBA-15 shows three reflections at 2à Ã‚ ´ values from 0.5 to 2 ° including one strong peak at (100) and two weak peaks at (110) and (200), which corresponds to the well-known ordered arrangement of SBA-15 in the space group p6mm of 2-D hexagonal symmetry. The silica SBA-15 used as template to synthesis CMK-3. As can be seen, the XRD pattern of CMK-3 show three diffraction peaks at 2à Ã‚ ´ = 1.04 °, 1.79 ° and 2.05 ° (Fig. 3b). It could be marked to (100), (110) and (200) diffractions of the 2D hexagonal space group p6mm, which is compatible with previous articles. After polymerization by poly (vinyl sulfonic acid), the X-ray diffraction of PVSA/CMK-3 shows the same pattern with CMK-3. This evidence indicates that the structure of the CMK-3 was retained after the polymerization (Fig. 3c). Albeit, the intensity of the characteristic reflection peaks of the PVSA/CMK-3 is found to be diminished (Fig. 1b). Composite contains less CMK-3 due to the dilution of the carbon material by PVSA; subsequently, this dilution can be responsible for a decrease in the peak intensity. By the way, the XRD patterns of CMK-3 and PVSA/CMK-3 are almost similar to SBA-15, which it shows CMK-3 is a accurate replica of the mesoporous silica SBA-15 and the polymerization process does not damage the structure of CMK-3. After immobilize nickel in the PVSA/CMK-3, Ni peak cannot be seen in XRD since the homogeneity of Ni particles in the Ni/PVSA/CMK-3, and it lonely shows an amorphous pattern at 2ÃŽ ¸ values of about 44ËÅ ¡ (Fig. 3, inside). In order to demonstrate the e xistence of Ni nanoparticles in the Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 catalyst was exposed to temperature (400ËÅ ¡C). Meanwhile, amorphous Ni changed to crystalline and appear a peak with low intensity at 2ÃŽ ¸ = 44.29ËÅ ¡, which can be attributed to the small size of nickel nanoparticles and the plane (111) of fcc nickel. Eventually, after immobilize the nickel nanoparticles on composite, structure has not changed and it is represented a successful synthesis of the catalyst. The specific surface area, pore volume and the pore size of the CMK-3, PVSA/CMK-3 and Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 samples are summarized in Table 1. All samples exhibit a type IV adsorption isotherm with an H1 hysteresis loop by capillary condensation at relative pressure around 0.3-0.7 (Fig. 4). It is clear in table 1 that the PVSA/CMK-3 and Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 exhibits a smaller specific surface area, and pore volume in comparison to those of pure CMK-3. Thanks to the successful incorporation of the poly(vinyl sulfonic acid) into the mesoporous carbon. As can be seen, pore diameter increases in the PVSA/CMK-3 and Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 in comparison to CMK-3. This evidence shows the incorporation and growth of hyperbranched polymers and consequently produces the pressure (physical pressure on the wall of the channels) inside the CMK-3 mesoporous. By adding Ni nanoparticles into the PVSA/CMK-3, the specific surface area and pore volume decrease, asserting that nickel nanoparticles are located inside the pores o f the CMK-3. In spite of the fact that there are significant decreases in the pore volume and surface area, the pores of Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 were not blocked by deposition of the hyperbranched homopolymer and nickel nanoparticles. Moreover, the BJH pore size distribution curves of the PVSA/CMK-3 and Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 are exhibited a narrow pore size distribution (Fig. 5). It clarifies that the homopolymer and nickel nanoparticles are satisfactory distributed on the channels of the Ni/PVSA/CMK-3. This result is agreement with TEM analysis and shows the effective role of the hyperbranched polymer to entrap and uniformly disperse nickel nanoparticles. , , Fig. 6 gave the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photographs of CMK-3 and PVSA/CMK-3 and Ni/PVSA/CMK-3. All the SEM images are shown rod-like morphology, which is attributed to carbon mesoporous. Although, virtually no significant differences observe in surface morphology between CMK-3 and PVSA/CMK-3, it is obvious that after hybridization the surface of CMK-3 is become coarser; indicating the most of polymerization of PVSA occurred in the pores of CMK-3, which was also supported by the decrease in surface area and pore volume as shown in Table 1. In addition, by immobilizing Ni nanoparticles, several spherical beads are seen on the mesoporous carbon. However, most of them are incorporated inside the carbon mesoporous structure, which is not observable in the SEM images. It is necessary to mention that after loading nickel nanoparticles on the surface of CMK-3, the structure of the mesoporous carbon is remained. Moreover, XRD analysis and TEM images confirmed this claim. The PVSA/CMK-3 and Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 were inspected by means of TEM micrographs technique (Fig. 7). The ordered hexagonal p6mm mesostructure of PVSA/CMK-3 and Ni/PVSA/CMK- 3 can be seen, indicating after polymerization and incorporation of PVSA and Ni nanoparticles, the ordered structure of mesoporous carbon is retained. Additionally, the places with darker contrast could be assigned to the presence of Pd particles with different distribution (Fig. 7c-d). As can be seen, the small dark spots could be ascribed to nickel nanoparticles with ∠¼X nm average diameter, presumably located into the mesoporous channels. On the other hand, larger dark spots are shown in fig. 7 c-d, which are corresponded to Ni nanoparticles agglomerate on the external surface with average diameter of ∠¼5-10 nm. Fig. 8 shows the DRS-UV of PVSA/CMK-3 and Ni/PVSA/CMK-3. previous reports were proven that DRS-UV of the cationic nickel have only d-d transitions peaks including 3T1g(P)↠3A2g (F) (368 nm) and 3T1g (F)↠3A2g (F) (576 nm), which these two peak do not show in Ni/PVSA/CMK-3. Moreover, the DRS-UV of Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 shows feature bands around 205 nm and 330 nm, which are attributed to the presence of Ni nanoparticles in these samples. By comparing these data, it can be found that cationic nickels are converted to the nickel nanoparticles by reduction of NaBH4. 3.2. Catalytic activity Synthesized nanocomposite was characterized by different methods in the former section. This section is introduced the application of this bi-functional catalyst to the reductive amination reaction. During two decade, enormous investigation devoted to develop environmental friendly synthesis. Since, using water as a reaction medium in transition metal-catalyzed processes is one of the most essential goal of sustainable chemistry. Water is nontoxic solvent, readily available, an inexpensive, nontoxic solvent and non-inflammable. It provides privilege over organic solvents from an environmental and an economic aspect. Accordingly, the effect of several parameters on the one-pot tandem reductive amination of aldehydes with aniline over Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 as acid-metal bifunctional catalyst was perused in water at room temperature and the outcome are as follows: At the first monitoring of experiments, diverse amounts of NiCl2.6H2O were tested to identify the effect of nickel nanoparticles concentration on the reductive amination reaction. Hence, the amount of NiCl2.6H2O to prepare Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 was changed from 1 mmol/g to 15 mmol/g and then measured by the Atomic Absorption spectroscopy technique (AAS) which are shown in Table 2. It is clear that the activity of catalytic steadily improved by increasing NiCl2.6H2O form 1 mmol/g to 5 mmol/g. According to the catalytic reaction mechanism, nickel nanoparticle mediated electron transfer from BH4- ion to the imine intermediates (Scheme 1). Subsequently, the amounts of H- sites on the catalyst surface are grown by increasing nickel nanoparticles. Thus, larger amount of hydrides can be transferred to the imine groups through the catalyst. On the other hand, by further increasing the amount of NiCl2.6H2O (more than 5 mmol/g), the catalytic activity was diminished, which can be attributed to after a certain amount of nickel chloride increases, a larger amount of nanoparticles is loaded on the surface of the CMK-3 that may have caused the mesopore channels to narrow. In Fact, the nanoparticle size will increase by increasing the amount of NiCl2.6H2O. Therefore, in some places, the pore size will narrow and it is able to lessen the rate of reactants diffusion into the porous. In one word, lower performance of the catalyst produced with higher NiCl2.6H2O concentration will be anticipated. Despite of this fact, it does not mean the pores are throughout clogged. According to these results, the catalyst provided by 5 mmol/g NiCl2.6H2O presented the best catalytic activity. To identify the effect of NaBH4 amount (as a hydride donor) on the reductive amination the reaction was carried out using various amounts of NaBH4 in the presence of Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 as catalyst. As shown in Table 3, the yield was increased by increasing the amount of NaBH4 (until 6 mmol). The excess values did not have any effect on the reaction. Therefore, 6 mmol NaBH4 was the best value to perform reductive amination reaction. The influence of the solvent on catalytic activity was investigated in the reductive amination reaction using Ni-PVSA/CMK-3 catalyst and NaBH4 as hydride donor, at room temperature. The results are gathered in Table 4. Four vital factor acts to fulfil reductive amination reaction including dielectric constant, dipole moment, solubility in NaBH4, hydrophobic effect, protic and aprotic solvent effect. The results revealed that the reaction time in ethanol solvent is slow due to NaBH4 hardly solving in ethanol and the reaction rate is tardy. In addition, the reaction rate in water solvent is slow because although dielectric constant and solubility of water in NaBH4 is high, carbon mesoporous CMK-3 have hydrophobic nature. It causes substances and catalyst cannot have perfect interaction together. The hydrophobic nature of acetonitrile and oxolane are higher than other solvent that presented above; thus, these two solvent have more similarity to hydrophobic nature of CMK-3. Moreover, dipole moment of acetonitrile is higher than other solvent. Thanks to this feature, the reaction rate increase. Whereas the methanol solvent has mediate circumstance of dielectric constant, solubility in NaBH4, and hydrophobic effect aspect, the reaction time diminish. It is noteworthy to mention that the combination of all these factors together cause this process. Regarding these situation, water and acetonitrile were finally selected as the solvent for the reaction because of their environmental friendly and highly efficient, respectively; and all other optimization and reaction separately accomplished by these two solvent. The effect of the amount of catalyst was defined for reductive amination reaction (Table 5). Due to the fact, the catalyst synthesized is worthy, it is decided that the amount of catalyst optimize by decreasing down to the 0.04 g, nevertheless the reaction time were increased. However, reducing the amount of catalysts until 0.02 g was not sufficient. Since, the quantity of 0.04 g for both solvent was found to be the best weight of catalyst. The reusability of the catalyst was studied by using Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 in water and acetonitrile solvent (Chart 1). After each cycle, the catalyst was filtered off, washed with water (10 mL) and ethanol (3 mL 5 mL). After that, catalyst dried at 60 ËÅ ¡C and reused in the reductive amination reaction with a fresh reaction substances. It might be noted that after each run, a slight amount of the catalysts were lost in the filtration process. Herein, to overcome this problem, after each experiment the amount of remaining catalyst was specified and the molar ratio of the reactants was adjusted according to the remaining amount of the catalyst. The catalyst was reused up to 5 times. The catalyst that react in acetonitrile solvent have serious loss activity. In further investigation, it recognized that the catalyst used in acetonitrile solvent was somewhat destroyed. It can be attributed to the interaction between acetonitrile as a solvent and PVSA/CMK-3 composite. In other cases, not o nly the reusability of the catalyst that performed in water was adequate, but also the catalyst exhibit high stability in this status. This result obtained by SEM and XRD characterization, which can be seen in Figure 9 and 10. As shown in SEM images of reused catalyst in water as reaction solvent is well retained, which is very essential for the catalyst applications. Similarly, the XRD pattern shows a diffraction peak at low angle (1.04 °). It display that the catalyst structure remain. Because of this fact that the reusability in the heterogeneous catalysts is fundamental, water in reductive amination reaction chosen as a compatible solvent. The catalytic activity of the Ni/PVSA/CMK-3 in the reductive amination was compared with CMK-3, PVSA/CMK-3, and without a catalyst. The results are available in Table 6. The consequences affirm the significance role of the acid-metal heterogeneous catalyst in sort of reaction. As shown, the reaction dose not fulfil up to 5% without catalyst. There is the important issue that NaBH4 function as a mild hydride donor agent, which is incapable reagent for reducing imine groups solely. In a similar manner, this result obtained by using CMK-3 due to the fact that mesoporous carbon CMK-3 does not have any active sites to carry out the reaction. By using the PVSA/CMK-3, with improve acidic feature of the mesoporous carbon the carbonyl group activated and thus the yield moderately increased to 40% and 35% in acetonitrile and water solvent, respectively. In addition, using Ni/PVSA/CMK-3, the reaction efficiency was increased to 97% in 35 and 63 min in acetonitrile and water solvent, respectivel y; Because of the role of nickel nanoparticles as species to transfer hydride ions from NaBH4 to imine groups. The interesting point in catalyst investigation is heterogeneous nature. In this regard, the catalyst was separated from the reaction mixture at approximately 50% conversion of the starting substances by filtration and then centrifugation. The reaction progress in the filtrate circumstance was monitored (data not shown). No further reductive amination reaction occurred even at addition times, representing that the nature of reaction process is heterogeneous and there is not any progress for the reaction in homogeneous phase.

Causes, Impact and Management of Tsunamis :: Papers

Causes, Impact and Management of Tsunamis Introduction On the 26th of December at 06:48 Sri Lankan time(11:48) whilst most of the population were just going to sleep after a long Christmas day, one of the worlds largest recorded earthquake struck generating a tsunami which left the Indian ocean countries with more than 162,000 people dead and $675 million(U.S)of damages. The earthquake hit countries that were already troubled with poverty and debt leaving them in need of urgent help. World wide, people responded to help overcome this horrific disaster donating $450million and the British government donated a pledge of $96million. The word ‘Tsunami’ is a Japanese word with the English translation, "harbor wave." Represented by two characters, the top character, "tsu," means harbor, while the bottom character, "nami," means "wave." In the past, tsunamis were sometimes referred to as "tidal waves" by the general public though they are not actually related to tides. Causes The devastating tsunami was caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale and was estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. The epicentre of the earthquake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The violent movement of sections of the Earth's crust, known as tectonic plates, displaced an enormous amount of water, sending powerful shock waves in every direction. The earthquake was caused by the sliding of the India plate under the section called the Burma plate which is called a destructive plate boundary. The movement has been going on for a thousand years, one plate pushing against the other until something has to give. The result of this build up of pressure happened on December 26 was a rupture in the earths crust which was estimated more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometres) long, displacing the seafloor above Diagram showing the processes involved in a tsunami approaching a coastlineby 10 meters horizontally and several meters vertically. This small dislodge caused trillions of tons of rock to move along hundreds of Causes, Impact and Management of Tsunamis :: Papers Causes, Impact and Management of Tsunamis Introduction On the 26th of December at 06:48 Sri Lankan time(11:48) whilst most of the population were just going to sleep after a long Christmas day, one of the worlds largest recorded earthquake struck generating a tsunami which left the Indian ocean countries with more than 162,000 people dead and $675 million(U.S)of damages. The earthquake hit countries that were already troubled with poverty and debt leaving them in need of urgent help. World wide, people responded to help overcome this horrific disaster donating $450million and the British government donated a pledge of $96million. The word ‘Tsunami’ is a Japanese word with the English translation, "harbor wave." Represented by two characters, the top character, "tsu," means harbor, while the bottom character, "nami," means "wave." In the past, tsunamis were sometimes referred to as "tidal waves" by the general public though they are not actually related to tides. Causes The devastating tsunami was caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale and was estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. The epicentre of the earthquake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The violent movement of sections of the Earth's crust, known as tectonic plates, displaced an enormous amount of water, sending powerful shock waves in every direction. The earthquake was caused by the sliding of the India plate under the section called the Burma plate which is called a destructive plate boundary. The movement has been going on for a thousand years, one plate pushing against the other until something has to give. The result of this build up of pressure happened on December 26 was a rupture in the earths crust which was estimated more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometres) long, displacing the seafloor above Diagram showing the processes involved in a tsunami approaching a coastlineby 10 meters horizontally and several meters vertically. This small dislodge caused trillions of tons of rock to move along hundreds of

Role of Visions and Hallucinations in Macbeth Essay examples -- Macbet

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth’s visions and hallucinations play a significant role and contribute to the development of his character. In the play Macbeth, a man is driven to murder his king and his companions after receiving a fairly ambiguous prophecy told by three witches. Although the witches triggered the series of events that later aid Macbeth’s descent into complete insanity, Macbeth is portrayed from the very beginning as a fierce and violent soldier. As the play goes on, several internal conflicts inside of Macbeth become clear. After he performs several bloody tasks, the madness inside of Macbeth is unmistakably visible to everyone around him. As a result of this insanity, he sees visions and hallucinations. Each time Macbeth hallucinates, he plunges further into insanity that is essentially caused by misguided ambition, dread and guilt. Macbeth has three key hallucinations that play a considerably important role in the development of his character: a dagger, the ghost of Banquo, and four apparitions while visiting the prophesying witches. Macbeth’s first hallucination and sign of madness comes directly before his wife and he murder King Duncan. After hearing from the witches that he will become the king and conversing with his wife about this, the two of them decide they must kill Duncan. From the beginning of the play, we see Macbeth is a loyal warrior, albeit a vicious one with no trouble killing. It is in the first scene that Macbeth’s brutality is illustrated. An army captain reported: â€Å"For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name), Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valor’s minion, carved out his passage Till he faced the slave; Which ne’er sh... .... His insanity was a result of ambition taken much too far, ambition mutated and converted into evil by internal as well as social conflict; Macbeth’s wife did nothing to prevent Macbeth’s sickness and actually helped the problem develop. From his ambition came actions that filled his mind with conflict, dread, suspicion and guilt. It could be said that Macbeth was insane from the beginning, from the moment that the witches appeared to him in the third scene of the play or even from when he carved out his bloody passage in battle. Whether Macbeth was insane his whole life or just from the moment he first saw the imaginary dagger, it is indisputable that his visions and hallucinations only helped to supplement his lunacy. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company, 1915. Google Books. Web. 3 Sept. 2015.

Ethical Practices of Citigroup

The purpose of this memorandum is to discuss the ethical, financial and legal issues presented by Citigroup Inc. (â€Å"Citigroup†) receiving $45 billion dollars in government rescue funds and then shortly after paying $13 million dollars in bonus compensation to employees for cancelled trips to resorts. We propose a number of solutions to the Department of Treasury in dealing with the dilemma. The Ethical Dilemma Both Primerica Financial Services Inc. (â€Å"Primerica†) and Smith Barney are part of Citi Holdings, a new unit of Citigroup. Citigroup paid 1,900 agents of its Primerica Financial Services Inc. unit $5,000 each for missing a three-day stay at a Bahamas resort. In addition, around 2,000 Smith Barney brokerage advisers got debit cards valued at $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000 for various canceled getaways. After being warned by President Barack Obama, â€Å"That companies receiving bailout money can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers’ dime,† Citigroup decided to pay employees in lieu of canceled getaways. Stakeholders: Creditors (U.S. Government), Taxpayers, Shareholders, Employees, Consumers Citigroup’s dilemma encompasses a large number of stakeholders, including creditors, taxpayers, shareholders, employees, and Citigroup customers. Creditors (including the U.S. Government) are stakeholders because they provided the funds used by Citigroup to make these bonus payments. The government has sought to calm this debate by imposing unfavorable tax treatments against unduly paid bonuses, essentially reclaiming the bonuses paid. Taxpayers have argued that the funds should be used in a way to benefit all society, i.e. rebuilding the financial credit system, rather than a discrete segment of Citigroup employees. Taxpayers’ main contention is that it is unfair for Citigroup to pay reward bonuses to employees using government bailout money from tax payer dollars when Citigroup’s performance has been so poor. As owners, all Citigroup shareholders are inherent stakeholders. Citigroup shareholders make the argument that the funds can be used to improve the financial outlook of Citigroup, increase the profitability of the corporation allowing it to pay creditors, stabilize the financial and credit sectors, and lead to an economic recovery.

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 16

It was the lone hoot of an owl–a long, plaintive sound–that caused my eyes to snap open. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I felt a pulsing pain on the side of my neck that seemed to keep time with the owl's cries. And suddenly I remembered everything–Katherine, her lips drawn back, her teeth sparkling. My heart pounding as though I were dying and being born all at the same time. The awful pain, the red eyes, the dark black of a dead sleep. I glanced around wildly. Katherine, clad only in a necklace and a simple muslin slip, sat just steps away from me at the basin, washing her upper arms with a hand towel. â€Å"Hello, sleepy Stefan,† she said coquettishly. I swung my legs out of bed and tried to step out, only to find myself tangled in the sheets. â€Å"Your face,† I babbled, knowing I sounded insane and possessed, like a town drunk stumbling out of the tavern. Katherine continued to run the cotton cloth along her arms. The face I'd seen last night was not human. It had been a face filled with thirst and desire and emotions I couldn't even think to name. But in this light Katherine looked lovelier than ever, blinking her eyes sleepily like a kitten after a long nap. â€Å"Katherine?† I asked, forcing myself to look into her eyes. â€Å"What are you?† Katherine slowly picked up the hairbrush on her nightstand, as if she had all the time in the world. She turned to me and began to run it through her luxurious locks. â€Å"You're not afraid, are you?† she asked. So she was a vampire. My blood turned to ice. I took the sheet and wrapped it against my body, then grabbed my breeches from the side of the bed and pulled them on. I quickly shoved my feet into my boots and yanked on my shirt, not caring about my undershirt, still on the floor. Fast as lightning, Katherine was at my side, her hand gripping my shoulder. She was surprisingly strong, and I had to jerk sharply to wrench myself away from her grasp. Once free, Katherine stepped back. â€Å"Shhh. Shhh,† she murmured, as if she were a mother soothing a child. â€Å"No!† I yelled, holding my hand up. I would not have her try to charm me. â€Å"Y ou're a vampire. You killed Rosalyn. Y ou're killing the town. Y are evil, ou and you need to be stopped.† But then I caught sight of her eyes, her large, luminous, seemingly depthless eyes, and I stopped short. â€Å"You're not afraid,† Katherine repeated. The words echoed in my mind, bouncing around and finally taking residence there. I did not know how or why it was so, but in my heart of hearts, I suddenly wasn't afraid. But still †¦ â€Å"Y are a vampire, though. How can I abide ou that?† â€Å"Stefan. Sweet, scared Stefan. It will all work out. Y ou'll see.† She cupped her chin in my hands, then raised up on her tiptoes for a kiss. In the near sunlight, Katherine's teeth looked pearly white and tiny, and nothing like the miniature daggers I'd seen the night before. â€Å"It's me. I'm still Katherine,† she said, smiling. I forced myself to pull away. I wanted to believe that everything was the same, but †¦ â€Å"Y ou're thinking of Rosalyn, aren't you?† Katherine asked. She noticed my startled expression and shook her head. â€Å"It's natural that you'd think I could do that, based on what I am, but I promise you, I did not kill her. And I never would have.† â€Å"But †¦ but †¦, † I began. Katherine brought her finger to my lips. â€Å"Shhh. I was with you that night. Remember? I care about you, and I care about those you care about. And I don't know how Rosalyn died, but whoever did that†Ã¢â‚¬â€œa flash of anger flickered in her eyes, which, I realized for the first time, were flecked with gold–â€Å"they give us a bad name. They are the ones who scare me. Y may be scared to walk ou during the night, but I am afraid to walk during the day, lest I be mistaken for one of those monsters. I may be a vampire, but I do have a heart. Please believe me, sweet Stefan.† I took a step back and cradled my head in my hands. My mind whirled. The sun was just beginning to rise, and it was impossible to tell whether the mist hid a brilliant sun or a day of clouds. It was the same with Katherine. Her beautiful exterior cloaked her true spirit, making it impossible to ascertain whether she was good or evil. I sunk heavily to the bed, not wanting to leave and not wanting to stay. â€Å"Y need to trust me,† Katherine said, sitting ou down beside me and placing her hand on my chest so she could feel my heart beat. â€Å"I am Katherine Pierce. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm the girl you watched for hours on end after I arrived two weeks ago. What I confessed to you is nothing. It doesn't change how you feel, how I feel, what we can be,† she said, moving her hand from my chest to my chin. â€Å"Right?† she asked, her voice filled with urgency. I glanced at Katherine's wide brown eyes and knew she was right. She had to be. My heart still desired her so much, and I wanted to do anything to protect her. Because she wasn't a vampire; she was Katherine. I grabbed both of her hands, cupping them in my own. They looked so small and vulnerable. I brought her cold, delicate fingers to my mouth and kissed them, one by one. Katherine looked so scared and unsure. â€Å"Y didn't kill Rosalyn?† I said slowly. Even as ou the sentence left my lips, I knew it to be true, because my heart would break if it weren't. Katherine shook her head and gazed at the window. â€Å"I would never kill anyone unless I had to. Unless I needed to protect myself or someone I loved. And anyone would kill in that situation, wouldn't they?† she asked indignantly, jutting out her chin and looking so proud and vulnerable that it was all I could do not to take her in my arms right then. â€Å"Promise you'll keep my secret, Stefan? Promise me?† she asked, her dark eyes searching mine. â€Å"Of course I will,† I said, making the promise as much to myself as to her. I loved Katherine. And yes, she was a vampire. And yet †¦ the way the word came out of her mouth was so different from the way it sounded when Father said it. There was no dread. If anything, it sounded romantic and mysterious. Maybe Father was wrong. Maybe Katherine was simply misunderstood. â€Å"Y have my secret, Stefan. And you know ou what that means?† Katherine said, throwing her arms around my shoulders and nuzzling her cheek against mine. â€Å"Vous avez mon coeur. Y have ou my heart.† â€Å"And you have mine,† I murmured back, meaning every word.