The Contribution Of Women In Handicrafts Cultural Studies Essay

The Contribution Of Women In Handicrafts Cultural Studies Essay The present study aimed to access the contribution of women in handicrafts. The current theme of research regarding handicrafts is to find out the type of embroidery work that women do in their homes and the problems and advantages that those women get from their embroidery work. While there is a great amount of research devoted to these topics, there is a lack of consensus on the contribution of women in handicrafts (embroidery). This study would add a significant knowledge and information to the existing one. Moreover in Pakistan scarce work is done regarding womens contribution in handicrafts so this piece of work would also be helpful in understanding the womens problems regarding their work. Handicrafts are the mirror of culture, tradition and aesthetics of the artisans who create them.   The real beauty of a piece of handicrafts surely depends on the clarity of material, the glimpses of a culture and touch of art.   Pakistan has a rich history of handicrafts. The entire wealth of timeless Pakistani handicrafts has survived through ages. The legacy of Pakistani culture promises everything- beauty, dignity, form and style. These handicrafts radiate an impression of glory, exhibit hereditary skills and show careful craftsmanship. (Shaukat, 2006) Handicrafts are most significant in terms of economic development. Home based work has represented an important economic action for women and men for the long time period. Now in recently years this market get progress and become internationalized but men get more benefit from it and move to the many profitable areas and the adaptation of these workers into unorganized sector have made the women more insecure and lead them to the exploitation and devaluation of their skills. (Gyanendra Dastidar, 2000) The facts suggest that more wealthy countries have less informal economy and developing countries more expansive one. Denmark has 18 per cent, Nigeria and Thailand 80 per cent informal economy in comparison to their respective formal economies. There is nothing insulting to admit the fact that Pakistan has an informal economy of about 70 per cent.  [1]   (Bhatti, 2002) Types of handicrafts Handicrafts involve the creation of a wide range of objects, including clothing, religious symbols and jewelry, and different types of paper crafts. (Malcolm Tatum, 2003) There are hundreds if not thousands of different varieties of handicrafts. The following list of crafts is included just for descriptive purposes. 1. Carpets Textile Pakistan has tradition of carpet-making going back thousands of years.   Weaving was a developed form of art in the Mohenjodaro in Sindh 4000-5000 year ago.   The handmade carpets produced in Lahore in the 16th Century are on display in museums in Lahore and elsewhere. Knotted woolen carpets with Islamic designs are part of the culture in both South Asia and the Middle East.   In Pakistan, Karachi and Lahore are important centers for the production of fine carpets. (Shaukat, 2006) Textiles such as bedspreads and shawls are popular, and the Sindhi and Balochi are famous for their mirror embroidery. Appliquà ©, Crocheting, Embroidery, Knitting, Lace-making, Macramà ©, Quilting, Weaving are also include in textile handicrafts. (Ruskin Morris) 2. Brass, Onyx Wood Crafts The Handicrafts manifested through Brass, onyx and wood, are known to maintain a proud tradition of handicrafts since 1994 in Pakistan and truly signifying the worth of the products. The art of carving on Metal Wood items are the real beauties of our hard working Craftsmen. These items are manufactured in small villages by diligent craftsman, and can easily be purchased in big cities. Such crafts include, metal lanterns, mirror frames, decoration pieces and more.    (Shaukat, 2006) 3. Pottery  Ã‚   The potter at his wheel is a common scene in every village, uninfluenced by modern glamour. Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Gujrat and places around also produce colorful pottery, painted after firing. The blue glazed pottery of Multan dates back to the 13th century with obvious traces for woodwork. Chiniot is also known for brass and iron inlay. Copper and brass work is done within the walled city of Lahore. Ceramics and glazed pottery are among the oldest art forms in Pakistan, dating back to the Indus Valley Civilization (2500 B.C.E.). The most popular techniques used include engraving intricate designs into the undercoating of the pottery and then glazing it with colored transparent glazes. Another popular technique is to apply blue designs over white glazes.   Pakistani potters are responsible for making the elaborate tiles that decorate mosques and public buildings. (Shaukat, 2006) 4. Woodcrafts Wood-carving, Wood-turning, Cabinet making, Furniture making, lacquerware include in woodcrafts. Pakistani furniture is known all over the world for its beautiful and intricate designs and the mastery of its craftsman. One of the fine longitudinal cross grains solid wood is known as Rosewood. It is available in the form of dense jungles in northern areas of Pakistan. In Asia this wood is only available in Pakistan. In local language people calls it SHESHAM. It is also available along the lakes and rivers in Punjab province of Pakistan. Such furniture is famous all over the world for its distinctiveness and beauty. (Shaukat, 2006) 5. Jewelry Leather goods Metalwork, including inlaid or engraved swords, boxes, dishes, and tea sets made from silver and gold, as well as jewelry with precious stones and pearls, are important crafts. Jewelry is not limited to necklaces, bracelets, rings but also includes hair and forehead decorations and nose ornaments. Leatherwork and basketry are also important crafts. Sindh baskets are colorful and intricate, while weavers in the Northwest Frontier prefer geometric patterns. (Shaukat, 2006) Embroidery Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating cloth or other materials with needle and thread or wool. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. Embroidery is an ancient textile art which uses strands of embroidery floss or wool to create a picture in thread on canvas, linen or other cloth. It forms a part of needlework. Embroidery uses various stitches and combinations of stitches. Each embroidery stitch has a special name to help identify it. Embroidery has recognized as a creative expression of people and it is storage of our oral traditions which have been maintained by the women. (Dhamija, 2004) Embroidered textiles are frequently used to decorate living spaces, temporary or permanent, impressive or modest. Colourful embroidered textiles, often displayed in combination with painted or stucco decoration, bring beauty and colour into mud-walled homes. Historically, embroidered textiles reflected the wealth and influence of rulers, courtiers, and favoured courtesans. Among South Asias many peoples, these textiles frequently identified family origins, personal status or religious affiliation. (Dale Carolyn Gluckman, 2007) The folk embroidery tradition runs deep in the Punjab. At the end of the 15th century, the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak, wrote: Thou art not a worthwhile woman until thou hast embroidered thy own blouse. Village women still practice the craft, also stitching bed and cushion covers and a variety of other cloths, but the art probably reached its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Beste, Michael, 2009) Types of embroidery There are many different styles of embroidery, often with regional variations. Chikan embroidery Chikan embroidery is a fine needle-craft done by hand mostly using white thread on a variety of fabrics from cotton and silk to synthetics. It is the most famous fine art of embroidery at Lucknow, and is famous not only in India, but also abroad. (Sarna Shukla, 1994) Zari embroideries From the second half of 18th century until the early 20th century, two different types of gold embroidery found ready patrons; these were: zardozi work, heavy silver-gilt thread work upon a foundation padded with cotton thread or paper, on velvet or sation ground; and Kalabattu work: light delicate embroidery, in gilt-silver or silver threads, strips of gilt-silver, gilt-silver sequins, upon fine silk cotton or muslin. (Dhamija, 2004) White work White work is embroidered in white thread, on pure white fabric, it is not at all difficult, and is cheap to achieve. The tools you will need for white work embroidery are minimal. Firstly, a nice piece of fabric. Depending on the kind of item you wish to produce, you may start out with high thread count white muslin, or an even weave or linen. Appliquà © work Appliquà © work is every kind of embroidery which, being worked solidly on one material is then cut out and lay down upon another, and secured by various ornamental stitches. (Dhamija, 2004) China work This work was almost entirely Chinese in design and techniques. It was done on saries, shawls, borders, children dresses and a variety of costumes. The fabric used was mainly chines silk or fine satin of red, purple and black colour. The embroidery was done sometimes with floss-silk and more often with tightly spun, two ply silk. (Dhamija, 2004) Phulkari The simple and sparsely embroided work for everyday use was called phulkari. It was done on odhnis or shawls for everyday use on coarse handspun khadi cloth, mostly brownish-red, usng floss-silk in darning stitched worked from the reverse side of fabric. (Dhamija, 2004) Kashmir embroidery The main varieties of Kashmir being namda, work on felt-wool, gabba, a type of appliquà © work, using waste woolen fabrics and kashida wrought on various kinds of clothing and the cloth used is either silk or wool. (Dhamija, 2004) Role of women in handicrafts Home based workers are the most marginalized and one of the largest groups of workers in this sector, with an estimated 300 million workers worldwide  [2]  . Home based work has been identified as work that is undertaken in the home by either independent own account workers or dependent subcontractors.  [3]  They are predominately women, located in various occupations including the assembly of electronic components of fans, washing machines, irons, or the manufacture of glass bangles, items of pottery; small scale packaging and assembling of consumables, hand knitting, embroidery, stitching, handicrafts, garments and weaving of carpets and shawls. It also includes clerical and teaching homework and the supply of raw materials. (Carr, Chen Tate, 2000) According to World Bank report after agriculture, the most important source of womens employment is home-based work.  [4]  (Aurat publication, 1997) The statistics on the informal economy are unreliable, The number of women in the informal labour force possibly stands at 12.79 millions, of whom 8.52 million women, constituting 75 per cent of the total informal sector workers, were home-based workers.  [5]  (Aurat publication, 1997) A survey of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) conducted in 2003 shows that 77 percent of the total female labor force falls within the purview of the informal sector, while 53 percent are classified as home based workers. The survey further revealed that in the rural sector, where 79 percent of the female population above the age of ten is actively involved in farming, only 37 percent are gainfully employed in their own family farms while the rest fall within the category of unpaid workers. Most working women have to hand over their earnings to their parents or husbands. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries women produced and consumed the crafts for the domestic interior. They made crafts at various levels in society and having different motives. At one level, it may have been artistic self-expression; at another level a product of a commitment to household duty or financial necessity, or on a third level it may have been for entertainment or pastime. (Edward, 2006) Informal Economy comprises of small enterprises of one or more persons, with casual or regular employees of less than 10 people.  [6]  The workers in this sector fall into the following three categories  [7]  : Self-employed women Home-based workers Self-employed women A woman who is self-employed works for herself instead of as an employee of another person or organization, drawing income from a trade or business. Self-employed workers are paid directly by clients or by their business, and some proportion of these payments will be due to the government as income tax. (Haq, 2003) Home-based workers Home based women workers fall into two categories: (i) dependent workers who work on a piece rate and usually produce for a subcontractor or middle persons in a contract chain; and (ii) independent home based workers or own-account workers who produce goods for direct sale through street stalls, shops or the local village and sometimes to traders or subcontractors. (Haq, 2003) In the last ten years women have become more energetic in business and the private sector. Their participation found in many areas, in which small scale projects as well as large scale private projects are included. Small scale rural projects deals with farming and gardening, production of handicrafts, running trade and food stores that transformed into large scale private projects. There are numerous networks which have been established for the women in business. It also empowers the women of a home-base producer or in private sector. (Brouwer, Harris Tanaka, 1998) The unplanned home-based workers represent an important part of working population. There are large number of income producing activities are included in home-based sector in which mostly women workers are engaged. Beedi making, textile, garment making, food processing, craft, coir work, dairy and chikan embroidery are included in these activities. Both in rural and urban areas, there is given very little importance to this unorganized sector and the signs of this sector are; the working conditions are unspeakable, the wages are extremely low and workers face great worries and exploitations. Home based industrial work is one of the least regulated, least managed, and most risky, systems of industrial production however a large number of women workers are tired in this sector just because of lack of personal resources, like education and awareness, non-availability of employment opportunities, and normative practices which control womens mobility outside home. (Sarna Shukla, 1994) Liberalisation has improved the employment opportunities for women in some sectors especially in the crafts sector. So there are increased the number of women in participation of home-base craft sector like in embroidery, lace making, weaving and printed textiles. In some cases empowerment of women also increases but in most cases, the working condition of the women workers is poor and they are paid less than men. (Krishnaraj, 1992 cited by Rao, 2005) Women have a great work load in their lives; they have a double burden, to earn income from their work and also have to fulfill their domestic responsibilities. They laboring the whole day; generally they work 12 to 16 hours per day and losing their time and energy both. (Durand, 1975 cited by United Nations Economic and social commission for Asia and the pacific, 1987) Being a embroidery skilled worker, their work requires women to sit long hours in the same position that resulting in eye, back bone, shoulders as well as other mental and emotional problems depending upon the physical environment in which these women live and work. (Sarna Shukla, 1994) Wage discrimination is obvious and usually common against women in Asia. Wage rates are as low as one-third or it may be observed that women always paid less of those paid to men. In Jobs also, there are described carefully to discriminate the labour practices involved; female positions typically require few skills and give poor salary. (United Nations Economic and social commission for Asia and the pacific, 1987) In handicrafts the embroidery work is a traditional art but many women faced some difficulty of marketing their skill. Generally simple embroidery piece do not have sale value except it is the part of some readymade garments, complete form and other gift items. Then these workers must rely on the other persons to sale out for their exclusive crafts. Generally these persons are shop keepers, designers and exporters. Women of home-base producers also face difficulty in this context because they are unadvertised and commonly people dont know them so they have only those customers to know them personally. (Gyanendra Dastidar, 2000) Mostly the womens work is disgustingly under-reported in Pakistan. Purdah is the main reason that stops any direct communication between the enumerator and the female respondent. The household head, usually a male, reports any female activity. Because purdah is a status representation, related with material well-being, and womens work is frowned upon, it is expected that female labour is under-reported. (Whyte, 1982 cited by United Nations Economic and social commission for Asia and the pacific, 1987) In some traditional industries like jute and cotton textile, mechanization has contributed in the rejection of female employment. Women represent 90 percent of the workers in these industries such as the making of embroidery. But intermediaries and middlemen who provide the raw materials and market the final product, make them badly exploited by only paying the women minimal wages. (Bhatty n.d.; Indian Council of Social Science Research, 1975 cited by United Nations Economic and social commission for Asia and the pacific, 1987) Crafts production is culturally recognized activity. The skills present in the economic sector and many women adopt and practice it. But they dont get to recognition and value not in the economy and not in the household level. They dont have any financial records, on average it accounts for less than 1% of a households income. This is not much to lead toward progress. There are too much women who participate in home-craft production but they just have little impact on it. There is also no visibility of proper place or infrastructure for marketing home-produced crafts. (Freedman Wai, 1988) NGOs should help the home based women workers to shape cooperatives. These cooperatives should supply raw materials, make sure appropriate and timely payments, arrange for the credit and support in design development. (Ministry of Labour, 2000). There is an immediate need to arrange female workers into cooperatives and other organizations where production and marketing are included. Government institutions or voluntary welfare organizations must come forward to reduce such exploitation of women. (United Nations Economic and social commission for Asia and the pacific, 1987)

American History X and Crash Movies

Movies, like any creative effort, reflect the time and the place in which they are created. Both American History X and Crash clearly address the concept of the American Dream and the way that people choose to live their lives. While they share this concept, however, American History X is a much darker film that explores the many and varied forms of hate. Stereotypes, prejudices, and racism are so much a part of everyday life that children are literally taught these things at the dinner table. Crash, on the other hand, shows a diverse collection of Americans trying to live their lives.Some of them are good and some are bad, but all are capable of change. The viewer ultimately takes away two things from these films. First, the viewer learns that the American Dream, as it is popularly perceived, is unachievable to most. Second, the viewer takes away the message that things are rarely what they seem. In the end, while neither film was a fun or â€Å"nice† film, both leave the vie wer perhaps thinking a bit more about the American experience and how it is experienced by members of different races. American History X, Crash, and Racism American History X is a film about prejudices and racism.According to Coury Turczyn, American History X is â€Å"the visceral meditation on American bigotry† (par. 6). Although this family seems to be a nice, â€Å"normal† suburban family, the children are being indoctrinated into the culture of hate by their father, who constantly denigrates members of other races. The film goes on to trace the actions of the members of this family in general, as well as the events that affect them. In particular, this film addresses the son who attempts to prevent his younger brother from becoming a neo-Nazi, just as he had been in the past.In contrast, Crash is not necessarily a film about racism. Rather, it is a film that uses racism as a backdrop as it examines how actions have a ripple effect that go beyond race relations. Th e movie brings together groups of seemingly unrelated individuals who, through their racially motivated actions, become associated through crimes of passion and violence. Unlike the individuals in the movie American History X, however, the movie Crash permits the characters to find redemption through their actions. American History XAt the beginning of this film, Derek, Danny, and the rest of their family seem to be living the American Dream. They live in a nice house in the suburbs, with a beautiful mom, a firefighter dad, and two other siblings. In the evenings, they sit down together at the dinner table to eat and talk. However, it is in the middle of this apparent domestic bliss that problems lurk. The dinner conversation is really the pivotal place where the viewer can see the kind of intolerance that Derek and Danny are taught by their father, Dennis, by all counts is a ‘nice guy.’ Dennis, the father, is a racist, as he demonstrates in his little spiel, and it bec omes apparent to the viewer that being open-minded is not a plus in this family. During one of these dinner conversations, Derek and his father discuss affirmative action and Derek’s teacher Sweeney. Dennis complains about â€Å"affirmative blaction shit [driving him] up the fucking wall,† complaining that â€Å"rappers† who score lower than other fighters who have nearly perfect scores â€Å"walk away with the job† (American History X). Dennis also complains about all of the classic books that have been replaced by â€Å"black† books.Even though Derek is very enthused by his teacher, his father warns him not to fall for the â€Å"nigger bullshit. † When dad is then killed in the line of duty and by a black man, this clears the way for Derek to become recruited by the vulture named Cameron. Cameron preys on weak kids, like Derek, so that he can bring them into the white power movement. From that time forward, the family begins to deteriorate and continues until Derek is released from prison. Their living arrangement has become dismal. Mom is sickly. However, Derek has seen the light in prison so to speak and begins to turn his life around.Director David McKenna explains clearly in an interview what he was trying to do with the movie. He explains that as a child he was aware of bigotry in his community, which influenced him to later write about people who possessed such beliefs. He comments that, the point he was trying to make with this movie â€Å"is that a person is not born a racist. It is learned through environment and the people that surround you† (Virtual Pew Daily). According to The Virtual Pew Daily, McKenna was intrigued by the question of why people hate. His theory that hate begins at home (Virtual Pew Daily) is tested in this film.McKenna brings this theory to American History X by showing that the family that appears to have the American Dream by the tail before their father Dennis dies, in fact, d oes not. Things progressively worsen after his death. Eventually, Derek goes on to make speeches that seem to echo his father, to recruit new members to white supremacy. In one of these speeches, Derek talks about the famous inscription on the Statue of Liberty, which begins â€Å"Give me your tired, your hungry, your poor. † Derek explains to his listeners that it's Americans who are tired and hungry and poor.And I say, until you take care of that, close the fucking book. ‘Cause we're losing. We're losing our rights to pursue our destiny. We're losing our freedom. So that a bunch of fucking foreigners can come in here and exploit our country. [. . . ] It's happening right here, right in our neighborhood, right in that building behind you† (American History X). This speech clearly shows how Derek’s view of his fellow Americans has been shaped by his father, in that his words nearly echo those spoken by his father at the dinner table. While Derek believes in the American Dream, he believes in it only for certain people, not for all people.Derek makes false and broad generalizations about our country and people, which a lot of people believe even today. It is for this reason that these arguments work so well. McKenna uses his film to criticize this kind of hate. The symbol that he uses for hatred is the swastika, which becomes a twisted sort of cross once Derek gets out of prison. This film also shows how people tend to look at things in black and white, in what Siddens calls â€Å"role rigidity† (10). Derek’s worldview is rigidly black and white during everything leading up to prison; he is rigidly locked into a role that â€Å"permeates [his] life† (10).In a not terribly subtle bit of symbolism, the film is done in black and white during this time. After Derek undergoes his transformation in prison, changing his role sufficiently to see people as individuals, the film becomes color as Derek’s world becomes color. His world becomes, in many ways, a lot less clear, a lot messier but better. Because McKenna both directed and filmed this movie, it cannot help but reflect his vision of the world. However, McKenna uses this film to make a good argument for his theses: that racism is prevalent in Middle America and that racism begins at home.Crash The movie Crash, on the other hand, has a broader focus than American History X. Instead of focusing on a single set of related protagonists, Crash is a series of short vignettes that all intersect at some crucial point in order to make the viewer question his or her beliefs. Rather than being â€Å"merely† about racism, the movie Crash is also about the lack of human love that human beings show to each other. The director is apparently stating that his lack of human love springs from a lack of connectedness with each other.As one of the characters, Graham, states at the beginning of the film: It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you w alk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L. A. , nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something† (Crash). The plot of the movie Crash seems to be that people are not always what they appear to be on their surface. In America, through various racist acts, Americans are more likely to do harm to others than to do good.Just as the viewer may be shocked by the portrayal of a firefighter in American History X, the viewer is also shocked by the characters in Crash. However, Crash is more about the understanding that develops between people and the redemption that can come from it. In American History X, Derek finally comes to understand true nature of a world that is neither all black nor all white. Unfortunately, by the time he does and begins to make amends, his brother Danny has to die. Some acts we simply cannot take back. Unlike this dismal fate, however, the characters of Crash show the viewer that we can all change our ways and find redemption.Even when the viewer hates the character, the film takes us closer to help us understand why the character might have done what he or she did. The film provides us a glimpse in order to achieve empathy. Empathy and redemption are the main themes of the film. In some cases, the viewer’s stereotypes are proven true as in the case of this dialogue. At one point in the film, two young black men discuss their theory as to the people of the neighborhood fear them, coming to the conclusion that it is because they are â€Å"the only two black faces surrounded by a sea of over-caffeinated white people, patrolled by the triggerhappy LAPD† (Crash).According to the movie, Crash, everyone has prejudice. This prejudice is demonstrated in a conversation between Graham, a black man, and Ria, his Puerto Rican girlfriend. In this conversation, Ria angrily suggests that she will give Gra ham a â€Å"geography lesson,† stating that her father is from Puerto Rico and her mother is from El Salvador, neither of which is Mexico. Graham replies that he guesses that â€Å"the big mystery is, who gathered all those remarkably different cultures together and taught them all how to park their cars on their lawns† (Crash)Steve Wessler, founder of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence notes that even stereotypes that are usually inside a person can eventually be aired. He is quoted as saying that: Even though such attitudes reside beneath the surface, they have the potential to bubble up–and progress from there. Stereotypes are not static [. . . ] If you're stereotyping a person of color in negative ways and not thinking of him or her as an individual, it makes it much easier to treat that person poorly.I don't think that I investigated a hate crime at a school that did not begin with the lower level of slurs and stereotypes and then escalated† (U. S. News) In its series of vignettes, Crash displays a cross-section of the American public, showing characters that range from rich and miserable to those who are family-oriented and poor. Not a single character in this movie remains unaffected by prejudice, either in his or her own behavior or in the events that are put into motion by the prejudice of others. ConclusionBoth American History X and Crash use racial prejudice as the motivating force for the actions of the plot. The manner in which they make use of this motivating force, however, is quite different. While American History X is a bleak film that speaks of the inevitability of the fate of prejudice reaching across the generations, Crash expresses the idea that human beings are capable of both empathy and redemption, no matter who the individual is or how flawed he or she might be. If anything, these films make the viewer question what the American dream really is and who is living it.Both of them explore the issue s of race, ethnicity and gender very well. Neither of these films shows much distinction between good and evil: everyone does good, and everyone does bad. Each one of us has both qualities inside of us and displays them at various points of our lives. Every person, no matter what he or she has done, is capable of love and redemption. This capability is what makes us human. The willingness to share this love and redemption, despite the race or ethnicity of those around us, is what it should mean to be American. Works Cited American History X. â€Å"Memorable Quotes.† IMdB. com. 1998. . This listing on IMdB. com provides links to a variety of reviews from both professional reviewers and by individuals who wish to review the film American History X. In addition to reviews, the site also lists links to such items as â€Å"goofs,† trivia and memorable quotes that have been noted by these sources. Crash. IMdB. com. . 2005. This listing on IMdB. com provides links to a variet y of reviews from both professional reviewers and by individuals who wish to review the film Crash.In addition to reviews, the site also lists links to such items as â€Å"goofs,† trivia and memorable quotes that have been noted by these sources. Siddens, Paul J. â€Å"Using the Feature Film â€Å"American History X† to Teach Principles of Self-Concept in the Introduction to Interpersonal Communication Course. 2000. . Turczyn, Coury. â€Å"History Lesson. † 2005. . This web site provides a commentary about the movie Crash.U. S. News and World Report. â€Å"Don’t Race to Judgment. † 2007. This article provides some interesting connections between the movie Crash and real life. Virtual Pew Daily, The. Interview with David McKenna. 18 August 2007. . This site contains some very intriguing commentary about the movie and the symbols in it, complete with pictures explaining each stage Derek goes through. It also contains an interview with director Davi d McKenna.

Bibliographical Essay Samples Can Be Fun for Everyone

Bibliographical Essay Samples Can Be Fun for Everyone There's, clearly, a limit on the range of pages even our very best writers can produce with a pressing deadline, but usually, we can satisfy all the clients seeking urgent assistance. The right use of punctuation marks also have to be observed. Rather than repeating everything you've mentioned in your report, you must present your last thoughts or statement on the topic available. Indeed, the problem of andrology gets relevant when dealing with a large number of reproductive health troubles. The Secret to Bibliographical Essay Samples Don't forget that the objective of a bibliographic essay is to advise people about what to read and that to do so you'll need to demonstrate your command of the topic by having the capability to help help about the books they don't will need to read also. We'll deal with them, and for an affordable price, as we understand that students generally don't have lots of money to spare. In this ins tance, the most practical choice for the student is to get the last article written by an expert like the expert writers at ProfEssays.com. Not only are you going to be sure that you're employing the ideal style, but you may also see what is expected of you, and what your teachers want. Finding someone else's completed work may give you ideas about how to start writing years. To begin with, it's clearly obvious that the writer is strongly biased towards the Powhatan people. There's a purpose to the story and it's consistent throughout. Taking up the job to pen a person's biography is a big responsibility. What Is So Fascinating About Bibliographical Essay Samples? Peer edits help give the essay a larger assortment of clarity. You ought to choose the topic for your essay which could be categorized into several groups and sub-groups. Otherwise, your topic is most likely too narrow. With just a little practice, you are going to have no trouble writing the entries to your bibliographies. It might also be broken down into subparts with subtitles that support and expound the key points mentioned in the report. APA format, on the flip side, is used more frequently in the social sciences and is helpful for citing from journals and other similar publications. The One Thing to Do for Bibliographical Essay Samples Whenever you choose to ask us for expert aid, don't hesitate to speak to our support managers. For starters, it makes it possible for us to organize ideas accordingly for improved delivery. As you pay for homework, we provide those options free of charge. Much of the info on how to take care of infertility in men are limited to medical practitioners. You may also secure a variety of discounts on our site which will help you to save some more money for future orders or anything you want to spend them on. It's correct that not everything there's reliable, but finding samples ought to be simple enough. While the world might not have room to. Chancing upon a mechanic is just what you want to do. When you have read the report, I would recommend you review a number of the BEs I have linked for you under Examples. Her article is just 3 pages long and simple to read and understand. You may use the Bibliography Worksheet to assist you, just print out a couple copies and take them with you to the library. There are various formats for bibliographies, so make sure to use the one your teacher prefers. How to compose an annotated bibliography. Get used to the numerous bibliography writing methods. The Fundamentals of Bibliographical Essay Samples Revealed By following the above mentioned steps, you will be able to create an outstanding bibliography that properly cites your sources! As soon as you're done double check your sources to make sure the info is accurate. As you locate a source, write in each of the necessary details. If your source is a particular page or article on the site, write its title. Everything ought to be in chronological order. You ought not utilize articles taken from encyclopedias since they don't offer the depth of information you need on the topic. Short reports may include only the author, date prepared, and other details deemed necessary. Then compose the name of the site and the website's sponsor.

Preparation and Characterization of Melamine-Formaldehyde Crosslinked Acrylic Resins - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1499 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/03/18 Category Analytics Essay Level High school Tags: Characterization Essay Did you like this example? Abstract This lab involves the synthesis of an acrylic polymer. The reagents of hydroxyethyl acrylate, styrene, and butyl acrylate were reacted in a semi-batch process The product was then stored for one week before being crosslinked with a melamine-formaldehyde resin and a catalyst. The resulting coating was applied to an Al panel, cured, and tested according to ASTM D5402 for solvent resistance. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Preparation and Characterization of Melamine-Formaldehyde Crosslinked Acrylic Resins" essay for you Create order This process was repeated and the formulation adjusted until a formulation exceeded 200 MEK double-rubs. The formulation was then created in a larger batch and applied to Al, steel, and free-film substrates by drawdown bars. These samples were then cured and characterized using various ASTM methods based on mechanical and chemical properties. Keywords Melamine-Formaldehyde, Acrylic Resins, Crosslinking, Characterization, Semi-Batch Introduction Acrylic resins were first used in the 1950s in the automotive industry.2 They have since increased their durability and practicality. Acrylic resins are formed by radical chain polymerization. This process has three stages: initiation, propagation, and termination. The formation of a radical is what begins this polymerization. That radical species is then able to react with monomer to produce a carbon radical on the monomer. This new radical can then react with other monomer creating a longer and longer chain of monomer. This polymer continues to grow being driven forward by the reactivity of the radical until it is terminated by either another radical or by other means.2 The objective of this lab is to successfully synthesize an acrylic resin with favorable PDI, then crosslink the polymer with melamine-formaldehyde. This reaction looks to create a coating that will be able to be tested using numerous characterization techniques following ASTMs. Experimental The first step in this experiment was the synthesis of the acrylic resin. A semi-batch process was used in this synthesis. Xylene (100.0g) was added to the resin kettle and began heating to 90? °C. A nitrogen flow was then started to blanket the entire apparatus. Special care was taken to not have an excessive flow to preserve the solvent. While the solvent is heating, hydroxyethyl acrylate (15.0g), styrene (82.6g), butyl acrylate (52.5g), and Vazo 67 (3.75g) was mixed in an Erlenmeyer flask until the initiator, Vazo 67, was fully dissolved. This solution was then added to an addition funnel that ran into the kettle of xylene. The monomer solution began being deposited into the heated solvent dropwise. The temperature was monitored constantly. The temperature goal of the addition period was 90-95? °C. To control the temperature, the mantle was turned off and lowered to cool and raised and turned on to heat. This back-and-forth heating and cooling cycle created a predictable and s teady heating throughout the addition. The entire addition lasted 56 minutes. Once the entire monomer solution was added, the batch was held at the 90-95? °C for an additional 30 minutes. A chaser of xylene (2.5g) and Vazo 67 (0.5g) was added directly into the kettle after this waiting period. The temperature was then maintained for an additional hour. This complete synthesis was followed by cooling the resin and storing for future use in a sealed jar. One week after the synthesis, formulation with a crosslinker was performed along with characterization. The first test was determining percent solids according to ASTM D2369. The percent solids was determined to be 51.88%. With this information, a formulation can be calculated with the crosslinker, Cymel 303. The formulation of synthesized resin (10.00g), Cymel 303 (1.30g)(25%), and pTSA (0.026g)(0.5%) was prepared with a drop of the flow aid, Byk 301 in solvent. This was then drawn down on an Al panel that was chemically cleaned with solvent. The drawdown was conducted with a 5 mil bar. The panel was left to flash dry for 15 minutes before being put in a 160? °C oven for 20 minutes. To test the cure, MEK double rubs were conducted according to ASTM D5402. If the coating passed more than 200 rubs without failing, then the formulation passes and can be used for further testing. The initial formulation failed at 50 rubs. The formulation was adjusted twice more with identical formulat ion as stated above except the amount of catalyst, pTSA, was increased with every new formulation. The final successful formulation contained the synthesized resin (20.09g), Cymel 303, (2.63g)(25%), and pTSA (0.21g)(2%). This formulation successfully exceeded 200 rubs and was used to coat Al and steel panels. A glass panel was also used to attain a thin film and for gloss measurements. These Al and steel panels were subjected to numerous ASTM test methods explained in the Results and Discussion section. Results and Discussion The acid number was calculated to be 0.55 using Equation (1). (Acid Number)=(mL of KOH)(Normality)(56.1)/((g of Sample) ) (1) The hydroxyl equivalence was calculated to be 0.010 using equation (2). (OH Eq.)=((g of OH Monomer))/((OH Eq.of Monomer)) (2) The hydroxyl equivalent weight was calculated to be 1501.00g/eq using equation (3) (OH Eq.Weight)=((g))/((OH Eq.)) (3) The value of Tg (theoretical) was calculated using equation (4). 1/T_g =W_1/T_g1 +W_2/T_g2 +W_3/T_g3 +?†¹?+W_n/T_gn (4) The value of Tg(theoretical) was calculated to be 16.18? °C of the synthesized resin. The measured Tg using DSC was found to be 35.55? °C. This result are found in Figure 1 The thin-film coatings Tg was measured using DSC as well and yielded 57.39? °C. This result is found in Figure 2. Figure 1: Synthesized Resin DSC Figure 2: Thin-Film DSC The results of the DSC tests differ than the theoretically calculated ones. This difference is worth noting. The temperature was held constant within the range during the entire experiment (discarding the start-up). The range was 90.0-94.9? °C. A possibility for this variance is the use of older reagents. It is possible that self-polymerization could have began in any of the reagents that were used. This would also explain the variance in the PDI as shown in Table 1. A more likely source of this difference could be directed from the rate of addition. As shown in Table 3, the rate at which the monomer solution was added was not constant at all throughout the addition with a range of rates from 20 to 40 mL per 10 minutes. This would lead to variations in chain length. An advantage of semi-batch synthesis is that one can control the rate of the addition of monomer. The idea is to keep a steady flow throughout the polymerization. This was not maintained, and the results might vary beca use of it. DMA was supposed to be performed on the thin-film, but the film was too brittle and was impossible to measure. Table 1: Results of Resin Analysis Percent Solids MW Mn PDI Tg (theor.) Tg (Actual) Value 51.88% 17250 10755 1.604 16.18? °C 35.55? °C SD 0.36% Table 2: Results of Crosslinked Coating Tests and Characterization Conical Bend Pencil Hardness Crosshatch Impact (in*lb) Konig Hardness Thickness (? µm) Gloss Forward Reverse 20? ° 60? ° 85? ° Value 32% 8H Fail 5B 78.4 62.72 191.67 41.84 164 162.2 114.4 SD 7H Pass 1.25 1.51 7.29 4.66 2.42 Table 2: Data Observed During the Addition of Monomer Solution Time (min) Amount Added (mL) Temperature (? °C) 0 0 85.1 10 35 91.7 20 25 92.3 30 40 91.3 40 25 91.3 50 20 94.0 56 25 93.0 Despite the temperature maintenance, the conversion rate of the monomer was less than 99%. This is known because of the percent solids value. A percent solids value of 66% would have given a more promising conversion percentage. This value could have been raised by keeping a steady flow and by heating the sample longer and with slightly more initiator. This would increase the conversion rate, but it could lead to other problems with PDI. This synthesis needs to be run through in one go. The initiation, propagation, and termination are not processes that can simply be paused. If temperature were to drop to room temperature, then termination could end early and leave monomer unreacted or with a low MW. Any loss of solvent over time would also affect the viscosity and make measurements of percent solids more difficult. GPC was used to find the MW and Mn of the synthesized resin. GPC works by first diluting the resin and passing it through a series of columns. The size of the polymers begin to separate and larger MW polymers do not diffuse through the columns as fast as the lower MW polymers. The amount of polymer that exits the column series over time is measured and compared to a standard polymer.1 It is important to note the limitations of GPC. There are several variables such as the flow rate and elution volume that can give incorrect results.1 As shown in Table 2, this coating had its strengths and weaknesses as far as coating performance goes. The coating could be harder which can be accomplished by increasing the crosslinking. This could be done but not too much to avoid creating an inflexible and brittle coating. Conclusion This lab encompassed the synthesis and characterization of an acrylic resin. This resin was then crosslinked with melamine-formaldehyde to form a coating that was then subjected to a solvent resistant test. A correct formulation was found and many panels were created using this coating. The coating was then subjected to numerous tests and processes to learn about its physical and chemical properties. References Holding S.R. Gel Permeation Chromatography. Endeavour. Volume 8, Issue 1, 1984, Pages 17-20. (accessed Oct. 2, 2018). Wicks, Z. W. Organic Coatings: Science and Technology; Wiley-Interscience: Hoboken, NJ, 2007.