Actinides (Actinide Series) Element Properties

At the bottom of the periodic table is a special group of metallic radioactive elements called actinides or actinoids. These elements, usually considered ranging from atomic number 89 to atomic number 103 on the periodic table, have interesting properties, and play a key role in nuclear chemistry. Location The modern periodic table has two rows of elements below the main body of the table. The actinides are the elements in the bottom of these two rows, while the top row is the lanthanide series. These two rows of elements are placed below the main table because they dont fit into the design without making the table confusing and very wide. However, these two rows of elements are metals, sometimes considered a subset of the transition metals group. In fact, the lanthanides and actinides are sometimes called the inner transition metals, referring to their properties and position on the table. Two ways of placing the lanthanides and actinides within a periodic table are including them in their corresponding rows with the transition metals, which makes the table wider, or ballooning them out, making a three-dimensional table. Elements There are 15 actinide elements. The electronic configurations of the actinides utilize the f sublevel, with the exception of lawrencium, a d-block element. Depending on your interpretation of the periodicity of the elements, the series begins with actinium or thorium, continuing to lawrencium. The usual list of elements in the actinide series is: Actinium (Ac)Thorium (Th)Protactinium (Pa)Uranium (U)Neptunium (Np)Plutonium (Pu)Americium (Am)Curium (Cm)Berkelium (Bk)Californium (Cf)Einsteinium (Es)Fermium (Fm)Mendelevium (Md)Nobelium (No)Lawrencium (Lr) Abundance The only two actinides found in appreciable quantities in the Earths crust are thorium and uranium. Small quantities of plutonium and neptunium are present in uranium orders. Actinium and protactinium occur as decay products of certain thorium and uranium isotopes. The other actinides are considered synthetic elements. If they occur naturally, it is part of a decay scheme of a heavier element. Common Properties Actinides share the following properties: All are radioactive. These elements have no stable isotopes.Actinides are highly electropositive.The metals tarnish readily in air. These elements are pyrophoric (spontaneously ignite in the air), particularly as finely divided powders.Actinides are very dense metals with distinctive structures. Numerous allotropes can be formed—plutonium has at least six allotropes. The exception is actinium, which has fewer crystalline phases.They react with boiling water or dilute acid to release hydrogen gas.Actinide metals tend to be fairly soft. Some can be cut with a knife.These elements are malleable and ductile.All the actinides are paramagnetic.All these elements are silver-colored metals that are solid at room temperature and pressure.Actinides combine directly with most nonmetals.The actinides successively fill the 5f sublevel. Many actinide metals have properties of both d block and f block elements.Actinides display several valence states, typically more than the lanthanides. Mos t are prone to hybridization.The actinides (An) may be prepared by reduction of AnF3  or AnF4  with vapors of Li, Mg, Ca, or Ba at 1100-1400 C. Uses For the most part, we dont often encounter these radioactive elements in daily life. Americium is found in smoke detectors. Thorium is found in gas mantles. Actinium is used in scientific and medical research as a neutron source, indicator, and gamma source. Actinides may be used as dopants to make glass and crystals luminescent. The bulk of actinide use goes to energy production and defense operations. The primary use of the actinide elements is as nuclear reactor fuel and in the production of nuclear weapons. The actinides are favored for these reactions because they readily undergo nuclear reactions, releasing incredible amounts of energy. If the conditions are right, the nuclear reactions can become chain reactions. Sources Fermi, E. Possible Production of Elements of Atomic Number Higher than 92.  Nature,  Vol. 133.Gray, Theodore .  The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe. Black Dog Leventhal.Greenwood, Norman N. and Earnshaw, Alan. Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd edition. Butterworth-Heinemann.

Shrugging Off Positive Ayn Rand Essay - 1687 Words

When one imagines a positive person in society, many people may come to mind. Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and many more are positive influences on the society of the world today. A positive influence in the society is someone who lets his or her beliefs be known in a respectful way, are non-violent, and do not force opinions on anyone else. Ayn Rand is a positive influence on society because she was an author who wrote philosophical novels that showed her views in a non-violent manner, she revolutionized thought processes, advanced views of society, and remained objective, practicing objectivism. Ayn Rand was born in Russia in a middle-class home in 1905. In 1917, the Communist party took over the government in†¦show more content†¦A positive influence on society has many traits. The lack of violence in expressing his or her opinion is crucial to being a positive influence. If someone were to use violence while expressing his or her opinion, this wou ld be negative influence because violence is negative. Non-violent expression of feelings and views is the way to show any group of people respect and it is substantially more likely to get the message across and it will be taken in as positive. Revolutionizing thought processes is also another important trait for a positive influence on society. In the case of Ayn Rand, she wrote novels, and she used such vivid language and real world applications that it made people think so deeply, thus causing a reaction in their brain that opened their eyes to a whole new line of thought. Advancing views of society is also a necessity for a positive influence on society to have. Imagine if nobody ever stood up for women’s rights or the telephone was never thought of. To bring positivity to a society, one must bring to the table what no one else has yet, and have a real plan for how it works. According to Luis De Jesus, a writer for the Ayn Rand Institute foundation website, as an objecti vist, one must accept the fact that existence exists. For someone to exist, they must acquire a specific identity. Remaining objective means to reject emotions, faith, or any form of

Nonverbal Communication and Service Users free essay sample

In this assignment I am going to explain the roles of supportive relationships in reducing the risk of abuse and neglect. Discuss the role of supportive relationships in reducing the risk of abuse and neglect. I will then evaluate the role of multi-agency working to reduce the risk of abuse of adults, with references to legal frameworks, regulations, working strategies and procedures. Each type of relationship has a different expectation, there are different levels of involvement, emotion and behaviour depending on the type of relationship and who it is with. In Health and Social Care you have the opportunity to form supportive relationships with service users. You have to understand the impact that you have on other people and make sure that this works so that you can fulfil your role and responsibilities. it is vital that you are able to form supportive relationships with service users to build trust as well as build relationships with their families. We will write a custom essay sample on Nonverbal Communication and Service Users or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is also vital that you are able to develop skills you need to understand the elements that make up supportive relationships in order for them to develop effectively. The main core principles of care are important in reducing the risk of abuse. Privacy – ensuring service users have the right to be left alone and undisturbed whenever they wish, and where possible to manage their own affairs. Choice – ensuring service users get the right help and support which enables them to make choices and express preferences. Dignity – understanding the service users’ needs and treating them with respect, valuing each person as an individual. Rights – ensuring all basic human rights are respected and protecting our service users against discrimination. Independence – assisting service users to take measured risk, to make their own decisions and ultimately act for themselves where capacity allows. Inclusion – to enable service users to become valued citizens within the local community. Fulfilment – enabling service users, where possible, to realise their own aims and helping them to achieve their goal in all aspects of their daily living. Communication is vital in building effective relationships. You have to learn to be responsive to others, and this can be done through effective use of communication skills such as active listening. You need to observe the non-verbal signs as well so you can recognise their thoughts and feelings. Encouragement and approval are essential to create a feeling of unconditional positive regard and can be shown through verbal and non verbal skills. You also need to be aware of your non-verbal communication which is your body language etc as that it will either reinforce or agree with what you are saying or conflict with it, which will undermine your words and generate a lack of trust. The first few seconds of contact with any person will give an impression which will form the basis of any relationship. You will then decide very quickly if you like that person and that will set the tone of your relationship and you can work on building an effective relationship from their. To build an effective relationship with a serice user. Person-centred care sees patients as equal partners in planning, developing and assessing care to make sure it is most appropriate for their needs. It involves putting patients and their families at the heart of all decisions. â€Å"Person-centred care aims to be user focused, promote independence and autonomy, provide choice and control and be based on a collaborative team philosophy† (health.org). It takes into account service users needs and views and builds relationships with family members. Treating people with dignity, respect and as unique individuals and individual needs. The humanistic approach is based on helping people reach their full potential by helping them explore their understanding of themselvs, how they see themselves and their experi ence. It enables the person to identify their strengths and weaknesses and find their own answers so that ultimately they can determine their own goals. This approach was developed by Carl Rogers

Childrens Implicit and Explicit Ethnic Group

Introduction Implicit attitudes in children develop according to their surroundings. These surroundings range from cultural processes, which the child undergoes, to the intergroup and child preferences as he or she grows up. Age is not an important determinant since when implicit association test (IAT) is administered; the same results are evident in both the adults and children.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Children’s Implicit and Explicit Ethnic Group specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the level of biasness differs from child to child, and it may not appear as much in the adults. A great divergence is observed at the age of 10 onwards. This is where a child begins to develop other important traits, which will assist in attitude development. Consequently, at this age, a child is in a position to start analyzing issues critically and pay much attention to things he or she must have assumed at a very tender age. The Children’s implicit and explicit ethnic group attitudes’ development can also be influenced by the parents. Since children copy what their parents do, they will become very resistant to anything that their guardians do not believe in. This is why many children will show a lot of favoritism in the in-group compared to the out-group. Connections between Readings Self-esteem and intergroup attitudes play a major role in the development of the children’s implicit and explicit attitudes. Many children will show more favoritism towards the in-group than the out-group. This is the same when it comes to implicit and explicit assessments. Therefore, it is important to note that, it is very hard to find a child who has a very low attitude in his/her in-group. However, if data are accumulated, it may appear that the white children normally have cumulative low attitude in their in-group. Many British children, both the whites and the blacks, value the b lack culture and show positive implicit and explicit attitudes on the blacks. It is also evident that, the adults have low in-group preference, compared to the children.Advertising Looking for report on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Both readings also portray that implicit attitudes are attained at an early stages and remain practically stable throughout the development stage, up to around age 10 when there are some split between the conscious and the less conscious ethnic attitudes (Siegler, DeLoache Eisenberg, 2005). New Novel Extension Study has proved that the white children normally show greater out-group positivity than the in-group. This area should be researched more to identify why this is the case. It is not clear why the black children normally present a contrary picture, that of showing favoritism to the in-group than the out-group. Various tests have confirmed this fact and a new novel should be dev eloped to try to explain why this case happens even in children who are brought up in the same surrounding. Connections between Findings, Arguments and Theory It is evident that, there are claims based on collection of data, which are not true, about the children’s implicit and explicit attitudes. According to the findings, it is very difficult to pick data from a specific study and generalize the entire traits shown by children as their true and accurate stereotyping degree. Different scholars also argue that, since the theories are developed on sample basis, if the entire population was to be involved in the research, the results may be far reaching and completely different from the ones made. In fact it is not easy to analyze the entire population. Reference Siegler, R., DeLoache, J., Eisenberg, N. (2005). How Children Develop. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. This report on Children’s Implicit and Explicit Ethnic Group was written and submitted by user Harley Buchanan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

3 Essays - Collaboration, Political Philosophy, Free Essays

3 Essays - Collaboration, Political Philosophy, Free Essays 3 MEETINGS 1 Delete the word(s) that do not form natural collocations. a I'd like to raise an important issue /an objection/the matter later. b When are we going to call/hold/have/ arrange/organise the next meet ing? Do you think we could put it back/delay it/postpone it/ bring it forward ? c It's getting late, and I think we should close/finish/adjourn/end the meeting. It looks like we've reached a conclusion/a decision/a dead-end . d I'd like to give/express/put forward my own opinion on this issue/ /topic/subject/question . e We've had a full and frank/constructive/fruitful di scussion on this issue, and I'm sure we can reach a decision/an agreement/a compromise/a consensus . f It would be dangerous/risky/premature/a mistake/wrong to draw/reach/ jump to any conclusions at this stage. g This decision is going to have wide-ranging/far-reaching/serious implications, and we need to take into account /consideration a number of different factors. h I'd just like to clarify/deal with your doubts about /objections to this proposal. i I see /appreciate/understand what you're saying, b ut I think you're taking a very narrow/short-sighted/short-term view. j Before we can make/take/come to/reach a decision, we'll have to make/undertake/carry out a detailed study. 2 . Complet e the chairperson's closing comments with the words in the box. There are two words you don't need to use. All the words appeared in 1. promise topic Well, colleagues, I thin k we've had a very constructive (a) discussion this afternoon, and a number of very important (b) issues have been raise d. But it's getting late, and I can see that we're not going to co me to a (c) decision today. I don't think that presents a problem because any decision we t ake will have far-reaching (d) implications and it's important not to jump to any (e) conclusions at this early stage. Before the next meeting we need to carry out a detailed (f) study of all the options involved, and circulate it amongst everyone prese nt. And if I can express my own (g) opinion , I think that the report needs to t ake into (h) account the financial costs as well as the marketing aspects of the project. Well, unless there's any other business, I think we can finish there. 3 Are the following statements True or False? 1. The person who is in charge of the meeting is the person who takes the minutes. F alse 2. The best way to call a meeting is to inform each participant individually by phone. F alse 3. An agenda should outline the order and amount of time to spend on each item at the meeting. T rue 4. Engaging in small talk throughout the meeting is an effective way to keep the focus. F alse 5. When someone agrees with a motion it is "seconded". T rue 6. The person who is speaking during a meeting is the person who "has the floor". T rue 7. A polite way to indicate that you want to make a comment during a meeting is to say: "If I could just come in here..." T rue 8. When there is a tie vote, it is customary for the chairperson to ask one participant to reconsider his/her decision. F alse 9. During the closing remarks, the person holding the meeting should introduce new staff members or guest speakers. F alse 10. Reminders are typically announced after all of the items on the agenda have been covered. T rue 4 R ead the text. Write one phrase in each gap. The problem with brainstorming Brainstorming is one of the most popular techniqu es used in meetings to generate ideas for solving a specific problem. Alex Osborn, the inventor of the term Brainstorming', established four rules. Firstly, it's important to focus on quantity (1). Wri te everything down, the more ideas, the better. Secondly, participants need to withhold criticism (2). Never criticise another person's idea during the brainstorming session, as it will prevent people from being creative. There's plenty of time for criticism in the evaluation stage later. Thirdly, we should welcome unusual ideas (3). Tr y to challenge your assumptions and ask what if ?' questions. Finally, try to combine and improve ideas

RITZ CARLTON HOTEL COMPANY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

RITZ CARLTON HOTEL COMPANY - Essay Example The logo of the hotel, which had the British royal seal (the crown) and the logo of a financial backer (the lion) was designed by Cesar Ritz. The hotel assumed the status of a private club meant for the very rich. The hotel entertained only those guests who were on the Social Register or were the Who’s Who of the society. Edward Wyner, the owner of the Ritz-Carlton,  Boston passed away in 1961. The property was thereafter owned and managed by land developers Cabot, Cabot & Forbes and their chairman Gerald W. Blakely. Charles Ritz, son of Cesar Ritz, remained an active board member of the Ritz-Carlton hotel until he died in 1977. William B. Johnson bought the hotel and the rights to The  Ritz-Carlton name from Blakely and established The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (Ritz-Carlton, 2014). Herve Humler is the President and Chief Operations Officer of Ritz-Carlton. Leeny K. Oberg is the Chief Financial Officer while Bob Kharazmi is the Global Officer, Worldwide Operations (Marriot, 2014). Simon F. Cooper remained the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company from February 2001 to September 2010 and was instrumental in the expansion spree of the hotel chain during the period (Ritz-Carlton, 2014). Ritz-Carlton is committed to providing top-notch service to its esteemed customers. The hotel chain has adopted the motto; â€Å"We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.† Genuine care and comfort of its guests is the highest mission of Ritz-Carlton. All the employees of the company are taught the â€Å"The 12 Service Values,† â€Å"The Credo,† â€Å"The Three Steps of Service,† and â€Å"The 6th Diamond† which together form the basis of day-to-day working of the company. The company has been honored with the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award twice (Ritz-Carlton, 2014) The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. operates the Ritz-Carlton chain of luxury hotels. It is

Outsourcing IT Servises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Outsourcing IT Servises - Essay Example Another form of outsourcing is based on salary cost arbitrage that takes place between national economies when a company will seek to contract with another business abroad where the labor costs are cheaper, so that cost savings will be gained in the overall organization. Some companies may establish overseas branches of their company and hire employees directly in the foreign market, but this is technically different than outsourcing on a business-to-business basis. In this context, most companies perform a cost analysis on the savings that can be gained through outsourcing by comparing local salaries and the internal requirements for managing the services with the quoted rate of the outsourcing company for the same work. The labor arbitrage through outsourcing may also include tax savings, a reduced requirement of benefit payments, or lower insurance costs for the company. Thus, in software development and hardware maintenance, the quality of the outsourcing services provided by for eign or offshore companies who provide the same service as local companies is critical and determinant as to whether outsourcing actually makes sense for a business. If the company cannot receive a quality of service from the outsourcing company that they can receive from local employees, it will generally not make sense for the company to pursue an outsourcing business model because the overall operations will suffer if there is a weak link in the organization. However, if the IT services such as medical software programming, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), and hardware maintenance can all be acquired from outsourcing companies in the U.S. or abroad at the same quality or higher and simultaneously a lower cost, then it does make sense to pursue outsourcing as a business model. Because some outsourcing companies are specializing in hiring highly skilled and trained staff for the employment positions, it is also possible to outsource abroad with the same level of quality o r higher than local staff, and to save significant operating costs in doing so. Outsourcing can potentially save billions of dollars in costs from within the U.S. healthcare system, but if quality is compromised in pursuit of greater profits or budgetary savings, the people who are being served by the business will not be satisfied or happy. (Rand, 2005) b) What component of IT services in your current organization makes the most sense to target as an early candidate for outsourcing? Why? Our organization is currently focusing on going live with a 50 person, outsourced Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) program that is expected to save considerable costs for the hospital annually while still providing the same quality of service expected by doctors and patients alike. CPOE is ideal for outsourcing as it involves the digitalization of medical records that are linked to a master database of records in the IT department. The core skill required by the outsourcing team is the abi lity to quickly and accurately transcribe hand-written doctor notes and prescriptions, to archive these documents with the appropriate patient records, and also to forward the transcriptions to other offices within the medical network. In this manner, the skills