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Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Business diversification of a confectionary food and beverage business Essay
Business diversification of a confectionary food and beverage business of United Kingdom - Essay Example This report assesses the trends and pattern of international trade between these two countries especially trades and investment in the beverage industry. Implication of the international institutions on its initial entry into Indian market will be analysed. Finally, this report will recommend whether and how the company can diversify its business into Indian market. Introduction Globalization has stimulated many successful firms in all many countries for diversification of their business into foreign market. It allows two different ways for international business expansion for these successful companies in their domestic countries. One is trade and another foreign direct investment. These factors have influenced one UK based Food and Beverage Company named Crazy Food Private Limited to decide start its international diversification. The company has decided to diversity into a developing country i.e. India. The company has successful portfolio that consist of processed food, ready to eat food, snacks foods as confectionary items and soft and energy drinks as beverage items. It has well developed two popular brands in UK market, Crazy Bite and Crazy Cola. The company wants to launch these two popular brands in India and it has noticed this confectionary market in India to be growing more in next five years. So, this report will provide a detailed investment analysis for this company to assess the viability of its international business diversification into Indian market. Answer a) National business system India is a developing country having a growing economy that is 12th largest economy in the world by nominal value of gross domestic product. The country has approximately more than 17% of world population among which more than 200 millions can be segmented as high consumption oriented urban people. This segment of people is having above average income level and higher purchasing power. This is one of the major strengths of the country for attracting foreign busi ness institutions to enter into Indian market. According an analysis by World Bank, India is 4rth largest country in the world in terms of overall consumption and purchasing power of the total population of the country. 40 percent of this 200 million people are youth (IFC, n.d.). Therefore, growing purchasing and consumption trend of this large segment of people is the key attraction of this company in terms of potential customer base as youth are usually the most potential target customer for any confectionary food and beverage producer. Apart from the huge customer base, next important key resources of the country has is sufficient youth labour and expertise. This is one of the most important recourses of the country which has become the main attraction of the foreign companies especially companies from developed countries like Crazy Food. The company can get sufficient labour in comparatively very low wage rate as compared to UK market rate due to the higher difference of currenc ies of these two countries. As a food and beverage company, Crazy Food needs huge work force for production and packaging, bottling etc. National political environment of India is stable as current government and only one major opponent do not have many conflicts that can affect any areas of business national
Monday, October 28, 2019
Psychology and Family Law Essay Example for Free
Psychology and Family Law Essay Introduction: The Rise in Divorce Rates.            Rasul began his paper on the economics of child custody with an observation and analysis of the American family. For him, the last thirty years had been witness to dramatic transformations involving the American family (Rasul, 2006, 1).            This dramatic change since the 1970s consists in the composition of American families. Where thirty years ago, more than half of the American families consisted of a father, mother, and child or children, today such composition only forms one in five families (Rasul, 2006, 1).            Such significant change is attributed to one factor alone, which is divorce. Rasul observes that the instances of divorce have risen dramatically over the years, such that it affects more than one million children every year (Rasul, 2006, 1). In the United Kingdom, another industrialized region, forty-one percent of marriages end up in divorce within fourteen years (Lamb, Sternberg, Thompson, 1997, 394).            While divorce rates also increased in industrialized countries other than the United States, and the divorce rates in the United States already reached a plateau, the fact remains that the United States Bureau of Census estimated in 1992 that more than forty percent of first marriages in the country is bound to end in divorce. Moreover, the relative decline in divorce rates is accompanied by an equivalent effect, which is the number of people cohabiting without marriage and nonmarital child bearing. These other arrangements cause the decline in divorce, but end in the same situation of a broken family. (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 22).            The increase in divorce rates can also be attributed to the certain developments since the 1970s, which include the growing tolerance of society for divorce. Moreover, society is no longer strictly insistent on the maintenance of stereotypical family arrangements (DErrico Elwork, 1991, 104). Changes in Family Law.            As a consequence of these dramatic changes, changes in the field of family law also occur. These changes can be found both in substantive and procedural law (DErrico Elwork, 1991, 104-105).            Substantive law has changed due to observations of the effects of restrictive and punitive laws on divorce. Thus, many jurisdictions already steered away from the rule that one of the spouses must have committed some transgression before they can be granted divorce. Now, the prevalent rule in most jurisdictions is in accordance with the â€Å"no-fault†doctrine. This doctrine allows married couples to file for divorce on the simple ground of â€Å"irreconcilable differences (DErrico Elwork, 1991, 104).†           Another change in substantive law and policy can be found in the gender-neutral stance taken by courts in cases of divorce. The past decades illustrated a bias, manifested in the assumption that mothers have more inherent capability to take care of their children. Today, such an assumption is no longer strongly held. Rather, courts are now showing neutrality in gender and the determination of a family law case now hinges on the consideration of the â€Å"best interests of the child (DErrico Elwork, 1991, 104-105).†           Another change in substantial law and policy is manifested in the observation that there is a growing predilection over self-determined divorce and child custody arrangements. This trend of change is largely attributable to the belief that divorce is a private matter that must be left amongst them to be resolved. This belief is a break away from the previous prevailing thought about the states interest in protecting the sanctity of marriage through the regulation of its dissolution (DErrico Elwork, 1991, 104).            These changes in substantive law on divorce and family law necessarily caused changes in the procedural aspect of the law. Thus, the increased ease by which couples could seek divorce and the option of individualizing post divorce arrangements heavily increased the dockets of courts with divorce cases. This led the courts to encourage divorcing couples to find other alternative means of resolving their issues (DErrico Elwork, 1991, 105).            There are also other factors that make alternative means of resolving family disputes and divorce issues more appealing. The lack of necessity for proving fault in a divorce action removed the need to adjudicate family issues. Moreover, the removal of the presumption in favor of the mothers capability to care for the child involved courts into making a determination about vague issues, such as love and care, which could be difficult to measure in a court setting. These factors all contributed to the growing popularity of other modes of dispute resolution, such as mediation (DErrico Elwork, 1991, 105). Divorce Mediation.            One such alternative mode of dispute resolution recently applied in family law is mediation. Thus, divorce mediation, under which process a neutral third party intervenes to help the couple settle their differences through negotiation, receives the most attention lately (DErrico Elwork, 1991, 105) especially among parents who wish to get divorced (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 22).            When applied to help couples arrive at self-determined arrangements on matters of divorce and child custody, mediation is believed to cause four benefits, namely, â€Å"(a) more satisfaction with the terms of agreements, (b) greater compliance with agreements, (c) less postdivorce conflict between ex-spouses, and (d) better postdivorce emotional adjustment (DErrico Elwork, 1991, 105).†           Indeed, mediation posed itself as a solution to the ever-increasing rates of divorce in the Untied States, as well as an alternative to ineffective and traditional methods of dispute settlement, such as litigation (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 22). Mediation is becoming the alternative method of dispute resolution of choice since it provides professional help to divorces, which have a high probability of getting acrimonious. Thus, there are only few couples that could manage to suffer a divorce in amicable terms. In a survey of two California counties, it was found that 24 percent of divorces therein required professional intervention, while 25 percent involved intense conflict (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 23).            Mediation is also popular among couples seeking divorce because unlike court action or litigation, it has the ability to facilitate administration of justice and reduce cost, specifically in terms of money and time. Moreover, adversary settlement procedures are now believed to cause problems involving post separation family relationships, arising from parental conflict and divorce. (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 23). Comparison of Divorce Mediation and Adversary Settlement.          It is not uncommon for mediation to get compared from other forms of dispute settlement, such as adversary settlement. In a study conducted by Emery, Sbarra and Grover, a comparison was made between mediation and adversary settlement through random assignment (2005, 25). They randomly approached families that were interested in contested custody hearing and offered them a mediation program as an eleventh hour settlement attempt (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 25).          This study yielded positive results with respect to the time of settlement of issues. Thus, the authors found that cases assigned to mediation were settled in half the time that settlement using adversary settlement occurred. On the other hand, there are other studies that conclude that mediation is better over adversary settlement in terms of cost, because the former is less expensive than the latter. In addition, it was observed that there is a â€Å"trend for greater compliance with child support orders among nonresidential parents who mediated†(Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 27).          They also observed that there are more families coming from mediation that go back in order to update or change their existing arrangements. The authors view this in a positive light, saying that parenting plans should be viewed as living agreements that must be changed in accordance with corresponding changes in the stakeholders lives. Such changes are best made by going back to the mediation process (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 27).          In addition, Emery, Sbarra and Grover noticed in the follow-up sessions to their study that most of their subjects who belonged to the mediation group were more open to the idea or suggestion of changing their original agreements. They are also the ones who actually adjusted their arrangements more often than those subjects who belonged to the adversary system (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 28).          The authors noted that the willingness of the subjects to modify their original arrangements, coupled with the actual facts of modification, is a positive finding. Aside from the fact that the changes had been far from chaotic, they prove that parents who underwent mediation had become more flexible in accommodating changes that are important in the lives of their children and their own (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 28).          The authors also looked into another factor to compare mediation with the adversary process. This factor is party satisfaction. They noted that each kind of method of dispute settlement has certain strengths. For example, the adversary systems known strength is that it ensures that the rights of both parties are protected. On the other hand, mediation is known for being more understanding of the feelings of the parties involved (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 28).          However, this main difference, which had looked so glaring before study, disappeared in view of the results that showed that mediation consistently got high rates of party satisfaction over the adversary system, even if the assessment was based on the criterion that is known for being the strength of such system. More importantly, the authors observed that such high rate of party satisfaction remains relatively unchanged among different time durations. Thus, a party may be satisfied with mediation six weeks after mediation, but surprisingly, parties remain satisfied even after a period of more than a year (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 28). Important Elements of Mediation.          Mediation remains on the top of the list of effective methods of dispute settlement, especially in divorce rates, because it boasts of certain elements that ensure the process’ success. One such element is its capability of enlisting the cooperation of parents in order to take the long view, and consider the best interests of their children in the future (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 32).          Considering that divorce cases often involve high conflict, open hostility, and tension, it is difficult to call upon parents to cooperate with each other. However, mediation allows parents to take a look at the future of their relationship, maybe not as a couple, but as permanent parents (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 32).          Mediation is also effective in educating divorcing parents and couples about emotions. These emotions involve not only those felt by the couple involved, but more importantly, those of their child or children. There are several techniques by which the goal of emotional education can be achieved, but one effective way is through the mediator’s reflection of a child’s possible emotional reactions to the crisis situation using his self as a medium. For example, the mediator could say how uncomfortable and scary an experience becomes when the couple starts fighting each other. Thus, mediation allows parents to realize that their bickering actually affects the emotions of people around them, and thereby stop thinking about themselves. It is apparent therefore that mediation does not necessarily provide therapy for the emotional problems of the parties, but it allows them to understand the feelings and emotions involved in order to help them control such emotions in the best possible way and, in the process, achieve a good plan for the family (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 33).          Finally, mediation is an effective process because it helps parties avoid treating each other as adversaries. A business-like approach such as the one commonly used in mediation allows the parties to approach issues in a distant and less emotional state. Moreover, not treating each other as adversaries avoids the road to strained relationships that only cause the wounds of the divorce to get worse (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 34). Effects of Divorce on Children            The trend in favor of divorce and single parenthood in industrialized countries has raised concerns about the effects of such family arrangements to children involved. Unfortunately for children, divorce often leads to negative immediate effects, such as serious emotional and psychological disturbance. Considering that psychological symptoms such as emotional disturbance, loneliness, depression, anger, helplessness, and many others are common among the parents or couples involved, it should be expected that such negative effects would be experienced more severely by the children trapped inside the crisis (Lamb, Sternberg, Thompson, 1997, 394).            It is worth noting that the difficulty of children in dealing with their parents’ divorce is aggravated by the fact that the parents involved in the crisis are often too preoccupied with their personal emotions such that they fail to give much-needed support to their children. Worse, these parents often fall in the temptation to make too much demand that worsen the situation for their children (Lamb, Sternberg, Thompson, 1997, 395).            Another problem common to children in divorce situations is the economic problem brought about by the need to maintain two separate residences, and the common situation of mothers who are more economically-challenged than the fathers. However, such situation is avoided or minimized in cases where the parents resolve their conflicts and work out a way of providing for the educational, emotional, and economic needs of their children (Lamb, Sternberg, Thompson, 1997, 395-396). Conclusion.            Divorce and single parenting is increasingly becoming common in industrialized regions such as the United States and the United Kingdom. This trend is caused by several factors and, in turn, causes several issues, practices, and concerns in many different levels, such as the family, children, substantive and procedural law, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (Rasul, 2006, 1; DErrico Elwork, 1991, 104).            Divorce causes deleterious effects on the parties. However, the negative impact of divorce is more squarely felt by the affected children who, in their tender age, are forced into adjusting and coping with the emotional stress and burden necessitated by divorce proceedings (Lamb, Sternberg, Thompson, 1997, 394).            Such hardships could be minimized by different factors, such as cooperation between parents in providing emotional, economic and educational support to their children. Parents also have the option of minimizing or totally avoiding antagonism and hostility in the divorce proceedings by choosing to undergo mediation rather than court litigation. Indeed, mediation provides many advantages and avoids the stress involved in court action (Emery, Sbarra Grover, 2005, 22). References DErrico, M. G. Elwork, A. (1991). Are Self-Determined Divorce and Child Custody   Agreements Really Better? Family and Conciliation Courts Review 29(2), 104-  113. Emery, R. E., Sbarra, D. Grover, T. (2005). Divorce Mediation: Research and Reflections. Family Court Review 43(1), 22-37. Lamb, M. E., Sternberg, K. J., Thompson, R. A. (1997). The Effects of Divorce and  Custody Arrangements on Childrens Behavior, Development, and Adjustment.     Family and Conciliation Courts Review 35(4), 393-404. Rasul, I. (2006). The Economics of Child Custody. Economica 73, 1-25.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Contemporary Cosmology and Philosophy and the Beginning of the Universe :: Natural Science
Contemporary Cosmology and Philosophy and the Beginning of the Universe ABSTRACT: Since the 1970s both in physics and cosmology, there has been a controversy on the subject of the ‘beginning of the universe.’ This indicates that this intriguing problem has reached scientific consideration and, perhaps, a solution. The aim of this paper is to try to answer the question as to whether the origin of the world has slipped out of the hands of philosophers (and theologians), and passed in its entirety into the realm of science, and whether science is able to solve this problem by itself. While presenting the main views in this dispute, I try to show also that metaphysics, philosophy of nature and epistemology provide important premises, proposals and methods that are indispensable for a solution. These premises concern such issues as the extremely subtle problem of the sense and existence of ‘nothing,’ the problem of extrapolation of local physics onto the large-scale areas of the universe, the epistemological status of cosmological pr inciples, as well as problems of the origins of the laws of nature. This last issue is entangled in the difficult problem of the ‘rationality of the world’ and the problem of overcoming the dichotomy of laws and preconditions, according to which the conditions and laws are independent of each other. I. Introduction One of the determinants of scientific rationality is the condition that science undertakes only those problems whose solution is within the range of possibilities of research methods which science currently applies or is able to apply. Simply speaking, scientists are attracted by solvable problems. If this is really so then the fact of widespread discussions since the 70s among physicists and cosmologists on the subject of "the beginnings of the Universe" seem to be an obvious sign that also this unusually intriguing problem has matured to its scientific solution. The purpose of my paper is to attempt to answer the question whether the problem of the origin of the world currently evades philosophers (and theologians) and passes completely to the realm of science (i.e. physics, astronomy and cosmology), or whether science by itself is not able to solve this problem. In the latter case one would have to acknowledge that metaphysics, the philosophy of nature and epistemology, provides important premisses, assumptions and methods indispensable for this solution. II. Two Approaches in Cosmology The task cosmology has to perform is to explain the structure of the Universe as it is observed.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Islam and Religious Group Essay
Select at least 1 religious and 1 ethnic group not your own from the list below. †¢Religious groups (based on http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/affiliations-all-traditions.pdf) oChristianity †¢Evangelical Protestant †¢Mainline Protestant †¢Historically Black Churches †¢Roman Catholic †¢Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) †¢Jehovah’s Witnesses †¢Orthodox (Greek, Eastern) oJudaism (Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform) oBuddhism (Theravada or Mahayana) oIslam (Sunni, Shia, Sufism) oHinduism †¢Ethnic groups (based on divisions in U.S. Census Bureau documents) oAsian (Asian descent) oBlack (African descent) oHispanic and Latino (South or Central American descent) oPacific Islander (Polynesian descent) oWhite (European descent) Part III Answer the following questions in 150 to 250 words each about the religious group you selected: †¢How does your selected religious group differ from other religious groups (such as in their beliefs, worship practices, or values)? †¢What has been the experience of your selected religious group with others that do not share its beliefs or practices? †¢In what ways has the religious group you selected contributed to American culture? †¢Provide specific examples of prejudice or discrimination your selected religious group has experienced. †¢What were the sources of this prejudice or discrimination? †¢Does what you’ve learned about this religious group help you understand it? In what ways? Answer the following questions in 150 to 250 words each about the ethnic group you selected: †¢How does your selected ethnic group differ from other ethnic groups (such as differences in ancestry, language, or culture)? †¢What has been your selected ethnic group’s experience with other ethnic groups? †¢In what ways has the ethnic group you selected contributed to American culture? †¢Identify some specific examples of prejudice or discrimination that your selected ethnic group has experienced historically. †¢What were the sources of this prejudice or discrimination? †¢Does what you’ve learned about this ethnic group help you understand it? How? Part IV Answer the following questions in 150 to 250 words each: †¢How are the prejudice and discrimination experienced by your selected religious group and ethnic group similar? †¢How are they different? †¢Can you draw any conclusions about discrimination from this comparison
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Quality of Patient Care: Nursing-Sensitive Indicators Essay
Nursing-sensitive indicators play a large role in bedside nursing today. They encompass the care given to patients, how it is given, policies, procedures, and different levels of staffing, education, and experience (ANA). They also provide a means to measure patient satisfaction. Not all involved with patient care will share the same knowledge and experience as can be seen in the scenario of Mr. J. How could nursing-sensitive indicators have changed his outcome? How can data collected on nursing-sensitive indicators advance quality care for all patients? One of the risk factors for acquiring a pressure ulcer, a deep vein thrombosis, or hospital acquired pneumonia is immobility. There can be several causes of immobility and in this case it is the use of restraints. Mr. J has developed a pressure ulcer due to lying flat on his back in bed restrained. When the nurse’s aide assisted him back to bed, lying on his back again, she showed she did not have a clear understanding of a pressure ulcer as a nursing-sensitive indicator. She should have propped him up with pillows so the reddened area was relieved of pressure. Had she or the nurse possessed that knowledge they would have been assessing his skin frequently and repositioning him in bed often enough so as to prevent such an event from occurring. The patient’s need for restraints could be reassessed as well. Is he trying to get out of bed unassisted and is considered a fall risk due to his hip fracture and mild dementia? Perhaps a bed alarm or a sitter would have been better alternatives. Either would have allowed Mr. J to move independently in bed and he would have been less likely to develop a pressure ulcer. Restraints are often used without considering alternatives first. They can cause more injury than good and decrease patient satisfaction. In this case, it may be difficult to gauge Mr. J’s satisfaction but his daughter certainly wasn’t satisfied with his care. It is possible his hospital length of stay has been increased by the staff’s lack of knowledge regarding nursing-sensitive indicators. At this point the staff must take action to correct the situation and hopefully heal the pressure ulcer. How can hospitals use data collected based on nursing-sensitive indicators to increase the quality of patient care? Hospitals measure certain occurrences such as falls and pressure ulcers. Nursing care directly impacts these. If the number is higher than the national average, for example, a hospital may perform a study to determine the cause and then implement interventions to try to reduce the occurrence of falls or pressure ulcers. By analyzing data collected after an intervention was applied, the hospital can determine if the outcome was achieved or not. Once an intervention proves successful a new policy can be implemented throughout the hospital, decreasing falls or pressure ulcers, leading to improved quality care for all patients and greater patient satisfaction (AmericanSentinelUniversityBlog). Another nursing-sensitive indicator is patient satisfaction with overall care. In Mr. J’s scenario I would say the patient’s family was completely dissatisfied. As a Jewish rabbi he requested a kosher meal and was served pork cutlet due to an error with his order. Were he not mildly demented he may have noticed what he had been served, but he did not and ate it. When the daughter was notified the next evening she discovered the nursing staff had kept it from her and that the nurse was not sensitive to the needs of her father. This was just another complaint in several that had occurred over the last six months. The physician and administrator were notified. This is a serious offense and may prompt the Jewish community to seek care at another hospital. In order to resolve this issue and keep Mr. J’s trust and that of his daughter, several things must take place. The nurse and physician caring for the patient should acknowledge the error and offer a heartfelt apology. They should also assure the family, steps are being taken to prevent this from reoccurring. If the orders are entered through an electronic health record, IT may need to get involved to determine where the error is occurring in the order process in order to have it filled correctly. The dietary supervisor should be notified and perhaps find a new way to indicate clearly if a tray contains a kosher meal. A sign on the patient’s door could indicate his meal preference so that all entering, whether it is a dietary tech, a nurse’s aide, or the nurse, will clearly see it. That way, even if the patient is confused and alone, as Mr. J was, there will be no mistake made. The issue here is patient satisfaction. Mr. J’s family may still leave dissatisfied but this event may help implement new policies respecting ethnic preferences and the incorporation of them in a patient’s care. In healthcare today, nursing-sensitive indicators are important to hospitals in that they provide a gauge to measure the quality of care patient’s receive. The more knowledge a nurse has of nursing-sensitive indicators, the greater quality care she can provide to produce better outcomes for her patients, resulting in their improved satisfaction. Reference Page American Nurses Association. (2015, January). Nursing-Sensitive Indicators. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from Nursing World: http://www.nursingworld.org/mainmenucategories/ThePracticeofProfessionalNurses/Research-Measurement/The-National-Database/Nursing-Sensitive-Indicators_1 American Sentinel University Blog. (2011, November 02). Health Care On Call. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from American Sentinel University Blog: http://www.americansentinel.edu/blog/2011/11/02what-are-nursing-sensitive-quality-indicators-anyway/ .
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
My Opinion essays
My Opinion essays In my opinion, I would in no way want to live in medieval, the time period in which Alyce lived in. Because finding a home and cures for diseases were very difficult. In addition, education was saved only for the rich. Many people were homeless because they could not get a job to make money to buy a house. The conditions of being homeless were horrible. There was no way to get any education because no one had any care enough for the home less to give them any free learning. If you were lucky, you were able to get a low paying job getting stale bread and old cheese as pay. Moreover, being poor caused all sorts of medical ales. The medical conditions were disgustingly bad. Doctors rarely helped those who lived in villages. They had no real medicines, but only natural remedies that they created. Idea that every substance in nature held some sort of power account for a large variety of substances. Natural functions, such a sneezing were thought to be the best way of maintaining health. When there was any build up of one humor, or body fluid, it could be removed through sweat, tears, feces or urine. When the natural systems broke down, illness occurred. Preformed at last resort, surgery was known to be successful in cases of breast cancer, fistula, hemorrhoids, gangrene, and cataracts, and scrofula. The most common form of surgery was bloodletting, which was to restore the balance of the humors. As well as the homeless and medical conditions, the levels of educational opportunities were scarce. There were very few teachers, and if you ever got the chance to have a teacher, the prices were over the top. The majority of the entire population had no learning of math or literature. Most did not even no the alphabet. As a matter of fact, only wealthy was appreciated enough for the opportunity to have an education. None of this would make me want to live in that time period any more than I do now. ...
Monday, October 21, 2019
How Carbon-14 Is Used To Date Artifacts
How Carbon-14 Is Used To Date Artifacts In the 1950s W.F. Libby and others (University of Chicago) devised a method of estimating the age of organic material based on the decay rate of carbon-14. Carbon-14 dating can be used on objects ranging from a few hundred years old to 50,000 years old. What Is Carbon-14? Carbon-14 is produced in the atmosphere when neutrons from cosmic radiation react with nitrogen atoms: 147N 10n → 146C 11H Free carbon, including the carbon-14 produced in this reaction, can react to form carbon dioxide, a component of air. Atmospheric carbon dioxide, CO2, has a steady-state concentration of about one atom of carbon-14 per every 1012 atoms of carbon-12. Living plants and animals that eat plants (like people) take in carbon dioxide and have the same 14C/12C ratio as the atmosphere. However, when a plant or animal dies, it stops taking in carbon as food or air. The radioactive decay of the carbon that is already present starts to change the ratio of 14C/12C. By measuring how much the ratio is lowered, it is possible to make an estimate of how much time has passed since the plant or animal lived. The decay of carbon-14 is: 146C → 147N 0-1e (half-life is 5720 years) Example Problem A scrap of paper taken from the Dead Sea Scrolls was found to have a 14C/12C ratio of 0.795 times that found in plants living today. Estimate the age of the scroll. Solution The half-life of carbon-14 is known to be 5720 years.​ Radioactive decay is a first order rate process, which means the reaction proceeds according to the following equation: log10 X0/X kt / 2.30 where X0 is the quantity of radioactive material at time zero, X is the amount remaining after time t, and k is the first order rate constant, which is a characteristic of the isotope undergoing decay. Decay rates are usually expressed in terms of their half-life instead of the first order rate constant, where k 0.693 / t1/2 so for this problem: k 0.693 / 5720 years 1.21 x 10-4/year log X0 / X [(1.21 x 10-4/year] x t] / 2.30 X 0.795 X0, so log X0 / X log 1.000/0.795 log 1.26 0.100 therefore, 0.100 [(1.21 x 10-4/year) x t] / 2.30 t 1900 years
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