The Challenges of Implement a Minimum Wages Policy

Creating a so called â€Å"culture of compliance† among employers (Skidmore 1999: 435) is a low-cost strategy for facilitating the self-enforcement of minimum wage. This strategy implies the construction of persuasive arguments in favor of the minimum wage and the appeal to common values and beliefs such as, for instance, the principle of â€Å"fair pay – fair play†. Here, two main strategies for building commitment among employers can be identified. First, persuasive processes at the interpersonal level may take place. A strategy of interpersonal persuasion was used, for example, in the interaction between labor inspectors and managers in British and US-American coal mines from the Sixties to the Eighties, when â€Å"open and frank discussions† as†¦show more content†¦Monitoring Through Labor Inspections Both the management and the enforcement approach highlight the importance of monitoring non-compliance. Transparency prevents free riding and allows actors to take targeted measures to defend their rights. Labor inspections seem to be the main instrument for ensuring monitoring: they are provided by law in the almost one hundred countries included in the ILO Minimum Wage Database. From reports and academic studies, two main problems seem to prevent labor inspections from being an effective enforcement tool. First, labor inspectors are at risk of corruption, also because they are often underpaid (Skidmore 1999: 428). Furthermore, inspectors receive a fairly high salary, which can be integrated through performance-based rewards (Almeida Carneiro 2009: 7). Secondly, labor inspections are costly, and governments do not invest enough funds for financing them. Employers also consider monitoring structures a cost burden and are not ready to commit to their financing (Gallina 2005: 15; Skidmore 1999: 428). Beyond labor inspections, an important method of monitoring compliance is the self-monitoring, record-keeping and self-reporting by the workers. Allowing individual workers and unions to denounce non-compliant employers constitutes a form of monitoring additional to labor inspections and, most of all, it gives workers the opportunity to enforce their rights by themselves, as weShow MoreRelatedPresident Obama Speech On Income Inequality And Economic Mobility1270 Words   |  6 Pagesalso stated that â€Å"this is the defining challenge of our time (The White House, 2013).† The â€Å"challenge† he was referring to the ability of the economy to work for all working Americans. Currently, with the income distribution inequali ty facing the United States, one could argue that the economy is not functioning for everyone. President Obama feels that in order to decrease the income inequality and improve mobility, the government must step in and put policies in place. 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Typical stabilization policies comprise of balance of payment deficit, deregulation and budget deficit reduction. Typical adjustment policies include reduction of trade barriers, privatization, cut in social spending, increased free trade. Situation in Greece is totally opposite to that

Plato s Allegory Of The Cave And Paulo Freire s The ...

Plato’s â€Å"Allegory of The Cave† and Paulo Freire’s â€Å"The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education† both contend that education is a process of freeing the chains of deception and false images that make us prisoners in the cave of ignorance. I agree with both Plato and Freire in saying that without education, like the prisoners, our perception of reality is distorted by our lack of knowledge. In Plato’s essay, â€Å"Allegory of The Cave† Plato creates a story about three prisoners in a cave, through this he further makes his point that without knowledge our view of the truth is askew. Plato explains that the three hostages have been shackled in the dark cave their whole lives unable to see the real world. The only piece of actuality they can see are shadows of people crossing in front of the opening of the cave. These figures can drive anyone insane without having any real truth to what the images could be. Without any awareness of the real world just outside of the cave they are forced to adapt and therefore accept their own reality. Plato goes on to say that, â€Å"the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images† (122). The obscurities are significant because they are the only apprehension the prisoners have, they have nothing to compare it to. The actuality of it to the captives is something other than the truth would be outside of the cave. The forms on the wall are only just shadows, but to them that is everything they have ever known. Plato through his legend portraysShow MoreRelatedTo What Extent Does Education Liberate People Within The Social Classes2662 Words   |  11 PagesThis essay will discuss to what extent does education liberate people within the social classes. It will also discuss how Paulo Freire’s theory on how education can liberate people, furthermore considering how the Amish community may fail to be liberated through education. The definition of educa tion is ‘the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life’. Also

Case Study of Mrs Valerie-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Analyse the vital signs and Pathology report to understand the reasons for abnormalities and their impact. Answer: Introduction: Evidence based practice is the process of integrating best evidence in nursing practice to address specific clinical issues of patient and improve their health outcome. A nurse has the duty and responsibility to carry out patient assessment, interpret patients information and engage in critical decision making to determine the appropriate nursing intervention or specific clinical condition (DiCenso, Guyatt, Ciliska, 2014).The process of assessment and planning of nursing intervention is demonstrated in this essay through the case of Mrs. Valerie Jackson. She is a 65 year old patient who has been recently diagnosed with cardiac arrthymia. She had been transferred to the HDU for open large bowel resection. Based on patients current symptoms and pathological information, the essay explains the reasons for the condition by means of discussion on the pathophysiology of cardiac arrhythmia. Secondly, the essay analyses the vital signs and pathology report to understand the reasons for abno rmalities and their impact. Based on this discussion, the specific assessment needs of patient are determined and three nursing interventions to improve Valeries condition is discussed. Pathophysiology of presenting problem: Mrs. Valerie has been diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia. It is a condition associated with abnormal heart rhythm. In some case, the heart beat is too fast that normal rate-100 beats per minute (tachycardia) or too slow than normal rate- 60 beats per minute (bradycardia). This change in heart beat is seen due to the change in the normal sequence of electrical impulses (Schwartz, 2014). These impulses generate eratically resulting in too fast or too slow heart beat. The pathophysiological explanation for this is explained by the process of enhanced or suppressed automaticity and triggered activity. Automaticity is the normal property of all myocytes and this property gets hampered due to ageing, ischemia, effect of certain medications and other factors (Tse, 2016). The advancing age of Valerie might be a reason for change in property of automaticity. The condition of suppressed automaticity leads to dysfunction of sinus node and the enhanced automaticity leads to multiple arrhythmia (Y abluchansky et al., 2016). This condition can be identified in patient by the symptoms of dizziness, loss of consciousness, shortness of breath and chest discomfort. Triggered activity is another condition or mechanism behind cardiac arrhythmia. It is the initiation of impulse on the basis of afterdepolarization. However, triggered activity occurs when both early depolarization and after depolarization initiates at the same time. This form of abnormal impulse excitation results in reentrant excitation (Antzelevitch et al., 2014). In contrast with the condition of cardiac arrhythmia, normal cardiac rhythm is seen when spontaneous impulse is generated from the sinoatrial node and transmitted to the myocardium (Ruthruff Lien, 2016). Hence, in normal condition, impulse formation and transmission to the atrial and ventricular mycocardium occurs in a synchronous pattern. However, myocardial disease and certain cardioactive drugs disrupts the normal cardiac rhythm and changes the activity of the sinus node. Major changes is observed in automaticity of the myocardium that results in compromised cardiac function and adverse symptoms in patients like Vale ria (van der Lende et al., 2015). Interpretation of rhytm: The examination of the rhythm strips of Mrs. Valerie indicates the condition of sinus tachycardia or abrupt increase of heart rhythm. This is defined by a value greater than 100 beats/minute. The event is traced by the PQRST wave on the rhythm strip. P wave represents the discharge of the SA node and depolarization of the atria. The pattern of the wave indicates condition of tachycardia in Mrs. Valerie and this might have occurred because of increase in demand of oxygen due to stress, infection or blood loss. Mrs. Valerie might be presenting with this condition because she had a bowel resection and it might have lead to blood loss (Baruscotti et al., 2016). Sinus Tachycardia is a condition of rhythm in which rate of impulse generating from the sinoatrial node increases. This kind of rhythm is mostly seen in patient with cardiovascular disease. The normal heart beat is seen in an individual due to the mechanism of systematic interplay between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous sy stem (Ruthruff Lien, 2016).. However, this system is significantly affected by ageing. Due to ageing, the property of heart muscles cells and walls changes. The wall of the arteries becomes thicker and elasticity is lost (Ho Snchez-Quintana, 2016). Hence, damage to heart tissue might the reason for the abnormal heart rhythm in Mrs. Valerie. It is very likely that this condition might have occurred in patient due to advancing age. Strait Lakatta (2012) also gives the evidence that aging is one of the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease because of declining cardioprotective system. Ageing leads to many type of changes in older people. Firstly, structural changes in vascular wall and heart are seen due to aging. Secondly, functional changes reduce the ability to respond to workload and cardiac mechanism for protection from injury is become defective. These factors might be the reason for the presentation of bradycardia in heart rhythm strips. Discussion of normal or abnormal pathology results: The pathology results of Mrs. Valerie gave the following outcome: Sodium- 148 mmol/L Potassium- 3.1 mmol/L Chloride- 90 mmol/L Bicarbonate- 20mmol/L Magnesium- 0.50 mmol/L Phosphate- 0.60 mmol/L The normal level of sodium in blood is between 135mmol/L to 145mmmol/L, however Mrs. Valeries sodium level was 148 mmmol/L which is slight high. A high sodium level may lead to the condition of hypernatremia. This kind of electrolyte imbalance may be caused by dehydration, endocrine disease, hyperventilation and use of drugs like steroids and blood pressure lowering medication (Hauptman et al., 2013). Due to this condition, Mrs. Valerie may have symptoms of sweating, fever, dizziness and diarrhea. She might exhibit this condition due to decrease in water excretion. This might lead to hazardous complication in patient and heart rate variability. High salt is likely to increase blood pressure, decrease heart rate and increase the frequency of changes in heart rate (McNeely, Windham, Anderson, 2008). Hence, hypernatremia is a major clinical presentation for patients with high blood sodium levels. Symptoms may range from mild signs like nausea and vomiting to severe signs like seizures and coma. Magnesium and potassium plays an important role in the development of cardiac arrthythmia in patient. The magnesium and potassium level in blood of Mrs. Valerie was 3.3 mmol/L and 0.50 mmol/L respectively. Both values are below the normal threshold value as normal volume of magnesium and potassium in blood are 3.5 to 5.0 mmol/L and 0.7 to 1.10 mmol/L. Low magnesium level may lead to the clinical presentation of hypomagnesium in patient. Normal magnesium level is important for maintenance of heart and nervous system function. The condition may be caused by low magnesium in diet, renal damage, endocrine disorder and high excretion of magnesium from the body. Magnesium depletion is the major cause of diagnosis of arrhythmias in patient (Efstratiadis, Sarigianni, Gougourelas, 2006). Magnesium maintains intracellular concentration and the depletion of the same leads to cardiovascular impairments. Loop diuretics also result in loss of potassium and magnesium from the body which ultimately impairs cardiovascular functions (Agus, 2016). The pathological results of Mrs. Valerie also indicate low chloride and bicarbonate level as it was 90mmol/L and 20mmol/L. Both the values are below the normal value. This might also lead to electrolyte imbalance issue. Hypocholermia is also mainly caused by the effect of diuretics and laxatives. As Mrs. Valerie has open large bowel section, the electrolyte imbalance might be the reason for her decreased urine output. Low chloride level might lead to the condition of dehydration, high fever or no symptoms too. The fluctuation in the sodium level will have a major impact on the heart rate of Mrs. Valerie. This is because heart rate is regulated by the mechanism of sympathetic and parasympathetic system. Sodium outside the cell and potassium inside the cell functions to initiate nerve impulse (DeMorais Biondo, 2012). However, decreased sodium level causes low blood pressure and increased heart rate. Hence, the cardiac rhythm strip may change due to changes in sodium level. On the othe r hand, changes in bicarbonate level might lead to acidosis in patient. Urso, Brucculeri, Caimi, (2015) explains that electrolyte and acid base abnormalities cause fatal complications in patients with heart disorder. This is because of the alteration of the neurohumoral activation. This might lead to adverse event during diuretic therapy and play a major role in the development of cardiac arrhythmias too. Discussion on assessment criteria and nursing interventions On the examination of the pathological results of Mrs. Valerie and summary of her fluid balance after the open large bowel resection, it is understood that the patient is prone to many complications like loss of consciousness, changes in heart rate, decreased urine output and impaired cardiovascular functions. She is also at risk of fall due to symptoms of dizziness due to the electrolyte imbalance in her body. To manage her condition and promote health and wellbeing of patient, many nursing assessment is required. Firstly, the vital signs of patients needs to be closely monitored since the patients has high chance of fluctuations in vital signs due to electrolyte imbalance. Secondly, Mrs. Valeria is under nasogastric tube on free drainage, so the nurse needs to assess the position and potency of the tube. Patients with bowel resection are also prone to infection so checking the colour and amount of drainage from surgical site is necessary. In addition to manage the condition of card iac arrhythmia in patient, it is necessary to routinely assess the pulse rate and heart rate of patient. ECG tracing, vital signs assessment, need for more pathological test and hemodynamic monitoring will also be an important assessment criteria for nurse. The main issue present in Mrs. Valerie is the diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmia and the issue in fluid balance after bowel resection. To manage these issues, three nursing intervention is necessary for Mrs. Valerie. Firstly, the nurse needs to provide preoperative nursing intervention for the care of bowel resection. This is importance because patient is important to prevent infection in patient and promote quick recovery. The nurse will have to ensure the patency of the nasogastric tube as it will provide comfort to patient and result in healing. To prevention any type of infection after surgery, it is critical for the nurse to manage change in colour and amount of drainage. While on nasogastric tube, the patient is at high risk of sodium, potassium and chloride imbalance (Joseph, Vaughan, Strand, 2015). Hence, the nursing intervention of maintaining intravenous fluid is most important. This can be done by providing replacement fluids and adequate electrolytes to patient. After critically reviewing the blood results of Mrs. Valerie, great fluctuation in electrolyte level was found. As electrolyte imbalance is the factor that results in complications of heart rate and cardiovascular dysfunction, nursing interventions related to electrolyte balance is important. The care plan for electrolyte imbalance would be to monitor heart rate and respiratory rate regularly. The patient must be encouraged to take deep breath to avoid respiratory complications. Secondly, due to greater likelihood of symptoms of dizziness, the nurse has a role in assessment of consciousness and neuromuscular function (Williams Hopper, 2015).Mrs. Valerie particularly has problem of decreased output and taking steps regarding this is important. Based on the risk of different conditions like hypernatremia or hypomagnesia, providing the required electrolyte will be important. The third nursing intervention is related to the management of the condition of cardiac arrhythmia. For this, it is necessary to control the erratic fluctuation of heart rate in patient. In this situation, it will be necessary for the nurse to monitor pulse rate regularly. ECG tracing and evaluation of ECG by regular consultation with physician is also critical to manage adverse symptoms of patients. As the clinical issue of electrolyte imbalance is mainly caused by the effect of certain drugs, it will be necessary to closely assess each medication before giving to patient. Monitoring signs of drug toxicity is important to recognize irregular rhythm and control them (Jurgens et al., 2015) . Conclusion The essay evaluated the condition of Mrs, Valerie, a patient with cardiac arrhythmia and bowel resection through the discussion on the pathophysiology of the condition. The vital signs of patient post operation and pathological results gave indication about the range of risk and abnormalties in patient. The reasons for abnormality were adequately discussed with support from evidence. Based on the examination of electrolyte imbalance issue and other risk in patient, nursing interventions were adequately planned and summarized. This work form the basis of evidenced based practice as all issues and care plan has been supported with evidence based practice. References Agus, Z. S. (2016). Mechanisms and causes of hypomagnesemia.Current opinion in nephrology and hypertension,25(4), 301-307.lar block.Heart Rhythm,12(3), 498-505. Antzelevitch, C., Nesterenko, V., Shryock, J. C., Rajamani, S., Song, Y., Belardinelli, L. (2014). The role of late I Na in development of cardiac arrhythmias. InVoltage Gated Sodium Channels(pp. 137-168). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Baruscotti, M., Bianco, E., Bucchi, A., DiFrancesco, D. (2016). Current understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for inappropriate sinus tachycardia: role of the If funny current.Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology,46(1), 19-28. DiCenso, A., Guyatt, G., Ciliska, D. (2014).Evidence-Based Nursing-E-Book: A Guide to Clinical Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences. Efstratiadis, G., Sarigianni, M., Gougourelas, I. (2006). Hypomagnesemia and cardiovascular system.Hippokratia,10(4), 147. Hauptman, P. J., Burnett, J., Gheorghiade, M., Grinfeld, L., Konstam, M. A., Kostic, D., ... Zannad, F. (2013). Clinical course of patients with hyponatremia and decompensated systolic heart failure and the effect of vasopressin receptor antagonism with tolvaptan.Journal of cardiac failure,19(6), 390-397. Ho, S. Y., Snchez-Quintana, D. (2016). Anatomy and pathology of the sinus node.Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology,46(1), 3-8. Joseph, J., Vaughan, R., Strand, H. (2015). Effectiveness of nurse-performed endoscopy in colorectal cancer screening: a systematic review.Gastrointestinal Nursing,13(4). Jurgens, C. Y., Goodlin, S., Dolansky, M., Ahmed, A., Fonarow, G. C., Boxer, R., ... Fleg, J. L. (2015). Heart failure management in skilled nursing facilities.Circulation: Heart Failure,8(3), 655-687. van der Lende, M., Surges, R., Sander, J. W., Thijs, R. D. (2015). Cardiac arrhythmias during or after epileptic seizures.J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, jnnp-2015. McNeely, J. D., Windham, B. G., Anderson, D. E. (2008). Dietary sodium effects on heart rate variability in salt sensitivity of blood pressure.Psychophysiology,45(3), 405-411. Olshansky, B., Sullivan, R. M. (2013). Inappropriate sinus tachycardia.Journal of the American College of Cardiology,61(8), 793-801. Ruthruff, E., Lien, M. C. (2016). Aging and Attention. Schwartz, P. J. (2014). Cardiac sympathetic denervation to prevent life-threatening arrhythmias.Nature reviews Cardiology,11(6), 346-353. Strait, J. B., Lakatta, E. G. (2012). Aging-associated cardiovascular changes and their relationship to heart failure.Heart failure clinics,8(1), 143-164. Tse, G. (2016). Mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias.Journal of arrhythmia,32(2), 75-81. Urso, C., Brucculeri, S., Caimi, G. (2015). Acidbase and electrolyte abnormalities in heart failure: pathophysiology and implications.Heart failure reviews,20(4), 493-503. DeMorais, H. A., Biondo, A. W. (2012). Disorders of chloride: hyperchloremia and hypochloremia.Fluid, Electrolyte and Acid-Base Disorders in Small Animal Practice. 4th ed. Elsevier, St Louis, 80-91. Williams, L. S., Hopper, P. D. (2015).Understanding medical surgical nursing. FA Davis.nce Yabluchansky, M., Bogun, L., Martymianova, L., Bychkova, O., Lysenko, N., Makienko, N. (2016). Heart rhythm disturbances.

Toneisha Colson Essays (311 words) - , Term Papers

Toneisha Colson Erin Young Mentor PLA Losing A Child: Saying Goodbye to My Daughter Pain, so much pain I thought my appendix had ruptured, I was screaming and crying, so my father rushed me to John T. Mather Hospital, Port Jefferson, NY. I was rushed in the emergency room, the Emergency Room doctor examined me and then there was a flurried of activity in the room, nurses everywhere, doctors, noise and here I am 19 years old screaming in pain. The doctor looked at me with gloves on and said " Toneisha your about to deliver." I then said "Deliver what?" He then replied " A baby". And my life changed forever. It was 13 months of happiness, pain and despair all at the same time. You see my daughter Beverlyrose Lonette Colson was born unexpectedly and on Monday October 3 rd , 1991 she took her last breath in my arms and my heart broke and that was when I was angry with God and devastated. I did not know I was pregnant until I gave birth then. I was a new mom my parents were new grandparents and I was winging it for a little over a year. There are no instructions on how you grieve when you lose your child. This was what my uncle told me was an "Out of order " death, parents are not supposed to bury their children. When she passed away I needed help. I had to speak to therapists and doctors and even my grandmother who had lost a child when he was ten months . I took no classes I just asked my mother, aunts and grandmother on how to deal with a baby girl. My grandmother had ten children and seventeen grandchildren so she was my go too person when it came to questions. Toneisha Colson Erin Young PLA A

Sedimentary rocks can become a significant reservoir for the adsorption of uranium The WritePass Journal

Sedimentary rocks can become a significant reservoir for the adsorption of uranium Summary Sedimentary rocks can become a significant reservoir for the adsorption of uranium SummaryIntroductionGeological SettingSampling ProcedureSample Pre-treatment ProcedureSuggested Analytical TechniquesRadiochemical Analytical TechniquesAlpha, Gamma, and Liquid Scintillation CountersXRD XRFEMPAINAAICP-AESLA-ICP-MSTIMSAMSSIMSGDMSICP-MSBibliographyRelated Summary Radon is an important factor that could result in health hazard by many investigations. This health hazard can be minimized by preventive measures in the North of Derbyshire area due to high level of radon concentration. In the North of Derbyshire, are the largely composed of shales and limestones   having a high level of radon; therefore, Determination of radium isotopes and radon gas has been an important part of the University of   Manchester research programs in Derbyshire. This report also provides a brief description of the both radiochemical and mass spectrometric techniques have been used to determine radium isotopes in barite collected samples from the North of Derbyshire. Introduction Sedimentary rocks can become a significant reservoir for the adsorption of uranium. The presence of clay minerals and organic matter can support the adsorption of uranium (1). Barite is a sedimentary rock which consists largely of barium sulphate and small   concentrations of   F, Sr , and SO3   (2). Due to similarity of chemical properties between barium and radium and   since their location underneath each other in the periodic table, normally radium precipitates with barium in veins forming a   very stable crystalline structure of barium and radium [Ba(Ra)SO4] (3) . Therefore, barite has a relatively considerable amount of radium and its decayed daughter radon as well. Radon is a radioactive noble gas that is produced through decay radium. It has naturally three different isotopes, 219Rn (Actinon), 220Rn (Thoron) and 222Rn (Radon), where 222Rn with a half-life of 3.8 days is most important isotope of radon while other isotopes are very short-lived (219Rn 55.6s, 220Rn 3.96s). According to the recoil-theory, as during alpha decay of radium to radon the energy released causes the alpha particle to be fired away from the nucleus and the newly formed radon atom is fired in the opposite direction to the alpha particle,   the recoil energy of 222Rn transports each atom of radon approximately 20-70 nm in a rock and different possible paths can be identified; therefore, the chance of radon atoms escaping out of grain into the pore space is greater once radium atom is located near by the surface of the grain (4) and radon progeny remains embedded in the grain. In addition, radon can also emanate from minerals in barite but it is very slow process. Since ba rite is unconsolidated rock, radon atoms can escape from the barite grains into pore space to be emanated (5). Radium has four naturally occurring isotopes shown in the flowchart among these isotopes radium-226 and radium-228 have been the most studied as they are the most radiotoxic due to their radiological effects,   both have long biological half lives. For radium-223 and radium-224, they are less importance because of their very short half lives.   Moreover, 223Ra, from uranium-235 decay series, has a comparatively   very low natural abundance in comparison to the   other naturally occurring radium isotopes. 224Ra as previously mentioned is less importance due to fact it is a daughter of 228Th and 228Th is immobile elements (6). There is only oxidation state for radium (П); therefore, no other stable oxidation states exist meaning no solid phase thermodynamic diagrams exist for radium either so for this reason radium chemistry is considered simple. Radium and Radon gas were identified as environmental contaminants and posses a health hazard to human associated with both ingestion of Ra and the inhalation of Rn and its daughter products (7). Many scientists have extensively investigated these elements since 1950s due to their health risk. High concentrations of radon in houses and soil gas in some areas in the UK are associated with two factors. The main factor is the distribution of uranium-bearing source rocks. The classic example is the high heat producing granitic rocks that lead to high radon values in SW England and Aberdeenshire. Other area of the UK also have high radon. One particular hot spot is the Peak district of Derbyshire where there is a relationship between limestone outcrops and high level of radon. The second factor is related to he availability of fracture and   permeable pathways that can act as conduit for the transport of soluble radium which is the source of the radon (8). The association of radon and granitoids is found worldwide. For instance, the highest indoor and soil-gas radon levels in Czech Republic are most associated with granites, granodiorites, syenites in Bohemai containing 12-20 ppm of uranium (9). In Germany, the highest radon occurs over granites and the soil gas radon associa ted with German granites span from 100 to 200 BqL-1 for uranium (10). In France, one of highest radon levels occur in in Hercynian metagranitoids in western France (11).   In Bulgaria, Sandstone in Servia was found to contain high concentration of uranium up to 50 ppb (12). The Peak District is of particular interest because the limestones host the South Pennine Orefield, a series of large vein structures containing galena, fluorite, barite and calcite mineralisation (Ixer and Vaughan, 1993). These were formed from late or post Carboniferous hydrothermal fluids in dilating fractures and are major conduits for present day radon migration. Many studies have found that radium is concentrated in barite scales from oilfield drilling operations,   and barite bearing sludge can contain thousands of picocuries per gram of radium (compared to radium in typical soils ranging of 0.5 to 5 picocuries per gram) (13). Moreover, some states have enacted to protect their environment and others considered to set regulations for NORM. Therefore the barite of the Pennine Orefield may contain evidence of a palaeo-radium (and radon) migration through the fracture system. The primary objective of this study is to assess the processes controlling the behaviour and concentrations of the long lived Ra isotopes and Rn in barite and carbonate. The first focus is on the Peak District as it represents an active radon area with associated health risks to the public. The limestone of this area has been studied by the Health Protection Agency Radiation Protection Division (HPA-RP) examining the link between soil gas radon and ground based uranium, as well as between airborne uranium and indoor radon concentrations. The levels of indoor radon in many buildings and caves are above the minimum acceptable level of 200 Bq m-3 (The UK Action Level) based on gamma spectrometry surveys. Moreover, this area was found to be high in uranium as the average reported values for uraunium in Monsal Dale Limestone at Chelmorton, Derbyshire is 5ppm (14) and relatively low in thorium and potassium, in comparison to the neighbouring areas, as defined by the radiometric data. How ever, there has not been any determination of Ra concentrations in scales or barite in area, recent or ancient. There is therefore interest in determining the Ra content of recently precipitated barite and calcite (in natural cave formations and pipe systems and examining ancient barite for evidence of daughter elements (Pb) reflecting original Ra contents. Interestingly, a new link between health effects and geology has gained considerable attention in a variety of respectable publishing journals leading to the birth of a science called ‘Health Geology or Medical Geology; this study is strongly linked   to this new emerging field of science (14). Geological Setting It is well know that geology of Derbyshire can be classified as MISSISSIPPI VALLEY-TYPE DEPOSITS (MVT) so that this Orefield can be compared with MVT deposit. South Pennine Orefield is located within Derbyshire Dome in central part of England.   South Pennine in Derbyshire as well in centre mostly consist of shale, limestone as the eroded part has been revealed belonging to Lower Carboniferous, and gritstone rocks .   The Limestone thickness is up to about 1800m and the rest is probably Precambrian volcanic where volcanic layers also occur within the limestone and these volcanic layers can form from basaltic lavas to tuffaceous clays in span from few meters down to few centimetres   (15). Therefore, the Carboniferous carbonate rocks overlie lower Paleozoic or Precambrian basement of volcanic rocks. In addition, Much of the limestone in south Pennine follows a gently undulating topography (16). Sampling Procedure For field sampling, A very detailed information with regard to the sampled location must be recorded in a lab note and the sampling procedure performance should also be written in the lab note recorded. This is standard practice and the information will be required for documentation for   future publishing the data and where location details as many publishers will be demanded a description of the studied area. Sample Pre-treatment Procedure In any analysis for geological materials   before it can be preformed, there must be certain criteria carried out in order to make sure no contamination might be in sample during sampling and handling processes and to make the analysis in highly optimum level of performance that surely can lead to high quality and healthy results (17). From previous experience, the weathering effect on the sample’s surface must be sufficiently removed using non-metallic tool. Once the weathered sample   is removed completely, the sample should be cleaned with deionized water and finally with ultrasonic for further cleaning (18). Finally, the sample must be thoroughly crushed and sieved and then dehydrated at highly elevated temperature in order to get rid from the moisture in both barite and minerals as it is important to remove the moisture because moisture can ruin the sample or might lead to false results such as in case of XRF because XRF is surface analytical technique. It is often preferable to use non-destructive analytical techniques in order to avoid introducing contaminations to the sample by the chemicals. It is proposed before starting the pre-treatment steps, loss on ignition (L.O.I) and loss on dry must be estimated with the row material as it is quite important to carry out (L.O.I) for later XRF analysis. L.O.I can easily be done using muffle furnace and the cooking standard procedure can be found elsewhere (19). Suggested Analytical Techniques In this section, analytical techniques for Ra and Rn gas will be briefly discussed. The analytical techniques can be broken into two categories, mass spectrometric techniques and radiometric techniques. In general, the preference between these techniques is that long-lived radioisotopes are better analyzed by mass spectrometric techniques whilst short-lived radioisotopes are preferably performed by radiometric techniques (20).   The radiometric and mass spectrometric techniques can also be divided into two groups, destructive techniques and non-destructive techniques. Radiochemical Analytical Techniques Alpha, Gamma, and Liquid Scintillation Counters The radiometric techniques which will be covered in this report are high resolution gamma spectrometry technique, alpha spectrometry technique, and liquid Scintillation counting (LSC) as they are most capable techniques widely used for radium concentration determination. First, we highlight some issues of radiometric techniques starting of gamma spectrometry. It is a very fast scanning and do not require any chemical separation so it is basically a non-destructive technique which allows us to determine many radioanuclides such as uranium isotopes and thorium isotopes in bulk samples (21).   For 226Ra, the determination can be carried out using gamma counter of the decay lines of immediate daughter 228Ac (22). 226Ra can also be easily quantified by gamma counter using different range of gamma energies, for instance, gamma line at 186.5 keV (3.59%) and gamma line of granddaughter 214Bi 351.9 keV (37.6%). However, there is a drawback in some of these gamma lines such as 214Bi 351.9 keV due to leak of radon gas, the daughter of 226Ra as well as the parent of 214Bi so radon gas can make the reliability of measurement very low. If radon-222 does not escape from the sample ( close system ), 226Ra can be determined by measuring any other of the direct shor t-lived progenies. There are two types of detector equipped in gamma counter, one so-called hyper pure germanium detector which most of gamma detector equipped with it due to higher efficient, the other one is so called sodium iodide which offers qualitative measurement and regards as fingerprinted of isotopes to be determined, thus it is less suitable for our study.   For further regarding gamma analysis for radium, it can be found in elsewhere (21) (23). Second, from previous experience dealing with   226Ra in geological and environmental samples using alpha spectrometry, it requires the sample to be in liquid form. A suitable acid   digestion procedure must be preformed, but keeping in mind that there are many minerals present in the barite and these minerals are highly acid resistant (refractory minerals). To overcome with refractory minerals it is preferable to digest the sample in Pt/Au crucibles in hot water path due to increase in heat conductivity instead of using Teflon beakers. A similar matched standard reference must be used in any destructive method in order to obtain healthy results and to accurately calculate the chemical yield of the chemical separation for quality control assurance reason. Therefore, it is highly recommended to order a barite certified reference material such as IGS 38 from US Geological Survey or any certified reference barite commercially available. 226Ra has a very clear peak in alpha spectrome try because the digestion method follow by ion-exchange (e.g AG1-X8) chromatography, that is a selective method to extract only Ra from the matrix and ultimately a very thin source in electrodeposited source must be made to improve the resolution. 224Ra can also be quantified by alpha spectrometry in the same run while measuring 226Ra. The major disadvantage of alpha spectrometry is related to tedious digestion procedure and longer counting time where the entire analysis may take up to several weeks in order to obtain the results. Third, 228Ra can be quantified by LSC, but this method requires very long chemical treatment to dissolve the sample following up an extraction by ion chromatography and it is very long analytical time which takes at least one month. 226Ra can be measured   using its granddaughter 214Po with the same digestive method as in 228Ra and then followed by extraction by organic scintillation cocktails. Other radionulides e.g. 222Rn can be analyzed in the same procedure like 228Ra (24) XRD This technique might be not a useful technique in the studied material of barite due to high level of concentration of barium that can strongly absorb the X-ray (25). XRF For our purpose in order to determine the major elements ( above 0.1% or 1000ppm ) XRF offers high precision for major elements as well as minor elements ( between 0.01-0.1% or 100-1000ppm ) determination. There are two types of equipments in XRF spectrometry, first is so-called energy   dispersive (ED-XRF) and the other is called wavelength dispersive (WD-XRF). The major difference between ED-XRF and WD-XRF is the resolution as WD-XRF is much more better over ED-XRF. There are other differences between ED and WD-XRF but they are not concern to us. Since barium is the major constituent element in barite matrix, it is better to use WD-XRF over ED-XRF because there is sever interference from titanium to barium in case of ED-XRF leading to inaccurate result for barium. It should be noted that XRF is not quite sensitive   for heavy elements like uranium and thorium due to use of L-lines which are less intense than K-lines (26). Analysis by fluorescence of x-rays (XRF) is a technique essentially based on comparison with standards, the accuracy and the reliability of XRF depends largely on the sample preparation. The preparation of the specimen is a process to obtain from the sample an entity. The matrix,   grain size effects,   atomic number correction, fluorescence correction and absorption correction should be taken into considerations when quantitative measurements are demanded. Therefore, it is preferable to use fused beads techniques to pressed pellets to avoid the matrix and grain size effects (27) and to improve the homogeneity of specimen for the analysis (28) and to not dust the X-ray tube. In addition, fusion technique has also important advantages such as possibility of high or low sample dilution for purpose of maximization of fluorescence intensities and possibility of adding internal standards to decrease or compensate for matrix effects (29) Furthermore, there is Fundamental Parameter Method in XRF, but it is less than accurate empirical methods (empirical method is previously described as methods using range of certified references to set up a calibration curve for analysis.)   because it is based on calculation and computation methods. EMPA Microanlytical technique of EMPA has limited of usefulness in our purpose due to high detection limits for uranium. However, for imaging using secondary electron technique, it enables us to visualize the minerals and their content. INAA INAA is considered the most accurate multi-element analytical technique especially for geological applications as it does not require any chemical separation nor treatment like in case of ICP-MS which is regarded as immune from contaminations of dissolution procedure. The accuracy of INAA is well know by many certifying bodies such as international Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and US Geological Survey (USGS) since they consider INAA as primary analytical technique (30). Most of elemental composition in barite can be accurately determined by INAA, except for Ba and Sr which INAA is not sensitive due to interferences (31). The disadvantages of INAA it needs an access to nuclear facilities such as research nuclear reactor or neutron source and deals with irradiated samples. Further, analysis by INAA takes longer time than any other techniques, 4-6 weeks. It is highly recommendable to carry out this analysis by INAA since it is the most accurate analytical technique ever used for uranium and thorium. However, INAA is not capable for radium determination. ICP-AES It is a destructive analytical technique which is based on fact the atoms of elements can take up energy from an inductively coupled plasma, are thereby excited, and then fall back into their ground state again emitting characteristic radiations. The identification of these radiations permit us for the qualitative analysis of a sample. A quantitative determination takes place on the basis of the proportionality in emission of light of unique frequencies and element concentration in calibration and analysis samples, is the fundamental basis of atomic emission (32) (33). This technique is not capable to quantify either radium or radon in barite sample. However, it is very useful to determine uranium and thorium down to ppt level but less accurate than ICP-MS. Mass Spectrometry Techniques The recent improvements in mass spectrometry since 1998 have enabled precise determination of radium as   substitute for conventional radiometric techniques previously described., especially the new development in multi-collector ICP-MS has offered a precise determination for radium as well as other radionuclides within very short time for analysis. The mass analyzers that are commercially available are quadarpole, time of flight, and double-focusing   sector field.   Quadrupole mass separation has been used in most common mass spectrometry but it has low resolution (34). Time of flight mass spectrometry is regarded as medium resolution mass analyzer while sector field   is   high resolution mass analyzer. Therefore the primary difference is the resolution. For our application, it would be better to consider using sector field mass spectrometry. The main advantage of mass spectrometry is short analytical time. However, in our case it is necessary to carry out chemical separation in order to remove barium before mass spectrometry analysis is taken place. It is required for isotopes study to carry out all the experimental conditions in a clean lab and to use high grade chemicals which are costly. LA-ICP-MS It is regarded as most   powerful multi-elements technique particularly for isotopic studies. However, probably it is not suited technique for elemental analysis. It is a destructive technique as well as microanalytical. Sample preparation for LA-ICP-MS is very simple that it reduces that risk of contamination, except glass disc preparation method. There are three methods of barite   sample preparation in LA-ICP-MS, as pressed pellet, on superglue, and as glass disc (fusion with sodium carbonate Na2CO3 ). Several laser ablation of ICP-MS concern the isotope analysis of radionuclides have been carried out with obtained relative standard deviation of less than 1% using reference materials (35) and the reported results by LA-ICP-MS are comparable to primary analytical techniques. TIMS Due to high concentration of barium present in barite where barium can cause a big interference to radium; therefore, this technique is not applicable to our study unless barium must be removed from barite (36). Because there is   quite similarity   in chemical characteristics of Ba and Ra   and to overcome with this difficulty   to it suggested in literature an   extraction chromtamatographic resin supporting a crown ether such as Sr-Spec   resin from Eichrom which needs many chemical separations (37). The Sr-Spec resin is very expensive (25 gram costs 1050 Euro without VAT) and according to my past experience it is only valid for max 10 runs because after the 10 runs the resin starts degrading. Moreover, I was able to obtain a chemical recovery of 92% for water samples which was comparable to the reported value in literature. Some scientists have reported fractionation of about 2-2.5% by TIMS and this fractionation is difficult to suppress; a correction of mass fractionation is required ( fractionation is part of isotopes ratio calculations )   (37) (38). AMS It has been demonstrated for radium isotopic analysis by many researchers in field of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) that AMS has higher sensitivity, easier sample preparation and requires smaller sample volume (weight) than alpha spectrometry and gamma spectrometry  Ã‚   (39) (40). In addition, AMS furnishes a very excellent determination with low interferences for radium and more importantly the capability of AMS to measure radium-228 without the necessity of waiting for the in grow time. The detection limit is comparable   for 226Ra to   alpha spectrometry but for 228Ra the detection limit is not so good. SIMS It is a surface analytical technique mostly used for depth profile studies for qualitative analysis, especially   in material science, but it is difficult to perform the analysis using SIMS for quantitative analysis due to loss in the   sensitivity. GDMS This has technique has low sensitivity for radionuclides and has limitation in our application; thus, it not useful for our purpose. ICP-MS One of most widely multi-elemental analytical technique used for geological materials. This technique needs the solid sample to be digested by suitable standard digestion method such as microwave assistant digestion method, although it is well know that microwave digestion[1] is not suited for geological materials due to hard matrix, open wet digestion which often used in geochemical labs, and fusion digestion using good flux at high temperature (900-1200 oC) but fusion is only employed for refractory elements, such as Ba and Sr in barite, determination in geological samples because flux can introduce interferences in the plasma and contaminate to the sample from Pt/Au crucibles. Moreover, fusion methods have disadvantage for trace elements measurements because of limited levels of purity of the fluxes. The sample preparation for ICP-MS, ICP-OES, and AAS is the same in case of elemental analysis order. In our study, it is important to separate barium and strontium from radium before the ICP-MS analysis in order to avoid isobaric interferences like 88Sr138Ba. Elemental Analyzer It is a technique used for determination of Sulfur content in barite samples by using thermal conductivity detection method and it can offer a highly accurate measurement for Sulfur in barite. Brief Comparison between Radiometric and Mass Spectrometric Techniques for Radium and Radon determination In table 2, a summery presents main comparison of the above techniques for our application of barite samples. Gamma spectromertry is considered as the simplest and most rapid technique, but with low sensitivity. Alpha spectrometry technique is well known and reliable technique for 226Ra measurement with very low detection limit, but it not capable to carry out 228Ra analysis and it requires the sample   to be digested by mixture of acids and then follows by ion chromatography for selective radium separation method. LSC can only be used to measure 228Ra down to 25mBq; however, it needs many steps for chemical separation as well as chemical digestion for barite. All mass spectrometric techniques with an exceptional of LA-ICP-MS   require the removal of barium from the barite sample in order to prevent interferences and the chemical isolation of barium from radium of certified reference geological material showed a very comparable date with the recommended   values in the certificates. From the above analytical techniques survey of radium isotopes, It is suggested to carry out   determination of radium and radon isotopes using MC-ICP-MS because it is the right technique as it ensures the precise and efficient measurement of not only radium but for uranium and thorium series isotopes, too. Comparison between radiometric and mass s 1 Technique Nuclides Detection limits Chemical separation Interferences Counting time ÃŽ ³-Spectr 226Ra 0.1-1Bq No 235U 4-6h LSC 226Ra (via its daughter.) 0.3-1.4mBq Yes(1 month) 6-8h ÃŽ ±-Spectr. 226Ra 0.2-0.5mBq Yes(more than month) No 16hr TIMS 226Ra 37 µBq Yes (more than month) Ba and Sr 20-30 min ICP-MS 226Ra 0.1-0.5mBq Yes (more than month) Ba, Sr, and Pb 10min AMS 226Ra 0.1mBq Yes (more than month) 30min ÃŽ ±-Spec. 228Ra Not possible LSC 228Ra 25mBq Yes (more than month) 1h TIMS 228Ra 12mBq Yes (more than month) Ba, Sr 30min Further Suggestions Since both radium and radon isotopes are generated in barite and that can subsequently be transported to the water by a variety of means such as diffusion across the barite-water interface and then later water can be driven by wind. Therefore, it is a wisdom of   advise to study these isotopes in water, too, in order to guarantee of compliance of health effects of radionuclides in the studied area. Bibliography 1. Distribution of radon sources and effects on radon emanation in granitic soi1 at Ben Lomond, California. Flexser, S., Woilenberg, H. A. and Smith, A. R. 162-177, s.l.  : Environmental Geology, 1993, Vol. 22. 2. ONLINE CATALOG GEOLOGICAL MATERIALS. 3. Environment, Alberta. SOIL QUALITY GUIDELINES FOR BARITE: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND HUMAN HEALTH. s.l.  : ISBN No. 0-7785-3163-5 (Printed Edition). 4. Isotopic Disequilibrium of Uranium: Alpha-Recoil Damage and diseqiulibrium and radon release. Fleisher, R. L. 2191-2201, s.l.  : Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 1982, Vol. 46. 5. Geological structure and geochemistry controlling radon in soil gas. Kemski, J., Klingel, R., Schneiders, H., Siehl, A., and Wiegand J. s.l.  : Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 1992, Vol. 45. 235-239. 6. FS–142–99, U.S. Geological Survey. Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM )in Produced Water and Oil-Field Equipment An Issue for the Energy Industry. s.l.  : U.S. Geological Survey, September 1999. 7. USEPA. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. s.l.  : Federal Register 56-138, 33050-33127., 1991. 8. Geological and geochemical factors affecting the radon concentration in homes in Cornwall and Devon, UK. . Ball, T.K. and Miles, J.C.H. 1993. , Environ. Geochem. Health.15., pp. 27–36. 9. Geological support to the National Radon Programme (Czech Republic). Miksˇova ´, J. and Barnet, I. 2002. , Bull. Czech Geol. Surv. 77, pp. 13–22. 10. Mapping the geogenic radon potential in Germany. Kemski, J., Siehl, A., Stegemann, R. and Valdivia-Manchego, M. 2001, Sci. Total Environ. 272, , pp. 217–230. 11. Radon (Rn-222) level variations on a regional scale: influence of the basement trace element (U, Th) geochemistry on radon exhalation rates. J. Ielsch, G., Thieblemont, D., Labed, V., Richon, P., Tymen, G., Ferry, C., Robe, M.C., Baubron, J.C. et al. 2001., J. Environ. Radioact. 53, pp. 75–90. 12. Uranium content in groundwater in Stara. Nikie, Z., Kovacevic, J., Radosevic, B. Freiberg, Germany  : Proceedings of the International Conference Uranium Mining and Hydrogeology III and the International Mine Water Association Symposium, 2002. 99-106. 13. Institute, American Petroleum. Bulletin on Management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) in Oil and Gas Production (API Bulletin E2). Washington, DC.  : s.n., 1992. 14. Medical geology: new relevance in the earth sciences. Charlotte A. Bowman, Peter T. Bobrowsky, and Olle Selinus. December 2003, Episodes, Vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 270-278. 15. Mineralization of the South Pennines. QUIRK, TREVOR D. FORD DAVID G. s.l.  : GEOLOGY TODAY, , September-October 1995/177. 16. THE QUATERNARY EVOLUTION OF THE BRITISH SOUTH PENNINES. FROM URANIUM SERIES AND PALAEOMAGNETIC DATA. Peter ROWE, Timothy AUS11N and Timothy ATKINSON. 111, s.l.  : Annales de la Societe geologique de Belgique, Sept 1988, Vol. T . 17. Laboratory Procedures Manual. South Carolina  : South Carolina Department of Transportation Office of Materials and Research, Sept 2006. 18. Research, North Central Regional. Recommended Chemical Soil Test Procedures for the North Central Region. Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station SB 1001  : Publication No. 221, Jan 1998. 19. Loss on Ignition as a Method for Estimating Organic and Carbonate Content in Sediments: Reproducibility and Comparability of Results. Heiri, O., A. F. Lotter, and G. Lemcke. 2001, Journal of Paleolimnology.(25), pp. 101-110. 20. Critical comparison of radiometric and mass spectrometric methods for the determination of radionuclides in environmental, biological and nuclear waste samples. Per Roos, and Xiaolin Hou. Feb 2008, Analytica Chimica Acta V.608, issue2, pp. 105-139. 21. A comparison of alpha and gamma spectrometry for evironmental natural radioactivity surveys. Saidou, Francois Bouchud, Jean-Pascal Laedermann, M. G Kwato Njock, Pascal Froidevaux. 2008, Applied radiation and isotopes 66, pp. 215-222. 22. Daily ingestion of 232Th, 238U, 226Ra,228Ra and 210Pb in vegetables by inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro City. Santos EE, Lauria DC, Amaral ECS Rochedo ER. 2002, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 62, pp. 75–86. 23. Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM IV). IAEA. Szczyrk, Poland  : IAEA-TECDOC-1472, 17–21 May 2004. 24. Determination of radium in natural waters by alpha and liquid scintillation. W. C Burnett, W. C. Tai. 1992, Analyt. Chem 42, pp. 1691-1697. 25. www.api.org. Petroleum and natural gas industries - Recommended Practice Chemical analysis of barite. s.l.  : API RP 13K, 2010-08-31. 26. X-ray Fluorescence Analysis of Rare Earth Elements in Rocks Using Low Dilution Glass Beads. NAKAMURA, Kenichi NAKAYAMA and Toshihiro. 2005, Analytical Sciences (21), p. 815. 27. PROBLEMS BY USING PRESSED POWDER PELLETS FOR XRF ANALYSIS OF FERROSILICON ALLOYS JCPDS International Centre for Diffraction Data. Mikkelsen, Torkild Eivindson and 0yvind. 2001, Advances in X-ray Analysis,Vol.44. , p. 408. 28. Quantitative analyses of silicate rock major and trace elements by X-raySpectrometer: Evaluation of analytical precision and sample preparation. Tatsumi., Kenichiro Tani. Hiroshi Kawabata. Chang Qing. Keiko Sato. Yoshiyuki. 2006, Frontier Research on Earth Evolution, 2, 1, p. 8. 29. X-ray fluorescence analysis of rare earth elements in rocks using low dilution glass beads. T, Nakayama K and Nakamura. 2005, Analytical Sciences Vol. 21, p. 815. 30. Neutron activation analysis and provenance research in archaeology. Neff, Michael D Glascock and Hector. 2003, Meas. Sci. Technol. 14, pp. 1516–1526. 31. Comparison of Major and Trace Element Analyses by ICP, XRF, INAA and ID Methods. M.D. Norman, W.P. Leeman, D.P. Blanchard, J. G. Fitton, D. James. 1989, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research Volume 13 Issue 2, pp. 283-290. 32. A, Varma. CRC Handbook of Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy. Florida  : CRC Press, 1991. 33. Ebdon L., Evans E.H., Fischer A.S. et al.,. An Introduction to Analytical Atomic Spectrometry. New York  : John Wiley and Sons, 1998. 34. Theory, Design, and Operation of a Dynamic Reaction Cell for ICP-MS. Baranov, Scott D. Tanner and Vladimir I. March 1999., Atomic Specroscopy.Vol.20(2). 35. Inductively coupled plasama mass spectrometry ( ICP-MS) laser ablation ICP-MS for isotope analysis of long-lived radionuclides. Becker, J. Sabine. 2005, International Journal of Mass Spectrometry , pp. 183-195. 36. High precision uranium, thorium and radium isotope ratio measurements by high dynamic range thermal ionisation mass spectrometry. Anthony S. Cohen, Nicholas S. Belshaw and R. Keith ONions. July 1992, International Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Ion Processes, pp. 71-81. 37. Precise analysis of the 228Ra/226Ra isotope ratio for short-lived U-series disequilibria in natural samples by total evaporation thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TE-TIMS). Nakamura, Tetsuya Yokoyama and Eizo. 2004, Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry (19), pp. 717-727. 38. Precise and accurate measurement of 226Ra-230Th-238U disequilibria in volcanic rocks using plasma ionization multicollector mass spectrometry. Pietruszka AJ, RW Carlson, EH Hauri. 2002, Chemical Geology 188, pp. 171-191. 39. Measurements of Pu and Ra isotopes in soils and sediments by AMS. S.G. Tims, G.J. Hancock , L. Wacker , L.K. Fifield. 2004, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 223–224, pp. 796–801. 40. J.E. McAninch, T.F. Hamilton. Measurement of plutonium and other actinides at the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry: A comparative assessment of competing techniques. s.l.  : Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Report No. UCRL-ID-133118, 1999. 41. Recommended Chemical Soil Test Procedures for the North Central Region. Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station SB 1001  : North Central Regional Research Publication No. 221, Jan 1998. 42. Theory, Design, and Operation of a Dynamic Reaction Cell for ICP-MS. Baranov, Scott D. Tanner and Vladimir I. March/Aperil 1999., Atomic Specroscopy.Vol.20(2). 43. Precise analysis of the 228Ra/226Ra isotope ratio for short-lived U-series disequilibria in natural samples by total evaporation thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TE-TIMS). Nakamura, Tetsuya Yokoyama and Eizo. 2004, Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, pp. 717-727. [1]   According to my knowledge microwave digestion offers incomplete dissolution for geological matrix. There some published articles have claimed that digesting   procedures have got   more 90% recovery using microwave.

How to Improve YourEmployeesBusiness Writing Skills [Quick Tips]

How to Improve YourEmployeesBusiness Writing Skills [Quick Tips] How to improvebusiness writing skills is a vexing issue for many businesses. Employees'ability to write clearly and convert complex information into summarized, well-written business documents offers a huge competitive advantage. Although improving business writing skills seems like an easy thing to do, it really isn’t. Many senior executives and leaders struggle with large chunks of data and disparate information. They lack the ability to extract relevant information from mere noiseand convert it into a meaningful, result-oriented message. Employees spend too much time planning, writing, and proofreading business documents. Finaldocuments have too many errors. Sentences lacka logical transition of ideas. The end result is a poorly written document that reflects poorly on business andimpairs employee productivity. Complimentary Business Writing Review of Your Team's Writing hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(41482, '68b80d4a-2e12-4e12-a6e9-b258b38b08c3', {}); How to Improve Business Writing Skills Step One Before deciding on the approach to training, the first step is to accuratelyassess your employees’ business writing skills. This involves separating the substance or content of employee-written business documents from thesyntax or language. These two elements of business writing must be analyzed separately. Substance refers to the content and organization of ideas in the business document. It is the fundamental aspect that distinguishes a well-written report from a poor one. It refers to your employees’ ability to skim through volumes of data and prepare a summarized report with only relevant information. There are four useful indicators for measuring the substanceof writing: It should matchaudience awareness It should be customized, keeping in mind the readers and the target audience It should be logically categorized in appropriate headings, subheadings, and bullet points It should be logically sequenced with a proper flow of ideas and transition of thoughts Syntax refers to the language of the document. It includes grammatical errors, active and passive tenses used, tone, and sentence structure. Even employees with strong substantiveabilities can make syntax errors. Unlike substance, however, syntax is rather easy to evaluate and syntax errors are easy to fix. Syntax can be loosely measured with software tools: Microsoft’s Readability Index (Flesch Reading Ease Score Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, built into Word and Outlook) Microsoft Grammar Check (Built into Word and Outlook) Grammarly (Grammar-checking software) How to Improve Business Writing Skill Step Two Once you have assessed your employees’ writing skills, you will have accurate measurements about the business writing skills of your employees and organization. The next step is to train or mentor your employees to write better at work. There are threeapproaches to achieve this: Train your employees and mentor them on your own Hire a business writing expert to train and mentor Hire a business writing expert to train employees, and establish an internal mentoring program Internal Training Training your employees on your own is a lot of work and requires business writing experts on staff. Caution: Just because an employee is a strong writer doesn't mean they will be strong writing trainer. Writing training requires the ability to deconstruct a document and break down the rhetoric and syntax. If you are going to train internally, hire business writing experts with experience teaching business writing. You want teaching experience also, not just writing experience. Appoint these employeesas trainers and mentors for the rest of the organization. This should not be a secondary job responsibility. Hire an Expert Vendor This requires an investment of money, but you will be assured of results. Let's consider the cost implications for a typical work unit of 30 employees earning $60,000 per year, who write for 3.2 hours each day (40% of a 40-hour work week): Cost Calculations of Writing in this Work Unit: Employees' total annual salary expenses: $1,800,000.00 Percentage of employee time spent writing: 40.0% Annual employees' writing costs: $720,000.00 Total annual employee writing hours: 23,040 Studies we have conducted for the past 15years indicate a 30% reduction in writing timeafter our professional business writing training. What are the savings implications for these 30 employees, if they follow an efficient business writing process? Company Would Save: $216,000.00 Potential Annual $ Savings per Employee: $7,200.00 Estimated Writing Hours Saved Annually: 6,912 Weekly writing savings: $4,500.00 hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(41482, '8465dacc-17f6-47e6-ad2a-848060c15859', {}); Here are a few factors you need to consider when hiring an expert vendor: The credentials of the training organization - very important. Who developed or will lead the training? Credentials are very important! I saw a "business writing expert" promoting herself recently with the credentials of "Email Doctor." However, she had no writing or teaching credentials. She described her background as "Ten years accounting experience. I was the go-to writer in my office. I'm now a corporate-escapee living a happyfreelance life helping people write more clearly." Credentials and relevant experience matter. The structure of the training program The ability to customizethe training Willingness to provide ongoing support materials Flexible deliverylogistics Hire an Expert Vendor andEstablish and Internal Mentoring Program This builds beautifully on the training and mentoring doesn't require training skills. Essentially, managers need to communicate the strong business writing matters by: Modeling strong business writing. Employees always model their bosses, so be sure managers are modeling the business writing that communicates the company values and skills "What counts is what's counted." Be sure strong business writing skills are included in performance evaluations. Establish an informal document review meeting twice a year. As a team, view sample emails and reports and other key documents written by employees. Critique and improve these - being certain the tenor is support rather than punitive. To learn more abouthow to improve business writing skill for your employees, download the guideâ€Å"Four Steps to improve your Team’s Business Writing Skills.†

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 19

Marketing - Essay Example A brand requires a unique name for its identification that is so very important to chalk out before it turns from a product (or service) into one of a brand. Thus this brand name need not only be unique, it also requires that the name is also what it must convey to the people in mind, how it is meeting their expectations and whether this name has a positive (aspirational) association with the product in the long run or one that takes the end customer away from it, one that can be remarked as being dissociative to say the least. Further, the message which should be used in advertising must be unique as well as fresh so that the consumers are made sure about the quality and the value for which a product is really a known name in the present times. There needs to be a clear and distinct brand positioning statement in order to meet the objectives that are desired by the company in the wake of its new marketing strategy. Strategic positioning research is conducted to determine who the cus tomers of your product/service are and what should be told about the product or service to get them to buy from you. Finding the right target and message to build your marketing plan can be crucial in the success of your product. Similarly, tactical positioning research looks at finding the short term measures which would be suited to the relevant target audiences. We can say that positioning concentrates on getting value to the buyers as concerns to the product. In recent times, positioning has fallen down as becoming a mere document that plays a game with the customers and asks them to fall into the trap of buying the product solely. It is said that the best positioning relies only on how the product will be able to solve the specialized customer queries, concerns and problems. Thus the end result of positioning is one which could be easily observed through a product being