Landfill And Material Recycling In Malaysia

Landfill And Material Recycling In Malaysia The generation of solid waste, and particularly Municipal Solid Waste, is a consequence of modem living and an increasingly urbanized society. Solid waste prevention and management is one of the keys to sustainable environment and development. Waste is defined as an object the holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard [1-2]. Something becomes waste when it loses its primary function for the user. Waste is therefore relative to this primary function. However, and this is the second perspective, what is considered waste with regard to this primary function may be useful for a secondary function. In other words, somebodys waste is often somebody elses (secondary) raw material [1]. Solid waste can be typically classified as: municipal solid waste including plastic waste (MSW), construction and demolition waste (CD), hazardous solid wastes (HW), bio-medical waste (BMW), and electronic waste (e-waste) [3]. Municipal solid waste (MSW) management comprises of practices ra nging from waste collection to final disposal which is connected in numerous ways to many other environmental, economic, and social issues with most of the answers having broader implications. Sustainable waste management is about using resources more efficiently both at the raw and finished state [4-7]. Looking from the perspective of sustainable waste management practices and the environment, the technologies or policies on MSW management should embody a reasonable balance of feasible, cost-effective, environmentally beneficial, and socially sensitive solutions to the problems. It means that a sustainable waste management practice does not only achieve a specific goal in MSW management, it takes into account the demands of the specific situations where the proposed solution is to be implemented [8]. Solid waste management is a major challenge for Malaysia to address in the light of her Vision 2020 which lays out the direction for Malaysia in becoming a fully developed nation. The National Vision Policy (NVP), developed to meet the challenges posed by Vision 2020, incorporates key strategies of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the National Development Policy (NDP). A key thrust of the NVP is pursuing environmentally sustainable development to reinforce long-term growth, which presents challenges to established policies and practices in the rapidly expanding area of solid waste management [9]. Waste Management Concepts There are a number of concepts about waste management which vary in their usage between countries or regions. The following are some of the most general, widely used concepts: Waste hierarchy: The waste hierarchy is the 3R concept where the R stands for reduce, reuse and recycle, it classify waste management strategies according to their desirability to achieving waste minimization. The waste hierarchy remains the cornerstone of most waste minimization strategies. The aim of the waste hierarchy is to extract as much as possible the maximum practical benefits from products and to generate the minimum amount of waste [10-12]. Polluter Pays Principle: the polluter pays principle is a principle where the polluting party pays for the impact caused to the environment. With respect to waste management, this generally refers to the requirement for a waste generator to pay for appropriate disposal of the unrecoverable material [10-13]. In Malaysia context, the waste hierarchy is the practice adopted for municipal solid waste management [14-19]. It is a major focus of the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Act 2007. OVERVIEW OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE GENERATION IN MALAYSIA Municipal solid waste MSW management is a major challenge in urban areas throughout the world with greater effect in the rapidly growing cities and towns of developing countries [20]. Globally, municipal solid waste generation was about 0.49 billion tons in 1997 with an estimated annual growth rate of 3.2-4.5% in developed nations and 2-3% in developing nations [21]. In Asia region, MSW generation has been increasing at a rate of 3 to 7% per year as a result of population growth, changing consumption patterns, and the expansion of trade and industry in urban centres. The generation of municipal solid waste by the public is a function of socio-economic background (buying power), cultural background, locality (urban or rural setting) and the environment awareness. The generation and the composition of solid wastes vary according to size/population and income level [22-24]. Malaysian population has been in the increase at a rate of about 2.4% per annum since 1994 [25] due to industriali zation, urban migration, affluence, population growth, tourism and high influx of foreign workforce/students which has lead to massive developmental projects such as building the latest designs of residential and business buildings, construction of spacious highways, tourist resorts and so on [7, 22, 26-27]. The growing population comes with increased generation of municipal solid waste (MSW), which requires proper management to protect the people and the environment. As the solid waste generation increases in Malaysia, it puts a pressure on and shortens the duration time of, the existing landfill [28]. In Malaysia, waste collection varies from city to city with about 80% generated waste collection in Kuala Lumpur while a general average estimate of about 70% of waste generated in Malaysia is collected and 1-5% of waste is recycled (from the collected waste) while the remaining is taken to the disposal sites [29-30]. The major MSW management practice in Malaysia is waste disposal to landfill with approximately 80-95% of the total collected waste sent to landfills [31-34]. Current waste disposal method of landfill needs improvements to prolong the landfill life and to minimize the problem of land scarcity [31]. In 2007 about 26 million tonnes of waste were produced in Malaysia of which 30% were municipal solid waste (MSW), 34% from construction, industrial waste 23%, Hazardous waste 9% and 1% waste generation from public places [35]. The average amount of MSW generated ranges between 0.5 and 0.8 kg/cap/day for rural areas and smaller towns [22, 27, 36] while households of major cities and the capital Kuala Lumpur produce about 1.7 kg/cap/day 1.9 kg/cap/day [9, 14, 22, 37]. The daily MSW quantity was 17,000 tonnes per day in 2002 and by year 2020, the quantity of MSW generated is estimated to increase to over 30,000 tonnes per day [14, 23, 26, 32, 36, 38-39]. MSW management operations absorb large portions of municipal operating budgets, of which as much as 6 0% are for collection and transfer of the wastes for disposal [8, 29]. For a better understanding and planning of solid waste management, information on the quantity of solid waste generated in an area is fundamental to almost all aspects of solid waste management [40]. Malaysia Waste Characterization The municipal solid waste (MSW) in Malaysia is made up of waste from households, commercial, institutes, landscape conservation, street cleansing, and industry construction and even tourist activities [14, 30, 32-33, 38]. Characteristics of MSW vary from city to city and season to season [8]. The solid wastes of rural towns in Malaysia are significantly different from those of large cities, having more organics (food wastes) but few plastics. In industrialized cities MSW is quantified and characterized by municipal authorities at regular intervals. Malaysian municipal solid waste (MSW) generated consists of different constituents such as biodegradable materials (food waste, Garden waste, Animal waste and Material contaminated by such waste) which has high moisture content and a bulk density above 200 kg/m3, resistant polymers, paper, Wood, Textiles, Leather, Plastic, Rubber, Paint, oil, grease, chemical, organic sludge, glass, ceramic, mineral soil, concrete, and masonry (constructio n debris) [7, 14]. In the MSW waste analysis by Saeed [22], it shows that about 48% of municipal solid waste generated are from residential, 24% commercial generated waste, 11% from street cleaning, 7% from landscape conservation, 6% from institutional waste and 4% from industry and construction [32]. A waste characterization study for the city of Kuala Lumpur shows that the main components of Malaysian waste were food, paper, and plastic which comprise 80% of overall weight [22, 24, 38] with high moisture content ranging from 52.6% to 66.2% [22-23, 29, 41-43]. High moisture content in waste reduces energy value of waste and creates extra cost in the use of the waste as refuse derived fuel (RDF) or even incineration because the waste might need to be dried before incinerating. Similarly increasing pressure and temperature in the pile of solid waste or landfill favours the growth of leachate from solid waste which if not controlled might enter into the ground and surface water and can be dangerous for human health [22, 24, 44]. From literature, the waste composition seems to be variable. However, the main part of Malaysia MSW is organic waste; according to data from the ninth Malaysia Plan, Malaysia MSW composition is estimated about 45% of food waste, 24% of plastic, 7% paper mate rials, 6% of iron and glass while others made up the remaining percentage [32-33, 45]. Table 1 shows the average composition by weight percentage of components of MSW generated by various sources in Kuala Lumpur [22] while Table 2 depicts the daily generation of Municipal solid waste by states in Malaysia from year 2000 to year 2010 [46]. The current generation indicates 60% increase over the past 10 years. The larger amount of Malaysian MSW is recyclables which include paper, plastic, glass, metal and aluminum [46-47]. Recyclable items represent over 40% of the total waste volume which without retrieval activity, these valuable materials will be disposed off into landfill. The implications of this practice are the lost of these resources and the rapid utilization of the landfill space. Thus, it will reduce the length of the life-span of landfills in the country. The existing waste disposal habit among Malaysians sees a very high potential of diverting waste via recycling. One obstacle in material recovery practice is that Malaysian MSW is highly commingled. As a result, the waste contains high moisture content and reduces the value of the recyclable items. Sorting at waste generation source will help in reducing the difficulty of high moisture content and improve recycling and resource recovery, thus extending and ma intaining low level of pollution from landfill. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN MALAYSIA Solid waste management in Malaysia is the responsibility of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHLG) with a regulatory body known as National Solid Waste Management Department under this ministry (MHLG) which was established in 2007 [36, 45, 48]. Local authorities are responsible for public cleansing and have to dispose all collected waste in a sanitary way[36]. MSW management involves waste collection, transportation, disposal and monitoring of the disposed waste to protect the environment. It was found from literature that waste collection in Malaysia is more effective and efficient in the richer communities than poorer ones [36]. In view of achieving an improved system for all local authorities and realizing that the lack of appropriate policy is a factor that averts sustainable waste management in the country, the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Bill (SWPCM) was approved in 2007 [14-15, 26, 36, 45, 48-49]. Solid waste management is one element of the ninth Malaysia plan. This plan implies the upgrading of existing unsanitary landfills, the construction of new sanitary landfills and the construction of transfer stations with material recovery facilities with aim of strengthening the institutional capacity of respective agencies as well as creating a society that is committed towards waste minimisation and achieving a recycling target of 22% by 2020 [29, 36, 50]. The Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Act 2007 was gazette on 30 August 2007 with the focus to pave away for federal take-over of solid waste management and privatization of solid waste handling. Consequential amendments were also made to three other policies [14]. Challenges in Solid Waste Management Lack of appropriate policy is the main constraint to sustainable waste management in Malaysia [46]. As a result, the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Bill (SWPCM) was approved in 2007 with the aims of providing an act and regulate the management of solid waste and public cleansing in order to maintain proper sanitation in the country [26]. The following are the commonly identified problems which affect the proper handling of solid waste on the side of the management authorities: Inadequate service coverage and operational inefficiencies of services, Limited utilization of recycling activities, Inadequate landfill disposal, and Inadequate management of hazardous and healthcare waste. Waste Management Process and Practices Waste Collection, Transportation and Disposal Service in Malaysia Municipal solid waste collection schemes of cities in the developing world generally serve only a limited part of the urban population [4, 21, 39, 51-57]. The people facing more problem of poor waste-collection services are usually the low-income population living in peri-urban areas [58-59]. In Kuala Lumpur, 80-90% of the generated MSW is collected; however over 60% of the rural population in Malaysia does not have any waste collection service and this has lead to many illegal small dumping sites [9]. The most common waste collection process in Malaysia is the door-to-door collection system where trash bins are collected from every household. Inhabitants of high-rise buildings or of informal settlements have to bring the waste to communal waste containers [36]. Waste separation has not been a common practice in Malaysia and this leads to the collection of all types of waste in one bin [36]. The solid management responsibility (collection, transportation and disposal) of 48 Local Aut horities has been privatized since 1st January 1997. Idaman Bersih Sdn Bhd manages the waste for northern region of Peninsular Malaysis, Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd manages the waste generated in the Central and Eastern Region of Peninsular Malaysia while Southern Waste Management Sdn. Bhd manages the waste in the Southern Region of the peninsular [14, 45]. The frequency of household waste collections is normally three times a week whereas waste from shops and commercial premises are collected daily [9]. From [60], about 50% of the overall national waste amount collected is open dumped, 30% is landfilled, 10% is composted, 5% is recycled and 5% percent is incinerated. There are about 7 mini-incinerators with capacity between 5 to 20 tones per day owned by the government (located in Pulau Pangkor, Pulau Langkawi, Pulau Tioman and Cameron Highlands) [61] and a private operated incinerator by Recycle Energy Sdn Bhd at Semenyi with a capacity of 1000 Metrics tones per day [23]. Waste Recycling and Composting Waste minimisation is the bed rock of sustainable and sound waste management with global focus on realising a Material Cycle Society. It is the desire to reduce waste generation at source, minimise the amount of waste disposed at landfills and to maximise the efficiency of resource utilisation. Recycling is a practice that utilises raw and finished products more efficiently and effectively. Recycling of inorganic materials from Malaysia municipal solid waste has been a practice by informal sector although such activities are seldom recognised, supported, or promoted by the municipal authorities [8]. Recycling in Malaysia became a government programs in the early 1990s and the first official recycling campaign was launched in October 1991 in Shah Alam, Selangor by the Minister of Housing and Local Government [5]. Twenty local authorities were identified as the lead agencies to promote recycling. This recycling campaign is to be part of the Clean and Beautiful Program launched by the m inistry earlier. In 1992, the minister announced that all city and municipal councils would be required to launch recycling programs. On December 2000 the government re-launched the national recycling campaign with 29 local authorities participating. The second phase of the new recycling program was launched on 11 November 2002 with 95 local authorities participating. The target was to reduce waste generation to a minimum rate of 22% by the year 2020 [5, 23, 62-63]. The present recycling program also involves waste management companies, waste recycling firms, Non-Governmental Organizations, shopping mall management companies, schools, hospitals, and religious organizations. During 2001-2003, the government spent MYR25 million on awareness campaigns and another MYR11 million purchasing and building an infrastructure to support the program [5]. Recycling campaigns were also carried out by the local authorities such as printing flyers and brochures and holding public briefings. They al so provide recycling bins for paper, glass, and aluminium in strategic places, such as shopping centres, schools, and transport terminals. After more than ten years, the official recycling figure is just 5%, although there are reports of higher than 5% recycling. For example, in 2003 Penang Islands recycling rate was 9.8%, up from 3% in 2000 [5, 9]. Many Malaysians seem to treat recycling bins as an ordinary waste-disposal bin. Indeed, it was so bad that the Penang State government has taken back most of the bins as almost all the recycling bins contain all sorts of waste [5]. Although a large amount of Malaysian wastes could be recycled, less than 5% of the total (almost 10,000 tonnes per day) is actually separated and recycled. There is a good demand for waste plastics, paper and glass, with resale prices of about US$60 per tonne, US$44 per tonne and US$32 per tone, respectively. Recovery of only 5% of the available waste plastics, paper and glass is estimated to yield a total of about US$3.4 million per year. Recommendations to increase recycling are discussed in the paper [64]. More priority is given to recycling in Malaysia than composting. Composting is defined as the biological decomposition of organic matter under controlled aerobic conditions to form a stable, humus-like end product. The process is facilitated by a diverse population of microbes, whose population dynamics vary greatly both temporally and spatially, and generally involves the development of thermophilic temperatures as a result of biologically produced heat [65-66]. Composting is applicable to MSW or separately collected leaves, yard, and food waste in Malaysia. The benefits of recycling and composting are: the processes cut down the need for disposal capacity and lowers emissions from landfills and incinerators as well as reducing litter. Secondly, the use of recycled materials in industry reduces energy use and emission; lessens impact when raw material is extracted or manufactured, and conserves raw materials [67]. Recycling also provides a supplementary income source for the lower income group while compost product are used to improve the soil qu ality [68]. Malaysia Waste Potential for Recycling: Recycling in the context of solid waste may be defined as the reclamation of material and its reuse which could include repair, remanufacture and conversion of materials, parts and products. Reclamation of materials from solid waste is not something new [69]. It is the beneficial-reuse of products that would otherwise be disposed off. It diverts waste from overloaded landfills besides providing raw materials that consume less fuel during the manufacturing process. It is an important aspect of an efficient and effective solid waste management system [61]. To understand the composition of MSW in Malaysia, an assessment of the waste generated and recyclable potential of Malaysia municipal solid waste conducted for Kuala Lumpur city by Saeed et al [32] shows from their prediction from the current trend of waste generation in Kuala Lumpur city that the MSW has a good potential of recyclables. Table 1 shows the recyclable components and their percentage share and recycling rate in tons per year. The results indicate that, food (organic) waste is the major component followed by mix paper and plastics. But unfortunately the attention paid by the authority towards this direction is not sufficient enough to tackle this issue. The Agenda 21 [70], defined environmentally sound technologies as a technology that protect the environment; moreover, recycling most of the wastes and handle residual wastes in more acceptable manner. Since 1993 a major effort of recycling was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government but unfortunately limited recycling activities taken place [67]. Though recycling activity in Malaysia is rising up, the recycling industry still needs to be enhanced. The Malaysians attitude towards recycling is higher, but only few practice it [71]. Attitude to the Environmental and Level of Waste Management Awareness in Malaysia Environmental problems are caused directly or indirectly by the patterns of production by industries, patterns of consumption and behaviour of the consumers [72]. Attitude is a mental and neural state of readiness, which exerts a directing, influence upon the individuals response to all objects and situations with which it is related [73]. Attitudes to the environment are rooted in a persons concept of self and the degree to which an individual perceives himself or herself to be an integral part of the natural environment [74]. The shaping of attitude and values, commitment and skills needed to preserve and protect the environment begins at an early age of which educators play an influential role in developing new patterns of behaviours for individuals [72]. In Malaysia, recycling program has been widely initiated since 1993. However, to date the recycling rate in Malaysia is only five percent [75]. A survey by Said et al. [72] using drop and collect method was conducted for 285 scho ol teachers who were randomly selected from ten regular government schools in the state of Selangor, Malaysia to determine the level of knowledge, environmental concern and ecologically conscious consumer behavior and identify the extent of involvement in nature-related activities of school teachers. The result if the survey illustrated the presence of high level of environmental concern among the teachers, fair environmental knowledge but generally poor in understanding of the underlying causes of environmental problems. The practices of environmentally responsible behavior were not in concert with the level of concern and knowledge and the respondents were not actively involved in nature-related activities [72]. Another assessment of the level of environmental knowledge among households in Selangor, Malaysia was conducted by Haron et al [76]. The study examine the sources of their environmental knowledge, determine factors that lead to different levels of knowledge and analyse the relationship between knowledge and environmental attitude, behaviour and participation. The results of the study indicate that, in general, respondents basic or general environmental knowledge was high. However, when questioned on various scientific environmental terms, the majority of the respondents were not familiar with most of them. Respondents indicated that their main sources of environmental knowledge and information were newspapers, television and radio. Lower levels of education were reflected in the level of environmental knowledge. Participation in environmental activities had a positive influence on knowledge. The study also found that knowledge correlated positively with environmental attitudes, behaviours and participation [76]. An investigation/comparison of gender with attitudes towards the environment and green products was conducted by Chen and Chai [77] and the result of their investigation shows that there were no significant differences between gender in their environmental attitudes and attitudes on green products. The second part of the study investigated the relationship between attitude towards the environment and green products. Result revealed that consumer attitudes on the governments role and their personal norm towards the environment contributed significantly to their attitude on green product. Further investigation revealed that personal norm was the most important contributor to the attitude towards green product. However, environmental protection did not contribute significantly to consumers attitudes on green product [77]. The media in Malaysia has played a major role in communicating ideas and information on environmental issues but quite unfortunate, at the national level, people are still reluctant to adopt certain measures to reduce their waste disposal impact on the environment [78]. Studying the effectiveness of media messages towards pro-environmental behavior of Malaysians, Besar and Hassan [78] explain the relation ship between message response and peoples recycling knowledge, attitudes and recycling practice in the workplace context. The analysis inferred that both external motivational (exposure and attention) and internal motivational (involvement and interest) factors are the message response determinant variables that influence message effectiveness. They identified that one area which requires immediate public voluntary participation is in waste management, especially the 3Rs practices. The work suggests that there is poor public participation in environmentally friendly behaviors, namely recycling, as people do not response accordingly to the intended message. They noted that communication and proper enforcement of the law will help boost the recycling rates among the public. An investigation was conducted on the antecedents of recycling intention behaviour among secondary school students using Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) by Mahmud [75]. The sample consists of 400 randomly selecte d Form Four students. Three factors that influenced the intention behaviour as hypothesised by the author include specific attitude, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control. The result shows that perceived behaviour control was the strongest predictor of intention behaviour. Subjective norms are the second strongest predictor of intention to recycle. Specific attitudes were indirect predictor of intention behaviour, via the mediation of subjective norms and perceived behaviour control. The researcher suggested that environmental education in Malaysia school system should focus on elements that can effectively inculcate a pro-environmental behaviour among students [75]. A model to determine and analyze the factors that could affect knowledge, attitude and behavior of the urban poor concerning solid waste management was developed by Murad et aj [79]. They collected primary data residents of low-cost flats of Kuala Lumpur city, Malaysia. The empirical results of the study prov ide evidence to the effect that knowledge, attitude and behavior of the urban poor communities concerning solid waste management are adequate and satisfactory and the low socio-economic profile of the urban poor has not been proven as causal to environmental degradation [79]. In a review on the image and environmental disclosure, challenges in environmental information management and some of the strategic implications of environmental reporting as an important tool for improved environmental management with a short case study was presented by Sumiani et al [80]. In the case study of 50 companies in Malaysia, 36 reported some kind of environmental information in their corporate annual reports where most of the companies that gave environment report where ISO certified companies. The study concluded that ISO certification has some level of influence towards voluntary environmental reporting behaviour amongst the sampled Malaysian companies, specifically on pollution abatement and on o ther environmentally related information categories of environmental information. Making reference to Saeed et al [32], It is obvious that the Malaysia cities are still lacking in terms of efficient waste treatment technology, sufficient fund, public awareness, maintaining the established norms of industrial waste treatment, etc. Recycling is a relatively new exercise in Malaysia. Even though recycling has been introduced years back, lack of public awareness caused a slowdown in the progress of the recycling exercise. Lack of sufficient recycling facilities or the inappropriateness of the facilities location contributed further to the slowdown. Over 20,000 tonnes of solid waste is being discarded daily. The Ministry of Housing and Local Government sets a recycling goal to be 22% by 2020. A study on the success of recycling exercise in Subang Jaya, Malaysia was conducted by Chenaya et al [81]. The collection rate of recyclables in Subang Jaya is estimated to be 0.43% in 2004 which shows poor recycling activities and was traced to poor awareness of the residents of the area. The study formulates and analyzes various strategies to increase the awareness among the residents and to increase the existing facilities. They employ the outranking analysis and use a new exploitation procedure based on eigenvector using the weighted in- and out- preference flows of each alternative from outranking relation in a PROMETHEE context [81]. It was found that environmental education should be made a part of the education and civil system. Waste-Energy Recovery and Incineration Municipal solid waste resource recovery is a practice where waste with good heating values are derived from the waste by mechanical or manual process and used as fuel (RDF Refuse Derived Fuel). Solid waste resource recovery is not a common practice in Malaysia. Malaysia waste if properly sorted will create a good opportunity for resource recovery considering the percentage of paper, plastic, wood and textile materials. Promoting waste sorting from source and composting of organic waste will reduce the moisture content of Malaysia solid waste and enhancing the opportunity of resource recovery. RDF can be used as fuel to plants for electricity generation in the country, thus decreasing the greenhouse gas emission from energy utilization by changing from fossil fuels to a partly renewable fuel or incinerated to generate heat for industrial purpose. Incineration is a controlled burning of wastes at a high temperature, sterilizes, stabilizes and reduces waste volume which may be used as disposal option, when the waste composition is highly combustible. It is one of the most effective means of dealing with many wastes, to reduce their harmful potential and often to convert them to an energy form. It reduces volume up to ten-fold and thus is becoming particularly attractive in metropolitan areas. Some of the municipal managers are looking to the development of municipal incinerators around the periphery of their cities as a first solution in many countries [82]. Incineration requires appropriate technology, infrastructure, and skilled workforce to operate and maintain the plant [83]. Waste incineration is thermal treatment of waste mainly employed for hazardous waste treatment as a standard. MSW incineration in Malaysia is until now only realized as small-scale incinerators on islands, namely Langkawi, Pankor, Tioman and Labuan. The installed seven mini-incineration plants have a capacity of 5-20 tons per day and are operated only once per week due to high operation costs. For Kuala Lumpur one waste gasification plant with a capacity of 1,500 tones per day was planed but never realized because of social protests [14, 36]. The energy potentials of municipal solid waste in Malaysia was assessed by Kathirvale et al. [22] and found that The calorific value of the Malaysian MSW ranged between 1500 and 2600 kcal/kg. From their evaluation of the amount of energy t

Structural and Optical Properties of Pulsed Laser

Structural and Optical Properties of Pulsed Laser Structural and Optical Properties of Pulsed Laser Deposited ZnO/TiO2 and TiO2/ZnO Thin Films R. K. Jain, Praveen K. Jain Abstract. ZnO/TiO2 and TiO2/ZnO thin films have been deposited on single crystal Si (100) substrate using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique in order to improve structural and optical properties of ZnO and TiO2 thin films. It was observed that the deposition of TiO2 film prior to ZnO, exhibited higher crystallinity along (002) diffraction peak, small compressive strain and stress and thereby rendering better optical properties as compared to ZnO films deposited directly on Si substrates. On the other hand, TiO2 thin film deposited on Si substrate exhibited pure anatase phase while the use of ZnO buffer was found to improve the crystallinity of TiO2 thin film. The photoluminescence spectra showed that TiO2 and ZnO buffer layers enhanced ultraviolet emissions of the ZnO and TiO2 thin films to a larger extent, respectively. Keywords: ZnO, TiO2, Optical properties, Photoluminescence PACS: 78.66.Hf, 78.55.Et, 68.37.Ps Introduction ZnO is suitable for the production of light emitting devices and a promising candidate for the next generation of electronic devicesdue to its wide band gap (3.37 eV) and large exciton binding energy (60 meV)[1]. ZnO thin films play an important role in solid-state display devices, solar cells and exciting acoustic waves at microwave frequencies[2]. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is one of the most important semiconductors with high photocatalytic activity, non-toxicity, stability in aqueous solution, and is relatively inexpensive. The excellent photocatalytic property of TiO2 is due to its wide band gap and long lifetime of photogenerated holes and electrons [3-4]. It has been reported that the deposition of ZnO or TiO2 thin films on Si substrates at elevated temperature leads to increase in oxygen vacancies as the surface Si atoms easily capture oxygen atom from ZnO or TiO2, which deteriorates the quality of the these films [5]. So it is required to improve various properties of ZnO and T iO2 films for their potential applications. In the present study, a systematic investigation has been performed in order to improve the structural and optical properties of these films using buffer layers. ZnO and TiO2 are chosen as a buffer layer material on the basis of following considerations: (a) Both are wide-band-gap materials, (b) both exhibit high chemical and thermal stability, (c) both have high refractive indices, high transmittance in the visible region and intense absorption in the ultraviolet band and (d) both are low cost material. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILs ZnO and TiO2 thin films have been deposited on Si (100) substrate by ablating high purity (99.9%) ZnO and TiO2 ceramic target using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The KrF excimer laser with wavelength of 248 nm was used for deposition. The pulse repetition rate was 10Hz with laser fluence of about 2–3Jcm−2. The target to substrate distance, working O2 pressure and deposition temperature were kept 35mm, 50 mTorr, and 500Â °C respectively. The thickness of the film and buffer layer was measured using cross section FE-SEM and found to be ~200 nm and 50 nm, respectively. The phase and orientation of as-grown thin films were characterized by X-ray diffractometry (Bruker AXS D-8 Advance Diffarctometer) using CuKÃŽ ± (ÃŽ »=1.5407 Ã…) radiation. The surface morphology was examined using atomic force microscope (NTMDT: NTEGRA model). Absorption spectra have been taken using UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer (Varian Cary 5000) and PL study was performed using photolumines cence spectrometer (Perkin Almer LS-55). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION XRD pattern reveled that ZnO thin film grown on Si (100) substrate was preferentially oriented along the c-axis with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and the use of TiO2 buffer layer increases crystallinity along (002) diffraction peak as shown in Figure 1. On the other hand, TiO2 thin film exhibit pure anatase phase and crystallinity was improved along (004) plane by inserting the ZnO buffer layer between substrate and TiO2 thin film. The improved crystallinity of thin film using buffer layer resulted from the mismatch in thermal expansion coefficient between ZnO and TiO2, which is smaller than that of between ZnO and Si or TiO2 and Si. The lattice mismatch between ZnO and Si (1 0 0) are 40%, whereas for their counterparts i.e. between ZnO and anatase-structured TiO2 are 14% [6]. Therefore, the decrease of lattice mismatch is another reason for the improved crystallinity. The crystallite size calculated using Scherer’s formula is shown in Table 1. The strain along the c axis, zz is given by the following equation [7]: (1) where c is the lattice parameter of the strained ZnO films calculated from x-ray diffraction data and c0 is the unstrained lattice parameter of ZnO. The lattice mismatch between film and substrates can result in varying degrees of stress during the growth process of thin films. The results show that the compressive strain is present in all fabricated ZnO and TiO2 films, which is derived from lattice mismatch between substrates and films owing to increase in crystallite size, and the stress is decreased with the buffer layer. Figure 2 shows the AFM image of the deposited thin films. The grain size and average surface roughness increases when buffer layer is used due to enhancement in crystallinity. Figure 3 shows the room temperature PL spectra of ZnO and TiO2 thin films grown on Si substrate with and without buffer layer. The ZnO film deposited on Si (100) substrate exhibits strong ultraviolet emission peak along with weak green–yellow emission band. The ultraviolet emission of ZnO films is generally considered to be resulted from recombination of free exciton, whereas the green emission is mainly resulting from oxygen vacancies [8]. The PL spectra of TiO2 thin film deposited on Si (100) substrate shows a broad emission band from 390 to 450nm and there are two emission peaks superimposed on the broad emission band. The peak before 350nm (~3.5eV) is ascribed to direct electron-hole recombination which should be equal to or slightly bigger than the TiO2band gap. The emission band from 390 to 450nm (corresponding to 3.2–2.75eV) arises from indirect band gap and surface recombination processes. Further observation indicates that there are two small peaks at the wavel ength range from 460 to 500 nm. These PL signals are attributed to excitonic PL, which mainly result from surface oxygen vacancies and defects of the films. It is observed that ZnO thin film deposited on the TiO2 buffer layer shows stronger ultraviolet emission, as compared to ZnO thin film grown without buffer layer, with no visible emission. The absence of visible emission shows the defect free formation of film. Similarly, the use of ZnO buffer layer also removes the oxygen defects emission peak of TiO2 thin film. The enhanced ultraviolet emission from ZnO thin films grown on TiO2 buffer layer is also probably connected with fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between ZnO and TiO2. After the excitation of electron–hole pairs in TiO2 layer, the energy is easily transferred to ZnO films due to resonance effect [9] as a result, the band gap emission of ZnO is enhanced. From optical absorption spectra of ZnO and TiO2 thin films, It is observed that ultraviolet absorption edge of ZnO and TiO2 film with buffer layer has a red-shift, compared with ZnO and TiO2 thin film grown on bare Si (100) substrate. The value of direct band gap was found to be 3.29 and 3.24 eV for ZnO thin films grown on Si substrate without and with TiO2 buffer layer, respectively. On the other hand, the value of indirect band gap was found to be 3.24 and 3.19 eV for TiO2 thin films deposited on Si (100) substrate without and with ZnO buffer layer. The decrease in optical band gap of the films could be related to the enhancement in crystallite (grain) size leading to a smaller number of grain boundaries. On the other hand the compressed lattice will provide a wider band gap because of the increased repulsion between the oxygen 2p and the zinc 4s bands [10]. CONCLUSISON ZnO, TiO2, ZnO/TiO2 and TiO2/ZnO thin films on Si (100) substrate were prepared by pulsed laser deposition technique. XRD and AFM result demonstrate that the crystallinity of ZnO and TiO2 thin films are considerably improved by using TiO2 and ZnO buffer layer, respectively. Compared with PL of ZnO thin film, UV intensity of ZnO grown on TiO2 buffer layer has increased about two fold. Similarly, the ZnO buffer layer improved the UV emission of TiO2 thin film. The band gap of ZnO and TiO2 thin film grown on buffer layer found to decrease due to improved crystallinity. REFERENCES [1] X. Teng, H. Fan, S. Pan, C. Ye, G. Li, Materials Letters 61 (2007) 201–204. [2] G. C. Yi, C. R. Wang, W. I. Park, Semicond. Sci. Technol 20 (2005) S22. [3]X. Zhang, F. Zhang, K. Y. Chan, Material Chemistry Physics 97 (2006) 384. [4]A. B. Bodade, A. M. Bende, G. N. Chaudhari, Vaccum 82 (2008) 588. [5] X. M. Fan, J. S. Lian, Z. X. Guo, H. J. Lu, Appl. Surf. Sci. 239 (2005) 176 [6] L. Xu, L. Shi , X. Li , Applied Surface Science 255 (2008) 3230–3234 [7] H. C. Ong, A. X. E. Zhu, and G. T. Du, Applied Physics Letter 80 (2002) 941. [8] Y. Zhang, B. Lin, Z. Fu, C. Liu, W. Han, Optical Materials 28 (2006) 1192. [9] H.Y. Lin, Y. Y. Chou, C. L. Cheng, Y. F. Chen, Optical Express 15 (2007) 13832. [10] R. Ghosh, D. Basak, S. Fujihara, Journal Applied Physics 96 (2004) 2689.

Heart of Darkness :: essays papers

Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, achieved classical recognition for its depiction of humanity’s struggle to reconcile good and evil. From the very opening pages of the Bible man has wrestled with choice, opportunity, propensity and instinct. The knowledge of good and evil has surely caused us to die to simplicity and burdened us with the curse of self-awareness. At first it was a struggle for me to get from page to page because of Conrad’s intricate details. I was not accustomed to his unique writing style and I would often find myself lost in his descriptive language. I soon became frustrated with both the book and myself, which made it even more of a task to read. The devastating transition of Kurtz was the factor that awoke my interest. Kurtz, a highly respectable man full of talent and potential was taken over by the evil that stirred from deep within his soul. I found this change of character fascinating because of my interest in the field of psychology. I find the study of human nature intriguing, which attracted me to Kurtz. Conrad had made me wonder what made someone of Kurtz’s caliber change so drastically. I found myself relating this change in character to a personal experience. A year ago someone whom I knew and trusted betrayed me. I saw a side of her that I would have never even imagined was there. Something deep from within caused this person to hurt me, an evil that even she was not aware she possessed. This event in my life made me question what separates the weak from the strong, the good from the evil, or even Kurtz from Marlow? Kurtz’s transition from good to evil led me to the issue of nature vs. nurture. This question of whether hereditary or environment is responsible for the development of ones personality has been around for centuries, and still it remains unanswered. We have discussed this question many times in psychology. Some feel that your personality is reflective of your genetic makeup, and that personality will stay the same regardless of environment. Others are convinced that environment shapes personal characteristics. In The Heart of Darkness, Kurtz seems to have changed because of the environment. He was placed in an atmosphere where his evil instincts were able to take over. Heart of Darkness :: essays papers Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, achieved classical recognition for its depiction of humanity’s struggle to reconcile good and evil. From the very opening pages of the Bible man has wrestled with choice, opportunity, propensity and instinct. The knowledge of good and evil has surely caused us to die to simplicity and burdened us with the curse of self-awareness. At first it was a struggle for me to get from page to page because of Conrad’s intricate details. I was not accustomed to his unique writing style and I would often find myself lost in his descriptive language. I soon became frustrated with both the book and myself, which made it even more of a task to read. The devastating transition of Kurtz was the factor that awoke my interest. Kurtz, a highly respectable man full of talent and potential was taken over by the evil that stirred from deep within his soul. I found this change of character fascinating because of my interest in the field of psychology. I find the study of human nature intriguing, which attracted me to Kurtz. Conrad had made me wonder what made someone of Kurtz’s caliber change so drastically. I found myself relating this change in character to a personal experience. A year ago someone whom I knew and trusted betrayed me. I saw a side of her that I would have never even imagined was there. Something deep from within caused this person to hurt me, an evil that even she was not aware she possessed. This event in my life made me question what separates the weak from the strong, the good from the evil, or even Kurtz from Marlow? Kurtz’s transition from good to evil led me to the issue of nature vs. nurture. This question of whether hereditary or environment is responsible for the development of ones personality has been around for centuries, and still it remains unanswered. We have discussed this question many times in psychology. Some feel that your personality is reflective of your genetic makeup, and that personality will stay the same regardless of environment. Others are convinced that environment shapes personal characteristics. In The Heart of Darkness, Kurtz seems to have changed because of the environment. He was placed in an atmosphere where his evil instincts were able to take over.

The Merchant Of Venice :: Free Merchant of Venice Essays

The Merchant Of Venice Act 1 In the fist act, Antonio is introduced as the Merchant of Venice. A friend of him, Bassanio, desperately needs money because all of his money is on his ships and he wants to go to Belmont to visit the woman of his dreams, Portia. Therefore he goes to Antonio to ask if he is willing to go to Shylock and ask him if he can have 3000 ducats. Antonio agrees and goes to Shylock and explains that he has to pay it back within 3 months. If he doesn't do this, he may cut one pound of his fair flesh... Act 2 In Belmont, the casket bond proceeds: with two already rejected, news comes that Bassanio is at Portia's gate. Meanwhile, Shylock is left bewailing the loss of his ducats and his daughter that has run away with Lorenzo and the treasure. Shylock doesn't like this at all because he really doens't like the Christians and Lorenzo is a Christian Act 3 Jessica is now together with Lorenzo. She is a Jew and he's a Christian. Jessica is embarrassed to be a Jew is planning to change religion for Lorenzo. Shylock is still looking for them and is very mad when he finds out that she has sold a ring, that was given to Shylock by his wife, for a monkey. Meanwhile Bassanio is picking one of the caskets and takes the correct one; the leaden casket. He may now marry Portia. Because Antonio hasn't paid back the 3000 ducats he had lend from Shylock, Shylock may have one pound of his fair flesh. Shylock takes it to court... Act 4 Still in the court of law, Portia and Nerissa have disguised themselves as doctor and clerk. Shylock wants his revenge on the Christians because they treat him like a dog and spit on him. He wants his bond and the one pound of the flesh of Antonio. Portia very smartly knows how to trick him by saying that it doesn't say in the bond that any blood can be spilt and that he has to take exactly one pound of the flesh. No more and no less. Shylock has to give up because he can't deny this. Antonio is safe! Bassanio has given the ring that he had got from Portia to the doctor and Gratiano has given the ring that he had got from Nerissa to the clerk... They had said to their women that they would never give the rings away.

Artworks Review :: essays research papers

In the Piece created by Robert Colecott entitled the â€Å"Bilingual Cop,† a cop is positioned in the center of the work standing behind a brick wall. The cop is yelling racial slurs at two men who are passed out; one man is an African American and he is leaning up against a trash can and positioned to the left of the cop, there is also a Hispanic man passed out and leaning up against a cactus which is positioned to the right of the cop. A thick yellow line that was painted on the ground separates the men from each other. On the African American man’s side of the line there are animals such as a rat, cat, and a mouse placed by him. On the Hispanic man’s side there is a lizard, jack rabbit and a goat laying on the ground, and the animals look abstract. On each side of the dividing line, there is a skull. On the left side of the line there is a human skull, and on the right side of the line there is a cow skull On the African American man’s side, there is a city in the background. Behind the city is a set of pyramids, among them is a view of a sunset or sunrise. On the Hispanic man’s side there is a small village in the background, and behind that is a set of volcanic mountains. In between the set of mountains, there is a sun setting or rising, and the scene looks very picturesque. The art work is composed of both organic, and geometric shapes. An example of an organic shape that is in the piece would be the cactus, and an example of a geometric shape would be the bricks that make up the wall, and the pyramids in the work. The artist used an very interesting combination of colors when he created both sunsets or 2 sunrises, and the use of chiaro scuro is evident, and there is also allot of value exhibited throughout the work. The piece was created in 1995, and is a acrylic on canvas. The dimensions are 90 by 144 inches, and the time of day of the artwork is either early morning or just before sunset. The work is abstract, because things from real life are twisted around and made different. The colors that were mostly used through out the piece are reds, browns, and greens. In the Painting entitled â€Å"Triumph of Christianity,† the first thing viewers will notice is Jesus, who’s arms are open and stretch clear across the canvas, he is positioned at the top center of the piece. Artworks Review :: essays research papers In the Piece created by Robert Colecott entitled the â€Å"Bilingual Cop,† a cop is positioned in the center of the work standing behind a brick wall. The cop is yelling racial slurs at two men who are passed out; one man is an African American and he is leaning up against a trash can and positioned to the left of the cop, there is also a Hispanic man passed out and leaning up against a cactus which is positioned to the right of the cop. A thick yellow line that was painted on the ground separates the men from each other. On the African American man’s side of the line there are animals such as a rat, cat, and a mouse placed by him. On the Hispanic man’s side there is a lizard, jack rabbit and a goat laying on the ground, and the animals look abstract. On each side of the dividing line, there is a skull. On the left side of the line there is a human skull, and on the right side of the line there is a cow skull On the African American man’s side, there is a city in the background. Behind the city is a set of pyramids, among them is a view of a sunset or sunrise. On the Hispanic man’s side there is a small village in the background, and behind that is a set of volcanic mountains. In between the set of mountains, there is a sun setting or rising, and the scene looks very picturesque. The art work is composed of both organic, and geometric shapes. An example of an organic shape that is in the piece would be the cactus, and an example of a geometric shape would be the bricks that make up the wall, and the pyramids in the work. The artist used an very interesting combination of colors when he created both sunsets or 2 sunrises, and the use of chiaro scuro is evident, and there is also allot of value exhibited throughout the work. The piece was created in 1995, and is a acrylic on canvas. The dimensions are 90 by 144 inches, and the time of day of the artwork is either early morning or just before sunset. The work is abstract, because things from real life are twisted around and made different. The colors that were mostly used through out the piece are reds, browns, and greens. In the Painting entitled â€Å"Triumph of Christianity,† the first thing viewers will notice is Jesus, who’s arms are open and stretch clear across the canvas, he is positioned at the top center of the piece.

Landfills Essay

In recent years, numerous groups, including federal agencies, have offered advice on how Britons can be â€Å"good environmentalists†. The broadcast and print media, consumers, legislators and even children are told what products and what actions are environmentally â€Å"good† and â€Å"bad†. The advice is based on little more than the simple-minded application of such core beliefs as â€Å"recycling is good†, â€Å"disposal are bad†, â€Å"packaging is bad† and â€Å"plastics are bad†. (Atkins, 2004) Careful studies show that disposables are not necessarily work than reusable or recyclable products. For example: Aseptic juice boxes (which are usually disposed of, rather than recycled) have a clear edge over their alternatives by most measures. Consumers who care mainly about landfills may then choose cloth diapers. (Leeden, 1991) For two-thirds of the Britons landfills (those without liners), it’s the products which degrade that pose a potential environmental threat. Degradation can lead to leaching and chemicals reach the water supply and cause a health threat to fish, wildlife and humans. The other one-third of landfills are completely sealed and allowed very little degradation. Most controlled wastes in Britain- that is; household, commercial and individual wastes- are disposed of to landfill. In England and Wales, 80% of their municipal solid waste is disposed to landfill, about 14%is incinerated and the rest are recycled. All waste disposal activities at landfill in Britain sites have been tightly regulated since a licensing system was introduced. The purpose of the licensing system was to ensure that the waste is recovered or disposed of in ways which protect the environment and human health. Within the planning regime, the emphasis is on an engineering approach to landfill design and construction based on site-specific assessment, underpinned by quality management and good operational practices to achieve a high standard of implementation and environmental protection. (Leeden, 1991) In Britain, despite these controls, concern continues to be expressed about whether landfill sites might present a health risk for people living nearby. A number of scientific studies have investigated whether there are higher than usual levels of adverse health events, such as cancer, or congenital anomalies, in populations living near to sites but no clear picture has emerged. Many of these studies investigated old sites, uncontrolled dumps or sites where significant off-site migration of chemicals was detected, and the results can not be extrapolated to landfill sites in general. In August 1998 a study of the incidence of congenital anomalies near hazardous waste landfill sites in Europe (the EUROHAZCON study) was published in the Lancet (Dolk et al Lancet, Volume 352, pp 423-427 and a relevant commentary on page 417). This study investigated pregnancy outcomes in women living within 7 kilometers of 21 hazardous waste landfill sites in five countries, including the UK. Overall, it found an increased incidence of congenital anomaly in babies whose mothers lived close to a landfill site compared to those who lived further away. Leeden, 1991) In conclusion, we can not safely dispose of solid waste. Government regulation and new technology permit the safe disposal of solid waste-in landfills or by waste-to-energy incineration-without threat to human health or environment. Even without new improvements, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the aggregate risk from all operating municipal solid waste landfills in Britain is one cancer death every 23 years.

Myths: Education and Family

Interpreting and understanding myths depend on an individual’s personal views, beliefs, and ideas. With that in mind, the myth regarding the nuclear family and the myth of education and empowerment are all interpreted differently and argued, for and against, in many ways. Both have been perceived negatively by society, yet they have not always been a harmful folktale. Rather, the myth that education can improve someone’s life has been used, year after year, to motivate the youth in order to improve their own personal lifestyle.The myth of the nuclear family has also been used over and over again by the media as a prospective goal for everyone who wants to start a family. Although the passing of time has changed the perception of both myths throughout our society, to many, including myself, these myths continue to provide hope for a better life and a traditional family. Imposing the myth of the ideal family, which the media depicts as white, semi-rich and happy with â₠¬Å"†¦no rifts†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Soto 29) is what negatively impacts society because no one should set a standard on what a family should be like.As a result of this misconception, the ideal family has become the ultimate goal for couples who want the best for their children. Take Gary Soto’s â€Å"Looking for Work,† and picture an eight year old Mexican-American boy, who felt the need to change his family because he wanted them to act like the white families portrayed in television shows, like Leave it to Beaver. Why do these individuals have the need to create â€Å"the perfect family† portrayed by the media?According to Soto, as a child, he â€Å"†¦tried to convince [his family] that if [they] improved the way [they] looked [they] might get along better in life†¦ White people would like [them] more†¦ [White people] might not hate [them] so much† (30). Although the myth of the family has been attributed negative qualities because it crea tes a false sense of reality, it has, for many years, been the underlying reason why couples start a family of their own.For instance, if a couple could not decide on the number of children, they could turn to the myth and consider starting with two because the myth implies that an ideal family consists of â€Å"†¦Dad, Mom, a couple of kids, maybe a dog, [living in] a spacious suburban home†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Colombo et al. 18). Even though society has accepted the meaning of family to be between a man and a woman, moreover, it is evident that in the America of today there are families composed of same-sex couples. The myth however, was not created to incorporate same-sex couples as part of the efinition, as it is explicitly described in page 18 of â€Å"Harmony at Home:† †¦the traditional vision of the ideal nuclear family-Dad, Mom†¦remains surprisingly strong. †This myth has become so ingrained in society that even after the idea of the nuclear family stil l receives extensive support. Even the famous archaeologist, Margaret Mead, commented on the belief of the ideal nuclear family â€Å"As far back as our knowledge takes us, human beings have lived in families. We know of no period where this was not so.We know of no people who have succeeded for long in dissolving the family or displacing it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (New World Encyclopedia). Similar to the myth of the nuclear family, the myth of education and empowerment introduces two different sides of the spectrum- the idea that education is not for everyone, as seen by John Taylor Gatto in â€Å"Against School,† and the idea that education does improve someone’s life, as seen by Malcolm X in â€Å"Learning to Read. † The literal interpretation of the myth shows education as a symbol of success and as the gateway to fulfill the American dream (Colombo et al. 11). Education, moreover, has not always been perceived negatively by society because to many people education r epresents social mobility and a shot for a better life. While there may be some frustration with the educational system, education, according to the myth, will always serve those who seek to better their lives and who want to be someone in life, as long they are not limited to the quality of education offered. However, the reality is that minorities have continuously faced obstacles that impeded them from receiving a high-quality education.For instance, if an individual comes from an affluent household, then as students they are more likely to receive a better educational foundation than an individual who goes to a lower or middle class school (Anyon 173). As a result of Jean Anyon’s findings, it is evident that social class plays a prominent role to the type of education that a student receives especially if â€Å"knowledge of skills leading to social power and regard (medical, legal, managerial) are made available to the advantaged social groups but are withheld from worki ng classes, to whom a more practical curriculum is offered (manual skills, clerical knowledge)† (170).But what if we, as a society, had followed what President John F. Kennedy mentioned in his 1960 senatorial speech that â€Å"†¦ we [need] to rededicate ourselves to the principle of equal educational opportunity for all regardless of race, place of birth, or wealth. † Our society would be improved greatly, and the educational knowledge would be dispersed equally amongst all of the citizens; no one would be given a better education because everyone would receive the same quality.The significance that the education and empowerment myth has in society is that one: people who believe in education are more likely to finish their schooling because it symbolizes an achievement and because it emphasizes the credibility of what the United States represents-freedom, happiness, and success. Secondly, if an individual like Gatto believes that education is a waste of time (148) , then people will become discouraged and therefore there is a higher probability that these individuals will â€Å"fail† to fulfill the American Dream.The reason I am generalizing this concept and associating failure with not finishing high school or college, is because of the way that I grew up and the sacrifices that my parents had to endure in order for all their children to have the best education possible; to my parents, not finishing school is like giving up in life, and throwing all their sacrifices down the trash chute.Lastly, the belief that education brings you power and offers you an open door for a better life, has impacted society, because as the country progressed into the new era way before the revolutions that this country had to endure, such as the Civil Rights Movement and women’s suffrage, education was not opened to everyone. As time went by and people fought for their liberties, education became a universal liberty, rather than a right given to se lected individuals. All in all, the myth of the nuclear family and the myth of education and empowerment have not always been interpreted as negative ideas by society.They may have been by a few people, but the feeling was not mutually shared by everyone. Both myths served as motivational ideas that influenced people like Gary Soto and Malcolm X, to have the desire to try new things, even if what Soto wanted to try could have change his family completely; and the things Malcolm X wanted to experience, improved his capacity to learn and educate himself. Although, the myth of the nuclear family has not changed because it has not accepted same-sex couples, the myth of education and empowerment has changed with respect to who it is being applied to.In other words, the interpretation of the myth will vary with people from different backgrounds. For instance, to a Mexican like me, education is a gateway to a better life. To a Chinese person, education represents honor and recognition from his or her family. Lastly, the myths of education and the nuclear family gives us, the citizens of the United States, hope for a better life or a perfect family, depending on one’s respective point of view. Works Cited Anyon, Jean. â€Å"Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work. 1980. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Vol. 162. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. 169-85. Print. First appeared in the Journal of Education. Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. â€Å"Harmony at Home: The Myth of the Model Family. † Introduction. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. 17-21. Print. Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Learning Power: The Myth of Education and Empowerment. † Introduction. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Boston: Bedford of S t. Martin's, 2010. 109-15. Print. Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. Print. Gatto, John Taylor. Against School. 2003. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle.Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. 148-55. Print. This selection originally appeared in Harper's magazine. John F. Kennedy:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Speech by Senator John F. Kennedy, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, CA – (Advance Release Text),† November 2, 1960. Web. 22 Oct 2012. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley,  The American Presidency Project. http://www. presidency. ucsb. edu/ws/? pid=25930. Marriage Equality USA. Prop 8 Hurt My Family – Ask Me How. 2009. Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing.By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. 84-88. Print. New World Encyclopedia. â€Å"Margaret Mead. †Ã‚  New World Encyclopedia. New World Encyclopedia, 16 Nov. 2011. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. ;http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/entry/Margaret_Mead;. Soto, Gary. â€Å"Looking for Work. †Ã‚  Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. By Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2010. 26-31. Print.