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GCSE/A Level Chemistry-Physics: Radioactivity - half-life of radioisotope, importance, uses
6. How long does material remain radioactive?
6a half-life of radioisotopes, uses of decay data & implications
6b uses of decay data and radioisotope half-life values
Doc Brown's Chemistry - KS4 science GCSE Physics Revision Notes
Practice revision questions on half-life calculations and radioactive decay. Problem solving using the half-life of a radioisotope or radioactive emission data to work out the half-life of a radioactive isotope. What is the half-life of radioactive isotopes? What is a radionuclide decay curve? How long are radioactive materials dangerous for? Are half-lives of radioisotopes useful? How do archaeologists use half-lives to date prehistoric materials? How do geologists use very long half-live values to date rocks? All of these questions are answered and explained with examples of how half-life data is so useful. These revision notes on the half-life of radioisotopes should help with GCSE/IGCSE physics courses and A/AS level physics courses
RADIOACTIVITY and NUCLEAR PHYSICS INDEX
6. How long does material remain radioactive? half-life, some uses and implications
6a. The half-life of a radioisotope
Some atomic nuclei are very unstable and only exist for a few microseconds, seconds, minutes, hours or days.
Others are very stable and take millions of years to decay away to form another atom.
Some isotopes are completely stable and do not undergo radioactive decay at all.
The radioactivity (emissions) of any radioactive material always decreases with time.
See section 3. for units and measurement of radioactivity
A measure of the stability of a radioisotope is given by its half-life (defined below).
Unstable nuclei disintegrate at random, you cannot predict which decays to emit alpha, beta, gamma or other nuclear/ionising radiations.
What you can say is the radioactivity must always decrease over time but never quite reaches zero, except after a very long period of time (infinity?).
The decay follows are particular pattern, illustrated by the graph below, known as a decay curve.
The graph will drop steeply for very unstable nuclei but show a very small gradient if more stable.
Every graph shows the same mathematical feature which is that for a particular time interval the amount of
The half-life of a radioisotope is the average time it takes for half of the remaining undecayed radioactive nuclei (atoms) to decay to a different nucleus (atom).
The values of half-lives can vary from a fraction of a second (highly unstable) to millions of years (relatively much more stable)
It means in one half-life of time, on average, half of the undecayed unstable nuclei of a particular isotope disintegrate.
Within a half-life, half of the remaining unstable nuclei decay (disintegrate), equivalent to a 50% reduction in the radioactivity.
A short half-life means the activity (radioactivity) will fall quickly e.g. falls by 50% in a few minutes with lots of unstable nuclei decaying.
so, a short half-life means relatively rapid decay, a long half-life means a relatively slow decay and measurable radioactivity lasts much longer.
See the decay curve graph below representing the behaviour of relatively unstable radioactive-isotope with a half-life of 5 days.
This means from radioactivity measurements we can analyse the data and calculate from the graph the half-life of a radioactive-isotope or some calculation based on an initial level of activity and a later measurement of the decreased activity. Whatever method, you need accurate activity data linked to time.
This also means that we can make predictions of activity
The radioactivity of any sample will decrease with time as the unstable atoms decay to more stable atoms, though sometimes by complex decay series routes e.g. 92U isotopes eventually decay to 82Pb isotopes.
The older a sample of a radioactive material, the less radioactive it is.
The decrease in radioactivity follows a characteristic pattern shown in the graph or decay curve.
The y axis can represent the % radioisotope left OR the measured radioactivity.
After every half-life, in this case 5 days, working out from the graph, the % radioisotope (or radioactivity, count rate etc.) is halved, producing the initially steeply declining curve which then levels out towards zero after infinite time!
6b. Four Uses of decay data and half-life values
(1) Determination of the half-life of a Radioisotope and using it to predict future activity
The radioactivity from a radioisotope is measured over a period of time.
Graphical or mathematical analysis is performed to calculate the time it takes for the radioactivity of the isotope to halve.
For short-lived radioactive isotopes, the radioactivity is likely to be measured in terms of the count rate.
Therefore the half-life will be the time it takes for the count rate to halve.
An example of what this means is shown in the diagram below.
Half-life calculation example 1
You would use a Geiger-Marsden counter, or similar scintillation counter to make measurements of the radioactivity of a radioisotope.
Radioactivity, or simply 'activity' is measured in becquerels (Bq).
1 becquerel = 1 disintegration or decay/second.
Sometimes the activity might be stated as counts per second (cps = Bq).
The graph shows the rapid decay of a very unstable radioactive isotope in terms of count rate per minute (cpm) versus minutes.
Although not shown, before plotting the graph, you should do a blank test for the background radiation and subtract this from ALL the readings.
You would do a blank test by taking several readings without the presence of the radioisotope and use the average to correct the readings.
An alternative to this is to use heavy lead shielding to protect the Geiger counter from background radiation, but should still do a blank test with the identical experiment setup.
From the graph you can work out the time (half-life) it takes for half of the radioactive atoms to decay from the decrease in count rate.
e.g. in terms of time elapsed, count rate ==> we get
0 min, 400cpm ==> 10 min, 200cpm ==> 20 min, 100 cpm etc.
In other words, the activity halves every 10 minutes, clearly showing the half-life is 10 minutes.
Half-life calculation example 2 not using a graph, but 'simple fraction' reasoning.
Suppose a sample of a radioisotope gives an initial activity of 1200 counts per minute (cpm).
If the activity has fallen to 150 cpm after 180 days, calculate the half-life of the radio-isotope.
The simple method just involves involving halving from the initial value of activity until you reach the final value.
In terms of activity: 1200 == ÷2 ==> 600 == ÷2 ==> 300 == ÷2 ==> 150
so, to get from 1200 to 150 required 3 halvings.
From the definition of half-life, this means 3 half-lives elapsed for the activity to drop from 1200 cpm to 150 cpm.
Therefore the half-life is 180÷3 = 60 days
Suppose a sample of a radioisotope has an activity of 800 Bq.
What will be the activity after three half-lives have elapsed?
The rule is that activity halves over every half-life of time elapsed.
800 ÷ 2 = 400, 400 ÷ 2 = 200, 200 ÷ 2 = 100.
Therefore the final activity is 100 Bq
You can also express the result as fraction or percent:
(i) Fraction of activity remaining: 1 ==> 1/2 ==> 1/4 ==> 1/8th (also = 100/8 = 12.5%)
(ii) Fraction of radioisotope decayed: 1 - 1/8 = 7/8ths (also = 100 x 7/8 = 87.5%).
Suppose the activity of a sample of a radioisotope has an activity of 8000 Bq (counts/second).
After 24 hours the activity had dropped to 250 Bq.
Calculate the half-life (t½) of the radioisotope.
Now, for every half-life, the activity halves, therefore we can set out a line of 'halving' logic!
8000 == t½ ==> 4000 == t½ ==> 2000 == t½ ==> 1000 == t½ ==> 500 == t½ ==> 250
Therefore it took five half-lives to drop from an activity of 8000 to 250 Bq.
Therefore the half-life = 24 5 = 4.8 hours
You need to practice these sort of calculations of half-life determination, radioactive residue left, and dating calculations (see below) using the multiple choice QUIZ (higher GCSE = AS GCE)
You can do a class experiment to illustrate the random nature of radioactive decay and half-life e.g.
Use say 50 normal dice numbered 1-6 shaken in a container.
Make zero time that before the first 'throw' (tip the lot out of the box), so t = 0, d = 50
Throw the dice and remove all sixes, pretending they were the ones to disintegrate (decay).
Make this t = 1, d = dice left.
Just repeat a few times, removing all the sixes each time and counting the dice left.
After, say six goes, plot the number of dice left versus the time interval 0, 1, 2, 3 etc. and a decay curve graph will emerge.
You can then estimate the 'half-life' in time intervals.
The time interval could represents, seconds, minutes, hours ... millions of years, it doesn't matter!
(2) Using half-life data in hazard analysis and more on prediction of radioisotope residue
From the half-life you can calculate how much of the radio-active atoms are left e.g. after one half-life, 1/2 is left, after two half-lives, 1/4 is left, after three half-lives, 1/8 is left in other words its a 'halving pattern' etc.
Example Q: The half-life of a radioisotope is 10 hours. Starting with 2.5g, how much is left after 30 hours?
2.5g =10h=> 1.25g =10h=> 0.625g =10h=> 0.3125g (after total time of 30h)
Another way to think - if the time elapsed is equal to a whole number of half-lives you can just divide the 30 h by 10 h, giving 3 half-lives.
Therefore you just have to halve the amount three times!
e.g. 2.5 ==> 1.25 ==> 0.625 ==> 0.3125g
The half-life of a radioisotope has implications about its use and storage and disposal.
If the half-life is known then the radioactivity of a source can be predicted in the future (see (1) above).
Plutonium-244 produced in the nuclear power industry has a half-life of 40 000 years!
Even after 80 000 years there is still a 1/4 of the dangerously radioactive material left.
Quite simply, the storage of high level nuclear reactor radioactive waste is going to be quite a costly problem for many (thousands?) of years!
Storage of waste containing these harmful substances must be stable for hundreds of thousands of years! So we have quite a storage problem for the 'geological time' future! see also dangers and background radiation.
Radioisotopes used as tracers must have short half-lives, particularly those used in medicine to avoid the patient being dangerously over exposed to the harmful radiation, but a long enough half-life to enable accurate measurement and monitoring of the tracer.
(3) Archaeological dating with the isotope carbon-14
Most carbon atoms are of the stable isotope carbon-12.
A very small % of them are radioactive due to carbon-14 with a half-life of 5700 years.
It decays by beta emission to stable nitrogen-14.
Archaeologists can use any material containing carbon of 'organic living' origin to determine its age.
This can be bone, wood, leather etc. and the technique is sometimes called radiocarbon-14 dating.
When the 'carbon containing' material is in a living organism there is a constant interchange of carbon with the environment as food or carbon dioxide.
This means the carbon-14 % remains constant as long as the organism is alive!
When the organism is dead the exchange stops and the carbon-14 content of the material begins to fall as it radioactively decays.
Compared to when it was 'alive' ...
if an object has 1/2 (1/2 of 1, 50%) of the expected carbon-14 it must be 5700 years old,
if it only has 1/4 (1/2 of a 1/2, 25%) of the expected 14C left, the object it must be 11400 years old (5 700 + 5 700),
and if only 1/8 (1/2 of 1/4, 12.5%) of the 14C left it is 17100 years old (11 400 + 5700) etc. etc.
Example of a simple dating calculation.
An archaeologist had a sample of bone from a prehistoric skeleton analysed for its carbon-14 content.
The bone sample was found to contain 6.25% of the original carbon-14, calculate the age of the skeleton.
Just using a simple halving calculation technique you get ...
100% ==> 50% ==> 25% ==> 12.5% ==> 6.25%
So to get to 6.25% takes four half-lives
therefore the age of the skeleton is 4 x 5700 = 22800 years
For more details The decay curve for carbon-14 is shown in an Excel file webpage
(4) Geological dating of igneous rocks
Certain elements with very long half-lives can be used to date the geological age of igneous rocks and even the age of the Earth. has a half-life of 1.3 x 109 years. It decays to form .
If the argon gas is trapped in the rock, the ratio of potassium-40 to argon-40 decreases over time and the ratio can be used to date the age of rock formation i.e. from the time the argon gas first became trapped in the rock. The method is more reliable for igneous rocks, rather than sedimentary rocks because the argon will tend to diffuse out of porous sedimentary rocks but would be well trapped in harder and denser igneous rocks.
If the 40Ar/40K ratio is 1.0 (50% of 40K decayed, 50% left ) the rocks are 1.3 x 109 years old
If the 40Ar/40K ratio is 3.0 (75% of 40K decayed, 25% left) the rocks are 2.6 x 109 years old
If the 40Ar/40K ratio is 7.0 (87.5% of 40K decayed, 12.5% left) the rocks are 3.9 x 109 years old
These are worked out on the basis of 100% =half-life=> 50% =half-life=> 25% =half-life=> 12.5% etc. etc.
Long lived isotopes of uranium (element 92) decay via a complicated series of relatively short-lived radioisotopes to produce stable isotopes of lead (element 82). The uranium isotope/lead isotope ratio decreases with time and so the ratio can be used to calculate the age of igneous rocks containing uranium compounds.
Atomic structure, radioactivity and nuclear physics revision notes index
Atomic structure, history, definitions, examples and explanations including isotopes gcse chemistry notes
1. Atomic structure and fundamental particle knowledge needed to understand radioactivity gcse physics revision
2. What is Radioactivity? Why does it happen? Three types of atomic-nuclear-ionising radiation gcse physics notes
3. Detection of radioactivity, its measurement and radiation dose units, ionising radiation sources - radioactive materials, background radiation gcse physics revision notes
4. Alpha, beta & gamma radiation - properties of 3 types of radioactive nuclear emission & symbols ,dangers of radioactive emissions - health and safety issues and ionising radiation gcse physics revision
5. Uses of radioactive isotopes emitting alpha, beta (+/–) or gamma radiation in industry and medicine gcse notes
6. The half-life of a radioisotope - how long does material remain radioactive? implications!, uses of decay data and half-life values - archaeological radiocarbon dating, dating ancient rocks gcse physics revision
7. What actually happens to the nucleus in alpha and beta radioactive decay and why? nuclear equations!, the production of radioisotopes - artificial sources of radioactive-isotopes, cyclotron gcse physics revision notes
8. Nuclear fusion reactions and the formation of 'heavy elements' by bombardment techniques gcse physics notes
9. Nuclear Fission Reactions, nuclear power as an energy resource gcse physics revision notes
RADIOACTIVITY multiple choice QUIZZES and WORKSHEETS
Easier-Foundation Radioactivity Quiz
or Harder-Higher Radioactivity Quiz
five word-fills on radioactivity * Q2 * Q3 * Q4 * Q5and ANSWERS!
crossword puzzle on radioactivity and ANSWERS!
OTHER CHEMICAL CALCULATION PAGES
What is relative atomic mass?, relative isotopic mass and calculating relative atomic mass
Calculating relative formula/molecular mass of a compound or element molecule
Law of Conservation of Mass and simple reacting mass calculations
Composition by percentage mass of elements in a compound
Empirical formula and formula mass of a compound from reacting masses (easy start, not using moles)
Reacting mass ratio calculations of reactants and products from equations (NOT using moles) and brief mention of actual percent % yield and theoretical yield, atom economy and formula mass determination
Reacting masses, concentration of solution and volumetric titration calculations (NOT using moles)
Introducing moles: The connection between moles, mass and formula mass - the basis of reacting mole ratio calculations (relating reacting masses and formula mass)
Using moles to calculate empirical formula and deduce molecular formula of a compound/molecule (starting with reacting masses or % composition)
Moles and the molar volume of a gas, Avogadro's Law
Reacting gas volume ratios, Avogadro's Law and Gay-Lussac's Law (ratio of gaseous reactants-products)
Molarity, volumes and solution concentrations (and diagrams of apparatus)
How to do volumetric titration calculations e.g. acid-alkali titrations (and diagrams of apparatus)
Electrolysis products calculations (negative cathode and positive anode products)
Other calculations e.g. % purity, % percentage & theoretical yield, volumetric titration apparatus, dilution of solutions (and diagrams of apparatus), water of crystallisation, quantity of reactants required, atom economy
Energy transfers in physical/chemical changes, exothermic/endothermic reactions
Gas calculations involving PVT relationships, Boyle's and Charles Laws
Radioactivity & half-life calculations including dating materials (this page)


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The 7 Greatest Story Songs Ever Created
via @JohnnyCashVEVO | YouTube
Of course, every song purports to have a narrative. We infer information from the lyrics, which helps us visualize the message the musician is attempting to convey in our minds. Occasionally, though, a performer may utilize their allotted three minutes to tell a sequence of events in their own life or the lives of a character in a markedly chronological manner.
"A Boy Named Sue" – Johnny Cash
Through his San Quentin recordings, Johnny Cash popularized "A Boy Named Sue," which was written by renowned author Shel Silverstein. Now, I don't blame him 'cause he run and hid / But the meanest thing that he ever did / Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue," Cash pulls out towards the start of the song, setting up a tale of hardship and retaliation. It was one of Cash's biggest hits when it was first released. Who would have imagined that a song by a children's book that was performed in a jail would become so popular?
"Don't Mess Around With Jim" – Jim Croce
Jim Croce offers a vengeance scenario in a similar spirit, this time with a mob leader and a young Alabama kid who first appears to be innocent. Following the theft of his money, Big Jim finds himself on the receiving end of Willie McCoy's knife. As Croce sings the chorus, "Slim" quickly ascends to the position of leadership in the community. You don't tug on Superman's cape / You don't spit into the wind / You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger / And you don't mess around with Slim.
"Red Dirt Girl" – Emmylou Harris
With her song "Red Dirt Girl," Emmylou Harris sets off the tears. Drawing from her memories of her childhood in Alabama, she tells the tale of a friend named Lillian who never left their "red dirt town." Toward the end of the song, she sings, "Could-a been the whiskey, could-a been the pills / Could-a been the dream she was tryin' to kill. Lillian never got much further than Meridian, where she sunk her hammer six feet into the earth of red soil. It's a tragic yet incredibly poignant snapshot of small-town life.
"Travelin' Soldier" – The Chicks
In 2003, as the United States was about to go to war with Iraq, The Chicks helped "Travelin' Soldier," a song written by Bruce Robinson in the 1990s, reach No. 1. The moving song explores the idea of young people dying from conflict. A young man is getting dressed in his Army greens when he runs into a timid diner employee. While apart, the two correspond via letters, growing more and more in love with each one that is written. Eventually, the "small girl with a bow in her hair" is devastated to learn that her soldier is among the local Vietnam dead. Few songs have such a strong emotional impact as this one.
"Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" – Rupert Holmes
We're now looking at "Escape (The Pia Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes for some lighter food. It's difficult to find someone who doesn't at least recognize the tune of this song because it's a legend in the narrative genre. Our narrator decides to place an advertisement for a new partner in the newspaper because his relationship is in trouble. Unbeknownst to him, his wife has followed suit, and via the most unexpected of circumstances, the two fall in love once more.
"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" – Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot dedicated his song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" to the 29 people who perished when Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior. He creates a tragic atmosphere by singing, Then the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty / That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed / When the gales of November came early.
"Uneasy Rider" – The Charlie Daniels Band
In "Uneasy Rider," Charlie Daniels drives across the nation but barely avoids a brawl. The narrator, who calls himself a hippy, runs into some obnoxious people in a Jackson, Mississippi, pub. He needs to act quickly to hide his counter-culture ties after the locals see his free-flowing hair and his automobile bearing a peace sign bumper sticker. He masterfully shifts the blame and rapidly turns the tables on his accusers. Daniels had a talent few artists have for using music to communicate stories.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Are You Ready for A Great Adventure? Among Kings - A New Historical Fiction Novel by Joey O'Connor
among kings democratic republic of the congo human rights justice king leopold ii mercy william henry sheppard Oct 05, 2020
I have been on a creative writing journey for the past 13 years with the most ambitious and challenging writing project I've ever taken on. It began with two years of research and writing a screenplay with my brother-in-law, Ken Straw. Then, for the past three years, I've been writing the historical fiction novel version of the story. It's called Among Kings: The Amazing Adventures of the Congo's African American Livingstone and the Courageous People who Toppled King Leopold II.
It officially launches today on Amazon (print and Kindle version).
I hope you'll read the reviews. Pick up a copy. Share it with a friend.
It's a story of the first international human rights trial. Of racial justice, mercy, forgiveness and overcoming evil with good.
Others have said it's a timely read.
Here is the story behind the story...
It has often been said a writer doesn't go in search of a story. The story comes in search of the writer. Truer words cannot be said of this book.
My journey into the Congo began twelve years ago when my brother-in-law, Ken Straw, asked me, "Have you ever written a screenplay?"
I told him I had studied screenwriting for six months, written one bad screenplay, and went back to writing books. He pulled out a thin, 100 page book. "I want you to read this story," he said. "Tell me what you think." Ken had first learned of William Sheppard on an NPR morning broadcast ten years earlier.
Thus began my journey to the Congo Free State. I did not go in search of the amazing cast of characters in Among Kings. They came to me.
Over the next week as I read, I quickly became fascinated by people I'd never heard of: William Sheppard, Samuel Lapsley, King Leopold II, Leon Rom, Edmund Morel, Roger Casement, Dr. Aaron Sims, William Morrison. Sheppard's gripping story captured my imagination, filling me with curiosity why he was a forgotten, virtually unknown American hero. How had this incredibly courageous man escaped history? Let alone the Industrial Revolution and the Scramble for Africa of the 1870's-1910.
The next time I saw Ken, I said, "We have to tell this story. We cannot not do this."
We began two initial years of research and writing about Sheppard and the people surrounding him who brought down Leopold II. We dove into Sheppard's and Lapsley's memoirs, followed by book after book and countless articles. Our research involved all the major players, history and politics in America, Europe and Africa spanning fifty years. Passing books back and forth, Ken and I often said, "These stories are so unbelievable, no one could make this up!"
The first draft of the feature film script was a hundred and fifty-page door stopper. "How?" we wondered, "is it possible to bake a story that plays out on three continents and covers a man's entire life in one of history's most complex eras?" We often commented, "This isn't a feature film. The story's too big. There are too many characters. It has to be a television mini-series." This was when you received your Netflix DVDs in the mail. Streaming was years away.
After several more drafts, we compressed the story into a hundred and twenty pages. When we launched the script, we submitted it to screenwriting competitions at film festivals. To our surprise, the script began to get some attention. It won awards in New York, Los Angeles, Virginia, and Las Vegas.
After garnering five awards, we knew we were onto something.
But that was just the start of our journey...
Click here to read Part 2 on Joey O'Connor's Blog.
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'Booksmart' is for a new kind of nerd
by Georgiana E. Presecky
You'll read plenty of think pieces about Booksmart this week. Olivia Wilde's directorial debut about best friends who make one last attempt to have fun before high school graduation has garnered high praise since its SXSW premiere and currently sits at 100 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes ahead of its May 24 release.
On a lot of great film-centric sites like this one, you'll read about how important the movie is for women, especially young women who haven't seen a teen comedy like this before. You'll read about its body positivity, its honesty surrounding sexuality and its very real portrayal of fierce friendship. These are all very valid analyses of this funny film, but for me, Booksmart feels like a beacon for those of us who put more emphasis on "school" than "high" in our teenage years.
Best friends and high achievers Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) realize on the eve of their high school graduation that their hard-partying peers were accepted into top-tier colleges. They seize the opportunity to spend their last night of adolescence making up for lost time, with plenty of awkward obstacles blocking them from what you're "supposed" to find fun in high school. While a lot of classic comedies cover teenage regrets (Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, 10 Things I Hate About You), they're almost always about cliques or love interests. Never, ever, "Did I study too hard? Did I care too much? Should I have made more time for fun, for being 'normal'?" For Amy and Molly, high-achieving is normal, and Booksmart celebrates that.
Though there's some distance between myself and high school, I've wondered through the years about all the things I should've done – gone to more parties, sat in the student section at Friday night football games, actually enjoyed the Homecoming dance instead of singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody from the outskirts of the dance floor. Young adult entertainment was always a fun escape, but it wasn't at all what I was experiencing. Like Amy and Molly, I was much too busy conjugating Spanish verbs, analyzing Dickens and studying quadratic equations to worry about whether Freddie Prinze, Jr. was into me or not (he wasn't, but Booksmart reminded me that that's OK).
Here's the thing Molly and Amy learn a lot sooner than I did – you can and should care about achieving without feeling like you squandered your high school years. These characters don't just easily fall into the pattern of a partier overnight – it's awkward and weird and doesn't go at all as they planned. When socializing and having fun just comes as a natural priority to so many teenagers, Booksmart makes room for those who chose differently. Not only by some strange and painful social hierarchy, but also just by choice.
As I've gotten older, I've cared less about seeing the "real" high school experience on screen. I'm much more interested in whether people like me regret the way they spent their time back then – once they realized their GPA didn't really "matter" all that much in the real world. Enter Booksmart.
Thanks to this film and hopefully others like it, being a hard worker and caring about grades and achievement is no longer relegated to "nerd" characters. The pressure to succeed is a constant reality for today's teenagers – an age in which 100 percent of my high school's graduating class went on to seek higher education. The fact that film is reflecting that should be celebrated – especially a film as aesthetically and tonally unique as Wilde's thoughtful debut.
Photos Courtesy of Annapurna Pictures
Photos: Dever and Feldstein are hilarious and real in Booksmart.
Roza Melkumyan January 19, 2021
Nicole Ackman December 18, 2020
'Testament' is a beautiful example of how dance can adapt
Amelie Lasker December 11, 2020
How to 'get to The Nutcracker' this year
by Georgiana E. Presecky May 22, 2019


Awesome Simple Free Standing Closet Wardrobe — Home Design Ideas Free Standing Closets Photo - The image above with the title Awesome Simple Free Standing Closet Wardrobe — Home Design Ideas Free Standing Closets Photo, is part of Free Standing Closets picture gallery. Size for this image is 900 × 896, a part of Others category and tagged with published February 27th, 2018 02:47:03 AM by admhalter. Find or search for images related to "Awesome Simple Free Standing Closet Wardrobe — Home Design Ideas Free Standing Closets Photo" in another posts. Back to: Free Standing Closets.


Every business could benefit greatly from using technology in one way or another. A survey conducted by AT&T and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, found that smartphones alone save business owners 1.24 Billion hours a year, while mobile technologies save small businesses more than USD 65 Billion a year.
From taking online orders, accepting mobile payments, managing feedback and making customers lives easier, technology is a must for businesses in the tech-savvy world we live in.
The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework, is designed to standardize the planning, selection, support and delivery of IT services to a business. ITIL can help startups; identify services that they should offer, design those services, transition them, support and deliver the services and also importantly continuously improve it all.
In essence, ITIL is not just an operations and technology approach, but rather a whole way of thinking and behaving because it provides an all-rounded approach to running any business that utilizes technology to deliver services. This is what makes ITIL perfect for startups and this is why ITIL will change how you think about your startup.
How the ITIL framework can help your startup?
the requirements for successful execution of the necessary services.
This component will help you understand what problems or process you intend to solve and therefore why your business is important in the first place. This will therefore help you tap into the optimal value you can provide to your customers. Understanding ITIL related concepts can help a great deal in implementing a strategy. There are a lot of online resources and books for ITIL from which you can not only learn but also clear certification exams.
This ITIL component ensures that any; new, auxiliary or altered service meets customer expectations, cost effectively. It ensures that the most effective and efficient; design, technology, process and service management system are taken into consideration when supporting a business process or solving a business problem.
This lifecycle phase, provides a framework that will allow your startup to; approve, build, test and deploy to your customer, in a repeatable, controlled, efficient and standardized manner.
At this phase, the business owner or administrators can make any necessary changes, control assets, validate services, and assign personnel for deployment.
This component in ITIL advocates for proactive support, which will prevent a firefighting approach that many startups have an affinity for.
end-user or customer routine requests are handled.
All this done with the view to consistently and continuously deliver value to end-users or customers.
All these benefits are due to the fact that ITIL provides a set framework through which customer expectations can be met more predictably. Additionally, better relationships with all stakeholders including; employees and 3rd party service providers, can be easily fostered and negotiated, since ITIL allows for high standards to be set from the get-go.
The first step in implementing ITIL for your startup is in assessing the process and best practices that your specific business has that will benefit the most from ITIL. This will allow you and your staff to forecast and envisage how ITIL could affect your startup.
Measure and monitor the changes that you have made to ensure that you are meeting goals and that you are making adjustments to improve when you are not meeting your goals.
In order to make your startup a success, a great idea is not enough. You need to additionally have business skills and/or the experience that having a background in bringing products to market, provides you with.
If you have any story on how you achieved success using ITIL, do share in the comments below.
Mohammad Farooq works as an Analyst.
When not doing anything related to Analytics, he goes backpacking around India.
This article has been viewed 4807 times.


Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton (formerly Milton Hospital), was honored with an "A" Hospital Safety Score by The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits. The A score was awarded in the latest update to the Hospital Safety ScoreSM, assigned to U.S. hospitals based on preventable medical errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.
This is the second time this year that BID-Milton has received an "A" for patient safety by the Leapfrog Group. In addition to this distinction, BID-Milton was also recognized in July by a major consumer research magazine as one of Massachusetts' leading hospitals for patient safety and quality care, ranking sixth among Massachusetts hospitals.
Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group's nine-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital's overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. Less than one third of hospitals rated by the Leapfrog Group receive this exceptional distinction.


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Bearsden Writers Meeting Write Up Thursday 21st October 2021
Uncategorised by Kenneth Macanna
Write Up Provided By Diane McKee
Bearsden Writers Meeting on Zoom 21.10.21
Leela welcomed everyone to the group's first ever evening meeting. She outlined the evening, which had a Halloween theme and it was great to see several members, including Palo and Neet, in Fancy Dress.
Gwen then gave her adjudication for the Halloween Poetry competition. There were four entries to the competition but, unfortunately, only two were eligible for judging. The other two entries did not follow the competition rules – one included the poet's name on the cover sheet and the other one arrived late. There was then some discussion on the importance of following competition rules. Myra asked if there was only one winner and Gwen said that had been the decision when the competition was set up. There was some discussion about whether there might be a second and third place if there were more entries in the future.
Gwen then named Allan Martin as the winner of the poetry competition. Allan read out his fabulous poem which was thoroughly enjoyed by all, with members commentating on the excellent use of language and style. Neet then shared with the group the very eye-catching certificates which she'd drawn up for both competition winners.
After this Palo and Wilma gave their adjudication for the short story competition. There were six entries for this and Mairi Jack was named as the winner. Mairi was unable to attend the meeting, unfortunately, so Palo read out the story on her behalf. Members really enjoyed this spooky tale which kept everyone enthralled. There was more discussion about competition rules and Wilma shared some of her adjudication requirements and pointers, which was really useful. It was agreed that she would share these with any members who would like them.
Richard asked for any items for the newsletter to be sent to him by 5pm on 28.10.21.
There was some discussion about SAW, in terms of competition rules and conditions. They have now removed the need for a cover sheet for entries, for example. Wilma said that SAW are providing two supported places for the 2022 conference. If members are interested in being nominated they should contact Wilma by 2.11.21.
There is an issue with some refunds for overpaid membership fees which Palo is looking into with Strathkelvin Credit Union. The group might move to an alternative bank in the future.
Leela thanked everyone for attending. She also thanked Gwen, Palo and Wilma for adjudicating the competitions and Neet for making the certificates. She encouraged all members to enter future competitions. The next meeting will be in Milngavie Community Centre on Thursday 4th November at 10a.m.
Bearsden Writers Meeting Write Up Thursday 7th October 2021
Bearsden Writers Meeting Write Up Thursday 4th November 2021
Leela Soma
An excellent blog on our meeting Diane. The first evening zoom meeting was a success and more members who are working during the day can join us. The Halloween competition adjudication process was really interesting and informative. You brought out all the relevant points in your blog. Thank you.


Yes! It finally feels like fall today!!
I have been all decorated for weeks. If you follow along on IG you've seen some peeks. I'm finally showing! Thanks for being patient. I hope you enjoy, and feel excited about decorating your own space.
Let's start at the mantle. It came together quickly. I just used 2 fall garlands and layered pumpkins on each side. I added height by stacking one or two on cut trunk pieces. This sign is new this year, from Home Goods.
Next my chairs, oh these chairs! I am still so in love! I can't wait to see them with each new holiday that we celebrate. I love them oh SO much!
This picture gives you come idea of the scale of my fire place. It is laaarrrge! I have to be sure to scale large as I decorate it.
I have a variety of darker, rich pillows on the couch. On top of my cabinet I have my daughter's artwork, her autumn tree.
And, in my tray, on the coffee table, do you recognize that from last year, Thanksgiving time? That little pumpkin centerpiece is too easy to make! That easy tutorial is here.
Here are a couple more vignettes in the family room.
And here is a view of the whole room.
Let's start at my buffet. It's regularly my favorite spot in the kitchen! I love this piece, I invested time in in, created it, rehabbed it, whatever you want to call it. You can read/see that makeover in this post. Here is how it looks for fall.
I made that fruity garland. I had bought several different fillers and mixed them all together. The pieces are foam, so I just threaded embroidery floss through them.
Over at the table I decorated using my dough bowl. I like to keep the center piece low profile here, so we can all still see each other while we eat! I used white pumpkins and candles as the main item, then filled with leaves and picks from there. I love this purple and green together!
There we have it! Next is the living room, entry and upstairs. I made a new wreath for the upstairs. It is super easy to make. Can't wait to show you!
Be sure to pin these for later!