Polymer formulation

Polymer formulation CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Pigments are additives in a polymer formulation which provide countless possibilities to designers who want to differentiate their product. Legislation and uprising environmental awareness has led to the gradual phasing out of heavy metal inorganic pigments and increased usage of organic pigments. Despite their good heat stability, light fastness, tinctorial strength and low cost, certain organic pigments are widely known to cause significant warpage in polyethylene mouldings (even at pigment concentrations as low as 0.1% wt).[1,2] This phenomenon is especially common in large thin-walled mouldings such as lids, bottle crates and trays.[3] It is generally accepted that the warpage phenomenon is caused by the nucleating effect these organic pigments have on polyethylene. They act as nucleating agents, increasing crystallisation rate and altering the morphology of mouldings. Morphological changes cause higher internal stress which leads to distortion.[2] Adding on to the problem, different organic pigments nucleate polyethylene to different degrees, making it impossible to produce mouldings with identical dimensions using identical processing conditions when a variety of pigments are used.[4] Numerous attempts have already been made, with usually moderate success, to solve organic pigment induced warpage. They range from adjusting process parameters, mould design changes, pre-treatment of pigments, to incorporation of additional additives. A review of literature in this research area showed that although some studies have been conducted to investigate the incorporation of nucleating agents to override nucleating effects of organic pigments on polypropylene, limited information of this sort exists for polyethylene. The specific mechanism behind nucleating agents overriding nucleation by organic pigments is also still unclear. Therefore, it is the aim of this research to study the influence of nucleating agents, based on potassium stearate and carboxylic acid salts, on the crystallisation and warpage behaviour of high density polyethylene containing copper phthalocyanine green pigment. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Optical Microscopy (OM) will be employed to follow the crystallisation behaviour of the formulations and correlations between rate of crystallisation and shrinkage behaviour will also be made. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Nucleation and Crystallisation of Semi-Crystalline Polymers 2.1.1. Crystallisation Mechanisms Crystallisation involves the formation of an ordered structure from a disordered phase, such as melt or dilute solution.[5] The crystallization process of polymers is thermodynamically driven. It is governed by change in Gibbs free energy, ΔG.[6] ΔG = ΔH TΔS (2-1) Where ΔH is change in enthalpy, T is absolute temperature and ΔS is change in entropy. When ΔG is negative, crystallisation is thermodynamically favourable. This occurs when loss of enthalpy upon crystallization exceeds the loss of entropy multiplied by absolute temperature. It can therefore be derived that as the absolute temperature of the system falls, the driving force of crystallisation will increase.[7] For a polymer to crystallise, it must conform to the following requirements:[8] Molecular structure must be regular enough to allow crystalline ordering Crystallisation temperature must be below melting point but not close to glass transition temperature Nucleation must occur before crystallisation Crystallisation rate should be sufficiently high A hundred percent crystallinity is not possible in polymers due to factors such as chain entanglements, viscous drag and branching. Thus they are termed ‘semi-crystalline. All semi-crystalline polymers exhibit a unique equilibrium melting temperature above which crystallites melt and below which a molten polymer starts to crystallise. The crystallisation of semi-crystalline polymers is a two-step process consisting crystal nucleation and crystal growth.[6] 2.1.2. Primary Nucleation Primary nucleation can be defined as the formation of short-range ordered polymer aggregations in melt which act as a focal centre around which crystallization can occur.[9] There are three mechanisms of primary nucleation, namely, homogeneous nucleation, heterogeneous nucleation and orientation induced nucleation.[10] 2.1.2.1. Homogeneous Nucleation Homogeneous nucleation involves the spontaneous creation of nucleus in a semi-crystalline polymer melt when it is cooled below its equilibrium melting temperature.[7] This process is termed as sporadic as nuclei are formed in timely succession.[11] Creation of nuclei occurs when statistical variation within a polymer melt results in the formation of ordered assemblies of chain segments larger than a critical size[7]; usually between 2-10nm.[11] Below this critical size, the nuclei are unstable and may be destroyed.[11] Generally, super-cooling to between 50-100Â °C below equilibrium melting temperature is minimally required to achieve true homogeneous nucleation.[12] The super-cooling is attributed to the energy barrier homogeneous nuclei are required to overcome to reach stability.[7]. When molecular segments pack next to each other to form an embryo, there is a change in free energy, ΔG, caused by two opposing mechanisms. The creation of new crystal surface increases free energy (ΔS is negative) while the reduction in volume of the system decreases free energy (Δ(U+pV) ≈ ΔH is negative). The two opposing mechanisms lead to a size-dependent free energy curve which defines critical nucleus size.[13] A small embryo has high surface to volume ratio and so ΔG is positive; in other words, crystal growth is not thermodynamically favourable.[13,14] However as nuclei grow, the surface to volume ratio decreases up to a point where volume change outweighs the creation of new surface and change in free energy decrease; crystal growth becomes increasingly probable. This point is defined as critical nuclei size and above this point, the energy barrier is overcome.[13,14] Eventually when ΔG becomes negative, nuclei are thermodynamically stable, pavi ng the way for further growth into lamellae or spherulites.[14] The minimum number of unit cells required to form a stable nuclei decrease when temperature decrease, due to a reduction in energy barrier. In other words, the rate of homogeneous nucleation increases when temperature of the polymer decreases.[7] 2.1.2.2. Heterogeneous Nucleation In practice, one usually observes heterogeneous nucleation and not homogeneous nucleation.[15] Heterogeneous nucleation involves the formation of nuclei on the surface of foreign bodies present in the molten phase of a semi-crystalline polymer. The foreign bodies can take the form of adventitious impurities such as dust particles or catalyst remnants, nucleating agents added on purpose or crystals of the same material already present in the molten phase (self-seeding).[7,8] The presence of foreign bodies greatly reduces the energy barrier for the formation of stable nuclei. This reason for this is, polymer molecules which solidify against pre-existing surfaces of foreign bodies create less new liquid/solid interface than the same volume of polymer molecules forming a homogeneous nucleus.[6] In turn, critical size of nuclei is smaller in heterogeneous nucleation as compared to homogenous nucleation so that heterogeneous nucleation always occurs at lower supercooling.[16] Foreign bodies with crystallographic spacings matching the semi-crystalline polymer are especially effective heterogeneous nucleating agents. Favorable nucleation sites include crystal grain boundaries, cracks, discontinuities and cavities.[7] 2.1.2.3. Orientation-Induced Nucleation Orientation-induced nucleation is caused by some degree of molecular alignment in the molten phase of a semi-crystalline polymer. Molecular alignment reduces the entropy difference between the molten and crystalline state of the polymer. This kind of nucleation is important in various processes such as fibre melt-spinning, film-forming and injection moulding. In these processes, polymer melt is sheared before and during crystallisation.[8,17] 2.1.3. Crystal Growth 2.1.3.1. Primary Crystallisation Primary crystallisation occurs when melt of a semi-crystalline polymer is cooled below its equilibrium melting temperature. It involves molecular segments depositing onto the growing face of crystallites or nuclei. The resultant crystal growth occurs along the a and b axes, relative to the polymers unit cell. These additions of molecular segments can occur through two mechanisms: tight fold adjacent re-entry or independent deposition (illustrated in Figure 2.3).[6] Tight fold adjacent re-entry requires that chain stems be laid down continuously from a single polymer molecule in a series of hairpin bends until its length is exhausted. This single molecule is thought to be ‘reeled in from surrounding molten material.[7] This mechanism requires that molecular motions along the polymer molecules contour length to be several times faster than the rate of crystal growth. On the other hand, the independent deposition mechanism only requires localized motion of molecular segments. Molecular segments only need to re-organise sufficiently to align with molecular segments at the crystallite face.[6] tight fold adjacent re-entry independent deposition[6] 2.1.3.2. Secondary Crystallisation After a semi-crystalline polymer is cooled to room temperature, crystallisation is still thermodynamically favourable but restricted by the low mobility of molecular segments in its amorphous regions. Over an extended period of time, which can span from hours to weeks, re-arrangement of molecular segments within amorphous regions can lead to further crystal growth. This process is defined as secondary crystallisation. Secondary crystallisation can take two forms; either thickening of pre-existing crystallites by re-organisation of amorphous chain segments adjacent to crystallite surface or creation of new crystallites by re-organisation of amorphous chain segments in interstitial regions between pre-existing crystallites. [6] 2.1.4. Rate of Crystallisation The crystallisation of semi-crystalline polymers is a two-step process and therefore overall crystallisation rate is governed by both nucleation rate and crystal growth rate. Both factors are highly temperature dependent, as illustrated in Figure 2.4. When temperature is just below equilibrium melting point, there exists a meta-stable region where rate of nucleation is low as nuclei that are formed dissolve easily due to high thermal motions.[8] As super-cooling increases, thermodynamic conditions become more favourable and rate of nucleation increases and reaches a maximum near the glass transition temperature. On the other hand, kinetic conditions are less favourable as super-cooling causes viscosity to increase. This results in a shift in maximum rate of crystal growth to higher temperatures where viscosity decrease is balanced by formation of nuclei.[8,18] Overall crystallisation rate at a given temperature is usually expressed as the inverse of time needed for half of the crystals to grow in the polymer (1/ t1/2).[8] When crystallisation occurs under isothermal conditions, its progress can be expressed by the Avrami equation:[8] Xc(t) = 1 exp (-K.tn) (2-2) Where Xc(t) is the fraction of material transformed at time t, n is the Avrami exponent and K is the Avrami rate constant. Equation (2-2) may also be written as:[19] ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) = n ln (t) + ln K (2-3) So that n and K may be obtained by plotting ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) against ln (t); n is the slope while ln K is the y-intercept.[19] The value of the Avrami exponent, n, is dependent on mechanism of nucleation and geometry of crystal growth. Theoretical values of n corresponding to different nucleation modes and crystal growth shape are tabulated in Table 2.1.[19] Crystal Growth Shape Nucleation Mode Avrami Exponent (n) Rod Heterogeneous 1 Homogeneous 2 Disc Heterogeneous 2 Homogeneous 3 Sphere Heterogeneous 3 Homogeneous 4 Table 2.1: Relation between n and nucleation mode / crystal growth shape[19] When crystallisation occurs under constant-cooling-rate conditions, its progress can be expressed by the Ozawa equation:[8] Xc(t) = 1 exp (-Ä ¸(t) / Ï•m) (2-4) Where Ä ¸(t) is the Ozawa rate constant, Ï• is the constant cooling rate (- ÃŽ ´T/ÃŽ ´t) and m is the Ozawa exponent. Equation (2-4) may also be written as: ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) = m ln (t) + ln Ä ¸(t) (2-5) So that m and Ä ¸(t) may be obtained by plotting ln ( -ln |1-Xc(t)| ) against ln (t); m is the slope while ln Ä ¸(t) is the y-intercept. Qiu et al. combined the Avrami and Ozawa equations to make a connection between the Avrami and Ozawa exponents:[20] log Ï• = log F(T) a log t (2-6) Where a = n/m and the kinetic function F(T) = (Ä ¸(t) / K)1/m. At a given degree of crystallinity, a plot of log Ï• against log t will yield a and log F(T) as the slope and y-intercept respectively.[20] 2.2. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) 2.2.1. Chemical Structure, Crystallisation Rate and Morphology High density polyethylene, HDPE, is a semi-crystalline polymer made up of repeat units (C2H4)n and has a general form as illustrated in Figure 2.5. It consists mainly of unbranched molecules with very few defects to disrupt its linearity or hinder crystalline packing. As such, HDPE has a high rate of crystallisation, degree of crystallinity and density (0.94-0.97 g/cm3).[7] Being a semi-crystalline polymer, HDPE exhibits a three-phase morphology consisting of submicroscopic crystals surrounded by a non-crystalline phase comprising a partially ordered layer adjacent to the crystals and disordered material in the intervening spaces. This is illustrated in Figure 2.6.[7] The unit cell of HDPE, defined as the smallest arrangement of its chain segments that can repeat in three dimensions to form a crystalline matrix, is orthorhombic; a cuboid with each of its axes having different lengths while the angles of adjoining faces are all 90Â °. Each unit cell is made up of two ethylene repeat units; a complete unit from one chain segment and parts of four others from surrounding chain segments.[7] Bank and Krim[21] reported that the a, b and c axes of a polyethylene unit cell are of dimensions 7.417, 4.945 and 2.547Ã… respectively. This is illustrated in Figure 2.7. orthogonal view, view along c-axis[7] HDPE unit cells pack together in a three dimensional array to form small crystals known as crystallites. Most commonly, crystallites of HDPE take the form of ‘lamellae; crystallites with a and b dimensions that are much greater than their c dimensions. Lamellae thicknesses are usually between 50 to 200Ã… while lateral dimensions can range from a few hundred angstroms to several millimetres. Figure 2.8 illustrates a HDPE lamella.[7] Various models have been proposed to explain the arrangement of molecular chains in lamellae. They include adjacent re-entry with tight folds, switchboard, loose loops and a model with combined features (illustrated in Figure 2.9). As molecular length of HDPE is known to be many times greater than lamellae thickness, all models indicate some form of chain folding. However, they differ in their specific nature of folding.[7] d) composite model[7] In HDPE, the most common large scale-structures composed of crystalline and non-crystalline regions are known as ‘spherulites. A spherulite consists of lamellae growing outward radially from a common nucleation site. As this growth advance into amorphous molten polymer, local inhomogeneities in concentrations of crystallisable segments will be encountered. This causes the folded chain fibrils to inevitable twist and branch. As illustrated in Figure 2.10a, a spherulite will resemble a sheaf in its early stage of development. Fanning out of the growing lamellae will subsequently produce a spherical structure but true spherical symmetry is never achieved due to impingement of neighbouring spherulites. This growth of spherulites also involves the segregation of non-crystalline materials into regions between lamellar ribbons. Thus the overall structure of a spherulite consists of twisted and branched lamellae with polymer chains mostly perpendicular to their long axis and amorphous regions (illustrated in Figure 2.10b).[22] 2.3. Organic Pigments 2.3.1. Copper Phthalocyanine Pigments: Copper Phthalocyanine Green Copper phthalocyanines are a class of organic pigments which dominate the sectors of blue and green coloration of polymers. This dominance can be attributed to desirable properties such as high tinctorial strength, bright hues, excellent light and weather fastness excellent heat stability and good chemical resistance.[23] In addition, in spite of its structural complexity, this class of pigments is inexpensive as they are manufactured in high yield from low cost starting materials.[24] The parent compound of copper phthalocyanine pigments is extremely easy to prepare; a phthalic acid derivative is condensed with a source of nitrogen such as urea and a copper salt such as cuprous chloride in the presence of a metal catalyst such as vanadium or molybdenum. This is usually done in organic solvents, at elevated temperatures (approximately 200Â °C) and sometimes under increased pressure. The resultant crude copper phthalocyanine (yields of over 90%) is purified commercially by one of several processes; salt attrition, solvent-free salt attrition, acid pasting and acid swelling.[3,25] Figure 2.11 illustrates the chemical structure of the copper phthalocyanine parent compound. It consists of a tetrabenzoporphyrazine nucleus containing a central copper atom. The planar molecule is in the form of a quadratic shape with length and thickness of 1.3nm and 0.34nm respectively.[27] This parent copper phthalocyanine compound, which is characterised by unsubstituted benzene rings, is used as blue pigment. Copper phthalocyanine blue is polymorphous and exists in five crystal forms. Out of the five, the two of commercial importance are the alpha and beta forms while the other three are distorted ÃŽ ± forms.[27] Different crystal forms bring about a variation in the blue shade. Alpha crystals exhibit a bright-red-shade blue while beta crystals exhibit a green-shade blue.[26] C.I. pigment green 7, b) C.I. pigment green 36 (3y), C.I. pigment green 36 (6y)[28] Copper phthalocyanine green, the pigment of interest in this project, is produced from the copper phthalocyanine blue by replacing the hydrogens on the four benzene rings with halogens. Unlike its blue counterpart, where variation of shade is achieved by modification of crystal form, variation in the green shade is controlled by degree of chlorination or bromination. Copper phthalocyanine green only has one known crystal form.[26] The two types of copper phthalocyanine green pigments are colour index (C.I.) pigment green 7 and colour index (C.I.) pigment green 36. C.I. pigment green 7 is a blue-shade green made by introducing thirteen to fifteen chlorine atoms to replace hydrogens in the benzene ring of the copper phthalocyanine blue molecule (illustrated in Figure 2.12(a)). C.I. pigment green 36 is a yellow-shade green made by gradual replacement of chlorine atoms in C.I. pigment green 7 with bromine atoms. The most brominated C.I. pigment green 36, known as 3y, has an extreme yello w shade (illustrated in Figure 2.12(c)) while the least brominated C.I. pigment green 36, 6y, has a much more bluish shade (illustrated in Figure 2.12(b)).[28] The outstanding tinctorial and fastness properties of both copper phthalocyanine green pigments allow their application under the harshest conditions. They can be used effectively in masstone tints and shades down to the very palest depth. Both green pigments can be processed at temperatures in excess of 260Â °C with little colour change. They have even better chemical and colour stability than copper phthalocyanine blues. On comparison, C.I. pigment green 7 is preferred over C.I. pigment green 36. The latter is weaker and more opaque and accounts for less than 5% of copper phthalocyanine greens used in the polymer industry.[3] 2.3.2. Effect of Copper Phthalocyanine Green and Other Organic Pigments on Properties and Crystallisation Behaviour of Moulded Polyolefins Although the combination of spectacular performance and low cost make copper phthalocyanine green ideal pigments, its use is not without challenges. It is widely known that copper phthalocyanine green and a few other pigments can cause unacceptable levels of shrinkage and warpage in moulded parts of polyolefins.[2,29] The problem persists even at pigment concentrations as low as 0.1% wt.[2] Shrinkage can be described as reduction in moulded part dimensions in reference to mould cavity dimensions.[30] Warpage is a measure of out-of-plane distortion and commonly arises from the relaxation of unbalanced residual stress in a moulded part or unbalanced shrinkage in flow and transverse direction.[30] The early work of Turturro et al.[2] demonstrated that this shrinkage and warpage phenomenon is only limited to organic pigments. It was reported that no distortion occurred in HDPE mouldings containing inorganic pigments such as BBS red (cadmium selenide), 21 M yellow (blend of PbCrO4, PbSO4 and PbMoO4) and 500 L yellow (complex of Ni and Ti). Findings from later studies by Bugnon et al.[31] and Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] are in good agreement. Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] reported similar observations when they incorporated inorganic pigments, TiO2, Fe2O3 and Cd Y into HDPE and PP. Using scanning electron microscopy, Bugnon et al.[31] were able to show that when inorganic pigments such as CdS or CrTiO4 are incorporated into HDPE, there is no interaction between pigment surface and polymer. The polymer essentially builds a cavity around the pigment. On the other hand, an organic pigment of diketo-pyrrolo-pyrrole chemistry was found to blend into the HDPE matrix. This led them to propose that in organic pigments do not induce shrinkage and warpage as their chemical constitutions and polar hydrophilic surfaces have no interactions with polymers and do not influence their crystallisation behaviour. It is generally agreed that the shrinkage and warpage of polyolefins induced by copper phthalocyanine green and other organic pigments is associated with the nucleating effect these compounds have on the polymers.[2,29,31] These compounds provide a foreign surface that reduces the free energy of formation of a new polymer nucleus.[27] Vonk[32] was one of the first few individuals who pointed out that organic pigments can act as nucleating agents for polyethylene. The nucleating effect of organic pigments on polyolefins has since been the focus of intensive studies over the years. The key literature identified from this research area is that produced by Koh[33] for Clariant (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Koh[33] studied the influence of C.I. pigment green 7 and C.I. pigment green 36 on the crystallisation and properties of HDPE. It was reported that the high level of differential shrinkage in HDPE mouldings incorporated with copper phthalocyanine greens was accompanied by increased crystallisat ion rate, increased peak / onset crystallisation temperature and reduced spherulite size. These findings clearly indicate that copper phthalocyanine green can act as a nucleating agent for HDPE. It was also reported that increasing pigment concentration will cause an increase in crystallisation rate and level of differential shrinkage. Kohs[33] findings are in line with those from similar studies carried out by Turturro et al.[2], Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] and Silberman et al.[34] Turturro et al.[2] observed a similar nucleating effect of copper phthalocyanine green on HDPE with the aid of depolarisation and dilatometry techniques. In addition, they found that the Avrami exponent value of HDPE decreases with increasing concentration of copper phthalocyanine green; which indicates a shift in morphology, away from the spherulitic one characteristic of pure polyethylene. They proposed that the strong nucleating effect of copper phthalocyanine green causes only the development of fibrils in HDPE, which subsequently do not organise into spherulites. Interestingly, they also found that pigments do not affect the absolute level of crystallinity in HDPE; implying that these compounds affect only the kinetics and not the thermodynamics of the crystallisation process.[2] Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] and Silberman et al.[34] showed that , apart from HDPE, copper phthalocyanine green can also act as a nucleating agent for PP. Moreover, Silberman et al.[34] found that the addition of copper phthalocyanine green into PP would increase its lamellar size and decrease the activation energy (Uact) of its crystallisation process. The explanation they put forward for these observations was based on the specific chemical structure of the pigment. The symmetry of nitrogen in the copper phthalocyanine green molecule, with an absence of complex structures was thought to promote the dynamic adsorption of PP molecules on the pigment surface and the subsequent crystallisation process. This will lead to the formation of a perfect crystal structure of large lamellar size. Together, the works from all three authors demonstrated that, besides copper phthalocyanine green, organic pigments of anthraquinone, perylene, quinacridone, copper phthalocyanine blue and condense azo chemistries can also act as nucleating agents for polyolefins.[ 2,29,34] At this point, with the aid of various papers, it is established that shrinkage and warpage of polyolefins induced by copper phthalocyanine green and other organic pigments are associated with these pigments serving as nucleating agents for the polymer. However the specific mechanism correlating nucleating effect and shrinkage or warpage has yet to be discussed. Both Turturro et al.[2] and Suzuki Mizuguchi[29] proposed the same explanation for this phenomenon. In a moulding process such as injection moulding, the quench rate is not the same at different parts of the polymer. Polymer melt in contact with mould walls crystallise and ‘freeze very quickly, which results in crystals of low perfection with polymer chains oriented in the direction of flow. This layer of imperfect crystals in turn impedes heat exchange between polymer melt in the core regions and the mould walls. As a result, polymer melt in the core regions cool slowly and give rise to regular crystals. As the surfac e ‘freezes very quickly, contraction in the core regions due to crystallisation will produce stress in the ‘frozen outer layer and cause distortion. In addition, relaxation of oriented regions after removal of polymer from the mould will also cause internal stress and lead to distortion. The presence of a strong nucleating agent such as copper phthalocyanine green will limit the time available for oriented chains to recover during cooling and also increase the thickness of the skin layer. Both factors will lead to more pronounced distortion.[2,29] Apart from altering the shrinkage and warpage behaviour of polyolefins, the nucleating effect of copper phthalocyanine green and other organic pigments is thought to also have a marked influence on the mechanical properties of polyolefins. An investigation of how certain organic pigments affect the mechanical properties of HDPE was undertaken by Lodeiro et al.[1] They found that tested pigments, copper phthalocyanine blue and irgalite yellow do affect the principal mechanical properties of HDPE. In particular, it was observed that the presence of small amounts of phthalocyanine blue in HDPE is sufficient to cause an increase in ductility, reduction in Youngs modulus (up to 10%), reduction in yield stress and increase in failure strain. They attributed these consequences to smaller and more numerous spherulites induced by the pigment; smaller spherulites in larger numbers, each surrounded by amorphous material, results in a polymer that will deform more readily and have lower yield st ress and higher failure strain. 2.4. Nucleating Agents 2.4.1. Heterogeneous Nucleation of Polyethylene: Nucleating Agents Based on Potassium Stearate and Carboxylic Acid Salts Nucleating agents have traditionally been added to semi-crystalline polymers to enhance processing and end product characteristics. The incorporation of these compounds results in shorter cycle time as they increase the crystallization rate of semi-crystalline polymers, ensuring faster solidification from the melt upon cooling. Their addition also results in the formation of smaller spherulites in semi-crystalline polymers. This change in spherulite size improves mechanical properties (such as tensile strength, hardness and modulus) and optical properties (such as haze and transparency).[8,35] Polyethylene, and in particular high density polyethylene, has an extremely fast rate of crystallization, which makes it very hard to nucleate.[8,35] This is probably the reason why little has been published on its nucleating agents. That being said, a handful of nucleating agents have been identified to date. Together, the works of Solti et al. and Ge et al. showed that benzoic acid, talc and Na2CO3 can effectively nucleate polyethylene.[8] Besides the use of particulate or low molecular weight nucleating agents, polyethylene can also be nucleated by epitaxial crystallization on another polymer substrate. Loos et al. was able to demonstrate the melt crystallisation of LLDPE on oriented HDPE.[8] Potassium stearate is another nucleating agent tha

Made Up Myth Character Essay

Strength: Sharp teeth, muscular body, strong, good eyesight, excellent sense of smell, and giant feet. Weaknesses: Low self esteem, ability to get influenced, unattractive, not social, and obese. Sizzina, a transformed monster, was once a normal human being like all of us. The halls in the school were filled with praises about Sizzina. She had sharp features, beautiful eyes, blonde curly hair, an amazing skinny figure. She was the girl everyone wanted to know and to socialize with. However, the admiration got to her head. Sizzina was now conceited. Students, friends, and teachers were treated like servants. They did her homework, followed her around everywhere, took orders from her, and also did her chores. They didn’t have status or value in the eyes of Sizzina. The halls that were once filled with praises and commandments were now turned into hearts filled with hatred. The god of beauty, Sonia, noticing all the injustice occurring to other students made a ever changing decision. Sizzina had to learn her lesson! Sonia decided to turn Sizzina into an unattractive monster. A monster that would not receive any appreciation. Sooner nor later, her high self esteem turned into an ocean filled with tears. Sizzina, could not handle the embarrassment which led to the encounter of â€Å"weird† friends. One day, Sonia noticed the drastic changes occurring in Sizzina. Sizzina was now more aware of true friendship that she had never known before. Also, she became so close to her friends that she couldn’t imagine her life without them. They gossiped, chatted, shopped, ate food, and did all their daily activities together. She was no longer lonely. She appreciated her friends more than her family. Material items did not have any value for her anymore. Love and friendship was the only thing that had a position an space for in her life and heart. However, she didn’t know that one day she would have a difficult decision between her old beautiful self life or this current life in which she was a monster, but with wonderful friends. After a long night of sleep, she woke up in the morning not in her cozy bed. She was in the clouds between an unknown stranger. Sonia said â€Å"Hello Sizzina! I know everything about you. I know you have a lot of questions in your mind right now but this isn’t the right time for them. Today is a really important day for you because it’s going to change your life completely. You have to make the decision between choosing your old life where everyone admired you or the life that you have as a monster. But don’t forget, chose the life that has more value and meaning to you. A life that you would never regret.† This was one of the hardest choice Sizzina had to ever make. She was flip flopping between her old life and her current. However, in the end, she without a doubt chooses her current life due to her amazing friends that were there for her in her rough times. They’re people who she would never want to lose. Beauty has no importance in front of friendship. Friends truly love you for who you are and not for your physical appearance.

Human Resource Development and Workers Commitment in Nigeria

INTRODUCTION The focus of this paper is to examine the role of human resource development and workers commitment in organization in particular and in Nigeria as a whole. For the purpose of this study, the concept of human resource development and manpower development will be used interchangeably. In any organization, it is the workforce who is considered important assets for the achievement of organizational goals. Every industry desires to maximize its human resources to see that the best output is achieved.Therefore, human resource development policies are closely associated to that aspect of human resource management that is concerned with investing in people and developing the organization’s human capital. Keep (1989) in his view say: one of the primary objectives of human resource management is the creation of condition whereby the latent potential of employees will be realized and their commitment to the causes of the organization secured.This latent potential is taken t o include, not only the capacity to acquire and utilize new skills and knowledge but also a hitherto untapped wealth of ideas about how the organization’s operations might be better ordered. The issue for employers goes beyond the need to upgrade the skills of the current workforce. It is also necessary to equip future entrants to the workforce with the requisite education which make them ‘trainable’ for emerging and constantly changing skills requirement.It is generally believed that if overall human conditions are to improve, there must be increasing emphasis on human resources development. Appropriately, such development provides for increase in productivity, enhance competitiveness and support economic growth. The importance of human resources development is obvious when one considered that in any economic activity, it is the human element that commands, direct, organizes, controls and maximizes. CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION Training and development remains a maj or component of human resource development.By definition, human resource (HR) is the manpower, employee or worker required by an organization; be it public or private to enable it achieves its predetermined objectives. That is, the purpose for which it is set up. It could mean the entire human resource (skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled) available within the country. Human resource development or otherwise manpower development is a continuous process of impacting new information, skills, attitude and ideas to employees dictated by the requirement of job change. It is a means of overcoming employee obsolescence through education and training.In other words, HR-development is a means by which employees are kept current on their official duties, this means in effect that it is the process of preparing the total quantitative and qualitative human asset in a nation or organization so that they can move with the nation or organizations as they develop, change and grow. Human resources d evelopment is a combination of training and education that ensure the continual improvement and growth of both the individual and the organization. Adam Smith stated that, â€Å"the capacities of individuals depended on their access to education†.In economic term, it could be describe as the accumulation of human capital and its effective investment in the development of a nation’s economy. In political term, manpower or HR development prepares people for adult participation in political process particularly as a citizen in democratic country. On the whole, HRD is the process of planning and controlling the way in which a person’s performance and potentials are developed by training and educational development programmes. WORKERS COMMITMENT A wide variety of definitions and measure of workers commitment exist.Beckeri, Randal, and Riegel (1995) defined the term in a three dimensions: 1. a strong desire to remain a member of a particular organization; 2. a willing ness to exert high levels of efforts on behalf of the organization; 3. a define belief in and acceptability of the values and goals of the organization. To Northcraft and Neale (1996), commitment is an attitude reflecting an employee's loyalty to the organization, and an ongoing process through which organization members express their concern for the organization and its continued success and well being.Organizational commitment is determined by a number of factors, including personal factors (e. g. , age, tenure in the organization, disposition, internal or external control attributions); organizational factors (job design and the leadership style of one's supervisor); non-organizational factors (availability of alternatives). All these things affect subsequent commitment (Nortcraft and Neale, 1996). Mowday, Porter, and Steer (1982) see commitment as attachment and loyalty. These authors describe three components of commitment: ? an identification with the goals and values of the o rganization ?A desire to belong to the organization. ?A willingness to display effort on behalf of the organization. A similar definition of commitment emphasizes the importance of behaviour in creating it. Salancik (1977) conceives commitment as a state of being in which an individual becomes bound by his actions and it is these actions that sustain his activities and involvement. From this definition, it can be inferred that three features of behavior are important in binding individuals to act: visibility of acts, the extent to which the outcomes are irrevocable; and the degree to which the person undertakes the action voluntarily.To Salancik therefore, commitment can be increased and harnessed to obtain support for the organizational ends and interests through such things as participation in decision-making. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND WORKERS COMMITMENT IN NIGERIA The most important strategy for productivity improvement is based on the fact that huma n productivity, both high and low is determined by the attitudes of all those who work in the enterprise. Thus, to improve labour commitment, it is necessary to change attitude towards positive drive.These changes develop positive attitudes and an organizational culture which will be favourable towards productivity improvement as well as technological changes. To improve productivity, it is therefore necessary to manage change; this means motivating, inducing and generating change. Ashton and Felstead (1995) regard the investment by an organisation in the skills of employees as a ‘litmus test’ for a change in the way they are manages. First, the replacement of the words ‘training cost’ with investment responses to the outcomes of HRD where the continuation of viewing training s a short-term cost has persistently acted as a powerful break of many training strategies. Having defined human resource development as the study and practice of increasing the learni ng capacity of individuals, groups, collectives, and organizations through the development and application of learning-based interventions for the purpose of optimizing human and organizational growth and effectiveness, it is indicated that formal training enhances employees’ organizational commitment. Sharma 1989 had also found a correlation between training and organizational commitment.Organizations that offer employees a relative high degree of development opportunities and internal career possibilities were also found to have opportunities has also been reported to have a positive effect on perceived rationalism of the employment relation, which is also said to have accounted for higher levels of commitment and job satisfaction. In organizations that offer training opportunities, employee commitment and citizenship behaviour are found to be higher than in organizations that do not offer the same.Studies has also shown that violation of perceived training obligations resu lt in reduced organizational commitment and increased intentions to leave the organization. Tannenbaum et al. (1991) found that naval recruits who participated in an 8-week training held higher levels of affective commitment than before the training. EQUITY THEORY The theory was propounded by Adam Staley John in 1963 and this theory calls for a fair balance to be struck between an employee’s input (hard work, skill level, tolerance, enthusiasm etc. ) and employee’s output (salary, benefits, recognition etc).According to the theory, finding this fair balance serves to ensure a strong and productive relationship achieved with the employee, with the overall result being contended, motivated employees. Adam’s Equity Theory acknowledges that subtle and variable factors affect an employee assessment and perception of their relationship with their work and their employer. The theory is built on the belief that employees become de-motivated, both in relation to their jo b and their employer if they feel as though their inputs are greater than the output.This theory also compares the input and output between different workers at different levels. Bringing this theory to the level of work commitment in Nigeria, it will be noted that workers are highly de-motivated because of the inequality between their various input and their output. For instance, comparing the input of a University Professor with that of a Senator and relating it to their output, this will highly de-motivate professor to work. And these are some of the problem affecting workers commitment in Nigeria.HUMAN CAPITAL THEORY Human Capital theory was proposed by Schultz (1961) and developed extensively by Becker (1964). According to the theory, it suggests that education or training raises the productivity of workers by imparting useful knowledge and skills, hence raising workers’ future income by increasing their lifetime earnings (Becker, 1994). It postulates that expenditure on training and education is costly, and should be considered an investment since it is undertaken with a view to increasing personal incomes.The human capital approach is often used to explain occupational wage differentials. Human capital can be viewed in general terms, such as the ability to read and write, or in specific terms, such as the acquisition of a particular skill with a limited industrial application. In his view, human capital is similar to â€Å"physical means of production†, e. g. , factories and machines: one can invest in human capital (via education, training, medical treatment) and one's outputs depend partly on the rate of return on the human capital one owns.Thus, human capital is a means of production, into which additional investment yields additional output. Human capital is substitutable, but not transferable like land, labor, or fixed capital. This suggest that for human resource development to be effective and for workers to be more committed to the organization, the organizations concerned need to be more involved in the training and re-training of its workforce. THE HUMAN CAPITAL MODELThe human capital model suggests that an individual's decision to invest in training is based upon an examination of the net present value of the costs and benefits of such an investment. Individuals are assumed to invest in training during an initial period and receive returns to the investment in subsequent periods. Workers pay for training by receiving a wage which is lower than what could be received elsewhere while being trained. Since training is thought to make workers more productive, workers collect the returns from their investment in later periods through higher marginal roducts and higher wages. Human capital models usually decompose training into specific training, which increases productivity in only one firm, and general training, which increases productivity in more than one firm. Purely general training is financed by workers, and the workers receive all of the returns to this training. In contrast, employees and employers will share in the costs and returns of specific training. Despite these differences between general and specific training, the model predicts that both forms of training lower the starting wage and increase wage growth.THE NIGERIAN CONTEXT Human resource development in Nigeria has come a long way, but the process of actual resource development has been very gradual. Nigerian attempt at human resources development in particular cannot be separated from the country’s post-colonial attempt at accelerated education and industrialization. In a broader sense, every post colonial government’s investment in education has been for the purpose of providing the manpower which the nation needs in it private and public sectors.This led to the establishment of three (3) Universities by the three regional governments of West, East, and the North (University of Ibadan which is the first) and the establishment of University of Lagos by the federal government all within the first decade of post independence Nigeria. As a result of the country’s quest for technological development, polytechnics and universities of technology as stream in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Provision of universities and polytechnics education were meant to provide the national economy with the manpower it needs to develop and expand.The emphasis on formal and higher education as a basis of national human resource development was quite apparent in all the national development plans of post independence Nigeria. Gradually, the nation’s economic planners shifted attention to intervention in the areas of training and manpower development. In fairness to our earlier economic planners, Onasanya (2005) believes that â€Å"without education, there can be no training and without the two, there can be no development†.Government’s attempt at strengthening training and development in the national economy led to the establishment of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) in 1971; Administrative and Staff Training College of Nigeria (ASCON) in 1973; and Centre for Management Development (CMD) in 1976. The idea behind the three establishments is the provision of consultancy on training needs all enterprise, training higher level manpower staff, and conducting research into problems of manpower and administration in public and private sectors.Onasanya (2005) also believe government’s intervention as stated above must be appreciated in the Nigeria context because, â€Å"until recently, and probably until the intervention of the government (training was one of the ill-managed and haphazardly handled areas of modern enterprises. Training and development was seen as a waste of a workers labour hours (to his employer) and a way of denying the employer the service of the employee. The above analysis is not to take away the concerted effort in the public and private sectors towards training and human resource development.Public sector workers have many structured training programmes and many government have a ministry of establishment and training, as well as designated training centres. In the private sector, some notable sectors such as banking, telecommunications, and manufacturing industries are more proficient in training today than in the past. The efficiency of manpower training and new technology has helped these sectors in terms of better service delivery. But, are workers really committed in Nigeria?Workers’ commitment or otherwise in Nigeria is more than whether there human capacity is developed because there are many factors affecting workers motivation and commitment in Nigeria. The global economic meltdown has meant less security for workers in Nigeria and throughout the world. Even good workers do lose their jobs at these times, hence morale is generally low. Other factors such as culture, god-fatherism, ICT and other mod ern technologies have impacted negatively on workers morale and productivity in Nigeria. The gradual decimation of the power of labour unions have also not helped matter.TOOLS/METHOD FOR MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS The tools and methods for manpower development in organizations differs, and it is largely determined by the objectives of organizations, the idiosyncrasy of management staff or the chief executive, the organizational policy, as well as the organizational environment to mention a few. Thus, it is a common feature to see methods for manpower development varying from one organization to the other, just as a given organization can be tailored at adopting different methods at different times or a combination of techniques t the same time. However, some methods for manpower development are stated below: 1. Orientation: This method of manpower development could be said to be an integral part of the recruitment exercise in that once an employee has been found appointab le, it is expected that such an employee need to be positively oriented in line with the vision and aspiration of the organization for effective discharge of function. And since employee function in an organization is basically affected by his perception of the organization vis-a-vis the rules and principles that exist in the organization.It therefore follow that an employee undergoes formal and informal orientation in a place of work. While the formal orientation focuses on job specification and occupational demands placed on the employee, the informal orientation involve the social interaction that take place in the place of work which could either boost productivity or be detrimental to it (Koontz et al. 1980). Orientation therefore, as a method of manpower development is quite indispensable because it helps in boosting the productivity of workers which is needed for competing in the global market of the 21st century. . On the Job Method of Manpower Development: This method is ba sically different from the orientation method in that while orientation is at the point of entry into the organization or a new assignment; on the job method is a process through which knowledge and experience are acquired over a period of time either formally or informally. This process involve the following: (a)Coaching: This is a method of on the job training and development in which a young employee is attached to a senior employee with the purpose of acquiring knowledge and experience needed for the performance of tasks. Yalokwu, 2000). (b) Job Rotation: This method either involve the movement of an employee from one official assignment or department to the other, in order for the employee to be acquainted with the different aspects of the work process or through job enlargement – that is, given additional responsibility to an employee who has been uplifted as a result of the acquisition of additional skill or knowledge (Yalokwu, 2000; Lawal, 2006). (c) in House Training : This involve a formal method of on the job training n which skills and knowledge are acquired by employees through internally organized seminars and workshops geared toward updating the workers with new techniques or skills associated with the performance of their jobs. (Lawal, 2006). (d) In Service Training: These methods involve training outside the organization or workplace in higher institution of learning or vocational centres under the sponsorship of the organization or on terms that may be agreed upon between the organization and the worker (Lawal, 2006). 3.Committee/Work Group Method: This method entails manpower development through the involvement of employees in meetings, committees and work group discussion geared towards injecting inputs in form of decision making as regard solving organizational problem. This method is quite indispensable, especially in the aspect of training employees for managerial functions or heading organizational units. 4. Vestibule Training Met hod: This is a method of manpower development through the acquisition of skills in a related working environment (Nongo, 2005).Under this method the trainee practices his skill with identical equipment that he uses or he is expected to use in his actual place of work. This method is most suitable for sensitive operations where maximal perfection is expected. The purpose is therefore to enable perfection at work place. 5. Apprenticeship Method: This method of manpower development involve the acquisition of skill through extensive practice for over a period of time by the trainee. This type of manpower development device could either be formal or informal.In the informal environments the trainee is attached to the trainer, and he/she is expected to pay for an agreed period of apprenticeship (Nongo, 2005). In the formal environment on the other hand, an employee of an organization could be placed under apprenticeship in the organization with pay. THE RELEVANCE OF MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT I N NIGERIA 1. Economic Development: The relevance of manpower development in Nigeria could be situated vis-a-vis economic development. This is because manpower development captures the actual meaning of development in that it is people centered (World Bank 1991; Grawboski and Shields 1996).In addition, it involves the building of capacity and harnessing the State’s human resource which constitute a sine-qua-non for development. The above advantage was vividly conceptualized by Harbison (1973) when he stated that: Human resources constitute the ultimate basis for wealth of nations, capital and natural resources are passive factors of production; human beings are the active agents who accumulate capital, exploit natural resources, build social, economic and political organizations, and carry forward national development.Clearly a country which is unable to develop the skills and knowledge of its people and to utilize them effectively in the national economy will be unable to dev elop anything else. 2. Political Stability: There is no doubt that a country which fails to adequately develop her manpower would be doing so at the expense of her socio-economic and political stability.In the aspect of political stability, Omodia (2004) stressed the dysfunctional use of the nation’s human resource among the youths in propelling political instability when he stated that: †¦there has been situations in which the Nigerian youth especially, those of poor family background were used as tools for disrupting the political democratic system through rigging, thuggery and ethnic conflicts. These factors of rigging, thuggery in addition to economic mismanagement, personal ambition or selfishness among others, were the factors that terminated the First and Second Republic.Thus, manpower development could help the youths in the development of self and in improving the quality of their political participation. 3. Poverty Alleviation: It has been argued that effective poverty alleviation scheme must involve the development and utilization of local resource including human for solving local problems (Robb, 2000; Omodia, 2005). Thus, manpower development is central to solving the present problem of poverty in Nigeria. CHALLENGES FACING MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA 1.Colonial Experience: There have been several arguments regarding the distortions in manpower development of national growth in Nigeria as a result of colonialism which was fashioned towards economic exploitation (Ekpo, 1989; Ake, 2001; Dauda, 2003). It could be recalled that the advent of colonialism led to the integration of the Nigerian economy into the World Capitalist System thereby placing minimum premium on labour when compared to other factors of production. This poor performance of indigenous labour by the colonial government no doubt has persisted in the post-colonial Nigerian State.As a result, this problem account for the lack of adequate attention given to labour as a cr itical part of the production process in Nigeria. 2. Poor Political Leadership: Closely related to the problem of colonial experience as a problem of manpower development in Nigeria is poor political leadership which is further deepening the problem of manpower development in Nigeria. This factor has manifested itself in poor funding of education over the years (Baikie, 2002), disparity or class in manpower development between children of the rich and the poor (Omodia, 2006). 3.Poor Manpower Planning: This problem is associated with the poor data base that is needed for manpower planning in Nigeria both in the rural and urban centers. This problem no doubt constitutes a major hindrance on effective manpower development in Nigeria (Baikie, 2002; Oku 2003). 4. Poor Funding: Nigeria’s democracy has enhanced the practice of human resource development, determining the quota of expatriates it permits. Nigeria’s economy allows the importation of new technology to enhance huma n resource development, but training is still a bit slow, thus employment of expatriates to handle such is still encouraged.In Nigeria there is application of new management techniques and skills used in the running of organizations. All aimed at running cost effective system. 5. The socio-cultural diversity of Nigeria has influenced the human resource management practices in Nigeria. Nigeria is characterized by over reliance on culture, language, religion, gender and educational qualifications as a basis for determining who get employed and who need to be trained and re-trained. What this means is that, the opportunity for an average Nigeria to get employed is a factor of the aforementioned cases. CONCLUSIONThis paper have been able to situate or relate what could be referred to as manpower underdevelopment to socio-economic and political problems in Nigeria by looking at such factors as poverty, political instability and economic underdevelopment. From this background, it is there fore important to conclude that human resource development as a concept and method should be able to take its rightful place as a tool for development in Nigeria through the recognition of the fact that it is the most active and indispensable in the process of production even in the global age of the 21st century.RECOMMENDATION FOR EFFECTIVE MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA The options recommended for effective manpower development in Nigeria could be viewed from two basic perspectives: 1. The option of an enhanced regulatory capability on the part of government for effective reinforcement of manpower policies. This is quite indispensable based on the need to ensure quality manpower development irrespective of sex, class, ethnic affiliation to mention a few.This point could best be appreciated considering the liberal nature of most government policies which tend to snowball into elitist benefit in terms of policy outcome. 2. The need for government to be persuasive in making organiza tions embraces well designed policies at improving the development of manpower in Nigeria. This could be done both internally and externally. Internally, organizations should be made to see reasons why a careful manpower development plan should form part of their plans and objectives for the financial year.As a matter of fact, the success of organizations should not only be measured in terms of the magnitude of profit through the adoption of outdated personnel administration technique, but, basically on the contribution of the organization in enlarging the confidence of its workers through manpower development. The external factor involves the contribution of organization to the development of manpower through financial support meant to boost adult education, vocational education, and specialized research institutes to mention a few. REFERENCES Ake, C. (2001): Democracy and Development in Africa. Ibadan: Spectrum BooksLimited. Baikie, A. (2002): Recurrent Issues in Nigeria Education . Zaria: Tamaza Publishing Company. Becker, G. S. (1964): Human capital. New York: Columbia University Press. Dauda, S. (2003): The Crisis of Development in Africa: The Democratic Imperatives. J Dev Soc, Ekpo, A. H. (1989): Manpower Development in Nigeria. In: SC Ogbuagu (Ed. ): Strategy For National Development In Nigeria. Calabar: University of Calabar Press. FGN (1998): National Policy on Education. Lagos: Federal Government Press. Grabowski, R. , Shields, M. (1996): Development Economics. USA: Blackwell Publishers Incorporation.Harbison, F. (1973): Human Resources as the Wealth of Nations. New York: Oxford University Press. Koontz, H; O’Donnel. C; Weihrich, H. (1980): Management. Japan: McGraw Hill Publishing Company. Lawal, M. M. (2006): Manpower Management: A Hand Book for Personnel Managers and Students of Administration. Abuja: Roots Books and Journals Nigeria Limited. Nongo, S. (2005): Fundamental of Management, Makurdi: Aboki Publishing Company. Oku, O. (2003): The Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme: Issues and Problems of Policy Implementation. J Nig Langs Cul, Omeje,J. O. (2006): Developmental Psychology.Nnike Publishing Press, Enugu. Omodia, S. (2004): The Family as a Vehicle for Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria. J Fam Dev. Omodia, S. (2005): Poverty Alleviation in a Deregulated Economy. Challenges and Prospects For Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria. J Adm. Omodia, S. (2006): The Liberal and Elitist Perception of Public Policies in Nigeria: A Focus on the National Policy on Women and Education in the Nigerian Fourth Republic. Acad For Onasanya, S. A. B. (2005):Effective Personnel Management and Industrial Relation. Centre for Management Development, Lagos. Robb, C. M. (2002): Can the Poor Influence Policy?USA: World Bank. Sharma, B. R. (1989): A Study of the Relationship of Organizational Climate with Organisational; Commitment and Psychological Well being, PhD Thesis, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. Tannenbaum, S. L; Mathieu, J. E; Salas, E. & Cannon-Bowers, J. A. (1991): Meeting Trainees' Expectations: The Influence of Training Fulfillment on the Development of Commitment, Self-eficacy, and Motivation. The Journal of Applied Psychology. World Bank (1991): World Development Report. New York: Oxford University Press. Yalokwu, P. O. (2000): Management: Concept and Techniques . Lagos: Peak Publishers.

Belfast And Belfast Visitor Guide - 3467 Words

According to uniquely Northern Ireland (2008), and Belfast visitor guide (2011), Belfast is the capital and the largest city of the Northern Ireland. The climate is mild as a result of Atlantic Ocean breezes and the Gulf Stream, with comfortable summers and temperate winters, snow is uncommon, and however rainfall is heavy. Belfast has warmth and hospitality quite unlike anywhere else. Belfast is situated at the mouth of the River Lagan on the borders of County Antrim and down in the province of Ulster the city could be divided into quarters which each of them have a story to narrate to the visitors or the habitant. The quarters are City Centre, the Cathedral quarter, Queen’s quarter and Beyond the City Centre. Belfast is an adventurous†¦show more content†¦Belfast has about 12 different lines of express coach, bus and Rail network, they all pass through the centre of the city but they all go to different destination, so getting around Belfast couldn’t be ea sier with lots of transport options. This is an important fact to attract more tourism, so when they coming to a city they are able to travel easily with different types of transport that they can use. The topography of Belfast is lot of building, road, green land and the River Lagan. Natural Feature: Belfast as many natural features in their country I choose Lagan Meadows and Cave hill Park. According to www.discovernorthernireland.com, Lagan Meadows is situated in south Belfast alongside the River Lagan is a 120-acre park set aside for wildlife and public recreation. The woodlands, meadows and wetlands are home to a variety of wildflowers, birds, butterflies and other animals. The central region is managed as a nature reserve in conjunction with the Ulster Wildlife Trust. A path through Lagan Meadows joins with the Lagan Towpath to provide a varied and interesting walk. The park also hosts regular events, organised by Lagan Valley Regional Park and the Ulster Wildlife Trust. This natural feature will be visited by different types of tourist. A