The Unglamorous Interface of an iPad Research Paper

The Unglamorous Interface of an iPad - Research Paper Example For some, it’s a declaration of who they are and what they can afford, but for most, it’s merely coping to the dictates of the society. With this virtue, capitalists please consumers by delivering the sleekest, fastest, and newest innovation on devices almost every week pushing their limits far from what used to be impossible and pulling its realization to the now. Who does not drool with the sight of an iPad, or with the sleeked digital SLRs in the market, or the sleekest smart phone? Who would not want a lifeline device that can answer any query or do things for you with just a touch of your hand? Man’s means comes way out of hand sometimes in order to meet an unachievable goal so as the capitalist’s aim to manufacture more even if this equates to considerably creating environmental of humanitarian damages. These electronic devices do not end up on the shelves of a gadget store in a whisk on the capitalist’s wand for the consumers to buy it. It go es to a tedious process of conceptualizing, engineering, manufacturing, and marketing. And like in any organization, this process can be echoed as a pyramid with the product on the high end exposed to the world of consumers and the manufacturers at the bottom kept hidden from everyone’s awareness (Lacy, p.32). ... As it proved to be a cost saving method, the giants seek suppliers from low-wage high-labor countries in Asia (Kwok, 776). In the beginning, it was seen as a win-win situation where companies attain their production goal at a very low cost while the labor country receives employment and compensation to salvage their economy. Yet, as time goes, this gratification became one sided tilting the better end to the capitalists and leaving the laborers on the grim end. It is with everyone’s knowledge that manufacturing evolves chemicals and materials that are damaging to the health of the people and the environment. Policies and regulations have been made to control this situation. Unfortunately, not every company placed this on their priority list. Just like the incidence that occurred in one of the factories in Chengdu, China, where a twenty-two year old man, named Lai Xiaodong, died from an explosion while at work due to combustion of chemicals. It is the factory that polished thou sands of iPad cases every day. Even the world’s mightiest company such as Apple cannot come clean when it comes to ethical issues of their manufacturing scheme. As the demands for the latest recline so as their demand for these manufacturers on the other side of the world. And meeting these demands is parallel to long working hours for the laborers, poor compliance of policies, risk of negligence in monitoring safety precautions and even sorting to usage of cheaper more volatile chemicals to lower the production costs (Duhigg, par.9). Above are the images of industrial districts of China depicting its hazardous consequence to the environment and its people (Lu Guang). â€Å"Apple never cared about anything other than increasing product quality and decreasing production cost†¦

Socrates Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Socrates Philosophy Essay And now, Athenians, I am not going to argue for my sake, as you may think, but for yours, that you may not sin against the god, or lightly reject his favor by condemning me. For if you kill me you will not easily find another like me, who, if I may use such a ludicrous figure of speech, am a sort of gadfly, given to the state by the god; and the state is like a great and noble steed who is tardy in his motions owing to his very size, and requires to be stirred into life. (Socrates, The Apology) Socrates also refers to himself as a gadfly because he bites, and buzzes at the self-satisfied, which, indebted them to consider matters of virtue. He is also like a gadfly because he is likely to get swatted away because of his bite or words of wisdom. His job was to sting the sleeping horse of the Athenian conscious into wakefulness. Socrates said he was doing a service to the Athenian people by bringing them into reality. What Socrates meant by bringing them into reality was that he was enriching the people with questions and problems that made them think. He wanted them to think for themselves and not just agree with other people like the rich and powerful. He wanted the people to not be scared to think for themselves and he wanted them to learn. When Socrates refers to himself as a gadfly during his trial, he means that he is like an examiner of things. He said that he was given to the state by the god.(Socrates, The Apology) He means by this that he was put here to ask questions to examine life and its surroundings. Socrates is like a gadfly because he pesters his objects or people to hopelessness. He asked so many questions and his questions were so profound and intense, that many people became annoyed at him because they probably could not answer them because they were either too scared to answer them (because they knew that Socrates would probably ask another question on top of the first question if they were able to answer it), or they were just to confused to answer the question Socrates had asked. When Socrates referred himself to a gadfly, it opened up a window to new generations of philosophers who, acted like gadflies themselves. Everywhere we look, we see humanitys philosophical side waking up. People nowa days are asking more questions. I think one of the biggest philosophical questions is where did we come from? Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? From Socrates, we have learned a way to ponder these questions and to come up with our own answers. The role of philosophy is important because people need to ask questions to understand life and reality and what is going on around them. I think that asking questions and trying to find the answers to them makes our souls grow and be healthy. We need a healthy soul to be alive. Socrates wanted people to not be ignorant because he said that was unhealthy for the soul. The only way to not be ignorant is to ask questions. And that is exactly what Socrates did. I think that the whole ordeal of Socrates says that the conduct of philosophy changes. Philosophers conduct themselves in a manner to which they are essential and irreplaceable because of their minds, they have a great presence about them, and they dont criticize others for their beliefs, except for Socrates. On the other hand, people who listen to philosophers or go against them, sometimes are rude, they are ignorant, and they dont understand the point a philosopher is trying to make. The conduct of philosophy depends on the person and how they view things. The conduct of philosophy is like the conduct of gadflies because many people get annoyed by the philosophers because of their questions. By how in depth the questions are and by how many questions the philosophers ask. Some people think that philosophers are bothersome. In conclusion, I think all of these things and other things help to define what philosophy is today. If we didnt have people like Socrates and Plato and other great philosophers, where would we be to day in the realm of philosophy? Would people actually want or learn to question certain subjects? I think that if they hadnt ever been born, then we wouldnt think for our selves, or think great thoughts. We would be living in a pretty boring world.

Investment Analysis for Jewellery Business

Investment Analysis for Jewellery Business Executive Summary Babushka’s Baubles is a company producing jewellery at the budget end of the market and has seen a sharp decline in its financial position, in 2008. Despite this, sale levels are consistently high and gross profit margins are healthy. This report has uncovered potential problems in the costs attached to inventory such as administration and also in the way that the working capital is managed. However, the investors are confident that the company has a positive future and is, therefore, maintaining an earnings-to-price ratio which is far higher than the industry average. Introduction This report aims to give a summary of the position of Babushka’s Baubles as reflected in the accounts of the company, year ending September 2008, with reference to the accounts for the previous year. The aim of the report is to provide investors with a snapshot of the current financial position of the company and to draw conclusions in relation to the previous period. The report will also draw comparisons with a similar company in the same market sector (Benny’s Bling plc), in an attempt to explain the key factors influencing the company. (In doing so, the different strategies in terms of marketing position will also be identified and taken into consideration). As well as analysing the accounts for the benefit of the investors, other potential users of the accounts will be considered. This will enable the company to identify areas of potential improvement for the company for the future[1]. The report will first ask which groups are likely to be the key users of the accounts and what they would hope to achieve from reading and analysing the accounts, or the summary contained in this report. The report will then move on to consider the main body of the analysis, looking at the key ratios and what these tell the readers about the position of the company. Finally, conclusions will be drawn as to the current position of the company and the suggested improvements that could be made for the future of the company. User Groups Accounts are used by a multitude of people and for a wide range of purposes. It is important to recognise this when it comes to reporting the financial status, so that these accounts can be geared towards ensuring the appropriate information is given to the correct people. The primary users of any set of financial accounts are the investors. Looking at the figures and the trends of the company will allow investors to decide whether they should buy shares or sell the shares they own and what sort of return they should expect from investing in the company. As well as the investors, lenders will be keen to look at the financial status of the company so that they know the safety of the loans which they have forwarded to the company and also to make judgments if they are considering forwarding more loans to the company[2]. Managers primarily use the set of management accounts to give them the necessary information to make decisions in relation to the running of the company. However, they will also use the financial ratios and accounts to help establish where they are in relation to the sector, as a whole, and in comparison to specific competitors. For example, in this case, the managers can consider their ratios in comparison to those of Benny’s Bling in order to ascertain their competitive position and how potentially they could improve their own position in the future. Other users will include customers identifying how likely the company is to be able to continue to supply them for the future. Employees may also be interested in relation to their job security and career prospects. Financial Ratios Financial ratios are used as a way of presenting the financial position of the company and to provide greater analysis of the underlying financial accounts. Trends can be identified and they are particularly useful when it comes to drawing comparisons with other companies in a similar sector. In some circumstances, financial ratios can even assist in order to predict bankruptcy while it is still possible. Although ratios can be useful, there are also some limitations inherent in their use which can reduce their usefulness from the point of view of comparison with other companies. Each company is likely to follow slightly different accounting policies and standards, each of which will have an impact on the way that the ratios are displayed and may make the comparisons less useful than they could be. The ratios will only be as useful and as accurate as the financial information upon which they are based. Where the ratios are based on summary accounts, this may not give a truly accurate view of the underlying position and more investigation may be necessary in order to obtain a full impression of the company’s position[3]. Financial statements are historic and in some cases can be substantially out of date. This means that that the ratios, based on these statements, may no longer be relevant as they have already been superseded, prior to the analysis being undertaken. Furthermore, comparison across different accounting periods can be misleading as it does not take account of any inflationary effects. As the ratios will be compared with a competing company, caution should be exercised due to the naturally different structures and approaches being taken by the two companies. Different companies will inevitably have different approaches and comparing ratios directly may not take this into account. Babushka’s Baubles – Financial Ratio Analysis A detailed analysis of the ratios in relation to the company has been undertaken and, at relevant points, these have been compared with Benny’s Bling in order to try and obtain a rounded view of the company’s position, both in relation to the previous period and to one of its main competitors. Caution should be used as the two different companies have different market positions, with Benny’s Bling aiming for the upper end of the market in terms of both price and quality and Babushka’s Baubles focussing more on the budget end of the market, which is likely to lead to slightly different accounts. Profitability The gross profit figure simply shows how much is made on sales related to the cost of those sales; it does not include any reference to costs such as general administration or selling costs. The more complete figure is that of the net profit margin which shows the amount of money that is made once all cost of the sales have been taken into account. On a wider note, the return on capital employed shows how much is made for every  £1 of capital that is invested in the company[4]. In all cases, the performance of Babushka’s Baubles has weakened between 2007 and 2008. There has been a huge reduction in the net profit margin and also in the return on capital employed, with not such a large reduction in the gross profit margin. This indicates that non-direct costs such as administrative and selling costs have increased dramatically, but sales have not increased in proportion. The gross profit margin in Benny’s Bling has dropped from 26% to 25% in the last year which, although it reflects a reduction, is still considerably higher than the profit margins of Babushka’s Baubles. Liquidity Both tests for liquidity, the current asset and the quick ratio, are considered absolutely vital for all businesses. They reveal how readily the company can meet its liabilities with the cash that it has available. Cash is, of course, vital to the day to day running of the company and any weakness in this area could reveal imminent troubles for the company in terms of cash flow. This is one of the first indications of bankruptcy and should be taken seriously[5]. The current ratio shows how easily the company can meet all current liabilities with the current assets available. A company should aim to have a ratio of at least 1 in relation to this ratio. Although it has reduced form 1.85 to 1.80, it is still well above the recommended minimum of 1. The quick ratio, on the other hand, considers the current ratio, but taking out the inventory element of the current assets as these cannot be easily converted into cash and, therefore, may not be relied upon to meet current liabilities. In this case, Babushka’s Baubles has a ratio of 0.42 (up from 0.41 in 2007). This is considerably below the desired minimum of 1. Moreover, it indicates that the company has insufficient cash and too much in the way of inventory. Benny’s Bling shows a similar trend, but its quick ratio is 0.8 which is much closer to 1 and indicates a much better inventory management policy[6]. Efficiency Efficiency is the next area that we are going to consider, as this may give a clearer view of how inventory is being managed. Inventory has been identified as a potential problem and, therefore, this area should be carefully considered. These figures indicate how many days it takes from the point of the inventory entering the business to the point that the inventory leaves the business. Other figures indicate how long it takes for the company to pay debtors and how long it takes for the company to receive money from creditors. The inventory period has become slightly longer, 32.23 days (up from 31.51 in 2007), which shows that the company takes around a month to produce the jewellery for sale. Benny’s Bling, on the other hand, takes just 22 days. It takes the company 29.98 days, on average, to pay its suppliers. This is up slightly from 2007, showing that cash is staying in the business longer. This in itself is a reasonably healthy figure, but when compared with the 75.26 day period that the company takes to get money in from customers, it is clear to see that work needs to be done on getting cash into the business more quickly after the products have been sold. Benny’s Bling, conversely, takes an average of 46 days to pay suppliers, yet receives payments in 26 days, showing a much better control over cash flow. Gearing Gearing simply shows the value of loans the company has in relation to shareholders’ equity. Ideally, the amount of shareholders’ equity should be higher than loans, as this indicates that the company has fewer obligations in terms of interest payments and is, therefore, considered to be in a better position financially. The lower the gearing figure the better. The ratio has remained reasonably consistent at 7.7% (down from 7.8% in 2007). This is healthy and indicates a low level of long term loans. Benny’s Bling has a gearing ratio of 50%, which is considerably higher and indicates a much larger amount of long term loans within the company[7]. Investments ‘Earnings per share’ is a basic measure of how much money is earned in the business for every share. In the case of the company, it is expected that this will be lower than in Benny’s Bling, due to the large levels of shares and the relatively low dependence on long term debts[8]. Price per share shows whether the purchase price of the share relates to the actual earnings the share is bringing in. If this figure is high relative to other companies in the sector, it indicates that the market is generally positive about the future of the company and is expecting an increase in performance in future periods. A low figure indicates a pessimistic view. The company has earnings per share of 0.21, which is down considerably from 2007 at 0.35; this is due entirely to the substantial drop in net profits between 2007 and 2008. The price / earnings ration is 18.10, considerably higher than the sector average of 9, indicating that the market is generally positive about the future of the company. Conclusions The company is in a generally positive position, with a good gearing position and solid sales. However, the company has potential difficulties in the way that it manages its efficiency and liquidity. Issues such as receiving money from customers and inventory management could have a dramatic impact on the short term ability of the company to meet its short term cash requirements[9]. If the company could deal with the inventory and cash issues it would have a long term profitable future, a view shared by the investors in the earnings / price ratio. Bibliography Atrill, Peter, Financial Management for Decision Makers, Pearson Education, 2005 Britton, Anne, Waterston, Christopher, Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2005. Chadwick, Leslie, Comparing financial performance: Ratio analysis and retail management, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management, 12, 2, 1984. Drury, J.C., A Study of Industry Financial Ratios, Management Decision, 19, 1, 1981. Gillespie, Ian, Lewis, Richard, Hamilton, Kay, Principles of Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2004. Lewis, Richard, Pendrill, David, Advanced Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2003. Peterson, Pamela P., Fabozzi, Frank J., Analysis of Financial Statements, John Wiley and Sons, 1999. Siegel, Joel G., Shim, Jae K., Accounting Handbook, Barrons Educational Series, 2006. Stickney, Clyde P., Weil, Roman L., Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods, and Uses, Thomson South-Western, 2004. Appendix – Financial Ratios Profitability Liquidity Efficiency Gearing Investors Footnotes [1] Gillespie, Ian, Lewis, Richard, Hamilton, Kay, Principles of Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2004 [2] Siegel, Joel G., Shim, Jae K., Accounting Handbook, Barrons Educational Series, 2006 [3]Peterson, Pamela P., Fabozzi, Frank J., Analysis of Financial Statements, John Wiley and Sons, 1999 [4] Stickney, Clyde P., Weil, Roman L., Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods, and Uses, Thomson South-Western, 2004 [5] Chadwick, Leslie, Comparing financial performance: Ratio analysis and retail management, International Journal of Retail Distribution Management; 12, 2, 1984 [6] Britton, Anne, Waterston, Christopher, Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2005 [7] Lewis, Richard, Pendrill, David, Advanced Financial Accounting, Pearson Education, 2003 [8] Atrill, Peter, Financial Management for Decision Makers, Pearson Education, 2005 [9] Drury, J.C., A Study of Industry Financial Ratios, Management Decision; 19, 1, 1981

The Internet Does Not Have Everything Essays -- Argumentative Persuasi

The Internet Does Not Have Everything Everyone needs to know that the World Wide Web (a subset of the Internet; see Internet for a definition of "Internet") is a tool, not the be-all and end-all of research. Many students begin their research assignments with the "fact" from their teachers that they'll be able to find, from now on, everything they need on the Web. Not true. Students do need to be made aware that the Web is a great resource when you need some very current information--today's Dow Jones average, currency exchange rates, score in your favorite baseball team's game, news headlines, etc. Furthermore, through libraries there are increasing numbers of indexes that before were available on CD-ROM or in printed books, that are now accessed via the Web (only to authorized users); these are not "on" the Web per se. The term used to differentiate these proprietary and other directly inaccessible sources is the "invisible Web." The invisible Web is much larger than the visible Web. However, some students seem to think that they can find EVERYTHING on the Web. They can't. They probably never will in their lifetimes either. There is simply too much information out there to have it all transferred to an electronic--and widely accessible--format. Other issues that keep things from existing on the Web: Costs can be astronomical--and who is going to pay them? Scanning in images is expensive and time consuming (think of the millions of photographs in archives around the world), Copyright concerns play a major role in keeping things from being widely accessible; companies want to make a profit (there are hundreds of databases that can only be used by au... ...-and help them to identify more readily trustworthy sources. It is doing everyone in society a disfavor to lead citizens (whether young or old) to believe that the Web has every piece of information that one might need. In this increasingly technologically-dependent world, it is critical that the citizens in it are finding reliable information before they start inventing, improving, building, cleaning, renewing, destroying, exploring, etc. They need to be able to critically evaluate their options, and make sure that they aren't ignoring sources that happen not to be available on the Web. The exclusively techno-reliant are, in their own way, as unreliable a source for trustworthy or thorough information as the techno-phobes who won't use the Web at all. Using the best tool for the job or information need is the only way to be certain that you get the best results. The Internet Does Not Have Everything Essays -- Argumentative Persuasi The Internet Does Not Have Everything Everyone needs to know that the World Wide Web (a subset of the Internet; see Internet for a definition of "Internet") is a tool, not the be-all and end-all of research. Many students begin their research assignments with the "fact" from their teachers that they'll be able to find, from now on, everything they need on the Web. Not true. Students do need to be made aware that the Web is a great resource when you need some very current information--today's Dow Jones average, currency exchange rates, score in your favorite baseball team's game, news headlines, etc. Furthermore, through libraries there are increasing numbers of indexes that before were available on CD-ROM or in printed books, that are now accessed via the Web (only to authorized users); these are not "on" the Web per se. The term used to differentiate these proprietary and other directly inaccessible sources is the "invisible Web." The invisible Web is much larger than the visible Web. However, some students seem to think that they can find EVERYTHING on the Web. They can't. They probably never will in their lifetimes either. There is simply too much information out there to have it all transferred to an electronic--and widely accessible--format. Other issues that keep things from existing on the Web: Costs can be astronomical--and who is going to pay them? Scanning in images is expensive and time consuming (think of the millions of photographs in archives around the world), Copyright concerns play a major role in keeping things from being widely accessible; companies want to make a profit (there are hundreds of databases that can only be used by au... ...-and help them to identify more readily trustworthy sources. It is doing everyone in society a disfavor to lead citizens (whether young or old) to believe that the Web has every piece of information that one might need. In this increasingly technologically-dependent world, it is critical that the citizens in it are finding reliable information before they start inventing, improving, building, cleaning, renewing, destroying, exploring, etc. They need to be able to critically evaluate their options, and make sure that they aren't ignoring sources that happen not to be available on the Web. The exclusively techno-reliant are, in their own way, as unreliable a source for trustworthy or thorough information as the techno-phobes who won't use the Web at all. Using the best tool for the job or information need is the only way to be certain that you get the best results.

Smell a faint bit of smoke

Living room. A narrow hallway in the living room went to small winding Steps that took you to a great room on the second floor of the house, this is where my kids had their bedrooms. The house was surrounded with the most amazing yard. The white picket fence enclosed a grape arbor, as old as the house, and underneath the grapes there were two small rope swings attached to the arbor for my kids. Outside the fence was a large orchard filled with apples, pears and plums: and a lovely garden that I planted each summer with corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, blueberries and raspberries. I remember the day as if it were yesterday.We were getting ready for the long weekend, and my brother was coming down from Portland to celebrate my sisters birthday. The day started as a typical late summer morning. The sun was shining high in the sky, the birds were busy in the grapes and was busy in the kitchen. My son was in the large claw foot tub playing pirate ships with soap bars and my daugh ter was on the computer in the living room playing her favorite game. It was a lovely morning. With the warm breeze blowing through the open doors and windows I could smell a faint bit of smoke, but that was not unusual. Our house was tucked in between many mint farmers.They would harvest the mint in the late summer, then burn the fields afterwards for pest and weed control. In the kitchen I heard a car come down the gravel driveway honking loudly. It was too soon for my brother to arrive, so I went outside to see what was happening. Before even stopping he pointed at the roof and yelled, â€Å"Your house is on fire! † â€Å"Your house is on fire-get the hose! † popped into high gear and grabbed the garden hose, turned the faucet on the outside spigot and handed it to the stranger and went inside to grab my children. Once I new they were outside safer went back inside the house to call the fire department. New wasn't in eminent danger because the flames looked very sma ll from the ground and they were high above on the roof at the other end Of the house. After calling, I went back outside and realized more people had arrived. Many more, some offering help and others just staring. Could hear some of them say ‘Nathan a shame, this historic house is on fire. † That was when I felt my first twinge offer and anger at the same time. The fire department came after what seemed like a lifetime. They were so very positive, â€Å"Don't worry Miss, this can be stopped easily. Those reassuring words put me at ease.A stranger asked if would like to go down the street and use her phone to call anyone and let them know what was going on. She also offered up a t-shirt for my naked son. As I sat in this strange car, I felt as if time was going backwards. The clock tick-tock ever so slow. She took me back to my burning house to wait for my mom. As walked up towards the flames, my husband gave me the bad news that they couldn't stop the fire safely. One of the firemen had fallen, caught his leg in the narrow stairway and was injured so they made the determination of safety. My heart sunk back into my stomach.The fire chief started asking me where important things were in the house. As we spoke to him, he would describe the area to someone inside via handheld radios: â€Å"Photo Album, left window†, one yelled. â€Å"Purse, wallet, right window† another called out. And items were flying into the yard through the windows. The crew worked hard to save what they could for our family. They Were so brave to sacrifice through the smoke and heat. I stood there shaking and watching the fire grow bigger and bigger. Soon the beautiful summer day was surrounded by so much noise; people talking, owes going, emergency vehicles coming and going.And the stench had taken the beautiful smells of late summer morning and turned it into something that is etched in my brain for eternity. A smell of wet clothes, burning wire, smoldering woo d and melting plastic. A smell like no other. I watched the whole house burn to the ground. My biggest fear came to life right in front of me. Right in front of many people. The time didn't pass slow that afternoon, I finally sat down as the flames were starting to diminish, people were leaving and darkness was settling the fields around me. Not a tear came down my face that day. I was numb.I stood in the drive way and looked at the mess, wet wood, ashes, burnt mattress, my daughters rocking horse sideways charred in the back yard. At that moment, standing there, staring at the mess I realized we lost most of our belongings. Day to day things you don't think about, such as hairbrush, toothpaste, shoes, underwear, deodorant, dishes, bread, coffee, milk and snacks. I realized all my belongings, the material things were gone. I had lost everything in all the sparks that flew into once blue sky. But somehow, even though the flames took everything, had not lost what was truly important.

How to Grow a Big Alum Crystal

How to Grow a Big Alum Crystal Alum is found in the spices section of the grocery store. That little jar contains small white crystals that, with a bit of time and effort, you can grow a big alum crystal  that looks a bit like a diamond. This takes days to weeks. What You Need for Alum Crystals 1/2 cups hot tap water2-1/2 tablespoons alumnylon fishing linepencil, ruler, or knife2 clean jarsspooncoffee filter/paper towel Grow the Crystals Pour 1/2 cup of hot tap water into a clean jar.Slowly stir in alum, a little at a time, until it stops dissolving. Dont add the whole amount; just enough to saturate the water.Loosely cover the jar with a coffee filter or paper towel (to keep dust out) and allow the jar to sit undisturbed overnight.The next day, pour the alum solution from the first jar into the clean jar. You will see small alum crystals at the bottom of the jar. These are seed crystals that you will use to grow a big crystal.Tie nylon fishing line around the largest, best-shaped crystal. Tie the other end to a flat object (e.g., popsicle stick, ruler, pencil, butter knife). You will hang the seed crystal by this flat object into the jar far enough so that it will be covered in liquid, but wont touch the bottom or sides of the jar. It may take a few tries to get the length just right.When you have the right string length, hang the seed crystal in the jar with the alum solution. Cover it with the coffee filter and gr ow a crystal! Grow your crystal until you are satisfied with its size. If you see crystals starting to grow on the sides or bottom of your jar, carefully remove your crystal, pour the liquid into the clean jar, and put the crystal in the new jar. Other crystals in the jar will compete with your crystal for alum, so it wont be able to get as big if you let these crystals grow. Crystal Growing Tips You can use sewing thread or other string instead of nylon fishing line, but crystals will grow on the entire length of the submerged string. Crystals dont adhere to nylon, so if you use it, you can get bigger and better crystals.Alum is an ingredient used to make pickles. It makes them crispy.