Beloved Essay

Sethe has a very complicated relationship with herself. Sethe is the character that is not able to forget the trauma of the times when she was a slave and fearing that her children might not fall into the same fate, prefers to even kill them. The central theme is that Sethe is in search of her own identity and Morrison also tries to show the cruelty and disturbing consequences of slavery that existed even after they were not slaves. The ex-slaves also feel inferior to the white people and when Denver walks out of her home to find a job and finally she finds her identity. Sethe is lacking this throughout and keeps herself isolated and only plays the role of a mother. ‘Those white things have taken all I had dreamed’, she said, ‘and broke my heartstrings too. There is no bad luck in the world but white folks. ’ (Beloved, Chapter 9, Page 89) Sethe kills her baby girl so that she is not physically, spiritually or emotionally oppressed by the masters or whites of that time. Sethe suffers the guilt of her this particular act and when the first time ghost of Beloved comes in her house she gets extremely terrified and wants it to go away at any cost. But the second time, Sethe allows Beloved’s ghost to destroy her house and digests her anger at even the cost of her relationships just because she thinks that this way she can calm down her daughter’s ghost. Beloved seems to be interested in Sethe and she listens to her and this satisfies Sethe too. Sethe has faced the dark and gloomy days of slavery and the whole life she tries to protect her children from getting into that life. Sethe’s unique interactions with Beloved, her incarnated daughter reveals a completely different picture. She struggles with herself and her emotions and most of the time she is lonely. She trusts very few people and has cut herself socially, especially from the black people. She identifies herself as a different person in different stages of her life. Sethe’s relationship with Beloved takes a different shape and helps her recover from the physical and mental trauma of slavery. The use of symbolism and allusions refer only to the confused and suffered state of mind of Sethe. Beloved has many grievances and thinks that her mother abandoned her whereas Sethe is unable to explain her daughter why it was better to die that to live in such traumatic situations. At these stages Sethe seems to be helpless and becomes more and more self-centered. She feels sometimes that she had no right to kill her daughter but the love and respect she had for her children forced her to do so. Her dreams for her children and their future were definitely not to live like slaves and she did what the moment forced her mind to do. Her motherly emotions are different from a general mother and she is seen very much possessive about her children too. She says, â€Å"[A]nybody white could take your whole self for anything that came to mind. Not just work, kill or maim you, but dirty you. Dirty you so bad you couldn’t like yourself anymore. And though she and others lived through and got over it, she could never let it happen to her own. The best things she was, was her children. Whites might dirty her al, right, but not her best thing, her beautiful, magical best thing – the part of her that was clean. † (Beloved, Chapter 26, Page 251) The novel in fact is Sethe’s memories in a shattered way and one has to collect them and understand and this makes the identification of relationships of Sethe with her two daughter all the more difficult.

IKEA’s Global Sourcing Challenge Essay

1. Marianna Barner should decline the invitation for IKEA to have a representative appear on the upcoming forecast of the German video program. The producers of the documentary invited them to take part in a live discussion during the airing, and while this offer does sound beneficial for IKEA to educate the public and the producers of the current efforts taken to fight child labor, it would not be in their best interest. This is attributed to the fact that the producers refuse to let IKEA preview the video beforehand and that they are aware that the producers â€Å"planned to take a confrontational and aggressive approach† directly aimed at them. As a result, there is a very high possibility that the representative would then be blindsided with questions and then IKEA’s message of their efforts would not be portrayed accurately. Instead, IKEA should respond to the allegations by releasing their own statement allowing them to explain their efforts once they have had the opportunity to review all evidence and verify the credibility. 2. In regards to the supply contract that IKEA has with Rangan Exports, it would be best if Barner terminates the contract, should sufficient evidence prove that they do indeed use child labor. They stress the importance of taking responsibility for their suppliers, and in the IWAY (IKEA Code of Conduct), it clearly states that they do not accept Child Labourm, otherwise their contract will be terminated. The well-regarded company (Rangan) had signed an addendum that explicitly forbids the use of child labor, so it is important that IKEA upholds their standards and codes in order to maintain a fair position with their other suppliers. It would also be wise for her to then issue a statement or press release about the severed ties with the company, stating the reasons for the decision and maintaining integrity by upholding their own policies regarding child labor, so that the public and other suppliers see that they won’t tolerate unethical behavior or violations to their contra ct. 3. It is suggested that IKEA stays in India and continue operations. The long-term strategy that Barner should take regarding continued operations includes maintaining their code of conduct to uphold their image of being responsible for their suppliers and the environment, while also contributing to an improved quality of life for those in India.

Does technology reflect progress Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Does technology reflect progress - Essay Example At this time technology did not carry personal vested interests. With the industrial revolution, came a change. Technology introduced power and a common man got so indulged into it that he began to view it as an end in itself rather than a means leading to some social goal. This was the point in time which actually raised the question posed in the beginning of this essay. There is no doubt that technology makes things easier, quicker and saves human labor. But is it progress? It gives a manpower and helps in achieving many material goals and mental satisfaction. But it does so, only for a certain class in the society. What of the poor laborers who become jobless due to technology? What of the fishermen who lose their catch because of technology? I think progress of a society has nothing to do with the fulfillment of vested interests of one class of the society. Progress on the societal level has to be collective to be called progress. Technology has definitely helped in improving the living standard of man all around the globe. I am not against technology. It is not possible to imagine even the earliest mankind without technology.

Space and Place Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Space and Place - Assignment Example ding to Finnegan, "New Yorkers use Central Park: for sports, from croquet to horseback riding to league softball; and for cultural events such as Shakespeare in the Park and other outdoor performances. It is also used for other sporting activities such as skating, cycling, and football" (302). Other than these activities, this park is a great location for a stroll as one enjoys the natural manmade habitat and watching the many types of birds available in the park. In addition, people visit this park regularly to view the numerous cascades, statues, and other figurines. There are a lot of people who use this park often. Primarily, this park is used by individuals living around New York City for recreational purposes. There are also secondary users of this park. These include musicians, local performers or actors, sportsmen or athletes, and also domestic visitors and tourists. To understand the environment in this park, it is important to describe its permanent features. As elucidated by Finnegan, Central Parks landscape covers a total of eight hundred and forty acres (304). Subsequently, this scenery is designed in such a way that presents an exceptional feeling for visitors. There are also conforming and contrasting topography, as well as characteristic impressions created by the stylish viaducts and other suspension bridges. Other permanent features in the park include lakes, ponds, commemorative inscription tablets, zoos, playing fields, and turf (Finnegan 304). There are also movable objects within Central Park. These include man-made structures such as the Obelisk, Cleopatras needle, statues, and other sculptures. There is a relationship between the permanent features and the movable objects in this park. The movable objects are used to revamp or titivate the natural environment. The natural environment comprises the permanent features. Movable objects also makes accessibility to the permanent features such as lakes easier. To propose how else the objects

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT - Assignment Example In the job position the following things will be considered as vital: The title for particular job position Job responsibilities Critical success factors Official reporting link Supports, authority and assets needed along with accessibility for the job (Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 2009) Advertisement for Job Position After formulating the job description, there is a need to advertise for the job vacancy so as to inform the potential candidates regarding the job openings. Advertisement has emerged as a very significant and common basis for generating manpower in Human Resource Management practices. The advertisement for the post of nurse practitioner and medical records clerk will be given through online websites so as to reach a larger population or young candidates stating the specific position duties. It will be beneficial for appealing appropriate candidates for the positions. In the internet advertisements, the following information will be provided: A summary of job positions which includes fields of works and language requirements An explanation of obligations and accountabilities which classifies the major jobs to be performed by the employee The minimum qualification requirement for fulfilling the position such as educational certificates, special skills, etc The advertisement will be exhibited on one of the popular job websites named ‘careerbuilder.com’. The cost of advertising on ‘careerbuilder.com’ will amount to be around 390 USD/job. Thus, to advertise two posts for job advertisement the cost will be around (390?2=) 780 USD (Careerbuilder, n.d.). Selection Process The selection process will conducted in four phases, which are: Screening of Application Forms Before selecting employees, it is essential to lessen the candidates to a manageable amount. With this concern, the initial screening will be conducted with the application forms and resumes of the candidates. The accurate information will be assessed against the lea st adequate requirements with respect to job specifications. The statistical technique will be used for screening of application forms. After checking the measurable aspects of candidates, the reliability of candidates will be evaluated. Any gap during education years or any kind of indefinite information will be identified and followed up in the interview stage (Pattanayak, 2005). Testing After initial screening of candidates, tests will be conducted for evaluating the intelligence, aptitude and skills of the selected candidates. For the post of medical records clerk, aptitude test of candidates will be conducted with the aim of measuring their ability or underlying skills to absorb the given job responsibilities if adequate training is provided. For the post of nurse practitioner, achievement test will be conducted for assessing candidates’ pertinent capabilities. The achievement test will be applied to varied series of nursing tasks ranging from patient care to clinical ac tivities. The candidates will be selected on the basis of performance on those tests (Bernardin, 2008). Interview Interview will be conducted for measuring the profile of candidates and associating it with job appropriateness. Interview is widely

The Potential Change Implementation Program Research Paper

The Potential Change Implementation Program - Research Paper Example Since the inception of academic activities of XYZ University, the examination department of the university has been maintaining a system of examination in which students like most of the other university students, follow the paper-pen-pencil strategy while attempting the examination as per the university policy. As the university has shown tremendous growth in the number of students enrolled and admitted in the university, for examination department within a short span of time, it has become very challenging to complete the process of examination which mainly includes the printing of question papers, collection of question papers and answer scripts, dispatching them to respective faculty members and then recollecting them to compile and announce the results. This whole process has many loopholes that examination department has to face, most of them are a loss of answer scripts while dispatching and recollection from the faculty members, unnecessary delays from the faculty members, lo ads of burden on examination personnel when result deadline approaches etc. All the above-mentioned issues cause harms to the quality of assessment which actually becomes the reflection of the performance of the students. As a result, some deserving students become unfortunate as their results are not the true pictures of their hard work and some careless students love their fortune to end up with flying colours courtesy the poor quality performance of the examination department. The examination committee along with the dean and registrar of the university are put forward the following reasons to bring in the change in the examination process.

Discuss the history of one film teqnique for example montage, Essay

Discuss the history of one film teqnique for example montage, closeups, sound give the argument of three different thinkers on the subject using at leat three - Essay Example First, from its original root of French film practice, the term refers to the identification of the movie's editor. Secondly, Soviet filmmakers used "montage" in the 1920's as method of juxtaposing shots to derive new meaning as a concealed message to convey that was not apparent to the scene. Third is the "montage sequence" usage usually done by the Hollywood filmmakers to condense fashionably a narrative segment in a film (Smith 2004). Lev Kuleshov was the first Soviet filmmaker who used the Soviet Montage. For him, it is an art really meant for film editing and cannot be done in other medium. Sergie Eisenstein views this as a tool or an electricity to be used to shock the audience (Risse 2007). This theory of editing innovated from its simple nature to the more intelligent execution being formulated and executed in present international cinemas. The progression of the editing theory varies from different filmmakers' views and responsibilities (Karpenko 2002). History. During the great depression period of Russia from the Tsar catastrophe the artistic flair of Russian filmmakers also rage along with it. Filmmaking that time was encouraged and greatly supported by a Union Socialist leader Vladimir Lenin (Smith 2004). Lev Kuleshov was among the very first to theorize the effectiveness of using film as a medium to convey various relevant messages of socialism. For Kuleshov, editing is like a brick by construction of the building. In this case, it's a shot by shot in order to construct a film (Smith 2004). Between 1919 and 1924, Kuleshov conducted certain montage experiments that eventually then influenced other Russian filmmakers. The necessity to do such was due to the shortage of the stock of the film (Bordwell 1972). In its early period, this method of editing was then called a Kuleshov Experiment. He justified that Montage was more effective in message delivery as viewers can easily discern it by context. Kuleshov explained that visual materials depicted can help the viewers to reach the certain conclusions and messages (Smith 2004). In the 1920's, Soviet filmmakers had their own personal opinions on how to execute montage. It was Sergei Einsenstein, a former student of Kuleshov, who marked a note with his own montage execution (Murch 2001). The remarkable note Einsenstein regarded for the montage as he described it as "the nerve of the cinema". He elaborated that "montage is an idea that arises from the collision of not text to the other, but on the top of the other". With this view, thus Soviet Montage had been noted in film editing from them on (Murch 2001). U.S. film director D.W. Griffith, although not part of the montage school, was one of the credited contributors of Soviet Montage for his own approach of power of editing. He used cross cut editing and codifying film grammar. His works were acknowledge by Kuleshov and other Soviet filmmakers, thus helped them to have wider view on film editing (Smith 2004). Sergei Eisenstein viewed montage as a dialectical medium of creating and conveying meaning. He was merely the first one to develop a system of editing that was not concerned with continuity system's rule and technicalities. He called his own montage as "Intellectual Montage". Intellectual Montage Editing. Sergei Eisenstein believed that editing was the foundation of the

Alzheimer disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alzheimer disease - Essay Example These neurons and synapses are lost when the individual begins to develop Alzheimer’s disease. The cerebral cortex and subcortical regions are impacted because gross atrophy is found in these regions (Pashek & DiVenere, 2006: p. 143). The temporal lobe and parietal lobe witness degeneration which can lead to the progression of the disease. AD causes specific brain regions to shrink which has been corroborated by the presence of MRI and PET reports (Wilson et al, 2008: p, 45). Definition Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a form of dementia that is incurable. It is a progressive disease in which the conditions of the patient worsen with the passage of time with the ultimate outcome being death. The disease was first identified by a German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer in the early 20th century. AD is found to be prevalent in people above the age of 65 years. Currently, it is estimated that there are 26.8 million patients with the disease (Small & Perry, 2005: p. 125). The causes of the disease are unknown while medication seems to alleviate some of the symptoms. Disease Start AD starts when individuals suffer from short term memory loss. They might also be suffering from language problems and encountering difficulty in concentrating. Additionally, behavioral problems might be exhibited in individuals with mood swings and anger being the primary symptoms (Small et al, 2003: p. 353). The difficulties in perception, executive functions, and movements can also signal the onset of the disease among individuals. This gradually worsens with the passage of time as more intermediate and severe forms of symptoms are witnessed in individuals. Role of Environment Empirical studies are studying the impact of environmental factors upon the development of AD in individuals. This approach seeks to move away from the widespread emphasis on genetic factors as being the primary cause of AD (Small et al, 2005: p. 5). Studies are being conducted to investigate the relationship between cognitive decline and vascular and metabolic conditions. For instance, a study was conducted by the Rhode Island Hospital which found a link between nitrates in the environment and Alzheimer’s disease. Nitrates are found in increasing numbers in the environment as well as in processed foods. People who are vulnerable to heart disease might have a greater chance of developing AD. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes are considered to be having a possible link with the development of AD (Tomoeda et al, 2006: p. 151). Research is still being conducted into the role of environmental factors in developing AD. This research is still inconclusive which means that there is the need for clear and precise goals. it is through the use of innovative and creative strategies that success can be attained within a short period of time. It is hoped that the study of the causes of AD will help in the development of effective and efficient medications to combat the disea se. Causes The exact causes of AD are still unknown despite decades of research into the problem. Genetics is considered to partly cause this disease as autosomal dominant inheritance has been witnessed in patients (Blacker et al, 2009: p. 1198). The oldest hypothesis is that AD is caused because the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine is diminished in brains. However, this hypothesis has become unacceptable because medications that

Strategic capabilities darden Essay Example for Free

Strategic capabilities darden Essay Strategic Capabilities In this part of the report the different capabilities of Darden will be explained and which of these capabilities lead to competitive rivalry. But first the different resources and competences will be discussed which will lead to the capabilities. 1) Resource; A physical resource of Darden is; There different restaurants, with this is meant the different buildings that Darden owns with the different kind of restaurants. 1) Competence; The competence that Darden has is; To make different kind of dishes. 1) Capability When the above mentioned resource ad competence are linked then the following capability emerges; Flexible to make different dishes for different markets. Darden has 8 different brands. Each brand standing for its own kind of food like; Italian of seafood. This means that Darden offers all kinds of food to the consumers. After applying the VRIN model to this capability the conclusion is; V- This capability is a value for the consumers due to the fact that Darden gives them the opportunity to choice between different restaurants. This capability allows Darden to be profitable in the market. R- Different brands plus products are included in one chain. Unfortunately for Darden is capability is not Rare, different competitors have the same kind of capability. ( for example Laundry’s, DineEquity) I- This capability is possible to imitate, but this will take some time and the right amount of financial resources. N- This capability is possible to substitute by another company. For example Yum Restaurants, they have also different dishes for different markets with their Taco bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. Conclusion Capability 1); The above mentioned capability is not one that is unique and that is not difficult to imitate, but however it is still a strength for Darden due to the fact it gives Darden a great brand image, and it gives it an advantage compared to their smaller competitors who do not have this capability as strong as Darden. 2) Resource; A Human resource that Darden has is: Well trained and guided staff. 2) Competence; A competence that Darden has is; Skill to buy the best products (for example Darden sources top quality seafood from more than 100 varieties. 2) Capability; When the above mentioned Resources and competence are combined then the following capability emerges; Capable of making high-quality food. High quality is always something under discussion, what is high quality? In this case is meant food that has a very good quality versus cost proportion. And speaks to a lot of people. After applying the VRIN model to this capability the conclusion is; V- This capability has a great value for the consumers because a good quality versus cost proportion is something that quest will remember and will tell to their friends and families. R- This capability is not rare, there are a lot of restaurants that can make high quality food against a good price for the consumers. I- Is this capability Imitational, yes when looking at the above mentioned point ( R) there it shows other restaurants are already doing this. N- This capability can be substitute, what has been explained earlier is that restaurants are already having the same kind of capability. Conclusion Capability 2) The capability of making high-quality food is very important for Darden because consumers expect a level of quality when they go to one of Dardens restaurants. For this case it is a strength of Darden. However it is not a very strong capability due to the fact that multiple competitors are doing the same and that it is very easy to imitate or substitute. 3) Resource; A resource that Darden has is; There strong marketing. 3) Competence; A competence that Darden has is; Using all kinds of advertising. 3) Capability; When the above mentioned resource and competence are combined then the following capability emerges; Dardens ability to market its restaurants. Darden is a leading advertiser in the full size dining segment of the hospitality industry. Darden uses different kind of methods to advertise their brands, like local and cable television, digital advertising, billboards, search engine marketing, radio and newspapers. After applying the VRIN model to this capability the following conclusion can be made; V-; This capability will generate more consumers which will bring more revenue, if the cost are low enough to be profitable in this part then this can be a huge Value to the company. For the consumers this will also be a Value because they stay up to date with new actions, menu changes and promotions. R-; This capability is not rare at all, almost every company has a marketing department and advertises itself. I-; Marketing is very imitational due to the fact that everybody sees them so other companies can easily use the same kind of method, However due to the fact that Darden has multiple brands is can target and advertise to all these markets at the same time which gives them an advantage. N-; This capability can be substituted by a different company, because there are already companies with multiple brands that target and advertise to different markets. (Laundry’s) Conclusion Capability 3) Of the 3 capabilities mentioned in this part of the report, capability 3 is the weakest. It is still an important part of the company, but it is very difficult to stand out on marketing now a day compared to competitors. It is more a capability that is at least required to be successful. Conclusion Capabilities When looking at the 3 different capabilities explained in this part the capabilities concerning the different dishes and the high quality of food are two strong and important capabilities that Darden has. The marketing capability is not as strong but it is still a plus point of the company. Without the marketing Darden would not be as successful as it is today.

A Response to Historians in Cahoot by Tristram Hunt Essay Example for Free

A Response to Historians in Cahoot by Tristram Hunt Essay Political speeches are of course meticulously designed not to sound like, well, a political speech. Tristam Hunt had seen through the design of President George W. Bush’s inaugural speech in 2005. In Hunt’s article, â€Å"Historians in Cahoot†, he pointed out the heavy use of the term â€Å"history.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   President Bush had repeatedly mentioned historic events that range from the formulation of the declaration of independence to the tragic 911 attacks. Hunt’s article is seemingly arguing that history could be used as a political tool. People are attracted to history. It could be nostalgia, or it could just be that history is always presented in a packaged form—a packaged form in a sense that the past events are already modified and consequently stripped of the other details. Moreover, history is often accused of being biased.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before the article had actually started, there was a suggestion for reading that suggests that there is a distinction between history as â€Å"inspiration† and history as â€Å"instruction.† Aside from the fact that the suggestion for reading had served its purpose as a guide, it leads the readers to a profound realization about history. There is a hint in Hunt’s article that the Bush administration would pattern its style of governance according to what had already transpired in history—a style of governance which is likely to be leaning to only a small portion of the society.

Wireless Sensor Networks: Applications and Forms

Wireless Sensor Networks: Applications and Forms 1 Wireless Sensor Network In this chapter, wireless sensor network (WSN) principles are being shortly introduced and discussed. In order to increase the level of understanding for analyzing Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) systems it is useful to study the technology behind them the technologies which are presented in this section. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are distributed and independent sensors that are connected and worked together to measure quantities such as temperature, humidity, pressure, noise levels or vibrations [5]. WSNs can measure vehicular movement (velocity, location, etc.) and monitor conditions such as lightning condition, soil makeup and motion [5]. Nowadays, WSNs are utilized in many common applications such as vehicle applications. Some of vehicle applications are: vehicle tracking and detection, tire pressure monitoring, vehicle speed detection, vehicle direction indicator, traffic control, reversing aid sensors etc. Such applications can be divided in major categories such as safety, security, environment and logistics. To implement WSN in an application and have an efficient system, first we need to consider about WSN technology, components and communication topology and protocols. Therefore, first, in this chapter, basic information about WSN components, the communication devices and process unit of WSN will be described. Then, the chapter will be followed by a description of the WSN topologies and protocols emphasizing on mesh WSN technology with ZigBee Protocol. 1.1 Wireless Sensor Network component To provide comprehensive view of WSN hardware, understanding of WSN components structure is required. Wireless sensors are small microcontrollers equipped with wireless communication device and an energy supplier. The architecture of WSNs is illustrated in Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 . As Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 shows the components of WSNs are sensing unit, processing unit, power supplier and communication device. The sensing unit consists of sensors and Analog to Digital Converters (ADCs). ADCs are responsible for gathering the signals and converting them into digital signals data and transfer them through each other using network topology to the processor unit. In the sensing unit, each sensor is called an ‘end node and varies in size and cost. The mission of these multifunction sensor nodes are to sense, process data and collaborate with other nodes [8]. Wireless sensor network can be positioned in two ways, either using a complex technique with the large sensors far from the object or using several sensors with an engineered design on position and topology [5]. In addition, each node provided with a wireless communication transceiver as a communication component. In the process unit, the controller and small memory storage are responsible for managing the collaboration within the sensors to achieve the assigning task. In addition, the communication device with a transceiver makes the network connection. Above all, the essential component of WSN is the power unit, which supports the power for all units [5]. One of the unique characteristics of sensor networks is that they are equipped with an on-board processor. This feature enables them to locally process some simple computations and broadcast only necessary processed data [5]. Network communication is really complicated and needs years of study [8], but to be able to implement WSN, we need to know some basic primary concepts of communication technology such as; network topologies, network protocol and their standards and specifications. 1.2 Communication technology To cover technical aspects of WSN, network topology and network protocol studying is needed. This study will help to provide information about reliability, robustness, security and stability and of WSNs software aspect to answer the research questions RQ. 1 ,RQ. 2 and RQ. 3 . 1.2.1 Topologies in WSN Communication In network communication, the big issue is how data transfers through nodes and nodes interconnect with each other. Several basic network topologies may be used for transmitting to and receiving from a node. The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) the standards organization of telecommunication industry explained the network topology as â€Å"The physical, real, logical or virtual arrangement of the nods/elements of a network† [9]. The topology shows the diameter and the number of nodes between any two nodes. Moreover how a data process and the data routing complexities are relied on the chosen topology. Consequently, some characteristics of a sensor networks such as latency, robustness and capacity are changed by their topology [10]. Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2 is a graphic mapping of networks topology which shows the links of one or more nodes and explains the physical topology of the network. Despite having the same topology, two networks can differ in transmission rates because of their physical interaction, signal types and distance between nodes [9]. Table 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 describes the different types of network topology. Table 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 Topology TYPES [9]. Since Mesh topology is a main topic in the thesis, it is studied more in-depth in this section 1.2.1.1 Mesh Wireless Network Wireless mesh network is a term used when all wireless nodes are connected to each other within an ad-hoc multi-hob and mesh topology. In this network, any pair of nodes is able to communicate between each other within more than one path. In this network each node is used as a router to forward packets to the neighbor nodes which they have linked to. That means all nodes communicate directly or through other midway nodes without any manual configuration. Therefore, this network also called a self-configuration and self-organized network [11; 12]. As described in Table 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1, there are two types of mesh topology ‘Partially connected and ‘Fully connected (See Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ3). In a fully connected topology each node has the ability to communicate with all other nodes in the network and creates an interconnection links. By increasing the number of nodes in a mesh network, the number of links increases as well. On the other hand, in a partially connected topology, instead of direct interconnection between nodes, each node has two or more links to others to provide alternate routing and traffic balancing. Due to more links and indirect connections between nodes, traffic can flow through one or more router nodes to the destination [7] and create more reliable interconnections between nodes. Moreover, in partial network, the nodes are connected to either the node with higher rate of data transaction or the nearest neighbor node while in fully connected network all nodes have a direct links with each other. This multiple link path conducts a reliable communication. Therefore, whenever a connection fails or a node breaks down, the packages can automatically change their path by ‘jumping from a disconnected node. This is often called the self-healing of the network. This means that the networks connection stability and reliability are not essentially affected by node failures [11]. Due to the characteristics of wireless sensor network mesh, this network is self-configuring and self-organizing network in which each end-node is also used as a router (dual role- data originator /data router) to forward the signal packages all the way back of the main gateway. Therefore, due to the characteristics of mesh networks, this network is becoming one of the most implemented networks which able to have the flexible architecture for the network, easy self-configuration and robust fault tolerance connectivity [11; 12]. Additionally, the self-configuring characteristic of mesh WSN, bring the ability for the network to connect or disconnect nodes from the network. This brings the ability to grow/decrease the network by adding/removing nodes of a system. Mesh WSN has reliable self-healing and robust fault tolerance. This means if ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­ a node fails or breaks down the signal packages jump from the disconnected node and automatically conducts a new path through the nearest node. However, the new path imposes re-routing and re-organizing to the network [5], which consumes too much power from the system. Therefore, having a power-aware protocol and algorithm is necessary for mesh network. ZigBee protocol is one of the protocols which provides this ability for WSN. 1.2.2 Protocols in WSN Communication WSN systems include variety of protocols for communication. Protocols need to program in different architectural layers. One of these architectural standard is OSI (Open System Interconnection) framework. In this session a brief introduction of each protocol and OSI are delineated. Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ4 shows the graphic overview of all wireless network technologies. This figure illustrated IEEE PAN/LAN/MAN technologies and clearly shows how these standards and protocols can be used in different conditions. For instance, 3G protocol is used to cover a long range of audio information in a wide area network (WAN) while for the same information in a short range and personal area network (PAN), Bluetooth is better. The standard conceptual rules set for data representation, data communication and error detection across two ends in telecommunication, are called communication protocols. These abstract rules represent in different layers of communication. There are different protocol stacks introducing different architectures for these layers such as AppleTalk, Distributed Systems Architecture (DSA), Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) and Open Systems Interconnect (ISO/OSI). Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ5 (a) illustrates the different layers of an OSI Model and their functionalities. The OSI model has seven layers and each layer provides services for the upper layer and requests services from the lower layer. Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ5 (b) shows the typical communication protocols layers. Each of these layers has to deal with different issues regarding the communication procedure. As the typical protocol stack model shows in Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ5 the communication protocols should implement all layers from bottom to top. In addition, a management protocol needs to be applied in each layer to manage power efficiency, robust connectivity and connection reliability (see: Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ5 b). Below, rules and functionality for each layer are described: * Physical layer: is responsible for signal processing and physical interface connectivity between a device and physical medium and used bit stream in its data unit. It acted as communication channel for sensing and actuation in cost-efficient and reliable manner. Some examples of this layer are: IEEE 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.15.1 Bluetooth, IEEE 802.15.4 ZigBee, etc. [7] * Data link layer: provides functionality toward channel sharing, Medium Access Control (MAC-Layer), timing (e.g. data time arrival), local link and capacity. It is responsible for detecting and correcting the data errors in physical layer and control the locality data comparison. It follows the protocols such as point-to-point protocol (PPP) and IEEE 802 Local Link Control (LLC). [7] * Network layer: is responsible for network routing functionality, network security, energy and power efficiency and reliability of the communication. It includes the network topology management and manages the information and detects errors in data transfer from router to router. A number of protocols is address in this layer such as: Internet protocol (IP), Threshold Sensitive Energy Efficient Sensor Network Protocol and etc. [7]. * Transport layer: provides end-to-end transportation (distributing and gathering) of data between end users. It includes storage and responds for caching and controlling the data to recover them back to the initial message that has been sent. Best-known protocols for this layer are Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) [7]. * Upper layers: The Upper Layers are responsible for application processing, external query processing and etc. Upper layers include presentation layer session layer and application layer [7]. The summary of these standards and protocols are shown in Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ6 Among all the standard and protocols, IEEE PAN/LAN/MAN technologies are the ones applied in the majority of commercialWSNs to support physical layer and link-data layer signal transmission. As SOHRABY and ZNATI (2007) mentioned, the most common best-known protocols are:† (1) the IEEE 802.15.1 (also known as Bluetooth); (2) the IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n series of wireless LANs; (3) the IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee); (4) the MAN-scope IEEE 802.16 (also known as WiMax); and (5) radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging† [7]. Each of these protocols has their own benefits and constraints. The comparisons between IEEE technologies are mentioned in Table 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2. As Table 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2 shows the IEEE 802.15.4 standard provides data rate of 20 to 250 kbps and operates in the 2.4-GHz ISM band. This standard covers signals in range of 10 m and requires the lowest power among other IEEE class. While IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n transmits the data in the rate of 54 Mbps ideal for wi reless internet connections and operates in the 2.4-GHz ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) radio band as well as the 5-GHz ISM / 5-GHz U-NII (Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure) radio band. However, it requires much higher power consumption than IEEE 802.15 [7]. Recently, researchers put much effort to develop â€Å"a cost-effective standards-based wireless networking solution that supports low-to medium data rates, has low power consumption, and guarantees security and reliability† [7]. ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies which aims to provide such a standard for WSN consumers. Their mission is to have a simple, reliable, low-cost, low-power and standards-based wireless platform 1.2.2.1 ZigBee standard The ZigBee standard builds on IEEE 802.15.4 and is suitable for remote monitoring and controlling applications. Although it has lower-data-rates than the other standards, its reliability, security, long life battery with less complexity mechanism make it ideal for building automation in industrial network applications. The architecture of the ZigBee stack is established on the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. The IEEE 802.15.4 defines the physical layer (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) sub-layer and In addition, ZigBee Alliance defines other functionalities for upper layers [7]. Figure 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ7 is a graphic overview of ZigBee protocol stack and shows the responsibility areas of IEEE 802.15.4, ZigBee Alliance platform and users applications [7]. This picture also shows the basic functionality of each layer. The data transmission service is provided by PHY layer and the protocol in this layer enables the connection between data units and the physical radio channel. ZigBee provides three different frequency band options for PHY layer. First, the transmission data-rate of 250kbps in 16 channels at 2.45GHz (Global) frequency. Second, with 40Kbps in 10 channels at 915MHz (Americas). And the last one, with 20kbps in 1 channel at 868MHz (Europe). The higher data-rate causes a higher order in modulation design and the lower frequency cause a larger cover area and better sensitivity. Depending on the power output, the transmission distance rate can change from 1 to 100 meters. (For more detail information see: Table 7à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 in Appendix A) ZigBee WSN has the ability to have static or dynamic network/component with either star or mesh topology and it has three types of nodes: a ZigBee Coordinator (ZC), ZigBee Routers (ZR), and ZigBee End-Devices (ZED). In order to have a communication protocol and physical connection both PHY layer and MAC sub-layers of the architecture should be defined upon agreement between server and clients. These layers require manual administrative procedures setting for server/client gateway. The next three levels namely: the network layer, security protocol and transport layer are defined by ZigBee alliance platform automatically. The last layer, application layer, has to interact with the user-interface and other applications; it ought to be programmed with high-level language so that integration with any existing devices applications becomes more conveniently practical. The ZigBee stack in gateway is responsible for all the network functionality such as network process management, authentication of the joined nodes, binding nodes and routing the messages throughout the network. ZigBee stack as a standard protocol, has clusters and libraries for improving the implementation process, therefore, using ZigBee compare to other protocols makes the system (including both hardware and software) development process much faster and easier. On the other hand, such standardisation provides easiness of adopt with third party sensors regardless of manufacturer, which might be attached to the network later. 2 Software Aspects To address the research question regarding the reliability, robustness, and security of any WSN application, it is essential to investigate the software architecture of that network. For convenience in description of the architecture of a WSN application, it is divided into three segments: Physical devices (such as lamps, sensors, nodes), Communication Protocol (terminals and servers, bridge, switch, network topology and standard) and Carried Information (application, functions, etc.). Any attempts to retain a precise design on software architecture for each part will cause an effective data transmission, which ensures reliability and security of the system [7]. Hence achieving any desired data transmission precision level in a WSN, network management (NM) techniques are applicable. Such techniques assist in network status monitoring, reliability and security amendment, and cooperation supervision between components [7]. NM techniques could also detect and resolve network faults in addition to restoring the system respectively [7]. In practice, designing WSN application necessitates tailoring NM techniques for each architectural segment. Various NM techniques regarding each segment are summarized as follows [7; 12; 5]: a) Physical architecture: Sensing and processing management, operation and administration, fault tolerance, maintenance, energy efficiency management, configuration management, performance management, security management, network element management. b) Communication architecture: Network management, networking protocols, network topology, function management, monitoring functions, fault management, performance management, security management, service management and communication, maintenance management, network configuration and organization, network behavior, data delivery model, sensor mobility, naming and localization, sensing coverage area, communication coverage area energy efficiency management c) Information architecture: Real-time information management, mapping management, service management, analyze information, control application, business application management report management, sending and receiving commands or response, naming, localization, maintenance, fault tolerance Aforementioned NM techniques enhance quality of the system. According to ISO 9126-1 software quality model Table 4à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ1 [13; 14; 15], the quality characteristics of a system could be divided into six fundamental properties: functionality, reliability, usability, efficiency, maintainability, and portability. According to the same documentation, these characteristics are broken to sub-characteristics such as suitability, security, maturity, fault tolerance, adaptability, analyzability, stability, testability and so on [13]. However, focusing on all subcategories collectively exceeds the time horizon of this research, from this stance three dimensions namely reliability, robustness and security are brought into attention. This section will be divided to two subsections describing the architecture issues and NM techniques for (1) Reliability and Robustness, (2) Security, of WSN and other characteristics is relegated to future studies. 2.1 Reliability and Robustness In WSNs context, the probability that a network functions properly and aggregates trustworthy data without any interruption continuously, is usually referred to as reliability characteristic of the network [23; 20]. According to ISO 9126-1 software quality documentation, reliability characteristic shows the capability of a network to maintain or re-built (re-start) the service in certain period of time [13]. So, it is important that during long sensing, the network has to service up continuously. Reliable service of a network includes precise and proper sensing, delivering and sending acceptable data to the base station. In other words as Taherkordi et al. (2006) put: â€Å"The less loss of interested data, leads us to higher reliability of a system†. Systematic approach perceives reliability as probability of data delivery to the base station rather than point-to-point reliability [16]. Robustness defined by Sohraby et al. (2007) as: â€Å"a combination of reliability, availability, and dependability requirements†, reflects the degree of the protocol insensitivity to errors and misinformation†. Achieving system robustness in WSN, necessitates system capability to detect, tolerate and confine errors as well as reconfigure and restart the network respectively [7]. According to the given definition by Sohraby et al. (2007), it is apprehensible that reliability and robustness share commonalities with each other; this is the main rational behind discussing these two attributes together in this section [7]. Considering the nature of communication in WSN, a network is unpredictable and prone to fail caused by any physical damages in hardware devices, energy depletion, communication link error, information collapses in packages and etc. [17; 16]. Therefore, one of the critical issues in design phase of WSN is applying fault tolerance techniques to optimize the network so that reliability and robustness attained [17]. These techniques enable the network to withstand and recover any upcoming failure and restart operation [13]. Liu et al. (2009) categorized fault tolerance techniques into: node placement, topology control, target and event detection, data gathering and aggregation, and sensor surveillance. Reminding from the beginning of this chapter architecture design divided into three segments. Table 4à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2 depicted a summary of the plausible related faults and their solutions in each segment. In the following, each aforementioned fault tolerance techniques are being discussed in each design segment. Table 4à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ2 The most probable fault and their fault tolerance solutions in WSN [17; 7; 18] 2.1.1 Reliability and Robustness of Physical Architecture: Fault: any physical interruption in sensor surveillance Solution: Node placement management and signal-effect management First item that should be considered in designing physical components architecture for reliability and Robustness is: physical placement and signal-effect management. As it is mentioned in section 3, although the mesh network communication is self-organize topology and does not need any manual configuration to bind the network for mobile sensors, the physical architecture and the location schema of the hardware components, sensors and gateways need to be designed carefully [7]. As a characteristic of mesh WSN, the sensors in network are free of any installation restrictions, even though, the placement should be far from any physical destruction or hostile locations. Inappropriate physical placement of sensor transmitters and gateway antenna can cause noise or significant lost in signals [7]. In addition, the signal coverage is decayed by surrounding objects and materials such as metal wall and the like. (E.g. exterior wooden, concrete, brick or gypsum frame, block or wall). Especially in the case of vehicles, the main body can impose such problem and henceforth installation of the sensors in this manner would be delicate. Moreover, the signal waves might be faded and affected during the transmission, due to various physical phenomena such as reflection, diffraction or scattering [7]. These effects would cause significant interruption in sensor surveillance. Therefore, it is important to manage these signal-effects in early stage of WSN physical architecture design. Reflection occurs when electromagnetic wave of signals is duplicated due to impinge of the wave on large object or surface such as walls, buildings and the Earth [7]. Therefore, all the reflection of the walls and also the Earth should be acknowledged in physical architecture design. Diffraction refers to any defection and obstruction in waves caused by irregular sharp edges during the data transmission between the transmitter and receiver [7]. In this case, designers have to be prudent in sensors placements in the proximity of sharp edges and corner angels. Scattering refers to any deviation from straight line. Environmental obstacles in the propagation path affect passing waves from their original structure. Even small irregular object such as street signs, and lampposts might encounter and scatter the wave. Hence WSN should be design to face with any irregular scattering during the wave transmission. Above all, the mobility of sensors and surrounding objects might fade the signals and add noises that should be considered in architecture design [7]. These issues are the basic physical factors, which cause major fault in data aggregation of WSN and cut down reliability and robustness. These destructive signals need to be subtracted from the received signal paths [7] before sending the data to gateway. Therefore, reflection, diffraction and scattering should be considered not only by designers in the physical components placements, but also by programmers in network development. Fault: Sensors failure Solution: Hardware replacement The next issue that needs to be considered in designing the physical architecture of a WSN is hardware failure. Sensors energy suppliers or any damages to the sensors and/or their transmitters are the sources of hardware failure. Regardless of source of failure, the WSN must be capable of functioning as well as replacing and switching sensors when necessary. Additionally, any changes in the physical components, on one hand, needs an explicit and well-defied consideration on security issue to prevent any potential threats, and on the other hand, needs an adaptable and configurable communication connection network [18]. 2.1.2 Reliability and Robustness of Communication Architecture Fault: communication link errors Solution:Topology control and event detection , Replicated services in communication model, Communication link error is an important concern in dealing with reliability and robustness of a network in communication architecture. The sensors in WSN are prone to fail and make link errors in point-to-point reliability of communication protocol. Therefore, it is the network topology responsibility to detect the errors and guarantee the overall reliability of the syste

Compare Aeneas and Odysseus as Heroic Figures :: The Aenied, The Oddessy

Odysseus and Aeneas are very alike in some ways and very different. They are both epic heroes except that one is Greek and the other is a Trojan. Odysseus is from the Greek tale The Oddessy, which was written by the famous Greek poet Homer. His quest is to find his way back home after a long journey. Aeneas is from the roman tale The Aenied, written by Virgil a famous Roman poet. Aeneas’s mission is to find a new home for him and his family. Both these characters had many similarities and differences in their ways of fighting.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both Odysseus and Aeneas were helped by different gods. Odysseus was helped by Calypso in a way. She held him captive, but was forced to release him from the father of all Greek gods,Zeus. Athena, goddess of wisdom, helped Odysseus find out whether or not Penelope still loved him, she disguised him to look like an old man so he could go into the town without people knowing who he was. He got help from the god of wind as well who helped him by giving him a bag of wind so he could sail back to Ithaca. Poseidon did not really help Odysseus, he was just trying to convince him that he was nothing without the gods.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aeneas was never held captive by any of the gods as was Odysseus. Aeneas got help from Venus (Goddess of love), his mother. She convinced him to stop fighting because she wanted him to rescue his family which was a lot more important. Jupiter also helped him because Aeneas’s wife told Jupiter that Aeneas was going to kill himself, so she wanted him to send Aeneas a sign telling him not to kill himself. Aeneas was going to do this because he found his father almost dead and decided to take his own life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both of them are really great fighters, but they have differences in how they do things. Odysseus plans things out before he attacks and has a good plan as well. Aeneas however does not plan things out and just jumps right into things.

What Is Depression? :: Psychology Emotions Papers

What Is Depression? "I feel like I can't do it anymore. There's just too much pressure. I just want people to leave me alone; let me sleep for a while. I hate school. I hate sports. I hate everyone. It's not worth it...life's not worth it. A couple pills and it could all end..." This is how I used to feel. Since 9 th grade I've had depression. As with so many other kids it went unnoticed. I did everything to cover up how I was feeling inside. I thought, "Maybe if I just forget about it, it will go away." I was wrong. I blew up. I cried and thought of killing myself on the spot. I couldn't take it anymore. There was so much anger, stress, and sadness, and I didn't know how to deal with it. I broke down crying in my coach's office one day because I got kicked off the baseball team and he had no idea what was going on. This was the straw that broke the camel's back. At first, all I could do was cry. After about 10 minutes of tears, I finally told my coach how I was feeling. I told him that every day I had to think of a reason to live. I told him I didn't want to deal with it anymore. He was the first person I shared my thoughts with. I still remember how he responded. The first thing out of his mouth was, "I had no idea. I th ought you lived the greatest life of anyone in this school." Then he just listened while I told my real life story; the life that I covered up. When I was finished we both just sat there. After a long silence he finally said, "You need to get some help..." Depression is a long-term or short-term feeling of sadness and usually has physical symptoms associated with it. This is the clinical definition given by the National Institute of Mental Health in their article, "Depression." Everyone feels sad at some point and it can last for a while.

Night World : Spellbinder Chapter 5

What?† Thea said. This was something she could speak out about. â€Å"Blaise, are you out of your mind?† â€Å"I hope you're not saying you don't want to do spells,† Blaise said dangerously. â€Å"That's part of it, you know.† â€Å"I'm saying there's no way we can get enough blood to fill this without them noticing. What are we going to tell them? ‘I just want a little to remember you by?'† â€Å"Use your ingenuity,† Vivienne said musically, twining a red-gold strand of hair around her fingers. â€Å"In a pinch we could always use the Cup of Lethe,† Blaise added calmly. â€Å"Then no matter what we do, they won't remember.† Thea nearly fell over. What Blaise was suggesting was like using a nuclear bomb to swat a fly. â€Å"You are crazy,† she said quietly. â€Å"You know that maidens aren't allowed to use that kind of spell, and we probably won't even be able to use it when we're mothers, and probably not even when we're crones. That's stuff for the elders.† She stared at Blaise until the gray eyes dropped. â€Å"I don't believe in classifying some spells as forbidden,† Blaise said loftily, but she didn't look back at Thea and she didn't pursue the subject. As she and Dani left the patio, Thea noticed that Dani had taken one of the small vials. â€Å"Are you going to the dance?† â€Å"I guess so.† Dani shrugged lithe shoulders. â€Å"John Finkelstein from our world lit class asked me a couple weeks ago. I've never been to one of their dances before-but maybe this is the time to start.† Now what did that mean? Thea felt uneasy. â€Å"And you're planning to put a spell on him?† â€Å"You mean this?† She twisted the vial in her fingers. â€Å"I don't know. I figured I'd take it just in case†¦.† She looked up at Thea defensively. â€Å"You took one for Eric.† Thea hesitated. She hadn't talked to Dani about Eric yet. Part of her wanted to and part of her was scared. What did Dani really think of Outsiders, anyway? â€Å"After all,† Dani said, her sweet face tranquil, â€Å"they're only humans.† Saturday night Thea took a dress out of the closet. It was pale green-so pale that it almost looked white-and designed along Grecian lines. Witch clothes had to feel good as well as look good, and this dress was soft and lightweight, swirling beautifully when she turned. Blaise wasn't wearing a dress. She was wearing a tuxedo. It had a red silk bow tie and cummerbund and it looked fantastic on her. This is probably going to be the only dance in history where the most popular girl has on cufflinks, Thea thought. Eric arrived right on time. He knocked at the front door of the shop, the door that only Outsiders used. Night People came around back, to a door that was unmarked except for what looked like a bit of graffiti-a spray-painted black dahlia. Okay, Thea thought. She took a deep breath before she unlocked the door and let him in. This is business, business, business†¦. But the first moment wasn't as awkward as she'd feared. He smiled and held out a corsage of white orchids. She smiled and took it. Then she said, â€Å"You look nice.† His suit was pale fatigue brown, loose and comfortable looking. â€Å"Me? You look nice. I mean-you look wonderful. That color makes your hair look just like gold.† Then he glanced down at himself apologetically. â€Å"I don't go to many dances, I'm afraid.† â€Å"Don't you?† She'd heard girls talking about him at school. It seemed as if everyone liked him, wanted to get close to him. â€Å"No, I'm usually pretty busy. You know, working, playing sports.† He added more softly, â€Å"And I have a hard time thinking of things to say around girls.† Funny, you never seem to have a problem around me, Thea thought. She saw him looking the shop over. â€Å"It's my grandmother's store. She sells all kinds of things here, from all around the world.† She watched him closely. This was an important test. If he-a human-believed in this stuff, he was either a New Age geek or dangerously close to the truth. â€Å"It's cool,† he said, and she was happy to see that he was lying. â€Å"I mean,† he said, obviously struggling to find a polite way to praise the voodoo dolls and wand crystals, â€Å"I think people can really affect their bodies by changing their state of mind.† You don't know how right you are, Thea thought. There was a clack of high heels on wood, and Blaise came down the stairs. Her shoes appeared first, then her fitted trouser legs, then all the curves, emphasized here and there with brilliant red silk. Finally came her shoulders and head, her midnight hair half up and half down, framing her face in stormy dark curls. Thea glanced sideways at Eric. He was smiling at Blaise, but not in the goofy, dying-sheep way other guys smiled. His was just a genuine grin. â€Å"Hi, Blaise,† he said. â€Å"Going to the dance? We can take you if you need a lift.† Blaise stopped dead. Then she gave him a blistering glare. â€Å"Thank you, I have my own date. I'm just going to pick him up now.† On the way to the door, she looked hard at Thea. â€Å"You do have everything you need for tonight- don't you?† The vial was in Thea's pale green clutch purse. Thea still didn't know how she could possibly get it filled, but she nodded tightly. â€Å"Good.† Blaise swept out and got into a silver-gray Porsche that was parked at the curb. Kevin's car. But, as Thea knew, she wasn't going to pick up Kevin. â€Å"I think I made her mad,† Eric said. â€Å"Don't worry. Blaise likes being mad. Should we go now?† Business, business, business, Thea chanted to herself as they walked into the school cafeteria. It had been completely transformed from its daytime identity. The lights and music were oddly thrilling and the whirl of color out on the dance floor was strangely inviting. I'm not here to have fun, Thea told herself again. But her blood seemed to be sparkling. She saw Eric glance at her conspiratorially and she could almost feel what he was feeling-as if they were two kids standing hand in hand at the edge of some incredible carnival. â€Å"Uh, I should tell you,† Eric said. â€Å"I can't really dance-except for slow ones.† Oh, great. But of course this was what she was here to do. To put on a show of romancing Eric for Blaise. A slow song was starting that minute. Thea shut her eyes briefly and resigned herself to fate-which didn't seem all that awful as she and Eric stepped out onto the floor. Terpsichore, Muse of the Dance, help me not make a fool of myself. She'd never been so close to a human boy, and she'd never tried to dance to human music. But Eric didn't seem to notice her lack of experience. â€Å"You know, I can't believe this,† he said. His arms were around her lightly, almost reverently. As if he were afraid she'd break if he held her too hard. â€Å"What can't you believe?† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. â€Å"Everything, I guess. That I'm here with you. And that it all feels so easy. And that you always smell so good.† Thea laughed in spite of herself. â€Å"I didn't use any yemonja this time-† she began, and then she almost bit her tongue. Adrenaline washed over her in a wave of painful tingles. Was she crazy? She was blurting out spell ingredients, for Earth's sake. He was too easy to talk to, that was the problem. Every so often she'd forget he wasn't a witch. â€Å"You okay?† he said as her silence stretched on. His voice was concerned. No, I am not okay. I've got Blaise on one side and the laws of the Night World on the other, and they're both out to get me. And I don't even know if you're worth it†¦. â€Å"Can I ask you something?† she said abruptly. â€Å"Why did you knock me out of the way of that snake?† â€Å"Huh? It was in a striking coil. You could have got bit.† â€Å"But so could you.† So did you. He frowned as if stricken by one of those unsolvable mysteries of life. â€Å"Yeah†¦ but that didn't seem so bad somehow. I suppose that sounds stupid.† Thea didn't know how to answer. And she was suddenly in terrible conflict about what to do. Her body seemed to want her to lean her head against Eric's shoulder, but her mind was yelling in alarm at the very thought. At that moment she heard loud voices at the edge of the dance floor. â€Å"Get out of the way,† a guy in a blue jacket was saying. â€Å"She smiled at me, and I'm going over there.† â€Å"It was me she was smiling at, you jerk,† a guy in a gray jacket snapped back. â€Å"So just back off and let me go.† Expletives. â€Å"It was me, and you'd better get out of the way.† More expletives. â€Å"It was me, and you'd better let go.† A fistfight started. Chaperones came running. Guess who's here? Thea asked herself. She had no trouble at all locating Blaise. The red-trimmed tuxedo was surrounded by a ring of guys, which was surrounded by a ring of abandoned and angry girls. â€Å"Maybe we should go over and say hi,† Thea said. She wanted to warn Blaise about starting a riot. â€Å"Okay. She sure is popular, isn't she?† They managed to worm their way through the encircling crowd. Blaise was in her element, glorying in the adulation and confusion. â€Å"I waited for an hour and a half, but you never showed up,† a very pale Kevin was saying to her. He was wearing an immaculate white silk shirt and exquisitely tailored black pants. His eyes were hollow. â€Å"Maybe you gave me the wrong address,† Blaise said thoughtfully. â€Å"I couldn't find your house.† She had her hand tucked into the arm of a very tall guy with shoulder-length blond hair, who looked as if he worked out four or five hours a day. â€Å"Anyway, you want to dance?† Kevin looked at the blond guy, who looked back impassively, his cleft chin rock hard. â€Å"Don't mind Sergio,† Blaise said. â€Å"He was just keeping me company. Do you not want to dance?† Kevin's eyes fell. â€Å"Well, yeah, of course I want to†¦.† As Blaise detached herself from Sergio, Thea leaned forward. â€Å"You'd better not do anything too public,† she hissed in her cousin's ear. â€Å"There's already been one fight.† Blaise just gave her an amused glance and took Kevin's arm. Most of the boys followed her, and with the crowd gone, Thea saw Dani at a small table. She was wearing a sparkling gold dress and she was alone. â€Å"Let's go sit,† Eric said, before Thea could even get a word out. She threw him a grateful look. â€Å"Where's John?† Thea asked as they pulled chairs to the table. Dani nodded toward the pack following Blaise. â€Å"I don't mind, though,† she said, sipping a cup of punch philosophically. â€Å"He was kind of boring. I don't know about all this dance stuff.† Thea knew she meant it was different from Circle dances, where everyone was in harmony and there was no pairing off. You danced with the elements and with everybody else, all one big interconnected whole. Eric volunteered to get more punch. â€Å"How's it going with him?† Dani asked in a low voice when he was gone. Her velvety dark eyes searched Thea's curiously. â€Å"Everything's okay so far,† Thea said evasively. Then she looked out toward the dance floor. â€Å"I see Viv and Selene are here.† â€Å"Yeah. I think Vivienne already got her blood. She stabbed Tyrone with her corsage pin.† â€Å"How clever,† Thea said. Vivienne was wearing a black dress that made her hair look like flame, and Selene was in deep violet that showed off her blondness. They both seemed to be having a wonderful time. Dani yawned. â€Å"I think I'll probably go home early-† she began, and then she broke off. Some kind of a disturbance had begun on the other side of the room, in front of the main entrance. People were scuffling. At first, Thea thought it was just another minor fracas over Blaise-but then a figure came staggering out under the lights of the dance floor. â€Å"I want to know,† the voice said in dissonant tones that rose over the music. â€Å"I want to knoooow.† The band stopped. People turned. Something about the voice made them do that. It was so obviously abnormal, the cadence wrong even for somebody who was drunk. This was someone who was disturbed. Thea stood up. â€Å"I want to knoooow,† the figure said again, sounding lost and petulant. Then it turned and Thea felt ice down her spine. The person was wearing a Halloween mask. A kid's plastic mask of a football player, the kind held on with an elastic string. Perfectly appropriate for a Halloween dance. But at Homecoming, it was grotesque. Oh, Eileithyia, Thea thought. â€Å"Can you tell me?† the figure asked a short girl in black ruffles. She backed away, reaching for her dance partner. Mr. Adkins, Thea's physics teacher, came jogging up, his tie fluttering. None of the other chaperones seemed to be around-probably because they were out somewhere trying to control fights over Blaise, Thea thought. â€Å"Okay, let's settle; settle,† Mr. Adkins said, making motions as if the figure were an unruly class. â€Å"Let's just take it easy†¦.† The guy in the Halloween mask pulled something out of his jacket. It glinted like a rainbow under the colored dance floor lights, reflective as a mirror. â€Å"A straight razor,† Dani said in a hushed voice. â€Å"Queen Ms, where'd he get that?† Something about the weapon-maybe the fact that it was so weird, so old-fashioned-made it scarier than a knife. Thea pictured the way even a safety razor could slice flesh. Mr. Adkins was backing away, arms held out as if to protect the students behind him. His eyes were frightened. I have to stop this, Thea thought. The problem was that she had no idea how. If it had been an animal, she could have stepped out and tried mind control. But she couldn't control a person. She started walking anyway, slowly, so as not to attract attention. She skirted the edge of the crowd around the dance floor until she drew parallel with the masked guy. Who by now had switched to a new question. â€Å"Have you seen her?† he said. He kept asking it as he walked, and people kept backing away. Vivienne and Selene drew to either side with their dates. The razor glittered. Thea looked toward the opposite end of the dance floor, where Blaise was standing with Kevin Imamura. With no Buck, no Duane to protect her. But Blaise didn't look frightened. That was one thing about Blaise-she had magnificent physical courage. She was standing with one hand on her hip and Thea could tell that she knew exactly who was coming her way. In between moving couples, Thea glimpsed something else. Eric was on the other side of the dance floor, holding two cups of punch in one hand and one in the other. He was keeping pace with the masked guy, just as she was. She tried to catch his eye, but the crowd was too thick. â€Å"Have you seen her?† the masked guy asked a couple right in front of Blaise. â€Å"I want to knoooow†¦.† The couple split like bowling pins. Blaise stood exposed, tall and elegant in her black suit, lights shimmering off her midnight hair. â€Å"Here I am, Randy,† she said. â€Å"What is it you want to know?† Randy Marik stopped, panting. His breath made a muffled noise against the plastic. The rest of the huge room was eerily silent. Thea moved closer, walking silently. Eric was pulling in from the other side, and he saw her for the first time. He shook his head at her and mouthed, â€Å"Stay away.† Yeah. And you're going to tackle him armed with three party cups of punch. She gave him a look and mouthed, â€Å"You stay away.† Randy's hand was trembling, making the razor flash. His chest was heaving. â€Å"What is it, Randy?† Blaise said. The toe of one high heeled shoe tapped the floor impatiently. â€Å"I feel bad,† Randy said. It was almost a moan. Suddenly his head didn't seem well connected to his neck. â€Å"I miss you.† His voice made Thea's flesh creep. He sounded like a person with the body of an eighteen-year-old and the mind of a four-year-old. â€Å"I cry all the time,† he said. With his left hand, he pulled off the Halloween mask. Kevin recoiled. Thea herself felt a wave of horror. He was crying blood. Bloody streams ran down from each of his eyes, mingling with regular tears. A spell? Thea wondered. Then she thought, no; he's cut himself. That was it. He'd made two crescent-shaped incisions under his eyes and the blood was coming from them. The rest of his face was ghastly, too. He was white as a corpse and there was fuzzy stubble on his chin. His eyes stared wildly. And his hair, which had always been strawberry blond and silky, stood up all over his head like bleached hay. â€Å"You came all the way from New Hampshire to tell me that?† Blaise said. She rolled her eyes. Randy let out a sobbing breath. This seemed to make Kevin braver. â€Å"Look, man, I don't know who you are-but you'd better keep away from her,† he said. â€Å"Why don't you go home and sober up?† It was a mistake. The wild eyes above the bloodstained cheeks focused on him. â€Å"Who are you?† Randy said thickly, advancing a step. â€Å"Who†¦ are†¦ you?† â€Å"Kevin, move!† Thea said urgently. It was too late. The hand with the razor flashed out, lightning quick. Blood spurted from Kevin's face.

What vices we should avoid or elude

What vices we should avoid/elude What are the vices we should avoid or elude? First of all there are many types of vices, from alcohol, smoking, drugs, gambling, and even lust. To be honest I like to drink, occasionally but if you drink too much, well now that's Just wrong. Drinking too much of alcohol will fry your liver and certain types of alcohol that has mead in it would eat up brain cells and would most likely make you stupid.There are many different types of drugs like marijuana, meet, cocaine, ecstasy, weed, flying high. What do all these drugs have in common? Makes you high, makes you numb and makes you elated. But what are the bad side effects? Drugs can fry or destroy every organ you have, even your brain which would make you an utter insane lout. Smoking, what does it do?Well nicotine that is found in tobacco leaves, which is inside a cigarette eats up your stored vitamins inside your body, once that happens oh would be prone to sickness or get sick allot, other than that there is a high chance of you having cancer or lung cancer which would lead to death. Even second- hand smoking is lethal to people around smokers especially pregnant women. Gambling is what I do not understand, you bet away your money which there Is a low chance of you winning it back, and if you do win you bet the money you earned and most likely you lose it again.Lust; well remember to use a condom for safety. What do all these vices have In common? It all costs money, It's not good to yourself and people around you, and there Is a chance for you to die with certain vices. So try to live a healthy life style without using an exaggerated amount of vices, because hey I have tried to smoke but I am not a smoker, I Like to drink occasionally, and If you do try to elude vices there Is a chance that you might reach an age of a hundred.

Macbeth †Blind Ambition Essay

Q. The play Macbeth explores the dangers associated with blind ambition. Discuss. William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is primarily concerned with exploring the dangers associated with blind ambition. Shakespeare presents the audience with a character faced with clear moral choices and who is led down a path towards destruction because of his tragic character flaw, his overarching ambition. We can see this in how easily Macbeth is initially convinced to start down this road by the witches’ prophecy. Finally we see how Macbeth is driven to ever greater extremes of cruelty in order to maintain the position that his ambition has allowed him to attain. The dangers associated with blind ambition are portrayed in the manner in which the crimes they commit take a terrible toll on the minds of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth is initially presented in the play as a brave and noble character but it takes only a hint in the direction of kingship from the witches to enflame his ambition. Early in the play Macbeth is praised by the king for his courage and loyalty. He is a figure of admiration and is rewarded for his efforts with the Thane of Cawdor. Shakespeare gives Macbeth his first taste of power and ambition with the prophecy of the witches and this kindles a sense of curiosity in him about what the future may hold. He makes a leap between being a passive figure in the face of destiny to entertaining the idea that he may himself direct the workings of fate. As Macbeth says, â€Å"The Prince of Cumberland: that is a step On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap,† It seems to take only the merest nudge in the direction of his â€Å"dark desires† to cause a deep change in his character and to lure him into entertaining some awful crimes in order to achieve those ambitions. We are left with the question, would Macbeth have ever strayed from his noble character if he had not been given the initial push in that direction by the witches? The answer seems to be that the witches have merely allowed something that was dark and evil within Macbeth’s character to be pulled out into the light. If we begin to covet what others have then our ambitions can run amok and destroy us. Having achieved his goal to become the King of Scotland Macbeth is forced to become ever more brutal and cruel in order to defend his illegitimate position. Initially we see that Macbeth has a profound struggle with his conscience over the prospect and indeed finds many good reasons for not killing him. It is only the goading of Lady Macbeth over his manhood that keeps him on his bloody path. The murder causes Macbeth a great deal of mental anguish and we see a character distraught by the trauma of going against his essential character in the moments directly after the act. â€Å"†¦ Sleep no more: Macbeth does murder sleep†¦Ã¢â‚¬  As the play progresses he overcomes his compunctions and supresses his conscience completely. The implication is that in order to maintain his position he must become more and more bloodthirsty and that his character must become more and more deformed. Shakespeare is making the observation that ambition is like a ravenous fire that consumes all in its path in order to maintain itself. Like tyrants throughout history we can see that, â€Å"Who is all powerful should fear everything.† The fear, suspicion and paranoia created by supreme power illegitimately gained leads to an inevitable bloodbath as the natural order is destroyed and chaos is unleashed. Macbeth’s ambition is such a force for disorder in the play and causes not only his downfall but that of many other characters and the whole state of Scotland. The greatest element of tragedy in the play is the spectacle of Macbeth slowly losing his mind as a result of his guilt over the crimes that he has committed in order to fulfil his ambition. The beginning of the play portrays Macbeth as a noble warrior of sound mind and sound body. This however changes as the play progresses to the point where Macbeth becomes insane. This is due to the guilt of his actions. What emphasises the guilt that Macbeth feels even more is the core values that he has. He battles with his mind attempting to convince himself that it was justifiable yet his core morals and values tell him otherwise. â€Å"It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood† Here Macbeth reflects on his deeds after Banquos ghost disappears. This is  the start of his battle for his sanity. Because of his righteous core values, he believes that the evil deed that he has committed will ultimately result in his death. As the play progresses, his mental stability degrades with each evil deed he commits to the point where he has no desire to live anymore as he realises that all there is to live for, he has wasted away. â€Å"I have liv’d long enough: my way of life Is fall’n into the sear, the yellow leaf; And that which should accompany old age,† He comments that old age has come upon him hastily as his way of life has caused this.

Analyzing SQ3R Process

Associate Level Material Appendix H SQ3R Worksheet Selected reading: p 193 Chapter 7 SurveyDescribe the value of surveying the reading. Surveying the reading is almost like skimming the assignment. In my opinion, it is like the appetizer of the assignment, almost the teaser to the full reading that will be done in the near future. QuestionWhat questions did you ask as you were reading? †¢What are the important points? †¢What are the new vocabulary words? †¢What is the topic and how does the reading pertain to it?ReadHow did surveying and questioning help you read better? I like surveying an assignment before I start really reading it thoroughly. Surveying allows me, in a sense, to whet my appetite for the reading assignment. Plus, surveying and asking questions gives me a chance to highlight key words and passages. ReciteHow did you decide what parts of your reading you needed to recite? For me, I personally recite the words that are highlighted and the words that are in bold type.These are word that I do not know or in some cases, words I need to learn. In my process of studying, these words are the ones I write out and then type to learn them better. ReviewHow often do you plan to review? My process for reviewing occurs pretty frequently. When I was learning medical terms, I had a cd I would listen to in my car while I drove. I also review every evening with vocabulary by using index cards. I find these methods to work the best for me personally.Wrap-up questions: How successful was the SQ3R process in helping you grasp the concepts in the section you selected? Will you use SQ3R in the future as a way to master the content in academic readings? I think the SQ3R method is an excellent way for me to learn. I think it is very similar to the way I already do my studying so I would have no trouble incorporating it into my studies. Not everyone uses these methods, but I definitely find them to be simple for me.

Do Colleges Use PSAT Scores?

Most generally, the PSAT/NMSQT (literally Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) serves as practice for the SAT. This test is usually taken in the first semester of 11th grade, while the newer versions, which include PSAT 10 and PSAT 8/9 , are taken in 10th and 8th or 9th grades respectively. Since you probably won’t be taking the SAT before your junior year, the latter tests serve as measures for what you’re learning and indicate whether you’re on track for college. Colleges usually don’t see your PSAT scores. In most cases, just you and your high school are able to see the report. These reports offer details on your performance in different areas and can help you determine which areas you need to improve and hone your practicing. Your PSAT/NMSQT scores may enter you in the National Merit Scholarship Program if you take the test as an 11th grader. Your scores may also be used as qualifiers for other scholarships. So while college probably won’t see your PSAT scores, that doesn’t mean they don’t matter. The earlier you take the PSAT, the more likely your score will change when you take the SAT. That’s one reason why it’s not the most solid indicator of your SAT performance, though it can show you where you should focus your practice efforts. When you receive your report, you’ll see college readiness benchmarks that indicate how prepared you are for a college curriculum. Still, remember that you have more than a year and a half of high school education, so there’s plenty of time to improve. Check out Are PSAT Scores Related to SAT Scores? for more information on how your results on the tests correlate. You raw scores, or total number questions you answered correctly, are converted to a score on a scale of 160–760 for each section, for a total of 320–1520. The tests themselves mirror the SAT and include Reading, Writing and Language, and Math. You will also see subscores for specific skill sets and percentiles that indicate how you did relative to others taking the same test. For instance, if you scored in the 80th percentile, you scored better than 80 percent of test takers. Whatever your personal goals and objectives are for the PSAT, you should definitely aim to exceed the College Readiness Benchmarks. The good news is that if you don’t, you have time to improve for the SAT. Each skill will be color-coded according to when you’ve reached the benchmark. Green means you’ve met or exceed it in that area, yellow means you’re approaching the benchmark, and red means you need to strengthen your skills in the area. With our free SAT guide, you'll get ’s top tips for mastering the SAT. Enter your name and email below to download the checklist. As we’ve discussed, colleges don’t typically pay attention to PSAT results. In most cases, they won’t even see your results. However, you shouldn’t blow off the test. It can help you a lot in preparing for the SAT and understanding your college readiness and where you need to improve. If you take the PSAT seriously and prepare for it as though you were taking the SAT, you may have a less stressful admissions and financial aid process. Doing well can also boost your confidence, since scoring well can alleviate fears that you might not do well on the SAT, and the practice can help you cope with test anxiety before the tests colleges will see. Think of it as a rehearsal for the real test. Your PSAT scores can also help you win scholarships. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation cosponsors the test and will automatically receive your results. (Check out How to Qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program for information on the award.) Some other scholarship committees, including National Hispanic Recognition Program, the National Scholarship Service, and Telluride Seminar Scholarships, use these results, too, although you may elect to not have them sent. Ultimately, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of the PSAT. It can help you a lot with practicing, studying, preparation and, ultimately, getting into college. Looking for some help with acing the SAT? The SAT Tutoring Program will help you achieve top scores on your test. We’ll pair you with two private tutors, one for English and writing, and one for math and science. All of our tutors have scored in the 99th percentile on the section they are teaching and are chosen based on teaching skills and ability to relate to their students.

Does Marx consider capitalism to be unjust Essay

Does Marx consider capitalism to be unjust - Essay Example This essay will first analyse Marx’s views on capitalist exploitation followed by analysis of literature on those who consider his arguments as pointing to capitalism as unjust and then those who are of the opinion that it not before arriving at a conclusion. Prior to the analysis of Marx’s arguments concerning capitalism, it is imperative to make a brief analysis of his general views of the ideology. To summarize Marx’s views on capitalism exploitation, such efforts must rely on the two facets distinguishable in the wage relation. Firstly, capitalism exploitation according to Marx can be analysed in the context of circulation. Based on circulation framework of capitalism exploitation, Marx claims there is a trade of equivalent values where the worker is given wages for labour-power (Appelrouth, 2008). Workers sell their capacity to work as their commodity whereas from the capitalist, the workers receive in the exchange process, the wages that represents the valu e of the commodity they sell. These wages are seen as being the value of what goes into producing such the labour as commodities for this exchange. Therefore, according to Marx, what workers receive from the capitalist, represents the full equivalent in value of what workers sell consequently, he does not see any reason to believe there is any cheating involved in such a process (Sitton, 2010). Secondly, Marx highlighted capitalism exploitation on the facet of production. Marx claims that workers, whose labour is the main source of the value pegged on commodities produced by the capitalist, will have to work longer hours than the time required reproducing the value equivalent to their own labour-power. This further translates to working for a longer time than is necessary for the value of the wage they have received (Bellofiore, Starosta and Thomas, 2013). Based on this approach of capitalist exploitation, the workers perform surplus labour therefore generating surplus-value to be a ppropriated by the capitalist inform of profits. Marx saw operation of labour-power as creating value that is greater than what the value labour-power itself represents and is purchased for (Struna, 2009). The two facets therefore represents two contrasting features of capitalism, seen in the balancing aspects of the wage relations evident in circulation process and in the in the facet of production, where workers produce surplus value to be appropriated by the capitalist. It is from the two facets of capitalist exploitation that the question whether Marx think it unjust or not stems. If according to Marx there is no injustice or fraud in the wage the capitalist pays for the purchased labour, it is because he saw the capitalist and the labourer exchanging on an equivalent basis. However, this is only true of the preliminary and narrow viewpoint of the circulation process where the wage relation is treated as an exchange of equivalents where there is an exchange of labour for power. Where Marx concentrates his efforts is in the surplus labour, which the worker must render for the capitalist to get his profit. On basis of surplus labour, Marx sees the capitalist

What Is the Fate of the South Korean Great Southern Gate Coursework

What Is the Fate of the South Korean Great Southern Gate - Coursework Example On December 20, 1962, the South Korean government exalted the Great Southern Gate to the position of the country’s national treasure number one. The gate is a brilliant example of the ancient architecture of the Yi Dynasty Empire. After its construction, Namdaemun was the tallest building of them all, towering majestically over the smaller buildings and palaces in the city of Seoul. At present, it struggles for prominence dwarfed by the giant skyscrapers in the fast-paced city. Despite the fact that there are four large gates and five minor gates in Seoul, only Namdaemun has been selected as a National Treasure. It was chosen as South Korea's National Treasure number one because, in 1962, when the South Korean government launched the establishment of National Treasures, Namdaemun stood as a sterling paragon of ancient Confucian architecture. Newworldencyclopedia.org further notes that the Great South Gate, magnificent and striking by the time King Sejong reconstructed it in the 1470s, ushered in all Chinese and Japanese dignitaries on their way to visit the King. That is the only gate through which they could enter. Confucianism had blended into the culture of the Korean society well before the Yi Dynasty but later on, it grew in prominence. Namdaemun thus epitomizes both the supreme power of the Korean Empire and the governing place of Confucianism not only in Korean politics but also in their religion and culture.  Ã‚   Seoul, the capital of Korea since the naissance of the Joseon Dynasty circa 1392 C.E. until now, had been a fortified city having nine gates that allowed passage in and out of the city. The founders of the city built four main gates and five minor ones. The four main gates were positioned in the direction of the four cardinal points: North, south, east and west. The south, east and west gates would open at daybreak and shut at the end of the day at the ringing of the city bell. The northern gate remained blocked and was set aside purely to facilitate the king's flight to Pukhan Sansong or more remote buttresses during times of danger. Namdaemun was the "southern gate." Yi T'aejo built all the nine city gates together with the Namdaemun gate during the fourteenth century C.E. The Joseon Dynasty also known as Choson or Chosun was the last ruling dynasty in Korea, reigning from 1392 to 1910 at the start of the Japanese annexation.

The Role and Development of Mathematics in Western Technology Essay

The Role and Development of Mathematics in Western Technology - Essay Example The current paper, basing on the James Burke’s views (Burke, â€Å"The Day the Universe Changed†), examines the influence of mathematical inventions, particularly perspective geometry, on the development of the society during the Renaissance. Manuel Chrysoloras, Byzantine scholar, was invited to present the Greek culture to the Florentines start the course of Greek in the local university in the end of the 14th century (Burke 67). Money ran Florence during that time. The place was full of commercials of different kind: accountants, merchants, bureaucrats. However, there was no aristocracy in Florence. Everyone who had power or position in the town had bought it out of his profits. Florence was dynamic republican â€Å"capitalist† company town. The same year Chrysoloras arrived, the Medici had started an international bank to lend the Florentine cash with double interest rate. They had branches all over Europe. They were successful in this activity due to their se cret weapon â€Å"double-entry bookkeeping† (Burke 61). There was no place the money could not get the possessor, but up. The problem was that there was no â€Å"up†. James Burke had in mind the material luxury, â€Å"the touch of class† that, first of all, had to be manifested in town’s architecture and dà ©cor.... Reading the Latin pre-Christian texts of poetry, rhetoric, history, and civics the Florentines began to understand that humans could live in human way without heavenly help. Hence originates the desire of the 15th century Florentines to imitate Latin style, particularly Roman remarkable architectural solutions to make their home look as fine as ancient Rome. However, they could not do all that architectural constructions like ancient triumph arches, giant columns, and domed ceilings. The abilities of the post-medieval mathematics and geometry were limited to estimate the architectural solutions. There was a sharp need in some mathematical innovations (Burke, â€Å"The Day the Universe Changed†). Before we discuss the invention of perspective geometry in the Western world, Arabic scholar Alhazen has to be mentioned. In the end of the 10th century, he was the first to explain accurately the process of visual perception and showed that the eye perceives the light reflected from t he object. Alhazen developed a complete theory of vision that was called â€Å"perspective† in the Middle Ages (Struik 72). Though, he did not use his ideas in practice, his theory received a wide recognition in Europe, where his ideas rocked the Renaissance scholars. The first precise formulation of the law of the perspective geometry is attributed to Brunelleschi. Nearly 1424, he realized that on the flatness all parallel lines strive to a single vanishing point. This mathematical principle was inspired by Paolo Toscanelli who had scrupulously studied the Alhazen works and gridded Ptolemy’s Atlas. In this respect, using an arsenal of mathematical theories to build a proper perspective, he painted on wooden panel St. John’s baptistery of Florence. To emphasize the accuracy of his