Born to Be Story Teller

Short summary Jean Francois takes the blame for a crime he did not commit after a change in his life has made him a respected tradesman. He has done this to save a naive rustic from his own fate as an habitual criminal prior to his reformation. He willingly substitutes for the real thief because he can survive a life in jail and his young rustic friend would be spared a life of in-jail and out. Jean Francois has saved his young friend from a life like his. Shows how once labeled a criminal in the eyes of the law; one remains a criminal in the eyes of the law, for the rest of one’s life.MAIN STORY HE  was scarcely ten years old when he was arrested for the first time for vagabondage. This is what he said to the judges: â€Å"My name is Jean Francois Leturc, and for the last six months I’ve been with the man who sings between two lanterns on the Place de la Bastille, scraping on a  bit of catgut. I say the chorus with him, and then I cry out, ‘Ask for the new s ong book, ten centimes, two sous! ’ He was always drunk, and he beat me. That’s how the police found me the other night, in these ruined houses. Before that, I used to be with the man who sells brushes.My mother was a washerwoman; her name is Adele. A gentleman had set her up on a ground floor, at Montmartre, long ago. She was a good worker and very fond of me. She made money because she had the custom of the cafe waiters, and they need lots of linen. Sundays, she put me to bed early to go to the ball; but weekdays, she sent me to the Brothers’ school, where I learned to read. Well, at last the policeman whose beat was up our street used to stop before her window to talk to her, a big man, with the Crimean medal. They got married, and all went wrong.He took a dislike to me, and set mamma against me. Everybody had a slap for me; and it was then that to get away I spent my days on the Place Clichy, where I got acquainted with the mountebanks. My stepfather lost hi s job, mamma lost her customers, and so she went to the washhouse to support her husband. It was there she got consumption, from the dampness. She died at Lariboisiere. She was a good woman. Since then I’ve lived with the brush seller and the catgut scraper. Am I going to be put in prison? †Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He talked this way openly, cynically, like a man.He was a ragged little rascal, as tall as a top boot, with his forehead hidden under a strange yellow mop of hair. Nobody claiming him, they sent him to the reform school. Not intelligent, lazy, especially clumsy with his hands, he could learn there only a poor trade, to reseat straw chairs. Yet he was obedient, naturally quiet and taciturn; and he did not seem to be too profoundly corrupted by that school of vice. But when he was seventeen, and set free in the streets of Paris, he found there, for his misfortune, his prison comrades, wretched creatures, plying the lowest callings.Some were trainers of dogs for rat-catching in the sewers; some shined shoes in the Passage de l’Opera, on the nights when there were balls; some were amateur wrestlers, letting themselves be thrown by the Hercules of the side shows; some used to fish from rafts out in the river. He tried one of these things and another; and a few months after he had left the house of correction, he was arrested again for a petty theft, a pair of old shoes picked from out an open show window. Result: a year of imprisonment at Sainte-Pelagie, where he served as valet to the political prisoners.He lived, astonished, among this group of prisoners, all very young and carelessly dressed, who talked loudly and carried themselves in such a solemn way. They used to meet in the cell of the eldest of them, a fellow of thirty locked up for a long time already and as though settled at Sainte-Pelagie, a big cell, papered with colored caricatures, out of whose windows could be seen the whole of Paris, its roofs, its steeples, its domes, and far off , the distant line of the hills, blue and vague against the sky.On the walls there were a few shelves filled with books and all the old apparatus of a fencing school, broken masks, rusty foils, leather jackets and gloves with the  stuffing half out. It was there that the political prisoners had dinner together, adding to the inevitable soup and beef, fruit, cheese, and quarts of wine that Jean Francois was sent to buy at the canteen, tumultuous repasts, interrupted by violent disputes, and with songs sung in chorus at the dessert, the â€Å"Carmagnole† and â€Å"Ca ira. But they took on an air of dignity the days when they made room for a newcomer, who was at first solemnly greeted as â€Å"citizen,† but who was the next day called by his nickname. They made use of big words, Corporation, Solidarity, and phrases quite unintelligible to Jean Francois, such as this for example, that he once heard uttered imperiously by a hideous little hunchback who spent his nights s cribbling:   â€Å"Then it’s settled.The cabinet is to be composed of Raymond in the Department of Education, Martial in the Interior, and I in Foreign Affairs. †Ã‚  When his time was up, he wandered again about Paris, with the eye of the police on him, much like the cockchafers that cruel children keep flying tied to a string. He had become one of those fugitive and timid beings whom the law, with a coquetry of its own, arrests and releases, turn and turn about, a little like those platonic fishermen who throw back into the water the fish just out of the net so as not to empty the pond.Without his suspecting that so much honor was done to so feeble a personality, he had a special docket in the mysterious archives of police headquarters; his name and surnames were written in a large backhand on the gray paper of the cover, and the notes and reports, carefully classified, gave him these graduated appellations: â€Å"the  man named Leturc,† â€Å"the accused Leturc,† and finally, â€Å"the convicted Leturc. †Ã‚  He stayed out of prison two years, eating as best he could, sleeping in lodging houses, or sometimes in kilns, and taking part with his fellows in endless games of pitch and toss, on the Boulevards, out near the gates.He wore a greasy cap on the back of his head, carpet slippers, and a short white blouse. When he had five sous, he had his hair curled. He danced at Constant’s at Montparnasse; for two sous he bought the knave of hearts or the ace of spades, used as return checks, to sell them again for four sous at the entrance to Bobino; he opened carriage doors when the chance came; he led broken-down horses to the market. He always had bad luck, in the conscription he drew a good number.Who knows whether the atmosphere of honor which is breathed in the barracks, whether military discipline, might not have saved him? Caught in a haul, with a lot of vagabonds who used to rob the drunkards asleep in the streets , he denied energetically having taken part in their expeditions. Perhaps it was true. But his antecedents were accepted as proof, and he was sent up for three years to Poissy. There he had to make rough toys; he had himself tattooed on the chest; and he learned thieves’ slang and the penal code.Another release, another plunge into the Parisian sewer, but this time very short, for at the end of scarce six weeks, he was again compromised in a theft by night, aggravated by violence, a doubtful case in which he played an obscure part, half dupe and half receiver. At the end his complicity seemed evident, and he was condemned to five years’ hard labor. His sorrow in this adventure was to be separated from an old dog that he had picked up on a pile of rubbish and cured of the mange. This beast loved him.Toulon, the ball on his ankle, work in the harbor, blows, wooden shoes without straw, soup of black beans dating from Trafalgar, no money for tobacco, and the horrible sleep on the filthy iron bed of the convict, that is what he knew for five horrid summers and five winters with the whistling wind. He came out stunned, and was sent under surveillance to Vernon, where he worked for a while on the river; and then, incorrigible vagabond as he was, he broke bounds and came back again to Paris.He had his savings, fifty-six francs that is to say, time to reflect. During his long absence his old, horrible comrades had been scattered. He was well hidden; he slept in an attic, at an old woman’s, to whom he had given himself out as a sailor, weary of the sea, having lost his papers in a recent shipwreck, and wanting to try another trade. His tanned face, his calloused hands, and a few sea phrases he let drop from time to time, made this tale fairly probable.One day when he had risked a saunter along the streets and when the chance of his walk brought him to Montmarte, where he had been born, an unexpected memory stopped him before the door of the Brothers ’ school, in which he had learned to read. As it was very warm, the door was open; and with a single look the hesitating passer could recognize the schoolroom. Nothing was changed, not the crucifix over the desk, nor the regular rows of seats, with their leaden inkstands, nor the table of weights and measures, nor the map on which  were still the pins pointing out the operations of some old war.Heedlessly, and without reflecting, Jean Francois read on the blackboard these words of Scripture, which a well-trained hand had traced as an example of handwriting: â€Å"Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, who need no repentance. †Ã‚   It must have been the hour for recreation, for the teaching Brother had left his chair, and sitting on the edge of a table, he seemed to be telling a story to all the children who surrounded him, attentive and raising their eyes.What an innocent and gay expression was that of the beardless young man, in long black robe, with white cravat, with coarse, ugly shoes, and with brown hair badly cut rising up at the back. All those pallid faces of children of the populace which were looking at him, seemed less infantine than his, especially when, charmed with a candid, priestly pleasantry, he broke out with a good and frank laugh, which showed his teeth sound and well-ordered, a laugh so contagious that all the scholars broke out noisily in their turn and it was simple and sweet, this group in the joyous sunlight that made the clear eyes and the blond hair shine.Jean Francois looked at it some time in silence, and, for the first time, in this savage nature, all instinct and appetite, there awoke a mysterious and sweet emotion. His heart, that rough and hardened heart, which did not start when the heavy cudgel or the weight of the whip fell on his shoulders, beat almost to oppression. Before this spectacle, in which he saw again his childhood, his  eyes closed sor rowfully, and restraining a violent gesture, he moved away with large strides. The words written on the blackboard came back to him. â€Å"If it was not too late, after all? † he murmured. If I could once more, like the others, eat my white bread honestly, sleep my sleep out with no nightmare? The police spy would be very clever to recognize me now. My beard, which I shaved down there, has grown again, thick and strong. A man can hide himself in this big ant-heap, and work is not lacking. Whoever does not break down soon in the hell of the prison, comes out agile and robust; and I have learned how to climb ladders with a load on my back. There is building going on everywhere, and the masons need helpers. Three francs a day, I have never earned so much. If they will only forget me, that is all I ask.   He followed his courageous resolutions; he was faithful to it; and three months later, he was another man. The master for whom he labored cited him as his best workman. After a long day passed on the ladder, in the full sun, in the dust, bending and straightening his back to take the stones from the hands of the man below him and to pass them to the man above him, he came home to get a meal at the cheap eating house, dead tired, his legs heavy, his hands burning, and his eyelashes stuck together by the plaster, but satisfied with himself, and carrying his well-earned money in the knot of his handkerchief.He went out now with no fear of anything, for his white mask made him unrecognizable; and then he had observed that the suspicious glance of the policeman does not often  fall on the real worker. He was silent and sober. He slept the good sleep of fatigue. He was free. At last, a supreme reward; he had a friend. It was a mason like himself, called Savinien, a little peasant from Limoges, red-cheeked, having came to Paris with his bundle on the end of the stick over his shoulder, who kept away from the liquor dealers and went to mass on Sunday.Jean Fran cois liked him for his wholesomeness, for his innocence, for his honesty; for all that he himself had lost long ago. It was a deep passion, reserved, and betraying itself by the care and forethought of a father. Savinien, himself easy-going and selfish, let things take their course; glad only that he had found a comrade who shared his horror of the saloon.The two friends lived together in a furnished room, fairly clean, but their means were very limited; and they had to take in a third companion, an old man from Auvergne, somber and rapacious, who found a way of saving out of his meager wages to buy land at home. Jean Francois and Savinien scarcely ever left each other. The days of rest they went on long walks in the environs of Paris to dine in the open air in one of those little country inns where there are many mushrooms in the sauces and innocent enigmas on the bottoms of the plates.Jean Francois then had his friend tell him all the things, which are unknown to those born in cit ies. He learned the names of the trees, the flowers, the plants, the date of the different harvests; he listened greedily to the thousand details of a farmer’s labors, the autumn sowing, the winter work, the splendid feasts of harvest home and vintage, the flails beating the floor, and the  sound of the mills by the edge of the water, the tired horses led to the trough, and the morning hunting in the mists, and above all, the long evenings around the fire, shortened by tales of marvel.He discovered in himself springs of an imagination hitherto unsuspected, finding a singular pleasure in the mere recital of these things, so sweet, calm, and monotonous. One fear troubled him, however, that Savinien might come to know his past. Sometimes there escaped him a shady word of slang, an ignoble gesture, survivals of his former horrible existence; and then he felt the pain of a man whose old wounds open again, the more particularly as he then thought he saw in Savinien the awakening of an unhealthy curiosity.When the young man, already tempted by the pleasures, which Paris offered even to the poorest, asked him about the mysteries of the great city, Jean Francois feigned ignorance and turned the conversation; but he had then a vague doubt as to the future of his friend. This was not without foundation; and Savinien could not long remain the innocent countryman he had been on his arrival in Paris. If the gross and noisy pleasures of the saloon were still repugnant to him, he was deeply troubled by other desires full of danger for the inexperience of his twenty years.When the spring came, he began to seek solitude, and he wandered at first before the gayly lighted entrance to the dancing halls, through which he saw the girls going in couples, without bonnets, and whispering with their arms around each other. Then one evening, when the lilacs were in bloom, and when the appeal of the music was more entrancing, he crossed  the threshold. And after that Jean Franc ois saw him change little by little in his manners and in his looks. Savinien became more careful of his dress and he spent more; often he borrowed from the poor savings of his friend, which he forgot to return.Jean Francois, feeling himself deserted, was both indulgent and jealous; he suffered and kept silent. He believed he had no right to reproach, but his penetrating friendship had cruel and unconquerable forebodings. One night when he was climbing the stairs of his lodging, absorbed in his preoccupations, he heard a dialogue of irritated voices in the room he was about to enter, and he recognized one as that of the old man from Auvergne, who shared the room with him and Savinien. An old habit of suspicion made him wait on the landing, and he listened to learn the cause of the trouble. Yes,† the man from Auvergne was saying angrily, â€Å"I am sure that somebody has broken open my trunk and stolen the three Louis which I had hidden in a little box; and the man who did the trick can only be one of the two companions who sleep here, unless it is Maria, the servant. This is your business as much as mine, since you are the master of the house; and I will hale you to court if you do not let me at once go through the valises of the two masons. My poor savings! they were in their place only yesterday; and I will tell you what the Louis were, so that, if you find them, you will not accuse me of lying.Oh, I know them, my three fine gold pieces. One was a little more worn than the others, of a gold a little greener, and that had the portrait of the great Emperor; another had that of a  fat old fellow with a pigtail and epaulets; and the third had a Philip with side-whiskers; I had marked it with my teeth. I am not to be cheated, not I. Do you know I need only two more to pay for my vineyard? Come, let us look through the duds of these two comrades, or I will call the police. †Ã‚     Ã¢â‚¬Å"Very well,† said the voice of the man who kept the hou se. We’ll search with Maria. So much the worse if you find nothing and if the masons get angry. It will be because you forced me to it. †Ã‚  Jean Francois had his heart filled with fear. He recalled the poverty of Savinien, the petty borrowings, the somber manner observed the last few days. Yet he did not want to believe in any theft. He heard the hard breathing of the man from Auvergne in the ardor of the search; and he clenched his hands against his breast as though to repress the beatings of his heart. 28  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"There they are! suddenly screamed the miser, victorious. â€Å"There they are, the Louis my dear treasure! And in the Sunday waistcoat of that little hypocrite from Limoges. See there, boss! They are just as I told you. There’s the Napoleon, and the man with the pigtail, and the Philip I had bitten. See the mark. Ah, the little rascal, with his air of innocence. I should more likely have suspected the other. Ah, the villain. He will have to go to prison! †Ã‚   At this moment Jean Francois heard the well-known step of Savinien, who was slowly coming upstairs. He will betray himself,† he thought. â€Å"Three flights. I have the time! †Ã‚   And pushing the door, and pale as death, he entered  the room, where he saw the man who kept the house and the stupefied servant in a corner, and the man from Auvergne on his knees amid the scattered clothes, lovingly kissing his gold pieces. â€Å"Enough of this,† he said in a dull voice. â€Å"It was I who took the money and put it in the comrade’s trunk. But that is too disgusting. I am a thief and not a Judas. Go get the police. I shall not run.Only I must say a word in private to Savinien, who is here. †Ã‚  The little man from Limoges had in fact just arrived, and seeing his crime discovered and believing himself lost, he stood still, with his eyes fixed and his arms falling. Jean Francois sprang to his neck, as though to embrace him; he glue d his mouth to Savinien’s ear, and said to him in a low and beseeching voice:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Hold your tongue! †Ã‚  Ã‚  Then, turning to the others:  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Leave me alone with him. I shall not go away, I tell you. Shut us up, if you like, but leave us alone together.    And with a gesture of command, he showed them the door. They went out. Savinien, broken with anguish, had seated himself on a bed, and had dropped his eyes without understanding. â€Å"Listen,† said Jean Francois, who came to take his hands. â€Å"I understand. You stole the three gold pieces to buy some trifle for a girl. That would have been worth six months of prison for you. But you do not get out of that except to go back again; and you would have become a pillar of the police courts and criminal trials. I know all about them.I have done seven years in the  reform school, one at Sainte-Pelagie, three at Poissy, and five at Toulon. Now, do not get scared. It is all settled. I have taken it on my shoulders. †Ã‚   â€Å"Poor fellow,† cried Savinien; but hope was coming back to his cowardly heart. â€Å"When the elder brother is serving with the colors, the younger stays at home,† Jean Francois went on. â€Å"I’m your substitute, that is all. You love me a little, do you not? I am paid. Do not be a baby. You cannot refuse. They would have caught me one of these days, for I have broken my leave.And then, you see, that life out there will not be so hard for me as for you; I know it, and shall not complain if I do not render you this service in vain and if you swear to me that you will not do it again. Savinien, I have loved you dearly, and your friendship has made me very happy, for it is thanks to my knowing you that I have kept honest and straight, as I might always have been, if I had had a father to put a tool in my hands, a mother to teach me my prayers. My only regret was that I was useless to you and that I was deceiving you about my past. To day I lay aside the mask in saving you.It is all right. Come, now, good-by! Do not weep; and embrace me, for I hear the big boots on the stairs. They are coming back with the police; and we must not seem to know each other too well before these fellows. †Ã‚  Ã‚  He hugged Savinien hurriedly to his breast, and then he pushed him away as the door opened wide. It was the man who kept the house and the man from Auvergne who were bringing the police. Jean Francois went out on the landing and held out his hands for the handcuffs and said, laughin; â€Å"Forward, bad lot! †Ã‚  Ã‚  To day he is at Cayenne, a prisoner for life, as incorrigible.

Coming of age is a prominent theme in Her First Ball by Katherine Mansfield Essay

Coming of age is a prominent theme in ‘Her First Ball’ by Katherine Mansfield. It is expressed in the plot, wherein an adolescent girl attends her first ball and is fascinated and thrilled by it all. Her hopes are then let down by an older gentleman who cruelly reminds her that she will soon be an old lady with no happiness and excitement left in her life. Mansfield depicts the theme of growing up in title, language, literary devices and characterization. The title, ‘Her First Ball’, clearly states the subject of the story while maintaining the implications of growth and ageing. The use of the pronoun, ‘her’, instead of the name, Leila, shows how ubiquitous this process- how every woman has had a first ball that is a milestone in their journey to adulthood. This reiterates the notion that Leila, like everyone else will grow up and will no longer be the ecstatic young girl in awe of everything, whether it be for better or worse. The word ‘first’ implies youth and the change that comes with ageing. It suggests many more balls and experiences to come and marks this incident as a milestone in her life. Another technique Mansfield uses to express the theme of growing up in the story is the language. The language in ‘Her First Ball’ is extremely descriptive and ornate. She uses irony in ‘I can’t see a single invisible hairpin!’. This adds to the humor of the story. This also suggests the idiocy and stupidity of the youth, lost in the thrilling chaos of the ball. Mansfield also uses elaborate phrases to capture the magnificence of the ball and how Leila feels about it such as the alliterative phrase, ‘gleaming golden floor’. The words ‘gleaming’ and ‘golden’ both represent an epitome of beauty and splendor that is contrasted with descriptions from Leila’s school. The phrase ‘ dusty smelling hall- with calico texts on the wall’ provides a juxtaposition between Leila’s past and her present to show beyond doubt the changes in her life as she ages. An additional aspect of language that brings out the significant experience of the ball is the register used in ‘Her First Ball’. It is one of informal 18th century British English. Mansfield uses words and phrases such as ‘Twig’, ‘Oh, I say’ and ‘Pardon’. This adds to the authenticity of he story and emphasizes the setting and time. The tone used in ‘Her First Ball’ changes often in the story, which adds to the notion of change and growth. Although, it’s a third person narrative, it captures Leila’s feeling very effectively in the tone. At the start of the story, the tone is one of excitement and anxiety. Leila feels unsure yet thrilled about how the ball will be and also feels slightly out of place being a country girl. She expresses her doubts and the tone is also one of wistfulness and longing to be like everyone else. As the story progresses, the tone becomes more ecstatic and admiring of the ball. The hall, the people and the experience is absolutely thrilling to Leila. This excitement is represented in the tone until she converses with the fat, old man. He reminds her that this is only temporary and this happiness will soon be replaced with a feeling of sadness and longing to be youthful once again. This brings upon a new tone into the story- one of dismay and dread. Leila knows it’s inevitable and her visions of a life of joy and come crashing down. However, the tone soon changes to one of renewed happiness and everlasting joy. The music changes to something better and she loses herself in the dance, forgetting the words of the fat man; forgetting him altogether. The frequent changes in tone conceivably represent the changes in life that come with ageing and development. The music plays an important part in the story, mirroring the feelings of Leila. ‘with rabbit ears thumping the cold piano’ is a description of Leila’s boarding school dance lessons that were uncomfortable and a drag to her. This contrasts with ‘a soft, melting, ravishing tune’. The words chosen describe the music as an art or even as a food- ‘soft’, ‘melting’. This shows the overwhelming joy Leila feels in the fantastic ball. However, after the fat old man reminds Leila of her fate, ‘the music seemed to change; it sounded sad, sad’. The music that once ‘rose upon a wave’ now ‘rose upon a sigh’. This illustrates the quick changes in mood symptomatic of the youth, the gullibility and naivety as well. Even more so, Leila doesn’t even recognize him with the advent of another dance and has forgotten her dreadful encounter, which adds to the notion of the growing up and the mercurial c hanges in adolescence. Perhaps the most potent techniques to show the theme of ageing are the literary devices used. Mansfield uses an array of similes, metaphors and imagery to capture the scene and Leila’s emotions. The metaphor ‘all became one beautiful flying wheel’ expresses Leila’s intense happiness and high spirits. The old man, the antagonist, is described with the simile ‘ his coat looked as if it was dusty with French chalk’. It shows his lack of involvement in the ball and in it’s customs that comes with age. Another sign of this is when Leila’s partners ‘were not more interested’ and joyful about the ball as she was. This shows the inevitable mellowing down that Leila will, like everybody else, achieve. The author also uses visual imagery at the end of the story to show how the reminder of the inexorable affects Leila. Although she is initially dissatisfied, she soon notices that ‘the stars they had long beams like windâ⠂¬â„¢. This phrase with striking visual imagery marks the end of her short period of unhappiness and signifies her change in mood to once again being delighted. This leads to an important idea in the story, that adds to the characterization of Leila. The old man’s attempt to remind her of her destiny, however cruelly done, is quite true. Leila remembers this for only a short period of time before returning to her admiring self. This shows that the reminder of her future has fallen on deaf ears and that Leila is so intent on having a good time she forgets her worries and perhaps that she simply doesn’t consider the advisory anything more than a bitter man’s negative opinion. Her lack of heed to her wake up call indicates the naivety of the youth. She is quick to forget unpleasant experiences rather than to learn from them and ignores the prospect of growing up entirely as it upsets her. An important idea in the story is one of symbolism. There are many symbols in the story, Leila being on of youth. She represents the curiosity and happiness of adolescence along with the gullibility and inanity. She lives in the present, which is seen both positively and negatively in the story. Her ability to concentrate on the current happenings result in her extreme joy and thrill from the dancing and fun of the ball but also result in her sadness on meeting the fat man. The ball changes from her heaven to a place where she must face her inexorable depressing fate. However, it is this quality of hers that leads her to forget her bad memory and move on to the pleasures of life, even if they are short lived. The Old man on the other hand, could be a symbol of wisdom. When he first meets her he says ‘ Do I remember this bright little face’ although he’s obviously never seen her before. This creates an atmosphere of eerie knowledge around him. His shabby appearance and the fact that he dances with the youth despite his age sets him apart from the rest of the gentlemen and marks him as different. His age, his correct conjecture that it’s Leila’s first ball and his accurate prediction of her future signifies that he perhaps plays the role of a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. The fact that Leila forgets him suggests her immaturity and her inability to see past the present. Thus, Mansfield perhaps tries to achieve the notion of the pettiness and fatuity as well as happiness and celebration of the youth in the story and its contents. She uses the plot to describe an incident where Leila is at her most happy and later, probably her least. The ending of the story shows Leila’s resilience, or rather, her ignorance. While centered on the theme of coming of age, I feel that Mansfield used the many effective literary techniques and the conclusion of the story to show that Leila has, essentially, not matured.

Brief On The Code Of Hammurabi Essay

, Research Paper Brief Look at the Code of Hammurabi In his place as King of Babylonia, Hammurabi managed to form the universe # 8217 ; s first codification of Torahs and set up Babylon as the dominant and successful Amorite metropolis of its clip. # 8220 ; Records written on clay tablets show that Hammurabi was a really capable decision maker and a successful warrior. His regulation spanned from 1792 BC to 1750 BC When he became king in 1792, he was still immature, but had already become entrusted with many official responsibilities in his disposal # 8221 ; ( Grolier ) . In the early old ages of his reign, Hammurabi largely participated in traditional activities, such as mending edifices, delving canals, and contending wars. Yet subsequently in his regulation, Hammurabi organized a alone codification of Torahs, the first of its sort, hence doing himself one of the universe # 8217 ; s most influential leaders. Hammurabi was chiefly influential to the universe because of his codification of Torahs. This codification consisted of 282 commissariats, consistently arranged under a assortment of topics. He sorted his Torahs into groups such as household, labour, personal belongings, existent estate, trade, and concern. This was the first clip in history that any Torahs had been categorized into assorted subdivisions. This format of organisation was emulated by civilisations of the hereafter. For illustration, Semitic cultures wining Hammurabi # 8217 ; s regulation used some of the same Torahs that were included in Hammurabi # 8217 ; s codification. Hammurabi # 8217 ; s method of idea is apparent in present twenty-four hours societies, which are influenced by his codification. Modern authoritiess presently create specific Torahs, which are placed into their appropriate household of similar Torahs. Hammurabi had his Torahs recorded upon an eight-foot high black rock memorial. Hammurabi based his codification on rules like, the strong should non wound the weak, and that penalty shou ld suit the offense. As for penalty, â€Å"legal actions were initiated under the codification by written pleadings ; testimony was taken under curse. The codification was terrible in its punishments, ordering â€Å"an oculus for an oculus, a tooth for a tooth† ( Grolier ) . These codifications of Torahs were maintained by raising the authorization of the Gods and the province. Although the penalties were different than those of today, the authorization of the province ( authorities ) is similar. Presently, penalties are issued through the province # 8217 ; s jurisprudence enforcement system, comparable to the manner penalty was determined and enforced in ancient Babylon. In the codification, offenses punishable by decease required a test in forepart of a bench of Judgess. Included in these offenses were: bigamy, incest, snatch, criminal conversation and larceny. There were besides Torahs similar to today. For illustration, a hubby who wished to disassociate his married woman, was required to pay maintenance and child support. By making the universe # 8217 ; s first set of organized Torahs, Hammurabi constituted a theoretical account set of moral codifications for other civilisations to double. # 8220 ; The codification of Hammurabi is believed to hold greatly influenced the development of Near Eastern civilisations for centuries after it was written # 8221 ; ( Britannica ) . Although Hammurabi failed to set up an effectual bureaucratic system himself, his thoughts were successful in set uping Torahs in Babylonia. Since Babylon was the universe # 8217 ; s first city, the big population needed to be bound by a rigorous set of organized civil Torahs. The manner Hammurabi constructed his Torahs is influential to the universe today, because Torahs can be more easy understood by the people. Bibliography # 8220 ; Code of Hammurabi. # 8221 ; Encyclopedia Britannica ( 1989 ) , X, 682. # 8220 ; Hammurabi. # 8221 ; Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia ( 1994 ) . # 8220 ; Hammurabi. # 8221 ; Compton # 8217 ; s Encyclopedia ( 1990 ) , XI, 225.

Scientific Method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Scientific Method - Essay Example According to a survey conducted by American farm policy as documented by Blatt (2008), the increase in obesity in the American society is not caused by eating more food, but by eating more processed food instead of fresh farm produce. As outlined by Deutsch (2010) most Americans obtain their food supplies from supermarkets and grocery stores and it is important to establish whether they just prefer processed food, or there is reduced availability of fresh farm produce. The following study will conduct a survey on three supermarkets on the quantity of processed foods in kilograms and compare them with the quantity of processed foods in kilograms. The three grocery stores were visited from 1pm to 2pm on 1st and 2nd which was on Thursday and Friday Most Americans buy their weekly supplies during weekends and a previous inquiry from the managers revealed that by Thursday and Friday they are always fully stocked in readiness for the weekend shoppers. The study employed the services of two high school teenagers who went to two grocery stores while the researcher personally went to one store. The researchers were supposed to visit the grocery section of both processed and fresh cereals and then record the quantity of foodstuffs in each section in kilograms. They researchers were provided with scientific calculators to convert units that were not in kilograms to kilograms. The researchers were also given excel sheets (sample provided in Figure 1) with separate sections for processed and fresh foods. Each section had provisions for recording the type of cereal and the quantity in kilograms. After the collection of data, the data was computed and presented in a percentage form to show which type of cereals had the highest percentage and whether the difference was significant. Percentages for each grocery store was also computed to

Elections and Political Parties in Central & Eastern Europe Research Paper

Elections and Political Parties in Central & Eastern Europe - Research Paper Example The modern values of democracy can only be properly protected and advanced through well-established political systems. Politics is a non-violent way of advocating for the rights and freedoms of individuals needed to ensure that each person gets the opportunity to express him/herself and achieve the objectives that he/she has set for him/her. Countries in Central and Eastern Europe have some of the most elaborate and well developed political systems in the world. These old democracies have citizens with a very high appreciation for the values of democracy1. However, the political systems adopted by various countries have huge variations in procedures and the values they emphasize upon. To demonstrate these differences, we have picked two countries; Germany and Ukraine to examine the differences between their political systems. Germany is one of the most interesting republics when studying political systems. During the cold war that lasted from 1950s to 1990, it was divided into two pa rts; East Germany under the socialist political system and west Germany under the capitalist system. Even its capital Berlin had a wall dividing it into east and west regions. However, after the end of cold war and reunification of Germany, it is now under a strong capitalist political system, being a multiparty democracy. During the times of the cold war, the political system was made of only three parties. However, nowadays, with the formation of various coalition parties, the voters have a wide choice of parties to choose from2. However, it resembles most of the major economies in that its parties can be divided into two groups based on the ideologies they adopt. The two groups are either center right or center left. Each of the groups is made up of a number of smaller parties and coalitions. It is very common to find coalition governments taking over power after elections in Germany. Besides the political parties, there are other major components of the German system of governme nt. These components include the executive headed by the president. The president serves the country for a term of five years and can only lead for two terms. The second component is the lower house called the Budegstag. It has members representing voters and elected every 4 years. This house is headed by a chancellor elected from among the members. The third component is the upper house called Bundesrat. Unlike in most other countries, members of the German upper house are appointed from the cabinet rather than being elected by the voters. Each state appoints a representative to the upper house and has the liberty of recalling him/her whenever they wish. It is also worth noting that the representation of states in the upper house is not equal. Like in almost every other country, the German political system has a judiciary responsible for enforcing its laws. It is the main protector of the German constitution. Ukraine was one of the countries under the former USSR. It gained its ind ependence after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. After this, it went through many political transformations into its current position. The Ukrainian parliament is the most powerful organ of governance that the country has. The parliament adopted a document called the declaration of state sovereignty. The declaration stated that the parliament was the only organ with the powers to speak on behalf of the state. Besides parliament, the presidency is the next most important component of the political system in Ukraine. The president has powers to appoint representatives to various international forums and people to represent the president in various occasions and functions. The president is elected in an election held every five years. A president is allowed two terms in office each five years long. Next to him is the prime minister responsible for dealing with various executive functions of the government. The prime minister also heads the council of ministers3. The

In recent years, honeybee colonies have been experiencing Colony Essay

In recent years, honeybee colonies have been experiencing Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Given the key role of honeybees - Essay Example The honey bees that leave for the forage largely do not return back to their hives and this is especially witnessed to a large extent with migratory bees which are trucked from one country to another for pollination purposes. Scientists have begun to unravel the causes behind this phenomenon as it is a major source of income for the beekeepers and also the farmers depend on it for crop production (Johnson, 2010). In the earlier times a 10 percent loss in honey bee population in a season was considered to be normal, which then rose to 30 percent due to infection by parasitic mites and beginning from 2006 many commercial beekeepers have reported a loss of 30 to 90 percent average colony loss with the onset of CDD. Even the surviving colonies showed weak viability. Though a majority of the losses have been attributed to known causes about 25% of the loss is estimated to have occurred due to CCD. These losses of colonies occur throughout the year and are not seasonal. The major symptoms of this condition are the rapid loss of adult bee workers without any accumulation of dead bees in the hive which is an indication that these bees are not retuning back to the hive that is highly unusual in case of the bee population. These adult bees leave behind their brood which is generally inactive. In addition, there is also the presence of food stores that includes both honey and bee bread. The queen bee is generally present and actively laying eggs (Johnson, 2010; Colony Collapse Disorder, n.d). In case of actively collapsing bee colonies, only an insufficient workforce of young adult bees will be present and though the queen is present the population does not show an inclination to consume food (Colony Collapse Disorder, n.d). Research carried out to determine the causative factors for this condition has found out that CCD could be a syndrome which is not caused by any one particular factor but a combination of several factors (multifactorial). Some of the major possible fa ctors that threaten the bee population are viruses, parasites and microbes, pesticides, antibiotics, miticides, radiations, genetically modified crops and climatic and other environmental changes (Johnson, 2010; Colony Collapse Disorder, n.d). The USDA’s Agriculture Research Service, the Pennsylvania State University and several other universities are conducting most of the current research to unravel the cause of this phenomenon (Johnson, 2010). A recent study carried out by the Washington State University has shown that CCD could be caused due to a combination of toxic chemicals and pathogens present in honeycombs as the bees present in such combs had reduced longevity (Gutierrez, 2010). Of these, chronic exposures to pesticides, miticides and antibiotics have been shown to have an impact on the immune system of the honey bees and hence on their response to infection. In addition, bees have a reduced number of genes which offer resistance to various diseases and toxins thus making the bee population more vulnerable to such problems (Colony Collapse Disorder, n.d). These toxic chemicals are believed to cause the colony to collapse either by themselves or by combining with each other, which would result in increased toxicity to the hive. In addition scientists are also studying the combinatory effects

Career Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Career Making - Essay Example The organisation is based in London, United Kingdom (Web Focus 2008). The human resources units of Arcadia functions directly with line managers to assist in the management, development, training, and recruitment of people; it is HR’s duty to investigate and bring in the most productive development procedures and best practice in employee relations. The HR department also has several professionals who work all over the organisation, especially in the area of Employee Relations and Reward, Management Development and Graduate Resourcing (Web Focus 2008). The group possesses a firm external concentration to guarantee Arcadia is promoting itself as an empowering and motivating employer and keeping updated of the external market developments in human resources. I am interested to pursue an HR position in Arcadia, preferably an HR Officer, since my educational background and training, as well as my experience, in the field is quite extensive. I plan to develop my career in this area of Human Resource Management. 2. Self-Assessment, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) The following are my skills and abilities which are relevant to the position I am aspiring for (these are also shown in my CV): (1) excellent communication and interpersonal skills at all levels; (2) ability to interact effectively with people of all backgrounds with tact and diplomacy; (3) dedicated to providing the highest standards of customer service; (4) enthusiastic, highly motivated, reliable and trustworthy individual; (5) ability to work well under pressure and within strict deadlines; (6) independent and resourceful, a quick learner, able to adapt quickly and easily; (7) ability to lead, motivate and inspire others, a committed team player; (8) friendly, approachable, outgoing personality with a positive outlook; and (9) good attendance and punctuality; good ability to use initiative. In terms of knowledge, I think that four major areas of my competencies are relevant to the position I am applying for in Arcadia. First is the focus to succeed. Understanding the external and internal environment of the business regularly and developing techniques for innovative outcomes. Competencies involve: drive to succeed, innovative thinking, and customer idea. Second is organising to implement. Executing with teamwork, adaptability, and speed; competencies involve: certainty, teamwork, direct talk, and group leadership. Third is upholding momentum. Acquiring long-term outcomes that continue to develop; competencies involve personal commitment, training, developing organisational capacity. And lastly is dedication to the business. However, these four areas of competencies are not sufficient. I should also be knowledgeable of different topics such as marketing, stress management, strategic planning, and workplace conflict. 3. The Appropriateness of my KSA to Human Resource Management Position As a clothing store HR manager, hired by a retail company, I should have the experie nce or skill to buy products directly from a wholesale company or manufacturer, as well as to predict what will attract customers and the saleability of the apparels, on the basis of cost, style, and competition. I should also possess the ability to educate and motivate personnel as they also perform customer

African American Vernacular Tradition Focuses on Spirituals Songs Essay

African American Vernacular Tradition Focuses on Spirituals Songs - Essay Example This proved to be the foundation for â€Å"white† and â€Å"colored† discrimination in the United States, which still thrives ceaselessly in the area. With immense African migrations, slavery was legalized in many regions of America (Zinn 23).The African Americans were referred to as â€Å"blacks† or â€Å"negroes† due to their dark complexion they inherited from their homeland environments. This discrimination proposed a widespread racial feeling of mixed emotions – hatred, contempt, pity or patronization (Zinn 23). Several conflicts have risen within the country due to this racism, leading to the Civil War of 1861. Even though attempts have been made to promote equalization of rights for all citizens alike, the cities are now divided into racially segregated segments. The term â€Å"Vernacular† refers to a traditional trademark, specifically associated with a nation. Hence the African American Vernacular traditions refer to their trademark characteristics that differentiated them from masses. African Americans are known to possess unique language skills and values. Their spiritual songs have been their primary source of inspiration since time unknown. Though their vernacular traditions have now been highly influenced by the modern cultures, attempts have nevertheless been made by the African Americans to save their traditions from extinction.... rect addresses and dialogues, as well as erasing all specific time markers in identifying specific episodes, Jones constructs a complex text of characters and events whose authority and authenticity are occasionally undermined by its ambitious elasticity and heteroglossia† (Bell). This reflects the uniqueness of the African American Vernacular language from the Standard English of today. However, it has not been this simple for preserving oral vernacular traditions like spiritual songs. These were essentially conveyed from parents to offspring and down through the generations. The originality could therefore not be protected since the newer generations â€Å"†¦ learned all their songs by ear, they often strayed into wholly new versions, which sometimes became popular, and entirely banished the other† (Higginson 160). Hence the oral vernacular tradition was heavily influenced by the cultural and environmental factors through times and has evolved in many stages into the forms and genres as we see today. The African Americans love their spiritual songs, and they continue to inspire them even today. Their deep respect for the songs stemmed from their relevance with the sufferings of Christ. When the African Americans toiled on plantations and labor in the capacity of slaves, many of them identified themselves as Christ undergoing the troubles and sufferings of his life, often asking God for help and the strength to overcome these problems. But the sufferings of the African Americans turned into their faith – a faith that found its solace in songs. Therefore the African Americans regard their spiritual songs in highest esteem. The African American Vernacular traditions are described as that â€Å"which refers to the church songs, blues, ballads, sermons, stories †¦

Outline Plot from Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Outline Plot from Journal - Essay Example We ended up eating some pizza together because he said he wanted to make up for what he did. It was graduation day and Fitsum was neatly dressed. He waved at me with a bright smile as he held his diploma. It’s been seven months since we’ve first met and now we have been together for four months. Days passed without my knowledge because we were so in love. Fitsum seemed to be the ideal man, the best I could ever have. He introduced me to his parents and his family was lovely. Mom had known Fitsum all along as he usually hanged out at our house every weekend. We promised to communicate as often as we could. Fitsum was taking up Engineering at ---- School while I decided to take up ----. The distance between us was never an issue because we always found time to be together. My friends knew him well as he always escorted me in school activities. Fitsum, as they said, was an ideal guy. I felt proud whenever I heard this comment. Fitsum was still a varsity player in his college. Every girl in school adored him and it sometimes felt awkward for me to see girls flirting with him while he tried to get rid of them. There came a time when I got tired of his popularity and so avoided watching his games. I would see him after the game and that was how we celebrated. Things got complicated because he wanted me to watch all his games, saying I was his inspiration. I made alibis every now and then, which made things complicated. He did the same to me and never showed up when I invited him to our school activities. My friends asked why they did not see Fitsum anymore and I told them he was too busy w ith his games. Deep inside, I was hurting and could feel the end of our relationship. I have not seen Fitsum for two weeks and he did not have any new posts in his Facebook or Twitter account. I missed him so much but did not know what to do. Alas, I decided to

Whether or not NRAs Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program is the right way to Essay

Whether or not NRAs Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program is the right way to teach safety to young children - Essay Example One such measure is through NRA’s Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program which teaches young children safe handling of gun which derives the basic principles of all firearms operations. What exactly NRA’s Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program is? Before we start talking about the pros and cons of NRA’s Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program, it is crucial to understand what exactly it is all about and what skills it offers young children. Designed a decade ago, the program was intended to cease accidents related to firearms in homes. "Stop! Don't touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult," is the slogan that National Rifle Association's Eddie Eagle gun-safety program came up with, in order to impart children with knowledge and skills to curb the dangerous consequence one may have to bear with firearms accidents. Arguments in Favour of the Program It has been statistically proven that the number of fatal accidents due to firearms has evidently reduced owing to NRA’s Eddie Eagle Gun Sa fety Program. The program has made a place for itself in schools also. Classrooms are filled with this gun-avoidance program that according to the teachers and school authorities is an approach to safeguard the safety interests of the young children.

The Chinese Immigrants in Cuba are Excellent Workers Essay Example for Free

The Chinese Immigrants in Cuba are Excellent Workers Essay The Chinese immigrants in Cuba are excellent workers. And, they are known the world over for the hard work that they give to whoever is their employer. The focus here is the immigration of Chinese immigrants to the far away land that is called Cuba. Currently, it is led by the sick old man named Fidel V. Castro. He took over the government through force and bloodshed. The migration of the Chinese people to Cuba started way back in the eighteenth century and continued until the nineteenth and twentieth century before the arrival into power of Fidel V.   Castro. The follow paragraphs explains why and how the Chinese immigrants travelled so far to another side of the world to leave the loving arms of their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, children and other friends and relatives. In addition, the research includes the migration of Cuban Chinese into the Miami, Florida shores. This is one of the reasons why the Cubans (including the Chinese coming from Cuba) are the largest foreign group in the Miami area. The article What Type of Transition is Cuba Undergoing? Poquet 91) depicts the current Cuban economy that emanated in the 1990s was confronted by the a crisis similar to the crisis that befell the likes of Eastern Europe. On the other hand, the economic condition of Cuba started to wake up and vigorously walk faster started in the year 1995 until today. This wonderful turn of events is exuding significant outcomes in terms of recovery in the Cuban economy and an improvement in the country’s financial conditions. Further, there were rippling outbursts of stability, liberalization and privatization of entities in Cuba synonymous with the reform that had unfolded in the Chinese economy. The current Cuban economy is happily on the booming path towards a market economy. This has been forced on Cuba because of the world economy outside its borders as well as the internal forces of Fidel Castro’s Cuba. And, this market economy is currently weaning from its infancy stage. The Cuban economic transformation is in line with the new policies of Fidel Castro. The Chinese immigrants in Cuba are excellent workers. The article Towards a Realistic Cuba Policy stated that Cuba’s staunch man on the helms, Fidel V. Castro, has ruled Castro for the longest time among the current leaders of the world. He has learned many lessons during his stay as its ‘commander in chief’. One of the lessons that he has learned from the dismemberment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is that a leader must not implement too many changes in the economic, financial and family lives of the people. For many may not be ready to accept the many innovative changes unfolding before their very eyes. This was what happened to the Russia. It finally splintered into many independent states because of the policy of USSR’s one hundred eighty degree turn towards a free market economy. In fact, such changes could bring too much disorder or chaos during the implementation of the changes brought about as well as after the implementation process is complete. Cuba’s Fidel V. Castro, an Army commander, is implementing changes under his conservative style of government. He is using first gear as he drives the Cuban economy slowly and softly around each turn of his economic recovery program. He is slowly taking each step carefully. Then, he watches the after -effects of his new step in order to make adjustments before, if any. As a self –proclaimed founder of the new Cuban economy, Fidel V Castro moves carefully forward on a parallel course with the fundamental teachings of the Chinese society. Fidel V. Castro lends a deaf ear to his critics from both inside Cuba as well as the outspoken critics outside his state. His more than forty years of philosophically fighting against the teachings of its ‘Goliath’ neighbour, the United States, by implementing a hostile attitude towards Uncle Sam. In return, it has a self imposed isolated isolation. This United States and Cuban conflict started long before the John F. Kennedy presidency. After the United States military left the island of Cuba, The United States army dug itself in for the long haul. General Fizhugh Lee, the military governor of the island then set up his headquarters in Marianaobarrio area of Quemados located in Havana, Cuba. The population at this time period started to grow. Notably, The economic growth of Marianao had speeded on fourth gear as it left behind the economic development as well as the population of people living in two rival municipalities in Western Cuba from the year 1907 to 1919. Its population had mushroomed from 18,156 doubly to 37,464. The economic wealth of the Cubans at this time period had been realized. The houses then sprouted along the roadsides, plateaus, hills and ridges. The chinese  immigrants had contribute their small share to the improvement and landscaping beauty of the countryside for their main jobs focused on gardening. These immigrants had preferred to take abode in the low lands and were ready to take up the struggle to fight the floods whenever the torrential tropical rains dig into their homes. To fight the floods, they dug ditches in order to reroute the waters to other less damaging places. These ditches would drain the flood and rain waters to other less populated areas. The Chinese helped renovate the Cuban economy because they planted crops that could feed only themselves but also the non –Chinese people living in their community. These Chinese loved to plant vegetables and flowers. And, the government decided increase the height of the valleys as the population of Havana, Cuba grew in a geometric ratio. The government dumped tons and tons of soil that would cover the fertile vegetable and flower farmlands of the valleys. As a result, the vegetable lands that had been tilled by the Chinese immigrants were now converted into roads. These were needed by the government to connect the different towns from the different hills surrounding Havana, Cuba. Thus, the luscious and mouth watering lettuce farms of the Chinese immigrants were transformed into truck and automobile pathways. The farms included the beautiful and lovely rose gardens. For, the government wanted to increase the transfer of goods and services among the towns of Principe Hill and Vedado and the upcoming population of Cerro suburb’s population. The Cuban locals living in these suburbs were happy with this new development because the roads connecting the three hill tops would increase the values of their lands. In addition, the Cuban culture is characterized by a society that is bonded together by a marketable custom of is the combination of the different lifestyles distinctly from many of the communities of Cuban island life. The Cubans do not have any wooden footwear nor any gigantean windmills. For these are landmarks of a place commonly called Holland. The Cubans do not have a national textile or ceramic style. The country does not mandate a national costume and there are no distinct religions in the place. In the same light, the country does not pride itself of having an authentic tribal dance. Further, the Spanish colonial culture covering the Cuban air is cannot be identified by Cuba as uniquely its own landmark. Also, the Cuban culture does not have the authentic Indian ruins or easily available. In the same light, the Cuban culture is impregnated by the cultures from the Spanish, African, Chinese and Creole upbringings. For, Cuban society has adopted, reinstalled, improved on the Cultures and traditions from their original countries. For example, the Spanish castanets were old by the Cuban stores as souvenirs. The Cubans also enticed people to visit their Holy Week celebrations in Matanzas. Also, the visitors to Cuba were invited to religious processions that were popular such as the Regla processions which were held monthly. The Cubans also invited tourists to join the carnival celebrations that had been influenced by mixed pagan African Cuba dances and songs fused with Cuban frivolity (Ibid 76) Furthermore, the Cuban tourism founders had cried out that their dreams had been distorted. On the other hand, Cuba has been praised for their beautiful handling of their finances. And the Cubans of the 1950s had a repeat performance of their 1920s where the tourists enjoyed visiting Cuba’s festivities and other special occasions. Cuba was transformed into a place of many sights for those who have sore eyes. Clearly, there were mores bars to enjoy the night away. Also, the number of the restaurants had sprouted like mushrooms. Thus, the Cubans had many eating alternatives to choose from. Here, the people who have the money can literally paint the town red. The Cubans could choose from the Russian foods at Boris’ or the Chinese food at the New Mandarin among other popular choices. Thus, the Chinese had helped the Cuban economy by selling foods that were palatable to the Cuban taste buds. The Cuban hospitality industry was characterized by the presence of hotels like the Bowman ten story hotel and the roof garden entertainment center in 1924. Further, horse races were one of the favourite pastimes of the Cuban people. And, many of the hotels constructed in the 1950s had an average of twenty air conditioned rooms. Many of the tourists had toured Cuba by plane in 1958. There were many Florida, USA to Havana flights and vice versa depending on the occasion or time of the year. The regular plane flights from the United States, European and Latin American countries to and from Cuba would land on Havana’s international airport or even directly touch down in Varadero Beach (Ibid 123) The Chinese immigrated to Cuba from the Guandong and Fukien provinces during the middle of the nineteenth century(Moya, 12). The estimated number of Chinese immigrant to entire West Indies at this time reached only eighteen thousand. Unmistakeably, the British employers prefer to hire the Chinese over the Indians and other races because of their industriousness and hard work. However, the British were not very successful in enticing many of the Chinese to work for them in the West Indies. The Chinese would rather work for the employers in Peru and Cuba. The Chinese that migrated into Cuba reached a big chunky amount of 150,000 persons. In contrast the Chinese that immigrated to Cuba only reached the chunky 100,000 persons. The author, Moya, describes that the Cuba had the biggest number of Chinese immigrants as compared to the other countries where other droves of Chinese Immigrants arrived. This immigration of the Chinese people happened in the middle of the nineteenth century and increased in number and frequency until the entire twentieth century. Also the Chinese formed themselves in groups or organizations there. These Chinese organizations were more diverse than the Chinese organizations established in Jamaica. The Chinese organizations in Cuba were generally falling under the categories of federations, agriculture groups, credit associations, triads among many other smaller Chinese clusters. The Chinese were also socially diverse themselves. The Chinese immigrants that arrived in Cuba during this time period were generally grouped as coolie Chinese immigrants who generally started arriving in Cuba during the middle of the nineteenth century. Some came to Cuba as free Chinese immigrants. This group came during the twentieth century. Many former coolies and other Chinese groups in Cuba formed an exclusively elite class. This elite cluster was evidently richer than the elite groups formed in the West Indies. Further, the glaringly diverse Chinese population in Cuba could be divided into several diverse groups themselves such that concentrating the study on the Chinese population in Cuba would entail also studying the middle and higher social classes of Cuban Chinese. Also, many of the Chinese in Cuba had slowly migrated into the suburbs of Manhattan, USA. Sad to say, many of the White intellectuals in Cuba created a fear in the Cuban population that the African immigrants as well as others like the Chinese were the importers of such deadly diseases as the malaria and smallpox(Mcleod 1). In a related story, the Cuba Cane Corporation pushed through with its plans to move for the hiring of Chinese from across the ocean to migrate into Cuba and work in their plantations. This Cuban company targeted more than two thousand Chinese living in Hong Kong. The were contracted to work for five years in the Cuban Cane plantations. These Chinese Cane workers would receive a pay of $50 per month to work between seven to ten hours a day for the entire seven day week. In addition, the Chinese recruiter headed by Guy Morrison Walker was paid $100 for each Chinese Immigrant that was hired by the Cuba Cane Corporation (Ayala 116). And, another famous history writer, Alexander Von Humboldt, wrote that he encountered a large group of Chinese immigrants in Cuba from the year 1799 to the year 1804. They were brought there from the Philippines using the Manila (Philippines) Galleons. These Galleons were owned by the Spanish who literally owned the Philippines for an estimated three hundred years. This shows that the Migration of Chinese to Cuba started many years before the large Chinese influx to Cuba during the middle of the nineteenth century. During Alexander Von Humboldt’s visit, he noticed that the 1860s saw a Chinese migration into the Caribbean and Latin American countries which is bigger in size than the Chinese immigrants that entered in the United States then. A census of population in 1861 showed that there were 34,834 Chinese in Cuba alone. This is almost similar to the 34,933 Chinese immigrants that entered the United States. During the 1880s there were around one hundred forty two thousand Chinese immigrants that entered the borders of Cuba. At the same time period, there were only one hundred thousand Chinese immigrants that entered Peru and another nineteen thousand Chinese immigrants had entered into the British West Indies. However, a big group of Chinese immigrants reaching six hundred thousand persons left for the United States at this same time period (West 143). The year 1991 saw and estimated four million people in Cuba. And, twenty seven percent or 1,079,106 of the such population were colored. Colored refers to any race that is not Caucasian. This includes, the Africans, the Chinese, the Filipinos, the Japanese and others. The immigrants that compromise the Cuban population at this time shows that there were ten thousand three hundred (10,300) Chinese in Cuba in 1991. This figure ballooned to twenty four thousand four hundred eighty (24,480) in 1931 which gives us an increase in the Chinese in Cuba of fourteen thousand one hundred eighty (14,180). This represents a one hundred thirty –seven and 7/10 percent increase of the Chinese people in Cuba. The alien population of Cuba had increased uncontrollably starting from the World War I era. The table below gives the other missing details of the colored aliens living in Cuba during the Cuba census of 1991 and 1931 periods.

Material Science Essay Example for Free

Material Science Essay Abstract In this assignment I will be defining the 3 essential properties of every material and describing those. I would also be describing how silicon-based semiconductors revolutionized computing. I will also define what microchips are and how they relate to integrate circuits. Since the pressing questions about the increasing ability of computers to quickly process large amounts of information is whether a computer can be built that is considered â€Å"alive† or â€Å"conscious.† I will also be defining artificial intelligence and telling the difference between the human brain and the central processing unit of a computer. Material Science There are three essential properties of every material that scientists use as a foundation for most every study. First it is the kind of atoms that is made up from the material. There are the neutral elements and the compound elements. The neutral elements would have the identical amount of protons and electrons; this would essentially terminate one another, which would leave the protons and electrons neutral. The compound element is when there is a combination of more than one element. The atoms are second in the way that they are arranged. A great way to explain this is by relating atoms of liquid and atoms of solids. For example the atoms of liquids move around allowing the atoms of solids which are packed together. The way that atoms are attached together is number three. These are the key properties when understanding the study of materials. The strong point of the material, this is the capability to endure forces being useful to it without breaking, this is first. The materials elasticity is second, which is the capability to flex while returning to its original form. Number three is the materials plasticity; this is the ability to change its shape forever. Thanks to the starter of semiconductors, computers have developed over a billion times faster than one of the first built in 1946 (ENIAC). Describe how silicon-based semiconductors revolutionized computing. Since silicone semiconductors are capable to move easily through the solid component it is more proficient than copper based conductors. Silicone based conductor’s makes holes which produces and fills a space constantly. This means electrons jump from one atom to another. This will also change the silicon through a process called doping by adding either phosphorus or aluminum the desired effect is achieved. When adding phosphorus to silicon it develops n-type which is negative-semiconductor. When adding aluminum to silicone it develops p-type semiconductors. These are both essential parts functions efficient electrical devices microchips, which are used in computers. Microchips are positive and negative type semiconductors. Microchips do a detailed function. A microchip is individual diodes and transistors will play a big part of the essential function in modern electronics, although these strategies have been mainly replaced by much more complex arrays of P- and N- kind semiconductors, known as microchips. Microchips may join hundreds or thousands of transistors in one integrated circuit, particularly intended to do a specific role. They are related to integrated circuits this is why. Combined circuits (microchips) are the main component in devices such as microwave calculators, and other devices. An integrated circuit microprocessor lies on modern technology. Modern technology is occupied with electrical integrated circuits. Such as, Televisions, MP3 players and computers all contain integrated circuit which allows them to perform specific functions. Also known as microchips or microprocessors, these circuits keep track of all the information being transferred within the device, in essence giving it life. Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce are both who take credit with inventing the integrated circuit, both coming up with the idea within a year of each other while working for separate companies. Artificial Intelligence is a division of science which deals with helping machines and finds explanations to complex problems in a more human like manner. This normally contains borrowing features from human intelligence, and applying them as procedures in a computer friendly way. A more or less well-organized approach can be taken depending on the necessities recognized, which impacts how artificial the intelligent performance seems. (http://ai-depot.com/Intro.html) The 2 essential differences between human brains and the central processing unit of a computer is the brain-computer metaphor has served intellectual psychology well, research in intellectual neuroscience has revealed many significant changes between brains and computers. Escalating these differences may be crucial to understanding the mechanisms of neural information processing, and eventually for the creation of artificial intelligence. (http://scienceblogs.com/developingintelligence/2007/03/27/why-the-brain-is-not-like-a-co/) One difference is that brains are analogue and computers are digital. For instance one of the primary devices of information communication appears to be the amount at which neurons fire a fundamentally unbroken variable. Likewise, networks of neurons can fire in relative synchrony or in relative confusion; the coherence affects the strength of the signals received by downstream neurons. Lastly, inside each and every neuron is a leaky integrator circuit, composed of a diversity of ion channels and endlessly changing membrane potentials. (http://scienceblogs.com/developingintelligence/2007/03/27/why-the-brain-is-not-like-a-co/) Another difference is short-term memory is not like RAM. While the superficial similarities between RAM and short-term memory encouraged many early intellectual psychologists, a closer examination reveals strikingly important differences. Although RAM and short-term memory both seem to required power, short-term seems to hold only to long-term memory however. RAM holds data that is Isomorphic which is having similar appearance but different ancestry. Not like RAM, the capacity limit of short-term memory is not fixed, the capacity of short-term memory seems to vary with differences in processing speed as well as with expertise and understanding. (http://scienceblogs.com/developingintelligence/2007/03/27/why-the-brain-is-not-like-a-co/)

Woody Allen On Life And Death English Literature Essay

Woody Allen On Life And Death English Literature Essay Woody Allen was born on December 1, 1935. He is an actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, author, and comedian. He focuses most of his work on middleclass life in New York City. He wrote a number of works that deal with life and death, specifically in the two I will focus on: Death Knocks and Whatever Works. Woody Allen depicts certain themes constantly throughout his works. Many of his characters change their values dramatically, which they held dearly before to adapt to their current situation. This was apparent in his movie, Whatever Works. He also shows the degradation of human society in his film through the perspective of the main character, Boris. Woody Allen s view on life and death is shown in his movies and books as changing, but also depressing and sometimes scary because of the way he writes. Woody Allen was born to a middleclass Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. He always wanted to be a playwright and started stand-up comedy while in school. He was a writer for television shows, which helped him gain access to the entertainment industry. Eventually, he began writing, directing and acting in his plays and films. He has won Oscars for his films and has become a successful comedian. He has put a lot of himself in his films. Many of his characters have been older men with younger woman, such as the relationship between Boris and Melody in Whatever Works. Woody Allen had a relationship with his ex-wife s adopted daughter, who he later married. Woody Allen is the writer and director of Whatever Works, a film in which he depicts his views on life through the main character, Boris. For Allen, filmmaking is an art that, he says, distracts me from the uncertainty of life, the inevitability of aging and death and death of loved ones; mass killings and starvation, from holocausts not just man-made carnage, but the existential position youre in. Allen has portrayed his characters as a self-projection that began in his earlier movies. In Stardust Memories (1980), Allen presented a portrait of a man who is intended to appear just as depraved as Allen s critics have accused him of being (Lee 115-116). Thus, in Whatever Works, Allen again projects himself on to Boris. Boris believes that life is a horror show and that is completely overwhelming. He believes that life s aspirations eventually conform with age to whatever works. Whatever Works opening scene depicts the main character, Boris , outlook on life. The movie s first scene tal ks about the failures of ideologies because they all rely on the fact that people are fundamentally decent, which he believes is untrue. Boris claims life is a nightmare without people in it and that people should take whatever pleasure they can get in this house of nightmares. He has a completely cynical and negative view of life. In an interview, Woody Allen expressed his views of life and his life as a filmmaker. After Whatever Works, the broadcaster asked Woody about his reoccurring theme life being hard and painful. Allen responded, All the important writers and all the important philosophers have, in one form or another, come to the conclusion, the obvious conclusion, that you know, life is a terrible trial and very harsh and very full of suffering, and so whatever you can do with the stipulation that you dont hurt anybody without, you know, ruining a life here or there or causing any damage, theres nothing wrong with it (Will the Real Woody Allen). This provides insight into his philosophy of life and how it impacts his work. Like Boris, Woody says that real problems distract him from his work, like facing the harsh realities of life and facing death. He says that what distracts him is: the uncertainty of life and inevitability of aging and death, and death of loved ones, and mass killings and starvations and holocausts, and not just the manmade carnage but the existential position that youre in, you know, being in a world where you have no idea whats going on, why youre here or what possible meaning your life can have and the conclusion that you come to after a while, that there is really no meaning to it, and its just a random, meaningless event, and these are pretty depressing thoughts. And if you spend much time thinking about them, not only cant you resolve them, but you sit frozen in your seat (Will the Real Woody Allen). This shows how much Woody puts his thoughts into those of his characters. Woody Allen was influenced by many American and European influences, such as Ingmar Bergman, Dostoevsky, Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles and more. Allen distrusts and satirizes formal education which he explicitly voices through Melody, when she tells Boris that he told her the American education system has failed (Woody Allen). In Whatever Works, Woody Allen tells the story of Boris. He is an old man and a genius. He divorces his first wife after a failed suicide attempt when he realizes they are perfect on paper but incompatible in real life. Then one day, after hanging out with his friends, he meets Melody, a young woman from Mississippi. She convinces him to let her stay with him temporarily. She is na ve and appreciates his outlook on life and eventually, falls in love with his genius mind. She believes she is lucky because a girl of her intelligence found a man with his genius, a physicist who claims he almost won the Nobel Peace Prize. Boris imposes his ideologies upon Melody. Woody Allen s views on beliefs are strongly shown as adapting to current situations. This can be seen in the movie Whatever Works through Woody Allen s depiction of Melody s parents. They are both blue-collar stereotypical religious Midwestern Americans. When Melody s mother first arrives, she faints after seeing that Melody is married to a man like Boris, believing that he is either holding or hostage or has brainwashed her. Prior to arriving in New York City, Melody s mother was a housewife who had only been with one man, her husband. After he cheated on her, they got a divorce and she came to her daughter. Eventually, she settles into a life in New York City. After a few weeks, she becomes an artist and takes in a lover and then another lover. She lives with two men and creates nude collages. Her husband is similar in his change. He is also a blue blooded American. When he comes to New York to get his wife back, he has a self-realization that he is a homosexual and lives with a ma le lover. Woody Allen shows how one s aspirations in life change to whatever works . In the movie, Woody Allen s view of life is cynical and his view of death is comical. Each time the character Boris s marriage fails; he attempts suicide by jumping out the window. After the first time, Boris land on a canopy develops a limp and divorces his wife. He believes they were the perfect couple on paper but that it no longer worked . He realized this after an anxiety attack in the middle of the night when he realized he was dying. He was referring to dying slowly each day and that one day, he will die. The second time Boris attempted suicide after his wife, Melody, tells him she is in love with another man and wants to love life and interact with others, and not be cynical anymore. He tells her he expected this day to come but when he goes home, he jumps out the window again. This time, he lands on a woman and breaks her leg. They eventually become a couple. Death is seen as way out of the hardship of life, however, for Boris, when one chapter closed, another opened. Life f or him was always worth living, even if he did not believe so at the time. He also tried to commit suicide on a rash whim. It was never planned but an immediate action without thinking. Woody Allen has parodied suicide in many of his films prior to Whatever Works, including What s New, Pussycat? (1965). Throughout his works, Allen asks fundamental questions about human life that includes, Is it possible to create a deeply satisfying romantic relationship with just one person? Is there one set of absolutely true moral principles, or is ethics simply a matter of opinion? Is there God? And what will happen after death? (Lee 46). In Whatever Works (2009), Woody Allen has finally come to a conclusion for many of his philosophical questions that he asked in his earlier films. Woody Allen is definitive in claiming there is no God as Boris and Melody mock Melody s father for praying. Melody outright tells her father that he is praying to nothing just air. Thus, faced with a meaningless universe and no way to prove the existence of God, his character contemplates suicide is something many of Allen s characters face (Blake 61). It was also apparent that romantic relationships are not with just one person because each of the characters had numerous relationships. Melody s mom had two lovers at the same time. None of the characters abided by a deep-rooted moral code either. Boris repeatedly claimed morals changed to whatever works . Death Knocks is a play about fooling death and putting it off. In the play, there are only two characters Nat Ackerman and Death. Death comes to Nat because it is his time to go. Nat refuses to believe him and plays Death in a game of Gin Rummy for an extra twenty-four hours to live and for some money. Death loses. In the play, Death claims there is a specific Death for each person and that it resembles them. Nat refuses to believe Death and eventually kicks him out of his house. This short play symbolizes Woody Allen s refusal to come to terms with death, shrugging it off and not coming to terms with it. The play shows Allen trying to come to terms with understanding what death is. However, in the play, Nat does not die. Many of his characters are obsessed with death. From Alvy in Annie Hall (1977) to Boris in Whatever Works (2009), the characters are obsessed with abstract considerations about the anguish of living and the terrors of death (Lee 61). Especially since, death is rarely far from Allen s thoughts or images (Blake 69). Woody Allen believes that life is synonymous with suffering. Thus, he takes a position of showing a thin line between choosing life and death for his characters, who are afraid to live and afraid to die. Thus, a repeated theme Woody Allen depicts is when a person comes to realize emotionally as well as intellectually that he will eventually die, he becomes filled with dread, which can be seen in works like Annie Hall and Manhattan (Lee 123). Boris had this epiphany that Nat Ackerson did not. Thus, the reactions of both characters for death were completely different. Woody Allen has led a successful career. He has made many films and written many plays. He is a man who thinks he is an existentialist, trying to see the big picture. He is scared of death and attempts to not think about death by working hard in his films and plays. In Whatever Works and Death Knocks, you get a sense of Woody Allen and how he puts himself into his characters, especially seeing what he says about life and death. Work Cited Allen, Woody. Britannica Biographies. Middle Search Plus. Web. 18 Jan. 2011. Blake, Richard A. Woody Allen: Profane and Sacred. Lanham, MD (u.a.): Scarecrow, 1995. Print. Estrin, Mark W. Allen, Woody. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. 4th ed. Vol. 2: Directors. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 8-14. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. Lee, Sander H. Eighteen Woody Allen Films Analyzed: Anguish, God and Existentialism. Jefferson, NC: McFarland , 1998. Print. Lee, Sander H. Woody Allens Angst: Philosophical Commentaries on His Serious Films. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1997. Print. McCaffrey, Donald W. Allen, Woody. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. 4th ed. Vol. 3: Actors and Actresses. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 11-14. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. Will The Real Woody Allen Please Stand Up? [REBROADCAST]. Fresh Air 29 Dec. 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 18 Jan. 2011. Woody Allen. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. Vol. 2. Gale, 2000.Gale Biography In Context. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. Woody Allen On Life, Films And Whatever Works : NPR. NPR : National Public Radio : News Analysis, World, US, Music Arts : NPR. 15 June 2009. Web. 13 Jan. 2011. .

history :: essays research papers

The Black Death A World know Tragedy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Black Plague was an epidemic that occurred in 1347. The plague ravaged and destroyed the Far East. After time it destroyed the outskirts of Easter Europe. For months Europe was disturbed from everything trying to escape the claws of the plague. After destroying Europe it rapidly spread to North Africa, Germany, Scandinavia, France and many other neighboring countries. The plague decapitated Europe’s population, taking about 25 million souls during its occurrence. The Black Plague was known as the most brutal demographic catastrophe human kind has ever encountered. Because of this big down fall on humanity the Black Plague was then known as the Black Death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Black Plague (Black Death) was a tragedy that was more than just a disease. According to statistics this plague was known as a disaster, another problem was the religious fervor. When the Black Death struck people though that it was a punishment form God. Most of the population was religious and felt that way. In the story it seemed like the way the people were thinking and their attitudes led to the spread of the plague. Another factor that didn’t help the situation was that crops were failing and most of the people in Europe were malnourished.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to physician there were two types of plagues that attacked Europe: the two were pneumonic and bubonic. The first one a person would die with in three days, the symptoms were spitting up of blood and continuous fevers. The second one lasted five days, the symptoms were also fever and carbuncles on the outside of the body mostly near the armpits and the groin. A lot of people that lived in Europe fled to get away from this disaster. The main people that left left many behind and they were rich professionals. All the other people that weren’t rich relied on their religion by staying in the abbeys.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Black Death changes the world with its presence. For example: with this happening the language gained respect and was spoken even more that usual. Even art of this time period was affected. After this occurred a lot of the artwork was depicted as death, basically showing some of the scenes that were going on during the 13th century. The art works were mainly depictions of the Black Death. For example: the danse macabre genre was a famous artwork during this time depicting skeletons and corpses.

Dances With Wolves Essay -- essays research papers

The film, Dances with Wolves, staring Kevin Costner gives a historically accurate presentation of the Sioux Indians and their way of life. In this production, Lieutenant John Dunbar, played by Costner, is rewarded for his heroic actions in the Civil War by being offered an opportunity to see the American frontier before it is gone. Dunbar is assigned to an abandoned fort where his only friends are a lone wolf and his beloved horse, Cisco. After several weeks of waiting for more American troops, a Sioux Indian makes contact with Dunbar and reports this finding to his chief. This incident sets off a train of events that would forever change John Dunbar and the Sioux tribe he encounters. When Dunbar realizes that the Indians know where he lives, he becomes extremely paranoid and spends his days preparing the fort for another confrontation. He buries all the extra materials in fear that they might fall into enemy hands. On one of his daily rides around the frontier, Dunbar comes across an Indian woman crying under a tree. He sees the imminent danger from the woman’s self-inflicted wounds and determines it is his duty to return the woman to the Sioux camp. Dunbar dresses in his best uniform and shines his boots to prepare for the meeting. When the Sioux spot Dunbar they are immediately alarmed and confront him ready to kill. Kicking Bird, a Sioux holy man and the first Sioux to know of Dunbar’s existence, discourages the fight claiming that the white man is not there to fight. Wind In His Hair, a fierce warrior, tears the Sioux women from Dunbar’s grasp and the lieutenant is allowed to go freely. That following evening the Sioux council discussed w hat they would do with their new neighbor and decided that Kicking Bird and Wind In His Hair would revisit Dunbar’s fort to find out why he was there. Dunbar welcomed the Sioux to the fort but was worried of what they planned to do with him. The language barrier was met head on, as neither could understand each other. Using gestures and objects, limited communication was accomplished on the first visit. The Sioux continued to visit Dunbar and each day progress was made. Dunbar taught the Indians some of the white culture and Kicking Bird was anxious to discover why he was in their territory and how many more white men would come. Both sides were forced to overcome the language barrier and their mutual fear and distrus... ...w village, he took the trip back to the fort, promising to catch up with them later. Upon his arrival at the fort, a new fleet of soldiers had settled in. They quickly spotted Dances With Wolves and attacked him. The soldiers killed his horse and arrested him. Dances With Wolves would not cooperate with the American soldiers but would only speak to them in Sioux. Due to his lack of assistance, the soldiers were forced to transport their prisoner back to Fort Mays to be hung. Before the Americans could make it to Mays, the Sioux attacked them and saved Dances With Wolves. Dances had proven his loyalty to the Sioux and abandoned all his white ways. The transformation became complete. Lieutenant John Dunbar went through several drastic changes to become Dances With Wolves. In his short time with the Indians, he turned enemies into friends and foreign customs into his own. His view of the Sioux changes more severe than he does. No longer does he view them as savages without order, but now he sees them as a civilized group with more heart than anyone he has met before. His experiences with the Sioux help to open his eyes and change him into a man he never was and never thought he’d be.

Affirmative Action Essay: Quotas for White Players in the NBA? :: Persuasive Essay, Argumentative

Is Affirmative Action Analogous to Setting Quotas for White Players in the NBA? The NBA analogy doesn't even apply because that is not how affirmative action even works. All affirmative action recipients must be qualified for their jobs. Besides, the fact that blacks overcome their social disadvantages to dominate in the NBA is no justification for keeping them disadvantaged. The argument that it's wrong to give whites an even greater advantage to make up for their lack of merit is irrelevant. If blacks got an equal start in life, they might even dominate the NBA more than they do now. The fact that they don't is a further injustice to their merit. This is a prize piece of rhetoric among anti-affirmative critics. Teams in the National Basketball Association select their players based on merit. For some reason, blacks have come to represent the vast majority of players in the NBA, even though they form only 12 percent of the U.S. population. If we were to impose racial quotas on the NBA to make the teams resemble a cross-section of society, we would be throwing more talented black players off the teams and replacing them with less talented white players. Obviously, that would be an injustice. However, this example is a parody of affirmative action, and is so wrong as to be irrelevant. If affirmative action were truly applied to the NBA, then a study would be done to determine the percentage of qualified players from each race. Although 75 percent of the male population is white, and 12 percent black, the study would probably find that 90 percent of the qualified players are black, and only 10 percent white. It would then set an affirmative action goal of 90 percent black and 10 percent white players, and ask the team-owners to conduct a good-faith effort to meet these goals. Penalties would be incurred only if a racist team insisted on 100 percent black players, and a blatant case of discrimination could be proven. We could quit here, but it is also worthwhile to address the point that critics of affirmative action thought they were making with this example. And that is that it's wrong to deny top jobs to the most qualified in the name of racial fairness. However, the NBA example fails to make even this point. To see why, imagine that you have been asked to preside as a judge at a track-and-field event.

Review of Literature Related to Composite Materials

008.png"/> Research inquiry Research Questions Q. How can composite stuffs change the usage of normally used stuffs in today’s building industry? Q. How can plan inventions change the belongingss of stuffs or group / combination of stuffs? Q. Can composite stuffs replace the steel concrete building everyplace or is this attack limited to merely few subdivisions of building like low to mid rise edifices? PurposeTo analyze different stuffs being used in Indian building industry.To analyse these stuffs for their utility in the Indian clime.To place different stuffs which are available in market and can be used in Indian buildings.Compare the advantages of composite stuffs over normally used stuffs.To place the usage and handiness of composite stuffs in India.To look into the handiness and usage of composite stuffs outside India and to look into its relevancy in the Indian context.To get down with, the really first thing which needs by us to understand is what stuffs are soon being used in India, how are they used and how are they obtained. Are these stuffs locally available, or imported or unnaturally manufactured in here merely. If so, how are the stuffs used for its fabrication obtained. To get down with this lets us hold a speedy expression at the stuffs being used soon in India.Burnt clay bricks and tiles( GUPTA, 1998 ) Brick is one of the most normally used stuff in the Indian building industry. It is used in every topographic point in India. It had been use by us from around ancient period. But the usage it have decreased today as compared to that clip. The bricks are manufactured in India utilizing the clay nowadays on the top dirt and fire kilns. It is been invariably manufactured by many little graduated table industries in their ain ways. These ways were largely inefficient and resulted in hapless quality of bricks and higher cost of building. The revolution in it came with the debut of different stuffs along with the clay used for the brick building. The most celebrated of it is the fly ash bricks or aac bricks. To call few of its advantages:Saves energy in the kilns as the fly ash already contains hints of unburnt coal which helps it in drying or baking the brick more expeditiously. Besides since the brick is burnt besides from the interior, it takes less clip to bake.It is lighter in weight as compared to the older bricks hence it can be casted in bigger blocks now and can now be used for faster buildings.Its strength is more than the traditional ruddy brick and it more unvarying in form due to the mechanism used for its production.It can be used in about every sort of building due to its light weight and high strength.Rock( GUPTA, 1998 ) Rock was one of the most normally used stuff in the station Mauryan epoch and had been used till now. But its usage and ways of execution had changed. It is present in India in big sum and in assortment of forms and colourss and textures etc. Rocks are used conspicuously in the foundations, facings, paving, floorings, and fencing. The types of rock nowadays in India are Black granite, other granites, limestone, marble, sandstone, and slate and Delhi quartzite to call few. Besides stones like Kota rock and Jodhpur rock are used extensively in the insides and flooring. The rock is obtained by the procedure of quarrying. Quarrying is still done by the traditional mode merely but by utilizing the modern age tools. The rock is largely obtained from an unfastened cavity, and could besides be obtained by utilizing explosives. There are three ways of obtaining rock, i.e. stopper and plume method, explosives, and channeling. In stopper and feather method of quarrying, drills are holed in the rock. The plumes are formed to make full the holes on one side and level on the other. Now these stoppers or plumes are easy driven to lodge away the rock. Explosives are used to blare off a portion of rock to take the ball of bigger stone from the other. But this method gives us really irregular signifier of rock. These rocks ate used in the concrete as the sum. Channeling is done by boring holes 6 thousand deep I the rock and so a engine is used to drive the chisel to achieve coveted deepness. The used of rock and its lastingness are well-established facts and are known for them.Building calcium hydroxideLime has been used since 4000 BC. Lime is used in the building of edifices and roads, in lime howitzer, lime concrete, plasters, stabilized bricks, autoclaved Ca silicate bricks, fly ash sand calcium hydroxide bricks, and cellular concrete. It is produced utilizing the procedure of calcination of limestone of natural calcium hydroxide.GypsumGypsum is an of import edifice stuff. It is used to fabricate Plaster of Paris, gypsum plaster, hempen gypsum board, gypsum blocks, acoustic tiles, etc. The usage of gypsum in India is limited to commercial and institutional edifices merely. It is non used so much in India soon than it can be used.Glass( GUPTA, 1998 ) Glass fabrication in India is immense with both organized and unorganised sectors. The glass industry in India is extremely developed and reasonably cost effectual. The usage of glass in India is besides really high and is used largely in every edifice and with the addition in the commercial edifices like promenades and office edifices, the demand of glass increased manifolds. Glass is manufactured utilizing the silicon oxide. There are many types of glass like fused silicon oxide glass, alkali silicate glass, sodium carbonate calcium hydroxide glass, lead glass, boro silicate glass, particular glass, glass fibres, optical glass, mirrors etc. Glass is besides used in edifice industry in many ways. Transparent and semitransparent glass sheets, clear or tinted, are used as Windowss and fanlights. It is besides used as an infill in the doors and the Windowss. India manufactured every type of glass viz. float, clear float, coated and low emanation, rolled wired and iridescent, laminated, heat treated, tempered, heat strengthened, and spandril. Glass are used in many ways like glass tiles. These are made for the intent of glazing, wall coating, dividers, ceilings etc. They are besides used in the drape walls and swimming pools. They are used intensively in the landscape gardening besides. Mirrors are besides one of the major usage of glass in the edifice industry. They are the standard adjustment of the bathrooms, sleeping rooms, and now they are even used as an component of ornament. Glass fibres are thin and long fibres of glass which are used to fabricate different other types of stuffs. They are used to fabricate assorted complexs in which gypsum plaster, polyester or epoxy rosin or cement is used as a binder. Glass fibres reinforced complexs are besides available in the market and are used to fabricate pipes, armored combat vehicles, panels etc. There are new merchandises besides available in the market by the name of glass ceramics. They are used as panelling, ceilings, thermic insularity and fire immune stuffs. Blast furnace scorias are besides used to fabricate the glass ceramics.CeramicssCeramicss are used to fabricate healthful wares, glazed tiles, stoneware, tableware, furnace linings, bricks for roofing and enamel wares etc.Steel( GUPTA, 1998 ) Steel is a really widely used stuff in today’s universe. And it is used widely in edifice buildings besides. The structural steel is used for edifice buildings and have an progressively of import function in traditional, medium denseness lodging. The usage of hot rolled structural steel merchandises peculiarly, has shown advantages through its built-in strength. The advantages of utilizing steel is the handiness of long column free spans and saves constructing stuffs due to low deepness of steel beams. Nowadays, new lightweight steel beams are besides available and are t he grounds for the new assorted inventions. Uses of steel in edifices:Steel framed skeletal constructions for high rise edifices.Large span level roofs utilizing steel beams.Steel concrete complex framed constructions for higher stableness.Steel trusses.Steel hemorrhoids.RCC.Prestressed steel wires.Steel wires for cement concrete.Doors, Windowss, armored combat vehicles, etc.Staircase, lifts, pipes, poles and stations, Gatess, fences, mesh etc.Steel is a really dependable building stuff and is besides used extensively.Cement and concrete( GUPTA, 1998 ) Cement is one of the most widely used edifice stuff and decidedly one of the most of import 1 besides. There are many assortment of cement nowadays in today’s universe, but the most normally used cement is the Portland cement. Cement industry is a nucleus sector industry and forms the anchor of the substructure development of the state. ( Anon. , n.d. ) Concrete is the most extensively used stuff in the whole universe. Today. Every edifice used concrete for building. It surpasses steel ingestion of the universe. It is made by utilizing the cement along with other things like sand, sum, etc. There are many recent promotions in the concrete industries which have made really attractive options to utilize concrete as the primary building stuff. But we will discourse it subsequently in item.Complexs or composite stuffs( Anon. , n.d. ) Composite stuffs are the stuffs which are made by uniting two different type of stuffs to organize a new compound of the two or more stuffs to accomplish the coveted belongingss. ( RILEM, n.d. ) Complexs are used efficaciously in each sector of building industries. ( Papanicolaou, n.d. ) There are many types of composite stuffs present in the universe like manmade and natural fibres based complexs, wood complexs and complexs form the local stuffs. The complexs from local stuffs can besides be classified as the combination stuffs in which no chemical combination occurs, but assorted stuffs are combined together in specific sets to accomplish desired consequences. The other types of complexs available are bamboo and wood complexs, polymer, plasti cs and surface coatings, metal matrix complexs etc. to call a few. Now the overview of the stuffs used in India or present in India is done. We now need to seek for the stuffs which are non present in India but can work really good for the Indian context.BibliographyAnon. , n.d. www.archdaily.com.[ Online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.archdaily.com/category/building-technology-and-materials/ [ Accessed 15 July 2014 ] . Anon. , n.d. www.architonic.com.[ Online ] Available at: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.architonic.com/ntsht/concrete-in-architecture-2-not-really-grey/7000529 [ Accessed 15 July 2014 ] . GUPTA, T. , 1998. Constructing stuffs in India 50 old ages by GUPTA, TN. In: T. Gupta, erectile dysfunction.Constructing stuffs in India 50 old ages.Delhi: Building Material and Technology Promotion Council, p. 536. Papanicolaou, S. P. a. G. ed. , n.d. Engineering Applications of New Composites by S.A. Paipetis and G.C. Papanicolaou. In: s.l. : s.n. RILEM, n.d.Uniting Materials: Design, Production and Properties by RILEM.s.l. : RILEM.