Oncrete history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Oncrete history - Essay Example It is in the form of dark, and porous nodules that are ground using a small amount of gypsum giving cement. Concrete; this is a hard, compact material used for building, and is formed by a mixture of gravel, cement, water, and sand when they undergo hydration. Cure; this is the act of keeping concrete moist on the initial hardening. Deformation; changing the dimensions of structures using a force. Dormancy period; the period that concrete retains it workability. Elasticity; The capability of materials to retain the original shape after getting stretched. Forms; are the holders where concrete is placed during hardening. Hydration; reaction of water with cement to form a cement paste. Mortar; is a Cement paste that has been mixed with sand. Pozzuoli cement; is a Volcanic rock powdered, used for making hydraulic cement. Portland cement; this is a cement consisting mainly of calcium silicates react with water forming a hard mass. Workability; this is how easily fresh concrete can be plac ed and consolidated in forms. 3.0 Text. 3.0. Introduction to Concrete. Concrete, can be defined as a composite material used in construction composed mainly of aggregate, water, and cement. It has several formulations, which give properties that tend to vary. This aggregate consists crushed rocks or coarse gravel like granite or limestone this is mixed with other fine aggregate like sand. Cement, usually the Portland cement, and Cementitious materials like slag cement and fly ash are used as a binder in the aggregate. Many chemical admixtures may also be included in order to come up with these varied properties. Liquid normally water is added and mixed with this dry composite, this enables the concrete to be poured (shaped) before solidified...Cement, usually the Portland cement, and Cementitious materials like slag cement and fly ash are used as a binder in the aggregate. Many chemical admixtures may also be included in order to come up with these varied properties. Liquid normally water is added and mixed with this dry composite, this enables the concrete to be poured (shaped) before solidified and hardened to come up with a rock-hard strength through a process known as hydration. The liquid applied reacts with the cement, forming a bond with other components, finally forming a tough stone-like material. It has a comparatively high compressive strength, nevertheless much lesser tensile strength. It is against this that it is reinforced using other materials which are very strong in tension like steel. Processes that can damage the concrete include freezing of the trapped water. It is widely used in walls, pavements, brick/ block, foundation, bridges/ overpasses, footings for gates, and even boats. Some of the most famous concrete buildings or structures are like the Burj Khalifa (world's tallest building), the Panama Canal, the Hoover Dam, and the famous Roman Pantheon.

The Lemba Clan, Are They Real Jews Essay Example for Free

The Lemba Clan, Are They Real Jews Essay Introduction Walking through the Venda Plaza shopping center in Thohoyandou, South Africa, R dai ae ta a ad a tm ,T aioe f Jws bo e . Gv g i a uznw vdo m n n si o eâ€Å" hts n o my e i rt r† i n h d h hs i m pzl ytn i e l kh ep i dâ€Å"a a l k e . cm f m I al l gi e uz d ei r ud o ,e xln ,Im Ba Jw We a er s eao t e tg o ae c o r n m aoT e hv poe iwt gns N t nowing what to say and not having heard about this g. hy ae rvdt i ee. o k h † before, I let his statement pass. My time in South Africa was devoted to working with a victim empowerment program, but I continued to wonder about the idea of Black Jews. The Black Jew or Lemba population creates a blip on a cultural map of sub-Saharan Africa. When researchers discovered and studied them over the last fifteen years, the Lemba also made a blip on the genetic map of sub-Saharan Africa. Genetic analysis of the Lemba has focused primarily on the Y chromosome, which is useful for studying variation among and distance between populations. The Lemba genetic markers support the oral tradition which says the Lemba came from the north. This paper reviews biological and cultural studies of the Lemba and the correlation between genes and oral tradition to propose a biocultural history for the Lemba people. Biology Genetic Variation across Populations Much of the study of genetic variation has focused on dissimilarity between groups. Genetic variation over time is used to postulate about the place and time of the origins of modern humans as well as subsequent movement and migration. Genetic variation is the greatest in Africa, and it is reasoned that the longer a group has been around, the more variation it will have in its gene pool. Additionally, the longer groups are apart, the greater their genetic distance (Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza, 1995). Maps of variation show migrations out of, around, 1 and back in to Africa (Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza, 1995). Based on comparison of genetic landscapes, maps by Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza (1995) show the arrival of Neolithic cultivators in northern Africa 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. The migration of people continues down the eastern side of Africa, with groups mixing and moving. According to Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza (1995), the Bantu arrived in South Africa 300 to 400 years ago, and the archaeological and linguistic data support the history of Bantu expansion. Cavalli-Sforza’t e o py gnt r aosi a gnr e t og ae g sr s f hl eece t nh s r ee t h uh vr e e o i li p e ad r a linkage analysis. Synthetic maps are produced from principle-component analysis of multiple gene frequencies. MacEachern (2000), however, criticizes Cavalli-Soz’sn eio gns fr s yt s f ee a h s and language for its assumptions about the nature of language and groups and its lack of cni r i o t d e i o hm n oii . A r a e n ui a ntone, os e t n fh i rt f u a sc ts â€Å" fcn t i n s r obudd d ao e v sy ee i hc t e homogeneous monoliths either frozen in place since before A. D. 1492 or caroming around the continent like cultural-ba n b lr bl†MaE ce ,00 7) G nr sn ec as er g ii d as ( c ahr 20: 0. ee lyt t m p i la l n 3 a hi provide a visual representation of variation, but they do not show how the variation came to exist nor do they reveal anomalies. The Lemba are an anomaly in the genetic patterns of Southern Africa. Variation and the Y Chromosome The primary genetic research on the Lemba has used the Y chromosome for comparison with other groups. The Y chromosome has many characteristics that make it favorable for investigating lineage. Almost all of the Y chromosome consists of non-recombining regions and the information is passed intact from generation to generation, from father to son. The variations, called polymorphisms, occur so infrequently that they are commonly called unique event polymorphisms (UEPs) (Stumpf and Goldstein, 2001). UEPs occur along male lines in 2 different time intervals, thus the changes can be compared between and among groups to examine relatedness and age by identifying variations (Bradman and Thomas 1998). More changes on the Y indicate an older line, and more shared sequences between Ys indicate a more similar gene pool. Once thought of as mainly junk, researchers have identified 20 different genes on the Y (Lowenstein, 1999). The function of Y is related to imparting maleness and to fertility (see figure 1). Figure 1: The human Y chromosome (Quintana-Murci et al. , 2000:173) Because most of the Y does not recombine, the Ycrm sm ise a a ui r tl ho oo es en s â€Å"n a n l p e ay t nm tdi ae ru† r s ie l kg gop which allows the history of the paternal line to be deduced (Poloni et a t n al. , 1997: 1015). The non-recombining section of the Y has the potential for a large number of different mutations (Stumpf and Goldstein, 2001). Because most variation in the Y is not expressed, changes are not selected for or against, which allows the record of these changes gets passed on (Bradman and Thomas, 1998). Four types of changes can occur between generations: microsatellites, minisatellites, snips and indels (Bradman and Thomas, 1998). Microsatellites are a section of repeats of a short 3 nucleotide sequence and minisatellites are a section of repeats of longer sequences. Snips refers to single nucleotide polymorphisms, meaning one nucleotide is changed. Indels are insertions or deletions of DNA in a particular location (Bradman and Thomas, 1998). An example of an indel is the Y chromosome Alu polymorphism (YAP). Alu is a sequence of about 300 base pairs which is inserted into a particular region of the DNA. There have been about half a million Alu insertions in human DNA and YAP is one of the more recent (Bradman and Thomas, 1998). Because they are unique event polymorphisms, YAP inserts and snips are unlikely to have arisen more than once in evolution (Thomas et al. 2000). An Alu can be copied, but it is not removed from a locus. After an Alu change, the YAP will accumulate new mutations at the same rate as surrounding DNA loci. One can think of an Alu insertion as a fossil, and patterns of new mutation allow the fossils to be sorted into lineages. (Dolan DNA Learning Center 2002). Different combinations of polymorphisms are known as haplotypes (Bradman and Thomas 1998). The more similar the haplotype frequencies of two populations, the more similar their biological history is likely to be (Bradman and Thomas 1998). Quintana-Murci, Krausz, and McElreavey caution that genetic drift, founder effects, and male-specific migration processes may lead to over-representation of specific haplotypes (2001). Genetic drift refers to random change in gene frequencies between generations which will cause frequencies to fluctuate up or down (Releford, 2003). After enough time and if no other forces are acting on a population, variation within a population will be reduced (Releford, 2003). The founder effect is a type of genetic drift where a small number of people form a new population, causing allele frequencies to deviate from the parent population (Releford, 2003). The Lemba Y 4 If Lemba migrated from Judea and Yemen and maintained the tradition of marrying only within the group, the Lemba Y haplotypes may be over-represented when compared to the neighboring populations. Thus, the Lemba Y is useful for comparison with African and Semitic populations their contribution to the Lemba. More genetic evidence of a non-Bantu origin for the Lemba is expected and found (Bradman and Thomas 1998). The Lemba Y has an additional genetic marker that indicates links to the Jewish priest class Cohen. Members cannot be appointed to this class and priesthood can only be inherited, thus a possible Jewish marker will be preserved down the line (Bradman and Thomas 1998; Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza 1995). Judaism began in Semitic tribes living about 4,000 years ago in the Middle East. In 586 B. C. , the Babylonian exile spread Jewish populations out of present-day Israel (Hammer et al. 2000). Hammer et al. (2000) used Y chromosome haplotypes to trace the parental origins of the Jewish Diaspora. Multi-dimensional scaling (figure 1 ) of frequencies of 18 Y-chromosome haplotypes in 29 populations produced three main clusters: sub-Saharan African, North African, and European. 5 Figure 2: Multi-dimensional scaling from Hammer et al. (2000:6772) The Jewish cluster appears in between the European and North African population clusters. The Lemba population is set halfway between sub-Saharan African and Jewish clusters (Hammer et al. 2000). Genetic and geographic distances were not correlated for other Jewish populations, which supports a recent dispersal and subsequent isolation model. Hammer et al. conclude that â€Å" m j pro o N Yb ll d e i .. ae to a common Middle Eastern source a a r ot n f R ili i rt . t cs o i aec v sy r ppli svr t uad erao (00 74. h iue lo ea an c i s f ou t n ee lh sn ya g†20: 7) T i s sf frvl t g lm o ao a o s 6 s u ui a Jewish origins as well as for supporting old ties to the Middle East. Once populations dispersed from the Middle East, gene flow with surrounding populations was likely. The Lemba present genetic markers identified with Bantu and Semitic populations (Spurdle and Jenkins, 1996; Wilson and Goldstein, 2000). Wilson and Goldstein (2000) examined 66 markers on the X chromosome to study the effect of admixture of Bantu and Semitic populations on linkage disequilibrium. Recent mutations will tend to have more linkage d eu i i (D t n i o eoe ( l n n G l tn20)â€Å" h s n i n i qib u L )h wl l r nsWio ad o s i 00. T e i ic t s lr m a ld s de, g fa difference between partially linked and unlinked loci rules out substructure as the sole source of the LD in the Lemba . . . Ethiopian-Bantu differentiation is not sufficient to produce the d eu i i osre it L m a ( l n n G l tn20: 2.T e oc s ns i qib u be dn h e b†Wio ad o s i 00 3) h cnl i i s lr m v e s de, 9 uo that the Lemba LD has two sources: parental population and admixture. Another examination on the worldwide distribution of Y haplotypes (Poloni et al. , 1997) found a significant correlation between genetic and linguistic distances. The picture of genetic affinities places the Lemba not with other sub-Saharan African populations but with Afro-Asiatic populations (figure 2 ) indicating admixture or a different parent population from other subSaharan groups. 6 Figure 3: Multi-dimensional scaling from Poloni et al. (1997:1019) Spurdle and Jenkins (1996) also looked at Bantu-Semitic variations to establish genetic affinities and offer a model for the origin of the Lemba. Their study analyzed allele frequencies of Y-linked Restriction Length Fragment Polymorphisms (RLFPs). Ht4 is a typical Negroid haplotype and it is found in the Lemba sample at a frequency of . 20, which indicates significant Negroid male gene flow into the Lemba (Spurdle and Jenkins, 1996). Ht7, Ht8, and Ht11 are Caucasoid markers and the Lemba show high frequencies of these markers as well. These haplotypes seem to be typical of Jewish populations but also occur in Asiatic Indians, thus it is not possible to distinguish between Semitic and Asiatic Indian sources with these markers (Spurdle and Jenkins, 1996). The allele frequencies of the Lemba are significantly different from those of the Bantu-speaking Negroid population and the European population but not from those of the Jewish group. Spurdle and Jenkins (1996) conclude that 50% of the Lemba Y chromosomes analyzed appear to be of Caucasoid origin, and 36% appear to be of Negroid origin. 7. One possible method for distinguishing a Semitic origin, versus a general Middle Eastern origin, of the Lemba is to make comparisons with the Cohen modal haplotype, which is dominant in the Jewish priesthood (Thomas et al. , 1998). There are three castes of Jewish males: Cohanim, the paternally inherited priesthood; Leviim, non-Cohen members of the paternally defined priestly tribe of Levi; Israelites, all non-Cohen and non-Levite Jews (Thomas et al. , 1998). If the Lemba Y has Jewish origins, the Cohen modal haplotype is expected to be present. Thomas et al. (2000) continue the study of Bantu and Semitic markers in the Lemba adding the investigation of the Cohen modal haplotypes. Y chromosomes were analyzed for six microsatellites and six biallelic markers in the Lemba, Bantu, Yemini-Handramaut, YemeniSena, Sephardic Jews, and Ashkenazic Jews. The twelve polymorphic markers were characterized in multiple Jewish populations and identified single haplotypes (Thomas et al. , 2000). Genealogical trees were drawn based on microsatellite variation to explore possible origins of the Lemba Y chromosomes (Thomas et al., 2000). The trees can be used to assess whether each Lemba haplotype has a close genealogical relationship with one or more haplotypes in the other five populations. Trees for the individual haplotypes were drawn for each UEP group by measures of average squared distance and proportion of shared alleles (Thomas et al. , 2000). Thomas et al. (2000) designate 67. 6% of Lemba chromosomes as having a Semitic origin and the other 32. 4% to have a Bantu origin. The high frequency of the Cohen modal haplotype in the general Lemba population supports a Jewish contribution to Lemba gene pool found. The Cohen modal haplotype is observed only moderately in Ashkenazic and Sephardic Israelites, in a single Yemeni, and is present in a very low frequency in Palestinian Arabs (Thomas et al. , 2000). The genetic evidence is consistent with the Lemba oral history of Jewish origins in a population outside of Africa followed by admixture with Bantu neighbors. 8 Culture Oral tradition and Origins of Lemba The Lemba people claim ancient Jewish origins. According to oral history, they come from Judea, from whence they traveled to Sena. From Sena they crossed into Africa, moving down the coast, building great cities in Zimbabwe, and finally settling the northern part of South Africa. Additionally, the Lemba assert Jewish identity through their customs of food prohibitions, ritual slaughter of animals, and circumcision (Buijs, 1998; NOVA 1999; Parfitt 1992). These are not black people who have been recently converted to Judaism. Judaism is not a proselytizing faith thus conversion and intermarriage as an explanation for Jewish genes is unlikely (Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza, 1995). However, many groups across the world claim connections to lost tribes of Israel (Parfitt, 1992). Furthermore, the surge in Lemba Jewish identity is connected to political economy and other social circumstances in South Africa in the last fifty years (Buijs, 1998). The Lemba say they came from the North, possibly from Judea. Then they went to Sena, they crossed Pusela and came to Africa, where they broke the law of God and were scattered across African nations (NOVA, 1999). Parfitt (1992) located Sena in a remote valley of Southern Yemen. Parfitt reasons that Pusela is similar to the Masilah River, which they would have had to cross to get from Sena to the sea. The port town of Sayhut was used for Arab exploration of Africa. In Hadramaut, the valley where Sena is located, tribes have the same names as Lemba tribe names (NOVA, 1999; Parfitt, 1992). Genetic samples of Lemba and of people in the Hadramaut showed similar features as well as the Cohen modal haplotype (NOVA, 1999). Lemba Identity in South Africa 9 The Lemba live in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, but according to Buijs it is only in South Africa where one finds the belief of Jewish origins (1998). The Semitic identity was propagated by early white missionaries and colonial officials; their writings emphasized differences of the Lemba by comparison with European Jewish communities (Buijs, 1998). T ee ri supr d a e o o a ii tdn t (u s19: 1. u s19) o s hs w in spot â€Å"n t s f d t ci ty B i,98 6) B i (98 nt tg e h sn e i † j 6 j e that the Lemba were aware of their distinct cultural heritage prior to colonization, but when ethnic identity became important in Apartheid, the Lemba Cultural Association (LCA) became a m d mfrosut g peet a Jws H rae B i asr,T eniec ..n ei o cnt cn a r n dy e i e t . u s s t â€Å" h i s ne . O u r i s h ig j es st their Jewish heritage is a direct result of the struggle for resources, initially land and later civil sri j sit N r e Tasaln V na (98 6) Ietyi l i r i ad e c o , h ot r r vaad ed†19: 2. dn t n u n a a n ve b n e hn n 6 i, c d g c l ethnic identities, is not a static concept. Identity, especially during Apartheid, was tied to power. The Lemba Cultural Association was founded in the 1940s when Europeans were encroaching o r or s T e C polm d spr e u uai n tadh L m a i pr ne n e uc .h L A rc i e a ea tcl r d ty n t e b’ m ot c s e a a t l ei e s a identified the Lemba with a non-African community (Buijs, 1998). During Apartheid, literally meaning separation, people were classified by race: white, cl e,n b c. n’sc laaits e df e acri tt s cnet( e o r ad l k O e oi cpb ie w r e nd cod go h e ocp s od a s a li e i n e se Mandela 1994 for a first hand description of the Apartheid system). The Apartheid government, the white minority, knew that if black people were united, the white autonomy would be threatened. They instituted a Bantu education system that further classified blacks according to tribe and encouraged local identity and rule in hopes of keeping blacks divided (Mandela 1994). In the 1980s, as the white hold on power was becoming more and more challenged, the gvrm nc a d i eednhm l d† h h e stp uhhthy e sl oe etr t â€Å" dpneto e ns w i w r eu sc t t w r tl n ee n a c e a e ei 10 overseen by South Africa but the government no longer provided money or services to these areas. Lemba in Venda Vendaland was created and within these bounds were the Lemba. Before the independent hm l diw saoalfrBak e s ti n f t m e e ad e e o e n, a f r eo â€Å" l Jw †o d tyh sl s n b r a t v b c ei e v cognized as Lemba, because they were associated with whites and considered superior to other Blacks. However, in t â€Å" l k o e n,w e b cseu t io n oe m n ibcm m rf oalt h Ba hm l d hr l k stph r w gvr et tea e oe a r eo e c a † e a e n , v b be Black and not associated with whites. A highly placed civil servant in Venda government cm et â€Å" i t V na e e a etgop I t s dy w w rl h o m n d ‘ t h ed w w r n le ru. nh e as e e i t e wh e e i o e g -skinned .. . V nar t u l e sro uprl s . t C oe pol (a i,92 8. h h ed t a d si a otf pec s.. e hsn ep †Prt 19: ) T i e ee k a h e ft 7 s refers to the days of their arrival in southern Africa. At the beginning of the century, in spite of the dark skin, the Lemba were commonly called valungu – white men (Parfitt, 1992). The civil srate a e,‘ sog s vrt n ge j ti , y e g L m a os’matter . . . e nr r dâ€Å" l a ee h g osu f em bi a e b dent v m k A n yi s n n B tson sh g s rgi w ogiiar u do y e b oi n†19: ) T e ua so a t nst to g rn, s ti t tm L m a r i (92 7.h i a n t tb e g’ 7 status and identity of the Lemba has not been fixed and it has not always been Jewish. Proclaiming a form of Judaism is an event of the 19th century, but it does come from an o e cm la d eg u i n f ao (a i 19)â€Å" h L m a e e a a i l my l r o p ct r i osd ti t n Prt 92. T e e b si d prc a t d, i e li e ic i ft z tu r h and used it as a means of ridding themselves of a rather ancient ambiguity at a time when new ambiguities were being created every dy (a i,9225. T e e b igop i a†Prt 19:5) h L m as ru wt ft h particular traditional practices, and some say they are not a religious group but a cultural one (Sand, 2002). The Lemba culture today points to ancient Hebrew origins but some Lemba practice Christianity and Islam (Sand, 2002). The practices they do ascribe to ancient Jews would 11 not be identified as Judaism in the West, however they have adopted more Jewish traditions in recent years (Sand, 2002). Lemba today In post-Apartheid times, the Lemba identity is flourishing. They continue to have LCA meetings (Buijs 1998). Websites about their heritage and culture are published on the Internet. People in South Africa can identify themselves with whatever group or groups they please. About 80,000 Lemba live in the Venda area of the Limpopo Province in South Africa as well as the Johannesburg township of Soweto (Buijs, 1998; Sand, 2002). Lemba are also found in villages in the southwestern region of Zimbabwe (Buijs, 1998; Sand, 2002). In the Venda region, people speak TshiVenda. Another day when Rudzani and I were walking through the shopping center, he called up to a man with a phrase I did not understand. With a twinkle in his eyes, he told me that was the traditional greeting for a Jewish brother. Again, I let that pass, thinking he could translate it to mean whatever he wanted since I did not know TshiVenda (a favorite joke of my friends there). In reflection and after research, I do not doubt the old Jewish ties and if I go back to South Africa, I will be sure to find out more. Conclusion The problem with constructing the history of the Lemba identity is that it has been passed down through oral tradition. When it was recorded at the turn of the twentieth century, it is possible the outside visitors were biased or projecting a Jewish identity on the Lemba. Genetic data support the oral tradition, and genetic research has identified anomalies in the Lemba population. Across the articles, the same information about the oral tradition and culture of the Lemba was offered. Ethnographic study of the Lemba traditions, not in contrast to Jews or other Africans, is needed to understand what being Lemba means today. Further research considering political 12 economy, as Buijs did, will continue to fill out the picture of constructions and projections of identity for the Black Jews of South Africa. 13 Works Cited Bradman N, and Thomas M. 1998. Why Y? The Y chromosome in the study of human evolution, migration, and prehistory. Science Spectra, 14. Electronic document, http://www. ucl. ac. uk/tcga/ScienceSpectra-pages/SciSpect-14-98. html. , accessed November 19, 2002 Buijs G. 1998 Black Jews in the Northern Province: A study of ethnic identity in South Africa. Ethnic Racial Studies, 21:661-682. Cavalli-Sforza LL, and F Cavalli-Sforza. 1995. The Great Human Diasporas. Reading, MA: Addison Weasley Publishing Company. Dolan DNA Learning Center. Genetic Origins: Alu Insertion Polymorphism. 2002. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Electronic document, http://www.geneticorigins. org/geneticorigins/pv92/aluframeset. htm, accessed November 19, 2002. Hammer MF, Redd AJ, Wood ET, Bonner MR, Jarjanazi H, Karafet T, Santachiara-Benerecetti S, Oppenheim A, Jobling MA, Jenkins T, Ostrer H, and B Bonne-Tamir. 2000. Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations share a common pool of Y-chromosome biallelic haplotypes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 97:6769-6774. Hammer MF, Spurdle AB, Karafet T, Bonner MR, Wood ET, Novelletto A, Malaspina P, Mitchell RJ, Horai S, Jenkins T, and SL Zegura. 1997. The geographic distribution of human Y chromosome variation. Genetics, 145:787-805. Lowenstein JM. 1999. Why the Y? California Wild. Electronic document, http://www. calacademy. org/calwild/spring99/counter. htm, accessed November 19, 2002 MacEachern S. 2000. Genes, Tribes, and African History. Current Anthropology, 41:357-384. 14 Mandela, Neslon. 1994. Long Walk to Freedom: the Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Boston: Little Brown Co. N V O l eL stbs fs e T dr a i’r a alj re. 00( oe br O A n n. otr e o I al uo Prtse r b o ny20. N vm e i i r . ft m k e u 2000). Electronic document, http://www. pbs. org/wgbh/nova/israel/parfitt. html, accessed November 19, 2002. Parfitt, Tudor. 1992. Journey to the Vanished City: Search for a Lost Tribe of Israel. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Poloni ES, Semino O, Passarino G, Santachiara-Benerecetti AS, Dupanloup I, Langaney A, and L Excoffier. 1997. Human genetic affinities for Y-chromosome P49a,f/TaqI haplotypes show strong correspondence with linguistics. American Journal of Human Genetics, 61:1015-1035. Quintana-Murci L, Krausz C, and K McElreavey. 2001. The human Y chromosome: function, evolution and disease. Forensic Science International, 118:169-181. Releford, JH. 2003. The Human Species: An Introduction to Biological Anthropology, 5th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Sand, JP.2002. The Jews of Africa: The Lemba of Southern Africa. Electronic document, http://www. mindspring. com/~jaypsand/lemba. htm. accessed November 18, 2002. Spurdle, AB. 1994. The Y-ALU polymorphism in Southern African populations and its relationship to other Y-specific polymorphisms. American Journal of Human Genetics, 54:319-330. Spurdle A. and T Jenkins. 1996. The origins of the Lemba Black Jews of Southern Africa: evidence from p12F2 and other Y-Chromosome markers. American Journal of Human Genetics, 59:1126-1133. 15 Stumpf MPH, and DB Goldstein. 2001. Genealogical and evolutionary inference with the human Y chromosome. Science. 291:1738-1742. Thomas MG, Parfitt T, Weiss DA, Skorecki K, Wilson JF, le Roux M, Bradman N, and DB Goldstein. 2000. Y chromosomes traveling south: the Cohen modal haplotype and the origins of the Lembathe Black Jews of Southern Africa. American Journal of Human Genetics, 66 (2): 674-686. Thomas MG, Skorecki K, Ben-Ami H, Parfitt T, Bradman N, and DB Goldstein. 1998. Origins of old testament priests. Nature, 394:138-140. Wilson JF, and DB Goldstein. 2000. Consistent long-range linkage disequilibrium generated by admixture in a Bantu-Semitic hybrid population. American Journal of Human Genetics, 67:926-935. 16.

Essay --

Alex opened his eyes to the taste of dust and blood. His head was on the floor. He tried to lift it, but to no avail. A small groan escaped his lips, followed by a fit of coughing. What happened? The scene before him was something out of a Michael Bay movie. Grey concrete, rebar, settling dust, unconscious bodies. Unconscious, or maybe dead. What happened? He tried to move his leg, with the effectiveness of putting out a fire with gasoline. It was crushed by several tonnes of concrete and twisted metal. What happened? He finally found the strength to raise his head a fraction of an inch from the concrete. Caroline. He desparately searched the carnage around him until his eyes locked on a face. His wife. Dammit, what the hell happened? He tried to lift his head further, but only succeeded in inducing a coughing fit, forcing him to relinquish the small amount of progress he had made. Suddenly, a weak, sickly sounding voice pierced the unnatual stillness that had enveloped the space since he awoke. â€Å"Hey.† Her lips were powder white, and the voice was barely above a whisper, but she was alive. He managed a weak smile before moving his own lips. â€Å"Hey.† His eyes traced a line from her face, down her body, only to see a foot of rebar protruding from her ribcage. His smile wavered, but he forced himself to keep a smile plastered on his own powder-caked face. Later. Later I’ll tell her. â€Å"How are you doing love?† â€Å"A little sore.† She managed a weak trace of a smile, that quickly turned into a grimace. Her labored breathing caused the rebar to sway back and forth, like a macabre tree in an invisible breeze. The effort of talking obviously exhausted her. He once again started examining the surrounding wreckage, giving her a little ti... ...bye to the love of his life. He gripped the steering wheel, and put the car in reverse, swinging out of the parking spot, and onto the open road, Caroline’s last words echoing in his head. â€Å"’Til Death do us part.† The words echoed all the way home, and followed him into the house. His every thought was occupied by her. The more he thought, the more he realized it felt like she was actually there. He closed his eyes, and opened them, disappointed to find that it wasn’t actually true. Despite this, he smiled and laid back, his head propped up, the way he used to do when she laid on top of him, often falling asleep on a summer afternoon, and only waking up to go to bed. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that made her seem absolutely tangible to him, despite the absense of her presense. He finally said, to nobody in particular, â€Å"Darling, you’ll never be dead to me.†

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 25

To her credit, Grace didn't cower. She stood firm, regaining her composure as she matched Jerome's stare with one of her own. In fact, she regained enough of herself that she remembered to avoid the rain. The drops parted around her, much as the fire had parted around Roman. Her suit and hair were dry again, crisp and perfect. â€Å"You would have done the same thing,† she told Jerome. I couldn't see Jerome's face when he spoke. â€Å"I wouldn't have got caught. You did. You failed.† â€Å"You should be impressed with my ingenuity.† She crossed her arms, almost defiant. â€Å"I'm useful to you.† â€Å"You are meaningless. I could blight you out of existence, and no one would think twice about it.† I wasn't sure about that. Demons smote each other all the time, but that didn't mean Hell liked it. It created paperwork, and if you were caught, you got sent to Hell's equivalent of prison. Grace apparently shared my doubts about how easy it would be for Jerome to kill her. â€Å"I don't think so. As it is, you'll be lucky if you have your job when you get back. You got yourself summoned.† Her eyes flicked to me and Roman, huddled together on the sand. â€Å"Your territory's in chaos. They'll send you off to a desk job-or make you somebody else's subordinate. Quite a fall from an archdemon's position.† â€Å"Not likely,† said Mei, speaking up. â€Å"Not if we spin this right. Jerome's got powerful connections. So do I. And Cedric will advocate for him.† Her willingness to help and assurance about Cedric surprised me, but then, perhaps it was back to the know-thy-enemy philosophy. Grace glared at her former counterpart. â€Å"You're the biggest fool of all here.† â€Å"Enough,† snapped Jerome. â€Å"There's been enough villainous exposition here. The matter's done.† I didn't have to see him to know he was smiling at Grace-only, I suspected it wasn't a very nice smile. â€Å"I will see you in Hell.† He snapped his fingers, and suddenly, what looked like black ice sprang up from the ground and crawled up Grace's body. She hardly had any time to scream because it coated her so quickly and then froze into place, leaving her immobile. She had become a thorny black statue. â€Å"What is that?† I breathed. â€Å"Kind of a demon stasis,† Roman murmured back. â€Å"A prison of sorts. He's ten times more powerful than her-it's an easy thing for him to do.† I wondered then just how powerful Roman really was. He'd seemed matched against Grace, but I still wasn't sure if he'd been holding back or not, for fear of detection. As it was, he now had his signature turned off, appearing as a human for all intents and purposes. He'd done it just before Mei fully materialized. â€Å"You need to get out of here,† I told him. â€Å"Wait,† he responded. Indeed, Roman seemed the least of Jerome's concerns as the archdemon studied Grace's frozen form. Her defeat had been anticlimactic, really. There had been no flashy brawl as everyone else seemed to have had today, but then, I supposed when you wielded the kind of power Jerome did, there was no need. I also had a feeling that Grace had been right about something. Even if he did have connections, Jerome probably couldn't risk doing anything rash to reestablish his control back in Seattle. He probably did want to torture her and blight her from the face of the earth, but binding her and taking her to face hellish justice-such as it was-was going to do him more good. Hell would be more kindly disposed to him if he followed their rules. He turned and faced Mei, who stood off to the side. It was the first time I'd gotten a good glimpse of my boss since his return. His face was blank and cold, but I was pretty sure I could see the fury kindling behind his eyes. Being summoned was pretty much the worst thing that could happen to a demon. â€Å"She was right to a certain extent,† he told Mei. â€Å"It could have been advantageous to turn against me.† â€Å"And be second to her?† Mei shook her head. Like Grace, she had put herself back together. â€Å"No. I won't serve you forever, believe me, but for now, I see what my best course of action is. I'm throwing my lot in with yours.† â€Å"Your loyalty is appreciated.† Mei gave a small nod of acknowledgment. Unlike Kristin and Cedric, where she served him out of love as much as duty, Mei's loyalty was all pragmatism and assessment of what could advance her. Jerome knew this and accepted it. â€Å"And it will be rewarded.† â€Å"I know it will be,† she said evenly. â€Å"And I'll have no co-lieutenant when we return?† â€Å"No. Not if I have anything to do with it.† And for the first time since I had known her, Mei smiled. Her eyes then flicked to the Grace statue. â€Å"Do you need me†¦?† â€Å"No,† said Jerome, seeming to remember us. â€Å"You can go.† Mei wasted no time. She vanished, and Jerome turned around and stared down at Roman and me. His eyes fell on me first. â€Å"So. You're here, Georgie. Why am I not surprised?† â€Å"Because I'm the only one who cared about getting you back and wasn't too lazy to do anything about it?† The ghost of a smile flickered across his lips. â€Å"Fair enough. And you will be rewarded too.† I wanted to tell him that I didn't need a reward, but Jerome had already shifted his attention to Roman. The smile faded. â€Å"You, however, have some balls in coming here.† â€Å"Must run in the family,† said Roman. As beat up as he was, he still managed mockery. â€Å"A suicidal nature does not, however. You know you're seconds away from being destroyed, don't you?† â€Å"Yeah, yeah,† said Roman. â€Å"And I'm sure killing me would help reinforce your badass status. But the truth is, I helped save you. You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me.† I wasn't entirely sure if he'd done as much work as me in all this, but he had certainly made it easier for me. Nonetheless, even if he had actually single-handedly saved Jerome, it meant nothing. Demons didn't operate by a sense of fairness or feel obligations. Jerome affirmed as much. â€Å"I owe you nothing. If you want to risk your life, that's no concern of mine. I don't care whether you live or die.† Roman struggled to his feet. â€Å"That's not true, or else you would have killed me already. Maybe you don't owe me anything†¦and yet, you're indebted to me, even if you don't believe in paying off debts-and I think you do. You can't stand knowing you owe me.† Jerome narrowed his eyes. â€Å"What is it you want?† â€Å"Amnesty.† â€Å"What?† I squeaked. No one paid any attention to me. As far as they were concerned, they were the only two people in the world, father and son. â€Å"I'm tired of running, tired of hiding. I want a place to stay. A place I can settle down in for a while.† â€Å"You don't need me for that.† â€Å"Don't I?† asked Roman. â€Å"Any place I live, even with my signature masked, I live in fear of being discovered by the greater immortals who control it. I'm always watching my back. I want to be somewhere where I can walk around knowing I have at least some measure of protection.† â€Å"If someone else wants to kill you, I'm not going to stand in their way.† â€Å"I know that. But at least I won't have to worry on a daily basis about you being one of them.† Jerome fell silent, and to my complete and utter astonishment, I realized he was deliberating about this. I never would have thought it possible†¦and yet, as Roman had said, if Jerome's mind had been made up, he would have smote Roman already. Last fall, when we'd learned Jerome had his twin nephilim, we'd also learned that he'd had a wife long ago, a woman he loved so much that he'd fallen from grace to be with her. Did any of that love remain? Had it burned out over these millennia as a damned creature? Did he see any of her when he looked at Roman? When Jerome had helped hunt Roman and his twin, it seemed as though he didn't care. He'd even helped kill Helena. Now, I wondered if Jerome was truly as indifferent as he appeared, and I wondered if Roman had long suspected that. I knew Roman hated Jerome-probably more than he hated me-but was it worth an uneasy alliance with Jerome to have some peace? Had Roman realized playing off this paternal relationship might be the only way to buy him a temporary reprieve? Of course he had. That had been Roman's plan all along. Lingering love for Roman's mother†¦and a bit of obligation thrown in. That was why Roman had helped free Jerome-and why he hadn't wanted me to let anyone else in on what I learned, I realized wryly. Secrecy might have been a true concern, but he would have undoubtedly wanted to minimize others' involvement so that he could play a major role in Jerome's rescue and use that as leverage. â€Å"Mei knows,† said Jerome. â€Å"I can't control what she'll do.† â€Å"She doesn't,† said Roman. â€Å"I knew what Georgina sent Seth off to do, and I had shut down just before Mei arrived. She never saw my face last time, so she didn't recognize me now. She doesn't realize what I am.† â€Å"He's right,† I realized, recalling how Grace had had him in a chokehold. Roman had been gradually letting go of his power and had had very lucky timing. â€Å"Even if that's true,† said Jerome, who seemed to be growing frustrated by the logic, â€Å"I can't control what others'll do. The angels will always be a problem.† â€Å"Well, not that much of a problem.† The new voice was accompanied by the arrival of an all-too-familiar aura, one that felt crystalline and cool. Carter now stood beside us. â€Å"Welcome back.† Jerome glanced over at the angel, and for half a second, he almost looked pleased. The two of them appraised each other, probably communicating telepathically. Or maybe not. Maybe after so many eons of friendship, they no longer needed to. â€Å"I suppose you're going to advocate for him too,† said Jerome. Carter shrugged and glanced over at Roman. â€Å"I don't know.† Angels had as much of an instinct to hunt down nephilim as demons did. I thought of Carter as benevolent, but he too had helped destroy Helena. â€Å"He did help. Maybe he'll stay on good behavior.† It was a sign of how crazy things had become when Jerome and Carter seemed on the verge of letting a nephilim stick around-and that I was the one who protested. â€Å"Are you guys out of your minds?† I exclaimed. â€Å"You know what he's done! He killed those people and hurt others. For all we know, this is a scam. Let him back in Seattle, and he could try to kill others. He could try to kill you. He could try to kill me !† Everyone turned to me, seeming a bit startled by the outburst. â€Å"And here I thought we were partners,† mused Roman. â€Å"Bind him,† said Carter. â€Å"Bind him in a deal.† Jerome and Roman sized each other up, and I held my breath. An immortal deal reached a creature's soul and could not be broken without dire consequences. I'd made a couple in my life. Everything rested on Jerome now, whether he was willing to go against every immortal taboo and knowingly let a nephilim live in his territory. Finally, Jerome spoke. â€Å"I will allow you to live in my domain. During such time, I will not harm you-unless you're discovered by others and I am given no choice. I make no guarantees about other immortals who find you and offer no protection should that occur. You in turn vow not to implicate me in any way for doing this. You promise not to harm me or any other immortals who cross into my territory, unless it's self-defense-or unless I've given my okay. You also promise to harm none of my subordinates†-he glanced at me-â€Å"anywhere in the world.† â€Å"I accept,† said Roman gravely. â€Å"And,† added Jerome, a sharp glint in his eyes, â€Å"you vow to be available should I require your services in a defensive, covert, or-in very rare conditions-offensive way.† There it was. The reason Jerome could go along with something like this. In offering Roman sanctuary, he was bargaining to have a secret nephilim agent, a powerful weapon none of his enemies knew about it. I'd never heard of anything like this. â€Å"I accept with the condition that I won't kill on your command,† Roman said at last. Jerome considered. â€Å"Agreed. The terms of this deal end should you at any time openly renounce my amnesty. Or if I also declare the deal null and void.† â€Å"I want a time frame on that,† said Roman wryly. â€Å"When does my lease expire?† â€Å"A century. Then we'll renegotiate.† â€Å"I accept it all, then.† â€Å"And I agree to the same amnesty terms as Jerome,† piped in Carter. â€Å"Except I don't need you to spy or kill for me.† â€Å"Agreed,† said Roman. It was all so terribly formal, and my presence felt complete superfluous. All three of them shook hands, and as they did, power burned in the air, binding them all to what they'd agreed. â€Å"Well,† said Jerome briskly. â€Å"Now that that's done, I'm going back to clean up the mess that's been made in my absence.† He gave Roman a wry look. â€Å"Considering you aren't technically in my territory yet, I'd advise you-† Jerome suddenly stopped and scanned the beach. â€Å"What about the other summoner? The human one? Was he here?† I looked around as well. The beach was empty. â€Å"It was Dante†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I said slowly. Jerome rolled his eyes. â€Å"Typical. Where is he now?† â€Å"I don't know,† I said honestly. â€Å"Grace beat him up.† I'd worried he was dead, but apparently not. Glancing over to where he'd been lying, I saw what looked like tracks in the sand where he'd been dragged off. I decided to keep that to myself. â€Å"Wonderful,† said Jerome. Turning back toward us, he scrutinized me. â€Å"You will keep this deal to yourself, Georgie. And we'll discuss your reward another day.† He disappeared and with him, the Grace statue. I didn't envy her. Roman, Carter, and I started walking back toward the parking lot. I couldn't speak for them, but my mind was reeling with everything that had happened. â€Å"Did you see what happened to Dante?† I asked Roman. â€Å"Afraid I was kind of busy. What happened to Mortensen after he called Mei?† â€Å"I told him to leave, and I think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated, not entirely sure how I knew this, unless it was just my understanding of Seth's nature. â€Å"I think Seth may have carried him off in the confusion. Oh man, he actually listened to me.† The parking lot was empty. My car was gone. â€Å"They took my car,† I explained. I honestly hadn't thought Seth would, despite my pleas for him to leave. â€Å"Wow,† said Roman, clearly delighted. â€Å"Your ex-boyfriend helped save your current boyfriend and then stole your car. Or-well, wait-is Mortensen your boyfriend now? Did he technically save your ex?† â€Å"Oh, shut up. It doesn't matter. We don't have a way to get back.† â€Å"Did you tell him to take the car?† asked Carter. â€Å"Yeah. I told him to get far away. I wanted him safe, and I guess he listened.† â€Å"Depends on how you define it,† said Roman. â€Å"Him coming back for the other guy put him in the demon line of fire. Why would he do that for someone he didn't like?† I stared at the empty parking spot. â€Å"Because he's Seth.† Carter seemed as nonchalant about all this as Dante. â€Å"Well, it's a good thing I'm here, huh?† He rested his hands on our shoulders, and I braced myself for immortal teleportation. â€Å"Ready for a ride home?† â€Å"It beats walking,† I said. Carter paused and gave Roman a curious glance. â€Å"What are you going to do for a home?† Roman was thoughtful for a moment. â€Å"Well, I hear Georgina's moving to a bigger place.† He glanced over at me with one of his beautiful grins. â€Å"Need a roommate?†

Cognitive Coaching Essay

The Effects of Cognitive Coaching on Education and in Supporting Teacher Leadership â€Å"Creating a profession of teaching in which teachers have the opportunity for continual learning is the likeliest way to inspire greater achievement for children, especially those for whom education is the only pathway to survival and success† (Sumner, 2011, p. 10). Educators today are required to have a different set of skills to effectively prepare students to be global competitors in the workplace. Educators cannot make these alterations in teaching methodology and instructional delivery without support. Coaches support and encourage teachers, improve teacher strategies, promote teacher reflection, and focus on desired outcomes (Sumner, 2011). A key ingredient for improving student achievement is high quality leadership. Although leadership skills may come naturally for some, most educators need some form of practice and coaching to become high quality leaders (Patti & Holzer, 2012). What is Cognitive Coaching? Cognitive coaching is a relationship that is learner-centered, where the person being coached is an active participant in their learning process. The coach is responsible for creating an environment that is sensitive to the participant’s needs, providing ample opportunity for self-reflection which enables the participant to learn from their own unique experiences. Garmston (1993) stated: Cognitive Coaching is a process during which teachers explore the thinking behind their practices. Each person seems to maintain a cognitive map, only partially conscious. In Cognitive Coaching, questions asked by the coach reveal to the teacher areas of that map that may not be complete or consciously developed. When teachers talk out loud about their thinking, their decisions become clearer to them, and their awareness increases (p. 57). The relationship that evolves through cognitive coaching is based on a journey of self-discovery for both the coach and the coached individual. The coach is equally responsible for reflecting and learning from their own experiences in an effort to providing the best guidance to the coached individual throughout their coaching relationship. If mentors are to facilitate learning of their mentees, they can best begin by being in touch with the forces in their own lives (Zachary, 2000). The learning that takes place in stages is the focal point of cognitive coaching. Cognitive coaching uses a three-phase cycle: pre-conference, observation, and post-conference. These cycles are used for the sole purpose of helping the teacher improve instructional effectiveness by becoming more reflective about teaching (Garmston, 1993). Cognitive Coaching asserts that instructional behavior is a reflection of beliefs; teachers must analyze and change their beliefs in order to change their behaviors. Coaches ask teachers to reflect on their beliefs about the classroom to facilitate making changes or improvements (Patti & Holzer, 2012). Cognitive Coaching in Education The most valuable asset in the education profession is its human capital – teachers and administrators. Unfortunately, these professionals are typically given limited opportunities throughout their career to enhance their knowledge and skills enabling them to be more effective teachers and leaders. Newly hired recruits into the profession usually receive coaching for a few months during their first year of employment, but the majority will gain experience through their own trial and error. According to Patti & Holzer (2012): Professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators who function in a leadership capacity are often too scarce or narrow in focus to cultivate lasting and effective improvement. Most school systems regularly provide teacher educators with just two or three days per year of professional development, typically aimed at improving literacy and mathematics scores. Effective professional development happens when the adult learner connects personally to the new learning. When educators participate in reflective practices that cultivate self-awareness, emotion management, social awareness, and relationship management, they are in a better position to deliver high quality instruction and leadership (p. 264). The education profession can benefit from implementing cognitive coaching as a way of helping teachers and administrators expand their professional development through self-observation, self-reflection, and self-feedback. An analysis of the findings from these factors will help the professional to become aware of their own self-imposed limitations. In education, coaching has traditionally supported teachers in the acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities that target student achievement (Patti & Holzer, 2012). The effects of cognitive coaching on teacher efficacy has been positively correlated to increased student performance. Sumner (2011) offers: Coaching is a key method for helping teachers improve student achievement and school culture. Much of this potential school improvement comes from educating teachers in how to be reflective about their practice and in learning how to establish an equal relationship based on mutual desire to improve. Perhaps most importantly, ―a culture of coaching improves teaching and improves student learning (p.47). While the ultimate goal of cognitive coaching is to help foster change in the thinking patterns and behaviors of the coached individual – the end result of this endeavor is improved student performance. Professional development can only work if it is focused on both student and teacher learning and a culture of support for and valuing of quality staff development is present (Sumner, 2011). Cognitive Coaching Supporting Teacher Leadership Cognitive coaching allows teachers to take ownership of their professional development by encouraging them to be accountable of their cognitive learning process. The self-reflection that is involved in cognitive coaching coupled with professional vision enables teachers to become a catalyst of change both in the classroom and beyond. Patti & Holzer (2012) stated: The coaching relationship provides a safe haven for mindful attention to self-change in the areas of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. It is through this individual process that the teacher and administrative leader positively impact the culture and climate of the classroom and school (p. 270). Every teacher has the capabilities to improve their knowledge and skill and cognitive coaching affords the opportunity of exploration into one’s self, challenging old beliefs and habits, emerging a better, stronger leader. Leadership is not mobilizing others to solve problems we already know how to solve, but to help them confront problems that have never yet been successfully addressed (Fullan, 2007). The reflection learned through cognitive coaching helps develop problem-solving skills as teachers examine their experience, generate alternatives, and evaluate actions. Educators need to model risk taking, open-mindedness, and continuous learning to create schools that are communities of learners (Garmston, 1993). Conclusion â€Å"Effective leaders work on their own and others’ emotional development. There is no greater skill needed for sustainable improvement† (Fullan, 2007). Cognitive coaching enables educators to develop unexplored potential, while expanding their repertoire of teaching methodologies. The implementation of cognitive coaching increases student achievement and teacher efficacy, produce higher order teacher thinking, and provides teacher support (Sumner, 2011). Great schools grow when educators understand that the power of their leadership lies in the strength of their relationships. Strong leadership in schools results from the participation of many people, each leading in his or her own way (Donaldson, 2007). Cognitive coaching is the key to educators’ unlocking their inner power to profoundly impact students’ learning.

Babettes Feast Essays - Babettes Feast, Danish Culture Canon, Films

Babette's Feast Essays - Babettes Feast, Danish Culture Canon, Films Babette's Feast Response Paper ENWR110 Mickey Woo 10/18/00 Babettes Feast The first part of the film describes how Babette settles into this small town. But the main story builds twelve years after her arrival. Babette receives notification from France that she has won the lottery, ten thousand francs. With her winnings she resolves to help two sisters, Martina and Phillipa, and the congregation celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late pastor by preparing a feast, not just any feast, a real French feast. But in seeing the elaborate preparations for the meal, the sisters grow alarmed and fear the strange food by the Catholic Babetter. Also, the members of the congregation all resolve to say nothing about the food placed before them, except General Loewenhielm, Martinas old suitor, who returned after 30 years of army career. Yet as the meal progresses, the pleasures these pious people have never even imagined begin to entice them in spite of themselves. Loewenhielm praise the food, and he interprets to the assembly the unique magnificence of the grand dinner. In the end Babetters feast has its way even with old people. The final scene takes place inside, in the wreck of a kitchen piled high with unwashed dishes, greasy pots, and empty bottles. The two sisters tell Babette how great the meal was, and they will remember this evening after she has gone back to Paris. But Babetter tells them that she is not going to go back to Paris, because it is too expensive. She tells them that she had spent all of her winnings on preparing for the feast. Then, she reveals her identity to sisters that she was a renowned chef in Paris. Further, this most applauded chef has used her entire lottery prize. Her five-star feast, prepared for people who didnt trust her and who were determined not to enjoy it, had cost her everything she had won to give this obscure village a banquet they did not want, and in the process to bring about a reconciliation and joy they could have experienced in no other way. The movie closes with the generals speech that though we have been told that grace is in the universe, humans foolishness and shortsightedness divine grace to be finite. But the moment comes when our eyes are opened and we see and realize that grace is infinite, Grace, my friends, demands nothing from us but that we await it with confidence and acknowledge it in gratitude.

The Donnors essays

The Donnors essays This report is not intended to offend you or to make you ponder The Donner Partys motives. It is, however, intended to inform you. So, you might be wondering who exactly was the Donner Party? When Lewis and Clark finished their expedition, the President gave American families the option of staying on the East Coast, or moving west and exploring new land and opportunities. Some things the settlers took west were clothing, rations, books, furniture, money, family, oxen, water, guns and ammunition, and personal items. Among the settlers were George Donner and his family, the Jacob Donner family, and the James Reed family. George Donner, 62, was a successful farmer from Springfield, Illinois. He was six feet tall with black eyes and hair to match. He was traveling with his third wife, Tasmen, 45, and their three children Francis, 6, Georgina, 4, and Eliza, 2. George had also brought along with them his two daughters from a previous marriage, Elitha, 14, and Leanna, 12. The G. Donner family brought along their friends Noah James, 20, Samuel Shoemaker, 25, and John Denton, 28. His teamster was Hiram Miller, 28. George also convinced his brother Jacob to come. Jacob Donner, 65, was traveling with his wife, Elizabeth, 45, and their five children: George, 9, Mary, 7, Isaac, 5, Samuel, 4, and Lewis, 3. Also with them were Elizabeths sons from a past marriage, William and Solomon Hook, 14 and 12 respectively. James Reed, 45, was born in Ireland. He came from a Protestant family with Polish roots. He was an avid hunter and had fought beside Abraham Lincoln in the Black Hawk War. Because he was extremely rich he hired three teamsters and two servants. Reed built the infamous Palace Car for the trip west. The Palace Car was not just any wagon. It required four yoke of oxen and had a built-in stove and looking glass. It had two floors and a lady parlor. He had a tendency to spoil his daughter Virginia, who had her own pony. The f...

Compare and Contrast Essay

Compare and Contrast Essay Compare and contrast essay tips to use when writing your comparison essay. Here youll find the words to use for comparing and contrasting, the different ways one can write an essay to compare and contrast the subjects etc. What Is a Compare and Contrast Essay? Unlike other types of essays (see top 10 essay types), a compare and contrast essay is used to explore both the similarities and the differences between two subjects by comparing and/or contrasting them against each other. Compare and Contrast Essay Outline To serve their particular purposes in an effective manner, a compare and contrast essay must communicate  in an efficient manner. This means that compare and contrast essays should start with an opening paragraph, which will directly state what the writer is trying to say. Afterward, they can move onto the body, which will support the opening paragraph by providing supporting evidence. Once the supporting evidence has been listed, compare and contrast essays can conclude by reemphasizing their opening paragraphs in order to produce a lasting impression on the mind of the reader. Comparative Analysis With that said, a compare and contrast essay cannot be completed without conducting a comparative analysis, which the writer can use to lay out their thoughts about the subjects before sorting them into a neat and organized form. Fortunately, this process is as simple as creating a Venn diagram (see below) before filling it with the characteristics of the subjects, while making sure to put shared characteristics in the overlapping area. Once the writer is satisfied with their brainstorming, they can sort through the characteristics for the ones with the most relevance to the point that they are trying to make, which is important because weaker arguments can actually drag down their stronger counterparts when placed in the same essay. How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay Pre-Writing Phase How to start a compare and contrast essay? Students are normally assigned a topic to write on, yet sometimes professors give their students the freedom of selecting the topic on their own. In the latter case choosing one out of top compare and contrast essay topics can become a challenge. While working on the topic selection it is important not to choose two totally unrelated subjects, otherwise finding similarities can get problematic. Start out with a subject that has some basic similarities, e.g. two novels, two paintings, speeches etc. Looking for the things to compare and contrast? Here is a list of top 30 compare contrast essay topics: TOP 30 COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY TOPICS Once you have chosen what to write on in your comparison essay, brainstorm ideas and try to write down every single one of them, choosing those that are relevant to the topic. You might want to divide your sheet of paper into two main sections and start jotting down everything that comes to your mind, including similarities and differences. Writing Phase Venn Diagram An effective technique for finding similarities and differences is using a Venn diagram. A Venn diagram is a scheme that represents logical relations between two objects. Graphically it can be depicted as two overlapping circles, each of the circles denoting some entity. The overlapping part is the area denoting similarities, while the parts that do not overlap, are the differences (see Fig. 1). Fig. 1. Venn Diagram: Comparing Apples and Oranges (Compare and Contrast Essay) A very important point in writing an effective compare and contrast essay is a correct selection of the lines of comparison: if you are comparing two objects, you should be comparing them against one and the same parameter. For example, looking at the picture above you will see that oranges and apples are compared in regards to things like origin, place of growth, a thickness of peel etc. All of these features are inherent in both objects. If you say that an apple is different from an orange because an apple is green and the orange is juicy, you will be â€Å"comparing apples and oranges† – this time in the figurative meaning of likening two incomparable things. Organization:  Typical Structure of a Compare and Contrast Essay The opening paragraph should state the essay’s subjects as well as its thesis statement about those same subjects. From that point on, the body of a compare and contrast essay tends to be structured in one of two ways: The first way:  a writer can list the characteristics of one subject and then the characteristics of the other before bringing them together by analyzing their similarities and differences. This means that the body of the essay will begin with a number of paragraphs about one subject, continue with a similar number of paragraphs about the other subject, and then finish with a crucial paragraph that will use the listed characteristics to compare and contrast the two subjects. The second way: a  writer can list the similarities between the subjects and then the differences between the same. This means that the body of the essay will begin with a number of paragraphs about their similarities and finish with a number of paragraphs about their differences. With this structure, there is no need for an analysis at the end because its content is spread throughout the preceding paragraphs. Introduction Origin Apples Oranges Climate Apples Oranges Peel Apples Oranges Conclusion Another mode of organization, although less common, is called block comparison. According to this pattern, you will be required to separate the body of your compare and contrast essay in two parts. The first part of the body will be dedicated to Object A, while the other half will be centered around Object B. Together with the introduction and the conclusion, the overall essay length will be 4 paragraphs. In case of block comparison the overall essay structure will take the following form: Introduction Oranges Origin Climate Peel Apples Origin Climate Peel Conclusion Once the body of the essay is complete, its conclusion should restate the thesis statement but in a more confident manner because it has proven its point. Sometimes, a conclusion will summarize the preceding paragraphs for a bolder and blunter emphasis, while other times, a conclusion will let them provide their support in a more implicit manner. HOW TO WRITE A COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY Additional Tips on Comparison and Contrast Essay Writing Fig. 2. Comparison and Contrast Signifiers Compare and Contrast Words An important thing about writing any essay is using special cue words that will make your essay more coherent and logical. In the  case of a compare and contrast essay you will need to use cue words signifying comparison, for example: Words to compare: like, compared to, similar to, similarly, by analogy, likewise, in the same way, as well as, both, too, at the same time, correspondingly, in addition, same as, etc. The cue words signaling contrast are: Words to contrast:  unlike, conversely, however, nevertheless, still, although, while, but, even though, although, despite, yet, regardless, on the one hand †¦ one the other hand, etc. Post-Writing Phase Once the first draft of an essay is complete, it is time for the writer to put the finishing touches: Proofreading Proofreading is a key factor because errors can break the reader from the flow of the essay, thus robbing it of its power to persuade. Writers should always read through their own work to check for typos, spelling  mistakes, grammar mistakes, as well as lines that should be rephrased for a better result. However, they should also get other people to proofread for them because their closeness to their writing can make it hard for them to pick up on its problems. After all, they already know what they are trying to say, meaning that they are not looking at their work with the same perspective as the reader. References References are a useful way to increase an essay’s power to persuade so long as they are appropriately authoritative. For example, referencing a politician is probably not going to be much use in a philosophy essay unless it is in the context of their philosophical writings. Furthermore, references are needed to use someone else’s arguments without taking credit for them in the process, which is necessary to prevent plagiarism. Not coincidentally, this also makes it easy for the reader to check the sources so that they will know, that somebody really said so if the reader is skeptical. Finally, references should be done in the style that is appropriate for the essay’s subjects for the convenience of different people in different fields. For example, most essays about the sciences should use APA, while most essays about the humanities should use MLA since those are the conventions. We are essay writing experts, meaning that we are ready to help those who are interested in learning more about compare and contrast essays as well as essay-writing in general. All you need to do is visit the order page and fill it out we will start working on it immediately, notifying you on the order progress.

Program Evaluation and Action Planning Assignment

Program Evaluation and Action Planning - Assignment Example The main participants in the Community Outreach Program of Pancreatic Cancer Action Network are a group of patients who suffer from pancreatic cancer. 100 patients who are affected by pancreatic cancer at a high level are taken as the sample population for the study. This number is considered adequate for the effective evaluation of the program by understanding their responses towards the Community Outreach Program. The program has been purposely planned to determine their feedback for improvement in it, where necessary and related to re-sources and services. Besides, it also aims to create better awareness in the patients to enable them to make informed decisions about their concerns and treatment. The programs should be planned in such a way that is easily understandable to the patients. The patients will evaluate the program as: It decreases feelings of separation and desperation amongst patients and caregivers and also develops medical referral plan to lessen delays in treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer. An effective tool that enhances the level of knowledge of patients and healthcare professionals about pancreatic cancer and will provide proper care and treatment opportunities and â€Å"encourages all patients to consider clinical trials when exploring their treatment options† (Clinical Trials, 2012, para.1). ... â€Å"The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network offers a number of resources for pancreatic cancer patients and their families through the Patient and Liaison Services (PALS) program† (ASEG and The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Partner to Raise Awareness About Pancreatic Cancer, 2012, para.14). Patients receive adequate care, depending upon the knowledge and skills of their healthcare team and the health care professionals provide them the required resources and support services during the program. 2. Collecting a small sample (e.g., 5-10 surveys) or create mock-up data reflecting stakeholders’ evaluation feedback. Stakeholders are a group, organization or members who influence or can be influenced by the proceedings of the program. By examining and estimating the strategy plans of the program and results on a regular basis, to make sure that the program functions on a proper path and the that objectives are being attained. The evaluation tools that will be applied will p resent fast and recurrent response to assist and find the ways and means to solve possible problems and effectively guide the program towards its success. The PALS program consists of an evaluation element that concentrates on adopting quality assurance measures. Strategic plans are made to improve and expand these systems in order to make sure that suitable quantitative and qualitative information are created and evaluated. Such evaluation will be carried out on the basis of information collected from surveys, interviews besides discussions with various stakeholders, including patients, healthcare professionals and PALS members. The following surveys could be conducted: Inventory reports and contacts by program

Infrastructure in cities of Saudi Arabia, Research Proposal

Infrastructure in cities of Saudi Arabia, - Research Proposal Example Estimate the time and cost required to enforce the strategy thus identified. Literature Review: Resilience is defined as a system’s ability to maintain its function while absorbing shocks (McDaniel et al, 2008, p. 310). Functionality of the systems of infrastructure including electric power, transportation networks and sewage system means a lot to the urban society (Chang , 2009a, p. 1). The present condition of infrastructure across the world is such that 20 per cent of the present population of the world does not have clean water (Kinver, 2006 cited in Milman and Short, 2008, p. 760). Damage to infrastructure causes great losses to the region. In 1994, the Northridge highway that was damaged by earthquake caused a net loss of regional business worth $ 1.5 billion (Chang, 2009c). For long, it has been tried to design the infrastructure that could resist extreme forces. But since a couple of decades, engineers have started to make the systems of urban infrastructure resilient to natural disasters (NIST, 2008 cited in Chang, 2009b, p. 36). For natural hazards of extreme severity, it becomes extremely difficult for the structures to resist, though with correct design, resistance of the structures can be significantly increased (Minor, 2000, p. 5).

How can a city government grow without increasing taxes on its Essay

How can a city government grow without increasing taxes on its citizens - Essay Example amous for their employment opportunities, relatively inexpensive and affordable housing, top quality system of public education, and many places for recreation and entertainment that people of different ages, occupations and cultural and religious backgrounds find attractive. I think these factors are very important in helping cities grow without increasing taxes on their citizens at the same time. The determining factor, in my opinion, is employment opportunities. The local governments of cities north of Dallas have done a great job developing partnerships, and attracting many businesses into the area. They provided opportunities and benefits to big corporations to open their corporate offices north of Dallas. This have brought increased revenue to the cities and attracted increased numbers of people searching for jobs into the area. With new jobs came new places of entertainment, such as restaurants, bars, clubs, and shopping centers, providing additional income to the city. People started moving into those cities. For example, the population of Frisco has tripled in 1990s, and continues to grow drastically in the 21st century. The city of Frisco has invested money in developing infrastructure to make the life comfortable. In the next three years, it is planned that the city will spend 61.2 million dollars into tollways, highways, and roads within the city limits. Top quality public education has served as one of the advantageous factors attracting thousands of people into the area. People who could not afford private education, but were looking for quality education for their children, found that in Frisco. Overall, I think it is a combination of factors, plus a good city leadership can take any city to another level of development. The leadership that plans ahead, and sets a vision not only for today, but also for generations to come, has a higher change of creating a place that is attractive and keeps

Continue American Airlines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Continue American Airlines - Essay Example 352). The airline industry is gravely affected by the rising fuel costs in the global market, rapid evolution of the internet, and other technological factors. 2. Competitive Forces of the Airline Industry Competition in the airline industry is becoming more aggressive since the â€Å"world is experiencing massive expansion of both domestic and international air travel† (Williams, 2009, p. 80). However, the industry has been shakedown by highly dynamic environment that influenced the industry’s competitive forces which include entry of competitors; threat of substitutes; bargaining power of suppliers; bargaining power of buyers; and rivalry among the existing players (Hubbard, 2004). The entry of competitors is determined by the existing barriers that include intense competition, differentiation and the high capital costs of entry. However, when the market is deregulated the liberalized the industry is becoming saturated with new entrants like the LCCs. In terms of thre at of substitutes, customers can also use other carriers such as train, bus or cruise lines in order to reach the desired destination. Furthermore, the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers is among the critical competitive forces of the airline industry because of its direct impact on prices, volume, and profit (Porter, 1998, p. 45). Air travel carriers particularly those that are sharing the same routes need to have their own effective strategies in order to attract travelers, considering that the industry is centered on Boeing and Airbus suppliers. Lastly, competitive rivalry in the airline industry is high because of its low-cost nature; high fixed costs and competitive pricing make the industry grow at a very slow rate. 3. Airlines Firm Competes Today In the history, the airline industry is heavily regulated wherein almost all of the firm’s activities are highly supervised. This isolated manner of competition had initiated in the U.S.; however, it has been remodeled a nd â€Å"for the first time of history of commercial aviation, an open market situation in which competitive market pricing was to be the norm, and market entry was to become legally open to new airlines† (Williams, 2009, p. 78). The fact that U.S. is one of the highest performing countries in the world, and the reform strategy has been effective in the country, then the other countries are encouraged to adopt the diverse market deregulation. Today, airline firms are competing based on their sizes, assets count, competitive pricing and technological advancement. 1. Firm Competitiveness: Their Key Strengths and Weaknesses AA is one of the world’s largest air freight carriers, and they remain to be competitive despite of the existence of LCCs because they believe on their strengths from the principles of low costs, valued customers, cooperation, and strong financial condition (Subbarao & Murthy, 2005, p. 75). AA’s key strengths include 621 passenger fleet in more than 251 destinations in 41 countries, its alliances and partnerships with American Eagle and AmericanConnection (regional affiliates), Oneworld Airline Alliance, and trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific joint business agreement. All these activities are realized by AA because of their strong relations with the government. Their key weaknesses include unstable financial position because of on-going economic crisis, high operating expenses and

Internet Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Internet Security - Essay Example The chief purpose of the web security is to inaugurate the rubrics and the procedures that are used in contradiction of the attacks on the internet. Typically, the internet provides an apprehensive channel that is cast-off for swapping data, which hints to high peril of interloping, or deceit. There are different forms that have been established to protect the transfer of data, one of them being encryption. Several forms of web security are being used in this modern generation and have been an improvement from the time the internet was introduced. This paper looks at a form of web security known as the network layer security. There are different layers of communication, which have different stratums of communication and they contain different and unique security challenges. This form of security also known as the layer 3 in the OOSI model is mostly vulnerable for many denials of service attacks and information privacy problems. There are several protocols, which are used in this netw ork layer commonly known as internet protocol (Blaze et al, 1996; Blaze et al, 1999).). In many cases, the standard protocol technique, which is employed by the IPSEC, involves summarizing a coded network layer-packet, which is usually placed on a standard network packet, which normally makes the encryption more vivid to the transitional protuberances, which must process packet headers for the drive of routing. The outgoing data packets are usually legitimate, scrambled, and condensed just afore being delivered to the grid, and inbound packages are decompressed, proved, and decrypted immediately upon delivery (Blaze et al, 1999). The main management in the protocol is usually delivered in simple cases. two hordes can share the key agreements protocols to negotiate the terms with other interested parties, and at the same time use the terms to as part of the condensing and encoding package transmutes (Harkins, & Carrel, 1998). Security network has several advantages as compared to the many applications that are provided in other places in the protocol stack. There are usually several network semantics from the web applications, which take advantage semantically and automatically in the many network layer security and their surroundings. The most significant network layer provides extraordinary tractability, which is not possible at advanced or the lesser intellections. The different codes can be constituted from the various ends in order to safeguard the traffic from the two codes. Moreover, the codes can be configured from, route-to-route in a manner to safeguard the traffic which passes over a certain convention of linkages. In addition, the codes can be encrypted to from edge-to-edge in a manner to protect the traffic since it takes a path between trusted networks through an untrusted network. However, the codes can be used in the manner other arrangements such that the nodes can be branded as proper safety end-points (Stewart, 2002). The design of encapsulat ion has a great advantage over the methods that are used for the fundamental verification and gives out the discretion service as not a theoretically problematic while other grid coat conventions have developed to a certain point of being homogeneous and used for profitable maximization (Fossen, 2003). Conversely, there are problems, which happen with the prevailing values for the system layer securities. The problem is that the network layer securities do not discourse whitest the administration of the whole decorum, which administers the way packets are handled during this process and the clouds of administering encoding the protocols. The security etiquettes shield the packets from interfering though they do not protect the hosts, which are mandated to exchange different kinds of

Continue American Airlines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Continue American Airlines - Essay Example 352). The airline industry is gravely affected by the rising fuel costs in the global market, rapid evolution of the internet, and other technological factors. 2. Competitive Forces of the Airline Industry Competition in the airline industry is becoming more aggressive since the â€Å"world is experiencing massive expansion of both domestic and international air travel† (Williams, 2009, p. 80). However, the industry has been shakedown by highly dynamic environment that influenced the industry’s competitive forces which include entry of competitors; threat of substitutes; bargaining power of suppliers; bargaining power of buyers; and rivalry among the existing players (Hubbard, 2004). The entry of competitors is determined by the existing barriers that include intense competition, differentiation and the high capital costs of entry. However, when the market is deregulated the liberalized the industry is becoming saturated with new entrants like the LCCs. In terms of thre at of substitutes, customers can also use other carriers such as train, bus or cruise lines in order to reach the desired destination. Furthermore, the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers is among the critical competitive forces of the airline industry because of its direct impact on prices, volume, and profit (Porter, 1998, p. 45). Air travel carriers particularly those that are sharing the same routes need to have their own effective strategies in order to attract travelers, considering that the industry is centered on Boeing and Airbus suppliers. Lastly, competitive rivalry in the airline industry is high because of its low-cost nature; high fixed costs and competitive pricing make the industry grow at a very slow rate. 3. Airlines Firm Competes Today In the history, the airline industry is heavily regulated wherein almost all of the firm’s activities are highly supervised. This isolated manner of competition had initiated in the U.S.; however, it has been remodeled a nd â€Å"for the first time of history of commercial aviation, an open market situation in which competitive market pricing was to be the norm, and market entry was to become legally open to new airlines† (Williams, 2009, p. 78). The fact that U.S. is one of the highest performing countries in the world, and the reform strategy has been effective in the country, then the other countries are encouraged to adopt the diverse market deregulation. Today, airline firms are competing based on their sizes, assets count, competitive pricing and technological advancement. 1. Firm Competitiveness: Their Key Strengths and Weaknesses AA is one of the world’s largest air freight carriers, and they remain to be competitive despite of the existence of LCCs because they believe on their strengths from the principles of low costs, valued customers, cooperation, and strong financial condition (Subbarao & Murthy, 2005, p. 75). AA’s key strengths include 621 passenger fleet in more than 251 destinations in 41 countries, its alliances and partnerships with American Eagle and AmericanConnection (regional affiliates), Oneworld Airline Alliance, and trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific joint business agreement. All these activities are realized by AA because of their strong relations with the government. Their key weaknesses include unstable financial position because of on-going economic crisis, high operating expenses and

KATIE'S CUSTOM ENGRAVING LOGOS Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

KATIE'S CUSTOM ENGRAVING LOGOS - Case Study Example The e-commerce business expands the consumer market beyond local. Katie is anticipating a huge opportunity of making money and is quite enthusiastic about establishing this business. Katie determines all costs associated with the establishment of the business. This business is very localized and independent with hardly any competitors or the dominant industry players. Katie considers her financial sources for investment in the business and seeks further knowledge. Her uncle tells her that at 876 images a year, Katie would have a break-even point, though selling 1000 images a year would lend her a substantial profit and payment. Although she is capable of producing over 1000 images a year, yet she is unsure about the size of the market for the custom images as well as the market share she needs to break even. Katie thinks upon the way to determine her venture’s market potential as well as of making a realistic estimation of the market share that results from that

Steinbecks Present and Development of the Character Curly Essay Example for Free

Steinbecks Present and Development of the Character Curly Essay How does Steinbeck present and develop the character of Curly’s wife in ‘Of Mice and Men’? 1) In the beginning of â€Å"Of Mice and Men† we readers are made to perceive Curly’s wife as a vain, trouble making bully who provokes people and intends on bringing their anger out, especially Lennie and is incapable of seeing the world from any perspective other than her own. We then realise by the end of the novel that she is only a sweet, innocent woman who just wanted to be cherished and wasn’t able to reach her dreams. 2) Steinbeck introduces Curly’s wife for the first time as a â€Å"girl† and not a women. This implies that she only appears to the people on the ranch as a young a naà ¯ve person. You could also interpret her being called a girl into not being respected by anyone. This could be seen as quiet odd as although she is the boss’s son’s wife she still hasn’t gained any respect from the men on the ranch. We are made extremely aware that she isn’t respected on the ranch when the men refer to her as â€Å"jailbait†, â€Å"tramp†, â€Å"tart†, â€Å"bitch† and at one point is even referred to as a â€Å"loo loo†, lulu also being the name of the dog on the ranch which could again reinforce the idea that they see her as unimportant and invaluable. 3) As we look into her being called a girl, it emphasises the fact that she is also vulnerable but she attempts to mask this by presenting herself in a seductive and flirtatious manner, i.e. being â€Å"heavily made up† wearing the colour red quiet often as Steinbeck describes her as wearing â€Å"red mules† and â€Å"full rouged lips†. Some readers could choose to perceive this as again being seductive whereas others may see this as red being associated with danger, with the idea developing throughout the novella. 4) Now although Steinbeck refers to her as heavily made up and vulnerable, the readers’ ideas may begin to change as we notice references in the book which make her appear unattractive both physically and mentally. Steinbeck refers to her hair as â€Å"hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages† which doesn’t sound very appealing. He also mention how â€Å"her voice had a nasal, brittle quality† which again gives us the impression that she had an annoying voice which could make her appear less attractive which will give the readers second thoughts on her appearance and how they visualize her, and whether she is actually attractive or whether she desires to be attractive in order to seduce and cause danger to the men on the ranch. 5) As we begin to go through the novella we notice a hierarchy which follows Curly’s wife. As mentioned before we would think that being the boss’s son’s wife, she would automatically have respect from everyone on the ranch however, we are made aware of the low status she has and the disrespect she suffers. Instead she appears to be a sex object to the men, whether or not this is due to the fact of how she presents herself. It appears even her own husband; Curly doesn’t have any respect for her. This could be due to the fact that instead of being a traditional stay at home wife she is out on the ranch and dressed incongress as well as flirting with the men on the ranch as shown when quoted that â€Å"she smiled archly and twisted her body†. However, we also see how although Slim is of lower status, it seems the men manage to ignore this as they show massive respect for him, which Steinbeck presents when he refers to him as â€Å"God-like†. 6) As we look at the low status that Curly’s wife encounters we realise that not once is she ever referred to by her name, but only as Curly’s wife. This implies she has no value, and is only seen as Curly’s possession which reinforces the idea that she is of the same value of the dog, as she is referred to as a â€Å"loo-loo† which is also the name given to the dog. 7) Now, when we look at the themes presented in â€Å"Of Mice and Men† we notice one is loneliness. We get an idea at the beginning of the book when we see that the place they are located in is â€Å"Soledad† which has the meaning of solitude and loneliness. By Curly’s wife being the only women on the ranch, readers may get the idea that she is lonely as is separated from the other men on the ranch. Even when Curly’s wife is at home with Curly she still feels loneliness as we are made aware that she didn’t actually love Curly and still doesn’t. She is in fact only with him because she wanted to get away from her â€Å"ol lady†. Throughout the novella Curly and his wife don’t seem to interact and Curly’s wife isn’t afraid to express the emotional distance between her and her husband, as she shared with the men on the ranch â€Å"he aint a nice guy†. 8) As Curly’s wife begins to develop out sympathy begins to lie with her. We begin to see the negative light that shines on her as her actions begin to cause disruption. As a person who faces prejudices, loneliness and segregation we would think that she would have sympathy for any other person who faces the same problems and in order to make herself feel bigger, she has to search for out those who appear less important. She cruelly cuts down Candy for his old age and meekness, Lennie for being a dum dum, and most harshly, she threatens Crooks with a hanging if he’s in contact with the men crushing his dreams of having a ranch full of chickens, berry patches and alfalfa. 9) Crook isn’t the only man in the book who has a dream, as we see the theme of dreams follows everyone throughout the novella. Many of their dreams relation to the American dream, which is to own a little bit on land, their own crops and animals. George’s dream has been shown when quoted â€Å"we’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winder, we’ll just say the hell with goin’ to work, and we’ll build up a fire in the stove and sit around it an’ listen to the rain comin’ down on the roof†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lennie’s dream is also shown when quoted â€Å"We could live offa the fatta the lan†. 10) Although we weren’t made away of Curly’s wife’s dream during the novel, as we reach the end of it the readers are made aware that her dream was to be in the pitches and start in shows and make it in Hollywood. She realised that this was her dream when she men someone (a male) claiming to be from Hollywood who told her that she would go far and was a natural. Sadly, we see how her dream was crushed when she blamed her â€Å"old lady† for stealing the letter she believes her wrote. 11) By us readers being made aware of her dreams, we begin to understand why her appearance is the way it is with her â€Å"red ostrich feathered mules†, her â€Å"heavily made-up† self and â€Å"roughed lips†. All she wanted was â€Å"all them nice clothes† and the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle which is why she dresses incongress to the ranch. 12) In the end, when Curly’s wife is lying dead she is then describe by Steinbeck as â€Å"pretty and simple†¦sweet and young†. This suggests that the reason of her appearance is relating to her loneliness and how she just wanted to be loved. This has an effect on us readers, as we go from seeing her as a seductive malicious person to a lonely, in search of love girl who didn’t mean any harm. Our sympathy then begins to go out to her, and the way she is treated by men in the novel goes from being due the fact that she is a trouble maker to just begin a victim of society. 13) This brings me to my conclusion that Curly’s wife is presented as a women who is a flirt and is in need on attention, but can also appear to be malicious, horrible and a danger to others. We see her character develop noticeably and her dreams are shared as her death takes place which makes us aware of how lonely, naà ¯ve and attractive she is. How she is not a girl, but a women who is in need of love and compassion and was only a victim to the segregation and prejudices which took place throughout the novel.

Technological Advancement: Effect on Intelligence

Technological Advancement: Effect on Intelligence The invention of Gutenbergs press was met with claims that the printing press, if not controlled, would lead to chaos and the dismemberment of European intellectual life (Shirky 1). Some people become anxious with new changes that throw out the restrictions that once was the norm. This, however, happens again and again throughout our history. Every increase in freedom to create or consume media, brings forecast of impending chaos and intellectual collapse. Our modern technology is changing the way our brains work. We no longer need to remember anything our tech does that for us. There seems to be a form of amnesia affecting us; the internet has changed the way we function. The way our brains have changed, from the use of the Web, is debated over and has yielded very different outcomes. Gary Small, a neuroscientist, professor, and author studied the effect that Internet searching had on the brain. Twenty-four participants were studied with half having no Internet search experience, the brains of the other half that regularly used the Internet showed an elevation in stimulation of the regions associated with complex reasoning and decision-making (qtd in Munro 4). The participants who were Internet novices had similar results in their frontal lobes after five days. Using technologies has influenced our brains, Small argues, the brain shifts towards and is energized by, new technological skills. This sounds good, however, as we rely more and more on our tech we become intellectually lazy (Munro, 2). Shirky states that the Net, in fact, restores reading and writing as central activities in our culture (3). The Net has greatly assisted people with their rese arch, having search results appear instantly instead of days of going through the library. Subsequently, not reading as we used to has had a price. Carr shares his struggle, Now my concentration often starts to drift . . . I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do (1). The concentration we once had has changed, our brains forever altered. The Internet propels users from one place to another, making it difficult to concentrate on the task of simply reading. Carr admits, I cant read War and Peace anymore . . . even a blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb. I skim it (2). There is a new form of reading that has become more prominent in users of the Web, this skimming activity shows how our brains have been changed. A study was carried out by scientists at the University College London to see how our minds have changed when it comes to reading and thinking. During the five years of study two sites collected data on users behavior during visits to their sites, this produced results showing users bounced around the Net rarely re-visiting pages they previously had been to. It is thought that this style of reading promoted by the Net . . . may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading . . . (Wolf qtd in Carr 2) that once was customary. The neural circuitry of our brains has been stu died when it comes to those readers that have an alphabet compared to those with ideograms as their written language, it revealed the brain of the ideogram learner was vastly different. The sections that govern cognitive functions as memory and the interpretation of visual and auditory stimuli (Carr 3) had the circuitry interlaced differently. Our concentration is now a struggle, what will the Internet propel us toward next? We were propelled into an age of technologies. These were supposed to save us time and labor. Munros opinion is that modern marvels are less labour-savers than brain-savers (1). The early technologies were meant to help us with the mundane daily task, automatic washing machines, dishwashers, drive-through car washes, but with these, it granted an excess of free time, the time we squandered with frivolous mind numbing activities. Todays advancements in technology have introduced us into an endless source of instant gratification. Take our cell phones, for example, they are now responsible for holding all our important information (i.e. numbers, addresses, meaningful dates) we no longer need to remember anything for ourselves. The connection is constant, Google can connect us to a source-any source-within a fraction of a second and with that why do we need to remember anything? Those things that were once etched into our brains, like our phone numbers, is now outsourced to our technolo gy. Robert Fitzgerald, associate dean at the University of Canberra says, There is indeed a dumb side to technology (qtd in Munro 2). He ponders if the searches his children complete yield something positive or if its a hit-and-miss. Is Google making us stupid? asked Carr (2). The answer is not so simple, but if not making us stupid, as such, Google seems to be making us intellectually lazy. Perhaps, our technologies will bring forth great positive changes or maybe leave us with digital amnesia (Harris 1). The Google Effect takes hold of so many of us, reaching our brains, inflicting its digital amnesia upon us (Harris 1). In 2011, an experiment conducted at Columbia and Harvard Universities brought theories that technology is reshaping the way we think and learn. Within our daily lives, some of us have come to heavily depend on Google to provide us with aid. From spell check to auto fill the decision we have made to use these electronic aids has [affected] our capacity to learn and execute daily tasks. No longer do we need to use our own memory, Google does it quicker and better, we get the answers faster and finish sooner. The information is recent but our comprehension of that information is lost. The abilities we traditionally [gained] through repetition and rote memorization are now impaired. This brain dump that occurs makes it difficult for an answer to be given, we must get back to someone because who needs to remember that? This dependency on Google is potentially harmful, all owing the tech to take over our minds, our work, making us inept to handle problems without it. The inflictions that The Google Effect has had on us needs to be turned around, a middle ground found, to ensure the future of technology and our analytical ability and intellectual capacity (2) remains intact Our tech will continue to grow and prosper, and continue to alter our minds, the way our brains think and learn. In the future, we will look back and find this tech to be distorted and the new tech will be more intuitive, more integrated, more intelligent (Munro 4). We can only wait and see if our intelligence ultimately might reveal itself in the smarts of those same technologies, (5). If we no longer dive deeper than the surface of information what will we be missing out on? What will we pass over and never come to know of? Carr describes a scene from Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey in his article Is Google Making Us Stupid? where the artificial intelligence is being disconnected, pleading for his life, feeling his memory slipping away, the human Dave continues to disconnect his memory circuits without a second thought (1). Showing a cold artificial side that technology could be inflicting on us, turning the tables and switching our roles. This new evolutionary journey will be full of struggle for we still have so far to go. This tech revolution has just begun and I can only hope we come out of it with our minds capable of our human emotion and not unfeeling as though we are an artificial intelligence. The world around us changes and so must we but lets hold on to our humanity, use our God-given abilities to expand our minds and lets not take the easier way, use our brains allowing it to grow and produce great works of art, literature, and advancements in all fields of study. Dont let the technology do it all by itself. Works Cited Nicholas Carr. Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains Harris, LTC Corey W. The Google paradox: is technology making us smarter? The Free Library. 2016 American Society of Military Comptrollers 03 Mar. 2017 https://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+%22Google%22+paradox%3a+is+technology+making+us+smarter%3f-a0457561687 Munro, Peter. Is technology eating our brains? Sunday Age, The (Melbourne), 10341021, Feb 08, 2009 Shirky, Clay. Does the Internet Make You Smarter?. Wall Street Journal Eastern Edition. 6/5/2010, Vol. 255 Issue 130, pW1-W2. 2p.