Is the character Crake a hero or a villain in Margaret Atwood's Oryx Essay

Is the character Crake a hero or a villain in Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake - Essay Example of annihilation also involved the establishment of a new world inhabited by a peaceful, herbivorous, environment-friendly variety of human-like beings. He created them and kept them safe in a dome and then set out to annihilate the entire race of mankind. His friend Jimmy, the narrator-protagonist of the novel is spared to take care of Crake’s new creations called ‘Crakers’. My contention is that with all his super-human brain powers and wisdom Crake is ultimately a villain, not a hero. Crake, unlike Jimmy, is not open-hearted. He is treacherous though in his own way affectionate towards Jimmy, even appreciative of his essential goodness. But he has no qualms in using Jimmy for his own ends. He betrays the trust Jimmy puts in him. Jimmy loses his mother under curious circumstances at a very young age. His father, an outstanding genographer who works happily for an organ-producing multinational firm, exerts only a mild impact on him. He is more attached to his mother, an embittered microbiologist who in disillusionment throws away her job and becomes an activist, demanding a going back to nature. Crake is Jimmy’s one and only best friend in the whole world, even after the holocaust and his killing of Crake, Jimmy regards him so (Oryx and Crake, 391). Jimmy shoots him in panic, shock and confusion. But he never lets go the responsibility Crake thrusts on him and never blames him. In contrast Crake keeps him under constant surveillance from the very beginning a nd entraps him quite cleverly into his own schemes, using him and his innate peculiarities to benefit his own schemes (376). He is a failure as a friend, though Jimmy-turned-Snowman is still clinging to his memories. Crake is a betrayer. His treatment of Oryx, just like that of Jimmy is a pathetic testimony of his deep-rooted harshness of mind. He has advanced methods of surveilling the activities of others. Oryx is not aware of it. He tells her that his Blyss Pluss Pill would pave the way to the

Understanding of Life after Death Essay Example for Free

Understanding of Life after Death Essay With reference to the topics you have investigated, examine and comment on the claim that the teachings of the new testament do not add anything of value to our value of our understanding of Life after Death. (50 marks) The claim that the teachings of the New Testament do not add anything of value to our value of our understanding of life after death is a very big claim to make. With reference to the topics I have investigated, 1Cor 15, St. Paul, Soma, The Soul, Dualism, Monism and the Empty Tomb, I will examine and comment on that claim. This claim is controversial because it has many objections from other scholars and many Christians. In 1 Corinthians 15 there are six key sections. The first of which is Christ’s Resurrection. Here Paul is keen to tell the Corinthians that he isn’t the teacher on life after death and that he is simply passing on Jesus’ message, because as we know, Jesus was the teacher and his apostles, which later included Paul after Damascus, were his messengers. The second section is the denial of the resurrection. Paul says that some people argue that â€Å"there will be no resurrection of the dead† and some scholars argue that this is not a theological argument, but Paul argues that the soul is immortal and not the body. Paul illustrates the theological implications of the objections from Corinth are that if dead men don’t rise, then Christ did not rise and Christian faith is empty. Paul continues to say that if Christ was not raised, then our preaching is useless. Clearly Jesus’ resurrection must have happened as the tradition has survived. The third section is all about the consequences of Christ’s resurrection. Barrett writes that â€Å"the resurrection of Christ is a pledge and proof of the resurrection of his people†. St Paul makes a direct link between Adam and Christ, Adam’s actions had far reaching consequences such as original sin and Christ’s Resurrection has too such consequence such as universal salvation. Paul goes on about two different orders, Christ and his believers. Morris argues that the Greek word for destroyed does not imply fighting, just that all rule, other than Christ, we will be rendered null and void. Section four is all about the Arguments from Christian Experience. V29 brings about an abrupt change in focus, and St Paul moves from Christ to Christian. Section five goes on about a bodily resurrection. St Pauls uses the miracle of the harvest and says that are bodies are â€Å"sown up† in corruption, dishonour and weakness, but it will be raised in incorruption, glory and power. Paul’s teaching of a glorified body is a marked difference from Jewish thought, as they expected an identical body. Section six and the last section is about the victory over death. This is where Paul made clear that those who rise will be different and not flesh and blood. Paul stresses the continuity present and future state with fourfold use of the word â€Å"this†. He emphasises that ‘this’ perishable and ‘this’ mortal will be clothed with imperishablity and immortality. In my opinion, 1Cor 15 doesn’t help the claim that the teachings of the New Testament do not add anything to our understanding of Life after Death because it tells us about how we can overturn death and destroy it. John Drane argues that Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, together with Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection, led him to believe that he was truly living in the presence of God. From a close study of the New Testament, it can be argued that St Paul changed his belief about resurrection as time progressed. St Paul spoke about Parousia to the Christians. The Parousia is the final victory over evil, when Jesus rises again. Initially, St Paul held a strong apocalyptic view which was that all Christians will live until the Parousia, yet this was challenged by the Thessalonian Christians, as many of them began to die. St Paul then said that those who have died will be raised to new life at the Parousia. He then added that those who were still living at the end of time of the Parousia would be transformed at the same instant. St Paul then declared that this transformation would not be sudden, but a gradual change, beginning with conversion and ending with death, which would lead directly into a new existence in a spiritual body without the need for the Parousia to arrive first. Drane argues that the change in St Paul’s thinking represents a change from unrefined Jewish view to a more sophisticated position that owed a lot to the influence of Greek philosophy. The Greek Tradition is that the Hellenistic thinking originated from Plato who said that the soul is immaterial and does not occupy space. It therefore does not disintegrate. It is immortal. Whereas the Jewish view is that they believed that, in some way, the soul begins to perish at death, and the psycho-physical unity that was the person is re-created elsewhere. The question has been asked as to whether Paul ever believed in spiritual resurrection? Whether Paul did believe in a spiritual resurrection, then that would prove to help our understanding on Life after Death. Most scholars disagree with the notion that St Paul believed in a purely spiritual resurrection, as this is a very primitive Christian belief that has since been replaced with belief in a physical resurrection. However Carrier and Friedman maintain that there are a number of arguments to support this view. First, that St Paul experienced a vision on the road to Damascus, during which he was converted. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest that the appearances were understood by Paul to also be visions, and not literally physical occurrences, as portrayed in the Gospel of Luke and John. For Paul used the same Greek word to describe the ‘appearance’ in both instances. Secondly, that in 1Cor 15, Paul writes of ‘perishable’ and ‘imperishable’ bodies; he also makes a distinction between things of earth and things of heaven. Because he doesn’t disclaim the popular belief that things of heaven are ethereal, it can be argued that the people at Corinth already accepted it. Therefore, it is ‘prima facie’ that it is reasonable to suggest that St Paul was implying that the ‘imperishable body’ was ethereal, and not physical. Furthermore, St Paul literally makes this distinction calling the perishable body ‘psychikos’ which means a natural body and the imperishable body ‘pneumatikos’ which is a spiritual body, and says that they both co-exist in one body. He says that the body we know, the body of flesh, is own only this other, second body, the body of the spirit, rises to new life. Finally, St Paul says, that â€Å"flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God† because they are part of the perishable body, whereas it is an imperishable body that rises to new life. Yet these arguments have been outright rejected by the majority of scholars, who favour the idea that St Paul did actually believe in a bodily resurrection. So why does it seem so convincing that St Paul believed in a bodily resurrection? Scholarly debate has identified that firstly, Paul’s self-identified Jewish heritage precludes such a conclusion. Secondly, that the language Paul uses to describe the resurrection, most notably â€Å"soma†, emphasises the physical nature of the resurrected person. And thirdly and finally, Paul’s belief that Christians immediately went to be with Jesus upon their death, but still awaited a â€Å"resurrectio n† demonstrates that the resurrection being discussed was a physical one. I believe that there is no doubt that there is a strong Jewish background to Christianity. Carrier and Friedman ignore this background, arguing that because Christianity changed some Jewish beliefs, there is no part of Judaism that is informative to Christianity. The little regard that Carrier and Friedman exhibit for Paul’s Jewish background is in direct contravention of the importance Paul clearly places on it. Carrier again attempts to confuse the issue by arguing that, even if Paul was a Jew, only the Pharisees believed in a bodily resurrection. The Sadducees and Essenes did not. Moreover, Young argues that Pharisees stressed a literal resurrection of the physical body, which would be reunited with the spirit of an individual. By aligning himself with a Pharisaic background, Paul provides us with an important insight into the meaning he attaches the term ‘resurrection’; he believed in a physical resurrection of the body. â€Å"Soma† emphasises the physical. In his writing, St Paul uses the Greek word ‘soma’ to refer to the body. Importantly, he does not use it solely for referring to resurrection; strengthening the argument that when it is used to refer to resurrection, it will die; but it will also be resurrected. â€Å"Soma† is also mentioned in the NT but not referring to resurrection. In 1Cor 15:3, Paul says that his ‘soma’ is not present with the Corinthians, but his ‘spirit’ is; emphasising the physical nature of the ‘soma’. Barrett argues that Paul’s use of the word ‘spirit’ here colloquial rather than theological. In Rom 4:19, ‘soma’ is used to describe how the bodies of Abraham and Sarah were too old to be fertile; its physical nature, again, stressed. Accordingly, the very fact that Paul uses the term ‘soma’ to explain the resurrection demonstrates that he is referring to a physic al event that involves the body of the believer. Additionally, Paul uses the analogy of the seed, stressing the continuity of the earthly body with the resurrected ‘glorious’ body. In 1Cor 15:50-54 Sanders comments that immortality is ‘put on’ and replaces mortality. Paul was not thinking of an interior soul which escapes its mortal shell and floats free, nor the new life being breathed into the same body, but again of transformation, achieved by covering mortality with immortality, which it ‘ swallows’; emphasising the physical. Wright and Barrett argue similar points. My own personal opinion is that Paul believed more in a spiritual resurrection but he didn’t rule out a physical resurrection. In light of the statement I think that this is an influential part of our understanding of Life after death because it helps us understand which resurrection was more likely. The term ‘soul’ refers to ourselves, who earn rewards and consequences by coming to know, or failing to come to know, God by faith. We will come to earn blissful life in heaven, or eternal loss of heaven. Jesus’ parables clearly teach us that it is the same self judgement which faces judgement after death as the self who lived on earth in the body. There are three different theories about the soul. The first theory being the Theory of Origen. The soul existed in the heavenly realms before descending into this world, and that its present imprisonment in a material body is the result of a primeval fall from grace. This was never widely accepted, and rejected by the Church at the Council of Constantinople in 540 AD. The second argument is that of Traducianism. The theory that the soul-substance which God breathed into Adam has been passed down through generation after generation of his descendants by continual division. To some extent, this draws parallel with modern genetic science: everything comes from a gene pool. This was gradually abandoned by the Church. The third and final argument is that of Creationism. Each new soul is a new divine creation which God attaches to the growing foetus at some point between conception and birth. This was enshrined by the First Vatican Council, who declared that â€Å"God creates a new soul and infuses it to ach man†. However, Creationist thought is incompatible with the findings of modern science as it suggests that there are characteristics of the self that are derived neither from genetic inheritance nor from interaction with the environment; Dawkins would ridicule this theory, saying it was none-sense. Personally i believe that the soul is resurrected and moves on in life and that our bodies will rise up at the Parousia. Therefore it is an important aspect to our understanding of life after death. Monism is the theological view that all is one and this will help us understand Life after Death; human beings are made up of one substance and that what it is to be human can be defined in material terms because the soul cannot be separated from the body. Monism comes in a number of different forms: some argue that the soul and body are one, whilst others reject the concept of soul altogether and that the body is one substance on its own. People were beginning to speak of the soul as â€Å"the ghost within the machine [the body]†. Ryle argued that this was â€Å"a category mistake† as the language was being used incorrectly. By describing the soul in this way, the soul is being proposed as something ‘extra’ inside the body, which can physically identified within a person. Ryle argues that to talk of the soul is to talk about the way a person acts and integrates with others in society: it, therefore, is not separate and distinct. Dawkins perspective of Monism is that the view that we can only know what we are able to empirically verify. The soul does not exist separately from the body as it cannot be verified. This is known as Materialism. Linked to Dawkins is that he believed that humans are bytes of digital information; there is no soul as we are simply the sum of our genes. The soul cannot survive death, there is only the survival of DNA. Dawkins can be described as a ‘Harsh Materialist’ because he does not believe in life after death. He believes it is nonsense to talk of a life after death as one body is dead, it ceases to function. Dawkins claims that human consciousness has now fully evolved because we are now at a stage where we are able to predict the result of our actions, enabling us to choose how to behave. Therefore, humans continue to evolve because of the need to develop our memes (the way in which we mimic behaviour from other humans), not because of the genetic need to display our consciousness as a human race. I fell that this is important to our understanding of Life after Death because it allows us to see and understand the different attitudes to life after death. Soft Materialists still support monism but, unlike Harsh Materialists, they do believe in a life after death. The main supporter of soft materialism is John Hick, who proposes a replica theory. The strengths to this theory are, one, if you accept God’s omnipotent existence, then Replica Theory is perfectly plausible. Second, Replica Theory does not posit a soul, and so does not have to justify its existence. Thirdly, the Replica Theory answers the ‘conflicting claims’ argument because, according to Hick, everyone goes to heaven, regardless of their religion/beliefs. Fourth, the theory does not depend upon dualism and so is ‘acceptable’ to more people. Finally, in terms of logic, Replica Theory is possible. The criticisms of the Replica Theory are, one, Vardy challenges Hick by questioning whether the replicated being would be the same person. Is a ‘replica’ the ‘same’ as the original? Secondly, Vardy further argues that there is a break in continuity; for a person to stop existing in one place and be replicated in another there has to be a break in continuity of existence. So much so that the replicated person cannot be the same person. Thirdly, Williams simply argues that an endless life of replications would be increasingly boring and result in a meaningless life (an argument against Christian beliefs). Finally, logical possibility does not equate to factual possibility. Dualism however, is the idea that the mind and body are two separate substances. It is possible to survive death, as the soul disembodies. Human beings consist of both physical minds and that the mind is the essence of a person. This belief supports the immortality of the soul. Plato was a dualist who believed that the soul and body are two separate substances that interact with each other. Plato argued that the real identity of the person lies with the soul. He argued that the body and the mind are often in opposition; he saw the body as a nuisance and a bind. It is not the real person. Plato wrote â€Å"We may say ‘I have a body’ but not ‘I am a body’†. Plato believed that the real person is separate and distinct from the body it inhabits. The soul existed prior to being in the present body and, on death, will leave the body. The soul is on a higher level of reality than the body, being immortal with understanding of the realm of ideas. The body is concerned with the senses, the soul with reason. The soul is not always perfect because the body corrupts it and drags it down. Humans have the task of taking care of the soul, but this is easily corrupted. This helps our understanding of life after death because it gives us two sides of the argument for a spiritual or bodily resurrection and why they are both accepted. There is a wealth of scholarly debate on the historicity and significance of the empty tomb. The empty tomb will tell us if Jesus’ resurrection was bodily or spiritual, because he rose in body but then the robes were left perfect, as if to say that he floated up out of them, making it a spiritual resurrection. Arguments against the empty tomb detail are the fact that, St Paul gives the ‘official Christian list’ of resurrection appearances, without making a single reference to the empty tomb. Also, sceptics claim that the body of Jesus was simply stolen (i.e. not resurrected) or hidden by the disciples, making any post-resurrection appearances documented in NT nothing more than spiritual visions. The Swoon Hypothesis proposes that Jesus never actually died on the cross, but entered into a coma, from which he awoke whilst in the tomb, and so therefore never resurrected. Some go as far as saying that Joseph of Arimathea offering a tomb for the body of Jesus is an invention of early Christians who were desperate to make a bodily resurrection seem possible. Dawkins would concur this. If these arguments were to be accepted, then it would suggest that there was no spiritual resurrection, it was purely bodily, if there even was a resurrection. Arguments for the historicity of the empty tomb, i can be said, of the ‘stolen body theory’ Hick says that it would have been impossible for the disciples to do at Pentecost, less than 2 months after Jesus’ crucifixion; to have publicly proclaimed the resurrection in Jerusalem (within a mile or so of the tomb), if his body was still there and able to be produced. Brown argues that there was an understandable hostility in the early church toward the Jewish leaders. In Christian eyes, they had engineered a judicial murder of Jesus. Therefore, because Joseph of Arimathea was a part of the Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus, it is highly unlikely that he was a Christian invention (there is no reason why Christians would make up a story about a Jewish Sanhedrinist who does what is right by Jesus!). The empty tomb is reported by many independent early sources (incl. Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn, and Paul). Jewish historian Josephus reports that Jewish women were not even allowed to serve as witnesses in court; making it even more remarkable that it was women who discovered the empty tomb (surely this detail would have been omitted or changed if it were not true?!). My own personal opinion is that there was a resurrection, but going on the arguments given to us, I think that it was a bodily resurrection and that I would fall under the bracket of a monist. I believe that the New Testament teachings help us in our understanding of Life after Death because it teaches us about the body and soul, but I believe that it was a bodily resurrection because i believe the that the body and soul must have been working together as one to raise Jesus from the dead, because if it was one or the other then Jesus would have come back as a different person. Others would disagree with me because they feel that the bible is made up and that the historicity aspect is just coincidence and that it was a recent write-up of events of landmarks still existing today. This view fails because Johanine eschatology proves otherwise. The pool with five porticos still exists today, and that wouldn’t have been included in John’s gospel if it didn’t exist in John’s time. The eschatological aspect of it is that Jesus’ second coming will be at the Parousia when, we rise, bodily and spiritually to overcome death and evil.

The Politics Behind a Magazine :: Media

The Politics Behind a Magazine The Progressive is a magazine that was started in 1909. Mathew Rothschild, who was the editor of the Multinational Monitor a Ralph Nader founded magazine, is the current editor of the magazine. The evidence of this magazine being liberal is found by taking into account the overall visual design, the stance on arguments of the articles, and the political stances of the authors that are published. In glancing through The Progressive and observing it visually a reader can gather a political viewpoint from its advertisements and pictures. The picture, which is seen on the cover of the magazines, is a depiction of an article out of the magazine. For instance, in the 2001 Jan. issue the cover story is â€Å"Aristide, Again† and the picture shows a Haitian man with a marked thumb signifying that he has voted with the slums crowded with people as the background. Along with the world the U.S. does not approve of putting him back in power but for most Haitians, which are poor, he is the only one who is for the poor. Some of the advertisements in the magazine were books that appealed to people wanting to read about making a change such as the one trying to sale The Magnificent Activist that claimed the author was â€Å"A Radical in His Era A Visionary in Ours† (The Progressive 40). There is a section in the magazine called â€Å"On the Line† which houses a collection of small articles that have pictures which stand for the story they are telling and of them was an article called â€Å"Striptease for the Trees.† In this article’s picture a women is radically protesting the clear cutting of California’s old Redwood Trees by standing in the middle of the road bare-chested in front of the logging trucks stopping their passage. From the advertisements and the covers’ eye catching artistic originality to the many pictures for the articles in the magazine a stance for the left side is portrayed. The articles that are published in The Progressive illustrate the views of liberal authors through the topics they pick and the argument they use. When the background of the authors are checked and what they stand for is assessed then a political slant can be assumed on the magazine for choosing them.

My Semester in France Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about myself

There was a warm breeze that Friday in September when I packed my two large bags, kissed my family and friends good-bye, and left my home. Thus the greatest adventure of my life was begun. On my first day of studying in France, I woke up early and took a quasi-shower, which consisted of sprinkling myself with water for hours until all the soap finally drained out of my hair. My dressing procedures were followed by a silent breakfast that consisted of some bitter-tasting, dark liquid and a hard, bread-like substance. The bread I ate dry, for fear of the dark scary-looking pot of jam. I packed my books and headed off for class. As soon as I left my street, a man on a bike stared at me as he passed. "Stupid American," he thought and went about his business. Walking on, I passed a bakery with numerous strange people inside getting their baguettes. They stared at me as I passed, then they all turned to one another and made various snide remarks about me. They chuckled, thinking I didn't understand anything that they were saying. When I got to the first stoplight, I waited for the little man to turn green. The drivers who had a red light chuckled and thought to themselves, "That girl has no idea what she's doing. Don't they have street signs in America?" Walking along the street, there was a man walking his dog. I smiled at him, and he scowled and thought, "Silly Americans. Always smiling at everything." Next I passed a school, where a number of mothers were chatting outside, having just dropped their children off They looked at me, then back at each other. One said, "Oh my, I wouldn't wear that unless I was an American." Eventually, I passed a car repair garage. The men inside looked up a... ...hing to do with me. I spent a semester building a life in France. I spent it letting go of what I thought and embracing what I never imagined could be true. I learned a great deal about who I am and what I can accomplish. But I think the most important thing I learned is the magnitude of perception. I think I brought home with me the understanding that the world is more a sequence of varying perspectives, than one, defined order. Like the man on the bike and the people on the street and the church bells-and myself-life is shaped far less by reality than by our perception of it. I scurried home at the sound of the church bells, back through the streets of my little town. The air was crisp and cold on that Friday in December when I packed my bags, a little bulkier than before, kissed my family and friends good-bye, And left my home. My Semester in France Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about myself There was a warm breeze that Friday in September when I packed my two large bags, kissed my family and friends good-bye, and left my home. Thus the greatest adventure of my life was begun. On my first day of studying in France, I woke up early and took a quasi-shower, which consisted of sprinkling myself with water for hours until all the soap finally drained out of my hair. My dressing procedures were followed by a silent breakfast that consisted of some bitter-tasting, dark liquid and a hard, bread-like substance. The bread I ate dry, for fear of the dark scary-looking pot of jam. I packed my books and headed off for class. As soon as I left my street, a man on a bike stared at me as he passed. "Stupid American," he thought and went about his business. Walking on, I passed a bakery with numerous strange people inside getting their baguettes. They stared at me as I passed, then they all turned to one another and made various snide remarks about me. They chuckled, thinking I didn't understand anything that they were saying. When I got to the first stoplight, I waited for the little man to turn green. The drivers who had a red light chuckled and thought to themselves, "That girl has no idea what she's doing. Don't they have street signs in America?" Walking along the street, there was a man walking his dog. I smiled at him, and he scowled and thought, "Silly Americans. Always smiling at everything." Next I passed a school, where a number of mothers were chatting outside, having just dropped their children off They looked at me, then back at each other. One said, "Oh my, I wouldn't wear that unless I was an American." Eventually, I passed a car repair garage. The men inside looked up a... ...hing to do with me. I spent a semester building a life in France. I spent it letting go of what I thought and embracing what I never imagined could be true. I learned a great deal about who I am and what I can accomplish. But I think the most important thing I learned is the magnitude of perception. I think I brought home with me the understanding that the world is more a sequence of varying perspectives, than one, defined order. Like the man on the bike and the people on the street and the church bells-and myself-life is shaped far less by reality than by our perception of it. I scurried home at the sound of the church bells, back through the streets of my little town. The air was crisp and cold on that Friday in December when I packed my bags, a little bulkier than before, kissed my family and friends good-bye, And left my home.

Friction Lab Essay

Discussion and Review Whenever a body slides along another body a resisting force is called into play that is known as friction. This is a very important force and serves many useful purposes. A person could not walk without friction, nor could a car propel itself along a highway without the friction between the tires and the road surface. On the other hand, friction is very wasteful. It reduces the efficiency of machines because work must be done to overcome it and this energy is wasted as heat. The purpose of this experiment is to study the laws of friction and to determine the coefficient of friction between two surfaces. THEORY Friction is the resisting force encountered when one surface slides over another. This force acts along the tangent to the surfaces in contact. The force necessary to overcome friction depends on the nature of the materials in contact, on their roughness or smoothness, and on the normal force but not on the area of contact or on the speed of the motion. We find experimentally that the force of friction is directly proportional to the â€Å"normal force.† When an object is sitting on a horizontal surface the normal force is just the weight of the object. However, if the object is on an incline then it is not equal to the weight but is calculated by N= mg cos ÃŽ ¸. The constant of proportionality is called the coefficient of friction,  µ. When the contacting surfaces are actually sliding one over the other the force of friction is given by Equation 1: Ffr =  µk FN where Ffr is the force of friction and is directed parallel to the surfaces and opposite to the direction of motion. FN is the normal force and  µk is the coefficient of kinetic friction. The subscript k stands for kinetic, meaning that  µk is the coefficient that applies when the surfaces are moving  one with respect to the other.  µk is therefore more precisely called the coefficient of kinetic or sliding friction. Note carefully that Ffris always directed opposite to the direction of motion. This means that if you reverse the direction of sliding, the frictional force reverses too. In short, friction is always against you. Friction is called a â€Å"non-conservative† force because energy must be used to overcome it no matter which way you go. This is in contrast to what is called a â€Å"conservative† force such as gravity, which is against you on the way up but with you on the way down. Thus, the energy expended in lifting an object may be regained when the object descends. Yet, the energy used to overcome friction is dissipated, which means it is lost or made unavailable as heat. As you will see in your later study of  physics the distinction between conservative and non-conservative forces is a very important one that is fundamental to our concepts of heat and energy.  A method of checking the proportionality of Ffr, and FNand of determining the proportionality constant  µk is to have one of the surfaces in the form of a plane placed horizontally with a pulley fastened at one end. The other surface is the bottom face of a block that rests on the plane and to which is attached a weighted cord that passes over the pulley. The weights are varied until the block moves at constant speed after having been started with a slight push. Since there is no acceleration, the net force on the block is zero, which means that the frictional force is equal to the tension in the cord. This tension, in turn, is equal to the total weight attached to the cord’s end. The normal force between the two surfaces is equal to the weight of the block and can be increased by placing weights on top of the block. Thus, corresponding values of Ffr,and FN can be found, and plotting them will show whether Ffrand FN are indeed proportional. The slope of this graph gives  µk. When a body lies at rest on a surface and an attempt is made to push it, the pushing force is opposed by a frictional force. As long as the pushing force is not strong enough to start the body moving, the body remains in equilibrium. This means that the frictional force automatically adjusts itself to be equal to the pushing force and thus to just be enough to balance it. However, there is a threshold value of the pushing force beyond which larger values will cause the body to break away and slide. We  conclude that in the static case where a body is at rest the frictional force automatically adjusts itself to keep the body at rest up to a certain maximum. But if static equilibrium demands a frictional force larger than this maximum, static equilibrium conditions will cease to exist because this force is not available and the body will start to move. This situation may be expressed in equation form as: Equation 2: Ffr ≠¤  µsFN or Ffr max =  µsFN Where Ffris the frictional force in the static case, Ffr max is the maximum value this force can assume and  µsis the coefficient of static friction. We find that  µsis slightly larger than  µk. This means that a somewhat larger force is needed to break a body away and start it sliding than is needed to keep it sliding at constant speed once it is in motion. This is why a slight push is necessary to get the block started for the measurement of  µk. One way of investigating the case of static friction is to observe the so-called â€Å"limiting angle of repose.† This is defined as the maximum angle to which an inclined plane may be tipped before a block placed on the plane just starts to slide. The arrangement is illustrated in Figure 1 above. The block has weight W whose component WcosÃŽ ¸ (where ÃŽ ¸ is the plane angle) is perpendicular to the plane and is thus equal to the normal force, FN. The component Wsin ÃŽ ¸is parallel to the plane and constitutes the force urging the block to slide down the plane. It is opposed by the frictional force Ffr, As long as the block remains at rest, Ffr must be equal to W sin ÃŽ ¸. If the plane is tipped up until at some value ÃŽ ¸max the block just starts to slide, we have: Equation 3: But: Hence: Or: Thus, if the plane is gradually tipped up until the block just breaks away and the plane angle is then measured, the coefficient of static friction is equal to the tangent of this angle, which is called the limiting angle of repose. It is interesting to note that W cancelled out in the derivation of Equation 3 so that the weight of the block doesn’t matter. PROCEDURE This experiment requires you to record measurements in Newtons. Remember that in SI units the unit of force is called the Newton (N). One Newton is the force required to impart an acceleration of 1m/s2 to a mass of 1 kg. Thus 1 N = 1 kg.m/s2. You can convert any kg-mass to Newtons by multiplying the kg-weight by 9.8 m/s2, i.e., 100 g = 0.1 kg = 0.1 x 9.8 = .98 N. 1. Determining force of kinetic or sliding friction and static friction a. The wooden blocks provided in the LabPaq are too light to give good readings so you need to put some weight on  them, such as a full soft drink can. Weigh the plain wood block and the object used on top of the block. Record the combined weight in grams and Newtons. b. Place the ramp board you provided horizontally on a table. If necessary tape it down at the ends with masking tape to keep if from sliding. c. Begin the experiment by setting the block and its weight on the board with its largest surface in contact with the surface of the board. Connect the block’s hook to the 500-g spring scale. d. Using the spring scale, slowly pull the block lengthwise along the horizontal board. When the block is moving with constant speed, note the force indicated on the scale and record. This is the approximate kinetic or sliding frictional force. Repeat two more times. e. While carefully watching the spring scale, start the block from rest. When the block just starts to move, note the force indicated on the scale and record. You should notice that this requires more force. This force is  approximately equal to the static frictional force. Repeat two more times. Determining coefficient of static friction using an inclined surface a. Place the plain block with its largest surface in contact on the board while the board is lying flat. b. Slowly raise one end of the board until the block just breaks away and starts to slide down. Be very careful to move the plane slowly and smoothly so as to get a precise value of the angle with the horizontal at which the block just breaks away. This is the limiting angle of repose ÃŽ ¸ max. Measure it with a protractor (see photo that follows for an alternate way of measuring the angle) and record the result. You may also want to measure the base and the height of the triangle formed by the board, the support, and the floor or table. The height divided by the length of the base equals the coefficient of static friction. Remember: c. Perform two more trials. These trials should be independent. This means that in each case the plane should be returned to the horizontal, the block placed on it, and the plane carefully moved up until the limiting angle of repose is reached. DATA TABLE 6 Height Base Length ÃŽ ¸ max  µs Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average Calculations 1. Using the mass of the block and the average force of kinetic friction from Data Table 1, calculate the coefficient of kinetic friction from Equation 1: 2. Using the mass of the block and the average force of kinetic friction from Data Table 2, calculate the coefficient of kinetic friction for the wood block sliding on its side. Record your result and see how it compares with the value of  µkobtained from Data Table 1. 3. From the data in Data Table 3, 4 & 5 compute the coefficient of static friction,  µsfor, the glass surface on wood, the sandpapered surface on wood, and wood on carpet, etc from each of your three trials. Calculate an average value of  µs.Record your results in your own data sheets. 4.  From the data obtained in Data Table 6 calculate  µsfor wood on wood from each of your three trials. 5.  Calculate an average value of  µs. Record your result on the data sheet. Questions A. How does the coefficient of static friction compare with the coefficient of kinetic friction for the same surfaces and areas? B. Why is it important to reduce friction during the operation of machinery? C. How does grease or oil affect the coefficient of friction?

Juvenile Incarceration Linked to More Crime

Juvenile Incarceration Linked to More Crime Juvenile offenders who are incarcerated for their crimes are more likely to have significantly worse outcomes in their life than youngsters who commit the same crimes, but receive some other form of punishment and are not incarcerated. A study of 35,000 Chicago juvenile offenders over a 10-year period by economists at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management found substantial differences in outcomes between kids who were incarcerated and those who were not sent to detention. Those who were incarcerated were much less likely to graduate from high school and much more likely to wind up in prison as adults. A Deterrent to Crime? One might think that it would be a logical conclusion that teens who commit crimes bad enough to be incarcerated for will naturally be more likely to drop out of school and wind up in adult prison, but the MIT study compared those juveniles with others who committed the same crimes but happened to draw a judge who was less likely to send them to detention. Approximately 130,000 juveniles are incarcerated in the United States each year with an estimated 70,000 of them in detention on any given day. The MIT researchers wanted to determine if jailing juvenile offenders actually deterred future crime or it disrupted the childs life in such a way that it increases the likelihood of future crime. In the juvenile justice system, there are judges who tend to hand out sentences that include incarceration and there are judges who tend to mete out punishment that doesnt include actual incarceration. In Chicago, juvenile cases are randomly assigned to judge with different sentencing tendencies. The researchers, using a database created by the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago looked at cases in which judges had wide latitude in determining sentencing. More Likely to End Up in Prison The system of randomly assigning cases to judges with different approaches to sentencing set up a natural experiment for the researchers. They found that juveniles who were incarcerated were less likely to return to high school and graduate. The graduation rate was 13% lower for those who were jailed than offenders who were not incarcerated. They also found that those who were incarcerated were 23% more likely to end up in prison as adults and more likely to have committed a violent crime. Teen offenders, especially those around age 16, were not only less likely to graduate from high school if they had been incarcerated, but they were also less likely to return to school at all. Less Likely to Return to School The researchers found that incarceration proved to be so disruptive in the juveniles lives, many dont return to school afterward and those who do go back to school are much more likely to be classified as having an emotional or behavior disorder, compared with those who committed the very same crimes, but werent jailed. The kids who go to juvenile detention are very unlikely to go back to school at all, said MIT economist Joseph Doyle in a news release. Getting to know other kids in trouble may create social networks that might not be desirable. There could be a stigma attached to it, maybe you think youre particularly problematic, so that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The authors want to see their research duplicated in other jurisdictions to see if the results hold up, but the conclusions of this one study seem to indicate that incarcerating juveniles does not act as a deterrent to crime, but actually has the opposite effect. Source: Aizer, A, et al. Juvenile Incarceration, Human Capital, and Future Crime: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges. Quarterly Journal of Economics February 2015.

How to Tell Your Parents You Got F on a Test

How to Tell Your Parents You Got F on a Test Okay, relax, you got an F on the test and now you’re searching online for tips and tricks to telling your parents and coming out alive. First of all, you’re not the first person to fail a test and you won’t be the last. It happens. In this article we’re going to go over the ideal strategy when it comes to dealing with mom and dad. Let’s get started. 1. Don’t Lie: Just Be Honest Yep, there’s no reason to lie. It’s not worth it and in 99.9% of the cases or scenarios we could come up with being honest will work out better for you in the end. Trying to lie and avoid things will only make everything much, much worse. When you tell your parents, just be perfectly honest and keep the initial saying really short. For example, this will do just fine: â€Å"Mom/Dad, I got an F on the test.† Once you say that just keep your mouth shut for a second and let mom or dad digest the information. They might blurt out something like, â€Å"OMG!† or, â€Å"Come on! Why?† but don’t be quiet to reply. Wait at least 3-5 seconds to see if their finished. Gauge their current attitude. Hey, are they having a good or bad day in general? 2. Prepare Your Explanation Beforehand Even though you’re going to be brutally honest, you shouldn’t wing it. The more coherent, logical and thought-out your explanation the more they’ll take you seriously. If you found the class incredibly boring and partied instead, then tell them that without being a child about it. If they interject, that’s fine. There’s no reason to get into an argument. That won’t help. Just calmly make it clear you’re telling them the honest truth and do it with some forethought. 3. Take Their Reaction In-Stride like an Adult Resolve yourself beforehand to take anything they say or do in-stride. Meaning you’re willing to take your lashes. This isn’t the end of the world. It doesn’t mean you’ll be a failure in life. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to have to drop out. It just means you need to make some changes (more on this momentarily). Don’t protest. Don’t try to defend yourself. Agree with everything they say and do without hesitation or resistance. Trust me, it works wonders. If you agree with everything and erase any possibility of argument, they’re far more likely to see things from your perspective instead of theirs. 4. Be Ready to Tell Them What You’re Going to Change When they ask you what you plan to do about it, have something prepared. Don’t be like, â€Å"I dunno /shrugs.† Instead you should show them you already have a plan of action. And mean it! Be sincere! 80% of human communication is unspoken and most parent’s a highly attuned to their own child’s BS. You’re going to study harder and take the course work more seriously. You’ve arranged a meeting with the professor to go over your options. You’ve joined a study group to make sure that you pick up the slack for the rest of the class. You’ve spoken with your advisor and there’s more than enough room to retake the class and still graduate on time. You’ve nailed down what went wrong and you know exactly how to fix it so this doesn’t become a bad habit. You’ve talked to the grant people and are taking the necessary steps to stay eligible. Failing a test can be a pretty substantial eye-opener so let your parent’s see how much wider your eyes are now. 5. Practice Being a Good Listener but be Confident Listen to what they say, but if they’re way off the mark in how they react you need to be confident. If they go off the deep end then you need to take this chance to be independent and call your own shots. This is, after all, your own life and your own education. Listen intently and when you reply, make sure they understand you heard them. But, don’t let mom and dad walk all over you in their quest for the perfect son/daughter. â€Å"I appreciate your advice, but I need you to know I got this.† There’s a big difference with taking your lashings and letting yourself get walked all over just because you made a bad call. College is a time to learn from our mistakes on our own and mom and dad need to understand this. 6. Follow Through Unless you plan on dropping the class, follow through on what you said you would do. If you don’t, then you risk making things 10 times harder should something like this come up again. It’ll be a learning experience that in more ways than one helps to set the tone of your adult life after college. How did you deal with telling your parent’s about the last time you failed a test? How did it go? Share the experience and help others when it’s their time up to bat!

Communicating Effectively essays

Communicating Effectively essays Communicating Effectively in the Business Environment Communications in the workplace have become as relaxed as dress codes. Everyone has experienced miscommunications in his or her personal life, but when communications fail in the business world, opportunities to rectify the situations are rarely there. In many incidences, the damage has already been done and money or jobs have been lost. The reputation of the company has suffered immeasurable harm in the business community. Communicating effectively in the business environment is crucial as the success of an organization is directly connected to the abilities of its employees. The problem of miscommunications in the business world is far more serious than one might think. According to Patricia Eyres, author of Every Word Counts, Evidence from business records generated over years and even decades affects an increasing number of civil lawsuits. In fact, damage awards have soared in recent years, some due to explosive content of business communications, gaps in documentation, inflammatory e-mail, or charges of evidence tampering. (Eyres, 2003, p. 80) Ms. Eyres goes on to say, Any written information, whether formally or informally generated, can be considered documentary evidence if it is pertinent to a legal action, a regulatory proceeding, or a misconduct investigation. (Eyres, 2003, p. 80) Extreme care must be taken when choosing your words. Tone must be considered and attitudes or prejudices must be put aside when composing business communications. Michael Whelan, President of The Whelan Group, states, Writers should always plan before they write. Its interesting, but writing is the only thing businesspeople never plan. (Whelan, 2002, p. 27) Managers and employees may not be aware of the repercussions related to miscommunications within business communications. Knowing this, a company cannot afford to take the...

Reasons why the two United States Embassies in Africa in 1998 were so Essay

Reasons why the two United States Embassies in Africa in 1998 were so vulnerable to terrorists. What went into the planning of those attacks - Essay Example The department of state gathered intelligence on this attacks prior to them occurring but were dismissed as too vague to be useful. (The washington Post, 1999) The second reason is that state agencies such as the FBI and CIA failed to predict the consequences of their pressure on the bin Laden network. In 1997 and 1998 the state agencies put a lot of pressure on the network plus other affiliated groups such as the Al-Haramain thinking that such pressure will make the network to stop its activities. They did not think past the consequences of this which led to the bin laden declaration of war on America especially on embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. (IPP Media, 2011) The third reason is that the two countries Kenya and Tanzania were chosen by the bin laden network because they were convenient for the terrorist organization. A look at both countries shows as that they lacked adequate security during this time especially in Tanzania. The two countries have also a sizeable number of Muslims and people of Arab origin and therefore it was easy to blend in to accomplish their mission. The two nations especially Kenya are known to have close ties with America and therefore bombing such nations meant successful bombing on US territory. The above mentioned factors contributed largely to the vulnerability of the US embassies to Terrorist attacks. (James M. Lutz, 2004) The two bombing attacks in Nairobi and Dar es salaam are believed by many to be a revenge mission for the bin laden network on America for its involvement in the extradition and alleged torture of some members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad that are said to have been arrested in Albania two months before the attacks. The four men were said to be involved in the assassination of Rifaat el-Mahgoub and a plot against the Khan el-Khalili market in Cairo. There was a communiquà © prepared by the bin

Discuss using real business examples the different styles of Appraisal Essay

Discuss using real business examples the different styles of Appraisal processes businesses use today - Essay Example 1): a. Critical incident method – the operational management records all specific incidents intentionally or by omission of duties to improve their performance (Humanresources.hrvinet.com, 2013, p. 1); b. Weighted checklist  method – this is an approach where the performance of the employee is measured by through their job description to determine if they have performed effectively and ineffectively their roles and if their behaviours remained attuned to corporate policies (Humanresources.hrvinet.com, 2013, p. 1). c.  Paired comparison analysis – this is an evaluation approach that made use of available relevant options based on what is provided in the list. The result is calculated and the score is determined by the values of score assigned in the provided option (Humanresources.hrvinet.com, 2013, p. 1). d.  Graphic rating scales- is tagged as the oldest and most widely used employee’s performance. The management here has a list of criteria which se rved as checklist of the performance level of their staff (Humanresources.hrvinet.com, 2013, p. 1). ... This is also supported with rating scale and critical incident reports in the performance of staff duties (Humanresources.hrvinet.com, 2013, p. 1). g.  Performance ranking method --- this evaluation uses highest to lowest ranking performance. The management use the other companies’ condition as bases for comparative causes instead of comparing the staffs. This is undertaken, of course, with sets of standard as bases for comparison (Humanresources.hrvinet.com, 2013, p. 1). h. Management By Objectives  (MBO) method – is another approach in assessing performance and use reward system in accordance to results to encourage workers to improve their performance (Humanresources.hrvinet.com, 2013, p. 1). i. 360 degree performance appraisal – is a method of performance that is done in confidence and in anonymity (Humanresources.hrvinet.com, 2013, p. 1). 10.Forced ranking  (forced distribution) – this approach adopt the system of ranking employees using forced allocation such as proportionally sharing 10 or 20 % as at the highest performance level while 70 or 80% are either in the mid or low level of performance (Humanresources.hrvinet.com, 2013, p. 1). 11.  Behavioural Observation Scales—this evaluative approach is anchored on scales of observation where relevant tasks are undertaken in a regular basis (Humanresources.hrvinet.com, 2013, p. 1). The Nature of Work Groups & Teams George and Jones (2005) pointed that the evaluating the human resources must be contextualized too on full knowledge of human resource’ diversity and some of their possible deviance so that the management can still refine their abilities to organizational l goals. Through this approach, the management can also

Growth of Islamic banking in UK Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Growth of Islamic banking in UK - Case Study Example An important part of the paper is the approach of main regulator in UK to supervision and regulation of Islamic banking. Paper also specifically focuses on specific Islamic mortgage products and their development in UK market. Global size of Islamic finance has been long estimated between $200 and $500 billion with an estimated growth rate of 10-15% annually.A precise estimate escapes though.In comparison the sterling assets of UK banking sector alone amount to 2.5 trillion (around $4 trillion).Thus Islamic banking has some distance to cover . But that is just another way of emphasising the scale of the opportunity(Howard,2003). In the UK, with the exception of one purely Islamic bank there are only Islamic products on offer by Islamic arms of commercial banks(HSBC, Llyods TSB,UBS for example).A large and well-developed Islamic financial structure has not come about thus far. But there is already a significant amount of business of various kinds focussed around relatively wealthy individuals or large institutions. Some London banks use the London Metal Exchange for Murabaha. The customer buys and sells forward a metal on the London Metal Exchange and earns a profit(Howard,2003).The first service provider for islamic banking products Halal Financial Services has been set up in 2005 as full fledged company. This is first in Islamic banking space. It is actively marketing products of Ahli Bank and HSBC Amanah and propagating the concept of halal mortgage. Its Chief Executive Officer reported," At the moment it is halal mortgages but we are only looking at a matter of weeks before we see Takaful coming to the market in the UK in the middle of July(2005). Of course HSBC Amanah has also launched the UK's first Sharia compliant pension plan as well. In the same context we tend to get involved in halal commercial finance, Murabaha based commodity benchmarked transactions and so on. We will continue to diversify our product range as and when we can" (Paul, 2005).Thus a vibrant Islamic banking products' market is round the corner in UK financial markets. However strategic conditionalities as stated below must be met before this happens. Competition with conventional banks Warren Edwardes says that "Given a choice between a pure Islamic bank and a highly rated reputable international bank providing the same service, a client would rather go to the one that has a brand name than the one that provides Islamic-only services, without the brand name - so special purpose Islamic Banks will just have to keep innovating to stay in business just like the old British Merchant Banks"(Warren, 2002). To begin with renaming the Arabic terminology, such as "Ijara" with "leasing" or "Musharakah" with "equity participation", will lead to a greater understanding of the Islamic banking system. If products are structured in islamically acceptable way then Islamic banks would address a niche market. In a system where both parties to a contract have to have their Sharia compliance status verified, and where a fault at any subsequent stage of the deal can void it entirely, having a standardized set of Sharia

Wall Street Journal Opinion Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wall Street Journal Opinion Article - Essay Example This is because this could automatically affect the GDP of the countries in which the investors originate from. The greatest effect was felt from the withdrawal of the world’s super power-America’s bank-Merrill Linch. The bank had anticipated a GDP rise of about 7.6% but due to the drawback they were now expecting a rise of about 7.2% (Ellison 74).They therefore withdrew from China so as to maintain a steady economy in their country. However the bank’s management stated that they did not expect China to experience financial strain or even suffer a drop in their economy as a result of the drawback (Ellison 78). They also added that the Chinese government has the opportunity to stabilize their economy despite the unfolding that took place. However, there is still risk of these potential investors to withdraw from the business as it is expected that the growth forecast of Nomura Company will drop to 7.3% from7.5%.The CNBC further presumed that this may pose risk to the annual target of the company that was at 7.4% (Ellison 67).Conversely from a press release of an official government statement, investors were assured that the country would still be able to maintain their economic growth within reasonable limits despite the drawback that had occurred. The government official added that the debt risks of the county were manageable and that they would have no instances of default despite there being evidence that one company had defaulted (Ellison 69). According to data obtained from a survey conducted by the Fact sheet, it was noted that since July 2010, this was the first time that copper products were being sold below $ 3a pound (Ellison 76). This is critical to investors who have engaged in the business as this is termed as spoilt business on their part. This is because they cannot be able to sell their products at high prices

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Assignment - Essay Example t of view which is used to express a characters feelings or attitude in a detailed manner, second person point of view, which is used mainly to attract the reader’s attention from the beginning and third person point of view which may be used to introduce a dual point of view from the author and characters of the piece. The author of shame, Dick Gregory, employs the use of the first person point of view. This perspective is effective in creating an intimate relationship with the reader since all emotions and attitudes expressed in the narrative are from the author’s point of view. This technique is quite flexible and subjective because it allows the author to portray a stream of consciousness while conducting an interior monologue. However, this point of view is impaired because the opinions in the narrative are from a particular individual. The author of Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising, employs the use of a third person point of view. She gives the readers insight into what she believes are propaganda fed to citizens by advertising mediums. This technique, allows the author to express her opinion while also expressing the opinion of other individuals on the same topic. This is a convenient and trustworthy way of passing information through an unbiased point of view. It also provides the author with great flexibility when writing the article. The author employs the use of an omniscient narrator, who is well aware of all the information required in describing the article. This perspective is employed when a certain degree of objectivity is required. It is also quite efficient in directing the reader’s attention to the idea being

Wall Street Journal Opinion Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wall Street Journal Opinion Article - Essay Example This is because this could automatically affect the GDP of the countries in which the investors originate from. The greatest effect was felt from the withdrawal of the world’s super power-America’s bank-Merrill Linch. The bank had anticipated a GDP rise of about 7.6% but due to the drawback they were now expecting a rise of about 7.2% (Ellison 74).They therefore withdrew from China so as to maintain a steady economy in their country. However the bank’s management stated that they did not expect China to experience financial strain or even suffer a drop in their economy as a result of the drawback (Ellison 78). They also added that the Chinese government has the opportunity to stabilize their economy despite the unfolding that took place. However, there is still risk of these potential investors to withdraw from the business as it is expected that the growth forecast of Nomura Company will drop to 7.3% from7.5%.The CNBC further presumed that this may pose risk to the annual target of the company that was at 7.4% (Ellison 67).Conversely from a press release of an official government statement, investors were assured that the country would still be able to maintain their economic growth within reasonable limits despite the drawback that had occurred. The government official added that the debt risks of the county were manageable and that they would have no instances of default despite there being evidence that one company had defaulted (Ellison 69). According to data obtained from a survey conducted by the Fact sheet, it was noted that since July 2010, this was the first time that copper products were being sold below $ 3a pound (Ellison 76). This is critical to investors who have engaged in the business as this is termed as spoilt business on their part. This is because they cannot be able to sell their products at high prices

Ulcerative colitis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ulcerative colitis - Essay Example Fever, pain in the joints, weight loss, and GI bleeding may also accompany nausea and vomiting (Board, ADAM & National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2012) Though the exact cause is unknown there are many research studies that have been able to suggest with scientific validation the possibility of many factors, causes and contributions to the disease. One research study conducted in 2006 suggested that there was a significant genetic contribution that factored in those more susceptible to those with an inflammatory bowel disease (Satsangi,2006) Studies at the molecular level have identified and determined genetic susceptibility to ulcerative colitis. Of course this discovery is able to provide new insight into the pathogenicity of the disease and disease process. Risk factors usually include those in poor health and it is a higher risk between the ages of 15-30 and then resurfaces between the ages of 50-70. Family history and Jewish ancestry are also implicated though family history may be linked to genetics and studies in these areas are able to provide stronger links between this family history and the prevalence of the disease. Breastfeeding, appendectomy, and smoking are also associated risks (Head, and Jurenka, 2003). Normal system functions appear to be prohibited by ‘increases in certain inflammatory mediators, oxidative stress signs, deranged colonic milieu, decreased oxidation of short chain fatty acids, increased intestinal permeability, an increase in the production of sulfides, and decreased methylation,’ (Head, and Jurenka, 2003). Certain cytokines along with anti-oxidant levels as well as the presence of bacteria interfere with normal system functions. These systematic functional abnormalities each contribute to symptoms of ulcerative colitis. For example increased oxidative stress is manifested in the intestinal mucosa of patients. Bowel lesions are much more evident when the bacteria

Crooks and Curleys wife experience loneliness and isolation Essay Example for Free

Crooks and Curleys wife experience loneliness and isolation Essay In this essay I intend to write about why Crooks and Curleys wife experience loneliness and isolation and in what way they try to deal with these difficulties. Crooks is a nergro stable buck with a crooked spine. His eyes are described as the most noticeable feature on his face, brimming with knowledge of the injustice in life. His eyes lay deep in his head, and because of their depth seemed to glitter with intensity. He is also slim with a lean face, en-lined with wrinkles. His lips are also described vividly as very thin and pain-tightened. He covers up his intense eyes with large gold rimmed spectacles. Curleys wife is, of course a complete contrast, and is extremely pretty, thought sometimes try too hard. She had full, rouged lips and wide-spade eyes, heavily made up. She has done her nails carefully which doesnt seem very suitable for life on a ranch. Her voice is another thing that is commented on, as have a nasal, brittle quality. Crooks personality is somewhat of a mystery. His real personality is hidden by the racism of the time. He is hurt and shocked by peoples opinions towards him and so he feels the only way to get through life is to push back the same disgust to the other mean on the ranch. This heres my room. Nobody got any right in here by meI aint wanted in the bunk-house, and you aint wanted in my room. Crooks doesnt see that all his is really doing is stopping to their level thought, he just continues to treat others in the way he has been treated, and if he has a choice he just stays away from them. His personality would have developed differently if he had been born white, because his true colours are stunted by the racism against him. He teases Lennie, and takes pleasure in it, as though at last he is being able to do to someone else what has been done to him for his whole life, Crooks face lights with pleasure in his torture. The basic word to describe the personality of Curleys wife is a flirt, although as we get to know more and more about her we discover that this is not completely true. In this essay I will try to explain why she behaves like this, and whether in fact she behaves like this just for attention and is concealing something. The personality of these characters is perhaps one of the keys to the book. However different these character are they are linked through their loneliness and the fact they conceal their true personality. The are both considered quite low on the social scale but deal with this in very different ways as I will explain. As I have said, Crooks is bitter about being made to live along above the stable. He expresses this bitterness, and tires to explain to Lennie how loneliness is so disturbed that it drives you mad Ill tell you a get guys too lonely and he gets sick.dont make no difference who the guy is, longs hes with you. It must be a relief for Crooks to be able to share some of his problems with someone, and he must find it especially east with Lennie who probably will not understand, and will forget what he hears quickly. He is the only one who understands Lennie, besides George, and befriends him. He looks past Lennies mental handicap and Lennie looks past Crooks physical handicap. Curleys wife also finds it easy to talk to Curley. She is so overwhelmed by her loneliness, she seeks friendship from other men. She seeks out the friendship of Lennie for all of the others fear Curley and will have nothing to do with her. Think I dont like to talk to somebody ever once in a while? It is when she talks to Lennie that we discover a great deal about her past. She tells Lennie that she still dreams of what might have been, seeing herself as a potential film-star. However, in my opinion she has no acting talent, men (one from a travelling show, one who claimed to be in the movies) make her offers as a chat-up line. Her naivetà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ shows in her belief that her mother has stolen a letter (from her contact in Hollywood) which was obviously never written; her immaturity appears in her instant reaction of marrying the loathsome Curley. It was a hasty marriage to Curley is just a failed attempt to escape from her own spiral of loneliness. When she chose to marry Curley it was all because of the wrong reasons and only to get away from her mother, one person who genuinely cared for her, Well I wasnt going to stay no place where I couldnt get nowhere. Now she find herself very line and she has no-one to talk to, I don like Curley. Desperate for companionship she does not find at home, she tries to find solace with the other men. They are uneasy about this, as they think her to be seriously promiscuous, and are fearful of Curleys reaction. Her inappropriate dress on the ranch and her manner brand her as a tart. She can not escape from this image and so she uses it so that she is noticed and can talk to people. Although in my opinion instead of being the mature and flirtatious female that the men see, she is in fact like a little girl yearning for her home. She even talks to people who she considers to be out of her league, but in a way this makes her a more tragic character, because unlike the others, even Lennie, she seems not to understand her limitations or she refuses to admit them. She treats those below her in an unnecessarily disdainful way. There is one point in the book when Curleys wife goes into Crooks room. Crook, as I have said, pretends that he wishes no one to come into his room seeing as he isnt allowed in the bunk house. However, when Lennie and then Candy come in we can tell that he was actually very pleased, It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger. Candy and Crooks reacts to Curleys wife primarily disgusted. On their faces they scowl at her and appear to wish that she wasnt there. However as Curleys wife points out it is doubtful whether they really feel this, for they would not doubt have acted very different if they were alone, If I catch one man alone, I get along fine with him. But just le two guys get together and you just wont talkyoure all scared of each other. Curleys wife is very rude to Crooks and says, Im standing here talking to a nigger. I think her reaction is like this because she feels very powerful to be talking to someone as sad and lonely as herself, but who is looked down upon by others. She likes to use this rare power and so when Crooks finally cracks and stands up to her she does everything with her capable possibility to make him feel small and unnecessary. Listen, Nigger, she said. You know what I can do to you if you open your trap? This immediately makes Crooks turn into a no one. Every trace of a personality disappears, and he just answers in a monotonous voice. After she leave Candy says, That bitch didnt ought to of said that to you. And Crooks replies by saying , It wasnt nothing, you guys coming in an setting made me forget. Crooks obviously was so happy by having the company of some men that he forgets his place (in those times) and stood up to her. He then realised what he had done and remembered how he should have behaved. For that one small part of the story we saw the real Crooks, the one who is not concerned with racism, because for that very small amount of time he believe himself to be normal. Curleys wife though doesnt have a very suprising reaction to Candy (the old-swamper) and Crooks. I believe that she is angry because she just realised how messy her life is. She tries to stay calm and talk to them as thought they are beneath her, but all the time she realises that she is just as sad and lonely as them. She sees that they are the only people she can have a proper conversation with are, as she describes them a nigger, an a dum-dum and a lousy ol sheep. At one point in the conversation she says, Whatt ya think I am, a kid? and then she continues to talk about how she was nearly in the pictures. Of course, she is just a kid, who doesnt understand herself. He also wants to be part of George and Lennies dream. He said that he would work for free. He gives up on the farm dream when he realizes it isnt going to work out. Talk about this. Also say that crooks was nasty to lennie then nice. I would describe Curleys wife as a sympathetic figure. There is a very strong description towards the end of the book, just as she has been killed by Lennie, And the meanness and the planning and the discontented and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young. Curleys wife has had a very unfortunate life. She made some wrong decisions and has been punished for them, by dying unhappy at such as young age. To all the other people on the ranch she is only important because she is the wife of Curley, and that explains why she is given no other name. They are scared of getting involved with her because of what Curley might do to them. No-one is ever actually interesting in her. I feel sorry for her that someone who has the potential to be so sweet and calm has lives such as sad life and has died before anyone knows her true colours. Crook, like Curleys wife has had a sad life for the later part of his life at least. Nothing will ever get better for him, because of his colour. The war Steinbeck talks about him is very controversial nowadays and would not be accepted. At the time that this book was written this language would have been more in use and so perhaps it would have been more acceptable, meaning that Steinbeck was not ware of its full impact. The fact that he portrays crooks as a unhappy and meaningful character must indicate that the author believes racism to be unfair, or else he would have been portrayed as evil, someone deserving what he got. Many upon reading this book may believe that the key issue is George and Lennie, but in fact this novel raises many questions about discrimination and loneliness.

Project management techniques

Project management techniques Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed stakeholder needs and expectations from a project. In other word it is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources related to a project to successfully complete the specific goals and objective of the project. A project is a temporary thing which has a predefind goal and a defined begining. The temporary nature of project stands in contrast to business as usual, which are repetative, parmanent or semi permanent functional work to produce product or service.   Project Management Knowledge Areas Project management knowledge areas describe project management knowledge and practice in term of its component process. These proceses have been organized into nine knowledge areas as described below-   Project Integration Management Various types of processes are required to coordinate the various element of the project. Project integration management integrate all those processes to fullfill the project goal.there are three major areas for project integration management: Project plan development Project plan execution Overall change control These processes are interact with other and with the process in the other knowledge areas as well. Moreover, integration must also occur in anumber of other areas inorder to be successfully completion of the project. Project Plan Development Project plan development uses the outputs of the other planning processes to create a consistent, coherent document that can be used to guide both project execution and project control1. It is used to guide project execution, document project planning assumptions, document project planning decisions regarding alternatives chosen, facilitate communication among stakeholders, define key management reviews as to content, extent and timing. It also provide a baseline for progress measurement and project control.   Project Plan Execution Project plan execution is the primary process for carryign out the project plan. The project manager and the project management team will corordinate with each other uses the various technical and organizational interfaces that exists in the project. Project application areas directly affect the project processin which the product of the project are actually created. Inputs of project plan execution are project plan,supporting details, organization policies, creative action. General management skills, product skills and knowledge, work authorization, system, status review meetings, project management information system, organizational process are techniques used in project plan execution. Overall Change Control Overall chnage control is concerned with influencing the factors which create change to ensure that changes are benificial, the changes that has occured need to be determined, and managing the actual changes when and as they occur. Inputs of overall change control are project plan, performace reports, change requests etc. The techniques that are used on overall change control are change control system, configuration management, performance measurement, additional planning and project management information system. Project Scope Management The project scope management plan refers to the mechanism that consists of formalized document that is used for the purposes of detailing exactly how the pproject scope will be defined, what decision will be undertaken to develop the project scope, how the project scope will ultimately be varified and how all the components will be created and defined under work break down structure. Five major areas of the project scope management process are. 1. Initiation, 2. Scope planning, 3. Scope definition, 4. Scope verification, and 5. Scope change control. The project scope management plan also will provide information and assistance in determining exactly how the actual scope of the project will ultimately be controlled in the management process by the project management team and or the project management team leader. The actual project scope management plan, as with most project management components, can be a very formally written document, or it can also be a much more informally written document. The detail level can vary wildly as well, depending on exactly what the needs of the project dictate2. Project Time Management Project time management includes the processed required too ensure timely completion of the project. The major areas of time management are described inbrief in the following sections-   Activity Definition Activity definition involves identifying and documenting the specific activities that must be performed in order to produce the deliverables from the project. Activity definition uses WBS, scope statement, historical information, diferent constraint, assumptions as the inputs. Decomposition tools and tamplates are used as techniques. Activity list, supoprting details, and the updates of WBS are the outcomes from this area. Activity Sequencing Activity sequencing involves the identifying and documenting the activity dependencies within the project. The activity must be sequenced inoder to support the later development of a real world and achivable schedule. Activity list, product description, dependencies, assuptions etc are used as input in this area. Precedence daigramming method (PDM), arrow diagramming method , network templates are used to process the inputs. Activity Duration Estimating Aactivity duration estimating involves assuring the number of work periods likely to be needed to complete each identified activity. Overall project duration is also estimating in this period. The inputs of this period are activity list, constraints, assumptions, resource requirements, resources capabilities etc. Activity duration estimation, basis of estimates, and activity list updates are the outputs that we can get from this period.   Schedule Development Schedule development involves in determining the start and finish dates for project activities. If the time schedule of a project are not realistic, the project is unlikely to be finished as scheduled. Project network diagram, activity duration estimates, resource requirements, resource pool description, assumptions etc are inputs of this area. The outputs we got from this area are project schedule, supporting detail, schedule management plan, resource requirement updates. Schedule Control Schedule control is concerned with the factors which influence to create schdule changes to ensure that changes are benifical for the project, detemining that the schedule has changed and managing the actual changes when and as they occur. Schedule control is integrated with the overall control process which is a phase of project integration management. Project schedule, performance reports, change requests, schedule management plan are the inputs to this area. Project Cost Management Project cost management includes the processes which are required to ensure that the project is completed within the approved budget. It involves the following major areas- Resources Planning Resource planning involves determining what physical resources like- people, equipment, materials etc. and what quantities of each should be used to perform project activities. It is closely coordinated with cost estimating. WBS, historical information, scope statement, resource pool description and organization policies are the inputs of this area. Experts will judgment with all alternatives that are identified and give a complete resource requirement. Cost Estimating Cost estimating involves to developing a possible estimation of costs of resources that are needed to complete a project activities. WBS, resource requirements, resource rates, activity duration estimates and chart of account are the inputs of cost estimation. There are different tools that are used in this process. They are- analogous estimating, parametric modeling, bottom-up estimating, computerized tools etc. cost estimates, supporting details,, and cost management plan are the output of this area.   Cost Budgeting Cost budgeting involves allocating the overall cost estimates to individual work items in order to establish a cost baseline for measuring project performance. Cost estimation, WBS, and project schedule are the inputs of cost budgeting. Cost baseline is the outputs of this stage. Cost Control Cost control is concerned with the factors which create changes to the cost baseline to ensure that changes are beneficial, whether the cost baseline has changed or not, managing the actual change. Cost baseline, performance reports, change requests and cost management plan are the inputs of this area. Project Quality Management Project quality management includes the processes required to ensure that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken. It includes all activities of the overall management function that determine the quality policy, objectives and responsibilities. The following areas are the major part of project quality management process. Quality Planning Quality planning identifies the quality standards which are relevant to the project and to determining how to satisfy them. Quality planning, scope statement, product description, standards and regulations and other process outputs are the inputs of quality planning. Flowcharting, benchmarking, designing of experiments are the techniques used to process the inputs. The result out from this phase includes quality management plan, operational definitions, checklists etc. Quality Assurance Quality assurance evaluates the overall project performance on a regular basis to provide confidence that the project will satisfy the relevant quality standards. Quality management plan, result of quality control measurements, operational definitions are inputs of this process and quality improvement is the outcome from this process. Quality Control Quality control monitors the specific project results to determine if they comply with relevant quality standards and identifying ways to eliminate causes of unsatisfactory performance. Work result, quality management plan, operational definitions and checklist are input of this area. This inputs are processed by control charts, praetor diagram flowcharting. Quality improvement, acceptance decisions, rework, completed checklists, process adjustments etc are the outputs from this process. Project Human Resource Management Project human resource management involves the process of using the people who can make the effective effort to complete the project. All the sponsor, customers, individual contributors are included in human resource management. The major areas are describing below- Organizational Planning Organizational planning involves identifying, documenting, and assigning project roles, responsibilities and reporting relationships. The inputs are project interfaces, staffing requirements and constraints. Templates, human resources practices and stakeholder analysis are the tools for processing the inputs. The role, responsibility assignment of persons who are working on the project and also the supporting details are the result we have from this phase. Staff Acquisition The human resources needed to be assigned and are working on the project are involves in staff acquisition. The staff acquisitions also take care about best resources which may be missing in most work environment. Staffing management plan, staffing pool description, recruitment practices are the inputs of this area. Negotiations with workers, pre- assignment and procurement are tools that used in staff acquisition. And as a result the project will get the staff assigned to it, and has a team directory. Team Development Team development includes enhancing the ability of stakeholders as well as the team which are working on the project. Project staff, project plan, staffing management plan, performance reports and external feed is the inputs of the team development. Project Management Techniques There are a number of approaches to managing project activities. We only describe the Program evaluation and Review technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM). Pert A series of activities are needed for complex project, some of them has to be performed sequentially and others can performed parallel with other ptoject. This randomness in activitiy completion times are allowed in the Program evalution and Review technique (PERT) which is like a network model. The Network Diagram Project actvities are the task that needs to be performed and the marking the completion of some important activities are called events also referred as milestones. All of the predecessor activities must be completed before an activity begins. Activities and milestones are respresenated by arcs and nodes respectively in project network model. The activites are represented on the lines and milestones on the nodes, as PERT originally was an activity on arc network. The PERT char may have multiple pages with many sub-tasks. In the following fig we have shown a simple PERT diagram. The ending nodes has the higher number than the beginning node of an activity. Incrementing the numbers by 10 allows for new ones can be inserted without modifying the entire diagram. The activites in the fig are labeled with letters along with the expected time that is needed to comple the activity. Steps in the PERT Planning Process PERT planning involves the following steps: 1. Specific activities and milestones identifying. 2. The sequence of the activities properly determined. 3. Construct a network diagram. 4. Estimate the time required for each activity. 5. Determine the critical path. 6. Update the PERT chart as the project progresses. Advantages PERT is useful because it provides the following information: The project will complete in expected time. There will be a Probability of completion of the project before the specified date. The completion time of a project are directly affected by critical path activities. The activities that have slack time and that can lend resources to critical path activities. Activity starts and end dates are also provided by PERT. Disadvantages The following are some of PERTs weaknesses: The activity time estimates are somewhat subjective and depend on judgment. In cases where there is little experience in performing an activity, the numbers may be only a guess. In other cases, if the person or group performing the activity estimates the time there may be bias in the estimate. Even if the activity times are well-estimated, PERT assumes a beta distribution for these time estimates, but the actual distribution may be different. Even if the beta distribution assumption holds, PERT assumes that the probability distribution of the project completion time is the same as that of the critical path. Because other paths can become the critical path if their associated activities are delayed, PERT consistently underestimates the expected project completion time. The underestimation of the project completion time due to alternate paths becoming critical is perhaps the most serious of these issues. To overcome this limitation, Monte Carlo simulations can be performed on the network to eliminate this optimistic bias in the expected project completion time. 1. http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/pert/ 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pert   CPM The activities and events of a project can be modeled as a network using CPM method. In the following diagram we have shown the activities as nodes on the network and events are depicted as lines or arcs between the nodes. Steps in CPM Project Planning. 1. individual activities should be specified 2. Sequence of the activities should be determined 3. Draw a network diagram. 4. For each activity the completion time should be estimated. 5. Critical path identification (longest path through the network) 6. Update the CPM diagram as the project progresses. 1. Individual Activities should be specified A listing of activities can be made from the work break down structure of a project. 2. Sequence of the Activities should be determined Some activities are dependent on each other depending on the completion of others. To constructing a useful CPM network diagram, a listing of the predecessors of each activity is needed. 3. Draw the Network Diagram The CPM diagram can be drawn after defining the activities and their sequencing. CPM originally was developed as an activity on node (AON) network, but some project planners prefer to specify the activities on the arcs. 4. For each activity Completion Time the completion should be estimated The time required to complete each activity can be estimated using past experience or the estimates of knowledgeable persons. CPM is a deterministic model that does not take into account variation in the completion time, so only one number is used for an activitys time estimate. 5. Critical Path identification The critical path is the longest-duration path through the network. The significance of the critical path is that the activities that lie on it cannot be delayed without delaying the project. Because of its impact on the entire project, critical path analysis is an important aspect of project planning [2]. 6. Update CPM diagram The network diagram should be updated as the project progresses, all of the task information that has completed needed to be including in the diagram. While project requirement changes the structure of the network diagram also change. Advantage: Graphical view of the project can be found. The required time needed to complete the project can be predicted. A list of activities which are critical to maintain and schedule can be found. Disadvantage CPM was developed for complex but fairly routine projects with minimal uncertainty in the project completion times. For less routine projects there is more uncertainty in the completion times, and this uncertainty limits the usefulness of the deterministic CPM model. 1. http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/cpm/ 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_path_method 3. http://hspm.sph.sc.edu/COURSES/J716/CPM/CPM.html

The Parasite Called Man Essay -- essays research papers

Erza Pound says that, â€Å"man is the superior animal†. Superior or not, we all have the same basic habits. When humans are scared they seek shelter, when we are hungry we eat, and when is right, we wish to pass on our genes. So how is it that man is so superior when all our instincts and urges are so primitive? Erza Pound is puzzled by why humans are superior. I think the only reason why humans are superior is because of ignorance. Humans are the only animals that don’t come to equilibrium with the environment they live in. If humans had to be compared to a certain type of living thing, they would be most like simple parasitic bacteria.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The earth, however large it may be, has it limits when it comes to natural resources. Of all animals human are the only ones that make non-biodegradable waste. When humans run out of resources in one area they go on to the next destroying the area in their path and until a new site is reached with more resources to abuse. This is much like the life history of flesh eating bacteria. About two years ago, I saw a special on 20/20 about the disease. They say that is moves at about an inch per hour and that they don’t stop feeding on the host until the host is dead. The bacteria multiply at a high rate and can migrate to other parts of the body by the blood stream. Try to look as the host body as the earth, the bacteria as the humans, and the blood stream as the oceans and river; now, anyone can see that this is no diffe...

Explication of William Blakes Poem London Essay -- essays papers

Explication of William Blakes Poem London William Blake’s poem â€Å"London† takes a complex look at life in London, England during the late seventeen hundreds into the early eighteen hundreds as he lived and experienced it. Blake’s use of ambiguous and double meaning words makes this poem both complex and interesting. Through the following explication I will unravel these complexities to show how this is an interesting poem. To better understand this poem some history about London during the time the poem was written is helpful. London was the â€Å". . . undisputed cultural, economic, religious, educational, and political center† of England in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. It was a city of â€Å"warehouses, docks, factories, prisons, palaces and slums, of beggars, laborers, shopkeepers, and bankers† (History). The industrial revolution was in full swing and the streets were filthy, the water and air were polluted, and there were rats everywhere. The famous â€Å"London fogs† were created from the burning of coal. The average Londoner lived until age 29, and as many as 1 in 8 drank themselves to death. While there were wealthy merchant and professional classes, the members of the poor grew and were crowded into filthy slums of the city (History). Keeping this history in mind lets take a look at the poem. Repetition and rhyme are an integral part of Blake’s â€Å"London.† The first stanza of the poem shows this repetition and rhyme. I wander through each chartered street, Near where the chartered Thames does flow, And mark in every face I meet Marks of weakness, marks of woe. (1-4) This repetition is a type of rhythm in the poem. According to John Nims and David Mason rhythm is â€Å"something that happens... ...Chart.† Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Home and Office Ed. 1998. â€Å"Chartered.† Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Home and Office Ed. 1998. â€Å"Cry.† Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Home and Office Ed. 1998. â€Å"Forged† Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Home and Office Ed. 1998. â€Å"Hapless† Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Home and Office Ed. 1998. â€Å"Manacle† Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Home and Office Ed. 1998. â€Å"Mark† Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Home and Office Ed. 1998. Nims, John Fredrick and David Mason. Western Wind: An Introduction to Poetry. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2000 â€Å"Syphilis.† National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Disease. 30 March 2000 http://www.naid.nih.gov/factsheets/stdysph.htm â€Å"Weakness.† Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Home and Office Ed. 1998. â€Å"Woe.† Merriam Webster’s Dictionary: Home and Office Ed. 1998.