Moby Dick By Herman Melville Essays - Moby-Dick, Captain Ahab

Moby Dick By Herman Melville Moby Dick Story by Herman Melville This is a story about a sailor named Ishmael, who is the narrator. Captain Ahab, the one-legged commander of the ship Pequod, is the main character. Ahab has sworn to kill this huge whale, Moby Dick, who took away his leg. Starbuck is the first mate of the Pequod, and Queequeg, Tashtego, and Daggoo are the three harpooners. This story takes place in Great Britain, all over the eastern Atlantic Ocean and in the Indian Ocean, around the early 1800s. It begins with Ishmael becoming extremely agitated. He decides to go out to sea on a whaling ship. In the port of New Bedford, he meets and shares a room with a harpooner named Queequeg. The two of them become good friends, and agree to sail together. The day after they arrive at Nantucket, Ishmael begins searching for a whaling ship getting ready to leave harbor. Out of three ships ready to leave, he chooses the Pequod. The owners of the ship are Captain Peleg and Captain Bildad, and they are excited to hear of Queequeg from Ishmael and glad to let him join the crew. They are told the captain of the ship is named Ahab. Peleg and Bildad say that he is a good man, but because of some strange illness, he is confined to his cabin. On Christmas day, and with Ahab still in his cabin, the Pequod sets sail in the Atlantic. As the weather begins to warm up several months after leaving port, Ahab is finally seen on deck. The strangest thing about Ahab is his peg leg, it is made of ivory. As the weeks passed by, Ahab started to become friendlier. One day, he called the crew before him. He tells them that the sole mission of the Pequod is to kill Moby Dick. Moby Dick is a gigantic whale with a crooked jaw and a deformed forehead. He has never been defeated, and has attacked and sunk many large ships. Ahab admits he hates Moby Dick for taking his leg away, and he wants revenge. The crew agrees to this challenge, and swear to kill him. The only one who is not excited about hunting for Moby Dick is Starbuck. For many months, the Pequod sails South, through the Atlantic, around the Cape of Good Hope, and into the Indian Ocean. Along the way, they kill and drain the oil from every whale they encounter. Each time they meet another ship, Ahab begins the conversation with "Hast seen the White Whale?". Finally, after entering the Japanese sea, the Pequod encounters a whaling ship named the Enderby. The Enderby's captain had just recently lost his arm to Moby Dick. Ahab becomes so excited at the news that he breaks his ivory leg. The ship's carpenter builds him a new one. Once reaching the waters around the equator, the Pequod meets another whaling ship, the Rachel. They had seen Moby Dick, and had become separated from one of the whaling boats during the battle. Ahab refuses to help them look for the missing men. At last, Ahab spots Moby Dick. In the first day of fighting, the whale is harpooned many times, but escapes after smashing Ahab's boat. On the second day, the whale is harpooned again, but still escapes. On the third day, Ahab's harpoon pierces the whale, but the rope catches him by the neck and Moby Dick drags him to the bottom of the sea. An angry Moby Dick rams and sinks the Pequod. Only Ishmael survives, and the Rachel rescues him.

The History and Archaeology of Vindija Cave

The History and Archaeology of Vindija Cave Vindija Cave is a stratified paleontological and archaeological site in Croatia, which has several occupations associated with both Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH). Vindija includes a total of 13 levels dated between 150,000 years ago and the present, spanning the upper part of the Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic, and Upper Paleolithic periods. Although several of the levels are sterile of hominin remains or have been disturbed primarily cryoturbations ice wedging, there are some stratigraphically separated hominin levels at Vindija Cave associated with humans and Neanderthals. Although the earliest recognized hominid occupations date to ca. 45,000 bp, deposits at Vindija include strata that comprise a huge number of animal bones, including tens of thousands of specimens, 90% of which are cave bears, over a period of more than 150,000 years. This record of animals in the region has been used to establish data about the climate and habitat of northwest Croatia during that period. The site was first excavated in the first half of the 20th century, and more extensively excavated between 1974 and 1986 by Mirko Malez of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In addition to archaeological and faunal remains, numerous archaeological and faunal remains, with over 100 hominin discoveries have been found at Vindija Cave. Specimens in Level G3 (38,000-45,000 years bp), the lowest hominin-bearing level, are Neanderthals and are associated with exclusively Mousterian artifacts.Specimens in Level G1 (32,000-34,000 years bp) represent the most recent Neanderthals at the site and are associated with both Mousterian and Upper Paleolithic stone tools.Hominins in Level F (31,000-28,000 years bp) are associated with Aurignacian and according to researchers look a little like both AMH and Neanderthal.Hominins in Level D (less than 18,500 years bp, the uppermost hominid-bearing strata in the cave, are associated with Gravettian culture artifacts  and represent only anatomically modern humans. Vindija Cave and mtDNA In 2008, researchers reported that a complete mtDNA sequence had been retrieved from a thigh bone of one of the Neanderthals recovered from Vindija Cave. The bone (called Vi-80) comes from level G3, and it was direct-dated to 38,310  ± 2130 RCYBP. Their research suggests that the two hominins who occupied Vindija Cave at different timesearly modern Homo sapiens and Neanderthalswere clearly separate species. Even more interestingly, Lalueza-Fox and colleagues have discovered similar DNA sequencesfragments of sequences, that isin Neanderthals from Feldhofer Cave (Germany) and El Sidron (northern Spain), suggesting a common demographic history among groups in eastern Europe and the Iberian peninsula. In 2010, the Neanderthal Genome Project announced that it had finished a complete DNA sequence of Neanderthal genes, and discovered that between 1 and 4 percent of the genes that modern humans carry around with them come from Neanderthals, directly contradicting their own conclusions just two years ago. Read more about the latest findings about Neanderthal and Human Interbreeding The Last Glacial Maximum and Vindija Cave A recent study reported in Quaternary International (Miracle et al. listed below) describes the climate data recovered from Vindija Cave, and Veternica, Velika pecina, two other caves in Croatia. Interestingly, the fauna indicate that during the period between 60,000 and 16,000 years ago, the region had a moderate, broadly temperate climate with a range of environments. In particular, there seems to have been no significant evidence for what was thought to be a shift to cooler conditions at the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum, about 27,000 years bp. Sources Each of the links below leads to a free abstract, but payment is needed for the full article unless otherwise noted. Ahern, James C. M., et al. 2004 New discoveries and interpretations of hominid fossils and artifacts from Vindija Cave, Croatia. Journal of Human Evolution 4627-4667. Burbano HA, et al. 2010. Targeted Investigation of the Neandertal Genome by Array-Based Sequence Capture. Science 238:723-725. Free download Green RE, et al. 2010. A Draft Sequence of the Neandertal Genome. Science 328:710-722. Free download Green, Richard E., et al. 2008 A Complete Neandertal Mitochondrial Genome Sequence Determined by High-Throughput Sequencing. Cell 134(3):416-426. Green, Richard E., et al. 2006 Analysis of one million base pairs Neanderthal DNA. Nature 444:330-336. Higham, Tom, et al. 2006 Revised direct radiocarbon dating of the Vindija G1 Upper Paleolithic Neandertals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 10(1073):553-557. Lalueza-Fox, Carles, et al. 2006 Mitochondrial DNA of an Iberian Neandertal suggests a population affinity with other European Neandertals. Current Biology 16(16):R629-R630. Miracle, Preston T., Jadranka Mauch Lenardic, and Dejana Brajkovic. in press Last glacial climates, Refugia, and faunal change in Southeastern Europe: Mammalian assemblages from Veternica, Velika pecina, and Vindija caves (Croatia). Quaternary International in press Lambert, David M. and Craig D. Millar 2006 Ancient genomics is born. Nature 444:275-276. Noonan, James P., et al. 2006 Sequencing and Analysis of Neanderthal Genomic DNA. Science 314:1113-1118. Smith, Fred. 2004. Flesh and Bone: Analyses of Neandertal Fossils Reveal Diet was High in Meat Content Free press release, Northern Illinois University. Serre, David, et al. 2004 No Evidence of Neandertal mtDNA Contribution to Early Modern Humans. PLoS Biology  2(3):313-317.

Make Your Own Signature Perfume Scent

Make Your Own Signature Perfume Scent Perfume is a classic gift, but its even better if the perfume you give is a scent that you created yourself, especially if you package it in a beautiful bottle. Perfume you make yourself is free from synthetic chemicals and is fully customized to your personal taste. Heres how to make your own perfume. Perfume Materials Perfume consists of a mixture of essential oils in a base oil, together with alcohol and water. 1/2 ounce jojoba oil or sweet almond oil2-1/2 ounces ethanol (e.g., vodka)2 tablespoons spring water or distilled water (not tap water)coffee filterdark-colored glass bottle25 drops essential oils (buy them at a health store or online or distill your own)7 drops base note essential oils7 drops middle note essential oils6-7 drops top note essential oilscouple of drops of bridge notes (optional) The essential oils that you use form the basis of your perfume. These essential oils are called the notes of the perfume. The base notes are the part of the perfume that lasts the longest on your skin. The middle notes evaporate a little more quickly. The top notes are the most volatile and disperse first. Bridge notes have intermediate evaporation rates and serve to tie a scent together. Sometimes other substances are added to a perfume, such as sea salt (ocean scent), black pepper (spicy), camphor, and vetiver. Since the essential oils evaporate at different rates, the way a perfume smells changes over time as you wear it. Here are some examples of common base, middle, top, and bridge notes. base notes: cedarwood, cinnamon, patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla, moss, lichen, fernmiddle notes: clove, geranium, lemongrass, neroli, nutmeg, ylang-ylangtop notes: bergamot, jasmine, lavender, lemon, lime, neroli, orchid, rosebridge: vanilla, lavender The order in which you mix your ingredients is important, since it will affect the scent. If you change the procedure, record what you did in case you want to do it again. Create Your Perfume Add the jojoba oil or sweet almond oil to the bottle.Add the essential oils in the following order: the base notes, followed by the middle notes, then finally the top notes. Add a couple of drops of bridge notes, if desired.Add 2-1/2 ounces of alcohol.Shake the bottle for a couple of minutes then let it sit for 48 hours to 6 weeks. The scent will change over time, becoming strongest around 6 weeks.When the scent is where you want it to be, add 2 tablespoons of spring water to the perfume. Shake the bottle to mix the perfume, then filter it through a coffee filter and pour it into its final bottle. Ideally, this will be a dark bottle with minimal airspace, since light and exposure to air degrade many essential oils.You can pour a little perfume into a decorative bottle, but in general, store your perfume in a dark sealed bottle, away from heat and light.Label your creation. Its a good idea to record how you made the perfume, in case you want to duplicate it. Perfumery Notes It takes experimentation to get the scent you want, but you can get started in the right direction by keeping in mind the type of scent associated with essential oils: earthy: patchouli, vetiverfloral: geranium, jasmine, neroli, rose, violet, ylang-ylangfruity: bergamot, grapefruit, lemon, lemongrass, lime, mandarin, orangeherbal: angelica, basil, chamomile, clary sage, lavender, peppermint, rosemarysea: sea saltspicy: black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, ginger, juniper, nutmegwoodsy: cassia, cedar, cypress, pine, sandalwood If the perfume is too strong, you can dilute it with more water. If you want your perfume to retain its scent longer, add a tablespoon of glycerin to the perfume mixture.

Business plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Business plan - Assignment Example This has been in practice by people regardless of their age ranging from their childhood which poses as great dange (Henry, 2013)r. Also from the time of industrialization in this world whereby machines replaced work done by human especially the practical and manual work, many people have engaged in business or work practices which they engage passively. Most people work in offices and spend all of their day sited. This makes their bodies to be more relaxed which is a great danger. Due to the above practices which have been caused by emanating factors in the environment such as technological developments in food and in how work is carried out, diseases have come into being which have killed and continue to kill people all over (Pinson, 2004). An example of a lifestyle disease is cancer which results from eating unhealthy food which comprises mostly of junk food and on the other hand not practicing at all. As per the above aspects of life, it is thus worth to come up with a fitness center which will tend to assist people to maintain a good living characterized with good health through training and proper dieting. This is a spelled out in the fitness centers vision, mission and the strategy of the organization (Bisoux, 2002). Good health fitness center is an entity whose main goal will be to create a fit and healthy society. Good training and proper dieting will be our main objective which we intend to teach the society in order to make the world a better place. Our agenda is to eliminate lifestyle diseases in the future through our committed staff of well-trained fitness guides who will be of help to the society through their advice on how to train and live well. Our goal is also to create branches throughout the nation In order to ease access of training facilities and services. Our vision is to be the best in weight management, group fitness, cardio and martial arts. Our mission is to be the best firm in

Human trafficking during major sporting events such as the Superbowl, Thesis

Human trafficking during major sporting events such as the Superbowl, World cup, World Series - Thesis Example The focus is also on the study of finding solution to the problem and advising policy implications in order to eliminate this crime which is a shame in itself. 1. Introduction According to an UK ratified instrument, the definition of human trafficking is as follows: â€Å"Trafficking in person† shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transport, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at the minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or removal of organs.†(Great Britain. Parliament, 10) In other words it can be said that human trafficking is modern day slavery and fastest growing criminal industry in the world with the means of threat, force, coercion, raid, deception and exploitation being the prime parameters of this socially degenerating phenomenon. The paper at its core tries to develop an elaboration of the varied forms of human trafficking associated with the great sporting events like Olympic Games, Super bowl, Football World cup, Basketball and other sporting events. The research question which it attempts to answer is that ‘Does human trafficking exist in these sporting events? If so how much and to what extent is that valid? What are the types of human trafficking exists in these mega sporting events? Human trafficking in the form of slavery It has been almost two hundred years that there has been abolition of transatlantic slave trade and declaration for the United Nations that, ‘slavery and slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms’ (Kathryn 3). But human trafficking in its ugly form is still persistent in our world and human beings are living in the state of slavery. In ancient times the concept of tied labor or slavery was a predominant feature and people used to born or inherit slavery an d there were no laws or laws which persisted were not stringent at all. But this feature is still persistent today although the laws are rigid and strict. As for example in Mauritania, despite the country passed its third official abolition of slavery in 1980 approximately 20 percent of the population is born into an inherited slavery. Here lies the crux of modern slavery. In the modern world the enslaved people are born in freedom but lose their freedom when they are illegally transported to different countries and they are treated like animals with no human conditions and are under threat of violence or even death (Kathryn 3). It has been found that the women are most vulnerable to human trafficking. At least half of international trafficking cases are for sexual exploitation and women account for around ninety-eight percent of forced sexual exploitation. These women are given employment opportunities and later they are moved into the realm of human trafficking and thus into the s lavery (Bales et al, 66). 2. Human trafficking during sports events World sporting events have always been recognized as a ‘showcase of world class athleticism and teamwork’. But the horrifying fact behind these great sporting events is that human trafficking in its ugliest face is persistent in these events. Initially the major concern for sex trafficking in the

Steps on How O Prepare Seminar Workshop Essay Example for Free

Steps on How O Prepare Seminar Workshop Essay Conducting a successful seminar workshop requires a great deal of preparation and confidence. Its important to follow a step-by-step blueprint to successfully conduct workshops, from the preparation stage to the final evaluation. 1. Select your presentation topic based on your expertise and goals and on the needs of your target audience. Research your subject thoroughly. 2. Decide who your audience will be and why they are attending so you can tailor the content to their needs. 3. Choose a presentation format. A workshop is hands-on, with participants who are engaged by doing, building, creating or learning a skill. 4. Establish the length of your presentation based on the amount of material you wish to convey and audience needs. Plan the workshop structure, including how much time will be alloted. Build in enough time for introductions, activities and questions in addition to each learning section. 5. Create an outline for the flow of your presentation. Formulate three or four (no more than six, depending on time available) key learning objectives. Use them as section headings for the main body of content. Include facts, discussions and interactive exercises in your content. Set realistic times for each section. 6. Select visual aids for your presentation. Use interesting, unusual and amusing visual aids to help participants understand and retain information. These might include a slide show or PowerPoint presentation, a flip chart, a video, a demonstration, role play, items pulled from a grab bag, live animals, a game or contest, or even food or beverage, depending on your workshop topic. Ensure that the visual aids are clear and concise, can be seen from any point in the audience and do not contain mistakes or contradict one another. Limit visual aids to an average of about one every 15 minutes. Other sensory aids might be appropriate, depending on your topic. However, one we ll chosen aid is better than sensory overload. If you are giving a demonstration, be sure to allot more time for preparation and equipment. 7. Ask frequent questions to promote discussion among participants, maintain attention and take pressure off yourself. Make the information interesting by using examples, stories and metaphors. 8. Prepare cue cards or notes with bullet points to remind yourself of the content during your delivery and keep it flowing. 9. Practice in advance of the seminar. Ask a friend or colleague to participate in practice sessions and provide constructive feedback. Memorize your introduction to increase your confidence as you get started. Adjust the time and content as required. 10. Maintain clear speech, steady pace and good eye contact throughout. Use appropriate humour to keep the atmosphere enjoyable and informal while also disguising any mistakes. Control your time schedule but also allow some flexibility. TIPS AND WARNINGS IN PREPARING A SEMINAR SYMPULSIOM WORKSHOP * End with a question and answer session for a specific length of time. If there are more questions than time allows, offer to respond later by e-mail or next time. * Give out evaluation forms and make sure you get them back. You wont know how to improve without feedback. * Never read verbatim from a Power Point presentation.

The Medicinal, Industrial, Recreational, and Commercial Uses of Marijua

The Medicinal, Industrial, Recreational, and Commercial Uses of Marijuana "Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to the individual than the use of the drug itself" said President Jimmy Carter in a message to Congress in 1977 (Family Council on Drug Awareness). Unfortunately, congress did not and has not listened to him. Even though numerous government-sponsored studies have proven that the use of the cannabis plant is safe and has many benefits, it is still illegal. Cannabis sativa is a flowering plant that has two main variations: marijuana and hemp. Marijuana contains the chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which alters the mind when smoked, eaten, drank, or taken in the pill form. It is often called grass, pot, reefer, Mary Jane, herb, weed, or one of over 200 slang terms (National Institute of Drug Abuse). Hemp is bred to have lower THC content so that it does not have mind-altering capabilities. It is often used to make fibers, clothing, oil, ropes, and to aerate the soil in crop rotation. The qualities of both str ains of the cannabis plant are not new discoveries to humankind. In fact, the Chinese first recorded use of marijuana in the year 2727 B.C. (Schleichert 5). People in every inhabited continent legally used marijuana for recreation and medicine for thousands of years. It was not until after the "Reefer Madness" campaign of the 1930s that marijuana became illegal in the United States. The campaign gave exaggerated stories and false information to scare people away from the use of cannabis. Ever since, studies have shown that marijuana is safe and beneficial and activists have pushed for legalization, but governments refuse to legalize it. Instead, they have harsh laws prohibit... ...: Should they be Legalized. New Jersey: Enslow, 1996. Potter, Dr. Beverley and Dan Joy. The Healing Magic of Cannabis. Berkeley: Ronin, 1998. Schleichert, Elizabeth. The Drug Library: Marijuana. New Jersey: Enslow, 1996. Simmons, Michael. Afterword. "The Madness Continues." Reefer Madness. New York: St. Martin's Griffon, 1998. 397-435. Swan, Neil. "Marijuana, Other Drug Use Among Teens Continues to Rise." NIDA Notes. Apr 1995. On-line. Internet. Available WWW: http://165.112.78.61/NIDA_Notes/NNVol10N2/Marijuanateens.html. Woolf, Marie. "Cannabis less harmful than aspirin, says scientist." Independent News 20 Oct 2000. On-line. Internet. 23 Jan 2001. Available WWW: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/Health/2000-10/cannabis201000.shtml. Zimmer, Lynn, Ph.D. and John P. Morgan, M.D. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts. New York: Lindesmith Center, 1997. The Medicinal, Industrial, Recreational, and Commercial Uses of Marijua The Medicinal, Industrial, Recreational, and Commercial Uses of Marijuana "Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to the individual than the use of the drug itself" said President Jimmy Carter in a message to Congress in 1977 (Family Council on Drug Awareness). Unfortunately, congress did not and has not listened to him. Even though numerous government-sponsored studies have proven that the use of the cannabis plant is safe and has many benefits, it is still illegal. Cannabis sativa is a flowering plant that has two main variations: marijuana and hemp. Marijuana contains the chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which alters the mind when smoked, eaten, drank, or taken in the pill form. It is often called grass, pot, reefer, Mary Jane, herb, weed, or one of over 200 slang terms (National Institute of Drug Abuse). Hemp is bred to have lower THC content so that it does not have mind-altering capabilities. It is often used to make fibers, clothing, oil, ropes, and to aerate the soil in crop rotation. The qualities of both str ains of the cannabis plant are not new discoveries to humankind. In fact, the Chinese first recorded use of marijuana in the year 2727 B.C. (Schleichert 5). People in every inhabited continent legally used marijuana for recreation and medicine for thousands of years. It was not until after the "Reefer Madness" campaign of the 1930s that marijuana became illegal in the United States. The campaign gave exaggerated stories and false information to scare people away from the use of cannabis. Ever since, studies have shown that marijuana is safe and beneficial and activists have pushed for legalization, but governments refuse to legalize it. Instead, they have harsh laws prohibit... ...: Should they be Legalized. New Jersey: Enslow, 1996. Potter, Dr. Beverley and Dan Joy. The Healing Magic of Cannabis. Berkeley: Ronin, 1998. Schleichert, Elizabeth. The Drug Library: Marijuana. New Jersey: Enslow, 1996. Simmons, Michael. Afterword. "The Madness Continues." Reefer Madness. New York: St. Martin's Griffon, 1998. 397-435. Swan, Neil. "Marijuana, Other Drug Use Among Teens Continues to Rise." NIDA Notes. Apr 1995. On-line. Internet. Available WWW: http://165.112.78.61/NIDA_Notes/NNVol10N2/Marijuanateens.html. Woolf, Marie. "Cannabis less harmful than aspirin, says scientist." Independent News 20 Oct 2000. On-line. Internet. 23 Jan 2001. Available WWW: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/UK/Health/2000-10/cannabis201000.shtml. Zimmer, Lynn, Ph.D. and John P. Morgan, M.D. Marijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts. New York: Lindesmith Center, 1997.

Great Divergence primary themes and main arguments by Timothy Noah Essay

Great Divergence: primary themes and main arguments by Timothy Noah Introduction            The most striking change in American society in the past generation roughly since Ronald Reagan was elected President has been the increase in the inequality of income and wealth. Timothy Noah’s â€Å"The Great Divergence: America’s Growing Inequality Crisis and What We Can Do About It†, a good general guide to the subject, tells us that in 1979 members of the much discussed â€Å"one per cent† got nine per cent of all personal income. Now they get a quarter of it. The gains have increased the farther up you go. The top tenth of one per cent get about ten per cent of income, and the top hundredth of one per cent about five per cent. While the Great Recession was felt most severely by those at the bottom, the recovery has hardly benefitted them. In 2010, ninety-three per cent of the year’s gains went to the top one per cent.            Since rich people are poorer in votes than they are in dollars, you’d think that, in an election year, the ninety-nine per cent would look to politics to get back some of what they’ve lost, and that inequality would be a big issue. So far, it hasn’t been. Occupy Wall Street and its companion movements briefly spurred President Obama to become more populist in his rhetoric, but there’s no sign that Occupy is going to turn into the kind of political force that the Tea Party movement has been. There was a period during the Republican primary campaign when Romney rivals like Newt Gingrich tried to take votes from the front-runner by bashing Wall Street and private equity, but that didn’t last long, either. Politics does feel sour and contentious in ways that seem to flow from the country’s economic distress. Yet much of the ambient discontent is directed toward government the government that kept the recession from turning into a depression. Why isn’t politics about what you’d expect it to be about?            Traditionally, class figured less in politics in America than in most other Western countries, supposedly because the United States, though more economically unequal, and rougher in tone, was more socially equal, more diverse, more democratic, and better at giving ordinary people the opportunity to rise. That’s what Alexis de Tocqueville found in the eighteen-thirties, and the argument has had staying power. It has also been wearing thin. During the five decades from 1930 to 1980, economic inequality decreased significantly, without imperiling â€Å"American exceptionalism.† So it’s especially hard to put a good face on the way inequality has soared in the decades since. Even if you think that all a good society requires is according to the debatable conservative mantra equal opportunity for every citizen, you ought to be a little shaken right now. Opportunity is increasingly tied to education, and educational performance is tied to income and wealth, when it comes to social mobility between generations, the United States ranks near the bottom of developed nations.            Noah writes from what might be called a neo-progressive standpoint. Like the original progressives, he seeks to blend an emotional and moral commitment to the causes of the left with the intellectual rigor of the best available economic and social science research. As in the case of the original progressives, the result is a powerful, if sometimes flawed, perspective that is likely to influence the course of American debates on issues of economic policy and justice. Noah’s central contention is that government policy can and should do more to reverse the trend toward greater income inequality that has developed in the United States since 1979. Some of his policy prescriptions, such as substituting carbon taxes and value-added taxes for the deeply regressive payroll tax, could win bipartisan support; others would have to await much larger Democratic majorities than currently exist in Congress. Still, although the analysis in this relatively short and very acc essible book is necessarily incomplete, and some of its contentions are more powerfully stated than convincingly argued, The Great Divergence is an excellent guide to the emerging center-left economic policy consensus likely to inform Democratic Party thinking and policymaking for some time to come.            In â€Å"The Great Divergence,† the journalist Timothy Noah gives us as fair and comprehensive a summary as we are likely to get of what economists have learned about our growing inequality. Noah is concerned about why inequality has widened so markedly over the last three to four decades, what it means for American society and what the country can and, he argues, urgently should do about it. As he makes clear, what has mostly grown is the gap between those at the top and those in the middle. The principal influences on inequality that Noah examines include the failure of America’s schools to keep pace with the step-up in skills that advancing technology demands from our labor force; America’s skewed immigration policy, which inadvertently brings in more unskilled than skilled immigrants and thereby subjects already lower-income workers to greater competition for jobs; rising competition with China, India and other low-wage countries, as changi ng technology enables Americans to buy ever more goods and even services produced overseas; the failure of the federally mandated minimum wage to keep up with inflation; the decline of labor unions, especially among employees of private-sector firms; and what he sees as an anti-worker and anti-poor attitude among American politicians in general and Republicans in particular. Along the way, he enlivens what might otherwise be a dry recounting of research findings with fast-paced historical vignettes featuring colorful characters like the novelist Horatio Alger, the labor leader Walter Reuther and the business lobbyist Bryce Harlow.            What’s to blame, then, for America’s widening inequality? Leaving aside the politicians, Noah reviews economic research supporting the familiar hypotheses. Indeed, each of them is probably part of the explanation. But the goal of research in a policy-oriented inquiry like this one is quantitative establishing just how much of the explanation to assign to separate influences one by one, even if all of them contribute to the story. We want not merely to portion out the blame but to know what to do, and different explanations call for different remedies. It would make little sense, for example, to invest huge sums in reforming K-12 education and reducing the cost of college if the mismatch between graduates’ skills and what the economy requires accounts for only a small part of the problem. By contrast, if my Harvard colleagues Claudia Goldin and Lawrence Katz are right that education is the core of the issue (Noah draws extensively on their recen t research, especially their aptly titled book â€Å"The Race Between Education and Technology†), then what and how we teach young Americans should be at the top of the agenda.            It is not Noah’s fault that economic research has yet to reach consensus on how much of the blame for inequality to place on which explanation, and it is to his credit that he does not try to portray a consensus that is not there. His summary of what we know from the relevant research is faithful to what the researchers have found. Part of the problem here, which â€Å"The Great Divergence† also accurately conveys, is the tension inherent in concentrating on the American facet of a worldwide phenomenon. As Noah makes clear, inequality is increasing almost everywhere in the industrialized and postindustrial world, even if the increase has been much greater in the United States. We need to know how much weight to give to America-centric explanations like the shortcomings of our schools or our immigration system or the demise of unions. But to understand a global trend, we would like a more universal explanation.            Noah’s own explanation is, in effect, â€Å"all of the above,† and his policy recommendation is therefore to take action on all fronts. His chief concern is the fear that ever widening inequality will undermine our democracy: â€Å"Americans believe fervently in the value of social equality, and social equality is at risk when incomes become too dramatically unequal growing income inequality makes it especially difficult to maintain any spirit of e pluribus unum.† He rightly emphasizes that while the potential for individuals to move up is essential to what makes inequality acceptable, at least to most Americans, economic mobility in the United States is now more limited than it appears to have been in earlier times and contrary to the popular image more limited than in many other countries. (It also matters that in America today incomes are becoming more unequal at the same time that most families’ incomes have been stagnant for more th an a decade after allowing for inflation a point that Noah notes but does not emphasize.)            How much inequality can the Republic stand before the social and political fabric frays? Noah does not answer the question, in part because he doesn’t know, but mostly because he feels he doesn’t need to. â€Å"You’d have to be blind,† he writes, â€Å"not to see that we are headed in the wrong direction, and we’ve been heading that way for too long. The worst thing we could do to the Great Divergence is get used to it.† What economics terms â€Å"the Great Divergence† has until now been treated as little more than a talking point, a club to be wielded in ideological battles. But it may be the most important change in this country during our lifetimes-a sharp, fundamental shift in the character of American society, and not at all for the better.            The income gap has been blamed on everything from computers to immigration, but its causes and consequences call for a patient, non-partisan exploration. In The Great Divergence, Timothy Noah delivers this urgently needed inquiry, ignoring political rhetoric and drawing on the best work of contemporary researchers to peer beyond conventional wisdom. Noah explains not only how the Great Divergence has come about, but why it threatens American democracy-and most important, how we can begin to reverse it.            Fortunately, however, we might comfort ourselves by knowing that the United States remains a land rich in opportunity much as it was in the past, unique among nations in its lack of a rigid class structure and its social mobility. But we’d be deceiving ourselves. In The Great Divergence, Timothy Noah of The New Republic posits that, since 1979, there has been a â€Å"particularly extreme† divergence in income inequality in the United States. Noah synthesizes the work of economists, political scientists, and sociologists to argue that income inequality has increased, and that this is not good for American society. In the book’s final chapter, he advocates specific actions and policies that he believes would help reverse this trend. His suggestions are largely politically progressive proposals, including increasing taxes on the super-rich, bolstering the federal workforce, and breaking up the too-large-to-fail banks. While there are likely some c onservative-libertarian policy wonks that would be amenable to his proposal to break up the large banks, few would likely support Noah’s proposal to revive organized labor.            The author takes the title of the work comes from a phrase used by Paul Krugman, an outspoken advocate for Keynesian stimulus, in his 2007 book, The Conscience of a Liberal. Noah defines the Great Divergence as a socio-economic phenomenon as one not primarily involving the poor. Rather, it â€Å"is about the difference between how people lived during the half century preceding 1979 and how they lived during the three decades after 1979.† The story he tells, however, is not just about income inequality; it is about diminishing access to the top. According to Noah, over the past several decades, opportunities for upward social mobility have not increased.            Unlike some pundits who rehash talking points, Noah commendably cites ample scholarship to support his claim. In The Great Divergence, the reader learns that the United States now offers its citizens less intergenerational economic mobility than northern and western European nations. (I would venture, however, that the United States still allows for greater social mobility for children of first-generation immigrants than do Scandinavian and other western European countries.) Noah also highlights an intriguing sociological finding which indicates that Americans tend to overestimate the degree to which American society fosters upward socio-economic mobility.            Notable within the pages of The Great Divergence then is the fact that Noah challenges Paul Ryan for an October 2011 speech in which the Wisconsin Congressman contrasted what he perceived to be American social mobility with a rigid European welfare state class structure. Ryan, according to Noah, â€Å"had it exactly backward.† In truth, European countries now offer more social mobility than the United States. While Noah penned his study of income inequality prior to Mitt Romney’s choosing Ryan as his running mate, The Great Divergence takes on a more salient political implication in this new found context.            So what caused the Great Divergence? According to Noah, the Great Divergence did not result from prejudice against African-Americans or women. The failure of the American educational system to meet the demand for higher skilled workers is part of the story, as is trade with low-wage nations such as China and the increase of business lobbying in Washington. The decline of organized labor also played a role. Noah also refers to the rise of extremely wealthy (â€Å"stinking rich,† in his parlance) as a â€Å"separate and distinct phenomenon† that can be thought of as â€Å"the Great Divergence, Part 2.† The last several decades have been witness to the emergence of what are, in essence, new social classes within the top 1%, namely the top 0.1% and the top 0.01%. Wall Street, according to Noah, played a substantial role in the emergence of these extremely wealthy individuals. Top income shares are rising faster in the United States than in other de veloped countries.            Overall, Noah may succeed in persuading the reader in that income inequality not only is on the rise and that it is problematic for society. He is less convincing in his policy proposals to remedy the situation. To be fair, he does rightly acknowledge that many of his proposals, many of which are further to the left than President Obama, are not â€Å"politically salable today.† Noah could have bolstered his work, and perhaps the reception to it, had he offered a list of concrete and specific policies that would both reverse income inequality and be palatable to a large slice of the American electorate. The work also suffers from the fact that it is largely a summary of other scholars’ work, much of it very technical; making it less accessible to a general audience that it deserves to be.            In conclusion, one can think of The Great Divergence as a plea to the American public to recognize that income inequality is a problem. It is also to acknowledge that social mobility is no longer operating the way in which it used to. I would contend that the frustration that many Americans feel with Washington in many ways reflects the fact that the system is not producing the same results as it did for people’s parents and grandparents. Income inequality currently is a topic of concern among the country’s economists, political activists, and pundits. Whether it will be a broadly discussed national concern remains to be seen. It would be heartening to see at least one moderator in the upcoming presidential debates ask each of the candidates where they stood on the topic of income inequality. References Noah, Timothy. The great divergence: America’s growing inequality crisis and what we can do about it. New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2012. Print. Bottom of Form Source document

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How to Solve Algebra Problems Step-By-Step

How to Solve Algebra Problems Step-By-Step Solving Algebra word problems is useful in helping you to solve earthly problems.  Ã‚  While the 5 steps of Algebra problem solving are listed below, this article will focus on the first step, Identify the problem. Use the Following Steps to Solve Word Problems: Identify the problem.Identify what you know.Make a plan.Carryout the plan.Verify that the answer makes sense. Identify the Problem Back away from the calculator; use your brain first.  Your mind analyzes, plans, and guides  in the labyrinthine quest for the solution. Think of the calculator  as merely a tool that makes the journey easier.  After all, you wouldn’t want a surgeon to crack your ribs and perform a heart transplant without first identifying the source of your chest pains. The steps of identifying the problem are: Express the problem question or statement.Identify the unit of the final answer. Step 1:  Express the Problem Question or Statement In Algebra word problems, the problem is expressed as either a question or a statement. Question: How many trees will John have to plant?How many televisions will Sara have to sell to earn $50,000? Statement: Find the number of trees John will have to plant.Solve for the number of televisions Sara will have to sell to earn $50,000. Step 2: Identify the Unit of the Final Answer What will the answer look like? Now that you understand the word problem’s purpose, determine the answer’s unit. For example, will the answer be in miles, feet, ounces, pesos, dollars, the number of trees, or a number of televisions? Example 1: Algebra Word Problem Javier is making brownies to serve at the family picnic.  If the recipe calls for 2  ½ cups of cocoa to serve 4 people, how many cups will he need if 60 people attend the picnic? Identify the problem:  How many cups will Javier need if 60 people attend the picnic?Identify the unit of the final answer: Cups Example 2: Algebra Word Problem In the market for computer batteries, the intersection of the supply and demand functions determines the price, p dollars, and the quantity, q, of goods sold.Supply function: 80q - p 0Demand function:  4q p 300Determine the price and quantity of computer batteries sold when these functions intersect. Identify the problem:  How much will the batteries cost and how much will be sold when supply and demand functions meet? Identify the unit of the final answer: The quantity, or q, will be given in batteries. The price, or p, will be given in dollars. Here are some free algebra worksheets for practice.

Anti Jerk Control Of Hybrid Electric Vehicle Engineering Essay

Anti Jerk Control Of Hybrid Electric Vehicle Engineering Essay The report details the review done in the area of anti-jerk control of vehicles. It explains the phenomenon of driveline oscillations excited due to torsion of driveline at high engine torques causing unwanted longitudinal oscillations in vehicle body. Report starts with a broad introduction to the topic and lays down the aims and objectives of the research project. The aims and objectives of the project are to design an active feedback control for an electric motor of a hybrid electric vehicle to damp these undesirable oscillations. A summary review of previous research work done in this area is presented which defines the starting point of the project. Different techniques used for anti-jerk control in conventional vehicle are discussed. Basic approach to model based control design is presented in the report. An introduction to hybrid electric vehicle driveline and description of its components different from conventional vehicle is shown. The report also lays down the procedure o f the work to be followed for the research project with a project plan. INTRODUCTION The increasing pressure of protecting the natural environment and to decrease the dependence on non-renewable sources of energy has encouraged vehicle manufacturers to develop more clean and efficient power systems. As a result Hybrid vehicles are hot topic for research among vehicle manufacturers. Efforts are being made to make the vehicles more fuel efficient with high performance and minimum CO2 emissions. Diesel hybrids are considered as next big thing among ecological designs since diesel engines are 20 % – 30% more fuel efficient than their petrol counterparts. Nowadays noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) issues have become more important for a customer such that there are very stringent requirements for noise or vibration in a vehicle. Driveability of a vehicle is majorly impacted by NVH problems and is strongly felt as vehicle’s performance during various manoeuvres such as ac celeration, braking, gear change etc. Thus vehicle manufacturers and OEM’s have realized the importance of NVH issues and target to identify the root cause of vibration and incorporate the correcting measures at early stages of manufacturing with a main goal to refine the ride and driveability of a vehicle. These days’ efforts are being made to increase the performance of vehicles and to make them more fuel efficient by using different techniques and one of the techniques is electrification of various systems in a vehicle. Electronic power assist steering system, electric active roll control, electronic differential, brake by wire are some of the examples of electrification of vehicle systems. This kind of methodology becomes more evident in case of hybrid electric vehicles where electric power components including power electronics are integral part of the powertrain. It has been observed that using these electrification techniques not only helps in increasing the per formance of the vehicle but also makes them more fuel efficient. Thus the electrification in a diesel hybrid powertrain to improve the driveability of vehicle forms the main platform for this research project. Problem Statement One of the major NVH issues in automobiles is torsional vibrations of driveline. The torsion of drivetrain at high engine torques causes oscillations in driveline. These oscillations are generally excited by various sources such as rapid or sudden load/torque change, gear change and unevenness of road surface. These oscillations cause longitudinal acceleration in vehicle structure and passenger compartment of the vehicle, which reduces the comfort and driveability of the vehicle and are experienced as unwanted jerking by the driver and passengers. These type of driveline oscillations are termed as Jerking, which is the main focus of this research.

Anchor and mooring systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Anchor and mooring systems - Essay Example Anchor and mooring system are used to hold the ships and the floating platforms in position and prevent movements caused by the wind and current. Given most sea vessels and ship are incapable of breaking, only anchorage systems and mooring can be used to slow down and hold the ship into position to avoid moving (Lekang, 2007). The unregulated and unwanted movements caused by wind and the current can cause grave consequences and repercussions including damage to property if the ship is not properly anchored or moored. Floating production systems and offshore drilling units located in deep sea require a high level of anchorage in order to maintain a firm position against the high tides, currents and wind present at high depths. Anchoring systems and mooring therefore perform a crucial function in maintaining the stability of the sea vessels without which there exist costly ramifications (Blackwell & Blackwell, 2011). This paper discusses the operation of anchors and mooring systems, th eir fabrication and classification. Operation Anchor and mooring system consist of the anchor, the mooring line which is used to transmit force from the moored vessel to the anchor and the tension system or the attachment point on the moored vessel or floating work platform. The mooring line can be made from either a chain or wire rope. In some cases the anchor line is made from the combination of the chain and wire rope with fiber line or rigid element included (Blackwell & Blackwell, 2011). In shallow waters of depth up to 100m, chains are usually preferred for permanent mooring. Steel ropes have a higher elasticity and is preferred at greater depth than 300m. Synthetic fiber ropes on the other hand is the lightest among the three choices and is used for anchorage in deep waters of up to 2,000m. The anchor usually provides the majority of the holding capacity or the resistance to motion even though the other components of the system are also at play in contributing to the anchorag e of the vessel or the floating work platform (Dokkum, 2010). The portion of the anchor buried under the sea has a significant contribution to the whole system especially when a chain is used as an anchor line. The portion of the anchoring system excluding the attachment point on the vessel or the floating work platform is known as the ground leg. The ground leg is inclusive of the anchor, anchor line and other auxiliary devices (Blackwell & Blackwell, 2011). The anchor line (chain or wire rope) is connected to the windlass mounted on the sea vessel or the floating platform. The windlass can be either of vertically or horizontally designed. Most anchor and mooring systems use a vertically designed windlass mostly known as a cap an. The capsan is composed of a gypsy; drive wheel notched in order to fit the chain links. The chain is drawn along the deck from the capsan through a pawl and dropped down through the hawse pipe in the deck which exits at the ship's bow. The chain is then d ropped down and a shackle is used to connect the chain to the anchor. The hardened steel pins of the shackle pass through a hole drilled in the anchor central shank (Scott, 2011). Material and methods of fabrication A number of materials can be used to make an anchor ranging from large blocks of rocks to sacks of sand. Commercial anchors are made from pig iron which are fabricated to form cast iron anchors. Steel anchors are also made through drop forging of carbon steel. Both the cast iron and forged steel anchors