Highway traffic operations Essay

Introduction Highway traffic operations are influenced by the behavior of drivers. A highway can be used by a finite number of vehicles, and the driver perceived safe distances between vehicles determine this limit. For a given speed, as distances become shorter, more vehicles can use the highway. Both the volume of drivers choosing to use the highway (demand) and the maximum volume that can be served (supply) depend on driver behavior. Congestion results from too many people attempting to reach their destinations at the same time using the same highways. The combination of demand, capacity, and certain infrastructure features (traffic control devices) determines how drivers perceive the traffic conditions. Transportation agencies strive for economical solutions to congestion that satisfy a majority of highway users. A traffic signal installation is a power-operated device which informs motorists or pedestrians when they have the right of way at a particular intersection. The first traffic signal was installed in London in 1868 and used semaphore ‘arms’ together with red and green gas lamps. Unfortunately, it exploded, putting an end to this sort of control for 50 years. However, in 1918 the first three colored light signals were installed in New York and in 1925 they started to be used in Great Britain. At the beginning of the 1930’s an attempt at making the signals more `intelligent’, or vehicle responsive, was tried in America, using microphones at the side of the road, requiring drivers to sound their horns. This was obviously not too popular and the first traffic detectors – electrical and pneumatic were invented. Traffic signals are now used throughout the world, using the three light signals of Green, red and amber. Also, by convention, these are normally arranged vertically with the red signal at the top and the green light at the bottom. This also helps people who are colour blind – both drivers and pedestrians to identify the differences between the lights. Traffic signals are used at intersections to reduce conflicts to a minimum by time sharing of right of way. This actually reduces the capacity of the intersection, but greatly enhances safety. Conflicts at intersections shows the potential conflict points at the junction of two roads, both with two way traffic flows, at which all crossing and merging movements are permitted. With the provision of traffic signal control the number of potential conflicts can be reduced from 64 to zero. There is no doubt that signals are one of the most powerful tools for urban traffic control available to city authorities and their correct installation can improve both traffic flow and the safety of all road users. In comparison to other traffic improvements, signals are also relatively low capital intensive and in recent years the advancement in informatics and telecommunications has led to a new generation of low cost controllers and systems that have made modern signaling an even more attractive and powerful tool. Essentially, traffic signals form part of the â€Å"software† of a city as opposed to the roads and bridges that are part of it’s â€Å"hardware†. As such they have the advantage of being cheap and often the disadvantage of being so cheap that no local lobby is interested in them, especially when city mayors fail to see the  political advantages in changing an old signal for a new one. It is thus part of the traffic engineer’s task to prove to city authorities that a modern and well designed traffic signal system will bring real and visible benefits to the city. Conflict points at an intersection. HYPOTHESIS Traffic control devices contribute a great deal to accidents that occur in Zambia. GOAL: To Contribute to Reducing the occurrence of accidents in Zambia OBJECTIVES: To improve on the standard of traffic control devices and installations. FINDINGS 1- For each site where traffic signals are being contemplated, it has been discovered that normally adequate data on the traffic flows at the junction is not sufficiently collected. What has been discovered is that the local authority in most cases they do not carry out traffic count surveys as the result, they end up installing traffic lights where they are not needed. Look at figure 1, traffic lights have been introduced at the curve. They could have been placed at more convenient site to avoid accidents with vehicles that may lose breaks and at the same time file to negotiate. 2- Traffic counts are likely to be divided into two types all day counts (normally during 16 hours of a work day) usually mid block on key roads, with the objective of defining the duration of the peak periods and general vehicle composition; and, specific junction counts carried out with the objective of providing the data for evaluation and design of the junctions. Due to not considering conducting traffic surveys the objective is not clearly known hence it was discovered that most of the junctions that houses traffic devices, do not have what is referred to as† BELL MOUTH† to allow safely turning of vehicles, lack of the bell mouth has really resulted into accidents which could have been avoided at design stage. 3- The counts should be made in periods of about 15 minutes, during at least two working days. If the counts are not similar then the counts should be repeated on another working day. A simple 16 hour survey form could look like Specific junction counts are aimed at providing the data for detailed evaluation and design. This has been in most cases overlooked. In line with the same, it was discovered that where the Local Authority ought to provide a road reserve which in most cases have been given out as plots, in some instance the same â€Å"road reserve† can be used for filter lane as the road approaches the junction where traffic devices are installed. Because of that, it was discovered that usually traffic on the sides, would want to find the way out of the unnecessary congestion thereby causing an accident.(see figure 3) 4- Traffic lights not protected. It was discovered that most traffic lights  at the junctions are not secured, they are usually hit by vehicles that have lost breaking system. And again because the Local Authority takes time to repair and replace the affected device, accidents continue to escalate. Traffic lights near chawama pick & pay 5- Sub standard Quality of installation. It was also observed that most of the works are really supervised, hence contractors will normally employ cheap means of achieving the task. 6- Separators towards the junctions (or traffic devices) have been least attended to e.g the one before arcades coming from chelston (unza), many lives have been lost. Other one is the Kerb separator in Ndola along Blantyre avenue as one approaches the traffic lights at Shoprite in town centre , equally, it has not been attended to Last and not the least is the stud separator in Chingola just before Total filling station along Kabundi Road just after Musonko House approximately 250m before traffic lights,this equally is not in good shape hence contributes to accidents that occur at traffic lights. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS For each site where traffic signals are being contemplated it is fundamental to obtain adequate data on the traffic flows at the junction. Normally, surveys should be carried out during the peak hour periods. However, it may be important to have a broad view of the flows in the city throughout a normal working day, especially when Area Traffic Control or linked signaling are being considered, below is the suggested form to be used when carrying out traffic count There is need to construct what may referred to as† BELL MOUTH† to allow safely turning of vehicles, lack of the bell mouth has really resulted into  accidents which could have been avoided at design stage. There is need to protect Traffic lights by introducing steel barriers around the traffic lights, at least 3000mm away from the pole that is carrying traffic light. We cannot bargain with life and so, for the installation of traffic device, there is need for the Government for now to have one project â€Å"Design & install†. This project should be given to a deserving company which should be able to carry out installations and give guarantee in relation to : – (1) Quality,(2)level of accidents. There is need to have highly qualified personnel in Local Authorities so that Quality of work which involves :- installation of traffic lights,separators and generally all road furniture can be attained. This sign and the kerbing segregate vulnerable road users and slow local traffic from higher speed through traffic. Pedestrians clearly feel safe in the segregated lane. There is need for the Local Authority to work in collaboration with RDA. Certain works that are of low standard in towns is due to lack of supervision of the contractor by RDA and Local Authority. Attached as appendices(Apendix A & B ) are the monitoring and evaluation form which can be used for supervision of projects. There is need for the supervising Authority to come up with a Logic Framework which should critically bring out: – Goals, Objectives, measurable indicators, means of verifications and important assumptions.(see below Logic framework) Logic Framework Narrative Summary Measurable indicator Means of verification Important Assumptions Goal-To improve the standard of traffic devices Objectives 1. To have a nation with minimal accidents from the current 80% to 5% by 2020 2. Improve on the functional traffic control devices from the current 40% to 100% by 2020 3. To improve the availability of essential traffic control devices from the current 30% to 100% by 2016 1. % of personnel involved in road accident reduced. 2. % of functional traffic control devices increased. 3. % of essential traffic control devices increased 1. Recorded number of accident in a particular period , taking in consideration the traffic devices 2. Inventory or asset register/and physical check. 3. Stock records of the essential traffic control device. Government commitment, Management will(RDA & Local Authorities) and Commitment, Constant flow of funds from donors Govt commitment to release funds on time  unnecessary. To avoid this problem it is essential that the engineer or traffic department has a clear set of warrants to justify the use of signals. If possible, these warrants should be approved by the local government bodies (elected and executive) so that requests for signals on sites that do not need them can be refused according to pre-discussed rules and not just on the personalized decision of the head of the traffic department. Traffic signals may be justified if, usually two, of the following criteria are present where there is a minimum major-street/minor-street conflicting vehicle volume where there may be need to interrupt continuous flow on the major road to allow traffic to exit from the minor road without excessive delay where a minimum pedestrian volume conflicts with a minimum vehicle volume where a schoolchildren crossing is present where there is a need to maintain progressive movement of vehicles along an otherwise signaled route; and where there is a record of accidents of the type which could be reduced by the use of traffic signals. A rough and ready set of warrants might be: Traffic flows – when there is a minimum of 1000 pcu’s per hour entering the  junction during the peak hours. visibility – when drivers on the minor road have poor visibility for judging gaps. accidents – when three or more accidents (collisions or pedestrians) are registered per year. Figure 2, for example, shows the relationship between major-road/minor-road flows and the type of control recommended at a junction in the UK. For a major road flow of 20,000 pcu’s per day and a minor road flow of 6,000, a roundabout would be a good solution for eliminating the  conflicting traffic movements – if space were available. If, however, the junction is in a built-up area, then traffic signals probably represent the best solution. It should be stressed, however, Monitoring and Evaluation Form appendix â€Å"A† STRATEGIC Objective 1: Local Authority /RDA Intermediate Objective: Activities/Resources Indicators Sources of Data and Collection Methods Frequency of Data Collection Responsible Person(s) & Team Outputs Key Outputs Key Outcomes Definition of Key Outcome Indicators 1) Illustrative Timeline appendix â€Å"B† Activities to Assess Year One Year Two Year Three First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter First Quarter Second Quarter REFERENCES 1. UNIVERSITY OF AFRICA- Road Structure and Traffic Control Device module – 2013 (extract from Road maintenance Hand Book Volume iv). 2. BENT THAGESEN : Highway and traffic engineering in developing countries 3. Cannell, A. E. R. and Kaestner, C. Some Aspects of Area Traffic Control in Semi-Developed Countries. 4. Traffic engineering acrd Control. 1983. Companhia de Engenharia de Transito -CET. 5. Department of Transport. Junction Layout for Control by Traffic Signals. Highway, Safety and Traffic Advice Note TA 6. Gardner, G, Fouracre, P.R. and Jacobs, G.D. Traffic Management. 7. SCOOT: Traffic Responsive Method of Coordinating Signals. TRRL Report 1014. Transport and Road Research 8. Willumsen, L.G. and Coeymans, J.E. Research into the Value of Area Traffic Control Techniques in a Developing Country.

Universal Brotherhood

Theosophical Siftings Universal Brotherhood Vol 2, No 5 Universal Brotherhood by Alexander Fullerton A paper read before the Aryan T. S. of New York, by Alexander Fullerton Published by the Theosophical Publishing Services, Duke Street, Adelphi 1889. Reprinted from â€Å"Theosophical Siftings† Volume 2 The Theosophical Publishing Society, England THE term â€Å"Universal Brotherhood † is obviously an extension to the whole human family of the idea in the word â€Å"brother†, a child of the same parents as is oneself.It suggests at once the thought of equal rights, common interests, mutual affection, and responsive care. Moreover, it incites an exhilarating conception of what might be the state of things throughout the earth if family tenderness were the law of all life, if race and tribal animosities were ended, and if everyone felt a wrong perpetrated on a foreigner as keenly as if perpetrated on a relation. This is the true view of human solidarity, and a vivid apprehension of it would abolish national wars, social outrages, and personal injustice.Its unlimited influence in securing peace and good-will was seen by the founders of the Theosophical Society, and they proclaimed it as the very first of their and its aims, not as a gracious sentiment, not as a pleasing phrase, but as a principle of action, a means of social regeneration. If we did not believe in it, there would be no Aryan society, there would be no meeting tonight. And yet the very fact that it is a principle and not a sentiment warrants some examination into its nature.If a principle, it must have a root, must sustain analogy to other principles, must be capable of practical uses, and also must be subject to limitations and just restrictions. As the term â€Å"Universal Brotherhood † is derivative, we may properly look for these in the primary, and thus infer facts as to the universal human family from facts in the domestic families which epitomize it. Now, when we co me to search for that which constitutes the cohesive influence in a family, we shall find it, I think, to be none other than that which constitutes cohesive influence anywhere else — affinity. It cannot be the mere fact of relationship.That is altogether casual. We do not select our relations, any more than we select our temperament. Nor can it be the closeness of association. That is quite as likely to arouse hostility as friendship; and, indeed, the peculiar bitterness of family quarrels is proverbial. Nor can it be the consciousness of common parentage, for the parents may be distasteful and anything but a source of harmony. Nor can it be the likeness of disposition, for the dissimilarity of traits in children is notorious. Nor is it any necessary oneness of interest, for [Page 4] interests in a household are very apt to be conflicting and to excite animosity.Nor need it be an instinct of union against aggressors, for that would only operate in barbarous communities or tho se under feudal laws. But if it is no one of these things, what is it ? Here, again, we must peer into actual families and so learn. Our own observation will show us that, where the family tie is very strong, it is where the members have the same tastes, ideas, pursuits, aims. Where the family tie is loose, it is where the members have variant convictions, differ in likes and habits, hold to separate standards of faith or duty. Where certain Page 1 Theosophical Siftings Universal BrotherhoodVol 2, No 5 members are in one group and certain others in a second, it is seen that in each case some common sympathy — in opinion, taste, what not — cements the units. And where, as is not infrequently the case, some one member is unlike the rest, and finds his associates wholly without the domestic circle, it is because the family character is not his, and his social wants must be met elsewhere. There is no mystery in any of this; it is all an illustration of the workings of affi nity. And affinity, as every Occult student insists, is like every other force, far stronger in the immaterial regions of mind and oul than on the material plane of flesh and blood. In other words, the attraction between two sympathetic souls is incomparably more powerful than that between two bodies which happen to have had the same parents. But what, still further, is the ground-work for this affinity ? Analyzing affinities, we find that all such as are purely selfish or distinctly bad in quality can be but transient. That rogues will sooner or later fall out is a maxim, but it is no less true that associations for self-interest are fragile just in the degree that each party feels his own interest to be supreme.Conversely, the enduring ties are those between men of finer mould, where principle has recognition and force, where high sentiments of justice and generosity rule, where, in short, egoism is subordinated to altruism. The unity subsisting between the sympathetic members of a household must have its root in such qualities, or it will not last long. The only security for the continuance of affinities is, therefore, in the goodness of each party. If these are the facts in a domestic circle, they must be the facts in the universal human family, the â€Å"Brotherhoodâ€Å" of which Theosophy speaks. Affinity determines the coherence of its particles.We do not expect the sage to consort with the fool, the intelligent to delight in the stupid, the broad minded to sympathize with the petty, the refined with the rough, the generous with the mean, the tactful with the blundering, the cheery with the gruntling Mrs. Gummidges, the high principled with the low principled. Like naturally, and very properly, seeks like. The mere fact that two men each possess a human nature is not of itself a very strong bond, for they may not agree as to what constitutes human nature, or as to its really valuable qualities, or as to the aim of existence or how it is to be pursued .The affinity, and therefore the attraction, begins where a similar opinion, taste, desire, faculty manifests itself, when, as we say, they have [Page 5] â€Å"something in common†. There must be somewhat of interest in a person, or he will not be interesting. So also, in the human brother as in the family brother, the duration of the attraction depends upon the goodness of it. There is every variety of cohesion, from the slight and ephemeral relations on the lowest planes of life to the lofty intimacies of noble souls, such as are immortalized by history in the case of Damon and Pythias, and by sacred writings in the case of Jesus and St.John — may I not add the case of those two exalted beings whom Theosophists revere as the unseen prompters of their own Society, but whose names they do not lightly voice? Let it be understood most unflinchingly that Theosophy demands from each man to all men equal rights, constant courtesy, respect for feelings, kindly consideration, unstinting justice, ready help, unselfish effort. One unerring test of the Theosophic spirit is its persistency in according all these things.It is always the case, however, that the sentiment has to be bridled by reason, and the history of all philanthropic efforts shows that they are futile, if not injurious, where they defy considerations of equal reality, or ignore laws which are just as demonstrable as sympathies. Theosophy would be unique in human experience if it ran no such risks, or if it were always presented with the cool and balanced judgment of well-trained thinkers. Those of you who are au courant with Theosophical writings know how constantly the faculty of discrimination must be kept in use, and with what care one has to guard against Page 2Theosophical Siftings Universal Brotherhood Vol 2, No 5 faulty argument, or extreme positions, or one-sided statements. The doctrine of Universal Brotherhood is particularly an illustration, for it is a noble thought in itself, i t inspires rich pictures of future possibilities, and it holds just the sentiment which to a half-thinker appears unlimited in its scope. Hence, we encounter representations of it sometimes effusive, sometimes dogmatic, sometimes extravagant, very rarely such as are judicious and impartial.Now, in a general way, it may be said that no theory can be correct which of necessity contravenes any laws or facts clearly demonstrated. While the doctrine of Universal Brotherhood may be true, any particular exposition of its use is but a theory, and, as such, is subject to this criterion. We know for instance that justice, truth, the welfare of society, the operation of certain habits in social life, the superiority of principle to impulse, are facts, and that it is a law that they cannot be disregarded without harm. Any plan purporting to disregard them and yet void the harm traverses this law, and so, whatever plausibility it may wear is really fallacious. A true theory of Universal Brotherh ood, one which takes in these and cognates facts and laws, has nothing to fear when confronted with them. But it is in that confronting, that the error of a mistaken theory is brought to view, and, as â€Å"there is no religion higher than truth,† we Theosophists should rejoice in any process which discloses illusion or confirms reality. [Page 6] Let us take an illustration. We not infrequently meet the assertion that, because all men are brothers, tenderness is the only fitting treatment for them.This assumes seven things; ( 1) that all kinds of conduct are entitled to one kind of return; (2) that the same result is produced on unlike characters by a like treatment; (3) that the cultivation of a sense of justice is to be reserved for public officials, and has no place in private development; (4) that no collateral evils result from unmerited sympathy; (5) that we are wiser than Nature as she shows herself in her constant operations; ( 6) that a one-sided culture is better th an such as is symmetrical; ( 7) that a common nature in the lower human principles is more important than a common interest in the higher.Not one of these things is true. It is not the fact that the moral sense views all acts as of equal moral quality, and hence it cannot be the fact that it accords to them a like reward. It is not the fact that diverse natures respond in the same way to the same treatment, as every schoolhouse and every family can testify.It is not the fact that only judges are to cultivate and exhibit a sense of justice, for that sense — which is, indeed, the most abstract of all, the most difficult to attain, and the one indicative of the finest training — is precisely the one most effective in restraining aggression, and especially to be evolved in the interior development of every intelligent disciple. It is not the fact that indiscriminate tenderness draws no evils in its train, as may be shown by the statistics of either pauperism or criminality .It is not the fact that the sentimentalist effects more good than natural law, the whole doctrine of Karma being indirectly to the contrary. It is not the fact that we become more god-like if we educate our sympathies at the expense of our reason, and grow more rounded as we grow more flabby. It is not a fact that we are more truly at one with others because of having a fleshly body than because of a united spirit of life and truth. Nor, indeed, is this theory borne out by the state of things in family brotherhoods.There are good brothers and bad brothers. No one claims that they are to be regarded and treated alike. Much forbearance may naturally be exercised from good-will, but there of ten comes an occasion when the claims of justice, the rights of others, and the well-being of a whole household require that a member Page 3 Theosophical Siftings Universal Brotherhood Vol 2, No 5 shall be exiled and tabooed. Could anything be more monstrous than the claim that a brother, because a brother, was at liberty to ill-treat with impunity the rest of the family ?If your brother steals your property, can he ask you to save him from jail because your brother? You would probably reply that, that was a reason why he should refrain from robbing you, not a reason why he should be allowed to rob you and escape punishment. One can not claim the privileges of a relationship while repudiating its obligations, and it would be strange indeed if, the closer the connection, the more one was at liberty to poison and outrage it. Similarly as to the Universal Brotherhood.There are times when severity is [Page 7] a necessity. The great eternal law of Right is more cogent than any sentimental sympathy; the stern arm of Justice cannot be paralyzed by whimperings or regrets; the far-reaching needs of the whole family are more worthy of regard than the momentary compact of a scamp. We have no right to sacrifice the well- behaved to the ill-behaved, to juggle with the moral sense, to rev erse the moral standard and treat evil as if good. If Theosophy so taught us, it would be anything but a boon.I do not believe that it does. I do not believe that it teaches any doctrines enfeebling to the moral nerves or disastrous to the social life, and if it did, it would be contradicted by its own grand and fundamental principle — Karma, the vindication of justice. And so it is that tenderness is not always a duty. There are occasions when in speech, in act, in cooperative function, we are to resist and rebuke our brothers who are unbrotherly. A man does not lose his claim to proper treatment by becoming aTheosophist, and if he does not lose the claim, he does not lose the right to enforce the claim. Nor, in becoming a Theosophist, does he engage to close his eyes to truth of any kind or in any quarter, or to stupefy any department of his moral system, or to encourage onesidedness and disproportion. Theosophy, I take it, honours Aristides quite as truly as St. John. â₠¬Å"But†, you will say, â€Å"what scope does this leave for the operation of the fraternal sentiment ? † I reply, much every way, more than any of us will be likely to fulfil. Truth is many-sided.There is room for kindly allowance, for generous interpretation, for patience, and interest, and good-will. There is ample range for the philanthropic sentiment, for the fostering of all rich and noble charities, for the sunny beneficence which loves to shed happiness around. It by no means follows that because evil-doers have to be checked, nobody is to be cheered. If the bad forfeit your consideration, there are plenty remaining who do not. There is not the slightest danger that a benevolent spirit, however coupled with a discriminating mind, will find itself at loss for objects.If every other outlet failed, there would still be the work of the Theosophical Society, which certainly in its animus and its zeal to disseminate the most ennobling of motives cannot be surpassed in fraternal feeling. Each of us can participate in that, and so exemplify and expand the Brother principle. Yet, as in families, so in the broad human fraternity, the instinct of affinity will work. The Theosophist does not pretend that his greatest interest is in things upon the surrounding plane. It is rather his doctrine that higher planes are equally open to aspiration and vastly richer in satisfaction.His fuller sympathies most naturally go out to those who are like-minded. As a man of letters does not find much congeniality in the ignorant or the addle-brained, so neither does an etherialized nature in such as are dull to the immaterial. In the upper regions of thought and intuition there must be livelier motions of concurrent feeling, larger ranges for common effort, more inspiring topics for mind and heart. As the developing spirit ascends to higher plateaux, it meets fewer [Page 8] comrades, but it finds them more congenial.If the swarming mass of humanity remains below, it i s not his fault, but theirs. He does not discard the relationship, but he detects the finer qualities of it on his own level. And should any man complain that he does not secure Page 4 Theosophical Siftings Universal Brotherhood Vol 2, No 5 from the Theosophist that unlimited sympathy which the term â€Å"Universal Brotherhood† might seem to imply, the Theosophist might say to him, as the Adept says to the Theosophist, â€Å"Don't ask us to descend; come up here yourself†. Page 5

“Let me hear it from the beginning,” said Inspector Dulles

â€Å"Let me hear it from the beginning,† said Inspector Dulles, as he scanned the forensic evidence before him: a Glock 17, with one bullet fired; fingerprints on the handgun showing those of the victim, Robert Green, 52; the medico-legal report showing the victim had succumbed to irreversible shock due to gunshot wound on the frontal region.   On the other seat was the victim’s widow, Laura Green, 32. She wore a black dress and high-heeled shoes.   But her eyes were like a hawk’s, cold and piercing and fathomless.â€Å"My husband arrived on the usual hour,† she said, as if dictating to a stenographer.   â€Å"He took a shower, changed clothes, and settled down before the TV set with a glass of Jack Daniels. He refused to eat when I told him dinner was set.   At about eight he went inside his study and I followed.   He was incoherent, like he was angry with himself or something.   Finally he took out his pistol from a drawer and shot himself. †Ã‚   Mrs. Green stopped as if collecting her thoughts, but she was motionless as a statue. â€Å"I called   911.   Then you came.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Pardon me for being blunt,† Dulles said, sipping from a glass of cold water, â€Å"but I gather Mr. Green has been seen around with another woman,† Dulles said.Mrs. Green assumed a pained expression, but said nothing.   â€Å"Do you quarrel about such things?† pursued the detective.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"No,† said the woman. â€Å"He knew I would disapprove, so he had tried to keep it a secret.   But I have ways of knowing.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Did you spy on him?†Ã‚  The woman shrugged and pursed her lips.Dulles silently put down his glass. He liked interrogating suspects who flinched and cowered, but he could not penetrate this one.   He has to try harder. â€Å"So you found out, one way or another, and plotted your revenge.† (No response).   But you made sure all his insurance policies were good and to your name just in case something happened (still no response).   And you kept nagging at him, humiliating him in the eyes of people, making his life miserable, until he thought of filing for divorce (Dulles thought he saw a gleam in the widow’s eyes).But you threatened to shame him by revealing all about all his philandering and kinky affairs if he persisted, and he became desperate and mad. (Here, the widow’s eyes slowly shifted from gazing into emptiness, like a machine gun turning on its swivels to aim at a new target: the eyes of Inspector Dulles.   He found it disturbing to look at it squarely, but he could not now stop). â€Å"Then you pestered him no end until he could take no more and so he took his own life.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"No!†Inspector Dulles dodged as if to ward off a blow; at the same time he heard the sound of shattering glass.   Turning to look, he saw tiny shards of what remained of his glass of water on the floor.   He turned to look at the window, and was surprised to see it wide open. Faces appeared suddenly at the door, puzzled.   He waved them off.   â€Å"Some vandal threw a stone from the street.†He turned to look at Mrs. Green.   But the malignant gleam he saw for one fleeting second was gone.   She just sat there and stared at nothing.   Dulles knew when a case led to nowhere: this was a case of plain suicide.   â€Å"I’m sorry, Madam,† he said, touching her hand, â€Å"I didn’t mean to be rude or something.   You can go.†The widow rose from her chair, like alighting from a throne, a queen about to address her admiring subjects.   Dulles could not help noting her sensuousness, though little of her skin, ivory white and flawless, is revealed by the black satin dress.   She had looked insignificant, but now he found herself admiring the delicate curve of her neck, her slender limbs, her wicked inviting lips. He felt her attractive; he was like moth drawn to a flame.   Like a wraith, she walked gracefully to the door and vanished.Two weeks later, Dulles found himself knocking at the door of her mansion.At 48, he was unmarried.   He loved hearing old Fagin’s song in the musical Oliver! as he deliberated whether to take himself a wife: â€Å"The finger she will wag at me, the money she will take from me, the misery she’ll make for me: I guess I have to think of it again!†Ã‚   But this evening he felt himself like a moth drawn to a flame.   He had postponed this trip and scorned himself for being like a junior on his prom date.   He had left the office early while Dave, his assistant, hunched low over the computer.   Although embarrassed, he mentioned to Dave he was going to see the widow.   He waited for Dave to laugh but was surprised to find the other in a sombre mood.â€Å"Tell you what,† Dave said.   â€Å"I found something about her.   She’s not so pretty, but she has a wa y with men.   You won’t believe it, but she’d been previously married to three men.†Ã‚  Dulles chuckled.   â€Å"Well, I’m not the marrying type.†Ã‚  Dave continued. â€Å"All her husbands had died, violently.   One leaped off a cliff during a camping trip with the wife.   Another drowned in a swimming pool for kids.   And the last, as we know it, shot himself on the head.†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Was there foul play?† Dulles asked.â€Å"There was no evidence to incriminate her, although she was always present in the scene of the tragedy.   It was like she was always there to witness the unhappy end of a partner.   I’m not superstitious, man,† Dave said, â€Å"but I won’t try meddling with that woman.†Ã‚  Dulles was thoughtful as he pressed the door bell.   He waited for a few minutes until the door opened.   Laura was in black as usual, looking young and tempting and mysterious.   She invited him insid e.   â€Å"I have been expecting you,† she said.â€Å"Indeed?† Dulles said.   She did not look surprised after all.   She asked for leave to fetch a drink for them.   Left alone, Dulles stood up and surveyed the room.   His gaze focused on the books on the shelf.   She returned and gave him his drink.   They engaged in small talk.   Dulles had found the woman unattractive this time, and he berated himself for having fallen easily for her charm.   Then he turned to gaze at her eyes and once more he felt drawn to her.â€Å"I see you’re a witch,† Dulles said.Laura’s eyes were cold but no change came in them. Dulles went on: â€Å"I can see you’re into voodoo and the like, telekinesis and that stuff.   You know, I remember that stunt of yours in the office.   No vandal ever threw a stone inside the office.   I knew the windows were closed, had been closed for years.   Nobody had opened them.   The glass shattered by themselves. You did it by your mind, didn’t you?†Ã‚  Laura was silent.   â€Å"All your husbands, they died by your will, the power of your mind over matter.   I’ve looked into your husband’s records and nothing showed they were into some trouble.   I suspect you did them in when they found out all about your witching stuff.†Their eyes locked.   Laura’s were expressionless, then tears came into them.   She cupped her hands on her face and wept inconsolably.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Hahahahahaha! Hehehehehe! Harharharhar† Dulles was convulsed with laughter.   He embraced the weeping widow.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"I got you that time, didn’t I?†Ã‚  Laura looked up to the gay detective.   â€Å"What do you mean?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"It’s all a joke.   I made that up.†Ã‚  Laura was crying and laughing at the same time. â€Å"You brute,† she said.Two hours later, Inspector Dulles was at the wheel of his orange Mustang, happily relishing his intimate moments with the young widow.   But as he made a turn in the twisting mountain road, he felt sick, not knowing why.   Then he saw a car zooming up in the rear: it was Laura on her convertible.   Dulles slowed down.  Ã‚   Dulles waited for her to come alongside and waved, but she did not smile.She just stared at him, their cars racing into the winding skyway, the drone of their cars engines like a throbbing drum.   Then Dulles felt the Mustang going airborne, heaved by an unseen power.   He panics and grabs the wheel, but it would not budge, and he turns to look   at Laura, the roar of the Mustang like thunder in his ears, and saw her eyes widen, fierce and commanding and terrible, and as the car leaped out to space, Dulles opened his mouth to scream.

I.T. Project Risk Management Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

I.T. Project Risk Management - Research Proposal Example California Technology Agency (2011) asserts that most of the business managers are not privy of the magnitude IT-related risks in projects management a firm will be exposed. Most of these managers are only able to learn the value of IT-related risks after they have computed the amount of damage the risk has brought about. According to Leong California Technology Agency, (2011) past research studies have primarily been concerned with how effective IT-related risks may be analyzed and compensated for. Therefore, it would be imperative for IT managers constantly to embrace the holistic view of IT project risk management rather than just focusing only on financial issues. There exist little empirical research studies showing the correct way of handling the management of the IT-related projects risks during the launching of the project. Though a myriad of studies have been done in regards to I.T project risk management, (California Technology Agency, 2011, Haney, 2009, Talet, Zin &Houari, 2014, & Texas Tech University, n.d), there is still little empirical research on how effective IT risk management can be handled at the time of executing projects. In this paper, I will attempt to develop a typology of effective strategies that will guide managers to develop specific plans meant to control risk IT

The Effects of American Imperialism on Native Americans Essay

The Effects of American Imperialism on Native Americans - Essay Example This essay analyzes that after the war between Indian and French national ended in present America, Britain designed an effective system of governance. The colony had to tighten control on the American territory. In response to this need, the British government provided various policies. The federal government in the present United States of America had to inculcate the aspect of nationalism on the Natives. One of the policies related to nationalism for the Natives of America was the Snyder Indian Citizenship Act. This Act came into effect in the year 1924. The basic principle of the act was to assimilate Indians and other natives into the American culture.  This essay analyzes that after the war between Indian and French national ended in present America, Britain designed an effective system of governance. The colony had to tighten control on the American territory. In response to this need, the British government provided various policies. The federal government in the present Un ited States of America had to inculcate the aspect of nationalism on the Natives. One of the policies related to nationalism for the Natives of America was the Snyder Indian Citizenship Act. This Act came into effect in the year 1924. The basic principle of the act was to assimilate Indians and other natives into the American culture.  The U.S during the nineteen century was influenced towards expanding it territories westwards. Concerning the expansion, the government would have to occupy territories owned by native tribe communities.

Comparison between the Channel Tunnel (UK, France) and the Seikan Essay

Comparison between the Channel Tunnel (UK, France) and the Seikan Tunnel (Japan) - Essay Example As early as 1802, a cross-Channel fixed link has emerged as an idea but materialization has pushed through only in 1988 where its construction finally began (ibid). The British Channel Tunnel Group, which was tasked to oversee the construction of the Tunnel, involved two banks and five construction companies. Advising on financing and securing loan commitments were the roles of the banks and on July 2, 1985 was the Channel Tunnel Group/France-Manche finally formed. The 1975 project, which includes 11 volumes and a substantial environmental impact statement was the basis of the submission to the British and French governments of the Channel Tunnel Project (Wilson and Spick, 1994, p. 41). On the other hand, the Seikan Tunnel of Japan is considered the world’s longest undersea tunnel albeit the Channel Tunnel has a longer under-sea portion. The Seikan Tunnel travels beneath the Tsugaru Strait as part of the Kaikyo Line of Hokkaido Railway Company, and amidst its being the longest traffic tunnel in the world was however left underused due to faster and cheaper air travel. The main Seikan Tunnel was completed in 1985 while its final completion was scheduled for 1987 (Matsuo, 1986) but was however completed in 1988 as mentioned earlier. It finally opened on March 13, 1988, with constructions costs totaling to US$3.6 billion (Morse, 1988). Twenty years of surveying initially took place before the construction of the Channel Tunnel finally pushed through in which a chalk mark stratum gave way for a tunnel route to be bored. Said chalk mar was favourable to tunneling, strength, and ease of excavation (Kirkland, 1995). The chalk mar in the English side had the entire length of the channel whilst variable and difficulty geology ran a length of 5 kilometers on the French side. There were three bores consisting the Channel Tunnel, namely, two

Review of Cedar Lake Dance Company Research Paper

Review of Cedar Lake Dance Company - Research Paper Example The Artistic Director is Benoit-Swan Pouffer and the website gives a good impression of his somewhat radical approach to the medium of ballet. A short clip entitled â€Å"Street† by Erez Sabag is a masterful example of how dance is integrated with modern video technology. The music is a series of low chords, somewhat edgy and jarring in nature, and this is set against a dark and forbidding street scene. The first movement is just the slow passing of automobiles, and then the dancer walks on in a slouching posture with face hidden in a â€Å"hoodie† jacket. This chimes very well with contemporary music video culture, and at first it is not obvious that what follows will   be an episode of dance. When the dancer suddenly switches into an explosion of jerky dance movements, at lightning speed and with high energy, a feeling of excitement and released tension is conveyed, only to resolve back into the sullen walking down the darkened street.   Viewers will not forget th is image, and it is no doubt intentional that it represents the surprising contribution and memorable contribution that ballet can make to modern culture. A potentially useful feature of the website is the blog, complete with hyperlinks and buttons for facebook and twitter. This blog offers photographs but very little commentary, and there is very little evidence that it is being used interactively by the public. This is something that the company should perhaps work more on, because artistic marketing in the internet age is increasingly. being done with full involvement of fans and supporters, who create viral

What are the Elements of a Successful Counter-terrorist Strategy Dissertation

What are the Elements of a Successful Counter-terrorist Strategy - Dissertation Example It is properly defined as the creation and exploitation of fear through the use of violence or threat of using violence (Burke 2006). Because of the effect of terrorism on the social, economic and political aspect of states and non-states, various methods have been devised to prevent terrorist attacks, or at least reduce its negative effects. Thus, counterterrorism has been considered as yet another important agenda of states and other juridical entities (Durmaz 2007). This study aims to look into the different methods falling under the umbrella of counterterrorism as well as the elements that the same must contain in order to ensure its success. This chapter aims to provide an introduction to the topic at hand as well as to the aims and contents of this dissertation thus dividing it into the following sections: first, background of the study; second, research objectives; third, statement of the problem; fourth, research questions; fifth, significance of the study; sixth, scope and l imitations; seventh, operational definition of terms; and finally, an overview of the dissertation. Background of the Study As earlier mentioned, counterterrorism refers to an important agenda of states and non-states in their attempt to respond to terrorist threats and attacks (Orttung and Makarychev 2006). More specifically, counterterrorism pertains to the different practices, tactics, techniques and strategies that various juridical personalities (i.e. departments and corporations) make use of in order to effectively prevent and respond to terrorist threats and acts whether they be real or not. In this regard, counterterrorism focuses on both the detection of potential attacks as well as to the development of effective responses in... The intention of this study is terrorism that has been one of the most significant problems that the World has been dealing with in the twenty-first century. It generally pertains to the systematic use of terror as a means by which a person or a group of people could coerce another into doing something. In its common usage, the word terrorism pertains to those acts committed to cause fear and compromise the safety of the civilians. Most importantly, the prevalence of this problem in this particular era has led to the perception that it is often perpetrated by groups guided by their desire to attain a certain religious, political or ideological goal. Terrorism, thus, is considered as both a tactic and a strategy. It is properly defined as the creation and exploitation of fear through the use of violence or threat of using violence. Because of the effect of terrorism on the social, economic and political aspect of states and non-states, various methods have been devised to prevent terr orist attacks, or at least reduce its negative effects. Thus, counterterrorism has been considered as yet another important agenda of states and other juridical entities. Because of the importance of strategies related to counter-terrorism, it has been expounded that all aspects and segments of the society are of paramount importance in designing a counter-terrorist plan. In the same manner, it has also been argued that it is of utmost significance that propaganda and indoctrination be properly understood for the two lie at the heart of terrorism.

History resoponse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History resoponse - Essay Example Most people believed the idea that humans were capable of destroying themselves. This war as referred by some people was indeed a great war. It affected all the nations of the world, from Europe to Africa. Today its effects are still felt. It was mainly among Britain, Austria, United States, Germany, Russia and France. These nations mobilized masses in other countries to fight against their enemies. There was political reformation in the whole world. The war is believed to have been greatly fueled by religious differences. Most of the political reformation was on religious grounds. Serbia matched with Russia as they shared the same doctrines, Croatia joined forces with Austria. Bosnia supported the Ottoman Empire. The war was catalyzed when Germany declared its support for Austria against the Serbs. This angered Russia and awakened British and French. Treaties were formed and the result was Europe being divided into two blocs. France Britain and Russia came to fight against Germany, Italy and Austria. Diplomacy disappeared and it was all about war. The impact of the war was soon to leave a mark in history. The use of chemical weapons adversely affected the human race. Bombs and poisonous gases killed millions of people and the few who survived developed permanent health problems, both physical and mental. Families were shattered and weeping became the norm in the entire world since all nations were affected and its people were being killed. Some of the bombs had far reaching catastrophes as they affected future generations. Children would be born with various defects. The atomic gases affected lifespan of the human race. Those who had greatly inhaled the gases died at an early age. Freedom of speech and expression was lost. Soldiers could not freely give their opinions on various matters especially those that pertained to war. Civil societies lost their voice and they could demonstrate leave alone striking. This resulted to people living in fear

History of Art 101 Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

History of Art 101 - Movie Review Example The most evident elements include the Baths of Caracalla and the matching of soldiers led by the eagle ‘king of the sky’ curved or molded from metal The town setting built and developed with aspects of the Trajans Column, Circus Maximus and Curia Hostilia (Senate House) was always utilized to pass laws and decision to the military activities. The ancient assembly bell is featured as an art and architectural piece, which sermons people to Verona Arena an architectural element, where announcements were made (Veronus). Winding stairs in ancient Rome was common especially in Villas and Domus. The series uses Alyscamps in its development of the war activities between Rome and France. Daily activities are full of ancient civilization approaches and feature the Roman watermill, Antonine Wall in Scotland and Limes Germanicus in the military soldier activities of the day. The Rome series opens with soldier going out to defend the kingdom with their eagle mess always before them. In the film, the soldiers; Titus Pullo and Lucius Veronus spend time in the Domus that winds up with stairs and small window openings light the rooms (Veronus). The Titus Pullo and Lucius Veronus appear in one scene being in Egypt when in an incident of war, their fellow soldiers were killed and decided to escape. Art and architecture brought out in scenes in the right mix of the ancient setting of the movie. Together with clothing and the color, mixes specifically red for the soldiers, brown for the protagonists, white for inhabitants of the empire leadership

ZARA Brand Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ZARA Brand - Essay Example Its products have various prices depending on their specific design, size and type of product. Generally, their prices are relatively low compared to similar retailers and customers can chose their desired payment methods. ZARA promotes its products mainly through television and print media and sells its products through physical stores. Online orders are also acceptable and customers can choose to pick products in person or order for postal delivery (CNN News 2001). ZARA positions itself to target its customers by offering more products compared to similar products. The company has also capitalised in innovativeness where it produces new products within an extra ordinarily short time and places them in their stores (Tiplady 2006). In this way, they are able to shorten the lifespan of their products leading to a greater success in meeting the preferences of customers Designs that do not sell for a week are withdrawn, orders cancelled and a new design developed – the production of Zara products is therefore customer driven. . Zara positions itself in different ways to target its customers. For instance it provides a variety of items ensuring speed in its marketing. It also ensures its stores are located in places attractive to the customers. It has also established a website where customers can access the various products offered by Zara. Zara retail focuses on the 4Ps which include the product, price, place and promotion according to Peng (2010). In the case of product Zara, management first has to think over the product being launched in relation to its value, positioning, ingredients, target customers and packages. The price of the product is determined based on the quality of the product (whether top or popular), discounts given on many of the products. Zara products are mainly sold in retail stores, online and by specific supermarkets. Zara products are normally marketed online through various marketing tools

Maternal instincts vs. social instincts Essay Example for Free

Maternal instincts vs. social instincts Essay Sethes most severe behavior as a mother, that distinguishes her as socially constructed by both her mothers actions and the abuse of slavery, because she alters the rules, determines for herself what is acceptable and unacceptable, what is right and what is wrong, suggests that she is simultaneously the best mother and the worst, and without question, revolutionary. Trudier Harris notes that Morrison succeeds in making Sethe so simply human and American (the God-given right to motherhood, love of ones children, desire of a better life for them, love of freedom, nonconformity) that we cannot easily condemn her act even when we clearly do not condone it (Fiction and Folklore 171). This is the case when social and moral norms are being neglected before the maternal instincts, which are proven to be more powerful than social ones. Yet Sethe was a pretty little slavegirl that had recognized a hat, and split to the woodshed to kill her children (Beloved 158). The rapidity with which she acts certainly shows it’s innate and essentialist behavior. Sethe is a mother both under the confines of slavery and then in freedom. But she is a different mother in each situation, thereby confirming the socially constructed nature of her mothering. She proudly explains to Paul D the essence of motherhood; and Paul D knew exactly what she meant: to get to a place where you could love anything you chose—not to need permission for desire—well now, that was freedom (Beloved 162). Sethe is proud of herself, her accomplishments, and appreciates her freedom. OReilly suggests that Sethes flight to freedom is structured specifically as a heroic quest (133). (Please explain a little) In reality, The very meaning of a hero and heroism is redefined, making it possible for Sethe to inscribe herself as subject and celebrate the reproductive feats of nursing and birth as heroic labor (OReilly 134). Heroism here is referred here to boldness to become a mother in such a life-denying circumstances. This is true also for Sethes rebellious and atypical rescue of herself and children as well. Interestingly, when Sethe is no longer someone elses property, she suddenly sees her children as her own her own property, so to speak. After being owned, she wants ownership too, of herself and her children. Sethe has never had anything to call her own in her life and suddenly everything is her own. She acts and reacts based upon everything she has seen, heard, and felt in her lifetime, a lifetime of slavery. She knows the notion of ownership. Sethe reacts as a result of her newfound possessiveness and ownership of her children. Again, she is creating her own language and law for motherhood. Paul D understands part of this: the possessiveness, the love, and the freedom. But he does not understand the killing. To her, death and the potential of heaven is better than slavery and hell on earth. Thus, this murder may prove her more animalistic, as schoolteacher would argue she already is, or perhaps, less so, because her decision was a conscious one, thought out and made of her own free will (Beloved 193). She takes responsibility for herself and her actions by refusing to accept patriarchal societys laws regarding slavery, laws regarding murder, and traditions regarding a womans place, especially a black womans place. So, instead of returning to slavery under schoolteacher and his two physically and emotionally abusive nephews, she assumes society, institutes an instant matriarchal ruling system, the social instincts, empowered by her own mothers actions and perhaps toying with Gods power: what Sethe giveth, Sethe taketh away. She does not regard the murder of her daughter as taking life away from her daughter, but as keeping her daughters life away from schoolteacher, away from slavery, and putting it in a better place. Sethe believes that once Beloved is dead and moves on to eternal life, neither schoolteacher nor slavery can touch. She is safe. She will be where Sethes own mother is. Sethe believes she is preserving Beloved by killing her. She is preserving the purity of her body and mind. Beloved will not be ripped apart by the men or the institution that governs slavery. She will not be raped physically or emotionally. Thus, to Sethe, she has succeeded in preserving her daughter. In Beloved, Sethe is both subject and object, rigid and excessive, mother and daughter. She is exerting influence as well as receiving it and she exerts it because of the way she has received it from her own mother. This becomes relevant to her handling of Paul D, as well. Paul D does not understand what he must accept in order to make a life with Sethe. He cannot accept his place in the household as something other than the head and he does not understand Sethes love, protectiveness, or murder of her daughter. Paul D s reaction to the knowledge of Sethes actions, according to Jan Furman, forces her to rebuff all attempts to minimize her victories as a woman, as a mother. And so she takes back from Paul D the responsibility for her breasts that she had given (75-6). She takes all responsibility back. This tells the reader again that Sethes strength surpasses all. Morrison flat out tells the reader that she is tougher, because she could do and survive things they believed she should neither do nor survive (Beloved 47). She cannot be the weak slave woman when her actions, her love, and her strength of character make her larger than, more powerful than schoolteacher, Halle, Paul D, maybe all of patriarchal society itself. Her actions certainly disrupt the societal norms. However, the inherent issue remains regarding essentialism and social constructionism. Is birth civilized or is it animalistic? Mothers are trained, from the onset of motherhood, to virtually be more natural, more like animals. Then, later in life, when those tendencies take a different form, in protectiveness of their young, mothers are maligned for the same behavior and actions that were instilled upon them during pregnancy, labor and childbirth, and this is Sethes plight. She attempts to take the proper measures, which is her defined, unstereotypical manner. Therefore, as in Sethes case, the concept of mothering may have essentialist qualities, but the individual mother is socially constructed. Why, then, does Sethe kill Beloved? Why, after her milk was taken from her by one of the nephews, taking practically all of her motherhood with it, does she begin to take motherhood away from herself when she fought so hard to get it under freedom? Why wouldnt her sons, Howard and Buglar, let go each others hands (Beloved 183)? They fear the one person who should be their haven in this world. Is motherhood that powerful? Why does it take Sethe twenty years to figure out that she should have killed schoolteacher, not her own child, as is evidenced by the fact that when Mr. Bodwin comes to take Denver to work, Sethe goes after him and not Denver (Beloved 262)? Is it because the institution of slavery was so strong that it would have claimed her and her children even if schoolteacher were dead? And if the structure of slavery were so powerful, and one sees the negativity, the hatred, the racism in its structure, then one must claim matriarchy for the solution. One must see Sethe as a powerful and revolutionary woman who, although she commits murder, although she kills her own best thing, her crawling already? girl who impresses her with her advanced physical capabilities, makes her own decisions under her own set of rules, given to her because she is a mother. She can no longer conform to an authority that prevents her from protecting her young in undoubtedly excessive ways once the hummingbirds of motherhood point their beaks into her heart. Paul D and schoolteacher reference Sethe in terms of animal characteristics with a negative connotation. But if one can co-opt the male masters language one can offer that it is not always bad for a mother to have animalistic tendencies, though she should not be measured by them. Interestingly, the non-biological mothers will offer even further examination of social constructionism, because they are created out of necessity. The question arises, then, as to whether their mothering behavior becomes essentialized once they assume the role of mother. A biological mother certainly could reject her children, reject motherhood, and remain only selfishly self-aware. Yet, for the most part, the mothers do not make that choice. Are the attributes of motherhood universal, essential, regardless of the societal constructs playing on their decisions? Or do these stereotypes for motherhood break down under severe circumstances? Let us answer these questions in the next section.

Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency of Sentiment Analysis

Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency of Sentiment Analysis Modha Jalaj S. Chapter – 1 1. Introduction: Big Data has been created lot of buzz in Information Technology word. Big Data contain large amount of data from various sources like Social Media, News Articles, Blogs, Web, Sensor Data and Medical Records etc. Big Data includes Structured, Semi-Structured and Unstructured data. All these data are very useful to extract the important information for analytics. 1.1 Introduction of Big Data: [26] Big Data is differs for other data in 5 Dimensions such as volume, velocity, variety, and value. [26] Volume: Machine generated data will be large volume of data. Velocity: Social media websites generates large data but not massive. Rate at which data acquired from the social web sites are increasing rapidly. Variety: Different types of data will be generated when a new sensor and new services. Value: Even the unstructured data has some valuable information. So extracting such information from large volume of data is more considerable. Complexity: Connection and correlation of data which describes more about relationship among the data. Big Data include social media, Product reviews, movie reviews, News Article, Blogs etc.. So, to analyze this kind of unstructured data is challenging task. This thing makes Big Data a trending research area in computer Science and sentiment analysis is one of the most important part of this research area. As we have lot of amount of data which is certainly express opinion about the Social issues, events, organization, movies and News which we are considering for sentiment analysis and predict the future trends and effect of certain event on society. We can also modify or make the improve strategy for CRM after analysing the comments or reviews of the customer. This kind analysis is the application of Big Data. 1.2 Introduction of Sentiment Analysis: Big Data is trending research area in computer Science and sentiment analysis is one of the most important part of this research area. Big data is considered as very large amount of data which can be found easily on web, Social media, remote sensing data and medical records etc. in form of structured, semi-structured or unstructured data and we can use these data for sentiment analysis. Sentimental Analysis is all about to get the real voice of people towards specific product, services, organization, movies, news, events, issues and their attributes[1]. Sentiment Analysis includes branches of computer science like Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, Text Mining and Information Theory and Coding. By using approaches, methods, techniques and models of defined branches, we can categorized our data which is unstructured data may be in form of news articles, blogs, tweets, movie reviews, product reviews etc. into positive, negative or neutral sentiment according to the sentiment is expressed in them. Figure 1.2.1: Sentiment Analysis Sentiment analysis is done on three levels [1] Document Level Sentence Level Entity or Aspect Level. Document Level Sentiment analysis is performed for the whole document and then decide whether the document express positive or negative sentiment. [1] Entity or Aspect Level sentiment analysis performs finer-grained analysis. The goal of entity or aspect level sentiment analysis is to find sentiment on entities and/or aspect of those entities. For example consider a statement â€Å"My HTC Wildfire S phone has good picture quality but it has low phone memory storage.† so sentiment on HTCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s camera and display quality is positive but the sentiment on its phone memory storage is negative. We can generate summery of opinions about entities. Comparative statements are also part of the entity or aspect level sentiment analysis but deal with techniques of comparative sentiment analysis. Sentence level sentiment analysis is related to find sentiment form sentences whether each sentence expressed a positive, negative or neutral sentiment. Sentence level sentiment analysis is closely related to subjectivity classification. Many of the statements about entities are factual in nature and yet they still carry sentiment. Current sentiment analysis approaches express the sentiment of subjective statements and neglect such objective statements that carry sentiment [1]. For Example, â€Å"I bought a Motorola phone two weeks ago. Everything was good initially. The voice was clear and the battery life was long, although it is a bit bulky. Then, it stopped working yesterday. [1]† The first sentence expresses no opinion as it simply states a fact. All other sentences express either explicit or implicit sentiments. The last sentence â€Å"Then, it stopped working yesterday† is objective sentences but current techniques can’t express sentiment for the above specified sentence even though it carry negative sentiment or undesirable sentiment. So I try to solve out the above problematic situation using our approach. [1] The Proposed classification approach handles the subjective as well as objective sentences and generate sentiment form them. 1.3 Objectives: The objective of this research work is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of classification as well as sentiment analysis because this analysis plays a very important role in analytics application. Till now Sentiment analysis focus on Subjectivity or Subjective sentiment i.e. explicit opinion and get idea about the people sentiment view on particular event, issue and products. Sentiment analysis does not consider objective statements although objective statements carry sentiment i.e. implicit opinion. So here the main objective is to handle subjective sentences as well as objective sentences and give better result of sentiment analysis. Classification of unstructured data and analysis of classified unstructured data are major objectives of me. Practical implementation will be also done by me in the next phase. 1.4 Scope: Scope of this dissertation is described as below. We are considering implicit and explicit opinion so sentiment analysis expected to be improved Analysis of unstructured data gives us important information about people choice and view We are proposed an approach which can be applied for close domain like â€Å"Indian Political news article†, â€Å"Movie Reviews†, â€Å"Stock Market News† and Product Review† so, with the consideration of implicit and explicit opinions we can generate precise view of people so industries can define their strategies. Business and Social Intelligence applications use this sentiment analysis so with this approach it’ll be efficient. Applications: There are so many application of Sentiment Analysis which is used now-a-day to generate predictive analysis for unstructured data. Areas of applications are Social and Business intelligence applications, Product reviews help us to define marketing or production strategies, Movie reviews analysis, News Analysis, Consider political news and comments of people and generate the analysis of election, Predict the effect of specific events or issues on people, Emotional identification of person can be also generated, Find trends in the world Comparative view can also be described for products, movies and events, Improve predictive analysis of return of investment strategies. 1.6 Challenges: There are following challenges which are exists in sentiment analysis are Deal with noisy text in sentiment analysis is difficult. Create SentiWordNet for open domain is challenging task i.e. make a universal SentiWordNet is the Challenging task. When a document discusses several entities, it is crucial to identify the text relevant to each entity. Current accuracy in identifying the relevant text is far from satisfactory.[5] There is a need for better modelling of compositional sentiment. At the sentence level, this means more accurate calculation of the overall sentence sentiment of the sentiment-bearing words, the sentiment shifters, and the sentence structure. [5] There are some approaches that use to identify sarcasm, they are not yet integrated within autonomous sentiment analysis systems.[5]

Myoglobin In The Utilization Of Oxygen In Animals Biology Essay

Myoglobin In The Utilization Of Oxygen In Animals Biology Essay Myoglobin is an oxygen-binding globular protein which is vital in facilitating the acquisition and utilization of oxygen in animals. Myoglobin was isolated and purified from ground water buffalo extract. The Myoglobin was isolated by cation-exchange chromatography, and concentration of Myoglobin is measured by spectrophotometry. Total concentration of protein was determined by performing Bradford protein assay. Iron analysis was performed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Molecular weight of Myoglobin was determined by running SDS-PAGE. A total amount of 144 ug Myoglobin was purified by the cation-exchange chromatography with a relative purity of 25.9%. The concentration of the purified Myoglobin was determined to be 0.072 ug/uL. The molecular weight of Myoglobin was determined to be 18204 Da And 0.423 mg of iron were detected in the acid digested extract Introduction Myoglobin is a globular protein which contains a single polypeptide chain of about 153 amino acids and an iron-porphyrin complex, or the heme group (3). And it has a molecular weight of 16700 Da and 153 amino acids (4). The non-covalently bound heme group, which resides in the hydrophobic interior of the native globin chain, is able to unfold under acidic condition and consequently weakens the interaction between the heme group and the globin (5). Myoglobin is an oxygen-transport protein which can be found in muscle tissues of all mammles. Myoglobin is critical in mammalian cell in that it is responsible for storage and distribution of oxygen, and possibly carrying energy (4). Diving animals such as seals and whales have excessive amount of Myoglobin that help them travel undersea by storing and transport oxygen (9). It plays a significant role in the physiological function of heart and skeletal muscle (2). Elevated consumption of oxygen during exercise necessitates the production of myoglobin in red muscle and heart cells, and the transportation of oxygen by myoglobin from the sarcolemma to the mitochondria in vertebrate heart and red muscle cells. (1) Spectrophotometry studies the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with molecules, atoms and ions (10). It can shed light on the physical and chemical properties by measuring the emission or absorption of electromagnetic radiation (10). Besides, it is also used to identify biomolecules from their individual absorption spectrum. In the meantime, spectrophotomoetry can quantitatively measure the concentration of molecules in solution According to the Beer-Lambert law, the fraction of incident light absorbed by a solution at a given wavelength is indicative of the concentration of the absorbing species (10) . Tryptophan and tyrosine can absorb ultraviolet light, which accounts for the characteristic strong absorbance of light at wavelength of 280 nm by most proteins (9). Atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS)can be used to determine the identity and concentration of chemical elements in the gaseous state by measuring the light radiation absorbed by the elements (10). Ion-exchange chromatography is a technique for separating biomolecules capable of being involved in electrostatic interactions (10). Molecules can be separated based on their sign and magnitude of net charge at a given pH and formation of electrostatic linkages between thee resin and the protein of interest (9). Ion exchange separations take place in columns packed with an iron-exchange resin (10). Resins with bound anionic groups are cation exchanges whereas those with bound cationic groups are anion exchangers (9). Selection of ion exchange resin depends on what is to be purified, the pH to be used in the column, and the strength of the functional group (10). Electrophoresis is the separation of proteins based on the motion of the charged proteins under the influence of an electric field (9). The migration of the protein depends on its shape, size, charge and chemical composition (10). An electrophoretic method, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) can be used to estimate the purity and determine the molecular weight of the protein (9). Treatment of the protein by the ionic detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) can give it a uniform net charge, and protein can then be separated based solely on its mass (10). In this experiment, Myoglobin is extracted and purified by cation-exchange chromatography from ground water buffalo using Beffer A (20 nM, pH 5.6, KH2PO4) and Buffer B (20mM, Tris buffer, pH 7.5). Absorbance of the eluent fractions is measured at 280nm and 417nm. Total amount of protein and the concentration of Myoglobin are determined using Bradford assay from BSA protein. Molecular weight of Myoglobin was determined by performing SDS-PAGE. Iron content in the acid digested extract is measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). A total amount of 144 ug Myoglobin was purified by the cation-exchange chromatography with a relative purity of 25.9%. The molecular weight of Myoglobin was determined to be 18204 Da. 0.757 mmol of iron and 39.5 nmol of myoglobin were detected in the acid digested extract, with a ration of 20:1. Results A total of five samples were collected from a solution of 10.02g thawed ground buffalo mixed with 20.0mL, 20mM, pH 5.6, KH2PO4 (Buffer A): 1.0 mL of crude extract (sample C), 1.0 mL of filtered extract (sample D), 2.0 mL of Buffer A sample solution (sample A), 2.0 mL Buffer B sample solution (sample B) and 5.0 mL acid digested extract solution. Chromatogram for the purification of myoglobin carried out by cation-exchange chromatography shows a large peak from fraction number 5 to fraction number 12. (Figure 1). The figure also indicates another peak at fraction number 23, with smaller peaks at fraction number 19 and fraction number 25 (Figure 1). Fraction number 23 has the highest 417 nm/ 280 nm (3.766) and the highest absorbance 90.278) at 280 nm (Figure 1). Discussion When myoglobin was separated by cation-exchange chromatograph, purity of the myoglobin in the eluent fractions collected at specific volumes was examined by spectroscopy. Absorbance of Myoglobin, specifically, was measured at 417 nm and other proteins was measured at 280 nm, due to the presence of Tyrosine and Tryptophan Most proteins absorbs at a wavelength of 280 nm (10). Phophyrin has an absorbance spectrum of 414nm to 418 nm, and intensity and wavelength of the absorption can be influenced by the peripheral substituents on the porphryin and the protonation state of the nitrogen atoms (6). Sincemyoglobin consists of a iron-containing heme prosthetic group with an iron-contained porphyrin ring (9), it can absorb at a wavelength of 417. Myoglobin has a PI value of 7, so it will have a net positive charge when pH is below its PI and a net negative charge when pH is above its PI. When myoglobin is positively charged when buffer A (pH=5.6) is used to wash the column, it binds to a column containing negatively charged beads in cation-exchange chromatography. The positively charged Myoglobin can then be eluted by washing the column with buffers having higher pH value than 7 (Buffer B, pH= 7.5). Raising the pH of the mobiles phase buffer renders the Myoglobin less protonated and thus negatively charged. As a result, the Myoglobin is not be able to form an ionic interaction with the negatively charged stationary phase and then elutes from the column (10). 144 ug Myoglobin was recovered form the column, which accounts for 10.7% of the myoglobin that was loaded onto the column. Loss of Myoglobin could be attributed to diffusion spreading of Myoglobin and other contaminant proteins within the mobile phase, as a result of the increase in time length (9). Recovery of myoglobin can be improved by using narrow columns, longer column (7). The molecular weight of Myoglobin (18204 Da) obtained from the SDS-PAGE was similar to the literature value, 16700 Da (4), which indicated that the purified protein in the Buffer B sample was Myoglobin. The clear band generated from Lane B migrated the same distance as the band from the Myoglobin standard, which further confirms that the purified protein was Myoglobin (Figure 3). The stoichiometric relationship between iron and hemoglobin is 20:1 instead of 1:1 according to the fact each molecule of Myoglobin has only one molecule of ion. The excessive amount of Fe might be present in oxygen-carrying protein such as hemoglobin, which contains four heme prosthetic groups. Electron carriers in the mitochondrial respiratory chain have Fe incorporated in their prosthetic group, and examples of them include cytochomr c, ubiquinone and cytochrome oxidase. Besides, another hemeprotein, ferritin might also be present in the protein sample. Hemeprotein functions to stores and release iron atoms in biologically available form for use in heme and nonheme proteins and biochemical reactions (8). In conclusion, a ratio of 1:20 for Myoglobin and iron was obtained from the ground water buffalo. 144 ug Myoglobin was purified from the filtered extract with a relative purity of 25.9%. According to SDS-PAGE, the molecular weight of Myoglobin was determined to be 18402 Da.

Romeo and Juliet who is to blame? :: essays research papers

Throughout time, there have been many tragedies cause by romance. For example, the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, is known for its romantic tragedy between two star-crossed lovers. With all the deaths, who is truly to blame for Romeo and Juliet's deaths? Friar Laurence is most to blame for many obvious, yet overlooked reasons. The forbidden wedding of Romeo and Juliet could not have happened without the Friar. First of all, the Friar unwisely agreed to marry Romeo and Juliet, even though he knows it will cause later problems. In the beginning, the Friar thinks that "...this alliance may so happy prove/ To turn your households' rancor to pure love." (II iv 91-92) This shows that the Friar has a slight hope of their marriage possibly working. Therefore, he decides to marry the two lovers. However, as time moves on, the Friar lets on that he has regrets about the marriage. The Friar feels that "too swift arrives as tardy as too slow." (II vi 15) In other words, the Friar means that he senses that this whole wedding is happening too fast and starts to have second thoughts. If the Friar had thought this important decision clearly through, he may have prevented many future tragedies. Therefore, the Friar knows all along that, "These violent delights have violent ends." (II vi 9) The Friar knew that this is an impossible situation, which if made possible by himself will without a doubt end up in tragedy in one way or another. Under these conditions, as the Friar predicts, Romeo sinks into a deep depression; as a result of the fact that he cannot see his wife. Similarly, Juliet becomes depressed and is grieving over the truth of her and Romeo's separation. Without the Friar the two lovers would not have been married, which would have prevented both depressions and future problems to come. The Friar is responsible for many problems as well, as assisting Juliet with her "death" plan. When Romeo and Juliet realize they can’t be together, and Juliet is expected to marry Paris, she needs an escape plan. Juliet pays a visit to the Friar, who creates a plan for Juliet to fake her death with a sleeping potion. When Juliet asks the Friar to help her break free from her wedding with Paris, he replies that: If, rather than to marry County Paris, Thou has the strength of will to slay thyself;

Challenging Gender Roles in English Society Essay -- England Literatur

Challenging Gender Roles in English Society The age of Shakespeare was characterized by an overwhelming tendency for women to be looked down upon as the inferior gender. Women of the time were expected to be submissive, dutiful, obedient, and predominantly silent. The idea of an independent, out-spoken woman would have challenged all of the societal values of the time. Shakespeare, however, challenged the traditional patriarchal values of his time by introducing powerful and highly influential female characters in some of his most memorable plays. Lady Macbeth and her earlier counterpart, Volumnia, both serve pivotal roles as dominant and commanding mother figures and also challenge the traditional role of the dutiful wife. Both of these independent, strong-willed women are far ahead of the times in their approach to marital, maternal, and societal involvement. Shakespeare successfully portrays his women in a new light, very different from the perspective with which women were viewed at the time. Both women challenge traditional patriarchal values of English society and establish the female character as a significant and heroic figure among Shakespeare’s prominent male figures. Lady Macbeth, perhaps the most famous of these spirited women, is a particularly prominent character in Shakespeare’s tragic Scottish play, Macbeth. Her decisive and determined mentality serves as the driving force in Macbeth’s journey toward tragedy. It cannot be mistaken that Macbeth’s own desire for greatness is motivated in large part due to his wife’s passionate influence. Lady Macbeth appears to be the dominant partner in the twisted and power driven relationship between herself and Macbeth. She demonstrates her great concern with her husb... ...nglish society, Shakespeare places his female characters at the center of the action, making them equally important, if not more important than their male counterparts. These women, especially, allow the audience to view gender roles and gender restrictions imposed by society in a new light. Perhaps women are not as frail, dim-witted, and incapable as once thought. Shakespeare seems to lead us to the idea of women holding significant yet distinctive roles in society. He has effectively created strong, independent women who do not accept traditionally prescribed gender roles, but instead speak what they will, when they will, and do what they deem best. Through their distinctive actions, each of these women presents alternatives to the traditional patriarchal values of the time period as they establish themselves as thinking, feeling, and essential members of society.

Guy Montag as a Hero Essay

When we hear the word ‘hero’ we think about those who fight for our country out at war or those who put their lives in jeopardy everyday protecting their community like a police officer or fireman, all of these citizens doing this for a small wage in comparison to Rap artists who rhyme profane words making millions of dollars. However you don’t have to live on the streets or have more money than sense to be a hero, you just have to make a difference. In the end identifying someone as a hero or a villain is up to you, it’s in the eye of the beholder. Guy Montag was a fireman for his community and made his mark as a hero through countless acts of courage, bravery, and emotion in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Montag stood up for his rights on books and defied his government, even if it meant losing hisfamily, friends, job, and property all in order to do what he believed in. Bradbury symbolizes Montag as a sympathetic hero through the use of diction. Montag is one of the only characters in the novel to actually feel an array of different emotions and understand them. For instance, after the old woman had stood atop the pile of burning books and burned with them, Montag pondered what he saw, â€Å"There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. †(51) and for the first time Montag was exploring feelings he was not very familiar with, like curiosity and sympathy. For the first time the reader gets the feeling that Montag acts differently to the rest of the characters and may be on to something due to his curiosity. Montag shows sympathy in a conversation with Millie, â€Å"A man had to take a long time to put them down on paper†(52) referencing the author of the novels that he and his fellow firemen had burnt. Montag gradually becomes a hero however this results in getting himself into trouble. As the book progresses it is fair to say that â€Å"Curiosity killed the cat† as Montag got caught red handed. Courage, the second attribute that Montag performs,can be seen through the use of imagery. Throughout the novel Montag shows that he has courage to do the right thing even though things are against him. For example, â€Å"Montag places his hand on the woman’s elbow and says, ‘You can come with me'†(39) referring to the old woman who refused to leave her precious books. He tries to convince the old woman to get out of the house which was about to be burned even though other men had already told her to leave. This act requires courage because in a society presented in Fahrenheit 451, nobody cares about others and by trying to help the old woman; Montag creates suspicion toward himself by the other firemen, all because he was trying to save someone’s life. A second example of his courageousness can be found in the river scene. Bradbury paints a picture in the readers mind, â€Å"A storm of light fell upon the river and Montag dived under the great illumination as if the sun had broken the clouds†(139) using specific word choices and exact detail. In addition to the excellent imagery Montag takes a ‘leap of faith’ or in his case ‘plunge of faith’ as he plummets into the river in his attempt at escaping the mechanical hound. Whether it was fluke or not the reader doesn’t know, but Montag safely escaped and stumbled upon an interesting group of men. As stated before, the hero in this book is the main character, Guy Montag which is depicted through character development. Montag is a very curious and careful man, and from the start, different from the rest. A lot of Montag’s character is revealed when he is talking to Clarisse. He’s a good listener and Clarisse spikes his curiosity even more, for example, when she describes to him how she enjoys opening her mouth when it rains, he is extremely surprised, but after she leaves, he tilts his head back and tries it too. (21) Clarisse even remarks, â€Å"You’re not like the others. I’ve seen a few; I know. When I talk, you look at me. When I said something about the moon, you looked at the moon, last night. The others would never do that† (21). He is a very thoughtful man, and has a sensitivity about him. He also is a searcher for a deeper meaning in life. He says, â€Å"We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you’ve been really bothered? About something important, about something real? † (49). Montag is also imperfect. He is really rash and is filled with a passion that sometimes cripples his goals. He can be destructive, like when he rashly kills Beatty (113). He gets confused and overwhelmed with tough situations and sometimes doesn’t know how to get out of them. All and all Bradbury knew he wanted to make Montag the hero and builds that image bit by bit. Montag represents truth. He represents the want for happiness in our lives and the search for why things are like they are. He wants to find TRUE happiness. Not the happiness everyone else thinks they have. Montag goes on his own search, breaking laws, and doing anything to find out the truth of his own life and that is why he represents the abstract idea of truth. Fahrenheit 451 depicts that a character’s personality may have many more facets than are first visible. Bradbury is able to refract the crystal of Montag’s character, so that it reflects into each reader’s heart a different aspect of humanity. Once Montag becomes more human, Bradbury makes it nearly impossible for the reader to hold grudges about his past. Using this as a tool, Montag, the first apparent antagonist of the story, overcomes the government, which is the real antagonist, and emerges as the hero. From a work literature you have read in or out of school, select a character that, in your opinion, is heroic. In a well-developed composition, identify that character and explain why he or she is heroic. Thesis: Montag is eventually known as a heroic character.

Deforestation and its Effect on our Environment Today

DeforestationDeforestation is the operation of cut plants and trees because of fuel and architecture expanding and other reasons. Forests are cut down for many reasons. This essay will describe the causes and effects of deforestation, and how can we solve this problem.There are many causes of the deforestation. Firstly, Agricultural expansion, large scale agriculture is the main economic factor behind deforestation. Another factor which is Logging for Timber logging especially illegal logging, is a major cause of deforestation. Moreover, road construction is the infrastructure development that contributes most to deforestation because roads encourage immigration and the spread of agriculture into forests, particularly in remote areas where property rights are unclear. What's more, is the firewood collection, one third of the world’s population uses biomass fuels, mainly firewood, to cook and to heat their homes, together with population growth, this can have a devastating effe ct on forests in poor countries.Deforestation effect on our environment deeply today. Deforestation resulted in Climate Change, when deforestation occurs, many of the trees are burnt, which resulted in releasing the carbon that is stored in them as carbon dioxide. This leads to greater concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Therefore, the climate will change which cause the global warming. Furthermore, When forests are cut down, this regulation of the flow of water is disrupted, which leads to alternating periods of flood and then drought in the affected area.What then should be recommended as solutions to these problems? For every tree that is cut, three, not two should be planted in its case. We have reached such a critical point that to prevent the desertification so we need to plant more trees.In brief, deforestation is a warning to the worldwide life. It has become a huge concern in today's life. Deforestation can be solved only if everyone cooperate with each othe r and stop people from cutting these forests. Remember you can make a change and influence the people around you to save our beautiful planet. Also, Recycling is an option for the richer countries.

The Squeaky Horn

| The Squeaky Horn| Assignment A| Company Overview The Squeaky Horn is a musical instrument repair store which specialized in all major and minor repairs for band and orchestra instruments. Over the past ten year, The Squeaky Horn has established a great customer relationship with the music professionals from all over the country, and has been operated in a relatively less competitive environment as there were no many similar stores in the town.However, as the new store Best Instrument Repair opened across the town recently, the Squeaky Horn faced a lot pressure on lowering the price for minor repairs in competing with the new price that the Best Instrument Repair offers for the similar services. Eugene Decker, one of the three owners of The Squeaky Horn, was trying to figure out the reason for losing $50745 in their planned profit from the actual operating results, with the information that the store has been going through significant changes within the year.In order to explain the change in profit, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the musical instrument repair industry from both macroeconomic and microeconomic aspects first. Industry Background Macroeconomic Analysis Canadian GDP has been showing an increase trend from 2001 to 2010 as showed in Appendix 1, even though between 2008 and 2009, GDP had a negative growth rate of 2. 8%, the 3. 3% of increase in GDP at 2010 pull up the figure again to make an overall increase trend. Because of the significant increase in GDP over the past decade, consumers have more money spend on entertainment and education.Thus, more people tend to go to watch art shows and learn to play musical instruments. If looking at Appendix 2, the first chart shows clearly that the average household spends more money in entertainment outside home in 2003 than 1998. For example, people spend $20 more on performing arts on average per year. It implies that an increasing number of people will go listen to a concert, which stimul ates performers to keep a peak condition of their instruments for better performances. The musical nstrument repair industry therefore, attracts more repair jobs and technicians in order to satisfy the increasing demand on musical instrument repairs. The average Canadian music technician’s salary is $48,000, which is $9,000 higher than the other instrument repair technician’s as showed in the Appendix 3. Beside the facts that music technicians needs spend a lot of time work on the music repair certificate in order to perform their jobs, $9,000 difference in salary makes the musical technician jobs more attractive than others. As a result, the musical instrument repair industry is competitive.At the last, the industry is also affected by researcher’s studies. According to a cross-sectional study of Canadian school children, E. Glenn Schellenberg (2006) as referred in Appendix 4, kids who play musical instrument perform better in both cognitive tasks and general i ntelligence tests. Therefore, more parents would like to have their kids learn one of the musical instruments in order to explore the kids’ IQ potential. As a result, the musical instruments repair business is much more prosperous than before. Microeconomic Analysis The musical instrument repair industry is competitive.As a pure repair store, The Squeaky Horn faces competition not only in its own town, but also across the province. Because musical instruments are fragile, long distance travel increases the possibility of instrument breaking, music professionals prefer to have their instruments repaired in the local area. Therefore, there are not so many competitions outside the province. Since a lot of musical instruments retailers and individual music technicians also provide the similar services, the overall competition The Squeaky Horn is facing is heavy.Appendix 5 offers 3 of the most popular musical instrument repairs store in Ontario. The first two stores specialized in difference instruments repairs (guitar and violin); the last one is basically covering repairs and restorations for all instruments. Appendix 5 also shows the instrument repair price that another store in the industry offers. The average major repair (overhaul and refinish) is priced over $300 for band instruments (trumpet, trombone and horn) compare to The Squeaky Horn, which shows that The Squeaky Horn is cost efficient.The Squeaky Horn has various suppliers for musical instruments parts. Appendix 6 provides all the musical instruments manufacturers across Canada, and over half of the suppliers are from Ontario. Various supplier choices make The Squeaky Horn a price maker, which allow it to lower the repair price to attract more clients. The Squeaky Horn has customers all over the country. The customer line spreads from the music professionals to amateur players, from orchestra to individual household.Since the store has been operated for more than 10 years, a lot of old customer s prefer to have their instrument repaired there because of the already-established reputation. In addition, because of the musical instrument repairs need very specific skills, and technicians normally needs to obtain certain music degree and musical instrument repair certificate in order to perform their jobs, it is relatively hard to become a musical instrument repair technicians than others. As a result, the musical instrument repairs industry has a barrier to entry. There are not so many substitutes for musical instrument repairs.Since musical instruments is considered to be expensive goods, and most individuals and families can only offered one piece of the musical instrument (ex. piano), periodic repair and examination become the most popular method to keep a peak condition of their instruments. Unless the price of music instruments become so cheap that an average music player can offer to pay a new one when they found problems with the instruments, or the second hand market become so popular that the selling price of the instrument are enough for getting a new one, people will stick on instrument repair.If comparing The Squeaky Horn’s operating result with the maintenance and repair industry’s average (Appendix 7), we will find that The Squeaky Horn’s actual revenue of $664,170 is almost as twice as much of the industry average of $334,900. However, the total actual expense is $354,070 higher (calculation is provided at the end of Appendix 7), which results the overall profit fall below the industry average of $28,100 in 2008. Therefore, The Squeaky Horn is an absolute industry leader in revenue sector, but did not do well in maintaining high profitability through expenditure control. Appendix 1: GDP and GrowthBetween 2001 and 2010, GDP for all industries in the Canadian economy increased from $1,041 billion to $1,234 billion. In each year of the period, GDP growth has been positive with the exception of 2009 in which we saw a decl ine for the Canadian economy. The compound annual growth rate of GDP between 2001 and 2010 measured 1. 7%. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GDP Growth: 2001-2010 Canadian Economy (NAICS 11-91) GDP growth in 2001 and 2002 was much slower, with annual growth rates below the 10 year compound annual rate. However, in 2003, annual GDP growth slipped to 2. 1, corresponding with a down-turn in the United States economy.GDP growth rates went on to rebound and remained steady around 2% and 3% until 2008, when a global recession trimmed annual GDP growth to 0. 6% falling again in 2009 to an all time low of 2. 8%. In 2010, we begin to see another rebound with the GDP growth increasing to 3. 3%. Source: Statistics Canada, http://www. ic. gc. ca/eic/site/cis-sic. nsf/eng/h_00013. html Appendix 2: Consumer Demand for Entertainment Services Outside the Home In recent years, Canadians have spent more on entertainment. For their homes, demand has risen for such goods as home entertainment systems an d computers.Expenditures on these services comprised 0. 44% of the average household's overall spending budget in 2003, up from 0. 41% in 1998. This shift in preferences and growth in incomes, population and prices caused the consumer market for entertainment services to expand from $2. 3 billion in 1998 to $3. 2 billion in 2003, an increase of 41%. The chart below shows the household spending on entertainment services outside the home in 1998 and 2003, respectively. Chart 2 at the right shows the average household spending on entertainment services outside the home in both 1998 and 2003.Source: Yusu Guo and Don Little, Analytical Paper Series, Consumer Demand for Entertainment Services Outside the Home. http://publications. gc. ca/Collection/Statcan/63F0002XIE/63F0002XIE2006050. pdf Appendix 3: Comparison of Average Music Technician Salaries and Average Instrument Technicians Salaries The average salary for music technician jobs in Canada, KY is $48,000. Average music technician sa laries can vary greatly due to company, location, industry, experience and benefits. Source: http://www. simplyhired. com/a/salary/search/q-Music+Technician/l-CanadaThe average salary for instrument repair technician jobs in Canada, KY is $39,000. Average instrument repair technician salaries can vary greatly due to company, location, industry, experience and benefits. Source: http://www. simplyhired. com/a/salary/search/q-instrument+repair+Technician/l-canada Appendix 4: Study of Music and Intelligence Musicians perform better on cognitive tasks A study of 4 to 6-year olds found that musically-trained kids performed better on a test of working memory Other research indicates that musicians perform significantly better on tests of †¢ Spatial-temporal skills Math ability †¢ Reading skills †¢ Vocabulary †¢ Verbal memory †¢ Phonemic awareness Musically-trained people perform better on general intelligence tests. In a cross-sectional study of Canadian school chi ldren, E. Glenn Schellenberg (2006) found that kids who took music lessons had slightly higher IQs. The effects were general, cutting across several different intellectual abilities (e. g. , verbal, mathematical, and temporal-spatial). Music lessons were associated with abilities associated with fluid intelligence, such as †¢ Working memory †¢ Perceptual organization Processing speed They were also associated with increased verbal comprehension and better high school grades. These differences remained significant after controlling for a child’s age, nonmusical activities, family income, and parent’s education. Source: http://www. parentingscience. com/music-and-intelligence. html Appendix 5: Competitors * Folkway Music Repairs ; Restorations  · Fine Fretted Instruments Folkway Music is Canada's premier acoustic guitar shop. We specialize in the sale, repair and restoration of fine vintage, new and used guitars, mandolins, and banjos.There are always many vi ntage Gibson guitars, vintage Martin guitars, vintage Gibson mandolins, and other vintage guitars for sale in the store, as well as a large selection of new C. F Martin & Co. Guitars, Taylor Guitars, Santa Cruz Guitars, National Guitars, Larrivee Guitars, and others. C. F. Martin & Co. Authorized Warranty Repair Centre. World-wide shipping. 163 Suffolk Street West, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1H 2J7 Source: http://www. folkwaymusic. com/ * Armenious Violins In our workshop we do any kind of instrument repairs/restorations such as crack repairs, bridge, sound post, fingerboard planning, peg fitting, etc.After all we are violin, viola, and cello makers ourselves. The following are some highlights of instrument related works. Bridge Cutting, Sound Post , Fingerboard, Nut & Saddle, Install/Improve Pegs, Neck Repairs, Bass Bar, Internal Table Patches, Various Crack repairs and Anatomic Corrections, Clean and Polish the Varnish. Locations: 903 Willowdale Ave, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M2M 3C 2 Source: http://www. armenious-violins. com/instrument_services. html * Cosmo Music – A Music Instrument Superstore Cosmo Music operates one of the largest and most prestigious instrument repair shops in Canada.Each year hundreds of schools, students and professional musicians trust Cosmo Music to restore their instruments to like-new playing condition. In addition to customer repairs the shop also maintains a fleet of well over 10,000 rental instruments which are used by students across Ontario each year. Led by its original technician, Kevin Rohm, the shop now employs 18 technicians and specializes in all types of wind instruments, guitar and electronic repairs. Cosmo Music has made a significant investment in equipment so that its technicians have access to all of the latest and best tools and techniques to service your instrument uickly and properly – the first time! Location: 10 Via Renzo Drive, Richmond Hill ON L4S 0B6 Source: http://cosmomusic. ca/contact-us. h tml Source: http://www. heidmusic. com/PDFs/repairs. pdf Appendix 6: Suppliers Source: http://www. profilecanada. com/category. cfm? cat=3931_Musical-Instruments Appendix 7: Industry Average Source: Statistics Canada, http://www. ic. gc. ca/cis-sic/cis-sic. nsf/IDE/cis-sic811bece. html#bec1 Total Expense for the average industry = $165,800 + $137,300 = $303,100 Total Expense for the Squeaky Horn = $664,170 – $7,000 = $657,170 $657,170 – $303,100 = $354,070