How does steinbeck use the character of George Essays

How does steinbeck use the character of George Essays How does steinbeck use the character of George Essay How does steinbeck use the character of George Essay How does Steinbeck use the character of George to show the lack of hope and inevitable loneliness awaiting all migrant workers? By Morally How does Steinbeck use the character of George to show the lack of hope and inevitable loneliness awaiting all migrant workers? In the story Of mice and men the author Steinbeck uses the character of George to show the lack of hope and inevitable loneliness awaiting all migrant workers in many different ways. Steinbeck shows that all migrant workers move from ranch to ranch to earn money but still end up living a sorrow life because a typical migrant worker works alone, has no dream, o family and no sense of a future life, unlike George who has a partner alongside him whom is Leonie, they have a dream, they treat each other as family, and they want a future life, if he had been alone, had moved from ranch to ranch without Leonie, then he also would be as typical as any migrant worker on any ranch. Nothing but alone. From chapter 1, Steinbeck shows the way all migrant workers would live and how they would come across to be as a typical migrant worker, their dress sense is one of many, they are always in their denim worthless, have nothing more than a ice of clothing and few possessions which are most of the time worthless. Steinbeck show that they live rough, dont have a home to return too and they have workloads which is the only form of identity they have. These all refer to poverty, having such little possessions, working for almost nothing, living rough and taking on whatever the day brings, having not much of an option to live different. Loneliness comes across frequently during this story, starting from the beginning where it at first shows George and Leonie traveling to the ranch together, we see that they have each other and Leonie says in chapter 1 An why? Because Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and thats why. This shows that instantly they are a pair of great friends, who have the most priceless possession any migrant worker would want, Friendship. Its the only thing apart from their ambitions that make them different to the rest of the migrant workers. Although Leonie seems to be getting the most out of the friendship they have between themselves, its George which gets the biggest reward, he gets a father figure status, company and has a sense of what family is like, as he treats Leonie as one of his own. Most importantly Leonie keeps George away from loneliness. George tries to tell Leonie as best as he can that they are not lonely as he says guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They dont belong to no place. This is showing that George wants Leonie to know why the migrant workers are the way they are because they are lonely and have only themselves to look after. A character which best describes the loneliness of a migrant worker is Candy, the old migrant worker has kept his dog by his side, for so long that he considers it to be his only Eternal Ana once Nils jog was snot, nee Ana nothing, nee Isolate enamels Trot everyone and became Just like every other man on that ranch, a typical migrant worker. Therefore Leonie in the story has been compared to Candy dog, George controls Leonie, telling him whats right and wrong, what to do and what not to do, and soon enough the similar story between candy dog and Leonie become very much the same. George holds onto Leonie, Just like Candy did to his dog, but Leonie cannot be controlled, George tries his best to keep Leonie by his side, under control, y telling him over and over about their dream to live off the fat of the land, and that Leonie can tend the rabbits as soon as they start living that dream. However as hard as George tries to tell Leonie to stay away from trouble and keep himself to himself, he cant, he dozens know what to do in situations where he has to think for himself. Leonie dozens know his own strength. Steinbeck shows that although Leonie seems helpless and innocent looking, he is strong yet not knowing how to control his strength, for example his incident in weed where he had to flee from, because of hat he did, or squeezing the mouse to death in his pocket because again he couldnt control his strength swell as petting the innocent puppy too hard, in which he did care for and Just as curlers wife death, he had no intention of killing anything or anyone. Curlers wife is dead, because of Leonie, he had obviously no intention of doing such a thing, but when he did realize that what he had done was bad, it became clear to him that again he has struck off lightning. However this time George couldnt run anymore, he knew what he had to do, for lenses sake. George loves Annie, and has looked and cared for him in such ways, faithfully and honorably, but what he did, had to be done, he killed Leonie out of love so that he dozens die a more painful death by curler who has vowed to take revenge. Shooting him in the back of the head, while telling him to look in the far distance and to imagine tending the rabbits and living their dream, while at the same time George knows by killing Leonie and taking away the one person who gave him responsibility, that there is no future and there is no dream, nothing left but the typical life off migrant worker. He now is nothing but alone.

Terminal Velocity and Free Fall

Terminal Velocity and Free Fall Terminal velocity and free fall are two related concepts that tend to get confusing because they depend on whether or not a body is in empty space or in a fluid (e.g., and atmosphere or even water). Take a look at the definitions and equations of the terms, how they are related, and how fast a body falls in free fall or at terminal velocity under different conditions. Terminal Velocity Definition Terminal velocity is defined as the highest velocity that can be achieved by an object that is falling through a fluid, such as air or water. When terminal velocity is reached, the downward force of gravity is equal to the sum of the objects buoyancy and the drag force. An object a terminal velocity has zero net acceleration. Terminal Velocity Equation There are two particularly useful equations for finding terminal velocity. The first is for terminal velocity without taking into account buoyancy: Vt (2mg/Ï ACd)1/2 where: Vt is the terminal velocitym is the mass of the object that is fallingg is acceleration due to gravityCd is the drag coefficientÏ  is the density of the fluid through which the object is fallingA is the cross-sectional area projected by the object In liquids, in particular, its important to account for the buoyancy of the object. Archimedes principle is used to account for the displacement of volume (V) by the mass. The equation then becomes: Vt [2(m - Ï V)g/Ï ACd]1/2 Free Fall Definition The everyday use of the term free fall is not the same as the scientific definition. In common usage, a sky diver is considered to be in free fall upon achieving terminal velocity without a parachute. In actuality, the weight of the sky diver is supported by a cushion of air. Free fall is defined either according to Newtonian (classical) physics or in terms of general relativity. In classical mechanics, free fall describes the motion of a body when the only force acting upon it is gravity. The direction of the movement (up, down, etc.) is unimportant. If the gravitational field is uniform, it acts equally on all parts of the body, making it weightless or experiencing 0 g. Although it might seem strange, an object can be in free fall even when moving upward or at the top of its motion. A skydiver jumping from outside the atmosphere (like a HALO jump) very nearly achieves true terminal velocity and free fall. In general, as long as air resistance is negligible with respect to an objects weight, it can achieve free fall. Examples include: A spacecraft in space without a propulsion system engagedAn object thrown upwardAn object dropped from a drop tower or into a drop tubeA person jumping up In contrast, objects not in free fall include A flying birdA flying aircraft (because the wings provide lift)Using a parachute (because it counters gravity with drag and in some cases may provide lift)A skydiver not using a parachute (because the drag force equals his weight at terminal velocity) In general relativity, free fall is defined as the movement of a body along a geodesic, with gravity described as   space-time curvature. Free Fall Equation If an object is falling toward the surface of a planet and the force of gravity is much greater than the force of air resistance or else its velocity is much less than terminal velocity, the vertical velocity of free fall may be approximated as: vt gt v0 where: vt is the vertical velocity in meters per secondv0 is the initial velocity (m/s)g is the acceleration due to gravity (about 9.81 m/s2 near Earth)t is the elapsed time (s) How Fast Is Terminal Velocity? How Far Do You Fall? Because terminal velocity depends on drag and an objects cross section, there is no one speed for terminal velocity. In general, a person falling through the air on Earth reaches terminal velocity after about 12 seconds, which covers about 450 meters or 1500 feet. A skydiver in the belly-to-earth position reaches a terminal velocity of about 195 km/hr (54 m/s or 121 mph). If the skydiver pulls in his arms and legs, his cross section is decreased, increasing terminal velocity to about 320 km/hr (90 m/s or just under 200 mph). This is about the same as the terminal velocity achieved by a peregrine falcon diving for prey or for a bullet falling down after having been dropped or fired upward. The world record terminal velocity was set by Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from 39,000 meters and reached a terminal velocity of 134 km/hr (834 mph). References and Further Reading Huang, Jian (1999). Speed of a Skydiver (Terminal Velocity). The Physics Factbook. Glenn Elert, Midwood High School, Brooklyn College.All About the Peregrine Falcon. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. December 20, 2007. (archived)The Ballistician (March 2001). Bullets in the Sky. W. Square Enterprises, 9826 Sagedale, Houston, Texas 77089.

Businesses value of information______Study case Assignment

Businesses value of information______Study case - Assignment Example Naturally, large companies such in the same caliber as Telstra have establishments around the world on various technologies i.e. cloud services, software development among other. The statutes and charters in these industries do not distinguish the variations in such technologies. This advocates for the frequent lawsuits between companies and transnational organizations. Moreover, the patent laws in the industry emphasis on flexibility due to the vast growth and development of new technologies (Lamb, 2012). Competition is always a significant element in all industries but in telecommunication and computer technology production, sharing ideas on areas such as graphic user interface and operating systems is not a major issue because novelty and innovation are the key determinants of success in such an industry. Relatively, the flexibility aspect of the patent laws and system in general only give protection on a neutral perspective hence making it easy for lawsuits in difficult situations. Relatively, Telstra should assume the role on the global platform coming up with a way to offer customers a hosted ERP system on cloud without abusing the different regulation s and legal patents. This will reduce the possibility of lawsuits, which might negatively affect Telstra’s trust by the consumers. Given Telstra is an already established company in telecommunications and media, the main significance relative to its current aim of provision of information technology services is a Geographic Information System (GIS). Geographical information systems have become predominant in many organizations in the course of improving their effectiveness, especially for companies thriving in different but related markets. GIS describes computer-based systems specially designed in order to assist in the capturing, storing, manipulating, analyzing, as well as management and presentation of different kinds of spatial

Apple Operations Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apple Operations - Term Paper Example The company has a wide range of products such as desktop computers, laptops, mobiles and different application software. Along with its subsidiaries the company develops and markets various portable applications as well. Some of the bestseller items of the company include portable music players, mobile communication devices and several other digital gadgets. Buzzwords such as I-pod, I-phone and I-pad are all creations of Apple. The company also has a strong presence in the field of software. The software segment includes operating systems such as Mac OS and other utility and productivity applications like Quick time player, I-work and logic studio among others (Apple Store, n.d.). The company has a global presence and owns more than 370 stores. It has a workforce of 20,000 people. Apple mainly distributes its product through whole sellers, retailers and Apple owned exclusive stores. Hewlett Packard, Dell, Google and Research in Motion Limited are the direct competitors of the company (NASDAQ, 2012). However companies such as Lenovo, Compaq, Toshiba and Hitachi are also considered as the circumlocutory competitors of the company. The aim of the report is to offer the domestic operations of the company. Also the report will stress on the global operational strategy of the company. In the operational strategies the report will offers insights about the way Apple markets its products. Finally the report will conclude by revealing the differences between the domestic operations and the global operations of the company. Domestic Operations of Apple Operations management can be regarded as the process in which human, material and financial inputs are transformed into output of products, service or other utilities (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, 2006, p.279). However the actual creation of the product takes place in the mid half of the process and is referred to as manufacturing, production or the operations (Finch, 2008, p.164). In addition to that material management or logistics controls the transfer of raw materials through the process of value chain. The distribution on the other hand deals with the delivery of goods to the end customers. Finally the after sales provided by the company are known as support. Figure 1 (Source: McCubbrey, 2010) Value Chain of Apple The value chain of the company is discussed below:- Inbound Logistics Most of the essential components which are required for manufacturing Apple’s products are available from several sources. However some of the essential materials are obtained from single sources. In order to cite an instance IBM is the only supplier of G5 processor, which is being used in the products of PowerMac, while Motorola is the only supplier of G4 processor to the company. Operations The company has highly innovative products (O’Grady, 2008, p.xii). Hence the materials also need to be of high quality. Now as the raw materials are obtained the final assembly of the products is carried out in the manufacturing and assembling plants of Apple. Sacramento and Cork are the two places where the operations take place. Nevertheless the operations are also carried out by external vendors in places such as Netherlands, Korea, China and Taiwan among others (Day, 2010). In the portable category the products are assembled in Japan, China and Taiwan. Therefore from the findings it is clear that Apple only manufacture few of its products in USA and most of them assembled by third party vendors.

Bleep Test Essay Example for Free

Bleep Test Essay Power is strength and speed together. A good example of this is sprinting. Coordination is the ability to use your limbs effectively. This would be used in sports like tennis and cricket. Flexibility is the amount of movement at a certain area of your body. This can be seen when doing gymnastics. Agility is the ability to move and change direction on your feet, changing your body position. Squash is a good example of this. Balance is the ability to keep an upright position. This would be used a lot in ballet. Body Composition is the build up of your body e. g. the amount of muscle/fat/bone you have. Reaction Time is how quickly you respond to a stimulus. A good example of this would be sprinters waiting for the shot to start. Endurance is the ability to keep going for long periods, like a long distance runner doing the 1500m Speed is how quickly you can put your body into action and how quickly you can cover a distance. 100m sprinters need this component. Strength is the maximum weight you can lift or the muscular endurance you can endure. This can be seen in a body builder lifting their maximum weight. The components of fitness I am hoping to improve on are: Strength Muscular and Cardiovascular endurance Composition To improve on my strength I am going to use resistance training. This will involve lifting 10kg weights every night and increasing the amount of repetitions I do. To improve on my muscular and cardiovascular endurance I am going to use continuous training. This will mean doing long distance running and a sit up bleep test. I will slowly increase on the distance covered when running. The overall effect of this training should improve my body composition, adding to my muscle and reducing the amount of fat. Heart Rate During my P. E. P I will record my heart rate at several key points during the activity. Resting Heart Rate Working Heart Rate Recovery Rate Resting Heart Rate is the number of beats whilst resting e. g. whilst reading Working Heart Rate is the number of beats after you have performed an exercise e. g. after you have just played in a rugby match Recovery Rate is the time it takes for your heart to return to its resting heart rate. Target Zones 205 Anaerobic training zone (Insufficient o2) 200 170 Aerobic training zone (Sufficient o2) 130 Resting heart rate 70 I will take my resting heart rate before I do any kind of warm up or activity. I will then do the warm up and main activity and take my heart rate immediately after, every minute for five minutes before doing a warm down. I will be looking for an increase in my recovery rate and a possible decrease in my resting heart rate. Performing the Activity It is essential that, when I am performing my main activity that I execute a sufficient warm up and warm down. A Warm Up: When exercising you need to do a sufficient warm up to warm the muscles. A warm up should not be a strenuous task, it should be something that takes little effort but gets your muscles warm, a slow job is a good example of this. After you have warmed your muscles you should proceed to stretching them. When stretching it is vital that you dont force the stretch as this could lead to various injuries. A stretch should be held for roughly ten seconds before proceeding to the next. If a sufficient warm up is not properly done or not done at all then you risk serious injury. A Warm Down: A warm down should be down after any main activity. It is done to remove the lactic acid from your muscles. Again it should not be strenuous, a light jog (or even a slow walk) is sufficient for a warm down. You should also stretch your muscles (in the same fashion as mentioned above). Failure to do this could result in fatigue and soreness for a few days after. Main Activity: When doing a main activity you need to be aware of what your limits are. Pushing yourself too far can result in serious injury. Although testing your limits is advised breaking them is something that should always be avoided. Stretches Stretches need to be performed before and after any activity. This is done to avoid serious injury during the activity and to decrease fatigue after the activity. These are the basic stretches used. It is important to stretch each muscle properly without straining or forcing the stretch as this could cause serious injury. A stretch should be held for 10-15 seconds. The main ones I will be using are the Abdom Abductor Lower Back Calf Hamstring Chest as these will be the most used areas during my P. E. P. My Activity: For my activity I am going to firstly make sure I have done a sufficient warm up. This will consist of a steady jog of about 300m then stretching the main muscle groups, then a steady jog back to the starting point. After doing so I will have a short rest period then do a sit up multi level fitness test. This is where you do sit ups to a recorded bleep which speeds up as the levels increase. After doing this I will do a warm down. This will be a slow walk then doing the standard stretches and a slow walk back. When at home every night I will do 15 repetitions of my 10kg weights. For this I will first stretch my arms then proceed to doing the repetitions. Once completed I will stretch my arms again. This exercise should not be performed alone so I will always have someone with me when executing it. I will also be doing 100 sit ups. Both of these exercises will progress over time. Technique: When performing my main activities I need to make sure I am using the right technique. When doing the long distance running I need to pace myself and remain at that pace for the duration of the run otherwise I will tire quickly. For the sit ups I need to keep my arms crossed across my chest and have a downward pressure on my feet, doing this every time will allow fair results to come through. For the weightlifting I have a poster that tells me the correct ways to lift the weights, this will help me use the proper technique and reduce the risk of injury. None of these tasks should be performed if I sustain an injury as it will only make it worse and prolong its effects. Equipment: For my main activities I am going to need several pieces of equipment. For the long distance run I dont particularly need anything but for the sit ups I need a stereo with tape playing capabilities and a tape of the multi level fitness test. I also need a mat to lye on to support my back. For the weight lifting I need my 10kg weights and the poster which tells me the correct technique. Fitness Level Before starting the 6 week training program I tested my fitness levels through a bleep test and a circuit. This is how we test the components of fitness. Power: Standing long jump Coordination: Bouncing a tennis ball off a wall alternating the catching and throwing hands Agility: Slalom through cones Reaction Time: Dropping a ruler and seeing at what measurement it was caught Endurance: Bleep test Speed: Shuttle run Strength: Throwing a 3kg ball as far as possible from a sitting position using a chest pass. My results are as follows: Power: 180cm Coordination: 18 catches Agility: 8:20 seconds Reaction Time: 15cm Endurance: 7. 5 Speed: 5. 20 seconds Max Reps: 15 Highest Level On Sit Up Bleep Test: 5. 4 When I performed the bleep test I was suffering from a minor flu which has affected my score on the activity so this will undoubtedly improve on the second time around. As for the other results they should improve after my training period, mainly my targeted components. If they do not then my 6 week plan hasnt been sufficient enough and I will have to look back at the frequency, intensity etc of the activities done. My P. E. P For my 6 week training period I am going to be doing a sit up bleep test every G. C. S. E lesson as well as a 100 sit ups at home every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Every night I will do 15 reps of 10kg weights. I will progressively build up the amount of sit ups and reps I do as well as trying to progress to higher levels on the sit up bleep test. On top of this I will be doing my usual schedule of rugby training. These training sessions are done on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday. If for any reason I feel I am not capable of performing an activity due to risk of injury then I will leave it for that session and see how I am feeling on the next session.

Investigate the Effect of Moisture Content on Wheat Grain Seeds Respiration Rate :: GCSE Biology A2 A-Level Coursework

Investigate the Effect of Moisture Content on Wheat Grain Seed's Respiration Rate HYPOTHESIS: There will be a positive correlation between moisture content of wheat grains and their respiration rate. Therefore as the moisture content (independent variable) increases so will the respiration rate (dependent variable). The rationale behind the hypothesis came from studying photosynthesis in plants. During the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis, the photolysis of water (H2O) occurs inside photosystem II. The products of photolysis combine with NADP from photosystem I, to form reduced NADP. This reduced NADP passes to the light-independent reactions of photosynthesis, where it is utilised to make triose phosphate from glycerate 3 phosphate. Without water, photolysis would not occur and therefore the light-dependent and light-independent reactions would not take place at all. Therefore I would predict that the higher moisture content of wheat grain seeds the higher the respiration rate will be, this is because the seeds will be able to utilise more water than a wheat grain seed with low moisture content. VARIABLES: The independent variable used in this experiment is going to be moisture content, and the dependent variable will be the respiration rate. The other variables; temperature, air pressure and air will be kept at fairly constant levels. Carrying out the experiment inside a fume cupboard will help achieve in keeping these variables to remain constant. However another variable sunlight cannot be controlled during this experiment, and will obviously vary during the experiment. The possibility of using a standard light bulb to keep light levels constant was considered, but was rejected due to safety fears e.g. overheating when the experiment was not being monitored during the time between readings. BACKGROUNG KNOWLEDGE: Deterioration of stored grain seeds is an important economic problem in agriculture, therefore it is important to find out the most suitable conditions for stored grain seeds to be maintained in. For this experiment wheat grain has been chosen, this is because it is widely cultivated around the world e.g. the Mediterranean and West Asia, and is used to make flour and pasta. This means wheat is a staple crop throughout the world, and its storage is essential. To store grain effectively it is important to stop germination from occurring at all. Germination is the onset of growth of the embryo in a seed, this usually happens after a period of dormancy. Dormancy is the state where germination will not occur, even if environmental conditions are favourable. This is often an advantage for seeds, as it allows germination to occur in a more favourable season. In the case of wheat seeds they need several weeks or months of prechilling before the will actually germinate.

Marketing Research Essay

1. Explain the difference between testing for significant differences and testing for association. If a relationship present between two variables, it is important to know thw direction, the direction of a relationship can be either positive or negative. An understanding of the strength of association also is important. Researchers generally categorize the stenght os association as no relationship, weak relationship, moderate relationship, or strong relationship. If a consistent and systematic relationship is not present, then there is no relationship. 2. Explain the difference between association and causation. It depends if we have a linear relationship, which means the strength and nature of the relationship between them remains the same over the range of both variables, and can be best described using a straight line; or a curvilinear relationship, which means the strength and/or direction of the relationship changes over the range of both variables. 3. What is covariation? How does it differ from correlation? Covariation is the amount of change in one variable that is consistently related to the change in another variable of interest. 4. What are the differences between univariate and bivariate statistical techniques? Univariate focuses on one variable, and bivariate focuses on 2 5. What is regression analysis? When would you use it? Statistical technique that analyzes the linear relationship between two variables by estimating coefficients for an equation for a straight line. One variable is designated as dependent variable and the other is called an independent or predictor variable. 6. What is the main problem caused by high multicollinearity among the independent variables in a multiple regression equation? A situation in which several independent variables are highly correlated with each other. This characteristic can result in difficulty in estimating separate or independent regression coefficients for the correlated variables.

Primary school Essay

Schooldays are the most pleasurable gift that are directly gifted by god to every human. It is filled with happiness. It also acquaints me to some precious friends and unforgettable thoughts to my life. I am privileged to share my reminiscence of my school The name of my school is sithi vinayagar primary school in agathapati. I reside in venkatayapuram. My native is pastoral background devoid of basic needs. Even for catering our necessity we depend on the nearby village sundrapandium. Due to non-availability of transport, I and my friends used to walk half hour to reach my school. It was a management school of belonging to a particular caste group. These prevails the dominance of the caste students over the other sects of students There were five teachers working under a single head master. People from the surrounding villages work in different posts. My school locked good infrastructure, as it is located in the outskirts of the village. No one pays respect to my school . only for earning a good income management dares to function the school. My school commence from 9 am to 5 pm. by 9. 00am prayer song would be sung leading up to the announcement with the national anthem in the end of the prayer session. After that we enter into our respective classes as regular sessions commences then. At 12. 30 am all the students gathered under the neem tree and share their lunch wit their friends. After that we played together. The school routine comes to an end at 5 pm and we return home happily. During Friday and Monday, students were strictly advised to wear uniform. Personally I hate those two days because my friends and I enjoy wearing colour dresses than uniform. Every year I wait for annual day function. The preparations begin almost two or three weeks in advance with a lot of rehearsals. My friends and I eager in participating in drama. While doing my third standard, I earned a first prize by participating in a drama. In my school days I had the passion to participate in other activities than subjects. So my friends and I were not interested in going school. Contrary to that our parents strictly forced us to go to school. Usually I try to invent reasons to be away from tedious school hours. But all my attempts remain futile. During rainy days, flood encounters our two villages. So holidays may be announced from schools. I enjoyed those days and my mind long to cherish those days. I was not interested in studies, so even solving simple calculations seem to be a complex issue for me. Exams take a shape of the giant before me always. Any how I managed exams easily by keeping the books open. When I was in school, the importance of my school life was not known to me. When I was in fifth standard my school was in critical condition. The management decided to utilize the area of land constructed for a marriage hall. After a long search, they allotted a big house as our school premises. After completing my fifth standard, I shift my home to near down for my higher studies. But my school was not able to survive for a long time. At present I in my college ,but I will never forget my primary school. Eventhogh it was a past experience. A school plays a vital role in everyone’s life. So don’t forget your school. I wish that everyone should enjoy their school life with full joy and pleasure.

A Journey to the Center of the Earth essays

A Journey to the Center of the Earth essays Professor Hardwigg yells excitedly to Harry. Harry ran to the professor to find him sitting in front of a very old looking book, with yellowed pages and hand-made cover. Harry is starving, but forgets about it over the strange excitement. Harry asks Professor Hardwigg what all of the excitement is over so he explains: The book is an old Icelandic book written by Heims-Kringla, a very brilliant author from the twelfth century. Harry reaches over and grabs the book, and a manuscript written in a different hand falls out. The professor quickly discovers the author of it being Arne Saknussemm, a brilliant alchemist of the 16th century who was killed because of his views. The Professor and Harry cant decode the document. The professor gets very frustrated and vows that he wont eat or sleep until he decodes the parchment. After a while, even he gets frustrated with it and leaves the office in which they are working. Harry picks up the small document and looks at it as he smokes! from his pipe. He starts to get warm so he fans himself with the parchment, amazingly when he turned it upside down, he was able to easily read it. It said the exact location and a short story of how to find the center of the earth. This started the long journey. The excited professor and Harry set off on an excellent adventure. Soon the two are on their way to Sneffels, Iceland, and island nearly totally covered in volcanic craters. The parchment says exactly how to find the right crater, however once they reach Sneffels, one of the Professors friends offers him a guide. The guide named Hans is very strong and speaks danish. The trio starts their amazing journey at the start of the next day. They checked their supplies that night and get a good nights sleep. As soon as daylight broke they were off, heading to the specified crater. It took all day to reach the entrance at the bottom of the crater, so they again slept. The next day they started do...

Theories of the Origin and Evolution of Human Language

Theories of the Origin and Evolution of Human Language The expression language origins refers to theories pertaining to the emergence and development of language in human societies. Over the centuries, many theories have been put forward- and almost all of them have been challenged, discounted, and ridiculed. (See Where Does Language Come From?) In 1866, the Linguistic Society of Paris banned any discussion of the topic: The Society will accept no communication concerning either the origin of language or the creation of a universal language. Contemporary linguist Robbins Burling says that anyone who has read widely in the literature on language origins cannot escape a sneaking sympathy with the Paris linguists. Reams of nonsense have been written about the subject (The Talking Ape, 2005). In recent decades, however, scholars from such diverse fields as genetics, anthropology, and cognitive science have been engaged, as Christine Kenneally says, in a cross-discipline, multidimensional treasure hunt to find out how language began. It is, she says, the hardest problem in science today (The First Word, 2007). Observations on the Origins of Language Divine origin [is the] conjecture that human language originated as a gift from God. No scholar takes this idea seriously today. (R.L. Trask, A Students Dictionary of Language and Linguistics, 1997; rpt. Routledge, 2014) Numerous and varied explanations have been put forth to explain how humans acquired language- many of which date back to the time of the Paris ban. Some of the more fanciful explanations have been given nicknames, mainly to the effect of dismissal by ridicule. The scenario by which language evolved in humans to assist the coordination of working together (as on the pre-historic equivalent of a loading dock) has been nicknamed the yo-heave-ho model. Theres the bow-wow model in which language originated as imitations of animal cries. In the poo-poo model, language started from emotional interjections. During the twentieth century, and particularly its last few decades, discussion of language origins has become respectable and even fashionable. One major problem remains, however; most models about language origins do not readily lend themselves to the formation of testable hypotheses, or rigorous testing of any sort. What data will allow us to conclude that one model or another best explains how language arose? (Norman A. Johnson, Darwinian Detectives: Revealing the Natural History of Genes and Genomes. Oxford University Press, 2007) Physical Adaptations - Instead of looking at types of sounds as the source of human speech, we can look at the types of physical features humans possess, especially those that are distinct from other creatures, which may have been able to support speech production. . . . Human teeth are upright, not slanting outwards like those of apes, and they are roughly even in height. Such characteristics are . . . very helpful in making sounds such as f or v. Human lips have much more intricate muscle lacing than is found in other primates and their resulting flexibility certainly helps in making sounds like p, b, and m. In fact, the b and m sounds are the most widely attested in the vocalizations made by human infants during their first year, no matter which language their parents are using. (George Yule, The Study of Language, 5th ed. Cambridge University Press, 2014) -   In the evolution of the human vocal tract since the split with other apes, the adult larynx descended to its lower position. Phonetician Philip Lieberman has persuasively argued that the ultimate cause of the human lowered larynx is its function in producing different vowels. This is a case of natural selection for more effective communication. . . . Babies are born with their larynxes in a high position, like monkeys. This is functional, as there is a reduced risk of choking, and babies are not yet talking. . . . By about the end of the first year, the human larynx descends to its near-adult lowered position. This is a case of ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny, the growth of the individual reflecting the evolution of the species. (James R. Hurford, The Origins of Language. Oxford University Press, 2014) From Words to Syntax Language-ready modern children learn vocabulary voraciously before they begin to make grammatical utterances several words long. So we presume that in the origins of language a one-word stage preceded our remote ancestors first steps into grammar. The term protolanguage has been widely used to describe this one-word stage, where there is vocabulary but no grammar. (James R. Hurford, The Origins of Language. Oxford University Press, 2014) The Gesture Theory of Language Origin - Speculation about how languages originate and evolve has had an important place in the history of ideas, and it has been intimately linked to questions about the nature of the signed languages of the deaf and human gestural behavior in general. It can be argued, from a phylogenetic perspective, the origin of human sign languages is coincident with the origin of human languages; sign languages, that is, are likely to have been the first true languages. This is not a new perspectiveit is perhaps as old as nonreligious speculation about the way human language may have begun. (David F. Armstrong and Sherman E. Wilcox, The Gestural Origin of Language. Oxford University Press, 2007) - [A]n analysis of the physical structure of visible gesture provides insights into the origins of syntax, perhaps the most difficult question facing students of the origin and evolution of language . . .. It is the origin of syntax that transforms naming into language, by enabling human beings to comment on and think about the relationships between things and events, that is, by enabling them to articulate complex thoughts and, most important, share them with others. . . . We are not the first to suggest a gestural origin of language. [Gordon] Hewes (1973; 1974; 1976) was one of the first modern proponents of a gestural origins theory. [Adam] Kendon (1991: 215) also suggests that the first kind of behaviour that could be said to be functioning in anything like a linguistic fashion would have had to have been gestural. For Kendon, as for most others who consider gestural origins of language, gestures are placed in opposition to speech and vocalization. . . . While we would agree with Kendons strategy of examining the relationships among spoken and signed languages, pantomime, graphic depiction, and other modes of human representation, we are not convinced that placing gesture in opposition to speech leads to a productive framework for understanding the emergence of cognition and language. For us, the answer to the question, If language began as gesture, why did it not stay that way? is that it did. . . . All language, in the words of Ulrich Neisser (1976), is articulatory gesturing. We are not proposing that language began as gesture and became vocal. Language has been and always will be gestural (at least until we evolve a reliable and universal capacity for mental telepathy). (David F. Armstrong, William C. Stokoe, and Sherman E. Wilcox, Gesture and the Nature of Language. Cambridge University Press, 1995) - If, with [Dwight] Whitney, we think of language as a complex of instrumentalities which serve in the expression of thought (as he would sayone might not wish to put it quite like this today), then gesture is part of language. For those of us with an interest in language conceived of in this way, our task must include working out all the intricate ways in which gesture is used in relation to speech and of showing the circumstances in which the organization of each is differentiated from the other as well as the ways in which they overlap. This can only enrich our understanding of how these instrumentalities function. If, on the other hand, we define language in structural terms, thus excluding from consideration most, if not all, of the kinds of gestural usages I have illustrated today, we may be in danger of missing important features of how language, so defined, actually succeeds as an instrument of communication. Such a structural definition is valuable as a matter of convenience , as a way of delimiting a field of concern. On the other hand, from the point of view of a comprehensive theory of how humans do all the things they do by means of utterances, it cannot be sufficient. (Adam Kendon, Language and Gesture: Unity or Duality? Language and Gesture, ed. by David McNeill. Cambridge University Press, 2000) Language as a Device for Bonding [T]he size of human social groups gives rise to a serious problem: grooming is the mechanism that is used to bond social groups among primates, but human groups are so large that it would be impossible to invest enough time in grooming to bond groups of this size effectively. The alternative suggestion, then, is that language evolved as a device for bonding large social groupsin other words, as a form of grooming-at-a-distance. The kind of information that language was designed to carry was not about the physical world, but rather about the social world. Note that the issue here is not the evolution of grammar as such, but the evolution of language. Grammar would have been equally useful whether language evolved to subserve a social or a technological function. (Robin I.A. Dunbar, The Origin and Subsequent Evolution of Language. Language Evolution, ed. by Morten H. Christiansen and Simon Kirby. Oxford University Press, 2003) Otto Jespersen on Language as Play (1922) - [P]rimitive speakers were not reticent and reserved beings, but youthful men and women babbling merrily on, without being so particular about the meaning of each word. . . . They chattered away for the mere pleasure of chattering . . ..   [P]rimitive speech . . . resembles the speech of little baby himself, before he begins to frame his own language after the pattern of the grownups; the language of our remote forefathers was like that ceaseless humming and crooning with which no thoughts are as yet connected, which merely amuses and delights the little one. Language originated as play, and the organs of speech were first trained in this singing sport of idle hours. (Otto Jespersen,Language: Its Nature, Development and Origin, 1922) - It is quite interesting to note that these modern views [on the commonality of language and music and of language and dance] were anticipated in great detail by Jespersen (1922: 392-442). In his speculations about the origin of language, he arrived at the view that referential language must have been preceded by singing, which in its turn was functional in fulfilling the need for sex (or love), on the one hand, and the need for coordinating collective work, on the other. These speculations have, in turn, their origins in [Charles] Darwins 1871 book The Descent of Man: we may conclude from a widely-spread analogy that this power would have been especially exerted during the courtship of the sexes, serving to express various emotions. . . . The imitation by articulate sounds of musical cries might have given rise to words expressive of various complex emotions. (quoted from Howard 1982: 70) The modern scholars mentioned above agree in rejecting the well-known scenario according to which language originated as a system of monosyllabic grunt-like sounds that had the (referential) function of pointing at things. Instead, they propose a scenario according to which referential meaning was slowly grafted upon nearly autonomous melodious sound. (Esa Itkonen, Analogy as Structure and Process: Approaches in Linguistics, Cognitive Psychology and Philosophy of Science. John Benjamins, 2005) Divided Views on the Origins of Language (2016) Today, opinion on the matter of language origins is still deeply divided. On the one hand, there are those who feel that language is so complex, and so deeply ingrained in the human condition, that it must have evolved slowly over immense periods of time. Indeed, some believe that its roots go all the way back to  Homo habilis, a tiny-brained hominid that lived in Africa not far short of two million years ago. On the other, there are those like [Robert] Berwick and [Noam] Chomsky who believe that humans acquired language quite recently, in an abrupt event. Nobody is in the middle on this one, except to the extent that different extinct hominid species are seen as the inaugurators of language’s slow evolutionary trajectory. That this deep dichotomy of viewpoint has been able to persist (not only among linguists, but among paleoanthropologists, archaeologists, cognitive scientists, and others) for as long as anyone can remember is due to one simple fact: at least until the very recent advent of writing systems, language has left no trace in any durable record. Whether any early humans possessed language, or didn’t, has had to be inferred from indirect proxy indicators. And views have diverged greatly on the matter of what is an acceptable proxy. (Ian Tattersall, At the Birth of Language.   The New York Review of Books, August 18, 2016) Also  See Where Does Language Come From?: Five Theories on the Origins of Language Cognitive Linguistics  and  Neurolinguistics

Accounting report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Accounting report - Assignment Example Therefore, this additional information such as the macro environment effects, business performance in comparison to its competitors, etc. generally guide the investor in making the right choice. The statements provided by Chairman and CEO are more or less same with both them talking about the performance of British Airways during the year in comparison with last year and the difficulties being faced due to economic downturn, loss of consumer confidence, increasing oil prices and other environmental factors. Furthermore, both the heads highlighted the fact that next year is going to be much tougher in terms of performance due to economic conditions prevailing, yet they are confident that the company will manage to survive and achieve their long term future goals of being a premium airline. However, the main difference among both the statements was the measures highlighted by CEO to survive currently and tackle the future business appropriately with a brief detail about their future development and ways to achieve those (British Airways 2009). The report provided by CFO highlight some of the problems that company is facing and which will be important for investor like Paul. Firstly, the CFO talks about the decline revenue caused by a decrease in passenger traffic especially premium passenger leading to reduction on amount of flying. Furthermore, the report highlights the company’s susceptibility towards fluctuating oil prices and showing an increase in operating expenditure due to this. Moreover the company faced a net unrealized loss on fuel derivatives due to volatile prices. Lastly, company posted a negative EPS which will have an adverse impact on its investors as no dividend was announced (British Airways 2009). The environment in which airline industry operates involves lot of risks and uncertainties which are out of their control and can have severe impacts on their business. Some of the risks involved in their industry are act of terrorism, any