Implication of Science and Technology Essay

Implication of Science and Technology to mans’ use is as old as 2500 B.C or much earlier when the people, of Indus Valley Civilization came to know first time about the fire and the wheel. Wheel is the mother of all technological innovations of today and discovery of fire is the man’s first experience about energy. Since then, man’s curiosity and meticulous efforts have helped him for new inventions and discoveries. But Science and Technology got its real recognition in India during the British period and were established to meet the needs and requirements of the then government. During 19th century, when the whole Europe passed through a phase of Industrial Revolution, the Britishers also put emphasis on development of Science and Technology in India. Establishment of railway system, building of canals and development of a network of meteorological stations began. The first scientific survey of this country was done during this time. Several academic institutions, such as Asiatic Society in Calcutta in 1784, the Indian Association for the Advancement of Science in 1876 and many others were created All these generated a greater awareness of science in the country and eventually led to the birth of modern science in India between 1890 and 1940. However, the end of the last century and the first 50 years of the present one was a period of renaissance of science for India. Renowned scientists like Sir J. C. Bose, C. V. Raman, S. N. Bose, Srinivasa Ramanujan, Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, the father of India’s nuclear power, Vikram Sarabhai, Dr. Har Govind Singh Khorana etc. became well-known for their notable scientific researches in various fields and brought name and fame for the country. During post independence period and through the vision of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru the then Prime Minister, Science and Technology were developed in a conscious way as a major force for accelerating social and economic change. Nehru clearly expressed his views in his ‘Discovery of India’: â€Å"It was science alone that could solve the problems of hunger and poverty, of insanitation and illiteracy, of superstition and doddering custom and tradition, of vast resources running to waste, of a rich country inhabited by starving people,† Programme of ‘Green Revolution’ has made it true. Now, in the fields of space research, atomic energy, biotechnology and agriculture, India has achieved a lot. Continuous emergence of new areas and micro areas are gradually gaining the importance and specialized research areas like Superconductivity, Laser, Supercomputers, Robots and Robotics, Information Technology, Optic fibers etc. have resulted in a vast expansion in the areas/fields of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY activities. India is still lagging behind in the field of energy; specifically harnessing clean, safe and non-polluting energy through exaltation of non-conventional resources. Solar energy, the limitless source (the sun) provided by the nature, is still underutilized. Though much is achieved, but more is left unattended. Hence, with the consistent support of the government as well as private institutions today there are about 3000 public and private institutions engaged in basic/fundamental, applied researches and development works in various fields of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.

Social Structure of the Society

?MINISTERY OF EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS Belarus State Economic University REFERAT: â€Å"SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE SOCIETY† Minsk 2008 What is social structure of the society? Any object has its structure. As the noun â€Å"structure† is rendered as â€Å", , †, structure is defined as functional interdependence of elements constituting the carcass of an object. The society has social structure. The concept of social structure was pioneered by G. Simmel, then developed by K. Marx, E. Durkheim but became most known due to T. Parsons who created structural functionalism. There are various approaches to studying social structure of the society but they didn’t avoid influence of structural functionalism in any way. Due to the functionalist perspective, social structure is the carcass of a social whole (society or its part) the elements of which are invariable in time, interdependent of each other and largely determine the functioning of the whole in general and its members in particular. The focus is made on both interdependence – it’s like a house: take some brick off the wall and the whole building may ruin, and function – take a log: it can be burnt to get warm or used as construction material to build a house. In other words, structural functionalism analyzes parts of the society in terms of their purpose within the whole. It’s clear that social structures of ancient and modern societies differ from each other. This difference is caused by diachronic changes taking place in the society: although the structure presents a stable carcass, it is stable or invariable only for a definite period of time, and historically it changes. Social structure is qualitative certainty of the society which means that change in structure leads to radical, qualitative change in the society. Structure ensures stability required for the functioning of associated social elements which accumulate quantitative changes up till the moment when they turn to quality, and a need for structural changes in the social object rises. For instance, development of the bourgeoisie and proletariat as classes and formation of new relations of production lead to a bourgeoisie revolution and change of the socio-economic system. Social structure is characterized by the following main attributes: hierarchy – vertical and horizontal arrangement of structural elements which is based on their unequal access to authority, income, social prestige etc. interconnection of structural elements which is realized through exchange of resources, information, sharing values etc. ; differentiation into the smallest elements and their integration into the whole; flexibility, capacity to change so it is an important part of the management. Traditionally, theorists identify the following types of social structure: socio-demographic, socio-class, socio-ethnic, socio-professional, socio-confessional etc. No doubt, any social object has its structure. For instance, at analyzing a labour collective we may consider employees within the socio-professional structure: those who got secondary, vocational and higher education, scientific qualifications, representatives of various professions, specializations, their levels of qualification. The socio-demographic structure suggests analysis of employees according to the age and gender: the young up to 30, middle-aged, those of pre-pension and pension age, males and females. There are different types of social structure. A famous Russian theorist M. N. Rutkevich identifies three basic types. The first one characterizes the process of historical development of mankind, i. e. a global structure of human society consisting of nations, states and their various associations. The second type comprises relations between various spheres or subsystems of social life. The third type comprises relations between social groups and other communities of people. The last two types reflect some settled approaches to consider social structure. In social structures of the second type their elements are viewed as relatively independent subsystems or spheres of social life (politics, economy etc). Their number is a point for debate. For instance, G. Hegel and F. Engels spoke of politics, economy and family; modern theorists perceive four spheres: culture, politics, legislation and economy although they don’t deny that other spheres can also be seen in religion, science or in family. Anyway, less debated is a position of the Russian researcher A. I. Kravchenko who divides the society into economic, political, social and spiritual spheres. Economic sphere includes four types of activities – production, distribution, exchange and consumption. It provides eans for increasing the material welfare of the society: enterprises, banks, markets, money flows and the like that enables the society to use available resources (land, labour, capital and management) in order to produce the amount of goods and services sufficient enough to satisfy people’s essential needs in food, shelter and leisure. About 50% of the economically active population take part in the economic sphere as the young, old, disabled do not produce material wealth. But indirectly 100% of the population participate in the economic sphere as consumers of created goods and services. Political sphere includes the head of the state and the state bodies such as government and parliament, local bodies of power, the army, the police, taxation and customs bodies which together constitute the state and political parties which are not part of the state. Its objective is to realize the goals of the society: to ensure the social order, settle conflicts arisen between partners (employers, employees and trade unions), defend the state frontiers and sovereignty, impose new laws, collect taxes etc. But its main objective is to legalize ways of struggle for power and defend the power obtained by a particular class or group. The objective of political parties is to legally defend the diversified political interests of different, very often opposite, groups of the population. Spiritual sphere includes culture, science, religion and education and their artifacts such as monuments and establishments of culture, pieces of arts, research and learning institutions, temples and cathedrals, mass media etc. If science is aimed at discovering new knowledge in various spheres, education should translate this knowledge to the future generations in a most effective way, for schools and universities are built, new programs and teaching methods are worked out, qualified teachers are trained. Culture is designed to create values of arts, exhibit them in museums, galleries, libraries etc. Culture also comprises religion which is considered the pivot of spiritual culture in any society as it gives sense to human life and determines basic moral norms. Social sphere embraces classes, social layers, nations associated by their relations and interactions. The given sphere of the society is understood as narrow and wide. In its wide meaning the social sphere is a totality of organizations and establishments that are in charge of the population’s wealth; they are shops, transport means, communal and consumer services, establishments of catering, medicine, communication, leisure and recreation. Thus, as such the social sphere covers almost all classes and layers – the rich, the poor and the middle class. In its narrow meaning the social sphere is designed for the members of the society who are regarded as socially unprotected (pensioners, unemployed, with low incomes or with many children etc) and the establishments that provide their service, namely, the bodies of social security (including social insurance) of both local and national subordination. In this case, the social sphere is designed for the poorer layers of the population. There are other approaches as to the number of parts or spheres of the society but they are all united by a view that social subsystems cannot exist as isolated. They are arranged in a pattern of relationships that, together, make the system. The social naturally penetrates into the productive and managerial spheres since people of different nationalities, ages, sexes and confessions can work together at an enterprise, on the one hand. On the other hand, if the country’s economy doesn’t perform its main objective to satisfy the population with the sufficient amount of goods and services, the number of jobs doesn’t increase, there may arise negative consequences in the society. For instance, the money is short to pay wages and pensions, unemployment appears, the living standards of the socially unprotected layers are decreasing, crimes are increasing etc. In other words, success or recession in one sphere has a great influence on prosperity in the other one. The third type of social structure is best developed by structural functionalists who assert that structure arises out of face-to-face interactions of people. Interactions make up patterns which are independent of the particular individual, because patterns are determined by social norms and values of the given society. For instance, somebody needs money. He can earn it, but if in some society robbery or burglary is not disapproved of, he may rob someone to reach the purpose. So patterns exert a force which shapes behaviour and identity. That’s why T. Parsons and his supporters define social structure as the way in which the society is organized into predictable relationships, or invariable patterns of social interaction called institutions. Social structure does not concern itself with the people forming the society or their social organizations, neither does it study who are the people or organizations forming it, or what is the ultimate goal of their relations. Social structure deals rather with the very structure of their relations – how they are organized in a pattern of relationships, or institution. So due to structural functionlism, structural elements of the society are social institutions and social groupings; structural units are social norms and values. Social groupings and communities Social groupings are social groups, social classes and layers, communities, social organizations, social statuses and roles. A group is a number of people or things which we class together, so that they form a whole. In our minds we could group any assortment of people together. For instance, you could group together Phillip Kirkorov, your nearest relative, the person who sat opposite you last time you were on a bus, Santa Clause and a shop-assistant from the Hippo market in Serebryanka. But a social group, however, means more than just an assortment of people. There must be something to hold them together as a whole. To be a social group, people must: interact with one another, perceive themselves as a group. Social group is an assortment of people associated by a socially significant distinction, people who interact together in an orderly way and perceive themselves or perceived by others as a group. Any social group is characterized by a number of attributes: interaction within a group is realized on the basis of shared norms, values and expectations about one another’s behaviour; groups develop their own internal structure: kernel and periphery, norms, value, statuses and roles; they can be rigid and formal or loose and flexible; there is a sense of belonging, individuals identify with the group; outsiders are distinguished from members and treated differently; groups are formed for a purpose – specific or diffuse; eople in a group tend to be similar, and the more they participate, the more similar they become. There are a lot of classifications of social groups. The first one embraces statistical and real groups. A statistical group is an assortment of people differentiated by a definite characteristic that can be measured. For instance, citizens are people living in formal settlements called cities. A real group possesses a number of characteristics describing i ts immanent essence. So, citizens are people living in cities, who live an urban way of life with highly diversified labour (mainly industrial and information kinds) and leisure activities, with high professional and social mobility, high frequency of human contacts in formal communication etc. According to this definition, only a part of the statistical group of citizens comply with the criterion of being urbanites, or not everyone who lives in city can belong to the real group of citizens. Another type is a reference group as any group we use to evaluate ourselves, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we must belong to it. It is like a target group in the market: a target group of black BMW cars is composed of people with high income, of a certain age, males etc. David is a person with such characteristics but he doesn’t like BMWs. He prefers Volvos. The normative function of the reference group is to set and enforce standards of conduct and belief. Its comparison function is viewed as a standard by which people can measure themselves or others. For instance, we compare confessional groups to examine some features, let’s say, Jews and Protestants, and find out that Jews display 20% greater tolerance. So if you are a Jew, you’re perceived by others as a more tolerant person. Social groups can also be classified according to their size, character of organization, emotional depth, accomplished objective etc. According to size, groups can be small, middle-sized and large ones. Small social groups, normally small in number, are characterized by human interactions in the form of direct contacts like in families. The smallest groups are stable and more constraining, but offer more intimacy and individuality. As size increases, freedom increases, but intimacy declines and the emerging group structure tends to limit individuality. Contacts are frequent and intensive; members take each other into account as they group together on the basis of shared norms, values and expectations about one another’s behaviour. As more people are added to the group (up to 20), complexity increases, subdivisions appear. Middle-sized social groups are relatively stable communities of people working at the same enterprise or organization, members of a social association or those sharing one limited but large enough territory, for example, people living in one district, city or region. The first type is called labour-organizational groups, the second one – territorial groups. People are united into labour-organizational groups to accomplish a certain purpose or objective that determines its composition, structure and type of activities, interpersonal interaction and relations. Large social groups are stable numerous collections of people, who act together in socially significant situations in the context of the country or state, or their unions. They are classes, social layers, professional groups, ethnic groupings (nationalities, nations and races), demographic groupings (the young, the old, males and females) etc. With regard to all of them, a social group is a patrimonial, collective concept. People’s affiliation to a large group is determined by a number of socially significant distinctions such as class affiliation, demographic factors, form and character of social activities etc. In large social groups, interaction bears both direct and indirect character. According to the character of organization, groups are distinguished as formal and informal ones. Formal groups are collections of people whose activities are regulated by formal documents such as legislative norms, charters, instructions, registered rules, bans or permissions sanctioned by the society, organization etc. At performing some activities members of the formal group are in terms of subordination, or hierarchically structured submission. Such groups are academic groups, labour organizations, military units etc. Informal groups don’t have formally registered grounds for their existence. They are formed on the basis of common interests or values, respect, personal affection etc. which cohere individuals into more or less stable entities such as a group of friends, a musical band, Internet chatters etc. Behaviour of their members is regulated by special non-written laws and rules. In such groups membership is voluntary, and members may resign at any time. Due to emotional depth of interrelations within the group, primary and secondary groups are differentiated. A primary group is, as a rule, a small social group whose members share personal and enduring emotional relations which are established on the basis of direct contacts reflecting the members’ personal characteristics. The examples are a family, a group of friends, a research group etc. A secondary group is a large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a special interest or activity. In such a group people’s ability to perform particular functions, not their personal qualities, is highlighted. This is the way that social organizations with their departments and job hierarchy are set up and function. The personality of any of its member is of very little significance for the organization. As roles in the secondary group are strictly fixed (John is a student, Mr. Brown is the dean), very often its members know too little about each other. Besides, in the social organization of an enterprise, both roles and ways of communication are fixed. If a student is in trouble, he can’t apply straight to the University rector but first to the tutor, dean or prorector, then to the rector. While studying human society sociologists are interested in larger groups of people at the meso – and macro-levels, or those ones called social communities. There are a lot of definitions of such a phenomenon but theorists agree that members of the community should possess a similar quality such as age, gender, job, nationality etc. and consider similarity as one of the main distinctions of the community. Examples are natural-historical communities like tribes, families, nationalities, nations and races; mass groups like crowds, TV audience etc. A more important distinction of the social community is social interaction between its members. Interactions may be more enduring that determines a long-term existence of communities such as nations, races, and less enduring that is typical for occasional communities such as crowds, lines, passengers etc. But even occasional community with weak ties has its patrimonial and specific distinctions, regulating collective behaviour. Besides similarity and social interaction, a social community also suggests that the actions undertaken by its members are oriented by expectations of behaviour of other individuals in the community. It encourages people’s deeper solidarity that forms a cohered group – a basic element of the society. Judging by it, a social community may be defined as natural or social grouping of people characterized by a common feature, more or less enduring social relations, goal attainment, common patterns of behaviour and speculation. A social class is also considered as a structural element of the society. Although approaches differ, in general the concept of a class is connected with people’s relation to the means of production and character of acquiring wealth under a market economy. The known examples of a class are the nobility, bourgeoisie and proletariat. In each class society there are fundamental and non-fundamental classes. Fundamental classes are distinguished by a dominating way to produce material wealth within the socio-economic system (feudal, capitalist etc), for instance, under capitalism its fundamental classes are the bourgeoisie and proletariat. Non-fundamental classes are available because the rests of the previous relations of production are still kept in the society or new ones are emerging. A social layer is an assortment of people who are distinguished by their social status and who perceive themselves cohered by this community. A social status is one’s position (place) in the social structure of the society connected with other positions by the system of rights and obligations. The status of a teacher has its meaning only with regard to a student, not to a passer-by or doctor. The teacher should translate knowledge to the student, check up how knowledge is learnt and assess it etc. The student should regularly attend lectures, prepare for seminars, pass credits and examinations in time etc. In other words, the teacher and the student enter into social relationships as representatives of two large social groups, as bearers of social statuses. Social status is often considered as the â€Å"standing†, the honour or prestige attached to one’s position in the society. In modern societies, occupation is usually thought of as the main dimension of status, but even in modern societies other memberships or affiliations (such as ethnic groups, religion, gender, voluntary associations, hobby) can have an influence. For instance, a doctor will have a higher status than a factory worker but in some societies a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant doctor will have a higher status than an immigrant doctor of minority religion. Every person can have several social positions, or statuses called by R. Merton a status set. Among them there must be the main status; it is a status used by the individual to identify himself or by other people to indentify a definite person. For males it is their occupation (a lawyer, banker, worker), for females it is a place of living (a housewife) but there exist other variants. It means that the main status is of relative character as it is not directly associated with gender, race or occupation. The main status is one that determines the person’s way and style of life, patterns of behaviour, friends etc. Sociologists differentiate between social and personal statuses: social status identifies the person’s position in the society which he occupies as a representative of a large social group (occupation, class, nationality, gender, age or religion); personal status is the person’s position in a small group identified by how the members of the group estimate and percieve him due to his personal qualities. Being a leader or outsider, winner or loser means to occupy a certain position in the system of interpersonal, not social relations. Statuses are also distinguished as ascribed and achieved ones. Ascribed status is a social status a person is given from birth or assumes involuntarily later in life. For example, a person born into a wealthy family has a high ascribed status. Achieved status is a sociological term denoting a social position that a person assumes voluntarily which reflects personal skills, abilities, and efforts. Examples of achieved status are being an Olympic athelete, a criminal, or a teacher. Achieved statuses are distinguished from ascribed statuses by virtue of being earned. Most positions are a mixture of achievement and ascribment; for instance, a person who has achieved the status of being a doctor or lawyer in Western societies is more likely to have the ascribed status of being born into a wealthy family. The mentioned statuses are considered basic statuses which include kinship, demographic, economic, political and occupational statuses. There are also a number of non-basic statuses such as those of a passer-by, driver, reader, TV-watcher, witness of a road casualty etc. They are temporal positions and their rights and obligations are not registered as they are hardly fixed. No doubt, the status of a professor determines much in life of a certain person; as for his status of a patient, it does not. If a social status identifies a particular position of an individual in a given social system, a social role represents the way that he is expected to behave in a particular social situation. Each individual plays many roles in the society; in one situation he is a boss, in another – a friend, in the third – father etc. All roles that a person plays are called a role set. Roles are identified as ascribed if we are forced to play and as achieved if we choose to play them. The first is a role of a son or daughter in relations with a parent, the second – a subordinate with a boss. Roles have two further dimensions: the prescribed aspect of a role, or role expectations, and role performance. The prescribed element in any role provides a norm-based framework governing the way people are generally supposed to interact. People expect one conduct from a banker and quite another – from an unemployed person. Role performance is what a person eally performs within this framework. Each time a person who performs a certain role builds his behaviour according to the expectations of the social milieu. If his actual behaviour differs from what is expected, it means that conformity to culturally appropriate roles and socially supported norms is not created. Behaviour, which doesn’t correspond to the status, is not considered an appropriate role. F or instance, if somebody came into the classroom, introduced himself as a teacher but then started painting the wall or washing the windows, his behaviour is a role but not that of a teacher. In the society various social control mechanisms exist to restore conformity or to segregate the nonconforming individuals from the rest of society. These social control mechanisms range from sanctions imposed informally – for example, sneering and gossip – to the activities of certain formal organizations, like schools, prisons, and mental institutions. Social institutions Another structural element of the society is social institutions. These are not buildings, but organizations, or mechanisms of social structure, governing the behaviour of two or more people. Institutions are identified with a social purpose and permanence, transcending individual human lives and intentions. For example, the institution of the family and marriage, of religion etc. American sociologist Erving Goffman (1922-1982) asserts that an institution is a place, like a building, in which activity of a particular kind regularly goes on. He uses this term for somewhere that embraces everything that its inhabitants do – where they live, work, play, sleep, day in day out. Members of the society have a similar mental concept of right and wrong, order and relationships, and patterns of good (positive values). As the broadest organizers of individuals’ beliefs, drives and behaviours, social institutions evolved to address separate needs of the society, for instance, the military institution evolved out of the need for defense. Each society has a number of needs but those of fundamental character are only five. Consequently, there are five fundamental social institutions ensuring social needs in: procreation of the population (that of the family and marriage); social order and defense (the state, political institutions); getting means for existence (the production, economic institutions); translating knowledge, socialization of the growing-up enerations, training personnel (education in its broad meaning including science and culture); solving spiritual problems, looking for sense of life (religion). So social institutions can be defined as organized patterns of beliefs and behaviours centered on basic social needs, adapting to specific segment of the society in question. American so ciologist T. Veblen is the founding father of institutionalization as he was a first to give a detailed description of social institutions in his book, The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). He showed that evolution of the society is a process of natural selection of social institutions which by their nature present habitual ways to react to stimuli created by external changes. Early mankind is known for promiscuity or non-regulated sex relations that could result in genetic degeneration. Gradually such relations began to be limited by bans. The first ban was that of incest, forbidding sex between kinship relatives, such as mother and son, brother and sister etc. The given ban is the first social norm, considered the most important in history. Later, other norms regulating sex relations appeared. People learnt to survive and adapt to life by organizing their relations with norms. Norms of family and marriage behaviour translated from generation to generation became collective habits, customs, traditions that regulated people’s way of life and their thinking. Those who broke such traditions (deviants) were punished (sanctioned). This is the way how the most ancient social institution of the family and marriage might have emerged. And this is the way why norms and values have become structural units of the society. There are three terms to be differentiated in the related area such as â€Å"institute†, â€Å"institution† and â€Å"institutionalization†. To institute something is to bring it into use, set it up, or establish it by practice. A father might speak of instituting some changes in his family, perhaps forcing the children to be respectful, and not giggle at his words. An institute may be something that has been set up, for example, an association of women calls itself the â€Å"Women’s Institute†. If institution is spoken about, it is meant a totality of customs or practices that was established by the members of a particular society, by God, or just an established and respected practice (with no reference to its origin). Institutions are used about parts of the society, not the whole. As a society is created by the interaction of people, they establish ways of interacting that are acceptable or unacceptable. When a way of behaviour is both emotionally satisfying and leads to rewards from others, it becomes institutionalized. The way by which behaviour, custom or practice is institutionalized, is called institutionalization. For instance, institutionalization of any science means working out various standards, laws, setting up research institutes, laboratories, faculties, departments at universities, also publishing textbooks, monographs and journals, training specialists in the area etc. Thus, the concept of a social institution defines an aggregate of people whose activities in a certain area are regulated with inflexible systems of social, legal or other controls by organizations originally created for beneficial purposes and intents. As any structure, it is presented by its structural elements although some sociologists argue against, defining them as attributes. Structural elements of the society’s fundamental institutions Institutions Fundamental roles Physical features Symbolic features Family and marriage Mother Father Child House Plot of land Furniture Rings Engagement Marriage ceremony Economy Employer Employee Seller Buyer Enterprise Office Shop Bank Money Securities Trade mark Marketing Politics Head of the state Member of parliament Law-maker Subject of law Public buildings and places Flag Constitution Hymn Law Religion Priest Parishioner Bishop Cathedral Church Chapel Christ Bible Confirmation Education Teacher Student Professor School University Textbook Qualification Diploma Degree At the same time fundamental institutions are divided into smaller units called non-fundamental institutions. For instance, economy can’t operate without such practices as production, distribution, market, management, accounting, etc. ; the institution of the family and marriage includes such practices as martenity, vendetta, sworn brotherhood etc. So non-fundamental institutions are social practices or customs, for example, vendetta or celibacy can be identified either as a tradition or settled practice. Both are right as the fundamental institution includes both traditions and practices. If the purpose of fundamental institutions is to satisfy the basic needs of the society, non-fundamental institutions perform specialized objectives, serve particular traditions or satisfy non-fundamental needs. For instance, a higher school as a social institution meets the social need in training highly qualified specialists. By its character of organization, institutions are subdivided into formal and informal ones. The activities of formal institutions are regulated by strictly settled directions such as law, charter, instructions etc. Formal institutions are often bureaucracies in which the functions of bureaucrats are impersonal, i. e. that their functions are performed independently of their personal qualities. In informal institutions playing a very important role in interpersonal interaction, their aims, methods, means to achieve objectives are not settled formally and not fixed in the charter. For instance, organizing their leisure time, teenagers follow their rules of game, or norms which allow them to solve conflicts. But these norms are fixed in public opinion, traditions or customs, in other words, in informal sanctions. Very often public opinion or custom is a more efficient means to control an individual’s behaviour than legislative laws or other formal sanctions. For instance, people prefer being punished by their formal leaders than being blamed by colleagues or friends. Both formal and informal institutions have functions. To function means to bring benefit. So, the function of a social institution is the benefit that it contributes to the society. In other words, the outcomes or end-products of the system, institution and the like are referred to as its function. If besides benefit there is damage or harm, such actions are referred to as dysfunction. For instance, the function of a higher education is to train highly qualified specialists. If the institution functions badly due to some circumstances (lack of personnel, poor teaching, or methodical and material basis), the society will not get specialists of the required level. It means that the institution dysfunctions. Functions and dysfunctions can be manifest if they are formally declared, perceived by everybody and obvious, and latent which are hidden, or not declared. To manifest functions of a secondary school those of getting literacy, enough knowledge to enter university, vocational training, learning basic values of the society may be referred to. Its latent functions are getting a definite social status which enables to become ranked higher than those who are illiterate, making stable friends etc. Functions and dysfunctions are of relative, not of absolute character. Each of them can have two forms – manifest and latent. In one and the same time both a function and dysfunction may be manifest for some members of the society and latent – for the other ones. For instance, some people consider important to obtain fundamental knowledge at university, others – to establish necessary links and relations. Latent functions differ from dysfunctions by that they don’t bring harm. They only show that the benefit from any institution (system etc) can be larger than it is declared. To sum it up, each of the institutions reflects a different aspect of the society. Each of them performs a different role in the society fostering spiritual, social, or educational development. On a larger scale, these organizations exemplify the links that bind a society together. BASIC CONCEPTS Achieved status – a social position that a person assumes voluntarily which reflects personal skills, abilities, and efforts. Ascribed status – a social position a person is given from birth or assumes involuntarily later in life. Class – an assortment of people united by their relations to the means of production and character of acquiring wealth under a market economy. Dysfunction – bring harm. Flexibility – a capacity to change. Formal group – a collection of people whose activities are regulated by formal documents such as legislative norms, charters, instructions, egistered rules, bans or permissions sanctioned by the society, organization etc. Function – bring benefit. Informal group – a group formed on the basis of common interests or values, respect, personal affection etc. which cohere individuals into more or less stable entity. Institutionalization – the way by which behaviour, custom or practice is institutionalized. Large social group – a stable numerous collection of people who act together in socially significant situations in the context of the country or state, or their unions. Latent function – a function if it is not formally declared, perceived by people or obvious. Main status – a status used by an individual to identify himself or by other people to indentify a definite person. Manifest function – a function if it is formally declared, perceived by everybody and obvious. Middle-sized group – a relatively stable community of people who work at the same enterprise or organization, members of a social association or those sharing one limited but large enough territory. Personal status – a person’s position in a small group identified by how the members of the group estimate and percieve him due to his personal qualities. Prescribed element (role expectation) – what provides a norm-based framework governing the way people are generally supposed to interact. Primary group – a small social group whose members share personal and enduring emotional relationships which are established on the basis of direct contacts reflecting the members’ personal characteristics Real group – any group of people possessing a number of characteristics describing its immanent essence. Reference group – any group one can use to evaluate oneself, but it doesn’t necessarily mean one must belong to it. Role performance – what a person really performs within the norm-based framework. Role set – all roles that a person plays. Secondary group – a large and impersonal social group whose members pursue a special interest or activity. Social community – a natural or social grouping of people characterized by a common feature, more or less enduring social relationships, goal attainment, common patterns of behaviour and speculation. Small group – a group normally small in number, characterized by human interactions in the form of direct contacts like in families. Social group – an assortment of people cohered by a socially significant distinction, people who interact together in an orderly way and perceive themselves or perceived by others as a group. Social institution – organized patterns of beliefs and behaviours centered on basic social needs, adapting to specific segment of the society; an organization, or mechanism of social structure, governing the behaviour of two or more individuals; a totality of customs or practices that was established by the members of a particular society, by God, or just an established and respected practice. Social layer – an assortment of people who are distinguished by their status and who perceive themselves cohered by this community. Social role – the way that a person is expected to behave in a particular social situation. Social status –a person’s position in the society which he occupies as a representative of a large social group. Social structure – the carcass of a social whole (society or its part) the elements of which are invariable in time, interdependent of each other and largely determine the functioning of the whole in general and its members in particular (functionalist perspective); the way in which the society is organized into predictable relationships, patterns of social interaction. Statistical group – a group of people differentiated by a definite characteristic that can be measured. Status set – the number of statuses which a person has or acquired. Structure – functional interdependence of elements constituting the carcass of an object. Additional literature 1. Blau P. Exchange and Power in Social Life. (3rd edition). – New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers, 1992. – 354 p. 2. Bourdeiu P. Logic of Practice. – Cambridge: Polity Press, 1990. – 382 p. 3. Coser L. The Functions of Social Conflict. – Glencoe, Ill: Free Press, 1956. – 188 p. 4. Durkheim E. The Division of Labour in Society. – New York, NY: Free Press; 1997. – 272 p. 5. Durkheim E. Suicide. – New York, NY: Free Press; 1951. – 345 p. 6. Sztompka P. Sociology in Action: The Theory of Social Decoding. – Oxford: Polity Press, 2001. – 415 p.

A Comparative Analysis of Digital and Offset Printing

The advent of the traditional printing was a great reform in the business community. Although a need was always felt for a printing device which can eke the printing process of short-run four-color jobs. Before the era of the digital printing wave in shape of Indigo, Docucolor and Heidelberg, the task was a dream for every business organization as the printing with four colors at small scale was very costly and inefficient to print. With the invention of digital printing technologies the printing was revolutionized and new standards of improved printing quality in a cost-effective manner was settled.   The digital transformation wave included valuable products such as Heidelberg Quickmaster DI.   The invention of the digital press includes cost effective and production efficient products such as HP Indigo and The Xerox iGen 3, which fulfilled the long lasting needs of the businesses.Offset Printing:With the advent of the digital printing although the printing process is revolutio nized but this has not effected the importance of the traditional offset printing.   It is a speculation that the traditional offset printing will become obsolete in future but still it will take years. The importance of the traditional printing depends upon the nature of job as some printing jobs are over sized and cannot be undertaken through using a traditional press.The choice of the technology depends upon the nature and specification of the job. In order to choose the most effective and relevant technology, it is important for the management to choose right and cost effective printing solution for the business with the consultation of specialized printing consultants. (Digital Synergy, 2007)Comparison between Digital Printing and Offset Printing:With the introduction of advance array of printing devices the confusion has also increased. In order to make a choice between the digital and offset technology it is important to understand the characteristics and performance of bot h the technologies. The printing device with more suitable options related features should be chosen in order to find the most appropriate commercial printing device.Method of printing in Offset Printing:â€Å"Offset lithography is the most common high volume commercial printing technology. In offset printing, the desired print image is burned onto a plate and is then transferred (or offset) from the plate to a rubber blanket, and then to the printing surface. The lithographic process is based on the repulsion of oil and water. The image to be printed gets ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a film of water, keeping the non-printing areas ink-free.Mechanical Steps Eliminated in Digital PrintingDigital printing eliminates many of the mechanical steps required for conventional printing, including making films and color proofs, manually stripping the pieces together and making plates.† (Pinsonnault Creative, 2007).Advantages of Digital Printing:The advanta ges of the Digital Printing technology includesShorter turnaround. Same result in case of highest and lowest no. of prints. Through digital printing the accurate numbers of prints can be produced with a least amount of wastage and least variation as compare to the Offset printing techniques.Low costs for high volume printing , although the cost per unit is much more than that of the offset printingCheaper low volume printing. While the unit cost of each piece may be higher than with offset printing, when setup costs are included digital printing provides lower per unit costs for very small print runs. Variable Data Printing is a form of customizable digital printing. Using information from a database or external file, text and graphics can be changed on each piece without stopping or slowing down the press. For example, personalized letters can be printed with a different name and address on each letter. Variable data printing is used primarily for direct marketing, customer relatio nship development and advertising. Advantages of Offset Printing:High image quality. Works on a wide range of printing surfaces including paper, wood, cloth, metal, leather, rough paper and plastic. The unit cost goes down as the quantity goes up. Quality and cost-effectiveness in high volume jobs. While today’s digital presses are close to the cost/benefit ratio of offset for high quality work, they are not yet able to compete with the volume an offset press can produce. Many modern offset presses use computer-to-plate systems as opposed to the older computer-to-film workflow, further increasing quality (Pinsonnault Creative, 2007).The one, true choice for offset digital quality:The HP indigo is specially designed in order to meet the quality and color processes demand of offset printing. The easy and instant to dry quality of the ElectroInk used in Hp indigo provides it with cutting edge as compare to other technologies. It is best suited for commercial printing, as it is r elatively cost savvy and efficient in production. The quality of printing is very eye catching and impressive and can be used to attract the customers with a demand of high quality vibrant images.The technology has raised the standard of the print quality, as the advanced pressing power of HP indigo is much more superior as compare to other competing technologies.   The ElectroInk ekes the technology with the production of image with higher resolution, sharp images and vibrant colors. The machine provides the users with the choice of optional 5 and 6-colour inking stations with the luxury of white ink and special invisible inks best suited for the corporate printing.   The Hp Indigo provides an extended array of colors as compare to other digital print technologies.Criticism:â€Å"Early incarnations of the press were prone to suffer from banding and ink adhesion problems, however with newer models these issues have been resolved and would only be seen in unusual circumstances, for example if the operator had the press incorrectly configured.Although, there is still a natural band about 100mm from the trailing edge which can only be seen when printing some colors. To help reduce the band you should adjust the 2nd transfer gap and make sure the press is well greased and lubricated.† (Wikipedia, 2007)

Leadership Does measuring leadership help productivity of the Coursework

Leadership Does measuring leadership help productivity of the Organisation - Coursework Example A number of examples of organisations have been provided in this context. The subject of leadership has gained tremendous interest in the sine the past few decades. Leadership is considered to of critical interest for adding value to the organisation. It is important to measure the effectiveness of leadership and its influence in driving the performance of employees and the organisations. A leader has a much bigger and important role to play than just being a person who is the biggest or the most powerful. The term leader has been interpreted as a person who sets the direction with an effort to influence individuals to follow the direction. However, the term leader needs to distinguished form that of a manager. It is different from planning, coordinating and organising and is more concerned with the power to influence people and guiding them through the direction of attaining organisation goals and objectives (McNamara, n.d.). It is important to assess the quality of leadership devel opment programs to identify the possible actions which can be taken towards improving the quality of the programs. It is also important to assess the short term as well the long term impacts of these programs to find out the extent to which the organisations provide support or behave as barriers for transferring the leanings to performance (Martineau, 2006, p.1). However, the assessment and evaluation of the effectiveness of leadership should not be restricted to just the management programs. Overall, the objective should be to capture the essence of the term leadership and what it is all about. It requires to be evaluated if the leadership is able to bring about the changes as per the objectives. Leadership should be measured at various levels of the organisation and at all positions. This project aims at bringing out the purpose of measuring the effectiveness of leadership at various levels of the organisation. Literature Review The importance of measuring the effectiveness of lea dership can be viewed from different perspectives. It has an impact on the performance measures, on the followers, and finally at the bottom line of the organisation. In order to make leadership effective, the leader must have all the critical data at the point of his fingertips which would allow him to have the best understanding of whatever is going on in the organisation. The evaluation of leadership involves identifying whether leadership is being effective in finding the solution to a problem through collective efforts or by combining the efforts of the people to promote survival and success. The leaders’ performance may be evaluated on the ground that it can influence the people towards contributing towards the betterment and good of the group. It can also be measured by understanding how the organisations objectives are attained and achieved through the combined efforts of the group members. However, it must be noted goals vary between organisations. The goal of Genera l Motors is different from that of Microsoft, Wal-Mart or other organisations. However, all of them work towards the common goal of attaining the maximum output and profits. Organisations remain competitive towards each other for attaining the scarce resources and having the maximum return on their assets (Kaiser, Hogan & Craig, 2008, p.1). Some traditions follow the measurement of leadership through evaluation of

Blood Diamonds Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Blood Diamonds - Research Paper Example (Gavin, 14) Conflict diamonds are sold in order to raise money for armed conflict weapons and civil wars. Profits from this trade are worth billions of dollars. This profit is used by warlords to purchase firearms during the rebel wars. Countries affected include Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone. These wars have resulted to an estimated 3.7 million deaths. (Storm,26) Although the wars are now over and fighting rate has declined, the con of blood diamonds still persists. The diamonds mined in this rebel- held zones reach the international diamond market by, smuggling the diamonds into neighboring countries and exporting them into the international diamond market, as a legitimate diamond trade. The hullabaloo surrounding conflict diamonds was reported in the 1990s. During this period, there were civil wars in Sierra Leone, Angola, Liberia and the Republic of Congo. The world realized the harm of conflict diamonds during the extreme conflict in Sierra Leone in the late 1990s. In the 1990s, blood diamonds made about 4% of the international diamond market as reported by the World Diamond Council’s Website. Two memorable events to control the diamond market took place during the late 1990s. Firstly Robert Fowler the Canadian Ambassador to Angola published a debatable report. This report listed all the countries involved with blood diamond trade. The report alarmed international organizations and made them aware of the illegal diamond trade that was going on. This response triggered the second memorable event. Kimberly Process Certification Scheme is a system which aims to regulate the diamond trade. This ensures the diamonds going through the process must be labeled as conflict free. The source and ownership of the diamonds need to be validated.(Bieri, 45) Kimberly Process Certification Scheme is supported by the United Nations, governments and non- governmental organizations. This scheme aims to eliminate the trade of black

Challenges of Tourism in Orlando Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Challenges of Tourism in Orlando - Essay Example The growth of Orlando from a small town to a large internationally-recognized tourist city has been shaped by several factors. The hostilities between Settlers and Seminole Indians resulted in Florida’s statehood. In the 1860s, cattle ranching was the widely practiced activity in Central Florida. However, the practice was characterized by chaos resulting in the violent cattle wars of the 1860s (Frommers, 2015). Earlier, infrastructure was absent, and its development began in the 1870s. As the years progressed, cattle ranching was abandoned, and residents picked up citrus farming, industrialization, and real estate development. Fires and fruit-fly infestation rolled back the gains, but infrastructure expansion and the population growth continued during the Second World War.Postwar prosperity of Orlando was contributed by the strong financial and transportation infrastructure developed during the Second World War. Also, the advent of the air-conditioner attracted more people to the city. The bustling tourism industry discharged millions of dollars into the local economy and the massive industrialization in the 1950s contributed to rapid growth. Elsewhere, the prosperity has been characterized by the absence of civil behavior. The cattle wars of 1860’s saw the seeds for gunfights, bar brawls, and murders. The problem of cattle rustling is an activity that petered down, but has persisted up to now. Orlando’s tourism industry is characterized by theme parks populated with hotel chains and numerous restaurants.

Swot Analysis of Hospital Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Swot Analysis of Hospital - Coursework Example The hospital has a lot of strengths that has seen it expand and weather different harsh times to still be running 100 years after its inception. The fact that it has been around for all those years is a strength. The hospital also has a large capacity for a community hospital. Its other strengths include an experienced and knowledgeable staff, its location in the suburbs, the use by a medical school as its research facility and new management. Unfortunately, some of its strengths are also its weaknesses. These include its old staff, its location in the suburbs and its very old facilities. Other weaknesses experienced by the hospital include very outdated management and operations systems, an emergency department (ED) with loopholes allowing people to exploit the hospital that drain money from the hospital and finally a unionized staff that seems o be keener on finishing their short shifts rather than attending to patients. The hospital has a lot of opportunities to exploit. These inc lude the fact that it is used by a university for its research can attract funds for research and a new management to overhaul things. Other opportunities include change in description and roles of staff, creating programs to cater for less advantaged members of the community, they have capacity to grow and be bigger and increase beds and an opportunity to combine the history of the hospital and modern facilities to attract high end clients. As of now, the hospital has a lot of threats. First is the relationship between the old doctors and members of the board. The hospital’s poor services and bad publicity can also lead to it being shut down, the lack of motivation by staff leading to poor services is also a threat, and so is the mind set of most of the staff. Other threats include minimal education by most staff and the reluctance to accept change by the whole hospital community, leaving the hospital decades back in the provision of health care services. The hospitalâ€℠¢s strengths can actually help get it out of the red. The experienced staff has had lots of practice with several different cases that young physicians have not. Thus they can help the younger physicians by guiding them. The hospital is very old and the fact that it is still standing can be used by the management to gain trust from patients. Furthermore, people of the older generations might have some attachment to the hospital, hence remain loyal to it. The acquisition of the hospital by the university means injection of funds and modern technology to the hospital. The new management brings with it different and modern ideas on how to run the facility to meet the modern day’s health challenges. The fact that the hospital is located in the suburbs means that they can provide services specific to the members of the suburbs and its environs in order to attract more clients. The oldness of the hospital and its current financial woes might mean that the hospital might not have be en maintained well or even at all over the years. If the building is dilapidated, some parts not functioning or its equipment are outdated, then it will not be able to cope with the provision of adequate care to patients. That the staff is also made up of old people who insist on using outdated methods to run the hospital is also a factor that has brought it to its knees. Over the years management

The American Revolutionary War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The American Revolutionary War - Research Paper Example Britain had ruled over the thirteen colonies in America for more than 200 years prior to the Revolution. By the beginning of the Revolution, the wars against France fought on both sides of the Atlantic had burdened Britain with a massive national debt. To ease the national debt, Parliament imposed taxes on the colonists believing it only fair that they bear part of the expenses incurred by the British military in protecting them from Indian attacks and French invasions. The Stamp Act taxed paper goods sent to the colonies. It was the first of these laws while, with the tea tax, was one of the most infamous of these laws. The colonists thought taxation without representation in the British government to be unjust and openly protested these laws which led to hostilities between British troops and the Massachusetts Minutemen in 1775. This and other conflicts with the ‘Red Coats’ led to colonists forming the Continental Congress which immediately created the Continental Army and in 1776, signed the Declaration of Independence (The American Revolution, 2006). The Americans, outmatched by more than three-to-one, were predictably defeated in the majority of battles that occurred during the war’s first year. However, the Americans’ fortune began to change following the victories at Saratoga and Germantown in 1777. These important first triumphs gave increased credibility to what had previously been widely considered as an unorganized, minor uprising certain to be vanquished by the mighty British army. By 1778, France had become convinced that Britain stood the chance of being defeated. Wanting nothing more than this, America’s first formal alliance was with the French.  

Discuss the use of Lasers in Compact Disk Players for audio (CD) and Essay

Discuss the use of Lasers in Compact Disk Players for audio (CD) and computer applications (DVD) - Essay Example Ways of storing data is not the only thing that has improved over the years but also means of ensuring that information reaches the destination safely has improved from data taking days to be delivered to today where it can only take seconds to send and receive the same. Various digital methods have been improved with earliest development of laser optical being seen in the 70’s where they used light to capture any activity that took place on the surfaces of the compact disks. The laser could only capture the audio parts, but with various improvements, the compact discs can clearly capture the video segment and duplicate them in various copies. Technology is still expanding and being developed and so are the compact disks that it will come a time that most of the things we are using right will all be operating on digital basis. Principles of Operation of These Systems The laser light has the ability to be pure and coherent which makes it well suited for complicated applications for devices such as compact disc (CD) players (Rafiquzzaman, 2005). The light is focused with tremendous accuracy, which allows it to perceive the infinitesimal pits that appear at the surface of a music CD. Then there are the electronic circuits that single out the torrent of dark and bright patterns that the light identifies then decodes them into high quality music. CDs and DVDs are optical are visual storage mediums that have digital data recorded on top of them (Rushbrook & Roderick, 2002). These two devices uses compact disc player devises that are capable of reading the recorded data using optical beams, which accurately duplicates the original data such as pictures and music. There is a detector that is also referred to photodiode that receives rapid light waves being reflected on top of the CD. The photodiode is very sensitive to the laser light which makes it extremely significant in altering it to electric signals and other important signals used by digital devices. The compact disc player is created in a way that it reads the information by optical means making the tearing and wearing of the discs almost impossible. The technology that has been used for decades with CDs and DVDs is practically the same with only very minimal changes being made to the same (Clements, 1994). Whether the discs have been designed for video, audio or computer applications the basic operations are essentially the same. The laser operations work the same with all the compact devises that are required to store digital information for a period of time. Compared to the light from the bulbs, the laser lights contained a single pure color and all the lights effects are in sync which allows it to move in precise beams that do not extend out. These properties have been important for compact discs since the music information is divided into tracks of about one thousandth of a millimeter thick. This requires lens that focuses the laser light to a miniature spot that can locate th ese tracks (Rushbrook & Roderick, 2002). Their Historical Development The first video disc player to be made was manufactured in 1970 which actually used laser to pick information. The disc worked like today CDs by picking encoded information on the surface of a revolving optical disc and turning it into important information such as music (Clements, 1994). There were two main gases that were very important for laser disc player, this includes neon and

Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Essay In the book â€Å"Of Mice and Men† by John Steinbeck, the characters felt considerable loneliness, even around other people. They feel left out, ignored, and even invisible with no one to talk concerning his own thoughts. Although a person is surrounded by others, feelings of loneliness can occur. For instance, in â€Å"Of Mice and Men† the characters ignored by other people at the farm felt lonely. One character who expressed her loneliness was Curley’s wife. At one point she said to Lennie, â€Å"I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely†¦ I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. † (Steinbeck 86) She expressed to Lennie how she is ignored and lonely. On the contrary, if a person were surrounded by friends then he would not feel lonely. A good example of this would be George and Lennie. The two men were close friends and were not lonely as they stuck together no matter what might happen. Although there were other characters in â€Å"Of Mice and Men who were lonely, if they reached out to those around them, the profound loneliness felt would disappear. On the other hand, many workers during this time period often go from one job to another to survive. Many people who lived at this time had little chance to have a asting friendship and became lonely as a result. In the book, George lost his friend Lennie would be lonely how without a friend. Another character, Crooks was an lonely person, but his loneliness was due to his race. In the end, many of the characters wanted companionship though sadly most ended up alone. All in all, in â€Å"Of Mice and Men† many characters felt loneliness in their daily lives even with other people around them. In fact a person who can be surrounded by others and have strong feelings of loneliness. In life if someone is lonely and seeking friendship he should reach out to others so as to remove the loneliness one may feel.

The Slave Trade: British Industrial Revolution

The Slave Trade: British Industrial Revolution The debate over whether west African slave trade fueled the British industrial revolution or not has gone on for quite some time and will continue to do so for many more years. Research has been done, claims have been made, and there are arguments benefitting both sides of the debate. West African slave trade did, in fact, fuel the British industrial revolution and this can be found by researching the profits made by slave trade practices, the growth of two major British banks as the result of the profits, the growth of the transportation industry, the increase in overseas trade, and the support of the British people. The profits made by slave trade practices have been disputed by many historians with the argument that they have been grossly overstated. However, Barbara Solow, as cited by William Darity, Jr., uses the following quote to say just the opposite: If slave trade profits were eight percent of investment in Britain in 1770, is that small when today total corporate profits amount to forty percent? No industry manages as much as eight percent. Solows quote was made in 1980, so with the knowledge that no single industry was able to produce revenue of eight percent then, when industry was continuing to grow, it can be safely inferred that west African slave trade did provide significant profits that were used to promote the industrial revolution. Not only were the profits made by African slave trading large, but they were frequently invested into banks and textile factories, both of which were a huge part of the industrial revolution. Two of Britains largest and most successful banks, Barclays and Lloyds, each received a large amount of slave trade profits throughout the eighteenth century. Both of these banks, among others in Liverpool and Manchester, became very important to the industrial revolution as they were able to provide credit to new British industries as they were getting started. Although it is impossible to say that Britains industrial revolution would never have taken place if it had not been boosted by the profits provided by slave trade, it is easy to believe that it would have been postponed for a lengthy amount of time. The banking industry was not the only one that was launched during the time of slave trade. The transportation industry also grew. The growth of the transportation industry is quite easy to see in eighteenth century Britain because in order to go through the motions of triangular trade it was necessary for British crewmen to have access to ships. As more and more ships were built and then bought for use in triangular trade, it made it possible for the transportation industry to grow and, in turn, provide more capital for Britain and its growing industries, along with employment opportunities for British men. Although slave trade played a pivotal role in eighteenth century Britain, there were other things taking place that had a significant impact on society. Triangular trade, taking place between Britain, Africa, and North America, also played a part in Britains industrial revolution. According to David Richardson, the official value of British exports rose almost six fold over the century while imports increased over fivefold. An increase that large in the value of British exports results in another set of great profits being made, and many of the products that were exported could be tied directly back to the manual labor of west Africans purchased during the slave trade. Had the slave trade not taken place, Britains exports, imports, and trade in general would not have had the opportunity to grow as it did. Finally, the slave trade had the support of the British people. In 1788, Parliament held hearings on the slave trade practices and sought information to determine whether or not it should be abolished. Various people either testified or wrote letters to convey their feelings about the slave trade, and many expressed the view that abolishing slave trade would be detrimental to the health of Britains growing industries and society. James Penny wrote such a letter, and expressed his opinion by saying, Should this trade be abolished, it would not only affect the Commercial Interest, but also the Landed Property of the County of Lancaster, and more particularly the Town of Liverpool, whose fall, in that case, would be as rapid as its Rise has been outstanding. A second letter read, The effects of this trade to Great Britain are beneficial to an infinite extent and there is hardly any Branch of Commerce in which this nation is concerned that does not derive some advantage from it. As these are real quotes from British citizens during the time of the slave trade, it becomes obvious that the men working in the newly industrialized version of Britain felt that the countrys industrial success came about because of the slave trade. As mentioned earlier, the debate over whether the slave trade truly fueled Britains industrial revolution is not new. However, there is significant evidence pointing to west African slave trade having a profound effect on British industrialization, and this evidence can be seen in the profits made by slave trade practices, the growth of British banks as the result of the profits, the growth of the transportation industry, the increase in overseas trade, and the overall support of slave trade by the British people.

Interpretation of Robert Brownings My Last Duchess :: essays research papers

I read a critical article on Robert Browning’s â€Å"My Last Duchess†. I confess it was harder to find something in the NCLC’s than I would’ve thought. There was a considerable accumulation of critiques on Browning’s work, but very little on â€Å"My Last Duchess†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article I found concentrated mostly on the Duke in the poem, and our reactions to him, stating that â€Å"[t]he utter outrageousness of the Duke’s behavior makes condemnation the least interesting response†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The title of the article was â€Å"Sympathy versus Judgment†. Some of its points are that the Duke controls the entire poem, that it being a monologue was significant, and that he is almost easy to sympathize with and like. The article discusses Ferarra’s nature and his self-involvement which allows the goodness of the Duchess to â€Å"shine through the Duke’s utterance.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It goes on to speak about sympathy in general and how Browning â€Å"delighted in making a case for the apparently immoral position†, how he found dramatic monologues the best form to do so, and how he went about it.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It keeps going for a couple more pages on things which I will not go into because they have little relevance to any interpretation of â€Å"My Last Duchess†. The article as it pertained to my poem was fine; I wish I could have found one which went into more depth as opposed to just discussing immoral characters and our empathy for them. I didn’t particularly care for the lawyerly torrent of words that were used, either. I am not ignorant and appreciate the need for words of longer than two syllables when discussing literature (or anything more serious than an episode of â€Å"Friends†, in fact), but I found it more difficult than usual to get through this article. I found it unconscionably wordy and it felt at times as though he was just stringing fancy words together because they looked all important lined up. However, that’s just my opinion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I was gratified to see that this critic agreed with my interpretation of the Duchess’s demise, viz., the Duke had her murdered. The theory advanced by my brilliant and magnificent Professor had been that the Duke gave her so many orders and restrictions that she pined away. I had been looking at his famous line â€Å"And I choose/never to stoop.† He married her for her beauty but would never lower himself to tell her when she angered him.

Geosynchronous Orbits :: essays research papers

Geosynchronous Orbits + Geostationary Orbits<a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=pcZ8g7DjAzA&offerid=6424&type=2&subid=0&url=http%253A//search.borders.com/fcgi-bin/db2www/search/search.d2w/Details%253F%2526mediaType%253DBook%2526prodID%253D3805147" >Webster's Dictionary<IMG border=0 alt=icon width=1 height=1 src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=pcZ8g7DjAzA&bids=6424&type=2&subid=0" > defines a Geostationary orbit as of, relating to, or being a satellite that travels above Earth's equator from west to east at an altitude of approximately 35,900 kilometers (22,300 miles) and at a speed matching that of Earth's rotation, thus remaining stationary in relation to Earth. 2. Of, relating to, or being the orbit of such a satellite. In plain English, a satellite matches the earth's rotation making it seemingly hover over one spot of the globe enabling coverage of half the earth's surface. Three such satellit es, appropriately spaced longitudinally, have worldwide coverage except for relatively small areas over the poles. Three main classes are typically placed into a GSO: Communications, missile early warning, and navigational satellites. The uses are unlimited ranging from commercial use to weather forecasts! The GSO originated in the mid-1970's. The U.S. Air Force designed a two-stage interim upper stage (later renamed inertial upper stage, or IUS) to carry satellites weighing as much as 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) from the shuttle to Geostationary orbit, and a three-stage version for boosting NASA' s space probes from the shuttle into interplanetary trajectories. IUS development problems, however, prompted NASA in the early 1980' s to design a widebody version of the Centaur upper stage to replace the three-stage IUS.In its first use (1983) aboard the shuttle, the IUS's second-stage nozzle burned through and left the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-1) in a useless orbit. Gr ound controllers were able to use the satellite's onboard thrusters to put it in the proper Geostationary orbit over a period of weeks, but the IUS was grounded until the nozzle problem was resolved.

Beetroot Experiment :: Beetroots Anthocyanin Pigment Essays

Beetroot Experiment We are trying to find how the temperature affects the rate at which the anthocyanin pigment leaves the cells, and at what point does the call wall melt. Beetroot Experiment =================== Task ---- We are trying to find how the temperature affects the rate at which the anthocyanin pigment leaves the cells, and at what point does the call wall melt. Please note the two results highlighted found in "test 4" have not been included into my results, as they are obviously anomalous. I did the test more that once to the margin of error smaller. For the first few times I performed the test I could have made a mistake, so to give my results a better chance of being accurate I did the experiment four times and took the average of the tests. A graph of to clearly show the variation my results can be found overleaf. As the temperature increases the transmission reading on the colorimeter decreases. From information that I had already gathered I knew it would be around the 60Â °C mark to 65Â °C, hence which I decided to add a test at 63Â °C. This would help me make a more accurate estimate at what exact temperature the cell wall melts. My graph shows a decrease of transparency in the water between the points of 60Â °C and 70Â °C. From this I can make the prediction that between these two points the wall melts. Analysis The transparency of the water suddenly decreases between the points of 60Â °C and 70Â °C because this is when the cell wall melts. The cause of the sudden loss of transparency is caused when the wall melts and it allows a sudden release of the Anthocyanin pigment. So when the wall melts the pigment is released and the transparency drops - so to find the temperature at which the cell wall melts we just have to look for when there is a sudden loss of transparency in the water. My experiment shows there is a sudden loss of transparency of the water between 6OÂ °C and 70Â °C so I know that the cell wall must have melted between these two points. Before 60Â °C and after 70Â °C the depreciation is not as drastic as between the two points. This is because before 60Â °C there is no, or a very little amount of the pigment allowed to exit the cell, which is not enough to alter the transparency in a big way - this is because up to this point the cell wall is still intact, and after 70Â °C because most of the pigment has already left the cell because the cell wall has melted.

Deception Point Page 77

â€Å"And you agreed.† â€Å"No, I refused! But an hour later, the administrator was back in my office-with the White House senior adviser!† â€Å"What!† Gabrielle looked astounded by this. â€Å"Marjorie Tench?† An awful creature, Harper thought, nodding. â€Å"She and the administrator sat me down and told me my mistake had quite literally put NASA and the President on the brink of total collapse. Ms. Tench told me about the senator's plans to privatize NASA. She told me I owed it to the President and space agency to make it all right. Then she told me how.† Gabrielle leaned forward. â€Å"Go on.† â€Å"Marjorie Tench informed me that the White House, by sheer good fortune, had intercepted strong geologic evidence that an enormous meteorite was buried in the Milne Ice Shelf. One of the biggest ever. A meteorite of that size would be a major find for NASA.† Gabrielle looked stunned. â€Å"Hold on, so you're saying someone already knew the meteorite was there before PODS discovered it?† â€Å"Yes. PODS had nothing to do with the discovery. The administrator knew the meteorite existed. He simply gave me the coordinates and told me to reposition PODS over the ice shelf and pretend PODS made the discovery.† â€Å"You're kidding me.† â€Å"That was my reaction when they asked me to participate in the sham. They refused to tell me how they'd found out the meteorite was there, but Ms. Tench insisted it didn't matter and that this was the ideal opportunity to salvage my PODS fiasco. If I could pretend the PODS satellite located the meteorite, then NASA could praise PODS as a much needed success and boost the President before the election.† Gabrielle was awestruck. â€Å"And of course you couldn't claim PODS had detected a meteorite until you'd announced that the PODS anomaly-detection software was up and running.† Harper nodded. â€Å"Hence the press conference lie. I was forced into it. Tench and the administrator were ruthless. They reminded me I'd let everyone down-the President had funded my PODS project, NASA had spent years on it, and now I'd ruined the whole thing with a programming blunder.† â€Å"So you agreed to help.† â€Å"I didn't have a choice. My career was essentially over if I didn't. And the reality was that if I hadn't muffed the software, PODS would have found that meteorite on its own. So, it seemed a small lie at the time. I rationalized it by telling myself that the software would be fixed in a few months when the space shuttle went up, so I would simply be announcing the fix a little early.† Gabrielle let out a whistle. â€Å"A tiny lie to take advantage of a meteoric opportunity.† Harper was feeling ill just talking about it. â€Å"So†¦ I did it. Following the administrator's orders, I held a press conference announcing that I'd found a work-around for my anomaly-detection software, I waited a few days, and then I repositioned PODS over the administrator's meteorite coordinates. Then, following the proper chain of command, I phoned the EOS director and reported that PODS had located a hard density anomaly in the Milne Ice Shelf. I gave him the coordinates and told him the anomaly appeared to be dense enough to be a meteorite. Excitedly, NASA sent a small team up to Milne to take some drill cores. That's when the operation got very hush-hush.† â€Å"So, you had no idea the meteorite had fossils until tonight?† â€Å"Nobody here did. We're all in shock. Now everyone is calling me a hero for finding proof of extraterrestrial bioforms, and I don't know what to say.† Gabrielle was silent a long moment, studying Harper with firm black eyes. â€Å"But if PODS didn't locate the meteorite in the ice, how did the administrator know the meteorite was there?† â€Å"Someone else found it first.† â€Å"Someone else? Who?† Harper sighed. â€Å"A Canadian geologist named Charles Brophy-a researcher on Ellesmere Island. Apparently he was doing geologic ice soundings on the Milne Ice Shelf when he by chance discovered the presence of what appeared to be a huge meteorite in the ice. He radioed it in, and NASA happened to intercept the transmission.† Gabrielle stared. â€Å"But isn't this Canadian furious that NASA is taking all the credit for the find?† â€Å"No,† Harper said, feeling a chill. â€Å"Conveniently, he's dead.† 91 Michael Tolland closed his eyes and listened to the drone of the G4 jet engine. He had given up trying to think anymore about the meteorite until they got back to Washington. The chondrules, according to Corky, were conclusive; the rock in the Milne Ice Shelf could only be a meteorite. Rachel had hoped to have a conclusive answer for William Pickering by the time they landed, but her thought experiments had run into a dead end with the chondrules. As suspicious as the meteorite evidence was, the meteorite appeared to be authentic. So be it. Rachel had obviously been shaken by the trauma in the ocean. Tolland was amazed, though, by her resilience. She was focused now on the issue at hand-trying to find a way to debunk or authenticate the meteorite, and trying to assess who had tried to kill them. For most of the trip, Rachel had been in the seat beside Tolland. He'd enjoyed talking to her, despite the trying circumstances. Several minutes ago, she'd headed back to the restroom, and now Tolland was surprised to find himself missing her beside him. He wondered how long it had been since he'd missed a woman's presence-a woman other than Celia. â€Å"Mr. Tolland?† Tolland glanced up. The pilot was sticking his head into the cabin. â€Å"You asked me to tell you when we were in telephone range of your ship? I can get you that connection if you want.† â€Å"Thanks.† Tolland made his way up the aisle. Inside the cockpit, Tolland placed a call to his crew. He wanted to let them know he would not be back for another day or two. Of course, he had no intention of telling them what trouble he'd run into. The phone rang several times, and Tolland was surprised to hear the ship's SHINCOM 2100 communications system pick up. The outgoing message was not the usual professional-sounding greeting but rather the rowdy voice of one of Tolland's crew, the onboard joker. â€Å"Hiya, hiya, this is the Goya,† the voice announced. â€Å"We're sorry nobody's here right now, but we've all been abducted by very large lice! Actually, we've taken temporary shore leave to celebrate Mike's huge night. Gosh, are we proud! You can leave your name and number, and maybe we'll be back tomorrow when we're sober. Ciao! Go, ET!† Tolland laughed, missing his crew already. Obviously they'd seen the press conference. He was glad they'd gone ashore; he'd abandoned them rather abruptly when the President called, and their sitting idle at sea was crazy. Although the message said everyone had gone ashore, Tolland had to assume they would not have left his ship unattended, particularly in the strong currents where it was now anchored. Tolland pressed the numeric code to play any internal voice mail messages they'd left for him. The line beeped once. One message. The voice was the same rowdy crewmember. â€Å"Hi Mike, hell of a show! If you're hearing this, you're probably checking your messages from some swanky White House party and wondering where the hell we are. Sorry we abandoned ship, buddy, but this was not a dry-celebration kind of night. Don't worry, we anchored her really good and left the porch light on. We're secretly hoping she gets pirated so you'll let NBC buy you that new boat! Just kidding, man. Don't worry, Xavia agreed to stay onboard and mind the fort. She said she preferred time alone to partying with a bunch of drunken fishmongers? Can you believe that?† Tolland chuckled, relieved to hear someone was aboard watching the ship. Xavia was responsible, definitely not the partying type. A respected marine geologist, Xavia had the reputation for speaking her mind with a caustic honesty.

How the Watergate Scandal Changed Journalism Essay

Journalism has been an essential factor in making communication and information-sharing easy among people. It has been serving the purpose of delivering facts about anything of interest to the public. It is also the effective means used by the government in delivering essential news, policies, programs, and concerns, among others to the general public. Consequently, it has bridged the gap between the government and the public. Through journalism, information about things and events has been delivered to other people despite physical and physiological hindrances. Furthermore, it increases the awareness and versatility of the public with regard to public issues. In the early history of journalism, journalists are governed by law and are controlled by the government. Likewise, the contents of the materials are screened before it is released in the public. In addition, journalist is tasked to deliver only facts. However, through time, the extent of the influence of journalism has become encompassing. The role of journalist in the society has also increased overtime. Remarkably, in the popularly known Watergate Scandal, a new concept of journalism emerged. A new responsibility has been formed by the brevity of the news reporters of the Washington Post. From merely presenting facts, a journalist has gone to the extent of delivering their own opinion on a particular issue. Above all, journalism has become a critic of public figures. In the Watergate Scandal, journalism has been the influential means that moved the most powerful person to resign. Journalism was not merely focused on delivering news but has also adopted an investigative method of reporting. More importantly, journalism has eventually become a watchdog of any illegalities performed by the government officials. Hence, Watergate Scandal has remarkably become seminal in the development of journalism. History of Journalism The emergence of journalism can be traced back in the 1st century B. C. in ancient Rome through the Acta Diurna or Daily Events (Castro, n. p.). During that time, Julius Cesar ordered the posting of a handwritten news bulletins in the public spaces (Castro, n. p.). In the 750 A.D., China initiated the distribution of news bulletin (Castro, n. p.). Eventually, in the mid 15th century, the distribution of news and dissemination of information was made easier through the creation of movable metal type printer. Thus, it can be observed that in the early days, journalism was merely used by the government to disseminate information to the public. As part of the development in journalism, the purpose, extent, content, and forms of journalism has changed. Newsletters and books were introduced in some other parts of the world. On one hand, opinions of several writers were now incorporated in journalism. Journalism was found as possible means of influencing others by laying down opinions on particular issues in print. Politicians, on the other hand, discovered the enormous potential of journalism in reaching their voters and in sharing their insights and platforms. It can be observed that the development in journalism in the early days was rapid. Through the extent and influence of journalism in creating public policy and in widening public opinions, the threat was perceived. Besides, several laws possibly limiting the use of journalism have been enacted. One of the laws is libel. This was due to the danger and injury that may be created by irresponsible use of journalism. Remarkably, in America, the producer of the first newspaper, Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick, imprisoned and the publication was suppressed (Castro, n. p.). Several other publications were deterred from being published and many other journalist, news reporters, editors, and publishers were imprisoned. During those days, the struggle for press freedom was prevalent. The Watergate Scandal In the early days, politicians are being criticized and are associated with many scandals. The president, most especially, is very openly attacked by the media and the press because of the position and the public trust involved. In the American setting, the unforgettable attack by journalism on the president is the Watergate Scandal because it is the very first time in history that a president resigned from his powerful office. The Watergate issue is primarily a political scandal, which challenged the Constitution. The Watergate scandal pertains to the breaking-in of President Nixon’s men at the offices of the Democratic National Committee and the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg (Berman 1329). The breaking-in was made in accordance with the order of President Nixon and his aide in order to search materials in the possession of party chairman Lawrence O’Brein (Berman 1329). Unfortunately, the men making the searches were arrested by the Washington Police Department (Berman 1329). The arrest of Nixon’s men, however, did not lead to his conviction. Further investigations led to the discovery of the illegal activities in the Oval office where President Nixon and his aides meet. The conversations were recorded. The president and his aide also tried to cover up the Watergate mess by coordinating with CIA and FBI. Further investigation showed that money laundering was involved in funding the Watergate scandal. In order for these activities to remain undiscovered, the president and his aide paid the people having involvement for their silence. However, a particular Deep Throat met with the young reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, of Washington Post and spilled the beans about the illegal activities of the President (Kobrak 71). The courageous revelation by the young reporters about the Watergate Scandal has shocked the nation and the journalism world. The exposure also of the scandal has led to the vigilant investigation of the judiciary and the Congress that eventually led to the resignation of the president. Meanwhile, it was called Watergate Scandal to pertain to the place where the break-in was made and where everything originated. The Importance of the Source In journalism, the source is an important factor in presenting credible news. Notably, journalists do not always have the necessary information on particular things, events, or people. But through sources, journalist can have unlimited access to an interesting issue, person, thing, or event, and others. In the Watergate Scandal, the young reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, would have not known about the irregular activities of the President’s men if not for the effort of a person known only as Deep Throat. Historically, the identity of Deep Throat was never revealed even after the resignation of the President Nixon. Meanwhile, in May 31, 2005, former FBI Deputy Director Mark Felt finally came out of the open and to reveal that he was the controversial â€Å"Deep Throat† (Streissguth 52). In the practice of journalism, the credibility of the source should be established. It is noteworthy that the quality of the reporting and the reports is the controlling aspect that invites people’s attention and the veracity of the news or information delivered. In addition, the readers look into the quality through the veracity of the facts and the truth presented. Remarkably, in the Watergate scandal, the source of Woodward and Bernstein hid his identity under an alias. Despite the pressure that Woodward and Bernstein received from different sectors, they never revealed their source as a means of protecting their source. In addition, there were strong denials and threats from the administration but the public believed the news journalist rather than the president and his men. Interestingly, the anonymous identity of the source was not a factor that hindered the revelation of the truth about the burglary and wire tapping activities of the President’s men. Instead, the information provided stirred the people’s anger against the administration that eventually led to the resignation of the President and the imprisonment of the President’s men. Hence, it can be observed that the identity of the source during those times was not a serious matter and did not affect the reliability and veracity of the news.

Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 18

There were two hundred blocks between the Richards' mansion and downtown New York City. Just under ten miles. But moving like a vampire isn't like running in a normal sense, especially as I had just drained one of the Richards' goats. If I was a blur to the world, so was the world to me. My head was down as I spent my entire focus on avoiding the obstacles right before me and trying to exhaust myself. Down from the rocky cliffs and heights of Fort Tryon with its cool trees, and through the valley that separated it from the rest of the city. Back into civilization, the unpaved dirt roads that smelled of dust and plants, particularly the tobacco I recognized from my native Virginia. After enduring a week of waiting and watching and trying to outthink my brother, I just wanted it to all be over. And now it wasn't. Damon couldn't kill Winfield until the cash was available, and who knew how long that was going to be. In the meantime I had to stay with Bridget, keep tabs on the Sutherlands, pretend to be happily married, and continue to try and figure out Damon's endgame. I was caught in a web of guilt; every move of mine stuck another limb deeper. I just wanted to break free. I wish I could live in solitude. If I had to live out eternity as a vampire, at the very least I could leave no evidence of it. No deaths, no injury, no hurt, no evidence of my unnatural existence at all. I was running from myself, my new self, and could never escape, just as I ran from Damon, my shadow in this endless afterlife. The scent of nature soon gave way to the reek of sewage and rot that clung to even rich neighborhoods. In the alleyways behind the giant houses, servants dumped slop out into back streets and milk carts left fresh dairy products on back steps. All they would notice was a strange rush of wind, a vacuum that had been created in my passing, a momentary darkening against a brick wall like a cloud had passed over the sun. In the Garment District my nose was assailed by the harsh tang of chemicals and the singeing of fibers as young women cut, sewed, and dyed cloth in the factories that were beginning to replace the farms in New York City. Leaning against the fire escape with their sleeves pushed up, small clusters of these young women smoked cigarettes on their precious breaks. As I tore by one girl, cutting it very close, my tail wind snuffed out her match. I looked back to see her staring, confused, at the feather of smoke. Soon I was overcome by the smell of human flesh and waste. Of horse manure and flickering gas lamps. Of industry, print and ink and black smog, of the river, briny fish, and finally a fresh breeze. These were the only details of the city I took in, all sounds and sights muted to a roaring black and white. Expensive perfume and flowers. Butchered meat and smoky bacon. Lemon and ginger†¦ I stopped suddenly, in the middle of Washington Square. That was Katherine's perfume. A hand clasped my shoulder, and I spun around expectantly. But instead of seeing the dark curls of the woman who had made me, I found myself face-to-face with Damon, who stood there, one eyebrow raised in condescending amusement. My face fell and I slumped, exhaustion and despair overtaking me. I didn't even bother shaking off his hand. Where was I going to go, really? My brother had followed me all the way up the East Coast. So long as I refused to drink human blood, he would always be stronger, faster than I was. I was only delaying the inevitable by trying to escape whatever he had planned next. â€Å"It's our wedding night, brother. Where are you off to?† Damon's voice was sharp. Exhausted from my marathon of pain and escape, I just stood there. â€Å"I was going to come back.† Damon rolled his eyes. â€Å"I'll get us a cab,† he said, snapping his fingers. One came over immediately. â€Å"Seventy-third and Fifth,† he ordered, through the trap door. â€Å"We're going to the Sutherlands'?† I asked, confused. â€Å"Not the Richards'?† â€Å"We're going home,† Damon corrected. â€Å"And yes, the reception's over. You ran out at the very end.† â€Å"What did you tell Bridget?† I couldn't help asking. While I didn't love her, I felt bad about abandoning her at her own wedding. In some ways, it was the worst thing that I could do to a girl like her. Damon rolled his eyes. â€Å"Don't worry. They don't even realize you've gone missing.† â€Å"So you haven't killed them yet?† â€Å"Whoever said I was going to kill them?† he asked innocently. â€Å"Do you think I'm some kind of monster?† â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"Well, I am what you made me,† Damon said with a tip of his hat. â€Å"You're not making this any easier,† I muttered. â€Å"You must have me mistaken for someone who cares about making your life easier,† Damon said, suddenly cold, his eyes flashing. â€Å"You know, you've taken a lot of effort to make sure you stay in my life,† I pointed out. â€Å"Are you sure it's just to make me miserable?† He stared at me. â€Å"What are you getting at?† â€Å"I think you need me, Damon,† I growled. â€Å"I think that under your anger, you're scared and horrified of what you've become. I am the last link to your human self, the only person who knows who you are. And I'm the only person for the rest of eternity who will.† Damon narrowed his eyes at me. â€Å"Brother, you don't know anything about me,† he hissed. He threw the door of the cab open and swung himself up and out. A soft thunk indicated he had landed on the roof. I stuck my head out the window and looked up. I watched with horror as Damon picked up the driver and ripped his neck open, sucking only a mouthful or two before throwing him off the cab and on to the street. â€Å"Damon! Stop!† I yelled, but it was too late. I tried to dive out the door, to go after the injured man, but Damon threw an arm out and pushed me back into the carriage as he sped around a corner. Perched on top of the cab, mouth covered in blood, Damon whipped the horse into a frothing frenzy. And so we two brothers hurled northward, one driving and one being driven, like Satan compelling the damned.