Bentley University Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores

Bentley University is a private university with an acceptance rate of 43%. Located on a 163-acre campus in Waltham, Massachusetts, Bentley is well-known for its undergraduate business programs. The university frequently ranks among the top 50 business schools in the country. Bentley has an 11-to-1  student/faculty ratio  and an average class size of 24. On the athletic front, the Bentley University Falcons compete in the NCAA Division II, within the Northeast-10 Conference. Popular sports include track and field, football, basketball, and soccer. Considering applying to Bentley? Here are the admissions statistics you should know including average SAT/ACT scores of admitted students. Acceptance Rate During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, Bentley University had an acceptance rate of 43%. This means that for every 100 students who applied, 43 students were admitted, making Bentleys admissions process competitive. Admissions Statistics (2017-18) Number of Applicants 9,252 Percent Admitted 43% Percent Admitted Who Applied (Yield) 25% SAT Scores and Requirements Bentley University requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 83% of admitted students submitted SAT scores. SAT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile ERW 600 680 Math 640 730 ERW=Evidence-Based Reading and Writing This admissions data tells us that most of Bentleys admitted students fall within the top 20% nationally on the SAT. For the evidence-based reading and writing section, 50% of students admitted to Bentley scored between 600 and 680, while 25% scored below 600 and 25% scored above 680. On the math section, 50% of admitted students scored between 640 and 730, while 25% scored below 640 and 25% scored above 730. Applicants with a composite SAT score of 1410 or higher will have particularly competitive chances at Bentley University. Requirements Bentley University does not require the SAT writing section. Note that Bentley participates in the scorechoice program, which means that the admissions office will consider your highest score from each individual section across all SAT test dates. ACT Scores and Requirements Bentley requires that all applicants submit either SAT or ACT scores. During the 2017-18 admissions cycle, 26% of admitted students submitted ACT scores. ACT Range (Admitted Students) Section 25th Percentile 75th Percentile English 26 33 Math 27 32 Composite 28 32 This admissions data tells us that most of Bentleys admitted students fall within the top 11% nationally on the ACT. The middle 50% of students admitted to Bentley received a composite ACT score between 28 and 32, while 25% scored above 32 and 25% scored below 28. Requirements Bentley does not require the ACT writing section. Unlike many universities, Bentley superscores ACT results; your highest subscores from multiple ACT sittings will be considered. GPA Bentley University does not provide data about admitted students high school GPAs. Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph Bentley University Applicants Self-Reported GPA/SAT/ACT Graph. Data courtesy of Cappex. The admissions data in the graph is self-reported by applicants to Bentley University. GPAs are unweighted. Find out how you compare to accepted students, see the real-time graph, and calculate your chances of getting in  with a free Cappex account. Admissions Chances Bentley University, which accepts fewer than half of all applicants, has selective admissions. Successful applicants tend to have standardized test scores and high school grades that are above average. However, Bentley has a holistic admissions process involving other factors beyond your grades and test scores. A strong application essay and glowing letters of recommendation can strengthen your application, as can participation in meaningful extracurricular activities and a rigorous course schedule. Students with particularly compelling stories or achievements can still receive serious consideration even if their test scores are outside Bentleys average range. In the graph above, the blue and green dots represent accepted students. You can see that most successful applicants had high school grades in the A range, although some had B averages. Admitted students tended to have combined SAT scores of 1200 or higher (ERWM), and ACT composite scores of 25 or better. Higher grades and test scores can improve your chances significantly. If You Like Bentley University, You May Also Like These Schools Applicants interested in other business-focused colleges in the Northeast might also consider  Carnegie Mellon University,  Boston University, Carleton College, and  Dartmouth College. All admissions data has been sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics and Bentley University Undergraduate Admissions Office.

Mgm Resorts International Business Model, Assets And...

Executive Summary on Business Model, Assets and Partnerships MGM Resorts International (MRI) is a for profit group made up of several resorts around the world. It is a retail, hotel service oriented multi-national conglomerate. The headquarters is established in Las Vegas, Nevada. The following resorts are included in this evaluation City Center, ARIA, Bellagio, Vdara, MGM Grand, MGM Macau, MGM Grand Sanya, MGM Hospitality, SKYLOFTS at MGM Grand, The Signature at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Delano Las Vegas, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur, Circus Circus, Circus Circus Reno, Gold Strike Jean, Gold Strike Tunica, Beau Rivage Biloxi, and MGM Grand Detroit. They are all part of the MGM Resorts International umbrella and each establishment has its own Board of Directors. MGM Resorts International has hundreds of departments and sub departments with thousands of employees MGM Resorts International cultivates, shapes and works exclusive destination resorts. These resorts are intended to provide a complete resort experience, services include superb first-rate lodgings and dining, it also includes topnotch entertainment, advanced hi-tech meeting and facilities for convention, fine retail and much fun gaming experience. State-of-the-art service and employer role model plays a key role in the success of Hotel Casino Resort’s profit. This organization is on top of the cutting-edge leadership in forward-thinking in gaming and other services. This is anShow MoreRelatedMarketing Analysis : Mgm Resorts International1167 Words   |  5 Pages MGM Resorts International Denise Watson Professor Framan July 21, 2015 Target Market Geographical Segmentation MGM serves both local and international customers for their range of businesses. The company targets nearby, destination and convenience customers by operating in strategic locations and states Demographic markets Previously, casinos were known to serve the older generation as their target market. 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Leadership and Governance A Report on a Case Study

Questions: 1. Analyse the following questions based on the case scenario. You need to present and EVALUATE the facts and explore the hidden leadership principles behind these facts? How did Hastings change his use of communications in sending and receiving messages from Pure Software to Netflix? How did Hastings change his use of feedback from Pure Software to Netflix? How did Hastings change his use of coaching guidelines from Pure Software to Netflix? Which conflict management style did Hastings tend to use at Pure and Netflix? In making a deal with Epix, which conflict management style was most likely used by Netflix? 2. How would you improve Netflixs product offerings (i.e., what things cant you watch that you would like to watch) or processes (i.e., how can it improve its delivery or service)?3. Which level or levels of analysis and leadership paradigm are presented in this case, and did Hastings use the management or leadership paradigm?4. How did Hastings Big Five model of personality leadership traits change from Pure Software to Netflix? Answers: 1. Netflix is considered to be one of the leading services of online subscription that streams television shows as well as movies. In the year 1999, it was Hastings and Randolph who had presented their idea about permitting clients to rent three DVD television shows as well as movies at a time through its DVD mail service (Taylor, 2006). An online waiting system helped the users in listing their most preferred movie rental choices in order they needed those to be delivered. The business idea proved revolutionary as the users could keep those with them without paying any extra cost. Their rental system, subscription rates, and that of shipping costs are quite different from that of other traditional models that charged higher prices. In the year 2000, it had launched a personalized recommendation system where the clients could rate the movies as per their choices. Above all with respect to the legal implications, Netflix had to evaluate its entire consumer base in video streaming as well as DVD mail. With passing years, the company had been successful in gaining increased number of subscribers and the figure has been on a constant rise. It has been reported that Hastings did not apologize for increasing prices as well as complicating things for clients with separation of DVD streaming and rental services (Gladson Nwokah and Ahiauzu, 2010). Rather, he apologized for the manner the firm mishandled the way it broke the news. as per Hastings, it was clear from the past feedback that several members felt that it lacked humility as well as respect in manner it had announced the separation of streaming and DVD, including that of the price changes (Mahajan, 2011). He further announced lot more changes, dividing the services within two firms having different pay structures. From his acts and ordeals of Hastings, some of the things that are reflected ar e: Being authentic The apology of Hasting was quite unclear which makes it ineffective. A direct feedback to client concerns is the best way to be clear in commenting and avoid any sort of further apologies. Responding quickly It is essentially important to act as immediately as possible. Only then effective outcome can be expected(Giltinane, 2013). Being personal Hasting could have been more contrite during the press conference if he had been little more personal and would have invited questions from the audiences. Instead, he gave an email with carefully framed language with no direct questions and answers. Being humble Hasting had named his post as an explanation and reflections. This sounded quite defensive. Rather he could a little more humble so that it had attracted more viewers with his humble attitude. The leadership style that is practiced by Netflix is participative one, also named as democratic leadership style. This style values the team members and their efforts, but the main responsibility of decision-making rests with the participative leader. He is responsible for boosting the morale of his team members as the members are allowed to participate in the decision-making process. It gives them a feeling of importance and that their opinions matter significantly (Leban and Zulauf, 2004). When the firm needs to make relevant changes in the organizational environment, the democratic leadership style supports employees to accept the challenges of changes in a positive manner (Rogers, 2012). This style increasingly enables the organization to meet challenges of the firm to make effective business decisions. With reference to the given case scenario, the firm Netflix believes that behind leadership the main role is played by the concept of governance. The current environment is prevailed with leadership. Here it has been mentioned in the case that the organizational management includes all members within the process of decision-making, and this is usually followed by effective policies regarding leadership for motivating the members (de Vries, 2012). Effective governance means the concept of value adding that is quite nebulous in nature. The firm is quite specific about its leadership concepts; it refers the concept as it involves all issues, practices, procedures, and theories to lead to the positive change within the organizational to result in positive changes in the environment (Giltinane, 2013). It is significant for the firm to practice effective leadership for having better results in the corporate governance. The manner the leaders at Netflix practice leadership styles as well as encourage the members to strive and achieve organizational objectives with increased effectiveness dictate the level of growth as well as development of the firm. The leaders having dynamic style bring positive impacts upon the organizational culture. To inspire and also drive transformational changes, the role of such styles need to be shown by every organizational individual (Nicholson and Kiel, 2007). The responsibilities in the sustainable leadership need to be an integral part of its culture, thereby expanding beyond any statement. Certain important factors in leadership are the organizational leaders, his team members, situations, and communication styles that lead to the effective utilization of leadership styles. The leaders of the firm are well aware of their positions. They are the right ones to decide upon the level of success. They understand that to be successful they need to gain the trust as well as confidence of the members(Lin, 2005). They understand the need to motivate the members to get the work done at the right moment and in favorable manner so as to ensure harmony in the organizational environment. The employees deliver their best outcome when they are motivated thoroughly by several means. For adopting sustainability initiatives, the higher authority needs to practice crucial policies for incorporating the right thing. The leaders at the Netflix possess greatest foresight and courage to forecast the results of all such organizational policies. The management of the firm is quite strong to mot ivate its employees to practice the policies. When the firm needs to make relevant changes in the organizational environment, the democratic leadership style supports employees to accept the challenges of changes in a positive manner. This style increasingly enables the organization to meet challenges of the firm to make effective business decisions. 2. With reference to the given case scenario, the firm Netflix believes that behind leadership the main role is played by the concept of governance. The current environment is prevailed with leadership. Here it has been mentioned in the case that the organizational management includes all members within the process of decision-making, and this is usually followed by effective policies regarding leadership for motivating the members. The leaders at the Netflix possess greatest foresight and courage to forecast the results of all such organizational policies. The management of the firm is quite strong to motivate its employees to practice the policies. When the firm needs to make relevant changes in the organizational environment, the democratic leadership style supports employees to accept the challenges of changes in a positive manner. As per the given case scenario, the mentioned organization Netflix has been practicing some of the most effective strategies that are enumerated below: Rewarding performance and not just effort As per Hastings, the members who generate B-grade work even if they put A-grade effort must be let go. A-grade employees must be rewarded even if they generate increased productivity with less effort. He emphasized that a talented employee need not invest extended hours at the office desk so long they are providing quality work. The single exception as per Hastings is those brilliant jerks. By giving one bad outcome, even a talented member is not worth the damage which is caustic personality may cause to the entire team (Johnson and Klee, 2007). Hasting has addressed the hiring philosophy of Netflix along with a metaphor regarding professional sports teams. But it was not justified as unlike that of a sports team, a successful business never has a restricted number of vacancy; effective as well as talented employees often create new positions and that of a positive atmosphere of internal competition. Also, cutthroat attitude should never be encouraged. Safeguarding employee independence With increase in the size of a business, more and more employees are hired, that lower the overall standards of talent, and this makes to implement harder policies for compensating the lack of autonomy amidst its employees. It need not be that way as per Hastings. To its contrary, firms must raise their standards of autonomy as well as talent for members as the firm grows in size. In that way, instead of creating complicated series of policies to monitor work, developing businesses may maintain flexible as well as competitive position at the marketplace(Leban and Zulauf, 2004). With gradual increase in the standard of the performance along with that of the increasing growth and complications in the organization, a business firm gets the ideal condition. Paying employees what they deserve As per Hastings, for maintain and retaining top talents, employer needs to pay their employees as per their performance. He emphasizes a single employee costs less and more productive than that of two other employees (Charlety, n.d.). So, the firm Netflix always ensures that it pays its employees adequately as per the market environment o salaries. He also states that Netflix provides market-convenient salaries to his employees by means of three evaluations: how employees are paid elsewhere, what firms pay to replace employees, and what a firm would be paying to retain any specific employee to a job. Also Hastings says that a firm must think outside the shell with respect to raises. With alignment of the pays of employees against the rate in the market for respective position, salaries rise up with varying rates. Hastings believe that the one and important thing to do is to pay the employees as per their individual worth at top of market value. 3. With thorough analysis of the given case scenario, it can be perceived that earlier the type of leadership style practiced within Netflix was quite different than that practiced now after its come-back. It is generally the culture as well as organizational objectives that determine the type of leadership style to be practiced at the organization(Lin, 2005). From the case scenario it is estimated that earlier the organization Netflix used to practice kind of laissez faire leadership style earlier. Here, the leaders lack direct supervision of members. They fail to give regular feedback to their team members. Highly trained as well as experienced employees needing little supervision come under this type of leadership style. The typical style of leadership obstructs production of members requiring effective supervision. However, when the company had made suitable come-back, it tried altering its leadership style to a more desirable one. In the later period of business conducts, the le adership style that is practiced by Netflix is participative one, also named as democratic leadership style. This style values the team members and their efforts, but the main responsibility of decision-making rests with the participative leader (Carver, 2003). He is responsible for boosting the morale of his team members as the members are allowed to participate in the decision-making process. It gives them a feeling of importance and that their opinions matter significantly (Charlety, n.d.). When the firm needs to make relevant changes in the organizational environment, the democratic leadership style supports employees to accept the challenges of changes in a positive manner. This style increasingly enables the organization to meet challenges of the firm to make effective business decisions. Within the given case scenario about Netflix, not much is explained about organizational power, politics, networking, and negotiation. These aspects are crucial ones in respect to the organizational context. Power and politics are said to play significant role within the business, right from governance to how formation of decisions to allow suitable interaction amidst employees (Gladson Nwokah and Ahiauzu, 2010). Within the firm, the effects of power rely on whether organizational members utilize positive or negative power for influencing others at the workplace. Politics often impact directly upon who possesses the power as well as determination if the organizational culture promotes productivity. On a general basis, positive power within organizations includes promoting productivity. Netflix is said to conduct positive type of power, whereby employees are given adequate power to participate in the decision making process, rewarding them for effective performance, and also promoting those with highest performance. This enhances the confidence of the employees and impacts upon the higher retention rate. When organizational leaders fail to have respect from the members, they possess a negative power. This type of leader motivates employees with threatening of job loss or penalty. They also conduct favoritism and ignore hard work of several employees. This type of practice often reduces the work quality and productivity (Johnson and Klee, 2007). Organizational employees who learn navigating the organizational politics are generally more productive as compared to others. Netflix usually develops a favorable political culture for encouraging productivity. It understands that creating distinct policies as well as command chain renders it easier for members to understand the work and improves its quality (Nicholson and Kiel, 2007). The firm practices creation of climate that focuses on collaboration as well as equal treatment to prevent any conflicting situation. From the case scenario it is estimated that earlier the organization Netflix used to practice kind of laissez faire leadership style earlier. Here, the leaders lack direct supervision of members. They fail to give regular feedback to their team members. Highly trained as well as experienced employees needing little supervision come under this type of leadership style. The typical style of leadership obstructs production of members requiring effective supervision (de Vries, 2012). However, when the company had made suitable come-back, it tried altering its leadership style to a more desirable one(Mahajan, 2011). In the later period of business conducts, the leadership style that is practiced by Netflix is participative one, also named as democratic leadership style. This style values the team members and their efforts, but the main responsibility of decision-making rests with the participative leader. He is responsible for boosting the morale of his team members as the members are all owed to participate in the decision-making process. 4. Netflix is said to conduct positive type of power, whereby employees are given adequate power to participate in the decision making process, rewarding them for effective performance, and also promoting those with highest performance. This enhances the confidence of the employees and impacts upon the higher retention rate. When organizational leaders fail to have respect from the members, they possess a negative power (Carver, 2003). This type of leader motivates employees with threatening of job loss or penalty. However, when the company had made suitable come-back, it tried altering its leadership style to a more desirable one. In the later period of business conducts, the leadership style that is practiced by Netflix is participative one, also named as democratic leadership style. This style values the team members and their efforts, but the main responsibility of decision-making rests with the participative leader. References Carter, S. and Greer, C. (2013). Strategic Leadership: Values, Styles, and Organizational Performance.Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 20(4), pp.375-393. Carver, J. (2003). What do the new federal governance requirements for corporate audit committees mean for the policy governance board?.Board Leadership, 2003(67), pp.6-7. Charlety, P. (n.d.). Corporate Governance and Leadership: 1st International Forum, Paris - White Paper.SSRN Journal. de Vries, R. (2012). Personality predictors of leadership styles and the selfother agreement problem.The Leadership Quarterly, 23(5), pp.809-821. Giltinane, C. (2013). Leadership styles and theories.Nursing Standard, 27(41), pp.35-39. Gladson Nwokah, N. and Ahiauzu, A. (2010). Marketing in governance: emotional intelligence leadership for effective corporate governance.Corporate Governance: The international journal of business in society, 10(2), pp.150-162. Johnson, N. and Klee, T. (2007). Passive-Aggressive Behavior and Leadership Styles in Organizations.Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 14(2), pp.130-142. Leban, W. and Zulauf, C. (2004). Linking emotional intelligence abilities and transformational leadership styles.Leadership Org Development J, 25(7), pp.554-564. Lin, Y. (2005). Corporate Governance, Leadership Structure and CEO Compensation: evidence from Taiwan.Corporate Governance: An International Review, 13(6), pp.824-835. Mahajan, S. (2011). Study on Leadership Styles and Theories.IJAR, 4(3), pp.281-282. Nicholson, G. and Kiel, G. (2007). Can Directors Impact Performance? A case-based test of three theories of corporate governance.Corporate Governance: An International Review, 15(4), pp.585-608. Rogers, R. (2012). Leadership communication styles: a descriptive analysis of health care professionals.JHL, p.47. Taylor, B. (2006). Review of the 8th International Conference on Corporate Governance and Board Leadership, Henley Management College, October 2005.Corporate Governance: An International Review, 14(6), pp.519-521.

Pebble the Symbol of Emotion Essay Example

Pebble: the Symbol of Emotion Paper Malcolm D. Ervin Professor Kristen Raymond English 1101 28 September 2011 Pebble: The Symbol of Emotion In The Things They Carried, O’Brien talks about many of the objects that he and his comrades carried while they were in Vietnam. They carried things like food, water, weapons and ammunition. They also carried comfort items like tranquilizers and MM’s. Although the weight of these things placed a physical burden on the soldiers, it was the emotional weight that each of the soldiers carried that took the heaviest toll on them. The pebble, carried by Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, symbolizes multiple things that evolve throughout the text. It will prove to be a source of comfort, anguish, and relief to him. Lt. Cross was madly in love with Martha, a woman he dated once in New Jersey. She sent him letters that he kept in the bottom of his rucksack but those meant absolutely nothing in comparison to the pebble. Martha found the pebble on the Jersey Shoreline, precisely where the land met the water at high tide. â€Å"In the first week of April, before Lavender died, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross received a good-luck charm from Martha. It was a simple pebble, an ounce at most. Smooth to the touch, it was a milky white color with flecks of orange and violet, oval shaped, like a miniature egg. We will write a custom essay sample on Pebble: the Symbol of Emotion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Pebble: the Symbol of Emotion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Pebble: the Symbol of Emotion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In the accompanying letter, Martha wrote that she had found the pebble on the Jersey shoreline, precisely where the land touched water at high tide, where things came together but also separated â€Å"(O’Brien pg. 9). The pebble at this point acts as a symbol for Martha. It is a Martha that Lt. Cross can feel, kiss, and smell. It allows Cross to think about the relationship between him and Martha. He often spent his evenings daydreaming about Martha form camping in the mountains to relaxing on the beach. With the pebble, Cross can picture Martha walking barefoot on the Jersey Shoreline. He could see her bending over, right where the land met the water, and picking up the pebble. The pebble allows Cross to have a â€Å"Martha† with him in the jungle, under his tongue. Tina Chen agrees with this observation. â€Å"Marthas explanation of how she carries the pebble with her and finally sends it to Lieutenant Cross as a token of her truest feelings works to figure the pebble as a metonym for her. Cross actualizes this figural relationship when he carries the pebble in his mouth and imagines that it is her tongue. † (Chen pg. 85) Cross imagines Martha’s feet walking along the shore. He gets that image frequently. He often thinks about who she’s with at the beach. The pebble is his only connection with Martha and their separated relationship. The pebble was very important to Lt. Cross. It symbolized the complexity of the relationship he and Martha had. â€Å"It was this separate-but-together quality, she wrote, that had inspired her to pick up the pebble and to carry it in her breast pocket for several days, where it seemed weightless, and then to send it through the mail, by air, as a token of her truest feelings for him†(O’Brien pg. 9). Martha Although Cross didn’t realize her meaning, the pebble, found separate but together, was a token of love. Although this â€Å"love† wasn’t the same mutual love that Jimmy had for Martha, the relationship between them was like the pebble, separate but together. â€Å"On the march, through the hot days of early April, he carried the pebble in his mouth, turning it with his tongue, tasting sea salt and moisture† (O’Brien pg. 9). The pebble allowed Cross to imagine himself, together with Martha, often impairing his judgment during the day. That gave him a since of solace, keeping him sane to a certain extent. Lt. Cross felt horrible after Ted Lavender died. It was his fault because his mid was always on Martha. â€Å"†¦First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross crouched at the bottom of his foxhole and burned Marthas letters. Then he burned the two photographs. †¦ but he used heat tabs and Sterno to build a small fire, screening it with his body, holding the photographs over the tight blue flame with the tips of his fingers†(O’Brien pg. 20). Cross thinks that destroying the things that remind him of Martha will put his mind at ease, knowing that Lavender was killed on his watch. Moments before Ted Lavender, a doped-up, sleepy-eyed member of Alpha Company, is shot while on his way back from peeing, Lieutenant Cross is not there because he was buried with Martha under the white sand at the Jersey shore. They were pressed together, and the pebble in his mouth was her tongue. He was smiling. Vaguely, he was aware of how quiet the day was, the sullen paddies, yet he could not bring h imself to worry about matters of security† (Chen 86). Cross was too busy dreaming about being at home with Martha to realize that his friend was in danger. He was not â€Å"there†. Although he was in his ox hole making out with a pebble, in Cross’ mind, he is on the beach in New Jersey making out with Martha. The pebble symbolizes his love for Martha. He destroyed the letters and the pictures Martha sent him after Lavender’s death. The one thing he couldn’t destroy was the pebble. He could have thrown it away, but it would still exist. Just like his love for Martha, the pebble couldn’t be rubbed out of existence. Even after the war, when Martha told him she would never get married, he still loved her as much as he did back in Vietnam despite the fact that she didn’t love him in the same way. She had never married, she said, and probably never would. She didnt know why. But as she said this, her eyes seemed to slide sideways, and it occ urred to him that there were things about her he would never know† (O’Brien pg. 26). The pebble in The Things They Carried symbolizes Martha, a woman who would never love Lt. Cross the same way he loved her, a complex relationship, and an undying symbol of love and affection that can never be destroyed. The pebble has a powerful significance in the life of Lt. Jimmy Cross. It has caused him happiness and grief. Although there relationship would never be, the pebble always gave Jimmy hope, an emotion that many soldiers of that era lacked. Cross’s situation is unfortunate. He is in love with a woman thousands of miles away who doesn’t share the same sentiment on that love and all he has is a pebble so powerful, it not only gives him hope, but something to pour all that love and affection into. Works Cited Chen, Tina. Unraveling the Deeper Meaning Exile and the Embodied Poetics of Displacement in Tim. Contemporary Literature, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Spring, 1998), (1998): pp. 77-98.

Seeking Out a New World †English Essay

Seeking Out a New World – English Essay Free Online Research Papers Seeking Out a New World English Essay Have you ever looked into the skies at night and just wondered what was out there? If there were other races, just trying to live as best they could, or others, trying to claim every planet available before someone ever could get a chance. Have you ever just wanted to leave this planet, in hopes to find something better? All my life I’ve been interested with space and alien races, the stars and their planets. I’ve always wanted to fly around in space, experience zero gravity. To me, it gives me a sense of freedom, free from Earth. Free from everything. I’m sure by now, you’re wondering what I’m talking about. All I’m saying is that, some day, we will be able to do these kinds of things. Sometimes, I will start thinking about the future, and I see it as a type of Star Trek, just not to that extent. Someday, not any time soon, but someday we will get bored with our own system and will want to explore farther then we’ve ever done. NASA will build an interplanetary ship, instruct a crew, and launch them up in to the deep reaches of space, in hopes that we will find something useful. Now, I’m sure, by then, if we don’t change our ways soon, our beloved Earth will be lying on its death bed, just waiting, if it hasn’t died already. So I’m sure, NASA will be looking for another planet we will be able to live on. For most people, this will be a good thing, but the way I see it, I’m sure there will be some environmentalist protest groups trying to ban the whole thing: â€Å"We told you the planet needed to be saved, did you listen, no. Now you’re just going to find another so you can trash it!† And then there are the religious groups: â€Å"Heathens, The Lord is never going to agree with this!† But, who knows, they might not have enough political power to really stop anything, so they might just take things into their own hands, like the protest groups did with the abortion clinic bombings. And of course there is the hippie group that doesn’t want other civilizations to be interfered with. And of course once this group is brought into the world, it will cause a political battle about â€Å"what a civilization consists of.† Could it be a planet full land animals, or must they have a spoken language, some form of intelligence. And who are we to decide, â€Å"They’ll never be smart.† But once the debating and arguing are over, one of two decisions will be made: One, it loses all together, and we can invade any planet we want, regardless of who was there first, with the mind set: We need it, now! Or two, â€Å"Finders, Keepers,† if we find an occupied planet, we’ll just find a different one. Now, if we do find a planet, and it’s supporting life so we give our self’s permission to land there. Are we going to live with them, side by side? I doubt it. I’m reminded of the time Europe found America and completely dominated the new land, ridding it of most of the natives while converting the few they kept. Now, if what they say about history repeating it self is true. Then I sure we’ll kill off the weakly race of aliens, until we realize what we’ve done, put them on the endangered species list, and let them live on reservations with just enough room to build a casino on it. That’s one thing humans are good at; messing thing up and fixing them at the last minute so it looks like they care. Then of course, there is the case that we might piss someone off. What if we take some planet that looks empty, but turns out to be someone’s summer resort; like when the birds migrate south to warmer climates. And, of course, the owners of the planet come back to see we have just made ourselves at home, thinking it’s in empty planet. Naturally, this will upset them just a bit, so they’ll just start shooting with out asking questions. The media gets a hold of this and twists it around, so it looks like they just came out of the red sky (or whatever color the new planets sky is) and just shot us up for the hell of it. Well, the people of Earth will eat this up, because they believe everything on TV, start some protest group, gather up some political power and start a war on these so called â€Å"bullies Now, I’m sure, if there is another race out there, there are more then one. And I’m also sure that they’ll be watching. But their media is better then ours so they’ll know the whole story and get pissed, ally up with all of the other races, and come over and kill off Earth with the logic, â€Å"It will be better for every one.† And it’s done, I once thriving planet of well educated human and now become a race of drifters all on account of a select few. But of course, that’s the way society works now a days. Okay, now I know I’ve been talking about he down side of space travel in the whole paper, but that’s just was comes to mind with I think about it. Now I’m sure it will be this great and wondrous concept, but if we don’t do it right the first time, we may not have a second change to do it again. We need find some way to make a peaceful first contact, a way to show that we mean no harm; we just need a place to stay. I’m sure, once we have established that, then, and only then, will we be set. 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Treasure Island1 essays

Treasure Island1 essays The title of this book is Treasure Island. It is written by Robert Lewis Stevenson and takes place mainly on Treasure Island. There were many characters in this story but the most substantial were; Jim Hawkins the cabin boy/narrator; Long John Silver the captain; David Livesey the ships doctor; Pew the blind-beggar; and John Trelawney the owner of the ship. After the Captain had died from an overdose of Rum, Dr. Livesey looked through the Captains coat and there he found a book. Later Dr. Livesey, Jim, and the squire looked through the book the doctor had found, the doctor opened the seals with great care, and there fell out the map of an island. It had the latitude and longitude, soundings, names of hills, bays, and inlets, and every detail that would be needed to bring a ship to a safe anchorage upon the island. In three weeks time Hawkins shall come as cabin boy. You, Livesey, are ship's doctor; I am admiral. The ship was already bought and fitted. It lied at anchor, ready for sea. The two hundred-ton ship was named Hispaniola. They were ready to go treasure hunting. Well since they didnt have a Captain they had to find someone they knew was an experienced sailor-man, and above all, they could trust. So they told Jim where he could find a man of that caliber by the name of Long John Silver. When Jim reached his destination he looked around and found some one that he thought met the description of a sailor. He went up to the man and said, Long John? The man replied. It happened to be the person Jim was looking for. So Jim told him the plan about the treasure hunt. Long John wasnt too thrilled about the idea of treasure hunting (since he had had bad experiences treasure hunting), but he agreed to it any ways. The voyage was long but the crew proved them selfs worthy. As they steadily approached the island Jim was feeling sick, he said to himself ...

The economic consequences of the abolition of the Second Bank of the Essay

The economic consequences of the abolition of the Second Bank of the United States - Essay Example In 1837, the bank failed to renew its charter after Nicholas Biddle, the bank’s president, clashed with Andrew Jackson’s administration thereby leading to the liquidation of the bank in 1838 (Wilentz, 2008). Although proponents of the abolition of the Second Bank of the United States argued that the bank was responsible for inflation and was only improving the fortunes of an elite few, it played a number of critical roles with the primary responsibility being the main fiscal agent for the federal government thereby assisting in the stabilization of the economy and property values. For example, being the exclusive fiscal agent of the Federal government, BUS assumed a number of important economic roles some of which included holding and transferring all the U.S payments, deposits and receipts of nearly every government transaction as well as processing of tax payments. In this regard, the BUS was the exclusive depository of the Federal government, a role which made it the principal customer and stockholder. As a result, the abolition of the Second Bank of the United States in 1836 resulted in a diverse number of economic consequences some of which included inflation, increased national de bt, unemployment among other. This paper critically analyzes the various economic consequences of the abolition of the Second Bank of the United States in 1836. One of the immediate economic impacts of the shutdown of the second Bank of the United States was the loss of savings and investments. This was particularly attributed to the fact that the bank maintained the exchequer account where the federal government deposited its revenue for use by its agencies. Dowd, K, Hutchinson, M. (2010, 70) suggests that the Second Bank of the United States acted as the federal government banker. More importantly, the bank managed the accounts for departments and government ministries as well as Individual investors held both saving and liquid accounts. These accounts held a large

The history of alphabet in Israel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The history of alphabet in Israel - Essay Example A limestone boulder was found in Jerusalem, some letters written in Hebrew were found on it, the same led to more research in the same and produced results. "Archaeologists digging in July at the site, Tel Zayit, found the inscribed stone in the wall of an ancient building. After an analysis of the layers of ruins, the discoverers concluded that this was the earliest known specimen of the Hebrew alphabet and an important benchmark in the history of writing, they said this week." (A is for Ancient, 23 September 2008). The results produced in this research has been supported by many a scholar, they believe that the stones found hold the most oldest and at the same time reliable data written in Hebrew language. It was also found that when the research was made, the Hebrew letters were still in transition from its roots. The stone was discovered by American Researchers and it is believed that the stone is 3000 years old. The stone is supposed to have the oldest form of Hebrew written on it. The weight of the stone is 38 pounds and the alphabets found on it were in proper order, if the scholars are t be believed. "The stone was discovered July 15 in an excavation at TelZayit, Israel, about 35 miles southwest of Jerusalem on the outskirtsof ancient Judah, by a team led by archeologist Ron E. Tappy ofthe Pittsburgh TheologicalSeminary." (Team Digs, 23 September 2008). The whole research by archeologists is regarded as a very big very big breakthrough, scholars highly value the stone found by the archeologists. It is also believed that Tel Zayit is quite close to another city by the name Timnah, the biblical strong man Samson married a woman who was philistine by origin. Scholars suggest that the stone found would have been used to train scribes but there is no concrete proof to support this statement. "The Israelites adopted a variation of the Canaanite alphabet and began writing down their historical myths. By around 700 BC, innovative priests had collected the best of these myths and woven them together to form a detailed history of the nation of Israel, intended to convince the Israelites that they were God's chosen people. (The history of ancient Israel, 23 September 2008). The myths which they came up with were followed by the people and they firmly believed in the myths. Earlier in Israel each word or phrase was very beautifully projected as pictures. This also created a problem because the expressions were many and the pictures were less, so people had to come up with new pictures day and day out in order to meet the requirement of the expressions. Around 3000 BC, a group of people by the name of Phoenicians came up, these people did a lot of work in the development of Israel even at that time when there were very less resources known to man. They were highly skilled people and knew works like construction of boats, building of ports along the coasts etc. These people gradually had inherited writing from the Sumerians and all this was around 1200 BC. They brought in tremendous changes for better by decreasing the number of symbols in the language, the reduced number was 30 of many symbols. Each symbol carries a meaning and represented a different sound. They believed that putting the symbols into sound conveyed their message better. "The invention o f the Phoenician alphabet allowed written words to better

Discuss the various perceptions of love in Shakespeares Romeo Essay Example for Free

Discuss the various perceptions of love in Shakespeares Romeo Essay Discuss the various perceptions of love in Shakespeares Romeo Juliet. Then choose two contrasting examples from scenes you have discussed and explain how you would stage them to show these contrasts. William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in 1595. When it was written, Shakespeare was quite young, 31, already five years into his career. Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne at the time, and many of the characteristics of Elizabethan lifestyle are included within the play. In the Elizabethan times, it was not unusual for people to get married and have children young. In the play Lady Capulet says, By my count, I was your mother much upon these years, to Juliet, who appears to be about 12 years old. She is telling Juliet that she was already a mother at Juliets age, implying she should be getting ready to marry now. Women were also not considered of much importance in those days. They were not as important as men, and just used for sex, which plays a big part in the topic of conversation between characters throughout the play. Women/girls also had to obey their fathers until they got married, and then obey their husbands when they did get married. It was a very male dominant era. Romeo and Juliet is partly a comedy, tragedy and history. It is a tragedy obviously because of all the death in it. It is a comedy because of the irony and contrast the characters raise, and also because of the humour some characters like Mercutio and the Nurse bring into the play. It is a history as well because of the fact it was written a long time ago, and has historical contents in it. There is a great deal of love and passion in this play, but not all the same. Different characters have different perceptions of love, and different passions. The play is also as much about hate as it is about love, which is a very important element. Shakespeare puts emphasis on themes such as the relationship of love and hate and old and young. This is what I will be analysing in the essay. The play tells the story of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet; the children of two rival families living in Verona, who fall in love and get married without their families knowing. The hatred felt by their families leads to the death of five people. Two of who are Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers who die because they want to be together but cant be. It shows the young as they struggle to escape from the morass of hatred created by their elders. The ancient family feud makes Romeo and Juliets union even more significant as they both hate each others families, but manage to overcome it when they meet each other. This play represents true love because it shows pure hatred turn into pure love. Romeo and Juliet went against everything they were brought up with and gave up their lives to be together. Romeo is a very passionate person when we first meet him, and his passion stays throughout the play. We do learn however, that Romeo is very impulsive, and acts on this impulsive streak very often, and it leads him to do some stupid things, which I will show further on in the essay. The first reference to love in the play is in the opening scene where we meet Sampson and Gregory (two Capulet servants). They are both very vulgar and crude characters and show this straight away when they are talking about the Montague women. In lines 17-20, Sampson says, Tis true, and therefore women being the weaker vessels are ever thrust to the wall. Therefore I will push Montagues men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall. This is where the punning becomes sexual. He is implying that he will assault the Montague maids against the wall. Later on in lines 27-28, he says, Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads- take it in what sense thou wilt. Here he is saying that he will either chop off the heads of the Montague maids, or rape them, depending on what he feels like. Their behaviour shows that they do not actually think of love itself, and only think of sex. They view women as mere objects to serve their pleasure. They are not the only bawdy characters in the play to have this perception of women and love thought. In act two, scene one (lines 34-38); Mercutio is making fun of Romeos talk of love for Rosaline. He talks about a Medlar tree, and describes sex as a Medlar fruit. He is saying that Romeo really wishes Rosalie were a Medlar fruit, even though he says he loves her, all he really wants is sex. This is probably because this is all Mercutio sees love as. The Nurse is another one of these characters. She constantly talks about the physical side of marriage. To her, love is merely about sex and having babies. For Sampson, Gregory, Mercutio and the Nurse, love is something non-emotional, and they have obviously never experienced love like Romeo and Juliets. Love for Romeo and Juliet is very emotionally bonded, and they cannot live without each other. This however does not mean there is no physical element to their relationship. Romeo and Juliet eagerly look forward to the physical side. This can be seen in act three, scene two, lines 1-30, where Juliet is looking forward to her wedding night, or her love-performing night. But even this is altered by their love into something of which Mercutio, the Nurse and the servants know nothing of. In act one, scene one, Romeos parents show parental love when they are concerned about him. The first evidence to show they care about Romeo is in lines 118-119, where Lady Montague says, Right glad I am he (Romeo) was not at this fray, meaning she was glad that Romeo was not involved in the fight that had just happened. In lines 133-144, Montague talks about Romeos worrying behaviour. He says that he is always crying, distances himself from everyone else, and shuts out light, making himself an artificial night. Montague is obviously worried about his sons behaviour, and asks Benvolio if he could talk to Romeo because he does not understand him. This doesnt mean however, that he does not care how Romeo feels, but he evidently does. It just shows the contrast between young and old. The first time we meet Romeo, he seems very sad and down (in the exact state his father describes him to be in). he is sad because he is in love. For Romeo, being in love (at this stage in the play) is a very painful, negative thing, especially because here there is a situation of unrequited love. However, by studying Romeos language in this scene, I believe that he is not in love with Rosaline, but infact in love with the idea of love itself. The fact that he does not say Rosalines name once, but talks about being in love, shows that the she is irrelevant. Romeos doting over Rosaline is introduced to show the difference between love and infatuation. He talks about love as a painful situation to be in, as shown in lines 195-196, A madness most discreet, a choking gall, and a preserving sweet. This changes drastically though, when he meets Juliet. From the second he sees Juliet (in act one scene five); you can see he has changed. He suddenly speaks in a more positive tone, with more positive views on Juliet not just of love. O she doth teach the torches to burn bright. Romeo is referring to Juliet as an actual person, whereas before he was talking about being in love (supposedly with Rosaline), but never refers to her as a person. On meeting Juliet he experiences love at first sight. He goes on to say, For I neer saw true beauty till this night. This shows that he has forgotten about Rosaline already, almost like she never existed. Romeo constantly compares Juliet to a saint throughout the play, O then dear saint. He has made Juliet out to be the most important person (to him), in the matter of minutes. In their first meeting, Romeo and Juliet share a sonnet (lines 94-107). This immediately shows the connection of love and harmony that exists between them. In the sonnet, love as a religion seems to be the key subject, and Romeo talks about it so passionately. He refers to Juliet as a holy shrine, and his lips Two blushing pilgrims. By studying Romeos language here, and that of which he used when we first met him, you can see that his feelings have gone from being self-centred, self deceiving and essentially negative, to less self-centred, genuine and sincere passion, positively approached when he meets Juliet. The love between Romeo and Juliet is different from any other in the play, because both share the same view on love. It is so strong that they fought through everything to be together and when they werent they felt empty and sad. No one else in the play shows love for anything this deep. The words Romeo and Juliet use when flirting with each other emphasise their love for one another. They use words to do with the body lips, hands, palms, religion pilgrims, saints, prayer, devotion and holy then they put both ideas together, holy palmers kiss and saints lips. Romeo is trying to woo Juliet with romantic gestures.

Mystery and Suspense in Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

Mystery and Suspense in Heart of Darkness      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It seems like everywhere there is something in life that seems to be left behind.   In the books I read about mystery or suspense, this always seems to be the case in such.   The Heart of Darkness draws me into such depths of suspense and unknown that seem to associate with my life.         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This whole book is full of mysteries.   Marlow has a heart that is full of mystery when he is stuck in Africa, and looking for a man named Kurtz.   Marlow is waiting, he learns about where the place is at, what could be coming ahead. Maybe he was just acquiring some ideas of what was ahead, or who he would be working with.   Why is all this senselessness happening around him?         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marlow is enthralled with mystery.   You wouldn't think that somebody would be simply crazy to go and take a trip down the Congo river.   He has heard some aspects about the place, and the way it seems to suck the visitors in.   All the people getting diseases.   One would go insane there, so why?   Why would he want to go do this?   Again, it's full of mystery, and that makes an interesting book.         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kurtz, with this person, I can not express how much mystery applies to him and his personality.   People haven't heard from him for quite a long time, because he is up the river from the station where Marlow is at.   People are wanting the boss, and they're getting restless.   Is Kurtz, sick?   Could one of these people get a new promotion in their job?   The people don't want Marlow to go explore up the river a ways and kind Kurtz, suppling him with help that he might need.   And yet, Marlow needs Kurtz.         Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yet, there is the mystery of the Congo river.   It has a way with the people that come into it and try to explore it's orgins.   It seems to drag you in, and not let you go.   All of this, because they were curious and brave.   But not all brave men will make it through this jungle that the Congo river lays on.

President of the United States of America Essay

The year 2008 saw the growth and emergence of various cultures around the world. This progression was however affected and sometimes hampered by the various global economic and political occurrences that defined the year 2008. The beginning of 2008 witnessed elections and consequent political instability in Zimbabwe which defined the global political system tremendously. This elections, which were characterized by allegations of rigging and foul-play caused global cries against the incumbent president in Zimbabwe, sanctions were imposed on the country thereby sending the country deeper into economic turmoil. These actions affected the global interaction of cultures in the sense that many Zimbabweans and Africans felt that the Western world was trying to impose its political culture on Africans who enjoy their culture to a great extent. This feeling of culture imposition from the Western world brought into Africa rejection of the Western culture irrespective of the goodness of the culture(David, K. 72-75) The middle of 2008 witnessed the ‘heating up’ of the most dramatic elections in the United States of America. This American election had an immense effect on culture around the world because the favorite candidate in the election, Senator Barrack Obama, had various ethnic backgrounds. Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Barrack has been viewed as the ideal world representative. His background and connection to the Asian ethnic community, to a great extent, complements his worldly representation. Consequently, this favorite candidate for the United States presidency, who represented various cultures around the world, emerged victorious because in him, Americans and the world felt represented in the affairs of the world politics. This election and the subsequent win of Barrack Obama for the White House cemented the cultural diversity of the American people and brought other foreign cultures to fame and scrutiny. This American election and the subsequent win for Barrack Obama as President of the United States of America, went a long way to encourage and promote inter-cultural integration around the world through marriage and lifestyle(David, K. 80-82) The end of the year 2008 witnessed a most devastating slump in the global economy as the world faced the credit crunch instigated by the mortgage crisis in the United States of America. This global economic melt-down led to a decrease in travel and purchasing power of individuals. Therefore, there was a significant reduction in global interaction thereby causing a reduction in inter-cultural interaction. The reduction in the purchasing power caused a slump in global trade which is a key component of global interaction. This also therefore reduced cultural interaction on the global stage. The closing of 2008 witnessed the biggest political crisis of the year, the Middle East Crisis. This crisis has had a devastating effect on the global cultural integration due to its ever changing form of violence. Many times, the violence is political with the Palestinians and the Israelites being the two aggressors. Sometimes, the crisis takes a religious angle with the Palestinians representing the Muslim faction while the Israelites represent the Jews. This Middle East crisis has therefore slowed down cultural interaction from the political and the religious angles(David, K. 93-96) Analysis of Arts and Culture in 2008 The year 2008 showed the different effects on arts and culture by the political, economic and religious happenings around the world. The year just showed us how vulnerable global arts and culture is to extinction, and at the same time prosperity, thanks to the global economic, political and religious dispensation. Through political, economic and religious development, global arts and culture flourished and sometimes reduced to a very low point. This fact therefore poses a challenge to every human around the world to ensure the flourishing of global arts and culture by allowing and maintaining political, economic and religious stability. The future of global arts and culture as defined by 2008 is uncertain. The future lies in the choices of men. The right choices will lead to the positive development of arts and culture while the wrong choices will lead to negative developments. The future is unpredictable and uncertain†¦it lies in our choices(David, K. 100-103) Arts in Global Interaction Arts can play a huge role in global interaction. Through arts, experiences are shared throughout the world. For instance, tourists travel all over the world and are welcomed by different cultures which they end up assimilating with. They are attracted by the unique nature of the different cultures and styles and some end up purchasing commodities from those cultures which they take back home. This art work gives the tourists a story to tell to their loved ones back in their homes. Therefore, through the making and selling of art work, one individual from one global destination earns a living, while others from various other destinations get entertained and have a story to share(David, K. 109-114). Indigenous Development of Talent In the current global village, local talent has great potential of developing into independent industries. Different culture and art forms are always appealing. If the local talent can be given space to develop and grow, the global market always has room for accommodating new art works thereby creating employment and income for millions of people around the world who represent the various art and cultural backgrounds. This arts and cultural talent can be developed through national arts and cultural exhibitions where the arts and cultures are showcased to the rest of the world. These exhibitions should also develop business systems that can support trade and therefore enable the artistes to earn a decent living. This is the only way to ensure sustenance of the various arts represented by people around the world(David, K. 112-118). Survey into the Main Global Initiatives on Arts, Culture and Society A small survey can be carried out to give a deeper understanding into matters affecting arts and culture with the following specifics: Purpose Statement: – the world at large need to take up the responsibility of promoting arts and culture through ensuring political, economical and religious stability. Hypothesis: – arts and culture thrive in a world of political, economical and religious stability. Objective: – To study the effect of politics, economics and religion on arts and culture. The findings of the survey can then be recorded and analyzed to give a comprehensive conclusion to the survey. Work cited David, Kilcullen. (2007). â€Å"Ethics, Politics, and Non-State Warfare: A Response to Gonzalez. † Anthropology Today vol. 23, no. 3. pg 56-120

Software Testing in Safety Critical Systems

Abstract Today, many safety-critical applications are controlled by computer software. Therefore effective testing tools are required to provide a high degree of safety and to reduce severe failures too minimum. The paper examines existing regulating standards in safety-critical systems. By comparing different software testing methods the requirements and challenges in safety-critical software testing are being evaluated. The QUICKIES standard serves as the mall regulatory framework for all separately systems and provides the basis for the creation of application- and Interdependently tankards.Moreover it defines certain safety integrity levels depending on the field of application and recommends testing methods according to these levels. In model- based safety testing a usage model with restricted space state domain is used to generate representative test cases. Statistical testing is a mathematical approach that uses a high number of test cases to reach a significant result. The ma in challenge of all safety-related testing methods Is to reduce testing time and complexity without distorting the significance of the test.These can for example be transportation systems, power plants, and medical applications. As people's lives depend on the correct function of such control systems and their software, thorough testing is required before they can be admitted to operation. There are many different software testing methods. Most of them only analyze the probability of a failure but do not value its severity. However, in safety-critical systems a failure that has severe consequences, even if it is extremely rare, can not be accepted. Therefore testing in this field has to be adopted accordingly.The purpose of this paper is to find and compare the latest methods for safety-critical footwear testing and to identify the most common industry standard in this field. Moreover the requirements and challenges in safety-critical software testing will be elaborated. At the begi nning the paper will provide definitions that are required for the understanding of the subsequent chapters. After that, an introduction to the JUICE 508 safety standard, which serves as a basis for most industry-specific standards, is given.The chapter â€Å"Testing Methods† will address some of the latest safety-related software testing methods in detail. 5 Definitions 2 Definitions 2. 1 Reliability and Safety In safety critical systems both, reliability and safety are required to achieve the goals of dependability. However, reliability and safety are two different attributes of dependability. The reliability, R(t) , of a system is a function of time. It is defined as the conditional probability that the system will perform its intended function in a defined way over a given time period and under certain specified and assumed conditions.The most used parameter to characterize reliability is the Mean Time To Failure (MATT). The safety, S(t), of a system is defined as the pro bability that a system ill either perform its functions correctly or will discontinue its functions in a way that does not interrupt the operation of other systems or Jeopardize the safety of any people associated with the system [1]. Based on these definitions, in reliability testing all failures are weighted equally, whereas in safety testing the failures are weighted according to their severity.Therefore, a reliable system may be quite unsafe and a safe system may be very unreliable. 2. 2 Safety-critical System States very complex to generate. As many states are unreachable or very difficult to reach hey can be reduced to a relatively small number of representative system states. These states are grouped in three subsets: Normal State Subset (NUNS), Fail-Safe State subset (FPS) and Risky state subset (IRS). Their relationships are: s=Unusualness; 6 Their inter-dependability is described as a Markova chain (see figure 1) [2]. Figure 1 : Three-state Markova Model for Safety-critica l Systems(Source: 2. Markova Chain Usage Model The Markova chain usage model describes the possible usage of a software based on a predicted environment. It can be used to generate statistical test cases and to estimate the software reliability. In an Markova model the transition from operation I to operation J can be denoted by an ordered pair . Let be the transition probability from operation I to operation J, with and EX=I .. N p(is)=1, where n is the number of operations. The transitions and transition probabilities can be represented in the form of a matrix [3].Each specific usage of the program corresponds to a path X=(XI, XX,†¦ Xi) in the Markova chain where Xi corresponds to the I-the operation. P(Xi, X]) determines the next executed operation J after execution of operation I. Since the operations are random rabbles, each path X=(XI, XX,†¦ ) forms a stochastic process. For a particular path x=(ox, XSL ,†¦ ), the corresponding path execution probability is [3]: 7 pox pop , x 3 Standards There exist both national and international standards and guidelines at different depths and classifications which define requirements for safety-related technologies. Yester and provides the basis for the creation of application- and underspecified standards. It includes more than 500 pages of normative and informative specifications and proposals. Nowadays most safety-related standards are based on he JUICE 508 in combination with the previously applicable requirements [4]. The JUICE 508 defines so called Safety Integrity Levels (Sills) which serve as a measure for the safety requirements on a certain system. The following table shows the different SILLS as well as the corresponding probability of failure and application examples.Probability of Failure One Failure in x Years Consequences Application Example The last three parts, are informative and include practical examples which should help to simplify the application of the standard. The ‘CE 61 508 describes the complete life cycle of safety-related systems from planning to decommissioning and refers to all aspects related to the use and requirements for electrical / electronic / programmable electronic systems (E / E / PEE) for separately functions [4]. According to the focus of this paper only the parts relating to software testing are mentioned in the following paragraph. Figure 2 shows the verification and validation process in software development according to the JUICE 508 standard.The E/E/PEE system safety requirements are applied both on the system architecture and the software specifications. Every level in the system architecture verifies if it meets the requirements of the next higher layer (I. E. Coding fulfills module design requirements, module design fulfills software yester design requirements etc. ). Moreover each system architecture layer is tested by a specific test. As soon as the test circuit is closed successfully the software can be validated. The st andard also recommends and rates certain test methods according to the required SILL. In order to meet the requirements of the ‘CE standard a series.Test methods comprised in the ‘CE 61 508 are categorized as follows [6]: Failure analysis (I. E. Cause consequence programs) Dynamic analysis and testing (I. E. Test case execution from model-based test case generation) Functional and black box testing (I. . Equivalence classes and input partition testing, including boundary value analysis) Performance testing (I. E. Response timings and memory constraints) Static analysis (I. E. Static analysis of run time error behavior) 9 Figure 2: ‘CE 61 508-3 Verification and Validation Process(Source: 10 Testing Methods 4 Testing Methods There are many different software testing methods.A detailed introduction to all different methods would be far beyond the scope of this paper. Therefore the author will only mention two methods he deems most relevant in the field of safety-relat ed software testing. Finally both methods are compared and their possible application areas are evaluated. 4. 1 Model-based Safety Testing In model-based testing explicit behavior models that encode the intended behavior of a system and its environment are used. These models generate pairs of inputs and outputs. The output of such a model represents the expected output of the system under test (SOT). Mineral model-based testing method. The system safety-related behavior is defined in the safety requirements specification. Test cases are derived from a safety model that is extracted from the SHUT and from formal safety requirements. This model encodes the intended behavior and maps each possible input to the corresponding output. Safety test selection criteria relate to the functional safety of the safety- critical system, to the structure of the model (state coverage, transition coverage), and also to a well defined set of system faults.Safety test case specifications are used to fo rmalize the safety test selection criteria and render them operational. For the given safety model and the safety test case specification, an automatic safety test case generator and optimizer generates the safety test case suite. Finally, the concreted input part of a test case is submitted to the SHUT and the SOT's output is recorded. The concentration of the input part of a test case is performed by a safety test engine. Besides executing the safety case, it can also compare the output of the SHUT with the expected output as provided by the safety test case [6]. 1 Figure 3: Model-based Safety Testing according Gang You et al. (Source: Test Case Generation One of the most commonly tools for test case generation are model checking techniques. The main purpose of model checking is to verify a formal safety property (given as a logic formula) on a system model. In test case generation, model checking is used in order to find violations of certain formal safety properties. Safety mode ls of safety-critical software systems may have a huge number of states. Therefore the greatest challenge when using a model checker is to cope with the state space explosion.As a countermeasure, Gang You et al. ‘s approach applies the safety model, which is derived from SHUT and certain safety requirements. The model 12 limits the number of states by splitting them into three subsets (NUNS, FPS, IRS) containing only representative states (see 2. X). Moreover the safety model encodes he intended behavior, and from its structure, safety test cases can be derived. It thereby restricts the possible inputs into the SHUT and the set of possible separately behaviors of the SOT.Hence, to reduce the amount of testing and guarantee the quality of testing the model checker will search those most frequently entered states and generate the corresponding safety test cases without searching the whole state spaces. The selection of states is based on the safety requirements (Sills). Generall y speaking, the safety model can be seen as a test selection criterion generate safety-related test cases. Figure 4 shows the corresponding flow chart. 1 . The system safety model in the form of a finite state machine (FSML) is transformed into the input language of the model checker tool (SPIN) 2.Each test requirement of a given safety criterion is formulated as a temporal logic expression (LET). 3. Based on the Markova model of a system, the state space is divided into three subsets. 4. In term of these subsets, the negation of each expression of the formula is verified by the model checker. If there is an execution path in the model that does not satisfy the negated formula then it is presented by the model checker as a counter-example. This path becomes a test sequence that satisfies the original test requirement. 5.The inputs and outputs that form the executable test case are extracted from the counter-example or are derived by a corresponding guided simulation of the model. 13 Figure 4: Test Case Generation Framework according Gang You et al. (Source: 4. 2 Statistical Testing As already mentioned in 2. 1 reliability is defined as the conditional probability that the system will perform its intended function. This chapter will link the reliability of a system with the Markova usage model (see 2. 3). Let f: be a function that shows the failure probability of a software. The argument D represents the possible usage set of the software.Each element AXED is a usage path from quo (initial operation) to send (final operation) The relation between software reliability R and failure probability F is: R=l -F (2). In the assumed model the failure behavior of the software only depends on its usage path X and not on the input. This means that the input domain corresponding to the used X is homogeneous. The simplest way of obtaining unbiased reliability estimation of the software is to select N test paths XSL, XX, †¦ , CNN according to the usage model. The exult of the function f(Xi) is 1 if the path fails and O otherwise.Then the arithmetic 14 mean of f(Xi) is an unbiased estimate PEP(f(X)), which is the mathematical expectation of the software failure probability under transition matrix P. Hence, the software reliability can be expressed as R=l -PEP(f(X)) [3]. Critical operations are infrequently executed in real applications. This generates the problem that development organizations have to spend too much time when performing adequate statistical testing. Although one can overcome these drawbacks by increasing the execution probabilities of critical operations during statistical entire software under test. Yang Going et al. 3] found a possible approach to overcome this problem: Importance Sampling (IS) Based Safety-critical Software Statistical Testing Acceleration. IS Based Safety-critical Software Statistical Testing Acceleration This chapter presents the Is-based software statistical testing acceleration method. It ensures that the cr itical operations tested adequately by adjusting the transition probabilities in the matrix of the usage model, and at the same time, produces the unbiased reliability of the software under test. The IS technique reduces simulation run times hen estimating the probabilities of rare events by Monte Carlo simulations [3].For complex software with a large model matrix, the simulation procedure is often extremely time consuming. To overcome this problem, Yang Going et al. ‘s approach adopts a simulated annealing algorithm to calculate the optimal matrix Q. This widely used optimization method employs stochastic techniques to avoid being trapped in local optimal solution. The 16 exact mathematical explanation of this algorithm is complex and would be out of the scope of this paper. [3] 4. 3 Method Comparison Although model-based and statistical testing follow completely different approaches, the challenges are very similar.Both methods have to limit the extent and complexity of tes ting. Model-based testing reduces the number of test cases by restricting the state space domain of the Markova chain usage model. Whereas statistical testing reduces the number by changing the relation between critical and normal test cases with help off likelihood ratio. 5 Conclusion Today an increasing number of safety-critical applications are controlled by computer software. Therefore effective testing tools are required to provide a high degree of safety and to reduce severe failures to a minimum. The paper focused on

Wpa statement on plagiarism Essays

Wpa statement on plagiarism Essays Wpa statement on plagiarism Essay Wpa statement on plagiarism Essay Plagiarism was never as serious an issue as it today. Teachers used to trust their students to speak their own ideas and take responsibility in everything they do. Today, with the birth of the Internet and the countless ideas a student can amass from it, plagiarism is a serious concern everyone in the academe is watching out for. Because of the growing concern of the students credibility and ability to come up with their own ideas, proposals rose to battle such issue, like that of the WPA Statement on Plagiarism. Plagiarism, then, has to be defined before students are taught about the causes and responsibilities that go with it. According to the WPA Statement on Plagiarism, â€Å"plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source. Once a student claims that another authors idea as his own, he is automatically considered as someone who is gu ilty of academic misconduct (Council of Writing Program Administrators, 2003).† Teachers, then, must understand that not all students are ready to risk their own thoughts and ideas.Students who are most likely to plagiarize are those who are poor at managing their time, do not treat the subject or course a significant one. In some cases, teachers trigger the students to plagiarize because of the very generic subjects or cheating goes unpunished. On the other hand, some students try their best to avoid plagiarism but because of their lack of knowledge on this matter, their works falsely appear as a plagiarized material. Because of all these, responsibilities must then be shared by students, faculty members and administrators alike. Students should see projects and assignments as avenues for knowledge, faculty members should give assignments that help students stay away from plainly recycling texts and administrators should implement programs that encourage honesty in any academ ic work. â€Å"Battling plagiarism can be done through developing policies, improving teaching materials and educating students about the significance of this issue (Council of Writing Program Administrators, 2003).†ReferenceCouncil of Writing Program Administrators. (2003). Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism:The WPA Statement on Best Practices. Retrieved July 8, 2008, fromwpacouncil.org/node/9.

Biography of Josiah Wedgwood

Biography of Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (ca July 12, 1730–January 3, 1795) was Englands foremost pottery manufacturer and a mass producer of quality ceramics exported around the globe. A member of his familys fourth generation of potters, Wedgwood started his own independent firm and became the Royal Potter for Queen Charlotte, the consort of King George III. Wedgwoods mastery of ceramic technology was matched by the marketing savvy and connections of his partner Thomas Bentley; together they ran the most famous pottery works in the world.   Fast Facts: Josiah Wedgwood Known For: Creator of the famous Wedgwood potteryBorn: July 12, 1730 (baptized), Churchyard, StaffordshireDied: January 3, 1795, Etruria Hall, StaffordshireEducation: Day School at Newcastle-under-Lyme, left at 9 years of ageCeramic Works: Jasper ware, Queens Ware, Wedgwood blueParents:  Thomas Wedgwood and Mary StringerSpouse: Sarah Wedgwood (1734–1815)Children: Susannah (1765–1817), John (1766–1844), Richard (1767–1768), Josiah (1769–1843), Thomas (1771–1805), Catherine (1774–1823), Sarah (1776–1856), and Mary Anne (1778–1786).   Early Life Josiah Wedgwood was baptized on July 12, 1730, the youngest of at least eleven children of Mary Stringer (1700–1766) and Thomas Wedgwood (1685–1739). The founding potter in the family was also called Thomas Wedgwood (1617–1679), who established a successful pottery works around 1657 at Churchyard, Staffordshire, where his great-great-grandchild Josiah was born.   Josiah Wedgwood had little formal education. He was nine years old when his father died, and he was taken from school and sent to work in the pottery for his eldest brother, (another) Thomas Wedgwood (1717–1773). At 11, Josiah had smallpox, which confined him to bed for two years and ended with permanent damage to his right knee. At the age of 14, he was formally apprenticed to his brother Thomas, but because he could not physically work the wheel, at 16 he had to quit.   Wedgwood teacup and saucer in the Waterford Wedgwood flagship store in London, England. The teacup features the white and blue jasper ware ceramic which is synonymous with the brand. Oli Scarff / Getty Images News Early Career At the age of 19, Josiah Wedgwood proposed that he be taken into his brothers business as a partner, but he was rejected. After a two-year position with the pottery firm of Harrison and Alders, in 1753, Wedgwood was offered a partnership with the Staffordshire firm of potter Thomas Whieldon; his contract stipulated that he would be able to experiment. Wedgwood stayed at the Whieldon pottery from 1754–1759, and he began experimenting with pastes and glazes. A primary focus was on improving creamware, the first commercial English ceramic invented in 1720 and widely used by the potters of the time.   Creamware was very flexible and could be decorated and over-glazed, but the surface was likely to craze or flake when subjected to temperature changes. It chipped readily, and the lead glazes broke down in combination with food acids, making them a source of food poisoning. Further, the application of the lead glaze was hazardous to the health of the workers in the factory. Wedgwoods version, eventually called queens ware, was slightly yellower, but had a finer texture, greater plasticity, less lead content- and it was lighter and stronger and less prone to break during shipments.   Thomas Bentley Partnership In 1759, Josiah leased Ivy House pottery in Burslem, Staffordshire, from one of his uncles, a factory which he would build and expand several times. In 1762, he built his second works, the Brick-House, alias the Bell Works at Burslem. That same year, he was introduced to Thomas Bentley, which would prove to be a fruitful partnership.   Wedgwood was innovative and had a strong technical understanding of ceramics: but he lacked formal education and social contacts. Bentley had a classical education, and he was socially connected to artists, scientists, merchants, and intellectuals in London and around the world. Best yet, Bentley had been a wholesale merchant in Liverpool for 23 years and had a broad understanding of the current and changing ceramic fashions of the day.  Ã‚   Josiah Wedgwoods Ivy and Etruria works in Staffordshire, England, ca. 1753. Oxford Science Archive / Print Collector / Getty Images Marriage and Family   On January 25, 1764, Wedgwood married his third cousin, Sarah Wedgwood (1734–1815) and they eventually had eight children, six of whom survived to adulthood:  Susannah (1765–1817), John (1766–1844), Richard (1767–1768), Josiah (1769–1843), Thomas (1771–1805), Catherine (1774–1823), Sarah (1776–1856), and Mary Anne (1778–1786).   Two sons, Josiah Jr. and Tom, were sent to school in Edinburgh and then privately tutored, although neither joined the business until Josiah was ready to retire in 1790. Susannah married Robert Darwin, and was the mother of the scientist Charles Darwin; Charles grandfather was scientist Erasmus Darwin, a friend of Josiahs. Ceramic Innovations Together, Wedgwood and Bentley created a huge variety of ceramic objects- Bentley keeping an eye to the demand, and Wedgwood responding with innovation. In addition to hundreds of types of tableware, their Staffordshire Etruria manufacturing facility produced specialty wares for grocers and butchers (weights and measures), dairies (milking pails, strainers, curd pots), sanitary purposes (tiles for indoor bathrooms and sewers all over England), and the home (lamps, baby feeders, food warmers).   Wedgwoods most popular wares were called jasper, an unglazed matte biscuit ware available in solid paste colors: green, lavender, sage, lilac, yellow, black, a pure white, and Wedgwood blue. Bas-relief sculptures were then added to the surface of the solid paste color, creating a cameo-like appearance.  He also developed black basalt, a stoneware in striking deep back colors. The Portland Vase (black and white jasper ware) that Wedgwood considered his finest work inside the Wedgwood Museum, in Stoke-on-Trent. Christopher Furlong / Getty Images The Art Market To answer what Bentley saw as a new demand in London for Etruscan and Greco-Roman art, Wedgwood made cameos, intaglios, plaques, beads, buttons, figurines, candlesticks, ewers, jugs, flower holders, vases, and medallions for furniture all decorated with classic art figures and themes. The canny Bentley recognized that original Greek and Roman nudes were too warm for English and American tastes, and the firm dressed their Greek goddesses in full-length gowns and their heroes in fig leaves.   Penelope and Maidens, Wedgwood plaque, 18th century. Illustration from Story of the British Nation, Volume III, by Walter Hutchinson, (London, c1920s). Hulton Archive / Getty Images The demand for cameo portraits skyrocketed and Wedgwood met it by hiring known artists to make models in wax for use on the production floor. Among them were Italian anatomist Anna Morandi Manzolini, Italian artist Vincenzo Pacetti, Scottish gem engraver James Tassie, British designer Lady Elizabeth Templeton, French sculptor Lewis Francis Roubiliac, and English painter George Stubbs.   Wedgwoods two main modelers were British: John Flaxman and William Hackwood. He sent Flaxman to Italy to set up a wax modeling studio between 1787–1794, and Wedgwood also set up a studio in Chelsea where artists in London could work.   George III and Queen Charlotte, modeled by William Hackwood after waxes by Isaac Gosset, 1776-1780, jasper, ormolu frames by Matthew Boulton. Public Domain (on display at Wedgwood Museum, Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent, England) Queens Ware   Arguably, Wedgwood and Bentleys most successful coup was when they sent a gift set of hundreds of his cream-colored tableware to British King George IIIs consort, Queen Charlotte. She named Wedgwood Potter to Her Majesty in 1765; he renamed his cream-colored ware Queens ware.   Five years later, Wedgwood obtained a commission for a several-hundred piece tableware service from the Russian empress Catherine the Great, called the Husk service. It was followed up by the Frog service, a commission for Catherines  La Grenouilliere (frog marsh, Kekerekeksinsky in Russian) palace consisting of 952 pieces decorated with over 1,000 original paintings of the English countryside.   The Life of a Scientist   Wedgwoods classification as a scientist has been debated over the intervening centuries. Largely through his connection to Bentley, Wedgwood did become a member of the famous Lunar Society of Birmingham, which included James Watt, Joseph Priestly, and Erasmus Darwin, and he was elected into the Royal Society in 1783. He contributed papers to the Royal Societys Philosophical Transactions, three on his invention, the pyrometer, and two on ceramic chemistry.   The pyrometer was a tool made first of brass and then high-fired ceramic that allowed Wedgwood to determine the internal heat of a kiln. Wedgwood recognized that the application of heat shrinks clay, and the pyrometer was his attempt to measure that. Unfortunately, he never was able to calibrate the measurements to any scientific scale available at the time, and the subsequent centuries have found that Wedgwood was somewhat incorrect. It is a combination of heat and the length of kiln time that shrinks pottery in a measurable fashion. The showrooms of Wedgwood Byerley in St Jamess Square, London, 1809. Hulton Archive / Getty Images Retirement and Death   Wedgwood was often ill for much of his life; he had smallpox, his right leg was amputated in 1768, and he had trouble with his sight beginning in 1770. After his partner Thomas Bentley died in 1780, Wedgwood turned the management of the shop in London over to a nephew, Thomas Byerly. Nevertheless, he was a vigorous and active director of the Etruria and other manufactories up until his retirement in 1790. He left his company to his sons and retired to his mansion Etruria Hall. In late 1794, he fell ill- possibly with cancer- and died on January 3, 1795, at the age of 64.   Legacy   When Wedgwood began his work, Staffordshire was the home of several important ceramic manufacturers such as Josiah Spode and Thomas Minton. Wedgwood and Bentley made their company the most important of the Staffordshire potteries and arguably the best-known pottery in the western world. Etruria would run as a facility until the 1930s. Wedgwoods company remained independent until 1987, when it merged with Waterford Crystal, then with Royal Doulton. In July 2015, it was acquired by a Finnish consumer goods company. Selected Sources Born, Byron A. Josiah Wedgwoods Queensware. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 22.9 (1964): 289–99. Print.Burton, William. Josiah Wedgwood and His Pottery. London: Cassell and Company, 1922.McKendrick, Neil. Josiah Wedgwood and Factory Discipline. The Historical Journal 4.1 (1961): 30–55. Print.-. Josiah Wedgwood and Thomas Bentley: An Inventor-Entrepreneur Partnership in the Industrial Revolution. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 14 (1964): 1–33. Print.Meteyard, Eliza. The Life of Josiah Wedgwood: From His Private Correspondence and Family Papers with an Introductory Sketch of the Art of Pottery in England, two volumes. Hurst and Blackett, 1866.Schofield, Robert E. Josiah Wedgwood, Industrial Chemist. Chymia 5 (1959): 180–92. Print.Townsend, Horace. Lady Templetown and Josiah Wedgwood. Art Life 11.4 (1919): 186–92. Print.Wedgwood, Julia. The Personal Life of Josiah Wedgwood, the Potter. London: Macmillan and Company, 1915. Print.