Dr. Faustus as a Tragically Flawed Character Essay

It seems impossible to define Dr. Faustus, from Christopher Marlowe’s play â€Å"Doctor Faustus,† as being anything other than tragically flawed. Faustus is not evil, foolish, or rebellious. Faustus’s flawed nature rests solely on his own prideful, overly-ambitious ways. Even so, the question still remains as to whether or not such an all-encompassing flaw should result in the damnation of one’s soul. Faustus is obviously confused as to the nature of religion, but attempting to justify Faustus’s punishment through any sphere other than religion would be improper considering the implications of the play. While Faustus’s punishment is obviously upheld by the Christian religion, his behavior, in a moralistic fashion, suggests that his soul is not deserving of such damnation. During the initial Prologue, the Chorus, reminiscent of earlier Greek tragedies, prepares the reader for the tragic story of Dr. Faustus, a man whose â€Å"swollen and cunning† ways lead to his inevitable downfall (Prologue. 20) . Faustus, who eventually will â€Å"mount above his reach†, is compare to Icarus from Greek mythology who flies too close to the sun and drowns (Prologue. 21). The Chorus tells us that this is most assuredly not a story about â€Å"pomp of proud audacious deed,† but of a man whose ineptitude leads to his eventual fall from grace (Prologue. 4-5). The Prologue serves to begin the story by focusing on Faustus, comparing him to any other tragic hero of Greek literature, and letting the reader know that even though they may sympathize with Faustus position, he is essentially damn for the beginning of the story. Because of the inclusion of a Chorus it the play, Marlowe is reiterating the fact that Faustus should still be considered a tragic hero. Like Achilles, Faustus has a flaw that will lead to his demise, but the damnation of Faustus would be the equivalent of damning great Greek heroes such as Achilles or Hercules. As Faustus’s character is revealed through his initial speeches in the first chapters, his flaws of pride and ambition become apparent. Faustus begins by contemplating the merits of various forms of science. He deems the study of rhetoric, medicine, and religion to all be unworthy subjects for a variety of selfish reason. Even when he decides to pursue a study of magic, he does so in hopes that magic make him â€Å"a mighty god† (1.62). This initial decision is instrumental in much of Faustus’s character development throughout the play. Faustus considers two important alternatives, the study of medicine to help people or the study of religion to learn of God. Faustus decides that neither of these goals is personally profitable for him at that time. His shortsightedness when deciding which subject to study is in direct correlation with his other various displays of pride and selfishness. Shortly after beginning his studies of dark magic, Faustus summons Mephistopheles, one of the demons at the service of Lucifer. Here and many other times throughout the play, Faustus displays signs of guilt and remorse, and even considers repenting of his misdeeds. Because of these various vacillations on the part of Faustus, many times throughout the play two angels, one good and one evil, appear to present arguments as to why Faustus should or should not repent. Even the early arguments that convince Faustus to enter into his pact with the devil are aimed at his ambitious pride, telling him he may one day be king of all Germany. Later in the play, he is convinced to remain in league with the devil because of all the money and riches he could make through his powers. Faustus proves that he is unable to consider the long term ramifications to his decision. Even when his own body revolts against the pact, congealing his blood to prevent his signature, Faustus seems unaware of the negative consequences of his actions. His lack of foresight has confined his logic to considering only the short term gains associated with this pact. In another particular instance, Faustus again shows uncertainty in his convictions toward the devil. This time, the simple arguments presented by his angelic representations are not sufficient to easy Faustus’s mind. In order to relieve his misgivings, the devil and his demons parade images of the Seven Deadly Sins before him. These sins, all representatives of tragic flaws themselves, encourage Faustus, and he delights in this parade. His enjoyment of the sinful display points to a need within Faustus to recognize tragic flaws or sin within others. He is reassured by this display because he sees a common connection with these other various sins, and is able to relate to them. Throughout the play, he continues to build himself up by seeking dramatic flaws in other characters. During a previous discourse with Mephistopheles, Mephistopheles tells Faustus that he is constantly â€Å"tormented with ten thousand hells in being deprived of everlasting bliss,† but Faustus only seems to delight in Mephistopheles admission of weakness (3. 77-80). Instead of recognizing Mephistopheles statement as a warning toward the horrors of Hell, Faustus chastises Mephistopheles for his lack of â€Å"manly fortitude† (3. 85). Faustus’s conversation with Mephistopheles reveals his own blinded nature. Even when presented with the raw, uncensored truth of Hell, Faustus is unable to comprehend the vital information that is being given to him. Faustus is too prideful, and here, as in the parade of sins, he reaffirms his own position by delighting in the infirmities of others. As Faustus wanders, displaying the powers that he has obtained from the devil, his inevitable demise becomes apparent. Initially, Faustus has high hopes of obtaining his lofty goals. He rides through the heavens in chariots drawn by dragons and is even able to confront the pope, but, as his time on earth begins to wane, his performances become less impressive. He has transformed from a hero with a tragic flaw into a comic display of simplicity and waste. Everything about him is rather unimpressive. He is reduced to playing pranks on horse-coursers and performing tricks for royalty. In Vanholt, he appears to be just another rouge or clown. As a response to his own demise, Faustus comments to himself, â€Å"What are thou, Faustus, but a man condemned to die? † (10. 24). While his flaws become more and more apparent throughout the play, the idea that Faustus deserves harsh punishment becomes more ambiguous as the play continues. Many of his tragic qualities seem to be the direct result of his inability to comprehend the true nature of God, as presented through the Christian faith. In his initial consideration of religion, Faustus is unable to focus on forgiveness or salvation, but only sees that all men are condemned to death for their sins. He is constantly reminded by his angel companions that God’s forgiveness is available to him if he only repents, but Faustus finds himself unable to do so. He confuses Mephistopheles statement that Hell is everywhere to mean that â€Å"hell is a fable† and simple a continuation of an earthly existence. Because of his apparent naivety toward religion, Faustus character is able to effectively question the legitimacy of his punishment, even though he has been warned of it consistently throughout the play. It is because of this ambiguity that Faustus is able to remain a sympathetic character. It is apparent from the beginning of the play that Faustus is a tragically flawed character, but, by its end, the reader must decide what becomes of a tragic character whose flaw prevents him from overcoming the need for grace and repentance in his life. Faustus is a character overcome by the expectations of grandness in his life and a pride that he will someday meet these expectations. Because Marlowe places Faustus within the context of a struggle between the acceptance and denial of traditional Christian values, the reader is forced to judge Faustus within the circle of Christian ideology. Faustus denies grace and, through this particular ideology, deserves the punishment of being condemned to Hell, but, in a strictly moralistic fashion, in may seem to many that Faustus has previously found his Hell on earth and is undeserving of an eternal damnation.

Marketing Mix Essay

Broadly speaking, in order to maximise profits, different firms use distinct tools to perform strategy and decisions, such as SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis and marketing mix analysis. In terms of the marketing mix, as an important concept in the subject of business studies, it refers to â€Å"a balance between the four main elements of marketing [is] needed to carry out the marketing strategy. It consists of the ‘4ps’: product, price, promotion and place† (MarcouseÃŒ  and Surridge et al., 2011:141). Firms can build an effective marketing strategy by using the marketing mix as a tool, and it is possible that business will fail if the marketing mix is not correct. The aim of the essay is to analyse elements of the marketing mix. Initially, it will discuss four elements, which are the product, price, place and promotion respectively. Then, it will evaluate the most vital component in the marketing mix, which is the product. The first component of the marketing mix is the product. â€Å"A product is a good or service produced by a business or organization, and made available to the public for consumption† (Ashwin and Merrills et al., 2008). Each product has a different feature, which could be the unique selling points of them. Roams and Cota (2008:152) attempt to define this term is, â€Å"A unique selling point (USP) is a short statement that explains why a customer should buy from you instead of your competitorsin†. For example, Apple Corporation has a unique and independent operation system for their iPhone. It has been argued that there are three levels of product, first of which is core or generic product (Levitt, 1986:361). This is the basic and general physical product, in other words, it is the product that has minimum features and the consumer would expect it to have. In a microwave oven example, it should have enough space inside to put food and it would be expected to work effectively. The second level of the product is known as actual or tangible product. This is, touchable and physical property of the product. Young (2008:130) suggests this level of product will contain the product’s name, style, brand name, label, packaging and quality level. This level of product provides a material and a clearer image of the product to customers. The next and last level is called augmented product. Leader and Kyritsis (1990:12) explain this product provides privileges and additional services to the consumer; it also can reflect the differentiation of the product. For instance, services such as free delivery, discounts and additional purchases. The second element of the marketing mix is price. There are two main factors can determine the price of product, which is price elasticity and pricing strategy respectively. Blythe (2012:154) examines the elasticity of demand will illustrate that different categories have different extent of sensitivity when the price changes. Consequently, it could help firms make a better decision when they set the price. Thompson and Machin (2003:65) support that, â€Å"a business must know how responsive their products are to price changes so that they can assess the potential impact of, say, special offers or a price increase†. The next factor is the pricing strategy. Also, it is more imperative than price elasticity when firms make their price decisions. Firms use a serious of pricing strategies, however, the pricing method of cost plus is used most commonly, which is the basic form of all pricing decisions. It refers to a business calculates the average cost and then add a mark-up to the final selling price. Ashwin and Merrills (2008:347) point out another price strategy is called discriminatory pricing; this means a firm set different price for different target groups. As the description from Thompson and Machin (2003:65), discriminatory price refers to â€Å"different price is charged to different group people at different times†. For instance, a cinema charges a different price for students and adults. Besides, it charges different for daytime and evening showings as well. In addition, psychology-pricing strategy is also used quite frequently in supermarkets. For example, Morrison’s sell a bottle of milk  £1.99 rather than  £2, hence customers will perceive the price as being lower. Levitt (1986) argues discriminatory pricing mainly relies on emotional responses from the consumer. The third component in the marketing mix is the place. It concerns the way in which a product is distributed. Stimpson (2005:16) points out â€Å"the ‘place’ decision involves making the product or service available to  consumers in the most appropriate way†. Distribution channel as the most important factor could affect the decision of the place. There are numbers of factors can determine how the product is distributed. Blythe (2012:173) suggests one of them is the marketing aim. The increasing scale raised enterprise intends to expand as wide a distribution as possible. Furthermore, legal restrictions should be regarded as well. Stone (2001) states there are numerous products are not permitted to sell in some places. For instance, it is forbidden to sell the alcohol at the petrol station. In general, direct distribution, retailers, wholesalers and agent are four core channels of distribution. Direct distribution is the producers sell products to customers directly without intermediaries. Blythe (2012:175) explains this, â€Å"direct distribution channels are typical of personal services such as hairdressing†. For retailers, it is an organization that offers goods to customers. Tesco and Wal-Mart, for example. In addition, Koter (2005) describes that, in many market, wholesalers act as a link between producers and consumers. Wholesalers usually buy goods from manufacturers then sell goods to the final consumers or retailers. In contrast, agents do not actually purchase goods; they only help manufacturers to sell. Thompson and Machin (2003:80) claim that, â€Å" agent never actually owns a product, they usually connect buyers and sellers and manage the transfer of the good†. The final element in the marketing mix is promotion. Promotion is not only advertising but also a communication tool between producers and consumers. â€Å"promotion is about communicating with customers and potential customers† (Ashwin and Merrills et al., 2008:331). Promotion is essential for a product because it is able to increase the demand for products. Young (2008) suggests promotion can raise emotion, concern or awareness for products or issues. In addition, promotion can protect and preserve the market share as well. The methods of above the line and below the line are two main types methods of promotion. As for above the line promotion, it refers to a firm uses the advertising media but does not has direct control. The most recognizable  face of advertising is television. Because of it can provide the introduction of product with colorful images. Wolinski and Coates (2008:373) state that, â€Å"television has the advantage of being memorable, as it can present both moving images and sound†. Thompson and Machin (2003:74) examines the below the line promotion includes promotional media over which the firm has control. For example, personal selling, it means a salesman or a sales team who regularly visits consumers in person. Having introduced each element of the marketing mix, the essay will now evaluate the most crucial element in the marketing mix – product. There are two principal reasons for product as the most important element in the marketing mix. First of all, product as the key component makes the entirely process of the link between customers and producers possible. Amount of sales promotion and price reduction will not help an enterprise to achieve their market target if the product is not appropriate and attractable. Stimpson (2005:24) agrees with this view that, â€Å" a balance and integrated mix is essential, but without a product that offers customers real and distinctive benefits, even the best-laid marketing plans can be wasted†. In the mean time, Kazmi (2007), in her work, Marketing Management, suggests that the product or service is the most vital element, without a good product, you have nothing. Furthermore, Adcock and Halborg (2001) sustains that the attention of customers will be attracted if a firm can develop a high quality product, hence, the profits that the firm makes will increase. As a result, the pote ntial for business success is significantly enhanced. The second reason is that products enable to decide a firm’s profits, sales, market share, image, reputation and stature. Additionally, product can also determine the scope and direction of a company’s activity. Product acts a heart in the whole marketing mix. Most of the scholars support that view. Stimpson (2005:24) points out that, â€Å"the product is usually considered to be the most important component of the marketing mix†. Stone (2001) believed that in most case the product itself is the key to a successful marketing mix. However, there will be instances that when other components dominate  the marketing mix. Wolinski and Coates (2008:346) argues that, â€Å" At a festival, only one type of bottled water might be available, so the place is the most important factor†. In contrast, Baker (1991) claims when consumer with limited money might choose the product with the lower price, this is due to consumer has insufficient resources to purchase additi onal products. In this case, price is the most significant component. To recapitulate, the essay has introduced and analysed four elements – product, price, place and promotion in the marketing mix. Marketing mix as a tool is able to help firms make efficient business plan and strategy. Each element is playing a very vital role in the marketing mix. Furthermore, the essay has identified the product is the most crucial part since the product is the key component linking between the producers and consumers. It can be concluded that all the elements in the marketing are essential and necessary, while in the most case, product is the most essential component in the marketing mix. An enterprise should coordinate and integrate the four elements so that the firm can build an efficient marketing strategy and achieves more profits as possible. Reference list: Ashwin, A., Merrills, S. and Thompson, R. 2008. Collins biz/ed AS business studies. London: Collins Educational. Baker, M.(1991) Marketing, An Introductory Text, 5th edn. London: Macmillan Education Ltd. Blythe, J. 2012. Essentials of marketing. 5th edn. Harlow: Pearson. Felina C. Young and Cristobal M. Pagoso. 2008. Principles of Marketing 1st edn. Manila: Red Book Store. Kotler, P. 2005. Principles of marketing. 4th edn. Harlow, England: Prentice Hall/FinancialTimes. Leader, W. G. and Kyritsis, N. 1990. Fundamentals of marketing. New edn. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes. Levitt,T.: 1986. The Marketing Imagination. New York: Free express. MarcouseÃŒ , I., Surridge, M. and Gillespie, A. 2011. Business studies for A level. Abingdon, Oxon [UK]: Hodder Education. Ramos, A. and Cota, S. 2008. Search Engine Marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill. Stimpson, P. 2005. Place. Business Review, 11:4-16 Stimpson, P. 2004. The Product Decision. Business Review, 11:1-24 Stone, P. 2001. Make Marketing Work for you. Oxford: How To Books. Thompson, R. and Machin, D. 2003. AS Business Studies.1st edn. London: Collins Educational Wolinski, J. and Coates, G. 2008. AQA AS business studies. 2nd edn. Deddington, Oxfordshire: Philip Allan Updates. a

My Favorite Movie The Million Pound Note Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My Favorite The Million Pound Note - Movie Review Example After some time, he comes across Oliver and Roderick wealthy British brothers. The two brothers take advantage of Adams situation and try to experiment out their theories on Adam. The brothers take advantage of their status to acquire a note printed one million pounds from the bank. The first brother Oliver purports that the idea of owning a note of such a value is a key to the owner receiving whatever he requires, however, the second brother Roderick, expresses that the owner of the million pound note is bound to spend the money in order to attain whatever he needs. Adams gets the note, but under one condition from the brothers, he must keep it for a period of one month without using it till the brothers’ return. Everything changes from that point on, people coming in contact with Adam; treat him with a lot of respect since he is now a millionaire. Whenever he needs a good or a service it is efficient for him since he only needs to show out the million pound note. This trend goes on and in the process his popularity grows all over Britain to the extent of being invited to socialize with the nobility. In particular, he meets up with the English nobility and the American Ambassador. The intriguing life of Henry Adams is disrupted one time when he is unable to produce his note at a critical moment when it is needed at the stock market (Molyneaux 125). One of the main reasons I like this movie is its classical nature, all the characteristics and issues, which are expected to be in a classical film are embedded in this one. Gregory Peck is one of my best classical actors. Since I am a fan of classical music, the movie is more appealing with the use of classical music as the soundtrack. I also like the idea of old eliminated denominations used in the movie, the comparison of the value of money at that time and today is funny and absurd. The movie’s running time of one hour thirty minutes is convenient for me; the time is enough for me to watch without getting bored or restless. This movie inspires me when I think of the downfalls and unfortunate situations, which Adam had gone through before he met up with the eccentric brothers and his life changed for the better (Molyneaux 122). I am a lover of comedy movies such as The Million Pound Note, and the central actor who gives me laughter in the whole movie is Henry Adams. An interesting part in that movie is the scene in which Adam takes a meal in a restaurant after which he is asked to pay for it. An irony that brings out laughter is when Adam has to pay some small amount for the food he has eaten, but he only has the million pound note. He apologizes to the waiter that he does not have any small denomination to pay for the bill. It is a fun moment in that the person saying that he only has a million pound note, some days back could not claim anything as his own. Another interesting episode in this movie is the scene in which Adam is not recognized or welcomed when he enters a suit store. The situation changes when he shows out his million pound note. I like the fact that Adams is later treated like a king in the suit store when the attendants notice his million pound note, they bring out the best suits in the store to Adam. The climax of fun moments in the movie, which I like is when Adam is at the stock mark

MGT506 - Strategic Leadership, Mod 2 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MGT506 - Strategic Leadership, Mod 2 SLP - Essay Example According to the definition, open systems elaborate an organizational model that allows the organization to interact with the society i.e. take necessary input and deliver outputs. Considering that factor, open social systems and organizations have a tendency to adapt to social changes according to feedback provided and makes required changes internally. Hence, open system of an organization is a live mechanism that is continuously evolving and showing changes in its structure and behavior. In contrast with an open system, closed system shows a deterministic approach. This system operates in the absence of feedback loop that is detached from external factor. It can be said that closed systems allow its components to remain within the sphere of their identity that shows a constant character. In the light of these doctrines, it can be established that language and society are closed mechanisms that only shows slow alterations only when the system needs external information and shows gr adual changes over decades and sometimes centuries. Similarly, external discharge of information is also selected and limited (Katz & Kahn, 1966). It has been observed that Martin Luther King was a transformational leader who used pathos, ethos and symbols for influencing his followers. It can be observed that MLK has emerged as the leader of African Americans due to consistency in his behavior and lack of adherence to requirements of other social forces. This astute and consistent behavior makes him a follower of closed system regime. These demands had a concrete background based on bias shown towards Blacks by American society that spreads on the span of centuries. Basing his requirements on the discriminated behavior, he demanded equal rights for African Americans from the beginning and did not alter his requirements in response to other social factors. Requirement was only one which entails that African Americans citizens must have equal legal and ethical status as the white one s (Luther, 1963). On the basis of this stature, he managed to illustrate a behavior of constant struggle and fundamentality in his principles. With the help of this consistency in overall behavior, he managed to attract and retain millions of Blacks as his followers which ended up brining revolution in American society and legislation. In comparison with MLK, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a follower of open-system ideology. Jinnah himself was a learned barrister who had spent most of his life in England. He was a follower of a belief that Muslims and Hindus in subcontinent should live together. However, after spending considerable time in All India Congress, he observed the bias against Muslims that made him lay down the foundation of Muslim League in Subcontinent, the only Muslim party that legalized the initiatives for separate country for Muslims (Wolpert, 2005). Where Jinnah initially worked on transforming the legal and ethical status of Muslims in subcontinent like MLK, his percepti on changed over time on the basis of events that lead him to believe that Muslims need to have a separate homeland for earning a right of respectful living. Therefore, after late 1920s, the direction of

Critical Appraisal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critical Appraisal - Essay Example This is attributed to how knowledge and attitude of oncologists had an effect on fertility preservation in cancer treatment. This forms a foundation of the research question used in the study. In addition, the age and sex of the physicians were incorporated as independent variables to evaluate if they affected the oncologists’ knowledge and attitude towards fertility preservation. This would identify the need for further education among oncologists about fertility preservation. The analysis of this study and reveals that it tests a prior hypothesis made before the commencement of measurement phase. That is, there is a general conclusion and predictions about cancer and the oncologists current know how, attitude, perception, practices and barriers in relation to the preservation of fertility among the child bearing age populace in the UK. This course satisfies its design as confirmatory with oncologists perception of fertility as a women issue as another extraneous variable. This was however well controlled by re-accounting the study thesis. The study’s design was influenced by the pilot findings (Adams, et al., 2013). The pilot entailed an online survey of a few doctors via MedeConnect Company. The main adjustment done in the final study is increment of the allocated finance due to the pilots’ insight that the prior allocated one would not last the project to completion. The inclusion/exclusion or eligibility criterion for the study was that the oncologist doctors had to be registered members of the GMC doctor’s corporation and had the link of MedeConnect Company. The method used is probability sampling and mainly cluster sampling. The survey had to be carried out through UK in eternity that was the study’s sampling frame. Due to insufficient resources, only a few online oncologists had been chosen (Adams, et al., 2013). The sample size was 100 online oncologists. The

Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Marketing - Assignment Example To achieve the consistent theme the magazine uses pictures and names of different products that are on offer. In addition, the magazine highlights the location of different properties, customer service that are offered and the working hours of the company. The consistent features of the magazine are elements that are intended to give more information to the customers about the quality of the products and their benefits to the customers. This includes pictures of the actual item, fine details about the products such as type, model, and performance. Other consistent features of the magazine include terms of sale such as prices of different products, buying procedures and after sales service. The leading title of the article has a direct relationship with the ad. â€Å"Automobile Magazine launches new Ipad application† (Diehlman web). This title is directly related to the advertisements of the magazine. The magazine displays a wide range of exclusive products for its customers to choose. The title of the article is intended at capturing the interest of customers who are willing to either own motor vehicles or upgrade their current cars with the classy products offered by Suzuki. The competitive environment of the magazine is its unique display of different classy motor vehicles. In collaboration with the Apple Company, the magazine has launched an Ipad application for its customers. The ad is intended for first time car owners particularly those who are looking for classy and sophisticated models of automobiles. The ad also targets people who are conscious of technology. With the abilities of modern devices such as Ipads and Ipad, car owners can have different abi lities on their cars. The ad is also targeting those who are willing to upgrade their current automobiles for the available classy cars that are on display. Finally, the ad is targeting people who like been

CRITICAL REVIEW OF TOURISM STUDIES ARTICLE Essay

CRITICAL REVIEW OF TOURISM STUDIES ARTICLE - Essay Example Utilising man's instinct to travel to make commercial sense has resulted in various governmental and tourism related entities vying for a share of the wallet. Since the penchant for real, genuine, authentic destinations are on the rise, many are being touted as such and aptly exhibited to trigger interests in the tourist. This is called "staging" and this has led to the loss of authenticity. This article deals with how there is a loss of authenticity of the destinations due to the necessity to conform to expectations as perceived by the tourists. "Staged authenticity" involves manipulation of local cultural phenomenon to cater to the expectations of tourists arriving there. This may be in the form of hosting shows to adding cultural expressions and cultural aspects of the local culture that closely align to creating an experience for the tourists. These shows may not necessarily be replicas of the original culture. Tourism can turn local cultures into commodities when religious rituals, traditional ethnic rites and festivals are reduced and sanitized to conform to tourist expectations, resulting in what has been called "reconstructed ethnicity." As long as tourists just want a glimpse of the local atmosphere, a quick glance at local life, without any knowledge or even interest, staging will be inevitable. It leans more towards creating that unique experience than preser ving local culture or involving the locals as a part of that culture and bringing the tourist into the unique world for a glimpse. However, this article also says that while these hyperactive contrived experiences may satisfy a postmodernism oriented tourist, it may fall short when a genuine authentic experience-seeking tourist is in contact with it. The article also argues that though it is important for the experience to be real, often even in the genuine historic sites, it is not possible to recreate accurately every aspect of the past. This is because the past is an immense entity of which we are fortunate to have a glimpse of certain pieces of the puzzle. We will never be able to comprehend in totality of what life was at that point in time. In addition, to make it more viewable to the public, it is often necessary to sanitize the site and provide basic amenities and odour removal so that the tourist is not turned off exploring it. Therefore a minimal amount of doctoring when the lines between the real and the "doctored" are almost invisible, the experience for the tourists is more authentic and satisfying. Once a destination is sold as a tourism product, and the branding of the destination starts duplicating an experience to the tourists that may or may not be exactly what the tourists want. Perception of an experience by the tourists is very individualistic and subjective. This is because each individual perceives an experience differently. While a few staged local shows and a photograph moment with the locals may be sufficient for a certain group of individuals as a long-term memory there are another set of tourists who are disappointed by the lack of true cultural aspects. In conclusion, the article stresses the following points. The definition of "authenticity" is by itself very subjective because how the scholar, researcher and the heritage manager visualize it may be different from how the tourist perceives it. While there are some of

Arguments about God's existence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Arguments about God's existence - Essay Example Arguments about God's existence However, belief is controlled by several factors such as evidence. The existence of evidence in experimentation points out to the fact that a hypothesis can hold a truth value. Therefore, the hypothesis can be a fact or a general truth as depicted by the evidence. The explanation about the existence of God is a subject that has been posited by several theoretical explanations. Some of the arguments and explanations that have been used by scholars to describe the existence of God include the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, and the ontological explanations. This paper discuses the teleological perspective that tries to explain the existence of God. it focuses on the arguments explanations and also reviews the criticisms that have been used as a basis of discrediting the argument. In the end, it defends the position taken by this explanation as a valid argument for the existence of God. The most prominent of facts that sum up the teleological argument about Gods existence is based on intelligent design. According to this school of thought, the existence of human-like intelligence in nature can be a possible explanation of the existence of God. The argument describes a scenario in which human intelligence drives the reasoning and direction of activities that result in meaningful action. The basic question in these happenings, therefore, is that while humans are guided by the free will to reason from their intelligence, what force pushes these phenomena to act in the same design and precision in nature.

Ronald Reagans Policy Towards The Soviet Union Research Paper

Ronald Reagans Policy Towards The Soviet Union - Research Paper Example Regarding the United States’ confrontation against the communist expansion, the Reagan Government’s role was of more of strategic than of ‘muscular’, an adjective that easily could characterize a major part of the US policy towards the USSR during the earlier US presidencies. Indeed military enforcement served as a part of Reagan’s Doctrine, but not the whole of it. Either being compelled by the contemporary socio-economic condition of the country or learning the best part of the lesson from the history of the United States’ military involvement in the Vietnam War and Korean War Reagan chose an effective strategic course of being diplomatic and tactical, meanwhile keeping the United States’ superior military image intact. Controversy about Reagan’s Leftist Trend Indeed the ‘simplistic’, ‘sectarian’, ‘dangerous’, and even ‘primitive’, as Anthony Lewis a columnist of The New York Times once called, Reagan also earned the title â€Å"the communist in disguise† because of his strategic approach to Communism (Schweizer, 1994, p. 47). D’Souza (2003) notes, â€Å"Reagan had a much more sophisticated understanding of communism than either the hawks or the doves†. ... Reagan was the President of the Screen Actors’ Guild and was commonly known as â€Å"Red Ronnie.† (p. 3). Necessarily his comprehensible knowledge of the nature of communism and the lessons learned from the United States’ involvement in the Cold War during his predecessors shaped the main line of policy towards the communist Soviet Union. That is, the main line of his policy towards the USSR was to confront, to contain, to roll back Soviet blocks and finally to let the â€Å"evil empire† under its own weight while saving and restoring the country’s military superiority intact. Necessarily such stance was reflected in Reagan’s policy towards the Soviet Union. Being resolute to reinstate the United States’ pride and superiority in the world, he decided that America should be more active and assertive in confronting Communism and in providing active support to the friendly governments. Reagan’s rhetoric and his government’s military expenditure policies were directed to support this goal. Yet ultimately his foreign policy towards the USSR –though seemed to be more belligerent than that of the two earlier presidents- was â€Å"considerably more cautious than his sometimes bellicose statements suggested† (Profiles of US Presidents, n.d.). Reagan’s Dual Approaches to Communism and Reagan Doctrine Reagan’s policy towards the Soviet Union can significantly be marked as a dual approach in the sense that on one hand Reagan’s administration chose to provide both overt and covert support to anti-communist communities and guerrilla movements in order to â€Å"roll back† â€Å"Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America†.

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 9

Strategic Management - Essay Example stores is able to pass on the benefits of low costs in terms of onto the customer, and this policy has earned them rich benefits, especially during post war periods and recessionary times. Fundamentally this is a food and grocery store, having its own branded goods. Most of their products are their own labeled brands, and perhaps, there would only be one or two other kinds of competing brands for each kind of product. While this restricts the choice of customers regarding variety, it induces greater sale and movement of goods. Thus, the need for having a large number of tagged brands (which may not even be moving products) is obviated, and only products that sell fast are kept on pallets. Perhaps one of the distinguishing aspects regarding Aldi’s type of business is that goods are stocked in pallets, customers pick up their required items from these pallets, and load into their trolleys, which are to be compulsorily used after paying a refundable token towards use of trolley. After the pallet is empty, these are again refurbished, and the process goes on. Most of the products found are Aldi’s own labeled and branded products, and not much of other competing products or brands are found in Aldi stores. This reduces inventory carrying costs and the economic risks of having to stock a large number of brands, which may or may not sell. â€Å"The impact of using Value Chain Analysis by  is that it provides cheaper products to the consumers. In the past months, according to the Centre for Retail Studies, (2006) the cheaper products that Aldi gave the consumers impacted both the two biggest supermarkets in Australia, the Coles Myer and Woolworths. The compa nies came up with different strategies like Everyday low pricing (EDLP) and Save Everyday strategies.† (Undertake a full value chain (complementors) analysis of the Australian supermarket industry and its implications on the each of the three super market chains (Woolwoths, Coles and Aldi) 2009, para.19). The

Prescription Addiction Essay Example for Free

Prescription Addiction Essay Addiction by Prescription In this essay, I’m going to explore the abuse of prescription drugs, provide information on the most commonly abused substances, and on the current treatment options available for users. Because of the rise of prescription pill addiction, it is important that people are made aware of the very dangerous effects that these drugs can have on them. The negative effects can result in jail time, illness, and even death. Painkillers, Depressants and Stimulants, are currently the most commonly abused prescription drugs. Years of research has shown that addiction to any drug (illicit or prescribed) causes a brain disease that can be treated effectively. Successful treatment may need to incorporate several components, including detoxification, counseling, and sometimes the use of addiction medications. Behavioral and pharmacological treatments are both necessary for the recovery of individuals with addictions. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, it is estimated that 48 million people (aged 12 and older) have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons in their lifetime. That’s approximately 20% of the U.S. population. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in prescription drug misuse or abuse. This increase has led to a corresponding increase in ER visits because of accidental overdoses as well as admissions to drug treatment programs for drug addictions. Its thought that prescription drug addiction is on the rise because there are more drugs available to more people and the opportunity for abuse is greatly increased. Doctor’s are reporting writing more prescriptions for patients than ever before. In addition, you only have to go on the Internet to find high numbers of online pharmacies selling these addictive drugs. People become addicted to prescription drugs for various reasons. One may have an injury or any type of pain and begin to take the drug, and soon become dependent. Some take the drug longer than necessary and take more than the prescribed dosage. Other people have genetically addictive personalities. It just takes one prescription and the drug can quickly become ad dicting. Prescription drugs can still get you high, just like street drugs. People often don’t realize the impact these medications can have on them because they were prescribed by a doctor so they tend to think they are safe. Some people might abuse prescription drugs because they  are more readily accessible than street drugs. It is, unfortunately, very easy to doctor shop and get all of the pills that you want. Doctor shopping† is moving from provider to provider in an effort to obtain multiple prescriptions for the drugs an abuser is using.†¨ Vicodin, Oxycodone, OxyContin and Percocet are common painkillers that are abused. Painkillers often contain opioids which are highly addictive and can have a serious effect on the brain. They can cause a physical dependence, meaning the body becomes accustomed. There are also very severe withdrawal symptoms. Depressants, such as Valium and Xanax are drugs that slow brain function. They include sedatives (used to make a person calm and drowsy) and tranquilizers (intended to reduce tension or anxiety). These can cause depression, confusion, exhaustion and irritability and can dangerously diminish heartbeat and respiration. This is especially true when depressants are combined with alcohol and over the counter (OTC) medications. Its a combination that can even lead to death. Stimulants are a class of drugs intended to increase energy and aler tness. These drugs can increase blood pressure, heart rate and breathing. Stimulants affect the brain through a slow and steady release of two neurotransmitters; dopamine and norepinephrine. They are used for treating conditions including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy and, occasionally, depression. Excessive vomiting, tremors, sweating and anxiety are just some of the risks of abusing stimulants. †¨ Breaking free from prescription drug abuse takes much more than willpower. Fortunately, medications and counseling can improve the chances of success. New treatments like Suboxone, and traditional therapies like methadone and 12-step programs, are helping thousands of people stay on the road to recovery. There are various options such as; Drug Rehab Programs Available from Support Systems Homes, Detoxification, Residential Treatment (Residential Drug Rehab), Outpatient Treatment, and Community-Based Self-Help Groups. Now we have explored the depths and effects of addiction and dependency on prescription drugs. There are many causes for addiction and almost any substance can be dangerous if used improperly. As long as there are new drugs there will always be new developments in the way to treat them. In summation, there are many ways and substances to become addicted too and anyone can be at risk. If the dangers are known it is much easier to combat the problem of substance abuse. Work Cited  ·DRUG FACTS. Drug Facts. National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, 1 June 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. .  ·The Truth About Prescription Drugs. Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. .  ·Prescription Drug Abuse Rates Increase in the Western United States, Northwest Now Leading Area of Epidemic. Yahoo News. Passages Malibu, 3 Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. .  ·Prescription Drugs: Abuse and Addiction. Drug Abuse. National Institue On Drug Abuse, Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. .  ·Prescription Drug Abuse: Addiction, Types, and Treatment. WebMD. WebMD, 18 Dec. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. .  ·Prescription Drug Addiction: Information and Treatment. Treatment for Prescription Drug Addiction. Support Systems Homes Inc, Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2013. .

Cartesian Diver Essay Example for Free

Cartesian Diver Essay Cartesian is named after the French mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes, who lived from 1596 until 1650. Cartesian diver lab is used commonly in scientific experiments to illustrate principle of buoyancy. The objective of this Cartesian diver lab is to demonstrate Pascals law and Archimedes principles. Observation is the key to conduct this experimental study of the Cartesian diver. First a 2-liter bottle is filled with water to almost all the way to the top, then prepare the diver which is a test tube, fill the test tube about 50-60% with water, place the diver inside the bottle the diver should float near the water surface then secure the cap on the bottle. When the container is squeezed, the diver should sink to the bottom of the container. Release the bottle slowly, the diver should come up in reverse order. The Cartesian diver shows that air is compressible and water is incompressible. When the container is squeeze, the pressure from squeeze is distributed equal throughout the container and the volume of air in the diver decreases because of the increased pressure of the water surrounding the diver. Since the volume of air inside the diver decreased, and water filled up where the air use to be, the diver becomes denser and will begin to sink if enough pressure is applied. It begins to sink because it becomes denser so the upward force of the water is not great enough to keep the diver floating. When the container is not squeezed, the diver will float back to the top because the pressure that was compressing the air in the diver was relived so the air could take is normal volume again which make it least dense. Therefore the Cartesian diver does demonstrate the compressibility of a gas, the incompressibility of water. The Cartesian diver experiment also demonstrates the Pascals law. According to Pascals law, when the bottle is squeezed, the applied pressure increase throughout the bottle by the same amount include inside of the diver. The control volume for this lab experiment is the entire water bottle including the diver inside. Objects float or sink as a result of their density. Density can be described as the amount of weight in a specific volume. An object is buoyant if its relative density is less than the density of the fluid that is surrounding it. According to Archimedes principle, an object will be buoyed up by a force that is equal to the weight of water that it displaces. The air inside the diver can be compressed much more easily than water, therefore the water level inside the diver increase as the bottle is queezed due to the pressure increase. The applied pressure by squeezed the bottle can be determine by using this equation: P =F/A(1) Where P is the applied pressure, F is the force by the fingers and A is the area of the fingers touch the bottle 14. 14? cm? ^2. With the applied pressure, the pressure rise in the bottle based on water level change inside the diver can be estimate by using this equation: P =? gh (2) Where P is the applied pressure, ? is the water density, g is gravity and h is the height of the water rise, 0. 3cm. Combine equation (1) and (2) the force by the figure equals 0. 416N and applied pressure equals 29. 43pa The Cartesian diver experiment demonstrates Archimedes principles. Objects either float or sink because of buoyancy, buoyancy is the upward force that keeps objects floating. If the buoyancy exceeds the weight then the object floats and if the weight exceeds the buoyancy then the object sinks, therefore Neutral buoyancy is achieved when the mass of an object equals the mass it displaces in a s urrounding medium. This offsets the force of gravity that would otherwise cause the object to sink. An object that has neutral buoyancy will neither sink nor rise. According to Archimedes principles the buoyant force acting on a body of uniform density immersed in a fluid is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body, and it acts upward through the centroid of the displaced volume: F_B=? _f gV_sub (3) Where F_B is the buoyancy force, ? _f is fluid density, g is gravity and V_sub is the submerge volume. F=mg (4) Where F is the weight of the object, m is the mass of the object and g is the gravity. By relating equation (3) and (4) the buoyancy force equals 0. 1N and mass of the tube is about 1g. PV=? RT (5) Where P is the pressure, V is the volume, ? is the density, R is the gas constant and T is the temperature. P_2/P_1 =h_1/h_2 (6) Where P_1 the pressure rise of the bottle, P_2 Pressure rise of the diver, h_1 is the height of pressure rise in bottle and h_2 is the height of pressure rise in diver. Cartesian diver can achieve a neutrally buoyant state. However when the C artesian diver reach the neutrally buoyant state it will be an unstable equilibrium like a ball on a hill, a very small change can cause to rise or sink again. The hydrostatic pressure is a very important factor in the Cartesian diver, the hydrostatic pressure is the pressure exerted by a fluid at equilibrium due to the force of gravity. The hydrostatic pressure of the water increase as the diver sinks, for this particular Cartesian diver a small change in hydrostatic pressure will affect the diver to sink, rise or stay and the key to achieve the diver to stay neutrally buoyant is the precise measurement of how far the diver sinks before it sinks completely or floats. The principle of buoyancy of a submarines are very similar to the Cartesian diver. Submarines can control their buoyancy by pumping air into the ballast tanks increases the submarine’s buoyancy and allows it to float to the surface like Cartesian diver at initial state when there is enough air inside of the diver, the Cartesian diver can also control buoyancy depends on how hard the person squeezed the bottle. Submarines could also releasing air and allowing water to fill the ballast tanks to decreases the submarine’s buoyancy and allows it to sink, similar to the Cartesian diver when the bottle is squeezed, the water level in diver increase which also decrease its buoyancy, so the Cartesian diver sinks. For submarines to reach neutral buoyancy, the water filling in the ballast tanks must be precise so the buoyancy force will equals to the weight of submarine, similar to the Cartesian diver when the applied force is just right, the diver will to reach neutral buoyancy. The Cartesian diver lab shows the fundamental principles of Pascals law and buoyancy. At the initial state of the Cartesian diver, the diver floats on top of the water. Because of buoyancy is greater than the diver’s weight then as bottle is squeezed the pressure increase uniformly which cause the diver increase its water level which decrease its buoyancy so it drops to the bottom of the bottle. When the bottle is release the diver rise to top of the water again due to the pressure that was compressing the air in the diver was relived so the air could take is normal volume again which increased the buoyancy back to its initial state.

Impact of Seismicity on Performance of RC Shear Wall

Impact of Seismicity on Performance of RC Shear Wall Impact of Seismicity on Performance and Cost of RC Shear Wall Buildings in Dubai, UAE Mohammad AlHamaydeh, P.E., M.ASCE [1]; Nader Aly, S.M.ASCE [2]; and Khaled Galal, P.Eng., M.ASCE [3] ABSTRACT Unfortunately, available probabilistic seismic hazard studies are reporting significantly varying estimates for Dubai seismicity. Given Dubais rapid economic growth, it is crucial to assess the impact of the diverse estimates on performance and cost of buildings. This research investigates and quantifies the impact of the high and moderate seismicity estimates of Dubai on the seismic performance, construction and repair costs of buildings with 6, 9 and 12 stories. The reference buildings are made up of reinforced concrete with special shear walls as their seismic force resisting system. The seismic performance is investigated using nonlinear static and incremental dynamic analyses. Construction and repair costs associated with earthquake damages are evaluated to quantify the impacts. Results showed that designing for higher seismicity yields significant enhancement in overall structural performance. In addition, the higher seismicity estimate resulted in slight increase in initial co nstruction cost. However, the increase in initial investment is outweighed by significant enhancements in seismic performance and reduction in earthquake damages. This resulted in overall cost savings when reduction in repair and downtime costs are considered. Keywords: Seismic Hazard, RC Shear Walls, Seismic Vulnerability, Seismic Performance, Earthquake Losses. Introduction and Background The economy of UAE and specifically Dubai has been rapidly growing over the past few decades. Significant investments are taking place in the various sectors, especially in the real estate sector. In addition, in November 2014, Dubai was announced to be the hosting city of the coming EXPO 2020. As a result, substantial growth is taking place in the real estate sector. Several residential, commercial and hotel buildings are going to be designed and constructed to accommodate the increase in population size. This region suffers from considerable uncertainty in its seismicity level and the design guidelines that should be followed (AlHamaydeh et al., 2012). The seismicity level of UAE and Dubai has been the matter of several research studies, such as Abdalla and Al-homoud (2004), Aldama-Bustos et al. (2009) and Khan et al. (2013). Nevertheless, unfortunately there is not much consensus in these research studies about the seismicity levels that should be designed for in UAE. This could b e attributed to the lack of in-depth seismological data and historical recordings of ground motions in this region. Such data would have been useful in providing comprehensive and sound seismic design guidelines (AlHamaydeh et al., 2013). The minimum seismic design requirements set by the local authorities in Dubai are based on the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC97). However, the municipality has been proactive in adapting to tremors that were felt and measured in UAE in April, 2013. They sent a circular to consulting offices in May, 2013 raising the minimum requirement to zone 2B for buildings higher than nine stories and zone 2A for buildings between four to nine stories. Therefore, the unprecedented growth in the number of buildings in Dubai combined with the lack of consensus on seismic design criteria complicate the vulnerability to earthquakes. It is generally believed that the UAE has low seismicity. Nevertheless, over the past few years, a significant number of regional seis mic activities, originating from faults surrounding the UAE, has been recorded by Dubai Seismic Network (DSN). Additionally, DSN has recorded some local seismic activities over the period from 2006 to 2014. UAE seismicity is affected by earthquakes originating from near-fault and far-field seismic sources (Mwafy, 2011). The most recent seismic hazard study for UAE, available to the authors, was published in 2013 by Khan et al. (2013). The study provided a comprehensive probabilistic seismic hazard assessment and spectral accelerations for the entire UAE. Furthermore, it implemented a standardized earthquakes catalogue for UAE compiled from United States Geological Survey (USGS), National Geosciences of Iran (2015) and the National Center of Meteorology and Seismology of UAE (NCMS) (2015) that dates back to 110 years. Furthermore, Khan et al. (2013) have used seven different ground motion prediction equations incorporating three next generation attenuation equations due to the lack of specific equations for UAE. They attributed UAE seismicity to the seismic source zones shown in Figure 1. In addition, the seismic hazard study by Shama in 2011 highlighted several local crustal faults in U AE that might affect its seismicity level. These faults are Dibba, Wadi El Fay, Wadi Ham, Wadi-Shimal, Oman and West Coast fault (Shama, 2011). Unfortunately, the level of seismicity is not clearly set since there is no strong consensus among researchers about the exact seismic level of UAE or Dubai. On the other hand, reviewing the available probabilistic seismic hazard studies conducted for UAE and Dubai clearly shows that there are significant variations in the estimated seismicity levels. In fact, results vary from no seismic hazard to very high seismicity. Table 1 shows a summary of Peak Ground Accelerations (PGA) from several probabilistic seismic hazard studies. The reported PGAs vary from less than 0.05g to 0.32g. This is attributed to the differences in the used source zonation, recurrence parameters, earthquake catalogues and ground motion prediction equations. The differences are mainly due to the lack of detailed seismological measurement and data in this region and such data is required to provide a comprehensive and sound seismic hazard study (AlHamaydeh et al., 2013). The variation in seismicity was a driving factor for many research studies related to the impact on design of buildings in Dubai, such as (AlHamaydeh et al., 2010; AlHamaydeh et al., 2011; and AlHamaydeh and Al-Shamsi, 2013). The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of the seismicity hazard level on the performance, construction, repair and downtime costs of reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall buildings in Dubai. In this regard, six RC shear wall buildings are designed and detailed following the 2012 International Building Code (IBC12) standards. The reference buildings are 6-story, 9-story and 12-story. They are chosen to target the main sectors of buildings inventory in Dubai, UAE. These buildings are designed for two different seismic hazard levels that represent high and moderate seismicity estimates of Dubai. The different designs are compared based on their seismic performance, construction and repair costs in order to investigate and quantify the impact of the seismic design level. The seismic performance is evaluated following the methodology outlined in FEMA P695, which is a technical publication aiming to establish standard procedures for quantifying the seismic performance facto rs of buildings (Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 2009). The assessment methodology is based on nonlinear pseudo-static and dynamic analyses. The nonlinear response history analyses are performed using a set of ground motion records selected and scaled to represent the highest possible seismic activity in Dubai. As such, this would highlight the implications on design, seismic performance, construction and repair costs of RC shear wall buildings designed for different seismic hazard levels in Dubai, if the high seismicity estimate turns to be the most realistic. In addition, total construction cost is estimated considering structural and non-structural components. Finally, the repair cost is evaluated based on the structural and non-structural damage percentages adapted from SEAOC blue book (Structural Engineers Association of California, 1999). Details of the Reference Buildings The six reference buildings considered in this paper are intended to represent typical office buildings located in Dubai, UAE. The buildings have number of floors ranging from 6 to 12 stories to represent the majority of common buildings in Dubai. They are made up of RC and have a typical floor plan as shown in Figure 2. The plan consists of five 6m (20ft) bays and total dimensions of 30mx30m (100ftx100ft). Furthermore, the overall structural height varies between 24m to 48m (78ft to 156ft); with a typical floor height of 4m (13ft). The lateral force resisting system consists of special RC shear wall placed along the perimeter of the building. This arrangement ensures that center of mass is close to center of rigidity, hence it avoids inherent torsional effects. In addition, placing the walls along the perimeter boosts the building torsional resistance and reduces the shear demands on walls due to accidental torsion effects. The gravity system consists of RC square columns, while the floor system comprises of cast-in-situ flat plate. However, the gravity system is not designed to be part of the lateral force resisting system. It is only designed to support vertical loads and to satisfy the deformation compatibility requirement. For design purposes, concrete compressive strength () is assumed to be 28MPa (4.0ksi) for columns and slabs, and 38MPa (5.0ksi) for shear walls. Additionally, the yield strength (fy) of reinforcement is assumed to be 420MPa (60ksi). Super Imposed Dead Load (SDL) is 3.6kPa (75psf), excluding the self-weight of the concrete slabs. This SDL value is a conservative estimate commonly used for office buildings in Dubai. The breakdown of this estimate is as follows: 2 kPa (for 100mm of leveling screed and flooring tiles), 1 kPa for partitions (usually movable partitions) and 0.6 kPa allowance for mechanical, electrical and plumping overhanging services. Curtain wall (cladding) load on th e perimeter of each floor is 0.72kPa (15psf). Moreover, for office buildings the typical floors live load is 2.4kPa (50psf) and the roof live load is 1kPa (20psf) as per ASCE7-10. The six reference buildings are designed and detailed according to IBC12 requirements for two different seismic hazard levels representing high and moderate seismicity estimates in Dubai. The selection of the two seismic design levels is driven by the existing uncertainty in seismic loading and the substantial variability in reported seismic hazard levels for UAE and Dubai. Therefore, it is deemed a reasonable choice for the objective of this paper to consider the highest and moderate seismicity levels. This would allow investigating the consequences of the possible alternative seismic loading levels available to designers. The highest seismicity level represents the upper bound, and it is obtained from USGS (2015). The USGS seismic hazard level for Dubai estimate is selected in this study (i.e. Ss = 1.65g and S1 = 0.65g). Moreover, the moderate seismic design level represents Abu Dhabi International Building Code 2011 (ADIBC11) estimate for Dubai. The elastic design response spectra for the two considered seismicity levels along with the ASCE7-10 estimated fundamental periods of the studied six buildings are presented in Figure 3. As shown, at each seismic design level, three buildings with 6-stories, 9-stories and 12-stories are designed with special RC shear walls. Summary of all buildings details including response modification factors (R and Cd), design spectral accelerations and elastic fundamental time periods, and approximate periods upper limit are given in Table 2. It is worth mentioning that the ground motion input parameters (Ss and S1) of the two seismicity levels (high and moderate) result in Seismic Design Category (SDC) D for the six considered buildings. Consequently, ordinary RC shear walls are not permitted by the design code (i.e. ASCE7-10). Thus, all buildings are required to have special RC walls. Furthermore, choosing special detailing for both seismicity levels would allow investigating the direct impact of the seismic design level on th e cost and performance of walls with same level of detailing requirements. The buildings are given a legend showing its ID (i.e. Building1 to Building6), number of stories (i.e. 6Story, 9Story or 12Story), seismic design level (i.e. High or Moderate) and shear wall type (i.e. Special or Ordinary). A site class D is assumed for the six reference buildings. This assumption complies with IBC12 recommendations. Design Summary The buildings are designed and detailed in accordance to IBC12 standards which refers to ASCE7-10 for minimum design loads and ACI318-11for structural concrete requirements. The designs implement the state of the art practices in design and construction followed in Dubai, UAE. For the design purposes, elastic analysis is done using 3D models on CSI ETABS commercial package (ETABS, 2015). To determine the majority of the seismic mass, the gravity system is designed first and fixed for the three buildings. The gravity system is designed to resist axial forces from all vertical loads in addition to the moments and shears induced from deformation compatibility requirements. In order to ensure the structural stability of gravity columns, they are designed to resist the induced actions (bending moments and shear forces) from the deformations that will be imposed by earthquake excitations on the building. The bending moments and shear forces are estimated based on the maximum allowable inter-story drift by IBC12 which is 2%. The stiffness of the columns is estimated using ETABS by applying a force at the top and bottom of the considered story and by getting the corresponding displacement. The shear forces are then calculated by multiplying the maximum allowable displacement by the stiffness of each column. Then from the shear force, the moment is calculated as shown in Equations (1) and (2). (1) (2) Where V is shear force, d is displacement (calculated using ETABS), M is bending moment and L is column height. It should be noted that concrete shear capacity is found sufficient to resist the shear forces due to imposed deformations by applied seismic forces. Therefore, minimum lateral reinforcement (i.e. column ties) is provided in columns with reference to clause 7.10 in ACI318-11. The gravity system components (i.e. flat plates and columns) are designed in accordance to ACI318-11 provisions using in-house design spreadsheets. For an optimized design, following common design trends in UAE, columns cross sections and reinforcement are grouped and changed every three floors. The gravity system is common between buildings with the same number of floors. The gravity columns design details for the six reference buildings are summarized in Figure 4. Figure 4 (a), (b) and (c) show the dimensions and reinforcement details of the 6- , 9- and 12-story buildings, respectively. On the left s ide of each Figure, the columns cross section dimensions are provided over each group of floors. The right side shows the vertical and horizontal reinforcement of the different columns (i.e. columns around the opening and remaining columns) in each group of floors. The minimum required slab thickness is calculated such that it satisfies ACI318-11 Table 9.5(c) minimum requirements. For the longest clear span of 5.3m, the minimum required thickness is 177mm. This figure is rounded up and 200mm thick flat plates are used. The flat plates are reinforced with T16 reinforcement bars spaced at 125mm, top and bottom in both directions. Additional T20 reinforcement spaced at 125mm (2m long) are added on top of columns in both directions. The lateral system is designed to resist the seismic lateral loads determined according to IBC12 Static Equivalent Lateral Force (SELF) method. The SELF method is permitted for all the six reference buildings. This is because the total height for all buildings does not exceed 48m (160ft), the SDC is D and no structural irregularities exist according to ASCE7-10, Table 12.6-1. Linear static analysis is performed using ETABS to evaluate the induced forces and displacements from seismic forces. Then, shear walls are designed to satisfy strength and drift requirements. Inter-story drift ratios are controlled within code, IBC12, limits (2%) by varying the shear wall stiffness through changing its in-plan length. Strength requirements are satisfied by designing the shear walls for the induced bending moments and shear forces by the seismic actions using Quickwall software (Quick Concrete Wall, 2015). Shear walls thickness and reinforcement are changed every three floors to optimize the des ign and to match common design practices in Dubai. However, walls in-plane length is kept constant throughout the buildings height to avoid any vertical structural irregularities. The need for specially detailed boundary elements is checked every three floors using the displacement-based approach. The use of displacement based approach for checking the boundary elements vertical extent is preferred over the use of stress-based approach. This is because the latter approach was proven to provide highly conservative requirements for the special detailing (Wallace and Moehle, 1992) and (Thomsen IV and Wallace, 2004). For practical constructability, boundary elements are designed to have the same wall thickness. Additionally, to comply with ACI318-11 minimum thickness requirements and conform to typical design practices in the UAE, an aspect ratio of at least 25.4mm: 304.8mm (1in: 12in) is maintained between wall thickness and length. The walls minimum thickness depends on the unsupporte d height and length. Therefore, as the walls unsupported heights across the different buildings are constant (i.e. limited by the typical story height), it is necessary to impose a practical criterion on the walls thickness as we change the length from building to building. This approach guarantees that the different designs are subjected to the same guidelines, especially for sizing the walls cross sections. This would result in a fair response comparison among all designs as they follow similar basis that imitates typical design practices in the UAE. During initial dynamic analyses of the 12-story buildings, B5-12S-H-S and B6-12S-M-S, it was observed that the critical section was not at the walls base. This is contradicting the code assumption of having a single critical section at the base of cantilevered shear walls. The critical section resulting in the dynamic analysis was actually shifted from the wall base to the bottom of the lowest floor in upper quarter of the building (1 0th floor). The initiated failure mechanism was governed by higher modes effects and the formation of plastic hinges at upper floors. The optimization done initially to the design by reducing dimensions and reinforcement for upper floors magnified the impact of higher modes effects. As a result, it triggered the failure and plastic hinge formation to be initiated at the reduced cross section. Therefore, the critical section became located at the weak spot at higher levels, which resulted in an unfavorable premature collapse mechanism. This observation has been highlighted by previous researchers, such as Tremblay et al. (2001), Bachmann and Linde (1995), and Panneton et al. (2006). It was also experimentally proven by shake table and cyclic loading tests (El-Sokkary et al., 2013). As an example, the modal analysis of the 12-story building, B5-12S-H-S, is shown in Table 3. It can be seen that there are clear separations between the individual modes characteristics (periods and modal masses). This is generally expected in a flexural cantilever structural type (i.e. shear walls). The first mode effective mass is usually ranging from 50% to 70% and the second mode period is approximately one sixth of the first mode. This is consistent with many research studies which investigated the effects of higher modes on response of cantilever shear walls (e.g. Humar and Mahgoub, 2003 and Tremblay et al., 2001). Furthermore, it is clear that relative modal weights (%) and modal participation factors are relatively high at 7th, 8th and 12th vibration modes which highlights the impact of higher modes. As a result, the design was revised by keeping the cross section and reinforcement constant for the upper half of the 12-story (B5-12S-H-S and B6-12S-M-S) and 9-story buildings (B3-9S-H-S and B4-9S-M-S). For 6-story buildings (B1-6S-H-S and B2-6S-M-S), a single cross-section was used for all floors with terminating boundary element at third floor. This conforms to the state-of-ar t design and construction practices in Dubai, UAE. It also matches the design philosophy adopted in other 12-story and 9-story buildings by keeping the same cross section and reinforcement for upper six floors. Summary of the shear walls design details is shown in Figure 5. Nonlinear Modeling The six reference buildings are modeled using lumped plasticity formulations on IDARC-2D (Reinhorn et al., 2009). Since the buildings are symmetric, mass participation of torsional modes of vibration are low. Therefore, torsional effects are negligible and a two-dimensional model is sufficient to simulate the buildings response. The shear walls are idealized using macro-models by representing the structural members with equivalent elements possessing all nonlinear characteristics. The members nonlinear characteristics depend on distribution of plasticity and yield penetration. A lumped plasticity model consisting of two nonlinear rotational springs located at the ends and an elastic member is used for the shear walls. The nonlinearity is concentrated at the locations of the nonlinear rotational springs. The flexural and shear deformations of the shear walls are modelled using the tri-linear (three parameter) hysteretic model developed by Park et al. (1987). The tri-linear hysteretic models allow controlling the stiffness degradation and strength deterioration due to ductility and energy. In addition, the axial deformations of the shear walls are considered by a linear-elastic spring. For the shear walls, the moment-curvature and shear-distortion are calculated using the fiber elements procedure of IDARC2D. The wall cross section is divided into number of fibers and then subjected to increments of curvatures. From strain compatibility and equilibrium, the strains are calculated and used to compute the resulting axial forces and bending moments in the section (Reinhorn et al., 2009). Results and Discussion The buildings seismic performance is evaluated following FEMA P695 methodology (2009). FEMA P695 approach is based on nonlinear pseudo static (pushover) analysis, Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) and fragility analysis. Pushover analysis is used to validate the nonlinear model and estimate the period based ductility of the buildings. Then, IDA analysis is performed using a suite of far-field ground motion records to estimate the median collapse intensity and collapse margin ratio. The far-field ground motion records are scaled to match the MCE response spectrum of the highest seismicity estimate in UAE. This seismicity hazard level is as estimated by USGS (2015) for Dubai (Ss = 1.65 g and S1 = 0.65 g). The selected scaling level simulates the worst, yet possible seismic hazard scenario from distant sources (e.g. Zagros thrust or Makran subduction zone) as highlighted by Sigbjornsson and Elnashai (2006). Thus, it allows assessing the consequences of the selected seismic design level (i.e. high or moderate) on the seismic performance, construction and repair costs of RC shear wall buildings in Dubai. The calculated collapse margin ratios from the IDA are adjusted to account for uncertainties in design basis, test data, nonlinear modeling and to consider the spectral shape of the ground motion records. The spectral content is accounted for based on the calculated period based ductility. Adjusted IDA results are finally used to calculate exceedance probabilities for ASCE-41 (2013) performance levels, Collapse Prevention (CP), Life Safety (LS) and Immediate Occupancy (IO). Nonlinear Pseudo-Static (Pushover) Analysis Pushover analysis is performed using an inverted triangle displacement profile as a pushing function for all buildings. The intensity is increased monotonically until the ultimate base shear degrades by 20%. The results are used to construct capacity curves (back-bone) for the reference buildings in the form of roof drift ratio versus base shear coefficient (i.e. base shear normalized by seismic weight). Pushover capacity curves are used to assess the buildings deformation and strength capacities. The capacity curves of the three buildings designed for the high seismicity estimate (i.e. B1-6S-H-S, B3-9S-H-S and B5-12S-H-S) are shown in Figure 6. Normalized base shear capacities are 0.57, 0.5 and 0.46 for B1-6S-H-S, B3-9S-H-S and B5-12S-H-S, respectively. As expected, base shear capacity is higher for the shorter building (6-story). This is attributed to the higher design forces which resulted from the relatively higher initial stiffness of squat shear walls compared to their slender counterpart. B1-6S-H-S reached a maximum roof drift ratio, prior collapse, of 6.5%, while B3-9S-H-S reached 6% and B5-12S-H-S reached 7.25%. The three buildings have period-based ductility calculated as recommended by FEMA P695 greater than 8. It can also be observed that in the three high seismicity designs, the capacity curves do not experience severe degradation in strength or deterioration in stiffness. This matches the expected behavior of well detailed special RC shear walls with confined bou ndary elements. It is noticed from the final damage states of the buildings, at 20% strength degradation, that static pushover analysis resulted in a failure mode at the base of the shear walls conforming to the design code assumed critical section. The overall structural damage index reported by IDARC-2D is 0.359, 0.426 and 0.618 for B1-6S-H-S, B3-9S-H-S and B5-12S-H-S. It is worth mentioning that these damages are concentrated at first floor shear walls. Established capacity curves for buildings designed for moderate seismicity (B2-6S-M-S, B4-9S-M-S and B6-12S-M-S) are presented in Figure 6. From shown capacity curves, normalized base shear capacities are 0.31, 0.26 and 0.24 for buildings B2-6S-M-S, B4-9S-M-S and B6-12S-M-S, respectively. Similar to the high seismicity design, the 6-story building has the highest normalized base shear capacity. This is due to its lateral system (shear walls) relatively higher stiffness which resulted in higher demands. Maximum drift ratios, prior collapse achieved by B2-6S-M-S, B4-9S-M-S and B6-12S-M-S are 9.25%, 8% and 3.5%, respectively. The three designs have period-based ductility greater than 8 calculated as recommended by FEMA P695. The overall structural damage index reported by IDARC-2D is 0.371 for B2-6S-M-S, 0.455 for B4-9S-M-S and 0.359 for B6-12S-M-S. These damages are triggered at the first floor shear walls only. Therefore, similar to high seismicity designs, the pseudo static pushover analysis results of moderate seismicity designs suggests a single critical section at the wall base. This conclusion matches with design code recommendation for regular buildings permitted to be designed following the static method (SELF) by ASCE7-10. Nonlinear Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) The seismic performance of the reference buildings is investigated under the random nature of earthquakes. Standard nonlinear pseudo-static analysis does not inherently fully capture the higher modes effects which usually govern the response of tall and irregular buildings. Consequently, the use of nonlinear dynamic analysis is more appropriate in such cases. IDA provides better insight of the expected structural response from the linear range through the nonlinear response and until it losses stability and collapse (Vamvatsikos and Cornell, 2004). The IDA in this case is performed using a very fine increment of 0.1g for the spectral accelerations. The increments are increased until all ground motion records caused the buildings to collapse or exceed the CP maximum drift ratio limit of 2% as specified by ASCE-41. However, the maximum spectral acceleration for all the records is not increased more than 2.5g. The total number of dynamic analysis runs performed for each reference buildi ng is around 1100 (22 records x 2 components x 25 scale factors). Figure 7 presents the resulting IDA curves for high seismicity designs, B1-6S-H-S, B3-9S-H-S and B5-12S-H-S. The structural response derived from IDA curves can depend to some extent on the characteristics of the particular accelerograms used. Thus, the performance is judged based on a suit of ground motion records to segregate this effect. On average, at low drift ratios (approximately up to 1%), the three designs (B1-6S-H-S, B3-9S-H-S and B5-12S-H-S) exhibit a linear behavior. The same linear behavior is resulting from some of the ground motion records up to the MCE spectral acceleration. At higher spectral accelerations, the structural response starts to vary showing several patterns of nonlinearities, such as softening, hardening and weaving. For only few records, the structure seems to soften and move to large drifts rapidly until it reaches collapse. Collapse in these curves, whether resulting from convergence issues, numerical instabilities, or very large drift ratio, is repre sented using a drift ratio of 10% and a flat line in IDA curves. Majority of the earthquake records caused severe hardening and weaving around the elastic response. The weaving observation conforms to the common equal displacement rule stating that inelastic and elastic displacements are equal for structures with relatively moderate time periods (Vamvatsikos and Cornell, 2002). In addition, for some records, the hardening phenomenon in which the structure seems to perform better at higher intensities is somewhat against the common expectation (Vamvatsikos and Cornell, 2002). This is because generally the time and pattern of the time-history governs the response more than just the intensity. Moreover, the upward scaling done to the records makes the less responsive cycles at the beginning of the time-history strong enough to cause damage and yielding of the structural elements. Therefore, some strong ground motion records at some intensity might cause early yielding of a specific flo or, usually a low floor. This floor acts as a sacrificial fuse which reduces the response of higher floors (Vamvatsikos and Cornell, 2002). Another very interesting observation that is clearly seen in IDA curves shown in Figure 7 is what is called Structural Resurrection. This phenomenon has been observed by Vamvatsikos and Cornell (2002) and is defined as a severe hardening behavior. In structural resurrection, the building moves all the way to complete collapse (numerical instability or convergence issues) at some intensity. Then at higher intensities it shows a lower or higher response, but without collapsing. This happens because the time and pattern of the ground motion record at a particular intensity might be more damaging than at higher intensities. In other words, this particular intensity causes the stru

Margaret Rose Preston :: Essays Papers

Margaret Rose Preston 1875 – 1963 â€Å"†¦.. her restless temperament has discovered new themes, new colour arrangements, new sources of design-†¦ Her colour sence is unerring: sparsely added to form, or rich and harmonious. She never repears a motive, and her art, original and beautiful, is a complete expression of personality.† Lionel Lindsay, Addled Art, (1942), p.51. Her life†¦ Born in 1875 in Adelaide, South Australia. According to her own account, Margaret Rose Macpherson decided to become a painter when, aged twelve, she liked the smell of the floor polish in the New South Wales National Gallery. Margaret studied art in Sydney under W. Lister Lister, at the National Gallery School, Melbourne, and at the Adelaide School of Design. Shared second prize for painting in 1897. Took pupils of her own to support herself and save up for a study tour of Europe. In 1904 she went to Munich to attend the Government Art School for Women, going to Paris where she studied at the Musee Guimet and exhibited still lifes. After a brief return to Adelaide in 1907 she left again for Europe. After the outbreak of war in 1914, Margaret, with good friend Gladys Reynall, took lessons in pottery making at the London Polytechnic so that they could teach shell-shocked soldiers in the Seale-Hayne Military Neurological Hospital, Devonshire, where Reynell’s brother was working as a surgeon. In 1919, after returning to Australia by way of North America, she married William George Preston, a businessman, and settled in Sydney. The couple traveled extensively throughout Australia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Pacific Islands. Although well known for her decorative still lifes, she was also a skilful wood engraver and linocut printer. Her woodcut and linocut prints featuring Australian native plants have become very popular in recent years. A writer and lecturer of art, she was a champion of and influenced by Aboriginal bark paintings. She was a member of the Society of Artists, the Australian Art Association and the Contemporary Group, Sydney. At the Paris International Exhibition in 1937 she was awarded a silver medal. Influenced by other famous painters of the time like Cezanne as the greatest of the Moderns; Picasso as the greatest living Modern; and Matisse and Gaugin for their use of colour.

The Books :: essays research papers

The Book   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Fahrenheit 451 books are burned on sight without exceptions. If I had the choice to save three books and â€Å"become† one, the first would be The Black Road which represents what greed and power can do to any kind of man. The second is A Spell For A Chameleon; it shows how if you’re different in any way from society you will be exiled out of the â€Å"group†. The Far Side Experience should be saved because it shows satire in the world around us.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the world around us we see good men and women corrupted by positions of power and or money. In The Black Road, Kabraxis the demon corrupts a Priest of the Zakurumm church by offering him unlimited power and wealth. The way the demon corrupts other people is â€Å"the way of Dreams† which cures the person of whatever is wrong with them and sometimes making them wealthy. This is the book that I would â€Å"become† because I think it has the most meaning out of them all. That is why this book should be saved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Spell For A Chameleon should be saved because it shows how if you’re different then society then they will exile you from it. In Xanth (the land in which the story takes place) everyone has a unique magical power and if yours isn’t discovered by the time your 18 you are exile from Xanth into Mundane (normal realm). There is a powerful magician that can tell you if you have a power and he tells Bink (the main character) that his power is not only there but is very strong magic. Unfortunately this is how some societies today really are. The reason this book should be saved is it shows how you should not act towards somebody that is different from the majority.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Far Side Experience should be kept because it shows satire in the world around us. Satire is a form of written that pokes fun at human weaknesses in hope to fix them. An example in this book is that it shows a kid at his birthday party and a liver truck is part of his party, he obviously doesn’t like liver but smiles anyway. This represents satire in that even though somebody doesn’t like something they will smile and lie that they like it. This can be wrong because people lie so others feelings aren’t hurt and some just because they cant tell the truth.

Skills Required for Effective Time Management Essay -- essays research

Time management is a key essential that ensures any working environment runs efficiently and smoothly, without it there is no structure to your working day. If time management can be mastered then your workload can be achieved successfully. In this essay I will examine a number of the skills required for effective time management. Planning is of the utmost importance in time management, without it we don?t have a clear vision of what needs to be achieved and within what time frame. It is therefore vital that this is the first step, and in order to ensure you cover all areas that require your attention. Planning Planning your day or week can be daunting to many people. Some managers are born to it and some will struggle. To prevent or reduce stress within the office environment planning is essential. It can be categorised as short, medium or long term. Short term can be classed as a day or week, while medium is normally weeks leading to a few months. Long term tends to be several months perhaps leading to a year. So the first and obvious step is to put a time frame in place, and ensure that you use planning aids to mark your progress. Planning aids come in various forms. Diary?s and wall charts are very useful, especially for ?at a glance? scheduling, and will assist the manger during the normal working day. Diaries are a good start as they come in various styles e.g. day to a page or week to a page, the latter I prefer as it gives me an oversight as to what?s happening during the week. Wall charts again come in various designs and display the whole year. Colour coding the days wit h the relevant colour key can at an instance enable you to see the overall picture, and can also be used in conjunction with your dia... ...and are clearly taken for granted is e-mail and the telephone. E-mails can be set up to be received in various colours to indicate your superiors or colleagues. E-mails should only be looked at first thing in the morning and again in the afternoon, this prevents you being distracted and allows you to concentrate on the goal in hand. Telephone calls can be a nuisance if not controlled. Go straight to the point and if possible inform the caller of any time constraints. If feasible an answer machine can be utilised so you can filter out those unimportant calls, of course a message on the answer machine rather than an automated reply is more user friendly. In conclusion time management is a very important tool for modern day managers. With it managers can ensure efficiency is at the highest level with continual improvements with in any office or organisation.

Slave Boy – Creative Writing

Today, my brain is a whirlwind of emotions: memories from my past. A past I would like to forget but can't. I will begin my story, my story, from when I was just six years of age and taken from my family. It feels strange to look over the shores of my native lands, the same land on which I was sold to white men to work as a slave. We the, Africans were seen as an inferior and uncivilised race, enough justification to be enslaved and treated little better than animals.My real name was Nkauwa but they called me Sam. My identity; my family; my culture; my freedom; they took everything from me and changed it. My life would never be the same again. It was Nigerean slave dealers who rounded us up like cattle. The vast majority of us were caught during fighting against other African groups, prisoners of war. The rest were criminals like me, but my only crime was stealing fruit from the market, my punishment? a lifetime of enslavement. Our hands were tied behind our backs with pieces of rough string that stopped the blood from reaching our fingers. Being six at the time I did not understand why women were crying, their shrieks of horror threw me off-balance and I panicked, I did not understand what was going on, nor did I recognise any faces around me. I asked a man behind me why they had brought us here and he told me sadly, † to learn the ways of the white-faced people.† I felt so alone for the first time and I had a feeling I would be alone for a long while. I started to cry. When the ship rose up through the horizon, all commotion stopped at the magnificent yet terrifying sight, I had seen boats but never on that scale before. The silence was tense with apprehension and fear of the unknown. When the ship had anchored, twenty of so rowing boats came to shore, filled with crates of guns, cloths and lead. It was the first time I had seen white flesh, by no means was it to be the last. Time was spent by both parties inspecting each others goods, as if we were merely objects of little value. They looked in our mouths and felt our muscle-span to see if we would be strong efficient workers. The white men showed the slave dealers how to operate thier new weapons and then we were rowed to the ship; little did I know of the conditions that would face me for the ten week voyage of hell. I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received a stench in my nostrils I had never experienced in my life; we were packed so tightly we had just enough room to turn to turn ourselves and I could not stand up without my head touching the ceiling. The air was fetid, it nearly suffocated me. I began to vomit before the ships anchor had even been raised. It was a scene of horror for the worst ten weeks of my life. The conditions and our hunger brought on sickness amongst us, many of whom died. The crew of the ship cleared the dead in the morning and fed us barely edible, meagre meals. The wretched situation was aggravated by the chains and filth we were living in . At some point in the journey the crew must have realised that if they kept us under the deck for the whole journey there would be no slaves left, so they let small groups on the deck every few days. I sobbed to myself most nights but no one comforted me apart from the groans of the dying. At times I wondered to myself, if this is just the journey, what would the destination be like? The suffocating smell brought sharp, stabbing pains upon my lungs. When we were finally taken off the boat, I was almost too weak to move and I felt terrible. Welcome to America! As I was carried off the boat, the wind hit my face like an explosion and my body siezed up with pains shooting through my muscles. We stood in a yard in the docks, suddenly the doors were thrown open and a considerable number of men waving money and rope rushed towards us in a scramble. The men had the ferocity of brutes as they grabbed frantically at us; again I experienced the touching of muscles and inspecting our teeth, precisely as a jockey examines a horse. It is scarcely possible to describe the confusion and fright I felt as a small child. A tall, scruffy man with a long beard and hat grabbed my shoulders and shoved me in a corner with the rest of his chosen purchases, grumbling † This one looks like and investment.† The choas continued as we were led away and put on the back of his horse and cart. The man was swearing and smoking his pipe when in a temper, he whipped the horses into a trot. We were off! I was still adjusting to the change of environment from the ten weeks under deck and my body was in a lot of pain. As we travelled through the hustle and bustle of the Southern town of Missisippi, Louisiana, we entered the rural countryside and after an hour or so we stopped at a large, wooden farmhouse, complete with a mill that was spurting out clouds of white smoke from its chimney into the clear blue sky. Aproaching closer I noticed behind the mill, a small village of huts and a huge open plantation with with cotton plants growing in thick formations. We were escorted off the cart and brought into another yard outside the farm house from where we were called up one by one to enter the house. It was a very nervous wait and I noticed lots of other black workers already in the fields. I had no idea what was going on but when I was called up I knew something terrible was going to happen by the way the man looked at me with a mean and menecing smile which sent shivers down my spine that I can still remember to this day. He walked towards me and grabbed me by my ear and dragged me inside, to a room containing a large fire place with a crackling fire. Next to the fireplace stood an African house servant and in the centre of the room a desk with the tall, bearded man who drove the cart. He stopped writing, looked up at me, poured himself a glass of whiskey and drank it in one go. The man proceeded to talk to the servant in English, and in turn the servant translated it into Nigerean and repeated it to me. â€Å"Your name's Sam, call me boss, you'll work only for me now, pickin' cotton on my plantation, sunrise to sunset.† He paused and then said † If I catch you slacking or even worse, trying to escape, you will be whipped till the skin falls off your back, do you understand, me?† I looked at the man behind the desk blankly, he nodded to the servant who in turn advanced behind me and pinned me to the desk. I desperately tried to wriggle out of his firm grip but, it was useless, the more I struggled the more the boss laughed, he strolled to the fireplace and reached inside to reveal a red-hot branding iron which he used to torment me by holding it close to my face, making beads of sweat form from the heat and from fear. I was begging, pleading for his mercy but he didn't listen, he pushed it hard against my forehead, producing a horrifying hissing noise and the foul smell of burning flesh. It would be a mark that would never leave me, It hurt physically and mentally; to be branded like cattle, an act of pure evil. The pain was unbearable. For days I couldn't concentrate on anything but the burning sensation, it made me violently sick with fever but I was expected to start work straight away. I was given a huge hand woven basket to fill, I watched to learn the correct technique, a fairly simple task; picking the white flowers by twisting the stems on which they form along the main branches. The plants grew in dense lines which were the same height as me, it was very easy to get lost in the endless jungle of the plantation fields. As the day turned into night and there was not enough light to work in we were given a form of corn meal in tin bowls, it had been produced cheaply with few nutrients. I was also issued with new clothing made from very coarse cotton; uncomfortable to wear but much better than the filthy rags I wore on the ship. No shoes were issued, I still walked barefooted, everywhere I went. The new slaves were put into the accommodation of the already over-crowded huts. The tiny wooden, dank huts were set out in rows and contained no sanitation at all. The huts were filthy a perfect breeding ground for disease. They were window-less and smelly, with broken glass, old shoes and rags that littered around the floor. I squeezed into a hut, with ten people, cold and in a place thousands of miles from our homes. I missed my family. I felt the power of death over life , I knew what I had to do, I had to escape. I lay awake for the best part of the night, planning for the best method and timing for my escape. After hours of thought I realised, there was no easy way out and now was as good a time as any other. At this point everyone in my hut was asleep. My heart was racing, I sat up, took a deep breath and opened the creaking, rotting door, I started to run, passing the house, then the gate and then the sign post. I ran like the wind and I didn't slow down. I was running on nothing but the fuel of my anger, the anger I had built up inside me, since the very first moment I was captured. I didn't stop until I felt safe and my lungs were gasping for air. I kept a steady pace up and by the time I reached the town the sun was rising in the East but it was far too early for people to be out and about. As I entered the wharf I remembered the fact I still had no idea how I was to get on a ship heading back to Africa. My heart sank and I slumped down behind some crates and began to cry. I was convinced I would not get any further until†¦. suddenly I heard a voice getting closer, it sounded like two English sailors talking but one had a strong African accent. I tried to stay hidden but they picked up the crate I was behind and spotted me. â€Å"Hey, what you doing ‘ere, Your not supossed to be round ‘ere,† The white sailor said in a gruff voice. The African was quick to notice I had already been branded and must have ran away from my master. He asked me, in Nigerean, my name and what I was doing here. I told them my story and they it turned out we were from the same part of Nigeria and were stopping there on their way back there for some illigitimate trading of tea leaves and tobacco. They were both kind men and disagreed with the principle of slavery, they were quick to take pity on me and put me in an empty crate to hide me until on the ship. The trip back was much more comfortable than before. Although I slept below deck with the crates, I was allowed on deck whenever I wanted. I never went hungry for that ten week trip and rebuilt much of my strength. I showed gratitude for my rescue by doing odd jobs around the boat, usually cooking for the crew or scrubbing the deck. When we reached the main port of Nigeria I was so happy, it was a terrible ordeal for anyone to go through and something I was lucky to survive. The scar on my forehead is a constant reminder and my mental scars will never go away but I learnt many things during that time. I will never again take my freedom for granted and I cherish every moment of life with my family in the place where I truly belong.