Carbon footprint assigment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Carbon footprint assigment - Assignment Example At present, the outstanding challenge that is facing the human race is global warming, and its most pressing requirement is radically reducing our carbon footprint (Stuart 3) Daily driving cause’s carbon footprint in that fuel is burnt by the engine when driving thus, creating a certain amount of CO2 depending on the distance of driving and the car’s fuel consumption. For people who drive long distances daily, travel could be the largest part of their carbon footprint. The daily driving range is the most polluting thing that is done by most people. When burning gasoline, it releases pollutants that cause water pollution, global warming, and smog. The scientific press is full of dire warnings as to our collective fate if we fail to effect a very substantial reduction in carbon emission and to do so quickly (Stuart 4) In order to change this, the focus should be on saving the energy and reducing the carbon cause. First, it is vital improving fuel economy of the car. This can be achieved by reducing the energy used when overcoming resistance from road and air, braking, and accelerating. Additionally, public transport such as trains and buses should be used instead since compared to driving they are a less carbon-intensive way to travel. Moreover, people should drive less to reduce their driving footprint. Driving and cycling are also good substitutes for short driving distance that are carbon intensive. There may be no easy solution to the problem generating the carbon footprint but the parameters of the debate do not need to be established, different and all, so that we can determine what most at issue is (Stuart 18) There are various challenges that will be faced when changing the daily driving distance that causes carbon emission. We must address urgently the dilemma of ways to persuade trade-off that is possibly the best between survivals economically and ecological disaster (Stuart 21). From a

Curleys Wife Character - of Men and Mice Essay Example for Free

Curleys Wife Character of Men and Mice Essay Of Men and Mice is not kind in its portrayal of women. In fact, women are treated with contempt throughout the course of the book. Steinbeck generally depicts women as troublemakers who bring ruin to men and drive them mad. Curley’s wife, who walks the ranch as a temptress seems to be a prime example of the destructive tendency. Despite the author’s rendering, Curley’s wife emerges as a relatively complex and interesting character. Although her purpose is rather simple in the book’s opening pages, she is the â€Å"tramp†, â€Å"tart† and â€Å"bitch† that threatens to destroy male happiness and longevity. The social setting of the novel is also important, as it could later explain characters attitudes towards other people. It is set in the U.S. in the 1930s; this is the time of the Great Depression. This was a result of the First World War. It affected the rich and poor alike, factory workers and farmers, bankers and stockbrokers. In short, it affected everyone; no one was left untouched. But of all the people hurt, farmers were the worst off. Curley’s wife is first introduced in person to us in a symbolic way; this is shown when George is talking to Lennie about the dream and when Curley’s wife first meets both men. â€Å"Both men glanced up, for a rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off.† The symbolic meaning of the word sunshine is hope, freedom, happiness and dreams. This foreshadows that she may cause trouble or come in the way and could ruin it all for Lennie and George. She is also described as a â€Å"girl†, which tells us that she is very playful, childish and vulnerable. Her appearance later in the novel becomes more complex. But even before this we are forewarned about her, Candy tells George and Lennie about her, making her out at the wrong type to begin with, â€Å"Married to weeks and got the eye? Maybe that is why Curley’s pants is full of ants,† giving us the impression she was a person not to socialis e with. Also tells us that the men on the ranch know that Curley knows that is wife looks at the rest of them, hoping for one of them to try and get close to her, so he can then create a situation for a fight. As Candy relaxes he also goes on to get them to have the same opinion as him about her by saying, ‘well, you look her over, mister. You see if she ain’t a tart†, and the reply from George, ‘Purty?’ making sure that we see her as ‘jail bait†. Then when we first get to see her she is dressed as if she is going out to a party, and Steinbeck also enforces the concept that she is trouble and a tart, by describing her appearance, â€Å"she had full rouged lips†, â€Å"red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers†, using the colour red as a foreshadow that she is dangerous. This is the first time also that we see that she is attractive and that she knows it, also that she wants the men to look at her, â€Å"she put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward†, forcing the men to look at her curves. This first sign of nativity shows that she doesn’t understand her affect on men, showing her age as a teenager and her understanding of her sexual attractiveness. We also get an insight to her life with her husband and why she is always coming around the rest of the men. When Candy tells George and Lennie about Curley having his glove full of â€Å"Vaseline† and that he was keeping â€Å"that hand soft for his wife†, tells us that she was also being beaten up, and that nobody could see the bruises because Curley had softened his hand, or he hit her in places where we couldn’t see the bruises. This is the first time we see her as a victim needing help. We also see that see can be cruel, and willing to misuse power. When she confronts Lennie, Candy, and Crooks in the stable, she admits to feeling a kind of shameless dissatisfaction with her life. Her vulnerability at this moment and later when she admits to Lennie her dream of becoming a movie star makes her utterly human and much more interesting than the stereotypical vixen in fancy clothes. She seeks out even greater weakness in others, preying upon Lennie’s mental handicap â€Å"they left all the weak ones here†, Candy’s debilitating age, â€Å"tell an’ be damned. Nobody’d would listen to you, and you know it† and the colour of Crook’s skin â€Å"you know what I can do to you if you open your trap?† in order to steel herself against harm. Dreams are a major reoccurring theme, when Lennie tells Curley’s wife of his and George’s dream she just says â€Å"baloney†, but she has a dream of her own and she proceeds to talk Lennie about it. She has dreamt of being a movie star, which nearly came true when she encountered an actor. ‘He says I could go with that show†, but like most young girl s was forbade from her mother, ‘my ol’ lady wouldn’ let me†. So having her dream pulled out from underneath her she rebelled, and married Curley. However she always wanted to achieve something of herself and loved attention. â€Å"Curley’s wife lay with a half-covering of yellow hay. And the meanness and the planning and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young. Now her rouged cheeks and her reddened lips made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly. The curls, tiny little sausages, were spread on the hay behind her head, and her lips were parted†, this is the first time we are shown her true self – she was a young, innocent, lonely young girl. When you take away all the walls she had erected you come back to a young girl wanting to be loved, who saw Lennie as a way out from Curley’s abusive relationship. As Lennie could hurt Curley, but not realising the danger she was ultimately putting herself into. So in conclusion Curley’s wife is the most depressed and lonely characters in the novel. She has no friends, no future, no respect; she doesn’t even deserve a name. All she wants is someone to talk to but in her mind the only way she can do this is by flaunting herself to the men to get noticed. This leads her to be perceived as a â€Å"tart† by the men. She represents absolute loneliness and desperation to achieve something better in life. Even though she is very lonely, she comes across as a very beautiful woman. She flaunts herself by dressing and acting in a â€Å"tart† like manner, but really she is just making use of her body to gain the attention of the workers to soothe her. If anyone would give her a break, treat her like a person, she would idolise them. Her craving for contact is immense but she, with her background is incapable of conceiving any contact without some sexual context, she is not particularly oversexed, but has been forced to recognise that her sexuality is the only weapon she has, and the only thing that gets her noticed. Consequently she is a little starved. She knows nothing about sex, except the mass information girls tell each other. All through the novel the men make out that Curley’s wife is trouble. But yet there was never any proof that Curley’s wife has ever caused any of the trouble or conflicts. The only trouble she caused was when she died.

L-Shaped Array for Multi-frequency Interferometry Telescope

L-Shaped Array for Multi-frequency Interferometry Telescope Abstract An array of eight antennas with different configuration, more precisely an L-shaped array has been built for the Multi-frequency Interferometry Telescope for Radio Astronomy (MITRA) project. It consists of quite newly designed Dual Polarised Log Periodic Dipole Antennas (DPLPDA). The first stage of the project was to test the existing array of DPLPDA antennas in a parallelconfiguration in the North South direction and to bring forward different improvements. Also, comparision of data was done with the Durban University of Technology (DUT) at Durban RSA where a similar array was constructed. Next, UV coverage of different arrays were simulated. After that, the DPLPDA were constructed.After setting up the array, the antenna response of each antenna was tested and the results obtained was interpreted. The final test was to test the complete array after combining all the antennas. CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Overview 1.1Introduction 1.1.1Radio Astronomy Radio astronomy is the study of celestial objects that emit radio waves.In the 1930’s, Karl Jansky (1905-1950), working for the Bell Laboratories, was trying to determine the origin of the source of noise interfering with radio voice transmissions. He built a steerable antenna designed to receive radio waves at a frequency of 20.5 MHz. From the observations, he found that the period of the earth’s rotation relative to the radio source was 23 hours and 56 minutes instead of 24 hours. Hence, he concluded that the source was follwing sidereal time. He also observed that the strongest radiation was coming from the centre of our Milky Way galaxy.Inspired by Jansky’s work, Grote Reber (1911-2002) built a parabolic radio telescope of diameter 9m in his back yard, in 1937. After several trials, Reber successfully detected radio emission from the Milky Way, in 1938, confirming Janskys discovery. This led to the discovery of a range of celestial objects, such as radio gala xies, quasars, and pulsars with radio emission with various types of antennas. [1] 1.1.2.1 Radio Interferometry Radio interferometry are arrays of radio antennas that are used inastronomicalobservations simultaneously to simulate singletelescopesof very largeapertures and are used to make measurements of fine angular detail in the radio emission. Radio interferometry enable measurement of the position of radio sources with accuracy to allow identification of other objects detected in the electromagnetic spectrum. Michelson and Pease made the discovery of the interferometric techniques in 1921. They were able to obtain sufficiently fine angular resolution to measure the diameters of some of the nearer stars such as Arcturus and Betelgeuse. [2] 1.1.2.2 Aperture Synthesis Aperture Synthesis or Synthesis Imaging is a type of interferometry that correlates radio signals obtained from a collection of telescopes or antennas to produce images. These images have the same angular resolution as that of the size of a single and a much larger telescope or antenna. Aperture synthesis was first discovered by Sir Martin Ryle (27 September 1918 – 14 October 1984) and coworkers from the Radio Astronomy Group at Cambridge University at radio wavelengths. In 1974, Martin Ryle was the first astronomer awarded a Nobel Prize. [3] Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI) also makes use of radio interferometric techniques. TypicallyVLBIrefers to experiments that do not process their data in real time, but record it for latercorrelation to produce the resulting image. It achieves ultra-high angular resolution and is a multi-disciplinary technique. VLBIis used in measuring pulsar parallaxes andproper motion, resolving the cores of radio galaxies and fets from supermassive black holes, among others. [14] Some of the commonly used radio interferometers are: the Very Large Array (VLA) in Socorro, New Mexico,USA; It consists of 27 radio antennas, each of diameter 25 metres, along three arms of a Y-shaped configuration spread over three 21 kilometres tracks providing 351 baselines. [4] the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN), operated by Jordrell Bank Observatory; It is an array of 7 radio telescopes spread across Britain with separation up to 217 kilometres operating at frequencies between 151 MHz and 24 GHz. [5] the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) in Narrabri, NSW, Australia. The telescope is an array of six identical 22 metres diameter dishes with five movable dishes along a 3 kilometres railway track and the sixth one is 3 kilometres west at the end of the main track. The maximum baseline length is 2.7 kilometres and the observing frequencies are from 300 MHz to 8 GHz.[6] the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Narayangaon,Pune, India. It consists of 30 steerable parabolic dish each of diameter 45 metres opertaing at six different frequency bands and where 14 dishes are arranged in a central square and remaining 6 in a three arm Y-shaped array giving a baseline of about 25 Kilometres . [7] Some of the new radio interferometers are: Low Frequency Array (LoFAR) in north of Exloo, the Netherlands (core) and neighbouring countries It is a phased-array of radio telescopes of about 25,000 small antennas in at 48 larger stations where 40 of these stations are distributed across the north of Netherlands, five stations in Germany, and one each in Great Britain, France and Sweden and has a low requency range from 10-240 MHz. [8] Figure 1: The LoFAR Array Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in llano de Chajnantar Observatory, Atacama Desert,Chile It consists of sixty six 12 metres and 7 metres diameter radio telescopes observing at wavelengths of 0.3 to 9.6 millimetres . [9] Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) in Murchison Radio Astronomy Observatory, Western Australia It consists of 2048 dual-polarization dipole antennas, each a 44 array of dipoles and operates at low radio frequencies, 80-300 MHz, with a processed bandwidth of 30.72 MHz for both linear polarisations, and consists of 128 aperture arrays (known as tiles) distributed over approximately 3- kilometres diameter area. [10] Figure 2: MWA Antenna tiles KAT7 MeerKAT in Northern Cape, South Africa Figure 3: Aerial View of KAT7 KAT-7 consist of 7 dishes of 12 metres in diameter each a Prime Focus Reflecting Telescopes having a minimum baseline of 26 meters and maximum baseline of 185 metres and have a frequency range of 1200 MHz – 1950 MHz. KAT-7 is an engineering prototype for the MeerKAT. KAT-7 is the world’s first radio telescope array with fiberglass dishes. . MeerKAT, which is still under construction and is slated for completion in 2016 , will consist of 64 dishes of 13.5 meters in diameter having a minimum baseline of 29 metres and maximum baseline of 20 kilometres and it will operate at frequency ranging from 580MHz – 1.75 GHz and 8 – 15 Ghz.[11,12] e- MERLIN is an enhanced and upgraded array of the old MERLIN array.The e- MERLIN instrument is a high resolution radio interferometer connected by a new optical fibre network to Jodrell Bank Observatory. This new system gives rise to a massive increase in sensitivity and observational capabilities.[13] Figure 4: e-MERLIN array European VLBI Netwok (EVN) is an interferometric array of radio telescopes spread across Europe which also includes stations in far-East Asia , South Africa and Puerto Rico that conducts high resolution radio astronomical observations of radio sources. It is the most sensitive VLBI array in the world. It was formed in 1980 and the administering body now comprises 14 institutes[15].TheEVNalso routinely joins other networks, such as theVery Long Baseline Array (VLBA)and the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN), to become a globalVLBIarray. The VLBA is spread throughout Mauna Kea , Hawaii and St Croix. It typically consists of 10 VLA radio antennas and as result it has a maximum baseline exceeding 8000 Km[16]. Some of the future African based new radio interferometers are: African VLBI Network (AVN) Multi-Frequency Interferometry Telescope for Radio Astronomy (MITRA) 1.1.3 MITRA (Multi-frequency Interferometry Telescope for Radio Astronomy) 1.1 The MITRA is an international radio astronomy project which aims to do extremly wide field of imaging with heterogenius non coplanar arrays. The acronym of MITRA means â€Å"friend† in Sanskrit. It is a low frequency array telescope jointly started by Girish Kumar Beeharry from University of Mauritius (UOM) nd Stuart David Macpherson and Gary Peter Janse Van Vuuren from the Durban University of Technolagy (DUT) in South Africa. The project is being simultaneously implemented at the Mauritius Radio Telescope (MRT), located at Bras D’Eau Mauritius, site and at the DUT campus site. The projects will then be expanded to the different SKA Africa partner countries and eventually to other African countries. Data from each country will be combined to form an international aperture synthesis telescope using the techniques of Very Large Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). It is a sensitive high resolution multifrequency dual polarity instrument in the range of 200 to 800 MHz. The instrument chosen for this purpose are Dual Polarized Log Periodic Dipole Antennas (DPLPDA)[17]. 1.1.4 African Long Baseline Interferometry Network (AVN) The African Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (AVN) is an array of radio telescopes throughout Africa. It is planned to form part of the existing global VLBI networks . It will be associated with the European VLBI Network (EVN ). The latteris a consortium of major radio astronomy institutes in Europe and China (Schilizzi). It has member and associated radio telescopes in Europe, China, South Africa (Hartebeesthoek0, Japan(Kashima) and Puerto Rico (Arecibo). The EVN is capable of providing an excellent angular resolution(from 5 to 0.15 milliarc seconds depending on observing frequency) and high sensitivity for VLBI observations. One of the main technological drivers has been the availability of telecommunication antennas all over Africa. Part of the scheme is to modify the existing dishes, of about at least 30 m in diameter, into radio telescopes. All these telescopes will be linked together, and to radio telescopes in South Africa, forming the African VLBI Network. This, in t urn, would be connected to radio telescopes and arrays in Europe and elsewhere in the world, including North and South America, Asia and Australia. The conversion of a Ghana located dish into a radio telescopes has already been begun.The AVN’s plans to convert three more dishes in Kenya, Zambia and Madagascar. It also aims to build four new radio telescopes in Namibia, Botswana, Mauritius and Mozambique. [19] 1.1.5 Electronic Multi Beam Radio Astronomy ConcEpt(EMBRACE) and African European Radio Astronomy Aperture Array (AERA3 ) The EMBRACE demonstrates the technical and scientific potential of the aperture array concept using a phased array station with the essential SKA. There are two stations, one in NanÃ’Â «ay, France and the other one at the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) in the Netherlands. These two stations are prototype arrays for the SKA MFAA. It consists of an antenna array organized in tiles of dual polarization antennas. A large number of antenna tiles forms the collecting area. The signals from the radiating elements of the antenna from each tile are amplified and the initial analogue RF beam forming is applied. Generally, an EMBRACE is designed for a frequency range of 400-1500 MHz of single polarization, a collecting area of 100 m2 , system temperature of 100 K and has two fields of view with 8 digital beams . The idea of having multiple independent beams gives rise to the AERA3 because EMBRACE considers only two beams. AERA3 is similar to EMBRACE but this new aperture array will have a greater collecting area with will be approximately 2000 m2 varying with a frequency range of 400-1500 MHz with full polarization, two fields of view with 64 digital beams, system temperature of 50 K and bandwidth of less than 500 MHz. AERA3 will be used for intensity mapping, surveys of the whole sky and search for pulsars.[20,21] Figure 5: Embrace at Nancay, Paris 1.1.6 The Square Kilometre array (SKA) The SKA will be a revolutionary radio telescope made of hundred of thousands of receptors. They will be linked together, forming a total collecting area of approximately one square kilometre. It will be the largest and most sensitive radio telescope ever built. It will be able to survey the sky faster than present instruments. In 2006, the African consortium and Australia were both shortlisted as potential sites fot building the SKA. In the 25th May 2012, the SKA organisation announced that SKA would be shared between the African consortium and Australia on a 2:1 ratio basis. The African consortium would be undertaking the construction of the high and mid frequency arrays. The Australian would be in charge of the low frequency aperture array. The SKA consists of two phases where Phase 1 is the construction of about 10% of the SKA. It will make use of the existing infrastructure and telescopes already being built by the two countries. That is, the South Africas precursor array the 64-dish MeerKAT telescope and the Australias 36-dish SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). Additionally, there will be 50low-frequency 1.5 metre high antenna stations, 60mid-frequency 15 metre dishes built in Australia. Finally, 190mid-frequency 15 metres dishes will be built in South Africa. Phase 2 is the extension to a baseline of 3,000 Km or more in South Arica and African partners countries. These are namely, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zambia. Also, a total of about three thousand dishes, with the highest concentration in the Northern Cape, South Africa, and some dishes in the other consortium countries will be built. In Australia, the telescope will extend over a baseline of200 km. It will operate with a frequency coverage from 70 MHz to 30 GHz. The SKA will use aperture synthesis, over a distance of more than 3000km to simulate a single giant radio telescope capable of extremely high sensitivity and angular resolution. The SKA will be able to observe the black holes, stars, galaxies and detect black holes[11,22,23,24]. Figure 6: SKA overview 1.1.7 The Log Periodic Dipole Antenna A log periodic antenna, also referred to as a log periodic array, is an antenna that can operate on a wide frequency band. It was à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ rst built in 1958 by Dwight Isbell at the University of Illinois, United States of America. LPDA is a directional antenna which possesses constant electrical characteristics such as gain, impedance and front-to-back ratio over the wide range of frequencies. It varies periodically with the logarithmic. The antenna consists of a series of linear elements also known as dipoles and the individual elements connect with a transmission or feed line such as coaxial cable. Each element is placed in an alternating configuration leading to a phase shift of 180o (Ï€ radians). [25] 1.2 Aim The aim of this project is to construct a front-end system for radio astronomical observations in the frequency range 200 MHz to 800 MHz using the Dual Polarised Log Periodic Dipole Antenna model with bandwidth 200 MHz to 800 MHz. The front end system will consist of an L-shaped array of antennas. This L shaped array is the start of a matrix of an eight by eight antennas. It will be used as a prototype for Intensity mapping for large scale neutral hydrogen (HI) mapping. Several improvements to the existing antennas will be made and applied to new array configuration. Also along with the array, a shielded box will be constructed for electronic purposes. This work focuses on the longer baseline sparse mid frequency aperture array (MFAA), in contrast to the dense aperture arrays like EMBRACE and the future AERA3.

Marriage in ancient Rome Essay -- essays research papers

The Roman institution of marriage has been lauded as being the first purely humanistic law of marriage, one that is based on the idea of marriage being a free and freely dissolvable union of two equal partners for life. (Schulz, 1951;103) This is quite a simplistic view, as there were many differing forms of marriage in Rome, from the arranged marriages of the elite to the unions of slaves and soldiers. As we shall see, the Romans' actual expectations of married life and the gains they envisioned they would receive from the experience depended greatly on their age, sex and social status. Unlike our contemporary society, no specific civil ceremony was required for the creation of a marriage; only mutual agreement and the fact that the couple must regard each other as husband and wife accordingly. (Gardner,1986;47) Although not a legal necessity, some weddings, usually the first marriage of elite couples was accompanied by much revelry and song, as featured in one of Catullus' poems. It describes the celebration of the marriage with dancing, singing and the brandishing of torches. Ribald jokes are shouted at the bride and nuts are scattered as she makes her way towards her husband's house. The groom arrives before the bride so that he can personally invite her to come and share his home. Now married, what does the couple expect to gain from the experience? The young bride is most probably in her early teens, as is the girl described in Catullus' poem with the words, "Young boy, release the little girl's small smooth arm". After marriage she will be transformed from a "little girl" into a respected wife. Elsewhere Catullus assures his readers that young daughters are unloved by their parents until they are married. "If, when she is ripe for marriage, she enters into wedlock, she is ever dearer to her husband and less hateful to her parents†¦" (Catullus, Poems 62.57-65) If we are to take this at face value, then marriage for young girls gains them the affection of their parents. A similar sentiment is found in the funeral eulogy from Rome for a woman named Murdia. It speaks of her dealing with her arranged marriage with obedience and propriety and "as a bride to become more beloved because of her merits†¦". (Reading 139, Lefkowitz and Fant, 1982;135) Marriage, for both males and females granted them a larger network of fam... ...her image. He wanders lovesick to her room only to discover she is not there. It is safe to say that one of the gains from marriage for both partners was sexual satisfaction, even if certain men did look outside the marriage bed occasionally. Were the Roman's expectations of marriage likely to be met? The foremost function of marriage, the production of children, was likely to be met by most marriages. Having those children survive and succeed you as heirs or to look after you in old age was another matter. Cornelia bore twelve children of whom only three survived. In an age of high mortality, in which both childbirth and military campaigns were a factor, it could be difficult to establish a lasting partnership, the ideal Roman marriage of one partner for life. It is recorded on the tombstones of the long dead that indeed these marriages did exist, and even if it is but a literary cliche, it is still a testament of their devotion to one another. "Pythion son of Hicesius set up this common memorial to himself and to his wife Epicydilla daughter of Epicydes. He was married at eighteen and she at fifteen, and for fifty years of life together they shared agreement unbroken†¦" Marriage in ancient Rome Essay -- essays research papers The Roman institution of marriage has been lauded as being the first purely humanistic law of marriage, one that is based on the idea of marriage being a free and freely dissolvable union of two equal partners for life. (Schulz, 1951;103) This is quite a simplistic view, as there were many differing forms of marriage in Rome, from the arranged marriages of the elite to the unions of slaves and soldiers. As we shall see, the Romans' actual expectations of married life and the gains they envisioned they would receive from the experience depended greatly on their age, sex and social status. Unlike our contemporary society, no specific civil ceremony was required for the creation of a marriage; only mutual agreement and the fact that the couple must regard each other as husband and wife accordingly. (Gardner,1986;47) Although not a legal necessity, some weddings, usually the first marriage of elite couples was accompanied by much revelry and song, as featured in one of Catullus' poems. It describes the celebration of the marriage with dancing, singing and the brandishing of torches. Ribald jokes are shouted at the bride and nuts are scattered as she makes her way towards her husband's house. The groom arrives before the bride so that he can personally invite her to come and share his home. Now married, what does the couple expect to gain from the experience? The young bride is most probably in her early teens, as is the girl described in Catullus' poem with the words, "Young boy, release the little girl's small smooth arm". After marriage she will be transformed from a "little girl" into a respected wife. Elsewhere Catullus assures his readers that young daughters are unloved by their parents until they are married. "If, when she is ripe for marriage, she enters into wedlock, she is ever dearer to her husband and less hateful to her parents†¦" (Catullus, Poems 62.57-65) If we are to take this at face value, then marriage for young girls gains them the affection of their parents. A similar sentiment is found in the funeral eulogy from Rome for a woman named Murdia. It speaks of her dealing with her arranged marriage with obedience and propriety and "as a bride to become more beloved because of her merits†¦". (Reading 139, Lefkowitz and Fant, 1982;135) Marriage, for both males and females granted them a larger network of fam... ...her image. He wanders lovesick to her room only to discover she is not there. It is safe to say that one of the gains from marriage for both partners was sexual satisfaction, even if certain men did look outside the marriage bed occasionally. Were the Roman's expectations of marriage likely to be met? The foremost function of marriage, the production of children, was likely to be met by most marriages. Having those children survive and succeed you as heirs or to look after you in old age was another matter. Cornelia bore twelve children of whom only three survived. In an age of high mortality, in which both childbirth and military campaigns were a factor, it could be difficult to establish a lasting partnership, the ideal Roman marriage of one partner for life. It is recorded on the tombstones of the long dead that indeed these marriages did exist, and even if it is but a literary cliche, it is still a testament of their devotion to one another. "Pythion son of Hicesius set up this common memorial to himself and to his wife Epicydilla daughter of Epicydes. He was married at eighteen and she at fifteen, and for fifty years of life together they shared agreement unbroken†¦"

History of Life Insurance Essay

From the earliest days, Man has organized himself to control three main hazards, which confronted him, and still do. These hazards are: †¢ DYING TOO SOON †¢ LIVING TOO LONG †¢ BECOMING DISABLED Life Insurance originated and developed to reduce the impact of these hazards by grouping together with others and thus sharing the risk. The story of the origin of life insurance is very inspiring. The idea of guarding against risk is almost as old as mankind. We know that Joseph recommended storing grain during seven fat years in Egypt against the impending seven lean years. Centuries ago in England, little groups banded together into guilds and societies. Members of these guilds and societies by paying small sums were assured that a certain measure of relief would be given to their families if the breadwinner were taken away. In 1705, â€Å"The Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assistance Office† was founded and it became England’s first successful Life Insurance Company. One of the first records of life insurance was in Rome. The groups called Fratres (burial clubs) came together. These were set up by the poor to pay for the funerals of the members and to help the surviving family members financially. The middle ages had guilds for the various types of highly skilled labor. There are accounts that show that these guilds helped their members with various types of insurance including life insurance and disability insurance. Life insurance came into its own in England in the late1600’s and became popular from that time on. During this time period Lloyd’s of London was growing. Lloyd’s whose name came from Lloyd’s Coffee House where insurance was transacted by ship-owners with the underwriters (backers) who met to put together insurance contracts and other shipping and merchant related business. Some people think of insurance as gambling. It really isn’t gambling even though it has the similarities of probability and odds. Insurance serves a public good of sharing the financial risks of existence and life and death among many to serve those who have experienced a loss. The first life insurance company in the United States started in 1735. This company was started for the benefit of Presbyterian ministers’ families. The mutual life insurance companies originally dominated the life insurance. These are life insurance companies that are owned by the policyholders and thus those policy-owners receive their pro-rata share of the company’s profits. There are also stock life insurance companies where the profits are made for the benefit of the stockholders. Similar to the mutual life insurance companies are fraternal life insurance companies, which were started by the various fraternal orders to assist their members. Today the insurance business has evolved to a multi-faceted business with various programs and numerous distribution methods. The internet and the insurance industry is in its infancy with most insurance companies having a web site and now with web sites able to do life insurance. There are choices today that differ greatly from the choices of even a few years ago. The Internet has made information on life insurance accessible just as any subject. But you still need the right knowledge. That may come from a qualified insurance agent who knows their business or from a great life insurance or disability insurance web site that provides great information for you to study. Life Insurance as we know today, developed from these small beginnings into a gigantic industry, which gives people the security they need to maintain financial soundness, morale, and faith. Through war, inflation, deflation, depression, boom, panic, epidemic, and all kinds of catastrophes, life insurance gives the individual the solid financial footing needed to forge ahead as it is based on sound and scientific principles. Any other financial institution cannot approach its record of service. At the times when Banks failed by the hundreds and the investment companies went under, the Life Insurance Companies paid their dues in full and survived the turmoil. Life Insurance Companies have maintained an enviable record in the face of almost every conceivable trial. Life Insurance is truly INCOME INSURANCE; a new source of income replacing the earning power of the breadwinner if unfortunately he is taken away. It is in a sense, TIME, because it is money a person did not have time to accumulate; an estate that will complete the plans there was not time to finish. Life Insurance is sold not because someone may die, but because someone must live. If people die, the contracts, which the life insurance agent has sold, are LIFE for the survivors. If people live, the contracts are life for their old age. While people live, their contracts assure effective thrift and accumulation of funds and reserves for emergencies and for opportunities. It is an unsurpassed vehicle of savings; protection and growth, which has stood the test of time and given people the security they need to maintain financial soundness and peace of mind.

Tax Cuts essays

Tax Cuts essays Dominic Shafer James Bang A09 The article I chose to comment on, The Double Benefit of Tax Cuts is from The Wall Street Journal. It was published on Tuesday October 7, 2003 and was written by Gary Becker, Edward Lazear, and Kevin Murphy. My article covers the current issue of presidential candidates and their plans to make tax cuts. In a debate on economics in September 2003, every Democratic candidate talked about rolling back President Bushs tax cuts. The candidates tried to show that in a time of economic recovery it would be the perfect time to introduce tax reductions, which would help stimulate economic activity over the next year or more. The idea of whether or not a tax cut would help out over a long period of time was not an important issue in this discussion. There were two main ideas behind cutting takes that the candidates talked about. The first reason they talked about is that a tax cut would make sense is because government spending responds to tax revenues, so that lower revenues imply lower government spending. Just as in a business, the spending by the government is limited by its revenue. It was also pointed out that the government budget equation plays a factor on the revenue. Normally, government spending has to do with societys needs and takes taxes to balance the government budget equation, but there is some evidence that shows spending often adjusts to the tax revenue. In the past, tax cuts have shown the dependence of spending on tax revenue. In the 1980s President Reagan proposed a tax cut that helped promote long-term growth. President Bush hoped his tax cuts would stimulate the economy and help future growth. In the late 1980s and early 90s there was a decline in federal spending, which was linked to the need to adjust spending to growin...

Sample Argumentative and Persuasive Writing Prompts

Sample Argumentative and Persuasive Writing Prompts Any of the 40 statements or positions below may be either defended or attacked in an argumentative essay or speech. Selecting a Position In choosing something to write about, keep in mind Kurt Vonneguts advice:  Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. But be sure to rely on your head as well as your heart: select a topic that you know something about, either from your own experience or  from that of others. Your instructor should let you know whether formal research is encouraged or even required for this assignment. Because many of these issues are complex and wide-ranging, you should be prepared to narrow your  topic  and focus your approach. Selecting a position is only the first tep, and you must learn to prepare and develop your position persuasively. At the end of the following list, youll find links to a number of argumentative paragraphs and essays. 40 Topic Suggestions: Argument and Persuasion Dieting makes people fat.Romantic love is a poor basis for marriage.The war on terror has contributed to the growing abuse of human rights.High school graduates should take a year off before entering college.All citizens should be required by law to vote.All forms of government-funded welfare should be abolished.Both parents should assume equal responsibility in raising a child.Americans should have more holidays and longer vacations.Participating in team sports helps to develop good character.The production and sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.People have become overly dependent on technology.Censorship is sometimes justified.Privacy is not the most important right.Drunk drivers should be imprisoned for the first offense.The lost art of letter-writing deserves to be revived.Government and military personnel should have the right to strike.Most study-abroad programs should be renamed party abroad: they are a waste of time and moneyThe continuing decline of CD sales along wit h the rapid growth of music downloads signals a new era of innovation in popular music. College students should have complete freedom to choose their own courses.The solution to the impending crisis in Social Security is the immediate elimination of this government program.The primary mission of colleges and universities should be preparing students for the workforce.Financial incentives should be offered to high school students who perform well on standardized tests.All students in high school and college should be required to take at least two years of a foreign language.College students in the U.S. should be offered financial incentives to graduate in three years rather than four.College athletes should be exempted from regular class-attendance policies.To encourage healthy eating, higher taxes should be imposed on soft drinks and junk food.Students should not be required to take physical education courses.To conserve fuel and save lives, the 55 miles-per-hour national speed limit should be restored.All citizens under the age of 21 should be required to pass a drivin g education course before receiving a license to drive. Any student caught cheating on an examination should be automatically dismissed from college.Freshmen should not be required to purchase a meal plan from the college.Zoos are internment camps for animals and should be shut down.University students should not be penalized for illegally downloading music, movies, or other protected content.Government financial aid for students should be based solely on merit.Nontraditional students should be exempted from regular class-attendance policies.At the end of each term, student evaluations of faculty should be posted online.A student organization should be formed to rescue and care for the feral cats on campus.People who contribute to Social Security should have the right to choose how their money is invested.Professional baseball players convicted of using performance-enhancing drugs should not be considered for induction into the Hall of Fame.Any citizen who does not have a criminal record should be permitted to carry a concealed weapon.