Gadget Toys Case Write-Up Essay

Gadget Toy Company is faced with a choice between two options to reduce project time for their new toy line. Gadget must cut down project time in order to meet their Christmas deadline that is 19 weeks away. Analysis shows that there are two critical paths for the current process, which is 20 weeks long and includes the following critical activities: obtain funding approval (A), finalize engineering (B), build dies/tools (D), raw material delivery (K), initial production run (L), ship product (M), train workers (F), and de-bug process (G). See figure below. Gadget’s first option is to reduce the amount of product advertising. Although this might reduce cost, advertising (J) is not a critical activity and won’t reduce the total project time. Beyond that, cutting six weeks of advertising – the maximum amount – will result in an estimated 30% decrease in sales. This is hardly worth the lower costs for a new product launch, and advertising is necessary if Gadg et wants the children’s toy line to be popular beyond the Christmas season. Gadget’s second option is to ask the production manager to work weekends for faster tool building (D). Although this would cost the company $5000, Gadget Toy Co. should accept the offer. Tool building is a critical activity and the bottleneck in the process flow. The next longest path in the process flow is 16 weeks, resulting in a slack time of four weeks. By accepting the offer from the tool builder the critical paths can be reduced to 18 weeks and the product can be launched within the 19-week deadline. Process Paths Before Decision: AHJM = 1 + 1 + 12 + 1 = 15 weeks AHIKLM = 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 10 weeks ABDKLM = 1 + 1 + 12 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 20 weeks (critical path) ABDFGLM = 1 + 1 + 12 + 1 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 20 weeks (critical path) ACEFGLM = 1 + 8 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 16 weeks Process Paths Before Decision: AHJM = 1 + 1 + 12 + 1 = 15 weeks AHIKLM = 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 10 weeks ABDKLM = 1 + 1 + 12 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 20 weeks (critical path) ABDFGLM = 1 + 1 + 12 + 1 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 20 weeks (critical path) ACEFGLM = 1 + 8 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 16 weeks Gadget Flow Chart Total Time to Delivery 18 WEEKS Total Time to Delivery 18 WEEKS Raw Material Delivery (K) 2 WEEKS Raw Material Delivery (K) 2 WEEKS Train Workers (F) 1 WEEK Train Workers (F) 1 WEEK De-Bug Process (G) 1 WEEK De-Bug Process (G) 1 WEEK Initial Production Run (L) 3 WEEKS Initial Production Run (L) 3 WEEKS Ship Product (M) 1 WEEK Ship Product (M) 1 WEEK Finalize Packaging and Artwork (I) 2 WEEKS Finalize Packaging and Artwork (I) 2 WEEKS Advertise (J) 12 WEEKS Advertise (J) 12 WEEKS Install Equipment (E) 1 WEEK Install Equipment (E) 1 WEEK Build Dies/Tools 10 WEEKS (D) BOTTLENECK Build Dies/Tools 10 WEEKS (D) BOTTLENECK Establish Advertising Plan 1 WEEK (H) Establish Advertising Plan 1 WEEK (H) Finalize Engineering (B) 1 WEEK Finalize Engineering (B) 1 WEEK Deliver New Equipment (C) 8 WEEKs Deliver New Equipment (C) 8 WEEKs Obtain Funding Approval (A) 1 WEEK Obtain Funding Approval (A) 1 WEEK After Decision

Edwin Arlington Robinson

â€Å"One of the most prolific major American poets of the twentieth century, Edwin Arlington Robinson is, ironically, best remembered for only a handful of short poems,† stated Robert Gilbert in the Concise Dictionary of American Literary Biography. Fellow writer Amy Lowell declared in the New York Times Book Review, â€Å"Edwin Arlington Robinson is poetry. I can think of no other living writer who has so consistently dedicated his life to his work.† Robinson is considered unique among American poets of his time for his devotion to his art; he published virtually nothing during his long career except poetry. The expense of Robinson’s single-mindedness,† Gilbert explained, â€Å"was virtually everything else in life for which people strive, but it eventually won for him both fortune and fame, as well as a firm position in literary history as America’s first important poet of the twentieth century. † Robinson seemed destined for a career in business or the sciences. He was the third son of a wealthy New England merchant, a man who had little use for the fine arts. He was, however, encouraged in his poetic pursuits by a neighbor and wrote copiously, experimenting with verse translations from Greek and Latin poets. In 1891 Edward Robinson provided the funds to send his son to Harvard partly because the aspiring writer required medical treatment that could best be performed in Boston. There Robinson published some poems in local newspapers and magazines and, as he later explained in a biographical piece published in Colophon, collected a pile of rejection slips â€Å"that must have been one of the largest and most comprehensive in literary history. † Finally he decided to publish his poems himself, and contracted with Riverside, a vanity press, to produce The Torrent and The Night Before, named after the first and last poems in the collection. In the poems of The Torrent and The Night Before, Robinson experimented with elaborate poetic forms and explored themes that would characterize much of his work—†themes of personal failure, artistic endeavor, materialism, and the inevitability of change,† according to Gilbert. He also established a style recognizably his own: an adherence to traditional forms at a time when most poets were experimenting with the genre (â€Å"All his life Robinson strenuously objected to free verse,† Gilbert remarked, â€Å"replying once when asked if he wrote it, ‘No, I write badly enough as it is. †), and laconic, everyday speech. Robinson mailed copies of The Torrent and The Night Before out â€Å"to editors of journals and to writers who he thought might be sympathetic to his work,† said Gilbert. Read also  How Powerful Do You Find Atticus Finch’s Closing Speech? The response was generally favorable, although perhaps the most significant review came from Harry Thurston Peck, who commented unfavorably in the Bookman on Robinson’s bleak outlook and sense of humor. Peck found Robinson’s tone too grim for his tastes, saying that â€Å"the world is not beautiful to [Robinson], but a prison-house. â€Å"I am sorry that I have painted myself in such lugubrious colours,† Robinson wrote in the next issue of the Bookman, responding to this criticism. â€Å"The world is not a prison house, but a kind of spiritual kindergarten, where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell God with the wrong blocks. † Encouraged by the largely positive critical reaction, Robinson quickly produced a second manuscript, The Children of the Night, which was also published by a vanity press, a friend providing the necessary funds. Unfortunately, reviewers largely ignored it; Gilbert suggests that they were put off by the vanity imprint. In 1902, two friends persuaded the publisher Houghton Mifflin to publish Captain Craig, another book of Robinson’s verse, by promising to subsidize part of the publishing costs. Captain Craigwas neither a popular nor a critical success, and for several years Robinson neglected poetry, drifting from job to job in New York City and the Northeast. He took to drinking heavily, and for a time it seemed that he would, as Gilbert put it, fall â€Å"into permanent dissolution, as both his brothers had done. † â€Å"His whimsical ‘Miniver Cheevy,’† Gilbert continued, â€Å"the poem about the malcontent modern who yearned for the past glories of the chivalric age and who finally ‘coughed, and called it fate/and kept on drinking,’ is presumably a comic self-portrait. † Robinson’s luck changed in 1904, when Kermit Roosevelt brought The Children of the Night to the attention of his father, President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt not only persuaded Random House to republish the book, but also reviewed it himself for the Outlook (â€Å"I am not sure I understand ‘Luke Havergal,’† he said, â€Å"but I am entirely sure that I like it†), and obtained a sinecure for its author at the New York Customs House—a post Robinson held until 1909. The two thousand dollar annual stipend that went with the post provided Robinson with financial security. In 1910, he repaid his debt to Roosevelt in The Town down the River, a collection of poems dedicated to the former president. Perhaps the best known of Robinson’s poems are those now called the Tilbury Town cycle, named after the small town â€Å"that provides the setting for many of his poems and explicitly links him and his poetry with small-town New England, the repressive, utilitarian social climate customarily designated as the Puritan ethic,† explained W. R. Robinson in Edwin Arlington Robinson: A Poetry of the Act. These poems also expound some of Robinson’s most characteristic themes: â€Å"his curiosity,† as Gerald DeWitt Sanders and his fellow editors put it in Chief Modern Poets of Britain and America, â€Å"about what lies behind the social mask of character, and †¦ is dark hints about sexuality, loyalty, and man’s terrible will to defeat himself. † Tilbury Town is first mentioned in â€Å"John Evereldown,† a ballad collected in The Torrent and The Night Before. John Evereldown, out late at night, is called back to the house by his wife, who is wondering why he wants to walk the long cold miles into town. He responds, â€Å"God knows if I pray to be done with it all/But God’s no friend of John Evereldown. /So the clouds may come and the rain may fall,/the shadows may creep and the dead men crawl,—/But I follow the women wherever they call,/And that’s why I’m going to Tilbury Town. Tilbury Town reappears at intervals throughout Robinson’s work. The title poem in Captain Craig concerns an old resident of the town whose life, believed wasted by his neighbors, proves to have been of value. The Children of the Night contains the story of Richard Cory, â€Å"a gentleman from sole to crown,/Clean favored, and imperially slim,† who â€Å"one calm summer night,/Went home and put a bullet through his head,† and Tilbury Town itself is personified in the lines â€Å"In fine, we thought that he was everything/ To make us wish that we were in his place. The Man against the Sky—according to Gilbert, Robinson’s â€Å"most important single volume,† and probably his most critically acclaimed—includes the story of the man â€Å"Flammonde,† one of the poet’s most anthologized Tilbury verses. Despite the fact that much of Robinson’s verse dealt with failed lives, several critics see his work as life-affirming. May Sinclair, writing an early review of Captain Craig for the Fortnightly Review, said of the Captain, â€Å"He, ragged, old, and starved, challenges his friends to have courage and to rejoice in the sun. Amy Lowell, in her Tendencies in Modern American Poetry, stated, â€Å"I have spoken of Mr. Robinson’s ‘unconscious cynicism. ’ It is unconscious because he never dwells upon it as such, never delights in it, nor wraps it comfortably about him. It is hardly more than the reverse of the shield of pain, and in his later work, it gives place to a great, pitying tenderness. ‘Success through Failure,’ that is the motto on the other side of his banner of ‘Courage. † And Robert Frost, in his introduction to Robinson’s King Jasper, declared, â€Å"His theme was unhappiness itself, but his skill was as happy as it was playful. There is that comforting thought for those who suffered to see him suffer. † Many Tilbury Town verses were among the poems Robinson included in his Pulitzer Prize-winning Collected Poems of 1922—the first Pulitzer ever awarded for poetry. He won his second poetry Pulitzer in 1924, this time for The Man W ho Died Twice, the story of a street musician whose one musical masterpiece is lost when he collapses after a night of debauchery. Gilbert attributed the poem’s success to its â€Å"combination of down-to-earth diction, classical allusion, and understated humor. † In 1927, Robinson again won a Pulitzer for his long narrative poem Tristram, one in a series of poems based on Arthurian legends. Tristram proved to be Robinson’s only true popular success—it was that rarity of twentieth-century literature, a best-selling book-length poem—and it received critical acclaim as well. â€Å"It may be said not only that ‘Tristram’ is the finest of Mr. Robinson’s narrative poems,† wrote Lloyd Morris in the Nation, â€Å"but that it is among he very few fine modern narrative poems in English. † Early in 1935, Robinson fell ill with cancer. He stayed hospitalized until his death, correcting galley proofs of his last poem, King Jasper only hours before slipping into a final coma. â€Å"Magazines and newspapers throughout the country took elaborate notice of Robinson’s death,† declared Gilbert, â€Å"reminding their readers that he had been considered America’s foremost poet for nearly twenty years and praising his industry, integrity, and devotion to his art. â€Å"It may come to the notice of our posterity (and then again it may not),† wrote Robert Frost in his introduction to King Jasper, â€Å"that this, our age, ran wild in the quest of new ways to be new†¦. Robinson stayed content with the old-fashioned ways to be new. † â€Å"Robinson has gone to his place in American literature and left his human place among us vacant,† Frost concluded. â€Å"We mourn, but with the qualification that, after all, his life was a revel in the felicities of language. †

About immigration in human resource management Essay

About immigration in human resource management - Essay Example Immigration may affect the federal budget, since the government has to establish a tight security between the borders. This increases the output in the labor market and help in boosting the economy. Immigration of human resources has various pros and cons. Among the pros, there is the diversification of ideas. The federal government may also incur more expenses in its budget for enforcing a law that the employers have to know the background of their new employees. The immigration policies on verification of any new employees to an organization would be a huge cost of the federal government. Therefore, the federal government would require making of a clear process through which only the cleared immigrants could be employed. The process would increase the expense of the government to the Department of Homeland Security. Though this process would be expensive to enforce, its evasion to new employees would reduce the revenue collected by the government. This is because employees that were not authorized to work would be non-taxable and therefore reduce the government revenue.Impact of policy changes to employers Immigration of human resources would also have both positive and negative impact on the employer. This happens due to change of employment policies that workers have to be authorized. In the past, the authorization of workers decreased the number of workers who worked in the agricultural farms. It affected the labor supply and, therefore, the few immigrants who qualified to get jobs in the agriculture firms.

QUESTION 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

QUESTION 3 - Essay Example Companies can adapt the principles into their policies, rules, and regulations to enhance their performance. Handling these obstacles and balancing the risks with the company growth and return goals to avoid facing challenges from uncertainty, â€Å"Enterprise â€Å" (2004) outlines internal environment, objective setting, event identification, risk assessment, information and communication, risk response, control activities, and monitoring as the eight principal factors warranting attention in that order: (1) ERM helps the company to prevent risk by creating a good environment within the firm. The risk will be identified by including risk management philosophy, risk appetite, integrity and will be monitored by the firm’s people. (2) Management should set up the objectives before identifying the risk to ensure that it aligns with the company’s mission and risk appetite is appropriately factored in. (3) A company should identify both internal and external events that have an impact on its success and distinguish between risks and opportunities. (4) A company can deal with and respond to the risks effectively by setting up and implementing policies and procedures. (5) The company should identify, capture, and communicate the relevant information across the organization in a suitable format and timeframe so that its workforce has total clarity and are accountable to their duties. (6) Management can decide a set of actions to respond to risks by avoiding, accepting, reduci ng, or sharing risk along the company’s risk tolerances guideline and risk appetite. (7) In order to manage the risks, the company should analyze the likelihood and impact of them and evaluate on an inherent and a residual basis. (8) Dynamically monitoring the whole process of activities by independent evaluations, and modifying some points when necessary represents the ultimate flexibility of ERM, rendering it complete and effective. While abiding by

A Theology of 'Feed my sheep' ministry in the context of New Life Essay

A Theology of 'Feed my sheep' ministry in the context of New Life Church - Essay Example As examples of The Bible are analyzed additional measures to comprehending practical applications for the clergy. The lesson of John 21: 15-17 is an example of the analysis conducted. When analyzed, there is a deeper understanding to the call which received by Jesus and how this applies to the church with congruent applications for today. A. Brief Overview of the Problem The purpose of this paper is based on an examination of the meaning and interpretations of John 21: 15-17. The meaning related to John 21: 15-17 carry a variety of symbolical interpretations and expectations with the conversation of Jesus to Peter. The interpretations not only expand with the basic interpretation of the Bible in the commentary, but the structure and meaning also carry different explanations used within the context of the church. The concept is not only based on exploration of the main context for the event which occurred but also applies to using the expression as a basis for ministry today and applying the context of the event to the needs of today’s church. Exploring the true meaning of John 21.15 – 17 and understanding the meanings related to the overall words then provides a deeper application for ministry today. When exploring the main story, one is able to create an overall understanding of mechanics required for the functioning of the church. B. The Aim of the Study The aim of this study is to first explore all possible interpretations of John 21. 15-17. This follows with ways in which the interpretation applies to today’s church and the understanding of how the explanations apply to practical needs for the 21st century church. Defining the explanations that are a part of the general context today then allows an expansion of possibilities for the church and ministry while linking back to the metaphors, symbols and interpretations that began with the stories and references in the Bible. The importance of this expression is not only one which provides a variety of insights from the potential meaning. The aim also shows how this applies to the current context in society and the relations associated with the church. C. Significance of the Study There are several areas of significance with the story in John 21. 15-17. This begins with the symbolism of Jesus asking Peter the same question three times, which has symbolic and other meanings related to the main concept. The concept combines with potential symbolism and interpretations with the response given by Jesus about feeding his sheep and with the love which Peter states he has for Jesus. The dialogue which occurs has various meanings and is able to apply to the needed concepts for today’s society. Understanding the historical, symbolic and overall meaning of the Biblical passage then becomes important in the context of understanding more of the relationships in the Bible and of creating a deeper meaning for those living in today’s society. D. Methodology Chosen There are three main methodologies used together to compliment the interpretations of John 21. 15-17. The first is observations that occur when reading and interpreting the ideology. From the observations, certain conclusion and ideologies are interpreted through the context of the phrase. The observations come from the literary interpretation that is often used with this r evelation. This is important to note because it is the most common recognition when using the story and testimonial and is currently applied in the context of observation and ministerial interpretation. This is followed with scholarly research that is a part of others who have interpreted the meaning of this phrase through a

Dome shell structure Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Dome shell structure - Research Paper Example good opportunity to learn more about these historical structures on how their evolvement came about, their practice state in the down of this 21st century. Starting from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the Livestock Pavilion in Raleigh, and the Madison Squire Garden in New York all along to the Olympic Stadium in Munich, also from the Pontiac Silver dome found in Michigan Sydney Opera House in Australia plus Haj terminal in Saudi, this unique landmark structures exist. They make us swollen with pride and we are linked by these unique architectural designs (Buckminster Fuller Institute 1). Each structure is a model on its own. Yet the term unique structures cannot be disqualified. Unique structures refer to inventive long span structural systems mainly roofs to the areas to house people. Particularly they incorporate several structures like grids or space frames, cable and strut, geodesic domes, tension membrane and thin shells. Thin shells plus tension membranes, are regarded as form resistant structures, because they oppose loads by desirable quality of their shape. Structures, which oppose load by bending, may be classified by the use of span - depth ratio. Tensile structures are more competent as compared to arches for they do not buckle. Even if efficient in material consumption, they generate greater pull forces at their support (Buckminster Fuller Institute 1). Spain’s Eduardo Torroja is credited for the systematic study of engineering of the shells’ architecture in the 1930s. Felix Cinderella’s work in Mexico ignited this sudden popularity of the shells in the 1950s. His shells were amazing both outwards and for bold engineering. When a 75mm (3 in.) wide shell was regarded daring, Cinderella constructed a hyperbolic parabolic shell with not more than 16 mm (5/8 in.) wideness for the Cosmic Ray Pavilion at the University of Ciudad in Mexico. The following design was that of Esquillan, it is one of the marvelous engineering of the 20th century, whose

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 6

Human Resource Management - Essay Example All these efforts are aimed at making organizations more competitive and yet these activities have one profound effect on organizational life: Managers are being asked (told) to do more with fewer people The growing competitive environment results in the paradigm shift in the recruitment strategy. Research indicates that there is a strong case of behavioural recruitment model. The best organizations succeed not because of their people, but because they have the right people. Skill, knowledge, and attitude of the workforce are critical inputs for the success of any organization (Cronin 1996). Hence, there is the strong need for competency-based recruitment and behavioural interview which can provide a desirable option. The traditional methods which focus more on resume, references and past experience fail to capture the complexity of identifying the right candidate. Competency-based recruitment through behavioural interviews focus more on the right fit between the organization and the individual. Behavioural interviewing provides the structure for describing jobs in terms of the values and behaviour of the organization. It also helps in interpreting the candidates behaviour and not j ust their experience. The job of recruiting a new candidate does not end by signing on the dotted line. The real effort actually begins after that. What today is bringing many companies to become aware of this is often ignored and an overlooked fact is the growing realization that the employees quit within first two to three months of their recruitment, which is often termed as the "honeymoon period". The failure of an employee to stick around can damage the company in many ways. More energy is spent on damage control and to motivate the rest of the employees. The HR department should design induction program to help the employees acclimatize and become comfortable with the

Cultural Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Cultural Anthropology - Essay Example I have seen tourists, however, who travel to distant lands, but still eat their own national food and speak their own languages. This is because they do not know how to observe and learn from other cultures. Anthropology teaches the skills of learning from others, and seeing difference as something positive. Anthropology is showing me that people are going to have to learn to adapt to new working conditions in the future. I am worried that some people will not handle unemployment very well, and they will not be able to find work because manufacturing is disappearing in some countries. I would like work in an area like job and skills training so that I can help people to adapt to the technology and other skills they will need. I think it is not just about learning to use the computer or understanding the information that comes through different media. I think people will have to learn to cope with being alone in their homes, and working from there, for example, because there is going to be too much pollution with transport to and from large cities. This means that people need to learn how to have a social life that is not connected directly with the place of work. They might have to find virtual friends, or create a different society for home workers. I can remember the first time that I was in a large group of native English speakers. My English was not very good, and suddenly I was afraid of that situation. The reason for my fear was that the people were talking very loudly, and laughing with each other. I thought they were rude, and I did not want to be a part of the group. This made me miserable. If I had known about anthropology back then, I would have realized that I was making a big mistake. I was applying the rules of my culture to a different situation. The truth is that actually they were not rude. They were just being friendly. When they call each other names and push each other around, it is just the way that they have of

Business Plan (Restaurant) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Plan (Restaurant) - Essay Example The main logistics issued discussed include outlining the processes for opening a restaurant in London, recruitment of workers, location of the restaurant and estimating competition from other restaurants in the area. Some possible future problems are highlighted and solutions needed to tackle them are presented. For example, the issue of credit or financial crunch is elaborately discussed and the managerial methods required to steer the restaurant into financial survival are clearly explained in the report. Setting up a restaurant in London City might be an interesting investment based on the teeming number of people that live in the city. London has been regarded as the most multicultural city in the entire European bloc: Most London residents come from a variety of backgrounds rich in local cultures and cuisines (Wilson, 2006). The importance of this status is that any restaurant opened in the city will definitely find buyers for its kinds of foods and drinks, be it African, Asian, European or Native American. As the cultural centre of the United Kingdom, London City also attracts a host of visitors from all over the world. These are potential customers who are willing and ready to order for any dishes that serve their best interest. This, in essence, is the most interesting part of the Cultural Revolution through diversity that London has been promoting for ages (Parijs, 2004). Starting a restaurant in London may not be an easy task: but, it could bring a satisfactory result if it is properly undertaken. There are some factors to consider: where to locate the restaurant? What kind of menu should be served at the restaurants that would be quite competitive to invite customers to the tables? How to go about hiring workers to help in the daily operations of the restaurant? What appropriate managerial policies to implement in order to successfully run the restaurant business? All these logistics requirements point to the fact that doing business in

A Secret Gift Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Secret Gift - Essay Example Interested people were required to write and submit reports telling the benefactor about their economic problems. According to Gup, the primary aim of the gift was to reduce the pain and suffering of poor Cantonians who were bracing themselves for the harshest festive season which most of them had never experienced (34). Eventually, 150 families benefitted from $5 each instead of the earlier planned $10 for 75 families due to the overwhelming response from the needy audience. According to Chambers, Gup was touched by the narrations of suffering amid undying hope of the Cantonians as captured in the letters, which he came across in suitcase that belonged to his grandfather almost eight decades earlier (85). At first, the investigative journalist was keen on uncovering the experiences behind the letters; this led him to scan through the documents and piece up the information by interviewing the authors’ descendants across the country. From the interviews involving hundreds of respondents, Gup has reestablished the role played by Mr B. Virdot’s when the country was reeling in economic meltdown. A substantial number of people could not afford to put bread on the table, while others had run out of coal and clothing among other vital necessities. Gup’s investigations show that his grandfather’s role had substantial impacts on the beneficiaries’ lives when life was practically unbearable. Taylor argues that as a journalist, Gup releases an expose of the sorrows and happiness of the tens of families who were strange to Sam Stone, but whose fortunes were basically the result of Mr Stone’s very complicated life of secrecy, philanthropy and equity (18). Gup reveals deeply hidden facts about Stone’s life; from his humble, abusive childhood experiences to his rather criminal life of evading capture by American authorities for lacking the required immigration documents. Mr Stone’s life in the alien country may have played an

DNA Profiling Techniques in Forensic Science Essay Example for Free

DNA Profiling Techniques in Forensic Science Essay Abstract Since 1985, DNA profiling in forensic science has become very important in this virtual era of technology and in the world of science that solves both major and minor crimes. Small traces of DNA are considered in all circumstances from how the DNA was collected to fully obtaining the profile in its significant form. Traces of sweat, blood and semen are the most common type’s evidence found at crime scenes. There are several different methods for creating a DNA profile such as STR (Short Tandem Repeat), PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), Y chromosome analysis, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) and Mitochondrial DNA (MtDNA) analysis. All these types of methods are able to extract DNA from a chosen sample taken from a crime scene. DNA profiling is the information of how a sample is processed and analysed and a DNA profile must be created by collecting and analysing VNTR’s (Variable Number Tandem Repeats), these are unique sequences on the loci which is an area on chromosomes. Most DNA sequences in different people look too similar to tell apart whereas VNTR result in bands that are unique enough for identification of individuals. Introduction DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the hereditary material in almost all living organisms. In 1953 researchers J. Watson and F. Crick saw the structure of DNA. DNA consists of two long strands that are built up chain like, each consisting four nucleotide subunits, attached to a sugar phosphate backbone. Adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T) are bases that are arranged pairwise in the middle of the DNA stand. The nucleotides are covalently linked together, from which the bases A and T, G and C bind by a hydrogen bond (Bray et al 2010: 173). Figure 1 shows the order of the bases, which determine the biological information available for building, and maintaining an organism, the sugar phosphate group molecules form the vertical side piece and the base pairs form a ring shape to create a spiral called a double helix. The two backbone chains run in opposite directions, this is specific for base to base bonding which allows this genetic information contained in DNA to be copied accurately from one generation of cells to the next. Figure 1 – DNA By Jaspreet (Bray et al 2012) There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in humans inherited from our parents, with each parent contributing one half of each pair. Chromosomes are made up of DNA, 22 pairs are autosomes and the last pair is a sex chromosome fig 2 shows this. Autosomes are chromosomes that are not sex chromosomes; they are individual which means that each person has a DNA profile as unique as a fingerprint. No two DNA profiles or fingerprints can be the same due to the combination of marker sizes found in each person makes up his/her unique genetic profile. When determining the relationship between two individuals, their genetic profiles are compared to see if they share the same inheritance patterns at a conclusive rate. Chromosomes are located in the nucleus of each cell and consist of long DNA strands where they are tightly packed and coiled around specific proteins called histones, which are looped and fixed to specific regions of the chromosome. There are 5 different kinds of histones (H1, H2A H2B, H3 and H4); they all bind to DNA to form chromatin in the nucleus during cell division where the chromatin condenses into visible structures that are the chromosomes itself. The DNA wrapped around each histone core is 200bp (base pair) long. Histones can be purified from DNA as H2A and H2B stick together as do H3 and H4 therefore making 8 proteins in each histone core with DNA wrapped is called a nucleosome which is 10nm (nano meter) fibre thickness, H1 is not part of the histone core as it binds to the nucleosome to give an even more structure to the chromatin and waits for the next interaction to take place. Fig 2 – 23 pairs of Chromosomes DNA is specific to its kind where identical twins are formed when a fertilised egg splits into two and develop into a full embryo. Identical twins will have the same genes making them alike in everything controlled by the genes itself. Although they have different phenotypes the DNA itself is expressed in different ways too. If identical twins are raised in different environments and stimuli they can develop some changes such as a genotype for a particular weight and height but this can only happen if they have enough food or a genotype for a potential IQ but again this will rely on the education and the right kind of stimulus received for that individual. Variation within humans result in the genes inherited from your parents and the environment you live in. (David Wright, 2000: 162) Main Body The techniques for identification of DNA profiling only need just a small amount of DNA but in some methods a larger amount is needed. DNA profiling is carried out when human biological fluid or human tissue is found at crime scenes and is used for evidence to link or exclude a possible suspect from the scene. DNA profiling can only be used if there is enough DNA within the sample taken and is only useful for comparing the samples. Samples taken can be compared to a national database of DNA profiling where there are over 700,000 samples in the UK national database alone. When there is a match, the two samples may have originated from the same person but before DNA can be profiled, it must be extracted from the sample in any of the following analysis depending on what the sample is and how much of it you have. One of the first techniques that were adapted for forensic DNA profiling was Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) where this kind of analysis determines variation in the length of a single DNA fragment. If two samples originate from different sources, RFLP can differentiate them using fewer loci than other systems. RFLP can determine whether a single sample contains DNA from more than one person but this can only happen if there is a large amount of greater quality DNA, this technique is stated to be ‘laborious and difficult to automate’ (Rudin and Inman. 2002: 41) (2). Fig 3 shows the RFLP process. Fig 3 – RFLP by Jaspreet (Botstein 2012) Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a process where a specific region of DNA is replicated over and over again to make copies of a particular sequence. Fig 4 shows the process which involves the heating and cooling of samples in a thermal cycle pattern of three steps denaturation, annealing and elongation. The strands get separated and bind to primers (fig 5), which are pieces of DNA so that they attach to the DNA at each end of the region for it to be copied. PCR is very sensitive and effective in many ways in the use of forensic science. PCR only needs a small amount of blood compared to RFLP needs about a quarter. Fig 4 – PCR by Jaspreet (Prof Santiago 2012) The primers used in PCR define the region of the genome that will be analysed. Primers are short pieces of DNA that anneal to the template molecule at either end of the specific region Fig 5 illustrates this. For a forensic PCR analysis the primers must bind to the regions of the DNA sequence to effectively amplify the human DNA while at the same time taking precautions not binding DNA to any other species. (Goodwin et al, 2007) Fig 5 – Primers binding to the DNA strand which is known as the annealing stage. By Jaspreet (Davidson 2012) Short Tandem Repeat (STR) technology is a forensic analysis that evaluates specific regions, loci that are found on a DNA strand. STR is when the repeat units are shorter and each loci can be used simultaneously of two to six bases long. STR regions are analysed for forensic testing between one DNA profiles to another. The purpose of having a core set of STR loci (13 set loci) is to ensure that all forensic laboratories can get the DNA from databases and share valuable forensic information. STR’s does have some limitations on sensitivity where it will work on degraded DNA samples such as damaged body tissue or bone destroyed by fire but sometimes there just isn’t enough sample to be tested giving no results at all for example aged bone. To test even smaller sample of DNA currently mtDNA is the choice of technique. (Gill et al, 2001) Mitochondria produce 90% of a cells energy, and contain their own genomes in the form of a double-stranded circular molecule known as mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). MtDNA is important for finding missing person’s investigations, mass disasters, and other forensic investigations. MtDNA is valuable for determining DNA recovered from damaged, degraded, or very small biological samples that techniques such as STR cannot extract with small amounts of DNA. MtDNA is a small circular genome located in the mitochondria, which are located outside of a cells nucleus. Fig 6 illustrates this. There are two properties of mtDNA: high copy number and maternal inheritance. Samples such as hair, bone and teeth can be used to examine common ancestry between individuals. Maternal inheritance such as grandmother, mother and daughter all have statistically the same mtDNA sequence within them as they have been passed on from generation to generation. This can help to find unidentified remains for analysis and comparison of the mtDNA profile to any maternal relative. High copy number is valuable for when the amount of material within the cell is very small for analysis. (Goodwin et al, 2007) Fig 6 – MtDNA by Jaspreet (Ferullo 2012) Y-chromosome analysis targets only the male population of biological samples as they are passed down from father to son unchanged, except when mutations occur. They can also be used to trace family members amongst males only. A reference Y-chromosome profile has to be compared with an unknown sample match for significance, to confirm that the match actually exists. The Y chromosome DNA testing is important in situations where a small amount of male DNA may be recovered in the presence of excess female DNA, such as in sexual assault evidence. Y chromosome analysis can also benefit missing person’s investigations as it extends the range of potential reference samples. Since fathers pass their Y chromosome onto their sons unchanged all males in a paternal lineage will possess a common Y chromosome haplotype. Conclusion DNA profiling technology is constantly evolving where techniques such as PCR, STR and mtDNA and new loci are being discovered and are being used widely around the world to solve crimes globally. From research and experience we know that the technique RFLP requires too much DNA for the process to take place, it also takes longer too this is the reason why forensic scientist do not use this anymore. However, PCR can be used to amplify very small amounts of DNA, usually in 2-3 hours, to the levels required for RFLP analysis. Therefore, more samples can be analyzed in a shorter time. The ability to analyse such small amounts of samples of evidence taken from crime scenes increases the automation and promises faster and more effective results for forensic evidence in court. DNA degradation can be easily identified on an electropherogram where the process can reduce the height of some alleles, making them too low to be recognised from the data. When there are too many samples of DNA degraded it is classed as no results being obtained and can complicate the interpretation of the samples if two or more are similar to each other. Degradation is more likely to occur during the technique of STR as the amplification of specific regions on the DNA strand will not be successful. References Books 1. John M. Butler, 2005, Forensic DNA Typing – Biology, Technology and Genetics of STR Marker. Elsevier Academic Press (USA). 2nd Edition, page 42 and 63. 2. Norah Rudin and Keith Inman, An introduction to Forensic Analysis, 2nd Edition, CRC Press LLC 2002, page 41, 58 3. Alberts Bray et al, 2010, Essential Cell Biology. Garland Science, Taylor Francis Group LLC. 3rd Edition, page 173 4. William Goodwin et al, 2007. An Introduction to Forensic Genetics. John Wiley Sons Ltd. Page 41, 71, 127-132 5. David Wright, 2000. Human Physiology and Health. Heinemann Educational Publishers. Page 22, 162. Websites 6. http://www.nij.gov/topics/forensics/evidence/dna/basics/analyzing.htm#mitochondrial accessed 21st November 2012 at 11.30am 7. http://www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/Archive/dirnov3/science.html accessed November 20th, 2012 8. Ferullo, Daniel. 7.342 Powerhouse Rules: The Role of Mitochondria in Human Diseases,Spring 2011. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare), http://ocw.mit.edu (Accessed 29 Nov, 2012). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA Journals 9. Gill, P., Sparkes, R. and Tully, G. (2001). DNA Profiling in Forensic Science. John Wiley Sons Ltd. (1), 1-6. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/npg.els.0001001/pdf) accessed 19th November 2012 10. Renata Jacewicz, Krzysztof Lewandowski, Joanna Rupa-Matysek, Maciej Jedrzejczyk, Mieczysław Komarnicki and Jarosław Berent. 2012. Genetic investigation of biological materials from patients after stem cell transplantation based on autosomal as well as Y-chromosomal markers. Int J Legel Med. (1), 1-4. 11. Andreas Meyerhans, Jean-Pierre Vartanian and Simon Wain-Hobson. (1991). Strand Specific PCR amplification of Low Copy Number DNA. Nucleic Acids Research. 20 (3), 521-523.

Impact of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Impact of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) ABSTRACT Extensive researches carried out have pointed to the fact that impact prediction in the EIA process has been problematic and it lacked transparency, scientific rigour or both (Badr et al 2004, Glasson et al 2005). Therefore the aim of this research paper is to evaluate impact prediction in the EIA process by comparing impact prediction practices in three environmental impact statements for one environmental component: Air quality. Methods to identify, access and evaluate impacts were analyzed and how extensively they were used in predicting impacts. A checklist was developed for to comparative analysis and descriptor for symbols awarded to various stages of impact prediction outlined. The result shows that important prediction methods were either omitted or not extensively used in some of the cases. This research paper is therefore in agreement that impact prediction is not practiced in a transparent and scientifically rigorous manner. INTRODUCTION Recent environmental issues that has emerged due to large industrial developments with effects on the environment has led to the birth of the process called Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which can be defined as â€Å"the need to identify and predict impacts on the environment and on mans wellbeing of legislative proposals, policies, programmes, projects and procedures and to interpreter and communicate information about the impacts† (Munn 1979). EIA can also be defined as â€Å"a process by which information about the environment is collected both by the developer and from other sources and taken into account by the relevant decision making body before a decision is given on whether the development should go ahead†(DOE 1995). It can also be defined more simply as â€Å"an assessment of the impacts of a planned activity on the environment† (UNECE 1991). Since the introduction of EIA over 30 years ago, the potential benefits has been widely recognized and it has been adopted and implemented in more than 100 countries by numerous aid and funding agencies (Petts 1999).In essence, EIA is a process that assesses the impact of developments on the environment in a systematic, holistic and multidisciplinary way taking into consideration all environmental components (Glasson et al 2005). EIA as a process involves a number of steps which are as follows Description of project Screening Scoping/consideration of alternatives Baseline studies public consultationparticipation Impact prediction Preparation of Environmental Impact Statement(EIS) Decision making Post decision making and monitoring The EIA process is a cyclical process with feedbacks and interaction between all the steps and public consultation (stakeholder engagement) involved in all the steps. Aggregated studies have shown that EIA practices in some regions of the world have been and remain problematic, but there is evidence that the quality is improving over time (Lee and Brown 1992, DOE 1996, Cashmore et al 2002). However, disaggregated studies indicate that the quality with which certain components of the environment are addressed is significantly more problematic than suggested by the aggregated studies (Glasson and Heanley 1993, Chadwick 2002, Badr and et al 2004). Impact prediction in the EIA process has been a problematic despite being the key and heart of the EIA process (Badr and et al 2004). Despite its centrality in the process, many studies have underemphasized prediction and it is not often treated as an explicit stage in the process, models are not detailed and there are little discussions of limitations (Glasson et al 2005). Therefore, the research for the effectiveness of impact prediction in the EIA process will focus on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which is the document that holds the pre consented states of EIA, and is often readily assessable component of the process (Badr et al 2004). This research paper aims at contributing to the development of grounded initiatives for enhancing EIA effectiveness by looking at impact prediction practices in three different EISs looking into one environmental component which is AIR QUALITY. The following EISs will be used for this research paper CASE 1-A350 Westbury Bypass EIS CASE 2-River Tud Residential Development EIS CASE 3- Kingshill Recycling Centre Biomass Energy Plant EIS The objective of this research is to analyze how extensively impact prediction practices have been carried out in each of these case studies. The following is the structure of the paper: methodology, results, discussion and conclusion. METHODOLOGY The objective of impact prediction is to identify the magnitude and other dimensions of identified change in the environment with the project or action in comparison with the situation without the project or action. It also provides the basis for the assessment of significance (Glasson et al 2005). According to the EIS legislation (S1.4) impact prediction should include assessment of direct and indirect, primary and secondary, cumulative, short, medium and long-term, permanent and temporary, reversible and irreversible, positive and negative effects of a project (Walker and Dalton 2001 in Morris and Therivel 2009). A variety of models are used to estimate air quality impact of sources on receptors to prepare and review new industrial and other sources application and to develop air quality management plans for an area or region and they are the Gaussian, numerical, statistical and physical methods (Jacko and Breche 2003 in salvato et al 2003). There are four stages in impact prediction and they are Impact identification-this brings together the project characteristics and baseline environmental characteristics with the aim of ensuring that all potentially significant environmental impacts are identified and taken into account in the EIA process.( Glasson et al 2005). Ensuring compliance with regulations is an important factor when choosing impact identification methods for assessment. The pathway and receptors are also identified. The methods include checklists, matrices, and quantitative methods and overlay maps. Impact assessment-this involves the detailed analysis of impact to determine their magnitude, significance and expert judgement. There are different methods of impact assessment: professional judgement (qualitative), mathematical methods (quantitative), physical methods, laboratory methods and case to case methods. When choosing prediction methods, the assessor should be concerned about the appropriateness for the task involved, will the method produce what is wanted?, can the method be applied to different projects and allow predictions to be compared? (Lee 1987, Glasson et al 2004). Significance of evaluation- when impact have been predicted, the impacts are then evaluated for acceptability. Criteria for significance include the magnitude and likelihood of impacts, the geographical level. The most formal evaluation method is the comparison of predicted changes in the area to air quality standards, objectives or guideline values, and determining whether they are likely to be exceeded at any location, after taking into account the existing and predicted baseline conditions (Walker and Dalton 2001 in Morris and Therivel 2009). Dispersion models such as DBRM screening method is used to evaluate significance, and the Gaussian model. Other methods are the cost and benefit analysis, multi criteria method, empirical data analysis and simple criteria. Impact mitigation- This is the measure envisaged in order to avoid, reduce and if possible, remedy significant adverse effects (CEQ 1997). Mitigation measures such as change of technology or modification of industrial processes can be implemented. Monitoring should be continued after completion since numerical prediction models contain uncertainties. Continued monitoring is necessary to access the effectiveness of any mitigation measure proposed in an EIA and to ensure that any potential air and climate problems identified have been minimized or mitigated (Walker and Dalton 2001 in Morris and Therivel 2009). A checklist has been developed for the purpose of evaluating impact prediction practices looking at air quality component in three EIS case studies. DISCUSSION Impact identification Case 1 The relevant legislation and policy context was the first method used to identify impacts of the development in air quality. The EU legislation was also looked at, the National Legislative and future legislative measures were also used in impact identification. Relevant policy measures like National planning policy, regional policy and local development framework was used to identify impacts. The limit value of AQS objectives were measured and if it was likely to exceed the objectives declared in the AQMA, then an action plan is to be prepared and implemented. The baseline information was acquired from the local authority and national air quality information archive (NAQIA). Therefore, because of the baseline studies, analysis of the background of air quality data available for the study area showed that the concentration of NO2 and PM10 are generally low in comparison to the relevant AQS objectives and limit value (Wiltshire county council 2007). Future predictions of air quality also carried out. Although qualitative method was used in this exercise, it was not clearly used to identify impacts. Checklists, matrices and overlay maps were not used. Source- pathway-receptor clearly identified. Case 2 Although legislative standards were mentioned, it was not mentioned extensively like in case 1. Baseline data of the environment was obtained from the national environmental technology centre (NETEN) and department of environment. Baseline studies were not used extensively for impact prediction in case 2. Knowledge of baseline conditions is essential because, even when a development is likely to add small amounts of pollution to the area, it could lead to air quality standard of the area being exceeded if air quality in the area is already poor or may become poor in the future(Morris and Therivel 2009). No future predictions of impacts carried out. There was no mention of the use of matrix or checklist for impact identification in this case. The source, pathway and receptor not clearly identified for air quality. Case 3 Most of the legislative standards considered. The UK air quality standards 1989 limits value for pollutants, the air regulations and air quality objectives clearly listed. Baseline studies of the area without the project was mentioned but not considered extensively. Checklists or matrices not used in prediction. Source-pathway and receptors identified. Overall, the main problem of impact identification is the failure to use systematic methods such as checklists, matrices or networks for impact predictions which agrees with Badr et al 2004 â€Å"Most WIA studied failed to provide any information on methods used to identify impacts†. Impact assessment Case 1 Constituent impact stages equally divided and assessed Quantitative assessment method was used for the operational phase of the development for the assessment of local air quality. Impacts on sensitive receptors in the area as a result of the operation of the bypass in the future were analysed using detailed dispersion modelling. DDM was used for the analysis of traffic emissions. Atmospheric dispersion modelling system (ADMS-Roads) was also used and it analysed dispersion of pollutants from industrial and road traffic sources. Qualitative assessment was used in the construction phase of the project. This assessment concluded that emissions will be greater in the operational stage, since the construction was short term, then impact will not be significant. Meteorological data was used for the input into the dispersion model. Case 2 Impacts talked about in construction and operation stages although not extensively. There was no mention of quantitative or computer model to assess air quality impact. The lack of quantitative analysis means that practitioners could not compare predictions with air quality and legislative standards and this is why evaluation of significance is poorly evaluated. (Badr et al 2004) Although qualitative judgement used, but not transparently and scientifically used Metrological data not mentioned at all in impact assessment. Case 3 Construction phase impact omitted and operational phase focused on. Quantitative model used. ADMS model used to assess atmospheric impacts of emission from the project, future predictions considered. Qualitative method not mentioned in impact assessment. Expert opinion provided it is backed up with reason and justification which supports that opinion, such as comparison with similar existing development is a very good method for predicting impacts (Morris and Therivel 2009). Metrological data was used in calculating annual mean of NO2 and SO2 Overall, the problem of impact assessment was the use of quantitative methods. In case 2, for construction emission, it was said that â€Å"it is for the most part not practical to quantify the emissions arising during construction of the dwelling† (South Norfolk County2001).Qualitative assessment only extensively used in case 1 and omitted in case 2 and 3. Future climate baseline levels are usually predicted for the purposes of an EIA, given the major limitations for current models in predicting regional changes, let alone local changes attributed to global warming due to the atmospheric concentrations of green house gases (Walker and Dalton 2001 in Morris and Therivel 2009) Significance evaluation Case 1 Short term mean concentrations of pollutants NO2 and PPM10 were calculated and compared against the relevant AQS objectives. Significance of impacts communicated both numerically and descriptively. Significance also calculated using the comparative method looking at the standard of air quality without the project. Descriptors clearly provided for the significance of air quality based on the magnitude of change in the context of existing conditions. The level of effects of project clearly identified as local effects. Case 2 Although long term mean concentrations mentioned, how numeric values arrived at is not transparent. Comparative method not clearly stated. Level of impact local, national or regional not analyzed. Case 3 Comparative method was used to compare quantitative dispersion ADMS model results with relevant AQS/AQOs. Geographical level of the impact not mentioned although, it was stated in the summary that â€Å"the process design has included mitigation measures to reduce impacts on local and national air quality† (North Wiltshire county). Overall, the significance of impact was well explained in case 1. It was transparent and scientifically rigorous (Badr et al 2004). Methods for significance of impact in case 2 and 3 not transparent although, Comparative measures were used in case 3, the level of impact was not clearly stated. Therefore the main problem of significance of impact was the transparency of the procedure. Impact mitigation Case 1 Mitigation measures were clearly put in place for significant impacts. Construction and operation mitigation plan well listed. CEMP prepared for the project. Alternative technology option also adopted for some impacts. Monitoring not mentioned in mitigation measures. Case 2 Mitigation measures not clearly outlined in this case. Although some preventive measures were outlined, it was not done satisfactorily. No alternative technology options adopted. Monitoring not mentioned in mitigation measures. Case 3 Mitigation measures outlined for construction and operations stages but not decommissioning stage. Alternative technology included in process design to reduce local and national air quality impacts Monitoring of NOx, SO2, PM10, CO outlined. (Annually). The overall problem of mitigation measures is the lack of emphasis on monitoring of air quality during construction and operation phases. A continuous air quality monitoring system for the measurement of selected gaseous air pollutants, particles and metrological conditions over a large geographical area, can make possible immediate intelligence and reaction when ambient air quality levels or emissions increase beyond established standards (Jacko and Breche 2003in Salvato et al 2003). Numerical prediction models contain uncertainties so monitoring should be continued after completion of the development to compare predictions with those that actually occur and continued monitoring is also necessary to access the effectiveness of any mitigation measures proposed in an EIA to ensure that any potential and climate problems identified have been minimized or eliminated (Walker and Dalton in Morris and Therivel 2009) CONCLUSION The aim of this research paper was to evaluate impact prediction in the EIA process by comparing impact prediction practices in three environmental stated for air quality. The research looked at different stages of impact prediction and how the methods for the stages were used and how extensively impact prediction was carried out. Results showed that although impact prediction practices were carried out, it was problematic in the impact identification methods in all cases, methods such as checklists, matrices and networks were not used at all while qualitative method which is used for impact assessment was omitted in a case (case 2). This automatically takes its toll on significance evaluation which uses expert opinion for evaluating significance. Uncertainties associated with the accuracy of a prediction due to the use of inaccurate or partial information on the project or baseline environmental conditions, unanticipated changes in the project during one or more of the changes of the life cycle and oversimplification and errors in the application of methods and models (Glasson et al 2004) was not given consideration at all in any of the cases. Monitoring changes in air quality standard was also a problem. While mitigation measures were proposed, there was no mitigation monitoring plan. Numerical prediction models contain uncertainties so monitoring should be continued after the completion of the development to compare predictions with those that actually occur (Walker and Dalton in Morris and Therivel 2009). Monitoring should be strengthened to enhance impact prediction. It is therefore logical to conclude that different developments or projects determine how extensively impact prediction is practiced. Emphasis is given to air quality predictions for developments like power stations, power plants and road constructions. Emphasis on impact prediction declines for developments such as residential buildings and shopping malls. REFERENCES Badr E,-L, Cashmore,M and Cobb, D (2004) ‘The considerations of impact upon the aquatic environment in environmental impact statements in England and Wales. Journal of environmental assessment policy and management, 6(1):19-49. DOE (Department of the Environment (DOE) (1995) preparation of environmental statements for planning projects that require environmental assessment. A good practice guide. London. HMSO Glasson, J, R, Therivel and Chadwick A (2005) introduction to environmental impact assessment 3rd Edition. London. Routledge Jacko B, La Breche T (2003) air pollution and noise control in Salvato J. A, Numerow N, Land Agardy E, J (2003) Environmental Engineering 5th edition. Canada. John Wiley and sons. Norfolk County Council (2001) proposed residential and associated development at River Tud, Costessey Environmental Impact Statement 2001. Norfolk County Council. Walker D and Dalton H (2001) air quality and climate in Morris P and Therivel R (2009) Methods of Environmental impact assessment 3rd edition. London. Routledge Wiltshire County Council, (2007) A350 Westbury bypass Environmental Impact Statement 2007. Trowbridge, Wiltshire County Council. Wiltshire County Council (2000) Biomass Energy Plant Kingshill Recycling Centre Cricklade North Wilshire Environmental Impact statement 2000. Tollgate, Wiltshire county Council.

The Desktop Publishing DTP Computer Science Essay

The Desktop Publishing DTP Computer Science Essay Refers to the use of computers to design and publish books, brochures, newsletters, magazines and other printed pieces. DTP is really a combination of several different processes including word processing, graphic design, information design, output and pre-press technologies, and sometimes image manipulation. DTP centers around a page layout program. Typically, a layout program is used to import Texts created in word processing programs; Charts and graphs from Spreadsheet programs; drawings and illustrations created in CAD, Drawing or paint program is then used to combine and arrange them all on a page. It is this ability to manipulate so many different items and control how they are used that makes layout software so popular and useful. However, modern word processors also have publishing capabilities, meaning the line separating such programs from DTP software is becoming less clear. in general, though, powerful new publishing systems use high-quality scalable fonts and give you control over typographic features such as Kerning(adjusting the spaces between letters to achieve even, consistent spacing). Another key feature of DTP software is text flow the ability to put text around graphic objects in a variety of ways. Once composed, DTP documents are printers on a laser printer or on a high resolution imageaetter. for transfer to a commercial printer, their native page layout format (such as Adobe inDesing or QuarkXpress) or as PDF files. PDF stands for Portable Document Format and allows people to view, search and print documents exactly as the publisher intended, you don ´t need to have the software and the fonts used to create it. History Desktop publishing began in 1985 with the introduction of  Mac Publisher, the first  WYSIWYG  layout program, which ran on the original 128K  Macintosh  computer. (Desktop  typesetting, with only limited page makeup facilities, had arrived in 1978-9 with the introduction of   Text, and was extended in the early 1980s by  Latex.) The DTP market exploded in 1985 with the introduction in January of the  Apple  LaserWriter  printer, and later in July with the introduction of  PageMaker  software from  Aldus  which rapidly became the DTP industry standard software. The ability to create  WYSIWYG  page layouts on screen and then  print  pages at crisp 300  dpi  resolution was revolutionary for both the typesetting industry and the personal computer industry. Newspapers and other print publications made the move to DTP-based programs from older layout systems like  Atex  and other such programs in the early 1980s. The term desktop publishing is attributed to  Aldus Corporation  founder  Paul Brainerd[1], who sought a marketing catch-phrase to describe the small size and relative affordability of this suite of products in contrast to the expensive commercial  phototypesetting  equipment of the day. By the standards of today, early desktop publishing was a primitive affair. Users of the PageMaker-LaserWriter-Macintosh 512K system endured frequent software crashes, the Macs tiny 512 x 342 1-bit black and white screen, the inability to control  letter spacing,  kerning  (the addition or removal of space between individual characters in a piece of typeset text to improve its appearance or alter its fit) and other  typographic features, and discrepancies between the screen display and printed output. However, it was a revolutionary combination at the time, and was received with considerable acclaim. Behind-the-scenes technologies developed by  Adobe Systems  set the foundation for professional desktop publishing applications. The LaserWriter and LaserWriter Plus printers included high quality, scalable Adobe  PostScript-fonts built into their  ROM  memory. The LaserWriters  PostScript  capability allowed publication designers to proof files on a local printer then print the same file at DTP  service bureaus  using  optical resolution  600+ ppi PostScript-printers such as those from  Linotronic. Later, the  Macintosh II  was released which was much more suitable for desktop publishing because of its larger, color screen, support for multiple displays, greater RAM capacity and its  SCSI  storage interface which allowed fast, high-capacity hard drives to be attached to the system. Although Macintosh-based systems would continue to dominate the market, in 1986, the  GEM-based  Ventura Publisher  was introduced for  MS-DOS  computers. While PageMakers pasteboard metaphor closely simulated the process of creating layouts manually, Ventura Publisher automated the layout process through its use of tags/style sheets  and automatically generated indices and other body matter. This made it suitable for manuals and other long-format documents. Desktop publishing moved into the home market in 1986 with  Professional Page  for the  Amiga,  Publishing Partner  (now Page Stream) for the  Atari ST, GSTs  Timeworks Publisher  on the PC and Atari ST and  Calamus  for the  Atari TT030. Even for 8-bit computers like the  Apple II  and  Commodore 64  software was published: Home Publisher,  The Newsroom  and  geo Publish. During these early years, desktop publishing acquired a bad reputation from untrained users who created poorly-organized  ransom note effect  layouts criticisms that would be levied again against early  web  publishers a decade later. However, some were able to realize truly professional results. For example,  .info magazine  became the very first desktop-published, full-color, newsstand magazine in the last quarter of 1986, using a combination of Commodore  Amiga  computers, Professional Page desktop publishing software, and an  Agfa  Graphics typesetter.[2] Often considered a primary skill, increased accessibility to more user-friendly DTP software has made DTP a secondary skill to  art direction,  graphic design,  denvelopment, marketing,  administrative careers  and advanced high school literacy in thriving economies. DTP skill levels range from what may be learned in a few hours (e.g. learning how to put clip art in a word processor) to what requires a college education and years of experience (e.g.  advertising agency  positions). The discipline of DTP skills range from technical skills such as  prepress production  and  programming  to creative skills such as  communication design  and  graphic image development. Terminology There are two types of pages in desktop publishing,  electronic pages  and virtual paper pages to be printed on  physical paper pages. All computerized documents are technically electronic, which are limited in size only by  computer memory  or  computer data storage  space. Virtual paper pages will ultimately be  printed, and therefore require paper parameters that coincide with  international standard physical paper sizes  such as A4, letter, etc., if not custom sizes for trimming. Some desktop publishing programs allow custom sizes designated for large format printing used in  posters,  billboards  and  trade show displays. A virtual page for printing has a predesignated size of virtual printing material and can be viewed on a monitor in  WYSIWYG  format. Each page for printing has trim sizes (edge of paper) and a printable area if  bleed printing  is not possible as is the case with most  desktop printers. A  web page  is an example of an electronic page that is not constrained by virtual paper parameters. Most electronic pages may be dynamically re-sized, causing either the  content  to scale in size with the page or causing the  content to re-flow. Master pages are templates used to automatically copy or link elements and graphic design styles to some or all the pages of a multipage document. Linked elements can be modified without having to change each instance of an element on pages that use the same element. Master pages can also be used to apply graphic design styles to automatic page numbering. Page layout  is the process by which the elements are laid on the page orderly, aesthetically, and precisely. Main types of components to be laid out on a page include  text, linkedimages  that can only be modified as an external source, and embedded images that may be modified with the layout application software. Some embedded images are  rendered  in the application software, while others can be placed from an external source image file. Text may be  keyed  into the layout, placed, or (with  database publishing  applications) linked to an external source of text which allows multiple editors to develop a document at the same time. Graphic design styles such as color, transparency, and filters, may also be applied to layout elements.  Typography  styles may be applied to text automatically with  style sheets. Some layout programs include style sheets for images in addition to text. Graphic styles for images may be border shapes, colors, transparency, filters, and a parameter designating the way text flows around the object called wraparound or runaround. Comparisons With word processing While desktop publishing software still provides extensive features necessary for print publishing, modern word processors now have publishing capabilities beyond those of many older DTP applications, blurring the line between  word processing  and desktop publishing. In the early days of  graphical user interfaces, DTP software was in a class of its own when compared to the fairly Spartan word processing applications of the time. Programs such as Word Perfect  and  WordStar  were still mainly text-based and offered little in the way of page layout, other than perhaps margins and line spacing. On the other hand, word processing software was necessary for features like indexing and spell checking, features that are common in many applications today. As computers and operating systems have become more powerful, vendors have sought to provide users with a single application platform that can meet all needs. With other electronic layout software In modern usage, DTP is not generally said to include tools such as  TeX  or  troff, though both can easily be used on a modern desktop system and are standard with many  Unix-like operating systems and readily available for other systems. The key difference between electronic  typesetting  software and DTP software is that DTP software is generally interactive and WYSIWYG  in design, while older electronic typesetting software tends to operate in  batch mode, requiring the user to enter the processing programs markup language manually without a direct visualization of the finished product. The older style of typesetting software occupies a substantial but shrinking niche in  technical writing  and textbook publication; however, since much software in this genre is freely available, it can be more cost-effective than the professionally-oriented DTP systems. It is also particularly suitable for corporate newsletters or other applications where consistent, automated layout is important. One of the early and comprehensive reference books on the art of Desktop Publishing is Desktop Publishing For Everyone by K.S.V. Menon. This publication deals with virtually every facet of publishing and nearly all tools available as at the time of the publishing of this book in the year 2000. It is currently out of print. There is some overlap between desktop publishing and what is known as  Hypermedia  publishing (i.e. Web design, Kiosk, CD-ROM). Many graphical  HTML editors  such as  Microsoft FrontPage  and  Adobe Dreamweaver  use a layout engine similar to a DTP program. However, some Web designers still prefer to write HTML without the assistance of a WYSIWYG editor, and only resort to such software, if at all, solely for complex layout that cannot easily be rendered in hand-written HTML code. DTP applications Adobe FrameMaker Adobe InDesign Adobe PageMaker CorelDRAW Corel Ventura iStudio Publisher Microsoft Office Publisher OpenOffice PageStream  (used to be Publishing Partner) QuarkXPress Ready,Set,Go Scribus Serif page plus

The Practice of Law Will Allow Me to Mobilize Individuals and Communiti

The Practice of Law Will Allow Me to Mobilize Individuals and Communities Rowing is God's sport. The crisp early morning air, mist-shrouded hills, shells gliding silently on the glassy surface, oars slicing in unison. For casual observers, time slows and they become immersed in art. An ardent rower, I experience this beauty, but I also know that strength, courage and endurance command the shell, as in life. Silence. White knuckles and callused palms suffocate the oar. In anticipation, my breathing, even my pumping heart stops. Then the horn sounds. Adrenaline rips through my torso. I pull, and keep pulling, sinews stretched to breaking, every muscle screaming to quit. Concentrating only on the starting dock, I surge forward relentlessly. That dock is my beacon. I left home at sixteen. My single mother's drinking had become intolerable. Regina, my twin, was pregnant; her drug-addict boyfriend moved in. The starting horn had sounded. High school races by when you have to study, make a living, do chores, play guitar in a band, and still maintain a social life. But the independence gave me strength. There were some ironies. I had no curfew, but there wasn't much to do in Artesia, New Mexico. As my own guardian, I could sign sick slips and grade reports, and attend PTA events. I earned two varsity letters, the maximum AP credits, and enough wages to escape debt. Disregarding warnings that "fifty cents and a humanities degree could only buy a cup of coffee," I selected political science and economics, impelled by a seemingly instinctive curiosity to study the two edifices of our society. Taking to reading like breathing, I devoured Marx, Mill, Keynes, and Smith, oblivious to my r... ...ities, and setting mechanisms for coordinating these efforts nationwide, so that populations can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. I want to fight poverty and social inequity on a large scale. My plans include obtaining a law degree with a concentration in public interest law, gaining broad policy experience as a legislative advisor and eventually leading my own anti-poverty agency. But I dream of running for elected office, and winning-politics has the power to mobilize individuals, communities and nations. But who am I to dream such things? Why will I succeed? Because I am passionate? Maybe. Because I live my life like I row? Possibly. The real reason is that there will always be a part of me, Regina cleaved from the same flesh, for whom poverty is a daily struggle. Regina is my beacon. I see her in the eyes of every person I try to help.

Napster Dilemma :: essays research papers

A major business ethics issue has surfaced which has a dramatic impact on the recording industry and may affect additional industries. As this issue of our newsletter goes to press, the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California should be close to rendering a decision in the Napster case. This case has been in the limelight for several months, and many people are following it with great interest since they have important stakes in its outcome. Many college and university students, faculty and administrators have been particularly tuned in to the case, since Napster is very popular on campuses. Regardless of its outcome, the case is expected to transcend the parties involved and have an immense impact on the future of cyberspace, the internet, and the information highway. In this article, I will bring the readers up to date on the case, including the court arguments presented in support of both sides. As one can imagine, the legal documents in the case are very voluminous, technical and complex. So to make it easier for the reader to follow, I am presenting the key points in layman's terms. What is Napster and how does it work? In early 1999, Shawn Fanning, a Northeastern University freshman, created Napster software. That summer he made it available for free through his Napster.com website. Napster is a peer-to-peer technology, which makes it possible for users to freely share their music files through the internet with other users all over the world. Specifically, this is how Napster works: A user sends a request for a song. Napster checks its database of music to see if the song is on the PC hard-drive of another Napster user whose computer is turned on (Note: No music is stored on Napster servers). Napster finds the song. Napster sends the song in MP3 format to the user who requested it. What is the controversy and status of the case? The record industry alleges that Napster is engaging in or assisting others in copying copyrighted music without payment or the express permission of the rights owner. The chronology of the case is, as follows: December 6, 1999: the record industry sued Napster in Federal District Court for copyright infringements, and petitioned that court to shut down Napster. July 26, 2000: the judge issued a temporary injunction to shut down Napster. July 27, 2000: Napster appealed the ruling before the U.

ICT Systems and Business :: ICT Essays

ICT Systems and Business Use of computers has brought profound change to business. The electronic office is an obvious example. In this, every desk in a business is likely to have a computer. The computers will be networked and have communications facilities. The work done in offices is usually; * receipt, * processing, * storage, * despatch Computers and ICT systems can do these things more efficiently and faster than manual systems. Businesses now advertise FAX numbers and email addresses prominently. This affects the number of letters sent by post but FAX and email cannot completely replace the postal service as original, hard-copy letters are still needed for legal reasons. Products can be ordered on-line via the internet and most businesses now have their own website. Electronic Data Interchange is used to send orders, pay invoices and transfer information generally. Employees are paid using electronic funds transfer. ICT AND MANUFACTURING Many industries now use Computer-Aided Manufacture (CAM), eg. cars are manufactured by robot welders and paint sprayers, Benetton manufactures clothes more quickly using CAD-CAM. The quality of computer-manufactured articles is more consistent and better, leading to greater productivity and reliability. Working conditions are often cleaner and safer. There may be shorter working hours but this could mean more reduncancies or redeployment. Skilled workers have seen their skills made redundant by CAM. Companies must modernise to remain competative and viable; if non-viable then there may be even more job losses. Use of computers has created a range of new jobs; * hardware manufacture, * sales, * servicing, * technical support (call centres) * consultancy. New products manufactured due to computers; * mobile phones, * CDs and DVDs * videos * satellite receivers, * video cameras, * digital cameras ICT AND COMMERCE The number of banking transactions is now so huge they could not be carried out without computers: * electronic transfer of funds, * elctronic payroll * ATM transactions, * credit/debit card transactions * home banking. There is a movement towards the cashless society. Our shopping habits have changed due to ICT; * digital TV shopping channels, * internet shopping. Supermarkets offer loyalty cards to encourage customers to shop at their stores. All records are stored on computer and the store can gain useful demographic information. Computerised stock control using barcodes is used by many shops. Supermarkets have grown bigger at the expense of the corner shop. The use of phone cards has resulted in less theft from call boxes. Internet shopping is increasing and lead to the growth of internet only companies, eg. ebay.com, and internet only banks, eg. cahoot. Security is a problem for companies and the system is open to credit card fraud especially for services, eg. payment for a subscription-only service. Internet shopping has lead to companies closing their retail outlets and consequent loss of jobs, eg. ICT Systems and Business :: ICT Essays ICT Systems and Business Use of computers has brought profound change to business. The electronic office is an obvious example. In this, every desk in a business is likely to have a computer. The computers will be networked and have communications facilities. The work done in offices is usually; * receipt, * processing, * storage, * despatch Computers and ICT systems can do these things more efficiently and faster than manual systems. Businesses now advertise FAX numbers and email addresses prominently. This affects the number of letters sent by post but FAX and email cannot completely replace the postal service as original, hard-copy letters are still needed for legal reasons. Products can be ordered on-line via the internet and most businesses now have their own website. Electronic Data Interchange is used to send orders, pay invoices and transfer information generally. Employees are paid using electronic funds transfer. ICT AND MANUFACTURING Many industries now use Computer-Aided Manufacture (CAM), eg. cars are manufactured by robot welders and paint sprayers, Benetton manufactures clothes more quickly using CAD-CAM. The quality of computer-manufactured articles is more consistent and better, leading to greater productivity and reliability. Working conditions are often cleaner and safer. There may be shorter working hours but this could mean more reduncancies or redeployment. Skilled workers have seen their skills made redundant by CAM. Companies must modernise to remain competative and viable; if non-viable then there may be even more job losses. Use of computers has created a range of new jobs; * hardware manufacture, * sales, * servicing, * technical support (call centres) * consultancy. New products manufactured due to computers; * mobile phones, * CDs and DVDs * videos * satellite receivers, * video cameras, * digital cameras ICT AND COMMERCE The number of banking transactions is now so huge they could not be carried out without computers: * electronic transfer of funds, * elctronic payroll * ATM transactions, * credit/debit card transactions * home banking. There is a movement towards the cashless society. Our shopping habits have changed due to ICT; * digital TV shopping channels, * internet shopping. Supermarkets offer loyalty cards to encourage customers to shop at their stores. All records are stored on computer and the store can gain useful demographic information. Computerised stock control using barcodes is used by many shops. Supermarkets have grown bigger at the expense of the corner shop. The use of phone cards has resulted in less theft from call boxes. Internet shopping is increasing and lead to the growth of internet only companies, eg. ebay.com, and internet only banks, eg. cahoot. Security is a problem for companies and the system is open to credit card fraud especially for services, eg. payment for a subscription-only service. Internet shopping has lead to companies closing their retail outlets and consequent loss of jobs, eg.

Explain what is meant by the term national curriculum Essay

The basic school curriculum includes the national curriculum, religious education and sex education. The national curriculum is a set of subjects and standards used by primary and secondary schools so children learn the same things it is defined by four key stages to be spread over the 12 years of compulsory years of schooling. It covers what subjects are taught and the standards children should reach in each subject. Other types of schools such as academies and private schools don’t have to follow the national curriculum. Academies must teach a broad and balanced curriculum including English, maths and science. They must also teach religious education. The national curriculum is organised into four key stages at the end of each key stage, the pupil’s teacher will formally assess their performance to measure the pupil’s progress. This will set targets for learning and will also show how performance will be assessed and then reported. For each subject there’s a programme of study, it describes what children should learn. Discuss 5 factors that influence learning The influence of other people can have an affect the pupils learning the ways in which this can happen is by the way there family encourage learning if their family encourages and is enthusiastic about learning the student is more likely to be enthusiastic and therefore become a more effective learner if the students family do not promote the benefits of learning this can make the child less enthusiastic giving them an undervalued opinion of learning and education and affecting their capabilities.

Masculinity in “A View from the Bridge” Essay

Arthur Miller wrote this play in 1955. He has written many other plays including All My Sons, which was a success at Broadway. Miller was born in 1915, in New York City, but both his parent had emigrated to the US. This play revolves around emigration, so Miller has had a lot of personal experience. This play is based in the late 1940’s, just after the Second World War, when many people were emigrating to the US, looking for a better life. In the play, which is located in Brooklyn, which is a community full of dockworkers, we have a picture of Eddie, Beatrice and Catherine’s lives when Rodolfo and Marco illegally emigrate to the US from Italy. When Catherine (Eddie’s niece) falls in love with Rodolfo, Eddie loses his cool, and reports Marco and Rodolfo to immigration. The drama ends with the death of Eddie, as he tried to kill Marco; Marco turned the knife, and stabbed Eddie. There are three leading male characters in the play; Eddie, Rodolfo and Marco, and each of them play different roles and have different types of roles. The first of these men we meet is Eddie. The first impression of any character is very important, and the first impression we get of Eddie is that he is a real family person. He talks very complimentarily towards Catherine, â€Å"Beautiful! Turn, around, lemme see in the back. Oh if your mother was alive to see you now! She wouldn’t believe it.† This gives the reader the impression that he is a family person, who is close to his niece. Then when he hears that Beatrice (his wife) is cousins have arrived he tells her â€Å"Don’t worry about it B., there’s nothin’ to it. Couple of hours and they’ll be here.† This gives us the impression that he is also very caring towards B’s family, even though they come in illegally. This also enhances the impression that he is a family man. We are made to believe generally that he’s a good man, who values his family very high. When we hear that Catherine has got a job, she wanted to ask Eddie if it was all right with him if she took it. This shows us that he has a lot of status in the house. If he hadn’t any status, Catherine would have gone  behind his back, and wouldn’t have asked permission. Eddie then replied by saying â€Å"Sure she’s the best.† This shows us that he cares for his family and wants the best for his niece. A little later we hear from a lawyer called Alfieri. We are believed to trust him because of his wisdom, and position in the community. He is the voice of the community. He then tells his thoughts towards Eddie. â€Å"He was a good man as he had to be in a life that was hard and even.† The important word here is â€Å"was†, this shows us that Eddie’s personality is on the verge of changing. When we are introduced to Rodolfo and Marco, there is a huge difference between them, first there is their appearance. The impression that we get of Marco is that he’s a strong man, and is focused, because Miller describes him as â€Å"Square-built peasant of thirty-two, suspicious, tender and quiet voiced.† when he is first introduced. This gives us the impression that he is a very quiet person, but his awareness is very good, he is very alert of what’s around him. During the first scene where he’s introduced, when he talks it’s usually very short answers, e.g. â€Å"Thank you† and â€Å"Are you my cousin?† On the other hand, Rodolfo’s manliness is totally different to Eddie’s and Marco’s. Rodolfo is an extremely attractive young man, who is very sensitive. Where Eddie and Marco are much more macho than Rodolfo, unlike Eddie and Marco, Rodolfo sees sewing, cooking and singing as manly. We are made to believe that Rodolfo is quiet intelligent, because the language he uses is very flowery, â€Å"The horses in our town are skinnier than goats.† One of the most notable features that Rodolfo has is his â€Å"so blond† hair. Immediately Eddie goes on the defence, and say’s that is hair is like a â€Å"chorus girl or sump’m.† Then Eddie goes on to imply that he dyes his hair, which in Eddie’s eyes is unacceptable. Without ever saying it, Eddie’s implying that Rodolfo is gay. Another factor that goes against Rodolfo is that he is a very keen singer, and we hear his version of â€Å"Paper Doll†, and in Eddie’s eyes, only homosexuals sing. Due to the difference in physique between both characters, it was inevitable that they wouldn’t be able to work effectively. Marco is full of muscle, so he is adapted very well to work in a shipyard, but because of his slight physique, Rodolfo is not as well adapted. In my view, he would have been much better in the entertainment business, because he is a natural joke teller. However, Eddie tells Rodolfo that â€Å"But as long as you owe them money, they’ll get you plenty of work† that tells us that there are plenty of work in the docks, and Rodolfo is very clever and takes the work just to get some money in. This shows us that Rodolfo has a good brain, and is more concerned so he can get some money in to establish himself as an American. After coming home from work, Eddie goes on the attack, and undermines Rodolfo’s work rate, because he hasn’t taken at all to Rodolfo, He doesn’t see things like sewing, cooking and singing as manly. First of all he complains that â€Å"he sings.† Eddie is very embarrassed of this, because many of his friend e.g. Louis work there, and knowing that Eddie gives a roof to the â€Å"Canary† might under mind his street cred, because it’s like Rodolfo’s giving out â€Å"regular free shows†. Even at home Rodolfo sings, and this really goes under Eddie’s skin, as he says â€Å"if you came in the house and you didn’t †¦ know who was singin’, you wouldn’t be lookin for him you be lookin’ for her.† This shows us that Rodolfo isn’t shy about singing. He wants to make the most of his magical voice. Nevertheless, Eddie realises if someone was to come to the house, to ask, â€Å"who was singing?† he would be extremely embarrassed to say it was a man’s voice. This is extremely ironic, because most of the famous Italian singers are tenors. Although by now a man singing tenor is totally acceptable, back in the time that this play was written, people were less sophisticated, and in my opinion much more prepared to stereotype people. Although Eddie isn’t the biggest fan of Rodolfo, we learn at the end of the first act that Rodolfo is the kind of man that Beatrice and Catherine are looking for. When Marco says that â€Å"everybody gets fat† when Rodolfo’s cooking, Eddie tries to make this count against Rodolfo, but the girls see  through this. Catherine then goes on to glorify the fact that he could cook, and say’s that â€Å"all the big hotels (chefs) are men†. This shows that she thinks that there’s different ways to be a man, either through cooking or dancing. Straight afterwards, in my opinion Eddie feels very vulnerable because two men have arrived, and he’s afraid he would be toppled as king of the castle. So Eddie goes out to win some honour back, and tries to humiliate Rodolfo and Marco. His first target was Rodolfo. He went for one of Rodolfo’s weaknesses, in his opinion his manliness; he isn’t strong enough in Eddie’s view so he decides to teach Rodolfo how to box. Eddie encouraged Rodolfo to â€Å"put sump’m behind it, you can’t hurt me.† and â€Å"Come on show me! What’re you gonna be? Show me!† In my view, Eddie is trying to show that he’s a better and stronger man than Rodolfo; he wants to prove to Beatrice and Catherine, that Rodolfo isn’t the man they think he is. Just to rub the salt into the wound, Eddie â€Å"feints with his right and lands with his right.† Afterwards he asks Rodolfo â€Å"Did I hurt you?† In my opinion, Eddie is waiting for Rodolfo to reply â€Å"Yes†, so Catherine and Beatrice sees such a weak person he is, but Rodolfo replies â€Å"No, no.† This shows the toughness that belongs to Rodolfo that we haven’t seen before in the play. This shows the reader that Eddie hasn’t succeeded in humiliating Rodolfo, but rather he succeeded to humiliate himself. Just to make the situation worse for Eddie, Rodolfo and Catherine continue with their lives and go to dance, they didn’t dwindle on the situation. After seeing his younger brother being treated so horrid by Eddie, Marco decides to challenge Eddie’s masculinity, and bring him back down to earth with a bang. All Marco asked is â€Å"can you lift this chair?† It sounds like a pretty easy thing to do. When Eddie went down on his knees to pick it up, he fails. â€Å"He tries again, and again fails.† Then when Marco goes down to pick it up, he â€Å"raises the chair over his head.† He raised the chair as it was a weapon, and as a word of warning to Eddie. This shows us that Marco is looking after his close family, and wants to make sure that nobody gets the better of them. This lift was more of a warning to Eddie not to mess with Rodolfo, than anything else in my opinion. He did this as his felt  quite a strong responsibility towards Rodolfo. This is a clear sign that Marco is looking for justice, and he isn’t as quiet a character as Miller first portrays him. This is a clear similarity between Marco and Eddie, because both want to protect their families. Although Mike does portray him as a â€Å"regular bull†, that shows that Marco’s strength has been seen through out the community. Catherine is extremely important to the whole plot of the drama, because it’s because of her that the entire feud between Eddie and Rodolfo has erupted. At the beginning of the play we get the idea that Eddie’s extremely protective towards Catherine because he says â€Å"I promised your mother in her deathbed. I’m responsible for you.† At this point we get the idea that Eddie’s like any other caring uncle, but as the drama unfolds, we are made to think that Eddie’s is becoming overly attached to Catherine. When Eddie learns that Rodolfo has extremely strong feelings towards Catherine, he quickly tries to distance Catherine away from him, by saying that â€Å"He don’t respect you.† This is a cry of a desperate man, it’s as if he doesn’t want her to grow up, this is a very strong weakness of Eddies. We learn earlier on in the play that Eddie isn’t a good husband, because Beatrice asks, â€Å"When am I gonna be a wife again, Eddie?† I think that Eddie is confused with the state of his relationship with Catherine as she’s growing up, and because of this it’s stopping him from completing his duties with Beatrice. When Rodolfo sing or dances with Catherine, the song â€Å"Paper Doll† is often used e.g. When Rodolfo tells Catherine to â€Å"Dance† the phonograph â€Å"plays ‘Paper Doll’†. In my opinion this is a very clever use of song because it describes the nature of Rodolfo, he like a news paper. First of all Rodolfo isn’t extremely strong, nor is paper. One of the similarities between Marco and Eddie’s that they’re both very strong. Also you can read Rodolfo’s thoughts by looking at his face, just as if you’re reading a newspaper. One of the differences between Eddie and Marco is that Marco cares for his wife. In my opinion, to be a good man you must look after your wife. Where Eddie forgets to do his duties in bed, Marco sends some of the money he has  won back to his family in Italy, so they can have a better life. As I’ve said, both men want to look after their families, but both do this is different ways. Marco is prepared to leave his family to earn money, whereas Eddie hangs on to his family too tight in my opinion. One of the turning points is the drama, is when Eddie goes around kissing everybody. When Eddie sees Rodolfo and Catherine together, Eddie â€Å"suddenly, draws her to him, and as she strives to free herself he kisses her on the lips.† This is Eddie getting what he wants, that is Catherine, because we know that Eddie doesn’t want Beatrice. Although Eddie gets Catherine in a very brutal way, it shows his dominance in the house. Not just content with this, â€Å"Eddie pins (Rodolfo’s) arms, laughing, and suddenly kisses him.† This is a rather odd gesture, because many times during the play Eddie describes Rodolfo as â€Å"The guy ain’t right.† He uses it many times either because he feels that this is true, or even because he is trying to convince himself that this is right. This kiss doesn’t follow with Eddie’s behaviour during the rest of the play, because by kissing him, he brings himself down to the same masculinity as gays. During the end we learn a lot about the characters real thoughts and feelings, and what sort of men they really are. There is a lot of discussion during the play, asking is Rodolfo just looking after himself, by wanting to marry an American. This is thrown more into doubt when Catherine asks him telling him â€Å"Suppose I wanted to live in Italy. At first he tries to push away the idea by replying â€Å"Forever?† At this point you start to believe that he’s a selfish little Italian that just wants to be an American. But then he goes on and says that â€Å"there’s nothing†¦I would be a criminal stealing your face†. This tells us that he’s as caring as Marco, he only wants the best for Catherine, and that all of Eddie’s doubts seem wrong. As the plot unfolds, Eddie’s masculinity seems to grow weaker and weaker. He has finally cracked when he â€Å"wants to report something†. Illegal immigrants. Two of them.† This shows us that Eddie has finally gone for  the big one. He isn’t enough of a man to throw Rodolpho and Marco on to the street; he phones to get others to do his dirty work. This is a sign of a coward. Although he thinks it’s the right thing to do, because he is protecting Catherine. After two officials catch the illegal immigrants, â€Å"Marco suddenly breaks from the group and dashes into the room and faces Eddie†. This shows us that Marco is a growing threat during this play. He’s becoming more and more important as the plot unfolds. By standing up to Eddie it shows that he’s ready to match him. But instead of attacking him verbally or physically, he â€Å"spits into Eddie’s face†. This is the point where Eddie loses all his dignity and manliness. The Italian community in Brooklyn is extremely close together, and they watch out for each other, and having one of their own betraying them is a sin, so Eddie will be looked down at now by the rest of the community. Not even Louis, one of Eddie’s close friends turn around to look at him when Eddie shouts, â€Å"Louis! Louis!† Even Catherine his own niece says that â€Å"he bites people when they sleep!† This shows us now that nobody will ever be able to trust him again, not even his own family. Just to rub the salt into the wound, Marco shouts, â€Å"That one! He killed my children! That one stole the food from my children!† This shows that the relationship between Eddie and Marco has hit an all time low. This also throws away the scraps of dignity that Eddie had left. It also enhances the fact that Marco is a loving father, who’s desperate to help his family back in Italy. In the very last scene, we start by seeing Catherine one again stealing his manliness away from him, by saying that â€Å"he’s a rat! He belongs in the sewers!† This shows us by now, not even his closest family can bear to be close to him after the unforgivable sin that he’s done. Only one character keeps faith in Eddie, and that’s Beatrice. She ironically stands by him all the time. But when Eddie sees Marco, he loses his mind, and starts to attack him verbally and physically. Eddie is blind to the fact that he is wrong, he isn’t enough of a man to face up to the fact, so he Marco to tell the people  that â€Å"what a liar you are!† This shows that Eddie is confident that he can have one successful blow at Marco, but he is wrong. Marco attacks back by calling Eddie an â€Å"†Animal! You go on your knees to me!†!† And he does this twice. This is one of the worst insults that a man in that time could call another. It shows us that Eddie is below the level of dignity shown by human beings, and is down there in the dumps, and by going on his knees shows that he’s at the same level as animals. Then both of them get ready to fight. Eddie at this point has nothing to lose, so he takes out a knife and at this point and â€Å"Louis (Eddie’s friend) halts and steps back from trying to stop the fight. This shows the power and status Eddie has just won by cheating. But in the end, Eddie had no chance of beating Marco, due to his strength. Marco managed to turn the blade around and stabbed Eddie. Eddie died, as a cheat, but he regains some dignity as he dies in Beatrice’s arms. This shows although all the horrid remarks and actions Eddie has made, Beatrice is there until the very end. Marco’s manliness during the play just grows and grows until this climax. Without a doubt, Miller has many different views on masculinity. You have Eddie and Marco, who are two extremely strong men, and you have Rodolfo, who is extremely keen on more feminine activates. In my opinion, there isn’t a lot of difference between these. All three are men in their different ways, but one thing in my view is a must is respect. And Eddie had lost it, all of it by the end. He used to be the king of the household before Marco and Rodolfo came along, and during that time, he was losing his respect due to the treatment he gave them, an example of this is when Eddie phoned the immigration office. In my opinion, Eddie knew he was losing respect from Beatrice because he demanded her â€Å"I want my respect, Beatrice.† This shows us that he worries what people think of him.