Socrates' Concepts in Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Socrates' Concepts in Philosophy - Essay Example If, for example, one talks about justice, then it has to be defined according to its own nature and not according to the nature of the person who upholds it, for justice is the ruler of the person. Similarly, in Gorgias, Socrates asks Polus â€Å"if anyone, whether he be a tyrant or a rhetorician, kills another†¦he may be said to do what seems best to him?† and to which the latter answers affirmatively (Plato, Gorgias). The dialectic then develops into the part where Socrates places himself in the position of a criminal but this time Polus refuses and claims that it is not good because there will be punishment. Moreover, when asked by Socrates what principle upon which his definitions of evil and good lie, Polus simply answers, â€Å"I would rather, Socrates, that you should answer as well as ask that question (Plato, Gorgias). Thus, Socrates finally exposes the weakness of the arguments of the Sophists, both moral realism, and relativism. In Phaedo, Socrates successfully emphasized that the psyche is â€Å"the essence of happiness† and a â€Å"combination of what we think of as mind and soul,† which means that the psyche is the seat of both intellectual and moral personhood (â€Å"Socrates†). In Phaedo, Socrates tells Simmias that the philosopher â€Å"would like, as far as he can, to be quit of the body and turn to the soul† and that â€Å"death† is the â€Å"very separation and release of the soul from the body† (Plato, Phaedo). The way Socrates defended the soul and its immortality to Cebes and Simmias in Phaedo somehow convinced them of the validity of the existence.

Extra Credit Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Extra Credit Assignment - Essay Example Instead of relying on these three surefire ways to get elected into office, Smith relied on a grassroots-based campaign, largely relying on a multitude of youths and many others who shared his political ideals and fervor for honest-to-goodness civil service. Due to his lack of resources, especially on the financial aspect, Smith relied heavily on campaign contributions in order to try and keep his campaign going. Unlike his opponent, he barely had deep-pocketed colleagues who could do him a favor in exchange for a future favor that he would be returning to them. Instead, Smith literally walked the extra mile as he conducted his door-to-door campaign on foot. Smith further battled his disadvantage of lack of name-recall by packaging himself as an extreme underdog. It was through this packaging that people started to notice him and took him seriously. This same tactic allowed him to gain more followers even if he barely had any initial political

Interconnection Billing System of Grameenphone Ltd. Essay Example for Free

Interconnection Billing System of Grameenphone Ltd. Essay 1.0 Introduction In early 2008, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) announced that reorganization of the country’s telecom interconnection architecture as per International Long Distance Telecommunication Services (ILDTS) Policy 2007 has to be completed by the mid of August, 2008 (BTRC, 2008a). This announcement by the telecom regulator obligated relevant telecom operators (e.g. mobile and fixed networks) to take necessary measures to complete the re-organization task within the deadline while ensuring there is no or minimum subscriber inconvenience and revenue leakage due to this reorganization. Grameenphone Ltd., the largest cell phone operator of the country having a subscriber base of about 17 Million at that period (BTRC, 2008b), had to approach this regulatory directive with great importance as interconnection termination charge is the source of 2nd largest revenue stream for the company (Grameenphone Annual Reports, 2008 – 2011). It launched a cross-functional project to complete the interconnection restructure task smoothly. This Project Team identified prevailing interconnection billing processes and systems of the organization as one of the key improvement areas. It was felt that existing in-house developed tools lacked the flexibility to accommodate the change in network architecture. Management wanted replacement of manual billing related tasks through fully automated systems to ensure faster transactions and generation of customized reports. After through assessment of other alternatives within the allocated budget by experts from relevant cross-functional teams, Intec Interconnection Billing System (IIBS) was procured from one of the leading vendors of the world, Intec Systems Ltd. (CSGI, 2012). This paper focuses on the evaluation of IIBS, a hi-tech information system and its contribution to Grameenphone Ltd., a technology-based organization. Major sources of information are my experiences as a member of this billing system implementation project team and later use it for about 03 years; and interviews and email exchange with core technical persons and other stakeholders of IIBS. In some areas, training materials provided by the billing system vendor and web entries have been consulted as well. 2.0 Overview of Intec Interconnection Billing System 2.1 Telecom Interconnect and Related Facts: Bangladesh Context â€Å"The term Interconnect in the telecommunication world means a business model where different competing telephony providers coexist and interconnect to each other† (4gbilling Inc., 2012). As per Bangladesh Telecommunication Act-2001, any telecom operator must ensure ‘any-to-any’ connectivity so that its subscriber(s) can conveniently communicate with the subscriber(s) of other telecom operator(s) (BTRC, 2001c); as a result, telecom operators interconnect each other directly or through interconnection exchanges (it is the case in Bangladesh after reorganization of national interconnection architecture in 2008) and also establish connectivity with foreign operators through international gateways. Figure 1: Block diagram of Interconnectivity (adapted from ILDTS Policy’07, BTRC 2008a) After establishment of inter-connectivity, telecom operators pay each other interconnection access charges for the traffic (i.e. voice call, SMS, MMS) generated by its subscriber(s) to the other at a rate mutually negotiated or enforced by the regulator. This interconnection payment and associated tasks, e.g. calculation of interconnect traffic volume originated and received, generation of invoices, and validation of other operators’ invoices are dictated by their mutual interconnection agreements and/or relevant directives from the telecom regulators (Interconnection Regulations, 2004). 2.2 Interconnect Billing Systems With the worldwide trend of telecom de-regulation, interconnectivity gets crowded and telecom operators are in need of interconnection billing system offering detailed analysis of interconnection. The objective, of course, is to make â€Å"smart and well informed business decisions to enhance revenue streams† (4gbilling Inc., 2012). The major tasks accomplished by using Interconnect Billing system are: -Inter-operator settlement for traffic exchanged with other operators, -Resolution of interconnection billing disputes, -Generation of various reports; -Detection of various telecom frauds and assist in management of those. 2.3 Technological Features of Intec Interconnect Billing System (IIBS) IIBS lies at the downstream of Mediation Server in the telecom network architecture. It works under client-server model. The servers are powered by HP-UX (Hewlett-Packard, 2011). It has dual server: one houses Database other runs Application (Intec Training Material, 2008). Figure 2: Network Diagram of IIBS (adapted from 4Gbilling Inc., 2012) In the client side computers, there are different modules for invoice generation, reporting, and reconciliation of CDRs from other operator, etc. These clients are connected with the IBS application server using LAN (Local Area Network). Client computers may run Microsoft Windows operating systems. The clients can access IIBS’s application through Graphical User Interface (GUI) or through web-based Oracle Discoverer (a customized tool) says Mr. Raiyan Karim, System Engineer, IBS of Grameenphone Ltd. (Karim, 2012). A team within the Information Technology department are assigned the task to configure and operate IIBS while the users are spread all over the organization ranging from Finance to Regulatory Affairs functions. 2.4 Categorisation of IIBS as Information System As an information system, Intec Interconnect Billing System (IIBS) can be categorised in several perspectives. From hardware perspective (Bocij et al, 2008: Chapter 3), IIBS has the primary capture/ input technology in use is the LAN connectivity with an upstream application server, very powerful CPU as processor, 25 Terabyte online magnetic disk storage and output can be taken through either monitor display, e-document or printed papers. From software perspective (Bocij et al, 2008: Chapter 4), IIBS is an application software, to be specific, application to process large databases containing CDRs. From management-level perspectives (Laudon and Laudon, 2012), IIBS can be categorised mainly as a transaction processing system as it deals with instances of interconnection traffic exchanged (i.e. call/ SMS/ MMS made to received from other operators). This system serves requirements of operational management and but, the outputs from this system has a wider circulation to different management levels even up to top executives mainly due to importance of associated business activity (interconnectivity) for telecommunication industry. From organisational function (Laudon and laudon, 2006) perspectives, IIBS is an Information Technology business area specific information system. It handles digital customer call records for generation of interconnection billing details. From the perspectives of reach (Boddy et al, 2005: 37-38), IIBS is identified as an intra-organisational IS. Though its core use lies within the IT department of Grameenphone, this system is very frequently accessed from other parts of the organizations e.g. Finance, Marketing, Regulatory Affairs, etc. Moreover, as IIBS contributes to achieve overall organisational goals e.g. reliable settlement of interconnection revenue, help in developing market offerings, it can easily be termed as an intra-organisational IS. 3.0 Supported Organisational Processes The organizational processes supported by IIBS can be analysed by using two approaches: a) CIPSODAR model of information system (Heeks, 2011a) and b) usage and applications of computer based IS by organisational level (Bocij et al, 2008: P 45). 3.1 CIPSODAR on IIBS IIBS captures processed CDR (Call Detail Records) from Mediation server (â€Å"a system used to convert data of certain datatypes to other datatypes, usually for billing purposes†, Wikipedia, 2012). These mediated CDRs are feed into IIBS as inputs. Figure 3: IIBS on CIPSODAR model (adapted from Heeks, 2011a) The captured CDRs have to contain at least 06 information fields which are in numeric form (Intec Systems, 2008): i.Unique CDR identification no. associated with each call made to received from other operators, ii.phone no. of call originating subscriber, iii.phone no. of call recipient subscriber, iv.call start time, v.call duration, vi.Intelligent network marking used to identify post-paid or pre-paid subscriber. These mediated CDRs are further processed by IIBS, i.e. classifying based on various pre-set criteria e.g. pre-paid, post-paid, originating operator, terminating operator; sorting thereof based on each criteria, and finally compiling. IIBS has remarkable processing capacity as it handles about 70 Million CDRs in every 6 hours (Karim, 2012). IIBS uses two types of storage: one is online which has huge storage capacity to store CDRS for consecutive 04 months and another is older CDRs which are moved to magnetic tapes for archiving. Output from IIBS is billing details categorized based on interconnect operator, incoming call flow, outgoing call flow, or duration e.g. day-wise or month-wise. Recipients can generate invoice to be issued to other operators or customized reports using the client side invoicing or reporting modules of IIBS. The outputs generated from IIBS data help the organization to decide on its interconnection business strategy e.g. integrate additional interconnect capacity with some operator or formulate business plan e.g. promote calls to other operators by lowering customer charge. Actions include implementation of internal business strategy or contractual obligations of interconnection agreement. The results derived from such actions are inter-operator settlement and dispute resolution for interconnection traffic, gain competitive edge or retain stronghold over market. The outputs from IIBS billing details helps to detect and take action against telecom frauds, to meet regulatory compliance by generating reports for telecom regulator on regularly and ad-hoc basis. It is useful in revenue projection through trend analysis of interconnection traffic. 3.2 Organisational Levels and IIBS As mentioned in earlier section, IIBS mainly functions as transaction processing system and hierarchically destined to serve the operational management. The operations managers ensure processing activities of IIBS. In this level, IIBS serves as a solution to generate reliable invoices, validation of other party invoices, resolution of inter-operator invoiced /data related disputes, and generation of various reports. Figure 4: IIBS different Organisation level (adapted from Bocij et al, 2008) In upper level of the organisational hierarchy, IIBS generated reports serve as tactical tool. Based on interconnection traffic trends and invoices, they generate interconnection revenue forecast, interconnection capacity requirement etc. IIBS reports are consulted by Top Management level also. Settlement of interconnection revenue is a key issue as it counts for the 2nd largest revenue stream of Grameenphone (Grameenphone: 2011). Interconnection traffic volume is a key indicator of customer attractiveness of competitors’ market offerings. Based on the trend of interconnect traffic, business directions are made to product development team. 4.0 Evaluation of Information System Intec Interconnect Billing system (IIBS) may be evaluated from two perspectives: a) IS Cost / benefits model and b) DeLone/ McLean model. 4.1 Benefits and Costs of IIBS Benefits As IIBS is mainly a transaction processing system, its benefits can be better evaluated using Process Benefits Model (Heeks, 2011b). Based on user experiences and discussion with IIBS technical teams (2012), several benefits are being generated from IIBS, along both efficiency and effectiveness categorises. The below table summaries these benefits: Sl.Process BenefitExamples Cited by Stakeholders (Discussion, 2012) 1CheaperIntroduction of IIBS has reduced no. of manpower required to do the task than it was required previously by one-third employees. 2MoreIn comparison to previous ad-hoc system, IIBS processes more CDRS while keeping the resources requirement about the same (except storage). 3QuickerIIBS processed about 70 Million CDRs in 6 hours whereas prior system could process only about 50 Million CDRs at the same time. Invoice generation and processing of other party CDRs for the purpose of interconnect dispute resolution has become faster. 4BetterPreviously CDRs were processed through manual systems. That system lacked consistency in interconnect billing reporting due to its business logic. 5NewIIBS has introduced Graphical user Interface for the clients which help them to generate customized reports on interconnectivity round the clock. Previously, the reporting was made ad-hoc basis as per requirement from Project Team Table 1: Benefits of Information Systems (Heeks, 2011b) Costs of IIBS Costs of an information system can be measured in 03 criteria: i) implementation costs: measured in financial terms; ii) operational costs : both financial and unexpected outcomes, and iii) loss of previous operational benefits (Heeks, 2011b). Costs of IIBS in this view: Sl.CostExamples Cited by Stakeholders (discussion, 2012) 1.Implementation CostsImplementation of IIBS has cost the organization about 1.2 Million USD as payment to vendor, Intec Systems (IIBS Business Case, 2008). 2.Operational Costs (inc. Problems)IIBS requires about slightly higher (1~3%) storage for processing of CDRs in comparison to previous system. 3.Previous operational benefits lostIn case of prior billing solutions, modification could be done by internal experts, now change request needs to be made with the vendor which is expensive after free service period. Table 2: Costs of Information Systems (Heeks, 2011b) 4.2 DeLone McLean Multi-Perspective Evaluation DeLone McLean (1992) have described one of the most popular models of evaluating success of information systems (Heeks, 2011b). Figure 5: Multiple perspectives on IS success/failure– DeLone McLean (1992) DeLone McLean model can be measured suggested by Boddy et al (2005). 4.2.1 System Quality These are the required features and characteristics of the information system (Heeks, 2011b). In the case of IIBS, as per IT experts and users from other business functions (Discussion, 2012), it is reliable, includes enhanced features both in terms of system operation and output generation and the response time is also considerably faster . 4.2.2 Information Quality â€Å"Information quality concerns the characteristics of the information produced by the system† (Heeks, 2011b). In the case of IIBS, outputs generated are (invoices and various reports) are clear to interpret, quite high on completeness to serve intended purposes, and useful and accurate, except a few rare cases. Grameenphone RAFM (Revenue Assurance Fraud Management) team validates output of IIBS to be highly satisfactory. 4.2.3 Use and user satisfaction â€Å"Use and user satisfaction are concerned with the interaction between the information produced by the system and the recipients† (Heeks, 2011b) IIBS, being an integral part of Grameenphone’s interconnection system, it is used in daily basis for the whole period required to process interconnect CDRs for the concerned day and to serve report requests from cross-functional teams. Information necessary to make a revenue projection or serve regulatory report requests on monthly or ad-hoc basis are served timely basis from the system. Users are overall satisfied with IIBS but they would prefer if the system had flexibility of producing further customized reports. Except very few cases, the information required vs. delivered from IIBS had no significant deviation. The Graphical user interface, easy maintenance, easily scalable, and web-based access are few contributing factors to user satisfaction. Software satisfaction is quite high amongst regular users while occasional users found the interface a difficult to use. 4.2.4Individual impact It â€Å"relates to the extent to which the information produced by the system influences or affects decisions† (Heeks, 2011b). Reports generated from IIBS system are quite helpful to identify any problem in the area of interconnectivity and normally decisions made are correct. These decisions are quite effective also. Usually key points are placed to top management weekly basis. Productivity improvement in interconnected areas is remarkable. It allows observing trend of interconnection traffic generated and received ant to decide on optimal interconnection capacity, etc. By these measures for other decision issues e.g. market attractiveness of other operators customer charge are not in that brighter side as there are many relevant factors therein. 4.2.5 Organisational impact It â€Å"measures the effect of the information produced by the system on organisational performance† (Heeks, 2011b). Interconnection is a regulatory compliance issue and it also generates revenue of about 100 Mn. USD for Grameenphone (Grameenphone, 2011). Considering this importance of interconnectivity for Grameenphone, it may be concluded that the organizational impact of IIBS is significant. The investments made vs. benefits enjoyed from IBS (e.g. lower processing time, timely invoicing to ensure timely revenue settlement) are in quite positive side. In overall evaluation, IIBS is a successful information system meeting the requirements of stakeholders and also exceeding the costs by benefits in great margin. 5.0 Factors for Success of IIBS A large number of information systems fail to achieve the desired objectives, especially in the developing countries. In this context, success of Intec Interconnect Billing System (IIBS) in Grameenphone Ltd. is quite remarkable. We can analyse the causes behind the success using 1) IS Implementation Outcome Model (Laudon and Laudon, 2006) and 2) Design-Reality Gap analysis using ITPOSMO (Heeks, 2011c). 5.1 Information System Implementation Outcome Model In the ninth edition of their book, summary model of information systems success and failure factors were presented by Laudon and Laudon (2006). Figure 6: IS Implementation Outcome Model (Laudon and Laudon, 2006) Applying the model on IIBS, we can come up with following: †¢User involvement and influence: In the requirement finalization stage during procurement of interconnection billing system in Grameenphone, actual users were member of the cross functional team and their views were taken with great importance. Later, these requirements were used as reference to select the vendor and customization negotiated with them. †¢Management support: Required management support was available during implementation of IIBS in Grameenphone. The project team was highly empowered having Chief Information Officer as Project Sponsor and other senior managers in the Project Steering Committee. †¢Level of complexity/risk: Though IIBS is a high-tech information system, it is highly structured, and the project team had required technical capacities on-board. †¢Management of the implementation process: IIBS was endowed with required financial and human resources and proper training sessions was arranged also. 5.2 Design-Reality Gap Analysis of IIBS Though IIBS is considered to be a successful information system, the system can be improved in some areas, observations by internal stakeholders (Discussions, 2012). These areas include re-shape the GUI to be more user friendly in perspectives of non-IT users. Reducing the storage requirement a bit can directly benefit in terms of saving expensive storage capacity. These can be attributed to the gap between information system design and reality i.e. actual implementation of the system (Heeks, 2011c). The Dimensions of design—reality gaps for IIBS can be analysed using ITPOSMO model (Heeks, 2011c: Figure 7: Design—reality gap model to analyse IS Success/Failure (Heeks, 2011) 5.2.1 Information Dimension: Gap Rating 2.0 The system design assumed that the inputs to IIBS (processed CDRs from Mediation server) will always be in right format. But, very occasionally, there were CDRs from mediation in wrong format or missing one or more key fields. These unprocessed CDRs were stored in the error bucket and required special processing by System Engineers later on. 5.2.2 Technology Dimension: Gap Rating 3.0 The technological design contributed to gain buy-in of overall user satisfaction for IIBS. The processing of CDR files was quicker than previous system. It also contributed in reducing man-hour required to configure and operate the system. But, in the areas of storage requirement and design of graphical user interface (GUI), there are gaps between expectation and reality. 5.2.3 Process Dimension: Gap Rating 3.0 The business processes were supportive to desired functioning of IIBS. The system produced invoices and customized reports as desired. Though, there are some requirements to be able to further customize the reporting modules. Sometimes, there are hiccups in generations of output also. 5.2.4 The objectives and values dimension: Gap Rating 4.0 Decision to procure IIBS was made by a cross-functional team having relevant experiences and expertise. It was decided to further enrich the system by adding additional features to it so that it can handle settlement for mobile contents/ value added services with the respective content or value added service providers. But, even after 03 years of successful operation of IIBS, these additional features have not been included yet (Karim, 2012). It is assumed that potential personal interest may contribute to this non-inclusion of mobile content/ VAS related features to IIBS. Notably, currently these settlements are handled by an IT manager having a team of 05 employees whereas if the features included to IIBS, the whole processing would require no or utmost 01 employee from this team. 5.2.5 Staffing and skills: Gap Rating 2.0 The organization had competent staff experienced with configuration, operation, maintenance of interconnect billing systems. Moreover, to get them acknowledged with the new system, required training was provided by the vendor. 5.2.6 Management systems and structures Gap Rating 2.0 Introduction of IIBS helped in reducing manpower required to run similar systems previously and following that management hierarchy in IT department was simplified. 5.2.7 Other resources: Gap Rating 2.0 In other dimensions, IIBS helped in saving processing time comparison to previous system. With increased efficiency, it contributed in monetary terms as well. 5.2.8 Overall: Total gap score is 18 for IIBS. There is an insignificant design-reality gap for the system with none being a possible cause of failure. 6.0 Conclusion Grameenphone Ltd. implemented Intec Interconnect Billing System (IIBS) for about 4 years (since August, 2008 to till now). The major objectives of the system were to ensure accurate and quicker settlement for interconnection traffic with interconnected operators in a complicated network architecture and resolution of related disputes in timely fashion. It also aimed to generate required customized reports for users from different business functions of the organization and for managers of different organisational levels. In consideration of stakeholder views towards IIBS and its analyses through various theoretical models, the system is an example of successful information systems. The major contributing factors behind the success are insignificant gap between design and reality. And creation of this favourable scenario is attributed to good practices of information system implementation e.g. empowered involvement of users, management commitment, and availability of key resources, etc. 7.0 References 4GBILLING INC., Interconnect Billing – Overview [Online]. Available: http://4gbilling.com/interconnect.html [Accessed 21 April, 2012] Bocij, Paul, Andrew Greasley and Simon Hickie (2008) Business Information Systems: Technology, Development and Management, 4th edn, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River Boddy, D., Boonstra, A. Kennedy, G. (2005) Managing Information Systems: An Organisational Perspective, 2nd edn, Pearson Education Limited, London BTRC, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (2008) ILDTS Policy-2007 [Online].Available:http://www.btrc.gov.bd/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=153Itemid=259 [Accessed 10 April, 2012] BTRC, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (2008) Mobile Phone Subscribers in Bangladesh [Online]. Available:

Radioactivity In Ionisation Smoke Alarms Environmental Sciences Essay

Radioactivity In Ionisation Smoke Alarms Environmental Sciences Essay In this coursework, I will be discussing the role of radioactivity in ionisation smoke alarms; I will focus primarily on the main radioactive substance used in smoke alarms, americium 241, and will analyse its effects as well as its half life. I will also analyse a variety of data based on smoke alarms, and finally, I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of smoke alarms. In smoke detectors, Alpha radiation is given out. Alpha particles are made of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. This means that they have a charge of +2, and a mass of 4. Alpha particles are relatively slow and heavy. Alpha emitters must be used for smoke detectors since alpha particles ionise air the most, are mostly likely to be absorbed by cells and are least penetrating. Gamma rays and beta particles easily pass through air without causing ionisation, Beta particles are absorbed by a thin sheet of Aluminium and Gamma is absorbed by either concrete or thick lead. The radiation given out from the smoke detector is essentially zero and in any case very much less than that from natural background radiation. This is the radiation which all around us. The alpha particles  are absorbed within the detector. The small amount of radioactive material that is used in these detectors is not a health hazard and individual units can be disposed of in normal household waste. However, Alpha radiation is most dangerous inside the body because it is most likely to be absorbed by the organs whereas Beta and Gamma radiation is more dangerous outside the body because the skin cannot stop them. Americium-241 is dangerous if it is taken into the body in soluble form. The data which I mainly used for my coursework was from www.communities.gov.uk. I think this website is reliable and valid because it is a government website. It has not been created for the purpose of sale so it isnt biased. However there are a few problems with this website. The problem lies in the data which shows how the % of homes with smoke alarms has changed between 1988-2005. This data is unreliable and invalid. It is invalid because they change from smoke alarm ownership to working smoke alarm ownership in conclusion to that it also has data missing from some years. It is not as valid as it should be because it not the same as what was being looked at in the beginning. But as for the rest of the information, I think it is reliable and valid because it is a government website, not any website just put up on to the internet. The way in which we could make sure that the data we have it valid and reliable is by comparing them with other results from other sources. By doing this we would be able to see if they are similar or they are different and we would be able to find out if they are correct or not. The results which I got could be improved if they were collected in a number of different ways. For example data could be collected from the history of the emergency services, data could also be collected by handing out questionnaires and surveys or even collected via the phone. Advantages and Disadvantages of Smoke Alarms There are many benefits of a smoke alarm and many disadvantages. Below are some advantages of a smoke alarm. Firstly the most important benefit of a smoke alarm is that it saves lives. Smoke alarms are a powerful and effective fire safety technology. The smoke detector also allows the emergency services to react quicker so they are able to get to the fire quicker and save lives. The most important thing is the life of a person. Besides this, a smoke detector also saves money and property. Some people may have money stored at home. For these people it would be a great loss if they were to lose everything in a fire. With a smoke detector, a person is able to quickly put out the fire so a lot of the property does not get damaged. Another advantage is that the americium-241 is very sensitive. Ionization smoke alarms respond first to fast flaming fires. A flaming fire consumes flammable extremely fast, spreads rapidly and generates considerable heat with little smoke. It responds very quickly to small amounts of smoke. Americium-241 has a half life of 442 which is not too long or too short. It is just right. If it had a long half-life then it wouldnt have to be replaced very often but it would stay dangerous for a long time. If it had a short half-life then it would fall to safe level quickly but it would have to be replaced very often. The Americium is just right, not too short or too long, in the middle. One advantage is that to have a smoke detector reduces the insurance cost. This is because a house which has a smoke detector has less chance of burning down because the smoke alarm will detect the fire so the occupants are able to put it off. For this reason there is cheaper insurance for the house which has a smoke alarm. Finally, smoke alarms are very cheap. They are even free for many houses but for some people who have to buy it, it is of a very low price. With the advantages, there are also disadvantages of smoke detectors. Below are some disadvantages of smoke alarms. The biggest disadvantage is that it contains a very small amount of radioactive material. These devices are probably not a problem unless they burn, in which case the Americium would be released in particulate form an inhalation hazard. Another big disadvantage is that it is a bit too sensitive. It can be vulnerable to nuisance alarms if placed too close to cooking. It goes off many times especially if it is kept near a kitchen. This can be very annoying especially if it happens repeatedly. One disadvantage is that because there are many smoke alarms which give out radiation in this country, they will be radioactive for 1000 of years. The radioactivity in the environment will increase. The disposal of this type of smoke alarm is very harmful, when the building is demolished and new buildings are made, the smoke alarm still emits radioactivity which is not good for the environment. Finally, another disadvantage is that it works on battery and after a long period, the battery runs out. Therefore, smoke detector stops working so the batteries have to be replaced. Overall, I think that smoke detectors are beneficial because it could save a persons life if a fire was to occur and its also very cheap to buy but it has it drawbacks that it emits radioactive material, however the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Midlife Crisis: Myth? :: essays research papers fc

Midlife Crisis: Myth? Imagine being forty or fifty and asking yourself questions like: What have I done all of my life? Why am I sitting behind a desk? And what am I doing driving a 1994 Grand Am, when I could be driving a BMW z3? Then you come home and your partner says, "Honey, I set up and appointment for you to see Dr. Sherwood." and you reply "What for?" Going through some a midlife transaction is common in men. From having symptoms, then coping with it, and getting professional help. In movies like: "Father of the Bride II† and "American Beauty" going through a midlife crisis is glamorized, although in real life it is very painful and not as fun and not near as funny. But is it all a myth, a made up story? Piotr Oles defines, â€Å"The midlife crisis as†¦significant change in the self and †¦men entering middle age. William Pollack, Ph.D., a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Center for Men at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, states that â€Å"All men go through a midlife transition†¦but only some go through a midlife crisis† (O’Connor). Symptoms usually occur in men between the ages of 40 and 50. After all the children have grown up and left the house to pursue their own live, men feel like they are left behind (O’Connor). Now it is only he and his wife, with feelings that their child may soon be taking care of them. Then it becomes common to wake up in the middle of the night and wonder to yourself, â€Å"Is there any more to life than this† (Adler). Toni Bernay, Ph.D., a Beverly Hills, psychologist concluded: The things that had kept them working and kept the passion going are coming to and end. Their spouses don’t seem as interesting to them as they once did, and they’re facing years where all there is going to be is him and her (Adler). A story in â€Å"Geriatrics† talked about one man’s experiences with midlife crisis and how he, â€Å"gained recent notoriety in the local newspaper when he was arrested for driving under the influence and lost his license† (Samuels). Drinking is another symptom of a midlife crisis or how Gail H. O’Connor put it, â€Å"You become a happy-hour regular†. According to Steven Samuels, â€Å"About one in eight older adults have a problem related to alcohol abuse.

The Triangular Silas Marner Essay -- Silas Marner Essays

The Triangular Silas Marner      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a result of betrayal, Silas Marner of George Eliot's so titled novel becomes a man in body without incurring any of the duties normally associated with nineteenth century working class adults. Eliot creates these unusual circumstances by framing our title-hero so it appears to his comrades that he has stolen money. Thereby, she effectively rejects innocent Marner from his community and causes him to lose his fiancà ©. At this pivotal moment in Marner's life, just as he is about to assume fully the role of a man, depended upon as such by his neighbors, future wife and probable children, he is excised and does not successfully complete the transformation. Accordingly, he moves on to a new place, Raveloe, with the same carefree lack of responsibility as a boy, who is clearly unable to act like the man he seems he should be.    By denying Marner the possibility of a traditional family from the start, Eliot immediately brings forward the question of family values. A question that she answers in the course of her novel. Jeff Nunokawa, in his essay The Miser's Two Bodies: Silas Marner and the Sexual Possibilities of the Commodity, claims that Eliot "simply" shows "support for family values" (Nunokawa 273), and that she "encourages" them through her narrative (Nunokawa 290). As evidence, he cites quotations from the text that paint, as he puts it, "men [living] without women... in a barren region" (Nunokawa 273). Adeptly, he points to Eliot's line, "The maiden was lost... and then what was left to them?'" (Nunokawa 273). Furthermore, Nunokawa goes on to label the moral implications of the novel as those of a "blunt dichotomy," saying that Eliot hands her reader "the ... ... for it is the middle ground between its own two opposites, which include the possibilities of not having a family at all and going with the one you are biologically given. Silas Marner is not a tale of black and white, right and wrong, it is more complex and aims to depict at least three angles -- if not more that I have, as of yet, failed to unravel.    Bibliography Carroll, David, "Reversing the Oracles of Religion," Casebook Series on George Eliot, Ed. R. P. Draper. London: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1977. Cave, Terence, "Introduction to Oxford World Classic's Silas Marner" (see following entry for details.) Eliot, George. Silas Marner. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Nunokawa, Jeff, "The Miser's Two Bodies: Silas Marner and the Sexual Possibilities of the Commodity," Victorian Studies, 1993, Spring, v. 36. pp. 273-390.   

How the Food We Eat Reflects our Culture and Identity Essay

Ntozake Shange in her essay, What Is It We Really Harvestin’ Here? had taught her readers a very important lesson that is very vital in understanding one’s culture and one’s family. It is the simple truth that food is more than food. It was clearly communicated in Ntozake Shange’s essay that food is not just an arbitrary or random thing that arises from one’s culture or family. Rather, the local food of one’s culture and family is a reflection of his or her environment and his way of living. The food that we eat is a mirror to what the nature provided to us outside of our houses. At the same time, food is also the mirror of our own creativity and taste. Whether we prefer sweetness over spiciness, such preferences appear and manifest on how we prepare and how we cook our foods. Summing it up, food is a very important element that we must take a look (and taste) to have a good grasp or understanding of one’s culture or one’s family. The essay What Is It We Really Harvestin’ Here? can be regarded as a very important and significant piece of literature in proving the significance of food in understanding ones’ culture. In the essay of Shange, she told the story of numerous local delicacies that will convince us to the point that we are establishing. Take for example the Shange’s example of sweet potatoes. In the essay, she made a very good way of instructing his readers on how to grow quality sweet potatoes. Growing sweet potatoes require much dedication, patience and knowledge. As seen in Shange’s instruction on how to grow a sweet potato, it was seen clearly how one must work hard to be able to produce a good quality potato. In fact, as stated in the essay, â€Å"[one must ]Get your soil ready at least two weeks before planting. . . (Shange 111)† The entire procedure is difficult. As stated again, â€Å"The easiest thing to do with a sweet potato is to bake it† (112). These lines clearly showed that growing sweet potatoes is a tough job. This difficult method of growing such crops mirrors the characters of the people or group of people who happened to eat those crops. As growing a potato requires dedication and patience, we can also argue that the people that grow this crops are dedicated and patient. This is our first way of proving the point that we established above – that food is viable factor to see in understanding one’s culture or one’s family. Another notable proof of the relationship of food and culture is the case of the Carolina Rice. As discussed in Shange’s essay, rice, more particularly the Carolina rice reached a great demand in the 1700s. Because of this, the slaves who came from West Africa are priced better than their other counter parts. This is because of a more complex knowledge and skill that is required in growing rice. The slaves who grew from rice countries are priced better. As stated in the essay, â€Å"Plantation owners were perfectly aware of the superiority of African slaves from rice country† (114). Despite the complexity of growing rice, its cooking is much simpler than its cultivation. Again, this can be related to the simplicity of the lives of the people who adapt this kind of food. Rather than undergoing some complex process of cooking, rice are just simply boiled in water (116). Once again, this showed how rice that is very complicated to grow yet very simple to cook mirror its African cultivators who have a rich culture and tradition, yet living a simple life. The way we cook our own food tells a lot on our preferences and fondness. In the essay, it was written in the later part of it that North Americans does not prefer burnt rice at the bottom of the casserole. In fact, they find it scary. However for the people other people, rice, at least the bottom of it are preferred to be burnt. This burning made possible the cooking of very dry rice (116). In my opinion, these burnt rice preferences of the colored people remind them the colored of their skins. Sidestepping a bit from the literature to my own experience, being Hispanic also mirrored on my food tastes. My taste for a good food is determined by my background as someone who has a Hispanic descent. Coming from this particular background, I prefer foods that possess a great deal of flavor and variety. As common to all Hispanics, we prefer rice meals, chilies, spices and tomatoes. This in respect to our cultivation of these crops and fruits in the earlier times and of course to our rich cultural and historical past. Shange had successfully proved to us the important relationship of food and our cultural and familial identity. As we said in the beginning of this essay, food is not a random and arbitrary thing that just popped in our households. Rather, food is product of our experiences, our appeals, our desires that were smoothened by time. What we grow is who we are. What we buy is who we are. What we eat is who we are. Food is truly a mirror to our cultures and most importantly, a reflection of our humanity. Works Cited Shange, Ntozake. What Is It We Really Harvestin’ Here. p. 109-117