Shooting an Elephant Imperialism. Symbolism in George Orwells Story Essay

Introduction â€Å"Shooting the elephant† is a story that explores the description of an imaginary encounter of an Englishman working in the Colonial police force in Burma. The story describes an experience with an uncontrollable and deterministic elephant. The narrator shows that he did not want to shoot the elephant but he had to do it by the will of the submissive Burmese people to bring about redemption of the people.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Shooting an Elephant Imperialism. Symbolism in George Orwell’s Story Essay specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The study gives the breakdown of colonial nations as applied by the actors in the colonised regions. The officer describes his breakdown by expressing the mockery received for the authority. The story captures the violent reality of colonialism as the narrator unfolds the events of the actual shooting and the description of the slow an d painful death of the elephant that seemed peaceful in hands of a colonial officer. The above study argues that George Orwell’s â€Å"Shooting an elephant† story represents a symbol of imperialism. Discussion The story of shooting the elephant begins with a thoughtful introduction of the actions where the narrator, Orwell, describes the difficulty of being a colonial police officer, especially, in the middle of the twentieth century in British Burma; where many people hated him. Orwell shows how the anti-Europeans were bitter to an extent of spitting on the European women as they crossed over to the market. The sub divisional police officers would now raise more alarm as the Burmese could yell with revolting laughter. Orwell therefore understood the hatred and thought was justified, though he admits that he would be happy if he could run through his oppressors. Johnston (375) puts that the event of shooting the elephant begins with a phone call that Orwell received ab out an elephant ravaging the bazaar. As a police officer and his hunting rifle, he followed the elephant to the village where the Buddhist priests had much hatred and were so many in the streets idle and jeering Europeans. Runciman (182-183) shows that George Orwell’s book â€Å"Shooting an elephant† reflects the author as a socially conscious individual. He also says that the book served as a supplement in the days of the Burmese. Orwell shows his experience as a colonial official to both India and Burma, which were regions in the British Empire (Runciman 82-183). This study involves a colonial officer obligated to shoot a rogue elephant by the crowd from the indigenous residents for not wanting to seem a coward in the eyes of the huge crowd. Orwell describes the event of shooting the elephant and compares it to the hostility reigning between the British Empire and the administrators, as well as the natives. In this situation, both parties have much hatred, mistrust, resentment and degrade one another and therefore the shooting represents a huge suffering expressed economically (Runciman 82-183). â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† has created much criticism in the British literature, and especially in the political environment of modern criticism. This is because it has generated a debate on whether Orwell was legally right to condemn imperialism. Critics show insufficient condemnation and that the narrator is an agent of the British Empire who denounces the presence of the British who were corrupting their regions.Advertising Looking for research paper on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To begin with, it is important to analyse the historical background of the colonisation of Burma and describe the people of Burma. It is also necessary to provide the biography and bibliographical experience of George Orwell. This is because the author focuses on the relationship betwee n the natives and the government. The breakdown of colonial rhetoric linking theory and practice shapes some of the phrases used by Orwell, for example, Orwell used the sea of yellow faces to display the idea of racism from the colonising people. The author also looks at the Burmese villagers as the same people with no distinct characteristics. He describes the unplanned scattering of their houses and the palm-leaf thatched huts, marking them with yellow color create the difference between the white man’s power and the Burmese. This also describes poverty and foulness within the neighborhood. On the other hand, the narrator is afraid of the Burmese and their forces and he describes them as a sea of people. The officer also offers the people presence and much more force than his. He also realises that he is one person among a â€Å"sea† of many others. The colonial officer notices that though he is legally powerful and has a rifle, the events of the day remain dictated by the people behind him who would see him as a fool if he did not shoot the elephant in spite of having the weapon amidst many helpless Burmese. The author also uses words such as magical, conjurer and absurd puppet to show he is against the British colonial powers. The words take the fear of the colonised people that the British people criticise. Orwell uses un-scientific words when describing the event. The use of diction displays a corrupt British influence to the colonized people and reflects the degradation of the style of the colonising powers. This study therefore shows the moving symbol of the colonial experience. The view of British imperialism is more reflected where the colonial officer shows that he is against the oppressors and their evil deeds. Though he is a British officer and has much authority among the Burmese people, he has some build up hatred and remorse towards himself and his empire, as well as to the Burma people whom he refers to as evil spirited little be asts. The essay therefore does not only show the personal experience with the elephant, but also uses metaphors to show the experience with the imperialism and his views towards the colonial rule.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Shooting an Elephant Imperialism. Symbolism in George Orwell’s Story Essay specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Orwell expresses hostile feelings towards the imperialism, British justification for taking over the powers of the Burma people and the entire British Empire. Orwell has set the mood of the essay by illustrating the climate to be cloudy and stuffy morning at the beginning of the rain. This shows that Orwell has established that his character is weak and discomforting especially by describing how the Burma people laughed and mocked him. According to Adas Peter (54-58) imperialism has been a cause for the poor relationship between the Burma people and police officers . The breakdown brings the beliefs of imperialism in practical application. This is shown by how the British came to power and the history of the Burma and how the society had been exploited. Orwell gives his experience in Burma and the story shows the mood and feeling of a person experiencing British imperial break down. Orwell realised that though he is the authority in the region, the Burmese people had control over his actions. This shows that there was a poor relationship between the coloniser and the colonised. The officer describes his nature of authority as derived from the people as opposed to self-designed force. He states that he stood with a rifle in his hands and thought of the hollowness and ineffectiveness of the power of the white man in the East. With much power between citizens and political leaders in England over the Burmese people, the people using the authority had also recognised the poor relationship between the colonised and the colonisers. It is therefore c lear that the buildup of the story of finding the elephant serves a metaphoric force to illuminate on the imperialist powers that usurps the rights of the people. The narrator shows that the elephant’s rampaging destroyed homes, food shelves and worse of all, it killed a man described as having an unbearable agony on his face. Upon finding the elephant, the narrator also describes that he knew for sure that he had no right to shoot him. This shows that as a colonial officer, he ought not to kill his ruling government but support it (Barbara 46). The narrator also says that when he laid his eyes on the huge mass of Burmese behind him, he changed his attitude towards shooting the elephant. He continually says that he did not want to shoot the elephant and this explains that the narrator understands the guilt of shooting an elephant that seemed so peaceful from a distance. The narrator also gives various reasons why he did not want to shoot the elephant, for example, he states t hat an elephant was worth more alive than it dead. He also states that he is bad at shooting, and he would not want to miss the target, as he never wanted the crowd to laugh at him and make him seem defeated. This shows that the colonial police officer fell to the expectations of the Burmese. He went against his will and moral belief and decided to shoot (Barbara 46). This describes how the British people would never want to seem less powerful than the natives as the colonisers in the story did. The death of the elephant metaphorically represents the British Imperialism in Burma. This is because before the British expansion came to Burma, it was a free kingdom and the Burmese and the British oppressors fought three wars. Barbara (2006) describes that the first was the Anglo-Burmese War fought in 1824 and the other was in 1852. The third war was in 1855 where the British took over Burma.Advertising Looking for research paper on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Orwell states that he did not hear the bang or kick of the first trigger, and he had to fire again at the same spot between the ears where it was easier to kill the elephant. The third firing illustrates the final shot to the elephant, as it showed the agony that jolted its whole body. The elephant knocked its last strength from his legs. The three wars therefore represented the three shots. Hobson (2005) puts it that the elephant represented Burma and its unyielding struggle to remain powerful over the colonisers (5-7). This can be compared to how the elephant had tried to remain alive after the third shot. By staying down after the third shot, the elephant is still alive, just like the Burmese people who were still there, powerless and helpless once the three wars. Orwell (1936) explains that the Burmese are now under the control of the British, and the death of the elephant is a metaphor showing the British rule and how it has declined against Burmese as some went away and others died (67). Orwell reflects guilt by stating that seeing the elephant lying so powerless on the ground unable to move and yet powerless to die. The narrator shows that he is guilty being a colonial police officer who fought in the war against Burma. Beissinger (294-303) shows that Britons were also doubtful of their right to rule others in their territory. This mounted much hatred and resentment from the Burmese. By killing the elephant, Orwell justifies himself for having the right to shoot and that it was legal. He justifies this using the fact that a mad elephant deserves being killed just as a mad dog is once the owner does not control it (Beissinger 299). He also admits being glad for the elephant had killed a villager and legally that justifies a legal act. However, Orwell realises the truth to be false in the wake of the efforts to save the elephant. Orwell uses the metaphors; for example, by comparing himself to a magician and the huge masses of villagers was his audience. H e also compares himself to a lead actor and as an absurd puppet. Orwell states that he represents a posing dummy and that he looked like a person wearing a mask. This is because by holding the rifle, the Burma people expected to see the elephant down. John (2008) describes that though he was a white man and more so, in the authority, it was more expected that he had to kill the elephant. This describes George Orwell’s realisation of the position of the whites in the East and the negative contribution of imperialism. Orwell also realised that once a white man became a tormenter, he destroyed his own freedom. He says that white men should constantly do what the natives expect from them and impress them as they have control over the white man. Orwell completes his role and realises that throughout his rule in Burma, he is the Burmese victim. Conclusion Shooting the elephant is a clear depiction of the imperialist powers that wok to the detriment of the subjects. In his metaphori c epresentations, Orwell manages to demonstrate in clear terms the immense negative images portrayed by the inhibiting powers of the colonial masters. By mentioning himself as an actor in the play, the narrator realised that he had to impress his audience who were people from Burma, and says that by aiming at the elephant’s head, the people behind him felt as if the curtains from the theatre were finally opened for the audience to view the play. These descriptions show his weaker character of submission to the crowd, which defines the order of the day through control of his actions. However, he had to wear a mask and act like a powerful white man. The examples show the double-edged sword of imperialism and its misrepresentation of the people. The personal experience shows a moral dilemma reflecting the evils influenced by the colonial politics and imperialism. Orwell represents an anti-imperialist writer that promotes this through the story of shooting the elephant. This is b ecause, in this case, both the colonisers and the colonised are destroyed at the end. He detests the tethering effects of the colonial Britain and the story shows that the conqueror does not control the situation, but the expectations of the people guide him. Works Cited Adas, Michael. Peter, N. Turbulent passage a global history of the Twentieth Century. New York: Pearson Education, Inc. 2008. Print. Barbara, Bush. Imperialism and Post colonialism, History: Concepts, Theories and Practice, Longmans, 2006. Print. Beissinger, Mark. â€Å"Soviet Empire as Family Resemblance,† Slavic Review 65 (2006): 294-303. Hobson, Atkinson. Imperialism: a study. Cosimo, Inc. New York: 2005. Print. John, Darwin. After Tamerlane: The Rise and Fall of Global Empires, 1400–2000. New York: Penguin Books, 2008. Print. Johnston, Ronald. The Dictionary of Human Geography. eds. New York: Wiley-Blackwell, 2000, Print. Orwell, George. â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,†The Literature Network, 1936. Web. http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/887/ Runciman, David. Political Hypocrisy: The Mask of Power, from Hobbes to Orwell and Beyond. New York: Princeton University Press, 2010. Print. This research paper on Shooting an Elephant Imperialism. Symbolism in George Orwell’s Story Essay was written and submitted by user Ryder Mckenzie to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

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Software testing issues Related to project Failure or Success - Essay Example Such is the case that if the defects are transferred all the way to the final acceptance testing phase of the project life cycle, the greater risk of time consumption and costing increases. Consequently, small effort advanced towards quality assurance will help reduce expenses to a greater degree with regard to detecting and rectifying the defects. To better understand the effectiveness of the processes of agile software; it is important to gather facts on defects identified in the previous projects and also examine how the same defects can be eliminated following process improvements and application of newer methodologies. This paper presents comprehensive view on the defect prevention techniques and practices that can be followed in agile software development. In handling this topic the paper will look into related work and further discusses the need for defect deterrence. Additionally, the work will address handle issues of improvement workflow along with the illustration of various stages, the root cause analysis and determination of precautionary action. Agile software defect simply refers to â€Å"Imperfections in agile software development process that would cause agile software to fail to meet the desired expectations†. During the long and complex process of agile software development, lot of defects frequently occurs. One misleading notion is that defects crop into the process at the start of the cycle and is eliminated all through the remaining development phases. The truth is that defects form part of the development process from the very beginning to the end, a factor that makes its prevention an essential part in the agile software process quality improvement. Defect prevention (DP) refers to quality improvement process whose aim is to discover regular causes of defects and prevent their reoccurrence through alteration of the relevant process (es).

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Concrete Stitches In Segmental Prestressed Concrete Bridges

Concrete Stitches In Segmental Prestressed Concrete Bridges The in-situ concrete stitches of a segmental prestressed concrete bridge are locations of potential weakness for the entire bridge deck but relatively little work has been carried out in this area. In the current practice, these in-situ stitches are usually designed to be capable of sustaining considerable sagging moment but only minimal hogging moment. Therefore, failure of these joints is possible under exceptional circumstances when the hogging moment is high, which may potentially trigger a progressive collapse. In the light of this, an extensive experimental study on the structural behaviour of the in-situ concrete stitch under different combinations of parameters has been carried out. Two types of specimens are tested in the study, namely the beam specimens and the shear specimens, which both consist of two precast units joined together by in-situ concrete stitch of variable widths. The beam specimens are internally prestressed and subject to different combinations of bending m oment, shear, and prestressing force; while the shear specimens are either internally or externally prestressed and subject to direct shear only. Shear keys are provided to the stitch of several shear specimens to examine the contribution of the keys to the shear strength. The effects of various parameters on the strength of the stitch and ductility of the specimens are investigated. Detailed coverage on the experimental programme and the results of the experimental analyses are presented in this paper. KEYWORDS Experimental study, joints, prestressed concrete, segmental bridges, in-situ stitches. INTRODUCTION Precast segmental concrete bridges have gained popularity over the past 40 years due to their efficiency in coping with difficult site conditions. One of the most commonly used method of constructing this type of bridges is the balanced cantilever method, which essentially involves sequentially extending precast segments outwards from each pier in a balanced manner. A gap of 100 to 200 mm in width is usually provided around the mid-span location between the last two approaching segments to facilitate erection. In-situ concrete is then cast to stitch the segments together, thus making the bridge deck continuous. Under the current practice, the in-situ concrete stitches are usually designed to be capable of sustaining considerable sagging moment but its hogging moment capacity and shear resistance are only nominal. Failure of these joints can only occur under exceptional scenarios when hogging moment is high. However if it really occurs, this could potentially trigger a progressive collapse mechanism because the concrete stitches are locations of potential weakness. Studies on the joints of segmental bridges have been conducted in the past (Buyukozturk et al., 1990; Hewson, 1992; Zhou et al., 2005; Issa and Abdalla, 2007) but the joints studied are either dry or epoxy joints that exists between precast segments and not the in-situ concrete stitching joint that is of interest. As relatively little research work on this area has been conducted, understanding of the actual behaviour of in-situ stitches is limited. In the light of this, an extensive experimental study has been carried out to investigate the behaviour of the in-situ concrete stitches. The study mainly involves a series of loading test on specimens that are comprised of precast units connected by in-situ concrete stitches. The stitch is subjected to different combinations of internal forces by applying loading at different locations along the specimen. Various parameters of the specimens are varied to examine their effect on the strength of the in-situ stitch and its failure mode. These parameters include the width of the stitch, the grade of concrete, the prestressing force, the provision of shear keys, the type of tendon (bonded or unbonded) and the type of prestressing (external or internal). Although the experimental programme is still ongoing, based on the analysis of the current experimental results, several preliminary conclusions have been drawn and are presented in this paper. The experimental programme is also covered i n detail in this paper. TESTING PROGRAMME The experimental study involves load testing on two types of specimens, namely (i) the beam specimens, and (ii) the shear specimens. The beam specimens are used to study the behaviour of the in-situ concrete stitches subjected to different combinations of bending moment and shear, while the shear specimens are used to study the behaviour of the stitches under direct shear. Both the beam and shear specimens consist of two precast units joined together by the in-situ concrete stitches. Control beam specimens have also been fabricated where the entire beam is continuously cast without any stitch along the beam. Typically, the stitch is cast one week after the casting of the precast units. Loading test on the specimens is performed using a testing frame after 28 days from the day of casting of the stitch. Linear variable displacement transducers (LVDTs) are mounted on the specimens at various locations of interest to measure the displacements at these locations. Configuration of the Beam Specimens The length of the beam specimen is 1400 mm with the in-situ concrete stitch at either the mid-span of the beam or offset from the mid-span depending on the internal force that the stitch is subjected to. An actual beam specimen is illustrated in Figure 1. Three cases of internal force at the stitch are examined, namely (i) pure bending moment, (ii) pure shear, and (iii) both moment and shear. The loading test setup to induce the three cases of internal force condition is illustrated in Figure 2. Tendon (a) Case of pure bending moment (b) Case of pure shear (c) Case of moment and shear The section of the beam has an overall depth of 200 mm and a width of 150 mm. A 7-wire steel strand with a nominal area of 100 mm2 is used as the prestressing tendon. The tendon is placed at a depth of 133 mm for Case (i) and Case (ii), and 100 mm for Case (iii). For all beam specimens, Grade 60 concrete is used for both the precast units and the stitch. No shear key is provided to the stitch. Unbonded tendon with an effective prestressing force of 100 kN is applied to all beam specimens. Since the precast units and the in-situ concrete stitch are cast at different time, construction joints exist in the specimen. Prior to casting the in-situ concrete stitch, the laitance at the construction joint area on the surface of the precast unit is removed and the area is roughened by a needle gun until the aggregates are exposed. The construction joint is then wetted for at least 12 hours before casting by laying towels that are completely saturated with water over the joint area. Configuration of the Shear Specimens The shear specimens consist of two L-shaped precast units with the in-situ concrete stitch joining the two units as illustrated in Figure 3. The out-of-plane dimension of the specimen is 200 mm. The specimens are either made of Grade 60 or Grade 45 concrete and both the precast units and the stitch are made of the same grade of concrete. The stitch is subject to a prestress of either 1 MPa or 5 MPa, and stitch widths of 100 mm and 200 mm are examined. The shear specimens are designed in such a way that they are capable of simulating the shear behaviour of box girders of different web configurations. The web of a box girder may or may not be provided with shear keys and some parts of the web may or may not have prestressing tendon running through. Therefore, the specimens are either internally prestressed by bonded tendon or externally prestressed by a clamping device to provide the prestressing force acting on the stitch, while the stitch is either plain or provided with shear keys. For those specimens with shear keys, either one large key with a depth of 50 mm or two smaller keys with a depth of 30 mm are provided. Examples of an externally prestressed specimen with two shear keys and an internally prestressed specimen without shear key are illustrated in Figures 3(a) and 3(b) respectively. For the case where the specimen is internally prestressed, a 7-wire steel strand is used. Prior to casting of the stitch, light roughening is provided at the construction joint area on the precast units to remove the laitance. Similar to the beam specimens, the joint area is wetted for at least 12 hours before casting the stitch. (a) Stitch with shear keys; externally prestressed (b) Stitch without shear key; internally prestressed Figure 4. Examples of setup for shear specimen RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Beam Specimens The load-displacement relationships of the beam specimens tested are plotted in Figures 5(a), 5(b) and 5(c) for the case of the in-situ concrete stitch subjected to pure bending moment (Case (i)), pure shear (Case (ii)), and a combination of moment and shear (Case (iii)), respectively. For the specimens of Cases (b) and (c), only the results of the specimens with 50 mm stitch and 100 mm stitch are available to date. Ductile behaviour is observed for the beam specimens of Case (i). Opening of the construction joints occurs at a load of between 70 kN and 80 kN, while the final mode of failure is concrete crushing in the compression zone at mid-span, as illustrated in Figure 6(a). From Figure 5(a), it is evident that the peak strength of the specimens without stitch (i.e. the control specimen) and those with stitch are approximately the same. The difference in the peak strength between the specimen with a 50 mm stitch and that with a 100 mm stitch is marginal. When the stitch is subject to pure shear, the behaviour of the specimen is brittle. As the peak strength is reached, a large diagonal crack suddenly forms across the stitch (Figure 6(b)) and the strength drops abruptly. It can be seen from Figure 5(b) that regardless of the size of the stitch, the peak strengths of the specimens are nearly the same. (a) Case (i) (b) Case (ii) (c) Case (iii) From Figure 5(c), it is evident that the behaviour of the specimens of Case (c) is ductile. Failure of the specimens is localized at the point of loading where there is significant cracking and crushing of concrete; while at the stitch, slight opening of the construction joint is observed and several diagonal cracks are found propagating from the construction joint towards the point of loading. The condition of the beam at failure is illustrated in Figure 6(c). For the specimen with a 50 mm stitch, the peak strength is approximately 100 kN, while that for the specimen with a 100 mm stitch is approximately 110 kN. The peak strengths of the two specimens are relatively close to each other. The results suggest that the width of the stitch has minimal effect on the strength of the stitch within the maximum width of stitch studied. The ductility of the specimens is also not affected by the width of the stitch but rather by how the specimen is loaded. (a) Case (i) (b) Case (ii) (c) Case (iii) Shear Specimens The load-displacement relationships of the five shear specimens tested are plotted in Figure 7. The shear displacement is the relative vertical displacement between the two precast units. All shear specimens are identified as explained below. Using E-K(M)-100-60-2 as an example, the first field represents the type of prestressing used, with E indicating external prestressing; the second field represents whether the stitch is plain or with shear keys, with K(M) indicating stitch with two shear keys, K(S) indicating stitch with single shear keys, and P indicating plain stitch with no shear key; the third field indicates the width of the stitch in mm; the fourth field indicates the grade of concrete in MPa; and the fifth field indicates the prestress applied to the stitch in MPa. Therefore, a specimen identified as E-K(M)-100-60-2 is composed of Grade 60 concrete with external prestress of 2 MPa applied and two shear keys are provided to the stitch that has a width of 100 mm. The specimens with plain stitch are first discussed. From Figure 7, it can be seen that the behaviour is largely the same for both specimens E-P-100-60-1 and E-P-200-60-1. The peak strengths of the two specimens are between 50 to 60 kN, which once again demonstrates that the width of a plain stitch has little effect on its strength. It is evident that as the prestressing level is increased to 5 MPa (E-P-100-60-5), the peak load-carrying capacity is significantly increased to approximately 220 kN. Therefore, the level of prestressing has marked influence on the load-carrying capacity of the stitch. For specimens with plain stitch, the failure mode is characterized by sudden occurrence of sliding along one or more of the construction joints. Upon failure, the strength of the stitch is mainly contributed by friction from sliding between the surfaces of precast unit and in-situ stitch. As observed from the load-displacement curves, a long smooth plateau is evident in the post peak range for specimens E-P-100-60-1 and E-P-200-60-1, which can be modelled as Coulomb friction. For specimen E-P-100-60-5, the post-peak behaviour as shown in Figure 7 is not as smoothed. Since the prestressing force is substantially higher, the resistance against sliding by the aggregates along the construction joint becomes very large. As the applied load is large enough to overcome that resistance, sudden slippage along the construction joint occurs and the load drops. Subsequently the resistance builds up again and sudden slippage occurs again when the resistance is overcome by the applied load. Therefore the post-peak branch of specimen E-P-100-60-5 has a zig-zag shape. This observation also implies that the roughness of the construction joint should have strong effect on the post-peak strength of plain stitches, which will be examined in due course. Since the post-peak strength of the stitch is mainly contributed by frictional forces, ductility can only be maintained if sufficient pre stressing force is provided. Therefore the presence of adequate prestressing force beyond the peak strength of the stitch is crucial in preventing sudden loss of strength in the stitch. Up to this stage, only two shear specimens with shear keys have been tested. However, the results from the test have already given indication that the behaviour of the stitches with shear keys is quite different from the behaviour of those without shear keys. Upon reaching the peak strength, the stitch of specimen E-K(M)-100-60-1 fails suddenly in a brittle manner by cracking diagonally across the stitch as illustrated in Figure 8 and an abrupt drop in load can be seen in Figure 7. This behaviour is much different from that of the specimens with plain stitches in which the post-peak behaviour is characterized by a long plateau in the load-displacement relationship. This type of stitch has little reserve strength upon reaching the peak load-carrying capacity. No brittle failure is observed for the specimen with one large key and a wider stitch, i.e. specimen E-K(S)-200-60-1. In fact, the specimen was not loaded to failure during the experiment but was stopped at a load of approximately 190 kN because at that load, the prestressing force was increased to a level that had almost reached the capacity of the load cell used to measure the prestressing force. However, at a load of 190 kN, continuous crack had already formed along the construction joint and there was sliding between the precast unit and the stitch along the joint but the stitch still remained intact. From Figure 7, it can be seen that the peak load-carrying capacity of specimens E-K(M)-100-60-2 and E-P-100-60-5 are approximately the same. This observation seems to imply same level of load-carrying capacity can be achieved yet less amount of prestressing can be applied by adding shear keys to the stitch. As aforementioned, there is an increase in prestressing force as load is applied to the specimens with shear keys. This behaviour is caused by dilation in the stitch as the shearing load is applied. Dilation is taken as the displacement between the precast units measured along the horizontal centreline of the stitch. The effect of dilation is much more pronounced for specimens with keyed stitches than those with plain stitches. The relationships between shear displacement and dilation of the various specimens are plotted in Figure 9. For the specimens with plain stitch, dilation is relatively insignificant compared to the dilation in the specimens with keyed stitch. The stress in the tendon can be increased due to dilation. The effect of dilation on tendon stress is rather insignificant for a segmental bridge with unbonded tendon because the strain increase due to dilation will be averaged along the entire length of tendon between end anchorages. However, for segmental bridges prestr essed by bonded tendon, dilation may cause substantial increase in strain at the location of the stitch, which can potentially overstress the tendon. Specimens with stitch prestressed by bonded tendon will be tested in the near future and the effect of dilation on tendon stress will be investigated in due course. CONCLUSIONS Extensive experimental studies have been carried out to investigate the behaviour of in-situ concrete stitches subject to a combination of internal forces and subject to direct shear by conducting a series of loading tests on the beam specimens and shear specimens respectively. Detailed coverage on the setup of the specimens and load testing has been included in this paper. Based on the results of the tests conducted so far, several preliminary conclusions can be drawn: The width of plain in-situ concrete stitch does not appear to have significant effect on the peak-load carrying capacity of the stitch regardless of the combination of internal forces that it is subjected to. The strength of the in-situ concrete stitch is strongly influenced by the level of prestressing applied and the strength of the stitch increases as the level of prestressing increases. For plain in-situ concrete stitches, failure occurs along the construction joint. Strength in the stitch is still present beyond the peak strength and it is mainly contributed by the frictional force from the sliding between the surfaces of precast unit and stitch. By providing shear keys to the concrete stitch, the level of prestressing can be reduced to achieve the same strength as those stitches without key. However, this may result in a brittle failure. For keyed concrete stitches, the amount of dilation is significantly higher than that of plain stitches. For segmental bridges prestressed by bonded tendon, this may have marked effect on the stresses of the tendons. With further testing on the specimens being carried out in the near future, it is expected that more definitive conclusions can be drawn on the behaviour of the in-situ concrete stitches. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The study undertaken is supported by Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (RGC Project No. HKU 710207E).

The Horrifying Details of Mad Cow Disease Essay -- Mad Cow Disease Hea

The Horrifying Details of Mad Cow Disease   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mad Cow Disease, scientifically referred to as (BSE) Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, is a disease that affects those humans who eat the meat from infected cows. Mad Cow Disease is one of several fatal brain diseases called (TSE) Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy. (USDA) There was evidence of a new illness resembling the sheep disease scrapie. It was technically named BSE but quickly acquired the mad cow tag because of the way infected cattle behave. (CNN) In 1997, there was an award given to Stanley Prusiner, for concluding that a distorted protein called a prion was responsible for Mad Cow Disease, noted the long incubation period made it difficult to distinguish (Bryant). Another name for Mad Cow Disease is the new variant Cruetzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD), similar to the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, which is a deadly brain illness that strikes about one per million per year (USDA) due to genetic or unknown causes while the vCJD is contracted from eating in fected cows (USDA). Both CJD and vCJD are so similarly named because of the similar effects from the illness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This case study shows the effect of CJD. The story has been said to be on the natural occurring CJD but is still in the family with the same kind of effects as vCJD. It is just contracted differently. According to Rocky Mountain News in an article written by Lou Kilzer, Tracie Mcewen noticed something wrong for the first time on Mother’s Day of 1998 (Kilzer). Doug, her husband, always made her homemade cards for Mother’s Day, but he did not this year. Although Tracie thought Doug was mad at her or just being forgetful, he died ten months later from a rare brain ravaging disease (Kilzer). After his death an autopsy showed that it was not Mad Cow Disease. Some scientists wondered if his and four other deaths were somehow connected to a related disease in deer and elk called (CWD) Chronic Wasting Disease, considering that Doug was an avid hunter (Kilzer). Before losing Doug, Tracie wrote the following accounts of the ravages for a support group, serving families of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease victims (Kilzer). Tracie’s letter was written in January of 1999.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tracie was twenty-eight years old at the time, and Doug was thirty years old. They have two girls, Sharon who is eight years old and Rilee who is three years old. They li... ...ases that are just as bad like CWD, but people have known about them. Mad Cow, BSE, vCJD--it is here and real and will kill anyone who gives it a chance. It does not pick an individual. It does not pick innocent or guilty. The people choose it. Mad Cow will either stop a person in his train of thought or fly past like a busy bee. This disease is not as well-known as some but is just as deadly. BSE has many terms all under the same definition. Whether a person sees this brain ravaging disease as a threat or a joke, it is up to each individual. Works Cited â€Å"A Beef With Beef.† USDA. 8 Feb. 1999. Ask Jeeves. 29 Aug. 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bryant, Gerry, Dr., and Monk, Philip, Dr.â€Å"The Queniborough Report† 26 Aug. 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Cannibals to Cows the Path of a Deadly Disease† Newsweek. 12 March 2001 â€Å"Fear and Mystery Of Cross Species Killer.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   CNN 26 Oct. 2000. Yahoo. 26 Aug. 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kilzer, Lou. â€Å"A Family Grieves: Young Utah Hunter’s Untimely Death Attributed To CJD   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But Survivors Want Closer Look At Venison Connection.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rocky Mountain News 1 June 2002. Google. 29 Aug. 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"Mad Cow Update.† Consumer Freedom. 20 March 2000. Ask Jeeves. 29 Aug. 2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Relative Isolation of Sub-Saharan Africa

Relative Isolation on Sub-Saharan Africa Relative isolation affected the development of sub-Saharan African cultures. The lack of contact with other African societies and non-African societies helped shape many distinct groups with individualistic forms of religion, language, and customs. Religion can only spread by contact with other people. There are two main religions in the Middle East and in Europe that have gained dominance and fight to maintain power. Religions such as Greek mythology were quickly pushed aside when a dominant power came in with a different religion.There are physical obstacles that kept people out of sub-Saharan Africa until the sixteenth century. This means that no major powers/religions were able to spread across the continent and unify the culture. This type of relative isolation is also true amongst African societies. Environmental factors have rendered it nearly impossible for an African society to put itself in a position of dominance over other societie s. Because the individual societies were focused on self-preservation instead of trading and conquering they each created their own unique religion.Africans did not have a large society/kingdom to fall back on for protection and survival. They also live in one of the harshest environments in the world; this forced them to live â€Å"as one with nature†, causing semi nature based religious systems which can also been seen in Native American culture pre-colonization. Even though the groups developed unique religions they still parallel other groups that lived under the same ecological conditions in Africa and in the Americas.Language is a defining piece of a societies identity; it creates a sense of unity amongst people, it shows a group’s means of food production, and it individualizes bands of people. African societies historically have not been in conflict with each other. This means that each group developed it’s own language and the langue has advanced along with the society. In places such as Europe and the Middle East each group had developed individual languages but with the progression of empires such as the Egyptians and the Romans came the spread of unified language.Unified language means societies now have words for tools and gods that they do not have. With little to no contact amongst African societies language did not spread through natural transactions: curiosity or trade. Societies in the rest of the world have been in contact with one another long before they were able to penetrate into sub-Saharan Africa. This means that they were trading; in order to trade one must be able to communicate with another. Trading will affect the language as whole, which will in turn cause unification in counting systems, religion, and technology.Societies in Africa did not have this exchange between groups which caused them to develop distinct societies which only had the technology and religion required to keep them alive. African customs we re derived from a need for survival. Societies in Africa had to deal with a harsh environment that was constantly pushing back at them. Their customs were a means of survival from the way they handled religion to telling children scary stories about dangerous plants and animals in the means of fairy tales. Unlike societies in Europe that usually had a kingdom of people to rely on for protection and food, Africans had to fight for survival.European societies created customs to separate classes of people based on wealth or physical appearance or some other identifier whereas African groups only created customs that benefited the group. The isolation of African societies caused them to create similar but distinctly different customs from each other. Relative isolation caused African societies to develop differently than the shared cultures of most the world. Societies in Africa also develop distinct cultures from each other due to their lack of contact with neighboring groups.

Brian Friels Translations Essay Example

Brian Friels Translations Essay Example Brian Friels Translations Paper Brian Friels Translations Paper Characters and their relations are effectivelly established in different ways by Brian Friel in his play Translations. Friel uses the relations of characters to emphasise certain characteristics. By being subjected to the interpretation of a character through the opinions of other characters allows the reader to form a judgement of the character. Friel uses stage directions to build-up a character. Once the character is present on stage, if the character lives up to the characteristics mentioned in the stage directions the reader or audience can easily focus on these flaws or assets and therefore get a better understanding of the character. Manus is one of the first characters that is introduced in Act one. He is described to be in his late/early thirties, shabbily dressed aswell as, pale-faced, lightly built This description shows Manus to be a weak and feeble figure and this physial description suits his character well as when reading Act one, one learns that he is a very lame character who is easily manipulated by his father. Manus weakness is shown through his relations with three characters, his father Hugh, Maire and his brother Manus. Although Hugh is an extremely able man, Manus accepts being ordered out by his father as though he were his servent. An example of this is, almost immediately after Hugh makes his first appearance in Translations, he requests for Manus to bring him tea and soda bread. Hugh shows no sign of gratification for Manus duties and the tone in which he speaks to Manus is patronising. His lame personality is also shown in his relationship with Maire. One of Maires stage directions is, Again Maire ignores Manus This stage direction sums up Maire and Manus relationship. It is made clear to the audience or reader that Maire and Manus have fallen out and instead of acknowledging that Maire wants nothing to do with him and moving on with his life, Manus desperately chases after her in hope of winning her back. His reluctance to move on shows how weak he is. Manus and his brother Owen, obviously do not have a close bond. This is apparent when Owen returns from living in the city for six years and Manus returns Owens warm greeting by saying, Youre welcome, Owen From this cold greeting one can assume that Manus is not pleased to see Owen yet he does not show his true feelings for his brother and remains civil. Manus tendency to avoid conflict is also shown when Owen translates Lanceys speech and although Manus knows Owen has lead the community into false apphrensions, he bites his tongue and tells none of them. Although Manus is a lame character, he has a lot of depth to him and this is seen through his teachings. When his father is out drinking, Manus takes on his fathers role and teaches the hedge-school students. His passion in teaching Sarah how to speak and the way in which he treats everyone in the classroom equally, ignoring his superior position, shows how his weak side can also be seen as an asset as he is always trying to avoid hurting and condemming people and tries to help people to his fullest extent and be curtious and civil. Manus father, Hugh is a lot less considerate of others feelings. His teaching methods include humiliating students and not giving them a chance to proove themselves. Brian Friel establishes Hughs character in Act one by building his character up through the other characters impersinations of him. In a heated discussion on Hugh, Doalty pretends he is Hugh in an extremely mocking manner. Ignari, stulti, rustici pot-boys and peasant whelps semi-literates and illegitimates Doaltys immitation of Hugh shows that Hugh looks down on his students and feels that his age and position as a teacher renders him to act superior to those around him. Doalty continues to mock Hugh by saying, Three questions. Question A Am i drunk? Question B Am I sobre? From this comment, the audience learn that Hugh is often drunk. Due to the English take over, the constant fear of potato blight and the poverty that Irish people such as Hugh had to live in, it was not unusual for the Irish to want to find an escape from reality; Hughs escape is to drink. Doalty never gets to the third question but the audience learn that he does this intentionally as Hugh can never get to his third point. This implies that Hugh can never get to where he wants to be in life. This inference makes perfect sense when Hughs Latin is takin into consideration. Hugh constantly bomards his students with the Latin language and seems to speak more Latin than Irish. He always refuses to teach his students languages such as English, as he says that English is for the purpose of commerce This suggests that Hugh is relucatant to move on with the times and is stuck in the past, holding on to dying languages instead of moving on with languages that will keep him alive. Hughs loyalty to the old languages is not shared by his son Owen, who comes back to Baile Beag to help the English translate Irish place names. None-the-less, Hugh adores his youngest son and when Owen returns, Hughs eyes are moist partly with joy, partly the drink Hugh does not show any true respect to any other characters in the play except Owen. Owens presence overwhelms Hugh, who is usually a very cold character. This suggests that Owen makes his father proud, unlike his brother Manus. Hugh has good reason to be proud of his son, as Owen moved out of the dying town of Baile Beag and became a successful buisnessman owning nine shops. It is also clear that Owen is probably the most loved character in Baile Beag, as practically the whole community get on well with Owen and are glad that he has returned home. Owens reason for returning home, is to help the English translate Irish place names in to the English language. Many Irishmen would not have considered helping the English let alone work along side them. This shows Owen to be an open-minded character who does not give in to the prejudice attitudes of most of his people. Owen even calls the two English soldiers that he works with ,

Curt Lemon in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Essay Example

Curt Lemon in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Essay Example Curt Lemon in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Paper Curt Lemon in Tim OBriens The Things They Carried Paper Essay Topic: The Things They Carried TNT should be placed all over Vietnam so this bitchy would disappear from the map. Thats all It deserves after taking away my freaking best friend. I did see plenty of people die In Vietnam, but this was bucking unbelievable, partly because he was my bucking best friend and partly because of the way It happened. Just Like we used to, Curt and I went to play catch with a smoke grenade, which was certainly the greatest name ever thought, under some huge trees; the biggest Eve ever seen of my life. We were having a great time. In fact, everyone always had a great time with Curt; he was such a nice guy, a respectable guy. However, this bitchy of Name decided It was enough. As Curt moved away from the shade of the gigantic trees, he stepped on this bucking booby-trap. It was definitely no usual booby-trap. His freaking body was lifted so high that you couldnt even look at it because of the dazzlingly bright sun. I was under the impression I was watching a firework. It was bucking surreal. Curt Lemon, my freaking best friend in the world had died and I could not believe it. The explosion was so powerful that I felt my heart responding to it. It felt just like when a firework ends; the biggest piece of the show explodes and the explosion is so important that sometimes you get scared and you close your eyes for a second, even if you know its a show. But, afterwards, when you open your eyes you can appreciate all the beauty of it. Name made several awesome shows of that kind, but this one was no bucking good show.

LoveDescribe how to adjust interactive instruction based on analysis Essay

LoveDescribe how to adjust interactive instruction based on analysis of student performance during the instruction - Essay Example Instructional strategies have played a vital role in the efficacy of high-quality readers. Five techniques common in monitoring performance of students include reviews (daily) and prerequisite checks, new concept presentation, guided practice, reviews (monthly and weekly) and independent practice. All of these techniques help in adjusting interactive instruction by basing the performance of students during instruction time. Daily reviews and checks (prerequisite) will enable students to gauge their understanding on a daily basis. This will enable them to monitor their reading habits and improve on them when need be. By presenting new concepts to students, this gives them a chance to widen their scope of investigation and engages them in further reading of literature. Teachers and parents also contribute immensely to this instructional strategy by guiding students when they are in a fix with their studies. Monthly and weekly reviews also come in handy and give students the ability to reflect on what they have read and conceptualize on taught areas. Guided practice as a form of instruction strategy is helpful in reaching those students with difficulty as well as, those with faster rates of progression. Teachers and parents guide the students by use of examples they are familiar with and interact with on a daily basis. Daily reviews and prerequisite checks will give learners a chance to air their views and reflect on issues discussed during instruction time. Average students are advised to use cognitive approaches in meeting their needs. This can be achieved by students through take noting processes, chart filling and question asking. By Average students are task oriented, hence, are encouraged to be active during interactive

Shell uses new refinery new reffinery to support sustainability Essay

Shell uses new refinery new reffinery to support sustainability - Essay Example addition to being a big project, the new transformation process has the potential of creating a new natural gas, which would contribute to earnings for the company. GTL gas is priced at roughly half the normal price of crude oil, which is likely to spur increased demand mostly due to lower natural gas prices. Shell is also likely to win the environmentally conscious consumers and businesses since GTL is purer than the traditional crude thus having a competitive edge over other companies in the energy business. The process of GTL however, has various production and operational barriers. The process is extremely expensive, considering the amount invested in the project, which is $ 19 million, and this has drawn the attention of critics who hold the view that alternative procedures are more cost effective. Moreover, the GTL process consumes a lot of energy, hence posing the question of the effectiveness of the projects’ environmental sustainability. Another barrier facing the venture is the fact that the GTL project can only make profits when oil prices are high and thus the company’s stakes are either a loss or a win with this particular venture. In the event of the project’s failure after 5 years, the company should not abandon the project all together. With the experience it had with a similar project in Malaysia, this should be an indication that the company should remain optimistic and keep the project running. The company should take into consideration the experience with the previous project to know what to do and what to avoid in this particular venture. Having worked through the numerous glitches in the GTL process, the company should be more confident in undertaking this particular project. Finally, Shell stand s to win more profitable relationships in future in case this project succeeds in the rich labour and energy resources Qatar. Thus, Shell should consider continuing with the venture even if it was to fail after 5