Financial Performance Of Mangalore Refinery And Petrochemicals Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2494 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? INTRODUCTION Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) and Reliance Petroleum Limited (RPL) were the first two refineries established by the private sector in India. In March 1992, MRPL brought out a public issue of shares, and in September 1993, RPL did the same. Both these refineries were established at a time when the administered pricing mechanism (APM)[1]was in force. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Financial Performance Of Mangalore Refinery And Petrochemicals Finance Essay" essay for you Create order APM involved full government control over the oil and natural gas sector, where only four major government owned oil companies (IOC, HPCL, BPCL and IBP) had the right to directly market petroleum products (Refer Exhibit I). The government refineries were not able to meet the increasing demand for petroleum products. Hence, opening up of the oil and natural gas sector to private companies and dismantling APM were considered as methods for reducing the demand-supply gap of petroleum products. When the Government of India (GOI) approved private sector participation in the oil refining and petroleum industry, a new investment opportunity was made available to Indian investors. Those who invested in MRPL and RPL were optimistic about the returns on shares of both these companies since reputed leading business houses such as the Aditya Birla Group (ABG)[2]and the Reliance Group[3]promoted these refinery projects. Due to the dearth of oil company stocks promoted by the private sector, the shares of both these companies were lapped up by public investors and financial institutions. Both the public issues were heavily oversubscribed. However, few investment analysts expressed their reservations about investing in stand-alone refineries like MRPL and RPL since they felt that the financial performance of companies in the refining industry was completely dependant on the crude oil prices. In March 2002 Reliance group approved the merger of RPL with Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL)[4]. The appointed date of merger was April 2001. Once again in April 2006 Reliance Group came out with an initial public offer (IPO) for RPL. In this case an analysis of two oil refining companies viz. MRPL and RPL (2005)[Merged] for understanding risk and return involved in investment. MANGALORE REFINERY AND PETROCHEMICALS LTD. (MRPL): Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) was incorporated on 7th March 1988. Company was started as joint venture of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL)[5]and Indian Rayon Industries Limited (IRIL) Associates (AV Birla Group). MRPL has the distinction of being the only refinery in India with two CCRs which produces unleaded petrol of high octane. In the year 1993 MRPL made a public issue consisting 4,31,60,000 shares of which 16 percent was Secured Redeemable Partly Convertible Debentures (PCDs) priced at Rs 135 which fetched 582.66 crores. It also issued 2,80,00,000 shares of which 17.5 percent was Secured Redeemable Non Convertible Debentures of Rs 200 each (with Detachable Equity Warrants) fetching Rs 560 crores. In the same year MRPL also tied up with internationally reputed technology suppliers for process technologies. In March 2003 ONGC acquired the share holding of 37.39 percent which was held by AV Birla Group. Further ONGC added the capital of Rs 600 crores and made MRPL as a majority held subsidiary of ONGC. As on 31st March 2010 HPCL holds 16.96 percent (297153518 shares) and ONGC 71.63 percent (1255354097 shares) shares of MRPL. In September 1995 MRPL started a 45 MW cogeneration plant and also three million tones refinery by the end of 1995- 96 financial year. In 1999 MRPL signed deal with Chevron- Texaco for crude sourcing. The cost effective process of debottlenecking of some units resulted in enhancing the refining capacity to 12 million tones. The refining capacity was increased to 9 MMTPA in 2001. In 2006 MRPL mad an alliance with Abu Dhabi firm and also an agreement with Mauritius Company. The refinery up gradation and expansion project was undertaken at a cost of Rs 7943 crores in 2006-07. ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd. (OMPL), a joint venture of ONGC and MRPL was incorporated for Aromatics Project worth of Rs. 4852 crore. In 2007 MRPL entered contract with State Trading Corporation (STC), Mauritius for supplying petroleum products and 4 year product supply agreement with Shell India Marketing. MRPL and Shell Aviation in 2008 entered an agreement for a joint venture to market and supply aviation fuel. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Table 1 shows the financial performance of MRPL for last five years (i.e. from 2005- 06 to 2009- 10). Total income has increased consistently in first four years from Rs 2,50,443.20 million in 2005- 06 to Rs 3,84,303.90 million in 2008- 09. But it declined by 15.25 percent to Rs 3,25,670.80 million in 2009- 10. Profit before depreciation and tax (PBDT) also has followed the same trend as in the case of total income, which increased in first four years before it declined by 5.14 percent in 2009- 10. Net profit increased in first three years and declined in last two years. Net profit declined by 6.26 percent in 2008- 09 in comparison with 2007- 08 and by 6.72 percent in 2009- 10 in comparison with 2008- 09. Operating profit margin (OPM) and net profit margin (NPM) have increased over the years and company has sustained it in the last three years at a higher level compared to first two years. MRPL has also sustained the level of earnings per share (EPS) and cash earnings per share (CEPS ) albeit declining marginally since 2007- 08. Depreciation has increased consistently in all five years. Even reserves also has followed the same trend. It has increased by 29.2 percent in 2009- 10 in comparison with 2008- 09. RECENT QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE Recent quarterly performance is shown in EXHIBIT V. In case of MRPL, for 4th quarter of 2009-10 financial year reported net profit of 2,530.7 million, 58.3 percent decline from corresponding quarter of the previous year (6,076.2 million). Total income increased by 35 percent as against 50 percent increase in expenditure. Operating profit margin (OPM) was 5.75 percent as against 15.42 percent whereas net profit margin (NPM) was 2.85 percent as against 9.26 percent in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Profit for 3rd quarter of 2009-10 financial year was at Rs. 2595.4 million compared to loss of Rs. 2854.1 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Operating margin was 4.8 percent and operating profits of Rs 4486.2 million as against negative 4.7 percent operating margin and loss of 3511.7 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Other income increased by 43 percent (Rs. 696.6 million) and interest cost fell by 20 percent. Company also registered a marginal rise in depreciation (3 percent). These factors led to profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 2838.3 million as against loss of 4348.6 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The final outcome for the company was profit of Rs. 2595.4 million as against the loss of Rs. 2854.1 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. RELIANCE PETROLEUM LTD. (RPL) [2005] (MERGED): Reliance Petroleum Ltd. (RPL) was incorporated in October 2005 as a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) in the special economic zone (SEZ) at Jamnagar. The main objective behind setting up of RPL was to take advantage of the emerging opportunities in the energy sector i.e. the rising demand in the west for high quality fuels that meet stern emission rules and expanding price gap between heavy and light crude oil. In 2006, RPL made initial public offering (IPO) of 1350 million equity shares with a face value of Rs. 10. Out of it 450 million shares were offered for retail investors with a price band of Rs 57 to Rs 62. Retail investors had the option of paying Rs 16 per share on application. Shares were oversubscribed close to 50 times and finally shares were offered at Rs. 60, Rs 2 below the upper price band. RIL subscribed to an additional 900 million equity shares at Rs. 62. RIL was holding around 80 percent of stake in RPL in the post IPO period which also included the 2700 million shares subscribed at Rs. 10 before the public issue. Analysts saw positives about investing in RPL IPO mainly from the point of view of Reliance groups experience in running large capacity businesses. But they also cautioned about possible delay in commissioning of the refinery by the set deadline of December 2008. Concern was also raised about the fact that opportunity spotted by RPL was known to other MNCs as well and it may be just a matter of time before others get in to the same business. They also cautioned about the possibility of merger of new entity with RIL as they were in similar business and given the history of Reliance group of merging the subsidiaries with itself. RPL was set up in the special economic zone in Jamnagar, Gujarat, adjacent to the existing RIL refinery. The refinery had the capacity to process 580,000 barrels per day, or 27 million tonnes per annum of crude oil. The expected capital cost of the refinery was Rs. 270000 million. Company made considerable progress in 2007-08 in implementing the refinery project. Directors report on March 2008 claimed that it completed around 90 percent of the implementation of the project. It was one of the largest and most efficient refineries in the world with good synergies. In December 2008 it started the refining activity and announced that it will attain the full capacity shortly. With the completion RPL refinery, Jamnagar became the largest refining complex with an aggregate refining capacity of 1.24 million barrels of oil per day in any single location in the world. RECENT QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE RPL reported the income of Rs 76390 million from operations for the quarter ended in June 2009 and net profit was at Rs. 1050 million. Gross refining margin was $5.4 per barrel. 4.04 million tonnes of crude oil was processed in the quarter which included 20 types of crude oils. Total export was at 2.5 million tonnes of refined products to 26 countries. Company was successful in commissioning all key processing units in that quarter. RPL reported income of 36780 million for the year ended March 2009 and profit stood at 2270 million. Operating profit margin was 6.2 percent. MERGER On February 27, 2009 it was announced that RIL and RPL will be merged. Board meeting of RPL and RIL on March 2nd 2009 finalized the modalities of merging RPL with RIL. Swap ratio was fixed at one RIL share for 16 RPL shares (1:16). Decision of merger did not come as a surprise for market participants given the track record of Reliance group in the last three decades. Reliance group is a combination of several companies which were floated for executing specific projects and subsequently merged with it. (For e.g. Reliance Petrochemicals Ltd., Reliance Polyethylene Ltd. and Reliance Polypropylene Ltd.). Market observers argued that the strategy of Reliance group was to start large capital intensive projects in the balance sheet of a new company and once project is operational, merging them with the RIL. Benefit for RIL is that it is protected from risk of project execution as well as its balance sheet will not be affected by equity or debt burden. Different views have been expressed by analysts. It was argued that there was no business synergy in the merger of RPL with RIL. At least in the first merger of RPL and RIL in 2002, RPL was supplying refinery by- products to RIL. But in second merger in 2009, there was no difference between the refineries of RIL and RPL except for the technological superiority of RPLs refinery. The main reason for setting up of separate company (i.e. RPL) was to reap the benefits of special economic zone since such benefits were not available for expansion plans of the existing companies (Srinivasan, R. 2009). PTI reported that, it is an action replay after seven years. Announcement time as well as negative market reaction following merger announcement were common factors in both the mergers. Merger announcement timing was criticized on the ground that it did not provide any arbitrage opportunity for traders. Merger decision was first announced on Friday (27th February, 2009) after the market close and swap ratio (1RIL: 16RPL) was fixed before the market open next Monday (2nd March, 2009). Swap ratio was same as the ratio of the closing price of the stocks on the announcement day. Traders were not able to adopt strategies according to their analysis of the companies and speculation on swap ratio. On March 3rd, 2009, Economic Times reported that swap ratio of 1 RIL: 16 RPL was positive for RPL share holders and disappointing to RIL share holders. It was expressed by 3.1 percent fall in the RIL price and 1.4 percent fall in RPL price following the merger announcement. On same day The Hindu reported that merger was attractive for both RPL and RIL share holders. Merger helps RIL to consolidate its position since it acquired a world class refinery with minimum project risk; on the other hand, it helps RPL by reducing volatility in earnings. FUTURE PROSPECTS IN REFINING SECTOR: India has achieved impressive growth in refining sector since independence. It started with 0.25 million tonnes per annum at Digboi oil refinery, only refinery of independent India. As on December 2009, there are 20 refineries (17 in public sector and 3 in the private sector) with capacity of 179.956 MMTPA. India is not only self sufficient in refining oil for domestic consumption but also exports the petroleum products. Demand for petroleum products are directly linked to the energy requirements of the country and India being second fastest growing country in the world, shows positive signs for the refining sector. Report of the Working Group on Petroleum and Natural Gas for the XI Plan (2007 2012) states that refinery sector in Asia is turning attractive due to no substantial capacity addition in Europe. With only marginal capacity addition in US and in Central Asia refineries being old require large investment. Only Middle East, China and India have seen significant growth in refining sector. As Asia in general being projected as the growth centre for coming decades provides an excellent opportunity for Asian countries in general and India in particular. The feasible way would be establishing refineries which meet the world fuel standards and accessing world markets by exporting the surplus products. Report also stated that the target of 10th Five Years Plan (2002-2007) has been adequately met. 11th plan (2007- 2012) has fixed the target of 91.99 MMTPA capacity addition, however it states that actual capacity addition depends on various factors like domestic demand, tariff, refining margin and export potential. Plan expects the refining capacity to be around 190 to 200 MMTPA with the scope of export of 45 to 55 MMTPA by 2012. 11th plan has also given projection for the 12th plan period as well. An approximate assessment puts the capacity addition of 67.24 MMTPA (43.30 MMTPA in public sector and 23.94 MMTPA in private sector) is expected. But it depends on the commercial viability of the projects as well as demand for petroleum products during the 11th plan period. THE STOCK MARKET PERSPECTIVE According to stock market analysts, the share price of a company usually provided a true reflection of the companys present and expected financial performance. The stock price usually reflected various risks associated with the company, which could be broadly categorized as systematic and unsystematic risks (Refer Exhibit V). An analysis of the stock price performance of MRPL and RPL would help investors analyze the quantum of returns offered to them and identify the extent of risks associated with these companies over a specified period of time. The quarterly share prices of MRPL and RPL from January 2005 to May 2010 are provided in Table III to help measure the risks and returns of these two companies.

Copral Punishment to Students - 9866 Words

ST.AUGUSTINE UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA FACULTY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION AN ASSESMENT OF TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE PROPOSED REVISION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN TANZANIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. A CASE STUDY OF NYAMAGANA DISTRICT A RESEARCH REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION IN PARTIAL FULFULMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE BACHELOR OF ART WITH EDUCATION AT ST. AUGUSTINE UNIVERSITY OY TANZANIA. BY INNOCENT SULLEY BAED, 25598 APRIL 2012. CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION Corporal punishment is conflicting and confusing issue as it is discussed with different views, by individual people, organizations, and conclusion is not reached up to this moment, so it is†¦show more content†¦In South Africa in the 1970s student organizations began to demand the end of Corporal Punishment [Department o f Education, 2000]Corporal Punishment was viewed as abuse in the classroom and by the 1980s â€Å"Education Without Fear† was a slogan developed by learners , educators and parents to campaign against the hitting of the children [Department of Education, 2002]. The use of Corporal Punishment persisted until the change in 1994. In America, a poll conducted by ABC news titled â€Å"Support for spanking† was found that sixty-five of Americans approval for spanking .Although only 26%[percent] say that grade schools teachers should be allowed to spank kids at school [www.seach.abcnews.go.com/query.html] Also according to Flynn (1884) Southern Rhodesia of the USA have favorable attitudes towards Corporal Punishment and 81%support its use. Pakistan Corporal Punishment exist in school nearly 143 years. For now it is banned although teachers are still taking it in negative way. Several Movements have been made as â€Å"The International Movements to burn Corporal Punishment† and The barn of Corporal Punishment in South African Schools. In Tanzania the issue of Corporal Punishment was allowedShow MoreRelatedLife and Legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte2033 Words   |  8 Pageswould be accompanied by a girl named Giacominetta and held her hand during these strolls. His fellow students noticed his affectionate behavior and formed a rhyme to humiliate him. The classmates said â€Å"Napoleone di mezza calzetta, fa l’amore a Giacominetta.† This juvenile rhyme means â€Å"Napoleon with his socks half way down, makes love to Giacominetta. Subsequently he would run off after the students and fight them, each time his fiery temper would get the best of him. Despite getting in fights Napoleon

Deforestation Persuasive Essay free essay sample

According to CBBC Newsround, it is estimated that seven and a half million acres of rainforests are being cut down each year. If everyone started planting trees, we could end deforestation. There are many causes of it, impacts, and alternatives to deforestation. First of all, there are a lot of causes of deforestation. According to the World Wildlife Fund, illegal logging plays a key role in it. When illegal logging happens it depresses the price of timber worldwide, which disadvantages companies that abide by the law. When farmers need more land for cattle ranching or soya fields, they usually just chop down more trees to get more acres for fields or pastures. Another cause of deforestation is hydroelectric dams. According to How Stuff Works, the workers building these dams flood acres of land, which causes decomposition and release of greenhouse gases. Furthermore, deforestation impacts the Earth in a lot of ways. We will write a custom essay sample on Deforestation Persuasive Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It causes soil erosion; it reduces biodiversity, and global warming. According to World Wildlife Fund, agricultural plants that often replace the trees cannot hold onto the soil, and as fertile soil washes away, the farmers move on and clear more land. The soil becomes less fertile, and the unprotected area gets dried up and becomes compacted. When people destroy forests, it disrupts animals and people’s lives causing them to find new homes. Deforestation can also cause global warming. When people cut down trees, more carbon dioxide is in the air; more carbon dioxide increases greenhouse gases, and leads to global warming. However, there are also many alternatives to cutting down millions and billions of trees each year. Businesses can ban the sales of valuable wood. People can use non-timber products, such as rubber or Brazilian nuts. Farmers can use a mixture of different crops and trees. According to CBBC Newsround, the variety helps prevent insect damage and soil erosion; it helps maintain soil fertility. Lastly, there are many causes of deforestation, impacts, and a lot of alternatives to it. Look at where the products come from before buying timber or other products. If everyone started using non-timber products we could stop deforestation.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare free essay sample

An examination as to the extent of Friar Lawrences responsibility for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. This paper analyzes the various factors pertinent to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, with an emphasis on Friar Lawrences role in their deaths. The writer concludes that the responsibility for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet lies not only with the Friar but also with nearly every main character in the play. Although it often appears that the Friar is responsible for events leading to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, in reality it is usually other influences that are accountable. For instance, the Friars plan (giving Juliet the sleeping potion to evade the wedding to Paris, then spiriting her to Mantua until Romeo could return to Verona) was not flawed in itself. Unfortunately however, Balthazar, seeing Juliets funeral, hastened to tell Romeo that he saw her laid low in her kindreds vault, (5, 1, 20). We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It was this information that made him, and later Juliet, commit suicide. Again, while marrying Romeo and Juliet may seem like an irresponsible action, it did not contribute to the lovers deaths. Their first meeting, based on chance, and their separation, as a result of Romeos banishment, played a far greater role in the tragedy.

Sentence Length - Definition, Examples, Recommendations

Sentence Length s, Recommendations Definition In English grammar, sentence length refers to the number of words in a sentence. Most readability formulas use the number of words in a sentence to measure its difficulty. Yet in some cases, a short sentence can be harder to read than a long one. Comprehension can sometimes be facilitated by longer sentences, especially those that contain coordinate structures. Contemporary style guides generally recommend varying the length of sentences to avoid monotony and achieve appropriate emphasis.   See Examples and Observations below. Also, see: Sentence VarietyBasic Sentence Structures in EnglishE.B. Whites Exercise in Sentence Length and VarietyEuphonyParagraph LengthThe Rhythm of Prose, by Robert Ray LorantSentence Variety in Alice Walkers Am I Blue?Sentence Variety in Thurbers Life and Hard TimesStyleWhat Is a Sentence?What Is Sentence Combining and How Does It Work? Examples and Observations When the great orator William Jennings Bryan accepted the Democratic nomination for president in 1896, the average length of a sentence in his speech was 104 words. Today, the average length of a sentence in a political speech is less than 20 words. Were simply in an age of directness and making our point more quickly.  (Bob Elliot and Kevin Carroll, Make Your Point! AuthorHouse, 2005)Varying your sentence length is much more important than varying your sentence pattern if you want to produce clear, interesting, readable prose.  (Gary A. Olson et al., Style and Readability in Business Writing: A Sentence-Combining Approach. Random House, 1985) Examples of Varied Sentence Length: Updike, Bryson, and Wodehouse That laugh said a strange thing. It said, This is fun. Baseball is meant to be fun, and not all the solemn money men in fur-collared greatcoats, not all the scruffy media cameramen and sour-faced reporters that crowd around the dugouts can quite smother the exhilarating spaciousness and grace of this impudently relaxed sport, a game of innumerable potential redemptions and curious disappointments. This is fun.  (John Updike, The First Kiss. Hugging the Shore: Essays and Criticism. Knopf, 1983)One of the great myths of life is that childhood passes quickly. In fact, because time moves more slowly in Kid Worldfive times more slowly in a classroom on a hot afternoon, eight times more slowly on any car journey of more than five miles (rising to eighty-six times more slowly when driving across Nebraska or Pennsylvania lengthwise), and so slowly during the last week before birthdays, Christmases, and summer vacations as to be functionally immeasurableit goes on for decades when measured in adult terms. It is an adult life that is over in a twinkling. (Bill Bryson, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Broadway Books, 2006)The young mans judgment was one at which few people with an eye for beauty would have cavilled. When the great revolution against Londons ugliness really starts and yelling hordes of artists and architects, maddened beyond endurance, finally take the law into their own hands and rage through the city burning and destroying, Wallingford Street, West Kensington, will surely not escape the torch. Long since it must have been marked down for destruction. For, though it possesses certain merits of a low practical kind, being inexpensive in the matter of rents and handy for the buses and the Underground, it is a peculiarly beastly little street. Situated in the middle of one of those districts where London breaks out into a sort of eczema of red brick, it consists of two parallel rows of semi-detached villas all exactly alike, each guarded by a rag ged evergreen hedge, each with coloured glass of an extremely regrettable nature let into the panels of the front door; and sensitive young impressionists from the artists colony up Holland Park way may sometimes be seen stumbling through it with hands over their eyes, muttering between clenched teeth How long? How long?  (P.G. Wodehouse, Leave It to Psmith, 1923) Ursula Le Guin on Short and Long Sentences Teachers trying to get school kids to write clearly, and journalists with their weird rules of writing, have filled a lot of heads with the notion that the only good sentence is a short sentence.This is true for convicted criminals.Very short sentences, isolated or in a series, are terrifically effective in the right place. Prose consisting entirely of short, syntactically simple sentences is monotonous, choppy, a blunt instrument. If short-sentence prose goes on very long, whatever its content, the thump-thump beat gives it a false simplicity that soon just sounds dumb. See Spot. See Jane. See Spot bite Jane...As Strunk and White say, variety in sentence length is whats needed. All short will sound stupid. All long will sound stuffy.In revision, you can consciously check for variety, and if youve fallen into a thumping of all short sentences or a wambling of all long ones, change them to achieve a varied rhythm and pace.  (Ursula Le Guin, Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussi ons on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew. Eighth Mountain Press, 1998) Dont Just Write Words. Write Music. This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. Its like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbalssounds that say listen to this, it is important.So write with a combination of short, medium, and long sentences. Create a sound that pleases the readers ear. Dont just write words. Write music.  (Gary Provost, 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing. Mentor, 1985) Sentence Length in Technical Writing Sometimes sentence length affects the quality of the writing. In general, an average of 15 to 20 words is effective for most technical communication. A series of 10-word sentences would be choppy. A series of 35-word sentences would probably be too demanding. And a succession of sentences of approximately the same length would be monotonous.In revising a draft, use your software to compute the average sentence length of a representative passage. (Mike Markel, Technical Communication, 9th ed. Bedford/St Martins, 2010) Sentence Length in Legal Writing Keep your average sentence length to about 20 words. The length of your sentences will determine the readability of your writing as much as any other quality. Thats why readability formulas rely so heavily on sentence length.Not only do you want a short average; you also need variety. That is, you should have some 35-word sentences and some 3-word sentences, as well as many in between. But monitor your average, and work hard to keep it to about 20 words. (Bryan A. Garner, Legal Writing in Plain English. University of Chicago Press, 2001) Sentence Length and Polysyndeton To dwell in a city which, much as you grumble at it, is after all very fairly a modern city; with crowds and shops and theatres and cafes and balls and receptions and dinner parties, and all the modern confusion of social pleasures and pains; to have at your door the good and evil of it all; and yet to be able in half an hour to gallop away and leave it a hundred miles, a hundred years, behind, and to look at the tufted broom glowing on a lonely tower-top in the still blue air, and the pale pink asphodels trembling none the less for the stillness, and the shaggy-legged shepherds leaning on their sticks in motionless brotherhood with the heaps of ruin, and the scrambling goats and staggering little kids treading out wild desert smells from the top of hollow-sounding mounds; and then to come back through one of the great gates and a couple of hours later find yourself in the world, dressed, introduced, entertained, inquiring, talking about Middlemarch to a young English lady or listeni ng to Neapolitan songs from a gentleman in a very low-cut shirtall this is to lead in a manner a double life and to gather from the hurrying hours more impressions than a mind of modest capacity quite knows how to dispose of. (Henry James, Italian Hours, 1909) The Lighter Side of Sentence Length Writers who wish to impart to their productions power and pungency, who wish to keep the readers attention upon the tiptoe of activity, who desire to escape the imputation of pedantry and who seek to surcharge their sentiments with sparkle and spirit, will do well to bear in mind constantly that long, lingering sentences, unduly overburdened with an abundance of phrases, clauses, and parenthetical observations of a more or less digressive character, are apt to be tiresome to the reader, especially if the subject matter be at all profound or ponderous, to place an undue strain upon his powers of concentration and to leave him with a confused concept of the ideas which the writer apparently has been at great pains to concentrate, while short, snappy sentences, on the other hand, with the frequent recurrence of subject and predicate, thus recalling and emphasizing the idea to be expressed as the development of the thought proceeds, like numerous signposts upon an untraveled road, these frequent breaks having the effect of taking a new hold upon the readers attention, oases in the desert of words, as it were, will be found to be much more effective, much more conducive to clarity, and far better calculated to preserve the contact, the wireless connection, so to speak, between the writer and the reader, provided, however, and it is always very easy to err through a too strict and too literal application of a general rule, that the sentences are not so short as to give a jerky, choppy, and sketchy effect and to scatter the readers attention so often as to send him wool-gathering completely. (Ellis O. Jones, comic playwright, anti-war activist, and editor of the original Life magazine. Reprinted in The Writer, December 1913)

Beta Decay Definition in Chemistry

Beta Decay Definition in Chemistry Beta decay refers to the spontaneous radioactive decay where a beta particle is produced. There are two types of beta decay where the beta particle is either an electron or a positron. How Beta Decay Works ÃŽ ²- decay occurs when an electron is the beta particle. An atom will ÃŽ ²- decay when a neutron in the nucleus converts to a proton by the reaction:ZXA → ZYA1 e- antineutrinoHere X is the parent atom, Y is the daughter atom, Z is the atomic mass of X, A is the atomic number of X.ÃŽ ² decay occurs when a positron is the beta particle. An atom will ÃŽ ² decay when a proton in the nucleus converts into a neutron by the reaction:ZXA → ZYA-1 e neutrinoHere X is the parent atom, Y is the daughter atom, Z is the atomic mass of X, A is the atomic number of X.In both cases, the atomic mass of the atom remains constant but the elements are transmuted by one atomic number. Practical Examples Cesium-137 decays to Barium-137 by ÃŽ ²- decay.Sodium-22 decays to Neon-22 by ÃŽ ² decay.

THE ROLE OF IMF IN THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY AND HOW IT Research Paper

THE ROLE OF IMF IN THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY AND HOW IT PLAYS A ROLE ON THE POLITICS AND ECONOMICS IN NIGERIA AND CAME - Research Paper Example That is whether the nations would have performed better without IMF or whether they had influence in preventing the prosperity of the changes suggested by IMF. The economic and political state of the nations due to IMF influence at present and the opinions why or why not did the nations recover are in addition discussed. What IMF is International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a global institution that offers monetary assistance and advice to member nations. IMF came into existence at the conclusion of World War II, because of the Bretton Woods Meeting in 1945. It was formed out of demand to curb economic crises such as the Great Depression. The institution has turned to an enduring organization integral to the formation of monetary markets globally and to the development of the growing nations (Tenney & Norman, 2011, 149). What IMF does The job of IMF is of three major kinds: Surveillance includes the supervising of economic and monetary growths, and the offering of rule advice, targeted ma inly at crisis-avoidance. IMF as well lends to nations with balance of payments hardships, to offer temporary funding and to promote rules targeted at rectifying the underlying challenges. Loans to low revenue nations are in addition targeted mainly at poverty lowering. ... IMF as well plays a significant role in the battle against funds laundering and violence (Fritz-Krockow & Parmeshwar, 2007, 2). Origins and original aims of IMF IMF is a global institution that was started in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Meeting and officially formed during 1945 by twenty-nine member nations. IMF’s expressed objective was to aid in the rebuilding of the sphere’s global payment system after World War II. Nations contribute funds to a pool by a quota scheme from which nations with payment disparities may scrounge money temporarily. By this task and others like observation of its members’ economies and the requirement for personal-rectifying rules, IMF does job to enhance the economies of its member nations. IMF defines itself like an institution of one hundred and eighty eight nations, doing job to foster international financial cooperation, protect monetary steadiness, enable global trade, support great employment and maintainable economic developmen t, and lower poverty across the sphere. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C., United States. The original aims of IMF included: Offering a forum for cooperation on global financial challenges Enable the development of global trade, therefore supporting job formation, economic development, and poverty lowering Support exchange rate steadiness and an open scheme of global payments; and Loaning nation’s foreign exchange when required, on a temporary basis and under sufficient securities to aid them handle balance of payments challenges (Jacobsen & Ramesh, 2008, 268). Success and failures of IMF vision Global trade grew rapidly from the 1950’s. There was

Goes around comes around Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Goes around comes around - Essay Example If we help somebody at some stages of our life, we will be rewarded for it in future. During my school days I often studied in schools far away from my home which forced me to stay in hostels. Once a strange fellow approached me and told me that his money was stolen by somebody while he was travelling in a train and asked me, 50 dollars to reach his home. Though I was suspicious, I gave him the money and have forgotten about that incident. After around 5 year time, the same thing has repeated in my life in another location in another train. This time the victim was I and the help was extended by a military personnel. â€Å"What goes around you comes around†. If we adopt false means to gain materialistic advantages, at some point of our life we will be a victim of same sort of actions from our surrounding. I have a friend in Dubai who is working as a sales manager in a printing company. Most of the other sales guys working in other similar companies were fed up with my friend because of the illegal methods, he adopted for grabbing business. My friend believed that any methods can be adopted in business especially in sales for getting business. Ethics and morality were unknown words for him. He quiet often showed high quality printing materials to the customers for taking the order and used cheaper materials in production. He has purchased a brand new television set of a famous brand from a shopping mall in Dubai, which offered high percentage of discount on every consumer goods purchasing. After the warranty period was over, he had some problems with the television set and the technician has informed him that the actual circuit board use d inside the TV was a cheaper, second hand, and repaired one. â€Å"What goes around you comes around†. Those who are taking the sword to kill innocent people will be killed by the same sword. Veluppillai Prabhakaran, the chief of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) has caught

The Audit Report and Internal Control Evaluation Essay Example for Free

The Audit Report and Internal Control Evaluation Essay An audit has been completed for Apollo Shoes as of December 31, 2005 and 2006, and the associated income statement, shareholders’ equity, cash flows and complete income. My firm has reviewed the organization’s assessment, comprised in the associated report of management on Commercial Reporting, in which Apollo Shoes sustained definite internal control as of December 31, 2006, founded on standards recognized in internal control. The management team of Apollo Shoes’ is accountable for the financial reports, for sustaining current internal controls, and appraisal of internal control regarding financial reporting. It is our duty to communicate an unbiased view on these financial reports, assessment by management, and the usefulness of the organization’s internal control sustaining the financial report. My team has organized our inspections in conjunction with the principles of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). We strategically planed and enforced the audit to acquire practical assurance. Regardless, the actual internal control consisting of fiscal reporting was sustained in all respects of materiality or whether financial reports are without material misstatement those standards that the PCAOB have put into place are required in order to plan and prepare for a proper audit. Our review of the financial reports will consist of proof promoting the totality of assets and disclosures in the financial reports, investigating all details in their entirety, evaluating the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and estimating the general arrangement of financial reports. During the audit we obtained a comprehension of internal control over Apollo Shoes’ monetary reporting, and we appraised management’s valuation. We preformed all services and procedures as we felt necessary. We tested and assessed the proposal and the internal control’s operating usefulness. These audits supply practical reasoning for the opinions concluded. We did not find it necessary to audit the financial reports for the year ended December 31, 2006 due to the financial reports being previously audited by other auditors whose report relates to the previous period. A procedure developed to supply justifiable guarantee regards to the fluency and consistency of financial recording and the planning of financial reports for external purposes in accordance with (GAAP) is an organization’s internal control over fiscal recording. An organization’s financial reporting that consists of internal control, contains those guidelines and processes that relate to the conservation of reports that truthfully and justifiably replicate the communications and natures of the company’s assets and provide reasonable assertions that those transactions are documented as required to authorize the research of monetary reports in agreement with GAAP. All revenues and expenses of the organization are only being created in agreement with approvals of directors and management of the organization. These policies and procedures also implement practical assertion pertaining to the inhibition or appropriate recognition of procurements unauthorized or nature of the organization’s possessions that may possess a quantifiable conclusion on the financial reports. Misstatements may not be avoided or detected because of its subjective restrictions. Furthermore, additions of any assessment of usefulness to impending periods are governed due to the threat that controls possibly will develop insufficiencies due to alterations in circumstances, or that the degree of acquiescence with the guidelines or processes may depreciate. Apollo Shoes has lost its chief customer and is in legal dispute with one of its clients that has resulted in a lawsuit for an amount of $12,000,000 against the organization. The case is in the preliminary juncture but the organization will provoke a fee of $10,000,000 minimum litigation in conjunction to the result of case. Due to these circumstances consequently the financial statements have not been adjusted. It is the firm’s opinion that the financial statements denoted in the previous paragraph present justly, in all quantifiable regards, the pecuniary situation of Apollo Shoes, INC. as of December 31, 2005 and 2006 and the outcomes of Apollo’s cash flows and procedures for the three years in the period ended December 31, 2006 in conjunction with GAAP. In addition, it is our opinion that Apollo Shoes sustained operative internal control and is legitimately stated in all material aspects established on the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations’ (COSO) criteria. The additional financial reports have been adjusted presuming the Apollo Shoes attains the incomes required to endure and function indefinitely. However, as discoursed in the financial statements’ notes, Apollo Shoes no longer does business with its major customer. This raises considerable uncertainty in the organization’s capability to endure as a going concern. The financial reports do not contain any modification that might effect the conclusion of this conjecture. Anderson, Olds and Watershed Certified Public Accountants CPA, Internal Audit November 26, 2012 Anderson, Olds and Watershed Certified Public Accountants Shoetown, ME 0001

Essay --

As part of the cell cycle, mitosis is the nuclear division of replicated chromosomes by the disconnection of the replicated chromosomes to form two genetically identical daughter nuclei. Escorted by mitosis is commonly the process of cytokinesis. The cytokinesis process entails a dividing cell splitting into two, resulting in the subdivision of the cytoplasm into two cellular suites. The process of mitosis can take place in either a haploid (23 chromosomes) or a diploid (46 chromosomes) cell. Before a cell can be ready for a mitotic division it must primarily undergo its interphase stage. Following the interphase stage several other stages come into play. These stages are prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. During each specific stage certain sequences of events take place that assist to the completion of the division. During interphase, cell growth, DNA replication, separation of centrioles and protein synthesis takes place. This phase is acknowledged to being the most extensive period of the cell cycle thus signifying the stage in which the cell devotes th...

Prelude to Foundation Chapter 16 Officers

RAYCH-†¦ According to Hari Seldon, the original meeting with Raych was entirely accidental. He was simply a gutter urchin from whom Seldon had asked directions. But his life, from that moment on, continued to be intertwined with that of the great mathematician until†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica 77. The next morning, dressed from the waist down, having washed and shaved, Seldon knocked on the door that led to Dors's adjoining room and said in a moderate voice, â€Å"Open the door, Dors.† She did. The short reddish-gold curls of her hair were still wet and she too was dressed only from the waist down. Seldon stepped back in embarrassed alarm. Dors looked down at the swell of her breasts indifferently and wrapped a towel around her head. â€Å"What is it?† she asked. Seldon said, looking off to his right, â€Å"I was going to ask you about Wye.† Dors said very naturally, â€Å"About why in connection with what? And for goodness sake, don't make me talk to your ear. Surely, you're not a virgin.† Seldon said in a hurt tone, â€Å"I was merely trying to be polite. If you don't mind, I certainly don't. And it's not why about what. I'm asking about the Wye Sector.† â€Å"Why do you want to know? Or, if you prefer: Why Wye?† â€Å"Look, Dors, I'm serious. Every once in a while, the Wye Sector is mentioned-the Mayor of Wye, actually. Hummin mentioned him, you did, Davan did. I don't know anything about either the sector or the Mayor.† â€Å"I'm not a native Trantorian either, Hari. I know very little, but you're welcome to what I do know. Wye is near the south pole-quite large, very populous-â€Å" â€Å"Very populous at the south pole?† â€Å"We're not on Helicon, Hari. Or on Cinna either. This is Trantor. Everything is underground and underground at the poles or underground at the equator is pretty much the same. Of course, I imagine they keep their day-night arrangements rather extreme-long days in their summer, long nights in their winter-almost as it would be on the surface. The extremes are just affectation; they're proud of being polar.† â€Å"But Upperside they must be cold, indeed.† â€Å"Oh yes. The Wye Upperside is snow and ice, but it doesn't lie as thickly there as you might think. If it did, it might crush the dome, but it doesn't and that is the basic reason for Wye's power.† She turned to her mirror, removed the towel from her head, and threw the dry-net over her hair, which, in a matter of five seconds, gave it a pleasant sheen. She said, â€Å"You have no idea how glad I am not to be wearing a skincap,† as she put on the upper portion of her clothing. â€Å"What has the ice layer to do with Wye's power?† â€Å"Think about it. Forty billion people use a great deal of power and every calorie of it eventually degenerates into heat and has to be gotten rid of. It's piped to the poles, particularly to the south pole, which is the more developed of the two, and is discharged into space. It [melts] most of the ice in the process and I'm sure that accounts for Trantor's clouds and rains, no matter how much the meteorology boggins insist that things are more complicated than that.† â€Å"Does Wye make use of the power before discharging it?† â€Å"They may, for all I know. I haven't the slightest idea, by the way, as to the technology involved in discharging the heat, but I'm talking about political power. If Dahl were to stop producing usable energy, that would certainly inconvenience Trantor, but there are other sectors that produce energy and can up their production and, of course, there is stored energy in one form or another. Eventually, Dahl would have to be dealt with, but there would be time. Wye, on the other hand-â€Å" â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well, Wye gets rid of at least 90 percent of all the heat developed on Trantor and there is no substitute. If Wye were to shut down its heat emission, the temperature would start going up all over Trantor.† â€Å"In Wye too.† â€Å"[Yes], but since Wye is at the south pole, it can arrange an influx of cold air. It wouldn't do much good, but Wye would last longer than the rest of Trantor. The point is, then, that Wye is a very touchy problem for the Emperor and the Mayor of Wye is-or at least can be-extremely powerful.† â€Å"And what kind of a person is the present Mayor of Wye?† â€Å"That I don't know. What I've occasionally heard would make it seem that he is very old and pretty much a recluse, but hard as a hypership hull and still cleverly maneuvering for power.† â€Å"Why, I wonder? If he's that old, he couldn't hold the power for long.† â€Å"Who knows, Hari? A lifelong obsession, I suppose. Or else it's the game†¦ the maneuvering for power, without any real longing for the power itself. Probably if he had the power and took over Demerzel's place or even the Imperial throne itself, he would feel disappointed because the game would be over. Of course he might, if he was still alive, begin the subsequent game of keeping power, which might be just as difficult and just as satisfying.† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"It strikes me that no one could possibly want to be Emperor.† â€Å"No sane person would, I [free], but the ‘Imperial wish,' as it is frequently called, is like a disease that, when caught, drives out sanity. And the closer you get to high office, the more likely you are to catch the disease. With each ensuing promotion-â€Å" â€Å"The disease grows still more acute. Yes, I can see that. But it also seems to me that Trantor is so huge a world, so interlocking in its needs and so conflicting in its ambitions, that it makes up the major part of the inability of the Emperor to rule. Why doesn't he just leave Trantor and establish himself on some simpler world?† Dors laughed. â€Å"You wouldn't ask that if you knew your history. Trantor is the Empire through thousands of years of custom. An Emperor who is not at the Imperial Palace is not the Emperor. He is a place, even more than a person.† Seldon sank into silence, his face rigid, and after a while Dors asked, â€Å"What's the matter, Hari?† â€Å"I'm thinking,† he said in a muffled voice. â€Å"Ever since you told me that hand-on-thigh story, I've had fugitive thoughts that-Now your remark about the Emperor being a place rather than a person seems to have struck a chord.† â€Å"What kind of chord?† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"I'm still thinking. I may be all wrong.† His glance at Dors sharpened, his eyes coming into focus. â€Å"In any case, we ought to go down and have breakfast. We're late and I don't think Mistress Tisalver is in a good enough humor to have it brought in for us.† â€Å"You optimist,† said Dors. â€Å"My own feeling is that she's not in a good enough humor to want us to stay-breakfast or not. She wants us out of here.† â€Å"That may be, but we're paying her.† â€Å"Yes, but I suspect she hates us enough by now to scorn our credits.† â€Å"Perhaps her husband will feel a bit more affectionate concerning the rent.† â€Å"If he has a single word to say, Hari, the only person who would be more surprised than me to hear it would be Mistress Tisalver.-Very well, I'm ready.† And they moved down the stairs to the Tisalver portion of the apartment to find the lady in question waiting for them with less than breakfast-and with considerably more too. 78. Casilia Tisalver stood ramrod straight with a tight smile on her round face and her dark eyes glinting. Her husband was leaning moodily against the wall. In the center of the room were two men who were standing stiffly upright, as though they had noticed the cushions on the floor but scorned them. Both had the dark crisp hair and the chick black mustache to be expected of Dahlites. Both were thin and both were dressed in dark clothes so nearly alike that they were surely uniforms. There was thin white piping up and over the shoulders and down the sides of the tubular trouser legs. Each had, on the right side of his chest, a rather dim Spaceship-and-Sun, the symbol of the Galactic Empire on every inhabited world of the Galaxy, with, in this case, a dark â€Å"D† in the center of the sun. Seldon realized immediately that these were two members of the Dahlite security forces. â€Å"What's all this?† said Seldon sternly. One of the men stepped forward. â€Å"I am Sector Officer Lanel Russ. This is my partner, Gebore Astinwald.† Both presented glittering identification holo-tabs. Seldon didn't bother looking at them. â€Å"What it is you want?† Russ said calmly, â€Å"Are you Hari Seldon of Helicon?† â€Å"I am.† â€Å"And are you Dors Venabili of Cinna, Mistress?† â€Å"I am,† said Dors. â€Å"I'm here to investigate a complaint that one Hari Seldon instigated a riot yesterday.† â€Å"I did no such thing,† said Seldon. â€Å"Our information is,† said Russ, looking at the screen of a small computer pad, â€Å"that you accused a newsman of being an Imperial agent, thus instigating a riot against him.† Dors said, â€Å"It was I who said he was an Imperial agent, Officer. I had reason to think he was. It is surely no crime to express one's opinion. The Empire has freedom of speech.† â€Å"That does not cover an opinion deliberately advanced in order to instigate a riot.† â€Å"How can you say it was, Officer?† At this point, Mistress Tisalver interposed in a shrill voice, â€Å"I can say it, Officer. She saw there was a crowd present, a crowd of gutter people who were just looking for trouble. She deliberately said he was an Imperial agent when she knew nothing of the sort and she shouted it to the crowd to stir them up. It was plain that she knew what she was doing.† â€Å"Casilia,† said her husband pleadingly, but she cast one look at him and he said no more. Russ turned to Mistress Tisalver. â€Å"Did you lodge the complaint, Mistress?† â€Å"Yes. These two have been living here for a few days and they've done nothing but make trouble. They've invited people of low reputation into my apartment, damaging my standing with my neighbors.† â€Å"Is it against the law, Officer,† asked Seldon, â€Å"to invite clean, quiet citizens of Dahl into one's room? The two rooms upstairs are our rooms. We have rented them and they are paid for. Is it a crime to speak to Dahlites in Dahl, Officer?† â€Å"No, it is not,† said Russ. â€Å"That is not part of the complaint. What gave you reason, Mistress Venabili, to suppose the person you so accused was, in fact, an Imperial agent?† Dors said, â€Å"He had a small brown mustache, from which I concluded he was not a Dahlite. I surmised he was an Imperial agent.† â€Å"You surmised? Your associate, Master Seldon, has no mustache at all. Do you surmise he is an Imperial agent?† â€Å"In any case,† said Seldon hastily, â€Å"there was no riot. We asked the crowd to take no action against the supposed newsman and I'm sure they didn't.† â€Å"You're sure, Master Seldon?† said Russ. â€Å"Our information is that you left immediately after making your accusation. How could you witness what happened after you left?† â€Å"I couldn't,† said Seldon, â€Å"but let me ask you-Is the man dead? Is the man hurt?† â€Å"The man has been interviewed. He denies he is an Imperial agent and we have no information that he is. He also claims he was handled roughly.† â€Å"He may well be lying in both respects,† said Seldon. â€Å"I would suggest a Psychic Probe.† â€Å"That cannot be done on the victim of a crime,† said Russ. â€Å"The sector government is very firm on that. It might do if you two, as the criminals in this case, each underwent a Psychic Probe. Would you like us to do that?† Seldon and Dors exchanged glances for a moment, then Seldon said, â€Å"No, of course not.† â€Å"Of course not,† repeated Russ with just a tinge of sarcasm in his voice, â€Å"but you're ready enough to suggest it for someone else.† The other officer, Astinwald, who had so far not said a word, smiled at this. Russ said, â€Å"We also have information that two days ago you engaged in a knife fight in Billibotton and badly hurt a Dahlite citizen named†-he struck a button on his computer pad and studied the new page on the screen-â€Å"Elgin Marron.† Dors said, â€Å"Does your information tell you how the fight started?† â€Å"That is irrelevant at the moment, Mistress. Do you deny that the fight took place?† â€Å"Of course we don't deny the fight took place,† said Seldon hotly, â€Å"but we deny that we in any way instigated that. We were attacked. Mistress Venabili was seized by this Marron and it was clear he was attempting to rape her. What happened afterward was pure self-defense. Or does Dahl condone rape?† Russ said with very little intonation in his voice, â€Å"You say you were attacked? By how many?† â€Å"Ten men.† â€Å"And you alone-with a woman-defended yourself against ten men?† â€Å"Mistress Venabili and I defended ourselves. Yes.† â€Å"How is it, then, that neither of you shows any damage whatever? Are either of you cut or bruised where it doesn't show right now?† â€Å"No, Officer.† â€Å"How is it, then, that in the fight of one-plus a woman-against ten, you are in no way hurt, but that the complainant, Elgin Marron, has been hospitalized with wounds and will require a skin transplant on his upper lip?† â€Å"We fought well,† said Seldon grimly. â€Å"Unbelievably well. What would you say if I told you that three men have testified that you and your friend attacked Marron, unprovoked?† â€Å"I would say that it belies belief that we should. I'm sure that Marron has a record as a brawler and knifeman. I tell you that there were ten there. Obviously, six refused to swear to a lie. Do the other three explain why they did not come to the help of their friend if they witnessed him under unprovoked attack and in danger of his life? It must be clear to you that they are lying.† â€Å"Do you suggest a Psychic Probe for them?† â€Å"Yes. And before you ask, I still refuse to consider one for us.† Russ said, â€Å"We have also received information that yesterday, after leaving the scene of the riot, you consulted with one Davan, a known subversive who is wanted by the security police. Is that true?† â€Å"You'll have to prove that without help from us,† said Seldon. â€Å"We're not answering any further questions.† Russ put away his pad. â€Å"I'm afraid I must ask you to come with us to headquarters for further interrogation.† â€Å"I don't think that's necessary, Officer,† said Seldon. â€Å"We are Outworlders who have done nothing criminal. We have tried to avoid a newsman who was annoying us unduly, we tried to protect ourselves against rape and possible murder in a part of the sector known for criminal behavior, and we've spoken to various Dahlites. We see nothing there to warrant our further questioning. It would come under the heading of harassment.† â€Å"We make these decisions,† said Russ. â€Å"Not you. Will you please come with us?† â€Å"No, we will not,† said Dors. â€Å"Watch out!† cried out Mistress Tisalver. â€Å"She's got two knives.† Officer Russ sighed and said, â€Å"Thank you, Mistress, but I know she does.† He turned to Dors. â€Å"Do you know it's a serious crime to carry a knife without a permit in this sector? Do you have a permit?† â€Å"No, Officer, I don't.† â€Å"It was clearly with an illegal knife, then, that you assaulted Marron? Do you realize that that greatly increases the seriousness of the crime?† â€Å"It was no crime, Officer,† said Dors. â€Å"Understand that. Marron had a knife as well and no permit, I am certain.† â€Å"We have no evidence to that effect and while Marron has knife wounds, neither of you have any.† â€Å"Of course he had a knife, Officer. If you don't know that every man in Billibotton and most men elsewhere in Dahl carry knives for which they probably don't have permits, then you're the only man in Dahl who doesn't know. There are shops here wherever you turn that sell knives openly. Don't you know that?† Russ said, â€Å"It doesn't matter what I know or don't know in this respect. Nor does it matter whether other people are breaking the law or how many of them do. All that matters at this moment is that Mistress Venabili is breaking the anti-knife law. I must ask you to give up those knives to me right now, Mistress, and the two of you must then accompany me to headquarters.† Dors said, â€Å"In that case, take my knives away from me.† Russ sighed. â€Å"You must not think, Mistress, that knives are all the weapons there are in Dahl or that I need engage you in a knife fight. Both my partner and I have blasters that will destroy you in a moment, before you can drop your hands to your knife hilt-however fast you are. We won't use a blaster, of course, because we are not here to kill you. However, each of us also has a neuronic whip, which we can use on you freely. I hope you won't ask for a demonstration. It won't kill you, do you permanent harm of any kind, or leave any marks-but the pain is excruciating. My partner is holding a neuronic whip on you right now. And here is mine.-Now, let us have your knives, Mistress Venabili.† There was a moment's pause and then Seldon said, â€Å"It's no use, Dors. Give him your knives.† And at that moment, a frantic pounding sounded at the door and they all heard a voice raised in high-pitched expostulation. 79. Raych had not entirely left the neighborhood after he had walked them back to their apartment house. He had eaten well while waiting for the interview with Davan to be done and later had slept a bit after finding a bathroom that more or less worked. He really had no place to go now that all that was done. He had a home of sorts and a mother who was not likely to be perturbed if he stayed away for a while. She never was. He did not know who his father was and wondered sometimes if he really had one. He had been told he had to have one and the reasons for that had been explained to him crudely enough. Sometimes he wondered if he ought to believe so peculiar a story, but he did find the details titillating. He thought of that in connection with the lady. She was an old lady, of course, but she was pretty and she could fight like a man-better than a man. It filled him with vague notions. And she had offered to let him take a bath. He could swim in the Billibotton pool sometimes when he had some credits he didn't need for anything else or when he could sneak in. Those were the only times he got wet all over, but it was chilly and he had to wait to get dry. Taking a bath was different. There would be hot water, soap, towels, and warm air. He wasn't sure what it would feel like, except that it would be nice if she was there. He was walkway-wise enough to know of places where he could park himself in an alley off a walkway that would be near a bathroom and still be near enough to where she was, yet where he probably wouldn't be found and made to run away. He spent the night thinking strange thoughts. What if he did learn to read and write? Could he do something with that? He wasn't sure what, but maybe they could tell him. He had vague ideas of being paid money to do things he didn't know how to do now, but he didn't know what those things might be. He would have to be told, but how do you get told? If he stayed with the man and the lady, they might help. But why should they want him to stay with them? He drowsed off, coming to later, not because the light was brightening, but because his sharp ears caught the heightening and deepening of sounds from the walkway as the activities of the day began. He had learned to identify almost every variety of sound, because in the underground maze of Billibotton, if you wanted to survive with even a minimum of comfort, you had to be aware of things before you saw them. And there was something about the sound of a ground-car motor that he now heard that signaled danger to him. It had an official sound, a hostile sound. He shook himself awake and stole quietly toward the walkway. He scarcely needed to see the Spaceship-and-Sun on the ground-car. Its lines were enough. He knew they had to be coming for the man and the lady because they had seen Davan. He did not pause to question his thoughts or to analyze them. He was off on a run, beating his way through the gathering life of the day. He was back in less than fifteen minutes. The ground-car was still there and there were curious and cautious onlookers gazing at it from all sides and from a respectful distance. There would soon be more. He pounded his way up the stairs, trying to remember which door he should bang on. No time for the elevator. He found the door-at least he thought he did-and he banged, shouting in a squeak, â€Å"Lady! Lady!† He was too excited to remember her name, but he remembered part of the man's. â€Å"Hari!† he shouted. â€Å"Let me in.† The door opened and he rushed in-tried to rush in. The rough hand of an officer seized his arm. â€Å"Hold it, kid. Where do you think you're going?† â€Å"Leggo! I ain't done nothin'.† He looked about. â€Å"Hey, lady, what're they doin'?† â€Å"Arresting us,† said Dors grimly. â€Å"What for?† said Raych, panting and struggling. â€Å"Hey, leggo, you Sunbadger. Don't go with him, lady. You don't have to go with him.† â€Å"You get out,† said Russ, shaking the boy vehemently. â€Å"No, I ain't, You ain't either, Sunbadger. My whole gang is coming. You ain't gettin' out, less'n you let these guys go.† â€Å"What whole gang?† said Russ, frowning. â€Å"They're right outside now. Prob'ly takin' your ground-car apart. And they'll take yore apart.† Russ turned toward his partner, â€Å"Call headquarters. Have them send out a couple of trucks with Macros.† â€Å"No!† shrieked Raych, breaking loose and rushing at Astinwald. â€Å"Don't call!† Russ leveled his neuronic whip and fired. Raych shrieked, grasped at his right shoulder, and fell down, wriggling madly. Russ had not yet turned back to Seldon, when the latter, seizing him by the wrist, pushed the neuronic whip up in the air and then around and behind, while stamping on his foot to keep him relatively motionless. Hari could feel the shoulder dislocate, even while Russ emitted a hoarse, agonized yell. Astinwald raised his blaster quickly, but Dors's left arm was around his shoulder and the knife in her right hand was at his throat. â€Å"Don't move!† she said. â€Å"Move a millimeter, any part of you, and I cut you through your neck to the spine.-Drop the blaster. Drop it! And the neuronic whip.† Seldon picked up Raych, still moaning, and held him tightly. He turned to Tisalver and said, â€Å"There are people out there. Angry people. I'll have them in here and they'll break up everything you've got. They'll smash the walls. If you don't want that to happen, pick up those weapons and throw them into the next room. Take the weapons from the security officer on the door and do the same. Quickly! Get your wife to help. She'll think twice next time before sending in complaints against innocent people.-Dors, this one on the floor won't do anything for a while. Put the other one out of action, but don't kill him.† â€Å"Right,† said Dors. Reversing her knife, she struck him hard on the skull with the haft. He went to his knees. She made a face. â€Å"I hate doing that.† â€Å"They fired at Raych,† said Seldon, trying to mask his own sick feeling at what had happened. They left the apartment hurriedly and, once out on the walkway, found it choked with people, almost all men, who raised a shout when they saw them emerge. They pushed in close and the smell of poorly washed humanity was overpowering. Someone shouted, â€Å"Where are the Sunbadgers?† â€Å"Inside,† called out Dors piercingly. â€Å"Leave them alone. They'll be helpless for a while, but they'll get reinforcements, so get out of here fast.† â€Å"What about you?† came from a dozen throats. â€Å"We're getting out too. We won't be back.† â€Å"I'll take care of them,† shrilled Raych, struggling out of Seldon's arms and standing on his feet. He was rubbing his right shoulder madly. â€Å"I can walk. Lemme past.† The crowd opened for him and he said, â€Å"Mister, lady, come with me. Fast!† They were accompanied down the walkway by several dozen men and then Raych suddenly gestured at an opening and muttered, â€Å"In here, folks. I'll rake ya to a place no one will ever find ya. Even Davan prob'ly don't know it. Only thing is, we got to go through the sewer levels. No one will see us there, but it's sort of stinky†¦ know what I mean?† â€Å"I imagine we'll survive,† muttered Seldon. And down they went along a narrow spiraling ramp and up rose the mephitic odors to greet them. 80. Raych found them a hiding place. It had meant climbing up the metal rungs of a ladder and it had led them to a large loftlike room, the use of which Seldon could not imagine. It was filled with equipment, bulky and silent, the function of which also remained a mystery. The room was reasonably clean and free of dust and a steady draft of air wafted through that prevented the dust from settling and-more important seemed to lessen the odor. Raych seemed pleased. â€Å"Ain't this nice?† he demanded. He still rubbed his shoulder now and then and winced when he rubbed too hard. â€Å"It could be worse,† said Seldon. â€Å"Do you know what this place is used for, Raych?† Raych shrugged or began to do so and winced. â€Å"I dunno,† he said. Then he added with a touch of swagger, â€Å"Who cares?† Dors, who had sat down on the floor after brushing it with her hand and then looking suspiciously at her palm, said, â€Å"If you want a guess, I think this is part of a complex that is involved in the detoxification and recycling of wastes. The stuff must surely end up as fertilizer.† â€Å"Then,† said Seldon gloomily, â€Å"those who run the complex will be down here periodically and may come at any moment, for all we know.† â€Å"I been here before,† said Raych. â€Å"I never saw no one here.† â€Å"I suppose Trantor is heavily automated wherever possible and if anything calls for automation it would be this treatment of wastes,† said Dors. â€Å"We may be safe†¦ for a while.† â€Å"Not for long. We'll get hungry and thirsty, Dors.† â€Å"I can get food and water for us,† said Raych. â€Å"Ya got to know how to make out if you're an alley kid.† â€Å"Thank you, Raych,† said Seldon absently, â€Å"but right now I'm not hungry.† He sniffed. â€Å"I may never be hungry again.† â€Å"You will be,† said Dors, â€Å"and even if you lose your appetite for a while, you'll get thirsty. At least elimination is no problem. We're practically living over what is clearly an open sewer.† There was silence for a while. The light was dim and Seldon wondered why the Trantorians didn't keep it dark altogether. But then it occurred to him that he had never encountered true darkness in any public area. It was probably a habit in an energy-rich society. Strange that a world of forty billion should be energy-rich, but with the internal heat of the planet to draw upon, to say nothing of solar energy and nuclear fusion plants in space, it was. In fact, come to think of it, there was no energy-poor planet in the Empire. Was there a time when technology had been so primitive that energy poverty was possible? He leaned against a system of pipes through which-for all he knew-sewage ran. He drew away from the pipes as the thought occurred to him and he sat down next to Dors. He said, â€Å"Is there any way we can get in touch with Chetter Hummin?† Dors said, â€Å"As a matter of fact, I did send a message, though I hated to.† â€Å"You hated to?† â€Å"My orders are to protect you. Each time I have to get in touch with him, it means I've failed.† Seldon regarded her out of narrowed eyes. â€Å"Do you have to be so compulsive, Dors? You can't protect me against the security officers of an entire sector.† â€Å"I suppose not. We can disable a few-â€Å" â€Å"I know. We did. But they'll send out reinforcements†¦ armored ground-cars†¦ neuronic cannon†¦ sleeping mist. I'm not sure what they have, but they're going to throw in their entire armory. I'm sure of it.† â€Å"You're probably right,† said Dors, her mouth tightening. â€Å"They won't find ya, lady,† said Raych suddenly. His sharp eyes had moved from one to the other as they talked. â€Å"They never find Davan.† Dors smiled without joy and ruffled the boy's hair, then looked at the palm of her hand with a little dismay. She said, â€Å"I'm not sure if you ought to stay with us, Raych. I don't want them finding you.† â€Å"They won't find me and if I leave ya, who'll get ya food and water and who'll find ya new hidin' places, so the Sunbadgers'll never know where to look?† â€Å"No, Raych, they'll find us. They don't really look too hard for Davan. He annoys them, but I suspect they don't take him seriously. Do you know what I mean?† â€Å"You mean he's just a pain in the†¦ the neck and they figure he ain't worth chasing all over the lot.† â€Å"Yes, that's what I mean. But you see, we hurt two of the officers very badly and they're not going to let us get away with that. If it takes their whole force-if they have to sweep through every hidden or unused corridor in the sector-they'll get us.† Raych said, â€Å"That makes me feel like†¦ like [natin'n']. If I didn't run in there and get zapped, ya wouldn't have taken out them officers and ya wouldn't be in such trouble.† â€Å"No, sooner or later, we'd have-uh-taken them out. Who knows? We may have to take out a few more.† â€Å"Well, ya did it beautiful,† said Raych. â€Å"If I hadn't been aching all over, I could've watched more and enjoyed it.† Seldon said, â€Å"It wouldn't do us any good to try to fight the entire security system. The question is: What will they do to us once they have us? A prison sentence, surely.† â€Å"Oh no. If necessary, we'll have to appeal to the Emperor,† put in Dors. â€Å"The Emperor?† said Raych, wide-eyed. â€Å"You know the Emperor?† Seldon waved at the boy. â€Å"Any Galactic citizen can appeal to the Emperor.-That strikes me as the wrong thing to do, Dors. Ever since Hummin and I left the Imperial Sector, we've been evading the Emperor.† â€Å"Not to the extent of being thrown into a Dahlite prison. The Imperial appeal will serve as a delay-in any case, a diversion-and perhaps in the course of that delay, we can think of something else.† â€Å"There's Hummin.† â€Å"Yes, there is,† said Dors uneasily, â€Å"but we can't consider him the do-it-all. For one thing, even if my message reached him and even if he was able to rush to Dahl, how would he find us here? And, even if he did, what could he do against the entire Dahlite security force?† â€Å"In that case,† said Seldon. â€Å"We're going to have to think of something we can do before they find us.† Raych said, â€Å"If ya follow me, I can keep ya ahead of them. I know every place there is around here.† â€Å"You can keep us ahead of one person, but there'll be a great many, moving down any number of corridors. We'll escape one group and bump into another.† They sat in uncomfortable silence for a good while, each confronting what seemed to be a hopeless situation. Then Dors Venabili stirred and said in a tense, low whisper, â€Å"They're here. I hear them.† For a while, they strained, listening, then Raych sprang to his feet and hissed, â€Å"They comin' that way. We gotta go this way.† Seldon, confused, heard nothing at all, but would have been content to trust the others' superior hearing, but even as Raych began moving hastily and quietly away from the direction of the approaching tread, a voice rang out echoing against the sewer walls. â€Å"Don't move. Don't move.† And Raych said, â€Å"That's Davan. How'd he know we were here?† â€Å"Davan?† said Seldon. â€Å"Are you sure?† â€Å"Sure I'm sure. He'll help.† 81. Davan asked, â€Å"What happened?† Seldon felt minimally relieved. Surely, the addition of Davan could scarcely count against the full force of the Dahl Sector, but, then again, he commanded a number of people who might create enough confusion. He said, â€Å"You should know, Davan. I suspect that many of the crowd who were at Tisalver's place this morning were your people.† â€Å"Yes, a number were. The story is that you were being arrested and that you manhandled a squadron of Sunbadgers. But why were you being arrested?† â€Å"Two,† said Seldon, lifting two fingers. â€Å"Two Sunbadgers. And that's bad enough. Part of the reason we were being arrested was that we had gone to see you.† â€Å"That's not enough. The Sunbadgers don't bother with me much as a general thing.† He added bitterly, â€Å"They underestimate me.† â€Å"Maybe,† said Seldon, â€Å"but the woman from whom we rent our rooms reported us for having started a riot†¦ over the newsman we ran into on our way to you. You know about that. With your people on the scene yesterday and again this morning and with two officers badly hurt, they may well decide to clean out these corridors-and that means you will suffer. I really am sorry. I had no intention or expectation of being the cause of any of this.† But Davan shook his head. â€Å"No, you don't know the Sunbadgers. That's not enough either. They don't want to clean us up. The sector would have to do something about us if they did. They're only too happy to let us rot in Billibotton and the other slums. No, they're after you. What have you done?† Dors said impatiently, â€Å"We've done nothing and, in any case, what does it matter? If they're not after you and they are after us, they're going to come down here to flush us out. If you get in the way, you'll be in deep trouble.† â€Å"No, not me. I have friends-powerful friends,† said Davan. â€Å"I told you that last night. And they can help you as well as me. When you refused to help us openly, I got in touch with them. They know who you are, Dr. Seldon. You're a famous man. They're in a position to talk to the Mayor of Dahl and see to it that you are left alone, whatever you have done. But you'll have to be taken away-out of Dahl.† Seldon smiled. Relief flooded over him. He said, â€Å"You know someone powerful, do you, Davan? Someone who responds at once, who has the ability to talk the Dahl government out of taking drastic steps, and who can take us away? Good. I'm not surprised.† He turned to Dors, smiling. â€Å"It's Mycogen all over again. How does Hummin do it?† But Dors shook her head. â€Å"Too quick.-I don't understand.† Seldon said, â€Å"I believe he can do anything.† â€Å"I know him better than you do-and longer-and I don't believe that.† Seldon smiled, â€Å"Don't underestimate him.† And then, as though anxious not to linger longer on that subject, he turned to Davan. â€Å"But how did you find us? Raych said you knew nothing about this place.† â€Å"He don't,† shrilled Raych indignantly. â€Å"This place is all mine. I found it.† â€Å"I've never been here before,† said Davan, looking about. â€Å"It's an interesting place. Raych is a corridor creature, perfectly at home in this maze.† â€Å"Yes, Davan, we gathered as much ourselves. But how did you find it?† â€Å"A heat-seeker. I have a device that detects infra-red radiation, the particular thermal pattern that is given off at thirty-seven degrees Celsius. It will react to the presence of human beings and not to other heat sources. It reacted to you three.† Dors was frowning. â€Å"What good is that on Trantor, where there are human beings everywhere? They have them on other worlds, but-â€Å" Davan said, â€Å"But not on Trantor. I know. Except that they are useful in the slums, in the forgotten, decaying corridors and alleyways.† â€Å"And where did you get it?† asked Seldon. Davan said, â€Å"It's enough that I have it.-But we've got to get you away, Master Seldon. Too many people want you and I want my powerful friend to have you.† â€Å"Where is he, this powerful friend of yours?† â€Å"He's approaching. At least a new thirty-seven-degree source is registering and I don't see that it can be anyone else.† Through the door strode a newcomer, but Seldon's glad exclamation died on his lips. It was not Chetter Hummin.

Global History †Famines in India and China Essay

The 1876-1879 and 1896-1902 famines in India and China were some of the worst famines the world had ever seen up until that point in time (Rouse Lecture). In China and India from 1876-1882, the estimated mortality was between 31 and 61 million (Davis 2001: 7). If the British and the Chinese governments had made simple changes in their policies regarding India and China, the results of the famine would not have been so catastrophic. In this paper I will analyze, Davis’ argument that â€Å"Millions died, not outside the ‘modern world system,’ but in the very process of being forcibly incorporated into its economic and political structures. They died in the golden age of Liberal Capitalism†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Davis 2001: 9). Almost contrary to that he argues that â€Å"many were murdered†, emphasizing that â€Å"‘millions die’ was ultimately a political choice† and that â€Å"imperial policies towards starving ‘subjects’ were often the exact moral equivalents of bombs dropped from 18,000 feet. † (Davis 2001: 22). I will aim to analyze these relating to British dealings with India, Western dealings with China, the broader development of imperialism and industrial capitalism from the late eighteenth century to the early years of the twentieth century, and also Marks’ claim that there is never such a thing as a purely â€Å"natural† disaster? In 1876, a disastrous famine hit India, starting with an El Nino-induced drought that halted crop production. However, the situation rapidly got worse: due to the inadequacy, there was a major surge in food prices. The vast amounts of Indian grain exports to Great Britain prompted grain speculation, which further raised the price of grain. As prices crept up, the poor could not afford to buy grain, a dietary staple. Furthermore, in 1865, wheat exports to Britain numbered 308,000 quarters. Climate also played an important role in the 1876 famine: El Nino pacific currents brought heavy rains and flooding to some parts of India, but severe drought to others (Rouse Lecture). In fall 1877, the arrival of heavy rains, instead of alleviating the drought, brought malaria-carrying mosquitoes that killed thousands (Davis 2001: 49). There were many responses to the growing famine. The British followed Malthusianism: land does not have a natural carrying capacity. Furthermore, in the few instances when the British distributed aid, they refused it to those unable to work (Davis 2001: 36). In 1896, another famine began due to a failed monsoon and the lack of a substantial 1896 crop (Davis 2001: 142). Grain prices rose again; there was no stored grain to rely on: the excess shipped to England to make up for shipping deficits. People hated the poorhouses: the food they provided was dry flour, salt, and dirt; moreover, as soon as rains fell, the British pushed the poor out of the relief camps (Davis 2001: 147, 158). The British downplayed the famine; overseas, they created stories and paintings that depicted the British as saviors (Davis 2001: 155-56). Finally, by the late 1890s, the British focused their attention on South Africa and India was left to deal with her own problems (Davis 2001: 165). While the famine was happening there were certain British policies that intensified famine in India. The newly constructed railroads, portrayed as agents that could bring relief to the famine were used by the British to build up the inventories for export goods. (Davis 2001: 26). In legislation methods, by the Vernacular press Act, there was see a denial and hiding of deaths saying they’re other diseases, than the famine and also the approval of Anti Charitable Contributions Act of 1877 prevented the upper class Indians from helping. (Davis 2001: 34 & 39). Also relief efforts turned away people who could not perform hard labor(Davis 2001: 25 – 36). Seeing that millions had died the British did try to â€Å"prevent† famine again by setting up famine relief and insurance fund had been established in 1878 (Davis 2001: 141). They integrated Burma’s rice surpluses into imperial system. Laid more railroad (financed by Famine Relief Fund) (Davis 2001: 142). But there were many things they chose to overlook, particularly that they didn’t do anything about poor relief or the inflation in the prices of standard goods. They also didn’t spend any money on slum sanitation, which resulted in the Bubonic Plague (Davis 2001: 148). The 1876 famine in China was preceded by the worst Chinese drought in 200 years (Rouse Lecture). In previous famines, the Chinese state would provide generous aid; however, civil war threatened the Qing dynasty. As a result, they put all extra money into the military, as opposed to social welfare. Moreover, the First Opium War severally disabled the power of the Chinese state (Rouse Lecture). The British were known to grow opium in India and then shipping it to China in exchange for other goods the English were in need of. The Chinese administration had been trying to end this now flourishing trade for decades but were unsuccessful I their attempts. This system of trade caused considerable economic damage by the drainage of cash silver from the country to pay for the illegal imports apart from increasing corruption and voluntary unemployment. (Davis 2001: 12) Finally fed up and frustrated with the way the economy was plunging, the emperor too some drastic measures leading to the execution of important individuals involved in the trade (Rouse Lecture). Also the attacking the evil foreign ships in the harbor by the new Commissioner in the area sparked off a bitter battle between the two which ended in the defeat of the Chinese. The 1842 Treaty of Nanjing forced China to pay indemnities to Great Britain and to open up ports for British use: consequently, the Chinese could not give money to relief. (Davis 2001: 12) Furthermore, the Chinese moral economy had turned into a more capitalistic one by the time of the famine. The British, through the illegal trade of opium, instilled an individualistic profit-maximizing outlook on the economy. As a result, the poor received very little aid. Additionally, landowners began to use land to produce commercially crops, leaving even less land for peasants to work on: (empire financially and left bitterness over the relationship between the government and Rouse Lecture). Then came the Second Opium War in the years 1856-1860. This had nothing to do with opium but rather the fundamental problem of imperialism, competition. Other countries are starting to make trade-treaties with China (in other words, Britain isn’t the only imperial power), which leads to Britain wanting to renegotiate Treaty of Nanking and again making it more favorable to them. (Davis 2001: 12) They want to ensure their most favored nation status. They demand to open all Chinese ports, legalize opium trade, exempt imports from duties and again war breaks out and results in Treaty of Tientsin (1858) which again leads to the loss of China and meeting the demands of the British. The Taiping Rebellion, in which millions died, was a massive revolt against the monarchy of the reigning Qing Empire in China. Basically people are devastated and frustrated about China’s defeat in First Opium War and the reaction of the Qing leaders as ineffective and corrupt. Also the1850s flooding causes peasants to lose homes, and they join rebels. The movement was headed by Hong Xiuquan, an unorthodox Christian convert who declared himself the new Messiah (Davis 2001: 12 – 13). The government starts to take note and tries to stop them but Hong and their followers established the Kingdom of Taiping – â€Å"Kingdom of Heavenly Peace† on the basis of a classless society with wealth distribution. But holding their territory against imperial and foreign forces had become virtually impossible which led to their downfall. Almost inspired by this came the Boxer Uprising where a few radicals gathered around Beijing and tried to besiege the embassies of imperialists, as they were tired of the foreign dominance (Davis 2001: 13). The Chinese empire was extremely successful at preventing famine causalities in the past. Landowners and merchants refused aid from missionaries, convinced they would convert the Chinese in payment (Rouse Lecture). The Chinese government should also have cut the taxes: by attempting to gain money, the government stopped the poor from buying food. Finally, if China had limited their military budget they would have been able to keep up famine prevention measures. Both famines in India could have been easily averted by the British had they made certain changes. Lytton did not allow local governments to stockpile grain (Davis 2001: 29). Furthermore, the northwest provinces, historically a subsistence-based system, turned into a commercial system under the British: in order to restore British grain prices, grain was exported to Britain (Davis 2001: 51). If more grain had remained within the country, prices would not have risen so high in the first place. Yet at the same time, many of India’s maharajas gathered grain to sell at high prices, just like the British (Davis 2001: 50-51). Furthermore, the British insisted on collecting taxes from the impoverished rural farmers, who could barely make ends meet (Davis 2001: 50). There were certain social ideas, models and dilemmas that the British were the forerunners for. One of them was the idea of Liberal capitalism; which basically means that the society is based on the principles of capital in its various forms and that almost everything in the society had a price and could be obtained through capital. This idea of gaining capital led to the idea of obtaining it quickly, which came to the idea of imperialism, which was to use up the natural resources of foreigners towards ones own needs. Apart from that great thinkers like Adam Smith said, â€Å"famine has never arisen from any other cause but the violence of government attempting, by improper means, to remedy the inconvenience of dearth. † (Davis 2001: 31) which gave base to the idealistic imperialist plans, which were never really implemented. Around the time the idea of Social Darwinism came about which gave imperialists reasons to conquer new territories without worrying about the ethical issues as now they thought that it was just meant to be, as described in Rudyard Kipling’s â€Å"White Man’s Burden† (1899); which came up again at the time. If the British and Chinese governments had implemented these slightly different changes in India and China, the famines’ effects would not have been nearly as catastrophic. China’s numerous rebellions such as the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions wouldn’t have happened: there would be an extremely limited foreign presence in China and its people would not have been unable to provide for themselves. Without foreign influence, famine prevention measures would have been greater than those of the West would have been.

Technology Siri for submission

Technology Siri for submission Siri is many people’s new best friend. This voice recognition system has been a feature of iPhones since the iPhone 4s was introduced. Siri demonstrates a facility that puts most computer-resident voice recognition software to shame.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Technology Siri for submission specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Siri software seems eerily to comprehend users in a way that some human listeners cannot even manage. The addition of this feature transforms the computer functions of an iPhone into something almost universally accessible. How this feature has been (nearly) perfected is a mix of technology and human skill. Siri consists of two separate technologies. There is the voice recognition part, and there is the voice-data-to-speech part. Both are awesomely complex. As quoted by the website of the Human Interface Laboratory at Washington University, voice recognition is the technology by whi ch sounds, words or phrases spoken by humans are converted into electrical signals† (Baumann). Then, â€Å"these signals are transformed into coding patterns to which meaning has been assigned (Baumann). To recognize words from among all the sounds that humans make when they produce speech, the voice recognition software must use â€Å"speech unit extraction and concatenation† (Baumann). To accomplish this â€Å"Sentence and word units which maximize the weighted sum of linguistic likelihood, amount of information, confidence measure, and grammatical likelihood of concatenated units are extracted from the speech recognition results and concatenated for producing summaries† (Baumann). This translates to a complex amalgam of grammar, vocabulary, and lots of statistics. The voice production part of the system is, if anything, even more magical-seeming. The voice that comes out in the form of Siri actually sounds human, and it is, fundamentally. A live woman, and ma n, or perhaps more than one, recorded hundreds of spoken words and parts of words. She recorded them in different tones and rhythms to create the richest possible range of English speech. These sounds were then used as a sound bank from which to extract individual phonemes, or the smallest and shortest identifiable elements of speech (Anderson).Advertising Looking for essay on programming? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As described by Anderson, â€Å"Words and sentences are analyzed, catalogued, and tagged in a big database, a complicated job involving a team of dedicated linguists, as well as proprietary linguistic software† (Anderson). In the next step, a piece of software called a â€Å"text-to-speech engine† searches for sounds, in real time, to combine with other sounds (Anderson). These are strung together, as beads are on a string, to create novel words and sentences like â€Å"727 South Warno ck Street† or â€Å" the Lakers won by 2 points† when users need this information. The inclusion of Siri in an iPhone does more than make forgetting one’s grocery list a thing of the past. It adds safety when driving, and turns the hand-held device into a mobile business office. A user can generate all sorts of correspondence using the voice recognition function to dictate text. Using the iPhone’s accessibility settings for ‘speaking text’, a user can listen to almost anything on the screen read aloud. Siri seems to have even inspired a full-length movie Her. The lonely protagonist falls in love with a sweet-voiced operating system that sounds suspiciously like Siri (IMDB). Admittedly, the artificial intelligence, and the relationship depicted are probably a few years away. However, many people are already very dependent on the way that Siri helps them connect to the internet, and to use their iPhones. Siri is also not the only voice in the m arketplace. More and more pieces of equipment (for example, RSS readers) and other venues now are using some form of voice generation or voice recognition. Anderson notes that â€Å"Google, Apple, Microsoft, and even Amazon have all invested heavily in speech† (Anderson). Voice recognition and generation, whether in the form of Siri or some other software, is a welcome and useful part of users’ lives now. Anderson, Lessley. Machine Language: How Siri Found Its Voice. 17 September 2013. The Verge. Web.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Technology Siri for submission specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Baumann, James. Voice Recognition. 2014. Washington University. Web. IMDB. Her. 2014. IMDB. Web.