Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Eth125 R8 Diversity Worksheet Essay Example for Free

Eth125 R8 Diversity Worksheet Essay Answer each question in 50 to 150 words. Provide citations for all the sources you use. 1. What is diversity? Why is diversity valued? Diversity means different. This can be a difference in cultures, goals, values, lifestyles, and ideas. There is not two people that will think or live alike. We need to learn to accept that others will do things and think different then we do. It is important to value our diversity in order to be able to work together. 2. What is ethnocentrism? In what ways can ethnocentrism be detrimental to a society? Ethnocentrism is where people believe that they are better than others in an ethnic group, but it can also develop from racial or religious differences. This can cause problem by leading to false opinions about different cultures, maybe causing communication problems. 3. Define emigration and immigration. Emigration is where people are exported from a country whether it is voluntary or not. Immigration is where people are coming into a new country to live as a permanent resident. Reasons that people might leave a country for one to another is that there may not be jobs there and even war can make people want to leave. 4. What are some of the ways groups of people are identified? There are four ways that groups are identified and they are race, religion, gender, and ethnicity. Racial group refers to minorities that are socially set apart because of obvious physical differences. Some examples would be the color of skin, the color of hair and maybe even the amount hair on the body. Religion groups vary worldwide. People should not be judged on the religion that they believe in. With gender it is said that males are the social majority and the women are the social minority. Ethnic groups are different because of the way cultural differences such as the food that they eat, the way that they raise their children, the language that they speak ,and even the way that they look at being married to somebody. 5. Why do people label and group other people? I would think that the reasons why people put others down would be that they want to make themselves look better and feel better about themselves. This can have a positive or negative effect on the person and the one that it is directed at. If it is positive it can help lead to the person or the group getting more confidence. If it is negative then it can lead to the group or individual becoming withdrawn from shame or bullying. 6. Define culture. Is culture limited to racial and ethnic backgrounds? Explain. The definition of culture is the characteristics of a certain group of people defined by everything such as the language they speak, the types of music that they listen to, the type of food that they eat, and the religion that they practice and believe in. I do not believe that it is limited to racial and ethnic backgrounds because every group is different in the way that they live and there is not right way or wrong way to live. Racial and Ethnic Groups (13th ed.) (Schaefer) chapter 1.

Monday, August 5, 2019

3D Printing †Applications for Space Exploration

3D Printing – Applications for Space Exploration Puneet Bhalla 3D Printing or Additive Manufacturing (AM) was first tested in 1983 by inventor Chuck Hull. Conventional subtractive manufacturing involves carving out items from a single block of material, whereas AM involves adding plastic or metal layer by layer according to a computer generated design to manufacture a product. Over the years a number of processes that differ in the method of depositing of layers and their binding have been developed. The technology in the earlier years did not evolve enough for it to find mainstream support and its use was restricted to production of computer generated models and prototype research. Advances in metallurgy, miniaturisation and processing have now made it a more viable competitor to conventional manufacturing. It is even being called the third industrial revolution. Commercial enterprises having recognised the transformative potential of 3D printing, both in designing and manufacturing, are increasingly investing in it. It allows faster design iterations, providing flexibility for refinements and variations and produces more accurate 3D scaled models for testing. This helps in accelerating product development and manufacturing with corresponding cost benefits. It helps overcome constraints of conventional manufacturing and allows for more precision in manufacturing to produce more complex parts. The process allows for more cohesive structures and components can be constructed using much fewer parts, making them lighter, sturdier and more efficient. Large factories with their assembly lines can also be done away with. Existing parts can now be redesigned and designers can be more audacious in their pursuits, stepping beyond the constraints of conventional design and manufacturing, while seeking innovative solutions or entirely new capabilities. T he manufacturing process requires less material, reduces wastage during production and is more energy efficient, making it potentially more environment friendly. Objects can be created on demand, thereby eliminating costs, logistical complexities and wastages related to surplus inventories. Initial printers were capable of handling single materials only but the multi-jet technology is allowing combining of materials to produce varied material properties – mechanical, thermal and chemical. Nanotechnology coupled with 3D printing promises exciting opportunities in the future. Already, availability of cheaper printers has made the power of designing and producing publicly available. This democratising of manufacturing has the potential to revolutionise innovation. Market researcher Gartner forecasts that worldwide spending on 3D printing will rise from $1.6 billion in 2015 to around $13.4 billion in 2018.[1] Despite the excitement, there are experts who say that the technology m ight only evolve to supplement the conventional mass manufacturing methods that will continue to be faster and cheaper. They instead favour its suitability for niche and customised production. Space exploration has always been costly due to its requirement of low volume, customised and at times unique components. 3D printing is being seen by the space industry as enabling to the development of future space infrastructure. Various RD efforts both for ground based as also in orbit manufacturing are being supported with an aim to develop parts that could meet the stringent high performance and high reliability criteria required for space operations. NASA along with US rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne has successfully tested a rocket engine injector and an advanced rocket engine thrust chamber assembly using copper alloy materials, in different configurations.[2] The components proved themselves in tests where they were subjected to pressures of up to 1,400 pounds per square inch and temperatures up to 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit to produce 20,000 pounds of thrust.[3] NASA has claimed that 3D technology enabled designers to create more complex injectors while at the same ti me reducing the number of parts from 115 to just two.[4] This resulted in more efficient processes and also provided better thermal resilience. While the traditionally constructed injectors cost about $10,000 each and took six months to build, the 3D printed versions cost less than $5,000 and reached the test stand in a matter of weeks.[5] These tests have provided confidence in the technology and paved the way for its use in replacing other complex engine components. Already, many small 3D produced parts are flying in space onboard US and European satellites and more are being developed. ESA and European Commission’s Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards Zero Waste Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products (AMAZE) project, has 28 European companies as partners that are looking at perfecting 3D printing of high quality metal components for aerospace applications. NASA is also evaluating using the technology for manufacturing composite CubeSats. China has also started investing in this technology and on its last manned space mission in 2013, their taikonauts occupied customised 3D printed seats. In December 2014, Chinese scientists have claimed to have produced a 3D printing machine, which could be used during space missions. Private companies the world over are investing heavily in the technology for aerospace applications.Japanese Space Agency JAXA along with Mitsubishi is working at producing 3D components for a new large-scale ro cket that the two are expected to develop by 2020. Swiss company RUAG Space has built an antenna support for an Earth observation (EO) satellite that will replace a conventionally manufactured one after tests. The engine chamber of SuperDraco thruster to be used on the crew version of SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, capable of producing 16,000 pounds of thrust, is manufactured using 3D printing. A team of engineering students from the University of Arizona, with help from 3D printing company Solid Concepts, recently assembled a 3D printed rocket within a day and successfully tested it. Planetary Resources, a private company seeking space exploration and asteroid mining has collaborated with a company, 3D Systems for developing and manufacturing components for its ARKYD Series of spacecraft using its advanced 3D printing and digital manufacturing solutions.All these efforts are providing solutions that are cheaper, have lesser parts and have comparatively shorter developmental tim elines. In the future, the technology could be used for entire structure fabrication that would involve integrating many of the system’s geometries into structural elements during production. This would reduce the number of parts, eliminate most joints or welds, simplify the design and production, reduce the number of interfaces and make the system more efficient and safer. Such vehicles would better sustain the rigours of launch and space exploration. Integrated structures would even enable reconceptualising space architectures, impacting on their design, sizes and functionality. The most exciting opportunity is 3D printing of objects in space – an idea that has the potential to cause a paradigm change in the way we look at space exploration. The concept has been debated for decades and NASA has also conducted some experiments since theSkylab space stationof the 1970s. In 2010, it collaborated with a US company Made in Space to develop and test a 3D printer that could operate in microgravity aboard the International Space Station. The microwave oven sized printer, previously tested on suborbital flights, was installed on board the station on 17 November. After two calibration tests, on 24 November 2014, on command from the ground controllers, the printer produced the first 3D object in microgravity. The object was a faceplate of the printer itself, demonstrating that the printer could make replacement parts for itself. Initial results have shown that layer bonding might be different in microgravity, but this would have to be substantiated by further te sting on more such produced parts in the future. These parts will subsequently be returned to Earth where they will be compared with similar samples made by the same printer before launch and also analysed for effects of microgravity on them. This would help in evaluating the variance and possible advantages of additive manufacturing in space and in defining the roadmap for future developments. Meanwhile, Europes POP3D Portable On-Board Printer designed and built in Italy is also scheduled for installation aboard the ISS next year. Producing parts and structures in space potentially provides a host of benefits. Structures being constructed on Earth have to be built in an environment that is different from where they would operate. These parts also have to survive the vibrations and high ‘g’ stresses of launch. Freed from these constraints, novel space architectures, more optimised to the microgravity environment, can be imagined and developed. 3D printers in space would enable astronauts manufacture their own components and tools, undertake repairs, replace broken items and respond to evolving requirements without being dependent on support from Earth. This would bring down logistical requirements related to deployment of structures in space, while improving mission efficiency and reliability. NASA is even funding research into the possibility of making food in space using a 3D printer. This would overcome the current issues related to food shelf life, variety and nutritional requirements. It would be possible to have human missions of longer duration and venturing much further into space. Made In Space has an ongoing project R3DO that seeks to recycle 3D produced broken or redundant parts to create new ones, thereby helping reduce space waste. The technology in the future could be used for space based construction of large structures – even entire spacecraft in space. Another concept being envisaged is the use of 3D printing for construction of large housing structures, roads and launch pads using the resources available in-situ on celestial bodies. Concrete houses being produced through 3D printing have already been demonstrated. Both NASA and ESA are exploring printing of objects using Regolith, the powdery substance that covers much of the surface of the moon. Besides the huge savings in cost and time, such habitats would be more suited to the local hazardous environment. The printers could either be controlled from Earth or make use of automation technology on robots or artificial intelligence. These capabilities would be a great step forward for human interplanetary exploration. 3D printing is making rapid strides and its applications are being recognised by industry. Scientists are working to smoothen out the inefficiencies and shortcomings of the processes as also evaluating potential opportunities. Developments in the space domain are promising but these would have to be put through rigorous testing before being cleared for regular use. Qualification and verification standards that would eventually be defined for this new industry would have to be more stringent for use in space. More complex printers will have to be devised for construction of larger parts. Currently, most construction is focussed on building frames and structures but in the future would also require manufacturing techniques to producing working electronic components.[6] For production in space, bigger printers would bring forth issues of mass, volume and power requirements, each one of which is critical for space launch and operations. Some methods would also have to be devised to bring together the parts so produced. The new technology provides an avenue for space industries the world over to graduate to common standards of software as well as hardware. This would allow a larger pool of scientists and engineers coming together learning and benefiting from each other. At the same time, and the policy makers would also have to come up with requisite regulatory framework. In India, 3D printing technology is still in its infancy and its penetration is low among industry is low. Most institutions continue to use it for producing 3D Computer Assisted Design (CAD) models and for prototype testing. Some global additive manufacturing companies have gained foothold in India through collaborations and there are some indigenous initiatives too. Isolated research is being undertaken by some private and public sector entities including the DRDO. Private companies are collaborating with some engineering institutions like IITs to promote research. There is also the Additive Manufacturing Society of India (AMSI) that seeks to promote 3D printing Additive Manufacturing technologies. Applications for Defence and Aerospace are two important sectors that most companies are focussing on. ISRO chairman, after the successful Mars Orbiter Mission, mentioned 3D Printing as one of the technologies that he wishes to see Indian engineers build upon in the future. India has la gged behind in conventional manufacturing and metallurgy. It could leverage its advances in software technology and collaborate with international experts to initiate activities in this sunshine sector. While increased awareness and commercial benefits will drive industry to invest in the sector, space initiatives would require the government to play the vital supporting role while seeking participation from industry and academia. Investments would be required in planning and executing the supporting infrastructure required to enable fabrication processes, in creating knowledge and capabilities through education and training and for provision of adequate RD facilities. [1] â€Å"From earphones to jet engines, 3D printing takes off†, 09 November, 2014 [2] â€Å"3-D Printed Engine Parts Withstand Hot Fire Tests†, 14 November, 2014 [3] TheAerojet Rocketdyne RS-25engine powered NASA’sSpace Shuttleand will power the upcoming Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift, exploration-class rocket currently under development to take humans beyond Earth orbit and Mars. [4] ww.space.com/22568-3d-printed-rocket-engine-test-video.html [5] http://www.space.com/22119-3d-printed-rocket-part-test.html [6] http://www.space.com/26676-3d-printing-international-space-station.html

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Beth The Pig Humorous Story :: essays research papers

Beth the Pig   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once-upon-a-time, there was a farmer named Phildo, who owned a pig. The pig's name was Beth, and she weighed about twelve hundred pounds. Phildo was very proud of her. Everywhere he went Beth was right there behind him. People passing him along the sidewalk would say good morning and comment on how hippo-like Beth. Phildo would smile and raise his hat good morning. By the time of the spring fair, she weighed in at slightly over one thousand, five hundred pounds. When word spread that there was a pig at the spring fair that weighed one thousand pounds, people came from all over the tri-state area. Someone even gave Phildo a dozen peaches and some Wolfschmidt vodka for the right to sell Beth T-shirts and baseball caps. Wolfschmidt’s and peaches were what Phildo loved. That is, more than women anyway.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Crowds gathered in front of her pen. People pointed cameras and flashes at her. On the third day of the fair, a television crew came down to do a story for the five o'clock news. Phildo couldn't have been happier. Even after the fair was over, and Beth was in her own pen, the people still drove up every morning to see Beth and have their picture taken with her. Every day she seemed to get bigger and bigger. News crews camped outside Phildo house so they could give up to the minute coverage on the ever-growing pig. One of the news crews arranged to have a scale brought down so they could weigh her. One day a group of government officials came by to see the pig. They took blood samples, soil samples, and even air samples. They asked Phildo all sorts of questions. How old was she? Why was her head so big? Who did she eat? Phildo answered, â€Å"I grave not to answer these questions, just give me my vodka and get out of my face!† The next day the government officials declared the area of Phildo farm to be off limits to the public. The crowds were restrained at the entrance to the driveway. There were scientists all over the farm taking measurements, while men in dark suits with sunglasses sat in the kitchen asking Phildo the same questions over and over, and asking if there was something, that explain this tremendous growth of fat Beth the pig. Helicopters landed from time to time, and people with walkie-talkies got out and gave orders to the other anonymous government officials.

Saturday, August 3, 2019

The Chamber: A Look Into The Novel And Film Essays -- essays research

The Chamber: A Look Into the Novel and Film Stories about crime prove to be a strong part of America's entertainment in this day. In The Chamber, John Grisham writes about a Klansman who is convicted of murder and a grandson who tries to save his grandfather is on death row. This story is now a major motion picture. This story carries a strong emotional following to it because it both questions and supports the death penalty in different ways. Grisham shows this when he writes: " ‘ I've hurt a lot of people, Adam, and I haven't always stopped to think about it. But when you have a date with the grim reaper, you think about the damage you've done.' " The messages about the death penalty are brought about in different ways in the film and in the novel. Although the novel and film adaptation of The Chamber have some significant differences, the plot and character perspectives are used to convey a political message about the death penalty. (378) The various characters in The Chamber have different traits and backgrounds that affect their perspectives on certain issues. Sam Cayhall is one of the main characters in the story whose background is filled with hate because of his connection with the Klan. "The second member of the team was a Klansman by the name of Sam Cayhall," "The FBI knew that Cayhall's father had been a Klansman, . . . " (Grisham 2-3). Sam, who is brought up under the influence of the Ku Klux Klan, uses "politically incorrect" terms for other minorities when he talks with Adam Cayhall in death row. " ‘ You Jew boys never quit, do you?' ", " ‘ How many nigger partners do you have?' " " ‘ Just great. The Jew bastards have sent a greenhorn to save me. I've known for a long time that they secretly wanted me dead, now this proves it. I killed some Jews, now they want to kill me. I was right all along.' " (Grisham 77-78). These statements reflect Sam Cayhall's intense hate for others which is derived from his young upbringing in the Ku Klux Klan. Sam's background as a Klansman is told by Grisham using Sam telling Adam about generations of Klan activity: " `Why did you become a Klansman?' `Because my father was in the Klan.' `Why did he become a Klansman?' `Because his father was in the Klan.' `Great. Three gene... ...onster, Ruth Kramer thinks David McAllister is a hero for demanding justice. These are the two sides of the coin which is the death penalty in The Chamber. As Grisham writes it, Ruth Kramer's situation is well described by Lee in this line: " ‘Bitter? She lost her entire family. She's never remarried. Do you think she cares if my father intended to kill her children? Of course not. She just knows they're dead, Adam, dead for twenty-three years now. She knows they were killed by a bomb planted by my father, and if he'd been home with his family instead of riding around at night with his idiot buddies, little Josh and John would not be dead.' " (61). The Chamber is a story about life and death and how it is treated by different people. In the film, The Chamber more about relationships. " ‘The film is about a young man, very alone in the world, connecting with his grandfather and trying to understand who he is.' " (Greer 4). Despite the differences between the two, The Chamber proves to show a political message on the infliction of the death penalty in America.

Fullers Leila Essay -- Margaret Fuller Leila Papers

Methodological Introduction New historicism is premised upon an ideological attempt to wed the practice of history and literary criticism. In this type of textual analysis, the literary work is juxtaposed with historical events (characteristic of the time period in which the work was produced) in an effort to understand the implications within the text. This line of inquiry serves to recover a "historical consciousness" which may be utilized in the rendering of literary theory. "Poems and novels came to be seen in isolation, as urnlike objects of precious beauty. The new historicists, whatever their differences and however defined, want us to see that even the most unlike poems are caught in a web of historical conditions, relationships, and influences."[1] Such an introspective framework ultimately contributes to a wide variety of conceptualizations in literary analysis; such as Marxism, Feminist criticism, and post-structuralism. This attempt to contextualize literary works in a historical manner is also supp lemental to more conventional types of literary analysis such as deconstructionism. New historicism, however, tends to be representative of a postmodern project which inevitably leads scholars to question the application of historical concepts as an ideological tool in literary analysis. The attempt to establish a connection between a literary text and historical event is often reflective of the paradigms characteristic to the practice of writing history. These paradigms foster a notion of exclusivity which may actually hinder a literary analysis. Such an introspective framework ultimately contributes to a wide variety of conceptualizations in literary analysis; such as Marxism, Feminist criticism, and post-structuralism.... ...ted to sex-based discrimination as determined by the cult of domesticity. Because of the social implications of Transcendentalist thought, the actualization of Leila in the spiritual realm would serve to redefine nineteenth century gender-based exclusiveness within the social context. Bibliography Lawrence Buell. Literary Transcendentalism, Cornell University Press(Ithaca, 1973). Capper, Charles. Margaret Fuller: An American Romantic Life-The Private Years. Oxford University Press(New York, 1992). Murfin, Ross. "What is New Historicism?" in The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne. Boston: Bedford Books of St Martin's Press, 1991. Kornfeild, Eve. Margaret Fuller: A Brief Biography with Documents. Bedford Books(New York, 1997). Steele, Jeffrey, ed. The Essential Margaret Fuller. Rutgers University Press(New Brunswick, 1992).

Friday, August 2, 2019

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 20

Elena had seldom felt such relief as she did when she heard Damon's knock at Dr. Meggar's door. â€Å"What happened at the Meeting Place?† she asked. â€Å"I never made it there.† Damon explained about the ambush, while the others covertly studied Sage with varying degrees of approval, gratitude, or sheer lust. Elena realized that she'd had too much Black Magic when she felt ready to pass out at several points – although she was sure that the wine had helped Damon to survive a mob attack which might otherwise have killed him. They, in turn, explained Lady Ulma's story as briefly as possible. The woman was looking white and shaken by the end. â€Å"I do hope,† she said timidly to Damon, â€Å"that when you inherit Old Drohzne's property† – she paused to swallow – â€Å"that you'll decide to keep me. I know the slaves you brought with you are beautiful and young†¦but I can make myself very useful as a needlewoman and such. It's just my back that's lost its strength, not my mind†¦.† Damon was perfectly still for a moment. Then he walked over to Elena, who happened to be closest to him. He reached up, unclasped the last loop of rope that had been trailing from Elena's wrist, and threw it hard across the room. It whipped and wiggled like a snake. â€Å"Anyone else wearing one can do the same thing, as far as I'm concerned,† he said. â€Å"Except the throwing,† Meredith said quickly, seeing the doctor's eyebrow clashing as he looked at the many breakable glass beakers stacked along the walls. But she and Bonnie lost no time in losing any final vestige of rope that was still trailing. â€Å"I'm afraid mine are†¦permanent,† Lady Ulma said, pulling the fabric away from her wrists to expose the welded-on iron bracelets. She looked ashamed at being unable to obey her new master's first command. â€Å"Do you mind a moment of cold? I have enough Power to freeze them so they'll shatter,† Damon said. There was a soft sound from Lady Ulma. Elena thought she had never heard such desperation in any one human noise. â€Å"I could stand in snow to my neck for a year to get these awful things off,† the Lady said. Damon put his hands on either side of one bracelet and Elena could feel the rush of Power that emanated from him. There was a sharp cracking sound. Damon moved his hands and came up with two separate pieces of metal. Then he did it again, on the other side. The look in Lady Ulma's eyes made Elena feel more humble than proud. She had saved one woman from terrible degradation. But how many more remained? She would never know, or be able to save them all if she found out. Not with her Power in the state it was now. â€Å"I think Lady Ulma really ought to get some rest,† Bonnie said, rubbing her own forehead under tumbled strawberry curls. â€Å"And Elena, too. You should have seen how many stitches her leg took, Damon. But what do we do, go look for a hotel?† â€Å"Use my house,† said Dr. Meggar, one eyebrow up and one down. Obviously, he had become enmeshed in this story, swept along by its sheer power and beauty – and brutality. â€Å"All I ask is that you don't destroy anything, and that if you see a frog, don't kiss it, and don't kill it. There are plenty of blankets and chairs and couches.† He wouldn't take a single link from the heavy gold chain Damon had brought to use as income in exchange. â€Å"I†¦by rights I should help you all get ready for bed,† Lady Ulma murmured faintly to Meredith. â€Å"You're the worst hurt of all; you should get the best bed,† Meredith replied tranquilly. â€Å"And we will help you get into it.† â€Å"The most comfortable bed†¦that would be in my daughter's old room.† Dr. Meggar fumbled with a ring of keys. â€Å"She married a porter – how I hated to see her go. And this young lady, Miss Elena, can have the old bridal chamber.† For an instant Elena's heart was torn by conflicting emotions. She was afraid – yes, she was very sure it was fear she felt – that Damon might sweep her up in his arms and make for the bridal suite with her. And on the other hand†¦ Just then Lakshmi looked up at her uncertainly. â€Å"Do you want me to leave?† she asked. â€Å"Do you have anywhere to go?† Elena asked in turn. â€Å"The street, I guess. I usually sleep in a barrel.† â€Å"Stay here. Come with me; a bridal bed sounds big enough for two people. You're one of us, now.† The look Lakshmi gave her was one of sheer thunderstruck gratitude. Not at being given a place to stay, Elena understood. For the statement, â€Å"You're one of us, now.† Elena could feel that Lakshmi had never been â€Å"one of† any group before. Things were quiet until almost â€Å"dawn† the next â€Å"day,† as the city's inhabitants called it, although the light hadn't varied all night. This time a different sort of crowd had gathered outside the doctor's complex. It was mostly made up of elderly men wearing threadbare but clean robes – but there were a few old women, too. They were led by a silver-haired man who had a strange air of dignity. Damon, with Sage as backup, went outside the doctor's complex and spoke to them. Elena was dressed but still upstairs in the quiet bridal suite. Dear Diary, Oh, God, I need help! Oh, Stefan – I need you. I need you to forgive me. I need you to keep me sane. Too much time around Damon and I'm completely emotional, ready to kill him or to†¦or to – I don't know. I don't know!!! We're like flint and tinder together – God! We're like gasoline and a flamethrower! Please hear me and help me and save me†¦from myself. Every time he even says my name†¦ â€Å"Elena.† The voice behind Elena made her jump. She slammed the diary shut and turned around. â€Å"Yes, Damon?† â€Å"How are you feeling?† â€Å"Oh, great. Fine. Even my leg is b – I mean, I'm fine all over. How are you feeling?† â€Å"I'm†¦well enough,† he said, and he smiled – and it was a real smile, not a snarl twisted into something else at the last second, or an attempt to manipulate. It was just a smile, if a rather worried and sad one. Elena somehow didn't notice the sadness until she remembered it later. She simply suddenly felt that she weighed nothing; that if she lost grip on herself she could be miles high before anyone could stop her – miles away, maybe even as far as this insane place's moons. She managed a shaky smile of her own at him. â€Å"That's good.† â€Å"I came to talk to you,† he said, â€Å"but†¦first – â€Å" In another moment, somehow, Elena was in his arms. â€Å"Damon – we can't keep on†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She tried to pull away gently. â€Å"We really can't keep doing this, you know.† But Damon didn't let go of her. There was something in the way he held her that half terrified her, and half made her want to cry with joy. She forced back the tears. â€Å"It's all right,† Damon said softly. â€Å"Go ahead and cry. We've got a situation on our hands.† Something in his voice frightened Elena. Not in the half-joyful way she'd been fearful a minute ago, but entirely frightened. It's because he's afraid, she thought suddenly in wonderment. She had seen Damon angry, wistful, cold, mocking, seductive – even subdued, ashamed – but she had never seen him afraid of anything. She could hardly get her mind around the concept. Damon†¦frightened†¦for her. â€Å"It's because of what I did yesterday, isn't it?† she asked. â€Å"Are they going to kill me?† She was surprised at how calmly she said it. She felt nothing except a vague distress and the desire to make Damon not afraid anymore. â€Å"No!† He held her at arm's length, staring. â€Å"At least not without killing me and Sage – and all the people in this house, too, if I know them.† He stopped, seeming out of breath – which was impossible, Elena reminded herself. He's playing for time, she thought. â€Å"But that's what they want to do,† she said. She didn't know why she was so certain. Maybe she was picking up something telepathically. â€Å"They have†¦made threats,† Damon said slowly. â€Å"It's not the case of Old Drohzne really; I guess there are murders around here all the time and winner takes all. But apparently overnight word of what you did has been spreading. Slaves in nearby estates are refusing to obey their masters. This entire quarter of the slums is in turmoil – and they're afraid of what will happen if other sectors hear about it. Something has to be done as soon as possible or the whole Dark Dimension may just explode like a bomb.† Even as Damon spoke, Elena could hear the echoes of what he'd been told by the assembly who had come to Dr. Meggar's door. They had been afraid, too. Maybe this could be the start of something important, Elena thought, her mind soaring away from her own small problems. Even death wouldn't be too high a price to pay to free these wretched people from their demonic masters. â€Å"But that's not what will happen!† Damon said, and Elena realized that she must be projecting her thoughts. There was genuine anguish in Damon's voice. â€Å"If we had planned things, if there were leaders who could stay here and oversee a revolution – if we could even find leaders strong enough to do it – then there might be a chance. Instead, all the slaves are being punished, everywhere that the word has spread. They're being tortured and killed on mere suspicion of sympathy with you. Their masters are making examples all over the city. And it's only going to get worse.† Elena's heart, which had been soaring on a dream of actually making a difference, came crashing down to the ground and she stared, horrified, into Damon's black eyes. â€Å"But we've got to stop that. Even if I have to die – â€Å" Damon pulled her back in close to him. â€Å"You – and Bonnie and Meredith.† His voice sounded hoarse. â€Å"Plenty of people saw the three of you together. Plenty of people now see all three of you as the troublemakers.† Elena's heart went cold. Maybe the worst thing was that she could see from a slave economy's point of view that if one incident of such insolence went unpunished and word of it spread†¦the tale would grow in the telling†¦. â€Å"We became famous overnight. We'll be legends tomorrow,† she murmured, watching, in her mind, a domino toppling into another which hit another until a long string had fallen down spelling the word â€Å"Heroine.† But she didn't want to be a heroine. She had just come here to get Stefan back. And while she could have faced giving her life to stop slaves from being tortured and killed, she would herself kill anyone who tried to lay a hand on Bonnie or Meredith. â€Å"They feel the same way,† Damon said. â€Å"They heard what the congregation had to say.† He held her arms hard as if trying to brace her. â€Å"A young girl named Helena was beaten and hung this morning because she had a similar name to yours. She was fifteen.† Elena's legs gave out, as so often they had done in Damon's arms†¦but never for this reason. He went with her. This was a conversation you had sitting on bare floorboards. â€Å"It wasn't your fault, Elena! You are what you are! People love you for what you are!† Elena's pulse was hammering frantically. It was all so bad†¦but she had made it worse. By not thinking. By imagining that her life was the only one at stake. By acting before evaluating the consequences. But in the same situation she would do it again. Or†¦with shame, she thought, I would do something like it. If I knew that I would put everyone I loved in danger I would have begged Damon to bargain with that slave-owner worm. Buy her for some outrageous price†¦if we had the money. If he would have listened†¦If another stroke of the whip hadn't killed Lady Ulma†¦ Suddenly her brain went hard and cold. That is the past. This is the present. Deal with it. â€Å"What can we do?† She tried to pull free and shake Damon; she was that frantic. â€Å"There must be something we can do now! They can't kill Bonnie and Meredith – and Stefan will die if we don't find him!† Damon just held her more tightly. He was keeping his mind shielded from hers, Elena realized. This could either be good or bad. It might be that there was a solution he was reluctant to put to her. Or it could mean that the death of all three of the â€Å"rebel slaves† was the only thing the city leaders would accept. â€Å"Damon.† He was holding her much too tightly to get free, so Elena couldn't look him in the face. But she could visualize it, and she could also try to address him squarely, mind to mind. Damon, if there's anything – even any way we can save Bonnie and Meredith – you have to tell me. You have to. I order you to! Neither of them were in a mood to find that amusing or even to notice the â€Å"slave† giving orders to the â€Å"master.† But at last Elena heard Damon's telepathic voice. They say that if I take you back to Young Drohzne now and you apologize, that you can be let off with just six strokes of this. From somewhere Damon produced a pliant cane made of some pale wood. Ash, probably, Elena thought, surprised at how calm she was. It's the one substance equally effective on everyone: even on vampires – even on Old Ones, which they undoubtedly have around here. But it has to be in public so that they can get the rumors started the other way. They think then that the turmoil will stop, if you – the one who started the disobedience – will admit your slave status. Damon's thoughts were heavy, and so was Elena's heart. How many of her principles would she be betraying if she did this? How many slaves would she be condemning to lives of servitude? Suddenly Damon's mental voice was angry. We didn't come here to reform the Dark Dimension, he reminded her, in tones that made Elena wince away. Damon shook her slightly. We came to get Stefan, remember? Needless to say, we'll never have a chance to do that if we try to play Spartacus. If we start a war that we know we can't win. Even the Guardians can't win it. A light went on in Elena's mind. â€Å"Of course,† she said. â€Å"Why didn't I think of it before?† â€Å"Think of what before?† Damon said desperately. â€Å"We don't fight the war – now. I haven't even mastered my basic Powers, much less my Wings Powers. And this way they won't even wonder about them.† â€Å"Elena?† â€Å"We come back,† Elena explained to him excitedly. â€Å"When I can control all my Powers. And we bring allies with us – strong allies we'll find in the human world. It may take years and years but someday we come back and finish what we started.† Damon was staring at her as if she'd gone mad, but that didn't matter. Elena could feel Power coursing through her. This was one promise, she thought, that she would keep if it killed her. Damon swallowed. â€Å"Can we talk about – about the present now?† he asked. It was as if he had hit a bull's-eye. The present. Now. â€Å"Yes. Yes, of course.† Elena looked at the ash cane contemptuously. â€Å"Of course, I'll do it, Damon. I don't want anyone else hurt because of me before I'm ready to fight. Dr. Meggar is a good healer. If they allow me to come back to him.† â€Å"I honestly don't know,† Damon said, holding her gaze. â€Å"But I do know one thing. You won't feel a single blow, I promise you that,† he said quickly and earnestly, his dark eyes very big. â€Å"I'll take care of that; it'll all be channeled away. And you won't even see a trace of a mark by morning. But,† he finished much more slowly, â€Å"you'll have to kneel to apologize to me, your owner, and to that filthy, scrofulous, abominable old – † Damon's imprecations carried him away for a moment so that he lapsed into Italian. â€Å"To who?† â€Å"To the leader of the slums, and possibly to Old Drohzne's brother, Young Drohzne, as well.† â€Å"Okay. Tell them I'll apologize to as many Drohznes as they want. Tell them quick, in case we lose our chance.† Elena could see the look he gave her, but her mind was turned inward. Would she let Meredith or Bonnie do this? No. Would she allow it to happen to Caroline if by any means she could stop it? Again, no. No, no, no. Elena's feelings about brutality toward girls and women had always been exceedingly strong. Her feelings about the worldwide second-class citizenship of females had become remarkably clear since her return from the afterlife. If she had been returned to the world for any purpose, she had decided, helping to free girls and women from the slavery that many of them could not even see, was part of it. But this wasn't just about a vicious slaveholder and faceless oppressed women and men. It was about Lady Ulma, and keeping her and her baby safe†¦and it was about Stefan. If she gave in, she would be just an impudent slave who caused a small ruckus in the road, but was firmly put back into her place by authorities. Otherwise, if their party was scrutinized†¦if someone realized that they were here to release Stefan†¦if Elena was the one who caused the order to come: â€Å"Move him into stricter security – get rid of that silly kitsune-key thing†¦.† Her mind was ablaze with images of ways that Stefan could be punished, could be taken away, could be lost if this incident in the slums took on undue proportions. No. She would not abandon Stefan now to fight a war that could not be won. But she wouldn't forget, either. I'll come back for all of you, she promised. And then the story will have a different ending. She realized that Damon still hadn't left. He was watching her with eyes as keen as a falcon's. â€Å"They sent me to bring you,† he said quietly. â€Å"They never thought of a no for an answer.† Elena could briefly feel the fierce rage of his fury at them and she took his hand and squeezed it. â€Å"I'm coming back with you in the future, for the slaves,† he said. â€Å"You know that, don't you?† â€Å"Of course,† said Elena, and her quick kiss became a longer kiss. She hadn't really absorbed what Damon had said about channeling away the pain. She felt she was due just one kiss for what she was about to endure, and then Damon stroked her hair and time meant nothing until Meredith knocked at the door. The bloody-red dawn had taken on a bizarre, almost dreamlike quality by the time Elena was led to an open-air structure where the slumlords in charge of this area were seated on piles of once fine, now threadbare cushions. They were passing back and forth bottles and jeweled leather flasks filled with Black Magic, the only wine vampires could really enjoy, smoking hookahs and occasionally spitting into the darker shadows. This was regardless of the huge audience of street people dizzily attracted by word of a beautiful young human's public punishment. Elena had been rehearsed in her lines. She was marched, gagged, hands manacled, before the hawking and spitting authorities. Young Drohzne was sitting in somewhat uncomfortable glory on a golden couch, and Damon was standing between him and the authorities, looking tense. Elena had never been so tempted to improvise a part since her junior play, when she had thrown a flowerpot at Petruchio and brought down the house in the last scene of The Taming of the Shrew. But this was deadly serious business. Stefan's freedom, Bonnie's and Meredith's lives might depend upon it. Elena moved her tongue around inside her mouth, which was bone dry. And, oddly, she found Damon's eyes, the man with the stick, uplifting her. He seemed to be telling her courage and indifference without using telepathy at all. Elena wondered if he himself had ever been in a similar situation. She was kicked by one of her escorts and remembered where she was. She'd been loaned an â€Å"appropriate† costume from the discarded wardrobe of Dr. Meggar's married daughter. It was pearl-colored indoors, which meant it was mauve in the everlasting crimson sunlight. Most important, worn without its silken undershirt, its back plunged to below Elena's waistline, leaving Elena's own back completely bare. Now, in accordance with custom, she knelt in front of the elders, and bowed until her forehead rested on an ornate and very dirty carpet at the feet of the elders, but several steps lower. One of them spat on her. There was excited, appreciative chattering, and ribaldry, and thrown missiles, mostly in the form of garbage. Fruit was too precious here to think of wasting. Dried excrement, however, was not, and Elena found the first tears coming to her eyes as she realized what she was being pelted with. Courage and indifference, she told herself, not even daring to sneak a look up at Damon. Presently, when the crowd was felt to have had its due playtime, one of the hookah-smoking civic elders stood up. He read words Elena couldn't understand from a creased scroll. It seemed to go on forever. Elena, on her knees, with her forehead against the dusty carpet, felt as if she were smothering. At last the scroll was put away and Young Drohzne leaped up and described in a high, almost hysterical voice, and flamboyant language, the story of a slave who attacked her own master (Damon, Elena noted mentally) to tear herself free of his supervision, and then attacked the head of his family (Old Drohzne, Elena thought) and his poor means of living, his cart, and his hopeless, impudent, slothful slave, and how all this had resulted in the death of his brother. To Elena's ears, at first, he seemed to be blaming Lady Ulma for the entire incident because she had fallen under her load. â€Å"You all know the kind of slave I mean – she wouldn't bother to wave away a fly walking across her eye,† he shrieked, appealing to the crowd, which responded with fresh insults and a renewed pelting upon Elena, since Lady Ulma wasn't there to punish. At last, Young Drohzne finished recounting how this bold-faced hussy (Elena) who, wearing trousers like a man, had caught up his brother's own ne'er-do-well slave (Ulma) and had carried away this valuable property bodily away (all by myself? Elena wondered ironically) and had taken her to the home of a highly suspicious healer (Dr. Meggar), who now refused to give her, the original slave, back. â€Å"I knew when I heard this that I would never see my brother or his slave again,† he cried, in the shrieking wail that he had somehow been able to maintain throughout the entire narrative. â€Å"If the slave was so lazy, you should have been glad,† a joker in the crowd called out. â€Å"Nevertheless,† said a very fat man whose voice reminded Elena irresistibly of Alfred Hitchcock's: the lugubrious delivery and the same pauses before important words, which served to make the mood more grim and entire business even more serious than anyone had heretofore thought. This was a man with power, Elena realized. The ribaldry, the pelting, even the hawking and spitting had fallen silent. The large man was undoubtedly the local equivalent of a â€Å"godfather† to these painfully poor residents of the slums. His word would be that which determined Elena's fate. â€Å"And since then,† he was saying slowly, crunching with every few words some irregularly shaped, golden-colored sweetmeat from a bowl reserved for himself, â€Å"the young vampire Damien has made reparation – and most generously, too – for all the property damage.† Here there was a long pause as he stared at Young Drohzne. â€Å"Therefore, his slave, Aliana, who started all this mischief will not be seized and put up for public auction, but will make her humble obeisance and surrender, here, and of her own will, receive the punishment she knows is her due.† Elena found herself dazed. She didn't know whether it was from all the smoke that had floated down to her level before curling away, but the words â€Å"put up for public auction† had sent a shock through her that almost led her to black out. She had had no idea that that could happen – and the pictures it brought to mind were extremely unpleasant. She also noticed her new alias, and Damon's. It was actually quite fortunate, she thought since it would be nice if Shinichi and Misao never heard about this little adventure. â€Å"Bring the slave to us,† the fat man concluded, and sat back down on a great pile of cushions. Elena was lifted off her feet and roughly marched upward until she could see the man's gilded sandals, and remarkably clean feet, as she kept her eyes down in the manner of an obedient slave. â€Å"Have you heard these proceedings?† The Godfather-type was still munching on his delicacies and a waft of breeze brought a heavenly smell to Elena's nose, and suddenly all the saliva she could ask for flooded to her dry lips. â€Å"Yes, sir,† she said, not knowing what title to give him. â€Å"You address me as Your Excellence. And do you have anything to add in your defense?† the man asked, to Elena's astonishment. Her automatic response of: â€Å"Why ask me, since it's all been fixed up beforehand?† was stilled on her lips. This man was somehow – more – than any of the others she had met in the Dark Dimension – in fact, in her entire life. He listened to people. He would listen to me if I told him all about Stefan, Elena thought suddenly. But then, she thought, regaining her normal level-headedness, what could he do about it? Nothing, unless he could do some good and turn a profit out of it – or gain some power, or take down an enemy. Still, he might make for an ally when she returned to level this place and freed the slaves. â€Å"No, Your Excellence. Nothing to add,† she said. â€Å"And you are willing to prostrate yourself and beg my forgiveness and that of Master Drohzne?† This was Elena's first scripted line. â€Å"Yes,† she said, and she managed to get through her prefabricated apology clearly and with just the hint of a gulp at the end. Up close she could see flecks of gold on the large man's face, in his lap, in his beard. â€Å"Very well. A penalty of ten ash rod strokes is laid upon this slave as an example to other mischief-makers. The punishment will be delivered by my nephew Clewd.†

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Developments in transportation Essay

Developments in transportation, rather than in manufacturing and agriculture, sparked American growth in the first half of the 19th century; moreover, it was the booming railroad industry, the country massive turnpikes, and the canals promoting water travel that sparked American growth in the first half of the 19th century. Railroads had been in the making for years, and they just kept improving, thus improving the ease of news spread and travel throughout the United States. The turnpikes going from city to city brought ease in trading goods and transportation. In addition, the canals, such as the Erie Canal, promoted the thought of water travel leading to many key inventions and vehicles. Although developments in manufacturing and agriculture had a profound effect upon American economic growth in the first half of the nineteenth century, developments in transportation had a larger effect, as well as serving as the catalyst for the developments in manufacturing and agriculture. Railroads made the west accessible. They encouraged the migration and settlement of the western United States. Because of the railroads assisting people in moving out west, a need formed for new agricultural methods and tools to farm in the new environment. The Gold Rush in California only grew so popular due to the railroads bringing ease of travel to people heading out west. The Railroad industry also opened up the western areas of the United States to business, industry, and trade. It continued to influence developments of industry, so more products could be made, shipped, and sold. The railroad system also created the demand for new modes of communication, such as the telegraph, because there was more distance to cover, thus opening a whole new market in the communication industry. One of the most important achievements the railroad’s brought to the United States was the introduction of time zones to accommodate for the inter-state trade. By 1820, turnpikes connected almost all major cities in the United States.  They facilitated trade between areas of the country that were previously isolated, thus raising the economy in certain places. Turnpikes also provide a quicker and easier mode of transportation for people, therefore helping to decrease the standard of economic self-sufficiency. This meant people were less likely to be stuck growing their own food, making their own clothes, etc. because they now had a much easier trip to town where they could buy these goods. Canals became popular from about 1815-1840. The most famous canal was the Erie Canal. It opened an inexpensive and quick way to travel from the east to the west. Before the Erie Canal only the east coast had been readily accessible by water. Canals promoted trade between the eastern and western regions, sparking industrial development in the formerly farm-oriented west. Canals made New York City a major trade center. They allowed New York to prosper and continue to grow as an industrial powerhouse, creating more jobs and factories. This is what gave New York the advantage over cities like Baltimore and Philadelphia. The canals also promoted the development of the steamship, created first by Robert Fulton. All in all, the statement, â€Å"developments in transportation, rather than in manufacturing and agriculture, sparked American growth in the first half of the 19th century† is a valid statement. The advancements made in transportation is what led to the advancements made in manufacturing and agriculture. If it weren’t for the railroads, turnpikes, and canals, most of the manufacturing and agriculture developments would not have been made, and America would have been stuck in the past.