The Evolution of Character in John Knowles A Separate Peace :: essays papers

The Evolution of Character in John Knowles' A Separate Peace One of the most revered and utterly enigmatic topics present within humanity is the evolution of humankind itself. Collectively contrasting both the origins of man physically and the very beginning of complex thought processes has been an incredible task, which is currently undetermined. The exact methods of the mind and of human character are both delicate and completely beyond true understanding. The only ways we as a race retain the ability to even attempt to comprehend such processes is through experimentation and elaboration via written text and visual arts. The process of human mental evolution, the evolution of character, is well demonstrated within the novel A Separate Peace authored by John Knowles. Knowles creates such an atmosphere as to carry you as the reader into the minds of the characters. The characters, in a like manner, attempt to delve into their own understanding and determine the whole of an immense complexity of emotions shared between themselves and the other characters. The use of this type of perception is furthered by the narrator's transformation from the very beginning to the very end, and the stories entire basis upon a flashback. The story itself takes place years before the narrator, named Gene, begins to speak of the incidents of which it is composed. This maturation of the young Gene mentioned in the story and the older adult Gene we meet at the very beginning allows us a sense of how Gene as a character evolved. Everybody has their own methods and their own "style" in a manner of speaking, of evolving both physically and mentally. Once you as the reader understand a character's method of evolution, it becomes much easier to understand that character's thinking pattern and any actions he or she may take further into the story. Before I dive headfirst into the presence of character, I want to mention the incredible use of descriptive and artistic wording to create a rather fantastic sense of setting. The ability of Knowles to create an overwhelming sense of being and imagination allows for the story itself to be played out in real time, visually within the reader's mind. Collated with the immense diversity of readers' imaginations, the story and the characters themselves always appear in the reader's own isolated vision of what is being represented on the page. A very unique and rather brilliant aspect of novels that is thoroughly and well presented in A Separate Peace. The Evolution of Character in John Knowles' A Separate Peace :: essays papers The Evolution of Character in John Knowles' A Separate Peace One of the most revered and utterly enigmatic topics present within humanity is the evolution of humankind itself. Collectively contrasting both the origins of man physically and the very beginning of complex thought processes has been an incredible task, which is currently undetermined. The exact methods of the mind and of human character are both delicate and completely beyond true understanding. The only ways we as a race retain the ability to even attempt to comprehend such processes is through experimentation and elaboration via written text and visual arts. The process of human mental evolution, the evolution of character, is well demonstrated within the novel A Separate Peace authored by John Knowles. Knowles creates such an atmosphere as to carry you as the reader into the minds of the characters. The characters, in a like manner, attempt to delve into their own understanding and determine the whole of an immense complexity of emotions shared between themselves and the other characters. The use of this type of perception is furthered by the narrator's transformation from the very beginning to the very end, and the stories entire basis upon a flashback. The story itself takes place years before the narrator, named Gene, begins to speak of the incidents of which it is composed. This maturation of the young Gene mentioned in the story and the older adult Gene we meet at the very beginning allows us a sense of how Gene as a character evolved. Everybody has their own methods and their own "style" in a manner of speaking, of evolving both physically and mentally. Once you as the reader understand a character's method of evolution, it becomes much easier to understand that character's thinking pattern and any actions he or she may take further into the story. Before I dive headfirst into the presence of character, I want to mention the incredible use of descriptive and artistic wording to create a rather fantastic sense of setting. The ability of Knowles to create an overwhelming sense of being and imagination allows for the story itself to be played out in real time, visually within the reader's mind. Collated with the immense diversity of readers' imaginations, the story and the characters themselves always appear in the reader's own isolated vision of what is being represented on the page. A very unique and rather brilliant aspect of novels that is thoroughly and well presented in A Separate Peace.

Netflix and Consumer Behavior Trends Essay

Netflix, Inc. is a subscription-based movie and television show rental service that offers media to it’s subscribers through on-demand internet streaming and DVD-by-mail service. Since its start in 1997, Netflix has taken the movie rental world by storm, becoming the world’s largest online movie rental service. As of January 2013 Netflix had a total of 29. 4 million streaming customers worldwide (Cohan). Netflix can attribute much of its success to its decisions to follow trends in consumer behavior, while its major competitors, namely blockbuster, sealed their fate by ignoring them. In the following paper I will tell you how Netflix was able to stay afloat while other movie rental companies failed, and gained success by following trends in consumer behavior. Background Netflix was founded in 1997 by Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings. Hastings had the idea for the DVD-by-mail service when he was forced to pay $40 in late fees after returning an overdue video. The company began its operation in April of 1998, with its core business being DVD-by-mail rental service. Besides being one of the first companies to rent DVDs by mail, Netflix also planned to capitalize on the fact that major brick and mortar video stores, such as Blockbuster, did not carry a wide selection of DVD rentals at the time. Netflix experienced much success with DVD-by-mail rentals, hitting the one million subscribers mark in February of 2003, and shipping over 1,000,000 DVDs by mail per day by 2005. In 2007 Netflix introduced it’s Video on Demand Service. This service was extremely successful, eventually making Netflix the number one online video streaming service in the world. Netflix, Inc. History) Consumer Behavior Trends Towards Entertainment There are several key trends in consumer behavior towards entertainment that Netflix was able to capitalize on. The first consumer behavior trend is convenience. The fast paced world that we live in has the average consumer seeking out anything that will save them the smallest amount of time or effort. Therefore, consumers expect entertainment fast, and at their fingertips. The next trend in consumer behavior is to limit spending. Due to the financial hardships our country has been experiencing in recent years consumers are looking to cut cost in whatever way possible. Before making a purchase decision, consumers are looking for a much higher cost/value ratio than they were in the past. The third consumer behavior trend Netflix was able to pick up on is the Smartphone/ tablet trend. According to Business Insider, â€Å"there are at least 165 million active Android and Apple iOS devices in the U. S. and that they are used by 78% of the adult population (Blodget). Today’s consumers are hardwired to participate from anywhere at any time; they use their smartphones for everything they can and expect to be able to do almost anything on it. Having the ability to stream media straight to their smartphones was almost expected by consumers. How Netflix Followed Consumer Behavior Trends Netflix was able to satisfy the consumers need for convenience at first by shipping unlimited DVDs through the mail for a month ly membership fee, instead of making consumers visit a brick and mortar location (Kang). Since then, Netflix has furthered adhered to the consumers need for convenience by introducing Video on Demand streaming in 2007. Through Video on Demand Netflix subscribers have their choice of thousand of new and old TV shows and movies to watch at just the click of the mouse. Customers can stream videos from netflix using a multitude of devices such as Xbox, PlayStation 3, Wii, Roku, their smartphone or tablet, or their computer, making Netflix easily accessible to almost all consumers. Netflix’s decision to incorporate Video on Demand into its service offerings was brought on by two factors- the decline in DVD sales starting in 2006, and the increase in the amount of consumers who were viewing video content digitally through websites like YouTube. These two factors demonstrated a fundamental shift in the way people consume entertainment that Netflix was quick to catch on to (Kang). Netflixs main competitor at the time, Blockbuster, chose to ignore these trends in consumer behavior, leading to its ultimate demise; â€Å"Netflix almost single- handedly wiped out the retail video rental business. Blockbuster went bankrupt last fall (Kang)†. The article â€Å"Why Blockbuster Went Bust While Netflix Flourished† found on Dailyfinance online states â€Å"Netflix’s corporate mindset has been key to its ability to adapt as people started gravitating toward online video streaming. It’s method is to put new technology at the service of customers while keeping a close eye on changing delivery costs and the competition (Cohan, 2010)† Netflix’s strategy of appealing to the consumers need for fast, convenient at home entertainment has proved to be successful. In the fourth quarter of 2012, Netflix reported customer growth of 2. 05 million customers in the United States, bringing its total US customer base to 27. 15 million. According to Brian Stelter in an article written for The New York Times â€Å"Netflix’s fourth-quarter success was a convenient reminder to the entertainment and technology industries that consumers increasingly want on-demand access to television shows and movies. Streaming services by Amazon, Hulu and Redbox are all competing on the same playing field, but for now Netflix remains the biggest such service, and thus a pioneer for all the others. Stelter)† The state of the US economy has caused consumers to seek out ways to cut corners with spending as much as possible. In terms of entertainment, this has lead to more people staying in and watching movies instead of going out as a way to save money (Crutchfield). From the beginning Netflix offered consumers an affordable means to entertainment by charging users a reasonable flat fee to have DVDs mailed to them as often as they want, without any late fees (Cohan). Today, Netflix’s more prominent service, instant streaming video, offers consumers the same affordability as its DVD by mail service. The company provides consumers with a very affordable subscription plan- unlimited streaming movie rentals for $7. 99 a month. CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings believes that at this price â€Å"people who use it once or twice a month will still find value and come back and those who use it once or twice a week will rave about it to friends (Kim). Due to the rise in smartphones and tablets, and the amount of things consumers use theses devices for Netflix made the decisions to expand their service offerings to smartphones and tablets. In May of 2011 Netflix released a free application consumers can download on their smartphone or tablet that allows them to instantly stream movies and television shows to their smartphone anywhere there is WiFi, as long as they have a subscription (Brown). Consumers were very impressed with the quality of the video streaming Netflix was able to provide via smartphone or tablet, â€Å"Over WiFi viewing is superb– as though you were looking at a DVD not a video streamed off the internet (Brown). † Netflix’s integration with the smartphone and tablet market has proved to be wildly successful, â€Å"The company said revenue of $945 million, up from $875 million in the quarter in 2011, was driven in part by holiday sales of new tablets (Stelter). † The Netflix app Conclusion In conclusion, much of Netflix’s success can be accredited to the actions taken by the company to stay on top of and follow trends in consumer behavior. If the fate of Blockbuster is any indication, the level of attention companies pay to changing consumer behavior trends and the actions they take to be the first to satisfy the needs of those customers has the ability to make or break the company. Despite Blockbuster’s household brand name, Netflix, a relatively unknown company at the time, was able to win its customers by offering them the things they felt of value that Blockbuster did not.

Automobile Pollution Essay

Exponential growth in petrol and diesel fueled vehicles are responsible for deterioration of air quality in cities. Because of the increase in urbanization, industrialization and commercial activities in the urban areas, the demand for transport has also been increased. In addition to it the use of personal vehicles has also increase steadily. The various principle pollutants emit from vehicles are as follows- Carbon monoxide (CO) Suspended particulate matter (SPM) Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) Hydrocarbons (HC) Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). 2005 Air Toxic Emissions from On-road Mobile Sources (Tox-weighted) Affects of Automobile Pollution 1. In India about 15-20 million people are asthmatic because of emission of automobile pollution. 2. N02 is a highly toxic gas and attacks the lungs causing lung cancer and emphysema. 3. Automobile pollutants interferes the development and functioning of the nervous system. 4. Some diseases such as bronchitis, plurosis occur by long-term exposure to the particulate matter. 5. N02 reacts with hydrocarbons and creates photochemical smog. Reasons for Automobile Pollution The petrol driven vehicles emit invisible gases such as CO and Benzene while diesel driven vehicles emit mainly black smog containing minute carbon particles and S02. The main reasons for vehicular pollution problems are as follows- 1. Poor quality of fuel 2. Outdated vehicles 3. Congestion and mixed traffic of different types 4. Lack of proper traffic management Important Pre-requisites for Controlling Vehicular Pollution 1. Phasing out of grossly polluted vehicles 2. Enforcement of emission norms for new and in-use vehicles. 3. Improvement in automobile technology 4. Reduction of lead content in motor fuel 5. Stream lining traffic management 6. Improvement in public transport system 7. Fuel quality improvement and switch over to cleaner fuel 8. Restriction on indiscriminate growth of urban centers, industrial and commercial activities Alternative Fuels Hydrogen Gas: It can be used in modified combustion engines and is eco-friendly as it emits water vapours only. Electric Vehicles: They are advantageous over conventional fueled vehicles as far as environment is concerned. Ethanol: It can be used in regular automobiles after blending with petrol. It is rather clean fuel with low nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons emission and no net C02 emission. Methanol: It is a liquid fuel and is produce from coal, natural gas and biomass. ft emits very little NOx and HC. Natural gas: It exists in the gaseous state at normal temperature and pressure and is found in the form of CNG and LPG. It causes substantially lower pollution without affecting the performance of the vehicles.

2nd Grade Math Course of Study

2nd Grade Math Course of Study The following list provides you with the basic concepts that should be attained by the end of the school year. Mastery of the concepts at the previous grade is assumed. Numbers Read print numbers to 20 and locate, compare, order, represent, estimate, identify numbers to 1000 and mentally add and subtract numbers to 20Understand place value to be able to trade 10 ones for a ten, etc.Count by 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s beyond 100.Locate numbers when requested to 1000Understand the reverse properties of whole numbers 57 is the same as 75Add and subtract two-digit numbers (no carrying/regrouping)Introduction to division using sharing as examplesCount by skipping numbers when requestedAdd and subtract coins up to $1.00Compute word problems with addition and subtraction, (We have 20 children in swimming class, 8 are boys, how many are girls?) Measurement Use and understand more than, less than, the same as, heavier than, lighter than, taller than etc.Measure with a variety of cups, rulers and measuring spoonsTime - hours, minutes and secondsUse the terms inches, feet, yards, centimeters, meters etc.Know the months of the year and tell time to the quarter hourUse a thermometer and count money to a dollar including being able to create different sets that equal a dollarCompare a variety of measurement tools Geometry Describe, identify, create and sort and build with shapes (squares, triangles, circles, rectangles etc.)Identify a variety of geometric shapes in everyday structuresCompare and sort 2- and 3-dimensional shapes (3-D terms include sphere, prism cones etc.)Extend and make patterns with shapesDetermine lines of symmetry, flips, slides, turns, and transformations of shapesDescribe locations on a grid - up four and over two etc. Algebra/Patterning Identify, describe, reorganize and extend patterns with more than one attributeGive specific rules about patterns for numbers, shapes, pictures, and objectsIdentify and describe patterns in the world around us (wallpaper, paint etc) Probability Use graphs to record number of pets, hair color temperature with 1 and 2 attributesDesign or construct bar graphs and include pertinent informationInterpret a variety of picture and bar graphs and give explanationsInvestigate what happens when coins are flipped and die are rolled All Grades Pre-K Kdg. Gr. 1 Gr. 2 Gr. 3 Gr. 4 Gr. 5 Gr. 6 Gr. 7 Gr. 8 Gr. 9 Gr. 10 Gr.11 Gr. 12

Geography of the Country of Belize - World Atlas

Geography of the Country of Belize - World Atlas Population: 314,522 (July 2010 estimate)Capital: BelmopanBordering Countries: Guatemala and MexicoLand Area: 8,867 square miles (22,966 sq km)Coastline: 320 miles (516 km)Highest Point: Doyles Delight at 3,805 feet (1,160 m)Belize is a country located in Central America and it is bordered to the north by Mexico, to the south and west by Guatemala and to the east by the Caribbean Sea. It is a diverse country with various cultures and languages. Belize also has the lowest population density in Central America with 35 people per square mile or 14 people per square kilometer. Belize is also known for its extreme biodiversity and distinctive ecosystems.History of BelizeThe first people to develop Belize were the Maya around 1500 B.C.E. As shown in archeological records, they established a number of settlements there. These include Caracol, Lamanai and Lubaantun. The first European contact with Belize occurred in 1502 when Christopher Columbus reached the areas coast. In 1638, the first Eu ropean settlement was established by England and for 150 years, many more English settlements were set up. In 1840, Belize became a Colony of British Honduras and in 1862, it became a crown colony. For one hundred years after that, Belize was a representative government of England but in January 1964, full self government with a ministerial system was granted. In 1973, the regions name was changed from British Honduras to Belize and on September 21, 1981, full independence was achieved.Government of BelizeToday, Belize is a parliamentary democracy within the British Commonwealth. It has an executive branch filled by Queen Elizabeth II as chief of state and a local head of government. Belize also has a bicameral National Assembly that is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate members are selected by appointment while the members of the House of Representatives are elected by direct popular votes every five years. Belizes judicial branch is comprised of the Summary Jurisdiction Courts, District Courts, the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, the Privy Council in the U.K. and the Caribbean Court of Justice. Belize is divided into six districts (Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek and Toledo) for local administration.Economics and Land Use in BelizeTourism is the largest international revenue generator in Belize as its economy is very small and consists mainly of small private enterprises. Belize does export some agricultural products though - the largest of these include bananas, cacao, citrus, sugar, fish, cultured shrimp and lumber. The main industries in Belize are garment production, food processing, tourism, construction and oil. Tourism is large in Belize because it is a tropical, mainly undeveloped area with abundant recreation and Mayan historical sites. In addition, ecotourism is increasing in the country today.Geography, Climate and Biodiversity of BelizeBelize is a relatively small country with mainly flat terrain. On the coast it has a swampy coastal plain that is dominated by mangrove swamps and in the south and the interior there are hills and low mountains. Most of Belize is undeveloped and is forested with hardwoods. Belize is a part if the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot and it has many jungles, wildlife reserves, a large variety of different species of flora and fauna and the largest cave system in Central America. Some species of Belize include the black orchid, the mahogany tree, the toucan and tapirs.The climate of Belize is tropical and is therefore very hot and humid. It has a rainy season which lasts from May to November and a dry season lasting from February to May.More Facts about Belize Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official language Regional languages of Belize are Kriol, Spanish, Garifuna, Maya and Plautdietsch Belize has one of the lowest population densities in the world The main religions in Belize are Roman Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Mennonite, other Protestant, Muslim, Hindu and BuddhistTo learn more about Belize, visit the Belize section in Geography and Maps on this websit e. ReferencesCentral Intelligence Agency. (27 May 2010). CIA - The World Factbook - Belize. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bh.htmlInfoplease.com. (n.d.). Belize: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/ipa/A0107333.htmlUnited States Department of State. (9 April 2010). Belize. Retrieved from: state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1955.htmWikipedia.com. (30 June 2010). Belize - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belize

Law of Torts Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law of Torts - Case Study Example The inherent ambiguity as to what conduct will constitute an interference with the use and enjoyment of land in order to justify an action in private nuisance has facilitated the piecemeal development of legal principles in this area2. This is further evidenced in context of environmental litigation3. Moreover, it has been widely extrapolated the law of nuisance is the most significant course of action in respect of environmental disputes4. However, commentators have criticised the multifarious limitations in private nuisance claims, which further render inherently complex cases difficult to be brought to court with any realistic prospect of success5. Indeed, the very nature of a claim being available only when environmental damage directly affects the use and enjoyment of another person's land intrinsically limits the parameters of nuisance6. Furthermore, the decision in the case of Hunter v Canary Wharf7 renders private nuisance claims dependant upon demonstration of a proprietary interest in the land, which has fuelled academic debate regarding the decision's implications for private nuisance claims8. The focus of this analysis is to evaluate the implications of the decision in the Hunter case, particularly in context of the development and application of the strict liability rule in Rylands v Fletcher9. Firstly it has been submitted that the arbitrary nature of judicial developments in private nuisance claims would alternatively be better addressed by the strict liability rule as established in Rylands v Fletcher10. The Rylands rule relates to the situation where a non-natural land user keeping something on their land, which is likely to escape, and as such, is stated to be kept at their own peril11. If the "thing" does escape, the rule affirms that the individual will be liable for all damage that is a natural consequence of the escape12. In the Rylands case itself, the defendant was a mill owner who had employed an independent contractor to build a reservoir on his land. The contractor had been negligent in failing to block a disused mine shaft that he had come across on the site. As a result, when the reservoir was filled, water escaped causing damage. As the contractor was independent the landowner was not liable for negligence or vicariously liable for the contractor's conduct13. In delivering the judgement for the claimant, Blackburn J asserted "the rule only applied to a thing which was not naturally there14". Furthermore, Lord Cairns presiding in the House of Lords additionally qualified the applicability of the Rylands rule to where the defendant had actually brought the thing onto his land15. The rule was further developed in the decision in Reads v Lyons16 by determining that one cannot claim for personal injuries in private nuisance but only for the discomfort caused to the use of the land itself17. The essence of the rule is that it is a form of strict liability for the escape of 'things' likely to cause damage and which have been brought onto land18. On the one hand the strict liability rule in Rylands leans towards legal certainty in this complex area of law by

Gas turbine engine basics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Gas turbine engine basics - Coursework Example This means that if the exit velocity is maintained at a higher value than free stream velocity, and simultaneously, the engine flow rate (m dot) is kept as high as possible, the high engine flow will produce a high thrust in a turboprop engine. Even though a large amount of air is ingested, the change in velocity is very minimal between the intake and the exit so that the exit velocity is at a low value (Low exit velocity). Due to the large value of m dot, a high thrust is developed. If we denote the free stream conditions by â€Å"0†, the propeller exit conditions by â€Å"1†, core exit conditions by â€Å"e† and core entrance conditions by â€Å"c†, then from the basic thrust equation we get: In Turboprop engine, the mass flow rate through the propeller is much greater than that of core engine(High mass flow ). The mass flow rate entering the core is almost equal to the mass flow rate exiting the core. The exit velocity from the core is almost the same as inlet velocity into the core(Low exit velocity). Hence the thrust equation can be rounded off to get: Components and Purpose: The intake also called the inlet serves three purposes, namely (1) recovering as much of the total pressure of the free air stream required for combustion, from free-stream conditions to the conditions and deliver this pressure to the entrance of fan or compressor, (2) delivering air to the compressor under all flight conditions with minimum turbulence and (3) to have minimum drag. The inlet is generally not defined by any particular part, but is formed by structural support parts which are located in front of compressor. The design of subsonic inlet differs from that of supersonic inlet. In subsonic inlets of engines fitted in nacelles air enters in different streamline patterns at different speeds of operation as shown in Fig-1 (Mattingly,p759). Supersonic inlets are