Expert Testimony Reliability Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Expert Testimony Reliability - Case Study Example Incompetent experts in criminal cases might be more newsworthy, but surveyors in civil courts face the same pressures. Last year, Geoffrey Wright, of EA Shaw, and I discussed the important role that expert witnesses have to play in dispute resolution (EG 23 July 2005, p90). The General Medical Council had just held that the evidence given by Professor Sir Roy Meadow at the criminal trial of Sally Clarke was "naà ¯ve, grossly misleading, incompetent and careless". He was found guilty of serious professional misconduct and stripped of his licence to practice. On 17 February, Collins J ruled that Professor Meadow had acted "honestly and in good faith": see Meadows v General Medical Council [2006] EWHC 146 (Admin); [2006] 09 EG 182 (CS). The appeal was allowed on the basis that his conduct should not have exposed him to such a sanction. In the same week, Lord Goldsmith, the attorney general, announced new measures designed to ensure that expert witnesses in criminal trials give their ob jective opinion only and do not act as advocates. Expert witnesses will have to reveal all of their evidence, and its source, to investigating police. They will also have to declare anything "that might adversely affect their credibility or competence as an expert witness "and must "not give expert opinion beyond their area of expertise". In contrast to a liberal admissibility view, Paul Milich maintains that "the jury's obvious limitations in evaluating complex scientific disputes cannot be overcome by the mythically powerful tools of cross-examination and closing argument." 2 He suggests that it may be over-hasty to assume that an adversarial proceeding will succeed in enabling a jury to understand scientific testimony satisfactorily. According to Mulch, when jurors are presented with complex scientific issues, they might choose to ignore these issues and make a decision based on other factors, such as an expert's physical appearance and his/her demeanor. Mulch's argument seems pl ausible because jurors might have to resort to this alternative if they really do not understand the proffered testimony. Since judges and juries do not share a common base of experience with an expert witness on the specialized matters being discussed in his/her testimony, they can have a difficult time probing into and evaluating the expert's reasoning and opinions. The accessibility of proffered claims can vary greatly depending on a number of factors, some of which were mentioned previously. The subject matter of some expert testimony can be inherently confusing, if not unintelligible, to laypersons. To return to a point made before, one

John Grisham Essay Example for Free

John Grisham Essay Introduction The Capital Area Food Bank has been serving 633,000 unprivileged residents in Washington D. C Metropolitan Area and 200,000 children whose standards of living are precarious inviting utmost care and concern. There are 200,000 children who are in need of food. [source: U. S Census Bureau,2000] Food Bank distributes over and above 62,000 pounds on daily basis and serves meals accounting to 1. 6 million per month apart from serving 700 non-profit partnership agencies affiliated with Washington D. C. Metropolitan Area. The minimum wage of D. C. is $7. 00. Also the minimum wage is $6. 15 in Maryland and $5. 15 in Virginia. [source:Hunger in America 2006, Mathematica Policy Research] CAFB definition of poverty : The Capital Area Food Bank defines poverty based upon 185% of the poverty guidelines. This means that a household may earn up to 185% of the U. S. government’s standard of poverty and still be considered â€Å"in poverty†. This measure (and other multiples such as 125%, 150% and even 200% of poverty) is utilized determine eligibility for many government programs. 1 Contributing factors to Hunger and Homelessness 1. Unemployment The following States have the problem of unemployment [2005]. Sno State High Low 1 Mississipi ^ 2 Louisiana ^ 3 South Carolina ^ 4 Alaska ^ 5 Michigan ^ 6 Hawaii ÐŽ 7 North Dakota ÐŽ 8 Vermont ÐŽ 9 Virginia ÐŽ 2. National poverty indicators: Sno (In millions} Status For the Year 1 25,350 Individuals 2005 2 5,146 Avg monthly individuals 2005 3 25,682 Avg monthly food stamp: individuals 2005 4 38,196 Food insecurity-household 2004 5 7,591 Unemployed individuals 2005 6 36,997 Individuals in poverty 2004 [source:Hunger in America, Draft Report, February 2006] 2. Food Insecurity [2002-2004] 1 Oklahoma ^ 2 South Carolina ^ 3 Arkansas ^ 4 Delaware ÐŽ. 5 North Dakota ÐŽ 6 New Hampshire ÐŽ 7 Minnesota ^ 8 Hawaii ^ [source:National Statistics on Hunger and Poverty]2 3. States with poverty [2004]3 1 New Hampshire 1 2 Minnesota 2 3 Vermont 3 4 New Jersey 4 5 Hawaii 5 6 Delaware 6 7 Masschusetts 7 8 Alaska 7 9 Virginia 9 10 Nebraska 10 11 North Dakota 11 12 Maryland 12 13 Wyoming 13 14 Idaho 13 15 Utah 13 16 Connecticut 16 17 Colorado 16 18 Iowa 18 19 Oklahoma 19 20 Nevada 20 21 Pennsylvania 21 22 Kansas 22 23 Rhode Island 23 24 Washington 23 25 Florida 25 26 Maine 25 27 Indiana 25 28 Ohio 25 29 Missouri 30 30 Illinois 30 31 Wisconsin 32 32 Georgia 33. 33 California 34 34 Michigan 34 35 South Dakota 36 36 Montana 37 37 West Virginia 38 38 Arizona 39 39 North Carolina 40 40 South Carolina 41 41 New York 42 42 Arkansas 43 43 Tennessee 44 44 New Mexico 45 45 Texas 45 46 Alabama 49 47 Kentucky 50 48 Mississippi 51 57% of hunger is prevalent in urban areas and 43% is prevalent in sub-urban/rural areas of U. S4. 4. Income – Household Employment status [2006]5 sno Income – (USD) percentage Employment percentage 1 0-999 60. 6 Full-time 14. 6 2 1000-2499 25. 3 Part-time 13. 2 3 2500 and above 2. 9 Unemployed 72. 2 4 Not known 11. 2 North Carolina – A study. Statistics of hunger and poverty in North Carolina sno year Household income (Avg) % (+) (-) Increase in numbers From To Increase % 1 2000 –2002 (-) $1749 (-) 4. 4 985,000 1. 07 mn 9 According to the survey of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, it was found that the overall percentage of hunger in U. S in 4. 3 and according to Quandt â€Å"food insecurity† is between 35. 6% to 41. 8% in four surveys conducted. North Carolina with a population of 8 million is having an account of 15. 2 % of individuals and 21. 2% of families with small children facing a risk of hunger. Statistics of Polkton. 1 Total population 18,324 2 Households 7,908 3 Families 5,337 4 Average household size 2. 28 5 Average family size 2. 78 6 Household Median income $36,259 7 Family Median Income $45,096 8 Percapita Income $19,804 9 Male – Median income $29,375 10 Female-Median income $23,070 11 Below poverty line-18 under 11. 70% 12 Below poverty line-65 and older 8. 80% 13 Children under 18 23. 50% 14 Married couples 56. 30% 15 Female householders 7. 90% 16 Non-families 32. 50% 17 Individual households 28. 90% 18 65 and older living alone 15% 19 Below poverty line 10. 10% of population 20 Families below poverty line 6. 40%. The break up of people living is: †¢ White : 92. 26% †¢ African American : 5. 89% †¢ Native American : 0. 19 †¢ Asian : 0. 247 Conclusion The result of 25 cities survey of status report on Hunger and Homelessness in U. S concludes that 83 per cent of cities surveyed that there is a dire need of assistance in shelter and food which has risen by 15 per cent, still having 76 per cent of cities reporting to be increasing. There are totally thirteen cities facing the acute and emergency need of home and food. viz. , Burlington, Vermont,Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,Charlotte,North Carolina,Portland,Oregon, San Antonio and Texas. [source:Mayor’s Conference]. North Carolina crisis in budget is expected to exceed $1Billion. Some of the other contributing factors are : increase in accommodation cost, unemployment, and employment problems, poverty, low income or lack of income, increasing utility rates, non-availability of transportation and handicapped and mentally disabled persons. There is an account of 1/5 of homeless persons who are mentally ill in the above cities. According to a survey 60percent of eastern North Carolina have participated in WIC program conducted by U. S Department of Agriculture, as compared to 40 per cent in Forsyth County. 6 Compared to other parts of the world, United States is free from food insecurity and hunger. The nations data accounts that 82. 4 per cent of households were secured with food and 13. 3. Percent of households were food insecure and 4. 3 percent were accounted with hunger. There are several community based organizations and local head departments [CBO, LHD] which are working for North Carolina to assist people in every manner providing comfort for illness and food. There is a severe need for adult care for treating mental illnesses apart from providing all kinds of facilities for children. References [1] Hunger in D C Metro Area, Capital Area Food Bank http://www. capitalareafoodbank. org/hunger/statistics. cfm [2]. A Report on the North Carolina 2003 Public Health Partnership Survey of Local Health Department and community based organization. http://www. schs. state. nc. us/SCHS/pdf/LHDCBOSurveyweb. pdf#search=%22statistics%20of%20hunger%20and%20poverty%20in%20Anson%20county%22 [3] Housing and extreme poverty of extreme poverty http://www. common-sense. org/journal/housing. html.

Shakespeares Othello - Why did Othello Marry? :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Why did Othello Marry? Why did Othello marry is a complex question, the obvious answer would be that he loves Desdemona, but why does he love her and why does his love turn to hate so quickly in Act III scene 3 requires much thought and consideration. Othello likes people to be plain and open because that is what he himself is, he has grown to become his image, he is only on the surface, he hides nothing because that is his image, to only have one side, the military side. Thus Desdemona also seems to him very open, he likes her because he thinks she is like him however when he finds that she might be hiding something from him then he stops loving her. At the same time Othello needs a wife to complete his image, she is the proof that he is a successful general and Christian and he can show her off as such. Othello loves or thinks he loves Desdemona for many reasons, not least because he thinks she is like him. He thinks it will be a good relationship because she seems to be in his eyes just like a soldier thus like him so that he attracted her while telling her tales of his battles as seen in Act I scene 3: "She loved me for the dangers I has passed". He talks to her as he talks to a soldier using images of war and might: "May the winds blow till they have wakened death, And let the labouring bark climb hills of seas". Because she comes with him to the wars, she becomes even more in his mind one of his soldiers so that after he comes back to Cyprus he greets her with: "O, my fair warrior". Othello can not cope with anybody who is different from him, who he cannot understand so that because he sees so much of himself in Desdemona he loves her. She is his "hard bright surface" because she reflects his image when he looks at her. She is commanding, smart and self-confident which he sees as his own best qualities. She shows how commanding and smart she is when she first answers her father in Act I scene 3: To you I am bound for life and education; My life and education both do learn me How to respect you.

Cain and Abel Analysis

Cain and Abel The Graves/Jung model is an interpretative method that attempts to explain a variety of things on a variety of levels. It explains how individuals progress, how societies progress, how theories progress, how we view others, and how others view us; just to name a few. I will be applying the theory to analyze the story of Cain and Abel found in the fourth chapter of Genesis, in the Bible. I will be interpreting the three main characters to assess what level of the model they are functioning in. We meet the main characters of the story in the first two verses.Cain is Abel’s older brother and we learn of their occupations, â€Å"Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. Their nature of their occupations could already be setting up the idea that Abel is physically small and Cain is physically larger. In the Hebrew world, shepherds are historically the youngest children and often girls. Later in the Bible, there is a mirror of this in 1st Samuel. it is King David (portrayed as the smallest amongst his brothers) who is also a shepherd. Typically anyone who â€Å"works the land† is going to have to be physically fit, which leads to more capabilities of physical violence.The author may have put these important details in to start to paint the picture of â€Å"helpless innocent Abel† and â€Å"big bully Cain†. This is just the beginning of why this is a Level 3 story of competitive, survival-of-the-fittest type interactions. Even though the characters might be functioning at the level 3, I think the society they are living in is at least level four. We see this in verses three and five when the third main character is introduced, â€Å"the Lord†. The fact that Cain and Abel’s god needs a offering implies that at some point someone said or wrote that he needed one.They wouldn’t just do that if it were not made clear by society that offerings were expected. This is all fitting with Level fou r. This also implies that the god is at least a level four god. In verses six and seven the Lord states, The LORD said to Cain, â€Å"Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it. † This shows that the god of this story can function on level six.He is empathizing with Cain and even offering advice, or at least his challenge to Cain without explicitly telling him to not go through with his anger. However, to get to a level six, one must come out of a level five which came out of a level four. The level four god comes out in his punishment of Cain, â€Å"And the LORD said, â€Å"What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength.You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. † He is saying by this punishment that there are rules and you broke them, a very level four statement. The god in the story of Cain and Abel when the context is not extended to the whole Bible is a level four god. Cain is a textbook level three character he gets â€Å"angry† and jealous that someone else did better and he decided to go through with level three actions in verse 8. â€Å"Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Cain essentially decided that he was bigger and stronger so he could deal with things accordingly. The problem with that is that he is on a level four society with a level four god. Level four was created to stop individuals functioning at level three and this story follows suit with the Lord’s punishment of Cain and the society carrying it out. This is seen in verse 15, Then the LORD said to him, â€Å"Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. † And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Now we also see a little bit of level two come out in Cain’s words.When the lord asks him where his brother is, Cain responds with, â€Å"I do not know; am I my brother's keeper? † This is a very mischievous thing to say because Cain knows exactly where Cain is. It is very similar to a child being asked by his parents â€Å"Where did all those cookies for the shower go? † and the child who, while knowing it was wrong, ate them responds with â€Å"well I don’t see them anywhere. † Cain is mirroring this. I find it interesting that when it comes to a conflict both the Lord and Cain begin to function in lower levels than their original state.Lastly there is Abel, since the author doesn’t give us and lines of dialogue to reference, we will use the context of the story to evalua te what level character he is. I would say because he abides by the level four standards set by society and the level four god then he is at least functioning at the level. We see this in the fact that not only was he attempting to do the societal norm in making an offering that potentially allowed him to have â€Å"regard† with the Lord but also he succeeded in that. This shows he possibly could be a higher level than four but it is hard to say since we do not know exactly how he responded to Cain’s attack.

Business Communication Essay

?Introduction In this assignment I am required to explain the different types of business information used by the business organisation that I have chosen for example; verbal, written, non-verbal, non-written, multimedia etc. I will also be writing their sources and purposes and analysing the different types of information. I will then evaluate the appropriateness of business information used to make strategic decisions. The business that I have chosen is Sainsbury’s. Sainsbury’s is a public limited company (PLC). It is the second largest chains of supermarkets in the United Kingdom in the retailing business. Sainsbury’s was first established with a shop in Drury Lane, and then became the largest grocery retailer in 1922. Sainsbury’s provides food and drink, home and garden, technology, toys, entertainment, clothing and much more for their customers. This comes under the tertiary sector business that provides a valuable service that customers and other businesses are prepared to pay for. From where they had first started throughout the years they have expanded it by selling different varieties of products to satisfy their customers as well as giving them new products to purchase. Types of Information Source Purpose Analysis Verbal- Face to face communication about sales reports between staff and sales manager (meetings). Internal Source- Marketing Department. This is because this department deals with sales as they can give information about the results of research undertaken by Sainsbury’s. Face to face discussions could be used by the marketing department to explain/update by communicating sales promotions. Using this opportunity through the meeting the sales manager will also have an overview of how well the employees are doing their job. It is important for Sainsbury’s to have face to face meetings about sales reports often, so that the company itself knows what needs to be improved and how they are progressing currently. Marketing department helps  this type of verbal communication by updating the company using promotions and sales so they can achieve more profit for themselves and shareholders. Verbal-A telephone conversation about a customer enquiring about a product (staff helping a customer through telephone line checking if the product that customer wants is in stock). External Source- Customer Services Department. This is because customer services deals with customer’s issues or any enquiries they might have to do with the products or the store they can speak to a Sainsbury’s representative. A telephone conversation could be used by the customer’s services department to inform future developments on customer’s response to existing products and services. However Sainsbury’s doesn’t just deal with products, they deal with different types on insurances, mobiles, recruitment and so on. It is important for Sainsbury’s to have telephone conversations with customers because this way they are able to know customer’s opinions about certain topics and anything they would like to enquire about it e.g. products, services Sainsbury’s provide. The customer services department helps this type of communication by informing staff and managers about future developments. Verbal-Speeches about expanding on areas that need s improvement (increasing an amount of tills to avoid customers waiting for a long period of time in the queue). Internal Source- Production Department. This is in this specific department because with production they are able to know what areas need improving and so along with past and future levels of production, this department knows how to deal with it in detail. They are able to know what kind of costs Sainsbury’s will be dealing with in order to expand tills which will then move on to the marketing department. Speeches about expanding on areas that need improvement could be used by inviting support for activities so that Sainsbury’s can avoid bad service coming from their employees. This means an explanation needs to be given to employees and others as it is important for them to know why this new improvement in the business is happening. It is important for Sainsbury’s to have speeches on areas that need improvement because in order for the company to expand and improve, improvement on  amount of tills to avoid customers not only helps improve the company but attra cts more new and existing customers too. Also the production department can help as they can specify what areas need to be developed and write in detail about the costs and spacing will be needed to create the new tills for the store. Written-Web-based information about employment and recruitment (information of the company’s website about vacancies available). Internal Source- Human Resources. This is based in this department because human resources can provide information about the staffing and training within Sainsbury’s. Web-based information displays many benefits of multimedia technology. Web-based information about recruitment can be used by human resources to update knowledge and offer employment through multimedia technology. Sainsbury’s website gives different varieties of choices of job roles. They also provide specific searches to allow the people look for a specific store to work in and the kind of the job role they want. It is important for Sainsbury’s to have web based information about employment and recruitment because this helps the company employ people to work for them. It gives a chance for people to use the website find out what kind of vacancies the company has going on and what sort of rules too. It is important that the human resources department deals with this type of communication as they are aware of what kind of resources is needed to create/improve the website. Written-On screen information about sales, advertising, products and promotions on certain products (e.g. food, homecare, TU clothing etc). Internal Source- Marketing Department. This is sectioned in this department because marketing campaigns, promotions and information about the market, Sainsbury’s can take care of this department well. On screen information about sales and promotions could be used by inviting support for activities for a primary purpose of making a profit. By inviting support for activities they can increase more sales on other products to make more profit. It is important for Sainsbury’s to have on screen information about sales, advertising and promotions on products because with promotions on products the company not only will be able to expand by attracting more customers, b ut they will also be gaining more profit which means more shareholders too. It is important that the marketing department deals with advertising, sales and promotions, because they can give information about the results of research they  undertake, which means they can see what their competitors are doing and how their own company can make improvements. Written-Emails for queries regarding certain topics customer’s would like to discuss (Sainsbury’s bank, recruitment and website technical queries etc). External Source- Customer services department. This is based in the customer services department because consumers are able to discuss what kind of issues they want to with the company. Emails for queries regarding certain topics customers would like to discuss, could be used by informing future developments. This is because a business cannot develop and grow more than how much Sainsbury’s is wanting and aiming for if they do not hear what their customers have to say and so emails is one of the communication techniques so that Sainsbury’s can know their views on certain things. It is important that the company lets customers have access to emailing Sainsbury’s for any kind of queries customers would like to discuss. This is because their opinions and allowing them to express their views will help Sai nsbury’s improve/expand. If Sainsbury’s do this customers will feel satisfied that their opinions are being heard and action is being taken. Also it is important that the customer services department deal with this type of communication because Sainsbury’s can give consumers the information they are wanting to know about existing products or even providing a service. Non-Verbal-Deaf person wanting to know which isle in the store is a product in (asking a staff member). External Source-Human Resources. This is located in this department because employees within the stores can help customers who are deaf and wanting a product within the store hence asking help from a staff member. A deaf person wanting to know where a product is in the store could be used by inviting support for activities as information is very important and needs to be required through communications in order to support the business and keeping it running and successful. However for deaf people Sainsbury’s can hire employees that can communicate with deaf people using sign language. It is important in Sainsbury’s that a deaf person wanting to know where certain things are the employees of this company can help them. By doing this Sainsbury’s are able to show that they provide a service that many other stores might not offer. It is important that it is located in the human resources department because employees who can do sign language can help give information towards the customers who are deaf. Some of these  employees might need training for this and human resources department are able to sort that out for them. Multi-Media- PowerPoint presentation showing sales figures (how much profit they have made within 2 months). Internal Source- Finance Department. This is in this department because they will have information relating to Sainsbury’s performance including profit and loss figures, balance sheet and the costs of running Sainsbury’s. PowerPoint presentation showing sales figures could be used by updating knowledge for seeing how much profit they have made during a period of time. This is because so they can know what needs to be done IF they are making less profit. It also updates knowledge to see how well they are doing within sales figures. This is important in Sainsbury’s because PowerPoint presentations that show sales figures allows the company to know how much profit they have made and how well they are doing currently. It is important that the finance department deals with this because they will have an amount of information that includes costs, sales and how much profit the company is making.

jakia business class Essays (588 words) - Pat, Free Essays

jakia business class Essays (588 words) - Pat, Free Essays Jakia Brown Bus 3100 Dr. April Anderson 17 March 2018 Exercise 7-6 Since Jackson has still not complied, it is most likely very frustrated at this situation. Ted not complying is interfering with work schedule and ability to focus on certain provided or assigned tasks. I would follow up with one last email before trying something else. I would watch my tone, because it may become harsh the more frustrated I become, specifically tell Jackson what it is the organization need for him to do. I should follow up with a final or reminder email to Jackson before further actions are taken. I would make sure to have an affirmative yet friendly tone or action in this last email. It is important to specifically tell Jackson what it is I expect or want from him or what I need him to do. I would Make the email clear and transparent and make sure to aim on one main issue at a time. I'd end by explaining why I'm making this request and asking for a response by a certain date. End off the email asking for specific act ion and a deadline to respond to this email. Exercise 7-7 When your company is at fault, always apologize. There are six steps to creating a message. The first step is acknowledging the complaint, and then sympathizing with the customer. After these two steps comes, taking personal responsibility for the incident and your plan for resolution. Finally repairing the relationship and following up to ensure the response was handled correctly. The best thing to do I think is admitting responsibility and maybe doing something to help them get new potential clients to replace the one they lost. If it is your fault the best thing to do to save the relationship is to own up to it and try to smooth things over. Exercise 7-8 I w ould write the letter but be real and truthful. I would say that I haven't worked with them in years, but I remember them being a pleasure to work with. It would be the honest and it might be helpful for the ex-employee. I would handle the situation by looking up the employee's old file and seeing if they had any awards or recommendations in their file. I w ould know the employee was good , but maybe I made a note of it , and that could help me remember the employee better and more of what they did for me that I w as most impressed with. If that did not work, I would try honesty. I would admit that I can't remember any specific details about the job that this employee preformed , but what I can do is give a detailed list of what the employee had to do , and I recall th ey did an admirable job each day they worked for me . I would also apologize to the person reading it and say that this employee worked for me many years ago and I am having trouble remembering details, but I know that the company would not be sorry for hiring this employee and that this employee was one of the best investments that that company ever made. This would be the best thing that I could do given the lack of information or data in remembering the employee. It would be hopeful that I could give a brighten recommendation letter to the best of my ability.

The eNotes Blog 5 Reasons to RereadMoby-Dick

5 Reasons to RereadMoby-Dick Herman Melville’s classic novel about the grand whaling voyage of the Pequod first landed on bookstore shelves exactly 167 years ago. Moby-Dick was widely panned in both England and the United States- Melville’s experimental style flew over the heads of most critics. But today the book is widely read, loved, and discussed. To celebrate the novel’s anniversary- as well as its place in the running for the Great American Read- let’s look at five reasons why we should all reread Moby-Dick. 1. It’s epic. The story that drives Moby-Dick forward is Captain Ahab’s obsessive hunt for the white whale. He wishes to kill the beast that long ago took his leg and, in doing so, stare into its soul. After the ship launches, the crew slowly surmises the mysterious nature of their voyage- no typical whaling venture, but a quest to conquer and understand the godlike whale. He advanced towards the main-mast with the hammer uplifted in one hand, exhibiting the gold with the other, and with a high raised voice exclaiming: â€Å"Whosoever of ye raises me a white-headed whale with a wrinkled brow and a crooked jaw; whosoever of ye raises me that white-headed whale, with three holes punctured in his starboard fluke- look ye, whosoever of ye raises me that same white whale, he shall have this gold ounce, my boys!† (Chapter 36). 2. It’s funny. For all its grandeur and adventure, Moby-Dick is often side-splittingly funny. The narrator, Ishmael, has an eye for the quirks and oddities of human nature. At times, his shipmates seem more a troop of clowns than a crew of whalemen. If you’re looking for a chuckle, search no further. Least of all, did Flask presume to help himself to butter. Whether he thought the owners of the ship denied it to him, on account of its clotting his clear, sunny complexion; or whether he deemed that, on so long a voyage in such marketless waters, butter was at a premium, and therefore was not for him, a subaltern; however it was, Flask, alas! was a butterless man! (Chapter 34). 3. It teaches you all about whales. Melville was intensely fascinated by whales. In Moby-Dick, Melville devotes nearly as many pages to the behaviour, anatomy, and history of whales as he does to the story. Even though much of the science Melville cites is outdated, his keen attention and descriptive powers make Moby-Dick a continual source of inspiration to whale lovers. The lower subdivided part, called the junk, is one immense honeycomb of oil, formed by the crossing and recrossing, into ten thousand infiltrated cells, of tough elastic white fibres throughout its whole extent. The upper part, known as the Case, may be regarded as the great Heidelburgh Tun of the Sperm Whale (Chapter 77). 4. Melville’s writing is electrifying. Melville stands among the greatest prose writers in the English language. His keen eye, musical ear, and capacious mind make for a truly electrifying style. For lovers of language, Melville is the maestro- and Moby-Dick is his masterpiece. Through the lacings of the leaves, the great sun seemed a flying shuttle weaving the unwearied verdure. Oh, busy weaver! unseen weaver!- pause!- one word!- whither flows the fabric? what palace may it deck? wherefore all these ceaseless toilings? Speak, weaver!- stay thy hand!- but one single word with thee! Nay- the shuttle flies- the figures float from forth the loom; the freshet-rushing carpet for ever slides away. The weaver-god, he weaves; and by that weaving is he deafened, that he hears no mortal voice†¦ (Chapter 102). 5. The characters are unforgettable. After reading Moby-Dick, the rowdy crew of characters remains fixed in the mind: attentive Ishmael, steadfast Starbuck, stout Stubb, maniacal Ahab, courageous Queequeg. Melville’s characterizations are so detailed that each figure emerges from the page with a distinctive voice, gait, and attitude. And they are, for the most part, excellent company. And [his] tattooing had been the work of a departed prophet and seer of his island, who, by those hieroglyphic marks, had written out on his body a complete theory of the heavens and the earth, and a mystical treatise on the art of attaining truth; so that Queequeg in his own proper person was a riddle to unfold; a wondrous work in one volume; but whose mysteries not even himself could read, though his own live heart beat against them; and these mysteries were therefore destined in the end to moulder away with the living parchment whereon they were inscribed, and so be unsolved to the last (Chapter 110). Moby-Dick is a novel of countless depths and dimensions. There are as many ways- and reasons- to read it as there are readers. We’ve rounded up a handful of our favorite reasons to climb aboard Melville’s masterwork for another voyage. Can you think of more?

SAT Prep Tips for Last Minute Studying and Cramming

SAT Prep Tips for Last Minute Studying and Cramming SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips CRAMMING FOR THE SAT - WEEKS, DAYS, OR HOURS LEFT TO STUDY. WHAT TO DO? So the SAT's coming up, and you need to cram for the test. You might have a few weeks, or even a few days left. You might be able to spend just 10 or fewer hours studying. If you're wondering how to best make use of your time before the test, this article's for you. First of all,consider delaying the test.If you've spent fewer than 40 hours studying for the SAT up to this point, it's very unlikely that you'll get the highest score possible on your upcoming SAT test. Instead, consider delaying your SAT to a later date and committing to studying early for the SAT in the meantime. This is especially true if you're a junior in high school or below - you'll have many more chances to take the SAT, and you want to put in a serious effort before your SAT so you can get the highest score possible. This isn't so that you minimize the tests that you take (schools don't really care how many times you took the SAT), but rather so that you don't waste time waiting for your score to arrive, hoping it'll be good enough. Instead you should put that time toward serious preparation. Note that this doesn't apply if this is the last time you can take the SAT - you might be a senior with this test as your last chance, or you might need it in time for a scholarship. If you're still committed to taking the test, here are ourtop two tips for doing as well as you can: #1: Take a Practice Test It's vital that you get comfortable with the format of the SAT, the way it asks questions, and its length. This is especially true if you've never taken a full-length SAT, or if your last test was over two months ago. The College Board has a free SAT practice test with answer explanations. Here's how to make the most of this practice test: Print out the testso you can practice writing on paper. Follow the timingstrictly.You need to get used to two things - the 4-hour length of the test, and the time given for each section. The SAT will cut you off when the section ends, with no allowances. Grade your test and calculate your SAT score. If you followed the test conditions strictly, your score on the real test is going to be pretty close to this score. Again, use this to help decide whether you want to delay your test. Review each section in detail and figure out why you missed each question. This is the most important part of taking this practice test. The SAT practice test (link again) contains answer explanations for each question. Your goal is to figure out why you missed the question, and how you won't miss it again in the future. All of the above should take at least 6 hours - around 3 hours to take the practice test, and 3 hours to review the test. #2: Guess Strategically If you're scoring below 600 on a section, here's a simple strategy that can potentially earn you a lot of points:skip the most difficult questions. To score a 500, you should skip 1/3 of all questions. To score a 600, you should skip 1/5 of all questions. This might seem crazy. Aren't you leaving points on the table if you don't try to answer all of the questions?Since there's no penalty for wrong answers on the SAT, you shouldput something down for every question, but that doesn't mean you need to spend time thinking about the answer. If you're scoring around a 600 when trying every question, it's unlikely that you'll be getting the most difficult questions correct. These questions also take the most amount of time since you'll spend minutes trying to make sense of what the question is asking. By skipping the hardest questions, you'll be able to spend more time on the easier questions that you're more likely to get right. As a rule of thumb, if you're spending more than 30 seconds on a question while making zero progress, make a guess and move on to the next one. You should take one to two hours to learn this strategy and make sure you're comfortable applying it. What Now? If you follow the two steps above, within 10 hours you'll be far ahead of where you started out. You probably won't get the best score you possibly can, but you might do well enough. What if you want to take the test again?Here at PrepScholarwe recommend that you put inat least 40 hours of dedicated SAT prep. You also need tostudy in the right wayso that you don't waste your time. PrepScholar is an online test prep program that creates a customized study program that's unique to you. It learns your personal strengths and weaknesses and creates a complete, comprehensive study plan that will give you exactly what you need to study to earn the most points. Behind the program is our team of dedicated education professionals who are committed to helping you solve your problems, whether it has to do with not knowing what to study, not being motivated to study, or having problems fitting prep into your schedule. Learn more about PrepScholar. Like this article? Get our free Ebook Guide to the SAT!

Leadership and Ethics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership and Ethics - Coursework Example 23-30). However, ethics and good leadership are subjective topics and are commonly a reflection of the civilization. Therefore, the perceptions change depending on the context and time of argument. In my view, an ethical leader demonstrates normatively appropriate conduct based on personal attributes and interpersonal relationships. Such leaders coordinate followers through a structured two-way communication, reinforcement, and decision-making. In line with the theme of focus, ethical leadership framework manifests through strategic planning, cultural transformation, and leadership development. My concept of ethical leadership entails distinctive principles. First, an ethical leader guides the organization to deliver services beyond legal obligations. Frequently, the principle involves doing more than the minimum requirement of following the established federal laws and regulations (Fluker, 2009, p. 34-30). Corporations that apply this principle benefit from lower employee turnover, greater customer loyalty, and maximum profits. For example, giving more may entail environmental stewardship, better remunerations and management of the product chain. Second, ethical leadership principle elaborates the importance of business honesty. Therefore, ethical leaders promise what they are capable of deliver, engage in honest advertising, and inform employees about issues that might affect job security and practices fair competition. In common, business honesty also translates into maximized income and success. Similarly, leadership strategy that lacks ethical clarity results to economic and moral bankruptcy. In line with the highlighted principles, unethical leadership structures contribute to business failures. The approach typically creates mistrust among employees, suppliers and customers. An unethical practice also exposes the company to unnecessary legal dilemmas and attracts several fines or bans. Achievement of the

W2 Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

W2 Questions - Assignment Example In an accrual based double entry system, every transaction has both a debit and a credit in the books of accounts. The three major divisions in the accounting field are (1) Financial Accounting (2) Management Accounting and (3) Tax Accounting. Financial accounting relates to a description and classification of accounts into assets, liabilities, capital, revenues and expenses and their summarization on the Income Statement and Balance Sheet. Management accounting deals with the development or interpretation of accounting information to aid management in making decisions that help in running the business. Tax accounting deals with determining the tax effects of transactions, preparation and filing of tax returns in conformity with the applicable tax laws and procedures. The purpose of a balance sheet is to show the financial position of a business enterprise on a specific date, usually the end of the year. Accounts are typically classified as belonging either to the income statement or the balance sheet. Usual balance sheet accounts are assets such as Cash, liabilities such as Accounts Payable and owner’s equity such as the Capital account. The purpose of an income statement is to determine whether the business made a profit or loss from its operations over the period, usually a year. Both the income statement and the balance sheet are prepared at the end of the financial year. Usual income statement accounts are revenues such as Sales and expenses such as Advertising Expense. The statement of cash flows shows how the cash in a business was generated and how it was spent over the financial year. This can be the result of operating, investing and financing activities. Some examples of typical cash flow accounts are Depreciation, Interest and Dividends Received and Cash Paid for Interest and Income Taxes. 7. Based on the financial information below, prepare an income statement and a balance sheet for Joe’s-Fly-by-Night Oil Company for the year ended

Popular culture 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Popular culture 3 - Assignment Example To me, the movie is unsuitable for children because if I were to watch it as a child, I would feel scared. There are a few scary scenes and ideologies. For instance, the action of the movie spans the theme of witchcraft. The baby was born out of witchcraft and the fact that Rosemary learns that his son was the spawn of Satan. According to me, such an event is unfortunate for all children considerably because their parents can choose to raise them in the manner that pleases them. It is perhaps for the fact that children do not have the ability of choosing what they want that makes parents misuse them. It makes me have a feeling that if I were to a child again, I would question my parents a lot about their relationship. The reason for such is the fact that the film portrays that the baby was not born out of love. The impression of its conception was rape, which is a confirmation that the baby was an outcast. Therefore, my queries would concern if my parents loved and cared for me while I was a baby. There are restrained relationships in the film, which enhance the theme of evil in its competition for virtues. The movie depicts much of the sociopolitical child-raising environments of the time. There is a considerable effect that the film creates concerning why parents want to have children (Schur 373). For instance, there is the impression that some of the parents wanted to have kids because of material gain. They therefore did not have much concern about the manner in which the babies would grow up. The desire for wealth using false means is one of the contributors to the successful depiction of witchcraft in the movie. A trick in the film resulted in Rosemary falling a victim of satanic forces through the influence of a former Satanist, Steven Marcato. In conclusion, the fiction in the plot of the movie serves as a way of suggesting that what children of the generation X grow to become depends

As a health care administrator, it is important to be able to apply Research Paper

As a health care administrator, it is important to be able to apply risk management strategies in your organization to prevent o - Research Paper Example Oakpointe Villa Nursing Centre, previous steps have been taken to protect them. They must provide all residents with the reasonable care that their condition requires (Smith, 2005). Oakpointe Nursing Centre was liable for the death of their resident because they failed to provide her with safe sleeping arrangements. (Bryant v. Oakpoint Villa Nursing Centre). Bed rails have been known for several years to actually increase the risk to confused or uncontrolled movement patients, because add the obvious asphyxiation risk above as well as increasing the height of fall if a resident does manage to climb over them. Between 1985 and 2009, 480 patients have been reported as dying and 138 were seriously injured due to a hospital bed accident. From a strictly administrative standpoint, that represents 518 possible lawsuits. In 2006, the FDA published â€Å"Hospital Bed System Dimensional and Assessmment Guidance to Reduce Entrapment†, encouraging manufacturers and care facilities to rec onsider the design of their beds (FDA, 2009). Despite this, they are still in place for at least 10% of patients (Span, 2010). The Safe Medical Devices Act of 1990 requires the reporting of all accidents invoving hospital equipment, including beds and bedrails. (Sleep Safe, 2010).

No need for topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

No need for topic - Essay Example The second stage of moral development intensifies the right/wrong and good/bad practices to encompass the notion of satisfying own needs. Based on the implications of the decision made by the decision maker, Weber argues that aspects of fairness and equal sharing can be interpreted in that context.3 For example, the above move by directors would have a consequential implication to organizational shareholders and the firm at large. Stage three is primarily based on personal behavior. Specifically, members of any given society are expected to behave and conduct themselves in a certain way. In so doing, participants derive behavior-based satisfaction with respect to that which is naturally acceptable to the society. Here, the rules of the majority are essentially in play. On the other hand, the identified fourth stage of moral development deals with societal perspectives of generalized morals. For example, bakers are generally held to be trustworthy and their behavior in and out of work should reflect this expectation. However, this many not always be the case with regard to both the third and fourth stages of moral development. Any given society in its entirety accords rights to its members. In this respect, stage five defines the right and the wrong based on the rights accorded to the members of the society. On the same note, a society’s standards are upheld through the said rights, subsequently influencing the moral factor in that society. When it comes to the final stage of moral development, the definition of what is right is personalized. In other words, an individual’s ethical and moral principles drive the right/wrong definition. In this respect, what is rightfully, ethically, and morally accepted by one individual or society may not necessary be accepted by another subject to the provisions of the last two stages of moral development. Part B Translating theory into practice takes diverse and dynamic approaches. This is because organizational operations, strategies, goals, and objectives differ from one organization to another. For this reason, the operationalization of Kohlberg’s model within an organization requires a strategic approach. On the same note, the taken approach must be aligned and consistent with organizational short term and long term prospects. The practice of Kohlberg’s model would, therefore, require managers to be sensitive to the organizational culture and operations in play. To start with, managers do not necessarily have to implement every aspect of Kohlberg’s model. This is because some of the aspects of Kohlberg’s model may or may not be relevant for some organizational practices. In this respect, managers need to evaluate the organizational culture in play against the Kohlberg’s model. In so doing, managers would note ineffective areas within the organization as far as Kohlberg’s model is concerned. Once this has been done, the chosen provisions of the model can now be implemented. For example, an organization’s definition of right and wrong may be primarily built on the general societal

Mass sterilization of women in Puerto Rico Essay

Mass sterilization of women in Puerto Rico - Essay Example In order to make achievement of aims and objectives of the operation easier, an NGO inaugurated and operated around 23 birth control clinics. In addition to this, a bill was passed through Puerto Rican parliament, which facilitated the marketing of contraceptives. In addition to this, another 159 clinics were opened in different parts of Puerto Rico by passing another legislative bill. The bill also empowered Department of Health in Puerto Rico to conduct sensitization sessions with the population, to educate them about contraceptives and where are the clinics, which may provide population, the pregnancy prevention methods. With such extensive efforts and hard work, around 33.8% of Puerto Rican women went into the sterilization process and gave up their ability to give birth (Carmen and Tietze). The type of sterilization operation that Puerto Rican women gone under was forced sterilization. These women were forced by Advocates, doctors and officials of the US government to go through sterilization operations in order to control the birth rate of the country and excel the country’s growth. Beside this forced sterilization, Puerto Rican women were also provided with birth control pills. These birth control pills proved to me more beneficial than sterilization because it was easy to use and easy to get, under the strict laws of Puerto Rico, which prevented the sale of these pills in clinics and dispensaries (Aviles and Yamila). This part of the analysis looks at the reasons why such operation was carried out in the first place. By controlling birth in Puerto Rico, United States aimed at improving the economic and financial landscape of the... The type of sterilization operation that Puerto Rican women gone under was forced sterilization. These women were forced by Advocates, doctors and officials of the US government to go through sterilization operations in order to control the birth rate of the country and excel the country’s growth. Beside this forced sterilization, Puerto Rican women were also provided with birth control pills. These birth control pills proved to me more beneficial than sterilization because it was easy to use and easy to get, under the strict laws of Puerto Rico, which prevented the sale of these pills. This part of the analysis looks at the reasons why such operation was carried out in the first place. By controlling birth in Puerto Rico, United States aimed at improving the economic and financial landscape of the country. Previously, Puerto Rico was considered as being the most densely populated area in the world. The social structure of the country was near to destruction. This is because, not all of Puerto Rican children and youth had access to quality education. Whilst, they were not getting the education, they spent most of their time roaming around in the streets and indulging into anti-social activities. On the other hand, food and water shortage was creating massive problems for the government as the increasing population resulted in increasing demand for basic necessities. People were dying on the streets due to hunger and thirst. Another worst scenario was unavailability of quality health care facilities.

No need for topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

No need for topic - Essay Example The second stage of moral development intensifies the right/wrong and good/bad practices to encompass the notion of satisfying own needs. Based on the implications of the decision made by the decision maker, Weber argues that aspects of fairness and equal sharing can be interpreted in that context.3 For example, the above move by directors would have a consequential implication to organizational shareholders and the firm at large. Stage three is primarily based on personal behavior. Specifically, members of any given society are expected to behave and conduct themselves in a certain way. In so doing, participants derive behavior-based satisfaction with respect to that which is naturally acceptable to the society. Here, the rules of the majority are essentially in play. On the other hand, the identified fourth stage of moral development deals with societal perspectives of generalized morals. For example, bakers are generally held to be trustworthy and their behavior in and out of work should reflect this expectation. However, this many not always be the case with regard to both the third and fourth stages of moral development. Any given society in its entirety accords rights to its members. In this respect, stage five defines the right and the wrong based on the rights accorded to the members of the society. On the same note, a society’s standards are upheld through the said rights, subsequently influencing the moral factor in that society. When it comes to the final stage of moral development, the definition of what is right is personalized. In other words, an individual’s ethical and moral principles drive the right/wrong definition. In this respect, what is rightfully, ethically, and morally accepted by one individual or society may not necessary be accepted by another subject to the provisions of the last two stages of moral development. Part B Translating theory into practice takes diverse and dynamic approaches. This is because organizational operations, strategies, goals, and objectives differ from one organization to another. For this reason, the operationalization of Kohlberg’s model within an organization requires a strategic approach. On the same note, the taken approach must be aligned and consistent with organizational short term and long term prospects. The practice of Kohlberg’s model would, therefore, require managers to be sensitive to the organizational culture and operations in play. To start with, managers do not necessarily have to implement every aspect of Kohlberg’s model. This is because some of the aspects of Kohlberg’s model may or may not be relevant for some organizational practices. In this respect, managers need to evaluate the organizational culture in play against the Kohlberg’s model. In so doing, managers would note ineffective areas within the organization as far as Kohlberg’s model is concerned. Once this has been done, the chosen provisions of the model can now be implemented. For example, an organization’s definition of right and wrong may be primarily built on the general societal

Information System Management & Quality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Information System Management & Quality - Essay Example In an effort to improve service delivery, NHS decided to employ information technology in its structure. This project is known as The National Project for Information Technology NPfIT and is run by the NHS Connecting for Health (CfH); this is a department that is tasked with the duty of providing information when and where it is needed. NPfIT is meant to bring new computer systems and services to the NHS to help improve the care and services patients receive. These systems are expected to community services and GPS systems to hospitals; hence, make it easy for hospitals to reach patients. In addition, the services provided, such as EPR, would make it possible for staff to access information vital to their patients’ treatment easily, securely, and quickly. The service ventured, in a project, to digitize its operations by developing an Electronic Patient Record, hereafter referred to as EPR. Some of the other services provided under NPfIT include a Patient Administration System, PAS, and a Picture Archiving and Communications System, PACS. All these systems work together to enhance service delivery in public hospitals. However, only 1.07% of facilities that were expected to use the EPR were using it as of January 2010 (Savage, 2010). This paper circumvents around NPfIT’s provision of Electronic Patient Records at Bexley Hospital. Management and Quality Issues Raised by NPfIT Managers were under pressure to deliver the massive project within a very limited time span. This forced managers to compromise quality by rushing the project at the hospital. The financial difficulties that managers face compromise their performance (Anon., n.d.). This is because such difficulties shift managers’ attention from project implementation to seeking extra finances and ways to cope. Managers are preoccupied with the need to meet strict deadlines while avoiding incurring extra costs. NHS split some units, making it difficult to prioritize activities and attain performance ratings; this compromised the quality of individual services and products. The result is that the project implementation at Bexley failed. This was as a result of numerous factors discussed below: Rushing the Project The NPfIT pushed for the speedy completion of tasks during development at Bexley Hospital. The hospital’s management had no option but to comply with his requirement so that Bexley is not delisted from the project. This is despite drawbacks brought about by stringent government procurement rules that delay the delivery of equipment and other resources (Comptroller and Auditor General, 2011, p.14). These delays make the supplies required irrelevant or valueless to the project by the time they are delivered, compromising

Epistemology in Locke and Berkeley Essay Example for Free

Epistemology in Locke and Berkeley Essay Even though Locke seems to posit a mind-independent world founded on matter, on closer examination it will be found that he does so grudgingly. Berkeley, on the other hand considers the notion as unnecessary, and indeed evil. With a proper examination of the two philosophies they will found to be identical in substance, and they only differ in their moral orientation regarding the notion of matter. Locke’s path would appear to lead to materialism, while Berkeley’s to spiritualism. I argue, however, that Locke is not really promoting materialism. On the other hand, Berkeley’s stance might be the road to quietism, instead of true spirituality. On balance, I would favor Locke. Both philosophers are Empiricists, therefore claim that all knowledge is derived from sense experience alone. The real target against whom this philosophy is directed are the Rationalists, following Descartes, who contended that the mind is possessed of innate knowledge, which is discovered through the application of reason as applied to the sensory data of experience. Descartes numbered substance as three – the soul capable of thought, the non-thinking material world, and God. Excluding God as the unknowable entity, the Cartesians grappled with mind and matter duality, confident that both could be understood as agents interacting with each other. However all efforts in this direction ended in pantheism, where God is invoked as the necessary and indispensable agent of mind and matter interaction. Locke’s philosophy is primarily aimed at overcoming Cartesian duality, and the same can be said of Berkeley’s. Locke focuses his attack on the Cartesian mind with its innate ideas. Berkeley, on the other hand, attacks the concept of mind-independent matter. Locke pictures the mind as a white piece of paper, on which experience writes all possible content, and that which we are able to describe as mind. Before the mind experiences the external material world it has no knowledge. This is made up of ideas, which is that formed when something impinges on our senses, coming from the object of perception. The actual process of transmission is inscrutable, though, which Locke is at pains to point out. The ideas are generally nothing like the object itself, and so the causation that is talked about, as the body being caue of the sense perception, is left shrouded. To make this point Locke shows that we form positive ideas from even the lack of causation. So that the absence of light is positively a shadow to us. Just like the names we give to objects are nothing like the objects themselves, so that most of the ideas that form in the mind bear â€Å"no more the likeness of something existing without us† (qtd. in Bowie, 251). With this provision out of the way, Locke goes on to claim that there are certain ideas which do bear resemblance to the object being observed. The ideas of extension, solidity, shape and motion are indeed said to reside in the object itself. These aspects of matter are intuited, and form what Locke terms primary qualities. This is why the ideas of shape, solidity and motion have such distinct and forceful presence in our mind. It is due to the fact that such ideas constitute the only information transmitted from matter itself to the mind. All other ideas, termed as secondary, are derived from the primary ones, and compounded from them in various ways. In this way color, taste, smell, texture etc are all secondary qualities. These ideas are characterized by their relative nature, so that no two observers are able to agree exactly on a quality like taste or color. At the same time they are not as distinct as are the simple ideas. The same food item can be sweet when tasted in health, and bitter when in fever. Again Locke takes care to point out that there is no necessary causation involved. The idea of blueness, along with the particular fragrance, that we get from holding a violet cannot be linked to the flower itself, so that it is â€Å"no more impossible to conceive that God should annex such ideas to such motions, with which they have no similitude† (Ibid 253). Berkeley insists that the relativistic argument must also apply to the primary qualities of Locke, so that there can be no agreement even regarding shape, size and motion. Different perspectives of the same event gives rise to different ideas, so that a large square building might appear to be small and rectangular when seen from a distance and a skewed perspective. Locke argues, however, that such differences can be â€Å"reasoned† away, by the use of geometry and knowledge of the observer’s position relative to the object of scrutiny. Because such correction is possible the mind can be said to have true knowledge regarding extension. Thus, the thesis of simple ideas, the crux of Locke’s epistemology, is restored. Against this, Berkeley would complain that there cannot be any distinction between primary and secondary sensations. He asks us to try to imagine, if we can, the shape of an object without color. And because we cannot our notion of extension is inseparable from the so-called secondary sensations. That which Locke claimed as distinct as an idea, is found out not to be really so. Shape, size and motion appear to us always associated with color, tone, texture, taste, mood, and so on, and the two categories of sensations cannot be clinically separated at all. And if it is the case that the secondary qualities are not in the object itself, but are framed by the mind that perceives it, then the same must be true for the primary qualities too (Ibid 256). Locke had dismissed Descartes’ materialism, and yet held on to the notion of matter by the slender thread of â€Å"primary qualities†. Berkeley overturns this too, so that there is nothing left with which to grasp on to a notion of matter as a mind-independent entity. He simply applies Occam’s razor to the preceding argument and concludes that, if God would impart to us our idea of extension, whether there be matter or not, then it is illogical to postulate the separate existence of matter, a thing that serves no function at all, and to do so would be tantamount to imputing that â€Å"God has created innumerable beings that are entirely useless, and serve to no manner of purpose† (Ibid 258). We know that this is an argument that Locke would have appreciated, because he himself uses Occam’s razor at many points in his own argument, for example, when he postulates that all experience is derived from only simple ideas. Berkeley is not saying, â€Å"Nothing exists.† The external world is indeed real, but as an idea in the mind of God, and maintained as such so that we are able to refer to an absolute fixity in nature. Existence is either as a spirit or as an idea. The spirit is that which perceives idea. Apart from our own existence we also perceive ideas. These too are said to have real existence. A table does not cease to exist just because we have left the room and there is none to observe it anymore. If it continues to exist, it must only be in some other mind, says Berkeley, and â€Å"consequently so long as they are not actually perceived by me, or do not exist in my mind or that of any other created spirit, they must either have no existence at all, or else subsist in the mind of some Eternal Spirit† (Ibid 255). As epistemology, Berkeley’s reasoning is irrefutable, except that it does not inspire active enquiry as does Locke’s. After a proper examination of the latter’s philosophy it will be found not to differ in essence from that of Berkeley, except in structure and the terminology used. But such a difference is not a minor one either. The distinction of primary ideas made by Locke found better expression in Kant, a century later, as the â€Å"synthetic a priori† ideas of the mind. The gist of Kant is that while practical reason does not deliver knowledge, it nevertheless presages the existence of â€Å"pure† reason, transcendent to practical reason, and the preserve of true knowledge. A further corollary to Kant’s philosophy is the categorical imperative, which stimulates action towards the moral path, which is the path dictated by pure reason, and also the road to true knowledge. It is easy to demonstrate that Locke’s postulate of a material sense perception is the counterpart to Kant’s postulate of practical reason. That such an idea does not deliver knowledge both Locke and Kant admit. But contained in the idea is the imperative to enquire and attain to true knowledge. This is what Locke means when he says: How short soever their knowledge may come of an universal or perfect comprehension of whatsoever is, it yet secures their great concernments, that they have light enough to lead them to the knowledge of their Maker, and the sight of their own duties. (27) This is the spirit of active enquiry that we find in Locke, but not in Berkeley. Indeed, the historical influence of Locke testifies to this claim completely. The German historian Oswald Spengler was not exaggerating when he said, â€Å"The Western Enlightenment is of English origin. The rationalism of the Continent comes wholly from Locke† (qtd. in Durant, 590). It is unfortunate, however, that Locke has come to be associated with materialism. Such a misunderstanding is due to a failure to comprehend fully the implications of his epistemology. This is why I favor Locke over Berkeley. Works Cited Bowie, G. Lee, Meredith W. Michaels and Robert C. Solomon. Twenty Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy. Wadsworth Publishing, 2006. Durant, Will and Ariel Durant. The Age of Louis XIV: A History of European Civilization in the Age of Pascal. New York: Simon and Schuster,1963. Locke, John. An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. Bibliobazaar LLC, 2006.

Personal Narrative - Suicide and the Death of My Father :: Personal Narrative Essay Example

The Death of My Father My father and I went hiking together just about every year since I was born. Some years it would be just the two of us, and some years my brother David would come too. When we first begin doing this, we used to stay in our own tent that we would carry upon our backs, but as my father got older, we gradually shifted from tents to staying in lean-tos, then log shelters, and finally to the comfort of the huts that the Appalachian Mountain Club runs on some of the ranges in the White Mountains. With these huts, you get to the top of a peak and find blankets and a hot meal waiting for you. My father and I left three days ago for our annual hike. On our second day, two days ago, we had had a long, but good, day. We had made it most of the way up Mount Lafayette on the edge of the beautiful Pemigwaset wilderness, and we pulled into the Appalachian Mountain Club hut there for a meal. We were enjoying our dinner together, and he was looked comfortable and content. Just before dessert was to be served, my father suddenly slumped forward in his seat and died. Halfway through our hike on the day that he died, I thought my father might have looked a little tired, and I suggested that perhaps we should turn around and take an easier route to a different hut, but he didn't want to. He said that he was doing fine and that besides, we had already made reservations at this particular hut. I said to him: "If something happens to you, do you want people to say `He kept on going because he didn't want to lose his hut reservation?" And he replied, "I think that if something happened, they'd say: `he did it because that's who he was.'" I can say that he died peacefully in a beautiful place and I can say that he probably died proud, not just proud of the determined recovery he had made from a car accident this past winter, but proud of living his life as he always had - making his own choices and choosing his own path. But these things will never be any real consolation to us for the 20 years more that my father should have been with us, sharing his unique mix of stubbornness, humor, wisdom, cynicism, and especially love - a love of life, a love of his family and a love of his community.

Ideas the Writer Conveys Through Silas Marner :: George Elliot Silas Marner Literature Essays

Ideas the Writer Conveys Through Silas Marner The writer of Silas Marner, George Elliot was born Mary Ann Evans in 1819 in Warwickshire. She had two older siblings, Christiana and Isaac who she got on especially well with. She also had two stepsiblings from her father's first marriage. She was a precocious child and was sent to boarding school with her sister where she suffered from homesickness and nightmares. At the age of nine she began being taught by a strict evangelical Maria Lewis who greatly influenced Evan's religious and moral beliefs. She had a very strong moral code. When Mary was sixteen her mother died, and her father, whom she was very close to, was left bringing her up. When her father died in 1849 she felt completely alone. Mary Ann Evans wrote under the pen name George Elliot because of her status (she was living with a married man) and she thought she wouldn't get published if she were known to be a women. She was a very intellectual woman and love and relationships were important to her. George Elliot wrote Silas Marner in 1861. It is a moral fable, not an autobiographical novel but it is influenced by parts of Elliot's life experience. For example, in the character Eppie, she has created someone who must live without a mother, as Elliot did from the age of sixteen. Elliot was highly inspired by the works of the poet William Wordsworth, and a quotation from his poem 'Michael', seems to be a kind of basis to the novel. In Silas Marner we are asked to take pity on a man who is outcasted by society. Silas is set up by his friend and wrongly accused of theft causing him to lose his faith in God and trust in people. Silas Marner was born and brought up in the large northern industrial town of Lantern Yard. The people living there are strictly religious and hard working. It is community based around a church. Silas Marner was a gentle young man with a pale face and "large brown protuberant eyes" and a "defenceless, deer-like gaze." His appearance makes him seem a very likeable and approachable character; he has "the expression of trusting simplicity". He is a very trusting man and honest man "Silas was both Sane and honest" and extremely hard working but he is also naÃÆ'Â ¯ve and vulnerable and his cataleptic fits make him even more vulnerable to criticism and accusations. His best friend William Dane, used in the story as a contract to Silas, on the other hand is arrogant and conceited. He has 'menacing' "narrow slanting eyes" and "compressed lips".

Coffee preparation Essay

1. Introduction 1. 1 fig Coffee  is a  brewed  beverage  with a distinct aroma and flavor, prepared from the roasted seeds of the  Coffea  plant. The seeds are found in coffee â€Å"cherries†, which grow on trees cultivated in  over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial  America, Southeast,  South Asia  and  Africa. Green (unroasted) coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Coffee is slightly acidic (pH 5. 0–5. 1) and can have a stimulating effect on humans because of its  caffeine  content. It is one of the most consumed drinks in the world. Wild coffee’s energizing effect was likely first discovered in the northeast region of Ethiopia. Coffee cultivation first took place in southern Arabia;[4]  the earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century in the Sufi  shrines of  Yemen. In East Africa and Yemen, coffee was used in native religious ceremonies that were in competition with the Christian Church. As a result, the  Ethiopian Church  banned its secular consumption until the reign of Emperor  Menelik II of Ethiopia. The beverage was also banned in  Ottoman  Turkey during the 17th century for political reasons  and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe. Coffee berries, which contain the coffee seeds, are produced by several species of small  evergreen  bush of the  genus  Coffea. The two most commonly grown are also the most highly regarded  Coffea arabica, and the â€Å"robusta† form of the hardier Coffea canephora. The latter is resistant to the devastating coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix). Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor, before being ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways. An important export commodity, coffee was the top agricultural export for  twelve countries  in 2004,  and it was the world’s seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value in 2005. Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Consequently,  organic coffee  is an expanding market. Many studies have examined the  health effects of coffee, and whether the overall effects of coffee consumption are positive or negative has been widely disputed. The method of brewing coffee has been found to be important in relation to its effects on health. For instance, preparing coffee in a  French press  leaves more oils in the drink compared with coffee prepared with a paper  coffee filter. This might raise the drinker’s level of â€Å"bad cholesterol. † Etymology The first reference to â€Å"coffee† in the English language is in the form  chaoua  and dates to 1598. In English and other European languages,  coffee  derives from the  Ottoman Turkish  kahve, via the Italian  caffe. The Turkish word in turn was borrowed from the  Arabic: ,  qahwah. Arab  lexicographers  maintain that  qahwah  originally referred to a type of  wine, and gave its  etymology, in turn, to the verb qaha, signifying â€Å"to have no appetite†,  since this beverage was thought to dull one’s hunger. Several alternative etymologies exist that hold that the Arab form may disguise a  loanword  from an Ethiopian or African source, suggesting  Kaffa, the highland in south western  Ethiopia  as one, since the plant is indigenous to that area. However, the term used in that region for the berry and plant is  bunn, the native name in  Shoa  being  bun. History Ethiopian ancestors of today’s  Oromo people  were believed to have been the first to recognize the energizing effect of the coffee plant,  though no direct evidence has been found indicating where in Africa coffee grew or who among the natives might have used it as a stimulant or even known about it, earlier than the 17th century. The story of  Kaldi, the 9th-century Ethiopian goatherder who discovered coffee, did not appear in writing until 1671 and is probably  apocryphal. Other accounts attribute the discovery of coffee to Sheik Omar. According to the ancient chronicle (preserved in the Abd-Al-Kadir manuscript), Omar, who was known for his ability to cure the sick through prayer, was once exiled from Mocha, Yemen to a desert cave near Ousab. Starving, Omar chewed berries from nearby shrubbery, but found them to be bitter. He tried roasting the seeds to improve the flavor, but they became hard. He then tried boiling them to soften the seed, which resulted in a fragrant brown liquid. Upon drinking the liquid Omar was revitalized and sustained for days. As stories of this â€Å"miracle drug† reached Mocha, Omar was asked to return and was made a saint. From Ethiopia, the beverage was introduced into the Arab world through Egypt and Yemen. The earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the 15th century, in the Sufi  monasteries around  Mokha  in Yemen. It was here in  Arabia  that coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed, in a similar way to how it is now prepared. By the 16th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East,  Persia,  Turkey, and  northern Africa. Coffee seeds were first exported from Ethiopia to Yemen. Yemeni traders brought coffee back to their homeland and began to cultivate the seed. The first coffee smuggled out of the Middle East was by  Sufi  Baba Budan  from  Yemen  to India in 1670. Before then, all exported coffee was boiled or otherwise sterilised. Portraits of Baba Budan depict him as having smuggled seven coffee seeds by strapping them to his chest. The first plants grown from these smuggled seeds were planted in  Mysore. Coffee then spread to Italy, and to the rest of Europe, to  Indonesia, and to the Americas. In 1583,  Leonhard Rauwolf, a German physician, gave this description of coffee after returning from a ten-year trip to the  Near East: A beverage as black as ink, useful against numerous  illnesses, particularly those of the stomach. Its consumers take it in the morning, quite frankly, in a porcelain cup that is passed around and from which each one drinks a cupful. It is composed of water and the fruit from a bush called bunnu. —Leonard Rauwolf,  Reise in die Morgenlander  (in German). From the  Middle East, coffee spread to Italy. The thriving trade between  Venice  and North Africa, Egypt, and the Middle East brought many goods, including coffee, to the Venetian port. From Venice, it was introduced to the rest of Europe. Coffee became more widely accepted after it was deemed a Christian beverage by  Pope Clement VIII  in 1600, despite appeals to ban the â€Å"Muslim drink. † The first European coffee house opened in Italy in 1645. The  Dutch East India Company  was the first to import coffee on a large scale. The Dutch later grew the crop in  Java  and  Ceylon. The first exports of  Indonesian coffee  from  Java  to the Netherlands occurred in 1711. Through the efforts of the  British East India Company, coffee became popular in England as well. Oxford’s  Queen’s Lane Coffee House, established in 1654, is still in existence today. Coffee was introduced in France in 1657 and in Austria and Poland after the 1683  Battle of Vienna, when coffee was captured from supplies of the defeated  Turks. When coffee reached North America during the Colonial period, it was initially not as successful as it had been in Europe as alcoholic beverages remained more popular. During the  Revolutionary War, the demand for coffee increased so much that dealers had to hoard their scarce supplies and raise prices dramatically; this was also due to the reduced availability of tea from British merchants. After the  War of 1812, during which Britain temporarily cut off access to  tea  imports, the Americans’ taste for coffee grew, and high demand during the  American Civil War  together with advances in brewing technology secured the position of coffee as an everyday commodity in the United States. Coffee consumption declined in England, giving way to tea during the 18th century. The latter beverage was simpler to make, and had become cheaper with the British conquest of India and the tea industry there. During the  Age of Sail,  seamen  aboard ships of the British  Royal Navy  made substitute coffee by dissolving burnt bread in hot water. The Frenchman  Gabriel de Clieu  brought a coffee plant to the French territory of  Martinique  in the Caribbean, from which much of the world’s cultivated Arabica coffee is descended. Coffee thrived in the climate and was conveyed across the Americas. The territory of San Domingo (now  Haiti) saw coffee cultivated from 1734, and by 1788 it supplied half the world’s coffee. The conditions that the slaves worked in on coffee plantations were a factor in the soon to follow  Haitian Revolution. The coffee industry never fully recovered there. Meanwhile, coffee had been  introduced to Brazil  in 1727, although its cultivation did not gather momentum until independence in 1822. After this time, massive tracts of rainforest were cleared first from the vicinity of Rio and later Sao Paulo for coffee plantations. Cultivation was taken up by many countries in Central America in the latter half of the 19th century, and almost all involved the large-scale displacement and exploitation of the indigenous people. Harsh conditions led to many uprisings, coups and bloody suppression of peasants. The notable exception was  Costa Rica, where lack of ready labor prevented the formation of large farms. Smaller farms and more egalitarian conditions ameliorated unrest over the 19th and 20th centuries. Coffee has become a vital  cash crop  for many  developing  countries. Over one hundred million people in  developing countries  have become dependent on coffee as their primary source of income. It has become the primary export and backbone for African countries like Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Ethiopia,  as well as many Central American countries. World production In 2011  Brazil  was the world leader in production of green coffee, followed by  Vietnam,  Indonesia  and  Colombia. Arabica coffee seeds are cultivated in  Latin America,  eastern Africa, Arabia, or Asia. Robusta coffee seeds are grown in western and  central Africa, throughout  Southeast Asia, and to some extent in Brazil. Seeds from different countries or regions can usually be distinguished by differences in flavor, aroma,  body, and acidity. These taste characteristics are dependent not only on the coffee’s growing region, but also on genetic subspecies (varietals) and processing. Varietals are generally known by the region in which they are grown, such as  Colombian,  Java and  Kona. 2011 Top twenty green coffee producers| Rank| Country| Tonnes| Bags x1000| 1|   Brazil| 2,609,040| 43,484| 2|   Vietnam| 1,200,000| 20,000| 3|   Indonesia| 495,000| 8,250| 4|   Colombia| 468,000| 7,800| 5|   Ethiopia| 390,000| 6,500|. 6|   Peru| 326,580| 5,443| 7|   India| 319,980| 5,333| 8|   Honduras| 270,000| 4,500| 9|   Mexico| 258,000| 4,300| 10|   Guatemala| 225,000| 3,750| 11|   Uganda| 192,720| 3,212| 12|   Nicaragua| 126,000| 2,100| 13|   Costa Rica| 107,940| 1,799| 14|   Ivory Coast| 96,000| 1,600| 15|   Papua New Guinea| 84,900| 1,415| 16|   El Salvador| 70,500| 1,175| 17|   Cambodia| 64,980| 1,083| 18|   Ecuador| 64,500| 1,075| 19|   Democratic Republic of the Congo| 63,360| 1,056| 20|   Venezuela| 60,000| 1,000| Total|   Ã‚  World| 7,875,180| 131,253| 1. 1 (table) Biology 1. 2 fig (Illustration of  Coffea arabica  plant and seeds). Several species of shrub of the genus  Coffea  produce the berries from which coffee is extracted. The two main species commercially cultivated are  Coffea canephora  (predominantly a form known as ‘robusta’) andC. arabica. C. arabica, the most highly regarded species, is native to the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and the  Boma Plateau  in southeastern Sudan and possibly  Mount Marsabit  in northern  Kenya. C. canephora  is native to western and central Subsaharan Africa, from  Guinea  to the  Uganda  and southern Sudan. Less popular species are  C. liberica,  excelsa,  stenophylla,  mauritiana, and  racemosa. All coffee plants are classified in the large family  Rubiaceae. They are  evergreen  shrubs or small trees that may grow 5  m (15  ft) tall when unpruned. The leaves are dark green and glossy, usually 10–15  cm (4–6  in) long and 6  cm (2. 4  in) wide. The flowers are axillary, and clusters of fragrant white flowers bloom simultaneously and are followed by oval berries of about 1. 5  cm (0. 6  in). Green when immature, they ripen to yellow, then crimson, before turning black on drying. Each berry usually contains two seeds, but 5–10% of the berries  have only one; these are called  peaberries. Berries ripen in seven to nine months. Coffea arabica  is predominantly self-pollinating, and as a result the seedlings are generally uniform and vary little from their parents. In contrast,  Coffea canephora,  C. excelsa, and  C. liberica  are self-incompatible and require  outcrossing. This means that useful forms and hybrids must be propagated vegetatively. Cuttings, grafting, and budding are the usual methods of vegetative propagation. On the other hand, there is great scope for experimentation in search of potential new strains. 2. Coffee Production Processing Coffee berries and their seeds undergo several processes before they become the familiar roasted coffee. Berries have been traditionally selectively picked by hand; a labor intensive method, it involves the selection of only the berries at the peak of ripeness. More commonly, crops are strip picked, where all berries are harvested simultaneously regardless of ripeness by person or machine. After picking, green coffee is processed by one of two methods—the dry process method, simpler and less labor intensive as the berries can be strip picked, and the wet process method, which incorporates fermentation into the process and yields a mild coffee. 2. 1 fig -Coffee sorting in Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). 2. 2 fig – Coffee berries from Kerala, India Then they are sorted by ripeness and color and most often the flesh of the berry is removed, usually by machine, and the seeds are fermented to remove the slimy layer of mucilage still present on the seed. When the fermentation is finished, the seeds are washed with large quantities of fresh water to remove the fermentation residue, which generates massive amounts of coffee wastewater. Finally, the seeds are dried. The best (but least used) method of drying coffee is using drying tables. In this method, the pulped and fermented coffee is spread thinly on raised beds, which allows the air to pass on all sides of the coffee, and then the coffee is mixed by hand. In this method the drying that takes place is more uniform, and fermentation is less likely. Most African coffee is dried in this manner and certain coffee farms around the world are starting to use this traditional method. Next, the coffee is sorted, and labeled as green coffee. Another way to let the coffee seeds dry is to let them sit on a concrete patio and rake over them in the sunlight. Some companies use cylinders to pump in heated air to dry the coffee seeds, though this is generally in places where the humidity is very high. Some coffee undergoes a peculiar process, such as kopi luwak. It is made from the seeds of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet and other related civets, passing through its digestive tract. This process resulted in coffee seeds with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world with prices reaching $160 per pound. Roasting 2. 3 fig – Roasted coffee seeds The next step in the process is the roasting of the green coffee. Coffee is usually sold in a roasted state, and with rare exceptions all coffee is roasted before it is consumed. It can be sold roasted by the supplier, or it can be home roasted. The roasting process influences the taste of the beverage by changing the coffee seed both physically and chemically. The seed decreases in weight as moisture is lost and increases in volume, causing it to become less dense. The density of the seed also influences the strength of the coffee and requirements for packaging. The actual roasting begins when the temperature inside the seed reaches approximately 200  °C (392  °F), though different varieties of seeds differ in moisture and density and therefore roast at different rates. During roasting, caramelization occurs as intense heat breaks down starches, changing them to simple sugars that begin to brown, which alters the color of the seed. 2. 4 fig – The appearance of unroasted, green coffee seeds. Sucrose is rapidly lost during the roasting process and may disappear entirely in darker roasts. During roasting, aromatic oils and acids weaken, changing the flavor; at 205  °C (401  °F), other oils start to develop. One of these oils, caffeol, is created at about 200  °C (392  °F), which is largely responsible for coffee’s aroma and flavor. Grading the roasted seeds. Depending on the color of the roasted seeds as perceived by the human eye, they will be labeled as light, medium light, medium, medium dark, dark, or very dark. A more accurate method of discerning the degree of roast involves measuring the reflected light from roasted seeds illuminated with a light source in the near infrared spectrum. This elaborate light meter uses a process known as spectroscopy to return a number that consistently indicates the roasted coffee’s relative degree of roast or flavor development. Roast characteristics The degree of roast has an effect upon coffee flavor and body. Darker roasts are generally bolder because they have less fiber content and a more sugary flavor. Lighter roasts have a more complex and therefore perceived stronger flavor from aromatic oils and acids otherwise destroyed by longer roasting times. A small amount of chaff is produced during roasting from the skin left on the seed after processing. Chaff is usually removed from the seeds by air movement, though a small amount is added to dark roast coffees to soak up oils on the seeds. Decaffeination Decaffeination may also be part of the processing that coffee seeds undergo. Seeds are decaffeinated when they are still green. Many methods can remove caffeine from coffee, but all involve soaking the green seeds in hot water (often called the â€Å"Swiss water process†) or steaming them, then using a solvent to dissolve caffeine-containing oils. Decaffeination is often done by processing companies, and the extracted caffeine is usually sold to the pharmaceutical industry. Storage Once roasted, coffee seeds must be stored properly to preserve the fresh taste of the seed. Ideally, the container must be airtight and kept in a cool, dry and dark place. In order of importance: air, moisture, heat, and light are the environmental factors responsible for deteriorating flavor in coffee seeds. Folded-over bags, a common way consumers often purchase coffee, are generally not ideal for long-term storage because they allow air to enter. A better package contains a one-way valve, which prevents air from entering. In 1931, a method of vacuum packed cans of coffee was introduced, in which the roasted coffee was packed, 99% of the air was removed and the coffee in the can could be stored indefinitely until the can was opened. Today this method is in mass use for coffee in a large part of the world. Brewing 2. 5 fig – Espresso brewing, showing desirable dark reddish-brown crema Coffee seeds must be ground and brewed to create a beverage. The criteria for choosing a method include flavor and economy. Almost all methods of preparing coffee require the seeds to be ground and mixed with hot water long enough to extract the flavor, but without over extraction that draws out bitter compounds. The spent grounds are removed and the liquid is consumed. There are many brewing variations such as the fineness of grind, the ways in which the water extracts the flavor, additional flavorings (sugar, milk, spices), and spent ground separation techniques. The ideal holding temperature is 79 to 85  °C (174 to 185  °F) and the ideal serving temperature is 68 to 79  °C (154 to 174  °F). The roasted coffee seeds may be ground at a roastery, in a grocery store, or in the home. Most coffee is roasted and ground at a roastery and sold in packaged form, though roasted coffee seeds can be ground at home immediately before consumption. It is also possible, though uncommon; to roast raw seeds at home. Coffee seeds may be ground in several ways. A burr grinder uses revolving elements to shear the seed; a blade grinder cuts the seeds with blades moving at high speed; and a mortar and pestle crushes the seeds. For most brewing methods, a burr grinder is deemed superior because the grind is more even and the grind size can be adjusted. 2. 6 fig – (An Ethiopian woman preparing coffee at a traditional ceremony. She roasts, crushes and brews the coffee on the spot. ) The type of grind is often named after the brewing method for which it is generally used. Turkish grind is the finest grind, while coffee percolator or French press are the coarsest grinds. The most common grinds are between the extremes; a medium grind is used in most common home coffee-brewing machines. Coffee may be brewed by several methods: boiled, steeped, or pressurized. Brewing coffee by boiling was the earliest method, and Turkish coffee is an example of this method. It is prepared by grinding or pounding the seeds to a fine powder, then adding it to water and bringing it to the boil for no more than an instant in a pot called a cezve or, in Greek, a briki. This produces a strong coffee with a layer of foam on the surface and sediment (which is not meant for drinking) settling on the bottom of the cup. Coffee percolators and automatic coffeemakers brew coffee using gravity. In an automatic coffeemaker hot water drips onto coffee grounds held in a coffee filter made of paper, plastic, or perforated metal, allowing the water to seep through the ground coffee while extracting its oils and essences. The liquid drips through the coffee and the filter into a carafe or pot, and the spent grounds are retained in the filter. In a percolator, boiling water is forced into a chamber above a filter by steam pressure created by boiling. The water then seeps through the grounds, and the process is repeated until terminated by removing from the heat, by an internal timer, or by a thermostat that turns off the heater when the entire pot reaches a certain temperature. Coffee may be brewed by steeping in a device such as a French press (also known as a cafetiere, coffee press or coffee plunger). Ground coffee and hot water are combined in a cylindrical vessel and left to brew for a few minutes. A circular filter which fits tightly in the cylinder fixed to a plunger is then pushed down from the top to force the grounds to the bottom. Because the coffee grounds are in direct contact with the water, all the coffee oils remain in the beverage, making it stronger and leaving more sediment than in coffee made by an automatic coffee machine. The coffee is poured from the container; the filter retains the grounds at the bottom. 95% of the caffeine is released from the coffee seeds within the first minute of brewing. The espresso method forces hot pressurized and vaporized water through ground coffee. As a result of brewing under high pressure (ideally between 9–10 atm), the espresso beverage is more concentrated (as much as 10 to 15 times the quantity of coffee to water as gravity-brewing methods can produce) and has a more complex physical and chemical constitution. A well-prepared espresso has reddish-brown foam called crema that floats on the surface. Other pressurized water methods include the moka pot and vacuum coffee maker. Cold brew coffee is made by steeping coarsely ground seeds in cold water for several hours, then filtering them. [85] This results in a brew lower in acidity than most hot-brewing methods. Serving 2. 7 fig Presentation can be an integral part of coffeehouse service, as illustrated by the common rosetta design layered into this latte. Once brewed, coffee may be served in a variety of ways. Drip-brewed, percolated, or French-pressed/cafetiere coffee may be served as white coffee with a dairy product such as milk or cream, or dairy substitute, or as black coffee with no such addition. It may be sweetened with sugar or artificial sweetener. When served cold, it is called iced coffee. Espresso-based coffee has a wide variety of possible presentations. In its most basic form, espresso is served alone as a shot or with hot water added, known as Caffe Americano. Reversely, long black is made by pouring espresso in water, which retains the crema compared to Caffe Americano. Milk is added in various forms to espresso: steamed milk makes a caffe latte, equal parts steamed milk and milk froth make a cappuccino,[86] and a dollop of hot foamed milk on top creates a caffe macchiato. The use of steamed milk to form patterns such as hearts or maple leaves is referred to as latte art. Coffee can also be incorporated with alcohol in beverages—it is combined with whiskey in Irish coffee, and forms the base of alcoholic coffee liqueurs such as Kahlua, and Tia Maria. Coffee is also sometimes used in the brewing process of darker beers, such as a stout or porter. Instant coffee A number of products are sold for the convenience of consumers who do not want to prepare their own coffee. Instant coffee is dried into soluble powder or freeze-dried into granules that can be quickly dissolved in hot water. Originally invented in 1907, it rapidly gained in popularity in many countries in the post-war period, with Nescafe being the most popular product. Many consumers determined that the convenience in preparing a cup of instant coffee more than made up for a perceived inferior taste. Paralleling (and complementing) the rapid rise of instant coffee was the coffee vending machine, invented in 1947 and multiplying rapidly through the 1950s. Canned coffee has been popular in Asian countries for many years, particularly in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Vending machines typically sell varieties of flavored canned coffee, much like brewed or percolated coffee, available both hot and cold. Japanese convenience stores and groceries also have a wide availability of bottled coffee drinks, which are typically lightly sweetened and pre-blended with milk. Bottled coffee drinks are also consumed in the United States. Liquid coffee concentrates are sometimes used in large institutional situations where coffee needs to be produced for thousands of people at the same time. It is described as having a flavor about as good as low-grade robusta coffee, and costs about 10? a cup to produce. The machines can process up to 500 cups an hour or 1,000 if the water is preheated. 3. Coffee beans A coffee bean is a seed of the coffee plant. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a cherry. Even though they are seeds, they are incorrectly referred to as ‘beans’ because of their resemblance to true beans. The fruits – coffee cherries or coffee berries – most commonly contain two stones with their flat sides together. A small percentage of cherries contain a single seed, instead of the usual two. This is called a peaberry. Like Brazil nuts (a seed) and white rice, coffee seeds consist mostly of endosperm. The two most economically important varieties of coffee plant are the Arabica and the Robusta; 75-80% of the coffee produced worldwide is Arabica and 20% is Robusta. Arabica seeds consist of 0. 8-1. 4% caffeine and Robusta seeds consist of 1. 7-4% caffeine. As coffee is one of the world’s most widely consumed beverages, coffee seeds are a major cash crop, and an important export product, counting for over 50% of some developing nations’ foreign exchange earnings. The United States imports more coffee than any other nation. In 2009 the average person in the United States consumed 4. 09 kg (9 lbs) of coffee. Cultivation of the coffee seed originated in Ethiopia, in approximately 850 C. E. Farming of the coffee plant then spread to the rest of Arabia, where it was first mentioned in writing around 900 C. E. The Yemenites guarded it carefully, but some plants were eventually smuggled out to the Dutch, who kept a few plants for gardens in the Netherlands. The Americas were first introduced to the plants around 1723. South America is now responsible for approximately 45% of the world’s total coffee exports. Most of this coffee is made in Brazil. Significant dates * First cultivation in Europe (also first cultivation outside of east Africa/Arabia) – 1616 * First cultivation in India (Malabar) – late 1600s * First cultivation in Java – 1699 * First cultivation in Caribbean (Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico) – 1715–1730 * First cultivation in South America – 1730. * First cultivation in Dutch East Indies – 1720 * Roasted seeds first sold on retail market (Pittsburgh) – 1865 * Important spray-drying techniques developed in 1950s Coffee plant The coffee tree averages from 5–10 m (16–33 ft) in height. As the tree gets older, it branches less and less and bears more leaves and fruit. The tree typically begins to bear fruit 3–4 years after being planted, and continues to produce for 10–20 more years, depending on the type of plant and the area. Coffee plants are grown in rows several feet apart. Some farmers plant fruit trees around them or plant the coffee on the sides of hills, because they need specific conditions to flourish. Ideally, Arabica coffee seeds are grown at temperatures between 15–24  °C (59–75  °F) and Robusta at 24–30  °C (75–86  °F) and receive between 15–30 cm (5. 9–12 in) of rainfall per year. Heavy rain is needed in the beginning of the season when the fruit is developing, and less late in the season as it ripens. The harvesting period can be anywhere from three weeks to three months, and in some places the harvesting period continues all year round. Content of green coffee seeds The term â€Å"green coffee seed† refers to unroasted mature or immature coffee seeds. These have been processed by wet or dry methods for removing the outer pulp and mucilage, and have an intact wax layer on the outer surface. When immature, they are green. When mature, they have a brown to yellow or reddish color, and typically weigh 300 to 330 mg per dried coffee seed. Nonvolatile and volatile compounds in green coffee seeds, such as caffeine, deter many insects and animals from eating them. Further, both nonvolatile and volatile compounds contribute to the flavor of the coffee seed when it is roasted. Nonvolatile nitrogenous compounds (including alkaloids, trigonelline, proteins and free amino acids) and carbohydrates are of major importance in producing the full aroma of roasted coffee, and for its biological action. * Nonvolatile alkaloids 3. 1 fig – Coffea canephora green seeds on a tree in Goa, India. Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethyl-xanthine) is the alkaloid most present in green and roasted coffee seeds. The content of caffeine is between 1. 0% and 2. 5% by weight of dry green coffee seeds. The content of caffeine does not change during maturation of green coffee seeds. Lower concentrations of theophylline, theobromine, paraxanthine, liberine, and methylliberine can be found. The concentration of theophylline, an alkaloid noted for its presence in green tea, is reduced during the roasting process, usually about 15 minutes at 230  °C (446  °F), whereas the concentration of most other alkaloids are not changed. The solubility of caffeine in water increases with temperature and with the addition of chlorogenic acids, citric acid, or tartaric acid, all of which are present in green coffee seeds. For example, 1 g (0. 035 oz) caffeine dissolves in 46 ml (1. 6 US fl oz) of water at room temperature, and 5. 5 ml (0. 19 US fl oz) at 80  °C (176  °F). The xanthine alkaloids are odorless, but have a bitter taste in water, which is masked by organic acids present in green coffee, however. Trigonelline (N-methyl-nicotinate) is a derivative of vitamin B6 that is not as bitter as caffeine. In green coffee seeds, the content is between 0. 6% and 1. 0%. At a roasting temperature of 230  °C (446  °F), 85% of the trigonelline is degraded to nicotinic acid, leaving small amounts of the unchanged molecule in the roasted seeds. In green coffee seeds, trigonelline is synthesized from nicotinic acid (pyridinium-3-carboxylic acid) by methylation from methionine, a sulfur-containing amino acid. Mutagenic activity of trigonelline has been reported.