Astronomers Peer Deep into Blobs in Space

Out in the depths of space, theres a blob that astronomers have been anxious to explain. It wasnt immediately obvious to them why it shined as brightly as it did. The blob (and it really is a blob) is called SSA22-Lyman-alpha-blob and it lies some 11.5 billion years away from us. That means that it looks to us now as it did some 11.5 billion years ago. SSA22-LAB appears to have two giant galaxies at its heart that are bursting with star formation activity. The whole region where this object and its galaxies lies is swarming with smaller galaxies. Clearly, something is going on there, but what?   VLT and ALMA to the Rescue This rare Lyman-alpha Blob is not exactly visible to the naked eye. Thats largely due to distance, but also because the light its emitting is visible to us here on Earth in infrared wavelengths and also in radio frequencies. The name Lyman-alpha-blob tells astronomers that the object originally radiated its light in ultraviolet wavelengths. However, due to the expansion of space, the light is shifted so that its visible in infrared. Its one of the largest of these LABs to be observed. So, astronomers used the European Southern Observatorys  Very Large Telescope Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer to dissect the incoming light for study. They then combined that information with data from the Atacama Large-Millimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. Together, these two observatories allowed astronomers to peek into the heart of the action at the distant blob in space. Deep imaging with the Hubble Space Telescopes Imaging Spectrograph and the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii also helped them refine the view of the blob. The result is an amazingly beautiful view of a blob that existed in the distant past but is still telling us its story today. Whats Happening at SSA22-LAB? It turns out that this blob is one very interesting result of galaxy interactions,  which create ever-larger galaxies. Furthermore, the two embedded galaxies are surrounded by clouds of hydrogen gas. At the same time, they are both cranking out hot young stars at a furious rate. Baby stars emit a lot of ultraviolet light, and that lights up the surrounding clouds. Its like looking at a streetlight on a foggy night — the light from the lamp scatters off the water drops in the fog and it makes a kind of foggy glow around the light. In this case, the light from the stars is scattering off the hydrogen molecules and creating the lyman-alpha blob. Why Is This Discovery so Important? Distant galaxies are extremely interesting to study. In fact, the more distant they are, the more fascinating they get. Thats because very distant galaxies are also very early galaxies. We see them as they were as they were infants. The birth and evolution of galaxies is one of the hottest areas of study in astronomy these days. Astronomers know that it proceeds as smaller galaxies merge together with larger ones. They see galaxy mergers at nearly every part of cosmic history, but the beginnings of those mergers started back 11 to 13 billion years ago. However, the details of all mergers are still being studied, and the results (such as this lovely blob) are often quite a surprise to them. If scientists can get a handle on how galaxies form through collisions and cannibalization, they can understand how these processes worked in the early universe. Whats more, from observing other, newer galaxies that have been through the same process that this LAB galaxy is experiencing, they know that it will result in a giant elliptical galaxy. Along the way, it will collide with more galaxies. Each time, the galaxy interaction will force the creation of countless hot, young massive stars.  These starburst galaxies show prodigious rates of star formation. And, as they evolve and die, they will also change their galaxy — seeding it with more elements and the seeds of future stars and planets. In a sense, looking at SSA22-Lyman-alpha-blog is like looking at the process our own galaxy might have experienced early in its formation. However, the Milky Way didnt end up as an elliptical galaxy in the heart of a cluster as this one will do. Instead, it became a spiral galaxy, home to trillions of stars and many planets. ​In the future, it will merge again, this time with the Andromeda Galaxy. And, when it does that, the combined galaxies will indeed form an elliptical. So, the study of SSA22-LAB is a very important step in understanding the origin and evolution of all galaxies.

The Three Theban Plays by Sophocles - 882 Words

Even though pride can be a good thing at times, it is hurtful, it is an emotion that can make or break someone. â€Å"Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.† (Manimtim-Proverbs 13:10). In Sophocles, The Three Theban Plays translated by Robert Fagles, advice is one thing both Creon and Oedipus did not want to hear from people. A wise man will make mistake, take advice and learn, but a fool will not, they will let their pride get in the way. When I think of Creon and Oedipus, I think of them as fools; even though they both become king, they still lost something in the end due to their arrogance and excessive pride. Pride can be both negative and positive; when Pride takes over someone’s life, that person†¦show more content†¦Pride is not always a bad thing to have, but it is bad when it is exaggerated which may cause conflict. In this case, Creon’s pride cause a lot of problems, he looked down on others as if they were not human beings like him. In Antigone, Creon refused to let his son be with the woman he loved, his wife Antigone, because according to his judgment, she was not good enough for his son. Creon’s words about his son’s wife were â€Å"A worthless woman for my son? It repels me.† (Antigone- Line 644), which was very prejudice of him. Creon wanted Antigone dead just so that he could break them apart. When Creon realized that his pride was hurting everyone, even the ones close to him, it was already too late for him to do anything about it. Creon’s son and wife were already dead all thanks to him; if he had checked his pride at the door in the first place and supported his son, the son would have been alive and so could have been his wife. Creon thought that being a powerful king meant he could control everyone’s lives, but that was not the case. A king is supposed to be a leader, a role model to those who adore him, but Creon was far f rom being a role model or leader to those who worshipped him. So he ended up losing the people that mattered to him the most; Excessive pride kills. Same goes with Oedipus, he was so into his himself and had so much pride that he was not realizing that it would hurt him in the long run. OedipusShow MoreRelatedAristotle s The Oresteia And Sophocles The Three Theban Plays1342 Words   |  6 PagesThe tragic self which appears in Aeschylus’s The Oresteia and Sophocles’ The Three Theban Plays, is a self which is caught between the choice of two evils and between following natural and civic laws. However, the philosophical self in Aristotle’s The Nicomachean Ethics focuses on choice as well, but the choice of the highest good such that the fundamental aim of the self is happiness and to become rational human beings. The topic of choice also relates to the discourse between fate and free willRead MoreSophocles Antigone : The Third Of The Three Theban Tragic Plays1106 Words   |  5 PagesSophocles’s play, Antigone is the third of the three Theban tragic plays and was written around 440 B.C. and is still well known today. Sophocles s play Antigone tells a tragic story about family honor and a sister’s love for her brothers. After Antigone’s two brothers, Polynices and Eteocles died in battle, Creon became the new leader of Thebes. Creon orders that Eteocles have a proper burial while Polynices’s body remain unburied, simply left to rot. Antigone refuses to let her brother’s bodyRead More Comparing Creons Metamorphosis in Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus1114 Words   |  5 Pageseasier to give in to. Before realizing it, this person has changed into a completely false, morally lacking being. Over the course of Sophocles three plays Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus, Creon gradually changes from a moral, just king into a morally corrupt and deceptive character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the opening of the first Theban play, Oedipus the King, Creon is a neutral character. He informs Oedipus that the city of Thebes is suffering from a great sickness, and heRead MoreThe Role Of The Gods In Oedipus The King By Sophocles1117 Words   |  5 Pageshave his or her life micromanaged for them. In the world-renowned Ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, by the famous playwright Sophocles, that is exactly what the gods do by controlling all aspects of the Thebans’ lives. The gods in this Ancient Greek tragedy are tyrants in that they determine one’s fate with no terrestrial hope of changing it and command the Thebans to find the killer of Laius or face a crippling plague. One of the main themes of this Greek tragedy is that no one can change hisRead MoreThe True Tragic Hero of Antigone879 Words   |  4 Pagesqualities. Although the character reaches a level of insight, a tragic flaw, such as hamartia, leads to their failure in the end. A perfect example of this can be found in Sophocles’ trilogy, The Theban Plays which follows the struggling city of Thebes and the efforts of its rulers to escape their misfortune. Antigone, the third play is an excellent example of this. As the title is Antigone, one would assume that she is the tragic hero, or heroine, but this is not the case. In the tragedy Antigone,Read MoreThe Conflict Of Sophocles Antigone1500 Words   |  6 PagesSophocles’ Antigone centers around a familial feud that develops between Antigone and Creon when Antigone decides to bury her brother and Creon’s niece, Polyneices. While Antigone believes that it is her religious and familial duty to bury her brother, Creon ob jects, citing the Theban civil war which took place right before the events of the play. Adhering to Greek literary tradition, Sophocles ultimately seeks not just to entertain the audience but also to teach a moral lesson, in this case aboutRead MoreAntigone : The Foreign Policies Of George Bush s Administration1045 Words   |  5 Pages Seamus Heaney’s adaptation of Sophocles Antigone takes inspiration from the foreign policies of George Bush’s administration, (McElroy. S, 2007 NYT). This is most notably seen through the character Creon and how he dictates to the people. Sophocles version of Antigone was written at a time shortly before Sophocles became one of ten generals that led a military expedition against Samos. I am going to be looking at the scene in which Creon and Haemon argue over Antigone and ultimately part on badRead More The Tragic Hero: Creon or Antigone? Essay1293 Words   |  6 Pagesboth be thought of as the tragic hero of the play. Though Antigone does show some of these characteristics of a tragic hero, Creon demonstrates the attributes more clearly and concisely. Creon is the King of Thebes, as well as the uncle of Antigone. Creon took the throne after a tragic quarrel between his two nephews, Eteocles and Polyneices. Despite his harsh governing and his crude ideals, he is not go od or bad. Creon is the tragic hero of the play Antigone, because of his superiority in his societyRead More Growing Up With Greek Literature Essay1456 Words   |  6 Pageshas always fascinated me. When I was younger, the Greek God’s always captured my interest, and I could never get enough of them. As I grew older, I became interested in the more refined aspects that Greek literature had to offer. Sophocles and The Three Theban Plays in particular, left me awestruck. I quickly began to realize that many of the new and inventive books and movies I had seen, had actually been written in one form or another, generations ago. I suppose my interest was first piquedRead MoreOedipus Reaction Paper639 Words   |  3 PagesWorld Literature Oedipus the King, also known by the  as Oedipus Rex, is an   tragedy  written by  Sophocles.  It was the second of Sophocles s  three Theban plays  to be produced, together with Oedipus at Colonus  and then  Antigone.  Oedipus Rex  chronicles the story of  Oedipus, a man who becomes the king of Thebes who was destined from birth to murder his father  Laius  and marry his mother  Jocasta. The play is an example of a classic tragedy, noticeably containing an emphasis on how Oedipus s own faults

Computing Strategies in Monopolistic Competition

Question: Discuss about the Computing Strategies in Monopolistic Competition. Answer: Introduction: Substitutes for each other. The typical characteristics of the market are product differentiation. Monopolistic market structure is the market structure that combines typical characteristics of monopoly and perfect competition. With monopolistic competition, there is free entry of firms to the market. Due to product differentiation, each firm behaves like a monopolist at its slender segment of an aggregate market of close substitutes. Each firm faces a downward sloping demand curve and it also has the power to influence the price for its commodity. Each firm seeks to maximize profits so it chooses its output in such a way that marginal cost is equal to marginal revenue. The first order condition of profit maximization under monopolistic competition is similar to that of under monopoly market: MR = MC. The only difference is that marginal revenue (MR) relies on the residual demand curve rather than market demand. On the other hand, residual demand is the demand for the commodity of a separate firm. In other words, it is aggregate market demand net of productivity of other monopolistic opponents (Roberts, 2014). Monopolistic competition indicates the economic market model, where there are several sellers, who are selling differentiated goods however; these goods are not identical. Under this market structure, the demand curve is elastic as the differentiated that are sold by the firms are close substitutes. As a result, if one firm increases the price of its product, most of its customers will switch to commodities that are manufactured by other firms. The elasticity of demand makes it identical to pure competition where elasticity is perfect. As a monopolistic competitor has fewer rivals as compared to perfect competition, the demand curve is not perfectly elastic (Zhelobodko et al., 2012). The suppliers in the monopolistically competitive markets are mostly price makers. The graph shows that the firm will produce the quantity at Q where marginal cost will be equal to marginal revenue. The price is set under this market structure based on where Q drops on the average revenue curve. The firm produces less and charges more, as they would do under perfect competition. This is mostly because; a monopolistically firm has market power. This in turn leads to deadweight loss for society. The green shaded area represents the profit of the firm made in the short term (Bertoletti Etro, 2015). In the long run, a firm mostly produce the amount of products where the long run marginal cost curve intersects with the marginal revenue. Although, a monopolistically competitive market makes profit in the short-run, the influence of its monopoly-like pricing leads to fall in demand in the long-run. The rise in cost and decrease in demand leads to tangency of the long-run average cost curve to the demand curve at the profit maximizing price of the commodity (Feenstra, 2016) The graph shows movement of a monopolistically competitive firm to long-run equilibrium. If firms are earning positive economic profits in a monopolistically competitive firm, other firms will get an inducement to enter the market. As a result, the share of each firm of the overall market demand becomes smaller and smaller. In other words, the demand curve facing a monopolistically competitive market shifts to the left. This procedure sustain until all the remaining firms in the market break even. Hence, outside firms will no longer have an inducement to enter the market (Balistreri Rutherford, 2013). In terms of economic efficiency, a firm that is in a monopolistically competitive industry behaves similarly as monopolistic firms. In a monopolistically competitive market, firms are mostly considered as a price maker that is, they are allowed to unilaterally alter or charge whatever they desire for their products without being influenced by market forces. The price is generally set where the profit maximizing level of production falls on the demand curve. This price also exceeds the marginal cost of the firm. As a result, customers will have to pay a price higher than they would pay in a perfectly competitive market. This in turn leads to significant drop in consumer surplus. On the other hand, producers will produce less of their products as compared to the quantity they would produce under perfectly competitive market. This will in turn offset the profits that they would gain from charging a higher price. This will in turn lead to fall in producer surplus (Nikaido, 2015). The diagram shows that monopolistic competition generates deadweight loss as well as inefficiency that is represented by the orange triangle. Productive efficiency mostly takes place when a firm makes use of all resources in an effectual way. This takes place when a price of a commodity is set at its marginal cost that equals the average total cost of the commodity. On the other hand, in a monopolistic competitive market, a firm always set the price in excess of its marginal cost. This in turn leads to inefficiency in the market. The quantity is produced when green and blue lines intersect. Similarly, allocative efficiency takes place when a commodity is produced at a level that maximizes social wellbeing. This takes place when the price of a commodity is equal to its marginal benefits that are also equivalent to its marginal costs. However, as price of a commodity in a monopolistically competitive market is greater than its marginal cost, the market can never be allocative efficient (Assenza et al., 2015). Industry where monopolistic competition prevails An industry where monopolistic competition prevails is that of a restaurant industry. Restaurants are mostly considered as a monopolistically competitive market and there are different restaurants in different sectors with no barriers to entry and exit. Every restaurant has close substitutes that mainly includes fast-food outlets as well as frozen-food sectors at local supermarkets (Erku?-ztrk Terhorst, 2016). Profit maximization: It is supposed that a restaurant increases its price to some extent above those of identical restaurants with which it competes. As restaurants are dissimilar as compared to other restaurants, some individuals will continue to patronize it. Within restriction, the restaurants are able to set their individual price. The Short Run: A restaurant competes with various other firms in a market in which there are no barriers to entry and exit. As a result, their demand curve is downward sloping. In other words, even if a restaurant increases its prices as compared to those of its competitors, it will have customers. As a result, marginal revenue curve of a restaurant will lie below the demand curve due to downward sloping demand curve. In order to raise its sale, a restaurant requires to lower its price. In other words, its marginal revenue from additional food items will be less than price (Stiglitz Rosengard, 2015). The Long Run: With the entry of new firms, the availability for food items in a restaurant will increase. This will reduce the demand that is facing the restaurant and as a result, the demand curve will become more elastic. The demand curve for the restaurant will shift towards the left. The marginal curve also shifts along with the shift in the demand curve. Hence, new restaurants will continue to enter the market, until the particular restaurant stops making economic profit. The zero-profit solution takes place when the demand curve for the restaurant is tangent to its average total cost curve. As a result, the price for food items of the particular restaurant will fall along with fall in output. The restaurant will cover its opportunity cost and hence it will earn zero economic profit (Baumol Blinder, 2015). The behaviors of firms in the market are as follows: Every firm makes an independent decision related to price and output that is based on its commodity as well as its market and costs of production Knowledge is broadly spread among participants however; it is unlikely to be perfect. In other words, customers can review all the menus that are obtainable in a restaurant before making the choice. Once they are inside the restaurant, they can again make choices by viewing the menu. However, they are not able to fully appreciate the meal available at the restaurant until they have eaten dinner (Schweinberger Suedekum, 2015). Due to increased risk associated with decision-making, the entrepreneur has a more imperative role as compared to the firms. There is no barrier to entry and exit and as a result, there is freedom to enter or leave the market. One of the central objectives of monopolistic competition is that the commodities are differentiated. There are mostly four types of differentiation that exists. The first differentiation deals with physical product differentiation where markets make the use of size, design, shape and performance to make their goods different. Market differentiation is also a part of differentiation with the help of which firms try to differentiation their goods by distinguishing packaging as well as other promotional methods. With the help of human capital differentiation, firms generate differences through the skill of its workers. The last type of differentiation is through distribution that includes mail order and internet shopping (Park et al., 2015). Each firm has a downward sloping demand curve, and is considered as price makers rather than price takers. Each firm makes an exclusive commodity and as a result, they are able to charge a higher or lower price as compared to its competitors. Firms that operate under monopolistic competition also require to get engage in advertising. Each firm is in a fierce competition with other local firms that offers the identical goods or service. The firms may require to advertise on a local basis in order to let their customers know their differences (Kirzner, 2015). The firms that operates under monopolistic competition are assumed to be profit maximisers as the firms have a tendency to be undersized with entrepreneurs vigorously involved in organizing the business (Parenti, Ushchev Thisse, 2017). In this type of market structure, large number of independent firms competes in the market. Negative externalities One of the proposed coalmines located in the north of the Galilee basin is the Carmichael coalmine. Due to economic transaction, third parties mostly face negative externalities. Under economic transaction, the producers and consumers are considered as the first and second parties. An individual or an organization is considered as the third party. In economics, an externality is the cost or benefit that affects a party who does not select to incur that cost or benefit. Externalities are mostly referred to as spillover effects and a negative externality is always associated with external cost. When negative externality takes place in an unregulated market, producers does not take accountability for external costs that exists (Phelan et al., 2017). The diagram shows the effect of negative externality where supply curve or the marginal cost curve is represented by the green line. On the other hand, the purple line represents the marginal cost curve that is faced by a firm with negative externality. The optimal production quantity is represented by Q2 where the negative externality in production is leads to Q1. The shaded portion represents deadweight loss (Lucas, 2016). The negative externalities that are associated with Adani Group's Carmichael coalmine are as follows: It leads to lessening in life expectancy as it releases sulfur dioxide, ozone, heavy metals and particulates that is dangerous to health. It also leads to respiratory hospital admission It also leads to several diseases such as non-fatal cancer, ataxia, osteroporosia and renal dysfunction It leads to reduction of crop yields due to some toxic emission that leads to fertilizing effect. It also causes loss of ecosystems and degradation (Olabi, 2016). One of the common types of negative externality is pollution that is caused by Adani Group's Carmichael coalmine. The individuals who are living around the coal mine factory will pay for the pollution that is caused by the Group. The negative externalities will be mostly in terms of higher medical bills as well as poorer quality of life. Thus, coal mining by Adani Group's Carmichael leads to negative cost to the individuals who are surrounding the factory. Coal mine releases greenhouse gas that leads to issues in the environment. Each year, Adani Group releases almost 145 million tons of sulfur due to smelting. As a result, it contaminates water due to explosives such as gravely toxic (Calvo Prez, 2016). Externalities mostly represent an observable fact of low efficiency that is beyond the extent of decision makers under the aspect of resource allocation. In ecology of coal mining, external economy indicates to coal mining promote the expansion of the economy of the city rapidly. On the other hand, external diseconomy refers to pollution created in the environment as well as ecological damage that is associated coal mining (Roper, Love Bonner, 2017). The diagram shows negative externalities that are caused by activities related to coal mining. The coal industry is mostly considered as a competitive market. In this case, marginal social cost is greater than marginal private cost by the amount of the external cost. The external cost, here, indicates ecological damage as well as water pollution. The marginal social benefit is equal to marginal private benefit as it is assumed that there are no marginal benefits associated with coal mining. If the individuals take into account their private cost, it is likely that will end up with P1 as price and Q1 as quantity. On the other hand, they will not take into account the more effectual price P2 and effectual quantity Q2. As a result, free market is unproductive as at the quantity Q1, as in this case, social cost is larger as compared to social benefit. In that case, society will be better off in an overall basis if coal mining between Q1 and Q2 had not been generated. The government also requires to take charge of improvement as Adani Group only pays for coal mining and processing (Feng, Wang Zhang, 2014). The company leads to negative externalities by polluting air and water and these externalities are more than simply an ethical issue. The internalization of negative externality of activities related to coal mining is the most necessary thing to establish ecological recompense mechanism. Mostly, ecological service function has a particular economic value and as a result, it can generously exchange in a perfectly competitive market. Figure 5 illustrates the relationship between marginal costs of Adani Group as well as loss of ecological service. In other words, it indicates the destruction of the ecosystem during coal mining activities. According to the theoretical analysis of Pigou tax, it is assumed that MPC indicates external diseconomy without taking coal-mining cost into consideration. On the other hand, Q1 and Q2 indicate losses related to ecological services that are generated by coal mining. Similarly, Ptax and P indicates coal price. Q1 indicates optimal losses of ecological services whereas; Q2 is the total amount of environment caused by Adani Group's Carmichael coal mine (Collier Venables, 2014). In order to address the market failure associated with coal mining it is imperative to supervise resource developers in order to restore damaged surroundings as well as pay for direct sufferers. It is also important to improve environmental quality as well as regulate the relationship between resource enhancement and environmental protection. This is considered as the most effectual method that will help to address market failure as well as policy failure. References Assenza, T., Grazzini, J., Hommes, C., Massaro, D. (2015). PQ strategies in monopolistic competition: Some insights from the lab.Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control,50, 62-77. Balistreri, E. J., Rutherford, T. F. (2013). Computing general equilibrium theories of monopolistic competition and heterogeneous firms.Handbook of Computable General Equilibrium Modeling,1, 1513-1570. Baumol, W. J., Blinder, A. S. (2015).Microeconomics: Principles and policy. Cengage Learning. Bertoletti, P., Etro, F. (2015). Monopolistic competition when income matters.The Economic Journal. Calvo, J. A. P., Prez, A. M. J. (2016). Optimal extraction policy when the environmental and social costs of the opencast coal mining activity are internalized: Mining District of the Department of El Cesar (Colombia) case study.Energy Economics,59, 159-166. Collier, P., Venables, A. J. (2014). Closing coal: economic and moral incentives.Oxford Review of Economic Policy,30(3), 492-512. Erku?-ztrk, H., Terhorst, P. (2016). Innovative restaurants in a mass-tourism city: Evidence from Antalya.Tourism Management,54, 477-489. Feenstra, R. C. (2016). Gains from Trade Under Monopolistic Competition.Pacific Economic Review,21(1), 35-44. Feng, S., Wang, D., Zhang, X. (2014). Study on Ecological Compensation for Coal Mining Activities Based on Economic Externalities.Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,2(02), 151. Kirzner, I. M. (2015).Competition and entrepreneurship. University of Chicago press. Lucas, A. (2016). Stranded assets, externalities and carbon risk in the Australian coal industry: The case for contraction in a carbon-constrained world.Energy Research Social Science,11, 53-66. Nikaido, H. (2015).Monopolistic Competition and Effective Demand.(PSME-6). Princeton University Press. Olabi, A. G. (2016). Energy quadrilemma and the future of renewable energy.Energy,108, 1-6. Parenti, M., Ushchev, P., Thisse, J. F. (2017). Toward a theory of monopolistic competition.Journal of Economic Theory,167, 86-115. Park, S. J., Cachon, G. P., Lai, G., Seshadri, S. (2015). Supply chain design and carbon penalty: monopoly vs. monopolistic competition.Production and Operations Management,24(9), 1494-1508. Phelan, A. A., Dawes, L., Costanza, R., Kubiszewski, I. (2017). Evaluation of social externalities in regional communities affected by coal seam gas projects: A case study from Southeast Queensland.Ecological Economics,131, 300-311. Roberts, K. (2014). The limit points of monopolistic competition.Noncooperative Approaches to the Theory of Perfect Competition,3, 141. Roper, S., Love, J. H., Bonner, K. (2017). Firms knowledge search and local knowledge externalities in innovation performance.Research Policy,46(1), 43-56. Schweinberger, A. G., Suedekum, J. (2015). De-industrialization and entrepreneurship under monopolistic competition.Oxford Economic Papers,67(4), 1174-1185. Stiglitz, J. E., Rosengard, J. K. (2015).Economics of the Public Sector: Fourth International Student Edition. WW Norton Company. Zhelobodko, E., Kokovin, S., Parenti, M., Thisse, J. F. (2012). Monopolistic competition: Beyond the constant elasticity of substitution.Econometrica,80(6), 2765-2784.

Louis XIV Essays (771 words) - Dauphins Of France,

Louis XIV annon The term ?splendid? is one that most English speaking people are familiar with. To most of those people it has a meaning related to the overall appearance or feeling of what ever is being described. Webster?s dictionary defines the term as: 1. magnificent and sumptuous. 2. distinguished or glorious. Splendor is more that that. It is an adjective that could be used to describe something so great and breath taking that one is left awed.The word splendid is often associated with the palace of Versailles, which was built Louis XIV. In the production of this grand structure there was no cost spared. It became a symbol of France, and a model by which all other palaces would be judged. Louis XIV received a great deal of criticism from onlookers as he used the French equivalent to millions of dollars to built this outstanding structure. There is still some speculation as to whether or not this was a good investment. It has been argued that the money could have gone to the poor or needy. The palace of Versailles was controversial, but in high insight, it is clear that Louis XIV made a sound decision in its erection. As Louis XIV took the throne, he was faced with several problems. He knew that he did not want to reside and rule in Paris, so against the will of his advisors he chose a hunting chateau as the site of his new palace. He also knew from history that the nobles of his domain had in the past and would continue to cause trouble in the form of uprisings and other conflicts. Louis XIV sought absolute power, and he knew that he would not be able to obtain this if preoccupied by civil conflicts. His solution to this problem was building Versailles and inviting all of the nobles to reside there. This was a brilliant scheme to keep the nobles out of the politics of the country. He preoccupied them with tasked normally associated with chamber maids, thus allowing him to rule as an absolute monarch. The splendor of the palace was a key factor in this plan because with out it, the nobles would not have a willing to leave their homes and move to Versailles. The historical account, The Splendid Century , written by W.H. Lewis is a very useful tool in understanding the life of Louis XIV. It tells of his life, his goals, his motives, and the means by which he achieved those goals. It is blatantly obvious that Louis XIV though a great monarch, cared little for the common people of his country. Regardless of this, it is almost a matter common knowledge that Louis XIV brought France to its peak in terms of its respect and social status in the world. During his reign France became the authority on all that was proper and elegant. All of this seems trivial, but the fact is, it was very important to the people of the upper class, and as always they were controlling the world. There were several qualities that Louis XIV possessed that were found undesirable by his common subjects. His tax system weighed most heavily on the lower class, and they were often called to fight in all sorts of different wars for the extension of the empire. It understandable that he was popular among these people, but their opinion was really not significant on the grand scheme of his plans for France. There is no question that Louis XIV took France to an entire new level in the world view. During his reign, the French empire grew vastly, and was greatly respected. To this day, he remains a French hero, and is widely viewed as the greatest monarch that ever lived. It is not because of his accomplishments that these views are held, but rather his ability to play the part of a great leader. All of this was possibly because of his emphasis on materialistic splendor. He knew that by enticing his rivals with riches, he then could control Europe. When it is said that Louis XIV had an ability to play the part of a great leader there is often misunderstanding. He was a powerful ruler, but more importantly that , he took his role as king very seriously. He was known to be a very handsome man with a well proportioned body. He believed appearances and material goods were an important aspect of royality. He allowed people to watch him and follow him at all times, and he made the responsibilities of chamber maids into

Essay on PSGC Recommendation Report

Essay on PSGC Recommendation Report Essay on PSGC Recommendation Report Penn State Golf Courses Recommendation Report Prepared by Bobby Grech, Mac Farber, Matt Rakowich Smeal College of Business Pennsylvania State University August 7, 2013 Introduction As society continues to evolve it is essential for companies to expand upon their business practices and communication techniques in order to remain profitable and expand upon their success. Due to the current state of the economy, a business must act strategically in order to operate at the best of its potential. Although you, the Penn State Golf Courses, are currently a profitable business, this recommendation report will present innovative ways for you to improve your business practices and better your company as a whole. The purpose of this report is to provide effective solutions to the particular problem areas that you are encountering at the golf courses. These problem areas begin with overall involvement at the courses, as the amount of golfer activity has been on the decline. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of participation from the Penn State community. Also, you have expressed a disappointment in the effectiveness of your Facebook page as well as in the sale of your merchandise. In this report we will recommend and provide particular initiatives and deliverables that will support the solution to these problems. Background The problem involving overall participation at the golf courses is one that is industry-wide, as the amount of golfers throughout the United States has been on a decline since 2003 (The Golf Consumer). Although this problem may continue to exist due to the struggling economy, we have realized through research and discussion with your staff, that there particular problems that are specific to your golf courses here at Penn State. Being located just down the street from Penn State’s campus, home to over 40,000 students, your golf courses do not see nearly enough interest from the Penn State community. After communicating with your staff we learned that there are only about 100 student memberships per semester and the courses see roughly 25 students per week other than those members. The courses have not only been disappointed by these student levels of participation, but have also been unable to attract Penn State parents and alumni. The Penn State community as whole lacks interest and awareness of your courses. The Facebook page for your golf courses has been improving in the recent past, but it can definitely still be improved upon. The 510 â€Å"Likes† that the Penn State Golf Courses page has been able to obtain is less than half of that of your largest competitor, Toftrees Golf Resort. Your Facebook page could definitely be more insightful with the addition of more information and frequent updates. The visual appearance of the page can also be improved by adding more pictures and making some minor adjustments. As your staff has shown interest in renewing its page, Facebook can become a more effective tool in gaining awareness for your courses. Lastly, through communication with your staff and observation of your clubhouse, we have noticed you are having trouble when it comes to selling merchandise. As a result, the clubhouse is overstocked with products that see little interest and you are being forced to offer products discounted over 70%. Deliverables & Business Initiatives While being in contact with your staff over the past few weeks, we have been able to develop some physical deliverables as well as certain business initiatives that we believe will help solve your current problems. These include: A completely revamped Facebook page Flyers and Coupons Direct advertising within the Penn State community Offering incentives and selling merchandise at highly populated events Expanding merchandise to more lucrative retailers, such as McLanahan’s We will now go into to detail- considering costs, benefits and feasibility- on how we feel that you should utilize our proposed

Free Essays on Burger King Vs Mcdonalds

Burger King vs. McDonald’s. Everybody loves fast food, but not everyone agrees on which fast food restaurant is the best. Burger King and McDonald’s are two of the most successful chains on the East Coast. Of these two, Burger Kings quality and value far exceeds that of McDonald’s. I have felt this way for as long as I have been able to think for myself, and I can use several points to argue my opinion. First I’d like to point out the quality differences between Burger King's food and McDonald’s food. McDonald’s fries their burgers so they are pretty much cooked in their own fat, then after cooking they become dry rendering them almost flavorless. If that’s not bad enough, the burgers miniscule size makes you wonder why you even wasted your money on it. Burger King burgers on the other hand, I have often found myself drooling over. Being flame broiled, they are often very juicy, filling your mouth with that awesome fire grilled taste. Also, when it comes to size, Burger King burgers are huge. Even their regular hamburgers are almost as big as McDonald’s largest sandwich, the â€Å"Quarter Pounder†. Another example is the delicious flame broiled â€Å"Whopper†, the biggest and tastiest burgers on the Burger king menu. Being the sandwich that made them famous, McDonald’s tried to copy the â€Å"Whopper† by creating the â€Å"Big Extra†, a big disappointment. Although the burger was about the same size as the â€Å"Whopperâ€Å", it lacked that flame broiled taste, which they tried to cover up by adding steak seasoning to the patty, making it taste nauseatingly awful. Eventually the â€Å"Big Extra† was renamed â€Å"Big and Tasty†, the burger shrunk, they dropped the seasoni ng, and it then found it’s way to the dollar menu (they could barely even give them away). The next thing I want to compare are fries. McDonalds claims there fries are crispy and golden brown, now I don’t know about you, but every time I got McDona... Free Essays on Burger King Vs Mcdonalds Free Essays on Burger King Vs Mcdonalds Burger King vs. McDonald’s. Everybody loves fast food, but not everyone agrees on which fast food restaurant is the best. Burger King and McDonald’s are two of the most successful chains on the East Coast. Of these two, Burger Kings quality and value far exceeds that of McDonald’s. I have felt this way for as long as I have been able to think for myself, and I can use several points to argue my opinion. First I’d like to point out the quality differences between Burger King's food and McDonald’s food. McDonald’s fries their burgers so they are pretty much cooked in their own fat, then after cooking they become dry rendering them almost flavorless. If that’s not bad enough, the burgers miniscule size makes you wonder why you even wasted your money on it. Burger King burgers on the other hand, I have often found myself drooling over. Being flame broiled, they are often very juicy, filling your mouth with that awesome fire grilled taste. Also, when it comes to size, Burger King burgers are huge. Even their regular hamburgers are almost as big as McDonald’s largest sandwich, the â€Å"Quarter Pounder†. Another example is the delicious flame broiled â€Å"Whopper†, the biggest and tastiest burgers on the Burger king menu. Being the sandwich that made them famous, McDonald’s tried to copy the â€Å"Whopper† by creating the â€Å"Big Extra†, a big disappointment. Although the burger was about the same size as the â€Å"Whopperâ€Å", it lacked that flame broiled taste, which they tried to cover up by adding steak seasoning to the patty, making it taste nauseatingly awful. Eventually the â€Å"Big Extra† was renamed â€Å"Big and Tasty†, the burger shrunk, they dropped the seasoni ng, and it then found it’s way to the dollar menu (they could barely even give them away). The next thing I want to compare are fries. McDonalds claims there fries are crispy and golden brown, now I don’t know about you, but every time I got McDona...

Summery of Globalization, Politics, and Financial Turmoil economic Essay

Summery of Globalization, Politics, and Financial Turmoil economic - Essay Example experience such crises mainly because there is a breakdown in communication between the chief executive of the monetary authority and financial officers in such times, leading to insufficient banking regulations and eventually flight of capital out of the country, which then has a snowballing effect. For the purpose, Satyanath elaborates on three bodies of literature – 1) globalization of capital and the political scenario in which there are possibilities of miscommunication 2) the presence of ill-informed chief executive and 3) the existence of veto players, that is, those whose consent is necessary for any policy change. Prior to the 1980s, all developing countries had relatively stringent regulations on capital inflows and outflows. All foreign exchange transactions were strictly monitored and banks had limits on overseas borrowings. From the 1980s, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) began to put pressures on the developing countries to liberalize the financial sectors, justifying that the access to foreign capital would allow these countries to invest more than the domestic savings allowed them to. Besides, short-term cyclical recessions could be balanced with countercyclical capital inflows from overseas. Also, free mobility of capital would also allow domestic investors to invest abroad thus neutralizing domestic shocks while also allowing them to earn higher risk-adjusted returns. Lastly, the dismantling of the bureaucratic shackles would allow the financial sectors of the developing countries become more professional, the IMF argued. Consequently, many Asian countries liberalized the capita l accounts as they did the trade accounts in the 1980s and 1990s, and the result was higher growth rates in Gross Domestic Product in the immediately succeeding years. However, by 1996, many of these same economies began to show signs of slower growth. Simultaneously, what disturbed the analysts were the growing current account deficits and increase in foreign

The Hubble Telescope Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Hubble Telescope - Research Paper Example The Hubble telescope was the first space anchored telescope by man. Hubble has proven to be the key to the casket of knowledge pertaining to the skies of the space. It has helped in answering the most fascinating and intriguing queries of the astronomers of the planet Earth. The Hubble has had the privilege of researching out and about almost everything in the Universe known so far, from black holes to other solar systems in which planets revolve around stars similar to our own milky way. Astronomy was given a new meaning ever since Hubble endeavored upon its cruise as a result of which mankind has been steered on a new mission. The present study initiates from an introduction of what the universe is. It proceeds further with the reason behind the development of the Hubble Telescope and ventures into its twenty one year journey so far. THE UNIVERSE The Universe is everything around us. It has unimaginable boundaries that can neither be seen with naked human eye nor can be imagined. P resent studies state that the Universe is ever expanding. Known to be made up of dust particles, numerous metals, gases, stars, clouds, galaxies and life forms, the universe has been the source of inquisitiveness for man ever since ancient times. The planet Earth on which human beings reside is one planet in one of the innumerable solar systems that spread out in the universe. Earth’s sky is filled with small specks of distant celestial objects whether they be stars or anything else. The fact that these specks of light are not just light bulbs in the sky but actually are celestial objects became known to man only after inventions and discoveries in the field of information and communications technology. Prior to them man could think of the Universe only till where his imagination took him. HISTORY The advent of information and communications technology dates back to the days of Galileo. Galileo’s invention of the telescope in the year 1609 was the major breakthrough in looking up distant things. It was the phenomenon of telescope only that bought life into the mere light specks that the Earth’s night sky displayed. There was unanimity in the desire of all the scientists: to see further more and more into the skies. Galileo’s Earth based telescope

The way we lie Essay Example for Free

The way we lie Essay People tell lies everyday,whether it is a simple white lire or a more complex lie. In article the way we lie written by Stephanie Ericsson she explains the different forms of lying, and how life is harder when we dont lie to authority figures, people we love.In the short story shooting an elephant the narrator is guilty of lying to the Native people in the village he is in. The narrator puts up a facade that he is like any other white man and can kill anything. A facade is an illusion, we put on to portray what we think the world expects from us. The narrator in Shooting an Elephant continuously lets us know that he does not want to kill the elephant but he feels that he must because thats what everyone is expecting from himI had no intention of shooting the elephant- I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary He also goes on to say how he feels like a fool going down the hill to kill the elephant, he continuously lets us know that he isnt what everyone thinks he is rather he is just as nervous as everyone else is. At the beginning of the short story we are told that the narrator is an european police officer in the town of Moulmein. When a person wears a police uniform one assumes many things.The first being that that person can protect us from harm and defend those who are weak. The narrator tries to preserve all these stereotypes in the short story. A stereotype is used to categorize a specific groups of people,although the narrator knows that he isnt a ruthless elephant killing machine he wants people to believe that they are safe around him. For them to think hes a good police officer he must kill the elephant regardless of what his initial intent was. because of the crowd gathering around him he doesnt want them to think that hes like any other white police officer, so he kills the elephant knowing that he didnt want to bring any harm to the elephant.

The Beatles :: Essay on The Beatles

The world's number one rock group consisted of John Winston (Ono) Lennon (born 10/09/40 - died 12/08/80), whose middle name came from his parent's admiration of Winston Churchill, and which John changed to Ono in later years; James Paul McCartney (born 06/18/42); George Harold Harrison (born 02/25/43 - died 11/29/01); and Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey 07/07/40). During the Beatles recording career from 1962 to 1970, they would release twenty-two singles (45rpm) in the United Kingdom, and thirty-three in the United States. Their first UK single was Love Me Do/P.S. I Love You, released October 5, 1962, on EMI/Parlophone Records. The first USA single would be Please Please Me/Ask Me Why, which they released on February 25, 1963 on Vee Jay Records. Although the Beatles were big in England, they had not yet caught on in the United States. Following their first USA single, came From Me To You/Thank YouGirl, which was released May 27, 1963 on Vee Jay, followed by She Loves You/I'll Get You on Swan Records. Finally on December 26, 1963, Capitol Records decided to release I Want To Hold Your Hand/I Saw Her Standing There, which went to number 1 on the Billboard Charts on January 18, 1964, and stayed there for seven weeks. As luck would have it, the Beatles first US visit planned for February 1964 with their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show had been booked almost six months earlier. Only by accident did the Beatles I Want To Hold Your Hand happen to be at #1 the same time as their first US visit. One could not have asked for better timing. On January 30, 1964, following the success of I Want To Hold Your Hand, Vee Jay Records re released Please Please Me, only this time with From Me To You as the B-Side. In the United Kingdom, the Beatles released twelve albums (33 rpm/LP's), however released nineteen in the USA. There were several reasons for this. One is that UK albums had fourteen songs, whereby USA had only twelve. The second, and really the most important reason is that Capitol Records decided that they wanted to create their own albums, different from the UK, using titles taken from UK singles and EP (extended play) singles. Such US albums as Meet The Beatles, The Beatles Second Album, Something New, Beatles '65, The Early Beatles, Beatles VI, Help!, and Yesterday and Today, were never issued in the UK in this form.

History of football Essay

Football as well as rugby and soccer are believed to have descended from the ancient Greek game of harpaston. Harpaston is mentioned frequently in classical literature. where it is often referred to as a very rough and brutal game. The rules of this ancient sport were quite simple: Points were awarded when a player would cross a goal line by either kicking the ball, running with it across the goal line, or throwing it across the line to another player. The other team’s objective was simply to stop them by any means possible. There was no specific field length, no side line boundaries, no specified number of players per team, only a glaring lack of rules. Most modern versions of football are believed to have originated from England in the twelfth century. The game became so popular in England that the kings of that time (Henry II and Henry IV) actually banned football. They believed that football was taking away interest from the traditional sports of England, such as fencing and archery. Walter Camp Walter Camp was born April 17, 1859, in New Haven, Connecticut. He attended Yale from 1876 to 1882, where he studied medicine and business. Walter Camp was an author, athletic director, chairman of the board of the New Haven Clock Company, and director of the Peck Brothers Company. He was general athletic director and head advisory football coach at Yale University from 1888-1914, and chairman of the Yale football committee from 1888-1912. Camp played footba ll at Yale and helped evolve the rules of the game away from Rugby and Soccer rules into the rules of American Football as we know them today. One precursor to Walter Camp’s influence was William Ebb Ellis, a student at the Rugby School in England. In 1823, Ellis was the first person noted for picking up the ball during the soccer game and running with it, thereby breaking and changing the rules. In 1876, at the Massosoit convention, the the first attempts at writing down the rules of American football were made. Walter Camp edited every American Football rulebook until his death in 1925. Walter Camp contributed the following changes from Rugby and Soccer to American football one side retained undisputed possession of the ball, until that side gives up the ball as a result of its own violations the line of scrimmage 11 on a team instead of 15 created the quarter-back and center positions forward pass standardized the scoring system, numerical scoring created the safety, interference penalties, and the neutral zone tackling as low as the knee was permitted – 1888 a touchdown increased in value to six points and field goals went down to three points – 1912. The NFL or the National Football League, was formed in 1920 soccor/football Soccer is one of the most popular sports in Europe and the Americas. It has a vivid and interesting history in the world of sports. Early evidence of soccer being played as a sport finds occurrence in China during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. In China, it was during the Han dynasty that people dribbled leather balls by kicking it into a small net. Recorded facts also support the fact that Romans and Greeks used to play ball for fun and frolic. Some facts point to Kyoto in Japan where kicking of ball was a popular sport. It is said that early growth of the modern soccer started in England. Some amusing facts even mention that the first ball used was the head of some Danish brigand. It is said that during medieval times, the old form of soccer used to allow many ill practices like kicking, punching, biting and gouging. The main aim was to carry the ball to a target spot. People grew so fond of the game that they would throng the field all day long. Sometimes the competition grew fierce and masses got so wild that there were frequent incidents of violence during the game. It is also said that soldiers admired the game so much that they missed archery practice to watch it King Edward III banned soccer in 1365 owing to the growing incidents of violence and military indulgence in the sport. In 1424 King James I of Scotland also proclaimed in the Parliament— â€Å"Na man play at the Fute-ball No man shall play football When and where exactly did soccer start is a question that has no precise answer to it. You can easily say that this popular game has been played for more than three thousand years. The nativity of modern-day soccer must be credited to Britain. It was also known as the association football, with Scotland and England being the co-founders of the systematic game of soccer. Modern History of Soccer: 18th Century onwards In 1815, a major development took place that made soccer popular in Universities, Colleges and Schools. The popular English School and Eton College came forth with a set of rules, known as the Cambridge Rules. Football was segregated into two groups; some colleges and schools opted for Rugby rules that allowed tripping, shin kicking and also carrying the ball. These rules were exclusively prohibited as per the Cambridge rules. The history of modern-day soccer was established in 1863. In October 1863, eleven representatives from London clubs and schools met at the Freemason’s Tavern to set up common fundamental rules to control the matches amongst themselves. The outcome of this meeting was the formation of the Football Association. In December 1863, the Rugby Football and Association football finally split as the supporters of the Rugby School rules walked out. Firmly establishing the foundation of soccer in 1869, the Football Association strictly banned any kind of handling of the ball. Soccer’s popularity spread rapidly during the 1800s as British sailors, traders and soldiers introduced the sport to different parts of the globe. Italians, Austrians and Germans drew to Europe, while Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil adopted the sport in South America. FIFA was established in the year 1904 and by early 1930s, different leagues were operating from various countries. FIFA is credited with organizing the first world cup in Uruguay. The history of soccer is rich with events, development and its growing craze all over the world. You will find yourself amazed as you learn about different times of this wonderful sport that has held our awe and admiration for over 3000 years. why is soccer called football The game that the rest of the world calls football or â€Å"the beautiful game† goes by a different name in the United States and Canada soccer. Americans adopted the name soccer after almost 100 years of playing this game under the name football. The game’s history and development provides important clues about the use of the word soccer to identify the game in the countries that do not call it football.

How Can Building Surveyors Efficiently Differentiate Asr and Attack

Contents 1. Introduction2 2. Concrete attacks2 3. Alkali-Silica Reaction – ASR3 4. Sulphate Attack5 5. Reference List8 1. Introduction This report was issued in order to provide an in depth understanding of how a surveyor can differentiate between Alkali-Silica Reaction and Sulphate attacks in concrete when inspecting a building. In order to satisfy the requirements for this report, the author will give a detailed description of both kind of attacks, different study areas, experiments, diagnosis and forms of repair.To be able to define and analyse this topic, the author of this report has used different sources of reference such as books, academic journals, World Wide Web and several British Standards. By the end of this report, the writer will be able to demonstrate that the questioned concrete attacks can be differentiated by any professional surveyor when inspecting the concrete in a building. 2. Concrete attacks Chemical attacks usually occurs when using poor quality cemen t although good concrete has been known to be subjected to conditions that can lead to its deterioration.The environment â€Å"supplies† several physical and chemical forces which can contribute to concrete deterioration. BRE (2005) delivered a full list of chemical attacks that can arise both land contaminated by human and natural ground. There are several rarely occurred chemical attacks that are mainly caused by contaminated land; these are chemical species such as ammonium or chromium, but also organic such as phenols. The higher the quantity of these chemicals is, the higher the concrete attack.The most known forms of concrete attacks are: * Chloride penetration leading to corrosion of steel and spilling of the concrete cover; * Inadequate cover of reinforcing steel. Less common causes of concrete deterioration caused by chemicals or chemical reaction are: * Cycles of freezing and thawing; * Carbonation resulting in an increase of steel corrosion; * Sulphate attack; * Sh rinking aggregates; * Alkali-aggregate reactions. . Alkali-Silica Reaction – ASR It is believed that there are three types of alkali-aggregate reactions that will affect the condition of concrete: alkali-silicate reaction, alkali-carbonate reaction and alkali-silica reaction. It is believed that the alkali-silica reaction â€Å"may be found in the concrete because microcrystalline quartz or stained quartz is often present in aggregates contacting phyllosilicates† (Hobbs D. W. , 1988).The Institution of Structural Engineers (1988) described Alkali-Silica Reaction as being a chemical process in which the alkalis, found mostly in cement, when combined with specific types of silica found in aggregates, particularly in moist condition, will produce an alkali-silica gel that eventually will absorb the moisture from concrete, causing cracking and disruptions of concrete. British Cement Association (1993) advised that in order to determine that the inspected concrete cracking is a result of Alkali-Silica Reaction, the surveyor should sample and test the area â€Å"before any definite interpretation can be attempted†.Because of poor workmanship, shrinkage, weathering or differential stresses, the concrete can produce characteristics that will often be confused with Alkali-Silica Reaction. BCA (1993) are aware that â€Å"it is not always easy to distinguish these features from those indicative of ASR†. Their recommendation is that if suspected the sample should be taken into laboratory and further investigated. Because of the damping characteristics, the surveyor should allow dry weather when inspecting a suspected Alkali-Silica Reaction area.The degree of wetting should be recorded by the surveyor as this might be due to rain, condensation, leaking pipes, water run-off or poor detailing of construction. A second inspection is recommended if damp patches at the junction of the cracks are observed. It is known that Alkali-Silica Reaction will form a mapping crack at the surface of the concrete. Fig 1 is and extreme example of macrocracking found at the Hoover Dam, USA. Fig1. Example of cracking due to ASR at the Hoover Dam, USA Image taken from Hobbs, D. W. (1988, pp. 16)As it can be seen from the image, there are specific signs that this is an Alkali-Silica Reaction such as damp patches at the junction of the cracks and the edges of the cracks often appearing to be light in colour. Cracking like this will often be confused by surveyors as being caused by an expansion or contraction. As it was said before, one major feature of Alkali-Silica Reaction in concrete is cracking. In order to record data for further investigations, the surveyor should sketch or photograph the crack pattern. One other characteristic of Alkali-Silica Reaction is discoloration.This occurs along the cracks and although similar to rust caused by reinforce bars within the concrete, the surveyor is advised that colour photographs are to be taken for a n off-site second investigation. If occurred in reinforced concrete, the cracks caused by Alkali-Silica Reaction will tend to follow the lines of the reinforcing bars. Although often confused with the cracks produced by the corrosion of the reinforcements, in order to provide a definite confirmation of ASR, the surveyor should enforce a microscopic examination of a sample taken from the interior of the concrete.It is often that the surveyors confuse the cracking pattern of the affected cement. Other characteristics of Alkali-Silica Reaction are discoloration, efflorescence, exudations and pop-outs. 4. Sulphate Attack â€Å"Sulphate attack is the term used to describe a series of chemical reactions between sulphate ions and the components of hardened concrete, principally the cement paste, caused by exposure of concrete to sulphate moisture† ( Skalny et al. 2002, p. 3) It is well known that sulphate attack mainly affects the brickwork and concrete by creating a disruption of t he mortar. The sulphate attack can create expansion, bowing and/or cracking of affected material. The chemical and mineralogical compositions of Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) are the most vulnerable to sulphate environments (Bonshor 1996, Amin et al. 2007). OPC is one of the most common cement used in construction industry. Its main composition is ground limestone and clay.When burned, these components form the basis of most concretes. According to Ramson (1993, p. 19) if bauxite is used instead of clay, a high-alumina cement is produced. The main characteristic of this cement is its rapid rate of strengths developed and also if not ‘covered’ the high resistance to sulphate attacks. This can be one of the first evidence for surveyors that the concrete is not affected by sulphate attack. The main idea of sulphate attacks is simple.Bonshor and Bonshor (1996) describes that the sulphate salts migrating from neighbouring building materials, or sometimes even enclosed in th e groundwater react with elements of the OPC to produce ettringite or thaumasite. The most common circumstance of sulphate attack is when the unprotected concrete contains sulphate based materials or is exposed to sulphate groundwater. There are three main requirements necessary for sulphate attack to occur: (i) soluble sulphate salts such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.It is important to specify that attacks from different sulphates will have different result. Mortars or concretes attacked by sulphates such as calcium or sodium will have a soft mush; on the other side when attacks form magnesium sulphate occurs, this being considered the most aggressive, the main feature of this attack are the salts that sometimes crystallize out or near the surface of the attacked material; (ii) tricalcium aluminate consisted in ordinary or rapid hardening cement; (iii) a persistent wetness on the material.To understand the main manifestations of sulphate attacks in building component s, the author will describe the visual characteristics that a surveyor will look for, in order to distinguish and recognise when sulphate attack has occurred. * The mortar in the brickwork is considered by Addleson and Rice (1995) to be under sulphate attack from as early as two years after construction. One of the main visual appearances of the attack is the white colour of the cement. The mortar subjected to sulphate attack will become loose at the surface, sometimes presenting cracks along the bed joists.It is important to mention that surveyors often confuse the horizontal cracking from rendered walls caused by corrosion of strip ties in cavity walls with the sulphate attack. Bonshor and Bonshor (1996) recommend that if not confident with the diagnosis from visual inspection, the surveyor should sample the affected mortar and further examine in a specialist laboratory. University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol (2006) advice that sulphate attacks occurs where saturation is greatest and usually around parapet walls and chimney.This is due to the large exposer to rainfall. UWE believe that although in some cases repairs are possible, in most instances once started, the sulphate attack is impossible to stop therefore the only option is the re-building. * When the sulphate attack is detected in rendered brickwork there are several visual signs for a surveyor to distinguish the type of attack. Wide horizontal and vertical cracks will appear in the rendering. Outward curling of the rendering in the cracks might appear as a result of sulphate attack. Fig2. Example of Sulphate Attack on chimney brickworkImage taken from University of the West of England, Bristol, (2006) The adhesion of the rendering on the brickwork may fail; this can result in rendering falling off either from one brick or even a large portion this depending on the seriousness of the attack on brickwork. If untreated, the brickwork may be exposed to efflorescence. * There are several occasi ons when the sulphate attack occurs on the underside of the ground slabs. If not isolated by a damp proof membrane, the salts in the ground will react with the Portland cement causing a map-pattern of cracking.Bonshor and Bonshor (1996) recommend that BRE Digest 363 will provide guidance in the case of a sulphate attack on concrete. Generally sulphate attack in ground-bearing slabs will form cracks in a solid ground floor mainly if the recycled colliery shale has been used as capping layer for the ground underneath the slab. Because the sulphate attack in ground bearing slabs, the surveyor will have to investigate further whether the slab has a damp proof membrane and if possible what sort of material has been used as colliery shale fill.WRAP Organisation (2011) recommends colliery shale should be tested for sulphates especially if it is to be used in proximity to concrete. As building professional, a surveyor will be able to differentiate between Alkali-Silica Reaction and Sulphate attacks in concrete. There are several visual differences between these two chemical attacks. One of the major confusion made by surveyors is when inspecting a cracking pattern in a building. It is highly recommended that if suspected, the surveyor should take samples for laboratory examination. There are numerous chemical reactions that are likely to produce disruptive cracking in buildings.This is the reason why a professional surveyor should not rush and give diagnosis unless entirely sure about the cause. Word count: 1759 5. Reference List Addleson, L. and Rice, C. (1995) Performance of materials in buildings. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Alan Wood & Partners (2012) Sulphate attack . Available at: http://www. alanwood. co. uk/pdf/Sulphate-Attack. pdf (Accessed on 5th October 2012). Amin, M. M. , Jamaludin, S. B. , Pa, F. C. & Chuen, K. K. (2008) ‘Effects of magnesium sulphate attack on Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) mortars’, Portugaliae Electrochimica Acta, (26) , pp. 235-242. Bonshor, R. B. and Bonshor, L.L. (1996) Cracking in buildings. London: Construction Research Communication. British Cement Association (1993) The diagnosis of alkali-silica reaction. Available at: http://homepage. tudelft. nl/n89v3/LinkedDocuments/1992-DiagnosisOfASR. pdf (Accessed on 5th October 2012). Cook, G. K. and Hinks, A. J. (1992) Appraising building defects: perspectives on stability and hygrothermal performance. Essex: Longman Scientific & Technical. El-hachem, R. , Roziere, E. , Grondin, F. & Loukili, A. (2012) ‘New procedure to investigate external sulphate attack on cementitious materials’, Cement & Concrete Composites, (34), pp. 57-364. Farny, J. A. & Kosmatka, S. H. (1997) Diagnosis and control of Alkali-aggregate reactions in concrete. Available at: http://www. nebrconcagg. com/assets/PromotionPages/Mix%20Design/ASR1. PDF (Accessed on 6th October 2012). Giaccio, G. , Zerbino, R. , Ponce, J. M. & Batic, O. R. (2008) ‘Mechanical behavi our of concretes damaged by alkali-silica reaction’, Cement and Concrete Research, (38), pp. 993-1004. Hobbs, D. W. (1988) Alkali-silica reaction in concrete. London: Thomas Telford. Mittermayr, F. , Bauer, C. , Klammer, D. , Bottcher, M. E. , Leis, A. Escher, P. & Deitzel, M. (2012) ‘Concrete under sulphate attack: an isotope study on sulphur sources’, Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies, 48 (1), pp. 105-117. Ransom, W. H. , (1993) Building failures: diagnosis and avoidance. 2nd edn. London: E & FN Spon. Sachlova, S. , Prikryl, R. & Pertold, Z. (2010) ‘Alkali-silica reaction products: Comparison between samples from concrete structures and laboratory test specimens’, Materials Characterization, (61), pp. 1379-1393. Sarkan, S. , Mahadevan, S. , Meeussen, J. C. L. , van der Sloot, H. & Kosson, D. S. 2010) ‘Numerical simulation of cementitious materials degradation under external sulphate attack’, Cement & Concrete Composites, (32 ), pp. 241-252. Skalny, J. , Marchand, J. & Odler, I. (2002) Sulphate attack on concrete. London: Spon Press. The Concrete Society (1985) Alkali-silica reaction: new structures-specifying the answer existing structures-diagnosis and assessment. London: Concrete Society. The Institution of Structural Engineers (1988) Structural effects of alkali-silica reaction: interim technical guidance on appraisal of existing structures. London: the Institution of Structural Engineers.University of the West of England, Bristol, (2006) Durability of clay bricks. Available at: https://environment7. uwe. ac. uk/resources/constructionsample/Conweb/walls/bricks/section6. htm (Accessed on 20th October 2012). WRAP, (2011) Burnt and unburnt colliery spoil, Available at: http://aggregain. wrap. org. uk/applications/wrap_pdf/aggregain/pdf_material. cfm? id=2910 (Accessed on 22th October 2012). Zerbino, R. , Giaccio, G. , Batic, O. R. & Isaia, G. C. (2012) ‘Alkali-silica reaction in mortars and concre tes incorporating natural rice husk ash’, Construction and Building Materials, (36), pp. 796-806.

English-language films Essay Example

English English-language films Essay English-language films Essay Love is a fallacy tells us about the not-so-brilliant idea of a self-conceited law student named Debbie to steal the girlfriend of his stupid roommate Petty by luring him to accept the raccoon coat which all he ever wanted in exchange of dating and marrying his beautiful dumb girlfriend, Poly. He believes that he would become a lawyer someday and observes that successful lawyers are decorated with beautiful, graceful and smart wives. He believes that under his audience he could smarten up Poly and will soon match his criteria. His overconfidence that he could change Poly to become an intelligent girl by teaching her the logic of fallacies backfired to him when he confessed his love for her. Unfortunately, Poly rejected his intentions to be his girlfriend by refuting his words with every fallacy that he taught her. In the end, Poly chose Petty because he has a raccoon coat. Love is a fallacy is indeed a hilarious and ironic story. It is a story about love which is written in such a ay that it stirs our reasoning and tickles our heart. I would like to commend the author for his admirable writing style making the story more realistic and dramatic even if he uses figures of speech and terms on logic and philosophy. It didnt focus on the romantic side of love rather it highlights the meaning of love based on each of the characters intention. It simply teaches us that deception begets deception and not love. The story is an affirmation that each one of us can do anything for love in our own silly ways. Sometimes, our wan misconceptions about love can lead us to carry out selfish plans for personal gains but will definitely boomerang to us in more hurtful and unexpected ways. People often tend to misinterpret, immiscible, misconstrue and even delusional about love because just like the title itself love is a fallacy, love cannot be explained by reasoning per SE because it is the purest of all emotions. The story as a whole didnt romanticizes about love rather it gave us a glimpse of the consequences of our actions based on how we deal with love.

Tensions and Conflict on the Korean Peninsula

Tensions and Conflict on the Korean Peninsula The Korean Peninsula is a region located in Eastern Asia extending south from the Asian continent for about 683 miles (1,100 km). Today, it is politically divided into North Korea and South Korea. North Korea is located on the northern part of the peninsula, and it extends from China south to the 38th parallel of latitude. South Korea then extends from that area and encompasses the rest of the Korean Peninsula. The Korean Peninsula was in the news for much of 2010, and especially toward the end of the year, because of growing conflicts between the two nations. Conflict on the Korean Peninsula is not new however as North and South Korea have long had tensions with one another that dates back before the Korean War, which ended in 1953. History of the Korean Peninsula Historically, the Korean Peninsula was occupied by only Korea, and it was ruled by several different dynasties, as well as the Japanese and the Chinese. From 1910 to 1945 for example, Korea was controlled by the Japanese, and it was mostly controlled from Tokyo as a part of the Empire of Japan. Toward the end of World War II, the Soviet Union (USSR) declared war on Japan, and by August 10, 1945, it occupied the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. At the end of the war, Korea was then divided into northern and southern portions at the 38th parallel by the Allies at the Potsdam Conference. The United States was to administer the southern part, while the USSR administered the northern area.This division started the conflicts between the two areas of Korea because the northern region followed the USSR and became communist, while the south opposed this form of government and formed a strong anti-communist, capitalist government. As a result, in July of 1948, the anti-communist southern region drafted a constitution and began to hold national elections which were subjected to terrorism. However, on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) was officially founded, and Syngman Rhee was elected as president. Shortly after that, the USSR established a Communist North Ko rean Government called the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea) with Kim Il-Sung as its leader. Once the two Koreas were formally established, Rhee and Il-Sung worked to reunify Korea. This caused conflicts though because each wanted to unify the area under their own political system and rival governments were established. Also, North Korea was heavily supported by the USSR and China and fighting along the border of North and South Korea was not uncommon. The Korean War By 1950, the conflicts on the border of North and South Korea led to the beginning of the Korean War. On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea and almost immediately the United Nations member states began to send aid to South Korea. North Korea was, however, able to quickly advance south by September 1950. By October though, U.N. forces were able to move the fighting north again and on October 19, North Koreas capital, Pyongyang was taken. In November, Chinese forces joined North Korean forces and the fighting was then moved back south and in January 1951, South Koreas capital, Seoul was taken. In the months that followed, heavy fighting ensued, but the center of the conflict was near the 38th parallel. Although peace negotiations began in July of 1951, fighting continued throughout 1951 and 1952. On July 27, 1953, peace negotiations ended, and the Demilitarized Zone was formed. Shortly after that, an Armistice Agreement was signed by the Korean Peoples Army, the Chinese Peoples Volunteers and the United Nations Command, which was led by the U.S. South Korea however, never signed the agreement, and to this day an official peace treaty has never been signed between North and South Korea.   Todays Tensions Since the end of the Korean War, tensions between North and South Korea have remained. For example according to CNN, in 1968, North Korea unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate South Koreas president. In 1983, a bombing in Myanmar that was linked to North Korea  killed 17 South Korean officials, and in 1987, North Korea was accused of bombing a South Korean airplane. Fighting has also repeatedly occurred both land and sea borders because each nation is continually trying to unify the peninsula with its own system of government.In 2010, tensions between North and South Korea were especially high after a South Korean warship was sunk on March 26. South Korea claims that North Korea sunk the Cheonan in the Yellow Sea off the South Korean island of Baengnyeong. North Korea denied responsibility for the attack and tensions between the two nations have been high ever since. Most recently on November 23, 2010, North Korea launched an artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. North Korea claims that South Korea was conducting war maneuvers, but South Korea states that it was conducting maritime military drills. Yeonpyeong was also attacked in January 2009. It is located near a maritime border between the countries that North Korea wants moved south. Since the attacks, South Korea began practicing military drills in early December.To learn more about the historic conflict on the Korean Peninsula and the Korean War, visit this  page on the Korean War as well as North Korea and South Korea Facts from this site. Sources CNN Wire Staff. (23 November 2010). Korean Tension: A Look at the Conflict - CNN.com. Infoplease.com. (n.d.). Korean War - Infoplease.com. United States Department of State. (10 December 2010). South Korea.

Economics and business strategies Research Paper

Economics and business strategies - Research Paper Example Practically, the objective of the team owners differs depending on the nation, league and the team. Further, the objective of the team members is significantly affected by the relation of the team to additional assets of the team owner. Consequently, Zimbalist presents that there is no league, which has all the members with equal motivations as well as objectives; therefore, the generalization that leagues can have members with similar motivations and objectives is inconsistent and imperfect.i On the other hand, a corporate-guided market is a form of a dominant market through which abundance is achieved. Through corporate guided markets, aggregate spending is also conducted. In order to understand how this market works, it is crucial to put into consideration how corporations succeed at providing a new market for a branded product. Discussion Zimbalist’s Explanation of Different Owner Motivations of Sports Teams Concept of Competitive Balance and Different Owner Motivations Zi mbalist illustrates various concepts that motivate team owners in their business. First, he states that the team owners are not primarily motivated by the quest to make profits. Certain team owners are motivated by the social prestige so that they seek to be associated and identified with well-liked and successful sports team. Media publicity accounts for the reasons the team owners are motivated to invest in sport teams.ii Even though profit making is part of the business objectives, it does not count as the leading motivation behind such kind of businesses. The push for power, aspiration for prestige, predisposition to team identification and associated feeling of team loyalty drive and motivate the team owners to invest in league business. In addition, the other motivational reasons for team owners that equate to social prestige include personal fulfillment and enjoyment, commitment to professional sports and satisfaction found in sports.iii Second, a part of the team owners is m otivated by the pursuit of profits in sports business. Team owners may be motivated to invest in teams for nonprofit making reasons, making such team owners to be perceived as philanthropists. In contrast, some team owners are primarily motivated to achieve profits out of their investments in the teams. The behaviors revealed by the team owners in pricing regulations and the player salaries demonstrate that profit maximization also accounts for team owner motivations in sport teams. Nevertheless, the ownership motivation involving profit maximization has various inconclusive dimensions to support the hypothesis.iv Third, team ownership is motivated by the need for successful business tycoons to advertise the business products and seek approval of the community in the business they operate. The sports teams are used by these businesspersons to commercialize their ventures in sports sphere.v Furthermore, Zimbalist asserts that team ownership is motivated by the need to publicize busin ess ventures and seek refuge in the federal tax legislation’s development.vi The ownership of teams offers business tycoons tax sheltering opportunities unavailable to other types of ventures. Generally, the

Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli Severance Pay Case Study

Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli Severance Pay - Case Study Example On a closer look many factors are behind Robert Nardelli's huge severance package that cannot be traced to Nardelli alone; but there are measures that could be used to done to reign over-the-top CEO compensations such as Nardelli's. According to Alan Sloan, business analyst of Washington Post (Sloan, p. D01), Nardelli is not receiving a severance pay more than he was actually entitled to under the employment contract he signed in 2000 with the board of Home Depot. Ken Langone, one of the founders of Home Depot, continued Sloan was in fact was one of those of people who was involved in negotiating for Nardelli, one of the two GE executives who was one-time candidate to replace famous Jack Welch when he left GE. In the same article, Paul Hodgson, a senior research associate at the Corporate Library which investigates corporate governance said that the trouble started in 2000, and that everything was in Nardelli's contract. ... One of the issues raised by Nardelli's case was how shareholders who are the owners-at-large of a company could be relegated to the sidelines in deciding executive pay packages. This was borne out when Nardelli with an absent board presided alone over the annual stockholders held on May 28, 2006 in which he was criticized for cutting off stockholders' questions over his compensation (NPR, January 6, 2007; Grow par. 8-9). On December 2006, Relational Investors rebuked Home Depot's management and called on a review of the firm's direction and even a possibility of a sale. What came to pass with Nardelli's resignation a month later, with him leaving with a fat severance package even highlighted the need for more power granted to shareholders in deciding what and how much to pay company CEOs. In a report by CNNMoney.com, a proposal filed by one of Home Depot's investors and endorsed by long-time shareholders Laborers' International Union of America (LIUNA) would require the board to get shareholder approval for what was termed as "extraordinary retirement benefits". In other companies such as Sprint, GE, Qwest, Delta and Verizon, investors have filed similar proposals to scale down severance packages according Hodgson in an interview with CNNMoney.com. Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli Severance Pay Another reason for reducing huge pay packages of huge CEOs is in the interest of wealth equality. National Public Radio reported in an article by Uri Berliner that one of the reasons that the very rich or the top-earning one percent continue to increase their share of the country's wealth (from 8 percent to 16 percent in 2004) was that affluent people own more in stocks. CEOs like

Expanding business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Expanding business - Essay Example Vietnam has a varied climate. In the north, the average temperature is around 27Â ° C and 21 Â °C in the south. Generally, Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate with average humidity of 84% all year round. Vietnam falls in both tropical and temperate climatic zones that varies climate of Vietnam. On the northern part, Vietnam falls in the temperate climate zone and tropical climate on the Southern part. The north part of the country experience cool and dry weather from November to April and hot and rainy weather from May to October. From July to November, the coastal regions of Vietnam experience typhoons that can have the devastating impact. Randomly, there are also floods and droughts that take place that has an enormous impact on lives and agriculture (VBN Para 8). Vietnam’s natural resources are phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, and hydropower (VBN Para 3). Agricultural resources of Vietnam are Rice, Rubber, Coffee, Cashew nuts, Pepper, Tea, and Fruits and Vegetables. Major industries include coal, tin, chrome, power station, tobacco, tea and cunning factories, pharmaceutical, textile, food processing (VBN Para 4). Vietnam’s main trading partners are Japan, China, the USA, Singapore and Taiwan. The relations between Vietnam and the USA ended up by signing a bilateral trade agreement in December 2001 that increased export to the USA from Vietnam. This trade agreement made the USA the second largest trading partner of Vietnam and increased trade between the two countries by $15.4 billions in 2009. The major export of Vietnam is Crude oil and it is the major crude oil exporter in Asia. Its main countries of export include China, Singapore, Japan, Britain, and the USA (VBN Para 6). Textile and Garment: Vietnam is the world’s 16th biggest garment and textile exporter. It currently accounts for 2.5 % of the world’s total market share and the major importing countries are the USA, EU, and

New Testament Essay Example for Free

New Testament Essay The book of Romans has been hailed by many as one of the most important books of the New Testament. The reason is obvious: aside from the fact that theologians and famous reformers constantly refer to it as one major source of fundamental theological truths, it is a great thesis of the Apostle Paul on salvation. Martin Luther has aptly said that â€Å"it (the book of Romans) is the gospel according to Paul. † And indeed, what a clear statement it is of the gospel. If one would venture on grasping the gospel message, it would be best to start in Romans. The book is inclusive in its scope of treatment as to the redemptive plan of God. From the first chapter to the eleventh, the apostle scrupulously touched every area/issue that went through his mind that he assumed were the questions arising along as he was discussing the different topics that were all related to salvation. He did not leave a stone unturned in this book. Why salvation is universally needed? He covered everything what that question entails in chapters 1-3. If the question is about the nature of justification – how does God justifies sinners – the treatment to that is well laid in chapters 4-5. In chapter 6, Paul answers a â€Å"supposed objection† by the critic who says, â€Å"If grace has abounded all the more because of sin, then, let us continue in sin to give God more reason to shower us with His grace. † Paul’s answer to this is, one who has died to sin cannot live any longer in sin. True Christians have been buried through baptism and were raised in newness of life with Christ. They have participated in Christ’s death and resurrection by faith. And so, Paul’s argument is: â€Å"How can those who have this new life in them by the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit live still in sin? † In the next chapter (Rom. 7), Paul presented a life of struggle which is practically true of every Christian. But nevertheless, according to him, in spite of the reality and intensity of the struggle, victory is every time guaranteed; for even in the hopelessness of the case because of total depravity, Jesus Christ the Lord is the Christian’s justifier and vindicator before God (Bruce, 1985). Besides, said Paul, â€Å"there is now no condemnation† for those who are counted to be â€Å"in Christ. † The flow of the argument runs smoothly in Romans as the reader continues the reading through chapter eight, nine, ten, and eleven. Life in the Spirit is described, and how those who have the Spirit of Christ live their lives as â€Å"sons of God. † It would be impossible for Paul that Christians who have been born of the Spirit shall ever lose the battle in the end, since, according to him, even God â€Å"did not spare His own Son† for the salvation of His elect. How would He allow that petty incidentals such as those Paul have listed in Romans 8:35 abort the consummation of salvation for God’s elect? The climax of Paul’s argument reached its height when in chapter eleven he exclaimed with a doxology his praise, surrender, and awe, of the â€Å"depths† and the â€Å"unsearchableness† of God’s wisdom, knowledge, and judgments. The book of Romans is comprehensive in that it did not leave the issue about God’s Old Covenant people – the Jewish people. Aside from the rebuke that Paul has directed to those Jews who prided themselves of possessing the law and therefore â€Å"instructed† in it and in the position of â€Å"tutors† and â€Å"teachers† in chapter two, he allotted a lengthy portion on the issue of Israel in chapters nine to eleven. After having treated the dilemma of God’s people well and completely by pointing out their proper place in the economy of God in the end times in the church with the Gentile believers, Paul then devoted the remaining chapters – chapters 12-16 – to exhortation challenging the Roman Christians (which actually was composed of Jewish and Gentile believers) to live in a manner that befits those who are truly elected to be in God’s family. This, in simplified form, is the entirety of Romans. However, as magnificent and holistic as the treatment of Apostle Paul was to all of the issues involved in salvation, nothing is more fundamental than what he elucidated in chapter five when he compared Adam with Christ. It is at this point that he actually made clear the real situation of the rest of humanity. He delineated humankind in two groups alone: those who are â€Å"in Adam† and those who are â€Å"in Christ. † The presumption is that every person that is born and living in this planet is a descendant of Adam. Adam was the first human being, and as the first man, he was set as the federal head of the rest of all humanity. This, in and of itself, has nothing that any person should be alarmed about, until the issue of Adam’s standing with God as to terms of his covenant with God is touched. Adam fell into sin when as the head of his wife he consented to the temptation into which she was lured and deceived by the serpent. Because of this Fall into which Adam together with his wife fell, all of humanity, according to the Apostle, is in a state of total depravity. â€Å"All have sinned,† was Paul’s assessment borrowing his appraisal of humanity from several passages of the Old Testament Scriptures. The solution to this helpless and hopeless condition of man is only the gospel – the message of salvation which God offers in Jesus Christ. God is now offering His righteousness that will justify a person before the strict and perfect demands of His holiness. The gospel whenever proclaimed presents to every individual the perfect righteousness which alone can free man of his moral and spiritual bankruptcy as well as his eternal liability can be found in the person of Jesus Christ alone (Escalona, 2008). What follows is an elaboration of the gospel according to Apostle Paul based on some of the key verses in the first chapter of Romans. The Descendants of Adam Paul dug deep into the very roots of the problem of humanity. He was consumed by the thought of man’s condition as it was viewed from the vantage point of God. For Paul, man’s troubles were all traceable to sin. In the first chapter, God is introduced as an angry God whose wrath is evidently manifested in the heavens against â€Å"all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. † God alone is righteous, He is the standard of true righteousness, and therefore, He stands opposed to any form of unrighteousness. The reason why people most of the time misunderstand this matter of being right before God is because the overruling idea of being right depends on whether one’s reputation in the community is acceptable or not. In other words, nowadays, one’s culture is the determinant of ethics and hence the judge, and not God who is the perfect Judge. This is where the man of today always fails. It has been like this ever since the Fall. And what is this but failure that had been passed from Adam to the succeeding generations after him to the present, and it will be as it is till the last of the human species. By the way, this is not a mere â€Å"failure† on the part of man. Under this condition, man is in sin and God holds him accountable. Since this sin came from Adam, the very quality of it is distrust on the character of God. It does not trust on the goodness of God but questions His intentions and design. The reason why Eve disobeyed was that she entertained and made room for other thoughts than just think of God as kind and generous and thinks only of what is perfectly best for the them (Adam Eve). This same misgiving on the character of God is built in within the human frame, and so every one is under the same transgression against God, and this is what theologians call original sin and it is inherited from Adam. If one is to understand all of the toils, struggles, and problems connected to life in general, one has to reckon sin as the cause of all these troubles. And if Christians still struggle with the problem of the presence of sin, the best way to start is to understand where this sin problem came from. Since sin’s power is a nagging reality to the disciple of Christ, it has to be understood in terms of why it has gotten to man’s system. And so, Adam, right away, comes into the scene as Paul proceeds to start all over again from where it all began – Adam’s fall. The â€Å"one man† that the apostle was referring to was Adam. His decision to partake of Eve’s disobedience was sin; and it was that very act itself which also introduced sin into the world where previously it was absent – and with it, death – was the sin with which he violated God’s command (DeLashmutt, 2008). The immediate consequence of sin is death. Paul’s emphasis at this point is not only the fact of death as the punishment for sin, but that sin and death not only had affected Adam but the rest of humankind after him. This is the argument of Apostle Paul in Romans 5:12-21. From this condition the gospel offers freedom and acquittal. This is called justification – the act of God by which He acquits sinners through the imparted righteousness of Christ. This is also what Paul means in the expression the â€Å"righteousness of God. † It cannot be acquired through one’s fleshly endeavors but by simply putting one’s faith in the finished and perfect work of Christ. All those who have thrusted all of the full weight of the sin problem to Jesus (who is the only propitiation for sin) are those whom the gospel categorized as those who are â€Å"in Christ. † They have the perfect righteousness of Christ on their account, and God see them in Christ. On the other hand, all of those who opt to, along with Christ, make use of other means – tradition, religion, the law, etc. – rather than on Christ alone, these are reckoned as descendants of Adam. By the way, no man was ever born automatically â€Å"in Christ. † The contrary is true. Every man was born automatically â€Å"in Adam† because every one descended from Adam physically. Jesus said, â€Å"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit† (Jn. 3:6). What Jesus meant by these words was: spiritual birth does not come along with physical birth. Every man needs to experience spiritual birth because this is how one is born into the kingdom of God. Paul alludes to this in his letters. One of those is in Romans 5:12-21. In 1 Corinthians 15:48, he said: â€Å"As was the man of dust (Adam), so also are those (Adam’s descendants) who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man (Jesus Christ), so also are those (those who are in Christ through faith) who are heavenly. † The Gospel 1. ) God’s Good News (Rom. 1:1). Paul was â€Å"separated to the gospel of God. † This means, according to Newell, God’s special call on Paul to be an apostle. He compared this â€Å"separation† to the cases of those holy men of Old and New Testament who had had the same separation to their specific tasks in the unveiling of God’s redemptive plan. This kind of setting apart, always in each case, began in the mother’s womb. In Paul’s case, it was a calling to be an apostle to the Gentiles – to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles. The gospel is â€Å"God’s good news,† Newell emphasized. Indeed, it was God who initiated to express His love to mankind. Humanity was in sin when God sent His own Son to die so that a perfect sacrifice could be provided for the salvation of His elect. â€Å"For when we were still without strength,† Paul told the Romans, â€Å"in due time Christ died for the ungodly. † 2. ) The Gospel Has its Roots in the Old Testament Scriptures (Rom. 1:1-2). The promises of the Old Testament scriptures pertain to the coming One – the Messiah – who would be a personification of the â€Å"righteousness of God. † The law and the sacrifices in the Temple of Moses all point to the reality of man’s need of redemption. The prophets speak of a time when righteousness would become a reality among God’s people. The Savior would make many righteous, and faith would characterize their life. 3. ) The Gospel is About Christ (Rom. 1:3-4). The gospel is called â€Å"good news† because it tells of God’s deliverance. Apart from the gospel there would be no salvation for man. Israel, until now, would be dependent on sacrificial system and the Gentiles, being deprived of the Old Testament’s God sanctioned ceremonies and promises would remain outside of God’s covenant. Since the gospel is about Christ, it should be understood for what it says about the person and work of Christ. Who is this Christ? What is his nature? What did his life, death, and resurrection accomplished that people should know and believe? These are questions that need to be answered in the gospel. Because the gospel’s message is all about Christ, it follows that he is the sole solution to humanity’s broken relationship with God. In fact, there is no other way of salvation besides Christ (Newell). 4. ) The Gospel Teaches and Results in â€Å"Obedience† Among the Nations (Rom. 1:5). Contrary to the accusations of Paul’s critics, his teaching of the grace of God in the gospel produces genuine obedience to those who believe. If one received grace, service will definitely follow as a result. In verse 8, the effect and outworking of the grace of God as it was released through the gospel in the lives of the Roman Christians, was obedience. Their faith was being â€Å"spoken of† throughout the world. They had become obedient and followed the teachings of Christ. 5. ) It is the Power of God unto Salvation (Rom. 1:16). This truth must be kept in mind by all Christians. There is no other instrument that God employs in the saving of the souls of men but the gospel. There are pressures to yield to the styles of the world. For sure, Paul was tempted to employ humanistic wisdom during his time in Corinth. As he attested to the Christians at Philippi, he had reasons to boast, humanly speaking. He said: â€Å"What things were gain to me, I have counted loss for Christ† (Phil. 3:7). And yet, to the Corinthians he said: â€Å"I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified† (1 Cor. 2:2). It’s the same as what he told the Romans: â€Å"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. † The reason for his uninhibited and unashamed proclamation of the gospel is, because â€Å"it is the power of God unto salvation. † Reference: 1. ) Bruce, FF. 1985. Romans, Inter-Varsity Press, 38 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GP, England. 2. ) DeLashmutt, Gary. 2008. 1340 Community Park Dr. , Columbus OH 43229 (614) 823-6500. [emailprotected] org 3. ) Escalona, Alan. 2008. The Way Christian Ministry Sunday Sermon Manuscript, Iligan City 9200, Phils. 4. ) Newell, William R. Romans Verse by Verse.