Ancient China Essays - Steelmaking, Building Materials, Free Essays

Ancient China Essays - Steelmaking, Building Materials, Free Essays Ancient China The World is forever in debt to China for its innovations. Ancient China was extreme advance and many of its discoveries are still in use today. This is what Robert Temple, the author of The Genius of China 3000 years of science, discovery and invention. The book is based on 11 main parts of Chinese innovation. Within these 11 categories, there are 3 main parts that contain the most significant inventions. Robert Temple concentrates the bulk of his examples in these three categories, agriculture, domestic and industrial technology , and engineering. Temples examples were not limited to these fields of innovation. The Chinese excelled in many other areas, including mathematics, warfare and transportation, to name a few. Although Temple wrote about eleven fields of invention, I feel that these three sections contain the greatest examples of Chinese innovation, and the debt that the modern world owes China. The first main area is the field of engineering. Within this chapter, the development of iron and steel is the greatest achievement. The development of iron and steel led to other advances. By at least the 4th century the Chinese have developed blast furnaces to obtain cast iron from iron ore. This was 1200 years before the first blast furnace showed up in Europe. The reasons that the author gave to explain the reasons why the Chinese developed this technology are simple. The Chinese had access to large amounts of clay, the key ingredient in making blast furnaces. The Chinese also figured out that by adding a substance they called :Black Earth, they could lower the melting point of iron. Another major invention of the Chinese, that led to other achievements, is steel. The common belief today is that Henry Bessemer discovered the process of refining iron into steel. The fact is Chinese had developed the process to refine iron into steel in the second century BC The Chinese learned that by injecting oxygen into the blast furnace, they could remove the carbon from the iron. The Chinese called this process the hundred refinings method since they repeated the process that many times. The finished product was highly prized in China for its strength and ability to hold an edge on a sword. The Chinese would weld the steel onto weaker iron thus creating a strong edge and a superior weapon. The Chinese iron and steel workers were the best at making different types of metals into modern times. But then, no one else could have done so at the time, since iron existed nowhere else but in China. The Chinese invented the chain pump in the first century AD The chain pump allows water to the pumped from lower to higher elevations. The chain pumps were used for draining and pumping in civil engineering, but what is more important is it was used for irrigation. Irrigation allows for greater and more intense farming, thus resulting in a better crop yield. With the greater crop yields larger populations can be supported. The chain pump was exported to all parts of the world by way of visiting ambassadors and dignitaries. The first European chain pump appeared in the sixteenth century, and was a direct copy of the Chinese version. The second area of great Chinese achievement is in domestic and industrial technology. The most recognized Chinese invention is in the field of domestic and industrial technology, paper. Paper was invented around the second century BC and was used as clothing. One might not believe that paper could be used as clothing, but the paper made at that time used thicker and tougher paper fibers. Not only was paper used for clothing, it was also used for military body armor. The Chinese found out that pleated sheets of paper could stop the penetration of arrows. The paper armor was standard issue with Chinese land and sea units. Papers writing property was not discovered till about one century after its discovery. The earliest example of writing on paper was found an abandon military post. The paper found dates back to 110 AD and contained two dozen readable characters. The area that let China grow and expand was the innovations in the area of agriculture. The greatest achievement

Software Liability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Software Liability - Essay Example We need to know more about software liability and know who should be held liable. Issues It is therefore helpful to know what should be protected to be able to make sure that software users are sheltered unintended consequences for any malfunction. Every piece of software comes will a license agreement which strips off the creator for any liability that may result using their product (Tompkins, 2000). We cannot just let the companies sell their products and then by just a click of the license agreement, the programmers are not liable anymore. What if the software is used in medical fields where lives are at risk? What protection should be provided for the end users? Do we have existing protection for the software users? Are the creators, programmers, owners protected too? Discussion Software users should therefore be protected with the contract that they had agreed with the providers, developers or programmers. Each software user enters into a contract or license agreement with the p roviders believing that all the statements regarding the product they wanted to buy or use are true. Thus, any defects and malfunctions of each product or software should be given utmost attention and reparation. According to Kaner (1997), there are a lot of theories which a software consumer is protected and software developer can be sued. The software developer or programmer can be held liable for criminal act and intentional tort, which includes intentional tampering of the consumer’s computer or loading viruses (Kaner, 1997). A consumer can also sue for strict liability and negligence which a defective product caused injury and damage to the consumer since each company has duty to take reasonable measures to make the product safe (Kaner, 1997). Kaner (1997) also included fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unfair deceptive trade practice, unfair competition, and FTC enforcement to cover for misrepresentation of product and other fraudulent and deceptive acts of the progra mmers regarding the software. Lastly, a programmer or company can be sued for breach of contract when in each software transaction, a user and a provider engages in a contract which gives obligation to each other (Kaner, 1997). These protections should not be expanded anymore. Venters (2007) stated that we also need to consider the types of failures that happen. As he explained, there is a big difference between intentional failure and accidental failure (Venters, 2007). Even if we say that consumers can greatly be affected by the malfunctions or defects of the product, we must also consider that the providers such as programmers or developers also did their best to provide the best product with good intention. The software producers, programmers, developers and owners are also protected. The scope of protection and likelihood of enforcement of protection varies by country (International Legal Protection for Software, n.d.). They are protected by Trade Act and other intellectual pro perty and copyright laws in several countries. They are also protected by the license agreement that the consumers or users and providers agreed into. Every time the users agree into license agreement, they are agreeing to the contract and therefore waiving their rights to complain regarding the products they are using. The consumers agreed to purchase the product stating that providers are not liable for any problems that may arise after such transaction. This is their

Web Browsers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Web Browsers - Research Paper Example Over time their usability has increased. Though, their main function is to act as browsers for the web, they are also used in different networking solutions. The first web browser was introduced in 1993 by Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina. It was named Mosaic and made to run on UNIX platform (Rosen et al. 290). Mosaic Communications Corporation was founded and later named Netscape Communications Corporation and hence, the browser was renamed Netscape. Functionality was added over time and it was fairly simple. Various bundles were added along with the browser to improve its functionality and enable it to connect with an email client and for composing a webpage. In 1995, Microsoft countered Netscape with the introduction of Internet Explorer for its Windows platform. The browser was based on the original Mosaic browser. The two companies fought for dominance for almost three years and a race started between the two. This war for dominance is known as the Browser War (Ensor 164). Over this time new features were introduced and the development of feature rich modern browsers started. Microsoft gained dominance by including Internet Explorer fr ee in its Windows operating system and furthermore, developed a version for the UNIX foundation also available free of cost. Netscape could not sustain damages and was sold to Mozilla Foundation; the maker of Firefox. Over time, other browsers joined in the list. Most notable of them are Apple’s Safari, which was introduced in 2003 and the more recently Google’s Chrome introduced in 2008. The major web browsers in use today include Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari. The basic functionality of all these browsers is to enable user navigation in a webpage. Different features have been added over time and they are all different from each other in operation, features and interface. The most common features besides supporting HTML files include; built in search

Learning is a major part of life. Essay Example for Free

Learning is a major part of life. Essay People tend to learn in every steps of their life. Learning does not necessarily involve complex terms, it can also be primitive things that keeps happening in day to day life of an individual. Everybody has different interest, likewise they have a different pattern of learning things. Some people learn faster through visual medium, some through audio, and some just writing down the things depending upon what the subject matter is. I believe that learning process does not start when one settles in a formal environment but it start right from the birth of an individual. Walking, talking, decision making etc. are some examples including every other primary things are the result of learning. Every time anyone has to acquire a new skills, they need to be focused and scrutinize the subject matter thoroughly, that is how learning happens. Learning affects the confidence of a person as well. If someone learn things quickly than they have higher confidence in doing things and learning new things as well. After going through the video couple of times I realized that one who puts hard work and devotion in learning new things can automatically adapt into the ways the things are done and will become successful. I myself am very much interested in music and vaguely inspired by the beauty of it. I think music can be the most influential thing in an individual life. Music can make a person relax after a hard day at work, cure the illness, provides maximum level of comfort to an individual. Being so much influenced on music I have managed to learn a very few instruments and it always gives me pleasure and comfort when I am playing them. But I do not want to stop here. I want to learn more about music. I want to be able to read the music and understand every keys and notation in it. I want to be a musician like David Gilmour from the greatest band ever, â€Å"Pink Floyd,† who is able to play any string musical instrument that exists in planet today. I am currently doing my major in Business with Information Technology however in order to fulfill my ambition in music I have also planned to take music as my minor subject and later on carry it as my profession along with my  Business major degree. It is very much important to me because of my vague interest in it, but mostly it makes me very happy. Finally, I am profoundly inspired from the video that I just watched and it helped me to boost up my morale. I do have much respect for the people attempting to make things happen and these people are just one of those few who dare to take the challenges and do something that makes difference to others.

Shakespeares Midsummer Nights Dream is An Elizabethan Era Play with a

An Elizabethan Era Play with a Greek Twist William Shakespeare wrote the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, sometime in the 1590's. The play, a romantic comedy, portrays the adventures of four young lovers, an amateur actor's group, their interactions with a Duke and Duchess, and with fairies in a moonlit forest. Although Shakespeare used certain themes in this play to portray Greek aspects, the reflection of Elizabethan England is dominant in several different ways. Shakespeare's use of fairies, the way women are treated, and the use of a class system in this play are all perfect examples of how very Elizabethan this beloved tale actually is. The Elizabethan era was approximately 1558-1603. During this period of time, the idolization of fairies was very popular. This is evident in A Midsummer Night?s Dream. Shakespeare introduces to his readers a group of fairies that delights everyone with their heartwarming antics. These enchanting and mischievous fairies are a product of the times that Shakespeare grew up in. The fairies that the people of the Eliz... Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream is An Elizabethan Era Play with a An Elizabethan Era Play with a Greek Twist William Shakespeare wrote the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, sometime in the 1590's. The play, a romantic comedy, portrays the adventures of four young lovers, an amateur actor's group, their interactions with a Duke and Duchess, and with fairies in a moonlit forest. Although Shakespeare used certain themes in this play to portray Greek aspects, the reflection of Elizabethan England is dominant in several different ways. Shakespeare's use of fairies, the way women are treated, and the use of a class system in this play are all perfect examples of how very Elizabethan this beloved tale actually is. The Elizabethan era was approximately 1558-1603. During this period of time, the idolization of fairies was very popular. This is evident in A Midsummer Night?s Dream. Shakespeare introduces to his readers a group of fairies that delights everyone with their heartwarming antics. These enchanting and mischievous fairies are a product of the times that Shakespeare grew up in. The fairies that the people of the Eliz...

How does the author make Lennie a sympathetic character? Essay

In â€Å"OF MICE AND MEN† John Steinback makes Lennie a sympathetic character by the way he is described as in physique and also in means of mentality. Lennie is also described by the author in the way the other characters in the story describe him. His act of speech and his actions is also provided in the story. Lennie’s attitude and actions are not the same towards all the characters in the story. He gets along well with some of the characters in the story and with some he doesn’t. The fact that is really strange is that, his physique doesn’t match his mentality. The time at which this book was written, USA was going under The Depression. At which during this time many people were left unemployed. Most of the people who worked in the ranches at that time were all surviving and had just enough food to feed themselves. They were given very low wages and had to work in very bad conditions. People usually traveled miles together to find a job as they never had a fixed contract. Since all this used to happen in the late 1930’s, people would walk across the country in order to find a job and many a times they would get robbed as the majority of them traveled solo. But here, George and Lennie are an exception. Throughout the story, all the characters are alone except for George and Lennie, as I mentioned above earlier in the passage. During this depression people were hopeless as there was no unemployment money and there was no money paid by the government to those who were unemployed. At that time, the wanting to have a job was so desperate that the people would rob you or kill you inorder to take the job. In many cases they would also use your name for having the job making the person incharge think that it is the person who had sent a letter to them asking for a job. In â€Å"Of Mice And Men†, Lennie has been described by John Steinbeck as a very simple character who indulges innocence of a small boy without him realising it. He is not what he seems to be, in other words we can say that his physique does not match his personality. In comparison to George, Lennie is big, heavy, strong and not intelligent. He is described as any other ordinary person working in the farm. Many a times he doesn’t tend to kill animals whom he takes care of because he thinks that he is petting it. A perfect example is when he is petting the pup and he accidentally kills it. He hides it and tells George that his intention was to take care of it. This tells us that he loves animals and he himself doesn’t know how much harm he is doing to the animal because he doesn’t know how strong he is. He often acts like a kid because usually a small kid gives respect to an elder person who acts properly with him and treats him in a nice way. From the characters from the story, Lennie is recognised as a type of person who has a very low understanding power but person who is very strong in terms of physical matters. He doesn’t get along well with all the characters in the story. The only ones he gets along well are the ones who are good to them. Lennie is often known to be as a kid because most of his actions are quite childish and he isn’t responsible as a man of his age is supposed to be. This can be proved because George takes care of Lennie’s work card. He has to be incharge and give him his meals during the right times like a mother should do for her child. Another thing what proves this is that, Lennie is told off by George not to drink in the dirty water. This fact tells us that Lennie doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong. When George takes the dead mouse from Lennie’s hand, he starts to cry. He doesn’t get along very well with Curley and his wife because the very moment he came to the Ranch, Curley hated him. Before Curley attacked him, Curley didn’t know how strong he was and it was only after Lennie squeezed his hand he knew his strength. He had the wrong impression of Lennie. This tells us that Lennie always wanted to look for fights and get other people into trouble. After the fight we don’t see any more of Curley until the last part when he wants to kill Lennie after his death of his wife. From the first part of the story when the author gives us the physical description of Lennie, we could say that George was a man of low understanding power and Lennie was the man which was the opposite of George. We can prove this because John Steinbeck says that â€Å"the way a bear drags his paws†. This gives us the first impression that Lennie is a huge man. Also the author doesn’t mention who is who in the when he gives the description of both the characters. Whenever in the story when Lennie makes George angry, he is upset like a kid because always wants to make his elders happy. Lennie totally depends on George because he knows that he can’t do anything alone and he needs George to be with him. This can be proved in the line â€Å"†¦somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself†. In this line George tells us that if Lennie was on his own, he would be shot by the owner for whom he worked for. Nobody would accept him due to his stupidity and lack of understanding. He often tends to over and over again and sometimes forgets to what he is told before. George tells Lennie between the difference right and wrong because † Curley says he’s keepin’ that hand soft for his wife†. It tells us that he doesn’t know what it means. George tries to tell and make Lennie understand that Curley’s wife is a seductive type of woman and he should try to keep away from her.Curley’s wife is a seductive type of woman and he should try to keep away from her because she could get him into trouble. From first itself when George sees Curley’s wife he says â€Å"she’s got the eye†. He tells Lennie that she tries to flirt with Carlson and Slim. Lennie is only left alone once in the ranch when George goes out with his people of work. He is told by George to stay away from her. After he is told that, whenever Curley’s wife tries to speak to her he tells her directly that he is not supposed to speak to her. Lennie is forced by George not to speak in the beginning part of the story when they go to the ranch to get a job. He fears that Lennie will say something stupid and show how dumb he is and this might cause them to loose their job. To prove this he says this in the exact words â€Å"I’ll give him the work tickets, but you ain’t gonna say a word. You jus’ stand there and don’t say nothing†. Lennie often tends to forget what he did in the past. The way he speaks is ungrammatical and moreover like a lower class type of dialogue. They use a colloquial way to speak with eachother and Lennie many a times repeats the sentences again and again.

Role of Women in Hemmingways Hills like White Elephants,...

Role of Women in Hemmingways Hills like White Elephants, Lawrences The Horse Dealers Daughter and Faulkners A Rose for Emily The role of women in society is constantly questioned and for centuries women have struggled to find their place in a world that is predominantly male oriented. Literature provides a window into the lives, thoughts and actions of women during certain periods of time in a fictitious form, yet often truthful in many ways. Ernest Hemmingways Hills like White Elephants, D.H. Lawrences The Horse Dealers Daughter and William Faulkners A Rose for Emily each paint a picture of a woman who has failed to break away from her male companion, all describing a stereotypically dominated woman. Through submissive†¦show more content†¦By doing this Hemingway succeededs in creating a character who cannot be respected but is instead pitied. In a discussion, with her American lover, Jig comments about the hills surrounding them, comparing them to white elephants, only for him to tell her that what she is saying is wrong. Rather than defend something that is her own opinion she changes the subject and later apologizes for saying it in the first place. They look like white elephants, she said. Ive never seen one, the man drank his beer. No, you wouldnt have. I might have, the man said. Just because you say I wouldnt have doesnt prove anything. .......................... Theyre lovely hills, she said. They really dont look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees. Jigs main objective throughout the story is ensuring that her partner is happy. This is apparent when she tells him that she will go through with the abortion. Then Ill do it. Because I dont care about me. And Ill do it and then everything will be fine. Through these comments it is evident that she truly believes if she has an abortion their relationship will be fine giving little thought to the emotional and physical trauma the procedure will cause. Jigs subservient attitude is indicative of her low self esteem throughout the story. She allows herself to be shaped by a man whose care for her is more than obviously not a reciprocation of hers forShow MoreRelatedRole of Women in Literature Essay2336 Words   |  10 PagesThe Representation of Women in Literature br brThe role of women in society is constantly questioned and for centuries women have struggled to find their place in a world that is predominantly male oriented. Literature provides a window into the lives, thoughts and a ctions of women during certain periods of time in a fictitious form, yet often truthful in many ways. Ernest Hemmingways Hills like White Elephants, D.H. Lawrences The Horse Dealers Daughter and William Faulkners A Rose for