IT project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

IT anticipate - Essay Example It needs to address the individuals or the human asset part of the framework, which inspects the workers of the organization. Besides, the building perspectives ought to in corporate a procedure which empowers the representatives to have a legitimate informal communication framework. The undertaking ought to be in a situation to help all the necessary procedures and contain data that bolsters all the procedures. It is additionally significant that the ease of use part of the framework is considered relying upon the workplace of the equivalent. It ought to cook for al the laborers with no trouble in use/ There ought to be space for changes the informal communication framework to suit the requirements of the workers over the towns that are spoken to in the systems administration just in the event that need emerges for the equivalent. This can be regarding new innovative changes or headway in innovation with time. The framework must be anything but difficult to utilize and have route keys that are sufficiently definite to be a reasonable manual for representatives looking for different data or those needing liasing and associating with individual workers. On the off chance that need emerges, or representatives whine that the ease of use part of the framework ought to be improved, it ought not be a trouble in doing likewise. A group of technocrats should be set up to deal with this. The primary stage should introduce the subtleties of the organization to the clients, at that point the subsequent part is the place the clients key in their subtleties so as to have the option to get to all the data and have ease in access to anything they desire. The information get to interface involves all insights concerning organizing, schedules, gatherings and meetings of the laborers and the administration, and some other for of correspondence that the organization plans. At long last the last interface is a store of the considerable number of information that is prepared in the framework with time or every once in a while (Clements, 2003). All in all, I accept that these two design perspectives can take into account the

An Effect of an Acidic Fluid on Enzymatic Activity Lab Report

An Effect of an Acidic Fluid on Enzymatic Activity - Lab Report Example The scientist tells that compounds are comprised of protein particles. They catalyze biochemical responses. The catalyst catalyzes the response where the reactants are a compound and the substrate. Substrates join at a functioning site. One compound is equipped for catalyzing one response as it were. Proteins are exceptionally delicate particles and they get denatured if their temperature is changed. Proteins are likewise delicate to the pH states of the medium in which they are available; pH straightforwardly impacts the atomic structure, it additionally influences the structure of the amino acids. Amino acids are the fundamental units of protein atoms and are amphoteric in nature, proposing that they keep up the sub-atomic harmony. Any modification in the pH will either empower the amino corrosive to lose electron or proton. One additional electron changes the structure of amino acids. This straightforwardly impacts the structure or changes the capacity of the protein. The pH range s from 1 to 14 on the pH scale. The nearness of H+ in arrangement produces acidic condition causes sharpness. More the quantity of H+ particles increasingly acidic the condition will be and henceforth the PH will be lower. The pH estimation of 7 is considered as the unbiased pH while pH estimation of more than 7 and up to 14 is considered as the fundamental pH. The essential pH has more OH-particles Acidic pH impacts the structure of the catalyst and furthermore its activity.â

The Sound of Irrelevance

The Sound of Irrelevance I am standing on a street corner in downtown Fargo, jokingly holding a pay phone receiver to my ear.  Theres an odd buzzing sound thrumming through the earpiece. It takes me a moment to realize what it is. Although I havent heard from her in a while, I remember her wellâ€"sedulous Ms. Dial Tone, singing her monotone song each time I lifted my phone from its cradle. But that was a while ago, back when I had home-phone service. These days, however, Ms. T. hardly comes around at all; occasionally shell make an appearance at the office, but even there she sings less and less each day, displaced by email and texts and data and, of course, mobile phones. Not surprisingly, no one has missed Ms. Dial Tone; no petitions are being signed to bring her back. Even though she played a vital role for 130 years, shes no longer relevant. And she never will be again. So here I am, pay phone in hand, listening to the droning sound of irrelevance. Likewise, there are material items in our lives thatve added value for yearsâ€"clothes, kitchenware, electronics, furniture, etc. But in time, even the most useful belongings become irrelevant. After which, we must let go, lest we cling to irrelevance. What possessions do you own thatve lost their relevance? What would it take to let go?  Join the conversations on Facebook and Twitter. “The Sound of Irrelevance” was originally a passage in Everything That Remains, but its chapter was one of many that didn’t make the final draft, so I decided to share it here instead.  For more  essays from The Minimalists, subscribe for free via  email.

The Inaugural Address Of John F. Kennedy - 1441 Words

The Pathway to Success â€Å"The Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy is considered one of the greatest speeches in twentieth-century American public address,† says Sara Ann Mehltretter from Penn State University. The 1960s was an important time period during American history. The speech was said to motivate Americans and unite them to successfully create a powerful government. In a time of desperation, the actions that the United States government would take to help come out successful was very important for the countries future. In John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration Address, he used ethos, pathos and logos, to grab the audience’s full attention about the worries of communism and nuclear warfare. Historical Background During the early 1950s,†¦show more content†¦He stduied at Harvard University and graduated in 1940. Following he entered the naval service during World War Two. Growing up in a family of politics, he entered in 1946 and won as a Democrat to the US House of Representatives. Later in the 1952, he was elected to the Senate. In 1960, Kennedy successful won the presidential election and defeated Richard Nixon. At such a young age, 43, Kennedy was the first Catholic head of the state. Kennedy’s years in office were flagged as the foreign tensions between the Soviet Union. In November of 1963, John F. Kennedy is in Dallas to give a speech. As the Kennedy’s are in a convertible with his vice president, waving to the large loud crowd, while Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from a sixth-floor building. One of the shots fatally injuring president John F. Kennedy and the same bullet seriously injuring Governor Connally. The world stood in shock, as he was r ushed to the hospital and 30 minutes later he was pronounced dead at Dallas’ Parkland Hospital. Even though the motive of the death led to a dead end. Although many people did support John F. Kennedy many anti-government and pro-slavery people didn’t like the changes that Kennedy did to help support the slaves and improve societies viewpoint on slavery, but John F. Kennedy will always be known as a very important man for the future of colored people and the United States as a whole. Rhetorical Analysis In 1961, John F.Show MoreRelatedJohn F. Kennedy Inaugural Address1099 Words   |  5 Pagesbrighter than one of our own presidents. It was January 20, 1962 when John Fitzgerald Kennedy took stage to be the thirty-fifth president of the United States. Written by Kennedy in late November of 1960, his inauguration speech goes to explain the various changes of the world as Kennedy campaigned to â€Å"get the country moving again.† His speech begins to address the differences of the generations as he wants to â€Å"pass the torch.† Kennedy expresses various ways of getting people together which he basesRead MoreThe Inaugural Address Of John F. Kennedy1654 Words   |  7 PagesAn Effort Closer to A Better Country â€Å"The Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy is considered one of the greatest speeches in twentieth-century American public address,† says Sara Ann Mehltretter from Penn State University. The 1960s was an important time period during American history. The speech was said to motivate Americans and unite them to successfully create a powerful government. In a time of desperation, the actions that the United States government would take to help come out successfulRead MorePresident John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address1532 Words   |  7 PagesApril 20, 1961 John F. Kennedy. What do all these dates and names have in common is a question you may ask. One is that each name is of one of the many presidents of the United States. Two is the dates are the dates of each ones Inaugural address. The first ever Inaugural address was done April 30, 1789 by none other than the United States first president George Washington. Many have heard and Inaugural address but just in case you happen n ot to know what one is an Inaugural address is a speech givenRead MoreComparison Of John F Kennedy Inaugural Address999 Words   |  4 Pages The Inauguration of President John F. Kennedy and the Farewell Address to the Nation by President Ronald Reagan share similar tones when addressing the American people. As one President enters the white house and the other leaves, both men share their admiration, strength, and compassion that the American people share when working together. The Farewell Address and the Inauguration were two of the most memorable speeches of all time. It is as though both men were speaking to the public as if theyRead MoreThe Legacy Of John F. Kennedy s Inaugural Address1030 Words   |  5 PagesJohn F. Kennedy was seen as one of the most charming, prominent, and youngest American presidents of our time. He brought ideas and plans to make America a better place when he stepped into office. His run as president was so unique because he had set out plans for o ffice, but he was assassinated before he could go through with some of them. Vice president Lyndon B. Johnson stepped up to the challenge to continue Kennedy’s plans (John F. Kennedy). John F. Kennedy’s domestic policies in the CivilRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of John F. Kennedy s Inaugural Address971 Words   |  4 PagesA Rhetorical Analysis of John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address By 1961, The United States of America was struggling with racial tension and social inequalities, while fighting communism internationally and protecting the public from the weapons and devices of our adversaries abroad. Confusion and fear had invaded the minds of the American people as the cold war neared its pinnacle; they were desperate for a strong, reassuring leader. John F. Kennedy provided this reassurance when he addressed the nationRead MorePresident John F. Kennedy and His Inaugural Address Essay1067 Words   |  5 Pageswill forever be a day that marks a special moment in time in which President John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered one of the most memorable speeches in American History. His Inaugural address is one in which many famous quotes come from and one that is emulated in present speeches. In order to understand the importance of this inoculation one must understand the atmosphere of our nation at that time and what President Kennedy was trying to get across to his constituents. In this essay I will give youRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of John F. Kennedy s Inaugural Address Essay1566 Words   |  7 Pages NOT PRIDE BUT FREEDOM: Rhetorical Analysis of John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address Tanner A. Woody Anderson University On January 20, 1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered a speech with a backdrop of snow and a twenty-degree wind blowing in his face in Washington D.C. In his speech, he starts off with saying that his victory is not for a party but it is for freedom. At the climax of his speech, JFK delivers a call to action which is also the most well-known line from his speech:Read MoreRhetorical Analysis Of John F. Kennedy s Inaugural Address892 Words   |  4 Pagessuccessfully covey messages to their audience. John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, Severn Cullis-Suzuki’s Address to the Plenary Session, Earth Summit and Charlie Chaplin’s Let us all unite, all provide excellent examples of a distinctive voice. Each of these distinctive voices is formed through the use of emotive language, tone, repetition and rhetorical devices. JFK’s, Inaugural address states President Kennedy’s vision and mission for his term in office. Kennedy discusses important topics such as humanRead MoreAmerican Hope And Nationalism : John F. Kennedy s Inaugural Address1584 Words   |  7 Pages Revival of American Hope and Nationalism : John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, 1961 Leading up to the election of 1960, the United States was in a state of utter disarray. Like a pandemic disease, hysteria impetuously swept across the country on an unprecedented scale. The root of the mania stemmed from the unresolved disagreements between Soviet Russia and the U.S. immediately after the disassembly of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich in World War II. As disputes intensified, the two most powerful

High School Should Start Later Than Elementary School

Have you ever had a restless night of sleep? The feelings of achiness and fatigue overwhelms you the whole day. Now imagine that you slept this was every night. Accomplishing simple tasks would be difficult if one is sleep deprived. Performing at your potential would almost be impossible. In order to get rid of these unforgettable feeling many people would sleep late and go to bed early. But with such early start times for high school many students feel sleep deprived and do not achieve their best. Doing so would improve students health. Some individuals feel that keeping the start times at their current time would be best for parents and school districts. However, many people believe that delaying school start times would positively†¦show more content†¦As a result of a changing body and mind, adolescent sleep cycles have different needs than those of adults or younger children. As a matter of fact, Biologically, sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence -- meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm (â€Å"Teens†). In addition to biological change in sleep patterns, teenagers also tend to have eccentric sleep cycles. Obtaining less than healthy hours of sleep during the school week and then catching up on their sleep on the weekends. Most teenagers during the school week, do not get the suggested amount of sleep. In fact, according to a recent poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 80% of teenagers do not get the suggested amount of sleep of 9 hours on school nights (â€Å"School Start†). With changing bodies and minds, along with an increased amount of schoolwork and extracurricular activities, teenagers need more sleep than children of a younger age. Experts believe that moving back the start time of school for high school students will improve grades, test scores, and the overall health and personality of many students. Some people believe that school times should stay the way they are, with high school students starting earlier than elementary school students. Even with such fascinating evidenceShow MoreRelatedGraduation Speech : The National Sleep Foundation1681 Words   |  7 Pagesduring the school year. A big component of sleep loss is a direct result of the early start times for high school. Between after school sports, work, and homework the average teen does not make it to bed before 11p.m. Adolescents then proceed to wake up before 6:30 a.m. to make it to school on time leaving them with an insufficient amount of sleep. Many fatigued teenagers then come to school and easily miss out on learning. School officials have presented a variety of solutions to school boards toRead MoreThe Day Dreamers1574 Words   |  7 PagesCity High are sluggish and lethargic? Are they just lazy and unmotivated? No, most of them probably suffer from lack of sleep, caused by biological clocks that are set to a different schedule than their classes. Teenagers have a physiological need to stay up later and sleep longer than pre-adolescents, yet the daily schedule of the school runs oblivious to this. At City High students usually have to get up a little before 6:30, yet it is only natural for teenagers to get up later in theRead MoreSchools Should Have A Later Start Time1324 Words   |  6 Pagesa considerable amount of investigating it appears as if their lack of energy could be due to sleep deprivation resulting from early school start times. When later school times have been compared to those schools that start earlier, there are significant changes in the behaviors and results that students emit in a school environment. Schools should have a later start time that is better suited to the biological needs of adolescents as a way to aid them in achieving a higher quality education. ThereRead MoreLater School Start Times Essay1415 Words   |  6 PagesLater School Start Times Everyone has always hated getting up super early to go to school. As children get older they move to different schools, from elementary to middle to high school, and the start times get earlier. In elementary school it was never a problem getting up but getting older, it always got harder to get up and the days were always longer. Schools start so early in the morning that it is hard to focus and students tend to miss more of their earlier classes and attend all of theirRead MoreThe Era of Sleep Is Over Essay1416 Words   |  6 PagesI have found a problem that should not be over looked. For many years students and teachers have had precious hours of sleep seized from them by schools all across the great United States of America. I am no attorney, but I do know seizure of property without a proper warrant is against the Fourth Amendment; one of the twenty seven amendments our very nation has been built upon today. I am not proposing we go to court with our school systems, but I am s uggesting we can all comprise and find a fewRead MoreSchool Start Times And High Quality Sleep999 Words   |  4 Pagesaspect that varies wildly across the country is school start times. Deciding the start times for schools is dependent on many factors including bus schedules (Edwards, 2012), biological development (Borlase, Gander, Gibson, 2013; Perkinson-Gloor, Lemola, Grob, 2013), and parental preference (Edwards, 2012; Perkinson-Gloor et al., 2013). School start times are considered one aspect that can affect sleep duration, since they affect wake time. Adequate, high quality sleep is extremely important for adolescentsRead MoreShould School Start Later?1128 Words   |  5 PagesShould School Start Later? For years, experts have debated when the proper start time for high schools in America should be. Most high schools start at around 8:00 A.M. and some even earlier. New findings have led many experts to believe that schools should start later than 8:00, around 9:00 to 9:30. Most students would agree and appreciate the extra sleep. Starting school later would be beneficial because teenagers need to go to bed later and get up later, less sleep for students means lowerRead More Sleep Deprivation in Americas Students Essay1485 Words   |  6 Pagessleeping in class, they are not retaining information being taught to them. Researchers have now proven that the majority of adolescents retain more information later in the day. Contrary to this information, America’s school systems are programmed to begin early in the day, which according to the sleep rhythms of most teenagers, they should still be sleeping. Lack of sleep of teens is not caused by choice. Many teens do not choose to stay up late at night because they are out or having fun. TheRead MoreBackground On School Start Times1553 Words   |  7 PagesBackground on School Start Times in the United States For years and years there has been a lot of discussion about when a reasonable time for students to wake up and go to school should be. There are two main sides. One side believes that school should start later, and the other side believes that the school start times should not be changed. The average teenagers’ alarm for school goes off as early as 6:00 A.M. A little less than half of U.S. public schools start before 8:00 A.M. Studies show thatRead MoreGraduation Speech : School Start Times1192 Words   |  5 PagesSchool Start Times At six in the morning a loud blaring Beep Beep Beep blares from a teenager’s alarm clock followed by an agitated smack of a hand. Everyday, students stumble into school stressed out and exhausted. High schools around the nation begin around seven in the morning causing students to fall asleep in classes. For years this has been occurring, but now it is time for change. All high schools should start later in the morning to improve the overall experience of schooling. In medical

Jerk Free Essays

Jerk (Retrieved from http://physics. info/kinematics-calculus/ ) †¢ Jerk is the rate of change of acceleration with time. j = da dt †¢ Jerk is the first derivative of acceleration, the second derivative of velocity, and the third derivative of displacement. We will write a custom essay sample on Jerk or any similar topic only for you Order Now j = da = d2v = d3r dt dt2 dt3 †¢ The SI unit of jerk is the meter per second cubed. ? ? m/s3 = m/s2 ? ? s †¢ An alternate unit is the g per second. ? ? g = 9. 80665 m/s2 = 9. 80665 m/s3 ? ? s s †¢ Why is Jerk a meaningful quantity? The human body is equipped with sensors to sense acceleration and jerk. Located deep inside the ear, integrated into our skulls, lies a series of chambers called the labyrinth. Part of this labyrinth is dedicated to our sense of hearing (the cochlea) and part to our sense of balance (the vestibular system). The vestibular system comes equipped with sensors that detect rotational acceleration (the semicircular canals) and sensors that detect linear acceleration (the otoliths). We have two otoliths in each ear — one for detecting acceleration in the horizontal plane (the utricle) and one for detecting acceleration in the vertical place (the saccule). Otoliths are our own built in accelerometers. The word otolith comes from the Greek (oto, ear) and (lithos, stone). Each of our four otoliths consists of a hard bone-like plate attached to a mat of sensory fibers. When the head accelerates, the plate shifts to one side, bending the sensory fibers. This sends a signal to the brain saying â€Å"we’re accelerating. Since gravity also tugs on the plates, the signal may also mean â€Å"this way is down. † The brain is quite good at figuring out the difference between the two interpretations. So good, that we tend to ignore it. (Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch — where’s balance in this list? ) We ignore it until something changes in an unusual, unexpected, or extreme way. I’ve never been in orbit or lived on another plan et. Gravity always pulls me down in the same way. Standing, walking, sitting, lying — it’s all quite sedate. Now let’s hop in a roller coaster (or engage in a similarly thrilling activity like downhill skiing, Formula One racing, or cycling in Manhattan traffic). Acceleration is directed first one way, then another. You may even experience brief periods of weightlessness or inversion. These kinds of sensations generate intense mental activity, which is why we like doing them. They also sharpen us up and keep us focused during possibly life ending moments, which is why we evolved this sense in the first place. Your ability to sense jerk is vital to your health and well being. Jerk can be both frightening and exciting. Algebraic definition of Jerk: where is acceleration, is velocity, is position, t is time. Jerk is a vector, and there is no generally used term to describe its scalar magnitude (e. g. , â€Å"speed† as the scalar magnitude for velocity). The SI units of jerk are metres per second cubed (metres per second per second per second, m/s3, or m ·s? 3). There is no universal agreement on the symbol for jerk, but j is commonly used. Newton’s notation for the derivative of acceleration can also be used, especially when â€Å"surge† or â€Å"lurch† is used instead of â€Å"jerk† or â€Å"jolt†. If acceleration can be felt by a body as the force (hence pressure) exerted by the object bringing about the acceleration on the body, jerk can be felt as the change in this pressure. For example a passenger in an accelerating vehicle with zero jerk will feel a constant force from the seat on his or her body; whereas positive jerk will be felt as increasing force on the body, and negative jerk as decreasing force on the body. How to cite Jerk, Papers

Solving Elliptic Partial Implementation System

Question: Discuss about the Solving Elliptic Partial for Implementation System. Answer: Introduction The analysis is based on the implementation and the system configuration process. This is seen to be bigger and more considerable than the actual software. The larger applications are sold through the resellers where there has been the development of the organization with the customization and the support services. The personal accounting is based on handling the different supporting accounts payable type transactions to manage the budget and the other account reconciliation process. Accounting Software Package The types of the accounting software packages are the accounts which are payable, receivable, etc. This is based on handling and serving the national market with the larger suppliers who serve the single national market. The lower end products are characterized by the single entry and the double entry systems. The mid-market covers the range of the business software solutions which is capable of setting the accounting standards with the integrated add-on information management. (Lartillot et al., 2009). The software applications include the industrial standard robust database with the reporting tools and configuration of the applications. History Considering the accounting in the general ledger, there has been a focus on the accounts of the cash with the receivables, payables, and the other equity limits. The entire analysis is based on handling the manual registration process which includes the launch of the computerized computing software with the other financial personnel information. The calculations and the Turbo Tax is based on the accounting of business set under the small and the middle sized organizations. The higher end market works on the ERP software where there has been a major implementation and the set of functions for the integration, configuration, and the customization process. A higher end solution has been designed to support the company-specific process with the highly customized requirements of the business for the implementation. (Van de Peer et al., 1997). Companies with the Accounting Software Packages Built in Australia As per the analysis, the companies are: Intuit QuickBooks, MYOB, Reckon, XERO. The Intuit QuickBooks has been the smaller enterprise which has been working on the different solutions of the enterprise. The major primary function for them is to charge and work on the wide degree of the features. The commercialisation process is based on tracking the profit, loss and the costs of the system. MYOB is mainly for the accounting purpose where the designs and the functions have been set to carry out the software. The carrying out of the information to the proprietors with the profitability based decisions help in actual view of the commercialized enterprise operations. The Australian based company works on handling the store sign ups as well as the handling the transaction sale. Reckon works on the higher accounting quality and the bookkeepers. This has been through the identification of the costs of cloud computing which is based on the different medium and the small scale business platforms. This includes the pattern of the pricing interface with the proper receive of the information of the debit and the credit card. (Pellergrini et al., 1996). Xero has been the best company which can handle the cloud-based accounting software for the different business patterns. Its products have been based on the SaaS model with the subscription that has been based on the different types of the computer entities and has been managed by the subscriber. There have been acquisitions set for the automatic banking and the credit card accounting feeds which involve the invoicing and the account payable with the depreciation of the fixed assets. This offers that API can help the customers to integrate the applications with Xero and incorporate the payroll features for the Australia and the other US markets. Current Marketing Research Considering the development and the changes in the technology, Australia has been working on competing for the software technology with the Xeros and the QuickBooks which are the New Zealand and the US-based firms. The QBO has been working on the global rising with the introduction for the different Australian market setup. Xeros works on the time of 3 years to facilitate the smaller companies. (Enders, 2008). There has been a refreshment with proper communication of work with the 12 months' growth in a year. Market Leaders Xero, the accounting software package firm has been seen to be the leader in the marketing firm which focus on the representation of the work with the higher segmented shared. The company has been working on the investments with management to execute and work on the increased methodology. The technology of using the Software-as-a-Service pattern with the generation of execution plans has been able to elevate the strategic modules which include the decisions based on the smaller accounting platforms with, the larger four patterns. The market needs to work on the smaller development of the teams with the increased risks of the vendors and reduced availability of the support. This can be easily weighed out through the implementation cost, and the end user training time and the costs. Competitive advantage Challenges As per the research, it has been seen Xero has been facing a lot of competitive advantages where the company works on the different hybrid solutions with the incorporation of the business work. The company has to focus on the intentional patterns where the partners can include the rectangular, Vend, Receipt Bank and the Payroll of Zen. With this, about extra 20% has been able to work on different commercialized enterprise solutions with the uploading of programs. The company needs to focus on handling the software vendors with the ability to offer the advanced software at a lower price cost. The entire multiple stages of growth are for the featuring of the mid-market and the higher end software market growth which enables the advanced customization and the scalable database production. The companies have been working on the expansion with the allowing of the workers to work from home so that they can easily connect with the different clients as and when needed. The options have been set to employ SaaS that has been able to offer the accessibility to work on the different projects. (Bank, 1998). We need to work on handling the software programs and the applications at the time of handling the cloud-based patterns. The primary concern comes when there is a need to keep a check on the security records that have been prone to the hackers, fraud, and the other threatening processes. The work is challenged through the security customization of the other groups. Recommendations With the changing technology and the connections of the Internet, the companies and the accounting software companies have to work on handling the monthly recurring charges rather than the larger upfront of the license free. With the rate of the adoption, the business models have been to work on the legacy where there has been a major focus to handle the online versions. This will completely avoid the charges of the monthly subscription. Conclusion With the changing development, there has been no comparison that is set with the internal management, accounting or the budgeting patterns with MAS accounting. There has been relevant software which is accessible on the different setup. The companies are providing with the easy processing by completely being available on the mobile apps with the inventory items to speed up the invoicing. This is based on tracking the sales and the purchases along with the reconciling of the other currency accounts, inventory, invoicing and the tracking of the time patterns. Reference Lartillot, N., Lepage, T. and Blanquart, S., 2009. PhyloBayes 3: a Bayesian software package for phylogenetic reconstruction and molecular dating.Bioinformatics,25(17), pp.2286-2288. Van de Peer, Y. and De Wachter, R., 1997. Construction of evolutionary distance trees with TREECON for Windows: accounting for variation in nucleotide substitution rate among sites.Computer applications in the biosciences: CABIOS,13(3), pp.227-230. Pellegrini, F. and Roman, J., 1996, April. Scotch: A software package for static mapping by dual recursive bipartitioning of process and architecture graphs. InInternational Conference on High-Performance Computing and Networking(pp. 493-498). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Enders, W., 2008.Applied econometric time series. John Wiley Sons. imÃ…Â ¯nek, J., Van Genuchten, M.T. and ejna, M., 2006. The HYDRUS software package for simulating two-and three-dimensional movement of water, heat, and multiple solutes in variably-saturated media.Technical manual, version,1, p.241. Bank, R.E., 1998.PLTMG, a Software Package for Solving Elliptic Partial Differential Equations: Users' Guide 8.0(Vol. 5). Siam.

El Nino Has Been A Reoccurring Phenomenon For Centuries. Man Has Only

El Nino has been a reoccurring phenomenon for centuries. Man has only started to realize how much of the worlds weather is effected by it. The term El Nino refers to an irregular warming of the seas surface. During the last 40 years there have been 10 significant El Nino occurrences. Most affecting the coast of South America. Water temperatures increase along the coast as far as the Galapagos islands. Weak events will raise the water temperature 2 to 4 degrees Celsius and will have minor impact on fishing. However strong events such as the 1982-83 event will disrupt climate conditions around the world as well as local conditions. It has been linked to floods and droughts all over the world. Hurricanes and tropical storms are also altered in their numbers by El Nino. Therefore it would be very helpful for people if El Nino could be predicted and prepared for in some form. During a El Nino cycle there are many biological changes. Due to a depressed thermocline there is less photosynthetic activity resulting in a decrease in the primary life forms that form the beginning of the food chain. The warmer waters that are brought by these changing cycles hold less dissolved oxygen forcing fish to go deeper or venture elsewhere. Due to a lack of data during El Nino occurrences it is not fully known if fish populations are depleted solely due to exposure to El Nino. A decrease in their growth and reproductive success has been observed by many surveys in coastal waters. The link between climatic effects around the world and El Nino is now well established. It has taken many years of studying to understand how the pieces of the puzzle, from ocean currents to winds and heavy rains fit together. During the 1920s a scientist was on assignment in India trying to predict the Asian monsoons. As he sorted through his records he discovered a connection between barometer readings at stations on the eastern and western sides of the Pacific. He noticed that when pressure rises in the west it usually falls in the east and vice versa. He coined this term Southern Oscillation. When it is on its high index state pressure is high on the eastern side of the Pacific and low on the western side (figure 1). The east west pressure contrast drives easterly surface winds. When it switches into low index (figure 2) the easterly surface winds weaken. The biggest changes are over the western Pacific. West of the dateline the easterlies usually completely di! sappear during low index years, but east of the dateline they only weaken. The surface winds that move the ocean currents are a major controller in weather. The easterly winds that blow along the Ecuador and the southeasterly winds that blow along the Peru and Ecuador coasts both tend to drag surface water with them. The Earth's rotation then deflects the resulting surface currents northward in the Northern Hemisphere and southward in the Southern Atmosphere. The surface waters are therefore deflected away from the equator in both directions and away from the coastline. When the surface water moves away, colder nutrient-rich water comes up from below to replace it. This is known as upwelling. This nutrient rich water is the beginning of the food chain as phytoplankton establish themselves in these waters. When the easterlies are blowing at full strength, the upwelling of cold water along the equatorial Pacific chills the air above it, making it too dense to rise high enough for water vapor to condense and form clouds. As a result, this strip of ocean stays free of clouds during normal years and rain in the equatorial belt is largely confined to the extreme western Pacific near Indonesia. But when the easterlies weaken and retreat eastward during early stages of an El Nino event, the upwelling slows and the ocean warms. The moist air above the ocean also warms. It becomes light enough to form deep clouds which produce heavy rain along the equador. The change in ocean temperatures causes a major rain zone over the western Pacific to shift eastward. Related adjustments in the atmosphere cause barometers to drop over the central and eastern Pacific and rise over

Contemporary Issue on Aesthetic Labour in Hospitality Essays

Contemporary Issue on Aesthetic Labour in Hospitality Essays Contemporary Issue on Aesthetic Labour in Hospitality Paper Contemporary Issue on Aesthetic Labour in Hospitality Paper Service jobs now account for around three quarters of all jobs in the UK, with retail and hospitality alone providing nearly five million jobs (Hospitality Training Foundation, 2003; University of Warwick, 2004). Organization in the hospitality industry vary enormously, ranging from first class and luxury hotels providing extravagant, full 24-hour service to the more homely comforts of a bed and breakfast establishment; from fast food restaurants to Michelin starred restaurant. In turn, the jobs provided by these organizations demand a variety of skills and attributes from those employees interacting with customers. Increasingly, though, there is an appreciation that employees in these jobs not only provide desired levels of service in terms of responding to customers in a friendly and sociable manner but can also be part of the branding of service companies by becoming, in words of Zeithaml and Bitner (2003, 318), ‘walking billboards’. Witz, Warhurst and Nickson (2003: 44) point out that, for many companies, employees have become part of this branding exercise, with ‘aesthetic labourers †¦ the animate component of the material culture that makes up the corporate landscape’. Aesthetic labour is a concept based on the notion that employers in parts of the service industries described as the ‘style labour market’ (Nickson, Warhurst and Dutton, 2004: 3), such as boutique hotels, designer retailers and style cafes, bars and restaurants, require ‘aesthetic skills’ in addition to social and technical skills from their workers (Warhurst and Nickson, 2005). The genesis of aesthetic labour as a concept lays in early 1990s of newspaper job advertisements that stipulated the attractiveness of applicants as recruitment and selection criteria in the hospitality industry. The term ‘aesthetic labour’ is analytically complex. It refers to the hiring of people with certain capacities and attributes that favourably appeal to customers and which are then developed through training and/ or monitoring. It has become translated in the popular imagination as those people who are employed on the basis of ‘looking good’ and/ or ‘sounding right’. In its tabloidized form, along with sexism, racism and ageism, ‘lookism’ is now offered as one of the key issues of the contemporary workplace (Oaff, 2003). Further analysis of the definition of aesthetics reveals another close relation of the spiritual self with aesthetic labour. The definition proposed by Greek philosopher aisthanomai meaning â€Å"perception by mean of the senses and danaher, shiprato and webb (2000: 161) cite â€Å"the art of the self†. The constituent of the spiritual essence of self constitute the mind, emotion, senses which are spiritual aspect in the formation of personality, attitude and appearance apparently expressed in the process of self presentation. This is the relative aspect of the spiritual self, manifesting aesthetic presentation of self. The definition clearly implies development of self is an art associated with the mind. LOCATING AND EXTENDING THE EVIDENCE FOR AESTHETIC LABOUR In hospitality, organizations too have been concerned with their workers’ labour of aesthetic both in the past and the present. The mobilization of this labour is increasingly a corporate strategy, less ad hoc and more systematic, for some hospitality employers, featuring in their hiring and management of employees. Aiming to portray a company image and create an appealing service encounter for the customers, employers in hospitality are increasingly drawing upon the corporeal skills of their workplace. Employees, for example, are hired because of the way they look and talk; once employed, staff are instructed how to stand whilst working, what to wear and how to wear it and even what to say to customer. Aesthetic labour is the mobilization, development and commodification of embodied dispositions. These disposition, are form of embodied capacities and attributes, are to an extent possessed by worker at the point of entry to employment. However, and importantly, employers then mobilize, develop and commodify these dispositions though processes of recruitment, selection, training, monitoring, discipline and reward, reconfiguring them as skills intended to produce a style of service encounter that appeals to the senses of customers, most usually visually or aurally. In other words, distinct modes of worker embodiment are organizationally prescribed and produced for corporate benefit, with these workers becoming ‘aesthetic labours’. RECRUITMENT, SELECTION AND TRAINING THE AESTHETIC LABOUR Generally for much interactive service work, studies consistently report high levels of informality in recruitment and selection, including things such as word of mouth, referrals and casual callers, especially in the hospitality industry. (Lockyer and Scholarios, 2004) Moreover, in customer service work, recruitment and selection is more likely to be based on people’s social and aesthetic skills rather than technical skills (Scottish Centre for Employment Research, 2004). Thus, managers’ preference for recruitment and selection in service work has tended to focus of the attitude and appearance of applicants, or their personality and increasingly their image and self-presentation. The trend for employers to choose staff based on their personal appearance and speech is particularly prevalent in the rapidly expanding service sector, where workers usually have direct contact with the public. For example, in a survey of skill needs in hotels, restaurants, pubs and bars, 85 percent of employers ranked personal presentation and above initiative, communication skills or even ability to follow instructions. Additionally, jobs ads for the hospitality sectors regularly ask for people who are stylish, outgoing, attractive or trendy and well-spoken and of smart appearance (Worklife Report, 2001). But as the economy shifts toward â€Å"high touch† jobs the trend is spreading to the wider job market. More and more employers are looking for staff who are pleasing to the eye and ear and who reflect their company image (Worklife Report, 2001). The employers believed that having staff that look good and/or sound right not only helped companies create a distinct image on the high street but also provided competitive advantage for their companies in the crowded hospitality industries. The study revealed that companies in the service sector desired and developed employees who could become the physical embodiment of the image and personality of their companies. As one respondent stated about her company’s recruitment and selection, they want: ‘†¦ people that look the part †¦ fit in with the whole concept of the hotel’ (Nickson et al. , 2001: 180). On a practical level, this strategy, featuring a ‘style of service’ is intend to have workers create competitive advantage for employers in often highly competitive markets either by simply positively appealing to the senses of customer-by having pleasing looking staff-or by embodying the prescribed corporate image-employees as ‘walking billboard’. To affect this possibility, employers need to regulate the sight and/ or sound and their workers (most obviously). This regulation also has a conceptual dimension, for a double shift has occurred as services have displaced manufacturing. The first and most cited shift is a quantitative one: the increase in the number of jobs now provided by services. The second shift is qualitative and less appreciated: the nature of work with service jobs has change. In hospitality, employers seek employees with personal characteristics likely to make them act spontaneous and perform effectively. Soft skills or self-presentation skills are more important selection criteria than technical skills for employers (Scottish Centre for Employment Research, 2004). To discern such characteristics and attributes most employers from the surveyed organisation relied on the so-called ‘class trio’ of application forms and/ or CVs, interviews and references. The interview remains a popular method with manager and applicants alike as it is simple, quick and cheap-despite reliability concern. In recognizing the labour of aesthetics and its importance to employers, academics are playing catch up. Employers, even if not a corporate strategy of aesthetic labour, want presentable employees with aesthetic appeal. In hospitality, there is a clear pattern of employers’ skill demands. Jackson et al. (2002) point out in their analysis of sales and personal services’ job advertisements that the skills stated as necessary by employers are social skills and personal characteristics’. Likewise, a recent examination of nearly 100 human resource professionals in the USA responsible for hiring entry-level hospitality industry employees revealed that the top two criteria were: ‘pride in appearance’ and ‘good attitude’ (Martin and Grove, 2002) The emergence of these new skill raise a number of issue about training: firstly where aesthetic skills are formed; secondly if and if so how, such skills may be accredited and trained. All organizations train staff. Most of this training is centred on that mandated, and for all employees: health and safety for example. Such training is a feature of the hospitality industry. Beyond that which is mandatory, other than for management and professional staff, training is relatively poor at least in UK. Training for part-time workers, who feature heavily in the hospitality workplace, is particular weak. With the decline of manufacturing and the rise in service jobs, and the demised of training featuring physical dexterity and technical ‘know how’, where it does occur the training emphasis has also shifted. Training is provided in customer service skills, instructing employees in body language, verbal interaction with customer (what to say and how to say it) and dress codes and uniform standards.

Pre 1920's based thesis, consult me with ideas Research Paper

Pre 1920's based thesis, consult me with ideas - Research Paper Example (Pedraza 1996). This mass influx of immigrants was needed and welcomed. The Industrial Revolution was in full swing during this time, society was completing its transformation from farm to city life and urban manpower was in short supply. The immigrants had jobs and could build their new life and America benefited because this endless source of labor streaming into Ellis Island made it the most industrialized and economically successful country in the world. Immigrants from this period and those descended from them have been very influential in the area of creative arts over the past century. They dominated the entertainment industry during the first half of the 1900’s accounting for many of the top actors, writers, producers and directors in the American movie industry. This mutually beneficial relationship, however, came at a cost to both the immigrants and their new country. From 1890 to 1918, the country grew by a larger percentage that at any other 30 year period before o r since. The Eastern European immigrants flocked to the new industrial jobs in the city which filled an economical need in America. On the other hand, their presence also instigated a cultural divide between the current resident small-town Protestant farmers and the new Catholic immigrants with the thick accents who were not ‘men of the land’ but rather had succumbed to the sinful life of the city. (Crossen, 2006). Prior to 1890, the majority of the voting public was considered within the boundaries of the social middle-class. By 1918, the country had become more socially divided. The rapid growth of the immigrant population became a threat to the country’s natural resources when there had been plenty for all. The expansion of people and settlements along with over-hunting led to the creation of federal preservation programs such as the federal parks. During the turn of the 20th century, the fear of immigrants reached a fever pitch. The roots of this new racism w ere from ‘old world’ anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic mind-sets. The ideology that grew from immigrant racism is the belief that the Western and Northern European Anglo-Saxon heritage was a superior ‘race’ to Eastern and Southern Europeans. (Higham, 1988). These widespread beliefs had an effect on immigration policy in the U.S. which, in the early 1900’s, moved to limit the numbers and types of people allowed to immigrate. The anti-foreigner sentiment crossed all segments of society, from the Protestant farmers in the furthest reaches of the rural regions to Ivy League elitists. A Harvard-educated man formed the Immigration Restriction League in 1894 which made recommendations to the government. They advocated testing the literacy of refugees as a prerequisite to entering the country or gaining citizenship. This was intended to slow the number of immigrants from Eastern and Southern European which had been, â€Å"sending an alarming number of illitera tes, paupers, criminals, and madmen who endangered American character and citizenship.† (Hirschman, 2006). Many Americans, known as nativists, concluded that the rate of immigration, especially from Eastern European counntries, should either be greatly reduced or halted altogether. â€Å"The myth of the melting pot has been discredited,† said Representative Albert Johnson, (R) who was one of many congressmen concerned about America’s ‘open-door’ policy. â€Å"The day of unalloyed welcome to all peoples, the day of indiscriminate

Managment Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managment Accounting - Essay Example ABW in order to determine the relevant cost drivers and in this case there are many more than that used in absorption costing, thus making ABC more reliable. Table 1 provides calculations for the profit for each product line. Table 1 indicates that there are huge differences in the profit of products XY, YZT and ABW. The use of absorption costing resulted in a reduction in profits by  £46,250 and  £18,000 for products XYI and YZT respectively and an increase of  £64,000 from a loss position to a profit position for product ABW. This scenario shows how appropriate ABC is for making more accurate decisions when compared to absorption costing. ABC allocates cost on the basis of the activities required to manufacture a product and this results in the use of multiple cost drivers – assembly, machining, set-up, order processing and purchasing in this case. Absorption costing only used two cost drivers – assembly and machining thus the large differences in profits. The figures in Table 2 indicate that the differences in cost per unit were lower for XYI and YZT – £ 0.925 and  £0.45 respectively. However, the difference in cost per unit between the two approaches for ABW was higher ( £2.133) and this explains the loss versus profit scenario. Over-costing of each unit of products XYI and YZT under the absorption costing method by  £0.925 and  £0.450 respectively has led to under-costing of product ABW by  £2.133 another product. In this case the assignment of costs by ABC to each product using more relevant activity based cost drivers has resulted in a more accurate costing of the products. It is often said that modern developments such as ABC are sometimes implemented because they are fashionable and not because they provide additional information to management. However, while this statement may be true in a few instances it is not so in the majority of cases. Costing systems do not command high ratings in most organisations, but the information that they provide

Methods Of Electricity Production Engineering Essay

Methods Of Electricity Production Engineering Essay Electricity plays a major part in our society today. It is used in our hospitals, in our banks, in our homes, and in our cars. No matter what we do, we couldnt live without it. But all this electricity doesnt just appear at when we need it, we must create it. All over the world, there is millions of electricity generating stations. Some of these are small, others huge. Some of the stations run on the power of fire and steam, while others run on the power of the wind or falling water. Some even use the power of the sun alone to generate electricity. But with so many different ways to produce electricity, how do we know which ways are the most efficient and the most environmentally effective? Task 2 Electromagnetic induction is a phenomenon that occurs when a magnetic field intersects a piece of metal, most commonly a piece of wire, which can be affected by magnets. The most common method to induce is to create a magnetic field in such a way that the field intersects a coil of wire. This can be done in multiple ways, although the main two ways are to either pass a magnet through the center of a coil of wire, or to move a coil of wire in a magnetic field. However, if both the coil of wire and the magnet are both stationary, no electric current will be produced. The circuit must also be closed for a current to flow. The most efficient way to produce a current is to rotate a coil in a magnetic field. There is three ways that the amount of power generated by electromagnetic magnetic induction can be increased: Increasing the strength of the magnetic field. Increasing the amount of turns in the coil that is being affected by the magnetic field. Increasing the speed at which the magnetic field intersects the coil. In most power stations however, the generators used spin the magnets, or in most cases, electromagnets, around the wire. This enables a greater amount of coils to be used without the need to rotate a greater mass. The stations use turbines to rotate the magnets or coils. To rotate the turbines, a power source is needed. There are four main power sources that are used: Coal Burning Coal burning power stations use coal that has been mined out of the earth. This coal is burnt to create heat. The heat makes water evaporate into steam. As the steam rises, it hits rotors which spin the turbines. Nuclear Reactions Nuclear reactors work in somewhat the same way as a coal burning power station. These power stations use the power of a nuclear reaction to create the heat needed to boil the water that then turns to steam, which then turns the turbines. When the water is heated however, it becomes radioactive. This means that the water must be kept in a separate chamber to the water that will turn to steam. The radioactive water heats the clean water by means of conduction. Wind Wind farms, as they are commonly called, use the power of the wind to rotate massive rotor blades. These rotor blades turn a shaft that is connected to a generator, thus producing electricity. Gravity The most common of power stations that utilize gravity are called hydro power stations. These use falling water to turn the turbines at the base of a mountain. As the water comes down the mountain, it is pulled by the force of gravity, making it travel at high speeds, which turns the turbines faster, which makes more electricity. Another power source that is used to create electricity is the energy produced from the Sun. Solar panels collect solar radiation from the sun and actively converts that energy to electricity. Solar panels are comprised of several individual solar cells. These solar cells function similarly to large semiconductors and utilize a large-area junction diode. When the solar cells are exposed to sunlight, the junction diodes convert the energy from sunlight into usable electrical energy. The energy generated from photons striking the surface of the solar panel allows electrons to be knocked out of their orbits and released, and electric fields in the solar cells pull these free electrons in a directional current, from which metal contacts in the solar cell can generate electricity. The conversion of sunlight to usable electrical energy is called the Photovoltaic Effect. After the electricity has been generated, it needs to be transmitted around the country. When electricity passes through a wire, some of the energy is lost as heat energy. In small devices, this is generally ignored because the wires are short enough for the energy that is lost as heat to be quite minimal. When the length of the wire increases, the amount of energy that is lost as heat also increases. This can be a problem when the wires are spanning thousands of kilometers. The reason for the lost of energy as heat is because of the current. This means that current is proportional to heat lost. Since this is the case, if the current is dropped to almost zero, then the energy lost as heat will also drop to almost zero. This can be done with the use of transformers. Transformers work on the law of magnetic induction. This is done by passing a magnetic field through a primary coil of wire. The magnetic field produced by the current can be used to create a current in a secondary coil. If there is twice the amount of coils in the secondary coil as there is in the primary coil. The current will be halved and vice versa. When the current is lowered, the process is transformed is referred to as a step-up transformer, and when the current is doubled, it is a step-down transformer. When the current is changed, the voltage is also changed. This is because current is inversely proportion to the voltage. This means if the current is halved, the voltage is doubled. This means when a step-up transformer halves the current, it doubles the voltage. To get the current as low as possible, the current must be brought up to around two hundred and twenty thousand volts. Task 3 Aim: To research the amount of energy three different types of power plants produce and compare their environmental impacts. Method: Three main power plants from within the state of Queensland were chosen to be examined. The plants chosen were; Tarong coal burning power plant, Wivenhoe hydroelectric power station, and the Hillcrest Christian College solar panel power plant. Research on these specific power plants was completed by using in-class and as homework. When all the needed research was acquired, the data was examined and a conclusion was drawn on which plant provided the most power, which plant was the most environmentally friendly, and which plant had the least intensity+. Results: Three sets of data have been collected: Tarong Power Station*# Date Tons CO2 MWh Energy Intensity 2000 9,196,047 7,913,802 2,324 2010 9,841,752 8,523,634 2,309 2020 9,956,845 8,633,139 2,307 Wivenhoe Power Station*#^ Date Tons CO2 MWh Energy Intensity 2000 0 1,052,437 0 2010 0 973,419 0 2020 603,438 2,109,812 572 Hillcrest Power Plant Date Tons CO2 MWh Energy Intensity 1-Jul-09 0 0.5353 0 1-Aug-09 0 0.7521 0 1-Sep-09 0 0.8029 0 1-Oct-09 0 0.7752 0 1-Nov-09 0 0.7237 0 1-Dec-09 0 0.6808 0 1-Jan-10 0 0.7036 0 1-Feb-10 0 0.5804 0 2009/2010 (Average) 0 0.69425 0 +: Pounds of CO2 emitted per megawatt-hour of electricity produced. *: The data collected also was coupled with a projected output for the next decade ^: The power station plans on a future upgrade that will produce carbon pollution #: Average decade output This data was put in the corresponding tables for comparison. Discussion: By looking at the data above it two main points can be made: Energy Output When the Tarong and Wivenhoe power stations are compared, it can be observed that the Tarong coal burning station produces a far larger amount of energy. It must be kept in mind that the Tarong station is a far larger station when compared to either of the other to stations examined, with the Tarong station having a maximum power output of over 1400MW, where as the Wivenhoe station has a maximum power output of only 500MW, and the Hillcrest plants power output depends on the intensity of the sunlight it receives. Even if the maximum output for the Wivenhoe station was over three times the size, putting the maximum output to 1500MW, theoretically, it would still be producing less energy than the Tarong station. It would also be highly unfeasible to achieve the same energy output with the Hillcrest plant as the maximum power output would have to be increased by at least sixteen million times. This puts the Tarong coal burning station as the most economically effective power station out of the three. CO2 Emissions At the current date, both the Wivenhoe station and the Hillcrest plant are producing no carbon emissions at all, where as the Tarong station is producing a very high amount of CO2. This puts the Wivenhoe station and the Hillcrest plant on equal ground in this aspect. In the future however, the Wivenhoe station is planning on installing upgrades to their station which, presumably, will force the plant to start giving off CO2 emissions. Up until these upgrades are made, the two stations are on the same level with CO2 emissions, but as soon as the upgrades are made, the Hillcrest solar power plant will be the most environmentally effective out of the three stations researched. Even though all the power stations that were examined are the few main ways that energy is generated in our current society, there are many other ways that the energy that we use gets generated. These consist of power stations that use means of; Biomass energy, wind energy, nuclear energy, tidal energy, combustion energy. These ways are examined in more depth below: Biomass Energy Biomass energy uses the biodegradable waste products of our everyday lives, such as plant waste or animal matter, to create either a thermal or chemical conversion. During these conversions, the matter undergoes chemical reactions that produce either heat or other chemicals that can be used in other items. This method of green energy is very environmentally friendly as it takes the form of what typically happens in our natural world, decomposition for example. Wind Energy The use of giant propellers to catch the force of the wind and use that force to turn a generator is the way wind turbines work. In theory the idea of using the power of something as ambient and as reliable as the wind is one of the most environmentally friendly methods to create electricity that is around. This is because there is no byproducts of any sort and the wind that is used can never be depleted. The major problem with using this as an energy source is the strength of wind needed to spin the propellers. This is because although there is wind everywhere in our world, the strength of this wind, on the most part, is not always strong enough to rotate the propellers due to their immense weight. Nuclear Energy Nuclear energy is one of the most dangerous forms of generating energy that we have in our current society. When it is harnessed properly and efficiently, it is also one of our most effective ways of producing energy. The basic concept of a nuclear reactor is similar to that of a coal burning station, to create heat to make steam to turn turbines. One major downfall with these power stations is the waste the produce. This waste is not CO2, but is radioactive waste that, if dispersed of correctly, would provide our society with a clean and efficient way to generate power, although this is not the case in the present time. Until there is a way to dispose of the nuclear waste efficiently, nuclear power will not become our primary source of power. Tidal Energy Tidal energy is a form of hydro power that converts the energy of the tides into a useable form of energy. Although this method is not widely used, it has great potential for the future of power generation. This is because the tides are far more predictable than the wind and solar energy. Tides are so predictable in fact; that we can tell exactly what they will be doing in two hundred years. The principle behind tidal power is the same as that of wind power. Underwater propellers are used to capture the energy of the flowing water, which is then converted to power by large turbines. This form of energy is just as clean as wind energy, but also has the additional benefit of not creating a poor spectacle as most of the generator is hidden underwater, instead of out in the open. Combustion Energy Also called mechanical energy, this is the act of using natural gasses or conventional fuels to power a combustion engine which then is used to rotate a turbine. This method is most commonly seen in small or backup generators that are made for private or commercial use. Two side effects of this type of energy is the noise that is made during combustion, and the byproduct of CO2. On the most part, these generators are used mainly in the form of small, portable types. This is because the forces that would need to be dealt with on a large scale generator are quite large and can be potentially hazardous. Task 4 Conclusion: When all the data is examined, hydroelectric power stations proved to be not only the most environmentally safe, equal with solar power, producing zero CO2 emissions, but it also was able to decent a fair amount of power. Even though the coal burning power station produced a lot more power, almost an eightfold on what hydro station produced, the hydro station produced zero percent of the emissions that the coal burning station did. In this respect, if the hydro station was to be increased to eight times its current size, theoretically, our society would be provided with more energy than the coal burning station produced, along with no emissions or byproducts. In contrast, the solar power plant also gave off no emissions, although the amount power produced was quite unsubstantial in comparison. As discussed earlier, the solar power plant would have to create eighteen times the amount of energy that it currently is producing to be a contender in power generation, but doing this would m ean that the size of area needed would be on the same scale of increase. This is feasible in terms of installing solar panels on every roof in our major cities for example, although the costs of doing such a thing would be far greater than that of upgrading the hydro power plant. It is recommended that the use of hydroelectric power stations is continued and their usage is increased. This is not only a one of the more environmentally friendly types of renewable energy, but it is also one of the more reliable according to the research completed. This method does not produce byproducts of any kind and does not make waste of any of the resources used in the production of power that is generated.

Chapter 8 Flight of the Fat Lady

In no time at all, Defense Against the Dark Arts had become most people's favorite class. Only Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin. â€Å"Look at the state of his robes,† Malfoy would say in a loud whisper as Professor Lupin passed. â€Å"He dresses like our old house elf.† But no one else cared that Professor Lupin's robes were patched and frayed. His next few lessons were just as interesting as the first. After Boggarts, they studied Red Caps, nasty little goblin-like creatures that lurked wherever there had been bloodshed: in the dungeons of castles and the potholes of deserted battlefields, waiting to bludgeon those who had gotten lost. From Red Caps they moved on to Kappas, creepy. water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds. Harry only wished he was as happy with some of his other classes. Worst of all was Potions. Snape was in a particularly vindictive mood these days, and no one was in any doubt why. The story of the Boggart assuming Snape's shape, and the way that Neville had dressed it in his grandmother's clothes, had traveled through the school like wildfire. Snape didn't seem to find it funny. His eyes flashed menacingly at the very mention of Professor Lupin's name, and he was bullying Neville worse than ever. Harry was also growing to dread the hours he spent in Professor Trelawney's stifling tower room, deciphering lopsided shapes and symbols, trying to ignore the way Professor Trelawney's enormous eyes filled with tears every time she looked at him. He couldn't like Professor Trelawney, even though she was treated with respect bordering on reverence by many of the class. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown had taken to haunting Professor Trelawney's tower room at lunch times, and always returned with annoyingly superior looks on their faces, as though they knew things the others didn't. They had also started using hushed voices whenever they spoke to Harry, as though he were on his deathbed. Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after the action-packed first class, had become extremely dull. Hagrid seemed to have lost his confidence. They were now spending lesson after lesson learning how to look after flobberworms, which had to be some of the most boring creatures in existence. â€Å"Why would anyone bother looking after them?† said Ron, after yet another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the flobberworms' throats. At the start of October, however, Harry had something else to occupy him, something so enjoyable it more than made up for his unsatisfactory classes. The Quidditch season was approaching, and O1iver Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor team, called a meeting on Thursday evening to discuss tactics for the new season. There were seven people on a Quidditch team: three Chasers, whose job it was to score goals by putting the Quaffle (a red, soccer-sized ball) through one of the fifty-foot-high hoops at each end of the field; two Beaters, who were equipped with heavy bats to repel the Bludgers (two heavy black balls that zoomed around trying to attack the players); a Keeper, who defended the goal posts, and the Seeker, who had the hardest job of all, that of catching the Golden Snitch, a tiny, winged, walnut-sized ball, whose capture ended the game and earned the Seeker's team an extra one hundred and fifty points. Oliver Wood was a burly seventeen-year-old, now in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. There was a quiet sort of desperation in his voice as he addressed his six fellow team members in the chilly locker rooms on the edge of the darkening Quidditch field. â€Å"This is our last chance — my last chance — to win the Quidditch Cup,† he told them, striding up and down in front of them. â€Å"I'll be leaving at the end of this year. I'll never get another shot at it.† â€Å"Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the world — injuries — then the tournament getting called off last year.† Wood swallowed, as though the memory still brought a lump to his throat. â€Å"But we also know we've got the best — ruddy — team — in — the — school,† he said, punching a fist into his other hand, the old manic glint back in his eye. â€Å"We've got three superb Chasers.† Wood pointed at Alicia Spinner, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell. â€Å"We've got two unbeatable Beaters.† â€Å"Stop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us,† said Fred and George Weasley together, pretending to blush. â€Å"And we've got a Seeker who has never failed to win us a match!† Wood rumbled, glaring at Harry with a kind of furious pride. â€Å"And me,† he added as an afterthought. â€Å"We think you're very good too, Oliver,† said George. â€Å"Spanking good Keeper,† said Fred. â€Å"The point is,† Wood went on, resuming his pacing, â€Å"the Quidditch Cup should have had our name on it these last two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag. But we haven't got it, and this year's the last chance we'll get to finally see our name on the thing†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Wood spoke so dejectedly that even Fred and George looked sympathetic. â€Å"Oliver, this year's our year,† said Fred. â€Å"We'll do it, Oliver!† said Angelina. â€Å"Definitely,† said Harry. Full of determination, the team started training sessions, three evenings a week. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights darker, but no amount of mud, wind, or rain could tarnish Harry's wonderful vision of finally winning the huge, silver Quidditch Cup. Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room one evening after training, cold and stiff but pleased with the way practice had gone, to find the room buzzing excitedly. â€Å"What's happened?†, he asked Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in two of the best chairs by the fireside and completing some star charts for Astronomy. â€Å"First Hogsmeade weekend,† said Ron, pointing at a notice that had appeared on the battered old bulletin board. â€Å"End of October. Halloween.† â€Å"Excellent,† said Fred, who had followed Harry through the portrait hole. â€Å"I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets.† Harry threw himself into a chair beside Ron, his high spirits ebbing away. Hermione seemed to read his mind. â€Å"Harry, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time,† she said. â€Å"They're bound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already.† â€Å"Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade,† said Ron. â€Å"Ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry. The next one might not be for ages –â€Å" â€Å"Ron!† said Hermione. â€Å"Harry's supposed to stay in school –â€Å" â€Å"He can't be the only third year left behind,† said Ron. â€Å"Ask McGonagall, go on, Harry –â€Å" â€Å"Yeah, I think I will,† said Harry, making up his mind. Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but at that moment Crookshanks leapt lightly onto her lap. A large, dead spider was dangling from his mouth. â€Å"Does he have to eat that in front of us?† said Ron, scowling. â€Å"Clever Crookshanks, did you catch that all by yourself?† said Hermione. Crookshanks; slowly chewed up the spider, his yellow eyes fixed insolently on Ron. â€Å"Just keep him over there, that's all,† said Ron irritably, turning back to his star chart. â€Å"I've got Scabbers asleep in my bag.† Harry yawned. He really wanted to go to bed, but he still had his own star chart to complete. He pulled his bag toward him, took out parchment, ink, and quill, and started work. â€Å"You can copy mine, if you like,† said Ron, labeling his last star with a flourish and shoving the chart toward Harry. Hermione, who disapproved of copying, pursed her lips but didn't say anything. Crookshanks was still staring unblinkingly at Ron, flicking the end of his bushy tail. Then, without warning, he pounced. â€Å"OY!† Ron roared, seizing his bag as Crookshanks sank four sets of claws deep inside it and began tearing ferociously. â€Å"GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!† Ron tried to pull the bag away from Crookshanks, but Crookshanks clung on, spitting and slashing. â€Å"Ron, don't hurt him!† squealed Hermione; the whole common room was watching; Ron whirled the bag around, Crookshanks still clinging to it, and Scabbers came flying out of the top — â€Å"CATCH THAT CAT!† Ron yelled as Crookshanks freed himself from the remnants of the bag, sprang over the table, and chased after the terrified Scabbers. George Weasley made a lunge for Crookshanks but missed; Scabbers streaked through twenty pairs of legs and shot beneath an old chest of drawers. Crookshanks skidded to a halt, crouched low on his bandy legs, and started making furious swipes beneath it with his front paw. Ron and Hermione hurried over; Hermione grabbed Crookshanks around the middle and heaved him away; Ron threw himself onto his stomach and, with great difficulty, pulled Scabbers out by the tail. â€Å"Look at him!† he said furiously to Hermione, dangling Scabbers in front of her. â€Å"He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!† â€Å"Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong!† said Hermione, her voice shaking. â€Å"All cats chase rats, Ron!† â€Å"There's something funny about that animal!† said Ron, who was trying to persuade a frantically wiggling Scabbers back into his pocket. â€Å"It heard me say that Scabbers was in my bag!† â€Å"Oh, what rubbish,† said Hermione impatiently. â€Å"Crookshanks could smell him, Ron, how else d'you think –â€Å" â€Å"That cat's got it in for Scabbers!† said Ron, ignoring the people around him, who were starting to giggle. â€Å"And Scabbers was here first, and he's ill!† Ron marched through the common room and out of sight up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. * ****** Ron was still in a bad mood with Hermione next day. He barely talked to her all through Herbology, even though he, Harry, and Hermione were working together on the same Puffapod. â€Å"How's Scabbers?† Hermione asked timidly as they stripped fat pink pods from the plants and emptied the shining beans into a wooden pail. â€Å"He's hiding at the bottom of my bed, shaking,† said Ron angrily, missing the pail and scattering beans over the greenhouse floor. â€Å"Careful, Weasley, careful!† cried Professor Sprout as the beans burst into bloom before their very eyes. They had Transfiguration next. Harry, who had resolved to ask Professor McGonagall after the lesson whether he could go into Hogsmeade with the rest, joined the line outside the class trying to decide how he was going to argue his case. He was distracted, however, by a disturbance at the front of the line. Lavender Brown seemed to be crying. Parvati had her arm around her and was explaining something to Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were looking very serious. â€Å"What's the matter, Lavender?† said Hermione anxiously as she, Harry, and Ron went to join the group. â€Å"She got a letter from home this morning,† Parvati whispered. â€Å"It's her rabbit, Binky. He's been killed by a fox.† â€Å"Oh,† said Hermione, â€Å"I'm sorry, Lavender.† â€Å"I should have known!† said Lavender tragically. â€Å"You know what day it is?† â€Å"Er –â€Å" â€Å"The sixteenth of October! ‘That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October!' Remember? She was right, she was right!† The whole class was gathered around Lavender now. Seamus shook his head seriously. Hermione hesitated; then she said, â€Å"You — you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?† â€Å"Well, not necessarily by a fox,† said Lavender, looking up at Hermione with streaming eyes, â€Å"but I was obviously dreading him dying, wasn't I?† â€Å"Oh,† said Hermione. She paused again. Then — â€Å"Was Binky an old rabbit?† â€Å"N — no!† sobbed Lavender. â€Å"H — he was only a baby!† Parvati tightened her arm around Lavender's shoulders. â€Å"But then, why would you dread him dying?† said Hermione. Parvati glared at her. â€Å"Well, look at it logically,† said Hermione, turning to the rest of the group. â€Å"I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he? Lavender just got the news today –† Lavender wailed loudly. â€Å"?C and she can't have been dreading it, because it's come as a real shock –â€Å" â€Å"Don't mind Hermione, Lavender,† said Ron loudly, â€Å"she doesn't think other people's pets matter very much.† Professor McGonagall opened the classroom door at that moment, which was perhaps lucky; Hermione and Ron were looking daggers at each other, and when they got into class, they seated themselves on either side of Harry and didn't talk to each other for the whole class. Harry still hadn't decided what he was going to say to Professor McGonagall when the bell rang at the end of the lesson, but it was she who brought up the subject of Hogsmeade first. â€Å"One moment, please!† she called as the class made to leave. â€Å"As you're all in my House, you should hand Hogsmeade permission forms to me before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget!† Neville put up his hand. â€Å"Please, Professor, I — I think I've lost –â€Å" â€Å"Your grandmother sent yours to me directly, Longbottom,† said Professor McGonagall. â€Å"She seemed to think it was safer. Well, that's all, you may leave.† â€Å"Ask her now,† Ron hissed at Harry. â€Å"Oh. but –† Hermione began. â€Å"Go for it, Harry,† said Ron stubbornly. Harry waited for the rest of the class to disappear, then headed nervously for Professor McGonagall's desk. â€Å"Yes, Potter?† Harry took a deep breath. â€Å"Professor, my aunt and uncle — er — forgot to sign my form,† he said. Professor McGonagall looked over her square spectacles at him but didn't say anything. â€Å"So — er — d'you think it would be all right mean, will It be okay if I — if I go to Hogsmeade?† Professor McGonagall looked down and began shuffling papers on her desk. â€Å"I'm afraid not, Potter,† she said. â€Å"You heard what I said. No form, no visiting the village. That's the rule.† â€Å"But — Professor, my aunt and uncle — you know, they're Muggles, they don't really understand about — about Hogwarts forms and stuff,† Harry said, while Ron egged him on with vigorous nods. â€Å"If you said I could go –â€Å" â€Å"But I don't say so,† said Professor McGonagall, standing up and piling her papers neatly into a drawer. â€Å"The form clearly states that the parent or guardian must give permission.† She turned to look at him, with an odd expression on her face. Was it pity? â€Å"I'm sorry, Potter, but that's my final word. You had better hurry, or you'll be late for your next lesson.† ****** There was nothing to be done. Ron called Professor McGonagall a lot of names that greatly annoyed Hermione; Hermione assumed an ‘all-for-the-best' expression that made Ron even angrier, and Harry had to endure everyone in the class talking loudly and happily about what they were going to do first, once they got into Hogsmeade. â€Å"There's always the feast,† said Ron, in an effort to cheer Harry up. â€Å"You know, the Halloween feast, in the evening.† â€Å"Yeah,† said Harry gloomily, â€Å"great.† The Halloween feast was always good, but it would taste a lot better if he was coming to it after a day in Hogsmeade with everyone else. Nothing anyone said made him feel any better about being left behind. Dean Thomas, who was good with a quill, had offered to forge Uncle Vernon's signature on the form, but as Harry had already told Professor McGonagall he hadn't had it signed, that was no good. Ron halfheartedly suggested the Invisibility Cloak, but Hermione stamped on that one, reminding Ron what Dumbledore had told them about the Dementors being able to see through them. Percy had what were possibly the least helpful words of comfort. â€Å"They make a fuss about Hogsmeade, but I assure you, Harry, it's not all it's cracked up to be,† he said seriously. â€Å"All right, the sweetshop's rather good, and Zonko's Joke Shop's frankly dangerous, and yes, the Shrieking Shack's always worth a visit, but really, Harry, apart from that, you're not missing anything.† ****** On Halloween morning, Harry awoke with the rest and went down to breakfast, feeling thoroughly depressed, though doing his best to act normally. â€Å"We'll bring you lots of sweets back from Honeydukes,† said Hermione, looking desperately sorry for him. â€Å"Yeah, loads,† said Ron. He and Hermione had finally forgotten their squabble about Crookshanks in the face of Harry's difficulties. â€Å"Don't worry about me,† said Harry, in what he hoped was at, offhand voice, â€Å"I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time.† He accompanied them to the entrance hall, where Filch, the caretaker, was standing inside the front doors, checking off names against a long list, peering suspiciously into every face, and making sure that no one was sneaking out who shouldn't be going. â€Å"Staying here, Potter?† shouted Malfoy, who was standing in line with Crabbe and Goyle. â€Å"Scared of passing the Dementors?† Harry ignored him and made his solitary way up the marble staircase, through the deserted corridors, and back to Gryffindor Tower. â€Å"Password?† said the Fat Lady, jerking out of a doze. â€Å"Fortuna Major,† said Harry listlessly. The portrait swung open and he climbed through the hole into the common room. It was full of chattering first-and second-years, and a few older students, who had obviously visited Hogsmeade so often the novelty had worn off. â€Å"Harry! Harry! Hi, Harry!† It was Colin Creevey, a second year who was deeply in awe of Harry and never missed an opportunity to speak to him. â€Å"Aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Harry? Why not? Hey –† Colin looked eagerly around at his friends — â€Å"you can come and sit with us, if you like, Harry!† â€Å"Er — no, thanks, Colin,† said Harry, who wasn't in the mood to have a lot of people staring avidly at the scar on his forehead. â€Å"I — I've got to go to the library, got to get some work done.† After that, he had no choice but to turn right around and head back out of the portrait hole again. â€Å"What was the point of waking me up?† the Fat Lady called grumpily after him as he walked away. Harry wandered dispiritedly toward the library, but halfway there he changed his mind; he didn't feel like working. He turned around and came face-to-face with Filch, who had obviously just seen off the last of the Hogsmeade visitors. â€Å"What are you doing?† Filch snarled suspiciously. â€Å"Nothing,† said Harry truthfully. â€Å"Nothing!† spat Filch, his jowls quivering unpleasantly. â€Å"A likely story! Sneaking around on your own — why aren't you in Hogsmeade buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and Whizzing Worms like the rest of your nasty little friends?† Harry shrugged. â€Å"Well, get back to your common room where you belong!† snapped Filch, and he stood glaring until Harry had passed out of sight. But Harry didn't go back to the common room; he climbed a staircase, thinking vaguely of visiting the Owlery to see Hedwig, and was walking along another corridor when a voice from inside one of the rooms said, â€Å"Harry?† Harry doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin, looking around his office door. â€Å"What are you doing?† said Lupin, though in a very different voice from Filch. â€Å"Where are Ron and Hermione?† â€Å"Hogsmeade,† said Harry, in a would-be casual voice. â€Å"Ah,† said Lupin. He considered Harry for a moment. â€Å"Why don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a Grindylow for our next lesson.† â€Å"A what?† said Harry. He followed Lupin into his office. In the corner stood a very large tank of water. A sickly green creature with sharp little horns had its face pressed against the glass, pulling faces and flexing its long, spindly fingers. â€Å"Water demon,† said Lupin, surveying the Grindylow thoughtfully. â€Å"We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the Kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong, but very brittle.† The Grindylow bared its green teeth and then buried itself in a tangle of weeds in a corner. â€Å"Cup of tea?† Lupin said, looking around for his kettle. â€Å"I was just thinking of making one.† â€Å"All right,† said Harry awkwardly. Lupin tapped the kettle with his wand and a blast of steam issued suddenly from the spout. â€Å"Sit down,† said Lupin, taking the lid off a dusty tin. â€Å"I've only got teabags, I'm afraid — but I daresay you've had enough of tea leaves?† Harry looked at him. Lupin's eyes were twinkling. â€Å"How did you know about that?† Harry asked. â€Å"Professor McGonagall told me,† said Lupin, passing Harry a chipped mug of tea. â€Å"You're not worried, are you?† â€Å"No,† said Harry. He thought for a moment of telling Lupin about the dog he'd seen in Magnolia Crescent but decided not to. He didn't want Lupin to think he was a coward, especially since Lupin already seemed to think he couldn't cope with a Boggart. Something of Harry's thoughts seemed to have shown on his face, because Lupin said, â€Å"Anything worrying you, Harry?† â€Å"No,† Harry lied. He drank a bit of tea and watched the Grindylow brandishing a fist at him. â€Å"Yes,† he said suddenly, putting his tea down on Lupin's desk. â€Å"You know that day we fought the Boggart?† â€Å"Yes,† said Lupin slowly. â€Å"Why didn't you let me fight it?† said Harry abruptly. Lupin raised his eyebrows. â€Å"I would have thought that was obvious, Harry,† he said, sounding surprised. Harry, who had expected Lupin to deny that he'd done any such thing, was taken aback. â€Å"Why?† he said again. â€Å"Well,† said Lupin, frowning slightly, â€Å"I assumed that if the Boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort.† Harry stared. Not only was this the last answer he'd expected, but Lupin had said Voldemort's name. The only person Harry had ever heard say the name aloud (apart from himself) was Professor Dumbledore. â€Å"Clearly, I was wrong,† said Lupin, still frowning at Harry. â€Å"But I didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staffroom. I imagined that people would panic.† â€Å"I didn't think of Voldemort,† said Harry honestly. â€Å"I — I remembered those Dementors.† â€Å"I see,† said Lupin thoughtfully. â€Å"Well, well†¦I'm impressed.† He smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Harry's face. â€Å"That suggests that what you fear most of all is — fear. Very wise, Harry.† Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he drank some more tea. â€Å"So you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable of fighting the Boggart?† said Lupin shrewdly. â€Å"Well†¦yeah,† said Harry. He was suddenly feeling a lot happier. â€Å"Professor Lupin, you know the Dementors –â€Å" He was interrupted by a knock on the door. â€Å"Come in,† called Lupin. The door opened, and in came Snape. He was carrying a goblet, which was smoking faintly, and stopped at the sight of Harry, his black eyes narrowing. â€Å"Ah, Severus,† said Lupin, smiling. â€Å"Thanks very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?† Snape set down the smoking goblet, his eyes wandering between Harry and Lupin. â€Å"I was just showing Harry my Grindylow,† said Lupin pleasantly, pointing at the tank. â€Å"Fascinating,† said Snape, without looking at it. â€Å"You should drink that directly, Lupin.† â€Å"Yes, Yes, I will,† said Lupin. â€Å"I made an entire cauldronful,† Snape continued. â€Å"If you need more.† â€Å"I should probably have some again tomorrow. Thanks very much, Severus.† â€Å"Not at all,† said Snape, but there was a look in his eye Harry didn't like. He backed out of the room, unsmiling and watchful. Harry looked curiously at the goblet. Lupin smiled. â€Å"Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me,† he said. â€Å"I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is particularly complex.† He picked up the goblet and sniffed it. â€Å"Pity sugar makes it useless,† he added, taking a sip and shuddering. â€Å"Why –?† Harry began. Lupin looked at him and answered the unfinished question. â€Å"I've been feeling a bit off-color,† he said. â€Å"This potion is the only thing that helps. I am very lucky to be working alongside Professor Snape; there aren't many wizards who are up to making it.† Professor Lupin took another sip and Harry had a crazy urge to knock the goblet out of his hands. â€Å"Professor Snape's very interested in the Dark Arts,† he blurted out. â€Å"Really?† said Lupin, looking only mildly interested as he took another gulp of potion. â€Å"Some people reckon –† Harry hesitated, then plunged recklessly on, â€Å"some people reckon he'd do anything to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job.† Lupin drained the goblet and pulled a face. â€Å"Disgusting,† he said. â€Å"Well, Harry, I'd better get back to work. See you at the feast later.† â€Å"Right,† said Harry, putting down his empty teacup. The empty goblet was still smoking. ******** â€Å"There you go,† said Ron. â€Å"We got as much as we could carry.† A shower of brilliantly colored sweets fell into Harry's lap. It was dusk, and Ron and Hermione had just turned up in the common room, pink-faced from the cold wind and looking as though they'd had the time of their lives. â€Å"Thanks,† said Harry, picking up a packet of tiny black Pepper Imps. â€Å"What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?† By the sound of it — everywhere. Dervish and Banges, the wizarding equipment shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, into the Three Broomsticks for foaming mugs of hot butterbeer, and many places besides. â€Å"The post office, Harry! About two hundred owls, all sitting on shelves, all color-coded depending on how fast you want your letter to get there!† â€Å"Honeydukes has got a new kind of fudge; they were giving out free samples, there's a bit, look –â€Å" â€Å"We think we saw an ogre, honestly, they get all sorts at the Three Broomsticks –â€Å" â€Å"Wish we could have brought you some butterbeer, really warms you up –â€Å" â€Å"What did you do?† said Hermione, looking anxious. â€Å"Did you get any work done?† â€Å"No,† said Harry. â€Å"Lupin made me a cup of tea in his office. And then Snape came in†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He told them all about the goblet. Ron's mouth fell open. â€Å"Lupin drank it?† he gasped. â€Å"Is he mad?† Hermione checked her watch. â€Å"We'd better go down, you know, the feast'll be starting in five minutes They hurried through the portrait hole and into the crowd, still discussing Snape. â€Å"But if he — you know –† Hermione dropped her voice, glancing nervously around, â€Å"if he was trying to — to poison Lupin — he wouldn't have done it in front of Harry.† â€Å"Yeah, maybe,† said Harry as they reached the entrance hall and crossed into the Great Hall. It had been decorated with hundreds and hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy ceiling like brilliant watersnakes. The food was delicious; even Hermione and Ron, who were full to bursting with Honeydukes sweets, managed second helpings of everything. Harry kept glancing at the staff table. Professor Lupin looked cheerful and as well as he ever did; he was talking animatedly to tiny little Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher. Harry moved his eyes along the table, to the place where Snape sat. Was he imagining it, or were Snape's eyes flickering toward Lupin more often than was natural? The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit of formation gliding; Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had a great success with a reenactment of his own botched beheading. It had been such a pleasant evening that Harry's good mood couldn't even be spoiled by Malfoy, who shouted through the crowd as they all left the hall, â€Å"The Dementors send their love, Potter!† Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed the rest of the Gryffindors along the usual path to Gryffindor Tower, but when they reached the corridor that ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, they found it jammed with students. â€Å"Why isn't anyone going in?† said Ron curiously. Harry peered over the heads in front of him. The portrait seemed to be closed. â€Å"Let me through, please,† came Percy's voice, and he came bustling importantly through the crowd. â€Å"What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password — excuse me, I'm Head Boy –â€Å" And then a silence fell over the crowd, from the front first, so that a chill seemed to spread down the corridor. They heard Percy say, in a suddenly sharp voice, â€Å"Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick.† People's heads turned; those at the back were standing on tiptoe. â€Å"What's going on?† said Ginny, who had just arrived. A moment later, Professor Dumbledore was there, sweeping toward the portrait; the Gryffindors squeezed together to let him through, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer to see what the trouble was. â€Å"Oh, my –† Hermione grabbed Harry's arm. The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so viciously that strips of canvas littered the floor; great chunks of it had been torn away completely. Dumbledore took one quick look at the ruined painting and turned, his eyes somber, to see Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape hurrying toward him. â€Å"We need to find her,† said Dumbledore. â€Å"Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady.† â€Å"You'll be lucky!† said a cackling voice. It was Peeves the Poltergeist, bobbing over the crowd and looking delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage or worry. â€Å"What do you mean, Peeves?† said Dumbledore calmly, and Peeves's grin faded a little. He didn't dare taunt Dumbledore. Instead he adopted an oily voice that was no better than his cackle. â€Å"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful,† he said happily. â€Å"Poor thing.† he added unconvincingly. â€Å"Did she say who did it?† said Dumbledore quietly. â€Å"Oh yes, Professorhead,† said Peeves, with the air of one cradling a large bombshell in his arms. â€Å"He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see.† Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. â€Å"Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black.†