Storm Born Chapter Twenty-Three

The similarities between the fachan and nixie attacks weren't lost on me. Both types were water creatures, and all had seemed much more interested in killing Storm King's daughter than fathering her child. Recalling how Dorian had said someone powerful would have had to force them to come out to the desert, I decided that figuring out who that could be needed to move to the top of my list of priorities. Rape was horrible. Death was†¦well, final. Unfortunately, I wasn't really sure I trusted my new gentry contacts to give me unbiased advice. So I turned to my next-most relatively neutral sources. Like always, my spirit minions took a long time in answering my question. Nandi and Volusian were compelled to answer eventually, but I think they always sort of tried to wait each other out. This time, it was Nandi who finally gave in. â€Å"Mistress, there are many among the shining ones who could summon such creatures. Far too many for you to hunt down or investigate. To do so would be akin to counting grains of sand on a beach. The task is impossible. Were you to try, you would fall into a despair so dark and deep that it would undoubtedly shatter your mind and force you into insanity.† Volusian sighed loudly and shuffled so that he stood farther into the shadows of my bedroom. â€Å"Metaphors aside, mistress, she is correct. Perhaps there are not quite so many suspects but still enough to make a search difficult.† Finn, moving around my room in lazy circles, stopped his flight and scoffed. â€Å"Why are you wasting your time with all these other people? It's obvious who's doing it. Maiwenn is.† I sat cross-legged on the bed and swallowed a piece of my Milky Way. â€Å"Maiwenn can't control water. Besides,† I added bitterly, â€Å"everyone keeps going on about how weak and sickly she is lately anyway.† I honestly didn't get what the big deal was with her being so debilitated by pregnancy. I'd worked at a restaurant in high school, and there'd been a waitress there who'd stayed on her feet until the day she delivered. â€Å"Maiwenn doesn't have to do it herself,† argued Finn. â€Å"She's the mastermind. Other people hated Storm King. She's probably collaborating with them and directing them to attack you.† â€Å"That seems kind of elaborate.† I swear, Volusian almost smiled. â€Å"Spend more time around the gentry courts, mistress, and you'll find a plan like that would be childishly simplistic. Nonetheless, I find it unlikely the Willow Queen is involved. It is not in her nature. She would not kill without provocation. She is more likely to wait and observe than act on her emotions.† â€Å"Unless there was something more personal involved,† said Finn slyly. â€Å"You know, maybe a little jealousy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Apparently my romantic difficulties were no secret. Honestly, I didn't get how gossip spread so fast in the Otherworld, particularly considering how they had no telephones, TV, or Internet. I glared at him. â€Å"She has nothing to be jealous about. Not anymore.† â€Å"Agreed,† said Volusian. â€Å"Besides, the Willow Queen is not an adolescent girl who would risk her rule to take petty revenge. She – and her peers – are far too clever. And ruthless.† Finn crossed his arms and glared at Volusian. It was kind of a bold move, considering Finn looked like a cartoon character and Volusian looked like he ate the souls of small children. For all I knew, he probably did. â€Å"Of course you'd say that. You're trying to throw Odile off Maiwenn's trail. Makes it easy, doesn't it? Then Maiwenn's assassins can do your dirty work for you. We all know you're just waiting to kill her off.† Finn jerked his thumb in my direction. Volusian went rigid, his eyes narrowing to red slits. â€Å"Make no mistake. When I kill our mistress – and I will – I will not depend on some gentry to do it. I will rip her flesh and tear her soul apart myself.† Silence fell. â€Å"Truly, mistress,† Nandi said at last, â€Å"it is a wonder you even have the will to carry on.† â€Å"Enough,† I groaned, rubbing my eyes. â€Å"Being around you guys is like being on the Jerry Springer Show sometimes. As much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Volusian.† Finn started to speak, and I cut him off with a gesture. â€Å"But I still want to talk to Maiwenn. If she is guilty, maybe I can find out. If she isn't, maybe she'll help me figure out who is.† â€Å"You're crazy,† exclaimed Finn. â€Å"You're playing right into her hands.† â€Å"And your opinion has been duly noted for the record. I don't need to hear it anymore.† He disappeared with a huff. I shook my head and turned to the others. â€Å"Show me where the closest crossover to her home is.† It turned out to be an hour and a half drive from Tucson, but considering how much Otherworldly travel I probably would have had to do by crossing somewhere else, I didn't mind. This proved doubly true when the crossroads in the Willow Land deposited me within eyesight of her castle. It was only a small consolation, considering it was still freezing in her land. Back home, the weather had been hot and perfect. Worst of all, today was Cinco de Mayo. I should have spent the rest of the day drinking copious amounts of tequila, followed by a blissful blackout under a table somewhere. At least there was no wind now, but the air held a sharp, biting chill. It was dry too; I could sense its lack of moisture. Ice and snow drifts glittered with crystalline beauty in the stark winter sunlight, but it was a dangerous beauty. If you stared at the blankets of white too long, you could almost get afterimages from the brightness. I trudged down the cold road, admiring the castle in spite of myself. Unlike Aeson's and Dorian's, it lacked the blocky, fortress look. It was†¦well, pretty. Graceful, fluid spires rose up, their silvery white surface gleaming and sparkling. The entire structure had a curved, almost sinuous look, like a calla lily. I wondered if this simply resulted from the difference between male and female monarchs. Maybe Maiwenn just had better taste. The guards turned rightfully alarmed when I informed them who I was. They tried to coax me inside to wait for Maiwenn's admittance, but I refused to take one step until they'd requested hospitality for me. It took awhile – during which time the number of guards circling me doubled – but Maiwenn finally sent back word that I could see her and would be under the protection of her home. A lady-in-waiting led me to Maiwenn, and she made it clear in both body language and words that I had no business disturbing her queen. She led me through twisting halls, at last leaving me in a cozy, brightly lit sitting room. Maiwenn rested in a comfy plush chair, propped up by pillows. A heavy satin dressing gown wrapped around her, and someone had tucked a blanket over her lap. Even pale-skinned and messy-haired, she looked gorgeous. She smiled at me and gestured for the servant to leave. â€Å"Lady Markham, what a pleasant surprise. Please, sit down.† Uneasily, I eased onto a delicate plush pink chair. â€Å"Call me Eugenie.† She nodded, and we both sat there awkwardly. Watching her, all I could think about was how she was carrying Kiyo's baby. It would create a lifelong bond between them that I could never share. Not that I wanted anything like that, of course. Kiyo was out of my life. Maiwenn's sense of propriety, being better than mine, soon kicked in. â€Å"I'm happy to receive you, but I suspect this isn't a social call.† â€Å"No†¦I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to you about†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I hesitated, suddenly feeling foolish. What had I been thinking to come here and ask her outright if she wanted to kill me? Well, it was too late to back out. Might as well go for it. â€Å"I've had a couple of nasty attacks lately. Attacks meant to kill me. And I was wondering if†¦if maybe you knew anything about them†¦.† Her turquoise eyes regarded me knowingly. â€Å"Or more to the point, you want to know if I had anything to do with them.† I averted my eyes. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"It's no wonder Dorian likes you so much. Your bluntness must amuse him to no end.† She sighed and leaned her head back in the chair. â€Å"You may believe me or not, but the answer is no. I neither ordered nor know anything about any attempts on your life. What happened?† Figuring it couldn't hurt regardless of her involvement, I told her everything about the fachan and the nixies. Her face stayed mostly blank, though I did see surprise flash in her eyes a few times. When I finished, her response was not what I expected. â€Å"Why do you live in a desert anyway? Willingly even?† I felt surprise cross my own face. â€Å"It's my home. It's not that bad.† She shrugged. â€Å"If you say so. But Dorian is right in his assessment of getting those creatures to you in the first place. Someone powerful and motivated would have had to do it.† â€Å"Do you know who?† â€Å"No. Like I said, you have no reason to believe me, but I had nothing to do with this.† She was right. I had no reason to believe her. And yet†¦some part of me noted that Kiyo trusted her. Whatever anger I felt over his withholding of information, I had to believe he wasn't an entirely unreliable judge of character. â€Å"Could you give me names of people who could do it?† â€Å"I could give you dozens. Wouldn't do you much good.† I scowled and slouched into my chair. The same response as the spirits. â€Å"I'm sorry I can't be more help.† She sounded sincere. â€Å"I won't lie: The thought of you having Tirigan's grandson terrifies me. But I don't believe in punishing you for something that has not yet happened – especially when you are trying to not make it happen. However†¦Ã¢â‚¬  That placid expression turned hesitant. â€Å"May I ask you a question?† â€Å"Sure.† â€Å"I know what you told me, and yet†¦well, I hear more and more stories about your involvement with Dorian. Kiyo said†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She tripped over the name. â€Å"Kiyo said I had nothing to worry about.† â€Å"You don't. It's an act. Dorian's teaching me to use my magic, and in exchange, I play his girlfriend.† No point in mentioning our recent bargain. She considered. â€Å"So you've decided to embrace your heritage after all.† â€Å"Only enough to not do something stupid.† â€Å"You're right to do that†¦though I'd feel better if you had another teacher. Your bargain may seem safe enough for now†¦yet I doubt he'll let it stay that simple for long. Don't let his charm blind you to his agenda. He'll use you to get what he wants – and he wants the prophecy fulfilled.† â€Å"Hey, I can handle Dorian. And his charm.† â€Å"There's more to it than just that, however. Your very life may be at risk.† â€Å"From Dorian? I doubt it.† â€Å"From his enemies.† That was a new one. â€Å"I didn't really know he had any unless†¦well, you and he differ in opinion†¦and I guess he and Aeson don't get along either.† I sat up straighter. â€Å"Do you think his enemies are the ones trying to kill me? To get back at him?† â€Å"Any number of people could be trying to kill you. The list of his enemies is no shorter than the ones I referred to before. Most of his have nothing to do with where he stands on the prophecy. He's powerful, and many fear that – with good reason. When this part of the Otherworld rearranged itself, he fought to seize much more of it than he did. Only at the last minute did Katrice, queen of the Rowan Land, emerge as a contender and slice up more. The land recognized her and allowed her a portion, cutting Dorian out of larger territory.† I shivered. I had heard Roland speak of the Otherworld's sentience, how it continually changed form and boundaries. Still. The thought of it â€Å"allowing† someone to do something creeped me out. â€Å"Many know he has never accepted that outcome,† she continued. â€Å"He would like to expand, and they see you as the means of doing it. Your human powers have been feared for years. If you manifest Storm King's as well, they believe you and Dorian will conquer the other kingdoms. And possibly beyond.† â€Å"Everyone's so obsessed with conquest,† I grumbled. â€Å"Why can't they just leave things the way they are?† â€Å"Your king has grander plans than that, I'm afraid.† I wondered not for the first time who was getting the better end of this deal Dorian and I had contrived. What was it he really wanted from me? â€Å"So even people who agree with the prophecy don't necessarily like him.† She nodded. â€Å"They would rather see your son fathered by someone less ambitious – someone they could control. Those same people could very well attempt to remove Dorian. Or, others who wanted Storm King to succeed in theory secretly believe it will never happen, so now they simply worry about the immediate threat you present to the kingdoms here.† This new development, that I was a threat because I wanted to conquer the Otherworld, was almost more ludicrous than the prophecy. â€Å"Why the hell would I want to rule in this world? Haven't they noticed I'm human? Or at least half? I don't have any claim on gentry real estate. And I don't want any.† â€Å"The shining ones view things differently than humans. Humans always feel the need to point out any drop of foreign blood in a person. As far as we care, you have our blood, and that suffices. You may have a human mother, but for all other intents and purposes, most of us now regard you as one of our own.† I thought about how common â€Å"outsider† labels were back in my own world: African American, Asian American, etc. She was right. People usually called attention to â€Å"foreign† blood. â€Å"Yeah, but all that aside, I've made a career out of hunting them down. Doesn't that bother anybody or seem weird for a potential queen?† â€Å"Some, yes,† she conceded. The slightly distasteful look on her face informed me she was among them. â€Å"And they won't get over that anytime soon. But really – for everyone else – well, as I said, most consider you one of us now, and killing wantonly isn't that out of line for a powerful leader. Nothing that Tirigan or Aeson or Dorian hasn't done.† I exhaled loudly. â€Å"This doesn't make me feel better. I suddenly feel like I have more enemies than before.† â€Å"I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, Dorian's enemies may seek you out because of your connection to him, but that very connection will compel him to protect you by whatever means he can. Conniving or not, he's a powerful ally.† I remembered the nixies. â€Å"Yeah. He is.† Another uncomfortable silence descended, and we sat there watching each other. Regardless of how wussy I thought her condition was, she did look pretty exhausted. I hadn't really decided if she was an enemy or not. Honestly, I'd received more things to worry about than any sort of answers from this visit. â€Å"Well,† I said stupidly, â€Å"thanks for the†¦help. I guess I should go.† She nodded and gave me a faint, tired smile. â€Å"You're welcome here anytime.† â€Å"Thanks.† I stood up and moved to the door. My hand was on the knob when she called my name. â€Å"Eugenie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I turned. A pained look crossed her face, one that had nothing to do with her physical discomfort. â€Å"He loves you,† she said haltingly. â€Å"You should†¦you should forgive him. He didn't mean to hurt you.† I held her gaze for several painful moments and then walked out without another word. I didn't want to think about Kiyo. And then, as irony would have it, I ran into him when I was about halfway out of the keep. The universe was harsh sometimes. Whatever feelings her words had kindled in me dried up at the thought of him coming to visit her. The look on his face implied I was the last person he'd expected to see there. I forcibly kept my expression cold, trying hard not to show how much I was drinking in his appearance and presence. He was as stunning as ever with that tanned skin and silky black hair curling slightly behind his ears. I wanted to run my hands through it. The heavy coat he wore couldn't hide that graceful, athletic body. â€Å"Eugenie,† he said softly, â€Å"what are you doing here?† â€Å"I had to chat with Maiwenn. You know, girl talk.† I hoped my tone conveyed that I did not want to elaborate on our conversation. He picked up on the hint. â€Å"Well. It's good to see you. You look†¦good. How have things†¦I mean, have you been okay?† I shrugged. â€Å"The usual. Propositions. Attempts on my life. You know how it goes.† â€Å"I worry about you.† â€Å"I'm fine. I can take care of myself. Besides, I do have some help.† Those dark, caring eyes narrowed slightly. â€Å"I suppose you mean Dorian.† â€Å"He saved me from a pretty nasty attack the other day and,† I added, feeling mean, â€Å"he's going to help me go get Jasmine.† â€Å"That's a bad idea.† â€Å"Which part? Getting her or relying on Dorian?† â€Å"Both.† â€Å"Well, you knew I was going to go for her one of these days. Better sooner than later.† I started to walk past him, and he caught my arm. Even through the coat, his touch sent shock waves through my body. He leaned close to me. â€Å"I want to come with you.† â€Å"I don't need your help.† â€Å"You need all the help you can get.† â€Å"No.† I broke his hold. He moved and blocked my way again. I could feel some of that animal intensity radiating off of him. â€Å"Last time you didn't want gentry help because it hurt your pride. You're doing the same thing with me for the same reasons, and there's no point. Forget how much you hate me, and worry about what's best for the girl. I'm going with you.† He had a point about what was in Jasmine's best interests, but his attitude bothered me. â€Å"What, you think you can make something happen by just telling me it will? You're not going, so get over it.† â€Å"There's nothing to get over. If you're in danger, I protect you. I'll be there.† â€Å"Well, I guess you're going to have to go stake out Aeson's 24/7, because I'm sure as hell not letting you in on the secret planning meetings.† Some of his feral demeanor dropped, and suddenly he was relaxed, collected Kiyo again. â€Å"There are secret meetings? What are you guys now, the Superfriends?† I rolled my eyes and walked past him, back to the crossroads and the warmer weather of Arizona. That ache in my chest, the one I'd had since Beltane, burned steadily the entire time. I hated what had happened to us, but I didn't know how to fix it. I didn't know how to forgive Kiyo. I tried to get my mind on something else as I drove home, like planning the logistics of the next Jasmine rescue. Or, considering her resistance, maybe it would be more like a smash ‘n' grab. Regardless, I was eager to get it over with. Damn Dorian's clause about my magic. And his stupid nobility about sex. I was almost home when I drove past a Barnes & Noble. An idea leapt into my brain, a strange one admittedly, but one that couldn't hurt. I hadn't stopped thinking about how much potential I allegedly had with magic. For years, I'd relied on human magic – or rather the human ability to extract magic from the world. I could banish spirits and monsters. I could walk worlds. But this so-called power within me offered so much more, according to both Dorian and Maiwenn – not to mention my own barely remembered longings. I had resisted it at first, but now†¦now I wanted so badly to advance to higher levels. Dorian and I would meet tomorrow night for another session, and I hated the thought of more inactivity. He'd told me I had a lifetime to catch up on magic, but I didn't want to wait that long. I wanted to close the gap. Naturally, the store had no books on real magic. They only carried the silly and trumped-up commercial type stuff. But they did have a science section, and within that, I found a couple shelves on weather and meteorology. I doubted these books would make me a magical dominatrix overnight, but actually knowing the science behind what I worked with had to help. It was something tangible, something I had more experience with than the weird, esoteric nature of magic itself. Volusian had once commented that as a child of both worlds, I could take the best of each lineage. I was both gentry and human. Magic and technology. I spent over an hour skimming through books on storms, the atmosphere, and assorted weather phenomena. When the store made its closing announcement, I could hardly believe it. Time had flown by. Scooping up the ones I deemed most useful, I paid and went home. â€Å"Reading is hot,† Tim told me when I walked in the door with my heavy bag. I ignored him and retreated to my room. Dumping the books on the bed, I picked the most remedial-looking one and sat down at my desk, where the Eiffel Tower still lay unfinished. I hadn't had time for puzzles lately. With a wistful last look, I swept the pieces up into the box and put it away. The tower would have to wait. Shifting my legs into a comfortable position, I spread out the glossy, full-colored textbook. Flipping through the title pages and introduction, I finally found the meat of the book.

Creative Ads Motivates People to Drink Water

Creative Ads Motivates People to Drink Water Creative Ads Motivates People to Drink Water It is well known that water is one of the most essential elements for all organisms, especially human beings. However, even though people realize how important water is for them they do not drink their daily-recommended amount of water. Therefore, organizations form water campaigns to encourage people to drink 8 to 12 glasses per day, which maintains the body’s hydration.Nevertheless, most people believe that water campaigns are uninteresting, which makes them ineffective. Evian and Nestle are water companies that try to market their products through their ads that motivate people to drink more water so that they live young and healthy. Furthermore, the commercials grab people’s attention by using creative and artistic ideas that send to customers the same message that the water campaigns but in a fast and creative way, which convince people to buy bottled water even though they ca n consume it for free.Nestle is one of the world’s largest food companies that also sells mineral water marketed by an inspired advertisement. This Nestle Pure life water TV commercial starts with a picture of the Nestle bottle of water and the question  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Why does your body need 8 glasses a day of Nestle Pure Life†. The background of the advertisement is both blue and white which matches the nestle bottle of water. Although water is colorless, the Nestle Company probably chose blue because it is used almost always to represent the purity of water (Kalyan Meola, 2005).The background includes a large picture of the number 8, which represents the number of glasses of water people should drink daily, and it is illustrated in an artistic way since it is also blue and include reflections on the number’s edges. The question â€Å"Why does your body need 8 glasses a day of Nestle Pure Life† is answered by a short video that explains the importance of hydra tion. The second part of the advertisement starts with a brunette model who seems to be in her thirties.The model’s skin color and facial features do not indicate a particular nationality, which allows this ad to be shown in different countries that can relate to it. In the third part of the advertisement the model starts to drink the water and takes us on a tour that demonstrates the model’s respiratory and digestive system in a creative way. Additionally, the Nestle water becomes an image of a waterfall in a tropical jungle.I believe that using a forest in this ad sends a message to customers that the Nestle water company products are natural. Besides that, the ad includes a family playing in the waterfall, and that is a way to motivate and attract people, especially young children, to live healthy and drink Nestle Pure Water. What grabbed my attention is that the waterfall is circulating around numerous kinds of red and pink flowers that are arranged in the shape of the human heart.Using pink flowers for the heart will convince people that drinking 8 glasses of water is necessary for the body’s health. Moreover, while watching the video ad I discovered that it creates an illusion of a human body out of nature such as the body’s lungs, which are represented by various tropical plants, and the intestine, which is created from a waterfall. Finally, the model turns out to be a mother with a healthy body shape standing with her son and husband in a green mountain range area.The Mother is wearing a purple top with a bright pink 3-quarter trouser, which suits the layout of the advertisement. Furthermore, both the father and his son are wearing shorts only that show us their healthy figure that means that Nestle Pure Water keeps the body healthy. Obviously, Evian is a brand of mineral water that uses creativity in order to market its pure water. The ‘Live Young’ Evian water advertisement shows many people wearing a t-shirt t hat creates the illusion that these models have the body of an infant.Although the phrase ‘Live Young’ usually refers to being adventurous, using this illusion sends the message that bottled water companies try to achieve which is the purity of their products. Babies, as newborns, are pure because most of them lack diseases and stress. Looking at the layout of the advertisement, the white background makes the advertisement very positive as it represents calmness and purity; besides, it makes the models’ white T-shirts fade into the light background, which makes the baby bodies seem real.Furthermore, the advertisement’s models are of various ethnicities, which allow more people to relate to it, and help the ad become globally well known since it can be displayed in any country. Besides that, most models are young, yet others are older, which motivates older customers to buy Evian water too. Furthermore, what grabbed my attention is that all of the models ha ve healthy looking bodies, which suggests that drinking Evian Pure Water will keep you not only young but also healthy. The song â€Å"Wordy Rappinghood† is used to form a high-spirited mood as the models move to the beat.Additionally, the models in the commercial are active, and doing different things like drinking water, looking at their shirts, laughing and playing with their hair. All in all, water has always been the source of life for humans. However, people do not actually drink the amount water needed for their body. Therefore, the water companies try to break the routine of water campaigns by creating new artistic commercials that motivate people to become healthier by drinking water and to by their pure bottled water rather than drinking free tap water.Nestle Pure Water and Evian Water Company commercials are great examples since they both market their products and influence people to live a healthy life. References Duncan. (2011, April 20). Evian Babies Are Back to Live Young. Retrieved from http://theinspirationroom. com/daily/2011/evian-babies-are-back-to-live-young/ Meola, K. V. (2005). The Psychology of Color. Hohonu , 3, 2. Nestle Pure Life Natural Spring Water. (n. d. ). Retrieved May 27, 2011, from http://www. nestle-waters. ca/en/ourbrands/pure_life. htm

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A New Airplane Program of Boeing 767 - Case Study Example At the same time, in 1966 company was facing a lot of pressure for the development of new plane as it had been long since the last plane was launched. There were a lot of apprehensions among the directors as the company had not enough experience of developing a plane of their own. Project Uncertainty and Risk Management, the project management was not effective in Boeing 767 program, is the first weakness. Since the company did not have any past experience of cockpit design for two persons, it resulted in many difficulties in the successful execution of the final product. There should have been a thorough analysis of design before getting the final approval. Another weakness was that the geographic locations of production were also not considered. This hence became a major weakness as the transportation of parts was important on time. Time also became critical also due to the change in the design of cockpit. The strength was that the conversion of conversion from two-person to the three-person cockpit, which a very big risk was handled very intelligently. First strength was that the delivery of the planes was just one month delayed. This conversion also raised project uncertainty concern. As the parts were designed for two-person cockpit and payments were already made. The strength of project management was that it was decided that modification experts will fix this problem once parts are installed. This resulted in minimization of the risk of production disruption. Hence the projected uncertainty arising from risk was avoided. This made the design of new cockpit more adaptable to changes. In terms of quality management, another weakness aroused due to this conversion for space. This risk seemed to disrupt the modification of the thirty planes which were almost ready and were also ready to be flown. However, many managers opposed this approach as it violated the fire control systems and may result in working environment without fire system for some time till the new system gets installed again

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Set of rules to run a superlative business - Essay Example One may be the exchange of currency that is foreign exchange system, which allows the raise in amount by buying a low rate currency, and selling at time it raises its value. Bonds may also help to get spare amount as they works as lottery tickets that never go waste if not won. But paramount to earn equity in market is investing amount by buying shares of other emergent companies and selling them at the profit. There are now a day many sock reporting tools that helps the businessman to know about the stock history, and other fundamental data at the end of the day. By technical and fundamental analysis they helps to pick the stocks. Moreover, many different online sites are available for the same purpose. They help business people by showing the reports after analyzing different companies in form of equity research. The mortgage is the amount an investor earns as a profit on the property bought. That is, for instance, businesspersons bought a property in a non- establish location which in few years gets establish in a manner that property bought about 1 hundred dollars can be sold at price 100times more. Though this is the profit earned Property dealers are operating through hundreds of subsidiaries in the business market. These equity offices later converted into real estate management. Now these real estate offices have grown in size through strategic acquisitions. It is found by the equity office properties trust company profile in U.S. that Equity Office Properties own 125 office buildings in about 15 metropolitan areas as target markets. As same to Stocks, Mortgage may also measured by some different tools, may be come calculators that allow calculating the actual equity. It may also helps to propose a new investment by calculating the surplus in equity. These calculators only estimate the equity as actual equities depends on the market fluctuations on the property. Some known equity property offices does not only deal with the land but also build some extraordinary buildings and sell or rent them. They utilize property with developments not internationally but works for locals as well. These developments gives best to their customer and allow collecting funds directly and taking advantage of the marketplace widely. These developments by equity property offices ensure the ability and trust for the development. They attract the already customers for a reliable future and growth opportunities yet brings more new customers with different innovative deals. Reasons for Equity Creation Equity is the alternative for financing offered only to engineering and construction companies. This expanded the engineering and construction business with an economic escalation by equity investors giving a financial success to the companies. The Companies invest for three to seven years to earn profit via institutions, businesses and other wealth individuals. These equities are good for the business who are not ready to close their business but their business may get shut down later if no investors for owing equity are there. Following are few reasons, which clearly shows why the equity is a prominent alternative for financing. Extensive Investment Necessity of lives makes people earn more. When people don't get the enough money to fulfill their requirements they invest their money in the businesses. Equity companies invest more than

Dance in Primitive cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Dance in Primitive cultures - Essay Example Such forces are also said to have promoted fertility, controlled weather, and led to success in warfare. As a result, the forces had a say in tribal well-being and human survival. Originally, man used dance to implore god on various occasions that were crucial in life (West Virginia University 20). Moreover, it is also thought that dance in these cultures begun as a gesture. This was used as a form of communication. Afterward, there was use of gestures such as facial expressions and combination of a guttural sound and action to reinforce an ideal (West Virginia University 20). As a result, dance was used as a means of telling stories or passing information. However, in this era, there was lack of proper speech. As a result, man was forced to use recognizable gesture. For success, man was forced to supplement movements with the cries of animals and other natural sounds. On the other hand, there was inspiration to the primitive dance. The most significant source of inspiration was the birds and animals (West Virginia University 21). Primitive man was knowledgeable of living things that surrounded him as he interacted with them. Man fought with living things or survival, hunted for food and clothing and managed to know their character (West Virginia University 21). Primitive people also had an animist religion; they thought animals had souls and were similar to man. The perception was linked to natural phenomenon that surrounded man such the sun and death. Primitive man also has an opportunity to dance with animals. Man insects and some animals perform ritualized movement patterns that appear almost similar to man conception of dance. Hence, the dance-like movements of animals inspired the dance of primitive man. On the other hand, dance played a significant role in the primitive society. One of such role was in religion. In the performance of rituals, ancient man simpler imitative movements became changed

The British Bill of Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The British Bill of Rights - Essay Example hout an enforceable Bill of Rights.6 "Great Britain was once a fortress for freedom. It claimed the great philosophers of liberty-Milton and Locke and Paine and Mill. Its legal tradition is irradiated with liberal ideas; that people accused of crime are presumed to be innocent, that no one owns another's conscience, that a man's home is his castle. But now Britain offers less formal legal protection to central freedom than most of its neighbours in Europe." Gordon and Wilmot-Smith argues that UK is not in a very satisfactory position when it comes to human rights-the elective dictatorship of the majority means that, by and large, the government of the day can get in its way, even if its majority is small.8 Gordon further explained- 'If its programme or its practice involves some derogation from huma... If it is a result of administrative practice, there may well be no basis upon which they can interfere. There is no higher law, no frame of reference to which they can properly appeal and none of this matter very much if human rights themselves are not thought to matter very much. But if the protection of its citizen's fundamental rights is genuinely seen as an important function of civil society, then it does matter. In saying this, I do not suggest-and I must stress this-that the present government or any of its predecessors has acted with wilful or cynical disregard of fundamental human rights.'9 The United Kingdom has endured for centuries with no written constitution, but absorbed a European regional Charter of Rights in 2000.10 An example of its consequence, because parliament has not authorised the British courts to provide remedies, victims of human rights abuses have to take the long and expensive road trips to Strasbourg to secure justice; and while the convention has been used to extend and protect some of the people's basic liberties in the face of increasing authoritarian state power, the decisions of the judges of the European Court are often disappointingly narrow.11 There is an ongoing debate about whether or not there should be a Bill of Rights for the United Kingdom.12 Thomas Jefferson opined that 'a bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth'.13 Truly, bills of rights have assumed particular and renewed importance in an extraordinary number of countries in all parts of the world.14 Furthermore, Alston reasons that any bill of rights worthy of the name should express some basic principles of equality, human dignity and non-discrimination,

Symbolism of Moby Dick based on outline provided Essay

Symbolism of Moby Dick based on outline provided - Essay Example With the White Whale being alluded to the greatness of Christianity --- Ahab being part of this whale --- this could be representational of the concept of the white Christian civilization utilizing slavery as a means toward global success. Captain Ahab is at the helm of Pequod setting sail with a crew coming from different races. Their purpose is to hunt the White Whale with no regard to people who might change this itinerary (Robertson-Lorant 385). Notice that the crew consists of a New England voyager named Ishmael, a South Pacific islander named Queequeg --- who comes from a place that is not seen on maps, and a possible freeman or slave cabin boy named Pip (Pettey 43). Hints about the Indian wars are seen in Melville’s work. First, Pequod is named after the exterminated tribes in 1637. Harpooners in the Pequod consists of â€Å"Aboriginal whalemen† and â€Å"unmixed Indian from Gay Head...where there still exists the last remnant of a village of red men† (Pet tey 47-8). It can be said that Moby Dick has the Indian genocide and the exploitation of workers as two of the major themes in Melville’s work. Works Cited Pettey, H B. "Cannibalism, Slavery, and Self-Consumption in Moby-Dick." The Arizona Quarterly. 59 (2003): 31-58. Print. Robertson-Lorant, Laurie. "Red Blood, White Bones: the Native American Presence in Moby- Dick." Comparative American Studies.

Fast Food Restaurants Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fast Food Restaurants - Assignment Example Therefore, in Fast Food restaurants industry, customer loyalty is built, earned and retained with the following components; Product quality, Product attributes, Brand name, Store environment (relates to customer experience with the restaurant and restaurant's ambiance), Service quality, Price, Promotion, Trust and Satisfaction. In this industry, a loyal customer means the person who avail's a restaurant's services, is highly satisfied with them, has a pleasant customer experience with the place, trusts the restaurant to provide high quality good food, considers product/service attributes to be excellent, considers the product/service quality as high, considers price to be worth the product/service offering, rates promotional activities to be highly attractive and goes for the brand name created by the restaurant, like McDonalds (Nezakati, 13). For fast food firms, customer loyalty is when a particular customer revisits their restaurant again and again and repurchases their service. M oreover, these are the customers who visit the restaurant very frequently, for instance a customer who eats at the restaurant twice every week. They are happy customers who give a positive feedback when asked about the food and they give generous tips to the waiters. Customer loyalty is measured by the revenue generated from a particular customer, a regular customer whose name every waiter would know or who could be recognized by face (Rehman et.al., 1-2). For customers, customer loyalty is the high level of satisfaction they receive from dining in a fast food restaurant. For them, customer loyalty is a product of high quality product/service that completely fulfills the customer expectations and satisfy their preferences or needs. For customers, to be a loyal consumer of a fast food restaurant's food, it is essential for the restaurant to provide them with a complete service experience. The ambiance of the place must be pleasant and enjoyable. Food must be of high quality and most importantly it must be hygienic and worth every penny they pay for it. The service must be prompt and efficient as customers do not like to wait a lot when it comes to food and restaurant staff must be hospitable and helpful since many at times customers ask for suggestions from the staff as to what they should order and what is the best dish they serve. So in a nutshell, for customers to be loyal they must be provided a high quality food service as for customers, customer loyalty is what an organization earns from the absolute satisfaction of a customer. It is all about meeting customer expectations and living up to them (Rehman et.al., 1-2). To be more specific, companies and customers define customer loyalty by dividing it into two types; attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty. Attitudinal loyalty is a state of mind a customer is in which displays a positive preferential attitude of the customer towards a company's products/services. It simply depends on the customers' liking , if they like a certain brand, like in this case if they love McDonalds, they will even pay a premium price to buy the product compared to its lower priced competitor, for instance KFC in this case. Behavioral loyalty is simply dependent on the customer's conduct without any consideration of their attitude or preference.

The television as a product in relation to edward de Bono thinking hat Assignment

The television as a product in relation to edward de Bono thinking hat - Assignment Example The television has become an evident product in the today’s generation. The television provides communication services to individuals. The television empowers lives in many ways especially through providing important information. Through the television, we have an idea of the global happenings. Through the television information on sports, current good or bad happenings air at the comfort of our homes. Information on the weather enables people to plan for events before they happen. The television is a good source of entertainment accessed at a cheap price and at the convenience of others. Television definitely empowers individuals to live a better life through showing the progress of global happening (Hanson, 2010). Experts denounce the watching of television due to reasons such as the disengagement of people from politics, the obesity issue and the negative images of women it displays. Innovation of the television faces controversies for current years. The fears that it is on ly a matter of time before the television losses market to upcoming technological devices that enhance the outreach. Over the air, the television only has common channel. Individuals result to paying cable and satellite providers to offer extra channels. The consumer market is tired of purchasing more content most of which we are not interested (Lin & Atkin, 2007). Edward de Bono thinking tools The â€Å"Six thinking Hats† is an important powerful tool used to make decisions from different perspectives. Edward de Bono created the tools, which assists individuals to think outside from their normal thinking style. Product producers think in a very rational and positive point of view. This is the reason as to why the end up in success. Many however fail to look at the problems from a creative, intuitive, emotional or negative point of view. This means that the success is only limited to the positive thinking only. They forget that through analysis of the negative aspects creates a better approach of promoting the success of the organization. On a different view, pessimists may extensively support ideas on an emotional aspect failing to analyze decisions rationally and calmly. The thinking technique involves the white hat, red hat, black hat, yellow hat, green hat, and blue hat (Mycoted, 2011). The white hat focuses on the available data where an analysis of information available aids in learning various aspects. While thinking on the aspects, make an analysis of the elements that fill up on information missing. The â€Å"white thinking hat† analyses the past trends and extrapolate from historical data. The red hat thinking involves analyzing problems using gut reaction, emotion and intuition. The thinking involves the emotional aspects of other people involved in the thinking circle. Involving people’s logic assists in analysis of the last reasoning (Runco, 2007). The black hat of thinking involves looking at the negative aspects of the made decision. With defense and caution, analyze on the possibilities of it not working. It is important as it brings out the weak points of the decision. This enables the plan to be refined through elimination, alteration or creation of counter plans. The black hat thinking aspect enables decisions to stand tough grounds and be resilient. It assists in realizing fatal decision making before making a decision. The advantage of this thinking mechanism is that it concentrates on the negative aspects hence eliminating flaws in the decision-making process. This prepares individuals of difficulties arising from the made decision. The yellow hat of thinking concentrates of positive thinking mechanisms. It takes an optimistic point of view giving only the positive outcomes of the decision. The green hat relates to creativity. It involves developing creative solutions to a problem involving a freewheeling with minimal criticism. The blue hat represents the process control. The blue hat

Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis and the East Asia Research Paper

Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis and the East Asia - Research Paper Example The subprime mortgage crisis in the United State was more severe than the great depression because several assets and derivatives had been purchased and sold in the unstable market. Moreover, the subprime mortgage crisis had several liquidity risks compared with that of the exchange traded products. According to Justin and Boris (2011), commercial banks finance in the East Asia asks for the mortgages without considering the credit evaluation of the borrowers. Thus, the paper will evaluate the financial crisis issues that were triggered from the U.S sub-prime mortgage crisis, and affected the East Asian economy. The sub-prime mortgage crisis The sub-prime mortgage crisis was a result of the speculative issues in the housing market that commenced in the United State in 2006. It has caused severe impact across the East Asia countries in the form of financial crisis and the country’s credit crisis. Justin and Boris (2011) indicate that the forces caused by the sub-prime mortgage c risis will probably run out of control for years, causing the collateral damage. The disruption in the East Asia countries credit market is of historic proportions and will have significant economic impacts. Moreover, the crisis has caused essential societal changes that affect the consumer habits and the values. Justin and Boris (2011) indicate that the East Asia economy was affected where the GDP was recorded 4.2, 4.8, 5.7 and 1.9 per cent from 2005 to 2008. This led to the ever recorded a decrease in GDP in 2009 that amounted to -4.0 since 1980. Therefore, this crisis has significantly affected the Europe and Asian countries, and most of the Asian countries have rearranged their financial and banking industry. Delgado and Burge (2009) claim that the proximate cause of the sub-prime mortgage crisis was the busting of the housing issues in the East Asia during the summer of 2007 when subprime defaults commenced to rise and foreclosures increased. It then spread to prime loans and o ther types of consumer credit, and the financial institutions with the subprime related products were severely affected. The Asian countries were severely affected by the sub-prime mortgage crisis during the early stage of the crisis because the banks were not exposed to the dangerous assets that were engineered and crafted in the United State. According to Delgado and Burge (2009), the data gathered in the Economist and Financial Times, the $500 billion was written off by banks globally in the 2008. The financial institutions in Japan accounted for only five percent, and its sectors were relatively resilient. The global financial crisis has affected the China and Japan very strongly as they stand among the most opens in the world. Foreign capital inflows declined significantly as commercial banks and foreign institutional investors withdrew funds to meet redemptions in their countries. According to Delgado and Burge (2009), private capital flows in China slowed from $516.7 billion to 2007 to an estimated $134.4 billion in 2008. Table of the GDP of the East Asia countries 2007 2008 2009 China 11.9 9.7 8.5 Japan 2.1 0.5 -0.2 Korea 5.6 3 3.9 2.1 Modified from: IMF (2008a) According to Ghon (2008), the Banking leading declined that was as a result of the direct and indirect equities. During 2009, the capital flows were estimated to be only $44.1 billion, and in the beginning of 2008, stock markets declined by about 62 percent in China (Ghon, 2008). Thus, the Chinese stocks markets had been the worst performer in

Ancient Near Eastern Thought And The Old Testament Essay Example for Free

Ancient Near Eastern Thought And The Old Testament Essay The opening chapter begins by orienting the reader to the idea of comparative study, or the area of study that strives to understand things within their broader cultural context. In the case of this book, the goal is to understand the Old Testament within the context of the Ancient Near Eastern milieu. Walton explains that over the years there has been much debate on the issue of comparative study and the way in which it is to be exercised. Scholars, always biased by their presuppositions, tend to enter the argument negating the importance of the Old Testament on the  one side, or defending the inerrancy of Scripture so vehemently that the cultural context is lost. Walton poses a better way, namely, accepting the study of the Ancient Near Eastern cultures as important and academic in their own right while attempting to comprehend the Old Testament in light of what modern scholarship is learning about the ancient world. Studies of this time period often center around who borrowed what literature from whom, but Walton insists that this is not the main issue that ought to be dealt with. Rather, studies of the literature and literary genres of the ANE should assist in the broader understanding of the society. Walton observes several areas that the text will deal with in further details. He first puts emphasis on appreciating the literary genres and how they function as a foundation to any quest into comparative studies. In order to understand the Old Testament fully, one must know how the genres were written and how they are to be interpreted within their cultural context. Secondly, Walton notes religious practices and the necessity of understanding them clearly. Ritual sacrifices, priests, and ceremonial cleanliness are things that are foreign to readers in a modern context. Additionally, a crucial part of understanding the Old Testament is understanding not only the practices of the Israelites, but the practices of the other people groups that made up the ANE. Finally, it is important to understand the theology of a people group and the broader views of God and the gods within the ANE in order to interpret the text well. Walton closes the first chapter by pointing out that comparative studies assists study of the Bible in at least four major areas: (1) history of the ANE, (2) archeological understanding of the lifestyle, (3) literature, and (4) language. CHAPTER 2 Chapter two deals with the different ways in which comparative studies are used within current scholarship. Walton first attends to the ways in which comparative studies are being utilized within critical scholarship. As additional information is unearthed about the ANE, many of the ideas once held in critical scholarship have been challenged. Previous assumptions about texts and thoughts, primarily based on evolution, are being reconsidered. Critical scholarship has a history of assuming that critical thought and religious practice had simple beginnings and have evolved through time. Research is showing these assumptions in source criticism,  reaction criticism, and issues of dating to be incorrect in light of the data. Though, as Walton notes, there has been some resistance to comparative studies within the circles of critical scholarship, most of the data being provided is being accepted and studied at greater length. Walton also notes the use of comparative studies in polemics and dismisses such uses due to the fact that the text is not approached in a scholarly manner. Scholars of a more conservative persuasion, primarily Evangelicals, and others termed confessional scholars by Walton, have had a more difficult time adopting comparative studies. As further information has been gathered about the relation of the Pentateuch to ANE literature and as new data has arisen through archeology, confessional scholars have felt their longstanding foundations threatened, which has caused their hesitancy to fully embrace comparative studies. Many feel that maintaining the Bibles unique status among other ANE literature is of supreme importance and continue to argue that comparative studies degrades the inspiration of the text thus making Gods word subject to mans interpretation. Walton closes the chapter by proposing an integrated approach including critical analysis to better understand the history of the Bible, unbiased and educated defense of the biblical text, and solid exegesis that guards the reader from understanding the text outside of its context. Walton argues that the field of comparative studies must be important not only to serious scholars, but also to anyone committed to truly knowing and understanding the Word of God. CHAPTER 3 Chapter three is dedicated to a brief overview of the literary styles of the ANE and gives examples of the styles from some of the primary people groups. The discussion begins with myth, which was one of the primary ways that ancient civilizations explained their present reality. Short examples from several cultures are given and include many parallels to the Biblical stories such as the creation account and the flood. Others bear little resemblance to the Bible such as the stories of the fighting gods of Akkadian myths. Next are literary texts and epics which tell the stories of the kings of different lands, their struggles to power, and their exploits while ruling. The most famous is the Gilgamesh epic, which follows Gilgamesh on his journey to find immortality. The third literary type is ritual texts  which, as the name says, follow the rituals of the people groups of the ancient world. Rituals were important as they helped humans communicate with and persuade the gods. Fourth, Walton deals with divination and incantation texts which were used to divine the meanings of omens, undo evil spells, and ward off bad spirits. These are dealt with at length later in the book. Fifth, he explains the significance of the use of letters exchanged between kings gives the modern day reader noteworthy information about the culture of the past. Walton then moves to royal inscriptions which were recordings ordered by kings. They could contain items such as details on how a building was to be constructed, conquests, details of how to handle their succession, and other various accomplishments and instructions. In a similar vein are annals and chronicles which detailed the succession of rulers through the history of an empire, coupled with their important victories in war. Treaties were another piece of literature that was used to establish rules between kings and rulers of different lands. The next section deals with government and points out law collections and legal documents as important literary devices. While law collections detail the ways in which society was to run and how people were to behave, legal documents dealt with contracts for marriages, children, family estates, and court rulings. Religious literature was also common in the Ancient Near East. Psalms and hymns were ways to give adoration to the gods so that they would be pleased and provide for the people. Wisdom literature contained details about how to make good choices, but also contained laments and writings concerning ethics. Prophetic writing was another important communication because it contained communication from the gods which was a vital part of the life of the ancient cities. Kings sought answers to their problems from the gods and they received them through the prophets. These prophesies were often recorded. Walton closes the chapter by noting various miscellaneous writings as well as arc hives, which were groups of literature often found together which contained all sorts of different information. CHAPTER 4 Chapter four opens the third section of the book which is an overview of the religious views of the ANE. In order to fully understand the Old Testament and the interactions of the Hebrew people with God, and other false gods, it is important to understand how the religious system worked.  Throughout the chapter Walton shows how other empires worshiped and compares those beliefs to beliefs held by Israel. First and foremost, the other people groups of the ANE were polytheistic and therefore, the idea of one God was odd in itself. Add to this the fact that the Israelite God was not made and had simply always been, and the oddities became significantly greater. Not only was the norm polytheistic, but there were great stories about how the gods came to be, their battles with one another, their failures, and their flaws. The gods were defined by the things that they did. Earlier chapters note the fact that the culture of this time period was highly focused on function. Again, due to the polytheism, the gods functioned as a team of sorts. The God of the Bible is, indeed, three in one, but nonetheless one God who is all powerful. The Old Testament does make mention of a council that God used to make decisions, but this is altogether different from the unstable group of random gods of other people groups which were completely separate, with different gifts and skills, and with significant flaws. Walton then turns to the roles that the gods played in the cosmos as well as their attributes. Whereas Yahweh is completely outside of the cosmos, the gods of the ANE were associated with elements of the cosmos. So while Yahweh is the creator of the sun, the moon, and the waters, the gods of other polytheistic religions actually were one with those elements. They had no life or meaning independent from those elements. For instance, the god of the seas controlled the sea and was the sea itself. There was no distinction and no separation as with the God of the Israelites. The attributes of the gods were in some ways similar to Yahweh, but were altogether different in others. The most notable difference is the fact that while Yahweh is completely other, the gods were inherently human in their characteristics. They argued with one another, they needed to be flattered with prayers that did not necessarily communicate their true nature, they were limited in their geographic location, they procreated, and they failed. People of the ANE had attributed to the gods of their myths the same characteristics that they saw in their everyday lives. The main difference between the gods and humans was that the gods were simply stronger. All other characteristics were intrinsically human. This is a far cry from the God of the Bible who is holy, not bound by anything, and never fails. The chapter closes by dealing with a very important part of the  makeup of the gods, their divine attributes. In Evangelical circles God is not simply described as being loving. Rather, He is love itself. God does not simply rule in a just way, he is the epitome of justice. The God of the Old Testament is perfection in every area of everything. There is no flaw or limitation in him. His wisdom, love, justice, and mercy are not only perfect in and of themselves, but God is those things. The gods of the ANE were significantly different in that the attributes that they had were directly linked to their actions. There were no inherent attributes in them, or as Walton says, deity is as deity does. The duties that each god had were the attributes that they carried. CHAPTER 5 Chapter five is dedicated to the understanding of the role of the temple and the accompanying rituals in the ANE. Walton first deals with the role that the temple played. Temples were created not primarily for worship of the gods, but were the places where the gods resided while on earth. This was a sacred space that was to be free from all profanity and reserved for the rest and worship of that god. Each temple contained an idol, like a plaque or a statue. This statue was not simply a rendering; the commonly held view was that the god actually inhabited the idol in some way without actually becoming the idol. Because of this, the ancients believed that the creation of the idol was supernaturally overseen and organized by that specific god so that the idol would meet its expectations. This process was familiar to the Old Testament prophets and they prophesied against the idols and false gods. Attached to the temple was at least one ziggurat, which was a structure that encased a stair way which served as a portal for the god from the heavenly realm into the earthly temple. These were large structures and this was probably what Moses was referring to when he spoke of the tower of Babel in Genesis. So in opposition to common Sunday school teaching, the tower of Babel was not meant to reach to the heavens, but was a portal meant to bring heaven to earth. The temple was the most important structure in ancient culture. It was the center of everything and, due to the fact that the god inhabited the temple, was the source of all things good. Temples were viewed as the center of the cosmos in the ancient world. Walton observes that in this area, the Bible and ancient myths agree in that the presence of the god, or Yahweh in the case of the Bible, was what made the  space important. He claims that the Garden of Eden was not a literal geographic place on earth, rather it was a place in the cosmos where God dwelt. The presence of God was what made Eden special. The same goes for the temples of the ancients. The presence of the gods made them the focal point of life. Not only was the temple the central point of worship, but also of law, the wealth of the city, and the social activities of the people. The focal point of daily activities was the temple. That God would inhabit the tabernacle, or the temple, therefore, makes perfect sense in the culture of the ANE. Solomons temple is used as the focal point of the city, where God dwelt and where worship was given. Here, again, the ancient myths and the Bible agree. Harvest, weather, health, wealth, and victory in battle, among other things, were all controlled by the gods in the ANE. Due to this fact, the rituals that were performed for the gods in the temple were important to the livelihood of the people. The gods had to be appeased and the forces of evil and chaos needed to be held at bay. Rituals, therefore, were the way in which humans interacted with the gods to make sure that they were happy and that the cosmos was in balance. Blood sacrifices were not unique to the Israelites, but were a common trend of the day. However, unlike the other tribes of the ANE, the Israelites did not use incantations. Furthermore, while faith in God was of primary concern for the Israelites, action and involvement in the cult of the temple were of paramount importance. CHAPTER 6 In the midst of everything that was happening in and around the temple, the way in which the common people of the land practiced religion was different. The contrast between the religion of the state and the religion of the common people is the focus of this chapter. Religion in the city environment is handled first. As mentioned in previous chapters, the gods were to be served, taken care of, and appeased. For these reasons, the idols mentioned in chapter five were cared for just as one might take care of a new born baby. They were woken, fed, pampered, and put to bed at night. The problem was that there was no way to know if the people were, indeed, pleasing the god. Without any revelation there was no way to know if the practices were actually making any difference in the temperament of the god. Each god was assigned roles and responsibilities, and each one, in turn, delegated their responsibilities back to the people. For instance, a certain god might be in charge of keeping justice, but those responsibilities were meted out to the king. However, in the midst of all of this service to the gods, the gods were prone to be temperamental. Gods would change their minds and moods often. Diviners might offer solutions like giving more money or upgrading the temple, but again, without revelation the gods were unknowable and this kept the ancient people always guessing and attempting new tactics to change their situations. Yahweh stood in stark contrast to the gods of the polytheistic pantheon. God has no need of anything from man. He is not contained. All of his choices are perfect and right. What is most important, however, is the fact that He communicated with his people so that they were fully aware of what he expected and in order that they might know the consequences for their actions. The religion of the common people was significantly different however. Whereas the temple and the workings of the state were dedicated to one of the higher and more powerful gods, the common people had individual gods, lower on the polyth eistic totem pole, that they worshiped and attempted to appease. Usually devotion to these gods was passed down from generation to generation. Abrahams initial communication with and faith in God, before the Hebrews were a people, fit the idea of a personal god. The primary goal of having a personal god was to bring the family social success, stature, and wealth. The relationship with these gods was different from he relationship that Abraham had with Yahweh. Just as with the state, there was no real heart-connect with the god, no real desire to know him and be like him. The goal was to keep the god happy so that the family would reap the benefits. This attitude presented itself in the weak prayer life of the people. When a family’s personal god was not doing the things that caused their family success, the family was looked down upon in society. It was clear that the family was doing something wrong that was not satisfying the demands of the god. The emphasis was not on the wrongdoing, but on the view society held of your family. Prayers and ritual acts to please the god focused on restoration of respect in the town, not restoration of a relationship with the god. Ethics and morals were also tightly bound to the gods and the balance of society. There were not ethical norms as there are in the modern context. Everything revolved around the gods and what they wanted. Because of the idea of continuity among all  of the realms, morals were not necessarily important. Whatever it took to keep society orderly and balanced was what took priority. So, if orgies or other sexual actions pleased the gods and kept things in order, then it was perfectly acceptable. There was no sense that things of this nature might be considered immoral. These absolutes can only be found in a God who guides one to moral absolutes and makes clear what is morally right and wrong. This is what God did as he revealed himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob orally, and how he set up guidelines with the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai. God does what the artificial gods of the pagans could not do. He revealed himself so that the Israelites could know his will and follow it. He committed to them in a covenant relationship and taught them how to live within that relationship. He showed them how to strive for holiness, by imitating him, an idea that was otherwise nonexistent. He showed them how to have the best possible life, and ultimately, developed a relationship with them personally. CHAPTER 7 Chapter seven is the first chapter in the fourth part of the book, which is dedicated to the cosmos. The seventh chapter in particular deals with how the people of the ANE viewed the makeup of the cosmos. Whereas, due to science and exploration, people in modern times understand that the earth is round and that it travels around the sun while spinning on its own axis, the views of how the cosmos functioned were significantly different in the ANE. Understanding the ancient view of cosmological geography is vital in comprehending the worldview of the ANE. Many of the people groups of the ANE understood the cosmos to be layered. The Earth was the middle layer with heaven above and the netherworld below. The earth was thought to stand still and the sun was thought to travel on a track up on one side of the earth, across the sky, and down into the netherworld in the evening. In some myth systems it was believed that the sky, which was believed to be solid, was supported by mountains at the edges of the earth, while yet other traditions claimed that the earth was supported by giant columns. In addition, ANE myths believed that the sky held the waters back and that when precipitation came, the water was falling through cracks or holes in the sky layer. It is important to note that the world of the ANE was primarily concerned about function over mere existence. Therefore, the  cosmos had no importance in and of itself, but only within the context of the gods using nature to accomplish their desires and dole out their punishments. Regardless of the different views held within the ancient tribes, they all viewed the area that they inhabited as the center of the cosmos. Walton shows that this view about the makeup up of the cosmos was held by the Israelites as well. We have no reason to believe that the modern view of the cosmos was held by the Israelites. Throughout the Old Testament we see references that show that the Israelites held to the common views of the cosmos first and foremost because that was the normal view in those days, but also because God never revealed to them any other way by which to understand the cosmos. CHAPTER 8 Chapter eight handles the important issues of the origin and order of the cosmos. Gaining knowledge about the origin of the world gives excellent insight into the creation account and shows the student of the Bible the important value that God places on humans. As mentioned earlier it is necessary to understand that the culture of the ANE valued function over existence. For something to merely exist was not nearly as important as the function of that thing. This idea has significant repercussions when it comes to the study of cosmogony. Moderns often read the creation account and assume that God was calling things into existence, but this view would not have made much sense to anyone writing in the ANE. It would have been a foreign idea because to simply bring something into existence was of little consequence. Creation was more focused on a purpose than it was on making an object available. One of the first and most important steps in the making functional process was the naming of things, which fits nicely into the creation account of the Bible. God creates and names. This naming process kick starts that object’s function. Walton makes some very interesting points when it comes to the Biblical account of creation. He says that it should be understood, from the text, that the account in the first chapter of Genesis is not one of God creating things that did not exist, but bringing order and function to those things. The reader can notice that Genesis 1never claims that there was nothing. It simply communicates that the earth was without form; it had no order or function. He mentions that on days one through three God does not simply create light,  water and vegetation, but that he was bringing function to those things by giving light the function of time-keeping, water the function of the climate, and vegetation the function of providing food for man and animal s. Therefore, unlike the gods of the other tribes, the God of the Bible gives function and destiny to all things from the very beginning. He is not trying to manage the cosmos and the functions therein, he has already created and set them in motion with specific purpose. His initial purposes for all things cannot be changed and need no management. The chapter closes by explaining the temple as a depiction of the cosmos. This idea is touched on in chapter five and is reiterated here. The place of rest for the gods was their temple. When everything was in order they were able to relax in their sacred space. God, however, is bigger than anything that he has created and uses the earth as his footstool. The Temple of Yahweh was modeled after the cosmos to show this relationship. CHAPTER 9 Literature, religion, and the cosmos have all been dealt with thus far. Now Walton turns to how people functioned and were understood in the context of the ANE. The first step, which is the focus of chapter nine, is to understand how people thought about the past and recorded history. Any conversation about humans naturally begins with their origins. The biblical account of the creation of humans is unique from the myths of the ANE in several ways. First is the fact that the Genesis account sets up Adam and Eve as the sole couple from which all other humans come, known as monogenesis. In other myths, humans are made in more of a group setting, polygenesis, where there is no singular couple from which all human life stems. Secondly is the difference in substance from which humans are created. The biblical account notes that God used the dust of the ground to create Adam and that He breathed life into his nostrils, whereas other matter, including clay and body parts from conquered gods , were used in other myths. The conversation then moves from how humans were made to what pieces or parts they actually contain. Walton notes that there remains disagreement as to whether humans are a unified whole or if they are separated somehow by body, mind, and spirit. Walton notes that due to language barriers, the words describing the human makeup from the ANE are difficult to translate and explain. The Egyptians used several terms to  describe how humans were made. Ka was the natural character of a person based on their ties to their lineage. Ba was the way in which they displayed themselves to society, similar to a reputation. Akh was the soul or spirit of a person that was said to live on after death. The Israelites, on the other hand, used different terms. Perhaps, due to the aforementioned language issues, it is best to quote Walton in this explanation. He says that, nephesh is related to awareness and perception while ruah is related to consciousness and vitality. Finally, the chapter deals with the role of humans in the cosmos. There is a very important distinction to be made in this area between the views of the Egyptians, Akkadians, and Sumarians and the views of the Israelites. The former saw the gods as the center of the cosmos and humans as an unimportant byproduct to assist the gods and appease them, whereas the latter saw their role as priests created to serve God. The Bible gives an important role to humans as the pinnacle of Gods creation, and this idea is unique in the ANE. CHAPTER 10 Chapter ten addresses the recording of history and the mindset that drove the guidelines that the people of the ANE followed in recording history. Furthermore, the chapter shows what that set of guidelines communicates about the mindset of the recorders. As this text has clearly stated, the mindset of the people of the ANE was focused around the gods. The modern mindset is one that focuses on the things that people can see and experience. Modern history is based on physical facts. The cognitive environment of the ANE was such that natural proof or fact was not the main concern. The ancient culture was focused on the gods and what means had been employed to please and serve the gods. Deity was the focal point of historiography. Furthermore, the goals of history were different than the goals of a modern-day journalist. While the journalist of today is concerned about facts and events, the ancients were concerned about the meaning of those events. Due to the fact that everything that happened was tied to the gods in some way, history was the result of what was happening in the supernatural world. These happenings, of course, were of primary importance, so little significance was placed on the events themselves. Rather, the emphasis was on deciphering what information these  events were communicating about the actions of the gods. The way in which events of history worked together and the purpose behind them was also significant. There was a sense of an underlying through-line beneath the surface of every event in history. A good example of this mindset would be the way in which Christians believe that amidst all of the surface things in life, God is working out his perfect will. What happened in each event was not nearly as important as how that event may have furthered a larger piece of the narrative of life. The differences in mindset between the ancients and moderns continue in the area of explaining time. Today most people think of time as linear; the present is now, the past behind, and the future ahead. This was not the normative view of time in the ANE. It was as if the person standing on the time line were turned around, looking into the past with the future behind them. Their view of the past and how it affected the future was most important. The final portion of the chapter focuses on the necessity of understanding the form in which history was written in order to fully realize the meaning of the history itself. Often writers were not necessarily attempting to provide legitimate history telling in their narratives. Because of this, the facts leading up to the conclusion may or may not be accurate because there was no need for them to be so. Much narrative was fiction. Therefore, to understand the writings of the ANE, one must realize that narrative is not primarily concerned about the events, as mentioned above, but on the outcomes, which affects ones ability to glean truth-telling history from the narrative writings. Additionally, the source of the literature, who it promotes, and the audience it was intended for all play an important role in attempting to understand the history of the times. These values, as Walton calls them, play a significant role in how ancient history is to be interpreted. The aforementioned points affect the way in which the Old Testament is read and understood. The history that is recorded in the Old Testament, though it is divinely inspired, must still be understood in the context in which it was written, taking into consideration the values, writers, intended audience, poetics, and importance of deity. CHAPTER 11 Chapter eleven moves to the next step by considering how people lived their day to day lives. Divination, mentioned briefly in other chapters, is  now fully explained. Divination was the attempt to try to deduce from a god the future, or to gain a better comprehension of that god. There were two types of divination, inspired and deductive. Inspired divination involved a message from the gods through a human messenger, while deductive divination included a message from the gods sent through natural means like events or weather. People who engaged in this process were known by different names depending on the type of divination they practiced and the type of omens they used. Inspired messages often came through prophets and dreams. Official prophets were paid and trained by the king to serve as intermediaries between him and the gods. Others, outside of the kings employ that received random messages were known as informal prophets. Dreams generally came to people by happenstance, and because there was so much to decipher, there was much written in the area of dream interpretation. Deductive divination was a reading of signs and events done by trained people. Signs or omens might be found in the sky, through the weather, the stars, the waters, organs of dead animals, lot casting, and other phenomena in nature. Attempting to divine answers about the future helped people feel a sense of control and normalcy. The Bible employs inspired divination as God speaks through the prophets and assists Daniel and Joseph, among others, to interpret dreams. However, the reading of others signs and omens, as in deductive divination, are scolded as evil by the Old Testament. Magic was also practiced in the ANE. Where divination discovered different meanings or problems, magic was able to use power to fix those problems. Incantations and rituals were used to appease the anger of the gods, to eliminate the evil spirits, to cleanse the affected home or space, and to cleanse the effected person from those evil spirits so that they could continue to function as normal. Magicians, known as Asipu were elevated to a high place, similar to a priest, and were focused on discovering and eliminating bad spirits. The Asu used herbs and other natural remedies to aid in the effect of the incantations. Next, the text explains the specific goals of divination. First and foremost, the goal was to legitimize the king and give him guidance. Omens were not set in stone, but rather, were predictions and warnings. If a good omen was found, that didnt necessarily guarantee that the good fortune would come to pass, and vice versa. A main point in understanding the importance of divination was the  issue of certainty. One would think that after several failed attempts to predict the future, the practice would lose its validity. However, this was not the common mindset. Rather than perfect prediction of the future, divination should be understood more along the lines of, â€Å"draw[ing] a particular issue to ones attention. (269) The chapter ends by quickly dealing with the test of a true prophet given in Deuteronomy 18. If a prophesy is off or does not come true, can that prophet immediately be discredited? Walton concludes that based on several texts, prophets were given an opportunity to show their trustworthiness, but if they continued to prove that their words were not from God, they were disregarded. CHAPTER 12 Chapter twelve delves further into how the importance of the city partners with life and purpose of the king. Earlier chapters noted that the people who lived outside of the cities practiced religion in different ways. Within the ANE cultures, living outside of the city or being a nomad was frowned upon. Life in the city was the best life in which to be engaged. The Mesopotamians as well as the Egyptians believed that cities were created by the gods, before humans, as a tie to the past. Just as in every other aspect of life in the ANE, the objectives of both the city and the king were to please the gods. Cities were the epicenter of the world; they were a place where people lived and did business, but ultimately where the temples were. Each city had its own temple that was dedicated to a specific god. The importance of the city was somewhat the same for the Israelites. Gods home on earth was the temple, and the temple was located in the city of Jerusalem. The difference, however, was that there was only one temple for the Israelites, and that temple was in one city. Kings were the rulers of the time, thus directly tied to the cities, and therefore kingship played a very important role in religious practice. Kings were thought to have been chosen by the gods and were always attempting to show that the gods approved of them as king. They were the mediators between the gods and the people who lived under their rule. It was said that they had access to the gods and their plans in a way that no other person did. The view of king was so high in Egypt that he was seen as divine. The king had many responsibilities in regard to the upkeep of the city, one of the most important being the institution of justice. But it was also the kings responsibility to lead  the charge in appeasing the gods so that their land would be safe and overflow with blessing. Again, these ideas are very similar to Hebrew kingship. God did choose a king and he gave them authority to speak on His behalf. Some pose that the OT is anti-king, but it is best to take from the text that God had always planned for a king. He was disgusted that the people did not want him to rule over them and that they wanted a king on their time line. And, of course, from the line of King David comes the ultimate king, the Messiah. CHAPTER 13 Chapter thirteen unpacks even more about how the people of the ANE lived, specifically how their laws were enforced, how wisdom was passed down, their views of justice, and how justice and ethics were related. The first section focuses on the treatises: medical, divinatory, and legal. These writings were wisdom passed down from past decisions made to offer guidance to the next set of people who would be making the decisions. Medical personnel could find remedies that worked, diviners could better know how to interpret an omen, and the king would know hold justice might have been handled prior to his time. These treatises were a series of if statements that explained certain situations and how to handle them. An example might be, â€Å"if a man steals something, cut off his hand.† It is important to note that there was not necessarily a set group of laws, rather, these treatises, along with wisdom literature, were used to create the norms of justice based on what had worked in the past. These pieces of literature served to legitimize the king. The Book of the Covenant is the Israelite writing that most closely resembles this type of literature. Wisdom literature from Egypt and Mesopotamia also played an important role in keeping societal order, but in a different fashion. Wisdom from such literature was meant to foresee potential problems and develop ways to alter the behavior in society so that potential problems would not present themselves. Walton explains that law, as we understand it today, was not a part of the culture of the ANE. There was not a list of rules written down that people used to regulate the way in which they lived. Rather, the state functioned based on personal ideas of fairness, wisdom from kings past, and the king at the present time. The goals were always balance and order in society and in the cosmos. Ergo, as the gods delivered  their responsibilities down through the kings, the kings were held responsible for keeping order in society by handling the judicial responsibilities entrusted to him by the gods. As mentioned in the section on morals and ethics, the gods were primarily concerned about social order, and the personal morality of people was not specifically important. The chapter closes by comparing the way in which people outside of Israel tried to live and how the Hebrews were guided by God to live. While the pagan tribes were focused on conforming to societal expectations, honoring the king, and pleasing the gods, Yahweh had revealed himself to Israel and had given details through the Ten Commandments and the covenant about how to live a holy life. While the pagan communities continued to try and determine a right way to live by waiting for answers from mute gods, the Israelites had heard from the Almighty and were trying to obey the details of the covenant agreement. CHAPTER 14 Having dealt with the ideas of how life began, the importance of familial heritage, and the ways in which life functioned in the day-to-day of the ANE, the final chapter of the book focuses on how future life on earth and the afterlife were viewed in the ANE. The idea of a better life in the future was foreign to the ANE mindset. The focus was not to make a better life for oneself, but to continue the legacy of the family name. Having an heir who would take care of the family business and continue the worship of the family’s gods was vital. Regardless of their situation, there was no savior coming to make things better. Israel, on the other hand, had the hope of the Messiah, which many misunderstood to be an earthly king who would come to free them from bondage and return them to their place of stature as in the days of David. The afterlife was, except for a failed weighing of the heart in Egyptian thought, generally not believed to be a place of punishment. The Egyptians believed that the ba and the ka were separated from the body at death, and that if the correct processes involved in burial were practiced, they would be enabled to reconnect with those pieces. In Mesopotamia, just as the future of life was strongly tied to the idea of family and community, so was the afterlife. The worst thing that could happen to a dead person was improper burial which would cut them off from the family and relegate them to a life alone.  Additionally, those who did not receive a proper burial were thought to be potentially dangerous spirits. It was common practice that those still alive from the family would care for those dead by providing water libations, providing left-over food from the table, and holding meals in honor of their ancestors. Specially trained men would assist them in communicating with the deceased. The netherworld is the name that was consistently used for the afterlife. Humans, aside from kings who were given the opportunity to enter into heaven with the gods, all ended up here. There are multiple stories about the process that one might take in order to gain access to the netherworld, but all eventually ended up here. This is never indicated as a place of torment, but just a plain and boring existence hopefully in community with their ancestors. The Israelite idea of Sheol, which is mentioned in the Old Testament, is not to be understood as hell either. Walton indicates that there is no text that supports the interpretation that Sheol is to be understood in this fashion. POSTSCRIPT In the postscript, Walton reminds the reader of the importance of comparative studies and how vital it is to understand the Old Testament within its cognitive environment. He admits that he has not created the perfect text on the subject, but that one of his goals was to try and further develop the idea of comparative studies in a more complete manner where others have shied to the safe side and not tackled a work such as this. The second goal was to show that the Israelites shared in the cognitive environment of the ANE, which this reader believes he did very well. The author notes that the literature involved in the study of the ANE must be connected to the culture in which it was written and understood in light of it. The final portion shows the latter to be true by summarizing the main areas of thought and the similarities and differences between Israel and the other nations. All believed that the source of human beings was the gods, but only Israel believed in the creation of an original man and woman from whom all other people came. All attempted to please their gods, but only Israel had received revelation that communicated what Yahweh was thinking and what he expected. All were under the rule of a higher power, for Israel it was their upholding of the covenant while for the others it was submission to the king and the gods that had instituted his  rule. While social norms and literature passed down from old kings drove behavior in most people of the ANE, the revelation from God at Sinai gave the Hebrew people a guide for how to live. While all others had no hope of anything good in the future nor anything exciting in the afterlife, the Israelites were given the promise of a king who would come through David whose throne would last forever. Walton ends the text with a final statement that is worth repeating in this summary. He concludes that all of the information proposed within the text should be used to guard against a facile or uninformed imposition of our own cognitive environment on the texts of ancient Israel, which is all too typical in confessional circles. May all confessional readers of Gods word strive to understand his revelation as best as possible so that we might know and discern the perfect will of the one, true God. WORKS CITED Walton, John H.. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.

Igniting Flammable Liquids with Cigarettes

Igniting Flammable Liquids with Cigarettes Cigarettes seem like a probable ignition source for flammable liquids. Cigarettes have been blamed for the cause of many fires, far more than they should. But Cigarettes are more than tobacco wrapped in paper. They are in fact carefully engineered to burn in a certain way Cigarettes vary considerably from brand to brand in their burning characteristics. Modern cigarettes contain an engineered chemistry of additives to control the burning rates and moisture content of the tobacco and paper and anyone who has been a smoker knows the fact that manufactured Cigarettes go on burning when not being puffed. This spares smokers the trouble of lighting up again unlike with rolled up cigarettes and Cigars where the smoker has to keep smoking for the combustion of the tobacco to remain lit. This is good for the cigarette companies and pays off in higher sales from cigarettes. So yes this does mean that a cigarette rolling off onto a mattress or into the crack of a sofa can smoulder undetected f or 30 to 40 minutes before bursting into flames. Smouldering is a form of flameless combustion which can occur in materials capable of charring. Smouldering can occur at very low oxygen concentrations then proceeds at a very slow rate before flaming occurs. This makes people understand the real hazard of manufactured cigarettes. But that is found out through the visual fact of witnessing a cigarette stay lit and burn. So people will believe most of what they see as fact, but when many people sit down in their local theatre to watch the latest Hollywood movie they usual see the spectacular visual effects of a character throwing a lit cigarette on to a puddle of fuel and watching a large fire ball appear before their eyes which causes an amazing explosion. Igniting puddles of petrol for example with cigarettes in movies is a common device. The character takes a few puffs and tosses the glowing cigarette in the puddle. Immediately the petrol ignites. But Experiments with flammable gases and vapours have shown that many of the most commonly-encountered substances, including methane and petrol vapour, were not ignited by a lighted cigarette[1] So Petrol vapour cannot normally be ignited by glowing cigarettes, a fact which has been verified by many experiments. Cigarettes are rather uncommon as the source of ignition for a successful structure fire. If they are set to ignite liquid flammables, they will almost certainly fail[2] This paper looks to answer why a lighted cigarette when tested against the ignition of common flammable vapours such as petrol fail but other more volatile liquids tested are capable of ignition. Previous work carried out on cigarette ignition, related research in this field of combustion and ignition of flammable gases and liquids will be studied and researched to give the author a better understanding of the fallacy that a lit cigarette can be a danger that can readily ignite flammable liquids or gases. But not to underestimate the potential danger of such an ignition source in circumstances where many factors can come together to form self sustained combustion. Flammable substances and liquids are used for a wide variety of purposes and are commonly found in the home. Petrol is the most common, but there are other flammable and combustible liquids and gases used Table shows other flammable liquids commonly found around the home Lighter fluid Oil Propane Butane Aerosol Cans Diesel fuel Wood preservatives Kerosene White spirits Flammable materials found in the gaseous form will burn whenever mixed with the proper amount of air and properly ignited. A flammable liquid in its liquid state will not burn. It will only ignite when the vapours from the liquid evaporate in air. All flammable liquids give off vapours that can ignite and burn when an ignition source is introduced. Flammable liquids require an initial energy input to produce an air/vapour mixture within the limits of flammability (niamh mc daid) Ignition is the transition from a nonreactive to a reactive state in which external actions lead to thermo chemical runaway followed by rapid transition to self sustained combustion The usual conditions for ignition are given by a 3t rule of thumb. The three Ts stand for: Temperature. Must be high enough to cause significant chemical reactions and/or pyrolysis Time. Must be long enough to allow the heat input to be absorbed by the reactants so that a runaway thermo chemical process can occur Turbulence. Must be high enough so that there is good mixing between fuel and oxidizer and heat can be transferred from the reacted media to the unreacted media (cite the book) Ignition will occur when the process of a rapid exothermic reaction is started, which then gains momentum and causes the fuel to undergo change. When a flammable liquid is poured or spilled on a surface it is the vapours that are actually ignited. Vapours from liquids are what directly support the flame. To understand how volatile certain flammable liquids are it is useful to be familiar with the terms used to describe their chemical properties. Vapour density This is a property of a vapour that predicts its behaviour when released in air. when calculating the vapour density of a liquid fuel the molecular weight of gas of the vapour by that of air in normal conditions. (approx 29) (niamh mc daid) Flash point The flash point is the lowest temperature at which a liquid fuel will produce a flammable vapour. A liquid fuel must be able to generate a vapour in sufficient quantity to reach that lower limit in air before it can burn. This flash point is measured in two different ways, first being a closed cup measurement and the latter being an open cup. Flammable ranges Petrol has a narrow flammable range. Thus petrol vapour mixed with air has a lower flammability limit of just over 1% and an upper limit of 6% by volume petrol vapour in air, at normally encountered temperatures. (hollyhead) Flammable range refers to the percentage of a flammable liquid in its gaseous state to air to create an explosive mixture. Mixtures of flammable vapours with air will combust only when they are within particular ranges of vapour/air concentration. Outside of these limits the fuel-air mixture is either too lean or too rich to ignite (niamh mc daid) This varies with different flammable liquids. Gasoline has a flammability range of 1.4 to 7.6 percent. This means it will ignite when there is 1.4 parts of gasoline mixed with 100 parts air Ignition temperatures This is the temperature at which a particular flammable liquid gives off vapours and evaporates in air and therefore can ignite. Gasoline will ignite when a heat source or electrical spark of at least 853 degrees comes in contact with it. Natural gas (methane) needs an ignition temperature of around 1000 degrees Auto-ignition temperature (AIT) This is the temperature at which a fuel will ignite on its own without any additional source of ignition. (Niamh mcdaid) Fires will occur because there is high temperature introduced to an area in which there is a fuel-air mixture within its flammability range. There are so atmospheric factors that affect the Auto-ignition temperature e.g. Oxygen levels in the area of the mixture. But so long as the heat energy can be transferred from the source to the fuel ignition fire may result Flammability In Hollyheads paper he mentions the flammability of certain liquids e.g., kerosene, white spirit and diesel oil, which are flammable liquids with flash point temperatures above normal ambient. So therefore, an ignition source has to ignite not only the flammable mixture of fuel vapour but to generate this mixture in the first place by heating the bulk liquid. (hollyhead) Cigarette Components Modern manufactured cigarette comprise of different components. The components combined can affect the performance of the cigarette including the emissions of toxicants. In British manufactured cigarettes the tobacco used is Virginia. There are two other main types used in commercial cigarettes which are Burley and Oriental.   Each has different characteristics.  These tobacco types will also vary depending on their variety, in what environment they are cultivated and how that cultivation is carried out. The paper around the tobacco of commercial cigarettes in modified in different brands. It can be more porous in some brands so that the amount of air passing through the paper affects the yield of a puff. The more air that can pass through the paper the more the smoke constituents passing through the cigarette are weakened which then result in lower yields of various smoke products. Just as Baker describes when a cigarette burns, thousands of products are formed. They are distrib uted between the gas phase and aerosol particles which make up smoke. (baker) Modern commercial cigarettes are made with a filter. The filter is different on most brands. The way the filter is designed can affect the amount of filtration. Different cigarette brands can regulate the taste and smoking experience. Introducing vents in the paper surrounding the filter end can allow for dilution of smoke in lighter branding cigarettes. The bigger the length results in longer fibres and also the materials used for the fibres all play a part in making a certain cigarette different from other brands in the market. Figure shows the different components of a manufactured cigarette, how smoke moves through the tobacco and filter and how air moves through the paper (bat) Cigarette Combustion Many of the components identified in tobacco have also been identified in its smoke because they transfer in part from tobacco to its smoke during the smoking process. Many other identified tobacco components are not found in smoke because they decompose during the smoking process. (cite tobacco book) There has been work carried out to measure the burning temperature of a cigarette particularly those by Dr Richard R Baker have provided fundamental knowledge about the combustion/pyrolysis processes during smouldering and puffing of a cigarette. Dr Richard R. Baker has established the distributions of combustion temperature, gas velocity and key smoke constituents inside a burning cigarette. These experiments have become the foundation for the study of cigarette combustion. Dr Barkers paper studied the process of thermo physical concurrencies inside and around a burning cigarette (barker) Figure 2 shows combustion of a cigarette when being smoked (bat) The formation of smoke from a burning cigarette depends on a series of mechanisms, including generation of products by pyrolysis and combustion, aerosol formation, and physical mass transfer and filtration processes. Each mechanism, and their interactions, has a profound effect on the levels of chemical constituents in tobacco smoke. An enormous amount of research has been done on these subjects over the last 50 years. (barker) Figure 2 describes the two types of burning that take place when the cigarette is puffed. There is also a natural smoulder occurring between the puffs by the smoker. There are two main regions at the tip on the coal, namely the combustion zone A and the pyrolysis and distillation zone B. Combustible vapours are produced in zone B prior to ignition in zone A. During puffing, air is drawn into the cigarette through the paper and at the paper bum line. When a smoker draws on a lit cigarette, the temperature of the cigarette coal rises rapidly from its resting smo uldering temperature of around 600  °C.   Peak puff  temperatures at the periphery of the coal can exceed 900  °C  during a 35 mL, 2-sec puff. The high temperature inside the coal causes an increase in the viscosity of the air flowing through and a concomitant increase in the resistance to the draw of air through the coal.   This effect forces air to be drawn primarily into the periphery of the coal around the paper burn line, which causes more complete combustion in this peripheral region.   The depletion of oxygen due to combustion results in the formation of a region immediately behind the coal where the temperatures remain high enough for thermal decomposition of tobacco (the pyrolysis/distillation zone).   Large amounts of volatile and semi-volatile smoke constituents are produced in this region. A small amount of air is drawn in along the tobacco rod through permeable cigarette paper and smoke temperature decreases rapidly to produce a supersaturated aerosol. The smoke thus formed during a puff is subjected to filtration by the remaining tobacco rod and cigarette filter, as well as dilution by any filter ventilation holes. Some proportion of the light gases (such as CO) will diffuse out of the highly permeable cigarette paper. The smoke that leaves the mouth end of the cigarette is called mainstream smoke.   Between puffs, hot smoke escapes from the top of the cigarette and forms the sidestream smoke. In the authors research for this paper the general opinion that cigarettes are the cause of fires is truthful, as there is no question that many fires are started by cigarettes and the careless smoker is usually the reason for the high number of fires originating from smoking cigarettes. Despite advances in the fire retardant foams in furnishings and mattresses, smoking in bed remains a threat to the safety of people. But it is a common occurrence to hear theories about how smoking caused a fire when the alleged ignition would not have been successful under certain circumstances. No one combustion parameter alone can be used to explain why gasoline (petrol) vapour and methane are not ignited by cigarettes whereas hydrogen and carbon disulphide are. In fact, the parameters themselves are inter-related and taken as a whole can express the propensity of a substance to react with oxygen to form combustion products. This is directly related to the ease with which chemical bonds are broken to lead to the formation of the more stable products of carbon dioxide and water, which result from the combustion of most of these fuels. hollyhead Recent tests by the ATF Fire research Laboratory involved contact of burning tobacco cigarettes of different brands with petrol vapour from a pool at room temperature. A total of 137 attempts were made using both smouldering and actively drawn puffs with no ignitions observed. De haan Tests have shown the oxygen levels in cigarettes in the vicinity of combustion to be very low and carbon dioxide levels to be very high, both factors reducing the chances of vapour ignition The conditions in the combustion zone of a cigarette, which is deficient in oxygen and rich in hydrogen and carbon dioxide, together with the rapid and efficient tobacco-oxy- preparation of the oxygen reaction conspire to allow only the most reactive of substances to be ignited, and result in flame propagation to the vapour air mixtures outside the cigarette coal. Repeated attempts to cause explosions by inserting a lit cigarette into an explosive fuel vapour-air mixture have resulted in failure over many experiments. Hollyhead The residence time of airborne vapours in the cigarette being puffed is so short that there is not enough time for any but the most reactive species to ignite. The fuel elements in a commercially manufactured cigarette is such that quenching distance of all but most reactive gases is not exceeded, suppressing any sustained ignition. Experimental evidence and consideration of the cigarette combustion process, alongside ignition parameters of substances, show that mixtures in air of petrol and methane are not ignited by a lighted cigarette. It is very likely, therefore, that many fires have been wrongly attributed to a lighted cigarette; such a cause fire can often be the refuge of the uninitiated No Smoking regimes at chemical plants, oil gas installations and indeed petrol filling stations is, therefore, not in vain. Although a cigarette may not be an immediate problem, the lighted match or cigarette lighter flame used to light it, certainly could Occasionally contaminates or faults from the manufacture of the cigarettes, may it be in the tobacco filling or paper can cause some brief tiny flames. Given the right conditions and such an atmosphere where there is a fault and a perfect fuel-air mixture. Such flames would be a suitable ignition source. So even though many tests have proved that it is virtually impossible for a lit cigarette or cigar to ignite most flammable vapours, this could ensure the ignition of a fire, explosion or both. In study for this paper the author came across a message board where a guy was irate at the fact he seen another person smoke a cigarette on the fore court of a filling station. To his dismay when confronting the person in question about the stupidity of his action he promptly got the reply that cigarettes dont lit petrol, I seen it on myth busters. Goes to show that what some people see on Television is believed as fact, just like in the Movies. Some things will never change[1] 1. www.wikilaw3k.org/forum. Cars-Transportation-Safety/Smoking-at-the-gas-pump. [cited 2010 4/11]; Available from: http://www.wikilaw3k.org/forum/Cars-Transportation-Safety/Smoking-at-the-gas-pump-345109.htm.