Impact of Announcing Dividends on Share Prices of Corporations Listed Dissertation

Impact of Announcing Dividends on Share Prices of Corporations Listed in the Saudi Stock Exchange - Dissertation Example In the past, research tended to confirm the absence of impact of dividend announcements on shareholders’ value on condition that taxes and market imperfections are not present. For this reason, companies would prefer to invest its excess funds (which are not needed for business operations or expansion) in positive net present value projects available to it, in lieu of a dividend payout. It is also generally accepted that market valuation of stocks is dependent upon future earnings – when future earnings are lacklustre, the stock’s market value would go down or remain flat. Should companies pay out all its earnings, therefore, funds that may be reinvested for future productive undertakings are depleted, creating a dampener for new dividend declarations. Also, if dividends were taxable, shareholders may put off the declaration of additional dividends in order for their tax liabilities to be prevented from increasing. Despite these disadvantages to dividend declarat ions, however, companies continue to resort to cash dividends in order to signal information about future earnings (Uddin & Chowdhury, 2008). What is interesting in Saudi Arabian situation is that Saudi Arabia is a non-tax economy, and one would tend to believe that market imperfections are kept to a minimum. The country therefore presents some interesting possibilities towards confirmation of certain principles espoused by Modigliani and Miller, particularly concerning the signalling theory of dividends. This therefore leads to the objective of the study, stated below. 1.1 Objective of the research study The objective of the study is to determine the impact of dividend announcements on the share prices of corporations that are listed in the Saudi Stock Exchange. The purpose is to determine the degree to which informational content is conveyed by unexpected announcements of dividends, as discerned from the stock price changes beyond levels ordinarily expected. This information would be important to all participants in the stock market, including regulators, policy formulators and investors. 1.2 Statement of the problem The study addresses the problem of how market efficiency may be determined through stock price movements in relation to their corresponding market-moving announcements – that is, the release of announcement of dividends other than that already expected by investors. Knowing how this may be determined, the study shall also apply this method in assessing the efficiency of the Saudi Arabian stock market in factoring in the information content of these announcements. 1.3 Main research question The main research question may be stated thus: How efficiently does the announcement of dividends get factored into the prices of stocks trading in the Saudi Arabian stock market? 1.4 Research subquestions The study proposes to answer the main research question by seeking answers to the following subquestion: Q1: How may extraordinary stock price fluctu ations be reliably measured? Q2: By what criteria may unexpected dividend announcements be determined, vis-a-vis expected dividend declarations? Q3: Having distinguished extraordinary stock price fluctuations from regular movements, and unexpected divide

Pony Trap Essay Example for Free

Pony Trap Essay Susan Hill the creator of the woman in black , successfully creates fear through out her novel. It comes in ebbs and flows by using different techniques throughout to build up the tension. This book is a gothic horror which is a new genre but using the traditional horror aspects, one of the first books in the categories is’ The castle of Otranto’ published in 1767. They are typified by their dark, lachrymose atmosphere of hatred and fear. Hill used many traditional techniques such as the stereotypical use of pathetic fallacy reflecting the dark mood. The setting as its deserted and away from society, isolation , a ghost with hauntings all follow the conventional aspects. However the modern twist to hills novel is that the characters are unconvential, as in the normal gothic story the man is the scary character haunting a venerable or innocent young woman such as in’ Dracula’ he suck blood from all sweet caring ladies. Unlike in this case there is a ambitious young man being haunted by a revengeful young woman. From this the tension from new and old ways combine to create a heart pumping book which fear deeply impacts the reader. Fear is created in many ways in the chapter ‘The Sound of the Pony trap’ and many other chapters. The chapter† the sound of the pony trap† creates and builds fear and tension through out using a climax technique. Similar to other chapters in the novel it is developed throughout with no clear resolution at the end. In this chapter Hill uses pathetic fallacy frequently to make a prediction what is going to happen next, as Arthurs mood reflect the weather. At the beginning of the chapter he describes the feeling trying to get back the causeway as’, as the weather is really bad you are expecting this night to be a bad one and develop the scene of fear, from the Woman In Black. However after Keckwick arrives to pick up Kipps at 2am the weather was described as ‘all was so changed’. This shows that the mood to Kipps is so relived to see Keckwick to save him so the weather reflects his thoughts. Then finally the main element to the developing aspect of fear is haunting. These parts where the Woman in Black haunts Kipps are the moments when a cold feeling runs through the readers body and start to panic a little. The main haunting in this chapter is the sound of the pons trap and over all this is the most fearful part that distressed Kipps the most. The woman in black puts sounds in his head as a cart has over turned in the marshes and they are drowning so shouting for help with the cry off a child’s voice. After ‘an outburst of helpless sobbing’ , he was so overwhelmed by this a grown man cried over it. The haunting of the woman in black really breaks Kipps and this is the detrition of the man in till he becomes ill with fright. Fear is created, as hill shows how it effected Kipps and this is the part where the reader starts to feel afraid and fear is created.

Comparison of Specific Heat Capacity of Different Metals

Comparison of Specific Heat Capacity of Different Metals Samerah Mansha Aim The aim of this investigation was to measure the specific heat capacity (SHC) of various different metals such as aluminum, iron and brass of different volumes to find out if they all have the same SHC or different. Additionally, insulation was used to measure how efficient insulation was against heat loss. Hypothesis Previous research in background information states that there should be a difference between the SHC of aluminum, brass and iron. Null Hypothesis There will be no difference between the SHC of aluminum, iron and brass. Prediction The SHC of aluminum will be higher than iron and copper, this is because the volume the less dense the meta lis, thus the higher the SHC because the metals contains big atoms which slowly heat up thus more energy is needed to make the molecules get hot and move around. Insulation will also make a difference by conserving the heat energy, which will give more accurate results as more heat will most likely be conserved and not lost. Background information: Thermal energy is the amount of energy of a substance or system which is associated to its temperature. Heatandtemperatureare both related with thermal energy but differ. Heat is the transmission of thermal energy from one object to another due to temperature differences between them.Heat is the total energy of all the molecule motion within the object and is measure in joules. Whereas temperature is a measure of degree of hotness of an object, i.e.how hot or cold,therefore it’s a measure of average thermal energy of molecules within substance and measured in degrees Celsius. Temperature can be measured via the Celsius and Kelvin scales. The Celsius scale is built upon two fixed points, the freezing mark at 0 °C and boiling point at 100 °C, whereas Kelvin scale is based on absolute zero at -273 where particles have minimum energy. The Celsius scale has degrees the same size as Kelvin,but Kelvin scale starts 273 lower than Celsius absolute zero scale, for example 0  °C is 273 degrees. When heat energy is transferred to an object, its temperature increase is dependent upon, the mass of object, the material the object is made from and lastly the amount of energy transferred to object. The more heat energy transferred to object results in a more temperature increase. The SHC of a substance is known as the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of 1kg of substance by 1 °C. Different substances have different SHC e.g. water, oxygen and metals. Water has a high SHC of 4200 j/kg °C, School Physics, 2013. This therefore makes water suitable for storing heat energy which is efficiently useful for transporting it around home via heating pipes. Metals are good conductors of heat, yet non-metals are usually poor conductors of heat which are called insulators. Heat energy is simply conducted from hot end of object towards the cold end and the electrons within metal leave their atoms therefore move around within the metal as free electrons. The metal atoms which are left behind are known as charged metal ions.These ions are placed carefully together whilst vibrating constantly.The hotter the metal becomes, it results in the the vibrations gaining more kinetic energy. As a result, this kinetic energy gets transferred from hot parts of metal towards cooler parts via free electrons.These free electrons then move throughout the metal, each colliding with many ions transferring heat energy as they go along. Metals with a high SHC take a lot of heat energy and take a long time to heat up and cool down. Heat can be transferred via conduction, convection and radiation.Conduction is thermal energy transfer which occurs in solids that are in contact with each other, causing particles to gain energy and vibrate, passing on heat energy to nearby particles, resulting in rise of temperature at other side. Convection is another type of thermal energy transfer which occurs in liquids and gases where particles freely move. Particles with kinetic energy move from hotter regions to cooler regions, transferring thermal energy. Radiation is known as heat transfer that doesn’t need contact between heat source and heated object,due to heat having the potential to be transmitted via empty space by thermal radiation. Heat can also be stored in the form of insulation. Insulation prevents or reduces heat from escaping an object by providing a barrier between areas that are significantly different in temperature. Materials 12v immersion heater of 50w power Block of aluminum, iron and brass with a hole in the middle Wires 6V power Supply Ammeter Stop Clock Top Pan Balance Thermometers Insulation Stop watch Ruler Insulating material Method: Firstly all the metal blocks were weighed via a top pan balance The metal blocks were then measured via a ruler for their length and diameter. The thermometer was put into each of small whole in the metal blocks so that the initial temperature could be measured. Figures1: Measuring the initial temperature of the metal blocks. The immersion heater was connected up to a 6V voltmeter and ammeter via wires. The 6v power supply and was switched on until the immersion heater was warm. The immersion heater was put into the large hole in the metal blocks and the stop clock was started. After 10 minute the power supply was switched off and the temperature of the block was measured and recorded. This method and chosen measurements were chosen as previous research using a similar method gained successful results via this method; therefore to improve reliability a similar method was used. As heat was lost during the practical, a modification was made order to prevent heat loss, which involved the same experiment to be repeated in the same way but this time the metals were surrounded with insulation material to reduce the amount of heat loss and would result in more reliable results. Figures: Aluminum, brass and iron wrapped up in insulating material. Safety The immersion heaters were checked before use; any that were faulty were rejected and replaced. Heat resistant gloves were worn when handling the immersion heater and the heated up metals to preventing any burns. The wires were also checked thoroughly to see any defaults. Additionally, the power supply was made sure it was turned off when not in use to prevent any electrocution. Results Table: 1 Measurements of the metals Table: 2 Results of the non-insulated metals. Due to heat being lost to the environment, an insulating material was wrapped around the blocks Table: 3 Results of the insulated metals. Analysis Equation for SHC = E = m Ãâ€" c Ãâ€" ÃŽ ¸ Heat energy (E) = Mass kg (m) x SHC J/g °C (C) x Temperature change °C (ÃŽ ¸) Table:4 SHC calculations of the non-insulating metals Table:4 SHC calculations of SHC of insulating metals showing more accurate results which will be used throughout the discussion and conclusion. Graph:1 Graph showing the comparison of SHC results of metals with and without insulation. Observations The results of the insulated aluminum showed the highest SHC, as aluminum takes 0.121J of heat to raise 1 gram by 1 °C.With the least SHC being the insulated iron needed 0.055J of heat to raise 1 gram of the given metal by1 °C. The results showed that insulated metals showed an overall increase of SHC of the metals, thus more accurate as more heat is conserved and is not much heat would be lost to the environment. The metals without the insulation showed a lower SHC due to heat being lost to the environment, thus are less accurate. Discussion Research states that the accepted value for SHC of aluminum is 0.903J/g °C,therefore it would seem that my result of 0.121J/g °C is not accurate, when errors are taken into account. The accepted value for SHC of brass is 0.380/g °C and the result achieved within the experiment was 0.055/g °C which was again quiet far off. The accepted value for the SHC of iron is 0.44/g °C and the result achieved from the experiment was 0.051/g °C. Graph:3 Comparison of results of SHC from this experiment and actual published SHC. The published values of SHC show that iron has a higher SHC than brass, but within my experiment brass has a slightly higher SHC value than iron. Overall the results achieved from this experiment are quiet significantly lower than the actual SHC values for the given metals. This therefore shows that even with insulation a lot of heat was still lost from the metals. Conclusion Regardless of the SHC results not being as accurate as the published results, the hypotheses and prediction was proven correct and were fully supported by the evidence of the results achieved within this experiment, as each metal had a different SHC value thus showing variation. This is due to the metals having different volumes. It was also predicted that aluminum would have a higher SHC than iron and brass, which was proven correct as aluminum had a larger volume thus less dense so it would need an higher SHC because more energy is needed to heat up SHC is therefore affected by the volume of a metal, as the atoms and molecules found within the metal are packed differently thus heat up at different rates, Evaluation As the SHC results achieved were not as accurate to the published SHC values, this may due to limitations which may have been present within the experiment such as the first being the accuracy of the measuring thermometers which only allowed one to measure in whole degrees and has an a error of 0.05 °C. To overcome this limitation a digital thermometer which is more exact could have been used to achieve more accurate readings. It was also quiet difficult to keep the current constant which would have affected the SHC as different flow of current allows a different flow of electrons to transfer to flow of heat energy, thus a resistor could have been used to control it. Another limitation could have been because it was difficult to get all the results at the same time, i.e. the temperature and current at correct time, using a scientific computer to measure the variables would remove any human errors with reaction times when measuring time and this would achieve temperate reading within few milliseconds. The results showed that even no insulation on metals heat was still lost thus couldn’t achieve an accurate SHC values. Regardless of having insulation heat was still lost which could have been the reason for the inaccuracy. Additionally another limitation could have been that the insulating material used was all different for each metal, thus showing that different. This effects the results as different insulation materials have different properties, thus reducing reliability as not all materials could have been useful in conserving heat energy. On the other hand, the use of electrical balance to measure the masses of the metals within experiment avoided any uncertainties and errors related to the mass value, thus increasing reliability of data to some extent. Overall to improve reliability the experiment could have been repeated four times to obtain average SHC results leading to more accurate results, thus helping to reduce random errors. References Appendix 1

Turning Back Time Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Turning Back Time Progeria, an extremely rare disease caused by a slight genetic defect, victimizes every 1 in 4 million children. , (3). At the moment, there are twelve cases of Progeria in the US, and no more than one hundred have been reported around the world. While the child suffering from Progeria will appear to have no symptoms at birth, the tell tale signs of the fatal disease will begin to surface within a few months, (1). The common first symptom of a child who may be a Progerian is that the ends of their shoulder bones will be re-absorbed into their bodies. Soon, he or she will be underweight and undersize for his or her age. Hair loss and dental decay will follow. The disease slowly eliminates body fat. Eventually the Progerian will become afflicted by arthritis and take on the appearance of a person five to ten times their age, (6).On average, a Progerian will live to be thirteen. Usually their death will be due to a cardiovascular disease such as heart attack or stroke. Over the past four years, a lot of progress has been made studying Progeria. Researchers have concluded the cause of this disease is most likely due to a "single letter misspelling in the genetic code on a single chromosome, which is a coiled strand of DNA within the cell". After examining twenty Progerians, eighteen were found to have the same genetic abnormality. The 19th case had a similar 'misspelling' in a nearby gene. The 20th case did not have "classic Progeria", (2).The gene which was found to be abnormal in eighteen of the cases, is responsible for making the protein called 'lamin A'. If this protein is defective, premature cell death occurs. This protein structures the inner layer of membrane surrounding the nucleus. Each Progerian e... ...theory of evolution could be found on the cover of a Hallmark birthday card. References 1)Medlineplus, General information about health problems and diseases http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001657.htm 2)Progeria Research Foundation, One of the few websites dedicated to the study of Progeria http://www.progeriaresearch.org/links/links.htm 3)Progeria Project, Provides articles and information about Progeria http://www.progeriaproject.com/Archive/articles.htm 4) Link from Berkely University Website, Interesting facts about lifespan http://www.cgfi.org/materials/speeches/berkely_address.htm 5) USA Today, Article about Progeria http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2003-04-16-agin-gene_x.htm 6) CNN Link from Homepage, Detail the health issues involved with Progeria http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/conditions/04/17/aging.gene/

Batman & Joker

The Joker is conventionally viewed as the villain of The Dark Knight, but his actual role is far more complex. The entire film is an examination of the nature of duality, but not necessarily polarity. The duality of The Dark Knight is more problematical: while issues such as good versus evil and life versus death are addressed, the usually clear cut divergences are given unexpected dimensions. The centerpiece of this complexity is the Joker who acts more as a force of amorality than immorality.The version of duality that is explored in the film is the element that elevates it far above typical comic book fair. While the very basis of comic book plot history is good versus evil in the form of hero versus villain, ultimately the villain that is most threatening to Batman is not the Joker, but the man who begins the film as a figure that even Bruce Wayne admits is more heroic than Batman: Harvey Dent. It is Dent’s actions that leave Batman running through the night with the polic e hot on his heels.Of course, it is the Joker’s actions that lead Dent and Batman to this climax. The Joker is the repository of duality and is at the same time the personification of the rejection of the easy route of polarity. Rather than act merely as a villain, the Joker’s role is ultimately as unknown and mysterious as the dual claims he makes about the origin of his cars. The Joker’s duality can even be extended to suggest that he is both good and evil or neither good nor evil. The Joker is chaos and disorder and anarchy.Those are words that generally have a negative connotation, but out of chaos and disorder and anarchy arrives something different. That something may be worse, but it may also be better. The point is that nobody can predict the outcome. The Joker himself asserts that he has no plan, likening himself to a dog who would not know what to do with a car if he ever actually caught one. Considering the Joker’s affinity for being less than truthful, that claim may be subject to questioning, but even if he does have a plan, it hardly matters.After all, he is no more in control of the outcome of his plans than anybody else. The most profound scene in The Dark Knight is one that provides insight into the Joker’s role as a force for amorality. When he’s having his conversation with Harvey Dent in the hospital the Joker observes that a convoy of soldiers dying is ignored because it is all part of the plan, but a Mayor being assassinated is a tragedy that creates chaos for an entire city. He’s right, of course, but what he’s really saying is that society has its priorities completely out of whack.A convoy of soldiers dying should be more important than the death of one person. The Joker’s tossing off Gotham City into chaos is an act of extreme duality. It is both bad and horrific in the here and now, but ultimately it may potentially serve the greater good by revealing to the city and its citizens just how out of whack their priorities really are. The Joker’s amorality is viewed as psychopathic and sociopathic and villainous, but there is little question that he manages at least one very vital positive outcome. His actions reveal the corruptibility of Harvey Dent.Surely, it is better for Harvey Dent’s own dark side to surface, as a result of the Joker’s actions, before he gains too much power than after. From this perspective, the Joker must be seen not as a villain, but as a positive force for good. He must also, at the very same time, still be viewed as force for evil. He is both and yet neither. He is the very quintessence of the concept of duality, containing both darkness and light and the mystery of each. If Martians were to visit the earth there are certainly many films that could accurately convey human culture.The first film to show Martians should be a film that reveals the potential for good and evil of our species. This idea should be pursued to give aliens an understanding of the complexity of our genetic makeup. Schindler’s List is the perfect film for this because while it obviously shows the darkest corners of humanity’s capacity for evil in the person of Amon Goeth and the scenes involving the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto and the concentration camps, it also works to reveal the flip side of that coin in the person of Oskar Schindler himself.Schindler’s List is worthy of being viewed by aliens precisely because it does not try to hide the depths to which humans have sunk; it also works to let them know that one us can change the world. Another film that Martians should view as insight in humanity is Airplane. Humor, of course, may very well be a peculiarly human trait that is not duplicated anywhere else in the universe, but this idea seems unlikely. It is important to show alien life forms how vital laughter and comedy is to society, and how it has been throughout history.There are funnier movies, of course, but Airplane contains visual gags, verbal humor, and non-stop bits that perhaps more than any other movie show the full range and extent of the type of humor enjoyed by human beings. While it is true that aliens may not â€Å"get† it, showing them this kind of movie is a way to introduce alien species to what may be one of the most identifiable characteristics of our race. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a film that conveys another important element of humanity; our thirst for knowledge and the quest for an understanding of what is beyond our own limited span of intelligence.While the special effects may serve to induce laughter among actual space travelers, Stanley Kubrick’s monumental film showcases how humanity has been capable of imaging that which we do not know. The film reveals our own internal logic as far as space travel and how it might be carried out, but it suggests that we understand the connection between ancient events and time and sp ace far into the future and far away.In addition, 2001: A Space Odyssey might, with its limited dialogue and reliance on music and visual effects, be the best choice for reaching an alien intelligence that cannot understand our language. And for that very reason, D. W. Griffith’s Intolerance is also a film that should be used to greet Martians. The lack of dialogue as a result of it being a silent movie is just one reason for its inclusion, but perhaps even more important is the content.The film tells four different stories from four different time periods and so represents an adequate attempt to let the Martians get a glimpse of human history. Since religion is such an important aspect of humanity, the story of Jesus Christ as told in Intolerance is quite obviously a significant story to show alien visitors. The modern story’s tale of how a man turns to a life of crime because of societal pressures works in much the same way as Schindler’s List to assert the co mplexity of our species. Each segment of the Intolerance extols the virtues of love and respect and mutual understanding.Perhaps nothing would be more apt to show aliens visiting this planet than to show them a story made of four different components that suggest that despite our failings and despite the fact that evil actions are committed on a daily basis, the underlying foundation that has kept humans alive on this planet for thousands of years is the capacity to meet our failings directly and work through them to evolve and become ever more civilized. A civilization that can address the concerns of a species from an alien world can be most perfectly realized through the history of cinema.

Courage of a Black Women Essay

The story tells of one lady who goes through all kinds of hardships, discovers the proficient, content, and proud woman hidden inside of a young shut-mouthed girl. The Color Purple, the third novel written by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker, has been both respected and berated in numerous essays and reviews. Although the critics agree to disagree about many aspects of this novel one thing is clear, The Color Purple shows that â€Å"the survival and liberation of black women through the strengths and wisdom of others. (Draper, 1810) In Walker’s personal view, the Black women’s history falls into three parts; the woman suspended, the artist confused and held back in her desires to create, living through two centuries when her main role was to be a used unvalued source of labor in the American society, and the modern woman. The feminist Alice Walker writes in a pattern. Her female characters move in a common cycle, first the woman were cruelly abused, and their spirits and bodies scarred, then the confused woman desires most to be a part of the American life, and lastly the modern woman shows the qualities of the developing an uprising model. Before Celie who is the main character, makes her way into the cycle the story sets her as a child with energy of wanting to learn, love, and enjoy life. She and Nettie, her sister attend school on a regular basis, complete all of their chores, and still make time to talk to play, or to just spend time together. Then, just as Celie reaches womanhood, she finds her way into the first stage of the cycle; the rejected woman. The rejected woman plays the role of the brutal abuse with a corrupted spirit as well as body. Celie’s body is first desecrated through her stepfather’s sexual abuse. Followed by this comes continuing sexual and physical abuse by her husband Mr. ______. Here, Celie slips into the second stage of the cycle; the woman who is held back. In this stage the character desires most to become a part of mainstream American society. In most cases, they are also victims of psychological abuse that separate them from their roots and real contact to the world. The profanity and abuse her body survives, not accepting that her spirit is broken when not only have her children been taken away from her by her stepfather, but Nettie is forced by Albert, to leave his and Celie’s house. During this time of sorrow and loneliness, there is one unique sparkle in Celie that surfaces with the thought of a lady named Shug Avery. â€Å"Shug Avery was a woman. The most beautiful woman I ever saw. She more pretty then my mama. She bout ten times more prettier then me. I see her in furs. Her face rouge. Her hair like somethin tail. . . An all night long I stare at the picture. An now when I dream, I dream of Shug Avery. She be dressed to kill, whirling and laughing. † (Walker 16) The final stage of the cycle; is the modern woman, one who realizes her strengths, her weakness and accepts them. In this stage, the lady works with what she has. Celie approaches this stage only with the help of Shug Avery during her stay with Albert and Celie. As fate would have it, Shug becomes deathly ill after a performance in Celie’s hometown. All of Celie’s years of wondering about Shug Avery comes to an end here. In the story, Albert goes to see Shug sing and Celie wants to ask him so many questions. â€Å"What she wear? Is she still the same old Shug, like in my picture? How her hair is? What kind of lipstick? Wig? She stout? She skinny? She sound well? Tired? Sick? Where her children at while she singing all over the place? Do she miss ’em? † Shug and Celie start off on a bad foot, however, after Celie begins to take care of Shug and nurse her back to health they develop the only kind of friendship and love, that can snap Celie back to reality. Through Albert and Shug’s relationship, Celie finally hears from her sister Nettie. Thirty years has passed since they last spoke. Why? Well, Albert never let Celie go through the incoming mail. By doing this, he keeps her in a innocent unaware state. Which anyways, thanks to Shug who takes the letter from the mailbox, she gives Celie a sense of hope for herself. In that letter Celie learns that Nettie is still alive and that her two children are with her. After searching the rest of the house, her and Shug find all of the letters that Nettie has sent to her for the past thirty years. Celie learns that her family is coming home. Eventually Celie leaves Albert, seriously only to become attached to Shug. Anyways, when Shug needs to have her â€Å"last fling† and leaves Celie, Celie realizes that she can do just fine by herself, like that completing the cycle. This is one of those stories with a lot of self-help potential. Celie loses everything that matters to her, becomes a victim of unthinkable abuse both in her child life and adulthood. Then, she reunites with her sister. Nothing is impossible for a woman to accomplish in this world. After Celie leaves Albert, she starts her own business and runs it throughout the rest of her days. The novel really declares the truth behind the belief of â€Å"survival and liberation of black women through the wisdom and strength of others. (Draper, 1810) Celie’s survival through this story is due greatly to Shug, and even Albert. Her gratitude to Shug is the most definitely recognized, because if it was not for Shug ,Albert never would have stopped beating her, in addition to that her spirit would never have been renewed, and lastly she never would have heard from her sister again. Basically if it isn’t for Shug, Celie’s existence will have been a pointless one. If she hadnâ€⠄¢t gone mad, she probably would have died from loneliness and despair. Like Shug, Albert is a character who significantly affects Celie’s life. Albert represents Celie’s stepfather at the beginning of their marriage. He controls her and aparts her of everything she holds with love, but him, himself, is victim. He has a weak will and no initiative to accept responsibility for his actions. He shows her that he is just as lonely as she. Albert helps her to reach an understanding about her stepfather and about himself. Through a friendship, that develops after their marriage ends, she also forgives them. Celie’s stepfather, who she calls Pa, and Albert are two of the major male characters in the novel. They share more similarities than what they differ. Celie’s stepfather, Pa, is a cheater . After Celie’s real father dies, this man who has received word that there is a new well-off, slightly out-of-sorts, widow in town, settles in and sweet-talks Celie’s mother right down the aisle. Celie is two years old at the time. Well, this man enjoys his new life and his new wife, but when she refuses to do as he says to him who does him turn to? Pa uses his power of authority to force Celie into a situation no barely fourteen year old girl should be in. Never had a kine word to say to me,† Celie says, â€Å"Just say You gonna do what your mammy wouldn’t. . . When penetration begins to hurt, I cry. He start to choke me, saying You better shut up and git used to it. But I don’t never git used to it. † (Walker, 1) Even sadder is that after her mother dies, not only must she take care of the house and her sisters and brothers, but she has to willin gly offer herself to Pa in order to spare Nettie. Pa is a true abstract of a tyrant, using his authority for low blows like this. Of course Albert begins the same way. Albert marries Celie because first of all he can’t have Nettie and secondly he needs someone to watch his children. After his decision to marry Celie, him and Pa have a little chat. â€Å"Pa say, Your sister thinking bout marriage. Didn’t mean nothing to him. My brother pull my dresstail and ast can he have some blackberry jam out the safe. I say, Yeah. She good with children, Pa say, rattling his paper open more. Never heard her say a hard word to nary one of them. Just give ’em everything they ast for, is the only problem. Albert say, That cow still coming? No love materializes between these two and their marriage is one similar to one of arranged royal weddings. Of course when he reaches his house, him on a horseback, her on foot, a young Harpo â€Å"laid her head open with a rock. † His punishment is a oral punishment. Albert is, like an uneasy child, running from his responsibilities and avoiding the consequences of his actions. Not to mention, Alber t has a set free quality he, like Celie finds an understanding about himself and attempts to adjust for all that he has done in the past. He makes peace with Celie, and although he releases himself from his past. Albert is truly the most compelling character in this novel, next to Celie. In looking at Albert and Pa we find many incite into the human psyche. As symbols, one represents an immense amount of bad will, the other represents the same but allows for change. The major symbol of the novel is the color purple. It has many meanings, positive and negative. Purple symbolizes love of truth, patience, humanity, and spirituality along with sublimination, martyrdom, and resignation. In connection with the novel, Celie is the symbol of patience and humanity. She never asks for anything from anyone. When things don’t go her way, she waits. For example, she waits for Nettie’s letters for thirty years. On the other hand, Celie also shows a great bit of surrendor in her patience. Culturally, purple signifies virtue and faith just as Celie does. During her and Shug’s conversation about sex, Celie tells Shug she feels nothing during sexual intercourse with her husband. Shug understands this to mean she is still a virgin, but in reality Celie provides her body to Albert but not her spirit or her soul. Another purple reference is to the Easter holiday. How coincidental that the color purple is associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ and this novel, considering that Celie does have a â€Å"rebirth† of her own as she moves through Walker’s cycle. Overall, the color purple, as a prize, represents a winner over all classes, strangely coincidental isn’t it. The use of purple as a symbol is a virtue to this novel but also a fault. In the preparation of death, Roman soldiers carried amulets of purple amethyst. There are many virtues as well as faults in this novel. One of the most obvious faults in the story is its likeness to a fairy tale. â€Å"Celie becomes the ugly duckling who will eventually be redeemed through suffering. This trait links her to all the heroines of fairy tales from Cinderella to Snow White. † (Harris, 159) At the conclusion of the story not only does Celie find her sister but also both of her lost children. Another example of the novel’s surreal quality, the woman Celie fantasizes about for years, not only lands in her house but falls in love with her. Likewise, let’s ask what The Color Purple, ultimately, predicates. â€Å"In true fairy-tale fashion, it affirms passivity; heroines that do little to help themselves,† says Trudier Harris in â€Å"The Color Purple Stereotypes and Silence. † The entire novel contains a virtual acceptance of cruelty, violence, and violation. Some things about this novel are too good to be true. Others are too horrifying. In uncovering a novel’s differences and meaning, the story can become a vehicle of the social and political views of the author. Being a feminist, there are a few strands of admiration to the feminist community in Celie. She is a woman that triumphs over impossible odds. The feminine relationship between Celie and Shug has been said to pay a debt to lesbians. â€Å"She pays homage to the lesbians by portraying a relationship between two women that reads like a schoolgirl fairy tale in its ultimate adherence to the convention of the happy resolution. † (Harris, 160) Born-again feminists receive their dues in Albert and career-minded women are acknowledged in Shug. The Color Purple, a story of one lady, named Celie, who triumphs through adversity to discover a proficient, content, and proud woman hidden inside of a young timid girl, is one that brings hope to any woman. A novel written by Alice Walker, it has been reviewed many times over, but even though the critics analyze and pull apart what very well could just be an enjoyable yet thought provoking story, they agree that one thing is clear, The Color Purple affirms the idea that the survival and liberation of the black woman can only come through learning from our past misfortunes and manipulating them to meet beneficial ends.

Mount Vesuvius According to Pliny

Mount Vesuvius According to Pliny Mt. Vesuvius is an Italian volcano that erupted on August 24* A.D. 79 blanketing the towns and 1000s of residents of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum. Pompeii was buried 10 deep, while Herculaneum was buried under 75 of ash. This volcanic eruption is the first to be described in detail. The letter-writing Pliny the Younger was stationed about 18 mi. away, in Misenum, from which vantage point he could see the eruption and feel the preceding earthquakes. His uncle, the naturalist Pliny the Elder, was in charge of area warships, but he turned his fleet to rescuing residents and died. Historical Importance In addition to Pliny recording the sights and sounds of the first volcano to be described in detail, the volcanic covering of Pompeii and Herculaneum provided an amazing opportunity for future historians: The ash preserved and protected a vibrant city against the elements until future archaeologists unearthed this snapshot in time. Eruptions Mt. Vesuvius had erupted before and continued to erupt about once a century until about A.D. 1037, at which point the volcano grew quiet for about 600 years. During this time, the area grew, and when the volcano erupted in 1631, it killed approximately 4000 people. During the rebuilding efforts, the ancient ruins of Pompeii were discovered on March 23, 1748. Todays population around Mt. Vesuvius is about 3 million, which is potentially catastrophic in the area of such a dangerous Plinian volcano. A Pine Tree in the Sky Prior to the eruption, there were earthquakes, including a substantial one in A.D. 62** that Pompeii was still recovering from in 79. There was another earthquake in 64, while Nero was performing in Naples. Earthquakes were seen as facts of life. However, in 79 springs and wells dried up, and in August, the earth cracked, the sea became turbulent, and the animals showed signs that something was coming. When the eruption of the 24th of August began, it looked like a pine tree in the sky, according to Pliny, spewing noxious fumes, ash, smoke, mud, stones, and flames. Plinian Eruption Named after the naturalist Pliny, the type of eruption of Mt. Vesuvius is referred to as Plinian. In such an eruption a column of various materials (called tephra) is ejected into the atmosphere, creating what looks like a mushroom cloud (or, perhaps, pine tree). Mt. Vesuvius column is projected to have reached about 66,000 in height. Ash and pumice spread by the winds rained for about 18 hours. Buildings started to collapse and people began to escape. Then came high-temperature, high-velocity gasses and dust, and more seismic activity. *In Pompeii Myth-Buster, Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadril argues that the event occurred in the fall. Translating Plinys Letter adjusts the date to September 2, to coincide with later calendar changes. This article also explains the dating to A.D. 79, the first year of Titus reign, a year not referred to in the relevant letter. ** In Pompeii Myth-Buster, Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadril argues that the event occurred in 63. Sources Volcanic Phenomena at Pompeii[formerly at www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/europe/pompeii.html Pompeii][formerly at volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_vesuvius.html Vesuvius Italy][formerly at vulcan.fis.uniroma3.it/vesuvio/79_eruption.html The 79 AD Eruption of Vesuvius]