In Act 4 of The Crucible, analyse the reasons for Parris, Hale and Danforth wanting the confessions of Proctor, Rebecca and Martha.

Unlike the earlier victims of the witch trials, John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey are all respectable citizens in Salem. Their confessions would carry enormous weight in the town, but they are desired by Hale, Parris, and Danforth for different reasons.

By the time Proctor, Nurse, and Corey are imprisoned, the trials have continued in Salem for some time, just as they have in neighboring communities, particularly in Andover. Public opinion has changed slowly; discontent, anger, and even rebellion toward the courts in these trials has grown. Word has come that the court in Andover has been overthrown.

Consequently, Judge Danforth wants the three confessions to shore up the court in Salem, thus preserving his own power, as well. Also, the confessions would affirm the rightness and justice of what has already happened there in terms of the executions carried out. They would absolve him from any error in judgment or moral responsibility for taking innocent lives.

Parris, as usual, acts out of self-interest. As discontent has grown in Salem, he has begun to feel personally threatened. When he truly feels danger to his life, he reacts by wanting to dissolve the court itself--whatever it takes to save his own skin.

Rev. Hale, the moral antithesis of both Parris and Danforth, seeks the confessions not for personal gain, but to save the accused. For Hale, even though lying is a great sin, the loss of innocent lives is a greater one. After once quitting the court in disgust, he returns to Salem, a broken and tortured man for the role he has played in the trials, and moves from cell to cell, urging the accused to confess. His desperation is shown very dramatically in his final scene with Abigail Proctor, when he begs her as a last resort to get John's confession and save his life.

In the play's conclusion, Martha, Rebecca, and John all continue to defy the court and refuse to confess. They go to their deaths, honor and integrity intact, and very soon after that, the power of the court is broken.

In Cold Mountain, what does the Cherokee woman's story about the Shining Rocks mean to Inman?

It is important to note that Inman shares this story with Ada, retelling it as he himself heard it, in what they think will be their last meeting before Inman goes off to war. The Shining Rocks operates as a kind of archetypal fable, representing the Promised Land of bounty, peace and plenty. However, the loss of this land proves to represent a greater loss of happiness, comfort and security. Note what Inman says about the woman's reaction as she re-tells the story:

In a minute he said, That old woman looked older than God and she cried tears out of her white eyeball when she told the story.

His own commentary on the meaning, when Ada asks him if he believes it, is as follows:

I take it that she could have been living in a better world, but she ended up fugitive, hiding in the balsams.

Thus the story to Inman represents the hope of a better world, an alternative to being "fugitive," which he spends most of the novel doing. But equally the flip-side of this story of hope is that it is also a story of loss, which could be said to foreshadow Inman's own death and his temporary reunion with Ada.

1) What are the merits and demerits of the different methods of training evaluation.2)Explain what is 'preliminary testing'? what are the major...

You have asked two different questions. First question is about training, and the second question is about recruitment. I will answer the first question, which is the main question. It will be best to put up the second question as a separate question.

The different methods of training evaluation can be classified in following four categories on the basis of what is being evaluated.

1. Evaluation of the training program content and delivery quality.


2. Evaluation of the extent of learning and acquisition of skills.


3. Evaluation of the extent of desirable change in behavior of the persons trained.


4. Evaluation of the impact of training on organizational performance.

Evaluation of training program and content is the most simple method. However it is also the least significant in terms of measuring effectiveness of training. This aspect of training can be measured in terms of both quantity and quality of training programs. Quantity of training involves measurement in terms of quantitative measurements such as number of people trained and number training programs conducted and number of participant-training days. The quality measurement generally consist of handing over a questionnaire to the participants of training programs at the end of each program and obtaining their assessment of various aspects to training program quality. This methods suffers from the defect that participants are really no in a position to judge quality of training program in subjects they do not know fully. Also, it has been observed that generally participants are in good mood when the training programs are drawing to close and tend to rate them higher.

Evaluation of learning and skill development can be measured conveniently if the training program involves some kind of qualifying test or examination at the end. However cost and efforts of conducting exams just for the purpose of evaluation of the program is not justified. Other method involves asking the participants on extent of their learning. This can be done as a part of response to questionnaire at the end of programs. But usually the participants are not in a position to assess this at that time. It is best to survey the participants after some time has elapsed. This method gives some additional useful information on the value of training, but more time and efforts is required to collect such data.

Evaluation of changes is a much more meaningful. however it is most difficult. It poses the problem of ways of ascertaining the extent of change in behavior. In addition, it is not always easy to establish the extent to which change in behavior is consequence of training. This kind of evaluation is best achieved by survey of employee work practices and behavior. Frequently it is worthwhile to undertake this survey before and after training.

Evaluation of training effectiveness in terms of change in improvement of company is most meaningful. Such improvement can frequently be measured as a part of normal performance monitoring of company performance. However, it is very difficult to link the improvement performance to the training.

What were the advantages of the Fertile Crescent that made it the earliest site of development for most of the building blocks of...

It had a mild climate. There was an abundance of wild grains that took very little to domesticate. Hunters and gatherers who settled here were able to survive on the abundant grain until agriculture was established. The native plants were easy to reproduce due to self pollination. Hunting and gathering was not highly successful and the soon agriculture was predominant.

Can you give me a critical analysis of the poem "Death the Leveller"?

The poem is structured in three stanzas that consist of eight lines each.  The rhyme scheme of the poem is consistent throughout the poem.  The scheme of A-B-A-B-C-C-D-D follows in each of the stanzas.  For example, in the first stanza, notice “state” and “fate” is complemented with “things” and “kings”.  The last four lines of the stanza also rhyme but in couplets, such as “crown” and “down” and “made” and spade.  This pattern is in the subsequent stanzas, also.  The helps to build a rhythm where the first four lines describe while the last four lines summarize.  This rhythm feeds into the meanings of the poem.  The surface understanding of the poem is elemental in its assertion that death is a force that haunts all of what we, as human beings, do. This is repeated in several places in the poem.  The first four lines of each stanza discuss the concept of human victory and man made notions of success.  They also identify that the shadow of death looms in each of these setting.  The second four lines of each stanza undercuts all human success with the assertion that death is the termination point for everything we do, hence the title, “The Great Leveller.”  Shirley believes this to be the critical component in the symbolic meaning of the poem that death is something that plagues mortals and is inescapable.  In the first stanza, the opening lines of national glory and victory in war is completely offset with the reality of death that looms (Lines 2 and 3- “not substantial things”/There is no armour against fate. “)  We can see this same meaning brought out in the subsequent stanzas.  Of particular note would be the opening lines of the last stanza which compare the glory of human beings to the “withering” of “garlands”  The inclusion of flowers, a natural image, brings light to the process or cyclical pattern of life and death.  This is the theme of the poem, in that death is not something to be feared or something to be fought.  Yet, our understanding as human beings should be designed with the reality of death in mind.  If we see ourselves as ultimately responsible and at the behest of the natural force of death, Shirley is suggesting that maybe the way in which we live our lives would be different. Shirley uses imagey that creates the picture of human glory being temporary and fleeting in the face of death as the penultimate force of creation.  For example, perhaps the wars of state described in the first stanza might not be waged.  The enslavement and murder of fellow human beings in the second stanza could be averted.  The glorification of our triumphs and celebration of our murderous deeds can be seen in a different light within the third stanza.  This theme, or moral, might be where Shirley invokes the appreciation of death in our actions.  In terms of the appreciation of the poem, I think you have to read it over yourself and see if you agree or disagree with what Shirley is saying.

What is Netherfield and who all lives there?

Netherfield Park is the large mansion leased to Mr. Bingley and his sisters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  Netherfield is a country estate outfitted with beautiful furnishings indicative of the high societal rank of the inhabitants. When Bingley and his siblings come to Netherfield, it creates quite a stir in the "neighborhood," since their arrival almost certainly means there will be much entertaining and socializing to follow in the beautiful manse.  Furthermore, for mothers like Mrs. Bennet who are anxious to make good matches for their unmarried daughters, Mr. Bingley's arrival was monumentally good news because he was young, rich, and unmarried.   

What is an oscillation?

Oscillation is a type of motion. It is a kind of periodic motion.Contrast with rectilinear motion, the oscilatory motion involves the movement in to and fro directions like a pendulum, vibrating tuning fork or  rocking in a cradle.

An oscillation needs to be understood  in the context of its amplitude, frequency and period of the oscillation.

A simple pendulum  oscillates between two extremes and one complete to and fro motion is called an oscillation. You can take any point in the path of the to and fro movement and observe the direction of the movement.The entire action or movement  of the pendulum  from the point considered to return to the same point and in the same direction is called an oscillation. The pendulum goes to one extreme reverses the movement and goes to another extreme and then reverses the movement and repeats the activity. The single movement (or displacement) of the pendulum from one extreme to another extrme is called the amplitude. Two succesive amplitudes make an oscillation.The time taken for one oscillation (oscillatory movement ) is called a period of oscillation. The number oscillations per second is called the frequency (applies to pendulum, frequency fork or any oscillatory movement). The model of simple pendulum is the most helpful to study oscillations and the study of osillatory movements.

In A Separate Peace what is significant in the rebirth motif at the beach in chapter four?

This concept of rebirth, which is alluded to through a reference to Lazarus at the beginning of chapter four, symbolically mirrors Gene's transformation of feeling for Finny.  Before this point, he was envious, a little bit resentful and suspicious, but after the beach incident, his feelings crystallize into true emnity.  After the beach incident, in chapter three, Gene starts to really resent Finny, and to feel almost hateful towards him.  He imagines that they are in competition with each other, fighting for top dog, and that Finny, through his distractions, is trying to keep Gene down.  Before this chapter, he never had such blatant, war-like thoughts about Finny, just generalized feelings of discomfort.  After Finny tells him that Gene is his best friend, Gene can't return the compliment, because he

"was stopped by that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth."

And, that truth was that he resented Finny, and almost hated him.  That disdain crystallizes in the next chapter, as a sort of rebirth for Gene.  After he realizes this, and concludes that Finny is out to get him, he can finally be himself again, study, be academic, and do well.  It was an eye-opening experience for him.

The kicker is that we aren't sure that Gene's conclusions about Finny were correct; Gene comes off as a petty, cruel-minded, selfish creature, and we are still rallying with Finny.  The incident at the tree solidifies that feeling, and Gene will have to spend the rest of the novel coming to terms with the fact that he was probably wrong.  I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

Discuss Mistress Hibbins, Governor Bellingham, and Mr. Wilson of "The Scarlet Letter."Minor in terms of the amount of space devoted to them, but...

Based upon historical figures, Governor Bellingham is representative of the real Richard Bellingham who came to America in 1634 and was governor of the English colony in 1641, 1654, and 1655; while Mistress Higgins, who represents Anne Hibbins, was executed as a witch in 1656; John Wilson was a minister in 1630, who was a strong figure of Puritan authority and intolerance.  These characters who appear throughout Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" lend more verisimilitude to the narrative in their Puritan pervasiveness. In addition, as a character Bellingham demonstrates in Chapter II that "religion and law were almost identical" as he insists that Pearl be taken from Hester since she has committed adultery. Yet, there is a duality to his character as he also exhibits hypocrisy, for his mansion and gardens are not of the simplicity and greyness demanded by Puritanism.  His sister, Mistress Hibbins, is herself a witch.  She too represents a real person:  Anne Hibbins, who was burned as a witch in 1656.  Somewhat comical in nature in Hawthorne's novel as she cackles and watches from windows, she tempts Hester and Dimmesdale to sign the Black Man's book in the forest and attend the black mass, Hibbins's real-life persona reminds the reader of the "grim power of Puritan regulation" and its accompanying paranoia.  In Chapter XXII, for instance, Mistress Hibbins reappears,

dressed in great magnificence, with a triple ruff, a broidered stomacher, a gown of rich velvet, and a gold-headed cane.

The crowd gives way to her, seeming to fear the "touch of her garment" as she stands in juxtaposition to the "holy man," the Reverend Dimmesdale.  This scene also serves to highlight the hypocrisy of Dimmesdale and Hibbins both.

Like Mistress Hibbins, the Rev. Mr. Wilson appears in various scenes as a reminder of the grim sternness of Puritanism.  In Chapter III he coldly demands that Hester reveal her partner in sin as she stands in ignominy on the scaffold.  Then, he prods Dimmesdale into interrogating her.  When Hester brings Pearl to the governor's mansion, Mr. Wilson is present and delights in the sight of Pearl, comparing her "scarlet plumage" to the painted birds of windows in cathedrals in "merry old England." However, he stops himself in hypocrisy, remembering his office:  "But that was in the old land."  Seriously, he begins to interrogate Pearl on her catechism.  When he asks her, "Canst thou tell me, my child, who made thee?" Pearl responds that she was not made at all, but was plucked from the wild rose bush that grows beside the prison door.  Appalled at this answer, Mr. Wilson does, nevertheless, defend the sanctity of motherhood and the hand of God that gives Hester the child as a reminder of her sin. Later, in Chapter XII, he walks past the Reverend Dimmesdale who holds his vigil on the scaffold. Dimmesdale feels tremendous anxiety as the "venerable minister" passes him.

Again, in Chapter XXIII Mr. Wilson and Governor Bellingham are present as Dimmesdale passes, "tottering on his path."  When Mr. Wilson offers him an arm, "the minister tremulously, but decidedly, repelled the old man's arm," a gesture that is, indeed, symbolic of his rejection of the hypocrisy of Puritanism.  Even the governor moves forward to assist Dimmesdale, but is repelled by the minister's look. Once on the scaffold, Dimmesdale escapes Chillingworth, who cries out. Mr. Wilson declares, "Thou,too, hast sinned," serving again as a reminder of Puritan judgment as does Governor Bellingham Puritan law, and Mistress Hibbins, Puritan hypocrisy.

In the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout feels as if she hasn't given anything back to Boo Radley, which is wrong. What have Jem and she given him?

For one thing, the children of Atticus Finch have provided Boo Radley in "To Kill a Mockingbird" with much vicarious excitement.  Much like James Joyce's estranged boy in "Araby" who stands on the other side of a fence and watches wistfully as a girl he likes passes from day to day, Boo Radley must watch from the shadows as Scout and Jem enjoy a childhood he has never had. Yet, this viewing of lives on the outside is preferable to the isolated one he has suffered before Jem, Scout, and Dill come on the scene.

Then, too, their pranks--actions done on dares--allow Boo some normalcy as he can interact with the children by repairing the pants that Jem has left when they caught on the fence and by leaving little gifts in the tree hole. He is, thus, able to show love to someone.

Also, in their defenselessness against Bob Ewell, Boo Radley is given the opportunity to perform a great act of love by preventing Ewell from hurting them. 

Afterwards, he and Scout interact and Boo is able to be outside his world and share in that of another and feel the warmth of Scout's little hand in his; she later has Boo hold his arm so that she can take it:

He had to stoop a little to accomodate me, but if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do.

Scout does not lead Boo Radley home; instead, she gives him the chance to have pride.

In Zeffirelli's film Romeo and Juliet, when Romeo finds Juliet "dead," what lighting technique and effect has Zeffirelli used and created?Relate...

Franco Zeffirelli uses dual side lighting to create a dual impression of death and resurrection. First, a side light casts its beam toward the wall behind Juliet's head. This wall extends from foreground to midground. This is a side light and not a top-down light because of the position of the shadow cast by the torch in the wall. This light beam by-passes Romeo and avoids the wall and any other objects that are in the background; the background is left blackened.

A second beam from side lighting illuminates the crown of Juliet's head and the left side of Romeo's face . This light hits Juliet's cap and washes down over her forehead to softly illuminate her face. The beam also catches the funeral shroud as Romeo holds a corner of it aloft. The beam continues down the top of Juliet's body creating a vivid contrast to the surrounding darkness in three places: (1) the blackened background; (2) the dark, unlit front side of the funeral shroud draping down the side of Juliet's prone body and stone bed, which are in the foreground; (3) the shadow of Romeo's arm stretched across Juliet's body.

The same side light that illuminates Juliet also illuminates the left side of Romeo's face. The right side of Romeo's face is in deep shadow while the beam brightly illuminates the left side and the front of his face. The beam casts highlights across some of the waves of his darkened hair.

The heavy darkness that the sidelight casts parts of Romeo's face and body into and the sharp contrast between light and dark, enhanced by Romeo's dark costume, can be seen as foreshadowing of the permanent darkness that is to come, as can the dark shadow of Romeo's arm across Juliet's seemingly lifeless body. It is with darkness and light that Zeffirelli dramatizes the theme of death and resurrection, with the blackened background suggesting the final defeat of resurrection in conquering death.

What did Zeus instruct Hephaestus to do?

I am going to make the assumption that the question is addressing Zeus' response to being tricked by Prometheus and the mortals.  Naturally, after such a loss of face, Zeus was not happy.  Punishing Prometheus for his role in the deception involved chaining him to a cliff to have his liver eaten out each night by birds, only to have it regenerated in the morning, and the process continued.  Punishing mortality for its role proved to be a bit more complex.  Zeus instructed Hephaestus to create a woman of stunning beauty.  His desire was to create the first mortal female in all of its glory, so that man could not help but feel an instant attraction to her.  Hephaestus did so.  After his creation, the gods instilled many gifts within her, so that any man would not only feel an instant attraction to her, but desire and covet her for himself.  The last gift the gods gave to her was a jar, sealed shut.  The woman was instructed to never open the jar.  The woman's name was Pandora, and with that, the Gods sent her to mankind.  Sure enough, Epimetheus instantly fell in love with her and married her.  She brought the jar with her and one day, her curiosity got the best of her and she opened the jar.  Upon opening it, all the misfortunes of the world was released from the jar.  Realizing what she had done, Pandora quickly put the lid back on the jar, trapping the one thing the gods had put at the bottom of the jar:  Hope.  Hence, Pandora proved to be the ultimate punishment on mankind:  Releasing all evil into the world, while preventing the one thing that could help it.  Through Hephaestus' help, Zeus was able to teach mankind a valuable lesson about attempting to trick the Gods.

How do past events that occured in The Kite Runner affect present actions?This refers to the overall main charactors of the Kite Runner and how...

The universal theme of The Kite Runner is, of course, redemption.  Because redemption requires that someone has done something that he believes needs correcting, the past is deeply connected to the theme and the present.  All of the novel's main characters, like real humans, live their present lives in specific ways because of their past.

Amir--The novel is based upon Amir's view of his past action--betraying Hassan--and we wouldn't have the main plot without Amir's past.  Because of what he did to his closest "friend," Amir gladly leaves his homeland, cannot be as close to his father as he would like, and eventually believes that he is not allowed to be a father.  Once Amir is able to face Afghanistan, Assef, and his cowardice, he is able to move forward in the present.

Baba--Baba cannot live with the memory that he betrayed his friend Ali and his dead wife's memory by sleeping with Sanuabar and fathering Hassan.  Because of this, his relationship with Amir is stilted and leads to Amir's choice of trying to please Baba over saving his Hassan.  Baba never confesses the truth to Amir, and even though he and Amir grow closer toward the end of Baba's life, they still never have the relationship that they could have had without Baba's past actions.

Soraya--Soraya went against her culture's strict social rules and ran away with a man.  Because of this, she feels that it is impossible to please her father and that she is not worthy to marry anyone else.  She seems to forgive herself when Amir gladly takes her as his bride.  Her past affects her in a rather positive way.  Because she knows her own flaws, she is more willing to accept flaws or a "past" in others.

Hassan--Hassan truly tries not to let his past affect him, but much of his circumstance is out of his control.  If Assef had not raped Hassan, then Amir most likely would not have framed Hassan and forced him and Ali to feel like they had to leave Baba's household.  With that being the case, Hassan and Ali most likely would have gotten to go to America with Baba, and who knows what their present would have been like?

Other characters such as Assef, Rahim Khan, and Sanuabar have pasts that cause them to act differently in present time.

(x+1)/(x+4)=(2x-1)/(x+6)Solve for x

(x+1)/(x+4)=(2x-1)/(x+6)

cross multiply the numbers

(x+1)(x+6) = (x+4)(2x-1)

unfoil the problem by multiplying every number from the first parenthesis by the numbers inside the second parenthesis

you should end up with 

`x^2 +7x + 6 = 2x^2 + 7x - 4  `

Add the opposite of each number to combine like terms

x^2 +7x + 6 = 2x^2 + 7x - 4

               +4                     +4            

x^2 +7x + 10 = 2x^2 + 7x 

       -7x                       -7x

x^2 + 10 = 2x^2

-x^2           -x^2

`10=x^2 `

find the square root 

`sqrt(10) =sqrt(x^2)`

`x= +-sqrt(10)`

How would I sum the integers from 1 to 100, or from 1 to n?This is a question for my math homework and this is the only one I have having isues...

To calculate the sum, 1+2+3+4+......+98+99+100.

Let S be the sum of integers from 1 to 100.

Then,

S=1+    2+ 3+  4+ 5+.......+98+99+100. ---(1). Also if you reverse right side you get:

S=100+99+98+97+96....    + 3+ 2+   1-----(2)

Both (1) and (2) have 100 terms each on right side.

Add (1) and (2) vertically, term by term on tright side, we get:

2s=101+101+101+101+101+......101+101+101, There are 100 terms each being 101

Threfore,

2s=101*100

Divide both sides by 2 we get the required sum s:

2s/2 =101*100/2=

s= 101*50=5050.

Part (2): To calculate 1+2+3+4+5+.....(n-4)+.(n-3)+(n-2)+(n-1)+n.

Let s= 1+2+3+4+5+.......(n-2)+(n-1)+n           (1)

There are n terms. Rach term increase by 1 from the previous term. This is an arithmetic progression with a starting term 1 and common difference 1 and the number of terms  being n.

Reverse the right side of (1) as below:

s= n+(n-1)+(n-2)+(n-3)+(n-4)+...3+2+1           (2)

Add (1) and (2), particularly the right side vertically term by term:

2s= (n+1)+(n+1)+(n+1)+(n+1)+(n+1).......(n+1)+(n+1)+(n+1) .   There are n  terms like (n+1), whose sum is (n+1)*n. So,

2s=(n+1)n.

Divide both sides by 2 to get

2s/2=(n+1)n/2  or

s=n(n+1)/2. Therefore,

1+2+3+.....+n = n(n+1)/2

What does Harry Potter's scar symbolize?

Have any of you read All of the Harry Potter books?!

The scar on Harry Potter's forehead represents his father and mother's sacrifice to protect Harry. Due to Lily dieing for her son, she gave Harry the most powerful protective charm she could, her love. Which saved Harry from death, and because Lord Voldemort's soul was unstable and broke apart, when he killed Harry's parents and tried to kill Harry, due to the nature of his actions which made Harry into a Horcrux, from a piece of Lord Voldemort's soul latching onto Harry Potter and creating the scar. Because of this Harry became the only person that could defeat Lord Voldemort. So his scar became a symbol of hope, and his destiny for his future to the wizard community.

In short Harry's scar symbolizes his parents love for Harry, and his future to destroy Voldemort.

What is the summary of Thousand Cranes?

Yasunari Kawabata's Thousand Cranes is a work of psychological fiction rife with symbolism.

Kikuki Mitani, a young bachelor, attends a formal tea ceremony put on by Chikako, who is a surrogate mother to him.  The purpose of the ceremony is to introduce him to Yukiko, a potential bride.

The presence of two uninvited guests, Mrs. Ota, Mitani's father's former mistress, and her daughter Fumiko, complicate the meeting.  Chikako serves Mitani and then Mrs. Ota from a black Oribe bowl which belonged to Mitani's father, and the sharing of tea from the artifact results in Mitani and Mrs. Ota sleeping together on the way home.

Chikako again arranges for Mitani and Yukiko to get together, and Mitani at this point says that he can imagine marrying the young woman.  The next day, Mrs. Ota, having been told by Chikako that a marriage between Mitani and Yukiko is imminent, arrives at Mitani's house in tears.  Mitani denies that he has committed himself to marry Yukiko, but accuses Mrs. Ota of confusing him with his father.  The next morning, Mitani learns from Fumiko that Mrs. Ota has killed herself.

Fumiko and Mitani talk at the memorial service for Mrs. Ota, and develop a closeness. Chikako, who wants Mitani to marry Yukiko, tries to stop a relationship between Mitani and Fumiko from developing.  Mitani, however, tells Chikako that he does not plan to marry Yukiko. 

Several weeks later, Chikako tells Mitani that both Yukiko and Fumiko are now married to others.  During a subsequent conversation with Fumiko, Mitani discovers that the story is not true.  Mitani and Fumiko go to the tea cottage together, where they place Mrs. Ota's Shino bowl next to the bowl formerly used by Mitani's father.  Fumiko, who has fallen in love with Mitani, senses that he sees her mother in the Shino bowl, and she breaks it.  Fumiko's action has the effect of freeing Mitani to love her, but she herself is now consumed by guilt.  She disappears, and the implication is that she kills herself.

How have courts viewed similar cases? What arguments would Clarence make if he were to take this to court? Clarence has taken the test to become a...

The most recent example of a case like this would be the Ricci v. DeStefano case.  The Supreme Court heard the case and ruled on it during this past summer.   The details are similar to Clarence's.  In a test administered by the city of New Haven to firefighters seeking promotion, an overwhelming number of African- American applicants did not score anywhere near as well as their White counterparts.  The city of New Haven, looking to avoid a discrimination lawsuit in a city that has a large African- American population, invalidated the test results, negating the achievements of those who fared well on the test.  Frank Ricci, along with 17 others, sued the city for throwing out the test results, claiming a violation of equal protection as afforded in the 14th Amendment.  The Federal District Court sided with the City, and was supported by the Second District Court of Appeals, on which recently confirmed Justice Sotomayor sat.  The Supreme Court heard the case in the Winter and in its 5-4 decision, sided with Ricci in arguing that the city had no basis to throw out the test results.  The decision was seen as a major challenge to Affirmative Action, and the Bakke decision in 1978 that initiated its practice.

In Clarence's example, examining how the court has ruled in affirmative action cases such as Bakke through Ricci might be a good way to examine how the court has changed over time in its approach to affirmative action and preferential treatment.

Who is responsible for stopping counterfeiting?Please be detail and explain and be very specific

In general, the government, or a governmental agency, bears the primary responsibility for stopping counterfeiting money.  In America, for example, the United States Secret Service is the body responsible for stopping the counterfeiting of money and this crime falls into their jurisdiction.  In many ways this makes sense because counterfeiting money destabilizes national security in its devaluing of a nationalized currency.  In America, the Secret Service punishes those who are found guilty of counterfeiting under specific laws:

Manufacturing counterfeit United States currency or altering genuine currency to increase its value is a violation of Title 18, Section 471 of the United States Code and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to 15 years, or both.

Possession of counterfeit United States obligations with fraudulent intent is a violation of Title 18, Section 472 of the United States Code and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to 15 years, or both.

Anyone who manufactures a counterfeit U.S. coin in any denomination above five cents is subject to the same penalties as all other counterfeiters. Anyone who alters a genuine coin to increase its numismatic value is in violation of Title 18, Section 331 of the United States Code, which is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

Forging, altering, or trafficking in United States Government checks, bonds or other obligations is a violation of Title 18, Section 510 of the United States Code and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.

Printed reproductions, including photographs of paper currency, checks, bonds, postage stamps, revenue stamps, and securities of the United States and foreign governments (except under the conditions previously listed) are violations of Title 18, Section 474 of the United States Code. Violations are punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to 15 years, or both.

Describe the character development of the main character. How has he changed over the course of the novel and what has caused this change?

Obviously, the key way in which Jonas changes and develops as a character is through his important Assignment as the Receiver for the community. He has already shown that he appears to be like any normal 11 year old in his community. We as readers note that he is perhaps more intelligent than others - he likes learning, thinks deeply about issues and sees things in different ways to the rest of his community. However, in a setting where conformity is prized, these differences are easily suppressed. Jonas himself doesn't like being different - look how he shuns attention after receiving his Assignment.

As  his training begins, however, these characteristics that were established early in the novel cause him to become fascinated and absorbed by the memories he is given. Likewise the vividness of the memories seems to change Jonas - he becomes very aware of emotions in a way that others aren't and he pays attention to beauty and suffering and becomes loving towards his family in ways that other people in the community are not. He also becomes strongly attached to his new emotions and beliefs that he is developing. This results in intense feelings of frustration about various aspects of the community. Jonas' concern for others and his desire to see justice make him want to see changes in this community so that the cruelty of the community can be stopped but also so that the members can be awakened to the joys and richness of life. Note the following quotes:

He found that he was often angry, now: irrationally angry at his groupmates, that they were satisfied with their lives which had none of the vibrance his own was taking on. And he was angry at himself, that he could not change that for them.

You can see here Jonas' frustration and also the reason for his increasing alienation between himself and his old friends. The memories he receives make him wiser and cause him to question far more in his community, meaning he is not able to play and enjoy the life that his friends have in the same way:

His childhood, his friendships, his carefree ense of security - all of these things semed to be slipping away. With his new, heightened feelings, he was overwhelemed by sadness at the way the others had laughed and shouted, playing at war.

It is a combination of these different factors, and of course, the revelation of the true nature of "release" that drives Jonas to make the decision to follow his instincts and pursue justice and fairness by leaving the community with Gabriel to save him from "release".

Where did the story take place?

Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic deals with the historical impact of the Holocaust within a modern setting.  Initially, this story begins in present day New Rochelle, New York. It strikes me as a middle class or affluent suburb of New York.   A modern family, driving a modern car, travel to a family gathering.  While no exact year is given, it is contemporary as seen through Hannah, who is concerned with adolescent concerns of popularity, social acceptance, and being more like her friends.  This feeds her resentment of her familial and cultural traditions, one of which is the focus of the start of the novel.

How does the mother/narrator connect to the theme and her environment? (society)"I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen

In "I Stand Here Ironing," there is an ambivalence of both environment and in completion of themes.  For instance, in the Search for Identity theme, the mother queries of the person who asks about her daughter,

You think because I am her mother I have a key, or that in some way you could use me as a key?  She has lived for nineteen years.  There is all that life that has happened outside of me, beyond me.

Yet, while she does not lay claim to many years, the mother tells this other person, "You did not know her all those years she was considered homely," thus indicating some knowledge of her child.

Both identities of mother and daughter are incomplete.  The mother is still ironing, running the iron back and forth just as she rewinds the memories in an effort to define herself as mother.  The daughter becomes someone only by pantomime, pretending to be someone other than she is.

Regarding another theme, Limitations and Opportunities, the mother feels a sense of guilt that she has not been able to provide for her daughter as she would have liked because of having to work so much after the abandonment of her husband.  When she remarries, she feels guilty because the daughter is neglected when new babies arrive.  In addition, the mother, trapped in her low socio-economic position--still ironing--cannot provide the opportunities that may foster her daughter's comedic career.

By the end of the story, there is an apparent apathy with the title again pointing to this theme.  Here, the mother performs this repetitious, dull activity in a mindless state, convinced of the dead end into which she has worked.  The daughter skips her exams in college, flippantly remarking, "in a couple of years when we'll all be atom-dead they won't matter a bit."

However, the story does not end on this apathetic note.  For, the mother reflects that although her daughter is a child of "her age, of depression, of war, of fear," she still has "enough left to live by....she is more than this dress on the ironing board, helpless before the iron."

Does the mass of the bob on a pendulum effect the speed?

The motion of the pendulum is periodic. This type of motion is characterised by its periodicity  with acceleration directed towards a fixed point. The magnitude of its acceleration is proportional to the distance from the fixed point.So, its velocity can also be calculated for any fixed point. The pendulum's acceleration and  velocity are variable character.They are not dependent on the mass or material of the bob. We say normally say acceleration and velocity at any point of time , or when the pendulum is at a point on its path of oscillation:

Acceleration = -conxtant times the distance from the fixed point. Alternatively,the rate of change of velocity = -constant times distant from the fixed point.

From the above we can arrive at the velocity of the oscillating pendulum at an instant on ts path:

Velocity = square root of (square of half the amplitude - square od its distance drom the fixed point).

If v is the velocity of the pendulum at any time t and the distance is x from the fixed  ( or mid point of the amplitude). then:

v = square root(a^2-x^2), where a is the half amplitude.

By this, we see that the velocity of the pendulum at any point of time is independent of the mass of the pendulum. But the velocity is dependent on the x and a factors. In otherwords, it is depending on the distance from the mid point of the oscillation(or mean point of oscillation) and also on the amplitude of the oscillation. Once again, x  and  a are  dependent on the length of the pendulum but not on the gravitation. Therfore, the velocity  is not dependent on mass of the bob, it is dependent on the distance from the mid point and amplitude, but it does not depend on acceleration due to gravity also.

Hope this helps.

According to mythology, what is the salamander's relation to fire?

In mythology, the salamander had the ability to survive fire, to be "fireproof."  In Bullfinch's Mythology, in Chapter 36, Bullfinch discusses the origin of the myths surrounding the salamander and the properties it was said to have:

The following is from the "Life of Benvenuto Cellini," an Italian artist of the sixteenth century, written by himself: "When I was about five years of age, my father, happening to be in a little room in which they had been washing, and where there was a good fire of oak burning, looked into the flames and saw a little animal resembling a lizard, which could live in the hottest part of that element. Instantly perceiving what it was, he called for my sister and me, and after he had shown us the creature, he gave me a box on the ear. I fell a-crying, while he, soothing me with caresses, spoke these words: 'My dear child, I do not give you that blow for any fault you have committed, but that you may recollect that the little creature you see in the fire is a salamander; such a one as never was beheld before to my knowledge.' So saying he embraced me, and gave me some money."

I have provided the link to this chaper below, and there are several more paragraphs about the salamander. 

How does the salamander fit into Fahrenheit 451? Does the salamander represent Montag?  Does the salamander represent the ideas that cannot be destroyed by fire?  This symbol would make an interesting topic for a paper. 

What is the point of view in The Giver By Lois Lowry?

Lois Lowry's employment of third-person limited narrator is effective in narrowing any introspection of a character to only the protagonist, Jonas. This is effective for the purpose of the novel because the society of the narrative has been made to be limited in feeling and thought as they must communicate in euphemistic terms only, and anything else such as color and sexual feelings have been eliminated.

By having only Jonas's inward consciousness available to the reader the contrast between the artificially "safe" world in which Jonas lives and the realities is clearly conveyed. For, after Jonas senses lost memories of pain, color, taste, and physical sensations, he realizes what has truly been lost. As the new Giver, he has attained true humanity and individuality:

As he approached the summit of the hill at last....He was not warmer; if anything, he felt...more cold...But, he began, suddenly, to feel happy.....
Memories of joy flooded through him suddenly....
This was something that he could keep. It was a memory of his own.