Monday, May 25, 2020

Aldous Huxley s Brave New World - 1904 Words

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, published in 1932, is a masterpiece of science fiction. His imagined, dystopian state creatively employs facts and theories of science, as well as his very own thinly-veiled commentary on the future of society. His family background and social status, in addition to molding Huxley himself and his perspective, no doubt made impact on his writing and contributed to the scientific accuracy of his presentation. However, Huxley certainly qualifies as a social commenter and his extensive works, while sometimes biased, were always perceptive comments on the future of mankind, predictions made based on current event in his world. In other words, current affairs had undeniable impact on Huxley’s novel, and his†¦show more content†¦The Russian Revolution and challenges to the British Empire abroad raised the possibility of change on a world scale. At home, the expansion of transportation and communication, the cars, telephones, and radios made affordable through mass production, also brought revolutionary changes to daily life. With this new technology, distances grew suddenly shorter and true privacy rarer. In Brave New World, such technologies and more have been introduced to The World State, and this society brings to life these exact fears of distance between people: While people in industrialized societies welcomed these advances, they also worried about losing a familiar way of life, and perhaps even themselves. Huxley’s novel also attempts to show how science, when taken too far, can limit the flourishing of human thought: â€Å"The lower the caste,’ said Mr. Foster, ‘the shorter the oxygen.’ The first organ affected was the brain. After that the skeleton. At seventy per cent of normal oxygen you got dwarfs. At less than seventy eyeless monsters.’† (Huxley, 70). In World War I, humanity had seen the great destruction that technology such as bombs, planes, and machine guns could cause. Huxley believed that the possibility for such destruction did not only belong to weapons of war but to other scientific advancements as well, such

Friday, May 15, 2020

Synchronizing Threads and GUI in a Delphi application

Multi-threading in Delphi lets you create applications that include several simultaneous paths of execution. A normal Delphi application is single-threaded, which means all VCL objects access their properties and execute their methods within this single thread. To speed up data processing in your application, include one or more secondary threads. Processor Threads A thread is a communication channel from an application to a processor. Single-threaded programs need communication to flow in both directions (to and from the processor) as it executes; multi-threaded apps can open several different channels, thus speeding up execution. Threads GUI When several threads are running in the application, the question arises of how you can update your graphical user interface as a result of a thread execution. The answer lies in the TThread class Synchronize method. To update your applications user interface, or main thread, from a secondary thread, you need to call the Synchronize method. This technique is a thread-safe method that avoids multi-threading conflicts that can arise from accessing object properties or methods that are not thread-safe, or using resources not in the main thread of execution. Below is an example demo that uses several buttons with progress bars, each progress bar displaying the current state of the thread execution. unit MainU;interfaceusesWindows, Messages, SysUtils, Variants, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms,Dialogs, ComCtrls, StdCtrls, ExtCtrls;type//interceptor classTButton class(StdCtrls.TButton)OwnedThread: TThread;ProgressBar: TProgressBar;end;TMyThread class(TThread)privateFCounter: Integer;FCountTo: Integer;FProgressBar: TProgressBar;FOwnerButton: TButton;procedure DoProgress;procedure SetCountTo(const Value: Integer) ;procedure SetProgressBar(const Value: TProgressBar) ;procedure SetOwnerButton(const Value: TButton) ;protectedprocedure Execute; override;publicconstructor Create(CreateSuspended: Boolean) ;property CountTo: Integer read FCountTo write SetCountTo;property ProgressBar: TProgressBar read FProgressBar write SetProgressBar;property OwnerButton: TButton read FOwnerButton write SetOwnerButton;end;TMainForm class(TForm)Button1: TButton;ProgressBar1: TProgressBar;Button2: TButton;ProgressBar2: TProgressBar;Button3: TButton;ProgressBar3: TProgressBar;Button4: TButton;Progress Bar4: TProgressBar;Button5: TButton;ProgressBar5: TProgressBar;procedure Button1Click(Sender: TObject) ;end;varMainForm: TMainForm;implementation{$R *.dfm}{ TMyThread }constructor TMyThread.Create(CreateSuspended: Boolean) ;begininherited;FCounter : 0;FCountTo : MAXINT;end;procedure TMyThread.DoProgress;varPctDone: Extended;beginPctDone : (FCounter / FCountTo) ;FProgressBar.Position : Round(FProgressBar.Step * PctDone) ;FOwnerButton.Caption : FormatFloat(0.00 %, PctDone * 100) ;end;procedure TMyThread.Execute;constInterval 1000000;beginFreeOnTerminate : True;FProgressBar.Max : FCountTo div Interval;FProgressBar.Step : FProgressBar.Max;while FCounter FCountTo dobeginif FCounter mod Interval 0 then Synchronize(DoProgress) ;Inc(FCounter) ;end;FOwnerButton.Caption : Start;FOwnerButton.OwnedThread : nil;FProgressBar.Position : FProgressBar.Max;end;procedure TMyThread.SetCountTo(const Value: Integer) ;beginFCountTo : Value;end;procedure TMyThread.SetOwnerButton(const Value: TButton) ;b eginFOwnerButton : Value;end;procedure TMyThread.SetProgressBar(const Value: TProgressBar) ;beginFProgressBar : Value;end;procedure TMainForm.Button1Click(Sender: TObject) ;varaButton: TButton;aThread: TMyThread;aProgressBar: TProgressBar;beginaButton : TButton(Sender) ;if not Assigned(aButton.OwnedThread) thenbeginaThread : TMyThread.Create(True) ;aButton.OwnedThread : aThread;aProgressBar : TProgressBar(FindComponent(StringReplace(aButton.Name, Button, ProgressBar, []))) ;aThread.ProgressBar : aProgressBar;aThread.OwnerButton : aButton;aThread.Resume;aButton.Caption : Pause;endelsebeginif aButton.OwnedThread.Suspended thenaButton.OwnedThread.ResumeelseaButton.OwnedThread.Suspend;aButton.Caption : Run;end;end;end. Thanks to Jens Borrisholt for submitting this code sample.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Romance Novel Marriage Essay - 1327 Words

The Romance Novel Marriage From the moment they saw each other they knew they were the perfect pair. They knew instantly that the other was their soul mate. It was love at first sight. This knowledge is followed by amazing sex. Then the ecstatic couple gets married and lives Happily Ever After. Im talking about the modern day adult fairy tale, also known as the romance novel. Ive been reading these novels since I was in the seventh grade. My first one was titled Bitter Sweet, written by Laverle Spencer, and was found in my moms closet. From there I graduated to the more sordid novels with half-naked people on the covers. My adolescent mind was absolutely fascinated and I could not wait until I found my guy and could experience†¦show more content†¦But they do apply to a major part of the married population, so for those who scoff too quickly at my words, you may want to take a second look. I do not, in any way, want marriage to become harder to dissolve. I want legalities and governments to stay out of these affairs as much as possible. What I want is for individuals to bring their heads out of the clouds for just a moment and really ponder how happy theyll be once their spouse is out of their life. Will you be happy with that new person you have in mind, whether youve actually met them or not? What happens when the new wears off, and your new mate is not romance novel material either? More signatures and lawyers to erase that marriage too? These are the questions that Polly Shulman asks in her article titled Great Expectations. Her answer is that the basic problem comes from waiting for something better to come along, something closer to a romantic novel: The reality is that few marriages or partnerships consistently live up to this ideal. The result is a commitment limbo, in which we care deeply for our partner but keep one stealthy foot out the door of our hearts. In so doing, we subject the relationship to constant review: Would I be happier, smarter, or a better person with someone else? Its a painful modern quandary. Nothing has produced more unhappiness than the concept of the soul mate, says Atlanta psychiatrist Frank Pittman. (Shulman 570) In order for relationshipsShow MoreRelatedJane Austen s Pride And Prejudice861 Words   |  4 PagesCriticism of the Romantic Novel† written by Koh Tsin Yen, Yen thoroughly explains a deeper meaning of Pride and Prejudice from both hers and Austen’s perspective of the novel. In Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, which takes place in the 19th century, Austen portrays marriage and social class as two themes with an extreme importance. While tying together two similar points of views, Yen also incorporates Austen s themes from her novel as well. 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The first episode in which we can examine Austens attitudes to marriage is in chapter four. In chapter four we must notice that there is no direct speech, which shows that all of the narration is Austen, with her views and opinions being presented to us. When talking of Mr. Wentworth, AustenRead MoreThe Film Industry Is Driven To Find Simple But Effective1321 Words   |  6 Pagesromantic roles and convince both men and women that a female is destined for marriage. This prevailing idea of traditional women designed for marriage is exemplified in Harlequin novels that are notorious for their book covers and cliched storyline: Strong, muscular man meets beautiful, submissive woman and they overcome obstacles and fall in love. Similar to the King and I (1956) and Anna and the King (1999), these novels rely on the coupling of its male and female characters to obtain positive feedbackRead MoreEmma s View Of Love1219 Words   |  5 Pageswill always be dissatisfied. She destroyed her own marriage before it even started because of her preconceived idea of love. Charles is absolutely in love with Emma and would do anything for her but she does not feel the same way about him due to her fairytale idea of love. It seems as if she is not capable of separating he r real life romances from the romance novels that she read when during her time at the convent. In Gustave Flaubert’s novel, Madame Bovary, Emma Bovary is unknowingly a slaveRead MoreIn What Ways Does Rebecca Demonstrate and Subvert the Conventions of the Romantic Genre?†1141 Words   |  5 Pagesdemonstrate and subvert the conventions of the romantic genre?† In Rebecca du Maurier appears to conform to the conventions of the romantic genre however, du Maurier has also subverted the genre of romance through her representation of the relationship between the narrator and Maxim and the structure of the novel. She has also incorporated of elements of the gothic genre and the psychological thriller. On the surface Rebecca appears to demonstrate the conventions of the romantic genre. The storylineRead MoreThe Power of Sympathy990 Words   |  4 PagesThis is so women wont fall for seduction or be the seducer themselves. Education is used throughout the narrative. Women need an education, and by being virtuous and religious these are the main foundations of a proper education. This novel wants to educate women on seduction and how easily seduced, without question, women are about their lovers. When women receive an education it is teaching them to be self sufficient and rational. By being self sufficient women wont follow other

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Emergency Preparedness Disaster Management Cycle

Question: Discuss about the Emergency Preparedness for Disaster Management Cycle. Answer: Disaster Management Cycle Dangertown experiences the preparedness stage in the disaster management cycle. Dangertown has experienced severe rain due to which the banks have burst. Housing developments on the flood plains have worsened the effects of flooding. Moreover, previous floods in the current year contaminated the towns water. The town is prone to floods due to which there is a need to achieve a satisfactory level of preparedness or readiness to respond to emergency situations (Whybark, 2015). Figure 1: Disaster Management Cycle Source: (Whybark, 2015) Identification of Hazards From the given scenario, it is analyzed that Dangertown faces several risks as the town has extensive refinery production capacity. Injury or illness - With the exposure of Hydrogen Sulfide in the air, the people in the town shall be exposed to toxic gases that could lead to life-threatening situations if not handled effectively (Lim et al., 2016). Fatality - Much of the industrial installation in the Dangertown Refinery is old and there have been a number of accidents and deaths in the previous years. Critical Facilities- The toxic emissions of the gas would also lead to closure of schools and offices as the people in the community would complain of nausea and headaches (Smith 2013). Lifeline- Hydrogen sulfide gas may mix in the flood water thereby contaminating it for few weeks. Property damage- The property such as homes and corporate buildings can be damaged due to floods (Smith 2013). Environmental impact- The gas is highly flammable and produces toxic gases when burnt causing severe environmental damage (Smith 2013). Hazard and Risk Analysis Hazard Impacts Likelihood Consequence Severity Total Health Business Fatality Due to Hydrogen Sulfide gas explosion in the oil and gas refinery, the deaths have been caused people previously. The gas is highly flammable and with increased or uncontrolled concentration of H2S in the air, it can lead to further deaths. The effects depend on the level and time of exposure to the gas. Increased concentrations lead to death. The flood also has a chance of creating a mudslide as the mountains lie at the western edge of the down that can tragically cause deaths (Osha.gov, 2016). 5 2 - 10 Injury or Illness In the previous times, the leak of gas has affected the community. The industrial installation in Dangertown Refinery is old and is prone to accidents. The illness depends on the level of concentration of the toxic gas and there are possible impacts such as nausea, conjunctivitis, loss of smell, paralysis, knockdown or airway problems (Osha.gov, 2016). Floods can cause water-borne as well as vector-borne diseases such as typhoid, malaria, yellow fever and various others (Who.int, 2016). 6 3 - 18 Critical Facilities Critical facilities such as schools would be affected as the air quality is hampered. The children would get nausea and headache as the air would be unfit to breathe. The gas is colorless and odorless due to which the gas cannot be detected easily. The presence of the gas can be felt with the deteriorating health (Miller, 2015). 4 - 2 8 Lifelines The chemical property of hydrogen sulfide allows the gas to dissolve in water. As the gas can dissolve in water, it has a risk of mixing in the water pipelines or water supply from which the town receives water. The town is prone to floods which too causes hindrance in the water and power supply. The power can be interrupted for a few days while water supply can be interrupted for a few weeks (Velasco, Cabello, Russo, 2015). 4 - 3 12 Property Damage Floods cause damage to property in the form of damage to homes and businesses. In the given case scenario, Dangertown has ongoing housing developments on the flood plains thereby worsening the effects of flooding. Floods affect the existing paved streets, roads, buildings, vehicles and land. The primary and secondary effects may result in damage to bridges, canals, sewerage systems, roadways, and transport infrastructure. The town would suffer from land infertility as a major issue due to erosion of top soil (Penning-Rowsell et al., 2012). 4 - 1 4 Environmental Impact Floods impact the natural environment negatively as it causes loss of biodiversity and wildlife in the flooded region. The habitat potential and food present in the ecosystem is damaged. Riverbank erosion shall cause degradation of sedimentation. The local infrastructure is also affected thereby hampering the landscape. The emission of hydrogen sulfide also leads to delirious effects on plant survival and growth (Lisjak et al., 2016). 5 - 3 15 Economic and Social Impact Flooding of areas leads to several socio-economic negative impacts. Floods lead to damage of human life, livestock, crop destruction, deterioration of health condition and various others. The commutation to places within the town becomes difficult as there are hindrances in vehicles. The costs of removal of property and increased vulnerability would increase living cost. The people might have to relocate thereby suffering mass migration. The flood victims would also be psychologically affected as it can deeply affect their children and family. The economic losses can traumatize and cause stress (Rojas, Feyen, Watkiss, 2013). 4 - 2 8 Risk Profile Frequency 6 Injury or Illness 5 Fatality Environ-mental Impact 4 Property Damage Critical Facilities Economic and Social Impact Lifelines 3 2 1 Consequence 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Risk Reduction Measures As discussed in the previous sections, floods can cause severe financial and economic losses. The above risk profile indicates that the people of Dangertown must be prepared for any emergency. Instead of putting emphasis on designing safety into the system from the beginning, the major emphasis instead is placed on recovery from adverse events or investigating them after they occur. Six steps can be followed to reduce risk for people in Dangertown (Ericson, 2015). Firstly, there is a need to understand the risk. The people must be educated about the types of risk. Secondly, a scheme must be planned to manage the identified risk and hazard. Next, the property in the risky areas must be surveyed. Fourthly, design and specification must be compiled for risk management (Chen Wu, 2015). However, a few risk reduction measures can be adopted by the oil and gas refineries to prevent spills: A systems approach can be followed for improving or enhancing the learning process in the industry. The industries can conduct a hazard analysis called HAZOP (Ericson, 2015). The technological and operational design must be improved for maintenance and performance audits. The maintenance and safety equipment must be standardized. The company safety management system must be enhanced. In this given scenario, the factory had a faulty valve that led to toxic gas leakage. The factories must conduct an overall assessment and audit of physical structures. The entire factory must be repaired and no faulty valves must be present. The safety engineers must be integrated into operational decision making. The industry must conduct strong safety programs and engineers must advise the management for both short-term and long-term engineering designs. New safety implications of decisions on operations must be made. The organizational culture of the organizations must be enhanced. The management com mitment to safety must be legitimately followed (Ericson, 2015). Flood prevention is necessary as it causes severe damage. For reducing risk of floods, warnings and watch notice must be provided so that the people get sufficient time to evacuate the regions. The management must not wait for the catastrophic event to happen. The weather conditions must be regularly checked at locations of high-risk. The weather reports must be monitored and broadcasted in the local news media (Ericson, 2015). The communities must also educate the people on the methods and commutation to evacuate the place. Strategic designation of such flood ways, with policies that compensate people who live within them, can be critical to reducing the damage of massive floods. A big piece of this measure includes the protection, restoration and reconnection of floodplains, which is some of the richest habitat in the world. This obviously has the additional benefit of letting floodplains do what they do best: take in water when the river is high (Chen et al., 2012). Requirement for Emergency Plan According to the risks identified in the risk profile form, there is a need to create a plan for managing hazards as the risks involved in the scenario can cause disruption in human, economic and environmental forces. There is a need to reduce the intensity of the risk through community awareness and protection of vulnerable structures. The emergency plan for risk management can help in guiding people during an emergency. The planning process shall help in managing resources such as food supplies, equipment and training personnel. The emergency plan shall help in preventing fatalities and injuries, protecting the environment, accelerating resumption of normal operations and reducing damage to properties. The planning process involves a health and safety committee that shall help in efficient communication, periodic drills and ensure adequate performance (Kim, 2014). References Chen, J., Guo, S., Li, Y., Liu, P., Zhou, Y. (2012). Joint Operation and Dynamic Control of Flood Limiting Water Levels for Cascade Reservoirs.Water Resour Manage,27(3), 749-763. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11269-012-0213-z Chen, S. Wu, C. (2015). Annual landslide risk and effectiveness of risk reduction measures in Shihmen watershed, Taiwan.Landslides,13(3), 551-563. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10346-015-0588-z Ericson, C. (2015).Hazard analysis techniques for system safety. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Interscience. Kim, H. (2014). Learning from UK disaster exercises: policy implications for effective emergency preparedness.Disasters,38(4), 846-857. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/disa.12084 Lim, E., Mbowe, O., Lee, A., Davis, J. (2016). Effect of environmental exposure to hydrogen sulfide on central nervous system and respiratory function: a systematic review of human studies.International Journal Of Occupational And Environmental Health,22(1), 80-90. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10773525.2016.1145881 Lisjak et al.,. (2016).Hydrogen sulfide: environmental factor or signalling molecule? - PubMed - NCBI.Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 29 May 2016, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23347018 Miller, E. (2015).The trouble with Casey - Boulder Weekly.Boulder Weekly. Retrieved 29 May 2016, from https://www.boulderweekly.com/news/the-trouble-with-casey/ Osha.gov,. (2016).Safety and Health Topics | Hydrogen Sulfide - Hazards.Osha.gov. Retrieved 29 May 2016, from https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hydrogensulfide/hazards.html Penning-Rowsell, E., Yanyan, W., Watkinson, A., Jiang, J., Thorne, C. (2012). Socioeconomic scenarios and flood damage assessment methodologies for the Taihu Basin, China.Journal Of Flood Risk Management,6(1), 23-32. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-318x.2012.01168.x Rojas, R., Feyen, L., Watkiss, P. (2013). Climate change and river floods in the European Union: Socio-economic consequences and the costs and benefits of adaptation.Global Environmental Change,23(6), 1737-1751. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.08.006 Smith, K. (2013).Environmental hazards. London: Routledge. Velasco, M., Cabello, ., Russo, B. (2015). Flood damage assessment in urban areas. Application to the Raval district of Barcelona using synthetic depth damage curves.Urban Water Journal,13(4), 426-440. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1573062x.2014.994005 Who.int,. (2016).WHO | Flooding and communicable diseases fact sheet.Who.int. Retrieved 29 May 2016, from https://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/ems/flood_cds/en/ Whybark, D. (2015). Co-creation of improved quality in disaster response and recovery.Int J Qual Innov,1(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40887-015-0001-y