Mrf Tyre Suggestions

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 0. 1 0. 1. 1 GENERAL Nylon Tyre Cord: Nylon tyre cord is made from high tenacity continuous filament yarn by twisting and plying. There are two major types of nylons used as tyre cord, i. e. nylon-6 and nylon-6,6. The properties of nylon-6 and nylon-6,6 vary marginally and are controlled by the manufacturing process, type of stabilisers and additives used. In India only nylon-6 is produced commercially for tyre cord. Thetypesofnylon-6tyrecordusedinIndiaare840/2,1260/2,1260/3, 1680/ 2 and 1890 / 2 where number indicates denier of ply / no. of plies in the cord.The denier per filament is 6. 0. 1. 2 Tyre Cord: The other materials used as tyre cord are cotton, rayon, polyester, fibre glass, steel,aromatic polyamides. Each of these materials has its own merits and demerits. The major criteria for acceptance of any material in tyre are its tensile strength, dimensional stability, durability, thermal stability, hysteresis and adhesion. Tests and actual application conditio ns have shown that although other cord materials meet one or more specific requirements, nylon by and large meets the desirable requirements for almost all the performance criteria. . 1. 3 Tyres: The tyre cord fabric provides the tyre its fundamental properties such as shape, size, load carrying capacity, abrasion resistance, fatigue resistance, etc. A tyre is a composite of cord and rubber. There are three varieties of tyres viz. bias-angle tyres, radial tyres and bias-belted tyres. They differ in the way the tyre fabric plies are laid inside the tyre. 0. 1. 4 Manufacturing Process: The manufacturing process for nylon-6 tyre cord can be broadly divided into following production steps: (a) Polymerisation of caprolactam to manufacture nylon chips. (b) Extraction and drying of chips. (c) Melt spinning of chips to manufacture nylon tyre yarn. (d) Preparation ofcordfrom tyre yarn by twisting and plying. (e) Recycling of nylon-6 waste. 0. 1. 5 Polymerisation: Nylon is made by polymerisat ion of caprolactam with certain additives like amino acids and dicarboxylic acid salts and certain heat stabiliser such as copper based organic compounds. The polymerisation process involves ring opening polycondensation and polyaddition reactions. All the three polymerisation reaction steps are equilibrium reactions.A typical process of polymerisation of nylon can be either a batch or a continuous process. The continuous process, developed after the batch process was commercialised, offers simplicity of design, ease of operation and control and high capacity. An optimal polymerisation process would involve two stages, wherein, the first stage involves pressure at high initial water concentration. In the second stage a rapid transition from high water content to a low water content is achieved by release of pressure and subsequent application of vacuum. Industrial grade nylon-6 with relative viscosity 3. 2 to 3. has higher degree of polymerisation compared to textile grade nylon-6 w ith relative viscosity 2. 2 to 2. 6. 0. 1. 6 Extrusion and Drying of Chips: The nylon chips are washed to remove water soluble impurities and then dried. The process maybe batch or continuous. 0. 1. 7 Melt Spinning: The polymer chips are melt in extruder. The molten polymer is then spun through a spinnerette. The molten filaments are quenched or cooled by a laminar flow of air. The spin finish is applied on filament and then wound on spin bobbins and drawn to make tyre yarns. In the conventional process, the spinning and drawing was done in two steps.In the spin-draw process, a step is reduced compared to 2-step conventional process. As a consequence, some sources of process disturbances are eliminated which results in improved yarn uniformity. 0. 1. 8 Preparation of Cord: Nylon tyre yarns are then twisted in S or Z direction and plied having 2 or 3 plies to form a tyre cord. 0. 1. 9 Recovery of Nylon-6 Waste: Depending on the quality of waste, any of the following method may be use d for recycling of nylon waste. Direct use of fibre waste RegrannulationPolymer Powderi) without melting ii) with melting. i) deploymerisationandfilteration i) precipitation from solutions Recovery of caprolactam by deploymerisation. Recovery of amino caproic acid. The first three processes require relatively purer and undegraded form of waste. Amongst the last two, caprolactam recovery is mostly adopted by Indian industry due to ease of purification of recovered caprolactam. 0. 1. 10 Raw Materials, (Catalysts, Additives, Spin Finish Etc. ): For nylon-6, the only major raw material required is caprolactam. Water is required as an initiator for ring opening during polymerisation. Nitrogen gas is required for blanketing, drying and conveying of polymer. 0. 1. 1 Additives/Catalysts: Aminoacids and diamine dicarboxylic add salts which provide water on condensation have been found to be useful for enhancing the rate of polymerisation. 0. 1. 12 Stabilisers: Nylon is susceptible to degrada tion by Lght, heat, oxygen etc. To make it suitable for the purpose of tyre cord, stabilisers are added. The light stabilisers used are manganous chloride + hypophosphorous add and imidazoles. Diphenylamine and acetone condensates give excellent resistance to heat. Copper complexes as halides, acetate, phosphates, salts of higher fatty adds like stearates, palmitates, laurates, etc. re quite effective as heat and light stabilisers. Spin Finish: The functions of spin finishes are to reduce friction to get proper filament cohesion and to provide static protection. Lubricants used to reduce friction are usually mineral oils, fatty glycerides. The antistats used to provide static protection are surface active organic compounds. In case of nylon tyre cord, where molten polymer is drawn in yarn stages and fabric is dipped at a very high temperatures (upto 210Â ° C), preference has been towards the use of non-fuming type spin finishes. 0. . 14 Major Capital Equipments: The major capital e quipments for each section of the plant viz polymerisation, spinning, cord making and caprolactam recovery are listed in para 1. 7. 0. 1. 15 Development of Technology: The developments in technology canbe grouped into the following: Product development. Development in the polymerisation process. Development in extraction and drying. Development in melt spinning process. A. Product Development: Till 1937, cotton used to be the only tyre cord material throughout the world. Thereafter rayon became popular.Subsequently with the advent of synthetic fibres, the use of nylon increased, which continues to be used in both the developed and developing countries, Other materials used are polyester introduced in 1962, fibre glassin 1967 and steelin 1970. NTC was earlier spun as 210 d-yarn and then plied to give 840 d tyre cord. With the development of technology, now, directly 840 d yarn can be spun and then plied to get denier ranges of 1260, 1680 and 1890 tyre cord. The denier per filament ha s however remained^ fe though some attempts have been made to use 8 deniers filaments also. It has been possible to increase tenacity from 8 gpd to9. gpd. B. Developments in Polymerisation Process: In early process, a relatively crude batch autoclave reactor was used for polymerisation. The V K tube reactors for continuous polymerisation, were introduced during early 50s. Initially, V K tube reactor had capacities of 1. 5 TPD which has now been increased upto 40 TPD. Over a period of time, number of stages of polymerisation has also increased from one to seven. Continuous developments have also taken place for modifying the design of reactors to achieve plug flow condition and uniform flow and temperature gradient, improve residence time, conversion rate and quality of products.The details of some such developments are discussed in para 1. 8. C. Developments in Extraction and Drying: In this area also, batch type extraction and drying process have been replaced by continuous process es. Chips are now stored in S. S. tanks and conveyed pneumatically to spinning section. D. Developments in Spinning Process Melting of chips was done by oil heated grids in the pre-world war era, then by electrically heated grids. In the late fifties a short barrel screw extruder was introduced which is now replaced by longbarrel extruder.Another development is increase in the spinning capacity by increased number of spinning positions and also increased number of ends per spinning position. Other improvements are in yarn solidification and quenching process, spin finish application methods etc. During late seventies, the spin-drawn process was introduced to get higher productivity and better product. During the same period, high speed spinning with take up speed of 3,000 to 4,000 mtrs/min (as compared to upto 1500 mtrs/ min in case of conventional process) was developed. 0. 2 . 2. 1 STRUCTURE OF INDUSTRY AND STATE OF THE ART: Structure of Industry: Licensed and Installed Capacity T he total licensed and installed capacity of NTC in India at present is around 29,500 TPA and 22,500 TPA respectively, as per the details given in para 2. 1. 10. LOI / IL have been issued which cover capacity of 54,200 TPA. Production: The production of NTC in India started in 1971 with 595 tonnes and increased to around 23,600 tonnes in 1985. NTC has replaced rayon tyre yarn as tyre cord yarn and market share of NTC at present is 75%.Capacity Utilisation: The licensed and installed capacity is based on certain denier while production is of different deniers and the product-mix of all manufacturers varies depending on market requirements. However, the overall average capacity utilisation ofNTCinIndiahasbeenaorundl05%duringthelastfiveyears. Distribution of Units: Active NTC manufacturers are public limited companies spread almost all over India with average capacity of 4000 TP A. Performance of Industry: The production, sales, net fixed assets, net worth of all the NTC manufacturers s how an upward trend.There is a general growth rate of 20% per annum on sales turnover during last five years. Import/Export: Import of NTC increased from 1677 tonnes in 1980-81 to 5295 tonnes in 198384 The price of NTC at international level is just half of the price in India. This is mainly due to high cost of raw materials, higher conversion costs due to old technologies and small size of Indian plants as compared to the plants in developed countries. Due to this, export of tyre yarn from India is negligible. Sources of Technology and their Broad Performance: Unitika, Japan has supplied technology and plant to three out of five Indian manufacturers of NTC.The other two manufacturers started with imported plants. The details of these collaborations are given in para 2. 15. 2. Performance of all the collaborations is satisfactory. Though, indigenous technology comprising of batch polymerisation and conventional spinning process have been developed, none of the NTC plants in India ha s yet started with such indigenous technology. The latest technologies comprising of multi-stage continuous polymerisation, continuous extraction and drying of chips, spin draw technology or high speed spinning process are not yet available indigenously.The recent trend in India to look to the ‘east' for technology may be due to the availability of technology comparable to those available from the west at a lower know how fees and lower plant costs. 2. 2 Technological Status of Indian Industry (Unit wise): The comparison of installed capacities, actual production and capacity utilisation and financial analysis in terms of net sales, net fixed assets, net profit and net worth over the period of last five years and present specific raw materials and utilities consumptions, wastage generation and recovery etc. for the following selected units is given in para 2. . J. K. Synthetics Ltd. National Rayon Corpn. Ltd. Shri Ram Fibres Ltd. Nirlon Synthetics Fibres & Chemicals Ltd. Barod a Rayon Corporation Ltd. Details of the historical background, sources of technology, research and development efforts, results achieved, etc. for each of the above units are summarised hereunder. a) J. K. Synthetics Ltd: J. K. Synthetics Limited, pioneer in the manufacture of NTC, have absorbed to a great extent the conventional technology over the last 2 decades. The company has its own research insitute—The Sir Padampat Research Centre (SPRC) and has recently floated a company—Jaykay Tech. hich can supply the conventional technology. As far as horizontal transfer is concerned, conventional technology developed and absorbed by J. K. has little commercial relevance. J. K. ‘s licenced and installed capacities are 6000 to 5000 TPA respectively. The company has recently entered into technical collaboration with M/s Tong Yang of south Korea for their latest Spin-Draw technology. The new unitwithacapacityofl2. 5TPDiscomingup. b) The National Rayon Corporation Ltd. (N ational Rayon): National Rayon commenced production of rayon tyre cord in 1961 and nylon tyre cord in 1976.The company has a technical collaboration for the latter with Unitika, who have supplied the technology and plant. The company had installed indigenously developed equipment for conversion of polymer waste to granules of spinnable grade. They have successfully indigenised manufacturing of all additives through in-house research as well as developing other suppliers. National Rayon's licensed and installed capacities are 5,000 and 5,250 TPA respectively. The company's performance during 1983 and 1984 had been adverse due to closure of plant because of labour problems.The production during 1985 to 1988 is more than the licensed capacity. As a part of modernisation and expansion programme they have installed spin-draw machines. The spin-draw yarn produced and made into fabric has alreadybeenapprovedbythecustomers. National Rayon have a fullfledged R centre approved by the Governme nt of India and is engaged in import substitution, technology absorption, machinery development and trouble shooting. National Rayon have developed process technology for polypropylene industrial yarn of high tenacity and has been regularly supplying polypropylene yarn for market development.It has also developed rayon industrial yarn, an industrial fabric for non tyre applications. National Rayon have recently installed, for the first time in India, air jet looms for making tyre fabrics of high quality. c) Shri Ram Fibres Limited (SRF): SRF' s plant for manufacture of nylon tyre cord and yarn was commissioned in 1974 in technical collaboration with Unitika. Company's present capacity is 6,335 TPA. SRF has a full-fledged Research and Development Laboratory and is constantly updating process methods and technology for product development.SRF have an independent research institute too. A very recent process developed and patented is that for polymerisation of nylon-6,6. d) Nirlon Synt hetic Fibres & Chemicals Ltd. (Nirlon) Nirlon commenced production of nylon filament yarn and tyre cord in 1962. The company had recently gone into technical collaboration with Zimmer for an expansion of their nylon tyre cord plant. Their present capacity is 5,000 TPA. Zimmer's design is based on multi polycondensation process and single stage spin draw process. Nirlon has a well established research and development base.The company had absorbed the conventional technology for manufacture of nylon tyre cord and is concentrating in developing and acquiring more modern manufacturing process. e) The Baroda Rayon Corporation Ltd. (Baroda Rayon) Baroda Rayon commenced production of rayon in 1962. Subsequently, the company commenced production of nylon tyre cord in 1981 in technical 8 collaboration with Unitika. Their present installed capacity is 2,000 TPA. Expansion of their plant to 4,000 TPA is under implementation and is expected to be commissionedby end 1987. f) The following new un its likely to come up in the near future.The present status / each of these projects is given in detail in para 2. 1. GarwareNylons Limited: Presently the company manufactures nylon and polyester filament yarn and is expanding its activities to manufacture nylon tyre cord, nylon tyre and industrial fabric in collaboration with Allied Corporation, U. S. A. , the largest producer of tyre cord in the world. Century Enka Limited: The company's major activity is manufacture of nylon and other man made fibres and plastics. Century Enka has a collaboration with their principals Enka International of Holland for the technology for manufacture of nylon 6 tyre cord.The production has commenced recently. Ballarpur Industries Ltd. andE. I. Du Pont Nemours & Co. of U. S. A. : They have jointly proposed to promote a Rs. 130 crores joint venture company to produce nylon-6,6 tyre cord for the first time in the country in collaboration with economic development corporation of Goa. An annual producti on of 16,700 tonnes of nylon-6,6 tyre yarn is envisaged. Kanoria Alkalies & Plastics Ltd: They have entered into collaboration for technical know-how, plant and machinery for manufacture of nylon tyre cord with Unitika which has been approved by Government of India. 0. 2. Status of Raw Material Industry: At present only Gujarat State Fertiliser Corpn. Ltd. , Baroda manufacture caprolactam with the capacity of 20,000 TPA in India. Three LOI have been issued by the government with a total capacity of 2,20,000 TPA. The demand projections for caprolactam made by the Committee for Perspective Planning of Petrochemical Industry by 2000 AD are 1,16,000,1,96,000 and 3,02,000 TPA for year 1989-90,1994-95 and 1999-2000 respectively. Hence, till the units who have LOI go into production, imports of caprolactam is unavoidable. The quality of indigenous caprolactam in terms of its permanganate no. nd also in terms of consistancy between various batches of manufacture is not comparable to that of imported caprolactam. 0. 2. 4 Status of Tyre Industry International: There are three types of tyre construction viz. , bias, bias-belted and radial. Radial and bias belted construction are more efficient than simple bias construction. In the world tyre market, radial tyres dominate. They were first inroduced in passenger cars then in commercial vehicles, buses and truck respectively. In U. S. A. market, no rapid change over from bias to radial tyres took place because of the tremendous capital investment required.Instead, belted bias tyres which could be manufactured on existing equipments were developed. The current trends in tyre design and manufacturing include: Use of fewer fabric plies in tyres by utilising larger and stronger cords. Use of special treatments in yarn manufacturing of the cord processing to reduce the creep of cords in tyre. Use of newer fibres such as polyester and modified nylons etc. 0. 2. 5 Status of Tyre Industry -Indian: The installed capacity of Indian t yre industry is 12 million nos. per annum, the estimated demands of tyres by 1989-90 and 1994-95 are around 21 and 31 million nos. espectively, as per estimates of Automobile Tyre Manufacturers' Assocation (ATM A). Preference so far has been towards bias angle, because of the practice of overloading; practically no care of tyres by owners / drivers and poor road conditions. However, some radial passenger car tyres have also been introduced in the market. Due to the higher melting point of nylon-6,6 and polyester as compared to that of nylon-6, the tyre curing temperature can be increased to 250Â ° C from 210Â ° C (for nylon-6). This would make curing of tyres faster and hence reduce curing cycle.This would result in higher output and also higher productivity. In practice, howevr, fast curing is not realisable in case of heavy duty tyres as the thicklayer of tread rubber will get distortedby fast curing. To take advantage of this higher productivity, the tyre manufacturers will hav e to install higher capacity curing furnaces, which will require substantial investment. Hence, before tyre manufacturers decide to install such furnaces, they would like to confirm regular availability of nylon-6,6 tyre cords at reasonable prices preferably from more than one supplier. 10The switch over from nylon-6 to nylon-6,6 would also result in more down time in tyre manufacturing. Similarly switch over from nylon to polyester requires change in dip condition, double dip processing and more downtime. Hence, whatever nylon they use, they will use it for 100 % of their requirements. 0. 2. 6 Tyre Cord and its Suitability for Various Types of Tyres: Different types of tyres require tyre cords with different properties, indicated in para 2. 12. Radial tyre or belted tyre designs take adavantage of these different requirements by placing different types of cords in the belt and in the carcass.As per the test carried out by one of the Indian radial tyre manufacturers, nylon-rayon was found to be the best combination for Indian conditions. 0. 2. 7 Status of Tyre Cord Industry -International: Major varieties of cords suitable for tyres are cotton, rayon, nylon, polyester, steel, glass fibres and aromatic polyamides. Although flat spotting shown by nylon was originally objected to strongly, nylon has continued to be the preferred tyre cord material because of its price and its superior thermal and fatigue resistance.Nylon-6 is used in Europe and other developing countries while nylon-6,6 is more prominent in U. S. A. mainly due to the manufacturing facilities established and availability of basic raw material. During the last ten to twelve years development have been largely of evolutionary nature aiming to overcome limitations of existing tyre fibres and to make them acceptable for wideruse. 0. 2. 8 Status of Tyre Cord Industry in India: Tenacity of NTC available to Indian tyre manufacturers locally varies from 8. 4 to 9. 4 with average value of 9. 2 gpd.The pres ent demand of NTC in India is around 25,000 TPA which is likely to grow to 40,000,50,000 and 61,000 TPA by 1990,1995 and 2000 AD respectively. At least for next 10-15 years, even in case of radial tyres, nylon would continue to remain as one of the components either in carcass or as belt material. With the existing manufacturing facilities, the type of vehicles in use and existing road conditions, nylon-6 will remain the material of choice except for a small quantity of radial tyres for passenger vehicles where polyester may prove to be superior.At present very little nylon-6,6 is used in India, both for textiles and industrial applications. Besides nylon-6,6 is not produced indigenously. Nylon-6,6 is costlier than nylon-6 worldwide and is likely to be more so in India. Nylon-6,6 is unlikely to be used by tyre companies for their bus and truck tyres 11 (weightage 80%) in near future, mainly due to generation of high shoulder temperature. In view of the above, establishment of fresh production capacities for nylon-6,6 industrial yarn in India may not have much scope considring interest of industry as well as the end-users. . 2. 9 State ofthe Art Scene (International) Twenty five leading manufacturers of NTC in the world are listed in para 2. 15. 1. SalientFeatures of Contemporary Technologies: The technology for manufacture of NTC is standardised as far as polymerisation process is concerned. Product characteristics of different technologies may vary marginally depending upon the type of additives and stabilisers used, design of equipment and control method of production parameters. However, design of spinning plants differs from supplier to supplier.Salient features of contemporary technologies of the following technology suppliers who have supplied/offered technologies to India are discussed in detail in para 2. 15. 2. Zimmer A . G. , West Germany. Lurgi GMBH, West Germany. Unitika Ltd. , Japan. E. I. DuPontDeNemours&Co. ,U. S. A. SniaBPD, Italy. Some importa nt features of these technology suppliers are described in subsequent paragraphs: Zimmer A. G. : Zimmer offers production of nylon-6 in continuous polymerisation operation. The specific Zimmer design allows lower water/chip ratio resulting in a high extract content in washing water, thus saving energy to caprolactam recovery plant.The company offers economic standard design for production capacities of 10 to 50 TPD for high viscosity polymer (tyre cord grade). For caprolactam recovery, Zimmer prefers batch operation for higher flexibility regarding quality and capacity. The plant is specifically designed for low caprolactam concentration in waste water, so that it can be either reused in polymerisation plant, or discharged as innocuous waste. 12 For spinning and drawing, Zimmer offers both, the two step separate process and the one step spin draw process. The former process favours production of: i) lower deniers economically i) low shrinkage yarns iii) large variety of yarn types. The one step spin draw process favours continuous production of heavier denier yarns in large capacities. It results in improvedyarn uniformity. .Lurgi GmbH: Lurgi offers both continuous polycondensation and batch polycondensation route for nylon-6 for use in tyre cord and other technical/ industrial yarn. Lurgi also offers caprolactam recovery unit deploymerisation and condensation plant and equipment for evaporation of the extracted water, treatment of concentrated caprolactam water and distillation.The company offers technology for conventional speed spinning as well as high speed spin draw process. Untika Ltd. , Japan: Unitika offers continuous polymerisation process having a pre-polymeriser coupled with continuous extraction, washing and drying of chips. It also offers caprolactam recovery process. In its polymerisation process, Unitika claims 50% saving in polymerisation time. Viscosity of melt can be adjusted as per requirement during pre-polymerisation. The spinning process offered is both conventional spinning and drawing as well as spin draw process. E. I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co. U. S. A. : Du Pont's industrial yarn process is based on nylon-6,6 salt i. e. hexamethylene diammonium adipate. The company has practised the continuous polymerisation technology and has developed conditions which maximise conversion, maintain precise viscosity control and ensure extended service life. Nylon-6,6 is produced continuously in a series of five vessels – evaporator, reactor, flasher, separator and finisher. Streamlined design of polymer vessels and distribution system minimises gel formation, recapture of heat and diamine and hence reduces cost of operating system. 3 Preferred Du Pont technology is based on coupling the spinning machine directly to the continuous polymeriser. It also utilises coupled spindraw. The advantages are elimination of chip making, handling, drying and remelting as also provision of maximum polymer uniformity. Du Pont offers exten sively developd quality control and laboratory testing procedures and a single, specially formulated fibre finish for all products. SNIABPD: SNIA is an Italian company giving process knowhow, plants and equipments for manufacture of nylon filament yarn and tyre cord.The company has the spin draw technology. 0. 2. 10 Latest Developments in Manufacturig Process/Design of Equipment: Product Development: Recent developments have been in the areas of improved dimensional stability of the cord, higher tenacity of tyre cords and improved heat stabiliser formulations to reduce the mechanical loss due to heat generation in tyres. Improvements in Polymerisation Process: Recent developments in this area include attainment of higher molecular weight by vacuum finishing, solid phase poymerisation to get final polymer free of extractables etc. addition of chain – coupling agents. Other significantadvances includes: For removal of unconverted monomer For lower level of water extractables in nylon polymer For improved flow and temperature distribution For transferring heat to the centre of the reactor and also to equalise flow rates Improvements in Spinning Process: The developments are directed to achieve higher spinning output upto 97% and to spin NTC of high molecular weight and melt viscosity to have high tenacity tyre cord upto 10 gpd. 0. 2. 1 Critical Evaluation of Contemporary Technology: During initial stage the technology of the synthetic fibre remained with only a 14 Falling film / spray reactors, reactorsworkingundervacuum. Organic polymer coating, internally, ofVK tube reactors. Incorporation of a tubular heat exchangerinthereactor. Provision of perforated plates and vertical aluminium partitions. few giants in the category of front line producers. Because of their conservative attitudes, no rapid technology changes were forth coming.However, the role played by the independent engineering companies which took the risks has been a great boon in the developme nt of technology. Technology suppliers can be broadly classified as front line suppliers having production back up like Unitika, Du Pont etc. and engineering companies like Zimmer, Lurgi, etc. Technology from front line producers is superior technology, requiring less time and wastage generation during production stabilisation at plant commissioning stage. However, know-how fees of these suppliers is higher compared to that of engineering companies.Engineering companies have vast experience in plant erection, basic and detailed engineering. Know-how fees of these companies are comparatively lower. The present trend is to look to the East for technology compatible with that of western countries as it is more economical, although of late, they too are becoming expensive. A project profile based on the typical offer of contemporary technology for a 6,000 TPA NTC project is placed at Annexure I. Instead of putting up many small size plants, it would be advisable to put up a few large si ze plants for economy of scale.The improvement in quality of polymer is a developmental activity which is continuous at international level. Indian companies should also endeavour to improve quality by adopting new engineering and equipment development either through their own R department or through their technical collaborations. New and better type of additives and catalysts development at international level should be incorporated by the Indian companies. Spinning plants having higher spinning efficiency and compactness, are always advisable for a country like India,to reduce the cost of production.One step process of very high spinning speed to make full drawn yarn may not be relevant in India, as at present most of the weaving and cord preparatory processes are of conventional type. So the ideal thing would be to change over to readily available higher throughput equipment. 0. 3 0. 3. 1. TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION AND GAPS: R Efforts in National Laboratories/Institutions and Their Tie Up With Industry: Institutions like IIT, S ASMIRA, MANTRA etc. , private research institutions like 15 Sir Padampat research Centre, Shri Ram Institute of Industrial Reserach etc. nd in-house R centres of manufacturing industry are engaged in minor research projects for optimisation of production parameters or improvement of product characteristics. Developing countries like India although gradually laying more emphasis on its research and development, have not been able to catch up with their developed or advanced counterparts i. e. there is a considerable time lag between adoption of any particular process in some advanced part of the world and its commissioning in India. The efforts made to bridge this gap in the following areas are as folio ws: Indigensation of capital equipments, spares etc.Indigenisation of raw materials. Modifications and improvements in process, plant and equipments. The major constraint faced by manufacturers of indigenous equipments and spares are: non -availability of design and detailed engineering drawings. patented designs of proprietary equipments by technology suppliers, sources of capital equipments recommended by technology suppliers, limited indigenous demand of such equipments. 0. 3. 2 Indian Standards Specification: As a part of standardisation, the Bureau of Indian Standards has developed IS Specifications for methods of tests for tyre yarns as per the following details.IS:4910 Parti Part II Partlll Part IV Part V PartVI Tyre yarns, cords and tyre cord fabrics made from man made fibres, methods of tests for. Linear density. Breaking load, elongation at break and tenacity. Dippickup Heat shrinkage and heat shrinkage force. Wet contraction and wet contractive force. Definitionofterms. 16 Part VII Part VIII Part IX PartX Part XI Heat degradation. Thickness (gauge) Sampling Growth Commercial weight. The specifications of polyamide tyre cord warp-sheet for automotive tyres published by the bureau is, IS 11926:1987. The spec ifications are given in Table 4. . 3. 3 Profitability of Indian Industry and its Relationships with Technology: At present the profit margins of NTC manufacturers are fairly satisfactory, even with the present conventional technologies and small capacity plants. Interaction with user industry by NTC manufacturers is also quite good. However, the constraints in respect of technology absorption faced by Indian NTC industry are: low capacities of plant. imported capital equipments, parts and spares, non-availability of trained technological manpower, poor labour – management relations. . 3. 4 Export Performance Due to high cost of raw materials and also higher conversion costs due to small capacity plants based on older technologies, the Indian NTC industry has not been able to contribute in the export market. 0. 3. 5 Comparison of Product Specification Between Units: In India, the product range and specifications of all the manuacturing units is almost identical. 0. 3. 6 Modern isation Need: As mentioned earlier, cost of production of Indian NTC industry is higher due to small capacity plants based on older technologies.There is an urgent need to modernise these plants to adopt most advanced technologies and a much higher level of operations. 17 However, for such modernisation substantial funds willlbe required. Financial Institutions are giving soft loans under technology development funds and industries have started taking advantage of this scheme. 0. 3. 7 Technology Gap: Technology gaps in following areas have been identified and discussed in para 3. 9 Product developments Plant capacity Polymerisation process Melt spining process Indigenous manufacture of plant and equipments Indigenous availability of raw materials, additives and spin finishes etc.Internationally, cords with yams having 8 deniers per filament and upto 3,000 deniers of cords and 11 gpd tenacity are available, while in India cords with yarns having only 6 deniers per filament and 9. 2 g pd tenacity are manufactured. The average plant capacity of NTC in India, till 1983, was 2,000 TP A against the defined economic size of plant of 6,000 TP A. Polymerisation: Since the modern continuous polymerisation, extraction, washing and drying systems are suited to large capacity, till recently only conventional batch processes were used.Further, continuous polymerisation lines eliminating chip formation (especially in nylon-6,6) and remelting are not in use at preesent, in India. Melt spinning: More efficient large capacity spinning equipments are being used in the world. These have sophisticated yarn sensing and monitoring systems and hence the quality of yarn is much better with higher throughput. Such latest spinning processes are not available in the country and such technology is now being imported. 18 Reasons for technological gaps are: seller's market situation large number of small capacity plants. otalabsence of exportmarket. good financial performance of Indian Indus try even with the available technologies. general / absence of R&D efforts and know-why exercises, limited developments in the Indian automobile industry, lackof product upgradation at tyre manufacturer's end. To bridge the technological gaps, import of latest spinning equipments and process know-how for spin draw and high speed spinning process, designs and drawings for modernisation of existing polymerisation processes are required. 0. 4. 0 SUGGESTED: STEPS TO BRIDGE TECHNOGICAL GAPThe following suggestions are made to bridge the technological gap: a) Latest technology comprising of continuous polymerisation in two stage V K Tube reactors, continuous extraction and drying of chips, spin draw technology or high speed spinning processes for fully oriented yarn may be imported and horizontally transferred in India. Although some pilot units have been installed by spinners, the industry seems to be waiting for customers' acceptance. b) Develop indigenous manufacture of selected equipm ents, wherever it is economically viable and import only latest plant and equipments on selective basis. ) Develop basic and detailed engineering expertise in Indian engineering companies to necessitate import of only design and drawings for new plants rather than package import. An engineering organisation having expertise in basic and detailed engineering should be encouraged for development and transfer of technology for NTC and related products. d) Widen R&D efforts both at industry and research institutions level with active association and close cooperation between them. e) Provide necessary incentives to indigenous development of manufacture of plant and equipment. 9 f) Permit only large sized plants. g) Provide incentives for intensified research activities at industry level with close monitoring of such incentives. Establish a central tyre research institute with facilities to test developments in new designs of tyres, new tyre cord materials and modifications in tyre cord materials. Develop skills in technical personal, by arranging training abroad or by arranging traimng programmes by institutions like IIT, S ASMIR A, etc. and constant interaction with foreign experts. 20

The Fall of the House of Usher

Madeline of the House of Usher Role-playing games are a great past time for literature enthusiasts. A player sits down, creates a character with quirks and a personality, usually special abilities, and meets with other people who have done the same. They sit at tables, in couches, on porches all around the world. They sit down to hear and participate in a story, a story told by the storyteller. The storyteller creates a scenario, a background, extra characters (NPCs), and certain rules. Once the story begins, control is a relative term.The storyteller knows the story, but the characters are free to move about and unknowingly change the story as they go. In Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† the storyteller and characters interact in a very strange way. The storyteller tries to maintain control and the characters try to free themselves. It is a struggle against two aspects, the oppressor and the oppressed, masculine and feminine. Madeli ne Usher, the sole female character in the story, is kept in the background, but holds her own by being the main drive for much of the plot.Roderick Usher, the male descendant of the Usher household, has qualities of the feminine, but introduces a powerfully masculine identity into the house. The line of triumph of the oppressed feminine over the oppressive masculine is blurry and leaves much to be desired. The first key to the house as a story and backdrop is the connection often attributed to Roderick and the house. The idea that the house deteriorates with the last wielder of the Usher name has been argued before. Roderick’s slow descent into madness is marked by cracks in the foundation of the house.This theory holds good merit from textual evidence. The story itself follows that line; Roderick describes the house as having â€Å"an effect which the physique of the gray walls and turrets, and of the dim tarn into which they all looked down, had, at length, brought about upon the morale of his existence† (119). But this is just one influence the characters have over the plot and vice versa. This view of the house and the connection to the family is shaded by a masculine identity. Surely the last male heir of the Usher house must be the cause for the decay, regardless of the feminine Usher remaining.It is easy to label Madeline Usher as a weak character. Not only is her lack of presence in the story noted, but her physical descriptions are that of a weak girl. Roderick explains to the narrator that she suffers from an unknown disease, â€Å"[a] settled apathy, a gradual wasting away of the person, and frequent although transient affections of a partially cataleptical character†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (119). Madeline suffers from an unknown illness and is kept indoors in case she becomes the victim of her own frailty.The narrator sees her only briefly before her burial later in the story, and soon after her appearance, she is confined to her bed. The char acter of Madeline Usher is subjugated. She is kept in the background. Her family line is given to Roderick, her twin brother, as was the custom at the time. Within the story, she could be representative of other women in the nineteenth century: left in the home with no rights. Madeline can also represent one of the more important aspects of the feminine as a whole, the idea of death and rebirth in her premature burial and subsequent escape from her tomb.Beverly Voloshin makes note of another point of Madeline’s femininity through color association. â€Å"Madeline matches her brother’s pallor, but her special mark is red†¦blood red being the token of both life and death† (14). Not only is she often introduced with the color red, a generally accepted color for the feminine, but her actions in the story speak directly to the idea brought about by that color. Madeline is, essentially, the feminine half of the Usher family. Roderick Usher, Madeline’s twin and the masculine half of the Usher family, is the initial, obvious oppressor.As Leila May explains as historical background in her essay, â€Å"’Sympathies of a Scarcely Intelligible Nature': The Brother-Sister Bond in Poe's ‘Fall of the House of Usher’,† the social and political authority over the household was given to the men (389). As far as the outside world is concerned, Roderick is the head of the household, putting him in a legal and social position over his sister. Diane Hoevler makes some very sound arguments for the idea of Roderick as an oppressor in her essay â€Å"The Hidden God and the Abjected Woman in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. She points out Poe’s own frustration with women and the idea that Roderick strives for a world, a â€Å"purely masculine universe, a fortress where males engage in discourse without the intrusion of the female in any form –living or dead: ‘Us’ versus ‘her†™: ‘Us/her’† (388). Legally, Roderick is the superior half of the last vestiges of the Usher family. It was Roderick, after all, who invited the male narrator to the house. The narrator explains that the two had been friends before and Roderick had recently sent a letter insisting that he come to the house (Poe 114).It is Roderick’s decision in the story to entomb his deceased sister in the vaults underneath the house before her burial. This burial can be viewed as an attempt by the masculine identity to rid itself of the female identity, Roderick making a final struggle against his sister. However, as Cynthia Jordan argues, â€Å"he is but a character in the story himself, and his actions are at least in part the product of his narrator’s construction† (6). The idea of plot control being in the narrator’s hands puts the narrator in the sole position of masculine oppressor and not just over Madeline Usher.The narrator in â€Å"The Fa ll of the House of Usher† views, or at least tries to explain, everything from a distanced point-of-view. His logical take on what happens at the house paints a picture with traditionally masculine tones. He also is focused on the masculine half of the Usher twins. His focus is so centered on Roderick that he would as soon dismiss Madeline from his story entirely. Jordan notes this striving towards sole masculinity influence in her essay â€Å"Poe’s Re-Vision†¦Ã¢â‚¬ : â€Å"The narrator’s first encounter with Madeline confirms the conflict between the male storyteller and the lady of the house† (7).His first encounter with Madeline is almost half way through the story. He describes her briefly, almost as a wraith, when Roderick mentions her. â€Å"I regarded her with an utter astonishment not unmingled with dread; and yet I found it impossible to account for such feelings† (Poe 119). His reaction to the feminine aspect of the Usher household is obviously negative, describing his emotions of shock and fear in the face of Roderick’s sister. After this brief mention, he leaves her out of the story once again, citing that she succumbed to her bed after his almost encounter and that he would not see her again alive (120).Jordan notes that this absence of Madeline is an attempt on the narrator’s part to keep Madeline out of the story: â€Å"the narrator uses language covertly to relegate Madeline to a passive position in relation to himself† (7). Roderick, in this case is not the masculine oppressor; the narrator is. The irony of the situation, though, is that in trying to suppress Madeline, the female twin and the object that the narrator prescribes to femininity, he lets that feminine essence flourish. By the end of the story, the narrator is forced to face that he cannot create a solely masculine story.As Raymond Benoit, a voice in Explicator’s long series of essays on â€Å"Usher,† point s out, the narrator is forced to face the feminine through the reading of â€Å"Mad Trist† at the end of the story: â€Å"a mad story that parallels what is occurring in the house and reflects and even enables the awakening of the feminine side thought to have been laid to rest in the philosophy and literature of the Enlightenment and by Roderick/narrator† (80). The narrator cannot ignore the strong feminine influence in the house, much as he tries.Perhaps this is because the source of the feminine influence is sitting beside him. Throughout the story, Roderick appears as a romantic and an artist. He reads romance and gothic novels and is emotional to the point of hysteria at times. Beverly Voloshin enters her theory in the series shared with Benoit and others on â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† in Explicator. Her theory follows the lines of Roderick being the feminine half of the Usher twins. â€Å"Roderick is associated with the abstract, atemporal, and ideal† (14). These attributes are generally feminine in nature, gentle and imaginative.In a usually feminine role, Roderick’s actions are often reactions to other characters, showing subordination. His madness is spurred by the supposed death of Madeline, an irrational and emotional reaction to an action of another character. Roderick’s death, often attributed with the ultimate fall of the house itself, is a reaction to the return and death of Madeline. His death is a reaction to the death of a feminine character, which gives power to the feminine over the masculine. Poe is known to have sickly seraph types in his stories, but these seemingly weak female characters speak to his fondness for women.Poe’s life was filled with women who were taken away by illness, making them physically weak: his mother, his cousin and wife. But the women in Poe’s life were often the source of his strength, making them spiritually and often mentally strong. The experien ce of physically weak, spiritually strong women in his life greatly influenced his portrayal of women in his stories and poetry; Anabelle Lee comes to mind. Similarly, Madeline follows the guidelines for Poe’s memory of women. In a strange way, Poe often put these women on pedestals.Madeline’s presence is very rarely in the foreground of Poe’s short story, but the times when she does appear, it is her appearance that changes the mood of the scene. Madeline owns every scene in which she appears. Her actions are catalysts. The character is weak, but Poe puts her in a position of power beyond character; Poe gives Madeline a position of power over the plot. While the ultimate portrayal of Madeline might be a slap in the face against feminists, her role in the story is large enough to create a strong female influence.Poe follows his own guidelines in the character of Madeline Usher. She fits his ideal for true beauty. John H. Timmerman helps lead the way towards view ing Madeline in this light by explaining Poe’s reasoning. He explains Poe’s drive towards creating beauty in his writing, a beauty that he believed could only be achieved through sadness (232). Because of this connection and his past with women, Poe comes to the conclusion that â€Å"the most sad thing, and therefore the most beautiful, is the death of a beautiful woman† (232).Madeline, though pale and sickly, is one of these beautiful women. Her death, then, is a thing of beauty in Poe’s eyes. The concept is not a very enthusiastic one, nor is it useful in citing Poe as an advocate for women, but that he put emphasis on women is a step in the right direction. From his idea that a beautiful woman’s death is indeed the most beautiful occurrence in nature, he spurned the male characters in his stories to help reclaim the feminine within his stories. The male counterparts to these tragic women are the main argument for Cythia Jordan.In her essay †Å"Poe's Re-Vision: The Recovery of the Second Story,† Jordan argues that Roderick Usher and C. Auguste Dupin are male characters who attempt to bring to light the feminine or â€Å"second† story. While the narrator has ultimate control over the plot of â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,† Jordan points out times when Roderick tries to wrestle that control from him and reassert Madeline as a prominent figure in the story. The final scene of â€Å"Usher† is where Roderick gets that victory, â€Å"Madman! I tell you that she now stands without the door! † (130).Jordan explains that this marks a moment in which Roderick takes control of the narrative long enough to call the narrator out on his oppression and to bring Madeline out into the spotlight (11). Roderick proves again that he is not the male oppressor but is instead a supporter if not aspect of the feminine. The question becomes, then, why would Roderick want to bring Madeline to the forefront ? The sole reason being that she is his twin is likely not enough. The idea of them being two aspects of the same being, or two sides of the same face is more concrete.But consider that Roderick is an artist, not only placing him in a feminine role, which would be cause enough to help the feminine thrive, but as an artist he must meet that ultimate goal that Poe put forth for himself: to create beauty. If Poe’s characters follow his own guidelines, then, Roderick’s only way to express that which is most beautiful in the world is to bring his beautiful sister’s death to the forefront of the story. Thus, in Roderick’s moment of control over the plot, in revealing the â€Å"second story† of Madeline, he follows those rules of an artist so avidly produced by his own author.The end result is not just Poe’s ideal of beauty, it also gives voice to the silenced feminine within the story –both Madeline’s and possibly Roderick’s o wn. The connection between Madeline and Roderick as twins is an interesting part of their mixed and almost non-existent gender roles. It has been suggested that their relationship is an incestuous affair, bringing together that mixed-gendered ambiguity into an even more scrambled position. Voloshin and others regard the twin connection, Voloshin looking specifically at the dichotomies apparent within that connection. †¦[T]he Usher twins also represent the duality of culture and nature, or more precisely, that they correspond to many cultural constructions of masculine and feminine, which divide the genders along the axis of culture and nature† (14). The fact that Poe decided to use twins pushes the idea that such dichotomies exist. Roderick, similar to Madeline, is afflicted with an ailment, one that is â€Å"a constitutional and a family evil, and one for which he despaired to find a remedy –a mere nervous affection† (118). This nervous condition is display ed throughout the story in his outbursts and personality shifts.It is suggested that the ailment, being a family curse, is close to if not the same as Madeline’s. Madeline, however, shows strength in that she did not succumb to the illness before the narrator arrives. Madeline is given credit for being the stronger of the two, a masculine trait. The dichotomy does not fit what society would expect from gender roles. The male is the feminine and the female is the masculine. It has been suggested that Roderick and Madeline are the same person, or aspects of the same person. Hoeveler plays with this idea in her essay on the â€Å"Abjected Woman. She discusses the idea that Madeline is in fact the feminine half of Roderick that has escaped to become an alter-ego (391). Not only would physical evidence within the text dispute that idea –the fact that the narrator sees Madeline during a conversation with Roderick –but why, then, would Roderick assume so many feminine traits of his own? And why would Madeline seem to uphold those traits generally accepted as masculine? The rest of the essay is another key: the idea of dualities in religion, the goddess and the god. The duality returns to the twin idea, and the twin concept requires a semblance of balance.If Roderick is the feminine role, Madeline must step in to play the role of the masculine. Traditionally, in feminist readings, the masculine identity can be discovered by its subjugation and subordination of the feminine identity. Madeline is buried in the vault, making her symbolically subordinated, but in the end, it is she who buries Roderick: â€Å"†¦with a low moaning cry, fell heavily upon the person of her brother, and in her violent and now final death-agonies, bore him to the floor a corpse, and a victim to the terrors he had anticipated† (Poe 131).The first item of note is the fact that Roderick’s name is not mentioned once in his death scene. Roderick is placed in the passive part of the sentence, â€Å"upon the person of her brother,† rather than given an active death. His name is not mentioned, instead he is listed as the brother of Madeline. He is also noted as being a victim, a position often associated with the feminine. Here, Roderick is not only stripped of identity of his own, but is made the passive victim of a violent force against him. The idea of Madeline as a violent or at least controlling force over Roderick is used in the somewhat popular vampire theory.Lyle Kendall discusses this theory and cites examples from the text to help prove it. He suggests that Roderick asks the narrator to come to the house to aid him in the destruction of his oppressor, the vampire, Madeline (451). J. O. Bailey goes into more depth, citing the history and mythology behind the vampire theory. He, however, notes that both of the twins seem to exhibit traits of one who has been attacked by a vampire, but that Madeline was the one whose body is inhabited by a vampiric entity (Bailey 458).Vampires in stories have been male and female –there is no prescription for the sex of these mythological creatures. The idea of the vampire, though, of one who comes and sucks the life out of others fits the mold for a control aspect. The masculine identity is the controlling identity, and if Madeline is indeed a vampire, then she becomes that controlling identity; Madeline becomes the oppressor and Roderick the oppressed. Another supposedly masculine trait is the sense of structure and order.Robinson brings the dichotomy of order/disorder into play in his formalist reading of the short story in his essay â€Å"Order and Sentience in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. † Robinson writes, â€Å"[t]he progress of the story sees Usher, his house, and his sister Madeline changing from an organized to a disorganized state, until finally all sink together† (69). Robinson also brings to light the notion that Madel ine’s physical senses dim through the story while Usher’s heighten (75). Roderick becomes more sensitive where his sister becomes less so.Their traits become intermingled, masculine and feminine twisting their positions to the opposite sex until finally it all comes back together into a union. The final union between the masculine and the feminine is the destruction of the house, according to Robinson, when the house and the story fall into a state of disorganization. The final scene in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† seems to be a culmination of all that is feminine within the work. Roderick sits and listens to his favorite romantic story, â€Å"Mad Trist,† which brings the feminine back into the plot.During this reading, Roderick comes into a position to speak against the narrator, for the narrator, when he calls him a â€Å"madman,† and reveals Madeline standing outside the door. When Madeline appears for her final scene, her coup de grace , she is in her burial shroud with blood on her, a symbol of rebirth. The walking symbol of the feminine falls upon Usher, who without a fight, falls to the ground, and the two die. The narrator flees the fall of the house of Usher, and watches as the house behind him is mysteriously destroyed.The story comes together, finally, with a seeming grand finale of femininity. Symbols, romanticism, disorganization, all of those ideals that have been attributed to feminism culminate. But looking back once again on Roderick’s death, there is the passivity. Madeline, in the midst of this fantastic moment of feminine symbolism, takes on the role of a masculine identity, pressing Roderick beneath her and putting him into a passive state. Are the symbols enough for this story to triumph over masculine influence?Or has the narrator put his foot down on the final scene to ensure that some semblance of masculine oppressiveness remained in the story? Regardless of masculine or feminine traits , at the end of the story, as the world of the narrator collapses into romantic idealism, it is the woman, the female half of the Usher family, that finally oppresses the man. Madeline triumphs, but only when put into a masculine gender role. Leo Spitzer, author of â€Å"A Reinterpretation of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’,† also notes the near necessity for the two to die as one.He first shines light on the importance of Madeline, citing her as a deuteragonist and pointing out the eerie timing of her appearances, and he goes on to say that â€Å"Roderick and Madeline, twins chained to each other by incestuous love, suffering separately but dying together, represent the male and the female principle in that decaying family whose members, by the law of sterility and destruction which rules them, must exterminate each other† (352). They do destroy one another at the end, leaving the narrator to escape.And, as Jordan points out, the narrator gets the last w ord, â€Å"for his final act of ‘sentencing’ is to dispatch Madeline and her too-familiar twin into the ‘silent tarn,’ out of mind and out of language one last time† (12). Despite this triumphant climax for Madeline and Roderick, the narrator clings tightly to his story. The narrator, or storyteller, in â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† fights for control over the characters within the story, both female and feminine. He takes on, ultimately, the role of masculinity.Whether, within the house, Madeline was oppressed or Roderick was matters very little –their aspects were in sync with on another and bound to come together eventually. But their ultimate victory and freedom from the masculine narrator is achieved only in their deaths, and the storyteller condemns the last vestiges of the feminine. In this story at least, the victory of femininity is short-lived and ultimately futile. Works Cited Bailey, J. O. â€Å"What Happens in â₠¬Ëœthe Fall of the House of Usher'? † American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 35. (1964): 445-66. Benoit, Raymond. â€Å"Poe's ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † Explicator 58. 2 (2000): 79-81. Hoeveler, Diane Long. â€Å"The Hidden God and the Abjected Woman in the Fall of the House of Usher. † Studies in Short Fiction 29. 3 (1992): 385-95. Jordan, Cynthia S. â€Å"Poe's Re-Vision: The Recovery of the Second Story. † American Literature: A Journal of Literary History, Criticism, and Bibliography 59. 1 (1987): 1-19. Kendall, Lyle H. ,Jr. â€Å"The Vampire Motif in ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † College English 24. 6 (1963): 450-3. May, Leila S. ‘Sympathies of a Scarcely Intelligible Nature': The Brother-Sister Bond in Poe's ‘Fall of the House of Usher'. † Studies in Short Fiction 30. 3 (1993): 387-96. Robinson, E. Arthur. â€Å"Order and Sentience in â€Å"the Fall of the House of Usher†. † PMLA 76. 1 (1961): 68-81. . Spitzer, Leo. â€Å"A Reinterpretation of â€Å"the Fall of the House of Usher†. † Comparative Literature 4. 4 (1952): 351-63. . Timmerman, John H. â€Å"House of Mirrors: Edgar Allan Poe's ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † Papers on Language and Literature: A Journal for Scholars and Critics of Language and Literature 39. (2003): 227-44. Voloshin, Beverly R. â€Å"Poe's ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † Explicator 46. 3 (1988): 13-5. Works Referenced Obuchowski, Peter. â€Å"Unity of Effect in Poe's ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † Studies in Short Fiction 12 (1975): 407-12. . Peeples, Scott. â€Å"Poe's ‘Constructiveness' and ‘the Fall of the House of Usher'. † The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Ed. Kevin J. Hayes. Cambridge, England: Cambridge UP, 2002. 178-190. Stein, William Bysshe. â€Å"The Twin Motif in ‘the Fall of the Hou se of Usher'. † Modern Language Notes 75. 2 (1960): 109-11. .

Behavioral and Social/Cognitive Approaches to Forming Habits Essay

Behavioral and Social/Cognitive Approaches to Forming Habits According to the American Psychological Association, â€Å"Obesity is a condition marked by excess accumulation of body fat. Genetic factors play a key role in obesity, but so do behavioral factors — especially eating too much and exercising too little. † Behavioral and social/cognitive theories approach the habit from two different perspectives and both theories can explain reasoning behind the habit. However creating a plan that will apply operant conditioning can change a habit. A child can be in a normal weight range up until a specific age, once that child turned ten they began to gain weight. As a child, the environment around them tends to be a major influence on behavior; however when looking at examples such as close relatives their eating habits appeared to be similar over the generations as well as their size. The eating habits the child has formed, which contributed to their weight gain, could be because of the influence specific people have in their life such as family members or a habit formed due to their environment. Growing up and being told not to move until your plate is empty or that you can’t have dessert until all your vegetables are gone, were common statements that a child may hear and actions that they watched their families make. Other factors such as growing up in a single parent household with a parent that didn’t have time to cook and constantly fed their children the dollar menu could impact that child’s later habits in life. Now when that child is an adult they continue the same eating habits constantly finishing everything on their plate or frequently eating out to save time and is facing obesity as the result. In order to change this habit and individual may consider using operant conditioning. Operant conditioning uses a reward/punishment system to reinforce behaviors and is more closely used during social cognitive therapy. There may be various factors or theories which contribute to an individual’s eating habit but in this case social cognitive theory may apply more appropriately. Developing a plan to change an eating habit may be creating a new lifestyle. By using tools such as portion control, exercise, and using a food tracking. First step is to eat proper portions of the right food, next track the food to be aware of how much food an individual is eating, lastly exercise. Rewards for following this plan will be decrease in weight, which means new clothes for every ten pounds lost, also the ability to eat additional food items throughout the day if exercising. Punishments if not following the plan will be additional work out time, no snacks and no new clothes if not losing the weight. If an individual can stick to the plan then ultimately an individual will eliminate the habit of over eating and live a healthier lifestyle.

Component design assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Component design assignment - Essay Example h supports components proposes the possibility of making software applications by examining together software components in similar manner to how electronic devices are made from electronic components. This kind of method used to software development is referred to as component based development. Component based development demands to give a thoroughly new approach to the design, construction, putting into effect and development of software applications. Software applications are bring together from components from the different kinds of sources and these components maybe written in several different programming languages and run on different methods. The idea of this trend is to reuse components that is already completed instead of developing everything from the beginning each time. There are many advantages the component-based development brings such as gives support to the higher level of software reuse, it allows testing to be done by first performing a test to each of the compon ents before performing a test to the group of components, free to improve and/or add components as Components express themselves through interfaces. An interface is the connection to the user that will interact with the component. The function Application Programmable Interface (API) are the once who are exposed to the user. If there are any changes to the API, the user has to recompile his code also. In the case of the object-oriented world, the interface is a group of public methods defined for an object wherein this object is controlled through its interface. In the language of C++, the code can only be recompiled when the interface (code) is changed. The problem is that the user of the class must use the same programming throughout the entire development. In separating the interface from the implementation, the languages used are the COBRA and COM which is done through binary interfaces. There are three major component models that are successfully used today which show accurately

Hollow Victory, On the Brink of the Revolution Essay

Hollow Victory, On the Brink of the Revolution - Essay Example In addition, 13 million from among the Allied powers were wounded compared to 8.3 million from among the Central Powers. The Allied powers also reported 4 million either missing or held as prisoners of war, while the Central Powers reported 3.6 million. In total the Allied powers suffered 22 million casualties altogether compared to 15 million for the Central Powers. The total death toll for the First World War was 8.5 million, and total casualties were 37 million (History Learning Site, 2012). Human suffering during the First World War was not limited to soldiers however. According to Tucker (2005), the consequences for the First World War were â€Å"far-reaching† (p. xxix). For instance approximately 750,000 German civilians perished as â€Å"a result of the British naval blockade† (Tucker, 2005, p. xxix). World War I also marked the first case of genocide during the 20th century. This case of genocide was inflicted by the Ottoman Empire against Armenia. The Ottoman E mpire murdered 1.5 million men, women and children in Armenia (United States of America, Congressional Record, 2001). The financial consequences of the First World War were also enormous. Total war expenditures were 82 billion US Dollars which is equivalent to 209 billion US dollars today (Hardach, 1981). The high expenditure is attributed to two main reasons. First, the power struggles emerging in Europe left all European powers willing to pledge all assets in order to emerge the victors during the First World War. Secondly, the First World War represented the first major conflict of the industrialized world. Thus, technological advances offered both sides unprecedented machinery and artillery. Naturally, both sides were compelled to invest in more sophisticated weaponry and machinery if they were to have any chance of succeeding against the enemy (Oliver & Aldcroft, 2007). According to Thompson (1983) Churchill’s eventual analysis of the First World War in the aftermath of the Second World War, was that the First World War set in motion significant cost for mankind. As the first part of the two Great Wars, the First World War saw the political and financial destruction of Europe and can be credited with given birth to Communism in the Soviet Union. According to Thompson (1983), in looking back on the First World War, Churchill noted that: Events passed very largely outside the scope of conscious choice. Governments and individuals conformed to the rhythm of the tragedy, and swayed and staggered forward in helpless violence, slaughtering and squandering on ever-increasing scales, till injuries were wrought to the structure of human society which a century will not efface, and which may conceivable prove fatal to the present civilization (p. 195). Thus the cost of the First World War, from Churchill’s perspective was timeless and can be measured politically, socially and economically. Assignment 2: On the Brink of Revolution Afrikistan is a count ry in North Africa with a disproportionately large youth population. Afrikistan’s dictator has been in power for upward of thirty years. Afrikistan’s primary source of income is derived from oil reserves which are owned by the State. Increasing literacy and access to social and news media via the internet have rendered Afrikistan’s youth profoundly aware of their diminished returns and their dictator’

The aviation sector plays a key role in the tourism industry. In the Essay

The aviation sector plays a key role in the tourism industry. In the light of low cost carriers they have opened up many new to - Essay Example Conclusion 7 References 7 Appendix 9 1. Introduction Airline carriers have a key role in the development of tourism worldwide; their contribution to the development of destinations is related primarily to the increase of profits of local businesses; however, the development of a place as a cultural destination could be also achieved through the airline carriers – without which the visiting of the above place would be extremely difficult. Indeed, airline carriers have offered the chance to travellers to be informed on the existence of places, which are distinctive in terms of their commercial or cultural tradition. In practice, it has been proved that airline carriers are also benefited by destinations; these benefits can be either direct, i.e. increase of profits, or indirect, i.e. increase of popularity/ awareness of brand name. In other words, a two-way relationship seems to exist between the airline carriers and the tourism industry (as a key part of the economy of destinat ions); however, in certain cases, the terms of their cooperation are not clear or equal. The power of airline carriers to choose their destination has led to the development of an unfair competition among destinations; this problem has been effectively faced through the low cost airlines, even if these carriers also can harm destinations – mostly through their practice to ask for low airport fares, in the context described below. 2. Airline carriers and new destinations 2.1 Airline carriers – role in the success or failure of tourist destinations Airline carriers offer the chance to their customers to visit destinations that may not be quite known to the public, i.e. destinations which are not developed as tourism destinations. From this point of view, airline carriers can contribute to the growth of a place as a tourism destination, a fact that would also lead to the gradual increase of the number of passengers of local airports. Particular emphasis should be given on low cost carriers which can significantly affect the development of tourism destinations, a fact highlighted in the study of Fageda et al. (2009); after analysing a series of Spanish routes, the above researchers came to the conclusion that ‘low-cost carriers have a moderate but still significant effect on prices and increase alternatives even in low-density routes’ (Fageda et al. 2009, p. 36). Moreover, in accordance with an article published in the Wall Street Journal (2010), the development of low cost carriers can increase the number of passengers, a fact that would lead to the increase of profits in destinations; in the above article, reference is made to the case of India and the significant increase in the number of passengers since the entrance in the market of the low cost airline carriers – it is noted that due to these carriers ‘the number of annual fliers was doubled, reaching the 44.5 million in 2009 from 22.3 million in 2005’ (The Wall Street Journal 2010). It should be also noted that low cost carriers help to resolve the following problem: there are routes and destinations which are abandoned by large carriers, as being considered non-profitable, as the level of profit is set in large carriers; through the low cost carriers, passengers are given the chance to have access to these destinations, in a low fare (Business Traveller 2009). If such chance would not be given by low cost carriers,

About this star---Enif Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

About this star---Enif - Essay Example The star; enif has many other names attributed to it. It also goes by the names Os Pegasi, Enf, Al Anf , Enf, Enir or Fom. Enf, Al Anf, Enf and Enir are obtained from the Arabic word, Al Anf which means â€Å"The Nose of the horse. Os Pegasi also means the same only that it is a Latin translation. It is a supergiant that is cool and orange in color. It falls under the constellation named Pegasus. The estimated age of this star is 15 million years and is distanced at 673 light years. The spectral class and visual magnitude are K2 and 2.39 respectively. Absolute magnitude of the star is around -4.19. In relation to the sun, Enif exhibits 6700 times more luminosity, its mass is 10 times more than that of the sun and its diameter is 661 times more than that of the sun. It is the brightest star in its constellation. The orange colored giant changes its size gradually and unevenly. It is subject to ferocious eruptions at various times; a phenomenon that is yet to find a conclusive explanation. The constellation in which Enif falls under is called Pegasus. Pegasus is seventh inn size of all the constellations in the sky. It assumes a square shape often referred to as â€Å"the Great Square of Pegasus†. It has a total of 8 stars and occupies 1121 square degrees area. It falls under the location between -60 and +90 degrees latitudes. Enif is the brightest of the stars at 522 L/Y. Enif is not part of the square but it forms a winged horse structure midway from the square. The other dominant stars in the constellation are Scheat, Markab, Algenib, Homan, Matar, Baham and Salm. It is subject to myth that Pegasus was a winged horse who emanated from the neck of Medusa when she was being beheaded by Perseus. The horse obtained a hero status for helping Bellerophon to conquer Chimera (a fire spitting adversary). In the end, Pegasus was turned into a constellation that is visible during the beginning of the month of October. Pegasus was believed to be visible in the

Possible Uses of a Hammer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 209

Possible Uses of a Hammer - Assignment Example In addition, a hammer can also be used as a tool for drilling holes into surfaces and shaping objects by hitting a chisel with it. The following experience makes it easier to identify the different options that are available for a particular scenario. The information is presented in a simplified form that is easy to understand without spending a lot of time on it. This helps an individual to make a quick decision-saving time since the desired information is easily spotted. This technique of listing the different possibilities can be used in a variety of other situations to help simplify data for the user. For example, in the banks, an individual can conduct various transactions. Each transaction has a different chargee. g when sending money to another country, the amount charged is different depending on the amount one is sending and the country of the intended transfer. To simplify this charges for customers, banks can prepare a matrix indicating the range of money that is to be sent in a specific country on the vertically and the amount charged alongside it on the horizontally. Another example is that can use a matrix to simplify information is the assessment of employees against certain set criteria for performance appraisal. The desired employee traits and achievements in the various fields such as punctuality, present ability, and achievement of organizational objectives can be written on vertically. The score of the employee can be indicated horizontally for example under the heading very good, good, average, poor or very poor. This would make the evaluation of the employees easy on the various fields with the score being easily picked at each field. The use of a matrix can help individuals summarize a lot of information into a simple table. This can help in understanding various uses of different objects that are not known.

Secondary Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Secondary Research Paper - Essay Example And most of the time, service provide are seen taking the lead to offer exceptional plans which may include abundant amounts of air time and even less rates with regard to international roaming. Further, getting online too is being made easy through the cellular handset, which the fixed line telephone user can never dream of. With the internet turning out to be an important part of everyday life, mobile phones most of the time, while on travel or on holiday, help the customer log on to the World Wide Web without much hassle. Customer experiences have also given the thumbs on this, complaining that the fixed phone lines often turn out to be too noisy to allow a modem connection at any speed.   Ample research done on this suggests that the mobile telephones have overtaken fixed telephones in terms of subscribers. So is the case with traffic and revenue. Besides, fixed-line operators have begun having to face competition from new entrants in local, national and international long-distance telecommunications and Internet markets, as well as substitution from their mobile counterparts. In such an event of fixed line phones facing an era of being obsolete in the near future, it would be important to study what causes this phenomenon, and to look at what really ails the fixed-line telephone sector. The ever increasing spread of mobile phones and easy access to voice over internet protocol (VoIP) facilities have stood in the way of fixed line operators, ever since these technologies began to blossom. More subscriptions meant more revenue for service providers. As more customers began logging on to these new-age technologies, users diminished with regard to fixed line operators. More important was the cost involved. Long distance calls came for peanuts, as compared to the costs involved in making such calls over the fixed phone. Many a mobile phone company took the leap toward more revenues seeing the vast opportunity before them. More customers

Effective Management of Service Processes Essay

Effective Management of Service Processes - Essay Example The aim of this assignment is to show how the effective management of the service processes, its service, people and resource utilisation has contributed to the success of Bellagio. Management of Service Processes Bellagio follows focus strategy for its services. It is the first hotel in Las Vegas which has shown remarkable quarterly sales revenue and has set record for the same. Bellagio tries to attract the upper middle class of the society or the wealthy customers, by providing them with the best services. Las Vegas is a land for architects. This is because all the hotels here are built in such manner, that they appear to be unique in some or the other way. Bellagio being one of them is not an exception. The quality of its architecture attracts many customers. Bellagio portrays Italian Architecture (Bellagio, 2012a). Its goal is to create such an ambience so that the customers can sense the value of the hotel through its construction (Inland Architect, n. d.). The aim of Bellagio is to focus on the presentation in order to impress its visitors. The hotel should always offer the best infrastructure to its customers, so that they can feel the quality of services offered by the hotel owners. It is due to this reason that Bellagio always tries to advance itself in all aspects so that it appears to be unique to those, who are visiting Las Vegas for the first time. Gaming has always been an important centre of attraction for Bellagio. The main challenge for Bellagio was to attract those visitors who are non-gamers. Apart from its architecture and gamming section, Bellagio is also famous for its wonderful fountains. These fountains were designed by special designers (Bellagio, 2012b). Musicians and expertise performance artists were also invited to choreograph these fountains. In front of Bellagio’s building more than a thousand fountain dances are shown to the visitors. In order to provide satisfaction to the visitors, the hotel organises tours to different destinations. Guests feel the uniqueness of Bellagio as soon as they enter the hotel. The lobby is admirable in its design as well as in its scale. Throughout the hotel colourful flowers have been planted to provide a wonderful feeling to the visitors. The beauty of the garden attracts many visitors and guests. Moreover, Educational Wine Classes have also been introduced by Bellagio in order to provide a better knowledge about wine through different interactive sessions. The wine classes are led by Jason Smith who is the Director of Wine. The program was conducted with the help of various presentations including open discussions with the high profile industrial professionals. The conservatory and botanical gardens of Bellagio make it a holiday destination for most of the visitors (Bellagio, 2012c). The visitors are inspired to get rid of the heat of the East Coast by enhancing the seasonal ambience throughout the resort. The winter displayed at Bellagio is eye catching. Exposure to different seasons inside the resort was a new concept introduced by Bellagio. The rooms of the hotel are redesigned in an advanced way to enhance the guest experience. The entire remodelling of the hotel was done by the design group of MGM Resorts International. The rooms were designed with brighter lights and colours so as to bring a variation in them. It has renovated 2568 rooms in the main tower of the hotel. The approximate cost of remodelling of the rooms was $70 million. The availability of three different colour palettes has further enhanced Bellagio to be one among the world’s iconic resorts. (Source: Hospitality Net, 2012) An interesting fact is that Bellagio also organises art of cooking shows for its visitors. The kitchen is well equipped with proper

Recruitment and selection consultation Assignment - 3

Recruitment and selection consultation - Assignment Example The firm targets on increasing the consumer base in the short run. Besides, diversification of the services that the firm offers will increase in the near future. The firm comprises of a workforce that comprises of the management and the general human resource on the ground that interact with the firm’s clients on a daily basis (Jianping, 2011, p. 12). The position refers to the owners of the company whose main task is making decisions on behalf of the shareholders of the business firm. The governors also include the people with the most shares in the firm. The individual is responsible for the financial matters that accrue in the firm. The position has the mandate of advising the chief executive officer and the board of governors on the financial decisions that influence the company. The position is responsible for all transactions that the firm partakes on a daily basis. The individual occupying the spot is also responsible for recording the transactions the financial transactions. The position also provides vital information on the solvency of the company and provides updates on the financial of the company(Kim S., 2009, p. 7). The survey shows that the human resource in the firm needs more motivational measures as a way of increasing the output. The need for more working gear is also an implication that is prevailing and entails the future. The consultation procedure should also be made clear on how to go about complaints and requests. The current method provides a suggestion box for suggestions. The consultation process should be in the form of the immediate superior up the ladder to the top most person of the organization. The firm’s need is both managerial and good execution of the duties. Thus, the plan entails on acquiring the most eligible managers, as well as instructors. In addition, the company intends to provide sales executives who will market the firm to potential customers and notify them of the firm’s dealings. The

Library and Its Uses Essay Example for Free

Library and Its Uses Essay The root-meaning of the word library is a room or building containing a collection of books for reading. But as there are now circulating or travelling libraries in many countries, the world has undergone a change in its meaning. By the word now indicated a collection of books for reading or reference; Different kinds of libraries: There are kinds of libraries personal, public and institutional. Personal library A personal library is one which belongs to a private person, generally of sufficient means. Such libraries grow out of such person’s taste for knowledge and, sometimes, for fashion. There are, of course, small scale private libraries owned by solvent lawyers, educationists and persons of literary taste. But such libraries contain books on some particular subject or subjects chosen according to the taste and interest of their owners. Public library A public library is one which is open to the public. In order to cater to the taste and interest of all classes of people, a public library has to contain books on different subjects and varieties. Such libraries may be seen in large numbers in every country. Most of these libraries are managed or subsidized by their states. The British Museum library of London and the Central library of Moscow are instances of public libraries. Again, many such libraries have been set up in England and America by philanthropic people like Mr. Carnegie, the American millionaire. Institutional library An institutional library is one which belongs to an institution such as a university, a college, a school, a chamber of commerce, a club or a governmental department. Such a library is open to the members of the institution concerned and, therefore, generally contains hooks which are needed by them most. Importance of library As acquisition of knowledge depends mostly on reading, man has to read as necessarily as he has to eat. It adds to what he has already learnt and makes him strong and fit for rude battle of life. But for financial difficulties most of the persons who are keen on reading cannot purchase the books they need to read. Hence arises the importance of libraries. Had there been no libraries, both public and institutional, such persons would have been deprived of their reading. The teachers and the students, in like manner, would be badly affected if their institutions had no libraries of their own. Conclusion Libraries attract people to read and thus create the habit of reading and- stimulate the thirst for more and more knowledge. But for the libraries, there would be no authors, no poets, and no thinkers. The libraries thus help in the advancement of learning and expansion of knowledge. The library has another very important use. No research work is possible without a well equipped library containing valuable books of all ages, rare manuscripts and old records. A library of this type is thus of incalculable help in throwing light on unearthed subjects. Time passes in an unbroken continuity as does the water of the river. The books of the libraries are a record of this continuity. They thus enable us to know how human society has developed in thought and action step by step.

Poppers Falsifiability As A Criterion Of Demarcation

Poppers Falsifiability As A Criterion Of Demarcation The problem of demarcation has long preoccupied philosophers of science who wished to differentiate pseudo-science from science itself. Many solutions have been attempted, but it is still, in my opinion, Poppers falsfiability which addresses the demarcation problem most effectively. This paper will therefore argue for a revised use of falsifiability as a criterion of demarcation. To argue this point, a clear explanation of Poppers falsfiability criterion will be attempted, as well as an examination of the criticisms falsifiability has received, specifically in relation to the Duhem-Quine problem and Kuhns problem of incommensurability. This paper will then conclude with a discussion of ad hoc modifications and ultimately demonstrate that falsifiability can convincingly demarcate science from pseudo-science. Early on in his book Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge, Popper notes that the Logical Positivists differentiated science from pseudo-science by its empirical method; in other words they believed that science relied on induction from experience while non-scientific disciplines did not. This, according to Popper, was untrue, since fields such as astrology, a pseudo-science, also used induction from observation to justify their claims, relying on things such as horoscopes, biographies, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Unsatisfied, Popper notes that although some pseudo-scientific claims might be just as truthful as scientific ones, the problem of demarcation needed to be solved so that philosophers, scientists and the public alike could distinguish scientific theories from those which merely pretended to be scientific. Verifiability was seen as a solution to the problem of demarcation for philosophers such as Wittgenstein, but not for Popper, whoargued that pseudo-scientists relied very much on verifiability in order to convince their peers of the scientific status of their theories. This point is illustrated in Poppers anecdote in which Alfred Adler supports his theory of inferiority feelings by his thousand-fold experience. This personal experience convinced Popper that the very ability of pseudo-scientific theories, such as Marxism and Freudianism, to incessantly confirm their predictions, in other words with overwhelming verifiability, was in fact the strongest argument against them. Verifiability, therefore, could not be an adequate criterion of demarcation. Before further exploring Poppers explanation of falsifiability as a criterion of demarcation, it is important to draw a distinction. While Popper uses the terms falsifiability and testability interchangeably, this paper will not. Falsifiability, in this paper, will be seen as the possibility of a concept being both theoretically and practically falsifiable, while testable will be restricted to things only falsifiable in practice. This distinction is important as it entails that, if falsifiability is to be used a criterion of demarcation, theories which can only be falsified in theory, such as Newtons second law, can in fact reach scientific status. Indeed, although there is no place in the universe in which no forces will be exerted on a body, Newtons second law remains falsifiable (not testable) and therefore can still be viewed as scientific. Testability would be too restricting as a criterion of demarcation. Popper explains that the value of falsifiability lies in its risk. If a theory is falsified, it is subsequently refuted by the scientific community. Pseudo-sciences, it is argued, attempt to avoid falsifiability either by providing unfalsifiable predictions or destroying their falsifiability through ad hoc modifications, a procedure he calls a conventionalist twist. The first case, that is providing unfalsifiable predictions, is exemplified in Poppers view of Astrology. Astrology makes predictions and prophecies in such a vague manner, that it is impossible to falsify their predictions. For example, predicting that today Libras will counter an emotional block in one of their long term goals is not falsifiable: practically any event can be interpreted as an emotional block in a long-term goal. By escaping falsifiability, astrology has in fact prevented itself from reaching scientific status. Poppers second remark on pseudo-sciences, that it is about those which escape falsifiability through ad hoc modifications, has been much more controversial, inspiring much criticism from other philosophers of science. However, before addressing the issue of ad hoc modification, this paper will address the criticisms of falsifiability known as the Duhem-Quine problem and Kuhns problem of incommensurability in order to prove a much needed revision of Poppers falsifiability. The Duhem-Quine problem is a strong criticism of Poppers falsifiability. It was first proposed in Pierre Duhems The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory. The Duhem-Quine problem revolves around the idea of holism, which explains that any given system, such as a proposed scientific theory, relies heavily on its components ability to work together as a group. Duhem proposes that the theories of physics cannot be tested in isolation, as the testing theories of physics themselves require the use of auxiliary hypotheses, a stance known today as confirmation holism. This argument can effectively be extrapolated to all the sciences, thus entailing that the testing of scientific theories relies on the use of materials and methods which themselves rely on other theories. For example, when testing a theory that predicts the position of certain stars, one uses a telescope, a tool built on the assumption that our theories on electromagnetic radiation are both correct and accurate. The Duhem-Quin e problem thus proposes that the testing of isolated theories is impossible, a proposition which can be seen as an attack on the use of falsifiability as a criterion of demarcation between scientific and pseudo-scientific theories. The act of falsifying can be understood as comparing a theorys predictions to the results of experimentation. If the theorys predictions are found to be different from the experimentation results, the theory is falsified. This is problematic for subscribers to confirmation holism who accept the fact that falsifying a theory can only establish that there is an error in either the theory or our background assumptions, and not where, or even what, the error is. Therefore, if it is assumed that the testing of any theory relies on many different background theories, all scientific theories could escape falsification by simply transferring the error to its background theories. Referring back to the telescope example, if a theory inaccurately predicted the position of Pluto, this theory could escape falsification simply by stating that the error lies not in its prediction but within the theory of electromagnetic radiation. This is problematic for Poppers use of falsifiability as a criterion of demarcation as the falsification of an isolated scientific theory would be impossible. This, in turn, would mean that the testing of theories, scientific or pseudo-scientific, holds the inherent characteristic of escaping falsification, making falsification an impossible criterion of demarcation. To answer the Duhem-Quine problem, Poppers use of falsifiability as a criterion of demarcation must be revised. It must be conceded that the process of testing a scientific theory in isolation is unfeasible, as our methods of testing themselves rely on background assumptions. Yet, it does not make falsifiability obsolete as a criterion of demarcation, just more exhaustive. Unlike as Popper had suggested, it is not sufficient for a theory to be falsifiable for it to be scientific. All isolated theories, scientific or pseudo-scientific, attempt to escape falsification by pegging the source of error on the background assumptions of testing. Moreover, it is not adequate to propose that all background assumptions upon which the testing of a theory is based must also be falsifiable in order for that theory to be scientific, as this would be too restricting. Every theory is built upon an infinite number of assumptions, a problem analogous to underdeterminism, and inevitably all theories wou ld be pseudo-scientific. For example, the testing of Newtons laws of motions is based on the unfalsifiable assumption that the human observation of motion is accurate. It is for this reason that I believe scientific theories must not be viewed as isolated propositions, but rather as part of a scientific system which requires the provision of at least one falsifiable method of testing. This is a criterion which the pseudo-science of astrology, for example, fails to meet, as astrology provides no falsifiable method of testing its predictions, while Newtons laws provide falsifiable equations (ex: F=ma) as a method of testing its predictions. It is thus concluded that only scientific systems are falsifiable. Another criticism of Poppers falsifiability has been the argument that falsification does not produce an accurate picture of science, that falsificationist methodologies incorrectly depict science as a sort of pyramid of knowledge, where scientific knowledge is accumulated over time (brick by brick) to provide an ever-progressing image of how the universe works (the pyramid itself). This view of science, heavily endorsed by Karl Popper, is the subject of criticism in Thomas Kuhns book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, where the l[?] problem of incommensurability is introduced. Thomas Kuhn argues that science, as a historical discipline, is in reality not an accumulation of knowledge, but rather a collection of normal science and scientific revolutions. In order to fully appreciate Kuhns argument, it must first be understood what Kuhn meant by paradigm. For Kuhn, a paradigm stands for the entire constellation of beliefs, values, techniques and so on shared by the members of a given community (Kuhn 175) in this case, the scientific community. Kuhn defines normal science as the period where scientists methodologies and goals are unified within a paradigm; Aristotelian physics would, for example, be a period of normal science where scientists agreed on sciences goal and methodology. Establishing this, Kuhn then proceeds to label science-as-accumulation as a myth. It is argued that different periods of normal science are incommensurable: they cannot understand each other methodologies, goals, taxonomy, etc. and as such, science cannot be seen as progressive di scipline, seeing that its history is simply a collection of different methods, goals and values which have irrationally changed over time. [Scientists] neither test nor seek to confirm the guiding theories of their paradigm (Bjà ¸rhusda) but simply adhere to the rules of science within their paradigm. If this view is accepted, it must be concluded that falsification could not demarcate science from other disciplines, such as the pseudo-sciences, as science is seen not as a discipline requiring falsifiability, but rather a discipline which solely adheres to ever-changing regulations, goals and methodologies. This problem of incommensurability across different paradigms poses a serious problem to Poppers use of falsifiability as criterion of demarcation, although it might not be seen at first. If it is accepted that the goals, regulations and methods of science are ever-changing, falsifiability cannot be viewed as a fixed requirement of science, much less a criterion of demarcation. After all, how could falsifiability provide us with an accurate picture of science if scientific theories do not hold permanently the unchanging desire to be falsifiable? Once again, a revision of Poppers use of falsificationism as a criterion of demarcation is needed. Although I do recognize that the history of science is, to a certain degree, a collection of incommensurable paradigms, I do not believe that the history of science is a correct representation of science as a discipline. I would argue that science is in reality a normative concept, and more of a goal than a historical accumulation of theories. Many philosophers of science, such as Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn and even Imre Lakatos all mistakenly believed that the history of science and science itself are identical concepts, although in my opinion, the history of science is most accurately described by Imre Lakatos. Imre Lakatos argued that, much like Kuhn, scientists did not produce single, isolated theories throughout time, but rather worked within research programs (a concept very similar to Kuhns paradigms). In an attempt to reconcile Poppers falsificationist approach to science with Kuhns incommensurability, Lakatos argued that the history of science was actually the process of falsifying research programmes. In this view, the problem of incommensurability is rendered insignificant, as research programmes (which are substantially equivalent to paradigms) are not required to be commensurable, as each is falsified along the way. This provides a vision of the history of science as an accumulation of falsifiable knowledge. Nev ertheless, ad hoc modifications were observed by Lakatos as being a part of the history of science, and inadvertently attributed to science itself. Although Lakatos history of science approach is eloquent, it is incorrect in assuming that since ad hoc modifications are present in the history of science then ad hoc modifications must be a part of science itself. Ad hoc modifications are undoubtedly a part of the history of science, but they are not part of science as a discipline as they do not conform to sciences normative goals. To illustrate this point, Einsteins formulation of the cosmological constant may be used as an example. In order to justify his Theory of General Relativity, Einstein required a static universe one that [would] stand(s) still and (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) not collapse under the force of gravity in a big crunch (Texas AM University). In order to support this claim, Einstein proposed an ad hoc modification, his cosmological constant, a move he later recalled as his greatest blunder. It is here that the distinction between the history of science and science as a discipline can be seen. In truth, over the course o f history, scientists like Albert Einstein have practiced science in many different ways. They have used ad hoc modification to support their theories, a mistake which has been practiced by scientists and pseudo-scientists alike. But science as a discipline is separate from its history, as it is a normative goal which has employed the use of scientific systems, that is, of falsifiable theories and testing methods, in order to gain valuable inductive knowledge about the universe around us, something that pseudo-sciences have not. To conclude, Poppers falsifiability, although convincing, requires [considerable] revision in order to be used as a criterion of demarcation. Indeed, it should be understood that science is a normative discipline where falsifiability is required and where planned modifications take precedence over ad hoc modifications, unlike pseudo-science which satisfies itself in confirming predictions. It should also be understood that this paper does not provide a complete description of science, as many questions remain. Perhaps the most glaring, which was not discussed in this paper due to length constraints, is the problem of how to falsify statements such as all metals conduct electricity, a problem posed by Carl Hempel. Finally, although falsifiability is a requirement of science, it is simply one criterion in a whole set of criteria which distinguish the discipline of science from pseudo-science in a normative attempt to create knowledge through falsifiable scientific systems.