Stirling Engines and Micro-cogeneration

ABSTRACT

This report presents an investigation into the Stirling engine, the concept of micro-cogeneration, and the application of Stirling engines in micro-cogeneration. Due to rising fossil fuel prices and the movement towards cleaner, more efficient energy usage, the concept of micro-cogeneration has gained momentum in recent years as a way to increase energy efficiency and decrease emissions. Thanks to the rise of micro-cogeneration, the Stirling engine is also receiving attention as a way to power micro-cogeneration products. Stirling engines have several characteristics that make them suited to micro-cogeneration applications, but their cost and electrical efficiency still need to be improved. Meanwhile, micro-cogeneration has to potential to bring many benefits to the energy market, but there are still many challenges such as cost and lack of government policy standing in its way. However, as technology continues to improve, fuel prices continue to rise and “green” energy continues to gain more momentum, Stirling engines and micro-cogeneration are likely to become more popular in the coming years.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 The Stirling Engine
3.0 Micro-cogeneration
4.0 Conclusions and References

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Alvin Weinberg’s “Can Technology Replace Social Engineering” aims to explore the connection between technology and social engineering. As the title indicates, most of the article focuses on whether if technological solutions can completely replace social engineering when it comes to solving social problems. Throughout the article, the author looks at the views of both the technologist and the social engineer, and concludes that while technology can never replace social engineering, it has provided and will continue to provide options for solving social problems. In reaching such a conclusion, Weinberg recommends that the government deploy its technological resources around social problems and also calls for the cooperation between technologists and social engineers.

The author starts his article by explaining the views of the technologist and the social engineer. This information is important as the rest of the article uses these contrasting views to evaluate the role of technology in solving social problems. By defining these views at the start, the author ensures that the reader will be able to follow the rest of the article. In the rest of the article, Weinberg provides both historical and hypothetical examples to develop his argument. Because this article was written in the 1960s, some of the examples such as the suggestion of nuclear-powered desalination plants are out of date. However, this doesn’t really affect the effectiveness of the article because the author presents his ideas clearly and in enough detail so readers can understand his ideas even if the examples are out of date.

In writing this article, one of the first things that Weinberg assumes is that technology can be applied to solve social problems in general. Weinberg’s assumption seems reasonable if we accept that society and technology influence, a point of view which is supported by authors such as Robert Pool, John Seely Brown, and Paul Duguid. In “How Society Shapes Technology”, Pool concluded that technology carry “traces of both the engineer and the larger society”. This same view was presented in Brown and Duguid’s “A Response to Bill Joy and the Doom-and-Gloom Technofuturists”, where the authors state that “technological and social systems shape each other”. If we accept these ideas, then it’s reasonable to think that society may push technology towards solving a social problem, and that technology can be used to induce social changes.

At the end of the article, Weinberg concludes that while technology cannot entirely replace social engineering, it can be a valuable tool in solving social problems. The conclusion is valid because the author spent the time to analyze both the views of technologist and the social engineer. Through presenting historical and hypothetical examples, Weinberg examines the strengths and weaknesses of these two contrasting views on solving social problems. The author demonstrates that a “Quick Technological Fix” can definitely be applied to social problems and in many cases they are effective in alleviating the problem. However, the author also looks at the downsides of applying technological solutions without looking at the root of the social problem, admitting that such solutions are at best temporary and may cause more problems in the future. After looking at the topic from several different perspectives, Weinberg logically comes to a conclusion that falls somewhere in between these two philosophies. By acknowledging both sides of the argument and by providing examples, Weinberg demonstrates that he has examined the issue carefully, and this makes the article more effective as a result.

Overall, “Can Technology Replace Social Engineering” succeeds in its purpose of examining the connections between technology and social engineering. Some of the examples in the article might be out of date by modern standards, but the author is still able to clearly convey his ideas and develop a logical and reasonable conclusion to the issue.

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Bill Joy’s “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us” caused a stir among the information technology community because of its dystopian vision of the future and also the fact that Joy is a well-respected leader of the technology industry. The main purpose of Bill Joy’s “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us” is to highlight the possible threat of genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and robotics (GNR) pose to the future of humanity. Throughout the article, Joy explains that the GNR technologies should be treated differently because of the possibility that these technologies can create something that can self-replicate. He argues that because of this ability, products coming from the GNR technologies can and probably will become out of control and threaten the existence of the human race. Therefore, the author suggests that humans should limit or even outright abandon their endeavors in these technologies in order to prevent the possibility of a catastrophe.

Judging by the author’s writing style, this article is written to persuade people who do not already share the author’s point of view, and the author realizes that his opinion is of the minority. To establish his argument, Joy uses the knowledge he has accumulated over the years along with numerous passages from the works of other influential/famous people. Near the beginning of the article, Joy quotes a passage from Theodore Kaczynski, who is well-known for his opposition of technology and his terrorist tactics. The author then moves on to quotes from much more respected people, including contemporary leaders in technology such as Hans Moravec and well known science fiction writers such as Arthur C. Clarke. By using a carefully chosen set of passages and leveraging his own reputation, Joy manages to present his vision of the end of humanity due to GNR technologies as a real and valid scenario that other reasonable and well-respected people are also thinking about. This is very important because otherwise people may dismiss the article as somebody’s overactive imagination.

After establishing his point of view, the author tries to build on his argument by comparing the GNR technologies to the NBC technologies (nuclear, biological, chemical). In particular, the author focuses on the development of nuclear weapons and how the nuclear arms race between the US and Soviet Union came perilously close to ending the world. Joy argues that if a military-focused technology such as nuclear came so close to endangering human existence, then the GNR technologies, which have the ability to self-replicate and can be applied outside of military purposes, will be nearly impossible to stop once they start to stray. To prevent a GNR-caused catastrophe from happening, the author suggests that the world should abandon the pursuit in certain areas of these technologies and set up a “verification regime similar to that for biological weapons, but on an unprecedented scale”. Joy develops his argument in a methodical and logical manner, and all his points come together into an elegant conclusion. However, Joy’s entire article relies on the assumption that everything that could go wrong will go wrong, and that the worst case scenario will always present itself if people don’t actively try to prevent it. The author seems to take his assumption as a fact and doesn’t really make an effort to justify it, even though whether or not the GNR technologies can even progress to a stage that can threaten humanity is still debatable. The author also fails to present other competing points of views, such as the fact that society may automatically adjust and assert its influence on the GNR technologies to prevent catastrophe. By not spending the time to justify his assumptions or mentioning other points of view, the author is able to find a simple and elegant path to reach his conclusion, but this also means that his argument is less effective.

In conclusion, the article does an admirable job in presenting a set of compelling imagery that appeals to the emotions, especially people’s fear of the unknown and the future. However, due to the lack of hard evidence and the author’s tendency to jump to doomsday scenarios without carefully the current state of GNR technologies and factors that influences these technologies, this article may have a hard time convincing someone who doesn’t already share the author’s opinion. Overall, “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us” manages to present its topic in an interesting and attention-grabbing way, but the persuasiveness of the article remains questionable.

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The connection between violent video games and real-life aggressive behaviour is a topic that has received a lot of attention from the media and academic community in recent years. Ever since the infamous Columbine shootings in 1999, violent video games and their effects on people have become an often discussed and highly controversial topic. There have been other highly-publicized shootings linked to violent video games and many studies have been conducted on this topic. However, the connection between violent video games and real-life aggression is still far from conclusive, and therefore we cannot assume that violent video games promote real-life violence and aggression in general.

A tactic often used by advocates against violent video games is to try to relate video games to violent youth crimes. Many advocates will cite various incidents such as the Columbine shootings or other highly-publicized incidents to illustrate their point. The intense media coverage on incidents related to violent video games gives the perception that the availability of violent video games has led to an increase in youth violence. However, this is simply not true. According to the US Department of Justice, violent crime rates have been on the decline ever since 1994 (2006). The rate of juvenile violent crimes in the US has also reached a 30 year low (Jenkins, 2003). While it is true that video games have been linked to school shootings and other acts of violence, we must remember that these incidents make up a very small percentage of total violent youth crimes. It is also true that the likelihood of a young offender being a video game player has increased, but that’s because more youths play video games than ever before, and the vast majority of youths who play video games do no commit violent crimes. So the point is while video games have been linked to a number of tragic incidents, there is little evidence to suggest that violent video games have become a notable cause of youth crimes in general.

As video games become more popular and receive more mainstream media attention, the study of video game violence has also become a hot topic for the academic community. Many published studies have found a correlation between playing violent video games and increased levels of aggression (Anderson, 2003). The results of these studies are often used by media or advocates to demonstrate that violent video games promote real-life violence. This is however an invalid assumption, because finding a correlation is not the same thing as finding causal relationship, and many studies on video game violence have been questioned on methodological grounds (Jenkins, 2003).

Most studies conducted on video game violence are either experimental studies, which focus on the short-term physiological effects of playing violent video games in a laboratory setting, or correlation studies, which involves participants filling out surveys (Porter & Starcevic, 2007). One problem with experimental studies is that they analyze only short term effects right after the participants play violent video games, which does not necessarily reveal anything about whether if violent video games make the participants more aggressive in the long term (Porter & Starcevic, 2007). Some other problems with experimental studies include small sample sizes, arbitrary definition of which games are violent and which are not, and inability to control certain variables such as the level of excitement of participants (Porter & Starcevic, 2007). Correlations studies have fewer problems in terms of methodology, but they are affected by certain biases depending on the group of respondents that were sampled (Porter & Starcevic, 2007).

The most important problem with both experimental and correlation studies is that their results are up to interpretation. Many experimental and correlation studies do not account for important factors such as the participants’ personality and prior experience with video games. Laboratory experiments also fail to recreate the usual conditions under which most people play video games (Goldstein, 2003). Moreover, experimental studies also tend to have arbitrary and ambiguous measures of aggressiveness, due to the fact that real aggressiveness cannot be observed in an experimental setting (Goldstein, 2003). Are blasting some stranger with white noise or killing characters in video games accurate measures of a participant’s aggressiveness? Not necessarily. Because various factors are not controlled or accounted for, the results of many studies can be interpreted in many ways. For example, we can’t really tell if a subject’s increased aggressiveness is a result of playing video games or just a personality trait that was brought forth during game-play (Porter & Starcevic, 2007). The relationship between violent video games and real-life aggression is very complex, and studies such as the one conducted by Wallenius and Punamaki have shown that the effects of playing violent video games are dependent upon many personal and situational factors (2008). The point is that while many studies have shown correlation between violent video games and increased aggressive and violent behaviour, they do not prove that violent and delinquent behaviour is caused solely by the exposure to violent video games.

There is a third type of study, called a longitudinal study, that overcomes some of the flaws of experimental and correlation studies. Longitudinal studies try to link habitual exposure to violent video games to level of aggressiveness one or two years later, and at the same time controlling variable such as personality traits and other risk factors (Anderson, 2003). These characteristics make the results of longitudinal more relevant to the question of whether violent video games promote real-life aggressiveness. Unfortunately, the current number of published longitudinal studies is very small compared to the other types of studies (Anderson, 2003; Porter & Starcevic, 2007). Some longitudinal studies such as the one conducted by Hopf, Hubert, and Weib (2008) also include the effects of violence from films and other media rather than focusing just on video games. Until more longitudinal studies are published, we cannot conclude anything about the long term effects of violent video game exposure because most of the current published studies do not focus on this issue.

In conclusion, the current research has not resulted in conclusive prove that playing video games promotes real-life aggression. While studies have found an association between violent video games and increased aggression, researcher cannot yet determine if the increased aggression is a sole consequence of playing video games or something else such as the personality trait of the person being studied. We also should not buy into the perception that violent video games cause violent youth crimes, because there is little evidence to support these claims. From the results of the current research, we can make the recommendation that adolescents with certain hostile traits or history of delinquency should be discouraged from playing certain violent video games. We should also further our efforts to educate youths and their parents about games that may encourage violent behaviour.

In order to find a conclusive relationship between violent video games and human behaviour, the academic community needs to develop more advanced research techniques and to conduct more long-term studies such as longitudinal studies. Until we have a clear understanding of the relationship between video game violence and human aggression, we should not and cannot conclude that playing violent video games will make a person more aggressive as a consequence.

Bibliography

Anderson, C. A. (2003). Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions. Retrieved October 31, 2008, from APA Online Website, http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html.

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2006). Violent Crime Rate Trends. Retrieved October 31, 2008, from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/viort.htm.

Goldstein, J. (2001). Do Violent Video Games Cause Aggressive Behaviour? Retrieved October 31, 2008, from Cultural Policy Centre, University of Chicago Website, http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf2001/papers/goldstein.html

Hopf, W. H., Huber, G. L., Weib, R. H. (2008). Media violence and youth violence: A 2-year longitudinal study. Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods and Applications, 20(3), 79-96. Retrieved October 18, 2008, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pdh&AN=jmp-20-3-79&site=ehost-live.

Jenkins, H. (2003). Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked. Retrieved October 31, 2008 from PBS Website, http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

Porter G., & Starcevic, V. (2007). Are violent video games harmful? Australian Psychiatry, 15(5), 422-426. Retrieved October 18, 2008, from http://apps.isiknowledge.com/full_record.do?product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=3&SID=1BPmM58oEoPB8kgIPaL&page=1&doc=10

Wallenius, M., & Punamaki, RL. (2008). Digital game violence and direct aggression in adolescence: A longitudinal study of the roles of sex, age, and parent-child communication. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(4), 286-294. Retrieved October 18, 2008, from http://apps.isiknowledge.com/full_record.do?product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=3&SID=1BPmM58oEoPB8kgIPaL&page=1&doc=3.

ABSTRACT

This report presents our investigation regarding hybrid electric propulsion systems. The main purpose of this report is to compare the three models of hybrid electric configurations used in modern vehicles: series, parallel, and series-parallel. A “general concepts” section is also included to provide background information to the readers. Due to time and length constraints, this report only presents an overview into hybrid electric propulsion systems and the three popular configurations.

We used various sources of information to complete this project. These sources include journal articles, websites, and books. The books were obtained from the university science and engineering library and the journal articles were retrieved from online databases.

After our research on the three configurations, we came to the following conclusions regarding the three hybrid configurations:

Series:
The strengths of this design lie in its efficiency for stop-and-go driving situations. This makes the series system suitable for urban vehicles.

Parallel:
This system operates well under highway conditions and it is the cheapest to manufacture out of the three systems. These facts make the parallel configuration the easiest to integrate into an existing automobile design.

Series-Parallel:
The combination of both series and parallel allows the series-parallel configuration to function at optimum efficiency under both city and highway conditions. Therefore this system is possibly the best performing and most versatile hybrid configuration.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 Introduction
2.0 General Hybrid-Electric Concepts
3.0 Series Hybrid
4.0 Parallel Hybrid
5.0 Series-Parallel Hybrid
6.0 Conclusion and References

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My high school, a seemingly normal school, actually has some weird things going on inside of it. There is a school legend about free ice cream on a floor that doesn’t exist. If you walk around the halls of the school, you would notice that there is usually a garbage can beside or right below every drinking fountain. Also the nickname of the school, “Dirty Toilets” is not a wild accusation; there is actually some truth to it. My high school is not as boring and bland as a casual observer might think.

From the outside of the school, you can see that the building only has three floors. However, a legend tells that there is a fourth floor in the school. Whoever can get there will receive some free ice cream. As far as I know, nobody has actually been able to get to the fourth floor. This may be because the fourth floor is like the train platform in the Harry Potter books. Only certain special people have access while normal people can’t get to this magical floor of infinite ice cream supplies.

Another weird thing about my high school is that there is usually, if not always, a garbage can near every water fountain. By “near”, I meant that if you drink from a fountain, you will look down into the garbage can and see its contents. That’s not a very pretty sight, especially if you want to drink water instead of regurgitate something. I have no idea why the garbage cans are so close to the fountains. Maybe the janitors in the school like to play tricks on the students. The reason behind this phenomenon is still a mystery.

Students from other schools like to call my school “Dirty Toilets.” Unfortunately, the name actually does apply to the toilets in my school. Unless you are really desperate, you should avoid using the toilets. The toilets are usually soaked with urine or have some unknown substance covering them. If you absolutely positively have to use the toilets, be sure to wipe the seat carefully with tissue and then cover the seat with tissues as well. This will keep your behinds clean and prevent infections from whatever is in the stuff on the toilet seats.

My high school is not a bad school to go to, but there are some facts about this school that every student there should know. My school contains many other interesting facts and legends. You need to be aware of all these things. They are useful for tricking new students, and also will prevent you from encountering nasty surprises. So keep your eyes open and ears alert for any weird and mysterious phenomenons that occur inside the eerie walls of *blank* *blank* Secondary.

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Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, probably the most anticipated film of this year, has been released and the Star Wars movie franchise is finally complete. There is so much hype around this movie mainly because of the plot. This is the episode where Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight with a bright future, transforms into Darth Vader, one of the most feared and ruthless Dark Lords of all time, and not to mention one of the most memorable villains in movie history. The story of a hero turning into a villain is very intriguing, especially to the legions of fans that just have to know how and why, and that’s partly why Episode III set box office records on its opening weekend.

Due to the plot, this movie obviously isn’t going to have a completely happy ending, and many critics stated the similarity in theme and mood between Episode III and Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the episode where Luke Skywalker confronts Vader for the first time and gets his hand sliced off. After watching Episode III, I also see similarities in between the two films in that things take a turn for the worse for the good guys near the climax of the film. In Episode III, this refers to Anakin turning to the dark side and becoming Darth Vader, the Jedi Order getting destroyed and Palpatine taking over the galaxy. In Episode V, the corresponding events are Han Solo getting frozen in carbonite and Luke being defeated by Vader. Both movies share this dark and unfortunate mood that seem to drain the energy of the good guys, but the films also share the fact that at the end of the film, there’s a ray of hope that appear and allows the righteous ones to continue on. In Episode III, this refers to the survival of Yoda and Obi-Wan and the fact that Anakin’s children are safe and hidden from their father. In Episode V, Luke was able to contact his sister Leia through the Force and was able to escape with his life and fight another day. So in the end, both movies share this theme of “there is always hope even when things go badly” and set up nicely for the next installment where the good guys are going to make a big comeback.

Other than these similarities in mood and theme between episodes III and V, most critics feel that the prequels are completely different from the original episodes. One reason is that all of the recent movies are digitally shot which looks different than the original film shot episodes. Another difference that a lot of people have recognized is that the recent episodes just aren’t as good as the original episodes. Sure, the prequels have a huge load of cool-looking special effects that look a lot more realistic than the ones in the old movies and the lightsabre duels are a lot more realistic, but that still doesn’t quite make up for what the prequels lacked when compared to the original movies. One of the biggest things that the prequels lacked was an interesting character. Specifically, the prequels didn’t have Han Solo or someone similar. Yoda and Obi-Wan are still teachers and father figures and that doesn’t change in the prequels. Padme Amidala is just a supporting character who doesn’t have any interesting attributes and Anakin Skywalker, the central character, frankly sounds like a spoiled brat to me. Examples of this can be found in Episode II, where Anakin keeps complaining about Obi-Wan holding him back and whines about how he should be all powerful and stuff. Granted, Anakin has gone through some pretty traumatic events such as his mother dying in his arms, but the character is just a bit too immature, and that carries into Episode III as Anakin turns to the dark side because he saw his wife dying in his dreams. I had a hard time believing this premise of the film and obviously this doesn’t elevate my views of Anakin Skywalker as a character.

Han Solo, by contrast, is very interesting and more likable because of his origins and personality. He is funny, sarcastic, charismatic, skilled and somewhat selfish but he comes through when it counts. Han Solo’s rebellious character, in comparison to Luke’s nice and complacent character, gives the old Star Wars a dynamic pair of main characters. It’s not a bad idea to have a wisecracking smartass in a film in order to change the atmosphere a bit, and the fact that Han Solo, even as a former smuggler and with no Force skills, became a hero, shows that a person doesn’t have to be a Jedi or be predestined to achieve greatness, and that’s why it’s somewhat easier for audience to relate to him than to the other Force-enabled characters. Oh, and Han Solo injects some much needed humour at the right moments and that’s something that the prequels lack. It’s not that Episode III doesn’t have its own share of one-liners though.

This brings me to my next point, which is that the prequels had bad scripts when compared to the older films. This is especially evident in Episode III, where some lines are said in moments or written in such a way that make them sound funny rather than to carry the emotional message across. Examples of this are “Annie, you are breaking my heart!” said by Padme or “You were the chosen one!” said by Obi-Wan to Anakin after having sliced three limbs off of Anakin’s body. The best example however, was when Darth Vader in his classic costume, finally gets up and yells “NOOOOO!!!” after hearing that his wife has died. I’ve heard that people in some theatres couldn’t stop themselves from laughing when they saw this “emotional outburst” by Darth Vader. The bad lines are accompanied by what is at best mediocre acting. Most characters in the prequels don’t seem to have more than three expressions, even though there were many good actors in the films. One final bad thing about the prequels is the overuse of special effects. Special effects are a novelty and they look cool when used sparingly. Overusing them numbs the audience and they don’t think the effects look so amusing anymore.

So, in my humble opinion, the newer Star Wars aren’t really up to par with the original episodes. It’s probably unfair to compare the new and old, since the older episodes were some of the most original and innovative cinematic experiences at the time period when they were released. The fact that the older episodes were ahead of their times means that these qualities are interpreted as greatness and etched into the minds of people who saw these films back in the days. The newer Star Wars films are pretty good films, but because of the wide ranging influence by the originals, the newer films are interpreted as not living up to their Star Wars names, because they lack the originality and innovations. It’s very hard to replicate greatness, and not even filmmakers such as George Lucas can accomplish this task. Well, there is one good thing that comes out of this. If a person watches all six episodes in chronological order according to the Star Wars universe, the films will get better and better along the way.

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Badminton is a fast paced, exciting sport that is wide spread and for one to become a good badminton player is not extremely difficult. Like almost all sports, playing badminton requires a certain level of physical fitness. A person also must learn all the basics and advanced skills of badminton to become a good player. After learning and fine tuning the skills, it is time to study how to utilize common tactics. The attributes listed above enable a person to excel at the game of badminton.

Because badminton involves a lot of running, stopping, and changing directions, it is very easy to become tired while playing. A high level of physical fitness is required for a person to play several games continuously. I usually last only about two games (not very fit, am I?). After two games I usually just stand on the court, rather than running to get the shuttle. Playing badminton requires fitness, but playing often also improves one’s fitness. This is a major reason why people play badminton.

A person can’t become a good player if he/she doesn’t know the proper skills. A game cannot be won if the player can’t make an effective return. The more basic skills such as footwork should be learned first, while more advanced techniques such as backhand smashes should be studied after all the basic skills have been mastered. Like many other skills, badminton skills are mastered by a lot of practice. A person can get a better grasp and form on the skills from practicing.

The last thing required to become a good badminton player is understanding tactics. Part of this comes from reading books and watching tapes of high level competition, and the other part comes from experience. Understanding tactics is an important part of the game because it allows a player to make it difficult for opponents to return shots and also allows the player to predict where the opponent will hit to. It is much easier to win if a player have a good idea about where an opponent’s return will land, because he/she can counter the shot with less difficulty.

I like to play badminton, although I am not a fanatic like some people I know. Badminton can be a fun and enjoyable experience. Although most people say they play for fun, they actually play to win. I know since I play a fair bit. Being a good player makes the game more enjoyable since it is usually more fun to win than to lose. Being skilled also gives certain bragging rights, something a lot of people want.

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Tornadoes are some of the most powerful and destructive weather events on Earth. A tornado is a storm that develops a whirling funnel of air that touches the ground and tornadoes typically develop over flat, inland areas (Clouds R Us.com, 2002). The Tri-State Tornado is one of, if not the worst tornado disaster in US history. The tornado developed during an afternoon thunderstorm in southeast Missouri (Westra, 1998). The tornado’s path consisted mostly of flat land with agricultural produce that was sparsely populated by people (The Tornado Project, 1999). The funnel traveled a total of 219 miles through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, all of which are inside a region known as the Tornado Alley (NOAA/NWS, 2001). The tornado crossed largely rural farmland with a few towns in between them (The Tornado Project, 1999). This great tornado devastated towns in its path by causing $16.5 million in damages and killing a total of 695 people (NOAA/NWS, 2001). The Tri-State Tornado had many environmental, political, economic and social consequences.

The Tri-State Tornado had a profound environmental effect over the places in its 219 mile path such as farms and small towns like Murphysboro and DeSoto. The tornado’s suction power changed the terrain, which is part of the lithosphere. A F5 tornado such as this one can lift up to an inch of topsoil off the ground (USA Today, 2002). The removal of topsoil also removed any life forms that happened to be in the soil and make plant growth more difficult afterwards as all the nutrients in the topsoil were blown away. This also affected the local agricultural industry, since topsoil is important for good crop growth. The topsoil in the tornado could have ended up in rivers and streams, making them shallow and dirty. The hydrosphere was also affected in other ways by the tornado. The Tri-State Tornado crossed both the Mississippi River and the Wabash River (NWS Forecast Office, 2003). The tornado sucked water up into the sky and killed water life that was unfortunate enough to be caught, disrupting the rivers’ natural nutrient cycle and habitat of animals in small lakes (Turner, 2002). Another short term consequence would be that the tornado added contents into the atmosphere. Tornadoes, especially a powerful one such as the Tri-State tornado, can propel a lot of dust and debris into the sky (Clouds R Us.com, 2002). The materials that were sucked up have to come down eventually, so the bigger objects may cause damage or injury, and the smaller air borne particles may cloud people’s vision and made it harder for some people to breathe. The Great Tornado took its highest toll on the biosphere. As the deadliest tornado ever in the US, the Tri-State Tornado killed 695 people and injured thousands more (NOAA/NWS, 2001). The tornado’s massive power basically wiped out and plants and animals in its path of destruction. Some sources report the human death toll as over 700, but the most used number is till 695. The Tri-State Tornado was a severe weather event that affected elements of the lithosphere by moving soil, the hydrosphere by sucking up water, the atmosphere by sucking dust and debris into the air, and the biosphere by killing many people, plants and animals.

The Tri-State Tornado also helped to start changes in the political system. The destruction caused by the tornado was a wakeup call to the government. Events such as this tornado made the US realize that it needed a tornado warning system (Missouri Department of Insurance, 2004). The national weather warning system that was born would go on to save many lives and still operates today. The presence of such a system, along with the availability of mass communication devices such as radio, contributed to the steady decline of annual tornado deaths in the US from an average of 300 or more people per year in the 1920s to less than 100 per year in the 1990s (Doswell, 1998). The government also eventually realized that survivors of such weather disasters needed financial aid. The Tri-State Tornado and other tornadoes of the 1920s were responsible for the recognition that more national infrastructure was needed to respond to such disasters (Doswell, 2002). The aid system that developed would help relieve municipalities and survivors of some financial burden from the losses they have suffered. Unfortunately, there was no aid system for the victims of the Tri-State Tornado, so towns devastated by this disaster took a long time to recover or never recovered at all, like the town of Parrish that became a ghost town after being destroyed (Westra, 1998). A major reason why some many people perished in the Great Tornado was that the technology at the time was insufficient to warn the people (NOAA, 2000). The Tri-State Tornado may have spurred the development of the weather forecast technology (Tornado Warning Online, 2003). The new technology such as weather radars and weather warning radio stations that would be developed made a weather warning system possible and would eventually give researchers a better understanding of these events (Tornado Warning Online, 2003). In time, the political system responded to disasters such as the Tri-State Tornado by changing its policies on weather forecast technologies and disaster relief in order to help prevent the death and destruction caused by a severe weather event.

The destruction caused by the Tri-State Tornado obviously had an impact on the local economy of the affected region as well. Agriculture in the local region was devastated by the tornado. The Tri-State Tornado destroyed many farms in its path, including 85 farms between the towns of Griffin and Princeton and the losses between totaled to about $1.8 million between the two towns (The Tornado Project, 1999). The destruction of the farms may have drastically lowered the income the farmers can get for the current season and also burdened them with the cost of repairs. The tornado also affected the economy of local municipalities as it destroyed a significant portion of the businesses. Towns such as West Frankfort lost 20% of its businesses to the tornado (Westra, 1998). The lost of businesses meant that less money can be earned and put into the local economy and business owners who survive have to pay for repairs. The massive damage caused by the tornado also became a huge burden on local towns and people. Because there was no relief program back then, all $16.5 million in damages had to be replaced by the local towns and survivors (Doswell, 2002). People who already lost everything could not find the money or resources to rebuild their homes and businesses. The local people and communities had a hard time recovering from the economic consequences of the tornado due to the fact that some sources of income had been cut and no financial aid was given to them. It took months for towns to rebuild what was destroyed in three and a half hours, and many towns such as Murphysboro and Griffin were never restored to their original state as their populations diminished and jobs became scarce (Weather.com, 2005).

Finally, the Tri-State Tornado produced some social consequences for the people who had experienced its power. The tornado, with its tremendous path width and forward speed, literally wiped out everything in its path. The 695 deaths caused by the tornado makes it the deadliest tornado ever in North America (NOAA/NWS, 2001). Towns like Murphysboro and West Frankfort lost a significant portion of its population, which meant there was a dramatic reduction in people who can help rebuild these communities and was probably emotionally devastating for the people who have lost their friends and relatives. The tornado also destroyed about 15000 homes along its path (NOAA/NWS, 2001). The result was many people were killed and 11000 were left homeless (Galarneau, 2004). The homeless people have lost almost everything and would have a hard time recovering from this situation. Many may result to crime in order to survive or became depressed. Looting was witnessed by some, including someone trying to take a ring off a deceased person (E-Paranoids, 2005). Lastly, the Tri-State Tornado left many people financially depleted. The local people had to pay for all the repairs because of the lack in government aid (Doswell, 2002). People who were not rich to begin with could not bare such a financial burden to repair their shops and homes because they could not get much income as the towns were all messed up. People may leave the area to look for opportunities elsewhere and local communities may dry up and disappear. The social consequences caused by tornado such as the reduction in work force, financial hardship and homeless were difficult for the local people to deal with.

In conclusion, the Tri-State Tornado had major impacts on the political, economic, environmental and social system. The tornado affected all parts of the environment it crossed, moving soil, water, air and creatures that happened to be in its way. The tornado also prompted the government to encourage development in weather forecasting and warning technologies and a disaster relief system. The Great Tornado also gave economic hardship to towns and people by taking away some sources of income and destroying a lot of property. Finally, the tornado’s aftermath presented difficult social consequences such as homelessness and poverty for local populations. By analyzing and studying tornadoes such as the Tri-State Tornado, we gain a better understanding and insight into weather events such as this one and the effects on people and natural environments.

Bibliography

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Doswell, Charles A. (2002, October). Societal Impacts of Severe Weather. Retrieved December 27, 2004, from
http://webserv.chatsystems.com/~doswell/publications/impacts_europe.html.

Doswell, Chuck. (1998). Tornadoes: Some Hard Realities. Retrieved December 26, 2004, from
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2000). Remembering the March 18, 1925 Tri State Tornado. Retrieved December 29, 2004, from
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/ National Weather Service (2001, October 1). March 18, 1925 Tri State Tornado 75th Anniversary Web Page. Retrieved December 25, 2004, from
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National Weather Service Forecast Office (2003, December 3). Frequently Asked Questions: Tornadoes. Retrieved December 26, 2004, from
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The last scene of The Taming of the Shrew, Act V Scene ii, is one of the most significant scenes in the whole play because it reveals, among other things, whether or not Petruchio actually tamed his “shrew.” It’s interesting to see how different productions express the same scene of a well known play like this one. I looked at two adaptations of the play during class. One of them is the 1967 feature starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. The other one was a part of a show called Moonlighting (1985), starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd. Even though both were based on the same play, each version had its own way of expressing itself and they were very different from each other.

The first interpretation is a well budgeted Hollywood film, and it had the celebrity actors and high production values to prove it. Costumes and set design were rich, with matching background music to create a right atmosphere for a banquet thrown by rich people in the old days. For the most part, this film followed the original play word by word. The male characters made their bets and each tried to call his wife but only Kate complies, but in the movie, she drags the other two women out rather than coming out, and then going back to force the other two to appear. She then starts her long speech and ends with the line “My hand is ready, may it do him ease.” (Act V, Scene ii, Line 180) Overall, I liked this interpretation better because the movie stayed true to the play, and along with believable acting and high production values, gave the film an authentic feel as production of a Shakespearean play.

The Moonlighting version of The Taming of the Shrew is more like a parody of the play than an actual production. Almost all of the dialogue has been changed, and so have the settings. Now Petruchio is the one saying part of what was supposed to be Kate’s speech. He begins with “Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,” (Act V, Scene ii, Line 147) and the dialogue actually turns into something like “I say it is the moon that shines so bright.” (Act IV, Scene v, Line 4) when Petruchio wanted to prove Kate’s obedience to the nearby people. Kate actually refuses and Petruchio goes into some long sentimental stuff and it appears that it was Kate who tamed Petruchio and not the other way around. I didn’t like this version as much as the other because of the less authentic feel do to the major plot and dialogue changes in an effort to modernize the play and especially those irrelevant jokes (e.g. iambic pentameter) that were inserted here and there for no apparent reason other than to get a cheap laugh.