New Waterford Girl Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

New Waterford Girl - Essay Example The feminist concept of subjectivity can be seen in Mooney's character as Mooney Pottie is feeling suppressed by the small-mindedness that surrounds her. Seen as freakish by her family for her incessant reading and a desire to move to New York, Mooney refuses to temper her thirst for knowledge and attend the booze-fueled make out parties her classmates live for. Enter Lou, a tough boxer's daughter from the Bronx who moves into town with her dance teacher mother. Before long, Lou is helping Moonie see the town through new eyes, improving Moonie's social life in the process. But when her sympathetic teacher, Cecil Sweeney, informs Mooney that he has gotten her accepted at an Arts High School in New York, she is prepared to do whatever it takes to escape her oppressive origins. As Mooney, will do everything to get out of New Waterford so the assistance comes in the form of a new neighbor, Lou, whose family moves there from New York. The two girls devise a plot to get Mooney out of New Waterford by ruining her repute, persuading everyone she's pregnant (she's never really had sex), and getting her shipped off to have the baby. All through the film there is a subplot where Lou gets hired by local girls to blow their jerk boyfriends for some crime or another. The belief is that if they're culpable, they'll fall - and nearly all of them do. The film is a magnificent story of two independent girls being true to themselves. The only thing on youthful Moonie Pottie's mind is to get out of small town New Waterford. She imagines of being in a cosmopolitan city like Paris, Berlin or New York. Her teacher (Andrew McCarthy) sees the talent in the girl, and submits her name to an arts school in NYC. When Lou, a girl from New York and the offspring of a disgraced boxer, moves in next door, she and Moonie gradually become friends. Together they find out about themselves in this coming-of-age story set in grey and harsh Cape Breton. When Moonie gets the admission to the school in New York her parents do not allow her to be there, and Moonie comes up with her own shocking scheme to get out of New Waterford Balaban is Moonie Pottie, a 15-year-old loner in this small coal-mining town in the mid-1970s. The town is poor, the housing overcrowded Moonie is one of five siblings and a sister-in-law in the house -- and the citizens are good, God-fearing Catholics. The only girls who flee New Waterford are those who are pregnant, and they leave to have their children away from discomfiture before returning. Moonie thoughts of getting the hell out; she stands by the border with a cardboard sign that has "Mexico" scribbled across it, but always ends up hitching a travel with a guy who's simply driving into town. She knows all about other places through her insatiable reading, and that's part of her difficulty, really: She knows too much. Life is tolerably intolerable only through the understanding of a couple of outsiders. Moonie's hip teacher, Cecil (Andrew McCarthy) resides in a mobile home and seems to be running from life ("I don't exactly jump out of that rollaway bed in the morning," he accepts). But because he is an stranger looking in, he can full well appreciate an insider trying to get out. Then it is Lou (Tara Spencer-Nairn), a girl from the Bronx who has shifted to New Waterford with her mother (Cathy Moriarty), because "that's where the tracks end."

Hot Melt Extrusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hot Melt Extrusion - Essay Example HME technique does not require time consuming drying step and compressing step; and therefore, the processing steps are significantly reduced. Due to fewer unit operations involved in HME operation, production time is greatly enhanced. During the HME process, the polymer-melt itself act as a thermal binder. HME eliminates problems arising from poorly compactible materials. An extruded rod obtained from HME procedure can be directly incorporated into tablets after cutting. Uniform dispersion of fine particles is obtained due to vigorous mixing and agitation conditions of HME operation. The energy requirements in HME process are low as compared to high shear granulation. The HME process requires lower investment for equipment as against other processes. HME technique also provides new strategies to increase dissolution rates for sparingly water soluble drugs, enhance bioavailability of the active ingredient, improve content uniformity of dosage formulation, modify drug release, and als o helps to mask the unpleasant taste of the drug (Repka et al. 1043; Crowley et al. 909). A single- or twin-screw extruders are used for HME process. The extruder is composed of a feeding hopper, barrels, single or twin screws, die, screw-driving unit, heating/cooling device for the barrels, conveyer belt to cool down the product, and solvent delivery pump. The monitoring devices on the equipment include temperature gauges, a screw-speed controller, an extrusion torque monitor and pressure gauges. During the HME process, first a dry powder blend of drug, polymer, and other adjuvants/additives is prepared. Then, this soild mixture is fed into the feeding section of the extruder. The material is transferred to the melting section. The heat is applied to the material in the melting section to form the polymer-melt. This molten mass is transferred in the metering section which is then

Association football Essay Example for Free

Association football Essay 1. intro write about the game 2. what it is special about? famous in world , world class team, have won many championship 3. who are the special/outstanding players in the team? 4. what are their special abilities score alot goals, can run and driblle the ball I am just disagree with the way of writing this essay. It is probably out of topic, if i am not wrong. However, i have done an essay based on the notes given. Pls check and remark for me. If possible, help me think of the REAL and BETTER way to write this essay. Your help is greatly appreciated, thank you. A game is an activity involving one or more players. Games are played primarily for entertainment or enjoyment, but may also serve as exercise. Everyone in this world has their own favorite games, so do I. My favorite game is football . I often play this with my friend in the evening. I like this game because it is exciting and challenging. Football is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players each. It is a ball game played on a rectangular grass field with a goal at each end. The objective of the game is to score by maneuvering the ball into the opposing goal. The winner is the team which has scored most goals at the end of the match. Football is played at a professional level all over the world, and millions of people regularly go to football stadium to follow their favorite team, whilst millions more avidly watch the game on television. A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. In many parts of the world football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and even nations; it is therefore often claimed to be the most popular sport in the world. There are many worldwide international competition of football. One of the major international competitions in football is the World Cup organized by Fà ©dà ©ration Internationale de Football Association. Over 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, now involves 32 national teams competing. The next World Cup takes place in Germany 2006. The star I admired most in football is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, nicknamed Pelà ©, is a former Brazilian football player and thought by many to be the finest player of all time. Often considered the complete attacking player, he was completely two-footed, a prolific finisher, exceptional at dribbling and passing, and was a remarkably good tackler for a forward. He was also famed for his speed and strength on the ball. Since his full retirement he has served as an ambassador for the sport. There is many reason football is my favorite game. I wish to become a professional football player. I learnt teambuilding, discipline as well as teamwork through playing football. A game is an activity involving one or more players. Games are played primarily for entertainment or enjoyment, but may also serve as exercise. Everyone in this world has their own favorite games, so do I. My favorite game is football. I often play this with my friends in the evening. I like this game because it is exciting and challenging. Football is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players each. It is a ball game played on a rectangular grass field with a goal at each end. The objective of the game is to score by maneuvering the ball into the opposing teams goal. The winner is the team which has scored the most goals at the end of the match. Football is played at a professional level all over the world. , and m Millions of people regularly go to football stadiums to follow their favorite team, whilst millions more avidly watch the game on television. A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level. In many parts of the world, football evokes great passions and plays an important role in the life of individual fans, local communities, and even nations; it is therefore often claimed to be the most popular sport in the world. There are many worldwide international football competitions of football. One of thesethe major international competitions in football is the World Cup organized by Fà ©dà ©ration Internationale de Football Association. Over 190 national teams compete in qualifying tournaments within the scope of continental confederations for a place in the finals. The finals tournament, which is held every four years, now involves 32 national teams competing. The next World Cup takes place in Germany 2006. The football star I admired most in football is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, nicknamed Pelà ©. ,Pele is a former Brazilian football player and thought by many to be the finest player of all time. Often considered the complete perfect attacking player, he was completely two-footed, a prolific finisher, exceptional at dribbling and passing, and was a remarkably good tackler for a forward. He was also famed for his speed and strength on the ball. Since his full retirement he has served as an ambassador for the sport. There are is many reasons football is my favorite game. I wish to become a professional football player. I learnt teambuilding, discipline as well as teamwork through playing football. ANIKET AMAN.

Issues Of Concreting In Hot Weather Construction Essay

Issues Of Concreting In Hot Weather Construction Essay It is important to take hot weather into consideration while building concrete projects because of its effects on the fresh and recently placed concrete. As of hot weather, the demand for water alone rises. This leads to rises water-cement ratio, and hence further leading to low potential strength. Also to be noted that higher temperatures gives rise to higher slump loss. Concrete cured at higher temperatures when compared with the concrete cured at ambient temperature, would not be as strong at the end of 28 days. It should be kept in mind that high temperatures, high velocity and low humidity can affect the quality of fresh concrete. The high rate of evaporation introduces early plastic shrinkage or drying shrinkage. Also the evaporation can remove the surface water which is necessary for hydration of the concrete unless proper curing methods are used. Rapid drops in the temperature introduce thermal cracks in the concrete structure. These occur when there are hot days followed by cool nights. High temperatures are largely responsible for cracking in massive concrete structures. Statement of purpose The main purpose for this report is to throw light on the problems arising during concreting in hot weather. And also to enumerate various methods via which the problems can be avoided to yield good throughput and quality for the concrete developed. Concreting in hot weather can produce adverse effects on the quality of concrete and structure of building for which it is to be used. So it is important to take into consideration hot weather when planning concrete projects. As the temperature of the freshly mixed concrete reaches 25 °C which is approximately 77  °F, it has adverse effects on the quality of concrete. Also to be kept in mind, that temperature above 32 °C i.e. 90 °F with lack of protected environment for concrete finishing and placement could lead to difficulty in producing quality concrete required. Among other problems, hot weather conditions can lead to rapid rate of evaporation. Problems and effects of concreting in hot weather From ACI Materials Journal : Impact of Extremely Hot Weather and Mixing Method on Changes in Properties of Ready Mixed Concrete during Delivery by Abdulaziz I. Al-Negheimish and Abdulrahman M. Alhozaimy Figure Nomograph The successful hot weather concretion can be done by assessing the factors which affect the quality and stability of concrete and then planning to minimize their affects. Hydration of concrete can be seen as an exothermic reaction, which means it generates heat and also the reaction rate is faster when the concrete is hot. The main concern we identify here is not the air temperature but the concrete temperature. When concrete settles, it sucks up water, which causes crystallization of particles around the aggregate particles. When the concrete is hot, the reaction rate is faster and hence crystals are formed rapidly, but they dont have time to grow strong. Initial strength might be high but the strength seen after 28 days suffers highly. It is seen that if the concretes temperature is higher by about 18 °C the compressive strength decreases by 10%.The other problem which arises while concreting during hot weathers is surface drying. There occurs more and more drying and surface lin kage if we have hot concrete, sun shining very hot and hot dry winds blowing. Also we should take into consideration the plastic shrinkage cracking caused in the hot weather. If outside temperature is very high i.e. the concrete is colder than the atmospheric temperature, the chances are that the water will be condensing on the surface rather than the surface drying out. There arises a major problem when the air is cooler than concrete. Contractors mainly aim to go for cooler concrete in hot weather. In this case too, hot weather can cause plastic shrinkage cracking, this case occurs then the concrete temperature is high and the humidity is low. In order to know,whether evaporation could pose a problem or not we use nomograph. By knowing air temperature, concrete temperature, wind velocity and relative humidity, we arrive at the rate of evaporation. Accordingly, if the rate is greater than 0.1 pounds per square foot per hour, shrinkage cracking is possible. Hot dry sub grades and frameworks may also lead to cracks by absorbing water from the mix. Heat and concrete are also challenged by thermal differentials. This means that one part of the concrete is warmer while the other part is colder. It is observed that if the differential is greater than somewhere around 20 °F, then cracks are likely to be formed. Effects on the characteristics of the concrete formed Setting time The setting time of the concrete decreases with the increase in the concrete temperature. This in turn gives us very less time to place compact and finish the concrete. Workability and slump Higher temperatures of the concrete reduce the workability of the concrete more rapidly with time. Addition of water to improve workability of the mixture decreases the strength and increases the permeability of the concrete. Compressive Strength High concrete temperature and high water requirement can lead to lower 28 day strength. In case more water is added so as to maintain workability, it leads us to higher water-cement ratio which results in loss of strength and durability. This increases the drying shrinkage of the hardened concrete. In the opposite case, if the water is not added the reduced setting time and lower workability increase the potential inappropriate compaction, this results in formation of cold joints and poor finishing. Concrete temperature From Concrete Journal (2001) Properties of Hot Weather Concrete and Countermeasures at Practice. During hot weather conditions, temperature rise in the concrete may happen due to heat of hydration. The development of thermal gradients may lead to thermal cracking in the concrete slab. Although at higher concrete temperature, the early strength is higher, its long term affects a low strength of the concrete, where as the concrete cured at lower temperature has higher strength. Its can be seen in the laboratory tests that the increased exposure to higher temperature directly affects the strength of the concrete after it has hardened. Poor surface appearance Increased rate of evaporation leads to drying and stiffening of the surface. Among the cases of flatwork, this can lead to premature finishing of the surface, trapping some amount of water within the mix. The compacter layer (from finishing) causes rise in the water to be trapped below the surface and hence deboning of the surface. There may occur colour differences on the surface due to different rates of hydration and cooling. Plastic Shrinkage Cracking From American Concrete Institute: Journal titled Plastic Shrinkage Cracking and Evaporation Formulae by Paul J. Uno. As discussed widely above, hot weather accelerates evaporation and loss in moisture from the surface. Plastic Shrinkage cracking occurs when the shrinkage stress exceeds tensile strength of the concrete. Plastic Shrinkage cracks formed may be quite deep because concrete has little capacity to resist shrinkage stress. Also the cracks continue to widen and form more and more cracks until the stress is relieved. It is also to be noted that a few times the Plastic Shrinkage Cracks reach to the free edges where unrestrained stress can occur. Thermal cracking From American Concrete Institute: Journal titled  Retempering of Prolonged-Mixed Concrete with Admixtures in Hot Weather by Dan Ravina. Concrete is exposed to thermal cracking when the concrete is initially placed and the interior of the concrete is exposed to heat rising from the settlement of the concrete and the heat of hydration. Rapid changes in the temperature on the surface of the concrete such as hot days followed by cool night leads to formation of temperature gradient. The warmer interior restrains the colder exterior, which wants to contract. If the differential of the temperature is large then thermal cracking may occur. The insulating effect is more in massive thick concrete, and hence they are more at risk towards the thermal cracking effect. Precautions or Rules to be followed for hot weather concretion From Science Direct : Journal titled Water evaporation from freshly placed concrete surfaces in hot weather by G.S. Hasanain, T.A. Khallaf and K. Mahmood. and From Concrete Journal (2001) Properties of Hot Weather Concrete and Countermeasures at Practice. Precautions should be taken to reduce the effects from high temperature against concreting. Use of water reducing, set retarding mixtures can help cutting the effects of high temperature concreting. In the cases where extreme heat conditions are unavoidable, chilled water or ice can be used as part of mixing water. Other methods such as sprinkling and shading the aggregate before mixing can also help lower the temperature of the concrete. Condition where theres low humidity and high winds, windbreaks and sunscreens or mist fogging can be used to avoid plastic shrinkage cracks in the slabs. Many of the following suggestions can be used depending on the atmospheric conditions and requirement type of the concrete to be formed: Concrete mixture designs can include set retarders, water reducers in order to gain lowest cement factor. Modification in the mixtures as appropriate i.e. changes in the composition percentages of retarders, moderate heat hydration cements, and Pozzolanic mixtures can be done to shield against hot weather concretion. Enough manpower can be employed so that as soon as the concrete is delivered, it is quickly placed, finished and cured. Mixing water and cool aggregates can be added to concrete mixture to reduce its initial temperature. Using a concrete consistency can allow rapid placement and consolidation. Sometimes in extreme conditions, we can adjust the time of concrete placement to take advantage of the time of the day when it is cooler i.e. early morning or night placement. Fogging the area above the concrete placement so as to raise the level of relative humidity can help satisfy the demand for moisture from the air. Rate of evaporation can be monitored using a nemograph which charts temperature, relative humidity and wind velocity. Covering of the placed slabs should be done with the damp sand beds rather than polythene sheets if barrier is required. When forms are removed, curing should be done to the newly exposed surfaces of the concrete. It should be noted that aliphatic alcohols are not a substitute for curing compounds and it is advised to not to used them. Aliphatic alcohols are used for initial screeding and finishing operations. Although aliphatic alcohols are compatible with most of the curing compounds, it is a good practise to check their compatibility in case the two products are purchased from different manufacturers. Another cut down can be done at the addition of water while at job site. Addition of water should only be done at the arrival only to adjust the slump. Later additions should be avoided. In no circumstances should the addition of water exceed 2 or 2.5 gallons per cubic yard. Water should never be added to concrete which is older than 1.5 hours. Finishing should be done as soon as the sheen has left the surface, this should be followed by immediate curing. Curing should be continued for 3 days and covering should be done to prevent evaporation or a liquid curing compound should be used. A very useful idea is to add white pigment to the covering liquid curing compound so that it reflects the heat away from the concrete surface. Moistening of sub grades, forms and reinforcement before it is placed. However it should be noted that standing water in such cases should be avoided. Field test cylinder should be protected by shading and preventing evaporation. Field curing boxes with ice may be used to maintain temperature of 60 °F -80 °F for the cylinders. Minimizing the effects of hot weather conditions Controlling the concrete temperature From Concrete Journal (2001) Properties of Hot Weather Concrete and Countermeasures at Practice. AS 1379 states requirement that temperature of the concrete at the time of delivery should be from 5 to 35 °C. In cases of higher ambient temperature, the supplier needs to take precautions to ensure that the concrete temperature is delivered is within the allowable range. There are a number of methods available to control the temperature of the concrete. This includes adjusting the temperature of the ingredients of the concrete mixture. It should be taken into consideration that since the aggregates constitute the bulk of the concrete and have the highest heat capacity, the effect the temperature of the freshly mixed concrete greatly. But the temperature of the aggregates is the most difficult task to control. The temperature of the cement doesnt affect much in this case as it has low specific heat and relatively small amount in the mixture. Liquid nitrogen can be injected into the concrete while mixing to lower the temperature. The latent thermal energy of the gas cools the mixtu re drastically. Although this process is economical only on major projects involving vast amounts of concrete for construction. Admixtures From Science Direct : Journal titled Water evaporation from freshly placed concrete surfaces in hot weather by G.S. Hasanain, T.A. Khallaf and K. Mahmood. Various types of admixtures can help lower the temperature and also reduce the evaporation from the surface. Water reducers can be used to decrease the amount of water required to bring concrete to a workable condition. Set retarders delay the amount of time required for setting of the concrete and hence increase the strength of the material. Although set retarders should be used with caution as rapid dry of surface is occurring at the same time. This can lead to finishing of the surface while below it is still spongy due to the set retarders. Thos can lead to non-uniformity on the surface. Cement type From Concrete Journal (2001) Properties of Hot Weather Concrete and Countermeasures at Practice. There can also occur additional benefits while choosing the type of cement. For example using slower hydration cements such as type LH with lower heat development rate can give extra time for placing and finishing. This also reduces concrete temperature and risk of thermal cracking upon cooling of the concrete. Cement content From Concrete Journal (2001) Properties of Hot Weather Concrete and Countermeasures at Practice. The temperature increase due to hydration of cement in a given concrete is directly proportional to its cement content. Therefore we should choose cement content depending upon our requirement of strength and durability. Conclusion Since hot weather concreting involves various challenges to be faced by the project supervisor as well as the workers. Proper pre-planning and organisation of the project can lead to good formation of concrete with good durability and strength. Successful placing and finishing producing high quality concrete can be done at 35 °C. A must use of nemograph should be done to monitor the rate of evaporation so that appropriate resources and measure could be taken depending on the rate of evaporation. No doubt Hot weather poses great difficulties for concreting but development of new technologies, techniques and compounds can further reduce the adverse effects.

Advertisement Analysis :: Marketing Advertising Business

Advertisement Analysis The United States has some of the most intelligent citizens and some of the most advanced technologies and medicine, yet our illiteracy rate has still not diminished. According to a recent government report form The National Institute for Literacy, â€Å"There are many adults with low literacy skills (approximately 44 million) who lack the foundation they need to find and keep decent jobs support their children’s education and participate actively in civic life†. This advertisement was done to inspire people, and perhaps specifically minorities, to read, by using a celebrity influence. This work shows that reading provides new ideas and a greater depth of knowledge, by utilizing deep space and contrast. The artist conveys his or her message by creating a deep and high space. One views this photograph from a very low vantage point, so we are looking up at essentially all of the objects in this work. The lines on the right wall are vertical,and point up to the bright light above. The line from that point travels back due to the other six light in the hallway. The lights hover in space like ideas over our heads. The fashion, in which they take your eye deep into the photograph, is like the path that a story leads us down, or the path of learning that our brain follows. This representation of deep spaceis symbolic of the vastness of information there is to be gained by reading. The artist uses high contrast to emphasize lightness and darkness. The fact that there are definite and distinct light and dark areas attract one to look at it. The highest contrast of value is the lightthat is furthest away. This extremity of white against black is the focal point of the piece, and aids in creating the depth. The contrast between light and dark, are symbolic of the contrast of ignorance and enlightenment. Another way the artist captures the idea of ignorance versus enlightenment is by having Whoopi Goldberg reading in a hallway. One does not generally associate hallways with open space, but because there are a series of doorways that run on the left side of the hall, it is as if it is saying there are multiple regions of information to discover. It represents one thought leading to another. Doorways in the hall eliminate the tension in the room and really help to open it up.

William Few :: essays research papers

William Few He was born in Baltimore in 1748, but his story begins long before his birth. It started when his father’s family immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1680’s. His father just so happened to move to Maryland, where he met his wife, married her, and settled in Baltimore where William was to be born. William had many hard times and little schooling until he was ten, when his family moved to North Carolina. In 1771 William, his father, and his brother joined the regulators, frontiers men who fought against the British royal governor. Because of that his brother was hung and his father’s farm destroyed. The Few’s were forced to move again, now to Georgia. William stayed in North Carolina living by himself until 1776. When he got to Georgia he was accepted to the Bar and began to practice the law in Augusta.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the revolutionary war began Few sided with the Whig cause, which was the side of the war fighting for America’s freedom from British rule. Even though Few had little schooling as a child he proved leadership and won a lieutenant-colonelcy, a very high rank in the minutemen army. Few also began to take interest in politics and were elected Georgia provincial congress of 1776. He also was and the state executive, surveyor general, Indian commissioner, as well as served in the Continental Congress general. Few was also reelected to the Georgia assembly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Four years later Few was picked to be one of the six state delegates to the constitutional convention. Two of the state delegates did not attend the convention. Two did not stay for the duration. Few did not attend much of the convention, and never made a speech. But he helped nationalists vote, and helped have congress approve the constitution. He also approved the state ratifying convention. William Few :: essays research papers William Few He was born in Baltimore in 1748, but his story begins long before his birth. It started when his father’s family immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1680’s. His father just so happened to move to Maryland, where he met his wife, married her, and settled in Baltimore where William was to be born. William had many hard times and little schooling until he was ten, when his family moved to North Carolina. In 1771 William, his father, and his brother joined the regulators, frontiers men who fought against the British royal governor. Because of that his brother was hung and his father’s farm destroyed. The Few’s were forced to move again, now to Georgia. William stayed in North Carolina living by himself until 1776. When he got to Georgia he was accepted to the Bar and began to practice the law in Augusta.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the revolutionary war began Few sided with the Whig cause, which was the side of the war fighting for America’s freedom from British rule. Even though Few had little schooling as a child he proved leadership and won a lieutenant-colonelcy, a very high rank in the minutemen army. Few also began to take interest in politics and were elected Georgia provincial congress of 1776. He also was and the state executive, surveyor general, Indian commissioner, as well as served in the Continental Congress general. Few was also reelected to the Georgia assembly.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Four years later Few was picked to be one of the six state delegates to the constitutional convention. Two of the state delegates did not attend the convention. Two did not stay for the duration. Few did not attend much of the convention, and never made a speech. But he helped nationalists vote, and helped have congress approve the constitution. He also approved the state ratifying convention.

India’s Sacred Cow Essay

The cultural practices of other people often seem strange, irrational, and even inexplicable to outsiders. In fact, the members of the culture in question may be unable to give a rationally satisfying explanation of why they behave as they do: they may say that â€Å"the gods wish it so,† or that â€Å"it is always done that way.† Yet a fundamental assumption of social science is that no matter how peculiar or even bizarre human cultures may appear, they can be understood at least in part. To Americans and Europeans, the attitude of most people in India toward cows is perplexing. Hindus regard the animals as sacred and will not kill or eat them. In India a large population of cows wanders freely through both rural areas and city streets, undisturbed by the millions of hungry and malnourished people. Why? Marvin Harris suggests an answer to such puzzles. In this quite famous article, he suggests that India’s sacred cow is in fact quite a rational cultural adaptati on — because the cow is so extraordinarily useful. News photographs that came out of India during the famine of the late 1960s showed starving people stretching out bony hands to beg for food while cattle strolled behind them undisturbed. The Hindu, it seems, would rather starve to death than eat his cow or even deprive it of food. Western specialists in food habits around the world consider Hinduism an irrational ideology that compels people to overlook abundant, nutritious foods for scarcer, less healthful foods. Many Western observers believe that an absurd devotion to the mother cow pervades Indian life. Many Indians agree with Western assessments of the Hindu reverence for their cattle, the zebu, a large-humped species of cattle prevalent in Asia and Africa. M. N. Srinivas, an Indian anthropologist states: â€Å"Orthodox Hindu opinion regards the killing of cattle with abhorrence, even though the refusal to kill the vast number of useless cattle which exists in India today is detrimental to the nation.† Even the Indian Ministry of Information formerly maintained that â€Å"the large animal population is more a liability than an asset in view of our land resources.† Accounts from many different sources point to the same conclusion: India, one of the world’s great civilizations, is being strangled by its love for the cow. The easy explanation for India’s devotion to the cow, the one most Westerners and Indians would offer, is that cow worship is an integral part of Hinduism. Religion is somehow good for the soul, even if it sometimes fails the body. Religion orders the cosmos and explains our place in the universe. Religious beliefs, many would claim, have existed for thousands of years and have a life of their own. They are not understandable in scientific terms. But all this ignores history. There is more to be said for cow worship than is immediately apparent. History of Cow Worship The earliest Vedas, the Hindu sacred texts from the Second Millennium B.C., do not prohibit the slaughter of cattle. Instead, they ordain it as a part of sacrificial rites. The early Hindus did not avoid the flesh of cows and bulls; they ate it at ceremonial feasts presided over by Brahman priests. Cow worship is a relatively recent development in India; it evolved as the Hindu religion developed and changed. This evolution is recorded in royal edicts and religious texts written during the last 3,000 years of Indian history. The Vedas from the First Millennium B.C. contain contradictory passages, some referring to ritual slaughter and others to a strict taboo on beef consumption. Many of the sacred-cow passages were incorporated into the texts by priests in a later period. By 200 A.D. the status of Indian cattle had undergone a transformation. The Brahman priesthood exhorted the population to venerate the cow and forbade them to abuse it or to feed on it. Religious feasts involving the ritual slaughter and consumption of livestock were eliminated and meat eating was restricted to the nobility. By 1000 A.D., all Hindus were forbidden to eat beef. Ahimsa, the Hindu belief in the unity of all life, was the spiritual justification for this restriction. But it is difficult to ascertain exactly when this change occurred. An important event that helped to shape the modern complex was the Islamic invasion, which took place in the Eighth Century A.D. Hindus may have found it politically expedient to set themselves off from the invaders, who were beefeaters, by emphasizing the need to prevent the slaughter of their sacred animals. Thereafter, the cow taboo assumed its modern form and began to function much as it does today. The place of the cow in modern India is every place – on posters, in the movies, in brass figures, in s tone and wood carvings, on the streets, in the fields. The cow is a symbol of health and abundance. The Economic Uses of The Cow The cattle are not just worshiped and revered in India. They are also extraordinarily useful. The zebu cow provides the milk that Indians consume in the form of yogurt and ghee (clarified butter), which contribute subtle flavors to much spicy Indian food. This is one practical role of the cow, but cows provide less than half the milk produced in India. Most cows in India are not dairy breeds. In most regions, when an Indian farmer wants a steady, high-quality source of milk he usually invests in a female water buffalo. In India the water buffalo is the specialized dairy breed because its milk has a higher butterfat content than zebu milk. Although the farmer milks his zebu cows, the milk is merely a by-product. More vital than zebu milk to South Asian farmers are zebu calves. Male calves are especially valued because from bulls come oxen which are the mainstay of the Indian agricultural system. Small, fast oxen drag wooden plows through late-spring fields when monsoons have dampened the dry, cracked earth. After harvest, the oxen break the grain from the stalk by stomping through mounds of cut wheat and rice. For rice cultivation in irrigated fields, the male water buffalo is preferred (it pulls better in deep mud), but for most other crops, including rainfall rice, wheat, sorghum, and millet, and for transporting goods and people to and from town, a team of oxen is preferred. The ox is the Indian peasant’s tractor, thresher and family car combined; the cow is the factory that produces the ox. If draft animals instead of cows are counted, India appears to have too few domesticated ruminants, not too many. Since each of the 70 million farms in India requires a draft team, it follows that Indian peasants should use 140 million animals in the fields. But there are only 83 million oxen and male water buffalo on the subcontinent, a shortage of 30 million draft teams. In other regions of the world, joint ownership of draft animals might overcome a shortage, but Indian agriculture is closely tied to the monsoon rains of late spring and summer. Field preparation and planting must coincide with the rain, and a farmer must have his animals ready to plow when the weather is right. When the farmer without a draft team needs bullocks most, his neighbors are all using theirs. Any delay in turning the soil drastically lowers production. Because of this dependence on draft animals, loss of the family oxen is devastating. If a beast dies, the farmer must borrow money to buy or rent an ox at interest rates so high that he ultimately loses his land. Every year foreclosures force thousands of poverty-stricken peasants to abandon the countryside for the overcrowded cities. If a family is fortunate enough to own a fertile cow, it will be able to rear replacements for a lost team and thus survive until life returns to normal. If, as sometimes happens, famine leads a family to sell its cow and ox team, all ties to agriculture are cut. Even if the family survives, it has no way to farm the land, no oxen to work the land, and no cows to produce oxen. The prohibition against eating meat applies to the flesh of cows, bulls, and oxen, but the cow is the most sacred because it can produce the other two. The peasant whose cow dies is not only crying over a spiritual loss but over the loss of his farm as well. Religious laws that forbid the slaughter of cattle promote the recovery of the agricultural system from the dry Indian winter and from periods of drought. The monsoon, on which all agriculture depends, is erratic. Sometimes it arrives early, sometimes late, sometimes not at all. Drought has struck large portions of India time and again in this century, and Indian farmers and the zebus are accustomed to these natural disasters. Zebus can pass weeks on end with little or no food and water. Like camels, they store both in their humps and recuperate quickly with only a little nourishment. During droughts the cows often stop lactating and become barren. In some cases the condition is permanent but often it is only temporary. If barren animals were summarily eliminated, as Western experts in animal husbandry have suggested, cows capable of recovery would be lost along with those entirely debilitated. By keeping alive the cows that can later produce oxen, religious laws against cow slaughter assure the recovery of the agricultural system from the greatest challenge it faces – the failure of the monsoon. The local Indian governments aid the process of recovery by maintaining homes for barren cows. Farmers reclaim any animal that calves or begins to lactate. One police station in Madras collects strays and pastures them in a field adjacent to the station. After a small fine is paid, a cow is returned to its rightful owner when the owner thinks the cow shows signs of be ing able to reproduce. During the hot, dry spring months most of India is like a desert. Indian farmers often complain they cannot feed their livestock during this period. They maintain cattle by letting them scavenge on the sparse grass along the roads. In the cities cattle are encouraged to scavenge near food stalls to supplement their scant diet. These are the wandering cattle tourists report seeing throughout India. Westerners expect shopkeepers to respond to these intrusions with the deference due a sacred animal; instead, their response is a string of curses and the crack of a long bamboo pole across the beast’s back or a poke at its genitals. Mahatma Gandhi was well aware of the treatment sacred cows (and bulls and oxen) received in India: â€Å"How we bleed her to take the last drop of milk from her. How we starve her to emaciation, how we ill-treat the calves, how we deprive them of their portion of milk, how cruelly we treat the oxen, how we castrate them, how we beat them, how we overloa d them.† Oxen generally receive better treatment than cows. When food is in short supply, thrifty Indian peasants feed their working bullocks and ignore their cows, but rarely do they abandon the cows to die. When cows are sick, farmers worry over them as they would over members of the family and nurse them as if they were children. When the rains return and when the fields are harvested, the farmers again feed their cows regularly and reclaim their abandoned animals. The prohibition against beef consumption is a form of disaster insurance for all India. Western agronomists and economists are quick to protest that all the functions of the zebu cattle can be improved with organized breeding programs, cultivated pastures, and silage. Because stronger oxen would pull the plow faster, they could work multiple plots of land, allowing farmers to share their animals. Fewer healthy, well-fed cows could provide Indians with more milk. But pastures and silage require arable land, land needed to produce wheat and rice. A look at Western cattle farming makes plain the cost of adopting advanced technology in Indian agriculture. In a study of livestock production in the United States, one scientist at Cornell University found that 91 percent of the cereal, legume, and vegetable protein suitable for human consumption is consumed by livestock. Approximately three quarters of the arable land in the United States is devoted to growing food for livestock. In the production of meat and milk, American ranchers use enough fossil fuel to equal more than 82 million barrels of oil annually. Indian cattle do not drain the system in the same way. In a 1971 study of livestock in West Bengal, India, by a professor at the University of Missouri, found that Bengalese cattle ate only the inedible remains of subsistence crops – rice straw, rice hulls, the tops of sugar cane, and mustard-oil cake. Cattle graze in the fields after harvest and eat the remains of crops left on the ground; they forage for grass and weeds on the roadsides. The food for zebu cattle costs the human population virtually nothing. â€Å"Basically the cattle convert items of little direct human value into products of immediate utility.† In addition to plowing the fields and producing milk, the zebus produce dung, which fires the hearths and fertilizes the fields of India. Much of the estimated 800 million tons of manure produced annually is collected by the farmers’ children as they follow the family cows and bullocks from place to place. And when the children see the droppings of another farmer’s cattle along the road, they pick those up also. The system operates with such high efficiency that the children of West Bengal recover nearly 100 percent of the dung produced by their livestock. From 40 to 70 percent of all manure produced by Indian cattle is used as fuel for cooking; the r est is returned to the fields as fertilizer. Dried dung burns slowly, cleanly, and with low heat – characteristics that satisfy the household needs of Indian women. Staples like curry and rice can simmer for hours. While the meal slowly cooks over an unattended fire, the women of the household can do other chores. Cow chips, unlike firewood, do not scorch as they burn. It is estimated that the dung used for cooking fuel provides the energy-equivalent of 43 million tons of coal. At current prices, it would cost India an extra 1.5 billion dollars in foreign exchange to replace the dung with coal. And if the 350 million tons of manure that are being used as fertilizer were replaced with commercial fertilizers, the expense would be even greater. Roger Revelle of the University of California at San Diego has calculated that 89 percent of the energy used in Indian agriculture (the equivalent of about 140 million tons of coal) is provided by local sources. Even if foreign loans were to provide the money, the capital outlay necessary to replace the Indian cow with tractors and fertilizers for the fields, coal for the fires, and transportation for the family would probably warp international financial institutions for years. Instead of asking the Indians to learn from the American model of industrial agriculture, American farmers might learn energy conservation from the Indians. Every step in an energy cycle results in a loss of energy to the system. Like a pendulum that slows a bit with each swing, each transfer of energy from sun to plants, plants to animals, and animals to human beings involves energy losses. Some systems are more efficient than others; they provide a higher percentage of the energy inputs in a final, useful form. Seventeen percent of all energy zebus consume is returned in the form of milk, traction and dung. American cattle raised on Western range land return only 4 percent of the energy they consume. But the Americ an system is improving. Based on techniques pioneered by Indian scientists, at least one commercial firm in the United States is reported to be building plants that will turn manure from cattle feedlots into combustible gas. When organic matter is broken down by anaerobic bacteria, methane gas and carbon dioxide are produced. After the methane is cleansed of the carbon dioxide, it is available for the same purposes as natural gas – cooking, heating, electricity generation. The company constructing the plant plans to sell its product to a gas-supply company, to be piped through the existing distribution system. Schemes similar to this one could make cattle ranches almost independent of utility and gasoline companies, for methane can be used to run trucks, tractors, and cars as well as to supply heat and electricity. The relative energy self-sufficiency that the Indian peasant has achieved is a goal American farmers and industry are now striving for. Studies often understate the efficiency of the Indian cow, because dead cows are used for purposes that Hindus prefer not to acknowledge. When a cow dies, an Untouchable, a member of one of the lowest ranking castes in India, is summoned to haul away the carcass. Higher castes consider the body of the dead cow polluting; if they do handle it, they must go through a rite of purification. Untouchables first skin the dead animal and either tan the skin themselves or sell it to a leather factory. In the privacy of their homes, contrary to the teachings of Hinduism, untouchable castes cook the meat and eat it. Indians of all castes rarely acknowledge the existence of these practices to non-Hindus, but most are aware that beef eating takes place. The prohibition against beef eating restricts consumption by the higher castes and helps distribute animal protein to the poorest sectors of the population that otherwise would have no source of these vital nutrients. Untouchables are not the only Indians who consume beef. Indian Muslims and Christians are under no restriction that forbids them beef, and its consumption is legal in many places. The Indian ban on cow slaughter is state, not national, law and not all states restrict it. In many cities, such as New Delhi, Calcutta, and Bombay, legal slaughterhouses sell beef to retail customers and to the restaurants that serve steak. 6