Red Hot Chili Peppers Essay -- Botany

Red Hot Chili Peppers A passion for foods from the American Southwest is sweeping through the country. The main component and most popular item of this fad is the chili pepper, an item of tremendous variability and a staple of many people in Central America. In this country, chili peppers were once only found in specialized ethnic stores, but now it is just as likely to be found at the neighborhood Kroger. For most people, however, their knowledge stops here. Through this paper I hope to educate the reader on some other aspects of this intriguing vegetable, such as its history, chemistry, and uses. There is some confusion over what a "chili pepper" is. To many it is only the hot varieties of pepper, such as the jalapeno or the serrano. Others include the milder varieties, such as the bell pepper. Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines a chili pepper as "... the pod of any species of capsicum, esp. Capsicum frutescens." In this paper, the term "chili pepper will be used to describe both the hot and mild varieties. When asked to name the source of chili peppers, most people would name Mexico. However, despite the plant's popularity in that country, it is believed that chili peppers originated in South America, after which it spread to Central America. Pepper remains found in Tehuacan, Mexico, were dated to approximately 7000 B.C., showing that chili peppers were established long before Columbus arrived. In fact, chili peppers were among the first plants to be domesticated, due to its weedy nature and the easy transportability of its seeds (Andrews 1984). When Columbus arrived in the New World, he mistook the chili peppers for a relative of black pepper, Piper nigrum, which is why ... ... mankind. Works Cited Andrews, Jean. Pepppers. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1984. Creasy, Rosalind. "Chiles for Flavor." Organic Gardening Mar. 1990: 32-36. Johnson, Jon R, and Charles D. Johnson. "Two Zesty Alternatives to Bell Peppers." Vegetable Grower May 1992: 24-27. "Metabolism and Toxicity of Capsaicin." Nutritional Reviews 44.1 (1986): 20-22. Proulx, E.A. "Some Like Them Hot." Horticulture Jan. 1985: 46-53. Robbins, Jim. "It Feels Like Your Lips Are Going to Fall Off." Smithsonian Jan 1992: 42-51. Rowland, B.J., B. Villalon, and E.E. Burns. "Capsaicin Production in Sweet Bell and Pungent Jalapeno Peppers." Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry 31 (1983): 484-487. Smith, Paul G, Benigno Villalon, and Philip L. Villa. "Horticultural Classification of Peppers Grown in the United States." Hortscience 22 (1987): 11-13.

How to plan and provide environments and services support children Essay

Describe the factors to take into account when planning healthy and safe indoor and outdoor environments and services: All staff has a duty of care for children and each other within the setting. It is important that everybody is aware of government legislation regarding the schools Health and Safety policy in regards to potential risks and hazards and what should happen if an incident occurs. As health and safety is primarily common sense it becomes second nature when working with children to abide by the Health and Safety policy. When working within a school staff should always make sure that areas are fit to purpose prior to any learning or play activities this could mean doing a risk assessment to ensure areas are safe and free from any potential risks. If a risk is spotted it should be reported immediately or logged for attention. The factors to take into account are: Every child is an individual and progresses at different rates and each child has different needs which depend on their age and ability. When we plan activities we should think about ways in which way we can keep all children active and the layout of the room and the needs of the child if you have a baby in the room you would not allow toddlers to be running round. Also if children wanted to ride bikes this should be done outside with more space and under supervision. Some children may have more specific needs than other children if they are have a sensory impairment provisions should be put in place so the child will enjoy mainstream school as much as the next child. An adult could also have specific needs where a risk assessment may need to be done at some time like if the person is pregnant or impaired in some way. Individual support may be offered to families/carers that have different needs to others. When working with children we should always be aware of our environment as we would not allow a child to run around the classroom with scissors, if this did happen we would explain or ask the child why this is a dangerous thing to do. In any school yard there should be separate sides of the yard were say football is played rather than all the children playing in line of the ball as this may cause injury. Explain how health and safety is monitored and maintained and how people in  the work setting are made aware of risks and hazards and encouraged to work safely: Within school settings health and safety is monitored and maintained by the schools policies and procedures these are implemented by a governing body then must be carried out to the letter. Anybody running a place where members of public visit must have a duty of care and not let people be exposed to hazards that may cause illness or harm them. Visitors must follow the set guidelines to ensure the safety and well being of all children within the setting. Children who are being collected must be collected by a person known by the teacher unless prior information given, if a child requires medicine then this will be left in the office with a consent form received from the parents. Within school if a accident / incident happens then it is recorded and parents are informed of the child’s injury i.e. bumped head letter. W ithin schools there will always be a first aider available to deal with an injury. Confidentiality policy is always kept within school the only time confidentiality should be broken is when neglect or a form of abuse is suspected and the relevant authorities need to know. Risk assessments are carried out daily by teachers and all staff to ensure no potential risks or hazards. If anything is found it must be recorded and reported immediately relevant staff must be notified. Identify sources of current guidance for planning healthy and safe environments and services: All settings should have copies of the latest legislation as recorded in 1.4 they will also have their own policies and procedures. There is also a lot of information to be found on the internet: Health and safety executive Child accident prevention trust Department for education Explain how current health and safety legislation, policies and procedures are implemented in own work setting: When working with schools we have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of all children and fellow colleagues as they are entrusted in our care listed below are the main policies: Policies and procedures regarding Health and Safety at Work are given to all staff including volunteers on the first day of employment  within the setting this is based on the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The main responsibilities of this act are that all buildings should be maintained to a high standard, designed with safety in mind. The environment should always be clean and tidy; all equipment should be stored away safely. As is good practice working practice should promote the health and safety of children. These acts also provides protection for employees by the workplace being a safe place and not pose a risk to employee’s health as stated in COSHH all hazardous substan ces and cleaning equipment stored away safely. Training should be provided for all employees on health and safety. PPE clothing should be provided free of charge. Certain injuries, diseases and incidents should be reported immediately to the Health and Safety Executive. First aid facilities and a first aider should be accessible at all times, within each setting there will be a safety representative who can be consulted regarding issues which may affect health and safety. Finally the legal duties of all employees must be responsible to take care of their own health and safety and that of others affected by their actions. All employees must cooperate with the health and safety at work act. This will be kept in the office and available to all. Fire precaution act 1971 and regulations :The fire authority will issue a fire certificate when happy that all correct procedures are in place .They also check the fire equipment and correct fire escapes and routes of departure COSHH (control of substances hazardous to health) this is monitored and maintained within schools by ensuring all chemicals and cleaning equipment is locked away in a cupboard away from all children. All chemicals must be clearly marked. RIDDOR 1995 (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Da ngerous Occurrence Regulations )this is a legal duty to explain work related deaths, any major incidents or injuries, work related diseases and dangerous occurrence. When carrying children or equipment always promote good practice. The Childcare Act 2006 this sets out the statutory framework for health and safety within all settings including that of the EYFS their standards are monitored by Ofsted. Product safety marking these must be (PAT tested) regularly and they will hold the kite mark to say they have been tested. Toys must carry a CE showing that the product meets European standards. Motor vehicles regulations 2006 seat belts must be worn at all times and booster seats provided for children under a certain height (135cm). Smoking ban 2007 EYFS  this includes a legal requirement to ensure all children are in a smoke free zone. The manual handling operations regulation act 1992Employers must ensure that correct guidelines are followed when lifting pupils or equipment. Hygiene legislation 2006 This covers the safe preparation and storage of food .All kitchen staff must hold a current food hygiene certificate .There must be posters displayed within the kitchen reminding staff of good practice i.e. different coloured chopping boards and how food is stored correctly. The early years foundation stage (EYFS) Statutory framework for eyfs 2008 ensuring all aspects of welfare for children is covered ,this includes safeguarding ,suitable people ,suitable premises and equipment .There must be correct documentation within the organisation. Other procedures which are in place to safeguard children are: Safety fence and locked gates disallowing children to leave when in outdoors areas. All doors which provide entry and access are locked and door handles unobtainable to children. All visitors must sign in and wear a badge if there for a while must be notified about health and safety. Children must be picked up by the named person unless by prior arrangement. Confidentiality maintained at all times unless abuse is suspected. Admissions where no child can be looked on more favourably than another. Accident/incident must be recorded if a child has a bump or injury then this must be sent home to parents explaining what happened if a major incident must be forwarded to relevant people. Taking of medic ines they must be stored correctly parents must sign a consent form to say what the medicine is and how much and when their child is allowed it. Within the setting there will be a notice in the staff room of which child is asthmatic or allergic to food or other things so each staff member can see.

Positive Psychology Essay

Positive psychology is defined as a â€Å"science of positive subjective experiences, positive traits, and positive institutions† and it focuses on such topics as â€Å"hope, wisdom, creativity †¦ courage, spirituality† (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Although this definition seems to be broad enough, the current research on positive psychology consists of primarily quantitative studies of cognitive and affective variables within a particular experimental paradigm. It has not paid much attention to topics of humanistic concerns; such as meaning, values, courage, and spirituality. Research is beginning to accumulate around the concept of positive psychology, or moving away from a focus on psychopathology to one of building positive qualities. The popular song â€Å"Don’t Worry, Be Happy, † expressed in a nutshell a key concept in positive psychology, to develop a sense of optimism. Optimism and other human strengths, such as courage, interpersonal skill, future mindedness, faith, hope, work ethic, perseverance, honesty, and the capacity to achieve flow and insight, can act as buffers against malaise, dysfunction, and mental illness. Human strengths such as optimism are not enough, of course. A positive psychology seems to depend also on cultivating positive experiences that are associated with happiness and subjective well-being, on the capacity to adapt and organize to successfully meet changing conditions, and to interactions that occur within positive social contexts (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).Positive psychology is understood as â€Å"the scientific study of ordinary human strengths and virtues† (Sheldon & King, 2001, p. 216). Resilience, a very important skill, illustrates (among other things) the importance of the ordinary. For instance, Masten (2001), in discussing resilience in children, emphasized â€Å"the power of the ordinary† (p. 235). Based on a review of resilience studies involving children, Masten observed: â€Å"Resilience does not come from rare and special qualities, but from the everyday magic of ordinary, normative human resources in the minds, brains, and bodies of children, in their families and relationships, and in their communities.† (Masten, 2001, p. 235) In another look at resilience in terms of its ordinary nature, the American Psychological Association’s Practice Directorate developed a public education campaign following the September 11, 2001, attacks. Called the Road to Resilience, the campaign set out the following principles: (a) resilience is a set of learned behaviors that are not automatic, (b) it is a personal journey that is involved with others, (c) it is an ordinary, not an extraordinary, experience, and (d) it demands that improvement be accomplished through small, persistent steps (Murray, 2003). This perspective of positive psychology that focuses on ordinary and everyday circumstances leads us to think in terms of a kind of â€Å"everyday prevention† that is within the reach of people and that counselors and other practitioners can intentionally bring to their work with clients and client systems. Everyday prevention should infuse and guide the work of all preventionists. The American population has moved beyond being passive recipients of expert-provided care to assume a much more personal responsibility for their own health and mental healthcare needs. People, including children, are viewed as active decision makers, selecting from available choices and preferences and shaping their environment, with the possibility of masterful and efficacious living. Many have begun to assume greater initiative and responsibility for the direction of education and schools; the rise in home schooling, the spread of e-educational programs, and the charter school movement are just three examples. This active involvement in health care and education will become a dominant theme for the twentyfirst century. Professionals and professional training programs are beginning to respond to this significant change in personal orientation and responsibility. For instance, training programs in integrative medicine are developing (e.g., at Duke University and University of Arizona), where the primary goal is to assist people to experience optimal vitality and wellness, integrating mind, body, and spirit as well as allopathic, alternative, and complementary medical approaches. Counseling and counseling psychology programs are beginning to address prevention more directly through coursework and training experiences. Healthcare plans are being created that are comprehensive and dynamic, geared to promoting optimal well-being. But, of course, millions of Americans are not waiting for the healthcare and education establishments to alter themselves in the direction of increased integration and variety. Instead, many are experimenting with their own choices. They research, read, surf the Internet, learn from one another, and test out various combinations of exercise, diet, herbs and vitamins, spiritual practice, social support, and alternative treatments to find what works for them. Much of this experimentation is proceeding without external expert monitoring and may be risky to health, in some degree. Conversely, countless millions are organizing for themselves what they view as healthy practices that seem to be yielding improved vitality and more satisfying lifestyles. All of this activity is a virtual wellspring of prevention, occurring at all ecological levels in our society. Our â€Å"cultural blueprint† is being rewritten at the macro level and is being put into practice by individuals and groups to say, in effect: â€Å"We are empowered.† Organizations are slower to adapt because they have traditions, regulations, policies, revenue streams, and other forces and elements that require longer to turn around-sort of like turning around the Titanic. But organizations are beginning to revise and reinvent themselves, too; witness the increasing number of programs and initiatives that take a health-promoting orientation. Where does the professional practice of prevention by counselors and other helpers fit with this paradigm shift toward a more autonomous and experiencing style of health care and education? Right now a gap exists, as prevention is still tied closely to disorder-reduction, population-based models under the control of â€Å"preventionists† who work conscientiously, and often effectively, to help avert dysfunction. Within the context of positive psychology, Seligman (1999) and others wonder about the following question: â€Å"What is the ‘good life’?† He is quick to indicate that what he means by the good life is not a â€Å"Porsche, champagne, and a suntan.† Seligman suggests that what positive psychology needs is a taxonomy for the good life, the main purpose of which would be to guide the formulation and building of the â€Å"good life.† He observes that psychological science has been able to produce an exhaustive (and exhausting) compendium to describe and diagnose human dysfunction and psychopathology (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) and its editions), but that there is no companion product to describe and prescribe human health and positive functioning. There is a concerted effort under way to develop a taxonomy of the â€Å"good life.† The positive psychology perspective is based on a particular assumption of what is the best way to promote mental health, a way that is 180 degrees different from that which has been in effect within psychology and psychiatry (Maddux, Snyder, & Feldman, 2003). This previous way is to correct dysfunction and to prevent any of the hundreds of clinical syndromes contained in the DSM. Instead, positive psychology alters the focus from the reduction and prevention of human psychological disabilities and disturbances to the enhancement of human strengths and abilities. This focus centers on authentic happiness (Seligman, 2002) from the eudaemonic approach-that is, happiness that is centered on meaning and self-realization (Ryan & Deci, 2001), as well as the choices people make about their lives and how they construe what occurs (Maddux et al. 2003). For example, authentic happiness (Seligman, 2002) is an area within positive psychology that is being intensely studied and that is addressing issues surrounding the â€Å"good life.† Interestingly, with regard to the concept of â€Å"everyday prevention, † the work related to positive psychology-and authentic happiness-appears frequently in the popular press as well as in professional/scientific outlets; â€Å"The Happiest Guy† (McCafferty, 2003), an article on Seligman’s authentic happiness, in the USA Weekend Sunday newspaper insert, is a case in point. This work is becoming part of mainstream America, increasingly available to people on an everyday basis. Of course, authentic happiness is not the same as â€Å"A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants†, although it could be said that both glee and fun are relevant. In his book on authentic happiness (Seligman, 2002), Seligman presents a â€Å"happiness formula:† H = S + C + V. That is, an enduring level of Happiness (H) is a function of one’s biological Set (S) range, plus Circumstances (C) to which people are subjected (both generally positive in relation to enduring happiness, such as marriage and sociability, and those that are generally negatively related, such as money and race), plus Voluntary control (V), the choices one makes in life, such as a range of positive emotions like optimism, hope, faith, trust, and confidence. Although a large component of authentic, enduring happiness seems to be set by biology, it is the voluntary choices over which people can exert control that serves as the bellwether test of positive psychology. People can learn how to enhance their capacity to make positive choices on a daily basis. The VIA (Values in Action) Signature Strengths seeks to assess twenty-four â€Å"signature strengths† that are associated with authentic happiness. The VIA Questionnaire was developed by the Values-In-Action (VIA) Institute, which is directed by Peterson and Seligman, and funded by the Mayerson Foundation (http://www.authentichappiness.org/)The twenty-four signature strengths are organized within the broader categories of: Wisdom and Knowledge-five cognitive strengths involving the acquisition and use of knowledge. These strengths include creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, and perspective taking. Courage-four emotional strengths involving the will toward goal accomplishment even when there is internal or external opposition. These strengths include bravery, industry/perseverance, authenticity, and zest. Love-three interpersonal strengths that include supporting and caring for others. These strengths include intimacy, kindness, and social intelligence Justice-three strengths that undergird healthy communities. These strengths include citizenship/teamwork, fairness, and leadership. Temperance-four strengths that moderate and protect against excessiveness. These strengths include forgiveness/mercy, modesty/ humility, prudence, and self-control/self-regulation. Transcendence-five strengths that help to connect with the universe and provide meaning. These strengths include awe/appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, playfulness, and spirituality. Seligman (2002) indicates that everyone possesses many signature strengths. He suggests that individuals complete and score the VIA, examine their top strengths, and apply a set of nine criteria to each one of the top strengths. As examples, three of these nine criteria are as follows: a strength engenders a sense of ownership and authenticity, a feeling of excitement while displaying it, and a rapid learning curve as it is first practiced. If a strength is matched by one or more of these criteria, he suggests that it is a signature strength and should be used frequently and across many settings and situations. Seligman provides examples in the areas of work, love, raising children, and finding general meaning and purpose in life. In sum, he (2002) holds the following with regard to the good life: Use your signature strengths every day in the main realms of your life to bring about abundant gratification and authentic happiness. (p. 161) Long before work began in positive psychology to examine the good life, Socrates (born 470 B.C.E.) had given it some thought! Gross (2002) reviewed Socrates’ seven principles, which are often thought to be associated with the good life, and how they can be used on a daily basis. These are: Know Thyself. This one, we hear most frequently. To know thyself means to be self-aware, to review and reflect on actions, and to develop and revise plans to fit personal values within the community context. Ask Great Questions. Be inquisitive. Seek to actively learn all the time, everywhere, from everyone. Think for Yourself. Monitor what you say and what you do. Ask if these actions are reflective of you and your values and thoughts. Make up your own mind after weighing evidence. Challenge Conventional Wisdom. Resist getting caught up in the currents running around you. Don’t blindly do what everyone else does. Develop the capacity to act consistent with personal conviction. Grow with Friends. Connect with others and seek appropriately to interact at genuine and deep levels. Speak the Truth. Avoid lying, shading the truth, or faking it. Spot these behaviors around you, and those where truthful behaviors occur, and allow both to guide you. Strengthen Your Soul. Build into each day opportunities and experiences that are restful, bring joy, and are kind. Socrates provided a good start on defining the good life. Subjective Well-Being (SWB) is a condition that reflects a â€Å"preponderance of positive thoughts and feelings about one’s life† (Myers & Diener, 1995, p. 11). It is defined by three distinct factors that are also correlated: (a) relative presence of positive affect, (b) absence of negative affect, and (c) life satisfaction. Associating happiness with SWB, Myers and Diener have pondered the question:Who is happy? They and others (e.g., Little, 2000; Willi, 1999) have found that happy and effective people (i.e., those with high SWB) tend to: Possess particular inner fixed or natural traits: self-esteem and acceptance, personal control/autonomy, optimism, and extraversion Exhibit free, or adaptive, traits that are culturally scripted patterns enacted within one’s goals and projects, and are independent of fixed traits Have warm, positive, trusting, and satisfying interpersonal relationships Find â€Å"flow† in work and in leisure (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), where engagement in mindful challenge, with adequate support, is realizable Possess a religious or spiritual faith Adapt positively to change and show environmental mastery Find or create personal niches that enrich their lives Live within a cultural worldview that is generally positive Have a purpose and find meaning in life Have personal goals that guide personal growth Thus, happiness can be thought of as a side effect of other main effects and their interaction. Happiness can also be viewed as the dessert and not the main course. Positive Youth Development (PYD) is an approach to prevention that emphasizes the development of youth in context rather than attempting to prevent separate problems faced by youths (Pittman & Fleming, 1991). Many youth outcomes are affected by the same protective and risk factors, making interventions that address several personal-social and setting domains important. A set of PYD constructs has been developed in an effort to operationally define positive youth development. These constructs are relevant to our discussion of everyday prevention. Positive Youth Development programs and strategies seek generally to achieve one or more of the following objectives (Catalano, Berglund, Ryan, Lonczak, & Hawkins, 2002): Promote bonding: developing a child’s relationship with a healthy adult, positive peers, school, community, or culture Foster resilience: developing adaptive coping strategies to stress and change, and enhancing flexibility and overall capacity Promote social competence: developing appropriate interpersonal skills in such areas as communication and conflict resolution Promote emotional competence: developing skills in identifying and managing feelings and emotional reactions, such as in empathy and frustration tolerance Promote cognitive competence: developing ability to use logic, analytic thinking, abstract reasoning, problem solving, goal setting, and related skills Promote behavioral competence: developing skills in nonverbal and verbal communication and in taking prosocial action Promote moral competence: developing empathy, a sense of right and wrong, what is moral and just, and a respect for rules and standards Foster self-determination: developing the ability to think for oneself, to take action that matches the thought, to be autonomous, and to be able to chart one’s own course Foster spirituality: developing a belief in a higher power, a belief system, or a sense of spiritual identity/meaning/practice Foster self-efficacy: developing a sense that one can accomplish goals through one’s own action, involving personal goal setting, mastery skills, and ways to reverse self-defeating thoughts Foster clear and positive identity: developing a coherent sense of self, including positive identification with a supportive social or cultural subgroup Foster belief in the future: developing a belief about the future that is based on optimism about possibilities Provide recognition for positive behavior: developing ways to reward positive behaviors Provide opportunities for pro-social involvement: developing strategies for becoming actively involved in pro-social activities, making a contribution, and experiencing healthy interactions with others Foster pro-social norms: developing understanding of accurate normative behavior (e.g., the number of contemporaries who actually use drugs), mentoring to assist others (and oneself) with forward movement, creating clear expectations for minimizing health risks, and enhancing social support (pp. 15-22) These 15 PYD objectives provide a robust direction not only for professionals to pursue but also for everyday prevention efforts. Relatedly, Lopez and McKnight (2002) discussed what they termed â€Å"light-handed interventions† in PYD. Light-handed interventions are everyday occurrences that can make a difference in peoples’ lives (also known as experiences that enhance competency). These authors proposed that an efficient approach to PYD might be facilitated by what they termed â€Å"everyday luxuries† in which all youth do not have opportunities to indulge, such as attending a sporting event or a musical, relaxing, playing, and writing about life events.

The Competent Teacher

The Competent Teacher The purpose of this article is to evaluate how teachers need to prepare to be competent for the 21st century. Researchers and teachers are becoming aware that the 21st century classroom is changing dramatically. A team of teacher educators from NIE sat down and asked themselves these questions. : What are the roles of the teacher in the 21st century? What are the competencies teachers need to fulfill these roles? What can our teacher education programs provide to help them with this task? Some of the roles they identified included: nurturing the whole child, providing quality learning, working with others, and developing a strong set of personal values. They then made a list of core competencies that every trained teacher should have. The core competencies were classified into 3 broad performance dimensions. These dimensions are, professional practice, leadership and management, and personal effectiveness. Professional practice, is the idea that the teacher takes every opportunity to encourage learning, and believe that all students can learn. And learning isn't limited to the classroom. The teacher takes every opportunity to improve on his or her own professional practice, in order to provide quality learning. Leadership and management is the idea that a competent teacher is a leader who wins the hearts and minds of the students and sees value in working with parents, colleagues, and other professionals at any and all given times. Personal effectiveness is the idea that teachers have to hold themselves to the highest moral and ethical standards both in and out of the classroom. The thinking behind this idea is summed up best as â€Å"you must believe in yourself before others will believe in you†. I think that for a teacher to be competent in the classroom today they must evaluate themselves on a yearly basis. Every class, and student is different and teaching material changes over time. Technology is also a key element in the classroom. A teacher must stay up to date and be proficient on the various aspects of the technology world. I believe a teacher should be able to adapt to different classroom settings, students and situations as they are presented. Becoming a teacher is a job where one must expect the unexpected and be able to deal with it on a professional level. (Citation: singteach. nie. edu. sg Issue 23- march/april 2010)

Memory Organization

Memory Basics Memory is the workspace for the computers processor. It is a temporary storage area where the programs and data being operated on by the processor must reside. Memory storage is considered temporary because the data and programs will remain there only as long as the computer has electrical power or is not reset. Before being shut down or reset, any data that has been changed should be saved to a more permanent storage device of some type (usually a hard disk) so it can be reloaded into memory again in the future. We often call memory RAM, for Random Access Memory.Main memory is called RAM because you can randomly (and quickly) access any location in memory. When we talk about a computers memory, we usually mean the RAM in the system, meaning primarily the memory chips or modules that make up the primary active program and data storage used by the processor. This is often confused with the term storage, which should be used when referring to things such as disk and tape drives (although some people do consider them a form of memory). 2Types of Memory To better understand physical memory in a system, it is necessary to see where and how it fits into the system.Three main types of physical memory used in modern PCs are †¢ ROM: Read Only Memory †¢ DRAM: Dynamic Random Access Memory †¢ SRAM: Static RAM 2. 1ROM Read Only Memory, or ROM, is a type of memory that can permanently or semipermanently hold data. It is called read-only because it is either impossible or difficult to write to. ROM is also often referred to as non-volatile memory because any data stored in ROM will remain, even if the power is turned off. As such, ROM is an ideal place to put the PCs startup instructionsthat is, the software that boots the system.Note that ROM and RAM are not opposites, as some people seem to believe. In fact, ROM is technically a subset of the systems RAM. In other words, a portion of the systems Random Access Memory address space is mapped into one or more ROM chips. This is necessary to contain the software that enables the PC to boot up; otherwise, the proces- sor would have no program in memory to execute when it was powered on. For example, when a PC is turned on, the processor automatically jumps to address FFFF0h, expecting to find instructions to tell the processor what to do.This location is exactly 16 bytes from the end of the first megabyte of RAM space, and the end of the ROM. If this location was mapped into regular memory 1 chips, any data stored there would have disappeared when the power was turned off previously, and the processor would subsequently find no instructions to run the next time power was turned on. By placing a ROM chip at this address, a system startup program can be permanently loaded into the ROM and will be available every time the system is turned on. The motherboard ROM normally contains four main programs, including the following in most systems: †¢ POST: Power-On Self Test.A series of test routines that ensure the system components are operating properly. †¢ CMOS Setup: A menu-driven application that allows the user to set sys- tem configuration parameters, options, security settings, and preferences. †¢ Bootstrap Loader: The routine that first scans the floppy drive and then the hard disk, looking for an operating system to load. †¢ BIOS: Basic Input/Output System. A series of device driver programs designed to present a standard interface to the basic system hardware, especially hardware that must be active during the boot process. Four different types of ROM chips are ROM. Read Only Memory †¢ PROM. Programmable ROM †¢ EPROM. Erasable PROM †¢ EEPROM. Electrically Erasable PROM, also called a flash ROM No matter which type of ROM you use, the data stored in a ROM chip is non- volatile and will remain indefinitely unless intentionally erased or overwritten. 2. 1. 1PROM PROMs are a type of ROM that is blank when new and must be pr ogrammed with whatever data you want 2. 1. 2EPROM One variation of the PROM that has been very popular is the EPROM. An EPROM is a PROM that is erasable. EPROM is erased by exposure to intense UV light. 2. 1. 3 EEPROM/Flash ROMA newer type of ROM is the EEPROM, which stands for Electrically Erasable PROM. These chips are also called flash ROMs, and are characterized by their capability to be erased and reprogrammed directly in the circuit board in which they are installed, with no special equipment required. 2 2. 2DRAM Dynamic RAM is the type of memory chip used for most of the main memory in a modern PC. The main advantages of DRAM is that it is very dense, meaning you can pack a lot of bits into a very small chip, and it is very inexpensive, which makes it affordable for large amounts of memory.The memory cells in a DRAM chip are tiny capacitors that retain a charge to indicate a bit. The problem with DRAM is that it is dynamic, and because of the design must be constantly refresh ed or the electrical charges in the individual memory capacitors will drain and the data will be lost. Refresh occurs when the system memory controller takes a tiny break and accesses all the rows of data in the memory chips. DRAMs use only one transistor and capacitor pair per bit, which makes them very dense, offering a lot of memory capacity per chip than other types of memory. 2. 3 Cache MemorySRAMThere is another distinctly different type of memory that is significantly faster than most types of DRAM. SRAM stands for Static RAM, which is so named because it does not need the periodic refresh rates like DRAM (Dynamic RAM). Due to the design of SRAM, not only are refresh rates unnecessary, but SRAM is much faster than DRAM and is fully able to keep pace with modern processors. SRAM memory is available in access times of 2ns or less, which means it can keep pace with processors running 500MHz or faster! This is due to the SRAM design, which calls for a cluster of six transistors f or each bit of storage.The use of transistors but no capacitors means that refresh rates are not necessary because there are no capacitors to lose their charges over time. As long as there is power, SRAM will remember what is stored. Compared to DRAM, SRAM is much faster, but also much lower in density and much more expensive. The lower density means that SRAM chips are physically larger and store many less bits overall. The high number of transistors and the clustered design means that SRAM chips are both physically larger and much more expensive to produce than DRAM chips.Even though SRAM is too expensive for PC use as main memory, PC designers have found a way to use SRAM to dramatically improve PC performance. Rather than spend the money for all RAM to be SRAM memory, which can run fast enough to match the CPU, it is much more cost-effective to design in a small amount of high-speed SRAM memory, called cache memory. The cache runs at speeds close to or even equal to the processo r, and is the memory from which the processor normally directly reads from and writes to. During read operations, the data in the high-speed cache memory is resupplied from the lower-speed main memory or DRAM in advance. 3Memory Packaging Memory is made from tiny semiconductor chips and must be packaged into something less fragile and tiny in order to be integrated with the rest of the system Different types of memory paclages are †¢ Dual Inline Packages (DIPs) and Memory Modules †¢ Single Inline Memory Modules (SIMMs) †¢ Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs) 3. 1DIPS Most memory chips are packaged into small plastic or ceramic packages called dual inline packages or DIPs. A DIP is a rectangular package with rows of pins running along its two longer edges These are the small black boxes you see on SIMMs, DIMMs or other larger packaging styles . 2SIMMs SIMMs are available in two flavors: 30 pin and 72 pin. 30-pin SIMMs are the older standard, and were popular on third and fourth generation motherboards. 72-pin SIMMs are used on fourth, fifth and sixth generation PCs. SIMMs are placed into special sockets on the motherboard created to hold them. The sockets are specifically designed to ensure that once inserted, the SIMM will be held in place tightly 3. 3DIMMs DIMMs are 168 pins in size, and provide memory 64 bits in width. They are a newer form factor and are becoming the de facto standard for new PCs; they are not used on older motherboards motherboards.SIMMs have contacts on either side of the circuit board but they are tied together. So a 30-pin SIMM has 30 contacts on each side of the circuit board, but each pair is connected. DIMMs however have different connections on each side of the circuit board 4Memory Banks Memory chips (DIPs, SIMMs, SIPPs, and DIMMs) are organized in banks on motherboards and memory cards. The banks usually correspond to the data bus capacity of the system’s microprocessor. The number of bits for each bank can be made up of single chips, SIMMs, or DIMMs. 4 5Memory ReliabilityA part of the nature of memory is that it will inevitably fail. These failures are usually classified as two basic types: hard fails and soft errors. The most well understood are hard fails, in which the chip is working and then, due to some flaw, physical damage, or other event, becomes damaged and experiences a permanent failure. Fixing this type of failure normally requires replacement of some part of the memory hardware, such as the chip, SIMM, or DIMM. Hard error rates are known as HERs. The other more insidious type of failure is the soft error.A soft error is a nonpermanent failure that may never reoccur, or occur at infrequent intervals. (Soft fails are effectively â€Å"fixed† by powering the system off and back on. ) Soft error rates are known as SERs. There are basically three levels and techniques for fault tolerance used in modern PCs: †¢ Non-parity †¢ Parity †¢ ECC (Error Correcting Co de) Non-parity systems have no fault tolerance at all. The reason they are even used is because they have the lowest inherent cost. No additional memory is necessary as is the case with parity or ECC techniques. 6ParityTne standard IBM set for the industry is that the memory chips in a bank of nine each handle one bit of data: eight bits per character plus one extra bit called the parity bit. As the eight individual bits in a byte are stored in memory, a parity genera- tor/checker, which is either part of the CPU or located in a special chip on the motherboard, evaluates the data bits by counting the number of 1s in the byte. If an even number of 1s is in the byte, the parity generator/checker creates a 1 and stores it as the ninth bit (parity bit) in the parity memory chip.That makes the total sum for all nine bits an odd number. If the original sum of the eight data bits is an odd number, the parity bit created is 0, keeping the 9-bit sum an odd number. The value of the parity bit is always chosen so that the sum of all nine bits (eight data bits plus one parity bit) is an odd number. The following examples may make it easier to understand: Data bit number: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Data bit value:10110011 Parity bit:0 5 In this example, because the total number of data bits with a value of 1 is an odd number (5), the parity bit must have a value of 0 to ensure an odd sum for all nine bits.The following is another example: Data bit number: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Data bit value :00110011 Parity bit: 1 In this example, because the total number of data bits with a value of 1 is an even number (4), the parity bit must have a value of 1 to create an odd sum for all nine bits. When the system reads memory back from storage, it checks the parity information. If a (9-bit) byte has an even number of bits with a parity bit value of 1, that byte must have an error. The system cannot tell which bit has changed, or if only a single bit has changed.If three bits changed, for example, the byte still flags a parity-check error; if two bits changed, however, the bad byte may pass unnoticed. The following examples show parity-check messages for three types of systems: For the IBM PC: PARITY CHECK x For the IBM XT: PARITY CHECK x yyyyy (z) For the IBM AT and late model XT: PARITY CHECK x yyyyy Where x is 1 or 2: 1=Erroroccurredonthemotherboard 2=Erroroccurredinanexpansionslot yyyyy represents a number from 00000 through FFFFF that indicates, in hexadecimal notation, the byte in which the error has occurred. Where (z) is (S) or (E ): S) = Parity error occurred in the system unit (E ) = Parity error occurred in the expansion chassis When a parity-check error is detected, the motherboard parity-checking cir- cuits generate a non-maskable interrupt (NMI), which halts processing and di- 6 verts the systems attention to the error. The NMI causes a routine in the ROM to be executed. The routine clears the screen and then displays a message in the upper-left corner of the screen . The message differs depending on the type of computer system. 7 ECC (Error Correcting Code) ECC goes a big step beyond simple parity error detection.Rather than just detecting an error, ECC allows a single bit error to be corrected, which means the system can continue on without interruption and without corrupting data. ECC as implemented in most PCs can only detect and not correct double-bit errors. Because studies have indicated that approximately 98 percent of memory errors are single- bit variety, the most commonly used type of ECC is one in which the attendant memory controller detects and corrects single-bit errors in an accessed data word (double-bit errors can be detected, but not corrected).This type of ECC is known as SEC-DED and requires an additional seven check bits over 32 bits in a 4-byte system and eight check bits in an 8-byte system. ECC in a 4-byte system obviously costs more than non-parity or parity, but in an 8-byte system, ECC and parity costs are equal. ECC entails the memory controller calculating the check bits on a memory- write operation, performing a compare between the read and calculated check- bits on a read operation and, if necessary, correcting bad bit(s).The additional ECC logic in the memory controller is not very significant in this age of inex- pensive, high-performance VLSI logic, but ECC actually affects memory perfor- mance on writes. This is because the operation must be timed to wait for the calculation of check bits and, when the system waits for corrected data, reads. On a partial-word write, the entire word must first be read, the affected byte(s) rewritten, and then new check bits calculated. This turns partial-word write operations into slower read-modify writes. Most memory errors are of a single-bit nature, which are correctable by ECC.Incorporating this fault-tolerant technique provides high system reliability and attendant availability. An ECC-based system is a good choice for servers, workstations, or mis sion-critical applications in which the cost of a potential memory error outweighs the additional memory and system cost to correct it, along with ensuring that it does not detract from system reliability. 8 The System Logical Memory Layout The original PC had a total of 1M of addressable memory, and the top 384K of that was reserved for use by the system.Placing this reserved space at the top (between 640K and 1024K instead of at the bottom, between 0K and 640K) led to what today is often called the conventional memory barrier. The constant pressures on system and peripheral manufacturers to maintain compatibility by never breaking from the original memory scheme of the first PC has resulted in 7 a system memory structure that is (to put it kindly) a mess. Logical memory sections are given below †¢ Conventional (Base) memory †¢ Upper Memory Area (UMA) †¢ High Memory Area (HMA) †¢ Extended memory (XMS) †¢ Expanded memory (obsolete) Video RAM memory (part of UMA) †¢ Adapter ROM and Special Purpose RAM (part of UMA) †¢ Motherboard ROM BIOS (part of UMA) 8. 1 Conventional (Base) Memory The original PC/XT-type system was designed to use 1M of memory workspace, sometimes called RAM (random access memory). This 1M of RAM is divided into several sections, some of which have special uses. DOS can read and write to the entire megabyte, but can manage the loading of programs only in the portion of RAM space called conventional memory, which was 512K at the time the first PC was introduced.The other 512K was reserved for use by the system, including the motherboard and adapter boards plugged into the system slots. After introducing the system, IBM decided that only 384K was needed for these reserved uses, and the company began marketing PCs with 640K of user memory. Thus, 640K became the standard for memory that can be used by DOS for running programs, and is often termed the 640K memory barrier. The remaining memory after 640K was rese rved for use by the graphics boards, other adapters, and the motherboard ROM BIOS.This barrier largely affects 16-bit software such as DOS and Windows 3. 1, and is much less of a factor with 32-bit software and operating systems such as Windows 95/98, NT, and so on. 8. 2 Upper Memory Area (UMA) The term Upper Memory Area (UMA) describes the reserved 384K at the top of the first megabyte of system memory on a PC/XT and the first megabyte on an AT-type system. This memory has the addresses from A0000 through FFFFF. The way the 384K of upper memory is used breaks down as follows: †¢ The first 128K after conventional memory is called video RAM.It is re- served for use by video adapters. When text and graphics are displayed onscreen, the electronic impulses that contain their images reside in this space. Video RAM is allotted the address range from A0000-BFFFF. 8 †¢ The next 128K is reserved for the adapter BIOS that resides in read-only memory chips on some adapter boards plug ged into the bus slots. Most VGA-compatible video adapters use the first 32K of this area for their onboard BIOS. The rest can be used by any other adapters installed. Many network adapters also use this area for special-purpose RAM called Shared Memory.Adapter ROM and special-purpose RAM is allotted the address range from C0000-DFFFF. †¢ The last 128K of memory is reserved for motherboard BIOS (the basic input/output system, which is stored in read-only RAM chips or ROM). The POST (Power-On Self Test) and bootstrap loader, which handles your system at bootup until the operating system takes over, also reside in this space. Most systems only use the last 64K (or less) of this space, leaving the first 64K or more free for remapping with memory managers. Some systems also include the CMOS Setup program in this area.The motherboard BIOS is allotted the address range from E0000-FFFFF. 8. 3Extended Memory The memory map on a system based on the 286 or higher processor can extend bey ond the 1M boundary that exists when the processor is in real mode. On a 286 or 386SX system, the extended memory limit is 16M; on a 386DX, 486, Pentium, Pentium MMX, or Pentium Pro system, the extended memory limit is 4G (4,096M). Systems based on the Pentium II processor have a limit of 64G (65,536M). For a system to address memory beyond the first megabyte, the processor must be in protected modethe native mode of 286 and higher processors.On a 286, only programs designed to run in protected mode can take advantage of extended memory. 386 and higher processors offer another mode, called virtual real mode, which enables extended memory to be, in effect, chopped into 1M pieces (each its own real-mode session). Virtual real mode also allows for several of these sessions to be running simultaneously in protected areas of memory. The extended memory specification (XMS) was developed in 1987 by Mi- crosoft, Intel, AST Corp. , and Lotus Development to specify how programs would use exte nded memory.The XMS specification functions on systems based on the 286 or higher and allows real-mode programs (those designed to run in DOS) to use extended memory and another block of memory usually out of the reach of DOS. Before XMS, there was no way to ensure cooperation between programs that switched the processor into protected mode and used extended memory. There was also no way for one program to know what another had been doing with the extended memory because none of them could see that memory while in real mode. HIMEM.SYS becomes an arbitrator of sorts that first grabs all the extended memory for itself and then doles it out to programs that know the XMS protocols. In this manner, several programs that use XMS memory can operate together under DOS on the same system, switching the pro- cessor into 9 and out of protected mode to access the memory. Extended memory can be made to conform to the XMS specification by installing a de- vice driver in the CONFIG. SYS file. The most common XMS driver is HIMEM. SYS, which is included with Windows 3. x and later versions of DOS, starting with 4. and up. 8. 4 High Memory Area (HMA) The High Memory Area (HMA) is an area of memory 16 bytes short of 64K in size, starting at the beginning of the first megabyte of extended memory. It can be used to load device drivers and memory-resident programs to free up conventional memory for use by real-mode programs. Only one device driver or memory-resident program can be loaded into HMA at one time, no matter what its size. Originally, this could be any program, but Microsoft decided that DOS could get there first, and built capability into DOS 5 and newer versions.The HMA area is extremely important to those who use DOS 5 or higher because these DOS versions can move their own kernel (about 45K of program instructions) into this area. This is accomplished simply by first loading an XMS driver (such as HIMEM. SYS) and adding the line DOS=HIGH to your CONFIG. SYS file. Tak ing advantage of this DOS capability frees another 45K or so of conventional memory for use by real-mode programs by essentially mov- ing 45K of program code into the first segment of extended memory.Although this memory was supposed to be accessible in protected mode only, it turns out that a defect in the design of the original 286 (which, fortunately, has been propagated forward to the more recent processors as a feature) accidentally al- lows access to most of the first segment of extended memory while still in real mode. The use of the HMA is controlled by the HIMEM. SYS or equivalent driver. The origins of this memory usage are interesting because they are based on a bug in the original 286 processor carried forward through even the Pentium II. 8. 5 Expanded MemorySome older programs can use a type of memory called Expanded Memory Spec- ification or EMS memory. Unlike conventional (the first megabyte) or extended (the second through 16th or 4,096th megabytes) memory, expanded memory is not directly addressable by the processor. Instead, it can only be accessed through a 64K window and small 16K pages established in the UMA. Expanded memory is a segment or bank-switching scheme in which a custom memory adapter has a large number of 64K segments onboard, com- bined with special switching and mapping hardware. The system uses a free segment in the UMA as the home address for the EMS board.After this 64K is filled with data, the board rotates the filled segment out and a new, empty segment appears to take its place. In this fashion, you have a board that can keep on rotating in new segments to be filled with data. Because only one segment can be seen or oper- ated on at one time, EMS is very inefficient for program code and is normally 10 only used for data. 9Video Memory The video memory is such an important component of the video card, and indirectly the entire PC, that several new memory technologies have been created specifically for it.The goal: to impr ove the speed with which information can be pumped into and out of the video memory, to keep system performance high as the video system tries to do more and more. Various memory technologies now being used on video cards are explained below. 9. 1 Standard (Fast Page Mode) DRAM The oldest technology used in video card memory, fast page mode (FPM) memory is now considered â€Å"standard† DRAM as it has the fewest performanceenhancing capabilities of the different types of memory on the market. FPM DRAM is a technology used primarily for main system memories (even there, it is now considered a poor performer) and is not really ell-suited for highperformance video applications. 11 FPM is the least expensive type of memory available for video, and is used today mostly on low-end or generic cards (as well as older cards of course). For many applications they can be quite satisfactory; however, they reach their limits quickly when trying to use high resolution modes, especially in true color. The limitations of standard DRAM are due to two primary effects: it is single ported (which means it can only do one access at a time) and it runs at a relatively low speed and access width. 9. 2 Extended Data Out (EDO) DRAMEDO DRAM is the same as standard FPM DRAM except for a slight modification in the access cycle that gives it a small performance boost. With EDO DRAM, one read to memory can begin before the last one has completely finished; this yields a raw speed improvement of between 5 and 20 percent, depending on whom you ask. Originally used only for main system memory, EDO DRAM is becoming more popular on video cards because it provides slightly improved performance over standard DRAM at the same cost. (At one time EDO was more expensive than FPM but due to supply and demand effects now, EDO is actually the same cost or lower).EDO is still, however, a low-cost and low-performance solution compared to other types of video memory, and is not used on high-end card s. 9. 3 Video RAM (VRAM) The traditional, standard DRAM used for video cards typically does not have enough bandwidth to handle the demands of running a card at high resolution and color depths, with acceptable refresh rates. The main reason why is the two competing access factors for the video memory: the processor writing new information to the memory, and the RAMDAC reading it many times per second in order to send video signals to the monitor.To address this fundamental limitation, a new type of memory was created called video RAM or VRAM. As the name implies, this memory is specifically tailored for use in video systems. The fundamental difference between VRAM and standard DRAM is that VRAM is dual-ported. This means that it has two access paths, and can be written to and read from simultaneously. The advantages of this are of course enormous given what the video card does: many times per second a new screen image is calculated and written to the memory, and many times per seco nd this memory is read and sent to the monitor.Dual- porting allows these operations to occur without bumping into each other. VRAM provides substantially more bandwidth than either standard DRAM or EDO DRAM; double in many cases. It is more suited for use in systems requiring high resolution and color depth displays. The only reason that it hasn’t replaced standard DRAM entirely is of course: cost. VRAM is more complex and requires more silicon per bit than standard DRAM, which makes it cost more. 12 9. 4Window RAM (WRAM)Window RAM or WRAM is a modification of regular VRAM that both improves performance and reduces cost on a bit-for-bit basis. Designed specifically for use in graphics cards, WRAM is also dual-ported but has about 25% more bandwidth than VRAM, and also incorporates additional features to allow for higher performance memory transfers for commonly used graphical operations such as text drawing and block fills. Furthermore, WRAM is less expensive than VRAM to ma nufacture (although still more expensive than DRAM). 9. 5 Synchronous Graphics RAM (SGRAM)A relatively newer RAM technology, Synchronous Graphics RAM or SGRAM tackles the poor performance of regular DRAM by increasing greatly the speed at which memory transfers take place. SGRAM also incorporates specific per- formance enhancing features designed to work with acceleration features built into video cards, to greatly improve overall video processing speed. SGRAM is still single-ported, unlike VRAM or WRAM, but offers performance that is much closer to VRAM than DRAM due to its advanced design. 10 Flash Memory DevicesFlash memory has been around for several years as a main or an auxiliary storage medium for notebook computers. However, the rise of devices such as digital cameras and MP3 players and the presence of USB ports on practically all recent systems have transformed this technology from a niche product into a mainstream must-have storage technology. Flash memory is a type of no nvolatile memory that is divided into blocks rather than bytes, as with normal RAM memory modules. Flash memory, which also is used in most recent computers for BIOS chips, is changed by a process known as Fowler-Nordheim tunneling.This process removes the charge from the floating gate associated with each memory cell. Flash memory then must be erased before it can be charged with new data. The speed, low reprogramming current requirements, and compact size of recent flash memory devices have made flash memory a perfect counterpart for portable devices such as notebook computers and digital cameras, which often refer to flash memory devices as so-called â€Å"digital film†. Unlike real film, digital film can be erased and reshot.Ultra-compact, USB-based keychain drives that use flash memory are replacing both traditional floppy drives and Zip/SuperDisk drives for transporting data between systems. Diiferent types of flash memory devices are expained below. 10. 1Compact Flash CompactFlash was developed by SanDisk Corporation in 1994 and uses ATA architecture to emulate a disk drive; a CompactFlash device attached to a com- 13 puter has a disk drive letter just like your other drives. Later types of flash memory also use ATA architecture, either implemented in the device itself or in its controller. 0. 2MultiMedia Card The MultiMediaCard (MMC) was codeveloped by SanDisk and Infineon Tech- nologies AG (formerly Siemens AG) in November 1997 for use with smart phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, and camcorders. The MMC uses a simple 7-pin serial interface to devices and contains low-voltage flash memory. 10. 3Secure Digital (SD) A SecureDigital (SD) storage device is about the same size as MMC , but it’s a more sophisticated product. SD, which was codeveloped by Toshiba, Matsushita Electric (Panasonic), and SanDisk in 1999, gets its name from two special features.The first is encrypted storage of data for additional security, meeting current and fut ure Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) standards for portable devices. The second is a mechanical write-protection switch. 10. 4Pen Drive As an alternative to floppy and Zip/SuperDisk-class removable-media drives, USB-based flash memory devices are rapidly becoming the preferred way to move data between systems. The first successful drive of this type – Trek’s ThumbDrivewas – introduced in 2000 and has spawned many imitators, in- cluding many that incorporate a keychain or pocket clip to emphasize their portability.Unlike other types of flash memory, USB keychain drives don’t require a separate card reader; they can be plugged in to any USB port or hub. Al- though a driver is usually required for Windows 98 and Windows 98SE, most USB keychain drives can be read immediately by newer versions of Windows, particularly Windows XP. As with other types of flash memory, USB keychain drives are assigned a drive letter when connected to the computer. Most have capacities ranging from 128MB to 1GB, with some capacities as high as 2GB or more.However, typical read/write performance of USB 1. 1-compatible drives is about 1MBps. Hi-Speed USB keychain drives are much faster, providing read speeds ranging from 5MBps to 15MBps and write speeds ranging from 5MBps to 13MBps. 11Advanced Memory Technologies 11. 1RDRAM RDRAM is a proprietary technology made by Rambus Inc. for use exclusively in certain Intel compatible motherboards 14 RDRAM stands for Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory. It can access data anywhere on the chip; It requires power to hold its data; and it transfers data twice per clock signal.However, it uses a smaller pathway, or â€Å"system bus,† to send information. The Rambus system bus is 16-bits wide. Rambus transfers data at 800 megahertz (MHz) and faster. Rambus is the more expensive type of memory since its proprietary, royalty costs that manufacturers must pay to produce it tend to result in higher retail prices. Add itionally, Rambus compatible motherboards require that all of their RAM slots be occupied. Traditionally, a computer may contain anywhere from one to four ram slots. If a slot is unoccupied, the system still operates.Rambus requires that either a Rambus memory module or a kind of place holder known as a continuity module be in place to complete the memory path to the bus. 11. 2 DDR SDRAM (DDR) Double data rate (DDR) SDRAM memory is a JEDEC-created standard that is an evolutionary upgrade of standard SDRAM in which data is transferred twice as quickly. Instead of doubling the actual clock rate, DDR memory achieves the doubling in performance by transferring twice per transfer cycle: once at the leading (falling) edge and once at the trailing (rising) edge of the cycle.This effectively doubles the transfer rate, even though the same overall clock and timing signals are used. Since its inception, manufacturers have release new and faster versions of DDR. These are based on the use of p refetch buffers that access not only the memory, or â€Å"dataword,† requested by the processor but also the datawords adjacent to it on the chip. Thus DDR2 â€Å"fetches† four datawords per memory access, double the amount of DDR. DDR3, a more recent update, obtains eight datawords per access. 15

A Feminist Criticism of a Farewell to Arms Essay

After finishing A Farewell to Arms, I found it difficult to reconcile Judith Fetterley’s feminist attack of the novel with my own personal opinions. I agree that Hemingway does kick women to the curb in his portrayal of Catherine, but my reasons for pinning this crime on Hemingway are different from hers’. Although she means well, Fetterley makes the ridiculous claim that by portraying Catherine as an angelic, selflessly loving â€Å"woman to end all women,† Hemingway disguises misogynistic attitudes and a deep-seeded hatred towards the XX chromosome. This claim is not supported by the text. If we look at Hemingway through the lens of his own words, we find that his misogyny does not spring from a â€Å"too good to be true† portrait of Catherine, but rather in his tendency to cast her down into the dirt-Catherine is a dependent, baby-manufacturing trap that stifles Lieutenant Henry: â€Å"Poor, poor dear Cat. And this was the price you paid for sleeping together. This was the end of the trap† (320). It is his penchant for sex and his need for womanly comfort that keeps Henry coming back to Catherine, not some notion of â€Å"love† or true connection. This is Hemingway’s misogyny, however unintentional, unmasked. But to get a true sense of this â€Å"anti-Fetterley† feminist view of the novel, it is important too look at the specifics of Hemingway’s construction of Catherine-facts that stand in direct opposition to Fetterley’s stated attacks. First of all, Catherine is not Fetterley’s unique and unattainable goddess-she is an object in Henry’s universe, a feast of sensations but nothing more. She is akin to good food and good drink: â€Å"‘I was made to eat. My God, yes. Eat and drink and sleep with Catherine'† (233). Indeed, Henry’s thoughts about Catherine, both when he is at the front or by her side, mingle with longings for good wine and reflections on sumptuous meals. In Henry’s world, a good Capri would be nice, a nice hunk of cheese would be grand, and sleeping with Catherine would be sublime. These things all equate to the satisfaction of basic human needs. Every now and then, Henry feels a grumbling in his loins-a periodic hunger for the â€Å"cheese† between Catherine’s legs. Hemingway dissolves Catherine into the least common denominator-the object, devoid of meaning or real importance (when Henry isn’t hungry). How can Catherine be an angel, as Fetterley claims, when she is merely an object, a small, rocklike satellite orbiting Planet Henry? This leads us to another aspect of Hemingway’s treatment of Catherine. In the novel, she is a completely dependent and subservient slave to Henry and his desires-she is placed firmly under his heel. This is evident from her dialogue: â€Å"‘I’m good. Aren’t I good? You don’t want any other girls, do you?†¦ You see? I’m good. I do what you want'† (106). Through her words, we get a sense that the only thing that concerns Catherine is the level of Henry’s satisfaction. She needs his approval; he is the beginning and end of her world. This dependency resurfaces many times in the novel. In Milan, Catherine works herself to the bone all day, so that she can have sex with Henry all night. Throughout this period, her greatest worry is that she doesn’t tack up to the girls that he has had in the past: â€Å"‘I’ll say just what you wish and I’ll do what you wish and then you will never want any other girls'† (105). When she is pregnant, her thoughts and concerns continue to center completely around Henry’s happiness: â€Å"‘But after she’s born and I’m thin again I’m going to cut it (her hair) and then I’ll be a fine new and different girl for you'† (304). Even during her long and arduous labor, Catherine’s single worry is that she is a burden on Henry: â€Å"‘Oh, I wanted so o have this baby and not make trouble, and now I’m all done and all gone to pieces and it doesn’t work'† (322). Fetterley might claim that this amounts to â€Å"selfless-love,† but I think this phrase gives Catherine (and Hemingway) too much credit. Catherine, as portrayed in the text, seems more like an obedient dog then a virtuous, unselfish being of light; she is like a mutt that serves its master because it has no one else and cannot survive on its own. By the end of the novel, Hemingway succeeds in portraying Catherine as both an object and a docile subject in Lieutenant Henry’s kingdom. This construction diminishes Catherine’s character and allows Henry (and Hemingway) to view her and the baby completely in terms of the burden they entail. They are a â€Å"trap†-flames that burn the log that â€Å"Henry the ant† scurries around on. This makes it much easier for Hemingway to kill off Catherine and wash Henry’s hands of all responsibility-the final pieces in his misogynistic puzzle. This harsh take is a more tenable alternative to Fetterley’s feminist attacks on the novel.

Business law case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business law - Case Study Example Imperial could find itself with a sudden, severe decrease in its cash flow. It might also have to layoff employees and have equipment sit idle. Simply put, litigation, regardless of the outcome could do irreparable damage to both parties. In this case negotiation would be the appropriate form of alternative dispute resolution to pursue. The two parties need to sit down face-to-face. They need to lay out there understanding of the ambiguous clause in the contract, seek common ground, and perhaps by consent share any costs or losses involved in their differing interpretations of the clause. If negotiation proves fruitless they should move to mediation. Then an objective and disinterested third party could assist them in understanding one anothers position and finding a middle ground. (Marsh, 2008) Due to the complexity of the case collaborative law would be the best approach. The case, too complex for a jury, might also be too complex for a mediator or arbitrator, regardless of their qualifications and experience. Therefore, the parties would be wise to sit down together, with their lawyers accompanying them, and work towards an agreement in camera with trained lawyers, able to understand the complexity of the case. If they were to negotiate in good faith, in this private environment with expert legal advice they stand the best chance of resolving the dispute in a fair manner that also takes account of the legal complexities of the situation. Collaborative law would also ensure that the case never ended up in court. Collaborative law is â€Å"cost effective and discrete†, and with trade secrets involved that is precisely what each party needs. (Newitt, â€Å"Shot before dawn†) It is an unusual proposal for a business dispute, but most appropriate in this instance. In this case it is plain that Empire Corporation wishes to avoid a court case There is the danger of disadvantageous precedent being set if the case does go to trial. Also, the company may find