Comparing and Contrasting The Conflict Scenes in “Great Expectations” and “Of Mice and Men” Essay

A major point in each of these films are the â€Å"fight† or conflict scenes and although they appear in different points in the story they still have an equally large effect on the main story line. In of Mice and Men this conflict between Curley and Lennie is really not cause by any major factors apart from the fact that Curley is a bully. He only chooses to pick on Lennie because he thinks he can win either way when picking on a big man, because if he wins he has won the fight, and if he looses he can say he won to a larger opponent. This is why Curley picks Lennie when in fact all the others were the ones who were being critical of him. All Lennie had to do was smile to make Curley hit him! You could say he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is exactly what Pip was in Great Expectations this was what caused Magwitch to pick on Pip. Magwitch was not retaliating to anything Pip had done in the same way that Curley was not retaliating to anything that Lennie had d one, although he does make the false accusation that Lennie was laughing at him. We do not know any past history about Great Expectations apart from the fact that Pips mother and father are dead although this really does not have anything to do with this conflict. We find out later that Magwitch is an escaped convict and so he was merely trying to get food. In of Mice and Men, however, we do know some past history behind the conflict. Curleys’ wife is a flirt but Curley doesn’t seem to realise this so when people say something about his wife he feels confronted and in this case he releases his aggression physically and he releases it on Lennie because he thinks that is the fight he is least likely to loose. The two combatants in the conflict scene from of Mice and Men are Lennie and Curley. Curley comes across as a small muscular ex-boxer who is quick on his feat and very intentionally aggressive. Lennie on the other hand is portrayed as a large soft figure who is naive, innocent and very dependant (on his travelling partner George) and is therefore never intentionally aggressive towards anyone. The men are almost total opposites of each other; this is similar to the end of Great Expectations where Magwitch, the ex-convict meets up with the perfect gentleman he has produced, who happens to be his former combatant Pip from the beginning of the book. In Great Expectations Magwitch is presented as particularly dangerous person at first however later in the book we realise he is in fact a complicated person who was never really trying to hurt anyone. He was obviously born into this social class where he was bound to end up having to steal for food anyway and in fact later in the story he says his earliest memory was stealing cabbages from a farmers patch! So when it comes to Magwitch being a criminal, he really didn’t have any choice in the matter. Pip, who the story is about is portrayed as a person with as the story is named â€Å"Great Expectations†, he doesn’t seem to be happy with growing up to be just an average worker. So it really must be an amazingl y kind and dedicated man, who despite being a convict, manages to produce this perfectly crafted young gentleman. Which in the end causes Magwitch to be executed when he comes over to see what all his money and effort has produced. A main feature in of Mice and Men is the words and phrases used to describe and create atmosphere in relation to the conflict scene between Curley and Lennie. This includes many references and comparisons between the two men and animals. It starts near the beginning of the conflict when Curley tries to intimidate Lennie by walking over and staring at Lennie. In The book Steinbeck describes it by writing, â€Å"Curley stepped over to Lennie like a terrier.† This is a good simile as it really does emphasise Curleys’ small but snappy character. Then later on when Curley has started hitting Lennie Steinbeck describes Lennie as Bleating. Later on in the fight, however, when Lennie fights back and grabs Curley’s hand, this action is described in the book as Curleys’ fist being lost in Lennie’s’ paw. Also as a consequence of this act ion Curley ends up, â€Å"Flopping like a fish!† This may not be intentional by Steinbeck but bears are a natural predator of fish, which would agree with the comparisons. Yet we already know that Curleys, natural targets have been bigger men, so it is a contrast of this when Curley himself becomes the prey. In the conflict scene in this book there are a lot of verbs to suggest Curleys boxing career, for example on page 66 when Curley first starts to hit Lennie it says, â€Å"Curley was balanced and poised. He slashed at Lennie with his left, and then smashed down his nose with a right!† All these words show that Curley really was just beating Lennie up at this point. Lennie was not retaliating at all; he was just taking the huge blows from Curley. Its seems as if he does not realise that he can fight back, â€Å"Lennie gave a cry of terror. â€Å"George† He cried â€Å"Make him let me alone George† as he backed up against the wall† Lennie, even when in the most dangerous and threatening situations where you would have though natural instinct would set in, still calls for George’s guidance or help. It is Lennie’s lack of ability to do things for himself, which eventually leads to his downfall. The language also plays a big part in the story, In Great Expectations the words and phrases also play a big part in displaying the action happening during the conflict although generally they are used to show the actions and feelings of the characters rather than the physical conflict because the conflict in this story is less dramatic. For example phrases such as, â€Å"I pleaded in terror!† â€Å"I was dreadfully frightened.† and â€Å"He muttered then considering.† all show emotional or mental states which do help you imagine the situation however the actual physical action is not portrayed as if it was extremely violent which is because although it is a conflict, the two combatants are not really engaging in any kind of physical fight. The most dramatic thing that happens in this meeting is when Magwitch grabs Pip and shakes him upside down by his ankles, which probably hurt Pip somewhat. All that is said about this in the story however, is, â€Å"He turned me upside down and emptied my pockets.† this does not make it sound particularly dramatic. This is because it is not done as an intentionally hurtful thing to try and cause harm to Pip it is just Magwitch trying to get food from Pip. Even when Pip is defending himself, it is never physically. There are only two times when he really tries to stop Magwitch from hurting him and the first of these is at the top of page 2when he says, â€Å"Don’t cut my throat sir,† and then on page 3 when he says, â€Å"If you would kindly please to let me keep upright, sir, perhaps I shouldn’t be sick, and perhaps I could attend more.† In both of these instances Pip regards his attacker with the utmost of respect and tries to reason with him despite the fact that this man he has never met has threatened to kill him. In this way the language shows the reader how Pip feels and how they are behaving, whereas in of Mice and Men we get mainly a physical side to the fight because that conflict is a lot more actual fighting than in the conflict between Pip and Magwitch. In Great Expectations there are no other characters watching when the actual conflict occurs and so the meeting is a lot less about show than it is in of Mice and Men where Curley is really just trying to show the other men that he is still a good fighter and is in charge physically as well as being the bosses son. This fails though, when Lennie successfully retaliates. There are a lot more people who have a role in the conflict in of Mice and Men than there are in Great Expectations. In Great Expectations Pips has done nothing to provoke the attack and he does not have any real family who could have done so and Magwitch is a convict. The only person we could say, that had a role in this conflict would be the person who Magwitch escaped with because he was the one who helped him escaped and who Magwitch said the food was for. Although this escaped partner turns out to be the person who lets him down by giving him in to the police. In of Mice and Men George is another main character that plays a big role in this conflict. Because Lennie is so dependant on George, he has to stay around him all the time or he may do something which will end up with them leaving their jobs or having to leave town. He gives Lennie all the right advice about Curley, yet Curley still finds an excuse to hit him. So George is entirely just in telling Lennie to hit back in this situation. Even though he doesn’t do it at first, in the end Lennie fights back and with incredible force. Seeing as Lennie takes every instruction from George, you could say it was George who was fighting back against Curley because if it weren’t for him then Lennie would have just sat back and taken the beating until he was knocked out or until someone stepped in. Another character who had a role in this conflict was Curley’s wife. Curley does not know how to control her flirting and so he just tries to make everyone to scared to even talk to his wife. This works with the workers and they won’t go near her but this makes her try harder to get their attention. This is what puts Curley in a bad mood before the conflict because they all gang up on him about his wife. Ironically the only person who doesn’t say anything is Lennie and he is the one who Curley picks to beat up. This conflict in of Mice and Men makes us think that Curley has got his comeuppance and that Lennie is some kind of hero because we naturally feel sorry for the underdog who triumphs over a cocky adversary. We feel a justice has been done and this makes us want to know what Curley is going to do to get back at him. All through the story I think we know that Lennie is going to eventually kill someone so we are always looking for who we think it will be. This conflict makes us proud of Lennie for beating Curley although we still fee l sorry for him despite the fact that he has just physically assaulted and seriously injured another human being. I t is strange how Steinbeck gets us to feel this range of emotions through a relatively simple fight. We want to know what will happen next and it brings action to the book which makes us think that the end will be even more dramatic. In great expectations we are given an opening to the story. We know almost nothing about the plot yet we want to read on to find out what relevance this conflict has to the main story line, almost like the chase at the beginning of a James Bond movie. We are enjoying the action and we are introduced to the main character but we still want to find out what the main plot is going to be afterwards. This is not the main action in the story but it is still important. This is the same in of Mice and Men where we know this conflict between Curley and Lennie is not the main action but it is still important and makes us want to know what is going to happen to the characters at the end of the story. The conflict in of Mice and Men is more about catharsis than reso lution; Steinbeck is not trying to solve a problem by showing you this fight, which is a climax of the story so far. He is also not showing you a happy ending to the fight; he is posing a problem, which to some extent is never solved throughout the book. By showing the reader Lennie’s’ attempt at doing something bad we actually see what a good person he is by the way he reacts afterwards and even during the conflict. He cries and shouts; as if he has no control over what he is doing to Curley. This is the main theme of the book and once you can see this, you can start to empathise and eventually feel sorry for Lennie, which I think is Steinbecks overall aim in the story. By bringing out Lennie’s’ â€Å"bad† side, the author is showing a side of the character that happiness cannot. However when it comes to Lennie, this shows us that he does not have a really bad part to his personality. It is almost through being innocent, that Lennie appears not to be to blame, as he is not clever enough to have unjust just anger towards someone. Although at the same time it is because of his innocents and naivety that he doesn’t realise all he has to do is let go, and the madness will stop. However no matter how you look at this Innocent/Harmful side of Lennie, it is still is what causes all the deaths in this book. Yet not one of these deaths or injuries is caused by Lennie intentionally trying to hurt another human being apart from when he hurts Curleys hand in this conflict. It is the only time we really see Lennie intentionally doing some harm, and this is only after being beaten up by an ex-professional boxer and then told to do it by George! So in this way the conflict is not really solving anything. This is exactly the same as in Great Expectations where we see Magwitch stealing food from Pip. Dickens is showing us the bad side of this character right from the start and at first glance we assume he is an evil criminal and a bad person. However if we look closer we see that the â€Å"bad† side of this person is actually not trying to be bad and scary, its just how it looks. For example the first thing Magwitch says is, â€Å"Hold Your Noise!† Cried A Terrible Voice. The word terrible makes us assume that this person is bad but really he is just trying to make Pip be quiet so he does not cause any attention to himself. He is only robbing Pip for food; he is stealing for survival. So he is not actually trying to do a bad thing. Like how Lennie never does bad things intentionally in of Mice and Men. The conflict scenes in both these books are not about intentional harm or causing pain to another person (with exception of what Curley is doing to Lennie); they are about people doing these things because they have to, not out of choice. The stories make you empathise with the main combatants despite the fact they are doing something wrong.

Dorian Gray Essay

The Picture Of Dorian Gray Essay There are certain aspects of Dorian Gray’s personality that make me think he is schizophrenic, such an example is multiple personalities. In the beginning of the story, Dorian was a young, attractive boy with cunning wit and a semi-feminine charm. It was just an ordinary day and all of the sudden, Dorian meets Basil Howard. Infatuated with his good looks, the beauty of Dorian hit Basil like a Mata bus. As Basil began painting a picture of Dorian, he met Lord Henry, a close companion of Basil and he too was struck by Dorian in a different way. He had interests of studying him instead of admiring him. Finally, Basil finishes the picture and in the first two chapters of the book and in one paragraph, you have met three contributions of Dorian’s conscience: the painting, Lord Henry Wotton, and Basil Howard. The painting was an obvious representation of Dorian’s conscience in my opinion because as his soul grew weaker, as did his conscience. As Dorian aged, he became evil and he never thought for himself, he either adopted Lord Henry’s views or Basil’s. Dorian clearly listened to Lord Henry more because in the long run, he became evil. â€Å"It had, perhaps, served often as a pall for the dead. Now it was to hide something that had a certain corruption of its own, worse than the corruption of death itself– something that would breed horrors and yet would never die† (Wilde 122). According to the bible, your soul is immortal and I think Dorian is expressing this in his thoughts. In this quote, Dorian wants to cover up his conscience and his soul to avoid listening to it. The portrait represents his constant nagging conscience and bad decisions he has made in the past. Lord Henry and Basil Howard were the good angel (Basil) and bad angel (Lord Henry) on Dorian’s shoulder. Lord Henry always tried to speak aphorisms and spoke of himself as a higher power, such as: â€Å"My dear boy, no woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals† (Wilde 51). Lord Henry was always trying to force his opinions into Dorian’s head and the sad thing was, he ate every word and practiced it in his life. Lord Henry represents the bad angel/conscience and it was also the side he listened to more often than any other. On the other hand, Basil represents the good angle/conscience. Throughout the book, Basil always tried to steer Dorian in the right direction. Dorian looked up to Basil in the beginning but, as his infatuation became stronger with Lord Henry, the respect dwindled and Dorian listened less and less. The prayer of your pride has been answered. The prayer of your repentance will be answered also. I worshiped you too much. I am punished for it† (Wilde 162). Even in a time of horror, Basil stood behind Dorian and tried to help him in a hard situation but, Dorian did not listen and turned to the dark side when he said: â€Å"Each of us has Heaven and Hell in him, Basil! † (Wilde 161). Dorian had finally shut the door on his good conscience and killed him within minutes. In Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde is telling his readers it is harder to follow the better side of your conscience. There are many temptations to do the right and the wrong thing and this story is an example of when you always make the wrong choices. The ending of this story also showed the final bad decision when a change is presented right in front of you and yet the weak character still follows a bad influence. Wilde is teaching us a lesson in life, to always follow your heart as you take in bad and good influences. Works Cited Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of Dorian Gray. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2003.

Comunication for Distance Learning

Hi Mom, This morning after I left your house, in my way to work I had a little car accident. I am okay mom, not to worry, nothing happened to me or the babies. This lady was taking on the phone, and of course she never saw my car. Now I understand why you are always telling me not to use my cell phone when driving. Thank god, RJ, Madison and Melanie are ok, just a little bit scare (yes mom they had seatbelt). I’m taking the day off to deal whit my insurance. Love you Write a formal letter of 100 to 200 words to the insurance company .Use salutations and sign-offs where appropriate. October 2, 2012 To: UNITED AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE P. O. BOX 60125 NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, 33160 From: Meghan Serra 4928 lane 8 ct Cape coral, Florida, 33891 Policy number: UHD 565635695326 Dear Sir or Madam: I am writing to inform you that I was involve in a car accident with another vehicle on September 28, 2012. I was driving on Skyline from east to west toward Pelican road. On this day I was dr iving my black 2005 Toyota, a red 2003 ford explorer rear ended my car in the back left.There was not damage to the other car and no one was injured at the moment of the accident, but I have some minor dents on my car . The other person involved in the accident claims, that she did not saw my car. I quickly call the police to proceed with the report. The report number is 251233, please let me know if more information is needed. Sincerely Meghan. Communicating for Distance Learning ( Part 2) Anthony It is really important to use inclusive language when communicating in class forum because this is the only way to connect with classmates and instructor.This is how we can get our point across and engage whit each other s. I also recommend avoiding language that is exclusive to one group, trying to use language that is inclusive, nonsexist, or gender neutral. I suggest you in the future when communicating either in a forum, email o text to follow two simple rules. First, you should never address an audience like you mention in your email â€Å"Hi guys â€Å", people can get really offended. Secondly when you said â€Å"I was surprised because she had a lot of good things to say â€Å"you sound really racist towards woman, that comment did not have anything to do with the topic .Three pointers for how to prevent these mistakes in the future you should always read what you write twice, check for spelling capitalization and proper use of grammar. Second keep in mind your audience; do not personalize your message. And last be professional and respectful of others opinions and beliefs. Communicating for Distance Learning (Part 3) Written tone is very important; this is the only representing that my classmates have of myself.Tone is present in all type of communication activities, the tone of the message is a reflection of me and it does affect how the reader will perceived my message. In my opinion I think is beneficial to Taylor each and every communication I write , and question the audience before you start the process of writing. Ask yourself, who will read my document? Or what is the purpose of my document? And who is my audience? Tailor your message to your audience to improve their comprehension and realize the different tone to use whit families and people in the work environment.

Comparison Of Two Religions - Hinduism And Buddhism Essay

Comparison Of Two Religions - Hinduism And Buddhism - Essay Example Buddhism mostly advocates the use of meditation i.e. Prajna as one of the most important spiritual practices. Hinduism and Buddhism both are practiced today through their Temples and other places of worship. However, there is an increasing acceptance of Buddhist practices in West wherein modern practices are being adapted in the West. Hinduism, however, is being mostly practiced in India and Nepal with relatively increasing acceptance in the West also. For example, Buddhism is mostly associated with the Dalai Lama and most of the spiritual practices actually emerge from his center. Hinduism however, is also practiced in the relatively diverse way with followers visiting temples and performing rituals even within their own homes. Kumbh Mela is also one of the largest gatherings of Hindus for the pilgrimage through which the followers of Hinduism actually perform their rituals. Apart from this, various religious festivals are being performed in Hindu religion. The festivals of Holi, as well as Diwali, are two of the famous religious practices through which Hindus practice their religion. (Rinehart, 2004) Buddhism however, is being practiced through its various schools of thoughts and focuses more on the meditation as the most important way to practice. Important meditations and practices include Vappasana meditation as well as Zen practices. Apart from this, spending a monastic life is also another way to practice the religion wherein monks learn Vinaya- the specific moral code for Monks. (Armstrong, 2001)

Remembering about Fort Lauderdale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Remembering about Fort Lauderdale - Essay Example Soon we are at the Fort Lauderdale airport. We check in at a hotel and because is the only noon our restless spirits cannot come to peace with the quietness of the surroundings with go out in the town and start shopping. I am not good at bargaining and the concept of savings has never touched me. I am single and have no responsibility, why save? I am shopping with my friend, buying expensive jewelries, shoes, clothes, souvenirs, for myself. After weariness of shopping we are having an amazing dinner at some Latino restaurant, listening to the music of live guitar player is giving me Goosebumps. It is like this that we spend the first night.My other friends are arriving today and we are picking them from the airport. On the way to the hotel they dare me to race a car in which a couple of boys are rashly driving. We are so thrill-seeking and adventurous. I am about to over take them when the truck coming from the opposite lane suddenly comes into the view and I am forced to swerve at t he last moment. The swerve caused the car to drive over something on the road bursting the tire. Stopping on the side we called for assistance with the rental company sending us a new car. Recovering from the shock we all start laughing! Imagine how careless and irresponsible we are.On the third night we are at Miami, we are having the time of our lives here. We are celebrating Smeja's thirtieth birthday, in the famous Mango bar. We have spent more bucks at the shopping, and ultimately are running out of money by the end of the trip.... We are celebrating Sneja's thirtieth birthday, in the famous Mango bar. We have spent more bucks at the shopping, and ultimately are running out of money by the end of the trip. The beach parties are fabulous and the city on the whole is amazing. I was on a summer break from my work and study at that time. I wanted to become a famous fashion designer like Donna Karen. I was very ambitious. But today when I am thirty four, and I look myself in the mirror wearing a long skirt, with a belt and a soft elegant black shirt with a sports coat on holding my sixteen month old son ready to go in children's museum; I see a very different me from what I aspired to be back then. I run a household and a family, in my free time I am doing small crafts with knitting and sewing which I try to sale on a craft shows. Each one of my projects carries a message of blessing for the person who buys it. I am settled, more serious and more determined to do some good into this world by making small differences. My family and designs are my life now. I get spiritual satisfaction by doing it in this stage of my life, running after the worldly materialism is not everything. I am performing my duties as a mother to the best of my abilities, and looking after my home and husband as a wife should. I hope I am successful with the project at hand. Sources: About Fort Lauderdale. City of Fort Lauderdale. Retrieved on 2007-10-28. Website:

African Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

African Music - Essay Example Placing African music in an historical and social context, brings to the fore the compiling of notes on the social context of African music; on African history; on the popularization of African music and on the instruments and styles of African music. The following text has been put together and a bibliography and appropriate reference is supplied at the end of the article. Africa covers about 11,714,000 square miles (30,339,000 square kilometers), more than a fifth of the earth’s total land area. The continent is an enormous plateau, most of which is covered by deserts, forests and grasslands. It is this vast mass of land that held the immense treasure of Africa called music. Music has been culturally part of and developed in Africa for thousands of years. Its wide range of styles evidently showed much of the country’s landscape. In northern Africa, music follows Arab traditions that consist mainly of chants and the use of various northern instruments but as shown but African music has also spread southward and influenced the music of peoples in parts of Chad, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan.

First, choose an organisation that interests you based in the UK or Assignment

First, choose an organisation that interests you based in the UK or abroad - Assignment Example Currently, British Airways has been branded as one of the first airlines in adaptation of green technology and environmental friendly strategies. British Airways was among the leading companies to be among the schemes of European Countries decreasing greenhouse emissions. In addition to the innovative improvements towards the ways in which passengers fly, the company has also undergone huge revolutions. The passengers can print their own boarding pass thanks to British Airways. Among other developments initiated by the airline is the ongoing developments in Heathrow airport which is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom The 2008 economic crisis affected the airline in terms of revenue. Nevertheless, with the recent mergers changes and in air trade regulations and policies, the company’s future is bright and there are a positive sign for British Airways both in domestic and foreign markets. The annual report of the company has always emphasized on how much the company would wish to become one of the best responsible airlines in the world and designing of the guiding principles together with careful strategic direction will ultimately allow the achievement of the desired goals (Porter, 2002) Customers-even though customers are the greatest source of the company’s profits, they have less impact on how the company is being managed. British Airways wants to maintain the existing customers and attract new customers. Employees-they have the ability to influence the customers. The reduction the company has to make, though, leads to employee dissatisfaction. The cabin crew have mostly expressed their demands through strikes and go-slows Competitors-British Airways is the leading airline with a turnover of  £8.99 billion per year. Though British Airways is the market leader, airlines that adopt low cost strategy can affect decision making of the company Suppliers-Airbus

SPORT MANGMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

SPORT MANGMENT - Essay Example I have always wondered how names such as Emirates Stadium and IBM got into the world of sports. By the end of our trip, the questions of how the sports world is organized, and why sponsors are inevitable in sports had fully been answered. Each day was a new experience as I got to learn the different sports sponsors in United Kingdom as well as the role that sponsors have played in transforming the world of sports. To demonstrate the role of sponsors and technology in sports particularly in United Kingdom, I will mainly focus on three days of the trip, which, include experience at the Arsenal Club, visit to the Wimbledon court, and stopover at the BBC Journal. In each visit, we looked at the role of sponsorship, the advantages, and disadvantages of sponsoring large sport events especially on the risks that, such sponsorship entails which may lead to failure within the sports industry, the events, the players, the participating brands, and the sponsors. The information in this paper will not only demonstrate my tremendous experience but will be useful for those hoping to venture in the world of sports (Sport England Web). The United Kingdom is unquestionably a lovely country rich in culture and history, and a commendable source of business and expert knowledge not just in sports but also in different fields. On May 30, I set off for Arsenal stadium to get the facts about the team I have always adored but only watched them play on the TV. It was a fascinating experience to learn that Arsenal migrated to another stadium because they were losing businesswise due to lack of enough seats for fans. The old stadium could hold less than 40,000 and they have to put about 20,000 persons in the waitlist (thestadiumguide Web). The new Stadium is the third-largest football stadium in England after  Wimble Stadium and  Old Trafford,  and holds approximately 60,350 fans

I Need Time Management Advice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

I Need Time Management Advice - Research Paper Example The steady decline is attributed to increased efficiency due to high level of technology, student evaluations methods and poor study habit among students. The students join colleges after they have achieved very good grades and above average performances leading to very high expectations but this are not to be realized in the long run because they fail to study immediately they set their feet on campus. The decline in the time of study affects all students equally irrespective of their race, sex, age, school size or their past performance. This is not limited to the type of school or the competency of the lecturers but the trend of the decline is widespread all over according to the research by the two economic professors which has elicited a number of varied reactions with some people doubting its accuracy. However the bottom line is that the declining trends is enormous and requires to be addressed urgently. Many reasons attributed to the trend include internet use, technological changes and change in campus demographic patterns, a claim that the two professors are quick to refute and instead they say that lack of challenge between both students and the lectures is the main contributing factor. There is a general decline in the workload that is given to students and as result they have a lot of free time to indulge in other activities other than personal studies and lack o self motivation to study. A research by Cooperative Institutional Research Program, or CIRP indicates that students develop poor study habits before they get to campus after which the trend worsens. Some have argued that the changing social patterns are responsible for the decline in the study time since some students are usually engaged in more than one activity at the time they are in campus as opposed to the early years where students devoted all their time to studies while in campus. It is also argued that technological advancements have

Abbey policy holders Essay Example for Free

Abbey policy holders Essay But the massive loss suffered by Abbey in 2003 has affected shareholders. At a time where other banks are making record profits (Royal Bank of Scotland recorded 6.2 billion profit before tax9), the Abbey shareholders may not even receive any spare capital that has came from the sale of assets in the wholesale bank. As Abbey sold off over 80 per cent of the assets of the wholesale bank, analysts were hoping that Abbey could return between 1.2bn and 1.5bn to investors via a special dividend or share buy back. However, the chief executive of Abbey, Luqman Arnold was said to be increasingly cautious about the amount of cash that would be released due to regulatory changes. Whether or not this will affect the position of the shareholders is still unknown. Customers are an important group of stakeholders for Abbey. They are outside stakeholders. Communicating with them is a vital part of Abbeys strategic plan. They do this by advertising on various mediums, (television, radio, etc). This has proved successful in the past, as Abbey have won various awards for their Plain English approach. This strategy of not using banking terminology was very successful. However, should customers not be satisfied, there is also a customer relations unit available to help solve disputes. But a recent development regarding profits has upset many customers. For the second year in a row, those customers with a with-profits policy will not receive their annual bonus. There will also be higher exit penalties for those who choose to leave the with-profit policy, which could reach up to 10 per cent. This affects nearly 400.000 of Abbey policy holders.  According to Abbeys employee report Employee involvement and effective communication remain vital to {our} success. 10 There are various means of communication, from an intranet site, to a quarterly magazine (abbeyview). There are a growing amount of concerns among the staff in Abbey however, in the amount of job losses that are occurring within the organisation. As part of their return to traditional banking, Abbey has been cutting a vast number of jobs, many in the fund management sector. Many jobs have gone abroad to India. This has caused conflict not only amongst employees, but among the general public also, who are outside stakeholders of Abbey also. They see it as downsizing and taking jobs away from Britain. Recently, eight executive directors of Abbey have been paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.8 million made up of cash bonuses and shares between them, at a time when the company has suffered massive losses. The banks staff got an average of about six percent of their salary as a bonus last year, which was a rise of two percent from a year earlier. A member of the ANGU, (Abbey National General Union) said Staff were very pleased with the bonus that was paid out in a difficult year. However, in light of what management received it wasnt very much. This could lead to further problems in the future. Conclusion Abbey are still in the middle of a three year turnaround, so are asking their stakeholders to bear with them. But with the massive losses, and the seeming disregard for employees, shareholders and customers alike, they may find that it will take longer than three years to have their strategy.

X-ray diffraction

X-ray diffraction INTRODUCTION: X-ray diffraction The diffraction of X-rays as they pass through a substance, usually forming an interference pattern that can be captured on film and used to analyze the internal structure of the substance. The scattering of x-rays by crystal atoms, producing a diffraction pattern that yields information about the structure of the crystal. X-ray diffraction is used in x-ray crystallography . X-ray diffraction the scattering of X rays by the atoms of a crystal; the diffraction pattern shows structure of the crystal . X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with typical photon energies in the range of 100 eV 100 keV. For diffraction applications, only short wavelength x-rays (hard x-rays) in the range of a few angstroms to 0.1 angstrom (1 keV 120 keV) are used. Because the wavelength of x-rays is comparable to the size of atoms, they are ideally suited for probing the structural arrangement of atoms and molecules in a wide range of materials. The energetic x-rays can penetrate deep into the materials and provide information about the bulk structure. X-rays are produced generally by either x-ray tubes or synchrotron radiation. In a x-ray tube, which is the primary x-ray source used in laboratory x-ray instruments, x-rays are generated when a focused electron beam accelerated across a high voltage field bombards a stationary or rotating solid target. As electrons collide with atoms in the target and slow down, a continuous spectrum of x-rays are emitted, which are termed Bremsstrahlung radiation. The high energy electrons also eject inner shell electrons in atoms through the ionization process. When a free electron fills the shell, a x-ray photon with energy characteristic of the target material is emitted. Common targets used in x-ray tubes include Cu and Mo, which emit 8 keV and 14 keV x-rays with corresponding wavelengths of 1.54 Ã… and 0.8 Ã…, respectively. (The energy E of a x-ray photon and its wavelength is related by the equation E = hc/ï  ¬, where h is Plancks constant and c the speed of light) (check out this ne at animated lecture on x-ray production) In recent years synchrotron facilities have become widely used as preferred sources for x-ray diffraction measurements. Synchrotron radiation is emitted by electrons or positrons travelling at near light speed in a circular storage ring. These powerful sources, which are thousands to millions of times more intense than laboratory x-ray tubes, have become indispensable tools for a wide range of structural investigations and brought advances in numerous fields of science and technology. Powder Diffraction Powder XRD (X-ray Diffraction) is perhaps the most widely used x-ray diffraction technique for characterizing materials. As the name suggests, the sample is usually in a powdery form, consisting of fine grains of single crystalline material to be studied. The technique is used also widely for studying particles in liquid suspensions or polycrystalline solids (bulk or thin film materials). The term powder really means that the crystalline domains are randomly oriented in the sample. Therefore when the 2-D diffraction pattern is recorded, it shows concentric rings of scattering peaks corresponding to the various d spacings in the crystal lattice. The positions and the intensities of the peaks are used for identifying the underlying structure (or phase) of the material. For example, the diffraction lines of graphite would be different from diamond even though they both are made of carbon atoms. This phase identification is important because the material properties are highly dependent on structure (just think of graphite and diamond). Powder diffraction data can be collected using either transmission or reflection geometry, as shown below. Because the particles in the powder sample are randomly oriented, these two methods will yield the same data. In the MRL x-ray facility, powder diffraction data are measured using the Philips XPERT MPD diffractometer, which measures data in reflection mode and is used mostly with solid samples, or the custom built 4-circle diffractometer, which operates in transmission mode and is more suitable for liquid phase samples. A powder XRD scan from a K2Ta2O6 sample is shown below as a plot of scattering intensity vs. the scattering angle 2or the corresponding d-spacing. The peak positions, intensities, widths and shapes all provide important information about the structure of the material. Thin Film Diffraction Generally speaking thin film diffraction refers not to a specific technique but rather a collection of XRD techniques used to characterize thin film samples grown on substrates. These materials have important technological applications in microelectronic and optoelectronic devices, where high quality epitaxial films are critical for device performance. Thin film diffraction methods are used as important process development and control tools, as hard x-rays can penetrate through the epitaxial layers and measure the properties of both the film and the substrate. There are several special considerations for using XRD to characterize thin film samples. First, reflection geometry is used for these measurements as the substrates are generally too thick for transmission. Second, high angular resolution is required because the peaks from semiconductor materials are sharp due to very low defect densities in the material. Consequently, multiple bounce crystal monochromators are used to provide a highly collimated x-ray beam for these measurements. For example, in the Philips MRD used in the x-ray facility, a 4-crystal monochromator made from Ge is used to produce an incident beam with less than 5 arc seconds of angular divergence. Basic XRD measurements made on thin film samples include: Precise lattice constants measurements derived from 2 scans, which provide information about lattice mismatch between the film and the substrate and therefore is indicative of strain stress Rocking curve measurements made by doing a scan at a fixed 2 angle, the width of which is inversely proportionally to the dislocation density in the film and is therefore used as a gauge of the quality of the film. Superlattice measurements in multilayered heteroepitaxial structures, which manifest as satellite peaks surrounding the main diffraction peak from the film. Film thickness and quality can be deduced from the data. Glancing incidence x-ray reflectivity measurements, which can determine the thickness, roughness, and density of the film. This technique does not require crystalline film and works even with amorphous materials. Texture measurementswill be discussed separately The following graph shows the high resolution XRD data of the superlattice peaks on the GaN (002) reflections. Red line denotes results of computer simulation of the structure. Texture Measurement (Pole Figure) Texture measurements are used to determine the orientation distribution of crystalline grains in a polycrystalline sample. A material is termed textured if the grains are aligned in a preferred orientation along certain lattice planes. One can view the textured state of a material (typically in the form of thin films) as an intermediate state in between a completely randomly oriented polycrystalline powder and a completely oriented single crystal. The texture is usually introduced in the fabrication process (e.g. rolling of thin sheet metal, deposition, etc.) and affect the material properties by introducing structural anisotropy. A texture measurement is also referred to as a pole figure as it is often plotted in polar coordinates consisting of the tilt and rotation angles with respect to a given crystallographic orientation. A pole figure is measured at a fixed scattering angle (constant d spacing) and consists of a series of -scans (in- plane rotation around the center of the sample) at different tilt or -(azimuth) angles, as illustrated below. The pole figure data are displayed as contour plots or elevation graphs with zero angle in the center. Below we show two pole figure plots using the same data set. An orientation distribution function (ODF) can be calculated using the pole figure data. Residual Stress Measurement Structural and residual stress in materials can be determined from precision lattice constants measurements. For polycrystalline samples high resolution powder diffraction measurements generally will provide adequate accuracy for stress evaluation. For textured (oriented) and single crystalline materials, 4-circle diffractometry is needed in which the sample is rotated so that measurements on multiple diffraction peaks can be carried out. The interpretation of stress measurement data is complicated and model dependent. Consult the reference literature for more details. Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) SAXS measurements typically are concerned with scattering angles SAXS measurements are technically challenging because of the small angular separation of the direct beam (which is very intense) and the scattered beam. Large specimen-to-detector distances (0.5 m 10 m) and high quality collimating optics are used to achieve good signal-to-noise ratio in the SAXS measurement. The MRL x-ray facility has cutting edge capabilities for SAXS measurements with three custom-built SAXS instruments including one 3.5-meter long ultra-small angle SAXS instrument with state-of-the-art optics and area detector for low scattering density samples. X-ray Crystallography X-ray crystallography is a standard technique for solving crystal structures. Its basic theory was developed soon after x-rays were first discovered more than a century ago. However, over the years it has gone through continual development in data collection instrumentation and data reduction methods. In recent years, the advent of synchrotron radiation sources, area detector based data collection instruments, and high speed computers has dramatically enhanced the efficiency of crystallographic structural determination. Today x-ray crystallography is widely used in materials and biological research. Structures of very large biological machinery (e.g. protein and DNA complexes, virus particles) have been solved using this method. In x-ray crystallography, integrated intensities of the diffraction peaks are used to reconstruct the electron density map within the unit cell in the crystal. To achieve high accuracy in the reconstruction, which is done by Fourier transforming the diffraction intensities with appropriate phase assignment, a high degree of completeness as well as redundancy in diffraction data is necessary, meaning that all possible reflections are measured multiple times to reduce systematic and statistical error. The most efficient way to do this is by using an area detector which can collect diffraction data in a large solid angle. The use of high intensity x-ray sources, such as synchrotron radiation, is an effective way to reduce data collection time. One of the central difficulties in structural determination using x-ray crystallography is referred to as the phase problem, which arises from the fact that the diffraction data contains information only on the amplitude but not the phase of the structure factor. Over the years many methods have been developed to deduce the phases for reflections, including computationally based direct methods, isomorphous replacement, and multi-wavelength anormalous diffraction (MAD) methods. METHODOLOGY: X-Ray Diffraction Method At Proto we use the x-ray diffraction method to measure residual stress. X-ray diffraction is presently the only portable nondestructive method that can quantitatively measure residual stress in crystalline and semi-crystalline materials. Our high speed x-ray detector technology enables measurements to be performed easily on metals and ceramics; including traditionally difficult materials such as shot peened titanium. XRD uses the coherent domains of the material (the grain structure) like a strain gage which reacts to the stress state existing in the material. Residual stress and / or applied stress expands or contracts the atomic lattice spacing (d). How do we Measure Stress? Actually, we measure strain and convert to stress. The d-spacings are calculated using Braggs Law: ÃŽ » = 2 d sin . If a monochromatic (ï  ¬) x-ray beam impinges upon a sample with an ordered lattice spacing (d), constructive interference will occur at an angle . Changes in strain and thus the d-spacing translate into changes in the diffraction angle measured by the x-ray detectors. The diffraction pattern is in the shape of a cone for polycrystalline materials. The shape of the diffraction peaks can also be related to the dislocation density and coherent domain size. Why Use Multiple Detectors? Unlike other single detector systems. Proto uses two (2) detectors for stress measurements thus capturing both sides of the diffraction cone. This means twice as much data is collected in the same amount of time simply by virtue of the design. Proto offers a four (4) detector system that can be used for both the four peak % retained austenite method and in multiphase stress measurements. Proto also offers 3 and 5 detector configurations for use in Simultaneous Stress and % Retained Austenite determination. Proto adheres to SAE SP-453 Retained Austenite and Its Measurement by X-ray Diffraction and ASTM E975-84 Standard Practice for X-ray Determination of Retained Austenite in Steel with Near Random Crystallographic Orientation.. Patented Fiber Optic Based Solid State Detectors Longevity and Maintenance Proto uses fiber optic based solid state detectors. The fiber optics allow the detector electronics to be remote from the sensing head making them suitable for measurements in harsh environments. Proto detectors are maintenance free and do not degrade with exposure to x-rays, thus less down time, better productivity and no hidden maintenance costs. Direct expose solid state detectors and position sensitive proportional counters degrade with exposure to x-rays and eventually require replacement which can be extremely costly. Because of x-ray damage, these detectors and counters must constantly be re-calibrated. In addition, some position sensitive proportional counters require periodic (bi-annual) maintenance to refill the sealed gas filled detector housing. Speed Proto detectors are the fastest detectors on the market today. A stress measurement can be performed in less than 0.3 seconds, an order of magnitude faster than any other detector technology commercially available. Position sensitive proportional counters can only detect one x-ray event at a time. In addition, there is dead time associated with their signal processing which slows data collection. Proto detectors have no dead time associated with them. They are multi-channel solid state detectors that collect many x-ray events simultaneously resulting in unmatched data collection speed. This is particularly important for laboratories with high throughput demands and for industrial on-line and audit station applications. Drift Position sensitive proportional counters can drift if there is any fluctuation in the DC bias voltage thus causing errors in peak position determination. Ambient temperature fluctuations, gas pressure and oxides on connections, to name a few, can contribute to detector instability and drift. Proto detectors are solid state, thus there is no positional drift associated with them. This means they are much more stable in harsh environments and at elevated or cold temperatures. Detector width Protos wide 2 detector range, 18.7 degrees 2for the 40 mm goniometer geometry offers increased accuracy on materials with broad diffraction peaks found in hardened tool and bearing steels. Flexibility in Residual Stress Measurement Techniques Most systems, particularly one detector systems, offer only double exposure and multiple exposure sin  ²Ã¯  ¹ techniques. Proto systems offer the double exposure and multiple exposure sin  ²Ã¯  ¹ techniques as well as the single exposure technique and the multiple exposure sin  ²Ã¯  £ techniques. This translates into more flexibility for characterizing samples with complicated geometries. Flexibility in Residual Stress Analysis With Proto equipment, unlike other diffraction systems, diffraction peaks can be fit using a number of mathematical functions including, Parabola, Gaussian, Cauchy, Pearson VII, centroid, and mid-chords. Proto also offers both the difference, and cross-correlation methods for peak position determination. This translates into both improved accuracy and flexibility. Focusing Optics Proto systems operate on a true center of rotation and are delivered pre-calibrated to meet exceed ASTM E915-90 Standard Test Method for Verifying the Alignment of X-ray Diffraction Instrumentation for Residual Stress and adhere to SAE J784a Residual Stress Measurement by X-ray Diffraction alignment specifications. All Proto systems operate using parafocusing optics thus eliminating the need for Sollier slits and allowing very fine positional accuracy in stress measurements inside 90 mm and 120 mm i.d. confinements (e.g. the i.d. of pipes and holes, or between parallel surfaces). The competition cannot offer access to such small holes. Simplicity in Use, Sophistication in Results Proto systems are easy to use and setup: Quick change apertures allow for easy adjustment of the irradiated area and sample setup (apertures can be changed in about 2 seconds) with beam dimensions (irradiated area) available from 0.3 mm to 5.0 mm. Sample positioning and focusing can be performed easily using the standoff pointer provided with all systems and through the collimator laser pointer which allows the user to quickly locate measurement locations. This is particularly helpful when using the Automated Stress Mapping option. The 4-Point bending fixture and Proto strain bridge are used for quick and easy determination of the effective x-ray elastic constant for new materials as per ASTM 1426-91, Standard Test Method for Determining the Effective Elastic Parameter for X-ray Diffraction Measurements of Residual Stress. The Proto Portable Electro Polisher is custom manufactured specifically for x-ray diffraction work, making material removal quick and efficient. Truly portable systems are available weighing less than 18 kg (40 lbs). Custom systems are available for customers with special requirements. Comprehensive turnkey systems are offered by Proto to their customers to simplify and expedite their stress measurement needs. Continuous Research and Development and a commitment to give you the best systems in the world. CONCLUSION:  · Other Sectionsââ€" ¼ Abstract 1.Introduction 2.Purification 3.Crystallization 4.X-ray diffraction data collection and analysis 5.Conclusion References Abstract Human phosphate-binding protein (HPBP) was serendipitously discovered by crystallization and X-ray crystallography. HPBP belongs to a eukaryotic protein family named DING that is systematically absent from the genomic database. This apoprotein of 38 kDa copurifies with the HDL-associated apoprotein paraoxonase (PON1) and binds inorganic phosphate. HPBP is the first identified transporter capable of binding phosphate ions in human plasma. Thus, it may be regarded as a predictor of phosphate-related diseases such as atherosclerosis. In addition, HPBP may be a potential therapeutic protein for the treatment of such diseases. Here, the purification, detergent-exchange protocol and crystallization conditions that led to the discovery of HPBP are reported. Keywords: ABC transporters, missing gene, apoproteins, atherosclerosis, paraoxonase  · Other Sectionsââ€" ¼HPBP was serendipitously discovered from supposedly pure PON1. The structure of HPBP (Morales et al., 2006 ) relates it to prokaryote phosphate solute-binding protein (SBP; Tam Saier, 1993; Luecke Quiocho, 1990 ; Vyas et al., 2003), which is associated with the ATP-binding cassette transmembrane transporters (ABC transporters; Higgins, 1992). Despite the existence of the ABC transporter in eukaryotes, SBPs have never been described or predicted by genomic databases in eukaryotes. The complete amino-acid sequence of HPBP (376 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 38.4 kDa) was assigned from the electron-density map at the 10% error level (Morales et al., 2006). Surprisingly, the deduced HPBP sequence cannot be retrieved from the human genome or other genomic databases. HPBP is related to a family of eukaryotic proteins that are named DING owing to their four conserved N-terminal residues (Berna et al., 2002). Similarly to HPBP, DING genes are also absent from DNA or RNA databases, although they are likely to be ubiquitous in eukaryotes. This raises numerous questions about the peculiarity of DING genes. The HPBP sequence deduced by crystallography is the first complete sequence of a DING protein and provides a precious basis for understanding the genetic mystery associated with DING proteins. We have provided evidence that HPBP is a new apoprotein mainly located on HDL (good cholesterol) capable of binding inorganic phosphate ions. Furthermore, HPBP presents 59% amino-acid identity with a protein named crystal-adhesion inhibitor (CAI) that may prevent the development of kidney stones by inhibiting the adhesion of calcium oxalate crystals to renal cells (Kumar et al., 2004). Thus, HPBP could be tentatively regarded as a potential predictor and as a possible therapeutic protein for treatment of phosphate-related disorders, including atherosclerosis. In this article, we report the purification, detergent-exchange protocol and crystallization conditions that led to the discovery of HPBP. HPBP was discovered by copurification from an apparently pure PON1 preparation. The HPBP/PON1-containing fractions were obtained according to a protocol based on the method of Gan et al. (1991) (Renault et al., in preparation) that was assumed to provide PON1 pure at ≠¥95%. Briefly, out of date plasma bags from blood donors (Etablissement Franà §ais du Sang Rhà ´ne-Alpes) were supplemented with CaCl2 to a final concentration of 10 mM before the resulting fibrin clot was separated by filtration. The filtrate was then submitted to a pseudo-affinity chromatography on Cibacron Blue 3GA-agarose (type 3000-CL; Sigma) using 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer pH 8.0 supplemented with 1 mM CaCl2 and 3 M NaCl to avoid the adsorption of albumin. Elution of hydrophobic plasma proteins, mainly lipoproteins, was performed using 0.1% sodium deoxycholate and 0.1% Triton X-100 in Tris-HCl buffer. The PON1-containing fractions were pooled and separated from the other HDL-bound proteins, mainly apolipoprotei n A-I, by anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose Fast Flow (Pharmacia Biotech) using 25 mM Tris buffer containing 0.1% Triton X-100 as starting buffer with a gradient of NaCl (0-0.35 M). Pooled HPBP/PON1-containing fractions were dialyzed and concentrated in the presence of C-12 maltoside (0.64 mM) using a centrifugation device (Centriprep Amicon, 10 kDa cutoff, Millipore, St Quentin-en-Yvelines, France) to a final absorbance of 2.3 at 280 nm. Light-scattering analysis revealed a homogeneous sample with an apparent molecular weight of about 80 kDa (Josse et al., 2002 ). This molecular weight was attributed to dimeric PON1 because the existence of HPBP was unknown at this point. Some dialyzed fractions spontaneously crystallized overnight. Crystal plates were very numerous and very thin (about 1  µm width). Once useless crystals had formed in the absence of precipitant agent, it was impossible to dissolve them again. Thus, crystallization trials were performed quickly after detergent exchange. Inspection of the resulting electron-density map clearly indicated that the crystallized protein was not PON1. The sequence deduced from the structure was totally unknown and not predicted by the genomic database. The complete amino-acid sequence was determined from X-ray data. This protein is the first inorganic phosphate transporter characterized in human plasma (Morales et al., 2006). The discovery of this protein by crystallography opens new insight into the physiopathology and medical treatment of phosphate-related diseases RECENTDEVELOPMENTS IN POLYMER CHARACTERIZATION USING X-RAYDIFFRACTION In the absence of an orientational force, thelamellae organize into spherulites (1-10 mm indiameter). X-ray scattering can be used to ob-tain structural information at three lengthscales—1, 10 and 100nm—using scattering atwide-, small- and ultra small-angles, respec-tively.A continuum of structures between the ex-tremesof what are generally regarded as amor-phous and crystalline phases are present in areal polymer, and these entities have complexorganization. But, a model that describes thesemicrystalline polymers in terms of two phases, an average amorphous and an averagecrystalline phase, has been found to be ade-quate for many practical purposes. The fractionof the material that is crystalline, the crys-tallinity or crystalline index, is an important pa-rameter in the two-phase model. Crystallinitycan be determined from a wide-angle X-ray dif- fraction (WAXD) scan by comparing the areaunder the crystalline peaks to the total scatteredintensity [12]. The accuracy and the precision ofthese measurements can be improved by draw-ing a proper base-line, using an appropriateamorphous template, and by carefully choosingthe crystalline peaks [13, 14]. The disorder inthecrystalline domains can be evaluated by measuring the crystallite sizes which are relatedto the radial widths D(2q) of the reflections at ascattering angle 2q by the Scherrer equation. Inreality, there are two contributions to the width:one is the size and the other is the para crystallinity or microstrain [15, 16]. A more detailed analysis based on the Warren-Averbach methodis widely used in metals and ceramics, but lessso in polymers [17]. The disorder in the crys-talline domains is also reflected in the unit celldimensions. But, calculation of the unit cell pa-rameters requires an accurate measurement ofthe positions of many crystalline peaks, which can be difficult. Therefore, in practice, relativepositions of selected crystalline peaks are used as accurate measures of the changes unit cellparameters [18, 19].Structures at length scales larger than a unit cell (10nm instead of 1nm) can be investi-gated using small-angle X-ray scattering(SAXS). The methodology for these analysis isnow highly developed and can be found in anystandard literature [9, 20-24]. While WAXD isused to study the orientation of the crystals,and the packing of the chains within these crys-tals, SAXS is used to study the electron densityfluctuations that occur over larger distances asa result of structural inhomogeneities. SAXS iswidely used to study the lamellar structure bymeasuring parameters such as lamellar spac-ing, height and thickness of the transition layer betweenthe crystalline and amorphous domains. In theanalysis of fibers, SAXS can provide informa-tion about the details of fibrillar morphologysuch as fibril diameter and orientation, and large scale inhomogeneity such as microporesand cracks. This information is somewhat simi-lar to that obtained from a transmission elec-tron micrograph, with one important difference:SAXS requires no sample preparation , and thedata is averaged over the area (typically 0.1mm2) of illumination. SAXS is also used for studying conformation, size and dynamics ofpolymers in solutions and in gels. 3. New Methods to Study Polymer Structure The two-phase model for the polymer hasbeen quite useful in providing a qualitative un-derstanding of the polymer properties in termof its structure, but is not adequate for quantita-tive prediction of the polymer properties. For this purpose, a detailed knowledge of the char-acteristics and distribution of soft (amorphous) and hard (crystalline) domains, and the interac-tions between these domains is necessary. New techniques that have been introduced duringthe past decade provide precisely this informa- tion. Some of these techniques will be discussed here. 3.1. Microbeam Diffraction Microbeam diffraction, or microdiffraction,has been used in semiconductor industry for over 25 years [25]. It is now being used to ex-amine polymeric materials. In most routine characterization of polymers, it is assumed thatthe structure is homogeneous. But, this is not always the case. Temperature gradients are pre-sent during injection molding, and both temper- ature and stress gradients are present duringextrusion and drawing. These gradients intro- duce structural inhomogeneities that influencepolymer performance. Even filaments that are only 10 mm in diameter show variations in ori-entation and density across the cross section [5, 26]. These structural gradients, and the changesin these gradients during deformation can now be studied at spatial resolutions as small as1 mm using microbeam diffraction [26]. An ex- ample of the typical structural gradients presentin a shown in Figure 2 [6]. This diffractogram was obtained from KevlarTM fiber with a 3 mm 16 Synchrotron Radiation Facility) synchrotronsource. The data show that the Hermans orien- tation function of the crystalline domains in this12 mm diameter fiber increases from 0.955 at the center to 0.980 at the surface of the fiber.The higher orientation of the skin layer is obvi- ously due to large shear stresses at the spin-neret, extensional forces in the air-gap and the solidification in the coagulation bath. Such astructural gradient implies that the modulus de- creases from the skin to core. It is interesting tonote that these inhomogeneities gradually de- crease and disappear under uniaxial stress.Microbeam techniques have reached a level of sophistication that it is now possible to focus .X-rays on a micron size crystal and follow the changes in the structure from one crystal to t