Nuclear Power - a Reliable Energy Source for the Future Essay Example for Free

Nuclear Power a Reliable Energy Source for the Future Essay Nuclear power A reliable energy source for the future India is on the move. Indeed, one of the primary reasons why we are even having this competition is a result of the 8% plus annual GDP growth over the last 8 years. This growth has been driven by strong domestic demand, and with that electricity consumption per capita has doubled from 355KWh in 2000 to 720kWh by 2009. This is a huge increase, but in absolute terms is puny when compared to other countries globally, being only 20% and 3% of the figures for China and America respectively. Juxtapose this with the deplorable fact that about 400 million people are yet to be connected to the electricity grid and the writing is on the wall. In this regard it’s best to compare ourselves to China but it’s already clear that demand is going to soar in the coming years. On the supply side, the power generation figures are much gloomier, and most years hover stubbornly around the ‘Hindu rate of growth’ of 3%. Understandably power generation requires huge capital investment; even so, the pace of growth has been extremely tardy over the past 20 years. In many states (Maharashtra being the notable example) reasonably healthy power surpluses from the early 90s were allowed to stagnate into power deficits by the end of the decade, setting the stage for a huge uphill struggle to cope with the demand surge of this past decade. The net result of all this is that overall national power deficit is around 12% consistently, with no major state being power surplus. There can be no doubt as to what is responsible for this; poor planning and lack of foresight on the part of the Government. Thankfully, it appears to have finally woken up to the challenge, and there are hasty efforts being made to meet the XIth plan revised target of 62,500 MW with a far more ambitious target for the XIIth plan. Given this changed outlook on the part of the Government, I think this is an excellent opportunity to not only work for the short term goal of bridging the deficit, but also looking further ahead and envisioning scenarios for 2020 and beyond. Let’s take a step back and see exactly how we get our power from. At the oment, the predominant source is thermal – a kinder word for what are mostly coal-fired plants. Totally these contribute 64. 6% of the total installed capacity. The other major contributor is hydroelectric powerwhich provides another 22. 6% of total power. Both are hardly what you’d term green; coal powered plants , especially in India are inefficient and polluting whereas large scale hydroelectric projects tend to cause large scale environmental ch anges as well as trigger population shifts. Finally there is nuclear and renewables, which come in at 4. % and 7. 2% respectively. Given the scale of problems associated with large scale hydroelectric projects, it is going to extremely difficult (and not advisable from an environmental viewpoint either) to attempt to build huge hydroelectric projects. Indeed, most of the current capacity has been installed in the immediate years post-independence and there has been little progress with large scale projects in the last twenty years (the Narmada Bachao Andolan and the movements against the Tehri dam come to mind here). It is quite clear therefore, that apart from small scale hydroelectric projects that do not require massive dams on rivers, it is going to be very difficult to raise the conventional hydroelectric generation capacity by as much as is required by the growth in demand discussed above. It is quite an accepted view that the renewable energy sources like wind, tidal and geothermal just will not have the ability to compensate for current fossil fuel generation. Wind and waves could only be used at the coast or in elevated areas in the mountain ranges, and apart from the four monsoon months, wind patterns across the subcontinent are rather subdued. In my view, there are strong reasons for opting for the latter, which I will detail in the paragraphs below. India abounds with coal. Indeed, this is the only fossil fuel we have a huge supply of. Beneath the ground in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa lies about 10% of the known reserves, making India the 3rd largest coal producer in the world. With reserves enough to last for at least another 100 years, it is no surprise then that post-Independence a huge emphasis was placed on enhanced production and utilisation for electricity generation. There are of course other demands for coal, most notably by the steel industry where it is used as a raw material. Like many other areas for the economy, the steel industry has also boomed in the last 20 years with a six fold increase in production. But this may also prove to be too little as demand is increasing at an annual pace of 10%+ and is likely to accelerate given the renewed push for infrastructure development by the government. All of this has meant that once again India is importing large quantities of coal negating the trade cushion that large domestic production naturally affords us. What is the reason for this mismatch? All mines in India were nationalised in the 1970s, and have fallen behind the rest of the world in production standards and efficiencies. Finally, Indian coal has a high ash content and low calorific value which means that larger quantities of raw material will need to be mined. All of these last points highlight the much larger problem with coal- its huge impact on the environment. Fossil fuels pollute, but they do so in two ways- through the emission of particulate matter, S02, N02 and other harmful gases (traditional pollution) and the emission of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. In most of the developed world, the former has vanished almost completely with strict regulations on emissions from plants. In India, with the poor quality of mining and lax environmental normscoal power plants are a huge source of local pollution. This significantly mars the quality of life of the people in the surrounding area, and if a dramatic increase in coal power is planned, a much larger number of people will be affected. Of course, the much bigger problem and challenge is the huge carbon emissions. To many, the whole debate on climate change is a conspiracy by the West. Just when India appears to be settling on a path of sustained growth, the bogey of carbon emissions is raised by nations that have made full use of carbon based industries themselves. Climate change debate in India is extremely low on facts and high on rhetoric and outlooks range from a care-a-damn attitude to holding it liable for everyunusually heavy downpour. Climate change is by and large not a burning topic for public discussion, certainly not one of the aam aadmi issues and so receives short shrift amongst our politicians- many of whom know precious little on the matter. Imagine then the unease, when the whole issue blew up suddenly at Copenhagen in 2008 and India thrust into a prominent position alongside China. No longer an innocent bystander as at Kyoto a decade before, India’s growth and emergence in the world’s eyes have also ensured that it is now seen as essential to the solution. While there was no deal reached on the matter in part due to India and China standing firm, the writing is on the wall for India. Emission limits are going to come sooner or later. Indeed, they may be pretty soon given the unexpected change in the Government’s stance at the current round of negotiations in Cancun. All this makes coal powered plants the real villains of the lot. Spewing huge amounts of carbon in the atmosphere, they can (and especially the ones in India) be highly inefficient. Technologies like Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) exist which can reduce this but is at the moment prohibitively expensive and reduces the efficiency of the plant by a further 50%. There is also the additional problem of safe storage of the captured CO2 so that it does not leak out for 100s of years. If even in the West it will require significant government subsidy to implement, there is not much scope of it taking off in India where there will be no governmental support. A simple modification could be to build gas/oil based plants. While the carbon emissions will be curtailed somewhat, and air pollution unquestionably reduced, these are not a solution to the problems of carbon emissions. And finally India’s oil and gas (despite recent finds) reserves are far short of meeting demand, which would place these plants at the mercy of large fluctuations in international prices or global unrest. Good examples of this are the countries of Europe who are trying hard to diversify themselves away from Russian gas. Now these can be perceived as significant setbacks, or else as a whole new set of opportunities with the chance for a level playing field. I earnestly believe that these two issues- the burgeoning power deficit and the push to eliminate it and the need to begin some action on climate change have fortuitously come at the same time. Nuclear energy has a long association with independent India. Nuclear energy caught the attention of our founding fathers and Jawaharlal Nehru was an eager advocate. In an influential letter Homi Bhabha, the architect of the Indian nuclear program wrote â€Å" Moreover, when nuclear energy has been successfully applied for power production in say a couple of decades from now, India will not have to look abroad for its experts but will find them ready at hand. † But the fortunes of our nuclear ambitions mirrored only too closely that of India’s relations with the rest of the world. The early optimism of the Nehru years disappeared abruptly with the China war, and the 1964 Chinese atomic test only served to highlight India’s isolation from the world’s major powers and the precarious security balance with regards to China. Acquiring a bomb became a national priority; and while the 1974 tests were a triumph for Mrs Gandhi domestically, it spelt doom for civilian nuclear efforts. An outraged international community imposed tough sanctions, which were further intensified after the 1998 nuclear tests. For most people, it seemed that civilian nuclear efforts had been given a quiet burial. But was this really the case? Amazingly, and in what must be one of the greatest triumphs of Indian science and engineering, it was not! Despite tremendous odds, a great deal of effort was put into civilian nuclear technology. Realising that they couldn’t rely on the West, our scientists decided to revisit the entire basis of the nuclear process and press on with phase II of the so called three stage nuclear program. The emphasis would now be placed on Thorium, which is much more abundant in India. There are significant challenges to using this material, mostly due to the fact that it does not produce the fissile stable Uranium 235 as a by-product of decay. A lot of work has been done in this area, and today we are ready to commission projects at phase II and planning work has already begun for Phase III Advanced Heavy Water Reactor systems. However, in that period the Cold War became history and our growing economy and some unexpectedly dogged diplomacy won India the landmark nuclear deal of 2008. While the sceptics may decry the ‘loss of sovereignty’ India is now no longer a nuclear pariah and can trade and develop its civilian nuclear capabilities as it sees fit. What I want to underscore here is just how competitive we are; our atomic energy facilities are in many cases at the cutting edge of nuclear research and certainly the best work on Thorium is coming out of India. So much so that nuclear scientists from the West are extremely keen on using our facilities and collaborating with us. I think the nuclear deal will enable us to leverage our strengths well, and if properly planned out, India could very well turn from customer to supplier, exporting high value technology to other countries around the globe. This is an opportunity that surely cannot be missed! But to return to nuclear energy- does it fulfil the requirements for a reliable source of energy? Well air pollution is extremely limited, and so are carbon emissions as there are no fossil fuels involved (except perhaps for the transfer of the fuel). India possesses vast reserves of Thorium, and electricity from nuclear power will also be cost effective. Sure, it takes longer to build these plants but that in part has been to our lack of experience and the stifling of nuclear commerce pre 2008. This has been taken into account in the growth plans to 20,000 MW by 2020 and then a further tripling to 63,000 MW by 2032. Unlike the solar power targets though, these should be readily achievable. At the moment, Indian industry doesn’t possess many of the skills required by the industry and this will be a great impetus itself for developing high tech industries in India. However, there is the serious issue of disposal of nuclear by products and the catastrophic scenarios that can arise from a nuclear accident. Indeed it is the latter which has led to large amounts of anti-nuclear feelings especially in Europe. The largest such accident was at Chernobyl in 1986 and the radiation from this affected most of continental Europe. But as has been pointed out, safety standards in the Soviet Union were not as stringent as the West, and even these were blatantly violated as the Soviet economy began to crumble. In other words, it was a terrible exception and given correct management, shouldn’t happen again. In many ways this was eerily similar to Bhopal, which is worrying for two reasons. One it shows we don’t have an inbred safety culture and two that such comparisons could be a convenient bogey for derailment of nuclear projects. The solution is to tackle the former and build up a culture of professionalism and discipline at these nuclear power plants, with safety standards that compare with the West and are adhered to. The memories of Bhopal are still fresh in people’s minds and let’s hope the lessons stay with us also. France is a great example of a system that works. 70% of its electricity is generated in nuclear plants and it has an unblemished safety record. So along with technology, we should have no qualms in learning from the best in the trade and imbibing their safety ethic. If this is done, there is a great chance of nuclear technology becoming another transformative sector for the economy like IT was in this decade. Being a nuclear energy powerhouse will have a knock-on effect for Indian diplomacy and our relations with the rest of the world. Given the volatile nature of world events, it is almost a certainty that access to nuclear technology will be continue to be restrictive in the years ahead. All of the world powers today have strong nuclear programs- even Japan is a key supplier for civilian nuclear technology. A strong domestic nuclear sector will add a lot of weight to our voice in the world and hasten India’s ascent on the world stage. Nuclear energy will enable us to make significant progress in meeting any emissions targets that could be set for us and will make clear to the world that India is serious about climate change. Not only is this good for us in the long run (India is particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures) but it will also deflect pressure back on the developed nations who are primarily responsible for the problem. Such a bold move would be another shot in the arm for Indian diplomacy. If a stopgap solution is required, then coal and gas plants are the way forward. Indeed, to meet the immediate deficit, this is the only way. But it is not the technology for the future. At the moment, that mantle lies with nuclear energy. Our country has already done a great deal of work under very difficult conditions to build up our nuclear program. It would be a tragedy to let this slide and not harness its capabilities. Accomplishing this will require vision- but then, that is exactly what is needed to build the India of the future.

Negative Effects of TV on Young People

Negative Effects of TV on Young People As we can see, television is playing a very big role in our life. Television has its good side. It can be entertaining and educational, and can open up new worlds for children, giving them a chance to travel the globe, learn about different cultures, and gain exposure to ideas they may never encounter in their own community. However, parents need to understand the negative influence of childrens TV, even childrens programming, because children are likely to learn things from TV that parents dont want them to learn. Television can affect childrens health, school work and behavior in negative ways. Excess television viewing can influence childrens physical and mental health. On one hand, it could affect badly childrens physical health. It is easy for children to be myopic if they watch TV more than two hours in a day. Children will spend less time on sports and TV time also takes away from participating in sports, music, art or other activities that require practice to become skillful. And they may have high caloric intake if they are watching TV at dinner. A person would burn fewer calories while watching TV than when just sitting quietly, doing nothing (Langholt, 2010). So it may contribute to obesity problems. Children who watch more TV are more likely to be overweight. TV is a bigger factor than diet. Estimates of risk indicate that more 60% of overweight incidence in this population can be linked to excess television viewing time (Dietz, 1996). Many TV ads encourage unhealthy eating habits. Two-thirds of the 20,000 TV ads an average child sees each year are for food and mo st are for high-sugar foods. After-school TV ads target children with ads for unhealthy foods and beverages, like fast food and sugary drinks. On the other hand, watching TV has bad influence on childrens mental health, too. Children who are addicted to TV are hard to communicate with their family members and classmates. One study found that TV viewing before age three slightly hurt several measures of later brain development. Before the age of three, childrens brain develops rapidly, forming connections and pathways that will assist with learning later in life. Studies indicate that exposure to television, with its fast-moving images and rapid actions, actually rewires childrens brain to crave this hyperactive stimulation. The benefits of parent-child interactions are proven, and under age three, talking, singing, reading, listening, to music or playing are far more important to childrens development than any TV show. The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends that pare nts keep their kids away from all TV until after the age of two (Bushman, 2010). Children under age eight cant tell the difference between reality in our lives and fantasy on TV. In this case, children may be frightened or upset by TV stories easily, and the symptoms include bad dreams, anxious feelings, being afraid of being alone, withdrawing from friends, and missing school. TV viewing may replace activities that we know help with school work, such as reading, doing homework, pursuing hobbies, and getting enough sleep. First, it makes children read fewer books and have lower grades in school. Watching TV at age four is one factor to be associated with bulling in grade school. Second, children may become more seeing than thinking. It may prevent children from the development of their imagination and creativity. Finally, one research study found that TVs effects on education are long term. The study found that watching TV as a child affected educational achievement at age 26. Watching more TV in childhood increases chances of dropping out of school and decreased chances of getting a college, even after controlling for confounding factors (Bushman, 2010). Children who watch more sensitive TV may have behavior problems. First of all, they will imitate the violence they see on TV. Programs designed for children more often contain violence than adult TV. Young children may even try to emulate the things they see on TV, not realizing that they risk injuring themselves or others. According to the AAP, Extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence (Bushman, 2010). Watching violent shows is also linked with having less empathy toward others. A university of Michigan researcher demonstrated that watching violent media can affect willingness to help others in need (Bushman, 2010). Whats more, alcohol advertising, including TV ads, contributes to an increase in drinking among youth. TV ads are a major factor in normalizing alcohol use in the minds of children, adolescents and college students. Alcohol has damaging effects on young peoples developing brains-and the da mage can be permanent. Children who watch TV are more likely to smoke. Even though tobacco ads are banned on TV, young people still see people smoking on programs and movies shown on television. Recent research has shown that exposure to smoking in movie characters increases the likelihood that viewers will associate themselves with smoking (Langholt, 2010). Kids who watch more TV start smoking at an earlier age. The relationship between television viewing and age of starting smoking is stronger than that of peer smoking, parental smoking, and gender. Finally, children get lots of information about sexuality from television. Because most parents dont talk to their kids about sex and most school dont offer complete sex education programs, they get much information about sex from TV. However, watching sex on TV increases the chances that a teen will have sex, and may cause teens to start having sex at younger ages (Bushman, 2010). In summary, television viewing affects childrens physical and mental health, school performance and behavior in negative ways. Therefore, children should replace TV time with creative and physical activities, reading and playing games with positive values and educational content.

Rising Gas Prices in the United States Essay -- The Oil Industry

Once upon a time Americans hopped into their cars on warm spring days and took long drives to admire the beauty of nature. Teenagers took joy rides around town to meet friends and rode from one â€Å"hot spot† to another. Those were the days when gas prices were affordable to the average American. Over the past few years, gas prices in the United States have been on the rise. What is causing the increase in gas prices? To understand the increase in gas prices, one must first identify the distribution of dollars paid per gallon at the pump. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (eia) in 2010, the annual average paid at the pump consisted of 68% crude oil, 7% refining, 10% distribution and marketing, and 15% taxes (see Fig.1). This shows an increase of crude oil over the 2000-2009 average of 51%. (e. I. Administration) Currently, the most important factor in the rise of gas prices is the increasing cost of crude oil. Unfortunately, the United States has three percent of the world’s oil reserves. (Horsley) In 2009, the United States was third in crude oil production as well as the world’s largest petroleum consumer. (e. I. Administration) Such consumption required and still requires the United States to import petroleum/crude oil from other countries. Mainly, the United States imports petroleum products and crude oil from Canada 23.3%, Venezuela 10.7%, Saudi Arabia 10.4%, Mexico 9.2%, and Nigeria 8.3%. (e. I. Administration) In addition, approximately 77 other countries import to the United States. (e. I. Administration) Worldwide, there are many factors contributing to the increase in cost per barrel. Most recently, Libyan rebels, inspired by the success of their Tunisian and Egyptian neighbors, are up... ... Oil Production.† 10 March 2011. 19 March 2011 . Press, Associated. â€Å"MSNBC Oil Prices Fall as Libya Promises Ceasefire.† 18 March 2011. 19 March 2011 . Press, Associated. â€Å"Oil Hits Highest Levels Since Recession.† 25 March 2011. 25 March 2011 . Press, The Associated. â€Å"IEA Says Libyan Oil Exports Halted.† 15 March 2011. 25 March 2011 . Reuters. â€Å"Factbox: Libyan Oil Production, Exports, Customers.† 11 February 2011. 20 March 2011 .

Use of Technology in Law Enforcement and Against Terrorism :: Technology Essays

Use of Technology in Law Enforcement and Against Terrorism   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Technology has a definite impact not only on our everyday lives but also on the ideologies we pursue or abandon.   This change can be clearly seen as society has progressed through from an agrarian culture through the growing pains of the industrial revolution, and into the current wave, the information wave.   The role of technology was seen as a tool in the agrarian culture and also as a means for physical exploration of humanity's surroundings.   During the industrial revolution that tool, used to better the agrarian age morphed into a guiding force for social change, intellectual idealism, and scientific exploration.   As the industrial age drew to a close, marked by increased warfare and frightening new discoveries, there was a backlash against the ideological representation of technology.   Technology in the information age has become not only a force that produces wonderful new things, but ultimately a tool in the hands of a very flawed and occasiona lly noble society.   The current views on technology are diverse and cover grounds that span from technology being a way to save, to that same technology being a means to an end or power.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The personification of technology ranges from a way to place power firmly in the hands of the few, to technology being a means for anyone to do things that before required a specialized education.   The publishing liberty of the Internet creates a forum in which any one can be taken seriously; whether they are in truth serious is another discussion.   This liberty of forum is available to anyone with a modicum of knowledge or the desire to gain such knowledge.   This is in direct contrast to the publishing world where it requires a specialized knowledge and education to produce some thing or to become published.   Often the knowledge needs to be combined with a fair amount of luck as well.   Technology has also become a way to put social power into the hands of the few as well.   The existence of surveillance systems, the exorbitant prices of medical matters, and the existence of issues such as the digital divide are all exampl es of technologically based ways to shift a balance of power in an arena.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As technology is always in a state of flux so are our society's attitudes regarding technology.   There is a definite polarization of issues in the field of

Catcher In The Rye - Holden Caufield :: Catcher Rye Essays

Catcher In The Rye - Holden Caufield Holden Caufield was a high school student at a boy's academy by the name of Pency Prep. He feels as though he had fought the world and lost, everyone is against him and that little can bring him joy. He had lost his innocence, and saw himself as a "catcher in the rye", trying to save children from his fate. Holden is quite the eccentric individual. I say this because of the incident with Sally Hayes where he proclaims his love for her and how they should run off together. The reason this makes him an eccentric is, he hates her and in his own words "Sally you're a pain in the ___!" Holden Caufield has many bad qualities including one of his favorite pastimes getting rip-roaring drunk. A good example of this is one of the many bar scenes when he gets quite drunk and asks the waiter to complement the singer. This is a show of his drunkenness because the singer is awful or at least the thought so before he started drinking. This is one among a plethora of bad habits like smoking, cursing, and being extremely cynical (everyone is a phony). Holden is by far not all bad, inside he is moral and generous. There are very clear examples of these good qualities. He had some moral sense because when "bought" the prostitute Sunny for a throw he could not go threw with it, so he paid her anyway and sent her away from him. Holden was charitable when he gave a considerably large donation of twenty dollars to the two nuns. This action was nothing other than an act of pure kindness. Holden Caufield has a foil or an opposite in the story, The Catcher in the Rye. This person is his younger sister, Phoebe. She has a positive outlook on life, while Holden hated it and thought he was doomed. She was his "ray of hope" in life and she was the only thing that brought them true joy. Phoebe was also the only person Holden knew who was not a phony about life and being happy (Sally Hayes). Holden Caufeild seems to change and evolve throughout the book.

A gift called “Wife”

Somewhere, I remember, to have read about the Orientals’ concept of an ideal wife: â€Å"A real wife is like a minister for the personal affairs of her husband, a friend in executing his tasks, in affectionate dealings she is like his mother and in his bed she is like a courtesan. Such a wife is auspicious† (Garuda Purana, 1.64.6). Is there a word in English that adequately describes – such a paragon of virtues in the form of a beautiful, female, human-being, playing the role of a wife? If there is one, then few women indeed, would qualify to be described thus. Blessed indeed is the man, who is bestowed with such a woman, capable of enriching his entire life, filling it hope, happiness and healthy attitude. Personally, I must say, that I, am one of those lucky husbands who has been graced thus.   My wife is my savior, guide and friend; she is my albatross, averting the turbulent disasters that threaten to drown me in the ocean of my troubles, and guiding me to the shores of safety; very much like the woman praised by the Orientals. Ever since I met her, I have been drawn to her like a magnet. A young, beautiful woman, with a gorgeous body, lovely soft eyes and sensual lips, that make heads turn round instantly. Eligible suitors sought her, as do butterflies circle an attractive flower. Her eyes shone like stars, and her heart was filled with dreams – dreams of making it big, in the Hollywood. She has a sweet demeanor that hides the tensile nature of the resolute strength of her character and, little did I realize this invaluable asset at the time of our marriage. Nevertheless, I felt elated when she reciprocated my love and we walked down the Alter, as man and wife. But, I was to discover that, more than beauty, there were other things that contributed to her attractive personality. The adept professionalism in her single-handed management and smooth execution of our wedding plans to the last detail, unfolded a new aspect of her strength, to me. Our wedding day also revealed to me, the adamant streak in her. I remember, when all was ready and, I was about to enter the premises, she bid me on her mobile-phone, to fetch a particular candle she wanted lit on this special occasion. Unable to refuse the plea in her voice, I turned and started back. I remember, it was a chill, winter day, and a gust of cold wind pierced my face sharply, while searching for her car and groping with the keys. Sweat broke out on my forehead and my breath became heavy, as it was getting late, and I still couldn’t find candle in the place where she had supposed it to be; neither my words of counsel nor the advice of her bridesmaids (which got carried through on the mobile quite clearly), to proceed with the ceremonies without the candle, had little effect on her. It rather made her more stubborn, to have the candle fetched and lit, and she pined that none of us understood the deep significance of her actions. Whew! How I heaved a sigh of relief, when I finally found it. Thankfully, I dabbed away the sweat on my forehead with my handkerchief, and straightened my jacket, now that all was well. Later, I took ill and was down in bed requiring extra attention and care. There she was, by my side, with a soothing smile on her lips and a warm grasp on my wrist, feeling my pulse, monitoring my temperature, administering the drugs advised by the doctor, reassuring me all the time with kind words, that all shall be well. My heart was touched and eyes filled with unshed tears, when she made it to the doctor’s appointment, traveling across half the city – through peak traffic, despite her heavy schedule, to apprise the doctor regarding the status of my health and explore the options of my speedy recovery. The very same adamant streak came to the fore here in albeit in a very agreeable manner; with tenacity she clutched on to hope, never giving up, and adamantly pushed away pessimistic thoughts. Her son depends on this unique trait of hers, to prop him up during the defeating bouts of his mental-illness, and to keep him going. However, we her close kin and kith are not the only recipients of her kindness. She is surely a tower of strength, to many a friend and I personally know of few instances in which she has pulled some friends back from the brink of ruin. Now, am I not right in feeling that I have been graciously granted a rare and â€Å"auspicious† present in the form of a tenacious life-partner? Bibliography Garuda Purana, 1.64.6 –   Tr. J.L. Shastri/A board of scholars, Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology 12-14, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1982. (extracts with notes in [] by JanM, 1997). Retrieved on 24th May, 2006, from website address:                     

Case Study for White Box Testing

White Box Case Study 1. Introduction In white-box testing, the purpose is to ensure that the all the code has been tested and covered. There are different coverage measures depending on the level of detail of the white-box test. The coverage measures may also be applied to integration testing and system testing. 2. Learning Objectives The exercise aims at giving an understanding of white-box. The specific learning goal is to gain a detailed insight into the concept of white-box testing using coverage measures. Assignment 1: Look at the program below. How many feasible paths are there for this program? Define a set of test cases that gives you 100% coverage of all the feasible paths. Input (score); If score < 45 then print (‘fail’); else print (‘pass’); If score > 80 then print (‘ with distinction’); End Assignment 2: In this week’s lab session you will test the NextDate program with white-box techniques. Get an understanding of how the program works, the code is available here Assignment 4: Make flowgraphs of the methods in the NextDate class. Assignment 5: Prepare test cases based on the flowgraph. Calculate the minimum number of test cases if the goal is: †¢ 100% Statement coverage †¢ 100% Decision/branch covergae †¢ 100% Condition coverage 4. Exercise (on computer) Assignment 6: Now we would like you to thoroughly test the NextDate program using white-box testing. You should implement the testcases you have prepared on paper using statement, decision,and condition coverage. Preferably implement them using JUnit. Implement more test cases if you realize that you missed any during the preparation. Remember to specify test case ID, what is tested, description, input, expected output and other useful information while executing your test cases. You may also want to make room for pass and fail notes and perhaps for comments. Record your test results carefully for your test report. Report The purpose of the report is to discuss the result of the exercise and related topics. Following parts should be included, 1) conclusions from the lab session, 2. Describe the outcome of your tests. Discuss the assignments and include the following: †¢ The flowgraphs from the preparation assignment. †¢ The test cases. Remember to specify the associated test technique to each test case. Also, specify the coverage measure of each method used. †¢ Defects detected. †¢ Which coverage criteria works best and why? †¢ When is each coverage criteria most applicable? †¢ Compare black-box test techniques (used in lab session 1) and white-box test techniques. Discuss advantages and disadvantages with each and when they are appropriate to use.