Symbolic Learning Methods Essay Example for Free

Symbolic Learning Methods Essay Abstract In this paper, performance of symbolic learning algorithms and neural learning algorithms on different kinds of datasets has been evaluated. Experimental results on the datasets indicate that in the absence of noise, the performances of symbolic and neural learning methods were comparable in most of the cases. For datasets containing only symbolic attributes, in the presence of noise, the performance of neural learning methods was superior to symbolic learning methods. But for datasets containing mixed attributes (few numeric and few nominal), the recent versions of the symbolic learning algorithms performed better when noise was introduced into the datasets. 1. Introduction The problem most often addressed by both neural network and symbolic learning systems is the inductive acquisition of concepts from examples [1]. This problem can be briefly defined as follows: given descriptions of a set of examples each labeled as belonging to a particular class, determine a procedure for correctly assigning new examples to these classes. In the neural network literature, this problem is frequently referred to as supervised or associative learning. For supervised learning, both the symbolic and neural learning methods require the same input data, which is a set of classified examples represented as feature vectors. The performance of both types of learning systems is evaluated by testing how well these systems can accurately classify new examples. Symbolic learning algorithms have been tested on problems ranging from soybean disease diagnosis [2] to classifying chess end games [3]. Neural learning algorithms have been tested on problems ranging from converting text to speech [4] to evaluating moves in backgammon [5]. In this paper, the current problem is to do a comparative evaluation of the performances of the symbolic learning methods which use decision trees such as ID3 [6] and its revised versions like C4.5 [7] against neural learning methods like Multilayer perceptrons [8] which implements a feed-forward neural network with error back propagation. Since the late 1980s, several studies have been done that compared the performance of symbolic learning approaches to the neural network techniques. Fisher and McKusick [9] compared ID3 and Backpropagation on the basis of both prediction accuracy and the length of training. According to their conclusions, Backpropagation attained a slightly higher accuracy. Mooney et al., [10] found that ID3 was faster than a Backpropagation network, but the Backpropagation network was more adaptive to noisy data sets. Shavlik et al., [1] compared ID3 algorithm with perceptron and backpropagation neural learning algorithms. They found that in all cases, backpropagation took much longer to train but the accuracies varied slightly depending on the type of dataset. Besides accuracy and learning time, this paper investigated three additional aspects of empirical learning, namely, the dependence on the amount of training data, the ability to handle imperfect data of various types and the ability to utilize distributed output encodings. Depending upon the type of datasets they worked on, some authors claimed that symbolic learning methods were quite superior to neural nets while some others claimed that accuracies predicted by neural nets were far better than symbolic learning methods. The hypothesis being made is that in case of noise free data, ID3 gives faster results whose accuracy will be comparable to that of back propagation techniques. But in case of noisy data, neural networks will perform better than ID3 though the time taken will be more in case of neural networks. Also, in the case of noisy data, performance of C4.5 and neural nets will be comparable since C4.5 too is resistant to noise to an extent due to pruning. 2. Symbolic Learning Methods In ID3, the system constructs a decision tree from a set of training objects. At each node of the tree the training objects are partitioned by their value along a single attribute. An information theoretic measure is used to select the attribute whose values improve prediction of class membership above the accuracy expected from a random guess. The training set is recursively decomposed in this manner until no remaining attribute improves prediction in a statistically significant manner when the confidence factor is supplied by the user. So, ID3 method uses Information Gain heuristic which is based on Shannon’s entropy to build efficient decision trees. But one dis advantage with ID3 is that it overfits the training data. So, it gives rise to decision trees which are too specific and hence this approach is not noise resistant when tested on novel examples. Another disadvantage is that it cannot deal with missing attributes and requires all attributes to have nominal values. C4.5 is an improved version of ID3 which prevents over-fitting of training data by pruning the decision tree when required, thus making it more noise resistant. 3. Neural Network Learning Methods Multilayer perceptron is a layered network comprising of input nodes, hidden nodes and output nodes [11]. The error values are back propagated from the output nodes to the input nodes via the hidden nodes. Considerable time is required to build a neural network but once it is done, classification is quite fast. Neural networks are robust to noisy data as long as too many epochs are not considered since they do not overfit the training data. 4. Evaluation Design For the evaluation purposes, a free and popular software tool called Weka (Waikato Environment for Knowledge Acquisition) is used. This software has the implementations of several machine learning algorithms made easily accessible to the user with the help of graphical user interfaces. The training and the test datasets have been taken from the UCI machine learning repository. Two different types of datasets will be used for the evaluation purposes. One type of datasets contain only symbolic attributes (Symbolic Datasets) and the other type contain mixed attributes (Numeric Datasets). Performance of the different learning methods will be evaluated using the original datasets which do not contain any noise and after introducing noise into them. Noise is introduced in the class attributes of the datasets by using the ‘AddNoise’ filter option in Weka which adds the specified percentage of noise randomly into the datasets. Symbolic Datasets are those which contain only symbolic attributes. Symbolic learning methods like ID3 and its recent developments can be run only on datasets where all the attributes are nominal. In Weka, these nominal attributes are automatically converted to numeric ones for neural network learning methods. So, preprocessing is not required in this type of datasets. Numeric Datasets are those which contain few nominal and few numeric attributes. Since symbolic learning methods like ID3 and its recent developments can be run only on datasets where all the attributes are nominal, these datasets first need to be preprocessed. A ‘Discretize’ filter option available in Weka is used to discretize all the non-symbolic attribute values into individual intervals so that each attribute can now be treated as a symbolic one. Initially, the entire data being considered is randomized. Two types of evaluation techniques are being used to analyze the data. (a) Percentage Split: In general, the data will be split up randomly into training data and test data. In the experiments conducted, the data will be split such that training data comprises 66% of the entire data and the rest is used for testing. (b) K-fold Cross-validation: In general, the data is split into k disjoint subsets and one of it is used as testing data and the rest of them are used as training data. This is continued till every subset has been used once as a testing dataset. In the experiments conducted, 5-fold cross validation was done. 5. Experimental Results Experiments were conducted on two symbolic datasets and two numeric datasets. The two symbolic datasets are tic-tac-toe and chess. The two numeric datasets are segment and teacher’s assistant evaluation (tae). DataSet 1 : TIC-TAC-TOE (a) 5-fold cross validation (i)Without any noise: Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 (ii) Percentage of noisy data = 10% Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 Time to build 0.03 6.16 0.02 0.06 0.01 % correct 67.4322 81.8372 75.8873 73.5908 71.2944 % incorrect 28.0793 18.1628 24.1127 26.4092 28.7056 % not classified 4.4885 0 0 0 0 Time to build 0.06 6.35 0.06 0.01 0.02 % correct 86.1169 97.4948 85.8038 87.5783 83.1942 % incorrect 11.691 2.5052 14.1962 12.4217 16.8058 % not classified 2.1921 0 0 0 0 (b) Percentage split with training data being 66% and the rest is testing data (i)Without Noise: Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 (ii)Percentage of Noisy data = 10% Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 Time to build 0.05 6.5 0.01 0.01 0.02 % correct 85.5828 97.546 83.1288 88.0368 82.2086 % incorrect 11.0429 2.454 16.8712 11.9632 17.7914 % not classified 3.3742 0 0 0 0 Time to build 0.04 6.15 0.02 0.02 0.01 % correct 68.4049 80.6748 73.9264 72.3926 71.4724 % incorrect 28.2209 19.3252 26.0736 27.6074 28.5276 % not classified 3.3742 0 0 0 0 For the tic-tac-toe dataset, in the presence of noise, neural nets had better prediction accuracies than all the other algorithms as expected. Though C4.5 gives better accuracy than ID3, its accuracy is still lower in comparison to Neural Nets. If the pruning factor (confidence factor was lowered) was increased, the prediction accuracies of C4.5 dropped a little. But in the absence of noise, the performances of ID3 and Multilayer Perceptron should have been comparable. But the performance of Multilayer Perceptron is quite superior to ID3. DataSet 2 : CHESS (a) 5-fold cross validation (i)Without any noise: Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 (ii) Percentage of noisy data = 10% Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 Time to build 0.36 47.75 0.21 0.18 0.19 % correct 81.1952 86.796 89.0488 84.6683 88.4856 % incorrect 18.8048 13.204 10.9512 15.3317 11.5144 % not classified 0 0 0 0 0 Time to build 0.21 47.67 0.15 0.05 0.1 % correct 99.562 97.4656 99.3742 99.3116 99.2178 % incorrect 0.438 2.5344 0.6258 0.6884 0.7822 % not classified 0 0 0 0 0 (b) Percentage split with training data being 66% and the rest is testing data (i)Without Noise: Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 (ii)Percentage of Noisy data = 10% Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 Time to build 0.33 41.73 0.24 0.19 0.19 % correct 80.1288 85.7406 87.5805 82.6127 87.6725 % incorrect 19.8712 14.2594 12.4195 17.3873 12.3275 % not classified 0 0 0 0 0 Time to build 0.13 43.55 0.06 0.06 0.08 % correct 99.448 97.1481 99.08 98.988 99.08 % incorrect 0.552 2.8519 0.92 1.012 0.92 % not classified 0 0 0 0 0 For the chess dataset, in the absence of noise, the performance of ID3 is better than that of Multilayer perceptron and takes lesser time. For the noisy data, back propagation predicts better accuracies than that of ID3 as expected, but the performance of C4.5 is slightly higher than back propagation. The reason for this could be that the feature space in this dataset is more relevant. So, C4.5 builds a tree and prunes it to get a more efficient tree. DataSet 3 : SEGMENT (a) 5-fold cross validation (i) Without any noise: Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 (ii) Percentage of noisy data = 10% Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 Time to build 0.07 9.64 0.04 0.04 0.03 % correct 68.9333 80.8667 81.2667 79.6 80.5333 % incorrect 21.3333 19.1333 18.7333 20.4 19.4667 % not classified 9.7333 0 0 0 0 Time to build 0.05 10.3 0.02 0.23 0.12 % correct 88.0667 90.6 91.6 94 94.3333 % incorrect 5.2 9.4 8.4 6 5.6667 % not classified 6.7333 0 0 0 0 (b) Percentage split with training data being 66% and the rest is testing data (i) Without Noise: Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 (ii) Percentage of Noisy data = 10% Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 Time to build 0.07 11.73 0.03 0.04 0.03 % correct 72.9412 82.549 82.1569 82.549 81.3725 % incorrect 19.6078 17.451 17.8431 17.451 18.6275 % not classified 7.451 0 0 0 0 Time to build 0.06 9.87 0.03 0.02 0.03 % correct 89.8039 87.6471 92.1569 93.7255 90.1961 % incorrect 4.1176 12.3529 7.8431 6.2745 9.8039 % not classified 6.0784 0 0 0 0 Segment, being a numeric dataset, all the attribute values had to be discretized before running the algorithms. In the absence of noise, ID3 performs slightly better than back propagation and the performance of J48 (implementation of C4.5 in Weka) is much better than ID3 and backpropagation. But a very interesting observation was found. In the absence of noise, the performance of an unpruned tree generated by C4.5 was quite superior to the rest. In the presence of noise, the performances of back propagation and C4.5 were comparable. DataSet 4 : TAE (a) 5-fold cross validation (i) Without any noise: Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 (ii) Percentage of noisy data = 10% Time to % % build correct incorrect ID3 0.02 53.6424 37.0861 Multilayer Perceptron 0.16 38.4106 61.5894 J48 0.02 52.9801 47.0199 C4.5 unpruned 0.01 56.2914 43.7086 C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 0.01 54.3046 45.6954 (b) Percentage split with training data being 66% and the rest is testing data (i) Without Noise: Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 (ii) Percentage of Noisy data = 10% Classifiers ID3 Multilayer Perceptron J48 C4.5 unpruned C4.5 confidence factor = 0.1 Time to build 0.01 0.17 0.01 0.01 0.01 % correct 38.4615 44.2308 44.2308 50 44.2308 % incorrect 40.3846 55.7692 55.7692 50 55.7692 % not classified 21.1538 0 0 0 0 Time to build 0.02 2.23 0.03 0.02 0.01 % correct 44.2308 57.6923 51.9231 55.7692 42.3077 % incorrect 34.6154 42.3077 48.0769 44.2308 57.6923 % not classified 21.1538 0 0 0 0 Classifiers % not classified 0 0 0 0 0 Time to build 0.02 0.18 0.02 0.01 0.01 % correct 54.3046 54.9669 48.3444 50.9934 47.0199 % incorrect 35.0993 45.0331 51.6556 49.0066 52.9801 % not classified 10.596 0 0 0 0 TAE, being a numeric dataset, its attribute values had to be discretized too before running the algorithms. But after observing the results, it is very clear that the random discretization provided by Weka did not generate good intervals due to which the overall accuracy predicted by all the methods is quite poor. Again, interestingly an unpruned tree built by C4.5 seems to give high prediction accuracies relative to the rest in most of the cases. In this case, for cross-validation approach and noisy data, surprisingly the performance of back-propagation was very poor. One reason for this could be that only few epochs of the training data were run to build the neural network. In the absence of noise, accuracy prediction of Multilayer perceptron was either comparable or greater than that of ID3. 6. Conclusion No single machine learning algorithm can be considered superior to the rest. The performance of each algorithm depends on what type of dataset is being considered, whether the f eature space is relevant and whether the data contains noise. In the absence of noise, in some cases, the performance of ID3 was comparable or sometimes better than back-propagation and was faster but in some cases Multilayer perceptron performed better. When noisy datasets were considered, back propagation definitely did better than ID3 though it took more time to build the neural network. But in the presence of noise, in some cases, C4.5 gave faster and better results when the attributes being considered were relevant. But some surprising observations were made when the attribute values of the numeric datasets were discretized, the prediction accuracy of an unpruned tree generated by C4.5 algorithm was much higher than the rest. This shows that the unpruned tree generated by C4.5 is not the same as that generated by ID3. References: 1.Mooney, R., Shalvik, J., and Towell, G. (1991): Symbolic and Neural Learning Algorithms An experimental comparison, in Machine Learning 6, pp. 111-143. 2. Michalski, R.S., Chilausky, R.L. (1980): Learning by being told and learning from examples An experimental comparison of two methods of knowledge acquisition in the context of developing an expert system for soybean disease diagnosis, in Policy Analysis and Information Systems, 4, pp. 125-160. 3. Quinlan, J.R. (1983): Learning efficient classification procedures and their application to chess end games in R.S. Michalski, J.G. Carbonell, T.M. Mitchell (Eds.), in Machine learning: An artificial intelligence approach (Vol. 1). Palo Alto, CA: Tioga. 4. Sejnowski, T.J., Rosenberg, C. (1987): Parallel networks that learn to pronounce English text, in Complex Systems, 1, pp. 145-168. 5. Tesauro, G., Sejnowski, T.J. (1989): A p arallel network that learns to play backgammon, in Artificial Intelligence, 39, pp. 357-390. 6. Quinlan, J.R. (1986): Induction on Decision Trees, in Machine Learning 1, 1 7. Quinlan, J.R. (1993): C4.5 – Programs for Machine Learning. San Mateo: Morgan Kaufmann. 8. Rumelhart, D., Hinton, G., Williams, J. (1986): Learning Internal Representations by Error Propagation, in Parallel Distributed Processing, Vol. 1 (D. Rumelhart k J. McClelland, eds.). MIT Press. 9. Fisher, D.H. and McKusick, K.B. (1989): An empirical comparison of ID3 and backpropagation, in Proc. of the Eleventh International Joint Conference on Artificia1 Intelligence (IJCAI-89), Detroit, MI, August 20-25, pp. 788-793. 10. Mooney, R., Shavlik, J., Towell, G., and Gove, A.(1989): An experimental comparison of symbolic and connectionist learning algorithms, in Proc. of the Eleventh International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI-89), Detroit, MI, August 20-25, pp. 775-780. 11. McClelland, J. k Rumelhart, D. (1988). Explorations in Parallel Distributed Processing, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

Static And Dynamic Cmos Cascode Voltage Switch Logic Circuits Computer Science Essay

Static And Dynamic Cmos Cascode Voltage Switch Logic Circuits Computer Science Essay This paper presents a dual rail logic network based static and dynamic CMOS cascode voltage switch logic (CVSL) circuits for improving the functional efficiency and low power consumption. The logic design strategic is achieved in CVSL by cascading differential pairs of FET devices are capable of processing Boolean functions up to (2N-1) input variables within a single circuit delay. Potentially CVSL is twice as dense as primitive NAND/NOR logic, and is compatible with existing design automation tools and relieving the device/process complexity burden for CVSL designs. Significant performance and density improvements with simultaneous reduction in power consumption have been investigated using cadence-90 nm technology. The power requirements for the static and dynamic cascode voltage switch logic circuits are compared Index Terms- cascode voltage switch logic (CVSL), Dual rail logic, CMOS VLSI circuit, cadence tools INTRODUCTION In recent years, most of the digital systems are static complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) due to their robust design nature which can implement reliable circuits with excellent noise margin. However, the demand for high-performance digital systems requires continuously faster CMOS circuit speed. Dynamic circuits are proven to have better circuit performance. But unfortunately, these dynamic design styles suffer from charge sharing, low noise margin, complexity of design, and difficulty in testing. Recently, several researchers have attempted to use pass-gate logic style to realize static and high performance designs in different digital systems [1-2]. Pass-gate logics gain their speed over the traditional static CMOS design due to their high logic functionality and reduction in the number of pFET transistors. However, the degradation of pull-up performance for the pass-gate design in the long circuit chain is the major obstacle for most designers to use. Recently, CMOS c ircuit design technique based cascode voltage switch logic (CVSL) is proposed with numerous advantages over the conventional static CMOS [3]. The domino CMOS, NORA and pseudo-NMOS technique is only effective in non-complementary logic circuits and it cannot apply directly to complementary logic functions. But, CVSL circuits can be applied to complementary logic families. Potential advantages include reduced circuit delay, higher layout density, lower power consumption and extended logic flexibility [4]. CVSL have been used to implement high-performance arithmetic circuits such as fast multiplications, ROM, RAM as well as pipelined DSP circuits. CVSL is very suitable for asynchronous designs when logic works at that time only the clocks are running; remaining time is off. This reduces power consumption, especially for large and complex circuits [5]. Dual rail logic network families are becoming increasingly important for advanced technologies because of the very small amount of charge required to hold a logic state. The cascode-voltage-switch logic gates are evaluated for improved the functional efficiency using 90 nm and 65 nm technology CMOS processes [6]. This paper describes dual rail logic network based static and dynamic CMOS cascode voltage switch logic (CVSL) circuits for improving the functional efficiency and power reduction. Significant performance and density improvements with simultaneous reduction in power consumption have been investigated using cadence. The power requirements for the static and dynamic are CVSL compared. design of CMOS CVSL circuit Cascode voltage switch logic is a dual-rail logic family. The dual-rail logic based differential CVSL gates are provides the potential of having high fan-in which leads to a reduction in logic depth, high speed, and the capability of generating completion signals for asynchronous operations. A) Dual rail Logic concept: The dual rail logic structure is consists of two-pFET are cross-coupled to form a simple latch that provides complementary outputs and; the latch is driven by an nFET network that can be viewed as two complementary switching functions. The dual rail logic circuits are more complex than single rail logic circuit, but the dual rail circuit can be faster than single rail circuit [6]. VDD 0 to1 swing 0 (a) Switching waveform for single rail logic VDD 0 to1 swing 0 (a) Switching waveform for dual rail logic Fig 1 Switching action for single and dual rail network The slew rate is simply the rate of change of the output voltage in time. A large slew rate implies a fast switching speed. In case of single rail circuit is generated output, but dual rail logic circuit, both and are generate as output of the gates that is shown in Fig 1. The logic variable is taken to be the difference signalthat effective of slew rate is defines as This illustrate that dual rail circuit intrinsically exhibits faster switching speed than single rail network. In practical the dual rail logic has some problems; increased circuit complexity, increased interconnects required in the layout and timing issues become critical. These problems have been investigated in this static and dynamic differential cascode voltage switch logic circuits. B) Static CVSL: Static differential cascode switch logic circuits usually consist of a push-pull load by pFET and a pair of interrelated (requiring both true and complement signals) binary decision trees by nFET. The Differential CVSL tree is properly designed into two ways, such that: (1) When the input vector is the true of the switching function, that node is disconnected from ground and node is connected to ground by a unique conducting path through the tree. (2) When the input vector is false of, the reverse holds. The logic trees may be further minimized from the full differential form using logic minimization algorithms. This version, which might be termed a static CVSL gate, is lower than a conventional complementary gate employing a p-tree and n-tree. This because switching action, the p pull-ups have to fight the n pull-down trees. VDD pFET Latch pFET2 pFET1 nFET Logic Array Fig 3 Static CMOS CVSL gate circuit A design procedure for differential CVSL circuits using the pictorial nature of the Karnaugh map is proposed. A CMOS cell designed with this procedure is compared with the corresponding gate logic design. A CVSL circuit of the Boolean function is given by that is shown in Fig 2. Note that only 12 transistors are required for this differential CVSL circuit design, two p-transistors and ten n-transistors instead of 10 p-transistors and 10 n-transistors using a NAND-NAND configuration or conventional gate logic design. The transistor pFET latching circuit is consists of two stable states. The conductions of the source-gate voltage on the devices are given as The behavior of the latches is that and is andare voltage complements in this circuit, so one is high while other is low. The latching is induced by nFET switching network, which biases pFET1 into conduction from that time With pFET1 conducting, rises to, which drives pFET2 into cutoff from that time This represents one stable state of the latch. The voltage is pulled to, which gives and biases pFET2 into conduction and pFET1 into cutoff. From this principle, there is no direct path for current flow from to ground for either situation, so that only leakage currents exist. C) Dynamic CVSL: The static CVSL logic gate can be transformed into dynamic circuit by rewiring the pFET latch to the clock-driven arrangement, shown in Fig 3. This eliminates the feedback loop and changes the two-pFET into precharge devices that are controlled by the clock. When the value of clock is zero, drives both pFET into conduction mode that result is precharging of the output nodes. To avoid DC-current flow during this event, an evaluation nFET is controlled by the clock, so it is OFF during the precharge time. VDD nFET Combinational network Differential Inputs Clock Clock (precharge) pFET1 pFET2 Fig 3 Basic structure of a dynamic CVSL gate circuit The precharge clock is zero at event, which allows the voltages across both and to precharge to value of When the clock change to the value is one, the circuit is driven into the evaluation phase. nFET is ON and the input signals are valid. For the case true signals switch is open and is held high while complementary switch is closed and discharges to; The output voltages are initially complementary. However, the left output voltage is subject to the usual dynamic problems of charge sharing and charge leakage, which reduces its value in time. As with all dynamic logic circuits, this gives rise to a minimum clock frequency. The pFET charge is controlled by the output states and. This dynamic cascade switch logic circuit allows with small aspect ratio for charge compensation without excessive current flowing onto the node. Simulation result and analysis The performance of the static and dynamic cascode voltage switch logic circuits designed and evaluated through cadence-gpdk90 nm technology. The static CMOS cell designed CVSL circuit of the Boolean function is given by. The differential input signals A, B, C, D, and E and also complementary input signals are applied to the pull-down (nFET network) network of the circuit. The transient response voltage is set as 1 V with 0.1 ns rise/fall time. The cross-coupled latch is provides complementary outputs and that is shown in Fig 4 A B C D E Q Fig 4 Simulation waveforms for static CVSL circuit Clock A B C D Q Fig 5 Simulation waveforms for dynamic CVSL circuit The dynamic CMOS cell designed CVSL circuit of the Boolean function is given byas a four XOR gate implementation. This is just two-domino gates operating on true and complement inputs with a minimized logic tree. The transient response voltage is set as 1 V with 0.1 ns rise/fall time. The cross-coupled latch is provides complementary outputs and that is shown in Fig 5 The static and dynamic CVSL circuits power consumption is calculated and given in table 1 Table 1 Static and dynamic CVSL Power consumption CMOS Logic Power consumption Static CVSL 166 uW Dynamic CVSL 224 uW Conclusions This paper implements a dual rail logic circuit design technique for CMOS differential cascade voltage switch circuits. This CVSL gates facilitates that improving the functional efficiency and low power consumption. The static and dynamic CMOS differential CVSL circuits have been investigated using cadence-gpdk90 nm technology.

The Growth Of Islamic Fundamentalism In Afghanistan Politics Essay

The Growth Of Islamic Fundamentalism In Afghanistan Politics Essay If there has been an overriding feature of their history [the Afghans], it is that it has been a history of conflictof invasions, battles and sieges, of vendettas, assassinations and massacres, of tribal feuding, dynastic strife and civil war. (2001, 12) Martin Ewan, Afghanistan, A Short History of Its People and Politics Since the end of the Cold War, the Afghanistan has witnessed a considerable rise in internal violence. During the 1960s a struggle had developed between Communists and Islamists in Afghanistan.  [1]  After the withdrawal of Soviet troops and subsequent takeover by the Taliban, Afghanistan has been constantly turning into a radically Islamist nation. FOUNDATION OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM IN THE AFGHANISTAN The USSRs attempts to consolidate a Communist regime in Afghanistan, first through aid and indirect involvement and later through direct military involvement, were major components in the development of the civil war in Afghanistan which eventually led to the victory of the Mujahidin and the rise of the fundamentalist Islamic regime.  [2]   In 1979, after the invasion had jolted the Muslim world. They realized that they were in no position to conduct a conventional campaign against Soviet Union. Thus a number of Muslim volunteers commenced moving to Pakistan to assist in the jihad. One of the first volunteers to move in to Pakistan was Osama Bin Laden. He said, One day in Afghanistan is like thousand days in a mosque. At first he personally covered the cost of travel of all volunteers to Afghanistan. In early 1980, he set up Masadat Al Ansar, then the main base for Arab mujahedeen in Afghanistan  [3]  . This was the first time a formalized training camp was set up in this country. During this period Sheikh Abd Allah Yussuf Azza, who was the key in establishing the International Legion of Islam- hard core of international terrorism, came in contact with Bin Laden. Together they established the Bait ul Ansar, which received and trained the first Islamist volunteers for Afghanistan. The Afghan Mujahidin waged their struggle against the USSR not only as a national liberation war but as a jihad in which radical Islamic elements from throughout the Muslim world took part and which had the blessing of most Arab and Muslim states  [4]  . However, most of the Mujahidin movements centred around traditional religious leadership based on ethnic and regional considerations, although some of the movements were heterogeneous and included supporters and included supporters and activities from various ethnic groups. The protest movement formed around local political and religious leaders and gradually developed into two main factions.  [5]   The first faction wanted to transform Afghanistan into an Islamic state in the spirit of Islamic law (Shariah). They adopted principals from the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and advocated jihad against the Communist regime. This stream became known as the fundamentalist stream.  [6]   The second faction wanted to found a regime in the unique tribal tradition of Afghanistan. They also advocated struggle against the Communist regime. A considerable portion of the leaders of this faction came from the ranks of the supporters of King Zahir and inspired to reinstate the monarchy. This stream, which became known as the traditional or moderate stream, felt that the life of the individual should be guided by Islam but community and state problems should be solved in the tribal Afghan way.  [7]   All the major mujahidin parties advocate an Islamic republic as an end goal and are essentially religious. Islam has been the primary ideology and unifying factor among all these parties in the course of the struggle against the Soviet occupation; secular parties have attracted no significant following, especially the left, which was discredited by the communist takeover. Within the spectrum of Islam, however, these parties differ significantly in their makeup and approach. Traditional analysis has divided the seven Sunni parties into four Islamist and three traditional parties  [8]  . (a) Islamist. (i) Hizb- e -Islami (the Islamic Party), led by Gulbuddin Hikmetyar, primarily Pashtun in membership and radical in character. An Islamic fundamentalist-oriented movement advocating the foundation of a central Islamic republic. The organization is a variance and in conflict with the majority of the other Islamic movement. (ii) Hizb- e -Islami (the Islamic Party), led by Younis Khalis, primarily Pashtun in membership (on a tribal basis) and kept the original name even splitting from Gulbuddin Hikmetyars party. A fundamentalist-oriented movement that advocates the foundation of a theocratic republic. (iii) Ittihad-e- Islami (the Islamic Alliance of Afghan Mujahidin), led by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, mainly Pashtun and radical in character as well as Saudi-oriented. An organization with a conservative ideology that advocates the establishment of an Islamic republic. The organization developed into a body that attempted to unify various Afghan elements located in Pakistan. (iv) Jamaat-e-Islami (the Islamic Movement of Afghanisdtan), led by Burhanuddin Rabbani, with membership mainly drawn from northern Afghanistan (Tajiki extraction) and more moderate in character. An Islamic fundamentalist-oriented movement advocating the foundation of a theocratic republic. (b) Traditionalist. (i) Harakat-e-Inquila Islami (The Islamic Revolutionary Movement), led by Mohammad Nabi Muhammadi, primarily Pashtun in membership and drawing more on traditional clergy. A conservative organization that aligns itself with returning to the prerevolutionary establishment (a relatively moderate organization). (ii) Jabha-ye-Nejat-e-Milli (The National Liberation Front), led by Sibghatullah Mujaddedi, mainly Pashtun in membership and Sufi oriented. A monarchist organization that supports reestablishment of the Pashtun establishment in the pre-revolutionary format. This is a relatively small organization among the Pashtun population. (iii) Mahaz-e-Islami (the Islamic National Front of Afghanistan), led by Pir Sayed Ahmad Gailani, mainly Pashtun and Sufi oriented as well as pro-royalist. A monarchist organization that aligns itself with reinstatement of the monarchy (in the pre-revolutionary format) In addition, there are a variety of Shiite parties as many as ten at present, but with only a few having substantial political clout. Eight of these Shiite parties are religious and oriented toward Iran but are not necessarily firm in their support of the political line of the Ayatollah Khomeini. Two Shiite parties are not affiliated with Iran. Main Shiite organizations are  [9]  :- (a) Shura, led by Sayed Ali Beheshti. The organization advocates establishment of a Hazara autonomy. IT reached its height of power in 1979-1980 but later lost Iranian support to more radical Shiite organizations. (b) Nasser (Victory), led by Mir Hussein Tsadiki. An organization that advocates Hazara separatism. The organization was supported in the early 1980s by the Iranians as a counterbalance to the Shura but gradually became overly independent and lost Irans support. (c) Harkat-e-Islami (Movement of Islami Revolution), led by Mohammed Alsayyaf Muhseini. The organization advocates establishment of an Islamic state. It was supported by Hazara population and the Dari-speaking Shiite populations. (d) The Revolutionary Guards, led by Muhsein Razzai. A Khomeini-Hazara organization that advocates unification with Iran. Since 1984 the organization has massive Iranian support. (e) Hizbullah is a Hazara organization with a Khomeini orientation that advocates unification with Iran. The organization receives substantial support from Iran and maintains cooperative ties with Hizbullah in other countries. AFGHAN FUNDAMENTALISM : ITS ROOT OF LEGITIMACY The Afghan fundamentalist, or Islamist, movement enjoys a powerful base of legitimacy in Afghan politics owing to three key factors as under :- (a) The historic role of Afghanistan as defender of the faith in the Indian subcontinent. (b) The Islamists opposition to communism in Afghanistan in the early 1970s which forced many Afghan leaders to work from Pakistan against communist influence (the 1978 communist coup in Afghanistan overwhelmingly vindicated the Islamists initial fear of communist influence and intentions). (c) The paramount role of Islamist and religious parties in the struggle against Soviet occupation. AFGHANISTAN ROLE OF DEFENDER OF THE FAITH Afghanistan has had a unique and long-established tradition as defender of Islam in the subcontinent  [10]  . In the 19th century, for example, India (including present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh) was under the rule of the British Raj, the Turkish Ottoman Empire controlled vast portion of the Arab world, and Iran was helpless in the face of Russian and British domination but Afghanistan was one of a handful of truly independent Muslim countries in the world. Afghanistan alone had maintained its own independence from foreign control since 1747, and it thus enjoyed respect and recognition throughout the Muslim world. Afghanistans Durrani Empire in the 19th century was actually the second largest Muslim empire in the world at that time, ceding first place only to the Ottomans  [11]  . In the 19th century, Kabul helped foment Islamic political uprisings in India and was itself seen as one of the few places of refuge for those Muslims in British India who felt it was religiously untenable to live in a godless(British-run) state. Kabul also struck several severe blows against British power in the region, most notably by repelling what turned out to be a disastrous invasion of Afghanistan by the British army in 1842.  [12]   THE FOUNDATIONS OF ISLAMIST STRENGTH The strength of the Islamist movement in Afghanistan today rests largely on its military capabilities and on the strength of its political organization. The movement is not, in other words, a popular one, although it does command widespread respect for its role in the liberation of the country from Soviet occupation. It derives particular legitimacy from having provided the ideological spearhead for that struggle, radical Islam, which transcends mere nationalism. The Islamists movement, however, had actively opposed communist coup and takeover began. The movement thus occupies a central place in Afghan politics today. That all Afghan mujahidin parties today have a religious basis was underscored during the anti-Soviet jihad, or holy war a conflict that helped define the Islamic orientation of contemporary Afghan politics. Hence, there is a strong likelihood that the political, removal or fall of Najibullahs Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) will be followed by the establishment of some type of Islamic republic -one that is committed in some measure to the implementation of Islamic law (the Shari a). Possible Islamic models from which Afghanistan might draw include the Islamic governments of Iran, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. The actual character of the new Afghan government, however, could vary considerably, depending in who dominates it and on the nature of specific policies and methods of implementation. Of the seven Sunni mujahidin parties in Afghanistan today, four are fundamentalist-ideological-Islamist in character, and two of these four are radical in their beliefs and operating style. Together, these four parties have the more integral role in the Soviet conflict than have the more traditional parties. Indeed, a key contributor to the Islamists strength has been the large measure of support that the radical Islamist parties have derived from Pakistan by virtue of their military performance and zeal. Such support was bolstered by former Pakistans President Mohammed Zia-ul-Haqq, who found the politics of the Afghan Islamist parties in consonance with his own Islamisation campaign in Pakistan. The Afghan Islamists, for their part, enjoyed the backing of Pakistani religious parties, who in turn were strong pillars of support for Zia. Zia also understood that the ideological orientation of the Islamist parties would largely inhibit them from encouraging Pashtun ethnic separatism in Pakistan an Afghan policy of nearly 30 years standing that had engendered considerable tension between the two countries. Islamists disapprove of narrow ethnic orientation as a basis for the state and instead support broader political groupings based on a common Islamic outlook. The close cooperation between Pakistan and the Afghan mujahidin against Soviet occupation of Afghanistan had one important and immediate consequence: the long standing hostility between Pakistan and Afghanistan has abated considerably. Benazir Bhuttos brief term as Prime Minister following Zias death, despite her more secular policies, did not significantly weaken Pakistans ties with the Afghan mujahidin. Fundamentalist parties in Pakistan will continue to support Afghan fundamentalist groups, regardless of the policies of Islamabad in the future. WILL THE FUNDAMENTALISTS COME TO POWER? Ironically, the removal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan has weakened one of the principal sources of Islamist strength in Afghanistan- for while all mujahidin parties may agree on the desirability of an Islamic government, consensus on power sharing is an entirely different matter. There are in fact deep rifts among the parties, mot only between traditionalists and Islamists but also among Islamists themselves. These divisions, which reflect ideological, regional, and ethnic differences as well as conflicts between personalities, are not likely to be readily resolved in the wake of the Soviet withdrawal. The strength of the Islamist parties rests on other factors as well like as under:- (a) Pakistan and Saudi preferences with respect to the distribution of aid among the mujahidin have served to strengthen the Islamists by providing them with greater opportunity to distribute their financial and military largess and hence to attract a broader following including support among the military commanders. (b) The mujahidins use of Pakistan as a political base of operations a factor that has skewed the true there -way power relationships inside Afghanistan among the parties, their local mujahidin commanders, and the populace at large has worked to the Islamists advantage. WEAKNESSES OF THE ISLAMIST PARTIES While the Islamists are still the single strongest element in Afghanistans political equation today, some of their strength derives from the location of their political base in the Pakistani border city of Peshawar, where Pakistans own political influence over the mujahidin can be maximized. As the struggle moves out of the anti Soviet, anticommunist phase and into a phase of civil war, the influence of the special political climate of Peshawar will diminish, and with it, the influence of Pakistan itself over the struggle. Other factors that may contribute to the possible weakening of Islamist influence are as follows :- (a) The Islamists lack a charismatic national figure like, for example, Irans Ayatollah Khomeini who will serve as a natural leader. (b) If financial support to specific mujahidin parties is severed in pursuit of a political solution in Kabul, it is unclear how much strength the Islamist parties would retain. While the Islamists ideological and organizational strengths remain significant in Peshawar, an internal power struggle inside Afghanistan would present a new set of variables that would affect the ultimate success of one party over another. (c) The Islamist parties are by no means united within themselves. (d) Because tribalism and regional loyalties in Afghanistan were largely subordinated in the decade long effort of all national elements to expel the Soviet Union, a permanently enhanced sense of national unity may now exist. On the other hand, the expulsion of the Soviet enemy may refocus Afghan politics on older and more parochial issues. Tribalism and regionalism are already reasserting themselves, essentially working against the radical Islamist parties. (e) Mujahidin commanders inside the country maintain only tenuous ties with the Peshawar parties. Hence they may not fully share the political views of these parties and may be increasingly inclined to act independently or to pursue their own agendas if alternative sources of aid weaken the party hold. (f) The highly disproportionate representation of ethnic Pashtuns among the refugee population in Pakistan skews our understanding of the political preferences of the broader population as a whole inside Afghanistan especially when Pakistan refugee camps are used as a basis for public opinion findings, press coverage, straw polls, and identification of political attitudes. Current Islamist strength in the Peshawar environment might well weaken once politics shift inside the country. The Islamists are therefore likely to come to power only by military means. The moderate parties in particular are concerned that the most radical Islamist faction, Hizb-e-Islami (the Islamic Party ), led by Gulbuddin Hikmetyar, may attempt to use Leninist tactics to eliminate other mujahidin leaders by assassination in order to secure power a fear that is based more on the personality of Gulbuddin than on the character of his Islamic ideology per se. While such an attempt cannot be ruled out, it is highly unlikely that a minority radical Islamist party attempting to do just that. Any radical Islamic leadership that sought to rule successfully would have to come to terms with the other political and ideological elements within the country. WHAT WOULD A RADICAL ISLAMIST LEADERSHIP MEANS? Any Islamist regime in Afghanistan, were it to come to power, would differ sharply from Irans Islamist regime in many important respects. First, such a regime would be firmly Sunni rather than Shiite in character, suggesting a greater ability to work with elements of secular state power as well as a less apocalyptic, oppression and martyr- oriented outlook. Afghan Islamists, furthermore, lack the depth of hostility toward the United States that has characterized Iranian politics. The Afghan Islamists in fact have almost no formal grievances against any past US role in Afghanistan; to the contrary, however much they may dislike US culture, the Islamists are well aware that the United States played a pivotal role in the anti- Soviet struggle. Afghan political culture as a whole also tends to be far less xenophobic than that of Iran- simply because Afghanistan has never been dominated and manipulated by foreign powers as consistently as was Iran throughout the 19th and early 20th centur ies. Nonetheless, Afghan Islamists share with other Islamist world movements the same concerns over the threat to the Islamic way of life posed by Western and especially American culture. Essentially , the Islamists perceive the United States as representing secularism, permissiveness, hedonism, individualism- all of which they see as deeply corrosive to the establishment of the virtuous Islamic society. Any Islamic Afghan regime will thus oppose such influences inside Afghanistan and will limit Afghan contact with American cultural influences. In addition, any Islamist regime in Kabul will gravitate strongly toward nonalignment and exclusion of Western as well as Soviet influence in the region. Such a regime would therefore oppose a US military presence in the Persian Gulf states, in Pakistan, or anywhere else in the Muslim world. Similarly, it would be likely to support the cause of Islamic minorities in regions such as India and the CAR. As an example, major ethnic elements in Afghanistan, such as Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Turkmen, are heavily represented in the CAR- a phenomenon that the Soviets have attempted to exploit in efforts to draw Afghanistan closer to the USSR. Yet such tactics have not assisted Soviet policy and in fact have likely backfired; ties between ethnic elements of both sides of the Soviet border are more likely to draw these populations closer together, resulting in an effort to diminish Moscows influence and to broaden the options of the Muslim populations of the CAR. Finally, an Islamist Afghan regime will be strongly conscious of Western imperialism and will be a strong advocate of the have-nots in North vs South issues. Despite these positions, however, an Islamist Afghanistan will have limited opportunity or reason to directly attack US interests, since such interests in Afghanistan will be highly limited in their scope. Afghan Islamists would unquestionably support the cause of fundamentalist parties in Pakistan, which could bring them into conflict with US policies there. Unlike pre- 1978 Afghan governments, however, Afghan Islamists are unlikely to support ethnic separatism in Pakistan. An Islamist Afghanistan will share some philosophical interests with Iran, but it would not be likely to cooperate closely with Iran on anything other than broad international Islamic issues. Sunni fundamentalists will in fact resent Irans support of the Afghan Shia, who will represents Irans chief instrument of influence in Afghanistan, and there is likely to be some degree of rivalry between a Sunni and a Shiite Islamic republic. Irans bid for influence in Afghanistan has nonetheless risen dramatically since the end of the Iran- Iraq War, and it perceives itself as a major player in future Afghan politics. Part of Irans goal here is to thwart Saudi interests. EMERGENCE OF TALIBAN Ever since the fall of Najibullah government and withdrawal of Soviet forces, the attempts by Pakistan to form a consensus regime in Kabul had failed. Pakistan also failed to install Hekmatayar govt and Rabbani had his own ambitions showing no inclination to accept Pakistani directions. By early 1994,the Inter Service Intelligence Agency (ISI) realised that the Rabbani regime was slowly consolidating itself in Kabul. This development was against Pakistans overall interests in Afghanistan and forced her to look for an alternative. Maj Gen (Retd) Naseerullah Babar, the Interior Minister in the second Benazir Bhutto Government conceived the idea of creating a students militia along with some veterans from the Afghan Mujahedeen who had fought the Soviet Army and who had taken shelter in Pakistan.  [13]   The infrastructure for launching Taliban was set up by May 1994.  [14]  The word Taliban literally means students of religious schools . The Taliban militia largely comprises students of religious schools (Madrassas) in Baluchistan and NWFP. Initially these Madrassas were set up by Jamait-i-Uiema-lslam (JUI) led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman for the Afghan refugees. Subsequently the Pak ISI took over these institutions and extended training, moral and material support to Taliban. The movement was very well planned to exploit religious sentiments of Islamic countries and Islamic organisations. This also paved way for easy recruitment and funds from international Islamic community. Taliban in Afghanistan is unique in the sense that it is not the product of a national movement like its predecessor, the Mujahidin, which waged a war against the Soviet Union and its Afghan puppets. The Taliban is a force created by the Pakistan with the twin purposes of containing Iran and diluting, and eventually weakening, Russian influence in its former Muslim-majority republic. The implicit aim is to preserve Pakistans influence over Afghanistan as the Taliban is dependent on Pakistan for logistics and military training and on the UAE for funds. Pakistan aimed following major advantages by Pakistan by supporting Taliban are:- (a) Militarily subdue and defeat the Tajik and Uzbek ethnic militias, bring Afghanistan under Taliban rule and thereby secure the Kabul-Salang-Kunduz highway, the major artery leading to Central Asian Republics. (b) Seek diplomatic international recognition for Taliban and orchestrate its future actions in consonance with her own interests. (c) Gain strategic depth vis-a-vis India. (d) Maintain Taliban as an anti India instrument for reigniting the Kashmir insurgency.  [15]  

King James I :: Papers

King James I born June 19, 1566, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland died March 27, 1625, Theobalds, Hertfordshire, England King of Scotland (as James VI) from 1567 to 1625 and first Stuart king of England from 1603 to 1625, who styled himself â€Å"king of Great Britain.† James was a strong advocate of royal absolutism, and his conflicts with an increasingly self-assertive Parliament set the stage for the rebellion against his successor, Charles I. James was the only son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and her second husband, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. Eight months after James's birth his father died when his house was destroyed by an explosion. After her third marriage, to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, Mary was defeated by rebel Scottish lords and abdicated the throne. James, one year old, became king of Scotland on July 24, 1567; Mary left the kingdom on May 16, 1568, and never saw her son again. During his minority James was surrounded by a small band of the great Scottish lords, from whom emerged the four successive regents, the earls of Moray, Lennox, Mar, and Morton. There did not exist in Scotland the great gulf between rulers and ruled that separated the Tudors and their subjects in England. For nine generations the Stuarts had in fact been merely the ruling family among many equals, and James all his life retained a feeling for those of the great Scottish lords who gained his confidence. The young king was kept fairly isolated but was given a good education until the age of 14. He studied Greek, French, and Latin and made good use of a library of classical and religious writings that his tutors, George Buchanan and Peter Young, assembled for him. James's education aroused in him literary ambitions rarely found in princes but which also tended to make him a pedant. Before James was 12 he had taken the government nominally into his own hands when the Earl of Morton was driven from the regency in 1578. For several years more, however, James remained the puppet of contending intriguers and faction leaders. After falling under the influence of the Duke of Lennox, a Roman Catholic who schemed to win back Scotland for the imprisoned Queen Mary, James was kidnapped by William Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie, in 1582 and was forced to denounce Lennox. The following year James escaped from his Protestant captors and began to pursue his own policies as king.

Essay --

Tyler Miller Communications Mrs. Seiler January 15, 2013 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone One dark night at Number 4, Privet Drive Albus Dumbledore, the head of a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, meets Professor McGonagall, a teacher at Hogwarts, and Hagrid, the grounds keeper of Hogwarts, outside the Dursley home. Dumbledore tells McGonagall that Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who was doing his best to plunge the world into darkness, has killed Mr. and Mrs. Potter and tried unsuccessfully to kill their baby son, Harry. Dumbledore leaves Harry with the only family he has the Dursleys, much to the dismay of Professor McGonagall and Hagrid, with an explanatory note in a basket in front of the Dursley home. Ten years later, the Dursley household is dominated by Dudley, the Dursleys’ son, who torments and bullies Harry. Mysterious letters begin arriving for Harry, from Professor Dumbledore. The letters begin to worry Mr. Dursley, who vainly tries to keep them from his nephew, but the letters keep arriving through literally every crack in the house. Finally, in a last ditch effort to keep the letters from reaching Harry, Mr. Dursley moves his family to a dark dismal shack in the middle of nowhere near the coast. On the eve of Harry’s eleventh birthday, Harry makes a wish and Hagrid bursts through the shack’s door and ,after giving Dudley a pig’s tail, whisks the eleven year old Harry away from his sadistic relatives. The next day, Hagrid takes Harry to London to shop for school supplies. First they go to the wizard bank, Gringotts. Followed by a shopping spree on Diagon Alley, where Harry buys his books, ingredients for potions, and, finally, a magic wand. A month later, Harry goes to the train station and catches hi... ...rised and makes him state what he sees. Harry, oddly enough, sees himself with the stone in his pocket, and at that same moment he actually feels it in his pocket. Harry tells Quirrell that he sees something else. Voldemort tells Quirrell that the boy is lying and requests to speak to Harry face to face. Voldemort ultimately, instructs Quirrell to kill Harry, but Quirrell is burned by contact with the boy. and his body begins to break down into dust. A struggle ensues and Harry passes out. When Harry awakens, he finds himself in the school’s hospital wing with Dumbledore. Dumbledore explains that he saved Harry from Quirrell just in time. He adds that he and Flamel have destroyed the stone, because they fear the stones powers are too great to exist any longer. The school year comes to an end, and Harry sadly must returns to the Dursley’s home till next year begins.

Student Council Essay

Thingss were easier when I was younger. I felt more confident. like I could accomplish everything that I want. When I was in high school. I wasn’t portion of the ‘in-crowd’ but I know good plenty that people knew me. I scored good in most of my tests ; I was portion of the Student Council. and the Senior Council. which made me experience of import. During that clip of my life. I had everything planned. I knew what I wanted. I had this thought in my caput of what my life would be when I enter university and what would go on when I finish. Thingss are merely non every bit simple any longer. My friends and I are all in different hamlets. I’m okay with my life. overall. I know that I’m lucky to hold my household and my friends. Compared to other people. I truly have nil to kick about. But in my head. I want a different life. I want more than what I have. There’s got to be something better out at that place for me. something more that will do me more particular and fulfilled alternatively of experiencing like I’m stuck in oblivion. Trying to be honest with myself is non an easy undertaking. because it meant facing my failures and I’m afraid that I won’t be able to suppress the obstructions in front of me and I will populate my life in the out of boundss. observation as other people live their life and achieve things that I want to accomplish. I don’t want that to go on to me. I want to look back in my life and be happy of what I have and non repent that I didn’t have the bravery to seek different things. that I didn’t attempt and purpose higher. So. I am taking this chance to larn and confront my frights. or my obstructions one by one. Baby stairss. as they say. If I want to populate my life the manner I want it to be. I have to get down making something. I merely can’t sit and dream of things I want. I need to get down doing things go on. and I need to gain that I may non be able to hold it all. but I can hold more. if I start making more. Dreaming about the life I want can merely come true if I start to make something about it. I want to read this in 10. 20 and 30 old ages and be proud of what I have accomplished. and non agitate my caput in shame that I ne'er stepped up to do things better for me. If I want to be able to read this paper 30 old ages from now. the first thing I need to make is do certain I become healthy. and remain healthy. I know what to make. but I’ve ne'er gotten about to making anything. I know that I need to exert. and I’ve done it before. I merely ne'er continued on making the right thing. My end for my wellness so is to get down exerting once more. but this clip. I will go on it. Part of my failure I think is that I expect excessively much. when I don’t lose one kg in one hebdomad. I get discouraged. I need to understand that non everyone can lose one kg a hebdomad. I need to accept that I may non lose weight as fast as the others. I need to put ends for myself and non compare myself to others. Above everything else. I need to be realistic that if I am traveling to accomplish this. I need to hold the forbearance and the subject to transport things through. There are many things I can seek to get down this end. I don’t need to pass a batch of money to lose weight. There are many beginnings. particularly on the cyberspace that can assist me make this. Looking about on line. I think I will make a mixture of things. I can get down running. I’ll start little. like running or ramble oning for 10 proceedingss. so after a hebdomad. possibly I can seek for 15. and after another hebdomad I will seek 20. In between running. I will besides seek and raise weights. Like with my running. I will get down little. Above all. I will seek and non be unrealistic of what I can accomplish. Eating a healthy diet will now be a portion of my new modus operandi. I will eat more veggies and fruits and less debris nutrient. I will imbibe more H2O and less soft drink. I don’t know if it will of all time be possible for me to wholly cut out soft drinks. but I will seek and cut it down. This maybe a harder end to accomplish. but as my program with everything else. I will get down little and non anticipate miracles. What I will make is eat three types of fruits a twenty-four hours at least. They can all be different. or the same. but I will take to eat fruit every twenty-four hours. I will besides do certain I have more veggies. It will non be easy. but if I want to be healthy. eating healthy would necessitate to be portion of my program. The lone thing that would do it easier is that I do non hold to give up intoxicant or coffin nails as I do non like them. Because I do non smoke or imbibe. I do non hold to worry about giving up this dependence. particularly smoking as I heard it is a hard wont to interrupt. The following thing I am reflecting on is my household. I am non as good of a kid as I should be to my parents and to my sister. I need to lend more around the house and non allow them make everything for me. This should be the most simple of all my ends. truly. I can get down in my sleeping room by doing certain it is ever clean and I put off my books. my apparels and everything else where they belong. I will brush the floor and do certain the furniture in my room is non gathering dust. Outside of my room. I will brush the floor and aid with the wash. My female parent is acquiring old. and I know that it is non that easy for her to make the cookery and the cleansing so I will assist her. This is likely be a good clip to advert that I truly can’t cook that good. My female parent can look at our icebox. take out a few veggies and she will be able to feed us that tastes as if she followed a formula. To this twenty-four hours. I don’t cognize how she does it. but I will get down larning how. There are many things I can make around the house to do things better for my parents. and they are truly simple. It will take attempt on my portion. but I know I can make them. I’ve done them before. and I merely don’t like making them. I’ve ne'er asked. but I’m reasonably certain my female parent does non like making everything on her ain either. but she does them. and she may call on the carpet us a few times. but she still does them for us. It’s about clip I do the same for her. I don’t want to be a load to my parents. I want them to see that I can take attention of myself. and that I can take attention of them. Thinking about it. this portion of my end is so easy to accomplish. I can better my life by merely remaining inside the house. Possibly I merely spent excessively much clip dreaming of what could be that I can’t see that the life I want can get down at place. in my really ain room. I don’t have to travel really far to make my ends. It starts at place. if I fail this. so how can I travel frontward? The more I think about it. the more I know I can’t fail. This is about like a trial to see if I can be to the full independent and be able to take attention of people that will be dependent to me. My household is of import to me. and I want to be able to demo them that. and be able to do them experience that. Helping around the house is such a simple construct. and when I think about it. it comes down to being responsible. and I need to take up some duty inside the house. Speaking of being responsible. another trait I need to develop is to be responsible when it comes to money. There are so many things that I want. but don’t truly necessitate. I have a new phone that I use now. I have approximately five old phones that still work. but they’re non the latest. so I kept on replacing them. My old phone still works merely all right. but I wanted one with the GPS. with the cyberspace connexion. I wanted a smart phone. Do I necessitate it? No. But I brought it anyhow because everyone I know has one. If I didn’t purchase this new phone. I’d have more money in the bank. Although. I truly don’t have much in the bank as I should hold. Traveling on vacations. purchasing new things and traveling out with friends is merely more gratifying than seting money in the bank. The latest GFC ( Global Financial Crisis ) nevertheless has gotten me believing. including that Ponzi strategy. I need to do certain I’m smart about my ain money. This will be my hereafter when I am old and non working. I merely can’t trust anyone with what I’ve earned. Reading approximately good educated people losing their nest eggs because they handed it over to person else is a lesson that people need to larn. If it sounds excessively good. it likely is. I don’t want to be 60 or 70 looking at an empty bank history because I handed my money over to person who promised to do me more money. To get down. I truly should halt disbursement on points that I don’t truly necessitate. This end can bind up with my earlier ends. If I buy fruits and veggies and non debris nutrient. I am bound to salvage more money. If I stay at place and go responsible for the house chores. I will non be outside disbursement money on things I truly don’t demand. There are so many enticements to give up though. When I am surrounded by people with all the latest appliances. from their newest phone to the iPad. I keep believing that I want it excessively. I can afford it. so why non? Alternatively of giving into enticement. this clip. I will take a measure back and think of the five phones. one iPod. and one camera. All in good status but non being used because I wanted the latest theoretical account. If I want to hold a good quality of life and non trust on authorities manus outs when I am old. I need to get down doing alterations now. Like my wellness. it is an investing for my hereafter. it is something that merely I have control over. and non even my parents and my friends can assist me if I don’t start economy now. My wellness. my household and my nest eggs program are things I have control over. This following end is a spot trickier. I’m barely the following Donald Trump. and I don’t want to be. I need to get down taking stairss to do certain I’m in a calling that I like. that I can larn from and develop further. There’s traveling to be a batch of bumps in the signifier of rejections headed my manner. but I won’t allow it halt me. There’s merely so much control I have when it comes to my calling. I can use and use and non acquire a occupation. I may non give up. but this route is traveling to be rough. Possibly that’s what I need to make my overall finish of holding a much more fulfilling life. It may be difficult. but I’m really looking frontward to the challenge. At this minute in my life. I need to acquire my pes in the door. I know that one time I’m in. I’d be able to voyage myself better. do more informed determinations. It’s different one time you are ready to work compared to when you were still a kid thought of what you want to make. The older you get. the more experience you get. you either go determined to prosecute your end. or to prosecute another avenue. I had a friend who was determined to go a attorney and revolved her life into doing certain she becomes one. She now works as a journalist and is wholly happy where she is. It wasn’t because she failed at jurisprudence. once she was at that place. she realised it’s different from what she envisioned when she was a kid. I wanted to be many things when I was younger that I don’t even retrieve what I truly want. I want to do certain I don’t acquire into a calling that I will detest and pass the following half of my life suffering. Wherever I end up in. I will larn from the people I work with. my higher-ups and develop my accomplishments. Sooner or subsequently. I will do a move. and I need to be certain that I know what I’m making and that I will be ready for any new challenges or any effects of my actions. This country of my life is such a fuzz at the minute. and I’d instead play it safe than take a hazard. This country of my life has so many factors to see. and the merely other country of my life that is even more of a fuzz. is my love life. which is presently non-existent. There. I said it. I have no love life. Depending on my temper. I don’t attention. There are times when I wish I was with person. and there are times when I am glad that I’m non. I would ne'er of all time admit it out loud. but there’s a portion of me that wants it more and more. Among my friends. there are merely three of us that are individual. and I know that figure will shortly diminish. I don’t precisely know how love tantrums in the expansive strategy of things when it comes to my life. I mean. I know I can’t unrecorded without the love of my household or my friends. but the love of a spouse. is likely more negotiable. I can’t unrecorded without good wellness. I can’t unrecorded without my household. and I can’t survive without nest eggs and a calling. but a love life? I think I can populate without it. The inquiry so becomes. make I desire to? Like I said. I have my minutes. Sometimes I want to be with person. sometimes I don’t. I don’t even know why I think this is a capable worth mentioning in my pursuit to hold the life I want to populate if I’m so baffled by it. When I was younger. I don’t even retrieve desiring a hubby with two childs and a white lookout fencing. When I was younger. I wanted a fabulous flat in the metropolis on the upper floors so I can watch the metropolis visible radiations from my balcony. At this really minute nevertheless. believing about this peculiar topic. what do I want from a spouse? I want him to be smart ; I want him to be amusing. loyal and respectful. I don’t even have a ‘type’ . I don’t care what nationality he is. or what color his hair or his eyes are. If I have to depict him in a physical sense. so I want him to be tall. I don’t know why. Possibly it’s the girly-girl in me who wants person she can tilt on. I truly don’t know. The whole construct confuses me. After reading through what I wrote. I’m really rather aroused and more optimistic. seting it on paper makes it more existent. more possible to accomplish my ends. I watched the film â€Å"Invictus† . and reminded me of a quotation mark in the film that I believe fits this undertaking. The line came from a verse form of the same rubric by William Ernest Henley: â€Å"I am the maestro of my destiny ; I am the captain of my psyche. † I can’t think of anything else that fits this undertaking absolutely. I know that I am the lone 1 who can compose this. I am besides the lone 1 that can do things go on in my life. I have a long route in front of me. and I will be ready to do that journey. When I read this once more in the hereafter. no affair how long that is. I want this paper to be the testament of my beginning. and I can so compose my ain stoping.

Plastic Bags

Millions of disposable plastic bags are used and discarded in Washington each year. A beached grey whale was found in West Seattle in 2010 with 20 plastic bags in its stomach. Small pieces of plastic can absorb toxic pollutants like DDT and PCB. Scientists have found that fish are ingesting these toxins when they ingest plastic, concentrating the chemicals in the food chain. There is a good chance that we also absorb these pollutants when we eat fish. The good news is, Washingtonians are taking action to protect the Sound. In 2009, Edmonds became the first city in the state to ban plastic bags.In 2011, six other cities joined the effort. Bellingham, Mukilteo, Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Port Townsend, and Issaquah all banned the bag, significantly cutting down on the amount of plastic flowing into Puget Sound. Today, dozens more communities are considering similar legislation, including Olympia. Local bans have an immediate impact and are a great start—but we can’t stop until bags are banned statewide. When plastic bags are part of mixed recyclables, they get caught in machinery, shutting down recycling operations.Responding to an Environment Washington Research & Policy Center survey, 70 percent of Washington recycling companies want plastic bags out of the waste stream. Curbside recycling in some of Washington’s cities allows the inclusion of plastic bags in mixed recyclables but this actually causes problems in the recycling facilities. †¢ Over half of Washington’s recycling facilities do not even accept plastic bags. For those facilities, 83% reported that their recycling stream was contaminated with plastic bags and it was causing problems. When plastic bags pollute mixed recyclables, they get tangled in recyclers’ machinery, causing plants to shut down. †¢ Some recycling plants in Washington estimate spending 20 to 30 percent of their labor costs removing plastic bags from their Puget Sound is an irreplaceable treasure. It is central to Washington’s culture and our livelihood. Harbor seals play within our bays and thousands of salmon make their way through the Sound every year to spawn. Three endangered pods of resident orcas visit the Sound on a regular basis. Seabirds congregate on our beaches and in our arbors, belting out their familiar cries. And beneath the waves, the seafloor The problem is not limited to Puget Sound. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, every square mile of ocean contains 46,000 pieces of floating plastic, on average. 4 About one thousand miles off the Washington coast, more than 100 million tons of plastic garbage has concentrated in an area known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 5 Churned by ocean currents, this toxic, plastic soup spans an area twice the size of Texas. 6 Within this area, plastic outweighs plankton by up to six times during certain imes of the day. 7 machinery – on the order of $1,000 per day. †¢ More tha n 70 percent of Washington recyclers want disposable plastic bags out of the waste system. China accepts more than half of all reclaimed plastic bags for recycling, and that number is rising. †¢ Plastic bag recycling plants in China expose workers to toxic fumes, create a haze that hangs over villages, and pollute groundwater sources. Consumers bring their own bags in many parts of the world. Washington can follow this example and ban bags. †¢ Nothing we use for a few minutes should end up contaminating our oceans for hundreds of years. Because recycling efforts have proven inadequate, Washington’s civic leaders should ban single-use plastic bags. Researchers at the University of Washington-Tacoma have found plastic pollution in every water sample they have taken from Puget Sound. At least 20 nations and 88 local governments have passed bans on distributing thin plastic or other types of disposable plastic bags, Approximately 26 nations and local communities have es tablished fee programs to reduce plastic bag use and/or increase the use of reusable alternatives, After Washington, D. C. , mplemented a much smaller 5-cent tax on plastic bags, the number of plastic bags distributed by food retailers fell from 22. 5 million per month to 3. 3 million per month. Edmonds was the first city in Washington to ban plastic bags, adopting a ban in 2009. †¢ More recently, Bellingham adopted a ban on thin-plastic carry-home bags and a 5 cents fee on paper bags in July 2011. †¢ Other cities, including Seattle, Lake Forest Park, and Mukilteo, are actively considering bag bans. To make a real impact, all Washington cities and counties should restrict the use of plastic bags, and dvocate for similar action at the state level Work Citation Krehbiel, Robb. â€Å"Report: Keep Plastic Out of Puget Sound. † A Solution Not in the Bag. Environment Washington Research & Policy Center, Jan. 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. Krehbiel, Robb. â€Å"Report: Keep Pla stic Out of Puget Sound. † Keeping Plastic out of Puget Sound. Environment Washington Research & Policy Center, Nov. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. Krehbiel, Bobb. â€Å"News Release. † New Report: Recycling Cannot Solve Plastic Bag Problem. Environment Washington Research & Policy Center, 14 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.