The rise of Renaissance culture Free Essays

The rise of Renaissance culture was predetermined by the assortment of disparate events and ideas surfacing during the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries. The most important concept to come out of all the innovative developments of the late fourteenth century was a renewed belief in the power and the majesty of the human being. An interest to individuality was a line of demarcation between the medieval period, where God was the center, and the epoch of Renaissance. We will write a custom essay sample on The rise of Renaissance culture or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Renaissance is viewed as culmination of a general rebirth of humanistic pursuits and a freeing of the artist from the restrictive dogma of the medieval Church. The status of art and the artist shifted significantly and our contemporary views on both are based very much on certain assumptions about the role of art in culture that were first developed during the Renaissance. It was in the Renaissance that the role of artist went from simple maker to that of creator (with individual genius) – the appellation once reserved only to God. As a consequence, art took on even greater significance becoming not only an expression of its age and its means of production but also the very embodiment of genius. Filippo Brunelleschi fairly takes the place of such a genius. It was he, the Italian architect and sculptor, who made revolutionary discoveries in architecture. This Florentine was the first and perhaps the most distinguished of the Renaissance architects. The best support for the veracity of this statement is Brunelleschi’s solution for the dome of Florence Cathedral, the building that made him most complete and representative Renaissance artist. The story of Brunelleschi’s success begins with his failure. In 1401 the competition for a pair of bronze doors for Baptistery was announced (Web Gallery of Art). This was to be one of the greatest competitions at the age, and it pitted two of Florence’s most talented young artists against each other: Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti. The competition asked each artist to submit design of cast bronze around the subject of the sacrifice of Isaac. Brunelleschi lost the bid. But this perhaps initial loss was the Renaissance’s gain in that his later discoveries in architecture were to prove revolutionary. At the time of competition the Florence Cathedral was still unfinished. The problem was how to successfully bridge the enormous area of central tower without the use of flying buttresses, which were out of question because of their obvious incompatibility with the beautiful Romanesque marble exterior. Brunelleschi studied many ancient building projects in Rome such a Parthenon and suggested that a dome could in fact be built without the visual distraction created by buttressing. His answer was the implementation of classical vaulting techniques. Thus Brunelleschi’s innovative design provided further evidence of the new sensibility of Renaissance art. Brunelleschi understood that the principles of buttressing were useful in spreading the enormous weight of a dome over a greater expanse – thereby alleviating much of stress on the walls and foundation of the structure. He thus concluded that the tall supporting walls of the dome had to be constructed with tribunes, small offshooting extensions from the original walls, which would act as the original buttress, to disperse weight over a wider area. In this way Brunelleschi manipulated the basic tenets of medieval cathedral construction to better serve the interests of the new church. Clearly, however, it was the dome itself that created such awe among the Florentines. No structure like it had been attempted in Europe since antiquity, and never before on such an immense scale. In 1420 he began to build the Cathedral dome, a vast octagonal structure crowned by an enormous lantern designed by Brunelleschi alone. His solution was to create a dome within a dome, which would further support the exterior weight effectively while removing the need for interior armatures or any other superfluous accessories that would distract from the simplicity of the construction. The outer dome was thus constructed as a light skin or cover, exhibiting great visual authority over the Florence skyline. The use of â€Å"spiraling courses of herringbone brickwork, iron chains and sloping masonry rings to bind the dome together, and ribs joining the shells† (King, 87) are his inventions, although owe much to his studies of Roman structures. Brunelleschi’s genius lay in his abilities to combine ancient and modern aesthetic, architectural, and engineering principles. The result was a resurgence in dome architecture, since now architects possessed both the skill and technical know-how to attempt structures which had only years before been thought impossible. In the words of Vasari, Brunelleschi â€Å"was sent by Heaven to invest architecture with new forms, after it had wandered astray for many centuries† (Vasari, 104). The ‘new forms’ were those of Classical antiquity, which Brunelleschi applied to such building types as cathedrals and basilican churches for which there were no ancient precedents. In these schemes he was the first since antiquity to make use of the Classical orders; at the same time he employed a proportional system of his own invention, in which all units were related to a simple module, the mathematical characteristics of which informed the entire structure. Brunelleschi worked almost exclusively in Florence, and many features link his architecture with the Romanesque heritage of that city. Nevertheless, he was beyond question responsible for initiating the rediscovery of ancient Roman architecture. He understood its inherent principles and he employed them in an original manner for the building tasks of his own day. So what we may conclude from Brunelleschi’s technical breakthrough that in the best way complied with Renaissance requirements? First, it must be remembered that had it not been for the renewed interest in Classical thought and culture, it is doubtful that artist like Brunelleschi would have sought inspiration from Roman architecture such as a Pantheon. It was not that artists and architects had not been interested in such building solutions before Brunelleschi comes on the scene, but simply that most looked toward more spiritual and divine art forms. Brunelleschi’s dome is by design a stable and symmetrical structure. It possesses attributes that visually mimic the emerging Renaissance ideas of harmony and equilibrium over the obedience and superstition that had marked the previous age. In this way, the innovative dome construction situates itself as a vivid reminder of the greatest influences its creator had in his time. Works Cited Page King, Ross Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture, New York: Walker and Company, 2000 Vasari, Giorgio. The Lives of the Artists. Transl. by Julia Conaway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998 â€Å"Brunelleschi’s Biography† from Web Gallery of Art Retrieved Nov 7, 2006 from http://www. wga. hu/frames-e. html? /bio/b/brunelle/biograph. html â€Å"Brunelleschi’s Cupola† from Florence Art Guide Retrieved Nov 7, 2006 from http://www. mega. it/eng/egui/monu/bdd. htm â€Å"Filippo Brunelleschi† from Wikipedia Retrieved Nov 7, 2006 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Filippo_Brunelleschi How to cite The rise of Renaissance culture, Papers

Tourism and Indigenous People in marketing in general

Tourism is a process that involves traveling from one place to another and from one destination to another destination, mainly and especially for leisure, business, and even for recreational purposes within a period that is not more than one year.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Tourism and Indigenous People in marketing in general specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It also involves occupation and business process of getting information, accommodation, and even transportation services in a place temporarily. Moreover, tourism involves a short time movement from a place that is outside one’s residential area and work place to another place. There are various forms and types of tourism, which make tourism an enjoyable activity. To begin with, there is domestic tourism that involves the movement of a tourist to destinations only within his or her country (without going to another country) for pleasure or other recreational purposes. This is also known as indigenous tourism, since it involves touring around the local place. Another form of tourism is inbound tourism, which involves a nonresident of a country traveling and touring places in the host country mainly for recreational purposes and other tourist services. Lastly, there is outbound tourism that involves the resident of a country moving from his or her country to another country for pleasure and exploration of other tourist services in another country. Therefore, tourism involves movement from one destination to another away from an individual residential area to another place. In this movement, we meet indigenous people in their communities, resulting into interaction between tourists and the indigenous people. This paper will discuss some of the effects of tourism on indigenous people. My first experience when traveling as a tourist was challenging, but I came to understand that tourism is one of the activities that have many be nefits and some challenges to the indigenous people of the community I visited. To begin with, from my experience, I found out that tourism has social, economic, and cultural effects on indigenous people. Tourism is one of the sectors that require more attention in order to understand the role that indigenous people play in the tourism sector and the relationship between them, hence coming up with the best implications from the issues discovered (Butler, 2007). The first benefit I realized is economic benefit of tourism. Most of research publications show that the major benefit of tourism is the capital and money that tourists always spend on their journeys, through buying of food, accommodation, and other services. This money is always used by the indigenous people to cater for other basic needs, hence leading to economic development and alleviation of poverty levels for the indigenous people (Butler, 2007).Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if w e can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Secondly, tourism is one of the sectors that benefit the indigenous people through the provision of revenue and employment, especially to the local people around the tourist destinations. This reduces unemployment cases in most countries, leading to increased economic growth of the country (Butler, 2007). Thirdly, tourism leads to cultural benefits; for example, when a tourist visits an area, there is usually emergence of diversity of culture due to intermarriages and other social experiences that can include exchange of languages and even sharing of information and knowledge. There are also spiritual and aesthetic benefits where different values are added to the emerged cultures, leading to social benefits. This usually promotes the community and indigenous people’s development, leading to more stable communities (Butler, 2007). On the other hand, tourism is also associated with some adverse and negative e ffects that always affect the indigenous people. Some of the disadvantages of tourism to the indigenous people include, environmental destruction and degradation, cultural destruction or erosion of cultures, dangerous lifestyle (for example, introduction of use of some illegal drugs), and unstable market because it only provides seasonal market and job. Here I will start by mentioning some of the environmental problems caused by tourism. Accordingly, tourism is one of the sectors that lead to environmental degradation to the indigenous people due to noise pollution, incidences of forest fires, and even the destruction of sand dunes in some areas (Butler, 2007). Secondly, tourism mostly leads to erosion of cultures in some cases where individual indigenous people interact with tourists. This is because tourists always come with some diverse cultures that indigenous people usually want to emulate, thereby leading to erosion of their culture. At times, some cultures are not ethical, le ading to loss of morals by the indigenous people. Again, in some cases, the indigenous people may even lose their language and start emulating the tourists’ languages (Butler, 2007). Lastly, tourism leads to poor marketing due to the seasonal jobs that it provides. In addition, tourism sometimes leads to unstable market because it is only available during some seasons and is very limited some times. Besides, some tourists always come with unethical businesses that are not accepted by the country government, leading to conflict between the indigenous people and the government (Butler, 2007). In conclusion, although there are some disadvantages of tourism, the benefits tourism brings to the indigenous community and people, far outweigh the disadvantages. Therefore, it is important that more marketing strategies be included by the indigenous people in order to attract more tourists to increase economic development of the indigenous communities.Advertising We will write a cu stom essay sample on Tourism and Indigenous People in marketing in general specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More With the current availability of internet and social media, it is important that the indigenous people take advantage of this technology and use it constructively in order to promote the tourism sector; this will bring more profits to them. If possible, it will also be very important if the government can provide marketing scheme strategies in order to promote tourism industry to continue benefiting the locals and indigenous people (Butler, 2007). In addition, the indigenous people should also enhance their knowledge expansion through trainings in order to provide better tourist services, as it is only through education that the indigenous people will benefit fully from the tourism sector and services provision. In my opinion and feelings, it will be very important for the government to provide some financial support to the indi genous people to raise their tourism business and to have decent living conditions that would attract tourists to their destinations (Butler, 2007). In addition, I will say that it will be very important again if proper developmental plans including good security provision, equitable treatment to all without discrimination, and proper awareness is included among the indigenous people when making tourism policies and other frameworks. Furthermore, the challenges that the tourism industry comes with should be properly addressed to the extent of involving dialogue between tourists and the indigenous people to ensure that their mutual needs and goals are properly addressed. The indigenous people’s right to land and other resources that the tourism industry always undermines should be properly addressed (Butler, 2007). Therefore, in my view and opinion, the indigenous people benefit a lot from the tourism industry although there are some disadvantages to some extent. Therefore, it is important that more marketing procedures be employed in order to promote the indigenous people in the provision of tourism services. Reference Butler, R. T. (2007). Tourism and Indigenous Peoples, Issues and Implications. MA, Burlington, USA: Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This essay on Tourism and Indigenous People in marketing in general was written and submitted by user Amber K. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

How to Write a Compare #038; Contrast Essay in Sociology a College-Level Guide for Students

How to Write a Compare #038; Contrast Essay in Sociology a College-Level Guide for Students The principle of writing a compare and contrast essay is seemingly simple: you take two or more things (concepts, phenomena, events, organizations, etc.) and analyze them side-by-side, indicating what they have in common and what makes them different. However, when it comes to realization, many students find out that the task is much more complicated than they were led to believe. An essay of this type should be more than just an enumeration of similarities and differences – you should offer an overarching idea that brings all the points you discuss together and offers a bigger-picture conclusion. It may be especially complicated in case of sociology, because this discipline usually deals with relatively abstract topics, and analyzing them properly requires skill and deep understanding of the underlying principles at work. Using this guide, however, you will be able to find your way through these difficulties even if you do not have a prior experience of writing such essays. How to Choose a Rewarding Topic for a Compare and Contrast Essay in Sociology Choosing a topic may be troublesome, especially if your professor does not limit you in any way. Sociology is a broad subject, and trying to pick a topic without having any indication of where to look leaves many students confused. If you do not already have a topic you would like to write about, follow these steps. 1. Define Your Limits Is your choice limited in any way? Did your professor delineate a general theme you should cover? If he/she did not, better do it yourself, it will make your job easier. Here are a few suggestions of what you can limit your choice to: Topics related to your current course. If you have studied some information that can be relevant for your essay, it can save you time you would otherwise spend looking for sources; Topics you know a lot about. What we mean here is not just personal background knowledge about a particular subject, but rather an access to a source of information that is not immediately available for public – e.g., if you know somebody from an organization that has records relevant for a particular venue of sociological research; Topics you have a strong personal opinion on – writing when you are personally invested in the subject matter is always easier and faster than when you try to deal with a topic that does not particularly interest you. It produces better results as well. 2. Brainstorm After you have more or less delineated the area you intend to cover, start brainstorming for viable ideas. Sociology is a convenient discipline in the sense that it is possible to find suitable subject for research in the most mundane things. The format of a compare and contrast essay demands that you run a comparative analysis of two or more entities. Consider looking for things to compare based on the following: Geographical or national differences. E.g., if you intend to write about the measures of controlling and limiting criminal activities, you can compare approaches to this problem in different countries; Cultural differences. A society’s approach to dealing with a problem is vastly dependent on its culture. Compare two or more cultures in how they deal with an issue in question; Differences in time. Society changes over time, and a society in its current state can have little to nothing in common with itself just a decade or two ago. Compare a state of an issue at two different points in time; Technological differences. The emergence of new technologies causes vast changes to the way society operates. Compare an issue based on how it is treated in more and less technologically developed societies. 3. Gather General Information Once you have decided upon the entities you intend to compare, start gathering information about them, starting with the most basic sources: encyclopedias, dictionary entries and so on. This will help you decide if there are enough points of contact between the subjects (meaningful comparative analysis requires its subjects to be relatively similar, even if you intend to focus on the differences between them). If you run into trouble at this stage, it is better to look for another topic than to try and salvage this one. 4. Define the Frame of Reference Frame of reference is the context within which you put the entities you intend to compare. It may be an idea, a theory, a sociological issue, a common theme, a group to which all these entities belong, etc. It is better to build your frame of reference on the information from a specific source rather than your own thoughts. For example, if you compare the approach of dealing with unemployment in two different countries, try to find a reliable scholarly source covering the subject. 5. Word Your Title and Formulate Your Thesis Statement Choose the final wording for your title, but first you have to create a specific thesis statement. A thesis statement is a declarative sentence that points out the main idea of your essay. It is different from title or topic – these tell what your essay is about. A thesis statement tells what you think about its subject matter. For example, â€Å"Crime prevention in the USA and China† is a topic. â€Å"Compared to the American approach, crime prevention in China relies on constant and all-encompassing surveillance and easily encroaches upon basic human rights under the pretext of efficiency† is a thesis statement. A thesis statement should be: Short (a sentence long, two at the very maximum); Specific (no ambiguities or vague wording); Focused (containing a single point. An essay is too short a paper to hold more). If you cannot write a thesis statement that would fit these requirements, it may be the sign that you need to modify the topic and title. Here are some topics you can come up with using this approach: Social Views on Marriage and Cohabitation in the USA of 1950s and Today; Balancing Work and Family: How Women Deal with the Problem in the USA and France; The Role of Family Ties in Great Britain and Spain: A Comparative Analysis; Single Parents in the USA and India: Common Issues and Notable Differences; American and Japanese Parenting Styles: Differences, Similarities, Results. Writing and Structuring a Compare and Contrast Essay in Sociology The most important issue about writing a compare and contrast essay in sociology is how you decide to structure it – otherwise it is quite similar to all other types of essays. There is a number of structure types to choose from: Lens/Keyhole Comparison If you use this approach, you not so much compare two entities, but analyze one of them using another as a lens. As a result, A and B are not present in the essay on equal terms, but you use A as a framework or context for discussing B. This approach is particularly useful if you want to show a subject from an unusual point of view, challenge the stability of how it is perceived or provide unusual critique of a status quo that seems obvious in isolation but becomes questionable when viewed from a rarely considered direction. For example, we are all so used to American parenting and upbringing style that we do not question its viability. However, if we look at it through the lens of a drastically different cultural approach (e.g., Chinese or Japanese one), we can discover that the things are not as clear-cut as we used to believe. Point by Point In this approach, you identify a number of crucial characteristics according to which you compare A and B, and analyze how they stand in relation to them side by side. This approach is especially useful if A and B stand in clear opposition to each other and have definite and recognizable stances on a variety of issues. However, use it carefully, as a long essay written in this way starts looking as a Ping-Pong game. You can prevent this effect by limiting the number of times you alternate between A and B – either by cutting on the number of points you cover or grouping two or more of them together. If you do the latter, make sure these groupings are relevant. Don’t try to pay equal attention to similarities and differences – remember, your purpose is not to mindlessly compare two things but to discover an interesting pattern. For example, you can point out that although two schools of thought have notably different views on most subjects, they come to remarkably similar conclusions on a particular issue. Or on the contrary, an issue is treated almost identically in two societies, except for a single aspect that makes all the other similarities insignificant in comparison. Subject by Subject With this approach, you first analyze A in its entirety, then go on to B. To keep your essay organized, try to analyze comparable points of A and B in the same order. The order in which you analyze A and B is also important – if you have to refer to important aspects of A when you analyze B, it is better to discuss A first. The problem with this approach is that A and B are too separated from each other, and it is easy to lose connections between them. Sometimes such essays turn into simple descriptions of two entities without much in terms of conclusions. To avoid this, either refer to the first subject when you analyze the second one or write a separate fragment dedicated to summing everything up. How to Effectively Proofread a Compare and Contrast Essay in Sociology If you think that after doing an in-depth analysis your job is done, you are mistaken. 9 times out of 10, the first draft of your essay contains serious blunders that can harm your chances of getting a good grade. At the very least, by spending some time editing, proofreading and polishing it you can significantly improve its quality. 1. Take a Break Ideally, you should spend a day or two away from your essay to let your memory of its details get a little vague – this way you will see it from a fresh perspective. Of course, this is not always possible due to time constraints, so judge by your situation. Take at least a 30-minte break if you cannot afford to delay for longer. 2. Use Proofreading Tools but Do not Rely on Them Proofreading tools like Grammarly or Wordrake are somewhat better than Word’s spellchecker and can be useful in spotting some of the more blatant mistakes, but do not take what they say at face value. They often underline words and phrases without any errors and miss obvious mistakes. In other words, they can attract your attention to mistakes you did not notice, but if you have even the slightest doubts about their suggestions, don’t use it. 3. Read Your Essay Backwards By proofreading your essay backwards, either sentence by sentence or paragraph by paragraph, you disrupt the flow of argument and logical connections within the text, which forces you to focus on mechanical errors. 4. Proofread Your Essay Multiple Times Each time focus on a different aspect of your text: grammar, spelling, punctuation, word repetitions, excessive adverbs and adjectives, paragraph and sentence structure. 5. Ask Another Person to Proofread for You For example, collaborate with another student to proofread each other’s works. A person unfamiliar with the text is more likely to spot mistakes than its author. 6. Change the Way Your Text Looks Print it out and proofread on paper. Alternatively, change the font size and type. This will break your existing perception of the text, allowing you to find more mistakes. 7. Check for Missing Words Our brains are hard-wired to fill in the gaps, especially in familiar texts. As a result, you may have omitted some words and never noticed it. Reread your essay slowly and carefully, paying special attention to it. Now you simply have to print out the final draft of your essay and submit it. We hope this guide will help you get an excellent mark the next time you get such an assignment!

UMES, University of Maryland Eastern Shore Admissions

UMES, University of Maryland Eastern Shore Admissions With a 38% acceptance rate, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore may appear fairly selective, but the reality is that most students with average grades and standardized test scores have a very good chance of being admitted. The university looks for a 930 or higher on the SAT, 18 or higher on the ACT, and a high school GPA of 2.5 or better. UMES will also want to see adequate course work in course subjects: four years of English and math; three years of social science/history, and two years of a foreign language and a lab-based science. Will You Get In? Calculate Your Chances of Getting In  with this free tool from Cappex Admissions Data (2016): University of Maryland Eastern Shore Acceptance Rate: 38%Test Scores 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: 400 / 480SAT Math: 390 / 470SAT Writing: - / -What these SAT numbers meanACT Composite: 17  / 20ACT English: 16  / 21ACT Math: 15  / 120ACT Writing: - / -What these ACT numbers mean University of Maryland Eastern Shore Description: UMES, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore is a historically black university and member of the University System of Maryland. The university occupies a nearly 800-acre campus in Princess Anne, Maryland, an easy drive to both the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Founded in 1886, the university has expanded significantly in recent decades. Academic programs in business, hotel management, criminal justice, sociology, and physical therapy are particularly popular among undergraduates. On the athletic front, the UMES Hawks  compete in the NCAA Division I  Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The school fields seven mens and eight womens Division I teams. Enrollment (2016): Total Enrollment: 3,904  (3,277 undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 45% Male / 55% Female89% Full-time Costs (2016- 17): Tuition and Fees: $7,804  (in-state); $17,188 (out-of-state)Books: $1,500 (why so much?)Room and Board: $9,388Other Expenses: $3,500Total Cost: $22,192 (in-state); $31,576 (out-of-state) University of Maryland Eastern Shore Financial Aid (2015- 16): Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 92%Percentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 72%Loans: 76%Average Amount of AidGrants: $7,502Loans: $6,525 Academic Programs: Most Popular Majors:  Biology, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, English, Family and Consumer Sciences, Hotel Management, Rehabilitation Services, Sociology What major is right for you?  Sign up to take the free My Careers and Majors Quiz at Cappex. Transfer, Graduation and Retention Rates: First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 58%Transfer Out Rate: 25%4-Year Graduation Rate: 15%6-Year Graduation Rate: 36% Intercollegiate Athletic Programs: Mens Sports:  Basketball, Baseball, Golf, Tennis, Track and Field, Cross CountryWomens Sports:  Basketball, Bowling, Softball, Cross Country, Track and Field, Tennis, Volleyball Data Source: National Center for Educational Statistics If You Like UMES, You May Also Like These Schools: Towson University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphHoward University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphVirginia State University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphNorfolk State University: Profile  Virginia Union University: Profile  Temple University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphDrexel University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphClark Atlanta University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphSalisbury University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphBowie State University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphFrostburg State University: Profile   University of Maryland Eastern Shore Mission Statement: complete mission statement can be found at  https://www.umes.edu/About/Pages/Mission/ The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), the state’s historically black 1890 land-grant institution, has its purpose and uniqueness grounded in distinctive learning, discovery and engagement opportunities in the arts and sciences, education, technology, engineering, agriculture, business and health professions.  Ã‚  UMES is a student-centered, doctoral research degree-granting university known for its nationally accredited undergraduate and graduate programs, applied research, and highly valued graduates.  Ã‚  UMES provides individuals, including first generation college students, access to a holistic learning environment that fosters multicultural diversity, academic success, and intellectual and social growth.

High school graduation student commencement speech Essay - 1

High school graduation student commencement speech - Essay Example Does it really matter whether you realized your dream even after sleeping it all? Not at all, do not be caught unawares but go for what you desire. There is nothing more important that planning for the futures’ uncertainty. Time to act is today so act today leap tomorrow. You are the only person you will spend most of your life with, not your spouse or guardian, prepare your joy, hate yourself and you will spend a lifetime with yourself as your own enemy. I will echo what most prominent people have been telling you and again, it is very challenging to remain alive and conscious in the wider world in our daily routines. The most curious and great truth in an individual’s experience is no other but that selflessness becomes the best reward you can grant your personality. Get the full experience and give it your full attention by doing each thing at its own and appropriate time. Note, I am not a prophet but I urge you to desist from distraction from sounds or sights, tasks and thoughts, instead, redirect your consciousness to the initial activity. Your frustrations must always meet the scales of a high threshold, fight on. When you want anything gather determination, don’t stop knocking on all necessary does even way after your knuckles bleed. Let them slam doors in your faces. Keep the smile high above your head. I does not matter where you fell or when but what caused it and how you plan to recover. Stand up shake off that dust and knock once more. That is the only way man will beat the odds in this life. Stay true to your passion and yourself, define your path and avoid those drafted for you by others, it is your life. Action is my word for the day. Choose either to be tagged as circumstance’s passive victim or an active hero to yourself. Had I not shed a tear of joy before I got here this morning, I would shed it again here. It has come the time that I cannot avoid any longer; I am now expected to

Public Affairs and relgious beliefs Research Paper

Public Affairs and relgious beliefs - Research Paper Example ever, there are a number of other smaller religions that are formed as a result of differences of beliefs concerning the doctrine of the major religions and thus, a sect of people break away from the main religion to start their small religion. Basically, religious beliefs are founded on faith of certain doctrines as taught by the respective religions so the believers of those doctrines are supposed to believe the teachings as they are without much questioning. For instance, religion has greatly contributed to the spread of HIV and AIDS. Some religions for example Catholics discourage the use of condoms hence its follows can engage in unsafe sex contributing to the spread of the pandemic (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). Also some of the Africa beliefs provided for the use of one surgical instrument when performing circumcision hence a risk in the spread of HIV and AIDS. Christian teachings tend to brain wash people into a certain school of thought in whom they cannot easily get themselves out of since they are bond by doctrines which they are supposed to follow to the letter without questioning their legitimacy or logic (Apostolidis & Juliet, 2004). Religion is a major impediment when it comes to solving social affairs in the public arena. For instance, politicians who are majorly the policy makers in countries will be limited to the scope of issues they will discuss and polices that will be formulated since is one is strongly affiliated to a certain religion the doctrines to that religion will in most of the time coincide with the policies being formulated thus, creating a deadlock of whether to adhere to religious teachings and doctrine or formulate polices that are against the religious teachings but for the common good of the general public. The utilitarian theory advocates for something to be regarded as ethically correct it has to be done so that benefit is for the greatest number of people. Thus, religion should not act as opium that impedes service delivery

Study On Adaptive Delta Modulation And Demodulation Computer Science Essay

Study On Adaptive Delta Modulation And Demodulation Computer Science Essay A modem to improve communication system performance that uses multiple modulation scheme comprising modulation technique and encoder combinations. As communication system performance and objective change, different modulation schemes may be selected. Modulation schemes may also be selected upon the communication channel scattering function estimate and the modem estimates the channel scattering function from measurements of the channels frequency (Doppler) and time (multipath) spreading characteristics. An Adaptive sigma delta modulation and demodulation technique, wherein a quantizer step size is adapted based on estimates of an input signal to the quantizer, rather than on estimates of an input signal to the modulator. A technique for digital conferencing of voice signals in systems using adaptive delta modulation (ADM) with an idle pattern of alternating 1s and 0s has been described. Based on majority logic, it permits distortion-free reception of voice of a single active subscriber by all the other subscribers in the conference. Distortion exists when more than one subscriber is active and the extent of this distortion depends upon the type of ADM algorithm that has been used. An LSI oriented system based on time sharing of a common circuit by a number of channels has been implemented and tested. This technique, with only minor changes in circuitry, handles ADM channels that have idle patterns different from alternating single 1s and 0s. This method used for noise reduction. The modulator factor does not require a large amount of data to be represented. Representation is based upon a frequency domain function having particular characteristics. A preferred embodiment of the invention incorporates transform or sub band filtered signals which are transmitted as a modulated analog representation of a local region of a video signal. The modulation factor reflects the particular characteristic. Side information specifies the modulation factor 1.2. Aim: Digital techniques to wirelessly communicate voice information. Wireless environments are inherently noisy, so the voice coding scheme chosen for such an application must be robust in the presence of bit errors. Pulse Coded Modulation (PCM) and its derivatives are commonly used in wireless consumer products for their compromise between voice quality and implementation cost. Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM) is another voice coding scheme, a mature technique that should be considered for these applications because of its bit error robustness and its low implementation cost. 1.3. Objective: To show the Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM) voice coding scheme which is the best coding scheme procedure when compare to all other techniques. The main part of the procedure is illustrated. 1.4. Methodology: Getting knowledge over different modulation and demodulation techniques Understanding Delta modulation and Adaptive delta modulation. Studying Matlab-Simulink which is used for designing of circuit. Implementing the circuit in the lab. Tuning and fixing and calculating its efficiency CHAPTER I Delta Modulation: Delta modulation is also abbreviated as DM or Ά-modulation. It is a technique of conversion from an analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog signal. If we want to transmit the voice we use this technique. In this technique we do not give that much of importance to the quality of the voice. DM is nothing but the simplest form of differential pulse-code modulation (DPCM). But there is some difference between these two techniques. In DPCM technique the successive samples are encoded into streams of n-bit data. But in delta modulation, the transmitted data is reduced to a 1-bit data stream. Main features: * The analog signal is similar as a series of segments. * To find the increase or decrease in relative amplitude, we should compare each and every segment of the approximated signal with the original analog wave. * By this comparison of original and approximated analog waves we can determine the successive bits for establishing. * only the change of information is sent, that is, only an increase or decrease of the signal amplitude from the previous sample is sent whereas a no-change condition causes the modulated signal to remain at the same 0 or 1 state of the previous sample. By using oversampling techniques in delta modulation we can get large high signal-to-noise ratio. That means the analog signal is sampled at multiple higher than the Nyquist rate. Principle In delta modulation, it quantizes the difference between the current and the previous step rather than the absolute value quantization of the input analog waveform, which is shown in fig 1. Fig. 1 Block diagram of a Ά-modulator/demodulator The quantizer of the delta modulator converts the difference between the input signal and the average of the previous steps. The quantizer is measured by a comparator with reference to 0 (in 2- level quantizer), and its output is either 1 or 0. 1 means input signal is positive and 0 means negative. It is also called as a bit-quantizer because it quantizes only one bit at a time. The output of the demodulator rises or falls because it is nothing but an Integrator circuit. If 1 received means the output raises and if 0 received means output falls. The integrator internally has a low-pass filter it self. Transfer Characteristics A signum function is followed by the delta modulator for the transfer characteristics. It quantizes only levels of two number and also for at a time only one-bit. Output signal power In delta modulation amplitude it is does not matter that there is no objection on the amplitude of the signal waveform, due to there is any fixed number of levels. In addition to, there is no limitation on the slope of the signal waveform in delta modulation. We can observe whether a slope is overload if so it can be avoided. However, in transmitted signal there is no limit to change. The signal waveform changes gradually. Bit-rate The interference is due to possibility of in either DM or PCM is due to limited bandwidth in communication channel. Because of the above reason DM and PCM operates at same bit-rate. Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM) Another type of DM is Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM). In which the step-size isnt fixed. The step-size becomes progressively larger when slope overload occurs. When quantization error is increasing with expensive the slope error is also reduced by ADM. By using a low pass filter this should be reduced. The basic delta modulator was studied in the experiment entitled Delta modulation. It is implemented by the arrangement shown in block diagram form in Figure Figure: Basic Delta Modulation A large step size was required when sampling those parts of the input waveform of steep slope. But a large step size worsened the granularity of the sampled signal when the waveform being sampled was changing slowly. A small step size is preferred in regions where the message has a small slope. This suggests the need for a controllable step size the control being sensitive to the slope of the sampled signal. This can be implemented by an arrangement such as is illustrated in Figure Fig: An Adaptive Delta Modulator The gain of the amplifier is adjusted in response to a control voltage from the SAMPLER, which signals the onset of slope overload. The step size is proportional to the amplifier gain. This was observed in an earlier experiment. Slope overload is indicated by a succession of output pulses of the same sign. The TIMS SAMPLER monitors the delta modulated signal, and signals when there is no change of polarity over 3 or more successive samples. The actual ADAPTIVE CONTROL signal is +2 volt under normal conditions, and rises to +4 volt when slope overload is detected. The gain of the amplifier, and hence the step size, is made proportional to this Control voltage. Provided the slope overload was only moderate the approximation will catch up with the wave being sampled. The gain will then return to normal until the sampler again falls behind. Comparison of PCM and DM When coming to comparison of Signal-to-noise ratio DM has larger value than signal-to-noise ratio of PCM. Also for an ADM signal-to-noise ratio when compared to Signal-to-noise ratio of companded PCM. Complex coders and decoders are required for powerful PCM. If to increase the resolution we require a large number of bits per sample. There are no memories in Standard PCM systems each sample value is separately encoded into a series of binary digits. An alternative, which overcomes some limitations of PCM, is to use past information in the encoding process. Delta modulation is the one way of doing to perform source coding. The signal is first quantized into discrete levels. For quantization process the step size between adjacent samples should be kept constant. From one level to an adjacent one the signal makes a transition of transmission. After the quantization operation is done, sending a zero for a negative transition and a one for a positive transition the signal transmission is achieved. We can observe from this point that the quantized signal must change at each sampling point. The transmitted bit train would be 111100010111110 for the above case. The demodulator for a delta-modulated signal is nothing but a staircase generator. To increments the staircase in positively a one should be received. For negative increments a zero should be receive. This is done by a low pass filter in general. The main thing for the delta modulation is to make the right choice of step size and sampling period. A term overloading is occurred when a signal changes randomly fast for the steps to follow. The step size and the sampling period are the important parameters. In modern consumer electronics short-range digital voice transmission is used. There are many products which uses digital techniques. Such as cordless telephones, wireless headsets (for mobile and landline telephones), baby monitors are few of the items. This digital techniques used Wirelessly communicate voice information. Due to inherent noise in wireless environments the Voice coding scheme chosen. For such an application the presence of robust bit errors must be. In the presence of bit errors Pulse Coded Modulation (PCM) and its derivatives are commonly used in wireless consumer products. This is due to their compromise between voice quality and implementation cost, but these are not robust schemes. Another important voice coding scheme is Adaptive Delta Modulation (ADM). It is a mature technique for consideration for these types of applications due to its robustness in bit error and its low implementation cost. To quantize the difference between the current sample and the predicted value of the next Sample ADM is used. It uses a variable called step height which is used to adjustment of the prediction value of the next sample. For the reproduction of both slowly and rapidly changing input signals faithfully. In ADM, the representation of each sample is one bit (i.e. 1 or 0). It does not require any data framing for one-bit-per-sample stream to minimizing the workload on the host microcontroller. In any digital wireless application there should be Bit errors. In ideal environment most of the voice coding techniques are provided which are good in quality of audio signals. The main thing is to provide good audio signals in everyday environment, there may be a presence of bit errors. For different voice coding methods and input signals the traditional performance metrics (e.g. SNR) does not measure accurately in audio quality. . Mean Opinion Score (MOS) testing is the main important parameter which overcomes the limitations of other metrics by successfully in audio quality. For audio quality the MOS testing is used. It is a scale of 1 to 5 which tells the audio quality status. In there 1 represents very less (bad) speech quality and 5 represents excellent speech quality. A toll quality speech has a MOS score of 4 or higher than it. The audio quality of a traditional telephone call has same MOS value as above. The below graphs shows the relationship between MOS scores and bit errors for three of the most common voice coding schemes. Those are CVSD, ÃŽÂ ¼-law PCM, and ADPCM. A continuously Variable Slope Delta (CVSD) coding is a member of the ADM family in voice coding schemes. The below graph shows the resulted audio quality (i.e. MOS score). All three schemes explain the number of bit errors. As the no of bit errors increases the graph indicates that ADM (CVSD) sounds better than the other schemes which are also increase. In an ADM design error detection and correction typically are not used because ADM provides poor performance in the presence of bit errors. This leads to reduction in host processor workload (allowing a low-cost processor to be used). The superior noise immunity significantly reduced for wireless applications in voice coding method. The ADM is supported strongly by workload for the host processor. The following example shows the benefits of ADM for wireless applications and is demonstrated. For a complete wireless voice product this low-power design is used which includes all of the building blocks, small form-factor, including the necessary items. ADM voice codec Microcontroller RF transceiver Power supply including rechargeable battery Microphone, speaker, amplifiers, etc. Schematics, board layout files, and microcontroller code written in C. Delta modulation (DM) may be viewed as a simplified form of DPCM in which a two level (1-bit) quantizer is used in conjunction with a fixed first-order predictor. The block diagram of a DM encoder-decoder is shown below.   The dm_demo shows the use of Delta Modulation to approximate an input sine wave signal and a speech signal that were sampled at 2 KHz and 44 KHz, respectively. The source code file of the MATLAB code and the out put can be viewed using MATLAB. Notice that the approximated value follows the input value much closer when the sampling rate is higher. You may test this by changing sampling frequency, fs, value for sine wave in dm_demo file. Since DM (Delta Modulator) approximate a waveform Sa (t) by a linear staircase function, the waveform Sa (t) must change slowly relative to the sampling rate. This requirement implies that waveform Sa (t) must be oversampled, i.e., at least five times the Nyquist rate. Oversampling means that the signal is sampled faster than is necessary. In the case of Delta Modulation this means that the sampling rate will be much higher than the minimum rate of twice the bandwidth. Delta Modulation requires oversampling in order to obtain an accurate prediction of the next input. Since each encoded sample contains a relatively small amount of information Delta Modulation systems require higher sampling rates than PCM systems. At any given sampling rate, two types of distortion, as shown below limit the performance of the DM encoder.   Slope overload distortion: This type of distortion is due to the use of a step size delta that is too small to follow portions of the waveform that have a steep slope. It can be reduced by increasing the step size. Granular noise: This results from using a step size that is too large too large in parts of the waveform having a small slope. Granular noise can be reduced by decreasing the step size. Even for an optimized step size, the performance of the DM encoder may still be less satisfactory. An alternative solution is to employ a variable step size that adapts itself to the short-term characteristics of the source signal. That is the step size is increased when the waveform has a step slope and decreased when the waveform has a relatively small slope. This strategy is called adaptive DM (ADM). Block Diagram Adaptive Delta Modulation for Audio Signals: While transmitting speech for e.g. telephony the transfer rate should be kept as small as possible to save bandwidth because of economic reason. For this purpose Delta Modulation, adaptive Delta modulation, Differential Pulse-Code modulation is used to compress the data. In this different kind of Delta modulations and Differential Pulse Code modulations (DPCM) were realized to compress audio data. At first the principal of compressing audio data are explained, which the modulations based on. Mathematical equations (e.g. Auto Correlation) and algorithm (LD recursion) are used to develop solutions. Based on the mathematics and principals Simulink models were implemented for the Delta modulation, Adaptive Delta modulation as well as for the adaptive Differential Pulse Code modulation. The theories were verified by applying measured signals on these models. CHAPTER II Pulse-code modulation: Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals, which was invented by Alec Reeves in 1937. It is the standard form for digital audio in computers and various Compact Disc and DVD formats, as well as other uses such as digital telephone systems. A PCM stream is a digital representation of an analog signal, in which the magnitude of the analogue signal is sampled regularly at uniform intervals, with each sample being quantized to the nearest value within a range of digital steps. PCM streams have two basic properties that determine their fidelity to the original analog signal: the sampling rate, which is the number of times per second that samples are taken; and the bit-depth, which determines the number of possible digital values that each sample can take. Digitization as part of the PCM process In conventional PCM, the analog signal may be processed (e.g. by amplitude compression) before being digitized. Once the signal is digitized, the PCM signal is usually subjected to further processing (e.g. digital data compression). PCM with linear quantization is known as Linear PCM (LPCM). Some forms of PCM combine signal processing with coding. Older versions of these systems applied the processing in the analog domain as part of the A/D process; newer implementations do so in the digital domain. These simple techniques have been largely rendered obsolete by modern transform-based audio compression techniques. * DPCM encodes the PCM values as differences between the current and the predicted value. An algorithm predicts the next sample based on the previous samples, and the encoder stores only the difference between this prediction and the actual value. If the prediction is reasonable, fewer bits can be used to represent the same information. For audio, this type of encoding reduces the number of bits required per sample by about 25% compared to PCM. * Adaptive DPCM (ADPCM) is a variant of DPCM that varies the size of the quantization step, to allow further reduction of the required bandwidth for a given signal-to-noise ratio. * Delta modulation is a form of DPCM which uses one bit per sample. In telephony, a standard audio signal for a single phone call is encoded as 8000 analog samples per second, of 8 bits each, giving a 64 Kbit/s digital signal known as DS0. The default signal compression encoding on a DS0 is either ÃŽÂ ¼-law (mu-law) PCM (North America and Japan) or A-law PCM (Europe and most of the rest of the world). These are logarithmic compression systems where a 12 or 13-bit linear PCM sample number is mapped into an 8-bit value. This system is described by international standard G.711. An alternative proposal for a floating point representation, with 5-bit mantissa and 3-bit radix, was abandoned. Where circuit costs are high and loss of voice quality is acceptable, it sometimes makes sense to compress the voice signal even further. An ADPCM algorithm is used to map a series of 8-bit  µ-law or A-law PCM samples into a series of 4-bit ADPCM samples. In this way, the capacity of the line is doubled. The technique is detailed in the G.726 standard. Later it was found that even further compression was possible and additional standards were published. Pulse code modulation (PCM) data are transmitted as a serial bit stream of binary-coded time-division multiplexed words. When PCM is transmitted, premodulation filtering shall be used to confine the radiated RF spectrum. These standards define pulse train structure and system design characteristics for the implementation of PCM telemetry formats. Class Distinctions and Bit-Oriented Characteristics The PCM formats are divided into two classes for reference. Serial bit stream characteristics are described below prior to frame and word oriented definitions. Two classes of PCM formats are covered in this chapter: the basic, simpler types are class I, and the more complex applications are class II. The use of any class II technique requires concurrence of the range involved. All formats with characteristics described in these standards are class I except those identified as class II. The following are examples of class II characteristics: a. Bit rates greater than 10 megabits per second b. Word length in excess of 32 bits. c. fragmented words d. more than 8192 bits or 1024 words per minor frame. e. uneven spacing, not within the definition of sub commutation or super commutation f. Format changes. g. asynchronous embedded formats h. tagged data formats. i. packet telemetry j. formats with data content other than unsigned straight binary, discrete, or complement arithmetic representation for negative numbers such as floating point variables, binary-coded decimal, and gain-and-value k. asynchronous data transmission l. merger of multiple format types Demodulation: Demodulation is the act of extracting the original information-bearing signal from a modulated carrier wave. A demodulator is an electronic circuit used to recover the information content from the modulated carrier wave. These terms are traditionally used in connection with radio receivers, but many other systems use many kinds of demodulators. Another common one is in a modem, which is a contraction of the terms modulator/demodulator. Techniques: There are several ways of demodulation depending on how parameters of the base-band signal are transmitted in the carrier signal, such as amplitude, frequency or phase. For example, for a signal modulated with a linear modulation, like AM (Amplitude Modulated), we can use a synchronous detector. On the other hand, for a signal modulated with an angular modulation, we must use an FM (Frequency Modulation) demodulator or a PM (Phase Modulation) demodulator. Different kinds of circuits perform these functions. Many techniques-such as carrier recovery, clock recovery, bit slip, frame synchronization, rake receiver, pulse compression, Received Signal Strength Indication, error detection and correction, etc. are only performed by demodulators, although any specific demodulator may perform only some or none of these techniques. Some Attributes of Demodulated data One important attribute of demodulation (or demod) data is that it focuses on high frequency vibration. Using a high pass filter, low frequency data is filtered out and a data collector is able to zoom in on low level high frequency vibration. This means that some peaks that would otherwise be lost in the noise floor of a normal narrow band spectrum (much lower than the normal vibration a machine emits) can be detected using demodulation techniques. Another feature of demod, or of high frequency vibration in general, is that it is easily attenuated and does not travel well through a machines structure (termed the disco effect). As one moves away from a loud music source, one tends to hear only the bass, or low frequency sound, since the treble or high frequency sounds dissipate rather quickly. This implies that vibration detected with demod is usually produced locally. In the case of a motor driving a pump through a coupling, demod data collected on the pump end will usually reflect the vibration emitted by the pump end. Lower frequency vibration may be transmitted through the coupling and may even be amplified on the other end of the machine depending upon its mobility. CHAPTER III Results: Critical Analysis: CHAPTER IV Conclusion: Short-range wireless digital voice transmission is used extensively in contemporary consumer electronics. Products such as cordless telephones, wireless headsets (for mobile and landline telephones) and baby monitors are just a few of the items that use digital techniques to wirelessly communicate voice information. Wireless environments are inherently noisy, so the voice coding scheme chosen for such an application must be robust in the presence of bit errors. Pulse coded modulation (PCM) and its derivatives are commonly used in wireless consumer products for their compromise between voice quality and implementation cost, but these schemes are not particularly robust in the presence of bit errors. Adaptive delta modulation (ADM) is a mature technique that should be considered for these applications because of its bit error robustness and its low implementation cost. ADM is a voice coding technique that quantizes the difference between the current sample and the predicted value of the next sample. It uses a variable step height to adjust the predicted value of the next sample so that both slowly and rapidly changing input signals can be faithfully reproduced. One bit is used to represent each sample in ADM. The one-bit-per-sample ADM data stream requires no data framing, thereby minimizing the workload on the host microcontroller. CHAPTER V