Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Programming Languages Comparison

Programming Languages Comparison Since the 1950s, computer scientists have devised thousands of programming languages. Many are obscure, perhaps created for a Ph.D. thesis and never heard of since. Others became popular for a while then faded due to lack of support or because they were limited to a particular computer system. Some are variants of existing languages, adding new features like parallelism- the ability to run many parts of a program on different computers in parallel. Read more about What is a programming language? Comparing Programming Languages There are several ways to compare computer Languages but for simplicity, well compare them by Compilation Method and Abstraction Level. Compiling to Machine Code Some languages require programs to be transformed directly into Machine Code- the instructions that a CPU understands directly. This transformation process is called compilation. Assembly Language, C, C, and Pascal are compiled languages. Interpreted Languages Other languages are either Interpreted such as Basic, Actionscript, and Javascript, or a mixture of both being compiled to an intermediate language - this includes Java and C#. An Interpreted language is processed at runtime. Every line is read, analyzed, and executed. Having to reprocess a line every time in a loop is what makes interpreted languages so slow. This overhead means that interpreted code runs between 5 - 10 times slower than compiled code. The interpreted languages like Basic or JavaScript are the slowest. Their advantage is not needing to be recompiled after changes and that is handy when youre learning to program. Because compiled programs almost always run faster than interpreted, languages such as C and C tend to be the most popular for writing games. Java and C# both compile to an interpreted language which is very efficient. Because the Virtual Machine that interprets Java and the .NET framework that runs C# are heavily optimized, its claimed that applications in those languages are as fast if not faster as compiled C. Level of Abstraction The other way to compare languages is level of abstraction. This indicates how close a particular language is to the hardware. Machine Code is the lowest level,  with Assembly Language just above it. C is higher than C because C offers greater abstraction. Java and C# are higher than C because they compile to an intermediate language called bytecode. How Languages Compare Fast Compiled Languages Assembly LanguageCCPascalC#Java Reasonably Fast Interpreted PerlPHP Slow Interpreted JavaScriptActionScriptBasic Machine Code is the instructions that a  CPU  executes. Its the only thing that a CPU can understand and execute.  Interpreted  languages need an application called an  Interpreter  that reads each line of the program source code and then runs it. Interpreting Is Easier Its very easy to stop, change and re-run applications written in an interpreted language and that is why theyre popular for learning programming. There is no compilation stage needed. Compiling can be quite a slow process. A large Visual C application can take from minutes to hours to compile, depending on how much code has to be rebuilt and the speed of memory and the  CPU. When Computers First Appeared When computers first became popular in the 1950s, programs were written in machine code as there was no other way. Programmers had to physically flip switches to enter values. This is such a tedious and slow way of creating an application that higher level computer languages had to be created. Assembler: Fast to Run- Slow to Write! Assembly language is the readable version of Machine Code and looks like this Mov A,$45 Because it is tied to a particular CPU or family of related CPUs, Assembly Language is not very  portable  and is time-consuming to learn and write. Languages like C have reduced the need for Assembly Language programming except where RAM is limited or time-critical code is needed. This is typically in the  kernel  code at the heart of an Operating System or in a video card driver. Assembly Language Is the Lowest Level of Code Assembly Language is very low level; most of the code just moves values between the  CPU  registers and memory. If you are writing a payroll package you want to think in terms of salaries and tax deductions, not  Register  A to Memory location XYZ. This is why higher level languages like C,  C#  or  Java  are more productive. The programmer can think in terms of the problem domain (salaries, deductions, and accruals) not the hardware domain (registers, memory, and instructions). Systems Programming With C C was devised in the early 1970s by Dennis Ritchie. It can be thought of as a general purpose tool- very useful and powerful but very easy to let bugs through that can make systems insecure. C is a low-level language and has been described as portable Assembly language. The syntax of many scripting  languages is based on C, for example,  JavaScript, PHP, and ActionScript. Perl: Websites and Utilities Very popular in the  Linux  world, Perl was one of the first web languages and remains very popular today. For doing quick and dirty programming on the web it remains unrivaled and drives many websites. It has though been somewhat eclipsed by  PHP as a web scripting language. Coding Websites With PHP PHP  was designed as a language for Web Servers and is very popular in conjunction with Linux, Apache, MySql, and PHP or LAMP for short. It is interpreted, but pre-compiled so code executes reasonably quickly. It can be run on desktop computers but is not as widely used for developing desktop applications. Based on C  syntax, it also includes  Objects  and Classes. Pascal  was devised as a teaching language a few years before C but was very limited with poor string and file handling. Several Manufacturers extended the language but there was no overall leader until Borlands Turbo Pascal (for Dos) and Delphi (for Windows) appeared. These were powerful implementations that added enough functionality to make them suitable for commercial development. However, Borland was up against the much bigger Microsoft and lost the battle. C: A Classy Language! C or C plus classes as it was originally known came about ten years after C and successfully introduced Object Oriented Programming to C, as well as features like exceptions and templates. Learning all of C is a big task- it is by far the most complicated of the programming languages here but once you have mastered it, youll have no difficulty with any other language. C#: Microsofts Big Bet C#  was created by  Delphis architect Anders Hejlsberg after he moved to Microsoft and Delphi developers will feel at home with features such as Windows forms. C#  syntax  is very similar to  Java, which is not surprising as Hejlsberg also worked on J after he moved to Microsoft. Learn C# and you are well on the way to knowing  Java. Both languages are semi-compiled so that instead of compiling to machine code, they compile to  bytecode  ( C# compiles to  CIL  but it and Bytecode are similar) and are then  interpreted. Javascript: Programs in Your Browser Javascript  is nothing like Java, instead, its a  scripting  language based on C syntax but with the addition of  Objects  and is used mainly in browsers. JavaScript is interpreted and a lot slower than  compiled  code but works well within a browser. Invented by Netscape it has proved very successful and after several years in the doldrums is enjoying a new lease of life because of  AJAX; Asynchronous Javascript and XML. This allows parts of web pages to update from the server without redrawing the entire page. ActionScript: A Flashy Language! ActionScript  is an implementation of JavaScript but exists solely within Macromedia Flash applications.  Using vector-based graphics, it is used mainly for games, playing videos and other visual effects and for developing sophisticated user interfaces, all running in the browser. Basic for Beginners Basic  is an acronym for Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code and was created to teach programming in the 1960s. Microsoft has made the language their own with many different versions including VBScript for websites and the very successful  Visual Basic. The latest version of that is VB.NET and this runs on the same platform  .NET  as C# and produces the same CIL bytecode. Lua is a free scripting language written in C that includes garbage collection and coroutines. It interfaces well with C/C and is used in the games industry (and non-games as well) to script game logic, event triggers, and game control. Conclusion While everyone has their favorite language and has invested time and resources in learning how to program it, there are some problems that are best solved with the right language. E.G you wouldnt use C for writing web apps and you wouldnt write an Operating System in Javascript. But whichever language you choose, if its C, C or C#, at least you know youre in the right place to learn it.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Which Tools Improve Your Chances

Which Tools Improve Your Chances Whether you are freelancing or penning the next great American novel, these days the Internet slings hundreds of tools, clubs, databases and short-cuts at you, all filled with promises. They claim to make your journey easier, more profitable, give you access to people youd never meet otherwise. What you dont realize is that many of them are simply attempting to make a buck off your eagerness. Writers crave publication with a passion. So much so that they often lose the ability   to judge efficiency. Writers also crave camaraderie, and all too often these groups give writers a sense of membership. I-feel-your-pain type of stuff. These online tools prey on both of those urges. They can steal your goals, making you focus more on the tool than the prize. Oyster is shutting its doors. So is Authonomy. I just watched two publications change from paper and electronic to purely electronic, all in the name of we meant to from the start or its to save the environment. Any tool out there exists to make a dollar, just like you. Theres nothing wrong with some of these tools, if you accept them as working for you, not vice versa. You should feel you get what you pay for, not feel that the tool will sculpt you into something youre not. You also dont need all those tools. A handyman may have a warehouse full of tools, but the majority of those he needs fits in his truck. Why should he invest into so many tools if he cannot see where they improve his productivity, success, and income? Nothing beats hard work and research. Or word-of-mouth from those whove gone before you. Dont become so entrenched in tools, clubs, and services that if they disappeared tomorrow, youd feel unable to continue. Recognize them for what they are. Choose the few that nurture your goal but dont distract you from it, and then strike out. Write and submit. Promote and publish. And be able to trek on no matter what tool decides to fold because its nary more than a tiny wrinkle in your pursuit of your craft.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Cold war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Cold war - Essay Example is of cold war and it led to worsening of economy in Europe and decline of Soviet Union, cutting of military spending, spending millions by the US, and depression among others (Taylor 78). McCarthyism is the political practice employed to create distrust and disloyalty about the communists without having any real tangible evidence leading to accusations (Taylor 127). People lost their jobs because of teaching about communism, education taught negatively about communism, freedom of speech of the communists was curtailed as well as producing movies portraying negatively about communism. Relationship between nations continued to chill. The cold war spread to other nations such as Berlin, Korea and Vietnam which were divided into two one controlled by US and the other by Russia leading to internal war and a nations destroying its own people a war initiated by the two super powers. The aftermath of the cold war was the destruction of Vietnam, separation of Korea and the war between the North and South as well as tearing of the Berlin

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Response 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Response 3 - Essay Example Bernice didn’t care that no one approved of her choice, or that it tore her family apart; she just wanted to achieve her goal of flying as a woman in the Air Force service. I also admired Jeff, though, because, as mentioned above, he had a lot of heroic qualities. Also, I used to be a painter, so I related to this aspect of the character, and also, I used to like to read adventure books and comics that had the same sort of subplot as Jeff’s. After the commencement of extermination of the Jews by the Nazis, there were many responses to Nazi persecution by the Jews in various forms both collective and individual. There were factors that encouraged both rebellion and the inhibition of rebellion and resistance. For example, in a Jewish ghetto, often resistance would be held back by community leaders because of the fear that any Jews caught gathering weapons or planning escape would bring down punishment on the whole community. This was not outlandish thinking, either, because this is exactly how the Nazis meted out justice for individuals: against the whole community. On the other hand, there were organized rebellions and resistance, bolstered by internal support as well as a reaction to external reasons. This is why I think it is important to focus on characters like Jeff, who were very active and heroic in resistance. One thing that may have hindered Jewish resistance during this time was that there was the problem that Jews who did fight back or escape often faced an ambivalent setting in other nations. After the early twentieth century, and arguably long before this as well, the climate in Europe was changing towards a status quo which was turbulent, to say the least, towards those of the Jewish faith: â€Å"at the end of World War I†¦ groups blamed the Jews for the social disruption, political instability, and economic crises that ensued† (Leventhal 2008) At this time, around 1934, the Nazis also began to persecute Jews. Laws were passed

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Myostatin Boy Essay Example for Free

Myostatin Boy Essay Many scientists believe the find could eventually lead to drugs for treating eople with muscular dystrophy and other muscle-destroying conditions. And athletes would almost surely want to get their hands on such a drug and use it like steroids to bulk up. The boys mutant DNA segment was found to block production of a protein called myostatin that limits muscle growth. The news comes seven years after researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore created buff mighty mice by turning off the gene that directs cells to produce myostatin. Now we can say that myostatin acts the same way in humans as in animals, said the boys physician, Dr. Markus Schuelke, a professor in the child neurology department at Charite/ University Medical Center Berlin. We can apply that knowledge to humans, including trial therapies for muscular dystrophy. Given the huge potential market for such drugs, researchers at universities and pharmaceutical companies already are trying to find a way to limit the amount and activity of myostatin in the body. Wyeth has Just begun human tests of a genetically engineered antibody designed to neutralize myostatin. Dr. Lou Kunkel, director of the genomics program at Boston Childrens Hospital and professor of pediatrics and genetics at Harvard Medical School, said success is possible within several years. Just decreasing this protein by 20, 30, 50 percent can have a profound effect on muscle bulk, said Kunkel, who is among the doctors participating in the Wyeth research. Slow wasting process Muscular dystrophy is the worlds most common genetic disease. There is no cure and the most common form, Duchennes, usually kills before adulthood. The few treatments being tried to slow its progression have serious side effects. Muscle asting also is common in the elderly and patients with diseases such as cancer and AIDS. If you could find a way to block myostatin activity, you might slow the wasting process, said Dr. Se-Jin Lee, the Johns Hopkins professor whose team created the mighty mice. Lee said he believes a myostatin blocker also could suppress fat accumulation and thus thwart the development of diabetes. Lee and Johns Hopkins would receive royalties for any myostatin-blocking drug made by Wyeth. Dr. Eric Hoffman, director of Childrens National Medical Centers Research Center for Genetic Medicine, said he believes a muscular dystrophy cure will be found, but he is unsure whether it will be a myostatin-blocking drug, another treatment or a combination, because about a dozen genes have some effect on muscles. He said a mystotatin- blocking drug could help other groups of people, including astronauts and others who lose muscle mass during long stints in zero gravity or when immobilized by illness or a broken limb. Eventual health problems? Researchers would not disclose the German boys identity but said he was born to a nd three other close male relatives all were unusually strong, with one of them a construction worker able to unload heavy curbstones by hand. In the mother, one copy of the gene is mutated and the other is normal; the boy has two mutated copies. One almost definitely came from his father, but no information about him has been disclosed. The mutation is very rare in people. The boy is healthy now, but doctors worry he could eventually suffer heart or other health problems. In the past few years, scientists have seen great potential in myostatin-blocking strategies. Internet marketers have been hawking myostatin-blocking supplements to bodybuilders, though doctors say the products are useless and perhaps dangerous. Some researchers are trying to turn off the myostatin gene in chickens to produce more meat per bird. And several breeds of cattle have natural variations in the gene that, aided by selective breeding, give them far more muscle and less fat than other steer. He could do the iron cross when he was 5 months old, said his adoptive mother, Dana Hoekstra of Roosevelt Park. She was referring to a difficult gymnastics move in hich a male athlete suspends himself by his arms between two hanging rings, forming the shape of a cross. Liam has the kind of physical attributes that bodybuilders and other athletes dream about: 40 percent more muscle mass than normal, Jaw-dropping strength, breathtaking quickness, a speedy metabolism and almost no body fat. Liam can run like the wind, has the agility of a cat, lifts pieces of furniture that most children his age couldnt push across a slick floor and eats like there is no tomorrow without gaining weight. Liam Hoekstra was hanging upside down by his feet when he performed an inverted sit-up, his shirt falling away to expose rippled abdominal muscles. It was a display of raw power one might expect to see from an Olympic gymnast. Liam is 19 months old. The so-called myostatin blockade has generated tremendous interest in the bodybuilding community. Some nutritional supplements claim to block myostatin, but researchers have said the claims are not scientifically valid. If the myostatin protein is knocked out, muscles grow and rejuvenate much more uickly,

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Vietnam :: Vietnam Culture Vietnamese Government Essays

Vietnam The Socialist Republic of Vietnam consists of the former Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) and the former Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The division of the country resulted from the defeat of the French by Communist-inspired nationalists in 1954. A prolonged civil war resulted in a victory for the Communist north, and reunification occurred in mid-1976. Physical Setting Vietnam has an area of 127,207 square miles (329,465 square kilometers) and is located in Southeast Asia. The country has a coastline of nearly 1,440 miles (2,317 kilometers), much of which fronts on the South China Sea. Border countries are China, Cambodia, and Laos. The latter two countries, along with Vietnam, constituted the former French Indochina. Northern Vietnam is quite mountainous, especially the extreme north and northwest. The Red River (Song Hong), which originates in China's Yunnan Province, is the principal river of the north and is about 725 miles (1,167 kilometers) in length. The major lowland area is a delta that has been created by deposits from the Red River as it enters the Gulf of Tonkin. The river passes through the capital city of Hanoi. For more than 2,000 years the Tonkin Lowland, considered the cradle of Vietnamese civilization, has been the scene of considerable water control efforts in the form of canals and dikes. The southernmost portion of the country is dominated by another lowland that is much more extensive than that in the north. This lowland has essentially been created by the Mekong River (Song Cuu Long) and its various tributaries. Just north of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) the landscape becomes more varied and rolling with forested hills. The central portion of Vietnam varies in width but is only 35 miles (56 kilometers) at its narrowest point. This region has only a narrow coastal strip in contrast to the rest of the coastline, where wider lowlands exist. The westernmost portion of the area is dominated by the Annamese, or Annamite, Cordillera, a major mountain chain, which forms the spine of the country from north to south. Along with the two major rivers, there are many shorter rivers that drain the highlands and flow eastward to the South China Sea. The country also has six island groups, 14 separate mountain ranges, and three large lakes. The climate of Vietnam is largely tropical, though the north may be distinguished as subtropical. Differences in humidity, rainfall, and temperature are caused largely by changes in elevation. The north has a hot and humid five- month-long wet season lasting from May through September. The remainder of the year is relatively warm and rainfree, but humid. A prolonged period of fog,

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

School Crime And Violence

Crime and violence in schools are issues that are of significant public concern, especially after the series of tragic school shootings recently. The schools have exercised care in making the students safe but many schools are now facing serious problems so that effective strategies can be devised to prevent school violence and increase school safety. (Small and Tetrick). The terms â€Å"school violence† and â€Å"school safety,† are still terms that need to be commonly defined. The authors maintain that â€Å"Multiple approaches can prove beneficial as each discipline brings to bear the full force of its knowledge and experience, but they complicate the task of summarizing the state of school violence. For instance, should school violence be considered a subset of youth violence? †(Small and Tetrick). Most of the violence in schools are involved in gangs. A gang is a group of people who form an allegiance for a common purpose and engage in unlawful or criminal activity. Gangs give members companionship, guidance, excitement and identity. When a member needs something, the others come to the rescue and provide protection. Gangs members have significantly lower levels of self-esteem compared to their non-gang peers. They also could name fewer adult role models than did their non-gang ,peers. It is no doubt that America has become a violent society. Television programs alone show gruesome murders and violence as if they are normal incidences in our lives. It is said that children learn to imitate the violence that they see on television. These take root in a lot of issues, foremost of which is on gun control. The positive effects of the strict enforcement of gun laws are readily seen. The Brady Campaign, for example believes that â€Å"background checks nationwide stopped over 600,000 felons and other prohibited purchasers from buying handguns from federally licensed firearm dealers. † Some say this is one big reason why there is a need to advocate gun control. Once people realize that there is a direct correlation between the increases in violence as correlated with gun possession, they would also be against gun violence in society. However, opinions are at odds with regards to the issue of gun control. Remarkably, both advocates and opponents of gun control policies in the United States use statistics to back up their stance. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that: According to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), in 2003, 449,150 victims of violent crimes stated that they faced an offender with a firearm. Incidents involving a firearm represented 7% of the 4. 9 million violent crimes of rape and sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault. The FBI's Crime in the United States estimated that 67% of the 16,503 murders in 2003 were committed with firearms. â€Å"Gun Control vs. Gun Rights). Advocates of gun control directly use statistics such as this to assert that the increase in violence is positively correlated with gun possession. Organizations such as the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and other proponents of gun rights oppose such view. Alexander, for one, insists that such arguments contradict factual studies. He contradicts the correlation, saying that â€Å"cities with the most restrictive gun laws, like Washington, D. C. , and Atlanta, Georgia, in fact, have the highest murder rates in the nation. At the center of the gun control issue is the Second Amendment to the Constitution: â€Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed. † Arguments usually focus on the interpretation of the law. The Second Amendment is the main banner of gun rights activists. Gun control advocates, on the other hand, feel that gun control opponents misinterpret the law when they assume that it means absolute right to ownership of guns by private individuals (Krouse). They assert that the Second Amendment only refers to gun ownership in situation of â€Å"militia† and not for general purposes. Gun control supporters feel that gun possession by just anybody is a contributing cause of increased incidence of crimes in the United States. In Guns and Terror, Berger and Henigan present studies to support their statement that â€Å"Gun shows are a breeding ground for gun sales to terrorist [and that] nothing in federal law prevents terrorists from quickly amassing arsenals of weapons† (4). Opponents to the gun control movement also believe that there is not enough factual evidence to the other side’s claim that banning the sale of some kinds of guns result to lower crime rates (â€Å"Gun Control vs. Gun Rights†). Alexander accuses gun control groups of ‘demagogue-ing’ the issue and maintains that the root of the problem is culture, and not the gun. He even notes that â€Å"many of the problems in question are the result of Leftist doctrines. † The Brady Campaign believes that stricter rules on gun ownership will result in communities with minimal crimes since they correlate guns with most crimes committed. Proponents of gun control also base this belief on what they see as positive effects of enforcement of gun laws. The Brady Campaign, for example believes that â€Å"background checks nationwide stopped over 600,000 felons and other prohibited purchasers from buying handguns from federally licensed firearm dealers. † Gun rights proponents maintain that stricter rules could actually cause crime rates to rise as criminals only tend to go places with stricter gun rules. Alexander quotes Thomas Sowell as saying, â€Å"Most criminals aren’t that stupid; they tend to go where the guns aren’t. †(Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence). Proponents of gun control continue to push for the passage of new laws and/or amendments to existing laws to restrict gun ownership. For one, they are lobbying for legislation covering what they refer to as loopholes, specifically in issues such as juvenile access to firearms, and sales at gun shows and through the Internet (Brady Campaign). Opponents are also continuing efforts to gather support to counter the move of gun control advocates. The NRA is drawing support through massive information drive advocating Second Amendment rights and the protection of Americans’ hunting heritage. The NRA also performs studies and surveys contradicting the position of gun control supporters. In their survey on what Americans think of Right-to-Carry laws, results show that 79% of the voters stood in favor of such laws (National Rifle Association of America). The Brady Campaign notes, â€Å"according to an analysis of the FBI Uniform Crime Report, the percentage of violent crimes committed with firearms has declined dramatically after the Brady Law went into effect. † Supporters of gun control assert the need for more restrictions in gun ownership, especially in the federal level. They call for stricter background checks for people who intend to purchase licensed firearms. Gun rights supporters do not see additional laws and amendments to laws as a solution to increase in crime rates. Alexander writes, â€Å"Gun restrictions have not protected citizens in Atlanta, Washington, D. C. , New York or Boston, much less anyone in Columbine or Red Lake. Nor did such laws protect Jews from Hitler or Stalin or Chinese peasants from Mao, etc. , ad infinitum. † Alexander also advises politicians and gun controllers alike to look at the cultural aspects of the problem and not the instruments. The National Rifle Association of America has opposed every effort by gun control advocates, specially the Brady Campaign group, which they think will encroach on their rights under the Second Amendment. They maintain that gun ownership is their constitutional right and should not be limited to recreational purposes only. The NRA, in fact, is supporting enactment of laws involving Self-Defense and â€Å"freedom† to carry guns (Alexander, Mark 2005). Indeed, the right of law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms for purpose of self-defense has become a hot and controversial topic and one that will continue to be so for a long time. Schools need to protect the children from these gun-toting individuals and avoid another Columbine or Virginia Tech incident.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Liszt’s Sonata in B Minor

The Piano Sonata in B minor (German: Klaviersonate h-Moll), S. 178, is a musical composition for solo piano by Franz Liszt, published in 1854 with a dedication to Robert Schumann. It is often considered Liszt's greatest composition for solo piano. The piece has been oft analyzed, particularly regarding issues of form. The sonata is notable for being constructed from five motivic elements that are woven into an enormous musical architecture. The motivic units undergo thematic transformation throughout the work to suit the musical context of the moment. A theme that in one context sounds menacing and even violent, is then transformed into a beautiful melody. This technique helps to bind the sonata's sprawling structure into a single cohesive unit. Michael Saffle, Alan Walker, and others contend that the first motive appears at the very start of the piece until bar 8, the second occurs from bar 9 until 12 and the third from measures 13 to 17. The fourth and fifth motives appear later in the piece at measures 105-108 and 327-338 respectively. Broadly speaking, the Sonata has four movements although there is no gap between them. Superimposed upon the four movements is a large sonata form structure, although the precise beginnings and endings of the traditional development and recapitulation sections has long been a topic of debate. Charles Rosen states in his book The Classical Style that the entire piece fits the mold of a sonata form because of the reprise of material from the first movement that had been in D major, the relative major, now reprised in B minor. Alan Walker, the forefront contemporary Liszt scholar, believes that the development begins roughly with the slow section at measure 331, the leadback towards the recapitulation begins at the scherzo fugue, measure 459, and the recapitulation and coda are at measures 533 and 682 respectively. Each of these sections (exposition, development, leadback, and recapitulation) are examples of Classical forms in and of themselves, which means that this piece is one of the earliest examples of Double-function form, a piece of music which has two classical forms occurring simultaneously, one containing others. For instance the exposition is a sonata form which starts and ends with material in B minor, containing the second part of the exposition and development wandering away from the tonic key, largely through the relative major D. In using this structure, Liszt as influenced by Franz Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, a work he greatly admired, performed often and arranged for piano and orchestra. Schubert used the same limited number of musical elements to create a broad four movement work, and used a fugal 4th movement. Already in 1851 Liszt experimented with a nonprogrammatic â€Å"four-movements-in-one† form in an extended work for piano solo called Grosses Concert-Solo. Thi s piece, which in 1865 was published as a two-piano version under the title Concerto pathetique, shows a thematic relationship to both the Sonata and the later Faust Symphony.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Wasp Factory and Saved Essays

The Wasp Factory and Saved Essays The Wasp Factory and Saved Essay The Wasp Factory and Saved Essay Essay Topic: Literature Saved was written by Edward Bond in the late 1960s. The Wasp Factory was written by Iain Banks in 1984. Although the two texts were written over twenty years apart, isolation is still an integral part of both texts. Through phonetic representation we can see that Saved is set in South London, and The Wasp Factory is set in a remote part of Scotland; the two are culturally polar through location. Although the two texts have their differences, all of the main characters are isolated from society and its normalities. This isolation has a profound effect on the characters. It can be seen that in both Saved and The Wasp Factory that the protagonists do not exist in societys eyes. In The Wasp Factory Frank, the main character, hides from Diggs, who is the representation of society in the book, in case of Diggs did any asking around and discovered I didnt exist officially. (page 72) Franks non-existance makes his life hopeless, because he can never have aspirations outside of the island. In Saved, all of the characters are non-existant in societys eyes; they are isolated by society. Society only associates with the characters when crimes are committed, as seen in both texts, and then we see societal punishment. That inspector wants you. (page 75) In both Saved and The Wasp Factory it can be seen that even though the protagonists are isolated from society, friendships are still formed between characters. In The Wasp Factory Frank, even though isolated through to his disability, still forges a friendship with Jamie, a dwarf. Frank is unable to form relationships with people who are seen as normal, be that able bodied, or mentally sound; so perhaps the only reason Frank is friends with Jamie is because he is disabled, just like Frank. Jamie is my only real friend (page 51) In Saved, even though Len and Fred have a group of friends, they are isolated because they cannot rely on their friends when things go wrong. We see this before Fred goes to prison, when he asks Pam to write to him whilst he is imprisoned, as he cannot rely on his friends. Yerll ave to send us letters. (page 74) In both texts the characters are isolated through lack of hope. In The Wasp Factory, Frank is afraid to leave the island because when Eric, his brother did, he went insane. the destruction of most of who he was. (page 136) In Saved, the characters are isolated because of their lack of hope to become something, they have no aspirations. Len well start lookin for a place tmorra. Pam No places round ere. (page 23) In both texts isolation and hopelessness are shown through family members, and their lack of interaction. In The Wasp Factory Franks father, Angus, hardly ever interacts with Frank. My father grew as uncommunicative as Eric (page 143) Therefore, Frank is isolated because he cannot talk to his father, he is forced to be independent and solve his own problems. In Saved, Harry does not interact with his wife, nor daughter. He isolates himself from his family. As Pam has been brought up with this, she believes this to be normal. If she sees these marital interactions to be normal, then she has no hope of forming normal sexual relationships. Supposed you turned out like that? (page 24) In The Wasp Factory Frank thinks that he is protected by the island on which he lives. On the island he can do as he pleases, as there is no-one responsible to stop him, as nobody knows he exists. This is the opposite of Saved, because when the group of men kill the baby, Fred gets caught. He does not take responsibility for the murder though, Why couldnt I bin tryin a elp the kid? I got no cause t arm it. (page 74) This statement from Fred is true, the baby hadnt harmed the group, but they killed it nonetheless. This epitomises the mentality of the characters in Saved; killing a totally innocent child, simply because the child was vulnerable. In Saved the lack of education is the predominant cause of isolation. All of the characters are poorly educated, and as a result have poorly paid jobs, few ambitions and no hope. However, in The Wasp factory Frank is relatively well educated, thanks to his fathers teaching. Even though Frank has an education, he has no hope, because of other limitations in his life that keep him isolated. My father is an educated man, and he passed a lot of what he knew on to me. (page 14) In Saved, Bond enforces isolation by not giving the baby an identity; throughout the play the audience never sees the baby, merely hears its cries. Why dont yer shut that kid up. (page 37) The characters in the play ignore the baby too, they do not name it, and do not respond to its cries. This technique from the author has two profound effects on the audience; if the baby has no identity, then the audience cannot relate to it. Secondly, the lack of response to a crying child makes a deeper impact on the audience, it is more shocking; this is because our societal normalities make us want to try and protect the crying baby, and the characters in the play are doing the complete opposite. Len I listen out for the kid. They ain bothered (page 42) In The Wasp Factory, Banks enforces isolation through the fact that Frank, the protagonist, has no identity. He is known to a few people; these few people that are aware he exists, he is either related to, or are disabled, or they are people that have been lied to, and believe Franks cover story. In both texts, the victims are utterly innocent. We can interpret this as the authors using the victims to represent hope in the texts. Therefore, when the protagonists kill the children, they are killing symbols of hope; this shows how hopeless their situations are. When Frank kills his little brother, Paul, we see Frank killing a symbol of innocence. Banks has described Paul so he is the epitome of innocence. Banks describes Paul as having, a podgy hand. This physical description shows how young, and undefined, the child is. When Paul says, B is for bell, we see a total emphasis on Pauls innocence. The way Banks builds up an image of innocence, and pity, for Paul, makes the murder that Frank commits all the more tragic. I found an opportunity to get rid of Paul. (page 67) Arguably, both texts have a deeper, political, meaning. In Saved we can argue that Bond is writing to protests against the Vietnam conflict, and the injustices that were taking place. We see this as the baby representing the innocent victims; no one cares for the baby, as no one cares for the victims of the conflict. Len witnesses the brutal murder of the baby, but doesnt intervene; as the audience wouldve seen the Vietnam War taking place, and didnt intervene. Arguably it can be seen that in The Wasp Factory Banks is making a political statement. Margaret Thatcher was in power when Banks wrote The Wasp Factory Thatcher famously said, that there is no such thing as society. Frank is the epitome of how people could turn out without societys presence; if someone is isolated from society as Frank was then it can be seen that in both texts, the writers have portrayed society to be an inactive institution. Society is shown as not interacting with the protagonist, unless it is forced to because society is endangered by the characters; this is society ignoring a responsibility it should have. In Saved, society only interacts with the characters when they kill an innocent baby, we then see societys wrath. Though the protagonists do not see society as a threat, Pam remarks that Fred has only been in trouble once or twice before. Yer never bin in trouble before. Juss one or two woundins (page 74) This comment shows that the characters in Saved live in a society that doesnt see the law, a symbol of societal punishment, as something to be concerned with. This is because the characters are outside of society, and they know it. This comment, made by Pam, reflects the type of environment in which she lives; one that doesnt see criminal convictions, nor violence, as a major incident, the totally opposite view that is taken in society. In The Wasp Factory society only interacts with Eric because Eric poses a threat. If Eric was like Frank, and did not pose a known danger to society, then society wouldnt react to his mental distress. This contrasts with Saved. In Saved Pam suffers severe post natal depression after the birth of the baby. Pams depression does not threaten society, so she is not helped. She also receives no support from her mother. Her situation is hopeless. This dump gives me the ump (page 45) In The Wasp Factory Frank narrates to the audience, it makes what we read unreliable, but we do see how Frank interprets things. Frank uses humour when talking of death. ..he drowned, his little legs waggling pathetically as he gulped and squirmed (page 29) This use of humour enforces Franks isolation, because we can see that he has never been in a society that treats death with seriousness. This first person perspective of the deaths has an affect on the audience, because it essentially filters all of the morbidity from the deaths, and leaves Franks humorous view. Whereas in Saved, when the characters talk jokingly of death, the audience simply sees this as wrong, because it emphasises the lack of feeling and emotion of the characters. Colin What a giggle, though Mike Accidents is legal. (page 28) In both texts the wife injures her husband in some way. The fighting, and subsequent injury, can be said to be due to the fact that the couple do not communicate with each other; possibly because they are isolated within their marriage. In Saved, Harry is injured by Mary when the two fight. In The Wasp Factory, Angus is injured by his wife, when she runs him over and breaks his leg. she ran him over and broke his leg quite badly (page 107) This lack of a strong female figure whilst growing up affects the protagonists quite profoundly. In The Wasp Factory, it leaves Frank with a deeply misogynistic view on all women, and in Saved, it leaves Pam with an abnormal view of how a normal family should interact with each other. In both texts the authors have written characters that can be seen to symbolise hope in their respective texts. In The Wasp Factory it can be argued that Frank actually metamorphasises into a symbol of hope. This is towards the end of the text, when Frank has a revelation, and discovers he is actually a woman, and that predestination, a part of his male life, is actually false. Now the door closes, and my journey begins. (page 184) This poignant quote from Frank relates to his past belief in predestination, when he believed that his Wasp Factory showed him things that would happen. The quote shows that Frank now knows that his journey in life is about to begin. It can be also be argued, that Len is the symbol of hope in Saved. Towards the end of the play, Len has integrated with the rest of the family, and is living with them. The coexistence is not one that is filled with happiness, but this is a major step for Lens character, as he has found acceptance. The themes of isolation and hopelessness have been highlighted in this essay, and the link between isolation as a cause of hopelessness has been developed. There is so much hopelessness amongst the characters in both of the texts, but, hope can be seen symbolically in both of the texts, in the form of Len and Frank. We can interpret these symbols of hope in a book teeming with hopelessness, as the authors trying to convey a message to the audience. Arguably, this message from the authors could be the fact that they are trying to say that things are changeable; as long as people try to change their situation and as long as society takes responsibility for the vulnerable.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Archaeopteris - The First Modern Tree on Earth

Archaeopteris - The First Modern Tree on Earth Our earths first modern tree establishing itself in developing forests emerged around 370 million years ago. Ancient plants made it out of water 130 million years earlier but none were considered true trees. True tree growth only came about when plants overcame biomechanical problems to support additional weight. The architecture of the modern tree is defined by evolutionary features of strength that builds in rings to support greater and greater height and weight, of protective bark that shields the cells that conduct water and nutrients from the earth to the furthest leaves, of supportive collars of extra wood that surround the bases of each branch, and of internal layers of wood dovetail at branch junctions to prevent breakage. It took over a hundred million years for this to happen. Archaeopteris, an extinct tree that made up most of the forests across the earths surface in the late Devonian period, is considered by scientists to be the first modern tree. New collected pieces of fossils of the trees wood from Morocco have filled in parts of the puzzle to shed new light. Discovery of Archaeopteris Stephen Scheckler, a professor of biology and geological sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Brigitte Meyer-Berthaud, of the Institut de lEvolution of Montpellier, France, and Jobst Wendt, of the Geological and Paleontological Institute in Germany, analyzed a trove of these African fossils. They now propose Archaeopteris to be the earliest known modern tree, with buds, reinforced branch joints, and branched trunks similar to todays modern tree. When it appeared, it very quickly became the dominant tree all over the Earth, says Scheckler. On all of the land areas that were habitable, they had this tree. Scheckler goes on to point out, The attachment of branches was the same as modern trees, with swelling at the branch base to form a strengthening collar and with internal layers of wood dovetailed to resist breaking. We had always thought this was modern, but it turns out that the first woody trees on earth had the same design. While other trees quickly met extinction, Archaeopteris made up 90 percent of the forests and stayed around a very long time. With trunks up to three feet wide, the trees grew perhaps 60 to 90 feet tall. Unlike present-day trees, Archaeopteris reproduced by shedding spores instead of seeds. Development of the Modern Ecosystem Archaeopteris stretched out its branches and canopy of leaves to nourish life in the streams. The decaying trunks and leaves and the altered carbon dioxide/oxygen atmosphere abruptly changed ecosystems all over the earth. Its litter fed the streams and was a major factor in the evolution of freshwater fishes, whose numbers and varieties exploded in that time, and influenced the evolution of other marine ecosystems, says Scheckler. It was the first plant to produce an extensive root system, so had a profound impact on soil chemistry. And once these ecosystem changes happened, they were changed for all time.   Archaeopteris made the world almost a modern world in terms of ecosystems that surround us now, Scheckler concludes.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Hazardous waste Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hazardous waste - Assignment Example The United States Environmental Protection Agency is the governmental organization acting with a purpose to ensure: that all Americans are protected from significant risks to their health and environment where they work, live, or learn and that the federal laws protecting the environment and human health are effectively and fairly enforced (EPA, n.d.). The purpose of this research is to provide an overview of US-EPA’s definition of the hazardous waste, the types of hazardous wastes and solid waste. As well the paper is aiming to analyze critically whether there are any discrepancies in the regulations and what effects on human health and environment have hazardous wastes. US Environmental Protection Agency defines hazardous waste as a waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to human health or the environment (EPA, n.d., n.p.). To this category of wastes can be included sludges, liquids, gases, and solids. There are two ways of identifying solid wastes as hazardous based on the EPA’s regulations. The first way is to check whether it is included on a EPA’s list of wastes, and the second way is to identify whether the waste exhibits certain hazardous characteristics (EPA, n.d.). EPA has formed a list of hazardous wastes which is comprised of four different classifications: the F-list, K-list, P-list, and U-list. The F-list of hazardous waste includes the wastes identified as â€Å"non-specific source wastes† – wastes from common industrial and manufacturing activities. These hazardous wastes can be produced in different sectors of industry or manufacturing processes and that is why their sources are not specified under the F-list category (EPA 2008, 5). On the contrary to the F-list, the K-list of hazardous waste include particular solid wastes coming from specific industries (EPA 2008). The P-list as well as the U-list includes the wastes from commercial chemical products. Commercial chemical products have the generic