Bread Givers Summary

Bread Givers is written by AnziaYezierska. This book demonstrates how a girl prevent to follow her sisters’ steps and choose her own way of living. The narrator of this book is Sara Smolinsky. She is a ten year’s old little girl who always worried for the house as a mother. She is such a sweet and strong minded girl. Sara’s family is extremely poor and if Sara’s sisters don’t find a job, the whole family will be kicked out of the house for not paying rent. Sara has three sisters; Bessie is the oldest, then Mashah and Fania, and none of them has a job.Sara’s mother, Shena, is a traditional housewife who thinks women can only be wife and mom, no women get to learn knowledge and their whole life will rely on a man. Her traditional minds affect her daughters sometimes. Reb, Sara’s father, he studies religion all the time and only care about his bible and beliefs. He does not have a job and does not take the responsibility for his entire fa mily even though he is the only man in the house. The whole family was hanging on Bessie’s neck for her salaries since she is the oldest girl.Everyday all the girls except for Sara needs to go out and try to find a job because the family has no income if there is nobody in the house has a job. Mashah kept buying herself some fancy stuff like soap and towel which is a big waste of money. Later on, the tax collectors came into the house and ask for the rent that the Smolinsky has been arrear for a while. Reb slapped the tax collector for thrown his bible on the floor, and surely Reb got into jail. As the plot going, Bessie fell in love with a guy named Berel Bernstein who is a cutter in the shop where Bessie works.As soon as Reb came back home, he started question Berel about religious belief and Reb embarrassed Berel. Reb didn’t agree with the marriage simply because Bessie earns him the biggest wages. Reb and Berel kept arguing for a while because Reb asked Berel to pa y for the wedding and buy outfit for himself. Finally, Berel found out the only thing Reb cares about is money. Berel rushed to the door and slammed himself out. The next day, Berel talked to Bessie if she wants to marry him without her father’s allowance. Bessie’s answer is no because she couldn’t leave her father, he needs her.Weeks later, Berel announces his engagement with another girl which made Bessie extremely upset. For Mashah, she fell in love with Jacob Novak who is a piano player. Jacob’s family is so rich that his father did not want Mashah to marry his son. Jacob listened to his father and left Mashah. Later on, Jacob felt regret and wanted to date Mashah again but Reb intervened because it happened once and there will be the second time and he pushed Jacob out of the apartment. In chapter five, Reb got a letter from Morris Lipkin saying he wanted to marry Fania.Obviously Reb refused Morris’ quest simply because Morris is poor. Later, Reb brought a guy Moe and introduced Moe to his family in front of Morris but ignored Morris. Morris took offense at it and walked away without return. Few weeks later, Reb brought a cloak dealer named Abe Schmukler and he asked Fania to marry him. Both Mashah and Fania got married that day. It seemed like both of the girls married a rich guy. Reb became well known for his deed that he found two excellent husbands for both of his daughters. However, Mashah and Fania soon discovered both of their husbands are liars.Moe and Abe aren’t rich at all. Later in the book, a fish –peddler named Zalmon married Bessie because he gave promises to give Reb a few hundred dollars to set Reb in business. Till now, all three of Reb’s daughters were married and none of them have a happy marriage. In the very end of chapter 8, Reb got mad at Sara for two cents. A girl didn’t have all twelve cents to buy a pound of rice, instead, she had ten. Sara trusted the little girl tha t she will bring two cents back so Sara sold the rice for ten cents and that made Reb exceedingly angry.Finally Sara couldn’t stand it anymore and she decided to leave home by herself. At first, Sara went to Bessie’s house and willing to live with them. As soon as Sara got there, Bessie told her she is too poor to help Sara. Then Sara went to see Mashah. However, Sara found out Mashah’s life isn’t as well as everybody thought of. Mashah’s house is spotless and Moe treated Mashah very poor. Later on, Sara made a plan which changed her life forever. Sara decided to go to night school with a goal of earning a teacher’s certificate. Then Sara rent a room and found a job as an ironer.Except for sleeping, Sara spent ten hours at work, two hours at school and another two hours to study on her own. Sara is barely eating enough and she is starving. For a few days Sara was hungry, and she burned a shirt due to can’t focus her mind during the da y. She had to pay a couple of dollars to make up her mistake which put her finance into a worse situation. Sara worked hard both at school and at work so that there was no spare time for her to visit home. Later on, Sara met Max who is Fania’s husband Abe’s business partner.Max fell in love with Sara but she would rather stay out of this relationship. However, Sara’s father Reb, suddenly came to Sara’s apartment and checked with her whether she refused to marry Max. Reb tried his best to preach Sara in order to make get married with Max. Again, Sara rejected Reb’s persuasion. In chapter 16, Sara got into a college and soon she figured out college life is way harder than she thought of. Sara had a great desire to learn and she rent a room next to her professor which made her have to pay more for the rent since the room is nicer and bigger than the one she used to rent.The professors’ were all interested in Sara’s story about her life i n Hester Street which is a good thing to Sara, because, as an exchange, the professors taught Sara more knowledge. Time flies by, Sara smoothly graduated from college and she got her certificate as a teacher. Her goal was achieved and she is now on her way to visit home since she had been away from home for over six years. Everything around Sara seemed so lovely and Sara was filled with new hope. However, after Sara returned home, she found her mom; Shenah was desperately ill and refused to go see the doctor.Later on, Shenah dead due to illness and her only wish to Sara was to take good care of her husband, Reb. Sara soon visited Reb, for her mother Shenah willing her to take care of Reb. As soon as Shenah dead, Reb started wearing his nice clothes and married his neighbor Mrs. Feinstein later on. However, Reb soon realized that her new wife only cares about his money and she had been waiting for him to die so that she can take all of his money away. Reb felt sad and willing to leav e her. Later, Sara got to meet Hugo Seelig, the principal.Sara repected him and she soon became friend with Hugo. They begin walk home together every day and their relationship was a step further. A few months passed by, Sara ran into a guy who was selling gum and surprisingly Sara recognized that old man was her father. Sara realized Reb was sick and she began take care of him every day after school. The good thing is, Reb was getting better and better each day. Then, Sara brought Hugo home to her father, and it seemed like they got along well with each other. Hugo said that Reb must come live with them.

Lady Macbeth Analysis Essay

Lady Macbeth has a manipulative, vindictive nature. She is a very controlling character yet we see her troubled mind reveal itself as the play progresses although as a character, in my opinion, when her mind unravels and her actions of insanity later occurs in the play I do not feel an ounce of sympathy for the murderous malicious actions of Macbeth’s temptress that lead him to doom and destruction. Therefore Lady Macbeth is just like a serpent that poisons her prey. In the opening scenes of the play it is clear to see how acutely in love Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are. When Macbeth is told the prophecy by the witches he immediately writes a letter to Lady Macbeth telling her of this news. Macbeth addresses Lady Macbeth as â€Å"my dearest partner of greatness† act 1 scene 5; this shows the magnitude of his love for her. He thoroughly respects her and reports to her, â€Å"deliver thee† not failing to tell her any new information. The first time we meet Lady Macbeth it doesn’t give the reader a great perspective. She immediately becomes captivated in Macbeths letter and the prophecy of him being King, and conjures up a plan to kill Duncan, it is later revealed they are mutual friends, as he addresses her as â€Å"honored hostess† act 1 scene 6. This cold hearted nature and deep desire for social status and thriving ambition makes her desert any feelings of guilt and remorse, (for the time being). She is confident and strong, she fears Macbeth is not evil enough to execute a friend to reach the final goal of high status we hear this in her soliloquy, â€Å"too full o’ the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way,† act 1 scene 5 she prays for help â€Å"metaphysical aid† act 1 scene 5 to help Macbeth become ruthless. She fears he is â€Å"without ambition† act 1 scene 5 and so would not carry out the deed properly. Lady Macbeth even would do the murder herself as she prays to become manlier â€Å"unsex me† act 1 scenes 5-7, she prays that she will have no conscience and to be filled with poison. This shows the extent of her ambitious mind. It also reveals that although how evil she is, she still needs an extra push to give her confidence, this doesn’t mean however that she is an innocent flower, she is still an evil serpent at the fact that she wishes to be even more evil and filled with malice. When she first meets Macbeth she begins to goad and persuade him to do the deed she administrates ideas of looking above suspicion. She tells him â€Å"look like th’innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t.† act 1 scene 5, Shakespeare uses very expressive language here with contrasting imagery of a flower (which represents good) and a serpent (which represents evil). This could also be interpreted as a metaphor for Macbeth’s relationship with his wife in that when Lady Macbeth is plotting murderous schemes and manipulating her husband, Macbeth is presented in a good and vulnerable light. The same applies for when Macbeth decides to take the murders further later on in the book and the audience gains sympathy for his wife. Macbeth is left with little to say and is interrupted by his wife on several occasions in that scene, providing the audience with a clear insight into Shakespeare’s intentions for the hierarchy within the relationship. That hierarchy being where Macbeth is more or less controlled by what Lady Macbeth tells him to do, almost like a spell of her own. This provides strong evidence for those who believe that Lady Macbeth is like a serpent. Lady Macbeth shows more serpent techniques as she hides her malevolent plans while greeting her guest, the King, at her household. She is skilled with her welcome of politeness towards Duncan as she has already planned that Duncan will die, â€Å"fatal battlements,† act 1 scene 5 yet she can mask her wickedness and still seem courteous towards Duncan. Progressing through the book from the start Lady Macbeth now symbolizes the character of wickedness to her full extent, like a snake that targets its prey and is not satisfied until the aim is achieved. In Act 1 scene 7 we see how Lady Macbeth belittles her husband in an attempt for him to agree whole heartedly to kill the king of Scotland. She tries to make him feel weak and cowardly. She uses foul phrases with appalling imagery such as telling Macbeth that while she was breast feeding her baby she would: â€Å"while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn you had done to this.† She tries to come over as very menacing and heartless at this point in the play, making a point of the fact that if she had promised to kill her own child she would do so. The role of women at the time when Shakespeare wrote this play was that women were mothers and supported their husbands, there main objective would be to look after the home. A Shakespearian audience would be appalled that Lady Macbeth is neither and that she even threatens a life of a child. This shows how Lady Macbeth would have done almost anything to persuade Macbeth however, after the murder of Duncan, she contradicts herself ra ther strongly as she comments on not being able to kill her father. In Act 2 scene 2 Lady Macbeth shows strength. Macbeth returns from killing the king to discuss the event with his wife. Shakespeare uses this as an opportunity for the audience to feel sympathy as we see his grief and guilt. We also get to see a very new side to Lady Macbeth, she admits that if he had not looked like her own father she would have done the deed herself, showing that underneath her hard exterior, there are elements of compassion and guilt that though she expresses little, she still feels them just like any other human being. The audience then can see her snap out of her sensitive phase and channel her emotions into reassuring and controlling her husband. She tells him to dismiss his hallucinations about the dagger and to return them to frame the guards who were guarding Duncan’s room. â€Å"These deeds must not be thought, after these ways; so, it will make us mad.† The audience could consider this as foreshadowing of what occurs as the play progresses as both Lady Macbeth and her husband experience mental disturbances because of the horrific crimes they committed. Hands are used as a metaphor throughout this scene and as an extended metaphor throughout the play. Macbeth refers to his as â€Å"hangman’s hands† and uses phrases such as â€Å"ravelled sleeve of care†, whereas Lady Macbeth is far more literal and tells him to â€Å"wash this filthy witness from your hand.† This could be interpreted as the hands representing guilt and so each character handles the guilt in different ways; Macbeth is very open about his guilt and remorse by using dramatic devices such as personification and metaphors, for example: â€Å"Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more.† Lady Macbeth, however, deals with her culpability in a different way in that she pretends to feel nothing towards the situation but it obviously haunts her as we see in her final scene in Act 5 scene 1 where she sleep walks and hallucinates. Shakespeare illustrates this well when Lady Macbeth mocks Macbeth for being so gentle: â€Å"My hands are of your colour, but I shame, to wear a heart so white.† She also says rather flippantly, â€Å"A little water clears us of this deed. How easy is it then! Your constancy hath left you unattended.† Shakespeare’s intention for this scene, I think, was to show us that there is a sensitive, guilty side underneath her shell of ambition and malevolence. Conversely the depth of evil she has shown so far throughout the play cannot make her an innocent flower but an evil and manipulative serpent. When Macduff discovers Duncan’s murder with great astonishment, he alerts the whole castle including Banquo, Malcolm and Donaldbain of the king’s death and so Lady Macbeth enters. She acts very much â€Å"like th’innocent flower† by pretending to be oblivious to what had happened in the previous scene, â€Å"What’s the business that such a hideous trumpet calls to parley, the sleepers of the house?† Then with immense dramatic irony, Macduff replies calling her â€Å"gentle lady† and commenting on the fact that the talk of murderous deeds is too tender for a woman’s ears. The audience would find this somewhat amusing as they know that Lady Macbeth is responsible for persuading Macbeth to commit the murder of Duncan and so would not in any way find the subject too sensitive or painful. Lady Macbeth is very much out of control in this scene, she is surprised to find out that Macbeth killed the two attendants which weren’t in her plan and she begins to falter. In the Macbeth’s relationship this is somewhat very different from the beginning, Macbeth did not consult Lady Macbeth of killing the attendants and this shows their relationship distancing. Lady Macbeth shows her fragility by fainting, although it is unknown to the audience if she genuinely fainted or if it is an act. Lady Macbeth experiences a loss of power and control in Act 3 scene 2, where Macbeth arranges his next murder without her involvement. Shakespeare has her character showing compassion to her husband’s ‘sorriest fancies’ when he complains of insecurity about his dangerous thoughts and deeds. She tries to make him forget what has happened by instructing him: â€Å"Using those thoughts which should indeed have died, with them think on? Things without all remedy should be without regard; what’s done is done.† But Lady Macbeth has lost some of her control, her serpent like naturisms have become wilted but like a serpent, it always remains. Lady Macbeth presents herself as the gracious hostess once more as she invites the lords to dinner in Act 3 scene 4. At the beginning of the scene the audience is presented with the news of Banquo’s slaughter. Lady Macbeth suspects this but is not directly informed as her husband has somewhat distanced himself from her, implying that he does not need her influences for villainous thoughts any more, he can do it all by himself now. This scene manages to arouse some sympathy for Lady Macbeth as we see her power lessening downfall. This could be what ultimately leads to her suspected suicide. The audience gets to understand that Shakespeare did not want to present Lady Macbeth as a character who takes pleasure in the sight of bloodshed and gore, but one who craves power and enforces her ambitions upon those she can manipulate. We also see a role reversal here for the second time in the play. She already has upset the natural order of marital hierarchy from the beginning of the play where she presents herself in the dominant role which was extremely uncommon for that period. Then as the play progresses she becomes part of a downward spiral where she loses power and the status within the marriage as she becomes the more recessive figure next to her now dominant husband. Which in essence, could her suicide later on in the play be reflected upon the idea that Lady Macbeth needs to be the dominate figure? I think that she becomes so broken by her husband’s horrific actions that even she wouldn’t commit and she can’t take anymore of the division between the once close couple this could be seen as an innocent flower but considering everything that has happened throughout the play, she can certainly not be called innocent. The ghost of Banquo makes an appearance at the dinner table in this scene but of course only Macbeth can see (another one of his deluded hallucinations like the dagger). He becomes extremely unsettled by this and begins to shout at the ghost with a fiery passion that stuns the rest of his guests. â€Å"Thou canst not say I did it; never shake thy gory locks at me!† Ross initiates the lords standing up and leaving their new king in peace to rest and collect himself but Lady Macbeth being â€Å"th’innocent flower† that she pretends to be assures the lords that he is fine and is just unwell. The audience feels some sort of consideration for her as we can see her husband’s mental health deteriorates and her power disintegrate. She snaps at Macbeth â€Å"Are you a man?† as she quite obviously feels utterly embarrassed by his reactions to the ghost. She tries to use this as an opportunity to regain her status above Macbeth which is understandable as she f eels defeated but is selfish considering her husband’s state, she shows serpent qualities, the need to be in control of her prey. In the most dramatic scene in Lady Macbeth’s presence on stage, the audience is given the opportunity to see the real Lady Macbeth as her subconscious takes over her physical state. Having no further matters to occupy her mind as Macbeth no longer tells her his plans, she begins to dwell on the past, slipping further and further from reality until she eventually completely loses her hold on sanity and takes her own life. At the beginning of her last scene, Act 5 scene 1, the doctor and gentlewoman are analyzing her recent behavior, â€Å"She has light by her continually, ’tis her command.† As light is a common metaphor for purity this insinuates that she doesn’t want to be considered evil and wants to redeem herself but can’t because she is too involved to dig herself out now and so her subconscious speaks the words she cannot. â€Å"Out damned spot! Out, I say! One, two. Why then ’tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear? Who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?† A Shakespearian audience would have recognized the spot as the devil’s mark and would have reacted with horror as they saw this scene being played; this shows that once again she can be called a serpent. Shakespeare has used very disjointed language with punctuation separating every short phrase. This translates to her being very edgy and emotionally unstable. She then reels off a list of other people for which she feels responsible for their deaths as well as her husband. She refers back to the common theme of hands which has occurred throughout the play. â€Å"What, will these hands ne’er be clean?† â€Å"All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. O, O, O.† She still refers to her hands as being â€Å"little† and the need for them to be ‘sweetened’ and so this indicates the want for her to be filled with good and that she is feeling genuine guilt and mental anguish. This anguish finally leads to her suicide by unspecified means. Shakespeare probably chose not to present the death of Lady Macbeth on stage to add to the impact of her exit and last scene and also to be slightly ambiguous. I think a dying scene would have been effective for Lady Macbeth’s last scene; she could perhaps have given a soliloquy explaining how she truly was feeling. To let her portray her malice side and let the audience be satisfied to call her an evil serpent. The significance of Lady Macbeth being an evil woman becoming tortured with guilt and grief is off great importance to a Shakespearian audience, in that time they believed in witchcraft and in my opinion Lady Macbeth could be portrayed as how people who are evil and malicious never get away with the deed. I think a Shakespearian audience would think witchcraft would have been involved in Lady Macbeth’s downfall and this would be very real and true for them. She was certainly a bold character for going against the ‘Chain of Being’ in which God was considered to be ultimately at the top with monarchs under that and other members of society such as lords and townsfolk following after, but at the bottom were women and so she was courageous to consider herself to be above even monarchy! Though wrong, especially considering what was said if the chain of being was to be disrupted, that chaos would arise, disrupting the natural order of life on earth and in the heavens which is seen as inexcusable a definite serpent quality. To conclude, it is evident that Shakespeare had Lady Macbeth’s emotional state disintegrate as the play proceeded to in effect show the downfall of a control freak. In the first two acts we have little sympathy for Lady Macbeth as Shakespeare only provides the audience with her vindictive exterior, at this time we cannot see what she is truly thinking and feeling. It is only as the play progresses that we understand why she turns out to be the way that she is, that she has a very ambitious character and so enforces that upon her husband. She feels that Macbeth becoming king will benefit them both and sees killing the existing king as the fastest way to get to the throne. She then becomes gradually defeated as Macbeth’s ambition and obsession with becoming king begins to soar and spiral. She is then over-ridden with guilt and eventually feels that she cannot bear the guilt that torments her troubled mind and so decides to end it all. Had her ambition not overridden her sense of morality, she could have been a respectable, intelligent woman who complemented her husband’s abilities to form a perfect partnership. However, she ended up becoming a tortured, immoral, dejected soul, and disliked by many people becoming a serpent.

Bicycle Propulsion Systems

Bicycle Propulsion Systems    1.Abstract This report documents the development of bicycle propulsion systems over time and mentions the changes made to make the bicycle more efficient, safe, faster and resistant. It defines what a bicycle’s drivetrain system is in a few words and what they are used for on a bicycle. It includes brief information about 4 of the first bicycles made in the 1800s and refers to the changes in design and materials used for these bicycles. It also consists information of the 2 main bicycles used today and the improvements they have had compared to the older bicycles. At last, this report recommends improvements that could be made to the bicycle to make it more efficient. 3.Nomenclature Km/h = kilometers per hour Kg = kilograms Torque = a force that causes rotation Cadence = the number of revolutions of the crank per minute 4.Introduction Public transportation has changed and improved over a great period of time. These improvements have helped make transp ortation ,from one location to another, much easier. The bicycle is a great example of a method of transportation that has gone through a lot of improvements so that it is easier to use, faster, safer and more damage resistant. All this has happened by engineers taking into consideration the materials they use and the design of the bicycle. 5.Discussion and Analysis of Material 5.1 Bicycle Drivetrain Systems (Appendix 1 and 2) Bicycle Drivetrain Systems are used to transmit the rider’s power to the drive wheels in order to move the bicycle forward. Nowadays, most drivetrain systems include mechanisms that are used to convert speed and torque via gear ratios. Over the years propulsion systems for the bicycle have ranged from the rider’s legs, to the modern drivetrain systems that include gears and pedals. 5.2 History (Appendix 3) Over the past couple of centuries many different bicycles have been invented that have different characteristics in order to improve safety and efficiency, but still had a similar structure. Many of the different developed bicycles include: Hobby Horse (Appendix 4) The Hobby Horse was invented in 1817, by the German inventor, Baron Karl Drais. This bicycle had a primitive design and did not include a drivetrain. It was a 23kg bicycle which was made out of wood, including the wheels. It also included a leather saddle for the rider to sit on, and resembled a modern handlebar. The rider’s feet was the propulsion system for this bicycle. This meant that the rider wouldn’t be able to go very fast and would require a great amount of effort to move it forward due to its weight. It would also be difficult to transfer the bicycle uphill, thus the rider would have to carry it. Whilst going downhill, the lack of brakes would cause the bicycle to travel at a fast speed without anything, other than the rider’s feet, to stop it. Velocipede (Appendix 5) The Velocipede was invented in 1858 by the Fr ench Michaux company. This bicycle was a great development from the Hobby Horse. It first had a cast iron frame which was then changed to wrought iron for better damage resistance. The seat featured suspension which was inspired by the suspension used in wagons. Although, the bicycle was not comfortable to ride, hence why it’s also called the â€Å"Boneshaker†. The wheels were wooden but consisted of iron tyres. It also included pedals on the axle of the front wheel as the bicycle’s propulsion system. The pedals would allow the rider to use less effort, compared to the Hobby Horse, to move the bicycle forward. This bicycle also consists of the introduction of a first brake, which included a metal lever that pressed a wooden pad against the rear wheel, making it much safer as it has the capability of stopping, though the wooden pad would wear out due to the friction between the pad and the wheel. Penny Farthing (Appendix 6) The Penny Farthing was invented in 1869 by French, Eugene Meyer. The bicycle’s design was based on the desire to make it faster, thus using it for sport. Since gears were not invented yet, the front wheel’s size was increased so it would travel a longer distance after one full rotation. The frame weight was reduced to increase riding comfort including solid rubber tires, and the use of hollow steel tubes made it lighter. With the introduction of spokes and ball bearings, the wheels were also improved. The Penny Farthing would reach top speeds of 40km/h, but despite its advantages it had many disadvantages. It required a running start and a mounting step for riders to be able to mount it. To stop, the rider would require to jump off the bike. The higher centre of gravity on the bicycle would mean that if the rider fell they would have great accident. And at last, if the rider went over a bump they would be sent flying, leading to a fatal accident. The Penny Farthing’s propulsion system were stil l the pedals, although, their positioning on the bigger front wheel would require riders with tall legs to ride them. Due to the bigger wheel, one rotation of the pedals would allow the bicycle to cover a longer distance, hence why it is faster than previous bicycles. This design might my the bicycle faster and more efficient, but it was more dangerous due to the height and centre of gravity of the bike, the lack of feasible brakes and the high speeds it can reach. The Rover (Appendix 7) The Rover was invented in 1885 by English John Kemp Starley. This bicycle was chain driven and was also known as the â€Å"Safety Bicycle†. It featured equal sized wheels and a diamond frame, used to equally distribute the forces throughout the bicycle’s frame, though it still lacked a seat tube. The solid rubber tires were also replaced in 1888 with pneumatic tires, which made it more comfortable to ride. The original model of The Rover used treadles to turn the rear wheels, but t he later updated model used a chain drive which consisted of a large front sprocket and a small rear sprocket used to multiply the revolutions of the pedals without the need of a large front wheel. The pedals were more centred putting the rider’s feet away from the front wheel, and the centre of gravity was lower making it easier for the rider to stop by putting their feet on the ground. To also better stop the bicycle, it included a lever which pushes a metal pad onto the front wheel. This bicycle was much safer due to its frame design and its low centre of gravity. It had increased efficiency due to the positioning of the pedals and the two same sized wheels whilst still being capable of travelling at high speeds with the brake being able to stop the bicycle if needed. The design of the handlebar also helped to improve the handling of the bicycle. The use of metal on the frame and on the chain mechanism also made it resistant from damage. Although, with the introduction o f the new chain mechanism, pebbles or sticks could get caught in the chain, possibly damaging the mechanism. 5.3 The modern bicycles Today there is a variety of bicycles that are used for different situations. To be able to adapt to the different situations, the bicycles have different characteristics but still have similarities structure-wise. The 2 main types are mountain bikes and racing bikes. Mountain Bikes (Appendix 8) Mountain bikes are bicycles designed for off-road riding. They are similar to other bikes but consist features that help enhance performance and durability on rough terrain. They consist of suspension on the frame and fork making the ride on rough terrain more comfortable, knobby tires which adds more grip on the wheels, heavy duty wheels that add durability, and more powerful brakes to help stop the bike instantly when on the rough terrain. The bicycle’s propulsion system includes derailleur gears (Appendix 2) that consists of a crankset for th e rotation of the bicycle’s pedals, a cogset which is a set of different sized metal cogs or sprockets that are used as the gears, and a chain that links the cogset with the crankset. Different gears provide different torque and speed and requires different amounts of effort to rotate the pedals. The higher the gear, the more torque, speed and effort. The gears are controlled by a shifter which is connected to the gearing gearing mechanism by a cable. Mountain bikes tend to have up to 30 gears, yet mountain bikers choose to use 10 or 9 speed bikes due to the lighter weight and less complexity. The mountain bikes are very efficient and safe bicycle as they include disk brakes that help with instantaneous stopping, a gearing system that helps reduce the amount of effort the rider will have to use and is adaptable to different types of roads, and suspension that provides comfort. Racing Bike (Appendix 9) Racing bikes are designed for competitive road cycling. Its main char acteristics are its light weight for higher speeds, and its stiffness due to the lack of suspension also to achieve high speeds with the sacrifice of comfort. The handlebars are designed and positioned lower than the saddle so that the rider has a more aerodynamic posture. The front and back wheels are positioned close together to allow for quick handling. For the propulsion system the bicycle uses a derailleur system similar to the Mountain Bike. The gear ratios have close spacing so that the rider can pedal at the optimum cadence. To shift gears the bicycle consists of an electronic shifting system. The switch is connected wired or wirelessly to a battery pack and to a small electric motor that is used to drive the derailleur, moving the chain between the cogs. This improvement allows for the rider to switch gears faster. The Racing Bike is quite efficient in terms of speed, and quite safe as it includes disk brakes that stop the bike instantly with the exception of knobby whe els as it would decrease the speed of the bike. The materials manufactures use for the frame e.g. Carbon fibre, cause the bike to be light in weight and capable of travelling at faster speeds. 6.Conclusions There have been many major developments in public transport over the years, with the bicycle as a great example. Many improvements have been made to the bicycle and the methods it uses for the rider to move it forwards. The introduction of new drivetrain systems and the vast use of different materials according to their properties are the cause of these improvements. The invention of, more complex, propulsion and brake systems have helped improve the efficiency and safety of the bicycle and the implementation of stronger and lighter materials has increased the bicycle’s damage resistance and has made it capable of reaching higher speeds (Appendix 10) with less effort required by the rider. Also improvements on the seat and the suspension on the bicycle have contributed to make it a more comfortable method of transportation. 7.Recommendations The bicycle has had great developments over the years, though more improvements can be made in order to make the bicycle safer, faster and more efficient. Such improvements may include: Adding a cover, made of a light plastic, for the gearing system so that nothing can get caught in the mechanism, running the brake lines through the frame of the bicycle so there aren’t any cords hanging, adding a cogset to the front wheel making it a 2-wheel drive thus making it faster. 8.References Crazyguyonabike April 15, 2009, The Hobby Horse: 1817 – Karl Drais and his running machine. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=40616 , (accessed 1/3/2017) Crazyguyonabike May 2, 2007, The Boneshaker: 1867 – Pierre Lallement, the Michaux family and their velocipede. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=40617 , (accessed 1/3/2017) Crazyguyonabike July 2, 2007, The P enny Farthing: 1878 – James Starley and his ordinaries . https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=40618 , (accessed 1/3/2017) Crazyguyonabike March 27, 2009, The Rover: 1885 – The modern bicycle born in England. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=tS&page_id=40621&v=9Y , (accessed 1/3/2017) Wikipedia January 6, 2017, Racing Bicycle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_bicycle , (accessed 2/3/2017) Wikipedia February 23, 2017, Mountain bike. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_bike , (accessed 2/3/2017) 9.Appendices Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 Appendix 4 Appendix 5 Appendix 6 Appendix 7 Appendix 8 Appendix 9 Appendix 10

Fraud Fears in Internet Banking 1.Introduction Dissertation

Fraud Fears in Internet Banking 1.Introduction - Dissertation Example Banking industry is no different; banking operations and processes have become more accessible and convenient for the customers due to the introduction of internet banking. Banking operations are no longer restricted to the limited business hours of the bank, rather can be done at any time via the internet. However, this technology has also proved to make customers’ details and intellectual assets of the companies vulnerable in the presence of increasing security threats from hackers and intruders. Internet frauds related to the banking sector have become major concerns for customers around the world. Some of the most common online banking frauds have been discussed in the paper, along with the discussion of few real life instances of such crimes. 2. Internet Banking Internet banking offers a wide range of activities like balance inquiries, transfer of accounts etc. The acquisition and transfer of customer details and information on the internet makes the whole process vulnerable, along with the presence of internet scams that aim to steal the information of customers. Financial institutions have suffered great losses over the years by becoming victims of malicious activities of cyber criminals. Cicutti (2008) quoted the results of a research study by Association of Payment Clearing Services (Apacs); it concluded that instances of ‘cardholder not present’ are increasing around 37% after every year. The losses reached to an enormous amount of ?290m in 2007. These figures include fraudulent attempts via the internet, mail and phone. Few other figures have been reported by Financial Fraud Action UK in Sky News (2009); it pointed out that only first half of 2009 marked a 55% increase in the rate of internet banking frauds with the figur e of ?390m as compared to the figures for the year 2008. The alarming increment of internet banking crimes denote that the cyber criminals are getting more technology savvy who are adopting innovative technologies to overcome the security measures of the financial institutions to violate the privacy of the customers’ data. Internet banking has been widely accepted by customers due to its convenience. Spam Laws (2009) stated that around 45% of the 141 million grownups in US opt for online payment of their bills. Along with convenience, comes a huge price for the customers who prefer online banking. Spam Laws (2009) also provided the information that around 2 million Americans became victims of fraudulent actions in the year 2004, where customers were reported to suffer losses of around $1, 200 on average at every instance of fraud. After the analysis of the findings, it was concluded that the increasing number of fraudulent actions were known to have the source as online banki ng. 2.1 Types of Internet Frauds There are numerous types of internet banking frauds. Few of the most common ones have been discussed below: 2.1.1 Phishing/ Scam Emails The concept of phishing originates from two words; password and fishing. Zin andYunos (2005) explained that this technique is used to retrieve customer’s bank details by making the activity look like a regular procedure from his respective bank. Several types of information may be aimed to be extracted by the user, such as social security numbers, online banking credentials, credit card numbers etc. The sender might pose to be a bank officer who wants to update the customer’s data in the bank database. Recipients might reply to such emails with the understanding that it is a

Orignial topic - adopting a positive or negative viewpoint Essay - 2

Orignial topic - adopting a positive or negative viewpoint - Essay Example auses major health problems, is more dangerous for the non-smoker than smoking is for the smoker, is most dangerous for children and is an infringement on rights, the right to live. The definition of secondhand smoke is smoke that a person inhales due to someone else’s who is smoking close to them. While some disagree and say that the hazard from second-hand smoke is negligible, others have identified numerous properties of secondhand smoke that make it more than obvious this type of smoke is even more powerful and therefore more harmful than the smoke the smoker themselves is inhaling into their own lungs. When a smoker inhales through a cigarette filter they are getting only about half of the poisons tar and nicotine that are found in a comparable sized amount of secondhand smoke according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Despite the fact they are non-smokers, this same report states that roughly â€Å"3,000 non-smokers a year die from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke† and another â€Å"37,000 non-smokers a year die from heart disease attributed to secondhand smoke† (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992). These figures are verified by other data of the detrimental effects of secondhand smoke, for example, a study demonstrated that women who did not smoke that were married to heavy smoking men suffered twice the risk of developing lung cancer as compared to women married to non-smoking men. Another study performed on workers such as waitresses and bartenders who are repeatedly exposed for an extended period of time to secondhand smoke experienced a 25-75 percent greater possibility of contracting lung cancer, with the odds becoming proportionately higher with the time employed in these types of places. These are studies on adult lungs. Imagine the damage done to smaller, weaker and less developed more susceptible lungs. â€Å"Children exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke are susceptible to greater instances of bronchitis, pneumonia

How do the Memorial Day Massacre and the UAW sit-down strikes compare Essay - 1

How do the Memorial Day Massacre and the UAW sit-down strikes compare - Essay Example twentieth century; however, the same violence erupted between the workers and the state/private police from the nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. During the nineteenth centuries, Homestead Strikes, Haymarket Affair, 1902 Coal Strike, and Ludlow Massacre occurred and showed that the companies and local government worked closely to stifle labor organizations’ freedom of speech and assembly. On May 1886, the workers at the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co. in Chicago staged a strike, as they demanded a shorter work day. On May 3, police were used to defend strikebreakers and a fight took place; one person was killed and several others were injured. On May 4, some 20,000 demonstrators were expected to show up at Haymarket Square, but rain and cold lowered the numbers down to around 1,500. The gathering was nonviolent until a police official sent a dispersal unit. Someone threw a pipe bomb into the police ranks, which instantly killed four policemen and sixty civilians. The police fired back and killed several workers. The Homestead strikes featured a greater degree of violence, as the company used private militia to respond to workers on strike. In 1892, the Homestead lodges of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers and the Carnegie Steel Company, Limited conflicted during the negotiations for several months and what happened next was The Homestead Strike. Union and non-union workers united and supported their leader Hugh ODonnell. Henry Clay Frick from the company made arrangements with Pinkertons National Detective Agency of New York, so that 300 strike-breaking detectives, called the â€Å"Pinkertons,† would break the strike. Workers sounded alarms when the Pinkertons were seen. No one could say who started the gun shooting, but the detectives fired on the workers and wounded some of the latter. Six days after this, the National Guard of Pennsylvania arrived in Homestead, as ordered by Governor Robert E. Pattison. The company then threw

Group Counseling Observation Personal Statement

Group Counseling Observation - Personal Statement Example His name is "PB". "PB" is the husband of my supervisor and he was more than willing to take me to a meeting and show me what Alcoholics Anonymous was all about. Before leaving for the meeting, I asked "PB" several questions. They ranged from the length of the meeting to specific problems some of the members. He told me not to be surprised if there were some members who were admitted alcoholics and narcotic addicts. As I questioned him further, he said that many of the people in that predicament were also former criminals. One person in particular was so involved with both drugs and alcohol that he nearly died at the emergency room from an alcohol overdose. Now that my questions were answered, I felt much more at ease and ready to go to the meeting. The building where the meeting took place is located in a school basement. It is dismal but there is an inviting scent of coffee with friendly voices. I don't know whether this is a cheerful setting but I quickly learned that the setting didn't matter. When "PB" and I arrived, he introduced me to all of the members who made me feel welcome. As I surveyed the participants, I noticed that they were from all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. As the meeting started, we began with a serenity prayer and read the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. The second step was the focus of the meeting. ... The first speaker was named Jack. Jack is a successful attorney and has been a member of Alcoholics Anonymous for over ten years. He relayed his story about how his Power restored him to sanity. Jack said that prior to becoming a member, he knew everything. "I could do anything I wanted to when I wanted to. If anyone disagreed with me, I would do whatever it took to have that person agree with me. It was my way or the highway." With those statements, Jack admitted that when he was drunk, his temper got the best of him. After becoming a member, Jack along with many of the members of the group was able to complete the first step with ease. The second step, however, was going to be a problem. "When I looked at that sign, I was scared because I have been an atheist for most of my adult life." He was hoping that he could skip step two and return to it later, but he was told that he had to complete it before he could advance. Jack said it took quite some time but that higher Power did come to him and it wiped out the "insanity" that was ruining his life. After listening to his speech, I was wondering to myself why these members felt they were "insane". If I saw one of these people on the streets, I would never know that they were alcoholics or they were "insane". I marveled at how they all seemed to speak their own language and somehow have the same experience. Mike was celebrating his second anniversary. He is a parolee and in addition to fighting his demons, is walking the line to make sure he does not go back to jail. He too though mentioned the word "insanity" in reference to discovering a higher Power. The words he used were: "I came, I came to and now I believe." To me, it seems as

History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History - Assignment Example The four castes were recognizable around 1000 BCE (). The division was part of the creation process. For example, the highest caste of Brahmins came about from the mouth of the primeval being Purusha. The other castes were the Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. These three castes came about from the Purusha’s arms, thighs and feet respectively. The relative heights of these bodily locations correspond exactly to the relative levels of the four castes in the social hiearchy. There are many other castes in the Aryan social structure as well, but the aforementioned are the main four. Source: Ralph T. Griffith, trans. The Hymns of the Rigveda, 4 vols., 2nd ed. Benares: E. J. Lazarus, 1889–92, 4:289–93. The ‘Mandate from Heaven’ and its significance 5. What is the meaning of the â€Å"Mandate from Heaven?† Why was it significant to the Zhou Dynasty? How did a ruler know he had lost the mandate from heaven? The expression ‘mandate from heaven†™ refers to the legitimacy of the Chinese emperor’s right to rule the throne. Thus, Chinese emperors acquired their office not merely through exercising force but through permission of divine origin. This mandate made the emperor a holder of absolute power though limited by his responsibility towards heaven. A failure to fulfill this responsibility and in enforcing basic morals had the consequence of resulting in a loss of the divine mandate.

Bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Bibliography - Essay Example The case of Quebec is used as an example for showing the resistance of a region to globalization using a particular element: the language; in accordance with Di Sciullo the French language has been used by Quebecers as a cause for protecting the region’s identity, even if the region is indispensable part of Quebec. In this way, the political choices of Trudeau in regard to ethnicity and identify of Quebec, as compared to other regions of Canada, can be clearly understood. Dufour, Christian. â€Å"Trudeau’s Canadian Legacy from a Quebec Perspective: New Canadian Nationalism Weakens Canada.† London Journal of Canadian Studies 18(2002/2003): 5-13, accessed February 12, 2012. The study of Dufour emphasizes on the role of Trudeau in the misunderstanding caused in regard to the demands of Quebecers, as citizens of a critical Canadian region. Moreover, through the above study it is made clear that the political decisions of Trudeau had led to the following problem: various cultural groups across Canada have been benefited from the changes in Canadian constitution while the rights of the citizens of Quebec were ignored. In other words, the study of Dufour, analyzing the conflicts between Quebecers and the rest of Canadians, makes clear the failure of Trudeau to secure national unity, especially as of the area of Quebec. The specific aspect of Trudeau’s legacy in regard to national unity is quite important, taking into consideration Quebec’s geopolitical value for Canada. In any case, the failures of Trudeau in managing the claims of Quebecers can be used for evaluating his practices in other regions with similar issues. Although the specific su bject is partially covered also in the study of Di Sciullo, the use of the study of Dufour is important in order to understand the challenges that nationalism has faced in Canada, especially since the information

How can theories of the social construction of technology (SCOT) help Essay

How can theories of the social construction of technology (SCOT) help inform the innovation processes by which novel technologie - Essay Example And, dialectically speaking advancements in one become the development of the other. It could happen in the other way around too; regressive societies could not only hinder technological reconstruction but also gave birth to regressive technologies as happened in Fascist Germany. The paper intends to analyze the complex paradigm in which social construction of technology and innovation and creativity in technological development go hand in hand. Social Construction of Technology, Innovation and Smart Technology Social reality must be identified as inherently pluralist. Berger and Luckmann note that â€Å"pluralism encourages both skepticism and innovation and is thus inherently subversive of the taken-for-granted reality of the traditional status quo. One can readily sympathize with the experts in the traditional definitions of reality when they think back nostalgically to the times when these definitions had a monopoly† (Berger and Luckmann, 1966, p. 115). Social construction of technology changes according to the nature of the prevailing paradigms of knowledge production. According to Thomas Kuhn, scientific development is no miraculous leaps by great scientists because â€Å"a new theory, however special its range of application, is seldom or never just an increment to what is already known. Its assimilation requires the reconstruction of prior theory and the re-evaluation of prior fact, an intrinsically revolutionary process that is seldom completed by a single man and never overnight† (1996, p.7). Certainly, many great technological interventions are known with name of individual scientists. However, every scientists work within a paradigm which is collectively constructed. Therefore, it is possible to argue that technologies are socially constructed. For instance, computer logarithms are the product of late capitalism but it would not have been possible without the ancient Indian invention of zero. Here, it is important to remember that scie nce is not supreme or infallible. Science and technology are necessarily social constructs and social products. Moreover, â€Å"science emerges as very human and – by necessity – constrained enterprise, even if its findings are subsequently presented as canonical† (Irwin, 1995, p.49). The terminology and language related to the technological discourses are crucial for understanding the social construction of technology. Therefore, Berger and Luckmann argue that â€Å"the common objectivations of everyday life are maintained primarily by linguistic signification. Everyday life is, above all, life with and by means of the language I share with my fellowmen. An understanding of language is thus essential for any understanding of the reality of everyday life† (1966, p.37). Language plays a major role in the social construction of technology as technology is a cultural product too. And, technology, on the other hand, changes language. For instance, social netw orking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have caused a metamorphosis in the way people use English language. Social construction of technology challenges the monopolistic claims by science and scientific community on the production of technologies. Non-deterministic â€Å"accounts of artifacts and technologies show that scientific knowledge plays little direct role in the development of even many state of the art technologies. Historians and other theorists have argued that there are

Describe Romeo and Juliets love Essay Example for Free

Describe Romeo and Juliets love Essay Describe Romeo and Juliets love and the way it develops in the course of the play. (Look carefully at the language used and use short quotations to illustrate your answer. ) Shakespeare meant for his plays to be performed on a stage and not to be read, he was a very skilled play write and he made his audiences believe things that in reality could not happen in such a short space of time. Romeo and Juliets love for one another shows their disobedience towards their parents. The houses that the pair of star crossd lovers belong to are involved in an ancient feud. We are made aware of the feud before we even meet the lovers; it is the very first thing that the Chorus, who is a single person on the stage which Shakespeare and many other play writes used to calm down a disorderly audience and give background information on the play, says: Two households both alike in dignity In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. Their love is ill-fated from the moment they first meet, at Capulets party, because of the dispute that has been going on for generations. When we first meet Romeo, his father Lord Montague describes Romeos melancholic mood, this fits exactly the contemporary ideas of lovesickness in Shakespeares time. Lord Montague and Benvolio contrast Romeos feelings for Rosaline and how they have changed his personality. We can see that Romeo is not himself as he says: Tut, I have lost myself; I am not here; This is not Romeo, hes some other where. The many oxymorons, Romeo uses in his speech are meant to suggest his confused state of mind: Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health, Still-waking sleep,Romeo sees Rosaline as the most beautiful woman on earth he matches her beauty to those of saints: When the devout religion of mine eye Maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fire! It seems that Romeo is only in love with the idea of being in love. On our first meeting with Juliet her mother is calling her. She replies to her mother in a formal way: Madam, I am here. What is your will? She is modest, quiet and beautiful. Since she is from a powerful Verona family she is well dressed. When Lady Capulet suggests that the County Paris would make a good husband, Juliet responds:Ill look to like, if looking liking move. But no more deep will I endart mine eye Than your consent gives strength to make it fly. In the times when the play was written it was normal for parents to arrange who their daughter would marry. When Romeo sees Juliet for the first time his extravagant declarations of love for Rosaline vanish in a second. He now speaks with tenderness and plainness: Beauty to rich for use, for earth to dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, As yonder lady oer her fellows shows. In the last line of his speech, Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I neer saw true beauty till this night. What Romeo says, is that what he said earlier in the play was silly and wrong. Ironically, when Benvolio was persuading Romeo to go to the party he told him he would soon forget Rosaline and this is just what happened. Romeo anticipates the line of approach he will take during the dance by saying that her touch will bless his hand. It was believed at this time that true love always struck at first sight; love that grew gradually was no love at all. This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand. This is a quick-witted bout of flirtation in which both sides are equally smitten, as is made clear by what follows, but in which Juliet plays the proper young girls role of cutting up Romeos lines as fast as he can think them up. Saints do not move, but grant for prayers sake. Then have my lips the sin that they have took. and You kiss by the book. This shows Juliet to be much wittier than a typical 13 year old girl. This flirtatious fourteen-line passage is actually a sonnet; it was popular in the sixteenth century and generally regarded as the proper means for love poetry. Juliet manages to tease Romeo slightly in the earnest gesture of the devotion that they declare: For saints have hands that pilgrims hands do touch, and Ay, pilgrim, lips that they use in prayer. Juliet is encouraging Romeo to kiss her in a subtle way. She takes early charge of the relationship. Romeos love for Juliet is unmistakably passionate, which an Elizabethan audience would have loved. He uses a lot of effective imagery. For example the image of the sun: It is the east, and Juliet the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Romeo is putting Juliet on a higher pedestal, saying she is a higher being, he is also referring to the brightness of her beauty, and that she brings light into his world of darkness. In calling for the triumph of the sun over the moon, Romeo is hoping she will not remain a virgin much longer. Women who prolonged their virginity excessively were thought to suffer from green-sickness, a problem that could only be cured by healthy lovemaking. The entire opening soliloquy to this scene is devoted to Romeos fevered desire that Juliet will make love with him. Despite his passion, he is shy enough, and polite enough, not to simply burst in upon her. It is the tension between his overwhelming desire and his reserve that shows how much he truly loves her. The comparison of a womans eyes to bright stars was a usual thing, but Romeo elaborates it in a dazzling series of lines dwelling on the brightness of Juliets beauty: The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars As daylight doth a lamp. Her eyes in heaven Romeo is impetuous, impulsive and has his head in the clouds; he uses phrases of elaborate description. Whereas Juliet is down-to-earth, practical, natural and spontaneous by her speech we can tell that it is her first experience of love and that she is young and because of the language she uses that Romeo excites her. It is Juliet who is thinking through the consequences of their love more systematically and practically than is Romeo. She almost immediately speaks of the death that threatens him: And the place of death, considering who thou art, If any of my kinsmen find thee here Romeo replies that love cannot be held out by stony limits. Romeo believes that love has directed him to Juliet. From the beginning their dialogue is riddled with reference to death. This is dramatically ironic because the chorus already told the audience that they will die because of their love. When Romeo says: Alack, there lies more peril in thine eyes; And thou but love me, let them find me here He is using conventional and courtly language, which goes back centuries. Juliets long speech makes clear that she is still an honourable young woman who wishes her love had not been so promptly revealed; but now that it has been, she does not intend to look backward. She indirectly refers that Jove laughs at the oaths of lovers. Just as Romeo had scorned the moon for its virginity, Juliet rejects it as too variable: O swear not by the moon, th inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable. Juliet is honest. She feels that she has been too easily won by Romeo: Or if thou thinkst I am too quickly won, Ill frown and be perverse and say thee nay, So thou wilt woo; but else, not for the world. Again Juliet allows herself to flirt with oath in calling Romeo her God. Romeo insists that he will love Juliet faithfully. Having proclaimed her love once, the basis of Juliets expression is unstopped, and she becomes the dominant figure in the rest of the scene. This young pair know very little about each other except that they are extremely attractive and witty. Juliets has split moods in this scene one is lead by her head and one by her heart. Her head is her practical side; her heart is spontaneous and excited. Falconry was a popular sport in Elizabethan England. Juliet is comparing Romeo to a falcon, and what she would like is for Romeo to be her falcon, she likes the idea of being able to call him back to her hand whenever she needs him: Hist! Romeo, hist! O for a falconers voice, To lure this tassel-gentle back again! When Romeo asked the Friar to marry Juliet and himself, the Friar agreed only because he is hoping that the marriage of Romeo and Juliet will put an end to feud between the houses of Montague and Capulet. From the text we can tell that Friar Laurence is Romeos confident, a father-figure. Children in the 14th/15th Centuries who had important parents didnt have the same relationship as children today have with their parents. This is why Juliet confides in her nurse and Romeo in Friar Laurence. The last line in Act two Scene one, Friar Laurence is saying to Romeo that he should take it slow because those that go to fast will stumble later on: Wisely and slow: they stumble that run fast. In the marriage scene it is Friar Laurence who is thinking ahead, he says: So smile the heavens upon this holy act, That after hours with sorrow chide us not! Romeo, lives only in the present, and says so: Amen, amen! But come what sorrow can, It cannot countervail the exchange of joy That one short minute gives me in her sight. In his view, the joy of a minute with Juliet will be greater than all the possible sorrow of any later hours. Romeo adds that he is ready to face the greatest sorrow of all: Do thou but close our hands with holy words, Then love-devouring death do what he dare; It is enough I may but call her mine. These exulting words foreshadow what actually happens; love-devouring death makes its first appearance shortly after the wedding. The Friar understands that Romeo thinks love will make him bullet-proof, and tries to talk some sense into him: These violent delights have violent ends And in their triumph die, like fire and powder, Which as they kiss consume. On their wedding night Friar Laurence anticipates that they will consume each other (consummate their marriage). Just like the nurse anticipates for Juliet. The Friar says that the ecstasies of love cant last forever. The sweetest honey Is loathsome in his own deliciousness, And in the taste confounds the appetite: In other words, too much honey can ruin its taste. The Friar concludes his little talk by advising Romeo to love moderately as, Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow. Juliet reveals her innermost feelings in her soliloquy. She is apprehensive and excited: she makes a reference to the classical god Phoebus Apollo: Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds, Towards Phoebus lodging; such a waggoner. Juliet uses a lot of phrases that make her seem impatient like, Gallop, leap and fiery-footed steeds. Juliet is nervous about what is going to happen when Romeo arrives. She extends the falcon image: Hood my unmannd blood, bating in my cheeks, With thy black mantle; till strange love, grown bold, She gives the impression that she is worried about her body and that she will not fulfil Romeos needs. The repetitive use of the word come refers to her impatience for Romeo to arrive quickly to her. Most of the soliloquy is of a sexual nature but some of it is not, for example: Give me my Romeo. And when I shall die Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the faces of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night, This is extremely romantic. It also refers to death. When the nurse tells Juliet that Romeo has killed Tybalt, Juliet uses oxymorons, these show that she is confused, beautiful tyrant and fiend angelical. However, when the nurse starts to criticise Romeo, Juliet cuts off the nurse and defends him, Blisterd be thy tongue. Juliet implies that banishment is worse than death. She seems more mature and her practical side is seen especially when she says: My husband lives, that Tybalt would have slain; And Tybalts dead, that would have slain my husband: Romeo uses direct and romantic speech that shows his sincere and loving feelings; It was the lark, the herald of the morn, No nightingale. Look, love, what envious streaks Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east. Nights candles are burnt out, and jocund day Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die. This shows that he is mature; much more than Juliet earlier in the play. Their mature dreamy roles are swapped. Romeo reassures Juliet that they will be together again: I doubt it not; and all these woes shall serve For sweet discourses in our time to come. Juliets reply to this phrase is: O God! I have an ill-divining soul: Methinks I see thee, now art so low, As one dead in the bottom of a tomb: Either my eyesight fails, or thou lookst pale. This is dramatic irony because when Juliet wakes up from the potion she does see Romeo on the floor of the tomb. Juliet seeks the help of Friar Laurence because she has been abandoned by her parents and her nurse, the one person she is closest to, except for Romeo but it seems that he too has deserted her. She feels suicidal when she talks to Friar Laurence; she would rather die than marry the County Paris. When Friar Laurence suggests that she takes the potion she appears to be relieved. Though out the scene she is very courageous. The soliloquy dwells on her fear of the vault; it enlarges what she had already said to Friar Laurence. The speech confirms that the vault is connected with the catastrophic climax of the play. She is determined to kill her self in the potion does not put her in a slight coma: What if this mixture do not work at all? Shall I be married than tomorrow morning? No, no; this shall forbid it: lie thou there. She fears it could be poison and she then contradicts that statement in the next one. She feels that she may go mad in the tomb if Romeo is not there when she wakes, the horror of these images make her go mad. In the end she takes the potion for Romeos sake: Romeo, Romeo, Romeo! Heres drink I drink to thee! Romeos speech before taking the poison is direct and simple poetry. He is still referring to Juliet as light. In the speech Romeo personifies death and accuses death of trying to keep Juliet beautiful so that death can use her for his pleasure: That unsubstantial death is amorous, And that the lean abhorred monster keeps Thee here in the dark to be his paramour? He uses grotesque metaphors and similes. He appears to be preparing himself for death. A dateless bargain to engrossing death! He is trying to prolong the moment. His love for Juliet is obvious at this point in the play; he drinks the poison for Juliet, Heres to my love! all he wants is to be with Juliet and if they cant be together in life then the must be in death. As a result of the lovers deaths the families are brought together. Prince Escalus makes sure that the blame is shared; he makes that very clear: Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague! See what a scourge is laid upon your hate, That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love; And I, for winking at your discords too, Have lost a brace of kinsmen. All are punished. The prince is also blaming himself; he knows that all had a part to play is Romeo and Juliets deaths, and this is why it is such a tragic ending which is written in a very expert way.

History Of African Music Cultural Studies Essay

History Of African Music Cultural Studies Essay African American Practices and Religion It is important to study traditional African music because it provides tremendous insight into African history. Music also allows us to better understand the diverse cultures of different African regions. Music also played an important historical role when Africans were first brought to the United States as slaves. American slave owners tried to strip away any sense of cultural identity that the slaves had. The only way they could maintained there ideanty is through song. A number of foreign musical traditions has influenced traditional Africa music. For instance, many nations in North Africa can draw their more recent musical lineage back to the Greeks and Romans who once governed over the area.  [1]  There is a substantial Middle Eastern influence on their music. Other parts of the African continent were similarly impacted by foreign music. Parts of East Africa and the offshore islands were influenced by Arabic music and Indian music in more modern times. Although Southern, Central and West Africa have had an influence on the music of North America and Western Europe. Other African music can be attributed to specific dance forms such as the rumba and salsa, which were founded by African slaves who settled in Latin America and the Caribbean.  [2]   The music of North Africa was strongly influenced by the music of ancient Egypt and the early Arabs. Although it is one of the least popular forms of contemporary African music, it is historically important and merits a good look at by all those interested in traditional music. North African music is famous for its monophonic form ,the predominance of melody over rhythm, a tense and nasal vocal style and non-percussive instruments including bowed rather than plucked strings. While the music of North Africa is historically important, no music is more purely African than music that originated in Sub-Saharan regions of the continent. Though many regions were influenced by other nations, Sub-Saharan music remains quintessentially and uniquely African. Sub-Sahara Africa makes up the Sahel and the Horn of Africa in the north, the tropical savannas and the tropical rainforests of Equatorial Africa, and the arid Kalahari Basin and the Mediterranean south coast of Southern Africa. Sub Sahara Africa and is most notable for its Cross rhythm. The main beat scheme cannot be separated from the secondary beat scheme. The cross-rhythm three-over-two (3:2), hemiola, is the most significant rhythm ratio found in sub-Saharan rhythm. Cross-rhythm is the basis for much of the music of the Niger-Congo peoples, the largest linguistic group in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. Cross-rhythm pervades southern Ewe music.  [3]  Songs accompany the rites of passage, work and en tertainment. They were also important in the life of the traditional African courts, and are still used for political comment, Due to the fact that writing and reading came late to many parts of Africa, this music was created as a form of communication. Over time, it grew to become an interesting and exciting communal way to celebrate and mark several major milestones in a persons life. For example, there are literally hundreds of African songs and music that celebrate marriage, childbirth or even hunting parties. It was the job of a Griots to perform the orginal tribal teachings oraly. Goriots are and were the orginal keepers of African tribule hisoty as well as royal advisors in African societys. In tradtitional African societys they would be the only way of keeping history this is because everything was through word of mouth. Griots where born into there duties there is no way to become a Griot. Griots used music poety and other artistic ways to express the storys of there ancestry. They specialize in many types of instruments such as   the the molo, hodu, nyanyoru, Kora, balaphone which is passed on fr om generation to generation from father to son. The women griot sing, dance   and also play the calabass and gourd.  [4]   While music is often played in an effort to celebrate lifes milestones and achievements, it is also played in Africa to ward off evil spirits as well as to pay homage to deceased ancestors. African music of this type is almost always accompanied by a specific dance or ceremony. These songs are often performed by professional musicians and dancers who have knowledge and experience with ceremonial music. There are special insterrments played like idiophones ( its like a bell), a piece of bamboo, or wooden claves. In some ensembles, such as iyesa and bata drums, a key pattern may be played on a high-pitched drumhead.  [5]   Because music from Sub-Saharan Africa focused primarily on communal singing, it was one of the earliest music to emphasize the use of harmony and structured song. These singing methods ranged from simple rhythmic structures to incredibly complex and elaborate structures based on improvisation and several variations. Though stringed instruments, bells, flutes and even xylophones were all used in traditional African music, there is nothing more important than the basic African hand drum; In fact, there are literally dozens of drums that are played on different occasions. Some of the most popular drums that are used in a traditional African musical include the bougarabou, tama talking drums, djembe, water drums, as well as many different kinds of ngoma drums that are played throughout parts of Central and Southern Africa, just to name a few. Drums are almost always accompanied by singers or choruses who often keep time with other percussion instruments such as rattles, shakers, woodsticks, bells or by simply clapping their hands or stomping their feet.  [6]   The musical history of any region is important since it has the unique capability to tell societies stories, culture, and religious beliefs long before a language is manifested. One can learn immense amounts of information about the lives of people that lived through studying aspects of their music. Much of this information is difficult to find in other aspects of anthropology, and therefore would probably go undiscovered. During the colonization of Africa, much of the peoples ancient history ancient implying any history the tribes and cultures had prior to European colonization was intentionally erased by the Imperialist society that came to power. Through the study of Africas traditional music, the world learns a great deal about those earlier cultures. By studying Africas music, some of these missing puzzle pieces are put back into place. These colonial powers, stripped Africa of its primary natural resource and put it in their. For instance after colonial powers left they still maintain control of things like the diamond mines. Colonization strips Africa of its culture and heritage, because colonial powers didnt care about African people they cared about expanding the Empires. By doing so, they split up the land and forest tribes to live in boundaries that caused problems between the different tribes thus creating civil war and other problems. most of these changes took place between 1890 and 1910, the twenty-year period that saw the conquest and occupation of virtually the whole continent of Africa by the imperial powers and the establishment of the colonial systemthe following twenty-five years being essentially a period of consolidation and exploitation of the systems. Europeans went to Africa to trade manufactured goods for slaves. Then they would transported the slaves to America known as the Middle Passage and exchanged them for raw materials. They brought the raw materials back to Europe so they could make more manufactured goods. Europeans would higher villages to go in to the parts of Africa that they couldnt and bring them slaves. The villagers thought that they were going to make a lot of money, and the captor would pay the parents of these people. So it looked like there their children were sending money, although that was not the case. In the 1880s in the whole of west Africa, only the island and coastal areas where under European control. In northern African, only Algeria had by then been colonized by the French. Not an inch of eastern Africa had come under European control, while in central Africa only the coastal stretches where under Portuguese rule. In 1880, some 80 per cent of the continent of Africa was still being ruled by her own kings, queens and clans, in empires, and political units of every size and kind.By 1914, the whole of Africa, with the exception of Ethiopia and Liberia, was subject to the rule of European powers. Because of the Berlin conference, Europeans were allowed to take control of Africa. This later leads to the scramble of Africa were all these countries decided to claim different parts of Africa as their own. Europeans wanted to expand their empire, and they figured Africa was the place to do it. The Europeans had things like guns, and the standardized army. They were able to take the continent by any means necessary. After the Berlin conference Germany had forced colonialism into southwest Africa, kicking the Hereros and the Namas tribes off of their land. In 1904, the Hereros were fed up with the new ruling German government and rebelled, killing 123 German settlers. This was an embarrassment for the Germans in Africa; in their eyes it was humiliating to be beat by native people. As a result German settlers sent in Lieutenant Lother Van Trotha. Lother demanded that the Hereros leave the land and if they didnt they would be forced out. Luther said any Hereros found in the German borders with or without guns will be shot,  [7]  he also applied this to woman and children. Out of a total population of eighty thousand, the Germans killed 65,000 Hereros.  [8]  The ones who did survive ended up in German concentration camps for the remainder of their days. This is an example of why the division of Africa created the turmoil that Africa is in today. The Berlin Conference can be seen to be the stem of most of Africas problems today. The colonial powers imposing their rule in Africa prevented it from gaining economic independence. The damage that began after the Berlin conference was so great that it wasnt until the 1950s that Africa regained its independence.  [9]  The current instability in Africa is thus a permanent liability that resulted from the Berlin conference, in which the future of a continent was determined by greed. The slave trade bestowed Africans to the Americas to work in the plantations. In some states in the U.S., early European settlers and slaves shared some of their musical traditions and influenced each others world. The banjo, now central in American folk music, is an instrument brought over to the Americas by African slaves. In other states, the music of African slaves was prohibited unless it accompanied an approved religious activity.  [10]  Drums were outlawed because they were seen as especially dangerous since drum sounds were connected to language and gave slaves a way to communicate that could not be controlled or understood by slave owners. To compensate for a lack of instruments, people who were enslaved depended on other forms of musical expression. Slaves would innovate their own instruments such as Hambone, a style of body percussion, was used as a substitute for drums, as it served a rhythmic function for music. Today this is known as STEPING and is very popular in f raternities. In order for one to play a hambone, a person uses his or her hands to hit their chest and thighs to create different slapping sounds. Using household objects as instruments also became necessary. Just as instruments were made in Africa from natural materials that were made available to people when they were free, enslaved Africans used the resources available to them in their environments. An example of this is the playing of spoons, another type of body percussion.  [11]  Vocal traditions also flourished among African people under slavery. Songs were used to soothe the heart and send messages of possible escape routes. Current music forms such as the Blues, Soul and Gospel grew out of the strong vocal traditions of early African Americans.  [12]   The study African music has taken on an even greater significance due to how the musical instruments and techniques managed to influence and spread to many countries throughout the world. African American music has its roots in tribal cultures throughout the vast continent, and has lent its influence not only to African American popular culture, but religion as well.  [13]   Music expression in Africa varied from one cultural group to the other, but most traditions commonly shared certain characteristics. African songs were intended to accompany religious ceremonies and dancing, to inspire hunters, to coordinate work, and to celebrate events such as the birth of a child. Music was woven into the culture, forming part of ordinary living, almost as commonplace as speech. In the Americas, enslaved Africans used music and dance for Purpose: Diffusion Resulted in: Easing pain of work, through Works songs, Worship Gospel traditions, Communication Drums and songs used to pass secrets messages and Entertainment . By studying african music you can see the infulnces Africa had all over the world. Jazz music connects European, American and African Music traditions. since People in America descended from Africans and Europeans amalgamated their musical traditions, using all instruments and musical approaches available, to create a musical style currently known as Jazz.The slave trade contribute to this cross-cultural exchange. People who were brought to the Americas from Africa as slaves brought with them their musical traditions. With the new experience of slavery and suffering, people applied their knowledge, even when instruments were banned, to maintain traditions that included a heavy reliance on rhythm, dance and songs. Maintaining these traditions helped to build new musical styles that branched out to become Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Rock and Roll once people were freed from slavery. There is evidence that suggests that blues came directly from Africa. Blues emerged from field work songs a nd prison songs just after the Civil War, and these were musical forms descended from African musical styles maintained through the slave period. Contemporary popular African musical styles have been affected by diffusion of American music back to Africa. Here are three examples of this Jazz, Kwaito, Afropop, Manu Dibango, Fela Kuti, Abdullah Ibrahim, Femi Kuti, Arthur. The ancient history of African music is muddled at best. It is undoubtedly conflated with the music of the Old Kingdom Egyptian music, when Egypt dominated and colonized the Nubians.  [14]  Hester comments that surprisingly, the history of Egyptian music presents little evidence of the use of drums prior to 2000 B.C.  [15]   Due to the prevalence of the drum in African music and due to the influence that Egyptian music seemed to have, the early lack of drums is somewhat surprising. Contrary to the belief that African music was only passed on through oral and aural tradition, a musical writing system did exist. One Ethiopian composer from the sixth century was canonized by the Catholic Church due to his creation of a complex musical notation system .  [16]   Hester goes on to note, however, that a temple fragment shows the top of a large drum that is unique to Old Kingdom music, which is assumed to be present due to import from Sumer.  [17]  This is important for a variety of reasons, one of which being the current modes of African musical instruments; a drum style similar to that used during the twelfth dynasty is still being used in todays Congo .  [18]   In later centuries, Nubian musical influence went to Europe through the conquests of the Moors. In the fifteenth century, Europeans began raids of the African coast for slaves and goods. Two centuries later, Europeans began trade with Africans south of the Sahara desert, eventually colonizing the land. Neither group seemed to care about native music .  [19]   Hester tells us that all of African music was of a spiritual nature. He states that, Africans were generally not inclined to separate rhythm, spiritual dimensions, and the order of the universe into compartments. Traditional African societies acknowledged that the drum had a spirit and character that was clearly observable. The give of the voices of the Great Ancestors had been hidden inside the wood of trees so they could be access whenever men and women needed them,.  [20]   Floyd explains that not only was there no separation between physical and spiritual dimensions, but there was also no word for religion in Africa. The reason for this lack of a distinct word was that: the Africans religion permeated and was the basis for all aspects of life [. . .]. Since religion permeated the everyday life of African peoples, the great number of religious beliefs that existed were not systematized into dogmas, but appeared as ideas and practices that governed everyday life in the various communities. All African peoples recognized God as the One, although in a majority of cosmologies other divinities also existed [. . .]  [21]   Another interesting aspect of African music is its accessibility by both genders. As in other parts of the world, although both men and women were allowed access to virtually all forms of musical expression, the men often reserved those perceived as most powerful for themselves.  [22]  However, it was more common for women to take part in music: in the large number of less stratified, more egalitarian African societies. According to Nketia, women in these simpler societies historically formed their own permanent associations specifically to make music.  [23]   Connections to the Past Today, African American worship is a similar experience to that of the worship of the past. It is a collective, uninhibited, and rhythmic kind of worship, reminiscent of the rituals of Africa. In the past, this kind of collective process was intended to transmit culture, educate the people, and boost morale.  [24]  Music, in the African culture, was taught at an early age. It is both part of acculturation and part of daily life. Many African languages are tonal, in which one word may have several meanings based on inflection. The tonal quality of the languages lends itself to the language of the talking drums found in several African nations. The process of manipulating the drum heads produces similar qualities to the inflections of the African languages .  [25]   The physical movements of what Floyd describes as the time following the formal service of Africans engaged in worship after being forcibly brought to this country are specific and ritualized. He describes this celebration as: the shuffling around in a ring, the upper-body dancing of African provenance, the ever-present singing accompanied by the hand clapping and thudding, repetitious drumming (of feet in this case), and the extended length of the activity. And here enters also the spiritual, the primary music of the ring for slaves in the southern United States.  [26]   The performance practices of the slaves were thought to be shocking and idolatrous by those European-Americans who had brought them here. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Rather, these rituals were culturally affirming and justified by African beliefs .  [27]  Regardless, or perhaps for that very reason, these aspects were suppressed in the majority of the United States. Over time, the Christian God became substituted for the African High God and Christ became substituted for the other lesser divinities. The spiritual was developed through this Christianizing process.  [28]  Although primarily Catholic New Orleans was the most supportive of African traditions, it was Protestantism that lent its support to the new musical form. Floyd states that Protestantism, with its more direct access to the High God through song and praise, made possible the emergence of a new song for Africans, a new song in which they could express themselves as freely as they had in their homela nd. This new song was the African-American spiritual.  [29]   Typically, however, the spiritual is studied apart from the ceremonies it was derived from. Like the slaves, who were being forced to adapt to a new style of living while trying to hold onto the past, the spiritual was a form of music that was an attempt to adapt to the new cultural expression for their beliefs, while still maintaining the beliefs of their past. In addition, these songs maintained the traditional forms of African music while still expressing the tribulations of their new lives. More than that, however, these songs were an expression of freedom from slavery.  [30]   There are two kinds of spirituals: sorrow songs and jubilees. Floyd states that:The kinship of these early spirituals to African performance practice is striking. The song Steal Away, for example, has short phrases that repeat, grow, and make larger melodic structures and uses multimeter, pendular thirds, and descending phrase endings.  [31]   These performance practices, though modified, can still be seen and heard in African American churches today. Rauschart (2004) discusses the experience of spiritual singing in a modern context. She describes a kind of singing that goes beyond the notes written on the paper. Rauschart writes that the choirmaster of the choir that she observed pushed his choir to do what many would not-to ignore the music before them and to interpret the words with personal feeling .  [32]  She explains that, whatever the style of spiritual singing, music directors agree on one thing. A stream of lovely notes, no matter how well voiced, is not enough.  [33]  And yet, the spiritual is in danger of being lost in favor for the gospel song.  [34]  There may be a practical reason behind this change from one musical form to another. Society is becoming increasingly urbanized, and gospel is a product of direction of that drift. Spirituals, on the other hand, are products of the largely rural past. Another potential reason behind the shift might be that gospel music is a bit more accessible than spirituals are. According to Rauschart, spirituals are intended to be sung deliberately, in the fullness of time and experience.  [35]  That kind of deliberate pace might seem unfamiliar, and perhaps a bit unwelcome, in our increasingly frenetic world. No matter what the reason that is behind it in any given community, however, the fact remains that spirituals are no longer the music that the majority of the African American community grows up to sing. The form remains, however, in other venues. The modern African American musical experience is rooted in ancient times. These roots go back to ancient Egypt and their conquests of the Nubians. The language of African tribes is tonal. One word might have several meanings in different tones. The talking drums of several countries mimic this quality of language. Despite the reputation of being a simply aural and oral musical tradition, African tribal music actually did have a complex local style of musical notation available to it. In Africa, no distinction is made between the spiritual and the profane worlds. Tribal music was a part of practical life, as well as ritual life. The music that was developed in this country accepted that perspective, while taking on the Christian perspective of the slaves new land. In traditional Africa, music is an inherent part of life and is concurrent with the worldview of the society in which it is produced. It has social, ritual, and ceremonial functions as well as some purely recreational purposes. Traditional art forms, including music, are rooted in mythology, legends, and folklore, and are associated with gods, ancestors and heroes. Musical activities are ritualized and intended to link the visible world with the invisible. Dancing is often an important part of the ritual and spiritual aspect of music.  [36]   Percussion instruments are the most popular instrument in African societies. Rattles, friction sticks, bells, clappers, and cymbals are popular. Many groups also use the sansa and xylophones. Numerous types of drums are also used. Various wind instruments are made out of tusks, horns, conch shells, wood or gourds. Styles of vocal music vary from area to area. This is due partly to the different languages spoken in different areas. Most African languages are tonal languages which are reflected in the singing. Traditional African music does not have a written tradition. This created many difficulties when Western Staff started to write down the music. The pitches and subtle differences in pitch contour do not interpret easily. The Western scale rules that relate most closely to African music are tetratonic, pentatonic, hexatonic or heptatonic arrangements. Melodic patterns are affected by intonation patterns of the language.  [37]   The rhythmic aspect of African music combines the music of various groups and areas. Rhythm is made of patterns; similar patterns are found throughout all of Africa. Harmonization is typically created through singing in thirds, fourths and fifths, parallel to the main melody.  [38]   While drumming is very popular in Africa and is more important than melodic music in some societies, melodic music is important in others. The mbira is one of the most popular melodic instruments in Africa. Different cultures use the mbira in different ways. Also, the mbira exists in different forms in different cultures. Some mbira are used for entertainment and others for religious ceremonies. Often, the people who can own and play the mbira are restricted to chiefs or other important people, especially when it is being played for religious purposes.  [39]   African music has been a major factor in the shaping of what we know today as blues and jazz. These styles have all borrowed from African rhythms and sounds, brought over the Atlantic ocean by slaves. Paul Simon, on his album Graceland has used African bands and music, especially Ladysmith Black Mambazo along with his own lyrics.  [40]   As the rise of rocknroll music is often credited as having begun with 1940s American blues, and with so many genres having branched off from rock the myriad subgenres of heavy metal, punk rock, pop music and many more it can be argued that African music has been at the root of a very significant portion of all recent popular or vernacular music.  [41]   African music has also had a significant impact on such well-known pieces of work as Disneys The Lion King and The Lion King II: Simbas Pride, which blend traditional tribal music with modern culture. Songs such as Circle of Life and He Lives in You blend a combination of Swahili and English lyrics, as well as traditional African styles of music with more modern western styles. Additionally, the Disney classic incorporates numerous words in the native language of Swahili. The ever-popular hakuna matata, for example, is an actual Swahili phrase that does in fact mean n

Goffmans Theory For Interaction In Society Sociology Essay

Goffmans Theory For Interaction In Society Sociology Essay Goffman examines society through individuals face-to-face interactions I everyday life. An important point of his theory is how individuals present themselves in everyday life, when they come to contact with others. This contact signals the activation of the ritual mechanism. Those mechanisms are being activated automatically each time we are coming to interaction with others. They consist social values and express all the expected reactions, which individuals should have in different situations. The reason why these mechanisms are activated automatically is because we have embodied them during the period of socialization and through imitation. Consequently, those mechanisms give us the possibility to understand and foresee how we must react in different interactions, as well as to forego and protect ourselves from potential moments of disgrace and embarrassment. If we do not find a way to manage those moments when they occur, can lead in the collapse of interaction (Goffman, 1959: 1 2). The main purpose of individuals is to manipulate the impressions that others form about them (impression management). Individuals, when they are acting on the stage, employ unconsciously different front (means of expression). The front is comprised from two parts: the setting which is the scene in which individuals acting and the personal front which concerns the natural characteristics and specific means of expression of each individual. Furthermore, Goffman divide personal front into appearance and manner. Appearance is the external characteristics and manner is the means of expressions, like the language, the body, face expressions, which individuals adopt during their performance (Goffman, 1953,:22-24). In addition, individuals use symbols to display their positions and the role they aim to play (Goffman, Dec. 1951: 294). Forby there is the backstage, where individuals make their rehearsal for their performance. Namely, which features of themselves, they will cover in order to manipulate their observers. Parallel, only when they are on the backstage, can be their real selves, whereon they have to tackle with their real feelings, which have no relation to the feelings they project on the stage. Nevertheless, Goffman notes that the formation of a role is being strongly affected by the personality, the experience, and the culture of each individual (Swingewood, 2000: 176). How academic professors maintain their dominant position in the classroom. The academic professors front is his class and what this class includes is the setting. His performance takes place while he is teaching. Of course the professor must have a certain style of clothing, for instance he cannot appear in the classroom wearing a sport outfit. Also, he must talk and behave in a way which will attribute him prestige. For instance, the professor will not use slang language during his teaching, on the contrary, he will a sophisticated vocabulary. Furthermore, according to Goffman, first impression is of vital importance. Thus, in his first lecture, he must pay attention to his first impression, because this will form the relation of domination between the professor and the students (Goffman, 1959: 12). Even if he becomes more lenient with his students over the years, he should attempt continually to sustain his authority (impression management). On the other hand, when the professor ends up alone in the classroom (backstage) he can be his real self. Coincidently at this point he can prepare himself for the teaching (performance) and he can try to limit things which could reduce his pole performance. On the whole, professor possesses a status, which nobody can call in question, regardless of the role he adopts. This is happening because he has certifications of his capacity, which is his degree, which is recognizable from the society (Goffman, 1951: 297). In other words, there can be doubt about his efficiency at work but not for his capacity as a professor. Bourdieus theory. Bourdieu in contrast with Goffman considers society from a distant viewpoint. He is not centre on individuals interaction but he combines them with social structures. He deems that sociologists should overcome the persistence of the contrast between objectivism and subjectivism. We should observe society as a whole including both, structures and actors. Thereby, he creates a theory based on a schema, which constitutes from three main parts: the field, the capital, and the habitus. Each part is directly connected with the others and functions parallel. The first part is the field. Fields are the social structures, the various spheres of life. While fields exert influence to each other, there are autonomous enough (relative autonomous) in order to be able to study them. Each field has its own clear boundaries, logic and sphere of values, with witch people must be obeyed. People in order to be able to enter a field, should have certain resources according to the demands of each field (Wacquant, 2008: 269). Those resources are the capitals, which are unequal distributed in the society (Swartz, 2002: 655). People, who have more capitals, have more chances to succeed in different fields (Bourdieu, 1986: 241). This is why Bourdieu grasps fields as arenas in which people struggle constantly. Those who have a big part of capital, struggle to maintain their domination and those who have limited capitals, try for their benefits to invert the domination of the former. Thus field is never static. It is moving, changing, evolving. On the second part of the triadic schema is capital. Capitals are the means of resources which enable people to acquire benefits. Power is in each field different. Bourdieu divides Capital in four categories: economic, cultural, social and symbols. Economic Capital is consisted by money. This capital is very important because every capital can be converted to economic capital. People, who have largely the economic capital, can easier acquire the other three capitals. Then is the Culture Capital, which is consisted by three forms: The Embodied State concerns the stimuli which people get from their environment during their upbringing and socialization. People receive them unconsciousness or passive-coercive via their families, their culture or traditions. However this does not mean that they acquire them instantaneously. On the contrary, people embodied them over the years according to their habitus. Also in this state, people form their cultivation. Peoples cultivation derives, apart from the stimuli of the environment, also from the amount of time and effort they consumed to gain it (Bourdieu, 1986: 244-245). The other form is the Objectified State, which concerns the possession of items (for instance paintings). Those items have great cultural-aesthetic value but also economic value. In which way people will valid them, it is related with their habitus (Bourdieu, 1986: 245-246). The third form of Cultural Capital is the Institutionalized State. This state embraces the official documents, that is, they have institutional recognition. Those certifications denote the level of education of each person (Bourdieu, 1986: 246-247). Moreover, there is the Social Capital. Social Capital is peoples connections which they have or acquire within social networks. Those connections are either positive or negative. In other words, can help people or can make their lives difficult. Finally, it is the Symbolic Capital, which has to do with the symbols of power. People who possess the symbolic authority can dominate in one or more fields. Those who have it are in the position to decide what is good and what is bad and exert it via recognition and approval and disapproval. Recognition of what people are doing is enjoyable for them. For, people through recognition are becoming established. Symbolic authority can be big in a field while can be mild or small in others. Also symbolic power is hierarchical. It is a circle of alternations of power. Thus there is a constant struggle for the acquisition of power but it is happening unconsciously. The third part of the schema is Habitus. Habitus is our history, the inheritance of cultural capital. Namely it is embodied of our experiences. The creation of social groups is based on peoples common experiences, hence habitus is persons beliefs and dispositions. Furthermore, habitus is the social structures in which persons shape their beliefs and ways of thinking (for instance education). In real life habitus and field come always together as a whole (Wacquant, 2008: 269). On the one, habitus affects peoples chances of success or failure in different fields (Bourdieu, 1986: 241). However, people through new experiences, which are not coming from the family, can form a secondary capital in the habitus, which is quite durable and reinforced. This new habitus is becoming gradually their second nature. Examining academicians through the concepts of Field, Capital and Habitus. Academicians field in which they operate is higher education. To be able to be in this field, they spent too much time and effort in order to acquire this knowledge, that is their cultivation (cultural capital-embodied state). Evidence that hold this knowledge is their diplomas (cultural capital-institutionalized state). Also their connections, that had been either academic or political, played an important role in taking up this position (social capital). On the other, depending on the level of the University attended and depending on their performance, they had similar opportunities to find work. The position of each university is not the same. For, there is a rank of hierarchy. Hierarchy it is likewise in the positions of academic professors. Therefore there is strong competition among them. Their main purpose is to accede to the highest positions and go to the most accredited universities (symbolic capital). To be able to do so, they must constantly enrich their resources (capita l). Nevertheless, the academic professors have some common experiences that affiliate them to the same group and allow them to enter in this field, higher education (habitus). But this does not mean that these experiences were the same embodied-in all. That they are professors, do not mean that all derived from the same socio-economic class. Simply they were able to acquire the necessary qualifications and to embrace these experiences in order to enter specific field. Namely, they managed to make second nature another habitus. Conclusion. Considering academics through two different approaches, Goffmans and Bourieus, I have come to believe that struggle for domination is an important part of both theories. In Goffman this struggle exist through the management impression, while in Bourdieu exist in the whole triad schema (field, capital, habitus).