Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Research Paper Topics
Research Paper Topics Research Paper Topics Research Paper Topics If you are assigned to write a research paper you should first define a research paper topic. You may investigate different spheres such as humanity, social science, history etc. Research paper in sciences generally involves recognizing a scientific problem to be solved, setting up an experiment design to yield useful data, and interpreting the data in the context of scientific knowledge. While writing research paper, you should use library resources, they help you to understand what is known about a given phenomenon, what experiment or project were already done on the chosen subject in science. You should read large volume of scientific literature before research paper writing. However, you will notice that there is wealth of resources which are not relevant to your research paper topic. You should avoid using them as well as set yourself apart from unreliable article. From this perspective, articles from peer-reviewed journals are the most appropriate. While writing res earch paper and looking for scientific materials, you should choose search terms carefully, work from the most recent publications to earlier ones, sorting out schools of thought. Reading a scientific literature helps you to find out the most important and relevant information for your research paper topic. Consult a librarian to determine which resources are the best for your research and whether they are available. Research Paper Topics Tips While writing research paper for humanities class, you have to interpret a text or a work of art within a historical and cultural context, make connections, explore the attached meaning, and uncover contradictions. While writing a research paper, resources are collected for the three purposes: to obtain primary information to be interpreted or analyzed, to find secondary sources to put primary sources in a critical context, to seek answers to specific questions that arise during research. Writing research paper is often interdisciplinary, crossing boundaries between literature and history, philosophy and art, or music and religion. Because the subject areas are hard to categorize, the terminology used in humanities research may be less solid and agreed upon than in other fields. Researchers in the humanities are more likely to draw material from texts and artifacts than from original data gathering and experimentation. They must be prepared to be flexible, both in search terminolo gy and in search strategy writing research paper, tolerant of multiple perspectives on the same object of study, prepared to use citations from relevant texts to locate other material and clarify connections among works, willing to return to the library as new questions arise. Research paper format is usually specified by the tutor and can be very different, however, the basic components should be preserved: introduction, research hypothesis, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, analysis, recommendation, and conclusion. Custom Written Research Papers Looking for help with research paper writing? writers are here to help you with any stage of research paper writing. We are experienced and dedicated to your academic requirements. Every custom written research paper we deliver is accompanied with free plagiarism report and bibliography list.
Friday, November 22, 2019
How to Conjugate Italian Verbs Like a Native
How to Conjugate Italian Verbs Like a Native Learning vocabulary for nouns like â€Å"toothbrush†and â€Å"tomato†are important, but without verbs, they’re not as useful. Verbs are essential to communicating in any foreign language, and while Italian verbs have a consistent, logical pattern of conjugation, there are still many verbs that are irregular. Plus, even if you memorize all of the verb conjugations, being able to use them quickly in conversation is another story. I say this to emphasize the importance of getting a lot of practice with verbs both with written exercises and with plenty of speaking.  To get you started, or perhaps to fill in some gaps, below you can read about the three Italian verb categories along with suggestions for your studies so you can learn how to conjugate verbs like a native. Step 1) Learn the present tense conjugations of the verbs avere (to have) and essere (to be). They are the key to learning all of the other Italian verb conjugations. Step 2) Understand that Italian verbs fall into three categories of conjugations depending on the endings of the infinitive: -are verbs Comprare - To buyImparare - To learnMangiare - To eatParlare - To talk -ere verbs Credere - To believeLeggere - To readPrendere - To takeScendere - To get off, to descend -ire verbs Salire - To go upUscire - To go out The stem of regular verbs is obtained by dropping the infinitive ending. In English, the infinitive (linfinito) consists of to verb. Step 3) Recognize that Italian verbs are conjugated in the various persons, numbers, and tenses by adding the proper ending to the stem. To start, let’s use the regular verb â€Å"credere - to believe†as an example. io - credo noi - crediamo tu - credi voi - credete lui / lei / Lei - crede loro, Loro - credono Notice how the ending changes based on the subject. â€Å"I believe†is â€Å"credo†and â€Å"they believe†is â€Å"credono.†Let’s use the irregular verb â€Å"andare - to go†as another example. io - vado noi - andiamo tu - vai voi - andate lui / lei / Lei - va loro, Loro - vanno Since the endings are different for each subject, more often than not you can drop the pronoun. So, for example, instead of saying â€Å"Io credo - I believe,†you can just say â€Å"Credo - I believe†with the â€Å"io†as a subject pronoun. Step 4) Memorize the present tense conjugations of common, irregular verbs. These are â€Å"dovere - must,†â€Å"fare - to do, to make,†â€Å"potere - can, to be able to,†and â€Å"volere - to want.†Step 5) Learn how to use common verbs in the following tenses: Il presenteIl passato prossimoL’imperfetto How do you know which verbs are common? While you could use the lists of the most common verbs online, I think it’s more useful to think about the verbs you commonly use and learn how to be flexible with those. One exercise for figuring out which verbs those are is by writing short compositions about your life, like how to introduce yourself, talking about your family, and discussing your hobbies. You’ll start to notice which verbs are used most often and then you can focus on those to memorize. Tips: Note that in the third person plural the stress falls on the same syllable as in the third person singular form.In a pinch, you can always consult a table of verb endings to determine the correct tense.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Does New Institutional Economics Helps a Business in Assessing Risk of Assignment - 1
Does New Institutional Economics Helps a Business in Assessing Risk of Foreign Direct Investment - Assignment Example In order to fully understand and analyze the role of new institutional economics (NIE) in risk assessment of foreign direct investment (FDI), we first need to develop a sound understanding of the new institutional economics and various aspects of foreign direct investment. In this paper I will discuss what is New Institutional Economics and its background; and how it is dissimilar from traditional economics. Its various impacts and demands will also be discussed. I will also discuss help of NIE in finding solutions which were previously unresolved. What change in a system is required for its implementation? NIE is not without its shortcomings it also poses some problems. In this paper, we will try to analyze the impact of NIE on foreign direct investment. Does NIE help in any way assessing the risk associated with foreign direct investment? The term new institutional economics was invented by Oliver Williamson in 1990’s. It now refers to various active theoretical currents which belief in the importance of institutions. They also believe 1(Barnard Chavance, 2009) that importance of institutions can also be analyzed with the instruments of standard economic theory with some adjustments. He emphasized on the absence of the existence of the firms in the conventional economics. He uses the cost of using the price mechanism as his basis. The search of appropriate prices and negotiation of separate contracts can be costly for individuals. Hence an individual volunteers himself under the authority of an organization or entrepreneur to sell his services to the market. Hence market transactions are eliminated and firm replaces the market thus economizing the cost of price determination. He developed the concept of transaction cost. Differing cultural values provide an advantage. The nature of the labour force shows that the cost of overcoming the difference in culture is sometimes worth the cost because of other benefits. Â
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Death penalty should be abolished Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Death penalty should be abolished - Essay Example A punishment, which was put into effect in 1500 in England, was opposed by many academics in 1750. These academics included Cesare Beccaria who was the Italian jurist; Voltaire who was the French philosopher; and, Jeremy Bentham and Samuel Romilly, who were the English law reformers. They presented the argument that death penalty was the cruel form of punishing the criminals, and it is most often applied on innocent people. However, there are many counter-arguments that support the death penalty. This paper intends to juxtapose the arguments and counter-arguments regarding death penalty; and, support the statement that capital punishment or death penalty is cruel, and should be abolished. Ethics do not allow a government to take lives of its nationals. There is good number of chances that innocent lives will be put to death under this punishment, and there can be no compensation for this. It is possible that capital punishment converts to manslaughter by killing someone convicted of murder, when the murderer says that it was not murder but an inadvertent killing, such as killing in self-defense. An example is the open and shut case of James McNicol, who was put to death in December 1945. Although James did not oppose the conviction of murder; yet, after his death, Elaine Merrilees, his niece discovered that he was only guilty of manslaughter and not murder. Hence, death penalty can be understood as a violation of human or civil rights. Wrongful conviction also includes cases where people make false confessions. Such people are innocent in actual, and are penalized to death. Whether the court announces death penalty for a convict or not depends less on the criminal act and the evidences, and more on the skill of the lawyers, the financial status of the criminal, the socio-economic status, and the race and color. These factors result into biased decisions from the court, resulting in either making the real criminal escape the punishment or enforcing death penalty on to some other innocent person. This makes the whole system of death penalty illogical and heinous. However, it cannot be stated as a final decision that murderers should be given relaxation in punishment, which makes the debate of adopting or banning the capital punishment all the more daunting. Death penalty has deepened its roots strongly in many countries, and the victims are often Hispanics and the minorities, who are killed due to racial discrimination. It would have been somewhat acceptable if the punishment was for everyone, regardless of what race, color, or ethnic group the murderer belonged to, but since most of the times racial biases come across, the situation gets worse. This also becomes the cause for hatred between different ethnic groups, and may give rise to riots and a long sequence of killings based on racial differences. Marquart, Ekland-Olson and Sorensen (86) affirm that: Rather than systematically sentencing younger minorities to death, murderers of all ra cial categories who received death tended to be younger than the larger pool of imprisoned convicted murderers- although the difference in age between Hispanics sentenced to death or those imprisoned was not statistically significant. The family of the one who is being put to capital punishment suffers very badly. Negative impacts are inflicted on their innocent minds because they have to come to terms not only with the sentence of their loved one but also with his death, and that too so cruelly. Therefore, the agony of
Saturday, November 16, 2019
The Current Status of Women in Middle East Countries Essay Example for Free
The Current Status of Women in Middle East Countries Essay Part I: Reasons why women are reaching a stagnant point in the Arab countries and how this could possibly change:            According to feminists, the current status of women in Middle East countries is strongly attributed to state policies. Scholarly information from studies conducted on the status of Middle East women have indicated that the changes that have taken place in the legal status of women and in their social placement in society have very much been determined by the changes taking place in political constitution of various states and regimes. The status of women and gender relations have also been equally determined by other factors like class structure, economic and demographic characteristic Religion can also not be ruled out as it has tremendous influence on the system of governance in many countries in this region. Revolutionary projects carried out in Iran and Afghanistan but which did not yield good results act as a clear guideline on the status of women in Arab countries.            The societies in the Arab world are predominantly patriarchal. The role of a woman as wife and mother is still held with a lot of esteem in these societies. Women are reproducers, educators of children and socialisers whereby they are responsible for implementing societal and cultural values in the young ones. These societies are also predominantly Islamic, a religion that still holds the family as the most fundamental unit of society and places greet responsibility on women about raising devout Muslims as well as transmitting cultural values. Child bearing is therefore the central labor activity for the females while the men are responsible for the general upkeep of the family. The place of the woman in a Muslim society therefore remains the home and the activities surrounding it. Muslim family law also gives the male members of the society extensive control over key decisions affecting the life of the women under their control for example in issues concerning marriage, education, business and mobility. Women in the Arab countries are still subjected to some form of subordination to the males and restrictive codes of behavior that govern their lives. There is sex segregation towards women and family honor is closely associated with female virtue. As a result any attempts to change family virtues or the family structure has often met with a lot of resistance in the Arab world especially from revolutionary groups that have been operating under the concept of defending Islam such as the Taliban in Afghanistan. Tribal-Islamist opposition groups also play a major role in opposing any attempts to change the status of women in these societies.            In the Arab countries, marriage is still predominantly an agreement between families rather than between two individuals who hold equal rights in society. A husband has absolute rights over his wife’s body and such issues as marital rape are not recognized. Women are therefore still under male control and any attempt to achieve in their social status is viewed as resistance to made dominance. The community has tremendous influence over a woman’s life in Arab countries a factor that can be seen in the societies refusal to do away with the veil even at a time when civilization has advanced in these countries. As a result, the veil has widely been viewed as a civilizational threat to the position of the modern woman in society.            Wars that characterize several Arab nations have also been a threat to the status of women. This is because even after their husbands have been recruited and probably died in war, women especially in the poor backgrounds cannot freely venture out to fed for their families and they still have to rely on male members of the family such as the older sons. This has subjected the women and their children to a lot of unnecessary suffering. There has also been a tendency in these nations to limit the political exposure of women, a factor that has resulted from the concept of male dominance in these societies. In such a way, it has been difficult for women to push for change as society still holds views that their position should be in the house.            A lot can be done to assist the women and improve their status in society. Women for example should be given freedom in education.  This is because modernization demands more labor in high profile jobs. Wars should be a great lesson and women should be given a chance of being economically stable to avoid desperate situations in the event of the death of the family’s breadwinner during war. Education will also give women better chances of employment and produce women who are able to strongly advocate for change in society.            Because family law in Arab nations greatly determines state and legal policies relating to gender and family matters,  perhaps these laws should be reviewed to give the women more influence in the family and society. Various Arab governments should also give attention to demands by women on the improvement of their political, civil and social rights. Part II: Authoritative governments and the rise of fundamental Muslim groups            In the Arab world, the main religion is predominantly Islam, a religion that has played a major role in determining the political, social and civil structures in these nations. Religious and state matters are intertwined in such a way that it becomes difficult to make a clear distinction between the two. Islamic law applies to every aspect of life in the Arab nations ranging from matters related to everyday life, to state matters such as the system of governance and even foreign relations.            With modernization, the Muslim world has come into contact with the Western world, an aspect that has led to mixed reactions in different Arab nations. This is as a result of the major economic, political and social-cultural developments that have resulted from this type of contact. In most of the Muslim countries the political systems are based on Islamic laws derived from the Quran and this has resulted in the concept of Islamic States through which Arab countries want to exert their influence and change the Western culture to conform to Islamic way of life. There has also been widespread resistance to Western influence and these factors have led to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. A strive has risen among the Arabs between those who feel that Islam should determine the political culture of the Arab nations and those who prefer secular governments that have institutions modeled on Western governments. Islamic fundamentalist feel that Arab governments have established state constitutions that are too compliant with other religions or doctrines. It is therefore the ultimate goal of Islamic political fundamentalists to overthrow these secular states in a bid to achieve national dominance in the political system.            Islamic fundamentalist movements have been modeled upon the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt began in 1928 that provided such movements with directives on the way forward in achieving political dominance through the implementation of the Sharia law. Even though composed of a minority of Muslims, Islamic fundamentalists have had varied political achievements in various nations. Good examples of such groups are the Wahhabi in Saudi Arabia and the Taliban in Afghanistan where strict Islamic law has been used to eradicate any form of Western influence. In Sudan, the efforts by the Muslim brotherhood to uphold Sharia law since independence in that nation in 1956 has led to a long civil war between the Islamic North and the Christain south.            In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood captures 20 percent of the seats in civic elections held in the later part of 2005. Turkey is ruled by an Islamist party that appears to accommodate democratic ideals. But since the September 11 attacks in the United States, growing concern has risen within the international community over the current situation in the Arab countries regarding religious reform and the prospect of Islamist fundamentalists having a share in political power. This is because of extremist groups that have resulted to terrorism as a means of achieving their goals. A good number of the countries in the Middle East are governed by autocratic regimes opposed to these Islamist movements. An attempt by such groups to gain political power has often been suppressed by denying them a popular vote in the governments and by exercising brutality against their leaders and followers. This is because of the tendency by these groups to result to violence as a means of airing their grievances and achieving their goals. Such violence has led to abduction of Western hostages, bomb attacks on the US Embassies in countries like Kenya and Tanzania and the September 11 attack in the US.            Islamic fundamentalists  originally aimed at achieving political goals through peaceful means but the refusal of Islamic governments to recognize their existence and the attempt to suppress these movements is what may have led to the emergence of extremist groups. The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has however maintained peaceful means in dealing with the government an aspect that has helped the movement to rise into a political party with a strong following. The future of such groups is however threatened by the fight against terrorism and whether they will achieve in maintaining strict Muslim states is yet to be determined by the course that political events in the Arab world will take and the relations between these Arab nations and the West. Part III The lack of unification between the Arab countries has its benefits in regards to Preservation of culture but it is a hindrance to their potential political force Culture in any community plays a role of utmost importance particularly in preserving the identity of any community. Like everywhere else in the world, the movement of people in and out of the Muslim world has increased cultural integration. Colonial occupation in the Arab countries served to expand these cultural influences bringing in the process of westernization. However the Arab countries have more than any other group of nations succeeded in keeping both external and internal influences at minimal levels. These countries have thus managed to retain their individual cultures to large extent.            From Egypt to Syria, the rise of Arabism was largely as a result of resistance to the colonial occupation mainly the British occupation. This growing force promised to unite Arab nations on the principles of nationalism as well as religion of Islam. This resulted in the expansion of state, missionary and private education (Moaddel, M., 53). However the cultural distance between the components of the Arab world would not allow for significant integration. This has to this day served to retain the cultural composition of the member countries. The lack of unity in the Arab countries has therefore served to preserve culture.            The biggest loss that is as a result of this disunity is however the loss of political forces that would have defined the Arab countries as a force to be reckoned with. The leadership’s radical difference in ideologies has made any meaningful integration difficult. A phenomenon akin to divide and rule has therefore been employed repeatedly by the western powers to further influence the political direction in the Arab World. This has worked against the region since it still remains on the shadows when political force is called for in order to change direction of the world.   Works Cited: Are Knusden. Political Islam in the Middle East R 2003:3 Chr. Michelsen Institute Development Studies and Human Rights Moaddel, Mansoor. Islamic Modernism, Nationalism and Fundamentalism. Chicago. University of Chicago Press.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
A Unique Perspective of The Yellow Wallpaper -- Yellow Wallpaper essay
    My perspective of Gilman’s short story, "The Yellow Wall-Paper" is influenced by a great number of different and diverse methods of reading. However, one cannot overlook the feminist theorists’ on this story, for the story is often proclaimed to be a founding work of feminism. Further, the historical and biographical contexts the story was written in can be enlightened by mentioning Gilman’s relationship with S. Weir Mitchell. And I can’t help but read the story and think of Foucault’s concept of Panopticism as a method of social control. Lastly, of course, there’s the psychological perspective on the story, although in my readings of psychology, particularly the psychological knowledge surrounding both women and queers, I find the discipline incredibly tainted with patriarchy and heterosexism.      At this point, I’d like to define a few terms somewhat precisely, at least as I intend to use them in the context of this paper. In this paper, I use the term "queer" for two reasons: one of which is in the spirit of reclaiming a word that has traditionally been used to verbally abuse non-heterosexual people for decades, and secondly because in the heterosexual mindset there are no differences between bisexuals, gay men, lesbians, transgendered and transsexual people. Brett Beemyn and Mickey Eliason write: "We have chosen to use ‘queer’ because it best characterizes our own personal beliefs, and it potentially leaves room for all people who are attracted to others of the same sex or whose bodies or sexual desires do not fit dominant standards of gender and/or sexuality" (5). One of the first questions that must be answered, of course, is why is it important to look at literature from a queer perspective? Is a reader, such ... ...otte Perkins Gilman and the Politics of Form." Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 14.2 (1995): 273-293. Flannigan-Saint-Aubin, Arthur. "The Mark of Sexual Preference in the Interpretation of Texts: Preface to a Homosexual Reading. (Gay and Lesbian Studies)." Journal of Homosexuality 24.1-2 (1992): 65-89. Foucault, Michel. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Trans. Alan Sheridan. 2nd ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wall-Paper." New England Magazine (1892). (Rpt. in Major American Short Stories. Ed. A. Walton Litz. New York and Oxford: Oxford UP, 1994. 286-300.) Kasmer, Lisa. "Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’: a Symptomatic Reading." Literature and Psychology 36.3 (1990): 1-15. Tierney, William G. Academic Outlaws. Thousand Oaks, London and New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 1997.  A Unique Perspective of The Yellow Wallpaper -- Yellow Wallpaper essay     My perspective of Gilman’s short story, "The Yellow Wall-Paper" is influenced by a great number of different and diverse methods of reading. However, one cannot overlook the feminist theorists’ on this story, for the story is often proclaimed to be a founding work of feminism. Further, the historical and biographical contexts the story was written in can be enlightened by mentioning Gilman’s relationship with S. Weir Mitchell. And I can’t help but read the story and think of Foucault’s concept of Panopticism as a method of social control. Lastly, of course, there’s the psychological perspective on the story, although in my readings of psychology, particularly the psychological knowledge surrounding both women and queers, I find the discipline incredibly tainted with patriarchy and heterosexism.      At this point, I’d like to define a few terms somewhat precisely, at least as I intend to use them in the context of this paper. In this paper, I use the term "queer" for two reasons: one of which is in the spirit of reclaiming a word that has traditionally been used to verbally abuse non-heterosexual people for decades, and secondly because in the heterosexual mindset there are no differences between bisexuals, gay men, lesbians, transgendered and transsexual people. Brett Beemyn and Mickey Eliason write: "We have chosen to use ‘queer’ because it best characterizes our own personal beliefs, and it potentially leaves room for all people who are attracted to others of the same sex or whose bodies or sexual desires do not fit dominant standards of gender and/or sexuality" (5). One of the first questions that must be answered, of course, is why is it important to look at literature from a queer perspective? Is a reader, such ... ...otte Perkins Gilman and the Politics of Form." Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 14.2 (1995): 273-293. Flannigan-Saint-Aubin, Arthur. "The Mark of Sexual Preference in the Interpretation of Texts: Preface to a Homosexual Reading. (Gay and Lesbian Studies)." Journal of Homosexuality 24.1-2 (1992): 65-89. Foucault, Michel. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Trans. Alan Sheridan. 2nd ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wall-Paper." New England Magazine (1892). (Rpt. in Major American Short Stories. Ed. A. Walton Litz. New York and Oxford: Oxford UP, 1994. 286-300.) Kasmer, Lisa. "Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’: a Symptomatic Reading." Literature and Psychology 36.3 (1990): 1-15. Tierney, William G. Academic Outlaws. Thousand Oaks, London and New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 1997. Â
Monday, November 11, 2019
Formal Features of Remember by Christina Rossetti Essay
â€Å"Remember†is a sonnet by a poetess of Victorian England, Christina Rossetti. The poem was written in 1849 but was first published in 1862 in â€Å"Goblin Market and Other Poems†by Rossetti (Petacovic, 2009). Rossetti suffered from ill health throughout her life (Shanks, 2010); she seemed to be obsessed with her death and therefore wrote several poems (â€Å"Song†, â€Å"The One Certainty†) exploring the theme of death. Christina Rossetti was only 19 when she wrote â€Å"Remember†. Scholars believe that the poem was addressed to her fiance, Charles Cayley, though they later separated due to differing religious views. Written in iambic pentameter, â€Å"Remember†is a sonnet with Italian form. It is divided into an octet and a sestet. The octave (eight lines) rhymes ABBAABBA. As in most sonnets, the octet serves to set the theme of the narrative. The author seems to be informing the reader about her impending death. The sestet (six lines), on the other hand, has a rhyme scheme of CDDECE. This variation in rhyming scheme changes the atmosphere of the poem. The basic theme of the poem is that the narrator is asking to be remembered by her loved one but if her remembrance brings sorrow, she would rather be forgotten. Rossetti has employed simple words throughout the poem (Bennet, 2012). There are no visual details in the 14 lines. The author uses the phrase â€Å"remember me†three times in the first eight lines, almost demanding that she be remembered in certain situations. In the sestet the tone is very temperate. There is no use of imperatives. Instead, she states that it is better that her lover sometimes forget that she is gone and smile, rather than remember and be sad (Petacovic, 2009). Unlike most of Rossetti’s poems, such as â€Å"Winter: My Secret†, figurative language is used sparingly in the sonnet. There are three metaphors in this poem. The first metaphor is in verse 1, â€Å"Remember me when I am gone away†, where the words â€Å"gone away†are used instead of â€Å"dead†. The second metaphor (verse 2), â€Å"silent land†, could possibly allude to a religious land such as heaven, hell or purgatory. This reference reflects Rossetti religious upbringing. The last metaphor is employed in verse 11, â€Å"For if the darkness and corruption leaveâ€Å", where â€Å"darkness and corruption leaveâ€Å" is used as metaphor for her lover’s anger at her death (Petacovic, 2009).
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Drama Evaluation Essay
When we did the 6 hour workshop on capital punishment, we looked at some extreme cases like two Somalia women; one was raped and stoned to death; the other was also stoned because she committed adultery, which was seen as crime by law in her country. The other case was about a man who was trying to get his lover’s aunt to sell him her farm. When she refused he killed her, but he didn’t want to go to jail, so he told his lover that she should take the blame because, she is underage and therefore wouldn’t go to jail. However, she did o to jail but she is on death row and is still awaiting her death. Even though, we studied all the capital punishment cases, it was the short plays about Derek Bentley that I decided to evaluate. The other group decided to focus on Derek’s personal development throughout their play. The first scene is set with Derek reminiscing about his life on the day of his execution. The group use a monologue to set the first flashback of the play. He talks about how he was born and how the umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck; this was a possible cause of his mental problems. The group’s use of levels is done very well since Derek is represented by a prop which is very small and his parents are above him with the doctor and the reminiscing Derek is sitting away from the flashback – this was representing how far away from his family he is. This scene was very effective at emphasising Derek’s innocence, since babies are usually associated with purity. However, I think the scene could’ve been improved if the doctor faced the audience, unless that was an intentional way of showing that this character isn’t as important. The second scene isn’t as long but it shows how Derek’s personality has been developing. He is playing with his toys on the floor and he looks very happy and clueless. His parents come in to talk to Derek’s teacher, who informs them about Derek’s disabilities. The vulnerable side of Derek is seen because of the use of levels – the parents and the teacher are yet again on a higher level then Derek, making them seem like they’re in control of the situation. The scene could have been improved if more emotion was shown in the shock after Derek’s parents found out about his disabilities. If they hugged to comfort each other of they walked over to Derek himself, it would really show what kind of loving environment Derek grew up in. In the third scene Derek is in secondary school messing around in the corridors with Chris. They soon get caught by a teacher and Chris runs off, leaving Derek to take the blame. The scene isn’t done as well as the other scenes; the use of voice isn’t clear because sometimes Derek and Chris are shouting and sometimes it’s not easy to understand the dialogue between the two. The character of the teacher does a good job at showing the anger and annoyance in the boys. The fourth and fifth scenes merge into one scene which makes it confusing for the audience. The 4th scene only involves Chris and Derek when they’re planning their raid. Chris is trying to convince Derek that it’s a good idea and knows that Derek is going to agree anyway. There is a very quick pause and the 5th scene starts with Chris and Derek climbing up the stairs. The group used imagery props to show they’re climbing. This scene is the pivotal moment of the play, when Chris and Derek get caught by the police. It becomes a bit confusing because everyone is shouting and running around, although at the same time it creates a good scene of panic and a very realistic image of what it most likely would’ve been like in reality. My group focused on the friendship between Chris and Derek. We start the first scene with the pivotal moment of the play, where Derek shouts ‘let him have it Chris’ and Chris shoots the policeman. The scene is a lot like the last scene of the last group – there is a lot of shouting and panic and when the shooting happens, we used a freeze-frame to emphasise the moment. I think we could’ve improved it by having a longer pause in the freeze-frame to make it clear that this is the pivotal moment. The second scene was set when Derek first met Chris at school. They sit in the middle of the table and get Derek gets laughed at by the other children. This scene could be improved if Chris and Derek were sitting on a table away from others, to show that their friendship gets stronger. The third scene uses actors as props; Derek and Chris are now in one of their gardens, trying to build with wooden branches. They look happy and really close as they sit in their new ‘building’. This scene could be improved if body propping was used to build something else and if the levels of Derek and Chris would change from time to time because in some parts of the scene it is clear that Chris is the leader of their friendship. The fourth scene is quite short; it only includes Derek and Chris. Chris is trying very hard to persuade Derek that the raid is a good and safe idea. The use of voice is very effective as Chris’ voice becomes more high-pitched when he talks about how easy the raid is going to be. The use of space, however, is the thing that needed improving; if Chris walked around more to show how great the raid is going to be, it would’ve added more of an affect. The fifth scene goes back to the pivotal moment of the shooting, but this scene is about what happens afterwards. The shooting is now much quicker and the rest of the scene is Chris getting taken away by police. This scene could’ve improved if the scene showed what happened to Derek after the shooting. Overall, both groups had different ideas but both interpreted theirs by using the same techniques. My group used a series of flashbacks to pinpoint Derek and Chris’ friendship and the other group used flashbacks to show the development of Derek’s personality. This workshop had a big impact on how much we knew before and how much we know now. I thought these punishments weren’t happening around present time, but they are and my feelings are very much against this, no matter how bad the crime was.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Pythagorean Triples Essays - Diophantine Equations, Equations
Pythagorean Triples Essays - Diophantine Equations, Equations Pythagorean Triples Pythagorean Triples Three integers a, b, and c that satisfy a2 + b2 = c2 are called Pythagorean Triples. There are infinitely many such numbers and there also exists a way to generate all the triples. Let n and m be integers, n*m. Then define(*) a = n2 - m2, b = 2nm, c = n2 + m2. The three number a, b, and c always form a Pythagorean triple. The proof is simple: (n2 - m2)2 + (2mn)2 = n4 - 2n2m2 + m4 + 4n2m2 = n4 + 2n2m2 + m4 = (n2 + m2)2. The formulas were known to Euclid and used by Diophantus to obtain Pythagorean triples with special properties. However, he never raised the question whether in this way one can obtain all possible triples.The fact is that for m and n coprime of different parities, (*) yields coprime numbers a, b, and c. Conversely, all coprime triples can indeed be obtained in this manner. All others are multiples of coprime triples: ka, kb, kc.As an aside, those who mastered the arithmetic of complex numbers might have noticed that (m + in)2 = (n2 - m2) + i2mn. Which probably indicates that (*) has a source in trigonometry. But the proof below only uses simple geometry and algebra.First of all, note that if a2 + b2 = c2, then (a/c)2 + (b/c)2 = 1. With x = a/c and y = b/c we get x2 + y2 = 1. This is the well known equation of the unit circl e with center at the origin. Finding Pythagorean triples is therefore equivalent to locating rational points (i.e., points (x,y) for which both x and y are rational) on the unit circle. For if (p/q)2 + (r/s)2 = 1, multiplication by a common denominator leads to an identity between integers.Rational numbers approximate irrational to any degree of accuracy. Therefore, the set of rational pairs is dense in the whole plane. So, perhaps, one might expect that any curve should contain a lot of rational pairs or meander wildly to avoid them. But this is not the case. The recent proof of Fermat's Last Theorem lets us claim that the curves xN + yN = 1 with N*2 contain no rational points. But there are simpler examples. From Lindemann's theorem, we conclude that the graph of a perfectly smooth function y = ex contains a single rational point, (0,1). Moreover, pulling the unit circle even a little aside may change the picture drastically. Let (xk, yk) = ( 2/k, 3/k), and consider a unit circle with center at (xk, yk). As k grows, the point approaches the origin, but for no k, such a circle contains a rational point.Let t be defined by(1) t = y/(x+1). Then t(x+1) = y andt2(x + 1)2 = y2 = 1 - x2 = (1 + x)(1 - x). We are not interested in negative x. So let's cancel (1+x) on both sides. The result ist2(x + 1) = (1 - x). Solving for x we get(2) x = (1 - t2)/(1 + t2) From y = t(1+x) we also obtain(3) y = 2t/(1 + t2) Formula (1)-(3) show that t is rational iff both x and y are rational.There is another way to look at the just described configuration.The configuration consists of the unit circle centered at the origin and a straight line passing through the point (-1,0) which lies on the circle. Unless the line is tangent to the circle, the two have a second common point. In order to find this point, we have to solve simultaneously two equations: the quadratic equation of the circle x2 + y2 = 1 and the linear equation of the line. By eliminating either x or y from the latter, and substituting the result into the former, we get a quadratic equation in one variable with integer coefficients. One solution of this equation is immediate - it is related to the point (-1,0), and is rational. Therefore, the second solution of the equation is also rational and gives either x- or y-coordinate of the second point of intersection. (3,4,5), (5,12,13), (6,8,10), (7,24,25), (8,15,17), (9,12,15), (9,40,41), (10,24,26), (11,60,61), (12,16,20), (12,35,37), (13,84,85), (14,48,50), (15,20,25), (15,36,39), (15,112,113), (16,30,34), (16,63,65),
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Differences Between Compilers and Interpreters
Differences Between Compilers and Interpreters Before the Java and C# programming languages appeared, computer programs were only compiled or interpreted. Languages like Assembly Language, C, C, Fortran, Pascal were almost always compiled into machine code. Languages like Basic, VbScript and JavaScript were usually interpreted. So what is the difference between a compiled program and an Interpreted one? Compiling To write a program takes these steps: Edit the ProgramCompile the program into Machine code files.Link the Machine code files into a runnable program (also known as an exe).Debug or Run the Program With some languages like Turbo Pascal and Delphi steps 2 and 3 are combined. Machine code files are self-contained modules of machine code that require linking together to build the final program. The reason for having separate machine code files is efficiency; compilers only have to recompile source code that have changed. The machine code files from the unchanged modules are reused. This is known as making the application. If you wish to recompile and rebuild all source code then that is known as a Build. Linking is a technically complicated process where all the function calls between different modules are hooked together, memory locations are allocated for variables and all the code is laid out in memory, then written to disk as a complete program. This is often a slower step than compiling as all the machine code files must be read into memory and linked together. Interpreting The steps to run a program via an interpreter are Edit the ProgramDebug or Run the Program This is a far faster process and it helps novice programmers edit and test their code quicker than using a compiler. The disadvantage is that interpreted programs run much slower than compiled programs. As much as 5-10 times slower as every line of code has to be re-read, then re-processed. Enter Java and C# Both of these languages are semi-compiled. They generate an intermediate code that is optimized for interpretation. This intermediate language is independent of the underlying hardware and this makes it easier to port programs written in either to other processors, so long as an interpreter has been written for that hardware. Java, when compiled, produces bytecode that is interpreted at runtime by a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Many JVMs use a Just-In-Time compiler that converts bytecode to native machine code and then runs that code to increases the interpretation speed. In effect, the Java source code is compiled in a two-stage process. C# is compiled into Common Intermediate Language (CIL, which was previously known as Microsoft Intermediate Language MSIL. This is run by the Common Language Runtime (CLR), part of the .NET framework an environment that provides support services such as garbage collection and Just-In-Time compilation. Both Java and C# employ speedup techniques so the effective speed is almost as fast as a pure compiled language. If the application spends a lot of time doing input and output like reading disk files or running database queries then the speed difference is barely noticeable. What Does this Mean to me? Unless you have a very specific need for speed and must increase the frame rate by a couple of frames per second, you can forget about speed. Any of C, C or C# will provide sufficient speed for games, compilers, and operating systems.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Groupbased assignment for Financial data analysis Essay
Groupbased assignment for Financial data analysis - Essay Example The report analyses the risk and return of these two companies. Then the cost structure of these companies is compared. The first part of the report focuses on calculating the means and the variances of the two companies. 'Mean' provides a measure of average return to investors while the 'variance' and hence the 'standard deviation' indicate risk. The second part of this report focuses on calculating the cost of capital for DGSE COMPANIES INC to aid the appraisal of a project under scrutiny. The cost of capital is the "opportunity cost of an investment; that is, the rate of return that a company would otherwise be able to earn at the same risk level as the investment that has been selected". CAPM will be used as the model. The equity cost of capital is found by accumulating the data relating to the company's and market returns at different points in time. The calculations yield a mean value of 0.026557 for DGSE COMPANIES INC and 0.014395 for PUBLIC SERVICE ENTRP GRP INC. These figures can be interpreted as for an investor investing $1 in DGSE COMPANIES INC and $1 in PUBLIC SERVICE ENTRP GRP INC, after a month he will get an average holding period return of 2.6 cents and 1.4 cents on his investments respectively. The Variance and the closely related Standard Deviation are measures of dispersions, which indicate how the possible values are spread around the mean and are an indicator of risk. For the purpose of calculations, the following formula is used for variance: As per the calculations, the monthly variance for DGSE COMPANIES INC is 0.0401 (4.01 %) and for PUBLIC SERVICE ENTRP GRP INC is 0.0050 (0.5%). The square roots of these figures give the monthly standard deviation which equals 0.200 (20%) and 0.0707 (7%), respectively. The Variance is indicative of volatility, hence the risk. It indicates how risky the investment is. A Comparison of risk and return of the two companies will give a clear idea. Table 1. RISK - RETURN RELATIONSHIP S.No Company Name Risk (%) Variance Return (%) - Mean 1 DGSE COMPANIES INC 4.01 2.6 2 PUBLIC SERVICE ENTRP GRP INC 0.5 1.4 The famous phrase "Higher the risk, higher the return" holds well in our case. Chart 1 Source: Primary Table 2. YEAR WISE RETURN COMPARISON YEAR DGSE PUBLIC 1997 0.0932 0.0212 1998 0.0418 0.0270 1999 0.0895 -0.0058 2000 0.0449 0.0401 2001 -0.0188 0.0034 2002 -0.0849 -0.0142 2003 0.0806 0.0318 2004 0.0199 0.0202 2005 -0.0269 0.0229 2006 0.0261 0.0063 Chart 2 Source: Primary CALCULATION OF MINIMUM VARIANCE PORTFOLIO S.No Company Name Risk (%) Variance Return (%) - Mean 1 DGSE COMPANIES INC 4.01 2.6 2 PUBLIC SERVICE ENTRP GRP INC 0.5 1.4 The total portfolio return considering equal proportion of each companies share is (0.5)*2.6 + (0.5)*1.4 = 2% By Trial and error method, the minimum variance portfolio is arrived at respective
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