IT and the Next Generation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

IT and the Next Generation - Research Paper Example The Japanese samurai used to regard the katana as a fundamental symbol of their heritage, but you just know damn well that they would have envied all these mechanised weapons like machine guns, tanks and bombers (not to mention nuclear warheads – no offence, by the way, to any Japanese people who may be reading this!) that are so well recognised today. Information technology is no exception. And no-one would disagree that technology has its place in â€Å"lighter† interests as well as â€Å"get things done† ones, such as personal entertainment. We were in awe of the television long before iPod products became released on the market. We actually live in an age where some people would feel embarrassed about being seen with a CD player in public – I state this point to back up the claim that IT has unequivocally altered education programmes to a certain extent, in a bid to keep our children â€Å"up-to-date.† However, the advent of the whole IT thing i t’s by no means nothing but sweetness and light when you think more deeply about it†¦ read on and you’ll see why. ... Besides that several thoughts came from all which made the decision making process much easier as well as effective. New ideas and observations which came from various individuals were quite helpful while we did this study. Some of the possible derivations and observations from our study that we concluded have been summarized below. Main report IT and the next generation Although I’m not a bona fide expert in IT or computer-aided education or anything like that, I do have my convictions in this area that I regard as important to share. Indeed, I would hope that I’ve convinced in the last sentence of the previous section that IT doesn’t just have its significance as a classroom subject. It has considerable societal relevance. I look at children today and I definitely don’t need reminding that youth tend to regard the IT-related products that they possess as status symbols. It is especially obvious with mobile phones and, to a lesser extent, computer games ( Pokemon, at least, certainly took the world by storm). Even the well-known American cartoon series South Park has entire episodes that are parodies devoted to satire aimed at Facebook and computer games consoles, among other things. Of course, children are curious, so you shouldn’t be too surprised if your child relishes the prospect of learning about modern technology (even more so if they are made to believe that it is â€Å"important† i.e. how else would they keep up-to-date in society?). So maybe a good place to start would be to look back at the IT-related education I received as a child. Interestingly enough, my younger brother was writing programmes on a Commodore 64 before we reached puberty†¦ but I can vaguely

Marry Shellys Frankenstein Essay Example for Free

Marry Shellys Frankenstein Essay In the story there are obvious sections, there are a few reasons for this. As you read the book you realize that the story is subdivided. There are different forms of narrative in the story. This varies from letterform at the start of the story, different narrators and letters sent to people in the story. In Frankenstein there are three different narrators, these are the monster, Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton. The narrative set up is rather like an onion. This is because you have the main narrator, the monster, in the middle then Victor and then finally on the outside Walton. Robert Walton would have been seen as a Romantic hero because of his rebellious ways. Mary Shelly choose Robert Waltons character because she wants him to be a rebel, which also links him to Victor Frankenstein as victor is a rebel as well. Mary Shelly links Robert Walton to Romantics. Firstly Romantics have interest in nature, rather like Robert Walton who is going on a voyage to the North Pole. Also Romantics rebelled against social rules. Robert Walton is rebelling against what Shelley calls the rules of nature as he goes on an expedition to the undiscovered. There are many Romantic heroes from various books like Odysseus from The Odyssey. But there are also other rebellious heroes many of who are from myths and legends. One of the main rebellious heroes was Prometheus who gave fire to man against Zeus will and was punished for it. Shelly presents Robert Walton as a rebel, rather like Victor Frankenstein. We no that Robert Walton is a rebel firstly because he rebels against the limitations of knowledge, he is going to the North Pole. He says, I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited. This means that he wants satisfy his need for knowledge by searching the unknown world. We also know he is a rebel as his father forbids him to go on a voyage, which he is doing. Also we see that he doesnt desire luxuries or an easy life, he says My life might have been passed in ease and luxury, but I preferred glory to every enticement that wealth placed in my path. This also shows that he will go a long way for glory and that he would much prefer glory than luxury and ease. Victor Frankenstein is seen as an amazing being through Robert Waltons eyes through their time together. Shelly describes Frankenstein through the eyes of Robert Walton as a Divine wanderer. Also Walton Says that he is, so gentle, yet so wise. From Shellys choice of words we can see that Robert Walton sees Victor Frankenstein as a person with superhuman qualities. Therefore throughout Robert Waltons letter we can see that Robert Walton looks up to Victor Frankenstein as a rebellious hero and as an amazing being. Structurally, Shellys opening to the novel is quiet strange. At the start of the novel you have Robert Waltons letters and then Shelly follows the letters with Victors personal story. I believe that the way Shelley has opened the novel may be strange but it is effective trough out the sequence. By using different narratives Shelly encourages the reader to compare and contrast the viewpoints of Victor Frankenstein and Robert Walton. From Chapter one Mary Shelly proceeds to create the character of Victor Frankenstein through his own narrative. Interestingly, she reveals that like the first narrator, Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein has had the desire to reach new depths of scientific research since he was a child. Mary Shelly shows the reader the parallels between the two narrators, Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein. Firstly the reader can see that Frankenstein and Walton are alike, as they both want to rebel against the limitation of knowledge. The reader knows this as Walton wants to find new undiscovered things by going to the North Pole and Frankenstein wants to create life. Also the reader can see that the two of the narrators are alike as they both rebel against their father. Finally the reader can see the similarities in the characters as they both say that they have had the desire to reach new depths of scientific research since they where children. Luke Garner 10Pd English Literature Mr Dorefeyev Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

History of Makeup in Film

History of Makeup in Film Makeup has been around and enduring changes since 3100- 2907 BC. Men and women in Egypt started with creams to keep their skin soft and glowing. Soon other countries started created their own form of makeup. Makeup has been around for centuries and is still widely used today. The egyptians used dark green colors for eyeshadows and for mascara they would tint eyelashes with kohl. Sometimes they would use the kohl for eyeliner. This kohl was actually made from soot. In Rome they had the same ideas on how apply makeup but the ways they did it were dangerous. The Romans believed that to be rich your skin had to be pale. To achive this look they would use chalk and even white lead. Because these methods were so dangerous many women died due to lead poisoning it caused a lot of health problems such as hair loss,stomach problems and death. Eventually they started making makeup products from natural food ingredients. In the victorian era it was believed that if you were wearing makeup then you were a prostitutes or actresses. Any heavy makeup or even a slight color change in hair, they would be looked down upon. By this time makeup was evolving and people got tired of using harmful chemicals on their face. Women had stopped using kohl for their eyelashes and started using hot wax and other oils. Instead of using flour to powder noses Max Factor created a press powder around 1914. In film makeup actors would usually do their own makeup which caused them to just grab anything. Most of the products they used contained lead and mercury. To get the desired look they would use an extremely heavy grease paint that was pink in color to re correct the lighting from the film equipment. If the paint was applied to lightly the actors would look pale. To try to fight that they would also use black and red liners to try to hollow out their eyes. They would sweat under all of those stage lights and every mark on their face would show. Max Factor and George Westmore realized this was a problem so Max created a special kind of grease paint that was a lighter product. You were able to build it up to however thick you wanted to and it hardly showed any harsh lines. He would set that grease paint with his pancake makeup which was really his new pressed powder. They still used the red and black liners to hollow out their eyes. His pancake makeup was used in Vogues of 1938 and Goldwyns Follies. It was only used in movies but soon everyone was wearing it offscreen. Max Factor went on to create his beauty empire. He started making foundations, lipsticks, eyeshadows, cheek tints etc. George Westmore went from a wig maker to a makeup artist. George invented a lot of tips and tricks for cinema makeup. Even the invention of false lashes. George opened a tiny makeup studio in 1917. He had big clients like Mary Pickford. He actually found a way to fake her curls everyday. Film makeup has not changed. They use safer materials that have actually been tested. Also, they have also gotten more creative. For example they have been able to make rubber pieces to attach onto the skin and how to paint faces to look more like a character or a monster. Spirit gum was also introduced to the makeup world along with latex. The latex works great for making small wrinkles. Lon Chaney used to use wire and toilet paper to curve his nose up for one of his roles. It was a very dangerous way to curve his nose because the wire would make his nose bleed. The first time that horror makeup was used in a movie was Nov. 30th in 1925 with the Phantom of the Opera. In order to get the makeup effect, Lon Chaney would put his wig on along with a prosthetic piece for his forehead. He used black shadow for the underneath his eye to make it look like his eye was pulled down with a little bit of white on his bottom lash line to make the eye appear bigger. Also, he used a fish skin material and glued it down with spirit gum. They tried to glue his nose down with just spirit gum but it would always fall back down. They had wires running from his nose into his wig piece and the wire was secured with the fish skin. They also had little wires for his mouth. His face had little tiny wrinkles all over the place white and black makeup was used to make him look a bit deadish. Then the last step was to give him new teeth to complete the look. In 1935 The Bride of Frankenstein was the next movie to use special effects makeup. Normally actors would do their own makeup but for this movie they brought in a makeup artist named Jack P. Pierce. Jack created two scars under her chin that went into her hair. The scar making process took about an hour. They covered her face with foundation lipstick and false eyelashes. Then for her hair they just combed her hair upwards onto a little cage and added grey streaks. The creature of the Black Lagoon in 1954. The costume was made from molded rubber sponge. In 1973 The Exorcist used some sort of forehead piece. They covered up her eyebrows. Also, they used latex to create the cuts on her face and a little bit of bruise colors around her face to make her look possessed with the help of contacts. To create the vomit they used pea soup. In 1977 The Incredible Melting Man came out. For this makeup look they gave the actor an oversized helmet that they painted to look skeletal then with a flesh tone. Then they would put syrup and paint all over the mask. Each take they would have to apply more and more so it would look fresh. Next is Alien from 1979. For this movie they used a soft modeling material and snake vertebrates. Also, they used cooling tubes from a car. In 1984 Nightmare on Elm Street became popular because of Freddys burns across his face. To create these burns the makeup artist used individual pieces to lay on the actors face. First, he started off by securing a bald cap on with spirit gum then latex. Then had to block out the eyebrows and his beard with a glue stick so the prosthetic pieces would not get stuck to the hair when he glued them down. He put the head piece on first, then the neck piece, he would secure the face piece and then the chin piece. All together there was 11 pieces that were put on. The makeup took about three hours to put on and taking it off. When all of the edges were blended and secure he would go over all of the burns with red paint then very lightly with a white color. The face pieces were sculpted out of silicone so they wouldnt have to start from scratch each day. In 1990 Edward Scissorhands came out and they brought in a mechanic to work on his hands. For his makeup he has a pale shade on his face, the underneath of his eyes have dark bags and that can be done with just a black eyeshadow thats lightly dusted. For the cuts on his face a small layer of latex is all the sfx makeup this movie needed. In 2000 The X-Men was released. For Mystique they had a full body cast to sculpt the 110 pieces. About 60% of her body was covered in prosthetics. They did plaster casts of mostly all of the cast members. Also, they did casts for Wolverines hands. The makeup took around seven hours for just Mystique. 2004 Hellboy was released. The makeup for Hellboy took four hours. First they used all foam pieces. They applied his back piece and put it over his head to attach to his chest. The last pieces that were applied were the facial prosthetic pieces that only left his lower lip. He was then painted all red.They would attach the lower lip part right before they started filming so he could eat or drink. Special effects makeup has gotten more advanced as the time goes by. The artist now have the choice to make prosthetics to make their job easier. The variety of makeup choices are larger. For example airbrushing in now a possibility. Instead of having to hand paint all of the prosthetics, it takes less time to airbrush than to paint every individual piece. Once youre done airbrushing you can spend more time focusing on the more important details.

Metamorphosis of Celie in Alice Walkers Color Purple Essay -- Color P

Metamorphosis of Celie in The Color Purple  Ã‚   In the book The Color Purple (1982) by Alice Walker, the main character Celie develops from an abused, shy and browbeaten teenage girl into a strong, mature and self-confident woman. This metamorphisis is due to five major factors: Celie observes other successful women, she receives love and appreciation, changes in Celie’s view of God, Celie’s maturation and a bit of luck. As Celie is brought up, her father sexually molests her over and over again, making her pregnant twice. And as a girl of fourteen, she has to marry an older man named Albert. Albert also bullies Celie as well as beats her. Celie does not know how to fight back. â€Å"All I know how to do is stay alive†, she says (18). But some things start changing around Celie. Being married to Albert, she meets other women that show her different ways of fighting back. Sofia, who is married to Albert’s son Harpo, is a big and strong woman. Whenever Harpo tries to beat Sofia up in order to make her obey him, Sofia always fights back, even harder. Celie looks up to Sofia, and the knowledge that a female can physically strike back is strengthening for Celie. Another woman that shows Celie that women can and are allowed to be successful is the singing queen Shug Avery. Shug is a well-known singer that almost every man admires. She, therefore, has the power to control them. Once again Celie is being taught that a woman can succeed and rule over her own life. The third woman that has an important role in Celie’s life is her own sister, Nettie, who is living away from Celie most part of her life, but who anyway stays in contact with Celie through a number of letters. Nettie was always said to be the most clever, good and b... ...and last main reason for Celie’s development. Firstly, Celie happens to find out that the father that she grew up with was not her real father. Her biological father was a better and much more successful man. Knowing that her family bonds were quite good after all strenghens Celie by making her feel better inside. Secondly, the inheritance of a house and money after the father makes it possible for Celie to become richer and fulfill some of her dreams. All the reasons mentioned above lead to Celie’s development into a strong, mature and self-confident woman who manages to leave her abusing husband, run an industry and a store, and become independent in many other ways. Celie’s own saying illustrates this new independence perfectly: â€Å"If she [Shug] come, I be happy. If she don’t, I be content. And then I figure this the lesson I was suppose to learn† (290).   

By 2020 the world’s population could well have doubled to around 12 billion people

By 2020 the world's population could well have doubled to around 12 billion people. Are there just too many people in the world, or is it a question of a better and fairer distribution of the world's resources?† The question is asking if there are too few resources available for the increasing population, or if there are just too many people in the world. The keywords in the question are population and resources. By population, the question is referring to the number of people in the world and by resources; it is asking if there are enough natural assets, such as water, food, oxygen and space. The problems caused by an increasing population include the depletion of natural resources, such as non-renewable energy supplies, and food supplies. Currently resources, and population are very unevenly spread and most supplies occur in areas where they are not needed. Mankind has reached the point of the exponential curve. Earths population doubled in the 40-year period from 1960 to 2000, from 3 billion to 6 billion. In the last two years, the population has grown another third of a billion people. That offers the possibility of a doubling time of only 27 years to reach 12 billion. Partly as a result of this, it is reported that 420 million people live in countries that no longer have enough cropland to grow their own food. They have to rely on imports. The reduction of cropland could be caused by an increase in pollution, creating negative effects on the environment, or it could be due to the expansion of urban areas due to an increasing population. A quarter of the developing world's cropland is being degraded, and the rate is increasing. The greatest threat may not be shortage of land, but a shortage of water. More than half a billion people live in areas prone to droughts. In the next twenty years, that number will increase five times, to between 2.4 billion and 3.4 billion people. Currently, that means half of Earth's population will run out of water within 20 years. It is impossible to farm animals and grow crops without water, which will therefore lead to a decrease in food availability, especially in areas already suffering from famines. A recent report, released by the World Watch Institute, declares that, â€Å"Mining consumes 10% of the world's energy, spews out toxic emissions, and threatens 40% of the world's undeveloped forests.† These effects could be drastically reduced but, unfortunately, governments are not moving quick enough to stem the tide. This indicates that it is suspected that a major contributing factor to the problem is the attitudes of people. Very few governments are taking radical measures in an attempt to prevent the foreseen problems of the future. The reason for this is that because the problems are not yet taking a huge effect, by the time the effect becomes apparent it will be too late, and any attempts at solving the problem will be useless. One of the great challenges for governments is to help their poorest citizens feel secure in their own homes, make a living and improve their environment. Around 1.2 billion people live in absolute poverty – surviving on less than a dollar a day. As populations spiral upward, the underground water tables are dropping. Many regions face severe drought. Deserts are growing. Forests are being cut down and the land they leave behind is wasting away. Since forty percent of all vegetable and grain food supplies come from irrigated land, a failing water supply creates sever food shortages. Many countries are facing water shortages in the twenty-first century, especially India, whose population passed one billion in May 2002. They are currently expanding by 18 million per year. Water withdrawals now double the environments ability to re-supply. Half of India's grain harvest comes from irrigated land. World Watch reports, â€Å"In a country where 53 percent of all children are already malnourished and underweight, a shrinking harvest could increase hunger-related deaths.† Another threat is shrinking croplands. Some nations already depend almost entirely upon imported food. Eventually, the food will simply not be available to those nations. First, increased costs will drain those nations of their economic cash flows, and one day, the exporting nations will not be able to supply food at any price. Among the countries where shrinking croplands threaten food supplies are Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Pakistan. Nigerias population will increase from its present 111 million to a estimated 244 million by 2050, while its grain-land per person will stay the same. That means each person will have less than half the current supply. Pakistan is expected to grow from its current 146 million to 345 million by 2050. By that time, each person will be dependent upon a piece of grain-land the size of a tennis court. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan already import 70 percent of their grain. Water supplies are fixed by nature. They cannot be increased. On the other hand, an ever-increasing population can deplete them. This is also true of croplands. I feel that although an increasing population is having a drastically negative effect upon the depletion of the world's resources, and that resources are clearly unfairly distributed. It is the richest and relatively most sparsely populated countries, particularly Western Europe and America that receive the highest share of the world's natural resources. This is because they are the richest countries and can therefore afford to grow their own resources as well as import others, yet offer very little money for them. The effect this has is that the worlds resources are being unfairly relocated into the richest countries where it could be claimed that they are being wasted. It is clear that the richest countries currently have an excess of resources that they could share across the world to help combat the problem stated by the question. The problem with this is that it is non-profitable and the countries would lose a lot of money, which in a materialistic world is more important than tackling issues of poverty and malnutrition.

Comparing the City in the United States and Canada

Comparing the City in the United States and Canada Canadian and American cities may appear remarkably similar. They both display great ethnic diversity, impressive transportation infrastructure, high socioeconomic status, and sprawl. However, when the generalizations of these traits are broken down, it reveals a multitude of urban contrasts. Sprawl in the United States and Canada In contrast, even when controlling for population data from annexed territory, six of the ten largest Canadian cities saw a population explosion from 1971-2001 (the Canadian census was conducted one year after U.S. census), with Calgary experiencing the largest growth at 118%. Four cities did experience population declines, but none to the extent of their U.S. counterparts. Toronto, Canadas largest city lost only 5% of its population. Montreal experienced the steepest decline, but at 18%, it still pales in comparison to the 44% loss incurred by cities like St. Louis, Missouri. The difference between the intensity of sprawl in America and Canada has to do with the countries divergent approaches to urban development. American metropolitan areas are heavily centered around the automobile, while Canadian areas are more focused on public transit and pedestrian traffic. Transportation Infrastructure in the United States and Canada Unlike their neighbors to the south, Canada only has 648,000 miles of total roads. Their highways stretch just over 10,500 miles, less than nine percent of total United States road mileage. Noted, Canada only has one-tenth the population and much of its land is uninhabited or under permafrost. But nevertheless, Canadian metropolitan areas are not nearly as centered on the automobile as their American neighbors. Instead, the average Canadian is more than twice as likely to utilize public transportation, which contributes to its urban centralization and overall higher density. All seven of Canadas largest cities display public transit ridership in the double digits, in comparison to just two in the entire United States (Chicago 11%, NYC 25%). According to the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), there are over 12,000 active buses and 2,600 rail vehicles across Canada. Canadian cities also resemble more closely to the European style of smart growth urban design, which advocates co mpact, pedestrian and bicycle-friendly land use. Thanks to its less-motorized infrastructure, Canadians on average walk twice as often as their American counterparts and bike three times the miles. Ethnic Diversity in the United States and Canada Although minority urban development has its similarities in the United States and Canada, their demographic and level of integration differs. One divergence is the discourse of the American melting pot versus the Canadian cultural mosaic. In the United States, most immigrants usually assimilate themselves rather quickly into their parent society, while in Canada, ethnic minorities tend to remain more culturally and geographically distinctive, at least for a generation or two. There is also a demographic dissimilarity between the two countries. In the United States, Hispanics (15.1%) and Blacks (12.8%) are the two dominate minority groups. The Latino cultural landscape can be seen throughout many southern cities, where Spanish urban designs are most prevalent. Spanish is also now the second most widely spoken and written language in the United States. This, of course, is the result of Americas geographic proximity to Latin America. In contrast, Canadas largest minority groups, excluding the French, are South Asians (4%) and Chinese (3.9%). The extensive presence of these two minority groups is attributed to their colonial connection to Great Britain. A vast majority of the Chinese are emigrants from Hong Kong, who fled the island in sizable numbers just prior its 1997 handover to communist China. Many of these immigrants are affluent and they have purchased a great deal of property throughout Canadas metropolitan areas. As a result, unlike in the United States where ethnic enclaves are usually found exclusively in the central city, Canadian ethnic enclaves have now spread into the suburbs. This ethnic invasion-succession has dramatically altered the cultural landscape and galvanized social tensions in Canada. Sources: CIA World Factbook (2012). Country profile: USA. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html CIA World Factbook (2012). Country profile: Canada. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html Lewyn, Michael. Sprawl in Canada and the United States. Graduate Department of Law: University of Toronto, 2010