Sci-fi. Inception science fiction film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sci-fi. Inception science fiction film - Essay Example Subsequently, Inception went on to win several significant awards, but most notably the Academy Awards. The film projects three principal themes; dreams, recursion and, suicide. Inception questions the wisdom of accessing too much information from a person’s subconscious. The movie revolves around a thief, Cobb, who steals precious information from the minds of his targets. He does this by projecting into their respective subconscious and sourcing the essential information. It is during one such projection, Saito’s mind, that he is defeated in retrieving the required information, but ends up being hired for a job whose gains will see him able to return, safely, to his family. The picture expounds on the strain that was faced in the new task, Fischer’s subconscious. Amidst all this, Cobb has to battle his emotions pertaining to his wife’s suicide, which disturbs and delays waylays him, within the target’s subconscious. Ultimately, Ariadne shoots Mal, thus, saving Cobb. The mission is successful, and the protagonist’s return to his family is made plausible. Very few movies have explored this unique theme of projecting into people’s dreams. The movie illustrates this process in a manner previously rarely seen. The main audience of this film happens to be adults. This arises from the fact that its themes and intricate details can only be fully grasped by adults. Science can best be defined as a realistic speculation of future scientific and social advancements. This is realized via deep understanding of the scientific world. It requires a considerable amount of imagination and existence of the element of plausibility. It is imperative for Science fiction movies to be characterized by conflict, believability and excellent visual effects. Inception is characterized by all these three elements. The Dreams are a core theme throughout the entirety of the movie. It entails an intricate web of interconnected dreams. A dreamer is the individual in whose dream the action exists. Subsequently, each level of dreaming must have its own dreamer. Each dream must have its subject, who is the individual whose subconscious is the source of information. Unless something bizarre happens, the dreamer is usually unaware that he is dreaming. However, in the event the subject realizes he is dreaming, his projections are often violent towards the dreamer. To avoid such eventualities, the work of the architect is to make the world as real as humanly possible. In the dream world, when an individual committed suicide, it meant a safe passage to reality. This was often the avenue of choice for a majority of characters in the film when at wits end. However, in the Fischer mission, this avenue is unsafe as no guarantee exits on its safety and certainty. The team realizes that death, in that particular dream state, will usher them into limbo where one is prone to insanity. Throughout the entirety of the film, the protagonist is haunted by the first suicide in the films beginning. His wife, Mal committed suicide while attempting to return to her children in real life. She had believed that she was still in her dream while in fact she was in the actual world. The third prominent theme is that of recursion. This is evident in both conceptual and visual features. This is exemplified by a dreamer is dreaming a dream. This creates the concept of levels as sociated to levels. A dreamer first dream in the first level, then another dreamer inside the first dream initiates another dream. Thus, two dreams now exist, and events are now taking place in the second level: often, the inner stories inside the dream in a dream overwhelm the real world framing. These interconnected dreams are the core concept of the film. Recursion enables the individuals

Internet and children Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Internet and children - Research Paper Example This paper will aim to understand the facets of children and internet. It is clear that internet and technology are vital components of the future. With the advent of technology, the internet has become a very strong force. Internet is a monumental channel that can have a positive and a negative impact on children. The advent of social media has revolutionized internet, but is it safe for children. In my opinion, the internet has become an addiction for the children in more bad than good. As a matter of fact, this paper will aim to analyze this addiction that has deterred children from physical activity. The question remains- has the Internet produce a thinking and analysis in children? Are We Losing Our Ability to Think Critically?, an excellent article written by Samuel Greengard certainly agrees with this phenomena. As a matter of fact, conducive research statistics indicate this to be a vital force as many children use GOOGLE as a search engine. Additionally, many scholars insist that at least 65% of children have been a victim of cyber bullying. Without a doubt, these are hefty sources. The advent of internet has opened many paths but has may diminish critical thinking. Children are quick to GOOGLE or use Wikipedia as their primary source of information.

Information Policy and Governance Essay Example for Free

Information Policy and Governance Essay Besides the security loopholes and privacy demands from information providers and users, there are various issues that have drawn the attention of information management from the novice systems to advanced information management systems. Policies, in the management worlds have been used as guidelines against which certain safety frameworks are checked. In the information management sectors, policies are guidelines against which the integrity of information and its security can be formulated. Complexity  Whilst I have recognized that a governance copycat seems now to be undulating, I am reluctant to have a definite conclusion and certainly not in a gullible fashion. Instead, I believe that governing complexity of information is far from straightforward and, indeed, that governance malfunction in an organization is custom. Where there are not corporate strategies to guide information management, computer executives will be in risk when making long-term technology choices making it imperative for top-management executive and possibly shareholders to be involved in any decisions that involve governing of Information. The dangers of internal or external threats to a company’s data are becoming more complex as the profundity, extent of a company’s information expands hastily, and data is collective with business partners, suppliers, and customers. The complexities involved in the policy formulation process may be mainly sourced from the end users who may not always be agreeable to the draft policies and without adequate coordination, the process can collapse. Massive training programs, in-depth directives, guidelines and basic instructions, must all be considered as part of the policy formulation processes hence the complexity. Although the complexity of policy formulation may be in the initial stages, governance poses a challenge in the implementation phases. Information Policy Formulation of information management policies involves both the policy formulators and the information users. There is much coordination and interpretation needed. In many instances, there would be several drafts, approvals, debates and eventual releases. Though the information users may agree to the underlying policies on how they would create, have or gain access to, store, as well as dispose of information be it personal or business information, there may be numerous challenges to top management on how to govern and manage the long-term adherence to the formulated policies. Accountability procedures have to therefore be implemented to ensue that the policies agreed upon are not only implemented but adhered to. Policy Frame works. Besides the challenges involved in making agreeable terms upon which information management can be based, basic policies have to be formulated to guide all the stakeholders on the foundational frameworks of information integrity and security. In this case, the attention is then drawn to some basis questions: who makes the information management policies? How are the information management policies made? â€Å"Traditional organizational structure is crumbling under the weight of ever increasing egulations that drive greater accountability and transparency. Smart companies are on the forefront of building new and improved structures that support and enhance this new compliance environment, and best practices are emerging† (Atkinson Leandri, 2005, p. 37). The foundational frameworks upon which information management policies are formulated are key. Basic consideration, in this process, is given to the particular organizational needs as well as long-term goals. Both short-term as well as long-term organizational information needs have to also be evaluated, both Bookmark Privacy In any democratic society privacy is an essential human right. And now organizations are evolving in their thoughts about information privacy. More focus is being placed on the value it can deliver to an organization, and how it can contribute to enhanced and sustained stakeholder value. Most businesses are very particular about data privacy by making sure that certain data does not end up in wrong hands. As part of putting into practice this requests, the business logic section executes functions that make compulsory privacy rules which are a derivative from business rules and sources for government, industry and consumer privacy rules. Rules Traditionally, law and government policy have customary default rules for information policy, but for network environments and the information society the government is not solely responsible for making this rules. In any organization that shares data both internally and externally rules have to be put in place to govern who and when information can be accessed. And if the information is accessed there has to be certain checks and balances that make sure only the information required can be accessed. Linked Data Linked data is the aptitude of an organization to add one information set to another data set and use it for further relevance. This can be achieved by making some changes to the way information is presented to the public and some naming standards have to be implemented and followed. This is not a necessarily complex change that an organization needs to make but it will require alto of expertise, strategy planning and implementation. Places that offer information to public, such as libraries would benefit enormously from using linked data design. It means that they will stop spending time on data aggregation and start spending it on analysis and action of the already existing data. An example is linked data can be used in secure surroundings to help partners share personal, sensitive or profitable information on presentation and resources and help better target those in need or areas for improvement. Conclusion Not every organisation has setup an information management policy, and many carry out their business commendably without one. However, certain occurrences can occur and will alert such organisations to the necessity for one, however, and perpetually this will be at that dangerous ‘its too late’ moment. To avoid such kind of mishaps it is always good for organization to start planning on how they will manage there information and govern it within the company.

Bilingualism in the Basque Country Spain

Bilingualism in the Basque Country Spain Agur the first time I heard this word I lived in San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain. It is Basque and it means bye. When I laid on the beach some weird language I could not understand was spoken over the public address system and after that language followed a Spanish speaking lady saying that a child had been found. I was fascinated by this language, how can it be that it is so different from all the other languages I know? When I heard about the paper subjects I immediately knew I wanted to find out more about the Basque language and the bilingual system in the Basque Country in Spain. In this paper I will discuss the multilingual history of Spain, describe the situation of the Basque language in the Basque country and I will develop more about the educational systems to stimulate Basque language proficiency. I hope to give the reader an insight in the Basque educational system, the Basque Country itself and in the multilingual history of Spain. This paper consists out of a liter ature review on the basis of earlier studies because it was hard to find evidence on my own. At first this paper will describe the history of multilingualism in Spain, has the Spanish government always allowed bilingual education? Which co-official languages exist in Spain? Then a closer look will be taken on the Basque Country: a description of the area will be given, percentages of bilingual speakers, the attitude of Basque speakers towards Basque; why and when do they speak the language? In the next paragraph the educational models that were created by the Basque government will be described. These models were created to improve the second language proficiency in Basque for Spanish-speakers. An overview will be given of the three existing educational models. Finally a paragraph will discuss the attitude of Basque speakers and non-Basque speakers; where is Basque mostly spoken? Why there? Has the number of students studying Basque increased of decreased? This paper will be ended with a conclusion which sums up all the major findings of this paper. History multilingualism Spain Spain, as we know it today, is a multilingual country. It consists out of seventeen autonomous communities. Six of these communities (Catlonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic islands, Galicia, the Basque Country and Navarre) recognize a language of their own which is, together with Spanish, the official language in their territory. All Spanish autonomous communities have received legislative power in some areas. One of those areas is education, so the Spanish autonomous communities can adapt their own rules on education. So all the six communities with their own language can offer education in this language. This sounds all very positive; the possibility to teach children in the minority language and to have the minority language recognized as being an official language. Yet the life story of multilingualism has not always been like this. Thanks to historical developments, we can speak of the multilingual country Spain, but multilingualism used to be forbidden during the dictatorship of General Franco (1939-1975). After the Civil War (1936-1939) General Franco came in power and this put an end to the second republic. During Francos regime he declared Spanish as the only official language, and Franco forced the minority languages to disappear from the public domains; they could not be used in the media, public administration nor in education. The use of the languages was limited to domestic use, the people could only speak their language in their homes and not on the street, at work or other public places. When Francos regime came to an end, Spain established a democracy and a new Constitution was passed (1978). Many new regulations were adapted and the new Statues of Autonomy were passed. These statues divided Spain in the following autonomous commun ities: Aragà ³n, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, the Basque Country, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla-Leon, Catalonia, Ceuta and Melilla, Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia and Navarra. The country was not only divided into different areas, some areas also retrieved an official status for their own language, which was the case for Catalan, Basque and Galician. Spanish became the official language of the Spanish state, but the autonomous communities can have an own official language next to Spanish. This meant that all the minority languages in Spain were acknowledged. Nowadays Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, the Basque country and Galicia have two official languages; Spanish and the official language of their territory. All the Parliaments of the above mentioned communities together created the Laws of Linguistic Normalization in 1983. This was a reaction on the regime of Franco. The laws not only gave minority languages the co-official status next too Spanish, but also the right to know and use the other language in any context, the principle of no discrimination on linguistic grounds and control of the educational system, culture and media to the autonomies (Huguet et al. 2008). Another aim of the Laws of Linguistic Normalization is to ensure that students have a balanced command of Spanish and their second language by the time they leave school. This aim has led to Catalan, Valencian, Balearic, Navarrese, Basque and Galician educational systems to create bilingual schools where mother tongue Spanish speakers can develop their language competence in the minority language (Lasagbaster and Huguet, 2007, Huguet, et al 2008). During the last twenty years bilingual education has increased in Spain. The Laws of Linguistic Normalization give autonomies the right to develop their own educational systems following a bilingual criteria. A description of the educational system in the Basque Country can be found on p. 8 of this paper. Figure Map of Spanish bilingual communities In figure 1 (Huguet, et al 2008) the communities with their own official language besides Spanish are highlighted: the Balaeric islands (where Catalan is spoken), the Basque Country and Navarre (where Basque is spoken) , Galicia (where Galician is the minority language) and Valencia (where Valencian is spoken). The autonomous communities of Aragon (where both Catalan and Aragonese are spoken) and Asturias (where Asturias is spoken) are also added to the figure. In Aragon and Asturias the minority languages have no legal status. Tabel Percentage of inviduals who can understand and can speak the minority language (Huguet et al, 2008) Catalonia Valencia The Balearic Islands Galicia The Basque Country Navarra Individuals who can understand (passive) 97 89 92 99 44 23 Individuals who can speak (active) 79 56 72 89 29 16 This table shows an enormous difference between the communities. In Catalonia, Valencia, the Balearic Islands and Galicia over 90% of the population can understand the minority language and many (although less than 90%) can also speak the minority language. Yet in the Basque Country and Navarra the percentages are much lower, less than 50% of the population can understand the minority language and even a lower percentage can speak it. But in the case of the Basque Country, many things are done to improve the situation of the minority language as we will discuss in the next paragraphs. The Basque country The Basque country covers an area of approximately 20,742 square kilometres and is divided into seven provinces: three belonging to the French Pyrenà ©es Atlantiques community (Lapurdi, Nafarroa, Beherea and Zuberoa), and four to two autonomous regions in Spain (The Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre). In this paper the situation of the Basque Autonomous Community (BAC) will be described. The total Basque population exists out of 3 million inhabitants, with 92% being Spanish citizens. In the BAC live around 2.1 million inhabitants, of which 24.7% are bilingual and 16.3% are passive bilingual. Basque is a minority language spoken by only 27% of the population. The Basque language is the only non-Indo-European language in Western Europe and although the language has been in touch with many Roman languages (Spanish, French, Catalan), it is completely unrelated to them. This is probably one of the most important reasons why so few people of the Basque population (almost 60%) do not understand Basque at all. The language differs so much from Spanish and other Roman languages in Spain that it has no interface with other languages in the country. Spanish is the first official and dominant language in BAC, so that makes all Basque speakers bilingual because they speak Spanish and Basque. Since Spanish is also the dominant language is makes proficiency in Basque not necessary in many areas. (Perez Vidal, ..) The monolingual Spanish speakers in the BAC do not necessarily need the Basque language to survive in the BAC. Everyone around them speaks English, in formal settings the language spoken is mostly Spanish, the media mostly publishes in Spanish, and so everything around them is in Spanish. This especially counts for the bigger cities, such as Bilbao or San Sebastià ¡n (Donostia in Basque). In smaller villages in the country side there are more people who speak Basque and speaking Basque becomes more of a necessity. Thanks to the promotion of Basque in schools there has been an increase of 95,000 Basque speakers from 1981 to 1991 (Garmendia 1994, Perez Vidal ..) and in the next decade (1991-2001) the percentage of bilinguals in the range of 16-24 years old has almost doubled, from 25% to 48% (Gobierno Vasco, 2003; Huguet 2008). Basque is in the process of reversing language shift (Fishman 1991, Cenoz 2005). Reversing language shift is putting a stop to the declining use of a language and increasing its status in the population. Joshua Fishman created eight steps in which a dead or threatened language can be brought back to life. The Basque language is in the process of being revitalised. The Basque language is used more and more by the Basque population and the attitudes towards the language are increasingly positive. Basque is used as a medium of instruction, on the Basque television channel, on the Basque radio and in Basque newspapers. Even though the use of the Basque language increases, the other official language of BAC, Spanish, is used more for these purposes. So Basque is present in the media of the BAC, yet Spanish takes a bigger role and is more used in the Basque media. But a high percentage of Bascophones do use the media in Basque; 77% of the Basque bilinguals listen to the Basque radio and 82% watches the Basque television (Cenoz 2005). Bascophones speak Basque in the private domain and they tend to use Spanish for formal settings. Bascophones use Basque to talk to their children, and mostly use Spanish to communicate with other family members. The factors that influence the usage of Basque are: the number of Bascophones in the subjects social networks, the relative ease with which the subject has to use Basque and Spanish, and the number of Bascophones in the sociolinguistic area where the subject lives. (Euskararen Jarraipena I 1995 cited in Cenoz 2005: page 43). So even though the Basque language is growing in popularity, it is remarkable to see that Bascophones prefer to use Basque in their domestic area and speak Spanish in more formal settings. Basque in education Bilingual education has been present in the Basque educational system since the 19th century. Some schools were bilingual or even trilingual (i.e. Spanish, Basque and French). Spanish schools are either public or private. Public schools are usually fully or partially funded by the Spanish government so parents do not have to pay a lot of money for their children attending school, private schools are not financed by the government, which means that parents have to pay more money if they want their children to study there. During the 1960s a number of private Basque schools (ikastolas) were founded. The ikastolak schools are created as a promotion tool for the usage of Basque in education, and even though in the 1960 it was illegal to use Basque in education, the number of students increased over the years. Today most of the ikastolak are part of the Ikastolen Elkartea, which is a covering body preoccupied with the promotion of different projects to improve the quality of education (in kindergarten, primary and secondary education). With the Law of Linguistic Normalization both Basque and Spanish became compulsory subjects at school and three models of bilingual education were created. These models are based on the assumption that bilingual education has important advantages. For example, bilingual education can have a positive effect on cognitive development and communication ability. Bialystok found that bilingual children were superior to monolingual children on measures of the cognitive control of linguistic processes. (Bialystok 1978b cited in Baker, 2006: page 157) The three different bilingual models in the BAC are: Model A, B, and D. (The C does not exists in Basque). Model A: This model is intended for mother tongue speakers of Spanish who want instructions in Spanish. All subjects are in Spanish, except for Basque, which is taught four to five hours a week. Model B: This model is intended for mother tongue speakers of Spanish who want to be bilingual in Spanish and Basque. Both languages are used as languages of instruction for 50% of the school time. Model D: The model was intended as a maintenance program for the Basque, but many Spanish students are studying according to this model as well. Basque is the language of instruction and Spanish is taught as a subject for four to five hours a week. Model D schools can be seen as both total immersion programmes for majority language (Spanish) students and first language maintenance programmes for native Basque speakers. Parents can choose the model they want for their children and both models are available at public and private schools. From 1983/1983 to 2004/2005 the amount of pre-university students enrolled in Model A has decreased from 415.456 (79.34%) to 81.603 (26.69%), yet Model B has increased from 44.458 (8.49%) to 69.941 (22.88%) but Model D has increased the most: from 63.699 (12.17%) to 154.164 (92%). The majority of all the pupils (92%) are enrolled in Models B and D. (Huguet et al 2008) In Table 2 we see the number of students in the different models in the BAC in the year 2001-2002. At every level, either kindergarten, primary school or at compulsory secondary school the highest amount of students is studying according to model D, where Basque is the language of instruction and Spanish is a subject. Model B is the runner up, where both languages are languages of instruction, and the lowest amount of students study in Model A, where Spanish is the language of instruction and Basque is taught as a subject. This shows the trend that a lot of students choose to study Basque and that the language its popul arity is growing. (p.t.o. for table) Table Number of students in Models A,B, and D in the BAC (2001-2002) Model A Model B Model D Other Kindergarten and primary school 24.831 45.807 85.676 1.255 (3- 12 year-old children) 15.8% 29.1% 54.3% 0.8% Compulsory secondary school 26.370 19.131 31.651 597 (12-16 year-old children) 34% 24.6% 40.7% 0.7% Language attitude The status of the Basque language has increased during the last fifty years. The number of students studying Basque has increased and this influences the number of bilinguals in the BAC. But there still seems to be a gap between the knowledge and the use of Basque in daily life. As mentioned before: Basque can be found in education and in the media, yet Spanish is still the prevailing language. Bascophones usually tend to use their language in the home situation and not in more formal settings. It is remarkable that more and more native Spanish speakers decide to study Basque (in either Model B or D schools), yet Basque is still a domestic language. Spanish is still the dominant language in the BAC, the use of Basque in daily life is limited to areas that are dominated by Bascophones. Maybe the language attitude towards the Basque language has an influence on the use of Basque. Lasagabaster (2005) has done a research on this subject; Attitudes towards Basque, Spanish and English. He defined attitudes with the words of Skehan (1989): attitudes are part of the so-called affective variables of language learning, together with personality, motivation, the learners expectations, social cultural experience or anxiety. Lasagabaster states that attitudes are a key factor in sociolinguistics and language learning. He used 1087 participants, all undergraduates in the age range of 18-50 and all studying at university. The participants studied at one of the three campuses in which the university of the BAC is divided: Arba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. Lasagabaster found that the degree in competence in Basque influenced the students attitudes towards Basque; very competent students had a more positive attitude than those with little or good demand of the language. The same counts f or Spanish, if a students speaks very well Spanish, the attitude towards the language will be more positive than the attitude of someone whose Spanish is of a lower level. He also found that students living in a dominant Basque-speaking area (such as small towns) are more favourable towards the Basque language than those who live in dominant Spanish-speaking areas (such as big cities).This can be explained by the migration from Spanish workers to the BAC on the labor market. The younger generation in the BAC tends to use Spanish instead of Basque. This can be explained by the fact that majority languages usually seem to be cooler than the minority languages to the teenagers, therefore they prefer to speak Spanish. Conclusion Schools should try to intervene in the attitude towards Basque. They should try to create language awareness courses to change the attitudes towards the minority language. Teachers could do this by showing the students how rich the world becomes with so many different languages. A positive attitude towards Basque is increasing, but more should be done to change the status of Basque as minority language in its own territory. The government should try to change the language attitude towards Basque. The heritage of Franco (the use of domestic Basque) should be disinherited. The Bascophones should feel that they can also use their own language outside their homes and use it at work or on the street. But therefore more people should learn Basque, because otherwise only a small amount of colleagues would understand the Bascophones. By implementing more Basque on educational and media level the usage of Basque will grow. More people will be forced to speak or learn Basque and the attitude t owards the language will increase positively even more. It will not only be dominant in the smaller villages, but also in the bigger cities. As a result the language will be everywhere and the native Spanish speakers who studies Basque will learn the language with more ease. The only risk of so many non-native Basque speakers is that they will influence the language and add a Spanish influence to the grammar or lexical level. Unfortunately, attitudes are difficult to change. The attitude towards Basque has been negative under the leadership of Franco (which lasted for almost 40 years) and to changing this attitude immediately is impossible. It takes small baby steps, but those baby steps are heading the right way. In the example of Spain we can see that there is a political influence on language education and attitude. During Francos regime the use of minority languages in public was forbidden, this influenced the attitudes towards the minority languages. Nowadays Basque is still not used often in formal settings, Bascophones tend to use Basque for domestic use and Spanish in formal settings. Most of the media in the BAC are in Spanish and not in Basque. It seems that Francos regime still has an impact on the use of the Basque language in formal settings. But to close of with a positive note: bilingualism in the Basque country has come a long way. Basque used to be forbidden and nowadays the attitude towards the language is growing positively. More and more students are attending model D schools, schools where the language of instruction is Basque and Spanish is taught as a subject. Although the situation of Basque is improving, there are still few people who speak the language, but thanks to the increase of students the number of bilinguals in the BAC also increases. Hopefully this will prevent Basque becoming a dead language and remain a vivid language.

Conductivity :: essays research papers

Super conductivity is a natural phenomenon in which certain materials such as metals, alloys, and ceramics, can conduct electricity without resistance. These materials are what we call superconductors. In a superconductor, once the flow of electrons begins, it essentially goes on forever, making it an important material to humans. Superconductivity was discovered by a Dutch scientist by the name of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes in 1911. While researching properties of materials at absolute zero, this man found out that certain materials lost its resistance to the flow of electrons. For years to come, his discovery was at the head of theoretical interest. The only problem though, was that people at that time could not even think of a way to produce such a temperature, to allow materials to be superconductors at all times. This all changed in 1986 when Karl Muller and George Bednorz were working at the IBM Research Division in Zurich, Switzerland. They found a material that reached supercond uctivity at around 35 degrees Kelvin or –238 degrees Celsius. In the next year, a team of Chinese-American physicists declared that they had found a material that reached superconductivity at 92 degrees Kelvin. This was a big improvement. 92 degrees Kelvin is not a very high temperature, in fact, it is the equivalent of –181 degrees Celsius. Locating superconducting material above 77 degree Kelvin is a good thing because it means that the material will be easily produced and used. A theoretical understanding of superconductivity was advanced in 1957 by American physicists John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and John Schrieffer. Their Theories of Superconductivity became know as the BCS theory (which came from each mans last name) and won them a Nobel prize in 1972. The BCS theory explained superconductivity at temperatures close to absolute zero. However, at higher temperatures and with different superconductor systems, the BCS theory has consequently became insufficient to ful ly explain electron behavior. The Type 1 category of superconductors is basically made up of pure metals that normally show conductivity at room temperature. They require really cold temperatures to slow down molecular vibrations enough to facilitate unrestrained electron flow in agreement to the BCS theory. BCS theory suggests that electrons team up in cooper pairs in order to help each other overcome molecular obstacles. Type 1 superconductors were discovered first and require the coldest temperatures to become superconductive. They are characterized by a very sharp transition to a superconducting state.

Leonardo Da Vinci Essay -- Biography Biographies Bio

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), Florentine artist of the Renaissance (the period of Western European history stretching from the early 14th century to the mid to late 16th century), a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist. His deep love for nature, knowledge, research and experience, was the central reason of both his artistic and scientific accomplishments. " Though I have no power to quote from authors as they do I shall rely on a bigger and more worthy thing-on experience."{The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci pg.2} His originality in the field of painting influenced the course of Italian art for more than a century after his death, and his scientific studies--particularly in the fields of anatomy, optics, and hydraulics--anticipated many of the developments of modern science. His amazing powers of observation and skill as an illustrator enabled him to notice and recreate the effects he saw in nature, and added a special liveliness to his portraits. Curious as well as observant, he constantly tried to explain what he saw, and described many experiments to test his ideas. Because he wrote down and sketched so many of his observations in his Notebooks, it's known that he was among the very first to take a scientific approach towards understanding how our world works, and also reveal his sense of freedom, by disagreeing with the authorities (Bible, Aristotle, Plato) of his time. Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the greatest figures of Renaissance due to his contributions to the world artistically, scientifically and more importantly his freedom of thought, according to his Notebooks. Leonardo's close relationship with nature along with his curiosity led him to many discoveries that have become exceedingly useful to all h... ...ues of perspective. He opened the doors of human freedom for many thinkers that came after him. His sense of freedom and independence is seen throughout his work. What makes Leonardo exceptional is the notion that he acquired all his knowledge through experience. In Leonardo's period freedom of thought or speech did not exist, as it does today. All persons were forced to agree and go along with authorities, which at that time were the Bible, Plato and Aristotle. If people were critical of the authorities they would deal with deadly consequences. Leonardo did not hesitate; using his Notebooks he expressed his thoughts freely. Throughout his life he questioned and criticized the authorities. His freedom of thought and courageousness opened many doors for other scholars. Works Cited 1452, and 1519. The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci Complete. Public Domain Books, 2004.

Thrives on Misunderstanding: Analysis of “A Doll House”

Of all the struggles of the oppressed, perhaps the most daunting has been the most silently tyrannical. Women have spent ages proving their obvious intellectual, cognitive, and social equality to the male population, especially to the men in their lives. In â€Å"A Doll House† and â€Å"Trifles,† Henrik Ibsen and Susan Glaspell illustrate how men not only underestimate their wives, but also drive them to hide their true thoughts, act in secrecy, and ultimately take formidable, yet understandable measures of overcompensation. They do so while simultaneously imposing unique male and female perspectives on the relationships they create.Through the men’s shallow view of the women around them and their inability to properly analyze their interactions, the male characters in â€Å"Trifles† and â€Å"A Doll House† create a culture of tension and resentment in their households that lead their wives to rebel against their oppression. In A â€Å"Doll House,à ¢â‚¬  Ibsen uses Torvald’s character to highlight the patronizing quality of the 19th century husband. Torvald addresses his wife, Nora, almost always by pet names, such as â€Å"Is that my little lark twittering out there?†¦ Is that my squirrel rummaging around?†¦When did my squirrel get in? † (859) For the better part of three acts, Nora internalizes the condescension and relishes the adoration—or at least she pretends to. The comments, which serve to reduce her humanity, lead Nora to realize that Torvald is ill-equipped to be a husband or a father, as he can only seem to sustain the relationships he dominates. As she comes to this realization, she tells her husband â€Å"There’s another job I have to do first. I have to try to educate myself. You can’t help me with that. I’ve got to do it alone. And that’s why I’m leaving you now. (907) Although removing herself from the hold of her husband’s patriarchy se ems logical, it is uncertain whether Nora will adapt to the realities of an independent lifestyle. The transition from her father’s patronization to the binds of Torvald’s expectations left Nora no opportunity to explore her interests or learn practical skills, like money management. Furthermore, had Nora pursued either, her husband would have forbidden her from duties associated with the male realm. The lack of these experiences forced Nora into venturing into the male world of business, taking out the loan which â€Å"saved† Torvald.When he reads Krogstad’s letter, his true sentiments about Nora come out: â€Å"I should have suspected something of the kind. I should have known†¦ All of your father’s flimsy values have come out in you. No religion, no morals, no sense of duty. † (904) Torvald’s lack of faith in Nora’s intellectual and business abilities also become clear through the outburst. The tension and shallowness i n the household become apparent when he uses pet names superficially, but when genuinely expressing emotion, he uses no names of the sort.He restricts their interactions to shallow conversation, which Nora picks up on when she announces her departure: â€Å"In eight whole years—longer even—right from our first acquaintance, we’ve never exchanged a serious word on any serious thing. † (906) Certainly, their interactions are more of a father-child dynamic than that of a married couple. Only when faced with her departure does Torvald make any concessions to the relationship, after attempting to subdue her defiance. Likewise, the women in â€Å"Trifles† are oppressed, though less subtly.Though Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale make significant discoveries at the Wrights’ home, their husbands treat them as children brought along to work. For instance, these women live their day to day lives pursuing the popular cultural interests deemed appropriate for w omen, and as such, are prone to discuss them in conversation. When Mrs. Hale points out Mrs. Wright’s quilt, the sheriff is quick to tease her: â€Å"They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it! (The men laugh, the woman look abashed. † (917) The blatant disrespect makes the women disinclined to tell the men investigating the crime scene any of their real findings, almost out of spite and to protect their fellow woman, Mrs. Wright. The women take note of the quilt, the broken preserves, and the dead canary, which likely triggered Mrs. Wright’s rage. While the men begin their search with the preconceptions that Mrs. Wright committed the crime and attempt to find evidence to prove it, the women assume her innocence; either they choose to because of their kind nature, or perhaps because doing so is a silent form of retaliation. Such rebellion is obvious when Mrs.Hale hides the bird from the sheriff and recalls Mr. Wright’s injustice to his wife: â€Å"I wish you’d seen Minnie Foster when she wore a white dress with blue ribbons and stood up there in the choir and sang. Oh, I wish I’d come over here once in a while! That was a crime! That was a crime! Who’s going to punish that? † (921) The men do not account for the woman Mrs. Wright had once been, and are therefore blind to the motive they search for. Mrs. Wright parallels Nora in that their men drive them to acts of desperation. Whereas Nora merely leaves her oppressive husband, Mrs. Wright finishes hers off herself.The difference in sex between the authors and how they have the women deal with their husbands is especially significant. Ibsen, a man, concludes with the oppressed woman becoming aware of her situation in spite of her lack of education, summoning the courage to leave her husband and family never having experienced independence. Almost suddenly, Nora realizes the lifelong hold of patriarchy her father and husband have imposed on he r when she complains â€Å"Our home’s been nothing but a playpen. I’ve been your doll-wife here, just as at home I was Papa’s doll-child. And in turn, the children have been my dolls.I thought it fun when you played with me, just as they thought it fun when I played with them. That’s been our marriage, Torvald. † (906) Glaspell, on the other hand, brings a female perspective and ended her characters’ marriage in murder—a fit of passion and rage from a woman who had lost her identity and zeal. The female author’s conclusion of overcompensation seems more realistic than the male author’s of miraculous clarity. For example, the male author’s version of the married couple is surely one of blatant shallowness, while the female author indirectly illustrates a dynamic void of respect and love.The more subtle, sinister nuances of the relationship that Glaspell hints at are more characteristic of real relationships; the on es that deteriorate often lose civility gradually. Contrasting, the Helmers were seemingly cordial, though paternalistic, until the end. Through their oppressive behavior, intentional or not, the men in these works contribute to their wives’ emotional deaths and to the deaths of their relationships. By treating them more like pawns in their quest for superficial happiness than equals, these men fail to recognize the frailty of their marriages.In addition, by underestimating their wives’ capabilities, they are blind-sighted when the women assert their humanity. The male-dominant dynamic incites the conflicts that lead the women to rebel; had there been any depth to the husband-wife connections, the contentions of â€Å"A Doll House† and â€Å"Trifles† may have been eschewed all together. Instead, the despotism in these relationships forges irreversible consequences: for the men, the harsh reality of a broken life; for the women, resentment for their oppres sion and a future of uncertainty.