The origin of islam, what is sunni and Shia what are the key Essay

The origin of islam, what is sunni and Shia what are the key differences between the two branches of islam and what kind of issues arise from the differences - Essay Example This paper presents an in-depth and critical analysis of the history of Islam and the major differences between the Shia and Sunni sects (Esposito 97). It does this by focusing on the origin and meaning of the religion and goes ahead to look at the differences between the beliefs hold by the Shia and Sunni and how they have impacted on their relationships. Islam is a religion that was coined from an Arabic word ‘salema’ which can be interpreted to mean ‘submission, peace or obedience.’ As a monotheistic religion, all Muslims (believers of Islamic faith) are required to submit to the Allah and worship Him as the only God. Meaning, they should submit to His will and always accept to obey His laws because it is the best thing to do by a believer as it can provide peace and fulfillment. Just like any other religion, Islam has a set of doctrines that are contained in a Quran-its main holy book. These were passed through Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). In terms of teachings, Islam has its unique set of doctrines that all its believers are expected to practice. These fundamental teachings can be summarized into five main pillars: shahadah; sawm; salat; zakat; and hajj. Each of these stipulates requirements that each and every Muslim needs to fulfill as part of their spiritual pursuit. For instance, according to shahadah, each and every believer should not believe in the existence of any other god rather than Allah and His prophet Mohamed (PBUH). On the other hand salat requires believers to say prayers to Allah five times per day. Meanwhile, zakat advocates for the contribution of alms by each and every believer so as to help the poor people who can not afford daily bread. Nonetheless, sawm requires every Muslim believer to perform the ritualistic annual fasting during the holy month of Ramadan (Esposito 91). Last, but not least, hajj, all able Muslim believers need to pay pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life time becaus e it is the holy city of

Financial Valuation Techniques Research Proposal

Financial Valuation Techniques - Research Proposal Example The research will be conducted from the perspective of strategic valuation and financial valuation. Strategic valuation will relate to historical analysis of the companies and application of models like SWOT, Porter's Diamond, Porter's Five Forces Model, Ansoff Analysis and Balanced Scorecard Analysis. Financial valuation shall be related to DuPont Analysis, Key Ratios, Capital Budgeting, and Cash Flow analysis, Income Analysis, Asset Analysis and Market Analysis. The final outcome shall be a critical comparison of future forecasts of the selected companies applying all the theories. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has global assets which are worth more than $1120 billion. The RBS is the 2nd biggest private bank in Europe, and the 6th biggest in the world. RBS is the 14th biggest company in the world (Forbes Global 2000). Apart from this RBS are an enormously important private investor of oil and gas extraction. This is not only high levels of funding for oil and gas projects, but RBS are 'the oil and gas bank'. They are the central driver of development of the oil and gas industry. The position of RBS on global climate change is far less liberal than many other banks. In spite of stating that the bank "distinguish the considerable global threat laid by climate change", RBS has reported it as 'preposterous' to admit liability for the climate affects ensuing from their loans to fossil fuel projects. Barclays is a financial services group based in UK. It is also an international banking organisation having branches all over Asia-Pacific, Europe and South America. The company is primarily engaged in banking, investment banking and investment management. With regard to market capitalisation, Barclays is one among the top ten banks in the world. Barclays also provides interconnected global services to translational corps and financial institutions all over the world. It is a leading UK retail and business bank with around 76,200 employees and with operations in more than 60 countries. Research Questions The research would help in identifying the following: 1. The role of management in the working environment of both the banks. 2. The major difference in the financial analysis between the two chosen banks. 3. What are the various Valuation Techniques prevalent in the Financial Markets pertaining to the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Barclays Bank Scope of the Research Study Both the banks have grown to be really big so it is very difficult and complex to study its operations in a comprehensive way. Thus this research study will be limited in its quantitative dimension. The questionnaires and interviews will be conducted by limiting the number of employees of both the banks. Due to limitations of the resources it is not possible to conduct a comprehensive quantitative study. On the other hand, the qualitative dimension of this research project will be much more comprehensive since it is

History And Fundamental Concept Of Acoustic Music Essay

History And Fundamental Concept Of Acoustic Music Essay Acoustics is the study of the physical characteristics of sounds. Its deal with things like the frequency, amplitude and complexity of sound waves and how sound waves interact with various environments. It can also be refer casually and generally to the over-all quality of sound in a given place. Someone might say in a non-technical conversation: I like to perform at Smith Hall; the acoustics are very brights.   From the everyday sounds of speech, the hum of appliances, to the sounds caused by wind and water, we are immersed in an ocean of sounds. Yet, what is sound, and how do we hear it? Why do two instruments playing the same note sound different? In this lab you will learn the basics of the answers to these questions. To answer the later question, we will analyze sound as an audio engineer would, through a technique called harmonic analysis. Harmonic analysis allows sound to be understood from a quantitative perspective. Also, we will come to an understanding of why the way a computer analyses sound is similar to how our ears analyse sound. I will start this genre presentation by introducing the genre acoustic music. It isnt really a genre, as music played with acoustic instruments can sound very different, but I chose to call the post this, as acoustic music have many similarities. If you like these songs, you should really check out  Bedtime Tunes, which is a site only with songs like these. So without further ado, here are 11 songs with acoustic guitars, pianos, strings and beautiful voices: First here is Antony Hearty with his band  Antony and the Johnsons. Antony Hegarty is a very special person, he is transgendrous, and his voice is absolutely amazing. Unfortunately I havent seen him live, but Ive heard that almost all of the audience comes out from the concert crying Or Acoustics (from Greek pronounced acoustics meaning of or for hearing, ready to hear) is the science that studies sound, in particular its production, transmission, and effects. Sound can often be considered as something pleasant; an example of this would be music. In that case a main application is room acoustics, since the purpose of room acoustical design and optimisation is to make a room sound as good as possible. But some noises can also be unpleasant and make people feel uncomfortable. In fact noise reduction is a major challenge, particularly within the transportation industry as people are becoming more and more demanding. Furthermore ultrasounds also have applications in detection, such as sonar systems or non-destructive material testing. 2. History of acoustic If he first mentioned the Acoustique Art in his  Advancement of Learning  (1605), Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was drawing a distinction between the physical acoustics he expanded in the  Sylva Sylva rum  (1627) and the harmonics of the Pythagorean mathematical tradition. The Pythagorean tradition still survived in Bacons time in the works of such diverse people as Gioseffo Zarlino (1517-1590), Renà © Descartes (1596-1650), and Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). In Bacons words: The nature of sounds, in some sort, [hath  been with some  diligence  inquired,] as far as concerneth music. But the nature of sounds in general hath been superficially observed. It is one of the subtlest pieces of nature. Bacons Acoustique Art was therefore concerned with the study of immusical sounds and with experiments in the migration in sounds so that the harnessing of sounds in buildings (architectural acoustics) by their enclosure in artificial channels inside the walls or in the environment (hydraulic acoustics). Aim of Baconian acoustics was to catalog,  quantify, and shape human space by means of sound. This stemmed from the  echometria,  an early modern tradition of literature on echo, as studied by the mathematicians Giuseppe Biancani (1566-1624), Marin Mersenne (1588-1648), and Daniello Bartoli (1608-1685), in which the model of optics was applied in acoustics to the behaviour of sound. It was in a sense a historical  antecedent  to Isaac Newtons (1642-1727) analogy between colours and musical tones in  Upticks  (1704). Athanasius Kirchers (1601-1680)  Phonurgia Nova  of 1673 was the outcome of this tradition. Attacking British acoustics traditions, Kirsches argued that the origin of the Acoustical Art lay in his own earlier experiments with sounding tubes at the Collegio Romano in 1649 and sketched the ideology of a Christian baroque science of acoustics designed to dominate the world by exploiting the boundless  powers of sound 17th-century empirical observations and mathematical explanations of the simultaneous vibrations of a string at different frequencies were important in the development of modern experimental acoustics. The earliest contribution in this branch of acoustics was made by Mersenne, who derived the mathematical law governing the physics of a vibrating string. Around 1673 Christian Huygens (1629-1695) estimated its absolute frequency, and in 1677 John Wallis (1616-1703) published a report of experiments on the overtones of a vibrating string. In 1692 Francis Roberts (1650-1718) followed with similar findings. These achievements paved the way for the 18th-century  acoustique  of Joseph Sauveur (1653-1716) and for the work of Brook Taylor (1685-1731), Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), Jean Le Rond d Alembert  (1717-1783), Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782), and Giordani Riccati (1709-1790), who all attempted to determine mathematically the fundamental tone and the overtones of a  sonorous  body. Modern experimental acoustics sought in nature, a physical law of the sounding body, the perfect harmony that in the Pythagorean tradition sprang from the mind of the geometrizing God. Experimental epistemology in acoustics also influenced the studies of the anatomy and physiology of hearing, especially the work of Joseph-Guichard Duverney (1648-1730) and Antonio Maria Valsalva (1666-1723), that in the 19th century gave rise to physiological and psychological acoustics. 3. Fundamental concepts of acoustics The study of acoustics revolves around the generation, propagation and reception of mechanical waves and vibrations. The steps shown in the above diagram can be found in any acoustical event or process. There are many kinds of cause, both natural and volitional. There are many kinds of transduction process that convert energy from some other form into acoustic energy, producing the acoustic wave. There is one fundamental equation that describes acoustic wave propagation, but the phenomena that emerge from it are varied and often complex. The wave carries energy throughout the propagating medium. Eventually this energy is transduced again into other forms, in ways that again may be natural and/or volitionally contrived. The final effect may be purely physical or it may reach far into the biological or volitional domains. The five basic steps are found equally well whether we are talking about an earthquake, a submarine using sonar to locate its foe, or a band playing in a rock concert. The central stage in the acoustical process is wave propagation. This falls within the domain of physical acoustics. In  fluids, sound propagates primarily as a pressure wave. In solids, mechanical waves can take many forms including  longitudinal waves,  transverse HYPERLINK http://www.answers.com/topic/transverse-wavewaves  and  surface waves. Acoustics looks first at the pressure levels and frequencies in the sound wave. Transduction processes are also of special importance. 4. Application of Acoustics The science of sound and hearing. This treats the sonic qualities of rooms and buildings, and the transmission of sound by the voice, musical instruments or electric means. Voice is caused by vibration, which is communicated by the sound source to the air as fluctuations in pressure and then to the listeners ear-drum. The faster the vibration (or the greater its frequency) the higher the pitch. The greater the amplitude of the vibration, the louder the sound. Mostly musical sound consist not only of regular vibration at one particular frequency but also vibration at various multiples of that frequency. The frequency of middle C is 256 cycles per second (or Hertz, abbreviated Hz) but when one hears middle C there are components of the sound vibrating at 512 Hz, 768 Hz etc (see  Harmonics). The presence and relative strength of these harmonics determine the quality of a sound. The difference in quality, for example. between a flute, an oboe and a clarinet playing the same note is tha t the flutes tone is relatively pure (i.e. has few and weak harmonics), the oboe is rich in higher harmonics and the clarinet has a preponderance of odd-numbered harmonics. Their different harmonic spectra are caused primarily by the way the sound vibration is actuated (by the blowing of air across an edge with the flute, by the oboes double reed and the clarinets single reed) and by the shape of the tube. Where the players lips are the vibrating agent, as with most brass instruments, the tube can be made to sound not its fundamental note but other harmonics by means of the players lip pressure. The vibrating air column is only one of the standard ways of creating musical sound. The longer the column the lower the pitch; the players can raise the pitch by uncovering hole in the tubes. With that human voice, air is set in motion by means of the vocal cords, folds in the throat which convert the air stream from the lungs into sound; pitch is controlled by the size and shape of the cavities in the pharynx and mouth. For a string instrument, such as the violin, the guitar or the piano, the string is set in vibration by (respectively) bowing, plucking or striking; the tighter and thinner the string, the fasters it will vibrate. By pressing the string against the fingerboard and thus making the operative string-length shorter, the player can raise the pitch. With a percussion instrument, such as the drum or the xylophone, a membrane or a piece of wood is set in vibration by striking; sometimes the vibration is regular and gives a definite pitch but sometimes the pitch is indefinit e. In the recording of sound, the vibration patterns set up by the instrument or instruments to be recorded are encode by analogue (or, in recent recordings. digitally) in terms of electrical impulse. This information can then be stored, in mechanical or electrical form; this can then be decoded, amplified and conveyed to loudspeakers which transmit the same vibration pattern to the airs. The study of the acoustics of buildings is immensely complicated because of the variety of ways in which sound is conveyed, reflected, diffused, absorbed etc. The design of buildings for performances has to take account of such matters as the smooth and even representation of sound at all pitches in all parts of the building, the balance of clarity and blend and the directions in which reflected sound may impinge upon the audiences. The use of particular material (especially wood and artificial acoustical substances) and the breaking-up of surfaces, to avoid certain types of reflection of sounds, play a part in the design of concert halls, which however remains an uncertain art in which experimentation and tuning (by shifting surface, by adding resonators etc.) is often necessary. The term acoustic is sometimes used, of a recording or an instrument, to mean not electric: an acoustic recording is one made before electric methods came into use, and an acoustic guitar is one not electri cally amplified. 4.1 Theory of acoustic The area of physics known as acoustics is devoted to the study of the production, transmission, and reception of sound. Thus, wherever sound is produced and transmitted, it will have an effect some whereas, even if there is no one present to hear it. The medium of sound transmissions is an all-important, key factor. Among the areas addressed within the realm of acoustics are the production of sounds by the human sounds and various instrument, as like the reception of sound waves by the human ear. 5. Working concept of acoustic Sound waves are an example of a larger phenomenon known as wave motion, and wave motion is, in turn, a subset of harmonic motion-that is, repeated movement of a particle about a position of equilibrium, or balance. In the case of sound, the particle is not an item of matter, but of energy, and wave motion is a type of harmonic movement that carries energy from one place to another without actually moving any matter. Particles in waves experience  oscillation, harmonic motion in one or more dimensions. Oscillation itself involves little movement, though some particles do move short distances as they interact with other particles. Primarily, however, it involves only movement in place. The waves themselves, on the other hand, move across space, ending up in a position different from the one in which they started. A  transverse  wave forms a regular up-and-down pattern in which the oscillation is  perpendicular  to the direction the wave is moving. This is a fairly easy type of wave to visualize: imagine a curve moving up and down along a straight line. Sound waves, on the other hand, are  longitudinal  waves, in which oscillation occurs in the same direction as the wave itself. These oscillations are really just fluctuations in pressure. As a sound wave moves through a medium such as air, these changes in pressure cause the medium to experience alternations of density and rarefaction  (a decrease in density). It , in turn, produces vibrations in the human ear or in any other object that receives the sound waves. 5.1 Properties of Sound Waves 5.1.1 Cycle and Period The term cycle has a definition that varies slightly, depending on whether the type of motion being discussed is oscillation, the movement of transverse waves, or the motion of a longitudinal sound wave. In the latter case, a cycle is defined as a single complete  vibration. A period (represented by the symbol  T) is the amount of time required to complete one full cycle. The period of a sound wave can be mathematically related to several other aspects of wave motion, including wave speed, frequency, and  wavelength. 5.1.2 The Speed of Sound in Various Medium People often refer to the speed of sound as though this were a fixed value like the speed of light, but, in fact, the speed of sound is a function of the medium through which it travels. What people ordinarily  mean by the speed of sound is the speed of sound through air at a specific temperature. For sound travelling at sea level, the speed at 32 °F (0 °C) is 740 MPH (331 m/s), and at 68 °F (20 °C), it is 767 MPH (343 m/s). In the essay on  aerodynamics, the speed of sound for aircraft was given at 660 MPH (451 m/s). This is much less than the figures given above for the speed of sound through air at sea level, because obviously, aircraft are not flying at sea level, but well above it, and the air through which they pass is well below freezing temperature. The speed of sound through a gas is proportional to the square root of the pressure divided by the density. According to Gay-Lussacs law, pressure is directly related to temperature, meaning that the lower the pressure, the lower the temperature-and vice versa. At high altitudes, the temperature is low, and, therefore, so is the pressure; and, due to the relatively small gravitational pull that Earth exerts on the air at that height, the density is also low. Hence, the speed of sound is also low. It follows that the higher the pressure of the material, and the greater the density, the faster sound travels through it: thus sound travels faster through a liquid than through a gas. This might seem a bit surprising: at first  glance, it would seem that sound travels fastest through air, but only because we are just more  accustomed  to hearing sounds that travel through that medium. The speed of sound in water varies from about 3,244 MPH (1,450 m/s) to about 3,355 MPH (1500 m/s). Sound travels even faster through a solid-typically about 11,185 MPH (5,000 m/s)-than it does through a liquid. 5.1.3 Frequency Frequency (abbreviated  f) is the number of waves passing through a given point during the interval of one second. It is measured in Hertz (Hz), named after nineteenth-century German physicist Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857-1894) and a Hertz is equal to one cycle of oscillation per second. Higher frequencies are expressed in terms of  kilohertz  (kHz; 103  or 1,000 cycles per second) or  megahertz(MHz; 106  or 1 million cycles per second.) The human ear is capable of hearing sounds from 20 to approximately 20,000 Hz-a relatively small range for a mammal, considering that bats, whales, and dolphins can hear sounds at a frequency up to 150  kHz. Human speech is in the range of about 1 kHz, and the 88 keys on a piano vary in frequency from 27 Hz to 4,186 Hz. Each note has its own frequency, with middle C (the white key in the very middle of a piano keyboard) at 264 Hz. The quality of harmony or  dissonance  when two notes are played together is a function of the relationship between the frequencies of the two. Frequencies below the range of human  audibility  are called  infrasound, and those above it are referred to as  ultrasound. There are a number of practical applications for  ultrasonic  technology in medicine, navigation, and other fields. 5.1.4 Wavelength Wavelength (represented by the symbol ÃŽÂ », the Greek letter lambda) is the distance between a crest and the adjacent crest, or a trough and an adjacent trough, of a wave. The higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength, and vice versa. Thus, a frequency of 20 Hz, at the bottom end of human audibility, has a very large wavelength: 56 ft. (17 m). The top end frequency of 20,000 Hz is only 0.67 inches (17 mm). There is a special type of high-frequency sound wave beyond ultrasound: hyper sound, which has frequencies above 107  MHz, or 10 trillion Hz. It is almost impossible for hyper sound waves to travel through all but the densest media, because their wavelengths are so short. In order to be transmitted properly, hyper sound requires an extremely tight molecular structure; otherwise, the wave would get lost between molecules. Wavelengths of visible light, part of the electromagnetic spectrum, have a frequency much higher even than hyper sounds waves: about 109  MHz, 100 times greater than for hyper sound. This, in turn, means that these wavelengths are incredibly small, and this is why light waves can easily be blocked out by using ones hand or a  curtain. The same does not hold for sound waves, because the wavelengths of sounds in the range of human audibility are comparable to the size of ordinary objects. To block out a sound wave, one needs something of much greater dimensions-width, height, and depth-than a mere cloth curtain. A thick concrete wall, for instance, may be enough to block out the waves. Better still would be the use of materials that absorb sound, such as cork, or even the use of machines that produce sound waves which destructively interfere with the offending sounds. 5.1.5 Amplitude and Intensity Amplitude is critical to the understanding of sound, though it is mathematically independent from the parameters so far discussed. Defined as the maximum displacement of a vibrating material, amplitude  is the size of a wave. The greater the amplitude, the greater the energy the wave contains: amplitude indicates intensity, commonly known as volume, which is the rate at which a wave moves energy per unit of a cross-sectional area. Intensity can be measured in watts per square meter, or W/m2. A sound wave of minimum intensity for human audibility would have a value of 10à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢12, or 0.000000000001, W/m2. As a basis of comparison, a person speaking in an ordinary tone of voice generates about 10à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢4, or 0.0001, watts. On the other hand, a sound with an intensity of 1 W/m2  would be powerful enough to damage a persons ears. 5.2 Real-Life Applications 5.2.1 Decibel Levels For measuring the intensity of a sound as experienced by the human ear, we use a unit other than the watt per square meter, because ears do not respond to sounds in a linear, or straight-line, progression. If the intensity of a sound is doubled, a person perceives a greater intensity, but nothing approaching twice that of the original sound. Instead, a different system-known in mathematics as a logarithmic scale-is applied. In measuring the effect of sound intensity on the human ear, a unit called the  decibel  (abbreviated dB) is used. A sound of minimal audibility (10à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢12  W/m2) is assigned the value of 0 dB, and 10 dB is 10 times as great-10à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢11  W/m2. But 20 dB is not 20 times as intense as 0 dB; it is 100 times as intense, or 10à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢10  W/m2. Every increase of 10 dB thus indicates a  tenfold  increase in intensity. Therefore, 120 dB, the maximum decibel level that a human ear can endure without experiencing damage, is not 120 times as great as the minimal level for audibility, but 1012  (1  trillion) times as great-equal to 1 W/m2, referred to above as the highest safe intensity level. Of course, sounds can be much louder than 120 dB: a rock band, for instance, can generate sounds of 125 dB, which is 5 times the maximum safe decibel level. A gunshot,  firecracker, or a jet-if one is exposed to these sounds at a sufficiently close proximity-can be as high as 140 dB, or 20 times the maximum safe level. Nor is 120 dB safe for prolonged periods: hearing experts indicate that regular and repeated exposure to even 85 dB (5 less than a lawn  mower) can cause permanent damage to ones hearing. 5.3 Production of Sound Waves 5.3.1 Musical Instruments Sound waves are vibrations; thus, in order to produce sound, vibrations must be produced. For a stringed instrument, such as a guitar,  harp, or piano, the strings must be set into vibration, either by the musicians fingers or the mechanism that connects piano keys to the strings inside the case of the piano. In other woodwind instruments and horns, the musician causes vibrations by blowing into the mouthpiece. The exact process by which the vibrations emerge as sound differs between woodwind instruments, such as a  clarinet  or  saxophone  on the one hand, and brass instruments, such as a trumpet or  trombone  on the other. Then there is a drum or other percussion instrument, which produces vibrations, if not musical notes. 5.3.2 Electronic Amplification Sound is a form of energy: thus, when an automobile or other machine produces sound  incidental  to its operation, this actually represents energy that is lost. Energy itself is conserved, but not all of the energy put into the machine can ever be realized as useful energy; thus, the automobile loses some energy in the form of sound and heat. The fact that sound is energy, however, also means that it can be converted to other forms of energy, and this is precisely what a  microphone  does: it receives sound waves and converts them to electrical energy. These electrical signals are transmitted to an  amplifier, and next to a  loudspeaker, which turns electrical energy back into sound energy-only now, the intensity of the sound is much greater. Inside a loudspeaker is a  diaphragm, a thin, flexible disk that vibrates with the intensity of the sound it produces. When it pushes outward, the diaphragm forces nearby air molecules closer together, creating a high-pressure region around the loudspeaker. (Remember, as stated earlier, that sound is a matter of fluctuations in pressure.) The diaphragm is then pushed backward in response, freeing up an area of space for the air molecules. These, then, rush toward the diaphragm, creating a low-pressure region behind the high-pressure one. The loudspeaker thus sends out alternating waves of high and low pressure, vibrations on the same frequency of the original sound. 5.3.3 The Human Voice As impressive as the electronic means of sound production are (and of course the description just given is highly simplified), this technology pales in comparison to the greatest of all sound-producing mechanisms: the human voice. Speech itself is a highly complex physical process, much too involved to be discussed in any depth here. For our present purpose, it is important only to recognize that speech is essentially a matter of producing vibrations on the vocal cords, and then transmitting those vibrations. Before a person speaks, the brain sends signals to the vocal cords, causing them to  tighten. As speech begins, air is forced across the vocal cords, and this produces vibrations. The action of the vocal cords in producing these vibrations is, like everything about the miracle of speech,  exceedingly involved: at any given moment as a person is talking, parts of the vocal cords are opened, and parts are closed. The sound of a persons voice is affected by a number of factors: the size and shape of the sinuses and other cavities in the head, the shape of the mouth, and the placement of the teeth and tongue. These factors influence the production of specific frequencies of sound, and result in differing vocal qualities. Again, the mechanisms of speech are highly complicated, involving action of the diaphragm (a partition of muscle and tissue between the chest and  abdominal  cavities),  larynx, pharynx,  glottis, hard and soft palates, and so on. But, it all begins with the production of vibrations. 6. Propagation: Does It Make a Sound As stated in the introduction, acoustics is concerned with the production, transmission (sometimes called propagation), and reception of sound. Transmission has already been examined in terms of the speed at which sound travels through various media. One aspect of sound transmission needs to be reiterated, however: for sound to be propagated, there must be a medium. There is an age-old philosophical question that goes something like this: If a tree falls in the woods and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound? In fact, the question is not a matter of philosophy at all, but of physics, and the answer is, of course, yes. As the tree falls, it releases energy in a number of forms, and part of this energy is manifested as sound waves. Consider, on the other hand, this rephrased version of the question: If a tree falls in a vacuum-an area completely  devoid  of matter, including air-does it make a sound? The answer is now a qualified no: certainly, there is a release of energy, as before, but the sound waves cannot be transmitted. Without air or any other matter to carry the waves, there is literally no sound. Hence, there is a great deal of truth to the tagline associated with the 1979 science-fiction film  Alien  : In space, no one can hear you scream. Inside an astronauts suit, there is pressure and an oxygen supply; without either, the astronaut would  perish  quickly. The pressure and air inside the suit also allow the astronaut to hear sounds within the suit, including communications via microphone from other astronauts. But, if there were an explosion in the vacuum of deep space outside the spacecraft, no one inside would be able to hear it. 7. Reception of Sound 7.1 Recording Earlier the structure of electronic  amplification  was described in very simple terms. Some of the same processes-specifically, the conversion of sound to electrical energy-are used in the recording of sound. In sound recording, when a sound wave is emitted, it causes vibrations in a diaphragm attached to an electrical  condenser. This causes variations in the electrical current passed on by the condenser. These electrical pulses are processed and ultimately passed on to an electromagnetic recording head. The magnetic field of the recording head extends over the section of tape being recorded: what began as loud sounds now produce strong magnetic fields, and soft sounds produce weak fields. Yet, just as electronic means of sound production and transmission are still not as impressive as the mechanisms of the human voice, so electronic sound reception and recording technology is a less magnificent device than the human ear. 8. How the Ear Hears As almost everyone has noticed, a change in altitude (and, hence, of atmospheric pressure) leads to a strange popping sensation in the ears. Usually, this condition can be overcome by swallowing, or even better, by  yawning. This opens the  Eustachian tube, a  passageway  that maintains atmospheric pressure in the ear. Useful as it is, the Eustachian tube is just one of the human ears many parts. The funny shape of the ear helps it to capture and  amplify  sound waves, which  pass-through  the ear canal and cause the  eardrum  to vibrate. Though humans can hear sounds over a much wider range, the optimal range of audibility is from 3,000 to 4,000 Hz. This is because the structure of the ear canal is such that sounds in this frequency produce  magnified  pressure fluctuations. Thanks to this, as well as other specific properties, the ear acts as an amplifier of sounds. Beyond the eardrum is the middle ear, an  intricate  sound-reception device containing some of the smallest bones in the human body-bones commonly known, because of their shapes, as the hammer, anvil, and stirrup. Vibrations pass from the hammer to the anvil to the stirrup, through the membrane that covers the oval window, and into the inner ear. Filled with liquid, the inner ear contains the semi-circular canals responsible for providing a sense of balance or orientation: without these, a person literally would not know which way is up. Also, in the inner ear is the  cochlea, an organ shaped like a  snail. Waves of pressure from the fluids of the inner ear are passed through the cochlea to the  auditory  nerve, which then transmits these signals to the brain. The basilar membrane of the cochlea is a particularly  wondrous  instrument, responsible in large part for the ability to discriminate between sounds of different frequencies and intensities. The surface of the membrane is covered with thousands of fibres, which are highly sensitive to disturbances, and it transmits information concerning these disturbances to the auditory nerve. The brain, in turn, forms a relation between the position of the nerve ending and the frequency of the sound. It also equates the degree of disturbance in the  basilar membrane  with the intensity of the sound: the greater the disturbance, the louder the sounds.

Is Xenotransplantation an Ethical Solution or Disaster? Essay -- essay

Is Xenotransplantation an ethical solution or disaster?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The audience for this paper is comprised of those readers looking to gain knowledge on the issue of xenotransplantation. This group of people is unaware of the dynamics of the ethical arguments surrounding this current issue. This audience does not have a specific age or belief, reflecting the varied positions of the argument. Due to this hunger for factual information, they do not wish to have someone else’s views imposed on them. Instead, they wish to define and establish a view of their own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ethical debates frequently occur today because of advances in society, technology, science, and many other areas. These arguments are comprised of many people due to the diversity of their interpretations of ethics in these areas. Ethics can be defined as â€Å"a system of moral, scruples, principles or values that in itself defines what is right or good behavior† (Shankarkumar, 317). The issue involving xenotransplantation, the sharing of organs between different species, has become a controversial subject with disagreements focusing on the ethical perspectives of the surgery. In order to comprehend the numerous ethical arguments surrounding xenotransplantation, the following three parties must be viewed: physicians, both for and against the surgery, and society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Xenotransplantation is defined as â€Å"transplanting cells, tissues or whole organs from one species into another† (Baker, 643). These transplantations involve organs such as the heart, kidneys, and many others. Today, pigs have quickly become the donor species due to their anatomical and economical advantages. Pigs grow and reproduce very rapidly, creating a large litter, increasing the number of subjects for donation. Also, their organs and blood vessels are similar in size to those of humans, making their use more practical than that of an anatomically larger species (Baker, 643).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The concept of xenotransplantation has been attempted many times throughout history. In 1682, doctors repaired the skull of an injured Ru... ...y). â€Å"The Ethics of Xenotransplantation.† The Ethical   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spectacle. Oct. 2004. http://www.spectacle.org/0201/xeno.html. Shankarkumar, U. â€Å"Xenotransplantation- Ethics and Immunological Hurdles.† Indian   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Journal of Medical Sciences 57. 7(200): 311-318. Society, Religion & Technology Project. (2004). â€Å"The Ethics of Xenotransplantation.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Church of Scotland. http://www.srtp.org.uk/xennuf03.shtml. Trzepacz, Paula T., DiMartini, Andrea F. The Transplant Patient. Cambridge, United   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Works Consulted Shelton, Wayne. The Ethics of Organ Transplantation. 1st ed. Amsterdam; New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elsevier Science, 2001. Wolstenholme, G.E.W., O’Connor Maeve. Ethics in Medical Progress: with special   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  reference to transplantation. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 19

A Study on Accenture and an Analysis of its Ethical Culture Essay

The current paper intends to make an in-depth investigation and analysis of the ethical culture and performance of a large organization which can be a prospective employer to the members of the workforce. This paper will discuss on Accenture, as a competitive international company, and how it promotes ethical culture with its operations. Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Dedicated to delivering innovation, it works in partnership with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. Accenture can muster the right people, skills and technologies to help clients improve their performance with deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record,. Their â€Å"high performance business† strategy builds on their proficiency in consulting, technology and outsourcing to help clients perform at the highest levels so they can create sustainable value for their customers and shareholders. They discover new business and technology trends and develop solutions to help their clients using the industry’s knowledge, service-offering skill and technology capabilities. Accenture is known for their strengths that distinguishes them in the marketplace. They are known for their extensive industry expertise, broad and continuously evolving service offerings, expertise in transforming business outsourcing, history of innovation and implementation, including their research and development capabilities, on which they spend about $250 million a year, and the commitment of their employee to long-term development and their distinctive management team with such proven experiences. As professionals, we intend to pursue a career in an organization which will not only promise financial stability, but an organization which will guarantee professional and personal growth. An organization which will open us a world of opportunities, where we can harness our skills and discover more of our potentials and where we can find self-worth as being valuable assets for them. Most importantly, we should look for an organization which gives high regard to its environment and looks after the welfare of its people. Moving further along our career paths, one of our priorities is to have a clear layout of what we envision our future to be, one of the biggest concerns are the organizations that we might have the chance to work with, and Accenture has always been one of the top choices of professionals today. Many believe that Accenture works beyond the scope of their nature, with their excellent business performance and their involvement in ethical culture, Accenture is indeed a socially responsible organization. Body: Grounded in a set of founded values, Accenture have long embraced and consistently strived to apply these in their daily work, these core values have served as a range to guide their decision-making at a company and individual level. Together, they have put these values into practice and have constructed a deeply skilled, world-class and globally competitive company. Their steadfast dedication to these values is essential to ensure that they will operate with the highest ethical standards and achieve their vision, which is to become one of the world’s leading companies, bringing constant advancements to improve the world works and lives. These core values are as follows: First is â€Å"stewardship†, wherein they are geared to build a heritage of generations, acting with an owner mentality, developing people in everywhere they go and meeting their commitments to all their stakeholders, both internal and external. Second value is â€Å"best people†, in which they are dedicated to attracting and developing the best talents for the business, stretching their people and harnessing them to develop a â€Å"cam do† attitude. Client value creation† is their third value, in which they are focused in improving their clients’ business performance, creating long-term, win-win relationships and focusing on execution excellence. The next value is â€Å"one global network† which involves the mustering the power of teaming to deliver constantly exceptional service to their clients around the world. Another value is â€Å"respect for individual† in which they are geared to valuing diversity, ensuring an inclusive and interesting environment, and treating people the way they would like to be treated. Lastly but definitely not the least is â€Å"integrity† wherein they are engaged in inspiring trust by taking responsibility, acting ethically, and encouraging honest and open debates. An essential part of their identity is being a good corporate citizen. They support their people’s passion in bringing positive and lasting change to their communities, and they bring their efforts of corporate citizenship to the same principles of high performance that they apply to work with their clients. As a global organization, Accenture believes that they have a role; they have the responsibility to proactively engage with the communities they live and work. Corporate citizenship fosters motivation, employee pride and communal awareness through a methodical framework which, anchored by a strong set of core values and Code of Business Ethics, drives stability and precision across their businesses and workforces. One of Accenture’s policies is flexible working, which allows staff to spend more time at home and allows the company to retain key employees who may otherwise decided against working for Accenture. Accenture continually reviews how the employees are experiencing their flexible working arrangements to guarantee that changeover is as smooth and successful as possible for everyone involved. In line with the Core Value of Best People, Accenture identifies the priceless contribution of all its employees in attaining business objectives and be set to provide an environment which is both conducive and supportive to combining parenthood with a career in the organization. (http://www. wherewomenwanttowork. com) Since the paper intends to discuss Accenture as an organization who adopts ethical culture. We will be discussing what ethical culture in a generalized level is and how it can be achieved by an organization. What is generally referred to as â€Å"ethical culture† is actually a conception that puts together two distinct systems—ethical culture and ethical climate. It is of the essence to take a thoroughly look at both systems in order to fully comprehend â€Å"ethical culture. † Ethical culture looks at how an organization displays and teaches the extent to which it regards its values. Explicitly, the ethical culture of an organization: teaches employees whether doing the right thing matters; makes doing what is right expected; and includes formal ethics program elements, reward and punishment systems, and organizational myths. (ethical culture – executive summary. pdf). Ethical culture takes in the rules, roles, and values that inform ethical conduct. It is the circumstance of conformity behavior, risk managing, business strategy and growth. (http://www. itapintl. com/ethicalculturepractice. htm) An organization has to gauge and assess that culture in a manner that can then lead to realistic steps to closing gaps and reducing risks of unethical, if not criminal conduct, if it needs to manage its corporate culture to sustain ethical standards. The ethics of an organization are the composite of the ethics of its employees and managers. An organization needs to know whether its people embrace the values necessary to move the organization towards its ethical goals. An organization is only as ethical as its leaders. Leaders must not only demonstrate a high degree of personal uprightness, but must also represent the values necessary to create an ethical environment within the organization. Being respected encourages a sense of engagement and willingness to participate in building an ethical culture. Business leaders have thus a heavy accountability, but one for which they are more than ever well suited. Leaders have the command to contour the culture of their organizations. What is needed in the business world is a better perceptive of what ethical culture means and how business leaders can make the most impact. Leaders should work to create a values-based ethics program that also encourages compliance with the law. In addition, they ought to demonstrate their apprehension for the interests of internal and external stakeholders and commit to making the needs of others a business precedence (Trevino, et al. , 1999). Finally, they must remember that ethical leadership requires modeling, coaching, and careful communication. A dynamic ethical culture gives organizations a high degree of comfort that it can bear up challenges to its integrity. Best practices have shown that key attributes such as these point toward a healthy ethical culture: Employees feel a sense of responsibility and accountability for their actions and for the actions of others, employees freely heave issues and concerns without fear of retribution, managers sculpt the behaviors they demand of others, managers correspond the importance of integrity when making complex decisions, leadership understands the pressure points that coerce unethical performance, leadership develops processes to identify and remedy those areas where pressure points occur. h Employees and managers understand why doing the right thing is important for the organization’s long-term feasibility, and they have the strength of mind, audacity and independence to see that the right thing gets done in an ethical culture. An ethical culture supports self-governing thinking employees and managers who make decisions unfailing with the organization’s values. The challenge is shaping how to get to this state, and whether the tools in place to gauge and examine performance of the ethics program are adequate to gauge whether ample advancement is being made. Many organizations have set expectations for ethical behavior and are working towards maintaining a strong â€Å"tone from the top. † However, many of these same organizations really don’t know whether their employees and managers will demonstrate integrity in their actions when they are under pressure, and immediate business objectives loom large in front of them. As the former director of accounting at WorldCom, Buford Yates, Jr. said as he was sentenced to a year in prison for his role in the fraud, that when faced with a decision that required moral courage, he takes the easy way out. Corporate culture is made up of collective values of employees and managers that are reflected in their collective actions. Companies must therefore be conscious of the variety of values held by its employees if it is to be able to shape and guide its culture towards supporting the kinds of ethical behaviors needed to reduce the risk of ethics indignities and criminal prosecution. (http://www. workingvalues. com/Risk_WhitePaper. pdf) Culture is different, and is measured differently. An organization’s culture is not something that is created by senior leadership and then rolled out. A culture is an objective depiction of the organization, for better or worse. Culture is the sum total of all of the collective values and behaviors of all of its employees, managers, and leaders. By characterization it can only be calculated by criteria that mirror the individual values of all employees. Therefore, understanding cultural susceptibilities that can lead to ethics issues requires comprehension of what encourages all of the employees and how the innumerable of human behaviors and interactions fit together like puzzle pieces to create a whole picture of the organization. An organization moves towards an ethical culture only if it understands the full range of values and behaviors needed to meet its ethical goals. The â€Å"full-spectrum† organization is one that creates a positive sense of engagement and purpose which drives ethical behavior. A dynamic ethical culture gives organizations a high degree of comfort that it can endure challenges to its integrity. (http://www. workingvalues. com/Risk_WhitePaper. pdf) Most of the organizations have a policy that proscribes retaliation against those who bring forward apprehensions or claims. On the other hand, creating a culture where employees feel secure enough to admit inaccuracies and to raise uncomfortable issues requires more than a policy (Legal Risk Management) and â€Å"code training† (Integrity Risk Management). To truly build up an ethical culture, the organization must be aware of how their managers deal with these issues up and down the line, and how the values they exhibit impact preferred behaviors. The organization must understand the demands its people are under and how they act in response to those pressures. The organization must know how its managers correspond and whether employees have a sense of responsibility and purpose. Determining whether an organization has the capabilities to put in place such a culture requires cautious assessment. Like do employees and managers demonstrate values such as respect? Or do employees feel accountable for their actions and feel that they have a stake in the success of the organization? These factors may well determine the success of â€Å"code training† on fear of retribution. Visibility sets in motion on with corporate executives. Everyone is in a unique position to demonstrate leadership on ethical issues, showing investors and the organization’s employees that ethics and values are inherent in the business. To create a culture of ethics, talk explicitly about ethics and values. Demonstrate values through every decision being made. Make certain that employees know that they can ask for explanation of policies or report possible wrongdoing or transgression without fear of retaliation. Through being an example, managers and employees will be better able to be aware of ethical issues and understand the company’s serious commitment to ethical choices. Good leadership is more than rousing speeches or motivating statements printed at the front of a company’s code of conduct. The employees may listen to what the management says but they will remember what they do. Ethical attitudes can’t be bonded onto the foundation of the organization—they have to be woven in. The management’s example and leadership will help to permeate the corporate culture with good ethical values. Upholding a strong ethical culture is indispensable for acting in accordance with with the laws and regulations, but this alone cannot be the stimulus for ethical culture building. Further than the large impact an organization’s culture has on the bottom line, the development of programs to cultivate ethical conduct must sustain a focal point on fairness, encouragement, and communication at all employee levels. Along these lines, employees must be given the suitable tools and representations to align their behavior with company culture and employ in ethical decision-making. The attitudes, choices, and actions of business leaders take part in a most important role in the creation of an organization’s ethical culture and environment; expectations for employees’ ethical behavior can only be set as high as the organization’s leadership is willing to meet. A leader’s capacity to consistently encourage ethical conduct in an organization is critical to making certain that employees understand how to make â€Å"doing what is right† a priority. (ethical culture – executive summary. pdf).

Fundamental Rights

The Fundamental Rights are defined as the basic human rights of all citizens. These rights, defined in Part III of the Constitution, apply irrespective of race, place of birth, religion, caste, creed or sex. They are enforceable by the courts, subject to specific restrictions. The Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines for the framing of laws by the government. These provisions, set out in Part IV of the Constitution, are not enforceable by the courts, but the principles on which they are based are fundamental guidelines for governance that the State is expected to apply in framing and passing laws.THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS Fundamental Rights and Directive Principle are integral components of the same organic constitutional system and no conflict between them could have been intended by founding fathers. But the view of Supreme Court on the relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles have not been uniform th roughout.There are three possible views on the relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles. The first view is that former are the superior to the latter and so the latter must give way to the former in case of repugnancy or irreconcilable conflict between the two. The second view is that Fundamental Rights and directive principle are equal in importance and hence , in case of conflict between the two an attempt must be made to harmonise them with each other.The view is that Directive Principles are superior to Fundamental Rights mainly because the constitution provide that the former are ‘fundamental in the governance of the country’ and it shall be the ‘duty’ of the state â€Å"to apply these principle in making laws† and the binding nature of law does not cease to be so merely because it can not be enforced. These different view regarding the relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles have been pronounced by the judiciary at different times .In the following chapters an attempts has been made to examine the role of judiciary in relation to the Directive Principles with the Fundamental Rights. History: The relationship between the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles is best illustrated in the Article 37. It provides that Directives are not enforceable in a court of law. But, they are fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the state to apply them in making laws.In view of such provision, there have arisen certain conflicts between the Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights. But, as of now Article 39(b) and 39(c) can take precedence over Fundamental Right enshrined under Article 14 and Article 19. A survey of historical development in relationship between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles are as follows. i. During the initial period from 1950 to 1966 there was emphasis on sacrosanct character of Fundamental rights.The Supreme Cour t held the view that if two interpretations of a law are possible, the one avoiding conflict should be accepted. But in case of a single interpretation, leading to conflict fundamental right would prevail other directive principles. In this view, constitutionality of 1st Amendment Act was hailed as valid. ii. In the historic Golan Math’s case, 1967, the Supreme Court emphasized on unamedability of the fundamental rights which have been given a ‘transcendental position. ’ iii. The Government passed 24th and 25th Amendment Act 1971.The 24th Constitution Amendment Act made it clear that the Parliament has power to amend any provision of the Constitution, including the fundamental Rights. The 25th Constitution Amendment Act introduced Article 31(c) which provides that in case of implementing Article 39(b) and (c) if there is axorrflict with fundamental right, the , law shall not be declared null and void. iv. In Keshavananda Bharati case overruled the Golaknathâ€⠄¢s case but made it clear that courts retained the power to judicial review in case of law giving effect to directives under Article 39(b) and (c).One of the crucial implications of this judgment was ‘basic structure’ which cannot be altered. v. During the period of Emergency Parliament passed the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 which provided for implementation of directives other than only under Article 39(b) and (c). vi. In Minerva Mill’s case, 1980 the Supreme Court declared that a balance between Part III and Part IV was a basic feature of the constitution. This abrogated the view of giving precedence to the directives over fundamental rights.Significance of Directive Principles of State Policy: Firstly, they are intended to usher an egalitarian order, once the limitations or resources is overcome and state is competent enough to fulfill them. For, most of the directives are resource consuming. Secondly, they have exercised an important check on the government. Ri ghtly remarked by Ambedkar that the directives ‘can be the best election manifesto Thirdly, they guide both, the government and the people in the realm of politics and society. They have significant educative value.Fourthly, they emphasize the goal of welfare state and social justice that are warranted in Indian polity and keep check on elitist or populist measures. Despite accusations of being nothing more than ‘moral precepts’ or ‘dead wood in living tree’ and alike, it cannot be denied that the directives have helped (directly or indirectly) in shaping the face of our polity. It has been seen with optimism by leadership as well as people to be of paramount importance. For, â€Å"both have inevitable interest in building a more egalitarian society than they have! Directives help in achieving this objective.