Design and Implementation of a Single Phase Inverter Circuit Essay Example for Free

Design and Implementation of a Single Phase Inverter Circuit Essay Inverters are used to produce constant or variable frequency AC output from a DC source. These inverters can be used for AC applicatio n like driving an induction motor. Such type of inverters in present world are used largely in renewable energy systems to convert DC to AC, example is a PV system where there is a requirement of such type of inverters which can power AC systems such as an induction motor (IM). It is required to produce a pure sinusoidal waveform for the proper functioning of the IM drive. This can be done by incorporating pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques. Technique used in generating a Pulse width modulation is that of the comparison of reference signal which is a sinusoidal waveform as required at the output and a triangular or carrier signal of high frequency. The next section (Section 2) will give a brief detail about the power switches used in the inverters. Section 3 gives the study in detai l of single phase half wave and full wave bridge. In section 4 a detailed discussion about PWM technique is done. This section  also gives the circuit diagram required to generate the PWM using microcontroller. Section 5 shows the development of the swit ching control in details starting from the opto-coupler to the derive circuit. The bootstrap circuit is detailed in section . This is followed by a complete block diagram of the single phase inverter along with its control circuit in section 7. A detailed study on a practical blanking time circuit is done in section 8, followed by the circuit for the opto -coupler and the driver required in the presence of blanking time circuit, this can be seen in section 9. Crasta Francis Austin Movin Page 5 Design and Implementation of a Single Phase Inverter Circuit The next section 10 gives a full circuit diagram implemented in this project to construct a single phase inverter, followed by the actual image of the inverter in section 11. Wiley Sons, 2003 [5] Ned Mohan, â€Å"Power Elect ronics, A First Course†, John Wiley Sons, Inc. [6] EHSANI, M. RAMANI, K. R. 1994. Recent Advances in Power Electronics and Applications . IEEE, p.9 [7] Application Note 9017: Manufacturing Technology of a Small Capacity Inverter Using a Fairchild IGBT . Fairchild Semiconductor. June 2001. p.4 [8] Chong B.: â€Å" Digital Implementation of PWM Generation Circuit and Control for a PV-Converter System†, Laboratory Notes for ELEM 5451 Mini Project Laboratory, University of Leeds, UK, 2012. Crasta Francis Austin Movin Page 56 Design and Implementation of a Single Phase Inverter Circuit [9] Zhang L.: â€Å"Section 2: Power Converters for PV Systems†, Course Notes for ELEC5564M Power Generation by Renewable Sources, University of Leeds, UK, 2011. [10] Datasheet Power MOSFET: â€Å" Design and Application guide for power MOSFET†, Vishay Siliconix, 12 March 2012. [11] J. Holtz, â€Å"Pulsewidth Modulation -A Survey,† IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, Vol. 39, No. 5, Dec. 1992, pp. 410 -420. [12] Datasheet for TD351 Gate driver: â€Å" Design and Application guide for Advanced IGBT/MOSFET Driver†, STMicroelectronics, 2004.

The Main Characteristics Of Pentecostalism Theology Religion Essay

The Main Characteristics Of Pentecostalism Theology Religion Essay Since its inception in the first century, Christianity has been evolving as a social institution, changing its organizational shape, redefining its mission, and creating new expressions of worship. Since then there has been a vast change in denominations, where some decline and revival has been witnessed through the years. The year 1906 brought new recoveries into a different type of worship in United States of America (USA). In USA, Los Angeles newspapers reported as gathering of people of different races and cultures describing them to involve the poor and rich, blacks and whites, men and women, young and old in a temple in Azusa Street displaying a new form of worship, praying, singing in unknown languages, dancing and clapping. Audiences gathered to witness what was happening. This was the biggest revival of the time in USA.  [2]  Testimonies, diaries, articles were written by those involved and those who witnessed this great event. This was the beginning of what is called Pentecostalism today, the major driving engine of Christianity to its origins, the first century.  [3]  Although, most scholars have debated whether Pentecostalism had multiple almost simultaneous origins in different countries the same time it originated in North America, there is no doubt that that it is the strongest C hristianity today in the third world.  [4]  This essay aims to examine its origins and its main three chosen characteristics which are spiritual gifts, personal encounter with God and the power over demons and Satan. Definitions Allan Andersons explanation on Pentecostalism is that it is perceived as a movement of believers who affirm to the work of the Holy Spirit and the exercising of the spiritual gifts as evidenced through speaking in tongues with foundation grounded on the emphasis of the acknowledgement of salvation attained through Jesus Christ.  [5]  David Martin and Peter Mullen state that speaking in tongues consists in the utterance of unintelligible sounds, often in rapid sequences, by persons who seem to be in conditions of varying degrees of dissociation.  [6]  Pentecostal is linked with the doctrine of subsequence and initial evidence which originated from USA in the beginning of the twentieth century, referring to the experience of the baptism by the Holy Spirit.  [7]  Therefore, those devoted to this theology are called Pentecostals. However, a change happened during the 1960s, when some Christians within main-line denominations started to accept the Pentecostalism phenomena as part of the worship experience.  [8]  This new form of Pentecostalism became known as the Charismatic Movement. Charismatic describes any form or experience of Christianity that emphasises the charismata which means spiritual gifts (such as tongues, prophecy and discernment) listed in for example 1Corinthians 12, as well as a dynamic experience of being baptised or filled with the Holy Spirit.  [9]  A highly significant proportion of Christians and churches that have emphasis on this dynamic renewing experience and the operation of gifts of the Holy Spirit are called charismatics. The charismatic movements widely penetrated the traditional historical churches from the 1960s, Protestant and Catholic, Church of England (C of E), Methodist, Baptist or URC churches, or the Roman Catholic Church in what has been termed the charismatic r enewal.  [10]  Therefore Renewal describes the expression of this new form of spiritual life within these previously existing historic mainline churches or denominations. The difference between charismatics and Pentecostals is the aspect of the initial evidence like signs and wonders as well as the encountering of power which charismatics deny hence agreeing in the tongues. Whereas, Pentecostal denotes the identity maker of tongues as the evidence of the Holy Spirit baptism whilst the Charismatics denote the Holy Spirit gifts, the teachings of prosperity and spiritual warfare.  [11]   Consequently, the word Pentecostal shifted from just refereeing to a particular group of denominations to any denomination whose worship experience includes some sort of Pentecostal phenomenon such as speaking in tongues. Since the rise of the Charismatic movement, traditional Pentecostals are usually referred to as Classical Pentecostals. The term Classical Pentecostal refers to a person or organization which believes that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a second work of grace subsequent to conversion, and that the initial physical evidence of this experience is speaking in other tongue that is the languages unknown to the speaker.  [12]   Origins During the centuries from the Early Churchs time about 1500 plus years to the 20th century there were Christians traditions which influenced the formation of Pentecostalism such as the Reformation tradition, specifically the Anabaptist and Arminians, the Holiness and Evangelical Movements.  [13]  The historical survey of the development of Classical Pentecostalism will cover the years from 1738; John Wesleys Aldersgate experience time when he emphasised the Holy Spirit in His teachings.  [14]   The advancement of Pentecostalism can be dated back to a January the 1st 1901, a charismatic revival at Bethel Bible School in Topeka, Kansas USA. As Charles Parham, a former Methodist ministers students had questions about the evidence of baptisms with the Holy Spirit after his Spirit baptism teaching, following the Book of Acts. There was an experience of this baptism following a fervent prayer with students resulting in the experience of speaking in tongues.  [15]  The enthusiasm of the students following Charles Parham teachings brought an amazing Pentecostal experience as of the Apostles in the Book of Acts. Cox stated that Pentecostalism rose among a group of people who were waiting for it.  [16]  Charles Parhams teachings opened the doors to what was later called Pentecostalism. Robert Gromacki called Charles Parham Father of the Pentecostal movement.  [17]   From Parhams bible school, the movement became the worldwide movement following the Azusa Street revival mentioned above. This was through a black African American preacher called William Joseph Seymour who was also a student at Parham School who longed for the Spirit baptism and witnessed the first experience of speaking in tongues. His meeting with Parham had a big impact in William Seymours belief about the Holy Spirit baptism.  [18]  He contributed to the spread of Pentecostalism; he did not just believe but took the message further. Cecil M. Robeck gives the brief background of the journey William Seymour took to promote what is today called Pentecostalism. In his account he mentioned that William Seymour was invited to Los Angeles to be in charge of one ministry. After preaching about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he was denied the position to pastor that congregation. He ended up living with black friends Edward and Mattie Lee who sympathised with him where he conducted prayer meetings in their house. This was the beginning of the great movement as they started to pray together and later invited other people to join them. The number increased and they moved to a bigger house. It was in the house of Richard at Ruth Asberry on the 9th of April 1906 as they were studying the bible that they experienced the power of the Holy Spirit. In this meeting, an eight-year-old black boy began to speak in tongues and soon crowds were attracted to the house. After this experience the house could not accommodate the growing large numbers of people who were coming to join in prayers and worship. They had to move to Azusa Street, were the greatest revival took place. Then Azusa Street became the house for the world Pentecostal movement.  [19]  Therefore the Azusa story is exceptional when the roots of Pentecostalism are discussed. Cecil M. Robeck labelled the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the birth place of Pentecostal movement.  [20]  Harvey Cox acknowledging the root of Pentecostalisms origin to be understood with reference William Joseph Seymour.  [21]   From Azusa Street, Pentecostalism spread to the other parts of the world by members who experienced the Pentecostal revival and formed Pentecostal Churches.  [22]  Congregations spread around USA extending to Africa through missionaries that went preach this Pentecostal experience to other parts of the world By early 1907 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ entered Mexico, Canada, Western Europe, the Middle East, West Africa and several countries in Asia, spreading to Northern Russia, Southern Africa and Eastern and Central Europe. The Apostolic Faith Mission was the first Movement that Mr Seymour established consisting of different denominations with one agenda of Faith.  [23]  In 1914 was the first official statement of the Classical Pentecostal doctrine of the baptism in the Holy Spirit by the Assemblies of God in the United States. They are hundreds of Pentecostal denominations and fast growing over the last forty years, David Martin, sociologist who has done a lot of work on the estimates of Pentecostalism has reported it to be the largest global shift in the religious marketplace. He quoted a total number of Pentecostals and charismatics worldwide to at least a least a quarter of a billion by 2002.  [24]  This has expanded to the West reaching other countries such as India, China and Chile.  [25]   They are here main groups of Pentecostalism identified with their unique beliefs though some aspects might be similar. One of the group is identify by their belief in the work of the Holy Spirit, speaking, in tongues, baptism with the Holy Spirit, the works of grace, salvation and sanctification as continuous in their lives; the other group beliefs entire sanctification over and above some aspects of the above group, called then Wesleyan Holiness; last but not least excludes themselves in the belief of the Trinity aspect of God, called oneness Pentecostals.  [26]   Main characteristics Spiritual gifts The birth of the Pentecostal movement in the early twentieth century was evidenced by followers of Christ exhibiting the gifts of the Holy Spirit often referred to as the supernatural gifts. It got its roots from the Early Church with ecstatic phenomena gifts of the Holy Spirit.  [27]   The experiencing of the Holy Spirit baptism resulting in speaking in tongues in Topeka, Kansas sprang up the twentieth century Pentecostal Movement in 1901. Dayton asserts that the eighteen century American revivalism, Holiness Movement played a part in its origins.  [28]  Charles Parham believed there was more on the entire sanctifications, the teachings of the Wesleyans, in his views. Therefore he bestowed sanctification and charismatic power as both part of the second blessing. His views were more extreme than many in the Holiness Movement. The teachings on investigations for signs of sanctification led to questions if this was related to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. As the students were determined for the outward evidence signs of the baptism, speaking in tongues was the first sign of the spiritual gifts To have a good understanding of what is meant by spiritual gifts, I would consider two definitions which defines spiritual gifts as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦divinely given capacities to perform useful functions for God  [29]  Similarly Deffinbaugh defines spiritual gifts as the God-given capacity of every Christian to carry out his function in the body of Christ.  [30]  The se definitions adequately purvey the Pentecostalism understanding of Spiritual gifts. These spiritual gifts are believed to have originated at Pentecost as explained in the Book of Acts. Over the period of three years after the Azusa Street revival which sparkled the Pentecostal Movement, Seymour saw the restoration not just of speaking in tongues but all gifts of the Holy Spirit.  [31]  These are spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. These gifts can be; speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, prophesying and healing power.  [32]  According to Luke; When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability (Acts 2: 1-4 NRSV). This was a physical evidence of being baptised by the Holy Spirit as they converted and believed in Jesus Christ. Kenneth Boa describes the gift of tongues as the supernatural ability of a believer to speak in an unlearned language by the speaker enabled by the Lord.  [33]  This can be interpreted by someone who receives the gift of interpretation of tongues. This is interpretation into the language of the body in which the message is delivered not a strict translation, but an interpretation of the essential content of the tongues message.  [34]  Critiques of tongues Thomas Aquinas believed to have been of the Apostles only in the early church to enable them to reach all nations as commissioned but presently it as to be done through language study.  [35]  There are also those with the gift of healing gifted to heal the sick. The variety of the gifts can be divided into different sickness, for example some specific gifts are to heal cancer or emotions, mental illness and many more sicknesses.  [36]   Personal encounter with God Access to God matters most to Pentecostals, life controlled by the Holy Spirit. They stress effectiveness the experience of God. What matters most is the felt power of the Spirit in the world, in the church, and in ones own life. Their faith is experiential, living faith in the living God who can miraculously, substantially intervene in the world.  [37]  For Pentecostals, from history they understood the as direct and immediate and self-authenticating.  [38]  This is explained in simple terms that Pentecostals understanding of the baptism of the spirit grants the authority by virtue of the individual experience of this powerful encounter with God. Therefore, their belief is that though the Holy Spirit they have a personal encounter the authentic and legitimate experience of God. Power over demons and Satan Pentecostals stress the empowerment and the felt power of the Holy Spirit in the world. Their focus and faith is in God who miraculously substantially intervenes in the world. For example, Martin discusses how Pentecostalism unites its belief with the social inspiration and the experience of the Spirit.  [39]  That is the understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit over any social powers that could be powers of darkness. In short, it is a consideration of two different factors, external (demonic forces) and internal factors (Holy Spirit). These make Pentecostals feel part of the community, as they distinguishes the God and Satan, devil and divine, sickness and health. They believe they have power over demons, through the Holy Spirit, that they can obtain through prayer. That is power over sin, spiritual blindness, social oppression, and Sickness. They refer this as their spiritual weapons. One of the most factors which contributed to the Growth of Pentecostalism is their belief in deliverance from evil spirits. Anderson, for example, points out that the main attraction of Pentecostalism à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ is still the emphasis on healing and deliverance from evil.  [40]   Their Theology extends to the apocalyptic belief of the coming of the Kingdom which includes the element of the final victory over Satan and death, which is a spiritual warfare.  [41]  The term spiritual warfare is referred to evil spiritual forces such as demons including Satan as mythological realities. Thus, the baptism of the Spirit enables the believers to conquer the spiritual battle and overcome the enemy. As Apostle Paul states, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholdsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (2 Corinthians 10: 3-4 NRSV). This is the belief that the Pentecostals have dependence on the Holy Spirit for power to enable them to fight the devil and any principalities of darkness. That is demonic attacks and possessions, physical and emotional sickness, evil spirits and so on. These claims are biblically based as Pentecostal believes in the true Word of God. Martin and Mullen clarified that for Pentecostal the supreme authority is the Bible, the inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God to which all else must be subject.  [42]  Just to mention few examples of bible passages to support these claim of their belief; 1 John 3:8 which states that the Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil (NRSV), He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13 NRSV) and Jesus  summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness (Matthew 10:1 NRSV) and many more. Therefore Pentecostals take the word of God seriously and base their belief on what it says. Conclusion In conclusion, the essay has examined the origins of Pentecostalism. It has looked at its roots from early church, through the Holiness movements with the teachings of doctrine of sanctification. The teaching about the Holy Spirit and the actual experiencing of its baptism contributed to how Pentecostalism spread to other places. It has also touched on the explanation of charismatic its difference with Pentecostalism. Last but not least, three characteristics of Pentecostalism have been discussed though this is not the exhaustive least, however due to the limitation of the essay, only three were discussed. We have discovered with reaches that Pentecostalism is a growing movement. It has contributed to the inclining of Christianity as it was declining in many parts of the world. Their emphasis being the baptism by the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts that can be received to believers by Gods will.

The History Of Hip Hop Music Essay

The History Of Hip Hop Music Essay Rap as we know it today was originated in the 70s, but the earliest known recited rhyme was performed by the famous boxing champion Muhammad Ali just before his bout with Sonny Liston in which he says: Clay comes out to meet Liston And Liston starts to retreat If Liston goes back any further Hell end up in a ringside seat. Clay swings with a left, Clay swings with a right, Look at young Cassius Carry the fight. Liston keeps backing But theres not enough room Its a matter of time. There, Clay lowers the boom. Now Clay swings with a right, What a beautiful swing, And the punch raises the bear, Clear out of the ring. Liston is still rising And the ref wears a frown, For he cant start counting, Till Sonny comes down Now Liston disappears from view. The crowd is getting frantic, But our radar stations have picked him up Hes somewhere over the Atlantic. Who would have thought? When they came to the fight That theyd witness the launching Of a human satellite Yes, the crowd did not dream When they laid down their money That they would see A total eclipse of the Sonny I am the greatest! (Hip-Hop Timeline, N.D) Todays Rap, or Hip-Hop, was brought into the U.S by a group of Jamaican immigrants in the 70s. One of the Jamaicans, Clive Campbell, A.K.A Kool Herc began, making instrumentals out of two turntables. While another man from the Bronx, Theodore Livingstone, A.K.A Grand Wizard, accidentally discovered the scratching sound of the turntable. Rap was created as an inter-cultural phenomenon of New Yorks poorer sections (Harlem, Soho, Greenwich Village, Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn). Rap became an evolved form of Jamaican dub music which is an instrumental subgenre of reggae music. The rapper would record his voice over a pre-recorded base of percussions, bass and horns (Scaruffi, 2004). The predecessors of rap were disc-jockeys, or spinners, (A.K.A. Djs) who would comment on the song and try to excite people to dance; the deejays became cult figures. Later on, the Bronx was divided into three main parts of influence: Bambaata in the southeast, Hercules in the west, and Grandmaster Flash in the center. They also corresponded to the aspects of different crews. Another part of hip-hop, although not a lyrical one, was graffiti or tagging. Tagging started in Philadelphia sometime in the 1960s, pioneered by such legendary figures as Cornbread and Cool Earl (who may or may not have existed) (Scaruffi, 2004). Soon after, a particular form of graffiti began to appear on the New York subway train Scarfutti P says: the following year the New York Times claimed to have interviewed the tagger, a teenager only known as Taki 183 (also may not have existed). It is unknown whether these graffiti writers really existed because other people began to use the same names to write graffiti around the city (Scaruffi, 2004). The first rap records made were done by the Sugar Hill Gang, who released the song Rappers Delight in 1979 (the song became the first know rap song on Billboard), Kurtis Blow Walker, who wrote the songs, Christmas Rapping and The Breaks, as well as, having the first rap album to go gold. Grandmaster Flash (Joseph Saddler), Melle Mel (Melvin Glover), Kidd Creole (Nathaniel Glover), Cowboy (Keith Wiggins), Raheim (Guy Williams), and Mr. Ness (Eddie Morris) were the third of the early top artist to record songs under the name, Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five. Rap music began to become more popular and led to the first rap radio show called, Mr. Magics Rap Attack, on WHBI. Then 1981, Grandmaster Flashs album, The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel, became the first album to showcase the use of turntables to make music. Two years later, rappers began to put political messages in their songs, as Kurtis Blow did in the song, The Breaks, and Grand Master Flash had done with The Message. Both songs talked about inner-city poverty instead of just party themes (Scaruffi, 2004 Timeline Help, N.D). It was at this time that rap music began to move outside the park or block party format and saw performers begin to put more thought into their lyrics as they created routines and choruses and catchy phrases. As raps popularity begins to grow and spread from New York to the rest of the country two entrepreneurs, Russell Simmons and Rick Ruben, start a record company out of the dorm room of Rick Ruben who was attending college at the time. The record label, Def Jam Records, became one of the most important record labels ever. Although Russell Simmons was the brother of rapper Run, from the group Run-DMC, he did not have the group on his label in the early years. The label did release T La Rock Its Yours and then followed that with another artist who is still recording to this day, LL Cool J, who recorded I Need A Beat. Other artists began to create songs and the battle rap style (still popular today) began to take the spotlight as the group UTFOs put out a diss song called, Roxanne Roxanne. It was during this time that rap began to combine with other styles of music and moved away from using simple beats made with drum machines. One the biggest and most successful example of this was Run-D MC whose music allowed them to become the first rap act to get airplay on MTV and radio stations throughout the country. Run-DMC put out the first collaboration between rock and rap music and achieved success using this style in their albums: Run-DMC (1984), King of Rock (1985) and Raising Hell (1986). Their hits had a heavy mix of hard-rock guitar riffs and hip hop beats. LL Cool J introduced a softer side to raps hard edge as he recorded the song I Need Love which would become a major part of his appeal and formula for future music. As rap continued to grow in popularity, different forms emerged ranging from political rap (Public Enemy, KRS-ONE) to comedic (Fat Boys, Slick Rick) to the later, more edgy forms of gangster rap made introduced by artists from the West Coast. Rap was able to cross racial lines also as white artists, such as, the Beastie Boys released their first album, License to Ill, in 1987, which mixed punk rock and hip-hop and became a top selling group in the history of rap music. Other artist focused on developing strong wordplay skills, using metaphors and similes to separate themselves from other artists of the time. These artists, such as, Kool Moe Dee, Rakim and KRS-ONE helped to elevate the art form while also promoting the development of intellectual thoughts in the music. Boogie Down Productions releases Criminal Minded and following the release KRS-ONEs DJ Scott LaRock is shot and killed trying to settle and argument. Public Enemy stuns the world when they drop Yo Bum Rush The Show which signals the beginning of politically motivated Hip-Hop. During this time Rick Rubin leaves Def Jam and founds Def America. (Adaso, N.D). Kool Moe Dee Battles LL Cool J begins with Moe Dees How You Like Me Now LLs response to this was Jack the Ripper the feud would continue until Moe Dee tries to battle LL at a St Louis concert and LL refuses so Moe Dee broke down his name to diss him and then slammed the mic down in victory (Hip-Hop Timeline, N.D). After a long battle with crack-addiction Cowboy from Grandmasters Furious Five dies at age 28. Dr.Dres protà ©gà © D.O.C releases No One Can Do It Better D.O.C ends up in a terrible accident and although he survives his career however didnt. NWAs Niggaz for life album reaches #1 on pop charts and sells almost a million copies in its first week. Then Nas Illmatic album goes gold is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest albums in Hip-Hop history. The same year Warren Gs Regulate: The G-Funk Era Goes 4x platinum. Soon artists started to want a boycott against gangsta-rap artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dog and 2Pac because of their violent lyrics (Adaso, N.D). 2 Pac is robbed and shot 5 times in a New York studio. After he recovers Pac is then sentenced to 8 months in prison. 2 Pacs death row career takes off after prison Adaso, H says 2 Pac signs a deal with Death Row Records after Suge Knight posts a $1.4 million bail. On September 7th, Tupac Shakur is murdered after being shot multiple times as he rode in a car driven by Ceo of Death Row Records Marion Suge Knight near the Las Vegas strip. Tupac died 5 days later. His death once again sparked the debate on whether rap promotes violence or just reflects the ugly side of the streets (Adaso, N.D). 2Pacs New York counterpart Biggie Smalls is also killed Adaso, H says The Notorious B.I.G. is murdered in a drive-by shooting only six months after 2Pacs murder. His second album, released only a few days later, and ironically titled Life After Death becomes the best selling rap album of all time (Adaso, N.D). Eminem is signed to after math records and releases his debut album the Slim Shady lp which despite racial complications sells 4 million copies. The following year Eminem releases the Marshall Mathers lp which solidifies his spot as a future great in the rap community. The album sells 1.76 million in the first week out and Eminem receives two Grammies for his work. Just after 9/11 two of New York greats Nas and Jay-Z begin to battle after years of subliminal attacks Jay-Z hits Nas with the Takeover and Nas strikes back with the earth-shattering Ether Jay-Z bounces back with hard hitting Super Ugly (rapped over the instrumental of Nass Got Yourself A Gun) in which Jay talks about having sex with Nas baby momma. New Yorks Hot 97 asks for a vote to pick a winner. While votes are being tallied up Jay rushes to apologize for the vulgar lyrics in the freestyle but it doesnt change the fact the Nas won the battle however fans would forever debate the victor of the battle. Jam Master Jay (Dj of Run-DMC) is murdered in a Queens Bridge studio. No convictions have been made on his murder. More battles emerge such as: Nelly vs. KRS-One, Eminem vs. The Source magazine, Jermaine Dupri vs. Dr. Dre and more. More violence emerges Adaso, H says: In the middle of the 2004 Vibe Awards ceremony, a man named Jimmy James Johnson approaches rap legend Dr. Dre, who was preparing to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, and punches him in the face. A full-on brawl ensues during which Johnson gets stabbed. After reviewing tape of the melee, authorities identify the stabber as G-Unit rapper Young Buck, a member of Dr. Dres label. Suge Knight, who also crashed the event, later denies allegations that he had promised Johnson $5000 to assault Dr. Dre. Nas and Jay end their long feud at a 2005 power 105 concert. Eminem becomes the new face of the argument of Hip-Hop racism Adaso H says: Eminem becomes the new focus of a debate on hip-hop and racism after some unidentified friends of the rapper submitted a tape of him using the N-word and making several derogatory remarks about the African-American community. Sample lyrics from the Eminem tape: Black girls are b****es/ Thats why Ima tell ya you better pull up your britches/Cause all that cash is making your a** drag. On another song, he rhymes: Black girls and white girls just dont mix/Because Black girls are dumb and white girls are good chicks. The Source uses the tape to renew their anti-Eminem campaign, even releasing a CD version of the racist tape. In response, Eminem apologizes publicly and claims the rap was done out of teen angst following a break-up with a black girlfriend. Eminem says: I did and said a lot of stupid s**t when I was a kid, but thats part of growing up, said Eminem in a statement. The tape of me rapping 15 years ago as a teenager that was recently put out by The Source in no way represents who I was then or who I am today. This is a collection of some of the most significant events in Hip-Hop from the beginning to 2004. With more time however I would have liked to touch up on establishing some of the more influential aspects of Hip-Hop and those who made them popular. What I hoped to achieve with this report is that Hip-Hop wasnt originally about who has the most record sales or who has the best cars of jewelry it was as KRS-ONE often says: peace love unity and having fun. Anyway Id like to thank you for taking the time to read this.

Noise Reduction In Hearing Aids :: essays research papers

Recently in a local hearing clinic, a client’s concerns were discussed. â€Å"I’m afraid I won’t like them. My brother in law bought two hearing aids, and he keeps them in a drawer in the kitchen.† While the number of people dissatisfied with their hearing aids hovers around 50%, the hearing aid industry is hard pressed to decrease the number of returns, and increase the average daily use of each aid. In order to accomplish this, hearing aid manufacturers must answer the most often heard complaint: â€Å"It doesn’t work well in noise.† Unfortunately, a hearing aid will never be able to accomplish the sifting and sorting that is carried out in the human brain. While a person with normal hearing sits in a restaurant, he can distinguish a conversational speech signal that is as little as three decibels greater than the ambient noise. On the other hand, a person with a 30-decibel sensorineural loss might need the speech signal to be 15 or more decibels greater than the ambient noise. The hearing aid’s task is to acoustically or electronically compensate for both the neurological shortcomings of the hearing impaired person and the wide band increase inherent in any basic amplifier.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Acoustic compensation can be carried out in a hearing aid microphone. Most hearing aids today utilize omnidirectional microphones, which pick up sound equally from all directions. This may be beneficial and practical in some cases, as in the completely in the canal (CIC) aid. The CIC aid uses the natural funneling of the auricle in order to focus sound directly into the instrument. Behind-the-ear (BTE) and full concha in-the-ear (ITE) aids lose this anatomical feature, and may benefit from a directional microphone. â€Å"The purpose of using a directional microphone is to focus its sensitivity toward the front of the listener, thereby attenuating or reducing unwanted â€Å"noise† or competition emanating from behind the listener.† (Stach 1998) Microphone directionality can be accomplished by using a single microphone with two sound inlets. In this mechanical method, the time lag created by a sound entering each inlet is precisely calibrated to cancel out sounds from the sides and back of the microphone as they strike the diaphragm. The Phonak MicroZoom uses an electronic approach. Each MicroZoom contains two omnidirectional microphones. According to the flyer, â€Å"One picks up sound in front of you while a second picks up sound from the sides and rear.

Kurt Vonnegut - The Man and His Work :: Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut – The Man and His Work One of the best, most valuable aspects of reading multiple works by the same author is getting to know the author as a person. People don't identify with Gregor Samsa; they identify with Kafka. Witness the love exhibited by the many fans of Hemingway, a love for both the texts and the drama of the man. It's like that for me with Kurt Vonnegut, but it strikes me that he pulls it off in an entirely different way. Kafka's work is a reaction to his mental anguish, which is kind of like Vonnegut, who has dealt with the bulk of his personal hardships throughout his career, but those hardships are not his sole motivation. And, while he's lead an interesting life, it doesn't seem nearly as dramatic or romantic as Hemingway's. Plus, Vonnegut is much more overt than either of the two about his authorial involvement in his work. But what really forces Vonnegut to impose his presence on the text is his complete inability to remove himself at all from the act of communication at the core of any work of literature. He revels in that involvement. He has mentioned his desire, what he implies is a universal need of all human beings, for some "soul-deep fun." He uses this term as a synonym for greatness. And this has lead to some nasty comments in fiction workshops about stories that I've written: complaints of flat characters, cartoonish plotlines, non-directed criticism, overall pessimism and over-sentimentality for all things lowbrow. Needless to say, sometimes I feel, to varying degrees of pretension, like Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was born on November 11, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana to Kurt Vonnegut, Sr. and Edith Lieber Vonnegut. He had an older brother named Bernard and an older sister named Alice. Kurt, Sr. was a well-known architect in the city and Edith was the daughter of a wealthy local family. The Vonneguts had been in Indianapolis for several generations, and were well-off, respected members of the community. Unlike the characters in most of his books, Vonnegut's early childhood was extremely privileged. It wasn't until the stock market crash of 1929 that he experienced the type of life that he would go on to write about in the future: the middle Middle Class. This was devastating to his family. According to Understanding Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. the depression moved in and made itself at home in the Vonnegut household.

Bus405 Final Project

Final Project Ashford University Trena Mealor Dr. James Prentice August 27, 2012 ? Final Project Investing in the total stock market allows an investor to capture the return of the stock market while at the same time diversifying an investment portfolio. The easiest way to build a total stock market portfolio is with a mutual fund or an exchange traded fund. This particular portfolio is diversified with Vanguard ETF’s that were carefully chosen to seek the highest return with moderately aggressive to aggressive risk strategy.The investment strategy associated with this portfolio is short-term with an aggressive attitude of â€Å"more risk more reward†. 7/24 priceInvestment Amount# of Shares8/13 priceValue Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF – (VCR)67. 8910000147. 2970971. 7410567. 0932 Vanguard Financial ETF – (VFH)30. 2510000330. 578531. 5810439. 6690 Vanguard Growth ETF – (VUG)66. 9110000149. 454570. 4810533. 5531 Vanguard Information Technology E TF – (VGT)66. 9310000149. 409871. 7710723. 1413 Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF – (VGIT)86. 9410000115. 154386. 579968. 9077 50,00052232. 36Exchange Traded Funds, also known as ETFs, are mini-portfolios of securities and derivatives that track an asset like an index and/or commodity. When creating a portfolio, it is important to note that there is a difference between diversifiable risk and market risk. According to Elton (1977), diversifiable risk may be caused by random events that are particular to an individual firm. Since these events are random, the influence of events, such as a lawsuit or strike can be almost eliminated via diversification. However, diversification cannot entirely eliminate market risk. Market risk ffects most firms. Examples of market risk include war, recessions and high interest rates. By researching the portfolio funds, the investor can gain an understanding of risk and how it fits into diversification. A single stock has more risk of not creating a positive return than a stock portfolio. In a market dominated by risk-averse investors, riskier securities must have higher expected returns Ross, Westerfield & Jordan (1993) indicates, the principle of diversification tells us that the spreading of an investment across a number of assets will eliminate some but not all the risk.Unsystematic risk is essentially eliminated by diversification, so a relatively large portfolio has almost no unsystematic risk. Ong (1982) mentions that diversification can reduce the overall portfolio risk. However, the possibility for the risk reduction depends on the correlation coefficient and the proportion of the total funds invested in each. According to Jordan, etal (2012), the benchmark for a well-diversified portfolio would be a portfolio of all stocks in the market. Relevant market risk of the stocks within the portfolio is calculated using a beta coefficient.Accordingly, a stock with a high beta will bring a lot of risk t o the portfolio. The authors further explain, as you calculate the beta for various stocks, you may begin to see groupings of low, average and high beta risk. Beta measures the stock’s risk relative to the stock market average. Calculate the weighted average of these groupings, and you will discover the market risk for the entire portfolio. A â€Å"low† beta is generally 1. 0 or below. The average beta is 1. 00 and assets with a beta greater than 1. 00 have more than average systematic risk.Rosenberg and Guy (1995) further explain the importance of beta as the value of beta measures the expected response to market returns and because the vast majority of returns in diversified portfolios can be explained by their response to the market, an accurate prediction of beta is the most important single element in predicting the future behavior of a portfolio. To the degree that one believes that one can forecast the future direction of market movement, a forecast of beta, by predicting the degree of response to that movement, provides a prediction of the resultant portfolio return.To the degree that one is uncertain about the future movement of the market, the forecast of beta, by determining one's exposure to that uncertainty, provides a prediction of portfolio risk. We begin with the first description of the portfolio. Unlike mutual funds or index baskets, the investor does not have to make multiple transactions in order to achieve a market price. With ETFs it's one trade, one price. The first fund in this portfolio is Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF. From July 24, 2012 to August 13, 2012 the value has risen from $67. 9 to $71. 14. The annual investment returns of this ETF are: Annual investment returns as of 12/31/2011 (Vanguard, 2012) Year EndedVanguard Consumer Discretionary ETFSpliced US IMI Consumer Discr 25/50* Capital Return by NAVIncome Return by NAVTotal Return by NAVTotal Return by Market PriceTotal Return 20112. 28%1. 42%3. 71%3. 70%3. 83% 201029. 30%1. 27%30. 57%30. 62%30. 87% The Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF is generating 0. 16% of daily returns assuming volatility of 0. 71% on return distribution over 30 days investment horizon.MERGENT online indicates, the one month beta on this investment is 1. 03. This EFT includes stocks of companies that manufacture products and provide services that consumers purchase on a discretionary basis. The following risks are associated with this type of ETF: Stock market risk, Sector risk, Non-diversification and Investment style risk (Vanguard, 2012). Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF fund’s manufacturing segment includes the following industries: automotive, household durable goods, textiles and apparel, and leisure equipment.The services segment includes hotels, restaurants and other leisure facilities, media production and services, and consumer retailing. The next fund in this portfolio is Vanguard Financial ETF, which includes stocks of companies that provid e financial services. The investment has a one month beta of 0. 73 which indicates that the investment is 73% less risky than the average. This ETF fund is classified as aggressive is subject to extremely wide fluctuations in share prices.The unusually high volatility associated with these funds may stem from one or more of the following strategies: a concentration of fund holdings in a relatively low number of individual stocks, or in a particular sector of the stock market, or in a particular geographical region of the world; a heavy emphasis on small-capitalization stocks or growth stocks with relatively high market valuations; holdings of international stocks or bonds, which are subject to price declines caused by changes in the value of the U. S. ollar against foreign currencies; or investments in bonds that have exceptionally long average durations, whose prices are highly sensitive to changes in interest rates. According to the Wall Street Journal online, the annual investmen t returns of this ETF: Annual investment returns as of 12/31/2011 (Vanguard, 2012): Year EndedVanguard Financials ETFSpliced US IMI Consumer Discr 25/50* Capital Return by NAVIncome Return by NAVTotal Return by NAVTotal Return by Market PriceTotal Return 2011-16. 04%1. 69%-14. 35%-14. 35%-14. 24% 201013. 15%1. 58%14. 74%14. 77%14. 7% Vanguard Financials ETF seeks to track the investment performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index, a benchmark of large-, mid-, and small-cap U. S. stocks in the financials sector, as classified under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). This GICS sector is made up of companies involved in activities such as banking, mortgage finance, consumer finance, specialized finance, investment banking and brokerage, asset management and custody, corporate lending, insurance, financial investment, and real estate (including REITs).The next ETF in this portfolio is the Moderately-Aggressive Vanguard Growth ETF with a closing p rice of $66. 91 on July 24, 2012 and an ending close of $70. 48 on August 13, 2012. The one month beta on this investment is 0. 99 with a positive strong direction. Annual investment returns as of 12/31/2011 (Vanguard, 2012): Year EndedVanguard Growth ETFMSCI US Prime Market Growth Index* Capital Return by NAVIncome Return by NAVTotal Return by NAVTotal Return by Market PriceTotal Return 20110. 0%1. 27%1. 87%1. 84%1. 96% 201015. 66%1. 46%17. 11%17. 15%17. 23% An investment in this the fund could lose money over short or even long periods. The investor should expect the fund’s share price and total return to fluctuate within a wide range, like the fluctuations of the overall stock market. Vanguard funds classified as moderate to aggressive are broadly diversified but are subject to wide fluctuations in share price because they hold virtually all of their assets in common stocks.In general, such funds are appropriate for investors who have a long-term investment horizon (ten ye ars or longer), who are seeking growth in capital as a primary objective, and who are prepared to endure the sharp and sometimes prolonged declines in share prices that occur from time to time in the stock market. This price volatility is the trade-off for the potentially high returns that common stocks can provide. The level of current income produced by funds in this category ranges from moderate to very low.The type of risks associated with this investment is: stock market risk and investment style risk. The chance that stock prices overall will decline. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising stock prices and periods of falling stock prices. The fund’s target index may, at times, become focused in stocks of a particular sector, category, or group of companies. Because the fund seeks to track its target index, the fund may underperform the overall stock market. The chance that returns from large-capitalization growth stocks will trail returns from the overall stock market.Large-cap stocks tend to go through cycles of doing better—or worse—than other segments of the stock market or the stock market in general. These periods have, in the past, lasted for as long as several years. The next investment in the portfolio is Vanguard information technology ETF. This ETF seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of stocks in the information technology sector. With a one month beta of 1. 1, this fund is passively managed, using a full-replication strategy when possible and a sampling strategy if regulatory constraints dictate.Includes stocks of companies that serve the electronics and computer industries or that manufacture products based on the latest applied science. The risk potential for this fund is aggressive, more risk more reward. Annual investment returns as of 12/31/2011 (Vanguard, 2012) Year EndedVanguard Information Technology ETFMSCI US Prime Market Growth Index* Capi tal Return by NAVIncome Return by NAVTotal Return by NAVTotal Return by Market PriceTotal Return 2011-0. 28%0. 80%0. 52%0. 53%0. 66% 201012. 08%0. 66%12. 74%12. 67%12. 99%Vanguard Information Technology ETF is made up of companies in the following three general areas: technology software and services, including companies that primarily develop software in various fields (such as the Internet, applications, systems, databases, management, and/or home entertainment), and companies that provide information technology consulting and services, data processing, and outsourced services; technology hardware and equipment, including manufacturers and distributors of communications equipment, computers and peripherals, electronic equipment, and related instruments; and semiconductors and semiconductor equipment manufacturers.Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF which seeks to provide a moderate and sustainable level of current income. Invests primarily in high-quality (investment-gra de) corporate bonds. Moderate interest rate risk, with a dollar-weighted average maturity of 5 to 10 years. Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted corporate bond index with an intermediate-term dollar-weighted average maturity. The fund invests by sampling the index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. Annual investment returns as of 12/31/2011 (Vanguard, 2012)Year EndedVanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETFMSCI US Prime Market Growth Index* Capital Return by NAVIncome Return by NAVTotal Return by NAVTotal Return by Market PriceTotal Return 20113. 77%4. 17%7. 94%8. 97%8. 03% 20106. 16%4. 48%10. 65%9. 88%10. 80% All of the fund’s investments will be selected through the sampling process and at least 80% of the fund’s assets will be invested in bonds included in the index. The fund maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the index. An investment in the fund could lose money over short or even long periods. The fund’s performance could be hurt by: Interest rate risk: The chance that bond prices overall will decline because of rising interest rates.Interest rate risk should be moderate for the fund because it invests primarily in intermediate-term bonds, whose prices are less sensitive to interest rate changes than are the prices of long-term bonds. Income risk: The chance that the fund’s income will decline because of falling interest rates. Credit risk: The chance that a bond issuer will fail to pay interest and principal in a timely manner, or that negative perceptions of the issuer’s ability to make such payments will cause the price of that bond to decline. Index sampling risk: The chance that the securities selected for the fund, in the aggregate, will not provide investment performance matching that of the index. In dex sampling risk for the fund should be low. Annual investment returns as of 12/31/2011 (Vanguard, 2012)Year EndedVanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETFMSCI US Prime Market Growth Index* Capital Return by NAVIncome Return by NAVTotal Return by NAVTotal Return by Market PriceTotal Return 20113. 77%4. 17%7. 94%8. 97%8. 03% 20106. 16%4. 48%10. 65%9. 88%10. 80% ETFs combine the advantages of both index funds and stocks. They are liquid, easy to use and can be traded in any quantity just like stocks. At the same time an ETF provides the diversification, market coverage and low expenses of an index fund. These characteristics combine to create an investment tool that provides investors with the broad exposure they require, at the level they want; at the moment they need it.As such, they are fast gaining a reputation as an innovative investment solution – a claim greatly supported by the accelerated growth in ETFs. Reference Elton, E, & Gruber, M. (1977), Risk, reduction and portfolio size: an analytical solution. Journal of Business. Vol. 50, 415-437. Hope-Bell, E. (2008). Focus on: Index investing – exchange traded funds – an innovative investment solution. Professional Wealth Management, , 1-n/a. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/205081570? accountid=32521 Jordan, B. , Miller, T. , & Dolvin, S. (2012). Fundamentals of investments, valuation andmanagement (6th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. MERGENT Online. Retrieved from http://www. mergentonline. com/companydetail. php? pagetype=highlights&compnumber=116548 Ong, Poh Wah (1982).Measuring the expected return and risk of combining several shares in an investment portfolio. Securities Industry Review. Vol. 8, No I, 6-16. Rosenberg, B. , & Guy, J. (1995). Prediction of beta from investment fundamentals. Financial Analysts Journal, 51(1), 101-101. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/219118485? accountid=32521 Ross, S. , Westerfield, W. , & Jordan, B. (199 3). Fundamentals of corporate finance, 2nd ed. , Richard D. Irwin, Inc. https://personal. vanguard. com/us/home Vanguard (2012). Retrieved from https://personal. vanguard. com/us/home Wall Street Journal online. (2012). Retrieved from http://online. wsj. com/home-page

Leaving home Essay

Every child needs to be surrounded by tenderness and love in order to grow up to be a successful person. Parents try as much as they can to offer everything that is required for their baby to have a comfortable life. However, when their children become teenagers, they will want to prove their maturity in many different ways, and one of them is moving out to live independently. In my belief, leaving home to live independently cannot indicate the teenagers’ maturity base on three following reasons: young people are lack of maturity, they cannot receive support from family and school, and their finance will be unstable. First of all, teenagers cannot live independently due to the lack of maturity. At this age, teenagers cannot predict the consequences of their doings. They will be undisciplined and begin to do bad things. All moving out-teenagers will be overwhelmed with having to take care of themselves so they will easily to be depress. Therefore, they will start to get into bad habits such as drinking, abusing drugs, and smoking in order to release stress. Moreover, they are very young, so they are unable to have thought through decisions. Teenagers without their parents have no one there to tell them right or wrong and they will probably end up making bad choices. Furthermore, teenagers can easily be influenced by others especially bad people; therefore, they can entice into committing crimes. Because the rate of criminals, drinking, and drugs is so high for teenagers that move out early, young people should not live apart from their parents. Next, when they start to live independently so early, they will be lack of many strong support systems such as family and education. Preventing from starvation is a must; however, these young people do not have enough time to learn how to cook for themselves. Instead of eating cooked nutritious food, teenagers have to eat instant food or fast food which is not good for their health. Thus, they will miss the food made by their parents. Moreover, when they live away from home, they will have to do the work themselves. Cleaning, washing clothes, finding food and shelter will cost lots of time  and effort, so it will not leave so much time to do other things. Besides, moving out during teenage years, there will be a higher chance of dropping out of school because their time is all spent on working and doing housework. When their study is interrupted, they will be lack of knowledge, and this will prevent them from having a job, a better life and brighter future. Finally, living on their own, teenagers cannot receive the needed financial support from parents which leads to the financial instability. Having a place to stay, having enough money to live and to protect oneself require a lot of money. On the other hand, earning money is an extremely difficult task, and for young people, they also have to take on further challenges when finding a job. For instance, many jobs require lots of degrees and certificates; moreover, most places do not allowed youngsters to work under the legal working age which is an18 years old. Most early teenagers are very stubborn and they are scared of being embarrassed; therefore, they will not likely to ask for any help from anybody. So when they do not have enough money to support their lives, they will easily commit crimes. At a result, they become a burden to society. In conclusion, teenagers are the one who always want to prove themselves to the world. One of the most common methods is leaving home when they are very young and are not mature enough. However, living apart from parents during the teenage years is not a good indicator to prove their maturity. Living alone in the society is very dangerous to people especially teenagers, due to the fact that they can be influenced from many bad forces in real life. Therefore, I believe that the most wonderful time in life is teenage years and people should always value this period of time with their parents.