Analytical Paper-Investment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Analytical -Investment - Research Paper Example With this regard, the possession of adequate resources along with growing trade opportunities in the developing economic prospects of South Africa have been considered as a vital concern for the global companies to increase their investment portfolios. Additionally, the diplomatic association between Kuwait and South Africa signifies growth prospects for both the countries. One of the significant opportunities can be identified as the increasing importance attained by South African mining industry within the world economy. Stating precisely, Kuwait investing in South Africa shall be rewarded with significant opportunities facilitated with continuous development of the host nation. Fundamentally, steered by such developmental opportunities, the Gulf economies have been focused on creating a trade relation with Africa in the recent phenomenon which shall also benefit Kuwait when investing in South African mining industry. ... Therefore, an increasing practice of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is often observed, which enables both the recipient and investor countries to efficiently practice their range of industrial activities. Correspondingly, the discussion of the paper has been emphasized on the emerging trend of FDI and its significance towards improving the present economic and political relation between Kuwait and South Africa. In order to clearly recognize the significance of FDI in the current phenomenon, the paper highlights the major advantages that can be availed by Kuwait through its investment in the South African mining industry. The paper also tends to elaborate on the major motivational factors in South Africa which can facilitate Kuwait to efficiently perform its varied range of trade activities along with support the credibility of both the nations in the present world economy. Focusing on this particular aspect, the paper also recommends few effective measures for Kuwaiti investors when building trade relations with South Africa through direct investment in the mining industry. Introduction The emergence of South African mining industry has been observed as a major resource for the country which enabled it to attract global investors such as Kuwait. The mineral development sector of the country is highly focused on increasing the efficiency of the mining and mineral industry which has enabled the country to experience a radical economic stabilization (South African Embassy, 2013). Although the trade relation between Kuwait and South Africa has recently come into the limelight, these two economies have been into a distinct global trade relation since past few decades. The political relation between

Research Paper on Comparative analysis of Wal-Mart, Kmart and

On Comparative analysis of Wal-Mart, Kmart and Burlington - Research Paper Example 10) through different business and management strategies. Almost all different companies play very uniquely in the market with varying organizational objectives, visions, techniques, ideas and strategies and therefore all these companies provide illuminating examples for how differently a market can be created and maintained. This piece of research paper presents a comparative study of the company background information, organizational cultures and environmental factors of three well known companies; Wal-Mart, Kmart and Burlington Coat factory. Based on the comparative analysis of the business strategies and marketing techniques of these three companies, this paper explains how different companies play uniquely in the market by creating values for their customers to make them ultimately satisfied. Company Background Information Wal-Mart The Wal-Mart is always an amazing business story since it has emerged to be the largest retailer from the dream of a family to start a small lucrativ e retail business with their personal saving of six thousand dollars (Soderquist, 2005). Out of all the retail and other brands in the US, Wal-Mart has undoubtedly affected the life of millions around the world by changing their lifestyle, culture and social status too. Wal-Mart operates retail stores in various formats and segments across the world such as discount stores, supercentres, neighborhood markets, Sam’s club and market-side. It is ranked first by Fortune 500 on the list of America’s largest corporations and also as one among the world’s largest corporations listed in 2011. Wal-Mart stores provide its customers with wide range of national as well as internationally recognized brands in categories of grocery, home appliance, entertainment, health and wellness, apparel, home wares and so on. One of the major strengths of the company is that it can quickly shift the products mix to adapt to changes in demand and market since the company has dominant posi tion in its market and also that it provides wide ranges of goods and services (Datamonitor, 2011). The Wal-Mart story The Wal-Mart story begins with Sam Walton’s dream to start a small franchise Ben Franklin’s variety store in Arkansas, Bentonville in 1945 (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2009, p. 293). The retail store that Sam Walton started began to inspire a group of people with his uncanny ability and his vision to create not just one-of-a-kind company but a revolutionary business model and thus to grow to impact the standard of living for millions upon millions of people every day in the US and worldwide (Soderquist, 2005). Until 1962, the business was entirely devoted to the operation of franchise variety stores. By July 1962, Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers and this has eventually grown to be a large chain with 24 stores that ringed up $ 12.7 million sales in 1967. In 1969, the company is formally incorporates as Wal-Mart Stores Inc (History

Sources of noise in transistor

Sources of noise in transistor SOURCE OF NOISE IN TRANSISTOR FOR DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION Abstract- Here in this term paper, I am going to discuss the history of the transistors, its importance and its limitations. The term paper is on the sources of noise in transistors for different configurations. HISTORY A replica of the first working transistor. The first patent for the field-effect transistor principle was filed in Canada by Austrian-Hungarian physicist Julius Edgar Lilienfeld on October 22, 1925, but Lilienfeld did not publish any research articles about his devices. In 1934 German physicist Dr. Oskar Heil patented another field-effect transistor. On 17 November 1947 John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, at ATT Bell Labs, observed that when electrical contacts were applied to a crystal of germanium, the output power was larger than the input. William Shockley saw the potential in this and worked over the next few months greatly expanding the knowledge of semiconductors and is considered by many to be the father of the transistor. The term was coined by John R. Pierce. IMPORTANCE The transistor is considered by many to be the greatest invention of the twentieth-century, or as one of the greatest. It is the key active component in practically all modern electronics. Its importance in todays society rests on its ability to be mass produced using a highly automated process (fabrication) that achieves astonishingly low per-transistor costs. Although several companies each produce over a billion individually-packaged (known as discrete) transistors every year, the vast majority of transistors produced are in integrated circuits (often shortened to IC, microchips or simply chips) along with diodes, resistors, capacitors and other electronic components to produce complete electronic circuits. A logic gate consists of about twenty transistors whereas an advanced microprocessor, as of 2006, can use as many as 1.7 billion transistors (MOSFETs). About 60 million transistors were built this year [2002] for [each] man, woman, and child on Earth. The transistors low cost, flexibility and reliability have made it a ubiquitous device. Transistorized mechatronic circuits have replaced electromechanical devices in controlling appliances and machinery. It is often easier and cheaper to use a standard microcontroller and write a computer program to carry out a control function than to design an equivalent mechanical control function.[1] USAGE The bipolar junction transistor, or BJT, was the first transistor invented, and through the 1970s, was the most commonly used transistor. Even after MOSFETs became available, the BJT remained the transistor of choice for many analog circuits such as simple amplifiers because of their greater linearity and ease of manufacture. Desirable properties of MOSFETs, such as their utility in low-power devices, usually in the CMOS configuration, allowed them to capture nearly all market share for digital circuits; more recently MOSFETs have captured most analog and power applications as well, including modern clocked analog circuits, voltage regulators, amplifiers, power transmitters, motor drivers, etc. BJT used as an electronic switch, in grounded-emitter configuration. How a transistor works Amplifier circuit, standard common-emitter configuration. Simple circuit using a transistor. Operation graph of a transistor The essential usefulness of a transistor comes from its ability to use a small signal applied between one pair of its terminals to control a much larger signal at another pair of terminals. This property is called gain. A transistor can control its output in proportion to the input signal; this is called an amplifier. Or, the transistor can be used to turn current on or off in a circuit like an electrically controlled switch, where the amount of current is determined by other circuit elements. The two types of transistors have slight differences in how they are used in a circuit. A bipolar transistor has terminals labelled base, collector and emitter. A small current at base terminal can control or switch a much larger current between collector and emitter terminals. For a field-effect transistor, the terminals are labelled gate, source, and drain, and a voltage at the gate can control a current between source and drain. The image to the right represents a typical bipolar transistor in a circuit. Charge will flow between emitter and collector terminals depending on the current in the base. Since internally the base and emitter connections behave like a semiconductor diode, a voltage drop develops between base and emitter while the base current exists. The size of this voltage depends on the material the transistor is made from, and is referred to as VBE. Transistors are commonly used as electronic switches, for both high power applications including switched-mode power supplies and low power applications such as logic gates. It can be seen from the graph that once the base voltage reaches a certain level, shown at B, the current will no longer increase with increasing VBE and the output will be held at a fixed voltage.[dubious discuss] The transistor is then said to be saturated. Hence, values of input voltage can be chosen such that the output is either completely off, or completely on. The transistor is acting as a switch, and this type of operation is common in digital circuits where only on and off values are relevant. TRANSISTOR AS AN AMPLIFIER The above common emitter amplifier is designed so that a small change in voltage in (Vin) changes the small current through the base of the transistor and the transistors current amplification combined with the properties of the circuit mean that small swings in Vin produce large changes in Vout. It is important that the operating parameters of the transistor are chosen and the circuit designed such that as far as possible the transistor operates within a linear portion of the graph, such as that shown between A and B, otherwise the output signal will suffer distortion. Various configurations of single transistor amplifier are possible, with some providing current gain, some voltage gain, and some both. From mobile phones to televisions, vast numbers of products include amplifiers for sound reproduction, radio transmission, and signal processing. The first discrete transistor audio amplifiers barely supplied a few hundred milliwatts, but power and audio fidelity gradually increased as better transistors became available and amplifier architecture evolved. Modern transistor audio amplifiers of up to a few hundred watts are common and relatively inexpensive. Some musical instrument amplifier manufacturers mix transistors and vacuum tubes in the same circuit, as some believe tubes have a distinctive sound.Prior to the development of transistors, vacuum (electron) tubes (or in the UK thermionic valves or just valves) were the main active components in electronic equipment. ADVANTAGES The key advantages that have allowed transistors to replace their vacuum tube predecessors in most applications are: I. Small size and minimal weight, allowing the development of miniaturized electronic devices. II. Highly automated manufacturing processes, resulting in low per-unit cost. III. Lower possible operating voltages, making transistors suitable for small, battery-powered applications. IV. No warm-up period for cathode heaters required after power application. V. Lower power dissipation and generally greater energy efficiency. VI. Higher reliability and greater physical ruggedness. VII. Extremely long life. Some transistorized devices produced more than 30 years ago are still in service. VIII. Complementary devices available, facilitating the design of complementary-symmetry circuits, something not possible with vacuum tubes. IX. Insensitivity to mechanical shock and vibration, thus avoiding the problem of microphonics in audio applications. [2] LIMITATIONS I. Silicon transistors do not operate at voltages higher than about 1,000 volts (SiC devices can be operated as high as 3,000 volts). In contrast, electron tubes have been developed that can be operated at tens of thousands of volts. II. High power, high frequency operation, such as used in over-the-air television broadcasting, is better achieved in electron tubes due to improved electron mobility in a vacuum. III. On average, a higher degree of amplification linearity can be achieved in electron tubes as compared to equivalent solid state devices, a characteristic that may be important in high fidelity audio reproduction. IV. Silicon transistors are much more sensitive than electron tubes to an electromagnetic pulse, such as generated by a nuclear explosion. V. Semiconductor material: germanium, silicon, gallium arsenide, silicon carbide, etc. VI. Structure: BJT, JFET, IGFET (MOSFET), IGBT, other types VII. Polarity: NPN, PNP (BJTs); N-channel, P-channel (FETs) VIII. Maximum power rating: low, medium, high IX. Maximum operating frequency: low, medium, high, radio frequency (RF), microwave (The maximum effective frequency of a transistor is denoted by the term fT, an abbreviation for frequency of transition. The frequency of transition is the frequency at which the transistor yields unity gain). X. Application: switch, general purpose, audio, high voltage, super-beta, matched pair XI. Physical packaging: through hole metal, through hole plastic, surface mount, ball grid array, power modules XII. Amplification factor hfe (transistor beta) Thus, a particular transistor may be described as: silicon, surface mount, BJT, NPN, low power, high frequency switch. The bipolar junction transistor (BJT) was the first type of transistor to be mass-produced. Bipolar transistors are so named because they conduct by using both majority and minority carriers. The three terminals of the BJT are named emitter, base and collector. Two p-n junctions exist inside a BJT: the base/emitter junction and base/collector junction. The [BJT] is useful in amplifiers because the currents at the emitter and collector are controllable by the relatively small base current. In an NPN transistor operating in the active region, the emitter-base junction is forward biased, and electrons are injected into the base region. Because the base is narrow, most of these electrons will diffuse into the reverse-biased base-collector junction and be swept into the collector; perhaps one-hundredth of the electrons will recombine in the base, which is the dominant mechanism in the base current. By controlling the number of electrons that can leave the base, the number of electrons ent ering the collector can be controlled. Unlike the FET, the BJT is a low-input-impedance device. Also, as the base-emitter voltage (Vbe) is increased the base-emitter current and hence the collector-emitter current (Ice) increase exponentially according to the Shockley diode model and the Ebers-Moll model. Because of this exponential relationship, the BJT has a higher transconductance than the FET. Bipolar transistors can be made to conduct by exposure to light, since absorption of photons in the base region generates a photocurrent that acts as a base current; the collector current is approximately beta times the photocurrent. Devices designed for this purpose have a transparent window in the package and are called phototransistors. FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTORS The field-effect transistor (FET), sometimes called a unipolar transistor, uses either electrons (in N-channel FET) or holes (in P-channel FET) for conduction. The four terminals of the FET are named source, gate, drain, and body (substrate). On most FETs, the body is connected to the source inside the package, and this will be assumed for the following description. In FETs, the drain-to-source current flows via a conducting channel that connects the source region to the drain region. The conductivity is varied by the electric field that is produced when a voltage is applied between the gate and source terminals; hence the current flowing between the drain and source is controlled by the voltage applied between the gate and source. As the gate-source voltage (Vgs) is increased, the drain-source current (Ids) increases exponentially for Vgs below threshold, and then at a roughly quadratic rate (I_{ds} propto (V_{gs}-V_T)^2) (where VT is the threshold voltage at which drain current begins) in the space-charge-limited region above threshold. A quadratic behavior is not observed in modern devices, for example, at the 65 nm technology node. For low noise at narrow bandwidth the higher input resistance of the FET is advantageous. FETs are divided into two families: junction FET (JFET) and insulated gate FET (IGFET). The IGFET is more commonly known as metal-oxide-semiconductor FET (MOSFET), from their original construction as a layer of metal (the gate), a layer of oxide (the insulation), and a layer of semiconductor. Unlike IGFETs, the JFET gate forms a PN diode with the channel which lies between the source and drain. Functionally, this makes the N-channel JFET the solid state equivalent of the vacuum tube triode which, similarly, forms a diode between its grid and cathode. Also, both devices operate in the depletion mode, they both have a high input impedance, and they both conduct current under the control of an input voltage. Metal-semiconductor FETs (MESFETs) are JFETs in which the reverse biased PN junction is replaced by a metal-semiconductor Schottky-junction. These, and the HEMTs (high electron mobility transistors, or HFETs), in which a two-dimensional electron gas with very high carrier mobility is used for charge transport, are especially suitable for use at very high frequencies (microwave frequencies; several GHz). Unlike bipolar transistors, FETs do not inherently amplify a photocurrent. Nevertheless, there are ways to use them, especially JFETs, as light-sensitive devices, by exploiting the photocurrents in channel-gate or channel-body junctions. FETs are further divided into depletion-mode and enhancement-mode types, depending on whether the channel is turned on or off with zero gate-to-source voltage. For enhancement mode, the channel is off at zero bias, and a gate potential can enhance the conduction. For depletion mode, the channel is on at zero bias, and a gate potential (of the opposite polarity) can deplete the channel, reducing conduction. For either mode, a more positive gate voltage corresponds to a higher current for N-channel devices and a lower current for P-channel devices. Nearly all JFETs are depletion-mode as the diode junctions would forward bias and conduct if they were enhancement mode devices; most IGFETs are enhancement-mode types.[3] OTHER TRANSISTORS TYPE I. Point-contact transistor, first type of transistor ever constructed II. Bipolar junction transistor (BJT) a. Heterojunction bipolar transistor up to 100s GHz, common in modern ultrafast and RF circuits b. Grown-junction transistor, first type of BJT c. Alloy-junction transistor, improvement of grown-junction transistor i. Micro-alloy transistor (MAT), faster than alloy-junction transistor ii. Micro-alloy diffused transistor (MADT), faster than MAT, type of a diffused-base transistor iii. Post-alloy diffused transistor (PADT), faster than MAT, type of a diffused-base transistor iv. Schottky transistor v. Surface barrier transistor d. Drift-field transistor e. Avalanche transistor f. Darlington transistors are two BJTs connected together to provide a high current gain equal to the product of the current gains of the two transistors. g. Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) use a medium power IGFET, similarly connected to a power BJT, to give a high input impedance. Power diodes are often connected between certain terminals depending on specific use. IGBTs are particularly suitable for heavy-duty industrial applications. The Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) 5SNA2400E170100 illustrates just how far power semiconductor technology has advanced. Intended for three-phase power supplies, this device houses three NPN IGBTs in a case measuring 38 by 140 by 190mm and weighing 1.5kg. Each IGBT is rated at 1,700 volts and can handle 2,400 amperes. h. Photo transistor React to light III. Field-effect transistor a. JFET, where the gate is insulated by a reverse-biased PN junction b. MESFET, similar to JFET with a Schottky junction instead of PN one i. High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT, HFET, MODFET) c. MOSFET, where the gate is insulated by a thin layer of insulator d. Inverted-T field effect transistor (ITFET) e. FinFET The source/drain region forms fins on the silicon surface. f. FREDFET Fast-Reverse Epitaxial Diode Field-Effect Transistor g. Thin film transistor Used in LCD display. h. OFET Organic Field-Effect Transistor, in which the semiconductor is an organic compound i. Ballistic transistor j. Floating-gate transistor Used for non-volatile storage. k. FETs used to sense environment i. Ion sensitive field effect transistor To measure ion concentrations in solution. ii. EOSFET Electrolyte-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (Neurochip) iii. DNAFET Deoxyribonucleic acid field-effect transistor IV. Spacistor V. Diffusion transistor, formed by diffusing dopants into semiconductor substrate; can be both BJT and FET VI. Unijunction transistors can be used as simple pulse generators. They comprise a main body of either P-type or N-type semiconductor with ohmic contacts at each end (terminals Base1 and Base2). A junction with the opposite semiconductor type is formed at a point along the length of the body for the third terminal (Emitter). VII. Single-electron transistors (SET) consist of a gate island between two tunnelling junctions. The tunnelling current is controlled by a voltage applied to the gate through a capacitor. VIII. Spin transistor Magnetically-sensitive IX. Nanofluidic transistor Control the movement of ions through sub-microscopic, water-filled channels. Nanofluidic transistor, the basis of future chemical processors X. Multigate devices a. Tetrode transistor b. Pentode transistor c. Multigate device d. Trigate transistors (Prototype by Intel) e. Dual gate FETs have a single channel with two gates in cascode; a configuration that is optimized for high frequency amplifiers, mixers, and oscillators f. Semiconductor material XI. The first BJTs were made from germanium (Ge). Silicon (Si) types currently predominate but certain advanced microwave and high performance versions now employ the compound semiconductor material gallium arsenide (GaAs) and the semiconductor alloy silicon germanium (SiGe). Single element semiconductor material (Ge and Si) is described as elemental. Rough parameters for the most common semiconductor materials used to make transistors are given in the table below; it must be noted that these parameters will vary with increase in temperature, electric field, impurity level, strain and various other factors: Semiconductor material characteristics Semiconductormaterial Junction forwardvoltageV @ 25  °C Electron mobilitym ²/(V ·s) @ 25  °C Hole mobilitym ²/(V ·s) @ 25  °C Max. junction temp. °C Ge 0.27 0.39 0.19 70 to 100 Si 0.71 0.14 0.05 150 to 200 GaAs 1.03 0.85 0.05 150 to 200 Al-Si junction 0.3 — — 150 to 200 The junction forward voltage is the voltage applied to the emitter-base junction of a BJT in order to make the base conduct a specified current. The current increases exponentially as the junction forward voltage is increased. The values given in the table are typical for a current of 1 mA (the same values apply to semiconductor diodes). The lower the junction forward voltage the better, as this means that less power is required to drive the transistor. The junction forward voltage for a given current decreases with increase in temperature. For a typical silicon junction the change is approximately −2.1 mV/ °C. The density of mobile carriers in the channel of a MOSFET is a function of the electric field forming the channel and of various other phenomena such as the impurity level in the channel. Some impurities, called dopants, are introduced deliberately in making a MOSFET, to control the MOSFET electrical behavior. The electron mobility and hole mobility columns show the average speed that electrons and holes diffuse through the semiconductor material with an electric field of 1 volt per meter applied across the material. In general, the higher the electron mobility the faster the transistor. The table indicates that Ge is a better material than Si in this respect. However, Ge has four major shortcomings compared to silicon and gallium arsenide: I. its maximum temperature is limited II. it has relatively high leakage current III. it cannot withstand high voltages IV. it is less suitable for fabricating integrated circuits Because the electron mobility is higher than the hole mobility for all semiconductor materials, a given bipolar NPN transistor tends to be faster than an equivalent PNP transistor type. GaAs has the highest electron mobility of the three semiconductors. It is for this reason that GaAs is used in high frequency applications. A relatively recent FET development, the high electron mobility transistor (HEMT), has a heterostructure (junction between different semiconductor materials) of aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs)-gallium arsenide (GaAs) which has double the electron mobility of a GaAs-metal barrier junction. Because of their high speed and low noise, HEMTs are used in satellite receivers working at frequencies around 12GHz. Max. junction temperature values represent a cross section taken from various manufacturers data sheets. This temperature should not be exceeded or the transistor may be damaged. Al-Si junction refers to the high-speed (aluminum-silicon) semiconductor-metal barrier diode, commonly known as a Schottky diode. This is included in the table because some silicon power IGFETs have a parasitic reverse Schottky diode formed between the source and drain as part of the fabrication process. This diode can be a nuisance, but sometimes it is used in the circuit.[4] Packaging Through-hole transistors (tape measure marked in centimetres) Transistors come in many different packages (chip carriers) (see images). The two main categories are through-hole (or leaded), and surface-mount, also known as surface mount device (SMD). The ball grid array (BGA) is the latest surface mount package (currently only for large transistor arrays). It has solder balls on the underside in place of leads. Because they are smaller and have shorter interconnections, SMDs have better high frequency characteristics but lower power rating. Transistor packages are made of glass, metal, ceramic or plastic. The package often dictates the power rating and frequency characteristics. Power transistors have large packages that can be clamped to heat sinks for enhanced cooling. Additionally, most power transistors have the collector or drain physically connected to the metal can/metal plate. At the other extreme, some surface-mount microwave transistors are as small as grains of sand. Often a given transistor type is available in different packages. Transistor packages are mainly standardized, but the assignment of a transistors functions to the terminals is not: different transistor types can assign different functions to the packages terminals. Even for the same transistor type the terminal assignment can vary (normally indicated by a suffix letter to the part number- i.e. BC212L and BC212K)[5]. CONCLUSION A unified noise model which incorporates both the number fluctuation and the correlated surface mobility fluctuation mechanism is discussed. The latter is attributed to the Coulombic scattering effect of the fluctuating oxide charge. The model has a functional form resembling that of the number fluctuation theory, but at certain bias conditions it may reduce to a form compatible with Hooges empirical expression. The model can unify the noise data reported in the literature, without making any ad hoc assumption on the noise generation mechanism. Specifically, the model can predict the right magnitude and bias dependence of the empirical Hooge parameter. Simulated noise characteristics obtained with a circuit-simulation-oriented fnoise model based on the new formulation were compared with experimental noise data. Excellent agreement between the calculations and measurement was observed in both the linear and saturation regions for MOS transistors fabricated by different technologies. T he work shows that the flicker noise in MOS transistors can be completely explained by the trap charge fluctuation mechanism, which produces mobile carrier number fluctuation and correlated surface mobility fluctuationIn electronics, a transistor is a semiconductor device commonly used to amplify or switch electronic signals. A transistor is made of a solid piece of a semiconductor material, with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistors terminals changes the current flowing through another pair of terminals. Because the controlled (output) power can be much larger than the controlling (input) power, the transistor provides amplification of a signal. The transistor is the fundamental building block of modern electronic devices, and is used in radio, telephone, computer and other electronic systems. Some transistors are packaged individually but most are found in integrated circuits. REFERENCES- [1]www.ciphersbyritter.com/NOISE/NOISRC.HTM [2]www.nikhef.nl/~jds/vlsi/noise/transistor [3]www.colorado.edu/physics/phys3330/phys3330_fa05/manual/Exp [4]www.imagesensors.org/Past%20Workshops/2003%20Workshop/2003%20Papers/27%20Findlater%20et%20al [5]www.ansoft.com/news/articles/HF0605

Buddhism :: essays research papers

Buddhism: Things I Find Interesting As I was reading the selected portions of the book for this chapter, I came across a few things that I found interesting. At first I did not catch them, but after I went back and reread the selections, I found these things, that I thought were intriguing. Buddhism is supposedly a non-theistic religion. However, in the reading titled "The Majjhim-Nikaya: Questions Which Lend Not to Edification" (5.1) and in "Realizing the Four Noble Truths" (5.3, the Buddha is continually referred to as "The Blessed One". If he is only a man, why is he referred to in such a way? Other Buddhists have the potential to become Buddhas, so would they also be referred to as "Blessed One"? If this Buddha was not the first, and not the last Buddha, why are other Buddhas also not referred to as "Blessed ones"? In my opinion, if this Buddha is not considered to be a god, then he should at least be referred to as "One of the Blessed Ones" instead of "The Blessed One". Another concept that I found interesting was the idea of duality that was discussed in "The Majjhima-Nikaya: Questions Which Lend Not to Edification" (5.1). I do not quite understand it, so I was intrigued it. The selection says that the soul and body are identical, and then that the soul and body are separate. It says that the world is finite and that the world is infinite. It also says that the world is eternal and then that it is not. How can these things be? I do not understand how the saint can both exist and not exist after death. I think that in my worldview, things such as these concepts are not present. I see ideas such as the world, and the body and soul as one way or the other.

History †French Revolution Essay

I truly believe it was the collective effect of all the causes of the French Revolution that finally caused the people to rise up. In 1789 the people of France were suffering under the rule of Louis XVI, who used the countries money to provide him and his family the most luxurious life imaginable, while the people starved. The political regime of the time was a absolute monarchy (regime in which the country is ruled by a King or Queen, who inherit this position and has absolute power), but in theory there was a form of parliament, Estates General that consisted of elected representatives. This group of people could only meet if the King allowed or requested the meeting and in the 175 years of the parliament’s existence there had not been a single meeting. This fact frustrated the people because the King did not take their opinion and needs in consideration. Louis XVI would do as he pleased, a clear example of that was placing people in jail for no absolute reason except maybe his dislike for them. During the 18th century France was in a number of wars leaving the country with a lot of debts. In 1780’s the country had to borrow more money simply to pay interest (the amount of money paid on the money borrowed) on their debts. The royal family had a lifestyle the country could not support because only the lower classes were taxed, the peasants (people who worked on the land), while the higher classes, clergy (the religious leaders, individuals that worked for the roman catholic church, ex: priests) and the nobles (entities with a high social rank, ex: Ladies and Lords) did not pay tax at all. In other words the tax system needed a urgent reform (improvement). The social structure was horribly unfair. It was divided in three groups that were called â€Å"Estates†. The first estate was the Clergy, the people who belong to this estate worked for the Roman Catholic Church, which was at the time the main religion in France. At this specific stage in time the church owned a lot of land and most of their high officials were extremely wealthy. The Nobles formed the second estate. They were given many special rights and privileges. The third estate was made up of 98% of the people. This estate was where all the peasants, middle class traders and all kinds of professionals (ex. Lawyers). They paid heavy tax and had absolutely no privileges at all. Above all the estates was the King and his family with the absolute power. â€Å"It was the collective effect of all the causes of the French Revolution that finally caused the people to rise up. † History Essay Lara Ismael Nogueira Martha  For many centuries people in the whole of Europe accepted the authority of both their Kings and the Roman Catholic Church, a clear example of that was the â€Å"Divine Right of Kings† (this concept simply means that people believed their Kings and Queens were a representation of God and had to be respected and adored as such). Finally during the 18th century many philosophers started questioning these ideas. These period was called the Age of Enlightenment because the people began to question the old ways, led by the church, and created their own. Science had great advances during these times because everything was new, there was something to be discovered everyday†¦ it was at this point that Theocentrism (God in the center of the universe) was put aside and gave room for a complete new way of thinking and living, Anthropocentrism (man in the center of the universe). Diderot was a clear example of a philosopher that question the church and made his opinion well known. He was the leader of a group made up of philosophers that called themselves the â€Å"Encyclopaedists†, they’re goal was to write a series of books called â€Å"Encyclopaedia† (books that contained all existing knowledge). As they began to write the books they became more and more aware of the situation in France. They made their books public, therefore everyone could read them, this act helped spread the revolutionary ideas more than they already were. As the popularity of the Encyclopaedia grew so did the need for individual opinions. Another great example was Rousseau he was the true star, known as the father of democracy, he believed in equality among the people, and wrote about rules that weren’t based or chosen by God but by the people. This was the basic principles of democracy. In May of 1789 the representatives formed the National Assembly and met outside Paris against the Kings will and started a process of reform. They vowed to continue working until they had drawn up a new constitution for the country. However the process was very slow and the people of Paris grew impatient, the bread prices were constantly rising and the unemployment rate grew. On the 14th of July of 1789 angry people invaded the Bastille, killed the governor also some of the soldiers who tried to stop them and freed prisoners. When the news of the takeover reached other parts of France the ordinary people revolted and just like that the revolution started. â€Å"It was the collective effect of all the causes of the French Revolution that finally caused the people to rise up. † History Essay Lara Ismael Nogueira Martha In conclusion all this events such as the rise of bread prices and the unemployment rate in the country, the lack of interest the King showed for his people’s needs and the unfairness between classes made the people of France stand up for all they believed they deserved and needed.

GATTACA: ‘Vincent is supposed to be weak. Yet his strength of character is the key to the story.’ Essay

‘Vincent is supposed to be weak. Yet his strength of character is the key to the story.’ Discuss. The film text ‘Gattaca’, directed by Andrew Niccol can be seen as a piece that draws many parallels to the world that we live in today. One such parallel is the fact that often in society, the ones who are at a disadvantage are the ones who display the greatest strength of character. Niccol uses Vincent as the vehicle through which he demonstrates how strength of character can neutralise and overcome disadvantages faced. Gattaca portrays a society that no longer takes into consideration a person’s character. Vincent’s refusal to ‘play the hand he was dealt’ is his key to success. The text makes a clear distinction between ‘human’ and genetic traits. So clear is the distinction that Niccol uses separate vehicles to display each set of traits. As the traits and the vehicles clash, Niccol creates a sense of sympathy for Vincent as he is portrayed as the disadvantaged and weak in society in the sense that he does not possess the physical and mental assets that make him a valued member of society. A key example of this is the recurring games of ‘chicken’ between Vincent and his genetically superior brother Anton. Anton beats Vincent time and time again as is expected of Anton by society. However, when Vincent bests his brother one day an emphasis is placed on the manner in which he beat his brother. â€Å"You wanna know how I did it? I never saved anything for the swim back!† This creates the impression to the viewer that Vincent did not win with superior stamina, skill or physical strength, rather he won as he possessed traits lik e courage, determination and grit, traits that are lost in the geno-centric society in which he loves but traits that are valued and admired in todays society. The text can be seen as parallel to today’s society as often it is those who are faced with the greatest disadvantage who succeed. Vincent’s journey is a classic tale of 1 against the world or in this case 2 against the world. At every bend society is there to stop Vincent from achieving his lifelong dream of going to space. Even his parents try to prevent him from attaining  his goal, â€Å"Vincent, the only way you’ll see the inside of a spaceship is if you’re cleaning it.† This coming from his father can be seen as the ultimate discouragement but instead Vincent uses it to spur himself onwards and upwards both literally and figuratively. In relation to the real world, notable figures like Oscar ‘Blade Runner’ Pistorious overcame what is seen as a severe athletic disability in today’s society to compete at the 2012 London Olympics. While it is not uncommon to hear of ‘rags to riches’ tales in todays society, the one notable difference between today’s society and Vincent’s society, is that disadvantaged people are given every chance to make the most of their life (in 1st world countries), yet in Vincent’s society the disadvantaged are shunned and are viewed as a blight on society. Gattaca is a reminder that you cannot judge one on their outwardly appearance or in Gattaca’s case, a persons genetic composition. As the saying goes, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’ Vincent is once again used as the vehicle through which Niccol conveys this message. To the eyes of society, Vincent is an ‘invalid’ with inferior physical capabilities, high risk of heart failure and other deficiencies and with a â€Å"life expectancy of 30.2 years.† However, because of the ‘faceless’ society that Vincent lives in (which refers to personality as much as it does to physical appearance) he lacks the opportunity to progress with his life as his strengths of character are not held in anywhere near the same esteem as desirable genetics are. Vincent claims, â€Å"There is no gene for fate.† This is in reference to the fact that he is of the belief that genes aren’t everything, even if society has such beliefs. Rather there is an element in every human being that makes him or her truly unique and this is what Vincent prides himself on, the fact that his assets which are undeterminable by genetics are what makes him the person that he his. While the society in which Vincent lives in regards Vincent as weak and inferior, his character is both key to his success and the story as without his steely resolve and fierce determination there would be no story as society would continue to function as it was designed. Parallels can be drawn with Vincent’s plight and the journey’s of figures in our society like Oscar Pistorious. Gattaca serves to compound the message that has been  passed down through generations by reasserting that you shouldn’t judge a person before you know them personally. Vincent refuses to ‘play the hand he was dealt’ and this is the focal point around which Gattaca was told.

Free Essays on Comparison Of O And Othello

Comparison of O and Othello O and Lawrence Fishburne’s Othello are both contemporary film interpretations of Shakespeare’s Othello. Both movies are uniform in the recreation of William Shakespeare’s original play of Othello. The plot of revenge was presently coherent to the original play with each interpretation differentiating from one another. This essay will focus on the difference between the relationship of Iago’s character and Othello’s character and on the consistency of how Othello’s character was viewed by other characters in the production. The movie O was a more modernized remake version of Shakespeare’s Othello. The concept of a black guy being the main character stayed the same but The relationship between Othello and Iago’s characters was interpreted differently in the two films. In O, Iago’s character, Hugo, did not have a very close relationship to Othello’s +character, O. They were just teammates who had played ball with each other for a long time. In Fishburne’s Othello, the relationship between Othello and Iago is very intimate. Othello and Iago are consistently together and they share many conversations. The interpretation in Lawrence Fishburne’s Othello is more in sync with the original play. One major consistency between the two plays is how Othello’s character is viewed by the other characters of the production. In both interpretations, Othello’s character, a black man, is surrounded by a predominately white society. He is looked upon as a hero by the people as shown through the special treatment and respect that Othello’s character receives. However, there seems to be a feeling of superiority among the white people. This implied racism relates directly to the society of William Shakespeare who associated black people with monsters. This essay focuses on the difference between the relationship of Iago’s character and Othello’s character and on the consistency of how ... Free Essays on Comparison Of O And Othello Free Essays on Comparison Of O And Othello Comparison of O and Othello O and Lawrence Fishburne’s Othello are both contemporary film interpretations of Shakespeare’s Othello. Both movies are uniform in the recreation of William Shakespeare’s original play of Othello. The plot of revenge was presently coherent to the original play with each interpretation differentiating from one another. This essay will focus on the difference between the relationship of Iago’s character and Othello’s character and on the consistency of how Othello’s character was viewed by other characters in the production. The movie O was a more modernized remake version of Shakespeare’s Othello. The concept of a black guy being the main character stayed the same but The relationship between Othello and Iago’s characters was interpreted differently in the two films. In O, Iago’s character, Hugo, did not have a very close relationship to Othello’s +character, O. They were just teammates who had played ball with each other for a long time. In Fishburne’s Othello, the relationship between Othello and Iago is very intimate. Othello and Iago are consistently together and they share many conversations. The interpretation in Lawrence Fishburne’s Othello is more in sync with the original play. One major consistency between the two plays is how Othello’s character is viewed by the other characters of the production. In both interpretations, Othello’s character, a black man, is surrounded by a predominately white society. He is looked upon as a hero by the people as shown through the special treatment and respect that Othello’s character receives. However, there seems to be a feeling of superiority among the white people. This implied racism relates directly to the society of William Shakespeare who associated black people with monsters. This essay focuses on the difference between the relationship of Iago’s character and Othello’s character and on the consistency of how ...