Explain how John Steinbeck promotes agonistic and secular humanism and Essay

Explain how John Steinbeck promotes agonistic and secular humanism and give examples in The Grapes of Wrath - Essay Example As a result the wages are pulled down and many go unemployed. Those who are lucky enough to be hired are exploited thoroughly. Although the novel is an indictment against the fallacy of capitalist utopia, it does not gravitate toward a Marxist position. To the extent that Steinbeck accepts bitter realities of life in the United States without resorting to political and economic ideologies is evidence for the agonist in the author. Moreover, by showcasing virtue and resilience in the face of adversity, Steinbeck hints at poverty's noble connotations, which resonates with the message of the Holy Bible. Strengthening the case for the novel's biblical inspirations, the name of one of the Joad family members is Rose of Sharon. But it would be simplistic to classify The Grapes of Wrath as a Christian novel, for it deals with universal human concerns and universal avenues for salvation. Steinbeck makes it clear that such salvation is not an event in afterlife, but one accessible during the course of life itself. The last scene of the story, where Rose of Sharon, upon seeing the miserable starvation of an old man, offers him her breast milk (which her stillborn baby could not have).

Characteristics of strategic decision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Characteristics of strategic decision - Essay Example Purchasing an automobile involves a reallocation of resources and the investment is irreversible. The decision could be controversial and may have consequences if the purchase is not made. When purchasing a vehicle, the strategic decision had to be made whether to purchase an older model or a newer model. An older model vehicle could be purchased sooner because it would require a lower down payment and the monthly payments would be lower. A newer model automobile would require a bigger initial investment and the monthly payments would be higher. The long term consequences of purchasing an older model vehicle could result in constant repair bills. A newer automobile may not need the repairs. In either case, the strategic decision would involve and irreversible decision. The vehicle purchase would require a reallocation of funds from a bank account for the initial down payment. There is opportunity costs involved when making a strategic decision to purchase the vehicle. The decision in volves using the available to capital to purchase an older model sooner or continue to save for a larger down payment for a newer model vehicle. In either scenario resources will need to be reallocated. Purchasing the vehicle caused disagreement because the funds that were reallocated could have been used for educational expenses.

Summarize dialouge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summarize dialouge - Essay Example The possible reasons for dramatizing one part and summarizing the next one for Shah might have been to create a strong emotional feeling or sense of attachment and curiosity for the reader in the first part and then in the very next part summarizing the dialogue to neutralize the stirred feelings immediately by not quoting the dialogue directly but creating a distance between reader and happening by indirectly communicating. I strongly appreciate Shah’s choice as she has been smartly successful in keeping the reader engaged in the whole dialogue. It also helped in moving the story forward; a good dialogue helps the story to move forward (Kempton, 2004). If this order were reversed it would not create as effective result as it created in this order. Shah very wisely created feelings for reader first by dramatizing the dialogue and then readily neutralizing the whole scene by switching to another

Only in America Essay Example for Free

Only in America Essay â€Å"Only in America† was written by Leiber, Stoller, Weill, and Mann (1963) as a song to propagate the American dream. After more than four decades of American dream to own a house, a car, and to have a good-paying job one can see that it is not enough any longer for many ‘new’ Americans. Hard work and determination perhaps were good enough tools to â€Å"take a giant step and reach right up and touch the stars†¦Ã¢â‚¬  four decades ago (that is if you were the right skin color) but not any longer. It does take a genius of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to become wealthy using their own talents as leverage. Or it takes a sheer luck and some intuition to participate in real estate speculations at exactly the right time. Either, that precludes honest working folks who work their given hours a week and get enough to pay the bills. More (2003) compared such to a drug â€Å"first prescribed to us as children in the form of a fairy tale. † Certainly, it happens for some, for a very few. It does seem that those very few knew exactly what they were doing – either investing into the right stock, buying properties when they still cost in low 100s in California, or get on the tip of the wave of progress, like Bill Gates did. Well, for the few it worked but not for the majority of us. It is not difficult to figure out the reasons. A rational thought would suggest that American government is able to render every citizen rich – not necessarily with the money distribution but with the controlling the purchase power of an average citizen. If to eliminate the political agenda and change the status quo to people-centered market, it is not difficult to see that one carrying President of the country can do so by a) eliminating unnecessary government agencies and departments and b) removing political and financial limitations to the free enterprise. The latter action by itself can be very powerful for business owners not having a need to compensate for the high rents and other costs to run a business will keep their products of low cost. Everything, from energy to communication services, to the infrastructure will cost less, much less as the result. Any business owner understands that selling products by the quantity will bring more financial result than doing so by higher cost and selling by the lesser numbers. As the result, people, even those with meager incomes, will have more purchase power by being able to afford much more than they can do today. That would raise the daily comfort of people. They would become content for their minds would not be preoccupied with the sheer necessities needed by their families. Material things and services, like houses, cars, food, clothes, education needs, health needs should not cost so much of a fortune that people must get into the life-time debt to be able to afford it. If the necessities are met and people do not have a difficult time to find an appropriate for them job, the content should become widespread. As of now, most people live in fear, in fear of loosing their jobs, in fear not being able to pay the mortgage and the car notes, for fear not being able to meet their responsibility to their families. People who live by such fear cannot experience content. I once knew a family, good solid one. He was a teacher working in the same district for over a decade. She worked at the bank. They had a nice house, two cars, good-looking furniture, but could not save enough to pay their financial obligations sooner. They lived a nice life, but in debt. And then, the tragedy stroke. He lost the purpose, feeling stagnated he left to his home country that he came from originally. Looking for happiness, he left his wife and children. To avoid gossip and talk in their community, she moved to another state with 50K dollars that came from his retirement plan. Because she could not afford to continue paying for the house, the house was foreclosed. The same happened with one of the cars. Her credit was in ruin, and now she had to start anew. She was afraid to touch the money, whatever left from moving and initial expenses. After three months, she found a job at the bank. The income was just enough to cover rent and monthly bills. What did happen to such a strong family who used to have everything: each other, nice house, cars, two wonderful kids, and ability to buy things they wanted†¦? One could say they lived American Dream, but did they? Does material things constitute the Dream most people strive to in their lives? It is apparent to me, that people who do not have material comfort around them, whose life is difficult because they have to calculate whether they have enough money to purchase oranges or grapes but cannot afford both, they would think that the end to their means would be living like that couple lived. And yet, my friend, being a nice and decent man felt trapped and not content. Once people obtain the material means around them they soon realize that their American Dream was not fancy cars or bigger homes – it is the opportunity to do what their heart desires: self-expression in the least amount. That would not happen if he had an opportunity to change a job that he was doing for 26 years, or at least to take a year of sabbatical. That would not happen if they were not in debt paying $ 2500 for the house and $ 1000 a month for their two cars. That would not happen if financial obligations did not overload him conflicting with his inner desires. Here, I believe I came to the root of the question whether this great country can give a feeling of being at home. Obviously, having enough income is not enough. Eliminating the need to obtain debts to rise economically perhaps would do for some. To my opinion, however, the concept of American Dream was neither of that: it had nothing to do with the financial part of it. If one looks deeper perhaps it can be seen that the fulfillment of personal dreams through the structure’s support to each family’s happiness can render people happier, and if happy they feel the more at home they would consider the country they live in. When people have to struggle thinking about their family economics and knowing that they cannot change their occupations because the discontinuation of income would bring their family to the financial ruin, they cannot think of their personal development through the change of direction in their life. They grow more and more discontent and discontented people are bitter people, people who can at the brink of a move quit their country and go looking for the happiness elsewhere. In conclusion, more and more people understand that described is not enough to be happy in life, that doing the job for the only purpose to get the money to buy the house and a nice car causes stagnation, and as the result unhappiness and discontent. An opportunity that was promised as a part of all American dream is waning and harder to grasp. That is because people understand more and more that to be called Home, the society must offer something else: as in the promise to personal fulfillment – whatever it be. The idea of a home can be different from different perspectives. Certainly, living in a house with the backyard, driving a brand new car, and having a respectable income can make characteristics of a home for many people who had never had such before. Yet, for others these are not enough for they seek something else, perhaps certain characteristics of the society that increase the degree of their satisfaction from living this life. Yet for others the dream is to become wealthy just to discover (in case if they achieve it) that even that was an illusion. The idea of a home cannot be objectified for it is unique to the subjective perception of every person who lives within the society. References More, M. (2003). Dude, where’s my country? (publisher? ) Jay and the Americans (1963). Only in America. Song written by Leiber, J. , Stoller, M. , Weill, C. , and Mann, B.

Binary Phase Shift Keying BPSK Modulation Demodulation Computer Science Essay

Binary Phase Shift Keying BPSK Modulation Demodulation Computer Science Essay This experiment is based on the Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) modulation/demodulation technique. The aim of the experiment is to gain familiarity with the components of a simple data transmission system, gain experience using an experimental communication system and studying its performance under the influence of white noise and also, to compare experimental results with theoretical deductions. Bandpass modulation, of which BPSK is a type, is a process whereby, a sinusoid usually called a carrier wave, is modulated or have its characteristics changed by a digital pulse baseband signal in other to enable wireless based transmission. In BPSK modulation, the phase of the carrier waveform is shifted to either 0Â ° or 180Â ° by the modulating data signal. To effectively model the transmission channel, the AWGN generator is used which adds the effect of noise to the signal at the receiver in other to properly characterise what obtains in real systems. SNR measurements are taken after the noise is added before the receiver and results of each stage of the experiment are presented. 2.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The results obtained from the experiment and brief discussions are now presented. 2.1 The frequency of the waveform was measured to be 1.493kHz 2.2 The amplitude of the waveform was measured to be 3.608V 2.3 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGADesktopLAB RESULTSPart 2.bmp Fig. 1: Square Waveform from NE555 timer circuit. The timer circuit produces a sequence of ones and zeros which together with the resistors and capacitor, produces a square waveform. It can be observed that the square top and bottom are not perfectly straight but with ripples, this is due to the resonance effect presented by the capacitor. Also, the rising pattern of the top is due to the voltage rise time in the capacitor. 2.4 The frequency of the message sequence is measured to be 374Hz 2.5 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 4 5.bmp Fig. 2: Message sequence at the output of the frequency divider. The SN74LS74 integrated circuit implements a second order frequency divider, 2n (n=2). Hence the frequency of the timer circuit is divided by four. Hence, this is also evident in the frequency of the message sequence in 2.4 above. 2.6 The cut-off frequency of the 2nd order Butterworth low pass filter is given by; The cut-off frequency is the frequency at which the magnitude of the transfer function drops to 0.7071 of its maximum value which represents the point at which the power in the circuit is 3dB less than the maximum value. 2.7 The frequency of the sinusoid at the output of the filter was measured to be 1.328kHz. 2.8 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.Wordpart 8.jpg Fig. 3: Output of the first and second Butterworth LPF. A B A Output of first filter; B Output of second filter The Butterworth lowpass filter is used to generate the sinusoidal carrier required for the baseband signal. The Butterworth filter has a gentle roll-off, has no ripple in the pass or stop band hence, it has a monotonic response. To maximise the smoothness of the sinusoid, we use two of such filters in series. 2.9 The RC highpass filter is used to remove the DC components of the sinusoid (since it will only allow frequencies from the cut off frequency upwards) and convert it into a non-return to zero one. The cut-off frequency is given by: 2.10 The frequency of the modulated signal was measured to be 1.408kHz. 2.11 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 11.bmp Fig. 4: Output of the RC filter and the inverting amplifier circuits. A B A RC filter output B Inverting amplifier output The outputs of the RC filter and the inverting amplifier differ by a phase shift of 180Â °, to fulfil the requirement for BPSK where we need antipodal modulated signals. Since the gain of the inverting amplifier is unity, there is no change to the amplitude of the inverted carrier. 2.12 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 10 12.bmp Fig. 5: BPSK signal at the output of the adder circuit. A The analogue switch produces a 0Â ° shifted sinusoid when the message signal is high (a 1) and a 180Â ° shifted sinusoid when the message signal is low (a 0). The two outputs streams are combined in the adder circuit which has a gain of unity so that no modification is made to the signal amplitude. The result of this is a stream of 1s and 0s represented by the sinusoidal waveform in fig. 5 above. Point A depicts the sudden phase change as the bits changes to connote a transition from a high to a low and vice-versa. If we begin with a 1, then the fig. 4 would represent 10101010. 2.13 The bandwidth of the noise signal is 500kHz. 2.14 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 14.jpg Fig. 6: BPSK signal with white noise. The AWGN channel helps to simulate what can typically obtain in real communication environments and it was observed that in real systems, the signal is not really as elegant as presented in fig. 5 but the addition of noise means the receiver will require some form of intelligence and signal processing in other to correctly detect the transmitted message. 2.15C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 15.jpg Fig. 7: BPSK noisy signal at output of RC lowpass filter. The cut-off frequency of this filter is given by; hence it will cut off signals above 15.92kHz. It was observed that after the application of this filter, the noise level was significantly reduced as evident comparing fig. 6 and 7, since the noise contained a large amount of frequency components higher than 15.92kHz due to its bandwidth of 500kHz. 2.16 The signal at the output of the integrator takes the shape of a sawtooth waveform. This is because integrating a square waveform produces a sawtooth waveform. 2.17 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 16 17.bmp Fig. 8: Output of the integrator circuit. A B The multiplier and integrator circuit represents a matched filter implementation at the receiver. Point A represents the zero point i.e the beginning of a new symbol or bit in this case, when the integrator is re-set. As such, when a 1 changes to a 0, we have a re-set to zero point and the direction of the triangular shape changes to the opposite. Point B is the integration phase proper. It is not smooth due to the effect of noise in the system. Also, the rise is a direct result of the capacitor charging. 2.18 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 18.jpg Fig. 9: Pulse application to integrator. A B A Integrator output; B Reset Pulse As displayed on fig. 8 above, the reset pulse is applied to the integrator at the symbol transition instant which is seen to be the beginning of every half cycle to reset the integrator to zero. 2.19 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 19a.png Fig. 10: The Reference Signal C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.Word19b.jpg Fig. 11: The Sampling Pulse C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 19c.jpg Fig. 12: The Reset Pulse The reference signal is obtained from the SN74LS74 frequency divider of the transmitter thus it is the originally transmitted message sequence. The sampling and reset instances are done at the same time that is at the half cycle. 2.20 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 20.jpg Fig. 13: Output of the Comparator. This is where the original baseband signal is regenerated. From fig. 8, when the output of the integrator is positive, an output voltage of 5 volts is produced at the comparator and when the integrator output is negative, a 0 volt output is obtained. This resulted in fig. 13 above showing the alternating 5 and 0 volts or 1s and 0s which depicts our detected signal. The frequency of the detected signal is 1.419kHz. 2.21 The length of the delayed version of the data symbol produced at the receiver is 1.804ms 2.22 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 21 and 22 Greeen channel 2 yellow channel 1.bmp Fig. 14: The Delayed pulse and Original data signal. A B A- Delayed Pulse; B Original Pulse Comparing the original data signal against the delayed version, it is observed that though they are of the same period, B has longer duration positive half cycle while A compensates with a longer negative half cycle. Also, the time delay between them is about a half cycle. 2.23 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 23 yellow delay green comparator.bmp Fig. 15: Input Signals to the XOR circuit. A B A Delayed original signal; B Detected signal The detected signal B is compared against the delayed version of the original signal A, because B generally, B would have experienced some delay and hence to effectively ascertain if an error occurred, its best to compare it against a delayed original as represented by A. The exclusivity of the circuit lies in the fact that when A B are the same, a 0 will be produced while when they are different denoting an error, a 1 will be produced. 2.24 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 24 green 2 yellow 1.jpgFig. 16: Input Signals to the first NAND gate. A B A Sampling Pulse; B XOR Output A NAND gate will only produce a zero when both inputs are high. Hence a zero is obtained when the sampling instant coincides with a high output from the XOR circuit. 2.25 C:Documents and SettingsAGEBNIGALocal SettingsTemporary Internet FilesContent.WordPart 25 yellow chn1 5v dc green chn2 1st input.png Fig. 17: Input Signals to the second NAND gate. A B C A Input 5Vdc; B Output of first NAND gate; C Zero point Since a NAND gate will produce a high when both inputs are not the same and when they are both 0, a 5V dc (always high or 1) is applied to one of the inputs and the output of the first NAND gate to the other. Hence, at the points where B comes down to zero (C), the output of the NAND gate will record a high which implies an error has occurred. 2.26 To estimate the BER; Where Vs (rms value of signal amplitude) =514mV, Vn (rms value of noise amplitude) = 0-10dB W (AWGN channel bandwidth) = 500kHz T (modulated Signal period) = 656.25ÃŽÂ ¼s SNR received signal to noise ratio BER bit error rate or error probability. Table 1 below presents the values. Table 1: Summary of Results Fig. 18: BER Performance Plot 3.0 CONCLUSION The BER performance plot of fig. 18 shows that the behaviour of the experimental system is within the bounds of predicted theoretical results. For instance, as quoted in the lecture notes, at SNR= 10.4dB, the BER is about 1.510-6. From fig.18 above, a similar point, of SNR=10.3806dB gives a BER of 1.48810-6. Hence confirming the accuracy of the results obtained from the experiment. The plot confirms that as the signal-to-noise ratio increases, the error probability reduces in line with conventional knowledge. In addition, the process of using a baseband signal to modulate the phase of a sinusoid was observed, converting it into a bandpass signal for transmission ease. Also, the use of Additive White Gaussian Noise to simulate the channel provides an insight into what might be expected in a live system environment, under varying degrees of noise exposure. Finally, because the received data sequence will most likely be displaced from its true positions as demonstrated experimentally, the use of a time delayed version of the original transmitted sequence to compare and check for errors was justified.

A Comparison of Great Expectations and Oliver Twist :: comparison compare contrast essays

A Comparison of Great Expectations and Oliver Twist      Ã‚   Great Expectations and Oliver Twist are representative of the works produced by Charles Dickens over his lifetime. These novels exhibit many similarities - perhaps because they both reflect painful experiences that occurred in Dickens' past. During his childhood, Charles Dickens suffered much abuse from his parents.1 This abuse is often expressed in his novels. Pip, in Great Expectations, talked often about the abuse he received at the hands of his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery. On one occasion he remarked, "I soon found myself getting heavily bumped from behind in the nape of the neck and the small of the back, and having my face ignominously shoved against the wall, because I did not answer those questions at sufficient length."2 While at the orphanage, Oliver from Oliver Twist also experienced a great amount of abuse. For example, while suffering from starvation and malnutrition for a long period of time, Oliver was chosen by the other boys at the orphanage to request more gruel at dinner one night. After making this simple request, "the master (at the orphanage) aimed a blow at Oliver's head with the ladle; pinioned him in his arms; and shrieked aloud for the beadle."3 The beginning of Oliver Twist's story was created from memories which related to Charles Dickens' childhood in a blacking factory ( which was overshadowed by the Marshalsea Prison ).4 While working in the blacking factory, Dickens suffered tremendous humiliation. This humiliation is greatly expressed through Oliver's adventures at the orphanage before he is sent away. Throughout his lifetime, Dickens appeared to have acquired a fondness for "the bleak, the sordid, and the austere."5 Most of Oliver Twist, for example, takes place in London's worst slums.6   The city is described as a maze which involves a "mystery of darkness, anonymity, and peril."7 Many of the settings, such as the pickpocket's hideout, the surrounding streets, and the bars, are also described as dark, gloomy, and bland.8 Meanwhile, in Great Expectations, Miss Havisham's house is often made to sound depressing, old, and lonely. Many of the objects within the house had not been touched or moved in many years. Cobwebs were clearly visible as well as an abundance of dust, and even the wedding dress which Miss Havisham constantly wore had turned yellow with age.9 However, similarities are not just found in the settings.

The Catbird Seat

The Catbird Seat English 3 AP Date: 3- 13- 13 Pd. 5th Comprehension: 1. Birnbaum feels his â€Å"new place in society† after his accident is that he’s provides with certain specialties due to his disabilities and that now he has special privileges that regular people doesn’t contain. 2. He takes advantage of his new status by cutting in front of lines at the DMV, the movies as well as many other places where people tend to have to wait in a line. He’s also not punished as hard as a regular person for the mistakes he’s made due to his disability. . He describes them as his â€Å"even uppers† for his physical limitations and for the difficulties caused by establishments not complying with the Americans disabilities act. 4. He realized he has limitations as well as everyone else after the incident he went through with the blind person and observed how the blind is much more privileged than the ones with the wheelchair. Purpose and Audience: 1. H e expects the reader to now occupy the life of a disabled person in a wheelchair.He gives daily life examples of his life to show who stands above him and what special benefits have he conquered due to his accident. 2. He specifies his thesis late in the essay since he believes starting off the essay with examples will cause more of an impact on the reader than just stating the thesis so his technique was well thought out. 3. His view point would make an utter change as he might encourage as well as inform the disabilities to know what benefits they achieve as well as the limitations that come from them. . His goal for the essay seems to inform the readers as well as educate them on the life of the disabilities. Now he expects readers to have the same amount of knowledge as him when it comes to people on wheelchairs. Style and Structure: 1. Starting off the essay with an example is an effective introductory strategy, since it grabs the reader’s attentions much more closer tha n any other techniques could have. 2. His essay is definitely much more convincing due to his experience in the life on a wheelchair.It would be impossible to try to come up with other ways to make it much more convincing. 3. He arranges his examples through chronological order and through out a whole direction where the reader wont fall off a cliff. 4. It helps the readers see how people treat the ones that are disabled and has requirements as well as showing how people react to the ones that are much more severely disabled. Vocabulary projects 1. Quadriplegia – Paralysis of all four limbs; tetraplegia. 2. Reprimand – A rebuke, esp. n official one. 3. Purser – An officer on a ship who keeps the accounts, esp. the head steward on a passenger vessel. 4. Condescending – Acting in a way that betrays a feeling of patronizing superiority. 5. Patronizing – Treat with an apparent kindness that betrays a feeling of superiority. 6. Chardonnay – A var iety of white wine grape used for making champagne and other wines. 7. Trumps – any  playing  card  of  a  suit  that  for  the  time  outranks  the  other  suits,  such  a  card  being  able  to take  any  card  of  another  suit.Journal entry – It is reasonable to provide someone with a disability with special privileges since their life long goals are limited. Although it is understandable to see why they are provided with these privileges, it is only required for them to use it well and not act condescending where they take too much of an advantage of the privileges they are provided with. The same aspect applies to Birnbaum as to just keep his advantage level to a minimum and not to rise it to a great extent like he described in his essay. At that point, normal people wouldn’t required the need to act patronizing.