Thursday, November 28, 2019

A Look Into Music Technologies Essays - Music Software,

A Look Into Music Technologies: A LOOK INTO MUSIC TECHNOLOGIES: HOW HAS THE INFORMATIONAL AGE INFLUENCE MUSIC? INTRODUCTION As we enter a new millennia, so will our music. The entire field of music has experienced dramatic changes due to the post- industrial/ informational age. This paper will focus primarily on the expansion of musical research and the development of new tools to aid in learning. The overall reaction details innovations that enhance and expand the depths of music. RESEARCH In the 1970's, the US government underwent a secret project making an underground port of communication. This project created what we now know as the Internet. The term Internet is often used to describe this enormous international network of computers. The word internet literally means, network of networks. In itself, the Internet is comprised of thousands of smaller regional networks scattered throughout the globe. On any given day, it connects roughly 25 million users in over 50 countries. One major importance is that The World Wide Web is accessed through the Internet. The term Internet and World Wide Web are not synonymous, infact confusing as they might seem, they both have different meanings. The Web refers to a body of information- an abstract space of knowledge, whereas the Internet is the actual hardware- the physical components which consist of giant masses of cables, satellites, and computers. Recent technological advances such as T3 lines, fiber optics, ground cables, an d satellites have increased the transfer of information by 347 times. The most common access to the Internet and the World Wide Web is through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). There are both local and national ISP's. The only basic requirements to access ISP's are a computer, modem, and a telephone. Just by clicking a mouse, one can discover a mass amount of treasure from sources like libraries, databases, web sites, and other people. New technology allows musicians to work time efficiently. For example, I was given an assignment where I had to translate and listen to recordings of three German Lieder songs. In the past, my research consisted of a trip to the library. Once I got there, I spent an expendable amount of time looking up any possible translations. Often times, the library did not have any translations. So my only option was to pull out a foreign language dictionary and translate word for word. This tedious process would take me anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours per song. Also, I'd like to mention the fact that I was still required to listen to recordings. If I was lucky, it would cost me a trip to the music library but often times I've experienced lost hours tracking down a certain piece either by physically going to a record store like Blockbuster Music or c alling some music friends to see if they had any recordings. If I weren't pressured for time, I would have never considered the Internet as a precious source of information. When I finished that assignment, I found myself satisfied. I was proud of myself because I did it in less than an hour and I didn't have to drive out to the city to find it. LEARNING TOOLS I've learned that the World Wide Web is a valuable tool. Infact, musicians now have access to many tools such as music notation software, MIDI, and multimedia. These tools provide musicians a wide variety of composing a new array of musical literature and at the same time, a new thinking process. A very handy tool that I'd like to first mention is Finale- a compositional software designed to notate musical scores. Music notation software like Finale, allows musicians to legibly present their work in a professional manner. Finale also allows composers to listen to their compositions, one impressive feature being the addition and subtraction of instrumental voices. The most widely used feature is its transposition abilities. Once a composition is entered into the computer, one simple command can transpose an entire piece in different key in a matter of seconds. Another excellent contraption worth mentioning is MIDI. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. What this contraption offers is electrical generation of sound. This in itself offers a whole new genre of music. MIDI sequencing allows musicians to

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Critique of Pastor Bobs Sermon

Critique of Pastor Bobs Sermon Free Online Research Papers Never having been to this church, I was thoroughly impressed with Pastor Bob’s sermon. It was obvious he prepared extensively for his performance and it made his message that much more memorable. He explained to us that he was visiting from Trenton, NJ so it was nice to have a different perspective, a fresh take on things. Although you go to church knowing you will be preached to about Jesus and God, it is not just that. There are life lessons to be learned, they can be applied to everyday life, and he did a good job at teaching us something meaningful through his speech, which is not easy to do. He used a thesis, posing a question if we truly know what it means to be baptized and if we are truly living our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. He began by telling a story about the bible and Jesus’ baptism, then explained his own experience in baptizing and finally transitioned back to the message, relating everything to the bible. This made the sermon extremely easy to follow, always tying things together, and restating his thesis from the start of the speech to the conclusion of it. He ended things on a light note with a joke, which kept the message serious, but at the same time kept your attention with a pinch of humor. He used eye contact, switching focus on one side to the other between points because the church is split into two sides. The layout of this church would be very challenging for me because the podium is facing a wall and there are people on the left and right side of it. Pastor Bob, however, utilized his space by not using the podium at all and slightly moving from the left to the right of the stage throughout the sermon. In addition, his gestures made him seem very sure of himself, moving his arms and hands in sync to his words. Not to mention his voice was very impressive, it would lower when saying something very serious at times but then to emphasize a certain sentence or point he would get loud. When speaking on a lighter subject or telling his jokes he spoke in an uplifting manner and had a constant smile on his face which in turn put a smile on everybody else’s faces. The observable reaction of the audience was that everyone was listening very attentively. The audience either smiled or laughed when he gave a joke. Moreover, most apparent, was that everyone was nodding in agreement during most of the sermon, just showing him respect. The climate was a little unsure at first because he was new and began with a standard story. As he continued, the standard story transitioned into a very good point and the climate changed to everyone agreeing and accepting his message with open arms. Some might have thought the sermon was a little drawn out; church did get out ten minutes later than usual. It is possible that people who had somewhere to go either stopped listening at 7:00 or left, those people would not have gotten the whole intended message. He could have improved the speech by cutting those extra ten minutes out and by doing so keeping everyone happy. In addition, he could have started directly with his thesis and then gone into the story instead of beginning with the story, which probably did not interest everyone right away. I learned that practice truly does make perfect, Pastor Bob has years and years of experience, and it showed in his execution of getting his strong message across. I realized that the space you give your speech in can have unexpected obstacles, improvising with the space given and making sure everyone feels included is crucial. Keeping everyone interested is probably most vital and this speech taught me that subtle jokes could increase interest, while also reinforcing the underlying message. I also realized that you do not have to be someone that your audience already knows and likes in order for them to be open to what you are saying. It, in turn, boosted my confidence in myself as a speaker because Pastor Bob was virtually unknown to the entire audience. In future speeches of mine I will try to display more confidence, because I saw such a strong example I know I can do better. Being passionate when speaking can increase interest in your audience as well and in future speeches I wi ll do my best to choose a topic I can put my heart into, not just see it as an assignment. Preparation is imperative and it is something I have slacked on in the past, it really improves fluency and credibility because you have less hang-ups and just sound more informed. So in future speeches I will rehearse and practice as much as I can before giving them. This sermon definitely taught me a lot about public speaking and I would most likely think back and refer to it whenever I write a speech in the future. Research Papers on Critique of Pastor Bob's SermonThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThe Hockey GameBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XTrailblazing by Eric AndersonWhere Wild and West Meet19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andQuebec and CanadaAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Decisions Business Scenario Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Decisions Business Scenario - Essay Example e saying goes â€Å"A problem is a chance for someone to do his/her best.† Hence effective decision making, is often required and the first step in the decision making process is to define the problem so that the available information may be collected, analysed, summarised and studied to find out suitable solutions to the problem on hand. This paper attempts to formulate problems relating to the expansion of the business of the company Nestle Waters in the country Dega, which appears to be a potential market but surrounded by a multiplicity of problems that need to be addressed if the company wants to successfully launch and maintain its business. The First part of the paper deals with the problem formulation using appropriate tools and techniques. Before we step in to the analysis of the problems in the business scenario of the company ‘Nestle Waters,’ a brief background of the company and the country, where the company is contemplating to expand, is produced below for a better understanding of the problem environment by the readers: Dega is a South Pacific Island comprising of multi religious ethnic people, some with European origin and sizeable American settlers having half of indigenous religion and remainder belonging to Christianity, Buddhism and Islam. Major languages include English, Spanish and French in addition to the local indigenous language. The natural resources include agricultural commodities like coffee, cocoa spices and banana, petroleum and natural gas. Main industrial orientation is towards fishing and tourism. The island is vulnerably exposed to all natural calamities like Tsunami; earthquake and so on and also is fighting HIV/AIDs and Terrorism. With 103 factories working in 36 countries Nestle Waters accounted for a turnover of 5.7 billion in 2005. The company employs 30,000 people and is currently enjoying a market share of eighteen percent. The company bottles seventy-five brands of mineral water and market them all over the world.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Unit 9 BD Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 9 BD - Research Paper Example This can be seen in the case of rock and roll, which created the rock culture that is now part of daily life, where the people identify and relate well with the creation of a new phenomenon. The phenomenon breaks away from the monotony of conventional means; thus critical acclaim in reception (Simpsonspop, n.d). Another way in which something can become part of the cultural myth known to man is through the application of ten parts that are found to be appealing and leaving out all the rest. The appealing parts are applied in order to spice life up to the desired level of the adoptee since it assists in elimination of routine trends. This can be seen in the case of music, where the Christian church has integrated popular culture to appeal to the youth through music (Guenard, 2012). In conclusion, popular culture can become part of daily trends in life through integration and filtration through many ways. These assist in getting new aspects, unseen before, into life and culture for purposes known best to the

Monday, November 18, 2019

Biography of Porfirio Diaz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Biography of Porfirio Diaz - Essay Example It is at this place that Porfirio turned to become a carpenter’s apprentice and got the privilege to do some learning in a school called La Amiga. Following abject poverty experienced by the family, Porfirio dropped out of school before gaining complete literacy. Sometime later in life he joined a group of guerillas who by then were engaged in a fight against a resurgent by the name Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna. This period served to stir up his inner call to military, a factor that saw him spent his later years fighting in the army in opposition to the French and in the Mexico civil wars of mid to late 19th century. During his service in the army, he came to know a liberal politician by the name Benito Juà ¡rez who at one point became the president of Mexico. It was after the death of Juà ¡rez that Porfirio came to power with the help of the Catholic Church and the United States. The records have it that in 1876 he matched armed forces into Mexico City, overthrowing President Sebastià ¡n Lerdo de Tejada. During his reign, which lasted for a period of 35 years i.e1876 to 1911, Mexico experienced great advancement and modernization that saw its economy blossom. His tenure ended when he lost power in 1910-1911 following a rigged election that sparked the Mexican insurgency of 1910-1920.he died in

Friday, November 15, 2019

Analysis of Heavy Metals Contamination in Urban Dust

Analysis of Heavy Metals Contamination in Urban Dust 2.1 REVIEW OF REPORTED STUDIES 2.1.1 Assessment of Heavy Metal in Street Dust in Kathmandu Metropolitan City and their Possible Impacts on the Environment. Chirika S.T. Pawan R.S.9 conducted a study in 2011 to determine the levels of heavy metals in street dust at different localities in the Metropolitan City of Kathmandu, Nepal. A total of 20 street dust samples were collected from four sampling sites such as mechanical workshops, motor parks, market areas and residential areas as well as dust were collected from sites which were not affected by traffic. The collected samples were digested using aqua regia through microwave digestion and heavy metals were determined using a SOLAAR M5 Dual Automizer Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The mean concentration of level of lead and nickel were 80.3 and 52.9 Â µg/g. However, the highest lead concentration was 116.8 Â µg/g at the mechanical workshop, which were directly associated with the emissions from vehicles exhaust since vehicles were still using leaded gasoline although it was banned in Nepal. 2.1.2 Multivariate analysis of heavy metals contamination in urban dust of Xi’an, Central China For this study undertaken in 2005, Yongming H. et al.23 collected sixty-five samples of urban dust in Xi’an. The aim of this study was to determine the level of heavy metals such as Pb, Cr, Ag, Hg, Mn, Sb, Zn, Cu and As, as well as to identity their natural sources. Xi’an was selected for this study since it was the central city consisting of heavy metals industries, textile industries and chemical industries. The collected samples were digested using HF, HNO3, H2SO4 and HClO4. The determination of heavy metals such as Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Ag and Mn where carried out using Vario 6 atomic absorption spectrophotometer whereas Hg, As and Sb were analyzed by cold vapor atomic spectrometry. The highest mean concentration was found to be of lead, Zinc, Manganese and Chromium which were 230.5, 421.3, 687 and 167.3 Â µg/g respectively. It was concluded that the high concentration originate mainly from industrial sources as well as traffic sources. Further, the high concentration of Mn was found to originate from soil sources which were considered to be a mixture of natural and anthropogenic sources. 2.1.3 Determination of Heavy Metals content in Soils and Indoor Dusts From nurseries in Dungun, Terengganu Tahir M.N. et al.22 determined the concentrations of certain heavy metals such as Al, Fe, Pb, Zn, Cd, Mn and Cu, in indoor dusts and outdoor soils from nurseries located in industrial, town and village area found in Dungun district, which was one of the coastal towns located in Malaysia. For this study carried out in 2007, eighteen sampling sites where chosen which were nursery schools. The sampling sites were divided into three groups: the first group was at the center of the town and near heavily frequented urban traffic routes; the second group selected was found in the south region of the town and was considered as industrial area. This region had high density of petroleum chemical industry, power plant and main roads with heavy traffic loads. The Third group was village, situated at the edge of the urban area which was a quiet residential district with low volume of traffic and negligible industry. The collected samples were then digested and heavy metals concentrations in both soils and dust indoors were determined using atomic absorption spectrometer (FS 220A VARIAN). The range of metal observed were 46.9 Â µg/g for Cu, 338 Â µg/g for Mn, 4.66 Â µg/g for Cd, 130 Â µg/g for Zn, 91.7 Â µg/g for Pb and 114000 Â µg/g for Al. However, from the result obtained, it was found that the village areas had higher level of toxic metals compared to both town and industrial areas for outdoor soils. On the other hand, industrial areas had exhibited higher mean concentration of Cu, Mn, Fe, Pb and Zn in their indoor dusts which originated from infiltration of outdoor particles, dust, soils, internal ventilation system, cooking smoke, old paint and furniture materials. In general, results obtained from this study showed that some nursery schools in Dungun had high levels of heavy metals content in soils and indoor dust. It was suggested that the major source of these heavy metals in soils was due to the road vehicular emission. 2.1.4 Metals Levels in Indoor and Outdoor Dust in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Al-Rajhi A.S. et al.3 conducted a study to determine the concentration of heavy metals in outdoor and indoor dusts in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 1996 , outdoor dust samples were collected from 231 sites including various rural, suburban, and urban, motorway and two industrials sites and indoor samples were collected from 20 public community centres. The samples were digested using aqua regia and were then analyzed for heavy metals using atomic absorption spectrometer (Perkin-Elmer model 1100). The mean concentration of indoor dust were 639 and 52.9 Â µg/g respectively for lead and nickel and the outdoor dust concentrations for lead and nickel were 1762 and 43.9 Â µg/g respectively. Among all these metals analyzed, lead had the highest concentrations. This was due to the use of leaded fuel, with levels being especially high near motorways as a result of high traffic density. However, it was observed that there was a decreased in lead levels in suburban and rural areas where automobile emissions were much less than in urban areas. 2.1.5 Investigation of Trace Heavy metal Concentrations in the Street Dust Samples Collected from Kayseri, Turkey Divrikli U. et al.12 investigated the levels of heavy metal ions of the street dusts from Kayseri, Turkey. A total of 77 street dust samples were collected during the period of April 2000 till June 2000 and control samples were collected from three hills outside Kayseri that were not affected by metal sources. After digestion with aqua regia, the samples were analyzed using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The range of concentrations of heavy metals was 84 -532 Â µg/g for lead and 49 -381 for nickel. It was observed that high levels of lead in dust were from combustion of gasoline. The highest concentration of lead (165.5 Â µg/g ) was observed around street carrying heavy traffic and the minimum concentration was 103.3 Â µg/g which was from school garden. For nickel, the source was from abrasion and corrosion of nickel containing parts of the vehicles in the traffic. The highest concentration was 57.3 Â µg/g which was observed in heavy traffic. 2.1.6 Lead Distribution in Near-Surface Soils of Two Florida Cities: Gainesville and Miami, USA In 2004, Chirenje T. et al.8 conducted a study to determine lead distribution in soil in two Florida urban areas, having different levels of industrial development and population. 240 samples were collected from three land-use classes: residential, commercial and public land. They were digested using USEPA method (hot plate digestion) and analyzed using graphite furnace AAS. After analysis of the samples, it was found that the average concentration of lead in Gainesville was 16 mg/kg while 93 mg/kg was observed in Miami. Considering Gainesville, the lead concentration increased as follows: public parks (10 mg/kg), commercial areas (18 mg/kg), public buildings (20 mg/kg) and residential areas (23 mg/kg) whereas for Miami the increased was from: public buildings (77 mg/kg), public parks (79 mg/kg), residential (102 mg/kg) to commercial areas (120 mg/kg). Hence, the higher lead concentration was found in Miami, which was mainly due to the soil properties rather than just anthropogenic factors. 2.1.7 Heavy Metal Concentrations in Street and Leaf Deposited Dust in Anand City, India Bhattacharya T. et al.6 investigated the heavy metal concentrations in street and leaf deposited dust in Anand City, India in 2011 . Street dust samples and leaf deposited dust samples were collected from five major roadways selected on the basis of traffic load, population density and anthropogenic activities and analysis for Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn were carried out. The samples were digested and analyzed using AAS (Perkin Elmeyer model). The mean metal concentration in street dust sample varied with sampling location. Lead concentration (105.4 mg/kg) in dust samples was consistently high. The high Pb concentration was interpreted as resulting from the continued use of leaded gasoline on the outskirts of the city since some petrol stations were stilling selling unleaded petrol. In addition, Pb was also used in manufacture of pesticides, fertilizers, paints, dyes and batteries. Therefore industrial sources had also contributed to Pb levels from vehicle emission. The concentration of nickel in the street dusts ranged from (56.9-75.81 mg/kg). The main source of nickel in street dust was the combustion of diesel fuel. Unexpectedly, nickel content was relatively higher, compared to other metals, in the rural area suggesting that the extensive use of diesel in three wheelers, tractors and water pumps used for irrigation in rural areas was contributing the elevated level in dust. 2.1.8 Heavy Metal Concentration in Road Deposited Dust at Ketu-South District, Ghana Addo M.A et al.1 carried out a study in 2012 to determine the metal concentration in deposited dust along the road of Ketu-South District, Ghana. Fifty sampling sites were selected from popular roads that experiences intense traffic conditions within the district. The collected samples were allowed to dry for 10 days and were analyzed by X-ray Fluorescence Analysis. The lowest metal concentration was: 0.4 ÃŽ ¼g/g for As; 284 ÃŽ ¼g/g for Cr; 18.4ÃŽ ¼g/g for Cu; 233 ÃŽ ¼g/g for Mn; 12.3 for Ni; 3.1 ÃŽ ¼g/g for Pb; and 18.2 ÃŽ ¼g/g for Zn. It was noted in a roadway which runs through a host of rural communities. The maximum concentration of Cr (9106.0 ÃŽ ¼g/g), Mn (1240.0 ÃŽ ¼g/g), and Pb (67.80 ÃŽ ¼g/g) were found in road soil samples collected from the roadway normally patronized by heavy trucks used in conveying cement products and raw materials to and from the cement factory. Therefore, much cement dusts were spread along the road as loaded cement trucks made use of the road. The source of Cu and Zn in the samples was indicated by research as tire abrasion, the corrosion of metallic parts of cars, lubricant and industrial. 2.1.9 Heavy Metal Determination in Household Dust from Ilorin City, Nigeria Adekola F.A et al.2 collected samples from 18 different locations in Ilorin, which was the capital of Nigeria, to determine the levels of lead, cadmium, nickel, copper and iron in indoor dusts. Sampling was done daily in the morning between the months June and September, 1998. The collected samples were digested and the concentrations of metals were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Pye Unicam Model 2900). The mean metal concentration in dust sample varied with sampling location. The range of concentration of heavy metals was (2.34 -10.17) mg/kg for Pb, (0.19 -1.99) mg/kg for Cu, (0.001 – 0.38) mg/kg for Cd, (0.006 -2.19) mg/kg for Ni and (28.6 -45.4) mg/kg for Fe. The high levels of concentration of Pb, Ni and Fe were mostly likely originated from sources such as emission from automobiles and fall out from wall paint. Further, the important levels of Fe observed in all locations were due to the nature of the local soil and the intensity of human activities in the various localities. 2.1.10 Water-Soluble Species and Heavy Metals Contamination of The petroleum Refinery Area, Jordan In 2002 , Momami A.K et al.16 investigated the levels of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Al, Cr and Fe in street dust, soil, and plants in the Jordanian petroleum refinery. Eighty- one street dust samples, coded D1-D18, were collected from different sites such as highway, housing area, manufacturing area, main gates, loading parking area, tanker loading area and major refining units. The collected samples were dried and digested using concentrated nitric acid. Heavy metals were then determined using a Thermo Jarrel Ash Flame Atomic Absorption spectrometer, (Model Smith-Hieftje 11, USA, with SH back-ground correction. For determination of low concentrations of heavy metals, a Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (GFAAS) was utilized. The mean concentration of heavy metals obtained was as follows: Pb (77 Â µg/g), Cu (69 Â µg/g), Zn (178 Â µg/g), Fe (4510 Â µg/g), Cr (21 Â µg/g) and Cd (1.38 Â µg/g). The highest levels of lead were observed in the housing area, streets between loading parking area, the road tanker loading area and at streets near the main gate of the refinery. The high lead contamination at the housing area and at the main gate was due to automobile exhaust emission since most automobiles passed through these sites. Also fuel leaks, spills, and exhaust emissions from tankers in the loading parking area and tanker loading area was responsible for lead contamination occurring at these sites. Further, high concentrations of the other metals: Cu, Zn, Cd and Cr were commonly found in the manufacturing area, and around the major refining units. These findings indicated that materials used in manufacturing cylinders, major refining processes, leaks of oil product during loading of tankers, and motor vehicles were the primary sources of these heavy metals. Additionally, existence of CU in street dust was derived from engine wear of automobiles, while attrition of automobile tires and lubricating oils were possible sources of Zn and Cd. 2.1.11 Soil Lead Pollution alongside Some Major Roads In Mauritius In 2000 , Choong Kwet Yive N.S et al.10 conducted a study to determine the lead levels in soil alongside main roads in Mauritius which were caused mainly by vehicular exhaust. Four Mauritian roads with different traffic densities were selected for sampling. The collected samples were digested using Milestone microwave digester and the lead determination was carried out using atomic absorption spectrometer (UNICAM 929). The mean lead concentration in dust sample varied with sampling location. The highest lead concentration, 1938 Â µg/g, was found at Rd1, which was the major motorway having the highest traffic density. Further, it was also reported that the west side of Rd1 had a concentration of 786 Â µg/g compared to that on the east side (536 Â µg/g). This was due to the South- East Trade Wind which blows the lead particulate to the left side of the road. The low concentration of lead found was 12 Â µg/g, which was due to the dry weather and compact soil. It was concluded that the major sources of lead pollution in street dust was due to vehicular emission. 2.1.12 Monitoring of Pb and Ni in Street Dust Coming from Vandermeersch Street Jhurry K.R.15 conducted a study in street dust coming from Vandermeersch Street, to determine Pd and Ni concentration. Sixty- four dust samples were collected over a period of four months from August to November 2011. The collected samples were acid digested using microwave digester system and then analyzed using FAAS. The mean concentration of heavy metals was 65.4 ppm for lead and 208.2 ppm for nickel. Further, it was also reported that the left side of the road had the highest metal concentration compared to that on the right side. This was due to the South-East Trade Wind, blowing the dust particulate toward the left. The high Ni concentration observed was due to traffic density. Considering the lead concentration, it has decrease considerably since there was a shift from leaded gasoline to unleaded one. Further, other factors affecting lead level from one place to another was seasonal behavior and human activities. 2.1.13 Lead and Nickel Levels near Vandermeersch Street. Summoogum Y.P.21 carried out a study to determine the lead and nickel levels in street dust at Vandermeersch Street, Mauritius. A total of 80 samples were collected from 8 different sampling sites over a period of five months from August to December 2012. The concentration of lead and nickel were determined using FAAS after digestion in acids using microwave digester. The mean concentration of heavy metals obtained was 32.6 ppm for lead and 52.5 ppm for nickel. The concentration of nickel was explained by the increase in traffic volume, which was mainly due to abrasion and corrosion of vehicular parts. Moreover, it was seen that the left side of the road was more polluted than that of the right, showing the effect of the South-East Trade Wind which blow the dust particulate toward the west side of the road, causing accumulation. For lead, it was seen that there was significant decrease since the use of leaded gasoline was banned in September 2002 and unleaded gasoline was introduced all over the island.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Third world debt Vs Need for Technology :: Business and Management Studies

Third world debt Vs Need for Technology Background and underlying concepts: Many developing countries have very large debts accumulated since the 80’s, and the amount of money that they owe is quickly increasing dramatically. Trying to pay off these debts has become a serious problem for these countries, as they now owe money to commercial banks and also to organisations like the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, and to First World governments. During the last fifteen years around $1.3 trillion was paid by the third world countries to the developed countries in the form of loan repayments and interest on the loans. Every month around $12 billion is passed on from economically poor counties to the developed countries in debt servicing. In sub-Saharan Africa, some countries spend almost half their national budget on financing debt owed to the rich western nations. This is the reason why these counties cannot invest in technology to develop their own country. The technology market is vast industry that is always changing with time. It is estimated that around 5.5 billion people do not have access to technology such as the Internet, as computer are to expensive for these people. While over half of the UK households are online, only 0.1% of homes in Bangladesh and India have access to the Internet. As this was a huge concern a company based in India produce a low cost handheld computer named ‘Simputer’. The device would only cost around $240. The device would enable people or a village to access the Internet and perform transaction and any other information that would be accessible via the Internet. Villages tended to by these as it help educate the kids within these villages. Current Situation: Figures published by the World Bank shows that the total external debt per country is as follows. * Indonesia $132.2bn * India $104.4bn * Thailand $59.2bn * Malaysia $48.6bn * Sri Lanka $9.6bn * Somalia $2.7bn * Seychelles $560m * Maldives $270m The annual repayment cost for theses countries are as follows: * Indonesia $13.7bn * India $13bn * Thailand $17.9bn * Sri Lanka $653m * Maldives $20.8m In Africa the debt crises is so bad that around 315 million Africans live on less than $1 a day. The G7 minister are planning to cancel up to 100% of the debt owed, this would mean that around 37 developing counties would benefit from this proposed scheme. According to the JDC (Jubilee Debt Campaign), only $36.3bn, or less than 10%, of debt has been cancelled to date. Pakistan has paid off most of its debt that was owed to US. This was done the incentives given by the American government and its allies in