Musical Autography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Musical Autography - Essay Example This essay suggests that through music, various important mysteries in the society have been able to be solved. Music has therefore for a long time presented itself as a tool of expression and mediation among different groups of individuals. Music usually expresses who people are and how they feel, thereby bringing them closer and together. Music has been used by the society as a tool of self-expression, since through music, various people have the chance of expressing their joys, fears, secrets etc. It is therefore significant for the researcher to look at how various sons or instrumental pieces relates to political, cultural and religion identities. It is stated that musical autobiography has had an impact to both the cultural, religion and political spheres. The general tastes and preferences of individuals change over time. Personally, my tastes and preferences for music have changed from the â€Å"Asian like† type of music to that of more westernized ones. This has been l argely due to the education that the researcher has acquired abroad which has enabled him to mingle with people from other communities. However, these tastes differ with those of my other family members who still prefer the Asian type of music and they have not been influenced to listen to other genres. In conclusion, the researcher mentiones that music has helped the researcher to construct his identity in various ways, and through music he has been able to interact with people from various geographical locations.

Liquefied petroleum gas

Liquefied petroleum gas Direct Flame Production of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) From Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Abstract Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a common household fuel used for cooking purpose in India. LPG is very rich in its carbon content because of its specific mixing components of predominantly C3 alkane (Propane C3H8) or C4 alkane (Butane C4H10) which provides a better chance of producing strong and good quality nano products like nanotubes, nanotubes nanowires, nanoparticles etc. In our laboratory a lab scale flame reactor is designed and developed for producing carbon nanotubes using LPG as the carbon source in the presence of air as an oxidant under atmospheric conditions. The design aspects and the best operational conditions of the flame reactor for producing carbon nanotubes are discussed. The nanotubes obtained were purified and were further characterized using SEM, TEM XRD and Raman. KEYWORDS: Carbon Nanotubes (carbon); TEM (Transmission electron microscopy); LPG (alkanes); Raman (Raman spectroscopy); XRD; Flame Synthesis; 1. Introduction Liquified petroleum gas (also called as LPG or Autogas) is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles and it is increasingly replacing chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce the damage and degeneration of the ozone layer. LPG is a clean, convenient energy source, which can be stored as a liquid under moderately high pressure and used as a gas in commercial and residential heating applications. It is a common household fuel used for cooking purpose in India, LPG is rich in its carbon content because of its specific mixing components of predominantly C3 alkane (Propane C3H8) or C4 alkane (Butane C4H10) which provides a better chance of producing strong and good quality nano products like nanotubes, nanotubes nanowires, nanoparticles etc. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are among the amazing objects that science sometimes creates by accident, without meaning to, but that will likely revolutionize the technological landscape of the century ahead. Our society stands to be significantly influenced and shaped by carbon nanotube applications in every aspect, Carbon nanotubes have been synthesized for a long time as products from the action of a catalyst over the gaseous species originating from the thermal decomposition of hydrocarbons [1]. Since their discovery by Sumio Ijima [2] several ways of preparing them have been explored. The CNTs have been synthesized by various methods e.g. electric arc discharge, laser evaporation and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [3-5]. Though researchers have been successful to synthesize multi-wall nano tubes they can produce only in milligram to gram quantities in a few hours. However as many potential applications [6-7] of CNTs require kilogram to ton quantities. Apisit Songsasen et al [8] have synthesized CNTs by means of catalytic decomposition of LPG on a Zeolite-supporting Nickel catalyst. Qian et al [9] have reported the formation of CNTs by the decomposition of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) containing sulfur in the presence of Fe/Mo/Al2O3 catalyst, Since this contains sulfur of a few to several hundred ppm, which can lead to poisoning the catalyst heavily, few reports currently exist on using LPG or natural gas directly for production of carbon nanomaterials, only Prokudina et al [10] has reported CNT synthesis from LPG by CVD method, but till date no information and literature is reported on direct flame synthesis of CNTs by LPG. The main challenge in this field is to develop methods to produce nanotubes on a large scale and at low cost. As Flame synthesis of nano carbons being a continuous flow method, in which flowing gaseous feedstock mixture could produce CNTs in large quantities it has several advantages like easy scale up, partic le size control, dual role of feed gas which serves both as carbon source and fuel, and in-situ generation of catalyst. Hence it is one of the preferred methods for bulk production of not only CNTs but also other nano particles and nano metal oxides. This method is very useful and is of widespread importance. Many groups have investigated gas-phase continuous-flow production of carbon nanomaterials using other hydrocarbons. These studies typically involve passing a mixture of carbon source gas and organo metallic catalyst precursor molecules through a heated furnace. In this paper we report the direct flame synthesis of carbon nanotubes using LPG and air as our gaseous feedstock in a diffusion type burner without any external use of a catalyst and synthesis at optimum process parameters. 2. Experimental The flame reactor (Fig.1) has been indigenously designed to produce carbon nanotubes at our university. The detailed setup and process instrument and diagram (PID) of the reactor (Fig. 2) has been discussed in detail in our previous work [11]. In general our reactor operates under atmospheric pressure. The measured quantity of the LPG and the oxidant reaches the ignition chamber where the partial combustion process occurs where the CNTs are produced. During the process we have observed the dark orange flame color which is perfectly in a spindle form. Along the entire length of the flame, its temperature was recorded using a K-type thermocouple where this temperature can provide some data regarding the growth of nanotubes. The soot thus produced is captured on a glass fiber filter (Axiva GF/A) with the aid of a vacuum pump and the collected soot is scrapped carefully and weighed and later heat treated and oxidized at 550 OC in the presence of air for 60 minutes to remove any traces of amorphous carbon impurities and then the sample is reweighed in order to estimate the loss of amorphous carbon as an impurity then the samples are later characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and Raman for their quality. The total amount of thermally oxidized and purified sample from the experiment (for 30 minute run) weighed only 0.8g. 3. Results and Discussion3.1 Scanning Electron Microscope Analysis The samples were analyzed using Phillips XL 30 series Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) from National Center for Compositional Characterization of Materials (NCCCM), Hyderabad. From the Figs (3a 3d) we can see a dense growth of carbon nanotubes at various flow rates with respect to the oxidant to fuel (O/F) ratios between 0.7 1.0 slpm/slpm (standard litre per minute). The average diameter range of the CNTs from the SEM image was found to be around 200 nm -1000 nm and lengths greater than 40 ÃŽ ¼m. 3.2 Transmission Electron Microscope Analysis The TEM (Technai -12, FEI) images (Fig 4a) shows the presence of thickly packed multiwalled CNT with an average diameter of 150 250 nm which is still surrounded by traces of carbonaceous nanoparticle aggregates possibly caused due to the dispersion of the sample in the solvent. This can be assumed that the agglomerated carbon nanoparticles were actually protected by the CNTs during the thermal treatment, as the CNTs might have formed a net like layer covering the nanoparticles and protecting it from the heat and oxidation. Fig 4b shows a thick multi walled CNT around 250 nm in its diameter with lots of traces of agglomerated carbon nanoparticles which can be accounted for the presence of C60 particles which is also in agreement with the XRD analysis in Fig 5. The broken caps of the CNTs also reveal the disorientation and a defective growth of the grapheme layers as seen in the Raman analysis in Fig 6. 3.2 X-ray Diffraction Analysis The XRD (PW1830 Phillips) analysis was carried out using CuKa1 type of radiation with a wavelength (l) of 1.54060 Ã…. XRD (Fig. 5) of nanotubess produced using LPG-air at an O/F ratio of 0.7 slpm/slpm shows a heterogeneous crystallinity in the sample. The raw scan detected three strong peaks. The first peak at 2ÃŽ ¸ angle of 25.77O was found with (110) orientation of atoms along its plane with peak corresponding to graphite with an orthorhombic type of system and an end-centered lattice. The second peak at 2ÃŽ ¸ angle of 43.159O was found with (245) orientation of atoms along its plane with peak corresponding to C60 molecule with a cubic type of system and a primitive lattice. The third peak at 2ÃŽ ¸ angle of 83.475O was found with (112) orientation of atoms along its plane with peak corresponding to graphite with a hexagonal type of system and a primitive type lattice respectively. 3.2 Raman Analysis Raman analysis (Horiba Jobin Yvon T64000, Raman Spectrophotometer) was carried out only on the best sample (Fig.6) which clearly shows the D band G band respectively. The D band (the disorder band is well-known in disordered graphitic materials and located between 1330-1360 cm-1 when it is excited with a visible laser) it is expected to be observed in Multi Walled Nanotubes (MWNT). However when the D band is observed in SWNTs [12], it is assumed to contain defects in the tubes. The G band or (TM- Tangential Mode) [12], corresponds to the stretching mode of the -C-C- bond in the graphite plane [12]. This mode is located near 1580 cm-1. From the figure we can say that the nanotubes are in the slightly disordered graphite phase based on the D band wavelength present at 1349 cm-1. This D band also confirms the presence of amorphous state of carbon in the bulk sample. Based on the G band from the figures, there appears two peaks at 1560 and 1600 cm-1 respectively which proves the presenc e of multi layers of disordered graphene sheets. On analyzing the level of graphitization using the D and G band intensities ratio, we find that the sample is normally well graphitized with small degree of crystallinity and its ID/IG ratio was found to be around 0.939. 4. Conclusions Carbon nanotube (CNT) is a versatile group of applied chemicals with high degree of applications on larger scale in various disciplines. The synthesis, purification and the cost still remains an un-doubted debate around the world hence an economical approach is to be developed in order to produce large amounts of good quality CNTs from an economical and a resourceful fuel. LPG as a general commodity plays a major role since its availability in India is high and it is a very economical source of fuel as well. Here, we were able to successfully synthesize semicrystalline, CNTs from LPG with an average diameter of 100 500 nm using the direct flame synthesis approach. References [1]. Bharat Bhushan, Springer Handbook of Nanotechnology, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, New York, 2004, Chap: 3, pp 39 40. [2]. S. Iijima, Nature 354, (1991), 56. [3]. T.W. Ebbesen and P.M. Ajayan, Nature 358, (1992), 220. [4]. T. Guo, P. Nikolaev, A.G. Rinzler, D. Tomanek, D.T. Colbert and R.E. Smalley, J. Phys. Chem. 99, (1995), 10694. [5]. J. Kong, A. M. Cassell and H.J. Dai, Chem.Phys. Lett. 292, (1998), 567. [6]. Zhou X T, Lai H L, Peng H Y, Au F C K, Liao L S, Wang N, Bello I, Lee C S, Lee S T, Chem Phys Lett 318, (2000), 58 62. [7]. Zhou X T, Wang N, Au F C K, Lai H L, Peng H Y, Bello I, Lee C S, Lee S T, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 286 (2000) 119 -124. [8]. Apisit Songsasen and Paranchai Pairgreethaves, the Kasetsart Journal. (Natural. Sciences) Number 3, 35, (2001), 354 359. [9]. W. Qian, H. Yu, F. Wei, Q. Zhang and W.Wang, Carbon 40, Issue 15, (2002), 2968-2970. [10]. N.A. Prokudina, E.R. Shishchenko, O.S. Joo, D.Y. Kim and S.H. Han, Advanced Materials, Vol. 12, Issue 19, (2000), 1444 1447. [11]. Vivek Dhand, J.S Prasad, M. Venkateswara Rao, K. Naga Mahesh, L. Anupama, V. Himabindu, Anjaneyulu Yerramilli, V.S. Raju, A.A. Sukumar Indian Journal of Engg Mat. Sci, 14, (2007), 240-252. [12]. http://www.jobinyvon.com/usadivisions/Raman/applications/Carbon03.pdf

David Hume’s Two Definitions of Cause Essay -- Philosophy Essays

David Hume’s Two Definitions of Cause David Hume’s two definitions of cause found in both A Treatise of Human Nature, and An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding have been the center of much controversy in regards to his actual view of causation. Much of the debate centers on the lack of consistency between the two definitions and also with the definitions as a part of the greater text. As for the latter objection, much of the inconsistency can be remedied by sticking to the account presented in the Enquiry, as Hume makes explicit in the Author’s Advertisement that the Treatise was a â€Å"work which the Author [Hume] had projected before he left College, and which he wrote and published not long after. But not finding it successful, he was sensible of his error in going to the press to early, and he cast the whole anew in the following pieces, where some negligence in his former reasoning and more in the expression, are, he hopes, corrected.† (Hume 1772, xxxi) Generally the inconsistencies are cit ed from the Treatise, which fails to recognize the purpose of the Enquiry. This brings us to the possible tension between the two definitions. J.A. Robinson, for example, believes the two definitions cannot refer to the same thing. Don Garrett feels that the two definitions are possible, but only with further interpretation. I will argue that the tension arises from a possible forgetfulness on the part of the reader about Hume’s aims as a philosopher, and that Hume’s Enquiry stands on its own without any need for a critic’s extrapolations. To understand Hume’s interpretation of causation and the arguments against it, we must first follow the steps Hume took to come to his conclusion. This requires brief consideration of Hume’s copy princi... ...place. If both definitions of ‘cause’ are necessary for a full understanding of the word, and an absolute reading becomes problematic and unnecessary, then neither Robinson’s nor Garrett’s interpretations are correct. If my account of Hume’s mitigated skepticism is correct, then I see no need to go any further than the Enquiry to understand Hume’s theory of causation. As a philosopher, Hume recognized the constraints of our reasoning, and as a man, he was able to give an explanation for our actions. Works Cited Hume, David, 1772 (reprinted in 2004) An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (New York, Barnes and Noble) Garrett, Don, 1997. Cognition and Commitment in Hume’s Philosophy (New York, Oxford) Robinson, J.A., 1962. â€Å"Hume’s Two Definitions of â€Å"Cause.† The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 47, 162-171. 1 Modern Philosophy lecture. 3/30/05. Dr. Ott

Differentiated Instruction

Due to the differences in the ability of every student to learn, the need for differentiated instruction, also known as differentiated learning and multi-level instruction, increases that involves a variety of strategies used by teachers in addressing every students learning. Basically, differentiated instruction is a way by which teachers find a variety of ways in teaching in order for students to have multiple options in gathering information, creating new ideas and teaching students in the same class with different abilities.It involves the recognition of the difference in the students background knowledge, preferences in learning, interest and as well as language, readiness and their ability to react responsively. The main premise of the theory is that the teaching approaches should vary and be adapted in relation to the diverse students in the classroom and as well as in relation to every individual students. Thus, the teacher’s main challenge is to come with a variety of ways in order to maximize the growth of every student by individually meeting each student while assisting in the learning process.Differentiated instruction aims to encourage the inclusion of all the students while addressing different learning styles and allowing diversity among the students. It also fosters self-worth together with social relation among the students while meeting the emotional and especially the academic needs of every student and allowing the teachers to reach all of his or her students. Thus, teachers really have to put a lot of effort in order to differentiate instruction for the benefit of their students.Differentiated instruction is important especially in the elementary grade because students at this level greatly vary especially in their knowledge background and ability to comprehend. Thus, teachers at this level have the greatest challenge of maximizing every students potential by attending to their differences in various ways, thus differentiating instr uctions. It can also be said that differentiating instruction also relates to the professionalism of every teachers, their competency and creativeness.It can also determine the eagerness and dedication of the teachers to help their students since differentiated instruction takes a lot of time and preparation. Based on the readiness of students, there are at least four elements in which teachers can differentiate such as content, process, products and the learning environment. The contents are the information that every student must comprehend and differentiating content would mean using different materials and elements in order to support the context.Differentiating process involves activities in order for the students to have an understanding and grasp of the subject matter that most of the time uses flexible grouping. The products involves the termination of the activities and asking the students to rehearse, extend and apply everything the he or she was able to learn in the activ ity thus, making the students active in exploring the knowledge that he or she acquires. Differentiating learning environment on the other hand is basically the way the classroom feels and works.If for example in an elementary school, differentiating content may include putting the text materials in a tape or using both auditory and visual means in presenting a topic. It may also include having buddies or forming a small group and using different reading materials with varying levels of readability. Differentiating process on the other hand may include activities in which learners with the same understanding and ability work together or offering hands-on supports for those students who are in need.Time variation for students to be able to finished a certain task can also help in supporting struggling students to have a full understanding of the topic while encouraging advanced learners to search for the topic in a deeper sense. Differentiating products may include activities in whic h students have to work on their own or in group in order to accomplished a certain task or giving the students the options for them to express the required learning through different activities such as letter writing or maybe, a puppet show.Differentiating learning environment on the other hand may include ensuring that the place or room is free from distractions such as noises and other distractions or providing materials in relation to the topic for better understanding. There are certainly several ways of presenting a topic to students and differentiated instruction is widely needed by students especially in the elementary level. However, differentiated instruction does not only fit elementary students but every student from different levels as well.Through differentiated instruction subject matter can also be more comprehensible for English Language Learners and as well as those students with special needs through the use of different activities. Acknowledging the different nee ds of every student specially those with special needs will also help the teacher to prepare special teaching methods for the students to have an understanding of the subject matter. It will also help to pay more attention to these kinds of students, offering them more of their time.Traditional method of teaching, commonly lecture discussions, practice works and others have its own advantages such as being uniform and consistent, however, due to the differences in the learning ability and adaptability of every student (that is recognized by every teacher) flexibility is also needed, one thing that traditional method lacks. On the other, differentiated instruction take into consideration that every student are different and have different learning abilities, thus, making appropriate actions to fill in the gap of those who are left behind.The use of differentiated instruction involves the clarification of key concepts to ensure that all students are gaining powerful understanding that will serve as their foundation for future learning. Assessment tools are also used before, during and as well as after the given learning activity that does not necessarily mean a written examination. Also, the goal of differentiated instruction is to provide critical and creative activities to ensure understanding on the part of every student. It also takes into account that every learners, although different are essential and thus striving to meet the needs of every students.Differentiated instruction also helps in creating a balance student-selected and teacher-assigned task. These characteristics enable differentiated instruction to be more effective that traditional teaching methods. Differentiated instruction is also flexible to meet the needs of other students to maximize their potential and learning. Thus, it can be said that differentiated instruction indeed is needed in the contemporary time. It was said that differentiated instruction is a compilation of many theories an d practice in the field of learning thus, providing a greater understanding of the needs of every student.It is based on years of studies and researches and as well ass educational theories and concept such as the concept of readiness. Researches from the 1980’s up to the contemporary time also shows that practices such as grouping of students and engaging learners are really effective in the learning of students. We may have been used to the traditional method of teaching, i. e. board lectures and the likes; however this method may not be suitable in the contemporary time. What we need today is not set of rules and activities.The needs of every student’s changes along with time and traditional methods may not just work in every situation. Maximizing learning and understanding is the main purpose of every teacher and if that would mean acquiring new methods then, there is nothing wrong in doing so. Thus, differentiation must be encouraged in every learning institution for the betterment of the present and the generations to come. Changes are part of our everyday life and there are times that we must embrace those changes, such as differentiated instruction, in order to achieve greater heights.

Fast Food in HK Essay

Fast food, as you can understand is the term referring to food that is prepared and can be delivered in a fast time. It is traditionally American style meal that always included French fries, burgers and soft drinks. Restaurants store precooked ingredients, once the customer gives an order, take-away can be ready in a while. To be called as â€Å"Fast food†, these foods must meet a few standards: good time management, quality stability and fixed price. It is a very popular meal style in some well-developed cities, since the people have a totally busy life. The first recorded fast food restaurant A&W is founded in 1919 at the United States of America, and the second one is the famous company White Castle in 1921. In this century, fast food restaurants develop and most of them become chains suppliers. US people spent billions on buying fast food every year. The fast food globalization had now become a huge social issue. Nowadays there are over 500,000 fast food restaurants and thousands brands in the whole world. And today we are going to focus on the two head quarters in Hong Kong– McDonald’s and KFC. Introduction of McDonald’s McDonald’s is definitely the biggest fast food chain in the world. It founded in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald. Nowadays, over 33,000 McDonald’s restaurants were established in the worldwide. The products of McDonald’s are in various types, mainly hamburgers, French fries, chickens and soft drinks. Sometimes, they will provide seasonal meal to attract customers such as ‘Shake Shake French fries’. Following differences of choices, McDonald’s would also offer vegetarian food too. In order to fit the culture, they may change the meal a little bit for example not providing beef in India. You can always find one on the street, because there are in total 200 stores in Hong Kong. McDonald’s became popular all the time due to busy life schedule of Hong Kong people. Introduction of KFC On the other hand, the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is the largest fried chicken shop in the world, and the second largest fast food chain after the McDonald’s. Harland Sanders founded KFC in 1930 at Kentucky in the United States of America. KFC practically sells fried chicken pieces, coleslaw and drinks. The popularity of KFC’s chicken comes from its original secret recipe which mixed with 11 herbs and spices. Not like the McDonald’s, KFC has a smaller scale with only 63 stores in Hong Kong. However, the numbers didn’t affect the KFC’s second largest place of fast food chain in Hong Kong. Advantages and disadvantages of Fast Food The biggest advantage of fast food is definitely FAST. People in modern societies are always in busy life schedule. Facing the hard workload, they may only have half an hour to have a meal and rush beck to their work. Thus, these quick service restaurants help to solve to lack of time problem. Meals can be prepared within ten minutes. No matter how delicious other food are, Hong Kong people have not enough time to buy ingredients, cook or enjoy. Second is the stability of food within one chain of fast food restaurant. Tastes are mainly the same in any store. You will never taste bad with the same meal. And the prices are predictable and affordable too. One fast food meal is always cheaper than you cook alone at home. However, fast food as called as junk food, affecting people’s health. Restaurant usually uses a lot of additives such as salt, flavorings and preservatives. The large amount of calories and additives are harmful to human body. Since the fast food is all pre-cooked, the nutrients of the ingredients are lost. Therefore, some people may say that fast food is only for surviving. Eating fast food in a long term may cause various diseases such as diabetes and heart attack. Comparison of McDonald’s and KFC In Hong Kong, McDonald’s is obviously in a larger scale than KFC. Except the differences on the food kinds, the way they run the company are a bit different too. Apart from fast food restaurant, McDonald’s have McCafes to provide desserts and coffee like Starbucks. Besides, McDonald’s have works in different area of society such as charity, children health affair. But the KFC is just only a restaurant in Hong Kong. Therefore, people would called McDonald’s as a better company than KFC in Hong Kong.