Data Storage - History, Technologies, and Challenges :: data storage store

Data storage covers many areas. Anywhere information is stored for later retrieval could be considered "data storage." While it is not the first thing we would think of, a bill board advertisement is data storage. The advertisement (data) is meant to be read (retrieved) by many people. Other examples that might more readily come to mind include check books (storing your financial information), filing cabinets and books, among many others. What we will attempt to do here is present a (brief) history of data storage, especially as it applies to computers, and outline the current technologies that are used to store data, and their limitations. We also want to discuss the exciting data-storage technologies that are on the horizon. These new technologies will allow data storage to continue to be inexpensive and reliable. Computers, when it gets right down to it, only have two states which are recognized: on and off. As it processes information, all it really sees are a series of ones and zeros. These ones and zeros are called "bits," and computers are what are called "binary machines," meaning they process ones and zeros, or binary information. So, a character such as S is represented to the computer as 01010011 (8 bits are known as a byte). Pay attention! This will be important later, as this is how computers store data as well. A brief, yet (almost) entirely inaccurate, history of data storage. A really long time ago, man started wanting to store data. He realized that always trying to rely on human memory can have its pitfalls. There had to be a way to augment the human's capacity to remember. Thus, data storage. The first attempts at data storage used sun dried clay tablets with characters inscribed in them. They realized very quickly that this was not entirely efficient. You didn't have to write much before you couldn't carry it around any more. Pocketbooks ® would have never flown, let alone walked. Well, it could have walked, but with great difficulty. But I digress. The search began for more efficient methods of data storage. The Egyptians came up with the idea of making paper out of papi--, papy--, river reeds. Now they could store a lot of information, in funny little characters that no one could read until the Rosetta Stone, in a much smaller amount of space.

The Listeners by Walter de la Mare and Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley: Poems mystery

The Listeners by Walter de la Mare and Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley both immediately convey a sense of mystery as they are set in the past. Ozymandias revisits the very distant past and The Listeners revisits the past in the lifetime of a single man. Shelley uses the technique of a story within a story to create mystery, where de la Mare uses an account. However they both make use of a lone traveller who visits lonely places to evoke a sense of fear, encouraging you to think about what might have happened in these places and that events could have been very sinister. Both poems have the main focus of an isolated structure: That dwelt in the lone house then Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight (â€Å"The Listeners†, lines 14 & 15, Walter de la Mare) Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away. (â€Å"Ozymandias†, lines 13 & 14, Percy Bysshe Shelley) The poets inject both of these inanimate structures with a sense of humanity, which furthers the mysterious aura surrounding them. Shelley uses a human description to do this: And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, (â€Å"Ozymandias†, line 5, Percy Bysshe Shelley) Where de la Mare instead uses the spirits of the Listeners to give the house a sense of humanity, as if the house itself is possessed and listening to the traveller: And he felt in his heart their strangeness, Their stillness answering his cry, (â€Å"The Listeners†, lines 21 & 22, Walter de la Mare) Both poets cleverly use imagery to create pictures in our minds. De la Mare uses very detailed and lengthy descriptions, which build mystery and suspense and make you feel as if you are watching the lone traveler: Knocking on the moonlit door; (â€Å"The Listeners†, line 2, Walter de la Mare) This makes you feel very apprehensive. Shelley's descriptions in Ozymandias are more limited and rather abrupt, which I think creates mystery because the reader has to use their imagination to picture events clearly. The poems differ at this point because in The Listeners, de la Mare's setting is full of life, for example he describes trees, turf, grass and a horse. In contrast to Ozymandias, where Shelley uses bleak descriptions of a setting, which indicates an extremely barren and empty expanse. The Listeners hints at the enduring quality of the spirits who dwell in the house. Whereas Ozymandias gives a clear message of the ephemeral nature of the effects of power and pride. The end of each poem has both similarities and differences. Ozymandias has no clear end. There is nothing to sum it up. Shelley has left a gap to use our own imagination. But in The Listeners, de la Mare clearly describes the traveler retreating back to where he had come from. Creating a clear end to the story. The similarities arise at the end of each poem because both the poets use alliteration to describe distance, space and quiet. Shelley manages to create a large expanse of space, distance and emptiness: The lone and level sands stretch far away. (â€Å"Ozymandias†, line 14, Percy Bysshe Shelley) But de la Mare creates a feeling of stillness, quiet and distance with: And how the silence surged softly backwards, When the plunging hoofs were gone. (â€Å"The Listeners†, lines 35 & 36, Walter de la Mare) By using this alliteration right at the end of the poems and the ‘S' sound all the way through, both poets have finished with mystery and quiet foreboding of what might be. I think that both poems are telling a ghost story. They are quite frightening and very mysterious. Out of the two my favourite is the listeners. I prefer this as I think it is a clear story, which made me feel on edge. Where I found Ozymandias too vague and without a clear ending.

Were respectable Victorians any more concerned about sex than their great grandparents had been?

Before one can answer the question above, two key terms need to be explained: ‘respectable' and ‘sex'. The Victorian climate was such that the term respectable is usually applied only to those members of society with sufficient status to be marked out as noticeable in a rural/urban setting. To this extent, it is perhaps more correct to realise that the question is aiming towards those Victorians of middle to high status than those of the middle and upper classes. More to the point, respectable may mean either those people of status, or those men of high status. Sex' is a term that carries two main connotations, intercourse and gender. Gender itself is a pretty wide ranging issue, covering the role of women in both social life and in the home, as well as increasing political activity from females. In effect, the question is somewhat multi-faceted, and requires a three-sided response: how far were men more aware of women's need and rights in the nineteenth century than in the eighteenth; how did the role of the female change between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; and, how did general attitudes towards intercourse and women change in a broader sense? This final question invites a response on how sex was taught, or indeed practised, in the Victorian period. One can see a change in the nineteenth century towards a society that was more concerned with some aspects of sex, especially those carnal. As Michael Mason puts it, the sexual practices of the early nineteenth century experienced a ‘crisis of confidence'. Yet by mid-century, trends of concubinage and commitment meant that traditional (male) practices of prostitution were considerably displaced. As the attitudes of men changed towards a family environment, so did the role of women. Women became not only homemakers but also socially active people, rather than their traditional role of sitting in the background and looking pretty. Trends in literature towards such feminist authors as the Bronte sisters and Jane Austen, as well as strong feminist trends in some of Dickens' literature, were representative of a society considering the roles of women and bringing their rights to the fore. Trends also changed from the passive acceptance of wife beating towards an admittedly passive non-acceptance of such practices. In effect, there were many significant changes towards a society that accepted sex in all its forms far more than a century before, albeit in a more austere fashion. Firstly the question of the awareness of women needs to be addressed more fully. As trends of marriage changed towards a more family based atmosphere, so did the attitudes towards the Victorian woman. A female Queen, for whom the country held a significant respect, precipitated an almost passive acceptance of the female import in society. The Victorian man was, unlike his great grandparents, frowned upon for un- gentlemanly behaviour in the home. A change toward this acceptance of the female role was precursor to the increased role of the male in family life. As L Davidoff has claimed, men spent much more time at work but were also ‘in and out of the house place†¦ helping with the children†¦ taking part in the endless rounds of tea drinking and dropping in of relatives' By the 50s, men were leaving active business to spend more time with family and to allow younger family members to take over the day to day running of affairs, often women being allowed to do this. Men were effectively becoming absorbed into what was previously, and exclusively, the female way of life. Alongside this change was the acceptance of women into such societies as the Rainbow Circle, with some such as the Primrose League being set up for women alone. Thus women were not only allowed a political voice, but were actively taking one also. The ideas of station in the family may not have changed, but they were certainly evened out. As urbanisation increased, so did the acceptance of female by men. In eighteenth century rural England, the middle classes were small, and the sense of community amongst them sparse, with urbanisation came middle class community, which had the effect of introducing a social code by which everyone was socially obligated to abide. Certain trends towards females did not change however, domestics and governesses were still female, yet the number of affairs between the head of the household and his servants decreased rapidly, yet this may be representative more of the austere privacy of the Victorian household which would be reluctant to admit such activities than an actual fall in such indiscretions. In effect, the attitudes towards women changed. They changed in both the way women were treated, and in the assumption of traditional female roles in the household of men. Yet the Victorian woman was equally different from her eighteenth century counterpart. The Victorian woman was a changing force in society. Such occurrences as the Custody of Infants Act of 1839, and the later trend for educating girls at schools (both precipitated women) give evidence to the changing female character. The Custody of Infants Act in particular is representative of the power able to be exercised by Victorian women over their husbands. This Act, which crystallised after the legal battle fought by Caroline Norton to keep her children after separation from a violent husband. This not only shows that the female had a right to her children in equal capacity to her husband, but also that there was an ability for a woman to challenge a man in a court- a legal power not previously seen. It also is indicative of the new emphasis on motherhood, or more to the point, its importance over and above the importance of the male figure. F M L Thompson, maybe over enthusiastically, terms this change in early Victorian female culture a precursor to ‘female rebellion'. He doses have a point however, at the time many thinkers both on the left and right such as Peter Gaskell and Richard Oastler felt that the family and consequently the moral fabric of society was about to collapse due to an increased female role. Changing the emergence of the politically interested female of all classes and statuses complemented this emancipation. Organisations such as the Primrose League were representative of not only a new working/middle class political voice, but also of a female voice. In addition to the having a voice in the political world, and in society, as well as legal rights, the right to divorce was also important. The Divorce Act of 1857 allowed wives for the first time to divorce their violent husbands, which was an important factor in the beginning of women's rights, which became codified legally over the ensuing century. It also had the effect of reducing the number of ambiguous separations, which were against the fabric of the Victorian family life. In effect, the change in the role of women was not huge, but it was significant. Rights within the family increased, as did station in society. Changing attitudes towards intercourse are also important. Marriage is important in this sphere also, as well as family life. One of the most striking features of Victorian England was the relative decline in prostitution compared with the increase of towns and cities. This may be attributed to the transformation towards a family atmosphere, and the importance of sexual relations in the home. This may be attributed towards the Victorian culture of evangelicalism and nonconformity both of which preached ideas of temperance, and the consequent decline in alcohol consumption amongst respectable people. Alongside this came a new awareness of sexual diseases, with many people feeling sufficiently more comfortable with themselves to request treatment. Sex as an act was more considered in the medical sphere also. Books were written detailing every aspect of sexuality, from academic books on ‘the orgasmic theory of ovulation' to Dr Becklard's self-help book ‘Becklard's physiology'. It is true however, that by the end of the Victorian period, bipolar attitudes towards sex, meant that women were portrayed in nature as either frigid or insatiable, and men absolved from blame as servants to their katabolic needs. In effect, although women experienced a change in their roles and their perception, as sexual objects, their portrayal was quite regressive. To this extent sex in terms of the portrayal of men and women was both progressive in terms of thinking and theory (although most often mistaken) yet also regressive in its portrayals of each sex and its consequent categorisations of the sexes, which not until Freud were reversed. In addition to this, for the first time, sex education was taught on a very primitive level at school, and carnal sex was mentioned at a very understated level at home. In effect, trends of sex education were just breaking through, but nonetheless they were there. In conclusion, the Victorians were more aware of sex, both categorical and carnal. Trends towards traditional sexual roles were changed as men frequently took over roles at home, and women often took over their husbands businesses after death. Family trends revolutionised the position of the male at home, along with a willingness to consider women's rights by allowing the Custody and Divorce Acts to be passed through parliament. Moreover, the Victorian female was able to push for such reform as she found a new social and political voice not before experience. This is not to say that suddenly the female was the central character in society, far from it. Husband continued to beat wives, and the Divorce Act didn't precipitate a mass rush for every abused female to divorce their husbands. The female role was still very much subordinate to the male, but it was significantly improved on the position of the eighteenth century female. Trends towards intercourse complemented this as trends in marriage changed the way Victorian men sought sex. Prostitution declined and the social/medical considerations of sex changed in a way not seen in the eighteenth century. Although the austere male dominated society still excused the male from any blame of carnal desire, as compared with the female who was pushed to extremes of frigidity or insatiability. In effect, awareness of sex was increased, or at least more openly discussed.

Analysis Of Citizen Kane Essays - English-language Films

Analysis Of Citizen Kane Essays - English-language Films Analysis Of Citizen Kane The classic masterpiece, Citizen Kane (1941), is probably the world's most famous and highly rated film, with its many remarkable scenes, cinematic and narrative techniques and innovations. The director, star, and producer were all the same individual - Orson Welles (in his film debut at age 25), who collaborated with Herman J. Mankiewicz on the script and with Gregg Toland as cinematographer. Within the maze of its own aesthetic, Citizen Kane develops two interesting themes. The first concerns the debasement of the private personality of the public figure, and the second deals with the crushing weight of materialism. Taken together, these two themes comprise the bitter irony of an American success story that ends in futile nostalgia, loneliness, and death. The fact that the personal theme is developed verbally through the characters while the materialistic theme is developed visually, creating a distinctive stylistic counterpoint. It is against the counterpoint that the themes unfol d within the structure of a mystery story. Its theme is told from several perspectives by several different characters and is thought provoking. The tragic story is how a millionaire newspaperman, who idealistically made his reputation as the champion of the underprivileged, becomes corrupted by a lust for wealth, power and immortality. Kane's tragedy lies in his inability to experience any real emotion in his human relationships. The apparent intellectual superficiality of Citizen Kane can be traced to the shallow quality of Kane himself. Even when Kane is seen as a crusading journalist battling for the lower classes, overtones of self-idolatry mar his actions. His clever ironies are more those of the exhibitionist than the crusader. His second wife complains that Kane never gave her anything that was part of him, only material possessions that he might give a dog. His best friend, Jedediah Leland, was a detached observer functioning as a sublimated conscience remarks to the reporter that Kane never gave anything away: he le ft you a tip. In each case, Kane's character is described in materialistic terms. What Kane wanted - love, emotional loyalty, the unspoiled world of his boyhood, symbolized by rosebud, he was unable to provide for those around him, or buy for himself. The intriguing opening is filled with hypnotic dissolves from one sinister, mysterious image to the next, moving forward closer and closer. The film's first sight is a No Trespassing sign hanging on a giant gate in the night's foggy mist, illuminated by the moonlight. The camera pans up the chain-link mesh gate, which dissolves and changes into images of great iron flowers or oak leaves on the heavy gate. On the crest of the gate is a single, silhouetted, wrought iron K initial. The gate surrounds a distant, forbidding-looking castle with towers. The fairy-tale castle is situated on a man-made mountain, obviously the estate of a wealthy man. The same shots are repeated in reverse at the very end of the film. The initial and concluding clash of realism and expressionism suggests in a subtle way, the theme of Citizen Kane. The intense material reality of the fence dissolves into the fantastic unreality of the castle, and in the end, the mystic pretension of the castle dissolves into th e mundane substance of the fence. Matter has come full circle from its original quality to the grotesque baroque of its excess. As each flashback unfolds, the visual scenario of Citizen Kane orchestrates the dialogue. A universe of ceilings dwarfs Kane's personal stature. He becomes the prisoner of his possessions, the ornament of his furnishings, and the fiscal instrument of his collections. His booming voice is muffled by walls, carpets, furniture, hallways, stairs the vast recesses of useless space. Gregg Toland's camera set-ups are designed to frame characters in the oblique angles of light and shadow created by their artificial environment. There are no luminous close-ups in which faces are detached from their backgrounds. When characters move across rooms, the floors and ceilings move with them. This technique which is highly unusual, tends to dehumanize characters by reducing them to fixed ornaments in a shifting architecture. The choice of camera position was an important factor in getting across artistic and psychological effects. To the photograph a person or object from below, distorts that object. It tends

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Project management - Essay Example Objective of the project is cleaning the environment; in ensuring there is coordination among the project management team and the community the expectations from both sides should be aligned to eliminate any chance of conflict. The sponsors for the project were amazed by the number of activities that were to be conducted on separate occasions. On their side some activities seemed duplicated, though the differences were minimal. They resorted that those activities ought to be merged. The cost of the project would have been reduced by twenty percent, in that process. Chronological flow of the task was also to be altered and environmental conservation sensitization to take centre stage. The following is the work breakdown structure as recommended by the sponsors. The three divisions (marketing, product research and development, and policy) of the tourism agency will have to be aligned so as to meet the goal of developing the Competitive Intelligence System. The goal is to be met by both internal and external team. To iron out and difference for strategic alignment and coordination the teams will be meeting weekly. The key problem encountered in this project was the evaporation of the goals and assumption set to guide the project. Project to run smoothly its goal and assumption ought to be realistic and print a picture of what is happening on the ground. The project management team that was head by the research and development did not do its homework when designing the goals and assumptions for this project. A project like this one whose impact is national, it is prudent for the concern party to incorporate all factors surrounding the project planning and implementation processes. One of the assumptions was that the â€Å"proven technology† will be imported without extensive modifications. This cannot be the case for technological projects like implementation of a Competitive Intelligence System.

Discuss Prousts theory of memory and time using specific examples of Essay

Discuss Prousts theory of memory and time using specific examples of Time regained - Essay Example The precise aspect can be seen immediately in the lead-in of "Time regained": "I spent the whole day in my room, the windows of which opened upon the beautiful verdure of the park, upon the lilacs of the entrance, upon the green leaves of the great trees beside the water and in the forest of Msglise. It was a pleasure to contemplate all this, I was saying to myself: "How charming to have all this greenery in my window" until suddenly in the midst of the great green picture I recognised the clock tower of the Church of Combray toned in contrast to a sombre blue as though it were far distant, not a reproduction of the clock tower but its very self which, defying time and space, thrust itself into the midst of the luminous greenery as if it were engraved upon my window-pane."1. Marcel Proust ends his search of Lost Time with a seventh volume: "Time regained". This last volume shall be seen, not as a conclusion of the entire work but, as the reason the author decides to start to write. We have to consider "Time regained" as an introduction to Proust's previous volumes of "in search of Lost Time" because he finally links art - in his case literature - to memory and time. Art should be the way to represent and ultimately to regain the time which was lost. " This labour of the artist to discover a means of