The Joy of The Tuba †Music Essay

The Joy of The Tuba – Music Essay Free Online Research Papers The Joy of The Tuba Music Essay Ahhh! The tuba (That’s Latin : Trumpet). The tuba is the biggest and the shiniest of all the brass family. It is also very possible, that it is heavier than all the other brass instruments put together. Let’s imagine if we were to couple together this instrument with an outlandish larrikin, let’s call them tubists, politically more correct woodwindests may call them he-persons and their friends may call them crazy, no – matter, this formidable instrument is like a leopard tank to the infantry as it is to a military band, it’s kind of big and loud, however, when you need it, it’s there with power. Please enjoy this informative, yet very sarcastic view on a tuba from the eye’s of a he-person/ crazy/ tubist. Aim The aim of this essay is to promote the tuba, not only as an instrument, but also as a character of the band. By showing and explaining the history, development and characteristics of the tuba, only then can other musicians appreciate and understand what on earth would possess someone to start playing that. Funny picture of tuba here History and development Patented in 1835 by Wiebrecht and Moritz in Germany the tuba surfaced to replace the Serpent and the Ophicleide (no relation to the centipede). The Tuba is constructed from brass, an alloy (combination of metals) comprising of copper zinc. Generally silver plated, however it can be lacquered to give it the appearance of gold. And the cost is not too far off gold either, with some tubas now approaching the $45,000 mark. Now, to be serious, but not for long. The tuba was derived from the ophicleide, a type of keyed bugle that was designed and built in the 1800’s, before valves were the cool thing to use back then. Its mega legend status started in the brass bands of Great Britain were they used a Helicon (not related to helicopters) was used for easier portability, not that much has changed. Many variants were created but Richard Wagner created a variant based on the French horn which was used for his Ring cycle of Operas and has since been called the Wagner Tuba. In the 1860’s John Phillip Sousa commissioned an audience friendly version (which has never been perfected) of the Helicon and all of sudden, we have a Sousaphone. After realizing that this thing is too damn hard to make, the design has remained the same. But the creative minds have worked hard and variants with four, five and six valves have been sent to test the tubists of today’s world. With the input of many a he-person (remember that’s what the politically correct woodwind call tuba players), other changes have been introduced, such as the rotary valve for the short fingered he-person, fiberglass sousaphone for the he-persons with a bad back and convertible tubas for those he-persons going through a mid life crisis. Please forgive my humor as that the real purpose of convertible tuba’s is not to get girls, it was actually made so that the audience could hear the superb qualities of the tuba as demonstrated in the picture below. Insert funny Sousa pic here Tubas can now be found in the most diverse range of shapes, sizes, pitches, colours, weights and price of ANY instrument and this isn’t saying that they haven’t got it right yet, it just takes time to perfect 8 metres of brass tubing wrapped around a light post. To make matters a little more complicated, not that the invention of the fourth valve was enough, the diversity and obscurity of the tuba becomes multiplied when the introduction of the tenor tuba is released. I am of course referring to the Baritone/Euphonium. A welcome friend of the tuba family, however, with two noticeable differences. 1.) The Euphonium shrunk in the wash (that means it’s half the size of the tuba) 2.) The Euphonium music is ten times harder to play than tuba parts. Not exactly value for weight savings there. Another new addition to make tubas heavier, although this has been a huge improvement, was the introduction of compensating tubas. This does not mean that the tuba player gets paid extra money for a using a compensating tuba (they should because it weighs more) but what it does mean is that the tuba has extra tubing to correct the tuning when multiple valve combinations are in use. I’ll confuse you later with the specifics of this. With the development of the tuba comes one of the most significant features. Tubas can come in five different keys (BBb, CC, EEb, F and the GG Bugle â€Å"Not available for bugle calls as yet Sir† ). With an upright bell or forward facing, (forward facing bells provide excellent sound projection in marching bands) fourteen to thirty inches in bell diameter (that’s 355.50mm to 762.00mm), two to six valves, rotary or piston, student or professional models, convertible or standard, the rare but available double belled euphonium, sousaphones and tubas with or without compensating or non- compensating tubing. The tuba has more selling features than a brand new Holden Monaro and is similar in price. Instrument range The tuba is a hidden talent, a soft and sweet sound that does not promote itself as a soloist because it doesn’t ‘bite’ the listener like a trumpet or vocalist does. However it is an extremely capable instrument, it can’t be thrown very far physically, but it’s sound can be thrown further than the ears of the listener and deep into heart and mind of the appreciative audience. The Tuba is mostly associated with the â€Å"oom-pah-pah† and the fourteen million litres of beers that Austrians and Germans drink at Oktoberfest (and perhaps a few Aussie tuba playing Beer drinking legends), the tuba is much more capable than the1st and 3rd beats in the bar. The tuba can be soft and lyrical to loud and bombastic and even fast and complex. With a total range of four octaves (and some lance corporals can produce five when they practice more often) not to mention the goorus of tuba playing, for example Steven Sykes and the Childs Brothers, that can produce whatever they feel like because they are awesome. Characteristics – harmonic series, hexachords, flexibility, acoustics, harmonics and construction The tuba is not just about technical advances in design, or how much it costs or weighs or even how wide a range the instrument has. It is about how it sounds and how that sound fits into the orchestra or ensemble. Why does the tuba sound different, most primary school kids would say that it’s because it’s bigger. This is true, however, what is the sound that we hear? Most musical notes are sounds that have a particular pitch. The pitch depends on the main frequency of the sound, the higher the frequency of the sound waves, and the shortening of the wavelength, the higher the pitch is. The sounds that we hear day to day are not just one frequency, some sounds have many frequencies, like a wave crashing on a beach, but this is not a particular pitch, and it is not considered a musical note. If an old mobile phone produces a note of particular pitch, a C for example, this note is only one particular frequency and it does not sound like a tuba or clarinet. That is, that Tuba’s, and in fact most Instruments don’t produce just one frequency, they produce only a very particular set of frequencies. So we can’t all pre-program our phones to play 1812 because we could not separate the difference in sound of those playing clarinet, and those playing tuba. When an instrument plays a note the sound that we hear is a smooth mixture of different pitches, these different pitches are called harmonics and the blending together of these pitches is produced so well that we don’t hear the separate notes, instead the harmonics give the note it’s colour or timbre. But where do these harmonics and the timbre come from? In the case of a tuba or wind instrument for that fact, the sound comes from a column of air vibrating inside a tube. When this column of air vibrates within the tuba the main pitch that we hear is the fundamental (Eb for an Eb tuba, Bb for a Bb etc.) This column of air can also vibrate in halves, thirds, fourths and so on of the fundamental. The difference is the relative loudness of all the different harmonics compared to each other. So when a clarinet plays a note, perhaps we can only hear the odd- numbered harmonics and when a tuba plays the same notes, perhaps the fifth and tenth harmonics are the strongest. This is what separates the sound of the clarinet in comparison to the tuba, and of course the tuba sounds better. So even if a tuba sounds different to a clarinet, how does it play all the notes in a chromatic scale? Well apart from practice, the tuba and all brass instruments have a harmonic series. As a xylophone player gets only one note from each plank of wood, different in length, or a string player can change a note by tightening the string by using tuning pegs or pressing down in a different place, the tuba or brass player can produce different notes without changing the length of the tubing. The musicians do this by playing the harmonics of the instrument. Brass instruments excel in getting notes from the same length of tubing. This is produced by vibrating the lips at different speeds, by doing this, the player can produce a harmonic of the air column to sound instead of the fundamental. The harmonic series can have any note as it’s fundamental, so there are many harmonic series, but the relationship between the frequencies of a harmonic series is always the same. The second harmonic always has exactly half the wavelength (and twice the frequency) of the fundamental. The third harmonic has exactly a third of the wavelength (three times the frequency) of the fundamental and it continues through the range of the instrument. Just like a bugle , the tuba can play any note in the harmonic series that falls within the players range. So before valves were cool the tuba had the same range as a bugle, but the introduction of 3 valves added extra tubing to the instrument. Each time a valve was opened (or pressed) an extra length of tubing was added, adding a new harmonic series to the instrument. The first valve usually adds one half step to the harmonic series, the second valve one whole step and the third valve adds one and one half steps lower than the valve-less instrument. The valves can also be used together creating another harmonic series. So technically speaking the tuba in it’s middle register can produce a valve combination that will give a reasonably in-tune version for every note of the chromatic scale. Insert examples of open tubing harmonic series here etc (sibelius). Hexachords The tuba has one major downfall. It’s size, although this is it’s greatest asset, talk about paying Peter to rob Paul. The tuba needs a lot of vibrating air in the tubes, but this creates problems with flexibility. The Tuba has a very large mouthpiece and to supply a lot of air into the large mouth piece requires virtually the whole mouth to cover the mouthpiece. Possible trills alternate fingerings – emphasis on alternates and tech difs Uses ensembles, styles etc The Tuba is so awesome that no group, band or ensemble could leave home without it. Let’s start with the typical bands/ensembles that you find a tuba:- brass quintet Orchestra Concert band Brass band Military band Marching band Big band Oktoberfest beer band And then of course, there is the ultimate of all small group ensembles the:- Tuba Quartet As you would notice above that there is a broad range of opportunity for the up and budding tubist and the variation in style of music is from one extreme to the other. Popular styles for the tuba would consist of : Orchestral. Including Opera, Symphonic, chamber music and Solos. Concert band. Including folk tunes, easy listening, latin, country, popular some classic rock Roll. Brass Band. Brass bands originated in Great Britain and are widely known for the very challenging contest pieces. Varying in difficulty and asassociated with the various grades, a typical contest would consist of a hymn, set test piece, Bands own choice and of course, a march. Brass quintet / Tuba Quartet. These ensembles will touch on arrangements of pieces from the Baroque period in the 1600 -1700s to current day traditional pieces like Amazing grace. Bach gets a chance to shine and is not outdone by the brashness of Dixieland or the glamour of Broadway. Marching Band. Marches are perhaps the pinnacle of tuba pieces, not only is the music technically difficult, regardless of the competency of the musician and no matter how physically strong a tubist is, marching and performing the tuba is a task that no performer would claim to master. Big Band. The tuba is slowly finding it’s way into the swing of the big band. Generally reading 4th trombone parts, the tuba adds to the lower end of the trombone section, filling in especially on the low frequencies where the bass trombone tends to ‘crack’ a note. Oktoberfest Beer Band. This is where the tuba and it’s master really come together. German beer songs from the Second World War were used to entertain the troops. This music poses the tubist with very few challenges musically , generally only playing the 1st and 3rd beats, however, does add a sporting value of performing under extreme circumstances. Insert funny picture of beer here There are probably a hundred more styles of music, and various bands that you would find a tuba, but remarkably, there are few bands that don’t use it. It’s obviously that good. As far as other uses of the tuba goes, and this is only speculation, but no other instrument has been used as:- A flower pot A place to store cold beers for the long trip home after the job A door stopper Balance, tuning examples of practice exercises to assist technical problems Conclusion/summary At the start of this informative work, I promoted the fact that most people ask, why would you want to play that? As you can see, the tuba is a remarkable instrument. Virtually most styles of instrumental music require the use of a tuba. It can produce the very low frequencies of sound that almost border on the hearing range of the human ear, giving any ensemble the depth of sound to south the soul. The tuba, the largest, most expensive brass instrument in any ensemble, although works on the same principles as any other brass instrument. Although the tuba seems cumbersome, it’s agility and flexibility is that of a trumpet. I’m also sure that after reading this, that playing a tuba now would seem a lot more complicated than building one. I hope that you have enjoyed my humour and can use the technical information. Research Papers on The Joy of The Tuba - Music EssayWhere Wild and West MeetDefinition of Export QuotasCapital PunishmentMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductHip-Hop is ArtUnreasonable Searches and Seizures19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraGenetic EngineeringThe Hockey GameThe Spring and Autumn

The British North America Act (BNA Act)

The British North America Act (BNA Act) The British North America Act or BNA Act created the Dominion of Canada in 1867. It is now referred to as the Constitution Act, 1867, as it is the basis of the countrys constitution. History of the BNA Act The BNA Act was drafted by Canadians at the Quebec Conference on Canadian Confederation in 1864 and passed without amendment by the British Parliament in 1867. The BNA Act was signed by Queen Victoria on March 29, 1867, and came into effect on July 1, 1867. It solidified Canada West (Ontario), Canada East (Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as the four provinces of the confederation. The BNA Act serves as a base document for the Canadian Constitution, which is not a single document but rather a set of documents known as Constitution Acts and, just as importantly, a set of unwritten laws and conventions. The BNA Act set out the rules for the government of the new federal nation. It established a British style parliament with an elected House of Commons and an appointed Senate and set out the division of powers between the federal government and provincial governments. The written text of the division of powers in the BNA Act can be misleading, however, as case law plays a significant part in the division of powers between governments in Canada. The BNA Act Today Since the first act forming the Dominion of Canada in 1867, 19 other acts were passed, until some of them were amended or repealed by the Constitution Act, 1982. Until 1949, only the British Parliament could make amendments to the acts, but Canada assumed  full control over its constitution with the passage of the Canada Act in 1982. Also in 1982, the BNA Act was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867.

(anything is fine) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

(anything is fine) - Essay Example Black women have raised themselves from being considered beasts of labor, assigned to jobs typically considered to be male occupations, to gaining recognition to now leading a nation. Cooper explores how women of color have had a rough time in America, but there is hope for a better future because of their ability to fight back in an embodied way to disprove the public racist opinion. Brittney Cooper is an appropriate person to present a study of this nature as a professor with vast experience in Women’s Studies. Her experience as a black woman and as an expert in women’s studies gives her article a lot of credibility. Moreover, she has pointed out and referenced several articles written by fellow women and black women rights’ campaigners. Cooper gathers several pieces of verifiable evidence to support her arguments ranging from documented historical racism and the black woman’s position from slavery through the civil rights era into current events includi ng public opinion regarding Michelle Obama’s rise to the White House (Cooper, 2010). She has also included her own practical experience as a black woman and reveals telling encounters she's had with white people. There is a lot of evidence available throughout this study that is also generated from credible sources. The article is conclusive due to the quality of the evidence provided by Cooper. However, Cooper did not carry out any original research to prove her points. She could have done so using either questionnaires or survey forms to assess the black and white women’s opinions regarding the claims she was planning to make in her article. From the early days when Sojourner Truth felt it necessary to expose her breasts to a crowd of men to today's public appearances of Michelle Obama, one of the major claims Cooper makes is that the black woman's role in the public domain has been very focused on her body. According to Cooper (2010) black women have always used str ategies such as Michelle Obama’s dedication to presenting a fit body dressed in fashionable and appropriate clothing to defend their negative portrayals in public. Michelle Obama's appearance is a direct challenge to claims that black women are in poor shape and live in the ghettos. Like Sojourner Truth's bare breasts, the image of Michelle Obama cannot be easily argued away. These strategies play a major role in ensuring democracy because she is very clearly a lady of taste and refinement which she has shown in a positive and peaceful but uncompromising way. There are several arguments by Cooper, Darlene Clark and Evelyn Brooks regarding the bodily appearance of women in the public domain as well as their public self-representation and what it means to society as a whole. While the black man’s body has also been used to express concerns about racism and address some of the discriminatory and vulnerability issues that still exist, it is the woman's body that is most ef fective perhaps because the female form is most open for scrutiny in our society. Cooper (2010) attempts to give hope to black women who were initially subjected to sexual discrimination and other forms of exploitation through the use of these examples of black male oppression. Black women have always worried about their role in society as a result of their extreme oppression during slavery and through the forces of racism and discrimination that have

The future of tourism planning lies with a community-driven approach Essay

The future of tourism planning lies with a community-driven approach - Essay Example The general â€Å"host-guest† conflicts and stereotypes can be better overcome by tourism development through clearer local guidance which goes on to stimulate a superior stewardship of tourism resources. The participation of the stakeholders such as tourism operators, government, local residents, etc in tourism planning guides an improved fitting, longer enduring, and less exhausting tourism industry taking into consideration the local requirements, concerns, desires and abilities. Community involvement while preparing plans for tourism increases the abilities of the stakeholders thereby resulting in sustainable tourism development. Community-driven tourism planning highlights improved strategic and rational vision for growth of tourism. The approach depends upon the local residents and the community leaders who propose opportunities to clarify strengths and weaknesses for the social, economic and ecological well-being. The influence of community-driven approach assures touri sts’ satisfaction eliminating the experience of tourism as a source of anxiety and negative impact. The involvement of community in the process of tourism planning undoubtedly brings up flourishing impact on the tourism industry which otherwise would have remained less successful due to insufficient local knowledge and experience. The illustration of the Whistler Village has been cited as an ideal example of community-driven approach for tourism planning. It has been very rightly said that the future of tourism planning lies with a community-driven approach. The need for community participation in tourism planning must be felt and appreciated (Murphy, 1985a). This calls for the inclusion of strategic planning and community development standards in tourism planning processes. This will inevitably result in to the cohesive working of all the stakeholders, be it tourism industry associations, resident organizations, public organizations, government officials, social

Biome is a large ecosystem Essay Example for Free

Biome is a large ecosystem Essay A biome is a large ecosystem where plants, animals, insects, and people live in a certain type of climate. Therefore, desert where the plants are short and the animals are small because of a lack of water. There is one-fifth of the earth land’s surface is desert. Deserts can be found on every continent except Europe. The desert biome can be separated into four kinds and they are cold, hot and dry, coastal and semiarid. The cold deserts that are located in Greenland, Antarctic and the Nearctic ecozone. These deserts are characterized by cold winters with snowfall and high overall temperatures throughout the winter, and sometimes in the summer too. In the hot and dry desert, the seasons are generally warm throughout the year and very hot in the summer. But the winters usually bring little rainfall. With the summers are moderately long and dry and the winters are normally have a low concentration of rainfall, which are made up the semiarid desert And the final desert is occurred in moderately cool to warm areas such as the Nearctic and Neotropical realm. Deserts are also found in areas where rainfall is less than 50 cm a year. However, with a little rainfall, most of the deserts have a considerable amount of specialized vegetation and vertebrate and invertebrate animals as well. And there are only a few large mammals in the deserts because they are not capable of storing sufficient water or withstanding the blistering heat. In the variety of the deserts, plants have had to develop different ways of capturing water in the roots, stems, leaves or fruit in order to survive in their habitat. There are short grasses, sagebrush, creosote bushes and cacti can be found in nearly all deserts. About animals, in order to survive, they try to stay in the shade of plants or rocks or by burrowing underground in the heat of the day and many desert animals are nocturnal by hunting at night when it is cool. Camels, reptiles, insects, birds and small animals are adapted living in the all deserts. Specially, camels are one of the few large mammals to survive in the desert because they can have well storing water in their bodies. There are all about the description about a desert biome. As we can see, animals and plants are found in a desert are distinctive in their adaptive capabilities, just so that they are able to survive in the harsh desert conditions.

Essays --

Possible solutions for poverty in Egypt In the past two years, Egypt has experienced enormous protests in which millions of Egyptians went of rebelling against the authoritarian rule who has suppressed them for years. For the first time Egyptian citizens decide to take a stand and fight for their legitimate rights in being able to find proper food, to gain freedom and equality. Moreover, this event mainly took place on the 25th of January, 2011; the dictatorship regime that has been ruling for thirty years fell to the ground. We can deduce from the event that this revolution mostly occurred due to the oppression, poverty, social equality, censorship and the aim of democratizing the country (O'Neill). However, one of the most important factors I do believe for the January 25th revolution is the crucial poverty that made normal citizens not able to satisfy their own basic needs; so they did find any way out of their problems except by revolting on this totalitarianism regime. Poverty has been a pervasive issue in Brazil and Egypt that influenced males, females and children in a specific social class all around the whole nation. To be able to deduce the crucial poverty rates there are an extraordinary number of things that could be carried out ; As Brazil did the priorities to make a better county that is free from poverty .Firstly, they were completely invested how to create the needed requirements to be development in the economy with the goal that more organizations could be made and more work accessible to the county's populace; In addition this kind of Work permitted people who lived in this poor circumstances to profit with the goal that they can purchase sustenance and different necessities for themselves and their famil... ... as a consequence, poverty rates can shrink noticeably through education(TheWorldBank). Thus, working on educational programs is crucial to be able to reduce the poverty issue in Egypt. To conclude, Poverty has been and is continuing to be a major issue all around the globe, not only one nation. In my opinion all the suggestions that were conducted by the article to diminish the poverty problem are so beneficial and real. As in the case of the Brazil trying to reduce poverty as mentioned before; they tried to work on many aspects; like, strengthening the economy of the country to be able to create new job vacancies to people to improve their living circumstances. However, the most aspect that as a country was invested in was education; therefore, this is the perfect model that Egypt need to adopt right now to be able to fight the elevated rates of poverty.

More Than Just the Disease Essay

Choose a novel or short story which deals with an important human issue: for example, poverty, war, family conflict, injustice, or any other issue you regard as important More Than Just the Disease by Bernard MacLaverty is a short story which deals with the themes of class distinction, rights of passage and a person suffering mentally which effects the characters in the short story. There is conflict between the two main characters Neil and his mum. This short story gives you an insight into some problems which are a part of today’s society. In the text Neil goes to stay with his friend Michael and his family and soon realises it is nothing like his own house. When it comes to bedtime Neil takes his pyjamas to the bathroom and buttoned his jacket right to the top. Here he is trying to hide his problem. Things like this happen throughout the story as Michael tries to get him to go swimming and Neil makes up a lot of excuses not to go this implies he doesn’t want anyone to know about his psoriasis. At the end Neil has a conversation with Mrs Wan, when he finds her cat and takes it back to her. He finds himself telling her all about his disease. After she reassures him that there is nothing wrong with it and he should not let it take control of his life -like his mum does- Neil comes to terms with his disease. Michael and Neil go swimming that night after Michael finds Neil with his shirt open and shows that it doesn’t bother him. . Neil’s mum puts a lot of pressure on Neil which leads to the conflict between them. Most of the story is written as dialogue which brings out the characters personalities. Although there is a lot of conversation between Neil and Mrs Wan and Neil and Michael there is no conversation at all between Neil and his mum. This also shows the conflict between them. The short story is written in third person omniscient this means that the narrator is not a character in the story and is able to describe everything in the story. More Than Just the Disease is a short story where very little seems to happen, yet the main character is very deeply influenced by what does happen.

Humour and Leadership

Leaders in today’s cut throat world of corporate industry face an enormous challenge. In the midst of achieving the organisation’s goals and pursuing profits, how do leaders build teamwork, motivate their subordinates, convey their sometimes demanding managerial concerns and reduce stress in a way that produces positivity and productivity? Is it possible to be serious at work without actually being serious at work? To answer this question, this essay will look at research surrounding leadership characteristics and investigate how humour can practically have an impact on leadership effectiveness. How do we define humour? Humour is a verbal or nonverbal activity eliciting a positive cognitive or affective response from listeners and must be connected to context in order to be truly funny. The definition includes puns, jokes, stories, anecdotes, physical actions etc (Meyer, 1990). According to Sarros and Barker (2003), humour is the ability to invoke laughter or see the funny side of a painful predicament. In their study of Australian managers, Sarros and Barker (2003) established that the character attribute of humour was rated the second highest behind integrity. Humour may seem an unlikely component for a leader, however Barker and Coy (2003) also recognised the importance of humour. They identified seven virtues by which Australian executives could be identified and humour was included. Eckert and Vehar (2000) state: â€Å"It’s possible to do serious work without being serious. In fact, it’s actually counterproductive to do it any other way. Research on environments that foster innovation shows that playfulness and humour are critically supportive elements. We can be serious about what we’re doing without taking ourselves seriously, and we must. With humour in the workplace being established as a component for effective leadership, the way in which it is used needs to be looked at. According to Anderson (2011), humour is best when it is used deliberately, and advises it to be planned but flow naturally according to one’s personality. There are many opportunities for humor to be used. While the telling of a joke is a good starting point, humour that uplifts is much more positive and this can occur during speeches, within memos or even at the conclusion of an email (Avolia et al 1999). There are many benefits as to why a leader would use humour in the workplace. According to Davis and Kleiner (1989), humour has the potential to achieve three outcomes, these are, 1. Stress Reduction in the workplace, 2. Conveying managerial concerns and 3. Motivating employees. Hughes and Avey (2009) add weight to this as their research suggests that when a leader uses humour, they elicit a greater commitment from their followers to the organisation and build a much deeper level of trust. Furthermore Holmes and Marra’s (2006) research on humour in the work place identified a wide range of functions including the use of humour as a solidarity strategy, establishing, maintaining and developing workplace relationships and contributing to the process of creating a sense of team through humour as a subversive strategy, contesting, challenging and undermining the achievement of workplace objectives. Humour in the workplace is incredibly profitable for some organisations. According to Stevenson (2004) organisations are starting to see the important role that humour plays towards leadership, motivation, innovation and creativity. Some of these initiatives have been stated by Morreall (1983) and include such organisations as Kodak and Price Waterhouse establishing humour rooms within their buildings. He goes on to add that because humour has such a profound affect on the body, even hospitals are using it to enhance the healing process. You could argue that God, through Solomon’s writings, has always been aware of the powerful impact humour can have; â€Å"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. † Proverbs 17 v 22 (TNIV 2005). I am currently working as a youth worker for a not for profit organisation. The nature of working in community welfare can be at times be extremely serious, so to counter the seriousness our team have written into our yearly plan to include times of spontaneous dancing in the office. Not that anyone can seem to dance with any real coordination or skill. However it’s exactly the opposite and it allows our team to laugh at and with each other as a way of building morale and combating stress relief. Not all leaders are funny and not all humour is effective. When a leader tries too hard to be funny, it has the potential to undermine their leadership. If the humour is seen as sarcastic or mean spirited, it will certainly alienate staff (Sala 2003). In a list of cautions given by Jonas (2004), who agrees with the idea that humour should be handled like hazardous material, the list of cautions include: Aggressive or put down humour which attacks people or humour based on topics which centre on sex or illegal activity. One would have to include humour which degrades gender and humour which slanders religious beliefs also. Avolio, Howell and Sosik (1999) found that some employee's view the use of humor to be inconsistent with the seriousness of the issues being examined and, depending upon the circumstances, the inappropriate use of humor may have detracted from, rather than contributing to, the eventual outcomes. In some instances, Avolio et al. also believe the use of humour leads employees to view their leaders as insensitive to their needs. When a leader uses humour, there is significant potential for good outcomes. Humour has the ability to go beneath the surface and affect the working environment to such an extent that organisations are seeing the benefit of including ‘humour rooms’ within their organisation. A simple joke about work which is shared among colleagues has the potential to build solidarity and form a bond between colleagues which in turn provides a more positive working environment and greater productivity. While there are some dangers in using humour, however a leader who uses humour wisely can most certainly have an effective and positive impact in their workplace.

With close reference to language examine how fitting a close Act 5 scene II forms to the play Essays

With close reference to language examine how fitting a close Act 5 scene II forms to the play Essays With close reference to language examine how fitting a close Act 5 scene II forms to the play Paper With close reference to language examine how fitting a close Act 5 scene II forms to the play Paper the Queen Gertrude and Claudius himself are dead. These characters meet their end either through carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts, accidental judgements, casual slaughters or Of deaths put on by cunning and forcd cause. When Hamlet puts Denmark in the hands of Fortinbras and dies on the throne, he is bringing an end to all the corruption that Denmark suffered during Claudiuss reign. Hence we see that Act 5 scene ii, is a fitting close to the play Hamlet because, all the relationships, corruption and plotting that had begun in the beginning of the play has come to a halt, and has ended. We are given a last insight into the characters of Claudius and Gertrude, in their dying lines. O my dear Hamlet! The drink, the drink! I am poisond. We see her love for her son Hamlet. And her loyalty toward Claudius, even while on her death bed she wont give away his secret; that he has poisoned the wine to kill Hamlet. O yet defend me, friends. I am but hurt. Very characteristic of Claudius, who was possessive of the power and authority he had gained by killing his brother. He is so possessive of the power and authority that he is not willing to give it up, even when he is dying. The most important element that makes this scene a fitting close to the play is the restoration of order into the troubled state of Denmark. In his dying speech Hamlet hands over Denmarks Sovereignty to Fortinbras. This would have put the Elizabethan audiences mind at rest, as they strongly believed in order; and considered it extremely essential in the running of a country.

The Geology of Bricks

The Geology of Bricks The common brick is one of our greatest inventions, an artificial stone. Brickmaking transforms low-strength mud into strong materials that can endure for centuries when properly cared for. Clay Bricks The main ingredient of bricks is clay, a group of surface minerals that arise from the weathering of igneous rocks. By itself, clay is not useless- making bricks of plain clay and drying them in the sun makes a sturdy building stone. Having some sand in the mix helps keep these bricks from cracking. Sundried clay is little different from soft shale. Many of the most ancient buildings in the early Middle East were made of sun-dried bricks. These generally lasted about a generation before the bricks deteriorated from neglect, earthquakes or the weather. With old buildings melted into piles of clay, the ancient cities were periodically levelled and new cities built on top. Over the centuries these city mounds, called tells, grew to considerable size. Making sun-dried bricks with a little straw or dung helps bind the clay and yields the equally ancient product called adobe. Fired Bricks The ancient Persians and Assyrians made stronger bricks by roasting them in kilns. The process takes several days, raising the temperature above 1000 Â °C for a day or so, then cooling gradually. (This is much hotter than the mild roasting or calcination used to make top dressing for baseball fields.) The Romans advanced the technology, as they did with concrete and metallurgy, and spread fired brick to every part of their empire. Brickmaking has been basically the same ever since. Until the 19th century, every locality with a clay deposit built its own brickworks because transport was so expensive. With the rise of chemistry and the Industrial Revolution, bricks joined steel, glass and concrete as sophisticated building materials. Today brick is made in many formulations and colors for a variety of demanding structural and cosmetic applications. Chemistry of Brick Firing Over the period of firing, brick clay becomes a metamorphic rock. Clay minerals break down, release chemically bound water, and change into a mixture of two minerals, quartz and mullite. The quartz crystallizes very little in that time, remaining in a glassy state. The key mineral is mullite (3AlO3 Â · 2SiO2), a blended compound of silica and alumina that is quite rare in nature. It is named for its occurrence on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. Not only is mullite hard and tough, but it also grows in long, thin crystals that function like the straw in adobe, binding the mix in an interlocking grip. Iron is a lesser ingredient that oxidizes into hematite, accounting for the red color of most bricks. Other elements including sodium, calcium and potassium help the silica melt more easily- that is, they act as a flux. All of these are natural parts of many clay deposits. Is There Natural Brick? Earth is full of surprises- consider the natural nuclear reactors that once existed in Africa- but could it naturally produce true brick? There are two kinds of contact metamorphism to consider. First, what if very hot magma or erupted lava engulfed a body of dried clay in a way that allows the moisture to escape? I would give three reasons that rule this out: 1. Lavas are rarely as hot as 1100 Â °C.2. Lavas would cool quickly once they engulf surface rocks.3. Natural clays and buried shales are wet, which would draw even more heat from lava. The only igneous rock with enough energy to even have a chance to fire proper brick would be the superhot lava known as komatiite, thought to have reached 1600 Â °C. But the Earths interior has not reached that temperature since the Early Proterozoic Era more than 2 billion years ago. And at that time there was no oxygen in the air, making the chemistry even more unlikely. On the Isle of Mull, mullite appears in mudstones that have been baked in lava flows. (It also has been found in pseudotachylites, where friction on faults heats dry rock to melting.) These are probably a far cry from real brick, but you should go there yourself to make sure. Second, what if an actual fire could bake the right kind of sandy shale? In fact, that does happen in coal country. Forest fires can start coal beds burning, and once started these coal-seam fires may go on for centuries. Sure enough, shale overlying coal fires can turn into a red clinkery rock thats close enough to true brick. Unfortunately, this occurrence has become common as human-caused fires start in coal mines and culm piles. A significant fraction of global greenhouse-gas emissions arises from coal fires. Today we outdo nature in this obscure geochemical stunt.

The history and culture of Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The history and culture of Japan - Essay Example Japan's history is a rich and varied one, with the different periods marked by remarkable change. In the Yayoi period (300 BC - AD 300), rice cultivation was introduced from China and Korea, and Japan's oldest religion, Shinto, identified "divine forces in nature and in such human virtues as loyalty and wisdom."The Kofun period (300-645) showed the emergence of powerful clan rulers, and Japan begins to establish close contacts with mainland Asia. The Asuka period, (645-710) brought a great wave of reforms and new aristocratic families were created. During the Nara and Heian periods (710-1185) the emperors began to practice Buddhism, believing its teachings would protect the state. The Muromachi era (1333 to 1568) brought disintegration of the central government, firearms were introduced by the shipwrecked Portuguese soldiers, and Christianity was introduced . Finally in the Edo period (1600-1868) Japan enters into an age of "peace and national isolation". The United States wants to u se the Japanese ports as supply bases for its commercial fleet, and, in a surprise move, Japan accepts the US demands and opens its doors for the first time in two centuries. In the Meiji period (1868-1912), the emperor was restored, and Japan made its transition to nation-state. The Showa period (1926-1989) brought many more changes for Japan, including World War II and its aftermath, including the necessary economic recovery. In 1941 Pearl Harbor brought the US into war in the Pacific and in August of 1945 "the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the second on Nagasaki; the emperor airs by radio a statement of unconditional surrender." (Background, 2005, p. 5). The years of 1945-1952 brought allied occupation of Japan, with women gaining legal equality as well as the right to vote. Japan's political life was changed to a parliamentary state, and with the peace treaty signed in 1951, Japan regained independence. The "High Growth Age" in Japan occurred from the late 1950's t o the early 1970's and Japan was rewarded with a booming economy. (Background, 2005, p. 5). Japan is made up of five islands; however there are some thirty-six hundred islands in the entire group, and dozens that are actually inhabited. Japan has twenty-nine thousand kilometers of coastline, and the total land area is 142,000 square miles which makes Japan one-twenty-fifth the size of the United States, or roughly the size of Montana. Ostensibly, some one billion years ago these Japanese islands were part of the Asian mainland, however movement of the earth's plates resulted in part of the Asian coastline breaking free and traveling east. Then a mere 100 million years ago, in the area that is now the Sea of Japan, a huge lake appeared, eventually linking up with the Pacific Ocean in the north and south, leaving the highest regions to become the islands of Japan. (Lafayette, 1995, p. xi). Seventy percent of Japan's land mass is made up of high mountains and hills. These mountains have over two hundred volcanoes and geothermally active areas. There are eleven peaks in Japan that are over three thousand meters high, and thirteen that are over 2500 meters high. These mountainous areas make Japan one of the most scenic groups of islands in the world.(Layfayette, 1995, p. xi). The climate of Japan is generally rainy, with a fairly high humidity. The Japanese enjoy warm summers and long cold winters in the north, and hot humid summers and short winters in the central regions. The southwest has long, hot, humid summers, and mild winters. (Library, 2005, p. 1). Japan's population is currently 127,417,224 million people, a huge number for such a small area. Japan is second only to the United States in the number of large cities-they presently have ten cities with populations over one