Perfect Pitch Essays - Cognitive Musicology, Music Cognition

Perfect Pitch Perfect Pitch is the ability to identify any musical note without comparison to a reference note, and is a talent displayed in a small amount of people. What causes it is a question which has attracted a lot of attention lately. Scientists are asking them selves if it is a learned ability or are we given this unique talent through our genes. MRI scans in test have shown an enlarged portion of the brain present in individuals gifted the ability of perfect pitch. Scientists have been extensively surveying and testing musicians and non-musicians alike to place the key to this rare and special gift. A research team from D?sseldorf, Germany believes they have located the physical basis of perfect pitch. The team led b y neurologist Gottfried Schlaug and Helmuth Steinmetz of D?sseldorf Heinrich Heine University report that the planum temporale is far larger on the left side than on the right side in professional musicians--especially in those who have perfect pitch (Nowak 616). Previous studies have suggested that the left hemispheric activation sites in the brain are seen during phonological, lexical, or semantic language task performance, while the right hemispheric preponderances are found for melodic and pitch perception (Schlaug 699). So Schlaug and his colleagues decided to examine the relative sizes of the left and right planum temporale in musicians' brains because previous work has shown that a leftward asymmetry there is associated with mental functions unique to humans, such as language (Blakeslee A16). Steinmetz believes that the neurological basis of music making is l ikely to be in the planum temporale since music may be "an even higher function" than language (qtd. Nowak 616). Researches carried out comparisons by means of magnetic resonance imaging, which allowed the researchers to measure the volume of specific brain structures. They compared the images of the brains of thirty professional musicians (eleven with perfect pitch, nineteen without) with those of thirty sex and age matched non-musicians. The left planum temporale was larger than the right in both musicians and non-musicians. But the size disparity was twice as great for the musicians, a difference almost entirely due to the presence in the group of musicians with perfect pitch (Chatterjee 16). Other studies are trying to pin down perfect pitch in our genes. Peter k Gregersen, MD, chief of the division of biology and human genetics at North Shore University Hospital (Manhasset) has observed that perfect pitch seems to run in the family. Out of 126 people with perfect pitch surveyed, five and a half percent reported their parents having perfect pitch and twenty-six said they have siblings with the skill. While on the other hand only one point one percent of the musicians without perfect pitch reported there parents having it and one point three percents of there siblings with the skill ("North Shore" 38). The survey also pointed out that all of those musicians with perfect pitch started playing at an average age of four point seven years, while those without it started at seven point three years old. Another study led by Siamak Baharloo from the University of California, San Francisco, surveyed six hundred musicians and found that forty percent of those with perfect pitch cl aimed to have a relative with the talent, while only twelve percent of those without perfect pitch said they had a family member with the ability (Travis 316). Researchers have also suggested that early exposure to pitches can help obtain perfect pitch. Diana Deutsch of the University of California, San Diego, has found that perfect pitch is common among native speakers of tonal languages such as Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese. Deutsch quoted that "Our findings show that speakers of Vietnamese and Mandarin possess an extraordinarily precise form of absolute pitch, which is reflected in their enunciation of words." She goes on to say that "since all except one of the subjects in the study had received little or no musical training, we conclude that this ability resulted from their early acquisition of tone language, and that they had learned to associate pitches with meaningful words very early in life" (University of California n.p.). In conclusion perfect pitch is believed to be caused by a variety of things. Research has shown links to

Impressions of a Traveler in U.S. History essays

Impressions of a Traveler in U.S. History essays First of all, I do not want you to worry about me. I am in America now, and I am alive, at least. I am living on a large farm; they call them "plantations" here. There are many people from our village here, and we talk about all of you at home often, at least, when the overseer (he's the boss) isn't looking, and we are allowed to talk with each other. You will be happy to know that I live with a good family, and they are watching over me as much as they can. I will tell you what happened to me since you last saw me, and what my life is like now. You remember that I left our village to look for food, and that was the last you saw of me. Some men where hiding in the bush, and they attacked me and carried me to the coast, where they had many other of our people herded together like animals. They moved us onto a huge structure that floated upon the water that they called a "ship." The ship floated all the way across the water from our home to America, and it was a long and terrible trip. Hundreds of us were thrown into the bottom of the ship where there was no light and no fresh air. There was nowhere for our body waste, and food came down to us in a bucket, when it came at all. The stench was horrible, and many of our people died on that journey. By the time we arrived in America, most of us were so weak we could barely walk. Our captors took us from the ship in chains, and placed us on public display in a large city, where people came and haggled over us as if we were melons in the street market back home. A large man in a white suit with a big, wide hat purchased several others from our village and me, and we left the city still chained together. It took us two days to reach our new home; in a land the people here call "Georgia." The earth is good here, and the "master," as he is called, grows a perplexing crop called cotton, that is backbreaking to hoe and p...

Abandonment provisions authorize the premature termination of a contract

Abandonment provisions authorize the premature termination of a contract Abandonment provisions authorize the premature termination of a contract, and occur through various scenarios within real estate. Abandonment-Landlord/Tenant California real estate law permits landlords to use abandonment as a reason to terminate the lease of a tenant. Most lease agreements contain provisions which state the length of time a tenant has to pay rent before a landlord can claim abandonment.Generally, If a tenant falls behind on payments more than 14 days, the landlord can draft and send a letter to the tenant of the intent to evict the tenant.If the tenant does not respond to the letter within 15 to 18 days, the landlord has the right to terminate the lease.If the landlord sends the letter using certified mail (confirmed with a receipt of arrival from the post office), the tenant has 15 days to respond to the letter. If the landlord sends the letter using standard mail, the tenant has 18 days to respond to the letter.If the landlord establishes abandonment of the property, the landlord can:Lease the property to another tenant Open the doors of the property without violating the tenants right of privacy Obtain legal representation to recover rent that has not been paid Leased property that is abandoned by the tenant of a lease can be confiscated by the landlord. Common actions that are inconsistent with continuous use of property include:Lessee fails to make rent payments Lessee removes personal property off property If lessee files a change of address with the post office In the three scenarios above, the land owner has the right to assume use of property. Abandonment of a Prescriptive Easement The granting of the easement occurs if the party claiming the property has used the property for five continuous years. If the party that holds the easement right abandons the property for five years, his or her right to the easement terminates. Abandonment in Insurance Contracts Insurance contracts can have abandonment provisions as well. If a homeowner’s property becomes severely damaged or destroyed (i.e. from a fire), and the cost of refurbishing or rebuilding outweighs the total property value, then the homeowner is allowed to abandon the property while recovering compensation from the insurance company. The property is then taken over by the insurance company. Abandonment in Bankruptcy Proceedings A trustee in a liquidation bankruptcy may elect to abandon a debtor’s property. If a particular property is of low value or rife with encumbrances, thus not worth selling off, the trustee may choose to abandon that property. The trustee would then have to file a notice of abandonment, which may be challenged by a creditor who believes the trustee has made an inaccurate evaluation of the property’s worth.

Google Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Google Company - Research Paper Example Google follows people-centric strategies that broadly cater to the varying demands of its users and rely on customer satisfaction. It integrates the use of technology with the business processes in order to optimize productivity. Its business strategy is basically focused on providing free access to information to a diverse populace. Advertising is its major source of revenue. Its three key products and services are AdSense, Google App and Android operating system for mobiles that have considerably contributed to its global sales volume and database of customers. AdSense facilitates advertisements for clients for widening their client base and Google App helps to organize personal and professional lives of users and helps them to communicate effectively. Android was launched in 2011 as a mobile-based platform for developing applications for mobiles which is now used by more than 250 million users worldwide (ar, 2012). Its organic culture and decentralized functioning hugely promote i ts business strategy and goals. It facilitates a constant learning environment for its employees and gives them full freedom to experiment with new ideas. They are highly driven by ethical standard, motivation to innovate and share knowledge across its various stakeholders and shareholders. Google not only offers huge opportunities for growth for its workforce but also for its customers to expand their business interests across the globe. Its state of the art research team is relentlessly working towards the development of creative products.... sements for clients for widening their client base and Google App helps to organize personal and professional lives of users and helps them to communicate effectively. Android was launched in 2011 as mobile-based platform for developing applications for mobiles which is now used by more than 250 million users worldwide (ar, 2012) Its organic culture and decentralized functioning hugely promote its business strategy and goals. It facilitates a constant learning environment for its employees and gives them full freedom to experiment with new ideas. They are highly driven by ethical standard, motivation to innovate and share knowledge across its various stakeholders and shareholders. Google not only offers huge opportunities of growth for its workforce but also for its customers to expand their business interests across the globe. Its state of the art research team is relentlessly working towards development of creative products and services to improve and improvise user experience and meet the challenges of time. Personal opinion With offices in more than 50 countries and providing services in more than 100 languages, I believe that Google has been successful in its mission of providing people with access to critical information cutting across age, gender, class, race, culture and border. Its global values and credibility of well-researched database helps its users to meet their demands timely and efficiently. Its applications and AdSense are very useful for small business, entrepreneurs and corporate houses for advertising business products and services across wider database of customers. They are important mechanisms of exploiting new opportunities of personal and professional growth. Their cloud based applications have also emerged as vital platforms for storing

Paper based on your own version of a walking tour of religious sites Essay

Paper based on your own version of a walking tour of religious sites in New Jersey or New York City - Essay Example e and 29th Street I came across the not so well-known Episcopal Church of Transfiguration, also known as the, â€Å"Little Church Around the Corner.† Later on my walk, I explored the famous St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral at 51st Street. And lastly, at 63rd Street, I found the Jewish Temple Emanu-El, the largest synagogue in the United States. At the beginning of my tour, the Little Church Around the Corner didn’t necessarily jump out at me as it’s rather hidden by the mammoth contemporary buildings along the block. The church was founded in 1848, and was originally a rather simple church lacking ornate design and magnitude. As the years have gone by, various architects have built additions to the church that now gives it a hodge-podge like architectural style of buildings that have been glued together. Upon arrival, the first thing I noticed was the quaint garden at the entrance of the chapel. The low gate that surrounds the property gives the feeling of a friendly playground rather than a church. Near this entrance is the Chapel of the Holy Family designed in a style reminiscent of the 1940s, but then, the Lady Chapel from 1906 is a jeweled room of bits of glass. The over-sized decorations are more fitting for a majestic cathedral, but this is what gives this little church its eccentricity. The church gain ed popularity in 1870 when a famous actor/comedian of that time passed away and his funeral was refused at the Marble Collegiate Church, the executor of his will was referred to the â€Å"Little church around the corner,† and has since then been considered a church for theatre misfits, immigrants, and those who see the lighter side of religion. It has also become a popular place for marriage ceremonies because of its romantic history and because the parish quickly accepts marriage situations from all walks of life. Considering the long history of this church, and the way its clergy have continued to creatively add to its physical size, it still

Virtual reality environments for geographic visualisation Essay Example for Free

Virtual reality environments for geographic visualisation Essay Today a wide variety of virtual worlds, cities and gaming environments exist and become part of life of their human inhabitants (Borner et al 2005). Navigation is playing an increasingly important role in virtual environments (VE). Today virtual worlds are very large and present challenging navigation tasks. According to MacEachren et al (1999), virtual environment (VE) technologies have considerable potential to extend the power of information visualization methods, and those of scientific visualization more broadly. Ruddle (1996) assertion of â€Å"one in three people get lost in virtual environment† is true due to lack of knowledge but is possible to roam and explore these geographic environments. Previous work have been done to develop tools that generate visualisations of user and environment interaction for social navigation, monitor, study, and research virtual worlds and their evolving landscapes. Visualization and navigation in virtual environments The geovisualization of virtual environments use of 3D display and thus has the potential to depict the three geographic dimensions of real spaces with each dimension of the display space depicting a geographic dimension (MacEachren et al, 1999). There is progress and developments in research and applications in this field. A lot has been developed, for example, Lahav and Mioduser (2003) developed and researched a multisensory virtual environment simulating spaces in real-life. Chen and Stanney (1999) came up with theoretical models of wayfinding, used to guide the design of navigational aiding in virtual environments. Galyean (2006) immersed VR experience with the advantages of narrative structure to allow smooth and continuous interaction and presentation with the structural and temporal qualities. Ruddle et al (1997). Tsai-Yen Li et al (2008) also developed a real-time camera control module for navigation in virtual environments. The wayfinding process has embraced cognitive mapping, wayfinding plan development, and physical movement or navigation through a virtual environment. Virtual environment navigation has evolved drastically from archaic to post-modern tools. There have been developments in virtual simulation of urban and rural environments using both traditional cartographic methods and modern geo-information technologies such as Google earth and fly-through movies. The recent developments in the use of satellite imagery, Digital Elevation Models and Aerial Photographs have led to new lead large scale movies and virtual reality navigation processes. The coming of these 3D geographic information systems (GIS) is fundamental for synoptic vie and virtual terrain recognition. Augmented reality as part of emerging concept allows live direct view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality in which a view of reality is modified and its augmentation is conventionally in semantic context with environmental elements. A Virtual Geographic Environment (VGE) is a multi-user shared, intelligent, virtual environment representing the real geographic environment to conduct geospatial analysis, carry our geovisualization, to support collaborative work, planning and decision making. According to Hui and Zhu (2004), virtual geographic environments consist of five types of space, namely; geographic data spaces, network spaces, multidimensional presentation spaces, social spaces and sensory/perceptual spaces. These virtual spaces make VGE different from the traditional virtual reality space associated with unrealistic expectations. VGE is equated with reality by making the spaces continuous and coextensive. Nguyen et al (2009) carried out various experiments to investigate effects of scale changes on distance perception in virtual environments. The rural and natural environments basically involved use of existing natural linear features and landmarks such as roads, cliffs and rivers to navigate. The new paradigm shifts (Joseph et al 2001), have tremendously tacked the issue of scale especially on global views. The traditional experiences were profound and thus these new innovations have proved successful. For example, Vinson (1999) designed guidelines to ease navigation in large-scale virtual environments. The guidelines focus on the design and placement of landmarks in virtual environments. The distinct features and landmarks represented various areas like buildings, petrol stations and corners to direct the navigation process along a designated navigation route. This limits the audience’s movement through the space to interesting and compelling paths. According to Ruddle (1996), examples of interface fidelity include the lack of physical movement that is required to travel around VEs and the impoverished field of view. Important factors of environment fidelity and precision include the amount of visual detail and the omission of non-visual sensory information. The virtual reality world has become interested in large scale spatial cognitive simulation. This takes a role of an environments physical form and how the design of a setting shapes the spatial behavior and cognition of its users. It largely puts into consideration numerous forms of spatial information: real-world environments, virtual environments, maps, route directions, gestures, and both written and spoken descriptions (Mekni and Moulin Mekni (2008). Sensor Webs are deployed in large scale geographic environments for in-situ sensing and data acquisition purposes, a perfect example of a dramatic solution to large scale simulation and virtual reality representation. Conclusion Advances in human-computer interaction have created completely new paradigms shifts for exploring and presentation spatial information in a virtual environment, with flexible user control. Hence, more intuitive and efficient interactive visualization environments become increasingly significant for the visual exploration of large amounts of extensive spatio-temporal information both at small scale and large scale. There is special focus on new geographic and cartographic applications which involve experts and users in the context of data visualization in real virtual environments. They are mainly developed to aid visualization in a natural extension of communication and functions in the visual thinking domain. References Bishop, I. D. , and C. Karadaglis. 1994. Use of interactive immersive visualization techniques for natural resources management. SPIE 2656:128-139. Borner, K. , Penumarthy, S. , DeVarco, B. J. , and Kerney, C. 2005. Visualizing Social Patterns in Virtual Environments on a Local and Global Scale. In Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. Volume 3081. ISBN 978-3-540-25331-0 Fisher, P. 1994. Randomization and sound for the visualization of uncertain spatial information, in Visualization in Geographic Information Systems. Edited by D. Unwin and H. Hearnshaw, pp. 181-185. London: John Wiley Sons. Chen, J. L, and Stanney, K. M. 1999. A Theoretical Model of Wayfinding in Virtual Environments: Proposed Strategies for Navigational Aiding. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Vol. 8, No. 6, Pages 671-685 Galyean T. A. , 2006. Guided Navigation of Virtual Environments. MIT Media Lab. Cambridge, MA. 02139 Hui L and Zhu Q. , 2004. Data Visualization: Virtual Geographic Environments combining AEC and GIS. Extracted from http://www. directionsmag. com/article. php? Joseph J. LaViola Jr. Daniel Acevedo Feliz Daniel F. Keefe Robert C. Zeleznik(2001) Hands-Free Multi-Scale Navigation in Virtual Environments. Brown University. Department of Computer Science, Box 1910. Providence, RI 02912 Lahav, O. and Mioduser, D. 2003. 6A blind persons cognitive mapping of new spaces using a haptic virtual environment. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs. Volume 3. Issue 3, Pages 172 177 MacEachren, A. M. , Edsall, R. , Haug, D. , and Ryan B. , 1999. Virtual Environments for Geographic Visualization: Potential and Challenges. Proceedings of the ACM Workshop on New Paradigms for Information Visualization and Manipulation, Kansas City, Nov. 6, 1999. MacEachren, A. M. , D. Haug, L. Quian, G. Otto, R. Edsall, and M. Harrower. 1998b. Geographic visualization in immersive environments. GeoVISTA Center, Penn State University, www. geovista. psu. edu/publications/i2. pdf. Mekni, M. and Moulin, B. 2008. A Multi-agent Geosimulation Approach for Sensor Web Management. Proceedings in Sensor Technologies and Applications, 2008. SENSORCOMM 08. Second International Conference on Sensor Web Management. Dept. of Comput. Sci. Software Eng. , Laval Univ. Quebec, Quebec City, QC ISBN: 978-0-7695-3330-8 Nguyen, T. D. , Ziemer, C. J. , Plumert, J. M. , Cremer, J. F. , and Kearney, J. K. 2009. Effects of scale change on distance perception in virtual environments. Proceedings of the 6th Symposium on Applied Perception in Graphics and Visualization. ACM New York, NY, USA. Pages: 27-34. ISBN:978-1-60558-743-1 Rhyne, T. -M. , and T. Fowler. 1996. Examining dynamically linked geographic visualization. Computing in Environmental Resource Management, Research Triangle Park, NC, Dec. 2-4, 1996, pp. 571-573. Ruddle, R. A. 1996. Navigation: Am I really lost or virtually there? In D. Harris (Ed. ) Engineering psychology and cognitive ergonomics. Vol. 6, 135-142. Burlington, VT: Ashgate. Ruddle, R. A. , Payne, S. J. Jones, D. M. 1997. ‘Navigating buildings in â€Å"desk-top† virtual environments: Experimental investigations using extended navigational experience’. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Vol. 3, pp. 143-159. Tsai-Yen Li and Chung-Chiang Cheng 2008. Real-Time Camera Planning for Navigation in Virtual Environments. In Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Springer Berlin. Vol 5166. Pages118-129. ISBN978-3-540-85410-4 Vinson, N. G. 1999. Design Guidelines for Landmarks to Support Navigation in Virtual Environments. Proceedings of CHI ‘99, Pittsburgh, PA. May 1999† Institute for Information Technology. National Research Council, Canada. Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6

I am the Cheese - Theme :: Free Essay Writer

I am the Cheese - Theme Heroes are not always credited for their honesty and righteousness. This is the view towards society that Robert Cormier exhibits in the novel  ¡Ã‚ §I am the Cheese ¡Ã‚ ¨, where the individual is punished for standing up to himself. In this society, the non-valiant are rewarded for their ignorance and compliance, narrated through the characters of Grey and Whipper. Moreover, Robert Cormier portrays this society to be void of truth and justice. This is seen through exploring the innocence behind Adam ¡Ã‚ ¦s parents ¡Ã‚ ¦ suffering and death. Nevertheless, the author holds reserve for truth and justice when Adam tries to complete the puzzle of his past. The character David Farmer, father of the novel ¡Ã‚ ¦s protagonist, plays the victim of the society in  ¡Ã‚ §I am the cheese. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Through testifying to the truth, he and his family have had their freedom lacerated, and ultimately, have suffered the penalty of death. David Farmer began the case with the belief that  ¡Ã‚ §he would be protected, his identity kept secret. ¡Ã‚ ¨ Although aware of the perilous circumstances and the hazards, his determination to act patriotically prevailed. His powerful motive for his precarious action was that  ¡Ã‚ §he was an old-fashioned citizen who believed in doing the right thing for his country, to provide as much information as possible. ¡Ã‚ ¨ David Farmer was under no obligation to disclose his researched information, and yet chose to take the risk. Clearly, this is an example of an individual standing up to himself, acting accordingly to his own beliefs and values. Nevertheless, David Farmer and his family were punished lethally. E ven the interim between the testimony and his death was a metaphor for a cage, an insecure prison bound for the Never Knows, and yet was always destined for death. The example of the bomb that was planted to detonate the entire family and the  ¡Ã‚ §undercover policeman ¡Ã‚ ¨ whose supposed job was to protect heralded an unending chain of misery. These events introduced Grey, who identified himself to be involved with the US Department of Re-Identification. Grey, who shot the assassin, was the trusting saviour of David Farmer. Grey warned the Farmer family about the car bomb. He distributed new identities for the entire family, produced new birth certificates and arranged a move to Massachusetts. He was the eternal alert watchdog who packed the family away when chances took their position for a Farmer whereabouts leak. Grey had the power to dismiss 3 lives at his will.