Benjamin Franklin Essay Example for Free

Benjamin Franklin Essay Can a man be as vast as a nation? Did the life-experiences and cultural contributions of a single individual play as pivotal a role in the establishment of American democracy and American culture as any written declaration, constitution, or law? Without a doubt, there are historians who stand at the ready to assert that Benjamin Franklin was just such an individual. Numerous books, scholarly articles, essays, encyclopedias, and even works of fiction have contributed and continue to contribute to the mythic status of Benjamin Franklin in American history. However, there is is good reason to reject any surface-level interpretation of Franklins important contributions to the founding of American Democracy, and read with great care the complex and extensive evolution of Franklins actions and stated philosophies over the span of a great many years. The resulting image of Franklin when the myth of Franklin and the historical Franklin are compared is one of a challengingly deep and complex thinker, and of a man who acted in keeping with his deepest philosophical, moral, and spiritual beliefs many of which were quite radical in his day and many of which were astonishingly traditional. The truth of the matter is that Franklins extant writings are so rich and voluminous that one can find almost any sort of Franklin one wishes to find, (Frasca, 2007) but, certainly, in comparing the historical Franklin to the mythic Franklin, important insight into American history and into the psychology of American culture can be gained. Franklins career can be said to have begun very early in his life, when he left school at 10 years of age to help his father (Franklin, Benjamin, 2007); not long afterward, he was apprenticed to his half brother James, a printer and publisher of the New England Courant, to which young Ben secretly contributed. After much disagreement he left his brothers employment and went (1723) to Philadelphia to work as a printer (Franklin, Benjamin, 2007). Franklins early life was later given its first boost toward mythic status with posthumous publication of Franklins Autobiography in 1791, not long after Franklins death. If the Autobiography helped to foster the mythic status of Franklin in American history, it was but one of the many examples of Franklins written contributions to American culture. During his active career, Franklin was immersed not only in science and history, but in philosophy and ethical theory as well. His popular writings contained both humor and moral axioms notably in his very popular publication, Poor Richards Almanac, which was In his day the great source of profit to every printer [ ] which was issued yearly, and which was the vade-mecum in every household that could spare the necessary two or three pence annually (Ford, 1899, p. 400). Franklins steady contributions to American popular culture during his lifetime included not only the folk wisdom of Poor Richard, but with much-needed humor for the American continent: In America, however, either because the immigrants had been recruited from the unfortunate and the religiously austere, or because the hardness of the conditions resulted in a sadness which tinctured the lives of the people, there seems to have been a practical extinction of all sense of the humorous. (Ford, 1899, p. 388) Against this background, Franklin himself often a deep-thinker and a moody person articulated the first instances of a natively American sense of humor. This fact is very important in evaluating both the mythical and the historical Franklin because the mythic Franklin remains empty of all but a few slight traces of Franklins triumphant career and reputation as a humorist. His status as such is very important because, as mentioned, it is Franklins cultural contribution to America as well as his political contributions which cements his status as a Founding Father and which has resulted in the extensive influence Franklin has held over American culture from its earliest beginnings. Franklin used humor in a very conscious way to pave the way for his more considered ethical and moral ideas; more importantly he seized the opportunity to define humor in America for generations: perhaps his most remarkable attribute is that the future historian of the now famous American humor must begin its history with the first publication of Poor Richard (Ford, 1899, p. 389) and, by doing so, Franklin placed himself in a key position to define through humor just what it mean to be an American. His capacities as a humorist do not seem to have been affected, but rather emerged naturally out of his personality. Franklin used humor to not only define himself and to partially define American culture, but as a method to settle scores or take shots at traditional beliefs or institutions: His irresistible inclination to screw a joke out of everything is illustrated by the scrapes he got himself into with his advertisers. Employed to print an announcement of the sailing of a ship, he added an N. B. of his own, to the effect that among the passengers No Sea Hens, nor Black Gowns will be admitted on any terms. Some of the clergy, properly incensed, withdrew their subscriptions from the Gazette. Yet this did not cure him of the tendency, and he was quickly offending again. (Ford, 1899, p. 394) Humor and literary works provided one means for Franklin to influence the development of early American culture and these aspects are slightly contained in the myth of Benjamin Franklin, with the humorous aspects downplayed. For example, Poor Richards Almanac is probably part of the Franklin myth in most peoples minds and they probably also are aware that Franklin offered axioms of wisdom in this Almanac, but many people are probably deeply unaware that Franklins gift for humor was not only an important part of his literary output, but an aspect of his personal philosophy and a method by which he engaged other people and also helped to resolved conflicts. Another aspect of the Franklin myth is that he invented electricity by tying a key to a kite-string. Like many myths, this myth has a basis in historical reality: His experiment of flying a kite in a thunderstorm, which showed that lightning is an electrical discharge[ ] and his invention of the lightning rod[ ] won him recognition from the leading scientists in England (Franklin, Benjamin, 2007) but it is a slim basis. What the lightning and key myth represents in a compressed form is the long and complex contribution to the natural sciences and to popular inventions which actually was a part of the historical Franklins career. In regards to his actual scientific achievements, Franklin is noted by historians to have been a brilliant inventor and adapter of existing technologies: He repeated the experiments of other scientists and showed his usual practical bent by inventing such diverse things as the Franklin stove, bifocal eyeglasses, and a glass harmonica (Franklin, Benjamin, 2007); he is regarded as having a very brilliant scientific mind and a keen sense of practical implementation of abstract ideas. These qualities are also present in Franklins philosophical and political ideas which will be discussed shortly and together, Franklins scientific, philosophical. and political vision actually coincide with the popular aesthetic already shown to have been a part of his literary output. In some ways, Franklins cultural contributions mirror a deeply democratic sense of purpose and fulfillment: the creation of common axioms, a common wisdom, along with useful technologies are not separate from Franklins political vision. Ironically, the egalitarianism which is inferred in Franklins guiding principles is less present on the surface in his specifically political writings. When specifically considering Franklins political beliefs and writings, it should be pointed out that Franklin was actually very different from the other Founding Fathers. He was older and more committed to the British Empire and certainly more cosmopolitan and urbane than they were (Morgan, 2005, p. 551) and because Franklin lived abroad for just under twenty years in England and having traveled a lot through Europe, Franklin was in many ways the least American of the revolutionaries (Morgan, 2005, p. 551). This duality in the historical Franklin is, of course, completely absent from the lightning and key mythic Franklin who is regarded as a Founding Father of American democracy. This last idea of the myth of Franklin is true enough, but as this paper has hopefully shown, the historical picture of Franklin is a more ambiguous and much more complex than the myth. This is an understandable condition because part of what myth does with historical events is to simplify them and streamline them so that the symbolic impact can be made more powerful and less diluted by alternate interpretation. It would be difficult if not impossible, for example, to generate a mythic vision of Franklin which included the historical reality that Franklin preferred the social and intellectual life of London to that of Philadelphia (Morgan, 2005, p. 551) or that his landlady, Margaret Stevenson, and her precocious daughter, Polly, provided Franklin with more compatible intellectual companionship than did his own wife and daughter (Morgan, 2005, p. 551) so these very real and very important aspects of Franklins actual life and his actual personality are absent from the Franklin myth. Yet these aspects, and others, are extremely important in helping to define and understand what exactly Franklin contributed as a Founding Father of American democracy. That his cultural contributions, whether humorous, literary, or scientific not only fostered his myth but actually altered the course and evolution of American society is demonstrable by way of historical evidence. What, then, were Franklins political contributions to the early American nation? Did Franklin evidence as much resourcefulness and thoroughness in his political career as he evidenced in his career as a printer, or humorist, or inventor? One very interesting aspect of Franklins life is that he dealt with not only the revolt of the American colonies against a British Empire which he loved, but also with the resulting estrangement from his own (illegitimate) son during the course of the war. Franklins actions at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War give a solid glimpse into his sympathies and beliefs at the time: As trouble between the British government and the colonies grew with the approach of the American Revolution, Franklins deep love for his native land and his devotion to individual freedom brought (1775) him back to America. There, while his illegitimate son, William Franklin, was becoming a leader of the Loyalists, Benjamin Franklin became one of the greatest statesmen of the American Revolution and of the newborn nation. (Franklin, Benjamin, 2007) As a statesman, Franklins contributions can be at least to some degree quantified and cited: he was postmaster general, a delegate to the Continental Congress, an appointee and signatory to the committee which wrote the Declaration of Independence, he was also sent to Canada with Samuel Chase and Charles Carroll of Carrollton to persuade the people of Canada to join the patriot cause (Franklin, Benjamin, 2007). The mythic vision of Franklin as a powerful statesman delivering powerful, moving oratory before the Continental Congress, or laboriously poring over draft versions of the Declaration of Independence are confronted by anecdotes of historical fact. An example of this is John Adams, who contemptuously described a Franklin from day to day sitting in silence, a great part of the time fast asleep in his chair and sighed that he was likely nevertheless to get credit for everything achieved by the Congress, (Lopez Herbert, 1975, p. 203). Again, Franklins political reputation was based not so much in his perception among his American colleagues, but in his foreign popularity and fame. His best tactic was not spell-binding oratory or intricate legalese, but in injecting a calm pronouncement or a bit of humor (Lopez Herbert, 1975, p. 203) into difficult political processes. The question still remains as to what Franklin, personally, believed about the American Revolution during the time of the revolt and afterward and whether or not Franklin can be accurately described as a firm believer in democratic principles. The historical facts suggest that Franklin held conflicting views about democracy and royalist rule. On the one hand, he advocated personal liberty, on the other, he seemed reluctant to dismiss with the notion of a royalist government altogether. As he wrote in the Autobiography, his feelings were not at all certain during the time of the approaching revolution: In our way thither I projected and drew up a plan for the union of all the colonies under one government, so far as might be necessary for defense, and other important general purposes (Franklin, 1914, p. 131) but here there is no mention of a constitution or a strong Federal government at all. Franklins own visions for a single-chamber congress and a weak executive council were rejected (Franklin, Benjamin, 2007) and, alter, although he objected to aspects of the final Constitution, he helped to direct the compromise [and] worked earnestly for its ratification (Franklin, Benjamin, 2007). The picture which emerges of Franklin as a politician is one of a man whose core-principles were challenged by the birth of a new government, but who fought resolutely on behalf of the new nation without regard for the degree to which it mirrored, exactly, his always-evolving personal beliefs. In addition to the differences which are evident between Franklin the myth and Franklin the historical figure in regard to his literary, scientific, and political contributions to American history, two other areas of Franklins life are absent from the mythological figure of Franklin: his religious and racial convictions. Of course, it is absolutely true that Franklins religious convictions and his views on race and ethnicity evolved throughout his lifetime. On the other hand, Franklins religious beliefs seemed to occupy a central place in his interpretation of his own lifes purpose and the meaning of his life. Where religion is concerned, Franklins most intimate beliefs depict a rather traditional point of view. Because of his personal experiences and personal fortunes, Franklin tended to view the arc of his life in rather conventional religious terms: Scattered through his writings are sentences full of gratitude to God for His favor in lifting him up from such a low to such a high estate, in bringing him substantially unscathed through the graver dangers and baser temptations of human life, and in affording him the assurance that the divine goodness, of which he had received such signal proofs in his career, would not cease with his death (Bruce, 1917, p. 51) these simple, but enduring, beliefs are easily compatible with many forms of American Christianity. That said, it would be very difficult to trace an influence from Franklin to modern Christianity, nor an influence of Christianity directly on the myth of Franklin. In both fact and in myth, Franklins traditional religious ideas are downplayed due, presumably, to their being conspicuously in keeping with the common ideas of Franklins time. Interestingly enough, Franklin retained his religious convictions at the close of his very eventful life and the fruition of his religious convictions strengthened him in old age and in death. As one of his biographers wrote: WHEN THE DAY CAME, April 17, 1790, he was ready. All his life he had been gingerly taming death, stripping it of its awe and power, clothing it in appealing metaphors of travel and bliss, humoring it, giving it a place in the family circle (Lopez Herbert, 1975, p. 308) and because of his receptiveness to deeply held religious convictions which were, nonetheless, not tied to any kind of dogma or strict adherence to religious doctrine, Franklins religious philosophies and his actual death are gestures, also, of a democratic sprit and and individualist. The conflict which the religious side of the historical Franklin presents for the mythic vision of Franklin is difficult to articulate. It has to do with the fact that, while Franklins individualistic take on Christian principles and religious ideas does, in fact, make a very compatible fit with the American notion of individual liberty, Franklins avoidance of traditional dogma and doctrine results in making his individualistic religious beliefs more difficult to define and express to a popular audience. Just as there is no easy mythical expression for Franklins humor, as there is for his scientific prowess, there is no ready mythic symbol for his peculiarly individualistic religious beliefs which are rooted in traditional Christianity. Just as Franklins religious attitudes fail to find mythic expression, his ambiguous views on race and racial prejudice also are a poor fit for the Franklin myth. The attentive observer of history will take into consideration that at various points in his life, Franklin was demonstrably racist and xenophobic: Franklin was clearly unhappy about the great number of Germans who were immigrating to his home town of Philadelphia, even though many supported him by patronizing his printing business (Lapham Saunders, 2005) and also, Franklin prior to the Revolutionary War grumbled about Philadelphias bilingual (English and German) street signs and complained that the Pennsylvania parliament needed to use translators (Lapham Saunders, 2005). In addition to these historical facts, there is evidence that Franklin was not only racist, but perhaps a bit paranoid about other races and cultures. He wrote on one occasion, That the Number of purely white People in the World is proportionably very small. (Lapham Saunders, 2005) which in and of itself might be considered merely an observation of fact until it is paired with Franklins words, which preceded the statement: Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them (Lapham Saunders, 2005). These kinds of historical details and indications of Franklins character have no place in the Franklin myth. Their impact on the historical influence of Franklin is one which is very complicated and fascinating because the evolution of Franklins thoughts and actions in regard to issues of race underwent a profound change throughout his life. Although Franklin seemed to regard one race being in conflict with another in some of his writings, he nevertheless, was chosen to be president of one of the first anti-slavery societies in America, (Lapham Saunders, 2005) and he went on to help to create black schools, assist free blacks to obtain work, promote family-friendly values, and improve the social conditions black children (Lapham Saunders, 2005). The most important aspect of Franklins views on racism is that his ideas evolved over his lifetime, becoming more tolerant and egalitarian as he grew older (Lapham Saunders, 2005), however, even such a dramatic and ultimately positivistic aspect of Franklins historical biography is left out of the Franklin myth. A letter to Franklin from his sister seems to encapsulate the very kinds of ambiguities and vagaries which the myth of Franklin exists to erase. His sister remarks of the American revolution: to Propagate Is stufed into them, it is Dificult to know whither Either Party are in the Right. for my Part I wish we had Let alone strife before it was medled with folowed things that make for Peace (Van Doren, 1950, p. 107) and from this letter and others like it, the modern observer is able to glean at least a partial understanding that ideas and conflicts in Franklins time were no more clear, no more black and white than they are in our own. In conclusion, while the myth of Benjamin Franklin, the man who discovered electricity with a key tied to a kite, the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence, a man who is one of the Founding Fathers of America, is a powerful and enduring myth, the historical facts of Franklins long and eventful life offer and a more authentic illustration of early-American philosophy, politics, and culture. The conflict between the myth of Franklin and Franklin the historical figure is rooted in the fact that historical truths are often ambiguous, complex and difficult to express succinctly, whereas myth, while sacrificing authenticity often makes a far more expedient impact on popular consciousness. Franklin the historical figure achieved a far greater influence practically over the development of American culture and American politics than the myth is capable of expressing; however, the historical facts of Franklins life also sometimes stand in stark opposition to the myth which they, at least in part, began. References Bruce, W. C. (1917). Benjamin Franklin, Self-Revealed: A Biographical and Critical Study Based Mainly on His Own Writings (Vol. 1). New York: G. P. Putnams Sons. Franklin, Benjamin. (2007). In The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed. ). New York: Columbia University Press. Ford, P. L. (1899). The Many-Sided Franklin. New York: The Century Co. Franklin, B. (1914). The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Macmillan. Frasca, R. (2007). Benjamin Franklin Unmasked: On the Unity of His Moral, Religious, and Political Thought. The Historian, 69(2), 359+. Lapham, S. S. , Saunders, A. (2005). Benjamin Franklins Evolving Views on Race and Ethnicity. Social Education, 69(1), 13+. Lopez, C. , Herbert, E. W. (1975). The Private Franklin: The Man and His Family. New York: W. W. Norton. Morgan, D. T. (2005). The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin. The Historian, 67(3), 551. Van Doren, C. (Ed. ). (1950). The Letters of Benjamin Franklin Jane Mecom. Princeton, NJ:

Human memory Essay Example for Free

Human memory Essay The investigation into whether images aid memory recall has been fairly successful. The experimental hypothesis: participants in condition 1(words with images) would perform better than those in condition 2 (words without images), has been rejected therefore the null hypothesis: there will be no difference in condition 1 (involving grid of random words supported by images) and condition 2 (only consisting of random words) has been accepted. Only to some extent from the line graph (Condition 1 vs. Condition 2), can we say condition 1 (words with images) recalled more words than those in condition 2 (words without images) because the line for condition 1 is generally above the line for condition 2 and this fairly supports the experimental hypothesis. The results measured using central tendency and measures of dispersion moderately support the experimental hypothesis. The mean and median for condition 1 (14. 1 14. 5) was greater than of condition 2 (12. 6 13. 5) indicating that there is a better recall when words are companied by visual aid and this supports the experimental hypothesis. The range (11) illustrated that data for both conditions were equally spread out, which does not necessary support the experimental hypothesis. Standard deviation, a more reliable measure of the dispersion than range has shown data in condition 2 (3. 977715704) is slightly more spread out than in condition 1 (3. 604010112). Descriptive statistics (numerical graphical) have illustrated that condition 1 (words with images) performed better and this supports the experimental hypothesis. Not only do the numerical statistics support the hypothesis but the results are fairly pronounced, simply by looking at the line graph (graphical statistics); there is definitely a difference between both conditions although the Mann-Whitney U-test shows this to be below the level of significance. Inferential statistics, which enable us to draw clear conclusions about the likelihood of the hypothesis being true, is evidence for accepting the null hypothesis. The implication of the results measured using a non-parametric method, The Mann-Whitney U-test clearly shows that at the significance level of 0. 05, the results were very likely to have happened by chance. Though the observed value, 35 is greater than the critical value of 23 but only by 10. Comparatively, the findings of this study support previous theory and research but also are contrary to them. Bower, 1972 imagery recall experiment found that participants, who used imagery, recalled 80% of the words compared to only 45% by the non-imagers. In this investigation, participants in condition 1 (words with images) recalled 70. 5% of the words compared to 63% by the non-imagers. My investigation does support Bowers findings, since there is a difference however the differences between the two conditions is not significant. Previous research does suggest that data in STM is stored in an acoustic manner this was demonstrated by Conrad (1964). Illustrating people may not always use visual codes to remember data and this supports the null hypothesis; in addition Baddeleys (1966) study suggests that data is also stored semantically and this again illustrates that people may not always use visual codes. A possible problem with this experiment is the experimental design which lacks ecological validity and also does not account for individual differences. The study used independent groups, which meant it lacked control of participant variable and needed more participants. A matched participant design could have been used instead to deal with participant variables as participants are matched on key variables such as age and memory ability. Another problem of the study was the sample size. The study only used 20 participants, a small sample; therefore findings cannot be generalised to the rest of the population. So, a larger sample size of 50+ would be more representative and can be generalised. In addition, the investigation used opportunity sampling, which is very biased, and again it cannot be generalised. Random sampling would be the best method to select participants since it is potentially unbiased. An additional problem was the images used; some of the images were cartoon images (i. e. bible pizza) and others were actual photographs (real life images, i. e. greenhouse). This may have been a problem since real life images may possibly be easier to remember than cartoon images or vice versa. To resolve such problem, would be by using only cartoon images alone or only real life images. The recall between genders may have wider implications: on the whole men have performed better than women, when studies have shown women should perform better than men. For example; women perform better than men in tasks such as verbal learning remembering tasks, name face association, and first last name associations learning (Larrabee and Crook, 1993). Ideas for a follow up research study is the effects of gender recall and discover if there is a significant effect for the sex of a participant on the types of gender associated images recalled and to compare the effects of visual and semantic codes in depth. There is evidence to illustrate that people do remember more with the aid of visual representation and evidence to illustrate people remember more without any visual representation. This itself suggests people do remember data and information differently (individual differences), i. e. acoustically, semantically. Therefore it is important to recognize these findings as they have strong insinuations for its involvement in everyday life, for example with teaching, revision and marketing. References Bibliography Atkinson, R. C. Shiffrin, R. M. (1968) Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. W. Spence and J. T. Spence (Eds. ), The psychology of learning and motivation, vol. 8. London: Academic Press Baddeley, A. D. (1966) Encoding in LTM: The influence of acoustic and semantic similarity on long-term memory for word sequences. Quart. J. exp. Psychol. , 18, 302-9 Bahrick, H. P. (1975) The nature of LTM: Fifty years of memory for names and faces: A cross-sectional approach, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, vol. 104, pp. 54-75

The Use Of Microsoft Excel Computer Science Essay

The Use Of Microsoft Excel Computer Science Essay Microsoft Excel, popularly called as Excel is a versatile software application and is a part of the Microsoft Office Suite applications. It is a full-featured spreadsheet program that allows the user to perform a specific work related to decision making in the areas of business and economic applications. The specific work may be related to organizing statistical data, performing statistical and mathematical calculations, drawing inferences related to statistical applications, drawing graphs and charts based on the data availability, and also help in developing professional looking of reports. For better understanding, excel can be divided in three major heads: Parts Function Worksheets It allows the user to enter, calculate, manipulate and analyze data of both numerical and textual Charts and graphs Charts and Graphs are the pictorial representation of data series. Excel helps the users to represent the data to draw two-dimensional and three-dimensional column charts, pie-charts and many other types of charts and graphs. Databases The third important function of Excel is of managing data. For instance, once the user entered a set of data in the excel worksheet, it is having the facility to sort the data, if required, can search specific data, and can select that specific data that is needed by the user. STARTING EXCEL? There are a number of ways to start in Excel. The one possibility is to click on the START button, then select PROGRAMS from the start menu and finally, click on Microsoft Excel. The second possibility is to create a shortcut of the MicrosoftExcel icon on the desktop. When excel needs to open, double click on the icon directly. The third possibility is that if the user is already developed a spreadsheet file by assigning a name to that file, then the procedure is to double click on that file. For example, there is an excel file which is saved by a user in the file name namita.xls. Double clicking on the icon of this file will directly open this file. All the above three operations will display white grid in the screen with rows of menus and icons at the top of the screen. EXPLORING THE WINDOWS: When Excel is opened, mostly two types of windows appears on the screen namely the application window and the document window. The identification of the application windows is one that contains running program and they have menu bars. Where as, the document window appears inside the application window without the menu bars. FIGURE-FA1 Following are the brief descriptions on various uses of different bars. a. Title bar: It shows the name of the application, document, group, directory, or file. If more than one window is open at a time, the title bar for the active window (that window where the user is working at present) has a color or intensity different from the other title bars. b. Menu bar: This bar contains the available menus from which the user can choose command based on his/her need. c. Tool bar: The tool bar(s) provides the user with a quick method of working with various parts of the worksheet. Tool bars can be displayed on the screen based on the use of the user. They can be customized and also multiple tool bars can be displayed at the same time. d. Scroll bar: The scroll bar(s) enable the user while moving the spreadsheet when the entire spreadsheet is not coming within the display area in the computer screen. Here the user has to click the scroll arrows with the mouse to move through the spreadsheet or to see one line at a time. e. Window border: The window border is the outside edge of a window. The user can change the window size by lengthening or shortening the border on each side of the window. f. Commands: Commands are accessed through the menu bar of the file. The user has to select the menu item and then the commands associated with that menu will be displayed. The user has to click on that command which he/she required. g. Formula bar: It displays any formulas, address, or variables used to get the information in the cell. The pictorial description of an Excel workbook is derived in Figure-FA2 below. FIGURE-FA2: AN EXCEL WORKBOOK WORKING IN THE SPREADSHEET: A spreadsheet is a tabular form of values arranged in rows and columns. When an Excel file is clicked, a workbook is opened. The normal file type in Excel is referred as a workbook. Hence, spreadsheets are created on the worksheets. The first blank workbook displayed in the monitor of the computer is called Book1. Each workbook contains sheets which are called as worksheets when they contain in spreadsheet. But when include a graph is called as chartsheet. Workbooks are rectangular grid containing columns (vertical marked A, B, Cà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.Z, AA, AB,AC,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦AZ..) and rows (horizontal marked numeric values 1,2,3,4,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.). Thus, a letter above each column identifies each column and a number on the left side of the grid identifies each row. Each worksheet in a workbook has 256 columns and 65,536 rows. Cells are the building blocks of plants and animals à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and spreadsheets too! Just like living cells do inside the living organisms, spreadsheet cells similarly can perform many functions. The cell is the basic unit of the worksheet and the data is entered in a cell. Each cell can be identified by a unique cell address otherwise called as cell references, which is the interaction of a column and a row. In order to identify a cell the column letter is specified first followed by the row number. For example, in the above figure-FA2 the highlighted single cell reference is B4 (as B stands for column and 4 stands for row). Similarly, multiple cells can also be identified by the user. In such a case, the user has to identify an active cell first, then hold the left mouse button, then drag to down and have to move the mouse right based on the desired numbers of cells. This facilitates all cells within that range will be highlighted. Data has to be entered in the active cell. The active cell in the workbook can be identified by a heavy border surrounding the cell. In addition, the active cell is listed in the reference area immediately above column A and row 1 referred as A1. NATURE OF DATA: Three types of data are generally entered in a workbook. They are: Nature of data Description Text To identify a set of work, some identification is needed. These identifications are expressed in qualitative descriptions. For example, titles of work like A regression analysis, Household budget analysis, etc. and for identifying the columns it also requires the textual variables like sales, productions, income, expenditure, profit, interest, etc. Numbers Numbers is the second items that can be entered in a workbook. Numbers consists of the digits zero through nine (i.e., 0, 1, 2, 3, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, 9) and some special characteristics like +, -, ( ), /, . , $, %, #, etc. Formulas One of the greatest advantage of Excel application is the usefulness of formulas. A formula is a sequence of the values and the cells reference in a cell that produces a new value by using the existing values which is available with the user. Formula can be entered in uppercase or lowercase, and space can be added between the arithmetic operations to make the formulas easier to read. The detailed use with formulas is carried out in below derived sections. CREATING A WORKSHEET: A sample worksheet is created in Figure-FA3 below for the better understanding of the readers. First of all the user has to is to enter correct values in the required cells. Once the required information are entered in the cell the user can make the whole worksheet attractive by using some formatting options like bold text, different alignment and adding multiple colors to various texts to make the matter easily distinguishable and so on. Few easy steps of entering data are derived below. Click with mouse on the desired cell (in our example it is A2) Press the ENTER key from the key board to switch to next cell (or use Arrow key) or click on the next cell through mouse Type the column title to identify your variable (like A3 for the data of GDP, in B3 data on Agricultural sector, C3 Industrial sector etc.) By using step-2, enter the entire data in columns A, B, C, and D Then click in B2 to enter the next title of the data and enter data in each cell till it completed. Enter the data in other columns based on the availability of data. After entering the data, the entire spreadsheet will looks like as. FIGURE-FA3: A Sample Worksheet If the user has noticed any mistake while entering a data in a cell, then by using the back space key that value can be corrected. On the other hand, in case of mistakes in any cell where the data is already entered, make that cell as active cell. When the user clicks on a cell, the value entered in that cell is displayed in the formula bar of the worksheet. By using the backspace at the formula bar the mistake needs to be corrected. HOW FORMULAS WORK: The basic concern of this book is to narrate the detailed use of calculations by using the formulas and its execution procedure. Each formula has to be entered with the formula operator which is the equal sign i.e., =. When an equation sign is entered in a cell, Excel understands that whatever will be followed will be either a numeric value or may be an address of the cells which must contains a numeric value. For example, =C6 implies put in the value that is in the cell with the address of column C and row 6. For the better understanding of the readers, the process of working with formulas is discussed in three different heads below: Simple mathematical calculations Data analysis and Drawing charts 1. Simple Mathematical calculations: Data are the raw materials for spreadsheets. They generally are of constant values or simple values. Mathematical calculation by using the available data can be done by using formula (s). Hence, formulas are the command that instructs Excel to carry out a calculation. There are four independent basic mathematical operations and group operations of these four types can be easily carried out in Excel. The operators used for mathematical calculations are: Operator Pronunciation Task Operator Pronunciation Task + Plus sign Addition * Asterisk Multiplication - Minus sign Subtraction / Forward slash Division % Percent Per cent ^ Hat Exponentiation Absciant and Text Joining Addition: Any two or more values entered in separate cells can be added by using formulas. The first step is to start with =SUM(beginning cell address:ending cell address) and then press the ENTER key. In figure-FA4 below, a user wants to sum two values entered in cell A2 and cell B2 and wants to get the value at column F3. The formula has to be entered as written in the figure in F3 column and by pressing the ENTER key the value will be displayed as 28.66. In the second process the user can add different values entered in different cells by using the + sign. For example, =first cell address+second cell address+à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, then press ENTER key. Let suppose that the user wants to add only three values viz., A2, B3 and A4 and wants the result to be displayed in cell G3. The formula will be as displayed in the G3 column and after pressing ENTER the value will be displayed in that cell as 42.47. Excel makes it easy to quickly add a column or row of numbers. To illustrate the AutoSum feature, consider the above Figure-FA4. Let that the user wants to sum value entered in B column. Click on cell B6 which is the active cell, then click on the AutoSum botton displayed in the tool bar with a sum symbol like à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ and click on ENTER key for the value. In such a case, the sum function automatically selects the values of the entire column. Here the user is not required to enter the address of all the cells manually. The AutoSum value of the data entered in column B as displayed in B6 cell is 60.21. ii. Subtraction: Two or more values can be subtracted by using the - operator. The formula can be used as = first cell address-second cell address then press ENTER key. For example, one wants to subtract two values entered in cell B3 to A4 by using the values of above Figure-FA4 and wants to get the value in F5 cell. The formula will be as displayed in the F5 column and after pressing ENTER the value will be displayed in that cell as 5.26. FIGURE-FA4: VARIOUS MATHEMATICAL CALCULATIONS Multiplication: two or more values can be multiplied by using the multiply operator *. The formula can be used as =first cell address*second cell address*à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and then press ENTER key. Let for example, one wants to multiply three values as entered in cell A1, B2 and A4 by using the values of above derived Figure-FA4 and wants to display the multiplication value in cell G4. The formula will be as displayed in the G4 column and after pressing ENTER the value will be displayed in G4 cell as 2533.073. Division: For the use of division in Excel, the / operator is used. The formula will be =first cell address/second cell address and then press ENTER key. For example, one wants to divide two values entered in cell B4 to A2 by using the values of above Figure-FA4 and wants to get the value in G5 cell. The formula will be as displayed in the G5 column and after pressing ENTER the value will be displayed in that cell as 1.378. Group expressions: In many calculations the situation demands for a grouped calculation. In such calculations parentheses (or brackets) are used to combine two independent functions into a group. The rule is that any part of the formulas expressed within the brackets is done first and the next operation is carried out then after. For example, the expression 8+3/2 will be 9.5 where as (8+3)/2 will be 5.5. Similarly, the value of 7+3/2 is 8.5 (not 5) where as (7+3)/2 is 5. Group calculations in Excel can be done as: =(first cell address then the operator(let it be +)second cell address, so on)the next operator (let it be *) by the constant value 2 (or if the value is entered in any cell then the cell address of that cell). By using the above Figure-FA4, some other possibilities are illustrated for the better understanding of the reader. Table-TA1: MATHEMATICAL FORMULA MODELS By using Formula in Excel Value Multiplication and Addition =(E2+E4)*2 then ENTER key =(E2+E4)*C3 then ENTER key 52 330.2 Multiplication and subtraction =(B3-E3)*5 then ENTER key 16.05 Multiplication and Division =(E4*A4)/3 then ENTER key 61.65 Addition and subtraction =(A3+A4+E3)-B4 then ENTER key 20.64 There are many other such possibilities of calculating values by using the group function. To illustrate the concept more clearly, an attempt has been made to calculate the PAY ROLL in Excel of few employees in the Box-A1 derived below. Box-A1: CALCULATION OF PAY ROLL OF M/S. DIKSHYA INDUSTRIES PVT LTD Mr. J.P.Voga, since his joining as the Managing Director of M/S. Dikshya Industries last month had passed various resolutions in his industry. One such resolution is that the salary of its 385 employees should transform to their accounts positively on the 1st day of each month. Mr. P.K. Jha, the Head, Accounts Department of that industry, is a retired government auditor who is well habituated with manual calculations. But after joining this industry, he is learning the use of Excel since last few months casually as he managed himself with this industry with his earlier expertise. But, Mr. Vogas order pressurized him a lot and he at the end finalized to develop the pay roll of each departments of the industry in Excel. For this he approached Mr. Vinay Jalota, his sub-ordinate at office who is at the post of Assistant Finance Officer at his industry. They decided to formulate separate pay roll for each department separately. Since, Mr. Jha is formulating the pay roll for the first time , they decided to start with the IT-Department of the company which is having 16 employees starting from the top management to the bottom employee. The steps followed are as follows: Step-1: In the first place it has been decided to divide the pay calculation in two separate heads like Basic and Allowances and the second phase is the deductions. The basic and allowances section consists all the gains to the employees i.e., credit amounts and the deduction section consists of debit amounts or looses to employ. Step-2: From the model pay roll attached in Figure-FA5 one can find that column A and Column B are the serial numbers of the employees and the name of the employees along with designation and basic pay respectively. Step-3: Column C is the number of days in that month that the employee had worked. The entry 31 in this column indicates that this month is having 31 days (this calculation is on May 2010). One can see that against each employees 31 is entered which implies all have worked in this month without any without pay. Step-4: Then in column D salary is calculated in respect of the basic of each employee separately. The formula =ROUND(VALUE(21400/B3*C6),0) is entered. In this formula, ROUND(VALUE is entered to round the fractions to nearest 0. The entry 21400 is the basic of the employee and it is first divided by B3 column i.e., to get per day salary of that month and then multiplies by C6 which is the number of days the employee worked. That is out of the 31 days in May how many days that particular employee worked. Once this formula is entered then copy the formula and paste it in the D7 column to get the salary of the next employee. But the basic of each employee differs. Hence, new basic needs to be edited in the copied formula in the formula bar. In this way in column D salary for each employee has been calculated. Step-5: Column E is the addition of the 50per cent of employees. The formula entered as =ROUND(VALUE(D6/50%),0). As one can see D6 column estimates the basic salary based on the number of days that employee worked on that month. A 50% of this amount has been calculated. Then copy this formula and paste it against each employee in column E. Since this formula is fixed for all, hence, there will be no change in the formula. But this formula doesnt fit for that employee who is in consolidated pay salary. Step-6: Column F is the added value of column D and column E. This amount will be the basic salary amount of the employees. The formula entered for calculation is =ROUND(VALUE(D6+E6),0). This formula is remained unchanged against all employees who are in the regular pay scale, of course except those who are in consolidated pay scale. Step-7: Based on the total amount calculated in column F, 64% is to be added as DA allowances. The formula is =ROUND(VALUE(F6*64%),0). This is applicable for all the employees except consolidated pay packagers. Step-8: Special amount per month has been fixed by the employer based on the basic of each employee. This amount as applicable has been added against each employees. The formula is = ROUND(VALUE(4600/B3*C6),0). This formula implies that per month special amount is Rs. 4600. this amount is first divided by total days in that month (B3) to get per day amount and then multiplied by numbers of days the employee worked in that month (C6). Step-9: HRA is at the 5% of the total salary calculated at column F. Hence, the formula is = ROUND(VALUE(F6*5%),0). But those employees who are residing in the quarters provided by the Industry are not entitled to get this amount. Hence, these columns for some employees are left vacant without any calculation. Step-10: Similarly Transportation, Traveling and other allowances, Medical, extra special allowances, Personal Pay and Telephone allowance as per applicable has been separately calculated by using the same logic i.e., at first divided by numbers of days in that month and then multiplies by numbers of days the employee worked. For example, the formula for Transportation is = ROUND(VALUE(400/B3*C6),0) i.e., Rs. 400 is the medical allowances. Similarly, Traveling is calculated by the formula = ROUND(VALUE(6000/B3*C6),0) and so on. Step-11: The Gross salary of each employee will be the addition of total amount of the above allowances. In column P row 6 i.e., in P6 to calculate the gross salary of the first employee the formula is = (F6+G6+H6+I6+J6+K6+L6+M6+N6+O6). This formula then copied and past in against all the employees in P column. The format in Excel sheet is shown in figure-FA5 below. Step-12: Then deductions are to be deducted from the gross salary of each employee. The items include TDS, EPF, License Fees, Maintenance, Electricity, and Advance. Among these items, the items like TDS and EPF are applicable for all the employees but the amount differs based on the gross salary. There fore, these amounts as per applicability have been simply entered in the respective column of each employee. License fee is applicable to those who are the residents of industry provided quarters. The formula is = ROUND(VALUE(F7+G7*10%),0). This implies that, license fee is the 10% of total column plus DA i.e., F7+G7. The readers should not be confused with the entry of row 7 in the formula because employee entered in the model pay roll is not a resident of industry provided quarter. Similarly, the residents of industry quarters have to pay Maintenance and Electricity. Electricity bill is not fixed for each employee rather depends on their consumption, thus fluctuates from employ to em ploy. Hence, are entered directly against the employee. Where as maintenance is the 10% of the license fee calculated in column S. The formula is = ROUND(VALUE(S7*10%),0). FIGURE-FA5: PAY ROLL FORMAT Step-13: The net payable or net salary of each employee is calculated as the total gross salary (column P) minus the deductions. The formula for the first employee is =P6-Q6-R6-S6-T6-U6-V6. Simply copy the formula and pasted it against each employee. The deduction portion of the model pay roll is shown in the Figure-FA6 below. Step-14:.Then by setting the pay roll worksheet by using the page setup options, the page can be printed by using the print option. FIGURE-FA6: PAY ROLL FORMAT (DECUCTIONS) This process when over surprised Mr. Jha. He could not believe him self that a person who is not touched the key board since last more than 30 years successfully developing a complete format of pay roll in Excel. This task of Mr. Jha increased his self confidence. Data analysis: Excel can perform a very large number of functions, which are formulas that perform a specific calculation beyond simple mathematical calculations. When the FUNCTION option in the INSERT menu is selected, it will display a large number menu of functions. This task of the Excel is more useful by the researchers for the simple statistical and econometric analysis of data. Excels FUNCTION option is very simple and hence, user friendly than other available statistical packages like SPSS, LIMDEP, STATA, STASTICA, GRITL, E-VIEWS, etc. But one think that the users should keep in mind that Excels data analysis wizard is not helpful for advanced data analysis purposes. Rather it is best suit for the beginners, particularly for the students and entry level researchers. Following are the steps of using the FUNCTION button in Excel worksheet for the purpose of drawing some statistical inferences. The first step is to create a data base in the worksheet containing the data series to be calculated. Then, click on INSERT button on menu bar and choose FUNCTION button. A small Excel window will appear showing the dialogue box. The user has to select the type of analysis it requires. The window is sheen as displayed in Fgure-FA7 below. The best option is to go for All type which will display all the options available under this function. FIGURE-FA7: INSERT FUNCTION USE Then specify the function (i.e., whether analysis is a standard deviation or correlation analysis, and so on.) Input the required cell address as per the need of the function and click OK. The final result will be displayed by the Excel application. The above steps can be well understood with a step wise calculation of CORRELATION between two variables as derived in Box-A2 below. Readers who are interested on the subject of correlation are advised to refer chapter-14 for a detailed analysis. Box-A2: Indian Textile Industry: Domestic Purchase is the Key The Indian textile industry faces many challenges in its efforts to become a major player in the global arena. Though it has many positive factors such as a multi-fibre raw material base, low cost labour base and big domestic market, it has been severely affected by insufficient power supply, steep increase in minimum support price for cotton and announcement of minimum wages on one side and stiff competition from other textile producing countries like China, Pakistan and Bangladesh. However, among the variables that positively influence the growth of the industry, the share of domestic purchase plays a very crucial role. For this we are having around eight years data on the total production of Indian textile sector and total domestic purchase by the Indian households. The detailed data set is shown in the Table-TA2 below. TABLE-TA2: TRENDS IN DOMESTIC PURCHASE (Quantity measured in million meters) Year Total Production Domestic Purchase 2000-01 40333 17969 2001-02 41390 19154 2002-03 41311 19860 2003-04 41721 20957 2004-05 44685 21784 2005-06 48808 22859 2006-07 52665 24030 2008-09 55023 25493 Source: Compiled from industry data base. In order to know whether there really exists strong relationship between the two variable i.e., between the total production of textile and domestic purchase, the correlation between the two variables are calculated with the help of Excel software and the steps followed in the process of calculation are outlined below: Step-1: The above data set is entered in the Excel spreadsheet and the file is saved as Correlation Analysis.xls. Step-2: The FUNCTION button from INSERT menu has been selected. Step-3: The window is now asking to specify the required function. In the Data type option All has been selected. Then CORREL option for correlation analysis is to be selected. The window appears as: FIGURE-FA8: INSERT FUNCTION WITH CORRELATION OPTION Step-4: When OK button is clicked, the next window will flash by asking for specifying the data range. In Excels language it is referred as Array1 and Array 2. Array 1 asks for first data series and Array 2 asks for second data series. In our above data set, year is only for the purpose of interpretation. Hence, while calculating the correlation value the column containing the Year data is not considered. After specifying the two data cell range, the window will looks like as FIGURE-FA9: FUNCTION ARGUMENTS IN CORRELATION ANALYSIS Step-5: By a click on OK button shows the value of correlation between the two variables which is measured by coefficient of correlation as 0.9559. The simple interpretation of the value says that both the variables considered under study are related with each other by up to 95 per cent. In other wards, there are other 5 per cent of variables, except domestic purchase contributes to total production of textile in India. Hence, the policy makers are to be serious enough with this result and they should pave necessary step to strength the domestic market for further growth of textile industry. Using Analysis tool pack Beside the FUNCTION option, data can also be analyzed by using the Analysis Toolpack and Analysis toolpack-VBA options. In some computers, these packs are not loaded automatically. To load this option in the computer click on TOOLS in menu bar and click on Add-ins. A small window asking the addition will display in the screen. Tick on the two options i.e., on Analysis Toolpack and Analysis toolpack-VBA with mouse and then click OK. The window will be as: FIGURE-FA10: INITIALIZATION OF ANALYSIS OF TOOL PACK For using the analysis tool pack, in the first place enter data in the Excel sheet and save the sheet by assigning a name. Then click on TOOLS and select DATA ANALYSIS option. A small window will appear showing numbers of statistical options. Specify on the desired one based on the need through mouse. From the below derived Excel window one can see that the regression option has been selected. FIGURE-FA11: DATA ANALYSIS OPTION FOR REGRESSION An OK click in the above process opens another window asking for specifying the cell address of the data series based on the desired statistical analysis. The user has to specify the cell address where as some functions need adjustments on basis of statistical properties and nature of the study. In order to explain the above steps more clear a Box-A3 has been developed below where by taking the sectoral growth rate, a multiple regression result has been calculated in Excel sheet. Box-A3: Contributions of regional sources in growth acceleration A nation is an aggregation of its regions. Thus, if we add the incomes of all states (regions), we should get the national income. This premise does not strictly hold in India given the problems in measurement and the data availability issues for more states and union territories. However, such problems are not considered serious in terms of magnitude and are, therefore, ignored in India [Dholakia, 2009]. In order to derive the contribution of states in the national growth acceleration the growth rate of the states during 1991-92 to 2003-04 for all the three sectors and the growth rate of the economy as a whole has been considered. The relevant concept of income is the gross state domestic product (GSDP) originating within the geographical boundary of the state and is measured at constant (1993-94) prices. The raw data is then converted into natural logarithms by taking ln value to make the data smooth one. A multiple regression model has been developed by considering the lnGSDP as dependent variable (Y) and other three variables i.e., contribution of primary sector (referred as lnPRI), contribution of secondary sector (referred as lnSECO) and the contribution of Tertiary sector (referred as lnTER) are considered as the dependent variable. Step-1: Enter the data in Excel sheet. Step-2: Click on TOOLS and select DATA ANALYSIS option Step-3: Select Regression option and click on OK. Step-4: The regression is now asking to specify the cell address of Y value and the cell add

Yahoo :: Free Essay Writer

Yahoo The Yahoo stock has taken a huge drop and has taken the rest of the stock market with it. The first quarter sales are set to be 40% off last year’s estimates. The stock is down 92 % from its peak, which was set on Dec 30, 1999. The Yahoo stock has been in a steady downfall since its peak. There were also other drops in technology stocks. Cisco and Intel predicted big revenue drops and job cuts. This set gave the NASDAQ a 5.3% fall. The index is off 59% from its peak, which was reached last year. Since Yahoo’s birth in 1995, the company has not had to deal with anything close to the dilemma it is facing now. They know have to deal with problem without their CEO Tim Koogle, who recently stepped aside. It was not too long ago that there were rumors of â€Å"Yahoo buying Disney†. â€Å"Now Yahoo would be lucky if Disney buys them.† Yahoo was once worth $134 billion, is now valued at less than $10 billion. Yahoo gets almost all of its cash from online advertising. This has proven to be a good way to get cash in the past five years. At first all of Yahoo’s 160 million visitors were interested in these advertisements. But these advertisements seem to have lost their luster.â€Å" Few people are clicking on those flashy top-of-the page banners.† It seems that only .01% of visitors click on the advertisements now, compared to .06% of visitors a couple of years ago. This is interesting statistic compared to the fact that even junk mail gets a 1%-to-2% response rate. The Yahoo Company is almost completely dependent on the ads. Unlike AOL, who are a service provider as well as a content provider. AOL collects $21.95 per person a month, whereas people using Yahoo get their Internet access elsewhere and are used to paying nothing for content. When the CEO of Yahoo tried to extract even a small fee from users of Yahoo’s auction service, 90% of the users stopped using the service. Yahoo will now need to find a new CEO, will Yahoo currently fending off potential takeovers with a two-year $500 million stock buyback plan. This leave’s the company with $ 1.5 billion in the bank, giving it time to figure out how to make more money on its own. Although it might hard for Yahoo to stay strong when AOL and Microsoft are becoming so dominant.

King Henry IV Part 1 Essay -- Essays Papers

King Henry IV Part 1 Although most people find it hard to climb out of a whole they have dug themselves into, Prince Hal in Henry IV Part I is able to redeem himself even after the English King and nobility view him as a derelict with no future. He proves himself true to the Royal Throne when he defeats his young rival, Henry Percy. Through the exorcism of his immature ways, he earns himself the succession to the throne. In the opening scene of the play, King Henry hears news from the Earl of Northumberland that Henry Percy, "the gallant Hotspur" (1.1.52), is leading a successful campaign against Mortimer in Wales. The King reflects on how he wishes his own son were more like Hotspur: Yea, there thou mak'st me sad and mak'st me sin In envy that my Lord Northumberland Should be the father to so blest a son (Hotspur) A son who is the theme of honor's tongue. Whilst I, by looking to praise him, See riot and dishonor stain the brow Of my young Harry. (1.1.77) The King is envious of Northumberland’s son, who does not waste his days like Prince Hal. The King is not proud to be the father of such a person. His son is wasting his days away with the fat-faced drunk, Falstaff. The two, along with others, spend their days robbing devout people on their pilgrimages and drinking old sack. Prince Henry does, however, make clear that he intends to surprise the world by standing forth in his true character: Yet herein will I imitate the sun, Who doth permit the base contagious clouds To smother up his beauty from the world, That, when he please again to... ...r, John, and asks for his reward for slaying the great leader. The brothers ignore him and retreat to find their comrades. The Prince was able to transform himself into the great leader that he knew he was capable of being regardless of what everyone else thought of him. On the other hand, Falstaff had no intention of changing who he was and probably would not be able to accomplish that task, either. Prince Hal dug himself a huge hole in life by enjoying the company of criminals and disgracing his family. Fortunately, he knew exactly how to solve his problem. By defeating Hotspur, he was able to earn the respect of the throne and the country. He fully exorcises his past through chivalry and his emergence as a war hero. Not only did he fight for his family, he fought for his beloved country. Thus went the valiant transformation from Hal to Prince Henry IV.

Pablo Picasso2 :: Essays Papers

Pablo Picasso2 Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is considered to be the greatest artist of the 20th century. In his prolific career, which spanned 78 years, he created more than 20,000 works of art including paintings, lithographs, etchings, and sculpture. In 1947, for example, he created 2,000 pieces of ceramics and in 1968, in a seven-month period, he returned to some of his earlier themes such as circuses, and bullfights to create 347 etchings. His work encompassed many styles -- from realism to cubism and surrealism -- making it impossible to categorize into a single movement. He and fellow painter Georges Braque are credited with creating the cubist style. Another of Picasso's innovations was the creation of collage -- he pasted pieces of paper and oilcloth to a canvas and painted on the surface in a 1912 work titled Still Life With Chair Caning. Although he is best known for his innovative, cubist work Picasso had an extraordinary drawing skill, rivaling the expertise of 19th century neoclassical ar tist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Picasso was born in MÃ ¡laga, Spain on October 25, 1881, the son of an art teacher. Prior to 1898, he used his father's name, "Ruiz," and his mother's maiden name, "Picasso," to sign his paintings. After 1901, he signed his work simply with the name "Picasso." A child prodigy, he painted his first picture at the age of ten; by 15 he was accepted at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts where he won a gold medal for his academic painting, Science & Charity, 1897. Picasso's major periods can be roughly divided into the following, although in his later years he returned to earlier themes. Blue Period: After trips to Paris between 1900-1902, Picasso settled there in 1904 where he was influenced by Paul Gauguin and the group of symbolist painters called The Nabis. The influence of Edgar Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec is reflected in The Blue Room, 1901 -- which was the start of his evolution towards his Blue Period. In this phase, the color blue dominated his work as did the theme of portraying human suffering and misery, in many cases also reflecting the style of El Greco in the use of elongated figures.

Understanding the Media

Since the media has now become the centre of today`s life controlling every aspect of it, it is therefore very important to understand and to critically observe how the media operates . It is however questionable to understand how the media balances between meeting its goals and targets as a business and fulfilling its role of acting as the peoples voice as expected by the society it serves without compromising on each of the two. BODY It is only through the understanding of the media that the people get to know that the media plays an important role in educating the society.Francois Nell notes that `the media contribute to social development`. (Writing For The Media In Southern Africa:3rd Edition). Through the media, education has moved from indirect teaching to direct teaching whereby the minors and students get to learn through different T. V programs like the Tekalani Sesami(SABC 3) and Matrics Uploaded(SABC 2). Though this development in Media production learning has become so c onvenient thus contributing to the educational growth of the community. It is also vital to understand the media production so as to know when and when not to blame the media when scandals take place .Stony Brooke notes that, `the effects of media seem necessary to depend on the patterns of audience use. ` It is however unfair to blame the media on the abuse of the media forms by the public it tend to benefit. It is therefore important to take note of the fact that the audience has a major role to play as far as media content is pertained. Understanding media production is vital too so as to know the truth behind some nasty news said of the media by the public. a good understanding of the media enables us to know how to relate and deal with some of these accusations.Gilmore p37 notes that `news is more of a conversation and the lines have blurred between producers and consumers. The once passive audience has become an active participant in the creation and dissemination of news, and the flow of information is no longer controlled by journalists Haddow & Kim S. Haddow) . It is therefore important to note that the media is not solely to blame for some scandals in media content but also the audience has a role to play for media abuse. It is only through media literacy that he audience know how to utilise different forms of media and to know when to draw the line as far as their engagement with the media is concerned. Although the media development `encourages individual change and mobility`(Francois Nel ),it is however important for one to know how for example the internet operates so as to protect oneself from cannibals that has flooded this media form, many peoples` lives. Through this awareness one is able to know when to draw the line as far as his/her engagement with different characters on this blog is concerned.However it is also important to critically observe how the media conveys its messages to the people so that one will not fall a victim to some of t he media content that tend to `induce political apathy, alienation, cynicism and a loss of social capital`( Kenneth Newton) thus brainwashing the public into making wrong political choices. Peter Phillips argues that `democracy does not work within last minute sound bites, taking the place of important public debate and compromising the bulk information that could be available to the people`(Censored 2007).This however shows that in their bid to meet targets, the media tend to compromise on their expectations from the society and also on their role of informing the public. Through a critical engagement with the media, one is made to observe that the media has a `mass effect on societal behaviour`( Jatto et tal). During the Family Planning Campaign in Tanzania, the media had an incremental effect on contraceptive use. The more media sources a woman was exposed to, the more she was to adopt a contraception (Jatto et tal, 1999:65-67). The media campaign in the Philippines had clearly p ositive effects .Nancy Morris notes that `the mass media information campaign was largely responsible for the improvement in vaccination coverage`(McDivitt, Zimicki and Hornik, 1997:111). This clearly shows that the media has the power to control peoples` behaviour so a critic understanding of it is vital to prevent possible brainwash. Since the media has become the `backbone of the marketing , advertising and public relations industries`(Peter J Jourie) notes that `a sound knowledge of how the media work, think and disseminate meaning is fundamental to these industries`.It is however important to critically engage with the media so as to know how to relate with the information given by the media so as to know how to act on their `education` as far as their information about these industries is pertained since they will be advertising. It is very important to note that the media is only after sensational stories so that the people will know that behind the information dished out by the media, lies more helpful and important information.This will enable the audience to be on the lookout of more helpful stories that do not make it into the newspapers that might be of great importance to their livelihood. It can be concluded that although the media is there to serve the people and to meet their expectations, the media itself ends up on a very compromising position with only one way out, that is to do anything possible to meet its goals as a business even though it means compromising on their role within the society .This means that the public should be well informed as on how to utilise useful media content and at the same time on how to screen some of the media content in order to protect themselves from the harm that comes with it. The complication only now lies on how the public can get informed when the only means to inform the public is only through the media.