Abstract The writer of this paper details the content in the audio documentary which illustrates amongst other issues the death row process as it is carried out at the Walls Prison in Huntsville, Texas.
This paper analyzes the manner in which the audio content is depicted to the listening audience which the writer contends is both graphic and distressing. This paper also delves into and discusses the actual structure of the audio documentary.
From the Paper "Whether or not someone is for or against capital punishment listening to the audio documentary "Witness to an Execution" is a harrowing experience. The documentary focuses on the stories of the women and men involved with the execution of death row inmates at the Walls unit in Huntsville Texas. What is particularly emotionally grim is the minute-by-minute description of carrying out an execution by lethal injection. The listener is not the only one distressed by the description."
Abstract In order to assess the potential for Bose Audio Systems to succeed in the Brazilian market, this paper examines the Brazilian consumer habits. It begins with an overview of the country's economy and then discusses its consumer market. The market risks are assessed and the policy of trade liberalization is examined. The paper concludes with a focus on the radio consumer habits of the population.
From the Paper "Brazil is a promising market for Bose. Its economy has shrunk from approximately 800 billion to just over 500 billion over the last six years due to the falling Real. Although Bose's target audience has been hit by these economic woes, international diversification has softened the blow. Although Brazil is one of the five biggest countries in terms of physical size, money is concentrated in the hands of a small, influential number of people who live almost exclusively in the country's large urban centers and enjoy lifestyles comparable to those of northern Italians. This urban elite regularly listens to the radio and has a preference for FM music stations, tending to listen to classical music. Brazilian upper-middle class consumers are very brand conscious and tend to prefer foreign goods. Brazilians will purchase a foreign good over a domestic product of similar quality. Tariffs have steadily fallen over the last 50 years, slightly rising only since 1995 due to regional trade blocs. The buying habits of upper middle class consumers are largely determined by buying habits that are found in the United States. Brazil is less stable than the relatively more egalitarian northern hemisphere but its capitalist economy enjoys the active support of the United States and international lending and aide organizations. Brazil enjoys a longstanding tradition of having a privately owned media."
Abstract The paper examines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the audio electronic industry, specifically portable products like MP3 players. The paper discusses the growing market, focusing on companies like Sony and Toshiba. The paper discusses brand awareness of these products and discusses development agreements between companies such as Nike and Apple, where iPods would be attached to running shoes to measure distances. The paper concludes that while the market is booming, with the average consumer spending $250 a year on music, this could be nearing saturation point.
From the Paper "Continual new product development - The dominant approach this industry generates new demand is through new product development. Apple's research and development spend dominates the industry today and has lead to the adoption of wireless and potentially cellular TV on the iPod platform. Growing international sales - The continued focus on growing global sales through the development of distribution channels, varying music and video formats, and a focus on bringing localized content to specific areas of the world where digitized music is not available today."
Abstract This paper focuses on the topic of video compression. It looks at how the combination of audio compression and video compression form the concept of digital compression and how these processes or techniques have literally revolutionized how audio and video data is stored and transmitted electronically or digitally. It examines the state of technology and how the process of video compression actually works. It also discusses some of the different vendors, as well as the current, significant research going on within the technology.
From the Paper "Technologies like the Internet, MP3 Players, DVD?s, HDTV, and digital cameras to name a few are all driving the demand for consistently new and improved ways of compressing audio and video data. The current state of the technology for Video compression revolves around the ideas like that of the MPEG or Moving Picture Experts Group. An MPEG (correctly pronounced M-peg), is actually a standard used to program or code both audio and visual data. Examples include movies, videos and digital music. The information once in an MPEG format is digital compressed so it is easier to send it or store it based on the fact that less room is needed."
Abstract This paper examines factors that affect the adoption rates of new products and analyzes the adoption rates of XM Satellite Radio, MP3 players, CD players, DVRs and DVD audio as shown on a chart.
From the Paper "One of the primary determinants of cell phone banking adoption in South Africa has been trial ability. Researchers compared Internet adoption rates with cell phone banking rates and found that the cell phone banking participants indicated a lower ..."
Tags: diffusion, product, audio products, XM Satellite Radio, MP3 players, CD players, DVR, TiVo, DVD audio
Abstract The paper states that the downloadable digital content market has grown remarkably, with millions of people going online each day to download audio and video files. The paper comments that Apple Inc.'s iTunes product has become a clear leader and pioneer in the market of organizing, playing and selling digital audio and video files. The paper discusses how iTunes was able to partner with content providers to offer copyright-protected digital files that became a significant source of revenue. The paper concludes that iTunes has been an incredibly successful and popular digital content product that will need to make changes to how it operates and what content it offers to retain its market strength in the future.
Outline:
How iTunes has Succeeded
iTunes Positions for Increased Competition
Bundling Controversy Spreading
Conclusion: Changes are Coming
From the Paper "Through iTunes, Apple's greatest legacy in the digital content market may be that it saw revenue opportunity where many other companies did not. Peer-sharing sites, such as Napster, which launched in 1999, had been offering music and other digital files for free to subscribers, and it seemed that consumers had become accustomed to not paying to download content ("Napster must stay shut down"). In the midst of this hostile market, where digital music had been completely devalued, Apple began developing the iTunes product to sell music files for a fee."
Abstract This paper demonstrates how videoconferencing works including the components, proper protocol and bandwidth. The author explores the uses, advantages and disadvantages of videoconferencing in business especially to eliminate the need for unnecessary business travel. The author also explores the educational uses of videoconferencing especially in rural and foreign communities. Included in the paper is a break-even table for converting meetings to videoconferencing.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Video Conferencing
Components
Protocol
Bandwidth
Uses of Videoconferencing
Business Uses of Videoconferencing
Advantages of Videoconferencing in the Business Environment
Disadvantages of Videoconferencing in the Business Environment
Educational Uses of Video Conferencing
Challenges that Educators Face when Using Videoconferencing
Recent Problems Associated with Videoconferencing
Conclusion
From the Paper "In the academic environment videoconferencing is often used as a distance education technique. Videoconferencing often used to teach individuals in both urban and remote rural locations. There are several factors that influence the use of videoconferencing in an academic environment. Factors such as technology used, physical factors such as lighting and sound, as well as teaching strategies. It is widely accepted that presenting a successful module via videoconferencing requires a modified approach to teaching and learning ."
Abstract This paper contends that the affective properties of music upon one's emotive state appear as the source of much research throughout the realm of psychology, with theories regarding its effects and emotive properties being recruited and adapted, from non-musical literature. One important role which music plays within society is in cinematography, as congruence between auditory and visual stimuli is a fundamental component due to its ability in conveying emotionality. Throughout this paper the circumplex model was incorporated, as a measure of emotion and a template from which to obtain congruence between auditory and visual stimuli. The paper assesses the importance of such congruence, between auditory and visual stimuli and its resulting impact upon emotion.
From the Paper "Music is a key element of everyday life, its role within society is divergent. Variation in temporal structure allows for diverse utilisation, permitting music to pervade all cultures and play a significant role in the majority of social and religious rituals: birthdays, weddings and funerals, and so on. The affective properties of musical stimuli are the source of much research and theories regarding music's effects and emotive properties have been recruited and adapted from non-musical literature (Ritossa and Rickard, 2004). With such an impact upon on society, the effects of music on behaviour deserve further exploration. The research reported here was such an exploration, with the primary focus concerning arousal, performance and the importance of the relationship between audio and visual stimuli."
Abstract This paper sets out to analyse two sets of exercises in teaching various aspects of English language, from grammar, to vocabulary, to communication. The two texts are "Studying Strategies Students' Book" by B Abbs and I Freebairn and "Cutting Edge Pre-Intermediate" by S Cunningham and P Moor. It looks at how each book approaches the teaching of these areas in different manners, one following a more audio-lingual based method of teaching, and the other focusing more on tasks and communication.
From the Paper "Looking first at the extract from Studying Strategies, which includes such Audio-linguist teaching tools as drills role-plays, it is apparent that this is a method in which Kuwaiti students would feel comfortable as a result of the entirety of their education being based on rote learning. They would feel comfortable with the tight structure and teacher-led instruction that extract A offers, as the only demands made of them would be to learn and repeat. In general, Kuwaitis are excellent at mimicking languages, thus making them quite proficient in oral work, the area of language learning that they feel most comfortable. In fact, the majority of Kuwaiti students are able to hold a conversation in English quite easily, and yet their accuracy levels fall below par in comparison."
Abstract This paper examines the state of the art of online audio and video advertisements. The author points out who uses these ads. The paper outlines three hypotheses of what might happen with this type of advertising in the near future and suggests methodology for researching these hypotheses.
From the Paper " Video advertising is rapidly replacing pop-up ads on the internet as the way to reach potential buyers. The technology produces television-quality video and audio without the technical problems usually associated with streaming media across the internet. The video commercial online format delivers full-screen broadcast-quality video over the internet in the form of .... megabyte .... second video spots from companies and advertisers such as Pepsi, McDonald's, A.T.& T and Honda The full-screen advertisements use a patented pre-cached delivery method whereby the ad is prepared during idle user ..."
This paper analyzes the video and audio surveillance industry in terms of security and business applications, using a company called "Spying Eye Surveillance" as an example.
Abstract This paper explains that, in today's highly technical, post 9/11 society, a new industry is developing, commonly known as the video surveillance industry, particularly in more developed nations such as the United States, China, Japan, and across Europe, which has developed dramatically, and, along with this development, has come many obstacles, including technological, governmental and legal ramifications. The author includes an overview of the industry in general; trends for the particular types of surveillance utilized by "Spying Eye Surveillance", an independently owned company that specializes in video and audio surveillance products for businesses and security personnel; projections for the growth of these types of companies and the strengths and weaknesses of the industry. The paper outlines some of the potential implications experienced by this industry, including governmental restrictions and legal ramifications for abuse of technology.
From the Paper "However, in other cases, the issues are not as clear. For example, in the Virginia Court of Appeals in 1999, a man's conviction for using a spy camera to videotape underneath women's dresses on a public fairground was overturned, with the note that no expectation of privacy should have been held by the women. In this case, the local court's belief that this type of surveillance violated the Fourth Amendment obviously did not agree with the opinions of the State court. Additional cases have been noted both in favor of and against the placement of video surveillance in such places as fitting rooms and school locker rooms."
Abstract The paper describes how the Sony Cybershot digital camera exhibits a blend of form and function. The paper discusses the features of image stabilization, various modes, and a built-in microphone that allows the camera to perform the function of audio capture and a zoom lens. The paper also looks at several formal features that are directly related to their functions, for example, the battery and memory card storage spaces that hold those items.
From the Paper "The Sony Cybershot digital camera exhibits a blend of form and function. Formal elements convey function, and function is communicated via form. The features that the Sony Cybershot shares with pre-digital cameras include all the elements that make a camera what it is: a lens; some kind of viewfinder; and a trigger to take shots. However, the digital camera possess several features that demonstrate the different functions between a digital and film camera. The Sony Cybershot in particular offers user-friendly functions specific to the art, hobby, and science of photography. Moreover, many of the Sony Cybershot functions are hidden, embedded in the camera's hardware and firmware or simply invisible."
Abstract This paper explains that TESOL differs from English instruction for native speakers in that its primary foci are on language and cultural practices in English-speaking countries, as opposed to English literature.The author points out that of the many alternative methods now in use, most have common basic elements: The learning of phrases and sentences instead of single words, the infrequent use of the native tongue, and the emphasis on the spoken language, but all still rely on memory as the key to mastery and include a variety of tools to aid memory, including video and audio tapes, drills and exercises. The author recommends that the instructor yo-yo back and forth from the right brain of Total Physical Response Approach (TPR) to the left-brain of ALM; anything new is first internalized through the body with TPR, then switch to the other side of the brain for verbal exercises of speaking, reading, and writing.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Various Approaches in TESOL
The Communicative Approach
The Natural Approach
The Task-Based Approach
The Audio Lingual Approach
The Silent Way Approach
The Counseling-Learning Approach
The Accelerated Learning Approach
The Total Physical Response Approach (TPR)
Conclusion
From the Paper "The natural approach is based on a number of hypotheses about learning procedures and conditions for learning. Most of the hypotheses are based on one of the most influential models of Second Language Acquisition, called the Monitor Model, developed by the American Linguist, Stephen Krasher. The Monitor Model is closely linked to the distinction between learning and acquisition. The adult learner has two ways of attaining the ability to perform in English: tacit (or subconscious) acquisition and conscious learning. The monitor hypothesis states that in English performance, the subconscious knowledge of English attained through acquisition initiates an utterance plan, whereas the monitor checks and corrects the language output. The Monitor is explicit; it is the learned knowledge of rules of the language (Rosebery et al. 1992)."
Abstract This paper examines how the film "Ocean's Eleven" is part of a trend of films that are popular because they present an aura of 'coolness' around the main characters. In particular it explores how the movie uses film making techniques to push the boundaries and question the conventions of what is considered 'cool'.The essay is split into the following sections: semiotics, narrative structure, genre, audio-visuality and editing. Each section explains key points (with references) and applies them to "Ocean's Eleven" to construct a central argument about film and the conventions of 'cool'.
Outline
Introduction
Section 1: Semiotic Construction of Meaning
Section 2: Narrative Structure
Section 3: Codes and Conventions of Genre
Section 4: Audio - Visuality
Section 5: Editing
Conclusion
From the Paper "Semiotics can convey more complicated messages when signs are combined. The first time the audience sees Rusty, the suit he is wearing signifies that he is successful and stylish. In particular it brings to mind a James Bond style hero. This would be considered to be part of the paradigmatic axis: the suit was chosen from a whole range of outfits Pitt could have worn, because of what it signified. At the same time, instead of sipping vodka-martini like James Bond, Rusty is eating fast-food with his fingers; in fact he is frequently seen eating this way throughout the film. The syntagmatic axis describes how signs are combined. In this case, Rusty is certainly not the generic, sophisticated hero."
Abstract This paper discusses methods of police surveillance and looks at four general types of surveillance: visual surveillance, audio surveillance, moving surveillance and contact surveillance. The paper then discusses how methods of surveillance have changed with advances in technology and how police departments might be shaped to adjust to visual, audio and locational changes in the future.
From the Paper "Finally, given the presence of cell phones and other monitoring devices in modern life, a final resource to recruit is the public. Encouraging the public to be vigilant and report crime quickly and educating members of the public as to what to watch for, what to report, and how to use their personal technology for the public good is another important facet of modernizing every level of the modern police force. The public is not a paid member of the force, but everyone can benefit by increased public knowledge and reporting of crimes. The public also has valuable crime-prevention technology at its fingertips in the form of cell phones--as well as its eyes and ears."
