Technical Developments Essay Example for Free

Technical Developments Essay With the increase in the success of record sales came the need to introduce methods to diminish manufacturing costs in order to increase profit margins. Nowhere was this need more prevalent than with the independent record companies in the industry for they had the most to gain let alone survive. After the demise of Germany, German technology made its way across the Atlantic to America. One of these technical break through was the ability to store audio information on magnetic tape. Magnetic tape was a process where Iron Oxide embedded on plastic tape could be magnetized by amplified electrical impulses for the purpose of recording and playing back audio information. It offered editing of performances, portability, and better audio quality and was significally cheaper than the existing technologies. In the USA a company that made Scotch tape called 3M improved the abilities of magnetic tape, allowing recording speeds of 30 ips to be brought down to 15 ips and 71/2 ips with little quality loss but significantly longer recording times. In 1948 Bell laboratories introduced the Transistor to America. Transistor technology could do everything the Vacuum tube at a reduced cost. It required less power, was smaller in size and more durable. Soon the recording studio became portable and could easily be torn down and set-up if the need arisen. Most importantly, the AM radio was created and could be found in the private confines of a teenagers bedroom. It might be hard to believe, but parents would warn their kids about the evils of listening to new music all by oneself. This new advent in technical breakthroughs sparked interest with the major players in the industry like CBS and RCA. Over at CBS the laboratories invented High Fidelity, a new method of improving the record. The Long-Playing record was invented that increased the number of grooves for the playing speed was lowered from 78 rpm to 33 rpm. Because the speed was lowered and the grooves now smaller, the smaller diamond stylus replaced the larger sapphire stylus. The new stylus needed to use lesser pressure allowing the LPs to last a lot longer. Over at RCA, engineers were developing similar technology. They invented a smaller sized record that revolved at 45 rpm. The size of the 45 and the fact that they only played one song worked very well for the jukebox owners. The 33-rpm LP worked well for playing records that offered more than one song and could sell for more money. With the new technical advances, records emerged as a relatively inexpensive medium compared to the overall production costs of Radio, film and Television, With this new trend, smaller independent record companies could compete with the larger companies and naturally they grew in stature and power. Records soon became the mainstay of radio and by 1952 record sales surpassed sheet music sales as a source of revenue in the music business. No longer was the jukebox the main resource for record promotion, radio with its new personalities would make sure of that. The main broadcasting format was AM amplitude modulation, even though FM frequency modulation had been around for a while. FM was in conflict with the introduction of TV for it existed in the VHF bandwidth that TV also shared, and had to take a back seat to AM even though its broadcasting quality was better. It was obvious to the broadcasting companies that the future lied in TV and radio would always be secondary. A compromise was made with Fm broadcasters and TV when TV allowed FM to operate on channel 1 on the TV station dial. It was later shifted to a bandwidth between 88-108 megacycles (between channels 6 and 7 where in now lives today. This proved to be devastating for FM broadcasters for not too many people were interested in buying an FM radio. In 1946 there were almost 7 million AM radios and less than 75,000 FM radios, and it would be a long time until TV was thoroughly entrenched that FM would start to emerge as a broadcaster for classical radio. With the development of TV came the fatal blow to network radio, for the large advertisers were much more interested in sponsoring TV programming than radio. But radio managed to survive via the Independent broadcasters that could rely on local advertisers for revenues, what we call today Retail verses the Corporate advertising of the major broadcasters. It is amazing to acknowledge the efforts and the luck of the independents in their pursuit of good music.

Educating Rita :: English Literature

Educating Rita. In the play Educating Rita by Willy Russell we are lead to believe that in the first few scenes Rita and Frank have nothing in common. We assume this on a few small things like the way Rita talks. She is a very out going character who talks like a commoner." you'd better get that bleadin' handle fixed. She hair dresses in a shop and is not happy with the position she is in. She does not have much interest in hair dressing and it does not feel that it is good enough for her. She could do much better. Frank on the other hand is a lecturer at the Open University. He has a bad alcohol problem and only works there to get money for the booze. From what we gather he is not a very good lecturer and is not really all that interested in the job, just the money. He talks not in a posh accent but a smart middle class. Rita perceives her job as a working class hairdresser to be a job that only the lowest of the lowest would do. It is an unsatisfactory job that does not for fill her dream of being a middle class woman. She has the potential to go for what it is that she wants and luckily she knows you to motivate her self to do so. Neither frank nor Rita is really interested in there jobs. They both just do it for the money. This is when we learn that they do have something and common they share the same out looks of there jobs. At the beginning of the play we hear frank talking-to his girlfriend Julia on the phone. She is complaining that he will not be home in time for diner and he is complaining that he wants to go down the pub. This is when we realise that frank is in an unstable relationship with his girlfriend. Due to Rita's nosey personality we find out that Frank was one married but has split up from his wife. When Rita asks why he comments it was "because of literature". When really it was because of his drinking problem, if he is not careful the same thing will happen to him again. Rita finds out that frank use to write poetry and this is why him and his wife split up (or so frank says) Rita then realises that she and frank have another thing in common they both have rocky relationships. Unfortunately Rita's husband Denny has other ideas about what Rita should do with her life.

Drown

The story â€Å"Drown† sets in the summer time in New Jersey. Diaz and his friend Beto are raging, out of control, in their neighborhood known as the ghetto. They† stole, broke windows†¦ pissed on peoples steps and then challenged them to come out and stop us. † While Diaz has another year of high school, Beto for college on the other hand is leaving for college at the end of the summer. Diaz has several recurring feelings such as, suffocation, problems defining his masculinity, and being trapped, problem is that Diaz would rather stay trapped in the Ghetto if it means not turning out like Beto.Why does Diaz use the metaphor drown? Why does Diaz struggle with masculinity? Does Diaz want to come up for air or continue to suffocate? In â€Å"Drown† the setting plays a key role in the story. Diaz described his neighborhood as, † The broken apart buildings, little strips of grass, the piles of garbage around the cans, and the dump†(Drown 91). Th e neighborhood where Diaz live shapes his life, so it plays an important role in the story. Most of Diaz anxiety is caused by the fact that he cannot leave his neighborhood, because he fears the outcome once in the outside world. Another setting that is important is the pool.The pool is described in a way that is similar to the neighborhood where Diaz live, † The water feels good†¦ while everything above me is loud and bright, everything below is whispers†¦ † this particular quote coincides with the fact that Diaz is trapped, but he'd rather stay below than come up and see the outcome of him leaving for the outside world like Beto. The metaphor suffocation occurs throughout the story and ties to the story title itself. In this story Diaz shows it more at the pool scene, it seem as Diaz move through the story, but something always draws him back to the pool where most of his drowning occur.This particular metaphor is used in several parts of the story, for insta nce, Diaz is suffocating where he lives because of all the poverty, misery, and drugs. Another way the author uses this metaphor is when he talks about how his mother keeps all the windows and doors locked, † Before we head out she drags us through the apartment to make sure the windows are locked†¦ we never open the windows†¦ this place just isn't safe†¦ â€Å"(Drown 96), this quote gives the notion that maybe his mother is also suffocating him by keeping all the windows closed at all times trapping the hot air which can also make Diaz think he is suffocating.Masculinity is something that Diaz struggle with more than anything in this story. In the start Beto and Diaz are both confused about their masculinity, but Beto in a different way because he's really a homosexual. In Diaz neighborhood homosexuality is viewed very negatively. On page 103 in the story, Diaz talks about how his friend Alex will stop by the side of the rode and say, Excuse me. When somebody comes over he'll point his pistol in their face just to see what they'll do, they also call the homosexuals patos throughout the story.Once Diaz have several sexual encounters with Beto, that's when Diaz starts to question his masculinity. Diaz states, † Mostly i stayed in the basement terrified that i would end up abnormal, a fucking pato†(Drown 104). It is obvious that Beto questioning of their masculinity is not so much like Diaz anymore, because Beto excepts the fact that he is a homosexual by going to college, while Diaz on the other hand is still trapped and confused with his masculinity. Diaz is maybe afraid to leave for the outside world because that would mean he's excepting that he is also a homosexual like Beto.In the story Diaz doesn't say it exactly that he wants to do the complete opposite of whatever Beto do, but he gives the reader that feeling. It is possible that Diaz can be satisfied with drowning in his neighborhood, because on page 100 the army recru iter offers Diaz a chance to escape his drowning, but Diaz refuses to come up for air. The author pathos, logos, and ethos plays a role in the story also. Diaz uses some symbols such as the pool and specific words to express himself in a way that makes the story feel more, drawing the reader into his world and his observation from first person point of view.Throughout the author Junot Diaz moves in and out of his character quotes, which is a good thing because it gives the author a credibility and it communicates that their statements are more than just facts, they're a piece of Diaz memory of a feeling or a specific time. However the only way possible for Diaz to discontinue his suffocation and drowning is by joining the Army, but Diaz is still against and unwilling to come up for air, but uses the fact that he helps his mother as an excuse for not leaving his neighborhood and coming up for air.

Willys Obsession with the American Dream in Death of a...

In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman we see the negative effect of having an absent parent. The main character Willy Loman is a salesman who constantly struggles with trying to be what he considers â€Å"successful,† and â€Å"well liked.† He has two sons Biff and Happy and is married to Linda. Willy also struggles between illusion and reality; he has trouble defining and distinguishing the past from the present. Between his financial struggles and not feeling like he accomplished anything, he commits suicide. Throughout Willy’s life he was constantly abandoned, by both his father and his brother at very young age. Since Willy has no reference to look up to, he is somewhat left to figure things out on his own. In Willy’s mind, everything he†¦show more content†¦He describes him as â€Å"the only man I ever met who knew the answers,† â€Å"a genius,† and a â€Å"success incarnate!† (1600)(1598).Again we see Ben as thi s rich, adventurous man, who Willy idolizes. Ben offered Willy a chance to go with him to Alaska but Willy chose not to. Throughout the play you can tell that Willy regrets not going with his brother. He asks himself â€Å"why didn’t I go to Alaska with my brother Ben that time...what a mistake! He begged me to go† (1598). When Ben comes to visit, or when he’s visiting in one of Willy’s illusions, Willy tells him â€Å"[y]our just what I need,† and he asks him â€Å"what is the answer?†(1604). Willy also has strong feelings toward appearances. He even goes so far as to tell his kids â€Å"That’s why I thank Almighty God you’re both built like Adonises. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want† (1594). Even Willy’s views of himself are romanticized; he thinks he is essential to his job, even though we soon find out that he isn’t. He goes on and on to his sons about how much people like him, and how he has so many friends and so much respect everywhere he goes. We also learn that Willy’s morals are flawed due to his absent father. Willy never got the chance to learn what a dad really is. There are several instances that show this. The first one is when he tells BiffShow MoreRelatedDeath of a Salesman Directors Vision1128 Words   |  5 Pageswrite to you to propose the production of Arthur Miller’s classic â€Å"Death of a Salesman.† As the title suggests, the book is about the death of a salesman named Willy Loman. However, through my production, it is not the inevitable ending that will be remembered by the audience. It will be the processes that led to Willy’s conflicted mind that will resonate in the audience’s mind. The underlying values of blind faith in the American dream and the narrow-minded definition of success, which are exemplifiedRead MoreLife of Pi1276 Words   |  6 Pagesclose reference to Death of a Salesman and American Beauty. Ideas and qualities of acceptable standards that is considered worthwhile in society, pressures the relationship between an individual and his or her society due to the risk of social rejection. By accepting these social norms the individual is forced into the pursuit of the American Dream of that context whilst the rejection of the American Dream also leads to social rejection. Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman looks at the notionRead MoreDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller1015 Words   |  5 PagesThe American dream is strongly associated with the identity of America and everything our country stands for: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 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His mindset on perfection, obsession with success, and his constantRead MoreThe American Dream and Death of a Salesman Essay937 Words   |  4 PagesThe American Dream is one of the most sought-after things in the United States, even though it is rarely, if ever, achieved. According to historian Matthew Warshauer, the vision of the American Dream has changed dramatically over time. In his 2003 essay  "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Changing Conceptions of the American Dream†, Warshauer claims that the American Dream had gone from becoming wealthy by working hard and earning money, to getting rich quickly and easily. He attributes this change toRead MoreAuthor Miller’s Death Of A Salesman: A Family’s Misguided Attempt At The American Dream 707 Words   |  3 Pages Death of a salesman is a two-act play set in the late 1940s. The death of a salesman is a tragic story of one family’s failed attempt to live the American dream. Majority of the action in the play takes place in the Loman’s home and yard. The Loman family consists of Wily, Linda and their two sons Biff and Happy. Overall I consider Death of A Salesman a fascinating Play. To begin with I found my self-having difficulty reading the play. I immediately began writing off the play as another story ofRead More Failure of the America Dream in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman1097 Words   |  5 PagesFailure of the America Dream in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman examines Willy Lowman’s struggle to hold on to his American Dream that is quickly slipping from his grasp. As Americans, we are all partners in the â€Å"dream† and Willy’s failure causes each of us anxiety since most of us can readily identify with Willy. Most Americans can readily identify with Willy. As children, our minds are filled with a â€Å"marketing orientation† as soon as weRead MoreArthur Miller ´s Death of A Salesman: A Commentary1170 Words   |  5 Pages All My Sons achieved success on Broadway, and earned him his first Tony Award for best author. Working in the small studio that Miller built in Roxbury, Connecticut, he wrote the first act of Death of Salesman. It opened on February 10, 1949 at the Morosco Theatre. Everyone loved it. Death of a Salesman won him: the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the triple crown of theatrical artistry and a Tony. In 1956, Miller left his first wife, Mary Slattery. Soon after, heRead More Death of a Salesman Structure Metaphoric Language and Theme1542 Words   |  7 PagesDeath of a Salesman Structure Metaphoric Language and Theme In looking at the characteristics of the tragic hero, it can be see that Willy Loman is not a tragic hero but a victim of a false idealistic pursuit of the â€Å"American Dream†. Willy strives to become and instill in his sons the success of the self made man that American society often advertises but ultimately falls short, and instead, escapes accepting his failure through lies and death. What many flaws Willy possesses, most do notRead MoreThe Myth of the American Dream Exposed in Death of a Salesman1218 Words   |  5 Pages Millers work on â€Å"Death of a Salesman† is an example piece of work furthering the social protest involving totalitarianism and the American Dream. Throughout the piece, Miller uses his voice of conscience and passion for the purpose of exposing the truth about the concepts. Using the perspective of Willy, a fictional, working class citizen, Miller picks apart the myth of the American Dream, exploring topics such as abandonment, bet rayal, family dynamics, and using interesting symbolism along