Review of a qualitative research article Essay Example

Review of a qualitative research article Essay Example Review of a qualitative research article Essay Review of a qualitative research article Essay This essay is a reappraisal of a research article of how Local Authority Social workers make determinations when they are sing referrals of kids. The rubric of the survey is Threshold Decisions: How Social Workers Prioritize Referrals of Child Concern by Dendy Platt ( 2008 ) . I would try to critically measure this Qualitative diary article based on indispensable elements of the research which include the Title, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Findings and Conclusion. The survey examined how societal workers make picks on single instances of kids concern referrals, if to transport out a an initial Assessment i.e. Sect 17 of the Children Act 1989 or if to set about the Child Protection Procedure under the Sect. 47 of the Children Act 1989. The major determination suggests that Social workers prioritize their referrals based on five cardinal countries, Specificity, Severity, hazard, parental duty and documentation. It was reviewing to cognize that informations were collected from So cial workers and that Parents were besides involved. Title It is deserving observing that the rubric adequately prepares the reader as it gives good penetration into what the survey is approximately. The rubric of an article is really of import as it exposes the reader to an article. The cardinal words were appropriate and sufficient as they did recover the article upon typing the cardinal words in the hunt engine. ( Harmonizing to Descombe 2008 p.88 ) , a subject needs to be a really much more narrowly defined country of its survey. Abstraction The major determination in this article suggests that societal workers evaluate referrals based on five cardinal factors, specificity, badness, hazard, parental duty and documentation . It is deserving observing the abstract did fix a reader for this survey. The abstract clearly high spots that the purpose of the survey is to happen out how societal workers reach determination when to transport out an initial appraisal ( Sect 17 of kids act 1989 ) or a nucleus appraisal, ( Sect 47 of kids Act 1989 ) when sing referrals about kid concerns. The abstract clearly stated that the survey chose a qualitative attack. Harmonizing to ( Punch 2000 p. 243 ) , qualitative attack is frequently sensitive to context and treat to populate experience and local groundedness, where the research worker tries to acquire closer to what is being studied . Using qualitative method allows the research worker to happen out a batch about the survey. He went farther to explicate that qualitative research methods are the best manner we have of acquiring the insider s position ( Ibid ) Qualitative method allows the research worker to bring forth new theoretical thoughts. This happens because they are able to detect and talk to the people ( individual ) being studied and allows them to come up with new thoughts through out the survey. Being prejudice is one of the restrictions of qualitative research method because research workers can compose their ain position or even sentiment on the affair. But as we can see that making hard country is a great advantage to qualitative research method. ) Introduction Looking at the debut, it seems clear that the job that led to the research was that the reading of the developments of the refocusing enterprise has contributed to a clime where societal workers work frequently feel pulled and pushed in different waies by political and popular sentiment. The debut touched on relevant authorities policies and enterprises such as refocusing enterprise which was initiated by the authorities in 1990 and the model for Assessment of kids in demand. In my position, the writer attempted to measure the refocusing enterprise policy which attempts to refocus societal work pattern and to originate any necessary alterations. I partially agree with this impression as the survey may convey about positive alterations in the kid protection clime. But besides the writer needs to admit where he points on that the clime of kid protection is one of uncertainness, that societal work itself is a profession full of uncertainness . The research worker explained that the deduction of the refocusing enterprise is the rise in the threshold for credence of a kid protection referral as it was thought that the cost to household of kid protection processs were non acceptable in the instances where allegations are minor. In my position, the designation of spread of cognition shows that the job has significance for societal work pattern and the research may positively inform pattern. Interestingly, the research worker acknowledges and analyses old work on the kid protection field ( what is known ) but besides points out the cognition spread as it demonstrates how application of these factors differs between instances of kid concern and instances of kid protection ( What is desired to be known ) . I would reason that these grounds sum to sufficiently justification of this survey. Literature Review Knowledge spread was identified but author did non explicate how his work would try to shut the spread. Author made an attempt to critically reexamine the work of others and points out incompatibilities. The intent of the research is to analyze ways societal workers in England made determinations at the initial referral phase. It is my believe that since the writer decided to roll up information signifier societal workers and households suggest that research is from a grounded theory attack. Harmonizing to Punch ( 2000 p.163 ) Grounded theory is best defined as a research scheme whose intent is to bring forth theory from informations, To be grounded means fundamentally the theory is generated from informations. ( ibid ) My rational for asseverating that a grounded theory attack was implemented is that the writer made sense of the informations through constructs chiefly informed by societal workers and the find of these constructs begins from the interviews with the societal workers. ( Somekh and Lewin 2006p.49 ) point out that grounded theory is best described as an incorporate theoretical preparation that gives understanding about how organisation experience and respond to events that occur . From this definition, it could be argued that grounded theory was the most effectual manner to near this survey. Research workers do convey position to the research, although these positions tend to steer the inquiry and influence reading, but they do nt drive the research. ( ibid p.51 ) . However one of the drawbacks from this attack is that research may be influenced by the research worker s personal experiences and old surveies which therefore disable the research in nearing the survey with an unfastened head. Finding In my position, the research worker survey has a strong internal cogency, the research worker made a good attempt to extinguish the alternate accounts in his findings . The consequence nevertheless can non be applied beyond the sample. It would be clearly naive to believe that the findings reflect how societal workers in the UK determination devising. Method The Researcher implemented ethical rules. The societal workers involved have to be made cognizant of what they were acquiring into before make up ones minding to join forces. I would reason that appropriate processs were implemented ; besides the participant understood what the intent of the research. The research worker efficaciously anonymised participants individualities, which protected participants privateness. The likely result the research purpose to accomplish include possible alterations in policy, examine pattern issues for societal workers transporting out initial appraisal, where in the yesteryear, it would hold been a kid maltreatment probe ( Sect 47 of the kids Act 1989 ) One of the strengths of instance survey is that multiple methods and informations beginnings can be used to research and interrogate instance survey thereby taking to a good description of a research from the position of the participant ( Someth and Lewin 2006 p.33 ) . I do look up to the fact that the research implemented the instance survey attack as this gives the reader a really rich description of the survey and besides gives a reader a good apprehension on the issue. Dependability of the determination was promoted by the informations aggregation from two local governments who have a really different processs and pattern, besides All interviews were tape- recorded. Harmonizing to ( Silverman 2006p. 285 ) , working with the sound and picture recordings eliminates at one stroke many of the jobs that research workers have with the unspecified truth of field notes and limited public entree to them However the generalisation of the research may non be possible. The failing of instance survey is that it is non possible to generalise statistically from a little figure of instances to a population as a whole ( Someth and Lewin 2006 p.34 ) Mentions Punch, K.F. ( 2000 ) Introduction to Social Research Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. London: Sage Publication. Somekh, B. and Lewin, C. ( 2006 ) Research Methods in the Social Sciences. Sage Publication: London. Silverman, D. ( 2006 ) 2nd Edition. Qualitative Research. Theory, Method and Practice. Sage Publication: London. Denscombe, M. ( 2008 ) Land Rules for Good Research, a 10 usher for societal research workers. Open University: Buckingham.

Deaf History and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Deaf History and Culture - Essay Example At the age of nineteen months, Helen Keller was diagnosed as a case of â€Å"acute congestion of the stomach and the brain†. This short term attack of illness left her deaf and blind. Helen proved to be a quite an intelligent child. By the age of seven, she had invented sixty different signs to communicate with her family. Helen’s education career began when her mother took her to a specialist doctor for advice. Actually she was inspired by hearing about another child who was deaf but completed her education successfully. The doctor referred her to the local expert, Alexander Graham Bell. Bell was working for the deaf children at that time. Alexander Graham Bell told Helen’s parents about the institute where that child had got education. It was called the Perkins Institute for the Blind, located in South Boston. Helen was brought there. One of the former students of the school, named Anne Sullivan was designated as Helen’s teacher. She was blind herself an d had got education from the same institute. Anne proved to be a very hard working teacher. After a good effort of about three years, Helen learnt the names of many familiar things. The next step was to speak. Anne taught her to speak using the Tadoma method (touching the lips and throat of others as they speak). Helen continued her education starting from Perkins Institute, then Wright-Humason School for the Deaf, Horace Mann School for the Deaf, The Cambridge School for Young Ladies and finally, the Rad Cliffe College in 1900 becoming the first deaf and blind person to graduate from the college.

The History of Communication in the Acient World Research Paper

The History of Communication in the Acient World - Research Paper Example The invention of writing is assumed to have taken place as part of the commercial activities here, and the clay tablets of Mesopotamia show that trade by river and sea was a major channel of communication between centers of population. Writing was a crucial way of keeping track of goods between tradesmen and guaranteeing the prosperity of these early cities. The civilization of Ancient Egypt took the invention of writing to new levels by using the much more portable format of colored ink on carefully prepared papyrus made from the stems of plants that grew along the Nile. Longer texts could be written on this material, and it was much lighter and easier to transport than the heavy and fragile clay tablets of the Mesopotamian region. Hieroglyphic writing was used both in portable scrolls, and on huge monuments, proclaiming the greatness of this mighty civilization. The Phoenicians were also very active in the ancient world, traveling around the coastlines in their sailing craft, trans porting goods and ideas across very large distances. They must have encountered people from many different countries, speaking different languages, and this need to communicate internationally may well have inspired the symbols which the Phoenicians used and these provide the building blocks which make up modern Western alphabets. The Greek civilization was renowned for its expansionism in a military sense but also for its philosophy and its invention of democracy as a form of government. In ancient times Greek ideas were passed from place to place through a combination of conquest and alliance as different cities became part of the Greek empire. Homer’s Odyssey, for example, describes how great leaders communicated to their citizens using direct word of mouth: â€Å"Straightway he bade the clear-voiced heralds to summon to the assembly the long-haired Achaeans† (Homer, Odyssey, 2.6). Human messengers were the main means of communication over longer distances between r ulers of cities and states, and without modern technologies like telephones and mechanized transport, it took a very long time for news to travel back and forth. Hellenism, as the Greek influence is called, was the bearer of many cultural traditions, including ideas about education, the arts and philosophy. Greek citizens took their culture with them as they colonized new areas, often combining new ideas from other cultures with their Greek way of thinking. Many Greek artefacts borrowed ideas from cultures which had better designs and production technologies , such as Persia, for example, showing that trade was a bearer of culture as well as material benefits (Miller, 1997, p. 202). In the time of Greek supremacy great cosmopolitan hubs were created which served as a central pool of ideas from outlying areas. It was Persia also, which first invented a system of mail service, carrying documents and portable items along staged routes between key cities. The Greeks built libraries, pre serving knowledge, and communicating it from generation to generation, so that scientific discoveries and technological advances could be passed on. People traveled far and wide to learn from great Greek teachers like Socrates, who greatly influenced the history of ideas. The Roman civilization brought many artefacts, ideas and traditions from their Mediterranean to the northernmost parts of Europe, and to North Africa and Asia also. The main channel of communication was the military roads that the armies built as

Isolation of Vibrations Caused By Human Sources Essay Example for Free

Isolation of Vibrations Caused By Human Sources Essay There are many different forms of vibrations that occur on account of human interactions and human involvement. In theory, these vibrations could cause a lot of problems for those who are trying to manage their buildings and structures. There are many different types of vibrations that can be caused by humans. These types of vibrations can include vibrations from trains, cars, airplanes, people who are outside of the structure, and the vibrations caused by small equipment. There are many different things that are done to structures in order to improve their ability to be able to handle the vibrations that are available for both inside the structure as well as what are available when building the structure. These precautions can help the building to be able to withstand the vibrations without causing structural damage or problems. The objectives will be to look at the overall importance of structures being able to withstand vibrations as well as the general knowledge that is needed in order to ensure that the vibrations do not cause structural damage in any form. Through Chapter 2 a literature review this report will look at the various reports and information that are available about vibrations and the various types of vibrations. The report will also look at the different types of problems that could occur within the structure as a result of the vibrations. The various types of precautions that are used to reduce the likelihood of structural damage from vibrations will also be looked at. As will the information that is new and shows the new research and technology that is available. This will all be done through a thorough review of the literature that has been written about the subject. In Chapter 3 the theory being discussed is the idea that structures are subject to a variety of vibrations at all times on account of human interaction with the structures. The theory is that there needs to be precautionary measures taken in order for the structures to be able to withstand the vibrations and therefore not have any structural damage as a result. These types of precautions can include both structural improvements within the structure as well as protecting certain parts of the structure. There are many different types of precautions that can be made and all of them have their own ways of protection for the structure from the dangerous vibrations. However there are many new things being developed through technology that could vastly improve the structure’s chances of withstanding the harmful vibrations. In Chapter 4 a lot of research will go into this report on how these improvements which will be discussed through the previous chapters can truly be the most affective. Analytical analysis of the problems as the solutions as well as the benefits of new technology will be discussed. Both the positive and negative aspects of said reports will be looked at and in the end the structures involved will be able to have the best structural chances possible at this time. These conclusions will be brought forth by information that has been researched and reviewed and through the process of analytical thinking to come up with ways that there can be improvements as well as things that should be continued or discontinued based on their probability of working. Through Chapter 5 it will be noted as to how the conclusions were made in Chapter 4. It will discuss the ideas, thoughts and theories behind the analytical conclusions and how these things were processed. This section will discuss the key points and the validity of the conclusions that were discussed in the previous chapter as well as how these things can be beneficial in being able to make further structural improvements. In Chapter 6 there will be a summary of the information included in the paper. There will also be conclusions that were obtained through the research as well as the information that will help to improve the structural components in being able to identify and withstand varying levels of vibrations. The main purpose of this report will be able to offer information that can be used in order to be able to better manage the overall design concepts and challenges in relations to being able to assist in having structures that can better withstand varying levels of vibrations.

To Kill A Mocking Bird Essay -- To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

2. â€Å"What is the significance of the title of the novel† â€Å"I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after the birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mocking bird.† Atticus Finch recites these lines to his two children, Jem and Scout after he gives them air-rifles for Christmas. Scout is curious, as this is the first time that she has ever heard her father refer to anything as a sin, Scout asks Miss Maude what Atticus meant by this. Miss Maude tells Scout that mocking birds don’t rip up people’s garden’s or annoy them in any way, all they do is play beautiful music for us to listen to. To Kill A Mocking Bird is set in a small town in South America called Maycomb. Most of the town’s people of this happy town are not at all what they seem for there is a great hate for all coloured humans. At first glance many readers would wonder how the title evolved, but once you explore the text you begin to understand what the bases of Harper Lee’s message. Harper Lee has portrayed two characters as Mocking Birds. The first of these is Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is a Negro living in Maycomb who becomes notorious when he is wrongly accused of the rape of a white woman. Atticus knows that the battle will not be an easy case to win, but decides to represent Tom Robinson, as he says that he couldn’t hold his head up in town or tell the children what to do. Tom Robinson was a harmless member of society who nev...

Jazz: Urban and Rural Reactions In the 1920s Essay

Subject Area: Music and American CultureTopic: Jazz: Urban and Rural Reactions in the 1920sIn parallel with the uproar of jazz during the 1920s came the commotion of different critics from various geographical settings. Many of the white people living in rural areas disliked and rejected jazz as a musical genre. However, the urban city-dwellers were more fond of it; therefore, it was more generally accepted and frequently found in city nightclubs and radio stations. Several characteristics of cities also allowed jazz to survive in urban areas over the rural ones, such as: diversity, tolerance, a more progressive attitude, technology (media, radio), more entertainment locations, and a more educated populace. Cities were known for the more relaxed and less-religious atmosphere; in contrast with cities, the rural setting was dominated by a more religious and conservative mood with a homogenous population that was more opposed to the cultural liberalism found in the cities, jazz, and the black society in general. Unlike the rural areas of the time, the socio-cultural dynamic of urban areas, with respect to tolerance, diversity, education, nightlife, and the media, allowed jazz to thrive and become a huge part of American culture. The formation of jazz occurred between the years 1897 and 1917. When jazz bands started playing, they had no way of recording their music until 1917; and even then, the quality of these recordings were atrocious. Another aspect of early jazz was that anything that was played was ever written. Jazz evolved from the blues, ragtime, brass band music, and other musical works that were all around the United States. â€Å"One important factor that existed only in New Orleans, namely, the black Creole subculture† allowed jazz to emanate from the mentioned city (Weinstock). Another aspect of New Orleans that allowed jazz to thrive in this city was the medley of â€Å"ethnic, cultural, and musical conditions [†¦] [and] the necessary philosophical impetus for [j]azz i.e., [†¦] freedom of individual expression supported by group interaction† (Weinstock). This implies that New Orleans was one of the cities, and most likely one of the first, that hosted the new counter-culture that would soon spread throughout the United States. â€Å"The preeminence of New Orleans as a Jazz center came to an end in 1917 during World War I as a result of still another ordinance when Storyville [(an area of New Orleans that was full of dance halls and bordellos where Jazz was the  dominant music)] was closed by the Navy Department† (Weinstock). As a whole, the United States embraced jazz, but there were still many groups of people who disliked jazz and all that it represented. These close minded people, especially those in small-town America, were afraid of the fast changes that were occurring in society and that jazz was the â€Å"cause of [the] loosening [of] morals and frightening dislocations† (Roaring 1). The New York American published an article expressing the views of many conservative, white Americans who thought that â€Å"moral disaster [was] coming to hundreds of young American girls through the pathological, nerve-irritating, sex-exciting music of jazz†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Roaring 2). White audiences in the southern part of the States were ruthless towards black people and their music. The north appeared to be more tolerant, but there were still many confrontations between blacks and whites. Jazz was a part of modernism which helped pave the way for liberals who felt pinned down by the older conservative generations. It also served as a medium for white musicians searching to liberate themselves from the conservative constraints of their time. One can see that the northern part of the states, where cities were mostly located, accepted jazz more easily and quicker. The predominance of racism and general intolerance towards the black culture was another aspect of rural areas that did not allow jazz to thrive. Since jazz was also rejected because of its African American origins, and not only because of the supposed moral decay that it provoked in the youth of America, racism also tied into the calumniation of jazz. This also affected the conservative populace of the suburbs who were afraid their young girls were mesmerized by the â€Å"black music.† Jazz was so closely tied with to African American culture that it was often referred to as being â€Å"the accompaniment of the voodoo dancer† (Roaring 2). By referring to jazz in this manner, critics were trying to degrade and undermine everything that it meant to the black community. They were also trying to lure white Americans into their train of thought and trying to get them agree with their mind mapping accusations. â€Å"Many [†¦] Americans were appalled to see their children dancing to music that was believed to have emerged from [†¦] [the] Negro brothels of the south†(Roaring 2). In addition, a plethora of jazz critics  became famous for voicing their dislike of jazz. But in fact, they hid behind their critiques of jazz in order to express, not the dislike of the music, â€Å"but the social and political dislike of the black population† (Anderson 135). The problem that worried white conservatives the most was interbreeding between black and white young people who were really into jazz mainly because it belonged to the new counter-culture. Jazz served as the highway that joined blacks and whites. Whites were not only racists towards blacks emotionally, but their prejudice expanded to influencing their physical behavior as well. Many times did the racist, anti-jazz white population try to sully jazz to something much dirtier than it truly was. Since jazz came from the black population, who were once slaves, jazz was not socially accepted as a real musical genre. It often occurred that jazz musicians were characterized as viruses that tried to infect the general population through their music. Jazz was labeled Mumbo-Jumbo (meaning non-sense) by many critics, and by this discounting jazz as any kind of music where talent is needed. It seemed like the white trend was being against jazz and it’s black producer. According to an article in the September 1918 issue of the Current Opinion: â€Å"One touch of [j]azz makes savages of us all† (Anderson 138). The goal of white critics was to undermine black music and culture. Hate towards jazz and jazz musicians in general came to such extremes as to where they were threatened through magazine articles. These articles suggested lynching, kidnappings, and murders, among others, to scare the black population. Even though that by the 1920s and early 1930s jazz had gained an international reputation and was already part of the American culture, the â€Å"racial innuendoes in articles on jazz continued† (Anderson 141). The white population continuously tried to limit jazz’s growth, by letting the jazz musicians know that their music was not welcome through critical and controversial magazine and newspaper articles. The main goal of the critics who published articles dehumanizing blacks and bashing jazz was to disenfranchise the jazz industry and to label blacks as savages who wanted to recruit more and more people to their music. â€Å"[M]usic soothes the savage beast, but we never stopped to consider that an entirely  different type of music might invoke savage instincts†(Anderson 141-42). With this, Anderson is trying to imply that blacks are savages and those who listen to jazz will turn into savages as well. By the latter part of 1924, jazz had gained many white musicians and had also grown in popularity among the white crowd. The white population came to believe that notion that â€Å"[†¦] when white people play jazz, it is jazz music, but when black people play jazz, it is jungle noise† (Anderson 144). So, in order to accept this, many critics came to the conclusion that white and black jazz were different and that white jazz was pleasing while black jazz tried to make music but only succeeded in producing noise. Critics played a huge role in dehumanizing jazz and the black population. During the late 1920s to early 1930s, Jazz became so big that it came to shape and represent the new American culture of the cities and the people of this time. â€Å"Jazz music [†¦] became a symbol for all the modern innovations that traditionalists despised[:] the new leisure, city life, Freud, and other elements of the 1920s cultural modernism†(Peretti 2). Peretti is implying that jazz became a huge part of America in a way that it helped shape the culture to what it is today. In fact, it became such a big influence, that during the 1930s white jazz musicians tried to get all the credit for jazz and succeeded in many places. Audiences would consider many white performers (i.e. Benny Goodman) symbolic to jazz. However, in big cities like Chicago, blacks were credited with the invention of jazz and their seemed to be more cooperation between black and white musicians. Chicago was one of the main destinations for black musicians who moved from rural to urban areas of the country in order to play and promote their music. It is speculated that white musicians only exploited jazz because of the commercial gain and the huge public attention that it had. It is also believed by some that they played the music in parody: in order to mock the black musicians and jazz. In many places, whites tried to take all the spotlight for inventing jazz while whites in other locations stepped out and let the black culture shine. The big cities of America were famous for their animated and wide ranging nightlife that allowed jazz to be heard by a manifold of people. Many clubs  around the states opened their doors to jazz and jazz musicians from various ethnicities, though mainly white and black. Jazz nightlife reached its peak in Harlem, New York during the 1920s. This era was also known as the Harlem Renaissance. During this time one of the most eminent clubs in that area was the Cotton Club. The elite would frequently congregate at this location which was famous for having alcohol, during the age of prohibition, and because of its jazz. Although jazz and black jazz musicians were welcomed and most of the time the protagonists on the stage, they were not allowed to be part of the regular crowd or mingle with the white throng; admission to the Cotton Club was strictly limited to whites. This was an example of how the white population discriminated the black people but embraced their music and part of their culture. American cities, like New Orleans, New York, and Chicago, were the birthplaces of jazz and allowed jazz to spread throughout the other states. Another northern city that was also affected by the ‘big bang’ of jazz music and its culture was Chicago. This was also a scene where prohibition loomed and nightclubs defied it. Big jazz bands were many times features in lavish shows put on in cabarets. Many Chicago residents turned to these destinations in search of a fun night. For many city-dwellers, joining the jazz scene was a way of protesting against prohibition. â€Å"Biting and incisive, jazz personified this protest, this direct, raw approach to life, which offended the â€Å"solid† citizen and was looked upon as sinful by puppeteers and preachers and as cheap and tawdry by small-minded classicists†(Dexter 34). Chicago was not only the scene of protest against prohibition, but also the place where many young musicians moved to with a goal to start and succeed at their own musical careers. Many prospered, but many more did not; Chicago became such a hotbed for jazz, that there were too many musicians trying to spread their sounds. One of the places where musicians could go to listen and talk to other musicians was the Three Deuces (later known as the Off-Beat Club). It was a â€Å"convenient and cheap place to meet and jam between jobs†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Dexter 38). When jazz was on the verge of expansion, numerous small clubs appeared in many cities were jazz musicians could congregate and listen to different songs and interpretations. The invention of the â€Å"talkie†, an early form of the jukebox, had a great impact on the spread of jazz. At first, many musicians had no idea how the talkie could revolutionize the music scene. At this time, the only way to listen to music was to presence it live. The talkie allowed for a raunchy reproduction of several tunes, which became the perfect tool for the spread of the popularity of jazz. These talkies were soon spotted and nightclubs, diners, bars, and other locations, for their customers to listen to jazz (or any form of music) freely. The talkie sparked a new interest for jazz, which later led to the dispersion of many musicians from Chicago who moved on to accept jobs in other cities (especially New York). The invention of the talkie gave people from all around the country access to jazz anytime they pleased. Jazz owes all its fame, glory, and expansion to the great cities of the 1920’s America. Full of diverse people, vast places for entertainment, the radio and a more educated populace that yielded more tolerance to new ideas and forms of expression, cities opened their doors to jazz and all that this new music represented. They were responsible in allowing for the formation of jazz to what it is today; embedded in the American culture, jazz has become the only true American form of music. Though often challenged by close-mindedness, jazz managed to prosper. Jazz has not only maintained its original form through the interpretation of some talented musicians but it has also evolved to influence the popular music of today. Works Cited Anderson, Maureen. â€Å"White Reception of Jazz in America.† African American Review. 8.1 135-145 (Spring 2004). Dexter Jr., Dave. The Jazz Story: from the ’90s to the ’60s. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964. Peretti, Burton W. Jazz in American Culture. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1997. Peretti, Burton W. The Creation of Jazz: Music, Race, and Culture in Urban America. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1992. â€Å"Roaring Twenties – History in the Key of Jazz.† PBS – Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns. 7 September 2004. Weinstock, Len. â€Å"The Origins of Jazz.† The Red Hot Jazz Archive. 29 January 2005.

Neutron Stars and Pulsars Creation and Properties

What happens when giant stars explode? They create  supernovae, which are some of the most dynamic events in the universe. These stellar conflagrations create such intense explosions that the light they emit can outshine entire galaxies. However, they also create something much weirder from the leftover: neutron stars. The Creation of Neutron Stars A neutron star is a really dense, compact ball of neutrons. So, how does a massive star go from being a shining object to a quivering, highly magnetic and dense neutron star? Its all in how stars live their lives. Stars spend most of their lives on what is known as the main sequence. The main sequence begins when the star ignites nuclear fusion in its core. It ends once the star has exhausted the hydrogen in its core and begins fusing heavier elements. Its All About Mass Once a star leaves the main sequence it will follow a particular path that is pre-ordained by its mass. Mass is the amount of material the star contains. Stars that have more than eight solar masses (one solar mass is equivalent to the mass of our Sun) will leave the main sequence and go through several phases as they continue  to fuse elements up to iron. Once the fusion ceases in a stars core, it starts to contract, or fall in on itself, due to the immense gravity of the outer layers. The outer part of the star falls onto the core and rebounds to create a massive explosion called a Type II supernova. Depending on the mass of the core itself, it will either become a neutron star or black hole.   If the mass of the core is between 1.4 and 3.0 solar masses the core will only become a neutron star. The protons in the core collide with very high-energy electrons and create neutrons. The core stiffens and sends shock waves through the material that is falling onto it. The outer material of the star is then driven out into the surrounding medium creating the supernova. If the leftover core material is greater than three solar masses, theres a good chance that it will continue to compress until it forms a black hole.   Properties of Neutron Stars Neutron stars are difficult objects to study and understand. They emit light across a broad part of the electromagnetic spectrum—the various wavelengths of light—and seem to vary quite a bit from star to star. However, the very fact that each neutron star appears to exhibit different properties can help astronomers  understand what drives them. Perhaps the greatest barrier to studying neutron stars is that they are incredibly dense, so dense that a 14-ounce can of neutron star material would have as much mass as our Moon. Astronomers have no way of modeling that kind of density here on Earth. Therefore its difficult to understand the physics of what is going on. This is why studying the light from these stars is so important because it gives us clues as to what is going on inside the star. Some scientists claim that the cores are dominated by a pool of free quarks—the fundamental building blocks of matter. Others contend that the cores are filled with some other type of exotic particle like pions. Neutron stars also have intense magnetic fields. And it is these fields that are partially responsible for creating the X-rays and gamma rays that are seen from these objects. As electrons accelerate around and along the magnetic field lines they emit radiation (light) in wavelengths from optical (light we can see with our eyes) to very high energy gamma-rays. Pulsars Astronomers suspect that all neutron stars rotate and do so quite rapidly. As a result, some observations of neutron stars yield a pulsed emission signature. So neutron stars are often referred to as PULSating stARS (or PULSARS), but differ from other stars that have variable emission. The pulsation from neutron stars is due to their rotation, where as other stars that pulsate (such as cephid stars) pulsate as the star expands and contracts. Neutron stars, pulsars, and black holes are some of the most exotic stellar objects in the universe. Understanding them is only part of learning about the physics of giant stars and how they are born, live, and die. Edited by Carolyn Collins Petersen.