The growing human population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The growing human population - Essay Example This rate of increase has had a severe impact on the environment. The world most populated country is China with the population of 1.2 billion people. The population of China is expected to double in the next 60 years. This will happen despite China’s government enacting policies of one child per couple. Additionally, the population growth in USA is growing at the rate of 1%, with current population of 270 million, it is estimated that the population will be double in the next 70 years (Pimental 1) Increasing population is attributed to fertility rate, this is evident when developed and developing countries populations are compared. Analysis of developed countries such as in Europe and USA shows that they have less population growth. The study of population growth in the developing countries shows that their population is increasing at alarming rate. This could be attributed to the fact that couples in developed countries are well aware of the cost of large families. Approximately 2 billion of the world populations are malnourished; this number is expected to double in the future. Populous countries like India have the high number of poor people, to add this, food production is a problem, and these are just some of the negative aspects of large

Video games in pop-culture Essay Example for Free

Video games in pop-culture Essay Video games and computer games (from here on both categories will be simply referred to as video games for simplicity) have entered the domain of pop culture fairly recently. Although the first video game was developed in 1958 by William Higginbotham, their popularity didn’t occur until the seventies with the appearance of Pac-man and Frogger in the arcades (Computer and Video Games). If the younger generation of video game consumers would take a look at what was out there when the video game boom begun they wouldn’t be able to understand what was so attractive (and addictive?) about Pac-man and Frogger? The truth is, video games from over three decades ago share the same basic principles with the games we have out there right now. Let’s face it, we like video games because they provide us with interactive entertainment. In other words, we’re genuinely entertained by colorful objects that move on the TV/computer screen when we press certain buttons. I suggest that it is the overwhelming gratification that we experience from actually having absolute and unconditional control over something in our lives. Another suggestion that I have is that video games share the same elements or even directly imitate traditional games such as tag, ping-pong, chess, hopscotch etc. ; video games allow us to engage in these games easily, without any stigma or significant effort on our parts. Video games are fun, inexpensive, can become a social activity allowing friends to play along, and sometimes they’re even mentally stimulating if not challenging. They’ve been a real hit every since they came out and today the video game industry has grown significantly. However, let’s examine the circle of people that are involved in production and design of video games. As long ago as video games first became popular their manufacturers turned them into sellable products. It seems a bit ridiculous that a video game can cost as much as $50 (for a good video game), however, this amount seems almost justified if we consider all the effort put into the creation of a good video game. There are perhaps more steps involved in the creation of video games then in a production of a music album. First of all, behind every great game there’s a great idea, which most often have been proven to be interesting to human brain in real life (tag, chess, checkers, etc.). However, this idea has to be turned into machine language, so then it could be displayed on the TV/computer screen in the digital format. Second, there’s a wealth of robust and â€Å"well-polished† computer software behind every good video game. Good video games are well-implemented and, therefore, run with no problems – example of good computer design. Bad games are poorly â€Å"written†, therefore, crash often and require frequent resets (turning the video game console/computer off and back on). Third, there’s the testing stage, where beta-testers (pro gamers, hired by manufacturers) test the games for â€Å"bugs†, â€Å"glitches†, and â€Å"crashes† (various code problems). If the game passes the tests with few problems it gets released and advertised. Highly anticipated games are advertised long before their release by means of internet teaser videos, information from the developers and screenshots taken during the development/testing phase. Games that are expected to make it big are even advertised on television. But why do we listen to these ads and buy video games, one might ask, don’t we have more important things to occupy our free with? This question brings to the discussion of the social world involvement in the video game industry. Indeed, we, as consumers, both passive and active, create the context and content for video games. A lot of games, as I’ve already mentioned earlier in this essay revolve around activities we enjoy in real life such as analog games, sports, social interactions, operating various devices, working a job, solving problems, managing finances, dancing but most importantly fantasizing. Most people given the possibility would love to engage in a variety of activities that are outside their usual mundane existence. While the living out these activities might be a bit complicated for a variety of reasons starting from time and ending with money, their virtual representation are readily available in a digital format. There are literally tons of video games out there that simulate all sorts of sports, their popularity is especially high among Americans who idealize a fit, toned and healthy body image and an active lifestyle. Video games also burrow heavily from other forms of popular entertainment such as movies, cartoons, books, music, television game shows, commix etc. These genres sometimes attempt to do the same and burrow content from video games only to fail miserably every single time (Bloodrayne, Doom, Dungeons and Dragons). Perhaps, the reason why this happens is because video games in addition to mind blowing special effects and often great story lines and excellent voice-over/soundtrack also offer interactivity (active participation f the player). Refined of participation element video game-to-movie adaptations are like about as entertaining as a video game with no controller to manipulate the characters and the outcomes. This gives evidence that shows that although video games represent a humongous industry and have a great diversity of products, they are nothing without the social world. Whether we’re simulating a football game, controlling an army of monsters or flying on a magic carpet we’re doing nothing else but living out our fantasies which are based on something we’ve (a) actually participated in, (b) would like to participate in or (c) simply heard of, read about or saw on pictures/video. However, there are of course more complex situations when games come very close to offer the players a virtual reality filled with possibilities limited only by the context of the game. There are games that offer entire virtual islands with their own flora and fauna for players to explore. In a sense, this puts the idea of content of video games being dictated by reality under question and opens a debate on whether video games will ultimately become substitutes for reality. As consumers it is up to us to answer this question for ourselves. Before we explore our options, however, let’s take a look around and see who the consumers of video games are. Video games have gained massive popularity due to their dramatically increasing variety. Decades ago when video games were just starting to develop this domain of the market was aimed primarily at high-school age boys. This was primarily due to the character of older video games, which centered on shooting, fighting and other activities typical (although not exclusive) to males. Now, as games are becoming more and more diverse women have been steadily joining this entertainment industry branch and now constitute 26% of the entire gaming world (Ulmer). Adult males (18+) are currently the world’s biggest video game consumers (38%), younger boys (ages 6-17) now only represent 21% of the total consumers. The mean age of video game consumers has risen to 29 (Ulmer), which means that this sector of the entertainment market is now dominated by college students and young working professionals, as opposed to high school boys. Other data from presented by James Ulmer of hollywoodreporter. com reveals that video games is a multi-billion dollar industry which keeps growing larger each year. It has shifted its consumer base by expanding towards a more mature audience and towards women as well. A direction of such character, based on the data, did not only help this industry acquire new customers but also dramatically increased this industry’s annual profits worldwide. Returning to the consumers, as we’ve observed, video games today are no longer an exclusively younger male entertainment; by expanding the market to both sexes and raising the target age average video game industry has now become inseparable from pop-culture. Movies, books, music and other segments of pop-culture inevitably influence content and context of video games; in fact video games are so closely tied to the rest of the media these days that one can find these products bundled together in one item at stores like Virgin, Borders, Best Buy and others. However, video games is multi-faced phenomenon; it’s as much a part of world’s pop-culture as it is an art form and a simulator of reality. It is only a matter of time before people realize and experience a fuller range of applications of video games. These discoveries are, however, in minds and hands of researchers and developers, we are but passive observers of their innovations and active participants of their popular products. Only time will show. Works Cited â€Å"Computer and Video Games†. 8 Mar. 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 7 Mar. 2006. Ulmer, James. â€Å"Broadband rules in rapidly expanding global video game market†. TheHollywoodReporter. com. 27 Sep. 2004. VNU eMedia, Inc. 7 Mar. 2006.

Claude Monet: More than an Impression Essay -- Artists Painters Impres

Claude Monet: More than an Impression From Alaska to Australia, Claude Monet is renowned for his contribution to the artistic world. Specifically, Monet is accredited with inspiring the subfield of impressionism. His painting, Impression, Rising Sun, (1873) is said to be the first impressionist painting (Taschen 31). This canvas vaguely pictures a small, lonely boat floating in front of a brilliant orange sun. This sun is surrounded by blue and grey tones that leave the viewer slightly chilled from the brisk early morning sense of the painting. The fact that the lines are blurred and the picture is without graphic detail led Louis Leroy to call its creator an impressionist. The impressionist movement stormed through Europe in the latter part of the 19th century. Today in museums from St. Petersburg to Chicago, people peruse Monet’s vision of the world. What many people do not realize, however, is that he left more than an impression. Aside from pleasing the eye, Monet’s works also paint a picture of 19th ce ntury France. France in the 19th Century Monet’s artistic career started much before the impressionist movement. While today he is famous for his landscapes and nature scenes, it wasn’t until 1858 that Monet began to paint outside, focusing on the natural beauty of France (Interagir.com). At this time, Napoleon III had gained power and France was beginning to feel the affects of the Industrial Revolution, which had started in 1830 (Francegate.com). Napoleon’s right hand man, Baron Haussman, redesigned the Europe District of Paris (Steele 35). He added huge boulevards and transformed Paris’ first train station into the magnificent station, Gare Saint Lazare. The changes that happened in the Europe District eventually spr... ... of his life he wanted to return to God. The speed and virility of trains can be equated with his younger life, while his older years are represented by true monuments of time and piety: cathedrals. Works Cited Francegate.com 17 Sept. 2003. History of France. 2001. http://ydelta.free.fr/history.htm. Interagir.com. 17 Sept. 2003. Biography of Claude Monet. 8 May 1999. http://www.intermonet.com/biograph/index.htm. National Gallery of Art. 17 Sept. 2003. Manet, Monet and the Gar Saint-Lazare. 2003. http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/pjmanet.htm. Steele, Ross, Susan St. Onge, and Ronald St. Onge. La civilisation franà §aise en à ©volution I. Boston : Heinle and Heinle, 1996 Taschen, Benedikt. Monet. Trans. Michael Hulse. Germany: Holhenzollernring, 1994. Wilson-Bareau, Juliet. Manet, Monet, and the Gare Saint-Lazare. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.

Primary School classroom Essay

These Poets write Honestly about their Experiences. Explore the Memories Expressed in their Poems and consider what Views they are sharing about Growing Up  Carol Ann Duffy expresses her views and gives her true experiences to do with childhood and growing up. She uses a range of techniques in her poems, like similes to emphasize her feelings and emotions and imagery, where she uses metaphors to help create the picture and mood of the atmosphere of each poem. For example, the Primary School classroom. Simon Armitage also writes about everyday experiences, childhood, growing up, changes and regrets. He uses less imagery than Carol Ann Duffy, but in one particular poem ‘Kid’, he uses a great more rhyme. They both include experiences towards school life, where Carol Ann Duffy writes about the younger years and Simon Armitage writes about the older years at school. These two poets are similar in some ways, but can be quite different in others. For example, in Duffy’s ‘Stealing’ it shares the feelings of a child who steals for no reason and Duffy adds comments from her own experiences. It can make the reader feel quite depressed and sad, whereas in ‘I am very Bothered’ by Simon Armitage, it is again about a child with regret for something he did at school, but instead of being sad it uses black humour and is more horrible â€Å"†¦stench of branded skin†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In ‘Mrs Tilscher’s Class’, Carol Ann Duffy starts with â€Å"you†, which makes it personal and sets the scene â€Å"travel up the Blue Nile†.  She identifies things like Primary School aspects very well â€Å"†¦with your finger, tracing the route†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This is a good reminder to what children do when they are little. She creates the picture of the blackboard â€Å"chalky Pyramids rubbed into dust†. This suggests break time and â€Å"the laugh of a bell swung by a running child† creates a jolly, happy time that all the kids look forward to. This gives a comparison between home and school. â€Å"This was better than home†. There are more interesting things to be found at school, like â€Å"enthralling books†, which is obviously what she doesn’t have at home.  She uses similes to describe the classroom. â€Å"The classroom glowed like a sweet shop†. This creates the idea of colour that a sweet shop would have.  She tells of a negative memory â€Å"Brady and Hindley†, which â€Å"faded, like the faint, uneasy smudge of a mistake†. School has so many good memories that it is able to make the bad ones disappear. She uses emotion â€Å"Mrs Tilscher loved you†, and alliteration â€Å"good gold star†, which makes the poem flow easier. It also sounds a bit like a child’s expression.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A xylophone’s nonsense† gives the impression of tuneless playing, which kids do in Primary School, they don’t care about accuracy, just about having fun. It also appeals to the senses by using sounds as well as visual images.

Cultural Awareness Essay

The popular book Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice is a novel that is responsible for the revitalization of the vampire genre in popular fiction. The book itself tells an interesting story about three vampires: Lestat, Louis, and Claudia. The tale is told from the perspective of Louis, a Creole American plantation owner in pre-Civil War America who catches the eye of Lestat, a vampire who is roaming the world alone, in need of a companion. Louis is depressed because of losing his family and therefore is suceptible to Lestat’s eagerness to make him into a vampire, which he does. The plot of the book revolves around these two characters as they live together. Louis hates what he has become and loathes taking life but makes Claudia, a little five year old girl, into a vampire as well. The relationship between Lestat and Louis, and their shared love of Claudia, is depicted throughout the novel as Louis struggles with his immortality, Lestat faces the betrayal of Louis and Claudia, and Claudia matures mentally without every growing physically. Their struggles with each other and against each other becomes the driving force behind the novel. The setting of Interview with the Vampire is primarily Paris and New Orleans before and after the Civil War. The vampires live together in a flat, where much of the action takes place between all of the characters. The reader is led through the torment of the plague in Paris, the customs of the slaves in New Orleans, and the underbelly of these two cities where Lestat, Louis, and Claudia find the people that they feed off of each night for their sustenance and strength. The characters found within this book are Lestat, Louis, Claudia, and Armand. These main characters show themselves throughout the novel to be interesting and complex. The character of Claudia emerges as a young girl whose mother has died of the plague and who Louis feels extremely sickened about when he feeds off of her. Lestat then helps him create a vampire out of her. Armand is the leader of the coven in Paris and becomes a close companion of Louis after Lestat and he go their separate ways. Each character brings a new dimension to the story.