Jean François Champollion Deciphering Ancient Egypt with...

Arguably one of the most important discoveries made regarding the historical and cultural study of ancient Egypt is the translation of the writing form known as hieroglyphics. This language, lost for thousands of years, formed a tantalizing challenge to a young Jean Franà §ois who committed his life to its translation. Scholars such as Sylvestre de Sacy had attempted to translate the Rosetta Stone before Champollion, but after painstaking and unfruitful work, they abandoned it (Giblin 32). Champollion’s breakthrough with hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone opened up new possibilities to study and understand ancient Egypt like never before, and modern Egyptology was born. The Rosetta Stone was found in the town of Rosetta and sent to French†¦show more content†¦Although he was able to find them, he was not able to decipher an alphabetical system that applied to the rest of the text. It seemed that the other symbols represented things, not letters. Having reached a dead end in his work, he gave up, saying, â€Å"The problem is too complicated, scientifically insoluble† (Giblin 32). A few others continued after him with the same idea of a solely alphabetical system, but they all came to the same dead end and were not able to make any progress. One of the first scholars to make any real headway on the translation was Thomas Young, a British polymath (Silet 1). Being a polymath and not understanding any of the language to begin with, Young meticulously inspected the stone, looking for recurring patterns and recording the number of times each symbol was repeated (Meyerson 123). Young knew that Ptolemys were Greek, so he assumed that the name â€Å"Ptolemaios,† spelled in the Greek style, would appear spelled the same way in the hieroglyphic section. Indeed he did find several times the cartouche containing what he believed to spell â€Å"Ptolemaios† (Giblet 40). He misunderstood a few of the symbols’ meanings, and it was later discovered that the Egyptian spelling was â€Å"Ptolmis,† but Young had taken the first major steps into translating the hieroglyphics (Giblet 41). The next step, and arguably the whole rest of the project, wasShow MoreRelatedThe Rosetta Stone By Thomas Halloran1575 Words   |  7 Pages The Rosetta Stone By Thomas Halloran The Rosetta Stone was a crucial part of deciphering hieroglyphs for mankind. The Rosetta Stone is a large piece of dark grey granite. The Stone is three feet nine inches long and two feet four inches wide. The stone approximately weighs a massive 1,680 pounds. Carved by the Egyptians in 196 B.C., the Stone contains a portion of text reflected in three scripts. One of the scripts, Hieroglyphs, had not been deciphered when the Stone was discovered. The otherRead More The Rosetta Stone Essay1011 Words   |  5 PagesThe Rosetta Stone In 1799, when Napoleon’s army was dismantling a wall in Rashid, Egypt, they discovered the Rosetta Stone. Little did they know that this 11-inch thick piece of rock would be one of the greatest discoveries in history! It contained Egyptian scripture, with Greek also on the stone. This was used to decode the once lost Egyptian writing system. Before the 1800’s, attempts at trying to uncover the secrets held by the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics found on walls inside numerousRead MoreControversial Issues in Archaelogy1011 Words   |  4 Pagesunlike their predecessors. Napoleon Bonaparte made a major step towards â€Å"scientific archaeology†. When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 he brought scholars to study the ancient architecture and art. One of Napoleon’s soldiers, Jean-Franà §ois Champollion, discovered the Rosetta stone. The Rosetta stone was an important discovery because it turned out to be the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics (Dow dey, 2). After this discovery, the importance of the field of archaeology was shown to the

Essay on A Character Comparison Nora Vs. Antigone

A Character Comparison: Nora Vs. Antigone In the novels A Dolls House and Antigone, Ibsen and Sophocles respectively create two lead female characters, Nora and Antigone, who confront societys expectations of women in fundamentally different ways. Nora goes against the grain of middle class society by first forging her fathers signature and then deceiving her husband, Torvald, throughout their marriage; Antigone, on the other hand, openly challenges and defies the rule of men, including her uncle and King of Thebes, Creon. Although Nora and Antigone share some comparable personality traits, like being strong willed and motivated, they confront the men in their lives and their comparable societies in two distinctive ways, which, as a†¦show more content†¦For most in Thebian society, the social isolation and induced shame brought about by being unique would steer the individual back towards the widespread held principles. However, it can be observed that Antigone is far too strong willed to submit to societys standar ds for behavior, and even Creon states submission [to men] is a thing shes never learned. (211) In A Dolls House as well, women such as Nora have many restraints that keep them from performing certain actions, even if they are good intentioned. For instance, in Noras society a wife cannot borrow without her husbands consent. (12) Not only that, but Nora seems to rely on the men in her life, mainly Torvald to perform various tasks for her. I cant hit upon anything that will do; everything I think of seems so silly and insignificant. Does my little Nora acknowledge that at last? (27) Torvald here illustrates the fact that Noras and consequently womens place in society is dictated by the rule of man - women can make few decisions without the assistance of men. Moreover when Nora asks Torvald to reinstate Krogstad to the bank, he blatantly refuses, stating, Is it to get about now that the new manager has changed his mind at his wifes bidding  ¾ Do you suppose I am going to make myself ridiculous before my whole staff...? (35) For anyone to sway Torvald would be ridiculous, but it being his own wife, that he supposedly has ultimate control over, would beShow MoreRelatedA Character Comparison: Nora vs. Antigone Essay1922 Words   |  8 PagesMay 17, 2005 World Literature Paper I A Character Comparison: Nora Vs. Antigone In the novels A Dolls House and Antigone, Ibsen and Sophocles respectively create two lead female characters, Nora and Antigone, who confront societys expectations of women in fundamentally different ways. Nora goes against the grain of middle class society by first forging her fathers signature and then deceiving her husband, Torvald, throughout their marriage; Antigone, on the other hand, openly challenges and

Distress Signs of a Failing Economy free essay sample

Their governments lose legitimacy, and the very nature of the particular nation-state itself becomes illegitimate in the eyes and in the hearts of a growing plurality of its citizens†. This is mainly caused by the inability to deliver the necessary Political Goods, needed by the citizenry to live a comfortable life. He also described Political Goods as those intangible and hard to quantify claims that citizens once made on sovereigns and now make on states. They encompass expectations, conceivably obligations, inform the local political culture, and together give content to the social contract between rulers and the ruled that is at the core of regime/government and citizenry interactions. These are those service-oriented obligations that the rulers are supposed to perform for and on behalf of the ruled or those who placed them in office to represent their interest. However, shortage of Political Goods is at the core of the causes of failure in most failed or failing states. The signs of a failing State – a government which for whatever reason is unwilling or unable to fulfill its responsibilities to a particular country’s citizenry can be referred to as failing or failed (Fr Laurent Magesa, 2011). Nigeria as a nation, has in recent times been encountering some difficulties, otherwise we can call them some signs, which some failed states around the world showed on their way to the subsequent failure of their system. These distress signs, which are now eminent in almost every areas of the Nigerian scheme of things, are enumerated below. However, the writer of this paper stands to be criticized in the case that any of the views highlighted below are not true or does not share the general view of any of the reader of the paper. Distress signs of failed States as evidence in the Nigerian economy today can be grouped into different scopes according to Economic, Political, Social Factors, as illustrated below: Economic Factors/Signs 1. Unstable Economy Index: Many will not exactly agree with this point in the sense that the leaders of the Financial/Economic sector keep telling the populace that the nation has a huge sum of money in its foreign reserves. But come to think of it: if the money really exists, why aren’t we building more roads, bridges, railways, drainages and other capitals projects? The fact is that despite the huge money being derived from the Oil/Gas sector of the country, Nigeria is yet to fully utilize the proceeds economically to benefit the populace. The implication here is that should oil/gas dry up today, nothing will stop the country from failing and very drastically. 2. High level of unemployment: According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, more than 40% of the population of Nigeria are unemployed or living below the average level of $1 (One Dollar) a day. With this level of unemployment and poor living standard, it is expedient that failure is inevitable. 3. Ever-increasing cost of living: This is the most painful sign that is eating every citizen of this country. Even when this was almost unbearable, the cost of living in the country has tripled since the removal of the subsidy on fuel products by the present administration. Also, the difference between the haves and the have-nots have also widened very bigger and wider. This is a sure sign of a failing state and it is evident every part of the country, including in the society where the reader of this text is residing. Social Factors/Signs 1. Unresolved Insecurity problems: This range from the incessant cases of kidnapping, armed robbery, killings and other vices that have made the nation (especially the Northern part) an uninviting place for foreign investors. When this becomes the case, the citizens will be left to languish in penury, as no nation in the world can flourish in the face of insecurity. 2. Substandard Educational System: The educational system of Nigeria for the past two decades has been dwindling in standards and the governments are yet to show any sign of seriousness in tackling the challenges that faces this important sector. It is believed that when the educational sector of a nation is faulty, other sector will follow suit. As a result of this, many of our elites are now sending their children to foreign institutions to study. The implication here is that a time is coming that those who are at the helm of affairs of this nation will not be sound enough to lead the nation to the right direction. And what would be the result of such leadership? Failure! 3. Ethnic/Religious Disturbances: This is mainly in vogue especially States in the Middle Belt and the northern parts of the country; where the ceaseless and gruesome murdering of innocent Nigerians in the name of religious affiliation has remain unabated. Although, our leaders are playing politics with this situation at the moment, but if the lives of the citizens who voted for you to be in office is been used in playing politics, what else should we expect? At the moment, the economic life of the many states like Borno, Adamawa, Kano, Katsina and even Plateau is in shamble as many resourceful people has left the states as a result of the incessant bombings and murdering of innocent lives. While these people are moving out, none is willing to move in; a good sign of a failing nation because our leaders are not even doing anything tangible to stop the menace. Political Factors/Signs 4. Corruption: According to a recent report by Gallup. com, an online polling centre for world statistics, Nigeria is the second most corrupt nation in the world. With this high level of corruption, it is expected that a time will come when the populace will not be able to tolerate this anymore and a drastic revolution will be inevitable. 5. Politics of Ethnicity: This is one of the worst signal we have in the country today. This is due to the various numbers of ethnic groups which are believed to be running in the thousands. However, with each ethnic group always fighting to gain something for its own immediate ethnic constituency, the interest of the nation is being threatened. For example, a Yoruba man will fight to site a project in his district, even when the project will not be economically beneficial to the nation if it is sited in that region. Remember the sitting of a refinery in Kano, Northern part of the country, where crude oil is not drilled or exploited. In this context, the cost of transporting the crude from the Niger Delta region where the crude are drilled to this part of the country cost a lot of money and that is not in the interest of the nation. This, as far as am concern is also a distress sign to be avoided if the country is to escape disintegration. . Unreliable Judicial System: That the judiciary in Nigeria acts not independently for justice of the oppressed, but on behalf of the powers-that-be is evidence of corruption: justice has been â€Å"bought,† in the first place, by those in power. One of the biggest challenges a person faces today is therefore to show where in Nigeria corruption is the exception, where it is prosecut ed to the fullest extent of the law, where the â€Å"small person†, the David of the Nigerian village, can get justice against the â€Å"big person† with political and financial influence, the Goliath of the city. The opposite, the victimization of the small person, is evident everywhere, to people with eyes to see. The reader of this text can testify to this fact, if he is patriotic enough to admit the worst. 7. Unreliable Electoral System: It is believed that Nigeria is still young in her democracy. However, with the way the electoral system is been run now, a great revolution may break out that can eventually lead to the disintegration of the entity known as Nigerian and bring in something else if the right steps are not taken to remedy the situation. The most painful part of this is that our leaders play politics with every important reform that would have taken the country to its zenith in the community of nations. Remember the Justice Uwais report and the panel of Justice Oputa, whose recommendations in respect of the best ways to reform our electoral system never saw the light of day. These are clear signal that Nigeria is a failing nation. 8. Lack of full separation of power: Vesting too much ower in Executive system of government: concentrated governmental powers de facto in the executive branch of government can be a sure recipe for a failing State. Democratic experiments the world over have confirmed beyond doubt that when this happens, disaster with regard to just governance is not far away. The executive, legislative and judicial arms of the State should be kept separate because, if they are collapsed together, as they tend to be in Africa especially Nigeria, democracy is inevitably strangled, civil oppression and strife reign, and the State as a viable reality disintegrates. Fundamental human rights – such as â€Å"the right not to be tortured or treated in an inhuman or degrading manner; the right not to be held in servitude or to be required to perform forced labour; the right to liberty; the right to a fair trial; the right not to be punished other than in accordance with the law; the right to respect for private and family life; freedom of thought, conscious and religion; freedom of expression; freedom of assembly and association; the right to marry; and the right to effective remedy before the courts for violation of the other fundamental rights,† as the lawyer Aidan O’Neill summarizes them (The Tablet 9 February 2002, p. 13) – then tend to count for nothing. 9. Reckless Law Enforcement Agencies: The police and army are the instruments of government normally charged with the responsibility to keep law and order and peace in the case of the former, and to defend the nation from external threats in the case of the latter. They should work closely with the judicial, the executive and the legislative arms of the State. In many parts of Nigeria, however, they have been cited to be rife with corruption and cruelty. Police officers asking openly for bribes are a routine thing in police offices and on the streets of Nigeria for sure. Nobody, not even the young ones need to be told of this as we all experience it in one way or the other. Even if it is open to question or interpretation, the accusation that more people meet a violent end in Nigeria at the hands of an incompetent, ruthless and trigger-happy police force, acting under various dubious pretexts, than, for example, in road accidents, is alone a matter of concern. Conclusion Similar symptoms highlighted above can continuously be analysed, as there are many more signs threatening our unity as a nation. The failure of the government to tackle some serious national issues like power, true federalism, free and fair electoral system, job creation, insecurity, buoyant and stable financial systems, etc has continuously been a great threat to our national integration and unity as one nation. For instance, after so many innocent killings in the North, as a result of the incessant bombings brought by the renowned Boko Haram religion sect, other parts of the country are now losing confidence in the ability of the present administration to tackle or contain these mindless killings. Though the government keep paying lip service to this menace, the citizenry are yet to understand if the unrest, which postdated the declaration of the incumbent President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the April 2011 General Elections, was prompted by political gladiators, or if the sect are clearly enemies of the Christians. Apart from the daily rise in crime, occasioned by the inability of the government to create jobs, neither can it empower the citizens. Should this continue, our power of unity will be greatly diminished as a result of which many people will grow frustrated and nobody needs to mention how such a society will fare if allowed to deteriorate to that level. If the above issues are well-looked into by the government, with the intervention of some of the well-to-do corporate bodies and multinational organizations, the sun may yet shine on this gloomy nation called Nigeria! References 1. Robert I. Rortberg Failed States, Collapsed States,Weak States: Causes and Indicators (2007) 2. Aidan O’Neill (The Tablet 9 February 2002, p. 13) 3. Bryan O. Nelson – Understanding the factors that can set a State Backward (2000), London Press, P. 29-31

Technical Report free essay sample

Mobile devices are getting smaller, lighter, and more powerful; they have bigger screens and longer battery life, more features and more capabilities. Things like watching the football game on your mobile device, watching movies, videoconferencing, paying your bills and downloading music to the palm of your hand will become second nature in the near future. Bandwidth will always be the limiting factor in the development of applications and devices, be it wired, or wireless. At the moment the wireless world doesn’t have a large-cell, high bandwidth standard, that is capable of delivering the much needed speeds to a mobile device. The short fall of 3G networks is clear, it’s just not fast enough, offering 384kbps doesn’t meet the requirements of what the end user has come to expect these days. Some people see 3G as a stop-gap, until a fully integrated IP network is created; some countries have even chosen to bypass 3G and head straight to 4G, a method which has its advantages, and its disadvantages. G is set to be available around 2010, getting it right first time will make it a general winner with the one billion mobile users around the world. The end user can expect low cost per data bit, as well as speed and reliability, something which is greatly. Technology Companies with 4G networks are knocking on the door and mobile operators are beginning to answer. 4G networks and Next Generation Networks (NGNs) are becoming fast and very cost-effective solutions for those wanting an IP built high-speed data capacities in the mobile network. IP is pushing its way into the mobile wireless market,† said Visant Strategies Senior Analyst Andy Fuertes, author of â€Å"The Road to 4G and NGN: Wireless IP Migration Paths. † By 2010, the just-published study finds, there will be 113 million NGN and 4G users, with the market starting to take effect 2006 and 2007. Introduction: 4G is an initialize of the term Fourth-Generation Communications System. †¢ A 4G system will provide an end-to-end IP solution where voice, data and streamed multimedia can be served to users on an Anytime, Anywhere basis at higher data rates than previous generations. This architecture uses a single physical terminal with multiple interfaces to access services on different wireless networks. It may improve call completion and expand effective coverage area. It should also provide reliable wireless coverage in case of network, link, or switch failure. The user, device, or network can initiate handoff between networks. The device itself incorporates most of the additional complexity without requiring wireless network modification or employing inter working devices. Each network can deploy a database that keeps track of user location, device capabilities, network conditions, and user preferences. Figure-1 The handling of quality-of-service (QoS) issues remains an open research question. Overlay network In this architecture, a user accesses an overlay network consisting of several universal access points. These UAPs in turn select a wireless network based on availability, QoS(Quality of Service) specifications, and user defined choices. A UAP performs protocol and frequency translation, content adaptation, and QoS negotiation-renegotiation on behalf of users. Figure-2 A UAP stores user, network, and device information, capabilities, and preferences. The overlay network, rather than the user or device, performs handoffs as the user moves from one UAP to another. Common access protocol This protocol becomes viable if wireless networks can support one or two standard access protocols. One possible solution, which will require inter working between different networks, uses wireless asynchronous transfer mode. To implement wireless ATM, every wireless network must allow transmission of ATM cells with additional headers or wireless ATM cells requiring changes in the wireless networks. Figure-3 Challenges: †¢ v 4G definition – A global consensus on the 4G definition is needed before the standardization starts. – Despite efforts there still are too many diverging approached to 4G. †¢ Seamless connectivity – Inter- and intra-network connectivity is fundamental to the provision of temporally and spatially seamless services. – Vertical and horizontal handovers are critical for 4G. In the former case, the heterogeneity and variety of networks exacerbate the problem. †¢ Latency – Many 4G services are delay sensitive. – Guaranteeing short delays in networks with different access architecture and coverage is far from straightforward . †¢ 4G definition – A global consensus on the 4G definition is needed before the standardization starts. – Despite efforts there still are too many diverging approached to 4G . †¢ Seamless connectivity – Inter- and intra-network connectivity is fundamental to the provision of temporally and spatially seamless services. – Vertical and horizontal handovers are critical for 4G. In the former case, the heterogeneity and variety of networks exacerbate the problem. Development: [pic] A Japanese company has been testing a 4G communication system prototype at 100 Mbit/s while moving, and 1 Gbit/s while stationary. Recently †¢ reached 5 Gbit/s moving at 10 km/h, and is planning on releasing the first commercial network in 2010. †¢ An Irish company has announced that they have received a mobile communications license from Irish Telecoms regulator. This service will be issued the mobile code 088 in Ireland and will be used for the provision of 4G Mobile communications. †¢ Sprint plans to launch 4G services in trial markets by the end of 2007 with plans to deploy a network that reaches as many as 100 million people in 2008 4G mobile technologies: ) Open Wireless Architecture (OWA) 2) Spectrum-efficient High-speed wireless mobile transmission 1. Open Wireless Architecture (OWA) A single system architecture characterized by a horizontal communication model providing common platform to complement different access technologies in an optimum way for different service requirements and radio environments is called the converged broadband wireless platform or open wireless architecture (OWA). OWA will be the next storm in wireless communications, fueled by many emerging technologies including digital signal processing, software- definable radio, intelligent antennas. The open wireless platform requires: Area and power-efficient broadband signal processing for wideband wireless applications †¢ Highest industry channel density (MOPS pooling) in flexible new BTS signal processing architectures †¢ BTS solutions scalable to higher clock rates and higher network capacity Space-Time Coding and MIMO(Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output) Increasing demand for high performance 4G broadband wireless mobile calls for use of multiple antennas at both base station and subsc riber ends. Multiple antenna technologies enable high capacities suited for Internet and multimedia services and also dramatically increase range and reliability.. [pic] Figure-4 The target frequency band for this system is 2 to 5 GHz due to favorable propagation characteristics and low radio-frequency (RF) equipment cost. Advantages Spatial diversity and coding gains for large link budget gains (gt;10 dB). Disadvantage Multiple antennas at the transmitter and rece- iver provide diversity in a fading environment. 2. Spectrum-efficient High-speed wireless mobile transmission Wide-area wireless broadband systems spectral efficiency can yield a system capacity that allows that experience to be delivered simultaneously to many users in a cell, reducing the cost of service delivery for this mass-market broadband service. These systems are optimized to exploit the full potential of adaptive antenna signal processing, thereby providing robust, high-speed connections for mobile users with a minimum of radio infrastructure. Reduced spectrum requirements, minimizing up-front capital expenses related to spectrum †¢ Reduced infrastructure requirements, minimizing capital and operating costs associated with base station sites, translating into reduced costs per subscriber and per covered population element The acquisition of spectrum is a key component of the cost structure of wireless systems, and two key features of spectrum have great impact on that cost ( the spectral efficiency of the wireless system and the type of spectrum required to implement the system. A fully capable and commercially viable mobile broadband system can operate in as little as 5 MHz of unpaired spectrum with a total of 20 Mbps throughput per cell in that amount of spectrum. Factors contribute to the spectral efficiency of a system 1)Modulation formats, Air interface overhead 2)Multiple access method, Usage model. The quantities just mentioned all contribute to the bits/second/Hertz dimensions of the unit. The appearance of a â€Å"per cell† dimension may seem surprising, but the throughput of a particular cell’s base station in a cellular network is almost always substantially less than that of a single cell in isolation. Future of 4G: â€Å"The future of wireless is not just wireless, it is a part of life. † The future offers faster speeds and larger bandwidth. It is suggested that 4G technologies will allow 3D virtual reality and interactive video / hologram images. The technology could also increase interaction between compatible technologies, so that the smart card in the handset could automatically pay for goods in passing a linked payment kiosk (i-mode can already boast this capability) or will tell your car to warm up in the morning, because your phone has noted you have left the house or have set the alarm. 4G is expected to provide high-resolution images (better quality than TV images) and video-links (all of these will require a band width of about 100MHz). Conclusion: ? From user driven perspective, the user has freedom and flexibility to select the service, at a reasonable QoS and price, anytime, anywhere Reconfigurability: Next-generation wireless network interfaces need to be able to switch seamlessly between different communications standards, in order to provide the most suitable level of service while the user moves across different environments. One of the main challenges faced in 4G development was how to access several wireless networks and different mobile phones, for this problems three main architecture are been designed they are, Multimode device, overlay network and the common access protocols these architectures are been briefly discussed in this paper. Some of the other main challenges faced during the development were seamless connectivity, latency. This paper also discuss about the technologies used in the 4G, Open wireless architecture (OWA), spectrum efficient high speed wireless mobile transmission.