The Transformation of Shell Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Transformation of Shell - Case Study Example It has had a very good working relationship with the stakeholders in the industry and they include: partners, shareholders, suppliers, contractors and also their customers. The values that govern the company include respect for all, high sense of integrity and honesty at all levels within the organization. Mutual respect, openness, communication, team work, joint solving of problems and a high level of professionalism also govern the company. Partners, suppliers and the society at large. The company acknowledges that the success of its company largely depends on the contributions made by its employees. The company thus respects the basic rights of its employees by providing them with a good working environment so the employees can work comfortably .They provide them with clean and hygienic employment conditions for them to work in. Once they employ their staff, they tend to motivate them by making the best use of their talents through training them so that they get new skills (Post, Preston, and Sauter-Sachs, 2002). The environment in which the employees work is all-inclusive whereby all the employees regardless of their background are given equal opportunities to develop their skills and talent. The employees are also included in the decision making process by including them in the planning stages and also offering them the necessary support and guidance while they perform their duties. A feedback program has also been put into place whereby the employees are encouraged to raise any concerns that they may have and also give opinions on what they would want to see improved in the organization. The customers are also a very important aspect in their business. The company has come up with innovative ways that assists them to win and maintain their customers. They do so by providing goods and services that are very competitive in price, very high quality, safe and above all, environmentally friendly. For the company to be able to be competitive, a team of professionals in the environmental, commer cial and information technology departments support them (Post, Preston, and Sauter-Sachs, 2002). Shell also seeks to have a mutually beneficial working relationship with all its business partners' .The partners include the suppliers, contractors, and any other parties that they could be having a joint venture with. They seek to promote the basic business principles that they possess. With their partners on board, it assists the company to make strategic decisions on whether to get into more partnerships or pull out of the existing partnerships. The company has been involved in the corporate social responsibilities whereby they try to do their business by complying with all the rules and regulations under the law, observing the basic human rights while at the same time providing proper guidelines on issues to do with the safety, health, security and the environment. Business Principles The Company believes in fairness, honesty and integrity while performing their duties and they expect to be treated the same by their partners and competitors. The company has come up with a policy against bribery, soliciting of money, and any other activities by the employees that would be with in conflict

A design of the promotional gift Essay Example for Free

A design of the promotional gift Essay Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Jackie Lee, designer of a company. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to participate in this competition to introduce my promotional gift design. The goal of my presentation is to introduce my promotional gift design, silicone watch, which is for my company. Firstly, I will introduce my company background and the reason of why I have a qualification to participate of this competition. Next, I would like to talk about why my design can have the market value. Then, I would like to describe the feature and benefits of my design, and explain how do my design can promote my company business. Finally, I will have a question and answer. I would like to begin with some background information. My company is a large corporation which is with many businesses and the business of my company are mainly develop some innovative and technology products. As last time I have designed a new silicone watch to be my company’s promotional gift. After this, we have received many positive comment from our clients. As the result, my company ask me to join this competition to enhance our company popularity. See more: Unemployment problems and solutions essay As you all know, ready-made gift in the market are not satisfy the dynamic design of trend. Therefore, my company design unique company gifts which best to suit our clients’ normal needs and lifestyle. The product of this kind of silicone watch is very popular nowadays. Many watch company and electronic company are both produce and selling the silicone watch and most of the customer are quite interest of this product because of the long lasting quality and it is practicality. As a result I design a unique silicone watch for our company clients. And this is the design of my silicone watch. On my design, I have chosen different color range to suit to my product that can let our client to choose their color which also represent our company is giving many chooses to our clients. Moreover, I also add a waterproof function into the product which can make it long lasting and to present the high professional quality of my company. And the final special benefit of the design is there are a function can connect with your octopus which also showing our company technology and make the customer more convenient. After we sent the gift to our client, we received many positive comment of our client and finally promote the business of our company effectively.

Can People still rely on knowledge from experts? Essay -- essays resea

â€Å"There is no evidence that scientists always tell the truth, and the chances are that they are only marginally more honest than, say, politicians† (New Scientist) Knowledge can be defined as an organised body of information which through experience, theories and studies help the human mind discover and develop new information. Different forms of knowledge include medical, religious, scientific, and common-sense and these in turn have their own language and status and there is privileging of some knowledge i.e., scientific. Like everything, knowledge is also part of a social construction and in this assignment I will take a look back at the past and compare it to how we handle knowledge in today’s society. By evaluating different forms of knowledge and looking at the evidence given it will become clear that whether we can trust experts isn’t actually the problem, rather it’s that we really have no choice, if we can’t trust the experts and they are not as accurate as they make out, then who can we trust? This is actually quite a scary suggestion. When one hears the word ‘specialist’, one automatically assumes ‘important’, ‘accurate’ and ‘truthful’. One would never have criticized someone in the medical field say thirty or forty years ago, doctors were like ‘God’ and knew best for everybody. Experts being well trained through demanding and rigorous apprenticeships acquire good reputations and credentials and so obviously deserve our respect and trust, no? In the past the answer would have been ‘yes’ as it was only a handful of people who had the opportunity to go to university (mainly men). But in our day and age it is the expectation of nearly everybody to acquire a degree, and it has now become the ‘norm’. We have a society in doubt and not knowing who they can trust. This can be seen by book sales and search results on the Internet, the desire to acquire knowledge must mean we are less confident in believing the professionals. For example TV05 shows an increase in visitors to natural health clinics for advice on MMR jabs, this does show uncertainty but as one lady commented in the program, there is much more choice and flexibility than the past. But on the other hand, as Tim Smith pointed out, the search for alternative information other than that of an expert may have been solely for verification purposes. â€Å"Perhaps what they really wanted from the exper... ...day’s experts, tomorrow’s fools† (Kate Brown) Moreover, medicine being a key example, scientists constantly change their minds from one day to the next on what is good for us and what is not. One day a pill is prescribed with the best intentions then we find out later that we have put ourselves at risk by taking it. For example, â€Å"Thalidomide was a drug prescribed by doctors to combat morning sickness in pregnant women. Hundreds put their trust in the so-called experts with disastrous consequences. Despite acute denial, we are all now aware Thalidomide causes birth deformities.† (Kate Brown) So, can we trust expert knowledge? It seems very clear that we can’t, but do we have much choice over the matter being another question. References Nature. (London). August17th 1968 (editorial) New Scientist, September 5th 1968, p.497 TV05 Audio Cassette 9 side B Goldblatt, D (ed.) Knowledge and the Social Sciences: Theory, Method Practise, London, Routledge/The Open University http://www.unesco.org/courier/2000_04/uk/doss01.htm#top Dr David Goldblatt DD100 Course Team CoChair Kate Brown, Weald of Kent Grammar School. (www.culturewars.org.uk/2003-01/trustexperts.htm) www.godstruth.org/chap13

Why We Should Brush Our Teeth

Nicholas Ruiz VPA 192 Informative Speech Why we should brush our teeth Goodmorning, Let me ask have you ever been on the train and been sitting next to someone with terrible breath? Or been on a date and you kiss the person your with and they have a horrid smell seeping out of there mouth. These simple smelly encounters would be easily avoided if we all keep up with out oral hygiene. My name is Nicholas Ruiz and today I am here to inform you of how to keep your oral hygiene up to par and why it is so important to do so.As a dental assistant for the past 3 years I have been taught to show people how to keep the general oral hygiene were it should be. A couple of the most commonly asked questions I get is what kind of tooth brush should I use or what kind of tooth paste they should use. I tell them a soft brisal toothbrush(show soft toothbrush) is the way to go and any kind of toothpaste with Fluoride in it will work. I spoke with a doctor in my office Dr. Tad Picker he stated,† I always recommend a soft brisal toothbrush.It nurtures your teeth while you brush as were a firm brisal toothbrush can wear away the enamel of your teeth. (show firm toothbrush) And when it comes to toothpaste I say aslong at it has Flouride in it it is ok. Me personally I use Aquafresh. † Also, an equally big part is flossing everyday. You can be fantastic at brushing your teeth but only floss can get into those nasty area that your couldn’t get when you brush. Finally, a good product to use is Listerine it really does kill any of those excess germs left in your mouth after brushing.Now you should be brushing your teeth 2 times a day. I brush 3 times a day but that’s just a preference. Now when you get ready to brush your teeth, you don’t glob the toothpaste on like in the commercials with the little tale like in the commercials. (Show how not to apply toothpaste) You apply as small but sufficient amount of paste. (Show how to apply toothpaste) Now when you begin to brush you suppost to do it on a 45 degree angle as so †¦like your messaging your teeth. show example) Brushing hard does not help in your efforts to keep your teeth clean. It pushes the germs and everything in your mouth further down and makes it harder to reach. Now let me ask you why is it so important to brush and what happens when you don’t. ( Let audiences react) A lot of great answers. It is important because not only does oral hygiene effect your mouth but it can also effect other parts of your body such as your heart. Oral hygiene is a very important ingredient to the collection of things that keep your body balanced.Now when you don’t brush your teeth what happens is that any food that you eat stays on your teeth which breakdowns to sugars which turns into acids that burns away your tooth enamel. This cause things such as cavities and other infections. In conclusion oral hygiene is and should be a major part of your daily life. It is importan t that you have the right tools to be able to keep up with it. If kept up with your teeth with stay healthy and you wont have to wear those bulky dentures. Thank you.

Victorian Literature: Anglo-American Feminism, French Feminism

ssignment Title: ‘Compare and Assess at least two of the following approaches in feminist theory, with illustration from two of the Victorian texts you have studied: Anglo-American feminism; French Feminism; Socialist or Marxist Feminism; feminist approaches influenced by Foucault. ‘ ‘I declare that this is my own work and that I have followed the code of academic good conduct and have sought, where necessary, advice and guidance in the proper presentation of my work. ‘ Signature: Date: Compare and Assess at least two of the following approaches in feminist theory, with illustration from two of the Victorian texts you have studied: Anglo-American Feminism; French Feminism; Socialist or Marxist Feminism; Feminist Approaches influenced by Foucault. ‘ Feminist theory like psychoanalytic theory is relatively modern in its creation. The immergence of feminist literary theories can be linked to the out break of female political uprising in the early nineteenth century. The French Revolution marked the beginning of a fight for the obtaining of women's rights to power and equality in society. Elaine Showalter comments that the ideological socially acceptable view of Victorian women as a whole can be seen as ‘†¦ prescribed a woman who would be a Perfect Lady, an Angel in the House, contently submissive to men, but strong in inner purity and religiosity, queen in her own realm of the Home. (Victorian Women's Poets, Page 13) Feminist theory is segregated into separate view points of feminism as a whole; French Feminism analyses literature from a perspective of a psychoanalytic view, drawing upon the work of Lacan to highlight view points. It helps to analyse the ways in which women are positioned in society in the text and how they can be perceived to be repressed. Marxist Feminism takes its inspiration from how the women can be perceived to be oppressed in literature. American feminism analyses literature from a textual expressive view point. All feminist out looks have their issues which provide flaws into their argument. ‘To be sure, most feminist thinkers today assume that nurture, at the very least, qualifies nature. Recently, however, a number of poststructuralist theorists – deploying both male and female signatures – have claimed that there is no gendered â€Å"reality,† that the concepts of â€Å"man† and â€Å"woman† are, as some would put it, â€Å"always already† fictive since human identity is itself a tenuous, textually produced epiphenomenon. ‘ (No Man's Land. Pagexv). Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronti provided feminist critics with a canvas of a examples of marginally autobiographical Victorian gynocentrism. The production of text from a woman, looking at the emphasis placed on the female place in the history of the text, the structural placing of women and the thematic view of women in the text. Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar argue that women writers such as Emily Bronti had been trapped into the roles that society has manipulated, as they were trapped against the patriarchal view of the angel of the house. However even thought there is a desire for this view to be usurped, Bronte still curtails herself to society's expectations by debilitating and eventually killing off of the strong rebellious charcter of Catherine, emphasising her own fear of what the female form in which she was writing. Gilbert and Gubar's reading of Wuthering Heights classes it as a ‘A bible of Hell. ‘ (Gilbert, S & Gubar, S. Mad woman in the attic) The classification of Wuthering heights as a living hell is created in type by the Byronic hero of Heathcliff. Although Gilbert and Gubar look into the curtailment of women being confined to the house, trapped into submission by domesticity, Wuthering Heights provides Catherine with her own sense of control where she can break social confinements. Yet Catherine chooses to be confined by domesticity and social patriarchy by marrying Edgar Linton. Bronte does however portray the confusion Catherine feels in making her choice between what she desires and what is socially expected; You love Mr Edgar because he is handsome, and young, and cheerful, and rich and loves you. The last, however, goes for nothing – You would love him without that, probably, and with it, you wouldn't, unless he possessed the four former attractions. ‘ (Wuthering Heights, Page 119)Through the use of the second generation Cathy, Bronte allows the correction from cultural to natural choice to be made via the successful relationship between Cathy and Hareton. Kristeva comments on the text ‘presses the linguistic sign to its limits, the semiotic is fluid, plural, a kind of pleasurable creative excess over precise meaning and it takes sadistic delight in destroying or negating such signs. ‘ (Literary Theory: an introduction). The dual nature of narration in the novel serves thematic purposes, in that both provide commentary on the role of women in society. The feminist nature of the novel can be seen through Lockwood's comments on the success of Nelly's narrative story telling. Bronte manipulates the Victorian view that women have innate frailty and makes a parody out if the view by portraying Catherine's illness as a strength in which she is manipulating those around her through Nelly's perception; ‘I wasted no condolences on miss, nor any expostulations on my mistress, not did I pay attention to the sighs of my master, who yearned to hear his lady's name, since he might not hear her voice. ‘ (Wuthering Heights, Page 158) Catherine's subsequent illness shows itself in the form of a disillusioned madness. Bronte's use of this madness is to offer clarity to the social structure that the very cultural expectations of Catherine are the things that cause the feared wild nature to develop; ‘This feather was picked up from the heath, the bird was shot – we saw its nest in the winter, full of little skeletons. Heathcliff set a trap over it, and the old ones dare not come. I made him promise he'd never shoot a lapwing, after that, and he didn't. Yes, here are more! Did he shoot my lapwings, Nelly? Are they red, any of them? Let me look. (Wuthering Heights, Page 160) Gilbert and Gubar view Catherine's imprisonment in Thrushcross Grange as the reason for her being trapped into a feminine madness; ‘Imprisonment leads to madness, solipsism, paralysis †¦ Starvation – both in the modern sense of malnutrition and the archaic Miltonic sense of freezing (‘to starve in ice') – leads to weakness, immobility and death. (Rylance, Page 253) Catherine's embracing of Victorian societal views that kept her from being with Heathcliff. Included in these views are the expectations of women. It is important to note because the awareness of social standing and gender in this example prevent true love prevailing. Bronte also argues that Catherine's inability to resist social ambition is reflective of the oppressive power of the social structure of the Victorian society. Bronte feminises Lockwood by giving him the typically female characteristic of frailty, according to Beth Newman ‘Lockwood's supine passivity (he is bed ridden during most of her narrative) suggests that he is in the â€Å"feminine† position with respect to Nelly's controlling gaze. (Gender, Narration and Gaze in Wuthering Heights, Page 1034). Emily Bronte portrays Hareton as a model man who does not fear women but does not repress them either, this is marked through his not hiding away from Cathy's advances; â€Å"Helene Cixous has written that the Medusa who has terrorized the male subject, looked at â€Å"straight on,† is actually â€Å"beautiful†¦ and †¦ Laughing† Bronte has uncannily anticipated Cixous's analysis of the masculine fear of the woman's gaze in suggesting that Hareton, alone among the male characters in the novel, is able to laugh back. (Gender, Narration and Gaze in Wuthering Heights, Page 1037). The splitting and fragmentation of Catherine's feminine desire through the lack of a stable identity, she is Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Heathcliff and Catherine Linton at the same time. The theme of heaven and hell is prevalent most through Heath cliff's representation as a satanic wild figure that should be feared. Bronte links Heathcliff to the wildness of nature through his name; he becomes one with the heath surrounding the heights. Catherine expresses her own desire to be associated with Heathcliff through â€Å"If I were in Heaven, Nelly, I should be extremely miserable. ‘ ‘Because you are not fit to go there,' I answered. ‘All sinners would be miserable in heaven. ‘†¦ ‘I was only going to say that heaven did not seem to be my home; and it broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth; and the angels were so angry that they flung me out, into the middle of the heath on the top of Wuthering Heights, where I woke sobbing for joy. ‘ (Wuthering Heights, Page 121) Bronte uses the binary opposition to emphasise Catherine's ideal of Heaven being Heathcliff. Yet due to the confinement of social expectation Catherine turns her back on Heaven and places herself in the Hell that is Thrushcross Grange causing a fragmented version of herself to become her existence. Kristeva comments on Wuthering Heights lack of ability to have a simplistic narrative form, there is a use of multiple genres to create the complex binary oppositions. The use of the re-emergence of the choice between patriarchy and desire through Cathy has the object of; ‘articulating the mother-child relation as a site for both affirm the archaic force of the pre-oedipal, which although repressed is thus also preserved. Both affirm the fluid, polymorphous perverse status of libidinal drives and both evoke a series of sites of bodily pleasure capable of resisting the demands of the symbolic order. ‘ (Jacques Lacan; A feminist Introduction, Page 149) ‘Thus, although Wuthering Heights ends in cosy domesticity, the gaps in its enunciation express a feminist resistance to the patriarchal order in which its story partially acquiesces: for the narrative undercuts the condition of its own telling even while implicating them in specular economy that fetishizes and appropriates women. ‘ (Gender, Narration and Gaze in Wuthering Heights, Page 1039) Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market expresses the frustrations from enforced female passivity, articulating bitterness about being the second sex, and the limitations on female potential; this is evident through out the poem, culminating as two women become what Victorian patriarchy predetermines, wives and mothers. Goblin Market shows women in social relations, in market economies in literary history and women in sexual economics. Elizabeth Helsinger explains that Goblin Market is ‘A feminist utopia based on sisterhood against male domination and ‘the male' market or a legitimating of separate spheres? Victorian studies, 1991). Goblin Market allows Rossetti the opportunity to escape the archaic patriarchy and create a fantasy realm. Rossetti allows Lizzie and Laura an insight into the male commodities of male utopia that is the market place, and how to successfully regain equal control. ‘This is a morally nonsense poem, which puts religious myth and sexual temptation into a market economy which is endlessly unstable. ‘ (Victorian Women's Poets, Page 138). Rossetti's creation of sisterly solidarity gives a feminine outlook; ‘Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices Squeezed from goblin fruits for you, Goblin pulp and Goblin Dew. Eat me, drink me, love me; For your sake I have braved the glen And had to do with goblin merchant men. ‘ (A Choice of Christina Rossetti's verse, Page 16). ‘The sexual suggestiveness of ‘Goblin Market' has undoubtedly made it a compelling work for feminist readers concerned with what constitutes a distinctly female imagination. ‘ (‘A Music of Thine own. ‘ Victorian Womens Poets, Page 50). â€Å"Goblin Market', the title poem of Christina Rossetti's first volume, is the questioning feminine discourse it masks. ‘ (‘A Music of Thine own': Womens Poetry. Victorian Womens Poets, Page 49) Rossetti's representation of sexuality is not in the names or images she finds but in the structure of the whole poem with its repeated tasting. ‘ (‘A Music of Thine own': Womens Poetry. Victorian Womens Poets, Page 49) In many respects Goblin Market is directly contradictory to many nineteenth century views about the role of the woman poet. Mary Ann Stoddart, 1842, defines the sphere of the poetess as: â€Å"All that is beautiful in form, delicate in sentiment, graceful in action will form the peculiar province of the gentle powers of women†. Goblin Market can be said to have none of these qualities. This metrical indulgence, gives Goblin Market a sensual art for art's sake, which is usually reserved for male poets, making this offering to the public by a poetess incompatible with Victorian notions of female poetic beauty Laura performs a familiar role in literary history – that of the fallen Eve. She relinquishes herself to the sexual temptation offered by the evil goblin men. Her sin is compounded by prostitution in selling a lock of her hair in return for the fruits. This can be viewed as an act of rape; the goblins cut her hair for payment, when, at the time, a woman's hair was a somewhat sacred thing. The fallen woman is a common figure in literature, however, because she comes from the creative mind of a female poet the representation comes to have a few problems in its interpretation. Yet still, Laura receives her salvation, from her sin of eating the fruit, through the self-sacrificing actions of her sister. Lizzie plays the male role of redemption. While Rossetti can be viewed in opposition to the Victorian ideals of female creativity, there is an inherent conservatism in her work that creates problems with the idea of her being a truly radical or feminist writer. Unlike the other Pre-Raphaelite poets, Rossetti does not embrace atheism, but rather adheres to a strict Anglo-Catholic faith â€Å"Goblin Market' is Christina Rossetti's most remarkable long poem. She was also a writer of consummate lyrics. What can be called the feminine discourse which respondes to the aesthetics of expression and repression overflow and barrier, in ‘Goblin Market', is also at work in her short poems. ‘ (‘A music of thine own':Womens Poetry, Victorian Womens Poets, Page 54). Through both of the texts analyzed it is important to notice that as Showalter states that it is in fact, â€Å"female imagination' cannot be treated by literary historians as a romantic or Freudian abstraction. It is the product of a delicate network of influences operating in a time, and it must be analyzed as it expresses itself, in language and in a fixed arrangement of words on a page, a form that itself is subject to a network of influences and conventions, including the operations of the marketplace. ‘ (Victorian Women's Poets, Page 12) Both Emily Bronte and Christina Rossetti were classed as typically romantic Victorian women's writers. However this view is highly problematic as both women try to break the curtailments of Victorian archaic patriarchy in their work, constantly testing and pushing the boundaries of female authorship; ‘Romance fiction deals above all with the doubts and delights of heterosexuality, an institution which feminism has seen as problematic from the start. In thinking about this ‘problem' I myself have found the psychoanalytic framework most useful since it suggests that the acquisition of gendered subjectivity is a process, a movement towards the social ‘self' , fraught with conflicts and never fully achieved. Moreover, psychoanalysis takes the question of pleasure seriously, both in its relation to gender and in its understanding of fictions as fantasies, as the explorations and productions of desires which may be excess of the socially possible or acceptable. It gives us ways into the discussion of popular culture which can avoid the traps of moralism or dictatorship. ‘ (Romance Fiction, Female sexuality and class. Page 142)

Casa Batllo Essay Example

Casa Batllo Essay Example Casa Batllo Essay Casa Batllo Essay Casa Batllo At Paseig de Gracia 43, lies a sleeping giant of modernist architecture, Casa Batllo. Its appearance is as amorphous as the free flowing lines and shape of the building itself. Depending on the weather and lighting Casa Batllo may change colors and leave an entirely different impression on the viewer. One critic describes the building facade as, having the same effect as a throwing a stone into a pool of water lilies. [1] Many others believe the facade is an allegory for the Catalan legend of St. George, known for travels around medieval Spain slaying dragons. It is a testament to the celebrated architect, Antoni Gaudi, that one building could be so inspiring in so many ways. He accomplished this end by effectively sampling natural forms. The building is composed of disarming familiar natural forms, but they are arranged in a completely new and surreal way. Furthermore, these forms lend themselves to a myriad of individualized interpretations dependent upon the interpreter. All of this is just the beginning, in my opinion, of what makes Casa Batllo the premier building exemplifying the modernism movement in Barcelona. Casa Batllo was commissioned by Josep Batllo Casanovas in 1900 and constructed from 1904-1906. He employed Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi, and building contractor, Josep Bayo Font. His original intention was demolishing the building and starting anew. However, Gaudi was able to convince Batllo that a refurbishment was possible. I believe the fact that Casa Batllo was a refurbishment and not a complete new construction served Gaudi well. It gave him the constraints and restrictions of an existing structure that challenged him to create the best solutions within the context of an existing problem. It also prevented some of the more criticized aspects of his designs from surfacing, as this was evident with the negative critical reaction to Casa Mila, or â€Å"La Pedrera. † It is important to understand the context of the building both geographically and historically. It rests on the corner of the â€Å"block of discord. † The â€Å"block of discord† extends down Passeig de Gracia between Carrer Arago and Consell de Cent. The block derives its satirical name from the dissimilar styles of the adjoining buildings within the block. Three buildings down from Gaudi’s masterpiece is Casa Lleo Morera, designed by Domenech I Montaner. Next door is Casa Mulleras, by Enric Sagnier Villanecchia. Continuing down the block there is Casa Delfina Bonet, by Marceliano Coquillat Llofriu. Finally, Josep Puig Caldafach designed Casa Amatller, which would later become the adjoining neighbor of Gaudi’s inspiring edifice. Casa Batllo was the last of the escalating architectural works that created a utopia of modernism. It was a â€Å"keeping up with the Jones† type of mentality. Each casa was built in attempt to upstage the neighbors. Gaudi and Battlo also had to circumvent several building codes to erect Gaudi’s vision which paid no attention to municipal building regulations. In one specific way, the bottom two floors of Casa Batllo extend an illegal sixty centimeters into the street. In 1904, Gaudi applied for building permits based on his vague plaster model of the proposed street facade. In 1906, the city ordered all work ceased due to of the lack of a construction permit. However, this was too late; construction was nearly completed. Fifteen days later, Josep Batllo was back at the city council ready to receive to permission to rent out the upper floors. The breathtaking exterior begins with the massive sandstone columns sampling from such natural forms as bones or flowers stems. The first three floors were where Gaudi concentrated most of his expensive materials, particularly the elaborately carved sandstone. The first two floors extend farther to the street than the others. Thus, this creates a leaning effect that is only accentuated the facade’s ceaseless undulations. Casa Batllo features no edges or right angles. Gaudi demolished the original bottom floors, but decided to use the existing facade of the building for the upper floors. However, it would in no way resemble the original; Gaudi had the old brick chipped away and replaced with a mosaic skin of lime, mortar, and broken pieces of tile and glass. This is a technique often used by Gaudi called Trancadis- meaning broken pieces. The balconies decrease in size as the eye ascends the edifice, and resemble eye and nose front of a human skull. They protrude from the facade’s most notable feature, its rippling covering. Each broken piece of mosaic was directed to its destination by Gaudi in the street, acting as maestro of the construction. This produces the overall effect is that of a shimmering soft underbelly of a serpent’s skin. As one critic described it, â€Å"When the sun hits the front of the building during the day, the facade magically materializes and dematerializes in a celebration of color. † [2] This is all crowned by a hard tile roof that swoops and dives with the facade. Gaudi emphasized the curves and bends of the roof by using the color and shade of the tile to specifically accent the roof’s movements. It should be noted that the roof does a superb job of capping the near formless facade by producing horizontally undulating lines that effectively run perpendicular to the other waves. This provides the necessary contrast to the free form facade; thus, giving it shape, as a beach or harbor gives shape and form to the sea. Finally, Gaudi concluded the facade on top with a medieval turret topped by a Catalan cross. The cross is the highest point of the building. The cross is also the object of some debate and speculation as to Gaudi’s message with this building. The cross is said to be the handle of St. George’s sword. This would make the turret the shaft of the blade. The roof is representative of the hard skin of a dragon’s back, and the facade is its soft underbelly. The sandstone columns are the bones of the dragon’s victims, so are the balconies, which are skulls. Thus, the entire facade is symbolic of St. George, the patron saint of Catalunya. This theory may not be as is improbably as it seems. Symbolism was a major part of the modernism movement. Gaudi was almost obsessive about the use of symbols, which will become abundantly clear in last years of his life and his work on the Sagrada Familia. The interior of Casa Batllo is equally impressive. Its greatest technical achievement is the superb use of natural light. The exaggerated windows facing the street earned Casa Batllo the nickname â€Å"the house of yawns. † Gaudi also expanded the existing patio and added huge skylight. The elevator shaft and stairwell also ran through the center of patio. All of this was part of a brilliant solution to the problem of evenly distributing light throughout the house. Beyond technical solutions, Casa Batllo instills visitors with a surreal feeling. The interior mirrors the exterior; again, Gaudi deliberately removed angled features, such as the walls, and replaced them with curved shapes. The spaces inside are open and expansive. Particularly, the living room may be even further expanded by simply opening two large wooden doors on both sides. Some specifically dreamlike features are the stained glass windows. They are framed in non-traditional shapes of beautiful metalwork, presumably connected to Gaudi’s family heritage as metalworkers, and the elaborately carved sandstone. They give off a palpable floral sensation from within the house, in addition to their obvious technical benefits. All of this in concert creates a truly dreamlike state when one is in the house itself. Gaudi speaks to us still from Casa Batllo. However, he in not speaking Catalan, but he is speaking to us in an organic language easily recognized by anyone familiar with nature. Gaudi said, â€Å"Everything that any architect could need†¦is already in natural forms in nature. † This is surely the source he referenced when designing Casa Batllo. In conclusion, Casa Batllo is the premier modernist building in Barcelona. This is because of Gaudi’s brilliant technical solutions, his use of new materials and techniques, his eclectic sampling of other architectural styles such as arabesque and medieval, his voracious quoting of natural forms, and heavy use of symbolism. However, the truly impressive thing about Casa Batllo is not the presence of these individual elements, but the unequivocal unity with which they were assembled by the all too masterful architect, Antoni Gaudi. [1] casabatllo. es/. History of Casa Batllo. [2] Grossman, Rachel. â€Å"Inside Casa Battlo†. ArchitectureWeek

Treaty of Portsmouth

Treaty of Portsmouth The Treaty of Portsmouth was a peace agreement signed on September 5, 1905, at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, United States, which officially ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 – 1905. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in brokering the pact. Fast Facts: Treaty of Portsmouth The Treaty of Portsmouth was a peace agreement between Russia and Japan, brokered by the United States. It put an end to the Russo-Japanese War, fought from February 8, 1904 to September 5, 1905, when the treaty was signed.Negotiations focused on three key issues: access to Manchurian and Korean ports, control of Sakhalin Island, and payment of the financial costs of the war.The Treaty of Portsmouth led to nearly 30 years of peace between Japan and Russia, and earned President Roosevelt the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. The Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War of 1904 – 1905 was fought between the Empire of Russia, a modernized world military power, and the Empire of Japan, a largely agrarian nation just starting to develop its industrial sector. Since the end of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, both Russia and Japan had clashed over their competing imperialistic ambitions in areas of Manchuria and Korea. By 1904, Russia controlled Port Arthur, a strategically important warm water seaport on the southern tip of Manchuria’s Liaodong Peninsula. After Russia helped put down an attempted Japanese coup in adjacent Korea, war between the two nations seemed inevitable. On February 8, 1904, the Japanese attacked the Russian fleet harbored at Port Arthur before sending a declaration of war to Moscow. The surprise nature of the attack helped Japan gain an early victory. Over the next year, Japanese forces won important victories in Korea and the Sea of Japan. However, casualties were high on both sides. In the bloody Battle of Mukden alone, some 60,000 Russian and 41,000 Japanese soldiers were killed. By 1905, the human and financial costs of war led both countries to seek peace. Terms of the Treaty of Portsmouth Japan asked U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to act as the intermediary to negotiating a peace agreement with Russia. Hoping to maintain an equal balance of power and economic opportunity in the region, Roosevelt desired a pact that would allow both Japan and Russia to maintain their influence in East Asia. Though he had publicly supported Japan at the start of the war, Roosevelt feared that America’s interests in the region could suffer if Russia was driven out completely. Russian and Japanese diplomats seated at the negotiating table during the Portsmouth Peace Conference. Buyenlarge / Getty Images Negotiations focused on three key issues: access to Manchurian and Korean ports, control of Sakhalin Island, and payment of the financial costs of the war. Japan’s priorities were: the division of control in Korea and South Manchuria, the sharing of war costs, and control of Sakhalin. Russia demanded continued control of Sakhalin Island, flatly refused to reimburse Japan for its war costs, and sought to maintain its Pacific fleet. Payment of war costs turned out to be the most difficult negotiation point. In fact, the war had so badly depleted Russia’s finances, it would have probably been unable to pay any war costs even if required to do so by the treaty. Delegates agreed to declare an immediate cease-fire. Russia recognized Japan’s claim to Korea and agreed to withdraw its forces from Manchuria. Russia also agreed to return its lease of Port Arthur in southern Manchuria to China and give up its railroad and mining concessions in southern Manchuria to Japan. Russia retained control of the Chinese Eastern Railway in northern Manchuria. When negotiations stalled over control of Sakhalin and payment of war debts, President Roosevelt suggested that Russia â€Å"buy back† the northern half of Sakhalin from Japan. Russia flatly refused to pay money its people might see as an indemnity for territory their soldiers had paid for with their lives. After a lengthy debate, Japan agreed to drop all of its claims for reparations in return for the southern half of Sakhalin Island. Historical Significance The Treaty of Portsmouth led to nearly 30 years of peace between Japan and Russia. Japan emerged as the main power in East Asia, as Russia was forced to drop its imperialistic aspirations in the region. However, the agreement did not sit well with the people of either country. Postcard shows the building at the Portsmouth Navy Yard where the peace talks were held, the Hotel Wentworth, and flags of Japan and Russia, all superimposed on an American flag. Buyenlarge / Getty Images The Japanese people considered themselves the victors and saw the refusal of war reparations as an act of disrespect. Protests and riots broke out in Tokyo when the terms were announced. At the same time, being forced to give up half of Sakhalin Island angered the Russian people. However, neither the average Japanese nor Russian citizen was aware of how badly the war had damaged the economies of their respective countries. During the war and the peace talks, the American people generally felt Japan was fighting a â€Å"just war† against Russian aggression in East Asia. Viewing Japan as being fully committed to the U.S. Open Door policy of preserving the territorial integrity of China, Americans were anxious to support it. However, the negative, sometimes anti-American reaction to the treaty in Japan surprised and angered many Americans. Indeed, the Treaty of Portsmouth marked the last meaningful period of U.S.-Japanese cooperation until the post-World War II reconstruction of Japan in 1945. At the same time, however, relations between Japan and Russia warmed as a result of the treaty. While he never actually attended the peace talks, and the actual extent of his influence on leaders in Tokyo and Moscow remained unclear, President Roosevelt was widely praised for his efforts. In 1906, he became the first of three sitting U.S. presidents to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Sources and Further Reference â€Å"The Treaty of Portsmouth and the Russo-Japanese War, 1904–1905.† U.S. Department of State. Office of the Historian Kowner, Rotem. â€Å"Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War.† The Scarecrow Press, Inc. (2006). â€Å"Text of Treaty; Signed by the Emperor of Japan and Czar of Russia.† The New York Times. October 17, 1905. â€Å"Partial record of Privy Council meeting to ratify the treaty.† National Archives of Japan. Figes, Orlando. â€Å"From Tsar to U.S.S.R.: Russias Chaotic Year of Revolution.† National Geographic.

12 Character Archetypes Every Writer Should Already Know

12 Character Archetypes Every Writer Should Already Know 12 Character Archetypes Every Writer Should Already Know ‘Character archetypes’ are something you imagine bohemian writers talking about at length - perhaps while smoking a cigarette and stroking their pointy beards. And when they move onto the topic of Jungian theory, you can see yourself tuning out of the conversation altogether. But despite their seemingly high-minded background in psychoanalysis, understanding character archetypes can help writers of all stripes gain a better understanding of storytelling.In this post, we’ll explain to you what character archetypes are, reveal some of the most popular ones - and show you how to prevent your archetype characters from becoming clichà ©s.What is a character archetype?In storytelling, an archetype is a character who represents a specific set of universal, recognizable behaviors. Carl Jung, one of the forefathers of psychoanalysis, suggested that they are part of the human collective unconscious. He believed that these recurring figures are part of the mythmaking fabr ic that is common to all humans.If we are to believe Jung and Joseph Campbell’s theory of the Hero’s Journey, stories and myths are an intrinsic part of human development and evolution. They are a teaching tool, a way to warn each other of dangers and the simplest method of examining human behavior and better understanding one another.We’re not saying that these archetypes are embedded into human DNA: they are simply the character forms that have resonated most over the generations. What are character archetypes? And how can they help you? If myths and fireside stories were originally ways that people had to impart knowledge to society at large, then each of Jung’s archetypes might represent a different lesson: care for your children like a mother, be brave like a hero, be wary of tricksters posing as friends, and listen to your elders. The plot of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight is nearly identical to Romeo and Juliet. Edward and Bella belong to the same archetype as those star-crossed lovers of Verona. The difference lies in the specifics: the way the characters speak, the Pacific Northwest setting, the fantastical conflict between vampires and werewolves. The book follows a similar narrative arc as Romeo and Juliet, but its fans certainly wouldn’t call it a ‘predictable retread of Shakespeare’s play.For authors, character archetypes are a useful concept to understand - if only to save you from tying yourself in knots, trying to create stories and characters completely unlike anything that’s come before. Every story has already been told, so focus on what matters most to readers: creating rich, specific worlds populated by people living specific lives, whose struggles are so grounded in realistic human behavior that their stories become universal -   no matter where the reader is fr om.What other character archetypes have we missed from this list? Drop them in the comments below along with your favorite example!

New Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

New Terrorism - Essay Example This led to several groups who were a part of this era were specifically opposed to the government and political systems and focused on committing assassinations of those who were in power to overthrown the current system and to re-establish a different system. The rise of terrorism from the 1900s created the understanding of traditional terrorism, which was based on weapons such as guns that were used for assassinations. The motivations and strategies were always based on killing the leaders in power as well as the ability to overthrow specific powers. Most would separate themselves from society by different ethnic groups and through religious beliefs (Laqueur, 24: 1996). During the 1980s, the intensity of terrorism increased. The Cold War and the associations with international conflicts for the first time became the main conflict that was associated with terrorism. The main focus during this time was with state based terrorist groups who were taking part in guerrilla warfare, asso ciations with Civil Wars and which were creating specific statements against the government. During this time, there was a rise in small groups of terrorists that were interested in spreading a specific message across the state that opposed the government and system that was in conflict. The main initiative of these terrorist groups was based on finding ways to cause a level of destruction to the national governments while creating domestic problems in different regions. While some of these were based on domestic attacks to get international countries out of the country, the main objective was to work on attacking the current system and political affiliations that were in the country (Laqueuer, 25: 2006). The types of terrorism began to change after the... Even though there are several groups that use specific tactics that are upgraded and which have a specific mission, there are also similarities between the traditional and new groups. The first is based on the individualistic ideologies that are a part of terrorism. There is a known psychology which is related to terrorist groups which are based on specific personality disorders. Opposing groups to the government will act in a similar manner, despite the traditional or modern concepts used. In the traditional forms, this irrationality moved into attacking political leaders and creating assassinations, usually which was followed by delivering a message that the system needed to change. Today, the same commitment to delivering this message and to the irrationality of killing civilians to get a message across is the main agenda. The concept has led terrorist campaigns to be linked to the same irrationality and fanaticism throughout history and has altered the way in which all groups act in response to given situations. The concept of commitment to a message is one which is also driven by the concepts of how one begins to believe in the specific message and mission to be delivered as well as the fanaticism which is used to carry this out. In modern terrorism, most groups are religiously based and pride themselves on delivering a message from a sacred script which is ignored by political leaders and which is causing the destruction of specific systems.

Strategic Planning for South County Hospital in making it a ACO Term Paper

Strategic Planning for South County Hospital in making it a ACO - Term Paper Example Low profitability of the hospital has placed it at the bottom of the reimbursement. South Rhode hospital intends to solve this situation by joining a heath service provider system such as Care New England. This would make it an Accountable Care Organization benefiting from the merger with other hospital. This would assist the hospital toward continuity of their mission and achieving their vision (Cleverley et.al 288). The merger with other hospitals would help South Rhodes hospital to acquire better bargaining power in procuring services and other requirements. It would also enable SCH to refer some of the severe case to other hospitals within the system. Section One Strategic focus Aim of the plan This plans to improve the financial position of the sc hospital, increase net income and overall profitability. This will lead to sustainable improvement in financial performance and continued growth in cash flow by improving debt ratios; continued growth in inpatient and surgical volumes; continued gains in liquidity Mission statement; Enriching the quality of life for the southern Rhode Island community and visitors through delivery of quality affordable health care services Developing cooperative relationship with other care providers and promotion of wellness through health education and community involvement Vision statement: To achieve a healthy southern Rhode Island community through provision of quality and affordable health services to all our clients To have a community that is informed on health care services, their rights and responsibilities by creation of health care awareness. Long term objectives The south Rhodes hospital through this strategic plan aims at achieving the following objectives: Improve the reimbursement position for the hospital Increase affordability of services to clients Increase treatment opportunities to clients through merger with other hospital Diversify means for paying for the services give hence increase profitability Key orga nizational competences In order to achieve the above set objectives the hospital management needs to have a competent financial management team that will look into the financial crisis in the hospital. Vigorous marketing campaign shall be necessary to market the new hospital policies and improvement on service delivery, the marketing department should be set out to perform this role. The marketing campaign will also be essential in marketing the services of the hospital as this created consumer awareness. Consumer awareness attracts customers into the organization which then will lead to increase customer turnover and sales or revenues. Organizational values The south county hospital holds the following values in their operations toward achieving the strategic plan goals: humility, honesty, diligence and accountability. Performance objectives The performance objectives below will form the basis of determining the hospital’s performance score. This will be a tool to measure pr ogress towards the achievement of the objectives set in the strategic plan. Performance area Performance Measures Target Time Frame Financial management Biannual income figures and profit calculations Increase in income position and profitability Achieve a 5% increase in the profits 1 year Client and market progress Client turn up record and analysis of trends: repeated subsequent visits by clients

Strategic Analysis Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Analysis Case Study - Essay Example Current paper focuses on the examination of the performance of a specific British firm, O2; this firm has achieved to keep its position in its market and further expand its activities through the continuous review and update of its strategies. The specific issue is analytically examined in the sections that follow; the position of the firm in its industry will be identified and evaluated taking into account the response of the firm to the challenges set by the global political and financial crisis. The position of competitors will be also examined while specific suggestions are going to be made regarding the potential improvement of specific parts of the corporate strategy. Appropriate theoretical models (like PESTEL analysis and ANSOFF matrix) will be used in this paper in order to show the changes in the firm’s performance through the years; in this way the choice of this firm as a ‘model’ for business analysis will be justified. In Stakeholder analysis all people or groups of people influencing the firm’s performance have to be identified. In order to understand and evaluate the role of various stakeholders in the performance of O2, it is necessary primarily to identify the firm’s stakeholders; at a next level, their role in the firm’s performance within its industry is going to be appropriately evaluated. The firm’s stakeholders can be listed as follows (a numeric scale from 0-10 [10 is the highest grade] has been used in order to identify the impact/ importance of stakeholders for the performance of O2 and their influence on the firm’s success). The influence of the above listed stakeholders on the performance of O2 has to be further assessed and evaluated taking into account the conditions of the British market but also the conditions of the international market. It is clear from the list presented above that the firm’s customers have a significant influence on the firm’s success within the British market (given the rank 9);

Zara Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Zara - Case Study Example The company has created a niche in the global retail industry through its aggressive and carefully planned out business model. The unique points of their business model that has helped them grow in relatively short time are primarily two folds. One, their turn around time that is as aggressive as it can be; where in, Zara believes in staying with the trend and comes up with entirely new chain of clothing style with in two weeks of time. They have always maintained and encouraged employees to come with clothes that are trendy and can attract customers for a certain amount of duration before going in for a complete revamp as soon as the trend is out of fashion. Secondly, its Just-In time inventory system, where it believes in having just the required amount of clothing stock. This not only helps them keeping the cost low, but also come up with entirely new style of clothing inspired from customers’ feedback in rather quick time.   The company spends almost a negligible amount in advertising as the Zara management has always maintained that what’s important is to give the customers that they want rather than force them to buy what you have. This principle has been the backbone of the Zara retails and has been the major point of success. Before launching their business in any new region, the management does a careful planning about the outlet positioning. Zara stores invariably are situated in main commercial areas and usually attract shoppers with its attractive and trendy display of stylish clothes. At the point of billing, customer service staff take extensive feedback from customers to identify the needs and the expectations of customers, this information is strictly followed while deciding on newer products. Surveys and customer feedback also allows Zara management to keep the prices competitive and within the range that the customers are happy to pay for and yet ensuring profits for the company. Th e large scale volume of business also allows Zara to

Distributed and Parallel Systems Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Distributed and Parallel Systems - Term Paper Example A parallel system is a computer with more than one processor for parallel processing. Although there are many kinds of parallel computers, they are basically distinguished by the kind of interconnection between processor, known as processing elements (PES), and the memory. One major way to classify parallel computers is based on their memory architectures. Shared memory based parallel computing systems have multiple processors that access all available memory as a global address space. Distributed system is a network of a set of asynchronously connected computing devices. Communication in DS is either through shared memory or through messages. In wide-spread distributed systems, work and information are physically distributed, implying that computing needs should be distributed. Along with improvement in response time, this system contributes to offering a local control over data. With this solid background of multiprocessor systems, parallel computing, distributed systems and shared memory; speed-up performance law such as the Amdahl's law was introduced to throw light on algorithm design for speed-up and operational efficiency of parallel system. Concurrency is another important factor which enables distributed systems to share memory; and to better understand its execution, Dining philosophers' algorithm Bully's algorithm and Logical clocks were introduced. 2. Amdahl's Law The memory organization of parallel system also has a profound impact on algorithm design. In systems in which memory

Customer relationship management CRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Customer relationship management CRM - Essay Example In this study, the key marketing principles of Primark will be evaluated. Product: - Most of the company’s merchandise of the company is manufactured by the company itself. The company specializes in menswear, childrenswear, womenswear and home-decor products. Some of the bestselling products of the company are footwear, accessories & hosiery, lingerie, and cosmetics. Most of the brands sold by the company are their own brand. Some of renowned ones are Atmosphere, Denim Co., Secret Possessions, Ocean Club, Backswing, Early Days and Rebel among others (Primark, 2013). With wide range of products, the company caters to customers of different segment. Distribution: - Alongside the importance of developing a sound product strategy, the development of distribution strategy is equally important (Bose, 2010). Moreover, for a company involved in apparel retailing, the importance of distribution is more (Dent, 2011). The success of the company is greatly dependent upon the distribution strategy pursued by the firm. Knowing the importance of distribution, Primark have also developed distribution strategy that ensures delivery of the products at the right place and right time. The company has appointed stockiest at different place of the country, where the company stores their manufactured products. One of the interesting facts is that most of the stock points are extremely close to the retailing outlets. This has allowed the company to make wide variety products available within the store (Michaels, 2010). Apart from the physical distribution, the company also markets their products through online store (primarkonlinestore, 2013). As a result of that the company has been able to streamline their distribution method. Pricing: - Likewise, product and distribution, the pricing strategy adopted by a firm is critical towards the revenue generated by the company as well as the profit earned (Kotler, 2010). In this turbulent business environment, companies have no other option but to maintain a steady profitability in order to sustain for a longer period of time (Craven, 2012; Dransfield, 2004). The pricing strategy adopted by the firm is cost plus pricing method, in which the company fixes the product prices on the basis of the cost incurred for producing one unit of the product. However, at some cases the company also pursues competitive pricing strategy for the sole purpose of dealing effectively with the competitors in terms of price-war. On the other hand, when the company makes it presence in a new market, it usually follows penetration strategy. Despite, the presence of strong brands, the company has kept the prices affordable in order to ensure customers from every section of the society can afford their apparels. Segmentation: - Segmentation is a process by which companies divide the market into different segments. It involves division of the target market into small subsets by considering the common needs of the consumers (McDonald and Du nbar, 1995). A company segments its market on the basis of different factors such as geographic segmentation, behavioural segmentation, psychographic segmentation, segmentation by occasions and segmentation by benefits (Alshorbagy and Elsaman, 2011). In the similar way, Primark divides its overall market into distinct markets. The principal reason for undertaking segmentation strategy is

Distributed and Parallel Systems Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Distributed and Parallel Systems - Term Paper Example A parallel system is a computer with more than one processor for parallel processing. Although there are many kinds of parallel computers, they are basically distinguished by the kind of interconnection between processor, known as processing elements (PES), and the memory. One major way to classify parallel computers is based on their memory architectures. Shared memory based parallel computing systems have multiple processors that access all available memory as a global address space. Distributed system is a network of a set of asynchronously connected computing devices. Communication in DS is either through shared memory or through messages. In wide-spread distributed systems, work and information are physically distributed, implying that computing needs should be distributed. Along with improvement in response time, this system contributes to offering a local control over data. With this solid background of multiprocessor systems, parallel computing, distributed systems and shared memory; speed-up performance law such as the Amdahl's law was introduced to throw light on algorithm design for speed-up and operational efficiency of parallel system. Concurrency is another important factor which enables distributed systems to share memory; and to better understand its execution, Dining philosophers' algorithm Bully's algorithm and Logical clocks were introduced. 2. Amdahl's Law The memory organization of parallel system also has a profound impact on algorithm design. In systems in which memory

Philadelphia Snacks Breadsticks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philadelphia Snacks Breadsticks - Essay Example Another ingredient, water is considered the most abundant and versatile substance on Earth. Water is used in a variety of ways in food preparation, processing, and preservation (Bender & Bender, 2005). Salt is also known as sodium chloride. It is the second most widely used food additive in the world. Salt is primarily used for food seasoning and preservation (Joachim, 2002). Locust bean gum is also called carob bean gum, is extracted from the seeds of the carob tree which grows in Mediterranean countries. It is used as a thickener and gelling agent for various food products. Locust bean gum works well with carrageenan and is usually combined with the latter (Khan & Abourashed 2010). The ingredient carrageenan is also called seaweed extract. It turns into a gel once dissolved in water and is commonly used in milk products (Tarte, 2008). Wheat flour is the flour obtained by grinding wheat kernels and recovering the ground endosperms after removing the bran and germ (Sertori, 2008). Ve getable fat is an edible fat composed of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil which contains no water (Smith & Hui, 2004). Wheat fiber is a dietary fiber sourced from wheat bran (Sertori, 2008). Meanwhile, barley malt extract is the sweetener derived from barley during the malting process (Roberts & Greenwood, 2011). Yeast is a leavening agent derived from the one-celled microorganism (International Commission on Microbiological Specification for Foods, 2005). Wheatgerm is extracted from wheat kernels and a source of fiber (Sertori, 2008).

The Effects of Technology on Decision Making Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Technology on Decision Making Essay Computer systems are one way that health care providers have integrated technology into the medical field. Each computer system is unique, yet all have a purpose, function and structure. Deciding what computer system to choose, what software programs to incorporate and what the computer is needed to do are just a few burdens that have to be weighed when deciding which is best suited for the health care organization. Many health care organizations elect to incorporate decision support systems. Decision support systems have been in increasing patient quality of care, increasing positive patient outcomes and decreasing the potential of medical errors. Bar coding, robotics, interactive websites, electronic medical records, and e-scribing are just a few advances in technology. â€Å"Advances in software, hardware, and networking all share common impact attributes in their ability to improve cost-effectiveness of care, quality of care, and access to care† (Nobel Norman, 2003). With these attributes, the benefits are numerous in assisting with decision making in all aspects of health care. A discussion on the DIK Mode The key to the complex relationship between data, information, and knowledge lies at the source of data and information. The source of data and information is dual: activities, and situations. Both activities and situations produce information (e. g. , ‘relevant meaning’ to someone) that is captured, thus becoming data, or becomes unaware. The key to understanding the relationship between information and knowledge is to know where the information resides. Recollect that information is at its soul message that is generated from activities and situations. However, information resides in storage media (e. g. , database, print, video tapes, etc. ) in the form of data, or in the human mind as knowledge (in its simplest form of know-what or the higher forms of know-how and know-why). If this is the case, then extend between data and information in association with information and knowledge becomes evident, e. g. , they occupy different space at the same time. This also explains why many distinguish data and information, as well as information and knowledge as well suited. †¦one man’s data can be another man’s knowledge, and vice versa, depending on context† (Stewart, 2002, p. 6). However, they are not exchangeable in terms of their accepted distinct definitions. So, what is a book; knowledge, information or data? It is all the above in various context. A book is knowledge from the author’s perspective, information for the impending reader, and data as well which is contained in a storage media (called ‘book’). A discussion of systems and informatics theories Direct communication represents an information processing world of systems. Systems have been designed to provide access to data, information, and knowledge for use by nurses in a multifaceted and culturally diverse world. â€Å"A system is defined as a series of well designed mechanism connected by communication links exhibiting resolute, goal directed behavior† (King, 1996 p. 61). A common language among nurses worldwide would describe the categories of various systems wherever they occur. Nurses are becoming more knowledgeable of the technologies offered as health care organizations across the world incorporate technology into their practices. Considering the nurse has the responsibility of the majority of the documentation, it is important to incorporate aspects of nursing classification systems to help with decision making. The transaction Process in King’s theory when used in interdisciplinary teams facilitates mutual goal-setting with patients based on each member of the team’s specific knowledge and functions. This often facilitates role similarity and respect for the knowledge, skills, and values each member brings to the situation. An example of the usefulness of the nursing process, as process in technology use is the documentation of the nursing process in the computerized healthcare record. Information technology has enabled healthcare organizations to function as incorporated healthcare delivery networks, improve quality, and become socially and environmentally responsive (Davenport, Jarvenpaa, Beers, 1996; Tapscott Caston, 1993). Nursing data must be included in computerized information systems in organizations or the nurse’s documentation becomes invisible. The nursing process is much broader than â€Å"steps,† the nursing process is an international method to use the discipline’s body of knowledge organized in the structure of theory and nursing and nursing classifications. With emerging technology, and the integration of software applications, the ability to incorporate the nursing process and other health care information into a digital system has become a reality. As technology advances, incorporation of decision support systems also advances. The use of expert systems and decision support systems further the ability for technology to engage in decision making. The role of expert system in nursing care and medicine Expert systems in medicine are computer programs that make human based decisions by copying the judgments and behavior of humans, based on knowledge and experience from previous diagnosis and investigation derived from treatment and long-term care of patients with similar conditions as the present. That is why expert system is referred to as knowledge- base information system. The expert system is an artificial intelligent branch of computer generated thought with a very narrow focus. It is used in health care because the system functions very well with specific activities or problems and a discrete database of digitalized facts, rules, cases and models. Using patient data, its incorporated knowledge base, its inference engine, and the expert system can derive specific advice related to the case being treated. Expert systems basically act as if a Doctor or Nurse would, when they make a decision on courses of treatment. Diagnosing, predicting, interpreting and instructing are four interactive roles that form the activities of the expert system. The use of decision aids and decision support systems Decision support systems usually have numerous functions when used in hospital or healthcare settings. They are mostly used in specific decision-making activities. Decision support system relies on computer hardware, software and information for effective function. They can be used as knowledge-based and also as non- knowledge -base. One of its functions is administrative, in which they help in documentation of clinical information, decide whether a procedure is appropriate for treating a certain condition, and decide if a referral is necessary, to whom or where, and make follow-ups on the referrals. They help in keeping patients on protocol in situations like chemotherapy treatment or just research. Decision support systems also help in tracking orders whether medical or external shipments. They are very efficient in avoiding mistakes such as scheduling unnecessary tests. Most importantly, Decision support systems help in making the right diagnosis, providing different treatment options and suggesting the better option, and help look after the patients and hospital population as a whole. Decision aids are mostly used in helping the patient or care-giver decide which treatment is best for the condition being considered. Decision aids can also be used in referrals of patient to nurse call-centers or patient education services available. In the future decision support system will incorporate four criteria; robustness, ease of control, simplicity, and completeness of relevant detail. Reusability will be proficient through some type of software or hardware framework in compliance to Alter’s model, enabling companies to take benefit of basic, generalized models common to a range of scenarios. The history of Decision Support Systems is a short one, making it easy to map out the steps and growth of this relatively new concept. Even small improvements to current systems will enable all companies to make improved decisions about the marketing of products, which will in the long run aid the economy as a whole by placing in it only the most desirable and successful products. A framework that represents the backbone of decision support system will enable companies that would not normally work together on marketing concepts to bring together their efforts. The core system will progress to one that will in real meaning constantly learn from past practice. The uses of technology for patient and client management Technology for patient and client management is changing the health care system daily. Informatics is a specialized computer science used to manage information technology. Most healthcare settings have IT departments, yet nurses need to be able to use and retrieve valuable patient information to give patient care. Electronic medical records, also known as EMR, are the most recent and largest application of technology in the health care field. The use of EMR allows for documentation and a more cohesive interdisciplinary care plan for the patient. Another popular trend in healthcare is to have an integrated EMR with other aspects of patient care including patient appointments, assessments, billing and personal information, and other outpatient tests. Within this integrated patient record, a computer can keep documentation of many areas of a patients care; can provide easy access to the records from any place to any medical personnel. Technology such as this decreases the gaps in medical care; the time spent on documentation, and reduces medical errors. This in turn saves money for health care providers. Another form of technology that is used in patient care is the internet. It can be used for retrieval of data for patient education. The internet can be used to search multiple sources of information with efficiency. The biggest concern with the use of the internet is that the electronic source must be evaluated for credibility and reliability. The internet is allows for quick communication amount healthcare professionals to enhance collaboration and coordination of care (Englebardt Nelson, 2002). An analysis of the effect of technology on health care and health status The medical care field is allowing expanding technology of the twenty-first century to be integrated into patient care. Technology has allowed surgical procedures to be simplified, patients recover quicker, and fewer complications occur. This also decreases the length of stay for a patient and therefore decreases medical costs. Technology has also made it possible for a patient’s medical history to be all in one spot, accessible for all members of the health care team, and from any area of the world. The use of technology advances have resulted in better health care delivery and patient outcomes. As health care organizations integrate ethnology into their daily practices, they are faced with many complexities. DIK models, health informatics systems, and decision support systems must be created to improve patient care, increase efficiency among health care staff, decrease costs or be cost-effective, and increase positive patient outcomes. Decision making technology, such as decision support systems, must meet timelines, objectivity, have the ability to integrate with other software applications, have boundaries, and be able to prioritize information and gathered data. â€Å"The quantity and complexity of decisions faced by the health care executive demand standardized decision processes† (Englebardt Nelson, 2002). Efforts to improve the quality and value of health care are increasingly emphasizing a critical role for the meaningful use of clinical decision support systems. The use of health information technology (HIT), health information systems (HIS), electronic medical records (EMR), electronic health records (EHR), and Pyxsis systems are just a few computer software programs that integrate DSS to provide supportive tools to assist health care providers in clinical decisions. Conclusion Technology will continue to change. It is important for health care organizations to embrace these changes to better the delivery of medical care. As technology advances, the ability for health care consumers to gain a better understanding of their diagnosis and treatment options, such as the internet, also advances. Patients are expecting faster service, use of the best technology, and are choosing health care facilities based on how advanced technologically the facility is. The decision support technologies will assist the physician’s and other medical staff to be able to provide faster responses and increase patient satisfaction.

Theories of planned behavior: Smoking

Theories of planned behavior: Smoking To examine if the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) predict smoking behavior, 35 data sets (N= 267,977) have been synthesized, containing 219 effect sizes between the model variables using a meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach (MASEM). Consistent with the TPBs predictions, 1) smoking behavior was related to smoking intentions (weighted mean r =.30), 2) intentions were based on attitudes (weighted mean r =.16) and subjective norms (weighted mean r =.20). Consistent with TPBs hypotheses, perceived behavioral control was related to smoking intentions (weighted mean r = -.24) and behaviors (weighted mean r =-.20) and it contribute significantly to cigarette consumption. The strength of associations, however, was influenced by studies and participants characteristics. Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in western countries. Despite the constant reduction in smoking prevalence among adults over the last 20 years in developed countries, smoking rates have not decreased among young people, and the highest youth smoking rates can be found in Central and Eastern Europe. In an attempt to understand the psychosocial determinants of smoking initiation and maintenance, a variety of social cognitive models have been applied. One of the most influential theories predicting smoking behavior, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) 1has been used both for conducting a wide range of empirical research on smoking behavior antecedents and for designing many theory-based intervention programs to reduce tobacco consumption. An increasing number of empirical studies have examined this model in relation to smoke and the variability of results suggests that a quantitative integration of this literature would prove valuable. Up to the present, various quantitative reviews of the TPB have been performed but centered in other behavioral outcomes, as exercise, 2 condom use 3 and others. Hence, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the success of TPB as a predictor of smoking behavior through meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM), involving the techniques of synthesizing correlation matrices and fitting SEM as suggested by Viswesvaran and Ones. 4 The TPB, an extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action,5 incorporates both social influences and personal factors as predictors, specifying a limited number of psychological variables that can influence a behavior, namely 1) intention; 2) attitude; 3) subjective norm (SN); and 4) perceived behavioral control (PBC). 1 First, subjective norms are conceptualized as the pressure that people perceive from important others to execute a behavior. Second, peoples positive or negative evaluations of their performing a behavior are conceptualized as other predictor of intention (attitudes). Third, PBC represents ones evaluation about the easy or difficulty of adopting the behavior and it is assumed to reflect the obstacles that one encountered in past behavioral performances. Finally, attitudes, SN and PBC are proposed to influence behavior through their influence on intentions, which summarize persons motivation to act in a particular manner and indicate how hard the person is willing to try and how much time and effort he or she is willing to devote in order to perform a behavior. 6 The TPB has been applied through a relevant amount of primary studies and their predictive utility has been proved meta-analytically both for a wide range of behaviors 7, 6 and for specific health risky or health protective behaviors. 3, 2 These previous meta-analyses, however, have neither examined how useful the TPB is to predict smoking behavior, nor the overall structure of the model applied to tobacco consumption. Hence, some concerns remain relating to TPB and its utility to predict smoking behavior that deserves further examination through MASEM. Firstly, a weakness of the SN-intention relation has been found by previous meta-analysis 7 compared with attitude-intention and PBC-intention associations. It has been suggested that this lack of association indicates that intentions are influenced primarily by personal factors 6. In spite of, some primary studies finding strong beta values, ranging from .44 to .62, for attitude on smoking intention such as Hanson, 8 while others founded values near .18 or .19. 9, 10 At the same time, although researchers have theorized about the importance of PBC in this domain, regarding health-risky behaviors, the correlation between PBC and behavior had sometimes been disappointing. 3 One possible explanation is that PBC may not capture actual control. Other is that risky behaviors performed in social contexts may be more determined by risky-conducive circumstances than by personal factors. 11 Moreover, primary studies on smoking behavior have found contrasting results for PBC -behavior, such as r =.55 12 or r =.06. 13 Based on these discrepant findings, we proposed, as a first purpose of this review, to test the strength of relationships between TPB constructs applied to smoking behavior. Secondly, in order to clarify the influence of moderator variables and to provide further explanation for the variability on the effect sizes (ES) between primary studies, some studies and participants characteristics may be taken into account. Ajzen and Fishbein 5 argued that intention and behavior should be measured as close in time as possible to the behavior. In spite of that, primary studies on smoking behavior 14, 15 have found that beta values for intention- behavior association have been maintained during six months (à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢=.38), nine months (à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢=.35) and a year (à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢=.35). Thus, it is important to quantitatively review the moderator effect of time interval on strength of TPB constructs. It has been recognized that culture provides a social context that affects prevalence of certain behaviors. Moreover, some studies have compared results of TPB applied to smoking behavior by using diverse ethnic groups into the USA, such as Hanson, 8 while a great amount of primary studies have expanded their applicability to different cultural contexts. 16, 15, 10 These studies have revealed contradictory results, such as for Puerto-Ricans and non-Hispanic whites, SN was not found as a significant predictor of intention, 8 while it was significant for African-American teenagers, or beta values for SN-behavior ranging from à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢=.20 for UK samples 17 to à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢ =.43 for Netherlanders students. 18 Hence, because of cultural differences with respect to the SN-outcomes association, there is a need to meta-analytically examine the moderator effect of culture. Ajzen and Fishbein 5 and Ajzen 19 also recommended scale correspondence of measures for intention to properly predict behavior. However, meta-analysis on TPB applied to exercise behavior have found that only 50% of examined studies had scale correspondence, 20 and that ES was the strongest for the intention-behavior association when studies had scale correspondence. 2 Based on these previous findings, we contend that a thorough examination of moderator effect of scale correspondence on strength of smoking intention and behavior relationships is needed. Research indicates that teenage years are associated with heightened sensitivity to SN 6 and differences have been found in previous meta-analyses between age groups regarding their intention -exercise behavior association. 2 At the same time, only one study has tested gender differences applying TPB to cigarette smoking, 13 founding that the model fitted better among female students. Despite the fact that no consistent evidence has been found relating to the moderator effect of age and gender on the TPB constructs association, we state that an exploratory analysis would be advisable. Thirdly, while previous studies on TPB on smoking behavior had used stepwise regression analyses, more recent ones apply SEM or path-analyses. When all TPB relationships were tested simultaneously, same patterns would change. For instance, after controlling the influence of intention, the PBC- behavior association would turn to negligible values (à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¢=.05), such as Albarracà ­n et al 3 proved for condom use. Moreover, based on the fruitful results of meta-analysis obtained in many research domains, 3, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 it can be beneficial to use meta-analytic structural equation modeling techniques (MASEM) in testing causal models, such as some authors suggested. 4, 26 Based on these methodological and conceptual issues, the main objective of this meta-analysis was threefold. The first objective was to test the strength of the relationships between the TPB constructs with the smoking behavior. Specifically, we hypothesized: (1) large ES for intention-behavior, PBC-intention, PBC-behavior, and attitude -intention; (2) moderate ES for SN- intention; (3) larger ES for intention-behavior than for PBC-behavior and (4) larger ES for PBC-intention and SN-intention than for attitude-intention. The second purpose was to test the influence of moderator variables on the relationships between the TPB constructs. Specifically, we proposed (5) larger ES for attitude- behavior, PBC- behavior, SN-behavior, and intention-behavior when measures have been taken simultaneously; (6) larger ES when the time interval was shorter; (7) the largest ES for SN-intention and SN- behavior when participants belong to a collectivist culture, coded as Others into the category orig in of the sample; (8) larger ES for attitude- intention, SN-intention, PBC-intention and intention -behavior when constructs have been measured with scale correspondence; and (9) mean age of the sample, percentage of males and year of publication would moderate the relationships among TPB constructs. The third purpose was to test the predictive utility of TPB on smoking behavior through MASEM analyses. Specifically, we hypothesized that: (10) intention and PBC will predict smoking behavior; (11) attitude, PBC, and SN will predict intention and (12) intention will be a stronger predictor of behavior than PBC. Method Literature search In order to locate relevant studies, we conducted a computerized bibliographic search of the PsycInfo, MedLine, ERIC, using the terms smoke, smoking behavior, nicotine, tobacco consumption, and TPB as keywords. We also conducted a manual search of journals that regularly published smoking behavior research. Descendent searches have been conducted based on the references section of retrieved studies specifically previous TPB meta-analyses including multiple behavioral outcomes- and some authors have been contacted to obtain unpublished papers. This processes resulted in 52 studies retrieved in full text to further screening. Inclusion and exclusion criteria A study was considered for this meta-analysis if it met the following inclusion criteria: (1) the study had to report quantitative research on TPB applied to smoking behavior; (2) the study had to report a Pearson correlation coefficient between TPB constructs or data that enable us to calculate ES. Upon closer examination of the remaining 52 studies, a total of 27 studies were included which provided an amount of 35 independent samples (N= 267,977) and 219 ES. A total amount of 25 studies were excluded. Reasons for elimination have been that TPB construct measures were not included (8 studies), i.e.: 27, or that the studies were focused on smoking cessation instead of on smoking behavior (17 studies), i.e.: 28, 29. Only one dissertation has been included and no unpublished papers have been obtained. The studies that focused on smoking cessation have been excluded because the outcome variable in the model-smoking behavior versus smoking cessation-differs substantially. These studies will be used to conduct a separate meta-analysis on smoking cessation. All the included studies are marked with an asterisk in the reference section. Coding of studies The study characteristics coded were: year of publication, origin of the sample, scale correspondence, and time interval between TPB measures. The subject characteristics coded were: the number or participants, mean age of the sample, and gender (as percentage of men in the sample). We consider relevant to code how smoking behavior was assessed (i.e., objective vs. self-report.) but we could find only one study which used objective measures, as CO (carbon monoxide) tests. 30 Following the procedures of Symons and Hausenblas, 2 the time interval between intention and behavior was examined by classifying the studies as: (1) short (less than or equal to six months), (2) medium (greater than six months and less than or equal to one year), (3) large (greater that one year). Regarding scale correspondence, we examined the method section of each study in search of the detailed information. Such as Symons and Hausenblas suggested 2, scale correspondence has been fulfilled when the same magni tude, frequencies or response formats are used to assess the constructs. If intention and behavior were measured exactly with the same items, we considered that scale equivalence was present. If intention was measured with a broader redaction (i.e.: How certain are you that you could resist smoking this term?) while behavior was assessed by a more detailed item (i.e.: How many cigarettes did you smoke per day?), or by asking participants to classify themselves as non-smoker/current-smoker, we considered that scale correspondence has not been fulfilled. In order to ensure accuracy, the studies were coded by two authors independently, reaching an intercoder agreement of 90%. The level of agreement reached was highly satisfactory and inconsistencies were solved by consensus. Some decisions about independence of the samples were taken. If the same study design was carried out in multiple but independent samples (i. e, boys and girls, asthmatic and no-asthmatic students, African-American, Puerto Rican and Non-Hispanic white teenagers) results were entered into the meta-analysis as independent samples. 8, 18, 13 In other cases, only one ES per study has been considered. Data analysis We followed Hedges and Oldkins 31 meta-analytic fixed effects procedures to estimate weighted mean correlations. In these procedures, correlations were converted using Fishers r to z transformations and weighted by N 3, the inverse of which is the variance of z, in analyses. Using Cohens criteria, 32 ES values of .10, .30 and .50 were considered small, moderate and large effects, respectively. Graphical procedures were used to explore the skewness of data. When an extreme value was detected, analyses were carried both including and excluding the outlier. Next, we tested the homogeneity of the ES (Q statistics) and we analyzed the influence of moderator variables using categorical model (ANOVA analogous) and weighted regression analyses (fixed-effect model). One problem in the interpretation of meta-analytic results is the potential bias of the mean ES due to sampling error or to systematic omission of studies that are hard to locate. According to Orwin, 33 the tolerance index of nul l results should be calculated and there must be more than 300 unpublished studies (and not recovered by the meta-analyst) for the results to be annulled. However, this statement should be qualified because the index by categories yields small values in some of these categories. Therefore, we can conclude that publication bias is not very likely to threaten the results severely. MASEM analyses Meta-analytic structural equation modeling, which involves the techniques of synthesizing correlation matrices and fitting SEM, is usually done by applying meta-analytic techniques on a series of correlation matrices to create a pooled correlation matrix, which then can be analyzed using SEM, as suggested Viswesvaran and Ones. 4 However, these procedures have received criticism by Becker (1992) and more recently by Cheung and Chan. 26 Despite some problems, the major advantage of these univariate approaches are their ease of application in applied contexts. Based on these recommendations, we used Viswesvaran and Ones procedure to test the strength of the association among the TPB constructs with smoking behavior. The complete weighted correlation matrix was 5 x 5 and it was submitted to SEM analyses. The predicted model was fitted assuming the harmonic mean (N= 239) as sample size, 4 and it was estimated with unweighted least squares procedures. The proposed model, according to TPB l iterature, had three exogenous latent variables and two endogenous ones, such as depicted Figure 1. Besides chi-square, we reported Goodness of Fit Index (GFI), Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index (AGFI), Normative Fit Index (NFI), and Root Mean Squared Residual (RMR) as fitness indices. It is typically assumed that GFI, AGFI, and NFI >=.90, RMR values

The Advancement of The Machine Gun Essay -- Warfare

War has been a recurring part of America’s history for the past hundreds of years. From the 1700s to the present, America has gotten into numerous situations and turmoil, which eventually lead to the wars we currently study and know about today. Technological advancements in warfare were necessary and a great obligation during times of war. This was pursued with drastic improvement. From the transformation of the use of smoothbore muskets during the Civil War to the industrial revolution leading to weaponry innovations post civil war, the nature of warfare dramatically changed. These developments proved to be proficient in battle. In the midst of these hundreds of years, while many technological advances demonstrated to be efficient in battle, the machine gun was one of the most significant advancements in technology that changed the face of warfare through its transformation of operations and strategy. During the civil war before the introduction of the machine guns, union soldiers predominantly used smoothbore muskets. â€Å"The rifle’s low muzzle velocity and consequent high parabolic trajectory made for difficult long-range shooting, especially since soldiers engaged in little target practice and received virtually no training in estimating distances or in using the adjustable sights to compensate for the bullet’s curved flight. The tangled terrain of most battlefields—and the black powder smoke that engulfed every battle—often rendered enemy soldiers invisible until they were within smoothbore range† (Hess 288). This was assumed to be the reason of why the war was prolonged, and the combat losses were higher during the smoothbore era. Also with an ability of only firing a â€Å"maximum of three rounds per minute† (Howey), this rat... ...smith, Dolf L., and R. Blake. Stevens. The Devil's Paintbrush: Sir Hiram Maxim’s Gun. Toronto: Collector Grade Publications, 1989. Print. 2. Hess, Earl J. The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat: Reality and Myth. Lawrence, Kan: University Press of Kansas, 2008. Print. 3. Howey, Allan W. "Weaponry: The Rifle-Musket and the Minià © Ball  » History Net." History Net. Weider History Group, Oct. 1999. Web. 12 May 2012. . 4. Lee, Loyd E. World War II. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999. Print. 5. Popenker, Max R. "Modern Firearms - MachineGuns." Max R. Popenker, 1999-2010. Web. 10 May 2012. . 6. Simkin, John. "Machine-Gun." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. John Simkin. Web. 10 May 2012. .