History of Cinema Essay

From the very beginning its existence the cinema has created works of art worthy to stand comparison with the masterpieces of painting, music, literature, and theatre. Even more than that, the cinema is irremovably embedded in the whole history of the twentieth century. It has not only shaped but also reflected the reality of the times. The cinema gave also form to the aspirations and dreams of people all over the world. This work will focus on the main historical factors and the conditions surrounding the history of film-making. However, it is also the case that it is simply impossible, in a work of this size, to do justice to all the many individuals, technologies and processes that have played noteworthy roles in the history of cinema. The history is not only interesting in its own right; it can also illuminate with particular clarity how the cinema works as a whole. This work consists of four main parts: the Early times, the Silent Cinema, the Sound Cinema, and the Modern Cinema from 1960 to the modern times. In each part the paper looks at history of the cinema in general. As far as possible this paper will cover each development from a broad international perspective. The Early Cinema From the beginning the cinema developed quickly. What in 1890 had been just a dream had by 1913 grown into a whole industry. First films were just moving snapshots. They were only one minute in length and nearly all consisted of just one shot. By 1905, the films were usually five to ten minutes in length and included changes of site and camera position to create a story or show a theme. Later, in the early 1910s, when the first ‘feature-length’ films appeared, there little by little emerged new techniques for handling complex stories. At this time the process of creating of films had itself grown into a large-scale business. Specialist offices had emerged, exceptionally intended to the making of films. During the 1910s the heart of supply became Los Angeles – Hollywood. The early cinema of from the mid- 1890s to the mid-1910s is often called ‘pre-Hollywood’ cinema. The cinema of this period has also been called pre-classical. Actually the styles of filmmaking common in the early years have never been completely shifted by Hollywood or classical modes, even in America. Many films continued to be pre- or at any rate non-Hollywood in their style for a long time. But it is right to say that much of the cinema development in the years from 1906 or 1907 can be considered as laying the ground for what later became the Hollywood industry. Silent Cinema On the contrary to popular belief, the history of animation did not begin with Walt Disney’s sound film Steamboat Willie in 1928. Before that film there was a popular tradition, a film industry, and a vast number of films – considering nearly 100 of Disney’s (Hayward 234). The general history of the animated film begins with the use of transient trick effects in films around the turn of the century. As several genres emerged (Westerns, chase films, etc. ). During 1906-10, there appeared at the same time films made all or mostly by the animation technique. Since most films were a single reel. There was little programmatic difference between the animated films and others. But the multi-reel film trend developed after around 1912. Animated films retained their one-reel-or-less length. Until the First World War, animation was a completely international phenomenon. However, after about 1915 the producers in the United States began to control the world market. In a quarter of a century, the silent cinema created a tradition of film comedy. The cinema arrived at the end of a century that had witnessed a rich development of popular comedy. Later, the new proletarian audiences of the great cities of Europe and America found their own theatre in music hall, variety, and musical comedy. With these popular audiences, comedy became constant demand. When life was bad, laughter was a comfort; when it was good, they wanted to enjoy themselves just the same. Famous comedy mime troupes of the music halls, like the Martinettis, the Ravels, the Hanlon- Lees, and Fred Karno’s Speechless Comedians, can be seen as direct predecessors of one-reel slapstick films. Karno, in fact, was to train two of the greatest film comedians, Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel (Hayward 56- 58). The term ‘documentary’ did not become popular use until the late 1920s and 1930s. In the beginning it was applied to various kinds of ‘creative’ non-fiction screen practice in the post-First World War, classical cinema era. Originating films in the category have typically comprised Robert Flah erty ‘s Nanook of the North ( 1922), various Soviet films of the 1920s such as Dziga Vertov’s The Man with the Movie Camera (Chelovek s kinoapparatom, 1929), Walter Ruttmann’s 11Berlin: Symphony of a City (Berlin: die Sinfonie der GroBstadt, 1927), and John Grierson’s Drifters ( 1929) (Cook 89). Early documentarians used the magic lantern to create complex and often sophisticated programs out of a succession of projected photographic images. The images were accompanied by a live narration, with an occasional use of music and sound effects. By the turn of the century, films were gradually replacing slides. This in turn gave rise to the new terminology. The documentary tradition preceded film and has continued into the era of television and video. In this way it was redefined in the light of technological innovations, as well as in the context of shifting social and cultural forces. British films of the period were often quite sophisticated, particularly in the comic and actuality fields. Narrative editing, too, was often innovative. Sound Cinema The development from silent to sound cinema marks a period of revolution in the history of cinema. The revolution 4can be easily dated from 6 October 1927, with the New York premiere of Warner Bros. ‘ The Jazz Singer in which Al Jolson pronounces the immortal line ‘You ain’t heard nothin’ yet’ with more or less perfect synchronization between his lips in the film and his voice recorded in parallel on a disc (Hjort 90). Filmmakers began to use innovative sound technology that produced panic in cinema industry. In the same time it encouraged experiments and hopes too. While it decreased popularity of Hollywood’s films for several years, it stimulated a rebirth of national film production all over the world. This period in the history of cinema has specific features that make it unique in comparison with the years before and after. The coming of sound itself, and its world-wide implications is the first look. Then the focus is on the world of the studios, how the system operated – particularly in Hollywood – and how different aspects of the cinema were combined together during the studio period. The studios were not entirely free to make films simply for the market. The system also encountered problems of how to regulate itself to take account of political, social, and moral concern. While other countries experienced political censorship of varying degrees of severity, the Hollywood cinema suffered relatively little interference from central government. The Hollywood was instead faced with carefully orchestrated demands for a moral clean-up and the risk of intervention by local censor boards (Neale 78-79). Along with spoken dialogue, the major innovation of the sound cinema was synchronized music. The art of musical illustration that was used during the silent period was changed by the synchronized music. A considerable difference was, certainly, that filmmakers began to use music as a part of the fictional world. For instance, music could now be introduced when the film showed an orchestra or an actor performing a song. Then, sound film would use music not only to the picture, but to dialogue as well. Music became pure background. Composition, performance, and recording were all subject to studio control, and the production of musical tracks of high quality can be counted one of the greatest achievements of the system. Outside Hollywood music tracks were often less polished. But directors were more often free to work with composers of their own choice, and Sergei Prokofiev’s music for Eisen stein ‘s Alexander Nevsky (1938) provides an interesting contrast to two classic Warner Bros. scores of the same period – Erich Korngold’s The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Max Steiner’s Casablanca (1943). Modern Cinema  The most significant change in world cinema since 1945 was that produced by the breakdown of the Hollywood studio system and of its competitors and imitators elsewhere. By the early 1960s the Hollywood system was in severe disarray. Declining audiences and a series of costly flops left the major studios on the verge of bankruptcy or open to hostile take-over. While the studios experienced difficulties, new enterprises such as American International Pictures emerged. These companied made low-budget movies that were intended for the new youth and drive-in markets. Many new genres came into being. One of such innovations was the road movie. It proved to be influential not only on more mainstream American films but throughout the world. The mainstream itself was forced to innovate, drawing inspiration both from the down-market competition and from the new cinemas emerging in Europe. In Europe the most important single event was the sudden explosion on to the scene of the French New Wave – the Nouvelle Vague – with first features by Claude Chabrol, Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and Alain Resnais following each other in quick succession in 1958 and 1959 (Hjort 123). The New Wave had been briefly preceded in Britain by the ‘Free Cinema’ movement, and was followed by the ‘Young German Cinema’ which announced its existence in the Oberhausen Manifesto of 1962 and went on to renovate the lackluster West German cinema later in the decade. In Italy the change was less sudden but none the less significant, with the creation of Federico Fellini’s La dolce vita and Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’avventura in 1960. It was beginning of a new art cinema. Changes in the 1960s were not confined to Europe. The Cuban Revolution in 1959 gave an impetus to the growth of new cinemas throughout Latin America, notably in Brazil (Cook 45). In Japan the studio system which had nurtured the work of the great masters such as Mizoguchi and Ozu was also in crisis, and in the changed situation allowed for the entry on to the world stage of directors like Nagisa Oshima, who was to play a role in Japanese cinema similar to that of Godard in France. The new cinemas greatly extended the boundaries of film art. They brought new audiences into the cinema, for whom films assumed an unprecedented cultural importance. Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s the cinema spoke more directly to these mainly young audiences than did any of the more traditional art forms. But outside Italy, France and England the innovate cinema with the new realities was not popular. Because of the limits on the size of the audience, the new cinema had to be low-budget or propped up by subsidy (sometimes both) in order to survive (Guneratne 67). The ‘new’ period in Hollywood cinema begins from the 1975 release of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. The film signaled the birth of a new, younger generation of Hollywood directors. Born mainly in the 1940s, they both studied the films of classical Hollywood and were influenced by the filmmakers of world cinema. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg made blockbusters with classic principles. One of the most famous filmmaker in the 1980s has been Woody Allen. Allen has made famous films, such as Interiors (1978) and Stardust Memories (1980). Conclusion There exists recognition of the fact that from the beginning the cinema has developed in remarkably similar ways all over the world. But it is also recognized that from the end of the First World War onwards, one film industry – the American – has played a main role in the creation of world’s cinema. However, many nations have created their own, culturally identifiable, genre films that proved extremely popular during the 1970s and 1980s. In India, for instance, a remarkable 250 film-making companies, using more than 60 studios, continued to produce 700 feature films a year throughout the 1980s (Kindem 23). The central government encouraged the making of Indian films by requiring all commercial cinemas to screen at least one Indian film per show. A star system, much like Hollywood’s of the 1930s and 1940s, is strong in all parts of the world. Indeed Indian stars working on several productions at the same time can become enormously wealthy. The nations survived mainly by learning from Hollywood cinema. At the same time Europe produced a product that corresponded to needs that Hollywood cinema could not supply. Asian countries have been strong producers of film. Hong Kong, a country of only 5 million people, produces more films than Hollywood. In the 1990s Hong Kong’s citizens watched Hollywood and native productions in about equal numbers. In the 1980s Hong Kong martial arts films were distributed world-wide in large numbers. With broadcasting systems combined with the rise of satellite-distributed services Hollywood penetrates even these markets. Hollywood produced the most famous icons in the world such as Steven Spielberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger. With its international control, the Hollywood corporations could and will define standards of film style, form, and content.

Qualifications Or Experience Essay

Qualifications should be given more importance than experience when recruiting staff. Agree or disagree? Recruiting the correct individual for the correct job position is a key factor influencing the productivity of the organization and its success. There are many arguments about the importance of qualifications over experience for job candidates in deciding who to hire. In my point of view, experience is a greater priority than qualifications since the latter is only raw theoretical information without the knowledge of practical application. My opinion can be explained clearly by the following example: if a person, without any swimming experience, would surf the internet and learn many swimming techniques and guidelines would you expect him to jump in the water and swim like an Olympic swimmer? (Chaplin, 2013) Firstly, experienced Workers have know-how of the job. Experienced professionals have the knowledge of what has to be done. This is because they have encountered the usual situations that the job would expose them to, and they know how to deal with them. Furthermore, they are equ ipped with the necessary skills for the job: they have the technical knowledge to use the necessary technology and equipment. In addition, they also have enough work hours to have sufficient knowledge of the work place culture . Secondly, For certain jobs it is essential for managing crises on day to day bases. In such a case, experience is critical. A highly experienced workforce would be better at handling new and pressing troubles. For instance, familiarity with solutions of meticulous scenarios would come naturally to skilled and experienced employees. Also workers that have prior experience would know how to strive under complex situations and would have the know-how to control the circumstances. Thirdly, Due to having an inexperienced workforce the organization would face many employee loyalty issues and as a result, a high labour turnover which in-turn increases recruitment expenditure which consumes a lot of time that could be used more productively elsewhere. Experienced employees have a tendency to stay with their organization for a larger time. This is so that they would have greater stability and to obtain their wish to achieve a high ranking position within the firm. To save on recruitment expenditures and  for efficient time management experienced workers would be  Fourthly, even without proper qualifications employees do get hired. This is due to the fact that large organizations do their own â€Å"on-the-job† training with new employees to increase their job productivity and efficiency significantly. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) informs that under $1500 for each worker was used up for training during 1996. The major fraction of that (49 percent) was used up for technical and expert training. This money could be used for investments rather than training. Besides, even if the employee does or does not possess the qualifications, he/she would undergo the training process to standardize the quality of job performance amongst the workers.   Lastly, experienced employees would bring a lot of knowledge and clientele from rival competitors. This would mean instant revenue for the organization. Moreover, they would be capable of meeting deadlines with greater efficiency and productivity because of their wealth of experience. Furthermore, the experienced employee would be more aware of methods that contribute to a higher customer satisfaction which makes them a worthy investment. Also, there are always quarrels between employees that reduce their focus on the job. This usually does not occur with experienced employees since they are generally more mature in the work place. (Howe and Howe, 2013) Nevertheless, in certain jobs and work environments, inexperience is considered a merit. Employees with low experience would not have hard-wired views established by prior incidents. This would make them ideal for employers who like to mold their workers’ thinking. One might object that, an inexperienced worker might break under pressure and fail in controlling the situation. It’s true that, inexperienced workers   work harder to make an impression using out of the box thinking and come up with distinctive methods to solve problems. However, they would not be efficient in their problem solving because they would not have the skills and experience to apply them. Admittedly, inexperienced workers tend to have smaller salaries this means that they are much less expensive compared to experienced workers. In contrast, the firm would eventually pay high training costs for those workers, which means that it would have been more time saving to employ experienced personnel in the first place. It would be further argued that, inexperienced workers tend to have fresh ideas. Alternatively, an inexperienced worker would take very long to come up with a suitable idea for the situation as he or she would not be familiar with scenario due to lack of experience. In conclusion, I would like to restate the points that show the dominance of experience over qualifications. Experienced workers have a greater know how of the task, they are more efficient and productive. They are better suited for crises situations since they have faced those scenarios previously. Also, they are more stable since they aim for a higher job position in the firm. Lastly, the high cost of the experienced worker would result in a lower cost in the long run since there is no need for training and they would most likely make less mistakes. These arguments show supremacy over qualification since there is added knowledge of practical application. It would be highly recommended to have a balance of both experienced and inexperienced workforce to acquire the advantages of both sides†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Howe and Howe, 2013) Howe, T. and Howe, T. 2013. TODAYS TOPIC – Inexperienced Employees Vs Experienced Employees. [online] Available at: http://wearethomas.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/todays-topic-inexperienced-employees-vs-experienced-employees/ [Accessed: 29 Apr 2014]. Ogunjimi, A. 2014. Advantages of Experience VS Inexperience in Jobs | eHow. [online] Available at: http://www.ehow.com/info_7746182_advantages-experience-vs-inexperience-jobs.html [Accessed: 29 Apr 2014] (Chaplin, 2013) Chaplin, G. 2013. Qualification Vs Experience. [online] Available at: http://garychaplin.com/2013/06/27/qualification-vs-experience/ [Accessed: 29 Apr 2014].

Slavery in American and the Declaration of Independence Essay

Slavery in American and the Declaration of Independence - Essay Example The promise found in the Declaration of Independence that are men are created equal must today be viewed with the caveat that those who conferred legitimacy it was convinced that blacks held no claim to the same rights as whites and so there was no necessity to qualify the promise of universal equality within the document. The draft of the Declaration of Independence that was handed over by Jefferson, Adams, and Benjamin Franklin go the Continental Congress for approval originally contained a quite long passage directly calling to question the very institution of slavery. "He has waged cruel war against human nature itself, violating its most sacred rights of life and liberty in the persons of a distant people who never offended him, captivating and carrying them into slavery in another hemisphere or to incur miserable death in their transportation thither" (Higginbotham 381). This passage is not to be found on the official Declaration, of course, because representatives to the Conti nental Congress from the southern slaveholding states quickly colluded to express objection to its potential harm to their economic interests once the shackles of British rule had been successfully thrown off. In the final version of the Declaration, references to the institution of slavery are still expressed, but only in a manner that specifically accuses the British of inciting the slaves to revolt against their owners. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and most of the members of the Continental Congress had historically expressed in no uncertain terms before it came to write a declaration for independence based on the radical concept that all men were created equal their belief that a righteous difference existed between the rights of whites and the rights of blacks. John Adams went so far as to write the God Himself has "never intended the American colonists 'for Negroes and therefore never intended us for slaves" (Breen 202). When the phrase "all men are created equal" is found in the Declaration, therefore, it is actually is truer than it may at first glance appear. The intention of the Declaration of Independence was to spur not blacks to fight for independence and equality, but for whites to fight for the suspension of the class rule that had dominated European civilization for centuries. Jefferson and the other founding fathers did not write or approve the Declaration as a means to give hope to slaves that the American Revolution was going to bring them freedom, or that it would endow freed blacks with anything even approaching equality. Jefferson's incitement of the proposition that all men are created equal was at the time sheer propaganda directed specifically toward white colonists whom the revolutionaries needed to buy the idea that business as usual in Europe for millennia was not the future of the coming new country. Jefferson's use of the words "all men are created equal" can actually be seen more a threat to the grounded ideals of the aristocrac y.

Instructional planning and design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Instructional planning and design - Essay Example While no textbook is perfect, how do teachers go about deciding if a proposed textbook will be chosen? What makes a particular instructional material adequate? One of the most important criteria is design. If the textbook in question does not align with the standards being addressed, then what use can it be? Textbooks that actually help achieve these standards must also be free from errors with documented sources that can be referred to if a question of accuracy arises. This is especially important in subjects such as geography where place names and maps change over time. Textbooks must also address both the desires of teachers and students in order to be effective. It is here that design tends to overlap with the criteria of clarity, efficiency and procedure. Teachers wish to have a book that emphasizes important points. Actual text should provide enough information in a grade/age appropriate manner but also facts that can assist in initiating discussions. While students should be challenged to go beyond the basics of the standard being addressed, they do not need to be overwhelmed with irrelevant information. Teachers want a sufficient number of questions to reinforce the topic being studied but not so many that students take one look and panic. Activities should provide practice of the basic skill but also encourage students to stretch a little and engage their critical thinking skills. While many teachers have created their own assessments over the years, some may want to be able to use the prepared assessments that come with new textbooks. If the teacher has to make major revisions to the prepared assessments in order to use them then the textbook may not be adequate. In addition, teachers want to be able to train students to use the textbook as an aid in the individual learning process. Once this training has been completed, the instructions for textbook activities should be such that teachers can use them

Forecast of the Nature of Training 20 Years Hence Essay

Forecast of the Nature of Training 20 Years Hence - Essay Example The next step is to make augmented reality systems mobile (Macchiarella, 2005). In 1995, Gordon Moore, Chairman Emeritus of Intel predicted that computational power will double every 18-24 months. This would mean that in 20 years, computers would be able to handle data and processes at least 10 times of what it can do today. Having said that, we can let imagination run wild with the kinds of computer-based training systems that will be available 20 years from now. This author predicts that in 20 years time computing power would have multiplied ten times over, the physical size of devices would have shrunk 10 times its original size, and mobile facilities would have increased an unimaginable number. This means that limitless training can be had conveniently using a conveniently small computing device which can be carted around anywhere. Palm-sized computers equipped with electronic writing device, earpiece, internet access, and interactivity can replace conventional devices used for web-based training. Such devices can even be taken to the work area and can be used to provide a readily accessible reference "material" in case problems are encountered on the job. Macchiarella's prediction of making augmented reality training systems mobile could well be achieved in 20 years. Learning booths for various AR training would have been mass-produced and installed in convenient locations such as community centers, malls, airports or other places where p eople go to when they have spare time or where have to wait and needlessly waste time. Access cards to the training booths may be equipped with a payment facility for pay-per-use training or to logon to an organization’s training program. ... Access cards to the training booths may be equipped with a payment facility for pay-per-use training or to logon to an organization's training program. Trainer-trainee interaction may have become readily available after 20 years. In much the same way that 24/7 operations are conducted, trainers on shift would be able to interact with trainees from any part of the world who has accessed a training material over the internet. Using a mobile device with instant messaging capabilities would make this possible. According to Wexler (2008), different training technology modalities are on the rise and this is expected to continue for the next decades. These are podcasts, blogs, communities of practice, Wikis, LMS, online references, online assessment and testing, synchronous and asynchronous e-Learning, learning content management and portals. Moreover, the training profession is also forecasted to diversify and specialize in new areas such as aggregators of content who will sell access to t heir content to organizations which need them, developers of generic courses who will sell their courses on a pay-per-use basis, or developers of specific courses targeted to specific industry requirements (Heathfield, 2008). With technology advancing by leaps and bounds, the applications for training may well be limitless. If it can be imagined, it will most probably be possible. Assignment 2: Statement of Work Abstract Due to increasing diversity in the workplace, there is a need to level the field in terms of English language communication. Effective communication among community members is essential for peaceful coexistence and for solving many day-to-day problems. The constant flow of information from country to country in a globalized world has created the need to

You are a new graduate LVN working in a nusing home and taking care of Essay

You are a new graduate LVN working in a nusing home and taking care of 20 patients during . How would you manage the care of the patients and the supervision of the nursing assistants - Essay Example Different nursing home patients have different needs to take care of. In this respect, the patients with most demanding needs would have the priority time as far as care provision is concerned. The idea is to categorize patient needs and subsequently ensure that all patients are accounted for. Moreover, working with nursing assistants would require that they handle relevant patient care that does not necessarily require the attention of the supervisor. Finally, supervision of nursing assistants is most effective when delegation is part of the practice (Yoder-Wise, 2013). It is vital for a new LVN to learn the art of delegation. In essence, the LVN would supervise the assistants, but allow them the autonomy to practice decision making subject to the approval of the new graduate LVN. In other words, the LVN and the nursing assistants would need to work together for enhanced provision of care to the

Google Search Engine Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Google Search Engine - Term Paper Example The MapReduce system indexes the pages that are later used to present information to the users and has been a major contributor to the success of the company. In September, 1998 a company named Google Inc. was launched in a garage by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They initially started working in their friend’s garage and within a span of just one year moved to an office with 8 employees. In 2004, Google was able to raise a massive sum of $1.67 billion dollars through its Initial Public Offering (IPO). (Schneider, 2012) It was a highly publicized event that caught everyone’s attention. As of now, Google has more than 20,000 employees worldwide that are stationed in various parts of the world, making sure that the company operates to provide its customers with valued services. The first international office of Google was opened in Tokyo, Japan in August 2001. This was a sign of how technology has shifted from west to east in the past decade. Far East is considered to be on e of the most tech-savvy regions of the world and the big minds at Google capitalized on this opportunity and went straight to Japan for their international expansion. (Google, 2012) In the same year as its IPO, it opened its R&D (Research and Development) centre in Japan to attract the brightest, innovative and qualified engineers from amongst the Japanese and other Asian countries. In 2007, Android was announced as the first open source platform for mobile devices. In January 2010, Nexus One was the first phone introduced by Google as its benchmark phone that was equipped with the Android operating software and enabled new dimensions for mobile phone users. (Google, 2012) Google’s mission statement from the very first day has been â€Å"to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful† (Schneider, 2012). It specializes in Internet Search, cloud computing and advertising technologies. Amongst its most famous products include Gma il (email service) and Google+ (a social networking service). Google Chrome, Picasa (photo organizing) and Android mobile operating system have been its recent success that has helped it take over the technological world. It has been roughly estimated that Google runs over one million servers in data centers around the world. (Pandia, 2007) The huge success rate of Google can be attributed to an intricate set of innovative processes. The â€Å"science driven PageRank algorithm† has generated excellent search results that have been able to attract millions of searches on a regular basis. Google has reported that it spends approximately 200 to 250 million US dollars annually on purchasing or revamping its IT equipment. (Pandia, 2007) This shows the extent to which Google is committed in improving its infrastructure to provide the most latest and up-to date services to its customers. Peter Hidas of the Gartner Group has concluded that based on the above figures Google is roughly the fourth largest server producer in the world trailing behind HP, Dell and IBM. He even went on to say that Google has surpassed Microsoft’s total servers, signifying the fact that Google has the capacity and ability to handle excessively large number of computers in parallel. Its technical solution has been a result of continuous innovation and thus is far ahead of its competitors. (Pandia, 2007) According to estimates by some Google engineers, Google is processing a massive sum of 20,000 terabytes of data on a

Father Marin Mersenne and the New Mathematical Approach during the Assignment

Father Marin Mersenne and the New Mathematical Approach during the Scientific Revolution of the 17th Century - Assignment Example Father Marin Mersenne was himself very influential in the lives of many intellectuals, and instrumental in furthering the new mathematical approach and scientific thinking in general. However, it is precisely this scientific thinking that impelled him to promote it, and the need to defend his theology. Father Marin Mersenne was a contemporary of the mathematicians Thomas Harriot, Blaise Pascal and Isaac Newton, being older than the last two but died when Newton was a child. He was also a close friend of Descartes and Fermat. In fact, he was in touch with many other mathematicians as well such as Roberval, Torricelli, Desargues, and Huygens. This is because of his role for serving â€Å"as a clearinghouse for mathematical information† through correspondence and meetings. It was also his extensive travels that enabled him to act as the prominent channel of communication, which included Rome. It is said, â€Å"when Mersenne knew something, the whole of the ‘Republic of Letters’ was shortly informed about it†. Consequently, much of the unity in mathematical interests at the time is attributable to Mersenne. His own famous contribution to Mathematics was a development of the ‘Mercenne numbers’ that are primes of the form 2p-1 where p is itself a prime; important to number theory (Selkirk, 1992:34). In addition, he inspired the invention of the pendulum clock. However, Father Marin Mersenne was most influential in disseminating the mathematical ideas of others. For example, it was due to Mersenne that Galileo’s ideas on the path of a falling object on a rotating earth were widely discussed in France.

Difference Between Romanticism and Transendinlalism in American and British Writers Essay Example for Free

Difference Between Romanticism and Transendinlalism in American and British Writers Essay Difference Between Romanticism and Transendinlalism in American and British Writers The expression Romantic gained currency during its own time, roughly 1780-1850. However, the Romantic era is to identify a period in which certain ideas and attitudes arose, gained the idea of intellectual achievement and became dominant. This is why , they became the dominant mode of expression. Which tells us something else about the Romantic era which expression was perhaps everything to do with them expression in art, music, poetry, drama, literature and philosophy. Romantic ideas arose both as implicit and explicit criticisms of 18th century Enlightenment thought. For the most part, these ideas were generated by a sense of being unable to deal with the dominant ideals of the Enlightenment and of the society that produced them. Which characterized Transendinlalism very differently from that of Romanticism. The difference of Transendinlalism was that it was a literary and philosophical movement, associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller, asserting the existence of an ideal spiritual reality that transcends the empirical and scientific and is knowable through intuition. However, the Romantics thought differently because they that, that romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individuals expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions. The Romantics felt all the opinions of the Enlightment were fraught with dangerous errors and oversimplification. Romanticism may then be considered as a critique of the inadequacies of what it held to be Enlightened thought. The difference between these two eras are the British and American writers that have chosen either the path of romanticism or transendinlalism. The characteristics of Romanticism are different to those of Transendinlalism. Romanticism results in part from the libertarian and egalitarian ideals of the French Revolution, the romantic movements had in common only a revolt against the prescribed rules of classicism. The basic aims of romanticism were various: a return to nature and to the belief in the goodness of humanity; the rediscovery of the artist as a supremely individual creator; the development of nationalistic pride; and the exaltation of the senses and emotion over reason and intellect. In addition, romanticism was a philosophical revolt against rationalism. Another difference between those of Romanticism and Transendinlalism are it’s themes that it represents. One of the many themes of romanticism are dreams and visions. The most notable example of the emphasis on dreams and visions in romantic literature is Coleridge’s poems is â€Å"Kubla Khan†written in 1816, he claims to have written is during a dream while deeply asleep . While transcribing the lines from his dream, he was interrupted by a visitor, and later claimed that if this interruption had not occurred, the poem would have been much longer. The idea that a person could compose poetry while asleep was a common amongst romantics. Although critics at the time were not particularly enthusiastic about Kubla Khan. Nature had a overwhelming influence during the Romantic Era. In Kubla Khan describes the nature that he is surrounded by; Walls and towers were raised around twice five miles of fertile ground, filled with beautiful gardens and forests. A deep romantic chasm slanted down a green hill, occasionally spewing forth a violent and powerful burst of water, so great that it flung boulders up with it like rebounding hail. The river ran five miles through the woods, finally sinking in tumult to a lifeless ocean. Amid that tumult, in the place as holy and enchanted / As eer beneath a waning moon was haunted / By woman wailing to her demon-lover, Kubla heard ancestral voices bringing prophesies of war. The pleasure-domes shadow floated on the waves, where the mingled sounds of the fountain and the caves could be heard. It was a miracle of rare device, the speaker says, A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice! Coleridges is inspired by the beauty and charmingness that nature gives them during the romantic era. Before this period of time another era had began called The Age Of Enlightenment. In the 18th century â€Å" The Enlightenment,† made this movement advocated rationality as a means to establish an authoritative system of ethics, aesthetics, and knowledge. Which then gave the transendinlalism it’s place in this movement. Transendinlalism is a literary and philosophical movement, associated with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller, asserting the existence of an ideal spiritual reality that transcends the empirical and scientific and is knowable through intuition. It is no coincidence that this movement took off just as the American literary tradition was beginning to blossom. Transcendentalism—though inspired by German and British Romanticism—was a distinctly American movement in that it was tied into notions of American individualism. In addition to the theme of American democracy, transcendentalist literature also promotes the idea of nature as divine and the human soul as inherently wise. Transcendentalism also had a political dimension, and writers such as Thoreau put their transcendentalist beliefs into action through acts of civil disobedience to the government. The nineteenth century was a volatile one, beginning with the hope and promise of democracy and the development of an American identity and moving towards mass devastation and division by the middle of the century. Slavery and the Civil War, women’s rights, growing industrialism and class division —all of these events were influential and each had a role to play in the transcendentalist movement. Transendinlalism had many themes to those of the Romantics at their time like self- wisdom. Quite simply, Transcendentalism is based on the belief that human beings have self-wisdom and may gain this knowledge or wisdom by tuning in to the ebb and flow of nature. Transcendentalism revolves around the self, specifically the betterment of the self. Where Emerson and his followers differed from earlier philosophical and religious beliefs was in the idea that human beings had natural knowledge and could connect with God directly rather than through an institution such as organized religion. Transcendentalism celebrated the self, an important step in the construction of American identity, better understood as the notion of American individualism—one of the cornerstones of American democracy. Nature played an important role in the Transcendentalist view. Nature was divine and alive with spirit; indeed, the human mind could read the truths of life in nature. To live in harmony with nature and to allow ones deepest intuitive being to communicate with nature was a source of goodness and inspiration. In fact, writers not only celebrated Americas great landscape, but also constructed the wilderness as a type of dramatic character that illustrated moral law. The desire for an escape from the evils of society and a return to nature became a permanent convention of American literature. Transcendentalist thought emphasized individualism. Only by rejecting the irrelevant dogmas in place and searching for inner truth could one experience the deep intuition of spiritual reality. In relation, Transcendentalism is also very democratic, asserting that the powers of the individual mind and soul are equally available to all people. These powers are not dependent on wealth, gender, background, or education, but on the individuals willingness to release their own imaginative power to realize his or her place in the Oversoul. The obvious results from Transcendentalist efforts are manifest in the intense moral enthusiasm that characterized Transcendental thinkers. Society, with its emphasis on material success, was often seen as a source of corruption. To combat this evil, many Transcendentalists were associated with such moralist groups as the anti-slavery group, the march for womens rights, and other aid societies. Ultimately, some Transcendentalists hoped to reform society by creating an American utopia with a perfect social and political system. The Transcendentalists can be exasperatingly vague in their prescriptions for spiritual transformation, a vagueness which derives principally from their distrust of all forms of ritual and inherited religious forms. The transcendent individual is often a solitary figure, contemplating his soul (and by analogy, the soul of all humanity), and contemplating other souls through the reading of serious literature. But the central recurring theme that emerges is a return to nature, where the artifice and depravity of society cannot reach. Thus Thoreau leaves Concord and heads for Walden Pond to explore the great truths of the natural world. Thus Jones Very, in his poem The Silent, distinguishes between the sounds that strike the ear and those that strike the soul when one walks in the woods: Tis all unheard; that Silent Voice, Whose goings forth unknown to all, Bids bending reed and bird rejoice, And fills with music Natures hall. And in the speechless human heart It speaks, whereer mans feet have trod; Beyond the lips deceitful art, To tell of Him, the Unseen God. † Thus the similarities in the Romantic and Transendinlalism era are ver closely together. For the writers of these eras believed in different yet similar things. For example, nature was one of the similarities of both eras they had marked the world in believing that nature is something that will keep you clam and feel safe like all writers at the time believed in. For romantics believed in intellectual and artistic belief in their writing. Thus they also had many differences for reason over belief this is one of the subjects that the romantics and transcendentalist did not agreed in. During the 18th century their truly was no difference in both the romantic and Transendinlalism era. The only difference was those of the people’s writings of this period who made this era last for years.

Case Study Summary of Zara and Oxford Industries Essay Example for Free

Case Study Summary of Zara and Oxford Industries Essay Zara specializes in inexpensive fashions for women and men between the ages of 16 and 35. In keeping with the spirit of that demographic, Zara moves quickly. Like many apparel retailers, it has two seasons—fall/winter and spring/summer—but selections change frequently within those periods. Items spend no more than two weeks on the shelf before making way for new merchandise, and stores are replenished twice a week. With annual growth of around 20 percent in both sales and number of stores, Zara was finding that strategy increasingly difficult to execute. Part of the Inditex group of fashion distributors, it currently has more than 1,100 stores in 68 countries. With so much volume flowing through the supply chain, the company could no longer rely on guesswork by store managers as to how much product it needed to replenish at each location. In the summer of 2005, Zara heard about research being done on mathematical models for retailing, by professors Jeremie Gallien of the MIT Sloan School of Management and Felipe Caro of the UCLA Anderson School of Management. They were invited to Zara’s headquarters in La Coruna, Spain. The focus was on making better stock-allocation decisions for Zara’s growing network of stores. A prototype of the resulting model was implemented between March and July of the following year, as part of a six-month internship at Zara by MIT graduate student Juan Correa. Between August and December, researchers ran a live pilot involving distribution of a dozen products to Zara’s stores worldwide. An identical selection of products was dispatched to stores under the old process, for purposes of comparison. The mathematical model drew on historical sales data plus available stock in the warehouses to come up with a final number for each store. Gallien says the task was exceedingly complex. Each store carries several thousand items in up to eight sizes, with exact quantities to be determined for twice-weekly shipments. Through use of the model, computers could take over the basic number crunching, with humans left to make adjustments based on exceptions such as bad weather or unexpected disruptions in the sales channel. The emphasis on fast turnaround motivates consumers to purchase items on the spot. Unlike in many clothing stores, where seasonal lines remain on the shelves for weeks or months, a particular style in a Zara store can disappear within a week. Zara speeds up its supply chain by strategically selecting and locating suppliers. A â€Å"proximity model† judges not only their geographic placement, but their ability to respond quickly to production orders. About half of the retailer’s production meets the proximity threshold, mostly coming from suppliers in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. From a geographic standpoint, nearly 65 percent of production is sourced in Europe. Zara also buys from suppliers in Asia, but because of the need for speed, their number is â€Å"considerably less† than the industry’s average. The model has yielded additional benefits. Product now spends more time on the sales floor, and less in a back room or warehouse. With a reduction in misallocated inventory, there are fewer returns to the warehouse and transfers between stores. And, as Zara’s distribution network continues to grow, the retailer won’t need to expand its warehouse team as fast as the old process required. Summary of Oxford Industries Oxford Industries began in 1942 as a domestic manufacturer of basic, button-down shirts for mid-level retailers, particularly department stores. In recent years, however, the company has shifted its business model to focus on apparel design and marketing, with third-party producers handling manufacturing. As part of this transformation, the Atlanta-based company embraced a brand-focused business strategy. In 2003, Oxford acquired the island-inspired Tommy Bahama operations, followed by the 2004 acquisition of Ben Sherman—a well-known London-based brand made famous by the popularity of its shirts among British rock stars. Oxford’s legacy business units, Lanier Clothes and Oxford Apparel, also evolved. As one of the leading suppliers of men’s tailored clothing to retailers, Lanier Clothes designs and markets suits, sports coats, suit separates and dress slacks. While continuing to sell these under private labels, it also has licensed a number of well-known brands, including Geoffrey Beene, Kenneth Cole and Dockers. These products span a wide price range and are sold at national chains, department stores, specialty stores and discount retailers throughout the United States. Oxford Apparel’s products range from dress shirts and western wear to suit separates and golf apparel, designed mostly for private-label customers like Lands’ End, Federated Department Stores and Men’s Wearhouse. Oxford Industries also sells through 55 of its own stores. In the late 1980s, early in its transformation process and prior to the acquisition of Tommy Bahama and Ben Sherman, Oxford realized that it needed to bring its business divisions up to speed with more robust information technology. After completing the implementation of a company-wide enterprise resource planning system, the company contracted with an independent consulting firm to determine where it should invest time and money to further increase operational efficiencies and performance. The result of that in-depth study ultimately led to Oxford Industries’ decision to implement two solutions from JDA Software: Demand Planning and Master Planning. With so many possible permutations of size, style and color for each of its products, improving forecast accuracy was critical. Prior to implementing JDA Demand, Oxford relied on its retail customers’ demand forecasts for its private-label products, as well as information provided by the company’s own sales associates. If too much or too little product was created based on the retailer’s or the sales associates’ forecast, both Oxford Industries and that customer paid the price via lost sales or markdowns. JDA Demand enabled the company to better understand consumers’ evolving requirements and current trends, along with historical buying patterns, resulting in the ability to create more accurate forecasts and synchronize demand for replenished product with sources of supply. Oxford Industries can now compare its forecasts with those of its retail customers to ensure that the right amount of product is manufactured, leading to improved collaboration and service levels with its trading partners. The implementation of JDA Master Planning leveraged the solutions automated functionality to compile product information and production constraints to generate weekly sourcing and inventory plans from style to the SKU level. The solution also simultaneously considered factory capacities including special features, raw-material availability, and manufacturing and customer lead-times. Since Master Planning generated a first version of the supply plan by noon each Monday, Oxford Industries’ planners had four and a half days to resolve any issues to accommodate unplanned demand, which translated to an 85-percent improvement in planning efficiency. Although the company’s sourcing model has since shifted from a typical manufacturing process to more of a purchase process, manufacturing and customer lead-times, SKU-level decisions and some capacity constraints still need to be factored into the supply planning process. Master Planning provides the tools to let managers manage instead of serving as data-entry technicians.

Copper: Structure, Functions and Chemistry

Copper: Structure, Functions and Chemistry COPPER (I) Copper has played a significant role in the history of human civilization, he was the first metal produced on a larger scale and used for practical purposes. Copper has been used by humans since ancient times, in the oldest antiquity and almost certainly soon after gold and argint. Archeologists discovered objects of this metal dating from 8700 BC, the occurrence of copper, much tougher and cheaper than gold and argint, expand the uses and the manufacture of weapons and various utensils (especially plows), thus making a significant jump in history: the transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. Copper is one of the chemical elements of the base, a metal which pure has orange-red color and has a high electrical and thermal conductivity. Distinctive color of the copper, reddish, has made as first people to use him in creating jewelry and tools. Currently it is used to create a variety of products (cables, cooking pots and pans, tubes and pipes, car radiators, etc..), and pigm ent and preservative for paper, paint, textile and wood. Can also be used in various combinations, with zinc produce brass and with tin produces bronze . In the Earths crust, copper reserves are estimated to be about 70 parts per million, which puts them among the top four of the Earth reserves. Copper is found in its natural state, but most are in the mineral reserves, of which the most important are chalcopyrite and bornite. From the point of view of the spread in nature, copper may be found either in the native form (pure or bonded) or be in the form of compounds or minerals. After existing information, the copper was discovered in the year 6000 BC, by a people living in Turkestan or on the southern slope of the Caucasus. From here emerged in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete and eventually in Europe. Judging after the old copper objects found, it can be said that this metal has emerged in Egypt 5,000 years BC and then, after a millennium, in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates, where the Sumerian civilization developed. In Egypt, on the pharaoh time Turmes, the copper was exploited in Sinai Peninsula and was known as Komt. Copper ores used by ancient peoples came from Asia Minor and the Cypru. Also, the great philosopher of antiquity, Aristotle (330 BC) wrote that in India there is a kind of copper that can not distinguish gold than by weight (it been easier). The first large deposits of copper ore were discovered about 3000 BC, in the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean.There is evidence that the Greeks and then the Romans extracted copper from Cyprus (since 1500 BC). When the Romans conquered Cyprus, the Romans brought copper almost entirely from Cyprus, so they called him, Cyprium, metal of Cyprus, then shortened to cyprium and later at cuprum. In South America, the findings showed that there were copper objects from 500 BC along the north coast of Peru. A development in copper processing was done when the Inca empire fell, it being conquered by the Spanish in the 1500s. Regarding the United States, the first copper mine is known in Connecticut (Branby) in 1705, followed by Pennsylvania (Lancaster) in 1732. However, production of copper objects was based on copper imported from Chile until 1844, when were discovered large deposits of copper ore, high quality, around Lake Superior. With the development of techniques for processing by the late 1800s, began exploiting the copper ore lower quality in large mines open in the western United States. The biggest piece of elemental copper found in nature weighed 420 tonnes and was found in 1857 in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan, USA. Copper-containing minerals, such as chalcopyrite, Azurite, malachite, copper is present in the earths crust at a concentration of 50 parts per million, and constituted 0.01% of the. Most of copper removed from the mine is in the form of compounds such as sulfides or sulfates. Today, copper ores (copper sulfides, oxides and carbonates) are found in the USA and Canada, as well as several other places (in more than 50 nations). Should be noted, however, about half of the amount of copper in the world comes dinChile and the United States. New Mexico, Nevada, and Montana are states that give the largest amount of copper (about 98 percent) in the United States. World production of copper is about 12 million tons per year and the reserves are about 300 million tons, and is projected to be only for another 25 years. Strongest copper manufacturers, top two are United States and Chile, followed by Canada, Peru, Australia, Russia, China and Indonesia. About 2 million tons of copper per year are recovered through recycling process. With 2000 years BC, the copper was used only in the manufacture of bronze, and later on making some ornaments and copper combinations of coloring glass in blue (used as a precious stone, rings, brooches and so on). Objects of copper with the greatest seniority were found in areas with historical significance, eg Chaldea, Egypt, Assyria, Phoenicia and America. Thus the oldest objects found in northern Iraq, beads native copper (nuggets), dating from about 9000 BC, and various tools for processing of copper, made in about 5000 BC. In the New World copper objects were used by Native Americans as early as 2000 BC. In China was used to create bells. Later, the copper has been widely used in various alloys as bronze and brass (copper zinc) Èâ„ ¢i copper tin zinc. As bronze, was used to make cutlery, coins, tools, art and various bronze vessels. Copper alloys have been strong enough to be used in guns and cannons, and was known as †gun metal†. Homer wrote of weapons made of copper. Around the year 900 BCE, copper salts have been used for painting had expensive homes, being combined with clay and lime later. The alloy of copper and nickel (cupronickel) was the preferred metal for coins, bronze coins first appeared in Egypt, between 430-322 BC, and is now used this alloy for achieving U.S. coins. Because he was one of the main metals (together of gold and silver ), copper came to the attention of the alchemists, who called Venus, after the planet that regarded represented by copper. It is now widely used like bronze and brass in construction, truss building, roofing, heating and plumbing systems. Also, the copper is used heavily for electrical equipment (60%), almost every electrical device (electric clocks, stoves, portable CD players, and electricity transmission wires) is based on copper, because it has a high electrical conductivity and cheap. It is well known that older telephone lines were made à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹of thick copper wire packages, computers have copper circuit boards. Some copper alloys are used as pesticide for insects and rodents. Also, Copper alloys are found used in a variety of compounds: battery fluid, in fireproof, fabric paints, food additives for farm animals; fireworks (bright emerald color); The copper alloys underpin the manufacture of ceramics and enamels, photographic film, the different pigments and marine paints, as well as metals conservation, water purification, and wood protection. Using copper compounds, can also be undertaken and semi precious stones, such as turquoise (vary in color from green to blue) and malachite. Physical properties are usually those that can be observed using our senses such as color, luster, freezing point, boiling point, melting point, density, hardness and odor. A disc of copper (99.95% pure) In its solid state, of metal, copper has with a face-centered cubic crystalline structure, and is reddish, this color is the main property after which differs from the other elements. Copper color reflects red and orange light and absorbs other frequencies in the visible spectrum, due to its band structure. The copper crystal (cubic, face-centered) is lacking the presence of polymorphism. Usually, most of the inorganic compounds and organic compounds of copper are blue in color, although some may be green or greenish. Very interesting are his properties,to form compounds by green color (carbonate, chloride, etc.), Black (oxide) or blue (sulfate and hydroxide). One of the disadvantages of copper is the phenomenon of Cocle (greening), which can be often observed on old vessels and coins. Together with osmium (blue) and gold (golden yellow), the copper is one of three elemental metals has natural color other than gray or silver. Pure copper is orange-red and acquires a reddish stain when exposed to air, and will be green later. Cooper has a high melting point (1083 °C), which cause limited use to the pure metal. It can easily combine with other metals: Zn, Sn and Ni, forming alloys: brass, bronze,constantan, with improved properties and low melting points. He has a shine or glow, and his boiling point is 2595 °C. Its density is 8.96 grams per cubic centimeter. Copper is a very soft metal with a hardness of 3 on the Mohs scale (50 scale Vickers), tensile strength stood at 210 MPa, but is quite resistant to breaking, and very ductile (can be drawn into wires) and can be molded at high pressure. Both copper and its alloys have a very high pliability (can be drawn in thin sheets), and are very easy to process. However, the ductility of copper is extremely favorable, thus being able to obtain very thin copper wire, called strands (they used in the past, fuses). It is malleable, ductile, and an extremely good conductor of both heat and electricity. It is softer than zinc and can be polished to a bright finish . Is similar to the thermal conductivity of silver (silver 1 to 0.93), and much higher than other common metals. Precisely because of this property, copper pipe is used to transfer heat. However, the conductivity of copper is decreased when cooper is impure; when cooper contain the impurities of 0.1% of elements such as phosphorus, arsenic, silicon or iron, the conductivity may lower even by 20%. Therefore, electrotechnics uses only pure copper electrolyte. Like all metals, if copper is plated with another metal, begin galvanic corrosion process. Chemical properties Atomic number of copper is 29, and is found in group 11 of the periodic table, together with silver and gold, and has symbol Cu. Relative atomic mass is 63.546. The valence of copper is essentially 1 or 2 (a rare form copper compounds and salts of oxidation state 1, and 2, which are commonly called cuprous or cupric salts), although less may be even 3 . It is found in Group 11, Period 4 of the periodic table. Copper isotope 6429Cu electronic shell electron, 29 protons and 35 neutrons in the nucleus. Thanks to its electronic structure, copper may transfer an electron located on the last layer, forming ion CuI. Who ion combinations are stable. Copper can give, besides the electron located on the last layer, another electron, which is on the penultimate layer, forming ions CuII Copper does not react with water, but reacted slowly with the ambient air, as a result of this reaction, the copper surface to form a green layer of oxidized copper. In contrast to the oxidation of iron in moist air, this oxide layer stops the corrosion; a layer of green verdigris (copper carbonate) can be seen on old copper constructions, such as the Statue of Liberty, the largest copper statue world. Most copper salts are hygroscopic. Copper presents magnetic conductivity. Isotopes Copper has 29 isotopes; two of them, 63Cu and 65Cu are stable, and isotope 63Cu represents 69% of all natural copper. The other isotopes 27 are unstable (radioactive); the most stable of the radioactive is 67 Cu with half-life by 61.83 hours. Seven other isotopes have been characterized; between radioactive isotopes, it remark 63Cu, which emit positive beta radiation, resulting the isotopes of nickel, while the 65Cu isotope, with beta negative radioactive emissions, has results zinc isotopes. It should be noted that although it is a metal, copper is an essential element of life. It is found in all tissues of the body, but most of the copper found in the liver, and small quantities are found in the brain, heart, kidney and muscle. As beneficial effects, copper helps the body to use iron in the blood, reducing free radicals actions on tissues. Consuming foods copper may also prevent certain diseases or disabilities, such as allergies, baldness, AIDS, leukemia, osteoporosis and stomach ulcers. With iron (another metal), the copper assists in the synthesis of red blood cells. But it must be noted that copper does not break down in the environment, so it can be accumulated by plants and animals. This means that where there is copper in large quantities, it can develop only a limited number of plants, which adversely affect the work of agricultural land according to soil acidity and the presence of organic matter. However, manure containing large copper, is still applied on fields farm. Also, copper negatively influence activity of microorganisms and earthworms, which implies a slow decomposition of organic matter. Cupric salts are very powerful poisons for algae and fungi. Therefore, impregnate wood sulphate or copper naphthenate, to avoid the mushrooms and sprinkled vineyards, against blight, with a solution of copper sulphate mixed with lime. Copper has played a significant role in the history of human civilization, it the first metal produced on a larger scale and used for practical purposes. Copper is, after iron, the metal most used. After ones set, we find that the copper is a very common substance that occurs naturally in the environment and people use extensively. Apply in industry and agriculture, which made as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹copper production to increase over the last decades.

Education and the Digital Divide :: essays papers

Education and the Digital Divide Closing the digital divide involves many components, starting with the education program and teachers. While schools are integrating new technologies into their programs, teachers are supposed to keep up with the latest technologies and use them in their curriculum to teach students. According to a U.S. Department of Education Report (1999), only 24 percent of new teachers felt sufficiently prepared to integrate technology into the curriculum they were using (Brogan, 2000). The problem is, many teachers did not grow up with computers and are not receiving the training they need to operate them (Brogan, 2000). Starting work as early as 7 a.m. and leaving school as late as 5 p.m. to go home and do even more work, leaves teachers lacking the time to learn new technological skills. Many schools offer training programs for teachers. For example, the Palm Beach County, Florida school district teaches Web basics for teachers at middle schools and magnet schools (Brogan, 2000). This i s a great idea because it is giving teachers the opportunity to learn about technology and it is showing that the school district is interested in helping its employees become better at what they do. Andy Carvin states â€Å" internet access in schools isn’t worth a hill of beans if teachers aren’t prepared to take full advantage of technology† (2000). Schools spend a lot of money on computer hardware and software as well as other technologies without realizing that many of their employees are unprepared to include them in their teaching and use them to their advantages. Educators often use technology as a classroom management tool rather than an educational one, allowing computer time as a reward for good behavior (Clark & Gorski, 2001). The problem with this is that students learn to use the computer for games and such because it is their reward instead of using it on their own time for educational purposes. This is teaching them the wrong idea. Margaret Honey, director of the Center for Children and Technology in NYC said it best, â€Å"The bottom line is, you don’t just put technology into schools or into homes and expect miracles to happen. The technology is only as good as the program that surrounds it† (Meyer, 2002, p.2). â€Å"Education is probably the most important issue that affects the ability to benefit from technology.

Indian Killer Essays -- essays research papers

In Indian Killer Alexie uses a pulp-fiction form, the serial killer mystery, to frame the social issues facing American Indians. He populates the book with stock characters such as a grizzled ex-cop, a left-wing professor, a right-wing talk radio personality, drunken bums, thuggish teenagers and a schizophrenic main character who serves as the most obvious suspect in a mystery that never quite resolves itself. John Smith, the troubled Indian adopted by whites appears at first to be the main character, but in some respects he is what Alfred Hitchcock called a McGuffin. The story is built around him, but he is not truly the main character and he is not the heart of the story. His struggle, while pointing out one aspect of the American Indian experience, is not the central point. John Smith’s experiences as an Indian adopted by whites have left him too addled and sad, from the first moment to the last, to serve as the story’s true focus. The damage that had been done to John Smith was irreparable from the moment the story began. His death, while a gloomy ending for his character, is in many ways a release from his torment, as demonstrated by his rising from the point of impact and leaving his body behind. The value of John Smith is to serve as an extreme example of the damage being done to Indian society. The heart of the story is the experience of Marie Polatkin. Unlike the somewhat stock characters that make up much of the mystery element of the novel, Marie is a fully real...

The Burden of Deceit in Public Life

The Burden of Deceit in Public Life: Sissela Bok Writing to Discover Nancy, a middle-aged politician, is more than eager to be elected as her town’s mayor in the next election. With the mind-set that she will, in reality, be limited as far as what she can do to help her town as a whole, Nancy decides to â€Å"sugar-coat† her public speech. In doing this, Nancy is confident that the citizens of her town will feel both reassured and hopeful that she will make many positive changes as mayor; even if she doesn’t have the power to do so.In contrast; Tyler, a sixteen-year-old boy, has just been confronted by his girlfriend about cheating on her with her best friend. Instinctively, he denies the situation as a whole, hoping his girlfriend will believe him. Although being dishonest, Tyler feels as though it is the best decision to save their relationship and prevent his girlfriend from getting hurt. While these are both hypothetical situations, they also happen in realit y, and on a daily basis. Nancy and Tyler differ from one another in age, gender, and case-but they are very much alike in the sense that they both chose to lie.The word lie is such a harmless, three-lettered-word, right? Wrong. Lying is something that is both overlooked morally and figuratively. Regardless of what extent one chooses to lie, they are still in the wrong. I feel as though there is no â€Å"grey area† in terms of telling a lie; there is truth, and then there is untruth. With this being said, I consider all of deception, self-deception, deceit, and mendacity to be forms of lying. Deception withholds dishonesty in itself; it undoubtedly correlates to any type of trickery and or fraud.Likewise, deceit involves being dishonest as well. Whether one does this through actions or words would just depend upon the situation. Mendacity includes both lies and also self-deception, making it a more severe form of lying. I do believe that there are different degrees of lying. T here are â€Å"white-lies,† which are used in minor situations, and often used carelessly by individuals. These particular lies correlate to what was said earlier when I stated that lies are overlooked both morally and figuratively.Why do individuals feel the need to tell a so-called â€Å"white-lie† in order to impress another person, cover-up a skeptical situation, or simply for their own enjoyment? This I cannot begin to fathom. In addition, a â€Å"white-lie† is accepted by many in our world today. Humans feel as though it is rational in certain situations and can obviously prevent matters from blowing out of proportion. This is fine, until of course the first â€Å"white-lie† adds up to five, and then ten, etc. Before that person can blink, he or she has converted into a compulsive liar.After a â€Å"white-lie† comes that of a normal lie. By this I mean one that is used intentionally, and with the purpose of covering up wrong. Those who lie ab out things such as committing adultery, stealing, or even taking the life of another, are all sinners in my eyes. To prevent from making this a religious response, I will just bluntly state that if a person is being immoral in any way, shape, or form, they are in the wrong. Lying correlates to this on many levels and is simply unjust.

Organization behavior Essay

Attribution theory: an important tool for understanding and managing goal oriented organization behaviors. Attribution theory is known as the effective way which helps us to assume that people’s behaviour is caused by internal or external situational factors. This essay is going to discuss about the key elements of attribution theory and the relationship between them. In addition, the way of attribution theory process works in organizations are also mentioned. Also it considered how attribution theory implements in organizations as an effective tool which can help leaders to attribute employees’ behaviours and workplace outcomes. This essay reviewed some famous articles in attribution theory and psychology fields and abstracted relative points to discuss. Types of attributional explanations and the underlying dimensions of those attributions affected individuals’ emotions, expectations and behaviours. (Jianjun & Shenghua, 2009) The reason that internal and external attribution can be useful tools in management practice is that they can help managers understand causes of employee behaviours and can assist employees in understanding their thinking about their own behaviours. If you can understand why you behave a certain way, and why others around you do so, then you have a better understanding of yourself, others, and your organization. The perception of the causes of certain behaviour may affect the judgment and actions of both managers and employees. The locus of causality can be internal or external, which stands for the recognition of internal or external attribution. Also as Kelly (1967) concluded as the covariation model, which describes the three type of information that we can use to make attribution decisions are consensus, distinctiveness and consistency. In determining whether behaviour is based on internal or external factors, you look at the level of consistency, distinctiveness and consensus of the behaviour. For instance, internal attributions are made with low consensus, low distinctiveness, and high consistency while external factors when all three are high. Leaders can use covariation model to make attributions of employees’ performances. However, this model also has one important limitation, which is that it cannot to distinguish unintentional and intentional behaviour. (Ben, Olufemi, Olukunle &Patrick, 2012) As attribution theory is applied in different organizations and may be an important factor which can affect managers’ decision, the  innate bias of people in the way they make attributions should be paid much attention. The basic one which is called fundamental bias describes the tendency to make internal attributions over external attributions. It emphasizes more on socialization such as culture or social settings. As concluded by Zuckerman (1979), there are two main attribution biases. The self- serving bias is the tendency of individuals to regard their successes as the result of their own effort or ability and blame failure on external factors. Thus, the situation could be that managers may blame employees for their failure. On the contrary, employees may attribute failures to external factors. The actor- observer bias stands for the tendency of observers to attribute the behaviours and outcomes of actors to their internal factors while actors attribute their outcomes to the external environment. For instance, managers may blame the failure on employees whereas employees are biased toward attributing their failures to external factors including their supervisors. After comparing these two biases, it is obviously that self- serving bias happens when both actors and observers focus on the outcomes while the actor- observer bias is based on the situation that actors emphasize on external factors but observers focus attention on actors. In organizations, performances are evaluated by managers. Those two biases can effect managers’ and employees’ evaluations of employee performance as well as the quality of their relationship. (Mark, 2007) In terms of leadership, if leaders don’t aware that they have attribution bias, some problems will appear in communication and team work. Employees make attributions based on their perception of the causes attributable to leaders’ behaviours. (Phil, Charlotte, Julie&James, 2009) after employees perceived their leader are not satisfied with their performance, they tend to feel loss of self- esteem. Reflecting into behaviours, it is possible that employees’ job satisfaction and turnover decrease. After that, it is more difficult for leaders to motivate employees to increase productivity or improve their performance. Another thing which is worth mentioned is attribution styles. Attribution styles are tendencies to make particular types of attribution over time and across different situations. Martinko (2002) indicated that there are sixteen possible intrapersonal styles. Basically, there are two most well-known attribution styles which are optimistic attribution style and pessimistic attribution style. To some extent, optimistic attribution style  can correspond to self-serving bias. However, pessimistic styles are characterized by external and unstable attributions for success and internal and stable attributions for failure. (Martinko, Douglas& Borkowski, 2007) In an organization, optimistic leaders believe that the employees will perform well in the future but the pessimistic leaders have the opposed ideas. Also optimistic employees think they will have a good performance while pessimistic ones have the opposed ideas. These phenomenons imply one possibility that there may be clashes between the attribution style of leaders and employees. Just as the study did by Martinko, Douglas & Borkowski (2007) demonstrated that optimistic leaders are less likely to blame their members for poor performance and make opportunities for their members to succeed in the future than are pessimistic leaders, which may lead to lower quality relationships between employees and pessimistic leaders. As relationship becoming less harmonious, the goal- achieve thinking will be inconsistent. In addition, Harvey, Harris and Martinko (2008) got a result through studying and hypothesising which presented attribution styles have significantly effect on turnover intentions. There is a positive relationship between hostile attribution styles and turnover intentions. (Harvey, Harris &Martinko, 2008) The situation could be someone with a pessimistic attribution style and low self-efficacy can be helped by being given tasks that allow them to succeed early on and build their confidence as they progress to more complex tasks. In dealing with someone with an optimistic attribution style, managers can help the employee gauge whether or not they are capable of a certain type of project by having them shadow someone doing that job or linking them with a mentor higher up in the organization. Recognizing and dealing with someone with a hostile attribution style might be difficult since this style can look similar to the optimistic style. However, this style in particular, will benefit from open communication that leads to correct attributions for outcomes. This is one type of employee that managers do not want to leave guessing about a poor performance appraisal, demotion, layoff, or other negative outcomes. Also in terms of job satisfaction, it indicated a negative relationship between hostile attribution style and job satisfaction, but suggested that satisfaction fully, as opposed to partially mediated the attribution style–intent to turnover relationship. (Harvey, Harries& Martinko, 2009) In  view of leaders, the attribution style of leaders is probable sign of their expectation of employees’ performances, which influence how they treat and evaluate employees. Attribution theory implementation in different fields: Leadership: Attribution theory plays a significant role in field of leadership. It is the tool that how leader attribute employees’ performance. There are many different situations. For example, when a leader is facing the negative outcome, he is more likely to have internal attribution of it. (Korsgaard, Brodt & Whitener, 2002) If the employee attributes the leader’s behavior internally, he will blame it on leaders so that he will have a doubt with leader’s ability. Also it is possible to appear conflict between leaders and employees. In order to improve the accuracy of leaders’ attribution, leaders can try to do the work that employees do and may have the similar feeling with them, which is a way to gain psychological closeness. And it is better to assign tasks and duty clearly to avoid unnecessary error in working. Motivation: According to Harvey and Martinko (2009), we can promote and maintain employees’ motivation through five means such as screening resilience, immunization and multiple raters for performance. However, in general situation, attributional training and increasing psychological closeness are most common and effective way. Attributional training helps employees accurate their attribution style and may correct their attribution biases as well as having a better understanding with internal and external factors. In other word, attributional training is a good way to make employees have a full – scale recognition of workplace outcomes through effective communication between managers and employees. In term s of increasing psychological closeness, the best way is to pick experienced managers to manage employees and handle the positive or negative outcomes so that they can provide more attributional feedback to employees. Performance reviews and group work: Kelley’s (1973) covariation model which contains consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness can be used by managers to evaluate and review employees’  performance. Consistency is proposed to lead to attributions regarding the stability of the outcome. For example, when an employee fails a task, if the manager is with low consensus, he will think that only this employee fail, then it is impeded correct evaluation. Also, when managers face dividing work in a group, the locus of covariation is needed to attribute and estimate the different characteristic of employees’ behaviors. Recruitment and selection: When managers start recruitment and selection, they have to ensure that they have appropriate attribution style and try to minimize the attribution bias. For example, the interviewers will tend to believe that candidates who appear anxious in the interview are actually behaving anxious because they are lack of anti-pressure ability, rather than because they are in a stressful environment. Then wrong decision and selection will be made because of the attribution bias. In conclusion, it is obvious that attribution theory process is related to internal and external factors through the discussion of relationship of essential portions of attribution theory process. Besides, attribution bias and styles cannot be ignored in organization behavior and activities because they will have a big effect on different fields such as leader- member relationship or motivation towards employees. As the importance of attribution theory and the functions been argued, it can be summarized that organizations should take advantage of attribution theory to manage employees and improve organization performance. Reference list: Ben E. Akpoyomare Oghojafor, Olufemi Olabode Olayemi, Olukunle O. Oluwatula, Patrick Sunday Okonji. (2012). Attribution theory and strategic decisions on organizational success factors. Journal of management and strategy, 3: 32-39. Harvey, P., Martinko, M.J., & Gardner, W. (2006). Promoting authenticity in organizations: An attributional perspective. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 12: 1-11. Harvey, P., Harris, K.J., & Martinko, M.J. (2008). The mediated influence of hostile attributional style on turnover intentions. Journal of Business and Psychology, 22: 333-343. Harvey, P. and Martinko, M.J. (2009). An Empirical Examination of the Role of Attributions in Psychological Entitlement and its Outcomes. Journal of  Organizational Behaviour, 30: 459-476. Harvey, P., & Martinko, M.J. (2009). Attribution theory and motivation. Organizational Behavior, Theory and Design in Health Care, 27:143-158. Kelley, Harold H., (1967). Attribution Theory in Social Psychology, Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 39: 242- 277 Korsgaard, M. A., Brodt, S. E., & Whitener, E. M. (2002). Trust in the face of conflict: the role of managerial trust-worthy behavior and organizational context. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87: 312–31. Martinko, M.J., Harvey, P., & Douglas, S.C. (2007). The role, function, and contributions of attribution theory to leadership: A review. Leadership Quarterly, 18: 561-585. Martinko, M. J., Moss, S. E., and Douglas, S. C., & Borkowski, N. (2007). Anticipating the Inevitable: When Leader and Member Attribution Styles Clash. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.104 (2): 158-174. Martinko, Mark J. and Thompson, Neal. (1998). A synthesis of the Weiner and Kelley attribution models. Journal of Basic and Applied Psychology, 20(4): 271-284. Phil C. Bryant, Charlotte A. Davis, Julie I. Hancock and James M. Vardaman, (2010). When Rule Makers Become Rule Breakers: Employee Level Outcomes of Managerial Pro-Social Rule Breaking, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 22: 101-112. Silvester, J., Anderson-Gough, F. M., Anderson, N. R. & Mohamed, A. R. (2002). Locus of control, attributions and impression management in the selection interview. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75: 59 – 76. Zuckerman, M. (1979). Attribution of success and failure revisited, or the motivational bias is alive and well in attribution theory. Journal of Personality, 47: 245-287.

How Does Stress Affect the Policing Community?

cjs210Write a 200- to 300-word response addressing the following questions: How does stress affect the policing community? Stress has many effects on the policing community as a whole. Officers may lose sleep over the stress and become fatigued which in turn causes them to lack on their duties, or delay their reaction time. Officers may also get so stressed that they go through a post traumatic disorder. Post traumatic disorder can cause officers nightmares, or worse they can wind up committing suicide.How does police culture support police officers in evolving job situations? Police culture support officers throughout the evolving job situations by protecting each other. Officers have a brotherhood and a closeness that no other career has because of the daily struggles they go through. Due to the fact that an officer’s job is so stressful they build a bond and become a family for one another to lean on. Being able for them to help each other is important because they know wha t the other one goes through and what they see on a daily basis.Without the support from fellow officers I feel that many may not be able to make it through being a police officer. What resources exist to help officers handle stress? Some departments have their own psychiatrists that are always there when an officer handles a call that may be too stressful. There are also other ways that they cope like with private therapists, or working out. Exercise helps some, but not all which is why there are experts that are more equipped to deal with the daily problems officers may have.

God and Mephistopheles Essay

In the prologue of Faust, Mephisto entered into agreement with the Lord. What are the terms of the agreement, and how does he go about attempting to win? What exactly does achieve in the process? In the beginning of the tragedy there is a dialogue between God and Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles says that people can’t use their mind in the right way. God argues and gives an example of Faust’s serving to Him and to people. Then Mephistopheles asks permission to put Faust on any trial because he wants to prove that Faust will fail. He obtains such permission but God is sure that Faust will feel the right way and that he will be saved. So, the struggle for Faust’s soul begins. As Faust is anxious about finding the highest sense of life, Mephistopheles wants to show the delights to Faust. They deal that if the scientist wants a moment to stay forever, he will be Mephistopheles’ servant. He tries to tempt him with the help of beautiful women Margaret and then Helen, but Faust can’t get a full happiness with them. The author reveals this idea by Helen’s words while her disappearing: â€Å"Alas, the ancient word proves true for me, as well: That joy and beauty never lastingly unite. † Mephistopheles also tries to arouse Faust’s desire to glory and worship but these attempts have no success. Finally Faust wishes the moment to stay forever, but Mephistopheles doesn’t win. It happens when he is building dam in order to help the people who suffer from floods. This wish is altruistic and that’s why Faust is saved. He finds the highest sense of life in common action that is necessary for everybody and that is realized by everybody. Outline some of the themes in Faust, and explain one briefly. In my opinion, it is possible to outline such themes of the tragedy as struggle between good and evil that occurs at global and private levels, the failure of the human ambitions to control and to change the nature and the natural phenomenon, the eternal search of the highest sense of life. The last theme is the main one of the tragedy, because Faust is anxious about getting absolute happiness. The temptations that Mephistopheles proposed to Faust couldn’t bring real and lasting joy. It means that people can hardly be happy when they rely on the things that pass soon as feeling in love and using the power upon people and glory. Feeling in love is wonderful, but it doesn’t guarantee the happiness. People are selfish and they do harm to their nearest very often. The example of the relationships between Faust and Margaret confirms this thought, because the main character’s selfish desire was a reason of Margaret death and the murders of her mother, child and brother. So, the idea of serving to people is contrasted to the selfish wishes of people. Faust was saved because his final deed was philanthropic. By the example of Faust Goethe shows us that a person always feel deep inside what is right and what is wrong but unfortunately it doesn’t mean that everybody finds the true sense of life. Compare and contrast the uses and/or criticism of religion in Hamlet and Faust. The Hamlet’s problem contains more philosophic and social aspects than religious ones. He struggles with the time he lives in and tries to improve it but he fails. Unsuccessful attempts of changing the world that doesn’t fit with Hamlet’s ideals results his fatalism and the final events of the tragedy. Hamlet doubts in the right of the events of global concern and that’s why his attitude towards religion is also doubtful. In his main monologue Hamlet supposes that death is a means of solving the problems of life. This thought doesn’t fit to the Christian ideas which had to be close for him. To my mind, the ideas of â€Å"Faust† are opposite to the ones of â€Å"Hamlet†. Goethe develops the plot of the tragedy with the help of such characters as God and Mephistopheles that demonstrates the authors’ persuasion that people are ruled by the supernatural essences. The fact that Faust is working on New Testament’s translation also reveals the idea of constant interaction between people and God. Goethe thinks that serving to people and serving to God are equal virtues. The fact that Mephistopheles couldn’t win the agreement also confirms the religious idea of constant victory of good. The main characters of the world literature’s masterpieces Hamlet and Faust are compared with each other frequently. Their personalities are alike because both of them try to struggle with the world order and challenge the destiny. Faust is going to know all the secrets of nature and his way to improve his own life and the whole world is scientific. What about Hamlet, he broadens the tragedy of his family to a global scale that’s why his thoughts about injustice concern not only his uncle but the human’s life. The first of act of Hamlet reveals that the ghost of his father assigns Hamlet an ambiguous duty. What are these duties, and using the text effectively, explain the one you think Hamlet’s satisfied? In the first act Hamlet knows from the Ghost of his father that he was killed and the Ghost asks him to revenge to Hamlet’s uncle for this murder. Though, the most important thing while revenging is to keep the soul innocent: â€Å"But, howsoever thou pursuest this act, Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive Against thy mother aught†¦Ã¢â‚¬  To my mind, Hamlet couldn’t execute such necessary conditions. Finally he revenges to Claudius, but as a result not only Hamlet’s mother died. Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius also became victims of the revenge. In the beginning the Hamlet’s soul doubted about the ways of the vengeance and he suffered a lot from these doubts, but the view of warriors has a great influence on him. The warriors are going to fight because of the land that their ruler doesn’t want to rent. The fact that twenty thousands of people are going to die because the honor of the king is wounded makes him decide that his thoughts and actions should be bloody and ruthless. He can’t keep his soul clear because, to my mind, his fault for the deaths of people that are close to him finally destroys his conscience.

Business overview of British American Tobacco

Business overview of British American Tobacco British American Tobacco (BAT) is the world’s second largest tobacco group by global market share. BAT produces cigarettes demanded by one-eighth of the world’s one billion adult smokers and this particular company is holding robust market position in each of their regions. Besides that, BAT has leadership in more than 50 markets. Based on last year’s performances (2009), BAT’s subsidiaries enabled the worldwide government to gather more than  £26 billion a year in taxes, including excise duty on their products which total up to almost nine times the Group’s profit after tax. BAT, which was founded in 1902, has existed as a significant global presence for over 100 years. By 1912, the company had become one of the world’s top dozen companies by market capitalization. This company works with thousands of tobacco farmers worldwide, producing some 724 billion cigarettes through 50 cigarette factories over 41 countries. The company employs more than 600,000 people worldwide. BAT’s workforce is of multi-cultural and they have devolved structure, with each local company having wide freedom of action and responsibility for their own operations. Within a framework of principles, standards, policies, strategies and delegated authorities, decisions are made as close as possible to the local stakeholders of each business. BAT operates according to responsibility seeing that their products pose risks to health. The business stresses on managed responsibility as it is integral to their strategy and through dialogue with their stakeholders, they are working towards commercial objectives in ways consistent with changing expectations of a modern tobacco business. This international tobacco group is the only group with a significant interest in tobacco leaf growing. Their companies run leaf programmes providing direct agronomy support to farmers, covering all aspects of crop production and environmental best practice. In 2009, the group purchased about 400,000 tonnes of tobacco leaves, grown by more than 250,000 farmers. BAT ensures the employees’ welfare. The company has specially carried out a global employee opinion survey also known as â€Å"Your Voice† to give them a secure and confidential way to voice their opinion about working at British American Tobacco. BAT’s business starts with their consumers and brands. The company focuses more on meeting preferences of adults who have chosen to consume tobacco and differentiating their brands from their competitors rather than encouraging people to start smoking or to smoke more. The business’ portfolio of more than 250 brands is based on distinct ‘must-win’ consumer segments which are: international, premium, lights and adult smokers aged below 30. ‘Dunhill’, ‘Kent’, ‘Lucky Strike’ and ‘Pall Mall’ are the four Global Drive Brands which cover the premium and value for money price segments. They grew by 4 per cent in 2009 (8 billion more cigarettes). The business is also increasing the profile of Vogue in the super premium segment and Viceroy, a leading low price international brand besides developing their Global Drive Brands. The growth of their brands is driven by innovation ranging from filters to flavours and packaging to cigarette formats. The business provides a mix of brand balanced between premium, mid-price and low-price. Besides that, the business applies the four managerial functions in its organization management; planning, organizing, leading and controlling. We have also interviewed a manager of British American Tobacco Singapore for further understanding.