Dekalog movie review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dekalog movie review - Essay Example A melancholic tone is used in all except the final film. The series illustrates a modern equivalent of scenes from the past artwork on the Ten Commandments. The producer was inspired by the philosophical challenge and needed to use this series to represent the hardships that were encountered in the Polish society while deliberately eliminating the issues on politics. Creative and unusual themes like adultery and stealing have been brought forward in various narrative styles ranging from a somber tragedy to pure black comedy. The producer renders a great service to the society by showing the relevance of these ancient procedures or rules and imperatives to the current modern living. In the Decalogue I, the meaning of the first commandment; I am the Lord thy God, thou shall have no other gods before me is well dramatized. Three characters are brought forward. First is the father who thinks that religion is not important and has put his faith in technology and reason. Second is Pawel, who wonders about things in life and third is Irena, a Christian who desires her nephew to know about the spiritual realm. In this case the meaning of this commandment is brought out to show our current identity by identifying with the three characters. Despite being tempted to be faithless, God portrays himself in the midst of our lives and challenges us to trust in him ( Carr, pg. 81). Yes. The story and the first commandment are connected and this is relevant in that they bring out how much people have failed o acknowledge the existence of God but rather chose to worship other Gods in the current modern society. It is relevant today because the true worship has been neglected and people are engaged in material things and have outgrown

Major Works Data Sheet Essay Example for Free

Major Works Data Sheet Essay Plot summary: Heart of Darkness begins on the Thames river and told by an unknown narrator. He and several other men are on the deck of a ship when Marlow, a captain, begins to speak. Marlow had always wanted to travel to Africa and up the snakelike Congo River. With the help of his aunt in Brussels, Marlow gets a job as a boat captain on the river with a Dutch trading company that deals in ivory. After getting his assignment at the office in Brussels, he travels to the mouth of the Congo River in a French steamer, which drops off soldiers and clerks at many stations along the African coast. The site of a French man-of-war firing at nothing puzzles Marlow. When Marlow arrives at the mouth of the Congo, a Swedish captain takes him to the company’s Inner Station on a smaller boat. Outside of the station he sees Africans chained and working hard at worthless projects, with others nearby dying slowly. Marlow is impressed with the competence and dress of the accountant who works at this station. It is here that he firsts learns of Kurtz, an exceptional trader who is destined for great things. Marlow then travels to the company’s Central Station, walking two hundred miles inland with a sick, overweight white man who had to be carried by Africans, until they tired of it and abandoned him. Once at the station, Marlow meets the General Manager, a hollow man who got his job not by virtue of his merit but simply by remaining alive. His only talent is making people feel uneasy. The boat Marlow was supposed to captain had been torn up in an accident just before he arrived, so Marlow spends months at the station making repairs and waiting for rivets. During this time, Marlow watches many of the white men do no work and walk aimlessly. One day a building caught fire and they decided to punish an African for it. Marlow then meets another  hollow man, the brick maker, who has no mater ials to build bricks. The brick maker questions Marlow about his connections in Europe, and Marlow learns more about Kurtz, who is besides being an excellent trader, an artist and in Africa for the purpose of bringing light to the natives. Marlow determines that the brick maker is a spy for the manager and that neither likes Kurtz. The mysterious Kurtz increasingly intrigues Marlow. He overhears the manager and the manager’s corrupt uncle express their hatred and jealousy towards Kurtz, who is rumored to be ill. With the repairs complete, Marlow captained the boat upriver, manager on board, towards Kurtz’s station. He employed the help of a group of cannibals, whore frained from eating anyone in his presence. Just before arriving at Kurtz’s station, a tribe of Africans attacked the ship, and his African helmsman was killed, having lost his self-control. At this point Marlow worries that he may never meet Kurtz, but they find Kurtz’s station upriver. Greeted by a young Russian, Marlow finds out that Kurtz is very ill. He also finds out that Kurtz convinced a tribe he was a deity to use them to get more ivory. Kurtz goes crazy and runs for the woods, devoid of all restraint. Marlow finds him and helps him back to his bed. Kurtz gives Marlow some papers to give to people in Europe. Kurtz eventually dies, saying â€Å"The horror, the horror.† Marlow returns to Europe, delivers the papers, and eventually talks to Kurtz’s fiancà ©. She is still very idealistic and he cannot tell her about Kurtz’s last words, saying instead Kurtz uttered her name before dying.

Nigerian Towards Foreign And Local Clothing Marketing Essay

Nigerian Towards Foreign And Local Clothing Marketing Essay CHAPTER FOUR CASE ANALYSIS 4.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter will give and comprehensively analyse the project report title The Nigerian consumer attitudes towards foreign and locally made clothing. The relevant marketing framework which was discussed in chapter 3, with regards to the secondary data will be used. This includes reports, book, journals and articles written by experts. However, this secondary data will be used to accomplish the research objectives. The secondary sources which was used in chapter 3 consist of what experts has said about consumer behaviour, motivation, attitudes and the different aspects of   their behaviour when purchasing products, in terms of their country of origin , and how it result into buying behaviour.   Furthermore, we are going to look at the current situation of the Nigeria perception toward country of origin products and how it influence country of origin measurement. The second aspect of this chapter will be dealing with the research instrument as questionnaire and primary research which will be to find out, if consumers have preference for foreign made clothes when compare to locally made once. Thus, the methodology will indicate the research objectives of the project and it also going to clarify data collection process, research hypothesis, respondent sampling and the limitation of the study. The recover data will be examine using the statistical software SPSS followed by a thorough discussion of the findings. 4.2 NIGERIA PERCEPTION TOWARDS COUNTRY OF ORIGIN CLOTHING PRODUCTS   Due to recent studies which have been carried out, Nigeria consumer   knowledge as been observed to have changes, consumer now prefer to purchase foreign made clothes rather than   Nigerian locally made once this is as a result of the way country of origin different products have being manufactured. Furthermore, it was also to be clarified whether customer also prefer some certain product due to the states of the economic development of a country. For examples in the Nigeria at present, consumer dont really patronize the locally made clothes only during local events such as marriages and traditional ceremonies. However, the foreign made products are always highly valued by Nigerian consumers due to exotic fashion trends always derived from the products. According to Knight (1999) explain that in his writing that Nigerian consumer judge foreign products with high estimation due to the facts that they are products manufacture in other countries and he also went further to clarify that country of origin stage of industrial increase, the price of manufactured products and perceived the quality are numbers of reason for different consumer choice to choose between local and foreign products. Toyne (1989) also went further to explain in detail that due to certain products in developed countries, foreign consumer trends are preferred to those kind of products due to their level of advancement  Ã‚   of technology and   It has been originate that consumers in less developed countries assess locally made goods as inferior Al-Salacity (1998).   Due to different research that has been carried out relating to country of origin, it is however been analyzed that these studies has a universal nature. According to leonidou et al (1999) also clarified that there have been some related studies different carried out in some specific advance countries to assess country of origin effect on consumer evaluation of goods from diverse countries and computation patterns. It was also clarified by Han (1989) that consumer use country of origin information to evaluate products. 4.3 COUNTRY OF ORIGIN MEASUREMENT This has been analyzed as the measuring of different countries products in other for consumer to know the growth and development of various countries products. Furthermore, in other for country of origin measurement is establish   and   there are three main approaches which will be evaluated and they consist of single cue studies, multi cue studies and conjoint(trade off) analysis . 4.3.1 SINGLE CUE STUDIES According to   Bilkey Nes (1982) stated that most studies carried out are directed towards consumer being able to make analysis of the products based on merely country name. The author also went further in criticising single cue studies by clarifying that since they were bound to result in a significant origin effect on buying behaviour that might or not exist in the world. Thus, it  Ã‚   observes that single cue studies afford no insights as to how the consumers combine country of origin information with other information such as brand name. Majority of the Nigeria consumer use this single cue to evaluate products especially to check different country of origin designer brands before making purchase. From research show by Kaynak et al (2002) recently analyses that respondents evaluate product based on extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Examples are taste, price, service, design, durability and brand name. Majority of consumer have used single cue studies to analyze products evaluation, especially when they have small information about the brands in other to find out more information. 4.3.2 MULTI-CUE STUDIES According to Ahmed et al (2002) established the fact that due to recent multi cue studies, this study now comprise of different intrinsic and extrinsic information cue other than the country of origin   cue in moderating the country of origin effect. Bilkey Nes (1982) also went further to establish the fact that showed either no significant or only minor effects due to country image. Test which was carried out on using multi cue setting   Ã‚  to test multi products indicated that country of origin is very necessary when evaluating product quality respective of the prices Wall et al (1991). 4.3.3 CONJOINT (TRADE OFF) ANALYSES Since 1970 conjoint (trade off) analysis has been established and it can be define as   the representation   to understand the algebra of a concept or, more specifically how the components of a concept interacted to drive a rating such as to purchase intent (Johnson 1974 cited in Howard et al 2005). The initial application of conjoint analysis used off trade and off trade makes sense when viewed against the background. Examples colour, time factors, availability, and speed of reaction and together with additional factor that may be use to add value augmented part of the products.     Additionally, it has been clarified that conjoint analysis take this principles and applies it in situation where there are more than one set of product choices. There will also be wider ranges of choice in prices than just high or low (Lan 2006: p. 187). 4.4 METHODOLOGY 4.4.1RESEARCH HYPOTHESES. H0: Nigeria consumer purchase foreign made clothes due to status perceptions. H1: Nigeria consumers do not purchase foreign made clothes due to status perceptions. H0: For Nigerian consumers, checking the country of origin is dependent on what prompts their purchase of clothes H2: For Nigerian consumers, checking the country of origin is not dependent on what prompts their purchase of clothes 4.4.2 RESEARCH APPROACHES The research use for this project is called deductive research; the reason for this was that the research project encompasses consumer behaviour attitudes and hypotheses which will be experimented to discover if both results will be both identical or not. The deductive research helps the researcher to experiment the hypotheses in different stages in other to get the actual result of the hypotheses. Examples the Nigerian preference for foreign clothes as well as consumer behaviour. According to Len (2007) justify that deductive begin with theory from which we may derive hypotheses. Which are than tested through observation. Furthermore, it was also clarify that the research is descriptive as it establish the fundamental relationship between variables (mark et al 2000). 4.4.3 RESPONDENT SAMPLING A sample can be defined as a representative of the population which is carefully chosen to represent the whole population (Fink1995). The method of sample use for this survey was judgmental sampling which Mcdaniel (2004) defined as a form of convenient sampling in which the population elements are selected based on the judgment of the researcher. This was because it was convenient for the researcher to find respondents based on the judgment of where to find a large size of Nigerian male user of foreign and locally made clothing of various ages segment and who were willing to fill the questionnaire. The respondents sample size for this project was 150 and the target group was between the ages of 18-51 years Nigerian males this is because when a large sample size increases, each unit of information is obtained at greater cost (Mcdaniel2004). There are two types of sampling techniques that can be utilize in sampling methods and they includes, probability sampling and non- probability sampling. Probability sampling can be analysis as a chance or probability of each case being selected from the population is known and is usually equal for all cases. Non-probability samples are other than quota sampling is more frequently used for the case study research (Mark et al 2000:p. 152). 4. 5 DATA COLLECTION METHOD 4.5.1 PRIMARY DATA PROCESS The primary data use for this research work was questionnaires this was to enable the researcher gain a standardized insight of country of origin preference, consumer attitude and different question were develop in other to understand consumer preference. Furthermore, this questionnaire comprises of 25question in three different areas. The first section encompasses demographical data which give an insight of respondents background, the second aspect was dealing with purchase preferences between foreign and locally made clothes and the third part was dealing with the consumer attitude towards various country of origin. Thus, the questionnaire are rated in different format the rating scale question are involves were by consumer are able to rate their different choice of brand preference, ranking was also used in the questionnaire to find out their order of important when buying clothes and finally multiple question was also giving with only one box to tick. The total numbers of questionnaire administered were   150 and its was distributed to only   Nigeria males in united kingdom to enable the researcher understand their preference for foreign and locally made clothes and it has been analysis that united kingdom has a large population of males that was while this research is specifying only Nigerian males 4.5.2 DISTRIBUTION PROCESS As stated above the questionnaire were 150 and they are administer in different location of United Kingdom, some of this questionnaire where giving to respondent in London a populate place called Peckham which most Nigerian population reside. Furthermore some of the questionnaires were distributed  Ã‚   to Nigerian male in Birmingham University; some were also distributed to Nigerians in Leicester and redeemed Christian church of God. Finally some of the questionnaires were also distributed through email to the Nigeria male consumer in United Kingdom. Furthermore, questionnaire were distributed to 7 respondents for pilot testing but majority of the respondents had problems in filling out the questionnaire because there were some errors   , examples includes question 6 were not stated how much they earn per annum   and also question 9 did not   give respondents the opportunity to choose their preference. Furthermore, the section two there were no rating scale question to enable respondents rate their order of preference and grammatical errors was also found. After taking the piloted questionnaire from respondent more question were integrated   Ã‚  to explore different country of origin and some were removed.   4.5.3 SECONDARY DATA Secondary data was unitizes in this project this was to enable the researcher gain an understanding about what the project is about and also to construct a strong basis which was used for the research work. According to Lewis   et al (2007) explain secondary data as resources which are easily accessible by researcher in other to understand what the topic and also obtain vital information that will be used during the course of their research work. Examples of this secondary data includes marketing report, database, scholars reviewed, articles and consumer behaviour text books were used to get an insight about consumer attitudes and different country of origin. McGivern(2006) also specified that secondary data sources analyses the formulation   of the hypotheses   and the interpretation of primary data. 4.5.4 SAMPLING STRATEGY The sampling strategy used for this research work is non-probability the reason was that it provide a range of alternative techniques based on your subjective judgement. Thus, according  Ã‚   Mark et al (2000) clarified that it provide sensible alternative to select cases to answer research questions and address the question. In pilot survey, non- probability samples may be the most practical, although it will not allow the extent of the problem to be determined. 4.5.5 RESEARCH LIMITATIONS The main limitation of this research where gathering data from only Nigeria male it was not easy due to the fact that majority of the student   were on vacation and some of them are   busy with their jobs. Another limitation of this study was the issues of travelling to London and Birmingham on different occasion to distribute the questionnaires on getting there, some of the respondents were so busy that they could not fill the questionnaires. It was also observed that some of the Nigerian respondents at London felt reluctant in filling the questionnaires due to the reason being that there were not educated. Furthermore, most of the questionnaires distributed online were not filled out by the target respondents and this gave limited information gathering. Nevertheless, information gathered seems to be biased, because some of the questions were not structured well to get good answers. Conclusively, Information gathered may be prone to inaccuracy, due to lack of access to some of the respondents at the Redeemed Christian church of God. REFERENCE Al-Sulaiti, K. I. and Baker, M. J. (1998) Country of Origin Effects: A Literature Review: Marketing Intelligence & Planning 16. Bilkey, W. and Nes, E. (1982) Country of Origin Effects on Product Evaluations: Journal of International Business Studies 13. Fink, A. (1995) The Survey Handbook, 1st Edition: California, Saga Publication Inc. Howard .R. Moskowitz, Matthias Sicher, Sebastiano Porretta (2005) Concept Research In Food Product Design and Development: First Edition, United States: Wiley, John Sons Han, C. Min (1989), Country Image: Halo or Summary Construct? Journal of Marketing Research 29-222. Knight, G. A. (1999) Consumer Preferences Foreign and Domestic Products, Journal of Marketing Vol 16,(2)151-162 Kaynak, E. and Kara, A. (2002) Consumer Perceptions of Foreign Products: An Analysis of Product-Country Images and Ethnocentrism, European Journal of Marketing 36. Lewis .P., Thornhill. A.   and Saunders .M. (2009) Research Methods for Business Student, Fourth Edition: Harlow, Financial Time Prentice Hall.   Lan Ruskin-Brown(2006) Mastering Marketing: A Comprehensive Introduction to the Skill of   Developing and Defending your Companys Revenue, Second Edition: Thorogood, United States. Len Sandler (2007) Becoming an Extraordinary Manager: The Five Essential for Success, First Edition, United States. Mcdaniel .C. Roger.G.(2004) Marketing Research Essentials, Fourth Edition: United Stated, John Wiley and Sons,Inc. Mcgivern, Y. (2006) The Practice of Market and Social Research: An Introduction. 2nd edn. Harlow: Prentice Hall Mark .S., Philip. L. and Adrian Thornhill(2000) Research Methods For Business Students, Second Edition: United Kingdom, Pearson Education Limited. Toyne, B. and Walters, P. G. P. (1989) Global Marketing Management: A Strategic Perspective. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

History Of The Social Security Program :: American History

In 1935, after bank failures and a stock market crash had wiped out the savings of millions of Americans, the nation turned to their president to guarantee the elderly a decent income. In those days, only a handful of workers had access to pensions from their employers or through State governmental pension programs. Over half of America's elderly lacked sufficient income to be self-supporting. The Social Security Act was enacted at the urging of President Franklin D. Roosevelt to create a social insurance program that ensures workers would have a source of income after they retired. In the decades that have followed, Social Security has become one of the federal government's most popular and essential programs. Despite all our efforts to encourage savings and investment, the private retirement picture has not changed much in recent decades. Even today, barely half of all workers have access to retirement plans at work, and millions reach retirement age without enough private savings to provide an adequate living in retirement. Social Security is still the foundation for most seniors' retirement. Without this critical safety-net program, over half of all older Americans would fall into poverty. Social Security does exactly what it was designed to do. It gives retired people a secure, basic income for as long as they live. At the end of 2005, more than 48 million people were receiving Social Security benefits: 33 million retired workers and their dependents, 7 million survivors of deceased workers, and 8 million disabled workers and their families. Over time, the Democratic Party has implemented changes to the Social Security program in order to adjust to changing times. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson proposed and later signed the legislation to create Medicare. The Medicare program was added to provide universal, affordable health care benefits to retirees. Medicare is the largest health insurance program in the United States. At the end of 1966, Medicare served approximately 3.9 million individuals. As of 2003, it serves about 41 million people. There are 5.6 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in managed care programs. Medicare is an entitlement program similar to Social Security and is not based on financial need. Medicare benefits are available to all American citizens over the age of 65 because they or their spouses have paid Social Security taxes through their working years. Since Medicare is a federal program, the rules for eligibility remain constant throughout the nation and coverage remains continuous regardless of where an individual receives treatment in the United States.

Modern Environmental Issues: Fracking Essay

The topic in question is hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking. Said practice is vital to study because at the moment there are many questions about its potential negative effect on our environment, yet oil companies are pushing for its complete legality. The four articles used include Fracking practices in offshore California waters by oil companies probed by regulators (Jason Dearen and Alicia Chang, Los Angeles Daily News), Fracking war: Sierra Club says bill not good enough (Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times), As Obama Visits Upstate New York, the Fracking Debate Takes Center Stage (Bryan Walsh, Time Magazine), and Fracking is Eating Away at Our National Parks (Mary Catherine O’Connor, Outside Magazine). The authors all appear to be regular staff journalists for their respective publications. The article from The Los Angeles Daily News uses information provided by Samantha Joye, a Marine biologist at the University of Georgia. Tupper Hull, spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association, was also quoted. The two had very different opinions on fracking’s overall safety. The article from the Los Angeles Times uses information provided by Kathryn Phillips, the California director for the Sierra Club, along with information from liberal activist groups Credo and MoveOn, and finally from Paul Deiro, lobbiest from the Western States Petroleum Association. Obviously, Deiro’s opinion on fracking’s safety was much more favorable for the oil companies than from any of the other sources, who all oppose the practice. The Time Magazine article quoted Walter Hang, the head of an organization called Toxic Targeting, along with President Obama, and New York State Governor Andrew Cumo. Finally, the Outside Magazine article quoted James Nations, leader of the NPCA’s Center for Park Research, a U.S. Geological Survey, and Clay Jenkinson, a Theodore Roosevelt scholar who appears in a short film that goes along with the report. The focus of the Los Angeles Daily News article was all about regulation of offshore fracking off the Coast of California and how it must be better regulated, as right now too many pollutants are entering our water. The Los Angeles Times article focuses on how the Sierra Club, along with other liberal and environmental activist groups are calling for an outright ban on  fracking instead of stricter restrictions. The time magazine article focuses on angry New Yorkers and how they will be protesting President Obama, who is adamantly in favor of fracking. The Outside Magazine article explains a new report put out by the US government, highlighting fracking close to national parks. It displays how the practice could negatively affect our national parks’ delicate ecosystems. The Los Angeles Daily News article had no photos or diagrams at all. The Los Angeles Times article had one photo of a fracking site in Kern County. The photo was neutral to the story. The Time Magazine article had a photo of angry anti-fracking protestors. The Outside Magazine article was the most comprehensive, with a photo of Theodore Roosevelt national park, and a map of the United States, displaying the national parks most venerable to fracking pollution. Other than the Time Magazine article, which seemed neutral to the issue, all of the articles seemed to be rather anti-fracking. This comes as no surprise because the issues brought up in all three could have negative impacts on the lives of the authors of the articles. In my opinion, fracking should be totally illegal until more conclusive studies have been performed, and prove said practice does not have a detrimental effect on our environment, specifically groundwater and ocean water. To improve the articles there should be more diagrams and graphs to better display the information in a more straightforward manor. The only way for the public to have a better understanding of these issues is if popular television media focuses on important environmental debates such as fracking, instead of stories that will have little to no lasting impact. Further, the environmental groups need to advertise as much as they can, whether it be on television or the Internet. Links to articles: http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20130803/fracking-practices-in-offshore-california-waters-by-oil-companies-probed-by-regulators http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-enviros-split-over-fracking-bill-20130821,0,3383649.story http://science.time.com/2013/08/22/as-obama-visits-upstate-new-york-the-fracking-debate-takes-center-stage/ http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/adventure-ethics

Baby Can You Love Me Essay

Essex Hemphill is an extremely paradoxical poet, for his verses are a combination of that what seems to be impossible to combine. He uses strange and shocking wording in order to make his audience look at usual problems from unusual point of view. In this regard his â€Å"Baby Can You Love Me? † is one of the most indicative among his verses, if not the most indicative one. Love an death are melted together in this Freudian poem, that reveals the deepest layers of human Eros and Thanatos with the first being the desire of life and the latter being the desire of death. Hemphill’s poem makes it clear that these two desires can sometimes be one. Essex died on AIDS that he has caught during sexual intercourses in a black gay community. He was perhaps aware of his prompt death when writing â€Å"Baby Can You Love Me? †, and thus one can ask what is the rationality of asking to kill oneself and killing a loved one who would certainly die soon? From the rational point of view, the poem is senseless. However, what Hemphill’s poetry surely lacks is rationality. This is not a classical verse with a tone, voice, rhythm and metre. In fact, I am not sure whether Hemphill knew something at all of these formal aspects of poetry. â€Å"Baby Can You Love Me? † has no plot and even no visible characters. It is a poetic question, and it is hardly important whether it is a man asking a man or a man asking a woman, or a woman asking a man, or a woman asking a woman. It would be better to say that this is one personality asking another personality, and this asking personality experiences deep inner crisis that makes him or her turn to the most hidden and most unconscious motivations of own â€Å"I† that Hemphill was not afraid to articulate, reveal and analyze in his poem. This is a deeply psychological intuitive poem that can not be understood by analysis. In order to understand Hemphill one needs a kind of mystical insight, one needs to feel what he has felt and try to feel what he has felt when writing â€Å"Baby Can You Love Me? † The poem opens with a classical question of all enamoured humans asked ever since men learned what is love, although this question is asked in a â€Å"horribly† informal manner usual for marginalized communities of black youth. This question is immediately contrasted with another one: Are you willing to kill me if I ask you to? What makes Hemphill ask this question immediately after confessing love? Perhaps it is the word â€Å"willing† that might help to understand that. This is a kind of examination, a test of love that can be true only if the wills of the loved ones are combined in one will. For most people losing the truly loved one is a tragedy. So the question can be reformulated in a following manner: â€Å"are you ready to subject me and you to terrible suffering in the name of love? † Classical literature from Shakespeare to modernity provides examples of killing loved ones out of painful passion, and Hemphill puts feeling to test by this passion. There are many reasons for which one individual can resolve to put a violent end to the life of another individual, but killing out of love always means killing out of passion. I can hardly imagine killing out of tempered love. So the question is as follows: â€Å"is your love so strong, have you lost your head so much that you can kill me? † This passionate plea for death can be nothing but an up-to-minute whim, yet in order to instigate someone to commit murder even this up-to-minute whim of a lover has to become a law for another lover. Love makes people stronger, although this strength sometimes borders on insanity. It is unusual and unnatural for most people to kill someone else or commit suicide. And Hemphill hesitates whether he can kill himself, thus asking his lover for help in fulfilling this last will: If I’m unable to do so Are you willing to kill me? Once more we come across this formal aspect of will. Hemphill asserts that his will may be not enough to consciously die, so he needs a combination of two wills to fulfill his wish. Perhaps he already knows what is love, so now he is willing to know what is love’s eternal opponent death like, but he has not enough will, so he needs an another will, an another â€Å"I† that would not be tied with natural instinctive will of life and whose will would be purer and stronger. In the concluding lines of the poem Hemphill does indirectly confess what his problem is about. It is in fact fear that keeps him alive. He thus needs bravery, and can there be a greater bravery than the one of an enamoured individual in a moment when he or she confesses his or her feelings. So Hemphill asks: Can you be as brave and clearheaded as you are now, professing that you would love to love me? â€Å"Clearheaded† is perhaps one of the worst characteristics that can be applied to passions, for ‘clear head† is an antipode of passion. On the other hand. murdering the loved one with â€Å"clear head† is a certain demonstration of the place that love occupied in the consciousness of an individual. Hemphill speaks of such high stage of passionate love when it becomes a part of a personality, and when the head becomes cleared and heart becomes brave because of and due to this passion. A lover is â€Å"clearheaded† professing â€Å"love to love†, yet the poem eventually revolves around death. Does this mean that â€Å"love to love† implicates â€Å"love to death† and are lve and death interchangeable in the sense of Hemphill’s â€Å"Baby Can You Love Me? † Hemphill himself answers this question positively in the last lines of the poem: But could you kill me If I asked you to? † This passage echoes the first lines of the poem. â€Å"Baby can you love me† and â€Å"Baby can you kill me† are indeed interchangeable questions. The ending resembles the medieval style of rondos – poems that started and ended with the same lines, symbolizing perfection and circularity of the verse. Whether consciously of not, Hemphill applied this method in his poem and interconnected the two contrasting oppositions into a unity. Love is measured by death and death is measured by love for Hemphill. He does not say that directly, but he makes us feel that.

How does Hesiods writing on the gods differ from its supposed eastern models Essay Example

How does Hesiods writing on the gods differ from its supposed eastern models Essay Example How does Hesiods writing on the gods differ from its supposed eastern models Paper How does Hesiods writing on the gods differ from its supposed eastern models Paper Essay Topic: History Hesiods writings date to the end of the 8th century B. C. and as such, are probably the oldest surviving work of Greek literature. His two most famous works are the Theogony and Works and Days. The latter is a poem addressed to his brother, and concerns ethical, mythical and agricultural information. The Theogony is the first epic poem composed by Hesiod, and is a mythical account of the creation of the world, and how the Greek gods were born. Theogony literally means the genesis, or birth, of gods. It deals with personified gods, such as Zeus and Apollo, as well as the gods seen as part of the physical universe, such as the earth, sky, stars and wind. It is almost certain that much of the material in the Theogony was not made up by Hesiod, but was rather part of the tradition of oral poetry, possibly dating as far back as the Neolithic origins of Indo-European myth, or to the Minoan-Mycenaean world and its relationships with eastern cultures. Several near eastern theogonies have survived, and can be compared to the work of Hesiod. However, it must always be kept in mind, that correlation does not prove causation. This means that although we can note differences and many similarities between Hesiod and the eastern parallels, we cannot say whether the near eastern myths directed Hesiod directly, or whether it simply became mixed into the traditional Greek theogonies over time. The two main models from near eastern literature are the Babylonian creation epic, the Enuma Elish and the Hurrian-Hittite Kingship in Heaven which is also known as the Song of Kumarbi. In order to understand the similarities, and therefore be able to see the differences, in each of these three main writings about the gods, we must first outline the story portrayed in each one. In Hesiods Theogony, the first thing created was Chaos, which he sees as a dark, gaping void. After Chaos came Gaia (earth), Tartara and Eros. Chaos gives birth to Erebos and Night, and Gaia gives birth to Ouranos (sky), the mountains, and the sea. She then couples with Ouranos and the Titans are produced, including crafty Kronos1. She also produces the Cyclopes and the three hundred-handers. Ouranos hates his children and so hide them inside Gaia. Gaia asks her children for help, but all save Kronos are too afraid. He arms himself with a sickle, and slices off Ouranoss genitals. The drops of blood from the genitals fall on the earth and produce the Erinyes, the giants and the meliai. The genitals were thrown into the sea, and from the foam emerged Aphrodite. Kronos then has six children with his sister, Rhea, but because of a prophecy that one will overcome him, he swallows them all. On the sixth child however, Rhea deceives him, and he swallows a stone instead of Zeus. This means Zeus can grow up safely, after which Kronos vomits the stone, and the other children. There is then a ten year war between the Titans and the younger gods, which is won by the younger gods when Zeus employs the help of the hundred-handers on the advice of Gaia. The Titans are defeated and are trapped in Tartarus, far below the earths surface. After this, a huge monster called Typhoeus is created from Gaia and Tartarus, and is also defeated by Zeuss thunderbolts. This makes Zeus the acclaimed king of the gods. His first wife Metis is destined to give birth to a son stronger than Zeus, so he swallows her in order to stop the cycle of succession, but she still gives birth, and her daughter Athena emerges through Zeuss skull. Zeus and his other wives then created many other divinities. Hesiods Theogony parallels much of the creation myth of the Near East Kingship in Heaven as found in the Hittite library of Hattusas. The Kumarbi tale shows up in a Hittite text that predates Hesiod by some 500 years. After an invocation of various gods invited to listen to the song, the myth says that Alalu was once king for nine years. In the ninth year his cupbearer Anu took over after a battle. Then Anus cupbearer Kumarbi, who was the seed of Alalu, fought and overcame him. Anu tried to flee to the sky, but Kumarbi caught him by the feet as he rose, bit off his genitals and swallowed them. In doing this he swallows at least three terrible gods, Tessub the storm-god, his attendant Tasmisu, and the river Tigris. Kumarbi spits out what he can, but some gods remain inside him, possibly including Marduk and lust. It is thought that one might have come out through his skull. Tessub also emerges from Kumarbi, and hears of the gods Ea and Kumarbi plotting. He plans to do battle with Kumarbi, but the story is broken. All we know is that Ea becomes angry, and at the end of the song, Earth becomes pregnant and gives birth to two children, and then Ea is happy. The Enuma Elish means when from above, as the myth begins When in the height heaven was not named, and the earth beneath did not yet bear a name,2. Apsu, the river water, and Tiamat, the sea are mingles together, and gods were born inside them. From these gods were born Anshar and Kishar. Anshar was the father of Anu, who was the father of Ea, who was very wise and powerful. All these gods were very noisy, and neither Apsu nor Tiamat could control them. Apsu decides to destroy them, supported by Mummu. Tiamat does not agree and tells the younger gods, who then fall silent. Ea comes up with a plan to cast a magic sleep on Apsu, and then steal his sash, crown and radiance. He ties Apsu up, kills him, and lives on top of him with Damkina, and they produce a son called Marduk. Anu gives Marduk the four winds to play with, but he uses them to make dust storms and whirlwinds, making Tiamat restless. The other gods inside her get annoyed, and try to convince her to avenge Apsus death. She agrees, and eleven species of monster are created for the war. One of Tiamats sons, Kingu, is given supreme power and the Tablet of Destinies. Ea is shocked when he hears of this, and goes out to try and use his spells on Tiamat, but she is too powerful, and he retreats in fear. Anshar then send Anu to try and calm Tiamat down, but this also fails. Ea asks Marduk to offer his services as saviour of the gods, which he does, and becomes king. He arms himself with a bow, a mace, lightning, a net, and his winds, and also created seven more wild winds. He captures Tiamat in the net, and uses the winds against her when she opens her mouth to swallow him. He then shoots an arrow through her mouth, which pierces her heart. Her allies try to escape, but they are all captured and tied up, and Kingu has to give the Tablet of Destinies to Marduk. Marduk then splits Tiamat in two, and creates heaven and earth. He uses Eas help to slay Kingu and makes mankind from his blood. The gods then build Babylon in honour of Marduk, and the poem ends in a recital of Marduks names, and a short epilogue. It can be easily seen that there are many similarities between these three theogony myths. Which influenced which cannot be established, but it can be guessed that the song of Kumarbi, and the Enuma Elish both had some kind of influence on Hesiods Theogony. It is by looking at the similarities between these tales, that the differences can be ascertained. In the Hittite song of Kumarbi, we have a sequence similar to that seen in Hesiods Theogony, in which Alalu has no Greek counterpart, but Anu is parallel to Ouranos, Kumarbi to Kronos, and Tessub to Zeus. Anus name even directly corresponds to Ouranos as both mean Sky. Kumarbi was a corn god, and many scholars think that Kronos was a god of harvest, due to his wielding of a sickle, and the celebration of his festival after the harvest. Tessub, like Zeus, is a storm god. Another similarity between Hesiods Theogony and the Hittite myth is that both Anu and Ouranos have their genitals cut off before going to heaven, and from these genitals more divinities arise. Anu warns Kumarbi about the trouble he will be in, just as Ouranos warn the Titans that they will have to pay for castrating him There will be revenge afterwards. 3. Kumarbi and Kronos both have a number of gods inside them for a while, including the storm god. Both stories also involve deliberate acts of swallowing by the host god. At one point in the Hittite story Kumarbi says he is going to eat one of his children, as Kronos does in the Greek version. Both are given a stone instead, and in both cases, the stone is set up as a cult object. Also, one god seems to come from Kumarbis skull, in the same way Athena does from Zeuss. This shows how closely the Theogony seems to follow the story in the Hittite song of Kumarbi, using similar motifs, and paralleled events. There are several differences between the two as well, although the similarities far outweigh these. One of the main differences is that there is no equivalent character in the Theogony to the character of Alalu, apparently a god of the earth, in the Hittite myth. The other main difference concerns the episode in which there are gods inside the host god, either Kumarbi or Kronos. In the Hittite myth, the gods get inside Kumarbi when he swallows Anus genitals. They are then left inside Kumarbi, waiting to be born. In the Theogony, Kronos deliberately swallows each of the gods, after their birth, as an attempt to undo the prophecy that one of his children will overcome him. Also, the reasons for swallowing the stone seem to de different, although the broken text of the Song of Kumarbi makes this difficult to clarify. In Hesiods version, Kronos swallowed the stone, thinking it was Zeus, but in the Hittite story the storm god Tessub still needs to be born, and so it is a possibility that he swallowed the stone as an emetic aid. After the castration of the sky god we can perceive another variation in the myths. In Hesiods version Ouranos only plays a minor role in the story after he is succeeded, and only gives advice or warning, whereas in the Hittite story, Anu still plays an important part. The religious aspect of the Hittite text seems to be different to that of the Theogony, as the storm god Tessub does not appear to be a proper match to Hesiods Zeus. Hesiod tells us of an invincible Zeus, who wins over both the Titans and Typhoeus, which does not seem to compare to Tessub, in that he also suffers defeat. There are also many striking similarities between the Theogony and Enuma Elish. Both myths begin with a pair of elemental parents that have many children, who remain inside their mother and cause her distress. The father in both stories; whether Apsu in the Babylonian version, or Ouranos in Hesiods Theogony; hates the children and wishes to suppress them, against the mothers wishes. The young gods in each story are struck with fear, but then one of them, the clever god, Ea or Kronos, comes up with a plan to overcome the father. In each story, the clever god is the son of the sky, and the father of the final king. In the Enuma Elish, Ea is the clever god, son of Anu, the sky, and father of Marduk, the final king. In Hesiods Theogony, the pattern followed is replicated, with Kronos being the clever god, son of Ouranos, the sky, and father of Zeus, the final king. Marduk and Zeus share another similarity. Both have to take part in a battle and defeat their massive opponent, and take over their rule as the king of the gods. Both also use wild winds and lightning bolts as their weapons. In the succession part of the Theogony, Gaia gives birth to Ouranos, the sky. The sky is seen as a cover or a roof, which is paralleled in the Enuma Elish, when Marduk cuts Tiamat in two and One half of her he established as a covering for heaven4 The same method must be used to find the differences between the Enuma Elish and the Theogony, as was used to find the dissimilarities between Hesiod and the Hittite myths. In looking at the similarities, the differences can be seen. The main difference is obviously the fact that the Enuma Elish is not actually a theogony, in that it does not attempt to give a complete genealogy of the gods, unlike in Hesiod. In the Theogony, after Gaia gives birth to Ouranos, she produces the mountains, however in the Enuma Elish, Marduk creates the mountains from Tiamats udder. In the Enuma Elish, Apsu seems to be compared to Ouranos, as the bad parent who wishes to destroy his children. However, although Tiamat does not agree with Apsu, she remains fairly neutral at first, whereas Gaia encourages and helps her son Kronos come up with a plan to get revenge on Ouranos. After revenge has been brought about on Apsu and Ouranos by Ea and Kronos, respectively, we see another difference between the texts, as Ea is a good father to Marduk, and helps him rise to power, whereas Kronos clashes with his son Zeus, and is by no means a good parent like Ea. The final main difference between the Enuma Elish and the Theogony is that at the end of the Enuma Elish, Marduk is praised, by the recital of all fifty of his names, whereas in the Theogony, although many lists of names do appear, the list at the end is not the names of Zeus but is a description of his wives, and the children produced to make the well known Greek Pantheon. Another difference is that in both the song of Kumarbi and the Theogony, there is some kind of castration of the father god, but in the Enuma Elish there is no such theme as Apsu is killed, not castrated. The castration of Ouranos in the Theogony seems to represent the separation of Heaven and Earth, which were previously together. There does not appear to be any similar significance placed on this act in the Kumarbi myth, and the Enuma Elish does not even have a comparable act, let alone a shared significance. Another detail shared by the song of Kumarbi and the Theogony is that of conflict of the final king with his father. In the Enuma Elish, Marduks conflict is not with his father, but with Tiamat and Kingu. There are several other differences between Hesiods writing on the gods and its supposed eastern models. One of these variations is seen at the start of the Theogony, in which Hesiod composed a hymn to the muses. The muses are purely Greek figures, with no eastern parallels, so have no counterpart in either the song of Kumarbi or the Enuma Elish. The succession myth near the beginning of the Theogony begins with the cosmogony, which also does not appear to be modelled on any eastern myth, and neither does the birth of Aphrodite, as her birth from the foam seems to be a Greek concept. It is obvious that there are many similarities between Hesiods writing on the gods and the similar eastern texts, but the extent of the differences makes it difficult to see which myth influenced which, and we simply have to accept that there are many overlapping, but different, theogonies in the ancient world.

Informative Essay Sample on the Best Buy Company Inc.

Informative Essay Sample on the Best Buy Company Inc. Beat Buy Company is the largest retail company, originated in United States. It was established in 1966 with the name Sound of Music and because of some natural disasters it renamed to Best Buy Company in 1983. â€Å"The company opened its first store in 1966, and called it Sound of Music. After a tornado hit one of its stores in Roseville, MN, it held a tornado sale,   and later reopened in 1983 under a new corporate name, Best Buy. (Matthew Kemp) The company is dealing in electronic items i.e. Entertainment software, Office products and other electronic products. It’s capturing a big market share in the financial world. From 1983 the company is operating in United States as well as in Canada. In last few years they expanded their business and made it globalize through launching it in the market of China. With the passage of time as the Market grew, the profits of the company have also been accelerated. Best Buy has seen large increases in revenues over the past few years because of the demand for flat-panel TVs. Revenue increased 12.45% overall in fiscal 2006 and 16.49% overall in fiscal 2007. It is unlikely that these margins will continue due to slowed demand and decreased prices for the TVs. (Matthew Kemp) The research shows that the company have more potential to increase its revenue in the future and it will keep hold the largest market share as well. There are few factors which can effect the company i.e economic forces, social forces, cultural and environmental forces, Political, legal and governmental forces, technological forces, and competitive forces. These forces are important to evaluate the company. There always been ups and downs in the economy. Either there is inflation or deflation. If the GNP is higher in the economy the income also increases and people can spend their incomes on different items. From last few years US is enjoying healthy economy. That factor is helping the retail industry as well. In future Best buy company profit may increase by as the trend shows. Increasing GDP would be good for companies like Best Buy; however the smaller increases in GDP can have a negative effect on not only Best Buys sales, but Best Buy’s stock price if investors predict that GDP will fall in the future. (Matthew Kemp). Best Buy Company is also socially committed and believes in literate people about technology. They are socially responsible. The company spent $13 million in teach Awards for the school to aware them from the new technologies about the classrooms. They also gave scholarships to the students all over the world. Best Buy stores have awarded over $13 million in scholarships to nearly 11,000 students nationwide. In this modern world, where every day new technologies are coming up and frequently they are becoming outdated. Under this scenario, the Best buy company has to keep itself up to date and must have to keep watch on the new technologies. In this way the company can survive under intense competition. Wisconsin State Attorney Generals office took a serious civil action against Best Buy Company In 2005. They stated that the company is violating the consumer protection law by misleading the people about service plans, supplemental magazine subscriptions etc. Where the company is enjoying healthy profits, there the company is also facing intense competition. The biggest competitors of Best Buy Company are Dell, Wal-Mart, Circuit City and all those retailers which are supplying those products on reasonable prices. The company should also bring some changes in their business to stay in the top line. Like, they should also offer their products online as other companies are doing. To help overcome online competitors, Best Buy allows consumers to purchase their items online. Consumers then have an option of having the product shipped to their home or picking it up at a local Best Buy store. (Matthew Kemp) Internal Forces: The internal forces include Marketing and Management of the company. The company is spending a greater amount on the marketing expanses of the company. They spend millions of dollars on their website to provide people with all the information about their business and description about each and every product they are dealing with. Mostly they do business-to-business marketing for their business. They also mailed thousands of copies to their target market, with the catalog attached to it. With the changing trend, the company is also planning to open inbound as well as outbound call center. In October the company plans to mail a second catalog for larger businesses. The catalog will sell computers, cables, and accessories as well as a smattering of consumer electronics. To help in its efforts in bagging big businesses, Best Buy is setting up a call center for inbound and outbound calls. SWOT Analysis: SWOT analysis will help to examine the condition of the company from internal as well as external. Strengths: The Best Buy is the specialized retailer store in the US and Canada dealing with electronic items. The company is enjoying the leadership in the market because of its highest share. It is one of the leading companies in States with total market share of 18%. Because of its large operation, the company is able to capture the market and supply the products on spirited prices. Best Buy leads the consumer electronics retail market in the US and Canada, with total revenues reaching $27,380 million in fiscal 2006. It has about 18% market share of the consumer electronics retail market the US. Leveraging its large scale of operations, the company has been able to increase its bargaining power with consumer electronics vendors and offer more competitive prices. The company is capable of performing strong operations during last few years. It revenues increase by 15.2%. This figure is much more then the average rate in the same fiscal year. The company has shown that the company is efficient enough to capture the large share of the market. Its operating margin of 5.3% in fiscal 2006 compares well with the industry average of 4.7% for the same period. Strong operating performance implies that not only was the company able to increase its market share but also its operational efficiency. (DataMonitor 2006) Weakness: The revenue which is continuously generating by the Best buys are only from one sector i.e. from flat panel TVs. It is the biggest weakness for the company. The company should not rely on one product. If the product is hotcake today, it can be outdated tomorrow. Then it will harm the company as well as its revenues. Opportunities: The emerging trend of electronic items in the market is an opportunity for the Best Buy Company to accelerate their profits by offering them. Such as new computer technology like Windows Vista which can drive computer or software sales, or the release of Apples iPhone. The immense popularity of the Nintendo Wii may also drive up sales of consumer electronics as well as entertainment software (DataMonitor 2006) Best Buy Company has an opportunity to expand their business globally. As electronic items have a big consumer market, so there is also a chance of gaining more profits inside the other countries. Recently Best buy company opened there outlet in China. And it attracted a large number of buyers. Best Buy already opened a store in China in December, which reportedly exceeded sales expectations by 40%, and on January 1st attracted more than 20,000 customers. (Matthew Kemp) Threats: Electronic items are mostly luxurious items. The consumer mostly buys these items when his/her income is high. And high income is depended on good economy. If the income of a person falls then he will definitely go for the basic items not for these secondary items. So at this point the company can lose the profits. If you need custom essay, research paper, thesis or term paper on Business or Economics feel free to contact our professional custom writing service.

Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Research Methods - Essay Example Rather, they just have a general Facebook page of the company, with other regions of the world given their own Ford or Chrysler Facebook pages. Also, an article was found on the Automotive News website (â€Å"Cliques through clicks: How brands use Facebook†).4 This article details the Facebook marketing campaigns of Ford and FIAT respectively. First of all, the number of likes on a Facebook page can show how popular a certain brand is. For the FIAT USA Facebook page, the total number of likes is over half a million. But, compared to Ford, this is a small number. The Ford Motor Company Facebook page has more than 1.5 million likes. This is to be expected, however, because Ford is a long-established American company. For Chrysler though, the total number of likes was only 300,000. This tends to suggest that Chrysler was late to enter into Facebook marketing and that is why the number of likes is so low. All of these Facebook pages contain posts of new and upcoming models that are to be released into the American market. FIAT should focus on increasing its exposure on Facebook by getting more than one million likes. Facebook will continue to be a successful marketing tool for automobile companies, especially among young, male Facebook users. The Automotive news article states that Ford spends 25% of its marketing budget on social media such as Facebook. This is because Ford recognizes the true value that Facebook has in promoting new automobiles. One positive for FIAT is that it is giving away 10 new Fiat 500s for any of its Facebook users that have liked the Facebook page. Only those Facebook users that had a correct six digit code could have a chance to win one, but this marketing initiative did encourage Facebook users to like the Facebook page and then check to see if they had

Tom's of Maine toothpaste 4 P's of marketing Research Paper

Tom's of Maine toothpaste 4 P's of marketing - Research Paper Example om’s of Maine’s business, these include general concepts or ideas about everything in business, including its products and their prices and place or distribution, and promotional activities. In the creation of their products, Tom’s of Maine included the idea of values and quality standards. This is clear from the words of Tom’s of Maine claims support leader and natural standards advocate, Pam Scheeler, saying, â€Å"At Tom’s of Maine, we believe one thing that makes our products good is how we make them. That’s why we’ve always been committed to high quality standards and never use artificial colors, flavours, fragrances, preservatives or animal testing. You deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing the products you choose not only work, but also share your values† (Tom’s of Maine, 2015). Tantamount to the quality standards of their products, Tom’s of Maine chooses to highlight the importance of research and choosing the best ingredients of their products that will adhere to the values or specific requirements for the health safety of their potential customers. This is the area where they have created a un ique specialty for their product offerings, particularly in its segment for toothpaste. â€Å"Our customers prefer the fresh, natural taste and smell of herbs, fruits, and flowers (no fragrance added).†, as stated in Tom’s of Maine’s website. This means that Tom’s of Maine’s potential customers are looking forward to what is healthy and natural choice of toothpaste. Considering that it has highly specialized its products like toothpaste, it is also implied that the firm sets a remarkably special price for it. In some reviews of the price of its products, some customers find the price point to be high. Considering that Tom’s of Maine is maximizing profitability, skimming as a pricing strategy particularly on its specialized toothpastes has become its wide option in order to deliberately achieve its goals towards

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Chemistry - Essay Example The anions and cations can be varied to get the required end product. Ionic liquids have large anions and cations of low symmetry to reduce the lattice energy and reduce the melting point of the salts. Anions contribute towards the functions and chemistry of ILs and cations contribute towards the variable physical properties and stability of ILs (BÃ" §hme 2006). Ionic salts can be simple salts i.e. made up of one type of anion and cation or binary ionic liquids which are a mixture of two salts with varying melting points depending on their composition. Ionic liquids are used to substitute traditional solvents like volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) for their variable properties, low energy inputs and reusability. They are also used to extract various compounds such as metal ions, biomolecules and organosulfurs by using two phase extraction. The most commonly studied systems contain ammonium, phosphonium, sulfonium, pyridinium, imidazolium and pyrrolidinium cations. Common anions include hexafluorophosphate [PF]6-, tetrafluoroborate [BF]4-, bis(trifyl)imide [NTf]2 and chloride, Cl-. Ionic liquids help in minimizing and eliminating waste, improves chemical syntheses and extractions or separations (Holbrey, Turner & Rogers 2003). The reaction solvents are reusable and do not diminish in content which is a major advantage over traditional solvents that are sometimes volatile like the VOC’s. However, the most important feature of these ionic liquids that has led to the great amount of interest in them is the ease with which these can be manipulated to suit the needs of a particular reaction. Most of the properties that are attributed to reaction solvents can be redesigned to reduce or eliminate the losses in solvents and the reaction path can be modified to optimize reactions. This can be useful in recovering and reusing

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Causes for the 2007-08 Financial Crisis - Essay Example The property market was a major contribution to the financial crisis. The collapse in prices of mortgaged houses put homebuyers in debts as they had speculatively spent so much money on overvalued property. The financial crisis arose from weak financial policies, which permitted banks among other financial institution make precarious investments as the outline portrays. b. Response: The financial crunch affected investment in the real estate’s industry first in the United States before the effects spiraled to other major global economies thus reducing the volume of activities at major stock markets thus culminating in the crisis. a. Response: With intense speculation on the size and lucrativeness of the industry, numerous investors including financial institutions increased to invest and compete for the market (Starkman, 2014). b. Both commercial and investment banks thus competed for the market. They introduced precarious policies that permitted the banks to invest extensively in the industry without cushioning themselves from the unpredictable nature of the

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Parable of the Sadhu, McKoy - Essay Example transmitter of river blindness, in the third world was a serious crisis that lacked the necessary interventions from the United States and other developed international countries. As a matter of fact, these countries consider the business viability of drug manufacturing, rather than the ethical service delivery and elimination of human diseases. The United States effected legislation, in 1978, to help the drug manufacturing industries develop and innovate drug formulations to counter many diseases affecting Americans. This included tax benefits and exclusive marketing rights for the American manufacturers, for the American people. Many people affected by the river blindness disease hailed from the third world countries, where most of the population could not afford low drug prices. The increment of attacks along the rivers caused migration from the fertile and wet lands, and hence created risks for food shortages and abject poverty. This is bound to have adverse effects on agricultural growth and food production, which are vital in economic development. The author implies that an intervention by the US government and other developed nations and organizations, such as the World Health Organization, could have achieved the development of a more effective drug formulation. This could have eased the economic and health burden o n the poor third world population, especially those affected by the river blindness. Merck organizational policies and business ethics are highly contradictory since at some point there was conflict of interest due to fear of failure. Merck could have invested in Dr. William Campbell’s research on the development of an effective drug formulation from the Sample No. 0S3153, which yielded the veterinary Ivomec drug. Failure inevitability in drug innovation and the tediousness, and cost, of the research led to the use of sophisticated research managers, such as Vagelos, and thereby hindered the critical innovation and approval of potential drug

MRP3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Causes for the 2007-08 Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Causes for the 2007-08 Financial Crisis - Essay Example The property market was a major contribution to the financial crisis. The collapse in prices of mortgaged houses put homebuyers in debts as they had speculatively spent so much money on overvalued property. The financial crisis arose from weak financial policies, which permitted banks among other financial institution make precarious investments as the outline portrays. b. Response: The financial crunch affected investment in the real estate’s industry first in the United States before the effects spiraled to other major global economies thus reducing the volume of activities at major stock markets thus culminating in the crisis. a. Response: With intense speculation on the size and lucrativeness of the industry, numerous investors including financial institutions increased to invest and compete for the market (Starkman, 2014). b. Both commercial and investment banks thus competed for the market. They introduced precarious policies that permitted the banks to invest extensively in the industry without cushioning themselves from the unpredictable nature of the

MRP3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

MRP3 - Essay Example (ii) On the other hand, the fact those most male students often engage in Binge drinking leads to higher negative responses being expected. This leads to the findings that more male students like Binge drinking. Crego, A. et.at (2009). Binge SDrinking Affects Attentional and Visual Working Memory Processing in Young University Students. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Vol. 33(11), p. 1970 – 1879. Labrie, J.; Pedersen, E.; Tobyf, L. & Lane, B. (2006). Heads Up! A Nested Intervention With FreshMen Male College Students and the Broader Campus Community to Promote Responsible Drinking. Journal of American College Health, Vol. 54(5), p. 301 – 304. *LaBrie, J. W et al. (2011). Protective behavioral strategies mediate the effect of drinking motives on alcohol use among heavy drinking college students: Gender and race differences. Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 36(4), p. 354 – 361. Felicia, D.S.; Jack, D.; Francis, D.K. & Mark, G.S. (2005). Binge Drinking and Alcohol-Related Problems Among Community College Students: Implications for Prevention Policy, Journal of American College Health, Vol.54 (3), p.137 -141 Kristins, V. et al. (2004). Binge Drinking in Female College Students: The Association of Physical Activity, Weight Concern and Depressive Symptoms. Journal of American College health, Vol.53 (3), p.133 –

Knowledge for Nursing Essay Example for Free

Knowledge for Nursing Essay This essay will explore Peplau’s concept of a nurse-patient relationship and how it narrates to the experience I had whilst on placement practice. My aim is to demonstrate my gained understanding of the nursing process, the domains of nursing, the nature of nursing models and their relationship to practice and Peplau’s model of nursing. The reason why the student has chosen this concept is because nursing is an interpersonal process which involves interaction between two or more people with a mutual goal, (George 2003). The essay will start by defining the word concept then describe the incident that I observed in placement practice. The essay will analyze how theories can be used to justify nursing interventions in practice. The conclusion summarises the main points of the essay and reflect on my learning experience. (Meleis 1991) defined concept as â€Å"a label used to describe a phenomenon or a group of phenomena† (McKenna 1997). (McKenna 1997) concludes that concepts are identified when a name is put to a phenomenon. â€Å"Therefore, a concept is a tool and not a real entity – it merely facilitates observation of a real phenomenon,† (McKenna 1997 p8). Chinn and Kramer (2008); Hage (1972); Reynolds (1971) were cited that concepts can be theoretical or tangible. Theoretical concepts are created mentally independent of a particular or interval location, whereas tangible concepts are experienced directly and relate to a specific interval or location (Alligood and Tomey, 2010). â€Å"Nursing is a significant, therapeutic, interpersonal process. It functions co-operatively with other human processes that make health possible for individuals in communities. In specific situations in which a professional health team offers health services, nurses participate in the organisation of conditions that facilitate natural on going tendencies in human organisations. Nursing is an educative instrument, a maturing force that aims to promote forward movement of personality in the direction of creative, constructive, productive, personal, and community living. † (Peplau 1988, p16) Peplau (1952) defined phases in the nurse-patient relationships that overlap and transpire during the relationship interval. George (2002) cited the three phases defined by Peplau are as follows; orientation, identification, working, and termination. Whilst on Placement I had the prospect to put theory into practice with the supervision of my mentor when Mrs. Ahmed aged 85 was admitted into the ward after having had a fall (false name and age due to confidentiality, Nursing and Midwifery Council 2003). During handover it was reported that Mrs. Ahmed was at times unresponsive and seemed uninterested when addressed to by the nurse on duty upon admission, leaving the nurse to rely on the information obtained from the ambulance crew as she was unaccompanied. Upon arrival Mrs. Ahmed had not been able to get up from the stretcher as she was not weight bearing after the fall and appeared to be confused with the new environment. It was hoped that more information would be obtained in the morning when she awoke. Orientation stage My mentor gave me an opportunity to work with Mrs. Ahmed whilst under her supervision and it was obvious that the information we had was not complete. To get further information we went to her bedside which was in a mixed ward were we were introduced to the new patient. The orientation phase is initiated when a health problem occurs thus resulting in a felt â€Å"felt need, and professional assistance is sought. † Peplau (1952, p. 8) Peplau (1952) further states that the nurse and patient meet as two strangers, by clarifying and defining the problem in the orienting stage the patient can direct the accumulated energy from her anxiety about unmet needs and begin working with the presenting problem. The nurse patient rapport is established and continues to be strengthened while concerns are being identified. The nurse assumes a roles as described by Peplau in the overlapping phases of the nurse client relationship. Lebby and Pepper (1998) sees the nurse in the role of a stranger therefore acceptance of the patient as an emotionally able person is required. It is at this early stage I noticed that Mrs. Ahmed was unresponsive and seemed distant when my mentor asked for her consent to be assisted by a trainee nurse under her supervision (Nursing and Midwifery Council Code 2008). After asking her more than once she eventually responded and accepted the request. xxxxx When my mentor spoke to Mrs. Ahmed was clear and slow, and asked closed questions. Ashworth et al (1981) suggest that the quality and quantity of nurse-patient communication in geriatrics is affected by the nurse as well s the patient although some of the traditional attitudes by nurses toward elderly patients posed barriers to communication. Orem (1991) viewed the relationship between a nurse and patient as being complementary and therefore a nurse has to understand the basis of her own behavior. I noticed that the patient had some hearing aids on her bedside and I then considered that she might be having hearing impairment and was either not keen on using her hearing aids or needed assistance putting them on. I asked her if she was happy putting the hearing aids on her own. She attempted to put them on but seemed unsteady with her hands. I gestured that I could help and she extended them to me. I then helped her to put them on. George (2002) sees the working phase as a time when the patient starts to respond selectively to individuals who can meet their needs. Peplau (1952/1988) identified three types of responses from patients; the patient may participate and be interdependent, or be autonomous and independent from the nurse or be passive and dependent on the nurse (George 2002). Peplau (1952/1988) states the patient utilises the relationship fully by making full use of the nurse (Leddy and Pepper 1998). Peplau (1952) describes six nursing roles within the phases of the nurse patient relationship which are; stranger, resource person, teacher, leader, surrogate and counseling. She further described four psychobiological experiences, in her book which are; needs, frustration, conflict and anxiety. Peplau (1952) saw these experiences as energy providers transforming into action and provides a basis for goal formation and nursing interventions. Mrs. Ahmed showed she was becoming more relaxed and became more trusting and cooperative. Arnold and Underman Boggs (1999) suggested that the dynamic nursing approach Peplau advocated is not that of passive observer but participant observers, nurses actively engaging with their clients. I initiated further verbal dialogue and realised that although she could hear me she was struggling to understand what I was saying to her. Her replies where brief and at times not relevant to the questions posed. It became obvious that since English was not her first language she was struggling to understand me and her conversational English skills were basic. I then slowed my rate of speech and emphasised with gestures where appropriate. That way she seemed to comprehend what I was saying better. Forchuk (1993) mentions two types of communication, verbal and non-verbal communication, verbal communication conveyed by words and non-verbal communication conveyed through empathic links, postures, gestures, and patterns (Forchuck 1993). Peplau (1952/1988) considers the use of verbal communication to be an essential component of the nurse-client relationship (Forchuk 1993). The general principle is that anything clients act out with nurses will most probably not be talked about, and that which is not discussed cannot be understood. † Peplau (1989a p. 197). Forchuk (1993) suggest that discussing issues and concerns presents the patient an option to work them out. Thus nursing knowledge enables nurses to justify actions or stop unsafe or poor practices (Nursing and Midwifery 2003, The Code). Mrs. Ahmed was reluctant to have me assist her with personal hygiene although it was obvious that she needed it and it was also documented in her notes that she was not independent in this respect. She said something about being used to doing things for herself and how it was expected in her culture to clean one’s own body, she then suggested to wash herself and would ask for help when in difficulty. After washing herself, I took the opportunity of getting more information about Mrs. Ahmed, her family and health Data collection is constant throughout Peplau’s phases. George (2002) state that in the nursing process, primary collection of data is the nursing assessment, and further collection of data becomes an integral part of reassessment. The need for Mrs. Ahmed ‘s relations to be present compliments George (2002) statement that the nurse, patient and relatives need to work together in order to simplify and explain the problem at hand. Peplau (1995) discusses the need for the nurse to not only support but health educate the patient’s relations thus decreasing the tension and anxiety connected with the felt need and fear of the unknown thus the avoidance of future problems arising from unresolved significant events(George 2002). Peplau (1952/1988) states the importance of clarity on both parties in the relationship as their past experiences will influence their expectations in this progression. I also made her aware of her condition and situation whilst being conscious not to give advice, but rather asking her questions which we needed answers for, to help resolve her care needs. Peplau (1988) stated that the exploitation phase is where the nurse assists the patient to seek out other health care services and personal strengths in resolving the issues for which the client initially sought treatment. She thanked me for having explained everything she needed to know and for my patience during my interaction with her on that day. Peplau (1952/1988) saw the termination phase as a liberating process wherein the client’s wishes for psychological dependency and maintaining relationships have been worked through to support the ability to mutually end the relationship with the nurse (Leddy and Pepper 1998). Peplau views this phase as problematic for nurses as the progression of letting go is focused upon (Simpson1991).

Examining The Concept Of Motion Capture Film Studies Essay

Examining The Concept Of Motion Capture Film Studies Essay MoCap technology has revolutionary technology quickly, especially technologies that use in movie and games industries, MoCap has come a critical role in the creation of animation as smooth as real. The report will begin mentioned about MoCap technology such as what it is , How it useful , and Who will use this type of technology to bring more understanding to the readers. After that the report will focus on the Weta digital, a world s leading film studios which has continued to develop MoCap technology until it is highly successful. Nowadays, MoCap is use in many famous movies such as many characters in Beowulf, alien characters in District 9, character Gollum in Lord of the Rings trilogy, a giant gorilla named Kong in King Kong, and etc. And for more knowing about MoCap, so that Avatar , an epic movie which had the most gorgeous computer graphic (CG) details, was chosen for being an example of the latest evolution of MoCap. Besides, this movie was greatly well-known and also influences the revolution of film industry explicitly as well. WHAT IS MOCAP? MoCap is an abbreviation of Motion Capture; this technology is a process by which movement is digitally recorded. The technique was originally used for military tracking purposes and in sports as a tool for biomechanics research which focused on the mechanical functioning of the body, like how the heart and muscles work and move. In the last twenty-five years, motion capture has become an essential tool in the entertainment business, giving computer animators the ability to make non-human characters more life-like. Its a technology used in animated films and television as well as video games. Historically, MoCap in animated movies was created using an extension of the rotoscoping technique. In this technique, an actor is filmed making certain movements or gestures while wearing markers on specific points of his or her body. Each marker in each frame of film is then manually encoded into the computer. As animation software improved, it became possible to apply an algorithm to the markers that attach them to a 3D object, creating what is now called motion capture. MoCap can be categorized by their four primary input methods which are Prosthetic, Acoustic, Magnetic, and Optical method. 1. Prosthetic (or mechanical) method: This is one of the early methods for capturing the motion from various parts of human anatomy. These methods include simple on/off type of motion detection systems as well as complex motion tracking systems. The latter type of prosthetic motion capture could be an ideal approach if it wasn t for the complex mechanical requirements and the performance-inhibiting qualities generally associated with such designs. However, the type of data provided could be clean rotational data collected in real time without any occlusion problems. This method is based on a set of armatures which must be attached all over the performer s body. The armatures are then connected to each other by using a series of rotational and linear encoders. These encoders are then connected to an interface that can simultaneously read all the encoders in order to prevent data skewing. Finally, through a set of trigonometry functions, the performer s motion can be analyzed. These de sign restrictions seem to be quite difficult to overcome, and will probably limit the use of these type of devices for character animation. 2. Acoustic method: Acoustic capture is another method currently used for performance capture. This method involves the use of a triad of audio receivers. An array of audio transmitters is strapped to various parts of the performers body. The transmitters are sequentially triggered to output a click and each receiver measures the time it takes for the sound to travel from each transmitter. The calculated distance of the three receivers is triangulated to provide a point in 3D space. An inherent issue with this approach is the sequential nature of the position data it creates. In general, we would like to see a snap shot of the performer s skeletal position rather than a time skewed data stream. This position data is typically applied to an inverse kinematics system(1) which in turn drives an animated skeleton. One of the big advantages of this method is the lack of occlusion problems normally associated with optical systems. However, there seems to be several negative factors associated with this method that may or may not impede its use. First, there is the fact that the cables can be a hindrance to various types of performances. Second, the current systems do not support enough transmitters to accurately capture the personality of the performance. Third is the size of the capture area, which is limited by the speed of sound in air and the number of transmitters. In addition, the accuracy of this approach can sometimes be affected by spurious sound reflections. 3. Magnetic method: This is a popular method used for performance capture. Magnetic capture involves the use of a centrally located transmitter, and a set of receivers which are strapped on to various parts of the performer s body. These receivers are capable of measuring their spatial relationship to the transmitter. Each receiver is connected to an interface that can be synchronized so as to prevent data skew. The resulting data stream consists of 3D positions and orientations for each receiver. This data is typically applied to an inverse kinematics system to drive an animated skeleton. This magnetic approach shares the same lack of occlusion problems with the audio method. But it also shares the same negative factors such as the hindrance of cables, lack of sufficient receivers and the limited capture area. In addition, being magnetic the system is affected by any sizable areas of metal in the vicinity of the capture area, such as girders, posts, etc. 4. Optical method: Optical systems have become quite popular over the last couple of years. These systems can offer the performer the most freedom of movement since they do not require any cabling. Optical systems incorporate directionally-reflective balls referred to as markers which attach to the performer. Optical systems require at least three video cameras, each of which is equipped with a light source that is aligned to illuminate the field of view for that camera. Each camera is in turn connected to a synchronized frame buffer(2). The computer is presented with each camera view in order to calculate a 3D position of each marker; the resulting data stream therefore consists of 3D position data for each marker. This data is typically applied to an inverse kinematics system, to animate a skeleton. One typical problem with optical systems is the fact that it is quite easy for the performer to occlude, or hide, one or more markers thus creating holes in the data stream. Adding more cameras and/or more markers can minimize this occlusion problem. However, adding more cameras makes tracking each marker more complex, resulting in increased CPU time. Increasing the number of markers can result in exponentially increasing the confusion factor, i.e. keeping track of which marker is which. Optical systems are also limited by the resolution of the cameras and the sophistication of their tracking software. >> http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-motion-capture-technology.htm >> http://vizproto.prism.asu.edu/classes/sp03/motioncapture.htm WHO USES MOCAP? Films: MoCap is being used more and more in films nowadays. MoCap based animation is essential for creating characters that move realistically, in situations that would be impractical or too dangerous for real actors (such as characters falling off the ship in Titanic. MoCap was also used extensively in Titanic for filler characters (fit in between real actors) or in situations with virtual camera fly-bys over a virtual ship. Many of these shots would have been difficult or impossible to do with real cameras and a real ship, or real models, so virtual models, actors, and cameras were used. Some film characters require the use of MoCap, otherwise their animation seems unreality. More and more independent companies are starting to put together desktop studios The idea of two or three people creating an entire movie isnt that far off, if MoCap is used correctly. The Gypsy(3) is ideal for small and large shops. MoCap animation can be done very quickly and inexpensively, without scheduling expe nsive motion capture sessions in a studio. Games: Game development is the largest market for MoCap. With games drawing as much revenue as movies, it is easy to see why game development often calls for enormous quantities of MoCap. The immense competition to produce the coolest game possible (thus becoming a top-seller hopefully) means that greater production capabilities mean higher quality. More time is left for aesthetic finishing touches and fine-tuning of game play. Generally there are two main types of 3D character animation used in games: Real-time playback vs. cinematics. Real-time allows the game player to choose from pre-created moves, thus controlling the characters moves in real-time. Cinematics are the fully rendered movies used for intros and cut-scenes. Often the last part of game production, or a process that is sub-contracted to a separate studio, cinematics are generally not essential to game-play, but do add a lot of appeal to the game, and help immensely with story development and mood generation. Video and TV Performance Animation: Real-time motion is becoming popular for live television broadcasts. MoCap can be used to place a virtual character within a real scene, or to place live actors within a virtual scene with virtual actors, or virtual characters within a virtual scene. MoCap for real-time broadcast requires mock-ups of any non-standard physiology (big stomachs, tails, etc.) to keep the performers motions from causing the characters limbs to interpenetrate its body. Joint moving limits on the shoulders and knees. A real-time adaptation feature such as Film BOX Animations real-time motion mapping (from the performers skeleton to a different proportioned characters skeleton) is essential when the characters body is very different from the actors body. When combining a live elements with virtual elements the real and virtual cameras must share the same properties (perspective, focal length, depth of field, etc.) otherwise the illusion looks strange. Post-Production for Ongoing Series: MoCap for ongoing series is becoming very popular. Creating a weekly show without MoCap invariably causes shows to be late or production studios to go bankrupt. Having an efficient MoCap pipeline is essential to the success of an ongoing character animation based series. Web: MoCap is ideal for the web, whether used to create virtual hosts or greeting cards. As the web becomes more sophisticated and bandwidth(4) increases, MoCap will help bring a human element to the web, in the form of characters that viewers can relate to and interact with. Live Events: MoCap generated Performance Animation can be thought of as Improvisation meets Computer Graphics (CG) . At trade shows, meetings or press conferences, a good improviser acting through a CG character in real-time can create a very intriguing lasting experience for the viewer. Integration with live actors further helps create a fascinating experience. Scientific Research: MoCap is useful for perceptual research. By presenting test subjects with abstract movements, distilled from motion capture data, repeatable experiments can be developed that provide insights into human perception. Biomechanical Analysis: Biomechanical analysis for rehabilitation purposes relies extensively on MoCap, for its ability to produce repeatable results. MoCap can be used to measure the extent of a clients disability as well as a clients progress with rehabilitation. MoCap can also help in effective design of prosthetic devices. Engineering: MoCap is essential for producing product designs that are ergonomically practical, as well as designs for physical products that are comfortable and appealing. Even though there are restrictions of these systems. Optical systems are easily occluded and require a large distance between the subject and the cameras. Magnetic systems have major problems with metal in the capture space. Education: MoCap training can make a huge difference in an animators training. While access to MoCap is not a substitute for developing good art skills and good traditional character animation abilities, it can go a long way towards making someone more employable. Virtual Reality (VR): MoCap is indispensable for VR training applications. It makes for much better immersion than using a joystick or a positional handle. >> http://vizproto.prism.asu.edu/classes/sp03/motioncapture.htm TECHNOLOGIES IN FILM BEFORE BECOMING MOCAP 1971: Metadata An experimental 2D animated short by Peter Foldes drawn on a data tablet, who used the worlds first key frame animation software, invented by Nestor Burtnyk and Marceli Wein. 1973: Westworld First use of 2D computer animation in a significant entertainment feature film. The point of view of Yul Brynners gunslinger was achieved with raster graphics. 1976: Futureworld First use of 3D computer graphics for animated hand and face. Used 2D digital compositing to materialize characters over a background. 1977: Star Wars First use of an animated 3D wire-frame graphic for the trench run briefing sequence. 1981: Looker First CGI human character, Cindy. First use of shaded 3D CGI as we think of it today. 1981: Wolfen First use of in-camera effect for thermal vision sequence (see Predator). 1982: Tron Extensive use (15 min. fully computer generated) of 3D CGI including the famous Light Cycle sequence. Also includes very early facial animation (for the Master Control Program). 1983: Rock Rule First animated film to use computer graphics. 1985: Tony de Peltrie First CGI-animated human character to express emotion through his face and body language. 1985: Young Sherlock Holmes Lucasfilm creates the first photorealistic CGI character, stained glass knight with 10 seconds of screentime. 1986: Labyrinth First realistic CGI animal. 1987: Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future First TV series to include characters modeled entirely with computers. 1990: Total Recall Use of motion capture for CGI characters. 1990: RoboCop 2 First use of real-time computer graphics or digital puppetry to create a character in a motion picture. 1991: Terminator 2: Judgment Day First realistic human movements on a CGI character. First use of a personal computer to create major movie 3D effects. 1993: Quarxs First broadcast series of animated CGI shorts. 1993: Jurassic Park First photorealistic CG creatures. 1993: Insektors First computer animated TV series. First use of character animation in a computer animated television series. 1994: ReBoot First full-length computer animated TV series. 1994: Radioland Murders First use of virtual CGI sets with live actors. 1995: Casper First CGI lead character in feature-length film (preceded Toy Story by six months). First CGI characters to interact realistically with live actors. 1995: Toy Story First CGI feature-length animation. 1997: Marvin the Martian in 3D First computer animated movie viewed with 3D glasses. 1999: Fight Club First realistic close-up of detailed facial deformation on a synthetic human. 2001: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within First feature-length digital film to be made based on photorealism and live action principles. 2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring First use of AI for digital actors (using the Massive software developed by Weta Digital). 2003: The Matrix Reloaded The Burly Brawl the first use of Universal Capture, the combination of dense (rather than point-based) motion capture and per-frame texture capture. 2003: Gollum from the Lord of the Rings trilogy First photorealistic motion captured character for a film, Gollum was also the first digital actor to win an award (BFCA), category created for Best Digital Acting Performance 2004: The Polar Express First CGI movie that used motion capture for all actors. 2009: Avatar First full length movie made using performance-capture to create photo-realistic 3D characters and a feature a fully CG 3D photo-realistic world. >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_CGI_in_film_and_television WETA DIGITAL: THE WORLD LEADER OF CG STUDIOS Weta Digital is a world leading visual effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand. They provide a full suite of digital production services for feature films and high end commercials, from concept design to cutting edge 3D animation. Weta was formed in 1993 by a group of young New Zealand filmmakers including Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor and Jamie Selkirk. It later split into two specialized halves Weta Digital (digital effects) and Weta Workshop (physical effects). One of Weta s first projects was to provide visual effects for Peter Jackson s film Heavenly Creatures. They went on to work digital magic on Peter s blockbuster movies The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong. And they also work with other Hollywood directors, providing digital effects for box office hits like I, Robot, X-Men: The Last Stand, Eragon, Bridge to Terabithia, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, The Water Horse, Jumper, The Day the Earth Stood Still, District 9 and The Lovely Bones. Moreover, their teams of digital artists are world-leaders in all areas of visual effects production, including animation, motion capture (MoCap), crowd generation, modeling, compositing, and film scanning and recording. In August 2006, Weta signed on to help James Cameron, a world famous director, to produce Avatar. Production design for the film took several years. The film had two different production designers, and two separate art departments, one of which focused on the flora and fauna of Pandora, and another that created human machines and human factors. In September 2006, Weta was developing and combining its technologies with Cameron s technologies to reach a new level of creative and technological excellence, delivering the film in 3D. This combination renders a great CGI(5) power to both Weta and Cameron through all the process in making an epic movie like Avatar. Most recently James Cameron s Avatar had proven that Weta was the CGI professional. This leaded Weta to win an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Their work on the film involved using a new camera system and shooting on a virtual stage. Finally, Weta s reputation was spread throughout the world for the power of creativity and delivery which keeps them in high demand with some of the world s leading film studios and up until now there are very least of the visual effect companies that can match Weta CGI creating potential. >> http://www.wetafx.co.nz/about/ >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(2009_film) MOCAP AVATAR Each of Cameron s film introduces new technologies that change the way people make films. Avatar is the end result of the successful combination of a great talented director and a world class visual effect creator like Weta. Avatar making process step over the limit of the recent film making which supported by the innovation of the two new types of cameras which are the 3D Fusion camera and the Simul-Cam virtual camera, both of them are served as the part of MoCap. 3D Fusion camera: This camera is used for match-move, where you have motion capture CG characters and have to match their moves to composite them into an established shot. There are micro-motors on the Fusion rig to adjust the separation and convergence angle of the stereo Sony F950 cameras. The standard three lens functions of zoom, focus, and iris, plus interocular distance(6) and convergence are all under software machine control. Beam splitters provide the capability of having an interocular of half an inch even though the cameras are four inches wide. The cameras are mounted in the Fusion rig at a 90-degree angle. Simul-Cam virtual camera: A virtual camera with a series of super high intensity LED lighting system that fires off the LEDs in sync with the motion capture cameras running at 20 microsecond exposures, and these active LED markers on the Pace rigs. Therefore, this virtual camera would see the markers, but not see any of the bright live action stage lighting or even the sun, this mean Simul-Cam virtual camera can eradicate a great weakness of an original motion capture camera. >> http://hdusermagazine.com/wordpress/?p=12 The great benefit that can obviously seen while using MoCap in Avatar is its capability in capture a realistic movement of various types of object such as human, animal, and etc. Because all of the creatures and some humanoid characters like Na vi tribe in Avatar are based on an imagination of James Cameron, to shot those creatures by recording their reality life like many other movies did is impossible and almost impossible if the animator have to do every movement of all Na vi tribe characters and creatures in this movie by using only their high speed computers and mouse as well. Moreover, the realistic movement that recording by MoCap technology can persuade people to believe that if there are such kinds of those living things exist in the real world they must live in the same way as they did in film. Besides, there are many flexible way of using MoCap technology to match the diversity of users purpose, this is why MoCap is the best answer for making Avatar. WHICH DEVELOPMENT DIRECTION OF THE MOCAP IS HEADED? The uses of each type of MoCap usually depend on the motion data needed in each type of industry. Thus, the trends of each type of MoCap development are also difference. For example, in the film industry, a lot of research going into optical MoCap due to its flexibility and acceptable quality data while other industry investing in the development of other MoCap type seem to be a better choice due to the higher quality data but have some other restrictions. However, all type of MoCap future development is sharing some similar trends which are as followed: ? Every people in each area of using MoCap expect that this technology can provide them the result with a great accuracy (or quality); including improved physical abilities, so that characters can touch each other and feet meet solidly on the ground. This expectation directly affects the trend of the MoCap and all of the technologies evolution as well. ? When groups of performers are captured simultaneously, the number of polygons available to be digitized for each performer is decreased. Therefore, image quality will also reduce. Many MoCap manufacturer try to solve this problem and make MoCap to grow its ability to capture data from multiple characters. ? For better capturing details, MoCap s preview speed tend to drop down rapidly. Improving the speed of MoCap technology will provide a better use for the consumers. ? Capturing space or so called volume of MoCap is too narrow for a big project like capturing a big group of performers, so that increasing in volume will increase the value of MoCap technology. ? MoCap manufacturing cost is still too high which resulting in MoCap market price is very expensive. If manufacturers can lower the cost, so that consumers and independent artists can easy to access and experiment or even expand the technology much faster. >> http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/papers/furniss.html INDEX (1) Inverse kinematics: It is the process of determining the parameters of a jointed flexible object such as joints of creature models including humanoid type in order to achieve a desired pose. Inverse kinematics is a type of motion planning. Inverse kinematics are also relevant to game programming and 3D animation, where a common use is making sure 3D characters connect physically to the world, such as feet landing firmly on top of terrain. >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverse_kinematics (2) Frame buffer: It is a video output device that drives a video display from a memory buffer containing a complete frame of data. >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framebuffer (3) The Gypsy: It was the worlds first Inertial Gyroscopic Motion Capture System (Gypsy) . Gypsy was able to capture movement using inertial sensors or gyros attached to lycra suit, it records simultaneous action and reaction of performance. It uses 19 customized Inertia Cube (TM) gyroscopic sensors for detecting nuance of movement and optimizing data output, while global translation system promotes precision of actor positioning and can be enhanced by addition of optional ultrasonic tracking technology. System also allows actors to touch or hug without occlusion. >> http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/528380 (4) Bandwidth: bandwidth is often used as a synonym for data transfer rate the amount of data that can be carried from one point to another in a given time period (usually a second). >> http://searchenterprisewan.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid200_gci211634,00.html (5) CGI: It is a short term of Computer-Generated Imagery, this is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media. Video games usually use real-time computer graphics (rarely referred to as CGI), but may also include pre-rendered cut scenes and intro movies (or full motion videos) that would be typical CGI applications. >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-generated_imagery (6) Interocular distance: The distance between the centers of rotation of the eyeballs of an individual or between the oculars of optical instruments. >> http://www.thefreedictionary.com/interocular+distance