Innovation,, Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Innovation,, - Assignment Example These computer-related programmes make it easier to ask ‘what if’ questions, make any technical changes or to add enhanced features to any existing design, with alterations in manufacturing made easy using visualisation and graphics (Lieu & Sorby, 2009). If consumer safety advocacy groups can be enticed to ask for this new technology, then government agencies tasked with road safety will be interested and call for early adoption. Other factors can significantly impact the adoption of this new proposed technology, such as the availability of research funding and the eventual equity funding to have a start-up firm. The adoption of air bags took thirty years from initial patent application to making it a standard safety feature today (Pressler, 1998). A special steering wheel will cost about US$25 and the heart-rate monitor will cost an additional US$50 (depending on the brand and model), so the two important devices will total approximately US$75 to produce or manufacture. The car alarm rigged to the heart-rate monitor will cost an additional US$25, a microcontroller will cost about US$100 and the GPS device will cost around US$100, so these four important devices (steering wheel with heart-rate monitor, microcontroller, car alarm, and GPS device) will cost a total of US$300, with another US$100 for direct labor costs for the installation. The entire device will substantially go down over time when expertise is acquired in making it, called the learning curve in economics (Jaber, 2011). A positive thing about this new technology is an expected reduction in car or motor vehicle accidents caused by drowsiness (sleepiness), sudden heart attacks or drunken driving (as a breath analyser will be incorporated into the device). People who suffer from hypertension will also be benefitting from this new device. In addition, older people who still want to drive will be safeguarded by the heart-rate monitor, which will serve as a health warning device for any ch anges in their heartbeat or blood pressure. Driving while sleepy is a very dangerous condition, but most drivers usually just ignore this sign because they think (erroneously) that they can still manage to drive safely while in truth, their reflexes slow down and judgment is impaired. There are many ways to avoid such accidents, but the only effective countermeasure against this is to stop driving (Surani & Subramanian, 2011). So, the heart-rate monitor is a preemptive device intended to proactively prevent accidents despite the judgment of people it is safe to drive when, in fact, they are putting themselves in harm’s way and commit errors posing them at risk. The foremost drawback of this new device is the cost because it will definitely add a significant premium to the total purchase price of a vehicle. It is worth noting this had been the same argument put up by people who oppose adding new features or resist adopting a new technology (Postman, 2011), but people have seen the wisdom of using safety features included in a vehicle in order to enhance driver and passenger safety. This is a common initial objection to the proposal (back then) of installing air bags on all vehicles, in which air bags were first offered as just options but later were made required standard features. It is reasonable to expect the same objection to the heart-rate monitor, and the maker of this device will have to undertake a serious marketing campaign to

Enhanced Entity Relationship Model Information Technology Essay

Enhanced Entity Relationship Model Information Technology Essay Database is very important for any application in the real world. In modern days companies are looking for cost cutting, if they apply cost cutting process in the database design stages then there will be modifications or rebuilding the database after implementation. They will leave with high budget for the company. To create an efficient and appropriate database for an application it should be a good idea for any developer to follow certain database design steps. Bad database design will lead company to losses as well as client un-satisfaction. In present days many of the database designs are failed because of wrong user requirements. Collection of user requirements is main and first step in the database design process. If a developer took wrong assumption on the requirements then it results a bad database design. So the developer should be well experienced in database design. In this report I am going to explain about the importance of standard database modelling tools such as ER, EER and Use case modelling, quality of the database design and the factors affecting quality of a database design. Many of the examples which I am going discuss in this report are from the given scenario to me namely The Stanwell Parish Register. Database design: In any application building there are two main steps first one is database design and other is front end design. First step is to build database, based on this design developers will build front end design. So the database design is pillar for any application. In these days we can hardly see the applications without databases. Now I am going to discuss about the concepts in database design process. For the successful creation of a database there are three concepts to follow. They are Conceptual data model: This is the initial and important step in the database design process. This will represent all the business rules applied for the particular database. Conceptual data model is a diagram which shows the flow of business among all the important entities involved. It doesnt show any relationships and constraints. Logical data model: Logical data model is the other step in database design which comes after conceptual data model. According to Shelley Doll (2002) The logical design of a database involves taking the business information discovered in a conceptual data model and translating it into an empirical layout of the data, usually in a relational style. It deals with the relations among the entities and attributes as well as the constraints. It doesnt bother about the implementation of the database design. Physical data model: This is the final step in database design process. Physical data model deals with the implementation of the logical data model and also about the data in it. Each concept stated above is important for any database design. Some experts may skip one or more steps in design process; they will repent about it later. My intention here is not to explain and show the process of database design whole. Before going in detail about my task I would like to say about the scenario given to me. The given scenario is about the villages of Great and Little Stanwell in Derbyshire Peak District. They are small communities which have about fifty houses each but they have lot of voluntary activities. Recently they gained broadband access to the internet. Now they planned to implement Parish plan in a way to develop specialized services. They formed some communities to organize these implementations. They dont bother about the logical and physical data model because they are too technical but committee members are non-technical so they need conceptual data model only. In those my scenario is to produce a plan for Stanwell Parish Register. This is a database which stores all information about the residents and the assistances they many provide or avail. Coming to database design there are some standard tools for this purpose. They are ER, EER and use case diagram. In the remaining part of this report I am going to write about the contribution and importance of each of these standard designing tools in database design. Entity Relationship model: As the name implies Entity Relationship Model is a diagram which shows the relationships between the entities involved in the business. An entity is a real world thing it may be a person or car or house etc. Relationship tells us how one or more entities are related to each other. ER model is a part of Conceptual data model. In the views of Peter Pin-Shan Chen (1975) The Entity Relationship Model adopts the more natural view that the real world consists of entities and relationships. It incorporates some of the important semantic information about the real world. The model can achieve a high degree of data independence and is based on set theory and relation theory. In ER model entities are represented with rectangle boxes, attributes are represented with ovals and relationships are represented with rhombus type boxes. For the given scenario residents and assistance are the main entities. Following diagram will clearly explain the ER model for given scenario. Figure 1: ER diagram for Stanwell Parish Register (It is just a part) From the above diagram it is clear that Resident and Assistance are the main entities. R_name and A_name are the attributes where as provides/avail tells us how those two entities are related. One to many and zero to many are the relations between resident and assistance. It means one resident can provide or avail zero or many assistances and one assistance can be provided or avail by one or many residents. There is nothing technical in this diagram but it represents all the business flow. So any non technical member can also understand the business flow by having a look at this diagram. As I said earlier here committee members are non technical so for any scenario ER diagram will help them to understand the flow of design. Enhanced Entity Relationship Model: There is no prize money for guessing Enhanced Entity Relationship Model is the extension for ER model. Each model will have some limitations. In the same way ER model also has some limitations. In a way to overcome those limitations EER model was found. It is very difficult to represent complex applications through ER model and it is hard to represent the relationships which are more than binary. According to Connolly (2004) Semantic concepts are incorporated into the original ER model and called the Enhanced Entity Relationship (EER) model. Examples of additional concept of EER model are called specialization/ generalization. Those concepts are also called as abstract concepts. In the words of Irwin Levinstein (2001) Specialization defines SETS of subclasses on a class. Each set called a specialization. Generalization unites several entities into a set of sub-classes, making a new class. This model works mainly with super class and sub-class concepts as well as with is a kind of and is a part of relationships. To explain this model clearly I would like to give an example from the given scenario. Figure 2: Example for EER model from given scenario The above figure is just an example for the semantic concept specialization. From that diagram it is clear that permanent resident and contract resident are a kind of residents. All the rules applied for the resident are applied for those two also. This is is-a relationship example. If we consider assistance then shopping or teaching are a part of assistance. Use case modelling: Use case modelling is one more standard tool in database design. The main components of use case modelling are use cases and actors. This model was invented by Ivar Jacobson in early 1990s. According to an Oracle white paper (2005) A use cases are fundamentally a text form and are used to specify the functional requirements of a system, primarily as a scenario. The scenario describes how the system should respond to a request of a primary actor to deliver a specific goal of that actor. In the given scenario resident is an actor and providing or availing an assistance is a use case. The following diagram shows how use case modelling works in the given scenario. Figure 3: An example for use case modelling Each model stated above has advantages and disadvantages. So the choice of model is fully dependent on the type of scenario as well on the organization members and business requirements. Quality of a database design: As we all know database is an important asset for any application in the real world. So it is important for any developer to aim at efficient database design. Here the word quality plays a vital role because by measuring the quality of a database one can say that the database design is efficient. With an immediate affect one question will comes in to our minds is How can we measure the quality of a database design? There are many ways to measure the quality of a database design. Some authors followed some metrics and semantics to measure the quality of a database design. John A. Hoxmeier (1998) proposed a framework for database quality. He classified all the database quality factors into four categories. They are Process, Data, Model and Behaviour. Total Quality Management (TQM), Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Capability Maturity Model (CMM) are used to measure the process quality. Data quality depends on the factors such as redundancy, integrity and age of the data. These two measurements and behaviour quality are not important here because I am asked to write about quality of a database design. In the words of John A. Hoxmeier (1998) Data quality is usually associated with the quality of the data values. However, even data that meets all other quality criteria is of little use if it is based on a deficient data model. It means Data model quality has the highest priority when comparing with other quality criteria. Let us consider an example, from the given scenario one resident can avail or provide zero or more assistances. If the developer put this as wrong then however the data, process and behaviour is good there is nothing use with that database. Check points in data mode quality are Representation (flexibility and Interpretability), Semantics (content, scope and understandability), Syntactic (presentation and documentation) and Rules (ease of use and normalization). Apart from all these points client creates boundaries and set rules for the application. So it is very important to follow them. Answer for the question Is a correct database design necessarily a quality design? Is no. Because even the quality of a database design is good if there are any mistakes with data model then it will be wrong. In the same way correct database design also not a quality one. Development process of a quality application is not only depends on the type of application but also on the database design principles. Database design principles are applicable for all type of applications. But the choice is totally depends on the developers and users. In the given scenario it is not important to show all the models to the committee members only ER is sufficient. May be in other scenario EER is suitable. Conclusion: Producing an efficient database design is the ultimate goal for any database developer. Stanwell Parish Plan is not an exceptional here. So they formed certain groups to implement their plan on the given scenarios. Here my task is to explain them about producing a good quality database design. First and important step for any application is to create a database design. In creating a database design there are some standard modelling tools such as ER, EER and use case modelling. Each model has its own advantages and disadvantages. Depending on the type of application database developer wants to choose a particular model. Not only creating the database design is important but also maintaining the quality of a database design is important. I explained some quality criteria for this purpose. Finally it is a good idea for Stanwell Parish Plan to take the report from the different people for different scenarios. At the end of the day they will have many choices to pick up one.

a worn path Essay -- essays research papers

As Phoenix finally reaches the end of the staircase, she breaks through the doors and steps into the town, beginning yet another journey. She begins to make her way down the street, seeing the children play at dusk, the decorations of the festive holiday, and the sun beginning its descent. She begins her rhythmic pace. The sound of her cane echoes in the midst of the city, much like the chirping of a bird, which sings, as Phoenix walks to its beat. Phoenix sops at the window of a small store, peering in with her blue, aged eyes, she sees the paper windmill she spoke of earlier. She chuckles to herself, and continues on out of the city.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Entering the road she has so often traveled, Phoenix smells the soothing aroma of the river, and of the wood, which burns in the chimneys of the cabins. All the children have gone inside, and all that remains are the decorations and lights outside the cabins. As she passes the cabins, she remembers the dog that had attacked her earlier, and she continues with caution. As she moves on, the dog is not in sight so her worries begin to fade. Continuing down the road she reaches the swamp, and she sees the silver trees, the old cabins, and the empty, desolate fields. It is becoming late, and Phoenix feels as though her legs are in buckets of cement, chained down to the ground, and she can no longer walk.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the near distance the wagon track appears, and Phoenix stops to rest. After a short...

Diesel Engines: United States and Europe

Diesel engines are routinely sold in European automobiles, with an estimated 6. 5 million vehicles on the road as of 2003 (DeGaspari 28). In both Europe and the United States, diesel engines are used in industrial and commercial applications like generators and commercial vehicles. However, the United States has historically been slow to embrace the concept of a diesel-powered personal automobile, and diesel automobile engines are only recently beginning to gain any traction in the US auto market. What are the reasons for this reluctance, and how can diesel engines gain more of a market share?The reasons for US market slowness in adopting diesel engines are varied. First, the diesel engine suffers from a perception problem which dates to the engines of the 1960s and 1970s – Americans believe that diesel engines are dirty, inefficient and noisy, making for an uncomforta-ble passenger ride, higher emissions and an insufficiently powerful engine. Second, diesel engines cost more than traditional gasoline-powered engines; with American gas prices being historically much lower than European gas prices, there has been no financial incentive in the past for the adoption of diesel engines in the United States.Third, the availability of diesel fuel is not con-sistent across the United States and it is often more expensive than gasoline. These issues are being addressed in a number of ways. The availability of biodiesel (diesel fuel produced from non-petroleum sources, including plant matter, byproducts from meat pro-cessing such as rendered fat and discarded cooking oil) has been increasing steadily, bringing down the price of diesel and offering an environmentally friendly alternative, while the price of gasoline has been increasing.Newer engine designs are quiet and clean thanks to the develop-ment of fuel injection systems, with emissions as low or lower than gasoline engines. The diesel engine offers a higher mileage per gallon and a longer range (distance tr avelled on a tank of fuel), along with a higher torque with a smaller engine, making them attractive choices for American sport utility vehicles and light trucks, as well as the compact car market, where consumers tend to be more conscious of energy efficiency. Historically, American vehicles with diesel engines were dirty and noisy (Siuru 52).The high level of emissions and uncomfortable, noisy ride made a diesel engine an unattractive pro-spect, and relegated the diesel engine to commercial vehicles and applications like generators. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, European car manufacturers began to engage in serious research aimed at improving the technical design of the diesel engine used in passenger vehicles. At that time, the market share of the diesel engine in Europe ranged from 10% in Germany up to 35% in France, significantly higher than America, where most diesel vehicles were imported by European automobile enthusiasts (Siuru 52).The first major improvement was introduction of an electronic fuel injection control system (Siuru 52). This system maintains an even fuel supply, reducing the loud banging noise associated with a diesel engine; it also reduces the fuel supply variation, eliminating the vibration and â€Å"hum† of a diesel automobile (Siuru 52). The first electronic fuel injection systems were indirect injec-tion systems (IDI), which mixed the fuel with air in a turbulence chamber before injecting it into the engine’s combustion chamber (Siuru 52). These engines were efficient and produced low emissions.However, direct injection (DI), which injects the fuel directly into the engine’s combustion chamber, bypassing the admixture with air, offered even greater fuel efficiency, albeit with high-er emissions levels (Siuru 56). The direct injection system was developed by Fiat in the mid-1990s and quickly became popular (Siuru 56), The most common implementation of the direct injection system is the common rail direct injection system (Ashley 58). This system, implement-ed by most European car manufacturers in the 1998 model year, offered a way to decrease fuel consumption and emissions by about 30% from the previous designs (Ashley 58).The common rail system uses a manifold to pre-load fuel as a buffer between the injectors and the engine, of-fering greater control of fuel usage according to driving conditions (Ashley 59). While electronic fuel injection systems improved the regularity and smoothness of the die-sel engine’s operation, particulate and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions were still a problem, and continue to be a problem as emissions controls for passenger vehicles become more and more tight.While an indirect injection engine offered lower emissions due to more efficient use of fuel, direct injection engines offered markedly better performance (Ashley 57). A further challenge is that while European emissions standards are primarily concerned with carbon monoxide and carbo n dioxide, American emissions standards are mostly concerned with nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions (Marshall 27). An engine which will be used in both American and European vehicles must control both adequately to meet emissions standards. Emissions are controlled in a variety of ways in the diesel-powered vehicle.The catalytic con-verters typically used in gasoline engines don’t work with diesel engines, due to a difference in the amount of oxygen present in the engine’s combustion chamber(DeGaspari 30 ). One approach to reducing nitrogen oxide emissions in a diesel engine is to use a chemical reaction called selec-tive catalytic reaction, which uses urea (ammonia) to remove the available oxygen (DeGaspari 30). A second method, called a lean NOx trap, causes the engine to cycle between an oxygen-lean and an oxygen rich environment on a regular basis in order to â€Å"break up† the nitrogen oxide molecules (DeGaspari, 30).These traps are often mounted to the tailpipe rather than directly in the engine (DeGaspari 30). The most common solution for particulate emissions is a filter on the tailpipe which traps particulate matter in the exhaust rather than releasing it (DeGaspari 30). The most recent advance in emissions, called homogenous charge compression ignition or HCCI, is a whole-vehicle solution to the mileage-emissions tradeoff with both gasoline and die-sel engines. HCCI, still in development, is being viewed by automobile manufacturers as a boon for the future for both gasoline and diesel engines.HCCI uses a combination of gasoline and die-sel engine design aspects for a high-efficiency, clean-burning engine which is designed to pass emissions standards testing in both the United States and Europe (Marshall 27). The HCCI en-gine premixes air and fuel before feeding it to the engine (a gasoline engine trait), but it uses compression ignition rather than spark-plug ignition (a diesel engine trait) (Marshall 27). This en-gine ha s the additional advantage of being dual-fuel – it can be used with either diesel or gaso-line, reducing the pressure of fuel availability for owners of vehicles (Marshall 28).The HCCI engine design also has the potential to be used with other forms of liquid fuel, such as hydrogen, ethanol or other forms of fatty-acid fuels like diesel and gasoline, widening the possi-bilities for alternative fuels of the future (Marshall 28). The final improvement in diesel emissions is not in the engine itself, but in the chemical makeup of the fuel. Ultra-low sulfur fuels, which were mandated by the FDA in 2006, both reduce emissions and allow for more advanced emis-sions control systems, which can be unusable with higher-sulfur fuels because the sulfur interferes with the necessary chemical reactions.(DeGaspari 30). Engine power is another significant beneficiary of European manufacturer’s research over the last 20 years. American diesel engines have had the reputation of not bein g very powerful; however, the modern diesel engine has greater torque and a greater range (number of miles trav-elled on a single tank of fuel), as well as higher mileage, in a smaller, lighter-weight engine than the equivalent gas engine (DeGaspari 28). A diesel engine in a sport utility vehicle can offer forty to fifty percent greater fuel efficiency over a gasoline engine (DeGaspari 28).The diesel version of the 2006 Jeep Liberty, which was designed with a 2. 8 liter engine, offered 27 MPG high-way/21 MPG city. Compared to its gasoline powered sibling (21 MPG highway/17 MPG city) this was a 24-30% increase in engine efficiency (DeGaspari 28). Because American cars tend to be larger than European cars, engine redesign for greater torque has been popular with American automobile manufacturers (DeGaspari 28). Diesel engines can cost significantly more than traditional gasoline engines.The engine it-self is more expensive, as it is heavier and more precisely controlled; diesel emissi ons devices are also more expensive than their gasoline counterparts. A diesel engine can add one to two thou-sand dollars to the overall consumer price of a vehicle, making it unattractive if fuel efficiency is not a concern (DeGaspari 30). This problem has been self-correcting with a persistent rise in fuel costs and operational cost of automobile ownership in the United States.In 1992, with fuel costs two to four times higher in Europe than in America, diesel engines already held a significant por-tion of the automobile market share; however, doubt was expressed that they would be accepted in America (Siuru 58). With a significant rise in fuel costs over the last 15 years, diesel has be-come more and more attractive to Americans concerned with the mileage of their vehicles. By 1997, experts acknowledged that there is an American market for diesel SUVs (Ashley 62) and currently, both European and American automobile manufacturers now offer passenger vehicles for sale in America (D eGaspari 28).The availability and continued supply of diesel fuel is a serious concern in the United States. Europe, where as much as half the vehicles on the road at any one time are powered by diesel, took the approach of producing its own biodiesel rather than relying on imported petro-diesel (Schmidt 86). Europe has a significant percentage of arable land devoted to rapeseed (can-ola) which is primarily used in the production of biodiesel (Schmidt 86).Biodiesel is diesel oil produced using plants or animal remains rather than petrochemicals; there are many common sources of biodiesel, including virgin plant material (canola, soy, wheat, barley, palm, pine trees, corn and algae have all been used to produce biodiesel), and used cook-ing oil from restaurants, known as yellow grease (Schmidt 86). Most United States biodiesel is derived from soybeans, which offer an 18-20% oil yield. The remaining mass can be used to pro-duce animal feed. Soybean based biodiesel releases about 3.2 t imes the amount of energy used to produce it, making it an extremely efficient energy source (Schmidt 87). Biodiesel is not only good as an alternate fuel source to petroleum-based diesel, it is a cleaner fuel. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), B20 biodiesel (a mixture of 20% biodiesel and 80% petrodiesel) releases l0% less carbon monoxide, particulates and total hydrocarbon, and is carbon dioxide-neutral (Schmidt 89). There are some concerns about the lev-el of nitrogen oxide emissions with biodiesel.A 2006 FDA literature review concluded that B20 biodiesel nitrogen oxide emissions are about 2% higher than the equivalent petrodiesel (Schmidt 90). However, Scott Gordon, founder of Green Technologies, points out that catalytic convert-ers can be used with ultra-low sulfur fuels in addition to traditional emissions controls, which has the potential to greatly decrease nitrogen oxide emissions (Schmidt 90). There are a number of problems with biodiesel which are being addressed by manufactur-ers.The first is that of agricultural resource allocation to biodiesel production. Currently, most United States production of biodiesel uses surplus soybean crops (Schmidt 86). Soybeans have a relatively low yield of only 18-20% oil, however, making soybean cultivation to meet expanded biodiesel requirements problematic (Schmidt 91). In order to expand biodiesel production, dif-ferent crops are required. Two alternatives are rapeseed (canola) and algae. Rapeseed is common-ly grown in Europe as a biodiesel source.It has a 40% yield of oil and is easily cultivated (Schmidt 91). Algae has a remarkably high 50% yield and a production of 8,000 gallons per acre per year, making it the most productive crop found so far. However, problems with designing a large-scale agricultural system for algae have held back use of this material so far (Schmidt 91). In order to grow algae for commercial biodiesel use, indoor systems would need to be designed to precise ly control growing conditions and species in tanks.As Schmidt notes, there is the pos-sibility of creating a large supply of algae by feeding with wastewater treatment plants. Solving the technical problems of cultivating algae is essential for the continued growth of biodiesel. It is estimated that 15,000 square miles of algae cultivation (approximately 9. 5 million acres, a frac-tion of a percent of current American land given over to agricultural usage) could be enough to replace the entire stock of petroleum used in American transportation (Schmidt 91).Unfortunate-ly, not all countries have the availability of arable land that the United States does, and environ-mental degradation can result from planting what is seen as a cash crop at the expense of sub-sistence crops or native habitat. Rain forest clearing in order to plant palm trees, a common source of imported biodiesel, has had a bad effect on Indonesian forests (Schmidt 92). A second problem with biodiesel is inconsistent low-temperature operation. All diesel fuels will gel with extreme cold, but biodiesel gels more quickly at higher temperatures.To operate a diesel engine in colder conditions, a mixture of petrodiesel and biodiesel is required (Schmidt 89). The most common blend of petrodiesel and biodiesel is called B20 (20% biodiesel and 80% petrodiesel); however, even lower blends of biodiesel, such as B2 and B5, are beginning to gain traction in the market (Schmidt 89). A third problem with biodiesel is inconsistent quality. Federal and state tax credits for bio-diesel production make it attractive to companies large and small (Schmidt 90).A biodiesel blend made from virgin vegetable oil is eligible for a 1-cent per gallon discount on federal fuel excise tax for each percent of biodiesel in the blend; a blend made from yellow grease, or recycled cooking oil, is eligible for half that (Schmidt 90). This is a powerful incentive for biodiesel pro-duction. Unfortunately, quality sometimes is lackin g in the production controls. High levels of glycerin, a byproduct of biodiesel production which can clog filters and reduce engine perfor-mance, making it difficult to start the engine when cold, were found in one third of the samples tested by NREL in 2006 (Schmidt 90).These samples came from blending facilities where the biodiesel fuels were mixed and then sent to distributers. The NREL attributes these problems to a sudden increase in demand leading to some plants starting production without quality control procedures in place (Schmidt 90). As gasoline prices continue to rise and the American public gives serious attention to the energy efficiency and mileage per gallon of their personal automobiles, diesel engines become more attractive to car buyers.With fuel efficiency 30% or more higher than gasoline engines, electronic fuel injection offering a smoother, quieter ride, as well as greater torque in a smaller engine allowing for lighter-weight and higher-mileage sport utility vehicles, and the availability of biodiesel offering an environmentally friendly, renewable fuel source, the performance prob-lems of past generations of American diesel vehicles have been largely solved.Rapid develop-ment and improvement of diesel technology to keep up with tightening emissions control re-quirements has led to extraordinarily clean vehicles. American and European automobile manu-facturers have begun to produce diesel automobiles for the American market, and have expecta-tions of solid sales. The question remains, however: will American consumers follow the lead of Europe and embrace diesel engine technology?

Immortals of Greek mythology Essay

The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the statue of a god or goddess, or multiple deities, and might be decorated with relief scenes depicting myths. Divine images were common on coins. Drinking cups and other vessels were painted with scenes from Greek myths. Gods & Goddesses Aphrodite ( , Aphrodite) Goddess of love, beauty, desire, and pleasure. Although married to Hephaestus she had many lovers, most notably Ares, Adonis, and Anchises. She was depicted as a beautiful woman and of all the goddesses most likely to appear nude or seminude. Poets praise the radiance of her smile and her laughter. Her symbols include roses and other flowers, the scallop shell, and myrtle wreath. Her sacred animals are doves and sparrows. Her Roman counterpart was Venus. Apollo ( , Apollon) God of light, music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague and darkness, prophecy, poetry, purity, athletism, manly beauty, and enlightenment. He is the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. As brother and sister, they were identified with the sun and moon; both use a bow and arrow. In the earliest myths, Apollo contends with his half-brother Hermes. In sculpture, Apollo was depicted as a very handsome, beardless young man with long hair and an ideal physique. As the embodiment of perfectionism, he could be cruel and destructive, and his love affairs were rarely happy. His attributes include the laurel wreath and lyre. He often appears in the company of the Muses. Animals sacred to Apollo include roe deer, swans, cicadas, hawks, ravens, crows, foxes, mice, and snakes. Ares ( , Ares) God of war, bloodshed, and violence. The son of Zeus and Hera, he was depicted as a beardless youth, either nude with a helmet and spear or sword, or as an armed warrior. Homer portrays him as moody and unreliable, and he generally represents the chaos of war in contrast to Athena, a goddess of military strategy and skill. Ares’ sacred animals are the vulture, venomous snakes, dogs, and boars. His Roman counterpart Mars by contrast was regarded as the dignified ancestor of the Roman people. Artemis ( , Artemis) Virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, young girls, childbirth and plague. In later times she became associated with the moon. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and twin sister of Apollo. In art she was often depicted as a young woman dressed in a short knee-length chiton and equipped with a hunting bow and a quiver of arrows. Her attributes include hunting spears, animal pelts, deer and other wild animals. Her sacred animals are deer, bears, and wild boars. Diana was her Roman counterpart. Athena ( , Athena) Goddess of intelligence and skill, warfare, battle strategy, handicrafts, and wisdom. According to most traditions, she was born from Zeus’s head fully formed and armored. She was depicted crowned with a crested helm, armed with shield and a spear, and wearing the aegis over a long dress. Poets describe her as â€Å"grey-eyed† or having especially bright, keen eyes. She was a special patron of heroes such as Odysseus. Her symbol is the olive tree. She is commonly shown accompanied by her sacred animal, the owl. The Romans identified her with Minerva. Demeter ( , Demeter) Goddess of grain, agriculture and the harvest, growth and nourishment. Demeter is a daughter of Cronus and Rhea and sister of Zeus, by whom she bore Persephone. She was one of the main deities of the Eleusinian Mysteries, in which her power over the life cycle of plants symbolized the passage of the human soul through its life course and into the afterlife. She was depicted as a mature woman, often crowned and holding sheafs of wheat and a torch. Her symbols are the cornucopia, wheat-ears, the winged serpent, and the lotus staff. Her sacred animals are pigs and snakes. Ceres was her Roman counterpart. Dionysus ( , Dionysos) God of wine, parties and festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness, drugs, and ecstasy. He was depicted in art as either an older bearded god or a pretty effeminate, long-haired youth. His attributes include the thyrsus (a pinecone-tipped staff), drinking cup, grape vine, and a crown of ivy. He is often in the company of his thiasos, a posse of attendants including satyrs, maenads, and his old tutor Silenus. The consort of Dionysus was Ariadne. Animals sacred to him include dolphins, serpents, tigers, and donkeys. A later addition to the Olympians, in some accounts he replaced Hestia. Bacchus was another name for him in Greek, and came into common usage among the Romans. Hades ( , Hades) or Pluto ( , Plouton) King of the underworld and the dead, and god of the earth’s hidden wealth, both agricultural produce and precious metals. His consort is Persephone. His attributes are the drinking horn or cornucopia, key, sceptre, and the three-headed dog Cerberus. The screech owl was sacred to him. He was one of three sons of Cronus and Rhea, and thus sovereign over one of the three realms of the universe, the underworld. As a chthonic god, however, his place among the Olympians is ambiguous. In the mystery religions and Athenian literature, Pluto (Plouton, â€Å"the Rich†) was his preferred name, with Hades more common for the underworld as a place. The Romans translated Plouton as Dis Pater (â€Å"the Rich Father†) or Pluto. Hephaestus ( , H? phaistos) Crippled god of fire, metalworking, and crafts. The son of Hera by parthenogenesis, he is the smith of the gods and the husband of the adulterous Aphrodite. He was usually depicted as a bearded man with hammer, tongs and anvil—the tools of a smith—and sometimes riding a donkey. His sacred animals are the donkey, the guard dog and the crane. Among his creations was the armor of Achilles. Hephaestus used the fire of the forge as a creative force, but his Roman counterpart Volcanus (Vulcan) was feared for his destructive potential and associated with the volcanic power of the earth. Hera ( , H? ra) Queen of the heavens and goddess of marriage, women, childbirth, heirs, kings, and empires. She is the wife of Zeus and daughter of Cronus and Rhea. She was usually depicted as a regal woman in the prime of her life, wearing a diadem and veil and holding a lotus-tipped staff. Although she was the goddess of marriage, Zeus’s many infidelities drive her to jealousy and vengefulness. Her sacred animals are the heifer, the peacock, and the cuckoo. At Rome she was known as Juno. Hermes ( , Hermes) God of boundaries, travel, communication, trade, thievery, trickery, language, writing, diplomacy, athletics, and animal husbandry. The son of Zeus and Maia, Hermes is the messenger of the gods, and a psychopomp who leads the souls of the dead into the afterlife. He was depicted either as a handsome and athletic beardless youth, or as an older bearded man. His attributes include the herald’s wand or caduceus, winged sandals, and a traveler’s cap. His sacred animals are the tortoise, the ram, and the hawk. The Roman Mercury was more closely identified with trade and commerce. Hestia ( , Hestia) Virgin goddess of the hearth, home and chastity. She is a daughter of Rhea and Cronus and sister of Zeus. Not often identifiable in Greek art, she appeared as a modestly veiled woman. Her symbols are the hearth and kettle. In some accounts, she gave up her seat as one of the Twelve Olympians in favor of Dionysus, and she plays little role in Greek myths. Her counterpart Vesta, however, was a major deity of the Roman state. Poseidon ( , Poseidon) God of the sea, rivers, floods, droughts, earthquakes, and the creator of horses; known as the â€Å"Earth Shaker†. He is a son of Cronus and Rhea and brother to Zeus and Hades. He rules one of the three realms of the universe as king of the sea and the waters. In classical artwork, he was depicted as a mature man of sturdy build with an often luxuriant beard, and holding a trident. The horse and the dolphin are sacred to him. His wedding with Amphitrite is often presented as a triumphal procession. His Roman counterpart was Neptune. Zeus ( , Zeus) King of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus and the god of the sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and fate. He is the youngest son of Cronus and Rhea. He overthrew Cronus and gained the sovereignty of heaven for himself. In artwork, he was depicted as a regal, mature man with a sturdy figure and dark beard. His usual attributes are the royal scepter and the lightning bolt, and his sacred animals are the eagle and the bull. His counterpart Jupiter, also known as Jove, was the supreme deity of the Romans. Primordial deities Ancient Greek name English name Description (Aith? r) Aether The god of the upper air and light. (Ananke) Ananke The goddess of inevitability, compulsion, and necessity. (Chaos) Chaos The nothingness from which all else sprang. (Chronos) Chronos The god of time. Not to be confused with the Titan Cronus, the father of Zeus. (Erebos) Erebos or Erebus. The god of darkness and shadow. (Eros) Eros The god of love and attraction. (Gaia) Gaia or Gaea or Ge Personification of the Earth (Mother Earth); mother of the Titans. (Hemera) Hemera Goddess of daylight. (â€Å"Hypnos†) Hypnos God of Sleep. N (Ne? soi) The Nesoi The goddesses of the islands and sea. (Nyx) Nyx or Night The goddess of night. (Ouranos) Uranus The god of the heavens (Father Sky); father of the Titans. (Ourea) The Ourea The gods of mountains. (Phanes) Phanes The god of procreation in the Orphic tradition. (Pontos) Pontus. The god of the sea, father of the fish and other sea creatures. (Tartaros) Tartarus The god of the deepest, darkest part of the underworld, the Tartarean pit (which is also referred to as Tartarus itself). (Thalassa) Thalassa Spirit of the sea and consort of Pontos. (â€Å"Thanatos†) Thanatos God of Death. Titans Greek name English name Description The Twelve Titans (Hyperion) Hyperion Titan of light. With Theia, he is the father of Helios (the sun), Selene (the moon), and Eos (the dawn). (Iapetos) Iapetus Titan of mortality and father of Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoetius, and Atlas. (Koios) Coeus Titan of intellect and the axis of heaven around which the constellations revolved. (Kreios) Crius The least individualized of the Twelve Titans, he is the father of Astraeus, Pallas, and Perses. (Cronos) Cronus The leader of the Titans, who overthrew his father Uranus only to be overthrown in turn by his son, Zeus. Not to be confused with Chronos, the god of time. M (Mnemosyne) Mnemosyne Titan of memory and remembrance, and mother of the Nine Muses. (Oceanos) Oceanus Titan of the all-encircling river Oceans around the earth, the font of all the Earth’s fresh-water. (Phoibe) Phoebe. Titan of the â€Å"bright† intellect and prophecy, and consort of Koios. (Rhea) Rhea Titan of female fertility, motherhood, and generation. She is the sister and consort of Cronus, and mother of Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. (Tethys) Tethys Wife of Oceanus, and the mother of the rivers, springs, streams, fountains, and clouds. (Theia) Theia Titan of sight and the shining light of the clear blue sky. She is the consort of Hyperion, and mother of Helios, Selene, and Eos. (Themis) Themis Titan of divine law and order. Other Titans (Asteria) Asteria Titan of nocturnal oracles and falling stars. (Astraios) Astraeus Titan of dusk, stars, and planets, and the art of astrology. (Atlas) Atlas Titan forced to carry the sky upon his shoulders by Zeus. Also Son of Iapetus. (Aura) Aura Titan of the breeze and the fresh, cool air of early morning. (Di? ne) Dione Titan of the oracle of Dodona. (E? s) Eos Titan of the dawn. (Epimetheus) Epimetheus Titan of afterthought and the father of excuses. (Eurybia) Eurybia Titan of the mastery of the seas and consort of Krios. (Eurynome) Eurynome Titan of water-meadows and pasturelands, and mother of the three Charites by Zeus. (H? lios) Helios Titan of the sun and guardian of oaths. (Clymene) Clymene or Asia Titan of renown, fame, and infamy, and wife of Iapetos. (Lelantos) Lelantos Titan of air and the hunter’s skill of stalking prey. He is the male counterpart of Leto. (Let? ) Leto Titan of motherhood and mother of the twin Olympians, Artemis and Apollo. (Menoitios) Menoetius Titan of violent anger, rash action, and human mortality. Killed by Zeus. (Me? tis) Metis Titan of good counsel, advice, planning, cunning, craftiness, and wisdom. Mother of Athena. (Ophion) Ophion. An elder Titan, in some versions of the myth he ruled the Earth with his consort Eurynome before Cronus overthrew him. (Pallas) Pallas Titan of warcraft. He was killed by Athena during the Titanomachy. (Perses) Perses Titan of destruction and peace. (Prometheus) Prometheus Titan of forethought and crafty counsel, and creator of mankind. (Sel? ne) Selene Titan of the moon. (Styx) Styx Titan of the Underworld river Styx and personification of hatred. Personified concepts Achlys ( ), spirit of the death-mist Adephagia ( ), spirit of satiety and gluttony Adikia (), spirit of injustice and wrongdoing Aergia ( ), spirit of idleness, laziness, indolence and sloth Agon ( ), spirit of contest, who possessed an altar at Olympia, site of the Olympic Games. Aidos ( ), spirit of modesty, reverence and respect Aisa ( ), personification of lot and fate Alala ( ), spirit of the war cry Alastor ( ), spirit of blood feuds and vengeance Aletheia ( ), spirit of truth, truthfulness and sincerity The Algea ( ), spirits of pain and suffering Achos ( ) â€Å"trouble, distress† Ania ( ) â€Å"ache, anguish† Lupe ( ) â€Å"pain, grief, sadness†. Alke ( ), spirit of prowess and courage Amechania ( ), spirit of helplessness and want of means The Amphilogiai ( ), spirits of disputes, debate, and contention Anaideia ( ), spirit of ruthlessness, shamelessness, and unforgivingness The Androktasiai ( ), spirits of battlefield slaughter Angelia ( ), spirit of messages, tidings and proclamations Apate ( ), spirit of deceit, guile, fraud and deception Apheleia ( ), spirit of simplicity Aporia ( ), spirit of difficulty, perplexity, powerlessness, and want of means The Arae ( ), spirits of curses Arete ( ), spirit of virtue, excellence, goodness, and valour Ate ( ), spirit of delusion, infatuation, blind folly, recklessness, and ruin Bia ( ), spirit of force, power, bodily strength, and compulsion Caerus ( ), spirit of opportunity Corus ( ), spirit of surfeit Deimos ( ), spirit of fear, dread, and terror Dikaiosyne ( ), spirit of justice and righteousness Dike ( ), spirit of justice, fair judgement, and the rights established by custom and law Dolos ( ), spirit of trickery, cunning deception, craftiness, treachery, and guile Dysnomia ( ), spirit of lawlessness and poor civil constitution Dyssebeia ( ), spirit of impiety Eirene ( ), goddess of peace Ekecheiria ( ), spirit of truce, armistice, and the cessation of all hostilities; honoured at the Olympic Games Eleos ( ), spirit of mercy, pity, and compassion Elpis ( ), spirit of hope and expectation Epiphron ( ), spirit of prudence, shrewdness, thoughtfulness, carefulness, and sagacity Eris ( ), spirit of strife, discord, contention, and rivalry The Erotes ( ) Anteros ( ), god of requited love Eros (), god of love and sexual intercourse. Hedylogos ( ), god of sweet talk and flattery Himeros ( ), god of sexual desire Pothos ( ), god of sexual longing, yearning, and desire Eucleia ( ), spirit of good repute and glory Eulabeia ( ), spirit of discretion, caution, and circumspection Eunomia ( ), goddess of good order and lawful conduct Eupheme ( ), spirit of words of good omen, acclamation, praise, applause, and shouts of triumph Eupraxia (E ), spirit of well-being Eusebeia (E ), spirit of piety, loyalty, duty, and filial respect Euthenia (), spirit of prosperity, abundance, and plenty Gelos ( ), spirit of laughter Geras ( ), spirit of old age. Harmonia ( ), goddess of harmony and concord Hebe ( ), goddess of youth Hedone ( ), spirit of pleasure, enjoyment, and delight Heimarmene ( ), personification of share destined by fate Homados ( ), spirit of the din of battle Homonoia ( ), spirit of concord, unanimity, and oneness of mind Horkos ( ), spirit of oaths Horme ( ), spirit of impulse or effort (to do a thing), eagerness, setting oneself in motion, and starting an action Hybris ( ), spirit of outrageous behaviour Hypnos ( ), god of sleep The Hysminai ( ), spirits of fighting and combat Ioke ( ), spirit of pursuit in battle Kakia (K ), spirit of vice and moral badness Kalokagathia ( ), spirit of nobility The Keres ( ), spirit of violent or cruel death Koalemos ( ), spirit of stupidity and foolishness Kratos ( ), spirit of strength, might, power, and sovereign rule Kydoimos ( ), spirit of the din of battle, confusion, uproar, and hubbub Lethe ( ), spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion, and of the river of the same name Limos (), spirit of hunger and starvation. The Litae ( ), spirits of prayer Lyssa ( ), spirit of rage, fury and rabies in animals The Machai ( ), spirits of fighting and combat Mania ( ), spirit or spirits of madness, insanity, and frenzy The Moirai, or â€Å"Fates† ( ) Clotho ( ), the spinner of the life thread Lachesis ( ), the measurer of the life thread Atropos ( ), the severer of the life thread Momus ( ), spirit of mockery, blame, censure and stinging criticism Moros ( ), spirit of doom. The Neikea ( ), spirits of quarrels, feuds and grievances Nemesis (), goddess of revenge, balance, righteous indignation, and retribution Nike ( ), goddess of victory Nomos ( ), spirit of law Oizys ( ), spirit of woe and misery The Oneiroi ( ), spirits of dreams Epiales ( ), spirit of nightmares Morpheus ( ), god of dreams, who takes shape of humans Phantasos ( ) spirit of dreams of fantasy, who takes shape of inanimate objects Phobetor ( ) or Icelos ( ), spirit of nightmares, who takes shape of animals Palioxis ( ), spirit of backrush, flight and retreat from battle Peitharchia ( ), spirit of obedience Peitho (), spirit of persuasion and seduction. Penia ( ), spirit of poverty and need Penthus ( ), spirit of grief, mourning, and lamentation Pepromene ( ), personification of the destined share, similar to Heimarmene Pheme ( ), spirit of rumour, report, and gossip Philophrosyne ( ), spirit of friendliness, kindness, and welcome Philotes ( ), spirit of friendship, affection, and sexual intercourse Phobos ( ), spirit of panic fear, flight, and battlefield rout The Phonoi ( ), spirits of murder, killing, and slaughter Phrike ( ), spirit of horror and trembling fear. Phthonus ( ), spirit of envy and jealousy Pistis ( ), spirit of trust, honesty, and good faith Poine ( ), spirit of retribution, vengeance, recompense, punishment, and penalty for the crime of murder and manslaughter Polemos ( ), personification of war Ponos ( ), spirit of hard labour and toil Poros ( ), spirit of expediency, the means of accomplishing or providing, contrivance and device Praxidike ( ), spirit of exacting justice Proioxis ( ), spirit of onrush and battlefield pursuit Prophasis ( ), spirit of excuses and pleas The Pseudologoi, spirits of lies. Ptocheia ( ), spirit of beggary Soter ( ), male spirit of safety, preservation, and deliverance from harm Soteria ( ), female personification of safety, preservation, and deliverance from harm Sophrosyne ( ), spirit of moderation, self-control, temperance, restraint, and discretion Techne ( ), personification of art and skill Thanatos ( ), spirit of death and mortality Thrasos ( ), spirit of boldness Tyche ( ), goddess of fortune, chance, providence, and fate Zelos ( ), spirit of eager rivalry, emulation, envy, jealousy, and zeal Chthonic deities. Amphiaraus ( ), a hero of the war of the Seven Against Thebe who became an oracular spirit of the Underworld after his death Angelos ( ), a daughter of Zeus and Hera who became an underworld goddess Askalaphos ( ), the son of Acheron and Orphne who tended the Underworld orchards before being transformed into a screech owl by Demeter Cerberus ( ), the three-headed hound who guarded the gates of Hades Charon ( ), ferryman of Hades Empusa ( ), a monstrous underworld spirit or spirits with flaming hair, the leg of a goat and a leg of bronze. They are also servants of Hecate. Erebos ( ), the primeval god of darkness, his mists encircled the underworld and filled the hollows of the earth The Erinyes ( ), the Furies, goddesses of retribution Alecto ( ), the unceasing one Tisiphone ( ), avenger of murder Megaera ( ), the jealous one Hecate ( ), goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts, and necromancy. Judges of the Dead Aiakos ( ), former mortal king of Aegina, guardian of the keys of Hades and judge of the men of Europe Minos ( ), former mortal king of Crete and judge of the final vote Rhadamanthys (), former mortal lawmaker and judge of the men of Asia Keuthonymos ( ), an Underworld spirit and father of Menoetes Cronus ( ), deposed king of the Titans; after his release from Tartarus he was appointed king of the Island of the Blessed Lamia ( ), a vampiric Underworld spirit or spirits in the train of Hecate Lampades ( ), torch-bearing Underworld nymphs Gorgyra (). Orphne ( ), a Lampad nymph of Hades, mother of Askalaphos Macaria ( ), daughter of Hades and goddess of blessed death (not to be confused with the daughter of Heracles) Melinoe (), daughter of Persephone and Zeus who presided over the propitiations offered to the ghosts of the dead Menoetes ( ), an Underworld spirit who herded the cattle of Hades Mormo ( ), a fearsome Underworld spirit or spirits in the train of Hecate Nyx ( ), the primeval goddess of night Persephone ( ), queen of the underworld, wife of Hades and goddess of spring growth. Rivers of the Underworld Acheron ( ), the river of pain Kokytos (K ), the river of wailing Lethe ( ), the river of forgetfulness Phlegethon ( ), the river of fire Styx ( ), the river of oaths Tartarus (), the primeval god of the dark, stormy pit of Hades Thanatos ( ), spirit of death and minister of Hades Sea deities Aegaeon ( ), god of violent sea storms and ally of the Titans Achelous ( ), shark-shaped sea spirit[citation needed] Amphitrite ( ), sea goddess and consort of Poseidon. Benthesikyme ( ), daughter of Poseidon, who resided in Ethiopia Brizo ( ), patron goddess of sailors, who sent prophetic dreams Ceto ( ), goddess of the dangers of the ocean and of sea monsters Charybdis ( ), a sea monster and spirit of whirlpools and the tide Cymopoleia (), a daughter of Poseidon married to the Giant Briareus Delphin ( ), the leader of the dolphins, Poseidon placed him in the sky as the constellation Delphin Eidothea ( ), prophetic sea nymph and daughter of Proteus Glaucus ( ), the fisherman’s sea god Gorgons ( ), three monstrous sea spirits Stheno ( ). Euryale ( ) Medusa ( ), the only mortal of the three The Graeae ( ), three ancient sea spirits who personified the white foam of the sea; they shared one eye and one tooth between them Deino ( ) Enyo ( ) Pemphredo ( ) The Harpies ( ), winged spirits of sudden, sharp gusts of wind Aello ( ) or Aellope ( ) or Aellopous ( ) Ocypete ( ) or Ocypode ( ) or Ocythoe ( ) Podarge ( ) or Podarke ( ) Celaeno ( ) Nicothoe ( ) Hippocampi ( ), the horses of the sea they are half horse with the tail of a fish Hydros ( ), primordial god of waters The Ichthyocentaurs ( ), a pair of centaurine sea-gods with the upper bodies of men, the lower fore-parts of horses, ending in the serpentine tails of fish Bythos ( ) â€Å"sea depth† Aphros ( ) â€Å"sea foam† Karkinos ( ), a giant crab who allied itself with the Hydra against Heracles. When it died, Hera placed it in the sky as the constellation Cancer. Ladon ( ), a hundred-headed sea serpent who guarded the western reaches of the sea, and the island and golden apples of the Hesperides Leucothea ( ), a sea goddess who aided sailors in distress Nereides ( ), sea nymphs Thetis ( ), leader of the Nereids who presided over the spawning of marine life in the sea Arethusa ( ), a daughter of Nereus who was transformed into a fountain Galene (), goddess of calm seas. Psamathe ( ), goddess of sand beaches Nereus ( ), the old man of the sea, and the god of the sea’s rich bounty of fish Nerites ( ), a sea spirit who was transformed into a shell-fish by Aphrodite Oceanus ( ), Titan god of the Earth-encircling river Oceanus, the font of all the Earth’s fresh-water Palaemon ( ), a young sea god who aided sailors in distress. Phorcys ( ), god of the hidden dangers of the deep Pontos ( ), primeval god of the sea, father of the fish and other sea creatures Poseidon (), king of the sea and lord of the sea gods; also god of rivers, flood and drought, earthquakes, and horses Proteus ( , a shape-shifting, prophetic old sea god, and the herdsman of Poseidon’s seals Scylla ( ), monstrous sea goddess. The Sirens ( ), sea nymphs who lured sailors to their death with their song Aglaope ( ) or Aglaophonos ( ) or Aglaopheme ( ) Himerope ( ) Leucosia ( ) Ligeia ( ) Molpe ( ) Parthenope ( ) Peisinoe ( ) or Peisithoe ( ) Raidne ( ) Teles ( ) Thelchtereia () Thelxiope ( ) or Thelxiepeia ( ) The Telchines ( ), sea spirits native to the island of Rhodes; the gods killed them when they turned to evil magic Actaeus ( ) Argyron ( ) Atabyrius ( ) Chalcon ( ) Chryson ( ) Damon ( ) or Demonax ( ) Damnameneus ( ) Dexithea ( ), mother of Euxanthios by Minos Lycos ( ) or Lyktos ( ) Lysagora ( )? Makelo ( ) Megalesius ( ) Mylas ( ) Nikon ( ) Ormenos ( ) Simon ( ) Skelmis ( ) Tethys ( ), wife of Oceanus, and the mother of the rivers, springs, streams, fountains, and clouds Thalassa ( ), primeval spirit of the sea and consort of Pontos Thaumas ( ), god of the wonders of the sea Thoosa ( ), goddess of swift currents Triteia ( ), daughter of Triton and companion of Ares Triton ( ), fish-tailed son and herald of Poseidon Tritones ( ), fish-tailed spirits in Poseidon’s retinue Sky deities Achelois ( ), â€Å"she who washes pain away†, a minor moon goddess Aeolus (Aiolos) ( ), god of the winds. Aether ( ), primeval god of the upper air Alectrona (), solar goddess of the morning or waking up Anemoi, gods of the winds Boreas ( ), god of the north wind and of winter Eurus ( ), god of the unlucky east or southeast wind Notus ( ) god of the south wind Zephyrus ( ), god of the west wind Aparctias ( ), another name for the north wind (not identified with Boreas) Apheliotes ( ), god of the east wind (when Eurus is considered southeast) Argestes ( ), another name for the west or northwest wind Caicias ( ), god of the northeast wind Circios ( ) or Thraskias ( ), god of the north-northwest wind Euronotus (), god of the southeast wind Lips ( ), god of the southwest wind Skeiron ( ), god of the northwest wind Apollo, Olympian God of light, knowledge, music, healing, the sun, and the arts (also god of day). Arke ( ), messenger of the Titans and twin sister of Iris Astraios ( ), Titan god of stars and planets, and the art of astrology The Astra Planeti ( ), gods of the five wandering stars or planets Stilbon ( ), god of Hermaon, the planet Mercury Eosphorus ( ), god of Venus the morning star Hesperus ( ), god of Venus the evening star Pyroeis (), god of Areios, the planet Mars Phaethon ( ), god of Dios, the planet Jupiter. Phaenon ( ), god of Kronion, the planet Saturn Aurai ( ), nymphs of the cooling breeze Aura ( ), goddess of the breeze and the fresh, cool air of early morning Chaos ( ), the nothingness from which all else sprang, she also represented the lower atmosphere which surrounded the earth Chione ( ), goddess of snow and daughter of Boreas Helios ( ), Titan god of the sun and guardian of oaths Selene ( ), Titan goddess of the moon Eos ( ), Titan goddess of the dawn Hemera (), primeval goddess of daylight and the sun Hera ( ), Queen of Heaven and goddess of the air and starry constellations Herse ( ), goddess of the morning dew. The Hesperides ( ) The Hades, nymphs that represented a star cluster in the constellation Taurus and were associated with rain Iris ( ), goddess of the rainbow and divine messenger Nephelai ( ), cloud nymphs Ouranos ( ), primeval god of the heavens Pandia ( ), daughter of Selene and Zeus The Pleiades ( ), goddesses of the constellation Pleiades Alcyone ( ) Sterope ( ) Celaeno ( ) Electra ( ). Maia ( ) Merope ( ) Taygete ( ) Zeus ( ), King of Heaven and god of the sky, clouds, rain, thunder, and lightning Rustic deities Aetna ( ), goddess of the volcanic Mount Etna in Sicily Amphictyonis ( ), goddess of wine and friendship between nations, a local form of Demeter Anthousai ( ), flower nymphs Aristaeus ( ), god of bee-keeping, cheese-making, herding, olive-growing, and hunting Attis ( ), vegetation god and consort of Cybele Britomartis ( ). Cretan goddess of hunting and nets used for fishing, fowling and the hunting of small game Cabeiri (), gods or spirits who presided over the Mysteries of the islands of Lemnos and Samothrace Aitnaios ( ) Alkon ( ) Eurymedon ( ) Onnes ( ) Tonnes ( ) Centaurs ( ), a race of half-man, half-horse beings Asbolus ( ) Chariclo ( ), wife of the centaur Chiron Chiron ( ), the eldest and wisest of the Centaurs Eurytion ( ) Nessus ( ), a ferryman at the river Euenus Pholus ( ). The Cercopes ( ), a pair of monkey-like thieves who plagued the land of Lydia in western Anatolia Akmon ( ) Passalos ( ) Chloris (), goddess of flowers and wife of Zephyrus Comus ( ), god of revelry, merrymaking, and festivity Corymbus ( ), god of the fruit of the ivy The Curetes ( ), guardians of infant Zeus on Mount Ida, barely distinguished from the Dactyls and the Corybantes Cybele ( ), a Phrygian mountain goddess associated with Rhea. The Dactyls ( ) â€Å"fingers†, minor deities originally representing fingers of a hand Acmon ( ) Damnameneus ( ) Delas ( ) Epimedes ( ). Heracles (not to be confused with the hero Heracles) Iasios ( ) Kelmis ( ) Skythes () companions of Cybele Titias ( ) Cyllenus ( ) Dionysus ( ), god of wine, drunken orgies, and wild vegetation Dryades ( ), tree and forest nymphs Gaia ( ), primeval goddess of the earth Epimeliades ( ), nymphs of highland pastures and protectors of sheep flocks Hamadryades ( ), oak tree dryades Hecaterus ( ), minor god of the hekateris — a rustic dance of quickly moving hands — and perhaps of the skill of hands in general Hephaestus ( ), god of metalworking Hermes ( ), god of herds and flocks, of roads and boundary stones The Horae ( ), The Hours.

Shrimp Treadmill - How Much it Cost Taxpayers

Shrimp Treadmill - How Much it Cost Taxpayers The famous shrimp treadmill study (video), conducted by researchers at Pacific University and College of Charleston, came under scrutiny during debates over the federal deficit and wasteful spending in 2011. Yes, the shrimp treadmill research cost taxpayers more than $3 million over the course of a decade. That includes a $559,681 grant for research into Impaired Metabolism and Performance in Crustaceans Exposed to Bacteria. But dont blame Congress, as the AARP did in a major television ad buy in 2011. The decision to fund the research actually came from the National Science Foundation. Shrimp Treadmill Grilled The AARP suggested the shrimp treadmill was but one of many examples of wasteful spending in a commercial it ran in the spring and summer of 2011, as Congress debated ways to trim the nations debt. The ad read: If Congress really wants to balance the budget, they could stop spending our money on things like a cotton institute in Brazil, poetry at zoos, treadmills for shrimp. But instead of cutting waste or closing tax loopholes, next month Congress could make a deal that cuts Medicare, even Social Security. I guess its easier to cut the benefits we earned than to cut pickle technology. AARP was not the first to cast the shrimp treadmill in a harsh light, though. About the Shrimp Treadmill Study The shrimp treadmill and National Science Foundation were initially targeted as an example of pork by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma in 2011, though the research had begun years earlier. As a practicing physician and a two-time cancer survivor, I have a very personal appreciation for the benefits of scientific research, Coburn wrote in a report titled The National Science Foundation: Under the Microscope. Investing in innovation and discovery can transform and improve our lives, advance our understanding of the world, and create meaningful new jobs. He added, though: The theory in Washington all too often tends to be if you throw enough money at a problem, you can solve all our nations problems. But when Congress commits the nation to significant increases in spending, Congress owes it to the U.S. taxpayers to pay careful attention to how those dollars are being spent. Researchers developed the shrimp treadmill to test whether sickness would impair the mobility of the crustaceans. It remained unclear, however, what the practical impact of such research would be. Sick shrimp have more limited mobility, which may mean they are less likely to avoid being eaten. A decrease in performance may mean the difference between life and death, Scholnick was quoted as saying. About the National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense†¦ Under its congressional mandate, the NSF funds fundamental research and education in all fields of science and engineering. With a budget of just over $7.5 billion in fiscal year 2017, the NSF funds about a fifth of all federally supported basic research conducted at U.S. colleges and universities. NSF funding for research is distributed through grants, and cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research organizations throughout the United States. Of the more than 48,000 competitive requests for funding it receives every year, the NSF awards about 12,000 new research grants. At the time, the NSF responded to Sen. Coburns criticism of the â€Å"Shrimp on a Treadmill† study by pointing out that the projects it funds have advanced the frontiers of science and engineering, improved Americans lives and provided the foundations for countless new industries and jobs. About the National Institutes of Health As another major source of congressionally authorized research funding, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), agency of the cabinet-level U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), bills itself as nation’s medical research agency. Currently, the NIH awards nearly $32.3billion in grants annually for medical research in support of its stated mission of seeking â€Å"fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability.† Almost 50,000 research studies funded by NIH grants are being conducted by over 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 universities, medical schools, and other research institutions in every state and around the world.

Anne of Cleves

Anne of Cleves Dates: born September 22, 1515 (?), died July 16, 1557Married Henry VIII of England on January 6, 1540, divorced (annulled) July 9, 1540 Known for: safely divorcing from Henry and surviving Also known as: Anna von JÃ ¼lich-Kleve-Berg Ancestry: Like each of the wives of Henry VIII, as well as Henry himself, Anne could claim descent from Englands King Edward I. Father: John III the Peaceful, Duke of Cleves (died 1538) (he was a descendent of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy)Mother: Maria of JÃ ¼lich-BergBrother: William the Rich, Duke of JÃ ¼lich-Cleves-BergSister: Sybille, married to John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, Champion of the Reformation Anne was, as a young child, unofficially betrothed to Francis, heir to the Duke of Lorraine. About Anne of Cleves Jane Seymour, Henry VIIIs beloved third wife, had died. France and the Holy Roman Empire were forging an alliance. Though Jane Seymour had given birth to a son, Henry knew that he needed more sons to ensure the succession. His attention turned towards a small German state, Cleves, which might prove a solid Protestant ally. Henry sent his court painter Hans Holbein to paint the portraits of the princesses Anne and Amelia. Henry selected Anne as his next wife. Soon after the wedding, if not before, Henry was looking once again for a divorce. He was attracted to Catherine Howard, the political basis for the match was no longer as strong a motivation since France and the Holy Roman Empire were no longer allies, and he found Anne both uncultured and unattractive he is said to have called her Mare of Flanders. Anne, fully aware of Henrys marital history, cooperated in an annulment, and retired from court with the title Kings Sister. Henry gave her Hever Castle, where he had wooed Anne Boleyn, as her home. Her position and fortune made her a powerful independent woman, though there was little opportunity to exercise such power in any public sphere. Anne befriended Henrys children, riding in the coronation of Mary with Elizabeth. Bibliography: Anne of Cleves: Fourth Wife of Henry VIII, Mary Saaler, 1995. This book covers Annes years after her divorce, as one of the most powerful and wealthy women in the world.The Marrying of Anne of Cleves : Royal Protocol in Early Modern England, Retha Warnike. 2000.The Six Wives of Henry VIII, by Alison Weir, 1993.The Wives of Henry VIII, Antonia Fraser, 1993.Letters of the Queens of England 1100-1547, Anne Crawford, editor, 1997. Includes Anne of Cleves.Holbein and the Court of Henry VIII: Drawings and Miniatures from the Royal Library Windsor Castle, Reto Niggl and Jane Roberts, 1997. Religion: Protestant (Lutheran)

Vinegar (Acetic Acid) Molecular and Structural Formula

Vinegar (Acetic Acid) Molecular and Structural Formula Vinegar is a naturally-occurring liquid that contains many chemicals, so you cant just write a simple formula for it. It is approximately 5-20% acetic acid in water. So, there are actually two main chemical formulas involved. The molecular formula for water is H2O. The structural formula for acetic acid is CH3COOH. Vinegar is considered a type of weak acid. Although it has an extremely low pH value, the acetic acid doesnt completely dissociate in water. The other chemicals in vinegar depend on its source. Vinegar is made from the fermentation of ethanol (grain alcohol) by bacteria from the  family Acetobacteraceae.  Many types of vinegar include added flavorings, such as sugar, malt, or caramel. Apple cider vinegar is made from fermented apple juice, beer cider from beer, cane vinegar from sugar cane, and  balsamic vinegar comes from white Trebbiano grapes with a final step of storage in special wooden casks. Many other types of vinegar are available. Distilled vinegar isnt actually distilled. What the name means is that the vinegar came  from the fermentation of distilled alcohol. The resulting vinegar typically has a pH of around 2.6 and consists of 5-8% acetic acid. Characteristics and Uses of Vinegar Vinegar is used in cooking and cleaning, among other purposes. The acid tenderizes meat, dissolves mineral build-up from glass and tile, and removes the oxide residue from steel, brass, and bronze. The low pH gives it bactericidal activity. The acidity is used in baking to react with alkaline leavening agents. The acid-base reaction produces carbon dioxide gas bubbles that cause baked goods to rise. One interesting quality is that vinegar can kill drug-resistant tuberculosis bacteria. Like other acids, vinegar can attack tooth enamel, leading to decay and sensitive teeth. Typically, household vinegar is about 5% acid. Vinegar that contains 10% acetic acid or a high concentration is corrosive. It can cause chemical burns and should be handled carefully. Mother of Vinegar and Vinegar Eels Upon opening, vinegar may start to develop a sort of slime called mother of vinegar that consists of acetic acid bacteria and cellulose. Although it isnt appetizing, mother of vinegar is harmless. It may be easily removed by filter the vinegar through a coffee filter, although it poses no danger and may be left alone. It occurs when the acetic acid bacteria use oxygen from the air to convert remaining alcohol into acetic acid. Vinegar eels (Turbatrix aceti)  are a type of nematode that feeds off of mother of vinegar. The worms may be found in opened or unfiltered vinegar. They are harmless and not parasitic, however, they arent particularly appetizing, so many manufacturers filter and pasteurize vinegar before bottling it. This kills the live acetic acid bacteria and yeast in the product, reducing the chance that mother of vinegar will form. So, unfiltered or unpasteurized vinegar may get eels, but they are rare in unopened, bottled vinegar. As with mother of vinegar, nematodes can be removed using a coffee filter.

30, 60, 90 Day Branch Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

30, 60, 90 Day Branch Plan - Essay Example The plan will be demarcated into distinct categories so as to accommodate the several sections of the comprehensive plan in initiating the processes that will symbolize the development and expansion of the branch and its activities. The new branch will not involve several officials on the grounds that being a novel venture it has been considered unfit to have several positions that may not only be costly for the corporation but also unnecessary. As a result, the composition will be a Branch Manager, approximately 2-3 Personal Banking Advisers and possibly 1 customer service adviser. The branch manager will play overall duties in the branch including the supervision of the other officials who will directly report to him. The minimum number of positions created will make it simple for the operations of the branch to begin pending further expansion of the branch as situations necessitate. The branch will be based on the University site where all products will be sold. The education inst itution will be the major centre for the branch as the target market along with core operations of the branch will be based on the university premises. Accordingly, focus will be on personal customers from the student and staff population implying that the market for the branch’s services and products will directly emanate from the university; both staff and student. A brand new branch would operate basing on the location whereby the university will provide the required market and focus for the business. The daily function of a branch manager will be to oversee the basic operations of the new branch including supervision of the staff, coordination of activities as well as interaction with the staff. The initial 30 day plan to implement growing business, staffing and development will be based on two primary parameters namely, product introduction and marketing through which the branch will engage in a process of making itself known to the potential clients. Under this program, the branch will develop a comprehensive product introduction scheme that will attract the clients most of whom will be drawn from the staff and students of the university to develop interests and demand in the products offered (Nieman & Pretorius, 2007, 24). Such a process will be inherently involving since the products must be relevant to needs and requirements as well as tastes of the potential clients. As a result, prior to the product development and introduction procedure, the branch will research and analyse the potential clients and their requirements. This will inform both the marketing and product introduction processes that will be of core importance in the initial thirty days of the implementation of the plan. Subsequently, marketing will be of prime importance in the initial phases of the implementation of the plan. Through marketing, the branch will seek to establish a niche in the wide mart by focusing on the target market that constitutes the staff and students of th e university. Through the marketing endeavour, the branch will attempt to popularize itself along with its activities, services and products to the potential customers (Ericson, 2007, 74). This will be an important step towards initializing the implementation of the entire plan. The subsequent step in the plan to implement growing business, staffing and development will involve staffing and development which constitute a crucial stage in the entire plan. Staffing will take pre-eminence owing to the fact that any commercial entity operates through its staff and the human resources of any entity determine its entire operation and stature. As a new venture, the

Lost Boys of Sudan, my long journal, education is my mother and father Essay

Lost Boys of Sudan, my long journal, education is my mother and father - Essay Example They traveled through the Saharan Desert in Sudan searching for the United Nations camps. Many lost their lives during this journey, but those who made it actually recollect this event in their lives as a highly maturing experience that has shaped them in to extremely resilient individuals. Life for these young children before the outbreak of war was nothing out of the ordinary; the villages that these children belonged to largely consisted of cattle farmers, therefore from a young age, the boys had been grazing cattle. With the outbreak of war, many young girls and boy were raped, killed or taken to the north to be sold as slaves. Coming from ordinary villages, there did have small schools in the village but even so, literacy was not that common and many children largely help their parent graze the cattle. After the war, their ordinary lives were completely toppled over and devastated by the violence. Santino Atem Deng was one of the boy who survived the post-independence massacre; one can even refer to him as ‘one of the Lost Boys’. Since his agonizing journey through his war-ravaged country ended, he was rehabilitated by the SPLP (Sudan People’s Liberation Party). ... Deng epitomizes a man who was reformed by education and by becoming a literate and learned man, he was able to cast the demons of his past aside and turn a new leaf. Deng was able to bring this change in his life by getting proper education that truly delivered him from suffering and gave him a new life. (Deng 71-71) He has become a model for Sudanese youth to strive hard to get proper education, because education is the only thing that saves them and their countrymen from the destruction of war and pave way for a more civilized society. The lost boys of Sudan had come a long way from their home country and often their journey is nothing short of time travel, as they all suffered a massive cultural shock and faced many hardships to get themselves accustomed to the modern society. The documentary film titled â€Å"The Lost Boys of Sudan† highlights the struggles of these men and their views of this new land where they were taking refuge in. They all had high hopes out of Americ a, when they were coming here to seek asylum. America has indeed come a long way when it comes to the establishment of stable and modern social structures. Compared to the people living in other countries, who may experience a cultural-shock or in other words, the individuals may experience a significant amount distress or anxiety, when it comes to acclimatizing oneself to that culture, since the values are too different and modern from their own. Therefore, this anxiety was one of the biggest hurdles in the path of the Lost Boys. They often thought that they were coming to a country where the ‘streets are paved with gold’; however after arriving in the United States, they realized it wasn’t a country

Personal Philosophy of Meaning and Value Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Personal Philosophy of Meaning and Value - Essay Example My approach towards meaning and value is one of a significant one since I understand that everything happens for a reason and it is this meaning which is embedded within the reason that needs to be found out. What this will eventually do is to provide more rationale for things that will shape up in the future as well as provide me a sense of understanding for similar things that keep on happening around me at different times of the day. In this paper, I will outline what I consider as meaningful from life, from a strictly personal viewpoint and what I look for in life as far as my personal thinking and mindset are concerned. Also, I would check upon my personal life instances and my professional growth patterns and more so the same whilst now in the role of an IT project manager. I have devised a personal action plan that outlines the manner in which I have advocated my philosophy within the domains of this paper and this action plan aims to give an idea of what I think would be the right course of action as to go about doing things from an ethically correct professional sphere. I believe that we were put on this earth to bring some kind of glory or joy to the ‘One’ who put us here. Whether this is an all-powerful God, an uninvolved Creator or some sort of ‘alien’ life form I will not discuss here. Just suffice it to say that the same is some sort of a more powerful being which probably takes at least some interest in the actions of those that He has created or placed here on this Earth.

Options for Organization Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Options for Organization - Assignment Example Even though there are many advantages in implementing security systems in organizations there are some problems also. Therefore, the implementation of security should be done in an efficient manner, taking into consideration of all relevant factors relating to the business and the flew of information therein. Even though it is difficult to implement security, it is an inevitable part in any organization. Security enables an organization to manage the risks within the organization. The problems in an organization can be reduced to a great extent with the help of proper security measures. A company’s data can be kept confidential only if it has good security policies. The development and implementation of security policies helps an organization to meet the international standards. â€Å"Security touches so many different areas of business," says Allan Carey, program manager of security services and identity management research at Framingham, Mass.-based IDC. "With any type of new initiative or initiatives being driven by lines of business, security needs to be involved" (Kaplan). The analysis of security is done to recognize the exposure of security in a systematic way. Organizations should also be capable of evaluating the security methods adopted by their partners. The growing nu mber of threats has increased the importance of security in an organization. There can be both internal and external threats to any organization. Many organizations have suffered major losses due to the lack of security and leakage of information into unauthorized hands. Hackers, internal spying etc have become common in organizations. Proper security measures are needed to tackle these threats. The awareness about security requirements is thus very essential for every organization. There are some difficulties in setting and implementing a proper security system in an existing organization. It necessitates more funds to be invested for the implementation of

Discussion of the value of research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discussion of the value of research - Essay Example Research is very important in imparting knowledge among various people concerned with the advancement of their knowledge and ways of thinking. Indeed it is through research that we are able to improve our knowledge. Various people have conducted researches in various fields of study and come up with various ways of viewing different things and have different view over the same things. As Gibbons argue, research changes the way a society and a group of people view things by inventing new ideas. It is a way of improving our knowledge based on the need to change the perception of a given person (Gibbons et al, 1994). This paper will look at the importance of research at certain levels such as in academic achievements, in employment as well as in national building as a citizen of a given country. To begin with, research as I have indicated in the statement above is the eye opener in changing the manner in which we view things around us or react to given circumstances and situations in the society. Researches are therefore very important in the life of a student especially at higher levels such as the honors level. Carrying out research at the university level can be useful in very many ways for instance, researches improve our bulk of knowledge in related fields of specialization (Bell, 1973). People go to school in order to acquire full education in terms of quality learning as opposed to mere diploma holding capabilities. Knowledge that is all encompassing requires that one is all round with regard to his or her line of specialization, which is to have a vast knowledge in our areas of specialization. We therefore need to conduct investigative researches to well equip ourselves with the best knowledge we can gather in our fields of study. According to Friedman, an honors st udent is expected to have profound knowledge in his or her field of specialization and so must conduct research to keep himself or herself with the most current and detailed knowledge in

Relatioship with smart phones; Mass communication Essay

Relatioship with smart phones; Mass communication - Essay Example Furthermore, it can do most of the things a computer can do such as browsing the internet; one can access social networking sites like Facebook and Tweeter, download music and even watch TV (Kroski 2008, p.18). They are also used to determine to what social class a person belongs – the better and the more recent one’s iPhone is, the higher this person’s social class is, in people’s judgment. Despite their advantages, iPhones have negatively contributed to physical social interaction and created dependency and unhealthy addiction in users, which appears to portend the decline of some of humanities’ basic skills such as hand printing. Thanks to iPhones, people can communicate with others without being physically present, and this has led to them relegating the importance of face-to-face conversation in interpersonal communication. This often happens when someone has bad news to deliver and may opt to avoid sharing it face-to-face, so that he/she does not have to deal with another person’s reactions. Therefore, people with communication phobias and those who are nervous during conversations will find solace in the use of iPhones, may never overcome them, and may be easily falling into internet addiction (Shepherd & Edelmann 2001, p. 520). Hence, communication is stunted in that unless one is using video conferencing, which is not common, one is not able to receive immediate nonverbal feedback, and this makes communication incomplete. Unfortunately, this also makes lying easier since the recipient of the information is not privy to the cues that will allow him/her to detect deceit. Taking into consideration the use of emails and texts in communication, our writing skills will keep deteriorating, especially with technology such as iPads being introduced to young children in school. The majority of youths, especially in developed countries, rarely use a pen since they can send a text or email, which one can type on their iPhones. In addition, there is

Discussion of the value of research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Discussion of the value of research - Essay Example Research is very important in imparting knowledge among various people concerned with the advancement of their knowledge and ways of thinking. Indeed it is through research that we are able to improve our knowledge. Various people have conducted researches in various fields of study and come up with various ways of viewing different things and have different view over the same things. As Gibbons argue, research changes the way a society and a group of people view things by inventing new ideas. It is a way of improving our knowledge based on the need to change the perception of a given person (Gibbons et al, 1994). This paper will look at the importance of research at certain levels such as in academic achievements, in employment as well as in national building as a citizen of a given country. To begin with, research as I have indicated in the statement above is the eye opener in changing the manner in which we view things around us or react to given circumstances and situations in the society. Researches are therefore very important in the life of a student especially at higher levels such as the honors level. Carrying out research at the university level can be useful in very many ways for instance, researches improve our bulk of knowledge in related fields of specialization (Bell, 1973). People go to school in order to acquire full education in terms of quality learning as opposed to mere diploma holding capabilities. Knowledge that is all encompassing requires that one is all round with regard to his or her line of specialization, which is to have a vast knowledge in our areas of specialization. We therefore need to conduct investigative researches to well equip ourselves with the best knowledge we can gather in our fields of study. According to Friedman, an honors st udent is expected to have profound knowledge in his or her field of specialization and so must conduct research to keep himself or herself with the most current and detailed knowledge in

An Intensive Care Unit Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

An Intensive Care Unit - Assignment Example Mr X was being cared for in the intensive care unit (ICU) of an urban hospital. One week after admission, the ICU nurse-in-charge of Mr X’s care noticed respiratory distress and fever of unknown origin. The nurse reported it to the attending physician and to the intensive care specialists. The intensive care specialists ordered a new CT scan to re-evaluate the status of the brain, the occipital skull base fracture, the post-operative cervical spine, the condition of the lungs, the abdomen for a possible source of infection and a pelvis examination locating the sacral fracture and the right hip. Mr X was chosen as the case study subject primarily because of the alarming incidence of motorcycle accident worldwide caught the interest of the author and wanted to delineate the multisystem effect of a motorcycle accident to the individual. Clarke, Ward, Bartle and Truman (2004) stated that motorcyclists are at the highest risk for accidents due to poor safety record and the estimate d killed and serious injury rate in the UK per million vehicle kilometers is twice than a pedal cyclist and 16 times than car drivers and passengers (p. 6). Introduction to the Intensive Care Unit An intensive care unit (ICU) refers to a hospital area that uses state-of-the-art technology and aggressive therapy both in invasive and noninvasive monitoring of critically-ill and high-risk patients (Varon and Acosta, 2010, p. 1). Continuous monitoring is necessary and physiological factors affecting the health status of the patient must be reported promptly and on a continuous basis to the attending physician in order to adjust and meet the patient’s health needs. Patients older than 50 years old who suffered from cervical fracture have a 26% mortality rate (Browner, Jupiter, Levine, Trafton, 2003, p. 868). Critical care is offered for patients in the intensive care units in providing advanced life support through modern technology.

Corporate Social Responsibility And Organisational Profitability Management Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility And Organisational Profitability Management Essay Abstract There are numerous factors affecting the organizational profitability; one of the important factors is corporate social responsibility. This paper tries to examine the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and organizational profitability. Many tools are used to measure the organizational profitability while those of the corporate social responsibility can sometimes be unreliable or insufficient. The tool chosen for measuring the Corporate Social Responsibility is Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini Co. which is a database that is recently used as one of the most comprehensive source for Corporate Social Performance research. This paper will mainly focus on Egyptian organizations and study their engagement in corporate social responsibility and compare the different result of profitability for a period of five years. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Social Performance, Organizational profitability, Return on investment, Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini Co. Corporate social responsibility and Organizational Profitability Researchers tried to define corporate social responsibility in such way that suits all theoretical and operational purposes, such as Actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law (McWilliams Siegel 2001, P.117). CSR concerns everyone such as customers, employees, suppliers, community groups, governments, and even some stockholders as stated by McWilliams and Siegel (2001). This paper will examine the relationship between corporate social responsibility and the profitability of Egyptian organizations. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the corporate social responsibility will increase the profitability or not and to figure out the main benefits of being engaged in corporate social responsibility. The paper is compromised of three main sections. The first section gives an overview on corporate social responsibility in general and how it is important for both organizations and community. The second section focuses on the concept of organizational profitability as it explains how it can be defined and how profit maximization can be measured. The third section is probably the most important section of the paper as it focuses on studying the relationship between the corporate social responsibility and the organizational profitability and the different consequences that may occur. Literature Review Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that is growing fast and more attention should be paid to the meaning behind its linguistic. (Amaeshi and Adin, 2007). The definition of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can sometimes be ambiguous as stated by McWilliams and Siegel (2001). Davis (1960) mentioned that CSR is considered as decisions or actions taken beyond the organizations economic or technical self interest. Moreover Davis (1973) mentioned that CSR doesnt only refer to the economic, technical or legal requirements of the firm, it goes beyond that and may affect all the firms actions. While Fitch (1976) described the CSR as the challenges taken by the corporation whether fully or partially to solve social problems. CSR should also have a suitable degree of how much it fits both the societys expectations and business ethics. (Zenisek, 1979). The notion that business organizations have societal obligations which transcend economic functions of producing and distributing scarce goods and services and generating a satisfactory level of profits for their shareholders (Epstein, 1989, P.585). Moreover it was seen by Maclagan (1999) as a process that should express the moral values and interest of the individuals. McWilliams and Siegel (2001) added that CSR should go beyond the Legal interests of the firms. It should be actions that show some good to the society. While CSR as stated by Carroll (1991) is seen as a pyramid of Economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic as shown in Figure (1.1). The pyramid of CSR was supported by Dusuki (2008) confirming that studies have observed peoples perception based on Carrolls Pyramid of CSR. CSR concerns everyone such as customers, employees, suppliers, community groups, governments, and even some stockholders as stated by McWilliams and Siegel (2001). They all form pressure on the company which can sometimes results in a great conflict on goals and objectives (McWilliams Siegel, 2001). As pointed above, CSR has numerous definitions and explanations. Moreover McWilliams, Siegel and Wright (2006) emphasized on how difficult it is, to make theoretical development or measurement since the definitions of CSR is either too many or not clear enough. Approaches of Corporate Social Responsibility According to Kramer and Porter (2006), four issues for organization to be engaged in CSR are: moral obligation, sustainability, license to operate, and reputation. Kramer and Porter (2006) described the Moral appeal as doing the right thing which appears more in the nonprofitable business. Sustainable Development is defined as Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Kramer, Porter, 2006, P. 81) while the license to operate can be represented in the governments and the communities regulations and other stakeholders to do business. Finally, reputation is used by many companies to improve a companys image, and gain customers loyalty, build a strong brand and have a higher value of its stock (Kramer Porter, 2006). While Brammer, Millington and Rayton (2007) stated that Employees training can be seen as an activity of social responsible and should be used to increase the employees commitment to the organization, they also mentioned that the fair treatment of employees which is a approach of social corporate responsibility increase commitment to the organization. Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility As mentioned by Cacioppe, Forster and Fox (2007) a lot of studies focusing on how important the companies reputation and whether it is engaged in a social responsibility for both customers and investors or not, while other researches focused on how the attitude and behavior of the managers and professionals can be affected by their perception about the companys ethical and social responsibility. Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on the Community. Kramer and Porter (2006) added that CSR can provide a wealthy economy and society by having different forms of cooperation such as investing capital, doing business, purchasing goods, and providing jobs. Moreover, Evans, Foote and Gaffney (2010) added that companies could be disciplined by their customers when they dont meet the society expectation or the expectation of the customers by decreasing the demand of their products. Mathis (2007) mentioned that CSR can change companies to be more pro-active and accordingly they will have a high influence on the policy making process and a better position within their sectors than their competitors. Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizations. It is important to analyze the effect of CSR on organizations and to determine whether CSR can have an impact on the organizational performance or not. Evans, Foote and Gaffney (2010) stated that CSR has important and clear influence on achieving performance excellence. According to Cacioppe, Forster and Fox (2008) some studies showed that CSR can have a potential influence on the employees and leaders behavior, while organizational success is impacted by the ethical sense of customers and investors. Jaramillo, Mulki and Valenzuela (2010) viewed CSR as a way to gain customers retention and loyalty, on their article they analyzed how ethical firms can not only attract more customers but also build a long term strong relationship. While Singh (2006) explained why many researchers focused on how to achieve the customers needs and wants, since customer satisfaction has a positive influence on the organizational profitability. Cacioppe, Forster and Fox (2008) studied that CSR leads to both the retention of both employees and customers with the trusted brand image and the good quality of workforce. Mathis (2007) looked at the CSR as a way to provide sustainability to organizations. Moreover Cacioppe, Forster and Fox (2008) added that investors take in their consideration companies management before investing in it. Evans, Foote and Gaffney (2010) stated that the least benefit companies can get from taking CSR as one of its business strategy is on the public relations level. Organizational Profitability Profit is the end result of deducting total costs (TC) from total revenues (TR) as stated by Primeaux (1997). Therefore, profit maximization is producing the right quantity of goods or services given the suitable amount of resources (Primeaux, 1997). From a behavioral perception, Profit maximization can also be obtained from producing the correct quantity with an acceptable quality of goods or services to the customers and as the legal and ethical standards of the society (Primeaux Stieber, 1994). The performance measurement that will be used to evaluate and compare the efficiency of different investments will be the return on investment (ROI). To calculate ROI, the benefit of an investment, it is divided by the cost of the investment; the result is a percentage or a ratio (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp) The return on investment formula: In the above formula gains from investment, refers to the profits  gained from spending the investment of interest.  Ã‚  Return on investment  is a very common measurement because of its adaptability  and simplicity. That is, if an  investment does not have  a positive ROI, or if there are other opportunities with a higher ROI, then the investment should be not be undertaken. (http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/returnoninvestment.asp) Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Organizational Profitability Kolstad (2007) has shown in his paper that the relationship between CSR and profit are a controversial issue. Kramer and Porter (2006) added that corporations can think of CSR as a constraint or an additional cost, although it may be an opportunity for them to innovate and gain a competitive advantage. Friedman (as cited by Foote, Gaffney and Evans, 2010) was criticizing the money spend on CSR stating that the major responsibility of the managers is to maximize the profit of the organization as they contracted with the owners of the firm. ArinËœo, Canela and Garcia-Castro (2010) mentioned that CSR is not always providing a positive impact on the financial performance, some cases showed that it could have a negative impact as well. While McWilliams and Siegel (2000) added that a lot of empirical studies, showed that CSR and profitability can be engaged in a positive, negative or even neutral relationship. kolstad (2007) stated that CSR can be seen as a way to reach the final goal of the organization which is increasing the shareholder returns but cant be considered as a goal itself. Companies should balance scarifying some financial profit and between satisfying its stakeholders at least on the short term. (ArinËœo, Canela Garcia-Castro, 2010). Kolstad (2007) added that executives used to care only about the profits and the benefits of the shareholders, while nowadays companies may have to widen their goals to include the CSR. Friedman (as cited in Kolstad, 2007) presented the idea that maximizing the profit is the only essential moral aspect that can be offered by the executive to the corporation and that idea was supported by four arguments. First, he mentioned that managers should follow the interest of the shareholders according to the legal contract they have. Second it will be illegal for managers not to follow the interest of the shareholders since this will be considered as taxation to the shareholders. (Kolstad, 2007). Third, he advised the corporations to focus more on its core operations to be more efficient. Fourth, since not all the corporations is engaged on CSR, then CSR can be an added cost to corporations that cares about society leading to unfair competition between companies Friedman (as cited in Kolstad, 2007). Kolstad (2007) strongly criticized the overstated idea presented by Friedman, saying that responsibility of business should be seen in a wider view and should take in consideration other agents and shouldnt only consider the shareholders interest and that the provided idea will need more examination and analysis. While Peloza (2006) mentioned that due to many criticisms of CSR by whom, managers tried to ensure that CSR will deliver a financial income to the firm by developing different strategic forms for CSR. While Demacarty (2009) pointed out that the CSR doesnt necessarily provide a stronger financial return nor does it produce weaker return, it depends on the techniques that are used to increase the financial. Waddock and Graves (1997) studied the linkage between corporate social performance (CSP) and financial performance using CSP as the variable for CSR and return on investment (ROI), return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) as the variables used to measure the profitability or the firms financial performance. They hypothesized a positive relationship between financial performance and CSR; the study reported that the improved financial performance leads to increase in the CSP. Moreover, financial performance can be increased when firms are engaged in CSP since their ability to invest socially indicate a good managerial performance that could supply the firm with funds that can be used for other investments (Waddock and Graves, 1997). Orlitzky, Schmidt and Rynes (2003) also reported the same analysis. They used meta-analysis to find a positive relationship between CSP and financial performance. Research Gap While going through the literatures that studied Corporate Social Responsibility, a lot has been found on understanding the Corporate Social Responsibility either in its definition, approaches or even in how to measure it. One can find some limitations and gaps since Corporate Social Responsibility can have many aims, some of its definition was very narrow while others were very broad, involving almost everyones concern. The problem with the confliction on aims and means is that it is not clear whether Corporate Social Responsibility should be applied by organizations or not. Some results showed that Corporate Social Responsibility is a must for organizations and societies to grow while others concerned it as an overhead. Another Gap is that the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and profitability. A lot of researchers analyzed whether Corporate Social Responsibility is profitable or not, but limited researches studies the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on a certain companies or for a certain country and noticed its effect on profitability. The purpose of this proposal is to examine the effect of CSR on organizations profitability. The research question is: What is the effect of CSR on the profitability of Egyptian Organizations? Hypothesis Organizations that are engaged in CSR will have high CSP. Organizations that are engaged in CSR will have higher financial performance. The relationship between CSR and Organizational profitability is strongly positive with a higher corporate social performance and financial performance. Implications Organizations are usually committed to their employees, customers, and their society. Organizations that experience high levels of commitment to the well being of society will have a better image and therefore gain more loyalty of employees, customers and may gain higher profit. Further, organizations may view ethical and social judgment as one of their effectiveness and success. A reasonable measurement of CSR is critical for studying its effect, Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini Co. (KLD) tool will provide a full report of organizations CSR indicating to what extend the organization is involved in social activities. Then different results of CSR measurements will be compared to the annual profit of organizations. A focus on these two variables may improve the overall performance of organizations and bring more satisfaction to the whole society. Method Subjects or Participants The study will focus on the effect of CSR and organizational profit on Egyptian organizations, the population will be 100 Egyptian organizations and accordingly the sampling size will be 80 organizations. The sampling design will be the simple random sampling so that each company will have an equal chance of being chosen as the subject. Instrument Evans, Foote and Gaffney (2010) stated that there should be a reliable way to measure the relationship between organizational profitability and CSP and those researches have been deeply involved in how to measure the CSP of organizations. They also added that past measurement was not accurately measuring the outcomes of CSR since they were based on reputational surveys, government pollution indices, financial reports, and CSR orientation studies. The research tool will be developed by Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini Co. (KLD) which is a social choice investment advisory firm. Their tool is a social performance database. Waddock (2003) mentioned that KLD is currently the most commonly used database and is considered a comprehensive source for CSP research. KLD publishes the CSP ratings and the data cover areas of environmental performance, social contribution, corporate governance, and controversial business involvement.KLD require sources include direct communication with the company managers, public documents, and governmental data ( http://www.kld.com). Figure (1.2) illustrates the structure of the KLD database. Chen and Delmas (2010) described KLDs three main categories which are environmental performance, social ratings, and governance ratings. They described how each of these categories are divided into levels for example the environmental performance includes climate change and operations and management, while social ratings includes human rights and the employees relation while governance rating includes the structure and reporting methods. Design Dependent variable is the organizational profitability, in order to measure our hypothesis; I am using the following measure of profitability: Return on investment (ROI) was among the measures of performance, ROI is the most used. The independent variable will be the CSR. The control variables are factors such as firms size, industry and other risks (Waddock Graves, 1997). Kinder, Lydenberg, Domini (KLD) is used as a measure of how well companies perform socially, KLD measures have been used in previous research to study the SP in premier management journals (Agle et al., 1999; Coombs and Gilley, 2005; Hillman and Keim, 2001; McWilliams and Siegel, 2000). The KLD have several advances, as it represents a multi-dimensional measure of SP, consistently measured by a group of professionals with and where different information sources are combined to find out the final score for each firm (Waddock and Graves, 1997). Procedure KLD researches the social, environmental, and governance performance of corporations. KLD research relies on five different data sources to obtain the ratings and analysis of each company. Data are collected in a closely controlled process from each company, government, non-government organization and media sources. KLD tracks each company through more than 14,000 global media sources daily. (http://www.kld.com). Figure (1.3) illustrates the KLD research process they are using. A quantitative technique will be needed to measures the effect of CSR on profitability, a valuable data should be provided to KLD. To obtain such information required, both documents and Surveys will be used. Documents of the companies CSR behavior in the community will be examined and a comparison will be made between them. Published documents about the companies and how they are engaged in CSR practices will be used to get a broad idea about the subject at hand. For example, National newspapers and articles can be investigated to know what activities each company is sponsoring or to gain an idea about educational simulations moreover, accounting books can be investigated to get an idea of the profitability development at times when CSR activities are applied, such documents may include financial statements, balance sheets and cash flow. Figures in accounting books should be analyzed to measure profitability. Surveys will be conducted to the top management and corporate social responsibility manager to understand their perceptions of CSR and to determine whether CSR is considered one of the decisions made by top management and to determine the extent by which the CSR activities affects the financial value and profitability. Concerning the profit, the analysis will check financial performance through financial documents including (ROI) will be used as the variable to measure the profitability or the firms financial performance and compare it with different CSR measurements reported from the KLD. The research is planned to analyze data within five years period for each of the companies and, the period can be considered long to be able to analysis the effect of CSR and compare it the profit of the organization. Concerning the Time plan, data will be collected for the companies in the first period. The 80 companies will be contacted and debriefed about the purpose of the research. Tasks should be scheduled early to guarantee that there will be sufficient time and that the last period will be left for entering the data using the KLD tool and analyze the reports the final results of the research. Limitations The most important limitation is that the results of case studies cannot be generalized as it studies very specific companies and it only seeks in-depth understanding of some elements. Also there could be information unavailability, where the required information could be unavailable or unattainable. It could sometimes be difficult to be able to get accurate and precise information. Another limitation is that the measurement of the organizational long term profitability and its estimate may be affected by other unexpected factors such as financial crisis, inflation in the market. Yet, the research can give an indicator to organizations on whether the CSR has an impact of their profitability or not and according to the research they can decide to what extent they would like to be involved in CSR.