I stand here ironing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

I stand here ironing - Essay Example This process begins when she receives a note from the school counselor saying: "She's a youngster who needs help and whom I'm deeply interested in helping." Emily was a bright child as the mother recalls: "She was a beautiful baby. She blew shining bubbles of sound. She loved motion, loved light, loved color, and music and textures. She would lie on the floor in her blue overalls patting the surface so hard in ecstasy her hands and feet would blur. She was a miracle to me, but when she was eight months old I had to leave her daytimes with the woman downstairs to whom she was no miracle at all, for I worked or looked for work and for Emily's father who "could no longer endure" (he wrote in his good-bye note) "sharing want with us." (p. 9) From this it becomes clear that the mother recognizes that she was unable to give Emily the attention she needed. When she says that Emily was a miracle to her but not to the woman downstairs, she reflects her guilt for having left her daughter in the care of someone who didn't or could not love her as much as she deserved. Emily has now turned into a woman who keeps much to herself. She doesn't like sharing her life with her mother because she has somehow come to accept that this is the kind of relationship she has with her mother. The mother on the other hand would want deeper connection with her daughter but understands that since Emily had always been treated with anxious and not generous love, her growth was instilled with insecurity. She loves her daughter, wants to be a part of her life but knows it is no longer possible. Looking at Emily now as she enters the house, the mother observes: "She is coming. She runs up the stairs two at a time with her light graceful step, and I know she is happy tonight. Whatever it was that occasioned your call did not happen today" (p. 19) Through stream of consciousness, we gather several important things about their relationship and what caused a deep strain on it. For one, we learn that mother is guilty for not providing her first child with generous attention but she also understands why she was unable to do so. Emily's father had left when she was only one, her mother had to learn to adjust herself into a new household with a new husband and as other children came, Emily went deeper into the back. And the mother also blames her lack of knowledge for the child's strained growth. At one point she says: "I did not know then what I know now" (p. 11) and "What in me demanded that goodness in her" (p. 12) - meaning she is using her present knowledge to assess and understand her past behavior and that of her daughter's as well. Mother is the central character in the story and Emily is what she constructs for us. It is through her consciousness that we construct Emily or have an image of her. She is a nineteen year old who is not close to her mother at all. The mother was approached by school counselor as they felt that Emily was disturbed and needed help but while the mother would love to help, she is basically clueless. Clueless not because she doesn't know what is causing her present behavior but because she has no idea as to how it can be effectively influenced. "You think because I am her mother I have a key, or that in some way you could use me as a key She has lived for nineteen years. There is all that life that has happened outside of me, beyond me" (p. 9). Outside of me and beyond me are key terms

Monopoly Term Paper Essay Example for Free

Monopoly Term Paper Essay Monopoly is a market structure containing a single firm that produces a unique good with no close substitutes. It controls supply of a good or service. It is where the entry of new producers is prevented or highly restricted. According to the Business Dictionary, monopolist firms keep the price high and restrict the output, and show little or no responsiveness to the needs of their customers. Most governments try to control monopolies by imposing price controls, taking over their ownership (nationalization), or breaking them up into two or more competing firms. Monopolies exist in varying degrees (degrees (due to copyrights, patents, access to materials, exclusive technologies, or unfair trade practices) almost no firm has a complete monopoly in the era of globalization. So we can see the problem of monopoly is that it can set a higher price than marginal cost. The fact that a monopoly does not face the discipline of competition means that the monopoly may operate inefficiently without being corrected by the marketplace. An example for monopoly might be Comcast. If Comcast were the only cable television provider in your area. If you want cable, you have no choice but to go to Comcast. And because of this, they can charge any price they want. Other local electric power company, campus bookstore or local telephone service might be local monopolies as well. George J. Stigler, director of the Center for the Study of The Economy and the state, professor of economics at the University of Chicago states that a monopoly is free to set any price it chooses and will usually set the price that yields the largest possible profit. There are three problems that often associated with a market controlled totally by a single firm such as inefficiency, inequity and political abuse (AmosWEB Encyclonomic). Inefficiency is the most noted problem in monopoly. A monopoly charges a higher price and produces less output than perfect competition. Also, the price charged by the monopoly is always greater than the marginal cost of production. Income inequality is another problem of monopoly. Monopoly earns economic profit, consumer surplus is transferred from buyers to the monopoly. So buyers end up with less income, and the monopoly ends up with more. Monopoly is able to maintain single-seller status and market control, income continues to be transferred from buyers to the monopoly and to the monopoly resource owners.

Colgate-Palmolive Essay -- Business, Oral Hygiene

Companies use promotional strategies to gain customers and sales. Colgate-Palmolive use different strategies to help increase their sales. While many companies have decreased advertising spending Colgate-Palmolive is one company that has increased advertising spending (Neff & York, 2008). This paper will discuss the current promotional strategies of Colgate-Palmolive. This paper will also discuss the integrated marketing communications (IMC) and make recommendations for the strategies used. Current Promotional Strategies According to Kotler and Keller (2009) â€Å"sales promotion is a key ingredient in marketing campaigns, consists of a collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of particular products or services by consumers or the trade.† Colgate-Palmolive offers several promotions to increase sales. Consumers can find coupons and special offers on the company’s website. Consumers can also find sweepstakes and special promotions on the company website (Colgate, 2011). The company uses point of purchase displays to gain those impulse buyers. The company also provides free samples to dentists and other institutions. IMC There are several forms of communication that companies use to sell and brand their product. The company has relied heavily on broadcast advertisements. Commercials have been their main source of advertisement and where most of the advertising budget is used. The company also uses print advertisements in magazines and newspapers. In store displays and point of purchase displays are an advertising tool that the company has used too. The company found that point of purchase displays produced a higher percentage of sales (Quelch & Laidler, 201... ... consumers are not aware of what organizations the company is involved with and the many ways the company gives back to the community. More and more consumers want to purchase items from a company that is a friend to the environment and gives back to the community. Conclusion The company does not only focus on innovative products, but also look for innovative ways to advertise. The company has used traditional methods of advertising such as television commercials and magazine advertisements. The company also uses coupons to give customers incentives to buy their product. The company’s advertising has been very successful, but could use a little improvement. Not many consumers are aware of all that the company does and offers in the community. By spreading the word on the different charities and organizations the company could gain more recognition.

Voices By Dacia Maraini - Book Essay -- essays research papers

Repeated images of Angela Bari living an imprisoned life in Voices by Dacia Maraini play an important role in book. The internal and external forces surrounding Angela Bari lead her to a life of confinement and domination. If Angela Bari had broken away from her confinement she may have prevented her untimely death by exposing the ill ways of her stepfather, Glauco Elia. Angela's secretiveness, self-doubt, and compliance with others lead her to victimization. It is not until her unfortunate murder that Angela's imprisonment gets unraveled. Her distorted emotions are revealed as this relatively unknown young woman's death is investigated. Journalists trample inside Ms. Bari's life without any regards to her in an attempt to solve this murder mystery (17). Angela's body was discovered by the porter of her apartment who is 'astonished that there should be so little blood on the floor'; when he discovers that she is lying on the ground dead after being stabbed several times (18). This is the first clue that Angela is cornered in her own little world. She has little blood, which is regarded as the seat of emotions, and her lack of such nourishment suggests that perhaps she was never nurtured. Furthermore, her cause of death, internal hemorrhage, suggests that those feelings imbedded within her were lost rapidly and uncontrollably (19). The obscure grasp Angela has of her emotions is just one facet of her imprisonment. Angela's imprisonment is traced back to its roots in adolescence, when at the young age of eight her father dies leaving an 'empty gap'; in her life 'that couldn't ever be filled'; (189). Shortly thereafter her mother remarries, and her bondage evolves. Her new family life is the main source of her isolation. It is, as though her family remained 'cocooned inside its own cultural and linguistic bunker'; (6). Similar to many, her family was like a 'minefield'; (39). The most explosive is Angela's new father who sexually abuses her (214-215). 'He loved her without respecting her . . . and treated her as if she belonged to him'; (213). He felt as though he were taming her (233). He obviously sees nothing wrong in what he is doing as he claims, 'I'm very content with my household of women'; (190) as though they were objects. In addition, he does not see anything wrong with Marco beating Angela's sister, Ludovica. 'I know he beats her up but I think wi... ...aked, would be overcome by an excruciating desire to touch her, caress her, to penetrate her, even to rape her because in some way she was really asking for this . . . at the same time that brought out the wish to kill her. (237) Angela's life was marked by this torture. Glauco Elia lived so that he could dominate and overpower Angela like so many people did, but in the end no one was able to really control her. Just as she began to truly break away from her prison by exposing the 'horrible things'; that encompassed her she is murdered by her stepfather because he loses all his sense of power. She tells him that he had 'ruined her life, her body was dead, forever, dead'; (241). Similar to Michela who has trouble finding Glauco's house even when she has directions (183-185) Angela is unable to find a path that will lead her past Glauco and his dominance. Even after her death Angela Bari's soul 'isn't at peace'; (55). Her body does not 'remain whole until the Day of Judgement';, (57) but similar to her life she is 'brutally torn apart'; (22) at her death. Even her family does not come to Angela's funeral (7) further illustrating the isolation Angela was bound to during her lifetime.

Shahzia Sikander

When finding a definition for ‘art’ the only phrase that comes to my mind is the expression of one’s creative skill and imagination. The word imagination brings out this thought of largeness and expressiveness to me and therefore when viewing a large painting, one immediately gets drawn towards it and tries to create a connection with the painting. Shahzia Sikander was an artist who was known for her embrace of miniaturist paintings in the Indo-Persian style.To many, miniature paintings seemed somewhat restrictive because of the space present for the artists to express themselves and are also looked at as a â€Å"faded genre that had more to do with craft and technique than genuine expression†(Bhaha, Homi). But according to me, Sikander’s artwork successfully portrayed her thoughts and helped us gain knowledge about her culture.What attributes to making her paintings so acknowledged is the way her artwork embodies not only her culture but also  "works across diverse cultural references – Hindu, Christian, Classical, mythological and folkloric† (Rachel Kent). When talking about ‘elements of narrative’ in artwork, I feel that one is referring to the way in which the particular artwork is portrayed and the techniques that the artist has used to portray his/her skill and imagination. Viewing all of Sikander’s artwork, the one element that is seen as having and influence on all her works of art is her cultural background.Her adoption of the miniaturist tradition took place while she was studying at the National College of Arts in Lahore, Pakistan where this form of art was seen as an â€Å"unconventional choice that conjured associations with imperialism on one hand and, on the other, deeply rooted local traditions of story-telling and popular mythology† (Rachel Kent). One of the reasons that it felt like story telling and popular mythology to me was because when viewing each painting, it felt like one was viewing a page from a book.The paintings looked flat like a page but at the same time contained layers within which gave them depth. One particular artwork of hers that gives me this impression is â€Å"Writing the Written† (2000). In all her works and this one in particular one can see how â€Å"she explored compositional constructs such as repetition, the placement of color across the surface of the work, the use of a flattened, stacked perspective and the relationship between image and border† (Rachel Kent). Repetition is seen a lot in â€Å"Writing the Written†, whether it is the repetition of certain symbols of just design.The most important factor to keep in mind when analyzing Sikander’s artwork is the size of each piece. Each miniature painting is not more than 8 x 51/2 inches, which is just like analyzing a painting that has been printed on an A4 sized paper. Viewing a painting so small can make us see the artist in a completel y different light because as the audience, we are usually not used to being able to glance at a whole painting at one time, and by this I mean that our eyes are usually used to moving around, moving to different corners of the painting since we relate the size of majority of paintings to being large.When viewing â€Å"Writing the Written† for the first time, the first thing that caught my eyes was the repetition of horses in the boarder. Since I am of Hindu religion, the whole painting felt like Sikander was trying to tell her audience a story about the Hindu culture. The horse is linked to the Hindu god Varuna that shows how Sikander is incorporating mythology in her artwork. Also, the focus of this painting seems to be the two figures that are placed somewhat in the center of the painting, which to me represents the Hindu gods Krishna and Radha.Considering that this is a miniature painting, it doesn’t seem ‘small or simple’ in any way because there is so much going on in it. The blurred circle in the center is what got me thinking because in the article â€Å"Intimate Immensity†, Rachel Kent mentioned, â€Å"historically, the circle invited a range of associations. It is at once a complete unit, unbroken at any point so without a beginning or end; a spiritually changed symbol across cultures, associated with the continuity of the life cycle†.But I felt like by using the circle to blur out the faces she was in some way referring to the problems that Muslim women have to face everyday. In an interview by Homi k Bhabha, Sikander mentions that even for her such things as the veil that she uses a lot in her work, remains exotic. She states that the first time that she put one in her work everyone reacted strongly. So when looking at the blurred faces in her painting I felt like she was trying to portray how Muslim women are forced to hide their faces from the rest of the world. Images within images, borders within borders; all form active constituents in Sikander’s art of transformation†(Rachel Kent). This technique of Sikander’s is seen in a lot of her artworks especially in â€Å"Writing the Written† where at ones first glance of the painting it seems like there are three different frames to it and this to me makes the painting look layered and gives it some form of depth. The outer most layer is that of the border with the horses imprinted on it, the second layer consists of the two blurred figures and the third layer is that of the backdrop.The tiny blue circles that start of big on the outer most layer and then gradually become smaller as they move towards the inner most frame better represent this depth that Sikander is trying to portray. According to me it is quite difficult to analyze every aspect of Sikander’s paintings because there always seems to be so much going on. One of the reasons that I feel this way is also because of the way she represents movemen t in her paintings. In â€Å"Writing the Written†, the movement is solely portrayed by the various horses.First, the way she draws them in different directions on the outer most border and then by the single house that is shown jumping on the top left edge of the painting. At first, when I read the title â€Å"Writing the Written† I didn’t necessarily understand why she would give the painting that name but then I started notice the writing on the outer most border which seemed like Arabic to me. In an interview Sikander says, â€Å"The text becomes more like horses or there’s the suggestion of movement, and that aspect is my experience of reading the Koran where I would read it with no particular understanding because I was a child.I could read Arabic, but I couldn’t understand it and the memory of it is this amazing visual memory where the beauty of written words supersedes everything else† (Bhabha, Homi). One can see that Sikander used th e Arabic words for the beauty of the language rather than the meaning behind the words. Through these minor details we can see how Sikander incorporates different cultures her painting rather than being this ‘traditional’ artist that many consider her to be.Seeing that Sikander’s artwork consisted of so many traditional figures and symbols, many considered her artwork as that of a traditional Muslim artist who I trying to portray the different between the East and West to her audience. But seeing how she incorporated cultures such as Islamic, Arabic and Hindu in her painting â€Å"Writing the Written†, it seems like she is trying to â€Å"bring together the difference between the East and the East, the nearest difference, the intimacy of difference that can exist within any culture† (Rachel Kent).It took me a while to understand the complexity of her miniature paintings, but in the end I feel that they are as expressive and creative as any other â⠂¬Ëœlarge’ painting because of the addition of intricate details and the incorporation of various cultures. Bibliography Bhabha, Homi. â€Å"ESSAY: THE RENAISSANCE SOCIETY. † SHAHZIA SIKANDER. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. . Rachel Kent, â€Å"Intimate Immensity: Shahzia Sikander’s Multi-Dimensional Art,† Shahzia Sikander, pp. 11-25.

Maymont-Descriptive Paper

Maymont-Descriptive Paper Cody IrvineProfessor Cynthia HalsteadEnglish 106 -71 September 2014A Walk Through Maymont ParkSince I was a young child, my parents have been taking my sister and I to Maymont Park in Richmond, Virginia. One Sunday a month, my parents would wake us up to the smell of bacon and homemade French toast. After breakfast we would all get dressed while my mom made a picnic lunch for the family. Then the four of us, my sister, my parents, and I, would pile into the car and start our twenty-minute journey to Maymont Park.Once we got to Maymont, we could smell barn animals and flowers. It was always a beautiful day, with the bright sun bringing out the vivid color of all of the flowers that filled the entrance. The sound of giggling children filled the air. Everyone is always happy at Maymont. At the gates there was a huge wooden wall with animals painted on it.English: The Dooley Mansion at Maymont, in Richmon...Each animal had a small slot above it connected to a collection bin on the opposi te side so you could donate money to whatever species you would like. My parents would give my sister and I each a dollar, and I always put mine in to the black bear.When we passed the animal donation center, we walked out into a busy and exciting petting zoo. My parents gave me a quarter to get some animal feed from the machine. I went straight to the Billy goats. I loved the excitement they showed when someone had food for them. They would lick the food right out of your hand. I was too happy to care about the sticky slime they left behind from their tongues, but my mom always brought hand sanitizer, and she wouldn't let me...

Management Accounting Group E Stream 2 Essay

Management Accounting Group E Stream 2 Essay Management Accounting Group E Stream 2 Essay Imperial College Business School, London 18th December 2014 Group Assignment Management Accounting Submitted to: Professor Jeremy Fernando Submitted by: Group E, Stream 2 Alaine Sung | Hadrien Jacomino | Mokhtar Ibrahim | Nikhil Gangwani | Ronami Ogulu | Yana Kim PROBLEM 1 Q1 What, if anything, should John Powell do about Frank Duffy’s reluctance to use KEA-priced linerboard manufactured by a Del Norte Paper Company mill in the United States? Answer 1: Transfer pricing: is the setting of the price for goods and services sold between controlled (or related) legal entities within an enterprise. Hence, the major role of the management accounting system is to assign a dollar figure to transactions between different responsibility centers. Purposes: The main purpose is to induce optimal decision-making in a decentralized organization (i.e., to maximize the profit of the entire organization). However, there are other reasons such as; Creating independent profit figures for each division and thus assessing the performance of each division distinctly. Assist with the synchronization of production, sales and pricing decisions of the various divisions (through the use of suitable transfer prices). Further, these prices alert the managers to the value that goods and services have for other segments of the firm. Not only will the transfer price have a significant effect on the reported profit of each profit center, additionally, it will influence the allocation of an organizations resources. Mechanics: Unnecessary for physical money to be exchanged between the two divisions. This price is solely for in-house records. The results of the formula (Transfer Price Ãâ€" quantity of goods exchanged), acts as an expense for the purchasing division center and a revenue for the selling division. Del Norte Paper Company is a fully integrated paper manufacturer. This case primarily involves transfer pricing amongst: DNP Paper Mill International subsidiaries o DNP Italia o DNP Deutschland. The following ‘Figure 1.1’ describes the situation as given in the case study: Figure 1.1 The bids are placed by 22 companies in the range of $340-$550, with most of them within 5% of $400 per ton. DNP Italia places the winning bet of $400 by using the SPOT market cost estimate of linerboard ($220/ton). DNP Deutschland places the bet of $550 by using DNP Paper-Mill cost estimate of linerboard as ($360/ton) Criteria for winning the bet: Lowest bid from a firm viewed as being capable of meeting the customers’ desired delivery and quality standards. The following table illustrates the analysis for the bids placed by the two subsidiaries: Table 1.1 * The cost of linerboard per ton of corrugated box sold is $235. The actual cost per ton of linerboard used is $220. Thus the relevant conversion ratio is (235/220) = 1.07 Pricing for Del Norte Porte Paper Mill Linerboard: Table 1.2 * $385 represents the linerboard cost per ton of corrugated box sold. The actual cost per ton of linerboard used was $360. Thus the relevant ratio is (385/360)=1,07 Table 1.3 In this case we assume that both DNP Italia and DNP Deutschland place a bid of $400 for the African sale, and then further analyse the profit contribution to DNP in all the 4 cases. The conclusion we have from this is that DNP Deutschland is more efficient as a company because their conversion cost is lower ($75) when compared to DNP Italia’s conversion cost ($90). DNP Deutschland could have added more contribution to the company if they would have bought from the Spot Market and placed a bid of $400. Also analysing the two situations it is clear that it is more profitable to buy from the spot market because of

Free Essays on Describe And Explain The Global Patterns Of Earthquakes.

â€Å"Earthquakes are probably the most dramatic of Man’s natural enemies.† (Hallam 1977) â€Å"Earthquakes are vibrations of the earth caused by the rupture and sudden movement of rocks that have been strained beyond their elastic limits.† (Hamblin and Christiansen 2001). Shockwaves are generated when an earthquake occurs. There are three types of seismic waves: Primary waves, secondary waves and surface waves. Earthquakes tend not to be deeper than 700km into the earth. Shallow-focus earthquakes occur from the surface to a depth of 70km. Intermediate-focus earthquakes occur between 70km-300km below the surface and finally deep-focus earthquakes between 300km-700km. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured on a Richter Scale. If the locations of earthquakes are plotted on a map it becomes clearly evident that there is a pattern. Earthquakes are generally concentrated in areas where plates meet. If we plot the areas where shallow, intermediate, and deep focus earthquakes occur it becomes apparent that virtually all deep earthquakes are associated with ocean trenches and island arc structures bordering the Pacific. The reasoning behind this is plate tectonics. The earth can be internally divided into three major areas: The outer crust, the mantle and the core. The rigid outermost layer of the crust comprises of both continental and oceanic crust. Underlying the crust is the mantle, it comprises the largest portion of the earth and finally the innermost portion is the core. Plate tectonics tells us that the earth’s outermost layer (the lithosphere) is broken into both oceanic and continental plates which slide over the uppermost layer of the mantle (the athenosphere). These plates are in constant motion and interact with their boundaries. It is these interactions which are the cause of earthquakes. We now know there are seven major crustal plates about 80km thick and all in constant motion relative to each other. It is along t... Free Essays on Describe And Explain The Global Patterns Of Earthquakes. Free Essays on Describe And Explain The Global Patterns Of Earthquakes. â€Å"Earthquakes are probably the most dramatic of Man’s natural enemies.† (Hallam 1977) â€Å"Earthquakes are vibrations of the earth caused by the rupture and sudden movement of rocks that have been strained beyond their elastic limits.† (Hamblin and Christiansen 2001). Shockwaves are generated when an earthquake occurs. There are three types of seismic waves: Primary waves, secondary waves and surface waves. Earthquakes tend not to be deeper than 700km into the earth. Shallow-focus earthquakes occur from the surface to a depth of 70km. Intermediate-focus earthquakes occur between 70km-300km below the surface and finally deep-focus earthquakes between 300km-700km. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured on a Richter Scale. If the locations of earthquakes are plotted on a map it becomes clearly evident that there is a pattern. Earthquakes are generally concentrated in areas where plates meet. If we plot the areas where shallow, intermediate, and deep focus earthquakes occur it becomes apparent that virtually all deep earthquakes are associated with ocean trenches and island arc structures bordering the Pacific. The reasoning behind this is plate tectonics. The earth can be internally divided into three major areas: The outer crust, the mantle and the core. The rigid outermost layer of the crust comprises of both continental and oceanic crust. Underlying the crust is the mantle, it comprises the largest portion of the earth and finally the innermost portion is the core. Plate tectonics tells us that the earth’s outermost layer (the lithosphere) is broken into both oceanic and continental plates which slide over the uppermost layer of the mantle (the athenosphere). These plates are in constant motion and interact with their boundaries. It is these interactions which are the cause of earthquakes. We now know there are seven major crustal plates about 80km thick and all in constant motion relative to each other. It is along t...

DQ 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

DQ 10 - Essay Example Procrastination simply refers putting things off to another time. Instead of someone doing what they know they are able to do at the moment, they prefer to leave it for another day. This leads to slow changes in our lives hence lack of personal development. Poor time management is another leading factor that inhibits proper personal growth and development. A person who is unable to manage his time is also a poor planner. Both time wastage and lack of planning means that a person has a schedule does not know how to manage his time. Disorganization and lack of goals also contributes to poor personal development as one has no specific goals that drive him. The lack of discipline to achieve the goals that a person has set for himself or those set at the work place leaves a person stuck in one place hence poor personal growth. As a professional journalist, I have learnt that it is important to conduct myself in a professional manner at all times. First, I have adapted the skill of always been up to date with the changing technology that is used to gather and disseminate information. Through this, I am sure that I will be up to date with the current events, not only in my country but also in the world. This also puts me in a better position to disseminate the information I have gathered to the people who need urgently. I have also acquired the art of confidentiality, especially when it comes to interviews. Most people do not wish to be known publicly yet they still give me very helpful information. For this reason, I have learned to maintain their anonymity at all costs. Professionally, I am able to relate to my colleagues without getting too personal or creating unnecessary conflicts amongst us. To improve my proficiencies, I know I can always refer to my bosses for help whenever the need arises. My colleagues are also in a position to help me in case i ask for their advice. I can also use the internet to improve my

Organizational Analysis paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Analysis paper - Assignment Example The board of directors was however behind the scenes and the principal was the leader. The principal spent most of her time communicating with the parents, students and teachers about issues to do with the vision of the school as well as the policies. She was in charge of calling for faculty meetings in case of any miscommunication, indiscipline cases or other matters concerning the teachers that needed to be passed to the students. Her effective communication skills with the stakeholders of the school led to an increase in funding and donations to the school as a way to appreciate her work. Everything was not always smooth despite the effectiveness of the communication. This was evident in a few cases where there was failure in communication due to various barriers. The most common of these barriers were brought about by channels used to pass the information to the students and teacher as well as other staff in the school which at times proved to be problematic. Most of the time the communication to students was carried through the school’s public addresses system that was connected from the principal’s office to the hallways, classrooms, recreational schools and even the cafeteria. There are times the system failed and especially when there was power blackout as it was not connected to the backup generator. The leadership of the institution was very coordinated based on the fact that the information and decisions came from the board of directors to the principal who carried out the disbursements role very well that the board did not have to worry about finding another channel to pass the news. In fact the effectiveness of the leadership was obvious from the fact that not many people knew about the existence of the board or who were the board members as everyone dealt with the principal. The principal and the deputy principal who were the leaders were not managers but rather servants as well as

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

International Business - Essay Example Pepsi-Co manufactures and sells a large variety of grain -based snacks, sweets, beverages, convenient food items. Pepsi-Co is trying to reduce the negative environmental impacts by taking optimal decisions in the scientific packaging, water, energy initiatives. From the fourth quadrants of 2007, Pepsi-Co announced a new organizational structure which is implemented in 2008. The three businesses have been added in the changed organization structure. 1. PAF- Pepsi-Co American Food including FLNA, LATIN AMERICAN SNACK BUSINSS called LAF, QFNA and also including their Gamesa business in Mexico. 2. Pepsi Co American Beverages (PAB) includes PBNA and also the others Latin American beverages. 3. Pepsi Co international which also includes the other PepsiCo business in Middle East and Africa, UK and Asia. In the first quarter of 2008, six segments were followed for 3 businesses. FLNA LAF QFNA PAB Middle East, Asia, Africa. UK & Europe. The scope of the study depends on the success and fulfilm ent of the objectives. The objective of the report is to analyse the strategic issues undertaken from 2008 including the organizational development issues and integration of the functional strategies of the business, the analysis of corporate culture and a sustainable competitive situation analysis. Methodology The methodology used here is qualitative research. The analysis is based on qualitative analysis and not quantitative analysis. The analysis is not based on the computations of mathematics; it is the judgmental analysis of the environment. The report does not include any mathematical calculation and it requires the delivery of the report in the same way. The qualitative research analysis is sourced from primary and secondary data analysis. The primary data comprises of first hand data which is collected directly from the field. For example, sample survey, population survey. But secondary research is the second hand research. Books, Magazines, Journals, Reports are the example s of the sources of secondary research. The research report in this case comprises of secondary research because primary data collection is time consuming and costly. Main Findings Strategic Management Pepsi Co. applied the diversification strategy as a part of the movement of organizational structural change. The strategic diagnosis can be done with the analysis of external and internal environment. In the changed scenario, the Market trend is as follows: Popularity of diet food items is on the rise where the calories used is low and market for non-carbonated beverages. Second dimension is on great –tasting, various flavours and styles. The consumer perception in this dimension has changed a lot. Consumer prefers the ready to drink and ready to eat products than other traditional food products and for this reason Pepsi also introduced some products under this product line. Consumer does not only limit themselves between the local brands but they want to have the flavour of g lobal branding. PESTEL stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, ecological and Legal Environment (Randall, 2001, p.78). Political Environment: After the shocking recession of 2008, the market protections increased by different governments. So the entry barrier was tough for the international market. The government tried to follow the protectionist policies even in the emerging markets. Economic Environment: During the period of recession

Farm Resource Appraisal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Farm Resource Appraisal - Essay Example Measurement of assets and liabilities of the farm give its clear financial standing which can help identify and solve farming issues. Data for appraisals can be collected from farm records, production and market research and from other consultant agencies. This information can be collected in the form of surveys and interviews. General physical and technical information has to be collected on the farm visit such as soil characteristic, climate and weather, land characteristics, production capacity, production technology and labor inputs. Soil characteristics encompass soil type, texture and soil analysis. Climate takes into account factors such as temperature, rainfall, humidity, droughts and hurricanes. Slope, topography and land elevation fall in land characteristics while yield per acre or hectare is covered in the productions capacity. Production technology accounts for the harvest and post-harvest operations, diesel control and fertilizers. Finally details of labor such as its s ource, distribution and gender are covered in the labor inputs. To prepare a farm resource appraisal, farm visit is necessary and along with the general physical and technical information, farm records and accounts information is also necessary. It can help farmers manage the farm properly since farm records and accounts can assist in measuring economic performance, meeting legal requirements etc. Moreover, operational records serve as a key factor in managing everyday activities of the farm. Financial records on the other hand can be used to evaluate the farm and for tax purposes. Some of the operational records are the farm map, field material input record, labor records and livestock records, income records and farm expense records. Balance sheet, on the other hand is the most commonly used financial record. It states the assets and their sources of financing. It is primarily used for taxation purposes. The farm map should be relative to the scale and must highlight field and oth er major areas of the farm. Field material input record provides information on material inputs such as fertilizers and seeds. Labor records gauge the workers-days per task information. Livestock records provide the information related to keeping livestock. Lastly, revenue and cost are covered in income and farm expenditure record. Sample records (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2006) of field material input, labor, income and expenditure have been presented below for better understanding. Field Material Input Record (figure 1) Area Planted: Date Input Quantity Price per unit Value                                              Total             Labor Record (figure 2) Area Planted: Date Task Persons/ task Hired Value (labor days)          No./ day Cost/ day Value                                                                   Total                   Income Rec ord (figure 3) Area Planted: Date Product Sold Stored       Quantity Price/unit Value $                                                       Total                Farm Expenditure Record (figure 4) Area Planted: Date Item Quantity Price / Unit Value                                                             Total             Farm Inventory The next step is the farm inventory count, recording resources and methods of valuation. The ideal time for farm inventory is a few weeks before

Marketing Communications Strategies and Mix Case Study

Marketing Communications Strategies and Mix - Case Study Example Marketing communication refers to the use of messages and media to communicate information about products to the market. Marketing communication strategies entail advertising, branding, public relations, promotions, and marketing among others. These strategies focus on defining products that are provided to the market with the aim of promoting the company’s brand and image by effectively satisfying demand in the market. Marketing mix, on the other hand, comprises of a set of tactical marketing tools which work hand in hand to fully satisfy the demand in the market. These tools entail the 4P’s of marketing that is the product, price, place, and promotion which play a major role in describing the position of a product in the market. For instance, the UK automobile market is flooded by a plethora of vehicle brands such as Ford, BMW, Skoda, Aston Martin, Volvo and Jaguar which promise to fully meet all the needs and desires of customers. Being an industrial analyst for an investment corporation, I am supposed to come up with a marketing report which has a comparative analysis of the marketing communication strategies and mix used by the automotive industry in UK. Particular attention will be paid on the marketing communication strategies and mix used by the Skoda and BMW companies to market the brand of their vehicles and thus strive in the stiff market competition. The report will also analyze the message and image portrayed to consumers by the campaign strategies and use of media tactics that the two companies employ to market the brand of their vehicles. The effectiveness and efficiency of these mechanisms will be depicted and analyzed to determine the factors that make these companies be successful.

Farm Resource Appraisal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Farm Resource Appraisal - Essay Example Measurement of assets and liabilities of the farm give its clear financial standing which can help identify and solve farming issues. Data for appraisals can be collected from farm records, production and market research and from other consultant agencies. This information can be collected in the form of surveys and interviews. General physical and technical information has to be collected on the farm visit such as soil characteristic, climate and weather, land characteristics, production capacity, production technology and labor inputs. Soil characteristics encompass soil type, texture and soil analysis. Climate takes into account factors such as temperature, rainfall, humidity, droughts and hurricanes. Slope, topography and land elevation fall in land characteristics while yield per acre or hectare is covered in the productions capacity. Production technology accounts for the harvest and post-harvest operations, diesel control and fertilizers. Finally details of labor such as its s ource, distribution and gender are covered in the labor inputs. To prepare a farm resource appraisal, farm visit is necessary and along with the general physical and technical information, farm records and accounts information is also necessary. It can help farmers manage the farm properly since farm records and accounts can assist in measuring economic performance, meeting legal requirements etc. Moreover, operational records serve as a key factor in managing everyday activities of the farm. Financial records on the other hand can be used to evaluate the farm and for tax purposes. Some of the operational records are the farm map, field material input record, labor records and livestock records, income records and farm expense records. Balance sheet, on the other hand is the most commonly used financial record. It states the assets and their sources of financing. It is primarily used for taxation purposes. The farm map should be relative to the scale and must highlight field and oth er major areas of the farm. Field material input record provides information on material inputs such as fertilizers and seeds. Labor records gauge the workers-days per task information. Livestock records provide the information related to keeping livestock. Lastly, revenue and cost are covered in income and farm expenditure record. Sample records (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2006) of field material input, labor, income and expenditure have been presented below for better understanding. Field Material Input Record (figure 1) Area Planted: Date Input Quantity Price per unit Value                                              Total             Labor Record (figure 2) Area Planted: Date Task Persons/ task Hired Value (labor days)          No./ day Cost/ day Value                                                                   Total                   Income Rec ord (figure 3) Area Planted: Date Product Sold Stored       Quantity Price/unit Value $                                                       Total                Farm Expenditure Record (figure 4) Area Planted: Date Item Quantity Price / Unit Value                                                             Total             Farm Inventory The next step is the farm inventory count, recording resources and methods of valuation. The ideal time for farm inventory is a few weeks before

Gasoline Prices Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gasoline Prices - Research Paper Example I hypothesize that bright sunny weather causes gas prices to increase. To conduct this study, data was gathered from the Seattle Queen Ann weather station available from the Weather Underground. The solar data that was used was the peak amount of solar energy during the day, which was used as an indicator of whether the day was sunny or cloudy. Gasoline prices were taken from Seattle Gas Prices, a web site that monitors and records the daily price of gas in Seattle. For this study, a two-month period from November 15, 2008 to January 15, 2009 was used. The two variables were plotted using Microsoft Excel and is presented in a graph as Figure 1. A logarithmic trend line was used on the solar energy variable to average out the swings in the data. If the hypothesis is true, the trend line for gas prices should follow the trend line for solar energy. As can be seen in Figure 1, the relative gas price generally follows the logarithmic daily solar energy line from mid November to January 1, 2009. During the first week of January, there is some divergence, and the hypothesis does not hold true during this period. However, during the second week of January both the solar energy and the gas prices level out and again begin to prove the hypothesis true.

Amy Lowell by Marcia Dinneen Essay Example for Free

Amy Lowell by Marcia Dinneen Essay Amy Lowells Life and Career Marcia B. Dinneen (http://www. english. illinois. edu/maps/poets/g_l/amylowell/life. htm) Amy Lowell was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the daughter of Augustus Lowell and Katherine Bigelow Lawrence. Both sides of the family were New England aristocrats, wealthy and prominent members of society. Augustus Lowell was a businessman, civic leader, and horticulturalist, Katherine Lowell an accomplished musician and linguist. Although considered as almost disreputable, poets were part of the Lowell family, including James Russell Lowell, a first cousin, and later Robert Lowell. As the daughter of a wealthy family, Lowell was first educated at the family home, Sevenels (named by her father as a reference to the seven Lowells living there), by an English governess who left her with a lifelong inability to spell. Her first poem, Chacago, written at age nine, is testament to this problem. In the fall of 1883 Lowell began attending a series of private schools in Brookline and Boston. At school she was the terror of the faculty (Gould, p. 32). Even at Mrs.  Cabots school, founded by a Lowell cousin to educate her own children and the children of friends and relations, Lowell was totally indifferent to classroom decorum. Noisy, opinionated, and spoiled, she terrorized the other students and spoke back to her teachers (Heymann, p. 164). During school vacations Lowell traveled with her family. She went to Europe and to New Mexico and California. On the latter trip she kept a travel journal. Lowell enjoyed writing, and two stories she wrote during this time were printed in Dream Drops; or, Stories from Fairyland (1887), by a Dreamer. The volume was published privately by her mother, who also contributed material, and the proceeds were donated to the Perkins Institute for the Blind. Lowells schooling included the usual classes in English, history, French, literature, and a little Italian. As Lowell later noted, My family did not consider that it was necessary for girls to learn either Greek or Latin (Damon, p. 87). She would also describe her formal education as not amounting to a hill of beans (Benvenuto, p. 6). School ended in 1891, and Lowell made her debut. Described as the most popular debutante of the season, she went to sixty dinners given in her honor. Her popularity was attributed to her skills in dancing and in the art of conversation, but her debut did not produce the expected marriage proposal. Although Lowell had finished formal schooling, she continued to educate herself. Unfortunately, higher education was not an option for Lowell women. She put herself through a rigorous reading program, using her fathers 7,000-volume library and the resources of the Boston Athenaeum (her great-grandfather was one of the founders). Later Lowell would successfully speak out against the proposed relocation of the Athenaeum; this would also become the subject of a poem. Lowells love of books themselves began with her first Rollo book, Rollo Learning to Read, which her mother gave her when she was six. This gift marked the beginning of an enthusiasm for book collecting that would last throughout her life. In 1891 she made her first major purchase of a set of the complete works of Sir Walter Scott with money she had received as a Christmas gift. It was, however, her collection of Keatsiana, including a rare first edition of Lamia inscribed to F. B. from J. K. (Fanny Brawne from John Keats), that put her in the forefront of international book collectors. Following her debut, Lowell led the life of a prominent socialite, visiting, going to parties and the theater, and traveling. Her mother, who had been an invalid for years, died in 1895. A disappointment in love prompted a winter trip to Egypt in 1897-1898. Lowell had accepted the proposal of a Bostonian whom she loved, but before the engagement was formally announced he became entangled elsewhere (Damon, p. 120). The family could do nothing to protect her except guard tenaciously the name of the errant suitor (Gould, p. 65). The trip was also for health reasons. Doctors felt Lowells obesity could be cured by the Egyptian heat and a diet of nothing but tomatoes and asparagus. The regimen almost killed her and resulted in a prolonged nervous collapse. In 1900 Lowells father died, and she bought Sevenels. She also bought a summer home in Dublin, New Hampshire, that she named Broomley Lacey. The area was home to the MacDowell Artists Colony as well as to other notable painters and sculptors. In Brookline Lowell assumed her fathers civic responsibilities. Early in 1902 she spoke against the reappointment of the elderly superintendent of the Brookline public school system. She was the first woman in the Lowell family to make a speech in public (Gould, p. 77). Initially booed, Lowell continued to speak with her usual forthrightness and, at the end, won applause as well as her point. Lowell became a member of the executive committee of the Brookline Education Society and chair of its Library Board. In October 1902 Lowell became a poet. Her interest in verse had been growing beyond her childhood enthusiasm, fueled by her reading Leigh Hunts Imagination and Fancy; or, Selections from the English Poets,which she had found near the ceiling in her fathers library. The volume was a revelation to her, opening a door that might otherwise have remained shut, Lowell remarked (Gould, p. 51). She had become enamored of poetry and the poets Hunt discussed, particularly Keats. After she saw Eleanora Duse perform one October night she wrote her first adult poem, Eleanora Duse. Although some critics say that she was being too hard on herself, Lowell described the 71-line poem as having every cliche and every technical error which a poem can have. Yet she also said, It loosed a bolt in my brain and I found out where my true function lay (Damon, p. 148). At age twenty-eight she had discovered her calling: to be a poet. In 1910 four of Lowells sonnets were accepted for publication by the Atlantic Monthly. A Fixed Idea, published first, appeared in August of that year. By 1912 she had published her first book of poetry, A Dome of Many-Colored Glass; the title came from Percy Bysshe Shelleys Adonais, his elegy for Keats. It was not well received by either the public or the critics. Louis Untermeyer wrote that the book to be brief, in spite of its lifeless classicism, can never rouse ones anger. But, to be briefer still, it cannot rouse one at all (Damon, p. 92). Yet 1912 was also the year that Lowell met actress Ada Dwyer Russell. The friendship between the two women has been described as platonic by some, as lesbian by others; it was, in fact, a Boston marriage. They lived together and were committed to each other until Lowells death. Russell was Lowells companion, providing love and emotional support, as well as the practical skill of organizing Lowells busy life. Biographer Richard Benvenuto observed that Lowells great creative output between 1914 and 1925 would not have been possible without her friends steadying, supporting presence (p. 0). The following year Lowell discovered some poems in Poetry by Hilda Doolittle, signed H. D. Imagiste. Lowell felt an identification with the style of H. D. s poetry and determined to discover more about it. Armed with a letter of introduction from Poetry editor Harriet Monroe, Lowell traveled to London to meet Ezra Pound, head of the imagist movement. In London Lowell not only learned about imagism and free verse from Pound, but she also met many poets, several of whom became lifelong friends. Over the years Lowell would develop many literary friendships that resulted in an enormous volume of literary correspondence, requiring Lowell to employ two full-time secretaries. Lowell not only supported and encouraged other poets with her writing, such as her favorable review of Robert Frosts North of Boston in the New Republic (20 Feb. 1915), but also with money and gifts. Lowells poems began to appear in increasing numbers in journals, and she was becoming a prolific writer of essays and reviews. Pound had requested the inclusion of her poem In a Garden in his anthology Des Imagistes(1914). Later Lowell and Pound would have a falling out over the direction of the imagist movement, and Pound would call the movement, as adapted by Lowell, Amygism. Lowell became the spokesperson of imagism, leading the fight for the renewal of poetry in her homeland (Francis, p. 510), and her efforts were tireless. She traveled throughout the country, selling the new poetry. Her own volume Sword Blades and Poppy Seed (1914), written in free verse and polyphonic prose, a Lowell invention, brought her an instantaneous phenomenal rise to fame (Gould, p. 139). Lowells first book of criticism, Six French Poets (1915), based on a series of her lectures, was also well received. Lowell was publishing a book a year, alternating between volumes of short verse and longer poems. Men, Women and Ghosts (1916) was highly regarded and contained Patterns one of her most famous poems. In it an eighteenth-century woman, walking in her garden, contemplates a future that has suddenly become empty because of the loss of her fiance in battle; she mourns the fact that the Patterns of her role required her to remain chaste before marriage. The next year she published another critical volume, Tendencies in Modern American Poetry, which included essays on six contemporary poets: Edwin Arlington Robinson, Robert Frost, Edgar Lee Masters, Carl Sandburg, H. D. , and John Gould Fletcher. Lowell also published anthologies of imagist poets in 1915, 1916, and 1917. Her next volume of poetry, Can Grandes Castle (1918), included four long poems; the title was taken from the name of the refuge where Dante, the Florentine exile, wrote portions of his Divine Comedy. Inspired by her lifelong interest in the Orient, Pictures of a Floating World (1919) is a translation of the Japanese word ukiyo-e, a term commonly associated with a form of eighteenth-century Japanese painting. It includes 174 short, free verse lyrics, considered by some as overtly erotic. For example, A Decade and The Weathercock Points South are described as a celebration of lesbian devotion. Legends (1921) contains eleven longer poems, and Fir-Flower Tablets (1921) is a collection of poems based on translations of ancient Chinese verse. Since Lowell did not read Chinese, she was dependent on English translations by Florence Wheelock Ayscough, which Lowell then turned back into poetry. A Critical Fable (1922) is a long, humorous poem, evaluating the state of contemporary poetry. Originally published anonymously, the poem pokes fun at fellow poets and at Lowell herself in lines of rhymed couplets. The poem was modeled on James Russell Lowells A Fable for Critics (1848). Her last publication was the momentous biography , John Keats (1925). In 1921 Lowell had given an address at Yale honoring Keats on the one-hundredth anniversary of his birth. The lecture stimulated her to write the book, which minutely examines Keatss life and corrects some long-standing misconceptions about him. Lowell was also the first biographer to see Fanny Brawne in a favorable light. The book was well received in the United States but not in Britain, where she was accused of writing a psychological thriller rather than a literary biography. Lowell was angry and heartbroken but in typical fashion determined to confront the critics on their own turf.

Digital Composite in Special Effects

Digital Composite in Special Effects INTRODUCTION A massive spacecraft hovers over New York, throwing the entire city into shadow. A pair of lizards, sitting in the middle of a swamp, discusses their favourite beer. Dinosaurs, long extinct, live and breathe again, and the Titanic, submerged for decades, sails once more. Usually the credit of all these fantastic visuals given to CGI (computer generated imagery) or computer graphics. Computer graphics techniques, in conjunction with a myriad of other disciplines, are commonly used for the creation of visual effects in feature films. Digital compositing is an essential part of visual effects that are everywhere in the entertainment industry today: In feature films, television commercials, and many TV shows, and its growing. Even a non effects film will have visual effects. Whatever will be the genre of the movie there will always be something that needs to be added or removed from the picture to tell the story. It is the short description of what visual effect are all about adding elements to a picture that is not there, or removing something that you dont want to be there. Digital composite plays a key role in all visual effects. It is the digital compositor who takes these disparate elements, no matter how they were created, and blends them together artistically into a seamless, photorealistic whole. The digital compositors mission is to make them appear as if they were all shot together at the same time, under the same lights with the same camera, then give the shots a final artistic polish with superb color correction. I mentioned earlier that digital compositing is growing. There are two primary reasons for this. First is the steady increase in the use of CGI for visual effects, and every CGI element needs to be composited. The second reason for the increase in digital compositing is that the compositing software and hardware technologies are also advancing on their own track, separate from CGI. This means that visual effects shots can be done faster, more cost effectively, and with higher quality. There has also been a general rise in the awareness of the film-makers in what can be done with digital compositing, which makes them more sophisticated users. STRUCTRURE Introduction Phase I will deal with the history and introduction of compositing. Olden compositing techniques such as optical compositing, in camera effect, background projection, hanging miniatures etc. Apart from all that I will focus on how they were creating ground breaking effects during optical era. What are the advantage and disadvantage of optical compositing? Information hub Phase I will deal with the core concept of live action and Multipass composting with a brief introduction of stereoscopic composting. Under live action compositing I will discuss the basics and core concept of live action compositing such as rotoscopy, retouching, motion tracking with more emphasis on keying. Inside multipass compositing section simply I will focus on core concept of passes, different types of passes, use of passes. Finally a brief introduction of Stereoscopic compositing an emerging technology in the world of computer graphics. Incredible masters Phase I will discuss upon the contribution of pioneers of this sector to develop it up to this extent and also give a brief introduction of the new technologies being used and developed. Case study Phase which is also the last segment of my dissertation proposal I will discuss on the ground breaking effect techniques used in the Hollywood blockbusters such as Terminator, Golden compass and Finding Nemo etc. History of compositing In the summer of 1857, the Swedish-born photographer Oscar G. Rejlander set out to create what would prove to be the most technically complicated photograph that had ever been produced. Working at his studio in England, Rejlander selectively combined the imagery from 32 different glass negatives to produce a single, massive print. It is one of the earliest examples of what came to be known as a combination print. Motion picture photography came about in the late 1800s, and the desire to be able to continue this sort of image combination drove the development of specialized hardware to expedite the process. Optical printers were built that could selectively combine multiple pieces of film, and optical compositing was born. Introduction of Optical compositing Not to be confused with laboratory effects done on an optical printer these use optical attachments which go in front of the lens. The intention of such apparatus is to modify the light path between subject and lens. There are many such accessories available for hire or purchase but frequently they will be constructed for a particular shot. Techniques of Optical compositing Glass Shot Otherwise known as the glass painting, Hall Process or (erroneously) glass matte or matte painting, the glass shot takes the mask painted on a sheet of glass to its logical conclusion. The next stage of complexity is to make these additions to the frame representational instead of purely graphic. For example, lets say that we have a wide shot of a farm with fields stretching off into the distance and require a silhouetted fence in the foreground. If the camera is focused on the distant hills then, with a sheet of glass positioned at the hyper focal distance (near point still in focus when focused on infinity), we can actually paint the piece of fence on to the glass. This is made possible by the two-dimensional quality of motion pictures. So long as nothing passes between the glass and the lens, and the glass is in focus, then an object painted to be the correct size for the scene when viewed through the lens will appear to be actually in that scene. Thus the silhouette of a fence pa inted on the glass will appear totally believable, even if a cowboy and his horse pass by in the scene beyond. This minor change actually represents a fundamental leap in our effects capability, for now our mask has become a modification to the picture content itself rather than just an external decoration. However, once we have made this philosophical leap it is a small step to move on to creating photorealistic additions to the scene. The next stage is to light the camera side of our glass and paint details into the image thereon. In the example of the fence we now paint in the texture of the wood and expose it as required to blend in with the scene. Glass painting is a fundamental technique of VFX and can be applied to the latest digital equipment just as easily as it was to film prior to the First World War. Basically, if opaque paints are used (or are painted over an opaque base paint) what one is effectively doing is covering over detail in the real image with imaginary additions. This is a replacement technique and is the first of many in the VFX arsenal which permits falsification of real images. Rotoscopy Frequently, it comes to pass that a character or object that was not shot on bluescreen needs to be isolated for some reason, perhaps to composite something behind it or maybe give it a special color correction or other treatment. This situation requires the creation of a matte without the benefit of a bluescreen, so the matte must be rotoscoped, which means it is drawn by hand, frame by frame. This is a slow and labor-intensive solution, but is often the only solution. Even a bluescreen shot will sometimes require rotoscoping if it was not photographed well and a good matte cannot be extracted. Virtually all compositing programs have some kind of rotoscoping capability, but some are more capable than others. There are also programs available that specialize in just rotoscoping. Each frame of the picture is put up on the monitor and the roto artist traces an outline around the characters outer edge. These outlines are then fi lled in with white to create the familiar white matte on a black background, like the example in Figure 1-12. Large visual effects studios will have a dedicated roto department, and being a roto artist is often an entry-level position for budding new digital compositors. There has even been a recent trend to use rotoscoping rather than bluescreen shots for isolating characters for compositing in big-effects fi lms. I say big-effects films because it is much more labor-intensive, and therefore, expensive to rotoscope a shot than to pull a bluescreen matte. The big creative advantage is that the director and cinematographer can shoot their scenes on the set and on location naturally, rather than having to shoot a separate bluescreen shot with the talent isolated on a bluescreen insert stage. This allows the movies creators to focus more on the story and cinematography rather than the special effects. But again, this is a very expensive approach. Rotoscoping is the process of drawing a matte frame-by-frame over live action footage. Starting around the year 50 B.C. (Before Computers), the technique back then was to rear project a frame of fi lm onto a sheet of frosted glass, then trace around the target object. The process got its name from the machine that was used to do the work, called a rotoscope. Things have improved somewhat since then, and today we use computers to draw shapes using the splines we saw in Chapter 5. The difference between drawing a single shape and rotoscoping is the addition of animation. Rotoscoping entails drawing a series of shapes that follow the target object through a sequence of frames. Rotoscoping is extremely pervasive in the world of digital compositing and is used in many visual effects shots. It is also labor intensive because it can take a great deal of time to carefully draw moving shapes around a moving target frame by frame. It is often an entry-level position in the trade and many a digital compositor has started out as a roto artist. There are some artists who fi nd rotoscoping rewarding and elect to become roto kings (or queens) in their own right. A talented roto artist is always a valued member of the visual effects team. In this chapter, we will see how rotoscoping works and develop an under standing of the entire process. We will see how the spline-based shapes are controlled frame-by-frame to create outlines that exactly match the edges of the target object, as well as how shapes can be grouped into hierarchies to improve productivity and the quality of the animation. The sections on interpolation and keyframing describe how to get the computer to do more of the work for you, and then fi nally the solutions to the classic problems of motion blur and semi-transparency are revealed. ABOUT ROTOSCOPING Today, rotoscoping means drawing an animated spline-based shape over a series of digitized fi lm (or video) frames. The computer then renders the shape frame-byframe as a black and white matte, which is used for compositing or to isolate the target object for some special treatment such as color correction. The virtue of roto is that it can be used to create a matte for any arbitrary object on any arbitrary background. It does not need to be shot on a bluescreen. In fact, roto is the last line of defense for poorly shot bluescreens in which a good matte cannot be created with a keyer. Compositing a character that was shot on an uncontrolled background is illustrated beginning with Figure 6-4. The bonny lass was shot on location with the original background. A roto was drawn (Figure 6-5) and used to composite the woman over a completely new background (Figure 6-7). No bluescreen was required. There are three main downsides to roto. First, it is labor intensive. It can take hours to roto a simple shot such as the one illustrated in Figure 6-4, even assuming it is a short shot. More complex rotos and longer shots can take days, even weeks. This is hard on both schedules and budgets. The second downside to roto is that it can be diffi cult to get a high quality, convincing matte with a stable outline. If the roto artist is not careful, the edges of the roto can wobble in and out in a most unnatural, eye-catching way. The third issue is that rotos do not capture the subtle edge and transparency nuances that a well-done bluescreen shot does using a fi ne digital keyer. If the target object has a lot of very fi ne edge detail like a frizzy head of hair, the task can be downright hopeless. SPLINES In Chapter 5, we fi rst met the spline during the discussion of shapes. We saw how a spline was a series of curved lines connected by control points that could be used to adjust the curvature of those lines. We also used the metaphor of a piano wire to describe the stiffness and smooth curvature of the spline. Here we will take a closer look at those splines and how they are used to create outlines that can fi t any curved surface. We will also push the piano wire metaphor to the breaking point. A spline is a mathematically generated line in which the shape is controlled by adjustable control points. While there are a variety of mathematical equations that have been devised that will draw slightly different kinds of splines, they all work in the same general way. Figure 6-8 reviews the key components of a spline that we saw in Chapter 5, which consisted of the control point, the resulting spline line, and the handles that are used to adjust its shape. In Figure 6-8, the slope of the spline at the control point is being adjusted by changing the slope of the handles from position 1 to position 2 to position 3. For clarity, each of the three spline slopes is shown in a different color. The handles can also adjust a second attribute of the spline called tension, which is shown in Figure 6-9. As the handles are shortened from position 1 to 2 to 3, the piano wire loses stiffness and bends more sharply around the control point. A third attribute of a spline is the angle where the two line segments meet at the control point. The angle can be an exact 180 degrees, or fl at, as shown in Figure 6-8 and Figure 6-9, which makes it a continuous line. However, a break in the line can be introduced like that in Figure 6-10, putting a kink in our piano wire. Figure 6-10 Adjusting angle. Figure 6-11 Translation. Figure 6-12 Mr. Tibbs. Figure 6-13 Roto spline. Figure 6-14 Finished roto. In addition to adjusting the slope, tension, and angle at each control point, the entire shape can be picked up and moved as a unit. It can be translated (moved, scaled, and rotated), taking all the control points with it. This is very useful if the target has moved in the frame, such as with a cam era pan, but has not actually changed shape. Of course, in the real world it will have both moved and changed shape, so after the spline is translated to the new position, it will also have to be adjusted to the new shape. Now lets pull together all that we have learned about splines and how to adjust them to see how the process works over an actual picture. Our target will be the insufferable Mr. Tibbs, as shown in Figure 6-12, which provides a moving target that also changes shape frame-by-frame. Figure 6-13 shows the completed shape composed of splines with the many control points adjusted for slope, tension, and angle. The fi nished roto is shown in Figure 6-14. One very important guideline when drawing a shape around a target object is to use as few control points as possible that will maintain the curvatures you need. This is illustrated by the shape used to roto the dapper hat in Figure 6-15, which uses an excessive number of control points. The additional points increase the amount of time it takes to create each keyframe because there are more points to adjust each frame. They also increase the chances of introducing chatter or wobble to the edges. ARTICULATED ROTOS Things can get messy when rotoscoping a complex moving object such as a person walking. Trying to encompass an entire character with crossing legs and swinging arms into a single shape like the one used for the cat in Figure 6-13 quickly becomes unmanageable. A better strategy is to break the roto into several separate shapes, which can then be moved and reshaped independently. Many compositing programs also allow these separate shapes to be linked into hierarchical groups where one shape is the child of another. When the parent shape is moved, the child shape moves with it. This creates a skeleton with moveable joints and segments rather like the target object. This is more effi cient than dragging every single control point individually to redefi ne the outline of the target. When the roto is a collection of jointed shapes like this, it is referred to as an articulated roto. Figure 6-17 through Figure 6-19 illustrates a classic hierarchical setup. The shirt and lantern are separate shapes. The left and right leg shapes are children of the shirt, so they move when the shirt is moved. The left and right feet are children of their respective legs. The light blue lines inside the shapes show the skeleton of the hierarchy. To create frame 2 (Figure 6-18), the shirt was shifted a bit, which took both of the legs and feet with it. The leg shapes were then rotated at the knee to reposition them back over the legs, and then the individual control points were touched up to complete the fi t. Similarly, each foot was rotated to its new position and the control points touched up. As a result, frame 2 was made in a fraction of the time it took to create frame 1. Frame 3 was similarly created from frame 2 by shifting and rotating the parent shape, followed by repositioning the child shapes, then touching up control points only where needed. This workfl ow essentially allows much of the work invested in the previous frame to be recycled into the next with just minor modifi cations. There is a second, less obvious advantage to the hierarchical animation of shapes, and that is it results in a smoother and more realistic motion in the fi nished roto. If each and every control point is manually adjusted, small variations become unavoidable from frame to frame. After all, we are only human. When the animation is played at speed, the spline edges will invariably wobulate (wobble and fl uctuate). By translating (moving) the entire shape as a unit, the spline edges have a much smoother and more uniform motion from frame to frame. INTERPOLATION Time to talk temporal. Temporal, of course, refers to time. Since rotos are a frameby- frame animation, time and timing are very important. One of the breakthroughs that computers brought to rotoscoping, as we have seen, is the use of splines to defi ne a shape. How infi nitely fi ner to adjust a few control points to create a smooth line that contours perfectly around a curved edge, rather than to draw it by hand with a pencil or ink pen. The second, even bigger breakthrough is the ability of the computer to interpolate the shapes, where the shape is only defi ned on selected keyframes, and then the computer calculates the in-between (interpolated) shapes for you. A neat example of keyframe interpolation is illustrated in Figure 6-20. For these fi ve frames, only the fi rst and last are keyframes, while the three in-between frames are interpolated by the computer. The computer compares the location of each control point in the two keyframes, then calculates a new position for them at each in-between frame so they will move smoothly from keyframe 1 to keyframe There are two very big advantages to this interpolation process. First, the number of keyframes that the artist must create is often less than half the total number of frames in the shot. This dramatically cuts down on the labor that is required for what is a very labor-intensive job. Second, and perhaps even more important, is that when the computer interpolates between two shapes, it does so smoothly. It has none of the jitters and wobbles that a clumsy humanoid would have introduced when repositioning control points on every frame. Bottom line, computer interpolation saves time and looks better. In fact, when rotoscoping a typical character it is normal to keyframe every other frame. The interpolated frames are then checked, and only an occasional control point touch-up is applied to the in-between frames as needed. KEYFRAMES In the previous discussion about shape interpolation, the concept of the keyframe was introduced. There are many keyframing strategies one may use, and choosing the right one can save time and improve the quality of the fi nished roto. What follows is a description of various keyframe strategies with tips on how you might choose the right one for a given shot. On 2s A classic and oft used keyframe strategy is to keyframe on 2s, which means to make a keyframe at every other frame—that is, frame 1, 3, 5, 7, and so forth. The labor is cut in half and the computer smoothes the roto animation by interpolating nicely in between each keyframe. Of course, each interpolated frame has to be inspected and any off-target control points must be nudged into position. The type of target where keyframing on 2s works best would be something like a walking character shown in the example in Figure 6-21. The action is fairly regular, and there are constant shape changes, so frequent keyframes are required. Figure 6-21 Keyframe on 2s. On shots where the action is regular but slower, it is often fruitful to try keyframing on 4s (1, 5, 9, 13, etc.), or even 8s (1, 9, 17, 25, etc.). The idea is to keep the keyframes on a binary number (on 2s, on 4s, on 8s, etc.) for the simple reason that it ensures you will always have room for a new keyframe exactly halfway between any two existing keyframes. If you keyframe on 3s (1, 4, 7, etc.) for example, and need to put a new keyframe between 1 and 4, the only choice is frame 2 or 3, neither of which is exactly halfway between them. If animating on 4s (1, 5, 9, etc.) and you need to put a new keyframe between 5 and 9, frame 7 is exactly halfway between them. Figure 6-22 shows the sequence of operations for keyframing a shot on 2s in two passes by fi rst setting keyframes on 4s, then in-betweening those on 2s. Pass 1 sets a keyframe at frames 1, 5, and 9, then on a second pass the keyframes are set for frames 3 and 7. The work invested in creating keyframes 1 and 5 is partially recovered when creating the keyframe at frame 3, plus frame 3 will be smoother and more natural because the control points will be very close to where they should be and only need to be moved a small amount. Bifurcation Another keyframing strategy is bifurcation, which simply means to fork or divide into two. The idea is to create a keyframe at the fi rst and last frames of a shot, then go to the middle of the shot and create a keyframe halfway between them. You thengo mid-way between the fi rst keyframe and the middle keyframe and create a new keyframe there, then repeat that for the last frame and middle frame, and keep subdividing the shot by placing keyframes midway between the others until there are enough keyframes to keep the roto on target. The situation where bifurcation makes sense is when the motion is regular and the object is not changing its shape very radically such as the sequence in Figure 6- 23. If a keyframe were fi rst placed at frame 1 and frame 10, then the roto checked mid-way at frame 5 (or frame 6, since neither one is exactly mid-way), the roto would not be very far off. Touch up a few control points there, and then jump midway between frames 1 and 5 and check frame 3. Touch up the control points and jump to frame 8, which is (approximately) mid-way between the keyframes at frame 5 and frame 10. Figure 6-24 illustrates the pattern for bifurcation keyframing. While you may end up with keyframes every couple of frames or so, bifurcation is more effi cient than simply starting a frame 1 and keyframing on 2s, that is, assuming the target object is suitable for this approach. This is because the computer is interpolating the frames for you, which not only puts your shapes control points close to the target to begin with, but it also moves and pre-positions the control points for you in a way that the resulting animation will be smoother than if you tried to keyframe it yourself on 2s. This strategy effi ciently recycles the work invested in each keyframe into the new in-between keyframe. Extremes Very often the motion is smooth but not regular, such as the gyrating airplane in Figure 6-28, which is bobbing up and down as well as banking. In this situation, a good strategy is to keyframe on the extremes of the motion. To see why, consider the airplane path plotted in Figure 6-25. The large dots on the path represent the airplanes location at each frame of the shot. The change in spacing between the dots refl ects the change in the speed of the airplane as it maneuvers. In Figure 6-26, keyframes were thoughtlessly placed at the fi rst, middle, and last frames, represented by the large red dots. The small dots on the thin red line represent where the computer would have interpolated the rotos using those keyframes. As you can see, the interpolated frames are way off the true path of the airplane. However, in Figure 6-27, keyframes were placed on the frames where the motion extremes occurred. Now the interpolated frames (small red dots) are much closer to the true path of the airplane. The closer the interpolation is to the target, the less work you have to do and the better the results. To fi nd the extremes of a shot, play it in a viewer so you can scrub back and forth to make a list of the frames that contain the extremes. Those frames are then used as the keyframes on the fi rst roto pass. The remainder of the shot is keyframed by using bifurcation. Referring to a real motion sequence in Figure 6-28, the fi rst and last frames are obviously going to be extremes so they go on our list of keyframes. While looking at the airplanes vertical motion, it appears to reach its vertical extreme on frame 3. By placing keyframes on frame 1, 3, and 10, we stand a good chance of getting a pretty close fi t when we check the interpolation at frame 7 (see Figure 6-29). If the keyframe were placed at the midpoint on frame 5 or 6, instead of the motion extreme at frame 3, the roto would be way off when the computer interpolates it at frame 3. Final Inspection Regardless of the keyframe strategy chosen, when the roto is completed it is time for inspection and touch-up. The basic approach is to use the matte created by the roto to set up an inspection version of the shot that highlights any discrepancies in the roto, then go back in and touch up those frames. After the touch-up pass, one fi nal inspection pass is made to confi rm all is well. Figure 6-30 through Figure 6-32 illustrates a typical inspection method. The roto in Figure 6-31 was used as a mask to composite a semi-transparent red layer over the fi lm frame in Figure 6-32 to highlight any discrepancies in the roto. It shows that the roto falls short on the white bonnet at the top of the head and overshoots on the side of the face. The roto for this frame is then touched up and the inspection version is made again for one last inspection to confi rm all the fi xes and that there are no new problems. Using this red composite for inspection will probably not work well when rotoscoping a red fi re engine in front of a brick building. Feel free to modify the process and invent other inspection setups based on the color content of your personal shots. MOTION BLUR One of the historical shortcomings of the roto process has been the lack of motion blur. A roto naturally produces clean sharp edges as in all the examples we have seen so far, but in the real world, moving objects have some degree of motion blur where their movement has smeared their image on the fi lm or in the video. Figure 6-33 shows a rolling ball of yarn with heavy motion blur. The solution is an inner and outer spline that defi nes an inside edge that is 100% solid, and an outside edge that is 100% transparent as shown in the example in Figure 6-34. The roto program then renders the matte as 100% white from the inner spline graduating off to black at the outer spline. This produces a motion-blurred roto such as the one shown in Figure 6-35. Even if there is no apparent motion blur in the image, it is often benefi cial to gently blur the rotos before using them in a composite to soften their edges a bit, especially in fi lm work. One problem that these inner and outer splines introduce, of course, is that they add a whole second set of spline control points to animate which increases the labor of an already labor intensive process. However, when the target object is motion blurred, there is no choice but to introduce motion blur in the roto as well. A related issue is depth of fi eld, where all or part of the target may be out of focus. The bonny lass in Figure 6-4, for example, actually has a shallow depth of fi eld so her head and her near shoulder are in focus, but her far shoulder is noticeably out of focus. One virtue of the inner and outer spline technique is that edge softness can be introduced only and exactly where it is needed so the entire roto does not need to be blurred. This was done for her roto in Figure 6-5. SEMI-TRANSPARENCY Another diffi cult area for rotoscoping is a semi-transparent object. The main difficulty with semi-transparent objects is that their transparency is not uniform as some areas are denser than others. The different levels of transparency in the target mean that a separate roto is required for each level. This creates two problems. The fi rst is that some method must be devised for reliably identifying each level of transparency in the target so it may be rotoscoped individually, without omission or overlap with the other regions. Second, the roto for each level of transparency must be made unique from the others in order to be useful to the compositor. A good example of these issues is the lantern being carried by our greenscreen boy. A close-up is shown in Figure 6-36. When a matte is created using a high quality digital keyer (Figure 6-37), the variable transparency of the frosted glass becomes apparent. If this object needed to be rotoscoped to preserve its transparency, we would n eed to create many separate roto layers, each representing a different degree of transparency. This is usually done y making each roto a different brightness; a dark gray roto for the very transparent regions, medium brightness for the medium transparency, and a bright roto for the nearly solid transparency. While it is a hideous task, I have seen it done successfully. Motion tracking and Stabilizing MOTION TRACKING One of the truly wondrous things that a computer can do with moving pictures is motion tracking. The computer is pointed to a spot in the picture and then is released to track that spot frame after frame for the length of the shot. This produces tracking data that can then be used to lock another image onto that same spot and move with it. The ability to do motion tracking is endlessly useful in digital compositing and you can be assured of getting to use it often. Motion tracking can be used to track a move, a rotate, a scale, or any combination of the three. It can even track four points to be used with a corner pin. One frequent application of motion tracking is to track a mask over a moving target. Say you have created a mask for a target object that does not move, but there is a camera move. You can draw the mask around the target on frame 1, then motion track the shot to keep the mask following the target throughout the camera move. This is much faster and is of higher quality than rotoscoping the thing. Wire and rig removal is another very big use for motion tracking. A clean piece of the background can be motion tracked to cover up wires or a rig. Another important application is monitor screen replacement, where the four

CIA Essay -- essays research papers

The Central Inteligence Agency The CIA is one of the U.S. foreign inteligency agencies, responsible for getting and analyzing information about foreign government, corporations, individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. government. The State Department's Bureau or inteligence and reserch and theDefense Department'sdefense inteligence agency comprise the other two. Its headquarters is inLangley, Virginia, across the Potomac River from D.C. The Agency, created in 1947 by President Harry S. Trueman, is a descendant of the Office of stratigic Services(OSS) of World War 2. The OSS was dissolved in October 1945 but William J. Jonavan, the creator of the OSS, had submitted a proposal to President Roosevelt in 1944. He called for a new organization having direct Presidential supervision, "which will procure intelligence both by overt and covert methods and will at the same time provide intelligence guidance, determine national intelligence objectives, and correlate the intel ligence material collected by all government agencies." Despite strong opposition from the military, the State Department, and the FBI, Truman established the Central Intelligence Group in January 1946. Later under the National Security Act of 1947, the National Security council and the Central Intelligence Agency were established. In 1949, the Central Inteligence Agency Act (also called "Public Law 110") was passed, permitting the agency to use confidential fiscal and administrative procedures and exempting it from many of the usual limitations on the use of federal funds. The act also exempted the CIA from having to disclose its "organization, functions, officials, titles, salaries, or numbers of personnel employed." It also created a program called "PL-110" to handle defectors and other "essential aliens" outside normal immigration procedures, as well as give those persons cover stories and economic support. The Central Intelligence Agency reports to U.S. Congressional committees but also answers to the President directly. The National Security Advisor is a permanent cabinet member responsible for briefing the President on pertinent information collected from all U.S. intelligence agenci... ... Sept. 11th, 2001, terrorist attack on theWorld Trade Center and the unreliability of U.S. intelligence onWeapons of mass Destruction in Iraq have been a focus of intense scrutiny in the U.S. in 2004 particularly in the context of the 9/11 Commision , the continuing armed resistance against U.S. occupation of Iraq, and the widely perceived need for systematic review of the respective roles of the CIA, FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency. On July 9th, 2004 the Senate report of Pre-war Intelligenceon Iraq of the Senate Intelligence Committe stated that the CIA described the danger presented by Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq in an unreasonable way, largely unsupported by the available intelligence. In a briefing held Sept 15th, 2001 George Tenet presented the Worldwide Attack Matrix, a "top-secret" document describing covert CIA anti-terror operations in 80 countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The actions, underway or being recommended, would range from "routine propaganda to lethal covert action in preparation for military attacks". The plans, if carried out, "would give the CIA the broadest and most lethal authority in its history".

Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

The Two Faces of Gatsby’s Parties   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the 1920’s, everyone is making easy money off the stock market and lives their lives to the fullest potential. The decade, also known as the Jazz Age, brings a lot of glamour into many households; one of which belongs to Jay Gatsby. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby shows his wealth by arranging humongous parties every so often. At these parties most of the people who are in attendance are uninvited, but at the same time are also very rich. Although Gatsby’s parties and the wealth they represent are initially portrayed as alluring and glamorous, in Chapter 3 Fitzgerald subtly undercuts the apparent allure and glamour of both through specific words and images he uses to describe the party scene and the behavior of the partygoers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The scene appears alluring and glamorous, yet there is a subtext, an undercurrent of negative images and commentary running through much of Fitzgerald’s description which undercuts the apparent allure and glamour, suggesting the destructive side of wealth. Both, the positive and the negative images are represented when the servants, the setting and the entertainment are being described in the chapter. Behind the scenes of a beautiful party, there are those that do not have much fun; they are the hard working servants. These servants work long before the party starts to get it set up and during the party to keep everyone happy. Before the party starts the servants have the job of driving people over to the Gatsby’s house, and it is described in a following manner, â€Å"On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city†¦while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains.† From th e impression, it seems like a normal preparation for the party which actually makes it sound very courteous, but a closer look at the description also reveals the hard work that the servants do in order to keep these parties on track. They are like a â€Å"brisk yellow bug† in a way that they give it their all to get their job done, but at the same time they are unappreciated and can be squashed like a â€Å"bug† when their services are not required anymore. During the preparations for the party and the clean up from the old one, there is another huge example of the mistreatment of the servants, â€Å"[servants] toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden shears, repairing the ravages of the night before.

The Marvels of Intellect and Creativity

Several ideas and images sprang to our mind when the name Leonardo da Vinci is mentioned. Most people associate it with famous artworks such as Mona Lisa and The Last Supper while some equate the name to the scholastic concept of the Renaissance man. Numerous accounts demonstrated Leonardo’s contribution in the field of arts and sciences, thus his name become an archetype of a genius. He fascinated the world with his advanced ideas and creative imaginations; moreover, he provided his successors with knowledge and guidelines through his discoveries and achievements. Through his intellect and creativity, Leonardo da Vinci portrayed a significant role in the evolution of modern civilizations. Leonardo da Vinci was born at the dawn of the Renaissance period. The 14th to 16th century was an interesting borderline of the Dark Ages and the Enlightenment Period that inspired Leonardo’s curiosity and observation. The Italian society in his youth was characterized by people with enthusiastic interest in learning and humanism. The concept of humanism during the Renaissance was described by Alfred Burns as â€Å"the growing self-awareness expressed in new styles in art and architecture and in the search for the vanishing intellectual treasures of an idealized classical age† (197). The promotion of humanism and self-awareness brought questions and disagreement in various aspects of society. On the other hand, the pursuance for art and architecture was supported and financed by art patrons, thus ingenious artists were recognized during the Italian Renaissance. One of the recognized advocates of art during the Italian Renaissance was Lorenzo de Medici, who became famous for making Florence a â€Å"community of pleasure† (Taylor 25). Leonardo’s interest in the arts was favored by his time for he was given the opportunity to work with the greatest artists of his era. He worked as an apprentice for Verrocchio and later on he was admitted to be a part of the Guild of Painters (Brown and Rankin 212). His early artworks were commissioned by patrons belonging to religious groups; therefore, it basically consisted of religious icons and commemorative art pieces. The early part of Leonardo’s professional life was spent in Milan, where he worked in the court of Ludovico, duke of Milan. There, he gained extensive experiences and technical skills in designing for the court’s lavish events and occasions. Rachel Taylor used to describe that â€Å"when the wave of Renaissance was crescent in Italy, the powers were five – Florence, Naples, Venice, Rome and Milan – all jealous and splendid† (99). Therefore the city’s excellence also marked Leonardo’s preeminence. During his stay in the court of the duke, he documented his learning and experiences in the field of architecture and engineering by compiling writings and detailed drawings of his designs and ideas. The so-called compilations, which are also referred to as the notebooks and manuscripts, reflected his inquisitive attitude towards the governing principles of matter and knowledge. Aside from Leonardo’s court duties, two of his significant art pieces, the Horse and the Last Supper, were also completed during his stay in the court of Milan. At the fall of the Duke’s power over Milan, Leonardo found his way back to Florence. Not long after this, he worked for Cesare Borgia, a political figure in Italy, as a military architect and engineer (Brown and Rankin 212). Taylor suggested in her book that Cesare’s policies implicated death and violence (350), thus Leonardo considered his return to Florence to work for other patrons. Upon his arrival, he was commissioned to paint the Battle of Anghiari and later on he started working on the famous Mona Lisa. Subsequently, he again visited Milan to work for the French king and according to Brown and Rankin, it was â€Å"a period when he influenced Milanese painting even more than during his early residence there† (212). He moved to Rome and stayed in the Vatican to work for the Pope and later on, he spent his time traveling to various places in Italy. He settled in France, where he spent his last days â€Å"attended by loving friends and at peace, in his chateau of Cloux, near Amboise† (Brown and Rankin 212). The grandeur of Leonardo’s time witnessed the complex transition of the Western civilization. The notion of enlightenment favored and nurtured the formation of Leonardo’s genius, and in return, he endorsed the acknowledgement for man’s potential and power of reason. Various fields of knowledge that benefited from his achievements would include the realms of art, engineering, architecture, mathematics, physics, optics, human anatomy, ornithology and aerodynamics. The Renaissance and its distinguished figures changed and influenced the culture that was formed and influenced by the ancient Greeks and Romans. The society’s classic approach of simply approving or rejecting developing doctrines and customs evolved into a modernistic method that involved analysis and critical thinking. The Enlightenment Period, together with the fame of Humanism, paved the way to scientific revolution. The intellectual reformation is considered as one of the significant events in our history for it influenced and provoked the â€Å"general mind to be more and more preoccupied with the larger problems beyond, which the new knowledge has brought fully into view† (Kidd 1). The transformation was a progressive step to a higher form of learning that encompassed the political, social, economic and religious principles of Western civilization. The propagation of self awareness and modern thinking brought positive and negative changes in the economic and social aspects of the Western civilization. The recognition of artists and notable scholars, as depicted by the fame of Leonardo da Vinci, influenced the flow of trade and commerce. In European countries like Italy, cities such as Florence, Milan and Naples flourished. On the other hand, the method of tax collection was implemented to supervise the increase in trade goods. Movements that aimed for learning and education produced interesting theories and assumptions that motivated man’s quest for truth and expansion of his horizons. The Age of Enlightenment recognized critical thinkers who became famous for contemplating and debating about avant-garde ideas (Hudson 21). Scholars and critical thinkers guided and initiated modern discoveries, inventions and innovations that improved the economy of the Western world. Moreover, political and religious controversies also emerged at the advent of scientific and critical thinking. In Europe, several ranks of power emerged in the form of monarchs, spiritual leaders, merchants and tradesmen, scholars and artisans. The period of enlightenment and the succeeding years depicted a sweeping portrayal of political and religious reformation. The concept of religion was separated from politics because of the humanist principle, which differentiate the distinct boundary between human and divine control. Humanist beliefs and principles intensified but were not universally accepted; therefore it was attacked by counter-arguments that justify the role of idealistic and religious attitudes towards politics. These contrasting views and beliefs about politics and its religious connections were highlighted in the works and theories of several Renaissance philosophers. The Age of Enlightenment introduced several Renaissance Men, who individually imparted significant marvels of intellect and creativity. And as stated by William Hudson, it was as if â€Å"their lives opened itself out to them in all its vast and varied possibilities and they were eager to enter into their great heritage† (7). There are several names from the Renaissance Age that surfaced in the course of evolution and transition of the Western civilization, but the fame of Leonardo da Vinci soared higher than the other for he exhibited exceptional qualities and eccentric fancies. The interesting and unique fusion of excellence in two exclusive areas of knowledge – the arts and sciences, was depicted by his accomplishments as a rational scientist and mystical artist. Leonardo’s paintings and art contributions were highly popular but it is interesting to note that â€Å"there only remain six of his authentic paintings, and two of them were unfinished† (qtd. in Brown and Rankin 211). His study of perspective, examination of proportion and analysis of light and shade were fundamentals of innovative and modern arts. Sketches and details of his fascinating interests were accounted in several of his notebooks entrusted at various European libraries and museums. Some of his notes reflected the complex and controversial topic of dissection, which enlightened basic issues concerning human anatomy. He declared various assertions in human proportion, one of these was his citation that â€Å"the span of a man’s outstretched arms is also equal to his height† (qtd in MacCurdy 217). He delved into unacceptable domains of his time by studying human cadavers in order to understand the unknown; moreover, his philosophy and skepticism reflected the rise of scientific thinking from the unexplained. Scientific observations of his surroundings were recorded together with his theoretical assertions and it anchored the essentials for the study of Botany and Geology. His technical experiences in the field of engineering and physics, together with the application of scientific principles contributed to the development of Western technology. Some of these contributions included his experiences in building war engines, works specializing with hydraulics, and discoveries of possible energy sources. He also provided avant-garde theories in mathematics that foretell the discoveries of modern researchers (Brown and Rankin 211). Leonardo portrayed in his manuscripts an intense fervor for aviation, which was primarily influenced by apparent observation of birds. He documented several notes containing his interest with flight and he called it the â€Å"Treatise on Birds† (qtd. in MacCurdy 211), which he divided into four parts. He continued on studying birds consequently influencing the birth of Ornithology; and at the same time, he persisted on propagating ideas about the flying machine thus providing rough beginnings for Aerodynamics. The quest for knowledge in a creative approach delineates Leonardo da Vinci in a civilization situated between the borderline of savagery and enlightenment. His accomplishments in understanding and in attempting to understand the unknown through scientific approach enhanced the basic political and cultural principles influencing a society. His triumph was earned through the synthesis of intellect and creativity, which encompassed the multiplicity of human civilization. Works Cited Brown, Alice V., and William Rankin. A Short History of Italian Painting. London: J.M.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dent & Sons, 1914. Burns, Alfred. The Power of the Written Word: The Role of Literacy in the History of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Western Civilization. New York: Peter Lang, 1989. Hudson, William H. The Story of Renaissance. London: Casell, 1912. Kidd, Benjamin. The Principles of Western Civilization. New York: Macmillan Company,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1902. MacCurdy, Edward. The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci (Volume 1). New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reynal & Hitchcock, 1938. Taylor, Rachel A. Leonardo the Florentine: A Study in Personality. London: Richards   Ã‚  Ã‚   Press, 1927.