CLIENT SERVER essays

CLIENT SERVER essays Client/Server computing has become the model for new information architecture. This technology will take enterprise wide computing into the 21st century. Computing power has rapidly become distributed and interconnected throughout many organizations through networks of all types of computers. Networked computer systems are taking the form of client/server computing. With client/server computing, end users can handle a broad range of information processing tasks. This included data entry, inquiry response, updating databases, and providing decision support. How do the client/server systems at Helene Curtis illustrate the benefits of client/server computing? The client/server system allows the sales reps the ability to tap into the database to retrieve data about product sales and promotions. The reps cans tap into the systems with their palmpads. The palmpad are hand held computers linking the reps to the company's database system. With the information retrieved, the reps can give store managers fact based advice on products, promotions, and fill orders. The immediate feedback informs the reps where and which products are selling best and the promotion used to sell. The palmpad is way to maintain good relations with retailers, who pass the service to the customers. " Client/Server computing allows many users to share common data resources, including files and databases as well as computer storage and printers. Sharing data and information eliminates the need for personal management of data and/or peripheral devices. Finally, client/server computing allows the integration of geographically distributed users and computing resources into a cohesive computer and communication environment (Senn, 1995, p. 404)." The palmpads let the field sales reps visit, on average, one more store a day. How might this be a competitive advantage for Helene Curtis? Retailers require and expect special services from manufacturers. The ...

Using Namespaces in VB.NET

Using Namespaces in VB.NET The most common way VB.NET namespaces are used by most programmers is to tell the compiler which .NET Framework libraries are needed for a particular program. When you choose a template for your project (such as Windows Forms Application) one of the things that youre choosing is the specific set of namespaces that will be automatically referenced in your project. This makes the code in those namespaces available to your program. For example, some of the namespaces and the actual files they are in for a Windows Forms Application are: System in System.dllSystem.Data in System.Data.dllSystem.Deployment System.Deployment.dllSystem.Drawing System.Drawing.dllSystem.Windows.Forms System.Windows.Forms.dll You can see (and change) the namespaces and references for your project in the project properties under the References tab. This way of thinking about namespaces makes them seem to be just the same thing as code library but thats only part of the idea. The real benefit of namespaces is organization. Most of us wont get the chance to establish a new namespace hierarchy because its generally only done once in the beginning for a large and complicated code library. But, here, youll learn  how to interpret the namespaces that you will be asked to use in many organizations. What Namespaces Do Namespaces make it possible to organize the tens of thousands of .NET Framework objects and all the objects that VB programmers create in projects, too, so they dont clash. For example, if you search .NET for a Color object, you find two. There is a Color object in both: System.DrawingSystem.Windows.Media If you add an Imports statement for both namespaces (a reference may also be necessary for the project properties) ... Imports System.DrawingImports System.Windows.Media ... then a statement like ... Dim a As Color ... will be flagged as an error with the note, Color is ambiguous and .NET will point out that both namespaces contain an object with that name. This kind of error is called a name collision. This is the real reason for namespaces and its also the way namespaces are used in other technologies (such as XML). Namespaces make it possible to use the same object name, such as Color, when the name fits and still keep things organized. You could define a Color object in your own code and keep it distinct from the ones in .NET (or the code of other programmers). Namespace MyColorPublic Class ColorSub Color() Do somethingEnd SubEnd ClassEnd Namespace You can also use the Color object somewhere else in your program like this: Dim c As New MyColor.Colorc.Color() Before getting into some of the other features, be aware that every project is contained in a namespace. VB.NET uses the name of your project (WindowsApplication1 for a standard forms application if you dont change it) as the default namespace. To see this, create a new project (we used the name NSProj and check out the Object Browser tool): Click Here to display the illustrationClick the Back button on your browser to return The Object Browser shows your new project namespace (and the automatically defined objects in it) right along with the .NET Framework namespaces. This ability of VB.NET to make your objects equal to .NET objects is one of the keys to the power and flexibility. For example, this is why Intellisense will show your own objects as soon as you define them. To kick it up a notch, lets define a new project (We named ours NewNSProj in the same solution (use File Add New Project ...) and code a new namespace in that project. And just to make it more fun, lets put the new namespace in a new module (we named it NewNSMod). And since an object must be coded as a class, we also added a class block (named NewNSObj). Heres the code and Solution Explorer to show how it fits together: Click Here to display the illustrationClick the Back button on your browser to return Since your own code is just like Framework code, its necessary to add a reference to NewNSMod in NSProj to use the object in the namespace, even though theyre in the same solution. Once thats done, you can declare an object in NSProj based on the method in NewNSMod. You also need to build the project so an actual object exists to reference. Dim o As New NewNSProj.AVBNS.NewNSMod.NewNSObjo.AVBNSMethod() Thats quite a Dim statement though. We can shorten that by using an Imports statement with an alias. Imports NS NewNSProj.AVBNS.NewNSMod.NewNSObj...Dim o As New NSo.AVBNSMethod() Clicking the Run button displays the MsgBox from the AVBNS namespace, Hey! It worked! When and Why to Use Namespaces Everything so far has really just been syntax - the coding rules that you have to follow in using namespaces. But to really take advantage, you need two things: A requirement for namespace organization in the first place. You need more than just a Hello World project before the organization of namespaces starts to pay off.A plan to use them. In general, Microsoft recommends that you organize your organizations code using a combination of your company name with the product name. So, for example, if youre the Chief Software Architect for Dr. Nos Nose Knows Plastic Surgery, then you might want to organize your namespaces like ... DRNoConsultingReadTheirWatchNChargeEmTellEmNuthinSurgeryElephantManMyEyeLidsRGone This is similar to .NETs organization ... ObjectSystemCoreIOLinqDataOdbcSql The multilevel namespaces are achieved by simply nesting the namespace blocks. Namespace DRNoNamespace SurgeryNamespace MyEyeLidsRGone VB CodeEnd NamespaceEnd NamespaceEnd Namespace or Namespace DRNo.Surgery.MyEyeLidsRGone VB CodeEnd Namespace

Gender Issue in Asia Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Gender Issue in Asia Performance - Essay Example The Balinese traditional theatre is a highly ritualistic performance form with all kinds of beliefs, myths, traditions and spiritual experiences associated with it. This is why Artaud (1995) had observed that â€Å"our (Westerners’) purely verbal theatre [†¦] could learn a lesson in spirituality from Balinese theatre† (p.301). On the other hand, the Western theatre had largely been evolved out of the rural and folk traditions as early as from the beginning of twentieth century (Turner, 2011, p.68). Turner (2011) has discussed this phenomenon by saying, â€Å"developments from the twentieth century onwards in Western theatre practice have often demonstrated an eclecticism that has led to a pick and mix theatrical culture† (p.68). This is manifested in terms of intercultural influences on the Western dance and theatre traditions. Another aspect of Western performances has been the comparative gender-neutrality of it as a whole, when it comes to characterizatio n and casting, which can be attributed to a social structure that has accepted gender equality as its proclaimed ideal. A strong feminist theatre has also been present in the West as early as from 1960s onwards.But in an Asian country like Bali, it is the rituals and traditions that rule almost all the classical dance and theatre forms. And it has been as an extension of the patriarchal social tradition that women were not allowed to perform the traditional dance drama, Topeng, which is mostly about the â€Å"exploits of male heroes".... hen it comes to characterization and casting, which can be attributed to a social structure that has accepted gender equality as its proclaimed ideal. A strong feminist theatre has also been present in the West as early as from 1960s onwards (Code, 2003, p.471). But in an Asian country like Bali, it is the rituals and traditions that rule almost all the classical dance and theatre forms. And it has been as an extension of the patriarchal social tradition that women were not allowed to perform the traditional dance drama, Topeng, which is mostly about the â€Å"exploits of male heroes who are usually involved in a struggle for power† (Slattum, Schraub and Geertz, 2003, p.20). Gender-bending in Balinese theatre has been a topic of interest for many researchers and social observers (Palermo, 2009; Ballinger, 2005). Challenging the predominance of female impersonators in Balinese performing arts, women began to enter the traditional theatre realm in the beginning of the twentieth century but the number of women performers were very limited (Diamond, 2008, p.231). But by the end of twentieth century, the situation has changed to such an extent that: There were all-male arja (classical Balinese operetta) troupes and two women’s mask troupes. Today, there are all-women gamelan groups in every regency and a wave of women performers staging ‘unconventional’ theatre and dance (Ballinger, 2005). Even before the large scale entry of Balinese women performers into Balinese traditional theatre, there were many Western women who learned these dance forms like, Tiffany Strawson, Carmencita Palermo and Jane Turner (Theatre firefly, 2010/11; Palermo, 2009, Turner, 2011). Palermo (2009) has narrated her experience of becoming a Topeng performer and has said, â€Å"when I first began my

International business term paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International business term paper - Essay Example Since, the use of cosmetic products is very common in the market of China; therefore, Ajmal International can enter into this market with the aim of expanding and growing its business in other ancillary areas of the consumer goods industry. Also, the company can enter into the business of herbal cosmetics products in Turkey because the consumers in Turkey show a high preference towards the use of natural and herbal skin care products and make up products (Root 401). Ajmal international is a well equipped business in the GCC as viewed from the perspective of resources and capabilities. The financial profitability of the company and the market penetration capabilities of the business can be identified as key resources for the business that it can use in its international business expansion (Slywotzky and Hoban 441). As per the Resource Based View (RBV) of a company, the basic determinants of the success of a company in a new market are its international market entry strategies and the availability of firm specific resources, assets and capabilities. The VRIO analysis of the company, Ajmal International can be done to evaluate the resources and capabilities of the company which it can use in the international expansion process (Elmuti and Kathawala 78-80). It can be identified that Ajmal International has specific physical and human resources that it can use for setting up a successful business in the cosmetics market of China. The organizational resources of the company, especially the efficient sales force of the team can be used as an important asset for creating valuable strategies in the international business of the company. The skills related to the use of open innovation techniques in the company are found to be useful resources that can be used by the cosmetics company to create competi tive advantage in the Chinese consumer goods market. The resources of Ajmal

Types of Personality Essay Example for Free

Types of Personality Essay According to the test, my personality type is ENFJ (Extraverted Intuitive Feeling Judging). For extraverted my percentage was 56, for Intuitive 38 percent, feeling was 50 percent and judging was 67. This numbers describe me as moderately expressed extravert, moderately expressed intuitive, moderately expressed feeling, and distinctively expressed judging. I believe this test is partially right. I’m easily sympathized for others. I don’t feel I judge a lot, so I think this part is not too accurate, unless I’m unaware of this personality. The extrovert part, I also believe this part is inaccurate because at times, I follow my instincts, but at others I rely on logic. My energy is primarily directed towards school and family. Those are the two most important things around me. Besides that, I like having fun with friends an going out, but that’s not occasional. My decisions are made based on environmental factors and cognitive factors. I think that depending on your beliefs and what is going on around you the decision changes. So depending on my surrounding and cultural background, my decision varies. (Pg 458) The ways I process information is by understanding the subject of something and not only try to memorize it but learn it. I do this a lot when studying for tests. Also when working with something, when I observe someone do something, I have to try it to learn it. I have one type of personal organization, long term plan. I plan my future, for example graduating from school and going to school of medicine. I don’t frequently organize my short term plans. They just happen as life goes on. I sometimes do, but it has to be something very important.

Edgar Allan Poe :: essays research papers

Edgar Allan Poe was a master of his craft, gifted with the talent of introducing each reader to his or her own fears. As the first writer to compose tales of horror, death, and mystery into literature and poetry, he is blessed, maybe even cursed, with an imagination that set higher standards in the field of writing. However sinister or dark it may be, Poe’s writing continues to have an impact on the world of writing. A look into Poe’s childhood might shed some light on where his fascination with death comes from.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Edgar Allan Poe was born in 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts to drifting actor parents. Denying his parental responsibilities, Edgar’s father abandoned his wife and children, leaving her to support the family as best she could. He died somewhere around 1810. His mother traveled through various cities acting in as many stage performances as she could get, but the struggle eventually took a toll on her health. Towards the end of 1811, shortly after turning 2, while in Richmond, Virginia, she became ill and died. Her three children were put into homes. His brother William died young, his sister Rosalie later became insane, and Edgar was placed into the home of a well-off, yet unsupportive man named John Allan. Allan was emotionally detached from Poe, refusing to even legally adopt the boy. This move would begin a chain of events, eventually triggering a drinking problem, that would cause majority of Poe’s psychological troubles later in life. He was raised in an wealthy home, but lacked the emotional support needed to build determination and confidence in himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Edgar would attend the finest boarding schools to train to be a proper gentleman. But, when it came time to go to the University of Virginia in 1826, his foster father barely gave him enough money to survive. In those days, the average college freshman was nineteen years old. Edgar was certainly wise beyond his years, enrolling in college only a month after his seventeenth birthday. This made it harder on Edgar to survive out on his own at such an early age. John Allan had always been strict and harsh, and sometimes even cruel to Edgar, but this was the first time he denied him the means to survive outside of his home. Adding insult to injury, he also forbade Edgar to study what his heart so desired: poetry.

How to be a Better Health Care Provider Essay

There are different ways to be a better health care provider. It takes practice to do so. Things like problems and communication barriers aren’t going to be the same with everybody. You have to know how to handle different situations with different types of people. When it comes to health care and taking care of patients, you have to do your best in everything to try and help the patient. If there are communication barriers, you have to work around those, find a way to communicate. There are different ways to be a better health care provider. It’s very important to be precise and explicit with your word choice. Your words can mean a lot to a patient so be careful with the words you choose. There can be different situations in health care, you have to know how to handle them all. Most of all you need to know the problem solving steps. You have to identify the problem, list all alternatives, name the consequences of the alternatives, and evaluate and choose the best course of action. You need to be very careful in what you do in situations. All of them won’t be easy, so you must be prepared for the worst at all times. In every health care place there is always team work and consensus. Team work is very important, because you need team work in order to take care of patients. It’s like if you were in sugary and there was one person doing it, that’s not how it works. Multiple people are in on that surgery helping the surgeon, and that’s not the only case it can be used. When a woman is giving birth, there are multiple people helping. No matter what you do in health care there will always be team work, so it’s important to know how to work with others, and handle different people, and personalities. Point is, in order to be a better health care provider you need to know a lot about working with people. It’s not going to be just you, it’s going to be you and a lot of other people. It can be hard, but you have to learn to cope, especially in a bad environment. It just takes practice and experience which you’ll get. One of the keys is being patient, so just be patient, have a good attitude, be helpful in team work situations, do your best to communicate when there are communication barriers, and you’ll be a better  health care provider before you know it.

Pakistan Cng Industry

Compiled by: Mirza Rohail B http://economicpakistan. wordpress. com/2008/02/10/cng-industry/ Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a substitute for gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel. It is considered to be an environmentally â€Å"clean† alternative to those fuels. It is made by compressing methane (CH4) extracted from natural gas. Argentina and Brazil are the two countries with the largest fleets of CNG vehicles. As of 2005, Pakistan is the largest user of CNG in Asia, and third largest in the world. The Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) sector of Pakistan by end of 2007 has attracted over Rs 70 billion investments during the last few years as a result of liberal and encouraging policies of the government. Presently, more than 2,700 CNG stations are operating in the country in 85 cities and towns, and 1000 more would be setup in the next three years. It has provided employment to above 30,000 people in Pakistan. Over 2 million vehicles were converted to CNG as of march 2009, showing an increase of 35 percent yearly. On average 29,167 vehicles are being converted to CNG every month. All Pakistan CNG Association (APA) Sana-ur-Rehman confirms that CNG stakeholders have invested Rs. 90 billion in this sector and another Rs 20 billion investment is in pipeline. The CNG consumers had invested around Rs 60 billion in converting their vehicles to CNG. The CNG was replacing at least 6. 12 billion liters of petrol every year and saving foreign exchange to the tune of billions of dollars. The CNG sector pays 24 percent sales tax and 4 percent withholding tax to the government. Moreover, the CNG is contributing tremendously towards maintaining the air pollution level lower since it emits almost 85 percent less harmful gasses, zero lead and zero particulate matter. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a substitute for gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel. It is considered to be an CNG has grown into one of the major fuel sources used in car engines in Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. The government of Punjab, Pakistan, the most populous province of that country, has mandated that all public-transport vehicles will use CNG by 2007. CNG conversion 3rd generation environmentally â€Å"clean† alternative to those fuels. It is made by compressing methane (CH4) extracted from natural gas. It is stored and distributed in hard containers, usually cylinders. Conversion has been facilitated by a substantial price differential with liquid fuels, locally-produced conversion equipment and a growing CNG-delivery infrastructure. A ‘Blue-network’ of CNG stations is being developed on the major highways of the Southern Cone (including Chile and Bolivia) to allow for long-haul transportation fuelled by CNG. According to the International Association for Natural Gas Vehicles, Pakistan has the third-largest number of natural gas vehicles. In the Middle East and Africa, Egypt is a top ten country in the world with more than 63000 CNG vehicles and 95 fueling stations nationwide. Egypt was also the first nation in Africa and the Middle East to open a public CNG fuelling station in January 1996. Brisbane Transport and Trans-Perth in Australia have both adopted a policy of only purchasing CNG buses in future; the former purchasing 216 Scania L94UB and 180 MAN 18. 10 models, with the latter purchasing 451 Mercedes-Benz OC500LE buses, including 58 articulated buses. Brisbane Transport has also ordered up to 30 articulated CNG buses on MAN chassis’. During the 1970s and 1980s, CNG was commonly used in New Zealand in the wake of the oil crises, but fell into decline after petrol prices receded. Technology CNG can easily be used in Otto-cycle (gasoline) and modified Diesel cycle engines. Lea n-burn Otto-cycle engines can achieve higher thermal efficiencies when compared with stoichiometric Otto-cycle engines at the expense of higher NOx and hydrocarbon emissions. Electronically-controlled stoichio-metric engines offer the lowest emissions across the board and the highest possible power output, especially when combined with EGR, turbo charging and inter-cooling, and three way catalytic converters. The octane rating of CNG is far greater than Petrol and if handled correctly it can produce same or more power output from an engine provided the Compressed Natural Gas is compressed properly and accurate amounts of BTU Figures attained. CNG cylinders can be made of steel, aluminum, or plastic. Lightweight composite (fiber-wrapped plastic) cylinders are especially beneficial for vehicular use because they offer significant weight reductions when compared with earlier generation steel and aluminum cylinders, which leads to lower fuel consumption. CNG may be refueled from low-pressure or high-pressure systems. The difference lies in the cost of the station vs. the refueling time. There are also some implementations to refuel out of a residential gas line during the night, but this is forbidden in some countries. CNG compared to LNG and LPG CNG is often confused with LNG. While both are stored forms of natural gas, the key difference is that CNG is in compressed form, while LNG is in liquefied form. CNG has a lower cost of production and storage compared to LNG as it does not require an expensive cooling process and cryogenic tanks. CNG requires a much larger volume to store the same mass of natural gas and the use of high pressures. CNG is also often confused with LPG, which is a compressed blend of propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10). The Advantages of Compressed Natural Gas The Environmentally Clean Advantage Compressed natural gas is the cleanest burning fuel operating today. This means less vehicle maintenance and longer engine life. CNG vehicles produce the fewest emissions of any motor fuel. Dedicated Natural Gas Vehicles (NGV) has little or no emissions during fueling. In gasoline vehicles, fueling emissions account for at least 50% of a vehicle’s total hydrocarbon emissions. CNG produces significantly less pollutants than gasoline. Tailpipe emissions from gasoline operated cars release carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. This is greatly reduced with natural gas. The Maintenance Advantage Some fleet operators have reduced maintenance costs by as much as 40% by converting their vehicles to CNG. Intervals between tune-ups for natural gas vehicles are extended 30,000 to 50,000 miles. Intervals between oil changes for natural gas vehicles are dramatically extended–anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 additional miles depending on how the vehicle is used. Natural gas does not react to metals the way gasoline does, so pipes and mufflers last much longer. The Performance Advantage Natural gas gives the same mileage as gasoline in a converted vehicle. Dedicated CNG engines are superior in performance to gasoline engines. CNG has an octane rating of 130 and has a slight efficiency advantage over gasoline. Because CNG is already in a gaseous state, NGV’s have superior starting and drivability, even under severe hot and cold weather conditions. NGV’s experience less knocking and no vapor locking. The CNG Cost Advantage Natural gas is cheaper per equivalent gallon than gasoline (an average of 15% to 50% less than gasoline). The Safety Advantage Surveys indicate that NGV’s are as safe or safer than those powered by other fuels. A 1992 AGA survey of more than 8,000 vehicles found that with more than 278 million miles traveled, NGV injury rates per vehicle mile traveled were 34% lower than the rate for gasoline vehicles. There were no fatalities reported–even though these vehicles were involved in over 1,800 collisions. The Financial Incentive Advantage Some States offers a 50% investment tax credit for each vehicle converted to natural gas. This 50% credit on state income tax features a three-year, carry-forward option. A federal tax deduction is also available for the cost of conversion. Apprehensions in Industry The CNG Stations Owners Association of Pakistan (CSOAP) in January 2009 demanded the government to introduce a separate tariff for CNG to protect the investment by CNG station owners. An executive committee members meeting of CSOAP Thursday urged the Ministry of Petroleum and OGRA to keep the CNG policy 1992 enforced. The recent steps by the government to increase gas price would damage the CNG industry and would put additional burden on the common man. The current increase of 10 percent in gas prices is unjustified and uncalled for when the fuel prices all over the world have plunged. The 33 percent steep increase of gas prices in July 2008 by SSGCL and SNGPL was fully absorbed by CNG station owners and dealers by reducing their profit margins. He said the CNG sector as a whole consumes less than 6 percent of total gas output from SSGCL and SNGPL. The investments of more than Rs 60 billion of middle and lower middle class people who converted their vehicles to use cheap and environmental friendly CNG would go waste if the government does not revert the recent increase of gas price immediately. The CNG industry’s efforts to reduce government’s burden of foreign exchange payments and huge savings of Forex reserves resulted from shift to CNG use in vehicles. He claimed CNG has resulted in savings of more than $250 million per annum of foreign exchange for Pakistan. The recent increase of gas prices would force the CNG vehicle owners to buy CNG at a higher rate forcing CNG stations to close down their businesses leaving 2. 1 million vehicle owners including rickshaws and taxis prone to inflation. He said if the government did not meet their genuine demands, they would be forced to shut down their businesses and would not be able to pay their leasing payments and other loans. All Pakistan CNG Association (APA) in 2008 had also expressed resentment over the government’s plan to increase CNG prices equalizing petroleum prices so as to resolve ongoing gas crises in the country. The APA has contacted the planning division for holding a meeting on the issue but the concerned officials have refused to meet the stakeholders, he claimed. The APA chairman Sana-ur-Rehman claimed that there is an anti-CNG lobby in the planning division. He said that the CNG stakeholders have invested Rs 90 billion in this sector and another Rs 20 billion investment is in pipeline. He expressed apprehensions that the industry would totally collapse if the CNG prices were equalized with petroleum prices. According to APA Chairman, the CNG sector accounts only for 6 percent of the national gross consumption of the natural gas, where as it is being portrayed as the cause for present gas shortage crisis. The domestic sector consumes 21 percent gas during summer, which rises to 69 percent in winter and that was actually responsible for the gas shortage every winter season. He informed journalists that gas was provided to industrial sector for a contract of 9 month in a year. The industries were required to arrange for alternate energy source during the remaining three months of winter, he maintained. However, he regretted that the government machinery wanted to provide supply of gas to industrial sector throughout the year for the last several years against the contractual obligations. CNG Conversions Converting a gasoline-powered car to CNG requires only minor engine modifications. To learn more about converting your car, please contact a certified CNG conversion company. (c) ECONOMIC PAKISTAN

The Technique Behind Mona Lisa Essays

The Technique Behind Mona Lisa Essays The Technique Behind Mona Lisa Essay The Technique Behind Mona Lisa Essay The art of the Renaissance was influenced by both ancient Greek and Roman culture as well as the humanism movement. The subjects of works of art were no longer limited to royal and religious figures, nor were they over idealized portrayals. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa exemplifies this trend. Working with the new medium of oil and his mastery of light, contrast, and sfumato, da Vinci created the most famous painting in the world; a work where subject and background compliment each other to form a perfect union. One of the aspects that make the Mona Lisa such a masterpiece is da Vinci’s use of oil as a medium. As the movie The Mystery of Jon van Eyck explains, the use of oil as a medium was not widely used for painting until van Eyck refined it â€Å"by adding transparent colors in several thin glazes upon a white ground, creating a wholly new translucence as if lit from within. † Da Vinci, like other painters of the Renaissance, used van Eyck’s oil painting technique to bring lifelike qualities to their works. According to Time-Life writer Robert Wallace, using oil opened up a new world of creative possibility for da Vanci. Oil could create nuances of effect that the widely used egg tempera could not. Additionally, the sharp and obvious transitions between colors in tempera could be rendered obsolete using oil(29). Da Vincis mastery of the new oil medium is apparent in Mona Lisa. Evidence of this lies in the claim by Leonardo da Vinci scholar Marani Pietro that Mona Lisa is â€Å"the sum of Leonardos extraordinary abilities†(183). Da Vinci created Mona Lisa on poplar wood using a series of thin, semi-transparent, overlapping glazes. The thin glazes allow the underlying base of dark gesso to show through. Da Vinci blends the light and dark shades of his painting seamlessly; there are no harsh lines or edges and each feature melts into the next. This technique, sfumato, perfected by da Vinci, coupled with the dark undertones of the base and the multiple layers of glazes, creates the illusion of three-dimensional features and â€Å"makes us see blood flowing beneath the subjects painted skin and lips†(198). Another factor that that distinguishes Mona Lisa is its composition. Da Vinci strikes a delicate balance between his subject and the background surrounding her. As Loren Partridge, a Professor of Art History at University of California, explains, da Vincis positioning of his subject broke away from long established norms regarding portraiture. Unlike the rigid portrait subjects of the past, da Vincis subject is relaxed and at ease. Sitting in a chair, she is in a natural pose, her hands crossed at her waist. Instead of the traditional side profile portrait, da Vinci positions his subject slightly turned away from the picture plane. She looks beyond the confines of the painting, her eyes locked with those of the viewer. Da Vinci again deviates from conventional full length portraiture and opts instead for three-quarters length, bringing her closer the the edges of painting (121). This closeness creates a sense of intimacy, as if the subject is whispering secrets to the viewer. Adding to the secretive nature is the subjects expression. From her eyes to her widely debated smile, there is a wholly ambiguous aura to her face. By using his knowledge of natural light and contrasting dark and light shades, da Vinci draws the viewers attention to that cryptic face. In doing so, da Vinci managed to turn simple human expression into a mystery. While she radiates an overall ethereal quality, it seems that da Vinci did not over idealize his subject. However, she appears to inhabit a realm somewhere between reality and perfection where, as Partridge observes, she is â€Å"a transcendent supernatural woman. † The role of the landscape da Vinci created is more than simple backdrop. Partridge explains the importance of the relationship between the background and his subject. Each feature has a role in drawing subtle attention to the smiling Mona Lisa. Mountain tops summit at her forehead, a winding road on the viewers left draws attention to the turn of the subjects right shoulder away from the viewer. The meandering river on the viewers right highlights the turn of the left shoulder towards the viewer. Furthermore, the artist â€Å"heightened Mona Lisas physical presence by placing her in a realistic environment† Here again, da Vincis sfumato technique comes into play. No harsh lines separate the subject from her background; they blend into each other as if one (121). The oneness of Mona Lisa and her background can be attributed to da Vincis own views regarding man and nature. Wallace states that da Vinci thought of man and nature as a whole. He believed that one could not be separated from the other. In an article in The Art Bulletin, Webster Smith points out the connections da Vinci drew between man and nature. Da Vinci believed that as a man has a circulatory system that delivers blood throughout the body, the earth delivers water across its body in the same way. He would later state that: â€Å"we can say that the earth has a spirit of growth and that its flesh be the soil, its bones be the arrangements and connection of the rocks of which the mountains are composed; its cartilages are the tufa, its blood the veins of water, the lake of blood that lies around the heart is the ocean sea, and the increase and decrease of blood in the pulses, is represented in the earth by the flow and ebb of the ocean sea â€Å"(qtd. by Webster 187). Partridge believes that da Vincis belief in the direct connection of the human body to nature is apparent in Mona Lisa. He states that she â€Å"personifies, in short, the endless cyclical changes of nature, ranging from generation to decay, from decay to regeneration†(122). Leonardo da Vincis keen observations and understanding of the natural world and many talents combined to create the worlds most famous painting. By taking oil paint and laying it in skillfully connected and interwoven layers of contrasting shades of light and dark, he created a subject who seems to breath with the life he gave her. In a famous essay regarding Mona Lisa Walter Pater said: â€Å"Like the vampire, she has been dead many times, and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in deep seas, and keeps their fallen day about her, and traffiked for strange webs with Eastern merchants; and as Leda, was the mother of Helen of Troy, and as St. Anne, the mother of Mary† These lines, written in 1869, are as true today as they were then and perfectly convey the power and timelessness of Mona Lisa. Marani, Pietro C. Leonardo da Vinci The Complete Paintings. New York: Henry N. Abrams. 2000. Print. Mystery of Jan van Eyck, The. Prod. Films for the Humanities Sciences. 2009. DVD. Partridge, Loren. Art of Renaissance Florence 1400-1600. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2009. Print. Smith, Webster. â€Å"Observations on the Mona Lisa Landscape. † The Art Bulletin 67. 2 (June 1985): 183-199. JSTOR. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. Wallace, Robert. The World of Leonardo, 1452-1519. New York: Time Incorporated, 1966. Print.

The Ancient History of Abortion and When it Began

The Ancient History of Abortion and When it Began Abortion is often presented as if it were new, cutting-edge, scientifica product of the modern erawhen it is, in fact, as old as recorded history. Earliest Known Description of Abortion The earliest known description of abortion comes from the Ebers Papyrus (ca. 1550 BCE), an ancient Egyptian medical text drawn, ostensibly, from records dating as far back as the third millennium BCE. The Ebers Papyrus suggests that an abortion can be induced with the use of a plant-fiber tampon coated with a compound that included honey and crushed dates. Later herbal abortifacients included the long-extinct silphium, the most prized medicinal plant of the ancient world, and pennyroyal, which is still sometimes used to induce abortions (but not safely, as it is highly toxic). In Aristophanes Lysistrata, Calonice refers to a young woman as well-cropped, and trimmed, and spruced with pennyroyal.Abortion is never explicitly mentioned in the Bible, but we know that the ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Romans, among others, would have practiced it during their respective eras. The absence of any discussion of abortion in the Bible is conspicuous, and later authorities attempted to close the gap. The Babylonian Talmud (Niddah 23a) suggests a Jewish response, by a Rabbi Meir, that would have been consistent with contemporaneous secular sources permitting abortion during early pregnancy: [A woman] can only abort something in the shape of a stone, and that can only be described as a lump. Chapter two of an early Christian text prohibits all abortion  but does so only within the context of a longer passage that also condemns theft, covetousness, perjury, hypocrisy, and pride. Abortion is never mentioned in the Quran, and later Muslim scholars hold a range of views regarding the morality of the practicesome holding that it is always unacceptable, others holding that it is acceptable up to the 16th week of pregnancy. Earliest Legal Ban on Abortion The earliest legal ban on abortion dates from the 11th-century BCE Code of Assura  and imposes the death penalty on married women who procure abortions without the permission of their husbands. We know that some regions of ancient Greece also had some sort of ban on abortion, because there are fragments of speeches from the ancient Greek lawyer-orator Lysias (445-380 BCE) in which he defends a woman accused of having an abortion. But, much like the Code of Assura, it may have only applied in cases where the husband had not granted permission for the pregnancy to be terminated. The Hippocratic Oath forbade physicians from inducing elective abortions (requiring that physicians vow not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion), but Aristotle held that abortion was ethical if performed during the first trimester of pregnancy, writing in the Historia Animalium that there is a distinctive change that takes place early in the second trimester: About this period (the ninetieth day) the embryo begins to resolve into distinct parts, it having hitherto consisted of a fleshlike substance without distinction of parts. What is called effluxion is a destruction of the embryo within the first week, while abortion occurs up to the fortieth day; and the greater number of such embryos as perish do so within the space of these forty days. As far as we know, surgical abortion was not common until the end of the 19th century and would have been reckless prior to the invention of the Hegar dilator in 1879, which made dilation-and-curettage (DC) possible. But pharmaceutically-induced abortions, different in function and similar in effect, were extremely common in the ancient world.

Business Process Analysis and Recruitment Essay - 1

Business Process Analysis and Recruitment - Essay Example The problem with the current system of recruitment for Talent Seek is that it is extremely time to consume. The process takes so much time that most of the good and potential candidates get de-motivated and do not wait for the results and join any other firm. The delay in the recruitment process is because of the bureaucratic nature of work in which every decision is passed on through all the different tiers of the organization. As a consequence, other companies get the best available candidates and the clients of Talent Seek are left with the ordinary ones. The other problem is that there is a lot of redundancy in the recruitment process. For instance, the job description is forwarded to all the managers who have any direct or indirect link with the recruitment process. This is a major obstacle in the efficiency required for the process to work smoothly. What the consultants’ group would strive to achieve is that it will try to change the overall method with which the work is done. What the group has analyzed is that the bureaucratic style of management has led to delay in the recruitment process. The company needs to change the structure of the organization from being excessively documented to being quick, proactive and ever looking for opportunities. The main challenge is to find new and innovative ways to improve the organizational communication channels. Since the main purpose of Talent seeks is to facilitate the process of recruitments especially in public administrative organizations, it needs to be quick and efficient, something that is difficult to attain by the public sector, that’s why they hire the services of talent seek. But so far talent seek is the victim of the same problems which are faced by its customers i.e. the in-efficiency that arise due to the bureaucratic structure, for example, lots of paperwork, in-effective communication channels, lack of coordination and slow decision making. The organizational culture at talent seek is also a cause for its ineffectiveness. The employees at the organization show lack of willingness to find out new ways of organizational communication. This is typical in bureaucratic organizations; people have no motivation to perform better and efficiently.  

Audiometry Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Audiometry - Lab Report Example It also assists in assessing the nature, degree, and probable cause of the hearing impairment of s patient. The pure tone audiometry is used in determining the threshold of hearing of the patient. This is defined by the lowest hearing level at which the patient responds at least 51% of the time to auditory stimuli. These thresholds are found using procedures as recommended by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Pure tone threshold testing should be handled in a sound controlled room. This will help in avoiding masking by unacceptable noise levels in the room. An audiogram is composed of three main parts namely, pure tone testing that determines ability to detect sound, and speech testing determines ability to decode sound, and tympanometry which helps in defining where the problem is. The normal hearing ability ranges between 10 - 25 dB HL while for serve cases it ranges between severe 70 - 85 dB HL. For the first patient, the left ear, frequencies between 0-2000(Hz), the hearing ability ranges between -20—50dBHL. As the rate increases past 2000 Hz, the hearing ability increases from -30 to -10 dBHL. However, when the rate hits past 4000 Hz, the hearing ability decreases to -36 dBHL. On the other hand, the right ear, the hearing ability increases gradually except when the frequency reaches 250-500 Hz where the hearing ability remains constant. However, this shows the right ear has a better listening ability. For the second patient, the hearing ability varies between different frequencies. In the left ear, the hearing ability increases between 250-2000 Hz. However, when the frequency goes past 2000 Hz, the hearing ability starts to decrease. This illustrates that when sound frequency goes beyond 2000 Hz, the hearing ability of the left ear becomes null. However, for the left ear, the hearing ability increases. The majority of thresholds are roughly 0 dB HL for a healthy ear. Points under 0 dB HL on the scale designate