Thursday, December 26, 2019

Financial Reporting and Capital Markets - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2680 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Level High school Did you like this example? Financial Reporting and Capital Markets: Explain the accounting for ATTs acquisition of NCR and Coca-Colas channel stuffing. Discuss and compare the motivations of those who made the accounting choice, explaining what consequences the academic literature would predict to follow from the choice. Creative accounting is a means by which companies manipulate standard accounting practices, in an attempt to influence the way certain parties interpret financial performance. A multitude of devices exist within creative accounting, two examples of which will be discussed in this essay: firstly, the pooling method of accounting used in ATTs 1991 acquisition of NCR; and secondly, Coca-Colas 1997-99 channel stuffing. The motivations of such accounting choices will be discussed and compared, explaining the relevant consequences academic literature would expect to follow. Discussion relies on the assumption, held and tested by many academics[1], that market efficiency is of the semi-strong form. ATT monopolised the long-distance telephone industry for almost a century, until the Department of Justice filed an antitrust action in 1974. A consent decree was signed in 1982 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" a widely criticised decision à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" stating ATT must divest 75% of their assets (Ly s, 1995), yet could enter the unregulated computer-orientated industry. 1988-appointed CEO in 1988,, Robert Allenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s analysis suggested ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s continuing computer losses could be solved significant investment or divestment. Moving forward with the former option à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" arguably to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“save faceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  after signing the decree à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" presented NCR as a potential acquisition. ATT was determined to acquire NCR, debatably in an attempt to reposition itself as a market competitor, despite weak history regarding computer mergers, NCRà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial setbacks and the general consensus of NCRà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“lemonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ -like status. Acquisitions can either use the pooling-of-interests or purchase method of accounting à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" neither of which impact future cash flow. The former sees assets acquired at book value, and the latter requires acquisition at fair market value, with the inclusion of amortisable goodwill. Several barriers existed to prevent the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from granting permission to pool (Lys, 1995) some of which were purposefully introduced by NCR as a defence mechanism. Significant costs were incurred to sidestep the barriers; including reportedly lobbying the SEC. ATT arranged 6.3 million NCR shares (at $102.75) to be placed with Californian money manager, Capital Group Inc., which were exchanged for 6.3 million ATT shares (at $110.74). This cost ATT $50.3 million à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" profit recognised by Capital Group à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" with an additional $10 per share offered for NCRà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s managerial cooperation. ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s motives to pool rather than purchase à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" costing them a confirmed $50 million premium, with the willingness to pay an additional $450 million à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" were related to the belief that earnings per share (EPS) would increase. The b elieved increase related to ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s perception of the market efficiency, who predicted that, with the purchase method, shareholders and financial analysts would incorrectly interpret decreasing earnings due to goodwill amortisation as decreasing cash flow, resulting in a 20% share price decrease (with 100% stock, pooling EPS = $2.42, purchase EPS = $1.97). ATT investors, during the six-month negotiation period, had adverse reactions to all news that increased likelihood of acquisition. Indeed, throughout the 9-month, $7.5 billion acquisition, ATT shareholdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ wealth decreased $6.5 billion (NCRà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s increased $3.5 billion). ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s assumption relating to market inefficiency was that analysts and investors would not recognise the difference between the purchase and pooling effects on earnings. However, research into the correlation between purchase accounting and stock prices reveals no market inefficiencies (Hong 197 8). The lack of evidence supporting this assumption perhaps suggests that NCR supplied inside information to ATT. The disregard to the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s negative response to the deal is illustrative of ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s belief of market inefficiency with regard to acquisitions. Lys suggests that psychological motives exist, such as the pressure on a decision-maker to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“become boundà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  to decisions that are taken freely, not easily reversed and have personal ramifications. Such theory coheres with the earlier notion of ATT trying to redeem itself after the 1982 decree, within the computer industry. Coca-Cola Enterprise (CCE) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s biggest manufacturer and distributer of non-alcoholic concentrates and syrups à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" surpassed expected earnings from 1990-1996, with its share price increasing over twice as fast as the SP500. In 1996, Coca-Cola began to face competition in a tough economic envi ronment yet it publically maintained its growth through hidden à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“channel stuffingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , an example of real earnings management. Demand is only truly seen internally, and as such when anticipated demand is low tangible products can be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“stuffedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  downstream to customers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" known as the carryover effect (Lai, 2010) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" allowing higher sales revenues to be reported, with investors thereby incorrectly overvaluing the company. CCE persuaded bottlers to purchase additional concentrate, that they wouldnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t have required until the next period, offering incentives such as: extended payment terms (Terhune, 2004), indications of increasing price, discounted prices for extra purchase quantities (United States District Court, 2005), etc. Increasing bottler concentrate inventory levels suggested increasing sales, yet their sales rose only 11% from 1997-1999, whereas concentrate levels produced and delivered by CCE increased over 60%. The inflation of product sales à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" increasing revenue by $600 million à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" falsely implied a healthy future for CCE. Channel stuffing was not disclosed to shareholders, and relied on semi-strong market efficiency assuming, correctly for a period of time, that shareholders would not notice the creative accounting device. CCE released higher sales figures, in line with past growth, which created a short-term profit boost; this was not sustainable. Bringing future inventory forward created a deficit for the next period, which required another, larger channel stuff, forcing a vicious spiral of declining sales, inventory deficits and gallon pushes. Ultimately, bottlers were holding significantly more inventory than the forecasted decreasing demand required. In 1999 inventory levels were too high, thus channel stuffing ended, leading to a large decrease in revenue. Gunny (2005) refers to channel stuffing as a mana gerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“willing[ness] to sacrifice future cash flowsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  in the short-term, with research showing that operating performance will be reduced in the long-term. CCE violated Sections 17(a)(2)/17(a)(3) of the Securities Act by not disclosing their channel stuffing to investors. Additionally, CCE produced false statements announcing a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“several-month long optimum inventory studyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  conducted alongside retailers (SEC 2005). Additionally, CCE violated Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act, which stated that any trends known by a company that are expected to negatively impact revenue must be disclosed. In 2000, the investors who bought CCE stock, after being misled, filed a lawsuit claiming that channel stuffing led to inflated and dishonest revenues. CCE agreed to settle in order to elude unwanted litigation, yet did not admit any misconduct. They agreed to abstain from future securities violations, paying close attention to sales levels to bottlers. CCEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s motives for channel stuffing are arguably twofold: the decline in demand for products, explained by CCE as due to bad weather and unexpected expenses, meant that financial analystsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ sales forecasts would be missed and hence share prices would decrease (Chan, 2005). Secondly, (Chan 2005); and plaintiffs alleged that the performance-based bonuses contributed to the creative accounting. Such theory corroborates the discovery that several officers later suspiciously shorted millions of dollars of inflated CCE stock days before corrective disclosures of CCEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial position (United States District Court, 2005). Similarly, Lys discuses the possibility of incentive-based compensation in ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pooling decisions. Details of calculations and estimates can be found in Lys (1995), though an overview explains that the $0.45 EPS decrease from the purchasing method would have reduced Al lenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s bonus by $427,245 (over the ten-year goodwill amortisation period) and by $3.4 million for the officer group, compared to smaller bonus reductions of $140,445 and $811,468 respectively after pooling treatment. This resulted in a  £2,909,862 net pooling benefit, though this is relatively small compared to the wealth of the officer group. It can be reasoned that ATT either had motives not aligned to maximizing value to the shareholders or possessed inside information. The former relates to the principal-agent problem; arguably ATT had psychological and, as well as CCE, compensation scheme motives. The latter relates to the market efficiency, in particular the asymmetry of information. CCEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s channel stuffing was based on the premise that they knew something the market and distributors did not about the demand trends. Similarly, NCR appeared to the market as a lemon, with all events associated with acquisition reducing ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ ž ¢s stock price. Their persistence regarding the deal suggested they saw value that the market did not. Contrary to this, Lys (1995) described the deal as value destruction, and 6 years after the hostile takeover NCR re-established itself as a separate company after a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“disastrous relationshipà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  with ATT (Andrews, 1996), confirming the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s lemon opinion. Considering the motives to pool and not purchase, one must ask if ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s belief that EPS would decrease with purchase was justification for a $50 million premium. Hongà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s (1978) research into the correlation between purchase accounting and stock prices questions ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pooling rationale, revealing no inefficiencies, rendering the premium to pool shares redundant. Yet, Ayers (2002) indicates that CFOs commonly fear purchase accounting negatively affects stock values justifying the large premium, researchi ng that on average a firm will pay over $60 million for pooling treatment. Hopkinsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (2000) research, contradicting Hongà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, within experimental settings shows that analysts frequently do not appropriately take into account purchase or pooling methods when adjusting stock prices. Additionally, it could be argued ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s concerns over investor misinterpretation could have been reduced with voluntary disclosures, reducing the information gap between managers and investors (Healy, 2001). A decline in demand and failure to meet analyst forecasts and expectations would indefinitely result in a decreasing stock price. CCE, rightly, believed the market would not recognize the downward trend due to their lack of access to the soft drink industryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s data. Additionally, their understanding of market efficiency led them to assume investors would not immediately recognize their channel stuffing activities. Though financial rep orting and disclosure are crucial for outside investors to understand performance, it can be argued that the device used by ATT was transparent à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" an informed investor could have inferred motives from publically available information à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and by CCE was opaque. Keller (1991a) references that Donaldson, Lufkin Jenrette analyst Gross recognized and agreed with ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s insistence on pooling treatment, foreseeing the negative share price implications if SEC denied the pooling request. Though in CCEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s case it was not recognized, Lai (2010) notes certain activity à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" for example large increases in accounts receivable or excess inventory at customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Hendricks 2008) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" can hint at, though not identify, channel stuffing. Ulterior motives to use the aforementioned accounting devices, such as psychological or bonus schemes could not be deciphered without inside information. Thou gh ATT did not use an illegal device, and CCE admitted no wrongdoing, both performed questionable accounting practices. Thus, decreasing shareholder trust would be a certain consequence, especially for CCE. Indeed, Akerlof (1970) stated à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“dishonest dealings tend to drive honest dealings out of the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , suggesting future and potential investors would distrust ATT, who acted despite the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s concerns, and CCE, who used information asymmetry to mislead the market. The SEC proved that channel stuffing occurred and CCE put certain bodies and practices in place to ensure openness with regard to financial, ethical and compliance matters. This would not repair the broken trust between the two companies and the market and thus stock prices, in the long-term, would be predicted to decrease due to the dishonesty. CCE knowingly misled investors into believing their sales were continuously growing, in order to meet and exceed forecasted ear nings, taking advantage of the asymmetric nature of the marketà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s information. Whereas, ATT paid a $50 million premium, with the potential to increase this to $500 million, in order to protect themselves from misinterpretation due to their perceived market efficiency, which was arguably weaker than semi-strong. An alternative hypothesis is that the principal-agent theory was in play, with ATT managers acquiring the lemon-like company for reasons other than maximising shareholder value. Both ATT and CCE office members received financial benefits from the acquisition and channel stuffing respectively, although neither the significance nor the malicious attempts to secure such bonuses has been proven. Academics, in particular Hong, suggests that the semi-strong market form would not let either pooling or purchase methods of accounting affect ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s stock price, contradictory to Grossà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s and Hopkinsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s analyses. Lai and Hendrick both suggest that certain activities can indicate channel stuffing and though the CCE device was not immediately detected the incident has helped reinforce and improve regulations put in place to prevent future channel stuffing. Akerlofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Lemon model implies that the two companiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ dishonest behaviour would not bode well in the long-term with investors or shareholders. In conclusion, the assumption, held throughout this essay, of semi-strong market efficiency is crucial when deciphering the true motives and consequences of the two cases. The motives, which are still unclear, of ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pooling treatment and CCEà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s channel stuffing stemmed from the seemingly innocent desire to increase shareholder value and avoidance of misinterpretation, to the controversy of performance-related bonuses, malicious information asymmetry and psychological pressures. ATTà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s perception of lower than semi-strong form, and corroborating analyses from Gross and Hopkins, suggested uninformed investors would misinterpret their financial performance, despite Hongà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s conflicting research. CCE believed the semi-strong form left room to mislead the uninformed investors into thinking financial performance was significantly greater than it actually was, leading to poor performance and distrust in the long-term. The creative accounting devices discussed would have led to decreasing stock price as a consequence of their dishonest nature. In the words of Akerlof (1970), the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“cost of dishonestyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  ultimately à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“[drives] legitimate business out of existenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . Bibliography Akerlof, G 1970, The Market for Lemons: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol 84, no. 3, pp. 488-500. Ambreen A. Delawalla, JAJJ,TRDABLA 2007, In re Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc Securities Litigation, Case: 1:06-CV- 0275-TWT, United States District Court, Georgia. Andrews, E 1996, ATT Acquisition, Soon to Be Spun Off, Regains NCR Name, The New York Times, 11 January 1996. Ayers, B 2002, Do firms purchase the pooling method?, in Review of Accounting Studies, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands. Chan, F 2005, The JIT revolution: What actually happened in the inventories of American companies between 1981 and 2000?, Forthcoming in Management Science. Fama, EF 1970, Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work, The Journal of Finance, Blackwell Publishing for the American Finance Association, New York. Gunny, K 2005, What are the Consequences of Real Earnings Mangement?, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Guoming Lai, LDLN 2010, Manager Incentives for Channel Stu ±ng with Market-based Compensation , Chicago Booth School of Business , University of Chicago , Chicago. Hai Hong, RSKGM 1978, Pooling vs Purchase: the effects o f accounting for mergers on stock prices, The Accounting Review, no. 53, pp. 31-42. Hendricks, KB,VRS 2008, Demand-supply mismatch and stock market reaction: Evidence from 28 excess inventory announcements, MSOM. Hopkins, PE,RWHAMFP 2000, Valuation of the components of purchased goodwill, Journal of Accounting Research. Lys, T 1995, An analysis of value destruction in ATTs acquisition of NCR, Graduate School of Business, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Manchester, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Chicago. Merton, RC 1987, A simple model of capital market equilibrium with incomplete information., The Journal of Finance , pp. 42, 483à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"510. Paul M Healy, KGP 2001, Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature, Graduate School of Business, Harvard University, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Boston. Perler, HMSJ 2010, Financial Shenanigans, 3rd Edition, McGraw Hil l, New York. SEC 2005, US Securities and Exchange Commission, viewed 20 February 2014, https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2005-58.htm., April 18, 2005. Terhune, C 2004, Probe of Cokes Sales Leads to Japan, The Wall Street Journal. Tobin, J, On the Efficiency of the Financial System, Lloyds Bank Review, 153: 1-15. United States District Court 2005, Civil Action, file note 1:06-CV-0275. Vishny, ASARW 2011, Stock Market Driven Acquisitions , Harvard University, Boston. 1 Financial Reporting and Capital Markets, Essay 1, 7167N Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Financial Reporting and Capital Markets" essay for you Create order [1] Notably, (Vishny, 2011),) (Tobin, n.d.) (Fama, 1970)

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

The Psychology of Architecture Essay - 1004 Words

Architecture is a fascinating business that encompasses the art and science of designing with the construction of buildings. An architect designs all kind of buildings, such as schools, churches, houses, restaurants, and more. This profession has been around since the 1st century CE when Vitruvius, a Roman architect, called it De architectura. Architects have to have a wide range of knowledge. For example they need to have good communications skill, so they can take the information of what a client wants and transform into a sketch then eventually a building. Architects must always consider the following when designing a structure: psychology, design, and the fractional triangles of architecture. Psychology has a huge amount of†¦show more content†¦Therefore architecture and psychology go hand and hand together, so that architects can understand actions and clients to the best of their abilities. Design is a very important aspect in architecture; this is what gives a buildings style. Cortese expressed his ideas about design when he says, â€Å"Design is fundamentally a generative art requiring generative impulse, hubris, to be balanced with regenerative impulses, humility.†(Cortese 6). To be able to make an attractive building, someone need to have an eye for design. This includes being able to put colors together, which materials looks good, and a good since of style. According to the dictionary design is a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is built or made. (Merriam Webster) Cortese also stated, â€Å"†¦design buildings that mimic natural systems and have the capacity to reconnect people to the spirit of nature†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Cortese 10). This means that all architects need to keep updated on current trends and design, and what styles can influence certain feelings. Overall all architects must have some style and aspects forShow MoreRelatedHow Architecture Can A ffect The Surrounding1361 Words   |  6 PagesArchitectural Psychology- ‘I want to design things that people get pleasure in making and want to make things that people get pleasure in using’- William Morris How architecture can affect the surrounding relating to human emotions- Architecture for Humanism=Architecture for people, encouraging people to respond of pleasure in inhabiting. As an architect in in the study field, we required to provide to write our work, our motives, our philosophies and our detailed approach to the design. To buildRead MoreEssay on The Human Response to Physical Structure1583 Words   |  7 Pagesstructure through visual elements such as bricks, rock, vegetation and foliage, hallways, doors, windows, trims, and flooring. These elements combine to allow each individuals experience of a space. The German word gestalt means form or shape. 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Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Managing Dynamic Technology Oriented Business

Question: Discuss about the Managing Dynamic Technology for Oriented Business. Answer: Inadequate information led to disaster in companies Kodak is one of the examples of organisation, which failed because of inadequate information. Kodak was bankrupt due as the company lost its edge in new technology competition. The company was unable to collect adequate information about the change in the technology of camera. The information system in any organisation plays important role in decision making. There is a direct relationship between management decision, organisation, information, decision-making, command and control. Many organisations faced disaster due to lack of information needed (Twati, 2014). The management of information system is a key to success. They did not move into the digital world and stick to the traditional technology used in camera and filmmaking. Due to inadequate information, the company was unable to develop a right business strategy for future. The digital revolution changes the business concept of camera and filmmaking. Other companies like Fuji started collecting mandatory information for adopting changes of the digital revolution. Kodaks management was unable to control the future vision of the company for digitalisation in photography industry (Wakolbinger, Fabian and Kettinger, 2013). There are different theories are available for human-related information practices. Social network theory explained the position of individual in different social groups. The individual have a different motivation in the direction of different information. This theory concludes that the original meaning of information is distracted the main objective and develop inadequate information (Lohikoski et al., 2014). The inadequate information becomes a disaster of Kodak and company become bankrupt. The social construction of technology is another theory, which focuses on the technological growth of social groups are influenced with their meaning in relation to the individual. This theory explains that society and individual misuse the original meaning of information. Kodak was failed to develop management of information system that led to the disaster of a company. The company has failed because it had the wrong information about the business. The management of company focus on film business, however, they should focus on storytelling business. Leadership is ultimately re sponsible for decision making for the organisation (Twati, 2014). Kodak has also gone through the various restructuring process, which affect the organisation and employees. There is social and organisation culture factor that influences the company to adopt information system. The organisational culture pressure decides the flow of information whether it is upward to downward or downward to upward. Generally, top level management resists them self with opposing and contrast. This enables them to take a decision after comparing with contrast situations. The inadequate information to top management makes them unaware about how the competition around them is changing (Wakolbinger, Fabian and Kettinger, 2013). The management of company always assumed that customer, value filmed based photo for their high quality. Kodak was lacking the innovation culture in an organisation and innovation is directly related to the information system. The decision making is a crucial process which requires management intuition and reasoning. Intuition is the feeling of a possible course of action that comes after a year of experience, whereas reasoning is the decision based on facts and figures. The effective decision making is not possible until management does not have enough information. Another problem is too much information that conflicts each other in the decision-making process. The digital revolution changes the mindset of the customer about photography. This gives freedom to the customer to save their photographs in many ways in digital format (Cox, White and Abernethy, 2014). It was also cheaper as a comparison to traditional hard print photograph. Another reason of company failure is inadequate information about target customers. The market has changed and the customer also changes, Kodak target cus tomers were women however business environment demographical changes made men as a target customer. Nokia Case Information is a crucial factor in any company which drives the industry more profitable and equitable in the market. Inadequate information led to disaster for any industry in the market. Information failure in any industry due to some reasons like organizations does not have a perfect knowledge of economic scenario and secondly, one organization knows better than the other about economic trends in the market (Quora, 2016). These scenarios arise due to unbalanced information in the market. In both the situation, there are chances of inappropriate use of resources, with customers paying too much or too less and the organizations or industries produce too much or too less. Nokia mobile phone is the example of failure from telecommunication industry that could not make an innovative move in the latest technology trends due to less or inadequate information. Nokia is Finland-based mobile company from has failed to share the information about innovative ideas into advanced technologies. Nokia management didnt communicate the adequate information to top management regarding the technological advancements in recent years (Nokia, 2016). After 2012, other mobile phones brands worked for latest technology such as Android but the top managers of the Nokia thought that company is too late to enter into the new technology due to high competition but they didnt know that Asian and European markets still expected from Nokia phone that it could do everything like other phones could do. Due to lack of market information, it developed the windows platform which cannot meet the requirement of customers that leads to the loss of brand value in the market. There are othe r competitors already entered on that time like Apple and Samsung to work on latest technologies and meet the market demands (Aspara et al., 2016). In organization, Nokia management did not adopt new strategies at the time of the adoption of new technologies in the market. Nokia management continuously worked on Symbian technology rather switch on new market trends. Due to lack of information to the management regarding competitors and technological advancements, Company has still struggled to retain its original market share (Ciesielska and Iskoujina, 2012). Company organization structure is designed by the managers to ensure good productivity and smooth flow of information regarding decision making. Managers follow the autocratic style of leadership in the organization while taking any decisions related to organization growth. This leadership affects the hierarchy level of the company. Employees cannot share the information and ideas due to the autocratic style of manager that lacks the productivity and growth of the employees. Another issue which creates a problem for Nokia is that the long chain of command creates problems f or business. Information flows from top to bottom and comes across various multiple layers creates conflicts in the organization (Laamanen, Lamberg and Vaara, 2016). It hinders the decision-making process of the company. Managers give important instructions to their employees regarding any issue that information flows from many levels that confuse the employees to take important decisions. The company faced the serious dilemma a few years back regarding the loss of production of cell phones due to some technical error. One of the supervisors from the technical team in the company not notified to the manager that hampers the thousands of production units of a cell phone. Information inadequacy influences the motivation of the employees in the company. The overall downfall of the company due to wrong decisions taken by the management is mostly due to irrelevant information and too much investment in the only one technology. Also, it finds that company chain of command led to Nokia being incompetent, slow, and inconsistent (Walter, Kellerman and Lechner, 2012). British Petroleum (BP) Oil disaster case British petroleum oil disaster is the worst case in the history of US. The explosion is between the sea and huge fire sets into the ship. It was the worst industrial disaster for the country. It was a huge explosion under deep water in the Gulf of Mexico on July 15, 2010.Eleven people dead and many of the missings still not found. It considered as the biggest accident in the history of the oil industry. In this case, the root cause of this accident was the lack of information about the leakage of oil and gas into the well by the employees and the top management. Top management has no information about the leakages of a toxic substance in the well for many days. Lack of timely exchange of information with the top management and lower level management led to the serious accident (Heller, 2012). The inadequate information led to disaster and this has been proven in the incidence of British Petroleum disaster. The technology creates many problems in the communication process. The social cognitive theory explains that individual influence behavioural change and development by social groups. The cognitive and emotional are the factors that mainly influence the individual decision making (Ye, 2014). British petroleum did not have adequate control over information of security and safety. This disaster is the result of inadequate information to the company management. The company management has taken a much wrong decision which results in this accident. The company ignore the safety information of the project required to run the operation more securely. The company took poor decisions like lack of proper test and experiment of the chemical before using them for the project (Gire et al., 2013). The engineering team analyse the accident and found that the risk was associated with cement floor and drilling process. The company was lacking effective information system that makes aware them about the risk associated with drilling and production process. The management did not have command and control over the operational information. The decision making becomes difficult when too many people involved in this process. The effective and fast decision can be taken by few people after analysing facts and figures. The company has changed its top management after this disaster for ineffective and wrong decision making. The management of the company held responsible for ignoring the adequate information required for correct decision making (Cox, White and Abernethy, 2014). The company has an expert of risk management team to stop disaster at any time. But due to late and inadequate information provided by the lower level management became situation more complex. Managers and employees does not make the proper planning about any type of crisis are happened in future. Risk management team did not give the adequate training and substantial information to all hierarchy levels in management due to rigid organization structure (NYC, 2016). Due to complex organization structure, information flows from various levels of management and it affects the decision-making process. Due to strict command and control of board and managers in the organization that lacks the free flow of information process in the company (Safford, Ulrich, and Hamilton, 2012).Effective and timely information communicate to every level of management led to stop any disastrous situation. Managers need to exchange of relevant information to all of their subordinates and junior level manageme nt so that they can take effective decisions at the time of critical incidents. References Quora (2016). Why did Nokia fail?[Online].Available at: https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Nokia-fail (Accessed by: 26 August 2016). Nokia (2016). Nokia outlines new strategy, introduces new leadership, operational structure.[Online].Available at: https://company.nokia.com/en/news/press-releases/2011/02/11/nokia-outlines-new-strategy-introduces-new-leadership-operational-structure (Accessed by: 26 August 2016) Aspara, J., Lamberg, J.A., Laukia, A. and Tikkanen, H., (2013). Corporate business model transformation and inter-organizational cognition: the case of Nokia.Long Range Planning,46(6), pp.459-474. Ciesielska, M. and Iskoujina, Z., (2012). Trust as a success factor in open innovation. The case of Nokia and Gnome.Managing Dynamic Technology-Oriented Business: High-Tech Organizations and Workplaces. Information Science Reference, pp.11-29. Laamanen, T., Lamberg, J.A. and Vaara, E., (2016). Explanations of Success and Failure in Management Learning: What Can We Learn From Nokias Rise and Fall?.Academy of Management Learning Education,15(1), pp.2-25. Walter, J., Kellermanns, F.W. and Lechner, C., (2012). Decision making within and between organizations rationality, politics, and alliance performance. Journal of Management,38(5), pp.1582-1610. Heller, N.A., (2012). Leadership in Crisis: An Exploration of the British Petroleum Case. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(18). pp 1-12. Safford, T.G., Ulrich, J.D. and Hamilton, L.C., (2012). Public perceptions of the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Personal experiences, information sources, and social context.Journal of environmental management,113, pp.31-39. The New York Times (2016). BP Shortcuts Led to Gulf Oil Spill, Report Says. [Online]. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/science/earth/15spill.html?_r=0 (Accessed by: 27 August 2016). Lohikoski, P., Kujala, J., Haapasalo, H. and Ala-Mursula, L. (2014). Information contingencies in the virtual teams of global new product development projects. In Proceedings of the PMI Research and Education Conference. pp. 27-29. Wakolbinger, T., Fabian, F. and Kettinger, W. J. (2013). IT-enabled Interorganizational Information Sharing Under Co-opetition in Disasters: A Game-Theoretic Framework. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 33(1), pp. 5. Twati, J.M. (2014). The influence of societal culture on the adoption of information systems: The case of Libya. Communications of the IIMA, 8(1), pp. 1. Cox, C.E., White, D.B. and Abernethy, A.P. (2014). A universal decision support system. Addressing the decision-making needs of patients, families, and clinicians in the setting of critical illness. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 190(4), pp. 366-373. Gire, D.H., Whitesell, J.D., Doucette, W. and Restrepo, D. (2013). Information for decision-making and stimulus identification is multiplexed in sensory cortex. Nature neuroscience, 16(8), pp. 991-993. Ye, J. (2014). A multicriteria decision-making method using aggregation operators for simplified neutrosophic sets. Journal of Intelligent Fuzzy Systems, 26(5), pp. 2459-2466.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

To Kill A Mocking Bird Analysis Essays - To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mocking Bird Analysis In the widely known novel To Kill A Mockingbird there are two families that are very diverse and are text book examples of complete opposites on the moral ladder of success. The Cunninghams and the Ewells have two very distinct and opposite reputations. The Cunninghams which are very respected while the Ewells very much despised. The Ewells are given the privilege to hunt out of season, so that the residents of the small town of Maycomb would not have to tolerate their continuous begging twenty-four hours a day for seven days a week. These two families show the respectability of hard workers or, in the Ewells case, can fill their peers with sorrow. The Cunninghams have pride, as for the Ewells, they have a natural like anarchist nature that will eventually haunt them and hurt others because of their lurid like attitude. The Cunningham's are very respected by the citizen's of Maycomb county. The Cunninghams took nothing, unless they could pay it back. Walter the youngest in the Cunningham clan was in the same class at school as Scout Finch the daughter of Atticus Finch. While in school, a fresh young new school teacher known as Miss Caroline did not know the reputations of the predecessors of these two children. In what looked like a good day for the rookie teacher quickly turned into complete disarray and a total adversity trip for the teacher. Walter Cunningham being raised in a very hard working environment was taught not to take what he could not pay back. The teacher obviously did not know about his background in the most minute way and embarrassed him extensively by almost demanding him to take some lunch money. Knowing that he could not pay Miss Caroline back in the way that she had in mind he knew that he could take the money which he wanted to take so bad. Walter eventually ended up eating with the Finch's. While eating at the Finch's he did not know what to do with all of the food that they have offered to him. For example he drowned his waffles in a lake of syrup. Bob Ewell's son, Burris was also faced in the same way but in an total opposite direction and purpose. The same day as the Walter Cunningham incident there was another incident concerning the Ewells. Burris had "cooties." A "cootie" came frantically flying out of the assumed Afro of Burris's hair, and scared the overseer of the class, Miss Caroline. Miss Caroline quickly demanded that Burris go home and wash and scrub his hair with Kerosine. Burris coming from what seemed like a broken home and he had no pride so, he told the teacher off, made her cry, threatened her, and then left. The Cunninghams are given special privileges. Cunninghams paid Atticus for some legal work that Atticus did with their farm, they paid him with food, and other services. The population of Maycomb county excepted this because they know that the family is very loyal, truthful and extremely hard working. The Cunningham's would never take anything that they couldn't payback equally or greater of value. Then their are your slacking, lying, cootie infested, mooching Ewells. Bob Ewell is a total drunk, he takes what money he may have earned or stole and drinks it away. Mr. Ewell very rarely or if ever has bought or cooked his family a hot and total nutritious meal in his life. The kids would basically shrivel up in the little shack that they live in and starve, if they did not have the privilege to hunt and eat the food that they kill. The Cunninghams were a family of truthfulness, loyalty and able to carry on great responsibilities. They did not want to hurt anyone, they were grateful for the people that had helped them on their journey of life. When the Cunninghams were wrong they admitted it, when they were right they didn't show it. They had great respect for anyone who walked on the face of the earth. But as usual the Ewells were just the opposite, they did not tell the truth on a consistent basis, and it wasted a human life. After the trial of Tom Robinson versus Mayella Ewell, the Ewells were ashamed because Mayella may have like a black negro, Bob Ewell caught them in the bedroom kissing and suspected the worse. He claimed that Tom raped his daughter and then beat her. All of the bruises were on the right

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Look at Your Fish! by Samuel H. Scudder

'Look at Your Fish!' by Samuel H. Scudder Samuel H. Scudder (1837-1911) was an American entomologist who studied under the noted zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (1807-1873) at Harvards Lawrence Scientific School. In the following narrative  essay, originally published anonymously in 1874, Scudder recalls his first encounter with Professor Agassiz, who subjected his research students to a rigorous exercise in close observation, analysis, and description  of details. Consider how the investigative process recounted here might be viewed as an aspect of critical thinking- and how that process can be just as important to writers as it is to scientists.   Look at Your Fish!* by Samuel Hubbard Scudder 1 It was more than fifteen years ago that I entered the laboratory of Professor Agassiz, and told him I had enrolled my name in the scientific school as a student of natural history. He asked me a few questions about my object in coming, my antecedents generally, the mode in which I afterward proposed to use the knowledge I might acquire, and finally, whether I wished to study any special branch. To the latter, I replied that while I wished to be well grounded in all departments of zoology, I purposed to devote myself specially to insects. 2 When do you wish to begin? he asked. 3 Now, I replied. 4 This seemed to please him, and with an energetic Very well, he reached from a shelf a huge jar of specimens in yellow alcohol. 5 Take this fish, said he, and look at it; we call it a haemulon; by and by I will ask what you have seen. 6 With that, he left me, but in a moment returned with explicit instructions as to the care of the object entrusted to me. 7 No man is fit to be a naturalist, said he, who does not know how to take care of specimens. 8 I was to keep the fish before me in a tin tray, and occasionally moisten the surface with alcohol from the jar, always taking care to replace the stopper tightly. Those were not the days of ground glass stoppers, and elegantly shaped exhibition jars; all the old students will recall the huge, neckless glass bottles with their leaky, wax-besmeared corks, half eaten by insects and begrimed with cellar dust. Entomology was a cleaner science than ichthyology, but the example of the professor, who had unhesitatingly plunged to the bottom of the jar to produce the fish, was infectious; and though this alcohol had a very ancient and fish-like smell, I really dared not show any aversion within these sacred precincts, and treated the alcohol as though it were pure water. Still, I was conscious of a passing feeling of disappointment, for gazing at a fish did not commend itself to an ardent entomologist. My friends at home, too, were annoyed, when they discovered that no eau de cologne would drown the perfume which haunted me like a shadow. 9 In ten minutes I had seen all that could be seen in that fish, and started in search of the professor, who had however left the museum; and when I returned, after lingering over some of the odd animals stored in the upper apartment, my specimen was dry all over. I dashed the fluid over the fish as if to resuscitate the beast from a fainting fit, and looked with anxiety for a return of the normal, sloppy appearance. This little excitement over, nothing was to be done but return to a steadfast gaze at my mute companion. Half an hour passed- an hour- another hour; the fish began to look loathsome. I turned it over and around; looked it in the face- ghastly; from behind, beneath, above, sideways, at a three-quarters view- just as ghastly. I was in despair; at an early hour I concluded that lunch was necessary; so, with infinite relief, the fish was carefully replaced in the jar, and for an hour I was free. 10 On my return, I learned that Professor Agassiz had been at the museum, but had gone and would not return for several hours. My fellow-students were too busy to be disturbed by continued conversation. Slowly I drew forth that hideous fish, and with a feeling of desperation again looked at it. I might not use a magnifying glass; instruments of all kinds were interdicted. My two hands, my two eyes, and the fish: it seemed a most limited field. I pushed my finger down its throat to feel how sharp the teeth were. I began to count the scales in the different rows until I was convinced that that was nonsense. At last a happy thought struck me- I would draw the fish, and now with surprise, I began to discover new features in the creature. Just then the professor returned. 11 That is right, said he; a pencil is one of the best of eyes. I am glad to notice, too, that you keep your specimen wet, and your bottle corked. 12 With these encouraging words, he added, Well, what is it like? 13 He listened attentively to my brief rehearsal of the structure of parts whose names were still unknown to me; the fringed gill-arches and movable operculum; the pores of the head, fleshy lips and lidless eyes; the lateral line, the spinous fins, and forked tail; the compressed and arched body. When I had finished, he waited as if expecting more, and then, with an air of disappointment: You have not looked very carefully; why, he continued, more earnestly, you havent even seen one of the most conspicuous features of the animal, which is as plainly before your eyes as the fish itself; look again, look again! and he left me to my misery. 14 I was piqued; I was mortified. Still more of that wretched fish! But now I set myself to my task with a will and discovered one new thing after another until I saw how just the professors criticism had been. The afternoon passed quickly, and when, towards its close, the professor inquired: 15 Do you see it yet? 16 No, I replied, I am certain I do not, but I see how little I saw before. 17 That is the next best, said he earnestly, but I wont hear you now; put away your fish and go home; perhaps you will be ready with a better answer in the morning. I will examine you before you look at the fish. 18 This was disconcerting; not only must I think of my fish all night, studying without the object before me, what this unknown but most visible feature might be; but also, without reviewing my new discoveries, I must give an exact account of them the next day. I had a bad memory; so I walked home by the Charles River in a distracted state, with my two perplexities. 19 The cordial greeting from the professor the next morning was reassuring; here was a man who seemed to be quite as anxious as I that I should see for myself what he saw. 20 Do you perhaps mean, I asked, that the fish has symmetrical sides with paired organs? 21 His thoroughly pleased Of course! of course! repaid the wakeful hours of the previous night. After he had discoursed most happily and enthusiastically- as he always did- upon the importance of this point, I ventured to ask what I should do next. 22 Oh, look at your fish! he said, and left me again to my own devices. In a little more than an hour he returned and heard my new catalog. 23 That is good, that is good! he repeated; but that is not all; go on; and so for three long days he placed that fish before my eyes; forbidding me to look at anything else, or to use any artificial aid. Look, look, look, was his repeated injunction. 24 This was the best entomological lesson I ever had- a lesson, whose influence has extended to the details of every subsequent study; a legacy the professor has left to me, as he has left it to many others, of inestimable value, which we could not buy, with which we cannot part. 25 A year afterward, some of us were amusing ourselves with chalking outlandish beasts upon the museum blackboard. We drew prancing star-fishes; frogs in mortal combat; hydra-headed worms; stately crawfishes, standing on their tails, bearing aloft umbrellas; and grotesque fishes with gaping mouths and staring eyes. The professor came in shortly after and was as amused as any at our experiments. He looked at the fishes. 26 Haemulons, every one of them, he said; Mr. - drew them. 27 True; and to this day, if I attempt a fish, I can draw nothing but haemulons. 28 The fourth day, a second fish of the same group was placed beside the first, and I was bidden to point out the resemblances and differences between the two; another and another followed, until the entire family lay before me, and a whole legion of jars covered the table and surrounding shelves; the odor had become a pleasant perfume; and even now, the sight of an old, six-inch, worm-eaten cork brings fragrant memories! 29 The whole group of haemulons was thus brought in review; and, whether engaged upon the dissection of the internal organs, the preparation and examination of the bony framework, or the description of the various parts, Agassizs training in the method of observing facts and their orderly arrangement, was ever accompanied by the urgent exhortation not to be content with them. 30 Facts are stupid things, he would say, until brought into connection with some general law. 31 At the end of eight months, it was almost with reluctance that I left these friends and turned to insects; but what I had gained by this outside experience has been of greater value than years of later investigation in my favorite groups.*This version of the essay Look at Your Fish! originally appeared in both  Every Saturday: A Journal of Choice Reading  (April 4, 1874) and the Manhattan and de la  Salle Monthly  (July 1874)  under the title In the Laboratory With Agassiz by A Former Pupil.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Herbert Hoover Biography and Presidency

Herbert Hoover Biography and Presidency Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) served as Americas thirty-first president. Before turning to politics, he served as a mining engineer in China. He and his wife Lou were able to escape the country when the Boxer Rebellion broke out. During World War I, he was quite effective organizing Americas war relief efforts. He was then named as the Secretary of the Commerce for two presidents: Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. When he ran for the presidency in 1928, he handily won with 444 electoral votes.   Here is a quick list of fast facts for Herbert Hoover. For more in depth information, you can also read the Herbert Hoover Biography Birth August 10, 1874 Death October 20, 1964 Term of Office March 4, 1929-March 3, 1933 Number of Terms Elected 1 Term First Lady Lou Henry Chart of the First Ladies Herbert Hoover Quote Every time the government is forced to act, we lose something in self-reliance, character, and initiative.Additional Herbert Hoover Quotes Major Events While in Office Stock Market Crash (1929) Start of the Great Depression (1929) Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)Bonus Army March (1932)Lame Duck Amendment Ratified (1933) The stock market crashed on Black Thursday, October 24, 1929, only seven months after Hoover had taken office. Five days later, on October 29th, Black Tuesday happened devastating stock prices even further. This was the beginning of the Great Depression that would effect countries around the world. Unemployment levels in the United States hit twenty-five percent.   When the Hawley-Smoot Tariff was passed in 1930, Hoovers goal was to protect the American farming industry. However, the real effect of this tariff was that foreign countries countered with high tariffs of their own.   In 1932, a Bonus March happened in Washington. Veterans had previously been awarded insurance under President Calvin Coolidge that was to be paid out after twenty years. However, because of the economic devastation of the Great Depression, over 15,000 veterans went to Washington D.C. to demand immediate payouts of their bonus insurance. They were virtually ignored by Congress. The Marchers ended up living in shantytowns around the US Capitol. To deal with this situation, Hoover sent in the military under  General Douglas MacArthur to get the veterans to move. The military used tanks and tear gas to get the veterans to leave.   Hoover lost reelection by a wide margin as he was blamed for much of the fallout and dire situations for many Americans during the Great Depression.   States Entering Union While in Office None Related Herbert Hoover Resources: These additional resources on Herbert Hoover can provide you with further information about the president and his times. Causes of the Great DepressionWhat actually caused the Great Depression? Here is a list of the top five most commonly agreed upon causes of the Great Depression. Chart of Presidents and Vice PresidentsThis informative chart gives quick reference information on the presidents, vice-presidents, their terms of office, and their political parties. Other Presidential Fast Facts Calvin CoolidgeFranklin D. RooseveltList of American Presidents

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Nevertheless Botticelli as a True Renaissance Master Research Paper

Nevertheless Botticelli as a True Renaissance Master - Research Paper Example Born in Florence, Botticelli owes much of his style to Fra Filippo Lippi to whom he was apprenticed as a child. â€Å"Lippo Lippi’s synthesis of the new control of three-dimensional forms, tender expressiveness in face and gesture, and decorative details inherited from the late Gothic style were the strongest influences on Botticelli†. The composition of the painting is also worth noting for it draws the viewer to the background which depicts a tranquil pastoral landscape. Similar compositions are to be found in many of Botticelli’s paintings, including those mentioned earlier, and is perhaps an allusion to ‘mother nature’ and ‘neo-platonism’, the fusion of pagan and Christian themes which tried to â€Å"reconcile classical and Christian views†(Sandro Botticelli [2}, by combining â€Å"Christian faith with ancient mythology, rather than merely relating them† (Sandro Botticelli [3]). This painting thus is Botticelli’s contribution to Renaissance art, based on â€Å"myth and partly inspired by contemporary poetry and literature† and on his interpretation of Greek and Roman mythology (Portrait of the Artist Sandro Botticelli). The fusion of these two aspects is one of the most special characteristics of Botticelli's work. Overall, the subject matter, composition, and fine detail and colour make this work of art truly timeless. In his time, Botticelli was the acknowledged authority of line who brought the linear tradition to its pinnacle, soon to be replaced by the high classical style of Leonardo da Vinci. Nevertheless, Botticelli is still recalled for his works and for being a true Renaissance master.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Steve Jobs Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Steve Jobs - Term Paper Example Background - experience, past and present - impact on the current organization Born in the year 1955, Steve Jobs was in Homestead school, in California. He often visited companies like Hewlett-Packard, after his lectures. Jobs first assignment was at Atari, as a technician where he created a circuit board for a game. Finally Wayne, Wozniak and Jobs founded Apple computers and used to sell it in the garage of Jobs’ parents in the year 1971. As a company Apple started its existence in 1976 with much of funding from investors. (Steve Jobs Leadership Case Study) Apple was expanded over the years until it became huge. It was Jobs who observed the commercial potentials from mouse driven GUI belonging to Xerox PARC and this inspired the creation of Apple Lisa. Based on this a year later, Macintosh was invented in 1984. Due to some incidents of dispute Jobs retired from Apple in 1985, and in that year only formed NeXT Inc. (Steve Jobs Leadership Case Study). NeXT Inc was later was abs orbed by Apple in 1996 bringing back Jobs. It was in 1997, when he once again became the CEO of Apple. Under Jobs’ supervision, the invention of i-Pod, i- Mac, i-Tunes, and subsequently i-Pad ensued. Fighting with cancer since 2003 he finally resigned from his duties as a CEO in August 2011. Finally he was elected as a chairman in Apple (Lomas). Jobs never limited himself to Apple or NeXT only. He bought Pixar, and merged with Disney, produced innumerable computer animated pictures such as â€Å"Toy Story†, â€Å"A Bug’s Life† and others (Steve Jobs Resigns as CEO of Apple) Six leadership characteristics Jobs exhibited Few traits of quality leadership that Steve jobs possessed are enumerated and analyzed below- â€Å"Look-ahead† mindset He set precise goals and had a clear and concise vision of the future. He ensured that the vision got inculcated in the minds of everyone throughout the organization. Effective leaders like him have always envisione d exactly what they want and how they are going to achieve their goals in order to get what they want. (Lomas) Jobs always focused on what Apple should do next in the future. He always invited employee’s suggestions about the future actions. His each and every week started with having a three or four hour discussion regarding the scenario they would foresee in the world in the coming days. In a statement he commented, "We are inventing the future... Come down here and make a dent in the universe" (Jobs). His unfathomable and unparalleled obsession with brightening the future with technological advancements paved the way for Apple to be the first name uttered amongst many, when it comes to everyday gadgets, be it mobiles or digital music players or PCs or even OSs. (Hyatt) Persistence - Steve Jobs epitomizes the virtue persistence and it was most exemplified through his exit from Apple. He refused to give up, and in fact, went on to start NeXT computers which would eventually be acquired by Apple Computers Inc. It would have been obvious for a common person to give up at this point and regret the loss. As a leader, one has to be prepared to encounter and conquer hindrance. It is all the more important to show this character, especially if one would like to form a

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Id, Ego and Super-Ego As it relates to “The Lord of the Flies” Essay Example for Free

Id, Ego and Super-Ego As it relates to â€Å"The Lord of the Flies† Essay Many people have different types of personalities. The characters from the story The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, have 3 different parts of personality of the brain. According to Freud these are the three parts Id, Ego and the Super-Ego. Freud’s personality theory really shows in The Lord of the Flies. In the story Jack would be described as the Id. According to Sigmund Freud, Id is the part of your personality you are born with that you have to control. These aspects of personality are entirely unconscious and make you have a bad behavior if you don’t get what you desire, want or need. Jack had a problem following the rules and controlling his behavior about working together to get rescued with the other kids. He killed people, not caring about the consequences. He felt like he could do anything he wanted, Id people don’t care about following rules; that’s the last thing they care about. On the other hand, Super-ego is very different from Id. People who are ruled by Super-Ego follow the rules and even make them. They sense what’s right and wrong. In The Lord of the Flies the Super-Ego was Piggy. He would take everything very seriously when it would come time to make plans. For example he said, â€Å"How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper?† (p 45). It shows us how much he wants order in the group and for everybody to act maturely. Super-Ego also operates in accordance with social conformity and appropriateness. The super-ego, its role of moral authoritarian, is the opposite of the Id. The other main character from the Lord of the Flies was Ralph. He’s the one known as the leader. He cared, showed kindness and also was very  intelligent. The personality represented by Ralph is the Ego. The role of the Ego is to sift through what is real and what isn’t. They make decisions by their thoughts, theyfollow what makes sense to them and how they relate it to the world we live in. Ralph demonstrates common sense and reality, which is one of the things Ego has. Ralph was very realistic about being rescued when everybody was saying that nobody would find them. He also wanted to have fun; an example of how the Ego balances the Id and Super-Ego is showed Ralph is figuring out what to do, â€Å"†¦This is what I thought. We want to have fun. And we want to be rescued.† (p 37). William Golding really shows us how human nature could be. He illustrates how truly destructive humans can be. Golding makes very good use of characters in The Lord of the Flies, he shows both good and evil through each of the characters. He saw how destructive humans can be, and how normal people transform from a civilized human being into a savage in a quick second. The ending tells us that people don’t really imagine what other people can do. The military officer made a joke that it was ironic of what’s happening on the island, â€Å"We saw your smoke. What you been doing? Having a war or something?† (p 201). It’s ironic how the military officer said something that was exactly what was happening†¦he would have never thought some little kids would do something like that. The Lord of the Flies is a picture of the society in which we live today. It is a novel, which explains some of the issues like violence and many other things that are happening in the world. It is much easier to side with evil but very challenging to support humans and what we know is right. Society keeps everybody civilized and we need rules and principles to live by.The Id, Ego and Super-Ego are why we are different from each other, it explains why we think and behave differently. Freud knew all parts of personality must exist together in balance for a person or a society to stay healthy, live happily and safely.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Germany and Outbreak of WWI Essay -- History World War I

Throughout time wars have ended with the defeat of one force and the victory of another, those on the side of defeat almost always being held accountable for the destruction these wars produce. This is undoubtedly the case with post WWI Germany, burdened with defeat and forced to sign the treaty of Versailles, thus taking responsibility for the war. Although blamed for the war, it is still a highly controversial question between historians if the Germans were truly responsible for WWI. However when studying the actions of Germany as a nation and its leaders in the years leading up to the war, one can see it is quite accurate to say Germany was responsible for the outbreak of World War One. Germany had been creating tensions since the days of Bismarck's alliances, and so when Kaiser Wilhelm ascended to the throne in 1888 and wanted to make Germany a great world power and have â€Å"a place in the sun† adopting a policy of ‘weltpolitik’1, German creation of pre-wa r tensions and advocacy of a war drove the rest of Europe into WWI with them in 1914. The nation of Germany can be held largely accountable for the outbreak of WWI solely because they laid the foundation for this war long before a world war was in view. Throughout the years leading up to the war, Germany's actions contributed to the tensions that would eventually erupt in war. By the year 1914, the countries of Europe had established such alliances with each other so that to ensure any conflict between two countries would result in a collective conflict involving all the great powers of Europe. This extensive alliance system would not have even been conceived if Germany had not initiated it; â€Å"The division of Europe into two armed camps took place by slow stages over a perio... ...: Britain, Germany, and the coming of the Great War. New York: Random House, 1991.226 10Morrow, John Howard. The Great War an imperial history. London: Routledge, 2004. 27. 11"First World War.com - Primary Documents - Germany's 'Blank Cheque' to Austria-Hungary, 6 July 1914." First World War.com - A Multimedia History of World War One. 19 Nov. 2010 . 12Marshall, S. L. A. World War I. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. 35. 13Tucker, Spencer, and Priscilla Mary. Roberts. World War I: encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. 15. 14Morrow, John Howard. The Great War an imperial history. London: Routledge, 2004. 27 15"First World War.com - Feature Articles - The Causes of World War One." First World War.com - A Multimedia History of World War One. 19 Nov. 2010 .

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Revelation Essay

Revelation The opening lines of the poem initiate the main themes; â€Å"Black bull† introduces one of the themes which are gender stereotyping. This suggests the bull is powerful, strong and very angry. Females are then introduced in the poem, â€Å"eggs and milk†. This suggests females are pale, delicate and easily broken. The poet highlights the theme of stereotypes by placing â€Å"black bull† above â€Å"eggs and milk†. This is to effectively state that the black bull is on top of eggs and milk which emphasises on the importance of gender stereotyping.The second theme is introduced which is innocence and experience, â€Å"They call him Bob – as though perhaps you could reduce a monster with the charm of a friendly name†. Tone her is cynical. The bull has been given a cheery, friendly name which is a irrelevant name for the harsh animal. The key words of the quote are â€Å"monster† and â€Å"friendly†. This is a very striki ng contrast between the idea of the name Bob being friendly, cheery and approachable, but in actual fact behind the cheery name lays a monster. The quote, â€Å"at the threshold of his outhouse†, is the turning point in the story.This is a symbolic quote that states you must go over a line before starting a new life. In the poem a young girl is standing in the area between safety and danger. The line is significant as the pause creates a series of tension building up to a sense of danger. The girl’s initial perceptions of the creature are conveyed in, â€Å"At first only black, and the hot reek of him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The girl’s sensory impressions of the bull are that the word â€Å"black† represents danger. The words â€Å"hot reek† represents the smell and stench of the bull.Her over all sensory impression is the smell of the bulls pungent aroma that is its natural smell and the limited sight gives her a sense of the unknown danger. The poet conti nues to reference the main theme of gender stereotyping by developing it, â€Å"We was immense†, This quote highlights masculinity and power. It shows that males are bigger, more powerful and the dominate gender. The theme of innocence and experience is also developed, and the bull and the girl are compared to each other. The girl is full of fear and innocence. She is extremely intimidated by the bulls presence.The poet powerfully, reinforces the contrasting thematic dichotomies suggested in verse one. In the first instance this is done by including details in verse two which contract with details from the first verse. The poet has reinforced the theme of innocence and experience as he shows that the bull knows he is restrained. Also reinforces the theme of gender stereotyping – girl and boy. This is done as it is dark and the girl cannot see what the bull is doing, whilst the girl is unaware of this, the bull is trying to break free from where he is chained up too.The poet condenses the contrast by highlighting them in a few lines of verse two. â€Å" I had always half known he existed† Here, the poet points out that the girl had always knew the bull was there, just she had never seen the bull and didn’t want to come to terms with the reality. Verse three is effective as it shows that the girl is fearful of her encounter with the bull. The girl is terrified by the bulls presence and runs away from the farm. She runs past a group of boys.Here the writer links the bull and the boys together by the use of harsh sound effects. It is important that this link is made as it makes a direct comparison between the bulls aggression and the boys cruelty. It highlights that they both share the same characteristics. Finally, the girls attention is redirected to the parlous state of the eggs and milk, due to the flight, â€Å"scared of the eggs shattering† While she’s too busy protecting the eggs it shows the reader that females are protective towards anything precious.In the girls eyes the eggs and milk are precious, and she wants to protect them from any harm. â€Å"in case the milk should spill† The precarious position of the milk is highlighted in the small hands of a weak girl, who has been charged with the responsibility of looking after the eggs and milk. She is protecting what is important to her. The poet seems to be suggesting that her experience shows that females are scared of males and have to protect themselves from any harm. Females protect all forms of life, they are caring and sensible creatures.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Does It Affect Culture as Much as Culture Affects It?

Semiotics in Fashion Photography: Does it affect culture as much as culture affects it? Introduction Fashion Photography has taken quite the belittling from the conventional world of photography. Where other forms of photography ‘naturally capture beauty, fashion photography is have said to be too meticulous in ‘setting up' the photograph.. Brooked states that, â€Å"fashion advertising, in particular, is seen as negating the purity of the bibliographic image. We see the typical [in fashion photography] instead of the unique moment or event. †Despite such an outlook on fashion photography, it has received thorough analysis and academic attention from the likes of Breathes, Wilson, Anderson, Brooked and Kumara. Breathes has taken fashion photography and placed it within a seismological framework, where he applies the semiotics into fashion photography as a meaner of communication through the signs and symbols for any photographs. Culture revolves around fashion phot ography. Or is it the other way round? It has become apparent that semiotics is greatly relevant to fashion photography, and assign is an excellent example off ‘identity-image producing media'.Fashion is an incredibly distinct language itself, and â€Å"emblematic the essence of its social context†. With that, is culture affected, or is the fashion photography affected by culture? With this essay I will be investigating the idea of whether culture is affected by fashion photography, or does fashion photography dictate our culture. Enquiry Outcomes I will be exploring the world of semiotics and how relevant it is to fashion photography and using it to solve the question of; whether fashion photography allow culture or dictates it.We take it for granted that fashion photography is something we pass by everyday, something that we do not pay very much attention to detail in our everyday lives and we don't know how much it really affects our culture to a certain degree. With this essay I will propose the idea of culture either being the one affected and dictated by fashion photography or the vice versa. Feasibility of proposed enquiry Fashion is constantly everywhere around us, and I will take advantage of the fact that I live in a world surrounded by fashion.For my research I will be gathering large amounts of my facts and data from online sources, Journals and e-books, and if possible from books, and my own observational analysis from fashion magazines and opinions of audiences. My aim for this essay is to analyses and conceptualize the semiotics in fashion photography, coming to the conclusion of how much it affects society and culture. With my own analysis of fashion photography I will come to the conclusion of either end of the spectrum. Relevance of enquiry to personal practiceThrough the research that I acquire and what I learn, I think it is important to broaden my aspects of skill to other industries. The fashion industry is not too far from t he design, and I think as being one of the most ‘communicative languages' through visual meaner, fashion is an important step to understanding wholly of what makes the world tick through visuals. As an inspiring designer and photographer, I would like to use this practice to benefit me in constructing my own meanings in works and to conceptualize them on my own in the future. Bibliography 1 . Jacobsen, M. 008) Semiotics, Fashion and Cognition. Unknown. A paper that concentrates on â€Å"Rolando Breathes early cosmologically inspired theory of fashion and discusses how this theory can be revised to fit later cognitive theories of language and semiotics. † Has a considerate large amount of relevant information pertaining to my essay. 2. Breathes, R. (2006). The Language of Fashion. Oxford: Berg Publishers. The original source of placing fashion photography into a semiotic framework, I will base most of my essay towards Breathes theories of semiotics in fashion. 3. Rhodes, A & Galoot, R.A semiotic analysis of high fashion advertising. Http:// www. Garrotes. Com/Semiotics andafashionF Though I will be focusing more of fashion photography, advertising does play a great role, and fashion photography is basically the significant part of fahsfashionertising. Through this source it concentrates more on a fashion advertising aspect and describes the art of it. 4. httpHttpews. mongMonogamym/Com5/0507chicaTinaler. htmlHTMLs is a paper done by Tina Butler on BartBreathesshion Photography as semiotics: BartBreathes the limitations of classification.Here Butler describes the details of semiotics, how they work in fashion photography and analyzes BartBreathesory in such a framework. 5. Stone, R. A Semiotic Analysis of Four Designer Clothing Advertisements http:// www. aberBaber. AC/mUKia/SstuStudents9robbersmlHTMLpite this source focusing more on an advertising aspect rather than photography, ultimately those two will always go together. Through a more thorough a nd focused analysis of brands, ads and the semiotics they present I can further contconceptualizehion photography in a semiotic framework.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Immigration to Canada essays

Immigration to Canada essays On the subject of putting more or less restrictions on migration, I would have to say that putting more restrictions would be necessary. I feel that if we let in people under low sercomstances more and more unemployed people will migrate to Canada. The first thing that I would like to discuss is unemployment with many of our immigrants. Most immigrants have a degree in a profession or in a field of work that is suitable for their home countries lifestyle. If a person of high skill in a country were to come here and not have the degrees or knowledge needed to work in that profession in Canada they would not get the job, and they would have to get that certain degree. This would probably mean that they would live on welfare if they do not get the degree. For these migrants to come into Canada and not work is a strain on society. This means that Taxes will go up, and that the people already living there and earning a living, will have to pay the government to pay these migrants that Immigration can also foster racism. If one particular culture was living in a specific area and then a new group, or culture, came in, the other culture may feel threatened. This is called xenophobia. This can aggravate racism and it puts a threat on the area. I am not saying that we should only let certain people into Canada, What I am saying is that if a great deal of people from form one culture come into Canada and take over, people will feel threatened and racism will When an immigrant immigrates to Canada unemployed with no work ethics, they tend to live off of welfare. They are basically taking advantage of getting money without working.This is unfair to our society because they are paying the government to pay them the money in which to live, and they arrant working to get it. Immigration with less restrictions means that anybody can come i ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

History of Women Inventors Who Filed Patents

History of Women Inventors Who Filed Patents Before the 1970s, the topic of women in history was largely missing from general public consciousness. To address this situation, the Education Task Force on the Status of Women initiated a Womens History Week celebration in 1978 and chose the week of March 8 to coincide with International Womens Day. In 1987, the National Womens History Project petitioned Congress to expand the celebration to the entire month of March. Since then, the National Womens History Month Resolution has been approved every year with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. The First Woman to File an American Patent In 1809, Mary Dixon Kies received the first U. S. patent issued to a woman. Kies, a Connecticut native, invented a process for weaving straw with silk or thread. First Lady Dolley Madison praised her for boosting the nations hat industry. Unfortunately, the patent file was destroyed in the great Patent Office fire in 1836. Until about 1840, only 20 other patents were issued to women. The inventions related to apparel, tools, cook stoves, and fireplaces. Naval Inventions In 1845, Sarah Mather received a patent for the invention of a submarine telescope and lamp. This was a remarkable device that permitted sea-going vessels to survey the depths of the ocean. Martha Coston perfected then patented her deceased husbands idea for a pyrotechnic flare. Costons husband, a former naval scientist, died leaving behind only a rough sketch in a diary of plans for the flares. Martha developed the idea into an elaborate system of flares called Night Signals that allowed ships to communicate messages nocturnally. The U. S. Navy bought the patent rights to the flares. Costons flares served as the basis of a system of communication that helped to save lives and to win battles. Martha credited her late husband with the first patent for the flares, but in 1871 she received a patent for an improvement exclusively her own. Paper Bags Margaret Knight was born in 1838. She received her first patent at the age of 30, but inventing was always part of her life. Margaret or Mattie as she was called in her childhood, made sleds and kites for her brothers while growing up in Maine. When she was just 12 years old, she had an idea for a stop-motion device that could be used in textile mills to shut down machinery, preventing workers from being injured. Knight eventually received some 26 patents. Her machine that made flat-bottomed paper bags is still used to this very day! 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition The 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition was a World Fair-like event held to celebrate the amazing progress of the century-old United States of America. The leaders of early feminist and womens suffrage movements had to aggressively lobby for the inclusion of a womans department in the exposition. After some firm pressing, the Centennial Womens Executive Committee was established, and a separate Womans Pavilion erected. Scores of women inventors either with patents or with patents pending displayed their inventions. Among them was Mary Potts and her invention Mrs. Potts Cold Handle Sad Iron patented in 1870. Chicagos Columbian Exposition in 1893 also included a Womans Building. A unique safety elevator invented by multi-patent holder Harriet Tracy and a device for lifting and transporting invalids invented by Sarah Sands were among the many items featured at this event. Traditionally womens undergarments consisted of brutally tight corsets meant to shape womens waists into unnaturally small forms. Some suggested that the reason women seemed so fragile, expected to faint at any time, was because their corsets prohibited proper breathing. Enlightened womens groups throughout the nation resoundingly agreed that less restrictive underclothing was in order. Susan Taylor Converses one-piece flannel Emancipation Suit, patented August 3, 1875, eliminated the need for a suffocating corset and became an immediate success. A number of womens groups lobbied for Converse to give up the 25-cent royalty she received on each Emancipation Suit sold, an effort that she rejected. Linking the emancipation of women from constrictive undergarments to her own freedom to profit from her intellectual property, Converse responded: With all your zeal for womens rights, how could you even suggest that one woman like myself should give of her head and hand labor without fair compensation? Perhaps its a no-brainer that women inventors should turn their minds to making better the things that often concern women the most. The Ultimate Home The ultimate convenience invention must certainly be woman inventor Frances Gabe’s self-cleaning house. The house, a combination of some 68 time-, labor-, and space-saving mechanisms, makes the concept of housework obsolete. Each of the rooms in the termite-proof, cinder block constructed, the self-cleaning house is fitted with a 10-inch, ceiling-mounted cleaning/drying/heating/cooling device. The walls, ceilings, and floors of the house are covered with resin, a liquid that becomes water-proof when hardened. The furniture is made of a water-proof composition, and there are no dust-collecting carpets anywhere in the house. At the push of a sequence of buttons, jets of soapy water wash the entire room. Then, after a rinse, the blower dries up any remaining water that hasn’t run down the sloping floors into a waiting drain. The sink, shower, toilet, and bathtub all clean themselves. The bookshelves dust themselves while a drain in the fireplace carries away ashes. The clothes closet is also a washer/drier combination. The kitchen cabinet is also a dishwasher; simply pile in soiled dishes, and don’t bother taking them out until they are needed again. Not only is the house of practical appeal to overworked homeowners, but also to physically handicapped people and the elderly. Frances Gabe (or Frances G. Bateson) was born in 1915 and now resides comfortably in Newberg, Oregon in the prototype of her self-cleaning house. Gabe gained experience in housing design and construction at an early age from working with her architect father. She entered the Girl’s Polytechnic College in Portland, Oregon at age 14 finishing a four-year program in just two years. After World War II, Gabe with her electrical engineer husband started a building repairs business that she ran for more than 45 years. In addition to her building/inventing credits, Frances Gabe is also an accomplished artist, musician, and mother. Fashion Forward Fashion designer Gabriele Knecht realized something that clothes makers were neglecting in their clothing designs- that our arms come out of our sides in a slightly forward direction, and we work them in front of our bodies. Knecht’s patented Forward Sleeve design is based on this observation. It lets the arms move freely without shifting the whole garment and allows clothes to drape gracefully on the body. Knecht was born in Germany in 1938 and came to America when she was 10 years old. She studied fashion design, and in 1960, received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis. Knecht also took courses in physics, cosmology, and other areas of science that may seem unrelated to the fashion industry. Her broadened knowledge, however, helped her understand shapes and methods of pattern design. In 10 years she filled 20 notebooks with sketches, analyzed all the angles that sleeves can take, and made 300 experimental patterns and garments. Although Knecht had been a successful designer for several New York companies, she felt she had more creative potential. Struggling to start her own business, Knecht met a buyer from Saks Fifth Avenue department store who liked Knecht’s designs. Soon she was creating them exclusively for the store, and they sold well. In 1984 Knecht received the first annual More Award for the best new designer of women’s fashions. Carol Wior is the woman inventor of the Slimsuit, a swimsuit guaranteed to take an inch or more off the waist or tummy and to look natural. The secret to a slimmer look in the inner lining that shapes the body in specific areas, hiding bulges and giving a smooth, firm appearance. The Slimsuit comes with a tape measure to prove the claim. Wior was already a successful designer when she envisioned the new swimsuit. While on vacation in Hawaii, she always seemed to be pulling and tugging on her swimsuit to try to get it to cover properly, all the while trying to hold in her stomach. She realized other women were just as uncomfortable and began to think of ways to make a better swimsuit. Two years and a hundred trail patterns later, Wior achieved the design she wanted. Wior began her designing career at only 22 years old in her parents garage in Arcadia, California. With $77 and three sewing machines bought at auction, she made classic, elegant but affordable dresses and delivered them to her customers in an old milk truck. Soon she was selling to major retail stores and was quickly building a multi-million dollar business. At age 23, she was one of the youngest fashion entrepreneurs in Los Angeles. Protecting the Children When Ann Moore was a Peace Corps volunteer, she observed mothers in French West Africa carrying their babies securely on their backs. She admired the bonding between the African mother and child and wanted the same closeness when she returned home and had her own baby. Moore and her mother designed a carrier for Moores daughter similar to those she saw in Togo. Ann Moore and her husband formed a company to make and market the carrier, called the Snugli (patented in 1969). Today babies all over the world are being carried close to their mothers and fathers. In 1912, the beautiful soprano opera singer and actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Lillian Russell, patented a combination dresser-trunk built solidly enough to remain intact during travel and doubled as a portable dressing room. Silver Screen superstar Hedy Lamarr (Hedwig Kiesler Markey) with the help of composer George Antheil invented a secret communication system in an effort to help the allies defeat the Germans in World War II. The invention, patented in 1941, manipulated radio frequencies between transmission and reception to develop an unbreakable code so that top-secret messages could not be intercepted. Julie Newmar, a living Hollywood film and television legend, is a women inventor. The former Catwoman patented ultra-sheer, ultra-snug pantyhose. Known for her work in films such as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Slaves of Babylon, Newmar has also appeared recently in Fox Televisions Melrose Place and the hit feature-film To Wong Fu, Thanks for Everything, Love Julie Newmar. Ruffles, fluted collars, and pleats were very popular in Victorian-era clothing. Susan Knoxs fluting iron made pressing the embellishments easier. The trademark featured the inventors picture and appeared on each iron. Women have made many contributions to advance the fields of science and engineering. Nobel Prize Winner Katherine Blodgett (1898-1979) was a woman of many firsts. She was the first female scientist hired by General Electric’s Research Laboratory in Schenectady, New York (1917) as well as the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in Physics from Cambridge University (1926). Blodgett’s research on monomolecular coatings with Nobel Prize-winning Dr. Irving Langmuir led her to a revolutionary discovery. She discovered a way to apply the coatings layer by layer to glass and metal. The thin films, which naturally reduced glare on reflective surfaces, when layered to a certain thickness, would completely cancel out the reflection from the surface underneath. This resulted in the world’s first 100% transparent or invisible glass. Blodgett’s patented film and process (1938) has been used for many purposes including limiting distortion in eyeglasses, microscopes, telescopes, camera, and projector lenses. Programming Computers Grace Hopper (1906-1992) was one of the first programmers to transform large digital computers from oversized calculators into relatively intelligent machines capable of understanding human instructions. Hopper developed a common language with which computers could communicate called Common Business-Oriented Language or COBOL, now the most widely used computer business language in the world. In addition to many other firsts, Hopper was the first woman to graduate from Yale University with a Ph.D. in Mathematics, and in 1985, was the first woman ever to reach the rank of admiral in the US Navy. Hopper’s work was never patented; her contributions were made before computer software technology was even considered a patentable field. Invention of Kevlar Stephanie Louise Kwolek’s research with high-performance chemical compounds for the DuPont Company led to the development of a synthetic material called Kevlar which is five times stronger than the same weight of steel. Kevlar, patented by Kwolek in 1966, does not rust nor corrode and is extremely lightweight. Many police officers owe their lives to Stephanie Kwolek, for Kevlar is the material used in bulletproof vests. Other applications of the compound include underwater cables, brake linings, space vehicles, boats, parachutes, skis, and building materials. Kwolek was born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania in 1923. Upon graduating in 1946 from the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University) with a bachelor’s degree, Kwolek went to work as a chemist at the DuPont Company. She would ultimately obtain 28 patents during her 40-year tenure as a research scientist. In 1995, Kwolek was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Inventors NASA Valerie Thomas received a patent in 1980 for inventing an illusion transmitter. This futuristic invention extends the idea of television, with its images located flatly behind a screen, to having three-dimensional projections appear as though they were right in your living room. Perhaps in the not-so-distant future, the illusion transmitter will be as popular as the TV is today. Thomas worked as a mathematical data analyst for NASA after receiving a degree in physics. She later served as project manager for the development of NASA’s image-processing system on Landsat, the first satellite to send images from outer space. In addition to having worked on several other high-profile NASA projects, Thomas continues to be an outspoken advocate for minority rights. Barbara Askins, a former teacher, and mother, who waited until after her two children entered school to complete her B. S. in chemistry followed by a Master’s degree in the same field, developed a totally new way of processing film. Askins was hired in 1975 by NASA to find a better way to develop astronomical and geological pictures taken by researchers. Until Askins’ discovery, these images, while containing valuable information, were hardly visible. In 1978 Askins patented a method of enhancing the pictures using radioactive materials. The process was so successful that its uses were expanded beyond NASA research to improvements in X-ray technology and in the restoration of old pictures. Barbara Askins was named National Inventor of the Year in 1978. Ellen Ochoa’s pre-doctoral work at Stanford University in electrical engineering led to the development of an optical system designed to detect imperfections in repeating patterns. This invention, patented in 1987, can be used for quality control in the manufacturing of various intricate parts. Dr. Ochoa later patented an optical system which can be used to robotically manufacture goods or in robotic guiding systems. In all Ellen Ochoa has received three patents, most recently in 1990. In addition to being a woman inventor, Dr. Ochoa is also a research scientist and astronaut for NASA who has logged hundreds of hours in space. Inventing Geobond Patricia Billings received a patent in 1997 for a fire resistant building material called Geobond. Billings’ work as a sculpture artist put her on a journey to find or develop a durable additive to prevent her painstaking plaster works from accidentally falling and shattering. After nearly two decades of basement experiments, the result of her efforts was a solution which when added to a mixture of gypsum and concrete, creates an amazingly fire resistant, indestructible plaster. Not only can Geobond add longevity to artistic works of plastic, but also it is steadily being embraced by the construction industry as an almost universal building material. Geobond is made with non-toxic ingredients which make it the ideal replacement for asbestos. Currently, Geobond is being sold in more than 20 markets worldwide, and Patricia Billings, great grandmother, artist, and woman inventor remains at the helm of her carefully constructed Kansas City-based empire. Women care and women care as inventors. Many female inventors have turned their skills on finding ways to save lives. Invention of Nystatin As researchers for the New York Department of Health, Elizabeth Lee Hazen and Rachel Brown combined their efforts to develop the anti-fungal antibiotic drug Nystatin. The drug, patented in 1957 was used to cure many disfiguring, disabling fungal infections as well as to balance the effect of many antibacterial drugs. In addition to human ailments, the drug has been used to treat such problems as Dutch Elms disease and to restore water-damaged artwork from the effects of mold. The two scientists donated the royalties from their invention, over $13 million dollars, to the nonprofit Research Corporation for the advancement of academic scientific study. Hazen and Brown were inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1994. Fighting Disease Gertrude Elion patented the leukemia-fighting drug 6-mercaptopurine in 1954 and has made a number of significant contributions to the medical field. Dr. Elions research led to the development of Imuran, a drug that aids the body in accepting transplanted organs, and Zovirax, a drug used to fight herpes. Including 6-mercaptopurine, Elions name is attached to some 45 patents. In 1988 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine with George Hitchings and Sir James Black. In retirement, Dr. Elion, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991, continues to be an advocate for medical and scientific advancement. Stem Cell Research Ann Tsukamoto is co-patenter of a process to isolate the human stem cell; the patent for this process was awarded in 1991. Stem cells are located in bone marrow and serve as the foundation for the growth of red and white blood cells. Understanding how stem cells grow or how they might be artificially reproduced is vital to cancer research. Tsukamotos work has led to great advancements in comprehending the blood systems of cancer patients and may one day lead to a cure for the disease. She is currently directing further research in the areas of stem cell growth and cellular biology. Patient Comfort Betty Rozier and Lisa Vallino, a mother and daughter team, invented an intravenous catheter shield to make the use of IVs in hospitals safer and easier. The computer-mouse shaped, polyethylene shield covers the site on a patient where an intravenous needle has been inserted. The IV House prevents the needle from being accidentally dislodged and minimizes its exposure to patient tampering. Rozier and Vallino received their patent in 1993. After fighting breast cancer and undergoing a mastectomy in 1970, Ruth Handler, one of the creators of the Barbie Doll, surveyed the market for a suitable prosthetic breast. Disappointed in the options available, she set about designing a replacement breast that was more similar to a natural one. In 1975, Handler received a patent for Nearly Me, a prosthesis made of material close in weight and density to natural breasts.