Earth from Space Essay

The American astronaut Edgar Mitchell once described the earth from outer space as â€Å"a sparkling blue and white jewel,† a â€Å"light, delicate sky-blue sphere† outlined with â€Å"swirling veils of white† amidst a â€Å"thick sea of black mystery. † Indeed, the earth in space looks like a lonely sphere with neighbors separated by vast distances other than its one moon. More importantly, one can barely recognize the subtle details of the planet’s geographical features except the wide oceans and its land mass surrounded by water. From a distance, one cannot tell for certain that in that lonely planet lived billions of people going about their own ways day and night. If there are authorities who fit the role of describing the earth in space, no other groups of people can best fit that role other than the astronauts who for at least once or for a few times were able to catch a glimpse of our planet. Aleksei Lenov, a USSR astronaut, said that â€Å"the earth was absolutely round† while American astronaut Charles Walker’s attention was immediately caught by â€Å"a panorama of brilliant deep blue ocean† with â€Å"shades of green and grey and white† upon reaching outer space. There are still countless others who had the rare opportunity to take a look at the earth from such a distance afforded by the outer space. In general, it can be said that the astronauts took much notice of the more general features of the earth, focusing on the earth as a whole and not in terms of the multitude of land and water varieties that comprise it on closer inspection. That perhaps owes up to the fact that the view of the earth from outer space barely gives the viewer a broader look at our planet. Thus, the view of the earth in space only affords us several aspects of the earth to describe. For instance, one can easily recognize the seemingly boundless bodies of water occupying the larger regions of the earth. Take for instance the prominence of the Pacific Ocean as commonly illustrated in numerous books, magazines and scientific journals. Since much of the earth is covered in water, and much of the planet’s water comes from the Pacific Ocean, it is only expected from astronauts to immediately take notice of the Pacific. Satellite images also reveal how almost a third of the earth is comprised of those vast quantities of sea water, thereby prompting observers to not fail to see the deep blue blanket of water surrounding the lands and the people. More importantly, perhaps it is only through the view from outer space are we able to see the drastic effects of every tree cut down and a whole range of rainforests razed by fires and human activities. We may not be able to recognize the massive effect of these things right from the earth, but from outer space one may not fail to acknowledge the largeness of the scale of environmental degradations which have occurred through the years. It is only from that view from the outer space that we are able to see as well the vastness of the deserts that may soon become of the forests destroyed from cutting trees for daily human consumption. Although astronauts say there are still â€Å"green† parts of the earth as the view from outer space reveals, it can hardly be denied that much of the parts of the earth have remained the same over the past years, especially when the view of the earth from the past is compared to what it is today. Indeed, the chance to view the earth from outer space is the chance of a lifetime as only a very few selected number of individuals are given that rare moment. Moments like those experienced by the astronauts give us accounts of how our planet looks like, including its more general land, water and atmospheric features which, when taken altogether, offer a comprehensive understanding of the only â€Å"living† planet in the solar system thus far. Reference Hamilton, C. J. (1997). Earth from Space. Retrieved July 4, 2008, from http://www. solarviews. com/eng/earthsp. htm

Comparative Study of Visible Light Spectra Emitted

One discrepancy is that according to the table above, LED must be the most saturated, this is not the case for the experiment, however, due to the age of the device and its degenerated bulbs one of the major faults of first generation LED displays Another part of the objectives of the study was to compare the light spectra with respect to different colors as well as brightness the group initially tried altering the intensity Of the light sources to see if changing the intensity would cause a significant difference in the observations.The only difference found by increasing (or decreasing) the light intensity was that the visible light spectrum was brighter (or dimmer). No other characteristic of the visible light spectrum changes. 4. Conclusion Given the characteristics based on the grabs standard, it is apparent that the monitor with the most accurate color reproduction is the PIPS screen followed by the LED and lastly the Retina. Color reproduction can be concluded to be directly r elated to the width of the white light spectra produced by the screens; the wider the spectra the more accurate the color reproduction. TheLED not matching the literature for having the most saturated display of color is because of the degenerated bulbs that is a common problem for first generation LED screens. The resolution, on the other hand, did not seem to affect the visible light spectra. Comparing the light spectra with different brightness does not vary the results; it only contributes to the brightness or dimness of the spectra. In future experiments, some of the improvements considered are finding a more standardized color application, using a more advanced spectrometer, and comparing newer devices.

Innovative Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Innovative Organisations - Essay Example By virtually every measure, Ryanair has managed to develop positive leadership innovation, process innovation and product/service innovation by creating new business models and business structures designed to bring long-term value to the business. This report identifies Ryanair’s strategies in innovation, an assessment of these innovations, and also a description of how the author of this report could contribute effectively to the long-term future of Ryanair. Innovation is key to any successful enterprise. There are a wide variety of acceptable definitions of innovation, one of which is the successful creation and launch of a new product or service concept which provides significant competitive advantage to today’s firms. Competitive advantage means utilising this new innovative idea or concept and applying it using a market-focused methodology which outperforms competing companies and gains market share in the process. This report highlights the activities of Ryanair, the low-frills, discount airline company, which provide innovation in the airline industry and a stronger business portfolio. Ryanair was established in the 1990s as one of the first no-frills discount airline companies in Europe. The company, with this discount philosophy, has managed to increase its market share against major competitors such as Lufthansa and Air France-KLM (Done, 2009), which is not an easy task to accomplish considering how long these airline companies have been a staple airline carriers in Europe. When the company was first implemented, there did not seem to be a heavy consumer demand for no-frills services, or perhaps the company simply lacked marketing focus, as the business was riddled with heavy losses and an inability to seize a higher volume of market share than that of its competition (Done). However, today, Ryanair has managed to redevelop its previous business model, making it more adaptive to consumer needs, which is bringing the

History of costume design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History of costume design - Essay Example Born in Moscow in May of 1816, Princess Leonilla Ivanovna Bariatinskaya married Prince Ludwig Zu Sayn Wittgenstein on October 23, 1834 at Castle Marino and became Princess Sayne Wittgenstein Sayn. Their marriage existed between the year 1799 and 1866. Princess Leonilla was a remarkably attractive woman whose beauty garnered the attention of many artists, all of whom produced portraits of her. In 1843, Winterhalter was commissioned to paint Princess Leonilla’s portrait. At the time, she was married to Prince Ludwig Aldof Friedrich. . In 1833, she sat for Winterhalter for an oval portrait that featured her shadowed face, contrasting dark hair and opaline skin, and magnificent pearls. He also painted her again in 1849.2 It is the Portrait of Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, however, that overshadows all other paintings. Winter halter employs an art style known as Romanticism in which he ‘humanizes’ his clients. By being more objective about the features of his subject’s, he can bring out their unique and natural beauty. Franz Xaver Winter halter was famous for his glossy and daring portraits of German royalty. Born to a peasant stock in a small village in the Back Forest in Germany, the young Winterhalter developed an interest in art. At the age of 13 years, Winterhalter began training in art through an apprenticeship. It is here that Winterhalter first learned the practice of engraving. He then relocated to Munich to further study painting, living off of his lithography earnings. . Winterhalter’s art career was ignited in 1828 when the Grand Duchess of Baden commissioned him to do a portrait. This became the commencement of a chain of royal court paintings which spanned the globe from Italy to France to Russia.3 The young artist’s success sparked many onlookers to comment that his portraits appeared unusual and unconventional. Despite this hurdle, Winterhalter developed a favorable reputation for his skillfulness at combining

Management, People and Organisations - Managing the United Kingdom Essay - 1

Management, People and Organisations - Managing the United Kingdom National Health Service - Essay Example Finally, the paper discusses the functions of management and the skills required to perform the managerial role and focuses on the "control" function to determine whether or not it can be performed without managers. Management is defined by Koontz and Weihrich (2004) as the process of designing and maintaining an environment in which, individuals, working in groups, efficiently accomplish selected goals. There are different definitions regarding what management precisely is. In another definition â€Å"Management is the art of getting things done through people† (Daft, 2005). According to these definitions, the key role of management is to get things done by the people, through creating a suitable environment in which they can achieve organisational goals. The case study shows that many clinicians have taken on managerial roles into their existing role, in a bid to make a difference. This involvement in management can be time consuming and actually conflicts with their clinical roles. It is obvious that many of the symptoms which the case study demonstrates can be directly linked to conflict of roles. A role is â€Å"a set of expectations and obligations to act in a specific way in a certain context† (Rollinson, 2008). In any given role, there are two aspects: The role player and his obligation toward the role, and the role setter who has expectations from the person performing the role. â€Å"Role conflict arises from inadequate role definition. The manner in which a person actually behaves may not be consistent with their expected pattern of behaviour. Such inconsistency leads to a number of results which reflect negatively on the manager’s performance and morale†. (Leicester MPO, 2007) The first result is incompatibility of role. It arises when compliance with being a clinician makes it very difficult to comply with being a manager. Middle managers often face this problem with their senior and junior managers. (Leicester MPO, 2007) As

Managing across Cultures individual report Essay

Managing across Cultures individual report - Essay Example As a result of its influence, culture management across organizations has started getting importance in business terms and is currently the one of the most evaluated subject for business analysts researchers and. In the present study culture will be studied with respect to its various dimensions researched by known people. Few of the organizational behaviour and cultural theories will also be discussed in detail Critical analysis of theory and research Culture plays a major role in characterizing the environmental context in which firms operate and decide, chose strategies and structures. A culture essentially consists of the expectations, experiences, philosophies and values ingrained and the elemental brinks which holds an organization or an association together (Bennett, Aston and Colquhoun, 2000). In broader terms organizational culture comprises of visions, norms, working languages, systems, beliefs, symbols and habits. Since individuals work together in an organization as a tea m with a common goal of completing the job, the culture created in a firm will help the team members in understanding each other more successfully (Olsonand Kroeger, 2001). Hofstede defines culture as â€Å"the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others† (Hofstede et al., 1990). ... ee individuals are integrated with groups Masculinity and Femininity (MAS) - Masculinity represents society’s preference towards heroism, achievement, assertiveness as well as material rewards. On the other hand, Femininity refers preferring modesty, cooperation and care for underprivileged and weak and improving quality of life. Society is both competitive and consensus oriented (Hofstede and McCrae, 2004). Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) - it is the tolerance of a society towards ambiguity and uncertainty. It expresses the tendency of feeling uncomfortable with risks and unexpected changes. countries showing strong UI have rigid belief codes while weak UI society have more tranquil attitudes where practice is given more preference than principles Long term and Short term orientation- long term orientation refers to the society and their individual’s explore for virtues. On the other hand, short term orientation refers to preference for absolute truth. They are normative t hinkers and exhibit respect for traditions. Another model of cultural dimensions was given by Trompenaars. He classified cultures according to a mix of value and behavioral patterns. The research was particularly focused on business executives. Seven value orientations were evaluated. The seven dimensions were particularism versus universalism, individualism versus communitarians, emotional versus neutral, specific versus diffuse, ascription versus achievement, nature-human relationship and nature-time relationship. Trompennar’s work primarily focuses on sociology and includes two measurements for attitudes which were environment and time. Researchers have divided Trompennars theory into two different aspects. There are three ways to handle cultural problems and five individual dimensions. Edward

Absorption Costing versus Variable Costing Essay

Absorption Costing versus Variable Costing - Essay Example Adopting absorption costing and variable costing by a firm is not considered mandatory however. They are essentially tools for the management to assess profitability. Absorption costing broadly refers to the manufacturing costs which get absorbed by a unit of product that is manufactured (Garrison, Noreen and Brewer, 2003). Absorption costs include raw material costs, labour costs, fixed and variable manufacturing expenses. The absorption costing system includes taking into consideration all types of fixed and variable costs and allocating the same under different heads and accordingly estimating the overall costs of the product (Garrison, Noreen and Brewer, 2003). A product, in the course of its manufacturing may absorb a number of different types of costs. As per the regulations of GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Priniciples), it is essential that the firm recognizes the value of its inventory on the basis of absorption costing (Garrison, Noreen and Brewer, 2003). However these costs are not recognized till the firm sells the goods and revenues are earned. They are not recognized when an entity makes payment for the same and therefore remai ns in the inventory cost as an asset (Garrison, Noreen and Brewer, 2003). Variable costing is considered to be suitable a management tool for assessing efficiency. It is often used as an alternative for absorption costing. GAAP does not allow the usage of variable costing for estimating the cost of production. However, managers are seen to use the same for assessing internal operations affectivity. The variable costing technique includes only the variable production costs. Fixed manufacturing expenses under this method are treated as period cost and are deducted from the income earned during the period (Hilton, 1994). Absorption costing is seen to be useful when all manufactured