Grave of the Fireflies My Personal Reactions Essay

Yet again this is another war movie. But unlike so many American blockbusters that treat brave soldiers as heroes (such as Pearl Harbor, We were soldiers, Windtalkers, etc.), this one addresses war’s brutal impact on innocent civilians, especially children. With the war on Iraq now undergoing, this point has all the more relevance. Under the same American bombing, innocent Iraqi children are now suffering just as much as Seita and Setsuko in this movie have suffered, and even more, for the Iraqi people and land have long known the horrors of poverty, hunger and dictatorship. This essay, with at the beginning a brief summary and an elaboration of three classic scenes in the movie, is going to present to you the three dimensions of the complex feelings that the movie provokes in my heart on a personal level and thus tries to offer an individual yet hopefully worthy viewpoint for those interested in the movie. Summary and Three classic scenes Grave of the Fireflies is based on a semi-autobiographical book by Nosaka Akiyuki about the death of his sister, and is a very well known book in Japan. The movie itself is about a teenager boy named Seita and his 5-year-old sister Setsuko, and how they try to survive in mainland Japan after the entirety of their port town, Kobe, is destroyed by American fire bombings. Their mother dies shortly after the fires are put out, in a graphic and poignant scene at a community hospital. Their father is in the Navy, and unbeknownst to them, has already died in battle. Unable to tell Setsuko that their mother has died, Seita takes her with him to live with their Aunt. The Aunt, however, cares little for them, and barely feeds them. Seita eventually takes Setsuko, and leaves their aunt’s house for a dug-out shelter by a pond, where he struggles hopelessly to find money and items to trade for food. It all spirals downward in a tragic, yet foreseeable, path to a heartbreaking end, which is slow-suffering death for both brother and sister. There are three scenes in the movie that I find particularly striking and believe do most in delivering the themes of this movie. One is when after  the siblings use the fireflies to illuminate the cave, Setsuko is seen the next morning burying the dead insects, and as she tells that she knows her mother has died and is now also in a grave, she asks with her two large sparkling eyes shadowed and barred by the horrors of war, â€Å"Why do fireflies have to die so quickly?† Another comes after Seita carries his little sister to the hospital and is informed that his sister is starving and needs food, he is somber for a moment murmuring ‘food’, then in a sudden burst of desperation, cries out: â€Å"Where am I supposed to get food?† These two questions stabbed my heart like spears the moment I heard them. These are questions that never really need to be answered but they nevertheless need to be remembered. In the last scene, the ghost of Setsuko lays sleeping comfortably in the lap of her older brother, while he gazes at the night sky over the skyline of a fully modernized city. As one critic elaborates on this last shot, and here I quote, â€Å"They live on, though the world has forgotten them, and will continue to live on forever, reliving their story. They have not forgotten the past; they cannot. And neither should we.† Troubled, Moved, and Pity In fact this is a feeling any human being would have after watching this movie. The story the movie tells is heart-rending enough, as could be well seen from the above description and elaboration. However, the movie’s strength is not in the story, but in the untold. From the time Seita’s ghost appears after his death in a train station at the beginning of the movie, the viewer is haunted by the remembrance of what is to come as he retells his story. There are times when the viewer is allowed to forget about the future, but only for a little while, as Seita and Setsuko’s reappearance brings them back to the sad reality of their impending deaths. A feeling is created that some ghosts (like Seita and Setsuko) are still living, breathing people, and are cursed to watch their agony over and over again. In a scene where Setsuko cries violently for her Aunt not to take her mother’s kimonos and sell them for food, the screen pans slowly and deliberately out of vie w of the main characters, where the orange glow of Seita’s ghost appears. He covers his ears and cringes at his sister’s tears, almost crying himself, but can do nothing to stop them. Even the few heart warming scenes in the movie are interrupted by the truth of what the brother and sister face. There is a scene about a half hour into the movie where Seita takes Setsuko to the beach for the first time. It is a beautiful display of sibling love, and flashbacks of warm memories from their family enter the story. They are all too brief, however, as Setsuko soon discovers a dead body from the war wrapped in straw. Seita tells her the man is asleep, and they do not go to the beach again. Another disquieting scene is of Seita’s ghost watching himself carry his sleepy sister on his back, about to enter his Aunt’s house for the first time. He watches, knowing full well what will come of it, but unable to stop it. Indeed, as Roger Ebert, the famous critic for Chicago Sun-times, wrote in his review essay of the movie, one of Grave of the Fireflies’ greatest gifts is its patience; shots are held so we can think about them, characters are glimpsed in private moments, and atmosphere and nature are given time to establish themselves. The movie does not try to create a dramatic plot or atmosphere; rather it narrates the story out simply and directly, giving the animation an amazingly realistic touch and mood. There is time for silence in almost every scene and between scenes. And in these silences allowed for meditation we the audience are deeply troubled by the horrors of war, moved by the beauty and spirit the siblings display while confronting these horrors and at the same time we feel great pity for their tragic fate. Being a Chinese†¦ Being a Chinese, I found myself at times revolting to the movie in the course of viewing, mainly because, I think, it narrates through a Japanese military family’s point of view and takes a great pity upon the Japanese people. I thought to myself: â€Å"How about the cities you bombed and the villages you burned down? You deliberately invaded other countries and you massacred other peoples at will. During World War II, thousands upon thousands of Chinese people not only died from poverty and hunger, they died as victims to your soldiers’ barbaric slaughtering-for-fun-and/or-competition craze, and as experimenters in your notorious chemical weapon labs. You raped our  women and murdered our children, what right have you got to make such a movie and complain to the world about your miseries in a war largely initiated by your own government’s greed for power and resources?† Some of the characters’ remarks in the movie I find offending, like â€Å"Daddy will make them pay for this†, â€Å"†¦defend our country and motherland†, â€Å"We surrendered? The great Japanese Empire surrendered?† etc. Also the portrait of the impression of the boy’s father being loving, upright and brave somewhat angers me. In this movie, the father is the only soldier of the characters involved, and therefore to some extent he represents the Japanese military. This has some effect in creating the false impression that the Japanese military is upright and is only defending their homeland. Moreover, I cannot help thinking that if Seita was but a dozen years older, he would have been fighting somewhere in the Asias or the pacific, tormenting innocent people of other countries and serving the fascist greed of the Japanese government. Nostalgic Mood Still I admire many of the movie’s beautiful scenes. I believe that the scene of numerous fireflies dancing in the dark and around the brother and sister will remain one of animation’s most memorable scenes and it tickles every child’s heart with wonder. The way that the siblings capture fireflies and set them free inside their net is the most peculiar yet fascinating way of illuminating I have ever seen. The effect it produces is overwhelming: imagine sleeping inside such a net! —- Just as the movie shows, it is just like sleeping under the starry sky in the open air! In fact many of the movie’s scenes ring familiarly with my childhood memories. I remember vaguely when I was small I also went out after dark with my peers to capture fireflies; I also crushed the firefly the first time I tried to hold one in my hands. To me, many of the movie’s displays of natural landscapes and field views accord to South China’s beautiful countryside scenery. It resembles my hometown as I remembered. Nowadays things are unfortunately different. Industrialization and modernization have robbed today’s children the privilege and pleasure of swimming in little ponds and catching fireflies and grasshoppers on summer nights. In fact I have never ever seen a firefly when I go back every summer since I came to Beijing. For  me personally, thereof, the movie in some respects counts more as a nostalgic one remembering good old days than a war movie with profound meanings.

The Leadership of Pres Kennedy and Johnson

Kennedy wasn†t in office for very long, his actions in and out of the whitehouse are legendary. When President Kennedy took the oath of office in 1960 he wasted no time in cleaning up America. Several bills were enacted in President Kennedy†s tenor. A lot of the major ones had to do with crime control. A lot of President Kennedy†s bills were targeted at organized crime. Bill S1653 was singed into action on September 13 1961. This was an interstate travel bill. The bill made it a crime to travel or use any facilities in interstate commerce with intent to conduct violent crimes to further illegal gambling, liquor, narcotics, or prostitution business. This bill had a major effect shutting down a lot of â€Å"speakeasy†s† which took care of gambling, and betting. Customs got a lot tighter which had a great impact on the running of liquor to foreign countries such as Canada and Mexico. A lot of drug pushers were arrested and many Bordellos† were also shut down. The senate passed Bill S1653 on July 28 and House on Aug 21. This was one of many anti-crime Bills that President Kennedy would enact throughout his term. A lot of his primary goals were oriented towards organized crime. Another one of President Kennedy†s crime Bills to be passed in 1961 having to do with crime was Bill S1656. This Bill made it a crime for anyone in the betting business to knowingly use a wire communication facility to transmit in interstate commerce any bets or wager information. Also it made it a crime to be caught with any betting paraphernalia such as parley sheets or wager stubs. This authorized a lot of wire-tapping and surveillance. Bill S1656 was passed by the Senate on July 28 and by the house on August 21 and was signed September 13. One other bill passed in 1961 by President Kennedy was the Fugitive felon act. This act made it a federal crime to cross boarders to avoid being prosecuted or remanded into custody after committing a violent crime or avoid giving testimony on a crime. This act was strongly enforced by local law enforcement agencies. The Federal firearms act of 1961 was a major bill passed for President Kennedy in 1961. This act prohibited the shipment of firearms in interstate and foreign lands to people under inditment for certain crimes. Not all of President Kennedy†s bills were directed towards the Mob and other such crime syndicates. President Kennedy also lobbied for the 1961 juvenile delinquency and youth offences control act. This act provided programs of federal assistance to state and local agencies to control delinquencies. It also authorized sections of health, education, and welfare to make grants for projects to improve methods of control, treatment and prevention of delinquency and to establish personal training programs. This bill was mainly focused at gang members, drug addicts, and first time offenders under the age of eighteen. In 1962 President Kennedy continued his onslaught on organized crime. One of his first acts was to enact an anti-crime bill that put a stop to interstate travel of gambling machines. Bill S1658 broadened on the 1951 ban on interstate travel of gambling machines to include shipments to points in the U.S. through foreign commerce and any machines including roulette wheels. Roulette wheels were included simply for the fact that they are a machine that is wagered upon were the course of action can result in the transfer of currency and or property. This bill was ironically called the Gambling Devices act of 1962. The Senate passed this bill by voice vote on July 27, 1961 and by the House June 29. This Bill was then signed into law October 18, 1962. Another bill that was going through congress was the eighth in a package of anti-crime bills proposed in 1962. Only two of the bills actually got anywhere. They were bills S1658 (the gambling machine bill) and bill S1655. This bill allowed the granting of court immunity to certain witnesses in labor-management racketeering cases. The Senate passed this in 1961. After president Kennedy was assassinated on November twenty-second, 1963, Vice-president Johnson was sworn into office at 2:38 PM later that day. President Johnson picked up where his predecessor left off. This led to the creation of a presidential committee on youth crime and juvenile delinquency with major stress on major cities such as New York, New Haven, San Francisco, and Cleveland. Other provisions to this act that differed from the first are setting up detoxification centers for drug abusers. One of his major acts was appealing to congress for drug laws and punishment. In 1964 a bill went through congress stating that there wasn†t â€Å"adequate means for detecting illegal diversions (of psychotoxic drugs) from legitimate channels. The reason for this bill was to make the non-legit licensed drug pushing a federal crime. One of the problems was that for the bill to be effective the regulation of such drugs had to cover intrastate as well as interstate commerce. The reason congress had to do this was because the drugs themselves do not come with labels stating their origins, and because of the manor that the drugs are held and or consumed a placing of their origin could be very taxing. For example because of foreign commerce certain drugs from for example Columbia might be treated more or less over say Peru. On August fifteenth 1964 congress passed bill number S 2628 by voice vote. There was no objection to the bill. The narcotics bill passed through congress and was eventually signed by President Johnson. On a related note the previous bill was the only directly involved narcotics bill in 1964. Around the same time that the narcotics bill was going through congress, the Senate Juvenile Delinquency Subcommittee filed a report on August 31. The report basically stated that the Narcotics Control Act of 1956 wasn†t working. The committee stated that â€Å"it failed in its initial determent purpose.† To help solve the problem the subcommittee recommended passage of several legislative measures. One of the bills was S 2628 this bill stated that instead of sentencing addicts, the way to handle them was to set up hospitals and detoxification centers. This was the new way to handle drug abusers. In 1965 President Johnson began to take a look at an increase in Mafia action that has been on a steady incline since 1961. In 1965 several bills were formed to combat organized crime. Senator†s John L McClellen (DArk) and Senator Frank J Lausche (D Ohio) submitted four bills in a package on June 24. The bills were as follows: 2187: Made it illegal to be involved in Mafia or any â€Å"secret society† that made their living by committing criminal activity. 2188: Made it a crime to obstruct federal procedures or investigations by attempting to bribe officials involved or witnesses. 2189: Legalized certain wire-tapping by federal agents for violation of federal law. 2190: Permitted witness in federal grand jury investigation to be compelled to testify and provide that they could be granted immunity from prosecution based on their compelled testimony. In early August of 1965, President Johnson urged for the enactment of the Law Enforcement Assistance Act of 1965 to supplement federal law training to local law enforcement officers as the FBI had conducted in the past. The purpose of the act was to provide training programs and demonstration projects in police work to update and improve the standards of local law enforcement personnel. The house passed on August 2, bill HR 8207 which authorized an appropriation of ten million dollars to implement the act in fiscal 1966. In 1967 the Omnibus District of Columbia Crime bill was passed which provided for warrentless arrests for minor misdemeanors and issuance of summons. In addition President Johnson also established a Federal Judiciary center to improve the operation of the federal judiciary and for protecting witnesses and informants from such enemy†s like the mob or other syndicated crime organizations. The Safe Streets and Crime Control act was passed to provide money for research and education for many ordinary street crimes. This set up the pathway for local organizations such as neighborhood watch. An Addition to that act was to focus again on juvenile crime. Thus the Juvenile Bill of 1967 was adopted. This bill also provided more money to develop and improve existing facilities regarding juvenile crimes. The money that was given went to: A. Appoint the Commission on crime and delinquency to do research on crime in the U.S. B. Appoint the Commission on law enforcement and administration of justice. A major contribution to the growing violence in America was guns. President Kennedy didn†t touch much on gun control. Neither did President Johnson until 1968. In 1968 President Johnson signed the gun control act. This act stated that a better control of interstate traffic in firearms was needed. This bill enabled support to federal, state and local law enforcement officials in their fight against violence and crime. President Johnson wasn†t only interested in fighting injustices on earth. Also in 1968 he signed an agreement between the U.S. and USSR banning nuclear weapons in outerspace. In conclusion President Kennedy and President Johnson both did a lot for crime control. A lot of the bills and act in which they personally oversaw are still in use today. Both had a lot to say and put their words into action. A lot of attention may have been swayed during the Johnson administration due to Vietnam. But President Johnson didn†t allow this to focus here at home as well. A lot has been done to prevent crime. A lot still needs to be done. With a little faith our presidents will continue to sign bills that will keep our streets safe and take care of crime in America. It isn†t very easy to get a bill to become a law. Most proposed bills never leave the floor before they are thrown out. Only the bills that have strong effects and are truly needed become laws in America.

Communication and Professional Relationships with Children, Young People and Adults Essay

1.1 – The importance of effective communication in developing positive relationships with children, young people and adults The importance of developing good relationships with children, young people and adults alike cannot be stressed enough. It is vitally important that we demonstrate and model effective communication skills with positive interactions as children are more likely to respond favourably to this. We must know and understand the boundaries of passing on information whilst observing school policies and confidentiality. We must continually check and process our information in moments of stress or excitement so that the children understand our expectations. In a way we should ‘practice what we preach’ or children will find it hard to understand acceptable boundaries. The element of trust must be gained, for without this it is difficult to envisage any real positivity or respect to be formed. In all cases good listening skills are equally important. Particularly with children it is not good practice to simply tell children what to do. Allowing children to talk and responding on their own language level will help them feel their views are valued and will improve their own self-esteem. If a child is perturbed or upset, it is not always easy to find an instant or easy solution, so the more we let them talk and choose our replies carefully (and this may be very little dialogue from us) the more we will gain their trust. I have personally found it good practice to physically be on their level whether teaching or dealing with any problems they may be experiencing. It is particularly important that older children and teenagers are allowed to be heard and express themselves. We may not entirely agree with what that have to say but our attention is vital if they are distressed in any way. Again, it may be good practice to go away and reflect on their views rather that go in ‘gung ho’ and say something we wished we hadn’t, thus damaging their trust in us. If we relate well to others the message we send out will be positive, otherwise communications can break down and it can lead to bad feeling. Developing a good working relationship with adults within the school environment relies on adopting a professional approach. It is important to be thoughtful and choose words carefully, particularly when there are cultural differences. It’s important to listen and be empathetic to parents and guardians. This will help us understand concerns and reassure them wherever possible. A positive approachable attitude will encourage positive relationships, whilst we must always remain professional and follow school policies and procedures. We can provide information on the social welfare and any physical needs of their children. As a mediator we can pass relevant information to the class teacher or line managers. Although we may occasionally liaise formally with parents, it is more often less so. 1.2 – The Principles of relationship building with children, young people and adults The key principles are: †¢ Effective Communication. The main area for developing positive relationships, this covers many different forms of communication †¢ Showing respect. We have to listen and be respectful to other people, be courteous by remembering names and how we address them. It is important to respect and acknowledge different cultures and people with different beliefs. †¢ Being considerate. We need to think about why a person may be acting out of character as they may be under pressure before we respond to them. Consider their feelings and the position they may be in. †¢ Remembering issues that are personal to them. It’s good to remember personal information about colleagues or parents and use them in a positive and not intrusive way. We can ask about their siblings, or other family members. Remembering birthdays and possibly asking parents how their older children are enjoying high school. †¢ Taking time to listen to others. If people confide in us we must take time to listen and show that we are interested, particularly if they require advice or help. We need to then respond in appropriate manner. †¢ Being clear on key points. We must be clear when giving information or instructions in conversations. It is good practice to ask the other person to repeat back our requirements so that they have understood us correctly. †¢ Maintaining a sense of humour. Throughout our important school work and life it is important to inject humour at appropriate times too. It can be a good icebreaker or way of relieving stress and relaxing a situation. 1.3 – How different social, professional and cultural contexts may affect relationships and the way people communicate We can adapt the way we communicate in different professional and cultural situations. I would use more considered and formal language automatically. If it was a meeting or discussion I would consider both my approach and responses, use positive body language and be attentive at all times. I would dress accordingly depending on the formality of the meeting or course. I try to respond promptly to telephone and email messages. I tend to keep communication with those of a different culture as formal as possible until invited to be less so or a good rapport is attained.

Unilever Group - analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Unilever Group - analysis - Essay Example Unilever Group - analysis Dove gives equal attention to the skin care needs of men and women alike. Unilever is a proponent of hygiene and well being and due to this it targets house wives in order to make them believe that their families are safe and healthy with Unilever products. It’s ice cream brands such Ben & Jerry’s and Wall’s are for all age groups (children, young and elderly). Knorr’s noodles are enjoyed children mostly. St. Ives is a beauty products line that has scrubs, lotions and proteins etc. and caters to women of 18 years plus. Lipton is consumed in the Asian region majorly and so people from the age of 20+ are catered here, as children are not very fond of tea. Unilever targets its customers through its principles of health, hygiene, personal care and nutrition. It focuses on hygiene and personal care specifically and for this the average housewife is targeted (Brand Source, 2009). One of the Unilever’s founding companies was Level Bros and in 1980’s William Hesketh came up with the idea for Sunlight Soap, which later proved to be his revolutionary product in Victorian England in terms of hygiene and cleanliness. The idea was to promote cleanliness, make women’s work easier, and promote a culture of health and personal attractiveness in order to convey the message that people who used Unilever products were living a better life. Around this time, the term Corporate Mission was not there but these ideas would have come under it had it been there. The fact only women are responsible for doing housework has become trite and obsolete. Unilever USA is a subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate, The Unilever Group (which has 10 companies operational as of now in the USA). Unilever USA is the largest company among the ten subsidiaries of the Unilever Group in USA and is primarily a consumer goods company distributing well known branded product s through grocery, drug, mass merchant and club channels. It has revenues worth $4 billion and if one of the top-notch fast moving consumer goods companies in the USA. However over the past ten years, profits for Unilever USA have not been very great. Due to an accounting change only, there was a profit last year (ConsultingCase, 2012). Unilever has a history that is three centuries old and remarkable events like economic boom, depression, world wars, changing consumer lifestyles and technological advancements have played an important role in it. This history is also marked by Unilever’s efforts to make life easier and enjoyable for its consumers by helping them save time (by reducing time spent on house work, nutritional concerns etc.). Besides that Unilever has also been able to balance its profits with care and social responsibility. During the 19th century, the founding companies of Unilever were the most charitable among others. They designed projects especially to impro ve their workers and their products were also designed in a manner such that they had social benefits. These products prioritized hygiene, personal care, and nutrition (was improved by adding vitamins to staple foods). Up till now, Unilever is a socially

Worst Day in School Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Worst Day in School - Personal Statement Example But when I saw the Mathematics teacher entering the class I lost my wits. At first I thought that the teacher just came in to check or ask for the copies but the next moment I realized that he was in the classroom to conduct his class. The teacher asked all the students to take out their text books from their bags. But as I made the timetable according to some other day I did not have the Mathematics text book. As soon as the teacher noticed me he not only honored me by insulting me but also threw me out of the class. As I was leaving the class the students hooted and taunted at me but as I was so embarrassed that I did not dare to reply to them. This was not the end. More was to come. A group of bullies passing my class saw me and started making fun of me. This was it and I could not take it anymore and I also started yelling at the boys and started cursing them. This was another mistake committed by me which marked my worst day in the school. As I replied them harshly the faction o f the boys started to get rude to me and passed even worse comments. Hearing those comments I run towards the boys and a fight started. I was alone and they outnumbered me. I did not only get a very good beating but was also caught by the principal. This gift was given to me by my mathematics teacher.

Microeconomic Concepts and Capitalism Assignment

Microeconomic Concepts and Capitalism - Assignment Example The Concept of demand states that the lower the price of a commodity the higher the demand for the same product and the higher the price of the product, the lower will be the demand for that product. Demand is important since it affects the price of products to a great level. This concept has made me realize how product prices are established in various markets. I notice that when there is high demand for a product in the market, the price of the product is bound to increase. Price elasticity of demand refers to a state where a rise in the price of a commodity leads to a greater demand for its close substitute and low demand for the complement of the same product. As a result, those venders selling the substitute commodities will register a rise in the sales volume and profit. This concept is important in that it reveals the relationship between products and their substitutes in terms of price and demand. The concept has helped me understand how substitute prices change relative to that of a particular product. The prices of similar products, hence, are somehow related and depend on one another It is a measure of the responsiveness to the change in the quantity supplied of a commodity to the changes in prices. In this case, an increase in the price of a commodity will lead to an increase in the supply of the same commodity, while a decrease in price will lead to a decrease in the quantity supplied. The concept is important given that it shows the relationship between supply and price of commodities. In the market, therefore, different products have a different price elasticity of supply as the supply side is subject to change in various markets.

Know-How and Knowledge Intensive Organizations Essay

Know-How and Knowledge Intensive Organizations - Essay Example These are the ones who the organization relies the most for problem solving. Sveiby suggests that there comes a point in the organization’s life cycle when the professional transfer their knowledge to other system for the sake of the organization’s growth. The author suggest that at this point, the organization is not reliant so much on the professionals as their knowledge has been transferred into other systems where those who are less skilled can still be trusted to do the jobs as the system guides them. An example is an accounting firm where the professionals pool their knowledge in an information system where the less skilled personnel will just do the heavy lifting involving inputting data and the program does the rest. Whereas this may be true for an accounting firm, the same cannot be applied in the production of a book where the professional must be on hand because what the apprentices print is not always the same. In the book ‘Human Capital and the Balanc e Sheet,’ the author defines the value of human capital as one that should not be underestimated. In many ways, the author recognizes that the value of the human capital could wane meaning that the person will not be worth as much as he was but the circumstances differ with some having remedies. Sveiby notes that the pooling of knowledge in the information systems can make some experts redundant. In the same breathe, Washer and Nippani note that it is only possible in four scenarios: the death of the professional, disability, compulsory retirement and voluntary retirement (Washer & Nippani 2004, p. 16). Death and disability can be either fully or partially hedged by taking out a life insurance policy while retirement could either be accompanied by the full value of the human capital in case it is voluntary or a partial value of the capital if it is compulsory. The authors concede that organizations do not usually recognize the full value of the human capital. While it is poss ible for a conventional balance sheet to reflect a decline in profits; for example from $200,000 to $100,000, the difference can be very minimal considering that the value of the human capital will inevitably have increased in this period from the experience garnered. Welcome to the Knowledge Organization versus On the Nature of Knowledge-Intensive Organizations: Strategy and Organization in the New Economy The book ‘Welcome to the Knowledge Organization’ is focused on the management of knowledge throughout the organization. It refers to the knowledge based organizations as being learning organizations. Here, the author states that knowledge has to be shared for the organization to grow. This book clearly focuses on the need for there to be a pool of knowledge in the organization that can assist it to grow. It refers to the leaders in the knowledge intensive organizations as being in charge of learning as they ensure that the experts push themselves in the generation of better ideas while ensuring that this knowledge gained is shared with the other employees. Most organizations hire employees and then train them in the specific line of work that they expect them to be in. the knowledge int

The S'No Risk Program (Management Decision Models) 2 Assignment

The S'No Risk Program (Management Decision Models) 2 - Assignment Example After going through the entire case it can be said that the most important reason behind the sudden hike in rates by the insurance firms was sudden flow of demand for Toro products, especially the shovels during the winter months (Bell, 1994, pp.1-2) and the interest of consumers in buying larger models of shovels so as to take optimum benefit of the deal. The growing interest among the consumers to purchase Toro shovels provided dealers the prospect to clear stock from their warehouses and this helped them to regain their lost confidence. Also S’ no risk program had basic cost of sales of 2.1% of sales which is generally 10% and hence the rates were heaved. The reasonable estimation of rates of insurance will depend on the factors like customer preferences, product demand, competitor’s insurance rates, cost of sales, scope of profit of the company etc. Based on the case, the effect of plausible insurance rates and their relationship with profitability can be derived fr om the following table- Items Single Stage Power Shovel Two-Stage Power Shovel    Min Max Min Max    Price ($) Retail Price 270 440 640 1500 Units Sold 100000 100000 20000 20000 Total Revenues 27000000 44000000 12800000 30000000 Basic Cost of Sales/Premium @ 2.1% 567000 924000 268800 630000 Profit 26433000 43076000 12531200 29370000 Premium @6% 1620000 2640000 768000 1800000 Profit @ 6% 25380000 41360000 12032000 28200000 Premium @8% 2160000 3520000 1024000 2400000 Profit @ 8% 24840000 40480000 11776000 27600000 premium @ 10% 2700000 4400000 1280000 3000000 Profit @ 10% 24300000 39600000 11520000 27000000 From the chart shown above it can be concluded that when the rates are raised profitability will get reduced and vice-versa. Answer 2 The S’ No risk program by Toro is shown below: From the consumer’s point of view, the above pattern showcases an appealing proportion of refund which is utterly reliant on the amount of snowfall in the area. The pattern states that when the snowfall would increase, the consumers would have the alternative to purchase any model of shovel and during lesser snowfall the customers would be allowed money back. However the money back alternative would be applicable till the average snowfall reaches 50%. Further than that the consumers won’t get the reimbursement advantage. Hence it can be concluded that both the approach would be in support of the customer benefit. However a condition might arise when a purchaser makes the purchase of a self-propelled two-stage shovel worth $1500 and during that year the average snowfall in the area reaches 80%, then he will not be entitled to any money back benefit. In such situation the consumer might think that he has made an incorrect choice by expending $1500 for the shovel when he had the alternative to procure the shovel valued at $ 640. The table in the previous discussion demonstrates that the clients prefer to expend the smallest amount and obtain the most gain from a deal. Therefore we can state that the rate which would be most accepted by the consumers is 6%. However 6% would not be favored by the insurance company as it would not bring them enough profits. Thus Toro must select a moderate rate considering both the related stakeholders and it should opt for the 8% rate. Answer 3 Snowfall is the common decision trap here. From Toro’s perspective, the volume of sales would exclusively

Unit 9ASSI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit 9ASSI - Essay Example This journal article is important to this study since it discusses the demographic transformations that families go through, and how these in turn challenge parenthood and contact with the child. In this article, Wasoff discusses the application of the law to demystify these changing trends when determining the application of contact law. One of the cases that apply to Michelle and Tom’s situation is Jackson v. Tangreen, 199 Arizona 306 P 3d 100 (2000). In this case, the biological father of the child voluntarily withdrew his rights of contact after divorcing his wife, the child’s mother. This, the father did so that the new husband to the child’s mother could adopt the child. However, in an interesting twist, the biological father’s mother petitioned to maintain her visitation rights. The Court of Appeal ruled that the grandparent’s statute of visitation was constitutional. Even the US Supreme court later refused to review the case. Another case that applies to Michelle and Tom’s situation is Troxel ET vir v. Granville, 530 US 57, 2000, which was presided over in the US Supreme Court. In this case, the deceased biological father’s parents filed for visitation, citing the Washington Statute. Washington Statute granted petitions to visitation, whether the plaintiff is biologically related to the child or not, regardless. The mother of the child had agreed to the visitations, but objected the amount of time grandparents spent with the child, and thereby presenting the case to Washington trial court. At first, the trial court ruled in favor of the grandparents. Through the provisions of the Washington appellate system, the child’s mother made an appeal. Resultantly, the Washington Court of Appeal overturned the visitation order that had been issued by the trial court. The statutes that had been considered include the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process and the principles that exist in the

Tesco Essay Example for Free

Tesco Essay The Tesco. com site acts as a portal to most of Tescos products, including various non-food ranges (for example, Books, DVDs and Electrical items under the ‘Extra’ banner), Tesco Personal Finance and the telecoms businesses, as well as services offered in partnership with specialist companies, such as dieting clubs, flights and holidays, music downloads, gas, electricity and DVD rentals. Tesco Competitors Tesco currently leads the UK’s other leading grocery retailers in terms of market share. This pattern is repeated online. The compilation below is from Hitwise (2005) and the figures in brackets show market share for traditional offline retail formats from the Taylor Nelson Softres Super panel (see superpanel. tns-global. com) 1. Tesco superstore 27. 28% (29% of retail trade) 2. Asda (13. 36%) 3. Asda @t home 10. 13% (17. 1%) 4. Sainsburys (8. 42%) 5. Tesco wine warehouse, 8. 19% 6. Sainsburys to you 5. 86% (15. 9%) 7. Waitrose. com 3. 42% (3. 6%) 8. Ocado 3. 32% (owned by Waitrose, 3. 6%) 9. Lidl 2. 49% (1. 8%) 10. Aldi-UK 2. 10% (2. 3%) Some companies are repeated since both their main site and the online shopping site are reported on separately. Asda. com now seems to be performing in a consistent manner online to its offline presence. However, Sainsburys online performance seems to be significantly lower compared to its offline performance. Some providers such as Ocado which originally just operated within the London area have a strong local performance. Notably, some of Tesco. com competitors are absent from the Hitwise listing since their strategy has been to focus on retail formats. These are Morrisons (12. 5% retail share, Somerfield (5. 5%) and Co-op (5. 0%). Promotion of service As with other online retailers, Tesco. om relies on in-store advertising and marketing to the supermarkets Clubcard loyalty schemes customer base to persuade customers to shop online. NMA (2005) quotes Nigel Dodd, marketing director at Tesco. com as saying: ‘These are invaluable sources as we have such a strong customer base’. However, for non-food goods the supermarket does advertise online using keyword targeted ads. For existing customers, email marketing and direct mail marketing to provide special offers and promotions to customers is important. According to Humby (2003), e-retailer Tesco. om use what he describes as a ‘commitment-based segmentation’ or ‘loyalty ladder’ which is based on recency of purchase, frequency of purchase and value which is used to identify 6 lifecycle categories which are then further divided to target communications: â€Å"Logged-on†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Cautionary†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Developing†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Established†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dedicated†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Logged-off† (the aim here is to winback) Tesco then use automated event-triggered messaging can be created to encourage continued purchase. For example, Tesco. com has a touch strategy which includes a sequence of follow-up communications triggered after different events in the customer lifecycle. In the example given below, communications after event 1 are intended to achieve the objective of converting a web site visitor to action; communications after event 2 are intended to move the customer from a first time purchaser to a regular purchaser and for event 3 to reactivate lapsed purchasers. * Trigger event 1: Customer first registers on site (but does not buy). Auto-response (AR) 1: 2 days after registration e-mail sent offering phone assistance and ? 5 discount off first purchase to encourage trial. * Trigger event 2: Customer first purchases online. AR1: Immediate order confirmationAR2: 5 days after purchase e-mail sent with link to online customer satisfaction survey asking about quality of service from driver and picker (e. g. item quality and substitutions). AR3: Two-weeks after first purchase Direct mail offering tips on how to use service and ? 5 discount on next purchases intended to encourage re-use of online services. AR4: Generic monthly e-newsletter with online exclusive offers encouraging cross-sellingAR5: Bi-weekly alert with personalised offers for customer. AR6: After 2 months ? discount for next shop. AR7: Quarterly mailing of coupons encouraging repeat sales and cross-sales. * Trigger event 3: Customer does not purchase for an extended periodAR1: Dormancy detected – Reactivation e-mail with survey of how the customer is finding the service (to identify any problems) and a ? 5 incentive. AR2: A further discount incentive is used in order to encourage continued usage to shop after the first shop after a break. Tesco’s online product strategy New Media Age (2005) ran a profile of Laura Wade-Gery CEO of Tesco. om since January 2004 which provides an interesting insight into how the business has run. In her first year, total sales were increased 24% to ? 719 million. Laura, is 40 years old, a keen athlete and has followed a varied career developing from a MA in History at Magdalen College, Oxford, an MBA from Insead; Manager and partner in Kleinwort Benson; Manager and senior consultant, Gemini Consulting; Targeted marketing director (Tesco Clubcard), and Group strategy director, Tesco Stores. The growth overseen by Wade-Gery has been achieved thr ough a combination of initiatives. Product range development is one key area. In early 2005, Tesco. com fulfilled 150,000 grocery orders a week but now also offers more intangible offerings, such as e-diets and music downloads. Wade-Gery has also focused on improving the customer experience online – the time it takes for a new customer to complete their first order has been decreased from over an hour to 35 minutes through usability work culminating in a major site revision. To support the business has it diversifies into new areas, Wade-Gery’s strategy was ‘to make home delivery part of the DNA of Tesco’ according to NMA (2005). She continues: ‘What we offer is delivery to your home of a Tesco service – its an obvious extension of the home-delivered groceries concept. ’ My May 2005, Tesco. com had 30,000 customers signed up for DVD rental, through partner Video Island (who run the rival Screenselect service). Over the next year, her target is to treble this total, while also extending home-delivery services to the likes of bulk wine and white goods. Wade-Gery looks to achieve synergy between the range of services offered. For example, its partnership with eDiets can be promoted through the Tesco Clubcard loyalty scheme, with mailings to 10m customers a year. In July 2004, Tesco. com Limited paid ? 2 million for the exclusive licence to eDiets. com in the UK and Ireland under the URLs www. eDietsUK. com and www. eDiets. ie. Through promoting these services through these URLs, Tesco can use the dieting business to grow use of the Tesco. com service and in-store sales. To help keep focus on home retail-delivery, Wade-Gery sold women’s portal iVillage (www. ivillage. co. uk) back to its US owners for an undisclosed sum in March 2004. She explained to NMA: ‘Its a very different sort of product to the other services that were embarking on. In my mind, we stand for providing services and products that you buy, which is slightly different to the world of providing information. ’ The implication is that there was insufficient revenue from ad sales on iVillage and insufficient opportunities to promote Tesco. com sales. However, iVillage was a useful learning experience in that there are some parallels with iVillage, such as message boards and community advisors. Wade-Gery is also director of Tesco Mobile, the joint ‘Pay-As-You-Go’ venture with O2 which is mainly serviced online, although promoted in-store and via direct mail. Tesco also offer broadband and dialup ISP services, but believe the market for Internet telephony (provided through Skype and Vonage for example) is not sufficiently developed. Tesco. com have concentrated on more traditional services which have the demand, for example, Tesco Telecom fixed-line services attracted over a million customers in its first year. However, this is not to say, that Tesco. com will not invest in relatively new services. In November 2004, Tescos introduced a music download service and just six months later, she estimates they have around 10% market share – one of the benefits of launching relatively early. Again, there is synergy, this time with hardware sales. NMA (2005) reported that as MP3 players were unwrapped, sales went up – even on Christmas Day! She says: ‘The exciting thing about digital is where can you take it in the future. As the technology grows, well be able to turn Tesco. com into a digital download store of all sorts, rather than just music. Clearly, film [through video on demand] would be next. ’ But it has to be based firmly on analysis of customer demand. She says : ‘The number one thing for us is whether the product is something that customers are saying they want, has it reached a point where mass-market customers are interested? ’ There also has to be scope for simplification. NMA (2005) notes that Tesco is built on a core premise of convenience and value and Wade-Gery believes what its already done with mobile tariffs, broadband packages and music downloads are good examples of the retailers knack for streamlining propositions. She says: ‘Weve actually managed to get people joining broadband who have never even had a dial-up service’

Advances in Composite Laminate Theories

Advances in Composite Laminate Theories This paper reviews the Composite Laminate Theories that have already been proposed and developed in the recent years. These theories mainly focus on the macro mechanical analysis of the composite laminates which provides the elastic relations of the lamina. Stress-induced failure can occur in multiple ways in composite materials. Hence to understand and predict transverse shear and normal stress accurately, various composite laminate theories have been developed. The advantages and disadvantages of each model are discussed in detail. In this study, the Composite Laminate Theories are divided into two parts: (1) Single Layer Theory, where the entire plate is considered as one layer and (2) Layer Wise Theory, where each layer is treated separately for the analysis. It starts with displacement-based theories from very basic models such as Classical laminate theory to more complex higher-order shear deformation theory. [6] INTRODUCTION The requirement of composite materials has grown rapidly. These materials are ideal for applications that require low density and high strength. Composite materials provide great amount of flexibility in design through the variation of the fiber orientation or stacking sequence of fiber and matrix materials. The mechanical behavior of laminates strongly depends on the thickness of lamina and the orientation of fibers. Hence, the lamina must be designed to satisfy the specific requirements of each particular application and to obtain maximum advantage from the directional properties of its constituent materials. The normal stresses and through-thickness distributions of transverse shear for composite materials are very important because in laminate composite plates, stress-induced failures occur through three mechanisms. For instance, when the in-plane stress gets too large, then the fiber breakage occurs. However, normally before the in-plane stresses exceed the fiber breakage point, inter laminar shear stress failure occurs when one layer slips tangentially relative to another. Alternatively, transverse normal stress may increase enough to cause failure by which two layers pull apart from each other. Therefore, it is imperative to understand and calculate transverse shear and normal stress through the thickness of the plate accurately. In general, two different approaches have been used to study laminated composite structures, which are: (1) single layer theories and (2) discrete layer theories. In the single layer theory approach, layers in laminated composites are assumed to be one equivalent single layer (ESL) whereas in the discrete theory approach, each layer is considered separately in the analysis. Also, plate deformation theories can be categorized into two types: (1) displacement and (2) stress -based theories. A brief description of displacement-based theories is given below: displacement-based theories can be divided into two categories: classical l aminate theory (CLT) and shear deformation plate theories. Normally, composite laminate plate theories are described in the CLT, the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), the global higher-order theory, and the global-local higher shear deformation theory (SDT). DESCRIPTION: In the studies carried out in last few decades, many different theories were presented to overcome various issues and explain the behaviors of composite materials more accurately. In this paper, these theories are reviewed, categorized, and their advantages, weaknesses and limitations are discussed in detail. LAMINATED COMPOSITE PLATES Classical Laminate Theory (CLT) The simplest ESL laminate plate theory is the CLT, which is based on displacement based theories. In the nineteenth century Kirchhoff initiated the two-dimensional classical theory of plates and later on it was continued by Love and Timoshenko. The principal assumption in CLT is that normal lines to the mid-plane before deformation remain straight and normal to the plane after deformation. The other assumptions made in this theory are (1) the in-plane strains are small when compared to unity (2) the plates are perfectly bonded (3) the displacement are small compared to the thickness. Although these assumptions lead to simple constitutive equations, it is also the main limitation of the theory. These assumptions of neglecting the shear stresses lead to a reduction or removal of the three natural boundary conditions that should be satisfied along the free edges. These natural boundary conditions are the bending moment, normal force and twisting couple. Despite its limitations, CLT is s till a common approach used to get quick and simple predictions especially for the behavior of thin plated laminated structures. The main simplification in this model is that 3D structural plates ( with thickness ) or shells are treated as 2D plate or shells located through mid-thickness which results in a significant decrement of the total number of equations and variable, consequently saving a lot of computational time and effort. Since they are present in closed-form solutions, they provide better practical interpretation and their governing equations are easier to solve [6]. This approach remains popular because it has become the foundation for further composite plate analysis theories and methods. This method works relatively well for structures that are made out-of a balanced and symmetric laminate, experiencing either pure tension or only pure bending. The error which is introduced by neglecting the effect of transverse shear stresses becomes trivial on or near the edges and corners of thick-sectioned laminate configurations. It is observed that the induced error increases for thick plates made of composite layers. This is mainly due to the fact that the ratio of longitudinal to transverse shear elastic moduli is relatively large compared to isotropic materials [2]. It neglects transverse shear strains, under predicts deflections and overestimates natural frequencies and buckling loads [3]. Composite plates are, subjected to transverse shear and normal stresses due to their discontinuous through-thickness behavior and their global anisotropic nature [3]. In order to achieve better predictions of the response characteristics, such as bending, buckling stresses, torsion, etc., a number of other theories have been developed which are presented in following sections [6]. Figure1. Deformation Hypothesis [Taken from class notes. Advanced Plate Theory.1] Displacement and strain field for CLT are given below: [Taken from class notes. [1]] First-order shear deformation theories (FSDT) Reissner and Mindlin developed the conventional theories for analyzing thicker laminated composite plate which also considered the transfer shear effects. These theories are popularly known as the shear deformation plate theories. Many other theories, which are extension of SDT, have also been proposed to analyze the thicker laminated composite. These theories are primarily built on the assumption that the displacement w is constant through the thickness while the displacements u and v vary linearly through the thickness of each layer. In general, these theories are known as FSDT. The primary outcome of this theory is that the transverse straight lines will be straight both before and after the deformation but they will not be normal to the mid-plane after deformation. As this theory postulates constant transverse shear stress, it needs a shear correction factor to satisfy the plate boundary conditions on both the lower and upper surface. The shear correction factor is introduced to adjust the transverse shear stiffness values and thereby, the accuracy of results of the FSDT will depend notably on the shear correction factor. Further research has been undertaken to overcome the limitations of FSDT without involving higher-order theories to avoid increasing the complexity of the equations and computations [2, 7]. Authors like Bhaskar and Varadan [23] used the combination of Naviers approach and a Laplace transform technique to solve the equations of equilibrium. Onsy et al. [4] presented a finite strip solution for laminated plates. They used the FSDT and assumed that the displacements u and v vary linearly through the thickness of each layer and are continuous at the interfaces between adjacent layers. They also postulated that the displacement w does not vary through the thickness. These assumptions provide a more realistic situation (when compared with CLPT) where in the shear strains are not continuous across the interfaces between adjacent lamina. The other limitations are (1) assumption of constant shear stress is not correct as stresses must be zero at free surfaces. (2) FDST produces accurate results only for very thin plates. In order to calculate transverse shear more accurately, to satisfy all boundary conditions and to analyze the behavior of more complicated thick composite structures under different loading condition and to overcome the limitations the use of higher-order shear deformation theories are imperative[1]. Figure2. Reissner Mindline Plate [picture taken from MAE 557 class notes. 1] Higher Order Shear Deformation Theory: The limitations of the CLT and the FSDT have persuaded the researchers to develop a number of global HOSDT. The higher-order models are based on an assumption of nonlinear stress variation through the thickness [1]. These theories are developed for thick plates but are predominantly 2D in nature. These theories are capable of representing the section warping in the deformed configuration. At the layer interfaces, some of these models do not satisfy the continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses. Although the discrete layer theories do not have this concern, they are computationally slow when solving these problems because of the fact that the order of their governing equations purely depends on the number of layers [24]. Whitney attempted to examine the problem with inter laminar normal stress [25]. Several authors were involved in developing this theory , for instance the calculation of inter laminar normal stress was studied by Pagano [26], a boundary layer theory by Tang [ 6], the perturbation method by Hsu and Herakovich , and an approximate elasticity solutions by Pipes and Pagano. In most of these models, the laminate is assumed to be reasonably long. The stress singularities were considered in a model presented by Wang and Choi. In order to determine the stress singularities at the laminate free edges, Wang and Choi used the Lekhnitskiis [27] stress potential and the theory of anisotropic elasticity. The Eigen function technique developed by them uses a collocation system at every ply interface to satisfy continuity. The major limitation of this theory is that it can be applied to only relatively thin laminates [17]. In order to explain plate deformation for composite laminate plates with thickness, Ambartsumian proposed a higher-order transverse shear stress function. Various different functions were proposed by Reddy [2], Touratier , Karama and Soldatos. The results of some of these methods were compared by Aydogdu [23]. For example, a 2D higher -order theory is developed by Matsunaga to investigate buckling in isotropic plates for in-plane loads where the effects of transverse shear and normal deformations are predicted in his study. Higher-order theories, which consider the complete effects of transverse shear, normal deformations and rotary inertia, have been studied for the vibration and stability problems of specific laminates. In general, researchers who have wanted to simulate plates have used the third-order shear deformation theories (TSDTs) which was first published by Schmidt and later developed by Jemielita. This theory is also known as parabolic shear deformation plate theory (PSDPT). Researchers like Phan and Reddy [30] applied this theory for the free vibration, the bending and the buckling of composite plates [23]. The same unknown displacements as those used in FSDT were used. This theory also satisfies transverse shear-free conditions at the outer surfaces. The results obtained show that for the thick lami nates the in-plane stresses are predicted much well than those identified using FSDT, but still these results have errors when compared with 3D models. This theory is not based on the layer-wise type, therefore, unlike most of other ESL theories, it does not satisfy the continuity conditions of transverse shear stresses between layers [9]. Vuksanovic proposed another parabolic distribution of shear strains through the laminated plate thickness which has a cubic variation of in-plane displacement. The results confirm that this model can predict the global laminate response better than previous used parabolic methods. The primary limitation is that it is challenging to accurately compute the inter laminar stress distributions [9]. In the third-order shear deformation theories assumes (1) the in-plane displacements are a cubic expression of the thickness coordinate (2) the out-of-plane displacement is a quadratic expression. Carrera presented a third-order shear deformation theory whic h based on the model which was presented by Vlasov for equation of bending plates. By imposing homogeneous stress conditions with correspondence to the plate top-surface the reduced third-order shear deformation model with only three displacement variables was obtained. This was further modified in the same research for the non-homogeneous stress conditions[6]. Figure2. Displacement field and transverse shear stress field for the various composite laminate theories. [* Figure taken from class notes. Advanced_plate_theory.pdf] Trigonometric shear deformation plate theory (TSDPT) Shear deformation plate theories which use trigonometric functions are called TSDPT. In this theory the ability to predict accurate solutions has been enhanced by combing trigonometric terms with the algebraic through the- thickness terms assumed for the displacements. Touratier [48] chose transverse strain distribution as a sine function [23]. Stein developed a 2D theory wherein the displacements are stated by trigonometric series. Stein and Jegley studied the effects of transverse shear stress on the cylindrical bending of the laminated composite plates [31]. The results obtained from these theories show that this theory calculates the stresses more accurately than other theories. Kassapogolou and Lagace used the principle of minimum complimentary energy to introduce a straightforward method to analyze symmetric laminate plates which are subjected to tension/compression [15, 16]. Afterwards Kassapogolou [28] generalized and modified this approach for general unsymmetrical laminate loads i.e. in-plane and out of- plane common moment and shear loads. The shortcomings of this model are that it does not solve the weaknesses of inequality in Poissons ratios. Becker [29] made use of cosine and sine functions for warping deformation of v and w displacement, respectively and developed a closed-form higher-order laminated plate theory. Mortan and Webber presented an analytical method which took into consideration the thermal effects in their model and by using the same approach as Kassapoglou and Becker. Lu and Liu [22] proposed an inter laminar shear stress continuity theory in which the inter laminar shear stress is directly obtained from the constitutive equations. This theory was postulated in order to develop an accurate theory for inter laminar stress analysis by considering both the transverse shear effects and continuity requirements. The drawback in this model is that the deformation in the thickness is neglected and therefore it cannot calculate the inter la minar normal stress directly from the constitutive equations. Later, Lu and Liu [21] developed the interlayer shear slip theory based on a multilayer approach model by investigating the effect of interfacial bonding on the behavior of composite laminates. Finally, Lee and Liu also derived the closed-form solutions for the general analysis of inter laminar stresses for thin and thick composite laminates under sinusoidal distributed loading. Both inter laminar shear stress and inter laminar normal stress at the composite interface were satisfied in this model and also the inter laminar stresses could be calculated directly from the constitutive equations. Touratier [20] proposed a theory based on using certain sinusoidal functions for shear stress. After comparing the results obtained numerically for the bending of sandwich plates it was shown that this theory is more accurate than both FSDT and HOSDT [17]. Hyperbolic shear deformation theory (HSDT): Soldatos proposed the hyperbolic shear deformation theory [6]. Timarci and Soldatos combined the various shear deformation theories to formulate this HSDT. The major advantage of this unified theory is the ability to vary the transverse strain distribution [19]. Authors like Ramalingeswaran and Ganesan [18] have used parabolic and hyperbolic function to uniform external pressure and a simply supported cylindrical shell for cross ply laminated composite by considering an internal sinusoidal pressure [17]. Karama et al. proposed an exponential function for the transverse strain for his study of the bending of composite [6]. Layerwise Theory (LT): (Zigzag effect) In order to present accurate results many new theories like the layerwise theory and individual layer theory have been formulated. Some of the eminent researches involved in developing these theories are Wu, Chen, Plagianakos[13], Saravanos, Fares and Elmarghany[14]. The basic technique employed in these theories is that assuming certain displacement and stress models in each layer of the composite laminates and in order to reduce the unknown variables, equilibrium and compatibility equations are defined at the interface. These theories are often computationally time consuming and very expensive to obtain accurate results due to the fact that they use many different unknowns for multilayered plates. To predict both gross response and the stress distributions accurately a number of layer wise plate models which can represent the zigzag behavior of the in-plane displacement through the thickness have been developed in the recent past. However, in the Layerwise Theories the major drawba ck is that the number of unknown increases significantly with the number of layers and consequently the computational weight becomes considerably heavier and higher. To overcome this problem, various solutions were suggested. Cho and Parmerter presented a model where in the number of the unknowns is independent of the number of layers. They achieved it by superimposing a cubic varying displacement field on a zigzag linearly varying displacement [6]. This method was very efficient as it satisfied the transverse shear stress continuity at the layer interfaces and shear-free surface conditions. The theories that have been developed to justify through-the-thickness piece-wise behavior of stresses and displacement are often subjected to zigzag theories (ZZ). The zigzag effect can be termed as the different tangential elastic compliances of the plies which cause the displacement components to show a quick change of their slopes in the thickness direction at each layer interface. To summar ize, the in-plane stresses can be discontinuous at each layer interface, while the transverse stresses, for equilibrium, must be continuous. In ZZ theory, the compatibility of the displacements and the inter laminar equilibrium of the transverse stresses in the thickness direction are assured by defining a new stiffness matrix [12]. Lekhnitskii was one of the pioneers who tried to define a ZZ theory. The main drawback for this model is the limitation of the approach to only multi-layered composite where each layer is isotropic. Ren later improved this model by using an extension of the theory developed by Reissner to multi-layered plates. This approach used a Lagrange function with five parameters, which represents the DOF of the structure. These are the set of displacement field equations used in zigzag theory. This equation are taken from the class notes, advanced plate theory [1] Mixed Plate Theory: In order to overcome the limitations of each composite laminate theory researchers have started to unify the different laminate theories. Unified equations have been proposed for mixed layer wise and mixed ESL theories. The main aim is to formulate these unified theories in the most general way for users to be able to choose from the approaches like ESL, Layer wise zigzag, etc. and at the same time choose the order of the expansion of displacements and transverse stresses. This class of model has been contemplated over the last few decades. The so-called mixed variation approach based on the variation principles developed by Hellinger was proposed and then improved by Reissner. In this theory the number of variables that must be computed should be at least 2n, where n is the total number of layers. By using the weak form of Hookes Law the number of variables can be significantly reduced, which shows the variables in terms of the three displacements only. Shimpi et al. [11] derived tw o novel formulations with only two variables, which work perfectly for moderately thick isotropic plates. The major limitation is that it requires accurately calculated shear correction factors for transverse shear stresses in multilayered composite plates. Conclusion In this literature review, various composite laminate plate theories have been categorized. The advantages and limitations of each model have been discussed in detail. This paper mainly focused on how efficiently and accurately the various models can predict the transverse shear effects. It is explained that CLT and FSDT are unable to efficiently predict transverse shear stresses of both moderately thick and thick laminated composite plates. Higher order shear deformation theories were developed in order to obtain accurate transverse shear stresses. Also, the zigzag theories satisfying inter laminar continuity of transverse shear stresses at interfaces is unable to accurately compute transverse shear stresses directly from constitutive equations. 3D equilibrium equations have to be adopted to accurately obtain transverse shear stresses which also require heavy computational processing because of the large number of variables which depend on the number of layers, they become impractic al for engineering applications. Some researchers have recently tried to use the transverse shear and warping effect in highly anisotropic composite to passively control the composite structure. Smart passive adaptive structures are a new technological approach for introducing smart and predictable composite materials with wide ranging applications. They can be used to exploit the effects of shear and elastic coupling and link stretching to bending to twisting of the structure. This requires a higher understanding and in-depth knowledge of inter laminar shear. Therefore, predicting transverse shear effect accurately and in practical way for various engineering applications is imperative.

Awareness And Impact In Global Warming Management Essay

Awareness And Impact In Global Warming Management Essay Earlier last month, QUTIC decided to stage an annual event to promote a sense of community at the college. This was an event to ascertain QUTIC students awareness and impact in Global Warming and promote their involvement within their community in preventing the named vice. Thereafter, a Community Event Committee was formed to decide, and organize the inaugural event and I was authorized to produce a report to inform the committees decision. The topic as espoused earlier was on the environment with a bias in Global Warming. The event planned purposed as International students awareness of and involvement in Global Warming. A survey was conducted on a sample of QUTIC students to analyze their interest and willingness to attend, participate, contribute, demonstrate, and/or perform in that event. In this paper, a discussion of the results is the main body while at the end is conclusions from the discussions and recommendations related to the same topic. Table of Contents Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Figures iv 1. Introduction 4 1.1 Background 4 1.2 Objectives 4 1.3 Method 4 1.4 Scope 5 1.5 Acknowledgement 5 2 Discussion and Conclusion 5 2.1 Date and time of the annual event 6 2.2 Publicity of the event 7 Participation in committees 8 Benefits gained in attending the annual event 9 2.5 Ways of motivating students to attend 10 3. Recommendations 11 4. Benefits 12 Introduction Background Global warming is a current threat to the global environment and a threat to human survival in the future (John, 2010). Awareness across the globe on global warming has dwindled with many people not having an idea of what to expect and how to handle and practices routines in curbing global warming (Huang, Pollack, Shen, 1997). Over 60% of the worlds population has contributed to global warming for lack of knowledge while the rest is ignorant to the vice (Mann, Bradley, Hughes, 1998). Educating the population on global warming is the vital part of what all institutions should do in ensuring that the activities exacerbating global warming are curbed and it is slowed down (Lachenbruch Marshall, 1986). As a result, the Queensland University of Technology International Collage (QUTIC) found it wise to hold an annual event with a bias on global warming to increase awareness of the vice. 1.2 Objectives The main rationale behind this report is discovering the level of awareness of students on the global warming topic, suggesting some solutions and recommendations. From the acquired data, the report purposes to help students develop awareness on the issue of global warming and to improve activities carried out within QUTIC and outside to curb global warming. 1.3 Method The report develop arguments from a questionnaire that contained a total of ten questions; with closed questions being 9 (dichotomous, rank-order, scale, and multiple-choice) and a single open question. The report also used a convenience sampling in the distribution of the survey questionnaire to respondents who totaled twenty QUTIC students on 5 September 2010 at Kelvin Grove campus. The distribution of the questionnaire sheets was conducted followed by the collection both done on the same day. Later followed the analysis of the collected data from the sample and finally the tallying on an Excel spreadsheet with representation in figures for instance graphs, tables, and pie charts. 1.4 Scope The scope of the survey is on 5 issues relating to the concept of global warming. The respective issues are important in finding out the level of awareness on global warming and the take that the students have on holding an annual event within the institution. Additionally, the report has major limitations including budget and time thus forcing a selection of only twenty respondents of which this is not good in representation of this large institution. With the questionnaire also having only 10 questions, this does not provide enough information that could be of help in holding such a big event. As a result, the data provided in this report is great and shows some indications; however, it cannot show precise solutions. 1.5 Acknowledgements I would like to pass my regards to all students at QUTIC for their cooperation in the data gathering process and for taking their time to fill the questionnaires. I would also extend a hand of gratitude to the institution for trusting me in delivering the report with absolute confidentiality. Above all is great appreciation to the almighty God who gave me the strength to carry on throughout the entire survey. 2. Discussion and Conclusion From the survey sample of QUTIC students who were tested through a questionnaire to analyze their interest and willingness to attend, participate, contribute, demonstrate and/or perform in that event, it was clear that the majority of the students were willing to take part in the main event particularly because they saw the importance. It was clear that many students knew what Global Warming was and had an idea of its impact on the environment. 80% of the students in the sample were willing to take part immediately and help with the publicity of the great event. 2.1 Date and time of the annual event A question was put forward in accessing the best time that the QUTIC would stage an annual event to promote a sense of community at the college. As Houghton, Jenkins Ephraums (1990) espouse, Global warming is a sensitive topic and requires ample time to discuss and educate people about. 2/3 of the respondents proposed that weekends were the best in scheduling such an event as this would give them time to participate since they were free and would have completed classes. A good portion of the sample (1/3) however, differed with the weekend proposal as they felt that this was the only time they had away from school, and most of them used it to spend with the families. The majority of this group went for nights particularly after classes. Following this, the committee made a decision that to serve the majority and have many attendants for the event; it was only wise to schedule the event on weekends particularly during the day as this was a much convenient time for the majority of the QUTIC students. 2.2 Publicity of the event Will (2004) reflected in creating awareness on global warming, publicity is of high requirement. global that Publicity was also being assessed in order for the committee to get help before they made a decision on what would be the best way to visit for QUTIC in announcing the Global Warming annual event. A comparative question posted on a questionnaire was extremely contentious. For global warming using the appropriate medium is of requirement as it helps pass the message across easily (Scotchmoor Potter, 2009). There were varied views as to the best medium to use with the committee aspiring to make a decision on the best possible medium that would reach the majority of the students and create awareness of the big event. At least, 30% of the respondents in this particular question went for the website and email as their favorites as to the best possible medium that the event would be publicized. Over 60% were strictly opposing the website and email with a big reason as to the fact that many students did not access the Internet over a long period of time and therefore, it could be an inconvenient means of reaching out to the students regarding this particular matter. This group of students responding to the question found it appropriate to use the posters and blackboard with the majority going for the blackboard. The students incline to this decision with the fact that many students had a culture of reading the blackboard as this was one of the common means, which the institution used in communicating new happenings to the students. Therefore, a more likelihood was that at least the information would reach students with ease. The posters were favored but with a negative connotation that there was a habit of removing and tearing posters of any kind around the institution dwindling its effectiveness of communicating something of that importance to the student community. 2.3 Participation in committees A question was posed on the committees that a respondent would be willing to participate in including Environment committee, Assessment committee, Supervising committee and organizing committee. The question was met with diverse responses as individual students had own reasons for choosing a particular committee. The environment committee won the majority of students who had an interest of joining. The committee took 45% of the students followed by the supervising committee with 18%, assessment committee with 22% and the least being the organizing committee holding 10%. A sizeable 5% of the respondents were undecided as they wanted to clarify further as to the roles played by the respective committees. 2.4 Benefits gained in attending the annual event Carolan (2008) asserts that pictorials and high involving activities are involved in creating awareness on global warming therefore; there are many benefits involved when it comes to learning or attending a global warming function. The questionnaire posted to students was also on a mission to look into what were the perceived benefits that students anticipated to gain from the event. Mixed reactions came out as varying opinions came up individually. However, one critical thing that featured in the argument was that learning great skills and acquiring knowledge on global warming were among the great expectations from the event. Learning new skills 20%, Socialize and make new friends 5%, Improve your English, 5%, improve your knowledge and awareness about Global Warming 60%, and other 10%. 2.5 Ways of motivating students to attend One factor was significant though on the motivational ways that the students felt that QUTIC would use in ensuring that students developed an interest to attend. However, 65% of the respondents felt that making the event entertaining and engaging entertainment activities for instance DJ, popular artists, talent show and any other creative ideas were resplendent in motivation a substantial number of students to attend. Global warming sounds so common and people usually avoid such topics which is why creating awareness requires motivating the participants in respective activities (Wilby, 2006). Practically from the survey, it was clear that one thing; students had an interest in attending a global warming event. From this point, the committee therefore, had to pick the proposals espoused by the majority of students regarding issues at the big event. The date scheduled had to fall on a weekend to ensure massive attendance, the blackboard would be the main publicity medium in use, the venue was chosen to be the city center and entertainment activities were for sure a necessity to be part of the activities during the momentous event and keep students glued and attend the event to the end. 3.0 Recommendations It was clear that the organizing committee had a significant role to play. For the event to be a success, inviting acclaimed artists to perform during the global event is necessary for entertainment purposes. The committee also needs to hire an MC with ardent zeal and fun to make the youths composed and anxious of what to expect to avoid boredom. It is also advisable that the assessment committee takes a headcount of the students reception to activities scheduled for the big event some few days probably five in order to ascertain whether they were contented and evaluate their chances of attending the monumental event. It would be advisable that the members of the committee be provided with T-shirts with labels of the successful event and a short message regarding the theme of the event preferably two months before the big event in order to draw attention and publicize the event even better. The city center also needs to be prepared two weeks before the big event with installation of everything necessary for the event keeping it ready to host the attendants early enough. This would void last-minute rushes and show some organization and build a reputation for the organization therefore, making it a classical event. Benefits The survey is of value to QUTIC as an institution in easing the education and creation of awareness on Global warming. It is a great approach as it will involve almost the entire institution therefore routines carried out will be to the benefit of a sound environment for the institution. There are therefore short-term and long-term benefits of the same making it worth holding the event within the institution. It will improve students awareness on global warming and later apply to their respective regions culminating to a global warming free globe.

Geography Of Indonesia And Aus :: essays research papers

INDONESIA AND AUSTRALIA Indonesia and Australia are nations located southeast of Asia, separated by the Timor Sea and the Java Trench. Both have undergone challenges in economy, government, and demography that are both similar and quite different from the other. Indonesia is â€Å"the world’s most expansive archipelagic (fragmented) state† (Blij 503) with multiple heritages and cultures. Australia has been slowly declining over the past century and continues to economically disintegrate. According to records kept on the economy, government, and demography, both Australia and Indonesia are continuing to be recognized as similar and distinct in their own right. DEMOGRAPHY AND LAND STRUCTURE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 275 million people of Indonesia are spread across the 13,000 islands it encompasses. It holds position as the fourth most populated nation in the world, containing a diversity of people including Javanese, Sudanese, Malays, and Balinese and other smaller groups which make up fifty-five percent of the population. Four of its largest islands are known as the Greater Sunda Islands. Jawa has the smallest area but is largest in population density (with about 120 million), Sumatera is in the west across from Malaysia, Kalimantan (which shares land space with Malaysia on Borneo), and Sulawesi, which is also called Celebes, the â€Å"wishbone – shaped† island of the east. The fifth largest island is New Guinea, which is not primarily a part of Indonesian cultural ties although half of its western side of the island is under Indonesian control.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Australia is approximately 10 times the size of Texas, with a population of eighteen million. 85 percent live in cities, with about 300,000 consisting in the Aboriginal population. Most of the population is concentrated in the core area to the east and southeast, facing the Pacific Ocean. This area is more humid and extends between the Great Dividing Range and the east coast. The eastern, less populous area consists of desert or steppe, which is not primary for living conditions but contains mineral deposits. RESOURCES AND PRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Indonesia has a wide variety of natural resources, consisting of petroleum, palm oil, rubber, lumber, tin, coffee, tea, and other cash crops. However, the population continues on an upward climb that will have a doubling time of 43 years. This creates a much longer-term threat to the country’s future than anything does else does. With this steep climb in population, the nation has already been forced to import large amounts of rice and wheat to feed its people.

Earthquakes Essay example -- essays research papers

I chose to research earthquakes and the prediction of earthquakes because I was curious as to how they work. In this paper, I will discus the history of earthquakes, the kinds and locations of earthquakes, earthquake effects, intensity scales, prediction, and my own predictions. An earthquake can be defined as vibrations produced in the earth's crust. Tectonic plates have friction between them which builds up as it tries to push away and suddenly ruptures and then rebounds. The vibrations can range from barely noticeable to a disastrous, and destructive act of nature. Six kinds of shock waves are generated in the process. Two are classified as body waves, that is, they travel through the inside of the earth and the other four are surface waves. The waves are further classified by the kinds of motions they incur to rock particles. Primary or compressional waves, known as P waves, send particles moving back and forth in the same direction as the waves are traveling, as secondary or transverse shear waves, known as S waves, create vibrations perpendicular to their direction of travel. P waves always travel at faster speeds than S waves, so whenever an earthquake occurs, P waves are the first to arrive and to be recorded at geophysical research stations worldwide. During ancient times very little was know about. Some of the ancient Greek philosophers connected earthquakes to underground winds, where others blamed them on fires in the depths of the earth. Around AD 130 the Chinese scholar Chang Heng, believing that waves must ripple through the earth from the source of an earthquake, created a bronze object to record the directions of such waves. Eight balls were carefully balanced in the mouths of eight dragons placed around the outside of the object. When a passing earthquake occurred the wave would cause one or more of the balls to drop. Earthquake waves were observed in this and other ways for centuries, but more scientific theories as to the causes of quakes were not proposed until modern times. One such concept was recreated and advanced in 1859 by an Irish engineer, Robert Mallet. Perhaps recalling on his knowledge of the strength and behavior of construction materials, Robert Mallet proposed that earthquakes occurred "either by sudden flexure and constraint of the elastic materials forming a portion of the earth's crust or by their giving way an... ...orth of the earthquake that occurred the day before, this time I was wrong, there were two that occurred near the San Francisco bay area and none within a 50 mile radius of my approximation. The next couple days I predicted earthquakes that were within a 100 mile radius than were they actually occurred. From my experiments I concluded that predicting earthquakes was easy, you just have to pick a spot on the fault. The only thing that troubled me and probably most scientists, is magnitude, there is no possible way of predicting an earthquakes magnitude. Which is what we are really trying to predict. Earthquakes happen all the time, but what we are really trying to figure out how to predict is when a major earthquake is going to occur. I learned that earthquakes are almost unpredictable, and devastating acts of nature. I also learned how earthquakes occur and almost all of the "earthquake dictionary". There is still alot more to be known about earthquakes that we still do not know about today. Prediction of large earthquakes is still under development, where prediction of small, unnoticeable earthquakes can be easy to predict because they happen mainly around fault lines.

Different control sensors Essay

The idea of a pressure sensor is to ultimately measure and monitor the pressure of either gasses or liquids. But, what is pressure? Well, pressure ultimately is an expression used to describe the process of the force that is used when restraining a gas or a liquid from expanding. It has a certain measurement normally in the force per unit area. When the pressure is measured it can be monitored in a number of ways, but, most typically it is done with an electrical signal. We can see many examples of pressure monitors/switches in appliances all over the world today. Pressure sensors are found in items such as cars and lifts. For example, a person walks up to a door and they wish for it to be opened on arrival, with a pressure switch located in the floor as soon as the pressure switch is activated the door will open, this form of switch will tend to require a form of displacement. Another example if where a pressure switch/monitor may be found is within a car. When the tyres reach a certain pressure the control system kicks in and then they are warned to pump them up. If we consider large industries such as factories with combustion engines then we need to bear in mind that there needs to be some form of indication when present conditions change within the mechanism, this is also where a pressure sensor will come in handy. The picture on the top left of this paragraph is similar to what may be found in an industrial placement. A Rotary Switch A rotary switch is used when we have a devise that needs to operate or change to two or more different states, for example, a rotary switch may be used for; A fan that regulates heat at different speeds A radio that needs to operate on different frequencies The most common type of rotary switch is the rotary light switch, and the way in which this works is pretty straight forward. A rotary switch is a device that has a rotating shaft connected to one terminal capable of making or breaking a connection to one or more other terminals (the rotating shaft can be seen in the picture on the left) to many other types of electrical switching mechanisms, the electromechanical rotary switch provides a desirable means to control large numbers of circuits over a wide range of currents, voltages and power requirements. Rotary switches provide electrical control for the following types of equipment; Medical equipment, Aircraft, computers,   Industrial controls,   Communication,   Ordnance,   Ground support equipment Different types of rotary switches are used in a variety of electric devices. They are in the form of at least two parts and have a rotatable switching means arranged in a grouping and a rotary knob having a coupling element which can be pushed into or onto the switching means. The rotary switches are provided with a contact/sensor system and with a detent mechanism. The detent mechanism determines the number of possible switch positions. Rotary switches may feature different switch positions that can be set by rotating the switch spindle in one or another direction. Rotary switches may convert positions into binary numbers; such switches are known as coded switches. A rotary electromechanical encoder includes the overall characteristics of a rotary switch, but has additional mechanical movements. Pyrometers A pyrometer comes in very useful in industrial places where measuring and controlling inputs and outputs of a computer system become far too dangerous for a human to undertake the responsibility. It is often used to determine and control the temperature; however, it can also be used for radiation purposes. The word pyrometer is derives from the Greek word for fire, â€Å" † and the Greek word for measure, which is â€Å"meter†. As previously said, pyrometers are optical aids and although now days there are many forms of pyrometer as the need for more specific, demanding control systems are required the most basic still works on the principle below; On the previous page we can see how a basic optical pyrometer works, the only problem being that it can display temperatures that are high (up to around 700oC, but is inefficient for very low temperatures. As temperature inside the work place/furnace increases, so does the filament inside the pyrometer giving off a red colour, indicating the heat capacity. Using digital readouts the user can use the pyrometer to calculate the temperature of the material and also use the pyrometer to heat the material or furnace, or wherever the control system is placed to whatever they require. Thermocouples A thermocouple is a very simple heat/temperature sensor and comprises of two components. One end is joined tightly and the other end is separated. It is the end that is separated that is considered to be the output of the control system, and this is the end that actually generates the voltage. This voltage is then proportional to the heat or temperature to which it is measuring. This then means that the hotter the temperature the more voltage is output. Below can be seen the two most commonly found applications of thermocouples; Measuring room temperature Monitoring the presence of a pilot light It is the actual materials used within the control system that determines the application. There are then thermocouple types derived which can be used for differing purposes. Thermocouples are easy to use and require no batteries or fancy electronics. However, the voltage signals generated are very small so an amplifier may be required if you wish to read the temperatures into a computer Control System Thermometers Control system thermometers consist of a normal day to day thermometer that’s connected to an electric circuit. Then, when the heat/temperature reaches a certain level it can be indicated or displayed in a number of ways, for example if connected correctly we could have it so that the temperature, when it hits 20, displays a red light located somewhere else, and, then when it falls below the light goes off. Inductosyn The idea of an inductosyn is to read the measurements of current within a system and then make extremely accurate measurements or movements based upon these readings. The principal in which it works is as follows. Incremental Absolute An inductosyn has a metal block in which grooves are cut out. Along these grooves are continuous strips of magnetic metal, then, a current is passed from one end to the other. The sliding block has an identical strip set in to it completes the circuit when connected with the other strip. Now we have the possibility of resistance change, by sliding the sliding block from one end to the other we have a system that changes the resistance of the circuit. This then increases and decreases the current accordingly. This is then output to a display which the user can see. This relationship between current and movement can then be used to move objects very small distances with a tremendously high degree of accuracy. This is all based on the current. Thermistor A thermistor is a type of resistor that varies resistance in a computer control system according to the temperature readings. Thermistors are thermally sensitive resistors whose prime function is to exhibit a large, predictable and precise change in electrical resistance when subjected to a corresponding change in temperature. A temperature sensor application would be compared to that off the one found in a central heating system. A sensor would detect the temperature in the air, by using a thermometer and then change as desired using something like a thermistor. The thermistor would act as the thermostat. Therefore, when the thermostat is changed, we can change the output of the heating system accordingly. The thermistor is widely used and often unknown to the untrained eye. Linear Limit Switches The theory behind the linear limit switch is very straight forward. Basically the linear limit switch is a button, that when activated starts a process. In relation to computing it’s like an event drive operation. For the linear limit switch to be activated it must be pressed. For example, in a lift, how do we get the lift to stop going up, or, stop going down, or stop on the right floor. It would be of my opinion that a linear limit switch is implemented, so that when the lift reaches the required floor, a switch is activated and the lift stops and the doors open. However, its not limited to lifts, the linear switch is a very common device. In the picture on the left we can see a clear example of a linear limit switch. The operation needed to be performed is for that of the swimming pool cover, when the cover reaches the end of the pool the switch is pressed and the motor stops working, this then stops the problem of the cover falling off of the reel.