The Olmec Civilization Essays - Mesoamerica,

The Olmec Civilization The Olmec were Mesoamerica's first civilization. They were located in Laguna de los Cerros, tres Zapotes, San Lorenzo, La Venta, and the Tuxtla Mountains, in Mexico. The purpose of this report is to show how the Olmec lived, their beliefs, and their spectacular art. The Olmec were a mother culture to later civilizations. The culture of the Olmec started in Mexico's Gulf Coast between 1200 and 1400 B.C , approximately between the Trojan war, and the golden age of Athens, and ended about 3000 years ago. The Olmec were among the first Americans to design ritual centres and raise earthen pyramids. On the pyramids there were statues which were strategically placed as a shrine. As the Olmec culture gradually developed some Olmec villages grew strong and powerful, while others were less fortunate. The villages shared their resources, such as rubber and basalt. The Olmec had different social ranks, from workers such as fishers, farmers, traders and specialists such as artisans and sculptors, to rulers. Rulers were individuals who had the power to float basalt down the river and to commission colossal statues and other public work. The Olmec farmed and ate corn. They also ate shellfish, fish, turtles, beans, deer, and dog. Perhaps the most spectacular trait of the Olmec were that they used hieroglyphs. They used hieroglyphs to record dates, events, and to tell stories. Although the Olmec were hard workers they still had time for a ceremonial ball game. The Olmec had many beliefs. Among these beliefs were chaneques which were dwarf trixters who lived in water falls. They also had their own beliefs in cosmology. The Olmec had natural shrines devoted to the hill on which the shrine was located and the water. The Olmec were believed to have a corn god. Jaguars were also worshipped religiously, perhaps because the jaguar was the most powerful predator. The Olmec believed that the jaguar brought rain. The men would sacrifice blood to the jaguar, wear masks, dance, and crack whips to imitate the sound of thunder. This ritual was done in May. The Olmec also made offerings of jade figures to the jaguar. The Olmec had early achievements in art. Perhaps the most incredible findings from the Olmec culture are the sculptures. The Olmec used wood, basalt and jade to make the statues. The wooden artifacts are said to be the oldest in Mesoamerica. The Olmec used basalt to make colossal heads. The size of these heads ranged from 5 feet to 11 feet tall. Some say the heads represent sacrificial offering. Others think they portray the elite Olmec ancestors. These heads have also been interpreted as being warriors or ball players. Basalt was also used to carve thrones. The Olmec used art to glorify rulers by making them monuments of super natural creatures to portray them such as part human, part beast. The beast was usually the jaguar. It is believed that these monuments were annihilated after the death of the leader. The figurines made of jade were small and sexless. Some of the more elaborate statues wore extensive headdress with a long train, and rectangular chest plates, sat cross-legged, leaned forward and looked straight ahead. In conclusion the Olmec, Mesoamerica's first civilization were a mother culture to other civilizations. They had many beliefs, and had early achievements in elaborate art. The article, "New light on the Olmec," was an interesting article but it was very repetitive. It is scarcely recommended.

Crapulence Doesnt Mean That

Crapulence Doesnt Mean That Crapulence Doesnt Mean That Crapulence Doesnt Mean That By Maeve Maddox A reader called my attention to a sentence in which these words appeared: a cesspool of its own crapulence I turned to my browser and found so many examples of wallowing in their/his/its own crapulence that I conclude that the expression has already become a clichà ©. Apparently a lot of people imagine that crapulence means excrement. Columnist Jonah Goldberg thinks so: Two decades of crapulence by the political class has been prologue to the era of coprophagy that is now upon us. It is crap sandwiches for as far as the eye can see. Actually, crapulence and its related forms crapulent and crapulous, come from a Latin word meaning intoxication. and have to do with drunkenness. crapulence: great intemperance especially in drinking Merriam-Webster crapulence: 1. Sickness or indisposition resulting from excess in drinking or eating; 2. Gross intemperance, esp. in drinking; debauchery. OED crapulous: sick from too much drinking, from L. crapula, from Gk. kraipale hangover, drunken headache, nausea from debauching. The Romans used it for drunkenness itself. English has used it in both senses. Online Etymology Dictionary The vulgarism crap, on the other hand, is used as a noun to mean excrement, and as a verb to mean defecate. Merriam-Webster gives the etymology of crap as: Middle English, from Middle Dutch crap, crappe pork chop, greaves [cracklings], grain in chaff, from crappen to tear or break off The use of crap with excremental associations has been in the language since the 19th century. The Online Etymology Dictionary indicates that crap belongs to a cluster of words generally applied to things cast off or discarded (e.g. weeds growing among corn (1425), residue from renderings (1490s) dregs of beer or ale The OEtyD entry concludes that the word probably comes from the Middle English word crappe, grain that was trodden underfoot in a barn. In case the meaning of coprophagy in the quotation above is not evident from the context, heres the definition from Merriam-Webster: coprophagy: the feeding on or eating of dung or excrement that is normal behavior among many insects, birds, and other animals but in man is a symptom of some forms of insanity Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. HadRules for Capitalization in Titles6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know

Volswagen in the United States Case study Essay

Volswagen in the United States Case study - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to analyze Volkswagens American operations, examine the effects of globalization on Volkswagen, and to describe the strategies that Volkswagen has developed in order to improve its position in the US. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section provides brief literature review on globalization within the context of the automotive industry wherein VW operates. This will be followed by background information on Volkswagen’s global operations, with a particular emphasis on its operations in America. The second section discusses globalization and the issues affecting Volkswagen with respect to its promotion and distribution strategies. The final section explores the international structure most appropriate for VW based on its current position in the world market. At its most fundamental, globalisation refers to the world as one big market and source of information. It is characterised by a free flow of goods, people and information around the world, an internationalization of economic processes and the emergence of world markets (Lemoine, W. and Dagnaes, L., 2002). Consequently globalization has given rise to new concepts such as global industries, organizations and strategies used to market and sell global products, brands and services. A global industry has been defined as ‘an industry in which the strategic positions of competitors in major geographic or national markets are fundamentally affected by their overall operations’ (Porter, 1980, p.275). The automotive industry has been recognized as a global industry in the sense that business activities or transactions made by a multinational automotive enterprise would not likely follow the business model from its host country. Shimokawa (1999) pointed out that these activities would include: On the one hand, an organization may generally be considered as global when it ‘operates in more than one country and captures R&D, production,

Arbitrage Pricing Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Arbitrage Pricing Theory - Essay Example To be able to show the problems, I make use of the study done by Lehman and Modest (1985), which come up into three conclusions. The analysis of Lehman and Modest was able to show that one of the problems in determining the factor for asset pricing is the proper or the correct use of procedure. Lehman and Modest opposed Fama-Macbeth in using the maximum likelihood analysis in determining the factors. Another study included in this paper is the one done by Enrico Altay (2003) using the Germany and Turkish stock exchange. In his study he uses the Fama-Macbeth maximum likelihood analysis. This causes the difference in the result. Therefore, in analysing the stock exchange one should be aware of the models and theory being used. The arbitrage pricing theory may encounter several problems especially in analyzing the factors. The macroeconomic factors may affect the outcome in pricing the asset. The analysis in which the best portfolio perform best remains. The arguments are presented in the later part of the paper. Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT), is a general theory of asset pricing. It holds the expected return of a financial asset that can be modelled as a linear function of various macro-economic factors or theoretical market indices, where sensitivity to changes in each factor is represented by a factor specific beta coefficient. This theory was initiated by the economist Stephen Ross in 1976. The The Arbitrage Pricing Theory establishes an equilibrium pricing relation between each asset's expected return and all others. In analyzing the theory, we must first discuss the covariance matrix and the portfolio risk. There are several method in estimating covariance matrix one can be by using the simple volatility estimator (Garman-Klass, 1980) or with GARCH estimators (Engle,1982; Bollerslev, 1986). Another method is that, assuming the drivers of volatility is known the historical data can be estimated if the variables are picking and the relation between each driver and each stock are identified. Portfolio return is the weighted average of the individual asset returns, using the portfolio holdings as weighs. The portfolio risk is the weighted sum of the individual asset variances and covariances with all other assets, using as weights the squared portfolio weights. Portfolio risk is its weights the squared portfolio weights. The original return units can be used to compute variance. The portfolio risk is usually reported as the square root of the variance, the volatility of portfolio returns. To compute for the portfolio risk we must collect the return variances and covariances in a table - the "covariance matrix". We must identify the portfolio holdings weights and apply the portfolio risk formula - a function dubbed a quadratic form by mathematics. The portfolio analysis is important in correlating with the common factors in showing the validity of the APT. The APT based on Ross (1976) takes the view that there is no single way to measure systematic risk. The risks arise from the unanticipated changes in the following fundamental economic variables: 1. Investor confidence 2. Interest rate 3. Inflation 4. Real Business Activity 5. A market index Each stock and portfolio has exposures or betas with respect to each of these systematic risks. Risk Exposure Profile is the pattern of economic betas for a stock or portfolio. The profile indicated how a stock or portfo

Report on recruitment and selection processes Assignment - 3

Report on recruitment and selection processes - Assignment Example ort involves a comparison of the two versions of the selection and recruitment policies included in the 2000 policy guidelines and the 2010 policy guidelines of the company. The report is suitably concluded by providing recommendations regarding the changes which may be necessary for improving the overall process of the recruitment and selection policies of Healthcare United. It can be identified from the comparison that there are significant ways in which the 2010 policies can be improved. The main recommendations given are that the time related to all the procedures must be made more flexible, the involved personnel should be made task oriented, documentation process should be made short and simple and support and training should be more task related. Healthcare United operates in the domain of healthcare and is one of the leading healthcare providers in Australia. Healthcare United is an advanced organization in terms of strategic planning and human resource management. The company has always tries to employ the best possible human resources available in the domain of healthcare. The company is an equal opportunity and unbiased employer which has helped to maintain a sustainable and ethical image over the years of its operation. The company employs 1500 healthcare professionals who work in two sites of the company. One of the sites of Healthcare United is located in Victoria and the other is located in NSW. The company has recently drafted a new strategic plan that it aims to implement while opening up another office in a new location. The selected location is Hobart in Australia itself. In this situation, it is significant for the company to compare the effectiveness of the new guidelines with that of the old guidelines. With m ore than 1500 employees working in different sites of the company and with the company planning to open up a new office in another area, it has become of imminent importance to create well-defined and functional recruitment and selection

Pressure Distribution of Cylinder in Wind Tunnel

Pressure Distribution of Cylinder in Wind Tunnel This lab delved into the concepts of fluid mechanics to calculate the drag coefficient of airflow around a smooth cylinder resulting from variations in pressure distribution. An apparatus consisting of a wind tunnel, pitot-tube, rotatable cylinder, and well-inclined manometer were used to conduct the experiment. Airflow generated by the wind tunnel was the driving factor, causing a measurable pressure difference around the cylinder. The well-inclined manometer was used to measure this varying pressure at ten degree intervals around the rotating cylinder, while the pitot-tube was utilized to measure free-stream velocity. After measuring and recording the necessary data for three different air speeds, calculations were made to determine Reynolds Number (Re), coefficient of pressure (Cp), and coefficient of drag (Cd). The resulting plots of Cp vs. Theta (angle of pressure measurement around cylinder) were consistent with the shape of the graph for laminar flow found within the text, ind icating separation at about 75-80 degrees. The plot of Cd vs. Re was also successful considering our Cd showed a small increase and a slight decrease over the range of Reynolds values (remaining more or less constant). This result is consistent with the figure provided from the Fluid Mechanics text, as it is clear that Cd remains relatively steady for a smooth circular cylinder for the range 1000 Objective: The objective of this lab was: 1. To measure the pressure distribution around a circular cylinder placed in a rectangular crossà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ section wind tunnel, and to calculate the drag force based on the pressure measurements. 2. To Compare the measured pressure and drag force with the values calculated using the potential flow theory. Introduction: Because fluid matter is so abundant and plays such a significant role in science, fluid mechanics is a large area of study for scientists and engineers. One aspect of particular interest is in studying how fluids flow over different objects. Understanding this concept is crucial to solving problems that impact the modern world, such as atmospheric flight and automobile design (to name a few). By using a wind-tunnel, a smooth cylinder, and a few measuring devices to aid us, we were able to formulate a basis of experimental knowledge with which to observe fluid flow over an object made relatable by the parameters of pressure, drag, and Reynolds Number. Differing flow speeds allowed us further opportunity to compare and contrast the observations and calculations made relating to these parameters. In order to fully accomplish the objectives of this lab and report, background and theory concerning fluid mechanics must first be introduced to provide core, foundational knowledge. This knowledge is expanded upon by dictating the necessary equipment requirements to conduct the lab. From there, the experimental procedure is outlined to allow for reproducibility of the lab by the reader should the need arise. Finally, an analytical approach is used to examine the overall results of the lab as performed before generating several conclusions and recommendations for the future. Background Theory: The background of the experiment is to calculate the drag coefficient in a controlled environment using a wind tunnel, a rotating cylindrical object, pitot tube, and an inclined manometer. When developing the drag coefficient values it is important to specify the reference area (cylindrical object) used to develop the drag coefficient value. This value is valuable to engineers in developing models for many different aspects, such as, cars, airplanes, and many other areas as fluids affects just about everything. Fluid consists of air, water, gas which are Newtonian Fluids and in this experiment air was used to understand the effects experimentally with a rotating cylindrical object and checking the values on a manometer at 10 degree intervals at 3 different speeds low, medium, and high. Figure 1 Airflow around Cylindrical Object (3) Theory: The pitot tube at the point that is hit in the central part has a velocity of zero (see figure 2 below) and point2 is known as stagnation point. From the Bernoulli equation this point can be calculated per [(p1/à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‹Å")+(u1^2/2)=(p2/à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‹Å")], which can be re-written as p2 = p1+(.5*à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‹Å"*u1^2). U1 = velocity, p1 p2 = pressure, à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‹Å" = density and for stagnation at point 2, u2 = 0 and z1 = z2. (3) Figure 2 Pitot Tube Point 1 2 (3) When using a pitot static tube also known as Prandtl tubes (see figure 3), which is used to measure the pressure difference. The tube is mounted in the wind tunnel so that the main hole along the axis direction through the tube is pointed in the direction of the fluid flow and other small holes are drilled on the outside of the tube perpendicular to main hole and kept separately. The small perpendicular holes are considered the static pressure and the main hole is the total pressure (pressure of flow static) used in the Bernoulli equation. Figure 3 Pitot Static Tube (3) The manometer are used to measure the pressure and is one of the oldest measurement devices. There are different types of manometers that can be used, such as, the U-tube, Inclined, Reservoir, and Float types. For this experiment an inclined manometer is used so that the pressure changes can be read easier and has an increased sensitivity level compared to the others. (Equations for the Manometer) (3) (Note The scale of the installed manometer in this setup reads h directly, so you do not need to multiply it by sin ÃŽÂ ¸) Figure 4 Typical Inclined Manometer (3) Drag force on a circular cylinder in a stream of flow per Figure 5, 6, 7 below shows that the flow past a cylinder will go through several transitions based on the velocity. In this experiment as the cylindrical object rotates the fluid flow changes within the same velocity and delivers different values and is repeated between 3 different velocities and then compared. Figure 5 Separation of air flow around cylindrical object (3) Figure 6 Typical graph for separation of airflow (3) (a) Laminar Flow separates at about 80 °, CD = 0.5 (b) Turbulent flow separates at 120 °, CD = 0.2 Figure 7 Graph of separation of airflow around an object (3) (a) Laminar Flow separates at about 80 °, CD = 0.5 (b) Turbulent flow separates at 120 °, CD = 0.2 Equipment: The equipment used for this experiment were: 1. A rectangular crossà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ section wind tunnel. 2. An adjustable air blower responsible of pumping the air throughout the wind tunnel. 3. A rotatable circular cylinder placed across the whole height of the tunnel. 4. A pitotà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ tube to allow measurement of free stream air velocity. 5. A honeyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ section to achieve a uniform flow across the tunnel. 6. A wellà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ inclined manometer to measure pressure around the cylinder. Procedure: Starting the experiment after reading the parameters of and required steps in the experiment we had to set a baseline for a further measurement in this experiment. This was done by taking readings for the inclined manometer, href used it this experiment with no added flow from the fan at ambient pressure. All measurements were recorded by two measurement takers and only dispute on a measurement was decided by a third party. Next the blower was turned on to slowest of the the three speeds to be used and reading was allowed some time to stabilize. The valve lever was then rotated to the horizontal position to record the manometer reading for the pitot tube which was lowered to be the same height as the hole in the cylinder. A manometer measurement was recorded for the pitot tube at this position. Following this, the valve handle was rotated to the vertical position and the pitot tube returned to its original position at the top of the apparatus in order to read the pressure around the cylinder. The cylinder was rotated to the zero degree position and that reading should, in principle, be the same as huà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¾. The next stage of the experiment was to rotate the cylinder to the 10 degree position, re-read the manometer and record that value. The Άh now represented (href h), where h was the current reading on the manometer from the pressure probe connected to the hole in the cylinder. This process was repeated for the -10 degree position and then for the positive 20 degree, -20 degree position and so on for the rest of the experiment increasing by 10 degrees and the same increase for the negative direction. All of the data collected was put in an excel spreadsheet for every 10 degrees around the cylinder and its corresponding negative value as well. for the next part of the experiment we completed these same steps for the other two required blower speeds of medium and high with all the data logged in another book of the same spreadsheet Data Sheet: Results and Analysis: Because this lab was aimed to determine the drag force by measuring the pressure distribution and compare them to the actual results, we found that the drag forces are generated by the aero-dynamical resistance. Measurements of static pressure coefficient on the cylinder surface were used to determine the drag coefficient by adjusting the wind speeds at low, medium and high velocities and recording the respective values. Our experimental data was set to observe, collect data and analyze the accuracy of the appearing drag forces, FD the drag, CD and pressure, Cp coefficients at various pressure distributions of different angles and the Reynolds Numbers, Re. Results are presented in figures 10, 11 12 Figure 10: Drag force for 1.673 in. diameter of cylinder This figure above gives us an understanding of the relationship between the drag force and the wind speeds at various velocities. We can assume from the graph that the drag force becomes greater by increasing wind speeds. Figure 11: Drag coefficient at different Reynolds Number The figure shows surface pressure coefficient distributions at three Reynolds numbers compared with a theoretical distribution on the left computed assuming unbounded potential flow. If you observe the theoretical distribution on smooth circular cylinder, it shows us that the curve is exponentially decreasing as it comes to an equilibrium state within the Reynolds numbers range. But calculated distribution has a slight linear increase in the pressure coefficient and the Reynold numbers increase. The unexpected form of the pressure distribution on the cylinder may be partly explained by three dimensionality in the flow. The big difference between the measured and the theoretical value cannot be explained, but it was found, that the inlet velocity in front of the cylinder has a strong influence on the determined drag coefficient. Maybe a velocity measurement with a pitot tube in front of the cylinder would bring better results for the drag coefficient. Figure 12: Pressure coefficient of different angels The above graphs show a theoretical figure on the left and an experimented figure on the right. In the experiment we recorded the static and surface pressures of a cylinder having a diameter of 1.673 in and 6 in long. We rotated a built in protractor in 10 degree interval for readings over 00 to  ±1800. The experimental data of pressure coefficient, Cp obtained under the various angels of incidence for different conditions of low, medium and high velocities. We can observe from the two graphs that the curves are similar in shape. However, the high and medium curves turned out to be slightly similar. The slight error is quite visible comparing the two graphs but this can be caused due to various experimental situations. The pressure and velocity measurements with the pitot tubes are influenced by a chain of errors. Most of the measurement set-ups are linked: sensors, transducers and data acquisition systems. Each part of the system is influencing the measurements and adds a dev iation. The signal chain is going through a lot of steps for the Pitot tube: It starts with the Pitot tube themselves, which e.g. influences the flow. The pressure is transduced to an analogue electrical signal, which is conducted and transformed to a digital signal in the data acquisition system. These signals are set into account with the alcohol manometer data. The manometer is subjected to reading, adjustment and surface tension of liquids deviation. In the following a deviation estimation is done for the manometer. Pitot tubes are in general suitable to measure turbulent flows, but the output can be wrong or different, if the flow is highly turbulent and contains back flows. Also flows that hit the Pitot tube from the side or in big angles can induce lower measured velocities.From the appropriate formulas for calculating and plotting the coefficient of pressure Cp to determine the drag coefficient, Cd the above graphs shows us that: At elevated speeds the anticipated amount of lift and speed must be lower. Greater wind speed resulted in a larger speed coefficient The pressure on the circular cylinder seems to be higher at increased wind speeds from low to medium to high. We could presumably say that this is consistent with the theoretical aspect of flight control and aerodynamics. Note: The estimations of the quantities in dependency of the wind velocity, drag force and Reynolds Numbers are found on the attached excel file data sheets. Conclusion and Recommendations: This lab was successful in introducing and utilizing a variety of statistical concepts and their uses in describing data. Using the statistical analysis tools shown in this experiment were very helpful in organizing the data, identifying any outliers, being able to show trends and compare them. Understanding of key concepts such as drag and how it affects any design or system is very important. The two key components of the momentum suffered by the fluid, air, is this system are skin friction and form drag. Both of these interrupt the ideal laminar of the fluid. At the front of the cylinder the pressure is about equal to the stagnation pressure and, from there, start to accelerate further around the curved surface the readings are taken. This acceleration causes a drop in pressure relative to the position on the cylinder. These readings do accelerate until about 90/ 270 degrees from 0/180 degrees then the pressure slowly if not exactly linearly until it then levels off as the flow be comes more turbulent. All of the data that we collected in this experiment seems to support this conclusion at each of the three measured speeds.

Free Great Gatsby Essays: A Very Insecure Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

The Very Insecure Great Gatsby  Ã‚   In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby many characters are not as they seem.   The one character that intrigues me the most is James Gatsby.   In the story Gatsby is always thought of as rich, confident, and very popular.   However, when I paint a picture of him in my mind I see someone very different.   In fact, I see the opposite of what everyone portrays him to be.   I see someone who has very little confidence and who tries to fit in the best he can.   There are several scenes in which this observation is very obvious to me.   It is clear that Gatsby is not the man that everyone claims he is.    One scene that clearly shows the true Gatsby is when he meets Daisy at Nicks house.   He is very nervous and wants everything to be perfect for Daisy.   To me that shows he is really hung up on what other people think.   He wants to impress them the best he can.   Obviously Gatsby has little confidence and feels he needs to overwhelm people with appearance opposed to his personality. When Gatsby and Nick go out on the town Gatsby took his yellow Rolls Royce, which is a magnificent car.   Gatsby wanted to impress Nick and everyone else in town with his awesome car.   Once again this shows how Gatsby uses objects to get attention and not his personality. The scene that displays Gatsby’s  low confidence the most is when he has his elaborate parties with all of the fancy decorations and incredible food.   So many people come to his parties and the whole time he is never present.   He never comes down to greet anyone or welcome them.   He never comes down to check on his guests to see how things are going and if they are having a good time.   Gatsby always spends time in a room by himself watching everyone.   He waits, hoping Daisy will appear. Gatsby is built up to be a big man.   He is thought of as extremely wealthy and good looking with lots of confidence.