Investigate the Iconography in the Work of John Singleton Copley Term Paper

Investigate the Iconography in the Work of John Singleton Copley - Term Paper Example The image is intended to convey some messages to the viewers through its facial expression. The pictorial likeness of the face of the image is of utmost concern (LightPoseGuide, para.3). It could also be kept in some gallery to pass some information onto the future generations. As such, it is necessary that the artist design a portrait that has some facial expression. The image should be natural to enable the observer develop a logical eyesight towards the intended meaning. Iconography is concerned with the symbolic nature of the portraits or any other artistic images. It is the study of the themes expressed in visual arts and their hidden meanings (Straten, 3). It involves identifying and providing a description of the contents of a given portrait. This then leads to an interpretation of what the contents imply in relation to the subject of the work (Straten, 3). This paper presents an iconographic examination of Watson and the Shark, a piece of work by John Singleton Copley, the ei ghteenth and nineteenth century American artist who later moved to London where he died. The symbolic nature of this and other works by the artist is examined. The artist is seen to have brought a significant impact on the nature of the American and British portraiture. John Singleton Copley’s Background John Singleton Copley is an American painter born in Boston in 1938 of an Irish immigrant into the US (Olga’s Gallery, para.1). At the age of ten, his father died and the mother, Mary Singleton Copley, was married to another man by the name Peter Pelham in the same year. The stepfather contributed significantly to the early education of Copley. He was a teacher as well as an engraver, and so Copley learned a lot when he worked at the stepfather’s shop. While working there, he learned various skills involved in engraving and developed relations with various painters in Boston (Olga’s Gallery, para.2). The stepfather also died within three years and Copley was forced to continue learning the art of engravings on his own. Copley began to paint portraits at the tender age of fifteen years. Even though these early works were seen to be immature with no proper facial expressions, the efforts of the artist could not be mistaken owing to his tender age (Olga’s Gallery, para.3). The artist borrowed elements from works from America and Europe. He interacted with more artists from Europe and other parts of the world that led to rapid development in his artistic skills. He was invited to various exhibitions in the colonial America and Canada, most of which he turned down. In 1766, Copley attended the exhibition of the Incorporated Society of Artists, where he gained fame among the public in England (Olga’s Gallery, para.8). His first work presented at the exhibition impressed different people and he was accepted into the society of artists in the country. The artist had further creative and innovative developments and moved to var ious counties with his home based in London. He developed portraits of important persons in the colonial New England. Most of his works are kept in the National Gallery at Washington, D.C. Copley later died in his home in London in 1815 following a stroke (Olga’s Gallery, para.21). Watson and the Shark, 1778 The works of Copley could be a regarded as an important milestone in the American portraiture. Ideally, the portraits

Individual Assessment of the Inquiry-Guided Learning Team Project Personal Statement

Individual Assessment of the Inquiry-Guided Learning Team Project - Personal Statement Example The United Nations comprises of the International Court of Justice, General Assembly, Trusteeship Council, Secretariat, Economic and Social Council and the Security Council. Unlike the League, United Nations membership comprises all the major world sovereign states except Vatican City, and focuses on peacekeeping operations. The process towards United Nations membership entails the fulfillment of the requirements as outlined in the United Nations Charter. The Security Council reviews the application then recommends the applicant for membership to the General Assembly who approves or declines the membership. The two World Wars created conflicts that called for peace initiatives in preserving international relations. In this regard, the team project embarked on assessing initiatives for peace through diplomacy in relation to the League of Nations and the United Nations. The team then designed an inquiry project on how the United Nations carries on with the aims of the League. Through a document-based research, the team conducted an inquiry into the peace problem and documented the findings in writing as well as presenting them orally in class (Kaabi et al. 1-4). Class presentation became an interactive and interesting activity that provided a wider insight into the inquiry and presentation of the ideas. The power point presentation outlined the most significant elements of the findings thereby providing ease and continuity of the presentation of ideas. Writing a collective paper entails both positive and negative implications on team members and the overall results of the project. Teamwork eased the pace at which inquiry would be achieved, its documentation and oral presentation as well as the collection of diverse ideas from different team members. On the contrary, teamwork could be time consuming in terms of conducting documentary research and all members on the topic under study must reach documentation since an agreement. Also, harmonizing each

Reproductive Isolating Mechanisms Essay Example for Free

Reproductive Isolating Mechanisms Essay In the 1940s, Ernst Mayr coined the term Biological Species Concept that was subsequently widely embraced by the scientific community. The definition stated that Species are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups. Certain mechanisms are in place to prevent species from interbreeding with others and these are referred to as reproductive isolating mechanisms, which are biological incompatibilities. There are many mechanisms acting on natural populations and these are broadly grouped into two categories namely prezygotic and postzygotic mechanisms. Prezygotic isolating mechanisms are those mechanisms that isolate species before fertilisation i.e. before a zygote is formed. They include geographical, ecological, temporal, ethological, mechanical, morphological and gametic isolation. These mechanisms lesson the possibility of gametes from different species coming into contact and hence forming a zygote. One prezygotic isolating mechanism is ecological isolation, also referred to as habitat isolation. Ecological isolation prevents different species that live in the same territory but different habitats from interbreeding. These species are referred to as sympatric species since they occur in the same territories. Individuals mate in their preferred habitat, and therefore do not meet individuals of other species with different ecological preferences. An example of ecological isolation occurs within the Rana genus. R. grylio, the pig frog and R. areolata, the gopher frog both occur around New Orleans, Louisiana. The exceptionally aquatic pig frog lives in deep ponds, lakes and marshes amongst surfacing vegetation and breeds in deep water so has no contact with the gopher frog which lives in burrows during the day, and in the swamp margins at night and breeds in shallow water. This way the possibility of interbreeding between the two species is eliminated. Temporal isolation, also known as seasonal isolation is a prezygotic mechanism that prevents interbreeding between species. Temporal isolation is the isolation of species by changing the time at which they release gametes.  A particularly strong example of temporal isolation occurs in three tropical orchid species of the genus Dendrobium. The species only flower for a single day, opening at dawn and withering by nightfall. The flowering of each species is in response to the same environmental stimuli, such as a sudden storm on a hot day, but the lag time between the occurrence of the stimulus and the flowering is eight, nine, and ten or eleven in the different species. Since they flower for a single day, inter-species fertilization is made impossible because when one species has flowered the others are either not yet mature or already withered. Other examples of temporal isolation in natural populations are not as pronounced such as in cases were species are isolated due to breeding during different seasons like Sciurus carolinensis, the gray squirrel which mates in July and August; and Sc. niger, the fox squirrel which breeds in May and June. Another prezygotic isolating mechanism is ethological isolation or behavioural isolation. This mechanism prevents species, mostly animals from interbreeding based on their different behavioural patterns. It affects animals that occur within the same territory and habitat but with different mating behaviours. In most animals, mates are chosen in a species-specific approach often after species-specific mating rituals of some form. Matings follow these rituals which can be ended if at least one of the mating parties decides that the process leading to the mating is not as expected. Ethological isolation can be strong reproductive isolating mechanism in animals also between closely related species. An effective example of ethological isolation occurs in certain frog species of the Hyla species. H. versicolor, the gray tree frog and the closely related H. femoralis, pine wood tree frog often breed in the same ponds. Both species are physically very similar but their male mating calls, which last about three seconds and sound the same to humans can be differentiated by the female tree frogs and thus insures species-specific mating. This is also the case when considering why dogs and wolves dont mate as frequently as expected because of their different behavioural patterns. Mechanical isolation is a mechanism that prevents copulation between different animal species because of incompatible shape and size of the  genitalia. This occurs in species are sympatric and live in a common habitat and have overlapping breeding seasons without any ethological isolating mechanisms. In plants, variation in flower structure can inhibit cross species pollination. In California, two sage species, namely Salvia mellifera and S. apiana exhibit this form of prezygotic isolation. Two- lipped S. mellifera has stamens and style in their upper lip, whereas S. apiana has long stamens and style and a specialized floral configuration. Small and medium sized bees that carry pollen on their backs pollinate the two-lipped flowers, and large carpenter and bumble bees that carry pollen on their wings and other body parts pollinate S. apiana. This mechanism thus ensures that pollen cannot be transferred between the species, as only the corresponding pollinators are able to transfer pollen to the style of each flower. Another prezygotic isolation mechanism is morphological isolation, which in some cases overlaps with mechanical isolation mechanisms. This isolating mechanism prevents mating due to differences in size and shape between species. Morphological isolation prevents the spread of genes between the oak toad, Bufo quercicus and the Gulf Coast toad, Bufo vallicpes due to the size variation between the two species. The female oak toad has a maximum length of approximately 3 centimetres whereas the smallest Gulf Coast males are about twice as long. This way the size differences between the spaces make copulation extremely unlikely as male oak toads are too small to grasp the female Gulf Coast toad and male Gulf Coast toads are large enough to, and generally do, eat the female oak toads. The last prezygotic isolating mechanism is gametic isolation also known as gametic mortality. Gametic isolation is the mechanism in which fertilization cannot occur between species generally due to chemical incompatibilities between their gametes. In animals that practice internal fertilization, sperm may not be able to survive in the females sperm receptacles. Some plant species, pollen grains of one species usually cannot germinate on the stigma of another species thus preventing fertilization between species. Since many aquatic animals disperse their ova and sperm into the water, gametesof different species do not have affinities for each other. This was  demonstrated between the sea urchins Stronglocentrotus purpuratus and S. franciscanus when after induction of simultaneous realease of eggs and sperm, all resultant fertilizations were between eggs and sperms of the same species. Postzygotic isolation mechanisms are those reproductive isolating mechanisms, which are effective after the union of gametes of different species i.e. after fertilisation. Postzygotic isolating mechanisms include hybrid inviability, hybrid sterility and hybrid breakdown. Postzygotic isolating mechanisms reduce the viability or fertility of hybrids or their progeny. These mechanisms come into play when hybridzygotes are formed either naturally or unnaturally. Hybrid inviability is the postzygotic isolating mechanism that occurs between fertilisation and birth. This mechanism prevents the full development of zygotes and thus leads to their subsequent death. An example in animals is the death of artificially created sheep-goat hybrid embryos in early developmental stages before birth. Hybrid inviability also occurs in plants, most commonly resulting in hybrid seeds either failing to germinate or dying shortly after germination. Hybrid sterility or hybrid infertility is a postzygotic reproductive isolating mechanism which affects hybrids that survive to adulthood. This mechanism creates sterile hybrids i.e. hybrids that cannot produce offspring. The most well known example is the case of the mule. When a horse and a donkey mate they are capable of producing offspring called mules. But mules are sterile, leaving them out of the gene pool thus maintaining species integrity. Hybrid breakdown is the last postzygotic isolating mechanism in place to maintain species differentiation. It occurs in cases of crossbreeding were hybrids of inter species matings are viable and fertile. Hybrid breakdown occurs commonly and results in the hybrids offspring or the F2 generation being unviable or significantly weaker and unable to contribute genes to a next generation. Certain cotton plants show this form of reproductive  isolation such as Gossypium barbadense, G. hirsutum and G. tomentosum which produce hybrids that seem viable and fertile, but their offspring die either as seeds, early during development or develop into weaker plants unable to compete and reproduce. Reproductive isolation combines traits that reduce gene flow, such as mate choice or fertilization barriers, with traits that select against genes that have flowed, such as hybrid incompatibility. Reproductive isolating mechanisms are ultimately mechanisms evolved in species to prevent interbreeding with other species and thus allow for scientists to differentiate between species using the biological species concept. Bibliography Futuyma, DJ. 1998. Evolutionary biology, 3rd ed., Sinauer Assoc. Inc., USA Griffiths, A.J.F., Miller, J.H. Suzuki, D.T., Lewontin, R.C. and Gelbart, W.M. 1999. Introduction to Genetic Analysis. W.H Freeman Co. New York. Hale, W. and Margham, J. 1988. Collins Dictionary of Biology. Collins, UK. Mayr, E. 1942 Systematics and the Origin of Species. Columbia University Press, New York, USA. Mayr, E. (1970) Populations, Species, and Evolution. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Starr, C. and Taggart, R. (2001). Biology, The Unity and Diversity of Life, 9th ed. Brookes/ Cole, USA. www.abacus.gene.ucl.ac.uk/jim/Sp/isolmech.html www.library.thinkquest.org/ 19926/java/library/article/17a.ht

Virtual Reality And Its Impact On Society Information Technology Essay

Virtual Reality And Its Impact On Society Information Technology Essay Technology has transformed peoples perception of the world by either creating new environments for them to traverse, or by providing them passage to corners of the earth they will never otherwise visit in their entire lifetimes. Virtual reality, briefly defined as an environment that is computer-simulated, has transcended social and geographical barriers ever since its applications have been increasingly used by everyday people. Whereas before it was limited only to labyrinth and high-cost applications availed of by expert users, virtual reality has now broadened its breadth to encompass the general public which optimizes the Internet to configure, share and create virtual communities benefitting society in the areas of education, law enforcement, medicine and industries. Defining Virtual Reality Virtual reality is an environment which is computer-simulated, and the simulation could be that of an imaginary world, or a real one (Gajera, n.d.). Virtual reality environments are mainly three-dimensional visual experiences that are displayed either on a screener through special or stereoscopic displays, and enhanced by sensory information such as sounds that emanate from headphones or speakers (Gajera, n.d., p. 3). There are modern applications that provide force feedback or tactile information, which are generally used for gaming and medical applications. To experience this, multi-modal devices such as the omni directional treadmill, the Polhemus boom arm, or a wired glove is used, as in Figure 1 at Appendix Page (Gajera, n.d.). Michael R. Heim, in his book entitled, The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality, has named seven applications of virtual reality: network communication, full-body immersion, telepresence, immersion, artificiality, interaction and simulation (Gajera, n.d.). In light of these, a virtual environment may be defined as a digital space in which a users activities are monitored, and his or her surroundings rendered, or digitally composed and displayed to the senses, in accordance with those activities (Fox, Arena and Bailenson, 2009, p. 95). According to Jesse Fox, Dylan Arena, and Jeremy N. Bailenson, the critical element of the most fascinating virtual reality experiences is the hindering real, sensory impressions; a users senses are engaged in the virtual world, with the body consigned to a reality engine, as in Figure 1 at Appendix Page (Fox, Arena and Bailenson, 2009, p. 95). Technically, the virtual reality system uses both software and hardware which allow developers to produce virtual reality systems (Riva, 2009). The hardware elements receive inputs coming from devices that are manipulated by the user, and sends multi-sensory output to generate an imagery of a virtual world (Riva, 2009, p. 337). Meanwhile, the software element of a virtual reality system does not really create the virtual world. Rather, there is a separate software which projects the virtual world through the use of the virtual reality software system (Riva, 2009, p. 337). Hence, a virtual reality system is made up of a graphic rendering system, a database construction and virtual object modeling software (337), and the input and output tools (Riva, 2009). The Impact of Virtual Reality on Society Virtual Reality has taken the world by storm, and is now tagged as the next dominant technological development. In the same way as the Internet, virtual reality was created for a specific purpose but modern technology has made it more versatile. At first, virtual reality was conceptualized as a new medium of entertainment; but as time passed, it has found more useful uses from providing online education, to applications in the medical field and giving hope to people with terminal diseases. Currently, virtual reality is used in (i) businesses, specifically in the presentation of graphs and charts, (ii) industries like the automotive industrys manufacturing arm, (iii) military for simulations and training, (iv) medical field for treatments of various ailments and disorders, and (v) education, specifically in laboratories, online education and virtual museums (Fortune City, 2010). It is foreseen that in the future, virtual reality will further enhance training at medical schools, comme rcial airlines, the Air Force, and will even be utilized by clothing manufacturers in the form of virtual reality shopping (Fortune City, 2010). Education Educators and scientists have joined forces all throughout the U.S. to establish virtual reality education to students and teachers alike, through the use of head-mounted displays (HMD), Immersawalls, ImmersaDesks and Cave Automated Virtual Environments (CAVEs), see Figure 3 at Appendix Page (Rusch, Sherman and Thakkar, 2002, p. 205). CAVE has a standard size of 10 x 10 x 10 space and has a floor, ceiling and three walls. Students utilizing this system don stereographic glasses which intensify images, and use a CAVE wand to assist that user as, i.e., molecule, or pedestrian, or fish, in navigating the virtual environment (Rusch, Sherman and Thakkar, 2002, p. 205). This is just a birds eye view of the role that virtual reality will play in education. Despite the fact that there are a good number of educational applications of virtual reality being availed of in the U.S. these days, the development of virtual reality has not yet achieved its maximum potential in the classroom (Rusch, Sherman and Thakkar, 2002, p. 205). The field of Career Technical Education has begun to benefit from virtual reality. Students can explore operating rooms, submarines, a prototype car, airplane cockpits, biotech laboratories, crime scenes and agricultural farms without having to travel, through the use of virtual reality (Ausburn and Ausburn, 2008). Again, through the use of CAVEs and HMDs, students are provided with three-dimensional simulations to give them a sense of being there' (Ausburn and Ausburn, 2008, p. 43). A good number of careers necessitate learning that will allow individuals to safely carry out their tasks amid dangerous circumstances. Because virtual reality is supremely realistic, it enables the student to benefit from active involvement with accurate and intricate visual scenes (Ausburn and Ausburn, 2008). Hence, training programs utilize virtual reality for railway and mining operations, dangerous driving scenarios, handling of hazardous materials, nuclear energy, marine exploration, space and aviation exploration, emergency medical operations, firefighting, military and law enforcement (Ausburn and Ausburn, 2008). The aim of these training programs is to teach students how to efficiently and effectively respond under high-cost, high-risk and complex circumstances, without damaging equipment and endangering personnel while still at training. Educational programs for courses like spray painting, bio-technology, aircraft maintenance, crime scene investigation and forensics, (44) engineering, dentistry, surgical technology and welding also benefit from virtual technology. Because the technology is still fairly new, CAVEs are expensive to avail of. Moreover, it is also expensive to implement and sustain, because of the specialized skills that are needed to set it up and maintain it. Nevertheless, as technology continues to evolve, there is much promise for virtual reality systems that may be used through laptops or desktops, utilizing special software that are based on JAVA, Flash and QuickTime technologies (Ausburn and Ausburn, 2008). Figure 4 illustrates how virtual reality may be accessed from a web system (Ottoson and Holmdahl, 2007). Because of the benefits offered by virtual reality technologies, there is a high degree of enthusiasm surrounding it in the world of the academe. Figure 5 summarizes the benefits of virtual reality in education. Law Enforcement Taking its cue from the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. has been innovating on taking protective measures preserve the security of its citizenry. One effective way of doing this is through the use virtual reality for training and intelligence gathering purposes. The U.S. intelligence community has been using virtual reality to simulate actual battlefields in the future, utilizing cyber weapons for initiating attacks against terrorists and other potential adversaries (Wilson, 2008, p. 4). Military use of virtual technology is efficient and effective in training personnel manage better under potentially risky scenarios. Participants utilize avatars in virtual environments that simulate, i.e., a checkpoint in Iraq, or a New York subway tunnel subjected to terroristic chemical attacks (Wilson, 2008). The downside is that a study conducted in 2007 showed that American firms are not ready to take the lead in embracing Web 2.0 technology which is the foundation of virtual technology in the years to come. The leaders in this area are (i) India, with plans of escalating their virtual reality investments by 80%, (ii) Asia-Pacific companies, by 69%, (iii) European companies, by 65%, (iv) Chinese companies, by 64%, (v) North American companies, by 64%, and (v) Latin American companies, by 62% (Wilson, 2008, p. 4). Number one in the list, India, has been showing a strong economic presence in the global markets. Figure 6 indicates its industry production forecast until 2012 (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2010). The implication here is whether the U.S. can protect its citizens if its virtual reality servers and communication systems were operated by another country very much possible, by an enemy nation. Under wraps in the virtual reality program of the military is Sentient Worldwide Simulation, which will depict mass casualty events, that not only need military action but medical interventions as well. Hence, this program includes virtual reality hospital rooms that emulate military and civilian facilities, populated by avatars representing victims, casualties, nurses, the National Coast Guard and other first responders. Other training simulation modules are Urban Resolve, for urban war fighting in Baghdad in the year 2015, with over two million simulated objects (Wilson, 2008, p. 5). In addition to this, Noble Resolve is being developed, which is a training exercise covering homeland security scenarios in the event of a terroristic attack (Wilson, 2008, p. 5). Meanwhile, police unites utilize virtual reality programs such as the Meggitt Training System which teaches basic firearms skills and responses in both shoot/dont shoot decision making (Griffith, 2009). The Los Angeles Police Department uses the IES Milo System; the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police Department uses the Advanced Interactive Systems; and, the Phelps County Sheriffs Department uses the IVR-300. Most of these systems permit multiple students in the virtual environment (Griffith, 2009). Medicine Techniques in virtual reality are increasingly being utilized in medical education, treatment and diagnosis (Yellowlees, 2009). Early adoptions of virtual reality in the field of medicine pertained to representation of intricate data emanating from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) (Yellowlees, 2009). Recently, virtual reality has been applied to virtual colonoscopy in which information from contrast enhanced abdominal CT scan is utilized to present a fly-through of the colon which is then used for screening for colon cancer (Yellowlees, 2009). Phobias and post-traumatic stress disorders are also being treated now using virtual reality, Figures 7 and 8 illustrate virtual environments for the treatment of agoraphobia (Cà ¡rdenas, Munoz, Gonzà ¡lez, and Uribarren, 2006). In particular, training for medical students are enhanced by the use of a virtual psychosis environment, wherein they have the opportunity to experience visual and auditory hallucinations of schizophrenic patients (Yellowlees, 2009). As mentioned earlier, indispensable training may be provided by virtual reality for mass casualty, as well as for disaster response and medical emergencies. Although it has been found out that the use of standardized patients for training such as these were more effective because of the realism element, virtual reality simulations were more cost-effective, it was also advantageous in the sense that the simulations may be repeated unlimitedly, so that skills may be practiced and mastered (Yellowlees, 2009). Virtual reality has been used in other areas of medicine like in chemotherapy distraction intervention, providing leisure time opportunities for people with intellectual and physical disabilities, brain damage rehabilitation for stroke victims, smoking cessation, physical therapy, autism, mental retardation and other relevant areas. Business Marketing efforts for businesses have been greatly enhanced by virtual reality. Business owners can now advertise their products over various multi-media, and depict a 360-degree image of products that they are manufacturing, marketing and selling. Websites have been high-tech critical missions for Top 500 companies, triggering a competition on virtual reality advertising (Kassaye, 2006). Figure 9 depicts a chart tracing these new breed of competitors and how they fare through their communication objectives (Kassaye, 2006). Meanwhile, virtual reality is also useful for the manufacturing process, because layout planning for assembly systems and machines require more data than the basis geometry (Okulicz, 2004). Moreover, 3D CAD Systems are not effective for plotting out production processes, and virtual reality has no restrictions as the two aforementioned processes (Okulicz,2004). In addition to this, virtual reality provides semi-immersive and/or interactive immersive visualization that is essential for the visual estimation of each manufacturing process (Okulicz, 2004). With some slight overlap with the aforementioned field of Education, virtual reality platforms are valuable in training and education for businesses. For instance, developing, testing and operating sophisticated machinery and fixing it under tight tire pressure when it malfunctions are some skills that employees in the industries have to master (Blumel, Termath and Haase, 2009). Companies benefit from investing in learning platforms like the Fraunhoffer IFF Learning Platform which utilizes virtual reality in customizing training modules to suit its end users levels of knowledge through configuration (Blumel, Termath and Haase, 2009). Virtual Reality in the field of business encompasses a much broader scope, and development in this area is anticipated to be quick and impressive. Conclusion People have benefited from virtual reality in more ways than one, attesting to the fact that the it has positively impacted society in general. Education has been enhanced by virtual reality, and students have been provided a new dimension of learning that prepares them for their chosen careers more efficiently. Meanwhile, security measures being adopted by the government have been highlighted with modern technology, especially virtual reality. Police and military forces can now be trained for highly-dangerous scenarios, without actually exposing them to great risks. On the other hand, the medical field has furthered its growth due to the advent of virtual reality. Of the advantages of virtual reality, this is one of the most significant because of its potential in asisting scientists discover life-saving technologies and techniques. Lastly, business enterprises also benefit from virtual technology, to enable organizations to compete more in international markets. Virtual reality has a long way to go, and more benefits are anticipated for humankind. IRTUAL REALITY 8 Appendix Page Figure 1 Virtual Reality (Images from Google) VIRTUAL REALITY 9 Figure 2 Virtual Environment (Gajera, n.d.) VIRTUAL REALITY 10 Figure 3 Virtual Reality in Education (Rusch, Sherman Thakkar, 2002) Figure 4 Virtual Reality and the Web System (Ottoson and Holmdahl, 2007) VIRTUAL REALITY 11 Figure 5 Benefits of Virtual Reality in Education (Blumel and Hasse, 2009) VIRTUAL REALITY 12 Figure 6 Industry Performance History and Forecast, India (Economic Intelligence Unit, 2010) Forecast summary (% unless otherwise indicated) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Real GDP growth 8.8 8.6 8.8 8.7 8.6 8.6 Industrial production growth 10.9 8.4 9 8 7.9 7.9 Unemployment rate (av) 10.8 10.6 10.6 10.4 10.1 9.7 Consumer price inflation (av) 11.7 6.5 5.2 5.2 5.9 5.6 Consumer price inflation (end-period) 7.4 5.8 5.2 5.5 5.7 5.5 Short-term interbank rate 12.4 13.4 13.5 13.2 13.2 13.2 Govt balance (% of GDP) -5.5 -5.3 -5 -4.3 -4.1 -3.5 Exports of goods fob (US$ bn) 208.3 231.6 257.9 291.4 328.9 371.3 Imports of goods fob (US$ bn) -334.9 -373.7 -429.2 -498.6 -578.9 -677.4 Current-account balance (US$ bn) -32.5 -36.8 -42.7 -50.5 -51.1 -55.2 Current-account balance (% of GDP) -2.1 -2.1 -2.1 -2.1 -1.8 -1.7 Total foreign debt (year-end; US$ bn) 237.9 256.9 280.4 308.5 337.9 367.4 Exchange rate Rs:US$ (av) 46.14 46.53 45.43 44.1 43.1 42 Exchange rate Rs:US$ (end-period) 46.34 45.98 44.77 43.6 42.55 41.45 Exchange rate Rs: ¥100 (av) 49.24 52.73 51.77 50.84 50.12 48.84 Exchange rate Rs:à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ (av) 64.28 60.12 54.06 50.72 49.13 47.88 (c) Economist Intelligence Unit 2010 VIRTUAL REALITY 13 Figure 7 Virtual Environment No. 1 for Agoraphobia (Cà ¡rdenas, et al., 2006) Figure 8 virtual environment number 2 for agoraphobia VIRTUAL REALITY 14 Figure 9 New Breed of Competitors Using Virtual Reality (Kassaye, 2006). VIRTUAL REALITY 15

Threats and opportunities from site :: essays research papers

Threats to sustainability Imitation or substitution Market entry Powerful buyers and suppliers Unpredictable changes in external environment Factors beyond a firm's control (bad luck) Limitations of the RBV Presented as static concept - however, many firms need to be able to cope with turbulent environments Suggests that managers may have limited ability to create sustained competitive advantages (empirical support by "perpetually failing firms" - firms that consistently earn normal or below-normal returns Difficult to test empirically - data problem (at the level of the unit of analysis, Le., resources and capabilities) What is the appropriate level of analysis? How deeply does one have to look? Principles of capabilities-based competition Goal : Build difficult-to-imitate organizational capabilities that distinguish a company from its competitors Principles : o The building blocks of strategy are business processes o The transformation of processes into valuable strategic capabilities is a key to success o Capabilities are created by making strategic investments in support infrastructure o CEO must be responsible, because competing on capabilities involves cross-functionality Some lessons learned from the capabilities perspective A capability begins and ends with the customer (or supplier) The longer and more complex the string of business processes, the harder it is to transform into a capability or to duplicate or imitate Outsourcing can be dangerous A strategy for growth : Transfer essential business processes to New geographic areas (e.g., Wal-Mart) or to New businesses (e.g., Honda) There is a difference between capabilities and core competencies Core competencies Coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technology Are communication, involvement, and a deep commitment to working across organizational boundaries Do not diminish with use, but are enhanced as they are applied and shared Are the glue that binds existing businesses Are difficult to imitate, especially if they are a complex harmonization of individual technologies and production skills Are corporate resources and may be reallocated by corporate management Tests to identify core competence : Does it provide access to a wide variety of markets ? Does it make a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product? Is it difficult for competitors to imitate? Dynamic capabilities Definition : Ability to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and external processes and competencies to address a rapidly changing environment; ability to maintain and adapt the capabilities that are the basis of competitive advantage Hypothesis : Competitive advantage of a firm lies with its processes Roles of organizational and managerial processes :

Importance of Control in Staffords Traveling Through the Dark Essay

Importance of Control in Stafford's Traveling Through the Dark In William Stafford's "Traveling Through the Dark," the narrator encounters a dead deer on the edge of the road. He knows that the safe and proper course of action is to push the deer into the canyon, but when he finds that the doe was near giving birth before she died, he hesitates to kill the unborn fawn. Stafford's central idea in the poem revolves around the decision the narrator makes to sacrifice the deer in order to clear the road of obstacles, so that others who drive on the dark, narrow road won't have to swerve. The image of the deer evokes sympathy and compassion from the reader because the image isn't merely that of a dead animal. The second stanza describes the dead deer as the reader would expect. The narrator "stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing; / she had stiffened already, almost cold." The lifeless deer, merely a heap of animal recently killed on the road, seems ready to be pushed into the canyon, but the next stanza reverses the image of the deer. The narrator approaches ...

Philosophy †Empiricism Essay

Immanuel Kant set about to show that the skepticism of the empiricists was unfounded and that science was possible. How does he do this and is his solution viable (that is, did he actually rescue science from the skeptics)? Through his theory of knowledge, Immanuel Kant provided a philosophical answer to Hume’s skepticism. Kant agreed that knowledge did have a source the humean element of sensory impressions, however he claim that there was an additional element in knowledge, which was not derived from sensory experience. The second element that Kant spoke of was derived from the mind itself. Kant felt that the human mind, outfitted with its own pure concepts was nothing like the human mind of empiricists Locke and Hume, whom claimed the mind was as a blank tablet or empty cupboard. Opposing Hume, Kant proposed that the mind was furnished with twelve pure concepts of understanding broken down into four categories. Additionally, Kant argued that the mind was not passive at all, as Hume and the other empiricists had claimed. Quantity Quality Relation Modality unity affirmation substance-accidents possibility plurality negation cause-effect actuality totality limitation causal reciprocity necessity The mind for Kant, was indeed active, it actively interprets the world rather than simply receiving and recording into memory, what it gathers from the external world through the senses. Through the above-mentioned categories, the mind organizes the sensory flux and gives it meaning as substances. Kant considered that the categories were â€Å"logically prior to experience, presupposed by all experience; and that they are independent of experience;† thus experience could never alter them. Kant deemed the categories were responsible for one’s experiences and knowledge, and ultimately were one’s source of understanding. The categories or priori furnished the necessary component for which Hume believed knowledge lacked. Kant denied Hume’s theory of knowledge, which reduced one’s experience and knowledge to nothing but sense impressions. Kant reduces Hume’s theory to nothing at all, as it did not account for the fact that human posses scientific knowledge outside of animal faith. Kant believed that Hume avoided the key questions of â€Å"How is experience of objects possible†, and â€Å"How is science possible. † For this reason, Kant felt that Hume’s theory failed to distinguish that knowledge consisted of both the empirical element and the categories. Kant’s solution in my opinion is viable, as the categories show that there is a necessary connection between the causes and effects.