How telecommuting can negatively impact innovation at work Essay

How telecommuting can negatively impact innovation at work - Essay Example As Gajendran & Harrison (2007), points out, telecommuting minimizes feedback, coordination, and supervision. One of these alterations is how employees are supervised. For instance, telecommuting removes the employee from the viewing area of the supervisor and impedes the supervisor from being able to observe the performance of the employers directly. For another thing, the employee’s dependence on the supervisor is reduced, employees will have to work out more inventiveness and might have to make extra decisions on their own, because a supervisor will not be available to guide them stage by stage. This can bring effects to the organization whenever employees come up with bad decisions. Moreover, telecommuting reduces in-person contacts if your clienteles are adapted to high-level direct contact with the workers that handle their activities. Additionally, telecommuting reduces the workforce in the office, and this leads to stress in the non-commuting employees. Turetken et al. (2011), states that those workers that stay in the offices tend to feel left out of the advantages of telecommuting, such as flexible hours and feel bitter that their colleagues have the choice of working in a more relaxed place. Also, if there is no update on the communication systems of the organization to replicate a disseminated workforce, the non-telecommuting staff might experience an amplified workload and the weight of the client communication problem. Telecommuters might have a difficult time building and retaining relationships with their co-workers, which might interfere with the overall job satisfaction and productivity. Since relations often lead to confidence and operational collaboration, telecommuting can deteriorate the complete atmosphere. On the other hand, telecommuting can impair teamwork. Workers who usually work together phy sically will require ways to present and review work, specifically on a casual level. Therefore, there might be a depression in productivity

Being on time Essay Example for Free

Being on time Essay One of my pet peeves is people who aren’t on time for things. Just how much this upsets me was brought home to me twice today, and I decided it was time to rant about it. The first was a meeting I was supposed to have with the director of a local non-profit organization. The plan was that he would give me a call â€Å"before noon†, to arrange a meeting shortly after noon. I was offering to put some scripts together on their website so they could post news more easily so people would know what’s up with this organization. Off the top of my head, I’d guess it was an offer of about a thousand dollar donation of services. He finally called at 12:30, calling my cell-phone (after I’d given him my home number, saying that was the best way to reach me), leaving a message saying we’d have to reschedule. I left for lunch and a walk to clear my head at 12:45, and finally got the message at 2:45 when I got home and wondered if maybe he’d called the cell-phone. At this point, I don’t know if I’m even going to bother trying again. Apparently my offer of services isn’t worth enough for him to call me when he said he was going to, which makes me wonder why I should bother helping out. The second was the president of a company for which we did some web design work. He was impressed with our work, and asked if we might want to put in a bid for some future work. The problem is that the person we had to work with at that company, â€Å"marketing guy†, had blown off every single in-person meeting we’d scheduled during the previous project, and had been late for numerous phone calls we’d also scheduled (about a quarter of the final cost to the client was time we spent waiting for marketing guy, rather than doing productive work). I replied that we’d be interested in looking at the work, as long as marketing guy wasn’t involved. And I’ll stick by that. I don’t think there’s enough money to convince me to work with marketing guy again. The third event (a couple days ago) is a company I’m contracting at. At this company, there’s a regularly scheduled weekly meeting. It happens every week unless people decide there isn’t enough to talk about and we cancel the meeting. One of the team members has not been on time for the meeting that I can remember. It bugs me enough that even though this is the client providing most of my income at the moment, I think about simply walking away from the contract almost every day. So why do I feel this strongly about being on time? Well, most of it has to do with the saying â€Å"A Man’s Word is His Bond.† If you tell someone you’re going to do something, then you do it. If you don’t, you’d better give notice ahead of time, and have a pretty good reason. But another part of it is respect. When schedule a meeting, I’m making a commitment to be there on time. When someone else is late to the meeting, I get the feeling that they figure they’ve got something more important than my time. â€Å"Sorry I’m late, but traffic was brutal† is an excuse I hear all the time. Well, I had to get to the meeting through the same traffic, and I was on-time. If I’ve got a meeting in the morning, I’ll check the traffic reports or look out the window and make sure I leave early enough to get to the meeting. I respect the other people at the meeting enough that I’m not going to waste their time by being late. I just realized that this also applies to monetary issues. I’ve had clients who never pay on time. They agree in a contract to pay my invoices net-30 and then checks arrive like clockwork 45-60 days after the invoice. I won’t work with that sort of client anymore. I’ve got yet another job that I put in a bid on yesterday, but I’ve heard through the grapevine that this client habitually pays late. When we meet to discuss terms, I’m going to make it very clear that late payment on their part will be considered breach of contract. Fuck it. It’s not worth my time to try and wheedle payment out of them, so if they don’t pay, work is stopping, and I’ll hand the collections over to the lawyer. It may cost me the job, but at least it’ll keep me from getting upset with the client. And I think that’s got to be my long-term approach. If a client’s not willing to honor their commitments, whether it’s showing up on time for a meeting, or getting a check in the mail, I’m not sure why I would want to work for them. I don’t need the headaches. Now I just have to figure out how to deal with the current client. Maybe changing the meeting to the afternoon will be the answer.

Analysing the change in the role of the management accountant

Analysing the change in the role of the management accountant This work is focused on critically evaluating the tenacity of the change in the role of the management accountant from traditional accounting functions to that of a strategic planner and business partner. The work of Johnson and Kaplan (1987), titled Relevance lost has prompted a drill-down on this research area. Though most of the researchers agree to the changing role of the management accountant (Burns and Baldvinsdottir, 2005; Cooper and Dart 2009; Allot 2000; Chenhall and Langfield-Smith2007; Siegel1999; Kerby and Romine 2005; Vaivio1999; Ittner and Lacker2001; Ax and Bjornenak 2007;Bhimani 2006;Roslender and Hart 2002). The importance the traditional role still remains vital to others, and should serve to complement the new techniques or the change. (Bromwich and Bhimani 1998; Burns et al. 1999). Others are of the view that history is still a relevant part of the future or the changing trend. (Fleischman and Funnell 2006; Luft 1997;Beaman and Richardson2007).The type of organization as well as the management may also determine the nature of change. Yazdifar and Tsamenyi(2005). This change does not take the same form in organizations, but differs in pattern. Sulaiman and Mitchell (2005). With the present economic miasma, some researchers are even advocating a return to the old ways: the traditional role, (Baldvinsdottir et al (2009). The first section of this work will therefore review these views presented and try to draw a comparison between these views to see if the role of the management accountant has actually changed and to what extent. This will be done drawing support from literatures. It will immediately be followed with some of the new roles the management accountant is taking up in organizations. Thereafter the position of traditional accounting practice in this new trend of events will be discussed. This will enable us to know where to place the traditional accounting role, whether it has lost its usefulness and should be totally discarded or should serve to compliment the new roles. Next to that, some of the new techniques in management accounting that organizations are adopting, the factors that are driving the change in role as well as their significance to the new role will be discussed. Conclusions will then be drawn as to the management accountants roles change. The changing role of the management accountant. Johnson and Kaplan (1987) are deemed to have set the sail in this argument with their book titled Relevance lost: the rise and fall of management accounting. These strong terms used by them has prompted or necessitated a lot of research work in this direction. They argue that the existing form of management accounting lacked the know-how to meet up with the dynamic business environment. Their argument was supported by citing technological advancements, information technology, as well as global and domestic competition as reasons making the existing practices inadequate. According to an article published in the Journal of Accountancy (Most Companies Want Their CPAs to Be Business Strategists, Survey Says, 1996), much more is now being demanded of the management accountants within organizations. Their jobs are going beyond the preparation of financial statements as explanations and interpretation are now required of them of the information they provide. The management accountant is accordingly a high-level decision support specialist. Kerby and Romine (2005) argue that for management accountants to remain a relevant part of their organizations, there must be a change in emphasis from the traditional accounting practices which involves the counting, analysis, interpretation and presentation of financial information. They advocate that the management accountant should be versed with knowledge about changes affecting the business of his organization and imbibe qualities that would enable them function as full-fledged business partners. Smith (2007) opined that the focus of the management accountant within organizations is now shifting to the external environment. That the management accountant is no more uniformed of what happens externally to his organization, He now looks both inwards and outwards. Cooper and Dart (2009), give support to this view that, management accountants are moving from being information providers to supporting the decision making. Siegel (1999), noted that management accountants were before now not involved in the actual decision-making process, but acted in support of the decision makers and later got informed of facts. But the role of the management accountant had changed and greater part of their time was being spent as internal consultants or business analyst within their companies. Like most of the other writers he attributes this changing role to the advancement in technology which he states has freed the management accountant from what he describes as mechanical accounting. He stated that the new role of the management accountant now involves a lot of direct contacts with people throughout their organizations, and that they are more involved in decision making and cross-functional teams. This he termed evolution from serving internal customers to being business partners. The management accountant as strategic planner and business partner. The central message of this work has been on the management accountant assuming the role of strategic planner and business partner as opposed to the traditional role of corporate cop and bean counter. The management accountants role has evolved and is shaping up into a strategic financial planner and manager of information. The management accountant is said to be having less to do with the routine accounting practice. (Siegel 2000, Cooper and Dart, 2009, Latshaw, A. and Choi, Y., 2000). New areas of focus of the management accountant include the development of financial plans, information technology systems management, helping in the formation of business objectives as well as monitoring results and keeping up with marketing objectives. Others are management and organization of workforce, playing advisory role in operational decisions, programmes and projects. (Feeney and Pierce, 2007). For the management accountant to function effectively as business partner, certain skills must be acquired. This will include the quality of analyzing and processing oral and numeric data into meaningful information. This should be buttressed by the ability to work effectively in a team. (Curruth, 2004) As business partner, the management accountant combines both the traditional role of protecting the assets of the business with a new role of analysis and participation in decision making in the business administration.(Kennedy and Sorensen, 2006). Caron (2006), outlined steps that should be taken for the management accountant to assume the position of a business partner. They include: Acting as operation and knowledge expert. He/she should be able to provide best practice information and strategic skills. Should be able to put to practice the knowledge acquired in developing strategic management plans. He/she should be able to mobilize the human resources at his disposal. He/she should be able to disseminate accounting information effectively. Management accounting the position of the traditional role. Although Johnson and Kaplan(1987) opined that the traditional accounting role of the management accountant had lost its value and have argued that it is no more relevant to the dynamism of todays world, not everyone believe their opinion is best for management accounting, and have thus expressed their reservations. (Bromich and Bhimani 1989; Burns et al 1999; Yazdifar and Tsamenyi 2005). Baldvinsdottir et al. (2009) are of the opinion that a return to the traditional or mechanical accounting methods is of great importance especially at this period of economic down-turn. They argue that although the hype about the changing role of the management accountant, a lot of the traditional accounting role has relatively remained the same over several decades. Luft (1997) is of the view that history serves as a platform for understanding the present; that the lapses of the present could actually be alleviated by referring back to history. Fleischman and Funnell (2006), while agreeing with Johnson and Kaplan, that it is important that management accounting reports provide management with information that will aid them in minimizing cost and improved productivity, argue that although these activities are forward looking, they have to be based on what they described as intimate dependence between the past and future. They insist this is necessary because of the uncertainties and instabilities associated with commercial environments, coupled with the intricatsies of management. That, management accountants in the course of trying to make the information they provide more useful to their organizations should bear in mind that this should be done in observation of necessary ethical issues. Beaman and Richardson (2007) found out in their research that accounting practices within organizations are being confined to the traditional role, instead of the expected role of decision support and problem solving. There has been the acknowledgment of the wide use of traditional accounting techniques in most organizations as opposed to the supposed expectation of radically new innovative accounting techniques being adopted by these organizations. ( Burns and Scapens, 2000). Emerging techniques in management accounting. Some relatively new trends/techniques have emerged with the aim of tackling the inadequacies of the traditional accounting methods. Some of them have been lauded as the new champions of management accounting solution providers in organizations. (Cooper and Kaplan, 1991). Although these techniques are highly praised, their adoption and implementation may not have been as widely accepted as the hype associated with them. (Collier and Gregory, 1995; Roslender and Hart, 2003). These techniques include: Activity based costing (ABC); The advent of ABC has changed the practice of cost allocation requiring that management accountants develop more analytical skill to tackle the complexities of allocating overheads to different cost objects using cost drivers. (Burns and Yazdifar, 2001; Byrne and Pierce, 2007; Anderson, 1995). ABC made the management accountant an essential part of the decision making process by focusing on pertinent information needed to improve firm performance financially and market wise. (Kennedy and Affleck-Graves, 2001). Kaplan and Anderson (2004) however noted that organizations have abandoned ABC because of its failure to capture the complex nature of their operations, the delays of implementation and the cost effect which are usually too expensive. Balanced scorecard (BSC): The balanced scorecard enables the management accountant to strategically measure performance and develop a framework for the strategic measurement and management systems (Kaplan and Norton, 2007). It changes emphasis from financial aspect to embracing customer, internal and as well as learning and growth factors of organizations. (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). This has altered the role of the management accountant placing him strategically as a decision support specialist. (Latshaw and Choi, 2002). BSCs are adopted by firms for strategic performance measurement, but the outcome of these measures is usually developed to embrace operational strategy, however it was noted that organizations often fail in trying to put BCS into a particular use (Wiersma, 2009). Atkinson (2006) noted that the BSC has been found deficient from empirical results of its benefits. Strategic management accounting: Strategic management accounting (SMA): SMA shifts the focus of management accountant to non-financial factors external to the organization. (Simmonds,1981). It demands that the management accountant be knowledgeable in topics like performance indicators development, value chain analysis as well as capacity cost management. It broadens the scope of the management accountant beyond the firm to strategizing for competitive market and opportunities. (Whiteley, 1995). SMA requires the management accountant as a member of the cross functional team which his role now embraces to bring to bear relevant information and expertise that will aid decision making. (Roslender and Hart, 2001). The management accountant now addresses the impact of other non-financial activities, the cost position of competitors, and evaluation of rival products and services. These activities have placed the management accountant in the significant role of strategic planner and business partner.(Whiteley, 1995; Langfi eld-Smith, 2008). However, Roslender and Hart (2003), noted that what constitutes strategic management accounting is still not clearly defined. Collier and Gregory, (1995) opined that the level of implementation of strategic management accounting may defer in different economies. That is, the economy determines the strategy and functionality of the management accountants. Enterprise resource planning (ERP): ERP requires the management accountant to have sound knowledge that will enable him to provide information that will technically meet the needs of the firm. It also demands that the MA be versed with knowledge of business functions related to production, marketing and information technology. For the management accountant to get going with all these functions, he needs to build a sound inter-personal and social skills. (Barton, 2009;Pierce and ODea, 2003). It may however reduce jobs, creating unemployment. Enterprise resource planning (ERP): enables the management accountant to track production by job, work center, and activity (Zimmerman, 2009:720). However, respondents to research carried out by Knnerley and Neely (2001) were not sure the introduction of ERP to their organizations had made any noticeable impact. Factors driving the change in the role of management accounting. The usefulness of management accounting has come under scrutiny following factors like: automation of factory processes and procedures, information technology, competition, and globalization, complexity of business among others. Some of these factors and their significance will be discussed briefly. Information Technology: (Carruth, 2004; Beaman and Richardson, 2007), noted that information technology has enabled management accountants to take more responsible roles in their organizations. The management accountant is now able to save time in his analysis and interpretation of information. The management accountant helps in presenting data in a form that makes them relevant and useful for managerial purpose. This involves strategizing and being involved in the decision making process. Granlund, M. and Malmi, T. (2002) It has changed the nature of information and placed decision making on information provided by the management accountant. (Atkinson et al. 1999). Automation; requires the management accountant to develop more analytical skills and to be able to provide such information that will enable firms take decisions and adopt such strategies that will help them stay in competition. (Kerremans et al., 1991). Automation is advantageous in lowering labour cost, but may create job losses. (Mantripragada and Sweeney, 1981). Other factors: Other notable factors driving the role change in management accounting include; the emphasis on quality, intellectual capital, more customer focused organizations, increase in overhead cost, less of direct labour cost, and priority on environmental and external issues. These factors have helped tailor the management accountants role to that of a strategic planner and a business partner. The management accountant now takes a more proactive role in knowing and providing solutions to strategic issues in his organization. The issue of competitive business environment which is closely related to globalization is another major factor affecting the way management accounting functions are handled in organizations. Conclusion Although there have been needs for the change in emphasis on the role of management accountant, this change has not been absolute. This is because the cost and complexity of applying these new techniques have made their adoption slow. The introduction of new techniques in management accounting and the impact of various factors have made the management accountant more focused on non-financial aspects of organizations and has widened the scope of activities external to the organization, making him a useful part of the decision making process. However recent issues following the economic downturn has suggested retention of part of the traditional role in combination with new techniques might be more useful. ( Balvinsdottir et al., July/Aug. 2009) Moreover, the importance of these new techniques and the benefit they provide to organizations cannot be overemphasized. These new innovations have made the management accountant more flexible, a solution provider and an important part of the organization as business partner and strategist, restoring relevance. (Johnson, 1992). It is noteworthy that though many are the advantages of implementing these new techniques, some organizations still stick to traditional accounting because it is less complex to implement, saving time.

Understanding Mathematics Essay -- Math History Learning Papers

Understanding Mathematics This paper is an attempt to explain the structure of the process of understanding mathematical objects such as notions, definitions, theorems, or mathematical theories. Understanding is an indirect process of cognition which consists in grasping the sense of what is to be understood, showing itself in the ability to apply what is understood in other circumstances and situations. Thus understanding should be treated functionally: as acquiring sense. We can distinguish three basic planes on which the process of understanding mathematics takes place. The first is the plane of understanding the meaning of notions and terms existing in mathematical considerations. A mathematician must have the knowledge of what the given symbols mean and what the corresponding notions denote. On the second plane, understanding concerns the structure of the object of understanding wherein it is the sense of the sequences of the applied notions and terms that is important. The third plane-understanding the 'role' of the object of understanding-consists in fixing the sense of the object of understanding in the context of a greater entity, i.e., it is an investigation of the background of the problem. Additionally, understanding mathematics, to be sufficiently comprehensive, should take into account (apart from the theoretical planes) at least three other connected considerations-historical, methodological and philosophical-as ignoring them results in a superficial and incomplete understanding of mathematics. In an outstanding book by P. J. Davis and R. Hersh, The Mathematical Experience, there is a small chapter devoted to the crisis of understanding mathematics. Alas, this fragment focuses only on the presentation of the d... ...an't learn mathematics without its thorough understanding. My postulate is that, in the process of teaching mathematics, we should take into account both the history and philosophy (with methodology) of mathematics, since neglecting them makes the understanding of mathematics superficial and incomplete. Bibliography 1. Philip J. Davis & Reuben Hersh, The Mathematical Experience, Birkhà ¤user Boston, 1981. 2. Izydora DÄ…mbska, W sprawie pojÄ™cia rozumienia, in: Ruch Filozoficzny 4, 1958. 3. John R.Searle, Minds, Brains and Programs, in: Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3, Cambridge University Press 1980, p.417-424. 4. Danuta Gierulanka, Zagadnienie swoistoÅ›ci poznania matematycznego, Warszawa 1962. 5. Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, Oxsford University Press 1989. 6. Andrzej Lubomirski, O uogà ³lnieniu w matematyce, WrocÅ‚aw 1983. Understanding Mathematics Essay -- Math History Learning Papers Understanding Mathematics This paper is an attempt to explain the structure of the process of understanding mathematical objects such as notions, definitions, theorems, or mathematical theories. Understanding is an indirect process of cognition which consists in grasping the sense of what is to be understood, showing itself in the ability to apply what is understood in other circumstances and situations. Thus understanding should be treated functionally: as acquiring sense. We can distinguish three basic planes on which the process of understanding mathematics takes place. The first is the plane of understanding the meaning of notions and terms existing in mathematical considerations. A mathematician must have the knowledge of what the given symbols mean and what the corresponding notions denote. On the second plane, understanding concerns the structure of the object of understanding wherein it is the sense of the sequences of the applied notions and terms that is important. The third plane-understanding the 'role' of the object of understanding-consists in fixing the sense of the object of understanding in the context of a greater entity, i.e., it is an investigation of the background of the problem. Additionally, understanding mathematics, to be sufficiently comprehensive, should take into account (apart from the theoretical planes) at least three other connected considerations-historical, methodological and philosophical-as ignoring them results in a superficial and incomplete understanding of mathematics. In an outstanding book by P. J. Davis and R. Hersh, The Mathematical Experience, there is a small chapter devoted to the crisis of understanding mathematics. Alas, this fragment focuses only on the presentation of the d... ...an't learn mathematics without its thorough understanding. My postulate is that, in the process of teaching mathematics, we should take into account both the history and philosophy (with methodology) of mathematics, since neglecting them makes the understanding of mathematics superficial and incomplete. Bibliography 1. Philip J. Davis & Reuben Hersh, The Mathematical Experience, Birkhà ¤user Boston, 1981. 2. Izydora DÄ…mbska, W sprawie pojÄ™cia rozumienia, in: Ruch Filozoficzny 4, 1958. 3. John R.Searle, Minds, Brains and Programs, in: Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3, Cambridge University Press 1980, p.417-424. 4. Danuta Gierulanka, Zagadnienie swoistoÅ›ci poznania matematycznego, Warszawa 1962. 5. Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, Oxsford University Press 1989. 6. Andrzej Lubomirski, O uogà ³lnieniu w matematyce, WrocÅ‚aw 1983.

Background and Politics in John Milton`s Paradise Lost

Milton has dramatic vision of God in history, re-creating the key stories of Scripture. Once an active participant in the political turmoil of seventeenth-century England, he now asserts in Paradise Lost â€Å"Eternal Providence† that transcends not only his contemporary England but also the sinful works of men in history. Milton finds the will of God, not in the reformation of the political world, but in the spiritual reformation of each individual. Thus he becomes a prophet, seeing the things invisible and proclaiming the values that are eternal.Recent critics have called attention to Milton's view of history reflected in his Paradise Lost. They tend to lay much emphasis on his political awareness to see spiritual aspects that underlie Milton's poetic imagination. Christopher Hill (1978), for example, stresses the importance of a historical approach to Milton's Paradise Lost. Hill connects Milton's ideas, or even his theology, to the political circumstances of seventeenth-ce ntury England.For Hill, it is astonishing if Paradise Lost is not about politics; he calls it â€Å"a different type of political action from those which have failed so lamentably† (67). It is true, that Milton's concern with political circumstances is an important element that enables him to perform his role as a prophet and to participate in the historical process with a prophetic vision of teaching and correcting his contemporaries. Paradise Lost is obviously political poem. The text conceals the historical traces of its own composition so skilfully that readers are likely to forget its political significance.While Paradise Lost was evidently composed over the long period before and after the Restoration, it saw new political problems in post-revolutionary society. Among Milton's three major poems, the brief epic thus addressed itself most specifically to the Restoration audience. The purpose of this paper is to historicise Paradise Lost as a Restoration poem in order to p ropose a new political way of reading the epic. No English writer dealt more directly with Eden lost and redeemed than John Milton, and this work analyses his uses of Paradise to express his ambivalence about empire.After the establishment of Puritan Massachusetts in 1630, British colonial energies (and Milton's) were absorbed by internal conflicts through the civil wars of the 1640s and into the Interregnum of the 1650s—an introversion brought to an end by Oliver Cromwell in 1654—1656 with his unilateral Western Design against Spanish America. However much Paradise Lost (1667) reveals Milton's double-mindedness about such designs, there can be little doubt that the highwater mark of Miltonic anti-imperialism is found in Paradise Regain'd (1671).It is in this brief epic that heroism is most fully reimagined along Augustinian and humanist lines. Here Jesus, Christendom's moral model, rejects first the temptations of patriotic conquest and, beyond these, the temptations of universal virtue. Therefore, Milton's poetic message is for his contemporary England. Even though Milton as a poet-prophet does not ignore the situations in which he is placed, the message he delivers in Paradise Lost contains a spiritual meaning that transcends the political and temporal world of his time.A similarity between Milton and Isaiah can be found in their pursuit of the timeless truth that God is our salvation. Isaiah foresees that truth in the future history of Israel, while Milton sees it in Adam's historical preview, which is also a historical review for Milton. With regard to Isaiah's prophetic vision, Hobart Freeman argues that â€Å"Not every prophecy needs to be traced to a definite contemporary historical situation, nor directly applicable to the generation to whom it is spoken.†If we apply this to Milton's poetic work, Milton â€Å"speaks from an ideal, future standpoint as if it were the present or past† (166). Milton clearly demonstrates his ro le as prophet in the last two books of Paradise Lost by immersing himself in future events in order to allow Adam a vision of the restoration of man from his fallen state. Paradise Lost deals with God's handling of human affairs in history, and out of that context, delivers the spiritual message to the individual man. The first is the revelation of divine truth, the second the illumination of the mind.Milton presents in Paradise Lost two important aspects of God's purpose: first, God's macrocosmic purpose in history, and second, His microcosmic purpose in each individual soul. These two elements, historical and spiritual, are essential components of the poem. Milton in his writings shares the fundamental outlook that traces its roots to the ideology of holy war. In the case of the Civil Wars, this occurrence is only natural considering the extent to which the Civil Wars were looked upon as holy wars both by those who upheld in battle the cause of God against the king and by those wh o inculcated holy war ideology into the warriors.It is no accident that the War in Heaven is conceived as a civil or â€Å"Intestine War† (6. 259). In this sense, Abdiel, that most outspoken of nonconformists, refers ironically to himself as a â€Å"dissenter† and to the host of God as â€Å"sectarians† (6. 145-47). Milton saw no contradiction in the fact that as one who supported the rebellion against God's so-called vicegerent on earth, he could write an epic portraying the evils of rebelling against God's true â€Å"Vice-gerent† in Heaven (5. 609).Milton's celestial battle transcended the conflicts of Milton's own time and expressed the larger conceptions of holy war, conceptions that are both cosmic and apocalyptic. The historical orientation of Paradise Lost in the political context of Restoration society requires a juxtaposition of the brief epic not so much with Milton's political pamphlets before the Restoration, like Eikonoklastes (1649) or The R eadie and Easie Way (1660). Paradise Lost is historically in closer proximity to Of True Religion than to any other polemical piece of the author.With all their generic differences, the two works, sharing the plain style peculiar to the Restoration Milton, were published in a crucial period before and after the Declaration of Indulgence in 1672, when Restoration society was groping for a new direction after the lapse of the Clarendon Code which had imposed public regulations on the matter of private faith. Paradise Lost appeared when Milton's contemporaries were eager to settle the developing issue of the relationship between the public and private spheres in Restoration society.And should I at your harmless innocence Melt, as I do, yet public reason just, Honor and empire with revenge enlarged By conquering this new world, compels me now To do what else though damned I would abhor. —Satan, John Milton, Paradise Lost 4. 388—92 Whoever fights monsters should see to it t hat in the process he does not become a monster. —Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil 4. 146 In October 1568, 114 English seamen, their ship badly damaged by a battle in the Gulf of Mexico, voluntarily stranded themselves on the coast of the Yucatan peninsula.They stepped ashore into what would become forthe British one of their most luridly imagined hells: a howling tropical jungle, steaming with disease, crawling with exotic vermin, peopled with fierce tribesmen, and, worst of all, governed by Spaniards. Fifteen years later one survivor, Miles Philips, landed back in England alone, bearing on his body the marks of chains, the rack, and the lash, and bearing in his mind the kind of stories that haunt the hearer's sleep. These stories, which further blackened the already â€Å"Black Legend† of Spain, he recorded for Richard Hakluyt, who included them in his 1589 Principal Navigations (9:398—445).We cannot adequately understand the British Empire or its lit erary productions unless we see them in the tremendous Spanish shadow that loomed so large at the empire's birth. Paradoxically, Spain's empire very nearly made British expansion impossible, and yet it created conditions that made British imperialism feasible. Furthermore, Spanish threats made English colonization seem materially necessary; and above all, Spanish atrocity made the English response seem—to most Protestant imaginations, at least—spiritually righteous.Indeed, Spain menaced the English Protestant imagination far longer than it menaced the English nation. As a case in point, this work examines one of the enduring literary fruits: that encyclopedic piece of Protestant imagining known as Paradise Lost. Composing 150 years after Las Casas first compared the conquistadors to demons, and nearly a century after the last serious Spanish threat to English interests, John Milton nevertheless chose to compare his Prince of Darkness to a conquistador. Throughout his e pic, Milton amplifies Satan's audacity and atrocity with frequent, implicit parallels to Cortes's conquest of Mexico.These Spanish inflections afforded Milton special means to demonize the Devil. They also suggest the degree to which the British were able to transmute their own daunting imperial liabilities into ideological advantages and virtues. Many parallels between the Satanic and Iberian enterprises in Paradise Lost involve basic matters of setting and plot. David Quint has looked for analogues mainly to Portugal and the East, demonstrating that Satan's voyage in books 2 and 3 parodies Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India, as rendered by Luis de Canoens in Os Lusiadas.But Milton's allusions to Spain's western discoveries are equally suggestive. These begin with Satan's commission in Pandemonium. Speaking under the Vatican-like dome of Hell's capital, his lieutenant Beelzebub climaxes the hellish consult by proposing the â€Å"easier enterprise† (2. 345) o f an attack on the â€Å"happy isle† (2. 410) of this â€Å"new world† (2. 403). †¦ here perhaps Some advantageous act may be achiev'd By sudden onset: either with Hell fire To waste his whole Creation, or possess All as our own, and drive as we were driven, The puny habitants, or if not drive, Seduce them to our Party †¦ (2. 362—68) Beelzebub envisions a kind of geopolitical coup, one that we can recognize as analogous to Spain's American outflanking of its Islamic and Christian rivals at the end of the fifteenth century (Hodgkins 66). Also, while Satan the navigator may resemble da Gama and Columbus, as a traveler he is even more like the wily Cortes. There is more at work in Satan's successful voyage than mariner's luck, skill, and perseverance; there is also, most essentially, interpersonal guile.In his crucial negotiations at the frontiers guarded by Sin, Death, and Chaos in book 2, Satan seems less like Columbus the earnestly persistent and more like Cortes the trickster. First of all, both Satan and Cortes opportunistically stoke the fires of resentment and dissension. Cortes's chaplain, Gomara, writes that, upon reaching the Mexican coast, Cortes found Montezuma's outlying imperial vassals ripe for rebellion and sought their aid and direction. The Indians of Cempoala and of Tlaxcala further inland were â€Å"not well affected to Mutezuma, but readie, as farre as they durst, to entertayne all occasions of warre with him† (Purchas 15. 509).Similarly, in Paradise Lost, Sin and Chaos, while nominally subject to God â€Å"th' Ethereal King† (2. 978), willingly receive Satan's flattering promises that his mission will yield rich booty and restore their rightful power and sovereignty over the realms lately possessed by the divine Emperor. â€Å"[I] shall soon return, † Satan assures his daughter and lover, Sin, â€Å"And bring ye to the place where Thou and Death †¦ shall be fed and fill'd / Immeasurab ly, all things shall be your prey† (2. 839—40, 843—44).Further on, Satan implores the personified Chaos to â€Å"direct my course, † for, he promises, Directed, no mean recompense it brings To your behoof, if I that Region lost, All usurpation thence expelled, reduce To her original darkness and your sway (2. 980—84). So Chaos blesses the venture and shows the way, and Satan wastes no time in launching out on the last leg of his journey to â€Å"this frail World† (2. 1030). After Satan's voyage and earthly landfall, Milton's reimagining of earth and Eden as an idealized western planting permeates the poem.Though he explicitly compares the â€Å"gentle gales† that â€Å"dispense / Native perfumes† to the exotic east of â€Å"Mozambic† and â€Å"Araby the blest† (4. 156—63 passim), aromatic breezes also announce the American shore: from Columbus's first scent of San Salvador and Hispaniola, to Michael Drayton' s Edenic Virginia and Andrew Marvell's imagined Bermudas, the west is also the land of spices (Knoppers 67). Yet Milton evokes not only pre-Columbian America's fragrant garden delights but also its golden and urban splendors.The conquistadors came west for treasure, and Satan has an eye for it as well—the â€Å"golden Chain† that Satan sees linking Earth to Heaven (2. 1051), the â€Å"potable gold† of Earth's rivers (3. 608), and especially the â€Å"vegetable gold† hanging from the Trees of Life and Knowledge (4. 218—20; 9. 575—78). Similarly, Cortes wonders at the Mexicans' â€Å"simplicitie† in undervaluing their abundant gold and touts it as a literally consumable elixir, telling Montezuma's emissary that â€Å"he and his fellowes had a disease of the heart, whereunto Gold was the best remedie† (Purchas 15. 507— 8).Similarly Satan, by claiming to have consumed the golden fruit, persuades innocent Eve in book 9 of its transformative powers (9. 568—612). However, when Satan first sees the Earth, Milton compares the view to a city, not to a garden, and the view is strikingly similar to the Spanish scout's first sight of the Mexican capital from the barren volcanic pass of Mount Popocatepetl, looking down on the cities glittering on Lake Texcoco. In Paradise Lost, the epic simile unfolds as Satan Looks down with wonder at the sudden view Of all the World at once.As when a Scout Through dark and desert ways with peril gone Obtains the brow of some high-climbing Hill, Which to his eye discovers unaware The goodly prospect of some foreign land First seen, or some renown'd Metropolis With glistering Spires and Pinnacles adorn'd, Which now the Rising Sun gilds with his beams (3. 542—44, 546—51). Likewise, in Gomara's words, Tenochtitlan and its sister cities were â€Å"an exceeding goodly sight. But when Cortes saw that beautiful thing, his joy was without comparison†¦. Whoeve r hath good eyesight might discern the gates of [Tenochtitlan].. . . These Towres [of the cities Coyoacan and Vizilopuchtli] are planted in the Lake, and are adorned with many Temples, which have many faire Towres, that doe beautifie exceedingly the Lake†¦. [and] many drawne Bridges built upon faire arches† (Purchas 15. 520—21, 522, 523). Even the roadways into Tenochtitlan and Eden are similarly convenient. Gomara writes that the Mexican capital was entered over â€Å"a faire calsey [causeway], upon which eight horsemenne may passe on ranke, and so directly straight as though it had been made by line† (Purchas 15.523). Likewise, Satan sees â€Å"A passage down to th' Earth, a passage wide† (3. 528). In terms of England's domestic affairs, Milton's return to poetry after 1660 was no mere quietism or withdrawal from politics, but rather, as Laura Lunger Knoppers has suggested, â€Å"a complex internalization of Puritan discipline that can carry on the Good Old Cause in the very theater of the Stuart monarchy. † Thus in Paradise Lost, Milton seeks to restore right reason with an eventual view to restoring right rule at home. In other words, his retreat is strategic.Similarly, beyond the domestic sphere, when Paradise Lost exploits colonial imagery so extensively so soon after the failure of Cromwell's â€Å"imperial republic, † Milton is not merely spiritualizing a language of defeated earthly hopes (Barnaby 56). Instead, he is practicing another kind of strategic retreat, engaging in what Blake aptly called â€Å"mental fight†Ã¢â‚¬â€stiffening the heart's sinews against all temporally and temporarily ascendant tyrannies, whether in the heart or at home or abroad. He is biding his time, the reader's time, the nation's time, serving by standing and waiting for Providence to show his hand.Like Cortes the conquistador, like the conquistadorial Satan, Milton knows that conquest, and reconquest, start with the sou l's invisible empire. And Milton never fully abandons his belief that war against flesh and blood has its place in the wars of the spirit. Works Cited Barnaby, Andrew. â€Å" `Another Rome in the West? ‘: Milton and the Imperial Republic, 1654—1670. † Milton Studies 30 (1990). Hill, Christopher. Milton and the English Revolution. New York, 1978. Hodgkins, Christopher. Reforming Empire: Protestant Colonialism and Conscience in British Literature.University of Missouri Press: Columbia, MO, 2002. King, James. An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977. Knoppers, Laura Lunger. Historicizing Milton: Spectacle, Power, and Poetry in Restoration England. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1994. Milton, John. Paradise Lost; Paradise Regained; Samson Agonistes. Collier Books: New York, 1962. Purchas, Samuel. Hakluytus Posthumus, or Purchas His Pilgrimes. 20 vols. Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons, 1905—1907.

Aerofoil Lab Report Essays

Aerofoil Lab Report Essays Aerofoil Lab Report Paper Aerofoil Lab Report Paper Theory When air is blown over an aerofoil, it separates into two distinct sets of tramlines above and below it separated by a dividing streamline. The shape of the aerofoil results in a particular air circulation pattern around it. This air circulation pattern results in the air above the aerofoil to have higher velocities than that below it. This generates higher pressures below the aerofoil and results in a net lift force that varies with the its angle of attack visa a visa airflow. As the angle of incidence increases, the point of flow separation moves forward towards the trailing edge of the aerofoil thus increasing the lift force. However, as the angle of attack increases, the rate of increase of lift force decreases. This pattern continues until the aerofoil reaches a point where the increase in angle of incidence no longer produces increase in lift force, this position is called the Stall. The theory also predicts that up to stall angle, the air circulation around the aerofoil is normal, it travels above and below the aerofoil from front to back. After stall angle however, a wake is formed above the aerofoil causing air above the aerofoil to recalculate to the front. Apparatus The apparatus used for this lab experiment consists of two ANACONDA aerofoil placed one in front of the other in a wind tunnel. One of the aerofoil, as seen in Figure 1, was lined with nylon tufts and had force balance amplifiers connected to voltmeters enabling measurements for lift and drag to be taken. The other one had pressure tapping above and below it connected to the series of manometers depicted in Figure 2. Both aerofoil were mounted on protractors that rendered it possible to change their angle of attack. Figure 1: Nylon tufts on top of aerofoil. Figure 2 shows manometers connected to pressure tapping on the second aerofoil. The manometers on the left represent the pressure sensors on the bottom while the ones on the right represent those on the top. The pictures represent the pressure distributions above and below the air foil when the angle of attack is 00, at stall, and after stall. Figure 2: Manometers showing pressure distribution on above and below aerofoil Before starting the experiment, the following risk assessment form was filled Risk Severity Probability Mitigation Mitigated Risk Eye damage from airborne grit Eye Protection to be worn near the working Section of the wind tunnel H-1 Electrical shock from mains electricity Stay away from electricity mains and do not touch if ones hands are wet H-1 Hearing damage from noise Ear Protection to be worn near the working Section of the wind tunnel Methodology -First, the protractor on which the aerofoil with tapping attached manometers was used to vary the aerofoil angle of attack. The effect this had on the manometers was observed. -To determine the velocity of airflow in the tunnel, both aerofoil (assumed to be sufficiently apart to not be affected by any disturbances) were set at an angle of attack of 00. The difference in the fluid level of two manometers was then used to determine the stagnation deflection . Which was found to be mm was then plugged in equation (1) to calculate the preference between atmospheric and stagnation pressure. (1) was calculated to be 137,34 kappa was the plugged into equation (2) to determine the velocity of the airflow in the wind tunnel. (2) Airflow velocity calculated was 1468 m/s. -The protractor of the aerofoil connected to the lift and drag voltmeters was then used to vary the aerofoil angle of attack from 00 to 200. Li ft and Drag voltage values measured for each angle were recorded and calibration coefficients of 6. 7 and 6. 4 were used to obtain force Newton values for lift and drag. The lift and drag forces obtained for each angle were then plugged into equations (3) and (4) to obtain lift and drag coefficients. Equation (5) was used to calculate a theoretical value for the lift coefficient. (3) A represents the area of the aerofoil The values obtained were then tabulated, graphed and compared. -The Reynolds number of this experiment was then calculated using equation (4) where c is the length of the aerofoil chord and is the dynamic viscosity of air. (6) Results -Equation (6) was used to calculate the Reynolds Number which equated to 1 19366. Discussion The graph in Figure 3 confirms the theory stating that as the angle of attack of n aerofoil increases, the lift force it experiences also increases until it reaches stall position. The graph clearly shows the lift coefficient steadily increasing with angle of attack. This is due to the fact that as that as angle of attack increases, the point at which the airflow separates into streamlines going above and below the aerofoil moves forward thus providing more lift force. Lift force continues to increase until the angle of attack reaches 130 marking the angle at which the aerofoil at stall. The graph shows that as the angle of attack increases from 00 to 30, the rate at which lift increases slowly decreases. This is dues to the fact that the point of airflow separation is starting to reach the trailing edge of the aerofoil. The geometry of the trailing edge causes lift to be transmitted less efficiently. The line representing the theoretical value of the lift coefficient does not show any change in the rate of increase of lift because it assumes the object experiencing lift force is an infinite flat plate. Thus, it assumes that there is no change in geometry. After 130 the lift force experienced by the aerofoil decreases while the drag force increases dramatically. This is due to the fact that at stall, the point of separation of the airflow streamlines travels beyond the part of the trailing edge that allows it to produce lift. Thus the lift force exerted on the aerofoil decreases. The more the angle of attack increases, the bigger the perpendicular area of the aerofoil to the airflow and the larger the drag force . The total resultant force applied on the aerofoil is composed of lift and drag. Therefore, if the resultant force on the aerofoil stays relatively constant, drag force will increase as lift decreases. The way by which the data from which the lift and drag coefficient nines are plotted has certain sources of inaccuracy. Errors could come from the inaccuracy of measurements taken to calculate the pressure head and the angles. Furthermore, major sources of inaccuracy are the voltmeters used as the values displayed were in constant fluctuation. Moreover, the airflow in the wind tunnel could experience fluctuations that affect readings. As seen in Figure 2, the theory was confirmed by the observation of the effect if changing the angle of attack of the aerofoil on the pressure distribution above and below it. As the angle of attack was changed, the manometers measuring the pressure above and low the aerofoil (above- on the left side, below- on the right side respectively) behaved differently. As the angle of attack increased to stall, the slow airflow created a high pressure below the aerofoil that pushed the fluid on the left side manometers down. Meanwhile, the fast airflow above the aerofoil created a relatively small pressure that lets the fluid on the right side manometers go up. This pressure difference creates a net lift force. However, as the angle of attack is increased above the angle of stall, the difference in pressure decreases and so does the lift force. The observation of the nylon tufts lining the top of the aerofoil demonstrates the theory that at stall the streamline separation at the edge of the aerofoil create a wake above the aerofoil. The nylon tufts are brushed by the airflow thus showing its direction. As seen in Figure 1, up to the stall angle, the nylon tufts were all brushed backwards by the airflow. After the stall angle, the tufts were less homogeneous and started to be brushed towards the front of the aerofoil. This indicates that a wake has formed above the aerofoil and is recirculation air towards the front. Conclusion Though there were some sources of inaccuracy, the experiment successfully supported theory.