Psychology of Color Essay

The brain receives signals from three different color channels: red, blue, and green. When the brain receives a mix of these signals, we perceive colors that are mixtures of these three primary colors through a process called color addition (Think Quest â€Å"Color Psychology†). All colored visible light can be expressed as either mixtures or consistencies of red, blue, or green, which by perception between the eyes and the brain, produces the vast spectrum of color that exists to humans and other organisms alike. With the ability to alter our moods and bodily functions, color has more of an impact on us than we may realize. Each color produces different effects on humans, bringing about numerous physiological and psychological changes as unique as the color itself. Its presence everywhere in our daily lives makes these effects inevitable, no matter how unaware we are of them. Colors not only alter the state of our mind and body but can also reveal a lot about ourselves, including our personality, experiences, and ability to evoke memories. Colors can be categorized into two groups, warm colors and cool colors. Warm colors consist of any shade of red, orange, yellow, and pink. They can evoke emotions ranging from feelings of warmth and comfort to feelings of anger and hostility. Cool colors consist of greens, blues, and purples. Although they generally create a calming, soothing effect, they can also bring feelings of sadness or indifference (Kendra Cherry â€Å"Color Psychology: How Colors Impact Moods, Feelings, and Behaviors†). Although each of the colors within these two groups produces altercations somewhat similar to those of its group members, they create their own objective, one-of-a-kind effects on the human body and mind. Red is one of the three primary colors, as well as one of three different color channels the brain receives signals from. It represents blood, heat, passion, love, intensity, danger, and is often associated with Christmas and Valentine’s Day (Nicholson, Mary, Dr. â€Å"Colors and Moods†). Being a very stimulating color, whenever the sight of it is picked up and signaled to the brain, red activates the adrenal glands. Physiologically, red can increase heart rate, respiration, appetite, and blood pressure. It can also raise stamina and improve the functioning of the central nervous system (Kate Smith, â€Å"Color: Meaning, Symbolism, and Psychology†). The psychological effects of red include feelings of anger, vitality, and a sense of protection from fears and anxieties. Red can also increase enthusiasm, irritability, and sensuality. With its ability to dispel negative thoughts, it encourages confidence, action, and ambition (Think Quest). In a study by professor of psychology Andrew Elliot and researcher Daniela Niesta, it has been demonstrated that the color red makes men â€Å"feel more amorous towards women† (Science Daily â€Å"Red Enhances Men’s Attraction to Women, Psychological Study Reveals†). Even before the experiment, research provided both empirical and biological support to Elliot and Niesta’s claim. Empirically, red has been associated with romantic love and passions across cultures and the millennia. Biologically, they found faith in humans’ deep evolutionary roots to primates. Research has shown that â€Å"nonhuman male primates are particularly attracted to females displaying red. Female baboons and chimpanzees, for example, redden conspicuously when nearing ovulation, sending a clear sexual signal designed to attract males† (Science Daily). The study looked at men’s responses to photographs of women under various color presentations. In one experiment, subjects were shown a photograph of a woman framed by a border of red and either white, gray, green or blue. The men were then asked questions about how attractive they found the women to be. Another experiment consisted of two photos of the same woman in which the woman’s shirt was digitally colored either red or blue. Along with questions concerning attraction, they were also asked about their intentions about dating, such as â€Å"Imagine that you are going on a date with this person and have $100 in your wallet. How much money would you be willing to spend on your date? † (Science Daily). The results of the experiment showed that under all conditions, the women wearing or framed by red were rated significantly higher in attractiveness and sexual desirability than the exact same woman shown with any other color. Those whose favorite color is red are typically outgoing, impulsive, aggressive, and restless in personality. Red is a color chosen by those who carry an open nature and a zest for life (Annie B. Bond, â€Å"Your Favorite Color: What it Says About You†). Orange is a color that commands much attention. It represents warmth, enthusiasm, exuberance, liveliness and is also associated with Thanksgiving and Halloween (Nicholson). Physiologically, orange can stimulate the sexual organs, benefit the digestive system, and strengthen the immune system. It incites activity, socialization, and due to its hate-it-or-love-it quality, it also sparks controversy (Smith). Psychologically, orange relieves feelings of self-pity, lack of self worth, and unwillingness to forgive. It can also open emotions, increase energy, and even serve as a perceptual antidepressant (Think Quest). Due to its association with arrogance, danger, and over-emotion, a survey proves that orange has been labeled as â€Å"America’s Least Favorite Color† (Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen â€Å"The Subconscious Psychology of Color†). People who prefer the color orange are often flamboyant, fun-loving, and enjoy living a social life. They can be somewhat histrionic and fickle, but are generally good-natured, agreeable, and popular (Bond). Yellow is an uplifting color that is most associated with optimism, intellectuality, enlightenment, happiness, and signs of a bright future. Yellow can increase alertness and decisiveness, encourage communication, and stimulate the muscles and lymph system. Yellow can also activate the brain, spark clear, creative and intelligent thoughts, encourage memory, and stimulate mental processes (Smith). In a psychological sense, yellow brings feelings of happiness and increases perceptiveness, self-confidence, and optimism. It aids in discernment, good judgment, organization, and understanding (Think Quest). However, a dull yellow can bring feelings of fear. Those who favor yellow generally tend to be adventurous, shrewd, and carry a strong sense of humor. They can often shun responsibility due to their freedom-loving personalities, but are usually clear and precise thinkers who have a good outlook on life (Bond). As one of the three color channels, green occupies more space in the spectrum visible to the human eye than most colors. Green represents nature, health, abundance, wealth, good luck, growth, peace, and clarity. Green can help acquire physical equilibrium and relaxation, and has been shown to be beneficial to the heart. It also relaxes muscles and induces slower, deeper breathing (Smith). Psychologically, green has a tranquilizing and balancing effect. It brings about comfort, laziness, relaxation, and harmony. It can also alleviate nervousness and anxiety, and offer a sense of renewal and self-control (Think Quest). Surveys show that Green is America’s second favorite color (Pawlik-Kienlen). It usually a color liked by those who are gentle, sincere, and reputable. However, their tendency to be too modest and patient can lead to their exploitation. They are generally community-minded people who prefer peace at any price (Bond). Blue is the last of the three color channels. It is closely associated with spirituality, melancholy, cleanliness, wisdom, sadness, trustworthiness, and commitment (Nicholson). Being at far ends of the color spectrum, the color blue has almost entirely opposite effects of the color red. Blue decreases appetite, breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. It also regulates sleep patterns, keeps bone marrow healthy, and stimulates the pituitary and thyroid glands and causes the production of calming chemicals. Blue brings feelings of calmness and relaxation. It can also eliminate insomnia, aid intuition, and increase mental clarity and control (Smith). However, an excessive amount of blue can be depressing and saddening (ThinkQuest). Surveys prove that the color blue, being the least gender specific, is labeled as â€Å"America’s Favorite Color† (Pawlik-Kienlen). People whose favorite color is blue are typically preserving, sensitive, and self-controlled. Even though they can be worriers who are often cautious, they are faithful and have steady character (Bond). Purple is the majestic color of mystery, creativity, unrest, and royalty (Nicholson). Being the mixture of red and blue, the effects of the color purple contain elements from those of both red and blue. Physiologically, purple can alleviate skin conditions; suppress hunger, balance metabolism, and calm the mind and nerves. It can also be perceived as an antiseptic and a narcotic (Smith). Psychologically, purple increases creativity, intuition, imagination, and sensitivity to beauty, high ideals, spirituality, and compassion. It can balance the mind, cleanse emotional disturbances, and combat states of shock and fear (Think Quest). Purple is the favorite color of adolescent girls. Those who prefer purple over all the other colors tend to be artistic, individualistic, fastidious, and witty. They can become aloof and sarcastic when misunderstood, but are generally unconventional, tolerant, and dignified (Bond). Pink is associated with youth, romance, free spirit, lightheartedness, love (Nicholson). Being a lighter tint of red, many aspects of red are evident in the color pink. Pink can stimulate energy and help muscles relax. Like red, it also increases blood pressure, respiration, heartbeat, and pulse rate. Pink offers feelings of calmness, protection, and a sense of nurture. It encourages action, reduces erratic behavior, and sparks a desire to be carefree (Smith). Embodying the gentler qualities of red, pink represents unaggressive sensuality and unselfish love. People whose favorite color is pink are often charming, maternal, and gentle. However, they tend to desire a sheltered life and require affection, â€Å"perhaps wanting to appear delicate and fragile† (Bond). Brown is an organic color that represents reliability, approachability, the natural world, and connections with the Earth (Nicholson). It provides a sense of orderliness, security, stability, and wholesomeness. It also conveys withholding emotion and feelings of retreating from the world (Smith). Those who like the color brown are generally steady, conservative, conscientious, and dependable. They may be tactless and inflexible, but they are responsible and kind (Bond). Black, white, and gray are not considered colors, but are shades. Although they elicit no physiological effects, they still bring about psychological changes. Black represents authority, power, emptiness, sophistication, silence, and death (Nicholson). It evokes strong emotions and sense of potential and possibility. Black produces feelings of passiveness, emptiness, and being inconspicuous (Smith). Those who like black want to give a mysterious appearance, which indicates a suggestion of hidden depths and inner longings (Bond). White represents purity, neutrality, and safety (Nicholson). It aids mental clarity, encourages the elimination of clutter, purifies thoughts and actions, enables fresh beginnings, and offers a feeling of freedom and openness (Smith). However, an overabundance of white can bring feelings of separation, coldness, and isolation. People who like white indicate a desire for perfection, simplicity, and a recapture of lost youth and freshness (Bond). Gray is the shade in-between black and white. It is associated with dignity, conservativeness, control, independence, and authority (Nicholson). Gray increases independence, self-reliance, evasion, non-commitment, and lack of involvement (Smith). It is unsettling and creates a sense of high expectations, separation, and loneliness. Those who like gray are hard-working and often search for composure and a steady life with few ups and downs (Bond). The effects and associations of a color vary from person to person subjectively. Changes in the general effect of a color depend on some one’s personality, experiences, culture, and memories. Through a subjective perspective of color, a negative association with a color could cause undesirable effects and stir distaste towards that color. For example, if you receive a heartbreaking letter sealed in a green envelope, green may now be your least favorite color due to a new subconscious association with heartbreak and sorrow. In Elliot and Niesta’s study on the relationship between attraction and the color red, they also concluded that â€Å"Although red enhances positive feelings in this study, earlier research suggests the meaning of a color depends on its context. For example, Elliot and others have shown that seeing red in competition situations, such as written examinations or sporting events, leads to worse performance† (Science Daily). In a study conducted by UC Berkley, researchers found that people’s color preferences were linked to their experiences. â€Å"To conduct their studies, the researchers had four different groups perform four different tasks – rating their color preferences, recording the objects they associated with each color, rating how they felt about each object or matching an object to a color† (Rachel Banning-Lover â€Å"Study Links Color Preference to Experiences†). They found that color preference was highly shaped by experience. For example, one subject stated that their favorite color was pink, and then later admitted to having fond memories in her sister’s pink bedroom, which would produce a positive association with the color pink. The researchers also discovered a link between school spirit and color preferences. Those who attended Berkley generally preferred their own school colors, blue and gold, over red, Stanford’s school color. There has also been cross-cultural evidence that creates varying effects of color. â€Å"Cross-cultural differences can occur in two ways – different cultures may have different objects that influence individuals’ perceptions of certain colors, or two cultures may have the same object but may associate different feelings with that object† (Banning-Lover). For example, somebody from France may feel energized around navy blue—although blues are typically calming—due to the widespread use of the color in their country. Personality is a big, if not the biggest, impact on somebody’s preference and perception of a color. In general, extroverts or those with energetic personalities are drawn to richer, warmer colors, while introverts or those with relaxed personalities prefer cooler, more subtle colors (Bond). Colors that are found in certain areas of our everyday lives have a reason for being there. Understanding the objective effects of colors, many places have used certain colors to subconsciously manipulate the public into feeling or acting a desirable way, most of the time without them even realizing it. Red is commonly used in restaurants, both fast food and sit-downs, due to its ability to increase the appetites of its customers and therefore increasing their likelihood of buying more food. Orange is the color of most traffic cones and construction signs. Used to grab drivers’ attention, orange increases their awareness to prevent accidents. Green lights are often used in forensics due to its ability to incite a confession from criminals more than any other color of light. With its strong connection with the Earth, green is also used to promote environmentalism. Blue is commonly used in hospitals to calm patients. Research also shows that people are more productive in blue rooms, for example, weightlifters are able to lift heavier weights in blue gyms (David Johnson â€Å"Color Psychology†). Pink is proven to reduce erratic behavior, and is therefore used in many prison holding cells (Think Quest). Due to its ability to tranquilize, sports teams sometimes paint the locker room of the opposing team pinks so their opponents will lose energy. White symbolizes neutrality and is used for truce flags. It is also worn by doctors and nurses to imply sterility (Johnson). The roots of studying the effects of color can be traced back to ancient cultures, such as the Chinese and Egyptians. They practiced â€Å"chromotherapy, or using colors to heal. † For example, â€Å"blue was believed to soothe illness and treat pain,† while â€Å"yellow was thought to stimulate the body† (Cherry). Just like color psychology received much skepticism in ancient times; it still receives much skepticism today. No matter how unaware we are of the physiological and psychological effects of color, there is no doubt that color has a huge impact on our lives, playing a role in moods, decisions, sensations, and much more.

Biology on Drug Abuse and Addiction Essay

Abstract This paper will discuss what drug abuse and addiction is. It also will discuss what effects that alcohol, marijuana, and heroin have on the body. Over the past couple decades drug abuse and addiction is a growing epidemic in the United States. As the years go by more and more people are leaning on drugs to make them forget what’s going on, for fun, or just for personal satisfaction. People never seem to only worry about the feeling they get from using them, but what about the long term effects? What about the body, the brain, your health? Well people like me want to know the effects, so I will be discussing these things throughout this paper. There are many different types of drugs and they all have different effects depending on how often they’re used. I will be going through a list of drugs and what type of effects they have on your body and brain. This isn’t just a simple outline of them, this is more than that I hope you’re prepared. Drug abuse is a repetition of usage of addictive or illegal drugs. Addiction is being abnormally dependent on a habit. Today drugs seem to become the newest trend. Most of it is tried just for fun out of curiosity. Otherwise it used for more psychological problems such as: stress, anxiety, or depression. This doesn’t automatically make it abuse and there is no direct notice of level of drug usage to determine the movement from casual to problematic. When talking about drug abuse and addiction it isn’t about consumption but more on consequences. If your drug addiction starts to affect your everyday life you most likely you’re a drug abuser or you have an addiction problem. Drug abuse and addiction can have many effects on the brain. These repeated usages of drugs can cause the way your brain’s appearance and function. From taking drugs it can cause large amounts of dopamine can be released into your brain. Dopamine triggers feelings of pleasure, which your brain remembers and wants them to reoccur. If you become addicted to any drug it can start to take place of normal healthy things such as eating and drinking (non-alcoholic beverages). When addicted changes in your brain begin to interfere with your ability to clearly think, exercise good judgment, control your behavior, and feel normal without drugs. Your addiction is bad when the urge is so extremely strong that your mind starts to find a way to deny or rationalize the addiction. Let’s start with alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant it slows down reaction time and thinking and other activity with the brain. Alcohol rapidly enters the bloodstream and circulates to all parts of the body within a few minutes. When it reaches the brain it knocks out control centers, causing intoxication. (Hanley Center, 2012, â€Å"Get the Facts about Drugs and Alcohol,† para. 1). The addiction to alcohol is called alcoholism. Alcoholism is genetic. With consumption of alcohol it can cause many psychological effects such as to drink to escape problems, feelings, insecurity, etc. Little do they know that doesn’t solve them that only make those problems worse. Alcoholism can cause malnutrition, shakes, tremors, brain damage, mouth cancer, cancer in the esophagus, cancer in the stomach, heart disease, liver damage, ulcers, and gastritis. There are also many mental effects such as: Erratic behavior, impaired thinking/judgment, slower reactions, loss of self-control, moodiness, slurred speech, double vision, impaired memory, and depression. Alcohol can cause amnesia, because believe it or not the brain cells are not killed from alcohol; They are blocked by steroids that are created by the neurons in the hippocampus when large amounts of alcohol are consume which blocks memory formation. Marijuana is a preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the cannabis plant, usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria. When marijuana is consumed it enters the bloodstream and immediately attacks the brain and nervous system. Marijuana isn’t a stimulant, depressant, nor hallucinogen, however it a mixture of all three. It also can be determined on how the person who consumes it reacts from the effects. Marijuana is a mind-altering drug it distorts the users mind. When marijuana is used the chemicals can be located in the brain from three to six weeks and can be detected while getting a drug screen. When marijuana usage is gradually increasing by someone they may start becoming dependent on it because they like the feeling. However when becoming more dependent on it when they go days without they may suffer from withdrawal. With withdrawal they may experience effects like sleeping difficulties, nervousness, and mood swings. Now to get more specific we’ll start with women and pregnancy. According to research it can cause infertility. Infertility is being unable to become conceive children. Smoking marijuana while pregnant can also cause premature birth and birth defects on the unborn child. Now moving on to the men, did you know that marijuana has been linked to testicular cancer? According to the American Cancer Society they found the germ sub-type tumor non-seminoma in men twice as much in men that consume marijuana than in men who didn’t. This type of tumor is more difficult to treat and is more likely to be found in men in the late teens and early thirties. On to the mental problems, marijuana can cause short term memory, mood swings, impaired reaction time, high irritability, insomnia, anxiety, depression, paranoia, frustration, and confusion. Heroin is a highly addictive analgesic drug derived from morphine, often used illicitly as a narcotic producing euphoria. When heroin is injected into the body it reaches the brain anywhere between seven and eight seconds. Heroin can take immediate effects on your body even after small amounts of intake. Heroin is a depressant. Heroin depresses the part of the brain that controls the â€Å"survive† functions. Some functions are breathing and coughing. The thing that heroin does to the body is that it tricks it to release hormones that stop pains, and ones that cause pleasure. The person who is taking the drug experiences euphoria or extreme happiness. More effects of this drug are difficulties to urinate, retracted pupils, and decreased breathing and heart rate. As heroin becomes more of a habit for people it becomes very much expensive. Once addicted to heroin the user has to use this drug every eight to twelve hours or they can undergo a serious of side effects. The effects that happen when the user doesn’t get what their dosage is called withdrawal. When going through withdrawal the user experiences fever, chills, nausea, diarrhea, and muscle spasms. The symptoms usually last anywhere between five to seven days. Also when experiencing withdrawal it can lead to feelings of anxiety, severe pain throughout the body. Since the body becomes so attached to the drug that when they go without they can potentially die, so it is important for an addict to go detox clinic or hospital to get doses of methadone for a while so they can wean themselves from heroin. Not only does heroin affect you internally, it effects externally as well. Some physical effects are: Sleepiness, skin sores, bleeding, slow breathing, and collapsed veins, heart damage, malnutrition, AIDS, anemia, death. It always seems to be the people who’ve never experienced drug addiction and abuse that are quick to make myths and rumors about it. The first myth is â€Å"Overcoming addiction is simply a matter of willpower. You can stop using drugs if you really wanted to.† That isn’t true. When you use drugs for so long the brain is changed so much that it makes it difficult for the user to quit. The second myth is â€Å"Addiction is a disease: there’s nothing you can do about it† although this is considered to be a disease it doesn’t mean you’re incurable that’s why there are rehabilitation centers and substitutes to help wean you off the drug you are on. My three is â€Å"Addicts have to hit rock bottom before they can get better.† Actually you can start recovering from an addiction at any time, and the earlier the better. Myth four is â€Å"You can’t force someone into treatment: they have to want help.† People don’t have to be your own choice to be done. In most cases the ones who are pushed by their families are most likely to go through with it. Last but not least â€Å"Treatment didn’t work before, so there’s no point trying again. â€Å"Recovery is a lengthy recovery sometimes there are setbacks but relapse doesn’t make it unsuccessful it just gives them reason to do better. Some signs and symptoms of drug abuse are when you begin to neglect responsibilities, when using drugs under bad conditions or taking risk while under influence, when the drugs you use are getting you into trouble, and when the drugs are causing relationship problems. Some signs and symptoms of drug abuse are if you have gained a drug tolerance, you take drugs to relieve withdrawal, you have no control on your drug usage, your life is slowly starting to revolve around drugs, you start to abandon activities you used to enjoy, and the continuance of drugs even after you found out what they do to you. References Robinson, L., Smith, M., M. A. (2012) – Drug Abuse and Addiction. Signs, Symptoms, and Help for Drug Problems and Substance Abuse, Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/drug_substance_abuse_addiction_signs_effects_treatment.htm Wade, C., Tavris, C. (2010) . Psychology. California: Prentice Hall

Amos Is Identified As The Prophet Amos Religion Essay

Amos Is Identified As The Prophet Amos Religion Essay Introduction: The author of the Book of Amos is identified as the prophet Amos. Amos was the first prophet in the Bible whose message was recorded at length. Although he came from a town in Judah, he preached to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel, about the middle of the eighth century B.C. The Book was likely written between 760 and 753 B.C. As a shepherd and a fruit picker from the Judean village of Tekoa, he was called by God, even though he lacks an education or a priestly background. His mission is directed to his neighbour to the north, Israel. It was a time of great prosperity, notable religious piety, and apparent security. But Amos saw that prosperity was limited to the wealthy, and that it fed on injustice and on oppression of the poor. Amos’ ministry takes place while Jeroboam II reign over Israel, and Uzziah reigns over Judah. Amos can see beneath Israel’s external prosperity and power; internally the nation is corrupt to the core. In short, they had forgotten what it meant to follow God. Amos took his uncompromising message straight to the religious authorities of his day, instead of listening to him, they threw him out. In the same way that Amos challenged the Israelites to reconsider their priorities, he challenges us in the climax to his book, and reminds us of what God wants (Amos 5:24). In this essay, I wish to write an introduction on the Book of Amos. Background and Meaning of Amos: The Book of Amos is set in a time when the people of Israel have reached a low point in their devotion to God. The people have become greedy and have stopped following and adhering to their values. The people in Amos’ time expected the ‘day of the Lord’ to be a picnic; but Amos pointed a different picture of inescapable terror. Scholars have understood Amos’ image of Yahweh passing through the midst of the people of Israel as an allusion; to his passing through Egypt. They make reference in this regard to (Exodu s 12:12). ‘For I will pass through the midst of you; says Yahweh.’ According to Amos, Israel is guilty of injustice toward the innocent, poor and young women. As punishment Yahweh’s vengeance would be directed against Israel, and the prophet warns his audience; ‘Is not the day of the Lord darkness in it'(Amos 5:20). The ‘day of the Lord’ was widely celebrated and highly anticipated by the followers of God. Amos came to tell the people that the ‘day of the Lord’ was coming soon and that it meant divine judgement and justice for their iniquities. Structure and Theme: The nine chapters of the Book of Amos emphasize one central theme. The people o the nation of Israel has broken their covenant with God, and his judgement against their sin will be severe. In the first major section of the book, Amos begins with biting words of judgement against the six nations surrounding the lands of Judah and Israel.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assignment Example He points out that globalization was sort of pre-destined and inevitable. However, it is not only the ancient societies that resisted globalization but also neo-conservative societies like China abound were against it. The solution to this might be the need for tough American guidance coercing them towards democracy and stiff international economic competition might be the cure. Wrights states that, as perceived against the scenery of history, manifest destiny is powerful and continuous. He argues that the challenge emerges from history since it is self evident that globalization goes back to ancient history when early expansion of commerce was technologically driven. For instance, the early advances in transportation were an extremely important component in doing deals as well during wars. As such was information technology, which acted as a bastion of commerce. Writing originated from prehistoric Asia especially Mesopotamia, which has, records of what took place. All this informati on was grounded in human nature and deeply seated in how they went about their business. Since human nature involves the quest for profit and advances, both economic and technological advances meant a better, faster, more efficient role-playing hence globalization was an inevitable outcome. The flop side of this structure is that it might be a difficult situation at times. For instance, as commerce expands, its interdependence deepens. The ancient society saw both sides of the coin. They viewed success and prosperity stretch but also saw enormous disaster like the collapse across the Eastern Mediterranean. The main reason this trouble travels so fast is that it uses the same conduits of transport as the economic and the communication system. For instance, a good example is the downfall 1200BC raiders who used to kidnap commercial ships. Wright and Kaplan argue that in the ancient history times as it is today, protecting and expanding realm of independence is through governance. The Roman Empire for instance, secured its commercial routes. This was replicated in the middle ages where German traders in German formed the Hanseatic League to fight pirates, kidnappers, and brigades while securing their business. They argue that although global governance sounds radical, but it is not because commerce is liberating the world. They point out that today globalization of commerce and the threats emanating from the same has called for agents of global governance. With these advances, there is the need to police the world dangerous materials such as nuclear materials. This they say is just history taking its cause since globalization calls for stringent measures and plans to ensure that the avenues open for expansion of the global economy and technology are not exploited by other forces out to wreck havoc. This is only possible if there are well laid out rudiments of international governance. Wright and Kaplan state that, with the expansion in commerce, growth has not be en limited to governance but also of morality. Wright describes morality as acknowledging the humanity of people even amidst the cutthroat activities that entail business. He points out that prehistoric relations featured open hostility between groups with violence being justified by moral degradation and even dehumanization of victims. Although Wright and Kaplan slightly differ in their emphasis of morality, the key points bring them together and they tend to agree on the major

Prepare an income statement for a small business Essay - 1

Prepare an income statement for a small business - Essay Example In most instances, marketing is also used by marketers as an approach to retain more customers. Therefore, the success of a small business significantly relies on the marketing procedure. Marketing also boosts the sales of a business since, more people will be aware of the product being sold. This also builds a strong reputation of the company. Small businesses also rely on marketing research because; in most cases, the small businesses are found in challenging situations. Businesses should conduct adequate research to ensure a strategic marketing procedure. In marketing, customer segments should be measurable. This means that they should be large enough to constitute a market. The marketer usually faces a challenge when determining how to segment a market. This is because marketing segmentation enables a business to develop effectively. On the other hand, if the marketer is unsuccessful in the marketing segmentation, then, the business can incur collosal losses (Longenecker, Moore, & Petty, 2002). Market segmentation is a way of fine-tuning the target market. An unsegmented strategy is a strategy which identifies the total market as the target market. This strategy is also known as mass marketing. In some cases, this strategy can be productive to a company. However, it assumes that all clients share similar benefit from the products and services of the company. A multisegment strategy is defined as a strategy which recognizes different preferences of individual market segments and develops a unique marketing mix for each. Lastly, there is the single-segment strategy which usually involves the use of a single marketing mix for one market segment (Longenecker, Petty, Palich, & Hoy, 2012). For example, a pen store in the local area uses the unsegmented strategy since; the pen is promoted via a single medium and a broad distribution plan. This shows that only those who

There are two topicschoose one of them Coursework

There are two topicschoose one of them - Coursework Example By allocating the costs by their using departments, departmental decision making is enhanced. The marketing department cannot be held accountable for the wastage or spoilage incurred by the grinding department. The department generating high production levels is not affected by another department’s operating activities. Applying the traditional cost alternative, the costs of all the departments are lumped into one cost account (Debarshi, 2011, p. 178). Consequently, the department producing the avoidable production wastes and spoilage can be erroneously made to explain one’s wasteful production process charge. This is because the total expenses and costs of all the departments are evenly divided among all the wasteful and not wasteful departments. Further, allocating the costs by departments will allow the implementation of favorable cost center-based strategies. Under the strategy, each department is responsible for its own profit, expense, revenue, or other financial accounts (Kinney, 2012, p. 26). For example, the costs and operating expenses of the fast selling department are deducted from the revenues of the same fast selling branch or department. Likewise, the costs and operating expenses of the slow selling department are deducted from the revenues of the same slow selling branch or department. This way, management can determine whether each department performed financial better than the other departments. In terms of areas where judgment may be needed, the computation of the overhead allocation includes categorizing expenses according to direct costs and indirect costs (Mittal, 2010, p. 23). For example, wood, nails, and paint are classified as direct materials of the furniture manufacturing company because wood, nails, and paint form part of the completed chair. Direct labor cost includes amount paid to the individuals directly making the product. For example, the salary payment of the carpenter making the chair is direct

Business Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business - Statistics Project Example ategy refers to an operation that an organization conducts to converse information concerning services and products to potential customers in order to induce them to purchase such products (Tellis 1). In contemporary organizations, the main aim of advertising strategy is to increase awareness of organizations’ services and products, upsurge total customers and competitors and finally, to fosters the business image of an organization. For any business entity interested in succeeding, advertisement is very vital because through it, an organization is capable of getting new customers as it increases its total consumer base. Secondly, advertisement is important as it retains the organizations’ customers thus avoiding their diversion to other products. Thirdly, advertisement escalates the total company sales because when a company advertises definite commodity, it will explain to individuals why that commodity is better than its substitute hence enhancing many people to prefer their commodity. Finally, advertisement leads to fortunate change in a company’s’ products hence increasing its total sales (Tellis 3). The main objective of carrying out this business proposal is to determine the role that advertisement plays in an organization. Secondly, the proposal intends to investigate the effect of advertisement to consumers’ consumption of goods and services (Tellis 4). My business research will entail ten business organizations in U.S that advertise their goods and services together with other ten business organizations that do not advertise their products. I will conduct random sampling from a list of both organizations that advertise their products and those that do not. I will select ten organizations from each list and collect information concerning my research questions from these organizations before concluding on my hypothesis. In collecting my research data, I will apply dissimilar data collection methods, which include; use of questionnaire and

Mis 2200 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mis 2200 - Essay Example Options that encourage interaction between members are preferable. Some of these options include blogs, group web sites, and team space offerings. These tools permit sharing of documents, thoughts and comments in an easy to use and access medium. The Internet has changed the way groups communicate and interact with each other. Group members who consistently use the available tools can easily contribute to the completion of classroom group assignments. Some of the benefits of using tools like a blog include enhanced group participation and immediate delivery of information to support assignments. There are no schedule constraints as group members are able to comment and share information whenever it is convenient for each individual. There are many challenges to completing classroom group work effectively and efficiently given the number of distractions and obligations group members must juggle. Group members need to be able to communicate and contribute to group assignments in an easy to use and manage forum. Technology offers a number of solutions that can assist groups with collaboration, management, and completion of

Write an interesting topic Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Write an interesting topic - Thesis Proposal Example strialized world that Western society finds itself in today, coupled with its renewed capitalistic tendencies, has actually served to destroy the basis for our rational and peaceful culture that previously existed. This can be seen through an examination of life before the first World War was thrust upon us, and how the rapid industrialization that took place throughout Europe and North America was accompanied by the breakdown of the traditional family structure, resulting in increased greed and corruption throughout much of society. The suppositions proposed herein can be verified with empirical evidence located in historical records and the writings of scholars that lived throughout and studied this particular time period of Western society. This study will focus on a carful analysis of the various cultures of the West and how industrialization has slowly eroded away at its rational, peaceful, and congenial

The troubled history of the Airbus A380 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 3

The troubled history of the Airbus A380 - Essay Example In addition, Soft Systems Methodology allows to identify analyze multiple levels of the problem with purpose of finding the most effective solutions that take into account relationships and dependencies that might not be clearly seen using the Hard Systems Methodology. The analysis and evaluation have shown that the role of systems and operations management is underestimated by Airbus management in the process of managing separate projects and overall business operations. In addition, effective systems and operations management strategies have not been integrated within the company well enough due to lack of organization, strong leadership and communication, among other factors. Business process reengineering, total quality management, Lean and Six Sigma approaches to improvement have been analyzed with the purpose of determining the most effective for Airbus to use. The analysis has shown that business process reengineering would be the most appropriate for Airbus approach because i t implies implementing radical changes within rather narrow time frames. Rapid changes, in their turn, show to be the most effective in attempts to radically improve organizational performance. It is recommended that Airbus uses business process reengineering approach for improving its systems and operations management. Furthermore, decision making and supporting systems, such as transaction processing systems, management information systems and decision support systems should be incorporated into organizational operations in order to align information systems and operations management of the company. Introduction Airbus is, as the company writes about itself, a technology-oriented organization that created its first jet in 1974 (Airbus.com, 2011). In 1991 the company started working an idea of creating a super-large passenger aircraft. The jet would become the largest airplane ever made. Consequently, the work on its creation was sure to be complex and demanding. However, it took t he company 14 years, since 1993 when Airbus started working of the development of the ‘super jumbo’, for the new aircraft to take off in full service in 2007 (Slack, Chambers and Johnstone, 2010). As Slack, Chambers and Johnstone (2010) report, it took the company so many years to, finally, complete the project, because of a number of problems within the organization. Most of them, such as weak organization of production processes, poor leadership or use of incompatible software by different departments, are related to of systems and operations management practices of Airbus. Therefore, the goal of the given report is to determine and analyze how systems and operations management concepts are used by the company and how systems and operations management is integrated into the business. Soft Systems Methodology will be used for analyzing the situation and making recommendations about how the Airbus information systems and operations management should be updated to suppor t and improve their business efficiency. Furthermore, people, technology and organisational issues involved in improving the operations at Airbus will be assessed and analyzed in order to clarify how in particular Airbus can improve its business processes through the update and improvement

3 Paragraph Paper About the Novel Night Essay Example for Free

3 Paragraph Paper About the Novel Night Essay Ellie weisel was the survior and author of the book Night. Ellie was born September 30,1928 in Sighet, Romania. He led a life representative of many Jewish children. Growing up in a small village in Romania, his world revolved around family, religious study, community and God. Yet his family, community and his innocent faith were destroyed upon the deportation of his village to the concentration camp in Auschwitz in 1944.Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. (Elie Wiesel, Night, Ch. 3). Ellie Wiesel survived Auschwitz, Buna, Buchenwald and Gleiwitz. He was let free in 1945 and made his way to Paris and started wrighting his first novel Night. During world war 2 many people were anti-semitism. Anti-semitism means prejudice or hatred of, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. Jewish people were blamed for the black pleg. They were also blamed for how bad the economy was. Hitler one of the most famous people during this time was using the jews as a scape-goat to get more votes. A scape-goat is just a group/someone you may put the blame all on.During world war 2 Jewish people were used as scape-goats and at the time of all this if you were German you may have been anti-semitism. One of the most memorable events at this time were The deportation of the jews. The nazis had enough of the jews and were ready to do there final soulation every jewish person with either that star david on them or had the letter J on there id was getting deportated to the concentration camps. See more:Â  The 3 Types of Satire Essay The German authorities used rail systems across the continent to transport, or deport, Jews from their homes, primarily to eastern Europe. German railroad officials used both freight and passenger cars for the deportations. German authorities generally did not give the jews getting deported food or water for the journey, even when they had to wait for days on railroad spurs for other trains to pass. Packed in sealed, suffering from overcrowding, they endured intense heat during the summer and freezing temperatures during the winter. Aside from a bucket, there was no sanitary facility. The stench of urine added to the humiliation and suffering of the deportees. Lacking food and water, many of the deportees died before the trains reached their destinations. Armed police guards accompanied the transports; they had orders to shoot anyone who tried to escape.

The Loss of a Loved One Essay Example for Free

The Loss of a Loved One Essay The loss of a loved one will leave you feeling empty inside as if the world will never be the same again and nothing will ever be able to heal your pain. The truth is that time heal all wounds and the world keeps going on as if nothing ever happened.When my gran passed away the last thing I really wanted to hear from anyone was that it would get better at time continued, but they were right. Life is too short and you should live everyday as if it was your last because you never know when it could end. June 3rd 2010. Was possibly the worst day of my life. I had found out my gran had died. I felt like my whole world had come crashing down. My gran and I were extremely close. I told her absolutely everything, knowing that she was only ever a phonecall away. After I received the call, I cried a bit. I sat in a daze for a while, thinking about my gran, trying to come to terms with what I had just heard but also trying to stay strong for my little brother who didn’t really know what was going on. Other family members dealt with it in different ways: tears, humour, eating, cooking, cleaning. Some wanted to talk about her. Some wanted to talk about anything else. Some wanted to talk about nothing at all. I had learned that the best thing you can do is take a deep breath and realize that everyone around you is dealing with the same thing you are, in their own way. You just need to be there when others want to talk and back off when they don’t. Also letting go of the bad memor ies is vital. When people pass away, there is a window of opportunity there to let lots of little,petty things go and let the bad memories take a back seat, at least for a little while and just remember the good things, so that you can remember them for the good things and not the bad which helps with the grieving process. And through this ordeal I learnt that people grieve in different ways. I remember waking up on the day of the funeral and feeling slightly odd, not in a bad way because I was sad, but I was happy. Some people may say that I was being selfish for feeling happy but the truth is, I didnt care. I felt as if my gran was in a better place now and watching over my family and I. When the funeral came around, we sat in the church hall listening to everyone’s memories about her and tears came flooding back. But it was amazing to hear that she had changed so many peoples lives and even though she was gone, she would always be in everyones heart forever. As her coffin moved slowly into the blast furnace the hall fell silent, I could hear small weeps from every direction. I managed to choke back my tears. I wanted to stay strong. To show my family that I was coping with my grans sudden death. A few days after the funeral I started feeling depressed, knowing that when I went to visit my granda my gran wouldnt be there. I remember visiting my granda one day after school and sitting in silence, the house was so quiet that you could here a pin drop. When my gran was alive there was never a moments silence, she was always so cheerful no matter how bad her day had been. My granda had asked me if I could get his inhaler from his bedside cabinet in his bedroom. I hesitated before walking into the bedroom, the bedroom which my gran had slept in. The room was as cold as ice, the bed looked as if it hadnt been slept in for a good few days. I threw myself onto their bed and saw a picture of my gran and I on her cabinet and burst into tears. I just missed her so much. I felt as if someone had ripped my heart out, but I know I wasnt the only person feeling like this.I constantly felt like this for weeks like my life wasnt worth living anymore. I just missed her so much, I was always down and rarely ever happy. One day everything got worse, Khloe my cousin had told me that she had actually considered suicide, my 17 year old cousin was thinking about taking her own life because she missed my gran so much. I had tried to talk to my cousin and persuade her to think otherwise and she agreed. I didnt know if she was being genuinely serious or she was just agreeing with me to shut me up. There was something that made me think she was lying. I started getting worried about her, phoning and texting her everyday and night to make sure she was feeling okay. It got to a point where I couldnt handle it anymore I felt as if I had to tell someone, anyone I just had to get it off my chest. I decided that I had to tell my dad. My dad was shocked when I told him what Khloe was considering to do. My dad and I decided to talk to her, luckily we did eventually manage to talk her out of it. My dad had told her that our gran would not have wanted her to be silly and take your her life she would have wanted her to live life to the fullest and enjoy each day as it comes and now when my cousin looks back she realizes just how silly she was to even think of such a thing. From my grans death, our family have grew closer. The family members that I might have only seen at family occasions, I now see them once or twice a month. I personally feel as if I have grown stronger as an individual by this experience.

Design of Handshake Mode

Design of Handshake Mode Design Of Handshake Mode 8255A Using 8086 Introduction: 8255 is a widely used general purpose programmable devices, can be compatible with any microprocessor. The 8255 includes three programmable ports, one of which can be used for bidirectional data transfer. This is an important additional feature in comparison with the 8155 I/O ports. The 8255 has 24 I/0 pins that can be grouped primarily in two 8 bit parallel ports. A B, with the remaining eight bits as port c. the eight ports of port c can be used as individual bits or be grouped in two 4-bit ports. The figure shows all the functions of 8255, classified according to two modes: the BSR mode and I/P mode. The BSR mode is used to set or reset the bits in port c. the I/O mode is further divided into three modes : mode 0, mode 1 and mode 2. In mode 0, all the ports function as simple I/O ports. Mode 1, is a handshake mode where by ports A and/or B use bits from port C as handshake signals. In the handshake mode, two types of I/P data can be transferred implemented: status check and inter rupt. In mode 2, port A can be set up for bidirectional data transfer using handshake signals from port C, and port B can be used to set up either in mode 0 or mode 1. Programmable Parallel Ports And Handshake Input/Output: We use port devices to input data and output data to the microprocessor. Most of the available port devices such as 8255A on the sdk-86 board, contain two or three ports which can be programmed to operate in one of the several different modes. The different modes allow us to see for many common types of parallel data transfer. Various methods of parallel input data transfer are Simple Input/Output: When we need to get the digital data from a simple switch such as thermostat into a microprocessor all we do is that we connect the switch to an input port line and read it anytime. Similarly when we need to output the data to a simple output device such as an LED, all we do is to connect the led buffer on an output port pin and output the logic level required to turn on the light. The led is always there and ready, so you can send data to it at any time. Simple Strobe I/O: In many applications, valid data is present on an external device only at a certain time, so it must be read in at that time. An example of this is the ascii-encoded keyboard. When key is pressed. Circuitry on the key board sends out the ascii code for the pressed key on eight parallel data lines, and then sends out a strobe signal on another line to indicate the valid data is present on the eight data lines. As shown in fig-4.9 we can connect this strobe line to an input port line and poll it to determine when we can put valid data from the keyboard. Another alternative is to connect the strobe line to an interrupt input of the processor and have an interrupt service procedure read in the data when the processor receives an interrupt. The point here is that this transfer is time dependent. We can read the data only when a strobe pulse tells us that the data is valid. Fig 9 1b shows the timing waveforms which represent this type of operation. The sending device such as a keyboard, outputs parallel data on the data lines, and then outputs at the stb signal to let us know that the valid data is present. For low rates of data transfer such as from a keyboard to a microprocessor, a simple strobe transfer works well. However for higher data transfer speed this method does not work because there is no signal which tells the sending device when it is safe to send the next data byte. In other words, he sending system might send data bytes faster than the receiving system could read them. To prevent this problem a handshake data transfer scheme is used. Single-Handshake I/O: figure 9-2 shows the circuit connections and figure 91-c shows some example timing waveforms for a handshake data transfer from a peripheral device to a microprocessor. The peripheral outputs some parallel data and sends stb signal on a polled or interrupt basis and reads in the byte of data. Then the microprocessor sends a acknowledgement signal to the peripheral to indicate that the data has been read and the peripheral can send the next byte of data from the view point of the microprocessor this operation is referred to as handshake or strobe input. These same wave forms might represent a handshake output from a microprocessor to parallel printer. In this case the microprocessor outputs a character to the printer and asserts an stb signal to the printer to tell the printer , â€Å" here is a character for you.† When the printer is ready it answers back with ack signal to tell the microprocessor, â€Å" I got that one† send me another. The point of this handshake sche me is that the sending device or system is designed so that it does not send the next data byte until the receiving device or system indicates with an ack signal that it is ready to receive the next byte. Double-Handshake Data Transfer: For data transfers where even more coordination is required between the sending system and the receiving system a double handshake is used the sending device asserts its stb line low to ask â€Å" are you ready†? the receiving system raises its ack line high to say I m ready. The peripheral device then sends the byte of data and raises its stb line high to say I have the data thank you. And I wait your next request to send the next byte of data. For handshake output of this type from a microprocessor to a peripheral the waveforms are the same but the microprocessor sends the stb signal and the data the peripheral sends the ack signal. In the accompanying laboratory manual it is shown hoe to interface with a speech-synthesizer device using this type of handshake system. Implementing Handshake Data Transfer: For handshake data transfer a microprocessor can determine when it is time to send the next data byte on a polled or interrupt basis. The interrupt approach is usually used because it makes better use of the processors time. The stb or ack signal for these handshake transfers can be produced on a port pin by instructions in the program. However this method usually uses too much processor time, do parallel port devices such as the 8255A have been designed to automatically manage the handshake operation. The 8255A for example can be programmed to automatically receive an stb signal from a peripheral, send an interrupt signal to the processor and send the ack signal to the peripheral at the proper times. 8255A Internal Block Diagram And System Connections: The diagram shows the internal structure of the 8255A. form the diagram it is observed that there are 24 input output lines. Port A can be used as an 8 bit input port or as an output port. Like port B can be used as an 8 bit input port or as an 8 bit output port. Port C can b used as an 8 bit input output port or as 4 bit port or to produce handshake signals for ports a nd b. the signal lines used to connect to the device to the system busses. 8 data lines allow us to write data bytes to a port or the control register and to read bytes from the port or the status register under the control of the rd wr lines. The address inputs A0 and A1 allow us to selectively access one of the three ports or the control register. The internal addresses for the device are port A 00, port B, 01; port C;10; control, 11. Asserting the cs input of the 8255A enables it for reading or writing. The cs input will be connected to the output of the address decoder circuitry to select the device when it is addressed. The reset input of the 8255A is connected to the system reset line so that, when the system is reset all the port lines are initialized as input lines.this is done to prevent destruction of circuitry connected to port lines. If port lines are initialized as outputs after a power up or reset the port might try to output to the output of the device connected to the port. The possible argument between the two outputs might destroy one or both of them. Therefore all the programmable port devices initialize their port lines as inputs when reset. The given figure shows that how a 8255 can be connected to a 8086, here one 8255 is connected to the lower half of the 8086 data bus and the other is conneceted to the upper half of the 8086. This is done so that byte can be transferred by enabling one device, or a word can be transferred by enabiling both devices at the same time. According to truth table for the input output port address decoder the A40 8255A on the lower half of the data bus will be enabled for a base address of FFF8H, and the A35 8255A will be enabled for a base address of FFF9H. another point to notice is that system address line A1 is connected to the 8255A A0 inputs, and system address line A2 is connected to the 8255A A1 inputs. With these connections the system address for the three ports and the control register in the A 40 8255A will be FFF8H, FFFAH, FFFCH, FFFEH. Likewise the system address for three ports and the control register of the A 35 8255A are FFF9H, FFFBH, FFFDH, and FFFFH. 8255a Operational Modes And Initiallization: MODE 0: When we want to see the port for simple input or output without handshaking we initialize the port in mode 0. If both port A and port B are initialized in mode 0, then the two halves of port c can be used together as an additional 8-bit port or they can be used individually as two 4 bit ports. When used as outputs, the port c lines can be individually set or reset by sending a special control word to the control register address. The two halves of port C are independent so one half can be initialized as input and the other half as output. MODE 1: When we want to use port A or port B for handshake input or output operation. We initialize that the port in MODE 1. In this mode some of the pins in port C function as handshake lines. Pins PCO, PC1 and PC2 function as handshake lines for port B if it is initialized in MODE1. If port A is initialized as handshake mode input port then pins PC3,PC4,and PC5 function as handshake signals. Pins PC6 and PC7 are avalible for use as input lines and output lines. If port A is initialized as a handshake output port, then port c pins PC3,PC6,PC7 function as handshake signals. Port c pins PC4 and PC5 are available for use as input or output lines. Since the 8255 often used in mode 1. MODE 2: Only port a can be initialized in mode 2 port a can be used for bidirectional handshake data transfer. This means that data can be output or input on the same eight lines. The 8255A might be used in this mode to extend the system bus to slave microprocessor or to transfer data bytes to and from a floppy disk controller board. If port A is initialized in MODE 2 then PINS PC3 through PC7 are used as handshake lines in port A. the other three pins PC0 through PC2 can be used for input output if port B is in mode 0. The three pins will be used for port B handshake lines if port b is initialized in mode 1. Constructing And Sending 8255A Control Words: Figure 9-5 shows the formats for the two 8255A control words. Note that the msb of the control word tells the 8255A which control word your are sending it. We use the mode definition control word format to tell the device what modes we want the ports to operate in. we use the bit set /reset control word format . we want to set or reset the output on a pin of port c or when we want to enable the interrupt output signals for the handshake data transfers. Both control words are sent to the control register address of the 8255A. as usual, initializing a device such as this consists of working our way through the steps as described already. As an example for this device suppose that we want to initialize the 8255A in figure 7-8 as follows. Port B as mode 1 input Port A mode 0 output Port C upper as inputs Port C bit 3 as output The base address of the A40 8255A is FFF8H, and the control register address is FFFEH. The next step is to make up the control by figuring out what to put in each of the little boxes, one bit at a time. Figure 9-6a shows the control word which will program the 8255A as desired for this example. The figure alsi shows how we should document any control words to make for use in our programs using figure 9-5 a work our way through this word to make sure we see why each bit has the value it does. To send the control word we load the control word in AL with a MOV AL,10001110B instruction point DX at the port address with the MOV DX,0FFFEH instruction and send the control word to the 8255A control register with the out DX, AL instruction. An example of how to use the bit set/reset control word suppose that we want to output a 1 to (set) bit 3 of port c, which was initialized as an output with the mode set control word above. To set or reset a port c output pin, we use the bit set/reset control word shown in figure. Make bit d7 to 0 to identify this as a bit set/reset control word and put a 1 in bit d0 to specify that we want to set a bit of port c. bits d2 d3 and d1 are used to tell the 8255A which bit we want to act on. For this example we want to set bit 3 so we put 011 in these three bits. For simplicity and compatibility with future products make the other 3 bits of the control words 0. The result 00000111B is shown with proper documentation in the figure. To send this control word to the 8255A simply load it into AL with the MOV AL,00000111B instruction, point dx at the control register address with the MOV DX ,0FFFEH instruction if DX is not already pointing there, and send the control word with the OUT DX,AL instruction. 8255A Handshake- Interfacing To A Microcomputer- Controlled Lathe: All the machines in the machine shop of our computer controlled electronics factory operate under microcomputer. One example of these machines is a lathe which makes bolts for long rods of stainless steel. The cutting instructions of each type of bolt that we need to make are stored on  ¾ in wode teletype like metal tape. Each instruction is represented by a series of holes in the tape. A tape reader pulls the through an optical or mechanical sensor to detect the hole patterns and converts these to an 8 bit parallel code. The microcomputer reads the instruction codes for the tape reader on a handshake basis and sends the appropriate control instructions to the lathe. The microcomputer must also monitor various conditions around the lathe. It must, for example make sure the lathe has cutting lubricant oil, is not out of material to work on, and is not jammed up in some way. Machines that operate in this way are often referred to as computer numerical control or CNC machines. The figure given shows from how we might use an 8255A to interface a microcomputer to the tape reader and lathe. Our first task is to make up the control word which will initialize the 8255A In the correct modes for this application. To do this start by making a list showing how we want each port or group of pins to function. Then put in the control word bits that implement those pin functions. Port A needs to be initialized for handshake input ( mode 1 ) because instruction codes have to be read in from the tape reader on the handshake basis. Port B needs to be initialized for simple output (mode 0) no handshaking is needed here because this port is being used to output simple on or off control signals to the lathe. Port C , bits pc0 pc1 and pc2 are used for simple input of sensor signals for the lathe. Port C bits pc3 pc4 and pc5 function as the handshake signals for the data transfer from thr tape reader connected to port A. Port C bit pc6 is used for output of the stop/go signal to the tape reader. Port C bit pc7 is not used for this example. Figure 9-b shows the control word to initialize the 8255A for these pin functions. We send this word to the control register address of the 8255A.In order for the handshake input data transfer from the tape reader to work correctly , the interrupt request signal from bit pc3 has to be enabled. This is done by sending a bit set/reset control word for the appropriate bit of port c. fig 9-9 shows the port c bit that must be set to enable the interrupt output signal for each of the 8255A handshake modes. For example here port A is being used for handshake input, so according to figure 9-9 port C bit pc4 must be set to enable the interrupt output for this operation. The bit set/reset control word to do this is 00001001B. we send this bit set/reset control word to the control address of the 8255A. Handshake data transfer from the tape reader to the 8255A can be stopped by disabling the 8255A interrupt output on port C, pin c3. This is done by reseting bit pc4 with a bit set/reset control word of 00001000. As another example of 8255A interrupt output enabling suppose that we are using port B as handshake output port. According to figure 9-9 we need to set bit pc2 to enable the 8255A interrupt output signal. The bit set/reset control word to do this is 00000101. Now we see how the actual data transfer takes place in handshake mode for which the machine would operate. After initializing everything we would probably read port C, bits pc0 pc1 and pc2 to check if the lathe was ready to operate. For any 8255A mode we read port C by simplt going an input from the port C address. Then we output a start command to the tape reader on the bit pc6.this is done with a bit set/reset command. Assuming that we want to reset bit pc6 to start the tape reader, the bit set/reset control word for this is 00001100. When the tape reader receives the go command. It will start the handshake data transfer to the 8255A. The tape reader starts the process by sending out a byte of data by sending out a byte of data to port A on its eight data lines. The tape reader then asserts its stb line low to tell the 8255A that a new byte of data has been sent. In response the 8255A raises its input buffer full (IBF) signal on pc5 high to tell the tape reader that it is ready for the data. When the tape reader detects the IBF signal at a high level, it raises its stb signal high again. The rising edge of the stb signal has two effects on the 8255A. it first latches the data byte in the input latches of the 8255A. once the data is latched the tape reader can remove the data byte in preparation for sending the next data byte. This is shown by the dashed section on the right side of the data waveform in figure. The rising edge on the stb signal will cause the 8255A to output an interruot request signal in the microprocessor on bit pc3. The processors response to the interrupt request will be to go to an interrupt service procedure which reads in the byte of data latched in port A. when the RD signal from the microprocessor goes low for this read of port A, the 8255A will automatically reset its interrupt request signa on pc3. This is done so that a second interrupt cannot be caused by the sane data transfer, when the processor raises its RD signal high again at the end of the read operation, the 8255A automatically drops its IBF signal on pc5 low again. IBF going low again is the signal to the tape reader that the data transfer is complete and that it can be send the next byte of data. The time between when the 8255A sends the interrupt request signal and when the processor reads the data byte from port A depends on when the processor gets around to servicing that interrupt. The point here is that this time doesnt matter. The tape reader will not send the next byte until it detects the IBF signal has gone low again . The transfer cycle will then repeat for the next data byte. After the processor reads in the lathe control instruction byte from the tape reader, it will decode this instruction and output the appropriate control byte to the lathe on port B of the 8255A. the tape reader then sends the next instruction byte. If the instruction tape is made into a continuous loop, the lathe will keep making the specified parts until it runs out of material. The unused bit of port c , pc7 could be connected to a mechanism which loads In more material so the lathe can continue. Parallel Printer Interface—Handshake Output Example: This refers to the hardware connections and the software required to interface with a parallel printer in a system which does not have a BIOS procedure we can all to do the job. For most common printers such as IBM pc printers, the Epson dot matrix printers data to be printed is sent to the printers, and the Panasonic dot-matrix printers data printed is sent to the printer as ASCII characters on eight parallel lines. The printer receives the characters to be printed and stores them in an internal RAM buffer. When the printer detects a second carriage return, It prints out the second row of characters, etc. the process continues until all the desired characters have been printed. Transfer of the ASCII codes from a microcomputer to a printer must be done on a handshake basis because the microcomputer can send characters much faster than the printer can print them. The printer must in some way let the microcomputer know that its buffer is full and that it cannot accept any more characters until ir prints some out. A common standard for interfacing with parallel printers is the centronics parallel interface standard, named for the company that developed it. References: Microprocessors and interfacing programming and hardware second edition by Douglas V. Hall TATA McGRAW-hill edition. Microprocessor architecture, programming, and applications with the 8085 by Ramesh Gaonkar fifth edition, penram international publication Fundementals of microprocessor and microcomputers byB. Ram, Dhanpat Raipublication.

William Shakespeares Henry IV Essay -- Shakespeare Henry IV 4 Essays

William Shakespeare's Henry IV In Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 2, the brilliant playwright introduces us to several complex and intricate themes, clever language, and a fascinating cast of multifaceted characters, including the thief Jack Falstaff, who may be as wise as his belly is big, and the young Prince Hal, who conceals his shrewd mind and physical prowess beneath a soiled reputation for â€Å"unthrifty† behavior. Perhaps the most dynamic character of the play is Hotspur, or Henry Percy, the idealistic rebel warrior, and Hal’s rival for power, glory, and the throne. Although the public perceives him to be just an intense, hotheaded he-man, Hotspur actually has many different dimensions to his personality. Hotspur shows, particularly in his interactions with his wife, Lady Percy, that his attitude toward the roles of masculinity and femininity differ from the public’s expectations of him, and his expression of certain feminine characteristics proves that he is not solely the manl y-man warrior he is thought to be. The first impressions of Hotspur in the play support his macho reputation well. King Henry himself speaks favorably of Percy, calling him â€Å"the theme of honor’s tongue† (I.i.81) and in comparing Hotspur with the King’s own son Hal he expresses his wish that â€Å"some night-tripping fairy had exchang’d / In cradle-clothes our children where they lay / And call’d mine Percy, his Plantagenet!† (I.i.86). We learn that Hotspur is valiant, and skillful in war: he has recently captured several important hostages. He is also full of pride, and is not afraid to stand up to the King in requesting the freedom of his brother-in-law, Mortimer. Conversely, we also see that Hotspur is apt to fall prey to his i... ...nvied by many, and as Lady Percy says in this play’s sequel, Henry IV Part 2, after his death, â€Å"He was indeed the glass / Wherein the noble youth did dress themselves† (Part 2, I.iii.21-22). However, it is clear now that Hotspur is not exactly the ultimate 15th century manly-man: he is prone to â€Å"woman’s moods† such as irrational and hurried thoughts, he engages in hissy fits, and his relationship with his wife is one of balanced teasing and tenderness rather than superficiality and traditional male/female inequality. Albeit being a talented soldier and a challenging opponent, Hotspur is capable of exposing his feminine qualities in situations such as those with his wife. Hotspur is one of the most complex characters in this play, and the fact that he can balance his masculine image with typically feminine traits proves that he truly is the most dynamic character. William Shakespeare's Henry IV Essay -- Shakespeare Henry IV 4 Essays William Shakespeare's Henry IV In Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 2, the brilliant playwright introduces us to several complex and intricate themes, clever language, and a fascinating cast of multifaceted characters, including the thief Jack Falstaff, who may be as wise as his belly is big, and the young Prince Hal, who conceals his shrewd mind and physical prowess beneath a soiled reputation for â€Å"unthrifty† behavior. Perhaps the most dynamic character of the play is Hotspur, or Henry Percy, the idealistic rebel warrior, and Hal’s rival for power, glory, and the throne. Although the public perceives him to be just an intense, hotheaded he-man, Hotspur actually has many different dimensions to his personality. Hotspur shows, particularly in his interactions with his wife, Lady Percy, that his attitude toward the roles of masculinity and femininity differ from the public’s expectations of him, and his expression of certain feminine characteristics proves that he is not solely the manl y-man warrior he is thought to be. The first impressions of Hotspur in the play support his macho reputation well. King Henry himself speaks favorably of Percy, calling him â€Å"the theme of honor’s tongue† (I.i.81) and in comparing Hotspur with the King’s own son Hal he expresses his wish that â€Å"some night-tripping fairy had exchang’d / In cradle-clothes our children where they lay / And call’d mine Percy, his Plantagenet!† (I.i.86). We learn that Hotspur is valiant, and skillful in war: he has recently captured several important hostages. He is also full of pride, and is not afraid to stand up to the King in requesting the freedom of his brother-in-law, Mortimer. Conversely, we also see that Hotspur is apt to fall prey to his i... ...nvied by many, and as Lady Percy says in this play’s sequel, Henry IV Part 2, after his death, â€Å"He was indeed the glass / Wherein the noble youth did dress themselves† (Part 2, I.iii.21-22). However, it is clear now that Hotspur is not exactly the ultimate 15th century manly-man: he is prone to â€Å"woman’s moods† such as irrational and hurried thoughts, he engages in hissy fits, and his relationship with his wife is one of balanced teasing and tenderness rather than superficiality and traditional male/female inequality. Albeit being a talented soldier and a challenging opponent, Hotspur is capable of exposing his feminine qualities in situations such as those with his wife. Hotspur is one of the most complex characters in this play, and the fact that he can balance his masculine image with typically feminine traits proves that he truly is the most dynamic character.

Interpretation of Muirs Horses Essay -- Muir Horses Essays

Interpretation of Muir's Horses My interpretation of Edwin Muir's poem entitled "Horses" is one of a past memory and the conflict and anger brought about by this memory , a conflict between light and darkness, good and evil in the mind of a elderly dying man, fearing death as he gazes out across a field. The memory being that of a day from his past, where he as a child farm worker watched a team of horses ploughing the stubble back into the field during a rainy day which gets progressively more stormy. The horses making their way to and fro across the field leaving furrows, the setting sunlight breaking through the clouds picking out images in the distance. Images getting darker and more vivid as the horses drew nearer. A symbolic religious conflict being acted out between good and evil with almost mythological qualities, leading to a crescendo of images eventually fading to the old man lamenting and wishing to be as that child, at the beginning of his life with all the purity and innocence that children have. The poem has the distant images of horses as a t...

Flagstaff, Arizona :: Flagstaff Personal Narratives Essays

Flagstaff, Arizona Could a town really change me as much as I think? Flagstaff, Arizona is one of the coolest towns that I have ever been, but at the same time; one of the quirkiest. Is Flagstaff a small mountain town, a big city, a hip university town, or a large industrial center? The environment and culture of Flagstaff is extremely diverse, making it difficult for outsiders to find their place in Flagstaff. I often wonder how I ended up in this little town in the mountains. I came from a relatively large city in Indiana, but knew that I had to escape the Midwest’s conservative grasp. I never really intended to end up in Flagstaff. For as long as I can remember, I had wanted to go to the University of Arizona and live in Tucson. I obviously didn’t end up in Tucson. From the first time that I visited Flagstaff, I knew that this town was special. Perhaps it holds more draw for outsiders than locals, but its environment and culture has definitely drawn me in, changed me, and changed my life. When I decided to attend Northern Arizona University and be a Lumberjack, it was initially due to its reputation as the best teachers college in Arizona, but ironically, I have never been an education major, or taken any education courses. Education was an overcrowded field, so I entertained the idea of being a Computer Science major. Ha! That lasted less than a month before I knew that was going to fail. Early on the path towards graduation, I still held a primarily etic point of view of Flagstaff. For about the first two years in Flagstaff, I viewed Flagstaff as a cool town, but still considered Indiana to be my home. I either didn’t realize or wasn’t allowing myself to become a part of this town. Once I realized that I was part of this town, my notion of Flagstaff changed, and the town began to change me. As I began to understand how this town ticks I wanted to find a way to become a bigger part of this town. I understood that this town was heavily reliant on tourism for it economy. This is how I came to be a Parks and Recreation Management major. Flagstaff, Arizona :: Flagstaff Personal Narratives Essays Flagstaff, Arizona Could a town really change me as much as I think? Flagstaff, Arizona is one of the coolest towns that I have ever been, but at the same time; one of the quirkiest. Is Flagstaff a small mountain town, a big city, a hip university town, or a large industrial center? The environment and culture of Flagstaff is extremely diverse, making it difficult for outsiders to find their place in Flagstaff. I often wonder how I ended up in this little town in the mountains. I came from a relatively large city in Indiana, but knew that I had to escape the Midwest’s conservative grasp. I never really intended to end up in Flagstaff. For as long as I can remember, I had wanted to go to the University of Arizona and live in Tucson. I obviously didn’t end up in Tucson. From the first time that I visited Flagstaff, I knew that this town was special. Perhaps it holds more draw for outsiders than locals, but its environment and culture has definitely drawn me in, changed me, and changed my life. When I decided to attend Northern Arizona University and be a Lumberjack, it was initially due to its reputation as the best teachers college in Arizona, but ironically, I have never been an education major, or taken any education courses. Education was an overcrowded field, so I entertained the idea of being a Computer Science major. Ha! That lasted less than a month before I knew that was going to fail. Early on the path towards graduation, I still held a primarily etic point of view of Flagstaff. For about the first two years in Flagstaff, I viewed Flagstaff as a cool town, but still considered Indiana to be my home. I either didn’t realize or wasn’t allowing myself to become a part of this town. Once I realized that I was part of this town, my notion of Flagstaff changed, and the town began to change me. As I began to understand how this town ticks I wanted to find a way to become a bigger part of this town. I understood that this town was heavily reliant on tourism for it economy. This is how I came to be a Parks and Recreation Management major.

The Key Factors on the Development of Outdoor Adventure.

The key factors on the development of outdoor adventure. 1932 – The mass trespass On Sunday 24th April 1932 around five hundred ramblers trespassed in on Kinder Scout, this led to legislation in 1949 to establish the National Parks and to walkers' rights over open country and common land in 2000. The reason there was a mass trespass was because gamekeepers that owned the land that the ramblers wanted to walk on said they couldn’t, and because of the lack of progress that had been made by the official ramblers’ federations for the ‘Right to Roam’ the mass trespass was organised. The idea was to protest about the lack of access. The land was bad farming land and was used to graze sheep or to keep game birds and was only worked on around 12 days a year, the rest of the time it would have been deserted but walkers weren’t allowed on it. The mass trespassers demanded change, they wanted the land to be opened so when it wasn’t being worked on people could walk on it. Of the 150,000 acres of land in the Peak District only 1,200 acres, had public access and there were only 12 ‘legal' paths to choose from, this meant that with the growing popularity of walking the paths were often crowded. If any of the walkers wandered off the paths (which many did, to find somewhere quieter) it was trespassing and they were chased off the land. Many walkers believed it wasn’t right that people should have land as private and access should be available to everyone. So people set out on the mass trespass as a protest against land owners, nothing other than arrests happened immediately, but 17 years later the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 legislation came in. And if it wasn’t for the mass trespass we may not have had access to the countryside this would have made it hard for outdoor education to take place. As access would be restricted and wandering off paths wouldn’t be allowed, going to a crag to climb wouldn’t be allowed, setting up a tent wouldn’t be allowed, mountain biking wouldn’t be allowed (off paths), the list goes on, but if not for the 400 – 500 trespassers we may not have had as many opportunities as we do today. The main influence the mass trespass had on the outdoor education world was access which provides opportunities and gave people something cheap to do in their leisure time. It also increased media which increased knowledge. It reduced fear as with the legislation in place people can wander off paths and not be chased off the land. 1907 – Robert Baden started the scouts and 2009 – Bear Grylls becomes chief scout Robert Baden’s many experiences as a boy and as a soldier played a great part in him starting the scouting movement. When he was a boy he spent his holidays camping, hiking and sailing, Robert also used to sneak off into the woods during school and there he learned how to hide his tracks, climb trees and freeze to escape attention if any of the school teachers entered the woods. As a boy he also learnt skills such as how to pitch a tent, use a map and compass, and cook on a wood-fire. When Robert was in the British army, he taught his soldiers how to live in the wood. He taught them how to use maps and compasses, how to tell directions from the stars, and how to read tracks and trail signs. He called his soldiers Scouts. In 1900, Robert and his soldiers were defending a town during a war in South Africa. Robert taught the boys of the town to do important jobs the soldiers usually did. He learned that boys could be taught to do important things and do their best at it. All this led to him taking 20 teenage boys on 1st – 9th August 1907 to Brownsea Island to camp, he taught them scouting. This then led to him writing a book in 1908, a book called Scouting for boys, from this he only intended to provide a method of training boys which existing organisations could use, but to his surprise many boys grouped together and created their own ‘scouts’ groups. And by 1909, there were 11,000 Boy Scouts. Scouting spread from Britain America, and all over the world. Thanks to Lord Robert Baden-Powell, there are now millions of people joined together in the worldwide community of Scouting. The war in 1914 could have caused the collapse of the scouts, but the training provided proved its worth. When adult leaders volunteered for active service patrol leaders took over. Scouts contributed to the war effort in many ways including the Sea Scouts who took the place of regular coast-guardsmen, which freed them for service afloat. On 17th May 2009 Bear Grylls became chief scout becoming the youngest ever chief scout Bear says â€Å"this is his proudest post, standing up for young people from so many different cultures and countries, helping them realize their dreams, explore the world, help in crisis countries, and benefit from being part of a worldwide family. It is all about encouraging life values, outdoor skills and a sense of pride, belonging and camaraderie through adventure. † His website states â€Å"Bear Grylls is a worldwide icon for the great outdoors and the ultimate in adventure. † And â€Å"Bear Grylls has become known around the world as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. † Because he is in the media and on TV a lot he is a celebrity role model that can impact people on wanting to join the scouts and gain knowledge. If Robert hadn’t set up the scouts then 1- Bear wouldn’t be scout leader and may not have had as much impact on people that he does, and 2- many people wouldn’t have joined and learned about the outdoors and many wouldn’t have an interest in outdoor adventure. 1990’s – The 7 Stanes set up The 7stanes are seven mountain biking sites in the south of Scotland. It is a partnership project which was started in 2001 and recently finished its third phase (2011). They are set on Forestry Commission land and they are seen as the way by which further trails in the UK should be developed. They are known as the 7stanes because each venue features a ‘stane' (Scottish name for stone) along each of the forest trails. The 7stanes are set in: * Forest of Ae * Dalbeattie * Glentrool * Kirroughtree, near Newton Stewart * Mabie * Newcastleton * Tweed Valley – Glentress and Innerleithen The trails on each site are different, and are set different difficulties by Trail Grades which are: * Green – Easy (relatively flat; suitable for beginners) Blue – Moderate (may be single-track and include minor obstacles; suitable for cyclists with basic off-road skills) * Red – Difficult (mostly single-track, many obstacles; suitable for proficient mountain bikers) * Black – Severe (similar to red routes, with more obstacles and large challenging area; suitable for expert riders only) * Bike Park (Orange)- Extreme (highly challen ging, includes downhill sections and unavoidable jumps; suitable for expert riders only) The Forestry Commission as established in 1919 and is responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is â€Å"to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment. † In October 2010, the Government introduced the Public Bodies Bill, which would have enabled the Secretary of State to sell or lease public forests in England. This could have ment that the land was sold and possibly changed but an online petition was set up opposing the sale and it received more than 537,000 people signed it. Then in February 2011, after a campaign of protest by groups like the Ramblers and Hands off our Forest, the government announced it had abandoned its plans and would remove the forestry clauses from the Public Bodies Bill. Also an independent panel was set up to advice on the future directions of forestry policies, and on the role of the Forestry Commission. If the 7 stains weren’t there many outdoor centers in the south Scotland would not have the opportunity to take their groups mountain biking, also many shops may not sell as much mountain bike equipment and this would effect the increase in new and better equipment. So because the 7 Stanes is there is an increased availability, and accessibility. Also the advertising has increased knowledge and interest in mountain biking. Bibliography http://www. beargrylls. com http://www. scout. org http://www. kindertrespass. com/ http://www. forestry. gov. uk http://7stanesmountainbiking. com

An Academic Narrative

Behind every work there is a story. Often, the story can better explain why a work looks the way it does than can any formal academic argument. The present work started as a Doctoral thesis. So here is its much abbreviated story. Choosing the topic I have been fascinated by what monuments mean to people ever since my Hamburg M. A. thesis of 1993, in which I investigated empirically the contemporaneous meanings of three selected megaliths and menhirs in Germany. Having come to Lampeter later the same year, I wrote a second M. A. thesis also about the various meanings of megaliths, but this time focussing on the theoretical background of Radical Constructivism and Reception Theory as well as on prehistoric and historic case-studies. As I had to make a decision about my Ph. D. research topic early in 1994, this topic seemed to be interesting and promising to pursue further. I chose later prehistory as a time period, since I was mainly interested in working with evidence of material cult ure. In excluding earlier periods as well as the Medieval age, I hoped to avoid dealing with possible continuities of burial traditions and ancestor cults during the Neolithic up until the early Bronze Age on the one hand, and with the quite complex problem of using written sources in arguments about historic periods on the other. Since I started my work in 1994, the basic theme proved feasible and has stayed virtually the same; however, I modified my exact line of argument on several occasions. These changes are reflected in various outlines and abstracts which I wrote at different points in time. Although empirical detail has a certain irresistible attraction to me (as well as a considerable rhetorical power), the theoretical aspects of my work, such as thoughts about past and present, have always (and perhaps over the years increasingly) been more important to me than the details of the archaeology of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern provided an almost ideal study area, not only because of the excellent state of research on megaliths there (largely due to the work of Ewald Schuldt), but also because I felt very attracted to the beautiful coastal landscape. My research in the area was greatly helped by virtually all the local archaeologists, who patiently answered my questions and gave further suggestions. On several occasions, however, one senior archaeologist tried effectively to stop my research (I don't know why). This seemed at first to threaten the entire project, but as time went on, this person's activities proved to be less critical for my work than I had feared. Finding material to work with One of my biggest challenges from the start was to find enough relevant material evidence on which to build a larger argument. I was already confident after having looked at the regional literature in the library of the Institute of Archaeology in London, and undertaking an explorative visit to the sites and monuments record (Ortsaktenarchiv) of the Landesamt fur Bodendenkmalpflege in Lubstorf, both early in 1995. I became entirely convinced of the feasibility of my project during an extended visit of the study area during the summer of 1995. After just over two weeks of concentrated work with the records, I provided the basis for my later analysis by documenting on specially designed forms, the evidence for later prehistoric receptions at almost 1200 megaliths. That summer, I also visited several libraries and photocopied many relevant texts, which were not otherwise available to me at Lampeter. During a second visit to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the late summer of 1996 I visited even more sites, consulted libraries again and discussed various issues with local archaeologists. I closed gaps in my reading by using the very efficient interlibrary loan service at Lampeter, spending two weeks in the libraries of Cambridge and in the British Library in March 1996, and consulting the British Library for another few days in September 1997. Interpreting the evidence in wider terms On the basis of the promising evidence I had collected, and the associated archaeological literature I had read, it was always clear that for interesting interpretations I would need exciting ideas, rather than additional evidence or access to even more archaeological literature. My interest was, after all, first and foremost in the meanings of ancient monuments, and not in any particular archaeological period or area. I decided early on to combine my archaeological work with references to various other related themes and topics. Later prehistory would be supplemented by evidence from later historic periods as well from the present. The actual receptions of megaliths, which I could see in the record, would be put in the context of wider meanings of monuments. Ancient monuments and conceptions of the past in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern would be associated with completely different archaeological and anthropological contexts. All this was to be put into practice by using hypermedia technology. My original application document and further discussions about my plan to submit my work on the Internet, and then on CD-Rom, led me to think more about the characteristics and significance of hypermedia links in the text. As a consequence, the idea of making sense by making connections became more and more important to me, and developed perhaps into one of the most important arguments of my work. Originally, I constructed the thesis on many small cards each representing one ‘page'; they were ordered by a systematic number code but this was more a way of structuring my writing process than a hidden linear structure in my argument! Coming up with results What I now present is colourful, diverse, empirically rich and (hopefully) intellectually stimulating. I have produced a work that takes a decisively interpretive approach and rejects the metaphor of the law court, according to which the task of the archaeologist is to establish the truth about the past, or to construct a story plausible beyond reasonable doubt, in order for the judge or jury to reach a verdict about what actually happened (Shanks 1992: 54–56). What really happened in the past does not matter much to me. This work is not about the past, but rather about certain parts of the present, although it deals with the past and refers to archaeological evidence. I hope to show that there are a great number of possible meanings of ancient monuments, and that we can reach interpretations and make sense of something by making connections. Perhaps more importantly, I hope to demonstrate in my work that past and present are united and cannot be separated from each other. In saying this I do not argue that different archaeological and historical contexts could not be distinguished from one another. My point is much broader: the past is only meaningful within the particular history culture and as a contribution to the cultural memory of each present. I do not know if there could be a present without a past (except perhaps for small babies and some animals as well as in certain medical conditions? ), but there can certainly be no past without a present. Ancient monuments in our landscapes intrigue me. Perhaps this is the beauty of my approach, and of my work: people in later prehistory and today, including myself, find themselves in very much the same situation. They make sense in one way or another of the ancient monuments they come across in the landscape. The object of study in this work is, therefore, also the studying subject, and the results of my study describe its approach too.