The competitive field that businesses compete within - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1622 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? Businesses exist in a very competitive environment and competition happens whenever two or more parties make every effort for a goal which cannot be shared. For example, supermarkets are in competition with each other to offer the best possible value for money goods, and to offer the most appropriate variety of products for their customers. Businesses battle in many ways. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The competitive field that businesses compete within" essay for you Create order One of the most noticeable ways is over price. Within a market businesses are faced by direct competitors. These are firms that produce the same or very alike goods. However, most products are set apart in some way. For example, although soap powders may look highly similar each will offer some form of special ingredient that sets them apart. A direct competitor is a business that produces or sells a product or service that is the same or highly comparable to another in the same market. Indirect competition happens when firms compete for the same amount of spending, although they might be in different sectors of the same market or in different markets. Every growing or a successful organization has some competitors. If we take an example of McDonalds and Burger King: In making an analysis of McDonalds, the first issue we will examine is their company goals. McDonalds has a goal of one hundred percent total customer satisfaction. They do understand that this goal is not alway s achievable. If for any reason they do not meet that goal, they will do whatever it takes to correct their mistake. McDonalds has a second company goal that sets them apart from most of their competitors. One of there goals is the principle of giving back to the community and that remains one of their major goals today. If we take a look at McDonalds Guarantee states, food will be hot and your service will be fast and friendly. The customer service of McDonalds focuses on one customer at a time. They are much more concerned with the quality of the service rather than the speed. Employees usually take one order at a time and then prepare that order while the customers wait. After the current customer is satisfied, they move on to the next customer. This process allows great accuracy and quality but lacks speed. Employees in McDonalds work at a quick speed but it seemed like they had no time for customers. They acted as if it was a burden for them to stop and answer a simple quest ion or refill a drink Where as Burger King Wants to individualize each customers order and provide the fastest service possible. Burger Kings policy is to give the customer many choices and to accurately and quickly provide whatever the customer chooses. This policy is reflected in their slogan which is YOUR WAY, RIGHT WAY. Operating under this rule makes it very easy to achieve their goals. Through the various choices they give it is easy to customize each order. Burger Kings procedures are also consistent with their goals. In order to individualize each order they provide customers with many options when ordering. Some options include fries or onion rings, cheese, bacon, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onion. The customer can pick any mixture of these options that they wish. Burger King takes customer orders on a continual basis. One employee takes the customers order, the customer then moves down the line where another employee is preparing the o rder. Meanwhile, the original employee is taking another customers order. Customers also get their own drinks while they are waiting for their meal. This makes service much faster because employees do not have to prepare drinks. They also provided relaxing music for customers to listen to while dining. Burger King has got more than sufficient communication and leadership. Employees give the customers feedback on their orders. Each customer receives a receipt, which enabled them to double-check their order. The employees also read the order back to the customer before handing them the order. In terms of leadership, there is a manager to sort out things. Organizational Goals Both McDonalds and Burger King share the same basic organizational goals of profitability, sales volume, fast and courteous service, and cleanliness. There are slight differences to these goals by both companies. Organizational Structure When observing McDonalds and Burger king, the organizational structures of the two restaurants are very alike. There appeared to be a crew leader who was a non-managerial employee and, there was a manager who was present behind the counter. The managers of the restaurants seemed to be in command of every aspect of the whole food service procedure. Technology Both McDonalds and Burger King are on the cutting edge of technology. They both employ state of the art cash registers and both have electric timers built into their cooking machines. Although the cooking styles differ between Burger King and McDonalds, the method of production is the same. Large amount of food is cooked at once then placed under heat lamps or put in the microwave when an order is placed. Both stores have the same drive through technology with a speaker and a well-lit menu to relay the message to the cooks. Employee Motivation The motivation of both stores for employees to perform well is hard to ascertain from just observing, but it appears somewhat obvious. The people worki ng in these establishments appear to have a lower social economic status, and the fact that a paycheck is coming at the end of the week may be the only motivation they have. Environment The environment at McDonalds and Burger King seems to be a simple, yet unstable one. It is apparent that the majority of people, who work there, are not choosing their employment as a career option. Therefore, the workforce is constantly changing and adapting to new employees and new situations. Leadership Style There was similar leadership style employed by the management at both stores. Task orientation was essential to meeting the goal of fast food. Each person had to be focused on the task at hand, because during certain hours of the day, both stores were very busy. There seemed to be little flexibility from management if it meant compromising their goals. McDonalds and Burger king have been competing with each other for several years now and theres no sign that its going to stop any time soon. As we all know that the economy is entering into a correction these two super-chains have to fight more and more to win business and defeat all there competitors. Burger King recently announced plans to drop the price of its double cheese burger from $1.99 to just 99 cents even though Burger Kings double cheeseburger is 30% larger than the version offered at McDonalds. This means that they are not making much profit on it. But they have to attract more customers towards them and defeat there competitor. On the other hand McDonalds is ready to drop the double cheeseburger from its dollar menu all together. Many franchisees are upset because the double cheeseburger is not a profitable item for the stores at a $1.00 price point. Complaints have been made that consumers will come in, order two double cheeseburgers and a glass of water and that means the store will lose money from that customer. The main fast food chains often offer special sandwiches and discounted prices on certain items as a way to draw customers back into their stores and keep them loyal to the company so they keep coming back. The method is very successful to draw in business, and as the economy continues to remain on unstable ground, we will likely see the fast food chains come up with better deals and more original food items to effort to draw customers in. https://www.americanconsumernews.com/2007/12/mcdonalds-and-burger-king-entering-into-new-price-war-competition.html Theyre continuously keeping an eye on each other and the competition, and making sure in McDonalds case, making sure Burger King didnt break in on its market share, and in Burger Kings case, finding ways to take away McDonalds market share. If we look at McDonalds versus Burger king 16 years ago, even with some of the challenges theyve had over that time horizon, McDonalds average U.S. sales per unit is up over 20 percent, while Burger King over that same time frame is down 8 to 9 percent. French fries have been a sore point for Burger King Operators for years. The company has tried new formulas in the last couple years, but Burger Kings fries are still considered by many in the industry to not measure up with McDonalds. https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3957636/ The relationships between profits and product differentiation expose that both McDonalds and Burger King are better off avoiding close competition if the market area is huge enough. However in small market areas, McDonalds would be located together with Burger King. In contrast, Burger Kings profits always increase with greater differentiation. The balance depends on the markets size. In small markets McDonalds locates near the center of the market, and Burger King locates to the side of the market. In larger markets McDonalds and Burger King choose locations on opposite sides of the market although McDonalds locates closer to the best possible central location than Burger King. https://mktsci.journal.informs.org/cgi/content/abstract/26/6/792 One of the reasons why Burger King is so successful includes many factors but one of them was location. One of the best ways to explain it is Burger King has always found outlets where there is a large attention of people but that wasnt there only strategy because they also had the great idea of going head-to-head with McDonald across the street. By setting outlets in front or near a McDonald outlet they were guaranteeing visibility of their franchise.

I Want At The Grade Level Matrimonial - 1772 Words

â€Å"I want their whole family to suffer!† Ford yelled. â€Å"I shall look forward to the day I let them know it was entirely all their fought for how my son is being treated. The humiliation of receiving no request for a Blind Date from any Eighth Level girl when they outnumber the boys, seven to one is†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"You can keep your reasons to yourself. Now what can you do for me? This is far from something that is normally done.† â€Å"How would you like if your daughter’s vitals are lifted to the highest marks.† â€Å"I guess you really want your revenge,† I chuckled. (Did the man just offer my little princess to receive the Twelfth Level Matrimonial Top Listing?) â€Å"However, don’t you think it would look strange, even for an Eighth Level, to†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Your offer is too good to believe as it is, so why not consider this as a gift.† â€Å"I can work around the traveling server and the 12 seat school shuttle, but she being assigned an AISHA Unite will cause too much attention towards her and start people asking questions. The best I can do is have one of the two lower magistrates speak openly about your daughter having a family member recently obtaining a high matrimonial acceptance and their family has sponsored this minor indulgence. It wouldn’t be the first time that an Eighth Level married into and Tenth or Eleventh Level family. I should know and had received their†¦ gratitude. I had even experienced a Twelfth Level family special request a Ninth Level girl to have the opportunity to choose their son. How they learned the girl was being approached by several Eleventh and one Twelfth Level family had me investigating my staff for trying to steal business from me. Actually it was another Twelfth Level family who had informed them. Although they were a low Twelfth Level family, they wanted their daughter to marry the boy who had convinced his parents to allo w him to marry the Ninth Level girl. Once the Ninth Level girl and her family had agreed to the match, who wouldn’t with an elite Twelfth Level family giving you this honor, the boy was devastated. Before word of the

Methanol As Fuel Essay Example For Students

Methanol As Fuel Essay This section is about methanol fuel cells for our future. Since I have done thisresearch I have never realized how important future fuels are. Methanol is aliquid fuel made form natural gas or renewable biomass resources. Methanol isthe leading candidate to provide the hydrogen necessary to power fuel cellvehicles. The commercialization of methanol-powered fuel cells will offerpractical, affordable, long-range electric vehicles with zero or near zeroemissions while retaining the convenience of a liquid fuel. By 2004 they say oreven sooner, fuel cells operating on methanol will power a variety of cars andbuses in the U.S and worldwide. ( www.mehanol.org) Methanol is predoninantlyproduced by steam reforming of natural gas to dcreate a sythesis gas, which isthen dfed into a reactor vessel in the presence of a catalyst to producemethanol and water vapor. Although a variety of feedstocks other than naturalgas can and have been used, todays economics favor natural gas. Synthesis gasrefers to combination of carbon monoxide and hydrogen while a large amount ofsynthesis gas us used to make methanol, most synthesis gas is used to makeammonia. As a result, most methanol plants are adjacent o or are part of ammoniaplants. The gas fed into another reactor vessel under high temperatures andpressures, where monoxide and hydrogen are came in the presence of a catalyst toproduce methanol. Finally, the reactor product is distilled to purify andseparate the methanol from the reactor effluent. (wwwadfc.nrel.gov.)(Washington, D. C., January 28) A study by the environmental engineering firmMalcolm Pirnie, Inc. finds far fewer environmental threats from using methanolin fuel cell vehicles, compared to gasolines use for internal combustionengines. In addition, a video presentation on methanol and the environmentproduced by the Public Interest Video Network will be premiered at TheRoad to Fuel Cell Vehicles: A National Forum being held on February 4thand 5th at the Hotel Washington in Washington, D. C (www.methanol.org)Methanol will probably be transferred from import terminals or productionfacilities by barge, rail, or truck to eventually reach retail outlets. Whilethe alcohol fuel is a liquid at ambient temperatures and atmospheric pressures,the cannot be moved easily through the existing petroleum product marketnetwork. The worlds major automakers have all announced plans for themarket introduction of fuel cell vehicles by 2003/2004. These fuel cell vehicleswill require a source of hydrogen fuel. As a liquid fuel rich in hydrogen,methanol is the leading candidate to power tomorrows fuel cell cars andbuses. A comprehensive needs assessment should be performed to determine howbest to provide methanol fuel to an emerging market for fuel cell vehicles. (www. The American Methanol Foundation From the information gathered it seemsthat methanol is the number one candidate for future fuels for leading carmanufactures. It is also nice to know that the government has plans to figure Inaddition, this assessment will attempt to forecast methanol fuel direction andtools for consumer education efforts regarding the use of methanol in fuel cellvehicles.

Professional Auditing Vmoto Limited

Question: Discuss about the Professional Auditing for Vmoto Limited. Answer: Introduction Vmoto Limited is an Australian multinational company that specializes in electric vehicle manufacturing and distribution. Ideally, Vmoto Limited is a leading manufacturer and distributor of the global scooter. The firm is traded on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) with ticker symbol VMT. According to its 2015 annual report, 2015 was a year of increased growth for Vmoto Limited (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants,' 2006). The company's revenue grew by 11% from $ 42.9 million in 2014 to $ 47.6 million. The fact that the revenue of the firm increased is a clear indication that the company's brands are achieving a greater market share in both Chinese and international markets. The company's net assets increased by 37% from $ 24.8M to $ 34.1M; its operating costs dropped from $ 5.1M to $ 2.1M while its cash at the end of the year was $ 6.7M. An auditor needs to have an understanding of the business and the industry in which it operates in when planning on an audit of th e firm. This report prepares a document to the Audit Manager discussing critical information about Vmoto Limited, that is, understanding the client, assessment of important accounts, planning materiality and audit risk assessment. In light of this, all the procedures were duly followed that is accepting of the appointment and communicating your decision to the client in the engagement letter. In addition, I included a summary of the nature, scope, and extent of the audit and the audit fee to be charged, that is, $ 84,000. Our understanding of the client The extent of planning for an audit will depend on the nature of the client and the experience the auditor had with the client. Ideally, preparing for an audit of a new client is much extensive than that of an existing one. When preparing an audit, it is a requirement that an auditor understands the customer and the industry in which it operates (Allen, Hermanson, Kozloski, and Ramsay, 2006, pp.157-177). For a new customer, the main source of data would be communications with the previous auditor, inquiries from the directors, and client books of accounts. Since I am performing an audit on Vmoto Limited, which is a new client, I would need to obtain information from the previous auditor. Here, I would need to communicate with the former auditor and obtain sufficient and reliable audit evidence that can enable me to form an opinion about the accurate and fair view of Vmoto Limited. Second, I would obtain an understanding of the client by visiting the customer's premises. During my visit to the facilities of Vmoto Limited, I am supposed to meet with the administrative officers and determine the responsibilities of each executive of the company, who is responsible for the audit (Allegrini, and DOnza, 2003, pp.191-208). Besides, visiting the premises of Vmoto Limited would involve an understanding of the organization chart, locations of principal offices of the firm, and the company's Memorandum of Association. It would also require reviewing the purchase and sales terms, related third party transactions, schedule of subsidiaries, customers and suppliers, the books of accounts and who is responsible for their preparation and the tentative audit schedule. Lastly, an understanding of Vmoto Limited would involve visiting the facility, meeting with the management, walking through the production cycle, reviewing the year-end and interim reports, reviewing the income ta x and reviewing the agencies reports. Based on my understanding of the client, Vmoto Limited is a company that operates in a diverse environment faced with both internal and external environmental factors. The company has been able to position itself well in the ever-changing global world. In addition, the company has been able to handle the increase in demand for vehicles internationally and China (Arens, Elder, and Mark, 2012.). Understanding of Vmoto Limited and its industry would help me understand the competitive environment of the firm, and assess whether it meets the needs of its users. If Vmoto Limited does not address the needs of its users, then I would need to plan for materiality. Understanding of Vmoto Limited would entail reviewing of its 2015-audited report that was conducted by the previous auditor. From its 2015 annual report, it is evident that Vmoto Limited discloses the remuneration of the directors. This can be of importance to our audit team in that it can help us ascertain whether the directors are highly remunerated, poorly paid or abnormally remunerated (Arens, Best, Shailer, Fiedler, Elder, and Beasley, 2007). According to the previous auditor's report, the financial statements of Vmoto Limited were prepared in agreement with the Corporations Act 2001. This means that when planning our current audit, there will be no cause of alarm from the previous auditors report. To conclude, understanding of Vmoto Limited would involve performing a benchmark analysis by using both financial and non-financial metrics. Ideally, this would mean using the balanced scorecard as well as the Strategic Performance Measurement Systems (SPMS) to assess whether there some areas of concern in the client's business. Those areas of concern ought to be tested for materiality (Allen, Hermanson, Kozloski, and Ramsay, 2006, pp.157-177). Here, the balanced scorecard approach would involve looking at the customer perspective, the financial standpoint, the learning and growth viewpoint, and the internal business process perspective. Knowledge of these key performance indicators (KPIs) would help me understand Vmoto Limited. Our assessment of significant accounts As an external auditor of Vmoto Limited, I am required to identify five important accounts that are mostly at risk of being materially misstated. The five significant accounts of Vmoto Limited as per their 2015 annual report are cash, sales, purchases, salaries and wages, and debtors. The first important account of Vmoto Limited is cash (Boynton, and Johnson, 2006). It is at risk of being materially misstated since if the integrity of the management is questionable, there can exist loopholes on cash disbursements and receivables. As an auditor of Vmoto Limited, I would ensure that there is segregation of duties and that no single person has control over the entire cash process. If I find that there is no separation of functions at the cash point, then the cash is at risk of being materially misstated. In addition, I would ascertain that the money is subject to accountability, approval, and authorization that is the cash is accounted for, adequately documented and traceable at the par ticular cash handlers. If the money is not authorized and it cannot be accounted for, then there is a risk that it can be materially misstated. Besides, I would ensure that the cash is secured by making sure that the management of Vmoto Limited has put it under lock and key. If the money is left unattended and it is left unsecured, or it is not immediately, then it will be exposed to loopholes thus facing the risk of being materially misstated. The second significant account of Vmoto Limited is sales (Carnaghan, 2006, pp.170-204). Ideally, if the personnel of Vmoto Limited who processes an order is the same who disburses the goods to the customers and receives the payments, which means that there is no segregation of duties in the company, Vmoto Limited will likely face teeming and lading fraud. Teeming and lading fraud would occur in a scenario where the person responsible for sales is the same individual responsible for cash proceeds from those sales. If this exists, then the sales will be at risk of being materially misstated. The third significant account of Vmoto Limited is debtors (Cosserat, and Rodda, 2009). The same scenario as stated in the sales would occur for the debtors. Ideally, debtors are sales made on credit. The debtors are significant accounts since they are exposed to teeming and lading fraud. If the person responsible for borrowers is the same individual responsible for cash, then he can create a loophole by manipulating the records. For instance, if debtor A owes the company $ 1 million, debtor B owes the company $ 2 million, and debtor C owes the company $ 3 million, the personnel can loot the $ 1 million received from debtor A. As soon as debtor B pays his outstanding balance of $ 2 million, the staff can use it to offset the amount of debtor A. The same procedure will happen for borrower B and C and any balance that remains at the end of the period, he will record it as bad debts written off. As an auditor, I must, therefore, ensure that there is segregation of duties in the debtors. If this is not the case, then the debtors will be at risk of being materially misstated. The fourth significant account of Vmoto Limited is purchases. This is an important account since it is prone to loopholes (Chen, Pany, and Zhang, 2008, pp.236-251). If the person who is responsible for purchases is the same individual responsible for cash disbursements on those purchases, then he can circumnavigate the internal control procedures put in place over the purchases. For example, personnel of Vmoto Limited can order goods from a supplier worth $ 1 million. However, when requesting for funds from the management to pay for those goods, he may overstate the cost so that he can benefit from the purchase. If such a scenario exists, then the purchases will be at risk of being materially misstated. The last significant account of Vmoto Limited is salaries and wages (DeZoort, Harrison, and Taylor, 2006, pp.373-390). Loopholes may exist in Vmoto Limited concerning payment of workers. For instance, the company may be paying ghost workers who in reality do not exist, or they do not work for the firm. As a result, there may be mismanagement of cash, which may not be accounted for. This leads to the misstatement of money and salaries and wages, and therefore the payroll would be at risk of being materially misstated. The information would be material if the omission or misstatement of certain information in the financial statements of Vmoto Limited would influence the economic decisions of the users of its financial statements. To test whether the salaries and wages are material, I would look at whether they are pervasive, relevant, and reliable and if they have the potential of influencing the decisions of its users. Our planning materiality When establishing an audit strategy, I will need to determine the materiality of the financial statements at the planning stage (Glover, Prawitt, Liljegren, and Messier Jr, 2008, p.42). I would determine performance materiality at the planning phase to assess the risk of material misstatement and to evaluate the nature, extent, and timing of the audit procedures. According to IFRS, inaccuracies and omissions are considered material if they may influence the decisions of their users. Planning materiality is, therefore, the maximum amount of error that an auditor can tolerate and accept in the financial statements of the company. In this case, planning materiality would be the maximum error that I would be able to tolerate in the financial statements of Vmoto Limited. It can be ascertained by calculating the tolerable level. In the planning stage, I would be required to use planning materiality to make judgments concerning the size of the omissions or misstatements that would be considered material (Hayes, Wallage, and Gortemaker, 2014). Here, I would be required to ascertain the tolerable level of materiality. The judgments concerning the size of misstatements would provide a basis for assessing the risk of material misstatement, determining the nature, timing, and extent of audit risk assessment procedures and other review procedures. The concept of materiality is, therefore, an important aspect at the planning phase of an audit as it will help us ascertain the tolerance level as shown below. Our assessment of what can go wrong When planning for an audit, I would need to perform an audit risk assessment to discuss and evaluate what constitutes a risk in the important accounts of Vmoto Limited stated above, that is, cash, salaries, and wages, sales, debtors and purchases (Huss, and Jacobs, 2011, pp.16-32). Ideally, audit risk is the risk that an auditor will form an incorrect or inappropriate opinion about the financial statements of the company. For example, he may have issued an unqualified opinion where the financial statements ought to have been qualified; he may have failed to release an emphasis of the matter paragraph where it was required or even where he provided a biased opinion about the financial statements. There are three types of audit risks involved: inherent risk, control risk, and detection risk. Inherent risk is the risk that the omissions and error may lead to material misstatement (Knapp, and Knapp, 2001, pp.25-37). Inherent risk is considered high when the preparation of the financial statements involves a lot of judgment, estimation and where the transactions are highly complex. Control risk is the risk that the internal control system implemented in an enterprise may lead to material misstatement (Ismail, Haron, Nasir Ibrahim, and Mohd Isa, 2006, pp. 738-756). Control risk would be considered high in instances where the management has not implemented a sufficient and strong internal control system. Assessment of the control risk would be higher where entities have not clearly defined the aspect of segregation of duties. Lastly, detection risk is the risk that in the completion of an audit some errors may go undetected. It is evident that inherent risk and control risk are relevant in the planning stage while detection risk is essential in the reporting phase. If audit risk affects cash balances of Vmoto Limited, information that is omitted or misstated may be considered to be material (Low, 2004, pp.201-219). An inherent risk may arise in this case since the users of the financial statements of Vmoto Limited may rely on it to determine if the firm has an adequate liquid cash to continue in a going concern. In a case where the internal control system implemented is not strong enough to prevent the existence of errors and frauds in the cash cycle, it may result to control risk (Zadek, Evans, and Pruzan, 2013). As the external auditor of Vmoto Limited, I must assess the audit danger in the cash cycle at the planning phase. If the cash is materially misstated, then it may mislead its users and thus lead to financial loss. Audit risk may also occur in salaries and wages (O'Donnell, and Schultz Jr, 2005, pp.921-939). For instance, if the employees are not paid for work done, if ghost workers are paid, if wages are unauthorized, or not correctly calculated, it may lead to inherent and control risk. Ideally, if there is inherent risk in the payroll account, payroll cash may go unaccounted for leading to mismanagement of money. If the internal control system implemented by the management of Vmoto Limited does not prevent the occurrence of loopholes in the salaries and wages department, control risk may arise (Yang, and Jia, 2013, pp. 1717-1726). Third, audit risk may occur in sales (Porter, Simon, and Hatherly, 2014). For instance, when teeming and lading fraud happens, it would be evident that any omission or error may lead to material misstatement thus resulting in inherent risk. When Vmoto Limited has not implemented a strong and adequate internal control system over the sales, the company's sales may contain material misstatement thus resulting in controlling risk (William Jr, Glover, and Prawitt, 2016). As an auditor of the firm, I ought to assess the audit risk at sales account and ascertain that it is free from any material misstatement. If the sales contain material misstatement, then I need to include the sales department as a weak area in the audit schedule. Fourth, audit risk may occur in the debtor's account (Rennings, Ziegler, Ankele, and Hoffmann, 2006, pp. 45-59). If the omission or misstatement of individual borrowers accounts in Vmoto Limited may influence the decisions of the users of the financial statements, then that information that has been omitted or misstated in the debtor's account would be considered material to the financial statements and thus resulting in inherent risk. If the internal control system, on the other hand, were not strong enough to prevent misstatement of the debtor's account, it would be considered material and thus leading to control risk (Wells, 2008, pp. 277-90). Lastly, audit risk can also occur in the purchases department (Rittenberg, Johnstone, and Gramling, 2010). If the omission or misstatement of individual purchase items is material to the financial statements of Vmoto Limited, inherent risk may be considered to have occurred. Control risk, on the other hand, may occur the internal control system implemented by the management of Vmoto Limited on the purchases does not prevent the occurrence of errors and frauds (Wang, Wang, Ren, and Lou, 2010, pp. 1-9). Conclusion Vmoto Limited is an enterprise that deals with the manufacture and distribution of scooters. According to its 2015 annual report as presented by the board of directors, the firm realized an increase in revenue and net assets and a decline in the operating costs (Wang, Chow, Wang, Ren, and Lou, 2013, pp. 362-375). As a result, the key performance indicators indicated that Vmoto Limited was performing well as compared to its competitors since the firm realized a greater market share of its brands in China and internationally. As a recently appointed external auditor of Vmoto Limited, I was mandated by my audit manager to prepare a document on the planning of the audit of Vmoto Limited. The first step is to understand the client business and the industry in which it operates. Here, I communicated with the previous auditor to gain an understanding of the firm. In addition, I visited the premises of the client to understand how Vmoto Limited works (Socol, 2008, pp.209-216). In the second step, I assessed the important accounts of the company and determined what constituted materiality. Lastly, an audit risk assessment on the selected accounts indicated that there may be inherent and control risk in the enterprise. References American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Auditing Standards Executive Committee, 2006.Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards. Commerce Clearing House. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Allen, R.D., Hermanson, D.R., Kozloski, T.M. and Ramsay, R.J., 2006. Auditor risk assessment: Insights from the academic literature.Accounting Horizons,20(2), pp.157-177. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Allegrini, M. and D'Onza, G., 2003. Internal auditing and risk assessment in the major Italian companies: an empirical survey.International Journal of Auditing, 7(3), pp.191-208. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Arens, A. A., Elder, R. J., and Mark, B., 2012.Auditing and Assurance services: an integrated approach. Boston: Prentice Hall. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Arens, A. A., Best, P., Shailer, G., Fiedler, B., Elder, R. J., and Beasley, M., 2007.Auditing and assurance services in Australia: an integrated approach. Pearson Education Australia. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Allen, R.D., Hermanson, D.R., Kozloski, T.M. and Ramsay, R.J., 2006. Auditor risk assessment: Insights from the academic literature.Accounting Horizons,20(2), pp.157-177. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Boynton, W. C., and Johnson, R. N., 2006.Modern Auditing: Assurance services and the integrity of financial reporting. Wiley. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Carnaghan, C., 2006. Business process modeling approaches in the context of process level audit risk assessment: An analysis and comparison. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems,7(2), pp.170-204. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Cosserat, G. W., and Rodda, N., 2009.Modern auditing. Wiley. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Chen, H., Pany, K., and Zhang, J., 2008. An analysis of the relationship between accounting restatements and quantitative benchmarks of audit planning materiality.Review of Accounting and Finance,7(3), pp.236-251. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. DeZoort, T., Harrison, P. and Taylor, M., 2006. Accountability and auditors materiality judgments: The effects of differential pressure strength on conservatism, variability, and effort.Accounting, Organizations and Society, 31(4), pp.373-390. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Glover, S.M., Prawitt, D.F., Liljegren, J.T. and Messier Jr, W.F., 2008. Component materiality for group audits.Journal of Accountancy,206(6), p.42. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Hayes, R., Wallage, P., and Gortemaker, H., 2014.Principles of auditing: an introduction to international standards on auditing. Pearson Higher Ed. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Huss, H.F. and Jacobs, F.A., 2011. Risk containment: Exploring auditor decisions in the engagement process.Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory,10(2), pp.16-32. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Ismail, I., Haron, H., Nasir Ibrahim, D., and Mohd Isa, S., 2006. Service quality, client satisfaction, and loyalty towards audit firms: Perceptions of Malaysian public listed companies.Managerial auditing journal,21(7), 738-756. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Knapp, C.A., and Knapp, M.C., 2001. The effects of experience and explicit fraud risk assessment in detecting fraud with analytical procedures. Accounting, Organizations and Society,26(1), pp.25-37. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. Low, K.Y., 2004. The effects of industry specialization on audit risk assessments and audit planning decisions.The accounting review,79(1), pp.201-219. Retrieved on 24th January 2017. O'Donnell, E. and Schultz Jr, J.J., 2005. 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History Of The Car Essays - Car, Auto Racing, Automotive Industry

History of the Car History of the Car People lives changed more during twentieth century than in any previous period in history. With so many inventions came in this period, there are few of them that have influenced and changed world more than automobile. Since most people alive today have grown up in the automotive age, the impact of the automobile on the society is easily overlooked. Out of experiments in many places and with many elements of design, the essential features of the automobile emerged around the turn of the century. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and especially in the 1890's, much work was carried in France, Germany, Great Britain, Austria, and United States to develop practical designs of both vehicle and motor. In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler, who had previously worked with Dr Nikolaus August Otto, applied a single cylinder and air-cooled vertical machine to a carriage. A few years later Daimler created his first "four wheeled wooden built light wagonnete" powered by petrol. Karl Benz of Manheim (Germany) then built an engine specifically intended for motor cars, leading to the four-wheelers (Thomas 321). As petrol cars became more dependable the advantage of not having to wait until steam was generated gave them clear superiority over the steamers, and the self-starter took away the principal advantage from electric propulsion. At the beginning of the century, petrol driven internal-combustion motor car had established itself as the dominant mechanical road vehicle and started its expansion with great rapidity (Ware 291). In 1894, the French newspaper La Petit Journal introduced a new invention to the wider public by organizing a trial run of motor cars from Paris to Rouen. In 1895 the race was organized from Paris to Bordeaux. The winner averaged fifteen miles an hour. In the first decade of 1900's, French led the world in the production of cars, and automobiles even took part in French army maneuvers. In England, they were allowed to travel on roads at fourteen miles an hour. Around the same time in the United States, Henry Ford was making twin-cylinder water-cooled engine cars, which traveled at 25 miles an hour. (Zeldin II 640). Car ownership early in the century was limited to the rich and privileged. The revolution in the whole character of the car, as well as its method of manufacture, was made by the introduction of mass production. In 1908, Henry Ford, a farmer's boy from Michigan with little education, conceived the idea of a car designed for the masses. After careful examination of the Sears Roebuck factory, he began mass production of his model T car. The benefit of this mass-production was a low-priced and affordable car. It was the beginning of mass production and mass acceptance of automobiles. The consequence was that, in 1913, there were already over a million automobiles on the United States roads as opposed to 200,000 in Great Britain, 90,000 in France, and a mere 70,000 in Germany (Zeldin 649). Cars, which were not mentioned in the census of the United States' business in 1900, soon will be at the top of the list. The rapid development of cars required a great range of facilities. Around the turn of the century and for nearly two decades into the 1900's, most roads continued to be made of sand, clay, or dirt. So, when it rained, they became quagmires. The roads surfaced with gravel or sand which had served for the traffic of the horse-drawn vehicles, were soon find to be entirely inadequate for motor transport. The car whipped up a cloud of dust, loosened and wore the surface, and broke down the roadbed with its weight. In 1903, The Grand Prix automobile race from Paris to Madrid was called off in the mid-course after many of the drivers, blinded by dust, crashed to death. It wasn't until the end of the first decade of this century, when modern road-building techniques began to evolve rapidly, that roads began to be paved with concrete. Constructors started to use asphalt, which provided a solid surface (Ware 294). By than, however, there were thousands automobiles worldwide. So, driving a car in the early part of the century was more adventure than pleasure. Getting stuck in mud midway through trip, hitting a rut and breaking an axle or sliding into a ditch were all-too-common occurrences for early motorists. Car travel depended upon the availability of the fuel. In the beginning the fuel resources were located in the few places such as: United States, northern South America, Romania, and southern Russia. Retail petrol-supply points were needed along the roads. Car travels,

Evolution of Warfare - Ancient Greece, Romans and Chinese essays

Evolution of Warfare - Ancient Greece, Romans and Chinese essays Throughout the ages, weapons, armor, and even warfare have evolved in astonishing ways to suit societys needs. Many reasons exist for the changes in all these tools. Armor evolved through the need for one to protect him/her-self and weapons evolved alongside to break through this protection. Warfare evolved with society, just as society was evolving itself through time. No other societies better than Ancient Greece, Rome and China can show us how the Age of Armor began and evolved. These societies were the dawn of the great cultures of the world. Greeces epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey best describe the kind of warfare that was used in battle, along with the weaponry and armor of the time. Ancient texts and artifacts grant us access of how Greek warfare had changed and how some aspects of war remained the same, until the Roman times. The Romans improvised and improved a lot of the tactics that were used by the Greeks and along with new inventions they brought warfare into a whole new level. And the Chinese (Qin Dynasty) were the pioneers of many intriguing weaponry and battle tactics. The Greek soldiers were called hoplites (acquired this name from the hoplon, a convex, circular shield, approximately three feet in diameter, made of composite wood and bronze.(Encyclopedia Britannica). These soldiers were characteristically equipped with about seventy pounds of armor, most of which was made of bronze. Hoplites were equipped with a hoplon (shield), a cuirass, a helmet and a greaves which all consistent of bronze and a long thrusting spear with an iron tip and butt, along with a sword. The heavy bronze shield, which was secured on the left arm and hand by a metal band on its inner rim, was the most important part of a hoplite's panoply, as it was his chief defense. Hoplites were the primary focus of the phalanx (an organized, dense line of battle, Jona Lenderin...

Writing argument using Zeitoun by Dave Eggers Essay

Writing argument using Zeitoun by Dave Eggers - Essay Example Every man who dares to answer the call of the unknown knows very well the dangers lurking ahead and he alone has to face them with courage and determination. Initially he may hesitate to respond to the call but then he is assured of supernatural assistance. This gives him the courage to begin his journey and face the challenges ahead. In his journey the Hero may get tempted to move away from his mission and surrender to unjust provocations. It is upon the mental strength of the hero that he will overcome all temptations and remain true to his mission. Once he attains his mission, he becomes hero in the true sense as he triumphs in the test of bravery and tolerance. David Eggers, in his book Zeitoun, has written about the real life events of Zietoun’s family in New Orleans. The protagonist is Abdulrahman Zeitoun who is a Syrian-American. He and his family experienced the Hurricane storm called Katrina in 2005. The book describes Zietoun’s deeds and how his life shaped up after the storm. He passed through difficult times and emerged like a true hero. The experiences of Zietoun after the Katrina can be viewed through the different stages that a hero has to experience. We can see his struggles to survive and help others in distress post the hurricane. The way Zeitoun managed his days through all the crisis he faced is a true characteristic of a Hero. Zeitoun along with his wife opened their own company in New Orleans – Zeitoun Painting Contractors LLC. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, Kathy with the children took shelter in Balton Rouge which was her homeland. Zeiton could not go with his family and h e stayed back in New Orleans to take care of their home, work sites and their rental properties. Thus he showed bravery and a sense of duty to his fellowmen as he remained back and just like a hero is prepared to overcome all kinds of difficulties, Zeitoun too stayed back

Institutional investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Institutional investment - Essay Example This development has shifted the attention to the role and importance of institutional investors to financial markets. What this means is that these entities came to dominate and dictate the trajectory and the pattern of investment choices, affecting the dynamics of financial markets in the process. This paper will explore this theme. This objective will be undertaken in the context of financial markets with high institutional investors. Institutional Investors: A Background There is no standard definition or precise concept explaining the dynamics of institutional investors. But Lumpkin (2000) offered a general view, which will effectively serve the purpose of this paper. He explained that institutional investors are those financial institutions that invest savings of individuals and non-financial companies in the financial market (pp.195). The breadth and diversity of this definition can be tempered by a key requirement: That, money is being managed by institutions as distinguished by those administered by retail investors. Based on this definition seven principal categories of institutional investors exist: private pension funds; state and local retirement funds; mutual funds; life insurance companies; property and casualty insurance companies; non-pension fund money managed by banks; and foundation and endowment funds (Baums and Buxbaum, 1994, pp.667). This classification highlights a diversity which means that institutional investors are driven and influenced by different factors. There are however commonalities. For example the sector operates on the basis of well-defined risk-return criteria and employs sophisticated investment strategies and methods (Blommestein and Funke, 1998, pp.69). Furthermore, the OECD identified the common factors that drive the growth of this sector: There is a rising demand for retirement â€Å"products† such as mutual funds and guaranteed-equity plans, among others, due to the increase of ageing population in developed economies; The technological development especially in communications, computing and information fields lead to the enhanced capabilities of institutional investors to provide intermediation and services that entail minimal risks, with all these transpiring at very high speed but at a cheaper cost; There is the deregulation of the banking and securities industries since 1980s, which intensified competition among financial institutions, further encouraged by easing of restrictions on cross-border capital flows (Lumpkin, pp.198). All in all, the theoretical underpinning for institutional investment is intermediation. Wealth is not directly funneled to the market. Instead, money is delegated by investors to managers who will manage it in turn. This is fundamentally different from investments by individual agents or by the manner by which corporate entities own and manage their stocks. The business model works because the operational landscape is conducive and the outlook is very favora ble as demonstrated by current statistics, trends as well as projections by experts and agencies like the OECD. The Role of Institutional Investment There is the claim that institutional investment is critical in the modernization of financial markets. To put it another way, its emergence has supposedly brought about reforms that led to the efficiency in financial market. This argument appears to be valid because institutional inv

CLOUD COMPUTING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

CLOUD COMPUTING - Essay Example However, the issue of cloud security is the main focus for the various cloud computing potential customers and it is also considered the major barrier to most of its widespread applications (Patrick, 2013). This research paper will focus on current research done on cloud security. The main focus of the paper will be to survey the popular cloud computing security models as well as the diverse parameters of cloud security which will involve virtualization, compliance, framework, risk management, dynamic access security, internet access security and access management. Introduction The biggest problem facing network computing and distributed systems is security. Cloud computing refers to internet computing and it is the latest concept that has the capability to increase an organization’s service delivery efficiency. The security models of cloud computing that are cloud multiple tenancy model of NIST, cloud risk accumulation model of CSA, Jerico forum’s cloud cube model and the mapping model of cloud, compliance and security are supported by the three cloud services models. Resources for cloud computing are scalable and dynamic .The representation of cloud computing is elaborated through three cloud computing service models which are platform as a service (PaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) (Patrick, 2013). The main aim of these cloud computing service models is to be able to provide the IT departments with focus on the various strategic projects as well as cutting down on the operational costs (Ritesh, Anant war& Swati, 2012). The cloud computing models are considered to have a variety of dimensions that are used to further worsen the security problem. The cloud computing model comprises of two main features which are elasticity and multi-tenancy. Elasticity depends on the presence of secure placement strategies andsecures service migration while multi-tenancy feature results to virtualization and thus the boundaries among different host services need to be improved. At present the available security strategies are only for the single cloud user and single cloud provider but if cloud computing in the future moves to a multiple provider environment security there will be a greater challenge in addressing the issue of security (Patrick, 2013). Users of cloud computing are able to access their database resources from the internet regardless of their location. It is quite clear that the use of cloud services is important and offers a lot of benefits to the user or the enterprise that has ad apted the new technology. Cloud computing can thus be regarded as a model that enables convenience on the demand network access to the shared computing resources. As stated by Amarnath et. al.2010 virtualization technology is used to optimize the performance of the application in a cost effective way but this technology can introduce some security risks. Therefore, cloud computing security plays a major role because the customers outsource computation tasks and data on cloud computing servers which are managed by cloud providers who cannot be trusted (Amarnath, 2010). Cloud computing has become popular as a result of many enterprise applications moving to the cloud platforms. However, the issue of security has become a major barrier point for cloud computing adoption. Based on a recent survey research conducted by the International Data Corporation almost 87.5% of the IT executives stated that security is a major challenge that must be dealt with in each cloud service. Therefore, th ere is need to come up with applications that will be used to curb the threats brought about by security by using some security

Principle Of Color In Multimedia Media Essay

Principle Of Color In Multimedia Media Essay Q1. Explain the principle of color in multimedia. How many dimensions are used in the color? Explain with suitable example. Color is a sensation produced by the human eye and nervous system. It is related to light, but an understanding of the properties of light is not sufficient to understand color, and is especially not sufficient to understand the art of color reproduction. Overwhelming experimental evidence tells us that the perception of a color is related to the strength of three signals which are transmitted along the optic nerve to the brain. Color is a phenomenon of light caused by how our eyes detect differing qualities of projected or reflected light. Because science and technology has allowed us to understand the physiology of the human eye, to measure wavelengths of light and chart energy patterns, we have come a long way in grasping the complexities of color. The importance of this is that: It is useful to represent a color by a set of exactly three numbers. In practice, the set of three numbers must be related to some actual color reproduction process. The numbers commonly specify portions of some set of primary colors such as: Color is the principal way the mind separates elements in space and chooses something to focus on. Thus you should use rich or bright colors like red and yellow sparingly, and generally only for items you really wish to emphasize. Use different colors rather than different shapes to distinguish features on a page. Beware of the negative effects of certain highly contrasting colors placed next to each other (such as green and red), as well as the off-putting optical illusions created, for instance, by a series of parallel lines. If navigational elements have color at all, make sure their hues dont distract viewers from focusing on the main content of the page. Web design publications often talk about using only web-safe or browser-safe colors, meaning a limited palette that will show up roughly the same in all browsers and operating systems. But, as the web designer Lynda Weinman has noted, very few computers still display only 256 colors, their capability when the web was young. Indeed, most people view the web in millions of colors now, and so historians just starting on the web may ignore the browser-safe palette and its often garish, overly bright colors chosen for their mathematical simplicity rather than aesthetic value. Those experienced with this palette can continue to use it with no harm, but others shouldnt bother. The possible exception to this rule is if many of your anticipated users will be using very old computers, in which case you should choose something from the web-safe palette for any major swath of color on your page, as well as any colored fonts. Dimensions of Color   Ã‚   There are three dimensions to color-hue, value and intensity. This makes color multidimensional-any color appearance can be described in terms of these three dimensions. 1. Hue:     Hue refers to the names of the colors. It is the contrast between redness, blueness and greenness. We most typically think of hues as coming from white light divided into the visible spectrum-red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet or as a circle of hues or color wheel. Of the three dimensions of color, hue is the simplest to identify. It is that element most often referred to as color. Looking at a rainbow, we can recognize the different dominant hues: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. We also realize that any hue can appear in many variations other than their spectral form. Red, for example, exhibits a broad range of appearance, running from light to dark and weak to strong. Regardless of their appearance in terms of light or dark, weak or strong, they would all belong to the hue family: red. Hues are generally arranged in a circular fashion (hue circuit) or color wheel. Red is the name of a broad color family. The popular term, pink, is a variation of that hue, as is the familiar name, maroon. 2. Value: Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. It is often related to a gray scale where white is the lightest value followed by a series of grays to black, the darkest value. The hues are located somewhere in between the extremes of white and black in value. A color value scale is a hue mixed with white to form tints and with black to form shades of that hue. Red plus white makes pink. Pink is a tint or light value of the hue red. Red plus black makes brown. Brown is a shade or dark value of the hue red. As an example, fire-engine red would carry a notation of R 5/16 on this variation of a Munsell chart. When a hue is lighter or darker that its original spectral state, the amount of light it reflects has changed: value is the dimension which refers to the lightness or darkness of a hue. Adding white to red produces a tint; adding black produces a shade. Some examples of red shades: maroon, brown, cordovan, chocolate. A pink shade is an oxymoron. Values are usually displayed in a series of about ten steps, but actually are unlimited. Value steps are displayed vertically, darkest at the bottom. 3. Intensity Intensity refers to the purity or impurity of a hue. The more pure hue a given color contains, the more intense it is. Opposing terms used to describe this contrast are intense vs. gray, saturated vs. desaturated or bright vs. dull. When a color is too bright and its intensity needs to be reduced, we will often say,Gray that color. The most typical ways to gray a color are to add gray (black and white) or by adding some of the complementary color. The complement of a hue is the hue opposite it on the color circle. Red and green, orange and blue, and yellow and violet are examples of complementary colors. 4. Chroma Pure red, as well as light and dark variations all belong to one hue family. When we encounter a weak red, i .e., a red that is neither lighter or darker of a sample hue, we are not dealing with value (light reflectance) but with the dimension of chroma. Synonyms for chroma: strength, purity, saturation, intensity. It is the degree to which a hue departs from full intensity and moves towards a neutral gray. A red rose and a red brick may be of the same hue and value, but the rose exhibits greater purity of saturation. Chroma steps are arranged horizontally, left to right- weakest to strongest. Each complementary hue at the same value displaying various intensities (chroma) Q2. How an appearance of an image on a monitor is depend on monitor resolution and monitor size? Ans. Imagine lying down in the grass with your nose pressed deep into the thatch. Your field of vision would not be very large, and all you would see are a few big blades of grass, some grains of dirt, and maybe an ant or two. This is a 14-inch 640 x 480 monitor. Now, get up on your hands and knees, and your field of vision will improve considerably: youll see a lot more grass. This is a 15-inch 800 x 640 monitor. For a 1280 x 1024 perspective (on a 19-inch monitor), stand up and look at the ground. Some monitors can handle higher resolutions such as 1600 x 1200 or even 1920 x 1440-somewhat akin to a view from up in a tree. Monitors are measured in inches, diagonally from side to side (on the screen). However, there can be a big difference between that measurement and the actual viewable area. A 14-inch monitor only has a 13.2-inch viewable area, a 15-inch sees only 13.8 inches, and a 20-inch will give you 18.8 inches (viewing 85.7% more than a 15-inch screen). A computer monitor is made of pixels (short for picture element). Monitor resolution is measured in pixels, width by height. 640 x 480 resolution means that the screen is 640 pixels wide by 480 tall, an aspect ratio of 4:3. With the exception of one resolution combination (1280 x 1024 uses a ratio of 5:4), all aspect ratios are the same. Here are some recommended resolutions for the different screen sizes: 14 15 17 19 21 640480 BEST GOOD TOO BIG HUGE TERRIBLE 800600 GOOD BEST GOOD TOO BIG HUGE 1024768 TOO SMALL GOOD BEST GOOD STILL GOOD 12801024 TINY TOO SMALL GOOD BEST GOOD 16001200 TERRIBLE TINY TOO SMALL GOOD BEST SCREEN RESOLUTIONS, MONITOR SIZES AND VARIATIONS IN IMAGES SIZE The dimensions of image on screen will often be very different to the size of the original we are scanning in. The size of the image on screen depends on monitor resolution and monitor size. Video cards are able to display a particular set number of pixels horizontally and vertically on the screen. For example, the card may display (width and height ) 640 x 480 pixels or 800 x 600 pixels. Physical dimension of the monitor. A large monitor set to 640 x 480 pixels uses larger pixels than a small monitor with the same setting. 1. Two monitors with the same physical dimension, fixed-size image, but different screen resolutions. Suppose you have a monitor that displays 800 x 600 pixels and you want your image to take up 1/4 of that screen across and 1/3 down, then: 800/4 x 600/3 = 200 x 200 pixels (Figure 1). However, the same image (200 x 200 pixels) displayed on a monitor of the same size but with different resolution (e.g. 640 x 480), will look much larger as it will take up a larger proportion of the screen (Figure 2). Figure1: Screen Resolution 800x 600 Image Size 200 x 200 Figure 2: Screen Resolution 640 x 480 Image Size 200 x 200 2. Two monitors with the same screen resolution, fixed-size image, but different physical dimensions. Suppose your image size is 200 x 200 and the screen resolution of both monitors is the same (e.g. they both have a 640 x 480 screen resolution). The monitors are of different physical proportion, (e.g. one is a 21 inch monitor, the other a 15 inch monitor). In this case the image will take up the same proportion of space in both monitors, although the absolute size of the image is different (larger in the larger monitor). Figure 3: Monitor Size 21 inch Screen Resolution 640 x 480 Image size 200 x 200 Figure 4: Monitor Size 15 inch Screen Resolution 640 x 480 Image Size 200 x 200 Q3. Discuss the physical and psychological principles as to why animation works, as well as how it is usually presented? Ans. The 12 basic principles of animation is a set of principles of animation introduced by the Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in their 1981 book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation. Johnston and Thomas in turn based their book on the work of the leading Disney animators from the 1930s onwards, and their effort to produce more realistic animations. The main purpose of the principles was to produce an illusion of characters adhering to the basic laws of physics, but they also dealt with more abstract issues, such as emotional timing and character appeal. The 12 principles are as follows: Squash and stretch Anticipation Staging Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose Follow Through and Overlapping Action Slow In and Slow Out Arcs Secondary Action Timing Exaggeration Solid Drawing (same or different as Weight) Appeal 1 SQUASH AND STRETCH The most important principle is squash and stretch. the purpose of which is to give a sense of weight and flexibility to drawn objects. It can be applied to simple objects, like a bouncing ball, or more complex constructions, like the musculature of a human face. Taken to an extreme point, a figure stretched or squashed to an exaggerated degree can have a comical effect. In realistic animation, however, the most important aspect of this principle is the fact that an objects volume does not change when squashed or stretched. If the length of a ball is stretched vertically, its width (in three dimensions, also its depth) needs to contract correspondingly horizontally. Illustration of the squash and stretch-principle: Example A shows a ball bouncing with a rigid, non-dynamic movement. In example B the ball is squashed at impact, and stretched during fall and rebound. The movement also accelerates during the fall, and slows down towards the apex (see slow in and slow out). 2 ANTICIPATION This movement prepares the audience for a major action the character is about to perform, such as, starting to run, jump or change expression. A dancer does not just leap off the floor. A backwards motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward motion is the anticipation. A comic effect can be done by not using anticipation after a series of gags that used anticipation. Almost all real action has major or minor anticipation such as a pitchers wind-up or a golfers back swing. Feature animation is often less broad than short animation unless a scene requires it to develop a characters personality. Anticipation: A baseball player making a pitch prepares for the action by moving his arm back. For special effect, anticipation can also be omitted in cases where it is expected. The resulting sense of anticlimax will produce a feeling of surprise in the viewer, and can often add comedy to a scene. This is often referred to as a surprise gag. 3  STAGING A pose or action should clearly communicate to the audience the attitude, mood, reaction or idea of the character as it relates to the story and continuity of the story line. The effective use of long, medium, or close up shots, as well as camera angles also helps in telling the story. There is a limited amount of time in a film, so each sequence, scene and frame of film must relate to the overall story. Do not confuse the audience with too many actions at once. Use one action clearly stated to get the idea across, unless you are animating a scene that is to depict clutter and confusion. Staging directs the audiences attention to the story or idea being told. Care must be taken in background design so it isnt obscuring the animation or competing with it due to excess detail behind the animation. Background and animation should work together as a pictorial unit in a scene. 4 STRAIGHT AHEAD AND POSE TO POSE ANIMATION Straight ahead animation starts at the first drawing and works drawing to drawing to the end of a scene. You can lose size, volume, and proportions with this method, but it does have spontaneity and freshness. Fast, wild action scenes are done this way. Pose to Pose is more planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene. Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled better this way, as is the action. The lead animator will turn charting and keys over to his assistant. An assistant can be better used with this method so that the animator doesnt have to draw every drawing in a scene. An animator can do more scenes this way and concentrate on the planning of the animation. Many scenes use a bit of both methods of animation. Computer animation removes the problems of proportion related to straight ahead action drawing; however, pose to pose is still used for computer animation, because of the advantages it brings in composition. The use of computers facilitates this method, as computers can fill in the missing sequences in between poses automatically. It is, however, still important to oversee this process, and apply the other principles discussed. 5  FOLLOW THROUGH AND OVERLAPPING ACTION When the main body of the character stops all other parts continue to catch up to the main mass of the character, such as arms, long hair, clothing, coat tails or a dress, floppy ears or a long tail (these follow the path of action). Nothing stops all at once. This is follow through. Overlapping action is when the character changes direction while his clothes or hair continues forward. The character is going in a new direction, to be followed, a number of frames later, by his clothes in the new direction. DRAG, in animation, for example, would be when Goofy starts to run, but his head, ears, upper body, and clothes do not keep up with his legs. In features, this type of action is done more subtly. Example: When Snow White starts to dance, her dress does not begin to move with her immediately but catches up a few frames later. Long hair and animal tail will also be handled in the same manner. Timing becomes critical to the effectiveness of drag and the overlapping action. 6 SLOW-OUT AND SLOW-IN As action starts, we have more drawings near the starting pose, one or two in the middle, and more drawings near the next pose. Fewer drawings make the action faster and more drawings make the action slower. Slow-ins and slow-outs soften the action, making it more life-like. For a gag action, we may omit some slow-out or slow-ins for shock appeal or the surprise element. This will give more snap to the scene. The movement of the human body, and most other objects, needs time to accelerate and slow down. For this reason, an animation looks more realistic if it has more frames near the beginning and end of a movement, and fewer in the middle. This principle goes for characters moving between two extreme poses, such as sitting down and standing up, but also for inanimate, moving objects, like the bouncing ball in the above illustration. 7  ARCS All actions, with few exceptions (such as the animation of a mechanical device), follow an arc or slightly circular path. This is especially true of the human figure and the action of animals. Arcs give animation a more natural action and better flow. Think of natural movements in the terms of a pendulum swinging. All arm movement, head turns and even eye movements are executed on an arcs. 8 SECONDARY ACTION This action adds to and enriches the main action and adds more dimension to the character animation, supplementing and/or re-enforcing the main action. Example: A character is angrily walking toward another character. The walk is forceful, aggressive, and forward leaning. The leg action is just short of a stomping walk. The secondary action is a few strong gestures of the arms working with the walk. Also, the possibility of dialogue being delivered at the same time with tilts and turns of the head to accentuate the walk and dialogue, but not so much as to distract from the walk action. All of these actions should work together in support of one another. Think of the walk as the primary action and arm swings, head bounce and all other actions of the body as secondary or supporting action. Secondary action: as the horse runs, its mane and tail follow the movement of the body. 9 TIMING Expertise in timing comes best with experience and personal experimentation, using the trial and error method in refining technique. The basics are: more drawings between poses slow and smooth the action. Fewer drawings make the action faster and crisper. A variety of slow and fast timing within a scene adds texture and interest to the movement. Most animation is done on twos (one drawing photographed on two frames of film) or on ones (one drawing photographed on each frame of film). Twos are used most of the time, and ones are used during camera moves such as trucks, pans and occasionally for subtle and quick dialogue animation. Also, there is timing in the acting of a character to establish mood, emotion, and reaction to another character or to a situation. Studying movement of actors and performers on stage and in films is useful when animating human or animal characters. This frame by frame examination of film footage will aid you in understanding timing for animation. This is a great way to learn from the others. 10  EXAGGERATION Exaggeration is not extreme distortion of a drawing or extremely broad, violent action all the time. It ¹s like a caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions. Action traced from live action film can be accurate, but stiff and mechanical. In feature animation, a character must move more broadly to look natural. The same is true of facial expressions, but the action should not be as broad as in a short cartoon style. Exaggeration in a walk or an eye movement or even a head turn will give your film more appeal. Use good taste and common sense to keep from becoming too theatrical and excessively animated 11 SOLID DRAWING The basic principles of drawing form, weight, volume solidity and the illusion of three dimension apply to animation as it does to academic drawing. The way you draw cartoons, you draw in the classical sense, using pencil sketches and drawings for reproduction of life. You transform these into color and movement giving the characters the illusion of three-and four-dimensional life. Three dimensional is movement in space. The fourth dimension is movement in time. 12 APPEAL A live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal. Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. All characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous, comic or cute. Appeal, as you will use it, includes an easy to read design, clear drawing, and personality development that will capture and involve the audience ¹s interest. Early cartoons were basically a series of gags strung together on a main theme. Over the years, the artists have learned that to produce a feature there was a need for story continuity, character development and a higher quality of artwork throughout the entire production. Like all forms of storytelling, the feature has to appeal to the mind as well as to the eye.Appeal in a cartoon character corresponds to what would be called charisma in an actor. A character who is appealing is not necessarily sympathetic villains or monsters can also be appealing the important thing is that the viewer feels the character is r eal and interesting. There are several tricks for making a character connect better with the audience; for likable characters a symmetrical or particularly baby-like face tends to be effective. Q4. What are the different color models? What is the need to use different color models? Ans. A color model is an abstract mathematical model describing the way colors can be represented as tuples of numbers, typically as three or four values or color components. When this model is associated with a precise description of how the components are to be interpreted (viewing conditions, etc.), the resulting set of colors is called color space. This section describes ways in which human color vision can be modeled. A color model is a 3D unique representation of a color. There are different color models and the use of one over the other is problem oriented. For instance, the color model RGB is used in hardware applications like PC monitors, cameras and scanners, the CMY color model is used in color printers, and the YIQ model in television broadcast. In color image manipulation the two models widely used are HSI and HSV. DIFFERENT MODELS ARE AS FOLLOWS: RGB Model CMY Model CMYK Model HSV Model HSL Model 1. RGB Color Model In the RGB color model, we use red, green, and blue as the 3 primary colors. We dont actually specify what wavelengths these primary colors correspond to, so this will be different for different types of output media, e.g., different monitors, film, videotape, slides, etc. This is an additive model since the phosphors are emitting light. A subtractive model would be one in which the color is the reflected light. We can represent the RGB model by using a unit cube. Each point in the cube (or vector where the other point is the origin) represents a specific color. This model is the best for setting the electron guns for a CRT. Note that for the complementary colors the sum of the values equals white light (1, 1, 1). e.g. red (1, 0, 0) + cyan (0, 1, 1) = white (1, 1, 1) green (0, 1, 0) + magenta (1, 0, 1) = white (1, 1, 1) blue (0, 0, 1) + yellow (1, 1, 0) = white (1, 1, 1) Media that transmit light (such as television) use additive color mixing with primary colors of red, green, and blue, each of which stimulates one of the three types of the eyes color receptors with as little stimulation as possible of the other two. This is called RGB color space. Mixtures of light of these primary colors cover a large part of the human color space and thus produce a large part of human color experiences. This is why color television sets or color computer monitors need only produce mixtures of red, green and blue light. Each color can be a point in the RGB color model cube. Red, green and blue are known as the primary colors. These colors can be added to produce secondary colors which are: magenta = red + blue cyan = green +blue yellow = red + green Other possible combinations: white = blue (primary) + yellow (secondary) white = green (primary) + magenta (secondary) white = red (primary) + cyan (secondary) RGB Color Cube Color Model 2. CMY Color Model CRTs produce color by emission and uses the RGB model. Printers produce color by reflective light so it is a subtractive process and uses a model based on the colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow. Remember that cyan = green + blue, so light reflected from a cyan pigment has no red component, i.e., the red is absorbed by cyan. Similarly magenta subtracts green and yellow subtracts blue. Printers usually use four colors: cyan, yellow, magenta and black. This is because cyan, yellow, and magenta together produce a dark gray rather than a true black. It is possible to achieve a large range of colors seen by humans by combining cyan, magenta, and yellow transparent dyes/inks on a white substrate. These are the subtractive primary colors. Often a fourth black is added to improve reproduction of some dark colors. This is called CMY or CMYK color space. The cyan ink will reflect all but the red light, the yellow ink will reflect all but the blue light and the magenta ink will reflect all but the green light. This is because cyan light is an equal mixture of green and blue, yellow is an equal mixture of red and green, and magenta light is an equal mixture of red and blue. 3. CMYK color model Unlike RGB, which is an additive color model, CMYK is a subtractive color model. Typically used in printing, CMYK assumes that the background is white, and thus subtracts the assumed brightness of the white background from four colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (called key). Black is used because the combination of the three primary colors (CMY) doesnt produce a fully saturated black. CMYK can produce the whole spectrum of visible colors thanks to the process of half-toning, whereby each color is assigned a saturation level and miniscule dots of each of the three colors are printed in tiny patterns so that the human eye perceives a certain color. Like RGB, CMYK is device-dependent. Theres no straightforward formula to convert CMYK color to RGB colors or vice versa, so conversion is typically dependent upon color management systems. ColoRotate easily converts one system to the other. Still Life with Crystal Bowl, 4. Hue, Saturation, and Value Color Model First described by Alvy Ray Smith in 1978, HSV seeks to depict relationships between colors, and improve upon the RGB color model. Standing for hue, saturation, and value, HSV depicts three-dimensional color. If you think about HSV as a wheel of cheese, the center axis goes from white at the top to black at the bottom, with other neutral colors in between. The angle from the axis depicts the hue, the distance from the axis depicts saturation, and the distance along the axis depicts value. The angle from the axis depicts the hue, the distance from the axis depicts saturation, and the distance along the axis depicts value. The HSV (Hue, Saturation, and Value) color model is more intuitive than the RGB color model. The user specifies a color (hue) and then adds white or black. There are 3 color parameters: Hue, Saturation, and Value. Changing the saturation parameter corresponds to adding or subtracting white and changing the value parameter corresponds to adding or subtracting black. 5. HSL Like HSV, HSL was described by Alvy Ray Smith and is a 3D representation of color. HSL stands for hue, saturation, and lightness. The HSL color model has distinct advantages over the HSV model, in that the saturation and lightness components span the entire range of values. Based on the HSL color model, ColoRotate contains all the hues at different levels of saturation along its horizontal plane and with variant intensity along its vertical plane. In the bicone or diamond of the HSL structure, all the visible colors can be seen. These are the three dimensions in which our brain analyzes the colors we see. The first dimension is brightness (a vertical slice). The hue is comprised of the second and third dimensions (corresponding to round slices through the diamond).   HSV and HSL representations: Need to use different color models: We also use color model to indicate a model or mechanism of color vision for explaining how color signals are processed from visual cones to ganglion cells. For simplicity, we call these models color mechanism models. There are any numbers of approaches to describing colors using a mathematical model; each one qualifies as a color model. You can, for example, assign a specific hue, saturation, and brightness level to define a color (HSB color models); or a value of red, green, and blue (RGB color models); or a value of cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY color models); or a value of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK color models). Within these general descriptionsHSB, RGB, CMY, CMYK, and moreany model can use any arbitrary number of steps for each parameter. Some schemes, for example, use 100 steps each. Others use 256 steps, a convenient number for the digital world because you can define 256 steps for each color by assigning 8 bits to each color. All of these color modelsand moreare widely used to describe colors, both by software and by various types of hardware like digital cameras, scanners, monitors, and printers. Unfortunately, most of these have historically been device-dependent models meaning that the designation for a given color applies only to the particular device. And that makes it hard to move color information between devices without introducing errors. Two device-dependent models can share the same name, but they wont share the same descriptions for each color except by pure co-incidence. For example, some printers use CMYK color models. (Not all do. A printer can use an RGB color model, and translate the colors to the right amounts of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink.) Suppose you define a color in a drawing program as cyan 120, magenta 75, and yellow 130, and then print on three printers, each of which uses a device-dependent version of a CMY or CMYK colo

Essay --

Forensic science is misleading because it suggests only one type of science is involved, but this is not the case. Forensic investigations can involve virtually any field of science and technology. There are many steps that have to be taken when leading a criminal investigation and investigating a crime scene. Firstly, detectives have to try and figure out why and how a crime was committed. They examine a crime scene looking for information or clues such as fingerprints, weapons, and DNA. They investigate the victims’ history to define why someone would want to harm them. After they have formed a hypothesis, they try to find proof that somebody committed a crime so that they can arrest the suspects. They look at both the cause and the actual evidence of the crime and try to see if their hypothesis makes sense. The suspects then enter the criminal justice system where they are tried using the evidence collected at the crime scene. Forensic investigations require skills of specially trained scientists, police, engineers, doctors and others. â€Å"These investigators observe all types of evidence, from weapons to bloodstains and from computers to bugs† (Erzinclioglu 5). The greater the evidence against a person, the greater the chance of conviction. Homicide detectives usually work in pairs and approach a crime scene with five basic questions: Did the death take place at the crime scene or elsewhere? Was there any attempt to alter the crime scene? Does the scene point to any particular activity such as drug abuse or burglary? Is the cause of death obvious? Are there sufficient clues pointing to how the death occurred? â€Å"Scene processing is the term practical to the series of steps taken to investigate a crime scene. Although the methods an... ...rams that improve and image by enhancing the contrast, which is the difference in color concentrations. Changing the brightness or dullness of the image. Increasing the resolution and sharpening or de- blurring the image. Fingerprints are a guaranteed method of identification because each person’s fingertips are unique and fingerprints don’t change throughout a person’s lifetime. Fingerprint ridges appear in three pattern types; loop, whorls, and arches. The most collective type of fingerprint pattern, loops begin at one side of the fingertip, double back, and exit on the same side. Whorls are the second most common type of fingerprint pattern. They form a circular pattern which sometimes look like a bull’s-eye on a dartboard. Arches are less common than loops and whorls. They form a wavelike pattern which begins on one side of the fingertip and ends on the other. Essay -- Forensic science is misleading because it suggests only one type of science is involved, but this is not the case. Forensic investigations can involve virtually any field of science and technology. There are many steps that have to be taken when leading a criminal investigation and investigating a crime scene. Firstly, detectives have to try and figure out why and how a crime was committed. They examine a crime scene looking for information or clues such as fingerprints, weapons, and DNA. They investigate the victims’ history to define why someone would want to harm them. After they have formed a hypothesis, they try to find proof that somebody committed a crime so that they can arrest the suspects. They look at both the cause and the actual evidence of the crime and try to see if their hypothesis makes sense. The suspects then enter the criminal justice system where they are tried using the evidence collected at the crime scene. Forensic investigations require skills of specially trained scientists, police, engineers, doctors and others. â€Å"These investigators observe all types of evidence, from weapons to bloodstains and from computers to bugs† (Erzinclioglu 5). The greater the evidence against a person, the greater the chance of conviction. Homicide detectives usually work in pairs and approach a crime scene with five basic questions: Did the death take place at the crime scene or elsewhere? Was there any attempt to alter the crime scene? Does the scene point to any particular activity such as drug abuse or burglary? Is the cause of death obvious? Are there sufficient clues pointing to how the death occurred? â€Å"Scene processing is the term practical to the series of steps taken to investigate a crime scene. Although the methods an... ...rams that improve and image by enhancing the contrast, which is the difference in color concentrations. Changing the brightness or dullness of the image. Increasing the resolution and sharpening or de- blurring the image. Fingerprints are a guaranteed method of identification because each person’s fingertips are unique and fingerprints don’t change throughout a person’s lifetime. Fingerprint ridges appear in three pattern types; loop, whorls, and arches. The most collective type of fingerprint pattern, loops begin at one side of the fingertip, double back, and exit on the same side. Whorls are the second most common type of fingerprint pattern. They form a circular pattern which sometimes look like a bull’s-eye on a dartboard. Arches are less common than loops and whorls. They form a wavelike pattern which begins on one side of the fingertip and ends on the other.

Pursuit of Happiness (Siddhartha Essay)

Throughout Herman Hesse’s novel, Siddhartha, Siddhartha defines his own happiness and Siddhartha does not let anything beside himself dictate his happiness. Throughout his journeys, Siddhartha becomes enlightened because of the way he can so easily find happiness. Siddhartha proves this through his life decisions that go against the grain of â€Å"normal† decision making. Siddhartha throws ideas of money out the window if it is not what is going to make him happy.After a long journey, Siddhartha is finally able to find his happiness. Everybody is always scrambling for happiness; however, there are only few who can actually obtain happiness. The story begins with the background of Siddhartha: son of a Brahmin, lots of friends, plenty of money and advantages in life. Yet, Siddhartha decides he wants to become a Samana. At this point in the story, Siddhartha is willing to do anything to get his father’s permission to become a Samana. Once he earns his father’ s blessing, Siddhartha becomes a Samana and leaves behind all the advantages he had in life. This shows that Siddhartha is not ruled by material things.Siddhartha shows that making decisions solely on what will make him happy is the true way to find happiness. With no regard for money or pleasing others, many would call Siddhartha selfish; however, any happy person must be selfish because if a person is not fulfilling his or her needs then he or she is not truly happy. On the other side, if someone is fulfilling his or her needs, he or she is, in some ways, selfish. In chapter eight, Siddhartha raves and is elated over a simple night’s sleep: â€Å"What a wonderful sleep it had been! Never had sleep so refreshed him, so renewed him, so rejuvenated him!Perhaps he had really died, perhaps he had been drowned and was reborn in another form. No, he recognized himself, he recognized his hands and feet, the place where he lay and the Self in his breast, Siddhartha, self-willed, in dividualistic. But this Siddhartha was somewhat changed, renewed. He had slept wonderfully. He was remarkably awake, happy and curious† (91). This shows that Siddhartha enjoys the simple things in life and he is happy. By the end of his life, Siddhartha is happy and enlightened; however, he is not unwaveringly happy throughout his life. Siddhartha goes through depression and even thoughts of suicide.After leaving his wife and child –Who once were what made him happy- Siddhartha contemplates suicide but after being found by the river,  Siddhartha realizes that life is worth living. He later discovers the beauty of depression: â€Å"’Things are going downhill with you!’ he said to himself, and laughed about it, and as he was saying it, he happened to glance at the river, and he also saw the river going downhill, always moving on downhill, and singing and being happy through it all. He liked this well, kindly he smiled at the river.Was this not the river i n which he had intended to drown himself, in past times, a hundred years ago, or had he dreamed this?† (96). Siddhartha goes from rich to poor to rich again to poor again, yet through almost every change in his life, Siddhartha remains happy. An unknowingly eerie real life comparison to Siddhartha is former NFL running back: Ricky Williams. Like Siddhartha, Ricky Williams went through life and did whatever made him happy and did not let outside influences make decisions for him since he simply did whatever made him the happiest. Williams, like Siddhartha, started his journey as a young man with many advantages.Being a superstar athlete, Williams received a full ride scholarship to the University of Texas. After three years of being the big man on campus, Williams entered the NFL draft in 1999 and was selected fifth overall by the New Orleans Saints. After three successful seasons with the Saints, Williams was traded to the Miami Dolphins. After testing positive for a couple of drug tests, Williams was faced with a short suspension. However, Ricky Williams shocked the world by announcing his retirement from football in the prime of his career, similar to Siddhartha’s choice to embark on Samana life. Williams was finding himself lost in superstardom and was no longer enjoying the game he so dearly loved.The Miami Dolphins demanded money back off of Williams’ contract claiming that he had not held up his end of the bargain. Williams did not care about the money though. In the next year Williams downgraded to a modest house and lived with his long time girlfriend. Williams even spent time living off the grid in Australia and struggled with diagnosed clinical depression problems. After a one-year sabbatical from the game, Williams returned to his homeland of happiness and played organized football for the next six years and made more money but only because he could; Williams could have played football for free because it was his true passion. Th is part in Williams’ life is similar to Siddhartha’s time spent with Kamala in the way that Siddhartha did become a wealthy business man but only because that was what made him happy.Siddhartha makes a similar decision as Williams when he says, â€Å"He could have remained much longer with Kamaswami, made and squandered money, fed his body and neglected his soul; he could have dwelt for a long time yet in that soft, well upholstered hell, if this had not happened: the moment of complete hopelessness and despair and the tense moment when he had bent over the flowing water, ready to commit suicide. This despair, this extreme nausea which he had experienced had not overpowered him. The bird, the clear spring and voice within him was still alive –that was why he rejoiced, that was why he laughed, that was why his face was radiant under his gray hair† (98).The point of the comparison is that even people who seem to have it all may be lacking happiness, which t o Siddhartha and Ricky Williams is the most important aspect of life. Williams’ life took him all sorts of ways and through years of trying to find inner peace he was able to be a happy man just like Siddhartha. As Siddhartha says in chapter nine, â€Å"my path had once led me from his hut to a new life which is now old and dead† (101). Siddhartha’s happiness is a vital theme throughout Hermann Hesse’s novel.Rightfully so, Hesse shows happiness as one of the main goals of life. Similarly to Siddhartha, Ricky Williams also displays happiness through almost all walks of life and they both prove that one must suffer and do some searching before finding his or her true happiness. Through disregard of others’ opinions and society’s view of happiness is the only way to find oneself and the only way that Siddhartha could find himself and reach enlightenment.

why barbarossa was expected essays

why barbarossa was expected essays Why was the German invasion of Russia to be expected? On June 22, 1941, the armies of Nazi-Germany stood on a two thousand kilometer long Front, preparing to attack Soviet-Russia. The inevitable assault on Russia was to finally satisfy an obsession of Adolph Hitler, the Nazi Fhrer. As for Joseph Stalin, the knowledge that three million men were standing on his front step about to break down his door should have come as no surprise. One of a number of acts by Hitler that should have alerted Stalin to possible invasion was the signing of the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact. The Fhrer signed simply to give his armies time to further prepare for war. Hitlers history of pact breaking, as demonstrated by the absolute dismantling of the Treaty of Versailles and his disregard for the non-aggression pact with Poland was indication enough that Hitler could not be trusted. In addition, as Germany absorbed more and more land it should have become obvious to Stalin that the next move on the part of the Nazis would be in the direction of Russia. Hit lers long standing desire for Russias industries and agricultural lands as part of his belief in lebensraum or living space, had been public knowledge since he wrote Mein Kampf some seventeen years before. The Fhrers obsession did not end at lebensraum though; his anti-Communist feelings were an important indicator of his desire to obliterate the degenerate Slavs and their Communist government. When Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact, he was at a point of almost desperation. He had tried again and again to convince Britain and France to open a second front and all he had received was a few mild mannered brush-offs. So instead of a second front he got a promise from the one person he was afraid of, that Russia would not be invaded. But what Stalin failed to see was the Hitler had no intension of keeping his promise. Hitler had a lo ...