Problems of Library Automation in Africa Essay Example for Free

Problems of Library Automation in Africa Essay In 1981, IBM introduced its personal computer (PC) for use in the home, office and schools. Prior to that time, there had been several MS-DOS compatible personal computers that ran DOS programs. As computers became more widespread in the workplace (ie. an independent agent’s office), new  ways to unleash their potential developed. As smaller computers became more powerful, they could be linked together, or networked, to share memory space, software and information, and communicate with each other. So where does the insurance industry enter the â€Å"automation† picture? A word from our sponsor: Whats so difficult about combining personal and commercial umbrella coverage? Not much. Get a quote online now! Independent agents have come a long way in using technology over the past 20 years. From the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, independent agents for the most part used PC-based automation systems to boost efficiency and cut costs. Since 1970, ACORD, a not-for-profit standards-setting association for the insurance industry, has been involved in automation. The association is comprised of carriers, agents, vendors, solution providers, associations and other interested parties. â€Å"We aren’t the ones who ‘built’ the automation system,† said Carolyn â€Å"Cal† Durland, managing director of Standards for ACORD. â€Å"What we did and still do is provide standards-Forms and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) upon which the vendors or solution providers base their automation systems.† She explained that to find out how the industry became automated, one must look to the vendors and solution providers. In 1972, the first ACORD form, a property loss notice, went into use. Today, ACORD’s standards include Forms, AL3 (Automation Level 3), XML, OLife and ObjX. The Forms are point of sale, data collection vehicles, AL3 is ACORD’s EDI standard (or machine-to-machine, business-to-business, data transmission formats or components), OLife is a data integration standard and ObjX is â€Å"much more than EDI.† In the 1980s-when the number of PCs in use increased dramatically-ACORD members asked for standardized electronic transmissions between the agents’  computers and the carriers’ computers. â€Å"The industry has come to ACORD to consolidate efforts to eliminate duplication of work,† Durland said. â€Å"For example, without one approved, countrywide ACORD application, all of the 2,400-plus insurance carriers would have to have their own form. And the vendors or solution providers who automate those forms would have to customize each form.† Now that ACORD and the industry are working hand-in-hand, there is one form accepted and used by many of those carriers. In addition, the vendors or solution providers have the option to become licensed by ACORD to redistribute the Forms. â€Å"ACORD provides them with tools†¦to print the ACORD Forms,† Durland said. â€Å"ACORD’s Forms efforts have stripped the costs out of this distribution channel.† According to Durland, in the same manner that the industry came together with ACORD to do Forms, they have also worked to develop EDI Standards. â€Å"Through our subcommittee process and strict compliance to anti-trust guidelines, we bring together carriers, agents, vendors, solution providers and other interested parties to discuss what is needed to transmit the data collected,† she said. Change is good The industry on the whole, according to Durland, is slow to make changes, â€Å"although there are some carriers that have the resources to be on the leading edge of technology.† The beginning was a bit archaic. â€Å"Carriers realized the benefits of automation and developed proprietary systems that they placed in the agents’ offices,† Durland said. â€Å"This resulted in the agents having to physically go from one terminal to another to interface with the carriers automating their process.† With the inception of the agency management vendors and ACORD’s standards implemented in those systems, the agents were conceptually able to eliminate  those proprietary terminals and work through one system. â€Å"This concept called SEMCI, Single Entry Multiple Company Interface, allowed the agents to keep the data in one place and transmit it electronically to any of the carriers it was licensed to represent,† Durland explained. One step forward, two steps back Ten years ago, when Durland joined ACORD, there were many agency management systems attempting to enable SEMCI. â€Å"Today, due to acquisitions and mergers, there are three primary vendors and a few smaller ones,† she said. â€Å"SEMCI is still the goal for the agents and the carriers. However, with the inception of Web enabled processes, the carriers-in an effort to streamline their costs-reverted back to proprietary applications. â€Å"Those leading edge carriers put up Web sites that required the agent to go to the site and enter the information. So instead of going to a separate terminal in their office, they now had to connect to a Web site and rekey the data that was already in their databases.† This resulted in the acceptance of the new standard XML. â€Å"XML is a standard that enables connectivity between Web applications and agency management systems, in addition to business-to-business, business-to-customer, etc.,† Durland said. The goal to secure SEMCI, according to Durland, can still happen with the implementation of XML. â€Å"Plus it broadens the trading partner base to be more than the agent to insurance carrier,† she said. A push for implementation In the 1990s, implementation guides were written and a certification process was developed. Today, there are more than 12,000 upload and 40,000 download implementations using AL3 standards. AL3 continues to evolve and there are new implementations every day, including using AL3 standards over the Internet. Ever since the dawn of the industry’s automation, forms standardization  continued and still continues to be an important focus for ACORD as the standards-setting association works with many different trading partners within the industry. Today there are roughly 400 ACORD forms. And although it’s important to note how many forms there are, what is even more important to note is the fact that these ACORD forms have eliminated or prevented 80,000 proprietary forms-saving the industry millions of dollars. Communicating on a global basis According to Durland, ACORD has staff dedicated to building relationships with other standards-setting organizations. The fact is, the industry handles business on a global basis, so it just makes sense that the goal is to be able to communicate on a global basis. As an example, Durland pointed out that carriers write coverage for properties owned by people all over the world. In turn, these carriers work with other carriers or reinsurers to share the exposure. When asked why it is so important for the industry to be automated, Durland said, â€Å"Automation strips costs out of workflows.† Simply put, to only have to go to one place for information and to be able to service customers quickly and efficiently is key. â€Å"For example, the agent and carrier agree to indemnify the customer if they have a loss which is covered under their policy. The customer pays a fee based on that promise. When the loss occurs, they want someone to handle it promptly†¦to be given information on the progression of the resolution and be paid or have the item replaced ASAP,† Durland said. Automation makes it possible. â€Å"With the technology and automation available to us today, the opportunities to share information are unlimited,† Durland said. â€Å"The industry realizes that and is working together to figure out how to communicate electronically  with each other.†

Torsional, Axial and Lateral Bottom Hole Assembly Vibrations

Torsional, Axial and Lateral Bottom Hole Assembly Vibrations Experimental investigation of torsional, axial and lateral bottom hole assembly vibrations 1. Introduction Introduction The oil and gas industry is one of the largest and the most globalized industry in the world. Petroleum products include plastics, fuels, ointments and many more. With increases in world population, consumption and demand of petroleum products have increased. Primarily petroleum products are used as energy sources. With an increase in demand, different, unconventional sources are being explored. Drilling in itself is a complex process due to the unknown formations in the earth. A hole is drilled in the earth with a bit, and tubulars are attached to it to provide axial force and rotation. The tubulars are hollow through which the drilling fluid is circulated to extract the cut rock. Once the hole is drilled, the bit and tubulars are taken out, and a larger tubular is pushed down the hole and cemented around the annulus to stop the hole from caving in. The process is the same as drilling a water well but with greater depth, pressures, temperatures and complexities. Some of the oil and gas sources are too deep or too complex to be explored, but with advanced technological development in drilling, extended reach, multilateral and horizontal wells, it is now possible to extract unconventional oil and gas. Vibrations When an entity oscillates around its equilibrium point, the entity is said to be in vibration. In most of the cases vibrations are undesirable, as they cause harm to the system and dissipate energy. When force or energy is imparted to a system, vibrations occur. In absence of external excitation, the vibrations are called free vibrations. Systems in state of free vibrations oscillate with natural frequencies, which are dependent on the properties of system. With the presence of external excitation, vibrations experienced by the system are called forced vibrations. Vibrations become increasingly large and are most damaging when the excitation frequency is close to one of the natural frequencies. This phenomenon is called resonance. When there is an energy dissipation from the system in terms of heat, sound, friction or any other method, the resulting vibrations are called damped vibrations. The drillstring assembly is a very long, slender system prone to excessive vibration due to the various forces acting on it. Primary forces on the BHA are torque due to rotation and bit rock interaction, axial forces due to gravity and lateral forces due to bending of the long pipe and hitting the walls of the borehole. Types of Drillstring Vibrations Drillstring vibrations are categorized based on the forces acting on it, which are Torsional, Axial and Lateral forces. These forces correspond to the three types of vibration: 1) Torsional vibrations, 2) Axial vibrations and 3) Lateral vibrations. Torsional Vibrations: Drillstring is rotated from the surface to provide torque or shear force to cut the rock. 3. Experimental Setup A lab-scale drilling rig was constructed for the purpose of competing in Drillbotics International Student Competition. OU Drillbotics team participated and won the competition in 2015. The budget restrictions limited the quality and quantity of sensors mounted on the rig. The rig was upgraded in 2016 with the additional budget. The following sections describe the rig setup and sensors installed, dividing them based on the systems: (i) Rig Structure, (ii) Hoisting System, (iii) Rotary System, (iv) Circulation System, (v) Measurement, Instrumentation and Control System and (vi) Drillstring Assembly. Rig Structure Rig Structure consists of three major parts: substructure, mast and travelling block. Rig Substructure In-house built structures have been found to be significantly cheaper than readymade structures in the market. Moreover, the former provides flexibility in the selection of dimensions, load ratings and design styles. This substructure was designed to pass through doors, so the rig could be used for future educational purposes. The rig substructure was constructed using 1ÂÂ ½ square-iron tubing with overall dimensions of 84 x 27 x 36. To allow rig mobility, five commercial grade caster wheels were installed, each with load capacity of 1000 lbs. A 47 x 27 shelf made of ÂÂ ¼ thick iron sheet was added for installation of circulation system and electrical box. This left the rig with a space of 37 x 27 x 36 to accommodate the rock sample. 3.1.2 Mast A mast of cantilever design was constructed out of Aluminium, as shown in Fig. 3.1. Figure 3.1: Rig mast laid down on the substructure top Constructing the mast with aluminium reduced the weight by 2.5 times to that made by steel. A 10-inch-wide C-Channel was supported by two 90 angle bars. The base was attached to the table with hinges for reclining and easy transport of the rig. 3.1.3 Travelling Block The travelling block slides on a pair of linear guide rails attached to the mast. Linear roller bearings or pillow blocks attached to the back of the travelling block provide near smooth motion. Two horizontal plates were bolted on the vertical plate. The upper plate acted as a mount for the AC motor and lower plate supported the swivel. A torque sensor was placed in between motor shaft and swivel. The total weight of the travelling block was measured to be 77.72 lbs. Figure 3.2: Travelling Block Assembly 3.2 Hoisting System Hoisting system components include a double acting air cylinder, pneumatic lines, a couple of pneumatic convertors (Fig. A.1 and Fig. A.2) and a compressed air supply line. Regulated compressed air-line up to 130 psi was hooked up to the pneumatic convertors. Two pneumatic lines from the convertors of maximum capacity 120 psi controlled the air flow and connected to the inlet ports of the dual acting piston. Dual acting air piston has a 1.125 inch bore and a 36-inch stroke length. The system has a capacity to hoist a load of 119.28 lbs. 3.3 Rotary System A top drive system was installed with a 1 HP motor and a maximum RPM of 1170 on the motor mount of the travelling block. The motor shaft is connected to the omega torque sensor via a spring coupling. The torque sensor has a rotating shaft to shaft configuration with an operating speed of 5000 RPM. The torque sensor is connected to the swivel via another spring coupling. The swivel was designed and fabricated in-house with pressure rating of 300 psi and brass outer body for corrosion resistance. The chrome plated rod is wear-resistant to the abrasion of the seals. Swivel rod is attached to an adapter at the base of the bottom plate. A four bolt flange mounted ball bearing prevents any load from being transmitted to the rotary assembly. 3.4 Circulation System It is important to remove cuttings from the hole to drill further ahead. To accomplish this, water, oil and foam based drilling fluids were taken into consideration. Water from the city line without any additives was chosen as drilling fluid after taking cost of a closed loop system for recirculation and cost of additives and base fluids into account. It was also assumed that the effect of drilling fluid on drillstring vibrations was negligible. A roller pump with a pressure rating of 300 psi was installed to circulate the water down the drillstring assembly. A 1.5 HP 3-phase motor powers the pump. The Omega digital display flow meter, which was installed after the pump, can monitor flowrate up to 15 GPM. Pressure monitoring is done by a pressure transducer of rating 500 psi. Pressure fluctuation of up to 50 psi was observed due to intermittent flow supplied by the roller pump. A pressure dampener was built with spare couplings and installed upstream to the flow meter. This provided smooth and stable flow. An analog pressure gauge was mounted atop the dampener to monitor fluctuation. Rubber hose with a pressure rating of 300 psi connects the flow meter with the swivel. Drilling fluid from the swivel then flows into the drillstring and comes out of the bit nozzles and out of the hole through the annulus. As the drilling fluid is just water, it is passed down the sewer line along with the cuttings and not recirculated. 3.5 Measurement, Instrumentation and Control System The Measurement, Instrumentation and Control system is the most important system in the automated rig. The sensors are mounted on the rig at various places for different functions. They provide analog data to the data acquisition module Omega DAQ-3001. An electrical box is mounted at the bottom shelf for shielding the card and other signal conditioners from electrical interference. The data from the DAQ module transfers into the desktop computer, which is installed on the rig structure for control of the automated rig and storage and display of data. Excel-based VBA program is used for the operation of the rig. 3.5.1 Measurement Sensors Following are the sensors installed on the rig to monitor performance of the rig and drilling process. 3.5.1.1 Displacement Laser Sensor An aluminum strip is attached to the top of the travelling block with a reflective tape stuck on it. A Banner laser sensor is mounted about 0.5 inches above the travelling block on the mast. It can measure maximum displacement up to 3.93 inches with an accuracy between 0.019 inch to 0.039 inch. 3.5.1.2 Lateral Vibration Laser Sensor To measure lateral vibrations of the drillstring, an xyz laser sensor is used. It can measure distance from 1.57 inch to 6.29 inch with an accuracy of less than 20 micrometer. The sensor was earlier mounted on an aluminium plate attached to the travelling assembly. But the strip was long and excessive vibrations due to bit rock interaction caused the strip to vibrate at high amplitude, providing inconclusive and erroneous data. Hence the mounting structure was made of a square iron tubing to give a sturdier structure. The vibration amplitude was then reduced and could be observed only at excessive vibrations due to higher RPM and WOB. 3.5.1.3 Optical RPM Sensor An LED-based, reflective type optical RPM sensor, which can measure up to 15000 RPM, is mounted on the cage of swivel. Reflective tape is stuck on the spring coupling between the swivel and torque sensor. The sensor is mounted at an angle so that the reflective area increases for better measurement. 3.5.1.4 Torque Sensor It is assumed that torque measured by the torque sensor is the torque due to bit-rock interaction. An Omega rotating shaft to shaft torque sensor has been mounted above the swivel with a torque rating of 64 inch-pounds. 3.5.1.5 Axial Vibration Sensor An axial vibration senor is installed at the bottom plate of the travelling block adjacent to the flange mounted ball bearing. The VBT-1 vibration sensor has a micro-electro-mechanical system which sends a voltage proportional to the vibration velocity to the data acquisition module. It measures vibration velocity from 0-25 mm/sec. 3.6 Drillstring Assembly The drillstring assembly comprises of 3 parts, Aluminum pipe, bit sub and bit. The pipe is made of Aluminum 6061 with an OD of 0.375 inch and a thickness of 0.035 inch. Both ends of the pipe have 3/8 NPT male compression fittings attached on it. It is connected on one end to 3/8 NPT female brass adapter which is connected to the swivel rod and other end is connected to 3/8 NPT female bitsub. The bit sub is made out of stainless steel for corrosion resistance. It has 3/8 female NPT threads on both ends. A roller sleeve with OD of 1.1 inch and ID of 0.9 inch is slide upon the bit sub to act as a stabilizer and provide smooth rotation. It has a counter bore to place constriction of various sizes to change pressure drop in the system. The bit is fabricated in house using stainless steel round bar and machined to replicate the baker huges bit provided for the competition. The cutters were bought from vendors and the OD of the cutters available was 0.5 inch. They are made out of carbide as opposed to the diamond cutters provided and also wears down faster. The cutters are screwed on the cutter faces and are replaceable. 4. Methodology This chapter describes the procedure of the experiments performed and the data collected. It also talks about some assumptions, sensor calibration and data analysis. 4.1 Experimental Procedure The rig and all its components are powered on and the Excel program initiated. The program has a separate sheet which takes the variables of the experimental run as an input. The only variables changed for the set of experiments are RPM and WOB. Another variable, which is the height at which the string starts to rotate was also been varied but it did not have any effect on the data. A pilot hole of 1.25-inch diameter and 1-inch depth was drilled into the rock sample using a coring bit and hammer-chisel to insert a guide shoe in the hole. The 6-inch long guide shoe acted as a borehole wall and prevented bit walking. Using a level indicator, the rock sample was adjusted to be horizontal. The drillstring was the attached to the swivel adapter and rig was then slid over the rock to align the drillstring and the guide shoe. Using the leveling screws the rig was jacked up to be horizontal. The inlet air pressure line and water line were opened up. Once all experimental variables were set, the program was initiated using the Start button. The first step of the program was to hoist the travelling block to the topmost position. At this point a safety bar used to keep the travelling block hoisted was taken away. The travelling block slowly lowered down and once the bit was inside the guide shoe, top-drive motor and pump motor got activated and string started to rotate along with water pressurized inside the pipe. The bit gradually touched the rock and drilling process began. A trial run was carried out to check if the systems were working properly and data was being collected. A couple of millimeters were drilled during the trial run so that the hole got initiated. After a trial run, experimental runs were carried out. Each experiment was run for 6 min and stopped using the Stop button in the program. The pump stopped pumping fluid and drillstring stopped rotation. Travelling block was gradually lifted up to the topmost position. After that new experimental variables were set and the next run was carried out. Experiments were performed on 2 different rock samples. First set on a very hard and compacted sandstone and the other on a very soft unconsolidated sandstone. UCS of the hard sandstone ranged from 6000 to 9500 psi while UCS for the soft sandstone ranged from 2000 to 5000 psi. 4.2 Data, Collection and Analysis Data was continuously collected by Omega data acquisition system module and stored in an excel sheet. The data of interest were WOB, RPM, Torque, Axial Vibrations, Lateral Vibrations and ROP. Different plots were generated against variables of interest to observe dependency and behavior of the variable under investigation. 4.2.1 WOB and RPM Data WOB is an independent variable with respect to our investigation. WOB was measured using a load cell attached to the back travelling block connecting the piston. The calibration of WOB was carried out in the following procedure. The rig was slid on a weighing scale. A set number of values were entered for voltage sent to the bottom pneumatic convertors. A constant voltage of 2 volts was sent to the top pneumatic convertor to provide a constant pressure of 20 psi resistance against erratic bouncing and to provide a constant friction between piston and cylinder walls in either direction. Reading on the weighing scale was recoded as WOB. Initially the WOB calibration was performed in a static condition. It was observed that WOB reading during the experiment was different than the expected values based on calibration. It was assumed that the change of conditions from static to dynamic was the cause of difference. Hence to simulate dynamic conditions while calibration, rig was constantly hammered down with a mallet to cause the rig to vibrate and negate static friction. The stabilized reading on the scale was used for calibration. But hammering still did not replicate the vibrations happening during the drilling process and hence the WOB measurement by the load cell was different from expected based on the calibration. Hence average value of the WOB was calculated for complete experimental run and considered as the WOB which is being exerted on the rock for cutting process. The average WOB observed had a change of 19.9 % to -20.6 % from the expected input values. In actual drilling process, the WOB is never constant. As the drilling proceeds the WOB decreases and driller lowers the drill string to increase and maintain the set WOB. Hence a ÂÂ ± 20 % change from the set point is acceptable. RPM data was obtained from the optical RPM sensor which was calibrated using a handheld RPM sensor. At lower RPM the error was around 8 % and at higher RPM it lowered down to 0.5 %. So at lower levels the set point was decreased by 4 to compensate for the error. 4.2.2 Torque, Axial and Lateral Vibration Data A rotating shaft to shaft torque sensor was placed in between the motor and swivel with a spring coupling on each end. Torque was calibrated using a torque wrench. When run at idle conditions without any drilling action, torque reading obtained was assumed to be friction. That extra torque of 1.114 inch pounds was assumed to be a side force or the friction inside the swivel and other rotating parts such as the flange mounted ball bearing. A laser displacement senor was attached to the mast to detect the magnitude of lateral vibrations. It was aimed at the center of the drillstring such the pipe was always in range of the laser. The laser sensor was kept 4 inches away from the center of pipe. NPT connections are inherently non concentric and causes non-alignment of pipe. The pipe wobbled due to non-alignment and it oscillated far and near to the sensor. Hence there was a negative and a positive value for displacement. The most negative value of the displacement was used as a reference zero and complete data was shifted towards positive with -0.24165 inch as a reference zero. Greater the magnitude, pipe travelled farther away from the sensor indicating higher lateral vibrations. An axial vibration sensor was attached to the bottom plate of the travelling block. It had micro-electro-mechanical system inside to detect the vibration speed and send a proportional voltage signal for measurement. The sensor came calibrated from the manufacturer and it had a direct vibration-velocity to voltage relationship provided by the manufacturer. 4.2.3 ROP data ROP was directly calculated by the program by dividing the depth drilled by the time it took to drill and stored in the Excel sheet. As the Hard sandstone was difficult to drill the sensor could not measure any significant change in drilled depth along with the vibrations of the assembly and the error in measurement. Hence ROP data for Hard sandstone is not taken into consideration. Soft sandstone data was collected and analyzed for effect of vibrations and other parameters. 4.3 Data Analysis Data was collected from the point where the bit touches the rock to the point when the program was stopped. All experiments were run for 6 minutes in which an average of 100 data points were collected in an excel sheet. An average of those data was calculated and stored. Average values of torque, axial vibrations and lateral vibrations were plotted against RPM and WOB separately. A trend of data was analyzed based on the plots. With increase of RPM, change of torque, axial and lateral vibration was observed. Same practice was carried out for WOB. The plots are shown in Appendix B. 5. Results and Discussions Torsional Vibrations Hard Sandstone: Looking at the plots (Fig. 5.1), with an increase in RPM at constant WOB, torque gradually increases. At around 300 RPM, there is a sudden increase in some cases which then decreases. This behavior is unexpected and no conclusion has been found for the reason for the abnormality. It can be assumed that there would be some abnormally hard layer during drilling due to which such an increase is observed as no such trend was observed in the uniform soft sandstone. But general trend is a gradual increase in torque with an increase of RPM at constant WOB. No oscillation of torque was observed indicating absence of stick-slip. Figure 5.1: Torque vs. RPM plot at constant WOB for experiments on hard sandstone At constant RPM, with increase in WOB there is a gradual increase in torque (Fig. 5.2). No specific trend for RPM is observed as some of the low RPM cases also have higher torque than high RPM cases. Figure 5.2: Torque vs. WOB plot at constant RPM for experiments on hard sandstone Soft sandstone: Observing the plot for soft sandstone (Fig. 5.3), a gradual increase in torque was observed with increase in ROM at constant WOB. No oscillation of torque was observed indicating absence of stick-slip. Figure 5.3: Torque vs. RPM plot at constant WOB for experiments on soft sandstone There is a clear and distinct trend for increase in torque with increase in WOB at constant RPM (Fig. 5.4). Figure 5.4: Torque vs. WOB plot at constant RPM for experiments on soft sandstone Lateral Vibrations Hard Sandstone: Plot (Fig. 5.5) shows that there is a gradual increase of torque with increase in RPM at constant WOB. Figure 5.5: Lateral Vibrations vs. RPM plot at constant WOB for experiments on hard sandstone No general trend is observed for initial low WOB experiments (Fig. 5.6). With increase in WOB the lateral vibrations decreased in low RPM case and increased in high RPM cases. Figure 5.6: Lateral Vibrations vs. WOB plot at constant RPM for experiments on hard sandstone Soft sandstone: There is a general trend of increase of lateral vibrations with increase in RPM (Fig. 5.7) but it is not as significant as in hard sandstone. Figure 5.7: Lateral Vibrations vs. RPM plot at constant WOB for experiments on soft sandstone The data is too scattered to find a general trend for effect of WOB on lateral vibrations at constant RPM (Fig. 5.8). However, the trend at higher WOB shows a decrease in lateral vibrations. This can be attributed to the stiffening of the pipe due to higher axial load OR the pipe is bent and misaligned is making it bend more on the sensor side decreasing the deflection. Figure 5.8: Lateral Vibrations vs. WOB plot at constant RPM for experiments on soft sandstone Axial Vibrations Hard Sandstone: Axial vibrations follow a similar trend to torque (Fig. 5.9). With an increase in RPM, axial vibrations increased. Similar to the trend for torque, some cases have abnormally high vibration magnitude at 300 RPM which can be attributed to abnormally hard layer of formation. Figure 5.9: Axial Vibrations vs. RPM plot at constant WOB for experiments on hard sandstone Following the general trend axial vibrations increased with an increase in WOB at constant RPM (Fig. 5.10). Figure 5.10: Axial Vibrations vs. WOB plot at constant RPM for experiments on hard sandstone Soft sandstone: With increase in RPM, axial vibrations increased (Fig. 5.11). However for soft sandstone the trend do not resemble the trend in torque. In fact, it resembles more to the trend in ROP (Fig. B.10). There is a sudden increase in axial vibrations at 700 rpm and then it decreases gradually. Figure 5.11: Axial Vibrations vs. RPM plot at constant WOB for experiments on soft sandstone The data is too scattered to find a general trend for relationship between WOB and axial vibrations (Fig. 5.12). Figure 5.12: Axial Vibrations vs. WOB plot at constant RPM for experiments on soft sandstone 5.4 Effect on ROP Hard Sandstone: No significant data available for any analysis. Soft sandstone: ROP increases with an increase in RPM at constant WOB (Fig. 5.13). It peaks at around 700 RPM and then it decreases. Figure 5.13: ROP vs. RPM plot at constant WOB for experiments on soft sandstone At higher RPM, higher WOB has an increased effect on ROP (Fig. 5.14). But no dependence of WOB can be seen at lower values of RPM. Figure 5.14: ROP vs. WOB plot at constant RPM for experiments on soft sandstone 6. Conclusions and Recommendations Conclusions At constant WOB, with increase in RPM, increase in lateral vibrations in hard sandstone is higher than in soft sandstone which indicates that lateral vibrations also depend on type of formation. Axial vibrations are highly dependent on torque. No matter what RPM, WOB or the formation type is taken into account if there a change in torque, corresponding change will be observed in axial vibrations. WOB has less effect on excitation of axial vibrations in soft rocks and more effect in hard rocks. Hence the setpoint WOB should be decreased for drilling into hard rocks. RPM of 700 is the highest RPM which can be used to obtain highest ROP without taking the increased vibrations into account. Increase of RPM further lowers the ROP which can be attributed to such increased vibrations and velocities that the bit does not get enough time to contact and drag the rock surface. 6.2 Recommendations and Future Work Although the design of the rig was optimized, there is always room for improvement. With an increase in budget and limited design constraints, the rig can be constructed better. Following are the recommendations for upgrading the rig. The software program used for the control algorithm can be upgraded to Labview or Dasylab which are more user friendly for programming the automation and control architechture. Using Labview or Dasy lab will allow to operate on a faster computer with a recent operating system which will help in faster data collection and storage. A vibrating element can be attached to the travelling block when WOB calibration is performed so that error due to change in friction values can be negated. The spring couplings attached to the torque can be upgraded with a higher torque rating to prevent failure at higher vibrations. A stable support structure for the torque sensor and laser deflection sensor can be provided. If the bit can be obtained or manufactured with diamond coated cutters, then a set of experiments can be designed where relationship could be examined between RPM, WOB and the depth of cut. Forward and backward whirl characterization experiments could be performed with improved sensors for detection of whirl rates. Hammering action can be included in the drilling action and its effect on ROP, lateral vibrations, torque and axial vibrations could be analyzed. References Braun, Simon G. Ewins, David J. Rao, Singiresu S.. (2002). Encyclopedia of Vibration, Volumes 1-

Theorists Impact on Teaching and Learning

Theorists Impact on Teaching and Learning The government aims to support and develop childrens learning; these include the Plowden Report (1967), The National Curriculum (1999), a more recent review known as the Rose Review (2009) and The Primary Cambridge Review (2009). These reviews were heavily influenced by both Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. This assignment will compare two learning theorists and the impact they have on teaching and learning. My main focus will be on Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky however Jerome Bruner will also be mentioned. Firstly, the assignment will describe and critically analyse Jean Piagets theory of cognitive development. Secondly, I will describe and critically analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Lev Vygotskys theory of socio cognitive development. Both learning theorists will be examined and compared along with the implications they have on effective teaching practice. I will then move on to evaluate the impact it has on an individual child in terms of teaching and learning, taking their development needs into account as well as talking about maturation of the child. The school will also be mentioned throughout this assignment. The name of both the child and the school will not be disclosed due to privacy. I will also discover the factors that influence teaching and learning in the four main subjects, these include: Literacy, Numeracy/Mathematics, Science and ICT. Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a biologist who moved into studying developments of childrens understanding by the age of 21, this was done through observation, speaking and listening to the children on a task that he had set. Piagets work on childrens intellectual development owed much to his early studies of water snails (Satterly, 1987, p. 622) Piaget was a well known French speaking Swiss theorist who believed that children learn by active knowledge through hands on experience. To do this the adult should provide the right materials to allow the child to interact and construct effectively. His views on how a childs mind functions and develops had a great influence especially in education theory. He mainly focused on child maturation to increase the understanding of their world; children cannot carry out certain tasks until they are psychologically mature enough to do so (Child-Development-Guide, 2010). Piaget believed that childrens thinking does not develop smoothly throughout childhood as there are certain points in which it expands and progresses into new aims and capabilities. The transitions took place at about 18 months, 7 years and 11/12 years of age; this meant that before these ages, no matter how bright a child is he/she is not capable of understanding things in certain ways. Piaget used Socratic questioning to get the children to think more about what exactly they are asking or thinking about, the aim of this was to get children to see contradictions in their explanations. Piagets theory of cognitive development was the central structure to his theory. The acquisition of knowledge in childhood which included processes such as understanding, reasoning, thinking, problem solving, learning, conceptualising and remembering, as a whole understanding all the aspects of human intelligence that are used to make sense of the world. Cognitive development is purely concerned with intellectual functions that can be studied individually from socio-economical functions (Atherton, J. 2010) Cognitive structures are patterns of physical or mental action which correspond to the stages of child development. Both Piaget and Vygotsky believe that childrens cognitive development takes place in stages. However Piaget was the first to show that children go through different stages of cognitive development. According to Piaget there are four primary development stages, these include: sensorimotor, preoperations, concrete operations and formal operations. The sensorimotor stage ranges from 0 to 2 years; this is where intelligence takes the form of motor actions. By the actions they perform in their environment through sucking, watching, biting and a number of other responses they may perform. According to a test undertaken by Piaget the child will look for an object that s/he has seen being hidden, this occurs when a child is around 8 months old. Intelligence in the pre-operation period consists of 2 to 7 year olds. At this age the children are capable of using symbols such as words and images to make sense of the world, imaginative play is used and they can tell the difference between fantasy and reality. The child can see a situation from another persons point of view, this is known as egocentrism. According to Piaget, the egocentric child thinks that others see, hear and feel exactly the same as s/he does. REF! bbc article The cognitive structure during the concrete operational stage consists of 7 to 11 year olds. Children need a number of mental operations such as classification and conservation so they can mentally manipulate symbols in different ways. Conversion is when the child has to ability to understand that redistributing material does not affect its mass, number or volume. By the age of 7, the child should understand that when a liquid is poured into a glass of different shape or size the quantity of liquid remains the same, only the appearance changes REF. The final stage is the formal operations which consist of 11 to 15 year olds. At this age children are capable of mental operations including abstractions and logical reasoning (Schaffer 2004, p.168). The mind of a child who is 11 years or older can carry out mathematical calculations, be creative, have accurate reasoning and imagine the outcome of specific actions REF. After analysing Piagets theory, I believe that his four stages of development and the structure of teaching is closely linked. The sensorimotor stage fits in to the early years foundation stage (EYFS) where children mainly learn by playing and exploring the facilities around them. In the nursery and reception classes of the school, the children have a variety of continuous provisions areas within the classroom that relate to the real world such as shops, post office and kitchens. This allows the children to explore role play and discover real life situations. Tasks are set up to allow the children to explore freely whilst the teacher observes the childrens involvement in the activity (EYFS, 2010, online). This relates to the principle of enabling environments in the EYFS themes: The environment plays a key role in supporting and extending childrens development and learning (EYFS, 2010, online). The second stage links to children who are in key stage 1 (KS1). The children develop words that support play with ideas. The school has a shop corner which contains a till, plastic shopping basket with play foods and plastic money, this allows the children to play within the shop and explore the money. I believe this allows the children to learn as well as play as its leveled at their ability. It is important to give the children real life situations and problem solving as the skills can be applied throughout their learning and help them develop into mature adults. Providing the children with hands on experience in certain areas of the curriculum such as EYFS, mathematics and literacy has been taken from Piagets theory. The child is observed during a practical activity and his/her engagement and communication skills are recorded (Briggs et al, 2005, p.27). I feel it is important that EYFS, key stage one and key stage two should be closely linked and flexible so the child has the correct skills and knowledge throughout the stages to build their confidence and succeed in the future. As part of a Literacy topic the children had to act out Goldilocks and the three bears. They were put in groups and were given a script. The children had to read the script and act it out. This provided the teacher with information on each childs cognitive ability and allowed her to assess and set targets for each child. The concrete operational stage ties in with KS2. However, after observing a key stage two there is a change in terms of teaching style and the activities undertaken in EYFS and KS1 The aim of KS2 is to develop the logical process in the learning. Every week the children carry out guided reading, this differentiates from fiction to nonfiction depending on the ability of the child. The children have to read and make sense of the book in order to answer related questions. Finally, the formal operations stage links to KS3 and consists of children working independently and building on existing knowledge. Piagets theory allows the child to learn actively and gain knowledge from any mistakes that they make. However, I feel that Piagets methods are underestimated and may have a huge impact on learning. When learning the core subjects mainly Literacy and Mathematics, Piagets theory ignored the social aspects of the child which unvalued the importance knowledge and culture which led to underestimating the ability of the children. His is widely used in a number of schools, however I strongly feel that the teaching should cover a wider range including the external factors and the environment especially the social and emotional aspects of learning (Isaacs, 1929). On the other hand Vygotsky believed that a childs learning cannot be separated from its social context. An example of the importance social context has is Piagets three mountain experiment. Piaget concluded that children are unable to see things from another persons perspective (Schaffer, 2004, p.174). In the experiment he used 3 mountains of different sizes and children aged from four to twelve years old. The children sat on one side of the mountain and a doll was placed on the other side. The children were then shown photographs of the mountains from different positions and were asked to choose a photograph the doll can see from her position. Piaget found that children under seven years of age could not see things from another persons perspective therefore were egocentric (Wood, 1998, p. 66). However the appropriateness of the three mountain experiment was questioned. Borke states that children performed poorly due to unfamiliarity and not motivating enough for the children to complete successfully (Smith et al. 1998). When the experiment was repeated by Hughes (Donaldson, 1987, p.137) using a policeman and a doll. The children were asked where the doll should hide so the policeman does not find her; he found that nearly ninety nice percent of children aged five were correct. He concluded that if the child is given a familiar situation he/she will think objectively. Cognitive structures change through the following processes: adaptation, assimilation and accommodation. Adaptation is found in all biological organisms to adjust to the demands of the environment, assimilation involves the individual to incorporate new experiences into existing schemas and accommodation is where the individual modifies existing schemas to fit the new experiences (Schaffer, 2004, p.165). This relates to other learning theorists in terms of constructivist perspectives of learning including Jerome Bruner and Lev Vygotsky. However researchers have found it difficult to measure developmental processes: assimilation, accommodation and equilibration. They found it difficult to identify processes that are central to Piagets theory (Meadows 1993, p.19). Piaget claims that his stages are universal regardless of culture, this has also been questioned as a number of studies show that children are able to reach stages earlier that Piaget has stated (Bower, 1974). A three month old baby was shown a toy that was covered by a screen, when the screen was moved the toy had vanished and in another condition the toy was still there. The babies heart rate was measured both when the toy was there and when the toy disappeared. The results showed that there was greater change in heart rate when the toy disappeared. The toy was replaced with different objects and Bower (1971) found that babies show more surprise. Schaffer (2004, p. 184) felt that Piaget under estimated the abilities of children. Applying Piagets theory requires specific recommendations for a certain stage in the cognitive development. For children who are at the sensorimotor stage, adults should provide them with a rich and motivating environment and a number of objects to play with. However a child who is at the concrete operational stage should be provided with activities in which they can classify problems, order and location of concrete objects. This allows the adult to see the different explanations the children at different stages of cognitive development will come up with. The activities or situations given should engage the learners and requires adaptation such as assimilation and accommodation. The learning materials given to the children should be relevant and should involve the right level of motor or mental operations for a child depending on his/her age (McLeod, S.A. 2007). Another critic of Piaget is that he used his own three children for many of his experiments and observations not thinking about the culture they came from (Smith, et al 2003, p. 412). Due to this he failed to take children from different backgrounds into account. A larger sample with children from various backgrounds should have been used to get a more accurate and generalised result. Piagets theory received a number of critics however his work had a major influence in the education sector. He disliked the idea of children being taught sat at desks, listening and transmitting information the teacher gives. Piaget believed that children learn through discovery, the task should be set by the teacher and children should be left to discover, any mistakes the children make should provide useful information on the childs cognitive development. Also for the correct answers, the process of how the child worked out the correct answer should be investigated (Smith et al, 2003, p.388). The curriculum is set out in a sequence, particularly in the core subjects such as mathematics and science. This is influenced by Piagets theory. The choice of learning objectives, curriculum sequencing, grade placements of topics, the assessment of childrens intellectual functioning and teaching methodology (Murray, 1985, p.291) It is important that the class teacher knows at what stage of cognitive development each child is at as it is an important aspect in Piagets theory. This also has an impact on pedagogy as teachers have to change their teaching style to enhance the childs development. The second theorist i will be critically analysing is Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934). He was born in Russia in the same year as Piaget. He studied law and graduated at Moscow University. He then went on the study a Ph.D in Literature and Linguistics. Vygotskys began to work in psychology after the Russian revolution where the Marxism replaced the rule of the czar. The new Marxist philosophy emphasised socialism and collectivism. Individuals were expected to give up their personal goals and achievements to improve the society as a whole by sharing and co operation. The success of an individual was seen as reflecting the success of the culture. Heavy emphasis was placed on history, believing that any culture can only be understood through the ideas and events that have made it occur. (Vasta, R., Haith, M.M., Miller, S.A., 1995). Vygotsky used these elements in his model of human development; this is known as a sociocultural approach. The development of an individual is a result of culture. The theory primarily applies to mental development such as the thought and reasoning process which were believed to develop through social interaction with others mainly parents. He states: Every function in the childs cultural development appears twice: first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of ideas. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals (Vygotsky, 1978, p.57). Vygotsky looked at mental abilities and processes in historical terms using the events that led to them whereas Piaget believed that the childs development process follows a similar pattern of stages. Vygotsky saw intellectual abilities as being much more specific to the culture in which the child was reared (Vasta, R., Haith, M.M., Miller, S.A., 1995). Culture contributes to a childs intellectual development in two ways: firstly children obtain knowledge from it and secondly they obtain the tools of intellectual adaptation from the surrounding culture. Therefore culture provides children with the means to what they think and how they think it. Vygotsky viewed cognitive developments as a shared problem solving experience with another adult, such as the parent, teacher or sibling, this is also known as the dialectical process. Initially, the person working with the child takes the majority of responsibility for guiding the child through problem solving and steadily hands full responsibility over to the child. Every child is different and will react and learn in different ways however Vygotsky stresses language dialogue as adults will use it as a primary resource to transmit knowledge within their culture. The childs own language is of great help as it is a primary tool of intellectual transformation. Eventually children can use their own speech to direct behaviour usually in the same way as the parents speech once directed. This change relates to Vygotskys theme of development as a process of internalisation. Knowledge and thought exist outside the child at first in the culture of the environment. Development consists of gra dual internalization, primarily through language, to form cultural adaptation (Rogoff, 1990). The second aspect of Vygotskys theory is cognitive development which is limited to a time span that is known as zone of proximal development (ZPD). ZPD is the gap between what a child can solely achieve, their potential development which depends on the independent problem solving and what the child can achieve though problem solving with help and guidance of an adult or more capable peers. (Wood, D., Wood, H., 1966). What children can do independently is known as level of actual development and is a standard IQ test measure. However this measure is important but incomplete as two children may have the same level of actual development as it gets the same number of answers right on a test. With help of an adult, again one child may solve a number of problems whereas the other child may only solve two or three. What the child can do with help of an adult is referred to as level of potential development. (Vasta, R., Haith, M.M., Miller, S.A., 1995). Maximum development of ZPD depends on full social interaction of an adult with a child. The more the child takes advantage of the assistance the broader their knowledge of ZPD will be. Scaffolding was invented in 1976 to describe tutorial interaction between an adult and a child. It was used to explore the help and resources an adult provides so a child can carry out a complex task efficiently. This links to Burners ideas of the spiral curriculum. A parallel has been drawn between the notion of scaffolding and ZPD theories of Vygotsky (Hobsbaum, A., Peters, S., Sylva, K., 1996). Before an adult can provide learning opportunities they much evaluate the childs development level at present along with the length of the ZPD. It is important that the child values and makes use of the help that is offered. The child needs to be capable to benefit from the give-and-take conversations with others (Bruner, 1983). In Vygotskys theory language plays a major part in the learning and development process. A child is encouraged to think in new ways and gain a new cognitive tool to make sense of the world. Language is used to solve problems, overcome impulsive action and plan a solution before trying it to control behaviour (Jones, 1995). It is also used for a social purpose, so children can obtain help of peers and solve problems. In this process of development the child starts to practice the same forms of behaviour that other formerly practices with respect to the child however this behaviour is only understood in a social context. Vygotsky has had a great influence on Bruners theory with the introduction of scaffolding and spiral curriculum. Scaffolding is an effective strategy that accesses the ZPD. Scaffolding involved the teacher providing the children the opportunity to build on their current skills and knowledge. This involves the teacher engaging the children and simplifying instructions so they are easily understood. Scaffolding has been used in every subject to support learning especially when introducing new topics. In Literacy the children had to write a story ending. Work was set according to their ability, through the spiral curriculum. The child expressed his ideas and the teaching assistant wrote them on a dry white board ready for the child to copy onto paper. The child was assisted by questions directing her to revisit the story and think about the ending. However this can be a problem as the teacher may offer too much help which may lead to the child expecting help every time and not thinking on their own. Also when observing an ICT lesson, the teacher guided the child through the stages of what needs to be done. The children were then left to complete the task independently. The guidance given relates to Vygotskys approach and the creativity and constructivism is enhanced by Piaget. I observed a year two class in mathematics; they were starting a new topic on difference. The objective of the lesson was to work out the missing number in a sum. To explain this, cubes were used to visually represent numbers so they are easily understood. Both the addition and subtraction methods were shown. Many examples were given until the child fully understood and could work on their own initiative. The activity was then extended to using two digit numbers. The teacher adopted Vygotskys method of ZPD and found that most children had understood the word difference and how to work it out after a number of examples were shown. Unlike Piaget, who concentrated more on individual learning rather than providing adults with a role to help children learn, whereas Vygotsky believed that both other adults and culture play a major part in the development of a childs cognitive ability (Schaffer, 2004, p.90). However Vygotsky constantly mentions how children develop with guidance and help from other adults but does not state how they individually develop (Schaffer 2004, p.215). He failed to recognise how children are motivated to learn individually. Vygotsky focussed more on co-operative learning and little attention was given to individual learning. Vygotsky never took development changes of a child into account. He viewed the child in the same way at the age of two and at the age of twelve. Also the ZPD has been critically analysed by researchers. They have found that teachers have control over a childs thinking as they can ask questions that require certain answer which limits their learning. This kind of questioning is only suitable for children who are achieving below average. A teacher has to be extremely talented to successfully apply the ZPD and guide the children through a task instead of telling them what to do. However the ZPD cannot be applied to every child within a class as the teacher does not have sufficient amount of time to do so (Schaffer 2004, p.217). A final criticism is that Vygotsky failed to take the emotional aspects of a child into account. He did not recognise what happens when a child cannot complete a task or gets something wrong. If a child continuously gets something wrong, does the child lose motivation or continue with the task and hope to succeed? A child goes through many forms of emotion when they are unsuccessful in a task or get something wrong however this has not been mentioned anywhere within Vygotskys theory. Likewise Piaget also failed to take the emotions of a child into account (Schaffer, 2004, p.218). Vygotskys behaviour is particularly relevant to those who are concerned with the use of language as it can be crucial and interrelated with the action. Both Vygotsky and Piaget looked at preschool children in problem solving situations. Piaget believed that the self directed behaviour is egocentric and has a minimum relevance to a childs cognitive growth however Vygotsky referred to it as private speech. Vygotsky believed that private speech grows through interactions with adults; they begin to use parents instructions to direct their own behaviour (Sà ³lrà ºn B. Kristinsdà ³ttir, 2008). Both Piaget and Vygotsky had a conflict when explaining that development theories should not be taught until the children are at the right development stage. Piaget believed that the children are the most important aspect of cognitive development which conflicted with Vygotskys zone of proximal development. However Vygotsky argued that the social environment can be of great help when it comes to cognitive development of the child. The social environment can help children adapt to new situations with ease. Both theorists had the same aim of finding out children think of ideas and translate them into speech. Piaget discovered that children like to explore for themselves the way the world works and what it has to offer however Vygotsky wrote in Thought and Language that human mental activity is the result of learning. This led to Vygotsky believing that acquisition of language has the biggest influence on a childs life. Piaget had a huge emphasis on universal cognitive change and Vygotskys theory expected to have variable development depending on the cultural experiences a child has had. Piagets theory had an emphasis on the natural line whereas Vygotsky preferred the cultural line of development (Gallagher, 1999).

Technological Advancement in the US Military Essay -- United States Mi

Technological Advancement in the US Military Since its declaration of independence from Great Britain, the United States has experienced wars of many different sorts. Each war introduced a new kind of warfare. The Revolutionary War introduced for the first time in American history, the idea of naval warfare. Ships were armed with dozens guns and carried several dozens of men. The musket, armed with its bayonet as well as the cannon proved to be worthy weaponry advancements in the infantry together with various pistols. The Civil War introduced the revolving pistol as well as the Gatling gun which enabled soldiers to produce rapid fire and destroy enemies in large quantities with a single round. New technological advancements in transportation such as the railroad, enabled large quantities of troops to travel to a given area in nearly half the amount of time. However, the turn of the twentieth introduced new technological advancements in the country as well as the military. This ignited a century of technological advancements in the military that has enabled the United States to excel in militaristic domination. The first war to use significant technological advancement was World War I. Despite the introduction of trench warfare (in which troops dug bases many feet deep into the ground and fought only on the surface), the art of battle would forever be changed. There were many different types of weaponry advancements experienced in World War I. Machine guns were built twice more powerful than in the Civil War, firing up to 600 bullets a minute which was the equivalent of 250 riflemen. Artillery experienced a massive technological progression with the building of several thousands of powerful cannons with shells filled with ... ...ccomplishments. As the years progress, just as they have in the past, so will military technology. Not more 80 years ago, the United States was just learning how to se machine guns. Not more than 60 years ago, the United States was just learning how to use tanks and artillery. Nowadays, the US military has become the leading war machine in all aspects of warfare including weapons, computer technology and biological as well as chemical warfare. God only knows what advancements are to come our way. Works Cited * www.archives.gov/research/military/navy-ships/sailing-ships.html * www.doublegv.com/ggv/battles/tactics.html * www.revision-notes.couk/revision/927.html * www.channel4.com/histroy/microsites/w/wwzweapons.html * www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/trenches/weapons.html * www.science.howstuffworks.com/surveillance-stealth-channel

Extreme Advertising: Go Big or Go Home :: BTEC Business Marketing GCSE Coursework

Extreme Advertising: Go Big or Go Home This Maxim climbing gear ad is an example of using both aggressive language and images to promote climbing as an extreme sport. North Face uses this image in their web page. If you wear North Face gear, you too can take your ice axes and back-counrty skis into the Tibetan wilderness. Adidas uses this image in their trail running ads. The caption in the image reads "Runners. Yeah, We're Different." It invites people to relate to some of the more intimate details of a separate subculture. Intro Advertisements of outdoor gear tell us we live in an extreme world today. No longer do we go out mountain biking or skiing, they tell us. We need to go big, risking our lives to promote an image of ourselves as one who can push the edge of the envelope by extreme mountain biking and extreme skiing. NorthFace, a high-end outdoor clothing company started this language in the 1970s in its advertising of ski apparel. Now, most every sport has gone extreme. To advertise this new image, companies have attempted to use a variety of techniques that separate themselves from the rest of the crowd. They include: --Creating an Extreme Image to a Wide-Based Consumer Audience: Boulder Gear and North Face. --Advertising to a Young, Aggressive Group Obsessed with Speed: Manastash and an ad inside APEX Magazine --Creating an Insider Feeling of the Extreme...with a Dash of Playfulness: Nike and Adidas Extremism as an image has come to include outdoor activities such as kayaking, skiing, climbing, mountain biking, windsurfing and a host of other mainstream outdoor activities. It has also brought about a variety of subcategories as well. Sky diving now has six new disciplines, including sky surfing, free flying and free style-an aerial ballet. There à ­s even an extreme version of the extreme sport of sky diving called BASE jumping (BASE=Bridge, Aerial, Structure, Earth) in which participants jump from low-lying structures and open their chute with only seconds separating them between an extreme experience and death (Heath 1997: p4). Sports are not the only aspect of extreme though. The language has seeped into our everyday vocabulary to the point that we can not do anything without having the possibility of doing it extreme. Bill Gates speaks of extreme programming, and there à ­s extreme golf in which participants play golf around unused summer ski resorts. Books of extreme adve nture have been popularized by John Krauker's Into Thin Air.

Literature Survey of Methods of Data Encryption

Chapter 2 LITERATURE SURVEY This chapter deals with the assorted documents that is been referred in order to implement this undertaking. It address the techniques that has been implemented in order to supply the security and the privateness for the information has to be stored on to the cloud. The below subdivision shows the antecedently used techniques. [ 1 ] This paper tells about the Providing secure and ei ¬?cient entree to big graduated table outsourced information is an of import constituent of cloud calculating. In this paper, we propose a mechanism to work out this job in owner-write-users-read applications. We propose to code every information block with a dii ¬Ã‹â€ erent key so that i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡exible cryptography-based entree control can be achieved. Through the acceptance of cardinal derivation methods, the proprietor needs to keep merely a few secrets. Analysis shows that the cardinal derivation process utilizing hash maps will present really limited calculation operating expense. We propose to utilize over-encryption and/or lazy annulment to forestall revoked users from acquiring entree to updated information blocks. We design mechanisms to manage both updates to outsourced informations and alterations in user entree rights. We investigate the operating expense and safety of the proposed attack, and survey mechanism s to better informations entree ei ¬?ciency. [ 2 ] Online personal wellness record ( PHR ) enables patients to pull off their ain medical records in a centralised manner, which greatly facilitates the storage, entree and sharing of personal wellness informations. With the outgrowth of cloud computer science, it is attractive for the PHR service suppliers to switch their PHR applications and storage into the cloud, in order to bask the elastic resources and cut down the operational cost. However, by hive awaying PHRs in the cloud, the patients lose physical control to their personal wellness informations, which makes it necessary for each patient to code her PHR information earlier uploading to the cloud waiters. Under encoding, it is disputing to accomplish i ¬?ne-grained entree control to PHR informations in a scalable and ei ¬?cient manner. For each patient, the PHR informations should be encrypted so that it is scalable with the figure of users holding entree. Besides, since there are multiple proprietors ( patients ) in a PHR system and every proprietor would code her PHR i ¬?les utilizing a dii ¬Ã‹â€ erent set of cryptanalytic keys, it is of import to cut down the cardinal distribution complexness in such multi-owner scenes. Existing cryptographic enforced entree control strategies are largely designed for the single-owner scenarios. In this paper, we propose a fresh model for entree control to PHRs within cloud calculating environment. To enable i ¬?ne-grained and scalable entree control for PHRs, we leverage attribute based encoding ( ABE ) techniques to code each patients’ PHR information. To cut down the cardinal distribution complexness, we divide the system into multiple security spheres, where each sphere manages merely a subset of the users. In this manner, each patient has full control over her ain privateness, and the cardinal direction complexness is reduced dramatically. Our proposed strategy is besides i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡exible, in that it supports ei ¬?cient and on-demand annulment of user entree rights, and break-glass entree under exigency scenarios. [ 3 ] Attribute-based encoding ( ABE ) is a new vision for public cardinal encoding that allows users to code and decode messages based on user properties. For illustration, a user can make a ciphertext that can be decrypted merely by other users with properties fulfilling ( â€Å"Faculty† OR ( â€Å"PhD Student† AND â€Å"Quals Completed† ) ) . Given its expressiveness, ABE is presently being considered for many cloud storage and calculating applications. However, one of the chief efficiency drawbacks of ABE is that the size of the ciphertext and the clip required to decode it grows with the complexness of the entree expression. In this work, we propose anew paradigm for ABE that mostly eliminates this operating expense for users. Suppose that ABE ciphertexts are stored in the cloud. We show how a user can supply the cloud with a individual transmutation key that allows the cloud to interpret any ABE ciphertext satisi ¬?ed by that user’s attributes into a ( constant-size ) El Gamal-style ciphertext, without the cloud being able to read any portion of the user’s messages. To exactly dei ¬?ne and show the advantages of this attack, we provide new security dei ¬?nitions for both CPA and replayable CCA security with outsourcing, several new buildings, an execution of our algorithms and elaborate public presentation measurings. In a typical coni ¬?guration, the user saves signii ¬?cantly on both bandwidth and decoding clip, without increasing the figure of transmittals. [ 4 ] We consider the job of building a secure cloud storage service to which users outsource sensitive informations for sharing with others where, in peculiar, the service supplier is non wholly trusted by the client. Cloud storage service denotes an architectural displacement toward thin clients and handily centralized proviso of both calculating and storage resources. When using cloud storage for secure informations sharing, one of the chief motivation jobs of this architecture is supplying thin clients with both strong informations coni ¬?dentiality and i ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡exible i ¬?ne-grained entree control without enforcing extra cost on them ( clients ) . To accomplish this end, we propose a fresh information sharing protocol by uniting and working two of the latest property based cryptanalytic techniques, attribute-based encoding ( ABE ) and attribute-based signature ( ABS ) . Furthermore, we besides give a elaborate comparing of our strategy with several latest bing strategies. [ 5 ] Ciphertext-Policy Attribute Based Encryption ( CP-ABE ) is a promising cryptanalytic primitive for i ¬?ne-grained entree control of shared informations. In CP-ABE, each user is associated with a set of properties and informations are encrypted with entree constructions on properties. A user is able to decode a ciphertext if and merely if his properties satisfy the ciphertext entree construction. Beside this basic belongings, practical applications normally have other demands. In this paper we focus on an of import issue of attribute annulment which is cumbrous for CP-ABE strategies. In peculiar, we resolve this ambitious issue by sing more practical scenarios in which semi-trustable online placeholder waiters are available. As compared to bing strategies, our proposed solution enables the authorization to revoke user properties with minimum ei ¬Ã‹â€ ort. We achieve this by unambiguously incorporating the technique of proxy re-encryption with CP-ABE, and enable the authoriza tion to depute most of arduous undertakings to proxy waiters. Formal analysis shows that our proposed strategy is demonstrably unafraid against chosen ciphertext onslaughts. In add-on, we show that our technique can besides be applicable to the Key-Policy Attribute Based Encryption ( KP-ABE ) opposite number. [ 6 ] Data entree control is an effectual manner to guarantee informations security in the cloud. However, due to data outsourcing and untrusted cloud waiters, the informations entree control becomes a ambitious issue in cloud storage systems. Existing entree control strategies are no longer applicable to overcast storage systems, because they either produce multiple encrypted transcripts of the same information or necessitate a to the full trusted cloud waiter. CiphertextPolicy Attribute- based Encryption ( CP-ABE ) is a promising technique for entree control of encrypted information. However, due to the inefi ¬?ciency of decoding and annulment, bing CPABE strategies can non be straight applied to build informations entree control strategy for multi-authority cloud storage systems, where users may keep properties from multiple governments. In this paper, we propose DAC-MACS ( Data Access Control for Multi-Authority Cloud Storage ) , an effectual and unafraid informations entree control strategy with efi ¬?cient decoding and annulment. Specii ¬?cally, we construct a new multi-authority CP-ABE strategy with efi ¬?cient decoding, and besides plan an efi ¬?cient property annulment method that can accomplish both forward security and backward security. We further suggest an extended informations entree control strategy ( EDAC-MACS ) , which is unafraid under weaker security premises. [ 7 ] We propose a new theoretical account for informations storage and entree in clouds. Our scheme avoids hive awaying multiple encrypted transcripts of same informations. In our model for secure informations storage, cloud shops encrypted informations ( without being able to decode them ) . The chief freshness of our theoretical account is add-on of cardinal distribution centres ( KDCs ) . We propose DACC ( Distributed Access Control in Clouds ) algorithm, where one or more KDCs distribute keys to informations proprietors and users. KDC may supply entree to peculiar i ¬?elds in all records. Therefore, a individual key replaces separate keys from proprietors. Owners and users are assigned certain set of properties. Owner encrypts the information with the properties it has and shops them in the cloud. The users with fiting set of properties can recover the information from the cloud. We apply attribute-based encoding based on bilinear couplings on elliptic curves. The strategy is collusion secure ; two users can non together decrypt any informations that none of them has single right to entree. DACC besides supports annulment of users, without redistributing keys to all the users of cloud services. We show that our attack consequences in lower communicating, calculation and storage operating expenses, compared to bing theoretical accounts and strategies. [ 8 ] Ciphertext Policy Attribute Based Encryption ( CPABE ) enables users’ encoding with an entree construction while delegating decoding capableness in conformity with attribute sets. In this paper, we study central-control annulment in CPABE environment, where the proposed key coevals, encoding and decoding algorithms closely comply with CPABE theoretical account, and cardinal update algorithm is developed. In add-on, we inherit the most efi ¬?cient annulment techniques to better the efi ¬?ciency of our cardinal update algorithm. With our strategy, users can remain attribute anon. while being associated with a alone identii ¬?er in system manager’s position, hence revoking malicious users’ decoding capablenesss harmonizing to their alone identii ¬?ers would non impact honest users’ decoding. Our strategy can be proved chosen plaintext secure based on Decisional Bilinear Difi ¬?e-Hellman ( DBDH ) premise in the standard theoretical account. We besides provide efi ¬?ciency analysis and some extensions including deputation capableness and chosen ciphertext security. [ 9 ] Secure outsourcing of calculation to an untrusted ( cloud ) service supplier is going more and more of import. Pure cryptanalytic solutions based on to the full homomorphic and verii ¬?able encoding, late proposed, are assuring but sui ¬Ã‹â€ er from really high latency. Other proposals perform the whole calculation on tamper-proof hardware and normally sui ¬Ã‹â€ er from the the same job. Trusted computer science ( TC ) is another assuring attack that uses trusted package and hardware constituents on calculating platforms to supply utile mechanisms such as attestation leting the information proprietor to verify the unity of the cloud and its calculation. However, on the one manus these solutions require trust in hardware ( CPU, trusted calculating faculties ) that are under the physical control of the cloud supplier, and on the other manus they still have to confront the challenge of run-time attestation. In this paper we focus on applications where the latency of the calculation should be minimized, i.e. , the clip from subjecting the question until having the result of the calculation should be every bit little as possible. To accomplish this we show how to unite a sure hardware item ( e.g. , a cryptanalytic coprocessor or provided by the client ) with Secure Function Evaluation ( SFE ) to calculate arbitrary maps on secret ( encrypted ) informations where the calculation leaks no information and is verii ¬?able. The item is used in the apparatus stage merely whereas in the time-critical online stage the cloud computes the encrypted map on encrypted informations utilizing symmetric encoding primitives merely and without any interaction with other entities. [ 10 ] The cardinal barrier to widespread consumption of cloud computer science is the deficiency of trust in clouds by possible clients. While preventative controls for security and privateness steps are actively being researched, there is still small focal point on investigator controls related to overcast answerability and auditability. The complexness ensuing from the sheer sum of virtualization and informations distribution carried out in current clouds has besides revealed an pressing demand for research in cloud answerability, as has the displacement in focal point of client concerns from waiter wellness and use to the unity and safety of end-users ‘ informations. This paper discusses cardinal challenges in accomplishing a sure cloud through the usage of investigator controls, and presents the TrustCloud model, which addresses answerability in cloud calculating via proficient and policy-based attacks. [ 11 ] We introduce a new and various cryptanalytic primitive called Attribute-Based Signatures ( ABS ) , in which a signature attests non to the individuality of the person who endorsed a message, but alternatively to a ( perchance composite ) claim sing the properties she posseses. ABS oi ¬Ã‹â€ ers: – A strong unforgeability warrant for the verii ¬?er, that the signature was produced by a individual party whose properties satisfy the claim being made ; i.e. , non by a collusion of persons who pooled their properties together. – A strong privateness warrant for the signer, that the signature reveals nil about the individuality or properties of the signer beyond what is explicitly revealed by the claim being made. We officially dei ¬?ne the security demands of ABS as a cryptanalytic primitive, and so depict an ei ¬?cient ABS building based on groups with bilinear couplings. We prove that our building is secure in the generic group theoretical account. Finally, we illustrate several applications of this new tool ; in peculiar, ABS i ¬?lls a critical security demand in attribute-based messaging ( ABM ) systems. A powerful characteristic of our ABS building is that unlike many other attribute-based cryptanalytic primitives, it can be readily used in a multi-authority scene, wherein users can do claims affecting combinations of properties issued by independent and reciprocally mistrusting governments. [ 12 ] The secured informations sharing is provided between the information proprietor and user based on the user’s properties. It achieves more secure and all right grained informations entree control in the informations sharing system. Data security is the cardinal concern in the distributed system. Cryptanalytic methods are used to implement the entree policies of users. But here the cardinal coevals centre ( escrow ) can obtain the messages directing between the users by bring forthing the private key. This is referred as Key escrow job. This job can be solved by escrow free key coevals utilizing 3PC ( Three Party Computation ) . Thus the proposed system gives the greater public presentation and security to the distributed informations sharing system. [ 13 ] This paper proposes aâ€Å"Mesh Signatures†which defines the mesh signature primitive as an anon. signature similar in spirit to pealing signatures, but with a much richer linguistic communication for showing signer ambiguity. The linguistic communication can stand for complex entree constructions, and in peculiar allows single signature constituents to be replaced with complete certification ironss. Because keep backing one’s public key from position is no longer a shield against being named as a possible cosigner, mesh signatures may be used as a ring signature with mandatory registration. We give an efficient building based on bilinear maps in the common random threading theoretical account. Our signatures have additive size, achieve everlasting perfect namelessness, and cut down to really efficient ring signatures without random prophets as a particular instance. Mesh signatures generalise this impression to monotone entree constructions represent able as a t ree, whose interior node are And, Or, and Threshold Gatess.

Business Plan for a Clothing Company

The product I will be supplying to society will be a fashion store called FrSh. Popular culture is no longer regional. The tradition of cable television and the Internet has created a world where a fashion statement can make you or break you .FrSh will offer young customers the youth-oriented products and clothing that are popular in large urban areas but not available locally. The target customer is in their late teens to their mid 20s, who enjoys the urban scene and the city look, participates in youth sports like skateboarding and basketball, and looks toward new urban clothing trends in large city areas for inspiration. FrSh will provide the distinctive clothing, shoes and products that are just ahead of the fashion curve. I will create a cost-effective operation that will quickly bring new fashionable clothing and products to the customer. I originally cam up with this idea because I was fed up of people wearing the same clothes to fit in and wanted to find an alternative to what everyone was wearing so that I would stand out whilst fitting in. I have always enjoyed going to parties and with that comes the responsibility of looking good. I also made shirts whilst in high school and sold them to people. My goals for FrSh will be†¦.. * Accessible store where you always find something new that you want. * Excellent vendor relationship that will facilitate quick shipment of orders. * Establish an effective strategy for advertising to our target customers. * Create a store image that our target customers see as both attractive and trendy. FrSh competitive advantage is offering product lines that make a statement but won't leave you broke. The major brands are expensive and not distinctive enough to satisfy the ever changing taste of our target customers. FrSh offers products that are just ahead of the curve and so affordable that our customers will return to the store often to check out what's new. Another competitive factor is that products for this age group are part of a lifestyle statement. FrSh is focused on serving the Urban youth. We want to represent their style and life choices. We believe that we will create a loyal customer base that will see FrSh as part of their lives. We will pride ourselves by setting the most affordable prices for our consumers. We will cover all of our liabilities and make sure we will have contracts will all of our partners which we will be considering into bringing into the company. W will be running a close cooperation. FrSh will advertise in the Universities and daily student newspapers and free Weekly papers, which is focused on FrSh target customer groups. FrSh will also plan three events to raise its visibility with target customers. We will assemble a group of boy and girl Dancers and sponsor them with the FrSh logo. The Dance competition will be followed by a street basketball game. Smokejumpers will book a local popular alternative college group to play at the event. We will find co-sponsors for the events that are also focused on the same target customers. At these events, FrSh will distribute stickers, hats, t-shirts, and promotional material offering 50% discount on purchases this will draw us customers.