The Great Gatsby Assignment Essay Example

The Great Gatsby Assignment Essay ts a new year and after 2 seasons on my last steed I am lucky enough to be able to build up my new ride for the 07 season. While todays off the shelf rigs can offer an amazing value for what you pay, I wanted to build something unique that stands out a bit. What I ended up with is a 36. 3 lbs coil sprung DH bike that you wont see anywhere else. I have to say that coming in a close second to the actual riding, the technical aspect of mountain biking is what really excites me. I am a self admitted tech nerd. I can spend hours reading about the latest gadgets from any sport, be it Fl, MotoGP or ven tennis. If its lighter, faster or uses a new material then I am interested. The great part about our particular sport is that if you have the time, money and knowledge you can build some really neat things. I dont have a great deal of any of those three things but I still try, even though a smart guy once told me it was the first step towards failure. So what I did was try to build up a light and very functional DH bike. Actually what I built is a full on DH race bike. I Just happen to not race all the much, only hitting up a few each year. But what I do like to do is pin it. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby Assignment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby Assignment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby Assignment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer All-the-time. Weight was a huge concern for me, not because of any delusions of getting my pro number plate, but because this is my only bike. I have had more XC-type bikes in the past and I hated descending on them. It was not worth the uphill gain. I want to ride everything on my DH bike and to make that a little more enjoyable I had to pick my parts real carefull like. I Just happend to end up with a really light DH race bike! Fact: All 3 current Honda factory riders have raced World Cups on Oranges Fact: All 3 current Honda factory riders have raced World Cups on Oranges The biggest decision to make when building up your dream bike is which frame you will decide to hang all your parts on. I had a few on my short list so there was some thinking to be done. The U. S. made Iron Horse Sunday frame is one that Ive always had my eyes on (not that Id ever rail a corner like Sam even if I was on his bike). The Glory from Giant was also hard to say no to, being one of the best deals out there. The DW Link and Giants Maestro designs look similar but work in different ways and are about as far away as you can get from a well thought out single pivot design as seen on the Orange 224 frame. I have spent the last two seasons on an Orange 223 and came to love the light weight and simple bike, so even though the 224 frame is almost more than the Glory and Sunday put together, I still wanted one. After doing my homework on the frames the decision was made for me. The 224 was the only one that had the geometry that I liked. A bikes angles are absolutely the most important factor in its performance. There are a lot of different takes on suspension out there but the truth is that while some work different, they all do work good. But a DH bike with a 67 degree head angle will be ntirely different beast than a 64 degree monster. The 224 has that slack 64 degrees up front and also the low b. b. height and longer wheelbase that I feel at home on. Another consideration of mine was a full length seat tube on the frame. Some of my best rides are xc rides from home with my iPod and the seat on my DH bike Jacked up to the max. Oh, and it is light. The 224 is claimed to be one of the lightest production DH frames which is key when trying to piece together a light bike, might as well start off on the right foot. Suspension is the second most important part of any rig. Again, there are a lot of hings out there that do work great so it is more important to pick something based on your needs instead of Just looking for the trickiest possible set of sliders. But what if I could have a fork that came in at under 6. 51b, had a super low crown to axle length and worked great to boot? Id say that would be a pretty trick fork! So what I built is most likely one of the more unique forks out there. I started with a set of white 07 Boxxer lowers that use the Maxle system. Dropping the pinch bolts helped save a bit of weight but also means I only need a single allen key to get my wheel off. It doesnt hurt that the athena white lowers look dope next to my white 224 frame. I had originally planned on tracking down some of the old gold ti-nitrite stanction tubes, I did find a few but nothing in usable condition. Thankfully Tyler had some of the slippery silver tubes laying about from a buddies wrecked fork. The rest of the fork was garbage but the silver stanctions were mint so a small amount of money was exchanged and I nearly had a complete fork. Instead of dropping in some boring (but good working) World Cup internals, I installed a MOJO Boxxcart in the right leg and the ingle MOJO spring in the left. MOJO decals MOJO decals Now, you may or may not be aware that MOJO does not even produce these nice little units anymore. So why am I telling you about this stuff if its not made anymore? Because it is by far the best suspension I have even ridden. Ill admit, its not for everyone. It feels like ass in the parking lot (but thanks for telling me, everyone! ) but once you open it up on dirt it will blow you away. Stay tuned for pictures and details of the Boxxcart that will be in the (really long) review of the whole bike this summer. So what I ended up with is a 6. 1b coil sprung and MOJO damped Boxxer. The MOJO rebound knob Out back the boing is handled quite well by a Fox DHX 5. 0. Fox obviously know how to produce top end stuff as they have been in the suspension game for a long, long time. The great thing about the 5. 0 is the range of adjustment. If I am on a trail or course that would normally be faster on a smaller travel (read: stiffer) bike I can turn my 224 into that bike without to much hassle. Likewise, she can be a rock and root eating machine and all I need to do it is a single 4mm allen key and a simple shock pump. Another plus is the range of rebound adjustment. Some of the newer shocks on the market seem to have no noticeable difference in return speed until the final turn of the adjuster. All this adjustment is great if you know what is going on back there but one thing I did want was a slightly more active ride out of my 5. 0 shock. After some top secret trickery on a late night at the shop I think I have get her dialed. 5. 0 w/ Ti spring So you may be starting to see a trend here. I am building a very single purpose bike. A bike that is meant to pin it fast down fast trails. I am not the rider who stops to hit p the skinnys a few times or goes to sesh the local gravel pit drop, all I want to do is go. Sometimes the most important part of going is the stopping or Just slowing down a bit. Only a little bit though. I am a huge Avid fan, having spent time on the original Juicy 7s, 5s and Juicy Carbons. You cant really go wrong with any of those setups but I wanted something a little bit special. Last season some of the top SRAM riders were sporting the new Juicy Ultimate levers mated with Code calipers. Since I am nobodies top rider I had to spend my personal booty. Lucky for us peons the Code and Ultimate parts can be bought seperately. Using the Ultimates upper end saved some grams over the 7s master cylinders plus there are no finicky red dials for friends to play with. You still have the ability to fine tune the bite point but youll need an allen key to do it. Code caliper Code caliper The Code calipers bump up the power a bit by using four pistons and more importantly a much larger pad surface area. After a few bleeds the Ultimate/Code combo works great, much to my relief as SRAM does not advise combining the two systems. Two years ago I saw a picture of Fabian Barels bike sporting a 6 rear rotor o I decided to give it a try. It worked great with my old Juicy Carbons, actually saves nearly a 1/4 pound and should perform Just fine with the even more powerful Code calipers. I expect a lot of power but will my hybrid brakes keep the Juicy modulation that I love so much? X. O shifter and Ultimate lever mounted using Avids sweet Matchmaker bar clamp X. O shifter and Ultimate lever mounted using Avids sweet Matchmaker bar clamp It is no different with the wheels I chose but I did decide to avoid the more expensive rims out there. I put a rim thats on a DH bike in the same category as brake pads or a hain: Disposable. I wanted something light but nothing to expensive as I would most likely be going through a few as the season got bigger and badder. I have had nothing but great results with my set of Alex Supra Ds, under 600 grams, easy to build and very reliable (gotta love the anodized gold option! ). But at $90 msrp canadian they are a little expensive to be turning them into squares. The SingleTrack from Sun seemed to be the perfect choice. Closer to 500 grams then 600, a decent width and cheap! The msrp here in Canada is only $40 so it was hard to say no. Hubs re a hard one. There are a lot of amazing hubs out there, some seem to be more art then a bike component. The truth is that they all use wheel bearings that I can buy from local hardware store or distributor so why drop more on a rear hub then most regular people spend on a whole bike? Well.. l cant! As much as I wanted a Hadley or DT I could not Justify it. I would rather put that money into my suspension or brakes. I did manage to find a sweet set of hubs that come in at nearly half as much as some others, are lighter and are easy to service. WTB may not Jump out at you hen you are thinking about hubs for your big bike but you should really look them up. The Super Duty rear hub is an amazing little bit of work. Unlike most hubs, everything is a push fit which makes it super easy to disassemble and clean. The 12/150mm Super Duty rear hub has been stripped of absolutely any extra material that it does not need. You also slide your cassette onto a aluminum freehub body which is where most of the weight savings come from. WTB SuperDuty hub Check the aluminium freehub body Actually, the rear hub weighs 305 grams and the front comes in at only 190. The folks at WTB are also good people which has a lot to do with me picking their hubs over some others. Poor spokes. No one ever thinks about them and they do so much work. I really did want to build these wheels with Sapims super high end CX-Ray spokes but time was not on Sapims side. All my parts were where they needed to be and I had some very nice black DT Champion spokes to hold everything together so that is what I chose, pertinence be damned! The CX-Rays do make a lot of sense though and I hope to use them on my next wheelset. I have not had a spoke break in years but hey are light and the minimal middle section is bladed which makes building and truing alot easier as I can hold the spoke with a special tool to prevent and wind-up (wind-up is when a spoke turns with the nipple when truing, it makes things difficult). Aluminum nipples get such a bad rap but as long as you treat them right they work great. I weigh in at 1701b. which is not huge but I have run al. nipples exclusively for years now with no problems. I am sure I have had no trouble because I look after my wheels though. With A1. ipples you need to keep the tension from getting to low as he constant loading and unloading of spokes can snap the heads off. I also use a four sided spoke wrench to finish the build, tension and true. Holding onto all four sides minimizes the chance of rounding the corners on the softer metal and also dropping a touch of thin lube into the nipple now and then keeps things from seizing up. A light wheelset can be the k ey to a fun and nimble bike so I thought it was important to choose parts carefully to end up with the right package, something I think has been done. Everyone go buy Srams X. O shifters and derailleurs. And if you cant afford them then ell a liver or something because you owe it to yourself to roll with X. O. I like nice stuff (obviously) but my rides dont depend on it. If I am on a test bike with a lower end group set I will have Just as much fun as on some rare super bike. But this X. O stuff is amazing. Basically, you put it on your bike and then 6 months later you scrape the dirt off it and maybe make a small adjustment. The 1:1 cable pull ratio means that stretch and other variables that can cause shifting to go haywire will have half the effect that it would on Shimanos traditional 2:1 pull. I love how I am able to move the lower shift paddle to a more comfortable position for my tiny girls hands. Its a feature that I thought was more gimmick than function but now I Just would not be comfortable with a stock non adjustable shifter. All around quality parts and despite the fragile look they can take a beating. 0k people, stop buying outboard bearing cranksets. They are not better. In the real world they do not last longer and you can not tell me that you can feel a differance in stiffness on your mountain bike with big knobby tires and suspension. k, you can ell me whatever you want but I wont believe you. I will go through two ISIS b. bs in a year of riding. I gave outboards a shot a while back and if I had stuck with it would have gone through four sets of cups. Lame. Take your chain off your external bearing crankset and give it a spin, not to great eh? Even on a broken in external bearing b. b. you will have a ridiculious amount of seal drag, way too much to be accept able for the meager amount of power we put out. Unfortunetly, the amount of companies putting out nice light ISIS cranks is shrinking so hit up e-bay and scoop up what you can get

Buns Of Steel Sex Appeal Essays - Human Sexuality, Human Body

Buns of Steel Sex Appeal John Darcey Darcey 1 Professor Garber Hm 46 March 5th Buns of Steel and Sex Appeal It seems in the past decade more and more attention has been put on firm buttocks and thighs on women. Susan J.Douglas wrote an article called ? Flex Appeal, Buns of Steel, and the Body in Question?. It addresses this fad in a woman's point of view. Douglas, who was a teacher and free lance writer has had many of her article appear in The Village Voice. It seems from the tone of this article that Douglas is disgusted by the emphasis put on the female body and has probably had struggles with weight herself, as many women these days have had. Douglas points out in her article all of the publicity that has been put on women's hindquarters. It seems like everywhere you go you can catch a glimpse of a woman's tight rear end or firm thighs. On billboards, magazine covers, articles, television, just about anywhere you can put a butt you will see one. Douglas says ? ?not just in Vogue or Cosmo, either: even in the Village Voice,? has ads for products such as the videotape called Buns of Steel.? (Douglas 181) There is also an enormity of exercise videos making claims like ? Now you can have the Buns you always wanted?. The author also points out two ads that Darcey 2 show perfect bottoms with slogans like ? You've worked hard? and ?If you work it shows?. (Douglas 182) Douglas seems offended by this rebutting ?meaning if you have been slacking off, that will show too?. (Douglas 182) I personally think that if it were actually that easy, we would all have ?buns of steel?. Douglas brings up something that most of us have never thought of before. She seems to think that expected woman to have tight behinds is trying to make them more like men. She claims that this is a ?distortion of feminism? (Douglas 182) She then goes onto say ? ?that ambitious women want, or should want, to be just like men, especially those men committed to the most competitive, inhumane, macho aspects of patriarchy. I don't really see the connection, being that I am sure woman like firm buns on men too. It seems that Douglas is ashamed of her own body as you can see in the statement ?They insist that the rest of us should feel only one thing when we put on a bathing suit: profound mortification.? (Douglas 181) I don't think that any women should feel ashamed of her body in a bathing suit or anything else for that matter. Douglas explains how women naturally have more fat than men do, in order to carry babies. This is another reason she came to the theory of the public wanting women to be more like men. She also make a sarcastic statement ?A real women, of any Darcey 3 age, will get off her butt and, by overcoming her sloth, not just get in shape, but conquer genetics and history.? (Douglas 182) According to the article this buttock and thigh craze started in the eighties. It seems, according to Douglas, that the popularity of thighs and buttocks much overrode the popularity of breast. The reason, she explains, it that even flat - chested women can have a goal of ?buns of steel?. I feel that part of this is that sexual - oriented matters where becoming more public on television in ads. It was probably the first decade that it was acceptable to blatantly display women's rear - ends. When all of the regular women saw this, and how the media connected it to sexuality and wealthiness it became a craze. In addition to that men came to think that is what to expect from a women, and therefore put more pressure on their own girlfriends and wives to look like the models. Douglas says ?The key to huge profits was to emphasize beauty over health, sexuality over fitness, and to equate thin thighs with wealth and status?. (Douglas 182) Douglas says this is Reaganism, which means that appearances are just as important as character. Another controversy of this topic is that all these ads show

Foreshadowing in Fiction Tricks to Keep Your Readers Guessing - Freewrite Store

Foreshadowing in Fiction Tricks to Keep Your Readers Guessing - Freewrite Store Types of Foreshadowing As literary devices go, foreshadowing is a technique that every writer needs to have in their toolbox. Everyone from literary greats like William Shakespeare and J.K. Rowling to screenplay masters like Alfred Hitchcock has used foreshadowing to create gripping plot twists that leave insightful readers (and viewers) experiencing that satisfying ‘ah-ha’ moment.If you’re not quite sure exactly what foreshadowing is, then here’s a definition: Foreshadowing creates tension or adds suspense to your story, by laying a kind of trail of breadcrumbs that your readers may (or may not) pick up on. If you’ve read a good novel recently, it’s likely that the author threw in some elements of foreshadowing. When you’re reading, foreshadowing is found in seemingly random or innocent scenes that only make sense when the plot begins to be resolved.When you’re writing, however, there’s nothing random or innocent about foreshadowing. You have to plan elements of foreshadowing so that they don’t appear too obvious - but nor do you want them to be so subtle that none of your readers pick up on the juicy breadcrumbs that you’re leaving for them. So, how does foreshadowing work when you’re writing? Types of Foreshadowing Every author has their own style of writing - so the exact way that you approach foreshadowing will depend on your style. However, there are two main types of foreshadowing that you can use in your stories - direct foreshadowing and indirect foreshadowing. Direct Foreshadowing If you want to keep your readers hooked, then direct foreshadowing is a great way to go about it. As its name implies, the kinds of hints (or breadcrumbs) you drop into your story are like little nuggets of information that prompt your readers to ponder about how those nuggets fit into the story and where they might ultimately lead. Clever and intuitive readers may even be able to guess how the plot will be resolved because of direct foreshadowing.Within direct foreshadowing, there are different subtypes that you can use, such as: Pre-scene This is a really popular type of foreshadowing. These scenes are often short and relatively downplayed, but reveal something that will turn out to be essential for a plot twist or resolution later in the story. Readers often become really adept at spotting the pre-scenes, so if you want to use these successfully you need to be careful not to give too much away. Effective pre-scenes convey necessary information but compel your readers to keep reading to either find out why the details are important or to see whether their suspicions are correct.For example, in your novel, you could have a scene that opens in a crowded bar. Your hero sits at the bar, enjoying his drink and the company of a beautiful young woman. Finishing his drink, your hero gets up to visit the restroom. Immediately, another man approaches the young woman and slips her a piece of paper before leaving the bar. Your hero returns, the couple leaves the bar. Your readers instinctively know that the young woman is either involved in something suspicious or not as innocent as she seems - they just don’t know what is going to come of it. Name Dropping If a character is later going to play a really important role in your story, or a particular place is going to be significant, name dropping can foreshadow the future events and signal to the reader that this character or place is important. They won’t know why it’s important, but it’s another breadcrumb that you’re leaving for them.For example, if you have your hero remark to another character that he’s going to visit a friend the next day, but doesn’t name the friend or the place, your readers wouldn’t really think much about it. If, on the other hand, your hero says, instead, that he’s meeting Charlie McGuiness at Holy Rood Chapel, then your readers are more likely to recognize these details as being in some way significant. Prophecy This is an old type of foreshadowing that has been used by the likes of Orson Welles and William Shakespeare. Essentially, it’s a way of directly telling your readers that there’s going to be a specific kind of dramatic event occurring at some point. Some writers see this is an outdated and counterintuitive practice, so it isn’t as common as it used to be - but it can still be powerful. You’re telling your readers that something specific is going to happen - but they don’t know when, or how, or what other surprises you have in store, so you keep them locked in a sense of anticipation.Here’s an example, from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 3): "All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter![†¦]Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.Not so happy, yet much happier.Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!" Indirect Foreshadowing If you’re more interested in subtlety than feeding your readers clues, then indirect foreshadowing is the way to go. You’re in control over the level of subtlety, and with this type of foreshadowing, although your readers may recognize the breadcrumbs as significant, they’re not likely to be able to figure out exactly what you’re hinting at. Personally, as both a reader and a writer, I find indirect foreshadowing more rewarding. In the modern age of social media, some direct foreshadowing looks more like clickbait and I prefer to be more subtle when I’m writing. Let’s look at some types of indirect (subtle) foreshadowing: Innocuous Statements These are the type of foreshadowing that may stick in your readers’ minds but only make sense when all is revealed later in the story. It’s less likely to cause your readers to be gripped, but when you have established yourself as a writer and have a following of fans, your fans will pride themselves on being able to spot the innocuous statements that you drop into your writing and try to guess what the outcome will be.Here’s an example of innocuous statements at work. In Star Wars: Episode II, Obi-Wan Kenobi remarks to Anakin Skywalker: â€Å"Why do I get the feeling, you will be the death of me?†. It’s only later in the series that the hidden foreshadowing makes sense. Pathetic Fallacy When I first came across this term I honestly had no idea what it could mean. Once I figured it out, however, it became one of my favorite subtle foreshadowing techniques. Pathetic fallacy refers to the way that you can give human emotions to things that are not human - like the weather, for example.There are tons of ways that you can use this technique to foreshadow future events. An icy gust of wind may be used to evoke a sense of foreboding or convey that something chilling is going to happen, for example. Likewise, a rainbow appearing during a ferocious storm may suggest that there is a change coming, or something more positive will emerge out of trouble.Charles Dickens uses the weather in Great Expectations to convey something of what the hero, Pip, is feeling. Can you figure out what Dickens is trying to foreshadow?:"So furious had been the gusts, that high buildings in town had had the lead stripped off their roofs; and in the country, trees had been torn up, and sails of wind mills carried away; and gloomy accounts had come in from the coast, of shipwreck and death." Object Placement Famously, Anton Chekhov once declared that â€Å"If in Act One you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act†. While he was undoubtedly referring to playwriting, the same applies to any kind of story - and, ultimately, this is a tool that can be used to foreshadow really effectively.What this means is that if you have something pretty huge happening late on in the story, you can foreshadow it really subtly by making some kind of allusion to it early on. In Chekhov’s example, you would put some kind of emphasis on a pistol that would later be pivotal to the plot. This is a hugely popular technique - you surely must have read a book (or ten) where there’s a mention of an object that doesn’t really seem to make total sense in the current scene, but then, later, you get that ah-ha moment of realizing, â€Å"oh, that’s why it was there!†There are different ways you can use this technique, too. Let’s look at a coup le of examples:ââ€"  Your hero is driving to the airport to pick up his fiance who is returning from an overseas business trip. He’s talking to his business partner on the phone and glances at the fuel gauge, which reads close to empty and then continues with his conversation. In this scene, it’s more the absence of something (i.e. a full fuel tank) that you’re foreshadowing. You could use this with medication bottles, or show your character forgetting an object, too.ââ€"  Your heroine is sitting at her desk in her university office, grading term papers. Her pen runs out, and she opens a drawer to get a new one. In the drawer, there’s an unopened envelope, yellow with age, with a name written on it. She closes the drawer quickly. Your readers will remember the letter - but they don't know why it’s important. Effective Use of Foreshadowing The type of foreshadowing that you use and the way that you use it will depend on what you want to achieve with it. Looking to build suspense? Then you should use more direct foreshadowing (so your reader’s don’t miss the clues). If you want to foreshadow a future event, however, it’s best to take a more subtle approach with indirect foreshadowing.One mistake that many writers make is using too much foreshadowing. A little bit of foreshadowing is better than a lot of it if you use it well. That means you need to get more selective about what you use foreshadowing for, and where in your story you use it.Major turning points in your story should be your foreshadowing priority. There are usually around 3 turning points in a story arc: the point at which your character’s life is affected by something in a significant way; the midpoint in the story arc where your character starts to question themselves in some existential kind of way; and the climax of the stor y.Generally, there will be more foreshadowing in the first half of your story, with the ‘ah-ha’ moments coming in the second half. One good means of getting a good balance (and making sure you’re not going overboard on the foreshadowing) is to use a plot diagram to pinpoint the best moments for foreshadowing for the major turning points in your story. Practice Your Technique for Gripping Foreshadowing Don’t expect to master foreshadowing instantly. Masters of suspense like Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock perfected their craft over many years - so you should expect to spend time practicing your foreshadowing skills. It’s a good idea to try to identify foreshadowing when you’re reading your favorite authors’ novels, too, as that way you’re able to learn from the masters themselves. As you’re reading, ask yourself why their foreshadowing techniques are so effective and practice replicating the techniques yourself.Whether you prefer to use direct or indirect foreshadowing, you can keep your readers guessing and build your confidence until you are a master at foreshadowing, too.

Miss Representation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Miss Representation - Essay Example One of the most useful tools for the mainstream (digital/electronic media) is misrepresentation. I believe that media is now an expert in forming ideologies; resolutions and keeping in check people’s lifestyles. I agree with the film’s message that there is a certain agenda the way media portrays women. They are usually portrayed as the victims, short tempered and there is no way people can put women on screen without sexually objectifying them. In my opinion the way media portrays women has a strong effect on the way women in real life see themselves. Teenagers spend hours in front of television, passively absorbing information through images. It would be hard to argue that TV doesn’t affect lifestyles and ideologies. I would agree with the documentary that people are paying more attention to women’s appearances rather than their content (their knowledge and skills). It seems as if youth, beauty and sexuality are the only degrees left for women to qualify. On the other hand, I also don’t agree with the extreme opposite where women should seek a revengeful behavior because they have been portrayed as victims. A revengeful feministic approach towards matriarchy is the last thing I want. It would be doing the same with the male gender what media is doing with the female gender. This society, its resources, job opportunities should be available to both genders based only and ONLY on their merit not on their

Analyst Report on Bridgestone Tyres Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analyst Report on Bridgestone Tyres - Essay Example The net income Bridgestone Corp performed extraordinarily In Europe where sales increased by 17% followed by Americans where sales increased by 1%. However, the net sales in Japan remain unchanged compared to 2011. The total assets of the company increased by 14% to 3,038.3 billion in 2012; this increase in the assets by financed by a 12% increase in the total liabilities and 3% increased in the total equity. The company returns showed a strong growth as well. The return on stockholders’ equity increased by 4.6 percentage points to 13.7% and return on assets increased by 2.2 percentage points to 6.0% in 2012. The company promises significant returns as well as strong value addition in future. Company Profile Ticker symbol: 5108.T Mission Statement: Serving Society with Superior Quality Corporate headquarters: Tokyo, Japan Date of Incorporation: March 1st, 1931 Public Auditor: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited Name of CEO: Masaaki Tsuya Name of CFO: Koki Takahashi Stock classifi cations: Common Stock Authorized: 1,450,000,000 shares Issued: 813,102,321 shares Exchange: Tokyo Stock Exchange Dividends: 21.9 billion Industry Profile Market Sector The company belongs to the Consumer Discretionary Sector. It is a sector of the economy that comprises businesses that sell non-essential products or services. Leaders Toyota Motor Corp Comcast Corp Amazon.com Inc Industry The company belongs to the Auto Components Industry. The industry comprise companies that supply low value to high value component to auto makers around the world. Stock Comparison with Competitors Bridgestone Corporation’s stock has shown a remarkable growth since January 2012 as compared to Pirelli’s and Goodyear’s stock as shown in the figure. The graph notes some of the major events – dividends, earnings and news. The news article states that the company has invested billions of yen into the research and development to produce tyres with maximized durability and value . The company, currently, has invested millions of yen into a new North American desert plant to extract a new form of natural rubber for tyre manufacturing. This stresses that the company continues to strive hard fpr excellence. The graph shows that company has continued to announce dividends and interim dividends at year ends and half year ends respectively. This has strengthened the belief of the investors in the stock value. Likewise, the company announced promising earnings which has allowed the company to maintain number one position in the global tyre market. Both the dividends and earnings have an impact on the stock price – in this case, the company’s stock price has risen par the competitors’ value after continuously posting strong earninsg and dividends. Market Capitalization Company Market Capitalization Bridgestone Corp 20.24B Goodyear 3.9B Continental 27B Michelin 14.4B Market capitalization is basically the market value of the company’s out standing shares. It determines the size of the company which allows for conclusion on asset allocation and risk factor. The analysis shows Bridgestone Corp has the largest capitalization compared to its three giant competitors – Goodyear, Continental AG and Michelin. With the capitalization of â‚ ¬20.24 billion, it falls in the ‘large cap’ pool of companies with a strong asset allocation and less risk. Global Presence Bridgestone Corpo

Inspirational Essay Example for Free

Inspirational Essay We walk around in the world and we as human beings look to find fulfillment and happiness in many things such as sports, friends, and boy/girlfriends and as young people when we get rejected by these things we act like we can’t go on with life. . But i challenge you to think about the meaning of LIFE. Well Life is a Gift of God, Abundance of receiving things. . In John 4 its speaks on living water and how Jesus uses both the physical and spiritual meaning of water when he speaks to the Samaritan Woman, He refers to the spiritual side as living water. People in the world tend to you suicide or hurting themselves as a way out of situations but God gave us eternal life so that we may be humble servants unto him. . God never puts more on us than we can bear. . Life is important so we really need to know the meaning of it because it seems to be lost in todays society. .I used to be bitter and sad before i had gotten saved. . I had a huge void that needed to be filled and nothing truly could fill it. . Except GOD.

How the heart functions as a pump

How the heart functions as a pump The objective of this essay is to show how the heart functions as a pump in transporting oxygen to the different parts of the body and how reduction in coronary blood flow can impair the cardiac function. The first part of the essay describes the location, structure, electrical activity within the heart and how the heart transports oxygen throughout the body. The second part describes how reduced coronary blood flow in case of a disease can impair blood flow and its treatment. The heart forms an integral part of the cardiovascular system whose primary function is the maintenance of hemodynamic and homeostatic functions such as maintenance of body temperature, transport of nutrients to the cells, removal of waste materials, transport of oxygen and hormones. [8,1] Heart Location The human heart is like a cone shaped organ composed of four different chambers and is located obliquely across the chest midline with its tip behind the fifth left intercostal space. It weighs on an average between 250-350 grams in adults and is approximately the size of a human fist. [2] An average human heart beats on an average of 75 beats per minute and pumps more than 200 million litres of blood in 80 years. [3]. Although the heart is located in the centre of the chest cavity its beating action is felt on the left side of the chest cavity since the most powerful pumping action of the ventricles of the heart takes place towards the base of the heart which is located in the left side of the chest cavity. [2] The figure below shows the location of the heart in the body. Fig1: Location of the Heart [8] Lecture Physiology and Anatomy- Cardiovascular System Alan Richardson; slide no. 8 The heart is enclosed in a multi-layered sac known as Pericardium which protects the heart by reduction of friction and prevents excessive expansion. Between the different layers of the pericardium (visceral and the parietal layers), the pericardial cavity is present which holds about 5-15 ml of Pericardial Fluid that reduces the friction created due to the movement of the heart. [3] The heart wall consists of three different layers Epicardium (outer layer), Endocardium (inner layer) and Myocardium (middle layer). The 2picardium and the endocardium are both made of simple squamous epithelial cells and a thin areolar tissue layer. However the myocardium is the thickest amongst all the three layers consisting of the heart muscles and its thickness in each chamber of the heart depends upon the amount of force generated by which chamber during the pumping action. [3] The figure below clearly shows the various layers of the heart wall. Fig2: Layers of the Heart wall [9] Structure of the Heart The heart is divided into two different halves depending upon the kind of blood (deoxygenated or oxygenated) received right and left halves. The heart consists of four different chambers with an atria and a ventricle on each side. The atria have relatively thinner walls since they only have to pump the blood to much shorter distances than the ventricles. [4].The atria connect to the ventricles by means of atrioventricular valves (tricuspid in the right half, bicuspid in the left half). The atrioventricular valves are connected to the base of the ventricles by chord like structures known as the chordate tendinae that prevent the valves from swinging in the opposite direction and thus prevent the back flow of blood into the atria from the ventricles. [3,5] The two atria are separated from one another by means of a muscular wall known as the interatrial septum. [3] The atria and the ventricles are separated by means of a fibrous connective tissue known as annulus fibrosis, this helps i n giving a skeleton for attachment of the muscles of the heart and help in providing the site of placement of the heart valves. [4] The ventricles are the lower and the larger chambers of the heart. The two ventricles are separated from one another by means of a thick muscular wall known as the interventricular septum. The right ventricle is connected to the pulmonary artery by means of the pulmonary semilunar valve while the left ventricle is connected to the aorta by means of the aortic valve. [3]. On the surface of the heart the heart chambers grooves are marked by fatty layers containing coronary blood vessels these layers are also known as Sulci.[3] Blood Flow in the Heart The deoxygenated blood from the various parts of the body flows into the heart by the pair of vena cava into the right atria. The blood flowing from the upper part of the body relative to the heart is carried by the superior vena cava while the blood flowing from the lower part of the body relative to the heart is carried by the inferior vena cava. [8] The cardiac muscles empty their deoxygenated blood into the right atria by the coronary sinus. The deoxygenated blood is pumped from the right atria into the right ventricles through the right atrioventricular valves (tricuspid valve) upon atrial sytole and ventricular diastole. The blood in the right ventricles is then pumped into the pulmonary artery through the right semilunar valve (pulmonary valve) to the lungs for oxygenation upon ventricular systole. However, during the ventricular systole the semilunar valves do not open unless the pressure generated in the ventricles due to contraction (systole) is sufficient to push open the valves, such contraction is known as isometric contraction. The pulmonary artery bifurcates into two smaller branches the left and the right pulmonary artery (one for each of the lungs). The pulmonary vein from the lungs brings the oxygenated blood from the lungs into the left atria of the heart which then pumps the blood into the left ventricle through the bicuspid valve (mitral valve) during atrial systole and ventricular diastole. The left ventricle pumps the blood to the different parts of the body through the aorta through the aortic valve during ventricular diastole. The hearts muscles are themselves are supplied by oxygenated blood from the coronary artery branches present on the aortic arch. [3] The figure below shows the various chambers of the heart along with the flow of blood within the heart. Fig3: Blood Flow within the heart [8] Lecture Physiology and Anatomy- Cardiovascular System Alan Richardson, Slide no 12 Blood enters the chambers during the diastole (relaxation) phase and is pumped out during the systole (contraction) phase. As a result, the blood is under a higher pressure in the systolic phase than the diastolic phase. The blood pressure is the pressure exerted by the blood upon the walls of the blood vessels.[5] The blood pressure on the walls of the artery in a healthy individual lies around 80mm Hg for diastole and 120mm Hg for systole. [4] The valves of the heart prevent the back flow of blood and thereby only allow the unidirectional flow of blood. [5] The circulation of deoxygenated blood to the lungs and oxygenated blood back to the heart is known as pulmonary circulation while the circulation of oxygenated blood to all the parts of the body and deoxygenated blood from the various parts of the body into the heart is known as systemic circulation.[5] The entire process is displayed in the figure below. Fig4: Systemic and Pulmonary Circulation [10] Electrical Conduction within the Heart and Heart Beat The cardiac impulse trigger is generated by the group of specialised cells which together form the sino-atrial node (SA node). The SA node is present in the right atrium near the point of attachment of the superior vena cava. The cells in the SA node generate the impulses spontaneously as they are capable of spontaneous depolarisation, hence they are said to possess automaticity. [6] Due to these spontaneous impulses the SA node forms the atrial pacemaker. These electrical impulses are spread throughout the walls of the atrium by means of specialised pathways known as the Bachmanns Bundle, thereby causing the stimulation of the myocardial walls of the atria to contract and push the blood into the ventricles. The wave of electrical excitation travels from the atrial walls via specialised pathways called internodal tracts from the SA node to the Atrioventricular (AV) node. The AV node is also composed of similar autorhythmic cells as the SA node and is capable of pacing the heart in case the SA node fails in pacing and is located in the right side of the interatrial septum. However the pacing of the AV node is slower than the SA node and it thus provides the critical delay in the electrical conduction system, preventing the simultaneous contraction of both the atria and the ventricles. The distal portion of the AV node is known as the Bundle of His which then divides into the two bundle branches for spreading the electrical excitation to the two ventricles. The bundle branches are present along the interventricular septum and end at the tip of the heart by further differentiating into numerous small fibres known as Purkinje fibres. The Purkinje fibres are responsible for depolarising the individual myocardial cells of the ventricles. Thus causing the ventricles to contract and push the blood into the pulmonary artery or the aorta. [3] Blood circulation and Transport of Oxygen The blood vessels and capillaries are the pipes which carry blood throughout the body for metabolic, waste and gaseous transport. The blood vessels include arteries, arterioles, veins and venules. Arteries carry the oxygenated blood away from the heart with the Aorta being the largest artery. Since the artery carry blood in jerks and under high pressure they are surrounded by smooth muscles which prevent it from collapsing. The resistance to blood pressure is controlled by the autonomic nervous system which controls the width of the artery (lumen) through which the blood passes (vasoconstriction and vasodilation). The arteries further divide into smaller divisions known as arterioles which carry blood to smaller parts of the body. The arterioles are also covered with smooth muscles and like the arteries also resist any changes to the blood pressure. The arterioles further differentiate into smaller blood vessels known as capillaries which possess an extremely thin wall so as to allow the exchange of oxygen with the individual cells and carbon-dioxide from the cells. Apart from the exchange of gases the metabolic exchange of nutrients and wastes are also possible at the capilla ries. Several billions of capillaries then join together to form the venules which are smaller blood vessels carrying the deoxygenated blood from the capillaries to the veins. The veins are the formed by the integration of millions of smaller venules and it carries the deoxygenated blood back to the heart. The blood in the veins does not flow under considerable high amounts of pressure and hence the walls of the veins are not as thick as those of the artery. The veins join together to form the two vena cavas. [8] The transfer of oxygen from the blood into the cells at the capillaries is explained by the process of diffusion. Diffusion is the process of movement of particles from their region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Thus in the capillaries the oxygenated blood has a higher concentration of oxygen than that present outside the capillaries in the surrounding cells. At the same time there is higher concentration of carbon-dioxide in the surrounding cells than the oxygenated blood in the capillaries. Hence the oxygen from the blood in the capillaries diffuses out into the surrounding cells while the carbon-dioxide from the surrounding cells diffuses into the capillaries. Thus the oxygenated blood from the lungs passes into the heart which pumps it into the aorta which divides into the arteries which further divides into arterioles and then capillaries. The capillaries then exchange the oxygen with the cells and take carbon-dioxide from the cells and rejoin to form the venules which then form the veins which return the deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Thus the heart acts a pump in the entire cardiovascular system which transports the oxygen to the different parts of the body and carbon-dioxide from the different parts of the body. The figure below shows the overview of the cardiovascular system. Fig5: The Cardiovascular System [11] Reduced Coronary Blood Flow and Coronary Artery Disease The heart needs to perform all the time in the body and can never relax, hence the cardiac muscles have a high demand for oxygen and have very limited capacity for anaerobic respiration. [7] The chest pain which is felt in the patient due to the obstruction of the blood flow in the coronary arteries is known as Angina Pectoris. This deposition of the plaque and lipid layers within the coronary blood vessels thereby causing the hardening and narrowing of the blood vessels is known as Atherosclerosis. Due to the obstruction the cardiac cells are deprived of oxygen and start anaerobic fermentation resulting in the formation of lactic acid. The lactic acid formation in the heart stimulates the pain receptors present in the heart. [3] Depending upon the type of plaque formation in the coronary blood vessel the angina might be termed as stable or unstable. [8] Thus with the reduced coronary blood flow the cardiac output of the heart is severely impaired since the muscles of the heart are deprived of oxygen and nutrients resulting in tissue death or myocardial infarction. Hence the heart is not able to pump properly and thus has a reduced cardiac output. Myocardial Infarction causes severe pain and can even cause death to the patient. [6] The blood flow to the target cells can be increased by vasodilation and thereby allowing more blood to flow through them. This can be done by using organic nitrate medications which release nitric oxide (NO) into the blood stream. Medications known as beta blockers (ÃŽ ²) which also cause of the coronary artery vasodilation can also help in the treatment of the condition in the same manner. Apart from medications surgically also the condition of reduced coronary blood flow can be treated by coronary bypass surgery where the atherosclerotic narrowing of the coronary artery is bypassed by a blood vessel which is grafted from any other part of the patients body. There also is the possibility of performing other angioplasty operations such as balloon angioplasty, etc. [7] The therapeutic goals in treating stable angina are to improve the coronary blood flow to the target cells and reduce the cardiac oxygen demand. While in the treatment of unstable angina steps are taken to prevent the occurrence of myocardial infarction Conclusion The heart acts as a muscular pump which pumps blood throughout the lifecycle beating at an average of 72 beats a minute and pumping 200 million litres of blood in 80 years. [3] The cardiovascular system consists of several different components, the pump (heart), an extensive piping network (blood vessels and capillaries) and finally a working fluid (blood). The heart receives deoxygenated blood from all over the body pumps it to the lungs for oxygenation and receives the oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps them to the different parts of the body. The piping network includes arteries, arterioles, veins, venules and capillaries. The capillaries are the site of gaseous exchange where the exchange takes place by diffusion. Reduced coronary blood flow impairs the cardiac output by starving the cardiac cells of oxygen and nutrients carried by the blood.