Cultural History Essay

Since long time ago, Bra has defined fashion and beauty among women. The history of Bra is linked to social history of the status of women which entails both the evolution of fashion and the changing views of the body of a woman. Since time immemorial, women have used various garments and devices to cover, elevate and restrain the breasts. Over a period of time the emphasis of bras has changed from the functionality point to fashionable point. This fact means that in current period bras are part of fashion of a woman. Origin of the Bra The origin of bra is believed to be in 2500BC worn by the Minoan women who resided in the island of Crete in the ancient Greece. These women used to wear garments that looked like Bra whose aim was to lift up their breast and boost them. Since then, there has been tremendous change in the shape of the breast with different social meanings. Evolution of Bras The evolution of bra starts with the Corsetry which was worn by the Cretan Women. The Cretan woman stood with bare breasts and the waist and hip corset shown above the decorative part of her underwear. The aim of the corset among the Cretan women was as a symbol of beauty and was aimed at showing off the breast. It is believed that bare breast had a cultural and religious significance. Around 450bc, the Greek started wearing a bodice tied above the breasts leaving the breasts naked. This Small band of material was referred to as Apodesme and was introduced after the corsets were prohibited. Apodesme played a functional role as they prevented the breast moving while walking. The bra like structures accompanied with fashionable clothes of that time. In many of the 18th century paintings show ladies wearing free falling, pleated loose dress backs. It was probably developed from the over gown that was worn in the 17th century. Under the pannier dress was perfectly crafted laced stays that were made of many pieces of whale bones. These stays were backstitched by hand and were very beautiful and decorative. The stays supported and raised the breast to a sharp point in the front as well as defining a trim shape. The stays always matched the dress as the bones in these stays were placed laterally across both the back and front shoulder blades to ensure that the front remained straight and an upright back. Although women had clothes that provided support to the breast such as crinolines and bustles in Victorian age, corsets started to reappear in 18th century and this was evident with Edwardian Era. During Edwardian era, Edwardian Corsets started making a big impact in women fashion. Fashion favored mature women as it exploited the curves of a highly corseted shape. The young and the old women laced themselves so tightly that they distorted their figures to get am s shape associated with that period. Health corsets were greatly favored in 1890s and 1900 and were designed with an aim of assisting the women in breathing. Aches Sarraute of Paris designed health corset with an aim of aiding health instead of endangering it. She introduced the straight fronted busk that left thorax free. It was also designed to support and raise the abdomen instead of forcing it downwards. She rightly aimed at reducing pressure on vital female organs dispensed with constricting curves at the waist which was a common feature among all corsets. Corsets after 1907 were straight as women’s obsession on small waist had reduced. The corsets of 1907 achieved a long slim figure. These corsets had had elastic gussets inserts which were supposed to increase the level of comfort. The new longer styles of 1912, corsets increased in length reaching the knees making it difficult for women sitting down. These corsets were designed for beauty purposes as fashion played a major role in their development. During this period, there was a shift of attention from metallic corsets and the concept of bra started to appear. (Workman, 1996) The word Bra was developed and first reported in America copy of Vogue in 1907. The original French name of brassier meant a soldiers arm. The First World War contributed to evolution of bras where women abandoned corsets and started wearing bras. During this period, the term brassier started to appear in high profile women magazines and eventually appeared in Oxford English dictionary in 1912. (Elizabeth, 1976) In 1913, Mary Phelps Jacob, a New York socialite, made a backless brassier from two silk handkerchiefs and some ribbon after discovering that the corsets were too restrictive when a woman was dancing in night clubs. Mary sold her patent to Warner Brother’s corset company for 1500 us dollars. After the year 1918, bras were made of lace bands with straps. The best bras at that time were the Symington side lacer which was a reinforced bodice. The side lacing was aimed at flattening the bust when it was tightened. It was at this time that the term bra changed from brassier. (Elizabeth, 1976) In 1930s the bra became more sophisticated and the home sewn version of bras started to diminish during this period. In 1928, entrepreneur William and Ida Rosenthal developed bra by introducing the cup sizes and bras for all the stages of a woman. Warmers developed the alphabet bra which was made in a set of sizes that were corresponding to alphabetical letters. This is as a result of women gaining interest in the size of their breast and other women breast. The women interest in these types of bra was as a result of aggressive marketing and the changing role of women in the society. During this period, bras became a major industry and there was great improvement in fiber technology, patterns, colors and varieties of the bras. There was increase in innovation such as sized cup, adjustable strap, increased elasticity and padded breast for small sized breast. The marketing of bras during this period targeted the younger women as beauty was an important aspect in them. The desired feature in 1930s was a pointy bust and this further increased demand for a forming garment and bras fitted well for this function. In 1940s, Clothing was determined by the Second World War. During this period, advertisements of clothes were based on patriotism. The highly structured conical pointed bullet bras were used as protection clothes whereby in the military fraternity, the female soldiers were advised to wear them for anatomical support, good taste and for morale. During this period, bra enhanced the concept of the sweater girl. Sweater girls often wore bullets bras which contributed to the development of later brassieres. The war had an impact on the flow of materials as there was shortage of material which resulted into women producing their own bras from parachute silk and old wedding dresses. Commercially manufactured bras were made from minimum amount of material and hence bore the utility mark. This led to the emergence of utility bras. In 1950s, the bras were typical long line stitch and fashion was a major contributing factor towards the development of bras. The long line conical bra gave support silhouette for girls who wanted to be like film stars sweater girls like Jane Russell. The bras got better as use of nylon materials made them more attractive, lighter and easier to wash. Pretty 1960s was a period that was characterized by increased interest of quality and fashion of bras. There was increased demand for maternity and mastectomy bras and increase in the use of washing machines led to increase in preference for durable bras. There was increased marketing promotion such as wearing bras 24 hours a day. This period was marked with cultural changes which represented a great threat to bra market. These counter culture to bra production included civil right movement and feminism which greatly opposed women wearing bras. During this period, there was development in the form of bras which were seamless, flattering and sexy and were more appealing to teenage girls. The invention was referred to as wonderbra invention. These Bras tugged the breast together and pulled them forward and hence they were a means of attraction. They were marketed as a form of luxury. The material used became durable, light weight and elastic. In late 1960s, bra and other feminine emblems became targets of feminist activism. The feminists viewed bras as objects which reduced women as sex objects. Some women started questioning the role of bra and this led to protest against 1968 miss American beauty pageant. For example, Germaine Greer stated that bras were absurd invention aimed at reducing the status of women. In 1968, they were a protest against Miss America beauty pageant by 400 women coming from New York Radical women in Atlantic City convention hall. The demonstration took place after Democratic national convention and the protestors placed bras, high heeled shoes, hairsprays and other beauty apparatus seen as symbols of oppression of women in a freedom trash can placed on the ground. This was a clear sign of protest against bra although no real burning of the bras took place. There was also another protest in 1970 which received wide coverage and was perceived as sexual liberation. This protest although seen by people as breaking of the law was somehow fruitful as many women stopped . This led to some stores such as Berkeley Roos closing Bra department due to poor sales. The protest led to development of ‘no bra’ by Rudi Gernreich in 1964. This bra was light, transparent stretch netting and had a simple shape. The fine layer of foam in the bras made the cups to stand up on the end (Pederson, 2004) The ‘burning of bra’ by feminist led to innovations in fashion industry in order top win back the lost customers. Gossard launched its wonderbra crusade in 1968 which led to introduction of original wonderbra. At first 36C was the top size of this innovatory under wired bra that was a necessity for V neck dresses of late sixties caftans which had ling necks were changed by the cleavage from a wonderbra. In case where one was in need of larger bra, a bra replacement fastener was used as an extender. Inserts of extra lagging or foam rubber could be inserted into small pockets in the wonderbra to increase the fullness where there was no bust. In 1990s, silicon implant scare caused the women to turn to bras as the best option of improving their breast size. The wonderbra became best seller in 1990s. In 1916s there was the presence of bra slips which were common for short skimpy dresses. The return of cleavage was recorded in 1990s . In a blonde ambition tour; Madonna was sported wearing sported ice unguent coned circular sewed cup on her Gaultier corset. Gautier first made designs of breast that were based on the conical breasts of 1980s but received full approval after Madonna used it in a number of her functions and hence sexy lace Bras came back into business. In 1990s there was the introduction of very plain tactel underwear slips which gave a good line beneath dresses making it possible to wear unlined dresses successful without static build up. Bra industry was further promoted during this period by the quest for women who had shed their breast in 1960s to have more figure control especially when wearing the straight sheath dress that were back in fashion. During this period, there was pursuit for cleavage by utilizing water, air and silicone pads and improvement in this development enhanced the sales of fashion companies in 21st century as they put more emphasis on breast management and improvement. The change in fashion trends resulted in different types emerging to suit different fashion needs of women. Cleavage enhancers are types of bras which have a plunging neckline which is important for maximum cleavage. The pads add an additional lift and the bra fully characterize bust hence ideal for low necklines. There are other fashionable bras referred to as Convertible/strapless which go up to five ways on a strapless bra often having molded padded cups that offer support and shape to the breast. They have seam free cups that are not visible under clothes. Bras do not only serve as fashion apparatus but they also play a big role in sports. Sport bras are perfectly constructed to provide a maximum support, compresses the breast and hence minimizing bouncing by the breasts. The material fabric is important in drawing moisture away from the body hence keeping the body comfortable. Silicone bra is a type of bra comes in different sizes from cup size A, B C; D. It does not have any strap. It is flexible and sticks tightly in conformity with the woman’s bust as it has self adhesive coating. It is made from high quality silicon gel. It is easy to wash, it has no strap and occurs in a range of colors and so the user has a wide choice of the colors she desires. This bra can be reused many times after laundering. Push ups and inflatable brassieres is a type of bra introduced in mid 1990s and added major sex appeal to the USA market. It was pioneered in 1960s by Fredricks of Hollywood . The look was classic pieces of soft cup inflated into a cone-shaped point. During this period, Singer and Dancer Madonna played a big role in making this bra to be famous. This bra has undergone much innovation such as volume adjustment systems, pairing of the sleek looking bra with air extricable padding. The bra has a molded cup and wireless lifts. It has a weightless padding which gives the cleavage a slight projection. It has barely three Bralettes. It is found in soft cup, Camisole like sheers as well as lacy under wire creations which exhibit double cleavage of their full cup counterparts. (Steele, 2001) Sex openness among the current time women In 1950s to 1980s feminists played great role in trying to liberate women from oppression by men. They tried as much as they could in transforming the working and business environment to suit women and this resulted in many of them getting jobs and becoming more liberal especially in their sexual lives. In the past, feminists opposed beauty apparatus which they considered as being tools which reduced women as sex objects. This did not get support from all the women as beauty was still valued b women and so they continued using beauty apparatus and fashion determined what they wore. Currently the society has changed greatly and as a result of empowerment, women have become more liberal and hence more open to sixths is depicted by the clothing they put on which more is revealing than in the past years. Also increase in innovation by fashion industries has played a major role as these companies strive hard to market products which are said to make women look sexy. Improved technology especially in the entertainment sector has contributed a lot to women becoming more sexual open as they mostly emulate the lifestyles of the entertainment stars. (Kunzle, 2004) Conclusion Innovation has played a major role in shaping the fashion in different time span. Bra comes out clearly as a major fashion tool and from its evolution, it can be concluded that it has played a central role in women fashion and enhancing beauty among the women. Women have considered fashion as an important aspect in their life and this is evident in the different variety of beauty apparatus they have been having since time immemorial. In the contemporary times, women open sexuality show that women are liberalized and hence free to select any type of lifestyle and clothing to put on. Reference List: Elizabeth, E. , (1976). â€Å"Underwear: A History. † New York, NY: Theatre Arts Books Kunzle, D. , (2004). â€Å"Fashion and Fetishism:† Thrupp, UK: Sutton Publishing Limited Stephanie, P. , (2004) â€Å"Bra: a thousand years of style,† Newton Abbot: David & Charles Valerie, S. , (2001). â€Å"The Corset: A Cultural History. † New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Workman, N. , (1996). â€Å"From Victorian to Victoria’s Secret: The Foundations of Modern Erotic Wear. † Journal of Popular Culture. 30. 2, 61-73

British Petroleum “Bp” Oil Spill

British Petroleum â€Å"BP† Oil Spill On April 20th 2010, British Petroleum better known as BP had an extremely destructive impact on the environment and the livelihood of those in Gulf Coast area of Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. BP’s Deep-water Horizon oil rig was located offshore, 52 miles off the southeast coast of Venice, Louisiana. An explosion on the Deep-water Horizon oil rig caused a massive fire that claimed the lives of eleven BP workers. After 36 hours of burning, the Deep-water Horizon oil rig sunk to the bottom of the ocean and during this time there were different accounts of how much oil was leaking, if any.Within two weeks, estimates ranged from 8,000 barrels a day to none, back up to 1,000 and some even estimated at 60,000 barrels a day, this made it clear that no one really knew how much oil was being released into the ocean. Initially, besides the deaths, BP made it appear as if it was a mild disaster for the organization. However, the reality o f this disaster was that eleven people lost their lives, an estimated 4. 9 million barrels of oil leaked in the Gulf of Mexico for five months and only approximately 800 million cleaned up. As a result, sea animals lost their lives, many fisherman lost their livelihood, and even the tourism suffered.In the end, BP was fined four billion dollars by the government of the United States, agreed to pay $525 million in civil penalties and has already paid billions in civil claims to all who were impacted by the spill. In addition, three BP employees were indicted on criminal charges and BP CEO Tony Hayward stepped down four months after the spill. The above summary about the tragic BP oil spill was as a result of nbcnews. com website. The article detailed the result of the BP Oil spill of 2010. After two and a half years, the US government and BP agreed on a settlement of 4. billion and the plea of guilty of eleven manslaughter charges. The payments will be paid out in a span of 5 years. This is the largest such penalty ever to an organization. This settlement does not include civil cases that are pending against them from their workers. BP had also agreed in March of 2012 to pay 7. 8 billion to more than 100,000 businesses that were directly affected by the oil spill. The positive aspect of this massive oil spill is that BP took responsibility for the oil spill by pleading guilty and paying billions of dollars for clean-up to businesses, fisherman, families, etc. and committing o getting the coast line back to the way it was before the industrial accident. In addition, BP dedicated a section of their website to the Gulf oil spill in an effort to keep the lines of communication open. BP even used television commercials to communicate the progress of the clean-up efforts and BP employed thousands of people for the clean-up efforts. However, there is a fundamental belief that had BP had not been so greedy and negligent, this environmental disaster could have been avoi ded. BP made many cost saving decisions that increased the risk of a spill and did not closely monitor their contractors.There were so many negative effects of this spill to include the loss of lives, fisherman who lost their livelihood, tourism suffered, wildlife and their breeding grounds were displaced, oil prices skyrocketed, oil rig workers lost their jobs and worst of all, no one will ever truly know the future affects this disaster will cause for the wildlife and environment. In the end, BP continues to rake in billions (last quarter 93 billion) in revenue. The 4. 5 billion BP had to pay to the US government pales in comparison to their profits every year.

Modern Day Frankenstein

In this article, I am to create a whole new version of Frankenstein from the old version made by Shelley.Dr. Baltus Crane is a genius genetic doctor; he is a member of the genetic scientists who makes researches about developing human clones. It was a life of fame for him being such part of the organization but he chose to part from it because the other members could not agree with his idea of making a clone complete human-like creature.  This idea came up to him because of his observation that clones are just a machine or robot-like things which will genetically inherit a cloned person’s genetic composition.Dr Crane started to do his project isolating himself on a far island, he made his research about how human show emotion and how they express affection to make a clone perfectly human. The later genetic doctor created his called â€Å"obra†Ã‚  Ã‚   with the help of his best friend Gene.  Through out the scientific invention, Dr Crane made sure that the clone†™s brain is totally developed as to function for executing commands and to know how to express emotions. The clone was named Genin which is an abbreviation for the word genetic invention; Genin is indeed perfect for Dr Crane because she is able to act as a solid human without any clue that she was just a clone.After the long span of time that Dr Crane is far away from home, he then decided to visit his left family and stay for a while leaving his scientific product alone in the island. He went home to see his family and his wife but as he was to knock the door, no one opened. He entered his home to find out that his wife Sarah is already dead; was killed by a weird woman whom they have not yet seen before.  Dr Crane decided to go back to the island since there is no longer a reason for him to stay in their home because his wife was already dead. His best friend Gene was always there to console him and give him the support he needed. They both went back to the island seeing Genin waiting for them at the front yard. Genin seeing the two together acting like couples made her mad so she went inside of the house.Dr Crane started to busy himself for new further genetic researches and lost his time to give Genin the attention she wanted from her creator. Genin was then jealous of Gene who’s the only one allowed of disturbing Crane. She always watches them as they burn themselves out working hard for the new research but then she can no longer hold her temper.Genin will kill Gene the day that Dr Crane get out of the house to do an important work in the city, after killing Gene, Genin decided to acquire her freedom. Wondering in the city, Genin thought of how much her creator meant to her that she could not stand seeing him with another woman or not seeing him at all and so she decided to go back to him.Dr Crane was captured accusing him to be responsible for the death of his best friend Gene who was found dead at his laboratory. Right then Crane ought to fi nd and destroy his invention to stop the crime earlier.  In the city, Crane saw Genin wondering around watching the city lights and approached her, seemingly innocent, Genin admitted what she had done and why she had done such thing to the women that her creator so loved.Crane realized that his creation was indeed almost perfect because she acts like a woman or a real person and she can express emotions but then she was not initialized regarding moralities and how to control her self in relation to her emotions. Because Dr Crane had no choice, he let out the knife he hid inside his pocket and stabbed Genin’s heart the moment she was close to him. Before Genin totally loss her breath, she told his creator that she was thankful he made her and that she was able to feel that she is a human even for a while.Crane was taken to jail and acquired a severe illness that caused him to suffer and eventually died; he admitted that he killed his created clone but still stand out that he was innocent about his best friend’s death.  The police conducted an investigation in Dr. Crane’s laboratory finding his diary into where he wrote all the details in his life regarding his works and other genetic researches.Explanation:In this story, Victor Frankenstein was depicted in the role of Dr. Baltus Crane wherein the monster-like that he created was a clone named Genin. Genin in this story depicts Frankenstein who killed Sarah as Baltus’ wife or in the story of Frankenstein was William who in the story is victor’s brother. The character that depicts Victor’s friend Henry was characterized as Gene in this story.  The central crime that will cause the two characters to be murdered by the clone is the jealousy that the clone felt whenever a certain woman gets closer to the doctor.This story could shock the readers by simply thinking if it is really possible to create a human clone that will definitely be like a perfect human-like being. It can also shock the readers through the question; is it possible to train a clone regarding how to feel certain emotions and showing of affection which will make them indistinguishable from a real human to a man-made man?  Since there is no witness left to tell the story and evidence are the only things left, it would be necessary to have a narrator in this story.ReferenceShelley, M. (1818). Frankenstein [Electronic Version] from http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/facts.html.

Delivering Learning In Online Environments Essay - 14

Delivering Learning In Online Environments - Essay Example A more pragmatic thing to say will be that though online education is not a panacea for every academic void, yet it does facilitate the students, a viable portal to enhance their skills and knowledge if they do not afford to attend regular classes. The supporters of classroom education do say that regular classrooms are a better platform for imparting education as they allow the students to engage in interactions with their class fellows and teachers and analyze varied facets of the academic content they study (Weller, 2002). Besides classroom education nowadays is flexible enough to provide the students with varied time schedules and frameworks to allow them to add on to their academic achievements. The traditional campus environment does help the students to be disciplined with their curriculum and studies and to be prompt with their assignments, papers, and deadlines (Weller, 2002). It allows the students to avail the required help and academic framework to finish their assignments in a regular and professional manner. Besides, it is the face to face communication that makes the classroom education so special as compared to online education (Weller, 2002). The motivation and encouragement provided by teachers in regular clas srooms do make the students perform to the best of their ability. Yet, the thing is that the supporters of online education do tend to have valid reasons to support this mode of achieving an education. It has been said time and again that students happen to gain more if they have a vocational aspect to their academic growth. Thereby, online education is very flexible in the sense that it helps the students gain on many skills and academic qualifications while they are engaged in the career and vocational aspects of their life.

Financial Intermediaries Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Financial Intermediaries - Assignment Example A drawback of the approach is that it is hard to observe bank conduct and that the approach excludes foreign banks in the determination of competition (Bell, Brooks and Prokopczuk, 2013 p.197). The Panzar-Rosse H-Statistic relates a firm’s conduct with models of different market structures such as monopoly, monopolistic competition, imperfect competition or perfect competition (Schaeck, Cihak and Wolfe, 2009 p.715). It demonstrates how the elasticity of a firm’s revenue differs under the different market structures. Although the model is quite straightforward under monopoly and perfect competition, imperfect competition, and monopolistic competition pose some complexities for this approach. The H-Statistic also assumes equilibrium for the banking market in the long-run. The Lerner Index uses the relationship between a firm’s price and marginal cost as a basis for the measurement of the firm’s market power. The index is a reciprocal of the price elasticity of demand and indicates the proportion price exceeds marginal cost. A disadvantage of the Lerner index is that it fails to demonstrate the substitutability of a product (Bell et al., 2013 206). The Boone Indicator assesses, in terms of strength, the relationship between efficiency and performance. Accordingly, superior performance is achievable for more efficient banks. Under competitive market conditions, banks show more aggression in order to achieve the superior performance as compared to competitors (Bell et al., 2013 p.206). The Boone Indicator does not share the disadvantages of the H-Statistic and the Lerner Index. It demonstrates the aggression more efficient banks employ in the exploitation of their cost advantage. As a measure of competition, Persistence of Profits proposes that entry and exit provide a sufficient avenue for the elimination of abnormal profits. Accordingly, profit rates for all firms would converge towards some average value in the

Business Plan Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Plan Analysis - Assignment Example 2. What are sections-in-common in these plans? Describe the style used in the business plans, and discuss what you believe to be an appropriate style for a business plan (i.e., first-person narration, contractions, level of formality, citing references, etc.) In the two business plans, the following sections were common: Executive Summary General Company Description Products and Services Marketing Strategy Operating Plan Management & Organization Financial statements and financial plan Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow, Break Even Point, Capitalization Required The writing styles that were used were formal, direct to the point and business like. It also adhered to the academic style of writing that avoided using contractions, euphemisms and figures of speech. Numbers were also utilized through a financial statement to illustrate a point. There is, however, noticeable difference between the referencing of a business plan and an academic essay. Compared to an academic essay wh ich requires data to be referenced by any of the writing styles (Harvard, APA, MLA, etc.), business plan is not that strict about it. Instead, it uses appendix such as the business plan of Fresin Fried Fast Food Restaurant (â€Å"Fast Food Restaurant Business Plan: Fresin Fries†) where the details of sales forecast, personnel expense and cash flow were enumerated to provide clarity in the financial statements of the business plan. It can also be skipped if it is not deemed necessary in a business plan such as in the case of American Management Technology (AMT) sample business plan (â€Å"Sample Business Plan for American Management Technology (AMT)†). I believe that this is the appropriate writing of a business plan. It is direct, simple, clear and formal. Business plans should be written in this manner because they are intended to serve as a blue print on how a business can make money and not to show literary genius. Writing directly and concisely is also an efficient way of utilizing the time of the one who prepared it and the people who would read and implement it. The saved time and energy in deciphering a complicated business plan can be used in other money making activities of a business. Furthermore, a clearly written business plan avoids confusing interpretation that would render the plan ineffective. In addition to general description, numbers shown in financial statements are equally important if not more important than the written texts. It is because these numbers determine whether a business can make money or not, when and what is the needed capital, and the break-even point where the business can start making money. These numbers can also serve as targets and benchmarks when a business is already operational to ensure that the business plan will profit according to plan and schedule. 3. What are the critical ideas/plans that must be communicated in a business plan? The critical ideas/plans that must be communicated in a business pla n are the following; First are the vision and mission of a company. They serve as a signpost or a compass of where a business is going and what it intends to do. It is the idea or any intangibles that animate or motivate a business to be profitable. Second are the objectives. Having a plan without a goal is pointless. The very essence of a business plan is to achieve certain goals which should be enunciated in the objectives section. A brief

No topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

No topic - Assignment Example The linear regression equation helps in forecasting the value of sales in the next year. This will be done as follows; sales for the seventh year = (1109.1*7) + 1408 = 2517.1. The predicted sales for the seventh year is $ 2,517. The above prediction is too general to provide enough information for the production planning. The data that is divided into the different seasons in the year is more informative to the production planning especially for the Riverside Corporation that deals in highly seasonal products (Anderson, 677). Anderson adds that time series help in showing the overall trend of data for specified time intervals (692). Similar scatter diagrams help in predicting the sales for the next year per every two months as follows; The above analysis shows that the initial value of predicted sales was $ 2517 and was based on the annual total sales of the year. When data has been broken down into two months each year, the prediction takes a different direction (Anderson, 2012). For the next year i.e. seventh year, the predicted sales for the first two months is $ 2815. Sales for the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth two months are $ 1659, $1240, 701, 797 and 1960 respectively. This information is more useful for production planning than the prediction made using the annual totals. This is because the product in question is seasonal and therefore its demand varies depending on different seasons of the year. Time series analysis is used in predicting the future values of a variable by the use of response history (Anderson, 682). This is referred to as autoregressive dynamics (Anderson, 680). The basic application is in the application of the linear regression models used above. The models give an equation where values are substituted to obtain the intended prediction. According to Anderson, â€Å"time series captures the various trends that given data assume over a certain period of time† (662).

Auditing Practices, Professionalism, Ethics, And Standards Essay

Auditing Practices, Professionalism, Ethics, And Standards - Essay Example Auditor independence refers to the internal auditor’s independence and freedom from freedom from any form of control by parties that may have financial interests in the business under auditing (Baker, 2005, p.13). The independence of auditors particularly demands a considerable level of professional integrity, ethics and objective approach to the entire auditing process without any external influence. According to many experts, auditor independence may also be used in reference to the external auditors' exclusion from parties that may have financial interests in the businesses being audited. Generally, achieving independence is critically essential for the auditors to be able to effectively retain their objectivity and service reliability.According to Sikka (2008, p.271), the current auditing practice of making auditors depend on their directors for their fees, remunerations, and profits has been widely blamed for the rising cases of corruptions, manipulations and integrity is sues among auditors. Although it has been argued that auditors still redeem their status by appealing to and incorporating professionalism in their practice, this is not always possible as auditors just like other capitalist enterprises are often driven by personal interests particularly the need to increase their profits and market niches.The contemporary Australian Audit ethical standards particularly require an integrity and objective approach to the audit process (Australia, 2011 p. 123).

Economics The Industrial Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economics The Industrial Revolution - Essay Example Most integrally local owners could now sell and trade nationally; however, that required them to now think on a national level. That rapid conceptual expansion could not be contained within the mind of even the most industrious and intelligent business owner. As a result the birth of the modern office is concomitant with the occurrence of the Industrial Revolution. The owner now had to employ people to do portions of the thinking for him or her. This meant increased bureaucracy and new methods of control had to be quickly established in order to make sure the different parts of the new business mind, decentralized and no longer localized in the head of one individual, could function efficiently. The second important feature of the Industrial Revolution is the creation of the factory system, as mass production became necessary and required to function on this national level; factories, characteristically structured and stratified, required new "scientific management" strategies in ord er maintain efficiency and increase profit margins as costs could easily spiral out of control in the attempt to keep up with production. This paper will briefly analyze the nature of the office and the rise of scientific management as two fundamental effects of the Industrial Revolution on business organization and operation. The rise of the modern office was a necessar

Ratio Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ratio Analysis - Assignment Example Ideally it should be 2 i.e. the current assets of Tesco should be twice its current liabilities. As this ratio is less than 1 it signifies that the liquidity position of the company is not very strong (London Stock Exchange plc, â€Å"Fundamentals†, 2010). The Quick ratio of the company is 0.63. This measures the ability of the company to pay its short term obligations out of the liquid assets and hence it ignores inventory. As this ratio is less than one it signifies that the liquid assets of the company are not sufficient to meet its short term obligations. The Gross Profit margin of the company is 7.76%. The gross profit of the company is calculated as excess of Operating income over Operating costs. This can be interpreted as the company is earning an operating margin of 7.76% (Tesco PLC, â€Å"Group income statement†, 2009). The Net profit margin of the company is 3.98%. This can be interpreted as the net profit earned by the company is 3.98% of the sales. Here the net profit refers to the profit after tax i.e. after the adjustment of operating as well as administrative expenses. The ROE of the company is 16.67%. This means that the company is earning a profit margin of 16.67% on the total equity. This is fairly good and shows that the company has been successful in earning a positive return for its equity shareholders. The ROA earned by the company for the financial year ended February 2009 is 4.70%. This means that the company is earning a profit margin of 4.70% on the assets deployed in the business. It shows that the managers have been fairly efficient in using the assets. There is scope for further improvement in the utilization of the assets. The dividend pay-out ratio of the company is 0.43. This means that the company is declaring 43 percent of its earnings in the form of dividend. From this ratio it is clear that the company is declaring a substantial portion of its earnings in the form of dividend. The Price earning (P/E) ratio of

Oedipus the King Essay Example for Free

Oedipus the King Essay Man is the marionette in the hands of destiny. It is the circumstances and fate which bring tragic incidents in his life. The Aristotelian tragedies are generally based on this attitude. According to Aristotle tragedy is the representation of action. Common meaning of tragedies is the poignant end of the play. Here we are going to discuss about the two different tragedies which took place in different era. The first tragedy is the tragedy of â€Å"King Oedipus† which happened approximately 2000 years before and the second tragedy is the tragedy which belongs to the modern era. It is Arthur Miller’s â€Å"Death of a Salesman. † They are different from each other but apart from a long gap of about 2000 years, but yet some resemblances are there in them. We are going to discuss on the resemblances and differentiations. Let us consider â€Å"King Oedipus† first According to the rule of Aristotelian plot â€Å"Oedipus the King† is divided into two different parts, one is simple plot and another is complex plot. In simple plot the changes in the fortune of King Oedipus take place without Peripety and discovery. It is a journey from ignorance to knowledge. He has to confront with the consequences of the miserable truth. At first he is not ready to accept the fact but at the end the circumstances compel him to accept the reality. The protagonist, along with the other characters, totally becomes helpless in the hands of destiny. He is a king but the qualities of normal human beings are present in him. The tragedy takes place because of the sin he has committed inadvertently. According to the opinion of Aristotelian tragedies the hero of the play is neither perfectly good nor entirely bad. Oedipus thus is the man of ordinary weaknesses. He has had all the eminence but here he has shown falling into ruin from this distinction and it is unfortunately not because of any deliberate sin but because of the error committed by him in his ignorance. Like the protagonist the other characters in this play are also good but not perfect. For example Laios, father of King Oedipus who is of course a good soul but still he commits a sin of attempting the murder of his son at the infant stage of his life because of the fear that his son would one day kill him. Laios had the feet of this child bound and pinned. Someone tossed it in a mountain wilderness. So there. Apollo didnt cause this boy to be his fathers killer. Laios didnt bear the terror he feared from his son. Thats what the words of prophecy defined. (Line 717, Scene 3, â€Å"Oedipus the King†) The theory of tragedy of Arthur Miller is based on the life of an ordinary man. Miller was rejected by many critics because his tragedy was not based upon the Aristotelian concept of tragedy where the tragic hero is always a king or a prince. On the contrary the hero is a common man and so according to the critics he is unable to arise the tragic sentiments. But it was the belief of Miller â€Å"that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were. On the face of it this ought to be obvious in the light of modern psychiatry, which bases its analysis upon classific formulations, such as the Oedipus and Orestes complexes, for instance, which were enacted by royal beings, but which apply to everyone in similar emotional situations. † (an essay by Arthur Miller, â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man†) With the same viewpoint Arthur Miller has depicted the tragic story of a very simple ordinary man, Willy. Willy is an ordinary person by occupation as well as by nature. Not only Willy but rests of the characters are the exact mirror image of the ordinary man in the modern society who is constantly pursuing the materialist happiness. According to Miller it is not only the kings that can be the tragic heroes but the common man can also play the role of a tragic hero. As far as the issue of morality is concerned both plays are somewhat similar and somewhat reverse to each other. Morality plays a very important role in both of this play but still it defers from one another. Many people believe that Oedipus is an immoral person but it is not a premeditated immorality. Oedipus’ tragic fall, which later leads to tragedy was absolutely not his sin. He slays his biological father and marries to his biological mother. It is actually the height of immorality but at the time of committing this sin Oedipus was totally unaware about the reality. In short he is the immoral man by his predestined actions. The concept of morality is deliberate in Miller’s â€Å"Death of Salesman. † Here the hero of this play Willy Loman flouts all the rules of morality. He is charlatan, flirt and a liar. The lack of morality finds there in the Loman’s family itself. He goes on deceiving his wife by keeping illicit relationship with another woman. He goes on deceiving his son and wife by making his false image and by pretending to be an important person. They dont need me in New York. Im the New England man. Im vital in New England. (Act 1, Part 1, pg. 4, Death of Salesman) But it is an illusion. Pride is there in both Oedipus and Willy but pride of Oedipus is at least genuine unlike to that of Willy which is just a fake. The heroes of both of the plays have to pay a lot and both of them have suffered a lot due to the mistakes they have done either ignorantly or deliberately. Both Oedipus and Willy in the end succeed in getting the sympathy of the audience. I dont say hes a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. Hes not the finest character that ever lived. But hes a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. Hes not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person. (Act 1, Part 8, pg. 40) Apart from being an ordinary man Willy like Oedipus deserves the sympathy of the audience.

Patton-Fuller Community Hospital Essay Example for Free

Patton-Fuller Community Hospital Essay Team C has identified that the Human Resources Department of Patton-Fuller Community Hospital has primary system deficiencies with the information security and lack of information. The records are currently open to all system users, exposing personal information to the Internet through the public website. The requirements for updating the Human Resources operating system have been identified using a specification checklist for updating software for the department including payroll and accounting. Team C has gathered the business requirements to understand the needs of the Human Resources department. The department currently operates on an Apple iMac with 2 gigahertz, 350-megabyte hard drive wireless with Mac OS X including Leopard and Windows XP. All patient files are encrypted for storage using AES. Advanced Encryption Standard is highly secure using 256-bit AES encryption for sensitive data. The Human Resource department also needs to have their sensitive data secure. The Human Resources department performs many functions including all of the accounting for the hospital. The hospital accounting and finance needs to operate using a secure and sophisticated software system. Updating the software to be able to perform accounting records is crucial to determine the financial soundness of Patton-Fuller Community Hospital. Patient accounts and billing must be secure and the software to be modified and updated should be too easy to learn and work with. Further research needs to be conducted if off-the-shelf software should be purchased or if the software should be modified or developed specifically for the department. Marketing communication is relatively designed to sell the value and benefits of the project to the stakeholders, which includes the healthcare providers, insurance companies, and pharmacies that are willing to invest in an organization working towards an accessible, affordable healthcare system such as the one that will be provided by Fuller-Patton Community Hospital. Team C has chosen to use branding as the source of marketing communication since it is indeed known to be the most sophisticated. The primary purpose of branding is to establish an identity that conjures up a positive image (Mochal, 2007). Our purpose in implementing this new software system is to assure the stockholders with this positive image, reflection and emotion  when a person hears of the new product. In order for Team C to make sure that the positive image is captured we will need to ask one another some important questions such as:Will this new system require a change in the way people perform their jobs and will this project make the business workers nervous as a result of efficiencies that will ultimately require less people to do the same function? As long as Team C holds a steady stream of positive communication amongst one another during the implementation of this project for the Human Resource Department then the project will be successful and should help overcome any negative perceptions one may have about the project. As a marketing research strategy Team C should implement a survey or questioner on how consumers in the local and surrounding areas gather information regarding hospitals and healthcare, as well as to what type of documentation the consumers are getting the information from such as the Internet, family, newspapers, friends, television, radio and possible hospital pamphlets or flyers. Once the information from the survey or questionnaire is gathered it should supply us with the insight of just how much the consumers friends and families have on the organization and patient satisfaction. This will guide Team C into the direction that they need in order to come up with the best image to fit the needs of Patton-Fuller Community Hospital. Team C can also set their marketing research plans toward is employee satisfaction and increase administrative efficiency by implementing Magic Service Desk for the Human Resources department. Magic Service Desk has the ability to track all employee requests while providing him or her with instant answers to policies and procedure questions. This will be an instant way that Team C can improve Patton-Fullers organizational efficiency by automating the Human Resources processes and empowering all employees to help them with access to the knowledge base and retrieve the available FAQs that they so desperately need. Mochal, T. (2007). Use branding techniques to build a positive image for your project. BNET Business Network. Retrieved on 12 Oct 2008 from: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6162466.html

Utilisation of Wind Energy for High Rise Building Power

Utilisation of Wind Energy for High Rise Building Power Introduction The price of conventional energy is on the rise, due to the ever-widening gap between demands and supply. The main reason for such shortages is the depletion in natural resources, such as coal, which is the main fuel used for electrical energy generation. Since these fuels are made up of carbon compounds, burning them has rapidly increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the last 100 years. This has brought about a chain reaction of hazards such as global warming, climate change, destruction of ecosystems, etc with predictions for adverse outcomes in the future. In response to this threat and to initiate an end to such processes, the UN agreed the Kyoto Protocol in Japan in 1997. This requires industrialised nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% of 1990 levels by 2008-2012. The UK has agreed to meet this target and furthered its promise by setting a goal of 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050[ ]. Part of its government energy policy is to increase the contribution of electricity supplied by renewable energy to 10% by 2010 (Blackmore P, 2004). A similar promise has been undertaken by many world nations, which has led to a plethora of new and innovative methods for power generation. Renewable is the key to climate friendly forms of energy, due to the absence of emissions detrimental to the environment (Stiebler M, 2008). It includes energy derived from sunlight, wind, wave, tides and geothermal heat. Out of the afore mentioned resources, geothermal heat is restricted to only limited locations on the globe while wave and tidal power is still in its research stage. Thus sunlight and wind are the key elements that can be tapped for energy generation. However, on comparison between the two systems, wind energy systems are more advantageous both in availability of resources and cost of generation. This report mainly focuses on wind energy, with a keen interest on harvesting it for ventilation and power generation purposes in high-rise buildings. Plan forms that aid this purpose will be studied using Computational Fluid Dynamics to understand the flow of wind in and around a thirty-storey structure and the building configuration well suited for natural ventilation and wind turbine integration would be identified at the end of the test. To obtain a complete picture of wind flow patterns and to closely mimic real life situations, the wind will be simulated from different directions at different wind speeds. Wind energy Wind is the term used for air in motion and is usually applied to the natural horizontal motion of the atmosphere (Taranath Bungale S, 2005). It is brought about by the movement of atmospheric air masses that occur due to variations in atmospheric pressure, which in turn are the results of differences in the solar heating of different parts of the earth’s surface (Boyle G, 2004). At a macro level wind profile differs from place to place depending on geographic location and climatic conditions while in a microstate the immediate physical environment of a particular place modifies the nature of the winds. For example, the velocity of the wind recorded in the countryside which has acres of unobstructed grassland would be greater than that recorded in a city dominated by skyscrapers. Hence to obtain a clear idea of the wind characteristic corresponding to a particular area the wind rose is utilized. They are based on metrological observations and depict the varying wind speeds experienced by a site at different times of the year together with the frequency of different wind directions [ ]. It is the first tool consulted to judge the wind resources of a site and its ability to support power generation. The winds have been tapped from ancient times by means of ship sails, windmills, wind catchers, etc. The history of windmills goes back more than 2000 years (Stiebler M, 2008) when they were predominantly used for grinding grain and pumping water. However, the breakthrough occurred when Charles.F.Brush erected the first automatically operating wind turbine at Ohio in 1888 [ ]. It was fabricated using wood and had a rotor diameter of 17m with 144 blades. The system recorded very low efficiency and was mainly used to charge batteries. The reason behind the poor efficiency was due to the large number of blades, which was later discovered by Poul la Cour who introduced fewer blades into his wind turbine. Though such developments were achieved at an early stage in innovation, it was not until 1980 that the prominent application of renewable energies was sought after (Boyle G, 2004). Wind energy is the harnessing of the kinetic energy prevalent in moving air masses. This kinetic energy for any particular mass of moving air (Boyle G, 2004) is given by the formula: K.E = 0.5mV ² where, m – mass of the air (kg) and V – wind velocity (m/s). However this mass of moving air per second is: m = air density x volume of air flowing per second m = air density x area x velocity   Thus, m = rAV where, r – density of air at sea level = 1.2256 kg/m ³ and A – area covered by the flowing air (m ²) Substituting this value of m in the former equation, K.E. = 0.5rAV ³ (J/s) But energy per unit of time is power and hence the above equation is the power available from the wind. It is also evident that the power is directly proportional to thrice the wind velocity. In other words even a marginal increase in wind speed would yield three folds of the nominal power. This is the critical fact based on which the whole energy process is evolved. However not all of this power can be exhausted since it would lead to nil outflow through the wind turbine, that is no flow of air behind the rotor. This would lead to no flow of air over the turbine causing total failure of the system. According to Albert Betz the maximum amount of power that can be harnessed from the wind is 59.3%. This is often referred to as the Betz limit and has been proven by modern experiments. Some of the advantages of wind energy include: It is based on a non-exhaustive resource and hence can be harnessed for generations. It is a clean and eco friendly way of producing energy. In its working lifetime, the wind turbine produces eighty times the amount of energy that goes into its manufacturing and thus has diminishable net impact on the environment. It does not require any additional resources such as water supply unlike conventional power generation. It can boost the economy of the region (wind farms). Wind turbines: Wind turbines are the modern day adaptations of the yesteryear windmills but unlike their counterparts they are mainly used for power generation. These new age systems come in different shapes and have various configurations, the well established of them all are the Horizontal axis wind turbine and the Vertical axis wind turbine. Write a brief about horizontal wind turbines and vertical wind turbines. BUilding integrated Wind Turbines (BUWT): Building integrated wind turbines are associated with buildings designed and shaped with wind energy in mind (Stankovic S et al, 2009). They are relatively a new way of harnessing energy that is gaining popularity at a quick pace. Small scale wind turbines on house roofs and retrofitting also fall under this category. The design of BUWTs is a complicated affair and involves the careful consideration of various factors. Since turbines are fixed into the building’s fabric its impact on the environment, building’s response and needs of its owners and occupants need to be weighed equally. Also numerous design decisions such as planning, structure, services, construction and maintenance depend on this single process (Stankovic S et al, 2009). With the increase in the scale of the proposal the importance of these factors increases simultaneously. The proposal generally spans from the number, scale, type and location of the turbines together with its annual energy yield and design life. A good BUWT based building should be a wholesome design that does not prejudice the buildings efficient functioning for energy generation. Generic options for BUWTs: Stankovic S et al (2009) explains that the wind turbines can be fixed on to a building in enumerable ways. Each method can accomplish a different level of power depending on the type of turbine used and the form of the building it is mounted upon. On top of a square/ rectangular building: This configuration is on the principle that the wind velocity increases with height and hence the amount of energy generated would be of a higher order (10% increase with wind acceleration). An added advantage is that the turbine would experience relatively little turbulence. But access to the turbine for maintenance and decommissioning works may be difficult. If mounted on tall buildings the turbines may threaten the visual quality of the skyline. On top of a rounded building: This case is very similar to the previous configuration except that with the use of rounded faà §ade the mean tower height can be considerably diminished. Also the rounded profile influences the local acceleration (15% increase in energy). The low tower height favors easy access to the turbine but leads to blade flicker and noise issues. Concentrator on top of a rounded building: This case is well suited to areas with bi-directional winds (20% energy increase over a free standing equivalent due to local acceleration). Vertical axis wind turbines are better suited for this feature while Horizontal axis wind turbines need to be suitably altered to achieve the same status. The building spaces that act as concentrators may be inhabited with suitable acoustical treatment. This case also encounters the same drawbacks as listed in the previous case. Square concentrator within a building faà §ade: As before, this configuration takes advantage of the higher quality winds at higher altitudes and local acceleration thereby achieving 25% increase in energy and 40% increase for bi-directional winds. This option is best suited for buildings with narrower profiles. There may be a loss in the saleable area of the building but the aperture can be converted into an exclusive feature such as a sky garden. The opening also relieves the wind loading on the building’s facade leading to simpler structural solutions. Vertical axis wind turbine is the only choice for integration due to its square swept area. Circular concentrator within a building faà §ade: This is very similar to the square concentrator except the opening is accustomed to hold pitch controlled horizontal axis wind turbines with fixed yaw. Also, a 35% increase for uniform wind and 50% increase in energy for bi-directional winds are achievable in this method. But on the down side, this technique is more expensive due to the cylindrical shroud. On the side of a building: In this technique, an increase in 80-90% in energy than the freestanding equivalents is achievable only if the building form is optimized to the local wind character. Only reliable vertical axis wind turbines can be used for power generation due to access issues. For higher swept area, more number of turbines should be used. Between multiple building forms: This type of an option opens out many doors for a range of architectural forms. Unlike the previous cases, the buildings orientation, form, shape and spacing play key roles in the performance of the turbines. Vertical axis wind turbines are better suited for this purpose. Guidelines for BUWT’s: The following are some guidelines outlined by Stankovic S et al (2009) for incorporating wind turbines into a structure: BUWTs should be tailored to the specific site for good results. Adequate wind resources should be available on site. If however if the site is under resourced steps are to be adopted to deliberately elevate the quality of the wind through the buildings form or turbine. The impact of its surroundings should also be considered before commissioning such a project. The dominating wind direction and its intensity should be observed from meteorological data. This would help in determining the form and orientation of the building together with finalizing the position of the wind turbine to make the most out of the available resource. Environmental impact assessment corresponding to the site should be carried out to foresee the adverse effects the turbines may create. Acoustic isolation may be sought for in some areas within the building if it lies at close proximity to the rotor. Natural ventilation and day lighting qualities of the building may be challenged and forced to settle for artificial means. The type and position of openings, external shading devices, smoke extracts etc should be handled with appropriate care to avoid draught winds. Access to the wind turbines for maintenance and decommissioning must be provided suitably. The aesthetic quality of the mounted turbines must harmonize with its surroundings and should not over power the pedestrians at ground level. To this end well suited screening devices such as canopies, screens and landscape may be utilized as per the necessity. The overall success of BUWT project depends on its ability to deliver the expected power. Inability to comply with this effect would result in the failure of its intended purpose from both an environmental and design point of view. Thus the electricity demand of the building and the level to which this would be met with should be estimated prior to turbine design to secure maximum benefits. Wind flow prediction and energy yields: For any project to be successful, Wind flow and building design (Taranath Bungale S, 2005) When the air moves in a vertical direction it is referred to as a current. These currents play a major role in meteorology whereas the gradual decrease in wind speed and high turbulence of the horizontal motion of air, at the ground level, are vital in building engineering. In urban areas, this zone of turbulence extends to a height of approximately one quarter of a mile aboveground and is called the surface boundary layer. Above this layer, the horizontal airflow is no longer influenced by the ground effect. The wind speed at this height is known as the gradient wind speed, and it is precisely in this boundary layer where most human activity is conducted. Characteristics of wind: The flow of wind is complex because many flow situations arise from the interaction of wind with structures. A few characteristics of wind include: Variation of wind velocity with height: The viscosity of air reduces its velocity adjacent to the earth’s surface to almost zero. A retarding effect occurs in the wind layers near the ground, and these layers in turn successively slow the outer layers. The slowing down is reduced at each layer as the height increases, and eventually becomes negligibly small. The height at which velocity ceases to increase is called the gradient height, and the corresponding velocity, the gradient velocity. At heights of approximately 366m aboveground, the wind speed is virtually unaffected by surface friction, and its movement is solely dependant on prevailing seasonal and local wind effects the height through which the wind speed is affected by topography is called the atmospheric boundary layer. Wind turbulence: Motion of wind is turbulent and it occurs in wind flow because air has a very low viscosity-about one-sixteenth that of water. Any movement of air at speeds greater than 0.9 to 1.3 m/s is turbulent, causing air particles to move randomly in all directions. Vortex shedding: In general, wind buffering against a bluff body such as a rectangular building gets diverted in three mutually perpendicular directions. However, only the longitudinal winds and the transverse winds or crosswinds are considered in civil engineering. When a free flowing mass of air encounters a building along its path, the originally parallel upwind streamlines are displaced on either side of the building. This results in spiral vortices being shed periodically from the sides into the downstream flow of the wind, called the wake. At relatively low wind speeds the vortices are shed, that is, break away from the surface of the building and an impulse is applied in the transverse direction. Distribution of pressures and suctions: When air flows around the edges of a structure, the resulting pressures at the corners are much in excess of the pressures on the center of elevation. This has been evident by the damages caused to corner windows, eave and ridge tiles, etc in windstorms. Wind tunnel studies conducted on scale models of buildings indicate that three distinct pressure areas develop around the building. They are: Positive pressure zone on the upstream face (Region 1) Negative pressure zone at the upstream corners (Region 2) Negative pressure zone on the downstream face (Region 3) The highest negative pressures are created in the upstream corners designated as Region 2. Wind pressures on a buildings surface are not constant, but fluctuate continuously. The positive pressure on the upstream or the windward face fluctuates more than the negative pressure on the downstream or the leeward face. The negative pressure region remains relatively steady as compared to the positive pressure zone. The fluctuation of pressure is random and varies from point to point on the building surface. Nearby buildings can have a significant influence on wind forces. If they are the same height as the structure being considered then they will mostly provide shelter, although local wind loads can be increased in some situations. Where surrounding buildings are significantly taller they will often generate increased wind loading (negative shelter) on nearby lower structures. Shelter can result from either from the general built-environment upwind of the site or from the direct shielding from specific individual upwind buildings (Blackmore P, 2004). Natural ventilation The three natural ventilation airflow paths in buildings are (Pennycook, 2009): Cross ventilation Single-sided ventilation Passive stack ventilation Advantages of cross ventilation: Greater rates of ventilation can be achieved under amicable weather conditions. Can be utilized for deep-plan spaces with operable windows on the external wall. Incumbents have control over ventilation. Relatively cost free. Can be incorporated with thermal masses. However, it has certain limitations such as: Internal space layout must be hindrance free for easy, clear flow of air. Internal partitions must be within 1.2m height and tall cupboards must be placed alongside the windows. Natural ventilation can occur only under the presence of suitable winds. Poor planning and positioning of windows may cause disruptive draughts and gusts. Winter ventilation is problematic. Unsuitable for buildings located in noisy and pollution prone environments. The requirements of fresh air supply are governed by the type of occupancy, number and activity of the occupants and by the nature of any processes carried out in the space (Koenigsberger et al, 2001). When natural ventilation is stipulated for good indoor air quality, the amount and nature of the dominant pollutant source in the space should be identified. Based on this data the ventilation rate for the space can be calculated such that the pollution level does not cross a preset specific mark. Generally the concentration of the pollutants decreases with the increase in airflow rate (Figure –1). However, in terms of thermal comfort especially during winter the heating requirement of the building will increase with the ventilation rate. This demand varies with time, wind characteristics of the place, opening and closing of windows and doors by its occupants and the thermal state of the building. In summer, cooling is ideal for both the building and its occupants to prevent internal heat gains. By directing the high velocity wind around the human body the evaporative rate at the skins surface can be increased thereby achieving a cooling sensation. The recommended upper limit of indoor air movement is 0.8 m/sec, which permits the inhabitants to occupy a space about 2 °C warmer and 60% relative humidity with optimum comfort. The traditional way to cool buildings is to provide large openings along the exterior wall with the principle that higher the ventilation rate greater the loss of heat to the external environment. But such an arrangement would work only when the outdoor te mperature is in the range of comfort zone. When controlled indoor environments are desired especially during the occupancy period’s night ventilation is recommended. In this technique the building is cooled at night so that it can absorb the heat generated during the day (Allard F, 1998). Based on wind tunnel experimental observations, the factors that affect the indoor airflow are: Orientation: External features: Cross-ventilation: Position of openings: Size of openings: Control of openings: Literature review The following are studies that have been made of different aspects of wind using Computational Fluid dynamics. CFD evaluation of wind speed conditions in passages between parallel buildings: This analysis undertaken by Blocken B et al (2007) mainly focuses on the wind speed conditions in passages between parallel buildings in combination with the accuracy of the commercial CFD code Fluent 6.1.22 when the wall-function roughness modifications are applied to them. The Venturi effect is also studied to determine the amount of increase in wind speed in the passage due to the decrease in flow section. The results obtained were compared with various previously proven experiments carried out by experts in the field. As the title indicated the case undertaken involves a pair of rectangular buildings measuring 40m x 20m x 20m, placed adjacent to each other and separated by a narrow passage. The width of the passage is widened (for example, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 100 m) with every case to clearly understand the Venturi effect. The dimension of the computational domain is 20.5x14x18m3; the whole setup is placed at a distance of 5m from the inlet and simulated with a wind speed of 6.8m/sec based on initial results. The results recorded at the end of the simulation process are discussed as follows. They are based on the amplification factor, which is defined as the ratio of the mean wind speed at a certain location to the mean wind speed at the same location without the buildings present. As such it is a direct indication of the effect of the buildings on the wind speed (Blocken B et al, 2007). Pedestrian level wind profile: In context to this research, for narrow passages (example w=2m) this amplification factor occurs maximum at the centerline immediately behind the entrance. When the distance between the buildings are slightly increased (example w=10m), the flow streams deflecting off the inner edges of the buildings combine into a large jet stream and records an increase in the amplification factor. However this property is lost when the width of the passage is of a high order (example w=30m). Overall wind profile: To understand the overall wind profile, six vertical lines were identified along the passage’s center plane for the case of w=6m. The lines depicted the fact that there was an increase in the wind speed at the ground level due to the downdraft of the wind along the front faà §ade of the building and a decrease in wind speed at the end of the passage due to the exit of flow from the passage. Also for these cases, there was no significant increase in the wind speed with the increase in height. Flow rates at different points in the passage: To evaluate the Venturi-effect three fluxes were defined, one along the vertical plane, another along the horizontal plan and the final being similar to the former one but in the absence of the buildings. When the flow rate was calculated for narrow passages, it stated an increase in wind speed by only 8% due to the Venturi effect. However for larger widths the flow rate was lower than the free-field flux. This shows that the wind has a tendency to flow over and around the building rather than be forced through the passage as previously believed. Thus there is a lack of strong Venturi effect and the flow in the passage can be attributed as the channeling effect for these cases. The research also concluded that there were discrepancies in the CFD results due to the use of the roughness factor and advised future users to simulate an empty field before positioning the buildings to clearly identify the difference in results. Further research into the Venturi effect was also implied. Computational analysis of wind driven natural ventilation in buildings: Evola G and Popov V (2006) research focuses on the application of three-dimensional Reynolds Averaged Navier-Strokes (RANS) modeling on wind driven natural ventilation with specific detail to the pressure distribution and flow pattern within the building. The various cases would be simulated with the standard k-e model and the Renormalization Group theory (RNG). Within the framework of natural ventilation both single sided ventilation and cross ventilation would be studied and the results obtained using CFD will be compared with LES models and empirical methods for its reliability.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The building undertaken consists of a 250mm x 250mm x 250mm cube punctured with a centrally located 84mm x 125 mm opening on the wind ward side (Case 1). In Case 2 the door like opening is placed on the leeward side and in Case 3 both the openings are retained to test the cross ventilation principle. On comparison between the CFD results obtained for Case 1 and 2, Case 2 portrays a better flow pattern especially at the mouth of the opening. This leads to a better ventilation rate than Case 1 though in contrast to the theoretical data that good ventilation rate and flow patterns are achievable only when the opening faces the incoming winds. To establish the phenomenon further experimentation into the field was suggested. Between Cases 1, 2 and 3, cross ventilation clearly stands out as the best option of them all, both in terms of velocity and distribution. Also the study concluded that the measured RNG results matched approximately to the theoretical results of Cases 1 and 2. But a significant amount of deviation was observed in Case 3. The RNG model was only slightly intense than the k-e model generally used. The research also concluded that there were discrepancies in the CFD results due to the use of the roughness factor and advised future users to simulate an empty field before positioning the buildings to clearly identify the difference in results. Further research into the Venturi effect was also implied. CFD modeling of unsteady cross-ventilation flows using LES: This research undertaken by Cheng-Hu Hu et al (2008) employs the LES method to investigate the fluctuating ventilation flow rate induced by the wind for a cross-ventilated building. The results from CFD were compared with those previously acquired from wind tunnel tests.   Ã‚   The building proposed for the study consists of a rectangular box with two openings of equal size located opposite to each other. The wind is simulated from 0 °(Case 1) and 90 °(Case 2) to the building at a rate of 1m/sec, to study the flow pattern in and around it. When the air approaches the building the ventilation rate is unsteady at the mouth of the openings due to turbulence and in the flow separation layer due to shear. In Case 1 the wind is accelerated through the opening and directed downwards inside the building. This phenomenon brings about a circulation of the internal air before guiding the wind upwards and out through the window on the leeward side of the building. The air exchange occurs due to the mean flows through the opening. In Case 2 where the wind is parallel to the windows, the air moves in and exits rapidly causing fluctuating flows thereby leading to air exchange. In this case turbulence prone areas are formed at the rear of the building. When these results were compared with the wind tunnel data, Case 1 portrayed similarities while Case 2 had major deviations. Further study was proposed for understanding the reason behind such deviations. Case studies The Bahrain world trade centre was the world’s first building to ‘aesthetically incorporate commercial wind turbines into the fabric of the building’ [ ]. The complex consists of a three-storied sculpted podium and basement from where the 240m high towers rise up into the sky. The two towers comprise of 51 floors each and are connected by means of three, 31.5m span bridges at 60m, 96m and 132m levels [ ]. They are oval in section for aerodynamic reasons and follow a shallow V-shape in plan for adequate blade clearance. Sitting on each of this 70 ton spandrel is an 11-ton nacelle to which the industry approved horizontal axis wind turbines are fixed by special means. The turbine has a rotor diameter of 29m and is stall controlled with centrifugally activated feathering tips for air brakes (Killa S Smith Richard F, 2008). The turbines are oriented facing the Arabian Gulf intercepting the path of the dominant winds. The decision to harness the prevailing wind was thought of from the initial stage drawing inspiration from ‘the regional wind towers and the vast sails of the traditional Arabian Dhow which utilise the wind to drive them forward’. Numerous Computational fluid dynamics models and wind tunnel tests were carried out to determine the final building form. The result was a skyward tapering, elliptical structure, carved out by the wind that functions as aerofoil sections (Wood A, 2008). The shape and spatial relationship of the towers aid in adhering the wind in a â€Å"S’ flow whereby the center of the wind stream remains nearly perpendicular to the turbine within a 45 ° wind azimuth, either side of the central axis (Killa S Smith Richard F, 2008). This increases the turbine efficiency, number of working hours and minimizes the stress on the blade caused by yawing [ ]. Furthermore, the two towers were placed such that they create a ‘V’ shaped space in between them, as well as a negative pressure behind the blocks, thus creating an opportunity for the Venturi effect to accelerate wind velocity onto the turbines (Binder G, 2006) by as much as 30% more than the source wind (Killa S Smith Richard F, 2008). The tapering profile combined with the increased onshore wind velocity at higher altitudes creates a near equal regime of wind speed on each of the three turbines, irrespective of its location, allowing them to rotate at the same speed and generate approximately the same amount of energy (Wood A, 2008). Table 1: Annual energy output Utilisation of Wind Energy for High Rise Building Power Utilisation of Wind Energy for High Rise Building Power Introduction The price of conventional energy is on the rise, due to the ever-widening gap between demands and supply. The main reason for such shortages is the depletion in natural resources, such as coal, which is the main fuel used for electrical energy generation. Since these fuels are made up of carbon compounds, burning them has rapidly increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the last 100 years. This has brought about a chain reaction of hazards such as global warming, climate change, destruction of ecosystems, etc with predictions for adverse outcomes in the future. In response to this threat and to initiate an end to such processes, the UN agreed the Kyoto Protocol in Japan in 1997. This requires industrialised nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5% of 1990 levels by 2008-2012. The UK has agreed to meet this target and furthered its promise by setting a goal of 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050[ ]. Part of its government energy policy is to increase the contribution of electricity supplied by renewable energy to 10% by 2010 (Blackmore P, 2004). A similar promise has been undertaken by many world nations, which has led to a plethora of new and innovative methods for power generation. Renewable is the key to climate friendly forms of energy, due to the absence of emissions detrimental to the environment (Stiebler M, 2008). It includes energy derived from sunlight, wind, wave, tides and geothermal heat. Out of the afore mentioned resources, geothermal heat is restricted to only limited locations on the globe while wave and tidal power is still in its research stage. Thus sunlight and wind are the key elements that can be tapped for energy generation. However, on comparison between the two systems, wind energy systems are more advantageous both in availability of resources and cost of generation. This report mainly focuses on wind energy, with a keen interest on harvesting it for ventilation and power generation purposes in high-rise buildings. Plan forms that aid this purpose will be studied using Computational Fluid Dynamics to understand the flow of wind in and around a thirty-storey structure and the building configuration well suited for natural ventilation and wind turbine integration would be identified at the end of the test. To obtain a complete picture of wind flow patterns and to closely mimic real life situations, the wind will be simulated from different directions at different wind speeds. Wind energy Wind is the term used for air in motion and is usually applied to the natural horizontal motion of the atmosphere (Taranath Bungale S, 2005). It is brought about by the movement of atmospheric air masses that occur due to variations in atmospheric pressure, which in turn are the results of differences in the solar heating of different parts of the earth’s surface (Boyle G, 2004). At a macro level wind profile differs from place to place depending on geographic location and climatic conditions while in a microstate the immediate physical environment of a particular place modifies the nature of the winds. For example, the velocity of the wind recorded in the countryside which has acres of unobstructed grassland would be greater than that recorded in a city dominated by skyscrapers. Hence to obtain a clear idea of the wind characteristic corresponding to a particular area the wind rose is utilized. They are based on metrological observations and depict the varying wind speeds experienced by a site at different times of the year together with the frequency of different wind directions [ ]. It is the first tool consulted to judge the wind resources of a site and its ability to support power generation. The winds have been tapped from ancient times by means of ship sails, windmills, wind catchers, etc. The history of windmills goes back more than 2000 years (Stiebler M, 2008) when they were predominantly used for grinding grain and pumping water. However, the breakthrough occurred when Charles.F.Brush erected the first automatically operating wind turbine at Ohio in 1888 [ ]. It was fabricated using wood and had a rotor diameter of 17m with 144 blades. The system recorded very low efficiency and was mainly used to charge batteries. The reason behind the poor efficiency was due to the large number of blades, which was later discovered by Poul la Cour who introduced fewer blades into his wind turbine. Though such developments were achieved at an early stage in innovation, it was not until 1980 that the prominent application of renewable energies was sought after (Boyle G, 2004). Wind energy is the harnessing of the kinetic energy prevalent in moving air masses. This kinetic energy for any particular mass of moving air (Boyle G, 2004) is given by the formula: K.E = 0.5mV ² where, m – mass of the air (kg) and V – wind velocity (m/s). However this mass of moving air per second is: m = air density x volume of air flowing per second m = air density x area x velocity   Thus, m = rAV where, r – density of air at sea level = 1.2256 kg/m ³ and A – area covered by the flowing air (m ²) Substituting this value of m in the former equation, K.E. = 0.5rAV ³ (J/s) But energy per unit of time is power and hence the above equation is the power available from the wind. It is also evident that the power is directly proportional to thrice the wind velocity. In other words even a marginal increase in wind speed would yield three folds of the nominal power. This is the critical fact based on which the whole energy process is evolved. However not all of this power can be exhausted since it would lead to nil outflow through the wind turbine, that is no flow of air behind the rotor. This would lead to no flow of air over the turbine causing total failure of the system. According to Albert Betz the maximum amount of power that can be harnessed from the wind is 59.3%. This is often referred to as the Betz limit and has been proven by modern experiments. Some of the advantages of wind energy include: It is based on a non-exhaustive resource and hence can be harnessed for generations. It is a clean and eco friendly way of producing energy. In its working lifetime, the wind turbine produces eighty times the amount of energy that goes into its manufacturing and thus has diminishable net impact on the environment. It does not require any additional resources such as water supply unlike conventional power generation. It can boost the economy of the region (wind farms). Wind turbines: Wind turbines are the modern day adaptations of the yesteryear windmills but unlike their counterparts they are mainly used for power generation. These new age systems come in different shapes and have various configurations, the well established of them all are the Horizontal axis wind turbine and the Vertical axis wind turbine. Write a brief about horizontal wind turbines and vertical wind turbines. BUilding integrated Wind Turbines (BUWT): Building integrated wind turbines are associated with buildings designed and shaped with wind energy in mind (Stankovic S et al, 2009). They are relatively a new way of harnessing energy that is gaining popularity at a quick pace. Small scale wind turbines on house roofs and retrofitting also fall under this category. The design of BUWTs is a complicated affair and involves the careful consideration of various factors. Since turbines are fixed into the building’s fabric its impact on the environment, building’s response and needs of its owners and occupants need to be weighed equally. Also numerous design decisions such as planning, structure, services, construction and maintenance depend on this single process (Stankovic S et al, 2009). With the increase in the scale of the proposal the importance of these factors increases simultaneously. The proposal generally spans from the number, scale, type and location of the turbines together with its annual energy yield and design life. A good BUWT based building should be a wholesome design that does not prejudice the buildings efficient functioning for energy generation. Generic options for BUWTs: Stankovic S et al (2009) explains that the wind turbines can be fixed on to a building in enumerable ways. Each method can accomplish a different level of power depending on the type of turbine used and the form of the building it is mounted upon. On top of a square/ rectangular building: This configuration is on the principle that the wind velocity increases with height and hence the amount of energy generated would be of a higher order (10% increase with wind acceleration). An added advantage is that the turbine would experience relatively little turbulence. But access to the turbine for maintenance and decommissioning works may be difficult. If mounted on tall buildings the turbines may threaten the visual quality of the skyline. On top of a rounded building: This case is very similar to the previous configuration except that with the use of rounded faà §ade the mean tower height can be considerably diminished. Also the rounded profile influences the local acceleration (15% increase in energy). The low tower height favors easy access to the turbine but leads to blade flicker and noise issues. Concentrator on top of a rounded building: This case is well suited to areas with bi-directional winds (20% energy increase over a free standing equivalent due to local acceleration). Vertical axis wind turbines are better suited for this feature while Horizontal axis wind turbines need to be suitably altered to achieve the same status. The building spaces that act as concentrators may be inhabited with suitable acoustical treatment. This case also encounters the same drawbacks as listed in the previous case. Square concentrator within a building faà §ade: As before, this configuration takes advantage of the higher quality winds at higher altitudes and local acceleration thereby achieving 25% increase in energy and 40% increase for bi-directional winds. This option is best suited for buildings with narrower profiles. There may be a loss in the saleable area of the building but the aperture can be converted into an exclusive feature such as a sky garden. The opening also relieves the wind loading on the building’s facade leading to simpler structural solutions. Vertical axis wind turbine is the only choice for integration due to its square swept area. Circular concentrator within a building faà §ade: This is very similar to the square concentrator except the opening is accustomed to hold pitch controlled horizontal axis wind turbines with fixed yaw. Also, a 35% increase for uniform wind and 50% increase in energy for bi-directional winds are achievable in this method. But on the down side, this technique is more expensive due to the cylindrical shroud. On the side of a building: In this technique, an increase in 80-90% in energy than the freestanding equivalents is achievable only if the building form is optimized to the local wind character. Only reliable vertical axis wind turbines can be used for power generation due to access issues. For higher swept area, more number of turbines should be used. Between multiple building forms: This type of an option opens out many doors for a range of architectural forms. Unlike the previous cases, the buildings orientation, form, shape and spacing play key roles in the performance of the turbines. Vertical axis wind turbines are better suited for this purpose. Guidelines for BUWT’s: The following are some guidelines outlined by Stankovic S et al (2009) for incorporating wind turbines into a structure: BUWTs should be tailored to the specific site for good results. Adequate wind resources should be available on site. If however if the site is under resourced steps are to be adopted to deliberately elevate the quality of the wind through the buildings form or turbine. The impact of its surroundings should also be considered before commissioning such a project. The dominating wind direction and its intensity should be observed from meteorological data. This would help in determining the form and orientation of the building together with finalizing the position of the wind turbine to make the most out of the available resource. Environmental impact assessment corresponding to the site should be carried out to foresee the adverse effects the turbines may create. Acoustic isolation may be sought for in some areas within the building if it lies at close proximity to the rotor. Natural ventilation and day lighting qualities of the building may be challenged and forced to settle for artificial means. The type and position of openings, external shading devices, smoke extracts etc should be handled with appropriate care to avoid draught winds. Access to the wind turbines for maintenance and decommissioning must be provided suitably. The aesthetic quality of the mounted turbines must harmonize with its surroundings and should not over power the pedestrians at ground level. To this end well suited screening devices such as canopies, screens and landscape may be utilized as per the necessity. The overall success of BUWT project depends on its ability to deliver the expected power. Inability to comply with this effect would result in the failure of its intended purpose from both an environmental and design point of view. Thus the electricity demand of the building and the level to which this would be met with should be estimated prior to turbine design to secure maximum benefits. Wind flow prediction and energy yields: For any project to be successful, Wind flow and building design (Taranath Bungale S, 2005) When the air moves in a vertical direction it is referred to as a current. These currents play a major role in meteorology whereas the gradual decrease in wind speed and high turbulence of the horizontal motion of air, at the ground level, are vital in building engineering. In urban areas, this zone of turbulence extends to a height of approximately one quarter of a mile aboveground and is called the surface boundary layer. Above this layer, the horizontal airflow is no longer influenced by the ground effect. The wind speed at this height is known as the gradient wind speed, and it is precisely in this boundary layer where most human activity is conducted. Characteristics of wind: The flow of wind is complex because many flow situations arise from the interaction of wind with structures. A few characteristics of wind include: Variation of wind velocity with height: The viscosity of air reduces its velocity adjacent to the earth’s surface to almost zero. A retarding effect occurs in the wind layers near the ground, and these layers in turn successively slow the outer layers. The slowing down is reduced at each layer as the height increases, and eventually becomes negligibly small. The height at which velocity ceases to increase is called the gradient height, and the corresponding velocity, the gradient velocity. At heights of approximately 366m aboveground, the wind speed is virtually unaffected by surface friction, and its movement is solely dependant on prevailing seasonal and local wind effects the height through which the wind speed is affected by topography is called the atmospheric boundary layer. Wind turbulence: Motion of wind is turbulent and it occurs in wind flow because air has a very low viscosity-about one-sixteenth that of water. Any movement of air at speeds greater than 0.9 to 1.3 m/s is turbulent, causing air particles to move randomly in all directions. Vortex shedding: In general, wind buffering against a bluff body such as a rectangular building gets diverted in three mutually perpendicular directions. However, only the longitudinal winds and the transverse winds or crosswinds are considered in civil engineering. When a free flowing mass of air encounters a building along its path, the originally parallel upwind streamlines are displaced on either side of the building. This results in spiral vortices being shed periodically from the sides into the downstream flow of the wind, called the wake. At relatively low wind speeds the vortices are shed, that is, break away from the surface of the building and an impulse is applied in the transverse direction. Distribution of pressures and suctions: When air flows around the edges of a structure, the resulting pressures at the corners are much in excess of the pressures on the center of elevation. This has been evident by the damages caused to corner windows, eave and ridge tiles, etc in windstorms. Wind tunnel studies conducted on scale models of buildings indicate that three distinct pressure areas develop around the building. They are: Positive pressure zone on the upstream face (Region 1) Negative pressure zone at the upstream corners (Region 2) Negative pressure zone on the downstream face (Region 3) The highest negative pressures are created in the upstream corners designated as Region 2. Wind pressures on a buildings surface are not constant, but fluctuate continuously. The positive pressure on the upstream or the windward face fluctuates more than the negative pressure on the downstream or the leeward face. The negative pressure region remains relatively steady as compared to the positive pressure zone. The fluctuation of pressure is random and varies from point to point on the building surface. Nearby buildings can have a significant influence on wind forces. If they are the same height as the structure being considered then they will mostly provide shelter, although local wind loads can be increased in some situations. Where surrounding buildings are significantly taller they will often generate increased wind loading (negative shelter) on nearby lower structures. Shelter can result from either from the general built-environment upwind of the site or from the direct shielding from specific individual upwind buildings (Blackmore P, 2004). Natural ventilation The three natural ventilation airflow paths in buildings are (Pennycook, 2009): Cross ventilation Single-sided ventilation Passive stack ventilation Advantages of cross ventilation: Greater rates of ventilation can be achieved under amicable weather conditions. Can be utilized for deep-plan spaces with operable windows on the external wall. Incumbents have control over ventilation. Relatively cost free. Can be incorporated with thermal masses. However, it has certain limitations such as: Internal space layout must be hindrance free for easy, clear flow of air. Internal partitions must be within 1.2m height and tall cupboards must be placed alongside the windows. Natural ventilation can occur only under the presence of suitable winds. Poor planning and positioning of windows may cause disruptive draughts and gusts. Winter ventilation is problematic. Unsuitable for buildings located in noisy and pollution prone environments. The requirements of fresh air supply are governed by the type of occupancy, number and activity of the occupants and by the nature of any processes carried out in the space (Koenigsberger et al, 2001). When natural ventilation is stipulated for good indoor air quality, the amount and nature of the dominant pollutant source in the space should be identified. Based on this data the ventilation rate for the space can be calculated such that the pollution level does not cross a preset specific mark. Generally the concentration of the pollutants decreases with the increase in airflow rate (Figure –1). However, in terms of thermal comfort especially during winter the heating requirement of the building will increase with the ventilation rate. This demand varies with time, wind characteristics of the place, opening and closing of windows and doors by its occupants and the thermal state of the building. In summer, cooling is ideal for both the building and its occupants to prevent internal heat gains. By directing the high velocity wind around the human body the evaporative rate at the skins surface can be increased thereby achieving a cooling sensation. The recommended upper limit of indoor air movement is 0.8 m/sec, which permits the inhabitants to occupy a space about 2 °C warmer and 60% relative humidity with optimum comfort. The traditional way to cool buildings is to provide large openings along the exterior wall with the principle that higher the ventilation rate greater the loss of heat to the external environment. But such an arrangement would work only when the outdoor te mperature is in the range of comfort zone. When controlled indoor environments are desired especially during the occupancy period’s night ventilation is recommended. In this technique the building is cooled at night so that it can absorb the heat generated during the day (Allard F, 1998). Based on wind tunnel experimental observations, the factors that affect the indoor airflow are: Orientation: External features: Cross-ventilation: Position of openings: Size of openings: Control of openings: Literature review The following are studies that have been made of different aspects of wind using Computational Fluid dynamics. CFD evaluation of wind speed conditions in passages between parallel buildings: This analysis undertaken by Blocken B et al (2007) mainly focuses on the wind speed conditions in passages between parallel buildings in combination with the accuracy of the commercial CFD code Fluent 6.1.22 when the wall-function roughness modifications are applied to them. The Venturi effect is also studied to determine the amount of increase in wind speed in the passage due to the decrease in flow section. The results obtained were compared with various previously proven experiments carried out by experts in the field. As the title indicated the case undertaken involves a pair of rectangular buildings measuring 40m x 20m x 20m, placed adjacent to each other and separated by a narrow passage. The width of the passage is widened (for example, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 100 m) with every case to clearly understand the Venturi effect. The dimension of the computational domain is 20.5x14x18m3; the whole setup is placed at a distance of 5m from the inlet and simulated with a wind speed of 6.8m/sec based on initial results. The results recorded at the end of the simulation process are discussed as follows. They are based on the amplification factor, which is defined as the ratio of the mean wind speed at a certain location to the mean wind speed at the same location without the buildings present. As such it is a direct indication of the effect of the buildings on the wind speed (Blocken B et al, 2007). Pedestrian level wind profile: In context to this research, for narrow passages (example w=2m) this amplification factor occurs maximum at the centerline immediately behind the entrance. When the distance between the buildings are slightly increased (example w=10m), the flow streams deflecting off the inner edges of the buildings combine into a large jet stream and records an increase in the amplification factor. However this property is lost when the width of the passage is of a high order (example w=30m). Overall wind profile: To understand the overall wind profile, six vertical lines were identified along the passage’s center plane for the case of w=6m. The lines depicted the fact that there was an increase in the wind speed at the ground level due to the downdraft of the wind along the front faà §ade of the building and a decrease in wind speed at the end of the passage due to the exit of flow from the passage. Also for these cases, there was no significant increase in the wind speed with the increase in height. Flow rates at different points in the passage: To evaluate the Venturi-effect three fluxes were defined, one along the vertical plane, another along the horizontal plan and the final being similar to the former one but in the absence of the buildings. When the flow rate was calculated for narrow passages, it stated an increase in wind speed by only 8% due to the Venturi effect. However for larger widths the flow rate was lower than the free-field flux. This shows that the wind has a tendency to flow over and around the building rather than be forced through the passage as previously believed. Thus there is a lack of strong Venturi effect and the flow in the passage can be attributed as the channeling effect for these cases. The research also concluded that there were discrepancies in the CFD results due to the use of the roughness factor and advised future users to simulate an empty field before positioning the buildings to clearly identify the difference in results. Further research into the Venturi effect was also implied. Computational analysis of wind driven natural ventilation in buildings: Evola G and Popov V (2006) research focuses on the application of three-dimensional Reynolds Averaged Navier-Strokes (RANS) modeling on wind driven natural ventilation with specific detail to the pressure distribution and flow pattern within the building. The various cases would be simulated with the standard k-e model and the Renormalization Group theory (RNG). Within the framework of natural ventilation both single sided ventilation and cross ventilation would be studied and the results obtained using CFD will be compared with LES models and empirical methods for its reliability.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The building undertaken consists of a 250mm x 250mm x 250mm cube punctured with a centrally located 84mm x 125 mm opening on the wind ward side (Case 1). In Case 2 the door like opening is placed on the leeward side and in Case 3 both the openings are retained to test the cross ventilation principle. On comparison between the CFD results obtained for Case 1 and 2, Case 2 portrays a better flow pattern especially at the mouth of the opening. This leads to a better ventilation rate than Case 1 though in contrast to the theoretical data that good ventilation rate and flow patterns are achievable only when the opening faces the incoming winds. To establish the phenomenon further experimentation into the field was suggested. Between Cases 1, 2 and 3, cross ventilation clearly stands out as the best option of them all, both in terms of velocity and distribution. Also the study concluded that the measured RNG results matched approximately to the theoretical results of Cases 1 and 2. But a significant amount of deviation was observed in Case 3. The RNG model was only slightly intense than the k-e model generally used. The research also concluded that there were discrepancies in the CFD results due to the use of the roughness factor and advised future users to simulate an empty field before positioning the buildings to clearly identify the difference in results. Further research into the Venturi effect was also implied. CFD modeling of unsteady cross-ventilation flows using LES: This research undertaken by Cheng-Hu Hu et al (2008) employs the LES method to investigate the fluctuating ventilation flow rate induced by the wind for a cross-ventilated building. The results from CFD were compared with those previously acquired from wind tunnel tests.   Ã‚   The building proposed for the study consists of a rectangular box with two openings of equal size located opposite to each other. The wind is simulated from 0 °(Case 1) and 90 °(Case 2) to the building at a rate of 1m/sec, to study the flow pattern in and around it. When the air approaches the building the ventilation rate is unsteady at the mouth of the openings due to turbulence and in the flow separation layer due to shear. In Case 1 the wind is accelerated through the opening and directed downwards inside the building. This phenomenon brings about a circulation of the internal air before guiding the wind upwards and out through the window on the leeward side of the building. The air exchange occurs due to the mean flows through the opening. In Case 2 where the wind is parallel to the windows, the air moves in and exits rapidly causing fluctuating flows thereby leading to air exchange. In this case turbulence prone areas are formed at the rear of the building. When these results were compared with the wind tunnel data, Case 1 portrayed similarities while Case 2 had major deviations. Further study was proposed for understanding the reason behind such deviations. Case studies The Bahrain world trade centre was the world’s first building to ‘aesthetically incorporate commercial wind turbines into the fabric of the building’ [ ]. The complex consists of a three-storied sculpted podium and basement from where the 240m high towers rise up into the sky. The two towers comprise of 51 floors each and are connected by means of three, 31.5m span bridges at 60m, 96m and 132m levels [ ]. They are oval in section for aerodynamic reasons and follow a shallow V-shape in plan for adequate blade clearance. Sitting on each of this 70 ton spandrel is an 11-ton nacelle to which the industry approved horizontal axis wind turbines are fixed by special means. The turbine has a rotor diameter of 29m and is stall controlled with centrifugally activated feathering tips for air brakes (Killa S Smith Richard F, 2008). The turbines are oriented facing the Arabian Gulf intercepting the path of the dominant winds. The decision to harness the prevailing wind was thought of from the initial stage drawing inspiration from ‘the regional wind towers and the vast sails of the traditional Arabian Dhow which utilise the wind to drive them forward’. Numerous Computational fluid dynamics models and wind tunnel tests were carried out to determine the final building form. The result was a skyward tapering, elliptical structure, carved out by the wind that functions as aerofoil sections (Wood A, 2008). The shape and spatial relationship of the towers aid in adhering the wind in a â€Å"S’ flow whereby the center of the wind stream remains nearly perpendicular to the turbine within a 45 ° wind azimuth, either side of the central axis (Killa S Smith Richard F, 2008). This increases the turbine efficiency, number of working hours and minimizes the stress on the blade caused by yawing [ ]. Furthermore, the two towers were placed such that they create a ‘V’ shaped space in between them, as well as a negative pressure behind the blocks, thus creating an opportunity for the Venturi effect to accelerate wind velocity onto the turbines (Binder G, 2006) by as much as 30% more than the source wind (Killa S Smith Richard F, 2008). The tapering profile combined with the increased onshore wind velocity at higher altitudes creates a near equal regime of wind speed on each of the three turbines, irrespective of its location, allowing them to rotate at the same speed and generate approximately the same amount of energy (Wood A, 2008). Table 1: Annual energy output