Royal Aircraft Factory SE5 in World War I

One of the most successful aircraft used by the British in World War I (1814-1918), the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 entered service in early 1917. A reliable, stable gun platform, the type soon became the favored aircraft of many notable British aces. The S.E.5a remained in use through the end of the conflict and was retained by some air forces into the 1920s. Design In 1916, the Royal Flying Corps issued a call to the British aircraft industry to produce a fighter that was superior in all respects to any aircraft currently in use by the enemy. Answering this request were the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough and Sopwith Aviation. While discussions began at Sopwith which led to the legendary Camel, R.A.F.s Henry P. Folland, John Kenworthy, and Major Frank W. Goodden began working on a design of their own. Dubbed the Scout Experimental 5, the new design utilized a new water-cooled 150-hp Hispano-Suiza engine. In devising the rest of the aircraft, the team at Farnborough crafted a tough, square-rigged, single seat fighter capable of enduring high speeds during dives. Increased durability was achieved through the use of a narrow, wire braced, box-girder fuselage which improved pilot vision while also ensuring a higher rate of survivability in crashes. The new type was initially powered by a  Hispano-Suiza 150 HP V8 engine. Construction of three prototypes began in the fall of 1916, and one flew for the first time on November 22. During testing, two of the three prototypes crashed, the first killing Major Goodden on January 28, 1917. Development As the aircraft was refined, it proved to possess high speed and maneuverability, but also had excellent lateral control at lower speeds due to its square wingtips. As with previous R.A.F. designed aircraft, such as the B.E. 2, F.E. 2, and R.E. 8, the S.E. 5 was inherently stable making it an ideal gun platform. To arm the aircraft, the designers mounted a synchronized Vickers machine gun to fire through the propeller. This was partnered with a top wing-mounted Lewis gun which was attached with a Foster mounting. The use of the Foster mount permitted pilots to attack enemies from below by angling the Lewis gun upwards and simplified the process of reloading and clearing jams from the gun. Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 - Specifications General: Length: 20 ft. 11 in.Wingspan: 26 ft. 7 in.Height: 9 ft. 6 in.Wing Area: 244 sq. ft.Empty Weight: 1,410 lbsLoaded Weight: 1,935 lbs.Crew: 1 Performance: Power Plant: 1 x Hispano-Suiza, 8 cylinders V, 200 HPRange: 300 milesMax Speed: 138 mphCeiling: 17,000 ft. Armament: 1 x 0.303 in. (7.7 mm) forward-firing Vickers machine gun1x .303 in. (7.7 mm) Lewis gun4x 18 kg Cooper bombs Operational History The S.E.5 began service with No. 56 Squadron in March 1917, and deployed to France the following month. Arriving during Bloody April, a month that saw Manfred von Richthofen claim 21 kills himself, the S.E.5 was one of the aircraft that aided in reclaiming the skies from the Germans. During its early career, pilots found that the S.E.5 was under-powered and voiced their complaints. Famed ace Albert Ball stated that the S.E.5 has turned out a dud. Quickly moving to address this issue, R.A.F. rolled out the S.E.5a in June 1917. Possessing a 200-hp Hispano-Suiza engine, the S.E.5a became the standard version of the aircraft with 5,265 produced. The improved version of the aircraft became a favorite of British pilots as it provided excellent high-altitude performance, good visibility, and was much easier to fly than the Sopwith Camel. Despite this, production of the S.E.5a lagged behind that of the Camel due to production difficulties with the Hispano-Suiza engine. These were not resolved until the introduction of the 200-hp Wolseley Viper (a high-compression version of the Hispano-Suiza) engine in late 1917. As a result, many squadrons slated to receive the new aircraft were forced to soldier on with older types. A Favorite of the Aces Large numbers of the S.E.5a did not reach the front until early 1918. At full deployment, the aircraft equipped 21 British and 2 American squadrons. The S.E.5a was the aircraft of choice of several famed aces such as Albert Ball, Billy Bishop, Edward Mannock, and James McCudden. Speaking of the S.E.5as impressive speed, McCudden noted that  It was very fine to be in a machine that was faster than the Huns, and to know that one could run away just as things got too hot. Serving until the end of the war, it was superior to the German Albatros series of fighters and was one of the few Allied aircraft that was not outclassed by the new Fokker D.VII in May 1918. Other Uses With the end of the war that fall, some S.E.5as were briefly retained by the Royal Air Force while the type continued to be used by Australia and Canada into the 1920s. Others found second lives in the commercial sector. In the 1920s and 1930s, Major Jack Savage retained a group of S.E.5as which were used to pioneer the concept of skywriting.   Others were modified and improved for use in air racing during the 1920s. Variants Production: During World War I, the S.E.5 was produced by Austin Motors (1,650), Air Navigation and Engineering Company (560), Martinsyde (258), the Royal Aircraft Factory (200), Vickers (2,164) and Wolseley Motor Company (431). All told, 5,265 S.E.5s were built, with all but 77 in the S.E.5a configuration. A contract for 1,000 S.E.5as was issued to the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company in the United States, however only one was completed before the end of hostilities. As the conflict progressed, R.A.F. continued development of the type and unveiled the S.E.5b in April 1918.   The variant possessed a streamlined nose and spinner on the propeller as well as a retractable radiator. Other alterations included the use of single bay wings of unequal cord and span and a more streamlined fuselage. Retaining the armament of the S.E.5a, the new variant did not show significantly improved performance over the S.E.5a and was not selected for production. Testing later found that drag caused by the large upper wing offset the gains made by the sleeker fuselage.

The Effectiveness Of Different Leadership Styles Essay

Comparing the effectiveness of different leadership styles in different Leadership style is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans and motivating people. Leadership is important to a company’s productivity. The methods and manner that a manger uses to encourage employees towards the achievement of the companies objective is mean by leadership style. There are basically four types of leadership styles 1. Autocratic leadership style Figure 1 (Autocratic-leadership) Autocratic leadership style is a form of classic leadership approach where the leaders have the total power over their employees or team. This leadership style basis itself on Douglas McGregor’s theory X that considers employees as essentially lazy and hate the work and responsibility they seek to avoid work as much as possible. Autocratic leadership generally leads to high levels of absence and sales turn over. 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Dissertation Topics in Politics Free Essays

1. Introduction to Politics Dissertations This guide is designed to provide ideas about possible topics related to the study of contemporary politics and government. In general, dissertation for politics can combine a variety of research methods, and the format may vary according to the research aims of your paper. We will write a custom essay sample on Dissertation Topics in Politics or any similar topic only for you Order Now A combination of primary and secondary sources is possible as well. 2. Categories and suggested topics Note: Some of the dissertation titles are accompanied by notes in italics 2.1 Electoral systems 2.1.1 Electoral systems and representative democracy – a comparative study between majoritarian/pluralist and proportional representation systems (the student can choose United Kingdom, which has FPTP system and Romania, which has PR). 2.1.2 Extremist and proportional representation systems. Analytical study of three countries from Eastern Europe (or any other European country with far right parties, for example France) 2.1.3 First Past the Post and electoral participation in the United Kingdom. Analytical Study (How does the type of electoral system affect the levels of electoral participation in developed societiesYou can choose a particular country, for example the UK and examine changing patters of electoral participation in the last three decades for example) 2.1.4 Social capital and political participation in the United States. Analytical Study 2.1.5 Electoral systems and ethnic/religious/social diversity: the case of Romania (or Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia). 2.2. The legislature and the executive 2.2.1. Compare and contrast the powers of the legislative and executive in presidential and parliamentary system of government. (You can choose to assess the impact of these differences in terms of foreign policy/domestic policy. You can also choose two particular countries to use as examples) 2.2.2. Democracy in parliamentary and presidential republics. Comparative study (Are parliamentary republics more democratic compared to presidential onesWhyWhy notComparative study, choose any two countries) 2.2.3 The executive, the legislative and US foreign policy (How does the distribution of political power between the legislative/executive affect the efficiency of the United States in foreign affairsCould be any country of your choice) 2.2.4 Bicameralism and unicameralism- a comparative study of democracy in the United Kingdom and Hungary. (Is bicameralism more representative as a model, compared to unicameralismWhyWhy notComparative study of two countries) 2.2.5 Presidential systems in former communist countries – the case of Russia and Georgia (Do you find any connection between the choice of presidential systems in former communist systems such as Russia or Georgia and their communist past, can be a comparative study, as well as analytical one) 2.3 Parties 2.3.1 Party system and cleavages: the case of Italy (Does the party system reflect existing cleavages within a society or artificially create themYou can choose countries from Eastern Europe as well). 2.3.2 Use and Abuse of religion in American politics (Why does religion seem to be more divisive issue in America than in EuropeDiscuss how religion is abused for religious purposes; discuss the transformation of religious discourses into political ones. You can compare and contrast two countries – for example Italy and the United States, or you can just stick to the US). 2.3.3 Parties and political marketing in the United Kingdom (Modern parties do not represent the people: Rather they market their ideas to a sceptical public. Do you agreeHave parties lost their ideological base) 2.3.4 Electoral systems and political extremism in developed societies – the case of France (To what extent should extremist views be represented in a stable party systemTo extent is this related to the electoral system of a given country?) 2.3.5. Ideology versus competence – the decline of party legitimacy in developed societies. Analytical study (In terms of political parties, assess the importance of ideology versus competence in developed societies) 2.3.6 Transition from polarized to moderate pluralism: the case of Italy (The change of electoral system in Italy in the early 1990s enhanced its transition from polarized to moderate pluralism. Discuss) 2.4. Interest groups in contemporary politics 2.4.1 The future of interest groups: Corporatism versus Pluralism 2.4.2 Interest groups and democracy in Romania (To what extent are interest groups a measure for democracy in developed countriesUse a specific country as an example) 2.4.3 Interest groups and modern governments – collaboration or coercion(Do interest groups help or hinder the work of modern governmentsChoose a specific country) 2.4.4 Unionism and the welfare state in the United Kingdom. (You can observe how this relation has been changing during the mandates of two Prime Ministers – Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair for example) 2.5 Political communication and the role of mass media in politics 2.5.1 ‘War on terror’ in US Media. (Assess the role of the media and its impact on public opinion, the formation of discourses and policies) 2.6 Political ideology 2.6.1 Neo-fascism and extreme right parties in Europe: A comparative study of Bulgaria and France (Are extreme right parties neo-fascistYou can choose Bulgaria, Romania and Macedonia as your examples from Eastern Europe, and the United Kingdom and France for your Western European one). 2.6.2 The future of liberalism and the crisis of parliamentary democracy: The case of Greece 2.6.3 Conservatism and social reform: a comparative study between the United Kingdom and the United States 2.6.4 Modern dictatorships and political ideology: Comparative study between Chavez’s Venezuela and Quadaffi’s Libya 2.6.5 Islam and government reform in Saudi Arabia 3. How to Structure a Politics Dissertation, Tips For details on how to structure a politics dissertation, kindly check out the following post: How to Structure a dissertation (chapters) How to structure a dissertation (chapters and subchapters) How to structure a dissertation research proposal How to cite Dissertation Topics in Politics, Essays

Innovations and Business Development

Question: Discuss about the Innovations and Business Development. Answer: The concept of business model has been existence for quite a long time with its existence spanning back to the pre-classical times. However, Teece (2010) in his research maintains that the concept of business became known and widely used during the mid1990s with the advent of the internet. Since this time, the concept has gained widespread interest and various researches have been conducted and documented on this concept. Some of the notable researches who have been involved in researches in this area include Kodama (2009), Zott and Amit (2010), as well as Itami and Nishino (2009). For instance, Amit Zott (2001) maintain that dominance in the use of the word business model in the mid 1990 was spurred by the advent of the internet as well as by the rapid growth and changes in the market marked by a high a number of entrants into the market by new players as well as an increase in the interest in the bottom-of-the pyramid (Al-Debei Avison, 2010). The popular use of the word was also necessitated by the rapid expansions in the industries and organizations marked by both the expansion of the existing industries as well as the entrant of new players which are dependent on the post-industrial technological advancements (Teece, 2010). A business model is an abstract; could be in contextual form, textual form, charts or in some cases graphs representing a given business whose main aim is to show the operations of the business (Zott, et al. 2011). The model apart from showcasing the financial arrangements of the business also represents the products on offer as well as the measures that the business has put in place meant to ensure growth such as innovations in various fields such as in the field of technology. According to the definition by Al-Debei, et al. (2008), the structure of a business model represents the value proposition of the business, the architectural value of the business, the financial value of the business and the network value of that particular business. The architectural value in the business model could include the organizational infrastructure as well as the technological structure of the business which enable the products, information and services of the business to move within and without the business (Spieth, et al, 2014). A business model offers a description of the methods and means used by the organization in the creation of wealth, a description of how the organization delivers its products to its customers as well as capturing the values of the business in the socio-cultural and economic context (Chesbrough, 2010). Business systems are the value added chain in a business that are used to offer a description and meaning to the value-added business processes. Business systems entail the supply of goods and services across the business line with the aim of making profit. In order for one to conceptualize a business model as a system, one needs to consider the functionality of the business as well as the organizational model of that particular business (Osterwalde Pigneur, 2010). For instance, just as the definition of a business model emphasizes on the processes within the business line that explains how the business operates and makes profits, business systems emphasizes on how the business operates with the aim of making profits, that is, the supply chain within the given business (Baden-Fuller Morgan, 2010). Various scholars have provided a definition of business models from varied lines of thought. Some of these notable scholars in this line who have set out to provide a varied outline of business model include Kodama (2009), Zott Amit (2010) as well as Itami Nishino (2010). For instance, Zotti and Amit (2010) in their definition look at a business model from the point of how the internet has impacted operations of businesses. There focus is on how doing business electronically has impacted and transformed how business is done. According to Amit Zott (2010), the recent transformations in the organizational set up has been impacted by the rapid growth in the field of technology as well as by the adoption of new technologies in doing the business. They explain the business models adopted by businesses based on the recent advancements in the field of communication and information technology. Some of the communication and technological advancements that have had an impact in business models include the emergent as well as the rapid expansions in the internet use as well as the drastic reduction in the costs of communications and computing (Doz Kosonen, 2010). These changes have had an impact on the development of new ways of doing business that enables a creation of new business models as well as a new delivery value for goods and services (Zott Amit, 2008). These have in turn provided a platform for the development of unconventional exchange mechanisms as well as transaction architectures. To them a busines s model should be looked at as a system made up of activities that are independent and which go beyond the activities of the local firm (Amit Zott, 2012). The activities carried out by the firm enables it to develop a value system through which a business is associated with. The two conducted a research on a young engineering firm FriCSo that has managed to make steps using a friction reduction technology. Through the example of FriSCo, Zott and Amit demonstrate how technological advancements can be used to shape a business model. Kodama (2009) on the other hand gives an example of the business models adopted by Japan and recommends an adoption of the Japanese models by other nations as the system according to him is the reason behind Japans rapid growth in the area of business. In his paper, Kodama gives an example of Japans business models that have seen tremendous success in the consumer electronics, communications devices, Japans semiconductors as well as her mobile phone services in an attempt to demonstrate the origin of competencies in Japanese outstanding firms that have seen the nation make important steps in these sectors of her economy. According to Kodima, Japan has made tremendous steps in the growth of the outlined sectors as a result of her business models which emphasizes on the development of an organizational culture that is deeply rooted in the values that are shared among the people of Japan such as the value of teamwork, commitment to the tasks by the people of Japan as well as community spirit while performing tasks (Balmer Greyser, 2006). These value systems allows for the creation of organizational knowledge that is based on the tacit knowledge that is accumulated among the people of Japan. Furthermore, Itami and Nishino (2010) view a business model as that comprising of the elements of profit as well as a business system. To them, maximization of profits is the driving force behind every business model. He maintains that through the analysis of the profits generated by the firm, the firm is able to measure the viability of its operations as well as the behaviours of its suppliers and its customers. On the other hand, through an analysis of the business systems, the firm is able to learn on information about the business that it will use in the growth of the business in the long run (Demil Lecocq, 201). Hence he maintains that the success of any business model is measured by how much it is able to account for both the two outcomes. Having studied the three business models as provided for by Kodama, Amit and Zott as well as by Itami and Nishino, I find the business model postulated by Kodama as the best and that helped me understand business model better. Kodama, in his model uses the success made by Japan to offer his explanations of the best business models. In his system, Kodama points out that the electronics and communication firms in Japan have developed due to the development of a business model based on the development of organizational cultures that emphasizes on values that are commonly shared among the people of Japan such as the values of team work, commitment as well as community spirit. In conclusion, business systems postulated by various researches such as Kodama, Itami and Nishino as well as Zott and Amit gives an insight on the various models employed by businesses. A study of the systems helps existing businesses as well as emerging businesses come up with the best business models that will help them compete with current competitions in the market as well as predict the future trends in market competition and device the best models to help them cope with such competitions (Casadesus-Masanell Ricart, 2011) References Al-Debei, M. M., Avison, D. (2010). Developing a unified framework of the business model concept. European Journal of Information Systems, 19(3), 359-376. Amit, R., Zott, C. (2012). Creating value through business model innovation. MIT Sloan Management Review, 53(3), 41. Baden-Fuller, C., Morgan, M. S. (2010). Business models as models. Long range planning, 43(2), 156-171. Balmer, J. M., Greyser, S. A. (2006). Corporate marketing: Integrating corporate identity, corporate branding, corporate communications, corporate image and corporate reputation. European journal of marketing, 40(7/8), 730-741. Casadesus-Masanell, R., Ricart, J. E. (2011). How to design a winning business model. Harvard business review, 89(1/2), 100-107. Chesbrough, H. (2010). Business model innovation: opportunities and barriers. Long range planning, 43(2), 354-363. Demil, B., Lecocq, X. (2010). Business model evolution: in search of dynamic consistency. Long range planning, 43(2), 227-246. Doz, Y. L., Kosonen, M. (2010). Embedding strategic agility: A leadership agenda for accelerating business model renewal. Long range planning, 43(2), 370-382. George, G., Bock, A. J. (2011). The business model in practice and its implications for entrepreneurship research. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 35(1), 83-111. Johnson, M. W. (2010). Seizing the white space: Business model innovation for growth and renewal. Harvard Business Press. McGrath, R. G. (2010). Business models: A discovery driven approach. Long range planning, 43(2), 247-261. Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business model generation: a handbook for visionaries, game changers, and challengers. John Wiley Sons. Seppanen, M., Makinen, S. (2007). Towards a classification of resources for the business model concept. International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 2(4), 389-404. Spieth, P., Schneckenberg, D., Ricart, J. E. (2014). Business model innovationstate of the art and future challenges for the field. RD Management, 44(3), 237-247. Teece, D. J. (2010). Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range planning, 43(2), 172-194. Zott, C., Amit, R., Massa, L. (2011). The business model: recent developments and future research. Journal of management, 37(4), 1019-1042. Zott, C., Amit, R. (2008). The fit between product market strategy and business model: implications for firm performance. Strategic management journal, 29(1), 1-26.