Monday, September 30, 2019

“Let’s Talk About Sex” Documentary Essay

James Houston put together the documentary â€Å"Let’s Talk About Sex† that highlights the differences between American’s approach to sex education and that of other countries like the Netherlands. The stereotypes, controversy, and irony all related to sex is put out in the open and discussed. Throughout the film, it is obvious that America’s ways of sex education and attitude towards sex has created a negative connotation. The Europeans have a much more open approach when it comes to the discussion of sex and started sex education at an early age. American’s, on the other hand, have a very closed approach to sex discussion and save sex education for later ages. This negative connotation and approach to education has resulted in the States having much higher rates of teen pregnancy, teen birth, and sexually transmitted infections when compared to European countries. One could say that it’s time the United States changes its approach and opinions regarding sex, sexuality, and the education behind it. Throughout the movie, there was a commonality between those who held a biased opinion on the topic of sex. Those who believed abstinence should be enforced and were against an open discussion of sexual relations were often times from the older generation. It’s the parents of teens, most teachers of sex education, and even people within the churches that held a bias. They believed that teens should not be involved in sexual activities and that it should be saved for marriage. Along with that, they stood behind the idea that the teens should not be educated about sex until later in high school and the open discussion of sex and sexuality was not proper. Kelsey’s mother was one of these biased people. She was strongly against the idea of Kelsey taking part in sexual activities until she got married and did make it easy for Kelsey to openly communicate with her about her sexual relations. For those teens that do take part in sexual activities, they are looked down upon in the greater portion of American culture because of the negative connotations that have been established here in the United States. With these biases, it has put sex into a negative category not just for the minority, being the teens, but most Americans in general. In America, sex is not something people openly talk about nor is it something that teens are â€Å"suppose† to take part in. The idea of teens taking part in sexual relations prior to marriage is greatly frowned upon and the stigma of carrying a condom has scared them away from it. An example of this, which was shared in the movie, is that in the Netherlands, carrying a condom starting in their teens is very common and encouraged. Where as in the states, if a teen were to be caught with a condom, others would view that as a sign of someone who is very promiscuous. In the movie, females thought males who carried condoms wanted nothing but sex from a girl while males thought that women who carried condoms were easy and considered sluts. This negative impact in the States has generated these stereotypes surrounding sex. The effects of these stereotypes have negative outcomes. For example, if a guy is afraid to carry a condom because of the stereotype and when it comes time for him to take part in sexual activities, he won’t be properly prepared. Without the protection, he is at risk for STIs and possibility of pregnancy in girls. This is also true vice versa with girls; they too should carry condoms, but are afraid due to the negative association. There is also a negative idea behind the discussion of sex in an open setting. Most parents in the US are afraid to talk about sex with their teens sharing both their sexual lives and discussing their teens. Because the parents are not open to it, the teens are afraid to approach their parents with sex related questions or tell them they have taken part in sexual activities. Because of this, many teens go with out proper instruction and correct information in regards to sexual activities. Where as if the parents were more open and accepting of the idea of their teens taking part in sexual activities, it would open an avenue for better knowledge and maybe even help prevent STIs, pregnancies, and other sex related issues. The minority group in â€Å"Let’s Talk About Sex† stood as US teens. These teens faced the discrimination of elder groups and negative stereotypes, but throughout the course of the movie, it showed how things are slowly changing. Several people who are often viewed as community leaders are working to properly educate teens. An example was reverend Williams, who created an open area to discuss sex related things and offer proper education. Some teachers also voiced their opinion on how they believe sex ed. should be more about sexual relations and not about human anatomy. They also believe the education should begin at younger ages when kids are going through puberty and developing sexually developing. This is one way these teens are getting the upper hand on discrimination. Another is that opening the idea of family discussions about sex and the idea of teens being involved in sexual relations. Breaking the assumption that abstinence is the only answer and opening the door to discussion, using the Netherlands as an example. By the end of the movie, Kelsey, whose mother originally frowned upon sex before marriage, was able to change her mothers mind and even talk about her sexual relations. These are just a couple of the ways the teens slowly made change, there is still a lot more to be talked about and changed. When reflecting back, I too can relate to the US teens in the documentary. I have noticed the closed door in terms of the discussion of sex and human sexuality as well as the stigmas associated with teens’ involvement in sexual activities. I do believe there is something to be said about the Netherlands approach to human sexuality and sex, especially when looking at the number of teen pregnancies and transmission of STIs compared to the much larger number in the US. We, as the United States, could benefit from a change in the atmosphere surrounding teen sex, and sex in general. Sex is a natural thing.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Older and Wiser Essay

Frank Heberer, the Human Resources Manager of Medignostics, finds it difficult to accept the aging employees of his firm as part of an energetic workforce. According to Heberer, the older employees of the company are not as productive as the young. However, Bertha Weber from the marketing department trusts that the older employees of Medignostics are necessary for the firm. She intercedes on behalf of the aging employees of the firm to point out to Heberer that it is only the older employee who truly knows the kind of products to sell other aged people. As an example, Weber mentions the successful arthritis campaign of Medignostics which was spearheaded by an aging employee – somebody who was expected to certainly know more about arthritis than the young employees. Weber also points out to Heberer that he, being only 45 years of age, cannot be expected to successfully market products for the aged people. Rather, it is only the aging employee who understands the aches and pains of old age that can successfully market health products and services for other aging people. In other words, the aging employee of a health products company, or any other organization for that matter, is best qualified to market products for the aged. Not only does the aging marketer know the kinds of products and services needed by the aged, but he also is aware of the kind of marketing communication that is required to reach out to the aged. The aging employee is actually expected to most perfectly understand the marketing mix for products that are especially made for the aged. This employee is in an excellent position to decide on the prices of products to be sold to the aged. Moreover, he knows where to place the products to sell the aged. Yet another advantage of older employees put forth by Weber is that the aging employee knows the company better than anybody else. Having worked for decades with Medignostics, an aging employee understands well the policies of the firm, in addition to its goals and requirements. After all, the aging employee has spent plenty of years trying to improve upon his productivity and efficiency in the company. So, Weber refers to the â€Å"experience† of the older employee being of special significance to the company, seeing that the older employee is in a better position to take the company forward with his experiences of success and failure at Medignostics. To put it another way, the aging employee knows what works and what does not work at his firm. The young employee, on the other hand, would take his time to realize the basics of the company before he can even think of taking the company forward with his youthful energy that Heberer would like to fill the company with in place of the old employees. Weber believes that the older employees still have a lot to offer Medignostics. The 58-year-old Hausmann who has worked for the firm for 20 years has been seen to consistently improve his performance. He moved up in organizational rank from bookkeeping to account management. Weber would like Heberer to keep Hausmann employed, the reason being that Hausmann and other aging employees continue to have a lot to offer Medignostics. If Hausmann is not productive in his present function at the company, perhaps Weber would suggest that the older employee must be given a new job function to perform. After all, older employees may not only be extremely useful in marketing to all ages – seeing as they have lived through them all – but also in the area of organizational counseling. The wisdom of the older employees may benefit young employees tremendously. Older employees may also be given the chance to select their new job functions where they would be most productive, given that the organization trusts them more than it would trust its new employees. Hence, Weber would like Heberer to trust the fact that the older employee is truly wiser.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Belonging in Strictly Ballroom and two related texts Essay

Explores the notion of belongers – people obsessed with belonging who prefer not to think for themselves. This Shows the pain felt by those excluded from the group, eg Fran. Fran: I understand. You’ve got your Pan Pacific’s to win and I’m back in beginners where I belong. Shows the disastrous effect conformity and fear have among belongers who gain their place inside the group at the price of conformity. Shirley Hastings, for example, lives a â€Å"life half-lived† cowering before what Barry Fife will say or think. She has let the Federation so dominate her that she has no respect for Doug and can only see her son Scott in terms of winning competitions Can be seen as a parable about multicultural Australia. At first the Anglo-Australians control the Federation, make the rules, delegate Fran (â€Å"Franjepannydellasquiggymop†) to role of abused outsider and close ranks against any possibility of change. The last scene reverses all this as both Doug and Fran’s grandmother are included in the dancing. The clapping of the crowd – started by Doug, then picked up by Fran’s father and grandmother – is carried on by the crowd, enabling Scott and Fran to dance at the crowd’s insistence, no longer under the control of the corrupt Barry Fife. Explores the contrast between authentic belonging where people speak and act from the heart and an artificial, rule-obsessed style of Belonging. Likewise dance as romantic, authentic, joyous activity is contrasted with the conservative rule-bound world of Barry Fife and his committee that decides what is â€Å"strictly Ballroom†. Fran and Scott symbolise true belonging where dance and passion flow naturally together and are set in contrast with the highly artificial dancers like Ken, Tina Sparkles and Liz. Could be read as a cheerful, upbeat, satirical parable tracing the shift from a world of false belonging dominated by conformity, fear and the cynical manipulations of the ultra-sleaze Barry Fife, towards the iconic last scene where the line between spectators and professional dancers blurs and is dissolved as Scott dressed in Spanish-matador costume and Fran in Spanish-style red dress put passion back into dance, rescuing it from the deadening effect of the old brigade. Arguably the last scene enacts a vision of a more inclusive Australia that has gained freedom by including its newcomers and learning from them. Belonging does not equal individuality in the ballroom dancing world so, in order to belong, you cannot be an individual. Not belonging does not equal exclusion from every group. So, finding a group to belong to is the key to happiness. A community can make its members feel either accepted or rejected if they fail to conform to the accepted norms. If enough people work together to challenge powerful or corrupt influences, then a new sense of belonging can emerge. This is often the case with generational change. To belong is to be accepted, to be recognised, and to connect with others whether it may be with family, friends or culture. A sense of belonging is an instinctive human need in all of us as it gives us security, emotions whether they would be true or fake, and a connection or bond with others. Accepting or resisting belonging creates characteristics which define the individual. They are shown to have different forms of relationships with others in their life. Ultimately, these relationships whether based on artificial or real emotions, give the character a sense of identity and a sense of where they belong. Although it is seen as a vital requirement in everyday life, to belong is difficult as there are many barriers, and whether or not an individual can overcome these obstacles, it will essentially determine where the individual belongs. The experiences faced by the individuals also define their concept of belonging. There is always a place where everyone belongs. Being based on the conformist ideas of ballroom dancing, Strictly Ballroom, an Australian film directed by Baz Luhrmann in 1992, clearly expresses the effects of wanting to belong and not belonging through several characters. The protagonist of the film, Scott Hastings struggles to express his individuality in the ballroom community. Due to his desire to be the pans-pacific champion, he is forced to dance his own style in the opening scene, which is seen as arrogant, by the ballroom community and as a result, he isn’t accepted for the way he is. Instead he is isolated from everybody because he resists to conform to their ways. That is until a beginner dancer by the name of Fran, seen as a nobody that has been alienated due to her major differences with her appearance, dancing skill and confidence level compared to the professional dancers, embraces Scott even though at first he doesn’t identify her as a possible partner. Due to her instinctive need to belong and seeing this as her chance, she convinces him by telling â€Å" I want to dance with you, your way. † Ballroom dancing is strict competitive lifestyle, where an individual must revolve their life around it. It is seen as being flamboyant and flashy. However this world is fake and to fit in you too must be artificial in a way that you have to have false emotions. False emotions like love is shown through the ballroom style of dancing as Scott explains the Rumba to Fran as feeling â€Å"like your in love†. In the film, there is another world that is also explored in which the individual connects with family and culture. It is a world where everyone is connected despite their differences, it is the real world with real emotion, real passion and real feeling. Fran has a place in this world with her culture and family. In this case, when Scott chases after Fran he meets her family living on the outskirts of town possibly implying that they are outsiders. However, the roles are reversed. Fran is now somewhere she belongs, and Scott is excluded due to various barriers including language barriers and cultural differences. Scott is humiliated as he doesn’t perform the Paso Doble correctly due to the fact that he dances with the desire to win. As a result of not belonging he is taught by Fran’s family to dance from the heart to express authentic feeling. His instinct tells him he needs to belong with this world, in order to express his individuality. Belonging is defined in the film through two worlds, family, and ballroom dancing which completely contrast each other. Baz Luhrmann creates an understanding of belonging through various techniques that differentiate the people that belong and don’t belong. The costumes of the ballroom dancers are all colourful and flashy, while the outfit Fran wears is bland and plain, clearly showing that she doesn’t belong. As the film is ending, Baz Luhrmann uses the song â€Å"Love is in the Air† to not only outline the relationships between the characters but also to create an understanding of Scott recognising and accepting Fran for who she is. After the many experiences faced by the characters, Fran and Scott finally understand where they belong. They belong with each other. It is an instinctive need for people to belong which is evidently shown through the closing moments of the film, as everyone starts dancing, everyone belongs despite their differences, and everyone is accepted. The Lion King Disney’s The Lion King picture book written by Justine Korman relates to the idea that you do belong somewhere, but whether you accept it depends on the experiences the individual has faced. Inspired by the Shakespearean play, Hamlet, the storyline outlines where the characters truly belong. The main protagonist, Simba, is blamed for the death of his father who is King of the PrideLands, which was caused by his power hungry uncle, Scar. He is told to â€Å"run away and never return†. The idea is that Simba has been exiled and is better off not belonging with his pride. But as seen as in Strictly Ballroom, there is always a place where you belong, and its only instinct that the individual would want to belong. Simba is soon saved from possible death by a friendly duo that take him in to their jungle, into their home. They nurture him till he becomes a fully grown adult lion giving him a place to belong and feel secure. Soon after, Simba is confronted by a childhood friend named Nala, who sparks old memories and experiences of life with his pride. At first there are barriers because he doesn’t want to return and face his past but after guidance he remembers where he belongs, He remembers who he is, He remembers that he is King. Upon returning home with his friends, and defeating Scar and saving all the lions, Simba’s instincts allow him to fit in with his new pride. Belonging is defined in this picture book as being accepted, and no matter where he goes, Simba is accepted due to his instinctive need to feel safe, and have real emotions, real friendships, and a real place to belong.The illustrator, Don Williams shows this acceptance through various scenes expressing emotions on characters faces, as well as through body language. Raw Scott Monk’s novel, Raw relates to Strictly Ballroom, as the story implies that there is always a place where an individual belongs. Belonging is defined in this text as having people that you can rely on and have a good relationship with. Sam, the owner of the Farm, a correctional facility, commits himself to always being there and always being a reliable person to all the members of the Farm. Although at first the protagonist, Brett Dalton resists help and care from Sam, he cant stop his instinctive need to belong and have a connection with the members of the farm, such as having a friendship with Frog, Josh, and Sam. Scott Monk creates an understanding of belonging in this novel with imagery and dialogue, for example the scene where due to Brett’s actions, the whole Farm suffers and has to go on a long run, makes Brett feel isolated, like he’s being watched, and targeted, implying that he is an outcast and doesn’t belong. As seen as in all texts, there is always an instinctive need to belong somewhere, whether it may be with family as seen with Fran, new friends as seen with Simba, and new hope as seen with Brett.

Friday, September 27, 2019

System operation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

System operation management - Essay Example This is a picture that extends to other sectors of the economy, whether it is the tourism industry, where some tourists get guidance from a digital tour guide, or one that is physically present. In the production sector, the use of computers in the process gets more prominent by the day (Katz & Koutroumpiz 2012). This section of the paper examines the importance of digitization to the manufacturing sector. The manufacturing industry forms the largest source of revenue for many economies in the world, especially first world economies (Friedrich et al. 2011). As mentioned earlier, the production industry has been privy to rapid digitization over the past few decades. This means that there is the use of intelligent machinery in place of human labour. Economists all over the world have had debates on the consequences of this. This is because, even though digitization means a more sophisticated production process, there is the fact that the introduction of intelligent equipment to the pro duction chain implies that there are fewer jobs for human labourers (Karim et al 2013). Despite this negative consequence of digitization, the positive implications of a digitized manufacturing industry are vast. ... This for the manufacturing industry means higher rates of production at lower costs (Sabbagh et al. 2012). In addition, machines can work for longer periods than human labour can; hence, the increased levels of production. Secondly, digitization in the manufacturing industry has revolutionized the method by which companies communicate with customers and stakeholders, and how they create brands (Karim et al. 2013). In the second economy, companies have learnt to rely more and more on social media for service production. One way in which this is made possible in the manufacturing industry is by providing avenues for customers to voice their opinions on certain products on social media, for example, on twitter. This enhances communication with the necessary clients and works towards building a brand. Another way in which the digital economy proves useful for communication is by providing consumers with the option to order custom-made products from manufacturers and, therefore, enhance c ustomer satisfaction (Sabbagh et al. 2012). Another advantage of a digitized economy over a physical economy is the way in which digitization has revolutionized operations. It is said that in America, one in four workers engage in telecommunication while at work (Katz & Koutroumpis 2012). Across the world, members of different companies have a means through which they reach workers in other continents. The effect that this has is that it increases competition between various organizations. In addition, companies are able to outsource some of their functions to companies in far away locations. This enhances efficiency across the manufacturing industry. Digitization is important for each aspect the manufacturing industry. In production, the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Architecture year 2 essay. Management, practice and law Essay

Architecture year 2 . Management, practice and law - Essay Example All the above features will be explained under â€Å"architecture and me†. Additionally, one’s position on sustainability and the potential value of one’s practice will be presented under â€Å"architecture and the world†. The second section of the paper will investigate the proposition for a building. The unrealised, virtual subject will be critically analysed on the basis of energy consumption, pollution, and density issues, in order to assess the quality of the proposition. Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to examine the kind of architect one wants to become, including appraising the principles of business management and law one would adopt to underscore one’s professional practice. Further, one’s position that would characterize future work with respect to sustainable architectural design will be explained. Secondly, Nakheel Tower, an unbuilt sky-scraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates will be critically analysed in relation to urban density, environmental pollution One of the prime objectives in project delivery is sustainable construction which â€Å"minimizes impacts on the environment, generates minimal waste during the construction process and produces energy efficient, low maintenance buildings† (Elmualim, Czwakiel, Valle, Ludlow & Shah 2009: 94) with an emphasis on ecology and green designing of buildings. A complex and diverse concept encompassing a wide range of disciplines, sustainable development is defined as â€Å"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs† (Garland, Hadfield, Howarth and Middleton 2009: 1144). Due to a fragmentation of interests in the building processes, ambiguity regarding the definition of sustainable buildings and absence of easily recognizable business cases, there can be difficulty faced in creating sustainable buildings. For these reasons, the United Kingdom government has formulated relevant policies for

The Grade I Deserve In This Course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Grade I Deserve In This Course - Essay Example Oftentimes I recognize that fellow students participate in classroom lectures and complete their homework not out of a genuine intellectual interest, but out of a desire to merely achieve a high grade. While I commend their standards and commitment to success I believe such an approach is not effective in gaining the greatest benefit from the course. During this course I have made my greatest effort to digest and appreciate the course material in a way wherein I would truly understand its deeper meaning and implication, both for the content as well as for improving my English writing skills. It follows that while others may appear to have outwardly been more involved in the course, I believe that my commitment and intellectual involvement are very high in terms of my own abilities, as well as relative to other students in the course. In examining the extent that I accomplished the goals of this course I believe I was highly successful. In these regards, I greatly improved my writing and linguistic abilities. I recognize my improvement in the increased ease I feel writing documents that in the past would have taken me a significant amount more time. Another element of my improved understanding is that I have increased my critical thinking skills. I believe that one of the central challenges of the course was approaching difficult or dense material and gaining a deeper understanding of this material’s central arguments. In the process of engaging with this challenging material I found that I began to develop increased strategies for tackling things that previously I would have simply ignored. I believe that these increased critical thinking skills, as evidenced both in my improved English writing and comprehension abilities, are perhaps the greatest things I gained from the course. Taking the cumulative impact of the previously articulated examples,

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

European Union Single Currency Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

European Union Single Currency Policy - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the European â€Å"dollar hegemony, thawed out frozen masses of immobilized capital, increased the volume and value of international trade, and opened and expanded markets on a vast scale. It created pressures that, if not irresistible, at least required better and more tenacious defenses, opened horizons beyond anything previously imaginable, yet also posed new regulatory challenges†. There are many advantages and disadvantages in implementing a change of work, place, policy, statute, condition or environment. There are successes, failures, and depression brought about by the fluctuations in a currency's market price. The following paragraphs explain the nuances of the single currency European Union economy and other related topics which are pegged on the European Union Dollar. European Union single currency policy is beneficial to its member countries. The potential benefits, as well as expenditures of the single European Monetary Unit, had been d iscussed at length in the European Commissions study entitled One Market, One Money. This report gave four major benefits that the single currency would bring to European Union member countries. The first benefit is the reduction in transaction costs. The second benefit is the reduction in risk. The third benefit would be the increase in competition. The last benefit would be the emergence of an international currency to compete on equal footing with the United States dollar. The first benefit is the reduction in transaction costs. The reduction of the transaction costs is connected with the decrease in the need to exchange the currency when one European Union Country like the United Kingdom would have to endure when buying a car from Germany, another European Union member state. Some of the members of the European Union include Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania , Bulgaria, Poland and Slovenia.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Confessions of an economic hitman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Confessions of an economic hitman - Essay Example Secondly I need to evaluate the economic value of this jungle in terms of how much its worth in both nominal and real value. For instance, assuming the jungle is rich in oil, then how much is that oil worth and how much does it benefit the small population in the jungle? If for instance am supposed to trash the jungle by either burning the resources, the value of $ 10 million a year in relation to the damage I will cause to the environment and the benefits I would deprive the people, in the annual analysis of the value of the jungle and its resources would be roughly more than $10 million promised and considering the welfare of the people who depend on it either directly or indirectly, and the long term analysis of the benefits; in a bigger perspective than the annual remuneration, it is not worth the price. According to the â€Å"confessions by economic hit man†, most citizens of once rich nations are sabotaged to pay recurring costs/interests of mistakes done by a few indivi duals for longer time than these individuals took to benefit from these mistake which is not fair. Question2: Do the CEOs of major oil companies know about the Economic Hit Man? Discuss why they might not and how they might look at this book. No, I don’t think they know because from his story where he is headed to shell in 2003, he is on a mission to â€Å"end a war he probably created†. This is to mean that his mission was to talk to these communities about their control of the reserves which communities were ready to die for in the name of survival of their generations. If we have to look at the operations of the CEOs of these companies they are truly in the dark on the â€Å"favors† extended to their companies by these economic hit men just to be surprised by the interests to be paid back. The fact that EHTs is a group of elite men and women who utilize the financial organizations that foment other nation’s subservient to corporatocracy, the fact that they give loans and grants for ports, pipe lines and high ways, and the fact that they demand access to precious resources such as oil reserves when economies/ these firms default on the loan grants, then it’s a true indication that the CEOs of these oil companies do not know the existence of EHMs and/or these EHMs use unclear paths to camouflage their activities and existence thus making it hard for recognition. They will look at this book as the revelation of their unending financial problems because of high cost of servicing loans and grants that come with intrinsic but latent consequences. If they decide to look at this book as an insight of new opportunities, they might decide to cut the dependence on loans extended with an infrastructural motive and/or cut the supply of their output to the countries associated with EHMs. Question3: How does patriotism and religion allow â€Å"them† to get away with activities described in the book? First, they extend grants in go od favor to either governments or financial institutions in form of development assistance in which they later control the operations of the grant. For instance, when they give grants in form of loans to

Monday, September 23, 2019

Feminist Art Review of Cindy Sherman Self-Portrait Essay

Feminist Art Review of Cindy Sherman Self-Portrait - Essay Example Perhaps the most seminal artist operating in this cultural milieu is Cindy Sherman. Sherman’s art presents a multitude of perspectives on the self, interrogating identity, experience, and femininity in the postmodern world. This essay examines Sherman’s self-portrait Untitled Film Still 53 arguing that it presents a comprehensive response to mainstream perspectives on identity and actively resists the male gaze. Analysis While Cindy Sherman’s work almost exclusively explores conceptual portraits, her most notable collection is the Untitled Film Stills, 1977–1980. Within the context of this collection critics have divided the portraits into a variety of themes, still it’s clear that are a number of concerns that underline all these modes of representation. One of the most emblematic portraits of this collection is Sherman’s Untitled Film Still #53. From a strictly literal perspective, this work is a photographic portrait of Sherman wearing a b londe wig. Her eyes are slanted indifferently to the left. She is standing in front of a concrete wall that is blurred from view by the brightness of a light and photographic development techniques. While this portraiture presentation is ostensibly simplistic in meaning, further analysis reveals a number of deeper meanings. In deconstructing traditional representations of identity Sherman’s Untitled Film Still #53 resorts to one of the most pervasive constructors of identity – the cinema. Indeed, it’s been noted that in the, â€Å"early work by Cindy Sherman†¦she reconstructs the codes of the representation of femininity in cinema† (Jones, pg. 90). Within the context of this portrait one witnesses the co-optation of many elements of film noir cinema. In these regards, the low-key lighting and blurred focus are much in-line with this genre. While the photograph represents a recreation of this 1940s and 1950s aesthetic, the nature of it being a second- order representation is such that it leads individuals to question the nature of these early and mid-20th century forms of gender and identity construction. It’s noted that, â€Å"The intellectual woman looks and analyzes, and in usurping the gaze she poses a threat to an entire system of representation† (Jones, pg. 67). Such an understanding reveals perhaps the central meaning behind this specific portrait and Sherman’s larger body of work, namely that the artist has implemented conceptual portraits in a post-modern paradigm to interrogate previously held notions of truth and reality. Another prominent investigation of identity in this portrait is through interrogation of the male gaze. Feminist theory contains a strong emphasis on the representation of women in television and film, with Laura Mulvey’s the gaze a prominent area of consideration. Within Sherman’s portrait it’s clear she is exploring this feminist concern in a variety of ways . One prominent understanding, as is characteristic of Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills, is that, â€Å"Sherman has posed herself as embodied object, photographically frozen within gendered positions of vulnerability† (Jones, pg. 323). When one examines this within the outward representation of the photographic image, one of the major considerations is the mid-20th century costume and body language. Sherman’

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Feminism During the 50s Essay Example for Free

Feminism During the 50s Essay The book Revolutionary Road, written by Richard Yates, tells the reader a story about the life of Frank and April Wheeler. The Wheelers are a married couple with children who live in a 1950’s suburb. This essay shows the reader how characters in the book do not conform to typical gender roles during this time period and how these gender roles are switched between men and women. The story gives us a lot of insight in to gender roles during the 1950’s. However, Frank and April Wheeler do not abide to the typical gender roles of men and women during this time period in American society. The idea of this analysis is to show the reader how Feminism and Masculinity are tested in Revolutionary Road. Richard Yates switches gender roles in this novel and does a good job of showing us a different perspective from what was most common during the 1950’s. Revolutionary Road is about Frank and April Wheeler who live in a suburb called Revolutionary Estates with their two children Jennifer and Michael. They are viewed by their neighbors as your ideal husband and wife. They have a nosy real estate agent named Mrs. Giving’s who randomly shows up throughout the story and has a deranged son named John who ends up having some conflict with the Wheelers. Mrs. Giving’s also has a husband named Howard who seems not to care what she has to say most of the time because she is always gossiping or talking too much. There is also a couple, Milly and Shep Campbell who are family friends of the Wheelers and often hang out and drink together. Frank ends up having an affair with Maureen, a woman who works at Knox with him. He ends up feeling guilty about it because April does something special for him. She stops the argument they are in and has a surprise birthday plan for him and tells him about her plans of moving their family to Europe. Plans fail however when April realizes she is pregnant and Frank is satisfied that they won’t have to move. April ends up having an affair with Shep Campbell who is in love with her secretly. The story ends up with April killing herself attempting to do her own abortion from home. Frank lives on in distraught and agony. Richard Yates uses Feminism in the story to show the reader how Frank fits in with typical feminine role of this time and April fits in with the  typical masculine role. Frank is constantly emasculated throughout the story by April. When they realize April is pregnant, she wants to have an abortion. Frank is upset but he can’t do much about it because he doesn’t have any say in what she does. He tries to say, â€Å"Listen. Listen to me. You do this – you do this and I swear to God I’ll –† and she cuts him off and says, â€Å"Oh, you’ll what? You’ll leave me? What’s that supposed to be – a threat or a promise?† (Yates 52) testing his masculinity once again. April is not the typical woman of the 50’s and that’s why conflicting gender roles play such an important theme in this novel. Frank thrives off of the need to prove himself to April. He wants her to believe he is in control of every situat ion and is the man of the house. He tries to put off this image to April that he is a real man and leads their household. Frank has a lot of conflict throughout the book because of his constant need to prove his manhood and prove his masculinity to April. Richard Yates uses Frank Wheeler to show us just how this novel conflicts the typical gender roles during the 1950’s. Yates says about Frank, â€Å"Wasn’t it true, then, that everything in his life from that point on had been a succession of things he hadn’t really wanted to do? Taking a dull job to prove he could be as responsible as any other man†¦ Having another child to prove that the first one hadn’t been a mistake†¦ Proving, proving; and for no other reason than that he was married to a woman who put him forever on the defensive† (Yates 51). Yates shows the reader the true tenacity of Frank’s need to prove himself to April day after day. Having a job, having a family, and doing everything to provide for your family were all things men were expected to do during that time in America. Frank has an obsession with needing April to believe he is in control and fully providing for her and their children. He feels she will leave him or step up and provide for them herself is he cannot do it. Frank is trying to prove he is the man and holds the masculine gender role over April. April says in one scene to Frank, â€Å"Me. Me. Me. Oh, you poor, self-deluded – Look at you, Look at you, and tell me how by any stretch of imagination you can call yourself a man† ( Yates 28) which really test Franks masculinity. He is without a doubt upset about April’s actions and words. By receiving her approval, he feels his masculinity and feels he has accomplished what is important. Throughout the  story however, we see that Frank never truly gets the approval from April he is looking for. Yates intends for Frank to be weaker and less masculine than April. This is how Richard Yates uses conflicting gender roles in his characters. April is a very independent woman and she will take care of what she feels is necessary. She doesn’t look to Frank for guidance and leadership. The narrator points this out when April is mowing the lawn and Frank is watching her wishing he was doing it. The narrator states that Frank had â€Å"planned as soon as he’d had some coffee to go out there and take the lawnmower away from April, by force if it was necessary, so the he could restore as much balance to the morning as possible. But he was still in his bathrobe† (Yates 40). Frank cannot stand the fact that April is mowing the yard and not letting him do it. Yates gives us a description of April in the yard, he says, â€Å"It was April herself, stolidly pushing and hauling the old machine, wearing a man’s shirt and a pair of loss, flapping slacks† (Yates 35) This description of April really gives the reader a simple understanding that April doesn’t need Frank to mow the yard because she is capable and willing to do it herself. These are the things that really bother Frank because he wants a woman who needs him to do everything for her. That’s what Frank feels he is supposed to do; he wants to be the sole provider and â€Å"alpha† of his household. Another way we see Frank being emasculated is when April plans the move to Europe. She tells Frank about the plans to move at his surprise birthday get together, he had just got home from having an affair with Maureen from his office. The narrator gives us a good understanding of Frank’s inability to take control. He ends up agreeing with the plans even though he is not fully sure and confident that is what he wants. Frank says, â€Å"Darling? We are really going to do it, aren’t we? I mean it hasn’t just been a lot of talk or anything, has it?† (Yates 116) and they agree the move to Europe is a sure thing. Then they fall asleep and the chapter ends with April saying I love you to Frank. Frank is finally feeling a sense of assurance at this point because things are getting better between him and April. He is finally feeling that sense of satisfaction he thrives for. He and April are getting  along and things â€Å"seem† to be good. However, April ends up letting Frank in on some startling news. She is pregnant and when Frank finds out he is actually happy about the news because he has had a promotion offered to him at work and knows that having a baby will keep them from moving. When April realizes Frank is satisfied with not moving she threatens to abort the baby herself after Frank finds her abortion tools and she test Franks masculinity again by saying, â€Å"And what are you going to do? Do you think you’re going to stop me?† (Yates 209) when he questions her on what she is going to do with the tools. Frank has no control over any situations throughout this book. Especially in this situation because April has had her mind set on moving and she was not going to take no for an answer. She eventually kills herself trying to proceed in doing an abortion herself at their home. April had control of the situation the whole time. Furthermore, â€Å"Revolutionary Road† gives the reader a wide and detailed interpretation of very unusual gender roles for the 1950’s. The author’s use of feminism helps him to show how Frank is a man who feeds of his wife for satisfaction. Everything Frank does is mainly to get the approval and acceptance of his wife April. Feminism also helps us to take a look at how April Wheeler is portrayed. She is a very independent woman and for this time period that is very rare. Women typically depended on men and did not step up as leaders and sole providers of their family. However, April is much different. She wants Frank to know that she can take care of herself and her family without the help of a man. She is portrayed as being much more masculine and superior than her husband. She is in control of their relationship and she is in control of Frank’s life. Everything Frank does is based on what April thinks and getting her to notice and her to approve is what makes him feel like a man. Richard Yates did an amazing job in â€Å"Revolutionary Road† by showing the reader the conflicting gender roles of April and Frank Wheeler. Works Cited Yates, Richard. Revolutionary Road. 2nd. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2000. Print.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Geographic Information System (GIS) Benefits and Constraints

Geographic Information System (GIS) Benefits and Constraints Benefits and Constraints of Using Geographic Information System (GIS) 1. Introduction 1.1 Research Background This is no more evident than in the proliferation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) across a variety of disciplines, with the common goal of capturing, storing, analysing and visualizing spatial information. GIS in practice, by virtue of its technical complexity and cost, has traditionally been limited to the operations of Governments and commercial organisations (Craig et al., 2002). Despite these barriers non-profit organisations and community groups are increasingly looking to adopt GIS on the premise that it will be able to positively transform their operations through better decision making and influencing public policy through greater analysis and the presentation of professional visualisations (Sieber, 2000b, Sieber, 2000a). Given this burgeoning interest, there has been a concerted effort by GIS and Society (GISoc) research groups to develop and espouse concepts such as Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) which provides a unique approach to make GIS and spatial data availa ble to non-traditional users allowing them to integrate local knowledge and engage in decision making (Sieber, 2006). 1.2 Research Objectives The focus of this research project is to investigate the benefits and constraints for the application of a Geographic Information System (GIS) within a community based project. Specifically the research considers a reframing of PPGIS to help better guide the processes, resources and characteristics required to implement a community based GIS. The following questions will guide the research and development of the community-based GIS: Do contemporary PPGIS pragmatic approaches address the original ontological debates of GIS and Society? Can psychogeographic principles help better guide the requirements for a community based GIS? What spatial data sets are available and usable for community groups within Melbourne, Victoria? Do available datasets satisfy the requirements of community groups? Can community knowledge be effectively integrated with traditional spatial data sources? 1.3 Research Rationale As people become more aware of local, regional and global issues through the mainstream media and the Internet they, as a result, expect to be better informed by Governments and organisations and allowed to contribute to decisions that shape their own lives and the society in which they live. If those issues comprise spatial knowledge, then a GIS is a natural option for facilitating discussions and conveying local knowledge (Carver, 2003). Despite this opportunity to empower communities many GIS practices (including PPGIS) and available spatial data often do not adequately represent community needs and concerns (Elwood, 2006). This research thus aims to explore and develop a framework for which current GIS and related technologies can be successfully reconstructed to allow communities to express their own knowledge about place and spatial relations through visualizations and narratives. Specifically, the proposed research has been designed to assist the Blackburn Lake Sanctuary (BLS) Advisory Committee to implement a GIS which will be enable them to store and map the location of various vegetation and salient features within the BLS in Melbourne, Victoria. By integrating publicly available data sets with community knowledge it is hoped that it will further legitimise the activities of the BLS Advisory Committee while not compromising their goal of contributing to local government policy and increasing the effectiveness of their activities. 1.4 Research Methodology Contained here is an outline of the subsequent chapters and research methodology. The research will be organised into three major chapters literature review; case study; and discussion and conclusions. Chapter Two Literature review examines the relevant literature regarding GIS and Society, PPGIS and psychogeography providing an overview of the historical background and ontological framework of these research paradigms. An examination of the principles of psychogeography and the research design of previous PPGIS studies will be completed, providing a comparative study of their different methodologies and methods. These comparisons will assist in developing a theoretical framework for a community-based GIS which will guide the case study to follow. Chapter Three Case study introduces the Blackburn Lake Sanctuary case study and attempts to implement the methods established within the theoretical framework introduced in chapter two. An exploratory case study has been employed because it is a valuable method for investigating the nature and effects of implementing technology within a complex milieu (Sieber, 2000b). In order to increase the rigour and validity of the case study observations, open-ended interviews and questionnaires will be conducted. Chapter Four Discussion and conclusions reviews the research objectives in relation to the major research findings as well as the limitations of the methods and theories employed. Pattern matching techniques will be employed to compare the observed and verified information with the framework developed through the research project. If the observed and predicted information correspond then the research methodology maybe strongly validated (Sarantakos, 1998). This chapter also addresses the limitations of the research and future research opportunities. 1.5 Conclusion This chapter has established the objectives and rationale for conducting research into developing a community-based GIS. A research methodology has also been proposed to describe how the research statement and associated objectives will be achieved. The next chapter will review the relevant literature including theoretical models and research methodologies used by previous researchers in the field of PPGIS and psychogeography. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Introduction In the previous chapter, the objectives, rationale and methodology were presented to help guide the research into developing a community-based GIS. The research outlined in this thesis covers a number of interdisciplinary fields all of which are continually evolving. These fields include public participation GIS (PPGIS), community mapping and psychogeography. This chapter begins by investigating the role of GIS in society including the motivation and foundation for PPGIS and the advantages and disadvantages of PPGIS praxis. The chapter also explores the topic of psychogeography and the reasons why its principles may help characterise and drive the successful development of a community GIS. 2.2 GIS and Society a brief history Mountains dark with forests rose above the rooftops, the jagged black summits silhouetted against the evening light. Higher than them all, though, was the tip of the Schneeberg, glowing, translucent, throwing out fire and sparks, towering into the dying brightness of a sky across which the strangest of greyish-pink cloud formations were moving, while visible between them were the winter planets and crescent moon. (Sebald, 2002: 50) Storytelling is an extremely powerful means for conveying an image of the world and in some way or another every story takes place somewhere and relates knowledge of geography and a sense of place (Cartwright, 2004, Erle et al., 2005, Cartwright et al., 2009). One way to represent geographic stories and our understanding of the spatial organisation of the physical environment and its relationship with humans is through a map. An attempt to bring together the science of geography with the art of map making has been the Geographic Information System (GIS) which is a computer system for capturing, storing, querying, analysing and displaying geographically referenced data (Chang, 2008). What differentiates a GIS from other databases and computer systems is its ability to combine large amounts of spatial data from diverse sources, group the data into layers or categories, analyse the data for patterns or relationships and produce improved visualizations (Sieber, 2000a, Sieber, 2000b). Fo r these reasons GIS technology has become an important tool for use by many levels of Government, Universities and organisations involved in activities ranging from conservation, advertising and marketing, health, crime, land-use planning and social services or any activity containing a spatial component (Sieber, 2006). However it is only recently that GIS use has expanded to non-traditional users such as non-profit organisations and community groups. This accessibility has been the result of decreased costs in hardware, software and improved user interfaces which means the user no longer has to learn specialised command languages (Craig et al., 2002). The attraction to the utility of GIS, by non-traditional users, is much the same as traditional users in that it can assist in new ways of understanding a problem, but it may also help in influencing public policy through more sophisticated analysis and the presentation of professional looking images (Sieber, 2000b). Despite this perceived ease-of-use and increasing ubiquity, the GIS has been criticised by some circles as being an elitist technology which merely enhances existing power structures (Carver, 2003). This critique is heavily influenced by postmodernist principles, which place an increasing emphasis on the contributions of wider society and recognises that knowledge and values are constructed through a multiplicity of social and cultural forces. These arguments first surfaced within the paradigm of critical cartography which exposed the inherent subjectivity in, and rhetorical content of maps, thus implying that maps are as much a reflection of (or metaphor for) the culture that produces them, as they are an abstraction of the physical environment (MacEachren, 1995). These examinations have also been employed within social and critical GIS debates which challenge the use of GIS in decision making as being objective and neutral. Instead it has been maintained that GIS utility is often c onfined to experts whom produce privileged knowledge given their unique access to data, technology, resources and position to structure the inquiry and design the output (Duncan and Lach, 2006). This view of GIS as a return to the principles of technocratic positivism may be construed as anti-democratic because decisions reliant on a GIS may exclude diverse forms of spatial data, such as community knowledge, in favour of ordered Government data conceptualised into points, lines and areas (Crampton and Krygier, 2006). Many academics, such as Pickles (1995), believe that the increased popularity of GIS within the geography discipline has meant that the availability and access to geographic data has become more influential than knowledge or experience of a unique environment or subject (Craig et al., 2002). Concerns regarding the hegemonic and subjective role of GIS lead to a number of workshops in the mid-nineties on GIS and Society (GISoc) sponsored by the National Centre for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) (Craig et al., 2002). GISoc was focused on how the spread of the technology was affecting the political, economic, legal and institutional structures of society; and how societal processes affect the form taken by the technology itself (Carver, 2003: 65). GISoc research furthermore questioned whether current GIS practices and available spatial data adequately represented community needs and concerns and whether a new ontological framework was needed to help empower less privileged groups in society (Elwood, 2006). It was questioned whether it would be possible to develop a bottom-up GIS which could successfully incorporate community participation and thus either displace or validate decisions made with top-down GIS approaches, implemented in most Government and commerci al GIS projects (Craig et al., 2002). From these reflections the notion of Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) was developed and defined as a variety of approaches to make GIS and other spatial decision-making tools available and accessible to all those with a stake in official decisions. (Schroeder, 1996) In other words, the intention of PPGIS praxis was to incorporate local community perspectives into decision making, ideally leading to solutions which might otherwise not have been attained using traditional data sources and esoteric problem framing and analysis (Carver, 2003). Even though PPGIS was initially seen as a reconstructed democratic GIS, there is still much polarized debate regarding whether GIS technology is empowering or marginalising. These opinions, however, can often be seen as a reactive and predisposed view of information technology (IT) in which individuals and groups must react to the technology as having a positive or negative social effect (Sieber, 2000a). The effectiveness and social and political implications of GIS use within communities, however is much more complex and is generally contingent on a set of unique local factors such as culture, policies, standards, people and technology (Duncan and Lach, 2006). While PPGIS applications are an extremely positive move to address the original GISoc concerns regarding the social, political and knowledge practices of GIS contemporary PPGIS have seemingly introduced new contradictions concerning data access, representation and hegemony (Elwood, 2006). For instance, although much literatur e acknowledges the importance of bridging the gap between technology and community knowledge, many PPGIS applications continue to adopt a technocratic view of GIS and are often lacking extensive public interaction let alone the integration of community data (Sieber, 2006). The next section of this thesis examines more closely the current contradictions in PPGIS applications, paying particular attention to the ambiguities in the use of the terms public and participation. The purpose in critiquing the underlying assumptions of these terms is to further an understanding of the original ontological meaning of PPGIS and how the varying use of the terms has affected the incorporation of community knowledge in PPGIS projects. 2.3 What does the Public and Participation in PPGIS really mean? Any process or technology which enhances a communities access to information and provides the chance to participate in decision making should be seen as a step in the right direction; however the original ontological framing of GISoc has become misconstrued by some practices of PPGIS (Carver, 2003). The original concept and application of PPGIS has been reshaped and become more disparate over the years as a range of disciplines (such as urban planning and conservation), have applied different approaches and technologies to achieve a unique set of priorities and goals (Sieber, 2006). Furthermore the growing enthusiasm of Governments and commercial organisations for participatory planning has lead to a number of diverse initiatives which vary in terms of the inclusiveness of community knowledge and empowerment potential (Elwood, 2006). However, public participation is a complicated concept that can have multiple meanings which lead to numerous interpretations and societal expectations (Schlossberg and Shuford, 2005). An examination of the nature of public and participation practices in GIS applications is thus critical in developing a greater understanding of the ambiguities in the PPGIS process and how these may have diverged from the original vision of GISoc. It is extremely important to identify whom the public is when engaging a PPGIS project because it will ultimately determine who is included within the project and what types of outcomes and goals may be achievable (Schlossberg and Shuford, 2005). The Collins English Dictionary (1982) defines public (adj) as a means of relating to, or concerning the people as a whole reflecting the intended meaning within PPGIS; and many applications do continue to be developed for a general public (Sieber, 2006). There is however a number of PPGIS projects who take a more ambiguous view of public and often use it interchangeably with definitions which more loosely resemble a stakeholder. In other words many projects deem their public to be those who are affected by, bring knowledge or information to, and possess the power to influence a decision or program (Sieber, 2006). The public and their interests are often, however, very different from stakeholders and thus would heavily influence the problem f raming and objectives of a GIS project (Wood, 2005). Furthermore a public can be demarcated by a range of factors such as geographical, economic, social or political; and the composition of a public may change over time (Schlossberg and Shuford, 2005). Determining what constitutes the public has become especially complicated as technology has become more pervasive. For instance a web-based GIS may potentially be accessible by a wider portion of society however it raises questions around digital divides and geographic scale. Thus, is anyone who is able to access the application still deemed part of the public even though they maybe geographically distant to the issue and decision making? (Sieber, 2006) In general people local to an issue should be interested enough to get involved in a debate given their geographic proximity. It has been demonstrated however that as scale increases not only do people at regional, national and global levels become interested and involved in an issue but also a higher percentage of people at the local do as well because it has amplified into a wider discourse (Carver, 2003). Consequently Aitken (2002) suggests that instead of perceiving issues or decision making as being scale dependent and developing PPGIS projects for stakeholders which have their scale fixed, GIS projects should, alternatively, be directing their attention towards developing a GIS which would enable community issues and knowledge to jump scale from local to larger public discourses or vice versa (Aitken, 2002, Sieber, 2006). This is an important aspect because there is often a concern that local activities are dismissed as being part of community politics and are denied significant advancements by State and Federal Governments and thus the opportunity to emerge and engage individuals at all scales (Aitken, 2002). From this perspective a community-based GIS, where community is defined as a group of individuals who are bound together by a common characteristic or a common intent and who enjoy a relatively high degr ee of mutual social interaction (Jones et al., 2004: 105) offers the prospect of transcending the rigid scale conceptualised upon community politics and local activism enabling them to contest structures of power and dominance at the very scales they exist (Aitken, 2002, Gaile and Willmott, 2005). Harris and Weiner (1998) acknowledged in their research on the power relations associated with GIS use that participatory GIS practices have the potential to simultaneously empower and marginalise groups (Sieber, 2006). As a result it is imperative to understand the nature of the participatory process and who benefits and why (Craig et al., 2002). One such way to help conceptualise the levels of public participation is through a ladder metaphor. First conceived by Arnstein (1969), the basic premise of the participation ladder is that each rung of the ladder represents a different level of participation the bottom rung represents zero opportunity to participate while each rung above represents increased level of participation in the decision making and thus greater public empowerment (Carver, 2003). Wiedemann and Femers (1993) later produced an adaptation of the ladder which conceived of public participation as not only providing access to information but also suggesting that inform ing the public of decisions is another form of participation (Tulloch and Shapiro, 2003). This concept is significantly flawed as it firstly misrepresents the commonly understood meaning of the word participation in PPGIS which The Collins English Dictionary (1982) defines as to take part, be or become involved, or share. Secondly the ladder metaphors do not acknowledge the potential for participation to change over a period of time (Schlossberg and Shuford, 2005). Thirdly, the participation models fail to include oppositional groups whom do not cooperate with public decision making but participate in the formation public policy through other influential methods such as protests (Sieber, 2006). The incorporation of the word participation in many GIS projects implies a method of consensus building which presupposes a level of top-down decision-making as well as a degree of homogenization between participants. Certain individuals however may be better able to participate or contribute to decision making than others. Consequently, disproportional levels of participation may effectively disempower individuals and adversely affect the desired outcomes of a community (Sieber, 2006). Consequently some scholars have insisted on applying participatory for autonomous grassroots activities and employing participation to describe those projects which are more top-down in their approach (Elwood, 2006). Again while this is a neat way to demarcate GIS projects which employ various degrees of top-down and bottom-up methods these definitions fail to acknowledge that both methodologies are crucial to any successful GIS project and community decision making. In fact it is fervently maintained that in order to enable citizens to better identify and comprehend how the role of GIS and technical discourses are bound up in decision making and how decision making can be informed by GIS knowledge, communities must have access to spatial information developed by Governments and commerc ial organisations as well as contributing their own spatial knowledge (Brown, 1998). Within this section it has been demonstrated that the attitudes and arguments that frame many PPGIS projects have succeeded in producing an illusion of influence and contribution by communities to decision making when actual control still resides with the traditional powers, such as Government. Instead of attempting to build an impossible consensus amongst a public with disparate tastes, values and experiences, a community-based GIS should concentrate on developing a communitys ability to construct their own facts with the aid of available third party resources, from which their personal geographic stories may emerge and translate to various members of society (Wood, 2005). Another way forward could be to draw upon principles of Situational psychogeography which also attempts to combine subjective and objective modes of study by positing that ones self cannot be divorced from the urban environment and that ones psyche and knowledge of the city must transcend the individual if it is t o be of any use in the collective rethinking of the city (Sadler, 1998, Wood, 2005). In the following section an examination of the origins of psychogeography will be conducted clarifying how the principles behind this practice may help establish a framework for practice of GIS and Society and specifically the incorporation of local knowledge in GIS. 2.4 What exactly is Psychogeography? During the 1950s a number of highly politicised groups emerged in opposition to the ideals of modernism; these groups promoted programs that would reform the practice of art and life by directly intervening in the human environment and bringing about a social revolution (Sadler, 1998). One such group were the Lettrist International who conceived of the notion of Unitary Urbanism, which would later be the developed into the praxis of Psychogeography. Unitary Urbanism was envisaged as the theory of the combined use of arts and techniques for the integral construction of a milieu in dynamic relation with experiments in behaviour. (Knabb, 2006: 52) In other words, Unitary Urbanism was considered a social project whose vision was the unification of space and architecture with the social and individual body (Sadler, 1998). In 1957 the Lettrist International and the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus (IMIB) merged to form a new artistic-activist movement known as the Situationist International (SI). The SI was similarly critical of modernist principles which anteceded the rational mind at the expense of the imagination. These criticisms are most clearly evident in the SIs opposition to modern architecture and urban planning which they argued shaped people into rigid patterns of behaviour (Sadler, 1998). Furthermore they believed that increasing urbanism and capitalism had reduced life to mere production and consumption behaviour that ensured that everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation. (Debord, 1964) In other words experienced space had been reduced into mere representations of spaces and in turn re-envisaged as capitalist spaces (McDonough, 2002). SI believed that members of society were increasingly experiencing life as spectators devoid of dialogue and wi thout a sense of being involved or interacting with one another. Once this spectacle of modernity and urbanism, represented through images, products and activities, and authorised by the state, had been unveiled, society would be able to rediscover the authenticity of city life underneath (Debord, 1964). By resisting the hegemony of the state the SI sought to radically transform urban spaces through different practices including the subversion of cartography. Specifically by directing the spectators senses towards the contradictions in the abstractions and mediations of the state, the aim was to draw the spectator into activity by provoking his capacities to revolutionize his own life (Debord, 1957: 25). Taking from the original methodology of Unitary Urbanism, psychogeography was proposed as a method of urban investigation which studies the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organised or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals. (Debord, 1955) In other words, psychogeography was intended as a methodology to help make people aware of the ways in which the urban environment and everyday life is conditioned and controlled and encouraged the exposing of these concerns (Plant, 1992). Psychogeography in practice utilised a technique conceived as the Theory of the Dà ©rive, in which individuals dà ©rive (literally: drifting) through an environment letting themselves be drawn by the attractions of the terrain while still seeking to unmask the contradictions in the abstracted space (Plant, 1992). The dà ©rive was an attempt to reappropriate the meaning of the city by removing the myths in the states representations by having people walk and experience the landscape first hand, thus constructing through narratives a more concrete collective space (Mcdonough, 1994). While the dà ©rive offered a new way of surveying urban space, a new way of representing these spaces had yet to be found. The SI were not disillusioned with the idea of mapping practices, in fact they regarded mapping as an important component to aid in the changing and organisation of urban spaces (Pinder, 1996). They believed however, that the structures and imperatives utilised in mapping exposed the desires of those wishing to impose order upon the city. The SI ambition was thus to illustrate the strange logic and apparent disorder of cities by producing maps which demonstrated those intimacies of the city typically absent from a traditional street or topographic map (Sadler, 1998). Consequently the SI developed a concept called Dà ©tournement, which loosely translates as a diversion or rerouting of pre-existing aesthetic elements (Knabb, 1995). An example of this is where existing maps and aerial photographs were juxtaposed or rearranged to produce a new spatial meaning; an a lternative experiential or existential truth (Ungar, 2005). Thus the SI were able to reconstruct the cartography of a city by reconciling conventional geographies, sociologies, and cartographies together with experienced spaces, producing a map which is terrestrial, fragmented, subjective, temporal, and cultural (Sadler, 1998: 82). While Debord announced the disbandment of the SI in 1972, the traditions underpinning psychogeography continue to influence many works of literature, films, urban design and geographic practices (Ford, 2005). Wood (2005) draws attention to one contemporary psychogeography project Jake Bartons City of Memory which combines psychogeographic principles with a GIS to build a collective urban memory through the participation of a number of people. In an interview with Wood, Jake Barton described his project as utilising top-down and bottom-up resources to create an emergent and curated experience. Precisely by extending these terms to form the foundation of any GIS and Society project, Wood hypothesised that what would emerge was a GIS designed by a third-party or community-based intermediary (top-down); the public would formulate a specific framework that fits their unique goals (bottom-up); the bottom-up and top-down activities and goals are not independent of each other, but rather c o-exist (curated); the outcome of the project has not been foreseen or influenced towards a specific outcome by any party, but rather emerges organically from the facts obtained and analysed (emergent). Thus resulting in a map and information which has not been exactly made by the public but which without it has no content at all and deflates into a frame around nothing (Wood, 2005: 13). Following on from this preliminary research by Wood a wider investigation of these terms will be conducted, laying the framework for a more appropriate community-based GIS as originally envisaged in GISoc debates. 2.5 Top-down Top-down integration of GIS is usually undertaken by an outside individual or agency who provides the GIS model, data, analysis and representation (Talen, 2000). Often the major distinction between a top-down and bottom-up approach, in participatory projects, is determined by where the decision making lies and by the level of commitment required by the public. With a top-down approach a Government or organisation would typically provide the data and representations which would be used in deliberation with the public, who are required to make a short-term commitment. In contrast, a bottom-up approach would require the public to have ongoing access to GIS data and the resources to capture data, conduct analysis and produce representations (Talen, 2000). Governments and commercial planners will often implement a participatory GIS with top-down goals in order to better understand a neighbourhood dynamic, improve public sector management and enhance social service provision. This process theoretically serves the public by introducing policies and services based on a communitys perception of the data, analysis and representations framed by Governments and planners (Sieber, 2006). Top-down GIS models can also help circumvent deterrents such as cost, complexity and access to data which often impeded non-profit and community groups from implementing a GIS. The cost of hardware and GIS software have decreased dramatically over the years and there are now many open source GIS solutions available for free use; however it has been shown that any cost and resources required in the implementation, operation and maintenance of equipment, no matter the amount, will be a significant barrier for adoption, especially for underprivileged groups (Brodnig and Mayer-Schà ¶nberger, 2000, Leitner et al., 2002). Furthermore many individuals may lack knowledge about the availability and means of obtaining a GIS and spatial data (Elwood, 2007). Many of the GIS packages available are user-friendly for many operations, however the more functionality a group requires for their GIS, the greater

Friday, September 20, 2019

Design of Wind Turbine Control

Design of Wind Turbine Control ABSTRACT The main objective of this report is the design and analysis of the control of the wind turbine. In order to ensure an efficient energy capture from the wind and at the same time the mitigation of loads at natural frequencies, it will be designed the operating strategy of the machine. Furthermore, the control of the wind turbine will be also designed in order to ensure a stable performance of the system given the stochastic nature of the wind. As a last task, it will be analysed the differences and importance of having a system with a good or reduced crossover frequency. Introduction The exploitation of wind energy is undoubtedly the most popular tool for the tackling of climate change all over the world. The development of wind turbines has led to a variable speed pitch regulated configuration that aims to extract energy from the wind as efficiently as possible. As the penetration of wind energy becomes more and more significant in modern power systems, there is a need to meet certain criteria and quality of generation in order to maintain the reliability and security of supply above certain levels. In order to achieve an optimize energy capture and prevent the machine from excessive loads, the design of both operating strategy and controller of the plant need to be carried out. The difficulty of the design relies on the stochastic nature of the wind, so a carefully and detailed approach is needed. Also, as the controller of the turbine is the heart of its operation, the design of this will become more and more difficult with the size of the turbine [1]. The larger the turbine, the more structurally flexible the mechanical parts will become and it is at this point where the fatigue loads become a major concern, as they are closely related to the operating life of the machine and also to the operational and maintenance costs. The purpose of this report is to highlight the importance of the controller and the contribution to the energy capture, as well as the design of a suitable operating strategy that maximized the reduction of loads while ensuring an efficient performance. 2.1 Baseline and procedure The main objective of the control design of any wind turbine is to obtain a good trade-off between energy and loads. In variable speed pitch regulated turbines it is controlled both pitch and torque. The former is controlled to limit the aerodynamic power in above-rated power (hence, the loads), while the latter is primarily used to control the transmission torque in above rated wind speeds and to maximize energy capture below the rated power region. The operating strategy must be carefully design in order to achieve maximum power capture while limiting the aerodynamic loads in the mechanical parts of the wind turbine, as they are critical aspects of the lifetime of the machine. Therefore, the design of the operating strategy must include load reduction as an explicit objective. In this report, the design of the operating strategy has been carried out with a special focus on the control of the tower and drive train resonances, as well as the mitigation of the blade loads. In order to design the operating strategy, it has been provided a model of a 1.5 MW variable speed, pitch regulated turbine. In the model, it was obtained the mechanical characteristics of the machine (Blade length, Gearbox ratio and so on), along with the power coefficient values for below rated operation, where the pitch of the blades was -2 degrees and is fixed for below rated operation. With the above data, it was possible to set the Cp-ÃŽÂ » curve of the machine. This type of curves are used in wind turbine design to obtain rotor power for any combination of rotor and wind speed. By building this curve it is possible to obtain the maximum power capture. This is given by the power coefficient Cp, that it is a relationship between the power in the wind stream and the power generated by the turbine [2]. The desired operating strategy must try to achieve the maximum power capture, and hence the maximum value of Cp, and such operating point determines the optimum tip speed ratio ( ÃŽÂ »), which is the ratio between the rotor speed and the wind speed. Once the optimum point of power extraction is set, it is possible to build the model of the machine. For this machine, the generator will operate in a range between 1 rad/s and 170 rad/s. Therefore, having the gearbox ratio, it is possible to obtain the rotor speed given the following equation: By obtaining the range of rotor speeds of the machine, it can now be calculated the necessary wind speed for each rotor speed with the following equation: Where ÃŽÂ » represents the optimum tip speed ratio of the machine, which corresponds to a value of 8.4 in this design (for a Cpmax of 0.47). This range of wind speeds is used to obtain the aerodynamic torque, which is a function of the rotor speed and wind speed (when the pitch angle is fixed). Therefore, it is possible to derive the aero torque by the following equation: Where the values of and correspond to the optimum operating point. That is, for a given wind speed and rotor speed, the objective is to produce a torque such that the power extraction from the wind is maximum. Thus, the above equation will provide the torque values for the maximum energy tracking region. On the other hand, it is necessary to obtain the generator torque, as this will be used in order to determine the end of the first and second constant speed (To and T1). As it can be seen in the equation below, the damping losses have been considered. For this design, a damping of 5 has been assumed. The generator toque can be obtained by the following equation. Now it is possible to obtain the power generated in the machine by having an efficiency of 95% in this machine: And the torque at rated power of the machine is given by: The point where the rated power curve crosses with the second constant speed line, will determine the torque which will be generating at above rated operation. Finally, it has been calculated the values for the constant speed curves of the operating strategy. It has been applied equation 2.3, setting the wind speed constant (from 4 m/s to 12m/s) and calculated the torque for the different values of Cp and ÃŽÂ ». The resulting operating strategy will be such that will cross every constant wind speed by the point at which is the optimum power extraction point (Cpmax). 2.2 Operating strategy process Several factors must be considered in an operating strategy design. Having obtained the values in the previous section, it is possible to plot the maximum power extraction curve. The design must have special focus on the natural frequencies of the tower and blades. For this design, it has been provided the natural frequencies of both components. For the tower, the side-side and fore-aft frequencies. For the blades, the edge and flap frequencies were provided. Based on this, it must be analysed and compare those frequencies with the rotor speed (P), the 3P and the 6P component. It is desirable to design an operating strategy that avoids operating at multiples of the structural frequencies, as they are critical points of operation where the mechanical loads increase and the lifetime of the turbine can be reduced due to fatigue loads. Besides, the strategy must ensure a smooth switching at the first and second constant speeds with the operating curve. This has been achieved by setting both constant speed lines with a minimum length, in such way that the controller of the turbine is switching the to different operation modes excessively, as this could reduce the efficiency of the machine. Another important aspect to look at when designing the operating strategy, is to ensure that the wind turbine operation is not close to the stall front. The stall front curve is the curve that connects the maximum point of the constant wind speed curves. It determines the beginning of the stall region where the blades will be exposed to high loads and the power extraction will not operate efficiently. Based on the above, the design of the operating strategy was carried out. The first constant wind speed was set at 1.2 rad/s, avoiding a 6P frequency in the blades (flap natural frequency) that would appear at approximately 1 rad/s. As the design of the operating strategy must be a trade-off between energy capture and reduction of loads, it was decided the above as the best option for this machine. Rotor speed (rad/s) Generator torque (Nm) Aerodynamic Torque (Nm) Fist constant speed region (end) T0 1.2 1432.923 163076 Second constant speed region (beginning) T1 2.02 4640.24 462004 Rated torque 2.02 10137 853106 Table 2.0 generator torque at constant speed switching point The beginning of the second constant speed region is determined by the maximum generator speed which has been set at 170 rad/s (2.02 rad/s at the rotor side). It can be seen in Figure 2.0 the operating strategy curve of the machine, where it can be appraised that the operating strategy has avoided the 6P natural frequency stated above. The stall region is far enough from the operating region of the machine, ensuring a good performance and better efficiency. Figure 2.0 Aerodynamic torque-rotor speed diagram. Operating strategy curve of the wind turbine 2.3 Discussion of results In general terms, the design of the machine has been successfully carried out, as it can be seen in Figure 2.0, covering the following critical aspects of any operating strategy of a wind turbine: After carefully analysed the natural frequencies and compared with the 3P and 6P resonance frequencies, it has been set the cut-in speed of the machine at 1.2 rad/s. Also, this strategy will ensure that the damping losses in the machine do not have excessive effect on the power generated, as at very low rotor speeds the losses can overcome the power generated. The operating strategy ensures that the turbine will operate between the desired wind speed range. In this report, it has been set the wind speed range between 4m/s and 25m/s. It has been secured a smooth switching transient between the two constant speed regions and the maximum power tracking curve by establishing a reasonable size of the constant speed regions. It could be arguable whether this operating strategy is the most efficient or there are better options that would adapt to this wind turbine. The truth is that there are multiple options and different strategy plans depending on the preferences of the design. In this report, the aim has been to find a trade-off between load reduction and efficient power capture. 3.1 Baseline and procedure In order to achieve an efficient operation of the wind turbine, the control must play an important role in the operating strategy. An appropriate wind controller design will allow for a better wind energy capture as well as the mitigation of fatigue loads, as they considerably reduce the lifetime of the machine. Hence, the control task of a wind turbine is to maintain the appropriate operational state as the wind speed condition change, as well as enhancing its dynamic properties. In this report, the main goal is to design the operational controller, which is divided in two different regions, below rated and above rated power. At below rate conditions, the aim is to extract as much power from the wind as possible. This will be achieved by varying the reaction torque by measure the rotor speed or the output power. The second task of the controller is to ensure a smooth transition between the 1st constant speed region and the maximum power tracking curve. At above rated operation, the performance of the turbine will be carried out by pitching the blades. By doing so, it will allow the turbine to maintain the generation at the rated power value, take action to alleviate the increased loads at different parts of the wind turbine and to keep the desired stability margins of operation. For the above rated controller, it will be used a PI pitch controller along with an extra pole and zero and the set gain of the transfer function, resulting the transfer function as following: The nonlinearity nature of the wind turbine operation leads to a nonlinear control design. The gain scheduling is the most used control technique to accommodate the nonlinearities [3]. The performance of this technique is to continuously change the structure of the controller according to the local set points, such as aerodynamic torque, rotor speed and pitch angle. For instance, as the torque sensitivity varies nearly linear with pitch angle, it can be compensated by varying the overall gain of the controller linearly with pitch angle. As the design of the above rated controller is normally more tedious, it will be first designed the above rated controller and then, by varying the gain, redesign the below rated controller. Besides, when designing the controller of variable speed pitch regulated wind turbine, it must be paid special attention to the damage caused by the vibrations on the drive train, as it produces serious risks of failure. It has been noted that for the case of the wind turbine in this that the first drive train mode need to be actively damped, in order to alleviate the large torque transients at 13 rad/s. To obtain the transfer function of the drive train filter, it will be the general form of a band pass filter: The block diagram with the filter integrated can be seen in Figure 3.0. The design of the filter will be designed such that the filter feeds back only the oscillations at the resonant frequency. Figure 3.0 Plant with the drive train filter implemented As the drive train filter is located at the feedback loop, the equivalent transfer function of the plant and the filter will be given by the following equation: 3.2 Drive-Train Filter and Controller Design Drive Train Filter Design In order to damp to suppress the peak at the first drive train mode, it has been designed the transfer function of the filter. To do so, three parameters have been set in the transfer function. The gain (k), the frequency at which it is aimed to amplify in the feedback loop () and a scaling factor (n), which is used to set the frequency of the poles in the transfer function. After a trial and error procedure in MATLAB, the transfer function designed is the following: In Figure 3.1 is shown the Bode diagram of the system with and without drive train filter. It can be appraised that the peak in the drive train mode has been successfully damped, reducing the mechanical loads in the machine and hence, improving the lifetime of the turbine. Figure 3.1 Bode plot with the effect of the drive train filter in the system Controller Design for Above and Below Rated operation To control rotor speed and torque it is necessary to use pitch of the blades at above rated wind speeds. It has been designed a complete controller for the turbine for smooth switching between different operating modes. Apart from the pitch-PI controller, the gain scheduling technique has been applied to the design for the non-linear design section. The controller must assure a gain and phase margins above certain levels (4 dB and 30 degrees respectively) when checking the stability using the open loop functions, providing stability for the closed loop system. The aim is to provide good disturbance rejection at low frequencies, the required bandwidth at 1 rad/s, and good high frequency roll-off. With these main objectives, the transfer function designed for the given wind turbine is the following: It is shown in Figure 3.2 the Bode diagram of the controller, where it can be appraised the effects that the poles, zero and gain have on the systems. The proportional gain of the transfer function sets the initial gain value (20 log10 (|k|) and remains constant with the frequency. The proportional gain does not contribute to the phase of the transfer function.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Figure 3.2 Bode diagram Above Rated Controller The pure integrator , produces constant gain contribution of -20 dB/dec from an infinite frequency. It also produces a constant phase of -90 degrees. The pole in the transfer function contributes to the gain with a negative 20dB/dec slope at its frequency of operation (1.95 rad/s). With respect to the phase, it contributes with a -45 deg/dec between a decade after and a decade before its frequency. That is, for a frequency of 1.95 rad/s, it starts to contribute at 0.195 rad/s and will end at 19.5 rad/s. The zero in the transfer function contributes to the gain with a positive 20 dB/dec slope and with a positive 45 deg/dec slope for the phase. Analogous to the pole, the phase contribution starts and ends one decade before and after the frequency of the zero. Knowing the above concepts and after a trial and error procedure, the gain scheduling technique was implemented and the design of the controller has been successfully completed. It can be seen in Figure 3.3 and 3.4 the differences between the effect of gain scheduling. It has been designed the controller for the plant dynamics at speeds of 12m/s,15m/s and 25m/s and applies for the same system with and without gain scheduling. Figure 3.3 Bode diagram of the plant without gain scheduling Figure 3.4 Bode diagram of the plant with gain scheduling It can be appraised that the system with the effect of the gain scheduling becomes stable, while without the gain scheduling system the gain and phase margins do not meet the requirements stated above for a feasible strategy. The design of the controller gives a positive gain and phase margin to the system at 1rad/s, ensuring the rejection of disturbances above these frequencies [4]. Once the above rated controller is designed, it has been carried out the design for the above rated operation. It has been tested for below rated wind speeds of 4m/s and 10m/s (resulting roughly the same response) and as it can be seen in Figure 3.5, the system has been successfully integrated as the phase and gain margin meet the specified requirements. As part of the gain scheduling implementation, the transfer function of the controller for below rated condition will just adjust the gain of the transfer function. After a trial and error procedure the transfer function obtained is given by the following equation. Figure 3.5 Bode diagram of below rated operation (with drive train filter) Note that for the below rated system analysis, there must be included the drive train filter at the feedback loop. 3.3 Discussion of results Based on the results, the design of the controller by applying gain scheduling technique has been successfully completed. As in any controller design, it must be aimed for good stability margin, both phase and margin, otherwise the system could destabilize and therefore cause high load fluctuations. Both below and above rated controller have been designed accordingly to these requirements and the phase and gain margin meet the minimum stablished (4dB for gain margin and 30 degrees for phase margin). 3.4 Effect of wind turbine size in the controller design. An important aspect of the controller design of a wind turbine is the size of the aforementioned. The wind turbine industry is going towards an increasingly bigger size of the turbines, which brings out new challenges when it comes to the design of the controller of the machine. As the rotor is continuously interacting with a very complex wind field, the prediction of the behaviour of the machine will become more difficult with an increase in size. In other words, as the size of the machine increases, it might be extremely difficult (when not impossible) to achieve the desired margins of stability, as the structural elements will become more flexible and dynamically more active. This does not necessarily mean that the system will become unstable with a bigger turbine, but proposes that controller need to be designed and tuned more carefully as the gain and phase margins will reduce. 4.1 Baseline and procedure As stated in section 3, the importance of the controller remains at the stability of the system. A system with low crossover frequency will present more fluctuations and a poor stability in terms of power generation, rotational speed or generator torque. The aim of this section is to give a better understanding of the design of a system with acceptable crossover frequency and also the importance of the drive train filter design, which as it was shown in the previous section, will help to damp the first drive train mode and therefore considerably reduce the mechanical loads. The will be compared for variables of the wind turbine for both above and below rated operation. The first tasks have been the comparison between the system with good crossover frequency and the system with no drive train filter. In order to do so, it has been compared the power output of the machine, the generator speed, generator torque and the pitch angle. For simplicity on the interpretation of the results, it will be compared the simulations at 15m/s of wind speed (above rated operation), and 9m/s of wind speed (below rated operation). For each wind speed, different turbulence of the wind field has been analysed. The second tasks have consisted on the comparison between a system with a good cross over frequency and a reduced cross over frequency. Again, to give the reader an easier understanding of the simulations, it will be compared the different systems at a wind speed of 15m/s. 4.2 Investigation of the controller performance Comparison between the good cross over frequency and no drive train filter systems It can be appraised in Figure 4.0, the power output of the turbine for wind speeds of 15 m/s and 9m/s. It is immediately apparent that for each speed, the higher the fluctuation, the higher the disturbance and therefore the less efficient energy production of the turbine. The mean production for 15m/s and higher disturbance accounts for 4.83MW and for 9 m/s is 2.8 MW. Compared with the wind field with small disturbance, the differences are not very noticeable, as the production accounts for approximately 4.7MW and 2.4 MW respectively. With respect to the comparison between the different systems, the figures show negligible differences between the system response at different disturbances. This is because both systems have a crossover frequency of 1 rad/s. Besides the reason why the system with no drive train filter seems to have no effect on the system is because as stated in section 3, the aim of the filter is to damp the drive train mode at a certain frequency. As it is being plotted the response over time, the slightly differences at the frequency of damping cannot be appraised in these figures. Figure 4.0 Power output of the turbine for 15m/s and 9m/s In terms of the generator speed (Figure 4.1), the same pattern than in the power output has been acknowledge. The higher the turbulence intensity in the wind, the more difficult the control of the generator speed, and therefore the higher the fluctuations. In terms of mean values, the 15 m/s wind speed produces a mean generator speed of approximately 120 rad/s for a high turbulence intensity, and 111 rad/s at 9m/s of wind speed. Figure 4.1 Generator speed of the turbine for 15m/s and 9m/s Talking about the generator torque, it presents the same patterns than the previous simulation, as it can be seen in Figure 4.2, where there are no apparent differences between the two systems, and the turbulence intensity influence the variation of generator torque. The mean values for the higher turbulence intensity are 26.2KNm and 42.4KNm for 9m/s and 15m/s respectively. For the lower fluctuation of wind, the mean values of torque account for 22.7KNm and 42.7KNm. Figure 4.2 Generator torque of the turbine for 15m/s and 9m/s As a final analysis, it has been plotted the pitch angle for the different system at different speeds. It can be appraised in Figure 4.3 that the pitching of the blades does not perform at 9m/s, except when the turbulence intensity is significantly high, in which case it might overpass the above rated wind speed and therefore the pitching start to act. By contrast, for the 15m/s simulation speed, the pitching angle varies constantly trying to absorb energy from the wind more efficiently. Figure 4.3 Pitch angle of the turbine for 15m/s and 9m/s Comparison between reduced and good crossover frequency It has been simulated the response of the two system with good and reduced crossover frequency. The good crossover system has a crossover frequency of 1 rad/s while the reduced crossover system is 0.5 rad/s. The results are shown in Figure 4.4 and 4.5, where some differences can be noticed. The reduced crossover frequency system has a more unstable generation of power for both turbulence intensity scenarios. As stated in Section 3, the system with a reduced crossover frequency will have a poorer performance under disturbances and will reject those more inefficiently than the one with a good cross over frequency. Figure 4.4 Power output and generator speed of the turbine for 15m/s and 9m/s Figure 4.5 Generator torque and pitch angle of the turbine for 15m/s and 9m/s Having designed and analysed the different aspect of a wind turbine controller, it can be concluded that the design has been carried out successfully, ensuring a stable performance of the system with an efficient mitigation of loads. It can be argued whether the design of both operating strategy and controller are the best option in terms of performance, but the main objective of this report is to give an understanding of the performance of the machine and the control system operation, as well as to understand the new challenges that the increasingly size of the wind turbines might bring to the design of the control strategy. [1] E. A. Bossanyi, The Design of Closed Loop Controllers for Wind Turbines, Wind Energy, vol. 3, pp. 149-163, 2000. [2] T. Burton, Cp-lamda performance, Chichester, Willey, 2011, pp. 173-174. [3] A. P. Chatzopoulos, Full Envelope Wind Turbine Controller Design for Power Regulation and Tower Load Reduction, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 2014. [4] H. D. B. A. R. J. M. Fernando D. Bianchi, Control of Variable-Speed Variable-pitch Wind turbines Using Gain Scheduling Techniques, in Wind turbine control systems, London, Springer, 2007.