Is Hofstede's cross cultural work outdated ( international human Essay

Is Hofstede's cross cultural work outdated ( international human resources ) - Essay Example In Hofstede’s view, nations have separate cultures which an international business has to adapt to, in order to successfully conduct its business in a particular nation. Hofstede’s five dimensions of culture are defined in terms of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism and long-term orientation. Although Hofstede’s theory of cross cultural dimensions has been subjected to criticisms, his cross cultural dimensions had been of practical applications in the international commerce. However, ever since the advent of globalisation, nations have stopped being watertight compartments with the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions attributable to individual nations in varying degrees having become outdated. It is proposed to place herein evidence based arguments to show that Hofstede’s cultural dimensions for the purpose of international commerce have become irrelevant or outdated in the wake of globalisation. Hofstede attempted to explain that cultures are shaped within nations. But when businesses transcends beyond national boundaries, these cultural dimensions become cultural interconnections. Now globalisation has become the order of the day and irreversible. Cultural attributes are likened to an iceberg in that only very few are visible to the eye. They are language, behaviours, customs, and norms. And traditions, beliefs, priorities, assumptions and values are only perceptible (Parker, 2005 p189). As already well known, Hofstede (1980) arrived at the above said dimensions based on his study of 88,000 employees of IBM from 72 countries. He expanded his study to ten more countries and three regions in his updated version (Hofstede, 2001).At the time of Hofstede’s original work in 1980, the world was not as complicated a place as it is today. In the last three decades, nations have become more permeable and heterogeneous besides undergoing disintegration or dismantlement like Soviet

Teenager Appeal of Rock Music in the 1950 Essay Example for Free

Teenager Appeal of Rock Music in the 1950 Essay The appeal of rock music in the 1950’s is largely due to the ending of World War 2. The ending of World War 2 sparked more interests in what is the social norm. Abundant about of people coming back from the war wanted to start families. The baby boom increased the about of kids in America drastically. These kids of the baby boom started a new age class in America, the â€Å"teenager†. Prior to World War 2 most of the youth in America was ether working or joining the military to fight the war in Europe. There was never an actually teenager stereo type. Due to the baby boom after the war, there were more teenagers than ever before with little or nothing to do. Nothing was marketed to the teenager. During the war many toy companies directed there attention towards the war’s needs. The age of the teenager was new to American culture. There was generational gap for the social norm of boys and girls. Children were starting to become more independent. Mothers of children stated to join the working class leaving older children to start developing their own social class. Conformity and the desire to reject change were very common in the 1950s. When the teenager came about many of them had their own style and seemed to be rebellious. After the war there were many new technologies that were available to the teenager. The invention of the television and mass transportation made the biggest impact. The ability to hear outside influences and the ability to travel gave the teenager a broader spectrum of life. There was draw to blues and jazz music of the African American people because of its upbeat style. However it wasn’t until Elvis Presley came out that the draw of rock music took off. A white singer that sounded like a black singer was solid gold. With Elvis Presley style of music it appealed to the growing social class of the teenager. With the age of segregation at its peak it came as no surprise that the older generation saw rock music as corrupting the youth. Many people claimed that rock music was the sole reason there was a growing existences of juvenile delinquency. It seemed the more people spoke out against rock music the more popular rock music became. The teenager social class was growing every day and had become bigger than ever seen in the United States. The movie â€Å"Rebel Without a Cause† had come out depicting how rebel looks and acts, and many teenagers mimicked how that character acted and dressed. This became the norm of how teenagers acted. In conclusion the reason that rock and roll music was so appealing was its inherent draw to rebel against the older generation. The slow tempo music of old was not suiting for the teenager. The upbeat music and its African American roots was the perfect storm for teenagers to rebel. The amount of teenagers in America was higher than ever and with the core audience of rock and roll music being teenagers it’s no wonder that rock and roll music took off.

Business Process Management Experience Business Essay

Business Process Management Experience Business Essay A study published by Gartner (Gartner: Michael James Melenovsky / Jim Sinur / Janelle B. Hill / David W. McCoy, Business Process Management: Preparing for the Process-Managed Organization, 2005) defines Business Process Management (BPM) as follows: BPM is a management practice that provides for governance of a businesss process environment toward the goal of improving agility and operational performance. BPM is a structured approach employing methods, policies, metrics, management practices and software tools to manage and continuously optimize an organizations activities and processes. My learning experience on business process management started in the early years of my career when I worked as programmer and subsequently a project manager with a local software house (See CV Aug 1981 Aug 1994). I spent many years working in the development, implementation and management of an insurance package for a number of insurance agencies in Malta. Working closely with insurance personnel to understand their pain areas and their business requirements gave me a very good knowledge and insight on the insurance business, and helped me develop my interpersonal and communication skills. Analysing their working practices, identifying areas of improvements and making recommendations for automation developed my analytical skills. This experience was further reinforced when I attended a one-year study course with examination (See CV Training 1985 to 1986) for the attainment of an analysis and design diploma and a graduate membership with the Institution of Analysts and Programmers. Good formal training on internationally-renowned systems analysis and design methodologies, held in the nineties (E.g. SSADM, DSDM, BPR), further strengthened my skills and knowledge in process modelling and business analysis. This also taught me how to intelligently select a variety of techniques and approaches to be used in tackling different kinds of situations. I consider this training as a turning-point in my career because, through it, I discovered a profound interest in structured methodologies, which I continued developing over the years and still at it after thirty years. The in-depth knowledge in structured methodologies acquired in the previous years also turned me into a highly structured individual with good organisational skills who can organise himself and others. In 2005, as Information Systems Strategist at Air Malta, I proposed the setting up of a business process improvement function within my sphere of responsibilities. This recommendation was accepted. Over the next two years I worked on two assignments, namely, the reorganisation of the Airlines Commercial Division, and the Tour Operator Contract Management business process (See AOL1 Project Management Pg 2). A few months ago, in my role as Head of IT at APS Bank, I made recommendations to set up a new BPM unit in order to initiate a number of change programmes that would focus on improving the Banks working practices and introduce further automation. The recommendations were accepted and a change programme set in motion. In this AOL, I will demonstrate the use of my skills and knowledge in the creation of a business process management function at APS Bank and my experiences on the first change projects. Learning Trail My knowledge on business process management has developed over the years throughout a mix of implicit and explicit learning, formal training and on-the-job working experiences. The following is a diagram depicting my learning trail in business process management: Diagram 1: BPM Learning Trail Skills and Activities The following is a table highlighting the skills and relevant activities covered in this AOL: Skills Activities Gaining Organisational Adoption Establish Banks BPM readiness Research best practices Gain buy-in for adoption of new idea Setting up a Business Process Management Competency Centre Establish the organisation structure and services to be offered Select a methodology and toolset Establish a programme of works Deliver a BPM programme Execute a pilot project Execute the first project Promote first achievements and good results Formation of a BPM Competency Centre at APS Bank Gaining Organisational Adoption: APS Bank is relatively small in size and client base when compared to other local banks, but has a niche market and a rich banking history spanning over a hundred years of successful operation. My direct involvement in the preparation of the Banks IT strategy and its business strategy (See AOL 2 IT Strategy Definition), gave me a fairly good insight in its business model and working practices. When I looked at the evolution of the Bank over the past hundred years; its transformation into a commercial bank a few years ago; its fast growth rate; and the findings of a situational analysis; it became apparent that this fast change and constant evolution created operational silos and inefficient working practices. To me, these factors clearly indicated that the Bank needed urgent re-engineering to streamline and standardise its business processes; to realign the organisation structure; and to introduce automation to support this change. It was the perfect site for the adoption of Business Process Management (BPM). As Head of IT I firmly believed that reengineering a business process prior to automating it would be extremely beneficial, because the resultant computer-system would represent a streamlined and efficient process legacy working practices, duplication and redundant steps would be eliminated before embarking on systems development. I decided to research and explore the best possible approach to use in order to build up business process management capabilities within the IT Division. I was concerned about the Banks readiness to accept this culture change. I was aware that introducing and practicing BPM would bring about significant changes and possibly resistance to change. Having researched the subject, I discovered Gartners Enterprise Personality Profile (EPP) method to assess the Banks readiness for this change (Gartner: Elise Olding, Bill Rosser, Getting Started with BPM, Part 1: Assessing Readiness, Pg 3, 2007). On evaluation, I concluded that the Bank could be classified as a Cultural Moderate, whose definition by Gartner is: Cultural moderates operate in a more stable but sometimes disjointed fashion; they tend to seek parity with other enterprises. I could relate to this definition, because of the Banks: (i) operational silos; (ii) conservative outlook and low risk appetite; and (iii) tendency to follow market leaders and rarely venture forward into becoming innovators. The Gartner study also recommended that Moderates are more likely to respond to projec ts that will offer competitive advantage such as improved customer service. I used the results of this assessment to mould my next steps in obtaining organisational adoption. Subsequently, I also used this new knowledge whilst preparing the annual programme of works. The experiences and skills I had acquired in my previous jobs with MITTS Ltd when I set up a Rapid Application Development Unit (See CV Jan 1996 Aug 2000); an Information Management Unit; and an Enterprise Architecture Unit (See CV Sep 2001 Aug 2004); were extremely helpful. The aggregation of positive and negative experiences encountered during these assignments gave me a proved and tested approach to use in the creation of this new unit. My next step was to research approaches used in similar situations by my peers in the industry. I used Gartner research material and found tons of information on the subject. It was comforting to see that my approach was pretty close to the mark. I collected all the information I required and prepared a PowerPoint presentation that provided the rationale behind my recommendation to set up this new function. I then started my usual lobbying grand tour of influential people within the Bank. The first difficult milestone was to convince the CEO, who is a very thorough person whose focus on efficiency, discipline and achieving business results are high on his agenda. I therefore focused my presentation on the current situation and the added value that the new unit would bring. The CEO was interested in this new concept and instructed me to bring it up for discussion at the Executive Management Committee. I used the same presentation at the Executive Management Committee, but the results were different. Some heads felt that BPM was an invasive and meddling exercise in their methods of working they had difficulties accepting external parties telling them whats wrong and how to do things. Other heads questioned the need for any improvements to the current business processes. Others were concerned at their required level of involvement during a BPM project. In short, I realised that I had made a mistake I had rushed into this without having carried out the appropriate level of lobbying with the individual heads before meeting them collectively in a group I had not used my experience and intrinsic learning I had previously acquired. In the following weeks I had to make some corrections and therefore changed tact. In other meetings that followed, I emphasised on some key areas to try and convince the heads that this was good for the company, because: (i) the BPM Unit is to be considered as a consultant that provides re-engineering services to the Head and his division it is not an internal audit; (ii) the Head and his division will rarely ever have the time and opportunity to dedicate weeks of effort to reassess their working practices the BPM unit can do that for them; (iii) every decision or proposed change will be carried out with the division the BPM unit are only facilitators; and (iv) any move to change has to be fully authorised by the Head of the division. This painful but important exercise, that should have been carried out previously, was relatively successful the Executive Management Committee cautiously bought into the concept. My recommendation to set up the new BPM Unit was adopted by the Bank and placed as one of my targets in the new Business Plan. It was now important to tread carefully in the first one or two BPM projects in order to ensure full buy-in. Setting up a BPM Competency Centre: Two years previously, I had set up a unit within the IT Division (i.e. Client Services Unit), to act as a buffer between IT and its internal business clients. This unit is staffed by ex-business personnel who understood the Banks working practices; could speak the same language as their business clients; and who could therefore show empathy towards their business colleagues. Reviewing, understanding and proposing changes to working practices required a good doze of knowledge on banking. I therefore found it suitable and logical to set up the new BPM function under the umbrella of the above mentioned Unit. The objective was to ensure that BPM personnel inherit the mindset of customer care and relationship building. I did not want to start big, so I recruited two bank personnel who had a good mix of banking knowledge, as well as, a good IT know-how. The next step was to research, select and establish a methodology and a toolset that would eventually be used to deliver BPM projects. I consider the use and knowledge of methodologies to be one of my core competencies. In the nineties, I attended a number of good training study courses in methods, such as Systems Development and Design Methodologies (SSADM) and the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM now known as Agile) (See Relevant Training Courses below). I have also acquired solid hands-on experience in the use of these methods, especially during the period 1990 to 1994, when I worked on large projects in the insurance and oil industries (See CV Jan 1990 Aug 1994). Therefore, establishing and documenting an initial approach to be used for BPM projects was not a difficult task to complete. In 1995, in my new job at MITTS Ltd (See CV Sep 1994 Aug 2000), I was given the opportunity to set up a rapid application development unit for the Government of Malta, whose raison dà ªtre was to deliver small computer-based solutions in a phased and rapid manner. This experience was an extremely positive learning experience because it taught me to: (i) understand the importance of setting a vision, which gave the team a shared and common direction to get there; (ii) understand the importance of heavily involving your personnel during the birth of a new unit I found that this approach instilled a feeling of pride, bonding, comradeship and ownership; and (iii) understand group development, whereby teams go through four phases of maturity as stated by Bruce Tuckman (Tuckman, Bruce (1965), Developmental sequence in small groups, Psychological Bulletin 63 (6): 382-99), namely the forming-storming-norming-performing. I therefore set out to use the above learning experience to create the new BPM function. I engaged the new recruits in the design of the BPM method, techniques and toolset through interactive workshops and proof-of-concept projects. At each step of the way we met, compared notes and discussed areas of improvement. We moved into a natural cycle of continuous improvement, whereby each step of the way was constantly being challenged and refined on the basis of each others experiences. This method proved successful, because the personnel were motivated and fully engaged. Deliver a BPM programme: As already mentioned above (See Gaining organisational adoption), the Executive Management Committee cautiously bought into the new concept of a BPM function. Some Heads were not yet convinced of its benefits and some others were sceptical of the whole concept. I was given the chance to prove that this was the right thing to do. I therefore embarked on an exercise to establish a programme of works for the next twelve months. During the business planning exercise, that takes place each year, I invited my colleagues in the executive management committee to propose pain areas which they felt needed attention and assistance to sort out. I kept in mind the Enterprise Personality Profile assessment I had carried out earlier (See Gaining organizational adoption section above), whereby I had concluded that a corporate moderator would likely à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ respond to projects that will offer competitive advantage such as improved customer service (Gartner: Elise Old ing, Bill Rosser, Getting Started with BPM, Part 1: Assessing Readiness, Pg 3, 2007). Surely enough, the heads proposed four areas that would focus on customer touch-points (e.g. customer on-boarding and the call centre) a very positive turning point and a show of trust. We now had a programme of works and some willing sponsors. Before embarking on the first official project, we decided to initiate a pilot project with the aim to: (i) Test the selected approach and toolset; and (ii) Increase the level of skills and knowledge of the newly set BPM unit personnel on-the-job training. We selected the IT service desk business process that included incident management, change management, service level management and service request management. We piloted the full BPM lifecycle and again used regular meetings to identify areas of improvement at each step of the way. This exercise helped us to fine tune the selected approach and gain enough confidence to proceed with the first official BPM project. During the first project we tried to apply all the skills and knowledge we learnt during the proof-of-concept projects we had previously undertaken. At this point, the approach, techniques and tools were already well refined. We made it a point to use a totally participative and consultative approach across each step of the way. We prepared a detailed project brief and plan and ensured the full involvement of key business personnel selected by the project sponsor (head). The plan and expected outcomes were authorised by the project board. The project proceeded well and the initial outcome was very encouraging. We had passed the first difficult test. Relevant Training Courses Period Training Course Training Institute 2011 Business Process Management Gartner Ireland Limited, UK 1999 Dynamic Systems Development Method Practitioners Course (DSDM) DSDM Consortium 1997 Dynamic Systems Development Method Practitioners Course (DSDM) ITP Limited 1996 Business Process Re-Engineering Parity Training Limited, UK 1992 Systems Analysis Design Methodology (SSADM V4) BIS Applied Systems Limited 1990 Systems Analysis Design Methodology (SSADM V3) BIS Applied Systems Limited 1985 1986 Analysis Design graduate membership after having attended a formal course study and examination approved by the Institute Institution of Analysts Programmers, UK Evidence

A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams :: A Streetcar Named Desire Essays

Tennessee Williams gives insight into three ordinary lives in his play, â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† which is set in the mid-1930’s in New Orleans. The main characters in the play are Blanche, Stanley, and Stella. All three of these characters suffer from personalities that differentiate each of them to great extremes. Because of these dramatic contrarieties in attitudes, there are mounting conflicts between the characters throughout the play. The principal conflict lies between Blanche and Stanley, due to their conflicting ideals of happiness and the way things â€Å"ought to be†. Williams begins by introducing us to the happy couple, Stanley and Stella Kowalski. The two live in a run-down part of New Orleans, but are content in their surroundings and their lifestyle. Stanley Kowalski is a Polish Immigrant who strongly believes in the role of a man in his own household. One may perceive him as being unrefined and rude, due to his blunt nature, but to himself and Stella, it is just his practical attitude towards life. Evident, through his interaction and dialogue with Stella and other characters, is his need to prove his masculinity by being dominant and imposing. In contrast, Stella is overly mild-tempered and always striving to please. Generally, she is able to adapt to all situations. This ability to adapt proves to be useful, as both her husband and her sister, Blanche, have such strong personalities. From the beginning, it is apparent that Stella often plays the peacemaker. She was able to foresee that Stanley and her visiting sister would clash. In hopes of avoiding any confrontation, she warned them both to be on their best behaviour. Stella is soft-spoken, speaking only when it is needed, and expressing her grief only when it overwhelms her, whereas Blanche is the opposite: an outspoken woman, with many opinions. Superficial is the first impression that Blanche gives when she enters the play. Consumed by appearance and face value, she is unable to see that Stella’s new lifestyle is not as horrid as she imagines. In comparison to Belle Reve, it is true that these New Orleans slums may not meet Dubois standards, but Blanche is unable to see beyond the way things appear in order to realize that Stella’s world does not revolve around material items. This flaw is intertwined with her vanity and her need keep up appearances. On the surface, Blanche appears to be snobbish and conceited.

Death Camp Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout history, injustices on humanity have been visible. The Jewish Holocaust has to be one of the most prominent. In 1933, the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler sanctioned anti-Jew campaigns that included the Nuremberg Laws, which defined the meaning of being Jewish based on ancestry. Because of these laws, Jews were isolated from society. This was only a meager element of what European Jews had yet to endure. Jews were progressively forced out of the German Economy, and their assets were turned over to the German government and the public. With the degradation of the Jewish people came organized demonstrations by the Germans. Businesses were destroyed, synagogues demolished, and nearly a hundred Jews killed. In many ways this was the start of Hitler and his Nazi’s Aryanization. In a meeting of Hitler’s elite officials, the idea of complete annihilation of Jews in Europe was manufactured. In 1938 the Nazi’s plan for the Jewish people were outlined in â€Å"The Final Solution.† This was a plan that included deportation, exploitation, and eventually extermination of European Jews. Derivations from â€Å"The Final Solution† were concentration and death camps of Germany and Poland and other parts of Nazi controlled Europe. In September 1939, Germany invaded western Poland. Jews that remained in German controlled territories were taken to ghettos and/or concentration camps that were set up to alienate Jews from the rest of the public. The quality of l...

huck finn :: essays research papers

Martin Luther King Jr. The achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. For his people and other nationalities that led to his death.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Influenced by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leader of the Civil Rights Movement and non-violent campaign of the 1950’s and 60’s.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Created the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 to direct the Civil Rights Movement.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His non-violent movements were successful and ended segregation in the south as well as other parts of the United States.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His march in Washington was the largest protest demonstration and his famous â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech came from it.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for promoting non-violent tactics.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Led the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wrote ‘Letter from Birmington Jail’ showing his moral philosophy.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Was assassinated on April 4, 1968 by James Earl Ray Jackie Robinson, a great and historical baseball player. Jim, a run-away slave in search of freedom. Both share many of the same qualities. Among them are, they both broke color barriers. One broke the color barrier in the game of baseball, while the other broke it in a book. But both of these heroes are intelligent, courageous, and caring. All these qualities listed equal an ideal hero, whether it might be a real of fictional hero. The first and most important quality a hero needs is intelligence. Both Jackie Robinson and Jim had that. They each carried it out and showed it differently, but they were both intelligent. Even though one was a professional baseball player and the other a runaway slave, they both were intelligent in their own unique way. They both did what their mind told them and accomplished the goal that they wanted to achieve, even though one was real and the other one wasn’t. Jackie Robinson showed his intelligence through his actions. He was not only a great baseball player, but also a good businessman and executive. While he was on the baseball field, he had many fans that loved him and some many who hated him. But he didn’t let them stop him from pursuing his career. Many people who didn’t like him, threw rocks and bottles at him just because he was black, and even sent him death threats to him in the mail. But unlike many people, he did not fight back, instead he ignored them and proved that he was the greatest baseball player at that time: â€Å" Jackie Robinson did not merely play at center stage.

The Ever Growing Concern of Ballot Accuracy among the American Electorate

Ballistics is one of the essential components of forensic science. Researchers and scholars in ballistics actively work to improve the quality of ballistics research methods and to enhance the effectiveness of all forensic procedures. It should be noted, that ballistics was not always widely recognized as a scientific method of firearms identification. For many years, courts and law enforcement professionals viewed ballistics as unnecessary and unimportant in the investigation of the major criminal cases.Now, with the advent of the new technological age, ballistics has not only turned into the critical element of success in forensics, but is actively aligned with advanced technologies to speed up the process of identification of firearms. Ballistics (Forensic Science) Introduction Ballistics is one of the essential components of forensic science. Researchers and scholars in ballistics actively work to improve the quality of ballistics research methods and to enhance the effectiveness of all forensic procedures.It should be noted, that ballistics was not always widely recognized as a scientific method of firearms identification. For many years, courts and law enforcement professionals viewed ballistics as unnecessary and unimportant in the investigation of the major criminal cases. Now, with the advent of the new technological age, ballistics has not only turned into the critical element of success in forensics, but is actively aligned with advanced technologies to speed up the process of identification of firearms.Ballistics: definition and history To begin with, â€Å"ballistics, in the most general sense, is the study of firearms – ‘guns’ in the vernacular. As a term of art, ballistics technically refers to the study of a bullet’s path from the firearm, through the air, and into a target† (Carlucci & Jacobson, 2007). From the viewpoint of forensics, ballistics comes up to represent a system of principles and calculations used to match recovered bullets (or their casings) to the firearms which were used to fire them.To a large extent, the study of ballistics is based on the whole set of physical laws, starting with the law of ideal gas and up to the principles of explosion and pressure within the firearms. Currently, ballistics is used to resolve the major firearms complexities, which law enforcement professionals face in the process of investigating a crime. A professional in practical ballistics works to restore the picture of the crime using firearms, bullets, casings, or their residues, and to match them to the marks that had been left on the crime scene.Despite the seriousness of the firearms identification process and the role which ballistics may play for the effectiveness of other forensic procedures, it was not before the beginning of the 1950s that the term â€Å"ballistics† became a widely recognized description of firearms studies (Warlow, 2004). The history of ballistics dates back to the times, when firearms were made manually and individually and each bullet was unique. Gunsmiths were the ones to produce flintlocks and matchlocks, and each firearm bore the sign of its creator.Early firearms could be readily compared to the works of art, for even â€Å"the screws that held together early firearms were handmade and often specific in width and pitch of the threads† (Carlucci & Jacobson, 2007). In conditions where firearms could be distinguished from one another without a difficulty and where every gun bore a unique sign of its creator, matching bullets to firearms was not a difficult task. As a result, early forensic scientists did not really need the knowledge of ballistics in its current form.Matching bullets to their molds was an easy-to-accomplish procedure and did not require any specialized skills or calculations. At the beginning of the 19th century, however, bullets and firearms have turned into the products of mass production, and the form of the bullet was standardized (Carlucci & Jacobson, 2007). Although the amount of firearms models was rather limited and a criminal investigator could easily name the firearm from which specific bullets came, it was no longer possible to distinguish between different variations of firearms that had been produced by one manufacturer (Carlucci & Jacobson, 2007).That is why forensic professionals have become increasingly interested in studying specific features of bullets and firearms that might have been concealed from the naked eye. Phillip Gavelle was one of the first to use microscopes to investigate the features of bullets and compare them to the details and characteristics of the crime scene (Warlow, 2004). With time, experts have also come to realize the role which firing pin and breech marks could play for the identification of firearms (Carlucci & Jacobson, 2007).Unfortunately, the term â€Å"ballistics† and the importance of firearms investigation did not attract public atte ntion, and only after the Sacco and Vanzetti case, as well as the publication of the three firearms identification treatises, the court has officially recognized ballistics as a forensic science, giving law enforcement professionals a chance to improve the quality of all forensic procedures and to develop a new system of forensic methodology with regard to firearms (Warlow, 2004). Ballistics in its modern form: internal, external, and terminalCertainly, with the scientific contribution which Goddard made to the development of ballistics, we would hardly be aware of how effective firearms identification could be for resolving the most complicated criminal cases. Now, as guns and firearms are mass-produced, and thousands and millions of individuals are given the legal right to carry concealed arms, ballistics gradually turns into the central component in the system of law enforcement principles used to reduce and prevent crime threats.In its current form, ballistics is usually divided into the three distinct areas: internal, external, and terminal ballistics. This division is necessary to make the study of separate ballistics aspects more effective, and to provide forensic scientists with sufficient analytical instruments. Moreover, this division is based on the path, which a bullet usually passes down the barrel, through the air, and finally, through a target. Internal ballistics (or initial ballistics) is concentrated around the path, which a bullet passes within the gun (Carlucci & Jacobson, 2007).Although measuring and describing the path of the bullet within the gun is very difficult and almost impossible, forensic scientists use velocity (or muzzle velocity) as the central forensic criterion in the study of internal bullet behaviors. Internal ballistics â€Å"concerns what happens within a time span of in the region of 2 ms between the impact of the firing pin or striker and the exit of the bullet or shot charge from the muzzle end of the barrel† (W arlow, 2004).Energy transfer, pressures and powders, combustion residues, as well as recoil in the weapon are the elements forensic professionals need to know, in order to relate the processes within the gun to the results they have produced on the crime scene. As soon as the bullet leaves the barrel, it becomes an object of external ballistics study. The latter is concerned with the pathway the bullet passes after leaving the barrel and involves the study of missile trajectory, and the impact which air gravity and resistance might have caused on it (Carlucci & Jacobson, 2007).In terms of smooth-bored guns, forensic scientists are usually concerned about the changes that might have occurred in the spread of the shot charge (Warlow, 2004). Crosswinds and the way they change missile trajectory are just another subjects of forensic research in external ballistics. External ballistics usually seeks to determine the scope of influences other materials could produce on the bullet. For exa mple, and Warlow (2004) emphasizes this fact, unburned propellant particles will tend to significantly affect the bullet at close range.Bullet stability, flight, sectional density and shape, and even aerodynamic stabilization form the numerical basis of external ballistics and turn it into a distinctively mathematical field, well-known for its complex algebraic and geometric calculations. The study of the bullet path would be incomplete without researching the processes and changes the bullet undergoes after hitting a target. Upon striking a target, the bullet either deforms or disintegrates, simultaneously damaging or destroying the target (Carlucci & Jacobson, 2007).These elements are the objects of terminal ballistics research. Terminal ballistics professionals work to link the character of the target destruction to the missile trajectory, its velocity, specific characteristics, design, and the features of the target itself. Given that the majority of targets which terminal balli stics investigates are humans, and taking into account the complex structure of the human body, terminal ballistics is probably the most complicated and the most responsible area of forensic firearms science.Researchers suggest that the bullet’s behaviors after hitting the human target are too unexpected and too unpredictable (Carlucci & Jacobson, 2007; Warlow, 2004). Forensic scientists are not always able to establish the link between the pathway the bullet has passed and the injuries found in a victim’s body. That is why terminal ballistics is a complex study of ricochet, impact, penetration, and kinetic forces that are considered responsible for the major motional shifts the bullet undergoes after hitting a target.Forensic ballistics: the new technological stage With the number of physical laws ballistics uses to match the bullets to firearms and to investigate the pathway the bullet passes from the barrel through a target, it is natural that ballistics professiona ls are involved into complex computation processes. However, with the advent of the new technological age forensic scientists have been offered an opportunity to use computer and software technologies for calculation purposes.Now, ballistics software models are extremely sophisticated in contents, but extremely easy in use. IT professionals were able to simplify and integrate the complicated systems of motion, dynamics, gravity and location, as well as hundreds of other physical concepts and principles into a universal system of calculation, which specialists in ballistics use to compute and describe the missile trajectory and bullet flight performance.Unfortunately, there is a whole set of problems to resolve before ballistics software turns into a reliable tool of forensic knowledge. For example, external ballistics technology is concerned with the way equations of motion can be simplified to improve the quality of six-degrees-of-freedom equations and to speed up the process of th eir solution (Belzer, Holzman & Kent, 2006). â€Å"There are also problems with fluid mechanics. These may include matters of universal interest, such as similarity principles, e.g. for transonic flow† (Belzer, Holzman & Kent, 2006). In terminal ballistics, chemistry is the major obstacle IT designers and developers face on their way to creating an effective system of ballistics computation; fluid mechanics also makes it difficult to design complex equations that would take into account the principles of heat conduction, viscosity, chemical reactions, and temperature dependencies (Belzer, Holzman & Kent, 2006).Nevertheless, it is with the emergence of new technologies that ballistics has been given a second breathe and it is in the current technological age that ballistics is likely to become a rapidly evolving area of forensic science and law enforcement, with the emphasis made on the speed and quality of ballistics solutions. Conclusion For many years, ballistics remained a n area of knowledge mostly neglected by forensic professionals.However, as firearms have been gradually turning into the objects of mass production, it was becoming more and more difficult to match bullets to the firearms from which they came. As a result, ballistics has come to represent a complex system of investigation principles aimed at researching the bullet behavior on its way from the barrel and through a target, as well as matching bullets to specific firearms and the marks they have left on the crime scene.Now, under the impact of technological progress, ballistics has been successfully aligned with the complex computation models, and although there is still much to resolve before ballistics becomes a purely technological field, it is obvious that ballistics will remain one of the most rapidly evolving areas of forensic science, with the emphasis made on the speed and quality of ballistics solutions.References Belzer, J. , Holzman, A. G. & Kent, A. (2006). Encyclopedia of science and technology. CRC Press. Carlucci, D. E. & Jacobson, S. (2007). Ballistics: Theory and design of guns and ammunition. CRC Press. Warlow, T. A. (2004). Firearms, the law, and forensic ballistics. CRC Press.