From where do we get our notion of art? The assumption is that art is something that takes talent, patience, and hard work, and thus should be appreciated for the considerable skills of its maker. Another assumption is that art is supposed to look “like something”. But who is to say that rendering objects from observation has anything to do with art? Is it possible for certain items to possess an intrinsic beauty or merit that can traverse cultural differences and the boundaries of time? The final image observed by the viewers is the result of laborious and painstaking work of artist’s imagination combined with his skills and talents. The creation of art conventions, the specific tools used to form a visual or other cultural code, made the art process not simply reproduction of really existing objects. A familiar example of convention might be the gold halo which was an accepted feature of Christian art for many centuries. The halo motif was used as a creative imagination of the aura or inner glow holy personages were supposed to possess. Seeing these gold discs as halos is the result of creative approach of the artist to the subject matter that allows viewers to perceive it so. The blue dress of the Virgin is used in a similar manner; the color blue was symbolic of heaven and its use throughout much of Christian art was to be a reminder of Mary’s divine nature. With time the creative process evolved and conventions became more subtle and complex than designating an idea to color.
Throughout the history of art there have been conventions very pervasive and persuasive. This is true of an idea called linear perspective. First perfected by the Romans and then rediscovered in the Renaissance, linear perspective is a geometric system for depicting depth on a two-dimensional plane. One-point perspective, where all lines converge upon a single vanishing point was by far the most popular method for conveying space in the early Renaissance. The epoch of Renaissance was the time when the question of creative reproduction of volume and space became pivotal. One of the early masters who capably assimilated the notions of volume and perspective was Tommasco d. Giovanni di Simone Guidi, better known as Masaccio. (Kissik, 169) He was one of the first to understand and creatively employ the relationship between volume and perspective and his painting of Christ in The Holy Trinity is a notable result. The idea was to use linear perspective in rendering the surrounding framework so that would effectively create a deep central space. Masaccio then goes even further in his perfection; he reasserts this space by modeling his figure in light and shadow, which reaffirms the viewer’s anticipation of space in the work.
During the Renaissance the idea of illusionistic space was based on the assumption that art responded to certain truths about nature of reality and our participation in it. However, the ever evolving process of creating art re-appraised the assumptions about the way the world works and the artist set quite opposite aims. These were the Cubists who by inverting the conventions that once defined the nature of reality reinvented the world of painting through decidedly twentieth-century temperament. The Cubists’ idea of flatness takes its premise from the notion that truth in painting must correspond to the physical reality of the two-dimensional plane and the shifting nature of perception. The creative process acquired a disintegrating character. For example, Picasso’s portraits move away from natural appearance and traditional conventions for the depiction of volume. The viewer sees the bodies on his portraits as fragmented, dislocated yet still identifiable assemblages of forms. Picasso’s collapse in the middle and background into the immediate vicinity of the figure enhances the dispersion of the body across the picture plane.
The way the artists achieve systematic destruction of space on two-dimensional plane is that they through their artistic view experienced destruction of human values. Cubism dismantled the methods of earlier art and its radical disregard for established truths was part of a more general cultural and intellectual overhaul taking place in the first decade of the twentieth century.
Thus, each epoch finds its representation in the numerous artistic works which are not simple rendering of reality into canvas but rather the results of the creative process that underwent social influence.
Reference:
Kissick, John, Art. Context and Criticism. WCB Brown & Benchmark, 1993
Fingerprint Identification System
The buzzword of the 20th century is technology. The testament to that fact is the two World Wars that happened with only a couple of decades apart. In those days of conflict mankind saw the destructive brilliance of the power of genius; not only in harnessing information but also in using new found knowledge to create. Inventions and innovations were made and scientists from Japan to England tried to outwit each other in trying to find a tactical advantage. Both sides knew that it is in the quality of their technology where one could tip the scales to their favor.
In the 21st century, the geniuses of this generation have built on the foundation of the previous one. This time the word technology was appended with another powerful term – information. The fusion of the two terms has provided a simple description of what this age has become. The need for advancements in information technology has not spared every single sector of society. From education, to businesses, politics and even in law enforcement – the one who has greater access to information seems to be the richest in this new age.
Now the question is, what does information technology have to offer those in law enforcement? Well, everybody knows the basic answer to that query. As mentioned the revolution in information technology has affected everyone. Police precincts use the Internet as much as the average geek. The police officers manning those precincts may not be surfing the web for entertainment; yet they sure use it to enhance their communication systems.
In police work what is crucial to the improvement of their crime fighting abilities are two major technologies – communication and database. These new technologies enable law enforcement agencies to enhance their ability to efficiently store information and at the same time allow for the quick recovery of it when needed. Moreover, they now have the capability to quickly disseminate the same.
The communication aspect was well covered in the discussion of the world-wide-web. With regards to databases this is where police work becomes interesting. Not only does database technology allow for storage, it allows storage for future reference helping law enforcement agencies to solve crimes in the present as well as in the future. So what exactly can be stored in these databases? Before all that a little background information is in order.
A little History in Sleuthing
According to James Chu, in the turn of the 20th century, a revolutionary Henry System was introduced to law enforcement agencies. This system is a manual classification of fingerprints. Scores of technicians would look over paper cards that were fingers were once rolled with ink and then numerical values was assigned to a set of cards belonging to an individual. Chu revealed an interesting bit of trivia, “In fact the FBI built an extensive conveyor belt system to facilitate the movement and processing f the fingerprint cards” (2001).
In the 1980s there was little improvement with regards to a backbreaking exercise. Again Chu provides this information, “Providing result to local agencies became characterized by long delays […] In the first half of 1998, over 5,000 fugitives were inadvertently released because their fingerprint searches were not returned in time” (2001).
In the advent of a much improved fingerprint identification system initially known as Automated Fingerprint Identification System, “allows police to rapidly check fingerprints against those in a national database to identify known criminals or a suspect whose prints are in the system” (Jackson, Davis and Schwabe, 2001).
IAFIS
The acronym IAFIS was made popular by television series like NCIS, and Without A Trace. These TV shows have brought into the mainstream culture what law enforcement agencies have been doing in the past decade.
Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System or IAFIS is an improvement of the AFIS. Now with IAFIS, law enforcement agencies are not only able to store and retrieve fingerprint information more efficiently but also, “…provides for the electronic transmission, storage and processing of fingerprints” (The FBI Fingerprint Identification Automation Program). This simply means that those who are connected to an IAFIS can receive data much quickly. Those who are associated with IAFIS can upload data into the database from there current location in also the quickest time possible without incurring delays as experienced by the FBI in the 1980s.
Finally, there are other uses of fingerprint identification systems aside from crime related purposes. According to Lee and Gaenssien, law enforcement agencies were the first to adopt fingerprint identification technology but, “…increasing identity fraud has created a growing need for biometric technology for positive person identification in a number of non-forensic applications” (2003). Since 9/11 America’s need for security has quadrupled. This means that in order to combat terrorists fingerprint identification technology has to be improved and innovations in the area of personal identification can deter the commission of crimes.
Moreover, the emergence of biometrics has added to the growing list of subjects that policemen have to study. Now that person identification technology is installed in many factories and highly sensitive areas like chemical plants and nuclear facilities does not assure complete protection from trespassers and saboteurs. In this regard law enforcement agencies need to have special task force or a department adept in understanding how these kinds of systems work. They will be able to pass judgment if a person needs to be interrogated or needs to be arrested in relation to personal identification fraud.
Other Issues
There is an ongoing debate whether to have a national identification system or not. Again, this is a direct consequence of recent terrorist attacks happening around the world. The vulnerability of democratic nations in terms of easy access to its borders has been exploited to the hilt by extremists bent in doing extreme evil to said nations. It is then understandable why there is a clamor for a database where every adult in the United States can be tracked. This can even include all foreigners who come to visit the country whether short term or long term.
It is also clear why many object to these kind of anti-terrorism or anti-crime measures. Many argue that the fear of an attack does not warrant the establishment of such a system at the price of privacy. Others who are against a national identification system also fear that there is a possibility of abusing the information found in the said database. To underscore the difference of opinion held by other camps a book written by Don Rossignol documents the fact that others see this kind of identification system as a bid to gain economic and military dominion. In the said book, Rossignol remarked how a more stringent measure is being attempted to monitor foreign nationals, in a report he was able to get a hold of one can read the following:
The attorney General, in consultation with the appropriate heads of other Federal agencies, including the Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasure, and the Secretary of Transportation shall report to Congress on the feasibility of enhancing the IAFIS of the FBI […] in order to better identify a person who holds a foreign passport…(2005)
Others are calling for more sensitivity in implementing a stricter system that seems only focused on tagging and tracking individuals. Salter, when talking about personal identification such as biometrics asserts the following, “…even the most ardent advocates of biometrics concede the need for public consultation and debate” (2001). The same author was concern about the lack of debate that could grapple with deep ethical and political concerns with how a government or even a corporation will proceed in gathering data about a certain person.
The Future
For sure there will be continuous innovations in the field of biometrics in general and fingerprint identification systems in particular. Technology will grow at an amazing rate that will allow for rapid identification of convicted felons becoming repeat offenders or providing evidence for an air-tight case against a suspect.
On the other hand there is a need for debate and vigilance in order to monitor where technology is leading this nation. Will technology become so powerful that it will forever be impossible to remain anonymous in this country? It must be understood that what makes America great is freedom. It is neither military might nor economic power. It is the ability of its citizens to do anything that they want to do within the bounds of law and the fact that they are not controlled by the whims of a dictator. The advent of powerful personal identification systems can erode that sense of freedom. A person can no longer travel incognito. The government or an employer can track down the movement of a person and he or she loses the privacy that was once enjoyed by countless generations.
The above scenario is not good. A more urgent problem that requires the participation of all taxpayers is a discussion on a more practical way on how to handle a national identification system. What must be addressed in such talks would be the sensitivity towards a person’s dignity and sense of privacy.
References
Chu, J. (2001). Law Enforcement Information Technology: A Managerial, Operational, and
Practical Guide. Florida: CRC Press.
Jackson, B.A., Davis, L.M. and Schwabe, W. (2001). Challenges and Choices for Crime-
Fighting Technology. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation.
Lee, H. and Gaenssien, H.C. (2003). Advances in Fingerprint Technology. Kentucy: Francis and
Taylor.
Rossignol, D. (2005). Guilty or Innocent. Canada: Trafford Publishing
Salter, M.B. and Zureik, E. (2005). Global Surveillance and Policing. UK: William Publishing.
The FBI Fingerprint Identification Automation Program (2001) Washington: Diane Publishing.
Technology In Fighting Destructive Fires’ Flames
“Fire!”
“Fire!” When yelled aloud, the word, “fire,” usually evokes fear and other strong emotions in those within the range of an individual shouting this warning. The risks associated with fighting fires fueled by explosions, natural disasters, hazardous materials or weapons of mass destruction, however, have to be confronted with fortitude and understanding by those who service fires, despite the dangers. As our technology today notably affects fire service, along with individuals who work in this service, understanding characteristics of fire, and the accompanying risks increase the likelihood of successfully encaging and destroying combustions fueled by destructive fires.
According to firefighters, “Combustion is self-sustaining,” ( McKay, G. 2002). When either of three materials necessary for fire are absent, however: oxygen, fuel (substance which will burn), or heat, combustion cannot sustain and ceases. Without all three substances, oxygen, fuel and heat, fire cannot exist.
When all three substances are present in the right circumstances, combustion occurs; solids and liquid fuels release gases that burn. Fire is reborn. “Most fires grow through three stages: incipient, smoldering and free-burning.” Although sufficient oxygen and heat exist for combustion, no flame occurs in the incipient stage while the fuel’s surface experiences decomposition. At this point, no smoke, soot or any other combustion products are visible. During the smoldering stage, combustion products may be seen, perhaps as much as 10 per cent. As the fire smolders, smoke materializes. The fire ignites into flames when the free-burning
stage transpires and the fire’s flames will then generate enough heat to warm its surrounding area.
After a fire reaches the heating stage and transmits heat to its surroundings, when the surrounding environment is flammable, and if oxygen is present, new fires can break out or combust. As fire releases energy, it is said to be “exothermic (exo: gives out; thermo: heat),” ( McKay, G. 2002). Combustion, a rapid process releasing light and heat, is a chemical reaction.
A combustible material, a substance which will burn, can be solid; liquid; gas. Heat, one energy form, when intense enough, can ignite fuel. Heat is required throughout the combustion reaction as it maintains the combustion ( McKay, G. 2002). As a liquid fuel’s temperature rises, the quantity of vapor generated increases. The lowest temperature when liquid produces vapor to form a flammable mixture with air is known as the flash point. When a substance reaches its flash point and ignites, the substance then flashes and quits burning, as inadequate heat exists to sustain an ongoing supply of vapor from the fuel. The fire point is the lowest temperature at which a substance can be ignited to sustain combustion. The ignition temperature or fire point, higher than a substance’s flash point, produces a continual vapor supply to sustain combustion.
Numerous processes occur within combustion’s flames, the fiery arena where combustion reactions transpire. In combustion, a chemical chain reaction, fuel and oxygen, the reactants, little by little, begin to form fleeting material known as chain carriers. As chain carriers speedily react with additional fuel and oxygen, more and more and more chain carriers are produced. During the fire’s course of action, the chain carriers’ processes, vital for combustion,
begin slowly, but then accelerate faster and persist until the fire’s fuel is almost consumed and the fire starts to burn out.
When fires do not burn out naturally, processes used by those in fire service and others to extinguish fires include starvation, smothering, cooling, and inhibition. Starvation involves removing fuel from the fire’s combustion reaction, while smothering consists of oxygen removal. Cooling is the process of removing heat from fire. Inhibition consists of eradicating chain carriers ( McKay, G. 2002).
Today, even more than in the past, potentially life-threatening risks exist to those responsible for encaging and destroying the fire. While serving as firefighters in the United States during 2003, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 110 firefighters died. One of the risks an individual who services fires can face, that occurs infrequently, involves “a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion, commonly called a BLEVE, ” ( McKay, G. 2002). A BLEVE commonly occurs after a liquid or liquefied petroleum gas ignites and the expanding, boiling forcefully explodes. BLEVE’s may range from minor, as when vehicles’ shocks absorbers explode in fire. On the other hand, they may qualify as massive, such as the BLEVE in Mexico City that, along with demolishing houses, injured 7000 individual and killed 300, including some who were in fire service.
Other potential risks for fire-fighters include flashovers (sometimes with accompanying explosions), backdraughts or backdrafts, and fire gas ignitions. A flashover is “a heat-induced development of a compartment fire leading to sustained combustion and a fully developed fire.” A backdraught is “a ventilation-induced ignition of fire gasses following air transport (gravity
current) into an area containing fuel ‘rich’ gases and an ignition source.” A fire gas ignition is “an ignition of accumulated fire gases and pyrolyzates existing in, or transporting into, a flammable state,” ( McKay, G. 2002).
Causes of, tactical counters, and preventive actions for flashovers, backdraughts or backdrafts, and fire gas ignitions are different. So are their warning signs. Fire-fighters are advised to understand these differences, as well as, learn and be able to identify potential accompanying conditions. Even if warning signs are not evident, firefighters are trained to be prepared for the worst in every call. Fire-fighter’s actions and/or inactions can perpetuate circumstances conducive to increasing potential harmful risks. The probability of decreasing risks arising from negative actions increase, nevertheless, when fire-fighters take care: Recognizing obvious warning signs and refuse to commit themselves or crews into dangerous conditions except to save life; utilising proper door entry system; insuring accurate tactical placement of hose-lines to guard escape routes; isolating fire in areas where water cannot be applied at once.
Gary McKay, a firefighter and author, wrote about the potential risk in fire-fighting: “But as I began to learn what the job of being a firefighter is all about I also realized that it isn’t just a matter of ‘putting the wet stuff on the red stuff.’ It is a complicated, diverse and dangerous business. Teamwork is essential for survival on the fire ground and each and every firefighter has to be extremely alert at all times. If not, they will pay a price that can be devastating to them and their fire crew. And it goes beyond this. . . It is not a job for the fainthearted. The danger of
the job was tragically illustrated when over 300 firefighters in New York City perished after the World Trade Center terrorist attack. ( McKay, G. 2002).
Even though definite differences exist between naturally occurring fires and those birthed by today’s technology, such as the horror in the World Trade Center, those who work in fire service have to be strong in mind and heart. In many ways, the dissimilar fires and the ways they have to be engaged and extinguished are similar. In the same manner that natural fires can prove to be
beneficial to the environment in a less severe form, today’s technology generates risks for destructive, life-consuming fires, but alongside the potential for risk lies the definite benefits. Just as no one knew that after the first automobile was invented, vehicular accidents would net over 250,000 deaths each year, no one can anyone whether or not potential risks for fires accompanying technology will rise or fall. What is known, on the other hand, is that emphasis and adherence to understanding and acquiring technology on how to best counter fires fueled by explosions, natural disasters, hazardous materials or weapons of mass destruction can benefit those in and out of fire service. Utilizing today’s technology to counter risks associated with fighting destructive fires’ flames when they rage out of control, in the end, not only saves property and citizen’s lives, no matter the cause. This practice also saves and enhances the lives of those who serve to save, whenever the word, “Fire!” is yelled aloud.
Footnotes
Delmar, a division of Thomas Learning In. The Thomson Learning. 3 C Columbia Circle
Albany NY.
Grimwood, P. FLASHOVER TERMINOLOGY www.firetactics.com/FLASHOVER-
TERMS.htm, Nov 2002.
McKay, G. (2002). Firefighters: the men and women who risk their lives to save ours.
(McKay)Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia. pp. viii, 165,
176 – 178.