Methods Of Evaluation Of Vehicle Aerodynamics

Methods Of Evaluation Of Vehicle Aerodynamics Part a) Different methods of evaluation of vehicle aerodynamics: In recent years aerodynamics of vehicle has gained a lots of attention because of the major use of negative lift (down force) principle which improves the performance of vehicles. Thus evaluating vehicle aerodynamics has become an important part of car engineering and it is no longer only limited to vehicles initial designing. Several method and tools are used in this process such as wind tunnel testing, computational fluid aerodynamics or track testing. Each of these tools has their special need for e.g.:- at initial design stage wind tunnel can be used and after car is built it can be tested on the track. In the following paragraphs i discuss three mostly used methods i.e. wind tunnel testing, CFD software and track testing. http://www.atzonline.com/cms/images/sh05-09-20.jpg Wind tunnel testing: In 1870s first wind tunnel was designed but until 1960s it was just meant to use for aeronautical purposes but once this method brought to use for automotive purposes, within no time it became an essential part of car developments and provided good environment for aerodynamic evaluation. In the wind tunnel testing method a geometrical shapes or models is mounted in the test section of wind tunnel and air is blown over or sucked through a duct by a fan or number of fans. To make measurements more accurate closely spaces vertical and horizontal air vane are used which smoothes the turbulent flow before it reaches the model. Usually, measurements are taken from a balance on which model is mounted and various visualisation techniques such as smoke and tufts are used to understand the affect of some geometric features on aerodynamic performance. Wind tunnel helps to acquire lots of data such as: Aerodynamic forces drag, lift, side force Variation of these forces and movements with yaw Vehicle cooling drag Affect of aero features Surface pressure distribution There are different types of wind tunnels which are as follows: LOW SPEED WIND TUNNEL also named as SUBSONIC WIND TUNNEL are of open return type or return flow in which air is moved with a propulsion system made up of a huge axial fan which helps in increasing dynamic pressure and thus helps to overcome viscous loss. In this type mach number is kept very low and speed is maintained up to 400 km/h http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsonic_and_transonic_wind_tunnel#Subsonic_tun)Staffordshire University logo HIGH SPEED OR TRANSONIC WIND TUNNEL is designed to reach the speed close to the speed of sound. Mach and Reynolds number both are important here due to viscous or in viscid interactions. As compared to subsonic wind tunnel, much large scale facilities and pressurized wind tunnels are used. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsonic_and_transonic_wind_tunnel#Subsonic_tunnel) SUPERSONIC WIND TUNNEL generates supersonic speed. In supersonic wind tunnel, high pressure ratio is required and to avoid occurrence of liquefaction or condensation drying or pre heating facility is required. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Supersonic-en.svg/400px-Supersonic-en.svg.png (http://reference.findtarget.com/search/supersonic%20wind%20tunnel/) HYPERSONIC WIND TUNNEL produces hypersonic flow field in test section. It runs with very high pressure ratio and like supersonic; hypersonic also requires pre heating facility. As compared to other types of wind tunnels, hypersonic wind tunnel has more challenges in its designing. Staffordshire University logo (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Langley_hypersonic_wind_tunnels.jpg) WIND TUNNEL SCALE: Model scale wind tunnel testing (MWT) plays an important role in aerodynamic development of motorsport vehicles, training and research though now it has been outmoded by CFD. wind_tunnel1 Figure: http://www.insightman.com/mag_photos/wind_tunnel1.jpg It is an ideal way to determine the affects of various features and body styles on aerodynamics of vehicles. In model scale testing, model lie between 30%,60%nand they can be be produced by various techniques such as fibre glass, stylist clay models, milled foam and rapid prototype models or a combination of all of these. Model scale testing doesnt needs high running cost as sophisticated test methods such as fitting a moving ground plane doesnt need high expense. In all, if styling method can be utilized than this testing method is a cheaper method to develop vehicle aerodynamics.Staffordshire University logo In spite of all, model scale testing has its own limitation such as: Ensuring geometric similarity: some special features can be difficult to model at small model scale. Reynolds number effects: Reynolds number (Re) of the flow around vehicles reduces with the reduction in scale which then requires an appropriate increase in the airflow. FULL SCALE WIND TUNNEL TESTING (FSWT):- FSWT has totally taken over MWT as it many problems faced during MWT are overcome by using full scale testing: It eliminates the effect caused due to Reynolds number. It totally avoids the cost of production of models. It helps to determine the influence of small geometric changes. Aerodynamics: Radical LMP2 in MIRAs Full Scale Wind Tunnel (http://www.mira.co.uk/Services/AerodynamicsMainPage.htm) COMPUTATIONAL FLUID AERODYNAMICS (CFD): It is a phenomenon or software used to improve the car aerodynamics. The software provides benefits from number crunching capability of computers used to solve the problems of fluid flow, heat transfer and related processes like chemical reactions with the use of simulations of fluid flow. The fluid here refers to a lot of substances as well which behave like fluids depending on the circumstances they are in, for example, winds blowing around buildings, cooling air flows in a laptop, drugs in asthma inhalers etc. It mainly focuses on affects made by pressure, temperature, density and the velocity of the fluids. It is powerful technique software with a wide range of applications. It is very commonly used software in automotive industry (the method has an ability to calculate the air flows around a vehicle or car), especially in motorsports because of the massive competition. It first came in light in 1990s.The software is now owned by Bar Honda Formula 1 team. The software has always been updated at times as the as the new computer technologies come in. since the software runs of a computer, the speed of the computer processor also plays an important role in improving the performance, in other words, more powerful the supercomputer, more accurate result of CFD process. As the time passes it has become cheaper and advanced.Staffordshire University logo Streamlines under a stock car (http://strangeholiday.com/oops/stuff/annurev.fluid.38.050304.092016.pdf) Working process of computational software is divided into phases: First of all, it divides the geometric structure of the object into a set of elements or cell which named as a mesh. The accuracy of the result of CFD totally depends upon the number of cells as higher their number is, more accurate result will be. Secondly, mesh representing volume occupied by the fluid is created. Now, when fluid flow comes into contact with the object, it gets separated into as many cells as possible. Then, computer starts finding out the problem it faced during the second phase. Besides this, it also set up a clear image of interaction of object and fluid flow. Finally, simulation is started and result obtained is analyzed. Staffordshire University logo INSTRUMENTED ROAD OR TRACK TESTING: This testing method has earned lots of popularity in short time as it a very cost effective testing method as all we need to perform this is good weather and cost of renting a track and instrumenting. Aerodynamic drag plays an important role to improve the performance (fuel consumption, speed) of car. These tracks are constructed especially for the vehicles which are new or are under research. The tracks are made under such circumstances that when testing a car it gives the most relevant or most accurate results. DSC_05442 Figure:http://www.speedsportlife.com/wp-content/2009/11/DSC_05442.JPG These tests are used to identify the different properties or aspects in different conditions such as traffic flow, weather (raining, dusty, snowing or at different wind flows) and time of day. The car is made run on the track at different and constant speeds to check the flow ratios with the help of the sensors fixed on both sides of the track. The sensors track the dynamic path of the car which give information about the flows and performance of the cars. The aerodynamic behaviour of the vehicle is then analyzed and the car is again made run on the track with improved or modified aerodynamic properties. Part 2Staffordshire University logo Computational Fluid Aerodynamics (CFD) The science that tries to verify a numerical solution to the equations that govern the fluid flow is called CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). In the recent years, CFD methods have been utilized as an important tool of design analysis within research organisation and industry with the help of supercomputers. In fact, science is now trying for the theoretical-experimental treatment so that results which are obtained in wind tunnel testing can be used to standardize and prove the numerical models. As everything have its dual aspects, so as CFD. It has its own lots of advantages and some disadvantages too which are discussed as follows: MERITS:- A large number of CFD simulations can be performed rapidly and of course it is way cheaper than making a real model and running it in a wind tunnel or an instrumented track. With CFD there is always a greater probability of getting design right first time before manufacturing the actual vehicle because overall concept and shape can be tested. CFD enables the designer to analyze and visualize the flow around the vehicle. It can be done a number of times to facilitate the design optimization. It is much cheaper than to perform a wind tunnel test. Auto optimization is the advanced form of CFD and is considered to be more accurate. In it computational methods that accesses mathematically the obtained results and makes changes to the configuration and the shape of the vehicle. It automatically selects the most suitable design. Automatic mesh deformation is one of the advancement in auto optimization. Performing computational optimization method and automatic mesh together, it is possible to explore geometry changes and the software alters the mesh along with the geometry. CFD technology helps to improve the aerodynamic performance of vehicles and also helps in reducing co2 emmision.Thus, this testing method not only serve a duty for automotive purposes but also helps in keeping environment pollution free. Staffordshire University logo Demerits: No doubt CFD is a best tool among all other ways of determining vehicle aerodynamics but scaling issues can create some limitations to it such as reduicton of transition from laminar to turbulent flows (e.g. boundary layers) or the calculation of separated flow and unsteady wakes.) CFD can make millions of calculations to achieve an accurate result but the final result can only be appropriate for some reasons like: non accurate or less accurate data, scientific knowledge base or reduction in number of calculations by supercomputer. So, there are more chances of making numerical errors since everything relays on computers. Besides this, approximation of result can cause Truncation errors and round off errors are also possible due to the word size available on a particular computer The bottom line is that solutions find by CFD rely upon user-defined elements like: grid generation and turbulence modelling, which will be soon an obstacle facing code developers. It is not yet possible to create full flow field model economically as in mostly vehicles the large scale flow regimes depends on inevitability of transition and turbulence. PART 3 25mph Pressure image:E:25MPH25mph Pressure.gif The pressure is very low (-21.71446) on upper and lower surface of wing .It is more (33.87485) on front tip of wing and also it is less( 23.76770) on front upper and lower surface, it also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity image:E:25MPH25mph Velocity.gif The velocity is very low (1.854647)on front tip of wing and it is high (6.536719) on upper and lower front surface of it. It is also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity is really low (9.658100) on lower surface and upper surface of wing but on mid portion of upper surface it is (7.317064) 45mph Pressure image: The pressure is very low (-16.66089) on middle upper and lower surface of wing .It is more (38.92842)on front tip of wing and also it is less( 23.76770) on front upper and lower surface, it also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. E:45MPH45mph pressure.gif Velocity image: The velocity is very low (2.634993)on front tip of wing and it is high (8.097410) on upper and lower front surface of it. It is also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity is really high (9.658100) on lower surface and upper surface of wing but on mid portion of upper surface it is (7.317064) E:45MPH45mph velocity.gif 65mph Pressure image:E:65MPH65mph pressure.gif The pressure is very low (-1.500165) on upper and lower surface of wing .It is more (33.87485) on front tip of wing and also it is less( 18.71413) on front upper and lower surface, it also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity image: The velocity is high (6.536719)on upper and lower front surface of wing. It is also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity is really high (9.658100) on lower surface and upper surface of wing but on mid portion of upper surface it is (7.317064) E:65MPH65mph velocity.gif 85mph Pressure image:E:85MPH85mph pressure.gif The pressure is very low (-16.66089) on upper surface and also low on lower surface(-11.60731) of wing .It is more (33.87485) on front tip of wing and also it is less( 23.76770) on front upper and lower surface, it also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity image: The velocity is high (8.097410) on upper and lower front surface of it. It is also same on back upper and lower surface of wing. Velocity is really high (9.658100) on lower surface and upper surface of wing but on mid portion of upper surface it is (7.317064) E:85MPH85mph velocity.gif Part 4: Conclusion: Staffordshire University logo As the technology improves day by day the things (automobiles) get cheaper, smaller (size) and advanced. Since there are a lot of ways of aerodynamic testing, but the CFD software is the best way of evaluating the aerodynamic performance of the car. There are a lot of thing which make CFD the best. Like we can also evaluate the aerodynamic performance of the car using methods like wind tunnels but using wind tunnels it becomes far more expensive (making arrangements for the sample model), whereas in CFD we just need a CAD model and everything is done more quickly than any other method. Also if the model needs any changes or modifications it is very easy as compared to making new models for wind tunnels.CFD is more affordable and there is no maintenance required whereas wind tunnels and instrumented tracks needs a lot of maintenance at the time of operation or when free. There are very less or no chances of any errors in CFD (since everything is done with the help of computer) only a human error could affect the results, whereas in the case of track testing and wind tunnels the probability of making errors is more as big machinery or equipments are used which are analyzed by humans (no doubt computers are more reliable). There are lots of models (heavy) which are dangerous to test in wind tunnels in full scale, whereas in CFD the simulation can be performed without worrying about anything. Using the mesh deformation makes the calculations more clear, one can focus on each and every single part the vehicle or model tested as compared to an overall result obtained from track testing or wind tunnels. It takes very less time to carry out the results. So CFD is the best method for testing the aerodynamic performance and it will become better and cheaper as the computers get more powerful and cheaper. Staffordshire University logo

An Analysis of the Characters of The Canterbury Tales :: Canterbury Tales Essays

An Analysis of the Characters of The Canterbury Tales An interesting aspect of the famous literary work, "The Canterbury Tales," is the contrast of realistic and exaggerated qualities that Chaucer entitles to each of his characters. When viewed more closely, one can determine whether each of the characters is convincing or questionable based on their personalities. This essay will analyze the characteristics and personalities of the Knight, Squire, Monk, Plowman, Miller, and Parson of Chaucer's tale. One of Geoffrey's less believable main characters is the Knight, for reasons of chivalry. The knight displays many traits which make him seem almost too good to be true, and a true gentleman that rarely exists in reality. The narrator sums up the knights character by stating that "Though he were worthy, he was wys,/And of his port as meeke as is a mayde." (pg. 5, The Canterbury Tales) The knight holds four main admirable traits, making him the most liked traveler in "The Canterbury Tales," and also amplying the doubt of his realism. The reader is prepared to learn of each of his noble accomplishments and importance when the narrator remarks that" A knight ther was, and that a worthy man,/That fro the tyme that he first bigan/To ryden out, he loved chivalrye,/Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye." (pg. 4, The Canterbury Tales) From the characters impressive introduction, it is clear that this man is the most valued and honorable traveler among the group. This perfect gentleman hol ds a love of ideals that are often not displayed by people. First and foremost, he believes in the ideals of chivalry, and always stays true to its principles. He also feels that one should be honest, truthful and faithful, which many people are not all of these ideals. The knight thinks one should only do what is right, and what will gain him honor and reputation. This character also believes in freedom and generosity towards all, and displays this ideal repeatedly throughout the novel. And lastly, the knight also strongly feels that any proper person should display courtesy and elegance at all times. Another aspect of this character's life which makes him seem too prestigious to be truthful is his impressive military career. He fought in the holy war, known as the Crusades and was involved in 15 "mortal battles." In the prologue, the narrator informs the reader that "Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,/And therto hadde he riden, no man ferre,/As wel in Cristendom as hethenesse, /And ever honoured for his worthinesse.

Taco Bell Not Real Mexican Food in The Great Taco War :: essays research papers

RR - â€Å"The Great Taco War† The Real Deal Mariah Carey is one of the top pop singers in America today. On an average, her CD’s sell for fifteen dollars. However, many find it easier to purchase a â€Å"knock-off† for a cheaper price than to purchase the real thing. For instance, an individual can purchase the exact CD at a local flea market for five dollars and save the extra ten dollars for something else. In the short story, â€Å"The Great Taco War,† Jose Antonio Burciaga informs readers that fast food industries like Taco Bell do no sell authentic Mexican tacos. He urges readers to purchase tacos from taquerias because unlike Taco Bell, their food is â€Å"real† Mexican food. In the beginning, Burciaga provides a brief history when Taco Bell was established. First starting in Mexico City and then spreading throughout the United States, the chain sold â€Å"mild imitations of the real thing† (382). Many Mexican businesses and people protested against Taco Bell because unlike homemade tortillas made from hand, they used â€Å"prefabricated hard tortilla shells† (383) that tasted nothing like real Mexican tacos. Additionally, the restaurant also combines food and makes up names so that it appears different. From Enchiroto, a combination of a burrito and enchilada, to Cinnamon Crispas, known as bunuelos, Burciaga points out that â€Å"the Taco Menu can be a mystery if one is not familiar with the renamed food items† (383). Lastly, the author informs readers that compared to Mexican food, Taco Bell’s food is cheaply made. Upon visiting a local Taco Bell restaurant, Burciaga orders a menu item and begins to consume the taco when he notices that the â€Å"meat was lukewarm and the cheese and shredded lettuce were cold.

Family Themes in Shakespeare :: essays research papers fc

Some of Shakespeare’s most well known works are his tragedies. One of the reasons they are still read worldwide is Shakespeare’s study of character and the relationships, which these characters are involved with. In order to get the full tragedy; the characters must represent basic morals or ideas. A common theme among a lot of Shakespeare works is the idea of family and what it means to be within and part of a family. This idea of a natural law, in which it deals with society’s and family’s expectation of what is to be given from parent to child as well as the bond which is made. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the two plots revolve around a parent’s dealing with children who are not proper to what is expected of them. King Lear is a story, which deals with the idea of familial expectation and the roles in which parents and children play. Lear’s madness and his obsession with being praised blinded him to the child who was really the only one who loved him, Cordelia. The same with the Earl of Gloucester, he was blinded by his illegitimate child, Edmund, who set out to turn him away from his heir, Edgar. Within the story, these two children and a few loyal servants try to help and eventually try to save the King and Gloucester, but they are both too stubborn to recognize the goodness and true bond in these people. The story of King Lear deals with the turmoil of a chaotic world began by the boundaries of family and personal relationships being turn upside down.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story opens with King Lear, ready to retire, calling his three daughters to the room. When everyone had assembled, Lear made the grand announcement that he would divide the kingdom three ways, a piece to each daughter. However, he added that the larger pieces were to go to the daughter who loved him most. He based this not upon their actions but the speech they gave. The first two daughters, Regan and Goneril, made a flowery and obviously fake speech in which Lear preened and awarded them their kingdoms. When it came to his third daughter, Cordelia, she answered, â€Å"Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave my heart into my mouth. I love your majesty according to my bond, nor more nor less.† (Abrams, pg. 893) In that she tells her father she loves him but will not participate in the game he had arranged for the dividing of his lands.

National Crime Survey

Would you answer honestly if participating in a national crime survey asking about your criminal behavior, including any drinking and drug use? Yes I would participate in the survey. I would be honest because I have nothing to hide and no reason to lie. But for some they don’t want people to know what crimes they have committed or they lie about the extent of the crimes. But I think it’s because they want to be seen in a â€Å"good light†. A good term for this is called â€Å"Social Desirability Bias† which means that you reply in a manner that is socially acceptable and desirable. [1] The main purpose of this study is to allow the participants to describe the crimes in their own words instead of implying from observing participants. [2] Honesty in these self-report studies help many different groups to better understand crime and criminal behavior. They use these reports to gather information to put them into statistics. The reports that are used are collected from the NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System) and NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey) and published by FBI in their yearly UCR ( Uniform Crime Report. ) In some forms of deviance self-report studies have been proven better than police reports (ex: minor offenses among adolescents. ) In a variety of social-psychological studies these reports have been proven very useful (ex: monitoring of subjective feelings or states is at issue) [3] Dishonesty in these repo

Economy of the United States Before During and After World War Ii Essay

They were also encouraged to ration their food and gas, and often grew â€Å"Liberty Gardens. † Unfortunately, World War II also made the American Government used to relying on ‘deficit spending’ (government spending of borrowed money), causing economic problems that still linger today. That’s all I have. Hope it helps! Everything listed above is definatly true to a point, I’m a history major who has to answer this question for an exam later this week so I thought I’d help add some more information for the people who are looking†¦ WWII was an expensive war, it would cost $304 billion just to finance it. For this reason the governmnet pushed war bonds which encouraged common people to help support the war both with their money and with their hearts. From the get go the war was marketed to the common people, proven by the use of popular movie stars in the promotion of War fund-raising and compliance with governmnet measures. After pearl harbor, the American people were ready to pour everything they had into the war effort. Women donated thousands of tons of aluminum cooking supplies to help build planes– though it was later found that only virgin aluminum was good enough for aircraft and so their pots and pans were melted down and sold back to them as pots and pans. In the first months of the war Washington was a mess, and mobilization was slow. This is because our governmnet is not made to act swiftly, it was designed to take time and thought before any decision can be made. Scrap drives were unorganized and so were the efforts of the common people. Those who could not physically join the armed forces wanted to know what they could do to help but the governmnet expected little more from them than the purchasing of war bonds and for them to practice conservation of goods. Other items which were recycled included bone and fats which were used in making explosives and other materials. One of the greatest failures of American govenmnet was the policies which did not encourage the full use of all of the American people. While â€Å"Rosie the Riveter† posers might make it seem that women were begged to help in factories, the truth is that Americans tried to keep the women home for as long as possible before labor shortages around 1943 made it nessisary for factories to stop policies of discrimination. Comming out of the Depression, America had 9 million men that needed jobs. Each and every one was employed before women and minorities were given a chance to go to work. Even more difficult than the position of minorities was that of married women, especially those with the men of their families fighting overseas. America had been progressing socially as a nation under FDR, but his social reforms had taken a back seat to the war effort. Day care was almost non-existant, and where it was it was impossible to afford. Many stores also chose to keep the same hours they had during peace time and so women who worked late had a hard time getting the items they needed. Married women who had husbands in the workforce were also discriminated against because a common attitude was that the man should be the sole bread-winner of a household and children would â€Å"be denied proper care† if their mother’s worked. Many goods that people took for granted disapeared, and with more money than they had seen in years the American public had little to spend it on. Gasoline was rationed and in many cities â€Å"Sunday driving† was banned, those who violated the laws had their gas coupon books taken away. The decrease in driving worked both to save gasoline and to put many new business, which depended on â€Å"drive-in† coustomers, to fail. Most people were given a card that allowed them 2 gallons of gas per week, with unrestricted gas reserved for emercency vehicles, police officers, and a few unscrupulous congressmen. Meat was also rationed at 2lbs per person per week which was very difficult for some people to live with. Conservation and the war effort also found its way into popular fasion. Durring the war shoes could only be found in limmited colors (i. e. 4 shades of brown, and black) and clothes were not allowed to be made with any more material than was absolutly nessisary, pleats, ruffles and other embelishments were thrown out for the durration. (This is one of the reasons why short skirts and bare-backed dresses were all the rage). A black market of rationed goods and consumer goods (such as sheets) was strongly revived during this period, but was not so pervasive as to undermine the system. With money burning holes in their pockets, Americans turned to the entertainmnet industry, which with it’s glamourous actors and fantastical stories, helped to distract the public from their problems. Also, the governmnet had it’s own idea about what Americans should do with their extra money, during the war the income tax was introduced to suppliment GI spending and has been with us ever since. One thing I would like to correct from what is stated above is the idea that minorities gained rights as a result of the economic boom and the war effort. What happened is that minorites began to actively fight for their rights after WWII. Women did not want to be thrown out of their positions after the men came home from the war, they liked the freedom of having their own income and enjoyed doing something other than cooking and cleaning. African-Americans also were feircly discriminated dirring this time. It would not be until after the death of FDR that the new president Harry Truman would finally desegrigate the military. This nations’ minorities were fighting overseas for freedom and equality when in fact they were not given these freedoms at home. After the war, blacks who had served in the military moved out of the south and sought a better life in the north where they could escape the racial caste system which existed there. Jews were also discriminated here as well as in many other countries. We were eager to condemn Hitler for murder and open persecution, but we did not want to take the Jews off of his hands alive. If you need more info, consult this book: O’Neil, W. L. (2002). A Democracy at War: America’s Fight At Home and Abroad In World War II. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Most of my ideas come from that text, nothing is quoted directly. Hopefully this helps too!

Branding Universities Essay

The end of the 1990s witnessed the corporatization of public universities in Malaysia resulting in the publication of corporate literature in these universities and the type of writing Fairclough (1993) refers to as the marketization of academic discourse. Marketization is necessary in public universities due to stiff competition in attracting students among the public universities as well as from the increasing number of private universities. This article reports how Malaysian universities re-brand themselves using the results of an investigation on corporate brochures from these universities. The investigation employs a structural analysis and a textual analysis. Although informative in nature, these corporate brochures exhibit the use of promotional elements in the texts as seen in the contents and the language use. The communicative functions of university brochures are viewed to be more promotional than informative. ABSTRACT KEY WORDS: brochures, corporate culture, genre analysis, re-branding, universities Introduction Academic institutions, particularly public universities, used to be regarded as the pinnacle of learning. Most of these universities were reputed for providing the best tertiary education and the mere mention of their names lit up the faces of those who had the privilege of learning from these fountains of knowledge and those who aspired to be associated with them. There was a time when admission was ‘by invitation only’, otherwise young men and women were seen struggling to gain admission into these prestigious institutions. These public universities acquired a promotional value (Wernick, 1991) without having to promote or market themselves. In advertising terms, these universities did not go through the process of branding. Branding is a fundamental strategic process of effectively marketing a product or service which includes creating a brand name and identity, designing Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 58 Discourse & Communication 2(1) the packaging and promoting the product or service (Randall, 1997). Although Randall (1997) argues that ‘brands (and therefore branding) are so fundamentally important to the survival and success of many firms’ (p.2), this was not the case in public universities in the past. This is significantly due to the fact that these academic institutions were claimed to be free from other influences as evidenced by Cardinal Newman’s view of universities cited by Wernick (1991) as: . . . the high protecting power of all knowledge and science, of fact and principle, of inquiry and discovery, of experiment and speculation; it maps out the territory of the intellect, and sees that . . . there is neither encroachment nor surrender from any side . . . (Cardinal Newman, 1847, cited in Wernick, 1991:151) That was the traditional image of public universities, independent of political or societal influence and this image was not built by advertising or branding. As centres of academe, public universities were known for their quality education based on the results of their graduates and their performance in the careers they embarked on upon graduation. As years passed, more aspiring young people would apply for admission in certain universities due to their reputation. This reputation in turn became the  image of the universities which automatically created the promotional value (Wernick, 1991) of these universities, mentioned earlier as the pinnacle of learning. Each university was identified by its name or logo and no further promotional strategies were required. By providing quality education, these universities successfully built ‘a distinct brand personality’ (Randall, 1997: 67) for themselves as the success of branding is justified when people are reminded of a particular brand just by looking at the logo or hearing its brand name. The traditional role of public universities was to manage society (Jarvis, 2001) by producing scholars in the various fields of study so that they can go out to make the world a better place to live or join the academia to continue producing scholars. However, towards the end of the 20th century, the role of universities started changing from serving the state in managing society to serving the industry and commerce in ensuring that people are employable (Jarvis, 2001). This is partly due to the demands of the contemporary knowledge-based society (Veitch, 1999) where consumers have become more knowledgeable and have started demanding for better education and improved quality of life. Changes started taking place in public universities in the West as early as the 1980s where the governments were forced to abolish academic tenure and decrease funding for these universities. This was when many traditional universities started transforming into corporate universities (Jarvis, 2001) where they have to assume a more corporate form and function more like a corporation. From being the centre of academe, universities have become business-like entities (Connell and Galasinski, 1998). In Malaysia, a number of public universities have recently been corporatized, a move taken by the Malaysian government in its effort to inculcate better and more efficient management of these institutions. As corporate culture (Treadwell and Treadwell, 2000) is a new culture in all these universities, most of them Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 Osman: Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising have set up corporate communications departments (Hajibah Osman, 2005) to handle corporate matters. Among the functions of these departments are managing corporate information and publication and projecting a positive image of the universities which are part of corporate advertising. Corporate advertising Business corporations use corporate advertising to enhance the image of the whole organization, or of the general brand in order to influence social values or to establish a connection between the corporation/brand and an already established positive value and in this era of identity, a lot of emphasis has been put on the importance of brand and corporate identities (Richards et al. , 2000). Unlike business organizations, universities are non-profit institutions. Public universities are viewed to use corporate advertising to enhance the strong foundation and to highlight the quality of these institutions of higher education. While it is common for business corporations to publish informative or promotional literature from time to time to inform the public about new developments in the organization (monthly or yearly reports) or to introduce new products or services (product launch leaflets), the use of promotional literature in academic institutions is a recent development. Malaysian public universities have started producing informative literature in the form of university brochures and special booklets in conjunction with certain celebrations in the universities as well as promotional literature in the form of leaflets providing brief information on academic programmes offered by the universities or introducing new programmes (Hajibah Osman, 2005). By employing new strategies to market their traditional image, from the advertising perspective, these universities are re-branding their products and services. Re-branding is the process of marketing an existing product or service of one brand with a different identity involving radical changes to the brand name, logo, image, marketing strategy and advertising themes (Wikipedia, 2006). In the advertising industry, re-branding is often referred to as re-positioning, that is, re-positioning a product or service in order to improve sales. Although there was no actual initial branding taking place in universities, being non-profit making institutions, the term ‘re-branding’ is used in this article to illustrate the change in the image of these universities particularly since the late 20th century. Significantly, this change has been effected without compromising the traditional characteristics and values of these institutions as the pinnacle of higher learning. The process of re-branding is aimed at improving the image of the universities by focusing on the facilities and highlighting the quality of the academic programmes. This article attempts to investigate the process of re-branding in public universities in Malaysia by conducting a genre analysis on university brochures, one type of print materials published by the institutions that represent corporate advertising. Analysing genres can lead to a ‘thick description’ (Bhatia, 1993) Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 59 60 Discourse & Communication 2(1) of the texts contained in these genres, explaining why certain texts have been constructed the way they are. The specific objective of this article is to identify and discuss the strategies used in the re-branding process based on the structural organization of university brochures and the communicative functions of this type of brochure. Previous investigations of advertising genres mostly focused on straightsell advertisements of products or services. Bruthiaux (2000), for instance, investigated how advertisers make use of a limited space available to them to create successful advertising copies by examining the syntactic features in an undisclosed number of display and classified advertisements. His results show that the degree of syntactic elaboration ‘varies substantially even when content of equal simplicity/complexity or familiarity to readers is being presented. This variation appears to correlate with perceptions of status on the parts of both writers and readers’ (p. 298) and the persuasive elements lie in the vacuous displays of linguistic sophistication designed to create a largely artificial sense of exclusiveness among status-conscious readers (p. 369). Investigations have also been conducted on the language of advertising in Asia, for instance, Tej Bhatia’s (2000) investigation of language of advertising in Rural India and Henry and Roseberry’s (1998) investigation of the linguistic features in tourist information brochures from Brunei. Thus far, there have been very few linguistic analyses conducted on the genre of corporate advertising. Therefore, the genre selected for analysis in this article is brochure, specifically corporate brochure from academic institutions. A brochure is a printed document of six or more pages, used to introduce an organization, published only once and distributed to special publics for a single purpose (Newsom and Carrell, 2001). The discourse community of Public Relations (PR) specifies five characteristics of brochures, three of which are related to the present article: always having a singular message statement; having a purpose – to persuade or to inform and educate; and attracting and holding the attention of the audience. Brochure genre makes an interesting study because, first, this genre is viewed as a ‘blurred genre’ (a term borrowed from Scollon et al. , 1999) in that the term ‘brochure’ has been used to refer to other forms of publications including booklet, flyer, leaflet and pamphlet (Newsom and Carrell, 2001). Second, a brochure is a genre of persuasive discourse shaping the thoughts, feelings and lives of the public (Dyer, 1993) placing it under the field of advertising. However, according to Newsom and Carrell (2001), brochures are produced by PR practitioners rather than advertising practitioners. This is probably due to the fact that PR, among other things, incorporates looking after the reputation of an organization ‘with the aim of earning understanding and support, and influencing opinion and behaviour’ (Beard, 2001: 7). The question of ownership arises placing brochures in an even more ‘blurred’ state as the communicative functions of brochures have been set by the discourse community to which the genre belongs. In the context of this article, brochures are categorized as a corporate genre (basically PR) involving the principles of corporate writing (Treadwell Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 Osman: Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising and Treadwell, 2000). Brochures are readily available, particularly in print version, and are easily accessible electronically. Finally, brochure genre needs to be investigated because brochure format is one of the most frequently used information formats in advertising and PR but is ironically the least written-about (Bivins and Ryan, 1991). Corporate genre in academic institutions This article establishes that any publications from universities, particularly those produced by the Corporate or Public Relations Office, are referred to as corporate genre. Corporate brochures are usually categorized as informative brochures (Richards et al. , 2000) providing all the necessary information about the organizations they represent. There are certain corporate elements present to qualify them as corporate brochures, but mostly these brochures are informative. However, an analysis of corporate brochures from multinational corporations by Askehave and Swales (2001) prove that these brochures also function to promote the organization. This is evident in the presence of promotional elements selected as syntactic choices in these brochures. Corporate brochures also function to establish long-lasting trading relationships which are in fact paramount in today’s industrial market. Hajibah Osman (2005) also notes that corporate brochures from academic institutions are promotional in nature with the use of promotional strategies apart from corporate and informative strategies. Another corporate genre in academic institutions, the university prospectus, started changing in form in the 1990s (Fairclough, 1993) where apart from providing information on the core business of the university, that is, the academic programmes, the prospectus has also included information on other aspects of the universities. Based on a critical discourse analysis of prospectuses from a number of British universities, Fairclough notes that these universities started promoting their programmes because they have come increasingly under (mostly government’s) pressure to operate like other types of businesses competing to sell their products to consumers. The university prospectus has become a ‘genre of consumer advertising colonising professional and public service orders of discourse on a massive scale, generating many new hybrid partly promotional genres’ (Fairclough, 1993: 139). Academic institutions in Malaysia have also published promotional leaflets (Hajibah Osman, 2005) to advertise their academic programmes and these are circulated to potential students particularly before a new academic year begins. These leaflets are no longer the plain, boring information sheets but colourful and interesting ones. This article concurs with Askehave and Swales (2001) that corporate brochures function as promotional brochures more than projecting the corporate image and providing information. Thus, the investigation in this article attempts to identify and discuss the strategies that realize the promotional functions in this type of brochure as part of the re-branding process in public universities. Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 61 62 Discourse & Communication 2(1) Methodology In 2005, there were 11 public universities in Malaysia (currently, there are 20). Brochures were obtained from the 11 universities and were initially analysed to identify the possible structural organization. Based on the organization, the communicative functions of these brochures were determined. The 11 public universities included in this investigation are: International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM/UIA); Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM); Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM); Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS); Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS); Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM); Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI); Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM); Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM); Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM); University of Malaya (UM). A textual analysis was conducted to examine the strategies used in the rebranding process. The strategies in the context of this article are tactical choices (Bhatia, 1993) which are cognitive processes ‘exploited by the writer to make writing more effective keeping in mind any special reader requirements, considerations arising from the use of medium or constraints imposed by organizational and other factors’ (p. 20). The strategies used by universities in re-branding the institutions are discussed within the framework of the sociolinguistic theory which considers writing as ‘part of the overall activities of a group and organization’ (Gunnarsson, 1997: 140) and in relation to the corporate culture (Hagberg and Heifetz, 2000) practised by the universities. As a genre is a typical form of utterances, it should be studied in its social contexts of use (Berkenkotter and Huckin, 1993). Sociolinguistics does not only describe linguistic variation and the social context in which such a variation occurs, but also shows how linguistic differentiation reflects social structure (Coupland, 2001). The sociolinguistic perspective in this article considers the existence of factors underpinning the construction of university brochures and the concept of promotional culture (Wernick, 1991). Re-branding academic institutions It has been established that university brochures form part of the corporate advertising strategies in Malaysian universities which in turn are part of the rebranding process in these traditional institutions. The structural organization in these brochures consists of 10 sections identified as moves (Table 1). Some of the moves are exemplified with extracts from the university brochures in Figure 1 (see Appendix). In identifying the moves, the term ‘service’ is used to refer to the educational services and the support services offered by the universities. All the brochures from the 11 universities include Moves I, C, L, D, J and S, indicating that these six moves are obligatory. Ninety-one percent of the brochures include Moves A, T and E, while 81 percent include Move V, making them optional moves. The 10 moves have been used to realize three communicative functions of the university brochures which are: †¢ To inform the public about the academic programmes offered in the university and the facilities and other services available to support the academic programmes; Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 Osman: Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising †¢ †¢ To portray a corporate image of the university; and To promote the university as an academic institution based on the quality and the variety of academic programmes offered as well as the facilities available. These communicative functions of university brochures correspond with the general functions of brochures (Newsom and Carrell, 2001) set by the discourse community of PR. Re-branding strategies The 10 sections in university brochures have been identified as moves and these moves are realized with the use of strategies, and for the purpose of discussion in this article, re-branding strategies. The article discusses how the strategies contribute to the re-branding process and what their communicative functions are. NAME AND LOGO The first move in university brochures is called identifying the service which presents the name and the logo of the university. Although the brochures are in English language, the names of the universities are in Malay, the national language of Malaysia except two universities, International Islamic University Malaysia and University of Malaya. The names of the public universities were officially changed to Malay when the national language was made the medium of instruction in the mid-1970s. In the case of IIUM, however, the acronym by which it is commonly referred to by Malaysians is the Malay version, UIA. Similarly, University of Malaya is now popularly known as Universiti Malaya (UM). Interestingly, alumni up to the early 1980s still refer to this oldest university in the country as MU (Malaya University). TA B L E 1. Structural organization of university brochures Section Move identification Name of the university University slogan or motto Vision/Mission statement Profile or background of the university Location and size of the university Academic programmes offered at the university Facilities available to support the academic programmes Entry requirements, fees charged and duration of the programmes Career opportunities and recognition received by the university Contact addresses and telephone numbers Identifying the service (I) Attracting reader attention (A) Targeting the market (T) Establishing credentials (C) Locating the service (L) Describing the service (D) Justifying the service (J) Indicating the value of service (V) Endorsing the value of service (E) Soliciting response (S) Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 63 64 Discourse & Communication 2(1) In the past, universities were identified by their crests but now these crests have been generally referred to as logos. Although it cannot be ascertained when the change exactly took place, this is the first re-branding strategy. However, this is not an obvious re-branding element because some of the established traditional universities in the world still use the term crest, for example, Oxford University (http://www. ox. ac. uk/web/crest.shtml). As far as Malaysian universities are concerned, both terms are similar and a recent survey of the university websites shows that most of the public universities in Malaysia refer to the crest as the logo while two universities (UKM and USM) refer to them as emblems. Most of the websites also provide the rationale for the design of the logo (e. g. UiTM, UPM). Whether used as crest, logo or emblem, interestingly, there are two common shapes observed: the shape of a shield (six universities) and a round shape (five universities) (Figure 2, see Appendix). The shape of USM’s emblem differs significantly from other logos in that it resembles a state emblem. This qualifies for the use of the term ‘emblem’ (a heraldic device or symbolic object as a distinctive badge of a nation, organization or family – Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, 2001) by the university. Although the current shape of UPSI’s logo is round, it once had the shape of a shield (Figure 3, see Appendix). Compared with the logos of established universities which include traditional designs representing the academe, the current logos of Malaysian public universities include elements of modern designs. In fact, some of these logos have gone through some kind of ‘evolution’ as in the case of UiTM, UPM and UPSI. UPM ‘evolved’ from a training school to a college to a university focusing on agriculture. Later, the university started including more disciplines and the name was changed from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (Malaysia University of Agriculture) to Universiti Putra Malaysia (Putra University of Malaysia) in 1997, taking after the name of the first prime minister at the same time keeping the same acronym. UPSI and UiTM underwent almost similar ‘evolution’; from a centre to a college to an institute and finally to a university. Throughout the ‘evolution’, the logos have also gone through many changes where the concept incorporated in the logos mainly represents the focus of the university. While UPSI’s logo changed in shape but not in concept, UiTM’s and UPM’s logos underwent a total facelift (Figure 3, see Appendix). This is probably due to the fact that UPSI’s focus of training teachers remains throughout. MOTTO AND SLOGAN A motto is a short sentence or phrase that expresses a rule for sensible behaviour, especially a way of behaving in a particular situation (Collins Cobuild Dictionary, 2001). Most of the university logos have the motto inscribed on them as the motto represents the culture or the way of life in the university. Once again, all the mottos of the public universities are in Malay. The more established universities still retain this culture inscribed in the logo as seen in UM’s motto (translated as) ‘Knowledge, the Source of Development’, UPSI’s ‘Knowledge, the Beacon of Pure Character’, UTM’s ‘By the Name of God for Mankind’ and UUM’s ‘Scholarship, Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 Osman: Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising Virtue, Service’. UPSI keeps the same motto inscribed on the logo throughout its ‘evolution’ but UiTM left out its motto of 39 years from its new logo. The newly established universities (UMS and UNIMAS) do not have a motto inscribed in their logos. While a motto is a traditional feature of a public university, having a slogan is a new phenomenon. A slogan is a distinctive catchphrase that serves as a motto for a promotion campaign (Wells et al., 2003) used to sum up a theme for the benefit of the product or the service in order to deliver a message in a few words which are easily remembered. There are two types of slogans (Russell and Lane, 1990): hard-sell slogans are strongly competitive, epitomizing the special significant features of the product or service being advertised. Institutional slogans establish a prestigious image for companies which they need in order to enhance their products or services. Slogans in university brochures fall under the category of institutional slogans. Again, it cannot be ascertained when universities started creating slogans but there is a strong probability that they started at the same time when Malaysian public universities were undergoing corporatization in the late 20th century. Slogans started appearing on brochures and prospectuses of these public universities. The use of slogans has been viewed as a significant re-branding strategy as slogans represent the most promotional element in advertising. The purpose of having a slogan is to attract the reader’s attention and to let it linger on the reader’s mind. According to Russell and Lane (1990), the memorability of slogans can be enhanced by making use of literary techniques. These techniques consist of certain types of words including: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Boldness – use of strong powerful words, and startling or unexpected phrases; Parallelism – use of a repeated structure of a sentence or phrase; Rhyme, rhythm, alliteration – use of repeated sounds; Aptness – use of appropriate, direct words (Russell and Lane, 1990). Slogans in university brochures have been created based on good advertising principles as they have been observed to make use of the literary techniques, for example: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ boldness: Garden of Knowledge and Virtue (IIUM) parallelism: The National University with an International Reach (UKM) aptness: Your Inspiration parallelism: Contemporary and Forward Looking (UNIMAS) boldness: Towards a World-Class University (UPM) boldness: Towards Excellence and Supremacy (UPSI) Boldness is exemplified with words such as ‘virtue’, ‘world-class’ and ‘supremacy’ where the universities are bold enough to associate themselves with such high stature. Traditionally, public universities are centres of academe which do not portray an image of flaunting. Slogans using parallelism aim for jingle-like sounds so that readers can remember them easily while aptness acts like punchlines, strong and effective to be easily remembered. The bottom line is that a slogan is an Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 65 66 Discourse & Communication 2(1) advertising concept and a marketing tool. The fact that public universities as nonprofit making academic institutions use slogans place them in a different light. They are currently functioning more like business entities. MISSION STATEMENT This move is identified as targeting the market based on the communicative functions of the mission statements. A mission statement provides information about what type of organization it is and what it does (Falsey, 1989) at the same time highlighting the positive factors in the organization. Stating the mission of the university is viewed as one of the two crucial strategies (the other being using slogans) in re-branding academic institutions as this move never appeared in academic genres before. This move has placed public universities in the same league as other successful corporations. Mission statements of public universities in Malaysia are observed to provide information as to what and how they can contribute to the public in terms of tertiary education as highlighted (underlined) in the following examples: (10) To become a distinguished university, aspiring to promote academic excellence in higher education and professional training necessary for the country’s socio-economic development (UiTM). (11) To be a premier university seeking excellence in the advancement of knowledge to meet the aspirations of the nation (UM) (12) To become an exemplary university of internationally acknowledged stature and as a scholarly institution of preference and choice for students and academics through the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research and scholarship (UNIMAS) (13) To lead in the development of creative human resource and technology in line with the aspirations of the nation (UTM). The words ‘distinguished’, ‘premier’, and ‘exemplary’ are used to emphasize the quality of the universities. Other words like ‘excellence’, ‘advancement’ and ‘stature’ as well as ‘to lead’ are all bold words of promise by the universities. PROFILE OF THE UNIVERSITY This section is identified as the move to establish the credentials of the university as it provides information on the background and/or the current status of the university. The background information includes the date of establishment and the reason for the establishment while information on the current status of the university usually includes the achievements of the university in terms of academic programmes and physical development as well as the quality of the programmes offered. This move is supposed to be informational but there are a number of instances where the brochures provide the information on the current status of the university using ‘promotional’ words and phrases. For example: (14) UNIMAS is an ISO-certified university . . . Its undergraduate programmes have been designed to suit the needs of society and industry. Downloaded from http://dcm. sagepub. com by Heemal Kasseean on October 9, 2009 Osman: Re-branding academic institutions with corporate advertising An ISO certification for an organization confirms the quality of that organization and it is now a common practice among public universities to obtain such certification to convince the public about the quality of the university, particularly the academic programmes on offer. Universities with ISO certification usually highlight it in their brochures as a strategy to promote the institutions. Other instances of promotional words can be observed in the following examples: (15) The university is the catalyst for regional growth in the northern region of Peninsula Malaysia (UUM) (16) From these humble beginnings, UM grew hand-in-hand with the young nation to become the nucleus for producing graduates of the highest quality and calibre. The word ‘catalyst’ denotes the importance of the university in the regional growth of the northern region of the country, without which there would not have been much growth in that region, thus promoting the significance of the university. Similarly, the word ‘nucleus’ conveys the significance of UM to the developing nation. Another instance is when a university states the commitment of the university to the public or the nation. UPM boldly states its commitment to become a worldclass university to convince the public to come and enrol in this university. (17) Named Universiti Putra Malaysia in honour of the pioneering Prime Minister of Malaysia, . . . has adopted this pioneering spirit and is committed to become the world class Univers.