Analysis of Lady in Black by Francis Cadell Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Lady in Black by Francis Cadell Essay Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, associated with the Scottish colourists was born in Edinburgh in 1883 and by the age of 16 was studying at the Academie Julian in Paris. During his career he was very much influenced by the Fauvists such as Matisse and on his return to Scotland exhibited much of his own work in Edinburgh Glasgow and London. He died in poverty at the age of 54 after the economic climate made it difficult for him to sell any of his work. He painted landscapes (mainly those of Lona which were a favourite of his), interiors, still life and figures in oil and watercolour but is known most for his portraits of glamorous women. One such portrait, completed in 1921, is ‘Lady in Black’ painted in oil. The painting has a rather macabre mood as the woman within the picture has a reflective expression on her face as if longing for the past. There is a mirror behind her, which may also add to the idea of reflection. She is dressed in black, which adds to the morbid mood as it could indicate she is mourning the death of a loved one. Her body language also expresses sadness as her posture is quite slumped, and the small flowers seen behind her could have been meant for a grave. The shadow over her eyes caused by her large hat makes them look undefined and blurry, giving them a sad, depressed look. The painting itself is also very dark as there is very little light and the colours used are very dull and grey, adding to the dreary mood. The media is used very loosely, in an almost impressionistic manner, which may have sprung from Cadell being exposed to the work of the Impressionists who were active in Paris at the time he was being educated there. He uses strokes of bold colour such as the woman’s lips, the flowers in the background and the pink furniture reflected in the mirror. These strong reds and pinks could symbolise love or passion, which adds emphasis to the woman’s lost love. This piece was more or less typical of the Scottish Colourist movement, but also contains undertones of impressionism as not much line is used; instead different colours are layered on top of each other, as the impressionists were known to do. It is a very realistic piece with a well-expressed dreary, nostalgic mood.

Decision-Making Model Analysis Essay -- Decisions Psychology Decide Es

Decision-Making Model Analysis Decisions! Decisions! Decisions! How do you make decisions? Have you ever asked yourself, â€Å"How did I make that decision?† Whether big or small, important or not so important, decision making is a process. Some people way the pros and cons while others may just flip a coin. Are decisions based on feelings, outcomes or information? Often times if we just go with our gut feeling will be miss out on important information that should be included in our decision. Decision-making can be a cognitive process of selecting a course of action form various options. Some of us are logical. Some of us are risk taking. Either way such characteristics play a role in our decisions. In my experience decision-making can also be based on biases, past experiences, peer pressure, needs and even wants. Recently, I had to make a decision about a new job opportunity. My employer offered me the opportunity to move into a new job with new tasks and responsibilities. I had to consider the position, the responsibilities, the salary and all the alternatives. The opportunity offered a pay increase. It was a tough decision. Now, while I didn’t realize it I actually used a decision-making model to decide upon my best option. Rick Roberts, Director of Career Services at University of North Florida designed a 7-Step Career Decision-Making Model. Roberts believes information is power in decision-making. He states, the more information you have the easier the decision....

Chopper Fed Dc Motor

INTRODUCTION During the nineteenth century, when power supply was dc, dc motors were used extensively to draw power direct from the dc source. The motor speed could be varied by adjusting field current by a rheostat. That was an open loop control. Most of the drives were constant speed and the characteristics could not be matched with a job requirement. A vast development in the dc drives system took place when the ward Leonard Control System was introduced in the 1980s. The system was motor-generator system to deliver power to the drive motor. The supply power available was still dc and dc motor was used to drive the dc generator set at a more or less constant speed. Afterwards when the ac power system came into existence and became popular, ac motors were developed and became attractive owing to their constructional simplicity, ruggedness and lower initial as well as maintenance cost. Machine requiring variable speed drives use the ward Leonard System employing ac motors driving dc motors at a constant speed. In the 1950s electronic came into existence and brought about remarkable improvement in the speed control system. The open- loop manual control system was replaced by close loop feedback control, which resulted in improved response and better accuracy. Initially, gas diodes and ignitrons were developed and ac to dc converters were used to control dc motors. The advent of thyristors capable of handling large current has revolutionized the field of electric power control. Thyratrons, ignitrons, mercury arc rectifiers, magnetic amplifiers and motor generator sets have all been replaced by solid state circuits employing semi-conductor diodes and thyristors. Thyristor controlled drives employing both ac and dc motors find wide applications in industry as variable speed drives. In the 1960s ac power was converted into dc power for direct control of drive motors with solid state devices (high power silicon diodes and silicon controlled rectifiers). Initially saturable reactors were employed in conjunction with power silicon rectifiers for dc drives. Of late solid state circuits using semi- conductor diodes and thyristors are becoming popular for controlling the speed of ac and dc otors and are progressively replacing the traditional electric power control circuit based on thyratrons, ignitrons, mercury arc rectifiers, magnetic amplifiers, motor-generator sets, etc as compared to the electric and electro-mechanical systems of speed control. The electronic system has higher accuracy, greater reliability, and quick response and also has higher efficiency as there is no I2R losses and moving parts. Moreover four-quadrant speed control is possi ble to meet precise high standards. All electronic circuits control the speed of the motor by controlling either, ? The voltage applied to the motor armature or ? The field current or ? Both of the above DC motors can be run from dc supply if available or from ac supply, after it has been converted to dc supply with the help of rectifiers which can be either half wave or full wave and either controlled ( by varying the conduction angle of the thyristors used) or uncontrolled. AC motors can be run on the ac supply or from dc supply, after it has been converted into ac supply with the help of inverters (opposite of rectifiers). As stated above, the average output voltage of a thyristors controlled rectifiers by changing its conduction angle and hence the armature voltage can be adjusted to control its speed. When run on a dc supply, the armature dc voltage can be changed with the help of uncontrolled rectifiers (using only diodes and not thyristors). The dc voltages so obtained can be then chopped with the help of a thyristors chopper circuit. In this method of speed control of a dc motor, available ac supply is first rectified into dc supply using uncontrolled rectifiers. The supply is then filtered and smooth ended dc output is supplied to the thyristors chopper. It allows dc to flow through for the time Ton and then disconnects for the time Toff. This cycle is repeated. During supply-on period (i. e. for the time period Ton) the dc motor gets supply and accelerates. During the supply off period Toff (i. e. for the time period Toff) there is no supply to the motor and the motor decelerates till the next on cycle begins. If the cycles repeated continuously at a definite frequency and the elements of the cycle are maintained in a fixed relationship, the motor will then operate at a constant voltage across the motor will be, V0 = (V*Ton)/(Ton +Toff) = (V*Ton)/T = f*V*Ton The dc voltage across the motor can be control by varying the Time Ratio Control (TRC) which may be accomplished by, ? Varying the duration of the on-time, Ton keeping the total time period, T or frequency, f constant ? Keeping the on- time, Ton constant and varying the frequency, f. ? Varying both. The Variable dc voltage below the supply dc voltage is made available to the dc motor and therefore, the motor speed available is below base speed. For automatic control of speed, both current feedback and speed feedback is used. BRIEF DISCUSSION ON CHOPPER A dc chopper is a static device used to obtain variable dc voltage from a source of constant dc voltage. The dc chopper offers great efficiency, faster response, smooth control, lower maintenance, small size, etc. Solid state chopper due to various advantages are widely used in the battery operated vehicles, traction motor control, control of a large number of dc motors from a common dc bus with a considerable improvement of power factor. PRINCIPLE OF CHOPPER OPERATION: A chopper is a thyristors on/ off switch that connects load to and disconnects it from the supply and produces a chopped load voltage from a constant input voltage. The chopper is represented by a thyristors (SCR). It is triggered periodically and is kept conducting for a period Ton and is blocked for a period Toff. During the period Ton, when the chopper is on, the supply terminals is connected to the load terminals. And during the interval Toff when the chopper is off, load current flows from the freewheeling diode Df. So, the load terminals are short circuited by Df and load voltage is therefore zero during Toff. Hence the chopper dc voltage is produced at the load terminals. Now, the average load voltage, Eo is given by Eo = Edc*? [? =Duty Cycle=(Ton/Toff)] Or, Eo = Edc*(Ton/T) [T=Ton + Toff] So the voltage can be varied by varying the duty cycle, ? of the chopper. CLASSIFICATION OF CHOPPER: Power semiconductor devices are used in chopper circuits are uni-directional device. A chopper can however operate in any of the four quadrants by an appropriate arrangement of semiconductor devices. These characteristics of their operation in any of the four quadrants form the basis of their classification as, 1. Type-A or First Quadrant Chopper 2. Type-B or Second Quadrant Chopper. 3. Type-C or Two Quadrant Type-A Chopper 4. Type-D or Two Quadrant or Type-B Chopper 5. Type-E or Four Quadrant Chopper. PERFORMANCE EQUATION OF DC MOTORS The equivalent circuit and on its basis the performance equation of a separately-excited dc Motor and series dc motor are presented below. ? Separately-excited dc motor: The equivalent circuit of a separately-excited dc motor coupled with a load under steady state condition is shown in the fig 4. 1. The load torque, TL opposes the electro-magnetic torque, Te. For the field circuit, Vf = If*rf For the armature circuit, Vt = Ia + Ia*ra Motor back emf or armature emf, Ea=Ka ? Ia=Km? m ————– (4. 1) Te=ka ? Ia = KmIa Also, Te = D wm + TL where, rf=Field circuit resistance in ohm, Ia=Armature current in A, Vt=Motor terminal voltage in V, ra=Armature circuit resistance in ohm, Km=Ka ?=Torque constant in Nm/A*emf constant in V-sec/rad, m=Angular speed of motor in rad/sec, D=Viscous friction constant in Nm-sec/rad. Electromagnetic power, P=wmTe watts From equation (1), Ea=Kmwm=Vt-Iara Or wm= (Vt – Iara)/Km= (Vt – Iara)/Ka ? ——————– (4. 1) So it is seen from equation (4. 2) that speed can be controlled by varying, ? Armature terminal voltage, Vt : This method is k nown as Armature-voltage control. Speed below base speed is obtained by this method. ? Field flux, ? : This method is known as Field flux control. Speed above base speed is obtained by this method. ? DC Series Motor: In a dc series motor, field winding is in series with the armature circuit. It is designed to carry the rated armature current. The fig. shows the equivalent circuit of a dc series motor driving load with load torque, TL. For the armature circuit, Vt = Ea + Ia ( ra+ rs ) †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. (4. 3) Te = Ka ? Ia For no saturation in the magnetic circuit, ? = CIa Hence, Te = KaCIa2 = KIa2 Also, Ea = Ka ? wm = KaCIawm = KIawm From eqn (4. 3), Vt = KIawm + Ia (ra + rs) = Ia [ Kwm + (ra + rs)] Or, speed wm = (Vt/ KIa) – (ra +rs)/K †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. (4. 4) where, rs = Series field resistance in ohm, K = KaC = constant in Nm/A2 or in V-sec/ A- rad. CLOSED LOOP CONTROL OF CHOPPER FED DC MOTOR For practical purposes motors are required to operate at desired speed with low losses to meet the desired load –torque characteristics which depends on the armature current. Suppose a motor is operating at a particular speed an suddenly a load is applied, the speed falls and the motors takes time to come up to the desired speed . but a speed feed back with an inner current loop provides faster response to any disturbance in speed command ,load torque and supply voltage. Another reason for the requirement of feedback loop in dc drives is that, the armature of a large motor represents very small impedance which when supplied with nominal voltage would result in an excessive current of up to 10 times the nominal value. Under normal conditions, this is prevented by the induced armature voltage, E which cancels most of the applied voltage, Va so that only the difference is driving the armature current, Ia. But under transient conditions or steady state over load of the motor, there is always a danger of excessive currents due to sudden torque demand and rapidly changing armature voltage or speed . t is therefore important to provide a fast current or torque limit to protect the motor, the power supply and the load. This is best realized by feedback control establishing an effective safe guard against electrical and mechanical stresses. In it the output of the speed controller, Ec is applied to the current limiter which sets the reference current, Ia (ref erence) for the current loop. the armature current is sensed by a current sensor, after being filtered by an active filter to remove ripples which is then compared with the reference current, Ia (ref. the error current is processed through a current controller whose output, Vc adjusts the firing angle of the chopper and brings the motor speed to the desired value. Any positive speed error caused by an increased in either speed command or load torque demand can produce a high reference current, Ia (ref) the motor accelerates to correct the speed error and finally settles down at any reference current, Ia(ref) which makes the motor torque equal to the load torque resultant in a speed error closed to zero. For any large positive speed error, current limiter saturates and limits the reference currents, Ia (ref) to a maximum value, Ia (max) the speed error is then corrected at the maximum permissible armature current ,Ia(max)until the speed error becomes small and the current limiters comes out of the saturation . normally ,the speed error is corrected with the Ia less than the maximum permissible armature current, Ia max. For speeds below the base speeds, the field error, Ef is large and the field controller saturates thereby applying the maximum ield voltage and current. The speed control from zero to base speed is normally done at the maximum field by armature voltage control. When the speed is closed to the base speed, Va is almost near the rated value and field controller comes out of saturation. The speed control above base speed is generally done by field weakening at the rated armature voltage. In the field control loop, the back emf Eb is compared with a reference voltage , Eb ( ref) the value of which is generally between 0. 85 to 0. 95 of the rated armature voltage. For a speed command above the base speed, the speed error causes a higher value of Va then motor accelerates, back emf , Eb increases and field error, Ef decreases. The field current when decreases and the motor speed continue to increase until it reaches the desired speed. In this mode of operation, the drive responds slowly due to large field time constant. A full converter is generally used in the field because it has the ability to reverse the voltage thereby reducing the field current much faster as compared to the semi converter. MODELING AND OBSERVATIONS ? Modeling using Matlab: ? DC Motor with Load Parameter given: Voltage = 220v Current = 6. 2A Ra = 4 ohm La = 0. 072H Speed = 1470 rpm J = 0. 0607 kg-m2 Kb= 1. 26v/rad/sec Bt =0. 0869N-m/rad/sec Parameters calculated: Ta=La/Ra= 0. 02sec Tm=j/Bt =0. 7sec K1 = Bt/[KB2 + Ra Bt] =0. 0449 -1/T1 – 1/T2 =-1/2[Bt/J +Ra/La] + sqre[1/4(Bi/J + Ra/La)2-{(Kb2 + Ra Bt ) /JLa}] T1 = 0. 1077sec T2 = 0. 0208sec Tm = J/Bt = 0. 7sec DC MotorTransfer function: I(s)/V(s) =[k1(1+sTm)]/ [(1+sT1)(1+sT2)]= [0. 032s+0. 045]/[0. 002s2+0. 4s+1] wm(s)/I(s)= Kb/Bt(1+sTm) =14. 5/(1+0. 75) Converter Transfer function Kr =1. 35V/Vcm =1. 35*230/10 =31. 05V/v Tr = 1/12*Fs = 1/12*50 =0. 00166sec T. F = kr/(1+sTr) =31. 05/(1+0. 00166s) Design of Current Controller Tc=T2=0. 0208sec K = T1/2Tr = 0. 1077/2*0. 00166 = 32. 43 Kc = KTc/k1HCKrTm =32. 43 *0. 0208/0. 0449*1*31. 05*0. 7 =0. 69 Transfer function Gc(s) = Kc(1+sTc)/sTc = 0. 69(1+0. 0208s)/0. 0208s = 0. 69 + 0. 0143s/0. 0208s Current Loop I(s)/I*(s) = Ki/(1+sTi) Ti = T3/1+ kfi Ki = kfi/Hc(1+ kfi) Kfi = KcKrKiTmHc/Tc Kfi = 0. 9*31. 05*0. 0449*0. 7*1/0. 0208 Kfi = 32. 44 Ki = Kfi/HC(1+ Kfi) Kfi = 32. 44/1*(1+32. 44) Kfi = 0. 97 Ti = T3/(1+ Kfi) = T1+Tr/(1+ Kfi) = 0. 1077+0. 00166/1+32. 44 = 0. 0032sec Speed controller Design T4 = Ti + Tw K2 = Ki Kb Hw /Bt Tm K2 = 0. 97*1. 26*1/0. 0869*0. 7 K2 = 20. 092 KS = 1/(2 Kt T4) KS = 1/2*20. 092*0. 0032 KS = 7. 77 Ts = 4T4 =4*0. 0032 Ts = 0. 0128 Transfer function T. F = KS (1+sTS)/sTS = 7. 77(1+0. 0128s)/0. 0128s = (7. 77 + 0. 0994)/0. 0128s ? Modeling using PSIM: Parameters Given: Source (Vdc) = 800V Transistor (npn): Saturation Voltage = 0 Initial Position = 0 Current Flag = 1 Gating Block (G): Frequency = 50Hz Number of Points = 2 Switching Points = [0 180] Diode (D): Diode Voltage Drop = 0 Initial Position = 0 Current Flag = 0 Inductor (L): Inductance = 0. 01 Initial Current = 0A Current Flag = 0 Capacitor (C): Capacitance = 0. 00005F Initial Capacitive Voltage = 0V Current Flag = 0 DC MOTOR (DCM): Ra = 0. 055 ohm La = 0. 01H Rf = 55 ohm Lf = 0. 02H MI = 0. 2 Vt = 440V Ia = 80A If = 4A n = 1500rpm Torque Flag = 0 Master/Slave Flag = 1 Field Source = 400V Speed Sensor (Ws): Gain = 1 Simulation Control: Time Step = 1e-005 Total Time = 0. 02 Print Time = 0 Print Step = 1 Load Flag = 0 Slave Flag = 0 INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS DC drives are highly versatile energy conversion devices. It can meet the demand of loads requiring high starting, accelerating and decelerating torques. At the same time dc drives are easily adaptable for wide range of speed control and quick reversal. So, in industrial application where accurate control of speed and / or torque is required chopper controlled dc drives are unrivalled. Therefore, chopper controlled dc motors are universally employed in steel and aluminum mills, power shovels, electric elevators, railway locomotives and large earth moving equipments. Uses o Various Chopper Controlled DC drives with reasons: | | | | |Types of DC drives |Applications |Advantages | | | |Accurate speed control can be done. |Separately Excited dc drives |Used in paper mills, steel rolling |Variation of speed from very high to low value can be| | |mills, diesel-electric propulsion of |done | | |ships, etc. | | | | |Starting torque is very high upto 500%. | | |Maximum momentary operating torque is upto 400%. | | | |Speed regulation is widely variable. It is very high | |Series dc drive |Used in hoists, cranes, conveyors, |at no load. | | |trolley-cars, electric locomotives, |Speed control by series field. | | |etc. | | |Used in lathes, centrifugal pumps, |Starting torque is medium, usually limited to 250% by| |Constant speed dc shunt drive |reciprocating pumps, fans, blo wers, |a starting resistance but may be increased. | | |conveyors, spinning and weaving |Maximum momentary operating torque is usually limited| | |machines, etc. to about 200% by commutation. | | | |Speed regulation is about 5-10 %. | | | |Speed increases about 200% by field control and | | | |decreases by armature voltage control. | | |Starting torque is medium, usually limited to 250% by| | | |a starting resistance but may be increased. | | | |Maximum momentary operating torque is usually limited| |Adjustable speed dc shunt drives |Used for application requiring |to about 200% by commutation. | |adjustable speed control, either | | | |constant torque or constant output. | | SCOPE OF MODIFICATIONS Chopper controlled dc drives are widely used in hoists, cranes, elevators, shears, crushers, conveyor, blending mills, punch presses, air compressors, ice making machines, tractions, etc. So these drives should be modified in the following ways to make them more efficient and accurate, 1. The chopper controlled dc motors should be made with large diameter armatures and large pole size of reduced height. 2. The yoke as well as the main and commutating poles should be well laminated to reduce the eddy current effect and to improve the commutation. 3. Large numbers of commutator bars should be used to reduce the voltage between the commutator segments and to improve the commutation. 4. The commutator should be made larger in order to provide extra insulation to withstand large and rapid voltage fluctuations. 5. Compensating windings should be used in large motors to reduce the armature reactions effects. 6. The current densities used for the armature and Interpol windings should be reduced as compared to the conventional dc motors of the same frame size and rating in order to reduce the effect of heating of armature and Interpol. 7. Low inertia armature should be employed for improving the response. 8. Split brushes of good commutating quality should be used for reducing the effect of transformer voltage in the coil undergoing commutations. 9. Better class of insulation should be used to allow higher temperature rise and dissipation of more losses from a given frame. 10. Now a days chopper controlled dc drives are widely used in the automobile industries. So, it should have high efficiency and accuracy, light weight, low maintenance cost. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Electric Drives – Ramakrishnan, Prentice Hall India. 2. Power Electronics – P. S. Bimbhra, Khanna Publishers. 3. Software: MATLAB 6. 5 and PSIM.

Biography on Augustus Emperor Of Rome

Some of you might know me by my birth name, Gaius Octavius Thurinus, or Augustus meaning â€Å"the revered one† the title I have earned and have been granted by the senate of Rome. I’m the first emperor of Rome, and of course many of you might also recognize me as the nephew of my great uncle Julius Caesar. I’ve been ruling Rome from 27 BC – 14AD. It almost feels as I have been supporting Rome since 63 BC the year I was born. Due to the fact that my father Gaius Octavius governor of Macedonia on 61 B.C died as I was growing up, at the age of four, because I had only my mother Atia Balba Caesonia. I was adopted and raised very closely by my uncle Gaius Julius Caesar or as many of you know him as the â€Å"Great Julius Caesar† who I admirably look up to and thanks to him I have learned and followed the Roman ruling system very well. I have followed Caesar throughout many battles and have succeeded many times. Because of many events I have been in I have been given many names such as Octavius following events from 63 – 44BC, Octavian following events from 44 – 27 BC, and finally Augustus following events after 27 BC. I have fought in about 222 battles and have won about 199 of them. My uncle has taught me very well considering he is a man of no pity known as the slayer of men’s. During my time in Spain around 45BC with the Great Caesar I have in honor fought in the battle of Munda, where I honorably shared and cherished one of my last battles with my uncle Julius Caesar. I do recognize that I’m what I am today because of the great dedication and enormous support I have received from him. My reign as emperor just started after meeting my uncle Julius Caesar who had asked me to be part of his military group. I was to meet with him in the northern part of Spain, but to my regret of sailing out in a bad winter month I got stuck behind with my shipped wrecked and worst of all stuck in enemy land of the Barbarians. Although many of my followers admired my bravery it wasn’t too smart to sail out in weather like that especially when I knew my ship could have suffered the consequence of being scraped down by rocks. After my training with Caesar we were to return to Rome and make my successful training a big part of Uncle Caesar’s army and also to have some time off to rest considering my uncle was suffering from illnesses such as epilepsy and dizziness. It was now the month of March in 44 BC and my uncle is expected to die any day. Although I knew I should stay with him I had to return to Illyricum to prepare for the Parthian campaign my uncle was running and had been planning for a long time. To my surprise my uncle was murdered on March 15, 44 B.C portrayed and assassinated by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longins, and many others who were against Julius Caesar. I was so frustrated, so mad and felt the urge to take revenge, but I knew I was also in danger of being next so I had to handle this in a very calm manner. I knew I had the potential to get back at them with no problem from all the experience and all the tactics I had learned throughout all my years of training with the one and only â€Å"Julius Caesar†. The assassination of my uncle changed my characters and my perception especially towards the people I had entrusted to protect me as well as all those I was attached to. It did not come to me as a surprise to find out that my uncle Caesar had named me as the rightful heir of the Roman Empire. This is because of the cordial relationship between my uncle and I when he was alive. Also, my uncle Caesar had not only trusted me in many matters but also had instilled in me various vital leadership skills (Baker 67). I could only honor his actions of delegating me as the emperor by popularizing his name, since he was dead already. I therefore decided to change my name to his; I changed my name to Julius Caesar Octavianus. With the murder of my uncle, I knew that Rome was a dangerous place. I knew that I had to be strong in my ruling. Therefore, it was crucial that I adopted various strategies that would help me rule with an iron fist. One of the strategies that I adopted was to make alliances with strong willed and experienced individuals in my empire. I hence formed an uneasy alliance with some of Julius Caesar’s soldiers in 44 B.C, Mark Anthony and the general Marcus Lepidus were the individuals that I deemed appropriate and worthy of forming an alliance with. The alliance was later referred to as the Second Triumvirate. We spent some good times with my fellow soldiers. The good times were comprised of activities of successfully conquering our common enemies. However, the alliance was not long lived. The problem arose when Marcus Lepidus and I realized that Mark Anthony was having a not only romantic but also political affair and alliance with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. This relationship was clearly a lethal one in relation to our own alliance and just as we had expected it marked the end of the alliance. We therefore turned against Anthony and dissolved our coalition and alliance. Antony and Cleopatra combined forces and waged war on me. However, I was able to successfully defeat their combined forces in the naval battle of Actium in 31 BC. The positive consequence of this action is that I was clearly labeled as the absolute power in Rome. It is in the 27 BC that I decided to further add and change my names. After all, I was the absolute Roman Senate ever to live. I added the name and title Augustus. This name means majestic or divine. These were attributes I believed that I possessed not only then, but also right now as I write. One summer, I was able to leave Rome for a tour to Gaul and Spain. This journey helped to keep me away from Rome until 24 BC. This trip was as a result of careful thinking I had previously done regarding my positions and responsibilities in the Roman Empire. Therefore, I deemed this choice of action as wise and thoughtful of me. I still don’t regret anything today. It was crucial that I leave the public eye for some time while the new political settlements in Rome took effect and root. Agrippa and Maecenas, my close and trusted aides were responsible for supervising the overall political and administrative matter in Rome while I was away. The summer after I returned to Rome, the â€Å"Second Constitutional Settlement† was staged. Consequently, at around this time, a clear conspiracy was able to be unearthed. The two individuals involved, that is, Fannius Caepio and Varro Murena were brought to justice. The desirable and consequently ultimate punishment of execution was given to the two principals. While the main settlements of 23 and 27 B.C. rooted the basis of Augustus’s position, further refinements were necessary. Just as the settlement of 27 B.C., I decided to leave Rome for the East. This was in 22 BC (Everitt 137). Before I left, I was forced to refuse various offers of the perpetual consulship or dictatorship pressed on to me by the individuals, who appeared to have wholly missed the subtleties of the Second Settlement the year before. Over the coming years, I was able to receive, piecemeal, some considerable number of privileges and honors. In the previous year of 23 BC I was given the right to convene the senate whenever I deemed fit (ius primae relationis). In 22 BC, I was appointed to oversee the supply of grain in Rome. In 19 BC, I returned to Rome again from the East. Upon my return, I was further accorded censorial powers for a period of five years (Fagan 32). Further, when Lepidus finally died, in 12 BC, I became the chief priest (pntifex maximus). Further, in 2 BC, I was given the title of â€Å"Father of my Country† (Pater Patriae). This is the title that made me immensely proud of my achievements till then (Eck 24). This title placed me in a cordial relationship with the Roman state analogous to that of a paterfamilias over my overall charges. I was therefore supposed to be in complete control over everything in Rome. Further, there was my membership of all the colleges of priests, many symbolic privileges, and the matter of auctoritas. The intricate edifice deeply entrenched in me was at heart, a sham. I could term it as a successful sham as the larger majority of citizens were able to believe in it and me. Further, the fact that there was a political genius in me was not questionable. The slow and careful acquisition of overarching power and authority in almost all the areas of public life were activities aided by the fact that I was a political genius. At all the steps of the way, from the oath of 32 BC and the constitutional settlements through the honors and privileges conferred upon me piecemeal, I could present myself as the passive partner. It is interesting to note that at all times; it is the people of Rome and the senate that showered me with more power voluntarily. Unlike my uncle Caesar, I sought nothing for myself. Indeed, I often showed reluctance to accepting some of the powers, offices and honors accorded to me. My life as the most favored emperor of Rome was clearly satisfying. I knew that succession problems were due to come since most of the powers I had were as a result of the senate’s and the citizens’ decisions. I had a particular feeling that if one of my family members was not able to succeed me in the empire, I could die and leave Rome infested with civil war. In any case, I am proud that I lived a full life; one full of activities and sacrifices for my country that saw me climb the ladder of power with ease. I do hope that the future generations will be able to read my autobiography and that my name will be recognized through successive generations.