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Bowens International

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Bowens International was founded as Bowens Camera Service Company, a London -based camera repair company, in 1923 which by the 1950s had grown to be one of the largest in Europe . In 1963, the name Bowens International LTD. was registered. In June 2016 German investment firm AURELIUS bought Bowens, and in July 2017, AURELIUS closed down the company, discontinuing all further operations.

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64-480: Bowens manufacture d lighting equipment for photographers . The first flash bulb units were produced in 1947 and in 1950 the company started to produce its first electronic studio flash systems. Until the 1960s, studio flash systems were large and cumbersome, requiring bulky power generators to power the flash heads, connected by large cables. In 1963, Bowens invented the first electronic studio flash unit with its power source built into it. This became known as

128-531: A monobloc (sometimes monolite) which is now an industry standard tool. Following this invention the company dedicated itself to the design and production of studio flash equipment, Bowens Sales & Service grew out of the Bowens Camera service company and in 1966 they made their first appearance at photokina showing their products to the worldwide photography community and taking their first steps towards global distribution. In 1968 they produced an update to

192-474: A Competitive Industrial Performance (CIP) Index, which measures the competitive manufacturing ability of different nations. The CIP Index combines a nation's gross manufacturing output with other factors like high-tech capability and the nation's impact on the world economy. Germany topped the 2020 CIP Index, followed by China, South Korea , the United States, and Japan. In 2023, the manufacturing industry in

256-402: A fact easily overlooked and forgotten by designers: leading to features creating low customer satisfaction. In information technology, end users are not customers in the usual sense—they are typically employees of the customer. For example, if a large retail corporation buys a software package for its employees to use, even though the large retail corporation was the customer that purchased

320-567: A result, they make only a reactive contribution. Emerging technologies have offered new growth methods in advanced manufacturing employment opportunities, for example in the Manufacturing Belt in the United States. Manufacturing provides important material support for national infrastructure and also for national defense . On the other hand, most manufacturing processes may involve significant social and environmental costs. The clean-up costs of hazardous waste , for example, may outweigh

384-417: A secure system come from the fact that the behaviour of humans is not always rational or predictable. Even in a very-well secured computer system, a malicious individual can telephone a worker and pretend to be a private investigator working for the software company, and ask for the individual's password, a dishonest process called phishing . As well, even with a well-secured system, if a worker decides to put

448-448: A stone tool, a " core " of hard stone with specific flaking properties (such as flint ) was struck with a hammerstone . This flaking produced sharp edges that could be used as tools, primarily in the form of choppers or scrapers . These tools greatly aided the early humans in their hunter-gatherer lifestyle to form other tools out of softer materials such as bone and wood. The Middle Paleolithic , approximately 300,000 years ago, saw

512-410: A widely used standard for attaching modifiers to flash heads. In July 2008 Bowens published the first issue of litebook , a quarterly magazine devoted to profiling photographers and photographic studios working with Bowens lighting products. Bowens YouTube channel showed the latest news regarding the company and its products. A series of five-minute tutorials called "Hough To" (A pun on the surname of

576-413: Is a person who ultimately uses or is intended to ultimately use a product. The end user stands in contrast to users who support or maintain the product, such as sysops , system administrators , database administrators, information technology (IT) experts, software professionals, and computer technicians. End users typically do not possess the technical understanding or skill of the product designers,

640-502: Is believed to have originated when the technology of pottery kiln allowed sufficiently high temperatures. The concentration of various elements such as arsenic increase with depth in copper ore deposits and smelting of these ores yields arsenical bronze , which can be sufficiently work-hardened to be suitable for manufacturing tools. Bronze is an alloy of copper with tin; the latter of which being found in relatively few deposits globally delayed true tin bronze becoming widespread. During

704-484: Is conventionally defined by the widespread manufacturing of weapons and tools using iron and steel rather than bronze. Iron smelting is more difficult than tin and copper smelting because smelted iron requires hot-working and can be melted only in specially designed furnaces. The place and time for the discovery of iron smelting is not known, partly because of the difficulty of distinguishing metal extracted from nickel-containing ores from hot-worked meteoritic iron. During

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768-603: Is important for people and organizations to need know that the information and data they are storing, using, or sending over computer networks or storing on computer systems is secure. However, developers of software and hardware are faced with many challenges in developing a system that can be both user friendly , accessible 24/7 on almost any device and be truly secure. Security leaks happen, even to individuals and organizations that have security measures in place to protect their data and information (e.g., firewalls , encryption , strong passwords ). The complexities of creating such

832-592: Is likely derived from the Middle French manufacture ("process of making") which itself originates from the Classical Latin manū ("hand") and Middle French facture ("making"). Alternatively, the English word may have been independently formed from the earlier English manufacture ("made by human hands") and fracture . Its earliest usage in the English language was recorded in the mid-16th century to refer to

896-568: Is one who can protect and achieve the best security out of the system they use. Because of the importance of end-user security and the impact it can have on organizations the UK government set out a guidance for the public sector, to help civil servants learn how to be more security aware when using government networks and computers. While this is targeted to a certain sector, this type of educational effort can be informative to any type of user. This helps developers meet security norms and end users be aware of

960-513: Is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy . The term may refer to a range of human activity , from handicraft to high-tech , but it is most commonly applied to industrial design , in which raw materials from the primary sector are transformed into finished goods on a large scale. Such goods may be sold to other manufacturers for the production of other more complex products (such as aircraft, household appliances , furniture, sports equipment or automobiles ), or distributed via

1024-500: Is to help the user understand certain aspects of the systems and to provide all the answers in one place. A lot of documentation is available for users to help them understand and properly use a certain product or service. Due to the fact that the information available is usually very vast, inconsistent or ambiguous (e.g., a user manual with hundreds of pages, including guidance on using advanced features), many users suffer from an information overload . Therefore, they become unable to take

1088-493: The Bronze Age , bronze was a major improvement over stone as a material for making tools, both because of its mechanical properties like strength and ductility and because it could be cast in molds to make intricately shaped objects. Bronze significantly advanced shipbuilding technology with better tools and bronze nails, which replaced the old method of attaching boards of the hull with cord woven through drilled holes. The Iron Age

1152-510: The tertiary industry to end users and consumers (usually through wholesalers, who in turn sell to retailers, who then sell them to individual customers). Manufacturing engineering is the field of engineering that designs and optimizes the manufacturing process , or the steps through which raw materials are transformed into a final product . The manufacturing process begins with the product design , and materials specification . These materials are then modified through manufacturing to become

1216-422: The 1830s. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, the increasing use of steam power and water power , the development of machine tools and the rise of the mechanized factory system . The Industrial Revolution also led to an unprecedented rise in the rate of population growth. Textiles were the dominant industry of

1280-475: The 1890s after the introduction of the practical DC motor and the AC motor , was fastest between 1900 and 1930. This was aided by the establishment of electric utilities with central stations and the lowering of electricity prices from 1914 to 1917. Electric motors allowed more flexibility in manufacturing and required less maintenance than line shafts and belts. Many factories witnessed a 30% increase in output owing to

1344-473: The 1960s and 1970s, computer users were generally programming experts and computer scientists . However, in the 1980s, and especially in the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2000s, everyday, regular people began using computer devices and software for personal and work use. IT specialists needed to cope with this trend in various ways. In the 2010s, users now want to have more control over the systems they operate, to solve their own problems, and be able to customize

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1408-527: The 8th century. Papermaking technology was spread to Europe by the Umayyad conquest of Hispania . A paper mill was established in Sicily in the 12th century. In Europe the fiber to make pulp for making paper was obtained from linen and cotton rags. Lynn Townsend White Jr. credited the spinning wheel with increasing the supply of rags, which led to cheap paper, which was a factor in the development of printing. Due to

1472-635: The CEO of General Electric , called for the United States to increase its manufacturing base employment to 20% of the workforce, commenting that the U.S. has outsourced too much in some areas and can no longer rely on the financial sector and consumer spending to drive demand. Further, while U.S. manufacturing performs well compared to the rest of the U.S. economy, research shows that it performs poorly compared to manufacturing in other high-wage countries. A total of 3.2 million – one in six U.S. manufacturing jobs – have disappeared between 2000 and 2007. In

1536-545: The Industrial Revolution in terms of employment, value of output and capital invested. The textile industry was also the first to use modern production methods. Rapid industrialization first began in Britain, starting with mechanized spinning in the 1780s, with high rates of growth in steam power and iron production occurring after 1800. Mechanized textile production spread from Great Britain to continental Europe and

1600-600: The Mediterranean basin. Early construction techniques used by the Ancient Egyptians made use of bricks composed mainly of clay, sand, silt, and other minerals. The Middle Ages witnessed new inventions, innovations in the ways of managing traditional means of production, and economic growth. Papermaking , a 2nd-century Chinese technology, was carried to the Middle East when a group of Chinese papermakers were captured in

1664-624: The Monobloc, The Monolite 400 and later products such as Quad, Prolite and Esprit have also proved popular amongst photographic professionals. The company produced studio flash systems and photographic accessories, designed in Colchester , England and manufactured at its factory in Suzhou , China from 2010. The main competitors of Bowens International included Broncolor , Profoto , Elinchrom , Multiblitz , Visatec and White Lightning . The company

1728-626: The UK, EEF the manufacturers organisation has led calls for the UK economy to be rebalanced to rely less on financial services and has actively promoted the manufacturing agenda. According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), China is the top manufacturer worldwide by 2023 output, producing 28.7% of the total global manufacturing output, followed by the United States of America , Germany , Japan , and India . UNIDO also publishes

1792-586: The United States accounted for 10.70% of the total national output, employing 8.41% of the workforce. The total value of manufacturing output reached $ 2.5 trillion. In 2023, Germany's manufacturing output reached $ 844.93 billion, marking a 12.25% increase from 2022. The sector employed approximately 5.5 million people, accounting for around 20.8% of the workforce. These are the top 50 countries by total value of manufacturing output in U.S. dollars for its noted year according to World Bank : End user In product development, an end user (sometimes end-user )

1856-518: The United States in the early 19th century, with important centres of textiles, iron and coal emerging in Belgium and the United States and later textiles in France. An economic recession occurred from the late 1830s to the early 1840s when the adoption of the Industrial Revolution's early innovations, such as mechanized spinning and weaving, slowed down and their markets matured. Innovations developed late in

1920-445: The benefits of a product that creates it. Hazardous materials may expose workers to health risks. These costs are now well known and there is effort to address them by improving efficiency , reducing waste, using industrial symbiosis , and eliminating harmful chemicals. The negative costs of manufacturing can also be addressed legally. Developed countries regulate manufacturing activity with labor laws and environmental laws. Across

1984-512: The casting of cannon, the blast furnace came into widespread use in France in the mid 15th century. The blast furnace had been used in China since the 4th century BC. The stocking frame , which was invented in 1598, increased a knitter's number of knots per minute from 100 to 1000. The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Europe and the United States from 1760 to

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2048-942: The company to focus on perceived problems instead of focusing on the actual problems of the software. In the 2010s, there is a lot of emphasis on user's security and privacy. With the increasing role that computers are playing in people's lives, people are carrying laptops and smartphones with them and using them for scheduling appointments, making online purchases using credit cards and searching for information. These activities can potentially be observed by companies, governments or individuals, which can lead to breaches of privacy, identity theft , by, blackmailing and other serious concerns. As well, many businesses, ranging from small business startups to huge corporations are using computers and software to design, manufacture, market and sell their products and services, and businesses also use computers and software in their back office processes (e.g., human resources , payroll , etc.). As such, it

2112-422: The company's electronic files on a USB drive to take them home to work on them over the weekend (against many companies' policies), and then loses this USB drive, the company's data may be compromised. Therefore, developers need to make systems that are intuitive to the user in order to have information security and system security. Another key step to end user security is informing the people and employees about

2176-568: The concept of "focus", with an implication that a business cannot perform at the highest level along all five dimensions and must therefore select one or two competitive priorities. This view led to the theory of "trade offs" in manufacturing strategy. Similarly, Elizabeth Haas wrote in 1987 about the delivery of value in manufacturing for customers in terms of "lower prices, greater service responsiveness or higher quality". The theory of "trade offs" has subsequently being debated and questioned, but Skinner wrote in 1992 that at that time "enthusiasm for

2240-451: The concepts of 'manufacturing strategy' [had] been higher", noting that in academic papers , executive courses and case studies , levels of interest were "bursting out all over". Manufacturing writer Terry Hill has commented that manufacturing is often seen as a less "strategic" business activity than functions such as marketing and finance , and that manufacturing managers have "come late" to business strategy-making discussions, where, as

2304-399: The desired product. Contemporary manufacturing encompasses all intermediary stages involved in producing and integrating components of a product. Some industries, such as semiconductor and steel manufacturers, use the term fabrication instead. The manufacturing sector is closely connected with the engineering and industrial design industries. The Modern English word manufacture

2368-519: The end user collaborates with and advises the management information system and Information Technology department about his or her needs regarding the system or product. This raises new questions, such as: Who manages each resource?, What is the role of the MIS Department ? and What is the optimal relationship between the end-user and the MIS Department? The concept of end-user first surfaced in

2432-481: The globe, manufacturers can be subject to regulations and pollution taxes to offset the environmental costs of manufacturing activities . Labor unions and craft guilds have played a historic role in the negotiation of worker rights and wages. Environment laws and labor protections that are available in developed nations may not be available in the third world . Tort law and product liability impose additional costs on manufacturing. These are significant dynamics in

2496-601: The growth of the ancient civilizations, many ancient technologies resulted from advances in manufacturing. Several of the six classic simple machines were invented in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamians have been credited with the invention of the wheel. The wheel and axle mechanism first appeared with the potter's wheel , invented in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) during the 5th millennium BC. Egyptian paper made from papyrus , as well as pottery , were mass-produced and exported throughout

2560-582: The increasing shift to electric motors. Electrification enabled modern mass production, and the biggest impact of early mass production was in the manufacturing of everyday items, such as at the Ball Brothers Glass Manufacturing Company , which electrified its mason jar plant in Muncie, Indiana , U.S. around 1900. The new automated process used glass blowing machines to replace 210 craftsman glass blowers and helpers. A small electric truck

2624-407: The industry in the United States and other countries. According to a "traditional" view of manufacturing strategy, there are five key dimensions along which the performance of manufacturing can be assessed: cost, quality , dependability , flexibility and innovation . In regard to manufacturing performance, Wickham Skinner , who has been called "the father of manufacturing strategy ", adopted

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2688-789: The introduction of the prepared-core technique , where multiple blades could be rapidly formed from a single core stone. Pressure flaking , in which a wood, bone, or antler punch could be used to shape a stone very finely was developed during the Upper Paleolithic , beginning approximately 40,000 years ago. During the Neolithic period, polished stone tools were manufactured from a variety of hard rocks such as flint , jade , jadeite , and greenstone . The polished axes were used alongside other stone tools including projectiles , knives, and scrapers, as well as tools manufactured from organic materials such as wood, bone, and antler. Copper smelting

2752-419: The jargon and acronyms it contains. In other cases, the users may find that the manual makes too many assumptions about a user having pre-existing knowledge of computers and software, and thus the directions may skip over these initial steps (from the users' point of view). Thus, frustrated user may report false problems because of their inability to understand the software or computer hardware. This in turn causes

2816-405: The large-scale manufacture of machine tools and the use of increasingly advanced machinery in steam-powered factories. Building on improvements in vacuum pumps and materials research, incandescent light bulbs became practical for general use in the late 1870s. This invention had a profound effect on the workplace because factories could now have second and third shift workers. Shoe production

2880-402: The late 1980s and has since then raised many debates. One challenge was the goal to give both the user more freedom, by adding advanced features and functions (for more advanced users) and adding more constraints (to prevent a neophyte user from accidentally erasing an entire company's database). This phenomenon appeared as a consequence of consumerization of computer products and software. In

2944-622: The making of products by hand. Human ancestors manufactured objects using stone and other tools long before the emergence of Homo sapiens about 200,000 years ago. The earliest methods of stone tool making, known as the Oldowan " industry ", date back to at least 2.3 million years ago, with the earliest direct evidence of tool usage found in Ethiopia within the Great Rift Valley , dating back to 2.5 million years ago. To manufacture

3008-704: The market towards end customers . This relative cost reduction towards the market, is how manufacturing firms secure their profit margins . Manufacturing has unique health and safety challenges and has been recognized by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as a priority industry sector in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) to identify and provide intervention strategies regarding occupational health and safety issues. Surveys and analyses of trends and issues in manufacturing and investment around

3072-423: The ongoing process, occurring over the last few decades, of manufacture-based industries relocating operations to "developing-world" economies where the costs of production are significantly lower than in "developed-world" economies. From a financial perspective, the goal of the manufacturing industry is mainly to achieve cost benefits per unit produced, which in turn leads to cost reductions in product prices for

3136-615: The period, such as the increasing adoption of locomotives, steamboats and steamships, hot blast iron smelting and new technologies, such as the electrical telegraph , were widely introduced in the 1840s and 1850s, were not powerful enough to drive high rates of growth. Rapid economic growth began to occur after 1870, springing from a new group of innovations in what has been called the Second Industrial Revolution . These innovations included new steel making processes , mass-production , assembly lines , electrical grid systems,

3200-495: The presenter Christian Hough) show a variety of creative lighting techniques using Bowens products. A series of short videos entitled "Behind the Picture" (the company's strapline) follow photographers as they set up and work on shots. Manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor , machines , tools , and chemical or biological processing or formulation . It

3264-517: The production flow and some had special carriages for rolling heavy items into machining positions. Production of the Ford Model T used 32,000 machine tools. Lean manufacturing , also known as just-in-time manufacturing, was developed in Japan in the 1930s. It is a production method aimed primarily at reducing times within the production system as well as response times from suppliers and to customers. It

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3328-695: The programmer-developers and the everyday end users so both parties could maximize the use of the products effectively. A major example of the public's effects on end user's requirements were the public libraries. They have been affected by new technologies in many ways, ranging from the digitalization of their card catalog, the shift to e-books , e-journals , and offering online services. Libraries have had to undergo many changes in order to cope, including training existing librarians in Web 2.0 and database skills, to hiring IT and software experts. The aim of end user documentation (e.g., manuals and guidebooks for products)

3392-412: The right course of action. This needs to be kept in mind when developing products and services and the necessary documentation for them. Well-written documentation is needed for a user to reference. Some key aspects of such a documentation are: At times users do not refer to the documentation available to them due to various reasons, ranging from finding the manual too large or due to not understanding

3456-411: The risks involved. Reimers and Andersson have conducted a number of studies on end-user security habits and found that the same type of repeated education/training in security best practices can have a marked effect on the perception of compliance with good end-user network security habits, especially concerning malware and ransomware. In end-user license agreements , the end user is distinguished from

3520-466: The security threats and what they can do to avoid them or protect themselves and the organization. Clearly underlining, the capabilities and risks makes users more aware and informed whilst they are using the products. Some situations that could put the user at risk are: Even if the security measures in place are strong, the choices the user makes and his/her behavior have a major impact on how secure their information really is. Therefore, an informed user

3584-407: The software, the end users are the employees of the company, who will use the software at work. End users are one of the three major factors contributing to the complexity of managing information systems . The end user's position has changed from a position in the 1950s (where end users did not interact with the mainframe ; computer experts programmed and ran the mainframe) to one in the 2010s where

3648-431: The systems to suit their needs. The apparent drawbacks were the risk of corruption of the systems and data the users had control of, due to their lack of knowledge on how to properly operate the computer/software at an advanced level. For companies to appeal to the user, it took primary care to accommodate and think of end-users in their new products, software launches, and updates. A partnership needed to be formed between

3712-437: The then-well-known technique of chain or sequential production. Ford also bought or designed and built special purpose machine tools and fixtures such as multiple spindle drill presses that could drill every hole on one side of an engine block in one operation and a multiple head milling machine that could simultaneously machine 15 engine blocks held on a single fixture. All of these machine tools were arranged systematically in

3776-640: The value-added reseller, who installs the software or the organization that purchases and manages the software. Certain American defense-related products and information require export approval from the United States Government under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and Export Administration Regulations . In order to obtain a license to export, the exporter must specify both

3840-431: The world focus on such things as: In addition to general overviews, researchers have examined the features and factors affecting particular key aspects of manufacturing development. They have compared production and investment in a range of Western and non-Western countries and presented case studies of growth and performance in important individual industries and market-economic sectors. On June 26, 2009, Jeff Immelt ,

3904-626: Was acquired together with Calumet in June 2016 by the German based venture capitalists Aurelius in June 2016 and then entered liquidation in July 2017 citing competitive pressures. RSM Restructuring Advisory LLP were appointed liquidators of the company on 16 August 2017. 26 staff lost their job in the UK and the factory in China was closed. Bowens offered many products, ranging from their compact flash units, to their softboxes and accessories. The Bowens S fitting remains

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3968-833: Was introduced in Australia in the 1950s by the British Motor Corporation (Australia) at its Victoria Park plant in Sydney, from where the idea later migrated to Toyota. News spread to western countries from Japan in 1977 in two English-language articles: one referred to the methodology as the "Ohno system", after Taiichi Ohno , who was instrumental in its development within Toyota. The other article, by Toyota authors in an international journal, provided additional details. Finally, those and other publicity were translated into implementations, beginning in 1980 and then quickly multiplying throughout

4032-476: Was mechanized during the mid 19th century. Mass production of sewing machines and agricultural machinery such as reapers occurred in the mid to late 19th century. The mass production of bicycles started in the 1880s. Steam-powered factories became widespread, although the conversion from water power to steam occurred in England earlier than in the U.S. Electrification of factories, which had begun gradually in

4096-483: Was now used to handle 150 dozen bottles at a time whereas previously used hand trucks could only carry 6 dozen bottles at a time. Electric mixers replaced men with shovels handling sand and other ingredients that were fed into the glass furnace. An electric overhead crane replaced 36 day laborers for moving heavy loads across the factory. Mass production was popularized in the late 1910s and 1920s by Henry Ford 's Ford Motor Company , which introduced electric motors to

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