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Fortnite
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Not to be confused with fortnight.
Fortnite
Genres
Survival, battle royale
Developer(s)
Epic Games
Publisher(s)
Epic Games
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android
Platform of origin
Windows
Year of inception
2017
Fortnite is an online video game first released in 2017 and developed by Epic Games. It is available as separate software packages having different game modes that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine. The game modes include Fortnite: Save the World, a cooperative shooter-survival game for up to four players to fight off zombie-like creatures and defend objects with fortifications they can build, and Fortnite Battle Royale, a free-to-play battle royale game where up to 100 players fight to be the last person standing. Both game modes were released in 2017 as early access titles; Save the World is available only for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, while Battle Royale has been released for those platforms in addition for Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android devices.
While both games have been successful for Epic Games, Fortnite Battle Royale became a resounding success, drawing in more than 125 million players in less than a year, and earning hundreds of millions of dollars per month, and since has been a cultural phenomenon.
Contents
1 Game modes
2 Development
2.1 Fortnite: Save the World
2.2 Fortnite Battle Royale
3 Reception
3.1 Awards
4 References
5 External links
Game modes
Currently, Fortnite is distributed as two different games, though each game uses the same engine and has similar graphics, art assets, and game mechanics.
Main article: Fortnite: Save the World
Fortnite: Save the World is designed as player-versus-environment game, with four players cooperating towards a common objective on various missions. The game is set after a fluke storm appears across Earth, causing 98% of the population to disappear, and the survivors to be attacked by zombie-like "husks". The players take the role of commanders of home base shelters, collecting resources, saving survivors, and defending equipment that help to either collect data on the storm or to push back the storm. From missions, players are awarded a number of in-game items, which include hero characters, weapon and trap schematics, and survivors, all of which can be leveled up through gained experience to improve their attributes.
Main article: Fortnite Battle Royale
Fortnite Battle Royale is a player-versus-player battle royale game for up to 100 players, allowing one to play alone, in a duo, or in a squad (usually consisting of three or four players). Weaponless players airdrop from a "Battle Bus" that crosses the game's map. When they land, they must scavenge for weapons, items, and resources while trying to stay alive and attack other players. Over the course of a round, the safe area of the map shrinks down in size due to an incoming storm; players outside that safe area take damage and can be killed. This forces remaining players into tighter spaces and encourages player encounters. The last player, duo, or squad alive is the winner.
In both modes, players can use a pickaxe to knock down existing structures on the map to collect basic resources that are wood, brick, and metal. Subsequently, the player can use these materials to build fortifications with, such as walls, floors, and stairs. Such fortification pieces can be edited to add things like windows or doors. The materials used have different durability properties and can be updated to stronger variants using more materials of the same type. Within "Save the World" this enables players to create defensive fortifications around an objective or trap-filled tunnels to lure husks through. In "Battle Royale", this provides the means to quickly traverse the map, protect oneself from enemy fire, or to delay an advancing foe.
Both game modes are set to be free-to-play titles, though presently, "Save the World" is in early access and requires purchase to play. Both games are monetized through the use of V-Bucks, in-game currency that can be purchased with real-world funds, but also earned through completing missions and other achievements in "Save the World". V-Bucks in "Save the World" can be used to buy pinatas shaped like llamas to gain a random selection of items. In "Battle Royale", V-Bucks can be used to buy cosmetic items like character models or the like, or can also be used to purchase the game's Battle Pass, a tiered progression of customization rewards for gaining experience and completing certain objectives during the course of a "Battle Royale" season.[1][2]
Development
Fortnite: Save the World
Main article: Fortnite: Save the World § Development
Fortnite began from an internal game jam at Epic Games following the publishing of Gears of War 3 around 2011. Though it was not initially one of the developed titles during the jam, the concept of merging the construction game genre, representing games like Minecraft and Terraria, and shooter games arose, leading to the foundation of Fortnite.[3][4] Development of Fortnite slowed due to several issues, including switching from the Unreal Engine 3 to Unreal 4, a deeper role-playing game approach to extend the life of the game, and a switch of art style from a dark theme to a more cartoonish style. Further, Epic was looking to get into the games as a service model, and brought in Chinese publisher Tencent to help; Tencent took a large stake in Epic as part of this, leading to the departure of several executives, including Cliff Bleszinski, who had been a key part of Fortnite's development. Fortnite's approach was changed to be Epic's testbed for games as a service, and further slowed the development.[5][4][6]
Ultimately, Epic was able to prepare to release Fortnite as a paid early access title in July 2017, with plans to release it as free-to-play sometime in 2019 while gaining feedback from players to improve the game.[7][8][9][10] With the release of Fortnite Battle Royale, the player-versus-environment mode was distinguished as "Save the World".
Fortnite Battle Royale
Main article: Fortnite Battle Royale § Development
Near the same time that Epic released Fortnite into early access, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds had become a worldwide phenomenon, having sold over 5 million copies three months from its March 2017 release, and drawing strong interest in the battle royale genre. Epic recognized that with the Fortnite base game, they could also do a battle royale mode, and rapidly developed their own version atop Fortnite in about two months.[11] By September 2017, Epic was ready to release this as a second mode from "Save the World" in the paid-for earlier access, but then later decided to release it as a free game, Fortnite Battle Royale, supported with microtransactions. This version quickly gained players, with over 10 million players during its first two weeks of release, and leading Epic to create separate teams to continue the Fortnite Battle Royale development apart from the "Save the World" mode, outside of common engine elements and art assets.[12][13] This allowed Fortnite Battle Royale to expand to other platforms otherwise not supported by the "Save the World" mode, including iOS and Android mobile devices and the Nintendo Switch.[14][15]
Reception
The Fortnite Pro-Am event at E3 2018
See also: Fortnite: Save the World § Reception, and Fortnite Battle Royale § Reception
With both modes of Fortnite still considered to be early access, journalists have yet to provide comprehensive reviews of either mode.
The Save the World mode achieved over one million players by August 2017, just prior to the release of Battle Royale.[16]
Fortnite Battle Royale, on the other hand, became a significant financial success for Epic Games, leading them to separate the teams between Save the World and Battle Royale to provide better support for both modes. Within two weeks of release, over 10 million players had played the mode,[17] and by June 2018, just after the Nintendo Switch release, had reached 125 million players.[18] Revenue from Fortnite Battle Royale during the first half of 2018 had been estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars per month.[19][20]
Fortnite Battle Royale has also become a cultural online phenomenon, with several celebrities reporting they play the game, and athletes using Fortnite emotes as victory celebrations.[21] A notable streaming event in March 2018, with streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins playing Fortnite Battle Royale alongside Drake, Travis Scott, Kim DotCom, and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, broke viewership records for Twitch to date, and led to Epic arranging a Fortnite Battle Royale pro–am with 50 pairs of streamers and professional players matched with celebrities at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 in June 2018.[22][23][24] Epic Games is working to develop organized eSports competitions around Fortnite: Battle Royale, including a Fortnite World Cup tournament in 2019.[25]
There has also been growing concern over Fortnite Battle Royale's draw toward young children, emphasized with the release of the mobile client. Parents and teachers had expressed concern that students are being distracted and drawn away from school work due to playing Fortnite.[26] Concerns have also been raised about the impact that playing a game involving repeated gun violence may have on young children.[27][28]
Awards
The game was nominated for "Best Co-op Game" by PC Gamer,[29] and for "Best Spectator Game" by IGN.[30]
Year
Award
Category
Result
Ref(s).
2017 The Game Awards 2017 Best Multiplayer Nominated [31]
2018 16th Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Visual Effects in a Real-Time Project (A Hard Day's Night) Nominated [32][33]
D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay Nominated [34][35]
SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in Multiplayer Nominated [36][37]
Excellence in Gameplay Nominated
14th British Academy Games Awards Best Evolving Game Nominated [38][39]
Best Multiplayer Nominated
Webby Awards People's Voice Award for Best Multiplayer/Competitive Game Won [40]
Game Critics Awards Best Ongoing Game Won [41][42]
Develop Awards Best Animation Nominated [43][44]
Teen Choice Awards Choice Videogame Won [45][46]
Golden Joystick Awards Best Competitive Game Pending [47]
Mobile Game of the Year Pending
References
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^ Jump up to: a b Inside the Development History of Fortnite. Game Informer. YouTube. April 25, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
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Zero-based budgeting
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Zero-based budgeting originated in the 1970s. Many businesses will budget and plan out things to maintain financials. In the past, businesses would only look at specific things and would assume that everything is already in place and does not need to be double-checked. However, in zero-based budgeting, everything that is to be budgeted needs to be approved. Since zero-based budgeting requires an approval for budgeting, this means that budgets are started from a zero-base, with a fresh decision on everything being made every year.
Contents
1 Creator and Definition
2 Misconceptions
3 Advantages
4 Disadvantages
5 Use in Public and Private Sectors
5.1 Background
5.2 Components of a public sector ZBB analysis
5.3 Importance of performance measures
5.4 Impact on government operations
5.5 Use in the Chinese Public Sector
5.6 Use in Private Sector
5.7 Impact of ZBB on stockholders
6 See also
7 References
Creator and Definition[edit]
As an accounting manager for Texas Instruments, Pete Pyhrr created zero-based budgeting. In an interview by People magazine, he stated that many line items were historically and traditionally budgeted regardless of the need for the item. Mr. Pyhrr was subsequently asked by Georgia governor Jimmy Carter to manage the Georgia budget process. Pyhrr authored "Zero Based Budgeting: A Practical Management Tool for Evaluating Expenses".[1]
According to Peter Sarant, former director of management analysis training for the United States Civil Service Commission, ZBB is "a technique which complements and links to existing planning, budgeting and review processes. It identifies alternative and efficient methods of utilizing limited resources. It is a flexible management approach which provides a credible rationale for reallocating resources by focusing on a systematic review and justification of the funding and performance levels of current programs."
Zero-based budgeting is a method of budgeting in which all expenses must be justified for each new period. Zero-based budgeting starts from a "zero base" and every function within an organization is analyzed for its needs and costs. Budgets are then built around what is needed for the upcoming period regardless of whether the budget is higher or lower than the previous one.
ZBB allows top-level strategic goals to be implemented into the budgeting process by tying them to specific functional areas of the organization. Costs can be first grouped, then measured against previous results and current expectations.
Misconceptions[edit]
There are five misconceptions about Zero-Based Budgeting that can make financial advisers shy away from using this type of budgeting.
1. The idea that zero-based budgeting is just starting your budget from a zero sum.
The reality is that zero-based budgeting uses an approach that can facilitate cost viability, cost governance, and cost accountability. Using zero based budgeting correctly can lead to better cost management.
2. Using zero-based budgeting is cutting a budget to ribbons.
The reality is that the amount of budget cutting depends on what the company/government body wants to do. This type of budget cutting also depends on the bodies top-down savings target.
3. Zero-based budgeting can bog down a business and stop it from doing anything else.
The reality is that yes, introducing a new cost management culture within a new business/government body can take some time, it does not always have to create stops. Having a team to implement this type of change can help make the transition easier.
4. Zero-based budgeting only focuses on Selling, General, and Administrative Costs (SG&A)
The reality is that this type of budgeting tool can be used in any type of cost. The main purposes of zero based budgeting is accountability, viability, aligned incentives, and a rigorous process and all of these can be important to any type of costs.
5. Zero-based budgeting was not created for growth oriented companies.
The reality is that zero-based budgeting can be used at any company/government body whether it is being used for cost saving or growth. Zero-based budgeting is not a full slash and burn budgeting technique it can be used in situations to provide strong visibility within a body to create more success.[2]
Advantages[edit]
Accuracy: This type of budgeting help companies to look over every department to make sure they are getting the correct amount of money.
Efficiency: It helps judge actual need by focusing on current numbers instead of past budgets.
Reduction in wasteful spending: It can remove redundant spending by reexamining potentially unnecessary expenditures.
Coordination and Communication: It allows for better communication within departments by involving employees in decision-making and budget prioritization.
[3]
Disadvantages[edit]
Bureaucracy: Creating ZBB within a company can take enormous amounts of time, effort, and analysis that would require extra staff. This could cause the process to be counter productive in cutting costs.
Corruption: In using ZBB, managers could attempt to skew numbers to make expenditures into vital activities, thus creating a "need" for them. This would cause companies to continue wasting money on things they don't need.
Intangible Justifications: This type of budgeting requires departments to justify their budget, which can be difficult on many levels. Departments such as advertising and marketing have to justify expenses they may or may not use in the next year due to the fluctuation of the market. This could cost them profits in the future due to not being able to justify a certain amount.
Managerial Time: ZBB comes at the cost of time and extra training for managers. This means extra time every year to do the budget, make adjustments, and receive the proper training to understand how to do ZBB.
Slower Response Time: Due to the amount of time and training is required to do ZBB, managerial staff could be less likely to revise the budget in response to a changing market. This means that it will take longer for a company to move money into departments that need it the most at the time. ZBB could potentially leave gaps in a company because the budget might not react to departments' sudden needs.
[4]
Use in Public and Private Sectors[edit]
Background[edit]
Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) in the public sector versus the private sector is a different process. "The use of ZBB in the private sector has been limited primarily to administrative overhead activities (i.e. administrative expenses needed to maintain the organization.:51 In the United States Zero-based budgeting was developed in 1969 at Texas Instrument Inc. Jimmy Carter, Governor of Georgia, was the first to adopt the process of zero-base into the government for the preparation of the fiscal of 1973 budget. Three years later, sponsored by the President and Congress the federal government for the first time implemented zero-base budgeting in The Government Economy and Spending Reform act of 1976.[5]
President Carter later required the adoption of ZBB by the federal government during the late 1970s. "Zero-Base Budgeting (ZBB) was an executive branch budget formulation process introduced into the federal government in 1977. Its main focus was on optimizing accomplishments available at alternative budgetary levels. Under ZBB agencies were expected to set priorities based on the program results that could be achieved at alternative spending levels, one of which was to be below current funding."[6]
For the most part in government, the main users of ZBB are the legislative, executive, and the agency. The legislative includes the congress, state legislature, and city council, and they require more summarization and focusing on public priorities and objectives. Agencies include the agency director and department managers and they require more detailed information and focus on program implementation and efficiency. Lastly, the executive includes the President, governors, mayor/city manager and they focus on the needs of the legislature and agency.[5] Although the legislative, the agency, and the executive have different focuses they all have to address two standard questions:
Are the current activities efficient and effective?
Should current activities be eliminated or reduced to fund higher-priority new programs? Or to reduce the current budget?[5]
According to Peter Sarant, the former director of management analysis training for the US Civil Service Commission during the Carter ZBB implementation effort, "ZBB means 'different things to different people'." Some definitions imply that zero-based budgeting is the act of starting budgets from scratch or requiring each program or activity to be justified from the ground up. This is not true; the acronym ZBB is a misnomer. ZBB is a misnomer because in many large agencies a complete zero-base review of all program elements during one budget period is not feasible; it would result in excessive paperwork and be an almost impossible task if implemented."[7]:3 In many respects the "common misunderstanding" of ZBB noted above resembles a "sunset review" process more than a traditional public sector ZBB process.
Components of a public sector ZBB analysis[edit]
In an overview of zero-based budgeting, there are a total of three elements that make up the concept:
Decision Unit Determination
This is the building process of the formulation of a budget structure.
Decision Package Formulation
When compiling and packaging a budget request, this mechanism is utilized.
Ranking
This process requires the most attention as it requires a company's manager(s) to prioritize out of a group of decision packages that are laid out to them.
In general there are three components that make up public sector ZBB:
Identify three alternate funding levels for each decision unit (Traditionally, this has been a zero-base level, a current funding level and an enhanced service level.);
Determine the impact of these funding levels on program (decision unit) operations using program performance metrics; and
Rank the program "decision packages" for the three funding levels.
In many cases, program staffers were asked to look for alternative service delivery models that could deliver services more efficiently at lower funding level.
The US General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed past performance budgeting initiatives in 1997 and found that ZBBs "main focus was on optimizing accomplishments available at alternative budgetary levels:
Set priorities based on the program results that could be achieved at alternative spending levels, one of which was to be below current funding.
In developing budget forms, these were to be ranked against each other sequentially from the lowest level organizations up through the department and without reference to a past base.
In concept, ZBB sought a precise link between budgetary resources and program results."[6]:6
Further, "ZBB illustrated the usefulness of:
Defining and presenting alternative funding levels; and
Expanded participation of program managers in the budget process."
The federal ZBB budgeting system had the following components: "Budget requests for each decision unit were to be prepared by their managers, who would (1) identify alternative approaches to achieving the unit's objectives, (2) identify several alternative funding levels, including a "minimum" level normally below current funding, (3) prepare "decision packages" according to a prescribed format for each unit, including budget and performance information, and (4) rank the decision packages against each other."[6]:6
ZBB was officially eliminated in federal budgeting on August 7, 1981. "Some participants in the budget process as well as other observers attributed certain program efficiencies, arising from the consideration of alternatives, to ZBB. ZBB established within federal budgeting a requirement to:
Present alternative levels of funding; and
Link (them) to alternative results."[6]:6
This element of the ZBB budgeting process remained in effect through the Reagan, Bush and early Clinton administrations before being eliminated in 1994.
→Defining the government program zero-base:
As noted earlier, there is often considerable confusion over the meaning of zero-base budgeting. There is no evidence that public sector ZBB has ever included "building budgets from the bottom up" and "reviewing every invoice" as part of the analysis. In discussions of ZBB, there is often confusion between a ZBB process and a sunset review process. In a sunset review the entire function is eliminated unless evidence is provided of program effectiveness. This confusion ultimately leads to the question: what is a zero-base?
Sarant's definition of the zero-base based on the federal training experience is: "A minimum level is actually the grass roots funding level necessary to keep a program alive. Therefore, the minimal level is the "program or funding level below which it is not feasible to continue a program... because no constructive contribution can be made toward fulfilling its objective."[7]:73 Identifying this level of program funding has been subjective and problematic.
Consequently, "some states have selected arbitrary percentages to ensure that an amount smaller than last year's request in considered. They do this by stipulating that one alternative must be 50, 80, or 90 percent of last year's request."[8]:52 This equates to analyzing the impact on program operations of a 10, 20 or 50 percent reduction in funding as the "zero base" funding level.
Importance of performance measures[edit]
Performance measures are a key component of the ZBB process. At the core, ZBB requires quality measures that can be used to analyze the impact of alternative funding scenarios on program operations and outcomes. Without quality measures ZBB simply will not work because decision packages cannot be ranked. To perform a ZBB analysis "alternative decision packages are prepared and ranked, thus allowing marginal utility and comparative analysis."[8]:52
Traditionally, a ZBB analysis focused on three types of measures. "They (federal agency program staff) were to identify the key indicators to be used in measuring performance and results. These should be "measures of:
effectiveness,
efficiency, and
workload for each decision unit.
Indirect or proxy indicators could be used if these systems did not exist or were under development."[6]:6
Impact on government operations[edit]
According to the GAO:
"Agencies believed that inadequate time had been allowed to implement the new initiative. The requirement to compress planning and budgeting functions within the time frames of the budget cycle had proven especially difficult, affecting program managers' ability to identify alternative approaches to accomplishing agency objectives. Some agency officials also believed that the performance information needed for ZBB analysis was lacking."[6]:50–51
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures:[9]
"In its original sense, ZBB meant that no past decisions are taken for granted. Every previous budget decision is up for review. Existing and proposed programs are on an equal footing, and the traditional state practice of altering almost all existing budget lines by small amounts every year or two would be swept away. No state government has ever found this feasible. Even Georgia, where Governor Jimmy Carter introduced ZBB to state budgeting in 1971, employed a much modified form.
State programs are not, in practice, amenable to such a radical annual re-examination. Statutes, obligations to local governments, requirements of the federal government, and other past decisions have many times created state funding commitments that are almost impossible to change very much in the short run. Education funding levels are determined in many states partly by state and federal judicial decisions and state constitutional provisions, as well as by statutes. Federal mandates require that state Medicaid funding meet a specific minimum level if Medicaid is to exist at all in a state. Federal law affects environmental program spending, and both state and federal courts help determine state spending on prisons. Much state spending, therefore, cannot usefully be subjected to the kind of fundamental re-examination that ZBB in its original form envisions.
To the extent that ZBB has encouraged governors and legislators to take a hard look at the impact of incremental changes in state spending, it produced a significant improvement in state budgeting. But in its classic form – begin all budget evaluations from zero – ZBB is as unworkable as it ever was."
Use in the Chinese Public Sector[edit]
The concept of ZBB was first introduced to China in the beginning of the 1990s and was primarily focused in the Hubei Province area of China. Just as the United States encountered many problems and failures with ZBB, China too ran into them as well. But even with the numerous problems and failures along the way, they have gradually adjusted appropriately since then to become more effective on using ZBB as a budget reform. Western influence on budgeting was non-existent in China before 1993. It was during the 1990s that China began looking out for a new and modern form of budgeting for their country’s nationwide budget reform. They ended up settling on ZBB. A new policy was set in place to put ZBB into action, known as the DBR, or the Departmental Budgeting Reform. The DBR and ZBB were first implemented in the Hubei province of China. According to Jun Ma, a professor at the university of Nebraska, the beginning years of ZBB in Hubei were a bit rocky as the DBR had not yet been implemented into all the state departments in Hubei. Only a few departments implemented the budgeting system and the results of multiple departments using multiple budgeting systems were not good. It slowly became clear that using ZBB in a traditional sense would not work out. Officials in the Hubei province and the DBR began looking for ways to incorporate the best parts of ZBB and form a new budgeting system that would work for their needs. The result of this change was a Chinese-styled Target-Based Budgeting system. This form of budgeting required bureaucracies and agencies to submit a simple budget within a pre-set time limit. TBB, as a modified form of ZBB, has worked out moderately okay for the Chinese government in Hubei over the years, but many problems still face the budgeting system.
Some number of issues ranging from the absence of a unified budget and certain expenditures that are somehow exempt from the ZBB process, to the influence or effects of political factors have been widely noted.
Absence of a Budget Unification- Though the Hubei Province has developed a thorough budget by combining expenditures and off-budget revenues into the budget, there yet remains certain types of expenses that are still under the control of certain individuals other than the government Finance Department. Because of this, the difficulty of prioritizing all the possible government programs becomes confusing.
Political Factor Influences- No matter what the term or whose term it is, political officials have always had a certain plan or change that they would like to implement that would greatly influence the prioritizing process of ZBB. Certain political officials could say they greatly support a certain program and would like the Finance Department to focus more money into that particular program whilst other political officials would think otherwise. Therefore, any real changes or improvements made will always face opposition unless you have a unified political support.
Expenditure exemptions- Ranging from operating and personnel expenses to central government policies that are unfunded that start after the budget year, these are just to name a few things that are excluded from the ZBB process. By not including a large portion of spending into the ZBB process, the effectiveness potential of these reforms becomes greatly reduced.
Two notable reforms to the ZBB process include having departments submit budget requests and the use of sunset legislation.
Budget requests- These requests are to reflect (1) a cut of a certain percentage, (2) current level of spending, and (3) an increase of a certain percentage. This allows the opportunity of trading between departments of the funding of a lower priority of one department to a higher priority of another.
Sunset legislation- This process places a sense of urgency on certain programs implemented or that are currently being funded as that program shall be placed under review to determine efficiency & effectiveness ,and see whether the public or government really need this program. (Bunch) [10]
Use in Private Sector[edit]
3G Capital has become successful using ZBB within their company. Their merger with Kraft Foods in 2015 no doubt helped in making its use successful. This use of ZBB might have continued the subjective notion that this budgeting style is a fix-all for businesses trying to lighten the load of a new company.[11] However, this merger did trigger the use of ZBB within the company and made Kraft Foods review and shave down things like cutting hundreds of management jobs, jettisoning corporate jets, to requiring employees to ask to make photocopies.[12]
Impact of ZBB on stockholders[edit]
The use of ZBB within 3G Capital has been profitable for stockholders. When 3G Capital quickly cut costs within Kraft, their stock prices increased 36% as a direct result. This type of budgeting enabled companies like Kraft to compete again on price with some of the leaner competition, that had previously undercut Kraft's prices. Zero-based budgeting helps more money to flow to stockholders than into unused departments, over-funded programs, and wasteful spending habits.[12]
See also[edit]
Envelope system
Participatory budgeting
Personal budget
Programme budgeting
Zero deficit budget
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Kesmodel, David (27 March 2015). "Meet the Father of Zero-Based Budgeting" – via Wall Street Journal.
Jump up ^ Shaun Callaghan; Kyle Hawke; Carey Mignerey (October 2014). "Five myths (and realities) about zero-based budgeting". Missing or empty |url= (help)
Jump up ^ https://efinancemanagement.com/budgeting/zero-based-budgeting-meaning-advantages-disadvantages
Jump up ^ http://www.accountingtools.com/zero-based-budgeting
^ Jump up to: a b c Pyhrr, Peter A. "The Zero-Base Approach To Government Budgeting." PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Jan. 1977.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f GAO, Performance Budgeting: Past Initiatives Offer Insights for GPRA Implementation (March 1997).
^ Jump up to: a b Peter Sarant, Zero-base Budgeting in the Public Sector, A Pragmatic Approach (Addison-Wesley 1978).
^ Jump up to: a b Thomas D. Lynch, Public Budgeting in America (Prentice Hall, 3rd Edition, 1990).
Jump up ^ National Conference of State Legislatures, Fundamentals of Sound Budgeting Practices, June 1995 http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/BudgetTax/FundamentalsofSoundStateBudgetingPractices/tabid/12653/Default.aspx
Jump up ^ http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=c3a1dffa-07f1-40ee-bdd6-9b8d214840cd@sessionmgr4007&vid=1&hid=4203
Jump up ^ https://hbr.org/2016/06/zero-based-budgeting-is-not-a-wonder-diet-for-companies
^ Jump up to: a b https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-heinz-to-kraft-zero-based-budgeting-sweeps-across-america-1427308494
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text:
Shiver my timbers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the phrase. For the Tom Waits song, see The Heart of Saturday Night.
Pray, Sir, is this the way to Stretchit?
"Shiver my top-sails, my Laſs, if I know a better way."
"Shiver me timbers" (or "shiver my timbers" in Standard English ) is an exclamation in the form of a mock oath usually attributed to the speech of pirates in works of fiction. It is employed as a literary device by authors to express shock, surprise or annoyance. The phrase is based on real nautical slang and is a reference to the timbers, which are the wooden support frames of a sailing ship. In heavy seas, ships would be lifted up and pounded down so hard as to "shiver" the timbers, startling the sailors. Such an exclamation was meant to convey a feeling of fear and awe, similar to, "Well, blow me down!", or, "May God strike me alive and well". Shiver is also reminiscent of the splintering of a ship's timbers in battle – splinter wounds were a common form of battle injury on wooden ships ('shiver' means splinter in some English dialects). Can also be used as an expression of being "cold to the bone".
Contents
[hide]
1 History
1.1 Pirate stereotypes
2 In popular culture
3 References
History[edit]
Although the Oxford English Dictionary says the expression "shiver my timbers" probably first appeared in a published work by Frederick Marryat called Jacob Faithful (1835),[1] the phrase actually appeared in print as early as 1795, in a serial publication called "Tomahawk, or Censor General",[2] which gives an "extract of a new MS tragedy called 'Opposition'." In the words of the "old sailor":
"Peace? Shiver my timbers! what a noise ye make – ye seem to be fonder of peace than ye be of quiet."
...
"Lather me! – Shiver my timbers. if so be he comes athwart me – I'll soon lower his topsails for him – Here's King George and old England for ever!"
The phrase appears in a news article: August 23, 1832 The Times from London, · Page 2 [3] showing that the phrase was in use at the time.
"yarn about the Emp'ror 0 Rushy and we a' i2 Taiaxera; and shiver my timbers if I ah ..."
The Argus Newspaper Archive: November 10, 1839 - Page 9 [4] records the use in the news event as: "As for nine French men-of-war are laying along side us jist now, and overhauling our rigging and tactics, splinter my timbers into shivers if I don't think they are all buccaneers..." would indicate the meaning of "shivers" as the breaking into wedges, small pieces or slivers. Alternatively the word "slivers" itself (meaning a small, thin, narrow piece of something cut or split off a larger piece, which also defines a "splinter"), may be the word "shivers" expresses. The exact phrase is used earlier on the same page "Here's a breeze in a bumboat! shiver my timbers and top-lights, what will our Majesty's loblolly-boys say...". While the exact meaning may be different, the use was still that of an exclamation.
The expression is a derivative of actual 18th century nautical slang, when the phrase "timbers!" or "my timbers!" meant an exclamation (cf. "my goodness!") as can be seen in Poor Jack, a song from 1789 by Charles Dibdin.[5]
The opening of the phrase, 'shiver my..', also predates Jacob Faithful with the following lines from John O'Keeffe's 1791 comic play Wild Oats an earlier example:
Harry: I say it's false.
John: False! Shiver my hulk, Mr. Buckskin, if you wore a lion's skin I'd curry you for this.
Pirate stereotypes[edit]
"Shiver my timbers" was most famously popularized by the archetypal pirate Long John Silver in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883). Silver used the phrase seven times, as well as variations such as "shiver my sides", "shiver my soul" and "shake up your timbers". Another pirate, Israel Hands, also uses the phrase at one point.
Marryat and Stevenson both wrote grammatically correct Victorian fiction, even when their characters were pirates. The use of "me" instead of "my", which is common to many British regional accents, has appeared in popular culture such as with Popeye; in fact, one of his earliest cartoons from 1934 is entitled Shiver Me Timbers! The phrase was also commonly used in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons books, where it was said at least once in almost every book, most commonly by "Amazon Pirate" Nancy Blackett.
In popular culture[edit]
"Shiver me timbers" and "blow me down" are commonly said by Popeye.
The opening number of the children's film Muppet Treasure Island is entitled "Shiver My Timbers." Several of the variants used in the original book are present in the chorus, including "shiver my soul," "shiver my bones," "shiver my sides," and "shiver my sails."
In the Canadian CGI-animated action-adventure cartoon series ReBoot, the software pirate captain Gavin Capacitor uses the pirate catchphrase mutation "Shiver me templates!".
In the Monk episode "Mr. Monk is On the Air", Steven Weber's radio jockey character says a variation on the exclamation ("jiggle me timbers") on the air as his new catchphrase and this is revealed to be an important plot device in the episode.
Tom Waits' 1974 album The Heart of Saturday Night includes his song by this name.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Shiver". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 1989. c. shiver my timbers: a mock oath attributed in comic fiction to sailors. 1835 MARRYAT J. Faithful ix, I won't thrash you Tom. Shiver my timbers if I do. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Jump up ^ Tomahawk, (November 6, 1795), p. 37.
Jump up ^ https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/32896680
Jump up ^ url=https://newspaperarchive.com/uk/middlesex/london/argus-london-middlesex/1839/11-10/page-9 |The Argus Newspaper Archive: November 10, 1839 - Page 9
Jump up ^ "Timber". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 1989. c. Naut. slang, in exclamations, as my timbers! shiver my timbers! (see SHIVER v.). 1789 DIBDIN Song, Poor Jack ii, My timbers! what lingo he'd coil and belay. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Look up shiver my timbers in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
[show]
v
t
e
Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island
Characters
Billy Bones
Captain Alexander Smollett
Captain Flint
Ben Gunn
Israel Hands
Jim Hawkins
Dr. Livesey
Long John Silver
Squire Trelawney
Films
Treasure Island (1918)
Treasure Island (1920)
Treasure Island (1934)
The Secret of Treasure Island (1938)
Treasure Island (1950)
Long John Silver (1954)
Return to Treasure Island (1954)
Animal Treasure Island (1971)
Treasure Island (1972, live-action)
Treasure Island (1972, animated)
The Treasure Planet (1982)
Treasure Island (1982)
Treasure Island (1985)
Treasure Island (1987)
Treasure Island (1988)
Treasure Island (1990)
Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
Treasure Island (1999)
Treasure Planet (2002)
Pirates of Treasure Island (2006)
Hawkins and Silver (TBA)
Television
The Adventures of Long John Silver (1958)
Treasure Island (1977)
Treasure Island (1978)
Return to Treasure Island (1986)
Treasure Island in Outer Space (1987)
The Legends of Treasure Island (1993)
Treasure Island (2012)
Black Sails (2014)
Video games
Pirate Adventure (1978)
Treasure Island (1984)
Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon (2002)
Destination Treasure Island (2007)
Other adaptations
Pieces of Eight (musical)
Godspeed (novel)
The Resurrection Casket (novel)
Related
Black Spot
Legend of the Cybermen
Silver
"Shiver my timbers"
"Dead Man's Chest"
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