Health Care Financial Accounting

How to Conjugate Reconnaître (to Recognize) in French

How to Conjugate Reconnaà ®tre (to Recognize) in French When you want to say I recognized or we will recognize in French, youll use the verb  reconnaà ®tre. In order to change it into the past or future tense, however, you will need to know its conjugations. This may not be the easiest French lesson, but we will show you how to form the essential forms of  reconnaà ®re  that youll need. The Basic Conjugations of  Reconnaà ®tre In French, there are easy verb conjugations and some that are more of a challenge. Reconnaà ®tre falls into the latter category. Thats because it is an irregular verb, so it does not follow a common rule in the conjugations. However, nearly all French verbs ending in -aà ®tre are conjugated this way. If you study a few together, each can be a little easier. For  reconnaà ®tre, the verb stem (or radical) is  reconn-. To this, you will add a variety of endings that match both the subject pronoun and the tense. This chart will help you learn the basics, including the common present, future, and imperfect past tenses. As an example, I recognize is  je reconnais  and we will recognize is  nous reconnaà ®trons. Practicing these in context will help you memorize them. Present Future Imperfect je reconnais reconnatrai reconnaissais tu reconnais reconnatras reconnaissais il reconnat reconnatra reconnaissait nous reconnaissons reconnatrons reconnaissions vous reconnaissez reconnatrez reconnaissiez ils reconnaissent reconnatront reconnaissaient The Present Participle of  Reconnaà ®tre The  present participle  of  reconnaà ®tre  is  reconnaissant. It is a verb, though there are some circumstances in which you can use it as an adjective or noun as well. Reconnaà ®tre  in the Compound Past Tense The compound past tense in French is called the  passà © composà ©. It requires use of the  past participle  reconnu  and the present tense conjugate of the auxiliary verb  avoir. For example, I recognized is  jai reconnu  and we recognized is  nous avons reconnu. More Simple Conjugations of  Reconnaà ®tre When youre unsure if you recognize something, you might use  the subjunctive verb mood. On the other hand, if youll only recognize something if something else happens, you can use  the conditional. In formal literature, you will find either the passà © simple  or  the imperfect subjunctive  forms of  reconnaà ®tre. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je reconnaisse reconnatrais reconnus reconnusse tu reconnaisses reconnatrais reconnus reconnusses il reconnaisse reconnatrait reconnut reconnt nous reconnaissions reconnatrions reconnmes reconnussions vous reconnaissiez reconnatriez reconntes reconnussiez ils reconnaissent reconnatraient reconnurent reconnussent The French imperative  drops all formality and skips the subject pronoun. When using  reconnaà ®tre  in direct statements, you can simplify it from  tu  reconnais  to  reconnais. Imperative (tu) reconnais (nous) reconnaissons (vous) reconnaissez

Diversity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Diversity - Research Paper Example Festivals function to meet particular needs, on top of providing amusement. These occasions of celebrations present a feeling of belonging for social, religious or geographical groups. A hobby refers to a habitual interest or activity, which is embarked on for joy, customarily done in one’s leisure. A mix of vegetables and meat and several kinds of white bread comprise the main diets. There is custom for baking white bread, which is flattened (tandyr, lavash,churek). Kuftebozbash (potatoes and meat in a reedy sauce) is also a widespread dish. Crammed pepper leaves, as well as soups likewise form a part of everyday meals. The broth borsch as well as other Russian food is part of the cookery too. Azeri’s restaurants offer numerous varieties of kebabas an international cuisine (WTG, 2013). At ceremonial occasions, steamed rice (Pulov) adorned with raisins and apricots are main dish during ritual festivities. It is taken alongside onions, meat and fried chestnuts. In the holiday of Novruz, wheat is sautà ©ed with nuts and raisins (gavurga) (Azer-embassy, 2012). Every homestead should have seven kinds of nuts upon a platter. Sweets like paklava (a rhombus-shaped finely coated pastry covered with sugar and nuts) as well as shakarbura (a pastry of thin bread covered with nuts sugar and nuts) are an essential part of festivities. On weddings, various kebabs and pulovare supplemented byshyra (a sweet nonalcoholic drink) as well as alcohol too. At burials, the major dish is usually meat and pulov, dished up with shyra and then followed with tea. The most observed traditional Azerbaijani festival is Novruz Bayram that is the customary festivity of the primordial New Year. Bayram Novruz is a festival celebrated by family. During the evening, a fore the feast the entire family assembles around the feast table arranged with numerous dishes to

E-Payment Systems Assignemnt Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

E-Payment Systems Assignemnt - Assignment Example The report will also try to underline a comparison among the mentioned methods. Apart from that the report will also emphasize on the aspect of database security of the seller. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Method 1: Credit or Debit Card 5 Method 2: Cash on Delivery 6 8 Method 3: Mobile Phone Payment 8 Matrix Comparison 10 Security 11 References 12 Introduction In spite of the incident of dot-com bust, internet has changed the way organizations carry out their business. Internet helps an organization in finding new avenues of generating revenue, achieving new set of customers and also managing the supply chain of the business. Internet has significantly impacted on the global economy (Reynolds, 2004, p.5). Organizations also understood that internet is one the best medium of carrying out the business in a cost effective way and directly selling the products to the end user, thereby restricting entry of any third party. Thus during the early 1990’s the co ncept of e-commerce were hugely incorporated into the business process of the organizations. Electronic commerce or what is commonly known as e-commerce is an application which facilitates online selling and buying of goods and services. It offers online fund transfer; Electronic Data Exchange (EDI), online marketing and different other applications. The major advantages of using e-commerce are maximization of speed in the context of service delivery, reduction in the overall cost and also quicker response to the customers. Electronic commerce also plays crucial role in the process of online payment. Online payment method refers to the process of directly transferring funds to the seller’s bank account. The biggest advantage of an online payment option is that it instantly completes the entire process of payment. The electronic payment options which are accepted in e-commerce include credit cards, debit cards, cash cards and internet banking. Furthermore in order to conduct i nternational money transfers there are several online platforms such as PayPal, alert pay and Google checkout among other which aid in the process of transferring money. Therefore in order to facilitate online payment options issues such as convenience of customer and technical infrastructure and the security of the method must be taken into account. Thus modern systems need to be incorporated for better and smoother transaction. The recommended methods of payments are summarized below:- Method 1: Credit or Debit Card A debit or a credit card is one of the most widely used and accepted method of payment. Credit cards or debit cards are generally issued by banks or any other financial institutions. In this payment method the user directly transfers the money to the seller’s bank account either from its own bank account or through the credit issued by the banking authority. The process is also very simple, thus it will provide huge convenience to the customers. Furthermore it a lso consumes very less time the payment process can be carried out within few minutes. In case of customers making use of credit card they need to repay it later to issuing authority while on the contrary debit card users pay real time from their respective bank account (Radu, 2003, p.2). The option also provides high security to both the

Italian renaissance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Italian renaissance - Research Paper Example Chronology accounts that the renaissance marked a drastic change in the society since artists, rulers, and other groups of elites intensified their activities towards improvement of the existing novices in different fields. Notably, Leonardo Da Vinci presumed an abundant role in propulsion of the renaissance activities since his works affected various disciplines that included art and painting, architecture, science, and engineering (Fisher, 2006). The following discussion shall evaluate Leonardo’s influence in the disciplines of history, art, and architecture in the ancient Italian society, and the prevalent influenced that activities continue to decipher in the modern society. Leonardo’s activities harness him to global recognition. History cites that 1452 was Da Vinci’s year of birth at an Italian city called Vinci. This intelligent artist concentrated on matters that influenced the entire world. Debatably, he had a passion to nature and science, factors that extensively influenced his artwork (Riding, 2006). The Italian renaissance period would not have been a success in the absence of artists such as Leonardo holding to the fact that he was the first person to paint a picture that bore a landscape (Pernis & Adams, 2006). This approach influenced a major change in artistic painting since all his predecessors started incorporating landscapes and shadows in their pieces of art. History indicates that his artwork bore abundance in delivering the desired perspective in each image. Through his paintings on Mona Lisa, the Last Supper, and the Flying Machine, Da Vinci was able to create knowledgeable to the human society such that his predecessors were able to contemplate how the world would be with a set of realism in the various aspects employed in the paintings (Austen, 2006). Further, Leonardo was able to influence his successors’ artistic designs including those of Ambrogio Lorenzetti who embarked in the profession and

Role of Organic Geochemistry in Petroleum

Role of Organic Geochemistry in Petroleum A review on role of organic geochemistry in petroleum;  characterization and applications of different basins Harish Chandra Joshi Abstract Petroleum is a mixture dominantly of hydrocarbons with varying proportions of non-hydrocarbon constituents and traces of organometallic compounds. Generally Petroleum has an average composition of 85% carbon, 13% hydrogen, and 2% of sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen. The aim of study is to find out the physicochemical and genetic property of petroleum. In this study biomarkers, age specific biomarker and reservoir geochemistry can be used for the characterization, correlation and/ or reconstruction of the depositional environment as micro and macro fossils used by the geochemist. Keywords: Biomarker, Genetic Characterisation, Kerogen, Geochemical Fossils. Introduction The name geochemistry was first used by the Swiss chemist, Christian Friedrich Schonbein in 1838. Petroleum geochemistry is the application of chemical principles to the study of the origin, migration, accumulation, and alteration of Petroleum (oil and gas) and the use of this knowledge in exploring and recovering Petroleum. Organic chemistry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the distribution and composition of carbon compounds. Geochemistry is the study of the chemical composition of the earth, minerals, ores, rocks and also is the study of the origin of petroleum. The major tasks of geochemistry can be summarized as follows: The study of the relative and absolute abundances of the elements and of the atomic species (isotopes) in the earth. The study of the distribution and migration of individual elements in the various parts of the earth (the hydrosphere, atmosphere and lithosphere etc.), and in mineral and rocks, with the object of discovering their distribution and migration. Exploration companies have used petroleum geochemistry in hydrocarbon exploration. The most and major objective of exploration geochemistry, is to reduce the risk of drilling dry holes. Petroleum geochemistry is based on the organic origin of the oil and gas whereby organic matter obtained from dead plants and animals. Organic matter is converted to hydrocarbons in the subsurface through various major three stages of transformations diagenesis, catagenesis and metagenesis. German scientist Treibs (1936) reveal a relationship between chlorophyll-a in living photosynthetic organisms and porphyrins in Crudes of petroleum. This link provides a strong evidence of organic origin of Petroleum. From the starting of the Precambrian till the Devonian, the unique primary producer of the organic matter were marine phytoplanktons. Since the Devonian an increasing amount of primary production has been contributed by higher terrestrial plants. At present cenario marine phytoplankton and higher terrestrial are estimated to produce about equal amounts of organic carbon. On increases the burial depth, porosity and permeability decrease, and temperature increases. Thus lead to the change a gradual halting of microbial activity and thus eventually called ‘organic diagenesis to a halt. As the temperature rises, thermal reactions become increasingly. This second transformation phase, called catagenesis, during the catagenesis kerogen begins to decompose into smaller, more mobile molecules. In the early stage of catagenesis, kerogens are still relatively large; these are precursors for petroleum and are called â€Å"bitumen†. In the late stages and final transfo rmation stage, called ‘metagenesis’. During metagenesis the principal products consist of smaller gas molecules. Further, kerogens formed from different organic matter, or under different diagenetic conditions, are chemically clear which has a significant effect on hydrocarbon generation. Characterization of crude oil by Analytical Methods Firstly sampling of crude oils is required for their characterization. Oil should be collected as a single- phase sample under pressure conditions as they are in reservoir. Therefore for the geochemical studies, crude oil samples are collected at the well head under atmospheric pressure. Under these conditions light hydrocarbons of crude oils are lost completely or partly. Light hydrocarbon fraction gives the ideas only about the abundance and constituents of the light end of the oil. It is normally observed that the most abundant characteristics hydrocarbons are commonly in the light fraction. For required minimizing the effects of sampling error the crude oil is distilled at 2100C. The heavier fraction is considered the foremost part of the crude oil. It is used to describe the chemical composition of a crude oil and also to compare it with other crude oils. Analytical Techniques in Petroleum Exploration Petroleum system (Demaison, 1994; Hunt, 1996) comprise all those geological elements and processes that are necessary for an oil and gas deposit to occur in nature. These main elements are a petroleum source rock, migration paths, reservoir rocks, seals, traps and the geological approach that design each of them. Such systems involve a genetic relationship between the source rock and the petroleum accumulations, but proof of that relation force a geochemical correlation. organic geochemistry techniques available include surface geochemical prospecting, source rock geochemistry, crude oil geochemistry, natural gas geochemistry, biomarker geochemistry, isotope geochemistry etc. Biomarkers in Petroleum Biological marker or shortened to Biomarkers (Seifert and Moldowan, 1981) are complex molecules derived from once living organisms they are found in sediments and oil and show little change in structure from their parent molecules (Peters Moldowan, 1993 and Hunt, 1996). These compounds are also called as geochemical fossils (Eglinton and Cavin, 1967) because of their origin from living organisms. Such compounds may be derived from terrestrial (mostly plants, marine pelagic (mostly plankton) and marine benthonic (algae, bacteria and other microbes). Biomarkers are generally, microfossils less than 30 nm in diameter and are highly variable in their stereochemistry i.e. the spatial arrangement of atoms and groups in their molecules. The common use of the biomarkers in petroleum exploration may be enumerated as follows: Biomarkers are present in both and oil a source rocks so they provide vital information for the oil-oil and oil-source correlation. Organic matter type (source of organic facies) Depositional environment Extent of thermal maturation Degree of biodegradation Information about the age of the source rock ÃŽ ± and ÃŽ ² Geometry of Biomarkers Steranes obtain from the diagenesis of natural products sterols. Diagenesis converts sterol via chemical dehydration and microbial reduction to a steranes cholestane. Cholestane molecule is drawn in three dimensions as follows. The hydrogen at the 3 position points up above the plane of the molecule and that at the 5 position points down below the plane (Peters and Moldowan 1993) Commonly Used Biomarkers in Petroleum Exploration Normal Alkanes: Normal alkanes are a homologues series of saturated hydrocarbons of general formula CnH2n+2. All linear n-alkanes from C1 to C40 and a few beyond C40 derived from different sources have been identified in crude oils. Iso- and Anteiso-alkanes: Isoalkanes are 2-methyl alkanes and quite a number of these have been observed in crude oils as have been the anteiso-alkanes, the 3-methlyalkanes. Iso and anteiso alkanes are associated with n-alkanes in plant waxes where they comprise a approximate number of carbon atoms (about 25-31) with an odd predominance Figure 1. Showing common biomarkers like paraffins, Iso and ante-isoalkane Acyclic Isoprenoid: These are special type of Iso-alkanes in which one methyl group is attached to every fourth carbon atom in straight. Isoprene (methyl butadiene) is the basic structural unit composed of carbon atoms that is found in all biomarkers. The most common isoprenoids are pristane (C19) and Phytane (C20). Figure 2. Common Isoprenoid biomarkers in petroleum Terpenoids: Terpenoids can be classified based on structural types into diterpenoids and triterpenoids Diterpenoids are categorized into bicyclic and tricyclic diterpenoids. Triterpenoids are grouped into tetra and pentacyclic. The most knowing are pentacyclic and among these are hopanes. Hopanes are pentacyclic triterpenoids comprised of four 6-membered and one 5-membered ring. There is a side chain which can contain upto 8 carbon atoms. Thus the series comprise of C27-C35 hopanes. They are believed to have originated from polyhydroxybacteriohopane. Figure 3. Structures of Common Triterpanes Figure 4. Structures of Common Tricyclic and Tetracyclic Terpanes Steranes: Steroids can be classified as aliphatic and aromatic steroids (mono, di- and tri-aromatic depending on the number of aromatic rings). Steranes are a series of aliphatic steroids. The sterols in all eukaryotic organisms are precursors to the steranes in sediments and petroleum. Like the hopanes, steranes are abundant in sediments, rocks and petroleum, because their precursors (Sterols) are so common in living organisms. Cholesterol has eight asymmetric centers and might be expected to show as many as 28 or 256 stereoisomers. Figure 5. Chemical Structure of various steroids Porphyrins: Porphyrins are characterized by a tetrapyrrolic nucleus proved to be inherited from chlorophyll, the green photosynthetic pigment of plants and animals ,hemin, the red pigment of animal blood. These tetrapyrrolic organometallic compounds reported of the vanadium and nickel in petroleum. The major types of fossil porphyrin are deoxophylloerytrapyrrole (DPEP) and etioporphyrin (ETIO) porphyrin structure. Age specific biomarkers If biomarkers characterise a molecular record of life, they can be used for age determination. Certain age specific biomarkers like Oleanane present in oils derived from late Cretaceous or Younger. C11-C19 Paraffins, Odd carbon number prevalence in oil from many Ordovician sources. 24-n-propylcholestane, High in oils from Ordovician sources.Thus the biomarkers transport to the sources has proved to be of great help in geochemical characterization of the oils/condensates. Reservoir Geochemistry The main aim of reservoir geochemistry is to understand the distribution and origin of the petroleum, water and minerals in the reservoir and account for their possible spatial and compositional variation (Cubitt and England 1995). A better understanding of the fluids in the reservoir conduct to a better understanding in an area and prioritization of exploration thrusts. The principle factors responsible for difference in petroleum composition are the effect of organic facies variations, progressive source rock maturation, migration fractionation, gravity segregation, oil/water contact and non-uniform biodegradation of oil across the field. However these effects have been normalized by using ratios of peaks corresponding to compounds of similar molecular weight in the C10+ region of the chromatogram. The study of reservoir continuity is also the focus of the geochemical characterization to trace the nature and depositional conditions of the source organics, identification of the oil families and thermal maturity of the oils/condensates. When a set of chromatographic peaks has been selected, a variety of techniques are available for grouping of this data. One way is to use a polar plot of selected ratios by a star diagram (polygon plot) by plotting each peak ratio on a different axis of polar plot. Each data point is plotted from the centre of the concentric circles outward. The points are then connected to create a star shaped pattern characteristic of each oil. Applications of geochemical characterisation Biomarker and non-biomarker geochemical parameters are best used together to supply the most authentic geological interpretations to help solve exploration, enlargement, production and environmental problems. Prior to biomarker work, oil and rock samples are properly screened using non biomarker analyses. The strength of biomarker parameters is that they provide more detailed information needed to answer questions about the source rock depositional environment, thermal maturity and the biodegradation of oils than non-biomarker analyses alone. Different depositional environments are characterized by different assemblages of organisms and biomarkers. Commonly accept classes of organisms include bacteria, algae, and higher plants. Biomarker parameters are also an effective means to determine the relative maturity of petroleum through the entire oil-generative window. Conclusion On the basis of above observation major conclusions which have been derived from the whole study are as follows: The presence of complete range of normal alkanes upto nC36 and in some cases upto nC40. The presence of biomarker in oil indicates that oil may be terrestrial or marine. The terrestrial nature of the source is also strongly indicated by the steranes. Reservoir geochemistry of oils has been used to demonstrate the lateral/vertical continuity/compartmentalization. References: Bhandari, A., Prasad, I.V.S.V., Kapoor, P.N., Varshney, Meenu, Madhavan, A.K.S., Pahari, S. and Singh, R.R., 2008. Depositional environment, distribution of source rocks and geochemistry of oil and gases, Krishna-Godavari Basin, Journal of Applied Geochem., Vol. 10 (1) pp 17-31 Bhandari, A., Prasad, I.V.S.V., and Dwivedi, Prabhakar, 2007. Stratigraphic distribution of hydrocarbons in the Sedimentary Basins of India. Symposium in Applied Geochemistry in the evaluation and management of onshore and offshore Geo sources. Journal of Applied Geochemistry, Vol. 9 (1) pp 48-73. Bhatnagar, A.K., Goswami, B.G., Rawat, G.S., Singh, Harvir and Singh, R.R., 2009. Geochemical characterization and reservoir fingerprinting to assess reservoir continuity in oils of Heera and South Heera fields, western offshore basin, India, Petrotech 2009 New Delhi. Cubitt, J.M., England, W.A., 1995. The Geochemistry of Reservoirs. The Geological Society London, pp 321. Demaison, G.J and Huizinga, B.J., 1994. Genetic classification of petroleum systems using three factors: charge, migration and entrapment. In: The Petroleum system – From source to trap (L.B. Morgan and W.G. Dow, eds), American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa, pp. 73-89. Didyk, B.M., Simoneit, B.R.T.,Brassel, S.C and Eglinton, C., 1978. Organic Geochemical indicators of pale environmental conditions of sedimentation. Nature 272, pp 216-222. Eglinton, G and Calvin, M., 1967. Chemical fossils. Scl. Am. 216, pp 32-43 Hunt, J.M., 1979. Petroleum Geochemistry and Geology. W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, pp 617. Hunt, J.M., 1996. Petroleum Geochemistry and Geology. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York. Pandey, I.P., Joshi, H.C., Tyagi, Ashish Tiwari, Sadhana and Garg, Nitika, 2012. Study of the Parameters and Bio-Markers of Crude oils. Advances in Pure and Applied Chemistry, World Science Publisher, New York, United States, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp 49-53. Mackenzie, A.S., 1984. Application of biological markers in Petroleum Geochemistry, In Advances in Petroleum Geochemistry, Vol. 1, (J. Brooks and D.H. Welte, eds) Academic Press, London, pp 115-214. Mackenzie, A.S., Patience, R.L., Maxwell, J.R., Vandenbroucke, M and Durand B., 1980.Molecular parameters of maturation in the Toarcian shales, Paris Basin, France-1. Change in the configuration of acyclic isoprenoid alkanes, steranes, and terpanes. Geochimicaetcosmochimica Acta, 44, 1709- 1721. Peters, K.E., 1997. Modern Geochemical Tools for efficient exploration and Development, O.G.C.I. Training report, Oct. 20924, Mussoorie, India. Peters, K.E. and Fowler, M.G., 2002. Application of Petroleum Geochemistry to Exploration and reservoir management. Org. Geochem. Vol 33, pp 5-36. Peters, K.E. and Moldowan, J.M., 1993. The biomarker guide interpreting Molecular fossils in petroleum and ancient sediments, Prantice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ., U.S.A. Seifert, W.K. and Moldowan, J.M., 1978. Application of steranes, terpanes and Monoaromatics to the maturation, migration and source of oil. Geochem. Cosmochim., Acta 42, pp 77-95 Seifert, W.K. and Moldown, J.M., 1979. The effect of biodegradation on steranes and Terpanes in crude oil. Geochem. Cosmochim., Acta 43, pp 111-126. Seifert, W.K. and Moldown, J.M., 1980. The effect of thermal stress on source rock quality as Measured by hopane stereochemistry.Physics and chemistry of the earth, 12, pp 229-237. Smith,H.M., 1940. Correlation index to aid in interpretin crude oil analysis. U.S. Bureau of Mines, tech. Paper:610. Tissot, B.P. and welte, D.H., 1978. Pertoleum formation and Occurrence, Springer- Verlag, New York, pp. 699. Tissot, B.P and welte, D.H., 1978. Pertoleum formation and Occurrence, Springer- Verlag, Berlin. 22.Treibs, A., 1963. Chlorophyll and hemin derivatives in organic mineral substances. Angewandte Chemie, 49, pp 682-686. 1

Communication in Distributed Agile Development: A Case Study :: Technology, Software Development

Distributed software development (DSD)1 is becoming a common practice in modern software industry [e.g. 1], where the level of distribution can range from team members being located in the same city to those on different continents [2]. The significance of DSD has accelerated because of factors such as improving timetomarket through constant development across different timezones, quick formation of virtual teams and the benefits of business market advantages. These needs have driven the software development efforts further towards a multisite globally distributed environment. [1] Simultaneously, several studies have concluded that distributed enterprises are risky [e.g. 35]. For example, communication and coordination, software quality, schedule overruns and exceeded costs are some of the problems troubling both singlesite and distributed software projects. However, the extent of the problem in the case of DSD seems to be so complex that a thorough understanding of it has not yet been defined. [3, 4] Several studies agree that communication is a particularly important issue in distributed agile development, [e.g. 57]. Agile methods rely on volatile requirements that are managed through efficient verbal communication [8] and thus agile software development methods pose their own challenges to the field of DSD. In order to tackle the problems of DSD, several different techniques have been proposed. These techniques range from using different tools, such as instant messaging [9], videoconferencing [10] and whiteboard software [5] to a set of more general recommendations [5]. We conducted two different case studies with different levels of distribution ranging from the customer being in the same city, to one with a geographical distribution of 600 kilometers within the same country. Therefore, cultural differences were not an issue in these cases. We compared our findings against the recommendations of Layman et al. [5] and provide more insight on their application based on our empirical findings and the existing literature. Even though we were able to evaluate only three recommendations out of the existing four, our contribution provides valuable insight into conducting distributed agile projects. Our results further emphasize the critical role of effective communication, indicating that inefficient and irregular communication in conjunction with volatile requirements can cause severe problems even in very smallscale agile projects. However, it seems that effective communication is not the key. Our cases suggest that having a welldefined customer2 is the key recommendation affecting to recommendations about having a Development Manager [5] and using asynchronous communication channels. As ineffective customer collaboration may render the other recommendations redundant, effective customer collaboration seems to be a key factor for successful distributed agile development. In addition, we complement the existing recommendations by introducing an additional recommendation: i.e. enable and support direct communication between the developers. Unexpectedly, the teams in the second case were not allowed to communicate directly with each other. To compensate, a managementled communication channel was established to balance the communication flow,