Scottish Independence

Contents Introduction ————————————————————————– 3 Chapter I General information —————————————————————- 4 Chapter II Arguments for and against the Scottish independence Arguments for the independence ———————————————– 6 Arguments against the independence —————————————– 7 Conclusion ———————————————————————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€ 10 Bibliography ————————————————————————- 11Introduction The subject I have analyzed in this research paper is the possible independence of Scotland. I chose this topic because the Scottish independence is a problem of great importance not only for the UK and Scotland, but also for the whole Europe. While doing my research I found very strong and opposing opinions about this recent topic. Scottish independence is a relevant and important matter that has been debated for many years but is now at the pinnacle of debate.Both public and politicians and opposing opinions about independence and throughout this work I will evaluate the most current and most emotive arguments for and against independence. First, I will speak about the historical background of this issue and about the parties â€Å"fightingâ⠂¬  for independence. Next, I will represent for and against arguments, which will help to understand this complicated issue. Chapter I General information Scotland was an independent country from 843, with the unification of the Scots and Picts.In medieval times, Scotland fought for freedom from England, which Mel Gibson dramatically depicted in his Academy Award-winning movie â€Å"Braveheart. † Not long after Wallace died in the early 1300s, Robert the Bruce led Scotland to independence, and it remained an autonomous nation until the Act of Union joined Scotland and England in 1707. Since then Scotland has been one of four countries in the United Kingdom. However, the United Kingdom returned some autonomy to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and gave them the right to form their own parliaments, in the late 1990s.Thus, in 1999, Scotland received devolved powers for a new parliament in Holyrood. And now, more than 700 years after William Wallace died fighting for Scott ish independence, and more than 300 years after Scotland and England came together in a United Kingdom, a new agreement could lead to an independent Scotland. Since the Scottish National Party (SNP) came to power five years ago (in 2007) there has been a wave of nationalistic fever sweeping the country and independence is on their agenda. Increasingly people see autonomy as a panacea for all the difficulties Scotland faces.Thus, in 2014 Scotland will decide to maintain the UK or to dissolve it, and this decision will shape not only the future of Scotland, but also of the whole UK. The question of various debates is can Scotland take the next step and become a fully functioning independent state again, and will this be good for Scotland and the rest of UK, or at least for one of them. As I have already mentioned, the Scottish independence is supported most prominently by the Scottish National Party, which is currently the largest political party in Scotland.But other parties also hav e pro-independence policies. These are the Scottish Green Party, the Scottish Socialist Party and Solidarity. Seventy-two of the seats in the Scottish Parliament are now held by parties/members who have expressed pro-independence sentiments, over 55% of the total. These are the 69 Scottish National Party members, the two Green members and Margo MacDonald, an independent politician. It is also important to know, that SNP forms a minority government in the Scottish Parliament.On the matter of Scottish independence British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Scottish counterpart, First Minister Alex Salmond, signed a deal in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Monday paving the way for Scots to vote on independence from the United Kingdom. The referendum, expected to be held in 2014, would allow Scots a straight yes-or-no vote on staying in the union. On this case the â€Å"Yes Scotland† campaign was launched in May. This campaign tries to â€Å"build a groundswell of support for an indep endent Scotland†.However, Cameron has vocally opposed Scottish independence. In February, he said † I am 100% clear that I will fight with everything I have to keep our United Kingdom together,† since an intact United Kingdom, consisting of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, â€Å"is stronger, safer, richer and fairer. † Rather, the SNP claims that a positive vote for independence in a referendum would have â€Å"enormous moral and political force†¦ impossible for a future government (Westminster) to ignore†, and hence Westminster will declare Scotland independent.After this agreement was signed, different surveys were released, and almost all these surveys showed that less than 50% of the Scots polled wanted to break away from the United Kingdom. It’s fair to say that not enough people want independence. The fact that the SNP are in power now cannot be considered an indication that Scotland wants independence. The United Kingd om, and its constituent parts by proxy, are signatories to the United Nations Charter and as such any action to deny the people of Scotland a right to vote would be in contradiction to the obligations to uphold self-determination.Article 1 in both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) reads: â€Å"All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. â€Å" The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 15) further states that everyone has the right to a nationality, and that no one should be arbitrarily deprived of a nationality or denied the right to change nationality.However, there are certain factors that give rise to the possession of the right to self-determination These are: ? a history of independence or self-rule in a n identifiable territory ? a distinct culture ? a will and capability to regain self-governance Chapter II Arguments for and against the Scottish independence 1. Arguments for the independence Now I want to speak about the reasons why many Scots consider they should their independence back. First and foremost, Scotland is its own country.It is a distinct country which has its own culture, people, history, traditions, national dress, land and sea borders, health service, legal establishment, education system, flag and a history of nationhood that. So beyond any reasonable debate, it qualifies under all three criteria (the Scottish Parliament representing the â€Å"capability† section), and any attempt to frustrate the people’s right to self-determination will find itself on the wrong side of both domestic and international law. The next argument is that Scotland considers that UK spends some of the country’s money not appropriately and effectively.They say that w hile the UK’s position as a â€Å"power of the world† has dwindled in the last fifty years – and especially in the last ten years – it unfortunately still spends money like a superpower of the world. This can be seen with it investing in nuclear weapons for the next 35 years at a cost between ? 20bn to ? 35bn. This is a substantial amount of the deficit, that the current UK government is trying to save through cuts to schools/universities, hospitals, police, and other public services.Thus, if Scotland were independent, they would invest their elsewhere. Control over North Sea oil and gas, which is expected to generate ? 56bn in revenue over the next six years, is also a major battleground in the run-up to the independence. Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister, claims Scotland would take control of 90% of North Sea fields after independence, helping it to become one of the world's richest countries. Furthermore, for the next fifty years, renewable energ y is seen as a key industry worldwide.Scotland has a strategic position for wind, hydro, and tide powered energy. With over 40 years of North Sea oil still available, the profits could be poured into renewable energy – instead of being sent to London. Nowadays a great rise of nationalism can be observed in Scotland. Thus many Scots stick to the point that if Scotland were to become independent, it would emphasize their greatest individuals, businesses, and achievements instead of having them blended with Westminster politicians. 2. Arguments against the independenceFrom all the above mentioned we can conclude that there is obviously a case for Scottish Independence, but before doing this we shall discuss the reason against the Scottish autonomy. Through being a part of Great Britain Scotland has managed to become one of the top financial powers in the world but some are still trying to fix Scotland when in fact it isn’t broken. People think they should have more contro l over their own country and demand more rights. However they do have control over their country as they decide on matters like health, education, transport, housing, environment and local affairs.Isn’t that enough? Scottish devolved parliament has been working independently since 1998 with no major issues so why should this be changed, if it can bring many problems. People complain that Scottish devolved parliament doesn’t have enough power yet they have Scottish MP’s sitting in Westminster deciding on English issues, whereas no English MP’s are sitting in Holyrood. The Scottish parliament has only Scottish MP’s deciding on its affairs but down in Westminster England have Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish and English MP’s deciding on theirs. How is that fair?If anyone should be complaining it should be the English. Scotland has its own devolved parliament but also has 258 Labour seats down in Westminster deciding on British and English issues . First of all they are lucky to have as much power as they do being even less than a tenth of the population of Britain. So, why should this be changed, if it can result in many problems of different types. Moreover, for unionists, the main argument against Scottish independence is the Barnett formula – a rule that Scotland receives 10 pence of every pound made in the UK, while only having 8. % of the population. Social issues would not be our only problem; Scotland would encounter numerous other issues if we were to become independent. Problems with passports or currency what would be done about them? What would be the solution? Tell a six million population to apply for a new passport and exchange all of their money to Euros. Also problems like defense or immigration and the other issues which affect the whole of the British island which are now dealt with in Westminster. How would separate independent states decide to split these responsibilities?The assumption that indep endence is achievable with the costs and problems involved is something the Scottish taxpayer would have to bear the burden of. Scotland’s strong position in Britain is not the only reason against autonomy. The fact that people simply don’t want independence is another vital argument. This is being ignored by the SNP who are still campaigning for Scottish independence explaining that independence is going to help Scotland â€Å"prosper† but why then after 7 years of SNP campaigning only 37% of Scotland votes for independence in polls.Another barrier is that numerous commentators have raised the objection that since a vote for independence would affect the entire UK, then residents of England, Wales and Northern Ireland should also be entitled to vote. Others have raised the issue of whether Scots not currently resident in Scotland should have the right to vote. More problematic would be Scotland’s status as an independent EU member state in the area of fo reign and particularly defense policy.It currently remains unclear if an independent Scotland would remain part of the British military forces or if it would develop its own military capabilities and consequently an independent defense and security policy. This is probably the biggest concern for the British government which has to fear that the withdrawal of Scottish forces from the UK’s military capabilities would substantially weaken the status of a smaller Union consisting only of England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the EU’s defence and security pillar.To exit from the United Kingdom certainly poses substantial and unforeseen risks for Scotland, most of all in terms of the country’s economic and budgetary development. However, England potentially has most to lose overall from Scottish independence. If Scotland splits from the rest of the UK and turns out to be relatively viable as an independent country it is possible that Wales, and even Northern Ireland , will follow its example. As a smaller country existing outside the Eurozone, England’s influence over the political and economic agenda of the EU would be diminished.It would then only be a matter of time for the Eurosceptics in the Conservative party and the UK Independence Party to get their way and for a public referendum on England’s EU membership to take place. Hence, English Eurosceptics who consider Scottish independence as an opportunity to push their country quicker towards EU exit should think again. Scotland might have the last laugh after all. Conclusion Thus, in this research paper I spoke about the issue of Scottish independence. This is a matter of global importance, and in the first chapter of my work I tried to give general information about the history of his question, about the parties which want their country gain independence, about different surveys held on this issue. In the second chapter I represented the major for and against arguments. This arguments help us understand what are the main reasons some Scots want independence and what are the objections. Thus, we can come to a conclusion, that if the Scottish national party’s irrational campaign for independence does succeed one day Scotland would be looking at a whole different range of problems. The separation of Britain would provoke competition, bad relationships and ambiguity in various questions.And in my opinion even if the idea of this independence does have good points for Scotland, this nationalistic pride will only make both Scotland and the rest of the UK more vulnerable. Bibliography 1. http://www. markedbyteachers. com/as-and-a-level/english/scottish-independence 2. http://edition. cnn. com/2012/10/15/world/europe/uk-scotland-independence/index. html 3. http://wingsland. podgamer. com/weekend-essay-the-right-to-decide/ 4. http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-scotland-13326310 5. http://topics. cnn. com/topics/scotland 6. http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-sc otland-scotland-politics-19942638 7. ttp://edition. cnn. com/2012/10/15/world/europe/uk-scotland-independence/index. html 1. http://interstateinaninstant. wordpress. com/2012/02/04/the-case-for-scottish-independence-regional-trade-energy-and-power/ 8. http://www. charliedavidson. net/scottish-independence/ ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://www. markedbyteachers. com/as-and-a-level/english/scottish-independence [ 2 ]. http://wingsland. podgamer. com/weekend-essay-the-right-to-decide [ 3 ]. http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-scotland-13326310 [ 4 ]. http://topics. cnn. com/topics/scotland Scottish Independence Should Scotland be Independent? There has been a wave of nationalistic fever sweeping the country ever since the SNP came to power in 2007. Independence is on their agenda and now there is a referendum set for 2014. But why should we go independent? After all, we have been married to England for over 300 years and our country is ‘too poor’ and ‘too wee’ to square up to the economic giants in the global market today and what would happen if the our banks were to self-destruct again? Would we manage to govern our own country independently?Increasingly people are beginning to see autonomy as a panacea for the predicament Scotland faces. However, there are masses out there that are still worried about the myriad of ‘unanswered questions' about independence. Furthermore, misconceptions are conceived through the unionist’s tactics, ‘throw enough mud and hopefully some will stick’, and now that the referendum date has been announced, we ca n observe the wild thrashing Scotland will receive through the masses of propaganda that the London controlled media will propagate. Firstly, it is important to consider if Scotland is prosperous enough to survive on its own.Scotland is a rich country, yet many Scottish people are poor. Scotland has a surplus of energy, yet many Scottish people struggle to heat their homes. Scotland produces an educated workforce thanks to our tradition of free education for all, yet Scots are forced to emigrate to find work. Why is that, if the Union has been so great for us? Poverty, which disfigures much of our country, is a direct product of the Union. If Scotland really is so poor, a derelict society dependent on handouts, then just why is it that Westminster is so desperate to keep a hold of us?Those opposing Scotland’s independence claim that she would be unable to cope in a situation like the HBOS and RBS bailouts. The truth about one of the bailouts is illuminated if we consider the name – HALIFAX Bank of Scotland – it was not solely a  Scottish bank; it was run from Halifax, in Yorkshire, England. All the management and decision-making was carried out in England. So half of the blame deserves to be placed on the avaricious muttonheads at Halifax. After all, it was coping just fine before Halifax came along.Unlike what the media skewed towards, Scotland actually deserves the minority of the blame for the crash at RBS too. As Andrew Hughes Hallett, Professor of Economics at St Andrew’s University put it, speaking on Radio Scotland. â€Å"†¦by international convention, when banks which operate in more than one country get into these sorts of conditions, the bailout is shared in proportion to the area of activities of those banks, and therefore it’s shared between several countries. In the case of the RBS, I’m not sure of the exact numbers, but roughly speaking 90% of its operations are in England and 10% are in Scotlandà ¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"1Therefore, in reality, Scotland was only responsible for 10% of the crash at RBS. Which is quite a substantial deviation from what the media proposed. I wonder how they managed to dodge that fact. Oil is a finite resource and eventually it is going to run out. But what is the point in pretending it’s not there now just because there’s a chance that it may only last 30-40 years? According to the oil companies. Which I am sure must be absolutely 100% accurate. Why would an oil company want to underestimate the length of time their reserves will last? It does not at all sound like simple business logic to me.Let’s all face it; if a doctor tells a family that their granny has three years left and she passes in six months — the doctor will be met with a multitude of beetroot faces demanding explanations. In addition, the more people that begin to think that oil is drying up the higher the price will be. And that means mega bucks for the oil comp anies; when they make money – Scotland makes money (that is if it were independent). As it stands, Scotland currently wants to set up an oil fund. It does not sound like a bad idea; that is how the Norwegians powered their way through the recession.They were smart enough to seize the opportunity. However, the UK is against this because it wants the money for bank bailouts and nuclear toys. So what happens when it eventually does run out? Well, as it runs out, a 50% reduction does not exactly translate to a 50% fall in revenue; prices will rocket and despite this possibly not boding well with the consumers, it will still boost the nation’s economy. In addition, it is possible we will stumble upon even more financially viable reserves – which no one seems to account for in the ‘horrifying’ statistics.If not, then we will just simply have to be a bit more economical and is Scotland not the perfect place to go green? We are geographically sound in terms of wave and wind energy. With the oil fund pot, that we will have if we go through with autonomy, we will be able to fully open the door into the renewable industry. This will propel us through any economic crises that may face us later down the line. And the country will be clean. However, if we do not go through with independence now, before our oil runs out, then yes, we probably have very little chance of independence being successful.I bet David Cameron would happily let us devolve after that. Scotland is not uniquely incapable of governing itself. We are not too ‘wee’. We have a larger population than the Irish Republic, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovenia. We have approximately the same population as Denmark or Finland. In area, we are larger than Slovenia, the Irish Republic, Belgium†¦ We are approximately the same size as the Czech Republic or Austria. Plus, the Scottish parliament appears to be plugging away just fine and if all of these coun tries can manage on their own why can’t we?People of Scotland, vote for independence while we can in 2014! After 300 years of a helpless bickering marriage, I think it is time for an amicable divorce. It happens every day. Sometimes it just does not work out and it is time that we all come to grips with that fact. 1 â€Å"http://www. muzzerino. com/2011/08/truth-about-hbos-and-rbs-bail-out. html† http://www. muzzerino. com/2011/08/truth-about-hbos-and-rbs-bail-out. html â€Å"http://www. newsnetscotland. com/index. php/scottish-opinion/4341-a-unionist-lexicon-an-a-z-of-unionist-scare-stories-myths-and-misinformation#poverty†

Counseling: Cognitive-behavioral Therapists Essay

Despite the general acknowledgement that it is important for counseling and psychotherapy practice to be informed by research, it is clear that in recent years a widening gap has emerged between research and practice. This paper briefly reviews some of the factors responsible for the current crisis in therapy research and offers a number of reasons why a healthy relationship between research and practice is necessary. It is suggested that, at present, there exists within psychology and social science a level of acceptance of pluralistic and innovative approaches to research, which may facilitate the emergence of a new genre of practitioner-oriented inquiry in the field of counseling and psychotherapy. Some of the ways in which Counseling and Psychotherapy Research intends to contribute to this movement are described, for example the promotion of new forms of writing, use of information technology, and the creation of knowledge communities. While it might seem to be the case, evidence-based psychotherapy is not new. The term â€Å"evidence-based† can be defined two ways: an approach to therapy emphasizes the pursuit of evidence on which to base its theory and techniques, as well as encourages its patients or clients to consider evidence before taking action; or an approach to therapy is supported by research findings, and those findings provide evidence that it is effective. Each approach to psychotherapy is based on the assumption that it is correct in terms of its explanation of human behavior. Therefore, practitioners of each approach believe that they have â€Å"evidence† that their approach is correct, or they would not waste their time practicing that approach. However, cognitive-behavioral therapists seek to acquire evidence to determine the accuracy of their theories and effectiveness of their techniques. For example, cognitive-behavioral therapists believe that their explanation of human behavior (that â€Å"learned† behaviors and emotions are caused by one’s thoughts) is correct. Rather than assuming that their theory is correct, they base this assumption on psychosomatic research that in fact proves that the assumption is indeed correct. Cognitive-behavioral therapists take into the therapy session this interest in gathering evidence and assessing it. Cognitive-behavioral therapists ask questions to obtain a clear, accurate picture of the client’s experience. Cognitive-behavioral therapists also look for evidence in relation to their clients’ thoughts, and encourage clients to base thinking on the FACTS (the evidence). Therefore, cognitive-behavioral therapy has always been â€Å"evidence-based† and will continue to be so whether or not there is an emphasis by managed-care or governmental agencies to be so. Many approaches to psychotherapy do not lend themselves well to being researched and proven effective because they either utilize techniques that are vague and difficult to repeat with consistency, or the approach attracts practitioners that are not very interested in testing the effectiveness of it. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most researched psychotherapeutic approach because each cognitive-behavioral approach has specific techniques that can be tested for effectiveness; Cognitive-behavioral therapy encourages the development of specific goals that are measurable, and, therefore, can be researched; cognitive-behavioral therapists (to varying degrees) are interested in the research and research process; cognitive-behavioral therapists are not interested in techniques that â€Å"feel right† or â€Å"seem correct†, but techniques that are effective (Pucci, 2005). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Cognitive-behavioral therapy is an action-oriented form of psychosocial therapy that assumes that maladaptive, or faulty, thinking patterns cause maladaptive behavior and â€Å"negative† emotions. (Maladaptive behavior is behavior that is counter-productive or interferes with everyday living. ) The treatment focuses on changing an individual’s thoughts (cognitive patterns) in order to change his or her behavior and emotional state. Theoretically, cognitive-behavioral therapy can be employed in any situation in which there is a pattern of unwanted behavior accompanied by distress and impairment. It is a recommended treatment option for a number of mental disorders, including affective (mood) disorders, personality disorders, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorders, substance abuse, anxiety or panic disorder, agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is also frequently used as a tool to deal with chronic pain for patients with illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis, back problems, and cancer. Patients with sleep disorders may also find cognitive-behavioral therapy a useful treatment for insomnia. Cognitive-behavioral therapy combines the individual goals of cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. Pioneered by psychologists Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis in the 1960s, cognitive therapy assumes that maladaptive behaviors and disturbed mood or emotions are the result of inappropriate or irrational thinking patterns, called automatic thoughts. Instead of reacting to the reality of a situation, an individual reacts to his or her own distorted viewpoint of the situation. For example, a person may conclude that he is â€Å"worthless† simply because he failed an exam or did not get a date. Cognitive therapists attempt to make their patients aware of these distorted thinking patterns, or cognitive distortions, and change them (a process termed cognitive restructuring). Behavioral therapy, or behavior modification, trains individuals to replace undesirable behaviors with healthier behavioral patterns. Unlike psychodynamic therapies, it does not focus on uncovering or understanding the unconscious motivations that may be behind the maladaptive behavior. In other words, strictly behavioral therapists do not try to find out why their patients behave the way they do, they just teach them to change the behavior. Cognitive-behavioral therapy integrates the cognitive restructuring approach of cognitive therapy with the behavioral modification techniques of behavioral therapy. The therapist works with the patient to identify both the thoughts and the behaviors that are causing distress, and to change those thoughts in order to readjust the behavior. In some cases, the patient may have certain fundamental core beliefs, called schemas, which are flawed and require modification. For example, a patient suffering from depression may be avoiding social contact with others, and suffering considerable emotional distress because of his isolation. When questioned why, the patient reveals to his therapist that he is afraid of rejection, of what others may do or say to him. Upon further exploration with his therapist, they discover that his real fear is not rejection, but the belief that he is hopelessly uninteresting and unlovable. His therapist then tests the reality of that assertion by having the patient name friends and family who love him and enjoy his company. By showing the patient that others value him, the therapist both exposes the irrationality of the patient’s belief and provides him with a new model of thought to change his old behavior pattern. In this case, the person learns to think, â€Å"I am an interesting and lovable person; therefore I should not have difficulty making new friends in social situations. † If enough â€Å"irrational cognitions† are changed, this patient may experience considerable relief from his depression (Ellis, 2008) A Cautionary Statement About Psychotherapy Outcome Research Most psychotherapy outcome research is focused on short-term reduction of symptoms, and this is the reason why many â€Å"studies† find that cognitive-behavioral therapy is as effective as antidepressants in the treatment of depression. This has been a pretty consistent finding. However, cognitive-behavioral therapy is focused on â€Å"getting better† rather than â€Å"feeling better†. So while we are encouraged that clients improve their symptoms with cognitive-behavioral therapy, we are more interested in helping them with the underlying thoughts and core beliefs that caused their emotional distress, helping them rid themselves of problematic, inaccurate thoughts, and replacing them with thoughts that are healthy and accurate. This emphasis on â€Å"getting better† helps clients to do well long-term. Today, many treatment centers and facilities are very interested in having their staff trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy (Pucci, 2005). Christian Faith in Clinical Practice Use of Religious and Spiritual Resources in Therapy (e. g. , prayer, inner healing prayer, use of Scripture in therapy, referral to religious groups, etc. ); Dealing with Spiritual Issues in Therapy; Fostering Intrapersonal Integration and the Development of Spirituality in the Therapist and Client (Use of Spiritual Disciplines and Role of Authentic Disciplines or  Circumstantial Spiritual Disciplines); Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) that combines mindfulness training with CBT for the treatment of depression and its recurrence; Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) with four major components: regulating affect, tolerating distress, improving interpersonal relationships, and training in mindfulness; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with six major components: acceptance, cognitive diffusion, being present, self as context with a transcendent sense of self, values, and committed action; Ethical Guidelines.

Customer Service Operations and Excellence Essay

Customer Service Operations and Excellence - Essay Example The same can be achieved through effective customer service operations. The concept of achieving excellence in service through effective customer service has now transcended to various fields in general and academic libraries in particular. Service institutions such as universities are mainly focused on providing optimum quality service to the students, by way of enhanced support services for education, as a means to retain students and improve their academic performance (Sander et al., 2000). Academic libraries exist purely to offer services to the students, which include a range of activities such as offering professional reference services to enable the students to effectively use the various resources that the library has to offer; respond to online queries for references; assist in information delivery services such as shelving and re-shelving books, periodicals etc., among many others (Hernon, Altman, 1996). This paper on customer service operations and excellence aims to discu ss and analyze the various issues related to the management of academic libraries, with the help of appropriate theories and models and conclude with recommendations for improving the services operations to achieve better results. Managing Libraries: Overview One of the primary objectives of libraries is to store and record detailed information about books, in order to serve the 'customer' i.e. students in a better manner. Academic libraries in particular, deals with preserving and recording comprehensive information with regard to scholarly publications as well as the primary resources which are used by the students for achieving scholarships. The libraries in general and academic libraries in particular have recently undergone significant changes over the past couple of years, especially with regard to the manner in which information is stored and dealt with. Such rapid transformations can be largely attributed to the fact that the development of information technology has penetra ted almost all aspects of human life, and academic libraries are no exception. Such changes has brought about a significant transformation in the manner in which libraries are governed, and managed; followed by changes in its organizational structure, skills sets required of library staff, as well as the range of facilities made available to the customers (Budd, 2005). Libraries across the globe are now increasingly accepting and accommodating such changes, in order to enhance their service quality. According to the management at University of California Library: â€Å"The continuing proliferation of formats, tools, services, and technologies has upended how we arrange, retrieve, and present our holdings. Our users expect simplicity and immediate reward and Amazon, Google, and iTunes are the standards against which we are judged (University of California Libraries, 2005, p. 7).† Considering the wide ranging transformations brought about by technology, the management of librar y services must be reviewed to accommodate and cope up with the changing times. However, it must be noted that despite the rapid changes which have penetrated almost all the aspects of management within academic libraries, customer services still remains the same and uninhibited. The key role of librarians still surrounds provision of optimum services to the users, by offering high quality services.

Summarization for chapters of the weather makers, and The author name Essay - 2

Summarization for chapters of the weather makers, and The author name is Tim Flannery - Essay Example Although it is cheaper for some countries to produce electricity from wind power as compared to burning fossil fuels, the chief disadvantage of wind is that it is not always blowing. It has also been argued that the wind turbines that are currently in use are responsible for the killing of many birds each year, this argument has been effectively countered by Flannery who points out that in the United States, more birds are killed by cats than those killed by turbines (Flannery, 267-271). Chapter 30: Nuclear Lazarus? This chapter focuses on discussing nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is a crucial alternative source of energy in light of the emerging climatic issues. James Lovelock, who is the originator of the Gaia Hypothesis pleaded for the expansion of nuclear energy programs in 2004. Nuclear power plants are however complicated to construct and their safety is a huge concern in their construction. Disasters such as the Chernobyl disasters are always being brought up in discussions of nuclear power safety. With the increasing movement of tectonic plates, more and more geothermal power sources are seen to be constantly coming up on the earth’s surface (Flannery, 272-278). ... Flannery also introduces the reader to the idea of CAT vehicles that efficiently run on compressed air and are extremely eco-friendly. Flannery also points out that despite their harsh emissions, one redeeming element of airplanes is that the contrails that they create help in reducing the average amount of light that manages to reach the earth’s surface, a factor that help in keeping the earth slightly cooler (Flannery, 279-283). Chapter 32: The Last Act of God? It is projected that human influences will eventually overtake natural factors. Flannery evokes the question of â€Å"what is the price of this injustice?† This question is in reference to the story of most of the world’s powerful nation not only polluting, but also preventing rain from falling in developing nations. An example being the Inuit whose traditional food sources such as bear, caribou and seals are fast disappearing as an effect of global warming. The Inuit land is also seen to be fast disappe aring. The Kyoto Protocol has allowed only the ratifying nations to pollute within certain given limits (Flannery, 284-289). Chapter 33: The Carbon Dictator This chapter mentioned Paul Crutzen who once helped save the world from ozone depletion and is yet again, back trying to help with the current climate issue. Flannery draws up three different possible climate change outcomes. The first being that human response is too slow and results in the end of the earth as it is currently known. The second scenario allows for humans to avoid destruction by acting in good time, while the third possibility is where by establishing an Earth Commission for Thermostatic Control, we reduce emissions just enough so as to

Critical Thinking and Informatics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critical Thinking and Informatics - Assignment Example In contemporary times, nurses’ assessment relies upon technology, which yields much reliable results. It has not negatively affected the assessment skills of nurses and in fact it has transformed the assessment methods that have improved the clinical assessments (Webb & Shakespeare, 2008). Though technological tools may have errors, but the results are more accurate than human assessment. According to the study of Powell-Cope & Patterson (2008), the use of patient care technology has become complex with the passage of time, and this is because of the reason that the before the use of technology, nurses relied more on their sense of sight, touch, smell and hearing to detect the change in the patient (Powell-Cope, Nelson, & Patterson, 2008). Now, the excessive use of technology tools has suppressed the sense of nurses to detect changes in the patient (Powell-Cope, Nelson, & Patterson, 2008). As cited by Powell Cope in ‘Patient Care Technology and Safety’ nurses relied on change in the skin color and mental status of he patient to determine the changing in oxygen saturation. This reflects that before the invention of pulse oxygmetry nurses were able to identify the oxygen saturation in the patient determining their physical and mental condition. Similar has been cited by Zalumas in ‘Caring in Crisis’ as he states that the overdependence of nurs es on the technology has declined clinical assessment skills (Zalumas, 1995). The legal implication and computerized data has increased the burden on the technical environment. Inducement of Patient Care Technology has provided new dimensions for the clinical practice as nurses are relying more on these technologies that has discarded old methods. On the other hand, scholars believe that the technology has resolved major issues related to nurses assessment (Dickerson, Brewer, & Kovner, 2007). According to Rudy and Bertman,

The Stress of Working in a Call Center Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Stress of Working in a Call Center - Essay Example Each day that I reported for work, I was on the receiving end of the harshest berating, the meanest insults, and the most intellectually insulting comments that one would only wish on his worst enemy. To make matters worse, I had no right to stand up for myself and let them know that I was just a person tasked to receive their complaints. I wasn't the enemy. I was there to help. Or at least, let them vent to a certain degree. But these clients took complaining to a whole new level. Every time I was demeaned as a person, I felt like shouting at the person on the line, or simply disconnecting the headset and running off crying or to let off some steam. But I wasn't allowed to do that. I needed to stay on the line no matter how I felt. Rather than taking my anger out on the clients, I made sure that I spent at least an hour a day releasing my anger and stress. They say nothing beats boxing when it comes to releasing stress. That is exactly what I did. Each day, I would get home from my shift and pop a boxing game into my X-Box Kinect and jab away for a few minutes in order to remove the stress and anger that I had pent up inside of me. Then on the days that I had off, I made sure to get a full body massage in order to relax my body, mind, and soul even for only a few hours a day. These two regular stress-busting practices of mine were definitely the way to go. I would return to work refreshed and with a new perspective on my job situation and how to deal with it. I learned that work stress could actually be released even on the job if I simply had a way to let it out as I did my task. That was when the stress ball massager became a daily part of my work life. Every time I got a problem call, I take the stress ball and squeeze it as I felt my tension and anger building up inside of me. All of the negative emotions that I wanted to unleash on the client transferred to the stress ball.  

Book Report on Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui Essay

Book Report on Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui - Essay Example Instead of accumulating objects or bad emotions, Kingston urges her readers to free themselves from this wasted space and embrace a freer, easier way of being. She urges readers to reorder their lives and seek a new way of grounding themselves in reality. She suggests that his way of thinking is very easy to adopt and very cost effective. What did I think of this book? This is one of a thousand different lifestyle books out there in the marketplace. I didn’t find it very convincing and I found many of its ideas were just common sense dressed up as something supposedly special. While I agree with the general principle that people should not be packrats and collect junk that is useless to their lives and that the excessive accumulation of things can even prove to be a fire hazard, I don’t think that eliminating such things will radically alter a person’s lifestyle. People are who they are; most self help books simply suggest they make superficial changes without addressing the serious problems many people have. Most books like this promise huge life changes by doing one or two small things. People love these books because they are essentially lazy and lack an introspective spirit. They are always waiting around hoping to be told by the latest guru what they should do to fixed their messed up lives. Simpler, more appropriate advice would probably be: take a shower, work out, get a job. Cleaning up your apartment so that you’re not surrounded by empty pizza boxes and beer bottles is probably a good idea too. Opening up a window to clear the air is probably a good idea. This is common sense, not something a person should pay for or be told is expertise of some sort. The idea of not holding onto the past is also a frequent theme of self-help books. Once again, this idea is usually surrounded by a bunch of pseudo-scientific ideas like positive

Kenneth Clark, Katharine Hepburm, Harvey Milk, and Fred korematsu, and Essay

Kenneth Clark, Katharine Hepburm, Harvey Milk, and Fred korematsu, and all tried to create social change in areas of sexual or racial discrimination - Essay Example Although, Tracy Seth (John Holiday) and Margaret (Mary Nash) are divorced; Tracy feels that their family reputation must be protected (Cukor et al, 278). The novel Milk written by Milk Harvey (Sean Penn) covers the difficulties that Milk; a gay activist has to contend. Harvey tries harder to get people to understand and appreciate the sexual preferences of gays in the community (Jinks et al, 212). Kidd presents Dexter with an opportunity to get closer to Tracy. Dexter revealed that Kidd had an innuendo Laden cover up from her Tracy’s father Seth (John Holiday). Tracy’s family Margaret and Dinah (Virginia Weilder), Tracy’s sister, warmly; which disappoints Tracy. During her interaction with Mike, Tracy discovers the admirable qualities that he possesses (Nourmand & Graham, 256). Tracy finds herself wind up in confusion, between her ex-husband the Fiance and Mike, the reporter. To ease her mind, Tracy drinks for the second time in her entire life. She then resorts to a friendly swim with Mike. George gets to see the two, and he appears filled with Jealousy. Tracy uses the opportunity George presents, when confronting her of what he did the previous night, as an opportunity to break up with him on her wedding day. Mike proposes to marry Tracy, who declines in a nice way. When Dexter, her ex husband, asks for Tracy’s hand in marriage; she gladly gets a ccepts (Nourmand & Graham, 256). On the other hand, Harvey, later on, in his quest to fight for the gay rights, receives appointment as a Supervisor in the San Francisco’s board, in the year 1977. Milk takes pride in being the first gay man assimilated in the public office, in America. This way he not only succeeds in materializing the gay rights, but also used the opportunity to fake relations with the political society; from political officials to the union

A passionate and powerful poet Essay Example for Free

A passionate and powerful poet Essay Sheenagh Pugh is for me, a passionate and powerful poet; the majority of her poetry has contained the themes of the earth and how it will be ruined if we are not careful. Even within her childrens poetry, these themes are prominent. The other major theme within the poetry of Sheenagh Pugh is the bible this theme is quite often in association with divine love for earth. She deals with this in a startlingly refreshing and compassionate way, often with the sense of melancholy but never with depression. Sheenagh Pugh refers in the title of The craft I left in was called Esau  that the pilots name is Esau and she is suggesting that mankind has made a bad bargain like Esau did in the bible. The settings of the poems are different from each other; The craft I left in was called Esau is set in an spacecraft while Do you think Well ever get to see Earth again, Sir? is set in a classroom on a different planet evoking memories of home.  In Do you think well ever see earth again, sir? the setting is in a classroom and the teacher referring about earth. Sheenagh Pugh has set this poem in another world and in a class because she wants to show how it would make us think of home. She is uprooted from her culture or roots and she speaks I cant fancy a tour through the ruins of my home which suggests that she has no intentions of seeing her old traditions and earth. The theme of Sheenagh Pugh poems are to present us with a sad view of the future and a grim warning of what could be. In the craft I left in was called Esau Sheenagh Pugh mentions People joked nervously; just like a plane flight this suggests that people are joking to make themselves feel better to forget the true purpose of this trip, to forget that theyll never return.  I would have you ten years before the flood: this image gives the picture of how extreme his eternal love is and to what extent it goes. This effect of this is dramatic to the reader and builds up tension. The language of the poem becomes more positive as it progresses. The first stanza up to line ten, with its image of a woman in a trip ready to leave and never to return. The questions in the second section of the poem suggest progress towards understanding and the exclamations in the final section give the impression of sadness and remorse. In the second part she mentions No bother, no big deal. I cant recall feeling sad, not then which suggests the mood that the person is in a sad mood. The poet says that she cannot remember being sad at that moment in time but in line 12 not then she indicates she did feel sad at some point. We dont exactly when, but at some stage, she felt remorse and sad. In do you think well ever see earth again, sir? Sheenagh Pugh has been critical of Earth. The but in line 11 signals a change in direction. The speaker changes his/her approach completely and becomes optimistic. Sheenagh Pugh uses alliteration should see something to describe some beautiful thing like a leaf. This type of language gives a dramatic effect as we start to feel as we are ruining the earth and how we will remember it in the grim future. Towards the end of the craft I left in was called Esau, the passengers looked back in line 20 as they struggle to look ahead. They are still looking back to what theyre leaving behind. She mentions that earth is quite small really compared to the rest of the universe. The poet compares Earth to a guesthouse and we are just passing time on it but Earth is our permanent home. This gives us a grim warning of what could happen if we are not to careful. In do you think well ever get to see earth, sir? The speaker says at the end Look at it with the inside of your head, look at it for later, look at it for ever, and look at it once for me which suggests that the speaker wished that he/she looked at these simple things the last time they saw them? The speaker regrets not savoring the little moments and this is what Sheenagh Pugh is trying to get over the message to us to look after the earth as well not see it again once it has gone.  The language and structure of Sheenagh Pughs poems are to convey that we have to look after earth. She gets this message thought by using language as alliteration like in do you think line 11 should see some and similes in the craft I left line 7 people joked neverously; like a plane flight to show us what can happen in the near future.

Business Plan Essay Example for Free

Business Plan Essay IV. Description of Venture a. Services BC Property Forum is dedicated in selling properties of the acquired assets of the banks through bidding. Our main goal is to help our clients especially to those who are working abroad to have a good investments in owning a property. Our area partners are specially trained in doing sales talk in their clients by providing helpful information about the property. Like property location, property size, and any other information describing the property. We will provide our outmost service to provide the needs of our clients. b. Size of Business BC Property Forum is a small size business that has 20 to 99 employees. This business is privately owned by partnership type of business. c. Office Equipment and Personnel The office equipment needed First are computers for recording, keeping and back-up of files and records. Second Telephones and Faxes for communication with the clients. Third are printers for printing of records and files. Fourth are photocopying machines for copying of files and lastly are air cons to make people comfortable. The business strictly chooses our personnel especially for our area partners and in-house partner. We will have are partners that are good in doing sales talk and well trained. We will also hire people for Secretary, IT and Messengers. As owners, we do not want to have problems with our clients that will lower our client’s trust. d. Background of Entrepreneur President Jenifer Velarde Jenifer Velarde is graduated Magna Cum Laude with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Management at the University of the Philippines. She was chosen to be the president because of her abilities of handling a business very well and resolving problems. Vice President – Enrico C. Veluz Enrico C. Veluz is locally known to have many small businesses within areas in Manila. He also graduated at the University of the Philippines and took up Business Management. He also received an award as an Outstanding Entrepreneur last year. Financial Manager – Elenaire Puzon Elenaire Puzon is a graduate of Financial Management in the Mapua Institute of Technology. He is an experienced collector and good in preparing of financial statements and accounts in different companies. Secretary – Bea Faye Libiran Bea Faye Libiran is a graduate of Adamson University and took up Marketing. She is an experienced secretary since she has worked on different big companies such as RCBC and Makisig Group of Companies. Area Partners – Jake Esguerra and Ryan Redecto Jake Esguerra is a graduate of University of Makati and took up Marketing. He is a In-House Partner – Frangelo Alejandro and John Orneza IT – Lawrence Penalba and Mikko Ray Victoria Messenger Jomaric Santos Jomaric Santos is a graduate of University of Makati and took up V. Marketing Plan (Condominium Units, House Lot, Lot, Building, Res/Commercial) a. Pricing As we reassess the acquired assets of the banks, we will be meeting halfway with the bank to provide a better price. b. Distribution Since we offer service, distribution is not relevant. c. Promotion BC Property Forum will conduct promotion through advertising. The type of advertising will be using print advertising like magazines, newspaper, posters, brochures and flyers. This would help our company to be recognized by our customers since we offer services for them. We will also plan to develop our own website of the company to promote the services we have. Those promotions will be of great help to our company to be well established in the business industry. d. Product and Forecasts The 1st month will be for the set up of the business. On the 2nd month, the company office will be in order ready to start. On the next month, many costumers are satisfying the services to an increase in sales every year. e. Controls Based on the market segmentation that BC Property Forum has established, we will require constant updates in terms of the potential sizes, distributions, and purchasing patterns of the quality conscious, technology utilizing executive markets. We will use our historical performance to establish a customer database containing this information. This will allow BC Property Forum to target customers more efficiently as a result of actual experience. Furthermore, as our customer service and follow-up are keys to establishing retained customers, the marketing database will allow us to divide the potential needs of customers.

Strategic Goals Within The Automobile Industry Management Essay

Strategic Goals Within The Automobile Industry Management Essay This Report looks the performance of Firm C against strategic goals within the automobile industry. We will be looking on how Firm C has used the strategic principles and theories in order to compete with other six automobile firms in same industry. Basing on the areas of study we can see how Firm C has managed to utilize the resources. Using simulation technology over a number of weeks the company used market information to inform strategy and monitor performance. In retrospect, as this report concludes, much more informed decision-making processes and governance would have assisted in ensuring the performance of the company and achievement of the mission of Firm C. However through this simulation game, individuals have managed to relate the theory they have learnt in class and apply them in the really field. A companys strategy is managements game plan for growing the business, staking out a market position, attracting and pleasing customers, competing successfully, conducting operations, and achieving targeted objectives. (Thompson, Strickland and Gamble 2005, p 3) As described Thompson, Strickland and Gamble (2005) who explained that for a company to have a sustainable competitive advantages, needs to have a differentiated products with features such as added performance , high quality and wider product choices. This is what Firm C tried to achieve by reducing cost of production so that the price of cars should go down, the reasons for this is to get to a wide range of customers. Therefore, the firm concentrate on the price sensitive category, value seekers, customers with more disposable income and fairly price sensitive customers. Strategy Thinking One of Firm Cs strategies was to have a first mover advantage. This can be defined as: an organisation that moves down the experience curve by getting into a market first should be able to reduce its cost because of the accumulated experience it builds up over its rivals by being first. (Thompson, Strickland and Gamble 2005) Firm C has done this by being one of the first firms to produce a new concept car and by being the only firm to focus more on quality and safety. Adopting the Boston Matrix, Kotler and Keller (2006), the company used market feedback to place products in the market into the appropriate categories and used this to inform investment decisions. Using market data (consumer and external trading conditions) the company contextualised their strategic decisions by understanding customer needs, available market spend and trends linked to the overall economy, such as affordability and luxury. One key strand to ensuring high performance was focusing the models produced on a core market, but to provide a number of models. This approach allowed a diversification of products without overstretching the companys range of products. This, in turn, would allow for marketing to focus on the core offerings of the products. Through focusing on the core market, and limited development of new products, whilst maximizing plant capacity and marketing, it was considered to be part of the long term strategy to offer a return to investors and increase the value of the company without compromising customer perceived valued of the products and brand. Short-Term versus Long Term Considerations All decision -taken on these six periods was to ensure the company is doing well in car manufacturing industry and keeps on meeting customers expectations. This would give a company to have efficient production and hence result to profit maximization. The Short-term investment in product development allowed minor upgrades to come to market quicker in response to customer demands for safety and quality above luxury. No long-term decisions were taken at the immediate outturn whilst the company assessed the long-term prospects. The long term was taken when there was a necessary change in what customers prefer and in order to go together with the technology changes. Firm C has one of the highest technology capabilities in terms of interior, quality and styling with the highest technology capability than any other firm in the StratSim world to produce safe cars. This is one reason that has made Firm C to have competitive advantage over other firms in StratSim world which has set our cars to be safest over all cars. Mission Vision Mission and vision can be defined as: A mission is a general expression of the overall purpose of the organisation, which ideally, is in line with the values and expectations of major stakeholders and concerned with the scope and boundaries of the organisation. (Johnson, Scholes and Whittington 2005, p 13) The firms mission is to deliver a long-term high return for investors over the lifetime of products Vision is an integral part of strategic management and adds value to the process by integrating the products of strategic planning into a coherent and meaningful whole. (Wilson 2003, p 65) The firms vision is to produce the safest cars for people who want to travel safely. External Environment Johnson, Scholes and Whittington (2005) explain that the growth rate in an industry may affect the degree of competitive rivalry in an industry. For example, in situations of growth an organisation might expect to achieve its own growth through the growth in the market place whereas when markets are mature this has to be achieved by taking market share from competitors. Another example is high exit barriers; high investment in non transferable fixed assets may also increase competition because there is likely to be the persistence of excess capacity. Within this exercise, Firm C benefited from the lower performance of rival companies in the earlier stages. This ensured that the market place was one where companies could grow a significant market share in the early periods. Following major production years (period 4 and beyond), the market became more competitive with other company output increasing at a time when Firm C were decreasing output and incurring additional costs through utilizing a lower percentage of production capacity without the associated decision to reduce manufacturing capacity. Other factors included general population wealth and market factors (GDP) and the sensitivity of oil prices, focusing consumers to look not just at the short term purchasing price of vehicles, but the longer-term running costs. This explains the greater interest in hybrid models as the exercise progressed. Low-end market for gas vehicles remained robust for those with purely a purchase price consideration; this benefited Firm G in the short term, although longer term investments and a reduction in dealerships as well as manufacturing capacity hindered the companys ability to meet market demand related to external factors. Internal Environment The internal environment within the company is much easier to maintain a longer-term strategy, as well as making short-term adjustments to meat company objectives. However, it is the control of the internal factors that proved to be the single weakness in the deliver of the company strategy. Thorpe and Homan (2000) suggest that cost efficiency is determined by a number of cost drivers: for example, economies of scale. This was a key consideration in reaching the top performing market share as low-cost production created value for consumers and permitted a higher volume of unit production sales. In periods 2 4, the company strategy appeared to be paying dividends. Stock value price was attractive to investors in the early stages due to a large dividend pay out and strong sales / production outputs, promising even greater returns as a result of a longer-term strategy and the companys market position. In many of the key indicators set out in the appendices, Firm C was indeed the market leader. This led the company to believe that the existing strategy was correct and to maintain investment in the key areas that were driving performance. However, a number of internal factors were changed that hindered the product lifecycle, including decreasing the number of dealerships that then prevent the sales of our star products. Additionally, an overproduction of a vehicle coupled with a move towards producing a new type of hybrid vehicle distracted from the core performance resulting in poor sales across the board. As a result of the poor sales, reactive marketing spend was increased to try to attract a formerly strong consumer based. This reduced the investment in research and development and plant capacity, in turn hitting the bottom line of the company. In effect, it was a rapid downward spiral of performance. This poor performance, slow sales, inefficient manufacturing, loss of market share (through dealership reduction) reduced the overall market value of the company and therefore the attractiveness to shareholders. Irrespective of the strength of the core product, the company allowed itself to become distracted from what was going well, onto a short-term reactive stance without out any return. One area not monitored was the percentage return on sales. This would have been a better indictor of the overall health of the company as opposed to market share or sales totals. By periods 5 onward, the company failed to take any meaningful decisions related to market intelligence, and was starting a rapid decline in all key indicators. By period 7, the decline of the company had seen it outperforming rivals to rival companies taking the market share and sales off Firm G, whilst the stock price collapsed. The inactivity, rather than the activity, in decision making was the most significant cause of the companys failure in these periods. Internal considerations and decision-making chronology are set out in appendix 4. Personal learning The textbook did provide many very useful theories which made decision making more measurable, for example, the strengths and weaknesses of the SWOT theory. This did not however take out the uncertainty of decisions such as which car will be the best option to produce first, one learned that this can be reconciled by playing it safe as to not produce the Hybrid car first which the firm thought everybody will see as a new opportunity and instead focused on a different car design and see what the strategic moves of the competitors will be and then react to that with a better version car. The purpose and the priorities of the firm was not clearly established from the beginning of the StratSim exercise, this made it difficult to set the firms objectives and developing steps to achieve objectives in the long term and short term. In retrospect, the corporate governance of the firm was not planned very well. The company should have worked out a corporate governance method by splitting the responsibility of decisions between the team members. For example team member 1 was responsible for the inventory of the firm and team member 2 responsible for the marketing and so forth. This way, a more in depth understanding of the StratSim world would have been the result. In contrast, the time management of the firm was in the beginning stages more managed, but towards the end of the StratSim exercise the cooperation of the firm disappeared, a personal lesson learned was to for future references, to agree on set times when decisions needs to be made. More research should have been done on how the StratSim world works and what requirements were necessary to perform well. For example, the firm did not plan the firm inventory very well, resulting in too little or too many cars being produced. Furthermore, plant capacity was in the beginning stages below 100,000: this increased the unit cost and decreased profits. Conclusion This report has set out the strategic goals and rationale for Firm C; this was explained by giving an explanation for the short and long-term goals and decisions that was taken to gain a share in the vehicle manufacturing industry. The performance of Firm C started out healthy but because of poor informed decision-making processes and governance, the performance of Firm C radically declined and resulted in the failure of the firm to realise their mission which was to become one of the biggest car manufacturing firms in the StratSim world. The decisions the firm took reflected a reactive management style as opposed to a proactive one, for example with the inaccurate inventory control which saw the firm producing too little or too many cars and reacting to competitors decisions as appose to developing steps to become the market leaders. Strategic Models that were available for example, the Boston matrix, the product lifecycle and Value chain were never completely integrated into the companys decision-making which resulted in uninformed decisions been made, with consequences that resulted in shareholders loosing an interest in the firm and sales spiralling downwards. Reference Arthur, A., Thompson, Jr., Strickland, A. J. and Gamble, J.E. (2005) Crafting and Executing Strategy, 14th Edition, New York, McGraw-Hill Irwin Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2005) Exploring Corporate Strategy, Text and Cases, 7th Edition, Essex, Prentice Hall Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2006) Marketing Management, 12th Edition, New Jersey, Prentice Hall Stacey, RD. (2000) Strategic Management and Organisational Dynamics, 3rd Edition, Essex, Prentice Hall Segal-Horne, S. (2001) The Strategy Reader, Oxford, Blackwell Business Thorpe R. and Homan G. (2000) Strategic Reward Systems, Essex, Prentice Hall Wilson, I. (2003) The Subtle Art of Strategy, London, Praeger Appendix Final Results Decision Summary: Firm C, for Period 6 Technology Capabilities Interior Styling Safety Quality Curr. Expenditure (mill.) $240 $330 $399 $412 Product Development Dev Ctr Project Class Status Size HP Int Sty Saf Qua Curr Exp 1 Cameo Economy upgr: launch Per. 7 22 135 5 5 5 6 $129 2 Cafav Family upgr: launch Per. 7 28 155 4 3 5 4 $124 3 Crash Truck upgr: launch Per. 7 77 230 3 6 5 4 $124 Total (mill.) $376 Consumer Marketing Budget (mill.)   Regional Corp. Adv. $40 Direct Mail $3 Public Relations $8   Ã‚  Total $51 Direct Mail Targets:  Value Seekers(1), Families(2), Singles(3), High Income(4) Product Marketing Vehicle Platform MSRP   Dealer Disc.  Ã‚   Adv.   (mill.) Adv. Theme Promo. (mill.)  Ã‚   Cafav No Change $20,350 15.0% $70 Safety $60 Cameo No Change $13,500 18.0% $70 Styling $55 Crash No Change $21,598 16.0% $65 Interior $50 Total $205 $165 Plant Capacity Current Capacity (000s) 3,050 Capacity Change (000s) 0 Vehicle Production Vehicle Previous Sales  Ã‚   (000s)   Current   Inventory (000s)   Scheduled Production (000s)  Ã‚   Flexible Production Retooling Costs  Ã‚   (mill.)  Ã‚   Cafav 660 0 660 X $0 Cameo 605 0 605 X $0 Crash 442 8 450 X $0 Total 1,707 8 1,715 $0 Dealerships North South East West Total Dealer Inc./Dec. 0 0 0 0 0 Training and Support (mill.) $3 Financing Amount ($ mill.) Bonds Issued $60 Stock Repurchase $50 Dividends Paid $100 Bonds Issued Issued Amount (mill.)   Rate  Ã‚   Status Period 4 $10 8.5% callable in 1 year Period 5 $60 9.0% callable in 2 years StratSim Ind:ind1 Firm:c Period 5 User gre9313

Flowers for Algernon :: Free Essay Writer

Flowers for Algernon "Hurting Charlie" When was the last time you wanted something so much, you would sacrifice your life to have it; even if just for a moment? Charlie Gordon, a 37 year old man with a learning disability, did just that. In the story "Flowers for Algernon", by Daniel Keyes, Charlie gets a chance to alter his I.Q. substantially through operation. The only drawback to this is, the long-term outcomes of the operation are unknown. The operation does succeed, but later Charlie is sent on a riveting downward spiral into the life he tried to run away from. The operation hurt Charlie in every imaginable way; and did nothing to help him. Is it not better to do your best than to be the best? Charlie Gordon was a motivated man who always put forth as much effort as he could! He struggled for independence and freedom in a world he desperately wanted to be a part of. A statement such as, "Im gonna try awful hard" is often heard spoken by Charlie. Everybody notices how hard Charlie tries to be what he considers normal. Dr. Strauss described Charlie best when he said, "But most people of his low mentality are hostile and uncooperative. They are usually dull, apathetic, and hard to reach. He has a good nature. He’s interested and eager to please". If a person is doing the best they can for the circumstances, isn’t that the best? Why should a person feel pressured to be what he isn’t capable of being? After the operation, Charlie first doesn’t even want to try, then can’t remember what it means to try, and finally, doesn’t have hope enough to try. His statement changes from, "Im gonn a try awful hard" to, "maybe its just easier not to do what I say Im going to do"! the thought to try his best never even occurs. He lost one of his most valuable qualities due to his need to conform. If a man does not know of hurt and suffering, he should not have to know. Before Charlie knew the truth of his life and was able to look back on it, he didn’t know of some horrible feelings. He never had to feel ugly, unwanted, alone, and most of all, ashamed. After finding out how all of the men he thought were his friends only used him for free laughs, Charlie feels so humiliated.

Heuristic Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

Heuristic Analysis Introduction The RIT campus has a very diverse community that consists of hearing and deaf people. Although RIT offers many sign language classes and provides interpreters across campus, communication outside of class is still difficult. The problem we are trying to overcome is the communication between hearing and deaf people in real-time and in person without third-party assistance. Our solution would break down the communication barriers. Using the best attributes of current communication products and new technology, we are able to envision a product that would bring forth this new era of communication.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The products we analyzed were AOL Instant Messenger, WebNote MultiChat site, and the T-Mobile Sidekick. We choose AOL Instant Messenger because it is the most popular chat program in the US. We choose WebNote MultiChat because it brings new features like real-time chat editing with multiple users. The Sidekick was chosen because it is the leading communication device available on the market today and it is very popular among deaf students at RIT. Product Analysis #1 (AOL Instant Messenger) Siddhartha Reddy Interface Design Heuristic Analysis †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Visibility of system status It is important for the user to be kept informed about what the current condition of the system is so the user knows what is going on. The user is made aware of the condition of the system through feedback. AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) keeps the user updated with the system status through a variety of feedback. Most of the windows on AIM tell you what the window is about, for example when you receive a message from your friend you get your friend’s screenname displayed on top of the window. If you want to message a user, you can select their name from your buddy list and send them a message, when the screenname is selected, it gets highlighted, which tells the user the screenname they picked to send a message to. Feedback is also achieved through sound, whenever a message is sent or received a unique sound is played (sounds are customizable by the user). The system status is displayed by the icon in the taskbar, when AIM is signed on the icon is surrounded by a blue circle and when its offline the AIM is by itself, so by looking the u... ... I did not use any hard copy documents so I cannot answer the questions. There is no help menu on Sidekick. I basically used the â€Å"trail and error† method when I first got the Sidekick. As for the Skills section, a lot of the questions was pretty much answered yes, some were N/A.I do not really see anything that will replace our skills. I strongly believe that the Sidekick does follow the privacy because you can set up password to prevent anyone from using it. I guess that sums up my analysis. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After careful evaluation of the above mentioned products we came to the conclusion that our solution would incorporate the best features of the products along with the introduction of new features. By using the strongest attributes of each product and throwing away the weakest ones we are truly able to make a superior communication device. Our group believes that the introduction of our product to the RIT campus would bridge the communication gap between hearing and deaf students. By breaking down these barriers the educational process would be further enhanced with the cooperation of all the students across campus. Heuristic Analysis Essay -- essays research papers Heuristic Analysis Introduction The RIT campus has a very diverse community that consists of hearing and deaf people. Although RIT offers many sign language classes and provides interpreters across campus, communication outside of class is still difficult. The problem we are trying to overcome is the communication between hearing and deaf people in real-time and in person without third-party assistance. Our solution would break down the communication barriers. Using the best attributes of current communication products and new technology, we are able to envision a product that would bring forth this new era of communication.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The products we analyzed were AOL Instant Messenger, WebNote MultiChat site, and the T-Mobile Sidekick. We choose AOL Instant Messenger because it is the most popular chat program in the US. We choose WebNote MultiChat because it brings new features like real-time chat editing with multiple users. The Sidekick was chosen because it is the leading communication device available on the market today and it is very popular among deaf students at RIT. Product Analysis #1 (AOL Instant Messenger) Siddhartha Reddy Interface Design Heuristic Analysis †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Visibility of system status It is important for the user to be kept informed about what the current condition of the system is so the user knows what is going on. The user is made aware of the condition of the system through feedback. AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) keeps the user updated with the system status through a variety of feedback. Most of the windows on AIM tell you what the window is about, for example when you receive a message from your friend you get your friend’s screenname displayed on top of the window. If you want to message a user, you can select their name from your buddy list and send them a message, when the screenname is selected, it gets highlighted, which tells the user the screenname they picked to send a message to. Feedback is also achieved through sound, whenever a message is sent or received a unique sound is played (sounds are customizable by the user). The system status is displayed by the icon in the taskbar, when AIM is signed on the icon is surrounded by a blue circle and when its offline the AIM is by itself, so by looking the u... ... I did not use any hard copy documents so I cannot answer the questions. There is no help menu on Sidekick. I basically used the â€Å"trail and error† method when I first got the Sidekick. As for the Skills section, a lot of the questions was pretty much answered yes, some were N/A.I do not really see anything that will replace our skills. I strongly believe that the Sidekick does follow the privacy because you can set up password to prevent anyone from using it. I guess that sums up my analysis. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After careful evaluation of the above mentioned products we came to the conclusion that our solution would incorporate the best features of the products along with the introduction of new features. By using the strongest attributes of each product and throwing away the weakest ones we are truly able to make a superior communication device. Our group believes that the introduction of our product to the RIT campus would bridge the communication gap between hearing and deaf students. By breaking down these barriers the educational process would be further enhanced with the cooperation of all the students across campus.

South Park as Parody of Society

South Park began airing in 1997. The commercials that preceded it gave the impression of it beinganother stupid cartoon; however, when I began watching, I realized important issues were being covered through the repeated behaviors and actions of its characters, through the influences these actions could have on the viewers, through the reinforcement and rejections of certain stereotypes, through the long-term effects that could result from watching the program, and through its reflection of social reality. Some of the repeated behaviors and actions of the characters include one of the children (Kenny) dying during each episode (followed by Stan yelling, â€Å"Oh, my God! They've killed Kenny† (South Park); the children ragging the overweight kid; the African-American chef obsessing about sex; and the geneticist performing insane experiments in his spooky laboratory. Kenny has been shot, run over by a train, impaled on a flag pole, beheaded, crushed by Mir, and taken by Death himself–to name a few. Cartman, the overweight kid, has been called â€Å"fat ass,† â€Å"lard ass,† and â€Å"the fat kid† (South Park). There are numerous references to his weight throughout each episode; he eats continuously, thanks to his Mother's cooking and offering cookies, chocolate-chicken pot pies, and Cheesy Poofs. Each time Chef (voice of Isaac Hayes) offers to explain important issues to the kids, he breaks into a song about making â€Å"sweet love† to a woman. This leaves the children wondering just what the heck he is trying to say. There are references to his having sex with every available (and even unavailable) female in the town. There is a take-off of The Island of Dr. Moreau with a geneticist–mimicking Marlon Brando–conducting bizarre experiments: creating monkeys with four asses; creating mutant, militant turkeys; and bringing flesh-eating zombies to life. There are both negative and positive influences these repeated behaviors and actions could have on an audience. One negative effect could be the numbing of the viewer to children's deaths: it is such a common occurrence on the show until it is expected. Another effect could be the instilling of negative feelings toward the overweight; the audience could be learning that it is acceptable to verbally attack a person with a weight problem. Also, in a time of AIDS, promotion of sexual promiscuity is a dangerous thing: never have the writers mentioned the use of condoms by Chef during his encounters. Finally, because of the recent advances in genetic research and its awakening of new fears in the public, South Park's parody of the geneticist could further play on people's fears. Despite the potentially negative influences of these behaviors and actions, there could be a positive influence existing in the form of catharsis. American society has suffered from the rules of political correctness, the fear of AIDS, and the fear of knowledge (the fear of going too far into God's domain–thanks to our Puritanical background). Maybe South Park gives us release from repression by allowing us to laugh at the things we fear the most: death, ridicule of our differences by our peers, the contracting of deadly diseases, and advancements in science. (I am sure that most of us need release from the built-up tensions of daily life; South Park has given us this release. Despite South Park's cathartic influence, it reinforces several negative stereotypes: the promiscuous African-American male, the self-serving public official, and the gun-happy redneck. As I wrote above, Chef has little control over his libido; this is an extremely negative stereotype of the African-American male. If Chef were Caucasian (let us say an Irish-English-German-Swedish-Scottish-etc-American), the stereotype could be avoided entirely. The mayor's decisions are based solely on her looking good in the public eye. For example, when a volcano erupts, she uses fake concern for the children on the mountain to look like a caring person on Entertainment Tonight; she calls for continuous re-takes even though ET is broadcasting live. Uncle JimBo and Ned are the gun-toting Bubba types; when they take the kids on a camping trip, they get drunk and shoot at will. JimBo's philosophies are, â€Å"hunting without drinking is like fishing,† and â€Å"thanks to those damned Democrats, we can only shoot certain animals that impose a threat; therefore, when you see an animal, you have to yell, ‘it's comin' right for us'; then you shoot† (South Park). At least one episode attempted to reject a negative stereotype: homosexuality is a bad thing. Stan's dog, Sparky, turns out to be gay. Throughout the episode we hear the evils of homosexuality preached by the town's people; Sparky runs away. Stan realizes that his love for his dog is more important than society's negative views. Stan is counted on to win the big football game. He does not show up because he is searching for his dog (YES! What a message: football does not fit highly in the great scheme of things. He finds Sparky at Big Gay Al's â€Å"Big Gay Animal Sanctuary† and brings him home. Stan shares his newfound understanding with the citizens, and they accept his view. All the gay pets return from Al's to be with their owners. The owners apologize for being so narrow minded. This episode's message is quite profound. The gay episode is one episode which may be obvious in its message and is quite easy to grasp; however, the long-term effects from watching this program c ould go in two directions. First, there is the possibility that children (and adults) watching this show would imitate the bad language and sometimes antisocial behaviors of the characters without realizing the important subtexts of the episodes. For example, Kyle is labeled a â€Å"fecal-phile† in the Christmas episode. He has a friend he calls Mr. Hankey. Mr. Hankey comes out of the toilet to bring Christmas cheer to all the little Jewish boys. Unfortunately, Mr. Hankey is a piece of feces, and as he dances around, he leaves marks on the walls, floor, and sink; he, also, writes â€Å"NOEL† on the bathroom mirror. Of course, Kyle's parents blame Kyle–they do not believe in Mr. Hankey. Kyle is institutionalized for â€Å"fecal-philia. † Here, the problem could be kids thinking that it is cool to be in love with your own feces and cool to share it with others. They could miss the message found in the subtext: the fact that political correctness has gotten out of hand. This episode allows the inhabitants of South Park to express their dislikes over every aspect of Christmas–mainly, that each person's rights are being infringed upon by someone else's beliefs. The political correctness is what drives Kyle to his belief in Mr. Hankey, not the fun of playing in his own filth. Second, the audience could grasp the subtexts in these episodes and come to terms with their own morals and belief systems. There is a line spoken by Lex Luthor in Superman that makes good sense: â€Å"A man can read War and Peace and come away believing it is a simple adventure story; another man can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe† (Superman). The fact is that South Park is out there; it is ultimately our responsibility to make of it what we will. It may be our responsibility to do with South Park what we will; however, this program reflects what already exists: â€Å"a society full of prejudices and fears which are embedded within its communities and how these human short-comings are passed on to children†( Hatley). Fortunately, in most of the episodes these negative actions and beliefs are dealt with in a manner that seeks to alleviate them. Unfortunately, this manner of lleviation is found in the subtext, and most people are not willing to look that far; it requires too much effort. Frighteningly, the show is a parody of society itself. In film, parody is usually the death-knell of a particular genre. Years ago, I read that Ren and Stimpy (another cartoon) was proof of the decline of our civilization because of its attacks on societal norms. â€Å"Could South Park be further proof of this decline, or is it just a funny cartoon that allows us to laugh at ourselves while dealing with our fears? †( Pineda)

Meat Consumption In America

Ground Beef, between others are the most typical things on a grocery shopping list. Meat forms a great part of our meals that we include it in every single plate we eat. In the essay, â€Å"The Only Way to Have a COW', Bill McKinney imagines a future where Americans will not eat as much meat as they do now. But the likelihood of his vision ever becoming true is far from being realized. I went out interviewing people about what was their opinion of meat consumption in the U. S.They had really good opinions. One of the few questions I asked was; what is the likelihood of America on becoming vegetarian? Their answers went from America will never become vegetarian to there is a slight chance it will happen. The answer that struck me the most was that of a 19 year old male, Jose, a resident in Los Angles, CA, he said: â€Å"In my opinion I doubt America as a whole could ever transfer from being a ‘meat lover' society to a complete vegetarian society. If you think about it it's a r adiation.For example, look at Thanksgiving I doubt American's would give up such tradition. † Over the years the U. S. Meat consumption has peaked. With about 270. 71 pounds of meat a year per person, the United States is the second country that consumes more meat than any other country on the planet. With such a high demand on meat farmers and scientists have found ways to get more meat out of every cow. If things keep going the way they are Mr.. Muckiness's vision will be significantly far from being realized.Meat has become a big part of American's dietary plans. It has become a big part of my diet as well. In a week, I would probably consume a total of 10 to 12 pounds of meat. Either chicken or beef, I always need to have a piece of meat on my plate, without it my plate would not be a â€Å"balanced† meal. If I was to ever become vegetarian or at least lower my consumption of meat, it would be nearly an impossible thing to do. But hey, there is nothing that cannot b e done in fife.It would Just take a little time and some self-discipline to reach this goal. So in a few words, the idea of America ever becoming vegetarian is far from being realized. The high demand of meat in America has caused farmers to invent new ways to obtain the maximum amount of meat from every single cow to satisfy our population. Many Americans would never give up their meat. Think about it America without meat would not be America.

Education Problem in Korea Essay

A mother gets a headache whenever she comes back home after attending mothers’ regular meetings, the purpose of which is to get some information about private instruction. Her children keep her as busy as a professional manager. She surveys popular newly opened institutes called hagwon, makes a group â€Å"for private lessons,† chooses instructors and pushes her children to study. When they are asked about their plans for the declining years of their lives, most are not saving for old age. They feel uneasy because they are not able to save money, so some mothers go to work to earn enough for extra instruction expense. Many husbands and wives argue about their children’s education. However, their children don’t care about their parents’ troubles. The children regard it as the natural role of parents, because they are the kings or queens of the family, served by sacrificing parents from birth. Parents seem to allow their children’s complaining. Children don’t appreciate their parents because they are not happy with their support. Sometimes they act like robots controlled by mother’s orders. They don’t have time to talk with family, to play with their friends or to get sufficient sleep. They always hurry to learn something. As for me, I also have anxiety about my daughter’s private education. There are moments that I want her to push to study a little bit more because I feel worried when I hear how many kinds of extra instruction her friends are taking. But I can calm down my selfish desire by looking at my exhausted daughter. I try to confirm that the most effective result of studying comes from self-studying with strong motivation. Most parents don’t wait until their children ask them to help with their studying. They’re never satisfied. For example, many Korean goose daddies decide to sacrifice their lives by themselves, not by the children’s demands, in spite of the struggle with loneliness after they send their families to a foreign country. These days, many ordinary families without sufficient finances are planning for their children to study abroad despite the huge cost. They probably need to squeeze their budget or even borrow the money. Are their precious sons and daughters going to thank their parents in the future? Will their parents be satisfied with their children later? I wonder how great their outcomes will be. In addition to problems within families, there are many side effects with private education at school, which are usually from the studying burden. They learn the material they need in advance in hagwon before they learn it at school. Many math teachers in middle school become upset while they are teaching theorems or concepts. Some students don’t concentrate on the lesson because they are under a delusion that they already know everything. Actually, they can’t solve even the easy and basic problems when slightly changed. What is the investment of the money and time for private lessons for? Math teachers say the incomplete knowledge spoils the students’ ability to think. In English class, there are several fluent students with native pronunciation gained in English speaking countries. However, sometimes teachers are upset when they are very quiet and never volunteer for the class because they don’t want to be victims of cynical teasing from their friends. The students high-leveled from private education tend to be bored during class. Another big problem is about the students who have a kind of mental disease, some of who are extremely offensive and some who have abiosis without any interest in anything. Their attitude is usually caused by the pressure of studying and of too high expectations compared to their ability. Koreans all know that economic growth is based on educating for the future generation. Korea doesn’t have enough natural resources, so we need to develop knowledge and skills. The government nowadays wants to increase autonomous high schools for competitive system to build up superior talents. But parents are not likely to reduce the private education. We hope the government listens carefully to what the citizens say. For instance, English teachers need small classes according to students’ levels in order to achieve the aim for English-speaking class. Parents and teachers don’t want epoch-making policy, but just one step in the development of education policy. Korean parents need to remember this truth: their investment in children who don’t have self-motivation might waste their money, their time and their energy. I’d like to advise parents to give their children a chance to choose what they want, and to wait until they are eager to study what they need. Also, I suggest they should ignore their neighbor’s private education, not public education.

Bluetooth Technology

Technology already tracks or monitors animals, people, vehicles and other objects to eliminate the need for constant human observation. These technologies need to be small, economical and consume a minimal amount of power. Bluetooth technology is being used extensively in hand-held devices and wireless computing [Pico Communications] because of its characteristics mentioned above. This project aims to use Bluetooth technology to monitor and track animals in the wild. More specifically, this project deals with the off-loading of data from a device situated on an animal. The aim of this literature survey is to investigate the Bluetooth technology, focusing on routing in Bluetooth networks, as well as current animal tracking and monitoring technologies. Current technologies used in tracking and monitoring Many of these projects make use of the Global Positioning System (GPS), Global System for Mobile (GSM) or directional radio transmission tracking. One of them is described in â€Å"Save the Elephants† GSM tracking project, sponsored by Safari. com in Kenya, which makes use of the GPS system to gather locational information of tags placed on elephants [Douglas-Hamilton, I. t al (February 2004)]. These tags also have GSM modules that allow the locational data to be downloaded periodically. Objectives of this project are to develop small tags that have a long battery life, are cheap and light. Before the safari. com project, VHF (Very High Frequency) radio was used to download the GPS data from the animals about every 3 months. Sending data using VHF requires a large amount of power consumption, hence downloads were only done every three months. GSM technology lowers this power consumption enabling more regular data retrieval. Data, such as that elephants usually travel about 10km a day but can walk 30km or more, was collected using this technology. The Kenya wildlife service use this knowledge to plan things like human-animal interaction and fence positioning. A company called Digital Angle has developed a chip that is embedded into animals [Hostetter, J (April 2003)]. While these chips do not produce locational information, they enable a person to electronically identify an animal as well as get its current body temperature. The company is looking at using these â€Å"bio chips† to track an animal's blood pressure and hormonal changes [Hostetter, J (April 2003)]. The bio chips are very small and light but data can only be collected with a hand held reader which provides the chip with power via magnetic induction, similar to RFID technology. Most animal tracking projects are interested in the movements of animals. We are interested in the interaction of animals and possibly data concerning individual animals using the technology being developed by Digital Angle. Because we aim to only use Bluetooth technology (and not GPS), an animal's location could be roughly plotted by tagging physical positions, for example watering holes and trees. The tracking and monitoring systems above use VHF or GSM technologies to download data from animals. We want to look at the feasibility of using Bluetooth networks to download this data. Bluetooth is suited to this application because it is small, light and uses a minimal amount of power, whereas GSM and GPS devices have a short battery life and are large and heavy. In an application that does not involve animals, Ron Alterovitz from the computer science department at Caltech University in California has done a research project involving message routing over a Bluetooth scatternet. Alterovitz, R (2001)] His aim was to make wireless-enabled vehicles communicate while in motion. The ad-hoc properties of piconets and scatternets enable the vehicles to pass messages between them while they are in motion. The vehicles were linked up to a positioning system and set to run around in a 1000Ãâ€"1000 cm room. Each vehicle was able to transmit up to a distance of 250cm. The vehicles were left to move around the room randomly while the positioning system and vehicles passed messages amongst each other to stop them crashing. The routing tables, used to pass messages, were only allowed to be updated at set intervals. It was found that message packets were lost if the speed of the vehicles was increased while the routing interval was kept the same [Alterovitz, R (June 2001)]. Although Bluetooth has been used for tracking small autonomous vehicles, there is no evidence of the use of this technology to track animals. However, wireless devices, for example Bluetooth enabled cell phones, could be used to track human beings. This raises ethical and privacy issues [Potter, B (November 2003)]. Bluetooth as the Underlying Technology The above technologies aim to provide a means of tracking or message-passing through the use of devices that are physically small, use minimal amounts of power and support an ad-hoc type of communication. Bluetooth supports realistic data rates of up to 600Kbps and claims to make a battery last from 50% to 300% longer than other wireless technologies [PicoCommunications, (November 2002)]. There are two classes of Bluetooth device. The class 2 radio allows a range of ten meters while class 1 radios allow for transmission over 100 meters. Bluetooth operates in the license-free 2. 4GHz band making use of frequency hopping at a rate of 1600 hops per second. Although Bluetooth has limitations in its transfer speed and communication distance, its market share is rising while 802. 11 (WiFi) has slowed down in its growth [Dursch, A. et all (December 2003)]. The rising interest in Bluetooth will increase production, causing the already cheap technology to become easily obtainable. The Bluetooth stack Illustration 1The Bluetooth Stack Each Bluetooth packet has a fixed format that starts with a 72-bit access code. This is followed by a 54-bit header containing error correction, retransmission and control information. Finally the packet contains a payload of 0 to 2745 bits. Three methods, Forward Error Correction (FEC), Automatic Repeated Request (ARQ) and Cyclic Redundancy Checks (CRC) are used for error correction during Bluetooth communication [Forum Nokia (April 2003)]. This project is interested in the following Bluetooth stack layers: The Link Manager Protocol (LPM) layer is responsible for setting up the links between Bluetooth devices and deals with master/slave switching, low power modes, clock offsets and packet size negotiation. This layer, although not critical to this project, also handles the exchange of authentication and encryption information. The Logical Link Control and Adaptation Protocol (L2CAP) enables multiplexing of the protocols above it by segmenting and reassembling packets [Pico Communications inc]. The Service Discovery Protocol (SDP) enables Bluetooth devices to advertise and discover services. SDP passes bitmasks, representing advertised services, to all backbone nodes. This allows other devices to discover the type and location of a service on a Bluetooth network quickly [Nordbotten, N, A. et al (2004)]. RFCOMM is a serial port emulation protocol enabling RS232 control and data signaling over Bluetooth. It allows services such as the Point to Point Protocol (PPP) to be used over Bluetooth. IP is the standard protocol used on the Internet [Pico Communications inc]. Bluetooth profiles Bluetooth profiles describe the main usage models of Bluetooth. The current Bluetooth specification contains four general profiles. [Forum Nokia (April 2003)] The Generic Access Profile defines the discovery of other Bluetooth devices, link management and connectivity, security levels and common format requirements for user interfaces. All Bluetooth devices have to support this profile and all other profiles require and use it. The Service Discovery Application Profile defines procedures for a Bluetooth application to discover services advertised by another Bluetooth device, and should be followed should this project make use of services during implementation. The Serial Port Profile defines the Bluetooth requirements for setting up emulated serial cable connections. This profile is also an option should this project transfer data over RS232 connections. The Generic Object Exchange Profile is used by applications that need object exchange capabilities. This profile is also an option should we want to model our data as objects and pass these objects from device to device and then finally to a data sink [Forum Nokia (April 2003)]. Ad-Hoc Bluetooth Networks Bluetooth enabled devices form ad-hoc networks when they come into contact with one another. These networks are built using scatternet and piconet formation algorithms as described by [Law, C. et al (2001)]. Between 1 and 7 devices can form a piconet. One device is designated to be the master. This decision is made by each device generating a random number determining whether the device will assume to be the master and seek slaves or assume to be a slave and scan for the master. Because only 7 nodes are allowed to participate in a piconet, scatternets are formed by linking many piconets together via shared slave nodes. The number of piconets to which a device belongs is termed its degree. A master node in a piconet may only have a degree of one, meaning a master node may not be shared between two piconets. The shared slaves are time multiplexed between the piconets to which it belongs and data sent between the piconets must be sent via the shared slave [Law, C. et al, (2001)]. The time it takes for data to be passed through a shared slave is dependent on the manner in which the shared slave switches between piconets. Shared slaves need to have timed rendezvous points with piconet masters in order to exchange data [Misic, J. et al (February 2004)]. The masters and shared slaves are collectively referred to as back bone nodes of the formed scatternet. The piconet and scatternet formation algorithms allow nodes to move and migrate between piconets and allow small piconets to be merged [Law, C. et al (2001)]. These ad-hoc properties of piconets and scatternets enable data to be exchanged between many Bluetooth devices while those devices are moving between piconets within a scatternet, effectively enabling the devices to physically move around while data is being exchanged amongst them. Conclusion This literature search has found no evidence that Bluetooth has been used to track or monitor animals in the wild. It has however found many applications where Bluetooth networks have been used for mobile devices needing to exchange data. The literature shows that there is a need for small, inexpensive animal tracking devices that consume a minimal amount of power. It is also shown that Bluetooth is already being used for hand-held and mobile computing applications for these same reasons. Our aim is to build upon the device and network technologies surveyed in this paper, to determine the feasibility of a Bluetooth-based animal tracking and monitoring system, which has a low degree of human probe effect.