Concerns of Ethics in Management

What is the status of ethics in management? This is a very hard question to address in a three to four page paper because there is no definite answer. As with many society-wide concerns, ethics runs the entire spectrum of behaviors; from Wal-Mart being very customer oriented and a friend of charity to those fly-by-night repair scams that tend to prey on the elderly. When does a business cross the line from making a profit to stealing a profit? That is a hard line to gauge. Laws are designed to make that line a little clearer but laws can't out think the mind of man. If a way can be thought of to make money it already has been or is being thought of. It's where people are taken advantage of that we need to worry. There are many business in place that simply prey on the people who don't know any better. Whether its the feature on Prime-Time that shows elderly people tricked into phony home repairs or the local business that offered a friend of mine a computer at an inflated price with an outrageous financing plan, some business practices are unethical. What I will focus on today is not the clearly right or the clearly wrong but that vast amount of items that are in the middle. Looking at more of a gray area, Wal-Mart is generally viewed as an ethical company but even they have a reputation for unfair competition. Wal-Mart has a marketing plan that targets smaller cities with large-volume discount stores. While this may not appear to be unfair on its face, many people have felt it's negative effect. When Wal-Mart moves into a market, many of it's smaller competitors go out of business. Small business in small towns can't compete with the prices, availability, or selection of a huge conglomerate like Wal-Mart. People in the towns don't have much of a choice. Pay more for less or pay less for more? Not are hard decision. But the ultimate effect is that many small business can't survive the competition. Is that ethically wrong? That is a very hard call to make. I recently had an experience of buying a new car. I shopped around Coos Bay and also in Roseburg while on a recent trip. I was in the market to buy a Dodge Ram. The prices seemed to be about the same in these two markets. My father and I decided to drive to Portland to look further. When we got there, the first dealership that we saw had over thirty Dodge Rams on the front lot with a recent shipment of more in the back. Compared to the Coos Bay dealership which had nine. Immediately, I noticed that the price at that dealership was $1,300 less than the same model with the same package in Coos Bay. Both stickers said the price quoted was the manufacturers suggested retail price. Already over $1,000 to the good, we decided to look further. We found six Rams that had an additional mark down of $2,000. This was because of an engine style in the process of being phased out that had an additional rebate. Looking at the two different models from Portland and Coos Bay we would save $3,300 by buying here. We decided to look no further. We selected the color and bought my truck. Overall, we had a very pleasant experience but what about the people who buy from the Coos Bay dealership and spend over $3,000 more? Are they being unethically taken advantage of? That's a hard call as well. I took an equal opportunity class in High School and during that class someone inevitably brings up car prices in Coos Bay as being unfair. Are these prices unfair or is it just the law of supply and demand? Was the two thousand dollars that I saved in Portland because that model car wasn't available to the dealership in Coos Bay? That difference can be easily excusable. The other $1,300 I have a harder time with. I took detailed notes and both stickers were basically identical with the exception of price. Each indicated a different manufacturers suggested retail price. Ethically, I think the line has been crossed. There can't be two different manufacturers suggested retail prices for the same car. One has to be wrong. I had a good experience buying this car but not everyone will. I've been to the dealerships in the past that have used those high pressure tactics to coerce people into buying or spending more than they can afford. Those are the kind of ethical issues that can't be legislated. Thinking through the ethics issues reminded me of my car buying experience because just like in the ethical issues, there is no clear cut answer. In ethics, one would think that there is right and wrong but in real life cases of ethics in business there is not. There is no black and white answer only millions of shades of gray. Think about junk faxes, what is so wrong about sending an unsolicited advertisement to someone. People get them almost every day in their mailbox. It seems like a reasonable response but the differences are great. The junk fax ties up an important communication tool of the company and the costs are split between the sender and the recipient without the recipient's permission. The cost to the sender is simply the cost of a telephone call. While the cost to the recipient is the cost of paper, ink, and power to receive the call in addition to the loss of use of the machine during reception. I wouldn't want to get junk mail in my mailbox, if I had to pay for it!. I don't like it much even when I don't have to pay for it. But is this practice of junk faxing wrong? I say no. Ethically, I feel that it's not wrong if the faxes are reasonable in length and company has a process to quit sending faxes if a recipient requests. I was the recipient of one junk fax. It came into my mailbox here in Talent at the Anjou Club. It was an advertisement to buy office supplies. Now there is no law, either civil or military, that prohibits this but I realized this isn't something that the Apartment complex should pay for. I took the fax to the manager's office and they drafted a letter to request that it be stopped. They stated that if any more faxes were received, Anjou Club apartment's would no longer do business with this company. This was motivation enough for them not to do it. I never received another fax. With business, that is how the system must work. If the pursuit of the bottom line goes to far, then the bottom line must be threatened. I don't think there is anything ethically wrong with many business practices. It's all a matter of people being satisfied with the product that they are getting. If they are satisfied, the business will flourish. If not, it will suffer. That is probably the best way to measure ethics in management. Overall, I think the status of ethics is management needs some work. There are very good companies out there that charge a fair price to make a reasonable profit but there are many business in place that prey on the weak and poor.

Influences of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty in Restaurant Industry in Malaysia Essay

Malaysia is a rapidly developing country in Asia and economic growth is projected to moderate to 5. 2% in 2011 (Suzy, 2011). According to the World Bank Group, Malaysia GDP per capita is 14,215 USD, which is adjusted by purchasing power parity. This shows that the purchasing power and standard of living of the Malaysians is growing adequately. Consequently, Malaysians allocate largest amount of household expenditures to their food budgets (Nezakati et al. , 2011). In today’s fast changing social and lifestyle trends, more and more Malaysian households are eating outside due to time constraints. More women are involving in the working force. Parents are working all day long and they are no longer willing or able to spend some time in preparing dinner for the family at home after a tiring working day (Nezakati et al. , 2011; Jangga et al. , 2012). This is especially true in the big cities like Kuala Lumpur where the people spend most of their time working. Besides, the number of people dining out is increasing due to movement away from extended family hosueholds (Nezakati et al. , 2011). In addition, some families spend their weekend gathering with other family members in restaurants (Jangga et al., 2012). On the other hand, Generation Y (Refers to those who were born from 1979 to 1994 and under the age groups between 16 to 33 years old) prefers to eat outside or involve in social gathering activities at the restaurants (Kwek et al. , 2011). In the Chinese culture, restaurants are a common venue for social gatherings and business entertainment. Food consumption in restaurants provides an experience of excitement, celebration, and establishing social connections (Feng, 2003). The best option is to get a pleasant restaurant that could provide quality service and good dining experience. All these factors contribute to the great potential of the Malaysia’s restaurant industry in terms of profitability and economic growth. The restaurant industry is one of the key contributors for the service sector in Malaysia. The restaurant industry is relatively competitive in nature with stiff competition within the industry due to the arising of more local and foreign full service restaurants as well as the increasing number of new entrants offering differentiated food products and services (Voon, 2011). On the other hand, customers are becoming more demanding and their needs are rather diverse (Stevens et al., 1995; Kueh and Voon, 2007). With increasing competition within the restaurant industry, attracting new customers can no longer guarantee profits and success, but retaining existing customers is more vital to the success of the restaurant businesses (Shoemaker et al. , 1999; Anderson and Narus, 2004; Gee et al. , 2008; Haghighi et al. , 2012). Parasuraman et al. (1985) and Zeithaml et al. (1990) stated that the key strategy for the success and survival of any business is the delivery of quality service to customers, and this especially important in the service sectors like restaurant industry. The quality of service offered to the customers will influence customer satisfaction and attitudinal loyalty, which will then lead to success of the businesses (Ravichandran et al. , 2010). 2. 0Background of Research Customer service quality is a crucial source of distinctive competence and is often considered as a key success factor in sustaining competitive advantage in service industries (Palmer, 2001). Thus, the delivery of a higher level of service quality is a very important strategy by which service organizations can position themselves more effectively in the market place. The success of restaurant businesses relies on providing superior service quality, value, and customer satisfaction, which in turn enhances customer repeat patronage (Heskett et al. , 1997). The important relationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty have thus been an important area of research (Zeithaml et al. , 1996; Pettijohn et al. , 1997; Dabholker et al. , 2000; Sivas and Baker-Prewitt, 2000; Kueh and Voon, 2007; Qin and Prybutok, 2008). Parasuraman et al. (1994) emphasized that SERVQUAL is a lasting and reliable scale of service quality and it is applicable in an extensive spectrum of service domains such as financial institutions, libraries, hotels, medical centers and restaurants. Many researchers have tried to use SERVQUAL in different service domains such as medical services (Swartz & Brown, 1989; Lam, 1997), tourism (Tribe and Snaith, 1998; Atilgan et al. , 2003), libraries (Nitecki, 1996; Coleman et al. , 1997), banks (Angur et al. , 1993), restaurants and hotels (Hokey et al., 2002), and government services (Donnelly et al. , 1995). Past researches in the restaurant industry has identified several factors that determine the level of satisfaction experienced by customers when they visit full service restaurants. The factors are such as quality of food, service and physical environment (Han and Ryu, 2009), atmosphere of the restaurant (Ladhari et al. , 2008), service and delivery (Goyal and Singh, 2007), cleanliness and service quality (Lockyear, 2005), and appropriate cost and attentive service (Namkung and Jung, 2010). Most restaurant quality related studies have focused mostly on the ambience and service delivery as a core competency of a restaurant (Namkung and Jang, 2007). Ladhari et al. (2008) mentioned that service quality has the most significant effect on dining satisfaction, followed by product quality, hygiene, menu diversity, price-value and convenience. 3. 0Problem Statement What are the key service quality dimensions influencing the customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in Malaysia’s restaurant industry? 4. 0Research Objectives The main objectives of the study are: 1. To identify the key dimensions of service quality that affect customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in Malaysia’s restaurant industry. 2. To study the importance and impact of service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in Malaysia’s restaurant industry. 3. To determine the current customer satisfaction and customer loyalty levels in Malaysia’s restaurant industry. 4. To recommend some guidelines for improvement of service quality from the customers’ perspective in Malaysia’s restaurant industry. 5. 0Justification of Research There is a lack of researches in measuring the service quality with the five generic dimensions of SERVQUAL in Malaysia’s restaurant industry. This has spurred on the interest of the study in identifying the importance of service quality from the customers’ perspective in Malaysia’s restaurant industry especially on the full service restaurants. This study will offer important practical implications especially in service quality for the Malaysia’s restaurant industry. This will provide the restaurateurs with detailed information in service quality to help them to identify the key service quality dimensions for success and competitiveness. This can help the restaurant managers and staffs to focus their efforts on improving customer perceptions of service quality and enhancing the dining experience of their customers. Due to the intensive competition in the restaurant industry, therefore, there is an urgent need to identify the key service quality dimensions influence the customer satisfaction and customer loyalty to their preferred full service restaurants which in turn increases patronage rates of their preferred restaurants. The focus of the study is mainly on the role of service quality adopted from SERVQUAL in the full service restaurants in Malaysia.

Sms Based E Notice Board

Abstract The goal of this project is to design an embedded device which can control up to 8 devices by sending a specific SMS message from a cell-phone. This controller is extremely handy at places where we have to control the ON and OFF switching of the devices but no wired connection to that place is available. To implement this, a GSM modem is connected to a programmed microcontroller which would receive the SMS from a reference cell phone. The control signal part of the received SMS is extracted and is changed to microcontroller-preferred format.In regular intervals, the modem would also send the local temperature We have selected GSM because the ubiquity of its standard makes international roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their phones in many parts of the world. A PC which is connected to the micro-controller using a serial communication through RS232 can be used for monitoring and transmission of the control signals to the modem. T he monitoring is also done by interfacing a LCD to the microcontroller. AT commands were used for controlling the functionality of modem. Main hardware requirements:Renesas SKP16C62P Starter Kit Plus This contains the micro-controller. (used for controlling the different external devices connected as per the SMS received ) GSM modem (GM28 from Sony-Ericsson) This GSM/GPRS terminal equipment is a powerful, compact and self contained unit with standard connector interfaces and has an integral SIM card reader. It is used for receiving the SMS from the mobile device and then to transmit to the Renesas SKP. A MAX232 chip This converter chip is needed to convert a TTL logic from a Microcontroller (TxD and RxD pins ) to standard serial interfacing for PC (RS232) A DB9 connectorThis takes the signals coming form the MAX232 chip to the PC. The typical applications of this serial modem is for developing a wide range of equipment like Security and alarms devices Monitoring and control devices Vending machines Utilities devices Fleet Management devices Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 3 2. Project Description Renesas SKP16C62P Starter Kit Plus Device 1 Device 2 MAX 232 Device 8 DB9 Connector DB9 Connector GM28 (GSM Modem with SIM card working in 850 MHz /1900 Hz) Antenna Computer (For displaying the received SMS) Figure 1: Block diagram of the project setupInitially the SMS is received from the person authorized to use this setup (destination) by the GSM modem (GM28) & is transferred to the Renesas SKP16C62P SKP with the help of a MAX 232 chip. As per the AT commands given by the microcontroller to the modem, the control signal from the SMS is extracted and is used to control the devices connected to it. We have to convert the ‘septets' of the phone to ‘octets' because the micro-controller need bytes with 8 bits length ( The ‘septet' is 1 byte with 7 bits length and ‘octet' is 1 byte with 8 bits length). All this process is necessary to decode the m essage from SMS.A program (for extracting the control signal part from received SMS) is loaded into Renesas SKP16C62P SKP, and then the circuit is connected to the modem. The microcontroller now tries to read the SMS from the 1st memory location of the modem and it keeps trying again until the modem receives any (programmed for every one second). Before implementing the control signal part of the SMS, the modem extracts the number from the SMS and verifies if this number has the access to control the device or not. For controlling the devices, the message will be sent in hexa decimal format.The hex data is converted to the equivalent binary and the particular output is enabled. For example if the message is â€Å"AB† the equivalent binary is â€Å"10101011† this implies that the output 1, 3, 5, 7, 8 are enabled and the remaining ports are disabled. We have connected LEDs to the ports of microcontroller to show the output and their status indicates whether the ports are set to ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’. The microcontroller is also programmed to read the temperature from the thermistor every 15 minutes and to send a SMS to the destination number. Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 4 3. Device Description 3. 1. Renesas SKP16C62P Starter Kit PlusThe SKP16C62P StarterKit Plus (SKP) is a low-cost environment for evaluating M16C/62P group of microcontrollers (MCU) and Renesas Technology America, Inc. software development tools. The SKP board provides an evaluation and development environment for the M16C/62P group of MCU. It has pushbutton switches, LED’s and LCD for user interface. Standard connector ports are available to expand the range of applications through the use of expansion boards, etc. The kit comes with an integrated software development environment, HEW (IDE, C-compiler, assembler, and linker), KD30 Debugger, and FoUSB (Flash-overUSBâ„ ¢) Programmer.A real-time, source-level debug environment is implemented using the K D30 debugging software with the RTA-FoUSB-MON Flash Programmer/In-Circuit Debugger (ICD). The Flash-over-USBTM (FoUSB) Programmer software, with the ICD, allows in-system programming of the M16C/62P flash MCU. The ICD and firmware provide a convenient USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface between the SKP16C62P board and the host PC. This interface reduces resource requirements on the M16C/62P MCU, allows faster code downloads and, can also be used with many other Renesas Flash MCU’s, SKP’s, and user’s target board.Figure 2: SKP16C62P System Connectivity (From the hardware manual of SKP16c62P ) Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 5 3. 2 GSM modem: (GM28 from Sony-Ericsson) Figure 3. a Figure 3. b Figure 3. c Figures 3. a, 3. b and 3. c show the different views of the GSM modem GM28 (From the Hardware Manual of GM28 Modem) The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is the most popular standard for mobile phones in the world. It is the European standard for digit al cellular service that includes enhanced features. It is based on TDMA technology and is used on 850/1900 MHz. We are using the GM28, a GSM modem from Sony-Ericsson.This is a powerful GSM/GPRS Terminal with compact and self-contained unit. This has standard connector interfaces and has an integral SIM card reader. The modem has a RJ9 connector through which a speaker and microphone can be connected allowing audio calls being established, but this feature is not utilized in this project as only data transfer is needed. Following are few technical details of the modem. Interfaces: †¢ Data: RS232 9–way (V. 28) †¢ Power and Extended I/Os: 5 – 32VDC (RJ11) †¢ Audio 4-wire Handset Interface (RJ9) †¢ Antenna: 50 (FME male) †¢ SIM card reader: 3V/5V interface with SIM detectionFeatures: †¢ ME + SIM phone book management – read/write/find, call screening, groups †¢ SIM Application Toolkit Class 2 †¢ Real Time Clock †¢ Softwa re upgradeable †¢ Audio control †¢ Fixed dialing number †¢ UCS2 16 bit data supported. Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 6 SMS features †¢ Supports both Text and PDU modes †¢ MT/MO & CBM †¢ Cell Broadcast †¢ Concatenation – up to 6 SMS The TT4030 (SE-GM28) uses the following industry standard connectors to interface with the external application and the GSM network; †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ RJ11 (plug-in power supply connector). RJ9 (handset audio connector) Integral SIM card reader.FME male (antenna connector). Sub-D socket, 9 pin (RS232 serial port). 3. 3. Power Connections All electrical connections to the TT4030 (SE-GM28) are designed to meet the standard air (4 kV) and contact (8 kV) discharge ESD tests, of EN 301 489-1. Figure 4 RJ11 connector as power supply to the modem (From the Hardware Manual of GM28 Modem) 3. 4. Antenna Connections The used antenna (Figure 4. a) operates at 850/1900 MHz which is suitable for transmit ting and receiving of RF signals for the GSM modem (GM28) used. Some of the key features of this antenna are: †¢ Bandwidth is 280 MHz †¢ VSWR is +3. 0V Signal = 1 (HIGH) < -3. V Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 9 Pin No. Name Notes/Description 1 DCD Data Carrier Detect 2 RD Receive Data (a. k. a RxD, Rx) 3 TD Transmit Data (a. k. a TxD, Tx) 4 DTR Data Terminal Ready 5 SGND Ground 6 DSR Data Set Ready 7 RTS Request To Send 8 CTS Clear To Send 9 RI Ring Indicator Table 1 Pin description of a DB9 connector 6. GM28 in a Communication System Figure 10, Illustrates the main blocks of a wireless communication system using the TT4030 (SE-GM28). It also shows the communication principles of the system. The definitions in the figure are in accordance with the recommendations of GSM 07. 7. The MS (mobile station) represents the TT4030 (SE-GM28) modem plus SIM card. The modem excluding SIM card, is known as the ME (mobile equipment). The TE (terminal equipment) is a micro-controller and is a part of the application. Figure 10. a Main blocks in communication between the GM28 (modem) and the microcontroller (TE) (From the Hardware Manual of GM28 Modem) The end-to-end communication path to be established between the external telemetry/ telematics application and a remote terminal or host, via the GSM network is done through the serial communication.Serial data with flow control according to the RS232 signaling protocol operates between the modem and the external application. The modem performs a set of telecom services (TS) according to GSM standard phase 2+, ETSI and ITU-T. Control of the TT4030 (SE-GM28) is by the external application, via the RS232 serial interface, using a set of AT commands. The TT4030 (SEGM28) supports the full set of AT commands according to GSM 07. 05 and GSM 07. 07. It also supports an extended set of Ericsson proprietary AT commands to add extra functionality. Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 10AT commands are used to operate the modem a nd have a broad range of Functions including: Configuring general parameters of the modem (SE-GM28) Setting up and controlling communications to and from the GSM Network Configuring the modem to communicate across the RS232 serial interface Obtaining GSM network status information. Figure 10. b Interface between the GM28 (modem) and microcontroller (TE) (From the Hardware Manual of GM28 Modem) The modem also supports the Voice, Data, Fax services but since these are not required for the current application, they are not taken into consideration as of now. . AT commands The AT command set is the fundamental interface with the modem. An AT command is simply a string of characters preceded by the AT prefix that is sent to the modem. The commands typically instruct the modem to perform some action or set some characteristic within the modem. The modem has two states: command state and on-line state. In command state, the modem will accept and respond to AT commands. In the on-line state , the modem will transmit data, but ignore AT commands. Typically the modem is in the on-line state after dialing.AT commands has the following format: The command is prefixed with AT (Attention) The command is terminated by a carriage return (except the A/ command and escape sequence). The commands can be entered in upper case or lower case. The AT prefix can be in upper case or lower case, but both the A and the T must be the same case. Characters that precede the AT prefix are ignored. Multiple commands can be strung together on a single line and spaces may be included between commands but are not necessary. The command line interpretation begins upon receipt of the carriage return.These commands are used for request information about the current configuration or operational status of the mobile phone/modem and test availability and request the range of valid parameters, when applicable, for an AT command. Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 11 General Syntax of AT-Commands: Basic AT [=] [] Extended AT+= [] AT*= [] Read command AT+? AT*? AT? Test command AT+=? AT*=? Response command AT+ : AT* : Important AT command used to Test and Design: 1) ATD To dial a voice call from the modem. 2) AT+IPR To set the baud rate for the modem ( here for our application the baud rate is set as 9600) ) ATA To answer an incoming call. 4) AT+CHUP To hang up the initiated call. 5) AT+CFUN To set the phone functionality. Set to 0 to deactivate the modem. 6) AT+CLIP To identify caller number this command is set to 1 7) AT+CLIR For calling line Identification Restriction. 8) AT+CNUM To identify the subscriber number. 9) AT+CMGR To read the message at particular location . The location number is given as index. 10) AT+CMGD To delete the received message 11) AT+CMGS To send the message. 12) AT+CMGF To change the message format to PDU or Text mode. 13) AT+CMGL To see all the list of messages. 4) ATE To enable and disable command echo. 8. Installation and Functionality of modem To install this modem in the communication system to PC, the following procedure is adopted: †¢ †¢ †¢ Select the phone and modem options from the control panel. By browsing the disk for the modem drivers, the modem is selected and configured to a particular port through which it is connected to the PC. The terminal package like HyperTerminal is selected in the initial stage to check the functionality of the AT commands to control the GSM modem and later this hyper terminal is just used to monitor the serially received output.Hence finally a three way communication is established, the modem directly communicates with the micro controller to control the switching of devices externally and the hyper terminal package in PC is used just for monitoring the results (hence only receive and ground of connected to the PC). Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 12 †¢ †¢ The parameters for serial communication can be set in two ways; either by terminal equipment or by serial communicat ion with the micro controller. It should be noticed that the DTR pin should be enabled high in the initial tage to turn-on the modem, for this flow control of hardware is to be taken and the communication initially is 115200 bauds/second with 8-n-1 configuration (i. e. 8-Data bits, Parity none and 1-Stop bit). Later the baud rate can be changed to 9600 bps through the AT command: AT+IPR = . The settings for the hyper-terminal should have the default input translation and ASCII setup, the emulation can be either VT100 (preferable) or Auto-detect. To setup the serial port the following procedure has been followed: †¢ †¢ †¢ Select system from the control panel and thereby select the device manager in the hardware option.Now the exact serial COM port where the modem is configured is selected manually. Select port settings and then bits per second to get the exact baud rate. Now that the modem is configure it’s the task of setting up the volatile profile and enter t he AT commands required to select the SIM memory and then extract the text message. Hence, serial communication is established between GM28 and the microcontroller using a DB9 connector with a level shifter (MAX232). A level shifter is connected between the microcontroller (SKP) and the modem/computer and null modem connection is connected for the DB9 connector.The above discussed points are depicted in the Figure 9. Figure 9 Circuit for connecting the microcontroller to the modem/computer Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 13 9. Short Message Service (SMS) The GSM GM28 Modem supports the following SMS services. Sending, MO (mobile-originated) with both PDU (protocol data unit) and text mode supported. Receiving, MT (mobile-terminated) with both PDU and text mode supported. CBM (cell broadcast message), a service in which a message is sent to all subscribers located in one or more specific cells in the GSM network. This feature is network dependent.SMS STATUS REPORT according to GSM 03 . 40. SMS COMMAND according to GSM 03. 40. It should be noted that the maximum length of an SMS message is 160 characters when using 7- bit encoding. For 8-bit data, the maximum length is 140 characters. The Modem supports up to 6 concatenated messages to extend this function. Before we start working on the application design we should ensure the network subscription status Before the application is implemented, we must ensure that the chosen network provides the necessary telecommunication services. Else, the service provider should be contacted to obtain the necessary information.Since SMS features are used in this application, we have to ensure that these are included in the (voice) subscription. 10. PDU SMS format: There are two ways of sending and receiving SMS messages: by text mode and by PDU (protocol description unit) mode. We can switch from text mode to PDU mode and vice versa by selecting the AT+CMGF command. If AT+CMGF = 0 then PDU mode is selected and if the mode is 1 then text mode is selected. The text mode is just an encoding of the bit stream represented by the PDU mode. If we read the message on the phone, the phone will choose a proper encoding.An application capable of reading incoming SMS messages can thus use text mode or PDU mode. If text mode is used, the application is bound to the set of preset encoding options. In some cases, that's just not good enough. If PDU mode is used, any encoding can be implemented. The PDU string contains not only the message, but also a lot of metainformation about the sender, its SMS service center, the time stamp etc. But as of now for our application we require the phone number of the caller for authentication and the length of the message and the text message which contains the binary message.Let us take a example for the text message of â€Å"abcdef†. This message contains apart from the basic text message a lot of redundant data (meta information about the sender). In PDU mode the SMS looks li ke: 07914140279542F7000B816187220731F700006010413283900A0661F1985C3603 In TEXT mode the SMS looks like: +CMGR: â€Å"REC READ†,†16782270137†³,,†06/01/14,23:56:1720†³,129,0,0,0,†+14047259247†³,145,6 abcdef Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 14 The octets of the PDU message contain lots of information, in the above example the PDU can be divided and different octets signify the following information: 07 Length of SMSC information. 1 Type of address of SMSC. 4140279542F7 Encoded Service center number. 00 First octet of SMS delivery message. 0B Address length of the sender message. 81 Type of address of the sender number. 6187220731F7 Sender number with a trailing F. (number is 16872270137). 00 TP-Protocol Identification Address. 00 TP-Data coding Scheme. 601041328390 TP-SCTS Time stamp. 0A TP-User data length. 0661F1985C3603 Encoded Message â€Å"abcdef†. All the octets are hexa-decimal 8-bit octets, except the Service center number, the send er number and the timestamp; they are decimal semi-octets.The message part in the end of the PDU string consists of hexa-decimal 8-bit octets, but these octets represent 7-bit data. Basically the transformation of the septets to the octets is based on the GSM 03. 38 standard. This is helpful when we try to communicate with the PDU mode but if we use the CMGF command then text mode is activated to get the converted text message. So to get the message in the Text message we need to send the following commands AT+CMGF=1 to activate the text mode AT+CMGS=1 to check whether the modem supports the SMS message or not.AT+CMGR=I to read the message at the location I in the SIM card. 11. Code /*******************************************************************/ /* FILE :main. c DATE : Jan 2nd 2006 /* */ DESCRIPTION :Main Program To receive SMS from GM28 and to extract the control information part, then to control LEDs accordingly. Send the ambient temperature as SMS back to the user. AUTHORS: B. VAMSEE KRISHNA ; B. PRANEETH KUMAR */ /******************************************************************/ #include â€Å"skp_bsp. h†// include SKP board support package #include â€Å"string. h† void uartinit();Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 15 unsigned char result; char sms_text[200],sms_msg[10],num_text[10]; unsigned int f,f1,t,time=0,k=0,count=0,p=0; /* Prototype declarations */ void mcu_init(void); // MCU initialization void main(void); void timer_init(void); void uartinit(void); int map(char); #pragma INTERRUPT rx_isr void rx_isr(void); /* DEFINE QUEUES*/ #define Q_SIZE (200) typedef struct { unsigned char Data[Q_SIZE]; unsigned int Head; // points to oldest data element unsigned int Tail; // points to next free space unsigned int Size; // quantity of elements in queue Q_T; Q_T tx_q, rx_q; int Q_Empty(Q_T * q) { return q-;gt;Size == 0; } int Q_Full(Q_T * q) { return q-;gt;Size == Q_SIZE; } int Q_Enqueue(Q_T * q, unsigned char d) { // if queue is full, abort rather than overwrite and return // an error code if (! Q_Full(q)) { q-;gt;Data[q-;gt;Tail++] = d; Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 16 q-;gt;Tail %= Q_SIZE; q-;gt;Size++; return 1; // success } else return 0; // failure } unsigned char Q_Dequeue(Q_T * q) { // Must check to see if queue is empty before dequeueing unsigned char t=0; if (! Q_Empty(q)) { t = q-;gt;Data[q-;gt;Head]; -;gt;Data[q-;gt;Head++] = 0; // empty unused entries for debugging q-;gt;Head %= Q_SIZE; q-;gt;Size–; } return t; } void Q_Init(Q_T * q) { unsigned int i; for (i=0; iData[i] = 0; // to simplify our lives when debugging q->Head = 0; q->Tail = 0; q->Size = 0; } void timer_init(void) { //Timer initialisation ta0mr = 0x80;//timer mode ta0 = 0x927C;//for 50 msec delay ta0ic = 0x03;//timer priority tabsr=0x01; // starting the timer Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 17 } int map(char c) { int a=(int)c; switch (a) { case 48: return(0); break; case 49: eturn(1); break; case 50: return(2); break; case 51: return(3); break; case 52: return(4); break; case 53: return(5); break; case 54: return(6); break; case 55: return(7); break; case 56: return(8); Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 18 break; case 57: return(9); break; case 65: //returns 10 if ‘A' is entered return(10); break; case 97: //returns 10 if ‘a' is entered return(10); break; case 66: //returns 10 if ‘B' is entered return(11); break; case 98: //returns 10 if ‘b' is entered return(11); break; case 67: //returns 10 if ‘C' is entered return(12); break; ase 99: //returns 10 if ‘c' is entered return(12); break; case 68: //returns 10 if ‘D' is entered return(13); break; case 100: //returns 10 if ‘d' is entered return(13); break; case 69: //returns 10 if ‘E' is entered return(14); break; case 101: //returns 10 if ‘e' is entered Embedded Project- ECE 5101 Page 19 return(14); break; case 70: //returns 10 if ‘F' is entered return(15); break; case 102: //returns 10 if †˜f' is entered return(15); break; default: break; } } #pragma INTERRUPT timer_a0 void timer_a0(void) // the timer is set for every 50 milliseconds

Outline the customer decision-making process and the influences on Essay

Outline the customer decision-making process and the influences on customer behavior - Essay Example For example: the customer realizes that he/she is on a very unhealthy diet and the cafes they eat in offer very unhealthy food. The marketers need to realize that consumers need a cafà © where they can obtain affordable food and the food should be healthy. Once the need has been identified by the consumer, next the consumer starts looking for alternatives to satisfy that particular need (Longenecker, 2012, p.57). After identifying alternatives, the customer is involved in the practice of evaluating these alternatives in order to select the best option that satisfies his/her needs (Hoyer, 2001, p.193). While looking for options the customer first looks for options he already knows about and is available in the market. The customer is mostly aware of only those brands and options that have advertised their goods and services in an aggressive manner. For example: While locating a cafà © where an individual can eat healthy food at reasonable prices, the customer may look at various options available to him/her. Once the customer has evaluated all its options, they will make the purchase decision (Longenecker, 2012, p.425). The purchase decision is dependant on various factors including how well the brand have been advertised, customer will always go for those brands that have been advertised well enough (Berkowitz, 1996, p.125). The purchase decision is even dependant on the accessibility of the option. For example: if the customer wishes to eat healthy at a cafà ©, then he/she would select a cafà © that offers healthy food. The third element on which this decision is dependant on is whether the customer has made a planned decision or has made a decision spontaneously. For example: while locating cafes that offer healthy food, customer will look at the sales representatives of the cafà © and the over all environment of the cafà ©. These decisions can be taken into account by

Biggest challenge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Biggest challenge - Essay Example With the vast number of people on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, it is hard not to be distracted by it. There is nothing worse than getting down to some serious study or washing the dishes when a Facebook notification pops up asking if you would like to go to a friend’s birthday party next weekend. Before a decision can be made, the guest list has to be checked (i.e. stalked) to see who is going to be there. If the event is worth going to, then practically every cool person should be attending. Before realizing it, 25 minutes have passed by and studying, or the dishes, has been left far behind. Despite the drawbacks, Facebook and Twitter are not all bad. In fact, they can be quite helpful in the area of homework in particular. For example, study groups can be formed online and classmates can provide encouragement and expertise wherever needed. In the case of a household chore, mentioning it on a Facebook status update or sending out a tweet may provoke a flurry of responses. The key is to leave everyone also while carrying out the chore and only check the reaction

Steroid use in sports Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Steroid use in sports - Research Paper Example The underlying question is the source of the opinion that the steroids are crucial in muscle and strength development. The society has played a significant part and this is the reason for the increase in steroid use even among the youths. Like any other drugs, steroids are entirely used for their anticipated results. Through their use, one is able to increase his strength and body conformation within a short period (Harris 59). This is contrary to the natural method of improving one’s body conformation and strength though hard regular exercise. Despite this, use of steroids is usually combined with exercise in order to achieve the desired results. Since the user advocate that its use is not right, they usually take them in their privacy. It is evident that everyone wants to be a winner in everything he undertakes. Numerous records have been put and broken by many. This has been a source of motivation to various persons, who are ready to undertake anything in order to break the records. Furthermore, the returns to the winners are soaring up which have been a motivator for all. The number of youth engaging in the use of steroids has been on the increase and is now becoming an international concern. This is mainly because youths are less aware of the side effects of steroids use. On the other hand, ignorance curiosity led them to using the drug. At their age, many adore fame and recognition and thus they use the drugs in order to have a competitive edge over other athletes. The athletes consume the steroids in many ways. The choice of the method used depends on the urgency of realizing the anticipated results and the side effects of the method. Some of the most commonly used methods include Oral steroids – these steroids are consumed through the mouth in the form of pills or liquid. The steroids are observed to

CASE 1 MGT- 412 Developing and Enforcing ADA Policy Essay

CASE 1 MGT- 412 Developing and Enforcing ADA Policy - Essay Example uideline for the company for my new employee handbook (ADA Policy Review Urged In Light of EEOC Enforcement Actions 2011).The procedures incorporated are, the position statement, Nature, and Scope of policy, systems, and the role of ADA committee. The policy also includes the role of the employee, part of the job and the employee records. North America midway entertainment perceives and bolsters the norms put forward in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. And the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and comparative state laws (from now on "applicable law" or "law[s]"). These laws are intended to eliminate oppression on qualified people with disabilities. Disabilities may incorporate physical or mental debilitations, which substantially confine one, or more an individuals significant life exercises, and which require alterations to the offices, projects, or administrations of the Company As noted in the Position Statement, North America midway entertainment perceives and bolsters the benchmarks put forward in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Also the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as changed and is focused on making sensible facilities for employees and workers with qualifying incapacities as needed by these laws. Since the Company’s Position and Policy are expected to be concurrent with the prerequisites of pertinent laws, nothing in this strategy is planned to give less substantive advantages or procedural protections than are needed by these laws. In like manner, nothing in this approach is proposed to give more prominent substantive advantages or procedural assurances that are needed by these laws. North America midway entertainment has received the accompanying two-stage process for making sensible carnival rides to advance the openness of its projects for employees. Before registration, every conceded employee gets a Special Needs Identification Form. Every employee asking for employment must finish this

ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 23

ART - Essay Example The artist has reflected light over the leaves by painting them yellowish green. The distance between one tree and the next has been made prominent by lending a lighter shade of green to the leaves of the nearby trees and a darker shade of green to those in the distance. From the apparent purplish blue sky and the chandeliers hanging along the way, it seems that the time of the day captured in the picture is evening that is soon to transform into the night. While one can see even without the chandeliers for the time being, they would be a must to enhance the vision once the sky turns any darker. This picture makes me feel like being in the middle of a forest. It feels like the beginning of a story. There is a lot to tell depending upon how one interprets the destination that the pathway leads to. The pathway might just end in a steep slope offering no further land to continue the movement, or it might just slide downward as the trees on the side indicate thus leading the audience to an unknown destination. As the audience of this picture, I feel welcomed into the world of endless imagination of the artist. I feel like the artist has provided me with a direction and has left it upon me to choose to what length I go in that direction. It is like the a rtist has handed over the tools to me but at the same time, deters from becoming the controlling force so that I use those tools in whatever way I want. The effect of the picture on me as an audience is empowering. I feel like the artist is questioning me where I would go from there, showing me the picture. It seems to be just the start of a journey in two ways; firstly, the pathway seems to have just started and it is for the audience to decide where it ends, and secondly, the sky is purplish blue indicating evening while the lit candles in the chandeliers indicate the preparations of the night when the sky would be darker. So the moment captured in the

What is Mifeprex Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What is Mifeprex - Essay Example Mifeprex is a synthetic steroid with antiglucocortid and antiprogestorne outcomes (Jacob 186). Progesterone is a female hormone responsible for preparing the uterus to receive and sustain a fertilized egg. It is also crucial in sustaining the pregnancy. Mifeprex works by blocking progesterone’s activities at the progesterone receptors. It stimulates the uterus to contract, thus preventing the formation of pregnancy (Ogbru and Marks). Besides that, the drug can also be used as a medication for type 2 diabetes adjunct in Cushing’s syndrome. People with Cushing syndrome produce a lot of cortisol that is responsible for high sugar levels in the blood. Mifeprex minimizes the levels of blood glucose in thse people by blocking the activity of cortisol (Jacob 186). The drug is among the list of essential drugs of the World Health Organization. According to Crosse 4(7), mifeprex is only prescribed for the termination of intrauterine pregnancy through the 49th day of pregnancy. People should avoid taking Mifeprex if: it has been more that 7 weeks since the most recent menstrual period started; you have an intrauterine device (IUD) in place; you have problems of bleeding; you have taken steroid medications; you are allergic to prostaglandins, mifeprex, or any other medicine that contains misoprotosol; you have chronic adrenal failure; the healthcare provider has informed you that you the pregnancy has formed outside the uterus; for the following two visits you cannot return (Danco Laboratories 2) Mifeprex has various side effects. Even though Jacob argues, â€Å"There is no medical evidence that Mifepristone presents a special risk of infection,† (182), possible side effects of using the drug has been reported. It can cause birth defects in the unborn baby if the treatment procedure does not result in the full termination of the pregnancy. Other side effects consist of the following:

Federal Indian Policy Essay Example for Free

Federal Indian Policy Essay When the newly founded United States of America gained its independence from Britain, they were faced with many new challenges. One of their biggest challenges was establishing and building upon their own domain that Britain had transferred at the Peace Treaty of 1783. 1 Of course, this land was still inhabited by Indian peoples. The United States knew that territorial expansion was inevitable and to the Indians, this meant war. Creek chief Hallowing King said, â€Å"Our lands are our life and breath. If we part with them, we part with our blood. †2 This turned out to be a constant changing battle for territorial dominance and an era of changing federal Indian policy. The new America followed British ideas and created an Indian Department. This department established many rules for the sale and transfer of Indian lands with the hope of regulating the advancement of the western frontier. 3 In 1790, Congress enacted the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act. 4 Backed by President Washington and the Indian Department, this act stipulated that Congress would regulate all trade, interaction and even intercourse with all Native Americans. 5 Congress regulated this Act by issuing licenses to approved individuals. Failure to obey this law led to apprehension and a trail in court. 6 However, many American famers ignored this bill and would steal Indians to use as slaves. Naturally, the Indians fought back which led to bloody encounters. As Americans continued to ease westward, many battles and treaties began to emerge. The Battle of Fallen Timbers was one of the more popular encounters. The Western Lakes Confederacy which consisted of several numerous tribes had achieved major victories in the past. It was President Washington’s goal to put their victories to an end. 7 The Americans out-numbered the Indians and destroyed many villages in the region. This battle led to the form of many treaties like the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. This ended the Northwest Indian War which the Battle of Fallen Timbers was a part of. In exchange of goods valued at $20,000, the Indians turned over large parts of the modern-day area of Ohio. 8 This was a tremendous victory for the United States and it certainly gave them the momentum in establishing Indian policy and in the race for territorial expansion. However, the fight and establishment for federal Indian policy did not end in the Ohio Valley. The United States began to realize that the Indians and Americans would not be able to co-exist in the same eastern territory. President Thomas Jefferson began implementing the policy of â€Å"removing† Indians from their eastern homelands. The government decided they could go about this a few different ways. They could try to destroy the Indian peoples, assimilate them to American society, protect them on their ancestral lands or remove them to more distant, western lands. 9 It was Jefferson’s plan to use the process of dispossession with minimal government. This plan involved allowing American settlements to slowly border the Indians, either allowing them to become civilized Americans or letting them flee beyond the Mississippi with the hopes of establishing multiple treaties. 10 Well, that is exactly what happened. This strategy to acquire Indian lands resulted in nearly thirty treaties with several tribes and the cession of 200,000 square miles of Indian territory. 11 This Jeffersonian policy proved to be very effective for the young United States. The more â€Å"conservative† removal policies of the American government took a halt when Andrew Jackson was elected President in 1828. Jackson was a famous Indian fighter who was often referred to as very vocal on his Indian views. He regarded the Indians as inferior and even referred to them as â€Å"savages that must be removed. †12 Jacksons radical approach upset many natives and led to the Cherokee resistance. The Cherokees were confined to the state of Georgia where they decided to reconstruct their tribal government. They created a constitution, established a language, had bountiful resources and even created a newspaper. However, this only increased the pressure for their American neighbors to take control of this Cherokee territory. The state of Georgia called upon Congress to begin negotiations with the Cherokees so they could leave their land. In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act allowing the president to negotiate treaties of removal with all Indian tribes east of the Mississippi. One year later, the Cherokee Nation brought a suit against the state of Georgia. The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Worcester v. Georgia that the Cherokee Nation was â€Å"a distinct community, occupying its own territory where the laws of Georgia can have no force. †13 Georgia ignored this ruling and continued violating the Cherokee region. Faced with destruction or removal, the Cherokees signed the Treaty of New Echota, where they agreed to relocate west of the Mississippi River. 14 This relocation devastated the Cherokee Nation’s emotions and is known as the Trail of Tears in 1835. As you can see, the United States of America was faced with a very difficult dilemma in having to force federal Indian policies to maintain the control of the eastern frontier. Although much blood was shed over the policies between Washington’s and Jackson’s administrations, much more blood could have been shed and treaties could have never formed. This could have possibly changed the face of the United States as we know it today. Notes 1. Calloway, Colin G, First Peoples; A Documentary Survey of American Indian History, Bedford/St Martins, New York, 3rd Ed, 2008, 219. 2. Calloway, 218. 3. Calloway, 219. 4. Prucha, P. Francis. Federal Indian Policy. May 2 2005. http://www. alaskool. org/native_ed/ historicdocs/use_of_english/ prucha. htm (accessed May 29, 2009), 2. 5. Prucha, 2. 6. Prucha, 2. 7. Prucha, 3. 8. Calloway, 230. 9. Calloway, 229. 10. Calloway, 230. 11. Calloway, 228. 12. Calloway, 231. 13. Seal, David. The Trail of Tears. Oct 19 1994. http://ngeorgia. com/history/nghisttt. html (accessed May 29, 2009), 1. 14. Seal, 1. Bibliography Calloway, Colin G, First Peoples; A Documentary Survey of American Indian History, Bedford/St Martins, New York, 3rd Ed, 2008. Prucha, P. Francis. â€Å"Federal Indian Policy† May 2 2005. http://www. alaskool. org/native_ed/ historicdocs/use_of_english/ prucha. htm (accessed May 29, 2009). Seal, David. The Trail of Tears. Oct 19 1994. http://ngeorgia. com/history/nghisttt. html (accessed May 29, 2009).

Work-integrated Learning (WIL) Project Management Plan

Work-integrated Learning (WIL) Project Management Plan Table of Contents (Jump to) Executive Summary Introduction Background of the project Intended audiences of the project Contents of the major sections of the PMP Conclusions Recommendations Executive Summary This assignment covered the project management plan of the national WIL portal project. University of Victoria in Australia is the sponsor of the national WIL portal project. The motivation of creating this portal is to make link among community, industry professionals with the higher education and vocational education sector. The students will be benefitted more by getting learning occasion from this. It is to mention that Victoria University is the leading university of thirty four Australian universities which made a consortium. The report starts with an introduction which describes the grounds of the report. The background section justify the situation and framework of the project. It also describes the addressees of the PMP. The checklist of the structure of the PMP is also discussed. Lastly, an analysis of the contents of the PMP by examining each of the key sections. The document includes the configuration that is suggested in the PMBOK moreover it also covered the module four of the class lecture materials. The total numbers of stakeholders are given on this project which creates a positive impact on project management team in communication plan. The risk management plan and risk register was also prepared in the report. There is a discrepancy in Appendix E, which contains work breakdown. The appendix E would be more appropriate if it explained as a milestone chart or project schedule. Appendix E comprises of responsibility, due date, start date and descriptions. These are the characteristics of project schedule. A Gantt chart presenting the plan of project task has not been given. To confirm good scope of management, a correct work breakdown structure should be incorporated. It is also recommended that a standard Gantt chart should be included to demonstrate the planned program of the project. It is also recommended to add full budget which shows cash flowed costs of the project and this benefits project manager to observe and maintain the costs of pro ject in control. In risk register the key assumptions should be included. Introduction The preparation of this assignment is made in line with the project management plan of the National WIL portal project. The student will be benefitted more by this National WIL portal project as it will create a web portal to link community, industry and professionals with the higher education and vocational education sector. The structured report contains a background which covers the project context, the structure of the PMP and the intended audience of the PMP. At the end it ends with a conclusion and some recommendations. Background of the project The National WIL portal project funded by Victoria University successfully applied to the variety and structural adjustment fund of the department of education, employment and workplace relations (DEEWR). The goal of the National WIL project was to make a WEB portal. This web would link among community, professionals and industry which would raise learning opportunities for the students. The major payback of this project was to offer simple communication occasion and assist the increase the growth of work-integrated learning community of practice. The portal would be assisted by the Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN). Intended Audience of the project Work-integrated learning (WIL) is widely measured influential in training newgraduates with the mandatory employability competencies to function efficiently in theworkatmosphere (Jackson 2014). In a short, WIL is the expansion of professional skill, the capability of students to perform in the workplace (McNamara 2011). Module four of the MGT8022 course materials describes that the PMP has various reasons and is intended to several audiences. Higher authorities in governance need the PMP for decision making purpose. In order to execute the project by the project team members. Financial sensitive data are not added in the PMP. External funding source may provide some financial support. Project consultant will get a brief description of the project from the PMP but the components of the PMP will be carefully chosen. This is to mention that all the audience does not need full PMP document. Some of the audience may need parts of the PMP. Section 2. 1, P4 of the plan document describes about the various stakeholders. In following table various stakeholders are examined and also explained the reason of the intended audience of this PMP. Key Stakeholder PMP Audience ( Y/N) Reason Victoria University Yes Accountable for planning and leading the project. Execution, monitoring, controlling and closing part of the PMP will be lead by them Judie key Yes As project manager will lead the whole project and also responsible for planning. 34 Partner universities Yes part of the project ACEN Yes Will support the stakeholders and others when the portal will be finished. Project Advisory Group Yes Project advisory group will monitor the project. Project Development Group Yes DEEWR Yes As a funding authority they have interest on the project benefits Table 1: Key stakeholders and the reason to be included as intended audience. Victoria University is the initiator of the project WIL. The essential steps of aprojectinclude beginning, planning, execution,monitoringandcontrolling, and closing (Abushaiba Zainuddin 2012) As a project leader the university needs to learn the execution plan of the project. Monitoring and controlling of the project is also necessary for a successful closing. The role ofprojectmanageris important toprojectaccomplishment (Ahmed et al. 2013). Judie Key is the project manager. She is in charge of planning and leading the project. She needs to execute, monitor and control the project in order to successfully accomplish the project. Thirty four partner universities made a consortium to make national WIL portal. When the portal will be finished they will also be benefitted by this project. Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) will provide the national doorway for industry and community into the universities. Structure of the PMP Organisational culture and the methodology determine the formation of the PMP (MGT8022, P56). PMP should be significant to its intended audience. According to the functional area and difficulty of the project, project management diagram contents will differ (PMBOK Guide 2004). Actually there are no rigid rules as MGT8022 discussed (p56). The PMBOK described (p89) that the PMP can be either summarised or detailed and it can also be consists of one or more subsidiary plans and other mechanisms. In the traditional formation, the authority scale is realized throughout the chain of command, whereas in the project configuration, authority comes from reliability, knowledge, or being a sound decision-maker (Kerzner 2013) According to MGT8022 course outline suggested structure of PMP might include: Overview, objectives, general approach, contractual, schedule, resources personnel Evaluation methods Potential WIL Portal PMP Section Reason For Inclusion 1. Introduction Readers will realize the purpose of the document and a little explanation on it. Background and context of the project, it also includes project objectives. 2. Key Personnel Involved The influential people or organizations of the project. Basically, the people who are involved with project directly. 3. Project Benefits The payback that can be anticipated from the project. 4. Project Scope Project team will be focused and on task with project scope 5. Project Time Schedule Time Schedule tells when each activity should be done. 6. Project budget summary For accountability reason 7. Quality To ensure quality across the project 8. Project roles and responsibilities Define the roles and responsibilities of the project members 9. About the risk management plan To minimise or avoid the risk this plan is done 10. Project control To get the progress report of the plan 11. Communication plan To get a better establishment of communication Table 2: Structure of the National WIL portal project. Contents of the major sections of the PMP Customer satisfaction is the main condition for in general project achievement and  content design goals is the next (Mà ¼ller Jugdev 2012). In this PMP customer satisfaction should comes first before making contents of the PMP and contents should be design according to customer satisfaction. The content of project management differs depending upon the relevance area and difficulty of the project (Institute 2013). The elements of the main sections of the PMP would again rely on the organisational culture and methodology. The contents size depends on the particular project requirements. The contents of the national WIL portal PMP document are explored at the below table. MGT8022 course material is used as theoretical framework in the following table columns. Introduction is not supported by PMBOK. As a methodology PMBOK does not support introduction in any section. PMBOK suggests overview or executive summary of the project. The Victoria university portal project starts with introduction but it would be better if it started with executive summary or overview. Key personnel involved in the project are key stakeholders and team members (Turner 2008). The interest of the project creates a negative or positive outcome of the project. If the stakeholders are against the project they will not wilfully involve in the project. Project team members is vital for project performance, achieving information sharing is still tough (Han Hovav 2013). Team members must be trained how to work together and correspond with others effectively (Tseng Yeh 2013). Projectmanager (PM) capabilities are essential inproject accomplishment (Chipulu et al. 2013). In the Victoria university project there are many parties involved as various stakeholders, it would be a crucial task to make all of them happy. One of the disputes that one face when running aprojectis improbability. This differs fromprojecttoproject. The Risk  Management  process include identify, assess, plan, implement, and communicate (Hinde 2012). Appendix G discussed about the risk management process, here in the case of Victoria university risk assessment based on four major criteria. It is also noted that risk management will be reviewed periodically and, if necessary new things will be added to the process. The  project  schedule  is the complete duration of theprojectwork, including the project management work, in order to generate the project scope (Phillips 2010). In the WIL project start date and end date are given but it would be better if a Gantt chart was given. The project scope is no longer a unimportant assessment (Là ©ger et al. 2013). Manage through a breakdown formation, focus on outcome, balance objectives and levels of ambition and keep it easy are the four principles of scope management (Turner 2008). National WIL portal PMP described various scopes of the project but it would be better if key milestones are given in chart that would be more visible. Quality management process systems are the central part and information warehouse for making any decision regardinga course of action (Ul-Hasnain, Waqar Shahbaz 2012). Quality management process of the WIL project is discussed in appendix C elaborately. Project roles and responsibilities are discussed in appendix D with a chart. Project budget is very important because it identifies the financial resource of that project will use. project is successful when it is delivered on-time, on-budget (Ellis Berry 2013) . Project budget is discussed in the page number eight of the PMP plan as a summery but it is also noted that budget is a sensitive issue. Everybody involved in the project may not have the same interest on budget; the funding party DEEWR has the most interest on budget. Project Communication (PC) pursues regular procedures and guidebook, as Project Management conducts within restrictions of budgets and deliveries (Rajhans Shah 2012). If communication breaks down during any of the stage of project accomplishment, it generates a lot of obstacles and ruins the smooth performance of the whole project (Rajhans Shah 2012) . Appendix D also discussed about the communication plan of the project. Communication plan described the type of information to be communicated and the medium of the communication. This chart shows how all parties involved in the project will be communicated. Although project benefit is discussed in WIL portal project, it is not suggested by Project Management Institute or any authors to include in it project content. Basically, project benefit may be discussed in business case. In this particular case Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) the funding authority of the project may have particular interest of this project benefit. Four requirements are essential for effective control of the PMP. Monitoring and reporting of the results, comparison results with the plan and forecast future results, plan and take effective action to improve the main plan – these three are discussed in WIL project plan but potential work and estimate performance are missing from the content of project (Turner 2008). One means to improve success of theseprojectsis adequatecontrol. WIL Portal PMP Section Discussion of the Section Contents 1. Introduction MGT8022 suggests an overview or executive summary which gives related information. PMBOK does not provide an introduction type section because it is a methodology 2. Key Personnel Involved The contents of the key Personnel section in WIL portal include key stakeholders, those who provide project governance and those who execute project work 3. Project Benefits PMBOK or MGT 8022 course did not mention about the project benefits. Project benefits are discussed in the business case. 4. Project Scope PMBOK and MGT8022 mention about the project scope 5. Project Time Schedule PMBOK and MGT8022 mention about the project schedule 6. project budget summary PMBOK and MGT8022 mention about the project budget summary 7. Quality PMBOK and MGT8022 mention about the project quality 8. Project roles and responsibilities PMBOK and MGT8022 does not mentioned about project roles and responsibilities 9. About the risk management plan PMBOK and MGT8022 mention about the project risk and management plan 10. Project control PMBOK and MGT8022 mention about the project control 11. Communication plan PMBOK and MGT8022 mention about the project communication plan Table 3: Contents of the National WIL project. Conclusion: This is an average report on PMP. The lecture material covered in the module and also the information suggested in the PMBOK are covered in the documents. The total number of stakeholders is given in the PMBOK. Project management team are also integrated in communications plan. The risk management plan and risk register were arranged in the PMP. There is one inconsistency in the Appendix E with work breakdown structure. It would be better if explained in milestone chart. A Gantt chart describing the schedule of the project task has not been given. Recommendations: After the analysis following recommendations are given: To confirm good capacity of the management an appropriate work breakdown structure should be added in the PMP. More in depth budget presenting the cash flowed costs of the project should be given. Project manager will be benefitted to observe the costs of the project. More standard Gantt chart should be incorporated to demonstrate the intended scheduled of the project. The main idea planned in the PMP should be added to the risk register. The reason behind is that if these assumptions are not correct then the project would be at threat All schedules must recognize the time restrictions and, if possible, should recognize those funds vital for all event Plan future work and estimate performance should be added in project control. Project benefits can be omitted from the PMP

Cardiovascular Effects of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids

Cardiovascular Effects of Anabolic Androgenic Steroids Table of Contents ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION BODY: ANABOLIC ANDROGENIC STEROIDS Effects Desired Effects Adverse Effects CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS BIBLIOGRAPHY ABSTRACT Doping is a global phenomenon present in international sporting events. International sports federations, led by the International Olympic Committee, and the World Anti-doping agency (WADA), have for the past half century attempted to prohibit the spread of this problem, however, there is still a lot left to be desired. The apparent lack of information with respect to the cardiovascular effects of anabolic steroid usage in competitive sports precipitated the need for a literature review to present scientific knowledge of the possible effects to the general public. The literature review led to detailed explanations of the cardiovascular effects of anabolic androgenic steroids, their mechanisms of actions and delved into the basis underlying why long-term abuse of these substances leads to physiologic malfunctions such as left ventricular hypertrophy, myocardial infarctions and sudden cardiac death. INTRODUCTION The creed of the Olympics states that: â€Å"The important thing in games is not winning but taking part. The essential thing is not conquering, but fighting well†1. While the objective above is lofty and conveys a sense of discipline and integrity, little of it can be found in the reality of today’s sports world. Doping, which can be explained as the use of a substance (such as an anabolic steroid or erythropoietin) or technique (such as gene doping – the use of modified or normal genetic cells) to illegally enhance athletic performance, has become an essential topic in almost every sport and has somehow been exposed in athletes of all ages and at every level of competition2. Doping substances are not unique to modern sports competitions. Their inception dates back to 776 BC when plants and mixtures of wine and herbs were used by the early Greek Olympic athletes and Roman gladiators competing in Circus Maximus. Not only were they used for their stimulating effects in speed and endurance events, but also for their ability to mask pain, permitting injured athletes to continue competing. This was a familiar practice that continued until heroin and cocaine became legally accessible by prescription in the 1920s. At this point, there was an upsurge in the number of athletes using stimulants as doping substances. During the 1930s, amphetamines also evolved and emerged as the stimulant of choice for athletes. By the time Ben Johnson’s gold medal was stripped off in the 1988 Seoul Olympics for using the steroid stanazalol, the world had become much aware of the incidence of doping in sport. The Medical Commission, under the International Olympic Committee (IOC), established a list of illegal substances in 1967 and introduced anti-doping testing of athletes in the 1972 Munich Games. It was clear at this point that doping substances did perform their expected functions and, if allowed to continue unchecked, would wreak havoc not only to the integrity of sports, but also to the health of sportsmen. A number of world class sportspeople, including sprinters like Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin and Asafa Powell, cyclists like Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis, footballers like Kolo Toure and Adrian Mutu and fast bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif, have been associated with doping. During sports, the rate at which blood is pumped from the heart to the various organs increases and this translates to an increased cardiac output. Cardiac output can be determined by the heart rate (beats per minute) and stroke volume (volume of blood pumped per beat or stroke). Doping drugs exert their influence on these parameters either by downplaying or exceeding normal heart function. Some doping drugs cause irregular heartbeats, tachycardia (a rapid heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute) and increased blood pressure. Other drugs have the capacity of blocking fast sodium channels competitively in nerve cells, hence reducing the amplitude of the action potential and rate of depolarisation, which can cause cardiac dysrhythmias.3 The stark reality of today’s sports industry, rife with heavy investments and large cash prizes, makes it unsurprising to see athletes and coaches going several lengths to gain competitive advantages and enhance performance at all costs, even to the detriment of the athletes’ health1. Worldwide, there are varying forms of doping substances being misused by professional sportsmen, with some being more common and others being potentially unknown. This paper will focus on the respective cardiovascular effects of anabolic agents (anabolic androgenic steroids)4 BODY: ANABOLIC ANDROGENIC STEROIDS Anabolism can be defined as the synthesis of substances in the body. The word â€Å"anabolic† is derived from the Greek word â€Å"anabole† meaning â€Å"something which is thrown up† or â€Å"mound.† An androgen is a sex hormone responsible for the development of male sexual characteristics. The word â€Å"androgen† is also from the Greek word â€Å"andros† meaning â€Å"of a man†. Anabolic androgenic steroids are drugs that are structurally related to the cyclic rings characteristic of steroids and fall under anabolic agents according to WADA. They are therefore compounds that have the ability to induce higher rates of anabolism in organisms5. The first serious research into anabolic androgenic steroids commenced in the 1930s by the German Chemist Adolf Butenandt, who isolated androstenone from a thousand litres of urine. Further research on the effects of AASs was conducted by 1939 by the World Scientific community. Its use spread among athletes and body builders by the 1940s and 1950s and resulted in an embargo on its use by the time of the 1972 Olympics. In humans, anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs) affect protein synthesis positively and protein breakdown negatively. Androgenic anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), there are two main classes of anabolic androgenic steroids: endogenous and exogenous. The endogenous anabolic androgenic steroids include testosterone, dihydrotestosterone and androstenedione while exogenous anabolic steroids include boldenone, formebolone, metabolome, stanozolol, furazabol and metandienone.6 Anabolic androgenic steroids are used by athletes through oral or intramuscular routes in three widespread routines: stacking, cycling and pyramiding. Stacking refers to an AAS administration routine in which more than one steroid is used at a time to cause a cumulatively higher effect. Cycling is a routine that involves the administration of an AAS for 6 to 12 weeks, followed by abstinence from steroids for 10 to 12 weeks and then returning to administration for another 6 to 12 weeks, effectively â€Å"cycling† the steroid. Pyramiding is another routine, one which stipulates that individuals begin with low doses of AASs and progressively increase the doses over a period of time. Use of AASs was initially envisioned as treatment of HIV-associated muscle wasting, sarcopenia (gradual age-related loss of skeletal muscle) and hypogonadal males. In recent years, however, about 5% to 14% of American college athletes have been using AAS for purposes unrelated to the intended purposes of the compound. A survey conducted in the United States of America also indicated that AAS use among community weight trainers attending gyms and health clubs was about 15% to 30%7 Mechanism Of Action Testosterone, the active component in AASs and its synthetic analogues, acts on target cells (usually skeletal muscles) by adhering to intracellular androgen receptors (AR)8. The AR-steroid complex binds to DNA in the nucleus, leading to transcription of various genes which lead to the production of a host of proteins that work to increase the size of muscles and the rate of muscle growth.8 After the binding of the AR-steroid complex, additional messenger RNA (mRNA) are formed. These mRNA move out of the nucleus and into the muscle cell cytoplasm where they bind to ribosomal RNA (rRNA), thus initiating translation, which will cause the synthesis of proteins in the Golgi apparatus12. These extra proteins are then integrated into the muscle cell, increasing its size. Studies have shown that androgen receptors on cells can be up-regulated in response to AAS exposure and by strength training. Upon exposure to testosterone and its analogues, there is hypertrophy of muscles that is as a re sult of an increase in the number of myocytes nuclei and the cross-sectional area of muscle fibres. Another mechanism by which AASs act is through glucocorticoid antagonism and growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) stimulation, which leads to an increase in muscle size and strength.7 Also, AASs act on the heart and major arteries by promoting the release of endothelial nitric oxide and the inhibition of smooth muscle tone of the vessels. This particular effect occurs only when physiologic amounts of testosterone and other AASs are present. Effects Desired Effects An amount of testosterone higher than the normal range (a supraphysiologic dose) has the tendency to increase muscle strength and mass by increasing protein synthesis (resulting in muscle hypertrophy) and increasing blood pressure, thereby enhancing the performance of athletes in sports2. It is also used in order to improve upon one’s physical appearance and also improve performance in body building. Due to these effects, anabolic androgenic steroids are used mainly by athletes taking part in sports such as baseball, rugby, competitive bodybuilding, competitive cycling and sprinting. Under normal circumstances, androgens are required for physiologic developmental and biological processes involving cardiac myocytes9. Cardiovascular effects of androgens include relaxation of vascular beds, reduction of afterload and quick increase in cardiac contractility, causing an increase in cardiac output9 hence, an increase in the supply of oxygen for oxidative phosphorylation in muscles. This results in a rise in the supply of ATP to the muscles, which will in turn enhance endurance and overall performance as more energy is available to the active muscles. Adverse Effects Major adverse effects that occur from prolonged anabolic steroid usage are hypertension, myocardial hypertrophy (especially left ventricular hypertrophy) myocardial infarction, arrhythmias and thromboembolic incidents. The basis of these effects is the action of androgen receptors on the cardiac myocytes as a result of the supraphysiologic AAS doses. At high doses, the vasodilatory effects of physiologic AAS are inhibited, along with an increase in the growth of cardiac tissue under the influence of GH and IGF-1. The actions of AR-steroid complexes are such that they increase the quantities of secondary messengers, in this case, calcium. Increased amounts of calcium in the cytoplasm of cardiac myocytes causes the release of apoptosis-causing factors such as apoptosis-inducing factor, caspase-9 and holocytochrome C. This initiates apoptosis, otherwise known as cell death, of the cardiac cells, which will in turn lead to myocardial infarctions.10 Another effect of supraphysiologic AAS doses is the elevation of blood pressure that results from renal sodium retention10. Retention of sodium would lead to increase in blood volume as sodium would create an osmotic gradient to draw water to itself. This process will increase venous return and eventually, stroke volume. Prolonged use of AASs will cause an increase in the diameters of the heart’s chambers and also change diastolic function and ventricular relaxation stemming from the continuous increase in venous return (preload). Another effect of the increased preload is left ventricular hypertrophy, which is found in a large number of AAS abusers. Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) can be explained as increase in size of the muscles in the left ventricle of the heart due to excess action. LVH remains a strong predictor of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity and could alternately be caused by direct action of AASs on the myocardium.10 The hypertrophy of the left ventricle is associated with the stimulatory effect of AASs on Growth Hormone (GH), which is directly linked to an increase in the inelastic elements (collagen) and cellular infiltration of the cardiac myocytes. Anabolic androgenic steroids have direct influence on the formation of thrombosis (blood clot resulting from platelets aggregation in a living organism). Thromboxane A2, a powerful platelet aggregator, and fibrinogen are positively affected by AASs. Production of prostacyclin, a form of prostaglandin I2 that acts as a platelet aggregator antagonist, however, is decreased. By these actions, AASs increase the risk of developing thrombosis as fibrinogen, which is a major factor in clot formation, and thromboxane A2 are increased in circulation while prostacyclin, which prevents the aggregation of platelets, is reduced in circulation. With increased aggregation of platelets, a free moving structure known as an embolus is produced. In the event that this embolus lodges in the lumen of a blood vessel and causes a halt in blood flow, thromboembolism is said to have occurred. The risk for this to occur is highly increased in AAS users and may cause myocardial infarctions and sudden cardiac d eath.10 AASs also catalyse various changes in lipid metabolism; the most noticeable being increases in LDL (low density lipoprotein) levels by approximately 20% and reductions in HDL (high density lipoprotein) levels by values ranging from 20% to 70%. Though the mechanism of this action is inadequately understood, it has been postulated that LDL levels increase due to the action of the enzyme hepatic triglyceride lipase (augmented by AASs) that causes increased catabolism of VLDL (very low density lipoproteins). These changes in lipoproteins (dyslipidaemia) will result in significantly increased risks of coronary artery disease.10 The above effects therefore suggest that there is increased risk for cardiovascular diseases among anabolic steroid users11. CONCLUSION From the information presented in this paper, it is clear that while anabolic androgenic steroids provide undue advantages to their users, they simultaneously predispose their users to a plethora of cardiovascular problems including, but not limited to, hypertension, arrhythmias, acute myocardial infarctions, thromboembolic episodes and sudden cardiac death. There is marked paucity of information on the cardiovascular effects and anabolic androgenic steroids among sportsmen and it is thus imperative that organisations, anti-doping agencies and providers collect and supply as much information as possible from and to athletes, physicians, coaches and parents in order to help in furthering the education of the risks involved in the use of anabolic androgenic steroids (AASs). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Baron DA, Martin DM, Abol Magd S. Doping in sports and its spread to at-risk populations: an international review. World Psychiatry. 2007;6(2):118-123. 2. Press D. Drug Abuse In Athletes. 2014:95-105. 3. Sherwood L. Human Physiology: From Cells to Systems.; 2010. doi:9781111577438. 4. Doping Prevention: Anabolic agents. http://www.doping-prevention.sp.tum.de/substances-and-methods/anabolic-agents/anabolic-agents.html. Accessed June 3, 2015. 5. Sturmi JE, Diorio DJ. Anabolic agents. Clin Sports Med. 1998;17(2):261-282. doi:10.1016/S0278-5919(05)70080-6. 6. Urhausen A, Albers T, Kindermann W. Are the cardiac effects of anabolic steroid abuse in strength athletes reversibleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯? 2004:496-501. doi:10.1136/hrt.2003.015719. 7. Evans NA. American Journal of Sports Team Physician ’ s Corner. 2004. doi:10.1177/0363546503262202. 8. Wilson C, Maass R, Estrada M. Cardiovascular Effects of Androgens. 1998. 9. Doping Prevention: Mode of action. http://www.doping-prevention.sp.tum.de/substances-and-methods/anabolic-agents/mode-of-action.html. Accessed June 3, 2015. 10. Achar S, Rostamian A, Narayan SM. Cardiac and metabolic effects of anabolic-androgenic steroid abuse on lipids, blood pressure, left ventricular dimensions, and rhythm. Am J Cardiol. 2010;106(6):893-901. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2010.05.013. 11. Vanberg P, Atar D. Androgenic anabolic steroid abuse and the cardiovascular system. Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2010;(195):411-457. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-79088-4_18. Page 1

A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning by John Donne Essay -- A Valedicti

â€Å"A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,† by John Donne explores love through the ideas of assurance and separation. Donne uses vivid imagery to impart his moral themes on his audience. A truer, more refined love, Donne explains comes from a connection at the mind, the joining of two souls as one. Physical presence is irrelevant if a true marriage of the minds has occurred, joining a pair of lovers’ souls eternally. In order to describe the form which Donne gives to true love he chooses to create a scene of separation. He insists that when in love, absence is not a cause for despair. Stanza two describes the usual reaction lovers have to separation but explains that such reactions of tears and sighs do not prove one’s love but rather the opposite by suggesting that the relationship depends on a physical connection. In stanza three then he states that it is the connection at the mind which is important to a devoted love, and that when this emotional connection of the souls is attained then â€Å"eyes, lips, and hands,† are less to miss. Donne uses a compass to create a visual metaphor for their love. Although the two feet may be far apart, they are constantly joined in the center. This connection at the center is representative of the mental connection which is found at the center of true or refined love. Regardless of how far apart the feet of the compass may move, or how far apart lovers may travel, the connection which is the center of their relationship serves to hold and br...

Media And The Government :: essays research papers

The media can often have a large impact on public opinion. The general community can be swayed based purely upon how the news carries a story. This places a massive responsibility on the media. They must decide what is appropriate and how to address certain topics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the cartoon the author was describing the impact the media can have on presidential races. People, in general, like to know the gossip about candidates. They like hearing the dirt, it brings the nominees down to the level of the common man. Since this is what the press knows the people want to hear this is what they publish. The more inside details the news gives the more people will want to buy their product. This cartoonist was showing the extremes that the media will go to in order to sell their product. The producers of all types of media are not stupid though, if a story has gone on to long or no longer interests the American public they will listen to public opinion and change subjects immediately. In the case of presidential campaigns media producers know that it affects all Americans so they can drag out different topics. Voters demand to know as much about candidates as they possibly can so that when they are in the booth they can make the best possibl e decision. The news has they used polls and realized that people don’t vote because of issues alone. They also vote (or don’t vote) for a candidate because of his personal appearance, attitude, or even actions in the public eye. Since these are all reasons for choosing certain contenders the media can publish stories that have so little relevance to the actual campaign and still sell their merchandise. The author of these cartoons was suggesting that perhaps the media might take things to far at times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Their are certain characteristics that apply to all forms of media that explain their reasons for writing and exploring the issues that they do. The media has been assigned certain roles by society. One of those roles is that of the gatekeeper. This gatekeeper role means that the media decides what issues make news, and for how long they make news. Also, media is supposed to be a sort of scorekeeper. They decide who is winning and losing in political contests. This is very important because it can sway public opinion greatly. Media And The Government :: essays research papers The media can often have a large impact on public opinion. The general community can be swayed based purely upon how the news carries a story. This places a massive responsibility on the media. They must decide what is appropriate and how to address certain topics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the cartoon the author was describing the impact the media can have on presidential races. People, in general, like to know the gossip about candidates. They like hearing the dirt, it brings the nominees down to the level of the common man. Since this is what the press knows the people want to hear this is what they publish. The more inside details the news gives the more people will want to buy their product. This cartoonist was showing the extremes that the media will go to in order to sell their product. The producers of all types of media are not stupid though, if a story has gone on to long or no longer interests the American public they will listen to public opinion and change subjects immediately. In the case of presidential campaigns media producers know that it affects all Americans so they can drag out different topics. Voters demand to know as much about candidates as they possibly can so that when they are in the booth they can make the best possibl e decision. The news has they used polls and realized that people don’t vote because of issues alone. They also vote (or don’t vote) for a candidate because of his personal appearance, attitude, or even actions in the public eye. Since these are all reasons for choosing certain contenders the media can publish stories that have so little relevance to the actual campaign and still sell their merchandise. The author of these cartoons was suggesting that perhaps the media might take things to far at times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Their are certain characteristics that apply to all forms of media that explain their reasons for writing and exploring the issues that they do. The media has been assigned certain roles by society. One of those roles is that of the gatekeeper. This gatekeeper role means that the media decides what issues make news, and for how long they make news. Also, media is supposed to be a sort of scorekeeper. They decide who is winning and losing in political contests. This is very important because it can sway public opinion greatly.

Master Tag Case

The key benefit to the revised approach is that the tags are being sent directly to the customer that needs them, the growers. The growers are then able to order another batch of tags once the plants have grown if they have a surplus in plants. Thus the reasoning for the revised approach is fulfilled by not having an abundance of un needed tags being shipped to the grower from the seed companies.The pros of the revised approach is the seeds will be planted with the tags and the tag wont leave the seed all the way from plantation until it reaches the retail customer. Also, if the grower is able to clone plants they would have the accessibility of ordering any new tags directly from MasterTag. The pro for the seed company is that they don’t have to sort tags to send off their order to the growers.Another pro is the seed companies wont have a surplus of tags in their warehouse, however, if the plant doesn’t survive from the growth of the seed the grower may build up a surp lus of tags. Although still, the grower would be better to utilize the process of order from MasterTag because they would know what plants survived from the seed. The cons of the plan is that it adds an extra step to the Growers manufacturing process. They now have to do forecasting and planning with two companies MasterTag and the seed companies, rather than just with the seed companies.

Archetypes in Apollo and Daphne

Every single person goes through changes that are either positive and/or negative in their lives. Changes in life come for many reasons and the metamorphosis archetype give the tools for explaining these changes. In the story â€Å"Apollo and Daphne† a Greek myth translated by Role Humphreys, the reader can Identify the changes that can be explained by the metamorphosis archetype.The metamorphosis archetype â€Å"Is a two-way street'; the change can be positive and/ or negative† (class notes). When Cupid shoots his arrows at Apollo and Daphne they both have a change of heart about love, â€Å"at once he loved and she at once fled from the name of lover† (178). While Apollo now loves and wants to be married, Daphne runs away from the thought of love. The changes seen In these characters can be viewed both positive and negative for each. Apollo changes from being a tough warrior to someone with a kind and loving heart.However this change can also be viewed negative ly, in the sense that his newfound love for Daphne is his only priority. Daphne on the other hand changes into someone who is incapable of love. This incapability drives her to run away from love itself, which is a negative change. â€Å"Metamorphosis stories defy the long list of human limitations; they allow humans to do and be things thought impossible† (class notes). In the story the character Daphne is not able to love and Apollo can only think about love due to Cupid's arrow.Once Apollo laid his eyes upon Daphne he was instantly in love. His love drove him to infers his feeling towards her, which caused Daphne to feel frightened and run away from the scene. While running away in fear Daphne asks the river to â€Å"change and destroy the body' (108). This resulted in Daphne turning into a tree â€Å"her hair was leaves, her arms were branches, and her speedy feet rooted and held† (181). A human asking for help from a river and turning into a tree is impossible bu t in a metamorphosis stories the impossible is defied. Many metamorphoses are actually either rewards or punishments† (class notes). At the beginning of the story we see the character Apollo as someone who Is a strong warrior when he says, â€Å"the bow Is for my shoulders; I never fall In wounding beasts or mortals† (1 78), to Cupid. Apollo also says to Cupid â€Å"the torch, my boy, Is enough for you to play with† (178). Apollo Is telling Cupid that unlike him he Is not old or strong enough to use the bow an arrow. Cupid responds to this by telling Apollo, â€Å"your bow shoots everything-maybe-but mine will fix you† (178).At this point Cupid Is fed up tit Apollo and decides to give him a punishment. He shoots Apollo with an arrow that makes him fall In love with Daphne. He also decides to shoot an arrow at Daphne, which causes her to avoid love at all costs. Apollo at this point is chasing someone who he will never have as his punishment. The story â₠¬Å"Apollo and Daphne† has many changes that can be analyzed with the shows the characteristics of changes that the metamorphosis archetype views. There is change all around us and it is something that cannot be avoided.

Mining Industry Overview

Mining? Industry? Overview? Boyi? Xie? March? 5,? 2012? Michael? Porter’s? Five? Forces? Outline? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? Products? Suppliers/Customers? Industry? Compe? tors? Cost? Revenue? &? pro? t? Overall? trends? Other? factors? Products? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? †¢? Aluminum? Copper? Lead? Zinc? Gold? Silver? Uranium? oxide? Diamonds? Stainless? Steel? Materials? Iron? Ore? Coal? Aluminum? Zinc? Copper? Gold? Iron? ore? Diamond? Marketing? &? Customers? †¢? Marke? ng? centers? of? mining? companies? †¢? Sell? products? at? the? most? advantageous? price? to? make? the? most? of? their? intrinsic? value? ? Act? as? a? source? of? specialist? exper? se? †¢? Iden? fy? value? opportuni? es? †¢? Customer? service:? †¢? Technical? assistance? †¢? Transporta? on,? e. g.? BHP? Shipping,? Rio? Tinto? Marine? †¢? Customers? †¢? Jewel ry? makers.? E. g.? gold,? silver? and? diamonds? †¢? Manufacturing/construc? on? companies.? †¢? E. g? Hyundai? Steel? †¢? Government? †¢? Other? retailers? BHP? Billiton? †¢? BHP? Billiton? is? a? global? mining,? oil? and? gas? company? headquartered? in? Melbourne,? Australia? and? with? a? major? management? o? ce? in? London,? UK.? It? is? the? world’s? largest? mining? company? measured? by? evenue.? †¢? BHP? Billiton? was? created? in? 2001? through? the? merger? of? the? Australian? Broken? Hill? Proprietary? Company? Limited? (BHP)? and? the? Anglo? Dutch? Billiton? plc.? (Billiton? origins? stretch? back? to? 1860)? †¢? It? is? now? a? dual? listed? company? in? Australian? Securi? es? Exchange? and? London? Stock? Exchange.? †¢? It? operates? a? wide? variety? of? mining? and? processing? opera? ons? in? 25? countries,? employing? approximately? 41,000? people.? †¢? It? has? opera? ons? on:? aluminum,? diamonds,? iron? ore,? petroleum,? stainless? steel,? uranium,? etc.? †¢? Mines? in:? Algeria,?Australia,? Brazil,? Canada,? South? Africa,? USA? Rio? Tinto? †¢? Rio? Tinto,? now? headquartered? in? London,? UK? (and? Brisbane,? Australia),? was? founded? in? 1873,? when? a? mul? na? onal? consor? um? of? investors? purchased? a? mine? complex? on? the? Rio? Tinto? river,? in? Huelva,? Spain.? †¢? It? is? now? a? dual? listed? company? in? Australian? Securi? es? Exchange? and? London? Stock? Exchange.? †¢? It? is? one? the? world? leaders? in? the? produc? on? of? aluminum,? iron? ore,? copper,? uranium,? coal? and? diamonds.? †¢? It? also? has? signi? cant? opera? ons? in? re? ning,? par? cularly? for? e? ning? bauxite? and? iron? ore.? †¢? It? has? opera? ons? on? six? con? nents? but? is? mainly? concentrated? in? Australia? and? Canada.? Vale? †¢? Vale? is? a? Brazilian? mul? na? onal? diversi? ed? metals? and? mining? corpora? on? and? one? of? the? largest? logis? cs? operators? in? Brazil.? †¢? It’s? the? largest? producers? of? iron? ore,? pellets,? and? second? largest? nickel;? other? products? include? manganese,? ferroalloys,? copper,? bauxite,? aluminum.? †¢? It’s? listed? on? stock? exchanges? of? Sao? Paulo,? New? York,? Paris,? Hong? Kong? and? Madrid.? †¢? It’s? also? the? corpora? on? with? the? ost? â€Å"contempt? for? the? environment? and? human? rights†? and? was? named? world’s? most? evil? company.? @8+8+&%*1(9'+8$)%#'. $%*1+08+2$,%01%1209$/31/(%0#$% 1. $/'44%(‘/;$06%')%*1+)2($/%)$*01/)%,$9$+,'+0%1+% ,$(‘+,%3/1(%,$. $419$,%$*1+1(8$)%)0/2&&4$,%01% /$*1. $/:%A#84$%0#$%8+,2)0/5%? ‘)%#80%#'/,%75%0#$%&417'4% *†. â€Å"3!. ,)3'! %! %8)7! â€Å"! â€Å"2)3174. â€Å"! +%)0. 9+),+#)&0+)'+&$'†) ‘+,%&1+$%7$51+,:% Global? Indices? Global indices (February 1989=1) 9 †¢? Mining? companies? have? con? nued? to? outperform? the? overall? market.? †¢? While? the? industry? was? hit? hard? by? the? global nancial? crisis,? mining? ompanies? have? led? the? return? and? gone? beyond. 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 Dow Jones FTSE HSBC Global Mining Index Source: Bloomberg. BCDC%)'? %/$'4%0$+)81+%8+%0#$%(‘/;$0%')%&/1? 0#% /$712+,$,6%133)$0%75%'%+2(7$/%13%8+*8,$+0)%0#'0%;$90% Global? Indices? â€Å"#$%&'(#)*+)*,-. %)/0 -. $/%0#$%*12/)$%13%0#$%4†²)0%5$'/6%&417'4%$*1+1(8*%'+,% 914808*'4%0/$+,)%#'. $%*#'+&$,%0#$%8+,2)0/5:%†#$%(8+8+&% !†#$%&'()*†#%)! &%+,-)! â€Å"). )†+/)+'. ). â€Å"#)&0+'+)! %)†1)&$'†! â€Å"2) 7'*;:%$*081+)%? #84$%)29945%/$(‘8+)%*1+)0/'8+$,6% ?80#%*#'44$+&$)%)2*#%')%,$*48+8+&%&/',$%'+,%(1/$% $(10$%41*'081+):%†#$%*1)0%*2/. $%#')%)#830$,%296% *1+08+28+&%01%920%9/$))2/$%1+%0#$%8+,2)0/5%01%(‘8+0'8+% *†. â€Å"3!. ,)#! %3! 4,! â€Å"+5)6+/)4,. (+'%). ‘+)+7+'2! â€Å"2).  "#)&0+) 8+,2)0/5%8)%/$*$8. 8+&%(1/$%'00$+081+%3/1(%80)%(‘+5%'+,% .'/8$,%)0†²;$#14,$/):%! â€Å"#$%&'#$†&($)†&*%#+%8+%0#$%(8+8+&% 8+,2)0/5: †¢? Emerging? countries? con? nued? to? storm? ahead,? with? demand? for? resources? driven? by? strong? GDP? growth,? including? close? to? 10%? growth? in? China. †¢? Mining? market? capitaliza? on? con? nued? to? rebound? in? 2010,? with? many? players? recovering? the? remaining? market? capitaliza? on? lost? uring? the? global nancial? crisis? and? surpassing? the? level? seen? at? the? end? of? 2007.? 1%#/+)*,-(%,2#3 @8+8+&%*1(9'+8$)%#'. $%*1+08+2$,%01%1209$/31/(%0#$% 1. $/'44%(‘/;$06%')%*1+)2($/%)$*01/)%,$9$+,'+0%1+% ,$(‘+,%3/1(%,$. $419$,%$*1+1(8$)%)0/2&&4$,%01% /$*1. $/:%A#84$%0#$%8+,2)0/5%? ‘)%#80%#'/,%75%0#$%&417'4% *†. â€Å"3!. ,)3'! %! %8)7! â€Å"! â€Å"2)3174. â€Å"! +%)0. 9+),+#)&0+)'+&$'†) ‘+,%&1+$%7$51+,:% †¢? The? total? year? end? market? capital iza? on? of? the? top? 40? companies? increased? by? 26%,? with? larger? gains? generally? achieved? by? the? smaller? companies. Global indices (February 1989=1) 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 Dow Jones FTSE HSBC Global Mining Index Source: Bloomberg. BCDC%)'? %/$'4%0$+)81+%8+%0#$%(‘/;$0%')%&/1? 0#% /$712+,$,6%133)$0%75%'%+2(7$/%13%8+*8,$+0)%0#'0%;$90% *'2081+%'+,%/8);%1+%0#$%'&$+,':%? @? ‘. /$! 3# 3/&+030. 3.! 3#$! A $'$/%0* 3/&+030. A. /,+B! $ Top 40 TS 100 250% 50 Coal India PotashCorp Barrick Gold FreeportMcMoRan Anglo American Xstrata China Shenhua 0 Rio Tinto 200% Vale †¢? The? big? get? bigger.? They? are? also? diversifying? in? other? direc? ons.? For? instance,? some? have? begun? exploring? the? bene? ts? f? ver? cal? integra? on? in? an? anempt? to? control? the? en? re? commodity? value? chain? –? from? coal? mining? to? steel? produc? on? to? power? genera? on.? 150 BHP Billiton †¢? New? entra nt:? Coal? India.? Following? its? IPO? in? October? 2010,? it’s? the? largest? new? entrant.? 5$&/! â€Å". 3 (#. A(! ‘ 3#$! ($)3 150% 100% 2009 2010 Source: Capital IQ. Note:? EBITDA:? earnings? before? interests,? taxes,? deprecia? on,? and? amor? za? on? 9%. #1:. %&7%2;-201$? @?! &! (3&*+!. 23! 5$&/! -. /! 3#$! ‘0*0*%! 0*+2(3/57! R)/. ((! 3#$! â€Å". 1! G?! 3#$/$! A&(! &! 50% 0% Source: B â€Å"#$%&'($)%*+,-)&%&. $(%-‘. -. 0+&%1232%4$%)'4%5#$%567%5#/$$%(0+$/)%89:;%90)&G#'H& 9##? â€Å"@)*+†A. +6;),†*5(â€Å"*88/)8*0)†A*+6),† were? announced? during? the? ;B†*5(â€Å"=CB†1481)/†01*5†³01)†9/,0†³1*+#>? â€Å"D5†³*5† â€Å"(2/. &$%2([email  protected]&. /%†&0#†1'/2&%). &%**3/*%;/&0%†1/2&? /3/& ?rst? half? of? 2011.? .&7B(*C/3&;C%)&7858&%). &577B&%). (* C/3& ;;'? â€Å"E. â€Å"F60†³014,†450. â€Å"F)/,F)704A)$†7. 5,4()/†01*0† â₠¬ ¢? Deals? volumes? and? aggregate? â€Å"(2/. &0#†1'/2&'%>/&7855&;C/&$12(/2;&4/%3&#E&+,-&()&;C/& â€Å". >&JK? † values? were? 10%? and? 25%? 1 80 ,000 3,000 Announced Date Target Target Description Target Headquarters Transaction Value (millions) Target ResourceType !$%%#&'(#%$#)*'+,*#-. /. /0#12,*3 2011? 1H? Top? 10? Global? Mining? Deals Acquirer 01/28/2011 Massey Energy Corporation Massey Energy Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, A. T. Massey Coal Company, Inc. , produces, processes, and sells bituminous coal primarily in the United States. United States US$8,500 Coal Alpha Natural Resources, Incorporated 04/24/2011 Equinox Minerals Limited Equinox Minerals Limited engages in the mining and exploration of mineral properties. Australia C$7,300 Copper Barrick Gold Corporation Announced 01/11/2011 Date Target Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Limited Target DescriptionConsolidated Thompson Iron Mines Limited, a mining company, engages in the exploration an d development of mineral properties in Canada. Target Canada Headquarters Transaction C$4,900 Value (millions) Target Steel Resource Type Acquirer Cliffs Natural Resources Incorporated 05/02/2011 01/28/2011 US$3,400 US$8,500 Coal Coal Kazakhstan US$3,200 Zinc 04/24/2011 Equinox Minerals Limited Australia C$7,300 Copper 06/10/2011 01/11/2011 PT Bumi Resources Consolidated Thompson Minerals Tbk Iron Mines Limited International Coal Group, Inc. produces coal in northern and central Massey Energy Company, through States. owned subsidiary, A.T. Massey Appalachian regions of the United its wholly Coal Company, Inc. , produces, processes, and sells bituminous coal primarily iKazzinc JSC States. produces zinc with copper, precious metals, and lead n the United primarily credits in Kazakhstan. Equinox Minerals Limited engages in the mining and exploration of mineral properties. PT Bumi Resources Minerals Tbk, through its subsidiaries, engages in the Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Limited, a mining Indonesia and in west exploration and development of mineral properties in company, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada.Africa. United States United States 04/14/2011 International Coal Group, Massey Energy Incorporated Corporation KazzInc Indonesia Canada US$2,100 C$4,900 Diversi? ed Steel and Metals Mining 02/03/2011 05/02/2011 Fronteer Gold International Coal Group, Incorporated Incorporated Fronteer Gold Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of International Coalproperties in producesthe United States, and Turkey. mineral resource Group, Inc. Canada, coal in northern and central Appalachian regions of the United States. Canada United StatesC$2,300 US$3,400 Gold Coal Arch Coal Alpha Natural Incorporated Resources, IGlencore ncorporated International p Barrick Gold Corporation Bumi plc Cliffs Natural Resources Incorporated Newmont Min Arch Coal Corporation Incorporated 04/14/2011 03/02/2011 KazzInc Companhia B rasileira de Metalurgia e Mineracao Kazzinc JSCBrasileira de Metalurgia ewith copper,engages in the extraction, Companhia primarily produces zinc Mineracao precious metals, and lead credits in Kazakhstan. processing, manufacture, and marketing of niobium-based products. Kazakhstan BrazilUS$3,200 US$1,950 Zinc Diversi? ed Metals and Mining 06/10/2011 PT Bumi Resources Minerals Tbk PT Bumi Resources Minerals Tbk, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Indonesia and in west Africa. Indonesia US$2,100 Diversi? ed Metals and Mining 02/03/2011 Fronteer Gold Incorporated Fronteer Gold Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in Canada, the United States, and Turkey. Canada C$2,300 Gold 03/02/2011 Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e MineracaoCompanhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineracao engages in the extraction, processing, manufacture, and marketing of niobium-based products. Brazi l US$1,950 Diversi? ed Metals and Mining 06/22/2011 Vale Fertilizantes SA Vale Fertilizantes S. A. produces and supplies phosphate- and nitrogen- based inputs for the production of fertilisers and inputs for chemical companies in Brazil. Brazil US$1,390 Fertilisers and Agricultural Chemicals POSCO, Sojit Corporation, N Steel Corpora Holdings Inco Vale S. A. The Japan Oil and Metals Na Corporation & Pension Servi 06/15/2011 Drummond Company, Inc. Colombian Mining Operations and Related Infrastructure Drummond Companys, Colombian Mining Operations and Related Infrastructure comprises coal exploration properties with probable reserves of about 2 billion net tons. Colombia US$1,524 Coal Itochu Corpor 06/22/2011 Vale Fertilizantes SA Vale Fertilizantes S. A. produces and supplies phosphate- and nitrogen- based inputs for the production of fertilisers and inputs for chemical companies in Brazil. Brazil US$1,390 Fertilisers and Agricultural Vale S. A. Glencore Sojit POSCO, ICorporation, p nternational Steel Corpora Holdings Bumi plc IncoThe Japan Oi and Metals N Corporation & Pension Serv Newmont Min Corporation 2011? 1H? Top? 10? Global? Mining? Deals et ource Acquirer Acquirer Description Acquirer Headquarters Transaction Status (as at August 8, 2011) l Alpha Natural Resources, Incorporated Alpha Natural Resources, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, processing, and sale of coal in the United States. United States Closed per Barrick Gold Corporation Barrick Gold Corporation engages in the production and sale of gold, as well as related activities, such as exploration and mine development.Canada Closed l Cliffs Natural Resources Incorporated Cliffs Natural Resources, a mining and natural resources company, produces iron ore pellets, lump and ? nes iron ore, and metallurgical coal products. United States Closed l Arch Coal Incorporated Arch Coal engages in the production and sale of steam and metallurgical coal from surface and underground mine s located throughout the United States. United States Closed Glencore International plc Glencore International plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in producing, sourcing, processing, re? ning, transporting, storing, ? ancing, and supplying commodities to industries worldwide. Switzerland Announced Bumi plc Bumi plc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, mining, and processing of coal and other minerals in Indonesia and West Africa. United Kingdom Announced Newmont Mining Corporation Newmont Mining, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and production of gold and copper properties. United States Closed POSCO, Sojitz Corporation, Nippon Steel Corporation, JFE Holdings Incorporated, The Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation & National Pension ServiceJFE Holdings, Inc. , through its subsidiaries, engages in steel and engineering operations in Japan. JFE Holdings Inc. : Japan Announced National Pension Service is a pens ion fund manager. National Pension Service: South Korea rsi? ed als and ng rsi? ed als and ng Nippon Steel Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of steel and related products in Japan and internationally. Nippon Steel Corp. : Japan POSCO: South Korea Sojitz Corporation operates as a general trading company worldwide. Sojitz Corporation: Japan Japan oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation provides ? ancial assistance, technology development, technical support, stockpiling, gathering/providing information, mine pollution control, and overseas ? eld survey services in Japan. ilisers POSCO engages in the manufacture and sale of steel products in South Korea and internationally. The Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation: Japan Vale S. A. Vale S. A. engages in the exploration, production, and sale of basic metals in Brazil. Brazil Announced Itochu Corporation ITOCHU Corporation operates as a general trading company primarily in Japan and inte rnationally. Japan Announced