Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Why Americans should vote Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why Americans should vote - Essay Example Almost all the Americans had reservations about how the war on terrorism, hurricane Katrina and a myriad of other issues were handled during the Bush administration. But not many bothered to make their voices heard. Although it is interesting that this was the highest turnout of public for elections in the last 4 elections (File & Crissey, 2010). Americans fought long and hard for the right to vote. Later on American women, African- Americans and other minorities also struggled to give a voice to their opinions. Now though many Americans do not use this voice to change America for the better and instead choose to complain how wrong everything is. It is important to vote because our ancestors believed that Americans are intelligent enough to choose their own leaders and because they wanted to make sure that their coming generations had all the liberties and opportunities that only a democracy could grant. It is important that this right is not taken for granted (Isler 2001). The biggest argument in favor of elections is that those who do not participate in elections have no right to complain about its outcome. A person may be passionate about the issue of abortion and teenage pregnancies; another may feel strongly about a teacher’s pay scale in America. These people have to find a candidate that is standing to uphold views that they feel strongly about and vote for them. Elected officials make important decisions about the American society. Therefore, it is essential that they have the support from a majority of that very authority in order to successfully implement these decisions (Frantzich n.d.) Americans should vote because their vote is an essential investment in the better future of the American society. It must be understood that the policy makers of America are selected through elections only. So in order to influence the American

Monday, October 28, 2019

Terminologies in the ICN architecture

Terminologies in the ICN architecture The research on the Information-centric Networking initiated with the need to replace the current inefficient architecture to a promising model that could satisfy future network necessities [1]. The several projects on this research are differentiated in the operations of the key building blocks common to most projects [4]. Named Data Objects (NDOs)   Ã‚   Every content on the internet ranging from a web page, documents to media files is referred to as objects (NDOs) which are independent of location, storing and retrieval methods [4]. NDO and its name is the identity of the information on the internet which can be copied, requested and supplied. NDOs can also hold representative data about the information held by the object [4]. Naming Every NDO in ICN is to be assigned a unique name, and should also associate an integrity check with the information it holds to ensure reliability [4]. They are always location-independent and range from structured to flat and may be human interpretable or not [1].There are two different naming schemes hierarchical and flat namespaces. The hierarchical scheme has a structure to the name rooting to publisher prefix which may also be human-readable in some cases, enabling aggregation and scalability in routing mechanisms [4]. The flat namespaces use the hash of the content with the objects name for direct binding and embed public key and hash of the content for indirect binding [4]. The publisher field in flat names facilitates some level of route aggregation even if it is a non-hierarchical scheme [4]. The difference in the design trade-off affects routing and security mechanism [4]. Security This feature is correlated to the naming scheme adopted by the approach. Human-readable names require external trust agent for verification, while flat names support self-certification and validation [1]. Hierarchical naming is considered disadvantageous as it relies on public key infrastructure (PKI) [4]. Application Programming Interface (API) The ICN API is related to the operation of asking and getting the NDOs. There are different terms denoted for the operation that varies which will be discussed during respective approach. The source provides NDOs by publishing it to the network. The user requests the network to get the NDOs by subscribing to it. As per approach, the publish/subscribe operation may be synchronous or asynchronous, while some support location preferences [4]. Name Resolution, Routing, and Forwarding of the Content The name of NDOs is resolved by matching the information name to the source provider [1]. Resolution may be direct or indirect routes to the source/s. The operation is carried out by Name Resolution Service (NRS) in the routing infrastructure which stores pointers to the storage locations containing the object names [4]. The routing and forwarding of the objects are carried out in multiple steps which involve routing the request to the direct source or to the responsible NRS, translation of object name to source/s addresses if indirect, forwarding the request to the source and fulfilling the requested data back to the client [4]. The content routing may be coupled or de-coupled to the name resolution process. Coupled routing backtraces the request message path from the client and follows the same for delivering content. De-coupled routing uses different routes which can be generated by an independent routing module that provides a deliverable route to the source [1]. Caching Caching is application-independent and may be done at every node in the ICN infrastructure [4]. ICN supports on-path caching and off-path caching. On-path caching is caching the information along the path of NDO request message while Off-path caching is exploiting the information cached outside that path [1]. Off-path caching can be supported in both coupled and de-coupled routing mechanisms by routing systems or NRS respectively [1]. Mobility ICN facilitates content request process from user end as the request can be re-initiated after the handoff while providing mobility to the source is difficult in both coupled and de-coupled approach as it burdens the system with additional updates [1]. By caching and replicating content at multiples nodes closer to the mobile subscriber, the ICN infrastructure saves costs and time by bypassing possible congestion [2].

Friday, October 25, 2019

Live or Die Essay -- essays research papers

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears very briefly. However, he provides the basis for the development and eventual downfall of Hamlet’s character. The play begins with a dismal Hamlet mourning his father’s death Recognizing this gloom, Queen Gertrude urges Hamlet to â€Å"cast thy nighted color off, and let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark† (I, ii, 68-69). Soon after, the ghost appears, insisting, â€Å"If thou didst ever thy father love, revenge his foul and most unnatural murder† (I, v, 24-25). As Hamlet decides to scourge the past and present evils in Denmark, the ghost unleashes death and malice onto the stage. The first and most obvious change which the ghost instills into Hamlet is a vengeful spirit. Not only must Hamlet destroy Claudius, but he must also stop Fortinbras from invading Denmark. Although less obvious, the second task can be inferred from the fact that the ghost appears wearing â€Å"the very armor he had on when he the ambitious Norway combated† (I, i, 60-61). Hamlet spends the entire play trying to carry out these orders, eventually causing the downfall of his spirit. Partly because he feels reserve and guilt for his task, Hamlet delays taking action throughout the play. However, this paradoxical delay only makes Hamlet feel more guilty. He questions his self-worth and even considers suicide, pondering, â€Å"To die -- to sleep -- no more; and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is he...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

British Airway’s Essay

A research report with a word limit of 1,500 on British Airway’s (BA) change program that resulted in long-running industrial disputes between its management and crew members in 2009-2011. The contextual information about the BA’s introduction of strategic changes – why BA produced this change, explain market (rising fuel costs etc.) British Airways is the UK’s largest airline. Since becoming privatized in 1987, BA has continued to grow despite increased competition (Connell & Williamson, 2011). The UK’s economic climate had a large influence to why the British Airways’ industrial occurred. In 2011, UK inflation was 4% on the previous year, compared to an average pay rise of 2.3% for the same period. This means that the cost of living was increasing at a much more rapid rate than people’s income. As a result, workers like BA’s cabin crew put pressure on employers to raise pay. Additionally, lower disposable income means fewer than usual are withdrawing money for one-off purchases such as foreign holidays – â€Å"A lot of people are not touching their savings because they do not know what is round the corner† (Giles, Groom & Bounds, 2011). Therefore demand for international flights is lower. Fuel accounts for 25% of British Airway’s total costs, therefore any fluctuations in the price of natural resources will have a huge impact on this industry. In 2011, after oil prices surged to $110 a barrel, BA informed passengers that they face rising fares (Groom, 2011). IAG’s (BA’s parent company) fuel costs were predicted to rise by â‚ ¬1.2bn to â‚ ¬5.1bn ( £4.36bn) in 2011 (Groom, 2011). However increasing fares would have reduce the airline’s competitiveness. Alternatively the company could remain profitable by reducing wage costs instead of passing the increases onto the customer. The airline industry has also been affected by social trends. Insurance costs have risen because of fear of terrorism and tighter security checks at airports (Barrows & Neely, 2011). Technological advances have reduced demand for business flights, with companies using alternative communication systems such as teleconferencing in order to cut costs (Shaw, 2011). As a result of these macroeconomic factors, BA felt that they needed to adopt an internal cost-cutting strategy to remain profitable. The dispute developed into a row over travel concessions removed from Unite members who went on strike, as well as suspensions and dismissals (Groom, 2011). The current environment of high unemployment increased BA’s bargaining power as an employer (Conrady & Buck, 2012, 11). The union was powerless to stop the original cause of the dispute as BA removed at least one crew member from most long-haul flights, saving  £63m a year (Groom, 2011). It has also hired 700 new crew members in its so called â€Å"mixed fleet† on certain routes, earning  £17,000 a year on average compared with  £29,000 for existing Heathrow cabin crew (Groom, 2011). This programme should yield  £160m annual savings within a decade. According to Deutsche Bank, following the cuts, BA has the lowest employee costs of the major European network airlines at 22.9 per cent of sales in 2010 compared with 26.8 per cent in 2006 (Groom, 2011). Evaluation on the nature of such changes – was it gradual, radical, top management, grass roots up scale, depth time scale. Apply the kaleidoscope model. On October 6, 2009 the airline announced plans to cut 1,700 cabin crew jobs and freeze pay. Union officials accused the company of †holding a gun† to the heads of staff and warned that they were prepared to fight the proposals. It wasn’t until May 1, 2011 that the dispute was on the verge of being resolved following a breakthrough in crucial talks aimed at ending the long-running row (Telegraph, 2011, May 12). The dispute lasted more than 18 months and led to 22 days of strikes costing BA  £150m. Therefore this proved to be a costly process, and had it been resolved sooner, BA would have saved a lot of money and the brand wouldn’t have received as much negative publicity. However, analysts said the airline’s savings on staff costs would far outweigh the losses from the strike and the outcome should reduce the likelihood of future stoppages (Groom, 2011). The ‘unfreezing’ phase (Lewin’s model) of this change was a gradual, drawn-out process. Time: As this was not a company in crisis there wasn’t a need to implement change reactively, British Airways had time to achieve their long-term strategy. Scope: British Airways did not require a transformation of the organisation as a whole. A realignment of the cabin crew’s operations and wage structure was the desired scope for this change. However, due to the industrial action taken by Unite the change had an impact organisation-wide. Preservation: It is important that BA preserves what makes British Airways, British Airways. This means they need to retain their brand identity, because this is one of their biggest selling points. It is also important to not destroy the business’ heritage and culture. Job security for the remaining cabin crew will be at an all-time low. Key members of staff need to be reassured of their position so that BA doesn’t lose these assets to competitors. Diversity: The change should not affect diversity between divisions. This means that the culture should remain consistent throughout BA, from pilots, to cabin crew, to administration staff. Capability: The individual within the cabin crew will need to be capable of adapting to the new operational requirements and be able to accept the change in pay structure. It is a managerial responsibility to help staff through this transition phase. The new BA chief executive, Keith Williams was praised for being â€Å"strong, brave and courageous† in reaching the agreement. These are the sort of capabilities required by the managerial team. Capacity: With the savings made in the long-term, BA will be able to invest in training for staff so quality of customer service will improve. The managers have shown devotion to this process by holding out for 18 months to ensure change was implemented. There must also be a number of people in the organisation with an adequate change capability. Readiness: The workforce was not aware of the need for change until it was announced that there would be 1,700 job cuts. As a result cabin crew members refused to commit to making the personal changes required of them. Power: The British Airway’s managerial team were the change agents containing the most power. As a trade union, Unite also contained considerable power, and this caused opposition for the implementation of change. The change management strategy, if any, as outlined by the BA management – have they addressed employee emotions or all focused on change process? The focus was placed mainly on the change process rather than employee emotions. The strategy appears to have been to implement the change at all costs. Throughout the 18 month negotiation process BA refused to give into the union demands. Despite 22 days of strikes BA continued to refuse the people what they wanted. They were accused of â€Å"management bullying, press slanders, and legal gerrymandering†. A big factor in the two parties coming to an agreement was BA agreeing to reinstate staff travel concessions, as stated by the Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey – â€Å"I am particularly pleased that travel concessions will be restored† (Scott, 2011, May 12). However, this was used as a bargaining tool rather than as an empathetic gesture. Having said this, there were a few minor interpersonal strategies. The personnel change of BA’s chief executive from â€Å"protagonist† Willie Walsh, to former finance director Keith Williams, contributed to the breakthrough. Union leaders described Keith Williams as a ‘genuine and honest man’, saying to cabin crew, ‘he values you’ (Smith, 2011, May 12). This is evidence of showing personal compassion in order to reduce resistance. However, many workers were unhappy with the praise he received. So if anything this strategy is likely to have hindered progressive rather than help it. BA also appointed an independent facilitator in the form of psychologist, Mark Hamlin to deal with the â€Å"fragility of trust† and act as a â€Å"long-term relationship builder† (Milmo, 2011, April 10). Long-term the ‘hard ball’ strategy employed by BA has left them with integrity and respect. This will help the company move forward and rebuild relationships. Good relations prevent industrial action and hence operational interruptions (British Airways, 2010). The challenges and difficulties in implementing such changes – as experienced by BA. Resistance/Acceptance. 93% of cabin crew voted for strike action originally. Through collective action and collective resistance they forced BA to change the terms. The resistance received enthusiastic support from wide sections of the working class in Britain in form of donations from union branches and solidarity on their picket lines (Counterfire, 2011, June 24).

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Online Marketplace

WHAT IS ONLINE MARKETPLACE? The online payment marketplace is experiencing an explosion of innovative ideas, plans, and announcements, which one commentator has likened to a â€Å"goat rodeo†, a chaotic situation in which powerful players with different agendas compete with one another for public acceptance, and above all, huge potential revenues. Others liken the payment marketplace to a battle among the four platform titans Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon.Each of these titans have their own versions of a future payment system that challenges the other players. And let’s not forget PayPal, the reigning power in alternative online payment, or the credit card companies who process over 70% of online payments, or the telecommunication wireless carriers Verizon and AT&T who make it all happen. All of these players are also competing for a share of the online payment stream. They all want to help us spend money, for a fee.The continuing double-digit growth of e-commerce is certainly one factor driving market participants, but a more important factors is the emergence of the mobile platform of smartphone and tablets that opens the door for new firms to enter the online payment marketplace based on newer technologies and control of the mobile platform itself. WHAT IS PayPal ? PayPal is a global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders.PayPal is an acquirer, performing payment processing for online vendors, auction sites, and other commercial users, for which it charges a fee. It may also charge a fee for receiving money, proportional to the amount received. The fees depend on the currency used, the payment option used, the country of the sender, the country of the recipient, the amount sent and the recipient's account type. In addition, eBay purchases made by credit card t hrough PayPal may incur extra fees if the buyer and seller use different currencies HOW TO BUY The easiest way to remember your credit card number is not having to.Remembering 16 digits isn’t easy and typing them in to pay for something isn’t always secure. Now you don’t need to do either. 1 Sign up for free, and add a bank account or a debit/credit card. 2 Speed through checkout at millions of online stores. Just look for the PayPal button. 3 Stay protected from checkout to delivery with our Buyer Protection. Figure 1. 1 show Ebay the example of website use PayPal. Figure 1. 2 show Hop-shop-go example for PayPal. PAYMENT METHODS Choose how you want to pay. Set up your payment methods quickly and easily. 1 Confirm your email address.This helps protect you if someone tries to register a PayPal account using your email address 2 You can add multiple credit/debit cards and have the flexibility to set one as your default payment source 3 You have the option to withd raw any payments received to your bank account. Simply add a bank account to facilitate it. Add a card You can add a credit or debit card to your PayPal account to make payments instantly. To add a card, 1. Log in and click  Profile. 2. Select  Add or Edit Card for payments. 3. Click  Add card  or  Add another card  and follow the prompts.Top-up my PayPal account You can use PayPal to make payments online card-free. Simply top-up your PayPal balance from your bank account. * 1. Log in and click  Top-up. 2. Select Top-up via RHB bank* account. Withdraw funds to a bank account When you receive payments, you can keep the money in your PayPal account for future purchases or add a bank to withdraw it to your bank account. To withdraw your funds, 1. Log in and click  Withdraw. 2. Select  Withdraw funds to your bank. 3. Enter the amount and follow the prompts. TYPES ONLINE PAYMENT Google Checkout ) Wallet One wallet for online and in-store shopping * Buy online with your phone or computer Make purchases at thousands of online shops by signing in to your Google Account. * Buy in-store with the mobile app Tap your phone to pay and redeem offers, using NFC (near-field communication). NFC payments are currently only available in the United States. * Manage your account Sign in to manage your payment information and view your transaction history. 2) Checkout Increase online sales using Google Wallet New! Google Checkout is now Google Wallet for buyers.Google Wallet is a fast, secure checkout process that helps increase sales by bringing you more customers and allowing them to buy from you quickly and easily with a single account, online or in-store. Sell worldwide. Attract buyers in over 140 countries to purchase your goods and services online using their Google Wallet. Convert more sales. A fast, convenient checkout process helps Google users convert more than shoppers who have not used Google before. Protect yourself from fraud. The Payment Guarantee P olicy protects 98% of orders on average – when an order is guaranteed, you get paid even if it results in a chargebackAMAZON Figure 1. 3 show Amazon website Amazon Services works with businesses of all sizes to provide products and solutions backed by the power of Amazon. For example, your business can reach millions of Amazon shoppers by selling on the Amazon Marketplace and then leverage Amazon's fulfillment services to manage shipping and provide trusted customer service. Or, if your business already has a website, you can advertise your products to Amazon. com shoppers to drive qualified traffic to your website, and then improve conversion by making it easy for them to buy on your site with their Amazon account through Amazon Payments.If you need a website, or would like to upgrade your current website, Amazon Webstore makes it easy to build a branded eCommerce website. Whether you'd like to Sell on Amazon. com or make your own website more successful, Amazon Services has solutions to help you build your business successfully online. Increase your business capabilities. Get on board with Amazon. If taking your business to the next level includes selling online, or improving your internet-based business, getting to know Amazon Services could make all the difference in your success.Imagine having Amazon, with its world-class technologies, as an ally in meeting your business goals. Think how much simpler things could be if you could leverage the power of Amazon tools and services for your business. Reach Customers Amazon Services offers two solutions that give you access to tens of millions of Amazon customers. You can sell your products directly on Amazon, or reach Amazon customers through our site display advertisements. Sell on the Amazon Marketplace By joining  Amazon Marketplace, you give customers a familiar, trustworthy shopping experience even as you avoid the time and costs of developing a standalone website.Use the Amazon Marketplace soluti on to help make your business what you dream it could be. Advertise on Amazon Get your products in front of millions of Amazon customers with  Amazon Product Ads  or display ads fromAmazon Media Group. With Product Ads, you get placement in targeted locations across our detail pages, search and browse options, the buy box, and tower ads. With display ads, your marketing messages can reach just the right audience in the numbers and channels where you want to be seen. Build a website with Webstore Build your eCommerce site on Amazon Webstore and put the security and scalability of Amazon's cloud behind your site.Robust site design and inventory management tools, plus easy integration with the other Amazon Services products, make Amazon Webstore the right eCommerce platform for businesses of all sizes. List your products on the Amazon Marketplace When you list and sell your products on Amazon, you can quickly take advantage of the same robust and reliable Amazon site infrastructure , including the many seller features and functionality we have worked hard to build. No matter how many products you list, you're eligible to use Amazon's world-class seller technologies. CASE STUDY QUESTIONS ) What is the value proposition that PayPal offers consumers ? How about merchants ? Do any of the competing proposals match the benefits of PayPal ? ANSWER a. PayPal offers consumers How to buy The easiest way to remember your credit card number is not having to. Remembering 16 digits isn’t easy and typing them in to pay for something isn’t always secure. Now you don’t need to do either. * Sign up for free, and add a bank account or a debit/credit card. * Speed through checkout at millions of online stores. Just look for the PayPal button. * Stay protected from checkout to delivery with our Buyer Protection.Buying is free It's free to use PayPal for online purchases in Malaysia. It's the PayPal sellers who are charged a small fee for each transaction. Your eligible purchases are protected Your eligible purchases are protected wherever you shop and pay with PayPal – at no cost to you. Just in case your item didn't arrive or is significantly different from how it was described, we can help you get a full refund. More ways to pay online You can store your bank details and credit/debit cards more safely with PayPal and choose your preferred way to pay the next time you shop.And you can even do it on your mobile. Accepted Worldwide Shop anytime, anywhere from millions of online stores that accept PayPal. b. PayPal offers merchants Solutions for business We have a wide range of solutions for your business. Sell globally and get paid quickly. Looking to sell occasionally on eBay or through your blog? PayPal helps you get paid faster. Fees at 3. 4% + RM2. 00 MYR With our simple and transparent pricing, you'll never be surprised by hidden fees when you receive commercial domestic payments for goods and services at 3. 4% + RM2. 00 MYR. Keeping every seller saferOur industry-leading anti-fraud technology and a team of specialists help to keep you more secure. We provide all sellers with a convenient process for responding to buyer disputes. c. PayPal Competitor Google Checkout is quite similar to PayPal, but it has grown to only 7% of the alternative payment market. Google Checkout a) Wallet * One wallet for online and in-store shopping * Buy online with your phone or computer Make purchases at thousands of online shops by signing in to your Google Account. * Buy in-store with the mobile app Tap your phone to pay and redeem offers, using NFC (near-field communication).NFC payments are currently only available in the United States. * Manage your account Sign in to manage your payment information and view your transaction history. b) Checkout * Increase online sales using Google Wallet * New! Google Checkout is now Google Wallet for buyers. Google Wallet is a fast, secure checkout process that helps increase sales by bringing you more customers and allowing them to buy from you quickly and easily with a single account, online or in-store. * Sell worldwide. Attract buyers in over 140 countries to purchase your goods and services online using their Google Wallet. Convert more sales. A fast, convenient checkout process helps Google users convert more than shoppers who have not used Google before. * Protect yourself from fraud. The Payment Guarantee Policy protects 98% of orders on average – when an order is guaranteed, you get paid even if it results in a chargeback 2) Why would the telecommunications carriers like AT&T and Verizon want to move into the payment business? What chance do they have to compete against Google? What’s their advantage?. ANSWER i)Why would the telecommunications carriers like AT&T and Verizon want to move in to the payments business?The reason why the telecommunications carriers like AT&T and Verizon want to move into the payment business is because of the h uge potential of revenues and another factors is the emergence of the mobile platform of smartphones & tablets that opens the door for new firms to enter the online payments marketplace based on newer technologies and control of the mobile platform itself ii)What chance do they have to compete against Google? Their percentage of chance that they probably have to compete against Google is 30%-70%,from our opinion. Google system is much familiar to the user than AT&T and Verizon.Google also one of four platform titans and already get the public acceptance. Yet, they still have the chance to compete against Google because Google is much familiar with search engines system. iii) What’s their advantage? AT&T and Verizon advantage is that they are from mobile telecommunications (phone company) which is give them the advantage to get public acceptance that in many parts of the world, the phone company is widely used as a payment system, after they announced a mobile phone-based paym ent system called Isi. Unlike Google, AT&T and Verizon is more to payment that makes by smartphone.So, it is their advantage to make step in Electronic payment market. 3) The smartphone giants Apple and Google control the operating systems and technological features of the devices. Google exercises this control not by actually making the devices but licensing its Android system and demanding device makers include certain features. Which of these smartphones firms has the greatest chance of successfully developing a Web-wide wireless payment service? Why? ANSWER Apple advantages is, like Google has already developed an online payment system to support salles ath the iTunes Store.Unlike Google Checkout and PayPal, Apple has not to date developed an online merchant payment system that could be used across the Web. Some analysis believe Apple is considering the idea of extending its existing iTunes payment system to third-party vendors selling digital goods on the Internet. iPhone users can already use their iTunes account to buy some third-party virtual and subscription goods. Apple’s iTunes Store, which could serve as the mobile digital wallet used to store payment information on a consumer’s payment-enabled device,generated net sales of music, software (apps) and content of about $5 billion in 2010.There are approximately 225 milliom iTunes users worldwide with credit card accounts at iTunes. Apple disadvantages is, Apple does not have a presence in the online merchant payment process, a critical weakness. Four instance, you can use PayPal and Google Checkout at thousands of online retailers, but there is no similar Apple digital wallet that can be used across the Web. It only works at the iTunes Store. This may be a case where Apple’s penchants for building walled gardens of hardware and software like the iPhone and iTunes Store has limited its future growth.Google already made its first foray into the merchant payment market with Google C heckout in 2007. Google Checkout is quite similar to PayPal, but it has grown to only 7% of the alternative payment market. Google Checkout stores a user’s financial information, including credit card information, and then presents this information to merchants when the user checks out. Google advantages is, the customer does not have to fill out forms or reveal credit information to online merchants, but instead clicks on a Google Checkout icon on the merchant’s site, and payment is made through Google’s site.As with PayPal, the user stores value on the Google Checkout site in the form of a verified credit card, or a bank account, and the merchant does not have access to the customers credit card information. Google firms has the greatest chance of successfully developing a Web-wide wireless payment service because, the customer does not have to fill out forms or reveal credit information to online merchants, but instead clicks on a Google Checkout icon on the merchant’s site, and payment is made through Google’s site.As with PayPal, the user stores value on the Google Checkout site in the form of a verified credit card, or a bank account, and the merchant does not have access to the customers credit card information. QUESTION 4) What strategies would you recommend that PayPal pursue in order to maintain its dominant position over the next five years? . ANSWER Strategies to maintain PayPal dominant position over next 5 years Intro : Scott Thompson , president of PayPal outlined a strategy to expand PayPal globally, strengthening its dominant position over the next five years. Here the strategies. 1.Increase penetration on eBay – Projected growth on eBay is a function of seller coverage and consumer preference. A one-percent share increase within eBay results in $17 million in incremental revenue for PayPal. While market share in No America is 79%, it is only 41% Internationally so there is still plenty of room to grow on eBay. And new PayPal users on eBay (growing at a rate of 3 million new accounts per quarter) use PayPal across the Internet 2. Grow share in merchants services – PayPal helps merchants to sell more online – those that enable PayPal Express Checkout experience up to a 14% increase in sales.Today, eBay has approximately a 5% share of global merchant services, as much as 9% if you include eBay volume. PayPal has specific strategies for each segment of the market: sole proprietors, small/medium business, and large merchants. Consumers are increasingly global, and increasingly security conscious. They prefer to use PayPal when they shop online. Note the significant growth among SMEs and large businesses. Merchants have discovered the value of payment choice in encouraging incremental sales and higher transaction values, particularly via Bill Me Later.PayPal anticipates that it will achieve 14% merchant services market share in No America by 2011. International market sh are is estimated to be 5-6% by 2011, citing PayPal’s â€Å"unmatched facility for cross border transactions. † PayPal’s global e-commerce market share is projected to be 12-14% (on and off eBay) by 2011. 3. Adjacent payment markers The third element of PayPal’s growth strategy is expansion outside e-commerce. Thompson estimated the non-retail marketplace online as $1 Trillion. He specifically noted mobile, social networks, and non-profits (government opportunities were cited by Donahoe earlier).PayPal has demonstrated early leadership in mobile payments, experimenting with solutions in lots of mobile segments until there is industry consensus where consumers will go. Although non-profits were positioned as an adjacent opportunity, there are over 100,000 non-profits currently using PayPal. We’ve watched as PayPal has customized its services for non-profits with special on-boarding process, special features, and special pricing. Will this be the appr oach used for other verticals? Not unlike Amazon, PayPal fosters a close relationship with developers that are creating applications for use online and on the go via mobile devices.The PayPal global Internet payments network can be used to exchange value not just on eBay and within e-commerce but beyond. Thompson acknowledged that opening up the developer network while maintaining a secure environment is challenging and that’s why none of the other payment platforms out there has done it [While Amazon has done this, and done it for payments, PayPal does not consider Amazon to be a global payments platform]. PayPal’s global reach, closed loop network, and risk management/anti-fraud capabilities uniquely position it to â€Å"accelerate innovation on the web† with â€Å"PayPal as the engine in the middle. CONCLUSION The online payment marketplace is experiencing an explosion of innovative ideas, plans, and announcements, which one commentator has likened to a â₠¬Å"goat rodeo†, a chaotic situation in which powerful players with different agendas compete with one another for public acceptance, and above all, huge potential revenues. Others liken the payment marketplace to a battle among the four platform titans Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Each of these titans have their own versions of a future payment system that challenges the other players. And let’s not forget PayPal, the reigning power in alternative

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Ladino, the Jewish Spanish Language

Ladino, the Jewish Spanish Language Most people have heard of Yiddish, a Hebrew and German hybrid language. Were you aware that there is another composite language, which contains Hebrew and other Semitic languages, that is an offshoot of Spanish, called Ladino? Ladino is classified as a Judeo-Spanish Romance language. In Spanish, its called djudeo-espanyol  or ladino. In English, the language is also known as  Sephardic, Crypto-Jewish, or Spanyol. History of Ladino In the 1492 diaspora, when the Jews were expelled from Spain, they took with them Spanish of the late 15th century  and expanded the lexicon with language influences from the Mediterranean, primarily where they settled. Foreign words that mixed with Old Spanish derive mainly from Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, French, and to a lesser extent from Portuguese and Italian. The Ladino community population took a large hit when the Nazis destroyed most of the communities in Europe where Ladino had been the first language among Jews. Very few of the people who speak Ladino are monolingual. Ladino language advocates fear that it could die out as speakers more often use the languages of the cultures around them.   It is estimated that about 200,000 people can understand or speak Ladino.  Israel has one of the largest Ladino-speaking communities, with many words borrowed from Yiddish. Traditionally, Ladino was written in the Hebrew alphabet, writing and reading right to left. In the 20th century, Ladino adopted the Latin alphabet, used by Spanish and English, and the left-to-right orientation.  Ã‚   What  Its Like Although separate languages, Ladino and Spanish are inextricably linked in a way that speakers of the two languages can communicate with each other, much like Spanish and Portuguese speakers can understand each other. Ladino retains Spanish vocabulary and grammar rules from the 15th century interspersed with many borrowed words. The spelling resembles Spanish. For an example, the following paragraph about the Holocaust, written in Ladino, very closely resembles Spanish and would be understood by a Spanish reader: En komparasion kon las duras sufriensas ke pasaron los reskapados de los kampos de eksterminasion nazistas en Gresia, se puede dizir ke las sufriensas de los olim en el kampo de Kipros no fueron muy grandes, ma despues de anyos de vida en los kampos de konsentrasion, en teribles kondisiones, eyos kerian empesar en una mueva vida en Erets Israel i sus planos eran atrazados agora por unos kuantos mezes. Notable Differences From Spanish A big difference in Ladino is that the k  and  s  are usually used to represent sounds that are sometimes represented in Spanish by other letters. Another notable grammatical difference  from Ladino is that  usted  and  ustedes, the  forms of the second-person pronoun, are missing. Those pronouns were developed in Spanish after the Jews had left.   Other Spanish language developments that came after the 15th century, which Ladino did not adopt, included distinguishing different sound for the letters  b  and v. After the diaspora, Spaniards had given the two consonants the same sound. Also, Ladino does not include the inverted question mark or the use of the à ±. Ladino Resources Organizations in Turkey and Israel publish and maintain resources for the Ladino community. The Ladino Authority, an online resource, is based in Jerusalem. The authority proctors an online Ladino language course primarily for Hebrew speakers. A combination of Jewish studies and language studies programs in universities and associations in the U.S. and globally offer courses, revival groups or encourage Ladino study woven into their studies. Disambiguation Judeo-Spanish Ladino  should not be confused with the  Ladino or  Ladin language  spoken in part of northeastern Italy, which is closely related with the  rumantsch-ladin  of Switzerland. The two languages  have nothing to do with the Jews or Spanish beyond being, like Spanish, a  Romance language.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Daily Writing Tips Is On Facebook and Twitter Now

Daily Writing Tips Is On Facebook and Twitter Now Daily Writing Tips Is On Facebook and Twitter Now Daily Writing Tips Is On Facebook and Twitter Now By Daniel Scocco Over the past months we received many emails from readers who wanted to connect with Daily Writing Tips on social networks. We finally made this possible on the two largest networks: Facebook and Twitter. If you have a Facebook account please visit Facebook.com/DailyWritingTips and click on the Like button to connect with us. Once you do that youll start seeing links to our posts on your Facebook stream. Alternatively you can visit this post on our website and hit the Like button directly on the Facebook Like Box. Twitter users can follow the official Daily Writing Tips account on Twitter.com/writing_tips. We try to follow every one back, and we also tweet links to the latest posts on the blog. Finally, youll notice that below the posts theres a Share section now. There you can click on the buttons to retweet the post or to share it with your Facebook friends. We would appreciate if you could spread the word about any post you like by using those buttons! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:45 Synonyms for â€Å"Food†11 Writing Exercises to Inspire You and Strengthen Your WritingThe Difference Between "Shade" and "Shadow"

Sunday, October 20, 2019

A Beginners Guide to ASP.NET Programming for Delphi developers

A Beginner's Guide to ASP.NET Programming for Delphi developers About the Course: This free online course is perfect for beginner Delphi for .NET developers as well as for those who want a broad overview of the art of ASP.NET Web programming with Borland Delphi. Developers will learn how to design, develop and debug ASP.Net web application using Borland Delphi for .Net. The chapters will cover the fundamental elements of creating Web applications (working with Web Forms, Web Services and User Controls) using Delphi, including the Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and the Delphi for .Net language.Developers will get up to speed quickly through real world, practical example. The entire course is build arround the BDSWebExample ASP.NET web sample application that comes as a demo project with the Delphi 8/2005 installation. This course is aimed to those who are new to programming, come from some other development environment (like MS Visual Basic, or Java) or are new to Delphi. Prerequisites: Readers should have at least a working knowledge of the Delphi language. No previous (web) programming experience is required; being fluent in HTML and general Web development terminology as well as JavaScript should help you be more productive with the chapters.Ah, yes. Youll need to have Delphi 8/2005 for .NET installed on your computer! Recommended reading:A Beginners Guide to Delphi programming.Free online programming tutorial / course for beginner developers. Focus on Borland Delphi.Fast Forward to Delphi for .Net.A series of articles that are designed with one goal in mind: to provide a quick and dirty introduction to the world of .Net programming with Delphi.Delphi for .Net general articles.Articles and technical information that will help you start and master Delphi 8 for .NET. Find out about IL, aspx, XML Web Services, msil, ...Delphi in ASP.NET action:The power of Delphi and ASP.NETWant to build a dynamic, modular web portal using Delphi for .Net and ASP.NET? Go for the proven solutions!aspxDelphi.net PORTAL is a Delphi 8 ASP.NET application, and can be used to build (module based) intranet or Internet portal application. aspxDelphi.net STORE is a Delphi 8 ASP.NET application, and can be used to build Internet shop.Supported databases are: MS SQL Server/ MSDE and Firebird/Interbase. Warning!Make sure you download the updated version of the code (the BDSWebExample demo application). The new version has more meaningful names for Web pages, the code is cleaned up from using Free (since there is no need to free objects in .Net - the garbage collector does the job for you) and some defects. The database has not changed.Also, to follow up with the chapters it would be best if you save the project under C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\BDSWebExample! Chapters The chapters of this course are being created and updated dynamically on this site. You can find the latest chapter on the last page of this article. The chapters of this course are being created and updated dynamically on this site. Chapters (for now) include: CHAPTER 1:An introduction to ASP.NET programming with Delphi. Configuring the Cassini web server What is ASP.NET from the perspective of a Delphi developer? How to set up the Cassini sample web server. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 2:Setting up the BDSWebExample Delphi 8 (ASP.NET) demo application Getting started with the Delphi 8 BDSWebExample: restoring the database, preparing the virtual directory. Running BDSWebExample for the first time! Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 3:What makes an Delphi 8 ASP.NET application Lets see what are the main parts of an asp.net application; what are all those .aspx, .ascx, .dcuil, bdsproj, etc files. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 4: Lets see how to build a simple web application using Delphi for .Net. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 5: Examining Web Form Pages - the central elements of development in ASP.NET. A point of look from a Delphi developer perspective: What is a Web Form? Designing a Web Form, The link between the aspx file and the code-behind file, ...Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 6: Producing a simple message box (like ShowMessage; or even an InputBox) in an asp.net application can be quite difficult - as you need to mess with DHTML, JavaScript and IE object model. It would be much better if we could write only one line of code (as in traditional desktop applications) to display a MessageBox ... lets see how.Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 7:Web Forms - building blocks of an ASP.NET application (Part 2) Introducing Web Form properties, methods and events. Taking a look at the IsPostback property and postback processingDiscuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 8: Taking a look at the use of standard HTML tags and elements and the use of server-side HTML controls - from a perspective of a Delphi developer. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 9: Lets enable uploading of binary files from a client browser to the web server in ASP.NET web applications. Delphi for .Net and ASP.NET provide an easy way to accept files from the client using HTMLInputFile (HTML File Upload HTML server control) and HTTPPostedFile classes. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 10: Exploring navigation techniques between Web Form pages: postbacks, direct navigation (using the tag) and code-based navigation (using Server.Transfer and Response.Redirect). Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! The chapters of this course are being created and updated dynamically on this site. Chapters (for now) include: CHAPTER 11:Setting up the startup Web Form page for an ASP.NET application under IIS, deciding which navigation technique to use in various scenarios. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 12:Web Server controls are specifically designed to work with Web Forms pages. Find about the basic concepts, benefits and limitations of using Web Server controls in ASP.NET. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 13:Examining Control-Passing ASP.NET Web Controls: Button, ImageButton and LinkButtonThere are several web controls that enable passing of control back to the Web Server. This chapter explores web buttons - specific components that allow users to indicate that they are finished with the Web Form (post the data) or want to perform a particular command (on the server). Learn about ASP.NETs Button, LinkButton and ImageButton web controls. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 14:Taking a quick look at the TextBox ASP.NET web server control - the only control designed for user input. TextBox has several faces: single-line text entry, password entry or multi-line text entry. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 15:Understanding Web Controls for Selecting Choices in Delphi ASP.NET ApplicationsASP.NET selection controls allow users to select from a series of predefined values. This chapter explores list-type controls: CheckBox, CheckBoxList, RadioButton, RadioButtonList, DropDownList and ListBox from the perspective of a Delphi ASP.NET web developer. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 16:Introducing ASP.NET web server controls designed for visually grouping other controls together on a Web Form: Panel, Placeholder and Table (along with TableRow and TableCell). Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 17:Using Validators in Delphi ASP.NET applicationsIntroducing client-side and server-side data validation using Validation Controls: RequiredFieldValidator, RangeValidator and ValidationSummary. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 18:Find out what events (and in what order) are generated when ASP.NET receives a request for a Web Form. Learn about the ViewState - a technique ASP.NET uses to maintain page state changes across postbacks. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 19:An Introduction to Data Binding in Delphi ASP.NET ApplicationsLearn how to add information to a Web Form, by binding controls to a source of data. Learn about data binding Web Controls for selecting choices (ListBox, DropDownList, RadioButtonList, CheckBoxList, etc). Find out about IEnumerable and IList .NET interfaces. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 20:Using Binding Expressions in Delphi ASP.NET ApplicationsFind out about data-binding individual properties of a web control. Learn how to data bind plain HTML. Explore the magic of in ASP.NET. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! The chapters of this course are being created and updated dynamically on this site. Chapters (for now) include: CHAPTER 21: First steps in using the Repeater ASP.NET web server control. Learn how to data bind multi-record controls. Understanding the DataBinder class and the DataBinder.Eval method. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 22: Learn how to programmatically implement the ITemplate interface to dynamically create the ItemTemplate content for a DataList Web Server control. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 23:Developing and Using Custom User Controls in ASP.NET Very similar to Win32 Delphis TFrame objects, an ASP.NET User Control is a container for components; it can be nested within Web Forms or other User Controls. User controls offer you an easy way to split and reuse common user interface functionality across the pages of your ASP.NET Web application. Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter! CHAPTER 24:Adding Advanced User Controls to a Web Page Dynamically User Controls allow a Delphi ASP.NET developer to wrap the common UI features of a web applications into reusable components. In real world applications youll want to be able to dynamically load a user control and place it on the page. What Page event should you use to LoadControl? Once on the page, how do you handle User Control events? Find the answers in this chapter ... Discuss about questions, comments, problems and solutions related to this chapter!

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Britian is a georaphically disunited kingdom Essay

Britian is a georaphically disunited kingdom - Essay Example in 1801 when the Irish parliament was joined with the parliament for England, Wales and Scotland in London, and the whole of the British Isles became a single state. However, in 1922 the south of Ireland became the Irish Free State and in 1949 an independent republic.(Hamnett, p93) The people of United Kingdom are British and have British nationality. As a group they are usually referred to as the British, rather than as Britons, though this name is used in the media. Ancient Britons were the people who lived in Britain before Romans came. Only people who come from England can be called English. People from Ireland are Irish, People from Wales Welsh, and people from Scotland Scots or Scottish, and they do not like being called English. The term Brits is only used informally, often humorously. Many people from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have stronger feelings of Loyalty towards their own country than they do the United Kingdom. British people who have come originally from Asia, Africa or the West Indies may also feel two sets of Loyalties. (Pugh, pp57 – 60) Devolution involves the transfer of political power from a central government to a regional government. Scotland and Wales, mainly through their nationalist parties, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru, both fought to have power devolved from the parliament of the United Kingdom to their own political assemblies. Both parties had only a few MPs in the British parliament. (Bishop, p27) For many British people the ideal place to live is village set in attractive countryside. To those living in town villages conjure up images of peace, a slow pace of life, pretty cottages and a country pub. But living in a village may be inconvenient, especially for people without a car, as many village shops have been forced to close and public transport services are limited. Most people now live in towns, in city suburbs or in large villages, which have become dormitory communities. For nearby tows, some

Friday, October 18, 2019

Saving Water Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Saving Water - Essay Example Water scarcity is a big problem now everywhere and the possibility of wars in future for the control of water resources cannot be ruled out. This paper analyses the importance of saving water and the consequences of not doing that. Along with food and oxygen, water is an essential commodity for all living things to sustain their life on this earth. Nobody can sustain their life with the help of food and oxygen alone. Water is necessary for many of the bodily functions. â€Å"Though our Earth is made up of 2/3 water, only 1/100 of that water is drinkable†(Save Water Slogans). In other words, availability of drinking water resources is limited. It should be noted that the population size is growing at alarming rate as time goes on. Thus the demand for drinking water is growing day by day. At the same time available fresh water or drinking water resources are getting polluted because of the injudicious activities of human. These facts clearly suggest that water shortage is going to be a big problem in future unless we take proper actions to save water now. Over-consumption of water leads to the over-consumption of another non-renewable resource, energy. Water in your home must be heated for a number of uses, such as cleaning and bathing, and this takes energy. Additionally, your local water utility must use energy to process and deliver water to your home, so the over-consumption of water requires more energy out of the utility company as well (Csiszar). Water is used for power generation in many countries. Hydroelectric power is one of the major energy sources for many countries. Water flowing through the rivers is stored with the help of dams and this water is used to operate huge turbines for power production. Water may become ineffective for power production after it reaches the ocean. In short, saving or storing of water before it reaches ocean is necessary to solve our water scarcity problems. â€Å"Conserving water reduces the demands to

Project Management of The Scottich Parliment Essay

Project Management of The Scottich Parliment - Essay Example The project manager is the person who looks after the project from its inception till the end, which is the successful execution and commissioning of the project. Both project managing and project life are used to finish the work efficiently, but the difference is that project managing is to manage work through proper planning, controlling, coordinating, monitoring, and closing. Project lifecycle is to complete the project according to the requirement of the organization’s project schedule, drawings and plans. Projects need to be completed on time and on budgeted costs and estimates; otherwise cost overruns and delays may cause a breach in the relations between the parties, for which even legal measures may become necessary to solve the issues. Prince2 is a management technique that can add more value to the management system. It is a technique that can be used for all the projects and this technique can lead to the completion of a project within the stipulated time and quality. It is the most modern management concept to complete a project. This system includes careful analysis of the problem and preparation of a plan according to the project, using proper management methodology. The project involves all aspects of management from planning to coordination to effective communication. The system of Prince2 of management helps in completion of projects faster with proper methodology. The Prince 2 method of management can be used in the daily completion of projects and can be used in our daily life. Specific project reviews can be created using the system of Prince2 method of management for more evaluation of the project. Prince2 system of management helps the organization in achieving its goals faster and more effectively. In simple words, PRINCE means Project IN Controlled Environment. PRINCE 2 is one of the process based methods to complete the project in the stipulated time.

United Kingdom Economy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 18

United Kingdom Economy - Assignment Example Toyota Brake Paddle dilemma, the financial scandal of Lehmann Brothers, the research blunder of Coke and the Union Problems at Coke are some of the few examples that the largest Multi-National Corporations have faced in recent times. This just goes on to show that even the industry leaders are not spared by the after-effects of erroneous policies made by the management. The activation, advancement, and freedom of media and technology have furthermore smothered the corporate environment today. The term stakeholders for a company has gone on to expand into explicable dimensions and today a single penny earned spent by a customer is driven through concepts such as CSR, Inflation, Charity, Savings, Discounts, Parity, Patriotism and furthermore innumerable aspects. Therefore to study an industry in today’s world one must ensure that the study examines and takes into account the modern-day trends and prevalent policy measures. As this will give us a better picture of where the indus try is going, what’s happening and what needs to be done. United Kingdom, UK, globally the eighth largest economy with a Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) GDP of US$2.17 trillion as of 2010 is one of the most vibrant business places in the world. The economic stability and growth in the UK are comparatively well placed if compared to various developed and dominant economies in the world, for instance as per a BBC report the unemployment in the UK is around 8% as compared to 10% in France and 9% in the US. UK is placed at the sixth spot in the line of world’s largest producers of manufactured goods and is home to some of the greatest corporate houses such as BAE Systems, British Petroleum, and Rolls-Royce to name a few.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

WEEK 3 ASSIGNMENT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

WEEK 3 - Assignment Example Nevertheless, unresolved conflict may lead to feelings of unhappiness, dissatisfaction; depression, hopelessness as well as a whole wide range of other emotions. In addition it can lead to such behaviors as resigning from jobs, ending of personal relationships, aggressiveness as well as violence (Coombs & Avrunin, 2013). The way one communicates can both be the cause of as well as the cure for conflict. It should be noted that understanding how to communicate effectively as well as satisfactory resolution of disputes can result into a happier and more productive life. The fundamental components of most conflicts include; involvement of 2 or more individuals, there is a perception of incompatibility in regard to ideas, goals, beliefs or actions and finally the opposing parties view their way as the only way to accomplish their objectives and goals (Baack, 2012). Boeing is a top aerospace corporation in the world as well as the largest manufacturer of military aircraft and commercial jetliners. Boeing designs in addition to manufacturing rotorcraft defense and electronic systems, satellites, missiles, launching vehicles etc. The company has been a leader and an authority in aerospace industry for the past century. Boeing’s headquarter is in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 27,000 employees in America as well as in 70 other countries (Greenberg & Moore, 2010). On 6th of September, Boeing was on headlines when about 27,000 of its employees in Washington, Kansas, California and Oregon went on strike. At the time, the company was holding negotiations with International Association of machinist and Aerospace Workers (IAM) in regard to benefits pay as well as job security. The main stakeholders in Boeing’s conflict were its employees alongside their families, suppliers and customers affiliated to Boeing. The strike affected several parties spanning from its employees to

Outstanding patient care issue Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Outstanding patient care issue - Research Paper Example Healthcare is the most varying and the most synchronized sector in the current world. The quality in healthcare management is very important, which determines the level of confidence in patients to rely on a particular organization. It is important for the patient to understand that the hospital works in a cohesive manner and there is outstanding patient care. The hospital is responsible to provide all facilities for the doctors as well as the patients. Nurses have an inevitable role in hospitals; first and foremost, they have to clarify what the doctors have prescribed. For providing outstanding care to the patient, these nurses have to call the doctors and be thorough with which types of antibiotics to be given at what time. They take rounds throughout the hospital regularly so as to check the conditions of patients. They need to accompany the physicians and take notes according to what they say. They are masterminds at assessing the patient’s level of pain just by judging t heir facial expressions and they try various things to cheer the moods of patients. The current healthcare field is evolving and advancing with time, as a result, many of the organizations are trying to fulfill the needs and wants of the patients by providing them high class treatment with all types of equipments and machineries. The patient had fever and drainage afterwards and that is why she was readmitted to the hospital for a probable postoperative disease, seven days before. The patient needs utmost care from the organization. This will improve her health both mentally and physically. From the hospital’s point of view, it is very important to take care of the patient by providing whatever treatment or medication is needed. The individual effort will make a group effort that will directly give the best name to the hospital as the staff work their maximum to revive a patient back to complete health. The patients will be pleased by the way they are treated and would also a ppreciate the teamwork of the hospital. A consistent team of thoughtful people will create a world of diversity in exceptional patient care issues, which would bring in wide-ranging rewards to the performance. â€Å"A trusting relationship with patients and their families is built on open, honest communication. However, today's health care environment makes good communication among patients, families, and caregivers harder and harder to achieve. Hospital stays are shorter, medical care is more technologically complex, resources are constrained, and there is a growing need for patients and families to have more information about, and involvement in, care decisions† (Communicating With Patients, 2011). This mutual consent between the hospital authorities and the patients will lead to a positive result. The doctors, nurses and others from the lab and various departments, who are involved in the health care operations, will help the patients to retain their confidence. The initia l nursing plan has been documented but not updated after surgery. The oxygen tanks have been found on the floor and it has been found in not a secured condition. The nurses should clarify orders properly. Also the nurse was not able to range order policy accurately. As diseases like laparoscopic hysterectomy cause a lot of pain and suffering to the patients, they hope for a better treatment that would relieve their pain. The nurses and doctors have to treat this 67-year old patient very carefully and have to put in their best efforts. The patient had to undergo a surgery to treat a swelling

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

WEEK 3 ASSIGNMENT Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

WEEK 3 - Assignment Example Nevertheless, unresolved conflict may lead to feelings of unhappiness, dissatisfaction; depression, hopelessness as well as a whole wide range of other emotions. In addition it can lead to such behaviors as resigning from jobs, ending of personal relationships, aggressiveness as well as violence (Coombs & Avrunin, 2013). The way one communicates can both be the cause of as well as the cure for conflict. It should be noted that understanding how to communicate effectively as well as satisfactory resolution of disputes can result into a happier and more productive life. The fundamental components of most conflicts include; involvement of 2 or more individuals, there is a perception of incompatibility in regard to ideas, goals, beliefs or actions and finally the opposing parties view their way as the only way to accomplish their objectives and goals (Baack, 2012). Boeing is a top aerospace corporation in the world as well as the largest manufacturer of military aircraft and commercial jetliners. Boeing designs in addition to manufacturing rotorcraft defense and electronic systems, satellites, missiles, launching vehicles etc. The company has been a leader and an authority in aerospace industry for the past century. Boeing’s headquarter is in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 27,000 employees in America as well as in 70 other countries (Greenberg & Moore, 2010). On 6th of September, Boeing was on headlines when about 27,000 of its employees in Washington, Kansas, California and Oregon went on strike. At the time, the company was holding negotiations with International Association of machinist and Aerospace Workers (IAM) in regard to benefits pay as well as job security. The main stakeholders in Boeing’s conflict were its employees alongside their families, suppliers and customers affiliated to Boeing. The strike affected several parties spanning from its employees to

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Choose an article or book chapter that has applied multivariate Essay

Choose an article or book chapter that has applied multivariate analysis to a research question. Explain the key issues that m - Essay Example Hair et al. (1994, p. 2) defined multivariate as analysis of several variables within a relationship or set of relationships. Hair et al. (1995, p. 13) explicit include multiple regression (a regression with one dependent variable and multiple independent variable) as an example of multivariate data analysis. Singh (2007, p. 177) share the same perspective of Hair et al. (1995) on a less restrictive definition of multivariate analysis. We study Kogid et al. (2010) and Shelleman et al. (2004) as illustrations of how multivariate analysis can be applied. 2.0. Kogid et al. (2010) As indicated in the abstract, the objective of the Kogid et al. (2010, p. 123) is to â€Å"investigate the factors that stimulate and maintain economic growth.† The factors investigated covered consumption expenditure, government expenditure, export, exchange rate, and foreign investments. The research focused on Malaysia and used data from 1970 to 2007. The specific multivariate statistic technique used by the Kogit et al. (2010) is technique known as â€Å"cointegration† and â€Å"causality approach†. Cointegration is discussed in Gujarati (2004, p. 822-826). Causality is discussed in Gujarati (2004, p. 696-702). One important test for causality is in Gujarati (2004, p. 696-702). According to Gujarati (2004, p. ... 822). Most tests of causations use tests of correlations. However, other tests go beyond correlation. One of such tests is the Granger causality test. Granger causality test actually test precedence and precedence is taken to be indicative of causality. Unfortunately, Gujarati (2004) does not record a capability of the Granger causality test to cover more than two variables at time (although it can be argued that the Granger causality test has that potential if a composite value covering several variables is constructed). In contrast, the Wald test as performed by Kogit et al. (2010) implies a capability of the Wald test to investigate relations of causation that involve more than two variables. Extensive search on the Wald Test conducted by this author in the books indicates that the Wald Test for causation is not yet discussed in many of the books. However, the works of Atinay and Karagol (2005), Burda (2001), No and Olatubi (2004), and Zarra and Zarea (2007) have good discussions on the Wald Test. The results of the study of Kogit et al. (2010) indicate that long-run cointegration and short-run causal relationship exists between the investigated factors and economic growth. The fundamental and important finding is all the factors investigated when combined can in their combination cause economic growth in the short-run. However, on their own, the individual regressions indicate that only consumption expenditure and export can on its own cause economic growth in the short-run. For brevity, we reproduce only the key test which is the causality test. The causality test is captured by Table 1. Table 1. Multivariate and Bivariate Causality Tests Using the Error Correction Model (ECM) Source: Table 3 of Kogit et

Monday, October 14, 2019

Analysing Abuse Of Migrant Domestic Worker Social Work Essay

Analysing Abuse Of Migrant Domestic Worker Social Work Essay In year 2004, the first ever recorded of the nation worst abused and tortured of migrant worker, Nirmala Bonat. The news has brought to light the sad and painful incidents as a 19th year old Indonesian maid told a harrowing story of how she was repeatedly burnt with an iron and scalded with boiling water by her Malaysian employer. The Malaysian image of a caring nation has been tarnished when pictures of abused Indonesian domestic workers were featured in major newspapers. The reports made great impact as it drew series of reaction from disgusted and angry Malaysians who could not believe the fact that members of our very own community could commit such cruel acts. I just could not bear by looking at the images of Nirmala Bonat being brutalized by her employer. What has she done to deserve such severe punishment from her employer? If indeed, Nirmala Bonat is incompetent in her daily routines work, she should have been returned to her agent for replacement. Manhandling a human being or soul, who is here to earn a better life and living is like committing a merciless crime. Five years later in 2009, another similar Nirmala Bonat case making the headlines once again. An Indonesian maid by the name, Siti Hajar was tortured by an old Malaysian lady without any sense of humanity at all towards her. Abusing migrant domestic worker or helper is no longer something new in the society. Siti Hajars plight made the Malaysian and Indonesian media a headlines once more. News says that she being allegedly scalded with boiling water, tortured and starved. The worst still she is only fed with plain rice and occasionally her employer have asked the maid who is a Muslim to digest pork meat is merely unforgivable at all. One after another, Siti Hajar cases has led to an alleged rape, physical abuse, denial of salaries and basic rights of three Indonesian women by their employer in Sungai Siput, Perak. Such acts are simply inhumane. Up to dated, statistics shows more than hundred of thousand Indonesian women are believed to work in Malaysian homes as hoping to earn a better life. Malaysia as the second largest destination for Indonesian maid after Saudi Arabia besides Kuwait, Jordan, Hong Kong and some other countries including maid working in the United States of America. There are few question that I would like to raise up here; are the Indonesian maids working aboard under a good condition? Do they have the right for their salaries or even getting a freedom of human right? Never, I do understand why the Philippines maids were not abused or even being tortured physically. Is it due to the communication breakdown between the maid and the employer? By having a maid or migrant domestic helper, would it make things much easier or difficult for us? Not to forget, most maid from Indonesia which are brought into the country, merely are from a lower grade. This is because a much more skilled and quality ones would be sent to other countries which offer a greater lucrative sum of money, countries like Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. This would lead to Malaysian employer felt that they are being cheated as they have to be prepared to accept those lower grades migrant domestic worker. While the agents are allowed to capitalize on a lucrative business as they often wash their hands off as soon as the workers are delivered to the employers. Such situation left no option for the employer as they would need to train the lower grades domestic worker in household management from basic; How to get the laundry done? Cleaning up the bathrooms? Getting the rubbish out of the house? Baby-sitting? Helping our wives in the kitchen or even thinking of he lping you and your family with cooking? With all this situations, the employer would end up with lots of burden and misery. Before I go any further in discussing the possible measures that can be taken as to curb these issues effectively, let us take a glance at the Malaysian law and policies on migrant workers. The system that is being practice in Malaysia has put migrant domestic workers at complete disadvantage as far as seeking for justice is concerned. This is because the migrant domestic workers are at a bigger disadvantage as they are not even considered workers and as such do not fall under the provisions of the Employment Act. Laws and policies are enforced with great speed and efficiency when migrant workers violate these laws and the situation is different when the employer does the same offences. Even tough, migrant workers make complaints against their employers, they will be subjected to various form of abuses including verbal and physical threats. This again causes them to live under severe stress and fear. I have seen and heard many cases where workers are immediately got their contract terminated and being repatriated back to their home country where they are laden with huge debts and poverty. Therefore, domestic workers especially would put up with the abuses and torture rather than returning to their countries empty handed. The next point that I would like to include in this essay is the forms of abuses endured by migrant domestic workers in Malaysia. Press reports merely stated that the wages to workers are not paid as per the contract even after they have fulfilled all the contract terms. Nevertheless, migrant domestic workers spend a lot of money to come to this country and most of the wages earned are often used to pay up loans and debts, which they have secured and as to feed their families back home. When employers do not pay the wages, the workers suffer the most. Beside that, migrant domestic workers are often forced to live in cramped, dirty and badly furnished shacks or crowded into houses meant for a small family. Some even sleep on the kitchen floor with just a piece of thin mattress. To be exact, domestic workers are not given a proper rooms of their own and such housing facilities that are not fit for living would lead to promote unhealthy conditions. The situation, which I have pointed out, brought an environment where employers feel they have the immunity power. Hence migrant domestic workers are virtually at the mercy of their employers who are confident that they would be able to get away with almost anything. Some employers are fully aware that even if the matter is brought to the attention of the authorities such as the civil courts or industrial court, the immigrant policies in Malaysia would make it almost impossible for the migrant worker to successfully seek justice or redress without first either running out of money or time both which is completely controlled the policies stipulated by the Immigration Department. It is not until the sole reason of Nirmala Bonats case received so much attention and quick redress was given because the severity of her injuries making the headlines of every local newspaper front page. Public outcry on her case has prompted the Malaysian authorities to swing into immediate action. The responds show that Malaysian can administer justice swiftly and effectively when it chooses to do so. It is pertinent to note that many cases go unreported in the media. High profile cases that drew attention has forced Malaysia taking up the measures to check on maid abuses by inspecting on homes, interviews of maids and employers and also by introducing a helpline. Therefore, as to curb the problems effectively, I call on the government to grant swift action to migrant workers in seeking justice and protection. Employers who break the law must be made accountable. The government should impose heavier punishment to maid abusers. Law and policies that impede or delaying the justice system must be either amended or removed together. The Malaysian government need to ensure that enforcement agencies such as the Immigration Department, Civil or Industrial Court and the Police Force to enforce the law without bias and prejudice. Whereby there are cases been brought to my attention that migrant workers have often been subjected to extortion by enforcement personnel. Enforcement personnel have also been known to take the employers side in coercing workers to comply with unfair terms of employment. These allegations of extortion and gross misconduct by enforcement personnel must be investigated. Enforcement must be carried out swiftly and impartially against employers who do not obey the law. The authorities must not wait till there is a public outrage as to get into action. In other words, all relevant authorities are to stop all type of harassment on migrant domestic workers immediately. I personally think that the government should set minimum work and living environment standards that employers must adhere to. These can be achieved effectively as the government must ratify the International Convention on Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1990 and ensure its full implementation. The cultural differences in Malaysia as for a domestic worker to work 24 hours, seven days a week with no off day while being paid wages below the national poverty line. I would like to urge all migrant domestic workers who have been abused to bravely step forward and expose their employers as to put a stop of mistreating them. The agents too should be accountable for their carelessness and irresponsibility as most Muslims maids who work in non-Muslim homes were required to bath dogs and handled pork. Such act would utterly insensitive on the part of the employers and the agents. The solution would be that non-Muslim employers should be allowed only to hire non-Muslim maids while Muslim employers to bring in Muslim maids. The phrase Learn to live without maids struck my mind as I was watching Nanny 911, a television series of a Nanny assigned to homes as to help out American couples in handling and managing their families. I would like to state that men and children should also do housework. House chores are not as easy as you think it would be. We Malaysian are a lucky lot as we can afford to have maids with affordable rates and yet there are complaints of Indonesian maids now are asking for a little more. Therefore, I would say we should do the daily chores, home and outside ourselves. I have seen how typical it can be as only the women do everything at home as the men and children just laze around. Mind you there are tones of work to be done in the house besides caring for the children. There is the sweeping and mopping, cleaning the toilets, washing dishes, the laundry, the ironing, the cooking, dusting the windows and cabinets and the list goes on. This is not fair to women especially, we should have a balance and as for the men and children should lend a helping hands in assisting with the household chores. I think it is about time for us to learn to do something ourselves as this is something that we should ponder over. I would like to suggest that we should not solely depend on maids from aboard. We could train our local women especially the single mothers or purely a fulltime housewife. We could have them to come over on daily basis or even by the hours as another alternative in curbing the problems. This will lead to a cost effective and less risk of domestic helper or maid being abuse as they are not require to stay with the employer. Career women with families to take care of should change their mindset as placing the whole responsibility of the household works solely to the maid as their servant. Therefore to ease their worries especially those having children could send them to a nursing or a childcare center during the days and pick them up after work. The aspects of managing time with work and household duties are really hard to manage. I would say, why not we do it ourselves as life has become much more easier with new inventions with the latest technology of electrical appliances in doing household works. Children are very much a fast pace learner in everything if they were taught on how to do handle household chores. We should train our children to be more discipline and independent from a younger age as to get rid off the sole hope on maids. Parents can start by telling them how to keep their space clean and tidy, like make up their beds as they got up from sleep, wash their own plates or even get the rubbish out of the house. I would love to Live a life without the maid, the wife should ask the male spouse for assistance, cooperation and shares the responsibility in managing the house and their children. In most develop countries especially the westerner, we could see that the male gender does not feel ashamed when come to household works. The husband and wife would take turns and share equal responsibilities in raising and taking care of the family. It is about time as the long-standing issue on the supply of maids is finally nearing a conclusion between Malaysia and Indonesia with the signing of the Letter of Intent (Lol) on amendments to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Recruitment and Placement of Maids from Indonesia on the 18th May 2010. The Indonesian government is expected to lift its ban since June last year as to allow its citizen to work in Malaysia again. Both government officials have been holding meetings to resolve issues in relation to the maids issue. Among the issues agreed to is that maids in Malaysia will be given one day off weekly and their right to hold on to their passports. However, employer and the maid concern could agree to forego the day off in lieu of compensation and an employer could also hold onto a maids passport if both parties agreed. The only issue that is still pending is the wage paid to migrant domestic workers as it requires more discussions. Finally, I hope the government would recognize Migrant Domestic Workers as workers and grant them all the rights that come with the status. This hopefully will resolve the problem. Perhaps the employers should also be required to sign an undertaking not to physically abuse the maid and if they are unhappy, the maids are to be returned to the agency for further training or getting a new replacement. BIBLIOGRAFI 1. Prof Datuk Dr. Nik Safiah Karim, Head of PERTIWI (2009). The Maids: Ease vs Burden. Pertubuhan Tindakan Wanita Islam (PERTIWI). 2. Prof Madya Dr. Rusinah Siron, Social Analysis. (2009). Overcome your life without Indonesian maid. Universiti Tenaga Malaysia (UNITEN), Kuala Lumpur. 3. Article Maid deal soon, The Star, 19th May 2010. 4. Article Learn to live without maids, The Star, 24th May 2010. 5. Immigration Department of Malaysia. 6. Malaysian Employment Act. 7. http://thestar.com.my/news/story/ Nirmala Bonat case: Housewife found guilty, 18 years jail.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Feminist Approaches to Social Work Essay -- Gender Roles, Sexism, Oppr

This work is going to set out to investigate the relevance of feminist approaches to social work in today’s society. It will first look at the different types of feminism that are present in society. It will then trace and highlight the emergence of feminism in society. This essay will then delve deeper into the different types of approaches that were taken on by feminists within the field of social work. It will discuss what effect these approaches had on society especially women. According to Hooks (2000) as cited in Considine and Dukelow (2009:141) â€Å"Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression†. It is necessary to explain the different types of feminism that are present in society first. Freedman (2001:5) states that there are many different strands of feminism present in society, but the three most commonly recognised are liberal feminism, Marxist feminism and radical feminism, her explanation of these are as follows. Liberal feminism is based on the idea that everyone within a state should have the same rights and women should be treated equally to men. Marxist feminism is based on the belief that women’s maltreatment is linked back to capitalism. Radical feminists believe that men’s authority over women has a connection with patriarchy. The above explanation has been a brief introduction to the different types of feminism present in society. At a later stage within in this work, it will be examined wh at effect feminism has had on social work and society as a whole. Now that the meaning of feminism has been ascertained and the different types of feminism present in society today highlighted it is necessary to examine the emergence of feminism. Considine and Dukelow (2009:141) argue that f... ...uding marriage, employment and social work agencies, to give up power (ibid: 257). It quite evident that unless there is a reduction in the power that men still hold over women in society today that feminist theory will not be accepted and recognised. Millet (1971) as cited in Slattery (2003:157) states â€Å"Patriarchy’s chief institution is the family†. For many decades the Catholic Church in Ireland held a tight reign over people in society. Both men and women conformed to what they preached. Women in society were denied their rights by the establishment of reformatories and institutions by the Catholic Church. When a woman fell pregnant and was not married she would be sent to one of these institutions. Society was only informed recently of the terrible ordeals that these women had to succumb to through the publication of many reports that were carried out.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Giver Essay -- essays research papers

The Giver: Book Report The story starts as Jonas, a twelve- year-old boy, who is waiting for his life assignment. When he is given his assignment, he is chosen to be the Receiver of Memory. As the Receiver he has to get every memory from all over the world from the old Receiver he calls The Giver.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Giver: The Giver is the man who is the old Receiver. He is also the one who gives Jonas the memories. In the community were Jonas lives is everything is controlled, even people's memory. The Giver is the only one who is not controlled. It is the Receiver's job to store the memories of the community and pass them on to the next Receiver.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gabe: Gabe is an infant who was part of Jonas's father's work that Jonas's father brought home so he won't be released from the community(killed).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jonas's Family: Jonas's family is not like our idea of a family. They don't love each of there family members like we love ours. There is no privacy between anybody. They shared there dreams at breakfast and there day at dinner. Introduction of Characters: Lowry introduces Jonas and his family, with Gabe, plus The Giver. Rising Action: Jonas receives the assignment of Receiver of Memory. Complication: Jonas finds out that not all memories are nice. Conflict: The conflict is man vs. man. Jonas can't turn down his assignment without being released. Climax: Jonas...

Friday, October 11, 2019

Design an Advertisement or a Web Site for the Cinema Essay

Design an advertisement or a web site for the cinema. Your advertisement or web site should be attractive and easy to update as films and timings change and be suitable for publication in various places. The application chosen To complete the task above, I used Microsoft ‘Front page’ 2000. T his is a Desktop Publishing package and enabled me to create a web page, as specified in the task brief. This task required a DTP (Desktop publisher) as it is a web based project, in other words, the result could be published on the web. I used Front page, as it enabled me to easily update and modify the web page, this was also required in the specification. It is also easily published onto the World Wide Web, or the Internet, as long as I have the required web space necessary. I could have used Microsoft Word, which I have more knowledge about, and therefore would have been easier to use, but I felt that I would use Front page, as it automatically saves the web page as the required format for web publishing and also it is designed for my required purpose. Equally I could have used Microsoft publisher, also a desktop publisher, but as I have no previous experience using this program, I felt that I should u se Front page. Software Advantages / Benefits Disadvantages / Drawbacks Front Page Specifically designed for Desktop Publishing, many features designed especially for Web publishing. Very complex to use, not much experience in using program. Word Very simple to use, can be used by beginners to experts, the more experience a user has with the program, the more complex the program can become. Primarily a Word-processing package, not designed for DTP. Publisher Desk Top Publisher, lots of templates for easy publishing, easy to update and insert images and text boxes etc. I have not go much experience in using this program, also it is quite difficult to use with no experience. Does not automatically save as html format. Big M’s Software Big M cinemas are currently running computers that can only run basic word processing packages, they may need to upgrade their software, for example a Microsoft Office suite may suit their needs as this can be basic and advanced depending on the skill of the user. Their printer software and drivers may also need updating as they have problems when sending things to be printed, they sometimes do not come out, as they should. Software available for use at home; Microsoft Office 2002; * Publisher * Word * Front Page 2002 * Access * Excel * PowerPoint To complete this project I will not need any other programs, I will need Microsoft Access, Excel and Front Page, and Word for this write up. Software I need to complete this project; Software Purpose and Advantages Front Page Specifically designed for Desktop Publishing, many features designed especially for Web publishing. Specific for my requirements also easy to update page and site, as specified in the requirements. Word Very simple to use, can be used by beginners to experts, the more experience a user has with the program, the more complex the program can become. Specific for Word processing that is what I need it for, in this write up. It incorporates many advanced features, e.g. table of contents, that otherwise would take along time to produce. Excel A very advanced spreadsheet program, which will enable me to make a accounting package, with the use of functions, macros and many other features specific to this program. Access This database software will enable me to complete task 3, a very advanced database program, enabling me to run queries, forms and to create letters to members depending on their interests. Hardware For this task the user would need a relatively fast computer, e.g. 300mhz or over, this would enable the user to use Front Page effectively. Any slower and the time needed for image handling, and even fast input of text maybe hindered. I could have used a slow home computer or those in the library with slower processors and older software. I decided to use the computers in the ICT department as they are adequately fast enough for my needs and will run all the software I need. School Computers – Connected to a LAN (Local area network) Standard Qwerty Keyboard Standard PS/2 Mouse 15†³ Visual display unit (SVGA) 600MHz Celeron processor 6GB HDD A: Drive for 3.5†³ diskette Epson Stylus colour 850 Inkjet Hewlett Packard 2100 Laser jet Printer Epson Scanner 56K Modem My Home PC 333MHz Celeron Processor CDRW 8*4*8 and 10*8*32 with Nero 4 7.5GB HDD Standard Qwerty Keyboard Standard PS/2 Mouse 15†³ Visual display unit (SVGA) A: Drive for 3.5†³ diskette Epson Scanner Epson stylus colour 440 Inkjet 56K Modem Hardware Advantages / Benefits Disadvantages / Drawbacks School computers Fast processor, 600mhz, networked so I can access work from all computers, very efficient laser printers and colour printers. Some computers do not have Front Page, although this is Software, limited printer credits, and sometimes the internet connection is down. Big M’s Computers None, apparently. Capable of basic word processing. Many; too slow, trouble with printers, whole system out dated. Qwerty keyboard Most commonly used keyboard. Not as quick to type on as other keyboards, e.g. Natural keyboards. Home PC Linked to Internet, no sites are filtered, enables me to do extra project work, out of the time limit. No printer credits Slower processor than school, infected with virus, so has a tendency to crash. Does not have all the same software as school. Lacks new scanner etc. This system is similar to what Big M Cinemas may need to upgrade to, 600 MHz processors are adequately fast enough and will run every piece of software available today. Also the laser printers used at school may also be necessary for Big M cinemas to get high quality print outs and also quick printing. This would enable them to print out lots of very high quality leaflets, and information sheets in a very short amount of time. Using the software In designing a Web Page, as specified in the project requirements, I broke the steps down into smaller parts. Firstly I researched the films, included in my database, and selected some of the latest films. I then created 3 separate pages, Main page, Latest films and Ticket prices. I then created the main page, a very simple page, as outlined in Appendix 1, or the web page research. I then, very briefly explained the ticket prices, Standard Luxury and disabled, giving prices for each. The last page I created was the Latest film reviews, where I simply entered a block of text, or the review and a graphic into a table with two cells, giving a simple and easy reading review page. Data needed by the system The data needed by the Web page system, will be information such as film times, ticket prices, certificates of films, and corresponding pictures for the review of the film. This will also apply for the corresponding text for a certain film. When the data is put into the system, it will have to be correct. I made sure the data was correct by checking it previously. I also made sure when compiling the film reviews, obtained the text and graphic and the title of the film at the same time, so as not to make a mistake. I would have to make sure that information like the Certificate of the films, e.g. U, PG, 12, 15 and 18 was correct as this may be misleading if it was not. Film times were also important as if these were incorrect; people may turn up to the cinema at the wrong time. A lot of this data is included in the Film table on the Database, see Database. This information could be put onto the web page if I were to do this task as the extension. I will also check spelling of film nam es using a spell check tool. The ticket prices would also have to be correct to correspond with the Spreadsheet, as I only included standard seats in the spreadsheet, I would only have to make this price match, in this case à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5. System outputs This task should produce the following outputs, a printout of the Web page, as necessary in this project, to hand it in. Another output possible would be a booked ticket, if I had constructed a booking system on my website, this could be an extension task. I chose to keep my outputs limited to a printout, as this is all I had time to do during the project as time was limited. Systems like the spreadsheet and database will have many more outputs as these were required. Analysing the problem During my research, I found the user would like colourful and attractive, also easy to use web sites. The evidence to support this can be found in Appendix 1, although this is printed in greyscale, all the web sites are high in contrast and very colourful. They are all very simple to use but very complicated systems at the same time. I will be able to achieve a high contrast and colourful site, and make it simple to use, incorporating hyperlinks to each page but will not be able to create a complex system in the time limit. The stages of input, processing and output are shown in the flow diagram below; Types of system Output The system can output information in different formats e.g. using a VDU the information can be displayed on screen, also the information can be printed using many different types of printers e.g. laser or inkjet. Output devices Advantages/Benefits Disadvantages/Drawbacks Visual Display Unit Size can be altered on most programs e.g. percentage of view. Information can be changed on screen. Information cannot be amended by hand whereas a printout can be. Inkjet printer Colour or Black, good quality. Printouts enable information to be marked or easily amended. Very expensive, slower than laser printer. Laser printer Very fast printing, black, very high quality. No colour in some models, extremely expensive. Having looked at the system devices, I decided to use a VDU to change data on screen, which enabled me to change view and so on. To print documents entirely in black, I will use a laser printer for speed and quality of printing. For colour documents I will use the inkjet printed which will enable me to print in colour. One more system output is the image on a VDU, which the user of the system will be able to view. The information, and film reviews will be what is visible, depending on the page that the user is viewing. Data Storage The data will be stored on the school network and my home PC, in addition I will keep a back up on floppy disk. This is three methods of data storage, the hard drives of both computers, are a form of magnetic storage, this also applies for the floppy disk. If I were to make sure I would not lose my data, I could store it optically on a CD (compact disk). For security purposes, I could store all my work on a tape, a security procedure carried out on the school network weekly. Testing To make sure that the system works I will complete these tests; * Ask an impartial person, to use my system, for example, I could ask them to load up the home page, by opening the file in my area, Click the link to the reviews page and print it off, If they were successful I know my system is successful. * Results; I completed this test and the user was able to complete my request. * Ask another person to open the web page, again and click the link to the reviews page, again as before, but this time, highlight the review and graphic for panic room, copy it and paste it into Word, and print it off. * Results; I completed this test; it was also successful, proving my system is user friendly. Simple Documentation For this task, I will only complete a simple user documentation. As this Web page is very simple, and does not have any complex features or relations, it is very simple to use, and as there are no booking systems, or show times, it is not very complicated. * If the system has been uploaded to the Internet, * Type in the address bar; www.BigMCinemas.com * This will take the user to the home page, * Follow the links to either, the Latest film review page or the Ticket prices page. Latest Reviews; * Look at the film reviews, * Scroll down to access hidden ones, * Either, take the link back to the home page or to ticket prices. Ticket Prices; * Gather required information on ticket prices, * Either, take the link to the home page or latest reviews. This is an incredibly simple user documentation, but as the system is so simple to use, this is all that is required. If a booking system were incorporated, the user documentation would become more complex. Evaluation – The benefits of the system The benefits of the system I have developed will be; * The user will be able to access Film reviews from any computer connected to the internet. * If I were to extend my site incorporating a booking system, the benefits for the user would be that they would be able to book online, and pay with a secure connection using their credit card. * Another advantage for the user, if they were to become a Friend of Big M’s Cinemas, they would be able to get benefits from using my system, as members may get a reduced price for tickets, and priority seats. * At current, the site is very simple, but another benefit, as it is web based and designed to be easily updated, I will be able to update the film reviews very quickly and easily. This is a benefit for the user as they are getting the latest reviews, and prices as soon as they come out. There may be drawback to my system, such as that at current it is very simple and may not provide all the information the user wants. For example, it only has reviews for a limited number of films, due to the time limit I had in making it. When using the system, which only has 3 different pages, the user may not get all the information they require, e.g. different prices for different seats, and discounts for members. I produced a very simple system and realised that I would need to spend a lot more time in planning and designing the site if it were to become viable to upload to the web and use as an active system. I would need to produce a booking page, with all the different seats and prices for each screen, and depending on the age Certificate, update the ticket prices, e.g. if a film was a 15, child prices would not need be included, and so on. A secure connection would need to be gained for Credit card payment, and I would need to produce a Membership form online, like that featured ion Appendix 2. as well as this I would need to increase the amount of reviews, and add Film times, and their certificates. I could have used a membership form that I could design and print out, and hand out at the Cinema chains, by hand. These forms could be returned in the post. This method is a lot slower and not so reliable, as sending letters is not 100% safe, they can easily be lost or misplaced. Alternative methods for my system; * (1) Instead of publishing my system on the Internet, I could put my parts of my system, as already exists into a newspaper. Many cinemas already advertise film times, and the names of all the films, in weekly newspapers. There are many drawbacks to this system. I would only be able to put in a small advert, due to a large cost for advertising, and I would only be able to include film times, certificates and screens showing certain films. It is a very effective method as it is available to a lot of people. * (2) I could also put my system onto Tele-text, instead of the internet; there are also many problems with this method. Tele-text is quite slow, the design and layout is very simple and not very eye-catching. Only certain information would be provided, as graphics for the reviews would not be possible. An advantage of this system is that it is very easily updated. If I had more time, I would have improved my system, and included a booking system, and improved my reviews page, I would also have included film times, different cinemas, certificates of the films, incorporated a membership application page and generally improved it, making it more complex, but regaining its simplicity. My system Alternative Method (1) Alternative method (2) Advantages Enables me to put all the information onto the system, including booking systems, film reviews and film times, and ticket prices that are easily accessible for anyone with access to a PC, with an internet connection. It is also very easy to update, enabling me to regularly keep the site posted and constantly bring up to date the film times and the screens on which they are showing. More people could access the information, as more people have access to newspapers than the internet. It is also a very good way of advertising as more people will see the information and in some aspects, it is quicker than using either my system or method 2, as it is very direct and the information is very easily obtained. By putting the system onto C-Fax, or Tele-text, I would be able to make the information available to any one with a Tele-text compatible television. This would be easily updateable, unlike alternative Method 1, which is only updateable when a new Paper is released. This system could also include a number for phone booking. Disadvantages There are not too many disadvantages to my system; it is a lot more comprehensive than both the alternative methods, as they are both limited. This system would not be very good, as it would only incorporate the film times, and titles. The first system, allows the user to read reviews and book online. Although this system could include a phone number for phone booking, this is a very successful method. Graphics could not be included, although reviews could. Ticket prices and links to other pages could also be provided. Hyperlinks could not be made, and the design and layout is very primitive on Tele-text. Summary – The use of ICT If I compare my solution to ones that already exist then I can see that in many respects my system would be better, if I were to extend and improve it. These system already exist and are very successful, as shown in Appendix 1, showing the Odeon’s web site, a comprehensive example I would need to follow if I were to extend this particular project. Comparing my current system to systems like that on the Odeon page, I can see mine is very primitive, and not very good. The changes that have occurred due to the use of ICT and computers are, the increased ease in Booking Tickets, becoming a member, viewing reviews quickly and easily, and looking up film times, certificates and the price of various tickets. Computers have enabled many more people to access this information and increase the complexity of a system like this. The people that use the system would benefit from using it as it would save them time booking tickets or becoming a member. In some ways it increases security, an d reliability, as a membership form sent in the post could be lost. The user would also find all the information they need in one place and at the same time, eliminating hassle in phoning up the cinema or buying a newspaper.