Oral history archive department in modern libraries, Essay

The main aim of the research is to discuss the uses and the value of an oral history archive department in modern libraries, especially British libraries and American ones which are pioneers in this domain. It has been realized or discovered that the oral history archive can be used to explain the concept or idea of windowing time in physical and digital libraries. Of late digital and oral history archive libraries carry a variety of useful information and documents that include the past and present ones. This paper therefore tries to view the use and the value of this kind of sound archive in which it is divided into main categories and subsections. The first section is the introductory part that tries to give a brief explanation about the oral history archive. There is a problem in question or objective, which touches on what is to be investigated that is the use of this archive. The hypotheses are also constructed to provide answers to the objectives of the research. The other areas include research context/literature review; methodology; work plan; recourses; ethics and conclusion. 1. Working Title The use and the value of an oral history archive department in Modern Libraries and Information Centres. 2. Introduction. Many scholars realized that Oral history archive libraries can be used to obtain information as fast as possible. According to Portelli (1998), the archive holds several hours of gramophone, films, audio, video and Compact Disks. The oral history archive has been of great help in various departments because instant information has been obtained through what is called oral debriefing. This is a situation whereby a comprehensive and condensed verbal testimony is obtained from individuals (Medical Tribune 2007). Other areas where the oral history archive has been applied include areas such as psychology, witness interrogation in criminal investigations, which occur in both oral and visual formats (Sangster 1998).The archive tentatively is currently being used to help in knowledge management especially when it comes to labor market. This is an area in commerce and industry where the changing labor market requires employees to shift from one position to another or from one job to another. As this happens there is loss of organizational memory, the so called the body of data and knowledge which is relevant to an individual organization’s existence (Perk and Thomson 1998 and Gregory 1991). These therefore are of the uses of oral history archive that make it become recognized as a powerful device or tool especially in Britain to capture the already existing institutional knowledge and information. Learning has been enhanced by the use of Oral history archive. The new curriculum requires students to have sound and good communication skills that prepare them to answers questions either during interviews as they look for jobs after schooling or in classroom (Rolph 1998). Criminal investigation department also employ the use of an Oral history archive when they are interrogating criminals. 3. Aims and objectives In this section, the paper discusses the problem in question or the objectives of carrying out the research. Oral history archive has been viewed as a unique and powerful tool by people. In order to clear this perception and make things more clear, this research paper tries to answer the question. The problem to be researched on is therefore the value and the use of an oral history archive in modern libraries and information centres and why people view it as a useful tool in modern libraries. The paper shall also look at the role, if any, of the information specialist of the future in an oral history department and the skills the information specialist must have to operate in such a department. Besides, the paper shall also look at and address the question of how interviewing targets are chosen by the oral history department, how expensive it is to put up an oral history department from scratch at the various libraries, why people view it as a useful tool in the modern libraries and the skills that are required by an information specialist in order for him/her to be able to operate in the department. Today, many educationists are being encouraged to introduce oral history as a powerful tool for serious scholarships in all universities in order to encourage learning. However, there are a number of universities that have introduced and developed extensive collections of oral history while others have not realized the usefulness of the library. For example; Harvard, Princeton and University of California have taken the lead in the development and introduction of oral history archive (Gowers 2006). In addition, the university libraries mentioned above in this domain have operated smoothly from 1955, the British Library has been the pioneer for a lot of researchers of this topic. The reason is simple. The Sound Archive Department of British Library at the present time holds over a million discs, One hundred and eighty five thousand audio tapes, and a lot of video and sound records. These collections which include written literature, dramatized stuff, and music recordings plus sounds of wildlife are collected from across the world. They entail cylindrical equipment created in the nineteenth century to the most recent Compact Disks, Digital Versatile Disk and mini discs. 4. Scope and Definition In order to discover the use and the value of an oral history archive department and to create a sensible project in range and time, the scope of the project will focus mainly on the opinions of curators, librarians and others who are working in this sector. It is important though to be aware that this will emphasize basically on personal viewpoints and changing theories and therefore might not provide a perfect answer. It will also be necessary for the research to stay neutral and determined on the questioners and not go beyond the objectives set as those working in these departments will be more involved with the issues concerning their departments than be drawn to the personal issues. 5. Literature Review The literature review section tries to look at what other scholars have discussed about the same topic to be researched on. This is very important since it avoids or solves cases of duplication of other people’s work. Since other people or scholars at one time had realized the importance of Oral history archive in the modern libraries, it is therefore in order to access their ideas on the topic. The oral history archive has been viewed as a useful tool in a number of areas such as psychotherapy, witness interrogation in crime investigation and learning institutions that are provided in both oral and visual formats (Rolph 1998, Gregory 1991, Parker 1999 and Sarah 2004). According to Ritchie (2003), oral history has useful information or materials that are often ignored by librarians. This is also sometimes overlooked in relation to cost value calculation (Swain 2003). The archive has played a key role in helping in audio collection, attitude and value clarification as well as necessitating multi-media approach to learning (Christel 2006 and Thomson 2000). The most obvious area where oral history archive has been used according to Perks and Thompson (1998) is in learning institutions. This is a case where a tape recorder is used in classrooms to help students understand the concept being taught in class room. However, it has been noticed that a tape recorder has not been effectively and efficiently used as compared to the use of movie, slide or overhead projectors (Lukenbill 2002). One advantage when one uses a tape recorder is that it can be stopped anytime especially when the instructor wants to emphasize important points or to allow urgent questions arising (Thompson 2000). Tapes can also be replayed to enhance re-examining or revisiting and requesting of any order that is desirable. Proper understanding of the lesson is therefore emphasized. Since the new curriculum requires students to have skills in understanding comprehension, analysis and evaluation. Oral history has been of great use to check and examine all these concepts. It is also noted that oral communication skills are very important when it comes to times of interviews where questions are phrased (Swain 2003). The interviewer and the interviewee have to be clear and precise especially in calling for specific information. The questions asked especially during the interviews need also to be answered in the most accurate manner as possible (Ritchie 2003). According to Perks and Thompson (1998), accuracy actually plays a major role in interviews and this can be facilitated by the use of oral history archive. The concept is also emphasized by Seale (2004). As a way of facilitating learning, oral history archive through the use of tapes has facilitated immediate feedback during teaching in schools. This has been done in connection with other secondary sources like books more so in secondary schools. Students’ needs are addressed as soon as possible. This rules out cases of negative delays which is commonly experienced in the traditional scholarly research where numerous collections are required (Thompson 2000). A good teacher who knows how to use tapes only needs to locate appropriate tapes in which he is expected to prepare summarized notes according to students’ understanding. This should be done after testing the entry behavior of the students before opting to use the tapes for instruction (Parker 1999). Oral history archive has also been helpful in clinical libraries (Schacher 2001). Clinicians when giving psychotherapy to patients who are mentally disturbed have used the information contained in the Oral history archive. Such patients may be suffering from Schizophrenia or psychosis (Schacher 2001 and Thompson 2000). As patients talk about their illness the clinician is able to come up with appropriate measures to provide assistance.

Human Resources Practice Essay

1. Introduction The HR Profession Map was developed using the following design principles: †¢ It describes what you need to do, what you need to know and how you need to do it within each professional area at four bands of professional competence. †¢ It covers behaviours as well as the technical elements of professional competence required in the HR profession. †¢ It is organised around areas of professional competence, not organisation structures, job levels or roles. †¢ The scope of the Map will cover the breadth and depth of the HR profession, from small to large organisations, from fundamental to sophisticated practice, local to global, corporate to consulting, charity to public sector, traditional to progressive. †¢ It has the versatility to be used in part, or viewed as a whole, with the core professional areas acting as the key or centre that is relevant to all. 2. Activity 1 Summarise the HRPM The Profession Map captures what successful and effective HR people do and deliver across their specialist profession, and sets out the required activities, behaviours and knowledge. Covering 10 professional areas and eight behaviours, set out in four bands of competence the Map covers every level of the HR profession, from band one at the start of an HR career through to band four for the most senior leaders. The Map has been designed to be relevant and applicable to HR professionals operating anywhere in the world, in all sectors and in organisations of all shapes and sizes. Professional Areas 1. Insights, Strategy and Solutions 2. Leading HR 3. Organisation Design 4. Organisation Development 5. Resource and Talent Planning 6. Learning and Development 7. Performance and Reward 8. Employee Engagement 9. Employee Relations 10. Service, Delivery and Information Behaviours 1. Curious 2. Decisive Thinker 3. Skilled Influencer 4. Personally Credible 5. Collaborative 6. Driven to Deliver 7. Courage to Challenge 8. Role Model (www.cipd.co.uk) 2.1Insights, Strategy and Solutions Human Resources professionals work from a deep business, contextual and organisational understanding to develop actionable insight, and prioritise HR strategies that make the most difference at any given time. You develop insight-led solutions, prioritised and tailored around a good business, contextual and organisation understanding – identifying opportunities and risks and acting on them. Business Vision and strategy of the organisation Products/services and customer profiles Financial and non-financial performance information Contextual Your sector and related regulations/legislation Political, economic, social, technological and environmental issues. Organisation Structure, processes, governance Culture, values, behaviours Key relationships, stakeholders, how decisions get made This understanding – and the resulting insights – allow us to create prioritised and situational HR strategies that make the most difference and build a compelling case for change. Includes these topics: Building a picture Developing actionable insight Delivering situational HR solutions that stick Building capacity and capability -Working with agility Organisation context determines the influence and priority of stakeholder roles and individuals, it also determines how readily new systems/ applications or methods can be adopted, and whether we can get there. If customers / principal stakeholders come from different contexts, this may systematically shape the goals and requirements 2.2 Leading HR Resourcing Band 1 Human Resources Professionals need to have a good knowledge of the principles and procedures for organisations recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits of labour relations and personnel information systems. A sound knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, modelling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. Motivating, developing, and directing people, as they work, identifying the best people for the job also been able to identify potential for succession planning. . 3. Activity 2 Timely and Effective Service With any organization, we will typically find the customers HR supports are within recruiting, employee relations, training, etc, all pretty much the same, regardless of department, our customers are anyone who uses the HR services we provide we interact with supervisors, managers, employees, external candidates, and external organizations. The way that HR interacts with each of these groups is different depending on what is being delivered, but in the general sense, our customers are all as important as each other. 3.1 Employees Employees want professional HR support from real people and HR need to be responsive and clear about what services we offer. HR need to be easy to contact and able to respond quickly and effectively. Obviously employees require accurate pay and benefits, on time. They also want to be given the opportunity for training and development. 3.2 Managers Managers want an HR function which understands the workforce and can help management balance employee and business needs. They want a proactive HR function which identifies issues before they happen and works with managers to address them. They would like HR to help them with their most challenging people issues including motivation, change and skills development. An HR function which does not understand the business and the workforce completely loses its value. The needs of both employees and managers are sometimes be conflicting. For example, managers require a higher level of production and sometimes longer working hours whereas employees tend to want more time off and more focus on a work/life balance. A good HR department needs to work with both groups to find the best balance. A way of resolving these conflicts is to focus on the overall needs of the organisation, ensuring that the right employees are recruited and retained will help this. The skills and abilities of all employees need to be aligned to their job role and as HR we need to provide development and training to ensure productivity is reached and to manage turnover of employees. Coaching and counselling employees will also help and providing an effective reward and recognition system. 3.3 Recruitment Agencies HR and recruitment agencies are committed to developing and maintaining closer relationships, the outcomes for both parties are more positive, and from a strategic perspective, it’s the formation of these stronger partnerships that bring mutual business benefits and added value. Good reasons why an organisation would use recruitment agencies Gain access to job-seekers (both active and passive)  source candidates from more specific talent pools and match them to an  organisation’s vacancies reduce the time and in-house resources dedicated to recruitment use a range of specialist skills offered by recruitment experts Access specialist services such as screening, filtering and profiling of candidates Gain flexibility in recruitment to meet cyclical/ market demand Get expert opinion about and knowledge of current recruitment legislation Benchmarking purposes – access to salary data and local market knowledge. However in past experience working with some recruitme nt agencies it can become an expensive option as they tend to charge anywhere from 12.5 percentage of the starting salary upwards and a finders fee if the candidate does become permanent. 3.4 Communication Communication Type Advantages Disadvantages Email Easy to send Fairly quick to send Can send 365 days of the year Can send to a group of people at once Email can get stuck in spam and not received Attachments could contain viruses Internet could go down and may not receive mail for sometime Phone call Calls can be made 24 hours a day 7 days a week Get your message across and gain feedback immediately You cannot see each other’s body language Things could get mis-interpreted Costly Fax Can send exact copies of documents Easy to train how to use No immediate response Could misdial number sending documents to wrong person Poor quality of received document 3.5 Effective Service Delivery An effective HR services for all employees is seen as be supportive, not to dilute the responsibility of people management. Also have the ability to coach line managers, especially around managing performance. 3.6 Delivering Service HR should obtain thorough feedback from internal customers, line managers, senior managers and employees. This should cover both what they need from HR, and their user experience of current services. Such feedback could generate a clear and more effective HR function within the organisation. It can provide fresh insights and help the HR function to focus its efforts in these areas could add value to the business. 3.7 Difficult Customers Assuming that the employee provides value to the company and possesses redeeming qualities, there are ways to deal with difficult employees. Most often, managers will simply ignore problematic staffers. Managers who live by this rule hope the problem will just go away; that these people will somehow turn themselves around or stop being troublesome. Ignoring the situation is the wrong solution to what could likely become a progressive problem. It is important to take action as soon as the negative behavior pattern becomes evident when left untouched, this problem will only escalate. (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/201950#ixzz2h4AjsnQf) 3.8 Resolving Complaints Employee complaints alert us to potential problems within the business Depending on the type of complaint that comes in you’re going to want to keep relevant portions of your staff appraised of it while simultaneously safeguarding the privacy of the individuals involved. It’s important to be transparent in these situations because â€Å"employees are probably going to know this on the office gossip vine anyway,† says Kelly. â€Å"They want to see that management is aware of it too and that management does take action and demonstrates a commitment to a higher ethical standard.† (http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/handle-employee-complaints.html/1)

PepsiCo Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

PepsiCo - Case Study Example Amidst these discussions, the paper will aim at answer several questions related to the company’s survival during global economic slowdown, its balance food portfolio, workplace culture and diversity and commitment of company towards environmental sustainability. It was ascertained that PepsiCo is the largest manufacturer and distributor of food and beverage in the United States and from its traditional business of soft drinks, the company has adopted a multi segment approach over the years. The present offerings of the company can be segmented in terms of variety of snacks, sports drink, juice, bottled water and cereals. The soft drink segment of the company includes Starbucks ready-to-drink beverages, Mountain dew, Sierra Mist, Sobe, Pepsi-Cola, 7UP, diet Pepsi and Lipton iced tea. The juice segment of PepsiCo comprises brands such as Naked Juice and Tropicana. The snack segment of the company includes brands such as Lays, Cheetos and Tostitos (PepsiCo, 2014a). The complete set of global brands of PepsiCo can be classified in three categories, namely, fun-for-you, good-for-you and better-for-you brands. Fun-for-you brands include basic savory products such as chips and cold drinks. Good-for-you brands are focused on delivering healthy choices that include vegetables, dairy products and fruits. Lastly, Better-for-you brands offer mostly low calorie food products that have low sugar and fat content (YouTube, 2011a; PepsiCo, 2014a; 2014b). PepsiCo is a global company and it can be naturally assumed that the company is susceptible to various social, economic and geo-political issues. Social factors comprise lifestyle and cultural aspects of consumers. PepsiCo is well-aware of its consumers’ preference which is significantly influenced by their lifestyle. Consequently, PepsiCo classified its products in three unique

Bayesian Networks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Bayesian Networks - Essay Example BNs are graphical models that set probabilistic relationships among variables of interest. They depict the relationships between causes and effects. The BNs are strong knowledge representation and reasoning tool under conditions of uncertainty. The BNs are a directed acyclic graph having nodes and arcs with a conditional probability distribution linked for each node. Nodes stand for domain variables, and arcs between nodes stand for probabilistic dependencies. Set of nodes and a set of directed links between them must not form a cycle. Each node represents a random variable that can take discrete or continuous finite, mutually exclusive values. These values depend on a probability distribution, which can be different for each node. Each link states probabilistic cause-effect relations among the linked variables. A link is shown by an arc starting from the affecting variable (parent node) and ending on the affected variable (child node). We will use BNs to represent risk. For example, Figure 3.1 shows BN for "Decreased profits" risk. By linking together different risks we can model multiple risks in a project and we will look at this property in Chapter 5. Bayes' Theorem was developed after Rev. Thomas Bayes, an 18th century mathematician and theologian. Bayes set out his theory of probability in Essay towards solving a problem in the doctrine of chances published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London in 1764. Richard Price, a friend of Bayes' sent the paper to the Royal Society and wrote: I now send you an essay which I have found among the papers of our deceased friend Mr Bayes, and which, in my opinion, has great merit... In an introduction which he has writ to this Essay, he says, that his design at first in thinking on the subject of it was, to find out a method by which we might judge concerning the probability that an event has to happen, in given circumstances, upon supposition that we know nothing concerning it but that, under the same circumstances, it has happened a certain number of times, and failed a certain other number of times. (Hogben 1970) Laplace accepted Bayes's results in a 1781 memoir and Condorcet rediscovered them (as Laplace mentions). They stayed accepted until Boole doubted them in the Laws of Thought . Mathematically Bayes theorem is stated as: Where it is possible to update our belief in hypothesis H given the additional evidence E. The left-hand term, P(H|E) is known as the "posterior probability," or the probability of H after considering the effect of E. The term P(H) is called the "prior probability" of H. The term P(E|H) is called the "likelihood" and gives the probability of the evidence assuming the hypothesis H is true. Finally, the last term P(E) is free of H and can be viewed as a normalizing or scaling factor. The power of Bayes' theorem is that in many situations where we actually want to calculate p(H|E) it turns out that it is hard to do so directly, yet we might have direct information about the likelihood, p(E|H). Bayes' theorem allows us to calculate p(H|E) in terms of p(E|H). 1.3 The Bayesian Approach to Probability and Statistics Understanding of the Bayesian method to probability and statistics helps to know BNs and related learning techniques. The

The impact of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles on our society Essay

The impact of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles on our society - Essay Example The possibilities of building systems that openly endanger societies all over the world are at least as huge as the possibility of applying this technology for constructive intentions or for the greater good. This essay presents an analysis of the positive and negative impacts of UAVs on societies and warfare. The Costs and Benefits of Unmanned Systems The design, construction, and use of UAVs will transform national security policy and society significantly. As more and more societies begin to use more automated processes, movement into areas affecting national security policy will certainly take place. The likelihood of building remotely operated, armed UAVs no longer sounds unbelievable. As expected, the development of UAVs would radically transform air battle. UAVs offer numerous advantages over manned structures, such as preventing human casualties, enabling flight control, and being more affordable or cost-effective (Bone & Bolkcom 2004, 10). UAVs enable a range of military and civilian operations not possible beforehand with manned systems and enable these operations to be carried out without risking the lives of the pilots, who operate at distant control centers. In counterinsurgency combat, the primary advantage of UAVs is an enhanced capacity to locate, deal with, and terminate enemies, while reducing civilian fatalities. Usually, UAVs would monitor a suspect and send the coordinates to a control station, where staffs would discuss with senior officials and look at maps in order to track civilian networks or buildings. After the discussion, the control station would dispatch directives to an airborne vehicle (Owen & Mueller 2007, 49). Moreover, as P.W. Singer observes, using UAVs give pilots the opportunity to engage in further risks with their vehicles, like hanging around longer and flying closer to the ground, hence resulting in a more precise attack. UAVs hence help commanding officers prevent civilian casualties during their attacks—an imp ortant factor in counterinsurgency combat (Callam 2010, 3). Unmanned aerial vehicles have further strengthened and sped up the evolving characteristic of warfare, and have been promoted for civilian uses such as search and rescue, wider security, and in observation of disaster-prone territories. Advancements in technology currently allow combatants to employ UAVs to deal with opponents from distant locations such as the Middle East. It also enables search and rescue attempts to be carried out in isolated locations or inaccessible ruins via the application of search and rescue automatons (Valavanis et al. 2009, 452). These automated machines have kept humans from entering dangerous situations. In a nutshell, the benefits of employing UAVs in comparison to using a manned system, are UAVs do not include, or require, a trained pilot aboard; lessen the exposure hazard to the pilot; can go into places that are hostile to humans; can remain airborne for more than 24 hours, conducting an ac curate, constant monitoring of a territory (e.g. conducting thermal or visual scan of an area, conducting a geological scan, etc.); and can be designed to accomplish operations independently even without communication with its operator (Callam 2010, 2). But UAVs are not completely blemish-free. The use of UAVs has also received several criticisms. Several learned observers argue that the application of

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 9

Report - Essay Example This report is about the development and analysis of a database system for a recruitment agency that is operating worldwide and specializing in short contracts for programming and website development work. This report will offer a deep analysis of the main database design and development aspects for the business of recruitment agency. According to Oz Effy (2008), the processes of decision making and problem solving both are based on information. In addition, the decision making is vital process of everyone’ life, people work, play, communicate or do anything they need and use information. In the same way, in a corporation gathering the correct information efficiently, keeping it properly consequently thus it could be utilized and manipulated when needed, as well as making use of it to facilitate the corporation or individuals to attain personal or business objectives. Consequently, the main intention of database and information systems development and implementation is to have facility and support in the above discussed areas. We can use and apply these understanding and database information for getting success in every department of a business. However, in a corporation information system consists of databases, hardware, data, telecommunications, software, procedures and people. In addition, the use of in formation systems and databases can be seen in every walk of life. Their capacity to facilitate and resolve problems as well as making decisions makes them fundamental in our lives, society, business and management (Oz, 2008; Whitten, Bentley, & Dittman, 2000; Turban, Leidner, McLean, & Wetherbe, 2005). The recruitment agency has carried out a survey among 30,000 people and taken response against different personnel, job and web development related aspects. This data is available in form of flat file database. In other words, the

Auditing research paper on Apple Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Auditing research paper on Apple Inc - Essay Example Another notable strategy that Apple has adopted is product diversification. Some notable quality brands that the company has initiated in the market include Macbook, Mac pro, Mac Mini, iPad, iPod such as iPod Nano and iPod Touch, iPhone, and Apple TV among others. Apple, which was established by the three pioneers in 1976, established its production lines in 1970s by introducing Apple III product in its effort to face the competitors including Microsoft and IBM. The company went public in 1980 whereby it sold its share at $22. Another notable aspect that made Apple to enjoy strong support from the consumers was the rebranding strategy initiated by Steve Jobs. For example, in 2007, Steve noted that the company, which was referred to as Apple Computer, Inc, would be known as Apple Inc, due to the shifting of the company activities to mobile devices from emphasizes on computers. As the result, Apple TV and iPhone were launched in the market. Despite the death of Steve in 2011, the company in its post-Jobs era has introduced quite a number of competitive brands such as iPhone 5, fouth generation Ipad, OSX Mavericks and seventh iOS As mentioned earlier, Apple is an information technology company with wide range of products that it sells in the international market. Apart from the smartphone, computer software and mobile devices the company produces, it has introduced Apple watch in its brand portfolio. The smartwatch, which was launched in 2014, is used together with an iPhone for it to work effectively. Apple has a culture of developing an ecosystem of suppliers who offer assistance to the company and who supports their business activities. Through the procurement website, Apple requires that all the suppliers must meet the highest standard of their services and goods. In addition, the suppliers are required to be very committed just like Apple on the matters of social responsibility. The suppliers are also required to notice the dynamic and

Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) Research Paper

Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) - Research Paper Example In order to ensure security of information over the Internet various security technologies have been proposed that usually work on the higher layers of the OSI model and provide security in terms of authentication, confidentiality, integrity and availability. IPSec is one such security technology that operates on the IP layer and provides confidentiality, integrity and authentication. As it operates at the IP layer, its implementation provides security in the higher layers as well. And its implementation is such that the existing setup of Internet does not have to be changed in order to implement it. This report presents an overview of the IPSec technology. It discusses the general architecture of the technology, briefly covering its technical details and its operation modes. Furthermore the report discusses how IPSec can be integrated into the existing Internet setup. 1. Introduction The security of information is defined by four attributes; confidentiality, integrity, privacy and a vailability (Adeyinka, 2008). In the past, when computers were not that common a commodity let alone the Internet, virtual private networks were formed through installation of dedicated leased lines between the hosts e.g. networking of remote offices (Liska, 2003). Figure 1 Dedicated Leased Lines VPN Since these lease lines were private the information sent or retrieved remained within the related parties and so the communication was fast and secure. Thus private networks were formed. But the setup was costly and very few companies could afford it. Later on, in order to accommodate the mobile users, the companies installed dedicated remote dial-in servers (Remote Access Servers) that had modem(s) each connected to a separate dedicated phone line (Liska, 2003). Figure 2 Dial-up VPN Although the networking was achieved, yet the effort was not that useful as the speed of these networks was very slow. With the advent of the Internet and its global web servers that provided larger and ea sier access worldwide, the use of leased lines became an expensive burden and remained limited to very few resourceful companies. In view to the easy access to worldwide communication granted by the Internet, the element of security somewhat lost its significance and every other school, office, company and business sought out to be connected through the Internet. The instances of some serious cyber crimes (â€Å"Cyber Crime Stories†) led to the realization that the Internet is not at all secure. Being a public medium, the information sent across the Internet in the form of data packets passes through various networks until they reach their intended destination. Since the Internet protocol (IP) offers no built-in security, this plain text data in the IP datagram cannot be prevented from unauthorized access from the public network. Any third party can easily inspect, even modify or generate false data and compromise system security. For instance the passwords that are sent can be tracked and looked into (packet-sniffing), IP packets

Compare the Johnston family Essay Example for Free

Compare the Johnston family Essay Now do you understand that? (police woman to Mrs. Lyons) As I say it was more of a prank really, Mrs. Lyons. Id just dock his pocket money if I was you. But one thing I would like to say, and excuse me if Im interfering, but Id not let him mix with the like of them in future. He has a sense of pride probably at the fact that everything he does he does it himself without the help of others even though hes not rich. Mickey and Eddies well-developed friendship starts rolling down hill as Mickey starts understanding life better and as his responsibilities grow. He says he had to grow up whilst no one looked and Eddie could stay a kid. By this he basically means youve had it laid on a plate for you all your life when I had to work and gain or lose everything. Mickey starts to feel as though people own him because he thought everything he did he did himself when he realizes this is not true he feels betrayed and feels he owes everything he is to someone else. All the struggle and all the suffering Mickey goes through at the end affects Linda as she is his wife and doesnt get any attention from her husband because his mind is else where all the time. Mrs. Lyons is a selfish woman who took a baby away from its mother. She said the children would die if they found out they were twins because they had been separated at birth, this was a made up superstition, because she knew from a previous incident in act 1 scene 8 that Mrs. Johnston was a very superstitious person. Oh God. Never put new shoes on a table, Mrs. Lyons. You never know whatll happen. Oh, you mean its a superstition. Youre superstitious are you? I think she is just showing of for how much dosh she has. Even though she promises that she would let Mrs. Johnston keep in close contact with the baby as it grows she becomes possessive and sacks her from her job. She thinks that Mrs. Johnston will tell someone and her husband would get angry, as he also doesnt know the truth. Later on she becomes paranoid of Mrs. Johnston, and starts thinking that the superstition she made up is actually true. After trying to keep her son away from Mickey, in the usual manner, saying hes a bad influence, threatening, forbidding, etc she decides to move away to a far off area where she thinks Mrs. Johnston would not be able to follow. When Mrs. Johnston gets a house by the council near to where Mrs. Lyons lives, Mrs. Lyons fears are confirmed she starts thinking Mrs. Johnston has put a curse on her. She looks after Eddie well and treats him like her own son so no one suspects anything throughout. In the end she kills both boys due to her mental state. Eddie is given a great childhood he lives in a big house gets the love of his parents and goes to school to get educated. His mother is the only person to know that he is Mrs. Johnstons child, however she is determined to keep that a secret and keep her child away from the Johnston family. He is a member of a rich family therefore is taught to speak in a posh accent and will kind of show off. Pissed off! You say smashing things dont you? Pissed off. Do you know any more words like that? It is a good thing that he is educated because he can then have a good job and a very good status further in life. Eddie has money and he doesnt care where the money goes. He thinks of Mickey as a brother, this is probably because he is an only child and when Mickey tells him they can be blood brothers he is delighted that he will finally have a brother. When he is caught by the police woman he ends up getting his lines mixed giving the play a streak of humour as well as showing how protected he has been during his upbringing. And what do you think youre doing? Adolf Hitler! Whats your name, son? Waiting for a ninety two bus Hes not with me He is sent to boarding schools so that he is kept away from Mickey. He doesnt understand why everyone wants to keep them apart but goes along because he is left no choice. When he comes back from university for Christmas he is surprised to find that his best friend is now also against him, which upsets him greatly. He tries to show that he is not bothered about Mickey being poor, that Mickeys friendship means more to him than the world by telling him to take all the money he wants but this just makes Mickey feel offended and feel as though he is being presented with charity money or something. Look, come on. Ive got money, lots of it. Im back, lets forget about bloody jobs, lets go and get Linda and celebrate. Look, look, money, lots of it, have some. NO! I dont want your money. Stuff it. Eddie, do me a favour will you? Piss off. I thought I thought we always stuck together. I thought we were blood brothers. Even though Mickey stops talking to Eddie and doesnt want to stay in any form of contact Eddie carries on trying to make there friendship work out. He tries to help Mickey every chance he gets, even if it is only secretly. In the end he finds out they are real brothers. When Mrs. Lyons comes in and goes to shoot Mickey, Eddie sacrifices his life showing he really cared about Mickey.

Bilateral Relations Between the EU and China

Bilateral Relations Between the EU and China Till the 1978, Peoples Republic of China (PRC) was in self employed isolation because of two things, one was Cultural Revolution and another was the transformation of the society and economy from traditional to modern. Another factor which also played a part was the Soviet threat to China after 1958 till 1983. On the other side EU was coming out of the wars and conflicts of the first half of the 20th century and making the headway for global economic power after the economic boom from 1960-1970. Though there were trade agreements between China and EU in 1978 and in 1985, however, till the end of Cold War, relations between the EU and China were at low as latter has not given high priority to relations with former, however, globalisation, and interests in multi polar world became the factors that lead to growing bilateral relations between the two. The bilateral relations between the EU and China developed and reached to its height in 2011, when train started connecting the two mighty economic and political actors of globe through Central Asian Republics. Since the bilateral relations between the two partners are still growing but there are new issues that are need the dynamism to solve the problems, human rights violations in some parts of China, and other issues like lack of transparency in China that was highlighted by EU Ambassador at WTO in June 2012, â€Å"related to lack of transparency, which makes Chinas trade and investment policies in the words of Secretariats report â€Å"opaque and complex† (EU Ambassador to WTO, June 2012). The paper will analyse: What steps have helped the bilateral relations between the EU and China? What are the hurdles that need solutions to make the bilateral relations more powerful? The growing interdependence after the globalisation has played a role in integration of trade, finances and people and ideas that led to speed up the bilateral relations between the countries, regions etc. According to new interdependence phenomenon regional powers, countries having different forms of government came closer to each other and start and world institutions like WTO played great role in promoting the phenomenon by replacing protectionism by free trade. The interdependence at times had made so much impact that many countries adopt policies according to international norms to trade and protect ones economy. In the conference of the Interdependence and Globalisation, Secretary-General of UN said, â€Å"There are two main aspects of forging coherence in advancing the development goals in a globalizing world economy †¦ At the regional level; there is a need to broaden and deepen regional integration and to foster coherence through greater coordination of policies and th rough peer reviews While some regions have taken the necessary steps to achieve these ends, others lag Behind.†[1] Under the following back ground and arguments about to achieve the goals of necessary steps for the relations with the other countries, regions like (EU) had taken many steps and have shown dynamism for the bilateral relations and trade particularly with the Central Asian countries and China. However, some of the countries lack behind like (China) that is not a positive sign though the Chinese government have made many changes. Review of literature: There is literature available on the bilateral relations between the China and EU in the form of different journals, books, reports and conference proceedings. They give the information related to trade between the EU and China and the annual high level summit held between the two. However, most of the literature is related with the trade relations and their impact on both side but about the progress in the other social problems there is stray references. The stress is not given on the peace building capacity and conflict resolution capacity of the both partners jointly or the problems which both are facing in the bilateral relations. Last but not the least to what extent they have made the world multi polar from unipolar. As one of the recent articles published by the by the European Council on Foreign Relations argues that Europe needs a â€Å"global China policy,† meaning that it should look at its relationship with China not from a traditional bilateral perspective, but ra ther from a global perspective that takes into account indirect effects through third countries or regions (Godement, 2010). History of bilateral relations between China and EU: The bilateral relations between China and EU started after 1975 and that were further developed by the economic policy changes introduced by Deng Xiaoping in 1978. Since 1978 China has freed itself from the self imposed isolation and integrated with the world. Not only was this but the major shifts in the world economy which had left their mark on the relations between China and various European economies. The single most important events bringing about a significant reshuffle of the European economies economic structure and the pattern of their integration into the international division of labour have been the evolution of a single European market under the auspices of the European Union and the breakdown of socialist block the ensuing transformation of the Central and East European economies into market economies (Markus: 2002). During this period many agreements on trade and bilateral relations were signed by the two like those of Trade Agreement between the EC and China followed in 1978 (Official Journal: 1978). In 1985 this agreement was replaced by the Agreement on Trade and Economic Co-operation between the EC and China. The European Commission opened its representation in Beijing in 1988, and ever since there has been a continuous deepening of economic and trade relations. Since after the opening of the economy after 1978 and especially after the fall of USSR and globalisation, Chinese economy have become the second largest economy. On the other side EU is making it headways to became the major champion of the human rights, rule of law, democracy and is expanding its membership that made the EU major player in this global world. These events make both EU and China think about their larger interests and exchange of goods and rapid development of bilateral trade. China in 2001 joined WTO that helped the both partners to come closer to each other. After 2009 when Lisbon treaty came into force and main motives of the treaty was to overhaul the basic setup of the European Union (EU) had been to make it stronger, more visible and more assertive actor on the international scene. This institutional re-structuring which followed, notably the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and EU delegations with global reach, was also intended to enhance the EU’s role and capacity in supporting peace processes, making relations with other countries more practical (Joris Larik, Catriona Gourlay). When Catherine Ashton was appointed to new post of High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy was welcomed by the Chinese government, as it has given China a contact at the top of the EU’s administration with whom they are already familiar through trade negotiations. Such a dynamism of both EU and China saw the fruits when the bilateral trade that in the first decade of the 21century as the EU having surpassed the United States as China’s largest trading partner ( Fox: 2009). On the one side EU has beca me the largest supplier of technology and equipment, in the form of FDI, and also a number of joint technology projects with China. Apart from the good and prospective trade relations EU-China co-operation activities are also seen in the categories of measures directed in transition process to an open society based on the rule of law; support of economic reforms; business and industrial co-operation; legal and administrative reform; human resources development; science and technology; environment and energy; regional disparities, poverty alleviation and social cohesion; academic and societal activities (Franco: 2002). Cooperation has extended to other areas, with 100,000 Chinese now studying in the EU, against 60,000 in the United States, and the Chinese invited to join in a number of European technology projects, including the Galileo satellite navigation programme (Europa press release: 2003). This co operation shows the bilateral relation between the two China and EU are reaching to the new heights and levels and can be called the emergence of a new Sinoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ European axis in world politics (Shambaugh 2004; Scott 2007). According to the statics of the 2012, the bilateral trade between the China and Europe reached to 443.6 billion Euros in which EU exports to China reached to its height â‚ ¬143.9 billion and Chinas exports to EU reached to â‚ ¬289.7 billion.[2] That means that one billion trade is done on the average between the two partners. Hurdles in the Bilateral Relations: Though the EU China bilateral relations reached to it new heights nut there are also some hurdles that created problems many time and even when Shambaugh wrote in the International Herald Tribune (26 November 2007) that â€Å"for Europe the ‘China honeymoon’ is now over†. Starting from 1989, when because of Tiananmen Square protests for more reforms towards democratic setup and its suppression lead to the death of more than 1000 persons. Though this event does not have much impact on the bilateral relations between the two but EU with USA imposes the arms embargoes in place (Franco: 2002). Also the problems like human rights violations in Tibet, Xinjiang and Carbon emissions. These issues reached to its height and created the rift between EU and Chinas bilateral relations, when latter cancelled their participation in the annual EU-China summit in retaliation against French plans to meet the Dalai Lama in December 2008. On the economic front the problems like dumping issues against China, and EUs response like increasing the anti-dumping tariffs of up to 50 percent on Chinese-made candles sold in the Europe have made bilateral relations somewhat more strangled(ROBERTO: 2010). In 2012, out of 100 fake goods captured on the European borders 64 were made in China that has created the larger problems. The other problems in the economic front are the China laws on the foreign companies that diminish the role of the EU companies and FDI. As for example EU investments in China add up to less than 2% of the total FDI abroad compared with nearly 30% in the United States.[3] The Chinese government also does not use country specific standards than international standards which EU companies fail or find hard to meet. Because of this in 2012, 45 % of EU companies have missed the business opportunities by these standards or regulatory barriers. Since these things need a solution and compromise between the two wor ld largest economies for this some of the steps have been taken by the EU and China for better prospects and better bilateral relations like. As both the EU and China have more to gain from each other than either has to lose and to overcome the issue of the human rights in China both EU and China have started dialogue from 1996 onwards one among them was on the Human rights in China (EU-China Observer, 2010). To come out of the hurdles between the two bilateral partners, they started Strategic Dialogue in 2005, held at the Vice Ministerial level and since then dialogue is held yearly for the progress and prospectus of the bilateral relations between the two and the framework of this annual dialogue covers wide range of areas. After the Lisbon treaty the dialogue is held at the direct the highest decision-making level helps maintain the strong momentum in strengthening contacts and increasing bilateral cooperation between the two partners. At the end of each summit meeting, the joint declarations reveal the new agreements reached between the two sides, which draws the blueprint and directs further the future development for EU-China relations and also serve to clarify each other’s interests and concerns. (EU-China Observer, 2010). This dialogue have given the opportunities to both the partners to known about each other’s grievances and progress on any contested issue, however, still lot has to be done in this regard. On the other side the growing the threats of terrorism to both partners in general and world in particular have became great problem to world peace. Although EU have made peace building process and conflict resolution there priority in their international relations after Lisbon treaty 2009. EU had send many peace keeping missions to Kosovo, Libya, Georgia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Niger, Palestinian territories and some military missions to Somilia, Atalnta, Bosinia, Mali. Both China and EU can start a new dialogue process with the leaders of the conflict areas for peace as both are considered neutral that can help in solving these deadly problems. Also EU and China can help the poor countries of the world for the sustainable human resource development and economic activities by investing jointly the technology and the finances in these countries. Although now the annual summits held between the two global partners on the security situation in Asia, from non-proliferation to the control of small arms and light weapons, from global warming and climate change to the fight against illegal migration and trafficking in human beings but still lot have to be done. Bibliography: Action and the External Action Service,  Algieri, Franco (2002). â€Å"EU Economic Relations with China: An Institutionalist  Perspective†, The China Quarterly, No. 169, Catriona Gourlay, The European Union as Peacemaker – Enhancing EU Mediation Capacity,  European Policy Centre, Available at: EU-China Observer, 2010, issue 5, (available online www.coleurope.eu.). Europa press release (2003) â€Å"EU and China are set to collaborate on GALILEO, the  European global system of satellite navigation†, Foa, Roberto (2010), â€Å"The EU-China Relationship†, Published in the 21st Century  International Review, Francois Godement, (2010) â€Å"A Global China Policy†, ECFR Policy Brief 22, London. Fox, John and Franà §ois Godement, (2009). â€Å"A Power Audit of EU-China Relations†,  European Council on Foreign Relations, Joris Larik, The EU on the Global Stage after the Lisbon Treaty: External Kapur, Harish (1990), Distant Neigbours: China and Europe, London, New York: Pinter  Publishers. Official Journal of the European Communities, L 123, 11 May 1978. Philip Baker, (2002)â€Å"Human Rights, Europe and the People’s Republic of China†, The China  Quarterly, (1). Scott, David (2007), China and the EU: A Strategic Axis for the Twentyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ First Century?, in:  International Relations, Vol. 21, no. 1, 23à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬â„¢45. Shambaugh, David (2004), China and Europe: The Emerging Axis, in: Current History, 103,  243à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬â„¢248. Taube, Markus 2000, Die chinesische Volkswirtschaft zum Jahrhundertwechsel.  Entwicklungsstandund Perspek-tiven, Zeitschriftfiir Politik, No. 1 pp. 32-53. Wu Jianmin, (2007) Waijiao Anli (Case Studies in Diplomacy), Beijing: Renmin University  Press, Yahuda, Michael B. (1994), China and Europe. The Significance of a Secondary  Relationship, in: Thomas W. Robinson and David Shambaugh (eds), Chinese Foreign Policy:  Theory and Practice, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 266à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬â„¢288 Yves Dumas, (2009) â€Å"European NGOs calls on EU to Ensure Human Rights in China Before  2008 Olympics†, The Epoch Times, 15 May EU Statement, EU Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation Angelos Pangratis, Fourth Trade Policy Review of China, 12 and 14 June 2012. [1] â€Å"Globalization and interdependence†, Report of the Secretary-General, United Nations General Assembly, 31 August 2004.Cf Martin Wolf, Globalisation and Interdependence, (Available online) [2] Facts and figures on EU-China trade, Oct, 2013; http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2009/ september/tradoc_144591.pdf online [3] Karel De Gucht (7 June, 2013) EU-China Investment: A Partnership of Equals, European Commissioner for Trade, Brussels

Two different queuing systems

Two different queuing systems Introduction This report presents the modeling of two different queuing systems in a typical bank environment using the arena software. The confidence intervals for both the systems are constructed based on the simulation results. The systems are then compared to find out which queuing system performs better. Assumptions For both systems, no real data was collected. Both the interarrival times and service times were taken from known probability distributions. Other assumptions also include no balking, reneging and queue jumping. Each replication had the same initial conditions and terminating events. Lastly, both systems are assumed to be stable, have infinite calling population and no limit on system capacity. Modeling of the systems In this section of the report, the actual modelings of both the systems using the arena software are discussed. Configuration of the models and steps to run the system are also highlighted. Firstly, system 1 is explained, followed by system 2. System 1 modeling System 1 has a separate queue for each individual bank teller. Based on Kendalls notation, system 1 is an M/M/4 system. It is a Poisson process and disallows batch arrivals. The table below summarizes the categorization of the system based on the parameters of the system. In this system, customers arrive and choose to join the shortest queue. The highlighted mean values in the table represent the exponential mean value ?. For the interarrival time, 100 customers arrive in 1 hour. Hence, ÃŽ ²= 1/ (100/60) = 0.6 Firstly, create the customer arrival portion by clicking and dropping the create button. Next configure it by doubling clicking the diagram. The Figure shows the dialog box to configure the entity. Type the parameter as shown in Figure 2 above for this system. The configuration can also be shown in the figure below. Create the four individual processes for each of the Bank Tellers by using the process button. Configure the process as shown below. Since the customers can choose the shortest queue to join upon arrival, create a decision box by using the decide button. Configure the decision box as follows: Click on the Add button to include the conditions for the branching conditions. Select Expression and right click and select expression builder to construct the expressions. Finally, create the customer departure by using the Dispose button. Double click on the button to configure by naming it. Lastly, connect all the components together to model the system 1. System 2 modeling System 2 has only a single queue for all the arriving customers. When a bank teller becomes available, the customer will be served by that bank teller. Based on Kendalls notation, system 2 is an M/M/1 system. The table below shows the categorization of the system 2 based on Kendalls notation. Running the Simulation Once the models of both the system are constructed, simulation runs are conducted to evaluate the performance of the systems. The steps in running the simulation are as follows: Click on the Run tab and select Setup. Click on the Replication Parameters tab. Input number of replications as 15 and replication length as 480 change all the units to minutes. This is shown in the Figure below. Click on Run tab and select Go to run the simulation. Simulation Results This section of the report summarizes the results produced by both the queuing systems. The performance measure parameter is the average time the customer spends in the bank. The results for each individual system are evaluated and the following confidence interval is constructed. Then the two systems are compared by constructing another confidence interval. System 1 Results The system 1 results are based on the average time a customer spends in the system as its performance measure. The average time for each replication is summarized in the table below. Firstly, the mean is computed using (n) = 4.8121 Variance is also computed using (n) = 1.103800987 Hence the 95% confidence interval (? = 0.05, t14, 0.975 = 2.145) for system1 is computed using Confidence interval: [4.2302, 5.3940] System 2 Results The system 2 results are also measuring the average time the customer spends in the system. The results are summarized in the table below. By using the same formulas, the mean, variance and confidence interval are as follows: (n) = 3.804533333 (n) = 2.231921051 Confidence interval: [2.9771, 4.6319] Comparison between Two Systems From previous results, the confidence intervals of both the systems overlap each other. Therefore, it is hard to determine which system performs better. Hence, paired- t confidence interval is used to compare the two systems. It is important to note that the number of replications for each system must be the same for this type of comparison. The table below summarizes the results of this comparison. The mean, variance and the confidence interval is computed and the results are as follows: (n) = 1.007566667 (n) = 3.578001252 Confidence interval: [0.5192, 1.4960] Since the confidence interval does not contain zero, there is strong evidence to conclude that system 1s average time customer spends in the system is larger than that of system 2. Hence, system 2 performs better than system 1. Conclusion This report presents the models of two different queuing systems in a bank environment. Through the simulation results, it is found that system 2 performs better than system 1. In order to get more accurate results, the number of simulation runs must be increased and other performance measure parameters can be tested to further gauge the performance of both the systems.

Biochemistry Research Paper -- Health, Diseases, Viruses, Bacteria

Toll-like receptors are proteins that play a significant role in the recognition of pathogens such as viruses and bacteria, thereby initiating an innate response. The TLR family recognizes structurally conserve molecules known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPS) derive from these viruses and bacteria. TLR7 have been shown to mediate the recognition of single stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses, whereas TLR9 recognizes non-methylated CpG sequences in bacterial DNA molecules. However, the molecular mechanism by which non-methylated CpG DNA and ssRNA viruses activate the innate immunity is not well understood. In this paper, it is demonstrated that the cell response to vesicular stomatitis viruses (VSV) and bacteria DNA is mediated by TLR7 and TLR9. Through the generation of TLR7 and TLR9-deficient mice, it was determined that TLR7 are required for responsiveness to both vesicular stomatitis viruses and TLR9 recognizes bacteria DNA. Both TLR7 and TLR9 deficient mice did not show any response to single stranded RNA viruses and non-methylated CpG bacteria DNA including inflammatory cytokine production from macrophages and dendritic cells. However, the in vivo ability of vesicular stomatitis viruses and CpG bacteria DNA to stimulate IL-12 secretion depended on the functional activation of MyD88 and IRAK. These results present evidence for the requirement of TLR7 for single stranded RNA viruses and TLR9 for non-methylated CpG bacteria DNA to induced cellular effects. Conversely, further results provide evidence that support the role for TLR7 and TLR9 to trigger vesicular stomatitis viruses and CpG bacteria DNA mediated signaling transduction resulting in the induction of the interferon response [266]. Introduction: The inna... ... bone marrow of WT, TLR7,TLR9, or MyD88 deficient mice and infected with VSV for 18hrs. IFN and IL-12 level were determined from culture supernatant by ELISA Lund, J.M.et al Conclusion: In justification with the previous study on TLR9 recognition of CpG DNA and initiating an innate immune system, Lund, J.M. et al have demonstrated that, together, TLR7 and TLR9 likely form a functional subgroup within the TLR family that recognize pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMPS) in endosomal compartment. It is now clear TLR7 and TLR9 play a significant role in the recognition of vesicular stomatitis virus and CpG bacteria DNA, thereby activating the innate immune system. The experiments with TLR7 and TLR9 deficient mice have shown the essential role in the recognition of ssRNA by TLR7 and non-methylated CpG bacteria DNA by TLR9 respectively.

Identifying DNA Abnormalities Through Genetic Testing Essay -- presymp

Genetic testing involves examining an individual’s DNA and identifying abnormalities within the chemical makeup of specific structures. It, essentially, maps the person’s genome and can be interpreted to predict future issues. By analyzing the chromosome, genes, and even certain proteins, physicians and researchers can find changes that lead to inheritable disorders. These changes can lead to possible diagnosis or cure for the disorder in question. In most cases, genetic testing is used to determine the probability that an individual will develop a certain disorder. It is not used to specifically diagnose a disorder, as there are no techniques that are 100% accurate. Genetic testing techniques do give good evidence to confirm a physician’s findings, but it is not the first act a physician takes to diagnose a disorder. It can narrow a search or rule out a specific disorder very confidently, but making a diagnosis based solely on genetic testing is not an action th at a qualified medical professional would consider. There are many types of genetic tests that are administered to the adult population. The more commonly used genetic tests are paternity tests, genealogical tests, and forensic testing. They are quite self-explanatory; paternity tests are to determine relatedness of 2 subjects, genealogical tests are used to formulate a heritage or ancestry, and forensic testing is used to identify or rule out a person that has been charged with a crime. Other genetic tests include presymptomatic testing, used to determine the risk someone has to developing a genetic disorder, diagnostic screening, used to rule out or identify a suspected condition, and carrier screening, used to determine if an individual carries one copy of a gene mutati... ...sts? Genetics Home Reference. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/testing/uses 2. NOVA. (2012). Cracking Your Genetic Code USA: Public Broadcasting Service. 3. Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2012, September 28). What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Sickle Cell Anemia? NHLBI, NIH. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sca/signs.html 4. Hamosh, A. (1999, June 13). OMIM Entry - # 603903 - SICKLE CELL ANEMIA. OMIM Entry - # 603903 - SICKLE CELL ANEMIA. Retrieved April 26, 2014, from http://www.omim.org/entry/603903?search=sickle%20cell%20anemia&highlight=cell%20anemia%20anaemia%20sickle 5. National Library of Medicine. (2014, April 28). What are the risks and limitations of genetic testing? Genetics Home Reference. Retrieved April 24, 2014, http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/testing/riskslimitations

One Minute Manager Essay

Many people in today’s work world are always looking to become better organized and better people. In the book, The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson, the main character does just that. He was looking for the best managers out there. He ran into â€Å"tough managers†, whose organizations won while their people lost. He also ran into â€Å"nice managers†, whose people won but their organizations lost. Until, one day he ran into a One Minute Manager and was intrigued to learn more because this One Minute Managers’ organization & people won. So the One Minute Manager Organized for the main character to speak to three of his employees so he could further his research. The first person he spoke to was Mr. Trenell, who told him about One Minute Goal Setting. Mr. Trenell explained first how One Minute Goal Setting is for your manager and you to be able to agree on the goals and show what is acceptable. Second, write all your goals on paper with less than 250 words. With doing all these correctly you and your manager should be able to read and re-read all goals in a minute and see whether or not your behavior matches your goals. Intrigued by all this the main character wanted to learn more. The second employee he went to speak to was Mr. Levy, who told him about One Minute Praising. He learned that with exercising One Minute Praising correctly he must first tell people up front that their performance will be watched and praised immediately. Secondly, tell people what was done right and how it makes you feel. After all that give them a moment to make everything sink in. After the moment, encourage more of the same behavior and shake hands to show your support. Even more intrigued than before the main character continued. The third employee he spoke to was Ms. Brown, who informed him about a One Minute Reprimand. A One Minute Reprimand, he learned, was pretty much like a One Minute Praising but in reverse. You still let people know that their performance is being watched and you reprimand immediately. This time instead of you telling them something right you tell them something wrong and your feelings towards that behavior. Give them a moment and then continue to reaffirm sides, value, and good behavior. The most important thing he learned about reprimands is that once it’s over, it’s over. Completely intrigued by this One Minute Managers employees’, he wanted to know why it worked so he re-visited the One Minute Manager. The Manager explained that since the steps: One Minute Goal Setting, One Minute Praising, and One Minute Reprimand, were so easy to obtain anyone can easily do it. Finally, after learning all the proper steps to become a One Minute Manager he decides to try it for his own work. He up front lets his people know he is trying something new so he could practice without much criticism. He eventually masters the technique and becomes a One Minute Manager.

Planet Earth Essay

Earth is the third planet from the sun. The place where many organisms exist, enhance with the beauty of nature. Packed with rich biodiversity, streams and rivers. Have you seen this place before? Maybe yes, but for how long? How much it matter to us if it is lost? What can we do to save them? Those are questions that that will hopefully strike our nerves. In this new millennium, many changes have occurred that altered the condition of the nature. Nearly all the natural rainforest has gone from several countries. It’s very alarming to know that our planet’s wealth is starting to vanish that provides us the basic-life supporting services. Imagine life without these resources, if we don’t put into effort conservation, were not going to only make our lives worse but it also going to impact wild life. People must keep in mind that gross materialism and the search of material wealth is not the only thing in life. Many species of animals are now in massive decline and various factors contribute to extinction. The Amur leopard that is rare and highly endangered and the wild Bactrian camel, the most endangered large animal are threatened to disappear. Nearly half of the world’s frog is extinct by now because of the fungus that hit them. Forest elephants and Walia Ilex are also on the top list. Folks are shooting them for their bush meat so they tend to go to sheer cliff where they are safe from guns and snares. If your protecting the species, first thing you should know is how close to extinction the species are. Extinction is driven by habitat change, release of pollution into the environment, by global warming. All these things are combining in a series of forces that likely to lead if we don’t take action very soon to the extinction of a large proportion of the wild life species. We can’t concentrate in only important species because every species is important. We need a great diversity of species. We need them all because when you start decreasing their number, you start reducing the stability of the area. To save one, typically means to save them all because if one of them got extinct, it will affect the others since they are part of them. It’s like a domino effect, if one piece falls automatically the rest of them will follow. In hot spot conservation, WWF’s strategy is to use anti-poaching patrols to protect the species, and so the rest get  protected also in the bargain. With extinction so close, conservation becomes desperate. The Audubon zoo creates the species survival plan which is like parent organisation in the United State. The clone the animals an d freeze the cells and 50 years from now, they could pull out the DNA and make them alive. It’s like living library in the future. The main thought is that they are getting attention from us. Protection and right treatment for these animals can give us such benefit in our life.

Chameleon Research Paper

Chameleon By: Taylor Ladd Classification: Phylum- Chordata, Class- Reptilia, Order- Squamata, Family- Chamaeleonidae, Genus- Chamaeleo, Species- Chameleon. Physical Description: The Chameleon is a colorful reptile with a tail and tongue the size of its body. Their body is covered in scales that can change color to blend in with its surroundings so it makes it an amazing creature. It has eyes that can rotate around so they can see behind them. Evolutionary Adaptations- The most amazing adaption that the Chameleon has is that they can change their color pigments to blend in with their surroundings to keep hidden from predators and prey.Chameleon’s have super long tongues so that they can extend them and slurp up their prey. They also have eyes that rotate around so they can see 360 degrees around them at all times to help them keep track of predators and prey. Life History: Life Span- 5 to 9 years varies by the species. Range/distribution- Half the world’s population of C hameleon’s is in Madagascar an island off the east coast of Africa. There are also Chameleon’s found in Africa, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Southern Spain, and India.Reproduction- Chameleon’s have internal fertilization, some species have live births others also lay eggs. Diet- Most Chameleon’s eat small insects. Some have been reported to have eaten wild berries and vegetable matter. Larger Chameleon’s will eat small birds, reptiles, and mammals. Habitat- Chameleon’s are mostly found in rainforest. They like to perch in trees and wait for prey to walk by. Defense Mechanisms- The Chameleon has one of the most rare defense mechanisms of all creatures, they can change color pigments to blend in with their surrounding so that they can slip by predators in stealth.They have eyes that can rotate around 360 degrees and see two things at once. Interesting Facts- When a male Chameleon find a female he wants to mate with he puts on a color show of all his b est colors and if the female is turned on she will run and they will play chase then mate. If the female is not turned on by the color show she will stand her ground and sometimes even fight the male. One rare this about this reptile is that some of its species have live birth and others have eggs which is pretty amazing. Chameleon By: Taylor Ladd

M&A in India in Past Few Years Essay

Abstract The process of mergers and acquisitions has gained substantial importance in today’s corporate world. This process is extensively used for restructuring the business organizations. In India, the concept of mergers and acquisitions was initiated by the government bodies. Some well known financial organizations also took the necessary initiatives to restructure the corporate sector of India by adopting the mergers and acquisitions policies. The Indian economic reform since 1991 has opened up a whole lot of challenges both in the domestic and international spheres. The increased competition in the global market has prompted the Indian companies to go for mergers and acquisitions as an important strategic choice. The trends of mergers and acquisitions in India have changed over the years. The immediate effects of the mergers and acquisitions have also been diverse across the various sectors of the Indian economy. Till recent past, the incidence of Indian entrepreneurs acquiring foreign enterprises was not so common. The situation has undergone a sea change in the last couple of years. Acquisition of foreign companies by the Indian businesses has been the latest trend in the Indian corporate sector. The Indian IT and ITES sectors have already proved their potential in the global market. The other Indian sectors are also following the same trend. The increased participation of the Indian companies in the global corporate sector has further facilitated the merger and acquisition activities in India. The various factors that played their parts in facilitating the mergers and acquisitions in India are favorable government policies, buoyancy in economy, additional liquidity in the corporate sector, and dynamic attitudes of the Indian entrepreneurs are the key factors behind the changing trends of mergers and acquisitions in India. Even though mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have been an important element of corporate strategy all over the globe for several decades, research on M&As has not been able to provide conclusive evidence on whether they enhance efficiency or destroy wealth. There is thus an ongoing global debate on the effects of M&As on firms. This article seeks to explore the trends and progress in M&As India. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1618272 MERGER & ACQUISITION IN INDIA: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY The phrase mergers and acquisitions (abbreviated M&A) refers to the aspect of corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling and combining of different companies that can aid, finance, or help a growing company in a given industry grow rapidly without having to create another business entity. In business or economics a merger is a combination of two companies into one larger company. Such actions are commonly voluntary and involve stock swap or cash payment to the target. Stock swap is often used as it allows the shareholders of the two companies to share the risk involved in the deal. A merger can resemble a takeover but result in a new company name (often combining the names of the original companies) and in new branding; in some cases, terming the combination a â€Å"merger† rather than an acquisition is done purely for political or marketing reasons. Mergers may be broadly classified in (i) Horizontal mergers: A situation when two or more merging companies manufacture similar product in the same industry. (ii) Vertical mergers: A situation when two or more merging companies work at different stages of manufacture of a same product. (iii) Conglomerate mergers: A situation when two or more merging companies operate in different industries. The word acquisition, also known as a takeover or a buyout, is the buying of one company (the ‘target’) by another. An acquisition may be friendly or hostile. In the former case, the companies cooperate in negotiations; in the latter case, the takeover target is unwilling to be bought or the target’s board has no prior knowledge of the offer. Acquisition usually refers to a purchase of a smaller firm by a larger one. Sometimes, however, a smaller firm will acquire management control of a larger or longer established company and keep its name for the combined entity. This is known as a reverse takeover. Another type of acquisition is reverse merger, a deal that enables a private company to get publicly listed in a short time period. A reverse merger occurs when a private company that has strong prospects and is eager to raise financing buys a publicly listed shell company, usually one with no business and limited assets. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1618272 Reasons for Merger and Acquisition †¢ Operating synergies: The uniting of two firms improve productivity or cut costs so that the unlevered cash flows of the combined firm exceed the combined unlevered cash flows of the individual firm †¢ A vertical merger between a supplier and a customer, eliminates various coordination and bargaining problems †¢ A horizontal merger between competitors, produces a less competitive product market and cost savings from combining R&D facilities and sales forces †¢ Financial synergies: Information and incentive problems may cause cashstarved firms to pass up positive NPV projects, but cash-rich firms to overinvest in negative NPV projects †¢ Conglomerates can use internal capital markets to transfer funds from negative NPV projects to positive NPV projects †¢ †¢ Enhance the flexibility of the organization Reduces bankruptcy risk Objectives In this article an attempt has been made (i) To examine the presence of trends and progress of M&As in Indian corporation. (ii) To analyze year-wise and industry-wise variance in number and amount of M&A deals. Hypotheses To cover the above objectives following hypotheses have been formulated: 1. There is no significant difference in number and amount of M&A deals in between years and between industries. 2. There is no significant difference between M&A progress in manufacturing and service sector Industry-wise Trends of M&As The industry-wise trends in number and amount of M&A deals between 2000 and 2007 are presented in the Table 1 and Table 2 and the industry-wise trends and progress of M&As have been analysed on this basis Food and Beverages: India is the world’s second largest producer of food next to China, and has the potential of being the biggest with the food and agricultural sector. The Indian food market is estimated at over US$ 182 billion, and accounts for about two thirds of the total Indian retail market. According to industry experts, the market for carbonated drinks in India is worth US$ 1.5 billion while the juice and juice-based drinks market accounts for US$ 0.25 billion. Growing at a rate of 25 per cent, the fruitdrinks category is one of the fastest growing in the beverages market. The Indian food processing industry plays a significant role in diversifaction of agriculture products, generates employment, enhances income of farmers and creates a surplus for export of agro-foods. The important reason of the M&A activity initiated in this industry are deregulation, restructuring disinvestment, restructuring by parent companies and presence of foreign players. Textiles Industry: Until the economic liberalization of Indian economy, the India Textile Industry was predominantly unorganized industry. The opening up of Indian economy post 1990s led to a stupendous growth of this industry. India Textile Industry is one of the largest textile industries in the world. Today, Indian economy is largely dependent on textile manufacturing and exports. India earns around 27% of the foreign exchange from exports of textiles. Further, India Textile Industry contributes about 14% of the total industrial production of India. Furthermore, its contribution to the gross domestic product of India is around 3% only. Textile Industry involves around 35 million workers directly and it accounts for 21% of the total employment generated in the economy. However the important reasons for the M&As in these sectors are: growth of power looms and handlooms sector at the cost of mill sector which has ultimately resulted in making them sick and unviable. This has led to an increase in the closure of mills; in addition, continued and persistent use of old plant and machinery has led to low profitability in the mill sector and thereby forcing some of mills to closedowns. Chemicals, Drugs and Pharmaceuticals: Under this category companies operating in the industrial groups of chemicals, drugs, pharmaceutical, cosmetics petrochemicals and rubbers have been taken into account for analyzing the trend and progress. The drug & pharmaceutical industry in India meets around 70% of the country’s demand for bulk drugs, drug intermediates, pharmaceutical formulations, chemicals, tablets, capsules, orals and injectibles. There are about 250 large Pharmaceuticals manufacturers and suppliers and about 8000 Small Scale Pharmaceutical & Drug Units which form the core of the pharmaceutical industry in India (including 5 Central Public Sector Units). These bulk drugs and pharmaceuticals manufacturers produce the complete range of pharmaceutical formulations i.e. medicines ready for consumption by patients and about 350 bulk drugs i.e. chemicals having therapeutic value and used for production of pharmaceutical formulations. Owing to a significant increase in Pharmaceuticals exports, India’s USD 3.1 billion pharmaceutical industries are growing at the rate of 14 percent per year. It is one of the largest and most advanced among the developing countries. Even the number of pharmaceuticals exporters, manufacturers and suppliers is increasing tremendously, the factors that contributed to increase in M&A activity in these sectors are: Introduction of the process Patent Act in 1970, which required Indian companies to recognize international process patents. This has given an opportunity for the Indian companies to grow. This growth is associated with M&As and the emergence of WTO has brought about fundamental changes in the pharmaceutical industry. Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) of WTO require all Indian companies to comply with international patents. This has mainly happened in the form of M&As. Non–metallic Mineral Products: In this sector, cement and ceramics manufacturers are the primary players. The factors responsible for M&As are: before 1999 cement industry faced many problems like liquidity crisis, inadequate expenditure on infrastructure and costs of inputs. South-east Asian crisis brought narrowed profitability resulting to the bigger players withstanding the pressure of lower profitability and smaller and marginal players closing down or merging with big players and trying to appear favorable for a takeover. National Quadrilateral Road Project and State Government Policies to construct the irrigation projects could be other factors responsible for this boom. Basic Metal, Alloy and Steel: This is one of the oldest and traditional industry sectors in India. Companies operating in metals, alloy, steel and related concerns are grouped under this head. The factors contributing to M&As in this sector are: Slowdown of the economy during the year 1996-97, the capital markets, remaining depressed for the past couple of years, drying up sources of investment funds for industry, small and medium corporate finding it difficult to access institutional funds and export growth subjected to competitive pressure from imports. Information Technology and Telecom: Companies operating in the IT, Software, telecom and convergence sector are clubbed in industry, the central government has formed an independent department of information technology. Since the removal of restrictions on foreign capital investment and industrial de-licensing, India’s Telecom industry has shown large growth The Important factors for increasing M&As in this sector are: Consistent efforts were made by the department of telecom and its constituent organizations for upgrading and expanding the telecom networks and services and the Initiation of internet and web based developments and introduction of cell phone in India;. Automobiles and Automobile Ancillaries: Companies operating in automobile sector, locomotives, transport and spares have been included under this head. The Indian transport industry has been gradually playing a catalytic role for producing a wide variety of vehicles, passenger cars. Important factors responsible for an increase in M&As in this sector are: Globilalization is pushing global auto majors to consolidate, to upgrade technology, enlarge product range, access new markets and to cut costs. Competitive pressure and presence of global players have resulted in a number of M&As in this sector. Energy, Power, Gas and Oil: Companies operating in the field of energy, power, gas and oil are included in this group. Important factors responsible for an increase in M&As in this sector are, low rate of growth in power generation depressed the growth rate of industrial production and has necessitated immediate attention of big companies like Reliance Industries and due to unavailability of power and frequent disruptions have given an impetus to M&As in this sector..

Transformational Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Transformational Leadership - Research Paper Example Leaders have the responsibility of identifying the causes of slow and adopt a transformational leadership strategy to limit the adversities associated with slow death. One of the elements of transformational leadership is individualized consideration. A transformative leader attends to the needs of his followers in the organization. Through adopting a transformative leadership, leaders in the institution will give empathy and support, keep communication open and place beneficial challenges before the followers. During the process of extensive communication, institutional leaders will have the opportunity to identify possible evidences of slow and death counteract them before they mature (Verlage, Rowold & Schilling, 2012). Additionally, transformative leaders have a will and aspirations for self development in addition to intrinsic motivation towards their work. Chances of transformative leaders experiencing slow death are minimal because they have the intellectual stimulation to adopt innovation and creativity when approaching organizational problems. According to Shields (2011), deep change is a function of discipline, courage and motivation. Leaders can achieve inspirational motivation if they are transformative leaders. Leaders with inspirational motivation are usually challenged to leave abandon their comfort zones, convince themselves about optimism concerning future goals, and provide meaning for task at hand. This motivation can also be translated into junior employees to develop a strong sense of purpose for work. Inspirational motivation prevents possible victimization, psychological death and even active exit because it does not allow postponement of responsibilities (Verlage, Rowold & Schilling, 2012). Situational leadership model also focuses on self-motivation as critical element of proper leadership. The proponents of

Systems and Multicultural Approaches Research Paper

Systems and Multicultural Approaches - Research Paper Example Multicultural approaches examinations the effect of culture on the way People think, act, and feel. Culture is s known group of people who share behaviors’, values and Customs, for example, Deaf community, gays, and lesbians, etc. Deaf people have their culture because the used the common sign language, go to the same churches, social organization, schools, and the same way of interacting with one another. Culture can also be defined according to the variables that identifies cultural group of persons, this is as per the career development theories (Hartung, 2002). For this case study Juan has four problems that should be approached namely loneliness, he doesn’t have job, problem with working with the community because he is was told he doesn’t enough information about the local community and finally been negatively seen because of his age. These problems can be handled by the combination of both Systems and Multicultural Approaches. The first problems of loneliness and job can be solved by system approach since these problems are more of relationship than cultural. The loneliness can be solve may be by encourage either Juan of his family to relocated so that they can live close and remove the loneliness. The other issue of Juan being perceives as not having enough information about the local trends and the negativity because of his age can be handled by multicultural approach because it is a cultural issue and not relationship issue. The local community should be educated and encouraged to welcome Juan irrespective of where he comes from; furthermore Juan should try and learn more about the local community where he wants to work. Finally the issue of seen negatively because of his age when his charges come to trial can also be handled using Multicultural approach, this is because it seems in this community where Juan stay and in courts of laws don’t believe old people can be charged because of solicitation. They should be educated in order

Comparative Analysis of Global Consumers (Italy) Essay

Comparative Analysis of Global Consumers (Italy) - Essay Example Today, the USA and Italy are working together on major economic issues. Both countries are the member of G-8. Italy, having a large population and high per capita income is the United States 10th biggest trading partner, with a joint trade of $42.5 billion, with exports to Italy totaling $11.5 and imports from Italy totaling to $31.0 Billion. The US also had a $19.5 Billion shortage with Italy in 2005 which rose up from 17.4 billion in 2004. Major transformations can be seen in this trade nowadays. Products such as, office machinery and aircraft are becoming important US exports to Italy. The US's foreign investment in Italy was $33.3 billion at the end of the year 2004. Two hard years, distinct by a financial slump in Europe and a damaging Euro/ Dollar exchange rate. In 2003, there were the first signs of recovery, which were later confirmed in the year 2004, and it became a solid movement in the early 2005. Once the slump was over the Italian machine tool industry started to run smoothly confirming the positive trends. This was an important sign; first being because of the trend in the machine tool sector, which was a good sign in the interest of the industry as a whole in the new investment sector. This indicator measures business brightness, the development objectives measured are achievable and the motivation to assemble the financial resources by increasing the risk capital. Another reason is the nature of this sector. With a â‚ ¬4 billion turnover and over more than 35000 jobs, this industry is one of the most important in the world along with the United States, Taiwan, Japan and Germany. The major reason of it is because of its size and the percentage of the products exported.

Whole Grain Food Choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Whole Grain Food Choice - Essay Example Amanda (2014) indicates that USDA recommends individuals to consume grains daily and at least half of the grains should be whole grains. Unless one is experiencing non-celiac gluten sensitivity, this article depicts that an individual should not miss the health benefits of eating whole grains. Some of the notable benefits of whole grains as outlined by this article include getting adequate fiber, vitamins, a variety of phytochemicals, and minerals. A Vital aspect to note is that whole grains have the original parts of the kernel which include bran, endosperm, and germ. This article indicates that whole grain lower blood pressure, which is a major factor for heart diseases. As compared to refined food, Amanda argues that whole food helps individual’s blood glucose from rising, thus reducing the risks of getting type 2 diabetes. For example, a study indicated that by taking one-third of serving cooked white rice per day for brown rice, the risks of type 2 diabetes is reduced by 16%. Reference no. 2: WebMD. Tips for Reaping the Benefits of Whole Grains This article indicates that whole grains diet has positive implications on bowel health due to the regular bowel movements and promotion of healthy bacteria in the colon. Despite the importance of whole food in consumers’ bodies, WebMD indicates that only 10% of Americans consume three servings a day, which is the recommended level. This is due to the fact that it is somehow challenging to tell just which foods are whole grains.

Space Elevator Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Space Elevator - Research Proposal Example It is a fixed structure as opposed to a vehicle which will be fuel hungry and will have limited capacity of locomotion between the body and the space. A typical space elevator will be a cable like structure extending from the earth's surface into the outer space. It's center of mass will coincide with the Geostationary Earth Orbit, which is at an altitude of 35,786 km. Locomotion will be facilitated by electromagnetic vehicles which will travel along the cables and will be effective in the movement of people, power and other material. (Audacious & Outrageous: Space Elevators) The Space Elevator has caught the fancy of the scientific fraternity all across the globe. As the race to become the builder of the world's first Space Elevator gets heated up, interesting facts emerge. Japanese scientists have gone on record proclaiming that they were in the process of researching the possibility of building a Space Elevator - capable of transporting cargo as well as tourists, for $ 11 Billion. (Ramadge and Schneider) A region off the west coast of Australia has been identified as an Earth Dock, a location perfect for building the base earth station. "The Indian Ocean off Western Australia has been identified as an ideal location for a 'space elevator'; a thin carbon nano tube connecting a barge to a space station, along which supplies could be carried up. Construction could draw on the WA oil industry's expertise in constructing offshore platforms, as well as its material resources. NASA is currently investigating the feasibility of the project." (qtd. in "Lost in Space' Setting a new direction for Australia's space science and industry sector", 27) The structural specifications of the Space Elevator include several parts like the base station, a cable, climbers, and a counterweight. Base stations, in almost all prototypes, are of two varieties - stationary and mobile. Ships and other vessels can serve as mobile base stations while buildings at higher altitudes can suffice as stationary base stations. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages - while it will be cheaper to operate a stationary base station, a mobile base station can be moved so as to avoid any natural calamity. The cables are perhaps the most important part of the setup. It is necessary to manufacture the cables out of a light yet sturdy material. To be economically viable it will be necessary to produce the material at a mass scale and at a viable price. Research has shown that Carbon nano tubes have the capacity to withstand tensile strength of 63 to 177 GPa and are pretty light, as because of the chemical structure of the carbon atoms ensure that there is free space in between the carbon atoms. Thorough research is necessary to produce carbon nano tubes which are stronger. Another point needs to be kept in mind while constructing a nano tube; it will have to bear its own weight along with the weight of the particles which will be transported. Climbers are basically the vessels which will move along the cable. Climbers again will have to be light and heat resistant - they will encounter atmospheric friction while moving up and down a cable. The most important part is the source of power for the climbers. Options like nuclear power, solar energy, laser power beaming are there to be explored. The counterweight is the object which will hold